Montana education officials are considering adding college and career readiness as an accountability measure to the state's plan to comply with a new federal education law.

But coming up with concrete measurements that are used to rate schools' success is tougher, especially for career readiness.

Several states that have already submitted their plans have included college and career readiness as a way to evaluate schools' performance.

"We know that is a trend nationwide," said Office of Public Instruction director of educational services and ESSA Suzie Hedalen. "It's really important to the superintendent. We don't collect a lot of data that can show career readiness yet."

Hedalen spoke at the Billings Public Library on Friday, laying out OPI's progress on the plan that's slated for public release in July and submission to the feds in September. She emphasized that the plan is a "living document" and solicited feedback via email. OPI is also holding focus groups on parts of the plan.

The Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced No Child Left Behind in late 2015, lets states add new ways they measure schools' performance, in addition to academic achievement, academic progress, graduation rates and English language learner proficiency progress.

A Montana plan was drafted under previous Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, a Democrat, and pulled back by current Superintendent Elsie Arntzen, a Republican. That plan tabbed school climate, defined as "the quality and character of school life," by the National School Climate Center, as the extra indicator.

Hedalen presented three school evaluation scenarios for the new plan. The first is modeled off Juneau's plan, weighting overall test score proficiency and test score improvement at 20 percent each, the graduation rate at 20 percent and English learner progress at 10 percent. But instead of school climate, which Juneau's plan said would be measured through a to-be-designed rubric, it assigns 15 percent weights to both attendance and suspension rates.

A second scenario includes school climate, weighting it at 10 percent along with attendance and suspensions. Weights for the four required factors remain the same.

The third scenario includes college and career readiness at five percent, trimming attendance and suspensions to 7.5 percent and keeping school climate and required factors at the same percentages.

Attendees questioned whether a five percent weight would encourage schools to move the needle on college prep, and whether small schools could meet the same benchmarks as large schools.

Typically, larger schools offer better access to options like Advanced Placement and Dual Credit classes where students can earn college credits and work-based options like internship programs.

The Educational Policy Improvement Center, an Oregon-based consulting group, notes that, "college eligibility measures are well developed but exceedingly narrow in scope" and that "few general career readiness measures exist."

The Education Trust, a national education advocacy group, suggests examining industry-recognized credentialing options for students and work-based learning opportunities like apprenticeships.

In the same way that it's difficult to apply the same measures to small and large schools, there can be variations for individual students.

"A narrow definition is easier to measure and may be useful at a state level as a gross indicator of readiness but is far less useful at the individual student level," an Educational Policy Improvement Center document reads. "A more expansive definition is more challenging to measure but yields more accurate data at the state level and more actionable information at the school and student level."

Ambitious goals

OPI officials asked Education Northwest, a frequent consultant for Montana, to review Juneau's plan and anticipate recommendations during the Department of Education's peer review process, which often pokes holes in states' educational proposals.

The group raised questions about whether goals for schools' academic performance were ambitious enough to comply with the new law.

Juneau's plan expected schools that score below statewide average scores for Smarter Balanced or ACT tests in math and reading to make progress toward those averages. Schools that score above the average are expected to maintain or improve their scores.

Instead, Arntzen's administration has floated a system that expects a slice of students scoring below proficient levels to improve.

Hedalen presented scenarios that would call for five percent of non-proficient students to improve each year by subgroup. Federally recognized subgroups in Montana are white, American Indian, and economically disadvantaged students, English language learning students and students with disabilities.

Under that structure, subgroups that traditionally perform worse on standardized tests would be expected to make the biggest improvements.

By 2022, aiming for five percent of students improving in reading, the goal for all students would be to improve from 50.1 percent proficiency to 63.7 percent proficiency. But children with disabilities would be expected to improve from 16.1 percent proficiency to 39.5 percent proficiency. American Indian students would be expected to improve from 23.7 percent proficiency to 45 percent proficiency.

One attendee noted that the yearly goals resembled Annual Yearly Progress, a much-maligned No Child Left Behind provision. Hedalen agreed with the resemblance, with the caveat that ESSA does away with the notion that 100 percent of students can achieve proficiency.

Juneau's plan set more modest goals, aiming for reading improvement to 54.8 percent by 2020. By subgroup, the plan called for about four percent improvement across the board.

An Education Northwest reviewer noted that peer reviewers could take issue with both the year-by-year goals and statewide average system, arguing that it isn't "ambitious," as the law requires.
Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the American Authors Association

Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the Military Writers Society of America.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, on Thursday co-sponsored legislation Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, introduced June 8 intended to prevent the importation and trafficking of synthetic drugs, according to the Library of Congress government information website.

The legislation would clarify how controlled substance analogues are regulated.

A controlled substance analogue is a synthetic chemical structure that has a similar r greater than the stimulant, depressant or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a controlled substance.

The legislation -- HR 2851 -- had six co-sponsors, as of Friday -- five Republicans and one Democrat.

Other co-sponsors from New York are Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, and Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-Long Island.
Charlotte McCue, the 8-year-old California girl killed in last years boat crash on Lake George, and her family members were honored last week during a ceremony at the state Crime Victims Memorial in Albany.

A brick was added to the memorial in Charlottes name, and bricks were also added for her parents and siblings and grandparents, all of them on the boat she was riding when she was killed.

A Glens Falls woman who was the victim of an attempted rape at the hands of a neighbor was also honored with a brick in the memorial. Nineteen bricks were added to it during the annual ceremony.

 Don Lehman

When nature calls

The Washington County Board of Supervisors was heartless when Hartford Supervisor Dana Haff confessed something near the end of the meeting.

I really have to go to the bathroom, he said.

Other supervisors chuckled and began to stretch out their comments as long as possible. Haff began to threaten to use his coffee cup if people didnt hurry up.

I always take a few minutes for my comments, Chairman and Argyle Supervisor Bob Henke said after several other supervisors had added five minutes to Haffs wait. Haff laughed.

Go ahead, Im numb now, he said.

He made it to the bathroom eventually.

 Kathleen Moore

Rain, rain, go away

The Timber Framers Guild gathered at 7 a.m. Friday to begin the community raising of the Champlain Canal Region Gateway Visitor Center near Fort Hardy Park in Schuylerville.

With the rain bucketing down, they offered a unique prayer: Rain, rain, go away, we have some bents to raise today.

Mother Nature did not listen, but the ceremonial raising of a few timbers went on anyway. The community raising is slated to go on Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.

 Kathleen Moore

Trooper honored

This week, legislation moved through the state Assembly and Senate to name the Ballard Road bridge at Exit 16 over the Northway in honor of fallen state trooper Timothy Pratt.

The legislation was introduced by Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, and was co-sponsored by Assemblyman Dan Stec, R-Queensbury.

The official name of the Wilton bridge will be known as New York State Trooper Timothy Pratt Memorial Bridge.

A turnaround bill moved through the Senate earlier in the session and signage will be established at mile marker 38.8 of the Northway.

On Oct. 26, Pratt, 55, was killed when he was hit by a sport-utility vehicle on Ballard Road in Wilton as he assisted a lost truck driver.

 Adam Colver
A Billings woman who didnt remember striking a pedestrian or crashing into a tree while driving drunk from a party on the Crow Reservation was sentenced to federal prison Friday.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters of Billings followed a prosecution recommendation and sentenced Sasha Frances Not Afraid, 25, to two years in prison. The judge also ordered $1,291 restitution to the victim. Not Afraid faced a guideline range of 24 months to 30 months.

Not Afraid pleaded guilty earlier to assault resulting in serious injury for hitting a pedestrian on May 31, 2014, near Dunmore.

The victim, another partygoer who was walking home, woke up later in the morning by the side of the road with a broken knee, broken arm, torn ligaments and tendons, cuts and road rash. He ultimately was treated for injuries at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings.

The victim, who attended Fridays sentencing hearing, made no comment but earlier had requested Not Afraid be sentenced to five years in prison.

Not Afraid apologized to the victim for causing him pain and suffering and also to her family.

Watters rejected a defense request for time served of 327 days, saying while rehabilitation for alcohol abuse was needed, punishment also was appropriate. Although Not Afraid did not have a criminal history, she had 21 tribal court convictions, mostly for alcohol-related offenses.

The tribal convictions indicated Not Afraids lack of respect for the law or an inability to follow the law, Watters said.

Others at the party attempted to stop Not Afraid from driving, but she did anyway, Watters said. The victim survived but his injuries will affect him for the rest of his life, she added.

Prosecutors said Not Afraid bit one of the partygoers who tried to keep her from driving.

As Not Afraid drove off in a Dodge Caravan, she hit a tree, shattering the windows on the left side of the vehicle, and sped down the road where the victim was later found.

Not Afraid said at an earlier hearing that she didnt remember operating the vehicle.
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MCD polls: AAP will ensure timely payment of salaries to civic body employees, end 'inspector raj' and open sealed shops, says Kejriwal.

AAP promises to provide permanent solution to parking problem in Delhi, repair roads and improve MCD schools and hospitals: Kejriwal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates swanky Terminal-2 of the Kempegowda International Airport.
More than six decades after he died, the bones of Korean War veteran Harold Haugland will finally be laid to rest in Montana.

Born in 1928 in Glendive to ranchers Peter and Alma Haugland, Army Sgt. 1st Class Harold P. Haugland, 22, had last lived in the Gallatin Valley with his family before joining the Army.

In 1950 he and other members of the Company D, 15th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division were deployed to the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, where they entered a fierce battle with Chinese troops, according to a news release from the Department of Defense.

After just two months in Korea, in December 1950, Haugland was declared missing when the U.S. Army pulled troops out of the area and he was unaccounted for.

Three years after that, on Dec. 31, 1953, he was declared dead.

That was the end of his story, or so it seemed until last fall.

Nobody really thought we would ever hear anything else about Harold," said Laura Anderson, Haugland's niece, who lives in Whitehall. "We knew about Harold. But we did not know that this would ever come to us.

Unexpected

In November 2016, his relatives learned his Haugland's remains had been identified by the Department of Defense.

One of Harolds nephews, Clayton Haugland, was the first family member contacted by the Department of Defenses POW/MIA Accounting Agency, also known as the DPAA. The news was unbelievable, he said.

I was in my house and the first reaction was that somethings not right here, it was almost like a prank call or a scam or something, he said.

It took checking that the phone number was real, that the DPAA was actually calling, to persuade him.

It was the sort of thing you just never expected.

But Anderson and Clayton Haugland described growing up with limited information about their uncle.

Basically what I knew was that he existed and he was killed in Korea, and thats all I knew, Clayton Haugland said. His father, Ed Haugland, is the only one of Harolds five siblings still alive.

Theyre not a family that talks about things like that, Anderson said. Theyre not a very talkative family. Theyre very ranch people and they dont talk about one another.

Over the years internet searches and military records filled in more details on their uncle. After the November announcement that his remains had been identified, Anderson said she read as much as she could find in military reports about her uncle.

We know that he had gotten hurt when he was in the battle in this Chosin Reservoir, which was one of the most brutal battles," she said. And his foot, as far as we can tell, was shot off and then he was put into the hospital. And he got up, wrapped up the foot or the stub, what was left, put a canteen ration can around what was left of the foot and he went back to the front line.

Retrieving and identifying

The effort to even retrieve Hauglands remains was a complicated one. It included diplomatic negotiations with North Korea and bringing in the United Nations. An initial deal for the return of numerous American remains, known as Operation Glory, was struck in 1954. Hauglands were not among those included.

Then in 2004 a recovery team excavating in the area of the eastern bank of the Choisin Reservoir near Twikkae Village received information from a witness that led to the discovery of five possible sets of human remains, according to the DPAA news release.

It wasnt long before Roy and Bob Haugland were asked to give blood to help with the identification effort, Anderson said. Both have since passed away, she said.

To identify Hauglands remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used circumstantial and anthropological evidence, as well as DNA analysis, including mitochondrial (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome (Y-STR) DNA, which matched two brothers, according to the DPAA news release.

Homecoming

On Thursday a Delta Airlines flight landed in Bozeman carrying Hauglands remains, and a large procession escorted them to the funeral home.

The support we had was awesome and it shows that this is important to the community, Clayton Haugland said. Im just glad were able to do this for him.

Haugland received medals and citations including Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart with one Bronze Oak Leaf, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea-Korean War Service Medal, Republic of Korea-Presidential Unit Citation, Gold Star Lapel Button, Cold War Recognition Certificate and the Korean Medal of Military Merit 4th Class/Hwarang Cordon.

The important thing is that as a serviceman he gave his life. We deserve to honor the man, Clayton Haugland said. Well give him what we can give him, but theres no way we can give him what he deserves.

In addition to the honor of a military funeral, Anderson said its the homecoming that she finds important. Mainly, Harold gets to come home, she said. His last love was the Gallatin Valley, and now hes home.

A memorial service to honor Haugland's life and military service will be held on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Grace Bible Church, located at 3625 S. 19th Street in Bozeman, according to his obituary. After the service, he will be laid to rest with military honors at the Sunset Hills Cemetery.

In the obituary, his family invited any who desire to honor Harolds life and heroic military service to attend.
The Miss Iowa Scholarship Pageant returns to Davenports Adler Theatre Thursday, Friday and Saturday, along with Miss Iowas Outstanding Teen Pageant.

The Miss Iowa Pageant has been held continuously since 1949.

The first Miss Iowa, Alta Sterling, was crowned in 1924, said Rachael Vopatek, director of public relations and marketing for the Miss Iowa Pageant.

In addition to being the first Miss Iowa, Vopatek said that, Sterling has the distinction of being the first Jewish contestant to compete for Miss America.

The pageant was next held in 1927 when Maude Mendenhall Wrigley was crowned. Then, it returned in 1933 when Eleanor Alma Dankenbring received the crown.

The pageant was held in 1935, 1936, and 1937, and then in 1939 and 1941. The years for World War II were skipped before the pageant returned in 1945. It also was held in 1946 and 1947. There was no Miss Iowa in 1948, but the pageant became a permanent staple in 1949 with the crowning of Barbara Juel and has been running strong since.

In 1970, Cheryl Brown Hollingworth, now of Lithonia, Georgia, a pretty and highly talented ballerina, became the first African-American to be crowned Miss Iowa, and became the first African-American to compete in the Miss America Pageant. She then went on to travel with the Miss American USO Troupe entertaining soldiers in Vietnam.

Miss Iowa 2017 will proceed in September to Atlantic City to compete for the Miss America 2018 crown.

This will be the 14th year for the Miss Iowas Outstanding Teen pageant which began in 2004 with Ashlie Burroughs of Muscatine taking the first crown.

The winner of Miss Iowas Outstanding Teen will compete in the national Miss Americas Outstanding Teen pageant in Orlando, Florida, in August.

There are 13 competing for the title of Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen.

This years Miss Iowa contestants are:

Jessica Baker, 24, of Coralville. She is this years Miss Lake Cooper, and is the daughter of Jennifer Cole-Baker and Joel Baker. She is a graduate of Western Illinois University where she studied business marketing. Baker is the owner of Ambition Baton and Dance LLC. Her platform is Making Miracles Happen: For the Kids. Her talent is baton twirling.

Johnna Cleaver, 21, of Des Moines. She is this years Miss Pearl City, and is the daughter of Carol Cleaver. She attends Iowa State University where she is studying management. Her goal is to be CEO of Mercy Hospital. Her platform is Love for the Elderly: A Journey to Kindness. Her talent is vocal.

Emmy Cuvelier, 21, of Collins, Iowa. She is this years Miss Central Iowa, and is the daughter of Jeff and Tammy Cuvelier. She is attending Iowa State University where she is pursuing a bachelors degree in performing arts. Her goal is to become a Broadway performer and open a dance and musical theater studio. Her platform is Queen of Hearts: Womens Health and CPR Education. Her talent is musical theater vocal.

Chelsea Dubczak, 23, of Urbandale, Iowa. She is this years Miss Metro and is the daughter of Lori and Jim Dubczak. She is a graduate of Drake University where she earned a bachelors of music in vocal performance. Her future goals include being a nutritional therapy practitioner, strength and conditioning coach, and cruise ship entertainer. Her platform is Ladies Who Lift: Encouraging young women to pursue their strongest selves. Her talent is opera.

Maggie Gehlsen, 21, of DeWitt. She is this years Miss Clinton County and is the daughter of Nancy and Tim Gehlsen. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama where she majored in exercise and sports science. Her future goals include obtaining a Master's degree in social work and exercise science while working as a corporate wellness director and counseling victims of sexual violence. Her platform is Take Back Our Campus: Sexual Assault Prevention & Education. Her talent is baton twirling.

Emma Haselhuhn, 20, of Eddyville, Iowa. She is this years Miss Eastern Iowa and is the daughter of Mark Haselhuhn and Carolyn Haselhuhn. She is a student at Drake University studying public relations and marketing. Her future goals include working for the Iowa Cattlemens Association as the head of public relations and marketing. Her platform is The Domino Effect. Her talent is alto saxophone solo.

Mikhayla Hughes-Shaw, 20, of Rock Island. She is this years Miss Wild Rose and is the daughter of Alicia (Shaw) Rogers and Thomas Hughes. She is a student at the University of Iowa where she is majoring in journalism and mass communication. Her future goal is to transition from a journalist to a TV show host. Her platform is How About H.O.P.E.-Suicide Awareness. Her talent is contemporary violin.

Maddison Lange, 21, of Centerville. She is this years Miss Muscatine and is the daughter of Tom and Kathy Lange. She attends the University of Iowa where she is majoring in finance and pre-med. Her ambition is to become a pediatric oncologist. Her platform is Lock Your Meds: Stop Prescription Drug Abuse. Her talent is tap dance.

Lexi Marek, 22, of Riverside, Iowa. She is this years Miss Greater Des Moines and is the daughter of Heather and Tim Marek. She is a graduate of Iowa State University where she majored in public service and administration in agriculture. Her ambition is to continue working with FarmHer (her platform) and run her family's farm and later travel the country as a motivational speaker and TV host. Her platform is FarmHer: Growing Leaders. Her talent is tap dance.

Anna Masengarb, 20, of Muscatine. She is this years Miss Scott County and is the daughter of Pam and Todd Cantrell and John and Shelly Masengarb. She attends Millikin University where she is majoring in business management and Spanish with a minor in theater. Her goal is to become a real estate agent. Her platform is Finding Cures, Saving Children: St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Her talent is vocal.

Marissa Messinger, 21, of West Des Moines. She is this years Miss Polk County and is the daughter of Bob and Mary Messinger. She attends Briar Cliff University where she is majoring in social work. Her goal is to be an international social worker. Her platform is the 5 Ws of sexual assault. Her talent is lyrical color guard.

Cheyenne Prowant, 20, of Davenport. She is this years Miss Burlington and is the daughter of Cherie Prowant-Foster and Robert Goodwin. She attends Black Hawk College where she is majoring in equine science. Her goal is to obtain a doctorate in equine science and education. Her platform is PTSD-Beyond the Battlefield. Her talent is flute solo.

Paige Siegworth, 20, of New London. She is this years Miss Palisades and is the daughter of Kellie and Steve Siegworth. She is a graduate of Southeastern Community College where she earned her Associate of Arts degree. Her goal is to lead a youth ministry. Her platform is Be Sun Smart: Learn About Melanoma. Her talent is tap dance.

Emily Tinsman, 20, of Bettendorf. She is this years Miss Cedar Valley and is the daughter of Bruce and Sharon Tinsman. She attends Drake University where she is studying music education. Her goal is to become a music teacher. Her platform is TEMPOS: Teaching and Encouraging Music Participation in Our Schools. Her talent is classical vocal.

Lacey Verink, 21, of Letts. She is this years Miss Heartland and is the daughter of Tim and Linda Verink. She attends Mercy College of Health Sciences where she is pursuing her Bachelors in nursing. Her goal is to obtain her Doctorate of nurse practitioner specializing in pediatric care. Her platform is A Champion for Women: A Path to a Healthy Heart. Her talent is ventriloquism.

Johannah Vittetoe, 22, of Washington. She is this years Miss Southeast Iowa and is the daughter of Thomas Vittetoe and Tammy Vittetoe. She attends Iowa State University where she is majoring in elementary education. Her goal is to obtain a degree in elementary education specializing in social studies with a reading endorsement. Her platform is Find the Beauty: Anorexia Nervosa Prevention & Awareness. Her talent is clog dancing.
DES MOINES  Among the accomplishments Charles Chuck Palmer considers significant from his time as the states human services agency director are the unknown situations his department was able to head off before vulnerable Iowans became potential headlines.

The department does so many things that are never recognized. The things that we prevent, said Palmer, 78, who retired Friday as head of the Iowa Department of Human Services. Think of how many unknown big deals go on every day.

Palmer reflected earlier this week on his two stints as former Gov. Terry Branstads choice as DHS director  once from 1989 to 1999 and again from 2011 to Friday.

Now that Kim Reynolds has taken over as governor, with Branstad in a new role as U.S. ambassador to China and state government beginning a new budgeting cycle, Palmer said it seemed like a good time to step aside and let something else take charge of a government agency that touches the lives of 1 million Iowans every day.

Theres never a good time, but this seemed like the right time, said Palmer. He welcomed Reynolds announcement that Jerry Foxhoven will take over the agency, saying he will bring fresh eyes and a different perspective.

Palmer thanked members of the Iowa Council on Human Services for their assistance during the past seven years, especially as the state switched to privately managed Medicaid care.

Id like to think were a lot better now than where we were, said Palmer, who noted his immediate plan is to engineer a seamless transition to new DHS leadership and then getting out of the way.

During his time, Palmer led the department through massive system changes including welfare reform, mental health redesign, childrens health insurance and Medicaid expansions, and the move to Medicaid managed care as part of his effort to rein in what he dubbed the Pac-Man of the state budget.

We have taken on some very emotionally charged issues as a state, he said. Theres a part of me that thrives on tough issues."

Palmer leaves with his agency under fire from legislators and advocates, following the shocking deaths of two adopted teen girls, one in West Des Moines and one in Perry. But he said he believes the departments decision to bring in outside help to assess Iowas child-welfare system and make constructive recommendations will produce a positive outcome.

Id like to think that were on the right path, he said. I believe weve moved into a constructive dialogue and not just trying to find out where to place blame.

Palmer said he doesnt have anything specific planned once he retires, but expects to do volunteer work and continue to be involved in human services issues.

While Im feeling good, full of energy and believe I have something to contribute, Ill be engaged, he said.
Public health officials in Ireland say they are reviewing the work history of the Catholic priest profiled in the Netflix series "The Keepers," who was employed as a psychologist in that country after leaving Baltimore amid sexual abuse allegations.

The priest, A. Joseph Maskell, worked in Wexford for about seven months in 1995 as a temporary clinical psychologist for an Irish public health board, according to the national health agency there. He later worked in private practice in Ireland between 1995 and 1998, church officials in Ireland say.

He died in 2001 at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson.

The Health Service Executive, the agency that runs public health services in Ireland, said in a statement that it has begun a process to "review services delivered and regarding any concerns" about Maskell's employment with the public South Eastern Health Board.

The review comes in the wake of publicity from the seven-part Netflix documentary "The Keepers." The series examines sexual abuse at Archbishop Keough High School and the unsolved 1969 homicide of 26-year-old Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik, who taught there.

Maskell, who served as chaplain and counselor at Keough, left the United States as allegations against him mounted in the 1990s. The Archdiocese has paid $472,000 in settlements to 16 people who alleged abuse by Maskell. He was never criminally charged, and denied abuse accusations before his death.

In a statement, the Health Service agency said Maskell worked for the South Eastern Health Board between April and November 1995. The agency said that as part of the hiring process, Irish police checked whether he had any prior convictions. He did not.

Asked whether Maskell assessed any children or teens while working for the health board, a spokesman for the agency said it could not provide any additional information pending the outcome of the review.

Baltimore church officials have said they barred Maskell from public ministry in 1994 and that he went to Ireland without their knowledge. They said they learned in 1996 he was living in Wexford.

Maskell was born in Baltimore, but his family was from Ireland, said Baltimore archdiocese spokesman Sean Caine.

Teresa Lancaster, who was featured in "The Keepers" as an abuse survivor, said Maskell spoke about Ireland when he was working at Archbishop Keough.

"When he took me to the rectory, he would put on Irish music and tell me how wonderful it was," Lancaster said.

Baltimore attorney Joanne Suder, who has represented people with abuse claims against Maskell in recent years, said she has received numerous phone calls about him since "The Keepers" was released. She said three people with knowledge of his time in Ireland have told her that Maskell presented himself as both a psychologist and a priest and that "he had access to young girls."

"That's frightening," she said.
SIOUX FALLS | Nearly 300 marriage licenses have been given to same-sex couples in South Dakota since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized the unions two years ago.

The Sioux Falls Pride festival will take place Saturday, which falls about a week before the anniversary of the groundbreaking court decision.

As of Tuesday, five licenses had been issued this month to same-sex couples in the state, the Argus Leader reported.

Ashley Joubert-Gaddis with the Center for Equality said she's excited that hundreds of people in the state have embraced the rights granted to them by the court.

"I think that number sounds big," she said. "We're a small community."

The busiest month for same-sex marriage licenses issued in South Dakota is the month after the law changed, in July 2015. Licenses continue to be issued, with the number spiking last year in August.

"It was such a foreign idea for us to get married," said Nancy Rosenbrahn, 71, of her relationship with her wife. "As their (LGBT-identifying people) friends get married and they become accustomed to the idea, I think we're going to see that number grow."

The South Dakota Constitution still includes a ban on same-sex marriage, but that language became legally moot following the June 2015 ruling. Rosenbrahn had sued the state for the right to marry her wife before the ruling.

She said that even though the state Constitution's language on same-sex marriage is moot, it still remains as a symbol of the South Dakota's unwillingness to change.

"The big battle is full equality," Rosenbrahn said. "Until we have full equality there are so many slights."
A suspect was shot and killed after firing at a local officer early Saturday afternoon in Rapid City.

The state Attorney General's Office later identified the suspect as Joseph Paul Hogan, 48, of Rapid City.

According to Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris, police responded to a report of an "active shooter situation" in the 300 block of Viking Drive, a residential area in northern Rapid City. Jegeris said there were shots fire from a residence there before police arrived.

Once officers arrived on scene, several more shots were fired. As police worked to evacuate the homes in the area, Jegeris said the subject firing the shots exited the house and threatened an officer.

When the subject fired a shot at the officer, the officer returned fire. The person who fired the shots, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer who shot the suspect has not been identified. No law enforcement officers were hurt.

In an video posted on the police department's Facebook Page just before 1:30 p.m., Jegeris said there is no ongoing threat in the neighborhood.

"Public safety has been restored," he said. "I'm very thankful that no law enforcement and no other citizens were injured in this event."

The Pennington County Sheriff's Office handled scene security until the state Division of Criminal Investigation arrived. Rapid City Police requested that DCI will handle the investigation, which Jegeris said is standard protocol for officer-involved shootings.

Lee Abshire, who lives next door to the home where the shooting took place, said he saw much of the incident unfold and heard everything that went on.

He said his next-door neighbor, whom he knew only as Joe, was a friendly person and motorcycle enthusiast who often worked on cycles in his garage at the home on the north side of Viking Drive just east of Colt Lane.

This is the second fatal officer-involved shooting in Rapid City in two months. On April 27, Tim Holmgren was shot and killed by a South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper in his Harmony Heights apartment after he barricaded himself inside and told law enforcement the building was "wired" with explosives.
PIERRE | More than 160 people filled the Capitol rotunda Friday morning to witness the unveilings of four more bronze statues of governors from South Dakotas past.

The additions of Tom Berry, Leslie Jensen, Sigurd Anderson and Joe Foss brought the list to 19 so far for Pierres "Trail of Governors" project.

The program, now in its sixth year, places life-sized statues of governors along sidewalks on the Capitol grounds and at locations in the downtown business district.

Berrys descendants in attendance Friday numbered more than 100, according to Tony Venhuizen, chief of staff for Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

Daugaard, who is No. 32 on the list, told the record-sized gathering that his wife, Linda, came up with the idea of naming the two guest bedrooms in the governors mansion for Berry and Arthur C. Mellette.

Mellette was the last governor of Dakota Territory and the first for South Dakota upon the granting of statehood in 1889.

His statue is in front of the Hughes County courthouse, along Capitol Avenue, a few blocks west of the Capitol itself. This is a historic day, said Rick Jensen of Pierre, president for the Trail of Governors foundation.

Jensen thanked the donors who so far have contributed more than $1.4 million to the project. Without you, he said, none of this would happen.

Jensen noted South Dakotas reputation as financially conservative. Our state does not operate in the red like other states. Thats because we elect good leaders, he said.

Daugaard, a Republican, served six years as a state senator and eight years as lieutenant governor before winning the first of two terms as governor in 2010. He said the fundraising target for the foundation is $2 million.

We really have worked hard on this project, Daugaard said. Its going to take more work.
Finding the source of Crows Nest Peaks name proved even more difficult than finding the remote and nondescript peak itself.

The Geographic Names Information System, which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, is an authority and the natural place to start a search for the origin of a place name.

Before searching the online GNIS database, I wondered if the Crow in Crows Nest Peak had anything to do with the Crow Tribe of Native Americans, which is now based in Montana but has historical ties to the Black Hills.

I found apparent confirmation of that hunch in the GNIS database, which lists the following as the history of Crows Nest Peak:

Named for the Crow Indians who lived at the summit. Reportedly the Crows were being attacked by a band of Sioux Indians who were camped at the base of this mountain on three sides. The fourth side was un-climbable in ascent or descent. Realizing they were trapped, when nightfall came the Crows killed their horses, made ropes from pieces of the horse hides, and descended the fourth side of the mountain undetected.

Thats a good story, but it did not make sense to me. I had recently visited Crows Nest Peak and saw nothing resembling an un-climbable side. What I saw was a glorified hill with grassy, hike-able slopes on all sides.

The GNIS database cites a 1973 book about South Dakota geographic names as the source of the story about the summit battle. I found the book, which does recount the summit-battle story as the inspiration of the Crows Nest Peak name, but does not cite an original source for the story.

So, I contacted Tim McCleary, a professor in the Crow Studies Department at Little Big Horn College in Montana. He recalled reading a similar story in The Sixth Grandfather, a scholarly book about conversations between the Lakota holy man Nicholas Black Elk and the white poet John Neihardt during the 1930s and 40s.

A lengthier version of the story is indeed included in the book, but the story is expressly linked to Crow Butte in Nebraska, not Crows Nest Peak in South Dakota. That made more sense to me, because Crow Butte is a big outcrop of rock with some steep faces that appear un-climbable," like the story says.

I contacted McCleary again and told him what I found in the book. He suggested that Crows Nest Peak might not be named for Crow Native Americans at all, but might have been named by early U.S. soldiers in the Black Hills for Crows Nest, a mountain bordering the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York.

That seems plausible. The GNIS database includes about 80 places in the United States that are named Crows Nest or Crows Nest or some other variant, including a number of summits in the West.

That could be the true inspiration of the name. Or, maybe an early visitor to the peak simply saw a crow's nest up there. Or perhaps there is some other connection to Crow Native Americans that I was not able to find.

With no further leads to follow, I wasn't able to come to a definitive conclusion. So, unlike Crows Nest Peak itself, which can be found with some effort, the origin of the peaks name remains a mystery to me.
If there was something you could do to help prevent people from getting heart disease, cancer, asthma, or a number of other diseases would you do it?

The RiverStone Board of Health, Yellowstone Countys public health governing body, considers that question and many others to support and advance the RiverStone Health mission to Improve Life, Health, and Safety.

For the past year, the board has studied the effects of secondhand smoke from traditional tobacco products, like cigarettes, and an array of new devices, like electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or e-cigarettes, with an eye on strengthening Montanas Clean Indoor Air Act.

In strengthening the CIAA, the board has proposed Rules and Regulations for Clean Indoor Air, Rule 7 which, if adopted, would prohibit the indoor use of ENDS. The Rule would also require smokers of traditional tobacco products and ENDS to be at least 30 feet away from entryways, ventilation systems and windows of public places.

Speak up Wednesday

On Wednesday, the board will hold a public hearing to gather input regarding proposed Rule 7. The hearing will begin at 5 p.m. at RiverStone Health in the first floor conference rooms in the Lil Anderson Center, 123 S. 27th St.

In 2005, The Montana Legislature enacted the Clean Indoor Air Act to protect people who do not smoke from the negative impacts of secondhand smoke and thirdhand smoke, which is the residue left on clothing, furniture and bedding. There is no question that exposure to smoke from tobacco products is harmful to smokers and non-smokers alike. Emerging research also indicates the aerosol from vaping ENDS products is potentially harmful to non-users.

E-cigarette concerns

The proposed Rule requires a 30-foot, smoke-free zone around public buildings. This is intended to protect people inside from secondhand smoke or aerosol entering buildings through doorways, windows and ventilation systems.

The rationale for the rule acknowledges research evidence that the aerosol exhaled from ENDS is not harmless water vapor. Instead, it contains potentially harmful chemicals, such as nicotine, and a variety of toxic, even carcinogenic chemicals, as well as microscopic fragments of metals.

Initiatives that effectively separate non-smokers from tobacco smoke have been shown to reduce heart attack rates, lung disease, including lung cancer, and protect non-smokers from other debilitating illnesses. A number of studies are underway examining the long-term health effects of secondhand aerosol. Until exhaled vapor has been proven not to be harmful, the World Health Organization recommends including vaping products in clean indoor air policies.

Tobacco's toll

All of us bear the cost of those who choose to use some form of tobacco. Each year, 1,600 Montanans die because of smoking. And the annual health care costs in Montana directly attributable to smoking amounts to $440 million. Data suggest that 19,000 Montanans under the age of 18 will die prematurely from smoking. The lives lost and monetary costs are too high. By adopting the proposed rule, we have an opportunity to lessen those impacts.

The RiverStone Board of Health is vitally interested in public comment regarding the Rule and encourages all interested parties to attend the hearing on Thursday.

Additional information about the hearing and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the RiverStone Health website: https://riverstonehealth.org/
The heralded Media Arts in Public Schools program has earned another national award, and will hold a month-long summer program in Hamilton beginning July 10.

The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities recognized the MAPS Media Institute - for the third time - as one of the Top 50 After School programs in the country. As in 2014 and 2016, it is the only Montana program to make the top 50 and one of the only rural programs on the list.

John Abodeely, deputy director of the presidents committee, praised the MAPS program.

We are highly impressed with the successful work that MAPS has accomplished in youth after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities learning, Abodeely said.

MAPS Executive Director Clare Ann Harff said MAPS is grateful for this national recognition and honor.

MAPS continues to prove that investing in our youth is an effective way rural communities can help all students reach their full potential, Harff said. We exemplify how arts and humanities programs enrich the lives of young people throughout the country by teaching new skills, nurturing creativity and building self-confidence.

The MAPS program provides high-quality and intensive instruction in safe and productive space on weekends, afternoons and summer vacations.

The MAPS student video, Everybody Needs Love, won the National Academy on the Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS NW) North West High School Award of Excellence.

The award is equivalent to a student Emmy award.

MAPS production assistant Lucas Laparra and student Galen Brush won awards. Laparra added that MAPS continues to change his life.

"I started at MAPS six years ago wanting to learn how to make movies, Laparra said. Now I am an Emmy award winner. How cool is that? Without the support of Peter [Rosten, founder of MAPS], Clare Ann and everyone at MAPS, I would never have these kinds of opportunities."

Dru Carr, MAPS Film instructor, said winning another NATAS Award of Excellence is significant.

It's a testament to our students creativity, hard work, technical skill and commitment, Carr said. Its also very significant for our state, because MAPS is the only program from Montana represented in the Pacific Northwest competition this year.

Carr said the priority goal for students in the MAPS program is to be creative, learn to work with others, problem-solve and have fun.

Our secondary goal, and one that the students take very seriously, is to make excellent media art, Carr said. An award like this tells us were all doing our jobs and making films with artistic and social value. Thats incredibly rewarding for students and were so excited that their work is being recognized in this way."

Watch the video "Everybody Needs Love" at https://vimeo.com/167566420.

Summer began with MAPS hitting the road as partners with Montana GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs).

The Montana GEAR UP program believes all students can succeed in their education beyond high school. It supports schools, students and their families to increase students college and career readiness through academic preparedness, post-secondary planning and financial aid knowledge.

Harff this is the fourth year MAPS has partnered with Montana GEAR UP.

Every summer, we pack up our equipment for a one week film making workshop and bring the MAPS experience to other students across Montana, she said. We are working with GEAR UP students on both the Flathead and Blackfeet Indian Reservations.

Harff said the goal is to bring MAPS to more students and communities across our state.

After 14 years, we know the many ways MAPS improves lives and positively affects communities, she said.

Alan Pule, Montana GEAR UP liaison at St. Ignatius Schools, said the partnership benefits his students.

Our rural students would otherwise not have these opportunities and experiences, Pule said. At times, our schools offer no art classes. The MAPS workshops gives those students who want to explore the media arts (digital, dramatic or design) in a setting with other students who share similar interests.

Pule said the MAPS summer film making workshop sparks creativity in students.

The creative skill and passion of the MAPS staff inspires the students to continually pursue their interests and knowledge at the next level  college, he said.

The MAPS Free Summer Program in Hamilton is for all 8th through 12th grade students and offers classes in film making, technology of 3-D animation and special effects, design, entrepreneurship, music songwriting and recording. The summer program will be held noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, July 10 - Aug. 4.

This summer, MAPS is working with Missoula musician and educator, Tahj Kjelland.

"Tahj worked with several Bitterroot schools this past year as part of his program, Express2Speak, Empowering Students through Creative Expression, Harff said. He is a professional musician and spoken word artist, as well as an experienced educator. MAPS staff and students are thrilled to team up with him."

To learn more about MAPS or to sign up for summer classes, visit the staff at the MAPS booth at the Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturdays. Learn more online at mapsmediainstitute.com or call 406-381-7230.
Guwahati: TheCriminal Investigation Department (CID) of Assam police on Friday had quizzed another top official of the state excise department in connection with the multi-crore rupees scam.

The sleuths of CID had grilled Deputy Commissioner of excise department Pranjal Bora for several hours.

The investigating team had quizzed the top excise official after his name came out during interrogation to other officials.

Recently, CID had arrested a superintendent of excise Amarendra Nath from Delhi in connection with the scam.

We are looking the matter from all round corners and overall investigation process is going on top orders. If necessary, we will quiz him (Pranjal Bora) next time,A CID IGP Rounak Ali Hazarika said.

The top Assam cops said that, the CID team will grill more officials in connection the scam.

Police had already arrested liquor mafia Rajesh Jalan and proprietor of BG bonded warehouse Bonti Gogoi Pegu in connection with the Rs 40 crore scam.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati : Assam turns as a transit route of illegal narcotics trade as the security agencies had seized over 37 lakh kilogram illegal narcotics products in the state in past six years.

A top official of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said that, huge quantity of illegal drugs have been seized from different parts of the state in past years.

'The drugs paddlers using Assam as a transit route to trade the illegal narcotics to different states of the country, which were came from Myanmar through Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh,'A the top NCB official said

The top NCB official said that, a huge consignment of illegal drugs was seized in Bihar on June 15, which was sent from the north eastern region.

On June 15, the NCB and Special Task Force (STF) had seized around 4.2 tonne ganja worth of Rs 2.1 crore in Muzaffarpur and Bengusarai district in Bihar and both consignment had sent from Guwahati and Tripura.

The huge quantity ganja packed in huge boxes had seized from two ten-wheeler trucks bearing Punjab registration in the northern India state.

A driver of a truck revealed that, one consignment was loaded in Guwahati and another was loaded in Agartala.

The top NCB official said that, illegal traders and drug paddlers using Assam as a safe transit route since long time.

'We have intercepted several consignments in Assam and other states in the past time, but failed to track few more consignment,' the NCB official said.

According the centre, security agencies had seized 8613.98 kg ganja in 2014 in Assam, while 1085.33 kg seized in 2015 and 5249.52 kg in last year.*

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati: The city based Emerge Diagnostic under the leadership of Dr Dhrubajyoti Gogoi will conduct the next Saturday OPD clinic at Guwahati Press Club (GPC). The camp, organized under the series of 'Evening with a Doctor' programs for the benefit of GPC members along with their dependants, will begin at 3 pm (of 17 June) and continue till 6 pm. The participants will get the facility to check their hemoglobin, cholesterol, bilirubin, creatinine, random sugar test and blood pressure along with free healthcare consultations in the weekly camp.

The last GPC clinic on 10 June was supervised by Wintrobe Hospital, where Dr Nitin Gupta and Dr Debajit Baishya offered consultations to over 30 participants. They were assisted by nurses Jyotshna Dey & Sumi Bora along with health-workers Minu Baishya, Simi Saikia and Kakhini Sima in conducting the camp. On the other hand, the 24 June media clinic will be conducted by Sight First Eye-Clinic, where as 1

July camp is assigned for Nemcare Hospital and 8 July for Fortis Hospitals Bangalore.

Till date, practicing doctors from Apollo Chennai Hospital, Medanta-the Medicity Hospital, Manipal Bangalore Hospital, Down Town Hospitals, GNRC Hospitals, Dispur Hospitals, Narayana Super-Specialty Hospitals, Swagat Super-Surgical Institute, Shankardev Nethralaya Guwahati, Barthakur Clinic, Rahman Hospitals, Sun Valley Hospital, Government Ayurvedic College, MMC Panbazar, Institute of Dental Science & Research Center etc have attended the camps.
Guwahati: Security forces had apprehended a militant belonging to Gorkha Liberation Army (GLA) in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday evening, officials said on Friday.

Kohima based Defence PRO Colonel Chiranjeet Konwar said that, based on intelligence input, the troops of Jairampur Battalion of Assam Rifles under the aegis of DAO Division had launched operation at 5 mile area near Tirap gate in Arunachal's Tirap district and nabbed the militant.

The nabbed militant was identified as Self Style Lieutenant Rajesh Lama alias Ganesh Rai of GLA (Gorkha Liberation Army) and recovered a 9mm pistol in possession from him.

'Post spot interrogation he admitted allegiance to GLA further divulging that he had undergone training in a NSCN Camps and had come here for collection of money & extortion and to increase influence of GLA in the region,'A the Defence PRO said.

Security forces have been carrying out aggressive operations in the South Arunachal Pradesh and this apprehension of a senior cadre of GLA when the outfit has just started to grow its influence has struck a big blow to nefarious plans of underground outfit.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLES MOVEMENTS

National Office : 6/6 (Basement) Jangpura B, New Delhi a 110 014 .

Phone : 011 2437 4535 | 9818905316

E-mail: napmindia[at]gmail.com | Web :www.napm-india.org

aDate: 17th June, 2017

To,

Shri Pinarayi Vijayan,

The Chief Minister, Kerala,

Govt. Secretariat,

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Sub: Urgent intervention sought in the matter of police action against peaceful protestors of Puthuvypeen, Kochi.

Dear Shri Pinarayi Vijayan,

We are writing to you in the context of the serious repression by your Government on the people of Puthuvypeen, near Kochi who have been peacefully protesting against the LPG Import Terminal Project of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for the past 108 days. Just as we were pleased to note certain positive decisions by your Govt. on other fronts, we are constrained to note that like in any other state, peopleas voices and struggles continue to be muzzled in Kerala, particularly when the justifiability of adevelopment projectsa, pushed against popular consent is questioned in democratic ways.

It has come to our notice that the Kerala Police, by way of lathi charge of women and men, mass arrests and even unlawful detention of children, has brutally come down on the residents of Puthuvypeen. We would like to stress here that most of the people of Puthuvypeen are poor, landless people and many of them belong to the fishing community. Their concerns of livelihood loss, environmental and health impacts must be addressed by the State, not crushed in this manner.

We were extremely disturbed to see pictures of women and children detained at police stations, protestors with broken / fractured limbs and police ruthlessly demolishing the Satyagraha pandal, all in an attempt to enable IOC to start the project work. We received information from reliable sources that until yesterday late night, more than 325 people are under the custody of the police in different stations, of which over a 100 are children! While 45 children, along with women are in one station, about 15 children are in yet another station. Some women and children are in the nearby hospitals. This action of the police is in complete violation of basic human rights, criminal procedure and juvenile justice laws.

While we do not wish to bother you with legal technicalities of the IOC Project at this stage, we have gathered that certain matters in this regard are still pending before the Southern Zonal Bench of the Honable National Green Tribunal and the matter has been listed on 4th July, 2017 for further hearing by the NGT. The Order dt. 24/4/2017 of the NGT also indicates that the Union Environment Ministry has sought time to file reply. We are at pains to understand as to how the plant works could have been initiated, much less using physical force when the matter is sub judice before the NGT. Your government owes an explanation to the NGT and people-at-large in this regard.

National Alliance of Peopleas Movements expresses its solidarity with the people of Puthuvypeen and calls upon your government to immediately and unconditionally withdraw charges, if any, and release all those who have been arrested or detained, along with ensuring medical, legal aid and compensation for police excesses.

We hope you will immediately intervene in this incident and also issue orders for appropriate legal action against the administrative and police officials for unlawful detention and physical force used on the peaceful protestors. We urge you to ensure that the project works are put on hold until there is a clear informed consent of the local people, final approval of the NGT and compliance with all environmental laws. Kindly take a positive step for facilitating a dialogue between the concerned departments and representatives of the people, to ensure an amicable solution.

We look forward to a response to this letter and immediate action as requested.

Thanking you and with regards, a

Signed by the National Team of Advisors, Convenors and Special Invitees of NAPM

Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and National Alliance of Peopleas Movements (NAPM)

Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and Shankar Singh Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and National Campaign for Peopleas Right to Information and NAPM

Prafulla Samantara, - Lok Shakti Abhiyan & NAPM, Odisha;

Lingraj Azad a Samajwadi Jan Parishad - Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, NAPM, Odisha;

Binayak Sen and Kavita Srivastava, Peopleas Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

Sandeep Pandey, Socialist Party and NAPM, Uttar Pradesh

Sudhir Vombatkere, Senior Activist, NAPM, Karnataka

Gabriele Dietrich, Penn Urimay Iyakkam, Madurai and NAPM, TN;

Geetha Ramakrishnan, Unorganised Sector Workers Federation, NAPM, TN;

Arul Doss, NAPM Tamil Nadu

Arundhati Dhuru, Nandlal Master, Manesh Gupta - NAPM, UP;

Richa Singh, Sangatin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan, NAPM-UP

Vilayodi Venugopal, CR Neelakandan and Prof. Kusumam, NAPM, Kerala

Vimal Bhai - Matu Jan Sangathan, NAPM-Uttarakhand & Jabar Singh, NAPM, Uttarakhand;

Sister Celia - Domestic Workers Union & NAPM, Karnataka;

Rukmini V P, Garment Labour Union, NAPM, Karnataka;

Anand Mazgaonkar, Krishnakant - Paryavaran Suraksh Samiti, NAPM Gujarat;

Kamayani Swami, Ashish Ranjan a Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan & NAPM Bihar;

Mahendra Yadav a Kosi Navnirman Manch, NAPM Bihar;

Sister Dorothy, NAPM Bihar

Dayamani Barla, Aadivasi-Moolnivasi Astivtva Raksha Samiti, NAPM Jharkhand

Dr. Sunilam and Adv. Aradhna Bhargava - Kisan Sangharsh Samiti NAPM Madhya Pradesh

Bhupender Singh Rawat a Jan Sangharsh Vahini, NAPM, Delhi

Rajendra Ravi, Nanu Prasad, Madhuresh Kumar, Amit Kumar, Himshi Singh, Uma Kapari, Zaved Mazumder, NAPM, Delhi

Faisal Khan, Khudai Khidmatgar, NAPM Haryana

J S Walia, NAPM Haryana;

Kailash Meena, NAPM Rajasthan;

Amitava Mitra & Avik Saha, NAPM West Bengal;

P. Chennaiah, Andhra Prdaesh Vyavasaya Vruttidarulua Union (APVVU) and NAPM-AP

Ramakrishnam Raju, United Forum for RTI and NAPM, AP

Suniti SR, Suhas Kolhekar, Prasad Bagwe - NAPM, Maharashtra;

Gautam Bandopadhyay, NAPM, Chhattisgarh

Anjali Bharadwaj, National Campaign for Peopleas Right to Information and NAPM

Kaladas Dahariya, RELAA, NAPM, Chhattisgarh

Bilal Khan, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, Mumbai,
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Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte body-slammed a member of The Guardian news media recently. Of course he did. Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault. Of course he was. Gianfortes campaign spokespeople stated that the victim was a liberal hack who had aggressively approached Gianforte. Of course they did. Gianforte, in a recent interview with MTN News, repeatedly refused to answer questions about the marked discrepancy between what his campaign spokespeople asserted about the assault and what eyewitnesses (from Fox News) reported. Of course he did. Gianforte now wants to reschedule his court date. Of course he does. Gianforte has filed papers for re-election in 2018. Of course he has.
" " The uncanny valley effect attempts to chart that creepy feeling you might get when looking at this android. JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images

It's the year 2053, and you're visiting the doctor's office. Moments after you enter the examination room, a young woman in a white coat steps confidently through the door, smiling and greeting you by name. You're impressed by her efficiency and friendly demeanor. She describes several possible causes of your lingering shoulder pain, but when she places her hands on you to manipulate the joint, her skin is oddly cold. That's when you notice that her eyes have a glassy sheen and her gaze never quite meets yours. When she turns to ready a machine, you hear the faint whir of electric motors and you come to the eerie realization that you're being examined by an android. She seems so human, but her few details that are inhuman disturb you. Welcome to life in the uncanny valley.

The uncanny valley is a hypothesis proposed in 1970 by Masahiro Mori, a major figure in the field of robotics in Japan. Mori proposed that we feel greater affinity for artificial humans as they become more realistic, but when they are almost perfectly human, slight differences creep us out, and our affinity for them drops. Should they appear indistinguishable from true humans, we would again feel affinity for them. On a graph of affinity versus realism, the drop of affinity resembles a valley. Mori called this pattern bukimi no tani, translated loosely as "the uncanny valley."

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In the decades since the uncanny valley was suggested, it has transformed from a philosophical theory to an effect with real consequences. Computer-generated human characters appear in movies, and engineers are constantly developing hyper-realistic androids, the official term among roboticists for humanlike robots. The day that a humanoid robot helps you at the doctor's office or even lives in your house draws closer every year, and how we interact with and react to simulated humans is quickly becoming more important. Let's take a closer look at Mori's ideas and the factors that cause the effect, and find out how creators can develop artificial beings that fall outside of the uncanny valley (if it even exists at all).
The Burner faithful probably heard a few reports over the last month about how the playa had turned into a lake following all that winter rain, in some cases with water as deep as a foot. But the Chronicle has just spoken with Kyle Hendrix, the Burning Man public information officer for the Bureau of Land Management office in Winnemucca, Nevada, and he says there's just scattered large puddles now, less than an inch deep, and it's all evaporating nicely.

The video above was taken on Memorial Day weekend, and you can see that at that point people were wading in muddy water up to knee deep in spots, leading to talk that this year's Burning Man might need to be relocated.

But Jim Graham, a spokesperson for the Burning Man organization, tells the Chronicle, "We've been monitoring the situation closely and are reassured by the forecast, which calls for lots of hot, windy weather in the coming days. We're confident the site will be suitable for event preparation and operations to start on time, at our usual location on the Black Rock Desert."

Hendrix further noted that the playa flooded back in 2008, and after that wet winter the water crested even later than it did this year, and Burning Man still went on in the same location.

On the plus side, he's saying this could end up being a low dust year because of all this moisture.


This week in the food scene we learned that Fenix is closed in SoMa, the Range space on Valencia is becoming a 60s-themed cocktail lounge called The Beehive from the same chef-owner as Range, and we heard about a new $400/head restaurant on the Peninsula for the tech wealthy. Also, SFist brought you our list of the 15 best Chinese restaurants in town. Now here's what else has been happening.

This biggest news this week may be the closing of Locol's original Bay Area location in Oakland's Uptown (a.k.a. the former Plum space). The healthy fast food chain started last year by chefs Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi made plenty of headlines earlier this year following a dustup with New York Times critic Pete Wells, and now as Inside Scoop reports, the Uptown shop is technically just relocating to the West Oakland space that the chain opened as Locol Bakery in March. This keeps Locol's Bay Area locations at two, with a third still planned in SF's Tenderloin, and perhaps refocuses on the "food deserts" the chefs initially intended to focus on.

Petit Marlowe, the wine bar and oysterette from the Big Night crew (Marlowe, Park Tavern, Cavalier, Leo's Oyster Bar) is ready to debut this Friday (June 23) in the space formerly home to Les Clos at 234 Townsend Street. It's aiming to be an all-day spot for Champagne-heavy lunches, dinners, and snacks, and the menu from chef Jennifer Puccio focuses on raw bar items, cured fish, charctuerie, beef tartare, sandwiches (including foie gras and jam!), cheese, and salads. Eater has an opening menu here, and the place will start taking reservations late next week.

The space at 2301 Fillmore Street that was occupied until recently by Mehfil Indian Cuisine and Bar is becoming a cocktail bar/restaurant called The Snug. As Inside Scoop explains, the project comes from "a handful of industry folks" including chef Brian Shin, who's done some high-end kitchen stints at places like Benu and Alinea in Chicago. They're promising 20 beers on tap, craft cocktails and "creative but approachable" bar food. They're aiming for a fall opening.

Saucy Asian, the Korean-inspired street food spot at 17th and Sanchez is now open. We first heard about it back in January, and first-time restaurateur Andrew Shinn is aiming for fast and fun lunch and dinner options that come in bowl, burrito, or taco forms  with a couple of poke options too, because of course. Check out the menu and complete hours via Eater.

Replacing former chef-partner Telmo Faria at the Tacolicious empire is newly hired culinary director Quinten Frye. Eater reports that he arrives at the mini-chain following stints in Honolulu and DC, and he's a native of Austin. He's expected to be putting his own spin on the restaurants' menu starting in July.

Over in the Inner Sunset, the SoCal-based Lemonade chain has opened their biggest SF location to date in the huge former La Boulange location at 1266 9th Avenue, near Irving. They were giving out free lunches to new customers earlier this week, as Hoodline reported, and the healthy buffet concept is sure to be a hit with those en route to the museums in Golden Gate Park.

Barge-based tourist trap Forbes Island has once again closed for the third time in about as many years under semi-mysterious circumstances involving "maintenance." As Eater explains, details are slim, per usual, but when you're operating a restaurant on what's essentially a boat parked next to Pier 39, you're bound to have a few issues.

Over in Oakland we have the news of a late June opening for a 100-seat izakaya and ramen joint called Shinmai, at 1825 San Pablo Avenue. Eater reports that the owner is from Kakui in Montclair, and the chef, Jerry Doss (Chez TJ, Aziza) is promising "the first restaurant in the area to the incorporate authentically made ramen into an izakaya-style dining experience."

In Berkeley, the space that was briefly home to Comal offshoot The Advocate is becoming a new Italian spot from the owners of Oakland's DESCO, as Eater reports.

And Comal is expanding a bit into the next-door space occupied by Phil's Sliders on Shattuck Avenue. As Inside Scoop notes, though, Comal itself isn't expanding per se  the restaurant needs more kitchen and walk-in space, and they may do a fast-casual operation in the front of the Phil's space at some point.



This Week In Reviews

Michael Bauer revisited the iconic Greens at Fort Mason, noting the pioneering vegetarian restaurant founded by Deborah Madison and run for the last three decades by Annie Somerville still "doesn't feel dated" in terms of its food. He notes that every dish seemed more on point than on his disappointing visit last year, but this time the service was lacking. All told: two and a half stars.

And for his Sunday review, Bauer files his thoughts on Uma Casa, the new-ish Portuguese restaurant from former Tacolicious guy Telmo Faria that took over the former Incanto space in Noe Valley. He notes first that on his initial visit in March, he encountered some "unevenly browned and gooey" shrimp turnovers and otherwise "generic" food. But since then it's improved and he says there's "lots to recommend" including the caldo verde soup, the salt cod fritters, and a "boldly flavored" grilled chicken. The verdict: another two and a half stars.

Pete Kane says you should "Add Glenas to the list of reasons to get on the T [train]," in his review of the new tacos and margaritas spot in Dogpatch from former Kin Khao/Central Kitchen chef Michael Gaines. He raves about the fried chicken torta as the "best sandwich in San Francisco right now" (and I can concur), and gives equal raves to the tacos too, especially the al pastor and carne asada  though the tofu one deserves special props too.




Suspecting the vehicle driven by 31 year old Dang Ba Loc hailing from the central province of Nghe Ans Nghi Loc District, border guards and Customs officials and criminal investigators stopped the vehicle for checking.



Police forces discovered a bag containing 20 plastic bags with 3,950 synthetic drug tablets inside. Searching his body, police officials collected additional 35 drug tablets. Initially, Loc confessed at police station that he arrived in Laos two days ago to buy drugs to give back Vietnam to sell for profit.

Further investigation will be carried out.

By staff writers - translated by UYEN PHUONG
SIOUX CITY | Jeanette Bobeen, a Sioux City Public Library youth service librarian for nearly 30 years, didn't have time to indulge in many hobbies.

But after retiring nearly three years ago, the Sioux City woman is back in the saddle, again.

Or perhaps we should say, Bobeen is back in the saddle for the very first time.

"Maybe it was because I loved to read books like 'Black Beauty' when I was a little girl," she said. "There was always a part of me who wanted to learn how to ride a horse."

Bobeen wasn't alone. She was one of the five students participating in Silver Saddles, a four-week class offered by Western Iowa Tech Community College's Institute for lifelong Learning and taught by instructors from the Special Troopers Adaptive Riding School (S.T.A.R.S.), an organization which offers therapeutic horseback riding lessons.

Instructor Julie Dorn said the Silver Saddles program -- which concludes June 28 -- provides students (ages 50 and over) with a new understanding of horses.

"The students get the chance to interact with horses by feeding, grooming and riding them," she said, prior to a class being held at S.T.A.R.S.'s rural Sioux City ranch.

Even though Don Thompson rode horses when he was a kid, the Sergeant Bluff resident soon discovered he wasn't doing it correctly.

"Julie taught me how to approach a horse the right way and how to hold onto the reins to show confidence," Thompson said. "It's more enjoyable riding a horse when you actually know what you're doing."

Valerie Conaway Cote always had a complicated history with horses. The Sioux City woman admired the majestic animals for their beauty. Still, a horse spooked her when she was a little girl.

"Once and for all, I wanted to overcome my fear," she said. "It was now or never."

Myrtie Allen was never afraid of horses. Indeed, the Lawton, Iowa, woman said she has been riding them much of her life.

"Slowly, I stopped riding because I didn't have the time," she said. "Now, I feel like I've been missing out on something that I loved and wanted to do again."

Dorn said riding a horse is an activity that can help a person improve balance, flexibility and endurance.

"A horse can make for a terrific, non-impact exercise machine," she said. "When you're in the saddle, you're working every bone in your body."

JoAnn Easton, of Remsen, Iowa, said she feels that immediate impact every time she gets on a horse.

"I find it to be a thrilling sensation sitting on top of a horse," she said.

"When you say thrilling do you mean anxious or do you mean exciting?" Dorn asked.

"The first one," Easton said with an uneasy grin. "Definitely, the first one."

This is why Dorn is constantly instructing her students to take a deep breath prior to a ride.

"If you're relaxed, your horse will also be relaxed," she said.

At first, Conaway Cote got on a horse with trepidation. The fear disappeared within minutes.

"I thought I'd be scared or uncomfortable but I'm not," she said. "After all this time, I'm realizing there's no need to be afraid of horse."
SIOUX CITY | Discussion on whether Sioux City should merge its assessor's office with Woodbury County has, yet again, resulted in a recommendation by city staff to keep the two offices distinct.

The City Council will vote Monday whether it wants follow the recommendation, marking the second time in the past three years it has considered consolidation of the two offices.

The city will feel its decision's impact immediately, as it faces the impending resignation of current assessor Al Jordan, who retires in two weeks.

Councilman Dan Moore, who said he requested that the item be put on Monday's agenda, said the city must be clear of its intentions moving forward.

"If we're going to advertise the city assessor position, we need to let any applicants know that the City Council is serious about keeping the office," Moore said.

Discussion surrounding the position's future came after the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors sent the council a formal request in early May to consolidate the two offices. The board had approved the request on a 4-1 vote, saying the combination would save taxpayer dollars.

In response, the council last month directed staff to explore how other large Iowa cities handle their assessor position. All Iowa counties employ an assessor, but Sioux City is among eight cities in Iowa -- including four of the five largest -- that currently have their own assessor separate from the county.

Moore said he has not yet seen evidence that eliminating the position would save the city money.

"Right now, I haven't seen any numbers that would support a real cost savings," he said. "Moreover, I haven't seen any evidence that the quality of service would be maintained with a merger. I think there's a lot more to the job as city assessor than what meets the eye."

City Manager Bob Padmore expressed a similar sentiment, saying the combined assessor's office would likely need to hire at least one commercial assessor or contract out some of its work if the city assessor's position were eliminated.

"At the end of the day, you're going to need to hire staff to get the work done," he said.

Al Jordan's current annual salary is $98,966. By comparison, city assessors in Davenport and Iowa City both make around $105,000. Assessments in Des Moines, Iowa's largest city, are handled by the Polk County Assessor's Office.

Sioux City's assessor position is governed by a board composed of representatives of the city, county and school governments, but the council has the sole power to create or eliminate the position itself.

Mayor Bob Scott said he agrees the council needs to clarify its intent moving forward. He said he plans to see what people has to say Monday and, if the position continues, what sort of candidates the city receives.

"I probably will at least consider maintaining the office at least, until we see what kind of candidates we get," he said. "Right now we're shooting in the dark if we're even going to get a candidate."

The Taxpayer's Research Council, a local watchdog group, supports the continued separation of the city and county assessor's offices, according to an emailed statement from executive director Taylor Goodvin.

Goodvin said the TRC believes a qualified city assessor candidate with experience assessing both residential and commercial property is necessary to avoid potentially costly equalization orders, which it said occur when assessments are performed incorrectly.

"We now hope the council members will move forward with an appropriate hiring process," he said.

Jordan's retirement comes at the end of a busy year for the assessor's office. New biennial assessments mailed to property owners in March showed an 11 percent spike in the average valuation of residential property, the highest in a decade.

That increase spurred nearly 1,000 appeals to the Sioux City Board of Review. Those hearings concluded in May. Appellants should receive letters with the results of their appeals by the end of the month.
SIOUX CITY | Juneteenth, a holiday marking the end of slavery in the southern United States, was celebrated Saturday in Sioux City.

The celebration, known also as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, originated with the June 19, 1865 announcement by the Union Army in Galveston, Texas, that all enslaved people in the South were free from slavery.

Saturday's celebration, originally slated to take place in Cook Park from 12 to 4 p.m., had to be moved inside the nearby Girls Inc. building because of rain. The event featured food as well as music.
Since July 26, 1908, we have had the elite Federal Bureau of Investigation, an outstanding law enforcement agency of dedicated agents, staff and labs. Through the years, they have endured rogue agents, extraordinary captures, agents killed in the line of duty and kept this country safe for decades. While the Hillary Clinton investigation was ongoing, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked Comey, the director of the FBI, to refer to it as a matter, thus changing the FBI to the Federal Bureau of matters, unofficially, of course. The question that wasn't asked of Comey was, Mr. Comey, was that before or after Ms. Lynch spoke with former POTUS Clinton in Phoenix? Does Sen. Gillibrand, D-NY, think her popularity in Hollywood will increase if she uses more profanity in her speeches about POTUS Trump now?
Iowa officials are trying to fix the states crumbling health insurance marketplace.

The country, it seems, is watching with interest.

Iowa insurance commissioner Doug Ommen this week unveiled his proposal to address the likelihood that the state will have no insurance companies selling individual plans on the marketplace next year, which would leave nearly 72,000 Iowans without access to health insurance.

Ommens proposal, which requires federal approval, would provide those individuals with age- and income-based tax credits, and would create a reinsurance mechanism for people with extensive medical costs, the Gazettes Chelsea Keenan reported this past week.

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the states largest health insurance provider, worked with Ommen on the proposal. Company officials said Wellmark will enter the individual marketplace and offer plans if the proposal is approved by the federal government.

Iowa already was under the national health insurance policy microscope as insurance companies --- including Wellmark --- pulled out of the individual marketplace created under former President Barack Obamas health care reform, the Affordable Care Act. The companies cited high costs and uncertainty surrounding the law, which has heightened after the 2016 elections put Republicans in control of the White House and Congress.

Those moves have made Iowa the first state in the nation without a single insurance company selling individual plans on the marketplace next year.

Now the health insurance policy community is watching Iowa again as state officials attempt to address the issue.

Much of the interest appears to regard whether the federal government will approve Iowas proposal, which is not in perfect alignment with the Affordable Care Act. But Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump wish to repeal the reforms passed by the previous, Democratic administration.

An administration decision to allow Iowas plan would test how far any state could move from ACA rules without a change in federal law, said a Washington Post story on Iowas proposal.

Larry Levitt, with the non-partisan health care think tank Kaiser Family Foundation, was interviewed by multiple national media outlets and said the administrations decision on Iowas proposal could have some far-reaching impacts.

If the health debate in Congress stalls, then states may be lining up for waivers like this, Levitt told the Post.

This is a notable effort by state officials to address what could be a crisis in their insurance market, fueled in part by uncertainty coming out of Washington, Levitt wrote in an email to The Hill. There would winners and losers here, but it seems like the plan could keep insurers in the market.

Tim Jost, a retired professor of health care law at Washington and Lee University and a supporter of the Affordable Care Acts policies, told the Post and The Hill he does not believe the Iowa proposal is legal.

Absolutely not, Jost told the Post. He added, to The Hill, Basically theyre asking the administration to use (a waiver) as the carte blanche to allow states to completely re-write the ACA and do whatever they want to do with federal money, and thats not what (the waiver) is or does.

Iowa has asked the federal government for a decision within two weeks.

Nearly 72,000 thousand Iowans and countless others across the country, it seems, will be watching.

Iowa's link to political violence

In the wake of the shooting of U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, some media outlets reported on previous members of Congress who were shot while serving.

One such shooting victim is former Rep. Ben Jensen, of Iowa.

Jensen, who was born in Marion, was one of five representatives shot on March 1, 1954, on the U.S. House floor when Puerto Rican nationalists sprayed gunfire from the gallery, according to Jensens obituary in the New York Times. Jensen survived the shooting; in 1970 he died of cancer at the age of 77, according to the Times.
DES MOINES | The federal governments top attorney wants the freedom to prosecute states  such as Iowa  with medical marijuana programs, according to a letter made public last week.

But Iowa officials insist the states newly expanded program, which now includes the opportunity for two businesses to grow and sell medical cannabis, will remain safe from federal scrutiny.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on May 1 wrote a letter to congressional leaders opposing a mechanism in the federal budget that prohibits the Department of Justice from using its resources to prosecute states that establish medical marijuana laws.

The provision was written into the budget when President Barack Obamas Justice Department began cracking down on medical marijuana vendors; originally Obama said the department would not prosecute vendors and patients who adhere to state law.

Marijuana is not recognized by the federal government as a medicinal plant, so medical marijuana programs run afoul of federal drug control laws.

A total of 29 states have medical marijuana laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Iowas program was introduced in 2014 and had a very narrow focus; it allowed only for the possession and use of physician-prescribed cannabidiol for treatment of epileptic seizures.

This year, state lawmakers and former Gov. Terry Branstad approved an expansion of the program, adding more covered ailments, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDs and Parkinsons disease, and legalizing the growth and sale of medical cannabis in Iowa.

The letter

Sessions letter was addressed to Republican leaders Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. It was dated May 1 and published last week by the website MassRoots.com and later verified by The Washington Post.

I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime, Sessions wrote in the letter. The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives.

The historic drug epidemic to which Session referred involves addictive opioid drugs such as heroin and some painkilling medicines, not the medicinal cannabis used in state medical marijuana programs. More than 33,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2015, and 12.5 million misused prescription opioids, according to federal statistics.

And violent crime in the U.S. increased slightly from 2014 to 2015, but it remains at a rate lower than it has been since the early 1970s and roughly half of what it was in the early 1990s, according to the most recent federal statistics.

Sessions in the letter says drug traffickers cultivate and distribute marijuana inside the United States under the guise of state medical marijuana laws and asserts smoking marijuana has significant negative health effects.

Iowas program prohibits smoking marijuana and limits the potency level of the medical cannabis to just 3 percent, which experts say is not enough to provide the high effect of marijuana.

The U.S. Attorney Generals Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Iowa confident in program

State officials insisted Iowas program will not come under federal prosecution and implementation of the recent expansion will continue. On Tuesday, the state Department of Public Health announced it is accepting applications for the new program.

The department is committed to following and implementing state law, public health Director Gerd Clabaugh said in response to a question about Sessions letter.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer said she thinks the Iowa programs regulations will keep it safe from federal intrusion.

Iowas medical cannabis program will be tightly regulated once its up and running, and shouldnt be an issue, Upmeyer said in an emailed statement. We have safeguards in place to prevent any unlawful activity. The only people that should be concerned about Attorney General Sessions request are states with poorly monitored programs and the bad actors taking advantage of them.

Advocates for medical marijuana programs and supporters of Iowas expressed frustration with Sessions letter.

Maria La France of Des Moines, whose son suffers from epileptic seizures, said prosecuting medical marijuana programs could hurt the lives of hundreds of thousands of citizens and thwart medical breakthroughs.

State Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, who for years has pushed for the state medical cannabis program and its expansion, said Sessions letter displays a massive overreach by the (President Donald) Trump administration and said it would be a waste of taxpayer money to prosecute states that have developed medical marijuana programs to help ailing residents.

The states that have approved medical cannabis laws, the direction from the federal government to this point was, If you follow the law that you passed as a state, were not going to come in and shut you down. This memo would be counter to that, Bolkcom said.

Bolkcom said cracking down on medical marijuana programs could undermine Sessions stated desire to combat the opioid epidemic. In states with medical marijuana programs, opioid-related hospitalizations for addiction and abuse dropped an average of 23 percent and for overdoses 13 percent, according to a study published in March in the online medical journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

State Rep. John Forbes, D-Urbandale, who also is a pharmacist, said the federal government should leave it to states to decide whether they want to operate medical marijuana programs.

Im disappointed the federal government would step in and try to tell states how to provide medical services to their constituents, Forbes said.

Advocates fear Iowas expanded medical cannabis still has enough limitations that too few people will be helped and thus businesses will not be interested in setting up dispensaries here. The U.S. attorney general stating a desire to prosecute state programs also may dissuade potential businesses.

It could definitely have an impact on a person or a business that wants to set up, because theyre going to invest a few million dollars to get up and running and the attorney general could come in and shut them down in 24 hours if they wanted, Forbes said.
SIOUX CITY | Police radios have been crackling in the background of Jeff Wessendorf's life for more than 40 years.

Growing up, he fondly remembers his parents running the Bearcat police scanner they bought from Greenville Pharmacy in Leeds. As he grew up, the 52-year-old kept at least one scanner in his home or vehicle, for use as a personal hobby and to monitor conditions during the winter for his snow removal business.

"It's interesting," he said, describing what has kept him listening for so long. "And it's good for road reports and stuff like that."

Beginning a week ago, however, things changed for Wessendorf, as well as for the other loyal scanner hobbyists in the Sioux City metro. Radios ceased receiving traffic from most local law enforcement as the agencies began encrypting their main channels, which had previously been public.

While Wessendorf can still receive a few remaining fire department and medical channels, listening isn't quite the same, he said.

"It's the end of an era," he said. "It was a hobby for a lot of people."

The encryption follows a major, multi-million-dollar upgrade at the Siouxland Tri-State Area Radio Communications System, or STARCOMM, which includes agencies in Woodbury County; Union County, South Dakota, and Dakota County, Nebraska.

On June 9, STARCOMM fully switched to upgraded radio equipment and joined Iowa's statewide radio system, which allows agencies to communicate with their local contacts from anywhere in the state.

At the same time, channels from all law enforcement agencies in the participating counties -- with the exception of the Union County, South Dakota, Sheriff's Department -- underwent encryption, meaning only those with specially enabled radios can hear the traffic.

"Times have changed"

Sioux City Police Chief Doug Young said his department's decision to move to encryption was to prevent criminals from eavesdropping on their location and then using that knowledge to elude or ambush officers.

"Times have changed. ... There are people out there that monitor police frequencies and commit crimes," he said. "You're going to see probably more departments moving toward this, if they haven't already done it."

Before the switchover, the department had used two encrypted channels -- one for tactical purposes and one for information -- and one unencrypted one for its main operations. Young said discussions among department officials to encrypt the third channel began after a pair of burglaries that occurred about a year ago, in which the suspects had vanished by the time police arrived on scene.

After authorities apprehended and interviewed the suspects, they discovered they had been monitoring scanner traffic through a cellphone app.

South Sioux City police chief Ed Mahon said his department switched over for similar reasons, as well as to be sure that sensitive information like peoples' names, birth dates and social security numbers weren't being broadcast on the department's main channel, as had been previous practice.

"Some traffic, when it gets out, is inappropriate for everyone to hear," Mahon said.

Mahon added that South Sioux City Police have the option to de-encrypt their main operations channel in the future if they find a way to remove sensitive information.

"I don't think any hard-and-fast thing has been decided," he said.

Wessendorf said he understands law enforcement's reasoning, but he's still a bit disappointed about the move.

"It's a hobby for a lot of older people," he said. "It's kind of a disappointment for the honest people who use it like they're supposed to."

Statewide radio

As another aspect of the change, STARCOMM has now joined Iowa's statewide radio system, along with radio systems in West Des Moines and Dallas County.

The move has saved both STARCOMM and the state money by providing state-funded upgrades to STARCOMM's existing towers and updating aging equipment, according to city and county 911 director Glenn Sedivy.

Sedivy said STARCOMM's radio equipment was going to be obsolete by 2018, as Motorola would no longer support that version of the equipment.

"We were 10 versions behind," Sedivy said. "This brings us up to the latest that Motorola has on the shelf."

Some local police departments, such as Sioux City and South Sioux City, have purchased new scanner radios, as well, replacing ones that were also nearing obsoletion.

So far, the Sioux City Police Department and Woodbury County Sheriff's Office have made arrangements to share encrypted main channels with local media to allow them to continue to monitor traffic. Mahon said South Sioux City is willing to work toward a similar arrangement.
SOCIEDAD ASIATICA

THE ASIAN SOCIETY

COMISION DIRECTIVA



THE DIRECTIVE BOARD



PRESIDENTE:

Liliana Garcia Daris



Universidad del Salvador.

Argentina

VICEPRESIDENTE:

Won-ho Kim

Universidad de Hankuk de Estudios Extranjeros.

Corea

SECRETARIO:

Luis Diaz Brougton



Universidad de Santiago, Chile



PROSECRETARIO:



Martha Barriga Tello

Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Peru



VOCALES:



Mauricio Martinez



Universidad de los Andes, Colombia



Juan Uriburu Quintana



Universidad de Chenchi, Taiwan

CONSEJEROS ACADEMICOS

ACADEMIC ADVISERS



ASH NARAIN, Roy,

Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi.

India



GARCIA BAZAN, Francisco,



CONICET, Universidad Argentina John F. Kennedy



MATSUSHITA, Hiroshi,



Universidad de Kobe, Japon



MIEMBROS FUNDADORES



FOUNDING MEMBERS



ALBERT, Liliana



Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, Argentina



ANTON PACHECO, Jose Antonio



Universidad de Sevilla, Espana



ANTONIJEVIC, Ingrid



Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Chile



BARRIGA TELLO, Martha



Universidad Nacional de San Marcos, Peru



BERGMAN, Sergio

Melton Institute de Jerusalem, Israel



BERTOLINI, Luis



Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, Argentina



CABEZON, Jose



Universidad de Santa Barbara, Estados Unidos



CAGNI, Horacio



Universidad Catolica de La Plata, Argentina



CARRANZA, Francisco



Universidad de Dankook, Corea



CASTLETON, Barbara



Ohio State University of Athens



CASTRO, Jorge

Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, Argentina



CHAOUL-REICH, Alejandro



Universidad de Texas, Estados Unidos



CHELMICKI, Hanna I.



Universidad del Salvador, Argentina



DIAZ BROUGHTON, Luis



Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile



FRANCO, Raul



Universidad del Salvador, Argentina



GADRE, Vasant



Universidad Jawaharlal Nehru, India



GARCIA DARIS, Liliana

Universidad del Salvador, Argentina

GLUCK, Carol



Universidad de Columbia. Estados Unidos

HOPKINS RODRIGUEZ, Eduardo



Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru



KIM, Wonho



Universidad Hankuk de Estudios Extranjeros, Corea



KO, Heysun



Univesidad de Dankook, Corea



LOPEZ DEL CARRIL, Luis Maria



Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, Argentina



LUCO, Enrique



Universidad del Salvador



MARTINEZ, Mauricio



Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia



MASATERU, Ito



Universidad Nacional de Osaka, Japon



MATSUSHITA, Hiroshi



Universidad de Kobe, Japon



MINKOWICZ, Gabriel

Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires

MONETA, Carlos Juan



Universidad del Salvador, Argentina



MORROW, John Andrew



Minot State University, Dakota del Norte, USA



NGUYEN, Thiet Son



Academia de Ciencias Sociales de Vietnam, Vietnam

OVIEDO, Eduardo

CONICET. Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina

PEREIRA, Ronan Alves

Universidad de Brasilia. Brasil

PEREYRA, Violeta



Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina

REMETE, Andrea

Universidad del Salvador, Argentina



RIMOLDI DE LADMAN, Eve



Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, Argentina



ROMERO CASTILLA, Alfredo



Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico

TEDIN URIBURU, Virgilio



Universidad de Harvard, Estados Unidos

UEHARA, Alexander



Universidad de Sao Paulo. Brasil

URIBURU QUINTANA, Juan



Universidad de Chenchi, Taiwan



VITTOR, Luis Alberto



Universidad Argentina John F. Kennedy



XU, Shicheng



Academia China de Ciencias Sociales, Republica Popular China
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme  La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza.



Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres.




Some conservatives have justified Greg Gianforte's thuggish behavior and have instead placed the blame on the liberal media. This is ridiculous! Gianforte's violent assault on reporter, Ben Jacobs, is not a partisan issue. It is about the indefensible actions of one man. It is about common decency, integrity and civilized conduct.

It is unconscionable that a candidate for Congress would fly into a rage, grab a man by the neck, throw him to the ground, and then start punching him. This was witnessed by the Fox News team. And to make matters worse, he lied and blamed the incident on the aggressive, liberal reporter.

Sadly, since the advent of the Trump era, low-level insults, schoolyard bullying, and juvenile cruelty has become more commonplace. The fact that Gianforte has been praised for his violent behavior shows the level to which society has descended. Rush Limbaugh had this to say, This manly, obviously studly Republican in Montana took the occasion to beat up a pajama-clad journalist. Christian radio host, David Daubenmire, issued a call to arms to listeners of his podcast, urging more violent application of Christianity. Regarding Gianforte, he said, They are saying, Yes, a fighter! Go dude go. Who won? The dude that took the other dude to the ground. This obnoxious man certainly does not represent the majority of good Christians yet it does indicate a growing tendency towards celebrating infantile bully behavior.

When I hear such nonsense, I am reminded of the Eckhart Tolle quote: Power over others is weakness disguised as strength.

Nancy Hufnagel

Livingston
The Russian Progress 67 cargo craft launch ascends to space after a flawless launch Wednesday from Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos. Roscosmos

Carrying more than three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the International Space Station crew, the unpiloted ISS Progress 67 cargo craft launched at 5:20 a.m. EDT (3:20 p.m. local time in Baikonur) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

At the time of launch, the International Space Station was flying about 258 miles over the south Atlantic southeast of Uruguay.

Less than 10 minutes after launch, the resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned. The Russian cargo craft will make 34 orbits of Earth during the next two days before docking to the orbiting laboratory at 7:42 a.m. Friday, June 16.

Beginning at 7 a.m. on Friday, NASA Television will provide live coverage of Progress 67s arrival to the space stations Zvezda Service Module.

On-Orbit Status Report

67 Progress Launch: 67P launched successfully from Baikonur, Kazakhstan today at 4:20am CDT followed by a nominal ascent and orbit insertion. All systems are performing nominally. Docking is scheduled for Friday, June 16 at 6:42am CDT.

Rodent Research-5 (RR-5) Systemic Therapy of NELL-1 for Osteoporosis: The crew restocked two of the four Animal Habitats and will restock the other two tomorrow. The habitats are emptied, cleaned, and new food bars installed. The rodents are then transferred back to the habitats and returned to their individual stowage locations. Because spaceflight has significant and rapid effects on the musculoskeletal system it is important to investigate targeted therapies that could ameliorate some of the detrimental effects of spaceflight. The NELL-1 drug being studied in the RR-5 investigation has the potential to slow or reverse bone loss during spaceflight.

Cool Flames Investigation: The crew replaced Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) Igniters, Fiber Arm, and fuel reservoirs in support of continued operations for the Cool Flames investigation. Cool Flames provides new insight into the phenomenon where some types of fuels initially burn very hot, then appear to go out but they continue burning at a much lower temperature, with no visible flames (cool flames). Understanding cool flame combustion helps scientists develop new engines and fuels that are more efficient and less harmful to the environment.

Sprint Volume of Oxygen Utilized (VO2) Max: The crew set up and performed the Sprint VO2 Max exercise protocol. The Sprint investigation evaluates the use of high intensity, low volume exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, bone, and cardiovascular function in ISS crewmembers during long-duration missions.

Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Collection: The crew collected water samples from the PWD for in-flight and post-flight analysis. This is nominally scheduled maintenance that occurs multiple times throughout the expedition to ensure good water quality.

Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) Fuel Dispenser Troubleshooting: The crew completed troubleshooting of the CIR Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) Chamber Insert Assembly (CIA) Fuel Dispenser 1. Prior to troubleshooting, the dispenser shaft could only rotate  turn each direction. Following oiling the drive shaft threads, the shaft could easily turn in the dispensing direction, however, it had difficulty turning in the retraction direction. Crew observed the difficulty may be due to a misalignment in the shaft and was able to alleviate some of the binding by depressing the dispenser actuator finger. Two fuel reservoirs were installed and nominal maintenance completed following troubleshooting.

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations in Support of NICER: Overnight, Robotics Ground Controllers maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) to unstow the Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) from side 1 of the SPDM Enhanced Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) Temporary Platform (EOTP) and install it on EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Logistic Carrier 2 (ELC2) Site 7. SSRMS and SPDM were then positioned for NICER deployment viewing. Deployment was attempted this afternoon but was unsuccessful. Latches were locked while teams discuss the next steps with NICER engineers.

Todays Planned Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Test video recording for RT TV channel

Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media

URAGAN. Observation and photography

ECON-M. Observation and Photography

Sprint Portable Pulmonary Function System Power Up

JEM Camera Robot Cable Swap

Sprint VO2 Operations  Subject

SPHERES Battery Setup

On MCC Go Purging Elektron-VM Liquid Unit () after Shutdown

PK-4 Hard Drives Locate

Diagnostics of FGB  instruments 11156

Polar Desiccant Pack Swap

Robotic Workstation (RWS) Setup

Environmental Health System (EHS) Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Collect

Diagnostics of FGB Power Supply System Filter Units (-2) and Main Bus Assembly (-2). Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Analysis

Sprint Portable Pulmonary Function System Stow Partial

SPHERES Battery Swap

Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus MWA Prep

Fault isolation in FGB Onboard Computer Nitrogen Pumping System Avionics Unit ( --31-)

Rodent Research Habitat 1 & 2 Restock

Physical Fitness Evaluation (on the treadmill)

SPHERES Battery Swap

Combustion Integrated Rack Doors Open

Combustion Integrated Rack Front End Cap Open

Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus Hardware Replacement

Microbial Capture Devices (MCD) and Coliform Water Processing

Download Pille Dosimeter Readings

Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record

SPHERES Battery Swap

Metal Oxide (METOX) Regeneration Initiation

MRM1 Fan Grille Cleaning (Group B), Cleaning behind panels 405, 406

Combustion Integrated Rack Front End Cap Close

Combustion Integrated Rack Doors Close

Sprint Portable Pulmonary Function System Conclude

Completed Task List Items

None

Ground Activities

NICER Deploy and Survey [Not completed]

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Thursday, 06/15: Rodent Research Habitat Restock, Cardiac Stem Cell ops, Sprint VO2 Max, Progress 66P OBT

Friday, 06/16: 67P dock, JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (SSOD) Install

Saturday, 06/17: Crew off duty, housekeeping
Trotting stallion Il Sogno Dream returned to his winnings ways in the $34,000 Preferred Trot featured Friday (June 16) at Mohawk Racetrack on the eve of Pepsi North America Cup Night.

Driver Trevor Henry sent Il Sogno Dream from third to first after a :27 first quarter and expanded his lead through middle splits of :56 and 1:24.4 en route to a three-length victory in 1:53.1. Olympic Son (James MacDonald) followed in second-place while Catch The Dream (Phil Hudon) rallied home from the back of the pack to show.

A two-time Preferred runner-up in three prior starts this year, the Victor Puddy-trained Il Sogno Dream earned his first victory since returning to the races in mid-May. He paid $3.40 to win as the 3-5 favourite.

The six-year-old son of Cantab Hall earned his 20th career victory and is now just over $1,000 short in his quest for $1 million in earnings racing for Bill Manes, Dan Manes, Leonard Christopher and Randy Christopher while on a breeding lease to Mac Lilley Farms Ltd.

Mohawk's last race Jackpot Hi-5 wager was hit on Friday as just one single ticket had the correct 2-1-8-6-9 combination of top five finishers: Buttermilk Hanover (2-1), Your My Secret (12-1), Justabit Mean (39-1), Jimmys Little Girl (31-1) and Call It Courage (20-1). According to Mohawk, an HPI customer from Century Downs wagered $268.80 to win the jackpot of $70,028.97.

To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.

For the official judges' report from Friday's card, click the following link: Judges' Report - Mohawk - June 16.
She and her husband already have Delaware champion Logans Girl, stand-out Newborn Sassy, the top-class Purrfect Bags, the 2015 North America Cup winner in Wakizashi Hanover and a former New Zealand Horse of the Year in Christen Me, but there is one other horse in the care of Jo Ann Looney-King and Jim King Jr. who is intent on accumulating her own accolades rather than linger in the shadows of her barnmates and that is Nike Franco N.

The New Zealand-bred, who competed in Australia, collected $321,393 from 33 trips to the post, with 18 victories, established several track records and has defeated males on multiple occasions. She has yet, however, to capture her first stakes final on her new continent and will seek to accomplish that task on Saturday (June 17) in the $365,000 Roses Are Red final at Mohawk Racetrack.

She is just her own woman, said Looney-King. That is about the best way to size her up and she knows she is her own woman. She just takes everything as it comes and goes about her business.

Like Christen Me, Nike Franco is owned by Richard Poillucci and will be steered by her regular reinsman, Tim Tetrick, on Saturday. The duo will leave from post position three in the field of 10. Although the formidable Lady Shadow is the morning line favourite at 6-5, Nike Franco is the second selection at 2-1 off her powerful 1:49.2 performance in her elimination last week.

We knew she would race well like she always does, but we did not expect that, said Looney-King. Just watching her was impressive and Timmy always puts her, like he does with all the horses he drives, in the right spot to win. She certainly was ready last week and we hope to see that again from her, but this is a tough group of mares, especially with Lady Shadow in there, so she will need to be at her best. 'Nike' raced great at Chester against her (second in the Betsy Ross Invitational) but she just could not catch her.

In fact, one of the reasons Tetrick is so enamored with this mare is directly related to the determination she demonstrated in that event to finish a swiftly-charging second.

I love Nike Franco, he said. I think shes a great mare. I dont think people in America have seen what she can do yet. Im a very firm believer in her and I dont think anybody knows (how good she can be). All I know is when I ask her to do something, she does it. Even at Chester when I was in a terrible spot she kept digging. She made up five lengths at Chester in a (1):49 mile being three-wide around the last turn. I race there all the time and horses do not do that.

Since her intercontinental transition, Nike Franco has compiled a record of 10-7-2-0 and earned $131,625. The only time she has failed to hit the board was a seventh-place finish in the first leg of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series at Yonkers Raceway on March 17, but she certainly had an excuse.

We were really looking forward to racing her in that series, but she ended up being pretty sick and we just werent going to push her, Looney-King said. Its a long season and thats what we try to do is keep the horses happy and healthy as they go through it.

Nike Franco also has regal blood flowing through her veins as the daughter of McArdles dam, Nearea Franco, was a New Zealand champion and her granddam No Paba, is a half-sibling to 1990 Horse of the Year Beach Towel.

King claims the seven-year-old mare even has her own fan club.

She attracts attention wherever she goes, Looney-King said. In fact, there are still people in Australia that are watching her over here and the girl who used to take care of her, Amanda Grieve, makes sure she is plugged in to her every move. Shes just a bay mare with her own way about her. Jim and I are just very lucky to have horses like her and all our horses this year. We remind ourselves every day how fortunate we are with them and for our family.

As her fans prepare to witness Nike Franco's second performance North of the Border, her driver is counting on her to illustrate just why those that come in contact with her become so attached.

Last week she won in (1):49 just as easy as you would want a horse to win, Tetrick said. Its a very tough group. Lady Shadow is the horse to beat, but in my heart, if I can keep close to her, I think mine (this mare) can out-kick her; if I can just stay close to her.

Two-time defending champion Lady Shadow heads to this years Roses Are Red Stakes final off a 1:50.2 victory in her elimination last week, pushing her win streak to six races dating back to last year.

She has won 14 of her last 16 races, a stretch that began with her triumph in her Roses Are Red elim last June. She won last years final in 1:48.1, just one-fifth of a second off Anndrovettes stakes, track and Canadian record.

With a victory Saturday, Lady Shadow would join Anndrovette as the only three-time winners of the Roses Are Red. Anndrovette accomplished the feat from 2012-14.

Shes vicious, said Lady Shadows driver Yannick Gingras. I think shes the one to beat. Im very confident in her. Shes got big lungs. She can go those :27 quarters all day long. Shes got six of them in her. She never gets tired.

Lady Shadow was fifth at the opening quarter of her elimination before embarking on a first-over march to victory.

Sometimes you over-think stuff, Gingras said. I was trying to race her easy and get her a covered-up trip and it kind of worked against me. She had to work harder coming first-up than if Id just put her on the front. She was really good.

Lady Shadow, a six-year-old daughter of Shadow Play-Lady Camella, has won 31 of 58 career races and earned $1.92 million. She is owned by David Kryway, Carl Atley, Ed Gold, and BFJ Stable, and trained by Ron Adams.

Lets face it, Lady Shadow has been tremendous, said Tom Fanning, who trains Frost Damage Blues, the winner of the first of last weeks three eliminations. Nike Franco is really good. I think there are a couple other ones, us included, that if things work right can be very competitive in there. Its a competitive bunch this year.

Frost Damage Blues, owned by blueberry magnate Bill Augustine, won her elimination in 1:50.1 with a rally from mid-pack at the races midpoint. James MacDonald handled the driving and will be back in the sulky for the final.

She got a great trip, Fanning said. She likes those trips; shell fire off of that for sure.

A five-year-old daughter of Western Ideal-Art Matters, Frost Damage Blues has won 14 of 28 career races and earned $191,862. She finished third in last years Breeders Crown Mare Pace.

Shes been good, Fanning said. Shes filled out. Im happy with how she is. The best thing about her is she just tries hard. Most of them dont try as hard as they can. She is one of the few that does.

Following is the field for the Roses Are Red.

PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line

1-Bernadette-David Miller-Ron Adams-20/1

2-Frost Damage Blues-James MacDonald-Tom Fanning-6/1

3-Nike Franco N-Tim Tetrick- Jo Ann Looney King-2/1

4-Lady Shadow-Yannick Gingras-Ron Adams-6/5

5-Wrangler Magic-Louis-Philippe Roy-Rene Allard-8/1

6-Call Me Queen Be-Scott Zeron-Tony O'Sullivan-10/1

7-Witch Dali-Doug McNair-Richard Moreau-20/1

8-Penpal-Patrick Lachance-Patrick Lachance-15/1

9-Pure Country-Brett Miller-Jimmy Takter-8/1

10-Prairie Sweetheart-Matt Kakaley-Tony O'Sullivan-20/1

(With files from USTA & HRC)
Parked the opening quarter in a swift :26.2, Lincolnjames was far from done, as he put the pedal to the metal and drew off to capture Saturdays $18,000 Winners Over $10,000 Life/Preferred Handicap Pace at The Meadows in a sharp 1:50.2.

Lincolnjames was extended by Techtor Hanover before taking the lead past the quarter, but the six-year-old Northwest-Winbak Lucy gelding shrugged off the first-over challenge of Dapper Dude and waltzed home for Dave Palone from there. Techtor Hanover held second, two lengths back, while Sam Hill shot the Lightning Lane for show. It was one of three wins for Palone on the 12-race card.

Ron Burke trains Lincolnjames, who now boasts career earnings of $231,077, for Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.

(The Meadows)
Victory -- Judge Rules Against Proponents of Assisted Suicide in California

Contact: Alexandra Snyder, Life Legal Defense Foundation , 202-717-7371NAPA, Calif., June 16, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- Life Legal attorneys appeared in court this morning on our challenge to California's assisted suicide law. We filed the lawsuit one year ago, shortly before the "End of Life Option Act" went into effect. Our opponents, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the Director of the California Department of Public Health, filed a motion to dismiss the case.Today the judge denied the motion to dismiss, which means the case moves forward!The End of Life Option Act strips vital legal protections from patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. The Act does not require patients seeking so-called "aid-in-dying" drugs to undergo a mental health evaluation, even though the majority of individuals who receive a terminal diagnosis experience depression, anxiety, and other treatable mental health conditions that could lead them to seek suicide.Life Legal is also concerned that the assisted suicide law has encouraged some physicians to set up niche clinics that only dispense prescriptions for lethal drugs. These physicians do not have any meaningful relationships with their patients apart from facilitating their deaths. Moreover, we have heard of numerous cases of individuals who have long outlived their "terminal" diagnoses.State-sanctioned suicide sends the message that some lives are not worth living. California law now pits the financial interests of health care providers, especially in cases where the provider and insurer are the same entity, against the needs of patients. We have heard of cases where insurance companies will pay for lethal drugs but not for life-prolonging treatment."The End of Life Option Act is a dangerous law that exposes vulnerable individuals to direct and indirect pressure to commit suicide. Life Legal represents hundreds of physicians who are committed to walking through life's challenges as advocates for their patients, yet who are concerned that those patients could succumb to pressure from family, insurers, and other health care providers to cut their lives short," said Life Legal Defense Foundation Executive Director Alexandra Snyder. "Today's ruling is confirmation that our claims have merit and deserve a fair hearing."Life Legal Defense Foundation was established in 1989, and is a nonprofit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation. For more information about the Life Legal Defense Foundation, visit www.lldf.org
Few Montanans, if any, would condone what Gianforte did, and no one should, but enough already with letters from people from out of state who are not going to visit Montana because our representative committed a misdemeanor assault. If you applied that logic to states where the elected officials committed felonies and were sent to prison, you wouldnt have many states to visit.

Last year, my wife and I visited our son in Chicago. We took in a couple of Cubs games. We had a great time and to think I never even considered the fact that four of the states last seven governors were sent to prison. The last to go was Rob Blagojevich, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for 17 counts of corruption. Wrigley was packed, and I bet nearly every state in the United States was represented. Maybe if all those fans had considered the history of political corruption in Illinois, the lines would have been shorter!
A company that has shipped oil out of a Port Westward dock wants to buy nine large oil tanks to expand its storage capacity by 1 million barrels  a move environmentalists fear could dramatically increase the amount of crude railed through Columbia County.

Portland General Electric has requested permission from the Oregon Public Utility Commission to sell its underused oil tanks at Port Westward to Global Partners for an undisclosed price. Global Partners now ships ethanol, a gas additive, out of Port Westward, but it shipped Midwest crude to California and other destinations until January last year, when it ceased due to plunging oil prices.

Environmentalists are concerned the proposed sale could signal that Global Partners plans to return to shipping crude oil and greatly increase crude-by-rail traffic through Columbia County.

I think what my biggest fear is that Global Partners is quietly assembling all of the pieces to operate a major crude oil export terminal on the Columbia River, and the way theyre going about it is skirting public participation by acquiring a tank here, an existing facility here and using an existing permit, said Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky, organizer with Columbia Riverkeeper.

Global Partners officials say those fears are unfounded.

Global has contracted to purchase the additional tanks from PGE in order to improve operational flexibility and control train traffic through Columbia County. ... The acquisition of the additional tanks does not alter or expand the activities that are contemplated under globals existing permits, said Lisa Rackner, attorney for Global.

This week, environmentalists packed a meeting room of the Oregon Public Utility Commission, which is considering whether to approve the purchase. The commission delayed making any decision to seek further legal advice.

PGE originally built the tanks to hold bunker fuel oil before it switched to using natural gas at its power plants at Port Westward. Now the utility stores emergency fuel in the tanks, using just 5 percent of their capacity.

Not only would the utility earn a profit from the sale, it also could save significant money by not paying for tank maintenance, refurbishment and ultimate decommission, according to PGE. The utility did not have a specific cost savings estimate, and PGE and Global are not disclosing the sales price for the tanks.

Under the proposed sale, PGE would sell nine storage tanks to Global Partners with a total capacity of 1.2 million barrels. Global Partners would then sell PGE two of its own existing storage tanks with a capacity of 200,000 barrels.

PUC staff recommended the sale and said it would lower rates for PGEs electric customers.

Mike Weirich, assistant attorney general with the Oregon Department of Justice, said the commission does not have authority to consider environmental or railroad safety issues.

The commission is not an environmental agency  (Opponents) concerns certainly have merit, (but) the commission is not a rail traffic impact commission, Weirich said.

Instead the commission can only consider how the sale would affect service and rates for PGE customers, said Scott Gibbens of PUC.

Global Partners agreed with that interpretation.

This commission is not the correct forum to have those environmental impact conversations, Rackner said. Rackner said federal and state regulators already considered the environmental impacts of Global Partners terminal through permitting the facility. If the commission doesnt approve the sale, Global Partners said it has authority and ability to build its own oil storage tank farm at the Port Westward site.

Global Partners is planning to expand its oil storage capacity amid a glut in the global oil supply thats dragging down prices. U.S. crude prices dropped to a six-month low Thursday, hitting $44.32 a barrel, according to Reuters.
Hundreds of people packed into the Monticello Hotels refurbished Crystal Ballroom Friday night, as the historic hotel celebrated its first event since starting a multi-million-dollar renovation last fall. The hotels new owners continue to remodel the restaurant, cafe and luxury apartments, but the ballroom was back to its former glory in time for Fridays festivities.

The Daily News was not allowed to enter the private event, two months after the newspaper ran an investigative series on the hotels owners. Monticello staff allowed only administrators from a Facebook page to publicize the event.

Monticello Hotel Manager Sharon Walker said a group of local pastors wanted to be the first ones to host an event inside the restored ballroom.

Jeff Hoover, pastor at Evangel Christian Fellowship, coordinated with several other local churches to plan the prayer and worship service scheduled weeks ago, the Columbia River Reader reported.

Worship music flooded into the lobby from the ballroom Friday.

It was packed! The ballroom is wonderful, said Jerry Kelly, a Longview native, as he left the event. Everyone is excited to be here and theres a wonderful turn out.

Kelly said he wasnt around to see the ballroom before a former owner installed a dropped ceiling, but he was impressed with the new ornate plastered ceiling.

During renovations, the old drop ceiling was removed, revealing decorative plaster patterns in some areas. Some of the decorative patterns had to be replicated, and the entire ceiling was repainted. The hotel also told The Daily News earlier this year that it would install an early 20th century-style bar adjacent to a stage and VIP section in the Speak Easy section of the ballroom, too.

Its absolutely beautiful, its exquisite, said Jackie Lightfoot of Longview. Just the majesty of the building is wonderful, and Ill be so excited to see it finished because what theyve done so far is wonderful.
Trump will stop short of scrapping Obama`s Cuba policies

Then candidate Donald Trump visiting the Bay of Pigs Museum last year in Miami.

AP, Washington :

In a shot at one of Barack Obama's signature policies, President Trump on Friday will announce steps designed to restrict U.S. travel to Cuba and curb the flow of American cash to entities connected to the island's military, according to White House aides.

But Trump will leave the bulk of his predecessor's approach untouched, including the establishment of formal diplomatic relations and Cuba's removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. Obama's decision to end preferential treatment for undocumented Cubans who reach U.S. shores will also survive.

And the new financial restrictions envision carve-outs that will largely spare existing business dealings, including those in agriculture, telecommunications, airlines and cruise lines, and potentially hotels. Cuban-Americans will still be able to send money to relatives. And Americans returning from authorized travel to Cuba will still be able to bring back $100 in rum and cigars.

Three Trump aides described the new policy to reporters in the briefing room of the White House in a question-and-answer session held on condition that they not be named.

The most significant shift appears to be a return to tougher enforcement of travel restrictions for individuals and groups. While tourism has been illegal under a decades-old U.S. embargo imposed after the 1959 revolution that swept Fidel Castro to power, the Obama administration largely looked the other way, permitting individuals and groups to visit the island if they fell into one of 12 categories. Enforcement was largely on an honor system.

The Trump administration will end "people-to-people" visits for individuals who claim to be visiting the island to engage Cubans or for "educational activities." Groups will still be able to go, but will be subject to far greater scrutiny to ensure that they fulfilled the requirements for authorized travel, the aides told reporters. The overall effect will likely be to "chill" American travel, one aide told Yahoo News.

This approach, which the president will announce in Miami, is meant to fulfill promises Trump made on the campaign trail in 2016, and to accommodate lawmakers such as Sen. Marco Rubio, who favor taking a harder line on the government in Havana.

"Economic practices that benefit the Cuban military at the expense of the Cuban people will soon be coming to an end #BetterDealforCuba," Rubio said on Twitter.

Trump is set to unveil the policy at a theater named for a veteran of the disastrous 1961 CIA-backed Bay of Pigs Invasion aimed at overthrowing Fidel Castro. He will cast the new approach as striking a blow against Cuban government repression of political dissent, which has risen since Obama announced his historic opening to the former Cold War foe in December 2014. Trump aides note that Obama's approach has thus far failed to yield dividends in terms of greater political freedom.


UK Finance Minister Hammond seeks 'pragmatic' Brexit

Philip Hammond, Britain\'s Chancellor of the Exchequer, arrives in Downing Street, in central London.

Reuters, London :

British finance minister Philip Hammond said Britain should adopt a pragmatic approach to Brexit negotiations which begin on Monday, striking a different tone to Prime Minister Theresa May who has threatened to leave the EU without a deal if necessary.

The debate within Britain's government about how to quit the European Union has been blown wide open by an election that left May without a majority in parliament and damaged her authority in the ruling Conservative Party.

Hammond, speaking to reporters before a meeting of the 28 EU finance ministers on Friday, said Britain should work closely with the bloc to prioritise jobs and prosperity when Brexit talks start next week.

"As we enter negotiations next week we will do so in a spirit of sincere cooperation taking a pragmatic approach to trying to find a solution that works both for the UK and for the European Union 27," he said.

The comments added to signs that Hammond is trying to revive his calls for a business-friendly Brexit.

In contrast to May's uncompromising tone with its focus on controlling immigration, Hammond has long stressed the importance of ensuring that British employers can continue to find the skilled workers they need from the EU.

Britain's giant banking industry and other business groups see Hammond as their most powerful ally in government and they were worried when it appeared he might lose his job in the run-up to the election.

But May, weakened by her election flop, opted to keep Hammond in his job along with other key ministers.

The chancellor of the exchequer was asked whether he favoured a softer version of Brexit - such as British membership of the EU single market or of a customs union.

Hammond said Britain's position had been set out in a speech by May in January and a letter she sent to EU leaders in March when she triggered the Brexit process. May has said Britain will leave both the single market and the customs union.

"My clear view, and I believe the view of the majority of people in Britain, is that we should prioritise protecting jobs, protecting economic growth, protecting prosperity as we enter those negotiations and take them forward," he said.

The Daily Telegraph, quoting senior government sources, said Hammond wanted to pursue a deal under which Britain would become an associate member of the EU's customs union but would also have the freedom to negotiate separate trade agreements with other countries for its huge services industries.

British negotiators believe the EU might accept such a deal because it would mean Europe's trade in goods with the UK - in which the EU runs a surplus - would not be disrupted by Brexit, the newspaper said.

A spokeswoman for Hammond did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on the report.

Hammond had been due to spell out his views on Brexit in a speech on Thursday, but it was cancelled following a deadly tower block fire in London on Wednesday. He is expected to deliver it in the coming days.

The Sun newspaper reported this week that Hammond had won the backing of interior minister Amber Rudd on the need to focus on the economy in Brexit. Two former Conservative prime ministers have also urged May to soften her approach.
What does UK Election mean for students?

Joanna Hughes :

The people of Britain head to the polls today to pick a new government. If you're not up on your current events you may be asking yourself: "Wait a second...didn't this just happen?" Indeed, while just two years have passed since the last election, a lot has changed in that time. (Did someone say "Brexit"?) As a result, Prime Minister Theresa May called for an early election, AKA "snap election," which can be held if enough members of the country's lawmakers-two-thirds to be exact-agree to it. And while forecasts vary wildly regarding who will win and by how much, experts agree that the results will play a huge role in the UK's transition out of the EU.

Caught in the crossfires of it all? The UK's significant student population. Here's a closer look at where higher education factors into today's vote.

What domestic students need to know

There's no arguing that the majority of Britain's young people feel disenfranchised by the country's increasingly Conservative sway. However, these same people are also uniquely positioned to make a difference in today's election. Says Quartz, "Whether the Conservative government wins by a landslide, by a small majority, or it loses its majority in Parliament (a prospect that sent the pound tumbling) is dependent on youth turnout. In short, the future of the Britain will be decided by its most disillusioned voters."

But being fed up with rising tuition fees, lack of government funding, loss of housing benefits, and deteriorating job markets is not a reason not to vote. Why? Because we've all seen how that story ends. Pollsters predict that if youth turnout is as low as it was in 2015's election, then the Conservative party will win in a landslide-meaning more of the same moving forward. If, however, the UK's two million-plus students do turn up and vote, they could make their dissenting voices heard toward greater cross-party balance.

So which parties believe what when it comes to higher education? One of the biggest differences between the parties pertains to higher education tuitions. While fee structures are expected to remain consistent under both the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the left-leaning Labour Party has pledged to completely abolish tuition fees and write off existing student debt-in accordance with its viewpoint that higher education should be free because it's a public service for the "collective good."

And while all parties acknowledge the importance of increasing science and education funding, the Conservative Party has designated the smallest increase in spending (2.4 percent by 2027) to this area when compared to the platforms of the Labour Party (3 percent by 2030) and the Liberal Democrats (doubl[ing] innovation and research funding across the economy" as a "long-term goal.")

What international students need to know

International students, meanwhile, also have plenty to be concerned about regarding one of the biggest issues in today's election: immigration. Additionally, universities, faculty and staff, researchers and domestic students are also facing major uncertainty when it comes to whether the UK will remain open to international exchange.

Explains Digital Journal, "Many universities are reliant upon overseas students coming to study, and this represents a key source of income as well as helping to expand the knowledge base. Many universities are concerned with the Conservative Party plans to restrict immigration and to incorporate student numbers into the readjusted figures. The Liberal Democrats and Labour, in contrast, encourage overseas students as temporary visitors to the U.K."

In other words, the difference between a soft line and a hard line on Brexit-and the future of higher education mobility-may well depend on how the election goes.

If all goes as planned today by Theresa May and the Conservative Party, the election will solidify and strengthen the Tories' hold. Reveals BBC News, "When Theresa May called the election, polls showed she was likely to win a landslide - and cement her political power. But things move quickly in politics." Well-positioned to upset this anticipated outcome? The UK's student population. In fact, says Yahoo! News, "The polls predicting a big Tory win assume that many of the young people who have registered won't show up on the day. Those who see a much closer outcome assume most of those who have registered will vote."

The takeaway? While Brexit itself is largely considered to be a foregone conclusion with all parties vowing to move forward with it regardless of the election result, the approach may be very different, depending on who's occupying seats at the negotiating table. By showing up and voting in today's election, the UK's student population just may become a deciding factor in who that will be.



(Joanna worked in higher education administration for many years at a leading research institution before becoming a full-time freelance writer. She lives in the beautiful White Mountains region of New Hampshire with her family).
PM returns home



Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned home on Saturday morning concluding her three-day bilateral visit to Sweden.

The Prime Minister paid the visit at the invitation of her Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven. It was the first bilateral visit by any head of government of Bangladesh to the Scandinavian country.

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG-002) carrying the Prime Minister and members of her entourage landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 9.15 am.

During the visit the Prime Minister led a high-powered team including a 47-member business delegation. She held official talks with Swedish Premier Stefan Lofven and had an audience with Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Sheikh Hasina visited Swedish Parliament and held meeting with acting Speaker Tobias Billstrom.

She attended a community reception and Bangladesh-Sweden Business and Investment Forum. She also held meetings with CEO of H&M Karl-Johan Persson and President of Investor Jacob Wallenberg, Vice-President of Investor Marcus Wallenberg and CEO of ABB Sweden Johan Soderstrom.
Facing human rights violators

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein :

Fifty years ago, this was the day I first heard the sound of war. I was three and a half years old and, while fragmentary, I can still remember military men milling around our home in Amman, an armoured car stationed nearby and later, planes that flew overhead.

It was a war that shaped my life, and forged my later desire to understand the depths of Palestinian suffering but not only that, Jewish suffering too - the latter spanning over two millennia, and which culminated in that colossal crime, the Holocaust.

I grew up not far from the massive Palestinian refugee camp in al-Baqa'a. I worked across the street from the al-Wihdat refugee camp. In the past thirty years, I have been to Auschwitz-Birkenau, visited Dachau, seen Buchenwald. I have studied in depth the trials at Nuremburg and elsewhere, the long and painful history of anti-Semitism in Europe, Russia and later, Arab countries - which remains still present in far too many places around the world.

Some will respond, mechanically almost, that the experiences of the two peoples are not equivalent, how could I mention them in one breath? Indeed, I agree - the Holocaust was so monstrous and so mathematically planned and executed it has no parallel, no modern equal.

Yet it is also undeniable that today, the Palestinian people mark a half-century of deep suffering under an occupation imposed by military force. An occupation which has denied the Palestinians many of their most fundamental freedoms, and has often been brutal in the way it has been realized; an occupation whose violations of international law have been systematic, and have been condemned time and again by virtually all States. The Palestinians deserve freedom, as all peoples do. They deserve to bring up their children safe in their homes, on their land, exercising their rights in their State, free from this long and bitter occupation.

The Israelis also deserve freedom - a different sort of freedom, for they have long had their State, but they too have suffered grievously. The Israeli people have long endured unlawful attacks against their own civilian population - attacks which are often vicious, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, and also worthy of condemnation. Israelis too need to be free from this violence, from any existential threat posed to them. The sine qua non for peace - the end of the occupation - must now be brought about, and soon. Maintain the occupation, and for both peoples there will only be a prolongation of immense pain, the endless flow of 'azzas and shivas, the weeping by loved ones for loved ones, the prayers, the curses, the hatreds and vengeance, the impossibility of a secure life for all. This can be ended.

The brutality of Daesh and other terrorist groups seemingly knows no bounds. Yesterday, my staff reported to me that bodies of murdered Iraqi men, women and children are still lying on the streets of the al-Shira neighbourhood of western Mosul, after at least 163 people were shot and killed by Daesh on 1 June to prevent them from fleeing. My staff have also received reports of missing persons from this neighbourhood.

I again condemn in the strongest of terms the cowardly and sickening attacks perpetrated against innocent people by callous terrorists operating in many parts of the world. Terrorism worldwide must be eradicated by government action - but smart action. Counter-terrorism must be prosecuted intelligently: that is, while preserving the human rights of all.

Please remember this: for every citizen wrongfully detained under a vague anti-terrorism law, and humiliated, abused, or tortured, it is not simply one individual who then nurses a grievance against the authorities, but most of their family too. Send one innocent person to prison, and you may deliver six or seven family members into the hands of those who oppose the government, with a few who may even go further than that.

The cost of a wrongful detention dramatically outweighs whatever benefit it is perceived to accrue. To counter violent extremism, we must stand firm and insist on its opposite: peaceful inclusion.

Two years ago, I touched on a subject which I wish to turn to once again this morning. I am told repeatedly we should not be "naming and shaming" States. But it is not the naming that shames. The shame comes from the actions themselves, the conduct or violations at issue.

The denial of the right to life shames; killing or murder, sometimes on a massive scale, produces shame stunningly, in seemingly inexhaustible supply. The denial of the right to development produces shame. The denial of human dignity, shames. Torture shames. Arbitrary arrests shame. Rape shames. My Office and I hold up a mirror before those whose shame has already been self-inflicted.

But what if there is no reaction to the suffering of so many people? I am concerned about the brazen absence of shame being paraded by a growing number of politicians world-wide.

When thug-like leaders ride to power, democratically or otherwise, and openly defy, not only their own laws and constitutions, but also their obligations under international law, where is their shame? Do they not feel disgusted with themselves when they incite or condone acts of violence and bigotry? When they remark that every soldier should be limited to three rapes of village women each, have they no conscience?

Promising bounties for killing people - people not convicted of crime, or charged with crime, but merely suspected, or imagined, criminals. Seeking to withdraw from laws to combat violence against women and domestic battery, claiming they represent a so-called "gender ideology". Jailing principled judges and advocates, journalists, human rights defenders, university professors and teachers, and closing universities. Trading in malice, cruelty, insults and lies. What of their shame?

The universal rights to freedom, equality and dignity have been held to be true across cultures and civilisations because of their intrinsic value, and because they make it possible to keep the peace. They are not frivolous add-ons; they are absolutely critical. Trash these, openly and defiantly, and the boundaries separating us from horrific violence dissolve. Only catastrophes burst forth at that point. How can they be so foolish?

I will now devote the remainder of this speech to the issue of access, including non-cooperation and selective cooperation with human rights mechanisms and my Office. In September I will again address the frightful human rights violations in the world's most serious conflict situations as well as in other crises. Among the most striking features of this Human Rights Council is the Universal Periodic Review, which last month opened its third cycle. Every State in the world has twice submitted its performance and its intentions to the review's often detailed scrutiny - and each State has committed to improving its record on a wide range of key points.

Has there been real improvement? As we enter the third round of scrutiny, is the UPR deepening in relevance, precision and impact? Is it merely an elaborate performance of mutual diplomatic courtesies, or is it leading to real and powerful changes to anchor peace and development and improve people's lives?

My Office is determined to do everything in its capacity to ensure full implementation of recommendations from all human rights mechanisms, including, in the third round of the UPR, through suggesting lines of action. We will also continue to engage with UN Country Teams and others to ensure recommendations feed into their work.

Last September I shared with you my alarm about the refusal, by several Member States, to grant access to my Office or the human rights mechanisms. I pledged then that at a coming session of the Council, I would expand this discussion.

In recent months, I have been greatly concerned by a number of disgraceful incidents of personal threats and insults directed against Special Procedures mandate-holders. Three have recently been subjected to smear and hate campaigns, some involving incitement to violence: the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar; the Special Rapporteur on Summary Executions, in the context of discussions on the Philippines; and the Special Rapporteur on Iran. This is absolutely unacceptable. As Special Procedures are appointed by this Council, I call on you to consider what actions you may want to take to prevent these sorts of campaigns.

In this context, I must again emphasise my very serious concerns about intimidation and reprisals brought on by State officials against people who engage with the UN on human rights. My own staff, the Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies rely on members of civil society and national human rights institutions, alongside many others, for insight and information.

We count on their advice, their help - and even their pressure. We serve them - as do you, Excellencies. When Government or other officials intimidate, arrest or harm these individuals, they are attacking a fundamental element of the work of this Council and the UN, and it is our responsibility to do all we can to protect them.

Noting that at the Council's next session we will present the Secretary-General's annual report on reprisals, I call on all of you to cooperate with Assistant Secretary General Andrew Gilmour, who is leading action across the UN system on this issue.

Members of this Council, and candidates for future membership, have a particular responsibility to cooperate with the Council's mechanisms. Resolution 60/251, which set up this Council in March 2006, calls on them to "uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights (and to) fully cooperate with the Council".

Yet, for example, Indonesia has 21 pending requests for visits by the Special Procedures, and has received only two mandate-holders since 2008. Egypt has 11 pending requests for visits, with the most recent mission seven years ago. Nepal, a candidate for membership, has 16 pending requests for visits, with the most recent mission by a thematic mandate holder conducted in 2008.

Venezuela has 10, with its most recent visit by a thematic mandate holder conducted in the last century. The Philippines has accepted three visits in the past five years but 23 other requests are pending. Despite issuing a standing invitation, Council member Nigeria has accumulated 15 requests for visits; one visit by Special Procedures was accepted last year, but the last previous visit was in 2007.

Most astonishingly, despite having been elected to this Council in 2015, Burundi continues to commit some of the most serious human rights violations dealt with by this Council, while the Government has suspended all forms of cooperation with my Office. In September the Council's independent mission was declared persona non grata, and the current Commission of Inquiry has not been able to enter the country.

(To be continued)
8 fake DB men held in city

Eight fake DB police were arrested from city\'s Sobhanbag area by the RAB-2 on Saturday with foreign pistol, walkie-talkie and DB jacket from their possession.

Staff Reporter :

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a drive arrested eight fake members of Detective Branch (DB) from Dhanmondi area in the city early Saturday.

The arrestees are-Jewel Hasan alias Jewel Rana, 27, M Hemayet Hossain alias BDR Hemayet alias Jasim Uddin, Sheikh Mafiz alias

Shahar Ali, M Faridul Islam alias Farid, Morshedul Islam Khan, 39, Mohammad Ali, 32, Ayub Bepari alias Ayub Ali Shiekh, 25, and Swapan Sarker, 36.

Tipped off, an operational team of Rab-2 conducted the drive on Mirpur Road at Sobhanbagh area at around 12:30 am and arrested the gangsters along with foreign pistol, vehicle, and other materials.
Actor Tanvir lands in jail in rape case

UNB, Dhaka :

A court on Saturday sent film actor and model Tanvir Rahman Tonu in a rape case filed on May 6.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate M Sharafuzzaman Ansari passed the order rejecting both the bail and remand petitions.

On Friday afternoon, police arrested Tonu from his Mirpur residence after the victim, an employee of a private organisation, filed the case against the actor with Rupnagar Police Station, said officer-in-charge (Investigation) of the police station M Mokammel Hossain.

According to the case statement, the victim alleged that Tonu called

her at his residence on May 6 and raped her in presence of a friend of Tonu.

Tonu appeared in a number of movies including 'Full and Final', 'Gunda', and 'Khas Zamin'.

He also played the role of Satish in 'Karmaphal' based on the short story by Rabindranath Tagore.
S'pore plans big investment in Bangladesh: Envoy

UNB, Dhaka :

Singapore is looking for investment in a bigger way in Bangladesh as the world is beginning to take notice of "very strong economic opportunities in Bangladesh", says a Singaporean diplomat.

"There's strong interest, there's growing interest," Head of Singapore Consulate in Dhaka Darryl Lau told UNB in an interview at his office indicating significant new investment in Bangladesh.

The strong and very consistent growth profile of Bangladesh has attracted Singapore to engage deeply with Bangladesh like other countries of the world, said the Consul at the Singapore Consulate here.

He said, a very strong business delegation of Singapore apex trade body comprising potential investors will visit Bangladesh next month (likely from July 8-13) for a week to explore areas for investment, especially in infrastructure, power and energy and shipping.

"They'll meet various economic players in Bangladesh and business leaders in Dhaka and Chittagong apart from meetings with relevant Ministers and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA)," said Darryl Lau.

Responding to a question, the diplomat who will be leaving Dhaka after Eid-ul-Fitr, said Bangladesh consistently remains Singapore's important trading partner. "As far as trade is concerned, the relationship is very strong."

Asked about investment climate in Bangladesh, Darryl Lau said countries all over the world compete for investment and companies will navigate towards those countries which are welcoming having clean set of rules, strong rule of law and stable policies.

"All investors will hope to see such kind of parameters being well-established in Bangladesh," the diplomat said adding that significant steps are taken by the government to that direction. He, however, said there is always room for improvement.
Deaths caused by willful negligence: Rehabilitate them urgently

A WEST London community has been left reeling and searching for answers after an "unprecedented" blaze ripped through a tower block, killing at least a dozen people and injuring scores more. Firefighters were called to the 24-storey block in Latimer Road, near Notting Hill, at 12:54am and arrived to find the blaze spreading, prompting early calls of a major incident, which saw 250 firefighters tackling the flames at the height of the inferno and the rescue of 65 people. While the Queen, Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were lauded for visiting the residents, PM Theresa May was roundly criticized for avoiding the residents on so-called security grounds.



Residents of the tower block engulfed by a devastating fire on Wednesday morning are believed to have warned of alleged safety problems as recently as the end of last year. Members of an action group at Grenfell Tower wrote that they believed the building posed a fire risk, and that "only a catastrophic event will expose" the issues after their concerns fell on "deaf ears".



It claimed access to the building was "severely restricted" for emergency services and other vehicles and that residents had been advised to stay in their flats in case of fire. The Grenfell group warned the council and the KCTMO, which manages the borough's housing stock, that the building of a school and gym next to the estate would restrict access for the emergency services, including fire engines.



Meanwhile Kensington's MP has stated that the fire and deaths at Grenfell Tower are directly linked to attempts to regenerate and develop housing. Emma Dent Coad, who was elected only last week, said that attempts to make the block look prettier for the wealthier students had lead to the deaths of its inhabitants.



As part of that 10 million refurbishment work, developers wrapped the building in cladding -- which is a low-cost way of improving the outside of the building and is also incidentally banned in the US. Heavy focus has turned on the cladding ever since the fire, when it seemed to help propel it up the building. The view that the cladding was a result of attempts to prettify the building has been echoed by other local residents.



Labour MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, a barrister by profession, labelled the fire "corporate manslaughter" and called for arrests to be made. There could be questions to answer at the level of central as well as local government after it emerged former Conservative Housing Minister Gavin Barwell delayed a fire safety review following a deadly blaze in Camberwell in 2009 which left six people dead, including three children.



It has also been reported that former Housing Minister Brandon Lewis "sat on" information and resisted making sprinklers a legal requirement because it would "discourage building". John Halford, a public law specialist who has worked among other high-profile cases against public bodies, said there were various ways in which criminal proceedings could be brought against public authorities, if they were found culpable in the catastrophe.



So it seems that a combination of willful negligence and utter apathy on the part of the public authorities for public safety measures led to the incident. We offer our condolences to the survivors and the deceased and note that many families were saved due to Muslims who stayed awake for Sehri as it was Ramzan.






Are we doing enough to rehabilitate the flash-flood victims?

CAUSED due to intermittent heavy rains the low lying and the hilly parts of the south of the country are feared to experience more flash floods and landslides. Particularly, the incidence of this year's unprecedented pre-monsoon rainfall is clearly hinting that the hilly regions of the country are likely to face more potential floods which have been already witnessed on two separate times this year. Although the role of climate change on flash floods is yet to be established, but evident changes in weather phenomenon and increase in extreme weather events have already been observed. According to experts, the probability of the occurrence of flash floods before its expected season would likely be higher in the future due to climate change. Not even two months into the havoc which wreaked the Haor areas ranging to some seven northeastern districts, and now it is hilly region in the south which has been affected. Vehicle movements along the highways there have come to an almost standstill.



However, in the face of mounting environmental hazards the question is - how are the affected being rehabilitated? More importantly, is the government's concerned authorities prepared to deal with the calamity while rehabilitating the victims simultaneously?



Drawing crucial lessons from the last couple of months we expect the government to boost up its rehabilitation capabilities and especially with the monsoon to begin anytime soon - the need of the minute is to run the extra mile for getting prepared for more potential seasonal disasters. By now it is a well-established fact that the hilly regions of Bangladesh have become extremely vulnerable to landslides due to increased manmade causes, and we have witnessed time and again the disastrous consequences from previous experiences. But the country cannot continue to afford to pay heavy prices for each such disaster. So the strength of the existing preparedness programme will have to be upgraded speedily.



The demographic pressure over the last few decades due to indiscriminate settlements has taken a toll on the delicate ecological balance of the region making it more vulnerable to such calamities. What is particularly appalling is that there seems to be no end in sight to such activities - most of them illegal - that the administration seems to have turned a blind eye to. It is right now where the law enforcers in our hills will have to act quick.



The message in short - The number one priority for the government should be to ensure it that affected families are resettled and that adequate relief and medical supplies and manpower are in place to deal with this largely natural and also manmade chaos.
58 assumed dead in tower block blaze: Police

Reuters :

At least 58 people were likely killed in a fire which engulfed a London tower block earlier this week, police said on Saturday.

If that death toll is confirmed, it would make the Grenfell Tower blaze the deadliest in London since World War Two.

"Sadly at this time, there are 58 people who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing and therefore sadly I have to assume that they are dead," Commander Stuart Cundy told reporters.

Cundy added that the figure could change. Police had previously put the death toll at 30.

"The figure of 30 that I gave yesterday is the number that I know, sadly, have, at least, died. So that 58 would include that 30," he said.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government earlier sought to quell anger over the fire, pledging to support the victims of the blaze after protesters jeered her when she visited local residents.

Women comfort each other near the Grenfell apartment tower block in North Kensington, London on June 17. Reuters

Women comfort each other near the Grenfell apartment tower block in North Kensington, London on June 17. Reuters

May was rushed away from a meeting with residents on Friday under heavy police guard as protesters shouted "Shame on you" and hundreds stormed a local town hall calling for justice.

After a botched snap election that lost her party its majority in parliament, May is facing criticism for her response to the blaze which engulfed the 24-storey apartment block of social housing on Wednesday.

Residents of the destroyed tower said May was far too slow to visit the stricken community, that the building had been unsafe and that officials have failed to give enough information and support to those who have lost relatives and their homes.

Asked repeatedly whether she had misread the public mood, May did not answer directly but said the focus was on providing support to the victims.

"What I'm now absolutely focused on is ensuring that we get that support on the ground," May said in a BBC Newsnight interview.

"Government is making money available, we're ensuring that we're going to get to the bottom of what's happened, we will ensure that people are rehoused. But we need to make sure that that actually happens."

May on Saturday chaired a meeting on the government's response to the fire. She also met victims of the fire in Downing Street.

Alongside both police and fire investigations into the blaze, she has promised to set up a public inquiry.

A demonstrator shouts during a march in Westminster, following the fire that destroyed the Grenfell Tower block in London on June 16. Reuters

A demonstrator shouts during a march in Westminster, following the fire that destroyed the Grenfell Tower block in London on June 16. Reuters

She also pledged 5 million pounds ($6.39 million) of support, housing guarantees and help with access to bank accounts and cash. Those who lost their homes will be rehoused within three weeks, she said.

One of her closest allies, Damian Green, defended May on Saturday, adding that a team would go to the area to answer questions from residents.

"The Prime Minister is distraught about what has happened," said Green, who was appointed May's deputy in the wake of the general election.

"We're all desperately sad, we're all angry, but of course none of us as angry as those who were directly affected. I absolutely get why they're angry," Green said.

While the blaze has prompted an outpouring of generosity, with many people donating provisions and clothes, it has also unleashed rage at the authorities as the charred tower was cast as a deadly symbol of a deeply divided society.

Angry protesters chanting "We want justice" stormed their way into the Kensington and Chelsea town hall on Friday.

After a turbulent three months which has seen Britain scarred by three deadly Islamist militant attacks and now the tower blaze, Queen Elizabeth said the mood was deeply sombre but that the British people were resolute in the face of adversity.

"It is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood," Elizabeth said in a message on her official birthday.

"The country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies.

"Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity," Elizabeth said. "United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss."

Firefighters at the Grenfell Tower block which was destroyed in a disastrous fire in London on June 16. Reuters

Firefighters at the Grenfell Tower block which was destroyed in a disastrous fire in London on June 16. Reuters

Such a direct message from the monarch is rare and indicated the extent of the turmoil in Britain.

Opponents said May's handling of the fire has thrust her position further into doubt by showing a failure to feel the public mood and act decisively.

After a tumultuous week that pitched Britain into its deepest political crisis since the Brexit referendum a year ago, May's future was already uncertain due to her failed gamble on a snap election.

Britain is now likely to go into arduous talks on Monday about its exit from the European Union with a weakened leader who is dependent on a small Northern Irish party.

Matthew Parris, a columnist and former Conservative lawmaker, said May's response to the fire had shown a lack of judgment which made her unsuitable to be prime minister.

"Wallowing in the wash of a general election that stripped our prime minister of her authority on the very eve of EU negotiations, neither common sense nor the evidence suggest she can re-establish public confidence," Parris wrote in the Times.

"This prime minister is not viable."
2 more bodies found in Rangamati

UNB, Rangamati :

Bodies of two more landslide victims were recovered at Dumdumia in Jurachhari upazila in the district on Saturday morning, raising the death toll to 156 in five southeastern districts.

Bodies of a woman and a man were recovered from the rubble and mued this morning when fire service men resumed the rescue operation for the 5th consecutive day following demand of local people, said Upazila Nirbahi Officer Rashed Iqbal Chowdhury.

The identities of the deceased could not be known yet.

Bangladesh Army and Fire Service earlier on Friday evening officially declared the end of the rescue operation in the district, he said.

The engineering core of Bangladesh Army have been working to restore the vehicular movements on Rangamati-Chittagong road, Rangamati-Khagrachhari road, Rangamati-Baraichhari road and Rangamati-Kaptai road as those remained shut since Tuesday due to the disastrous landslides triggered by incessant rains.

Till now, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated from the risky hilly slopes and taken to shelter centres in the district.

With this, a total of 112 people, including five army men, were killed in Rangamati, which was hit hardest by the hillslides, while 34 in Chittagong, six in Bandarban, two each in Cox's Bazar and Khagrachhari.

Meanwhile, the rescue operations in Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Chittagong ended three days back.
Random hill cutting must stop, experts insist

Reza Mahmud :

A halt to random hill cutting and burning forest trees, grasses and creepers is the need of the time to curb more devastating landslides in Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, experts have viewed.

"The hills of Bangladesh are made with soils and sands. It is not made with stones. So, our mountain peaks are protected by the roots of big trees. The small trees, grasses and creepers also help hill soils from decaying. The people in those areas are destroying the forests by cutting trees. It caused huge landslides in the CHT," MA Matin, the General Secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA), told The New Nation yesterday.

According to the Fire Service and Civil Defence office, 154 people, including 6 Army officials, were killed in Tuesday's landslides in several hilly areas in Chittagong and the CHT.

The Fire Services continued till Saturday the eviction of the people living on hill slopes with risks.

About 3 lakh people live on such hill slopes.

The local people said before 2000 they did not suffer from such landslides due to the existence of huge mangrove forests in those areas.

On June 11, 2007, grave landslides in the hills of Hathazari, Khulshi, Bayezid Bostami and Pahartoli in Chittagong claimed 127 lives.

In 2008, 130 people were killed in landslides in Baluchara area of Bandarban.

In 2016, 16 people were killed in another landslide in the hill region.

Each of those incidents took place in rainy seasons, experts pointed out. They said building of unplanned residential areas in hills has contributed immensely to fatal landslides.

When contacted, Mehadi Hassan Palash, Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Research Foundation said, "The Jhum cultivators in the CHT have made most of the hills vulnerable to disaster. As a result, the roots of trees were gradually being removed. In these circumstances, the soil of hill peaks fails to keep itself tightly in rainy seasons. Heavy rain develops cracks in the hills and eventually causes landslides."

Palash suggested the government take strict steps to protect hills.

"Devastating landslides in hill areas may occur many more times in future, if appropriate steps are not taken," he said.

The hilly people, both Bangalees and tribals, blamed terrorist groups for looting big trees in the forests. They also blamed the officials of Forest and Environment Departments for not doing anything to protect those trees.

These terrorist groups include Jana Sanghati Samity and United Peoples' Front, they alleged.

Apart from these, some tribal men are now hugely grabbing hills to expand their lands and to drive Bangalee settlers out of the areas.

Besides, the political touts are involved in cutting hills.

After the devastating landslide in 2007, the government formed a technical committee to find the causes of such incidents.

But the experts said the authorities concerned did not pay heed to the recommendations put forward at that time.

Professor Shahidul Islam of the Geography and Environment Department at Dhaka University was in the 11-members committee.

"The hills have been made so vulnerable by rampant cuttings that cracks were developed in dry seasons. In rainy season the heavy water in the cracks pushes the soil lays, which caused landslides," Professor Shahidul Islam said.

He said when the government leased out the hills, those were green with huge forests, but after some days the forests were ruined.
CHT people facing shortage of basic needs

Humanitarian crisis feared in post-landslide period

Badrul Ahsan with Rangamati Correspondent :

The people in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) areas, mainly those in Rangamati district, have been facing shortage of basic needs as communication with the other parts of the country was snapped due to the series of landslides since last Monday night.

During a visit, The New Nation found that prices of all types of perishable and non-perishable food items more than doubled in the last six days. Shortage of fuel and food is on the rise in the areas.

The people in almost all urban and rural areas stay in dark at night because of disruption in electricity connection and short supply of fuel (kerosin and others).

They feared if the situation doesn't improve shortly, a humanitarian crisis may occur in the landslide-hit areas.

The New Nation reporter also found that a petrol pump in the Rangamati town was shut down as the pump ran out of petroleum.

Dozens of people with small containers queued up in front of the octane stand at the petroleum station on Thursday morning.

Three other petrol pump stations in the Rangamati district also stopped selling petroleum due to the shortage of supplies.

The people also had to buy essentials at steep prices as supplies ran short.

Taking advantage of the scarcity, some are selling a litre of petrol or octane in an open market for Tk 140-150 when its actual price was Tk 89.

Local businessmen said petroleum tankers last came to the town Monday as Rangamati's communication with the other parts of the country was snapped.

A kilogram of potatoes is being sold at Tk 40 while brinjal at Tk 100 and a kilogram of green chilli for Tk 200. That is much higher than the usual.

A Chakma girl, who came to the kitchen market, said a kilogram of potatoes now sells at a price double the rate just three days ago.

Rangamati Deputy Commissioner Manzarul Mannan told The New Nation: "Supplies have fallen as communication is disrupted. It will take time to get back to normalcy."

"We are trying to bring goods by four steamers. If anyone charges extra at the market taking advantage of the shortage, the mobile court will be there," he added.

Situations in hospitals was also found critical for power outage. Patients at the hospitals are being treated in the dark.

The 100-bed Rangamati Sadar Hospital's resident physician Soutom Kewnchi Marma said surgeries came to a complete halt due to the power shortage. Even generators went out of order due to scarcity of petroleum.

According to the Roads and Highway Department (RHD), large potholes were created at 109 points of the Rangamti-Chittagong highway.

"I have no idea when the Rangamati-Chittagong highway will be ready for commuting," said Md Abu Musa, an engineer at the Roads and Highway Department of Rangamati.

As many as 146 people, including five army men, were killed in the landslide in Rangamati, the worst hit, while 34 were killed in Chittagong, six in Bandarban, two each in Cox's Bazar and Khagrachhari.

The death toll could rise further as rescue operations for many of the missing continued for the fifth day.

Bangladesh Army and Fire Service on Friday evening officially declared the end of the rescue operation in the district.

Till now, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated from the risky hilly slopes and taken to shelter centres in the district.
iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trumps changes to U.S. policy on Cuba could have a chilling effect on some travel to the Caribbean nation, some experts say.



Americans can no longer travel to Cuba with a simple honor pledge, Trump announced Friday. Instead, most Americans must now travel with a tour group and are required to keep all receipts and itemized itineraries from their stay for five years.



U.S. travelers could also be forced to pay a fine if they are found to be in violation of the law.



Previously, individuals could come up with their own itineraries and arrange their own accommodations rather than having to use a tour group or travel company to make the arrangements.



Fridays move essentially returns travel restrictions to what they were before President Obama eased relations in 2014.



James Williams, the president of Engage Cuba, a coalition of private sector companies advocating for engagement in Cuba, told ABC News that Trumps changes are going to make travel more expensive and therefore lead to a major decrease in the number of travelers.



Now, "you have to now go by a government approved certified large group tour, Williams said. What this is going to do in practice is restrict the number of Americans who are going to Cuba.



Trump also restricted transactions with the Cuban military by expanding the definition of entities benefiting from payments. The government controls many of the hotels that operate in the country, so the policy change makes it illegal for all Americans to stay at many Cuban hotels.



Peggy Goldman is the founder of Friendly Planet Travel and has been organizing tours to Cuba since 2011. She told ABC News that the restrictions relating to the military will make operating tours in the company particularly difficult.



The majority of the tour bus fleet vehicles are owned by the tourism arm of the army, and they also own hotels, Goldman said.



In order to move people around, the ability to handle American visitors -- the people that are coming on these people-to-people programs -- you need buses and hotels, she said.



Goodman also believes the cost for Americans to travel to Cuba will go up. Her company charges between $3,500 and $4,500 for a week-long trip to Cuba.



Theres bureaucracy in every direction, especially in Cuba. It makes it almost impossible, Goodman said. Its tough to do this.



According to Airbnb, it has hosted more than 560,000 visitors in Cuba since April 2015. There are 22,000 listings in the country, the company said.



Over the last two years, thousands of Airbnb guests from around the world have traveled to Cuba to share ideas, experiences, and cultures. Airbnb has helped individual Cuban people earn extra income and we have seen how travel can break down barriers and promote understanding, Airbnb said in a statement.



Travel from the U.S. to Cuba is an important way to encourage people-to-people diplomacy. While we are reviewing what this policy could mean for this type of travel, we appreciate that the policy appears to allow us to continue to support Airbnb hosts in Cuba who have welcomed travelers from around the world, the statement said.



Airbnb also caters to non-Americans. The company said 65 percent of the people who booked Airbnb stays in Cuba were from outside the U.S. Airbnb is also available to tour groups.



We look forward to reviewing the details of the policy and speaking with the administration and Congress about this issue in the weeks and months ahead, the Airbnb statement said.



JetBlue launched service from New York to Havana in November 2016 and the airline said Friday it was committed to continuing air service between the U.S. and Cuba.



We plan to operate in full compliance of the new presidents new policy. We will review the policy and the specific regulations once they are available to determine any impact to our operations or to our customers, the airline said in a statement.



Certain travel will still be allowed, including cruises from the U.S. Carnival Cruises said it will review the extent of the tightening of the travel rules, but our guests have already been traveling under the 12 approved forms of travel to Cuba since we undertook our historic first cruise to Cuba more than a year ago.



Our experience in Cuba this past year has been extremely positive. We look forward to the new cruises being planned for Cuba with Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line. We also have requested approval for our other brands to travel to Cuba, the cruise line said in a statement released Thursday ahead of Trumps official announcement.



Goodman said while she expects the changes will make handling travelers more difficult, her companys tours will continue.



The takeaway is that this type of travel wont stop and the only thing that [Trump] will accomplish is to cause a lot of damage to the nascent Cuban entrepreneur who has invested, in some cases, life savings to create a restaurant in his house, to create other types of businesses, Goodman said.



She added, Its so ironic and so paradoxical that this person who is the prince of private enterprise is squashing the aspirations of this burgeoning Cuban entrepreneur sector of society.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Rosemary Eymann, 82, Bismarck, died June 13, 2017. Mass of Christian burial to celebrate the life of Rosemary Lauer Eymann will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 20, at Church of Corpus Christi, 1919 N. Second St., Bismarck. Burial will be held at St. Marys Cemetery, Bismarck.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E. Divide Ave., Bismarck. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.

Rosemary was born Aug. 25, 1934, to Marcella and Lawrence Lauer in Madison, Ind., where she spent the first 18 years of her life. Rosemary and her husband Hank moved to Bismarck in 1990. Earlier in life, she had worked as a legal administrative assistant in Kenai, Alaska. In Bismarck, she forged a new path as a parent aide serving a combined 25 plus years for Heartview Foundation and the State of North Dakota within the Department of Human Services. She embraced technology and built her own computer (when the other products on the market didnt suit her). She was a strong believer in the power of prayer. She lived her life knowing that kindness is the key to daily life as you never know what kind of pain the person next to you is carrying.

Rosemary is survived by her adult children, Diane Feffer and her husband, Jay, Dallas, Nancy Jones and her husband, Van, Jackson, Miss., Henry Eymann, Plano, Texas, and Joseph Eymann and his wife, Sheree, Eagan, Minn. Rosemary is also survived by her sister and best friend, Mary Anne Lutes and husband, Jim, Louisville, Ky.; her sister, Helen, Madison, Ind.; and a sister-in-law, Bette Eymann Young and husband, Ron, Fish Camp (Yosemite Valley), Calif. Rosemary also leaves her recent husband of four years, Denny Johnson, Buckley, Wash.

Rosemary joins her first husband of 46 years, Hank Eymann in eternal life.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a positive impact on someone in your life. Whether its a small interaction or a challenging reach out to someone who is estranged, show a random act of kindness this week.

Go to www.eastgatefuneral.com to share memories of Rosemary and sign the online guest book.
The Undead Archives

I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world.
"It's kind of like the adrenaline. Riding a motorcycle, that's why you see a lot of military riding motorcycles. It replicates the adrenaline flow you experience in combat. Riding is the only thing that clears my mind."

 Rob Keller, former public information officer with the North Dakota National Guard, on why he rides a motorcycle and plans an 8,000-mile loop from Bismarck to the Arctic Ocean.

q q q

"Congress does need to take a look at it. A, there may be some medical benefits. And B, if it's not psychoactive like marijuana, and, if it's not harmful, why do they want to say it's Schedule I?"

 Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, on CBD oil that comes from hemp.

q q q

"This is a waste of taxpayer money, a waste of time, harassment and again, financial warfare aimed at securing guilty pleas."

 Bismarck attorney Erica Shively in a brief accusing Morton County of trying to coerce guilty pleas out of pipeline protesters.

q q q

"I probably respect Myron as much as anyone I got to know in Bismarck. He was a true leader ... He never thought of himself, always the community."

 Russ Staiger, former president of the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, remembering Myron Atkinson, 89, who died this week.

q q q

"We're going to have to come up with ways to get some more feed. If we can move CRP up, that would be going a long ways."

 Kevin Sedivec, a state range specialist, on steps needed to deal with the states drought.

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"The location of this (rain) event  while it won't in and of itself change the drought designations  one of the very fortunate things about it is where it hit was some of the most drought-affected areas of the state."

 Allen Schlag, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck, on the rain parts of the state received Monday.

q q q

"I'm satisfied that I think it was a fair agreement."

 Travis Coyle, head negotiator for the Mandan Education Association and a biology and human anatomy teacher at Mandan High School, on a contract agreement reached with the school district providing a 2 percent pay raise.

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"We're going to struggle with gas capture on trust lands on Fort Berthold. We really need to do something to correct that problem."

 Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources.

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"If they were to prevail here, there would probably be a lot of other happy mineral owners. It'll impact mineral owners up and down Lake Sakakawea like the Wilkinsons whose property was acquired for Garrison Dam and Lake Sakakawea."

 Attorney Josh Swanson, on a mineral rights dispute involving Lake Sakakawea that could have implications for other regional property owners.

q q q

"We are only getting a small, small amount of the total potential reserve down there. Everybody would benefit if we could figure out a way to recover more."

 Sen. Kelly Armstrong, R-Dickinson, on refracturing early Bakken oil wells.
MARION  Twenty-four girls ages 9 to 11 gathered this week at the Marion Public Library for a STEM camp led by 14-year-old Marion native Nethmin Liyanage.

STEM is an acronym used to describe a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines  science, technology, engineering and mathematics  to improve U.S. competitiveness in science and technology development.

Liyanage, the daughter of Dr. Udaya and Shiroma Liyanage, attends a boarding school called the Hill in Pennsylvania. As a freshman, she was inspired to lead a camp in Marion by classmate Anya Gupta, who is an executive director for STEM You Can! (formerly known as Girls Science Interactive).

STEM You Can! is a 501(c)(3) youth-led nonprofit organization that provides free STEM summer camps and other programs for elementary and middle school girls to spark their interest in science. They also train high school and college students to start STEM You Can! programs in their communities and become leaders.

Liyanage said she wants to empower girls to know they are capable of doing great things in the STEM fields of study. She recalls an experience she had in seventh grade that sparked her interest in bridging educational gender gaps.

"While working on a team with fellow students for the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, I noticed that the guys were expected to take the lead and the girls were expected to do the artistic stuff," she said. "We were expected to maybe design the video while the guys were working on the actual code.

Liyanage said she also noticed that many times girls are pushed toward the arts and humanities. That was confirmed during the course of this camp. Many of these girls have never been told that they are capable of doing this.

Sheila Fredman, Coordinator of Childrens Services for the Marion Carnegie Library, said the feedback from the parents the feedback from the parents has been terrific.

They say their girls are home talking about stuff they have never talked about before, like physics and math," Fredman said.

Fredman said that for someone so young, Liyanage has done a phenomenal job. She has just handled it. From initiating contact with us, to planning the program, to carrying it out, she has been a one woman show. All we did was provide the space and some of the materials.

Liyanage said the arc of a day in camp followed a specific daily pattern while the subjects addressed changed daily. She started with a warm up activity that included a reading assignment or time to work on projects lingering from the day before.

Yesterday we made tin foil boats and we tried to change the formation to see how much weight we could get them to hold," Liyanage said. "This morning some girls wanted to keep working on their boat so there was flexibility to do that.

Liyanage said the warmup was followed by a presentation on the days topic, where she would show a powerpoint or a video and answer questions from the girls as they came up. She said the curriculum was flexible and allowed her to address the girls interests.

For instance, we were talking a bit about chemistry and atoms and a girl asked how physics ties in to that, so I was able to bring in an experiment from my own physics class and tie that in, she said.

After the presentation, Liyanage said she provided a hands-on experiment where the girls were able to take what they had learned and put it to use.

Today, for example," she said, "we are going to talk about triangle formations and engineering and how trusses hold the most weight and then the girls are going to build their own trusses and see how much weight they can support with that.

Liyanage will be a sophomore in the fall and is looking forward to her next school year, but that she doesnt yet have a step-by-step plan for the future.

I havent decided on a college, or a major," Liyanage said. "Right now, I am studying engineering, math and science, and all of that is working really well together. I have started to get into computer science and coding and such, so I can see myself doing something in one of the STEM fields, but I am also interested in playing music in Spanish, so I am leaving things pretty open for myself.

Liyanage plays both the piano and clarinet, and said that if she chose to pursue a career in music or languages, it would be because she knew what options were open to her.

I want to empower girls and let them know that they are capable of doing science," she said. "My goal here isnt to make girls to do science. If they decided they really love classic languages and they wanted to study Greek, thats great. But I want girls to know that this is open to them.
MINOT, ND. -- Capt. David D. Schindele was a Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missile launch crew commander in the Minot Air Force Base missile field when he experienced a situation in which a flying object took down all 10 of the nuclear-tipped missiles he was responsible for, causing them to be unlaunchable. That was 50 years ago.

Air Force officials instructed Schindele never to speak about the incident and as far as he was concerned, it never happened. Schindele was at a launch control facility near Mohall when the incident occurred.

On Dec. 6, 1966, the front-page headline of the Minot Daily News on Dec. 6, 1966, read: "Minot Launch Control Center 'Saucer' Cited As One Indication of Outer Space Visitors. The story told about UFO incidents in the Minot area.

"It Never Happened, Volume 1," is the title of Schindele's new book about the Air Force's cover-up of the UFO (unidentified flying objects).

Schindele was stationed at Minot AFB from July 1965 to May 1968.

"During that time in Minot, many of us experienced unworldly incidents at Minuteman facilities but we were all individually instructed to keep silent. We never realized at the time that others among us were also experiencing incidents, but now the truth is becoming known," Schindele told the Minot Daily News.

Schindele said a number of years ago he learned about a similar incident experienced by another missileer and that led him to writing his book.

"About 35 years after my Minot incident and learning about an identical incident experienced by another missileer (Capt. Robert Salas) connected to Malmstrom AFB in Montana, which was during the same general timeframe as my incident, I then contemplated coming forth with the 'truth,' " Schindele said.

Schindele said it took him another five years before he related his experience on his website and began to inform close friends of his experience.

"After discovering in 2010 that other missileers with me at Minot also experienced associated incidents, I then decided to conduct extensive research on Air Force cover-up to find out exactly why the Air Force told all of us to keep our 'lips zipped.' We all had top secret clearances, but that was not enough to allow the Air Force to provide truth to us, or to explain the incidents. We were all kept in the dark and never trained on how to manage such incidents and situations should they reoccur. It was a very disconcerting time for all of us," he said.

It was during his research and documenting information beginning in 2010 that Schindele said he knew he must produce a book on his findings.

"It was a six-and-a-half year effort, but I also realized that a second volume would be needed to make it complete," he said.

Schindele said there's another aspect to this that must be understood.

"There are many Minot missileers who have taken their 'secret' to their grave, while some hold onto the secret to this very day because of very great trepidation involved," he said. "With the passing of more than 50 years since my incident at Minot and 70 years since the incident at Roswell, (N.M.) there can be no ethical, moral, or critical reason for keeping the secret from humankind any longer, and my other missileer friends agree with that. This is further reviewed in Chapter Seven of the book."

Schindele said that mainly he wants to provide the truth.

"From the beginning, I've been conflicted with the goal of bringing truth to as many people as possible, while having no appetite for bringing attention to myself or receiving monetary benefit. But I also realize the fallacy in that," he said.

Schindele and his wife, Diana, reside in Mukilteo, Wash., north of Seattle. They have been married for 20 years and have a combined family of four adult children and eight grandchildren. Schindele grew up in the Seattle area and attended Washington State University. His parents both grew up in North Dakota  his mother at McGregor and his father at Tolna  and attended the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks.

Schindele said he and many others who were missileers during the same time period get together about every year and a half for a reunion, although their ranks are increasingly being depleted. Their next reunion will be in Las Vegas next February.

Schindele's book is available at Amazon.com. Proceeds will go to the Seattle Chapter of the Air Force Association.
SPRINGFIELD  The Democratic-controlled Illinois Legislature "doesn't need the governor" to enact an elusive budget deal to end a two-year impasse, the Senate president said Friday ahead of a special session.

John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, told The Associated Press that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's call for lawmakers to return to Springfield for the rest of the month is ill-advised. But if attendance is required, he said, House Republicans should pitch in to provide support for the $37 billion spending plan aimed at ending the longest of any state since at least the Great Depression.

"It's time to call it, and if they want to make some modifications, fine," Cullerton said.

He suggested House Republican Leader Jim Durkin doesn't need to worry about currying favor with Rauner now because the rules for passing a budget in the overtime session require a three-fifths supermajority. If there is such a vote, which would require GOP support, it would be able to override a gubernatorial veto anyway.

In May, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly adjourned its spring session without reaching an annual budget deal with Rauner for the third straight year. When the fiscal year ends June 30, the state will have a $6.2 billion deficit and a pile of past-due bills topping $15 billion. Because of court-ordered spending, government operations continue at a pace in which spending outstrips revenue by $7 billion a year.

Cullerton has waged a campaign to publicize the budget plan the Senate approved after negotiating with Republicans, even though none ultimately voted for it. That plan's $37.3 billion bottom line, the same total Rauner proposed in February, combines $5.4 billion in tax increases with $3 billion in spending cuts sought by Republicans.

In separate legislation, Cullerton maintains the Senate approved major "structural" changes Rauner has demanded, from revamping the hugely underfunded pension systems to a two-year freeze on local property taxes.

"Just exactly what else are we supposed to do?" asked a frustrated Cullerton.

For a budget to take effect July 1, it would take 71 votes in the House. There are only 66 Democrats in the chamber.

Steve Brown, spokesman for Chicago Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, noted that a private meeting of House Democrats just before the May 31 adjournment revealed a lack of support for the Senate plan.

"I've never really expected, based on the rhetoric, any Republican" votes on the plan, Brown said

But Cullerton says the time is ripe for Durkin, a Western Springs Republican, to persuade his caucus to buck the governor.

"Leader Durkin has to understand: He doesn't even need the governor now," Cullerton said. "You need a three-fifths vote to pass a bill, and a three-fifths vote to override a veto. So he and the speaker themselves can work out an agreement. ... We've already heard some Republican state reps say that they're willing to vote for a tax increase, enough's enough."

Durkin sounded agreeable in a statement his spokeswoman released Friday.

"I agree with President Cullerton that we can approve a budget and reforms," Durkin said. "That is the purpose of the special session."

A spokeswoman for Rauner did not respond to a request for comment.
LAS VEGAS  A man suspected of killing his young daughter, leaving the body in an abandoned property in Illinois and forcing his wife into prostitution in Las Vegas was charged Friday with abusing two other daughters kept captive in an apartment.

Jason Scott Quate was not asked to enter pleas during his arraignments on 34 felony counts of child sexual assault, abuse, lewdness and possession of pornography.

Katrina Ross, Quate's court-appointed lawyer in another case charging Quate with sex trafficking and living from the earnings of a prostitute, has said he will plead not guilty.

Convictions on the five child sex and 21 lewdness with a minor counts, combined, could get the 34-year-old Quate 385 years to life in Nevada state prison.

He is accused of keeping two daughters in a two-bedroom apartment after moving with them and his wife to Las Vegas early last year, having sex with one daughter, and injuring both girls with beatings using a belt or electrical extension cord.

Following his arrest June 6 on the prostitution-related charges, Quate told police that he killed his youngest daughter, Alysha, and concealed the body, according to an arrest report. He denied any sexual impropriety with the surviving daughters.

He is being held without bail.

Police said the girls, now ages 13 and 11, are in child protective custody.

His wife, Elizabeth Odell-Quate, 35, remains jailed in Las Vegas after telling a judge she would not fight transfer in custody to Belleville, Illinois, to face felony charges of concealing a homicidal death. She faces no criminal charges in Las Vegas.

Neither parent has been charged in the death of the child.

The body found last week in Centreville, Illinois, has not been formally identified. The coroner in St. Clair County, Illinois, did not immediately determine a cause of death.

The remains were found after Elizabeth Odell-Quate went to a woman's shelter in Las Vegas and told police her husband killed their 6-year-old daughter, hid the body, and forced her into prostitution.

Police in Illinois believe Alysha died in 2013.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson wants Jason Quate tried in Nevada before he is sent to Illinois, where he is sought on a warrant charging him with concealing a homicidal death, prosecutor James Sweetin said.

That charge carries a possible penalty of five years in prison.
"Tracy and I can't thank the people of Southern Illinois enough for their support and their prayers. Our victory tonight sends a powerful message to out-of-touch politicians everywhere that we're unified and unyielding in the fight for our conservative values. Joe Biden's going to be held accountable for destroying the economy, ignoring the border crisis, and taking us from America First to America Last in two years flat. But none of this would be possible without the trust of voters from across our vast 12th District. Serving you is truly the honor of a lifetime."
A memorial jazz jam session for Skipp Pearson, the legendary jazz musician who died last week following a lengthy illness, will be held 7-10 p.m. today in Ministers Hall at Claflin University.

The event is sponsored by the Skipp Pearson Foundation.

Admission is free, however limited seating is available and tickets must be reserved prior to the event at www.eventbrite.com/e/memorial-jazz-jam-for-pops-in-orangeburg-tickets-35252623546?aff=es2 or by calling the foundation office at 803-400-1879.

Pearson, who earned a bachelors degree at Claflin in 1974, was a native of Orangeburg. He was a celebrated jazz musician who worked for more than three decades to keep jazz alive in South Carolina as an educator and entertainer.

He received the state's highest civilian honor, the Order of the Palmetto, in January. He was also the recipient of the states highest artistic honor, the Elizabeth ONeill Verner Governors Award for the Arts.

Contact the Skipp Pearson Foundation at www.skpfoundation.org/contactus.htm or 803-400-1879 for funeral arrangements.
S.C. Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers believes the state's agricultural community has friends in Washington, D.C. who are sympathetic to the needs of farmers and rural residents.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue certainly understands rural America, coming from a rural background in Georgia," Weathers said.

"He is the right man for the job, he said.

Weathers attended the White House Infrastructure Summit on June 8.

The summit was led by President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Perdue. It focused on rural infrastructure and regulatory reform.

Weathers said Perdue is very much a strong voice, but does it in a gentle way.

"That is not be confused with him being passive about things," Weathers said. He said Perdue has the skills to build bipartisan support and pass a farm bill in 2018.

"I am a pretty good team player and I like our captain," Weathers said.

The Bowman resident was the only person from South Carolina to attend the event. He was joined by Dr. Mike Strain, Louisiana's agriculture commissioner, in representing farmers.

The summit included eight governors, mayors of middle-sized U.S. cities and representatives from tribal nations, Weathers said.

Among the topics discussed was improving transportation for agriculture, particularly for grain shipments on Midwest waterways.

"We also talked about research facilities at our land grant colleges and universities," Weathers said. "They are in dire need of repair."

He said the group also talked about improving high-speed internet in rural areas.

Weathers said he specifically discussed nuances of agriculture and the need to analyze and prioritize scarce resources.

Weathers said the breakout session he attended with Perdue was his favorite part of the day.

He said three issues were discussed during the session:

 How to change the culture in the federal government for infrastructure improvement by cutting down on red tape and burdensome paperwork.

 How to maintain proper, but not burdensome, regulations.

 How to best combine federal, state and local resources to be the most effective in rural America.

"I think the true test of the effectiveness of the summit is what we do now in terms of response," he said.

Weathers said he will reach out to Clemson University, the S.C. Department of Commerce and regional business alliances about the issues.

Weathers says one example of a need in the state is for dual rail access of CSX and Norfolk Southern.

"One missing piece of the situation is where a short railroad line could be extended and connected to a major railroad service," Weathers said. "It should open up the corridor for development."

Weathers said there is also concerns about regulations on water storage facilities.

"The future use of water is a big issue in South Carolina," he said. "Farmers are willing to invest in water compounds."

But Weathers said Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulations have been prohibiting such projects from moving forward.

"If we can just address these limiting regulations, it should open up private investment and better management," he said.

Weathers said he was able to speak briefly with President Trump in the exchange of hellos and a few words.

Weathers said it was the first time he saw President Trump conduct an official meeting. He said one takeaway from the summit was Trump's strength in deal making.

"He is good about finding out what people need to make something happen and getting people to put aside their differences and things they don't agree on and let's see what we do agree on and let's make something happen, Weathers said.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas  John Daniels has always kept close a photo of him and his baby daughter, a child he hasnt seen for more than 30 years.

The discolored photo shows the smiling faces of the Texas man and his little girl, cheek to cheek.

Ive only got one, Daniels said when asked if he had a picture of the two together. Ive got about six pictures that Ive held onto all of these years of her.

He said his wife moved away with their then-2-year-old daughter from their home in Corpus Christi on the Gulf of Mexico to Grand Forks. He tried to find them multiple times, but he was unsuccessful.

It was something that happened so long ago, and I just gave up on it, the Texas man said, adding he thought he would never see his daughter again.

Decades later and almost 1,700 miles to the north, 34-year-old Angela Barnum was searching for her father on Facebook. The Rolla, N.D., woman had a name: John Daniels.

I always longed for my dad, she said. Every daughter needs her dad.

She sent him a message and he answered. The two had finally found each other and, on Friday, Barnum got in her car with her three children and boyfriend to drive to Texas. Expecting to arrive sometime on Sunday, she made the long trip to her birthplace to meet her dad for the first time in 32 years, just in time for Fathers Day.

I bet you for sure it will be the best Fathers Day Ive ever had, Daniels said.

Cut off

Barnum was too young to remember her father before her mother, Arlene, brought her back to North Dakota. She said she has heard both sides of the story from her parents about what happened when the family was separated in the 1980s.

Daniels admitted that he and his wife, who were in their 20s at the time, werent getting along, and it was hard to make ends meet in Texas.

She said, Hey, Im going to catch a plane and go to North Dakota and visit with my mom for a couple of weeks, he said.

He recalled dropping them off at a Texas airport. When he called to see when he should expect them to return, he was told his wife and child were never coming back.

And then they changed their number, and that was the last time I was able to be in contact with them, he said. It was tough to deal with that that the way it happened and I was completely cut off.

He thought his wife would eventually call or come back, but that never happened. He said he tried looking for them, but he didnt know where to begin.

Back in the 80s, we didnt have the technology we have today, he said. There wasnt a whole lot you could do to search for somebody.

It was reach out with a phone call, and once you struck out there, its done, he added.

Searching Facebook

Barnum recalled her mother working a lot, but Barnum spent a lot of time with her grandmother, Deloris Lee Barnum, who was instrumental in establishing the Fire Hall Theatre. There were times when she was in foster care.

When asked how she felt about her mother after she left her father, Barnum said she loves her mother deeply.

She did the best she could raising me, Barnum said. I believe she was looking out for my best interest.

Barnum said she didnt know her fathers name until she was 13 years old, but she always wanted to find him. She also saw a picture of him for the first time when she was 21 years old.

The mother of three settled in Rolla in 2009, where she operates Dugans Bottle Shop.

Barnums mother died in 2005 and her grandmother died in 2014. She almost lost her father and her chance to ever meet him.

Daniels kidneys and liver were failing last year. Now 58 years old, he said he was hours away before doctors were going to call it quits on him when a donors organs came in to save his life.

I told him, That was God telling you that you need to meet me first, Barnum said.

Barnum didnt know that was unfolding as she searched for her father. In March, she said she got the courage to message a man from Corpus Christi who shared her fathers name.

The next morning, I get this message from him saying, Are you who I think you are? she said.

Daniels knew the message was from his daughter once he saw the name on the Facebook message matched his daughters. He was shocked, but in a happy way.

My wife said I turned as white as a ghost when I read it, he said. When I saw it, I just sort of froze in time.

You are my Dad!

Barnum shared a letter to her father with the Herald expressing mixed emotions, from missing him to being angry with him. She acknowledged that everyone makes mistakes, some that lead you places you never meant to go. She also recalls her mother telling her to move on.

But I dont want to do that. I cant do that, she wrote in the letter. Youre not the perfect dad, but you are my dad. Its not too late. We cant change the past. We cant go back in time and fix things, or make things the way we think they should have been. We cant start over. But we can start with the day I found you through Facebook! You are my Dad! And no matter what, I will always have love for you!

Both said they are nervous but excited to meet each other.

After 32 years, what do you say? Daniels said.

At first, Barnum didnt realize they scheduled their first meeting for Fathers Day.

I wanted to get there by Sunday, and then I looked at the calendar and said, Oh my God, it is Fathers Day, she said. This will be the first time I get to look my dad in the eyes and say, Happy Fathers Day.

Barnum said she has an open mind about where the relationship could go next, but for now, she will have family waiting for her in Texas, including three half siblings she has never met. Daniels will get to meet three grandchildren.

Its going to be a big reunion, Daniels said.
By Trend





Azerbaijan has become an important transit center in Eurasia, Xu Jian, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, said at an international conference in Baku June 16.

A number of important transport projects are being implemented with participation of Azerbaijan, he said. A container train was sent from China to Europe via Azerbaijan. The international North-South railway corridor project is also being implemented, which will allow transporting goods from northern Europe and Russia to the Persian Gulf countries and beyond.

Azerbaijan is an important country with the biggest economy, population and territory in the South Caucasus, Xu Jian said, adding that the country plays a special role in Chinas One Belt  One Road initiative.

Azerbaijan and China are actively cooperating, he said, adding that China is interested in building up this cooperation.

Xu Jian also said China is willing to support Azerbaijan in its efforts to diversify the economy. He added that China is ready to offer Azerbaijan both investments, and its technologies and innovations.
By Trend





The UN must exert pressure on the countries that do not observe the international law and do not fulfill the UNs decisions, Hans-Joachim Heintze, professor of international law at the University of the Ruhr Bochum, Germany, said.

Heintze was commenting on Armenias non-fulfillment of the UN Security Councils resolutions for many years.

He added that many countries are disappointed in the UN with certain countries not complying with its decisions.

Heintze stressed that the Armenians in Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region have no right for declaring an independent state and for self-determination as they are a national minority in Azerbaijan and such issues must be solved by the entire population of the country.

If we consider this issue proceeding from such logic, then there must be more than 3,000 countries in the world, which means an end to the system of international relations, Heintze said.

He added that the illegal regime in the Nagorno-Karabakh region was created as a result of Armenia's intervention.

I always criticize the OSCE Minsk Group for mentioning the principle of the right to self-determination of peoples in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict along with the principle of ensuring the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, he said. The Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh region have rights as a national minority. Azerbaijan should protect their rights in this aspect after the conflict settlement, which was repeatedly stated by the Azerbaijani government.

The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict directly depends on Armenia and Azerbaijan, Heintze said, adding that the sides must eliminate stereotypes towards each other. The conflict settlement is impossible with external interference.

He said the external players are interested in preserving the status quo, therefore, Armenian and Azerbaijani civil societies should also talk to each other.

Heintze recalled that the two parts of Germany began to unify with the efforts of civil society.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
By Trend





The UNs nuclear body, International Atomic Energy Agency, has reported that the safeguards expenditures from its extrabudgetary contributions were 29.8 million in 2016, 10.9 percent more compared to 2015.

This increase resulted mainly from the implementation of Irans Additional Protocol, verifying and monitoring Irans nuclear-related commitments as set out in the JCPOA and the Agencys MOSAIC project, IAEA reported June 16.

Regular Budget appropriation for 2016 was adjusted to 133.1 million.

IAEA has continued monitoring and verification in the Islamic Republic of Iran in relation to the nuclear-related measures set out in the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) until being informed, on January 19, 2016, by China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, the US and Iran, the report said.
The financing for Phase Three of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park in Dubai has been completed, a report said.



This marks the latest significant milestone for the Masdar-led consortium, with EDF Group's subsidiary, EDF Energies Nouvelles, which is developing the 800-megawatt (MW) project in partnership with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), reported WAM, the Emirates official news agency.



A sophisticated finance structure has been developed which includes seven different institutions: from the Middle East, the Union National Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp); commercial banks Natixis from France, Siemens Financial Services, from Germany, and Korea Development Bank; and Canada's export credit agency Export Development Canada (EDC).



Following the agreement, the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park becomes the largest renewable energy project in the Middle East to receive Sharia-compliant financing, which is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global financial market.



"Dewa has adopted the independent power producer (IPP) model to build the 800 MW third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. It has generated international interest from global business and energy companies, which reflects the trust and interest from international investors in large projects adopted by Dubai Government, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa.



This has been supported by the favourable existing regulatory and legislative frameworks in Dubai that enable public-private partnerships. The project has also set a global benchmark in solar tariffs at a price of 2.99 US cents per kilowatt-hour, a world-record-low tariff for solar power generation. The third phase will be operational by 2020.



"The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the IPP model, and is instrumental to the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050. The solar park's production capacity will reach 5,000 MW by 2030 with investments totalling Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion). It will eventually save over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year, supporting Dubai's objectives to promote its sustainable goals," added Al Tayer.



"The financing of the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park clearly demonstrates the confidence which the multinational lender community has in this important project, and underlines the compelling business case for renewable energy today. The involvement of Islamic investment in the project financing is especially pleasing, and will pave the way for further Sharia-compliant investment in the clean energy," said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, chief executive officer of Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.



"Construction of the third phase of the Dubai Solar Park is progressing as scheduled, thanks to the close involvement of Dewa and the collaborative efforts of all shareholders. This project is a model for successful public-private renewable energy partnerships, which not only contributes to the UAE's strategic objectives, but also sets an example globally," added Al Ramahi.



EDF Group, via its subsidiary EDF Energies Nouvelles, a market leader in renewable energy electricity, recently joined Masdar as a co-partner to support the project.



"The completion of this sophisticated financing represents a major milestone in the implementation of the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. This project is a perfect illustration of EDF Group's CAP 2030 strategic ambition for renewable energy. The commitment from international financial institutions alongside Middle Eastern financial institutions has been instrumental to the delivery of this important project, in partnership with Masdar and Dewa," said Antoine Cahuzac, EDF Group's senior executive vice president, Renewable Energies and CEO of EDF Energies Nouvelles.



The 16 sq-km 800 MW photovoltaic plant will be the largest of its kind in the world on completion, generating around 2.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity per annum on completion. Unlike conventional solar power arrays, the third phase of the solar park will use tilting panels that track the sun, thereby maximising output.



The plant is being delivered in three stages. Considerable progress is being made on site, with drilling and piling works under way for the placement of photovoltaic panels. Completion of Stage A is due in 2018, the 300 MW Stage B in 2019, and the final 300 MW Stage C in 2020.
Abu Dhabis cruise tourism sector continues to grow exponentially, recording a 40 per cent increase in vessel calls and 48 per cent increase in passengers to Zayed Port and Sir Bani Yas during the 2016/2017 cruise season.

Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator and manager of the emirates commercial and community as well as Khalifa Industrial Zone, announced the close of its best-ever cruise season at Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal with the maiden call of Princess Cruise Lines Majestic Princess.

The 2016/2017 cruise season, it stated, saw more than 345,662 tourists visit the emirate, up from 232,605 in 2015/2016. Likewise, vessel numbers increased from 115 in 2015/2016 to 161 in 2016/2017.

Captain Mohamed Al Shamisi, chief executive officer, Abu Dhabi Ports, said that the record-breaking season was testament to the growth of the emirate as a global hub for both commerce and tourism.



"For several years, we have made significant investments in our port infrastructure and tourism offerings to build a world-class cruise hub here in Abu Dhabi,"he stated.



We offer market-leading services to provide cruise passengers with value added services that address all their needs, and support the maritime tourism sectors role in enhancing Abu Dhabis appeal as a leading tourism hub, he noted.



Today, Im proud to say that the companys vision and strategy is paying off with another record-breaking year, added Al Shamisi.

As per Abu Dhabi Ports data, the top 10 nationalities arriving at the cruise terminal include Germany (48 per cent), UK (21 per cent), Italy (10 per cent), Russia (5 per cent), The Netherlands (4 per cent), the US and Spain (3 per cent), and Belgium, Switzerland and Austria at 2 per cent each.



Abdulkareem Al Masabi, executive vice president of Ports at Abu Dhabi Ports, said: "Since developing the cruise terminal we have worked diligently and closely with cruise lines to promote Abu Dhabi as a unique travel destination."

"We launched Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach as a 'must visit' destination on cruise liner routes this season, which has contributed to a 40 per cent growth in number of vessel calls this season, doubling last years forecast of 21 per cent increase for 2016/2017," he noted.

Calls by maiden vessels like the Majestic Princess promise a brighter future for the Abu Dhabi cruise tourism industry as a whole as well as the company, said the official.

Cruise ships from European and American markets now select Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminals as preferred destinations on their routes, he added.

Off the 162 cruise vessels which arrived in Abu Dhabi, the last one to call for this season was the Majestic Princess, which stopped at Abu Dhabi in between Dubai and Cochin, India, as part of its 56-day route from Barcelona, Spain, to home port in Shanghai, China.

The Majestic Princess is the newest sister ship to Royal Princess and Regal Princess, offering the Princess experience and signature favourites, plus exciting new features with a Chinese flair.

The 19-storey ship carries 3,560 guests, 1,346 crew and was built and launched in 2017 as the latest addition to the companys fleet.



Naturally with the boom in numbers visiting the Cruise Terminal in Zayed Port, there has been a consequent increase in visitors to the Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach which offers cruise ship passengers a unique beach destination with unrivalled tourism experiences, sad the Abu Dhabi Ports in its statement.

This season proved to be a great success with 33 cruise vessels calling at Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach with an approximate 54,000-passenger total visiting the unfettered white sandy beaches, it added.  TradeArabia News Service
Alliance Data, a leading global provider of data-driven marketing and loyalty solutions, said its LoyaltyOne European-based BrandLoyalty business, one of the largest and most successful data-driven loyalty marketers outside of the Americas, has entered into a multi-year agreement with Disney Channel.

Disney Channel is a digital cable and satellite channel owned by the European branch of The Walt Disney Company, broadcasting in the Balkans, Greece and the MEA region.

As per the deal, the company will develop the retail loyalty market throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for Disney EMEA to run from 2018 to 2021.

The new partnership builds on an already successful relationship between the two organizations, which, since 2014, has seen several highly popular Instant Loyalty Promotions (ILPs) based around famous Disney characters and franchises successfully launched and implemented in supermarkets/hypermarkets around the world, said a top official.

"This partnership with Disney provides significant opportunities for both BrandLoyalty and Disney in key markets," remarked Bryan Pearson, the president and chief execuitive of LoyaltyOne.

"Working with Disney EMEA, BrandLoyalty will look to grow retail consumer penetration of these globally recognized brands including Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar, through its traditional and digital mobile promotional campaign-driven loyalty programs," he noted.

BrandLoyalty is a leader in transactional and emotional loyalty, creating immediate changes in consumer behaviour through promotional campaign-driven loyalty programs.

Focusing on shorter-term promotional loyalty programs (12-20 week periods), BrandLoyalty generates real-time customer engagement in both traditional and digital channels, stated Pearson.

By analyzing market spending trends, tailored offers are created for clients by identifying local consumer patterns against the retailer's data to identify specific target segments within the customer base, he noted.

This approach enables BrandLoyalty to customize promotional programs to engage key client customer segments and drive marketing return on investment, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The centrist party of French President Emmanuel Macron is on course to win a landslide victory following the first round of parliamentary elections.



Projections show La Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move) and its MoDem ally set to win up to 445 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, reported BBC.



The Socialists, France's former ruling party, are seen losing 200 seats.



Traditional parties are urging voters to back Macron's rivals in a run-off vote to avoid him monopolising power.



Macron's party was established just over a year ago and many candidates have little or no political experience. The final outcome will be decided in the second round of voting next Sunday, reported BBC.



Seat projections showed Macron's camp going on to win between 390 and 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly after next Sunday's second round -- continuing his centrist revolution which has left France's traditional parties in tatters, reported The News International.



Both the Republicans - who had hoped to upstage Macron in the parliamentary election - and the Socialists of Macron's predecessor Francois Hollande appeared set for steep losses.



Marine Le Pen's FN party was left disappointed as she struggles to rebound from her bruising defeat by Macron in the presidential run-off, with the party's result largely unchanged from the first round of the 2012 vote, it stated.



Turnout was markedly down on Sunday compared with the last parliamentary election, reflecting a degree of fatalism among Macron's opponents in the face of his advance as well as a degree of election fatigue, experts said.



Around 49 percent of the electorate cast a ballot -- one of the lowest levels in such an election in decades.



The results showed Macron continuing to impress the French, a month after being elected France's youngest-ever president on May 7, reported The News International.



Since then he has won praise for appointing a balanced cabinet that straddles the left-right divide and taking a leading role inEurope's fight-back against US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a global climate accord.



If the seat projections are confirmed next week he will have a strong mandate to push through the ambitious labour, economic and social reforms he promised on the campaign trail.



Few MPs are expected to be elected outright on Sunday, said the report.



If no candidate wins over 50 per cent, the two top-placed contenders go into the second round - along with any other candidate who garners at least 12.5 percent of registered voters.



More than 50,000 police were on patrol during the vote, with France still jittery after a wave of jihadist attacks across Europe, it added.
Nick Heath has been appointed as the general manager of The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal.



An experienced general manager, Heath will be responsible for the 532-room luxury beachfront resort in Abu Dhabi. He joins the Abu Dhabi property from Sheraton Grand Doha Resort and Convention Hotel, where he served since 2015.



Heaths tenure with Starwood Hotels & Resorts started in 2007 and was appointed as general manager of the iconic W Bangkok (Bangkok, Thailand) and the W Seoul-Walkerhill (Seoul, South Korea) prior to joining Sheraton in Doha (Qatar).



Heath started his hospitality career as a corporate engineering management trainee with Hyatt Hotels Corporation leading the engineering team in several properties in Asia, Middle East and the US. In 1995 he was appointed director of engineering in Hyatt Hotel Aryaduta Jakarta where he changed his path into director of rooms and then, worked as director of sales and marketing. The following years, Heath has been employed as general manager in Thailand, South Korea and Qatar where he had joined Starwood Hotels.



He brings with him a wealth of understanding within the hospitality business with over 25 years of experience with global hotel chains. - TradeArabia News Service
A small Casper pet shelter prevailed this week in its quest to loosen restrictions on the gambling it uses to fund its operations, sparking a debate at Tuesdays City Council meeting on whether local government should be in the business of regulating morals.

For several years, the Pet Ring Foundation has raised money from a handful of gambling machines at a storefront along East Second Street.

But when executive director Preston Pilant tried to switch machine vendors, he learned that city zoning barred gambling at his shop because it was within 300 feet of a church.

Pilant said he had consulted with the police and City Attorneys Office before starting the gambling operation but hadnt thought to check with the zoning office.

We completely shut down, Pilant told Council.

That was a problem because the shelter was largely funded by the gaming revenue.

So Pilant approached Council earlier this year to ask that the city change the zoning rule barring gambling near churches. City staff began working on a solution, and on Tuesday, City Planner Craig Collins presented Council with five options:

Do nothing;

reduce the current 300-foot distance restriction;

measure from building to building rather than from property lines;

eliminate the distance-based restriction on gambling in the C-2 zoning district, which Pilants operation is located in;

or remove the distance restriction on gambling in every zoning district.

Council members were largely sympathetic to Pilants plight.

Its a stupid law, said Councilman Shawn Johnson.

Councilwoman Amanda Huckabay defended Pilants work and said his shelter provided an essential service to Casperites.

Preston is a little bit psycho about animals, but he has helped out so many low-income and homeless people in this community, she said. If they have no place to keep their animal, Preston will take them in.

Collins also spoke against the current regulation, which bars gambling within 300 feet of both churches and schools, as measured from property line to property line.

He said the purpose of zoning was to ensure the buildings and activities in different neighborhoods were compatible.

Its not to make sure people are doing moral things on their property, Collins said. Im always hesitant to regulate moral issues because not everybodys morals are the same.

Councilman Dallas Laird said the fact that the Pet Rings gambling operation was active for years before the zoning issue shut them down was evidence that it posed no harm to the community.

This is probably going on all over and it doesnt matter, Laird said.

Lairds main concern was that Pilant had an old school bus, painted black, parked next to the shop. Pilant said it was intended to serve as a mobile spay-and-neuter clinic but that funds never emerged. He said the bus would be removed soon and offered it to Laird for free. Laird declined.

Pilant was unable to be reached for comment regarding what kind of gambling machines he would be using and when the operation most recently shut down.

Council agreed to eliminate the distance restriction in the C-2 zoning district and allow gambling in those areas without a special permit. Members will still need to vote on that decision at a future meeting.
Educators and leading lawmakers have expressed cautious optimism that legislators can agree upon a comprehensive solution to the states looming education funding shortfall.

The officials comments came three days after a meeting Monday in Riverton between the Joint Revenue Committee and the Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration. The wide-ranging discussion, which examined the litigation-littered history of education funding in Wyoming, the massive deficit the state faces to pay for its schools and what tax options lawmakers can pursue to fill that hole, brought together some of the most powerful educators and lawmakers in the state.

Boy, that meeting was just kind of like drinking from a fire hose, said Brian Farmer, the president of the Wyoming School Boards Association.

Rep. Albert Sommers, a Pinedale Republican and the co-chairman of the recalibration committee, said the purpose was to educate lawmakers  and the public  about the severity of the situation and what options were available, and to what effect. His committee is charged with examining Wyomings school funding model and, with the help of consultants, tweaking it or replacing it altogether.

Normally, that process wouldnt happen for another three years and likely wouldnt include a joint meeting with the revenue committee. But the school funding situation in Wyoming is stark: In the coming two-year budget cycle, which begins next July, education faces a deficit of at least $530 million.

At the meeting, lawmakers heard about the revenue that could be raised by increasing the sales tax, the lodging tax, alcohol taxes and fuel tax. But in a deeply conservative state that ranks near the bottom for most taxes, legislators appeared hesitant of asking their constituents to cough up more dollars for schools.

Speaker Steve Harshman, a Casper Republican, said Thursday that lawmakers need to have a discussion about raising revenue. A bill he helped craft in this past legislative session would have temporarily increased the sales tax, among other things. That provision was eventually killed.

And legislators should have discussions about what kind of education system we want in Wyoming, he said. Do we want 48 school districts? Do we want small schools in every town?

Harshman has advocated a five-step approach to solving the problem: a balance of savings, revenue increases, changing spending policies, cutting budgets and modifying existing funding. Sommers said Thursday that he supported that approach and helped write the original bill.

But it failed, he said. (The bill ultimately passed, albeit stripped of its tax increases). We have to go back to the drawing board, look under rocks. Investigating diversions, new revenues, implications of new revenues and implications of more cuts, and then we have to make another run at it.

Gerry Chase, the superintendent of Johnson County School District No. 1, testified at the meeting and said Thursday that he, too, supported a multi-pronged approach. He said the mood of the legislators at the meeting seemed to indicate they were becoming more amenable to potential tax increases.

Now that they have the details and they see the time frame and the breadth of it, people are starting to swing around, he said.

Ron Sniffin, the executive director the Wyoming Education Association, agreed.

I think there was a recognition during the meeting  there was a lot of information that was shared that really pointed out the fact that Wyoming citizens pay very little in taxes compared to the rest of the country, he said.

Sommers said he had no idea if lawmakers were more comfortable with raising taxes following Mondays meeting. Harshman cautioned that it was hard to read the mood of his fellow lawmakers. He said that if legislators pursued tax increases, it might be a combination of smaller increases, like a 1 percent lodging tax that could produce around $6.4 million annually, primarily from out-of-staters.

That alone isnt enough to fill a $530 hole, but taken in conjunction with other increases and the other elements of his multi-faceted plan, it could be enough tackle the deficit.

I think theres opportunities out there, Sommers said. Some taxes that we have that are paid more by out-of-staters than Wyomingites. There are ways to nickel and dime and get quite a bit of money in the end.

Harshman added that this crisis is the product of Wyomings fiscal philosophy of living and dying by the energy economy.

When the price of coal, oil and gas all go down all at the same time, thats not a third-graders fault in Meeteetse or a second-graders fault in Casper, he said.

When youve fixed education to the most volatile sources, it sounds great when its good because you dont have to foot the bill for it.

But now, he said, the conversation about broadening the tax base must be had. He said the Legislature could spend down its primary saving account to fund education in the coming years. The LSRA, as the account is known, is already being tapped to pay for schools, but many lawmakers have balked at the idea of draining it at a consistent clip.

Sommers said that draining the savings account too far leaves the the state vulnerable to a disaster. But Harshman pointed out that telling taxpayers that lawmakers are raising taxes to preserve savings isnt a winning strategy, either.

Several leading education lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Drew Perkins and Senate Minority Leader Chris Rothfuss, did not return requests for comment.

Nor did a number of superintendents, including Sweetwater County No. 2s Donna Little-Kaumo and Laramie County No. 1s John Lyttle. Both of those districts had previously passed resolutions authorizing lawsuits against the state should local educators feel budget reductions had crossed a constitutional line.

Harshman and Sommers said the possibility of another lawsuit isnt hanging over the head of lawmakers, nor is the fear of getting booted from office should lawmakers raise taxes.

People say, Well, legislators need to lead. But you can only lead where people want to follow, Sommers said. I hear more in my community, We need to maintain a robust education, more than any other comment. But I also hear comments like, Jeez I wonder if schools could do it a little cheaper.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some June 17 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages.
PHOENIX  Attorney General Mark Brnovich is looking into the marketing practices of an Arizona firm that manufactures opioids.

Documents filed by Insys Therapeutics with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclose that the Chandler-based company has received a civil investigative demand from officials both here and in several other states.

The filing also says the company understands that numerous physicians within each of the states also have been served with subpoenas about their interactions with Insys.

The company says the demands want to know about its sales and marketing practices related to Subsys, a form of the opiate fentanyl that is applied by spraying it under the tongue. It is currently the companys only approved product.

Mia Garcia, spokeswoman for Brnovich, declined to comment. As a general rule, our office does not announce potential ongoing investigations prior to the filing of a consumer fraud lawsuit or settlement agreement, she said.

But on Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his office is working with a bipartisan coalition of a majority of state attorneys general to evaluate whether manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of opioids. Garcia would not say whether Arizona is part of that effort.

This comes, Reuters reports, as federal prosecutors in Massachusetts told a judge that a former Insys manager has agreed to plead guilty in connection with charges that the firm was involved in defrauding insurers to pay for the expensive drug. A total of six former company executives and managers, including former CEO Michael Babich, are accused of taking part in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe the drug.

And the disclosure follows an executive order issued earlier this week by Gov. Doug Ducey giving state health officials broad powers to investigate cases of opioid overdoses. State officials cited statistics that all manufacturers sold 431 million doses of the drug in Arizona last year, a state with just 6.9 million residents.

There was no immediate response from company officials to the disclosure in the SEC filings.

But in a news release last month about the charges against the former officials, new CEO Saeed Motahari said Insys has taken appropriate steps to strive to ensure that ethical standards of conduct and patient interests are at the heart of all business decisions.

The central question in all existing inquiries of opioid abuse is whether the drug is being overprescribed, and whether any of the blame rests with the manufacturers.

There is ample precedent if Arizona decides to go after Insys.

The company reports it entered into an assurance of voluntary compliance with Oregon which requires us to maintain certain control and processes around our promotional and sales activity related to Subsys in Oregon. While Insys reports it did not admit any violation of law or regulation, it did agree pay about $1.1 million.

Insys also reports it paid $2.9 million to New Hampshire and a $500,000 contribution to a charity to be used to prevent or remediate problems relating to abuse, misuse or misprescribing of opioid drugs.

The company reports it also is in discussions with the attorney general of Illinois after that state filed suit and anticipates a probable loss of $500,000 in connection with an investigation in Massachusetts.
The Border Patrol says the arrests at a humanitarian aid camp of four men suspected of crossing the border illegally do not signal a change in policy, although activists disagree.

The humanitarian aid group No More Deaths said about 30 Border Patrol agents, along with 15 trucks and a helicopter, executed a search warrant Thursday on the groups camp in Arivaca.

Volunteers with No More Deaths say the arrests mark a targeted attack on humanitarian aid workers, while an agency spokesman said the Border Patrol has not changed its policies.

The camp itself is a collection of about a dozen makeshift structures, all of which are on a parcel of private property, that has grown bit by bit over the last decade. A recreational vehicle serves as the office, solar panels power a refrigerator, and a couple dozen beds, some of which are supported by green milk crates, are tucked inside large tents.

The purpose of the camp is to help border crossers recover from exposure to the elements, heal blistered feet, or get rid of sickness after drinking contaminated water from cattle tanks.

The arrests came Thursday when agents, looking for four Mexican men whose footprints they had tracked for 18 miles, served a search warrant on the camp.

For the No More Deaths volunteers at the camp, the men were patients seeking medical help after enduring triple-digit temperatures in a trek through the desert. For the Border Patrol agents, they were suspected illegal immigrants who had violated federal law.

The June 15 search warrant signed by U.S. District Magistrate Judge D. Thomas Ferraro authorized the Border Patrol to seize any individuals at the camp who were in the country illegally, including four people depicted in photographs taken by a sensor at 4:25 p.m. on June 13, 2017, according to a copy of the warrant provided by No More Deaths.

The arrests two days after the sensor took photos of the men raised questions as to why the agents didnt arrest them before they arrived at the camp or after they left.

Agents would have arrested the men before they entered the camp, Border Patrol spokesman Agent Vicente Paco said, but they were following footprints and agents did not catch up with them before they arrived at the camp.

Agents waited for two days outside the camp and contacted the camp operators, but the four suspected illegal immigrants did not emerge, Paco said.

No More Deaths spokeswoman Maryada Vallet said Thursdays search was the first time agents had entered the camp with a warrant. She cited a 2013 agreement with the Border Patrol not to interfere with humanitarian aid efforts.

The Border Patrols search of the camp showed a palpable difference from how an encounter with the agents played out weeks before, long-term volunteer Tim Juge told the Star during a visit to the camp Friday.

The type of operation they are doing, for me, is unprecedented and theres nothing routine about what they did, Catherine Gaffney, a longtime volunteer who was present during the arrests, told The Associated Press. It wasnt part of their day-to-day operation. It was a staged military siege on our camp.

In late May, eight border crossers arrived at the camp seeking medical help. Similar to this weeks incident, agents had tracked them to the camp and asked that they be sent out.

After volunteers told them what was happening, the border crossers decided to turn themselves in to the Border Patrol, Juge said.

On Thursday, the patients decided they did not want to turn themselves in, he said, adding: We respect whatever choice people make once weve done everything we can to inform them.

The Border Patrol said in a news release that two of the men arrested in May had criminal histories. Paco could not provide information about their convictions.

One of the men arrested Thursday previously was convicted of smuggling more than 600 pounds of marijuana, the agency said in a news release Friday.

The Border Patrols Tucson Sector has not changed how it deals with humanitarian aid groups, Paco said. He disputed that the agency has an agreement with No More Deaths not to interfere with aid efforts.

Instead, he said guidance from Tucson Sector management directs agents not to interfere with water stations or actively surveil humanitarian aid facilities or camps.

However, if probable cause exists to believe illegal activity is occurring at the facility or camp, then agents will apply the law as it is stated, Paco said.

He said the Border Patrol understands No More Deaths mission to provide aid, but added that those efforts can encourage smugglers.
Permit-fee breaks for better insulation in new homes.

One hundred percent solar-powered drinking water.

A new eco-project in the fashion of the pioneering southeast-side Civano development.

Long-term loans to help city and county governments and the University of Arizona go green.

And, in the future, more public investment in the bus system and other alternative forms of transportation.

These and other ideas are on the minds of Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and other city officials. Theyre contemplating action on climate change in light of President Trumps recent decision to exit the Paris Climate Accord of 2015.

On Tuesday, the Tucson City Council will take up this potentially touchy issue in a study session aimed at generating ideas and discussion on what to do next.

Some ideas could cost the city money, but others could be done with little to no upfront cost, the mayor said.

Outside the council meeting, potentially record-setting heat will serve as a backdrop, with temperatures forecast to reach 115 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday. While these temperatures arent specifically linked to climate change, numerous studies have shown that the Southwests temperatures have risen significantly over the past few decades, at rates faster than temperature increases across the entire United States.

The council discussion will come a little more than two weeks after Trump announced the United States would withdraw from the Paris accord. Most nations around the world signed it in December 2015 to set a goal of holding down future global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

The president called the agreement a bad deal for this country, one that would impose unfair environmental standards on U.S. companies and workers. He also called it an attack on American sovereignty.

The U.S. had agreed under former President Barack Obama to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent of 2005 levels by 2025  about 1.6 billion tons, according to The Associated Press.

This act of withdrawing from the world agreement has spurred all of us on the local level who care about the Earth, biodiversity and quality of life to take another look at what we can do locally, said Rothschild, one of more than 300 U.S. mayors to sign a letter pledging to uphold the Paris accords goals.

I dont think anyone in Tucson wants to see summers get hotter, said the mayor. Were focusing on taking a more aggressive approach.

Trump can do what he wants, but that doesnt prevent Tucson from acting locally, added Councilman Steve Kozachik, who called for Tuesdays study session.

The global issue, as we know, has very local impacts. We want to empower people so they can step up and fill the void.

urgency is needed

On its face, the tasks ahead to reach the Paris accords goals seem staggering.

Diana Liverman, former co-director of the University of Arizonas Institute for the Environment, said shes working on a special report for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on how to hold temperature increases to the 2.7 degree Fahrenheit goal.

From her work so far, its already clear that to get to it requires not only steep emission reductions but actually removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, said Liverman, now a professor of geography and development.

For the United States to do its fair share of the task to hold temperature increases just to 2 degrees C, or 3.6 degrees F, will require this country to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2020 from 2000 levels. It will also require getting to zero emissions by 2030 with some carbon dioxide actually being removed from the atmosphere by then, Liverman said.

With Arizona generating about 1.5 percent of the annual U.S. total of CO2 emissions, it would need to cut its current emissions total of 105 million metric tons by 73 percent by 2020. Pima Countys current emission level of 14 million metric tons would have to be cut to about 4.2 million by then, Liverman said.

In Pima County we need to get transportation emissions down and get our electricity out of fossil fuels, she said.

Anything short of transformative change is insufficient to address the challenge of meeting global climate goals, said Benjamin Champion, director of the UAs Sustainability Office. That can happen over time, but tackling this problem incrementally is fine only if we use small-scale change to build support and plan much much larger-scale change, Champion said.

Such a change will require mobilizing multiple sectors of the community, he said. They include residential and commercial building energy use, industrial energy and materials use, transportation, waste, food systems and materials/product supply chains. A supply chain is a distribution channel of goods and components, starting with their suppliers and extending through manufacturers, distributors, retailers and ultimately to consumers.

In Tucson, there are grass-roots movements afoot in each of these areas, that all need support and growth, with help from various networks of people and institutions across the community, Champion said.

Specific proposals

Specifically, Rothschild listed these potential solutions:

Going into partnership with Tucson Electric Power to lease city land to install a large, utility scale solar energy plant in the Avra Valley to make the citys Central Arizona Project pumping facilities there 100 percent solar. The city gets most of its drinking water from a series of basins where CAP water is recharged into the aquifer and later pumped out.

Giving developers and homebuilders breaks on permit or impact fees for building eco-friendlier homes and office and commercial buildings.

Builders who install solar panels on homes already are eligible for incentives. Rothschild said incentives could be added for installation of energy-efficient windows and insulation systems.

Incentives could be given to homeowners who retrofit their houses with solar or energy-efficient equipment when they need city permits to do the work, he said. City support can also be given to organizations such as the Tucson Urban League and Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona, which provide weatherization, among many other home-repair projects, for low-income families, the mayor said.

Using performance contracts to obtain loans to include solar power and other energy-saving devices  first in infrastructure such as new buildings, and eventually across city government. With performance contracts, the city arranges for an investor or bank to finance projects, with the city repaying the loan over time using proceeds from savings from reduced energy use.

Similar contracts could be arranged for infrastructure in Pima County, probably the university and potentially Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Rothschild said.

This idea has already been used to borrow $15 million to install LED lighting in city streetlights and parking garages. So far, 19,487 such lights have been installed  92 percent of the total planned  and theyll use 70 percent less electricity than conventional lighting, said Jason Laros, the citys energy and waste diversion programs manager.

Encouraging formation of whats known as 2030 districts, in which building owners and other property owners within specified geographic boundaries commit to reducing their energy and water use 50 percent by 2030. Such a district was recently created for the downtown area. The city could let the district use a city logo on its materials and list the city as a partner, the mayor said.

Creating another of what Rothschild called an eco-district, like Civano, which was developed in the 1990s on the southeast side near Irvington and Houghton roads. Again, the city would give developers incentives to encourage greener construction techniques and low-water-use equipment and facilities.

Saving energy in transportation by more rapidly switching the citys bus fleets and other vehicle fleets to compressed natural gas and other more energy-efficient fuels. Future spending on alternative transportation methods such as transit could also be on the table. The Pima Association of Governments is starting to plan for the re-authorization of the Regional Transportation Authority half-cent sales tax and this topic is on the forefront, Rothschild said.

For now, the mayor isnt talking about imposing new regulations on businesses or homeowners to force them to use less or greener energy. A 2006 statewide proposition put the damper on many such efforts by requiring local governments to compensate property owners for any land-use changes that reduce property values.

Two years ago, the Arizona Legislature went a step further, enacting a law forbidding local governments from even conducting climate audits of privately owned buildings to try to spur reduced energy use, Rothschild said. That law passed after the city of Phoenix sought to conduct such audits.

Kozachik said he doesnt want to cram anything down anyones throat, but wants to work with builders and other sectors of the business community to see if theres more they can do to save energy. Another idea is to dust off a series of voluntary climate-change mitigation measures that the city approved six years ago to see if they can be employed, he said.

Officials from the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association said they cant comment on possible climate-change mitigation strategies at this point.

SAHBA President David Godlewski noted that upgrades to the citys building codes in the past decade have made the codes 30 percent more energy efficient than they were in 2006. Chamber CEO Mike Varney said the chambers board hasnt discussed this subject.

Already, there are many builders who exceed energy-efficiency requirements, Godlewski said. Insulation is better. Windows are more energy-efficient. Weve adjusted the sizing of heating and cooling equipment to be better equipped, based on what the consumer is asking for.

Weve seen consumers by choice buying more and wanting more energy-efficient homes. Builders are building them, he said.

UA sustainability official Champion praised Rothschilds strategies for reducing city energy use. But transportation is absolutely key for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

A recent Pima Association of Governments report said transportation accounts for 30 percent of emissions in eastern Pima County. Nationally, experts say transportation recently surpassed buildings as the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

While light rail is sexy and cool, finding a way to fund the citys bicycle master plan and a much more comprehensive and reliable bus system throughout the region would come first in my opinion, and should be more cost-effective, Champion said.

But thats how transformative change works. You do the bicycle and bus network upgrades, and all the while start planning the bigger-ticket items that happen in a decade or two, he said.
Jonathan Overpeck, a globally recognized climate researcher who co-authored a Nobel Prize-winning report, is leaving his longstanding University of Arizona post for a top-level University of Michigan job.

In a move that fellow researchers describe as devastating and a tremendous loss to the UA, Overpeck will become dean of the Michigan universitys new School for Environment and Sustainability.

Overpeck will leave his UA Institute for the Environment directors post in August.

I believe some of you knew I was invited to apply to this position back in the fall, and after an unusually involved process and several visits, the deal became just too good to turn down, Overpeck said in an email Friday to faculty members at the UA institute.

He has long dreamed of working with a broad, interdiscplinary group of faculty colleagues, alumni and off-campus partners to really step up the impact that large top-quality public universities have in society with respect to conserving our environment and ensuring more sustainable approaches to the future, Overpeck said in his email.

The University of Michigan has decided to invest heavily to integrate world-class research, education and engagement, drawing from across their entire campus, to achieve the same dream, he said.

Globally, Overpeck is best known as a lead author on the 2007 and the 2010-14 climate assessments published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The 2007 report was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Al Gore, former vice president and longtime climate crusader.

As head of the UA institute, Overpeck has published regularly on a host of climate issues, specializing in the Colorado River, general Southwest climate issues and sea-level rise due to melting polar ice caps, among others.

He came to UA in 1999 to run its Institute for Study of the Planet Earth, which was renamed to its current title in 2009. He has been director or co-director of the institute since then.

Overpeck also has been at the forefront of those who warned about climate changes impact on the Colorado River. Early this year, he and Colorado State University water researcher Brad Udall published a study that for the first time scientifically linked the rivers declining flows since 2000 to hot, dry weather triggered and/or aggravated by climate change. Just this week, the two published a less scholarly account of that research on the national website the Conversation.

But while he has published about 200 research papers, Overpeck also has been heavily engaged in the heated public debate over climate change, having testified nine times before Congress and more than once at the Arizona Legislature.

Overpeck, who was traveling this week in Europe, didnt respond to an email or a text message from the Star seeking comment on his departure from the UA. But the researcher, a frequent Twitter user, tweeted a plug Friday for his new employer, for its just-announced plan to offer free tuition to Michigan residents whose familys income is less than $65,000 annually.

Several researchers said his depature will be a serious blow to the UA. Overpecks wife, Julia Cole, also a UA faculty member since that time, in geosciences, hydrology and atmospheric sciences, will be joining the University of Michigans faculty as well.

It breaks my heart. Its a tremendous loss to UA, Tucson native Udall said Friday of Overpecks departure. He brings scientific rigor to the job, and hes a likable person. Hes just a joy to everyone he encounters. Hes everything you want in an individual who works in the academic realm.

UA climate scientist David Breshears, using Overpecks common nickname, said Peck is a force of nature.

He is an incredible scientist on so many levels. He tweets for the public all the time, but hes also a super strong interdisciplinary scientist who interacts with physical scientists, ecologists, social scientists and local, national and international decision makers, said Breshears, a professor of natural resources and global change and chair of the UA institutes faculty advisory committee.

Overpecks hiring at Michigan is a testimony to his impressive scholarly work and his visionary leadership, said Diana Liverman, his co-director at the UA institute until stepping down last December. His achievements included bringing in millions of dollars in research funding  including support for major regional centers focusing on the regions environmental and climate challenges, she said.

His work has alerted us to the risks we face in managing water and other resources in the face of climate change and has provided important insights into past climate variability and change in the Southwest and globally, Liverman said.

Overpecks departure is a personal tragedy for me because hes an extraordinary scientist and a good friend, added UA science dean Joaquin Ruiz.

He has been working with Overpeck on an ongoing study of the desert environment for the National Academy of Sciences and the Mexican Academy of Sciences. The two have worked together at Biosphere II, where Ruiz is director and Overpeck sits on its governing board.

Hes a clear thinker, a very broad thinker, Ruiz said of Overpeck.

Overpecks departure comes a bit more than nine years after he decided not to leave the UA for another plum job in the Midwest. That time, he was a finalist for director of the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

He decided to stay after UA administrators agreed to construct a new $90 million building housing environmental researchers from several departments. The UA also agreed to hire more faculty in environmental science and to give a 22 percent salary boost to Overpeck, taking his pay at the time to $160,000 a year.

This time around, the UA offered him a substantial retention package to try to stop him from leaving, said UA spokesman Chris Sigurdson, who declined to release details on the grounds that it was a personnel matter.

Theyre lucky to have him, Sigurdson said of the Michigan school. In addition to being a great teacher and a great researcher, hes been a mentor to many faculty here.

In his email Friday to the UA faculty, Overpeck said his decision to leave wasnt easy and that it will be bittersweet to leave you all.

Its been humbling, and a real pleasure, to work with you, and I hope the UA environmental enterprise is able to continue moving forward in the future. The biggest asset for the future is you  the amazing environmental faculty across campus, he wrote.
Arizonas top schools administrator, Diane Douglas, campaigned on repealing Common Core standards and took office in 2015.

She says her focus has been on developing Arizona standards for Arizona students, higher level math standards and effectively running the state education department.

The Star met with Douglas last week while she was in Tucson to participate in an education conference and host public forums. We asked her about some key education issues. Her responses were edited for clarity and length:

Q: Prop. 301, a statewide tax levy that boosts pay for teachers, is expiring in 2021. You had previously said you want to extend and expand it. What is your reason, and how will you justify a tax increase to the people who voted you in?

A: I dont think everyone who voted me in is opposed to a tax increase. The people want their teachers paid better and I think they understand that the money has to come from some place. So my proposal is to increase it to a full cent from one-sixth of a cent. Im no fan of a sales tax. In my opinion, it hurts the people we most want to help: our low-income families. This is a proposition and it goes to the voters. They either say yes or no. If its a reasonable request, I hope they will seriously consider it and take a look. I will work with the Legislature to make sure there is non-supplanting language that ensures the money goes to teachers.

Q: How would you secure more funding from the state government outside of seeking other options?

A: We definitely need some new funding sources if we want to compensate our teachers accordingly. People hear that our state budget is $9 billion and it seems like a lot of money, but most of its already spoken for to fund voter initiatives and state agencies. Theres not much new money. To get state aid, its challenging. We need to look at how to find new money. For example, other states have toll roads or own lots of land that generates revenue, not that Im advocating for that. Thats just some of the things you could look at.

Q: How do you see the recent expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Account, or school vouchers that give public funding for students to attend private schools, playing out for Arizona education?

A: Im an advocate for school choice. I believe that God gives the children to parents and not government bureaucracy. Parents have to make the decisions about their childrens education. The political debate is for the Legislature. We at the education department are tasked with oversight of the money. There have been pushes to privatize that oversight. Im vehemently opposed to that. Its public money and the public has a right to know. We look at those voucher expense reports and make sure that the expenses are viable.

Q: What are your thoughts on the new law that creates alternative teaching credentials, which would allow those with no formal teacher training to become teachers, and its potential impacts on the teacher workforce in Arizona?

A: Its no secret that I was not a fan of that piece of legislation. We had alternative pathways into the classrooms already. One of the problems is that for many years the prevailing philosophy was that if you knew how to teach, understood classroom management and pedagogy, you didnt necessarily need to be an expert. Now were taking this swing where as long as you know your content, you can teach anyone. The truth is in the middle: you need to have a strong skill set and you have to have a passion, but you also have to be able to manage a classroom and develop a lesson plan. In the long run, I think it would hurt teacher retention and recruitment.

Q: In recent years, Arizona has been at or near the bottom of the list in terms of academic achievement levels. What is your plan to boost academic achievement across the state?

A: One of the things we want to do is to make AzMERIT a formative test rather than summative. The intent of that test should be to help students become more successful. Its not about teacher, school or district evaluations. Im not convinced that standardized testing is the most accurate measure of achievement. We should make that test more formative and make sure students are getting the help they need.

Q: What are your thoughts on the new mechanism for rating the states schools and districts?

A: Im not a big fan of the A to F system either. Its based primarily on a test thats not been proven valid to measure a school or a district. They have made a split between growth and proficiency and added college and career readiness indicators, including career and technical education programming. But there needs to be more. I wanted extra funding to expand that system to give parents a much better overview. To some parents, its important that there is a full-time nurse. There are a whole lot of reasons. We want to continue working on the report cards.
A former Pima County prosecutor has filed a lawsuit against the county attorneys office, claiming her 2014 firing was a result of sexual discrimination.

Theresa Sheridan was fired from the Pima County Attorneys Office in June 2014, after a Superior Court judge ruled Sheridan had exercised prosecutorial misconduct, according to documents from the Arizona Court of Appeals. The judge dismissed the related case.

She appealed her firing with the Pima County Merit System Commission, who upheld the decision, after which Sheridan took her case to court. Last November, the state court of appeals upheld the termination, court documents show.

In April 2015, Sheridan filed a charge of sex discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who sent Sheridan a letter in June 2016, saying that they were unable to conclude that the information obtained establishes violations of the statutes, according to the lawsuit Sheridan filed in Pima County Superior Court.

In the lawsuit, Sheridan claims her firing was a result of sexual discrimination by County Attorney Barbara LaWall, who is named in the suit.

Sheridan says there were at least two male deputy county attorneys who in the past had committed ethical violations worse than the one she was accused of, but were still allowed to remain employed. The two employees only resigned from the office after the State Bar of Arizona took action to revoke their licenses to practice law.

Unlike the two male attorneys discussed above, at the time of Ms. Sheridans termination from employment  she had no pending or prior discipline regarding her license, her lawsuit said.

The State Bar launched an investigation into Sheridan after she was placed on administrative leave in May 2014, but she agreed that December to a reprimand of costs, the lawsuit said.

Sheridans firing stemmed from an incident in which she took unredacted medical documents from a judges chamber, in what she said in the lawsuit was a mistake.

After returning the documents to the judges assistant, Sheridan didnt tell her superiors, the defense counsel or the court about what had happened, according to appellate court records.

In the termination letter Sheridan received from LaWall, the county attorney alleged dishonesty in her handling of the records and the subsequent dismissal of the DUI case, the lawsuit said.

Sheridans lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount.

The county attorneys office has previously told the Star it doesnt comment on pending litigation.
Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure.

WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more.
Help India!

New Delhi, (IANS): The Congress on Friday said the Narendra Modi governments Smart Cities Mission has failed as the urban poor have been neglected under the scheme and almost 80 per cent of the money is being utilised only for developing 2.7 per cent of the dedicated area.

Two years back, the government had started the Smart City Mission and AMRUT scheme for urban development. They converted our (UPAs) JNNURM scheme to start AMRUT. This policy of theirs is anti urban-poor. It has nothing for the urban poor, said Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken.

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Under Smart Cities Mission, they have chosen 59 cities, in which Rs 1,31,000 crore of projects has been sanctioned. Out of this, Rs. 1,05,000 crore projects, which is at least 80 per cent, caters to only 2.7 per cent of the whole area in those cities, he added.

Maken further said: Even the cities have been chosen in an erroneous manner and it will cater to only the posh areas of the cities.

About the the national capital, he said: When they selected cities, they didnt choose North Delhi Municipal Corporation, East Delhi Municipal Corporation or South Delhi Municipal Corporation but areas under New Delhi Municipal Council, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu live. They have neglected those areas where the poor live.

Congress also said that the city-wise implementation status of Smart City Mission and Amrut Mission is not mentioned on the governments website.

During UPAs time, under JNNURM, we built 12,39,000 houses in eight years, as against theirs (NDAs) 1,02,000 houses in three years, said Maken.
Help India!

Patna, (IANS): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said the main focus of the states agriculture road map is on increasing income of farmers and ensuring sustainable development of the sector. He also assured farmers of providing them minimum support price (MSP) with 50 per cent additional incentive.

Kisano ki aamdani mein vriddhi karna hamara lakshya hai (Our target is to increase the income of farmers), Nitish Kumar said while addressing Kisan Samagam after a day-long meeting with hundreds of farmers from across the state in the newly-constructed International Convention Centre  Gyan Bhawan  here.

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Nitish Kumar said farmers and agriculture had been his priority for nearly a decade. I will do everything to help the farmers increase their income and will provide other helps to ensure development of the agriculture sector in Bihar.

At a time when farmers in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states have been protesting demanding loan waiver and other issues, Nitish Kumar chose to spend nearly eight hours listening to suggestions of farmers over the draft of Third Agriculture Road Map 2017-22.

He sat on the floor with farmers to show his concern for them. This gesture of the Chief Minister was well taken by the farmers.

Nitish Kumar said 76 per cent of Bihars population was dependent on agriculture for livelihood. We have to increase income of the farmers by ensuring that they get right price for their produce.

He noted that income of the farmers of state had increased in the last few years as the productivity had gone up. For us, farmers are not only those who own land All those who work in agriculture field are farmers including landless farm labourers.

Unlike in the past, starvation-like situation was not there in the villages, he asserted.

The Chief Minister claimed that Bihar had recorded growth and improvement in agriculture sector since first agriculture road map was implemented for 2008-12, followed by second for 2012-17. Our rice, wheat, maize, potato and vegetables production have remarkably increased.

Now we have prepared the draft of the Third Agriculture Road Map for Bihar. We have invited hundreds of farmers from all the 38 districts of the state to provide them opportunity to make suggestions on it. We have listened to their suggestions carefully and would consider their views and suggestions while finalising the road map, he said.

Organic farming is one of the focus areas of the agriculture road map. We will promote organic farming and help farmers go for it in areas along the river Ganga for protection of the environment.

Reminding of his opposition to GM seeds, he said that his government would not allow it in Bihar, because it was against the interest of the farmers and not god for environment.

Nitish Kumar said that despite all his efforts, there were many challenges in the agriculture sector, with the biggest of them being that of maintaining land records.

The Chief Minister underlined that the country was passing through an agrarian crisis. Its main cause is that farmers income is low and they are not getting the right price for their produce.

He also questioned the Narendra Modi-led central governments failure to implement the MSP with 50 per cent additional incentive for farmers.

Criticising the crop insurance scheme, he said it was not aimed to benefit farmers, rather it was to benefit the insurance companies.
Help India!

By Amulya Ganguli

For a party known for its hubris, the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) decision to consult the opposition for a consensus on the presidential candidate has come as a pleasant surprise.

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However, it is possible that its majority in the electoral college has enabled the party to display a show of magnanimity.

At the same time, the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Venkaiah Naidu, has reminded the opposition parties that although the consultations will take place in the true spirit of a democracy, they must remember that the mandate of the people is for the government.

Naidu is one of the three chosen by the BJP to interact with the opposition. The other two are Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

However, the chances of a consensus candidate being chosen will brighten only if the BJP refuses to abide by the wish reportedly conveyed by its mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that the party must utilise the advantage of a majority in the electoral college to choose a person who is a Hindutva ideologue.

Considering that the RSS has succeeded in planting saffron aficionados in a fairly large number of autonomous institutions, including the Indian Council of Historical Research and the Indian Council of Social Science Research, it is unlikely to be hesitant about having a man of its choice in Rashtrapati Bhavan  the best prize of all.

Perhaps reading its mind, the Shiv Sena had suggested RSS chief Mohan Bhagwats name as the next President. The Maharashtrian party may have also wanted to test the BJPs sincerity to the cause of Hindutva, for it has said that Bhagwat will be a good choice to turn India into a Hindu rashtra (nation).

However, after Bhagwat himself turned down the proposal, the Sena has opted for M.S. Swaminathan, known as the father of Indias green revolution in agriculture. The name of E. Sreedharan, the engineer who built the world-class Delhi Metro, has also been mentioned. Needless to say, both are eminently suitable for the high office if only because of their distance from politics.

There might have been a faint chance of a compromise between the BJP and the secular parties if L.K. Advanis name was put forward. However, the BJPs margdarshak (visionary) has not been a favourite of the RSS ever since he praised Mohammed Ali Jinnah during a visit to Pakistan. Indeed, he had to leave the party presidents post soon afterwards.

More recently, however, his involvement in the Babri Masjid demolition case as a conspirator has effectively ruled out his chances. Similarly, Murli Manohar Joshi, who is known to be close to the RSS, has also lost the opportunity for making it to the big house on top of the Raisina Hill because of the Babri Masjid case.

Cynics have said that the reopening of the case against them by the Central Bureau of Investigation was meant by the powers that be to keep them out of reckoning, for neither of them is believed to enjoy Narendra Modis trust.

However, another person, who was not delighted with Modis elevation in the BJP before the general election, viz. Sushma Swaraj, has come to the forefront. She has several plus points. One is her humanitarian acts as the external affairs minister where her help is required by, among others, by stranded NRIs and ailing Pakistanis. The other, and more important, is that she is believed to enjoy the backing of the RSS.

Among the other front-runners are Draupadi Murmu, the governor of Jharkhand, and Sumitra Mahajan, the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The choice of Murmu, a tribal, will enable the BJP to reach out to one of the most neglected communities in the country, about whom the now virtually forgotten but undoubtedly their foremost leader, Jaipal Singh Munda (1903-1970), told the Constituent Assembly that the whole history of my people is one of continuous exploitation and dispossession by the non-aboriginals of India.

It is clear that none of the BJPs opponents will oppose her choice for obvious reasons. But whether Murmu herself will be interested is unclear, for the Presidents post can be the end of the road where a political career is concerned. Being 59 years old, a relatively young age for a politician, she may be unwilling to put a full stop to any further advancement in politics. Rumours have it, therefore, that she is keener on a cabinet berth at the Centre.

A consensus is also possible on Mahajan, for she has shown herself to be temperamentally calm. But this may be the very reason why the RSS is said to be against her.

In less fraught times, it may have been possible to evolve a consensus on the former Lok Sabha Speaker, Meira Kumar, who, as a Dalit and with a distinguished lineage  she is Jagjivan Rams daughter  may have had claims similar to Murmus for being selected for the highest constitutional position in the land.

But her Congress background ruins her chances straightaway in view of the BJPs avowed intention of making India Congress-mukt (free). Moreover, the RSS would have been appalled to find a Congress person once again becoming the President.

If the Congress is an untouchable for the saffron lobby, so are the Muslims, which is why the Vice President Hamid Ansari did not have a chance. And there is no one like A.P.J. Abdul Kalam around, who was a nationalist despite being a Muslim, as Minister for Culture Mahesh Sharma said.

The Left parties have been pushing for Gopal Krishna Gandhi, a grandson of the chatur bania (clever trader) as BJP president Amit Shah descried Mahatma Gandhi.

But for all his credentials  a former governor and diplomat and related to the Mahatma and C. Rajagopalachari  his palpable secularism is a black mark where the Modi dispensation is concerned.
From 3-D printed wedding cake decorations and bowties to GIF photo booths and robots that can live-stream your nuptials, scores of couples are turning to latest tech trends to amp up their big day. Welsh couple, Elisa Evans 46 and Martin Shervington 44, took their Wedding Ceremony to a whole new level by getting married in Virtual Reality at their home in Wales.

Who wouldnt want to be a time travelling robot with the opportunity to revisit their own wedding? The choice seemed the only way to go, Shervington told TIME.

About the unconventional ceremony

Evans and Shervington took their vows on May 25th, under a sparkling disco ball on a dreamlike dancefloor with red hot lava filled skies floating overhead. Evans walked down the aisle to "Hamburg Song by Keane and All You Need Is Love by the Beatles.

The event was attended by 40 guests in real life and virtually, by their avatars. Each guest avatar could participate in the ceremony by sending smileys, hearts and clapping emojis.

Some people were expecting us to be dressed up like robots and didnt quite understand that we were the avatars, the groom told TIME.

Their wedding was officiated by a community manager from the virtual reality company, AltspaceVR, who joined the VR ceremony from San Francisco.

Once the ceremony was over, the guests sent the couple off by streaming neon purple firework-like "interactables" into the venue.

The Welsh couple spent approximately 1980 a piece on the VR headsets that live-projected their pink and blue robot avatars. The entire ceremony was hosted in a virtual venue designed by AltspaceVR.

After the VR wedding, the guests joined the couple at a real-life cafe-bar for the reception. Their three-tier cake, served at the function, featured the couples robot avatars.

The worlds first virtual reality wedding happened in the 1990s

The very first virtual reality wedding took place in 1994 when San Francisco couple Monika and Hugh Jo tied the knot in a cyberspace wedding ceremony on the island of Atlantis.

The couple used crude headsets and graphics, with gear costing over 780,000.

Technically we were about 12 feet apart, but in the virtual space, we were right next to each other for the chariot ride and then when we moved toward the palace, the virtual palace in Atlantis, Monika Jo told Vice.com.

[My CEO] helped us find the right people, engineers and VR modellers, and we found some musicians to help us with scoring the VR experience, she explained.

However, their ability to 'move around' in their virtual world was very limited as the technology wasnt as evolved as it is today.

Apparently, a third of all weddings are now hi-tech

A third of all couples are now using tech for their wedding day, a number that is only expected to increase, said Kelly Gould, editor-in-chief at The Knot, a wedding planner website, in an interview with Today.com.

Speaking of unconventional hi-tech weddings, Evans and Shervingtons VR nuptials isnt the only hi-tech wedding that made the headlines. In 2013, Marsha Collier and Curt Buthman created history on social media by having a Google Glass wedding in Beverly Hills, California.

Collier walked down the aisle wearing Google Glass that captured both video and photos of the ceremony. The couple also captured their wedding vows in a six second Twitter Vine video for their friends and followers who attended the event digitally.

In 2012, when Laura Cressman married her husband, she chose a very unconventional ring bearer, a bomb disposal robot called the Dragon Runner. On her big day, the unmanned military robot rolled down the aisle, wearing a mini tux.

Whats more, the small droid even grooved a little on the dance floor during the wedding party.

In May 2010, Japanese couple Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inouyes wedding was led by a four-foot tall seated robot named I-Fairy. According to manufacturer Kokoro Co., it was the first marriage that was officiated by an automaton.
We have been here so many times before with the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi being reported. Either that, or him being badly injured in meetings he was having with his IS colleagues or in an IS convoy. This is the first time the Russians have announced a direct strike on the Islamic State leader.

According to a report in the Independent, "The Russian defence ministry says it believes it may have killed the Isis leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in an air strike south of Raqqa, Syria." If this is true, the Russians may have killed not only the Caliph himself but 330 IS fighters who were also attending a meeting.

In line with all previous speculation about Baghdadi being killed or injured, this report too must be treated with caution until definitive proof arrives.

Rex Tillerson announces IS deputies also killed in different airstrikes

Rex Tillerson has said with the many airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq many of Baghdadi's deputies have also been taken out.

If the IS leader has been killed then it is not always easy to find a charismatic leader of the same calibre. For example, look at Al-Qaeda. Ayman al-Zawahiri who replaced Osama Bin Laden does not seem to have the same charisma as Osama had.

Al-Qaeda still exists but how much influence and control Zawahiri has over Al-Qaeda is open to question.

The destruction of Islamic State premature?

Islamic State, as long as they can hold out in places like Mosul and Raqqa is still a military threat even if it is just bombing, stabbings, and shootings as witnessed in Iran or the UK recently.

All around them their caliphate is collapsing and they are reaping the whirlwind they created as was said about the Nazis during the last World War.

They will be fighting in the shadows too as their conventional military setup was destroyed in Iraq and Syria. Even if Islamic State ceased to exist tomorrow the very ideas they have encouraged have been and will be taken up unfortunately by people inspired by their message of global jihad.

It is also possible that as the Islamic States influence wanes in Iraq and Syria they will look elsewhere around the world to begin their caliphate again.

Already IS has operations in Egypt, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other places around the world where they must be confronted and stopped. The conflict with global terrorism whether from IS or Al-Qaeda will not be over very soon. It is a problem that will be with us for many years to come and it will need a multi - pronged approach not just a military option.

The war on terror as it has been called will last generations perhaps. Have the forces confronting this threat got the stomach to see it through?
There were big dogs who had spent countless hours in cages. There was no sign of drinking water, just remains of raw chicken parts strewn around the dogs. Photo by Meredith Lee/The HSUS

33.5K shares







Yesterday, The HSUS assisted the Wolfeboro Police Department with a puppy mill intervention not on a farm in Arkansas or a shack in North Carolina (two states where weve done major actions to help dogs), but rather in a mansion in northern New England. It is one of the most unexpected puppy mill operations our Animal Rescue Team has helped uncover  with 84 Great Danes caged inside a cavernous home where they should have been treated like canine kings and queens.

The mansion looked stately and opulent from the outside, but when our team entered the dwelling, they discovered something totally at odds with the elegant facade. They told me that the first thing that hit them was an overpowering rancid and putrid smell, with ammonia levels so high in some rooms that the rescuers eyes teared up. There were feces and debris smeared across all the walls to the point where the windows were opaque.

There were big dogs who had spent countless hours in cages. There was no sign of available water, just some remains of raw chicken parts strewn around the dogs.

When we think of puppy mills, we think of small breeds, such as Yorkshire terriers, French bulldogs, or Bichon Frises. Here we had one of the biggest of dog breeds, with their big paws, droopy faces, and friendly manner. But time and lack of care had changed some of their features. Some animals were underweight and looked sad or broken. Their paws were especially large, even for Great Danes, and appeared to be infected. Others had irritated eyes, made bright red or swollen shut like human boxers that had taken too many hits in a long fight.

Our team members said they are as large as ponies. One five-foot-tall rescuer said she stood eye to eye with some of the dogs.

We took these beleaguered animals to a temporary shelter, where we will continue to work on healing their medical conditions and mending their spirits  so they know what it means to truly be loved.

Yesterday brought mercy to these dogs, whove now found a pathway away from misery. But as Ive said many times, we cannot rescue our way out of the puppy mill problem. The HSUS is addressing this problem on multiple fronts, but we need policymakers to crack down on the cruelty. We have to adopt federal and state policies that prevent situations from deteriorating to this point, where we can intervene only when the situation is so severe that a puppy mill case becomes a crime scene and a case of animal cruelty.

Lawmakers in New Hampshire need to fortify the states weak laws on commercial breeding. Under current law, breeders in New Hampshire are required only to be licensed by the state Department of Agriculture if there are 50 puppies sold in one year. That is a high bar, exempting other high-volume breeders who should be covered by the law. And its difficult to enforce, with breeders who sell, or claim to sell, fewer puppies able to skirt the law and operate in a deregulated environment.

Whats more, New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a proposal right now to water down the states mandatory inspections for all pet licensees, like shelters, pet stores, and commercial breeders. If that attempt succeeds, the mandatory inspections will be replaced by a voluntary, complaint-based system, making it even harder for abusers to be held accountable.

This case, like so many others where weve come to the aid of animals in distress, will place substantial financial burdens on The HSUS and our partners. Thanks to our members and other supporters, well cover costs for sheltering and daily care and veterinary care for the animals, as well as the costs of running the temporary shelter for many months. But why should animal welfare groups and taxpayers bear these financial burdens instead of the people who mistreated the animals? And why is the law so weak that no regulatory authority comes in at an earlier stage to provide a course correction?

New Hampshire does not have a cost of animal care law, as many other states do, that would require defendants who have been charged with animal cruelty based on probable cause to pay for animal care costs while the case is being adjudicated. Since completing each legal proceeding can take months or even years, it is the animal protection movement that has to shoulder the costs of care. Twenty states, including Massachusetts and Maine, have such laws, and New Hampshire should, too.

We hope that the images of the animals in distress shake up and wake up authorities. These circumstances are preventable, and law enforcement and The HSUS shouldnt have to ride to the rescue after animals have had to endure this kind of human neglect and trauma. We cant rely on Scooby-Doo and his cohorts to solve these problems. This one is up to the people of New Hampshire and their elected officials to address.








Over the last 48 hours, Donald Trump has been dealing with non-stop controversy dealing the scandal surrounding Michael Flynn, James Comey, and Russia. With the president continuing to deny any wrongdoing, many questions remain unanswered.

Trump on Russia

From the start of his campaign for president nearly two years ago, Donald Trump has been deflecting from allegations that he's linked to Russia. From refusing to release his tax returns, to his kind words about Vladimir Putin, to some of his top advisers and associates being caught with ties to the Kremlin, the former host of "The Apprentice" has come under fire from the mainstream media and his more liberal critics ever since.

In recent weeks, the pressure has continued to mount on the administration, with the controversy gaining steam after Trump fired James Comey as the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Additional reports have also revealed that prior to firing Comey, Trump attempted to have him back off the investigation into Michael Flynn in regards to his relationship with Russia. The news was red meat for Democrats who have been looking for something close to an alleged "smoking gun" in their opposition to the president. On Wednesday night, it was announced that former FBI Director Robert Mueller was assigned to oversee the current investigation into Russia and the country's possible link to the Trump campaign, leading to an aggressive tweetstorm by the president the following morning.

As reported by the New York Post on May 18, Trump took questions on the issue during a joint White House press conference with guest Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

(Trump on impeachment.)

As expected, many of the questions directed at Donald Trump were based around the aforementioned Russian scandal, as well as the follow-up report about Michael Flynn and James Comey.

After being asked if he personally tried to have Comey look the other way on the Flynn scandal, Trump fired back "No. No. Next question."

The president also said talk of his impeachment was "totally ridiculous" https://t.co/B2aikVjxQl  New York Post (@nypost) May 18, 2017

"The entire thing has been a witch hunt and there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign (and Russia)," Donald Trump said, doubling town on his earlier tweets.

Trump continued, repeating his stance that there was "zero" collusion between himself and Russia, while accusing critics of trying to "divide the country." At this point, the commander in chief praised the start he's had in the White House, noting, "We have made tremendous progress in the last 100 and some odd days, tremendous progress."

(Full press conference Q&A in the above video.)

Trump on impeachment

Not stopping there, Donald Trump continued to smear James Comey, saying "(He) was very unpopular with most people." On the issue of his possible impeach, the billionaire real estate mogul replied, "I think it is totally ridiculous. Everybody thinks so." Despite Trump's best effort to dismiss the allegations against him, it doesn't appear like most Americans are buying into his excuse as his approval rating has dropped below 40 percent in the most recent round of polling.
Just weeks before firing James Comey as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Donald Trump personally contacted retired Gen. Michael Flynn. As the pressure mounts on the White House to explain themselves, the president is pushing back.

Trump to Flynn

Throughout the entire 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump was accused of having some type of relationship with Russia. As expected, the former host of "The Apprentice" denied any wrongdoing, despite multiple news outlets providing controversial reporting that contradicted Trump's defense.

The first sign of trouble for Trump came when he refused to release his tax returns, leading to speculation that there was some hidden financial tie between himself and the Kremlin. Trump's constant praise of Vladimir Putin also raised eyebrows, which only got worse when several of the president's associates were found to have been in contact with officials from Russian. The biggest name to be outed was Michael Flynn, who resigned as National Security Adviser shortly after reports exposed a meeting he had with a top Russian official just weeks after the election concluded. Following the news that Trump fired James Comey as head of the FBI, while allegedly asking him to look the other way in regards to the Flynn investigation, the president reportedly got in touch with his former adviser, as reported by Yahoo on May 18.

Trump told Michael Flynn to stay strong just weeks before firing FBI Director James Comey: report https://t.co/G8t9T6Vazw pic.twitter.com/K6CqndXj7I  Raw Story (@RawStory) May 18, 2017

According to a report in Yahoo on Thursday, Donald Trump reached out to Michael Flynn not long before he decided to fire James Comey. The Yahoo report details a dinner Flynn attended with a group of Trump supporters last month where he revealed the president got in touch with him and told him to "stay strong." "I just got a message from the president to stay strong," Flynn said.

Michael Flynn could face up to a year in jail for failing to comply with Senate Intel Committees subpoena https://t.co/YpZcPjjD27 pic.twitter.com/Vn1zbuRYEa  Raw Story (@RawStory) May 18, 2017

Michael Flynn's private dinner comments come at a time where the White House is dealing with daily allegations that have made it difficult for the president to move on to other issues, and it doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon.

In a follow-up report by Raw Story, it was revealed that Flynn has refused to honor a subpoena in relation to Russian investigation documents, and could face time in jail because of his actions.

There has been zero sign of anything but supreme loyalty, between Trump/Flynn, associate of Flynn tells @Isikoff https://t.co/FCGTNYX2H0 pic.twitter.com/HWSZAGpS8z  Yahoo News (@YahooNews) May 18, 2017

Moving forward

The latest news to rock the White House involves former FBI Director Robert Mueller being added to oversee the aforementioned investigation into Russia's role in the election, and what link they might have to Donald Trump. The commander in chief was defiant in his defense, first releasing a statement on Wednesday night, followed by a pair of tweets on Thursday morning. While it's unknown what the next step will on the issue at hand, but it appears that the president is feeling heat after just four months in office.
A West Coast city in the United States is preparing for a nuclear attack from North Korea. Fears of World War 2 are pervasive and very real. Relations with North Korea are far from diplomatic and the country's leader, Kim Jung Un, is just unpredictable enough to launch a deadly nuclear attack on Americans.

Several missiles have already been fired to send a loud message that he's not afraid to test the weapons.The latest test launch done over the weekend has U.S. officials concerned about what's next.

Seattle a prime target

According to Fox News, officials in Washington state are preparing for a North Korea missile attack in Seattle.

It's the closest major U.S. city to North Korea and is a prime target given the fact it houses 1,300 nuclear warheads and is home to tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Boeing.

The state has evacuation plans set for every disaster scenario except missile attacks. Other than Hawaii, states are barred from preparing for disasters in the event of a nuclear attack.

Top emergency planners differ on bracing for nuclear bomb

Robert Ezelle, one of Washington state's top emergency planners who is the director of Washington Military Department of Emergency Management, says it's not a big deal no plans for such an attack are implemented. He notes that the same is true of volcano erupting or any other number of hazards one can think of.

Ezelle tends to think people should prepare for the most likely disasters, such as earthquakes or a dirty bomb attack. He estimates that public response would be about the same if North Korea launched a missile at Seattle.

Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, opposes Ezelle's viewpoint.

He notes that such an extreme tragedy would warrant "its own category of planning" due to "radiation and long-term contamination of areas."

It could be that his reasoning will be backed by a bill expected to pass next year allowing the state to actively set a plan in place to brace for a nuclear attack.

Military experts aren't worried just yet

It's added in the report that military experts believe North Korea is about three years away from its nuclear missiles being capable of hitting the West Coast.

The U.S. may wish it implemented a plan sooner if anything were to happen unexpectedly. North Korea's leader has proven himself unstable and President Donald Trump is still in chartered territory as America's commander-in-chief. Those two factors alone have been enough to cause concern.

.
Seven sailors went missing on Saturday, June 17 after a collision between a merchant ship from the Philippines and a United States Destroyer, off the coast of Japan. The U.S. Destroyer vessel USS Fitzgerald was damaged on the starboard side below and above the waterline during the collision. The accident took place at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time, 56 nautical miles southwest of the coast of Yokosuka, Japan.

Two patients required immediate medical care, one of which was Commander Bryce Benson, who was the commanding officer of USS Fitzgerald.

Bryce was flown to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka and is in a stable condition. The Japanese Coast Guard is continuously searching for the seven missing U.S. sailors.

Navy ship collides with Filipino merchant ship near Japan

The U.S. Navy stated that the collision resulted in some flooding of the Fitzgerald. However, the ship was under its own power but had inadequate propulsion. In an interview with the CNN, the U.S. Navy said that after the collision took place, the ship was flooding but the crew worked their best to minimize the damage and stabilize the condition of the vessel by pumping out water.

The U.S. Navy also stated that the Japanese coast guard helicopter was assisting them to move injured sailors to the hospital.

According to the Japanese coast guard, four Japanese ships, along with one helicopter were deployed to the U.S. Navy Destroyer to help them with evacuation, damage assessment, and search for the missing sailors.

Big container ship from Philippines damages navy vessel

An official stated that emergency procedures were in place and the U.S.

Navy Destroyer is not at risk of sinking. The officer also revealed that the USS Fitzgerald vessel was in collision with a Philippine-based container ship named ACX Crystal. According to marinetraffic.com, a ship tracking website, the ACX Crystal weighs 29,060 tons and is 741 feet long.

Before the collision on June 17, the ACX Crystal left the Nagoya port for Japan.

Images captured have revealed that the container ship from Philippines was damaged at its bow. The images of the two ships after collision revealed that the Fitzgeralds hull had partially caved in on the right side of the deck, or the vessels starboard side. ACX Crystal, on the other hand, suffered minimum damage owing to its large size. It was clear from the pattern of damage that ACX Crystal collided with the U.S. Navy Destroyer vessel, nose first.
When the news came out that Josh Duggar had molested his sisters, their entire lives changed. The show "19 Kids and Counting" was canceled, but they were later brought back in the show "Counting On." Now the girls are filing a lawsuit against the police officials who released this information and also In Touch magazine who posted it. They didn't think that this information would ever be released.

Information on this lawsuit

It turns out that according to TMZ four of Josh's sisters are now suing the city and police officials, as well as In Touch magazine, for releasing these reports about Josh Duggar.

The report reveals that the girls talked to police about this situation back in 2006. At this time, the girls were all minors, and they were told that the documents would not be released. That didn't end up being the case. Instead, everything came out and changed their entire lives.

So how did In Touch get the documents? Well, they filed a Freedom of Information Act request in 2015 to obtain the police files. The girls say that this isn't okay tough and in their lawsuit, they are saying that under Arkansas laws, they shouldn't have been able to release these documents since they had to do with a minor. This didn't stop In Touch from sharing them, though.

What is their reason for filing a lawsuit?

The Duggar girls have a reason for this lawsuit, and it isn't money either. They shared in a statement that it is because they want to protect all children who are victims of abuse. If they can win this lawsuit, then it might make a few people think twice about doing this to someone else.

The girls have made it clear that they don't feel like this story should have ever come out. Their show "19 Kids and Counting" was canceled and Josh Duggar went off to sex rehab for a while. Now, Josh is back home again with his wife Anna and four children. They actually have another baby on the way. They seem to have worked through their issues and been able to fix their marriage.

Are you shocked to hear that the Duggar girls are filing a lawsuit after all this time? Do you think they should win? Sound off in the comments section below on your thoughts, and don't miss new episodes of "Counting On" when they start airing on June 12 on TLC. This show is all about the older children and so far Josh Duggar hasn't been seen on the show at all, but rumors are he could end up returning at some point. It will be interesting to see if the fans would embrace his return or not.
Javi Marroquin is ready to release his new book, "Heartlessly Hustled." Just months after his ex-wife, "Teen Mom 2" star Kailyn Lowry, released "Hustle & Heart," the father of Lowry's youngest son, three-year-old Lincoln, is issuing his response to the 2016 publication.

Ive been working on this book for a while, Marroquin told Radar Online during an interview on May 22.

Javi Marroquin married the now-pregnant reality star in 2012 and in May 2016, she confirmed they were parting ways. Then, just months after her split announcement, Lowry confirmed she was expecting her third child with a third man, whom she's since confirmed as her ex-boyfriend, Chris Lopez.

The former couple's relationship became strained after their split

Shortly after announcing she would be welcoming baby number three this summer, Lowry requested a protection from abuse order against Marroquin after claiming he showed up to their former marital home in Delaware and sent her harassing text messages. As Radar Online explained, news of Lowry's pregnancy came as a shock to Marroquin and many viewers of "Teen Mom 2" due to the fact that she had previously confirmed she was no longer willing to expand her family. During an episode of the show, Lowry informed Marroquin that she did not want more kids and preferred to focus solely on her career.

Luckily, after a rocky few weeks, Marroquin and Lowry have seemingly put their issues behind them for the sake of their son Lincoln and Lowry's oldest son, seven-year-old Isaac, whose father is her ex-boyfriend, Jo Rivera.

Did Kailyn Lowry cheat on Javi Marroquin during their three-year marriage?

Fans can expect a story about a man who thought he figured out life," Marroquin explained of his upcoming tell-all. "Lies and cheating were swept beneath his nose for a long time!

While fans will have to wait to learn of Javi Marroquin's side of his divorce story, Radar Online revealed Lowry previously accused her former husband of being controlling during their relationship.

As she explained to readers of her book, Marroquin would frequently call her phone when she was out to make sure she wasn't doing anything "sneaky" and also demanded she unlock her phone and prove she wasn't hiding anything from him.

"It became clearer and clearer how little my husband trusted me, she penned. I had done nothing to make him doubt me. I never lied, never went behind his back and I was never unfaithful."
Russias Progress MS-06 Cargo Spacecraft that was launched using Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket on June 14 has successfully docked with the international space station. Progress MS-06identified by NASA as 67P or Progress 67was launched from the Baikonur space site in Kazakhstan on and docked automatically with Zvezda service module of the ISS on June 16.

Docking of Progress MS-06

Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin monitored the entire docking process that was accomplished smoothly at 1137 GMT, about 415 km above the surface of Earth. According to Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, Yurchikhin was prepared to intervene in docking process in case of need.

The crewNASAs Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer and Russias Fyodor Yurchikhinwill now the start the process of unloading the spacecraft after checking the airlock and equalizing the pressure inside the space station and the spacecraft.

NASA spokesman Rob Navias described the spacecrafts journey as smooth. Progress spacecraft carried with it food, water, fuel, medical and sanitary equipment and a variety of other items for astronauts currently on board ISS. MS-06 is the third robotic cargo spacecraft to dock or depart from ISS in recent weeks. On June 5, a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft arrived at ISS. This cargo ship will leave the space station on July 2. An Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo spacecraft also left ISS on June 11 to end its resupply mission.

Progress cargo spacecraft

The Progress is an expendable cargo spacecraft derived from the manned Soyuz spacecraft. This spacecraft was designed and developed to supply essential items to astronauts in space to make their long duration mission possible. While this spacecraft doesnt carry astronauts, it is classified as manned spacecraft as crew members at ISS can board it after the spacecraft is docked at the space station.

Each year, Roscosmos conducts three to four Progress flights to the ISS.

About Roscosmos

The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (formerly known as the Russian Aviation and Space Agency) is the Russian government body responsible for aerospace research and the space science program in Russia. It is headquartered in Moscow and was created in 2015 after merging of former Roscosmos and the United Rocket and Space Corporation.

Roscosmos uses Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for launching manned and unmanned missions to space. The agency is an active partner in ISS program and has contributed several space modulesincluding Zvezda, Zarya, and Rassvetto ISS. The agency also manages expedition crew launches using its Soyuz-TMA spacecraft.
If the visit is mainly 'personal', the two leaders should also address the privileged commercial and human relationship between France and Morocco.

France is the first bilateral donor of Morocco

Morocco is the largest recipient of French Development Agency funding worldwide, with some 600 million euros committed over the period 2014-2016.

Human ties on both sides of the Mediterranean

Morocco is one of the countries that the French prefer when they settle permanently abroad.

With 52,728 French expatriates in Morocco in 2016, the Kingdom is ranked 8th among the French expatriation destinations. Bi-nationals represent half of this community, according to a parliamentary report presented by Elisabeth Guigou, rapporteur of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly in 2015.

Conversely, France is the country where the Moroccan diaspora is the most important. The Moroccan community in France has 1,500,000 people including 670,000 bi-national, far ahead of Spain (one million), Israel (800,000) or Belgium (600,000). Of the 113,608 naturalized French citizens in 2015 19,110 were born in Morocco. It makes Moroccans the first contingent of 'new French', after the Algerians and Tunisians.

French tourists still love Morocco

With the increase in regional insecurity in recent years, French tourists have abandoned Tunisia or Egypt for the benefit of Portugal. But the tourism sector seems to resist Morocco. Some 3.3 million French tourists visited the country in 2016 which is only 1% less than the previous year. They accounted for 32% of the arrivals at the border posts of the Kingdom, compared with 36% in 2010.

Despite this erosion, the French remain the first group of tourists who discover Marrakech, Fez or Agadir each year.

It should be noted that this data includes Moroccans resident abroad who come to stay in their country of origin temporarily. Half of the 10.3 million tourists who came to Morocco in 2016 are in this case, but the Directorate General of National Security in Morocco does not make it possible to distinguish in which country they reside permanently.

Strong commercial partnership

Since 2012, France is the second largest trading partner (second supplier and second customer) in Morocco behind Spain. France's market share in Morocco has structurally declined since 2000, reaching 12.4% in 2015, while Spain is widening its advantage (14.4%). Exports from France to Morocco reached $ 4.273 billion and imports $ 4.24 billion. That is a balance of 24 million dollars against 319 million dollars in 2015.

France: first foreign investor in Morocco

France is by far the biggest foreign investor with a stock of FDI of 11.9 billion dollars in 2014, almost half of the FDI in the country. The 750 or so subsidiaries of French companies based in Morocco, hiring about 80,000 employees. 55% of these subsidiaries depend on the industrial sector while 33% are in services.
Skyscrapers are seen at the Bund in Shanghai, June 6, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

SHANGHAI  China Friday published an updated list of bans or restrictions for foreign investment in its free trade zones, cutting 27 restrictions across eight sectors including mining, manufacturing and banking.

In manufacturing, foreign companies are allowed to produce their own rail transport facilities, instead of having to set up joint ventures with local firms. Rules were also eased for foreign companies manufacturing electric vehicles and related products.

In finance, foreign banks are permitted to underwrite government bonds and they do not have to wait for a minimum period of operation to launch RMB services.

The list, first compiled in 2013, spells out specific bans or restrictions to foreign investment. Authorities have vowed to gradually shorten the list to further open the market.

In 2013, there were 190 items on the list. This was reduced to 139 in 2014, and to 122 in the previous 2015 update.

The list now stands at 95 items.

However, it only applies in the free trade zones - which have expanded from the first in Shanghai to the current 11 across the country.
China's Belt and Road Initiative will further increase cooperation between Shanghai and Hong Kong and bring new momentum to the development of both cities, officials and experts said at a forum in Shanghai on June 8.

You Anshan, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Studies Center under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that Shanghai could benefit from Hong Kong's rich experience in high-standard international services and its wide connections in the international community.

On the other hand, Hong Kong would gain from Shanghai's leading position in the Yangtze River economic zone and its expertise in construction engineering and manufacturing of large-scale equipment.

"The key to deepening cooperation is for the two cities, which serve as core engines for China's economic development in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, to effectively integrate their resources and complementary advantages," said You at the forum held in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China on July 1.

"Thanks to the initiative, the two cities will in the years ahead see cooperation and development in multiple areas, such as finance, trade, shipping, talent cultivation, information technology, scientific and technological innovation, and industrial upgrading," added Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a Hong Kong legislator and chairwoman of the New People's Party.

Adam Li, chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in China, said that senior officials from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and government authorities in Shanghai have on several occasions discussed about exploring opportunities in the countries involved in the initiative that can benefit both cities.

"Last month, a delegation comprising more than 40 infrastructure constructors and investors from Shanghai and Hong Kong organized their maiden trip to Thailand and Vietnam. The delegation included Hong Kong companies dealing in finance, planning, operation and management while those from Shanghai came from the infrastructure construction, real estate and industrial zone development sectors," Li said.

The delegation met with the prime ministers as well as government departments and industry associations of the two countries, which are important traffic and logistics hubs in Southeast Asia that have an urgent demand for infrastructure construction.

"The delegation was fairly optimistic about the investment prospects in the Eastern Economic Corridor in Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City in south Vietnam," Li added.

"It was a fruitful trip. Shanghai Construction Group and the Hong Kong branch of the China Development Bank are intending to sign a contract with Chia Tai Group in Thailand to develop markets of infrastructure construction in Thailand as well as Southeast Asia."

zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, an independent agency charged with advising Congress and the President, has launched a two-year investigation into civil rights practices at several federal agencies under the Trump administration , including the U.S. Department of Education.

The commission, which made the move on Friday, plans to take a closer look at civil rights enforcement across the government, including the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development.

The panel is particularly concerned that the Trump administration is seeking to cut the budgets of the civil rights arms of these agencies. And it is bothered by statements by some cabinet officials, including U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, that the comisssion says may demonstrate that the Trump administration isnt going to take civil rights enforcement seriously. (DeVos is, in fact, the only cabinet official the statement mentions by name).

The commission is chaired by Catherine Lhamon, who served as assistant secretary of civil rights at the department under President Barack Obama. It serves in a watch-dog role, but has no power to enforce the findings of any of its investigations. But Congress can act on its recommendations.

When it comes to the Education Department, the commission is concerned that Trumps budget calls for slashing staff at the office for civil rights by 7 percent, or 46 full-time employees. The commission worries that this could lead to an untenable caseload of 42 cases per staff member. Trumps budget still must be approved by Congress, which will likely ignore much of the proposed spending plan.

Still, the panel finds the cuts particularly troubling in light of DeVos repeated refusal to promise Congress that she will enforce federal civil rights laws"a possible reference to DeVos confusion over special education laws during her confirmation hearing.

The investigation comes just a day after ProPublica reported , and Education Week confirmed , that the Education Department is planning to revamp civil rights procedures used during the Obama administration. The Trump administration will put much less of an emphasis on investigating individual complaints for evidence of broader, systemic discrimination.

The commission will also be taking a look at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Legal Services Corporation.

For 60 years, Congress has charged the Commission to monitor Federal civil rights enforcement and recommend necessary change. We take this charge seriously, and we look forward to reporting our findings to Congress, the President, and the American people, said Lhamon in a statement.

Not all of the commissioners were on the same page as Lhamon, however, when it comes to the Trump adminisrations civil rights record so far. Only six of the eight commissioners voted to express concern about the Trump administrations handling of civil rights, while two voted against it, according to a spokesman for the commission.

The two commissioners who did not favor issuing a statement expressing concernPeter Kirsanow, a Republican, and Gail Heriot, an Independentwere appointed by GOP congressional leaders. The other six commisssioners, including four Democrats and two independents, were appointed by President Barack Obama or Democratic congressional leaders.

All eight commissioners, however, voted to begin the investigation into the administrations civil rights practices, the spokesman said.

Want more? Check out the commissions statement on the investigation here.

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NAIROBI  Representatives of Chinese companies from Shenzhen, one of the most innovative cities in China, are in Nairobi to meet local investors to discuss investment opportunities in energy, trade, finance and agriculture sectors, officials said Friday.

The Chinese delegation,led by Lu Pengqi, the vice chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and Chen Biao, the deputy mayor of Shenzhen municipal government, is comprised of entrepreneurs from various sectors such as manufacturing, IT and real estate.

"Kenya and China has developed a robust trade and investment tie in recent years. As the first Special Economic Zone and one of the most innovative cities in China, Shenzhen is in a good position to cooperate with Kenya to a win-win goal, which will help both Kenya's industralization process and Shenzhen's aspiration for international capacity cooperation," said Lu.

Chen echoed with Lu's words, saying that some companies from Shenzhen such as Huawei have come to Kenya and perform well in the east African nation. He believes in Kenya's economic potential and hopes Shenzhen and Kenya strengthen their cooperation in areas like energy, transportation, communications and tourism.

Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) Managing Director Moses Ikiara said the delegation is in Kenya to explore opportunities for investment and trade with Kenya in the main economic growth sectors like agriculture and to build business-to-business relations between the two countries.

"We have given them information about investing in Kenya. We are now going to have three days of detailed interactions between businesses to let the Chinese companies learn more about Kenya. This will enable them to form views about the country," Ikiara told Xinhua in Nairobi.

Emmanuel Kalenzi, Representative of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Field Office in Kenya, said the Chinese companies could consider investing in industrial parks as a step towards promoting private investment and trade between African countries and China.

Kalenzi said UNIDO has conducted a pilot study on the possibilities of promoting investment in private enterprise through the construction of the industrial parks in African countries.

Some Chinese companies, including the Guangdong New South Group Limited signed an agreement with the Kenyan government in May this year to build $1.9 billion industrial park in Kenya's western town of Eldoret, where the government hopes to build a Special Economic Zone.

The industrial park being financed by the Chinese company was signed at a ceremony witnessed by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The agreement was signed as part of the Africa Economic Zones in Beijing, a firm which is now investing in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

The delegation of 40 companies is looking for agribusiness opportunities in Kenya.

One of the Chinese companies, Avic International, is building the Global Trade Center in Nairobi, a 30,000 square meters project with mixed use, including hotels, executive offices and shops.

China has billed its investments in Africa as part of its "going global" initiative with locally-based enterprises now finding niche markets abroad, including in Kenya.

Guo Ce, counsellor of the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said Beijing's decision to raise its relations with Kenya signaled the highest level of economic and political cooperation.

He said the decision by the Chinese government to upgrade its relations with Kenya to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest level of cooperation, showed the commitment at the highest level of government between Nairobi and Beijing to promote their diplomatic cooperation.
This week, three statesDelaware, Nevada, and New Mexicoreceived official feedback from the U.S. Department of Education on their plans for implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act . And, the feds went a lot further than many guessed they would, given U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos rhetoric about local control, and the Trump administrations own decision to ask states only for bare-bones information about their plans.

Now the Council of Chief State School Officers is expressing concern that some of the Trump Teams feedback to states would actually go beyond the scope of the law.

Chris Minnich, the executive director of CCSSO, said in a statement that its part of the federal role to ask for more information from states so that it can enforce statutory or regulatory provisions.

But he added, States have built systems to improve educational opportunities for kids and the Departments feedback is too prescriptive in certain areas, and goes beyond the intent of the law.

In particular, Minnich is concerned with Delawares feedback. The department said the states student achievement goals werent ambitious enough. ESSA requires all states to set ambitious long-term goals for student achievement, but the word ambitious isnt defined in the law. And the feds are prohibited under the law from telling states what goals they can or cant pick.

Minnich is also worried that the department is seeking to restrict the use of science and social studies in rating schools academically. And he isnt clear on why the department seems to suggest that states cant use the Advanced Placement courses as a measure of college and career readiness, as Delaware, and at least a dozen other states want to do.

Minnich ended on a polite note, however. That said, the feedback is part of the process in order to get to approval, and Im confident with further clarification from the Department on these issues, states will be able to build the systems that best serve our nations students, he said.

Delaware put out its own carefully worded statement, noting it spent a lot of time reaching out to educators and advocates about its application, and tried to develop an ESSA plan that worked for the state.

We appreciate the feedback we received on Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Education and the opportunity to respond to the clarifying questions and comments, said Alison May, a spokeswoman for the agency, in an email. We spent a year developing our plan with the support and input of a comprehensive group of stakeholders, and we look forward to re-engaging with them to prepare answers and updates that will meet the requirements of federal authorities and the needs of our local community.

Over at Fordhams Flypaper blog, Mike Petrilli is a lot more forceful about his concerns with the departments decision making.

In the post, Petrilli suggests that Republicans on the Hill will likely raise holy hell over the letter.

So far, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., an ESSA architect, said he is, reviewing the departments letters carefully, but I expect the secretarys actions to be consistent with the law.

Its a big deal if, after that closer look, Alexander decides hes unhappy with the way DeVos team handled Delawares application.

Alexander, after all, as the education chairman, put his own political capital on the line to help get DeVos confirmed. (She made it by the skin of her teeth, with Vice President Mike Pence voting to break a 50-50 tie after two GOP lawmakers, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, voted against her.)

And his staff has been lending DeVos team a hand with other aspects of ESSA implementation, including crafting a template for states to use in submitting their plans.

Video: ESSA Explained in 3 Minutes
With aim of reviving Karen national schools, the Taigyi Township Karen Literature and Cultural Committee reopened the school with support from local villagers.

Naw Hser Hser Htoo, the director of the Taigyi Karen Literature and Culture Committee told Karen News that she wants the school to be a model for other areas.

There were Karen national schools in Taigyi or Oakan. This is the first revived Karen national schools in this area. And we want similar schools to be opened in other places as Karen people can manage to reopen the schools by themselves.

At the school reopening ceremony held on June 10, 120 people, including Naw Panthinzar Myo, the Minister of Karen ethnic affairs and chairperson of Rangoon Region Karen Literature and Culture Committee, Chairman of Yangon northern district Karen Literature and Culture committee members, Karen teachers and locals attended.

Naw Panthinzar Myo, the Minister of the Karen ethnic affairs and chairperson of Yangon region Karen Literature and Culture Committee acknowledged the effort by the Township committee.

Taigyi Karen Literature and Culture Committee has been working hard. A donor donated this school for study. It is important to get the support of teachers, community and Karen Literature and Culture committee in order to run this in a sustainable way.

Naw Arr Naw, the donor of the land that the school is built on said that she wanted Karen to learn about their literacy and culture.

I donated this plot of land for the school so that a new generation of Karen youth can learn Karen literature, Karen affairs and other modern fields of study.

Initially, the school plans to start with primary students to be taught Karen language in the morning before school hours.

Before 1962, there were many Karen national schools in Konemane, Oatpone, Gyotgone and other villages in Taigyi Township, Rangoon Region, but they were all nationalized and this is the first school to be re-opened as a Karen Affair School.
HCM CITY  A banking-enterprises link-up programme in HCM City has enabled 4,138 businesses to borrow over VN124.3 trillion (US$5.5 billion) from banks in the first five months of this year, a conference heard on Friday.

The banking  enterprises connection programme has actively and directly affected the production activities of the local business community, Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV)s HCM City office, said.

Businesses have been able to approach capital with proper interest to expand and develop their business.

Minh said in future the SBV would continue to monitor the credit available for businesses, organise link-ups and provide credit support for production, export, support industry, food processing and small and medium-sized enterprises and promote lending to enterprises based in industrial and processing zones.

This year the banking  enterprises link-up programme will focus on agriculture, high-tech application, household businesses that expand into enterprises and start-ups.

According to the SBV, complaints from businesses about difficulties in getting credit had reduced, and in fact banks are meeting with enterprises to find customers since they are awash in funds.

Deputy minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa hailed the fact that HCM City can instruct banks to lend to small and medium-sized enterprises, which otherwise find it very difficult to get credit.

The country has created the most favourable conditions for enterprises to do businesses well, and I hope the banking  enterprises connection programme will keep developing and help enterprises, reducing their difficulties.

At the conference, organised by the city Peoples Committee, the SBVs HCM City office and Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietin Bank), Vietin Bank signed contracts with 100 enterprises to provide credit of VN8 trillion ($354 million).

HCM City has been having this programme since 2012. It has since been expanded throughout the country and was recently added to the National Target Programme to support enterprises.

Sixteen banks are part of the programme in HCM City.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam and Indonesia boast huge potential in energy collaboration, Indonesian Ambassador to Viet Nam, Ibnu Hadi, said at a conference held in Ha Noi yesterday.

The event drew the participation of numerous Indonesian coal exporters and Vietnamese importers.

In the first four months of the year, Indonesia shipped more than 1.5 million tonnes of coal to Viet Nam, he said, adding that the country would export at least 4.5 million tonnes of coal to its ASEAN peer.

The Indonesian Embassy in Viet Nam would work to promote the connection between energy businesses from the two countries to ensure sufficient supply, he stressed.

Regarding the coal demand of Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN), a representative from the group said that coal-fired power accounts for 30 per cent of the total electricity generated nationwide of 42,000 MW.

Before 2016, most thermoelectric plants used domestic coal, however, the need for imported coal has shot up due to the development of thermoelectricity.

In 2016, the country bought 680,000 tonnes of coal from foreign countries. The figure is expected to rise to 4.7 million tonnes in 2017, 11 million tonnes in 2020 and 19 million tonnes in 2025.

At the conference, businesses from both countries exchanged experience and discussed measures to boost co-operation.

Two-way trade stood at US$5.5 billion in 2016 and both sides are targeting $6 billion in 2017.  VNS
HCM CITY  KIDO Group (KDC) has successfully transformed from a confectioner into a food producer, Nguyen Thi Xuan Lieu, its vice president told the annual shareholders meeting held in HCM City on Friday.

The success has been underlined by the revenues, profits and brand name awareness the company has garnered in the last two current years since switching sectors.

Last year, revenues exceeded the target by 24 per cent to top VN2.2 trillion. Profit before tax was more than VN1.5 trillion.

The year also marked Tuong An Vegetable Oil Company becoming a subsidiary and contributing 43.7 per cent of the groups profit.

Ice-cream and yoghurt contributed over 45 per cent after achieving sales growth of 30 per cent.

Plan for 2017

Talking about plans for 2017 Lieu said the groups ambition was to produce all products and foods needed for a kitchen."

In addition to cooking oil, KDC would also produce chilli sauce and other cooking sauces, beverages, fresh and organic foods and chill foods.

Tran Le Nguyen, president of KDC, said the group was involved in M&A negotiations with big players to widen its business scope by the end of this year.

A new chilli sauce it would produce in co-operation with a Thai partner was set to hit the market by the end of the third quarter, he said.

This year the company entered the processed food sector by buying a 50 per cent stake in Dabaco Foodstuffs Processing Co., Ltd, which produces chill goods, canned goods, meat rolls.

In 2017, KDC targets revenues of VN7.7 trillion, a 3.4-fold rise from last year.

Of this, some VN5.8 trillion will come from packaged goods and VN1.9 trillion from frozen foods.

The profit target is VN490 billion, VN240 billion from packaged goods and VN250 billion from frozen foods.

To attract more foreign investors, KDC announced it would raise its foreign ownership ratio cap from the current 49 per cent to 100 per cent. The decision was approved at the shareholders meeting on Friday and will be soon carried out.

KIDO used to be one of the biggest confectionery producer in the country. Two years ago, it sold its main stake of snack business to a foreign company. The acquisition completed last year.

To expand their business in food industry, the company had bought cooking oil companies including Tuong An Vegetable Oil Company. The company targets to become leader in food producing industry with distribution system installed in the whole country and to foreign markets.  VNS
HCM CITY  Tourism accelerator Mekong Innovative Startup Tourism has announced a list of four recipients of the 2017 Mekong Business Initiative Innovation Grants.

GoP, a travel tech start-up from Myanmar, took the top prize and will receive USD $10,000.

Artisan Origins by TAEC, a social enterprise from Laos, Cambodias Camboticket, and Viet Nams Chameleon City, both travel tech startups, will all receive US$7,000.

Nguyen Thi Huong Lien and Nguyen Thi Thu from I Love Asia Tour and Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh from Morning Rooms conferred the WISE Womens Leadership Awards, and will enjoy mentorship through the Viet Nams Womens Initiative for Startups and Entrepreneurship.

MIST is globally unique in how it integrates the Greater Mekong Subregions travel start-ups into an eco-system for sustainable tourism development, Jens Thraenhart, executive director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and organiser of the Mekong Tourism Forum, said.

The entrepreneurs I have met through MIST have convinced me that tourism in our region has a very bright future.

MIST began in December 2016 as a joint venture between the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and the Government of Australia and the Asian Development Bank-supported Mekong Business Initiative.

It includes a start-up accelerator for early-stage startups from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Viet Nam. It also includes a market access programme for mature start-ups based anywhere in the world that want MISTs assistance in localising proven tourism products and solutions in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

MIST received more than 250 applications in 2017.  VNS
Customers test out Timo, a VPBank-back digital banking app, Vietnamese banks are looking to tap into big data.  Photo timo.vn

HA NOI  To successfully deploy big data in the banking sector, there must be a comprehensive strategy using professional teams who have deep understanding of both finance and technology, said Nguyen Kim Anh, Deputy Governor of State Bank of Viet Nam.

At a conference on Thursday in Ha Noi, Anh said that digital data was becoming a new resource and big data was playing an important role in the banking and finance sectors.

The conference, titled Big data for banking and financial industry, was organised by the Banking Academy of Viet Nam.

At the workshop, participants focused on big data technology from a variety of perspectives. They discussed the latest technology and ways for banks and financial institutions to optimise the application of big data into information systems.

Through the discussion, experts shared hopes that they could identify the opportunities and challenges of big data to improve the productivity, quality and efficiency of financial and banking operations.

The fourth industrial revolution is taking place across the globe and having a strong impact on all aspects of socio-economic life, according to the experts. It promises to create more opportunities and an impetus for the country development of each nation or organisation.

The fourth industrial revolution with Internet of Things, automation and artificial intelligence has brought digital data to the centre of the business world.

Digital data had become a very important resource from which businesses can generate revenue and provide new application ecosystems, services and digital products, said Anh.

Therefore, digital data will grow and become an important industry in the fourth industrial revolution, he added.

At the workshop, the deputy governor also said that the specificity of banking is creating a huge amount of data from structured data such as transaction histories and customer records to unstructured data such as customer activities on Internet and mobile banking application.

Applying big data to exploit the data will bring significant competitive advantages and efficiency for the banking and finance sectors, he added.

In addition, Pham Anh Tuan, director of Vietcombanks tech modernisation department, said that data in the banking system and those collected from the outside include many types. These include structured data, semi-structured data, and unstructured data.

"The current banking data is unstructured, which meets all big data standards in volume, movement and diversity," Tuan emphasised.

The representative of Vietcombank also said that when banks as well as financial institutions identify data with great value, they must consider data assets of the bank. In other words, data must be treated like any bank assets, which have to be taken care of and ensured on asset security.  VNS
Employees of LG Electronics Viet Nam, a Korean-invested firm, operate a production line at the firm's factory in Ha Noi.  VNA/VNS Photo Lam Khanh

HA NOI  The need to bring about some degree of parity between foreign-invested and domestic firms while fostering increased linkages was highlighted at the Vietnam Business Forum held on Friday in Ha Noi.

There was a general consensus among the participants that increased links between FDI firms and the nations SME sector, in particular, would facilitate the process of international integration on a fairer footing.

Attending the mid-term forum were Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue, representatives from international organisations, trade associations and foreign chambers of commerce in Viet Nam, senior ministry officials, economists and trade experts.

They agreed that effective solutions had to be found for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to connect with FDI enterprises.

Deputy PM Hue confirmed that the Government would do its best to adjust the difference between the two sectors without reducing FDI inflows.

He said the Government would be more selective with FDI companies, choosing those whose business plans suited the Viet Nams economic restructuring.

As such, priority would be given to foreign firms with state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly technology ready to connect with Vietnamese SMEs.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government had been striving ceaselessly to develop a transparent and uncluttered business environment for all economic sectors, the forum heard.

With Resolutions 19 and 35 on business legality, the government hoped to create a concrete playground with fair rules for all, the Deputy PM said.

Hue also said that the Government was working on renewing 73 customs regulations in order to facilitate the needs of both domestic and foreign businesses.

Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and co-chair of the VBF, agreed with the Deputy PM, saying that "the government is right to spearhead linkages between the FDI sector and domestic businesses so that development is more even".

This is one of the topics for discussion at the National Assembly and a sustainable growth strategy for FDI firms," Loc said.

However, he also warned that according to the latest report by the International Finance Corporation, only 21 per cent of Vietnamese firms were taking part in the global supply chain, which was much lower than in neighbouring countries.

Vietnamese producers are also placed at a low position on the value chain as manufacturers and low cost workers provider.

Furthermore, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, added value generated by the FDI sector now accounts for 48.8 per cent of total export turnover in Viet Nam, as against just 12.7 per cent by domestic firms.

Most importantly, only 14 per cent of Vietnamese firms are currently functioning as parts suppliers to FDI companies, since the latter favour suppliers from their home countries.

"This means there is still a long way to go until complete collaboration and understanding is reached between the two sectors and Vietnamese SMEs finally benefit from technology transfer and production opportunities that they sorely need," said Loc.

Representatives of foreign chambers of commerce in Viet Nam blamed the current situation on the lack of a unified tax and customs policy.

Tomaso Andreatta, Vice Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said that while Vietnamese provinces compete against each other to attract foreign investment, there was yet to be a fair and standardised set of regulations for foreign companies operating in the country, which made them nervous and hesitant.

Jonathan Moreno, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam, suggested that the Vietnamese government removes or simplifies non-tariff technical barriers at border gates that are costly and complicated.

There was also positive feedback from international companies investing in Viet Nam.

Ryu Hang Ha, co-chair of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam, said that thanks to the Free Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and Korea (VKFTA) signed in 2015, bilateral trade had been increasing significantly. The nations are set to meet the two-way trade goal of US$70 billion by 2020, and 71 per cent of Korean companies are satisfied with Viet Nams management of foreign business entities.

As the Republic of Korea is now the number one investor in Viet Nam, Korean multinational companies as well as Korean SMEs consider the country to be a fresh and attractive destination, said Ryu.

Nonetheless, he suggested improvements in the easing and removal of language barriers and the provision of more information on investment policies.

Hiroshi Karashima, Chairman of the Japan Business Association in Viet Nam, said he had high regard for the Vietnamese governments efforts to improve the connection between FDI firms and domestic SMEs.

Many Japanese companies are planning to build manufacturing plants in Viet Nam and generate a high demand for local supporting industry, according to the chairman.

1000 suggestions

VBF organisers said they received nearly 1,000 suggestions for the Government and administrative agencies from businesses and associations.

They expressed their hopes of joining regional and international production networks and eliminating national boundaries in production.

The Deputy PM showed his appreciation for the opinions and said that the government would take all of them into serious consideration as it tries to perfect the current legal framework and minimise litigation risks and fees. He said this was part of its efforts to become a truly constructive government on behalf of the Vietnamese people.

The VBF is an ongoing policy dialogue between the Vietnamese government and the business community organised by the Vietnam Business Forum Consortium in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation.

This year, the midterm forum includes four sessions on employment, supporting industries development, infrastructure investment, the fourth industrial revolution, free trade agreements, elimination of non tariff barriers, private sector investment and improving law enforcement.  VNS
Farmers dry chili peppers for an export business in Binh Hoa Commune, Chau Thanh District, Hau Giang Province.  VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh

AN GIANG  Farmers, already hit by record low pork prices, are facing a fresh blow with prices for many other agricultural products in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang dropping.

The price of cassava declined from VN10,000 (US$0.44) per kilo last year to VN1,000 per kilo at present.

Farmer Than Hoang Huynh from Phu Huu Commune in An Phu District said it cost him about VN10 million ($444) to grow 1,000sq.m of cassava.

At current prices of VN1,000 per kg, he could not afford to hire workers to harvest the cassava, he told Nguoi lao ong (Labourer) newspaper.

Guava and chilli prices also fell to VN1,500-3,000 from VN8,000-10,000 and to VN5,000-8,000 from VN40,000 per kilo, respectively, in comparison with the same period in previous years.

A local agricultural officer told the newspaper that the oversupply of farm produce in the province led to the price decline, a problem that reoccurs year after year.

This year alone, the country has had to scramble to fix agriculture oversupply problems.

In February, banana farmers in several provinces were hit as prices plummeted from VN14,000-17,000 per kilogramme to VN1,000-3,000.

In April, several campaigns were launched to rescue watermelon farmers in some localities, who suffered severe losses after being unable to sell their crops.

oan Thi Chai, Deputy Director of northern Hung Yen Provinces Agriculture and Rural Development, said many farmers still grow farm products based on their perception, not on supply-demand rules.

At a question-and-answer session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the trend of bumper crops leading to price drops was due to poor organisation of the consumption market.

The agriculture sector had done well in production but processing and marketing were still weak, resulting in oversupply, said the minister.

Viet Nams agriculture sector is small-scale, with low productivity and is vulnerable to climate change and international integration, he admitted.

Many farm products experienced sharply dropping prices. In the latest case, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development launched a campaign nationwide to save the pig after pork prices dipped to a record low.

However, experts said that the campaign was just a temporary measure to reduce losses for farmers and it should not be repeated whenever farm produce prices dropped.

Vo Thi Ly, Deputy Head of the Farm Produce Processing and Preservation Office under the ministrys Department of Farm Produce Processing and Market Development, said the oversupply of farm products was due to a failure to follow production plans.

In some localities, agricultural production was still small-scale with low productivity and not based on forecasts about market demand, she told cafef.vn

A lack of comprehensive market information from central to local levels and limited capacity of market analysis and forecast contributed to the problem, she said.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam told the newspaper that to deal with bumper crops leading to price drops, localities should closely supervise production planning set by the ministry.

"It is also necessary to boost production chains linking farmers with businesses and co-operatives," he said.  VNS
Three friends who were expected to go out into the big world have decided instead to go back to the village they once came from.

There, they have started a business making traditional rice vermicelli.

Their business has done well because many people are not happy about other rice vermicelli that is on sale because it is not made the traditional way.

Despite graduating from university and landing big-city jobs, three young men who had been lifelong friends wanted something more than just a big income, expensive clothes and other material signs of success.

Their parents, however, had always wanted their sons to have high paying jobs so they could have a better life.

But the three men were determined to follow their dream to start their own business and live independently.

Much to the chagrin and shock of their families and neighbours, Nguyen ang Ton Canh, Nguyen Phuoc Anh and Nguyen Huu Vinh, all born in the 90s, decided to quit their jobs and return to their hometown in Trieu Phong District in the central province of Quang Tri.

Canh had studied economics at Hue University and Anh the same subject at a Nang College, while Vinh had graduated from HCM City Transportation University.

The knowledge they had obtained at school and in the workplace, however, would later serve them well.

Weve been buddies since we were kids. Growing up, we all had the idea of returning to our village and starting a business, but we werent confident doing it apart, Canh recalled recently.

But, one day, during a meeting away from their jobs in big cities, they realised their dream was still very much alive.

Oh my god! We recognised that we were still dreaming of returning to the countryside to help it develop, Canh said.

But they werent sure about which career to pursue.

Canh, however, was confident the three of them would find their way.

Every career has potential and if you care about it enough, it can develop in a stable way, he said.

So they returned to their hometown, Linh Chieu Village, well-known for its tradition of making bun (rice vermicelli).

Making bun was the traditional career of not only our families but also the entire village, he said. We spent our childhood around this, so now we want to contribute to the villages development doing the same with a better product.

Initial steps

Within a year of agreeing to pursue their goal, the trio produced their first batch of clean vermicelli.

During that first year, they had faced many questions. How can we make our products different from the rest? What are our strengths and weaknesses? And, importantly, where are we going to get the money?

They realised they had a competitive advantage over others: their grandparents, parents and relatives had a rich background in making traditional rice vermicelli.

But, most of all, the three young men were full of energy.

After saving a total of nearly VN100 million (US$4,000) from their jobs, they decided to make preservative-free vermicelli which meets hygiene and food safety standards.

Vinh said that many consumers had boycotted traditional vermicelli in the market because of low quality and a high level of preservatives.

Even vermicelli made by Linh Chieu Village had been affected by the trend, with villagers sometimes throwing away their product due to decreased demand.

Their first branded products hit the market in May last year, packaged under the trademark Van Linh Vermicelli.

It had not been easy.

I still remember the first days after we launched our product in the market, Canh said.

We could sell only 50 kilos per day, but we had made 100 kilos. So, we had to eat vermicelli the whole day!

To increase sales, the three men advertised their new product in the region and continued to improve the quality with the aim of receiving certification from the local health authority.

Their university studies came in handy on several occasions. With the IT skills they had learned at school, they set up a website to advertise their products.

After that, sales of vermicelli increased day by day, including purchases by big restaurants in ong Ha City and Lao Bao Town.

Although the price is higher than similar products, Van Linh Vermicelli is now the choice of many consumers.

About 500 kilos of fresh rice vermicelli are sold each day in the province.

The three men now want to expand production and sales to other cities and are trying out new products like dry vermicelli.

Asked if they would like to receive money from investors, Canh said they wanted to first build a solid foundation since their business was still small-scale.

For Vinh, quitting his job in big cities and returning to his hometown was a decision that he never doubted.

Well never regret what we decided," he said. "To us, our success today is thanks to the courage we had to pursue our dream of creating a vermicelli trademark for our village. VNS





GLOSSARY

But the three men were determined to follow their dream to start their own business and live independently.

To live independently means to be on your own and to live off your own money rather than needing someone else to help you.

Much to the chagrin and shock of their families and neighbours, Nguyen ang Ton Canh, Nguyen Phuoc Anh and Nguyen Huu Vinh, all born in the 90s, decided to quit their jobs and return to their hometown in Trieu Phong District in the central province of Quang Tri.

Chagrin is the feeling of being upset because you have failed at something.

The knowledge they had obtained at school and in the workplace, however, would later serve them well.

Obtained means got.

But they werent sure about which career to pursue.

To pursue a career means to follow a career.

Canh, however, was confident the three of them would find their way.

Confident means believing that things will work out well.

Every career has potential and if you care about it enough, it can develop in a stable way, he said.

Potential means possibility.

Making bun was the traditional career of not only our families but also the entire village, he said. We spent our childhood around this, so now we want to contribute to the villages development doing the same with a better product.

To contribute means to give in order to help with something.

Within a year of agreeing to pursue their goal, the trio produced their first batch of clean vermicelli.

A trio is a group of three.

They realised they had a competitive advantage over others: their grandparents, parents and relatives had a rich background in making traditional rice vermicelli.

If they had a competitive advantage certain things would make it easier for them to do business against competitors.

After saving a total of nearly VN100 million (US$4,000) from their jobs, they decided to make preservative-free vermicelli which meets hygiene and food safety standards.

Preservatives are chemicals put into foods to make them last longer. Foods that are preservative-free have no such chemicals in them.

Vinh said that many consumers had boycotted traditional vermicelli in the market because of low quality and a high level of preservatives.

Consumers are people who buy and use things.

To boycott traditional vermicelli means to refuse to buy it as a way of saying you are not happy about it.

Even vermicelli made by Linh Chieu Village had been affected by the trend, with villagers sometimes throwing away their product due to decreased demand.

A trend is a general direction in which things are happening. In this case it is to do with how vermicelli is being made.

Their first branded products hit the market in May last year, packaged under the trademark Van Linh Vermicelli.

A trademark is a symbol or a word that a company has the right to use to represent its products.

To increase sales, the three men advertised their new product in the region and continued to improve the quality with the aim of receiving certification from the local health authority.

Certification means receiving a document from someone in authority saying that a product is of good quality.

Their university studies came in handy on several occasions. With the IT skills they had learned at school, they set up a website to advertise their products.

IT stands for Information Technology.

After that, sales of vermicelli increased day by day, including purchases by big restaurants in ong Ha City and Lao Bao Town.

Purchases are actions of buying something.

Although the price is higher than similar products, Van Linh Vermicelli is now the choice of many consumers.

A choice is something you choose when you may have many different things from which to choose.

The three men now want to expand production and sales to other cities and are trying out new products like dry vermicelli.

Expand means spread out and grow.

Asked if they would like to receive money from investors, Canh said they wanted to first build a solid foundation since their business was still small-scale.

Investors are people who put money into a project in the hope that it will make more money.

A foundation, in this case, is a sense of having everything in order as well as knowing how to go into the business venture they are trying and knowing the people they need to know in order to carry out business. A solid foundation is a strong foundation.

Well never regret what we decided," he said.

To regret something is to wish it had never happened.

WORKSHEET

Find words that mean the following in the Word Search:

A casual word that means friends. A word meaning a group of three. A word that is short for kilogrammes. A word that means to give something up. A type of business that bought vermicelli as sales increased day by day.

m b o n l h a n d g s s e a u r w s r u o k u n n r w d n e t q u i t c o c e a d e s a l l f u s a t b r i t r i o b p y i w e s t e t r s o c s i s t e r p s r t a o a c s k s k i c t h r a r e s t a u r a n t s s s p d l c o t h o r n s

ANSWERS:

 Duncan Guy/Learn the News/ Viet Nam News 2017

1. Buddies; 2. Trio; 3. Kilos; 4. Quit; 5. Restaurants.
QUANG NGAI  Coastal communes in the southern central province of Quang Ngai are facing alarming environmental pollution as a result of the waste discharged from residential areas, industrial production and tourism activities.

According to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, since relocation of the population to areas designated for infrastructure, development has not been completed, leading to co-mingling of industrial production facilities and residential zones.

At least 400 households of the coastal Binh ong Commune, living near ai Viet cement plant, is reeling from dust and noise pollution. Despite intervention efforts by Quang Ngai Peoples Committee, the pollution has persisted. Binh ong residents have repeatedly protested and attempted to prevent the operations of the cement plant.

Speaking to Nhan Dan (People) newspaper, Nguyen Minh Tai, head of the management board of Dung Quat economic zone and Quang Ngai Provinces industrial parks, pollution alleviation measures demanded of ai Viet cement company are not practical. Locals have petitioned the company to relocate elsewhere several times, but the company refused, as the plant was built in the land area reserved for industrial development and was granted permission by the management board.

The relocation of an industrial production facility is costly, not to mention compensation for the investors, Tai said.

At Sa Ky or Ly Son port, dozens of thousands of ships sailing in and out every day discharge hundreds of tonnes of garbage, fuel, and wastewater during shipping activities. Usually, after unloading their catch onto the shore, boat owners clean their boats, and the waste and the residues are dumped into the oceans waters.

Similarly at Sa Huynh fishing port, hundreds of active boats and 2,000 households, all dump their waste into the ocean.

Most boats lack waste collectors, and the boat operators awareness on the need to observe maritime environment protection and safety guidelines is limited, which has exacerbated the current pollution situation in coastal areas.

Unruly waste treatment by the tourism industry in the coastal areas  especially the increased presence of beachside restaurants, hotels, and resorts  is also an important source of pollution.

Along the beaches of Tinh Ki, Tinh Khe communes of Son Tinh districts, hundreds of touristic facilities produce a large amount of waste, enough to create a kilometre-long beachside landfill, giving off a serious foul smell.

Tran Van Hai, a local resident, said that in the whole commune there was not a single garbage collection area, so untreated wastes natural destination is the beach. Eat and live with garbage, Hai said.

Nghia An Commune of Tu Nghia district is also experiencing the same predicament. Without a proper landfill, every throw-away  estimated at 5 tonnes a day  is strewn into the waters or left on the beach. When the tide water rises, it brings out the trash into the ocean, then the waves deposit the trash back onto the shore. In some seafood farms, mass fish death had occurred due to the wastewater and garbage that the sea waves brought back.

Residents of Binh Chau Commune of Binh Son, with its many fish markets and a robust algae exploitation industry, said the current pollution was the direct result of age-old habits. The authorities have organised awareness campaigns to urge people not to dump waste into the ocean, but they have failed to produce positive changes.

ang Van Minh, Deputy Chairman of Quang Ngai Province, said the province identified maritime economy as its spearhead sector. Intending to make use of its deep-water ports, the province had been encouraging fishermen to build high-capacity boats to conduct off-shore fishing, as well as encouraging expansion of seafood farming areas.

However, pollution had impeded and negated a lot of the progress made so far, Minh admitted.

The province had allocated from its budget a considerable amount for the environment affairs fund, which would be used to purchase waste collection and treatment machines for local governments.

Some districts in the province, such as Binh Son, Mo uc, Son Tinh, among others, had formed garbage collection working groups, while the remaining districts had not paid due attention to this issue, Minh said.  VNS
Theresa May, aloof and clueless, decided not to meet victims of the Grenfell tower fire. Her political rival Jeremy Corbyn and the Queen, however, each managed to fit them in. So May, accustomed as she is to politically transparent changes of heart, decided to meet some victims. It did not go well, and later she was filmed all but running to her car as a crowd taunted her.

I've never seen anything like this. Theresa May practically running to her car as a crowd shout "coward". This is not leadership. #Grenfell pic.twitter.com/AoOuH1Yvio  EL4C (@EL4JC) June 16, 2017

Scuffles broke out in the crowd as the Prime Minister's car drove away from the scene of the disaster. In an interview, the Prime Minister was questioned over whether there was a need for the Government to accept some responsibility for what had happened. "Something terrible has happened," she answered.  Asked if she had misread the public anger, she replied: "What I have done since this incident took place is, first of all, yesterday ensure that the public services had the support they need in order to be able to do the job they were doing in the immediate aftermath."

A decade of punishing "austerity" policies, inflicted by the ruling Conservative party on the poor, ended in May's shock tie at the polls with Corbyn's Labour party in a snap election she was supposed to win in a landslide. And now more than 75 people  a total the authorities have consistently attempted to obfuscate  are missing after the fire, a fire they knew was coming because of the appallingly unsafe conditions in which they lived, a fire accelerated by cheap cosmetic renovations designed to make Grenfell more pleasing to the eye of rich neighbors.

You may get the feeling something's about to give in Britain, but don't count the chickens just yet. The uncanny power of UK tabloid media to steer public discourse, in question after May's defeat at the polls, is already in play: see, for example, the Daily Mail's hit piece about one of the victims, whose fridge might have triggered the blaze. How does it describe his suggestion? As a confession.
ang Huy ong, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, talks to the newspaper Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Viet Nam Economic Times) about why approval of the Planning Law will be delayed until the next National Assembly full house meeting in October.

How do you react to the National Assemblys decision to postpone the vote on the Law on Planning at its current session?

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) was assigned to draft the law. We have done our best, and it was highly praised by many deputies during a discussion of the draft on May 26.

Of course, during the discussion quite a few deputies expressed their concern about the viability of the law. The MPI had asked the agency assigned to compile the law to adhere to two criteria - effectiveness and feasibility.

On the first criterion, the draft received high rating from the deputies in all the NAs plenary discussions. However, in terms of feasibility, quite a few deputies expressed concern clauses (clause 3 in Article 27, clause 3 in Article 28) that would require relevant ordinances to be revised when the Planning Law comes into force. Coupled with that, many deputies expressed concern that if the Law is adopted at this NA session and comes into effect in January 2019, the time for making changes in other, relevant laws would be too short. So, in my opinion, such thoughtful thinking was worth taking into account.

In short, the delay in passing the Planning Law is entirely legitimate. No doubt, it will help improve its quality. The MPI will continue working with NA Commissions to seek their opinions on changes, as suggested by deputies. At the same time, the MPI will continue to work with concerned Government agencies to discuss issues needing further explanation.

Dont you think that the delay will affect our national economy?

I dont think so. Im confident that the draft law will be approved in the next sitting of the NA in October. That means we still have time to develop our planning for the 2021-2030 period. Though the Planning Law is not passed at this session, the development of related laws will have to follow the guidelines and main principles of the draft Planning Law to ensure they all harmonise with each others.

Do you think the main hurdle delaying the approval of the Planning Law is the difference of opinions between your ministry and the Ministry of Construction on some of the articles?

The MPI has worked closely with the Ministry of Construction to iron out some of the differences between us. I can say that the delay in passing the law is in response to the deputies concerns about feasibility. As I have mentioned many times, we respect all opinions or suggestions. We want to have a high-quality Planning Law. It is not for the interest of one ministry or others, but for the nation.

It has taken several years to complete the latest version of the Planning Law. Do you think four months is sufficient time for the revision?

Well work with the NA Economic Committee on how to revise the law as suggested by deputies at this session. If there are issues that cant be settled between us, well seek help from the Government and the October full house meeting. All we want is a good Planning Law.

To make sure the law is passed in October, will the MPI do some lobbying activities?

The NA deputies understand the law. Im confident that whatever we do is in the interest of the nation, not for our own ministrys interest.

In my opinion, Government agencies, social organisations or experts coming up with ideas to advocate for the approval of the law is a normal thing. If those advocacy activities are conducted democratically and openly for the interest of the homeland, of the nation, we should treasure them. Such a practice is normal in many countries.  VNS
HCM CITY  Secretary of HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan has expressed his hope that the traditional co-operation and solidarity between Cuba and HCM City will be further strengthened and expanded.

Nhan made the comment while receiving the chairman of the Cuban National Assembly, Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez, during his visit to HCM City yesterday.

The visit to HCM City was part of an official visit by Hernandez to Viet Nam from June 11-18.

Nhan said that he appreciated the Cuban Government and Communist Partys support for Viet Nam, especially HCM City.

Nhan expressed his thanks to the people of Cuba for their help during Viet Nams struggle for independence and reunification.

HCM City will do its best to further develop a good friendship with Cuba, he said.

The secretary of the HCM City Party Committee also praised the achievements that Cuba had gained recently under the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party.

Nhan recommended that the two countries deepen co-operation in a range of fields, including agriculture, bio-technology, construction, and tourism infrastructure, among others.

The two countries should also create conditions to increase delegation exchanges at all levels to promote mutual understanding and bilateral co-operation, he said.

Hernandez highly praised the socio-economic achievements of HCM City as well as the performance of the citys Peoples Council, Peoples Committee and political and social organisations.

The chief legislator said that Cuba, which had prioritised co-operation with Viet Nam in the fields of trade and infrastructure investment, would complete a legal framework to promote long-term co-operation between the two countries.

Hernandez reaffirmed Cubas respect for the development of its traditional friendship with Viet Nam, which was established and developed by former President Fidel Castro and President Ho Chi Minh.

Impressed by the solid development of Viet Nam and especially HCM City, Hernandez said he wanted cooperation activities to continue between the state agencies of the two countries.

At the meeting, the Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, together with the leaders of the citys Peoples Council and Peoples Committee as well as the Cuban National Assembly delegation, discussed policies of both governments.

The two sides exchanged experiences on management and operation of State Committees, state agencies and organisations in the process of national construction and development.

Bilateral relations have developed well since Viet Nam and Cuba established diplomatic ties in December 1960. The two legislatures also have friendly parliamentarians groups.

Along with sound political relations, two-way trade between the countries reached US$247.6 million last year.

Viet Nam, which is Cubas second-largest Asian trade partner, exports rice, coal, chemicals, garment and textiles and computers to Cuba, and imports pharmaceutical products.  VNS
THUA THIEN- HUE  Residents of the central Thua Thien-Hue Province gathered in Lang Co Bay to protest the construction of a stone dyke that they say will affect water flow in the bay.

Locals from An Cu ong Village, which is located by the bay, protest that the dyke, being built in the buffer waters that connects the ocean and Lap An Lagoon, is blocking water, causing deposits near the bank where it is being built and leading to landslides on the opposite bank.

The dyke is a part of the new Hai Van Bridge, an ongoing Hai Van Tunnel expansion project to connect the province and a Nang City. The dyke is 230m long and 7m wide, and work on it is nearly complete.

The dyke has increased the strength of the water flow, and is leading to landslides on the opposite bank. And the strong currents are making it hard for our fishing boats to move in and out of the bay, said village chief Nguyen Van Hoang.

Hoang explained that the currents made it tough for boats to go out from the bay, and difficult to control the boats coming back in to dock. As a result, some of the fishermens boats have got smashed, he said.

Around 300 households in the village - and each household has at least one boat - have boats that go in and out of the bay every day for fishing.

Villagers have also reported that their houses are getting damaged because of landslides.

Duong ang Trung, chairman of Lang Co District, under which the village comes, said local authorities are working with the dyke contractor and have gained consensus on compensation for damaged boats and houses. The contractor will also build culverts into the dyke to ease the water flow in the bay.

Le inh Huy, deputy manager of the bridge construction project, said culverts would be installed. The dyke is only for temporary use and will be removed after the bridge is constructed, he added. The expansion of Hai Van Tunnel to four lanes is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

Questions have been raised about the tunnel expansion plan as there are concerns about potential danger when the contractor starts to use the wind tunnel that runs along the main tunnel for expansion.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam has very favourable conditions to develop solar energy across the country, but it needs an economical, technically feasible net-metering scheme to promote solar PV rooftops in the country, experts said yesterday.

Net-metering is a system in which solar panels or other renewable energy generators are connected to a public-utility power grid and surplus power is transferred onto the grid, allowing customers to offset the cost of power drawn from the utility.

It also allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated.

Foreign and Vietnamese experts met on Friday at a workshop held in Ha Noi to discuss the development of a net-metering policy for solar energy in Viet Nam.

Experts on policy-making, regulations, business and international development, including those from the European Energy Initiative Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF), the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERAV) and the Electricity of Viet Nam attended the workshop.

The first stakeholder workshop was held by the EUEI PDF in collaboration with the ERAV.

The EUEI PDF is providing technical assistance to the ERAV to boost the promotion of solar PV rooftops, or a photovoltaic system that has its electricity-generating solar panels mounted on the rooftop of a residential or commercial building or structure.

As part of the Governments strategy to boost the development of renewable energy in Viet Nam, which was approved in 2015 by the then Prime Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and following the introduction of an electricity tariff for the solar energy in April this year, the ERAV under the authorisation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade was completing the regulatory framework necessary for the country to fully deploy its solar power potential, including a net-metering policy, said Dr inh The Phuc, ERAV Deputy Director-General.

He said that with support from the EUEI PDF, and experts sharing their experiences, the EARV would achieve the target of setting up a feasible net-metering scheme that is economical and technically sound.

Head of Cooperation and Development of the EU Delegation, Alejandro Montalban, said Viet Nam had an ambitious target to capitalise on its solar potential and had shown the political will to achieve it.

With the support and international insights provided by the EUEI PDF, we will soon contribute to this process, he said.

Montalban said the workshop was the first step in setting up a participatory process involving all stakeholders in the new initiative.



Field visits



As part of a week of in-depth consultations, an international team of consultants will pay field visits and meet with key stakeholders, including utility and power companies, developers and investors, and international donors.

The consultations will aim to ensure that the net-metering policy meets the needs of the national energy sector from a regulatory and technical point of view.

The policy will help ensure that Viet Nam meets its goal to generate 12 GW of solar by 2030, according to a EUEI PDF report.

The EUEI PDF will work to help the EARV develop in detail the net-metering scheme, drafting the decision and identifying existing legislation and policies that need to be brought in line, the report says.

"A thorough validation of the technical capacities and the potential impacts of solar energy on the Vietnamese electricity grid will also be conducted to ensure its stability and the technical feasibility of an uptake of the solar, said a EUEI PDF representative.

Finally, he said, the EUEI PDF would also provide training in the new net-metering scheme to policy makers, developers and other key actors to help ensure the successful rollout of the scheme.  VNS
TUYEN QUANG  Northern provinces hold considerable untapped aquaculture potential, according to a conference held in the northern province of Tuyen Quang yesterday.

The northern region boasts rich natural resources along with a dense river network and a number of big hydropower reservoirs like Thac Ba, Son La and Tuyen Quang, which can serve as aquaculture grounds, according to the Directorate of Fisheries.

The current aquaculture area has just reached one-third of the potential in the region. It covered more than 200,000 ha in 2016, including over 157,000 ha farming freshwater species and 47,300 ha farming saltwater and brackish water species.

Aquaculture in the region generated more than 800,000 tonnes of farmed products in 2016.

The directorate said the remaining potential area for aquaculture is big, about over 454,000ha. Notably, hundreds of thousands of hectares of water surface in lakes and hydropower and irrigation reservoirs in mountainous provinces are a favourable condition for fish farming.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam asked localities to adjust their aquaculture plans to local potential, natural conditions and socio-economic development orientations.

They should enhance the management of the fry quality while facilitating production under co-operative groups, cooperatives and aquaculture clubs to improve efficiency and cut production costs.

Aside from harvesting, localities also need to preserve and recover natural aquatic resources, especially rare species with high economic value, he said, adding that it is important to protect the environment for aquaculture.

At the conference, participants discussed solutions to address obstacles to and expand aquaculture in the northern region such as developing personnel, tightening management, surveying the market, building new farming processes, producing vaccines for indigenous fish species and issuing support policies.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam has posted the highest regional increase in minimum wages over the last three years, more than Indonesia and China, but workers still struggle to make ends meet.

Things are not likely to change with the latest increase, set to take effect next month, local reports say.

From July 1, the basic salary for civil servants and public employees will increase seven per cent to VN1.3 million (about US$57.2) from the current VN1.21 million.

The new basic salary, used for calculating payrolls and allowances, will apply for public officials, public employees working in State agencies and civil service providers of the Party or the Government, State-funded socio-political organisations and the armed forces.

Le inh Quang, deputy head of the Labor Relations department of the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labor, said that the government had plans to increase minimum wage for employees every year to improve living standards.

However, the current minimum wage increase only met 90 per cent of the minimum living standard needs of workers and their families.

Even workers of businesses that pay higher than the minimum wage, VN4-5 million per month, face many difficulties in daily lives.

An overwhelming majority of workers, 97 per cent, did not want to work overtime, but had no choice but to do so, just to make ends meet, Quang told the Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper.

The newspaper reports that from 2014 to 2016, Viet Nam had the highest regional minimum wage increase of nearly 14 per cent, against seven per cent in Indonesia and 10 per cent in China.

Many people wonder why such an increase is unable to meet workers demands, the report says.

The reason is that Viet Nams minimum wage is only higher than Laos and Cambodia and lower than most countries in Southeast Asia like Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, it explains.

The real wage of workers is still very low, it is not high enough to cover workers basic needs because the costs of many services also increase along with the minimum wage.

In fact, in some enterprises, the real income of workers reduce when the minimum wage increases.

Some business owners also threaten to cut their workforce if production costs increase because of higher wages.

The results of study by the ISEAL Alliance  the global association for sustainability standards and social accountability  released at a seminar in Ha Noi recently showed that an employee in HCM City must be paid more than VN6.4 million a month to meet their daily expenses.

The salary was calculated by the research team on the basis of what a household of two adults and two children spend a month.

Unfortunately, the average salary of a worker in the garment sector, a major employer, is just over VN4.8 million a month.

According to the study, at a monthly wage of VN6.4 million, an employee may save VN488,000 per month, five per cent of the income after spending for food, housing fee, insurance and other needs.

The study estimates that for rural areas, in two surveyed provinces of Soc Trang and Thai Binh, a worker needs at least VN3.99 million a month, but the current average salary in these localities is just VN3.2 million.

Most employers pay only minimum wage, which is not enough to meet actual minimum living costs, forcing workers to work overtime to make ends meet, the study found.

Workers are, therefore, left wondering if and when they will be able to meet daily expenses and save some money for a rainy day.

Bui Sy Loi, Deputy Chairman of the National Assemblys Social Affairs Committee, said the minimum wage must be adjusted based on socio-economic development and workes should be compensated in accordance with market mechanisms.

Currently, the minimum wage is based on food prices, which is inadequate. Therefore, authorised agencies must re-calculate the minimum wage so as to ensure the benefits of employees, especially when they retire, while creating favourable conditions for business growth, he said. - VNS
KUALA LUMPUR  Two suspects, one of whom is a Vietnamese national, will appear before the Shah Alam high court in Selangor state on July 28 in the case of the murder of Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) citizen Kim Chol .

The decision was made during the fourth court hearing on the case at the Kajang female prison in Selangor yesterday.

The two suspects are Vietnamese national oan Thi Huong and Indonesian national Siti Aisyah.

During the 30-minute hearing, the prosecutor handed over 44 documents to lawyers. Some documents, including the CCTV footage relating to the death will be handed over in one month.

The Embassy of Viet Nam in Malaysia will continue co-ordinating closely with Vietnamese relevant authorities and Huongs lawyers in Malaysia to ensure the fair trial and to protect the legitimate rights of the Vietnamese national.

Kim Chol, as named in his passport, died at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. Malaysia said he was poisoned, but the DPRK insisted that he died of a heart attack, plus high blood pressure and diabetes.

At the court hearing on March 1, the two women were charged with murder but they denied and said that they were cheated to take part in an innocuous prank.

According to the Malaysian law, they will face the death penalty if found guilty.  VNS
WATERLOO -- A 22-year-old man was arrested following a shooting that injured one person near a neighborhood park Friday afternoon.

Chavontae Charvez Boyd, of 820 W. Second St., Apt. 1, was charged with intent to cause bodily injury and intimidation with a weapon.

The identity and condition of the victim werent immediately available, but Waterloo Police said he suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and is expected to survive.

A neighbor called 911 shortly after 3 p.m. Friday upon hearing gunfire in the area of West Mullan Avenue and Wellington Street. Officers were unable to find any trace of the shooting when they initially arrived.

About 20 minutes later, the victim arrived at Covenant Medical Center by private vehicle, and police were able to narrow down the location to the 400 block of West Wellington Street. It wasnt clear how the shooting happened, but officers found two spent shell casings on the sidewalk across the street from Elks Memorial Park.

Staff writer Andrew Wind contributed to this story.
WATERLOO  A group of risk-takers was honored Friday at the University of Northern Iowas Center for Urban Education.

Each person in the group of more than 30 people made the decision to go back to college as an adult. UNI President Mark Nook acknowledged that is often harder than just continuing an education right out of high school. The new students may even need to balance the needs of children and a family as they go to classes and finish homework.

Thats a huge risk, and youre hoping theres a payoff in taking that risk, Nook said at the Educational Opportunity Centers annual student achievement luncheon, where he was the guest speaker. The event recognizes EOC program participants who received at least a 3.0 grade point average in their college studies during the past year. Based at UNI-CUE, the program assists nontraditional students in completing their education at any college or university.

Nook assured the students they have a good chance of making their risk pay off. He noted someone who earns a bachelors degree makes on average $1 million more over a lifetime than those who dont go to college. In addition, he said, those with a bachelors degree are much less likely to ever be laid off.

So there is a payoff on average, he said, for going to college. It is a good risk  a great investment of your time, a great investment of your money.

Two student speakers talked about the Educational Opportunity Centers role in their education.

Jon Ramon, a Hampton native, was working on a four-year college degree when he got in trouble with the law and ended up in prison. While incarcerated, he decided to make a change in his life. He moved to Waterloo, where his mother and sister lived.

He learned about the field of computer numerical control machining through Iowa Workforce Development. After getting help through the EOC with defaulted student loans and enrolling at Hawkeye Community College, last fall he started its two-year CNC machining and tool-making technology degree.

Its going great for me; theres a lot more to learn, said Ramon. Without the Workforce Development and this place, I wouldnt have gotten as far as I have in this short of time.

Samantha Pickard of Waterloo enrolled in college right out of high school, But she couldnt keep up with the classes and homework due to an undiagnosed learning disability and dropped out. After about a year-and-a-half of sulking and licking my own wounds, she enrolled in Kaplan University and earned a degree in criminal justice.

Pickard worked contract security jobs and then for a call center until being laid off. Thats when I decided I was done with contract jobs, she said.

In the meantime, she came to the EOC about returning to college. Pickard is now enrolled full-time at UNI and works part-time at UNI-CUE. After graduating, she hopes to start a youth center in Waterloo.

Nook, who became the universitys president in February, expressed pride that it hosts a program which helps people like Ramon and Pickard return to college.

Were committed to making sure that we make this community better for everyone, he said during the speech. I want to say thank you for taking advantage of this, for making this community better. But mostly, I want to say congratulations.

Nook encouraged attendees to think beyond the degree they are earning. He said education teaches people skills like critical and analytical thinking and how to work together. Most people end up in jobs that have nothing to do with their degree, he noted.

Keep asking questions, keep learning, said Nook. Dont focus on the degree, focus on the education.
DAVENPORT  One of the most prominent voices with Iowas older population has launched a campaign to push back against elements of the Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

AARP is in the midst of sponsoring a series of public forums across the state, including one June 27 in Cedar Falls, targeting House legislation approved last month. In addition, it has begun airing television ads aimed at influencing Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.

Iowans are very worried about the cost of their health insurance, especially Iowans between the ages of 50 to 64, Kent Sovern, AARPs Iowa state director, said this week. AARP is taking a strong stand against the American Health Care Act because we want to ensure that the priorities and needs of our more than 370,000 Iowa members and all Americans 50-plus are addressed.

Since passage of the House bill, a small group of Republican senators have been meeting privately to put together their own bill. Its not clear when a vote will come, but Republican leaders had targeted action before the July 4 recess.

Earlier this week, AARP announced it was launching a seven-figure television buy in eight states to put pressure on 11 key senators, including Grassley and Ernst.

The groups 30-second ad, which features a financial adviser speaking to a couple older than 50, says the House bill imposes an age tax and allows insurers to charge thousands more for people with pre-existing conditions such as asthma.

This is going to be a big bill, the adviser in the ad tells the couple.

Anthony Carroll, associate state director for advocacy for AARP in Iowa, said the House bill is a starting point for the Senate and this a key chance for AARP to weigh in with lawmakers.

Its a top priority for us to really elevate this issue, he said.

A spokeswoman for Grassley stressed Friday the Senate is writing its own bill but that the senator is concerned with how people with pre-existing conditions will be treated, as well as what happens with mental health coverage.

Senators have studied the House bill and listened to many interested individuals and groups and are now writing the Senates own bill, the spokeswoman, Jill Gerber, said. Senator Grassley will study the final Senate bill when its ready.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Joni Ernst, Leigh Claffey, also noted the Senate continues to work carefully on its own bill to ensure affordable, and patient-centered health care solutions.

How the legislation would treat people with pre-existing conditions in the individual insurance market is a key concern. The Affordable Care Act prohibits denying coverage to people because of their health status. The House bill retains that protection but lets states allow insurers to charge higher rates to people who have had coverage lapse. The legislation also opens the door to allowing higher premiums for people based on age.

AARP also has expressed worries the House health care bill will cut Medicaid funding, which provides support for the disabled and elderly, as well as the poor. The legislation would cut funding for the program by $880 billion over 10 years, not only rolling back the expansion under the Affordable Care Act but also by putting caps on some spending.

The AARPs efforts in Iowa come as the state is seeking to lure insurers into the individual marketplace for 2018.

Two of the three insurers that sold policies statewide in 2017 said in April they were dropping out next year, while a third expressed doubts about re-entering.

This week, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen announced he was offering a proposal to the Trump administration to try to rebuild the individual market by restructuring premium tax credits, establishing a state-based high-risk pool and offering a single, standardized insurance plan.

AARP is holding eight such forums across the state this month. The Cedar Falls forum is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Clarion Inn, 5826 University Ave.
CEDAR FALLS  The City Council Monday night is scheduled to discuss granting a partial property tax exemption for a new furniture warehouse under construction in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

Council members will be asked to approve the exemption for the Ashley Furniture warehouse now under construction at 2615 Capital Way on property owned by a company of Ashley Furniture owners and founders Bill and Carolyn Hinks  about 18 acres of land west of the Target Distribution Center perishable foods warehouse.

The city transferred the land to the company as part of a development agreement the council approved Aug. 1. The proposed property tax exemption was part of that same agreement.

The city typically does not approve property tax exemptions until construction has begun. Construction of the $7.2 million, 150,000 square foot warehouse now is well under way.

Under the proposal, a 75 percent exemption would be granted the first year, decreasing 15 percent each year for five years until the propertys full valuation comes on the tax rolls. About $460,000 in taxes would be exempted over the five years and $772,000 in taxes would be paid.

The exemption requires council approval on three separate readings at succesive meetings.

Furniture Mart USA, the sole licensee for Ashley Furniture in Iowa, also plans to build a 25,000-square-foot, $1.6 million Ashley Furniture Homestore retail store at a to-be-determined location in the city. Company officials have said negotiations are in process. City staff has said no incentives are being offered for the retail store.

The council meeting is scheduled to begin 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
DES MOINES -- Despite protests and concerns that the state of Iowas new family planning network will limit access  especially to those living in rural areas  the Iowa Department of Human Services oversight council on Friday approved agency rules guiding the program.

The vote comes two weeks before the new program is set to start on July 1 and just two days after the council initially rejected those rules.

The Republican-controlled legislature this session decided to forgo federal dollars for family planning services such as cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infection testing and birth control for low-income men and women. Instead, it set aside $3 million to create a state-run program that would exclude facilities that provide abortions, such as Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood since has announced it would close four of its 12 Iowa clinics on July 1  a move that will affect more than 14,600 individuals. The womens health organization is closing clinics in Keokuk, Burlington, Sioux City and the Quad Cities.

A cloud of confusion appeared on Wednesday after council members rejected the rules in a rare 4-1 vote, citing access concerns as Planned Parenthood clinics, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and UnityPoint-Health no longer would be eligible providers under the program.

The council met again Friday to hear from the Attorney Generals Office as well as DHS. The council members initial concerns were not remedied, but they ultimately passed the administrative rules after Gretchen Kraemer, a representative from the Attorney Generals Office, said the program would have proceeded even without the councils OK, as it is mandated by the Legislature.

It is important for the rules to reflect the law, Kraemer said, to ensure the program is fairly and consistently implemented. If not, there could be confusion among patients and providers.

I completely disagree with the legislation, but in some ways theres nothing to vote against here because, in some ways, the rule has to match the legislation, said Kim Spading, a council member and pharmacist from Coralville.

Council members asked DHS to provide them with the same data it plans to present to legislators in January that will look at access to services and providers for the first six months of the program. Members also voted to draft a letter to send to legislators that lays out their concerns.

It is the will of the council to raise these issues and have them talked about and to signal to the legislature that we have a problem with that, council Chairman Mark Anderson said.
WATERLOO  Surrounded by grandchildren and a daughter, Roxanna Wagner-Parecki walked around Hawkeye Community Colleges central green space Friday.

Its an annual journey the Denver woman and her family have made during the past four years as part of the Black Hawk County Relay for Life. The event, which was held from 2 to 10 p.m. Friday, raises money for the American Cancer Society.

We try to do laps, and then every year I give the grandkids one of these bracelets, she said. The bracelets are purchased from the booth of Team FROG, and after every lap they can stop by to add a bead. Eight of her grandchildren attended.

And then we always try to find our luminarias, said Wagner-Parecki, for her mother, father and a grandson. The white bags with names a pictures on the outside and candles inside line the sidewalk. They are purchased to honor those who have survived cancer or died from it.

Her family is involved in fundraising through Team Cardinal, which had a booth at the event. They sell lemonade along with their own bracelets, made by 8-year-old granddaughter Danali Allen. Cardinals were the favorite bird of Wagner-Pareckis mom, who died in November 2012.

The monies that are raised, a lot of the funding stays here in Iowa, said Candy Nardini, a longtime organizer of the event. The University of Iowa and Iowa State University sponsor cancer research that receives support from the American Cancer Society. Some of the money also goes to Hope Lodge in Iowa City, which provides accommodations for family members of cancer patients at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Teams begin fundraising early in the year and continue their efforts at the Relay for Life. In addition, a silent auction was held featuring baskets put together by the teams.

We started out with $104,000, said Nardini, when the event got underway. The goal is to raise $200,000 by Aug. 31, when the fiscal year ends.

There is still fundraising that comes in after our event, she added. I fully expect us to reach our goal.

Team Hope Blooms was striving to hit its goal during the relay.

By the time the evening is done, well probably come close to raising $6,000, just our team, said Henry Shepherd, the assistant principal at Expo Alternative Learning Center. Most of the 14 members on the team are Expo staff.

Everybody who relays does it for their own reasons, said Shepherd, who started the team after his mother died of cancer at the end of 1999. Im doing this for my mom. Its a promise I made to her long ago.

He emphasized the importance of the research enabled by their fundraising and the advances in treatment since her death. If she was battling cancer today, it might be a different story, said Shepherd.

Kathy Hoth of Waterloo is in her 12th year of fundraising at the helm of Team Sweeney-Hoth. A sister died of colon cancer and Hoths husband, Dave, was diagnosed in 2007 with tonsil cancer, for which he has gone through chemotherapy and radiation. My husband is a survivor, but he struggles every day, she said.

The team sells raffle tickets and has a wheel at its booth that children can spin for $1 to win a prize. They had 103 raffle prizes to give away.

Weve raised over $95,000 in 12 years and were going for $100,000 tonight, she said. We are deeply involved in this. Its a deep passion for us to raise money.
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News / Africa

by Staff reporter

Nairobi has granted South Africans additional time to visit Kenya without visas, pointing to a thawing of diplomatic relations between the two nations, Business Daily Africa reported.Interior secretary Joseph Nkaissery says in a legal notice published last Friday that South Africans can now visit and stay in Kenya without a visa for up to three months, up from the previous 30 days.The notice says South African "civil servants, holders of diplomatic, official or ordinary passports" can visit Kenya without visas "for a period exceeding (sic) ninety (90) days". The Ministry of Interior later clarified that there was an error in the notice, and that it ought to have read a period "not exceeding ninety (90) days".The extended visa free travel notice further put the balance of diplomatic relations in favour of South Africa, which has been tightening visa rules for Kenyans.Kenya has long expressed discomfort with the many hurdles its citizens travelling to South Africa continue to face with little response from Pretoria.In particular, Nairobi has raised concerns over the high costs of South African visas as well as the extended processing period, which now takes at least five days.The situation has been particularly unfair given that South Africans can get visas on arrival in Kenya.Mr Nkaissery's decision may, however, be a signal that Pretoria is preparing to reciprocate the move by easing entry of Kenyans to South Africa.President Uhuru Kenyatta had raised Kenya's concerns over South Africa's tough visa rules with President Jacob Zuma during his visit to Nairobi last year, but Mr Zuma refused to commit on measures to ease them.South Africa claimed that its visa rules are meant to insulate it from irregular migration, a sore topic in a country that has suffered numerous bouts of xenophobic attacks against foreigners."We have to ensure that there are no loopholes for criminals to take advantage of," Mr Zuma said in response to questions on his country's visa policies.Kenya's decision to issue a travel warning to civil servants visiting South Africa last month threatened to rekindle the diplomatic row, but South Africa made no public response to the memo.
A startup needs to test an idea quickly. For this, an MVP is created. MVP, Minimal Viable Product  a test version of a product or service with a minimum set of functions (up to one or two), which allows you to see the product's value for consumers and the market. MVP is created to test hypotheses and check the viability of the intended product: is it worth developing the project further, what changes should be made? The sooner a startup brings its MVP to market and tests the idea, the better. This article will look at how no-code technology can help founders achieve their business goals.

This article will try to cover everything that a founder needs to know about no-code at the initial stage of creating a startup.

What is no-code?

No-code, zero-code platform is a tool for creating websites, applications, chatbots, and other programs without the need for direct code writing by programmers. No-code is a valuable alternative to traditional development.

No-code is confused with low-code, but there is a difference in these terms. Low-code includes no-code and the ability to "finish code", add parts of code and the functionality.

A user of a no-code platform usually does not need to know layout, programming languages, or hire a team of programmers. The user of the no-code tool creates an application using a visual block constructor, which he fills with the necessary content and functions, and the no-code platform itself does the processing of requests, compiling the application and other "magic." It generates code using AI and/or contains blocks of code pre-written by programmers.

No-code allows the startup founder to create an MVP himself, entrust it to his employee with basic technical literacy and understanding of the project, or hire a no-code developer. Even in the case of hiring a no-code developer, the cost of creating an MVP will be significantly lower than with classical development with programmers. For example, you can read the interview of a startup and no-code developer on our website, who initially worked as a Product Manager and was able to master no-code for his project himself.

Benefits of no-code for a startup founder

There are the following key advantages for a startup founder in using no-code technology:

a large selection of no-code tools, platforms, and their integrations at the moment  already in 2022, there are many tools and platforms for creating an MVP, a larger project, or even a finished product on no-code, but few people still know about them, and others are far from all startups and founders use their potential;

cost  no-code development saves the money by speeding up the development process, not hiring professional programmers or no need to maintain a developer department, monitoring functions and quick bug fixes, avoiding or reducing the growth of technical debt;

speed is the main advantage over classical development  no-code allows you to build a simple application in a weekend, and a more complex one can be built in a month. In this way, you can test an MVP and even several versions of an MVP very quickly;

low entry threshold  to master a no-code platform, you often do not need technical education at all, but only an understanding of a company's business processes or product from the inside. In the case of pro-level no-code platforms, technical education is required, but you can get used to it hundreds of times faster than with any programming language. This makes no-code available to almost everyone who wants to work with technology;

ease of use  no need to write hundreds of code lines  just move the blocks and assign links between them. Work on a project can be entrusted to your employee without communicating with a team of third-party developers. You can speak "in your language" without the need to understand the "inner kitchen" of developers;

flexibility  with the help of no-code, it is easy for a startup founder to add new functionality and new features right during a project or a MVP testing without a significant increase in development costs.

Possible disadvantages of no-code for a startup founder

As often, any property can be, under certain conditions, both a disadvantage and an advantage. In no-code, many of the benefits with the wrong choice of tool can turn into disadvantages:

no-code is not always a budget solution for a project. Sometimes in a no-code development package, you get unnecessary functions and additions (on AppMaster.io you can separately connect the frontend and pay only for the backend or only for those functions that you are using); if you do not understand the needs of your project, then you can make a mistake with the choice of a no-code tool and not be able to implement the necessary functions on it, or it will be too difficult to implement them; often, no-code tools fail to ensure proper data security and contribute to data leakage (but AppMaster.io allows you to host a finished application on any server); no-code tools often do not provide the ability to upload source code or provide uploading in an inconvenient format, which makes it difficult to move to another tool or to your development. You have to choose a no-code tool "once and forever immediately" (AppMaster. io gives you the ability to download the source code. Also, we generate human-readable code and you will not have any difficulties with its transportation); most no-code tools on the market are not suitable for creating a finished product, and there are significant difficulties with scaling the project if the MVP is successful (AppMaster.io is a professional no-code platform and our capabilities allow us to implement and support the finished product and scale it in the future).

Forewarned is forearmed. Choose your no-code tool wisely and take full advantage of your choice.

Types of no-code platforms

Conventionally, all no-code tools can be divided into several types: no-code devices with a low entry threshold (you can create frontend and not very powerful backend on them), integrators that help connect applications and services, and professional no-code platforms (they strive to replace the code completely, provide the ability to create a robust backend and high bandwidth).

The basic principle of operation of your MVP and the choice of a no-code platform depend on such a conditional division into types. For example, if you make a simple application like a diary, you can limit yourself to a no-code tool with a low entry threshold and a beautiful design.

If your application has powerful potential, high bandwidth, multi-user interface, and works with large amounts of data or real-time data, it is better to choose a professional no-code platform like AppMaster.io or Direcual.

If you use several services at once, link them on integrators like Integromat and Zapier.

Adalo

An easy-to-learn designer with a relatively user-friendly interface. The free version is helpful for learning. The free version contains Adalo watermarks and does not allow you to upload your applications to GooglePlayMarket and AppStore. Beginners often choose this no-code platform to create their first applications with simple logic.

Bubble

It will take more time to learn Bubble , but the platform allows you to work with the backend, databases, business processes, and layout. There are many plugins. The free plan allows you to master the tool, and you can start developing at the middle rate. The price increase is due to the rise in the number of users.

Integromat

It is an integrator. Experts talk about it as a simple and affordable platform for linking applications and services. Scenarios can be created personally, or you can use templates. If you need to connect an application with a service not from the Integromat database, fill out the form and connect to its API via HTTP.

Zapier

This is an integrator for linking applications with each other or with other external services. You can transfer data between thousands of applications. There is a script constructor (one event starts a chain of necessary actions).

Directual

The no-code platform positions itself for creating MVP applications (Minimal Viable Product, minimum viable product) and full-fledged applications of finished products. Scenarios are the backbone of the platform. Using scripts, you can automate the backend logic of the application, create and combine workflows. The Directual catalog includes out-of-the-box connectors, HTTP requests, webhooks, database listeners, and integration with popular services.

AppMaster.io

No-code next-generation platform for creating native and web applications on a real backend. Visual drag-and-drop designer, user-friendly business process designer, one-click app publishing to AppMaster Cloud, or integration with any cloud platform. Push notifications, authorization using social networks. Networks, email, and more. Connect applications to hundreds of services or programmatically access them using APIs. The ability to upload source code and documentation in a human-readable format and transfer it to your servers. Documentation auto-generation. Modern and fast language GoLang at the core.

No-code perspectives for startups

No-code development is gradually gaining popularity around the world. There are already more than 500 no-code tools for creating websites and various types of applications.

According to the forecasts of IT world experts, no-code will develop more and more actively and capture parts of the market responsible for medicine, small online business, small business, and all niches where it is possibly necessary to optimize and automate development processes.

The mass shift of businesses and their customers online and to gadgets has increased the demand for the fast and inexpensive creation of mobile applications that would work according to a single quality standard and have a simple, understandable, user-friendly interface.

Conclusion

No-code is visual programming in the form of a constructor without directly writing code. Usually, basic knowledge in development is enough to build applications on no-code.

The logic of no-code constructors is intuitive: the application interface is assembled from blocks, icons, buttons, and text which are connected to the database. Usually, you can choose a suitable template or do everything from scratch. Speed and economy are the main advantages of no-code tools.

No-code is suitable for creating an MVP, testing an idea or new features in a product, saving time for solving standard tasks. PRO level no-code platforms can provide you with a finished product, an application.

If you don't have an account on AppMaster.io yet, join us. After registration, you will be given a free trial period for 14 days, in which all the basic functionality of the platform is available. It will allow you to learn the intricacies of working with a professional-level no-code platform and understand its potential.
How Things Work

Today it's going to cost us $20

To live. Five for softball. Four for a book,

A handful of ones for coffee and two sweet rolls,

Bus fare, Rosin for your mother's violin.

Were completing our task. The tip I left

For the waitress filters down

Like rain, wetting the new roots of a child

Perhaps, a belligerent cat that won't let go

Of a balled sock until there is chicken to eat.

As far as I can tell, daughter, it works like this:

You buy bread from a grocery, a bag of apples

From a fruit stand, and what coins

Are passed on helps others by pencils, glue,

Tickets to a movie in which laughter

is thrown into their faces.

If we buy a goldfish, someone tries on a hat.

If we buy crayons, someone walks home with a broom.

A tip, a small purchase here and there,
News / National

by Staff Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is not home to dishonest and unprofessional officers who tarnish the force's image by engaging in corrupt and criminal activities, Commissioner-General Dr Augustine Chihuri has said.His sentiments come after it emerged that expelled policemen were mounting illegal roadblocks using spikes to collect cash from unsuspecting people.Addressing officers at the Legal Services Directorate Strategic Workshop in Harare, Comm-Gen Chihuri said he was pleased to note that the force's legal directorate continued to hold workshops discussing pertinent matters relating to improving service delivery.He said the force did not require the calibre of officers and lawyers that were not honest."For the avoidance of doubt, let me emphasise this point for the umpteenth time in the presence of all of you."The ZRP is not home to dishonest and unprofessional persons. And it will neither brook nor incubate any acts of corruption, improper performance of duty nor timidity that tarnishes the good name of our organisation," Comm-Gen Chihuri said in a speech read on his behalf by Deputy Comm-Gen Godwin Matanga who is responsible for administration.He said attributes such as discipline, hard-work, research and investigative skills, logical thinking and sound judgment were essential for the development of well-polished lawyers and police commanders.Comm-Gen Chihuri said these attributes challenged them to be self-starters that required "no cranking" in dealing with cases assigned to them."Thus, the quality of legal advice, which our lawyers render to the organisation will equally reflect on their commitment and ability to add value to the organisation."Similarly, the quality of your performance as police commanders has a huge bearing on the organisation and above all, on the quality of service we render to members of the public," he said.He said the subdivision of the directorate into three distinct sections - disciplinary appeals, court process and legal drafting - had allowed the section to clear all outstanding disciplinary appeal cases for last year.Comm-Gen Chihuri said the force was also grateful for the initiative by the Legal Services to further train chief superintendents on the handling of disciplinary cases and applications under the Public Order and Security Act.He said this was evidenced by the decline in the number of applications for disciplinary trial reviews and appeals.He said he was confident that the decentralisation of the High Court services to smaller towns outside the city and Bulawayo would enhance the speedy finalisation of police disciplinary cases.The Legal Services Department director Senior Assistant Commissioner Eve Mlilo, officers commanding provinces and the force's lawyers attended the workshop.
The screenplay struggles to concentrate on the chase for Willis constantly abducted dog, but the chase has no sense of direction, nor do the Cullens. They keep stepping on their own gags, starting with the opening scene, where the hardened youths Willis lectures on the perils of hookers and blow turn out to be little kids.

The big cast is mostly squandered in parts that can go by quick as a streaking neutrino: Famke Janssen as Willis sister; Kal Penn as  wait for it  a convenience store clerk; Adam Goldberg as a pinchpenny money man. But if you like Thomas Middleditchs artful awkwardness on Silicon Valley, youll like it here, too. Standouts are Game of Thrones Jason Momoa as a tenderhearted yet homicidal coke dealer named Spyder and John Goodman, on a roll lately with the Roseanne reboot (though he just told AARP he hopes to scale back his career  lets hope not). He plays Willis best bud, a surf-shop guy getting fleeced in a divorce, self-medicating with more ganja than the Dude ever dreamed of.

Since its about an aimless parade of slacker losers, in a way its cool that the film earned an unheard-of zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the most critically loathed film in the careers of everyone concerned. Its Mark Cullens directing debut. This guy is going nowhere but up!

Tim Appelo is AARP's Movies For Grownups editor. Follow him on Twitter: @timappelo
With husbands and wives now sharing the breadwinning and household management duties more than ever, there's a new egalitarianism to many marriages that simply didn't exist in previous generations. So it's becoming increasingly customary to ask both parents, instead of just the father  and the driving notion behind asking for a child's hand has shifted away from a pledge of financial support to one of emotional support. In an era when traditions such as who pays for the wedding are falling by the wayside, experts also say it's a good way to draw both families into the wedding planning process.

Sean Cox and Alyssa Knowles already owned a home together in Charlotte, N.C., when he decided to propose a few years back. But Cox still invited Mike Knowles, Alyssa's father, over to garner his approval for the union  under the auspices of a home improvement project. At the end of their conversation, he had his future father-in-law's blessing, and the couple had a brand-new porch swing that the two men installed while chatting. Knowles told the Journal that he appreciated the gesture, which he thinks endures because it encourages couples to get to know each others families before making the leap to marriage. "Some people would look on it as an archaic and outdated tradition, but I thought it was nice, he said.
McCann noted that age discrimination is alive and well, pointing to some of the EEOCs cases, such as the recent claim against Texas Roadhouse. The EEOC charged that the restaurant chain had been refusing to hire anyone over 40 as a server, host or bartender. Texas Roadhouse paid $12 million to settle the lawsuit, agreeing to change its hiring and recruiting practices.

But many employers, said McCann, use a more subtle form of discrimination, and she called on the commission to ban employers from using tactics that screen out older workers during the hiring process. For example, some job postings state a maximum number of years of experience, while others seek only digital natives who grew up using technology. The newest form of discrimination on this front, she said, is the use of big data algorithms to weed out specific age groups within a pool of job applicants.

More than 20,000 age discrimination complaints are filed each year with the EEOC. But they are only the tip of the iceberg, said Commissioner Chai Feldblum.

While the employment landscape for older workers has significantly brightened in the half century since the ADEA was enacted, McCann noted that in a 2013 AARP study, nearly two-thirds of older workers said they had witnessed or experienced age discrimination in the workplace.

Patrick Button, an assistant professor at Tulane University, told the commission that his research found that antidiscrimination laws have helped older men more than older women, with the impact of bias against older women heightened because they live longer. And women experience age discrimination earlier in their careers and more severely, he added.

Several witnesses reminded the EEOC that ageism has far-reaching consequences.

John Challenger, CEO of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, who also testified, said, Societal tradition, outdated legislation and flawed business practices that channel older people out of the workforce, especially skilled workers, is damaging the economic health of our country.

If more skilled workers over 60 stayed in the workforce, it would make a significant impact on reducing the skilled-worker shortage in the United States, said Challenger. Tenure among all age groups has steadily declined. Millennials are leaving their employers, on average, after three years. Older workers provide employers with more stability, longer tenures and greater ROI.

When employers leave talent on the table, they lose out  we all lose out, Commissioner Charlotte Burrows said.

Commissioner Jenny Yang said she applauded employers for signing on to AARPs Pledge program not to discriminate against older workers. More than 460 employers, from LinkedIn to Ace Hardware, have taken that step.
Age discrimination, just like discrimination based on race or gender, is illegal. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, prohibits discriminating against workers age 40 and over during all stages of employment, including hiring and layoffs. Despite that law, however, it can be difficult to win age discrimination cases in court. Here are five things you should know.

1. Age discrimination can be hard to prove, so be sure to keep careful notes of any evidence.

According to a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision, plaintiffs must meet a higher burden of proof for age discrimination than for other types of discrimination. The clearest indicator of intentional discrimination is when an employee demonstrates that an employer is acting because of a belief that a worker has diminished capacity because of the worker's age, says Patricia Barnes, an employment discrimination expert and author of Overcoming Age Discrimination in Employment.

Another strong sign is if a supervisor makes comments about age or sends younger workers to a training course but not older workers, Barnes says. "I always advise keeping some kind of notebook about each incident, who was there and how it made you feel," she suggests. Then, it's easier to demonstrate a pattern in court.

2. Pull in professionals.

Human resources officers are trained to recognize age discrimination, but it's also important to remember that they work for your employer, not for you. You can lodge a complaint with your HR department, which might then investigate or talk to your supervisor. You might also want to consult with a lawyer to see if you have a case to pursue in court. In addition, you can contact your local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) office to discuss how to file a charge and for help resolving the charge with your employer.

3. Winning an age discrimination case might be hard, but it's not impossible.

One of the largest age-discrimination cases in recent history involved a then-64-year-old Staples employee in Los Angeles who was called an "old goat" in staff meetings and eventually was fired. A jury awarded the man $26 million. A reduced payment of $16 million was upheld on an appeal. Currently, AARP Foundation is supporting multiple age-discrimination cases, including ones against Spirit AeroSystems and PwC, aka PricewaterhouseCoopers, both of which are pending. "We are hopeful that our participation and success in these cases will send a message to employers that age discrimination is unacceptable and will not go unchallenged," says Laurie McCann, senior attorney with AARP Foundation Litigation.
US judge blocks President Biden's student debt forgiveness plan

The injunction is the second to block the president's signature program, which could cut or eliminate student loan debt for up to 40 million people.
News / National

by Itai Mushekwe/Nancy Mabaya

Former U.S. Secretary of State, and First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, is reportedly coming to Zimbabwe next year, as an invited "special guest" to mark the inauguration of MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, as president, should the ex-premier win the 2018 watershed elections, Spotlight Zimbabwe reported.According to high level diplomatic sources and senior members in Tsvangirai's party, Clinton is set to receive a formal invitation for the anticipated inauguration ceremony, once results of Zanu-PF's pending defeat have been confirmed. The opposition insiders said a list of other dignitaries set to grace the occasion, should it unfold is already being drawn in confidentiality. Spotlight Zimbabwe has been made aware that a number of African presidents and opposition leaders in Southern Africa are making the invitation list, including at least two other Western leaders.Some of the prominent politicians confirmed to be earmarked for the invites, are Botswana and Ghana presidents, Ian Khama and Nana Akufo-Addo respectively. South African and Zambian Opposition leaders, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, Mmusi Maimane and United Party for National Development (UPND) boss, Hakainde Hichilema, are also reportedly going to receive invitations. Hichilema has been in police custody for over a month, facing treason charges after a row over the presidential motorcade. Media reports last month also suggest that, Tsvangirai's MDC-T has joined forces with Maimane in an opposition alliance involving eight mainstream parties in the region."We are not wasting time with preparations," said one of the MDC-T senior members, who was a cabinet minister during the days of the inclusive government with Mugabe. "If we win, the inauguration of the president is going to be reminiscent of our country's 1980 Independence Day celebrations. President Tsvangirai's victory is going to be Zimbabwe's real awaited Independence Day. That is why we expect former U.S. Secretary Clinton to join us as a special guest. Zimbabwe is dear to her, because of our political and economic potential not only in the region but entire continent. Secretary Clinton and our president also continue to have a good working relationship, ever-since they met in Washington in 2009 when he was prime minister."Tsvangirai met both Clinton and former U.S President Barack Obama in June 2009, in a bid to search for financial assistance for the economy, which is still trapped in a tailspin.However, other diplomatic sources are giving credit to former finance minister, Tendai Biti, as the brainchild behind Clinton's invitation, to what is likely going to be the country's biggest grand coalition administration led by Tsvangirai if Zanu-PF is dislodged from power in July 2018, with Biti himself expected to land one of the key powerful government posts."Tendai Biti is the one with political contact to Hillary Clinton," said a Scandinavian envoy who has worked in Zimbabwe for years. "Biti and the likes of former vice president, Joice Mujuru, are the silent power brokers and kingmakers of the grand coalition project. Very soon Biti's influence is going to be seen, because the Clinton political factor is important for a post-Mugabe government in Zimbabwe, due to her influence on global foreign affairs. Clinton can still bounce back as U.S president in 2020."Biti's mobile phone was unreachable last night when we sought a comment.The People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader was among delegates invited to attend, the Democratic National Convention organised by the Democratic party, for their then presidential candidate Hillary in Philadelphia, in 2016.The US presidential elections ran on November 8 2016, with Clinton locking horns with Republican candidate Donald Trump. It was the 58th quadrennial American presidential election, held on Tuesday. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine.During her campaign, Clinton viciously criticised President Trump as a danger to the U.S. economy, and said Trump would reduce the economy into a Zimbabwe model, by drawing comparisons with Harare's beleaguered economy.Clinton is not an ally of the Mugabe administration, which accuses her of sponsoring economic sanctions against the regime. In February during a birthday interview, Mugabe shed crocodile tears for Hillary, explicitly stating that he wanted her to lose "because of her anti-Zimbabwe stance"."I was surprised by his election (Trump), but I did not like Madam Clinton to win either," said Mugabe. "You see, I knew she could slap sanctions on us as a legacy. Indeed (former US president Barack) Obama did that just before he left. Why did he have to do it?  Why didn't he leave it to the incoming president to make his own decision? We're just now under sanctions imposed not by Donald Trump but by Obama. What arrogance is that?"
Indo German Tool Room, Aurangabad : Admission to Long Term Courses 2021 https://career.webindia123.com/career/dates_and_events/indo-german-tool-room-igtr-aurangabad-admissions.htm Details of Indo German Tool Room, Aurangabad : Admission to Long Term Courses 2021 2021-5-5 221-8-15 https://career.webindia123.com/career/images/exams.png India India Indo German Tool Room, Aurangabad : Admission to Long Term Courses 2021 Other

Admission Notification - Indo German Tool Room, Aurangabad

Indo German Tool Room, Aurangabad : Admission to Long Term Courses 2021 Category : Other Admissions 2022 Published : On May 5, 2021 By Webindia123 Editor

Important Dates

Commencement of online registration 26th July 2021 Last date for online registration 15th August 2021 Declaration of Merit List 20th August 2021 Admission / Counselling Schedule 25th June to 6th July 2021 Commencement of Course 23rd August 2021

Indo-German Tool Room, Aurangabad has been established under bilateral agreement between Govt. of India and Federal Republic of Germany. IGTR is well equipped with sophisticated tool room machinery and one of the premier institutions in the country devoted to the training and technological excellence in the field of Tool & Die Technology. IGTR has been serving the industry by providing High quality tools, Consultancy services and Training in the area of Tool Design, Manufacturing & CAD/CAM Technology.

Applications are invited in the prescribed form for admission to the following courses commencing from July -2021

Courses

Course : Advance Diploma in Tool & Die Making

Eligibility : 10th Standard with Science and Maths or Equivalent with 60% marks in aggregate (50% for the candidates belonging to SC/ST category)

Duration : 4 years

No: of Seats : 60

Age Limit : 15-19 years as on 1/7/2021 (3 years relaxation for SC/ST candidates)

Course : Diploma in Mechatronics

Eligibility : 10th Standard with Science and Maths with 60% marks in aggregate (50% for the candidates belonging to SC/ST category)

Duration : 3 years

No: of Seats : 60

Age Limit : 15-19 years as on 1/7/2021 (3 years relaxation for SC/ST candidates)

Course : Certificated Course in Machinist (Tool Room)

Eligibility : 10th Standard with Science and Maths with 60% marks in aggregate (50% for the candidates belonging to SC/ST category)

Duration : 2 years

No: of Seats : 40

Age Limit : 15-19 years as on 1/7/2021 (3 years relaxation for SC/ST candidates)

Note : Reservation in seats to SC/ST/OBC/PH are applicable as per rules, subject to production of authentic Certificates. No Tuition Fee will be charged to SC/ST candidates, however other fees as applicable will be charged. Admissions are open to Boys & Girls.

Placement : Institute arranges Campus Interviews. Almost 100% placement for pass-out students.

Internship : On successful completion of the course, the Trainees may have to undergo One Year Internship, if required at the discretion of the General Manager, IGTR, Aurangabad.

Mode of Selection : Selection will be made through On-line Entrance Examination to be conducted at Aurangabad. The list of successful candidates of Online Entrance Examination in the order of merit, will be declared on website (www.igtr-aur.org) and displayed at IGTR Notice Board on scheduled date as mentioned. The candidate, who meets the eligibility criteria of Educational Qualification - Percentage of Marks (aggregate of all subjects) in SSC Examination, Age Limit and Caste Certificate (for Reserve Categories) as mentioned above shall be given admission as per institute norms.

Hoe to Apply: Candidate willing to register for any of the course mentioned above will have to register his / her candidature through the On-line Registration process through the link available on the web site www.igtr-aur.org. The application in the prescribed proforma should be filled online. The candidate has to make the payment for registration to On-line Entrance Examination through the link provided in the On-line Registration Process. The Registration Fee of Rs.700/- (Rs.350/- in case of SC/ST candidates) plus applicable taxes is to be paid by individual candidate for a single course. Candidates are given choice to register for multiple courses. Candidates willing to register for more than one course will have to make additional payment for each course as applicable. Registration Fee is non-refundable. Candidates will be allowed to appear for On-line Entrance Examination after successful submission of online registration. The admit card to appear for On-line Entrance Examination can be downloaded on successful completion of online registration process.

More Details can be available from the institute website.

Contact Details Address : Indo German Tool Room

P-31, M.I.D.C. Industrial Area, Chikalthana, Aurangabad - 431 006, Maharashtra Phone : 0240-2486832, 2470541, 2482593 Fax : 0240-2484028 Mobile : - E-mail : Contact I Website : www.igtr-aur.org

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Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Periods of rain. High 71F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy early with partial clearing expected late. Low 59F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph.
Turkish Government Destroys Another Monument

An inscription honouring the dead at Anzac Cove has been removed by the Turkish Government. The 1985 Gallipoli monument was supposed to be restored, but now the words welcoming the dead to rest on Turkish soil have disappeared. Sources in both Australia and Turkey told the Guardian that the motivations for the "restoration" were partly political, and reflected an increasing emphasis on religion throughout history. The Anzac Monument, which honored the Australian soldiers who fought in World War One. Historians in both countries told the Guardian that they expect the finished renovation to leave the memorial markedly different, thanks to efforts from the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The monument previously read: "Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. "Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. "You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. "After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well." The familiar words, attributed to Turkey's founding father Mustafa Kemal Atat
Nimrud: Restoring a City Destroyed By Islamic State

A soldier stands guard by the ruins of the archaeological site of Nimrud, about 30km south of Mosul, which was recaptured from Islamic State in November. ( Safin Hamed/AFP/Getty) The first step towards restoring ancient Nimrud, in northern Iraq, is under way after the Islamic State group bulldozed and bombed the capital city of one of the world's first empires. Nimrud was founded more than 3,300 years ago, 20km southeast of Mosul, close to what is now the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul. It was the capital of the powerful Assyrian empire between 879-709 BC. Covering some 3.5sq km, on an elevated plateau, it included the palaces and tombs of Assyrian kings, temples to their gods, statues of winged bulls as well as tablets and frescoes covered in cuneiform writing -- one of the world's first written languages, now extinct. The Islamic State group, also known as Isis, swept through northern Iraq in the summer of 2014, capturing vast swathes of territory from an Iraqi army on the run.

Months later, videos began to emerge of Islamic State fighters taking sledgehammers, electric kango hammers and angle grinders to the ancient stone artefacts. They bulldozed the area and ultimately blew it up. The group deliberately destroys cultural heritage in areas it controls denouncing pre-Islamic art and architecture as idolatrous. Piles of rubble litter the area. Statues of lions and winged bulls have been dismembered. Cuneiform script can still be seen on ancient stone tablets chiselled to pieces. A mound of earth is all that remains of a 140ft high, rectangular stepped tower, known as a ziggurat. Satellite imagery suggests the ziggurat was bulldozed weeks before Islamic State were driven out of the area in October. 'War crime' The United Nations culture body, Unesco, called Islamic State's destruction of Nimrud a "war crime" stating that the group was "clearly determined to wipe out all traces of the history of Iraq's people". Estimates of the damage to Nimrud vary because it has yet to be completely assessed. The area is still considered dangerous for workers and has been guarded by armed militiamen since it was recaptured in October. The Unesco Office for Iraq is erecting a fence around Nimrud to protect it from looters and so that archaeologists and conservators can move in. The UN heritage body is also producing aerial imaging of the archaeological site. Mohammed Sayeed, from a nearby village, has been working on-site for 20 years with various teams "before Saddam and after Saddam", he says, referring to the fall of the former regime in 2003 -- year zero for modern Iraq. Nimrud is "part of me", Sayeed says. "After the explosion, I didn't come out [of my house] for three days. I couldn't look at it, I couldn't accept it. I felt very, very bad." "I have worked for a long time here," he says, exploring, excavating and guarding the site from looters as well. "At first Isis brought a bulldozer and heavy tools. Then they used bombs." Sayeed says Islamic State were motivated by something other than pure destruction. As well as the artefacts, Islamic State "tried to erase all the documents, all the records" so that in a criminal investigation nobody would know what was taken away -- and sold on the black market -- and what was destroyed. "Isis took artefacts away to sell. The people who bought these artefacts don't want the government to know." "That's why they exploded [Nimrud]" -- to confuse the authorities investigating what was lost, he says. They don't know how many artefacts were taken to be sold on the black market, he says, or how many were destroyed. Sayeed's younger colleague, Fateh, also from the local area, points to the earthy mound where Nimrud's ziggurat once stood. He says Islamic State removed something very large from the ground using a mechanical digger it was that big. "They took something big but we don't know what," Fateh says. Sayeed could not say what percentage of ancient Nimrud could be restored because he worked in the "finding of pieces" not restoring them. "I even know where there is a winged bull. I know all about this place," including "the secret stuff," Sayeed claims. Layla Salih, head of the Ninevah's state-run heritage department, puts the overall damage to Nimrud at 65 per cent. The northwest corner was 70 per cent damaged, she says, the Nabu and Ishtar temples 50-55 per cent. But the ziggurat was 90 per cent damaged, and is now one-quarter of its previous height. Referring to Islamic State as Daesh -- an Arabic acronym which means a bigot who imposes his views on others -- Salih says "Daesh, they bulldozed it [the ziggurat] and put a lot of mines in it also." "Nimrud is restorable, but it will take a lot of time. I estimate it could take 10 years just to rebuild it again. But it also depends on the funds and the plans." "The Unesco project is to put a fence around Nimrud to protect it and to provide some sort of protection for guides and archaeologists who will work there. "The fencing of Nimrud is being carried out under a conservation project funded by the government of Japan." Salih says a number of people are being trained in the Iraqi Institute for Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage in Erbil for reconstruction and restoration work. She hopes work will start soon. "Daesh destroyed a lot of heritage buildings," she says. "I have a lot to do in the future."
The Airbus A400M MSN4s life cycle comes to an end. With more than 2,000 flight hours, 1,000 flights and many missions and campaigns completed, the Airbus prototype known as `Grizzly 4 among the team, returns to Bremen after nearly twelve years of pushing boundaries to develop A400M capabilities to its maximum.
The PATH Program is a federal program administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The focus of this program is to help meet the needs of homeless people who have mental illnesses by engaging them in the services provided by mental health centers and other mental health providers, community-based social service agencies, health care providers, and substance abuse service providers.



Services include outreach, screening and assessments, case management services, habitation and rehabilitation, alcohol or drug treatment, and limited housing services.



The Chattanooga PATH program is housed at Johnson Mental Health Center a division of Volunteer Behavioral Health.



The Barefooted PATH Cornhole and Frisbee Tournaments will be held July 1 at The Red Bank Community Center from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. This fundraiser will support our clients with items such as tents, blankets, tarps, warm clothing, sleeping bags, and flashlights.



The Corn Hole Tournament and Ultimate Frisbee Tournament will includ bingo, inflatables, food trucks, live music, face painting, and an art sale in partnership with Chattanooga's HART Gallery. If you would like to register for this event call 423-463-5746.



The current PATH Coordinator for the Chattanooga location is Joe Brackett. He has served in this position for almost 16 months. Over those 16 months 125 clients have become enrolled in the PATH Program. PATH has been involved in the process of getting 62 of these clients into permanent housing thus far.

Our goal is to say no to our clients as few times as we can when they ask us to assist them with a need they are experiencing. Here at PATH we want to say yes, and to be a support for our clients. Even if PATH is not able to meet the clients need directly we do our best to connect the clients with those in the community that do have the resources and abilities to meet those needs. said Mr. Brackett.



Officials said, "Much of PATHs success is attributed to having close working relationships with other agencies and groups who are serving the clients enrolled in PATH. We believe that in order for our clients to get on and stay on the right path of getting out of homelessness it takes having a good team, composed of members from other homeless serving agencies, around them. Good working relationships between the PATH team and the members of these agencies are essential to helping our clients build their needed team."



To learn more about Volunteer Behavioral Health and other services provided, call at 877-567- 6051.
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- The defense side in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial is declaring victory and going on the attack after jurors deadlocked and the judge declared a mistrial.

Prosecutors meanwhile say they plan to retry the case.

Spokesman Andrew Wyatt said Saturday that "Cosby's power is back."

Cosby's wife, Camille Cosby, slammed prosecutors for bringing the case to court. She issued a statement calling District Attorney Kevin Steele "heinously and exploitively ambitious." She also attacked the judge, the accuser's lawyers and the media.

The jury deliberated more than 52 hours on charges that Cosby drugged and molested Andrea Constand in his Philadelphia area home in 2004.

Steele says he will retry the 79-year-old comedian on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby's lawyer says he and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual sexual encounter.

Cosby will remain free on $1 million bail.

_

12:35 p.m.

Bill Cosby's chief accuser is thanking prosecutors for taking her case after a jury failed to agree on a verdict.

Lawyers for Andrea Constand issued a statement on her behalf Saturday. It says the trial has "given a voice to the many victims who felt powerless and silenced."

___

10:40 a.m.

Prosecutors say they'll retry Bill Cosby on sexual assault charges after his first trial ended in a hung jury.

Jurors deliberated more over than 52 hours over six days before telling a judge Saturday they couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether Cosby drugged and molested Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

The judge then declared a mistrial for the 79-year-old comedian.

Cosby remained stoic, while Constand embraced the person next to her.

Jurors deliberated more than 52 hours over six days before telling a judge they couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether "The Cosby Show" star drugged and molested Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

The judge then declared a mistrial for the 79-year-old comedian.

Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

His lawyer says Cosby and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual sexual encounter.

Dozens of women have come forward to say he had drugged and assaulted them. This was the only case to result in criminal charges against Cosby.

Prosecutors get four months to decide whether they want to retry Cosby or drop the charges.

9:30 a.m. ET update

Bill Cosby was back in court for the sixth day of jury deliberations in his sexual assault trial.

The jury resumed deliberations Saturday over whether the 79-year-old TV star drugged and molested a woman in his Philadelphia-area home in 2004.

Jurors have already discussed the case for more than 50 hours since Monday, leading to Cosby's lawyer to push for a mistrial. The judge has refused, saying jurors are permitted under the law to deliberate as long as they want. The jurors have been trying to break a deadlock.

Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault that could put him in prison for the rest of his life.



1:20 a.m. ET update

Deliberations in Bill Cosby's sex assault trial are pushing into Father's Day weekend after jurors failed to reach a verdict in the first five days.

But lawyers for the man once known as America's Dad say they've had enough. They repeatedly asked a judge for a mistrial on Friday.

Judge Steven O'Neill refused, saying there's no precedent to halt the jury's work.

Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle says jurors might think they have to deliberate until "the cows come home."

Deliberations resume Saturday. Jurors have been working for 52 hours since getting the case on Monday.

The 79-year-old Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting a Temple University employee in 2004 at his home near Philadelphia. He maintains it was consensual.

Cosby thanked fans and supporters as he left court Friday.

Updated at 12:15 p.m. CT with statement from Cosby's chief accuser
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said today that he's taking his time deciding on whether to run for governor.

"As mayor you get to wake up every single morning and make a difference for the people you work for," he said. "We certainly want to know if we were successful ... could we implement the change that the state desperately needs, and are we the right fit for the party and ultimately the state of Alabama."

Maddox, who has served as Tuscaloosa mayor for 12 years, told AL.com today during a meeting of the Alabama Democratic Reform Caucus that he doesn't have a timeline yet on when he could announce a run for the state's highest office.

About 50 members of the Alabama Democratic Reform Caucus met in Birmingham on Saturday for its second annual Democratic Action Summit. Sheila Gilbert, chair of the caucus, said the grassroots group is filled with progressive Democrats working to strengthen the party in Alabama and get more Democrats elected into office.

Maddox and state Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, the Minority Leader of the Alabama House, spoke during the lunch event.

Both Maddox and Daniels said the Democratic Party is going to have to take the offense and stop being the opposition party if it's going to gain traction in the Republican-dominated state.

"Clearly, the events in Washington D.C. have created this tidal wave of enthusiasm (for the Democratic Party in Alabama), more than I have ever seen, but that's never going to be enough to get you across the finish line," Maddox said. "We are going to have to be the party of ideas and innovation."

Daniels said the Democratic Party needs to go back to its core principles and share its message with people in rural Alabama.

"Today is to give optimism to the people here who are working on the ground, let them know that their work is not being done in vain, he said, of the summit.

State Rep. Anthony Daniels has been named minority leader of the Alabama House of Representatives. (AL.com file photo)

Daniels said he is working to restore confidence with Democratic donors in the state who are giving on a national level but not on a state level.

"I am not asking them to give to the Democratic Party," he said. "I am asking them to give to progressive candidates and individuals who are pro-growth in this state and supporting them."

Daniels said the Democratic Party wants to see stronger schools, more good paying jobs and healthier communities. The party needs to unite around this mission, he said.

"We are going to go to rural communities and talk to those working class people, those individuals who feel their voices are lost," Daniels said. "My job and my message is consistent. We want to show how we invest in our education system, K-12 and higher ed, so our children will have a good opportunity and the best shot at life and opportunity for high paying jobs."

He said the party needs to show compassion and work towards "sentencing reform and reducing recidivism (in Alabama prisons) so we are turning inmates into taxpayers and so that those who made a mistake have a shot at life, too."

Residents of rural Alabama shouldn't be limited to manufacturing job, he said. "We should be focused on getting high-tech industries to go into those areas to support some of the products that they are outputting," Daniels said.

Alabama also needs to focus on building a transit system, including rail and bus rapid transit to connect one part of the state to the other.

Maddox said Democratic candidates could have a shot at statewide offices, but candidates will have to offer something different. New ideas will have to be shared door-to-door, city-by-city and county-by-county, he said.

"I believe great candidates that are not from the same tired Montgomery establishment have a real opportunity for electoral success because the one common denominator that I find among Republicans, Democrats and Independents is that they are tired of seeing Montgomery fail," Maddox said.

"If we continue to bring in the same individuals who carry the same Montgomery ideology then I think we will be very limited in our chances for success," he said. "It is important we offer something different, something new, something outside the Montgomery bubble.

"Beyond the Montgomery bubble, people across the state are hurting," Maddox said.
On April 10, Antonio Sanchez was driving from a landscaping job in Pelham to his home in Pinson when he was pulled over for having a large pile of branches in the back of his truck.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office deputy who stopped him did not give the father of seven a ticket for the branches. But the deputy ran a check on him and discovered that his license was suspended and he had missed a court date for a public intoxication violation.

The deputy who stopped Sanchez for having branches in his truck bed ultimately arrested and booked him into the county jail for the other infractions.

Within days, Sanchez - who has lived in the U.S. for more than 25 of his 40 years - was in a federal detention facility in Louisiana awaiting deportation, a target of America's increasingly aggressive approach to immigration enforcement.

He got out on bond in late May, but his immigration case is still pending.

Sanchez and his wife, Leticia, spoke with AL.com Tuesday night at the Adelante Alabama Worker Center in Hoover, where they described the impact the incident has had on their family and their lives.

"It was very tough to be locked up. It feels worse than prison," Sanchez said through a Spanish-language translator as he bounced his seven-month-old daughter, Yazmin, on his knee. "It was really, really sad thinking about my kids the whole time."

'A whole nightmare'

Sanchez's immigration case is one of thousands currently pending in courts across the nation as President Donald Trump's administration has taken a hard line on immigration.

"Just from a traffic stop a whole nightmare can start. Some of us may have some things in our past but it can be from years ago and everyone deserves a second chance," Cesar Mata, an organizer and member of Adelante, a nonprofit immigration advocacy organization, said.

In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), arrested more than 41,000 people accused of being in the U.S. illegally, a 37.6 percent increase over the same period last year, the agency reported.

"ICE agents and officers have been given clear direction to focus on threats to public safety and national security, which has resulted in a substantial increase in the arrest of convicted criminal aliens," ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan said in an online statement. "However, when we encounter others who are in the country unlawfully, we will execute our sworn duty and enforce the law."

Thomas Byrd, a spokesman for ICE's field office in New Orleans, which oversees immigration enforcement for multiple states in the Southeast including Alabama, provided AL.com with a statement via email Friday.

"We do not keep arrest statistics for states. It is only for our field office which covers five states. Generally, for most statistical requests a Freedom of Information Act request is required," he explained. "As to the specifics of this case, I doubt I can have an answer by your deadline. I'll try."

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

For the Sanchez family, ICE's crackdown in recent months is no longer an abstraction.

A handmade political banner hangs in the Hoover headquarters of the Adelante Alabama Worker Center in Hoover Tuesday evening.

Several immigrants who attended the Adelante meeting Tuesday reported that they or their friends had witnessed or been swept up in a range of ICE actions across Jefferson County in recent weeks. And many immigrants across the state have said for months that they live in fear that their families will be the next to be impacted by the crackdown.

"I feel like the law has changed a lot [under Trump.] I feel like just for being Hispanic you're at risk of having what happened to me happen to you," Sanchez said.

"There were people in the detention center in Louisiana who were there just for not having a seat belt on or not having a license; that was their only offense. Other people I met in detention were just at the wrong place at the wrong time and they were there when ICE came looking for someone else."

'ICE hold'

Leticia Sanchez had the money together and was ready to pay her husband's bond the morning after he was arrested. But Adelante representatives say that ICE had already issued a detainer known as an "ICE hold," meaning that the federal agency had requested that the sheriff's office keep him in the county jail for extra time to give ICE agents an opportunity to pick him up.

"ICE issues detainers when there is probable cause to believe someone in local custody is in this country illegally," Byrd said. "It is very common for us to issue detainers."

ICE soon took custody of Sanchez and transported him to Dekalb County Detention Center in Fort Payne. Days later, he was taken to ICE's LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, Louisiana, where Sanchez, who is not a U.S. citizen but declined to discuss his immigration status or nationality, sat in a cell, waiting to be deported.

He remained in that facility for several weeks, during which time his son, Daniel - who is now 18 but was 17 when Sanchez was arrested in April - had to step up and serve as the family's breadwinner.

"It was very hard when he was locked up because we have all these kids and our oldest son had to leave school to work and support us," Leticia Sanchez said through the translator.

Adelante took on Sanchez's case, distributing a public petition calling on ICE to let him go, and representing him in his motion for bond for release from custody while he awaits the resolution of his case. He was granted bond and released in late May.

"When I found out I was going to be given a bond hearing, I was very happy and trusting in God that I would be able to get out," Sanchez said.

Though he still faces a significant possibility of being deported if he doesn't win his case, his chances of going free are much better than if he had not received bond, according to Jessica Vosburgh, Adelante's executive director.

"Getting bond is absolutely the difference between getting deported and getting relief," Vosburgh said.

"Once you get out of detention, your case moves so much slower and that gives you time to prepare your case, find a lawyer, save up money to pay a lawyer, find witnesses. Everything you need to do to win your case is almost impossible from inside detention."
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a multi-state coalition Friday defending President Donald Trump's executive order directing the federal government to execute penalties on places declaring themselves "sanctuary cities" for immigrants.

The administration's executive order tells the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary Department of the Homeland Security to ensure that sanctuary cities do not receive federal grant money to the extent permitted by law. An amicus brief, which includes attorney generals from Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia, was filed Friday. The 19-page document supports the federal government's decision to dismiss three lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the order. The coalition argues the lawsuits undermine the President's immigration enforcement authority.

Marshall defended the order because he said it encourages sanctuary cities to obey the law.

"Sanctuary cities, jurisdictions that prohibit or impede the enforcement of federal immigration laws, not only defy the rule of law but also hinder the ability of law enforcement to effectively protect the public," Marshall said. "Such cities also pose harm to other areas by providing a refuge for criminal illegal aliens who commit crimes out of state."

On Tuesday, immigrants and advocates gathered at Birmingham City Hall to ask the city council to pass an ordinance declaring the city a sanctuary city. The proposal would block Birmingham's participation in illegal federal registries or surveillance programs that target individuals of Muslim faith or Arab, Middle Eastern and North African background, according to Adelante Alabama Worker Center.

The proposal was given to the city's law department for review.
BUDAPEST  After traveling about 10,000 kilometers, the first freight train from Changsha, China to Budapest arrived at the Budapest Intermodal Logistic Center on Friday.

It departed from Changsha on May 27, and passed an corridor through Russia and Ukraine. The train carried 41 containers of electronic products, shoes and apparel, fiber optic cable, hardware and machinery parts.

Zhou Xinjian, economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Hungary, told Xinhua that the trade between the two countries reached more than $9 billion last year, and was expected to exceed $10 billion this year.

"In this case, China's freight trains continue to come to Hungary, delivering Chinese goods to Hungary and the Central and Eastern European countries, also promoting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries," he underlined.

Friday's train passed less countries, took less time, so it is a better choice for Chinese goods and exporters, Zhou added. The freight train service will operate once a week for one-way at the initial stage.

Besides the above mentioned rail links in the north, China and Hungary are also connected in the south by the China-Europe Land-Sea express line.

In the future, besides the rails and sea links, Chinese and Hungarian cities and provinces are also looking up at the sky.

"Chinese and Hungarian provinces and cities are negotiating for direct air freight service, and good results are expected, so at that time Chinese goods will come to Hungary by land, sea and air. Hungary will become a distribution center for Chinese goods in Central and Eastern Europe," Zhou explained to Xinhua.
Local McDonalds restaurants plan to fill new crew and restaurant management positions at its Chattanooga-area, Cleveland, and North Georgia restaurants next Tuesday. Hiring managers will be available at each restaurant from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Tuesday for on-the-spot hiring.This one-day event is part of a nationwide initiative for McDonalds and its franchisees  the target, hire up to 250,000 new employees this summer at restaurants across the country. The restaurants will be accepting applications throughout the day, for both seasonal and full-time and part-time positions.Without a doubt, our continued success is due to our employees who provide the quality service our customers have come to expect, said local McDonalds Owner Operator Carrie Goodwin.We hope this Hiring Day will expand our McDonalds family and encourage people to come see what were about. Our management and crew will be available to talk about the many benefits McDonalds offers including programs that can help pay for school while offering professional training in leadership, customer service, and teamwork."McDonalds and its independent franchisees strive to be Americas Best First Job and offer a work environment that sets employees up for success at McDonalds and beyond with education programs like Archways to Opportunity, which gives employees in participating restaurants an opportunity to earn a high school diploma, receive upfront tuition assistance for college courses, access academic advising courses and learn English as a second language," officials said.
Alabama state board of education member Stephanie Bell, R-Montgomery, said she was not surprised by the findings in a report from the federal education Office of Inspector General that the state department misreported and artificially inflated high school graduation rates.

The OIG report said former state superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice had been told in written correspondence not to count in federal graduation rates students who took courses that were not fully aligned with Alabama's academic standards, but counted them anyway.

"The former State Superintendent decided to continue counting students who earned an alternative diploma after being advised by the Department that those students could not be included as graduates," the report states.

Bell, too, places responsibility for that finding squarely on Bice.

The full consequences of the findings are still unknown, but Alabama superintendent Michael Sentance told AL.com last December up to $8 million in federal funding could be withheld from the state department.

Sentance said any funding that is withheld would not be taken from local school districts, but rather from the federal funding for the Alabama department of education to oversee the administration of federal programs.

Bell said she questioned the increases in graduation rates all along the way. Alabama's graduation rate increased from 72 percent in 2011 to 89 percent in 2015.

Bell made clear she never suspected teachers or students of doing anything wrong, but felt the graduation rate increases should be questioned.

Bell called the OIG findings "disappointing," saying Bice has now brought into question the credibility of the state department of education.

The report states correspondence went back and forth between Bice and federal education officials, with federal education officials stating students taking coursework not fully aligned with Alabama's academic standards should be counted as graduates.

Bell said she was not aware of that correspondence as it was not shared with the state board.

Bell said Bice should have kept the board informed about the questions being asked by federal officials, adding, "Dr. Bice was not being completely candid with the board." Bell said Bice did not communicate well with the board and said if the board had known Bice was not following federal guidelines, they likely would have voted to remove him.

Bice retired in March 2016, just weeks before the OIG made the first of two visits to state offices in Montgomery. Sentance was appointed state superintendent in August.

AL.com reported federal officials were asking questions about Alabama's graduation rates last November. In December, Sentance told state board members preliminary results showed students were awarded diplomas that were "not honestly earned."

When interviewed in December after the initial findings were announced, Bice said he believed it was accurate to count students on what was called the Alabama Occupational Diploma (AOD) track as graduates.

"Why wouldn't we count as graduates a group of students who have completed the coursework outlined in their IEP [Individualized Education Program] within four years? I stand by that decision," Bice, a former special education teacher said in December.

Bice told AL.com he asked staff to talk with federal officials at the time and believed a proper challenge was made.

Asked if he knew the students should not be counted as graduates, Bice said no, he didn't know, and he "would not defy a law. But I question why a group of students who have completed their course of study within four years wouldn't count as graduates," adding that to not count those students as graduates was "discriminatory toward a group of kids with special needs."

Bice did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

At a state board work session on June 8, officials estimated around 600 students could be taking Essentials coursework, formerly AOD coursework.

High school graduation rates became an important measure under President Obama's administration. Beginning with the class of 2011, federal requirements for calculating who counts as a high school graduate stated only those students who started ninth grade four years earlier and graduated with coursework fully aligned with a state's academic standards could count in that group of graduates, known as a "cohort" graduation rate.

Graduation rates could then be compared among states and began to get a lot of public attention.

The state board of education made many changes that ultimately impacted graduation rates, including removing the requirement for the high school graduation exam in 2013.

Business and Education Alliance President Dr. Joe Morton retired as Alabama state superintendent in September 2011. In a statement to AL.com, Morton said, "This all occurred after my retirement, so I am reluctant to add opinions or thoughts about a matter with which I was not involved. I do know that removing any exam as a graduation requirement (an action that was taken after I retired) contributed to the mercuric rise in graduation rates as much, if not more than counting [Occupational Diploma] students."

If the federal directions not to count those students as graduates was ignored, Morton continued, "and I have no way to know if it was, such an action can never lead to a good outcome - it would definitely put a target on a state's back."

Bice was appointed state superintendent in November 2011.

Local superintendents vindicated

Bice directed school districts to count students graduating with the AOD through multiple methods, according to the report.

That finding was welcome news to School Superintendents of Alabama Executive Director Dr. Eric Mackey.

"We are glad to see local school systems and superintendents completely vindicated from any wrongdoing," Mackey wrote in a statement to AL.com. "All along, I have been saying that local superintendents and school leaders have followed [state department] directives with fidelity, so I am not surprised to see them fully vindicated."

Mackey said he is disappointed that students earning an AOD are not counted as graduates under federal guidelines, but leaves that to state and federal officials to resolve.

Counting students inaccurately

The OIG reported a second finding, providing evidence of students being counted as graduates in the wrong cohort, and being removed from cohorts for unallowable reasons.

The report states much of the problem in calculating rates correctly came from an inability to ensure accurate data was being kept showing when students began ninth grade and documenting why students were removed from the cohort.

Though the OIG audit was originally intended only to review the 2013-2014 graduation rate, ultimately all of Alabama's graduation rates back to 2011 are called into question because of the inaccuracy of student data.

As to findings in the two districts where a sample of student records were reviewed, the report states that in both Mobile and Birmingham, a significant number of students (86 percent of the students sampled in each district) were not first-time ninth graders in the 2010-2011 school year but were counted as such.

"Through our testing, we found that students were both erroneously counted as graduates and removed from the ACGR cohort without sufficient documentation or for unallowable reasons," the report reads.

"Specifically, Birmingham did not have adequate documentation for five of the six students and Mobile lacked documentation for one of the six students to support their removal from the cohort," the report reads.

Though state department employees told OIG officials they believed local school officials were responsible for making sure students were placed in the proper cohort, it is a state department's responsibility to ensure accuracy, the report reads.

Another problem found was when districts were given the opportunity to remove students from a cohort in the twelfth-grade year, the state department did not make sure it was for allowable reasons, such as moving to another state, to home school, to private school, or to a juvenile detention center.

In one instance, the report notes a state department employee knew a student was being removed from a ninth-grade cohort for an unallowable reason but approved the district's request to remove the student and added a comment in the system saying, "I will give you this one. Students cannot withdraw to a GED (General Education Diploma) School."

No new rates will be produced, the report says, and no estimates of actual rates can be given due to the multiple concerns about the accuracy of remaining data. The state department must indicate in public reporting that Alabama's graduation rates are unreliable.

Board member Mary Scott Hunter, R-Huntsville, in a written message, said, "I'm extremely disappointed in those whose job it was to get this right. I prefer to praise in public and criticize in private. I've alluded to the discussions I've had internally with department leadership when I've spoken at board meetings about the importance of management. The management failures evident in this report are simply inexcusable."

Sentance, in an e-mail to AL.com, said the federal Office of Elementary and Secondary Education now determines what the next steps are, including whether any actions, including fines, are imposed on the state department of education.

Gov. Kay Ivey, who serves as President of the state board of education, is currently out of the country and could not be reached for comment.

The state board meets again on Wednesday, June 21, in a regularly-scheduled work session.

Federal OIG Findings June 14 2017 by Trisha Powell Crain on Scribd
Georgia Bearden believes she was hurt by a faulty pacemaker - but said the Alabama legal system has made it all but impossible for her to argue her case in court.

Bearden, 85, who lives in Huntsville, has reached out to more than 50 people in the last five years, including members of the Huntsville City Council, former President Barack Obama and current President Donald Trump. That list included several attorneys, all of whom turned down her case.

So Bearden decided to represent herself in a lawsuit against her cardiologist, hospital and Medtronic, one of the largest pacemaker companies in the world. According to a medical malpractice study by Emory University law Professor Joanna Shepherd, only about 5 percent of cases filed by parties without attorneys result in payment. Two months after she filed it, Bearden's case was dismissed by the judge.

In court, she sat alone among criminal defendants represented by one or two defense attorneys.

"Some of them had one lawyer or maybe two," Bearden said. "And there I was, an 85-year-old sitting there with all this credible evidence and nobody would listen to me or hear what I have to say."

Alabama is one of the toughest environments for patients harmed by medical malpractice, with lower rates of payment than almost any other state in the country. As a result, few attorneys specialize in representing patients harmed by medical errors. Attorneys who focus on medical malpractice only take the worst cases - those involving permanent injury clearly caused by shoddy care.

Steve Heninger, an attorney based in Birmingham, said he might review an average of 1,000 cases a year.

"The most I have ever filed is 12," Heninger said.

Shepherd found that most attorneys reject more than 90 percent of medical malpractice cases. Patients with temporary or less serious injuries may struggle to find legal representation. Attorneys in medical malpractice cases usually don't receive any payment up front, and may not be willing to invest tens of thousands of dollars into cases that don't promise large payments.

The least expensive malpractice cases will still cost at least $25,000 to pursue, with more complex lawsuits topping out at around $200,000. Alabama has no cap on malpractice awards, so attorneys invest in cases with the potential for large settlements or judgments. Each case is a gamble, Heninger said. Low stakes cases might not be worth the risk.

"What if someone lost two fingers because of medical malpractice?" Heninger said. "A lot of attorneys in this state wouldn't take it."

In Bearden's case, Medtronic and her doctors denied any problems. Bearden discovered in 2012 that a recall had been issued on her pacemaker. Medtronic had identified problems with the battery, but Bearden said she wasn't notified for several months. She said the device damaged her heart, saddling her with vertigo, seizures and congestive heart failure.

She reached out to her doctor first, but came away unsatisfied after he denied any wrongdoing. She has sent letters to members of Congress and the Huntsville City Council. At one point, a representative of the malpractice insurance company met with her in person, but did not offer her a settlement.

Bearden remains convinced that the pacemaker caused her health problems.

"I know my body well enough to know that all this wasn't going on before I wore this defective pacemaker," she said.

Christal Kulungian filed suit after her daughter Lilly Belle died from complications of surgery. Born with a rare bone disease, Lilly Belle survived a bone marrow transplant from her sister during infancy, but required additional surgery to repair damage to her skull. Kulungian said doctors used a less-invasive procedure to make more space for the little girl's growing brain.

"This was presented as something as easy as having your appendix out," Kulungian said.

The operation lasted two-and-a-half hours, Kulungian said.

"The surgeons came back and told us everything went great," she said.

Her relief didn't last long. Instead of recovering, her daughter didn't wake up. Lilly Belle's eyes remained fixed and dilated. Kulungian called her four other children back from vacation and the family said goodbye to the girl.

Kulungian said surgeons cut a vein in Lilly Belle's brain, causing her death. She found an attorney, but dropped him as the statute of limitations approached because she feared he would not file the lawsuit in time. Since then, she has been representing herself - often staying up all night to prepare court filings or questions for deposition.

"I'm sitting there at the table with all these men - all these doctors I used to have a relationship with," Kulungian said. "I'm talking about my own daughter, and I'm basically accusing them of playing a part in her death. I'm trying to be an attorney, a mom, the plaintiff, the victim, a professional all in one and it's hard."

Shepherd's study found that attorneys disproportionately reject cases from women, children, the elderly and minorities because damage awards are lower. Bearden, who is an elderly, African-American woman, said she felt her status hurt her ability to get access to justice.

Heninger said the system in Alabama keeps most frivolous suits from coming to trial. But it can be difficult to explain to injured patients why their cases don't make the cut.

"Everyone who has been harmed after a medical procedure feels that it deserves a look," Heninger said. "Often there's a lot of anger when you tell them you can't take the case."

Updated at 11:24 a.m. on Tuesday, June 20 to correct a quote.
A defense attorney representing one of the two men charged with murder in the 2015 homicide of a Mobile woman claims in a motion the suspects were in the hospital when the victim was shot.

Suspects Steven O'Brien Mason, 33, and Adam Tyler Miller, 26, were indicted in March on murder charges stemming from the death of Ke'lei Morris. Authorities accused the suspects of being accomplices in the homicide.

A respiratory therapist at Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, Morris was shot in the head on Feb. 2, 2015. She was taken to the hospital, where she died three days later at the age of 24.

In a motion filed in Mobile County Circuit Court on Monday, defense attorney Arthur Madden III states that Mason and Miller were at the hospital during the time Morris was killed.

Morris was shot around 11:30 p.m. at Arlington Park Apartments, which is 10 miles away from the hospital. The motion claims that Mason was working night shift as a nurse at the Mobile Infirmary. Mason clocked in to work at 6:27 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2015 and clocked out at 7:39 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2015. During his shift, Madden said Mason was working with patients and coworkers on the hospital's fourth floor.

The motion also claims that Miller was admitted into the Mobile Infirmary due to his cystic fibrosis condition on Dec. 26, 2014 and was released on Feb. 4, 2015. Madden stated in the motion that Miller was also Morris' patient during his time at the hospital.

The motion is asking the hospital to produce the following documents:

All records maintained in the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center's EPIC record system, including nursing notes, AcuDose-Rx data, and Hill-Rom tracker locations for all the February 2-3, 2015 night shift.

All records maintained in the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center's EPIC record system reflecting the care given Adam Miller for the period from his admission of December 26, 2014 to his discharge on February 4, 2015.

Correction: Arthur Madden only represents Steven Mason.

Ke'Lei homicide motion by Jonece on Scribd
Bottles.jpg

The Alabama ABC's "markup" looks a lot like a plain old tax hike.

We don't need the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) in Alabama. It's a bureaucratic dinosaur waiting for its extinction-level event. Now, the ABC has done the dirty work of raising taxes for the Alabama Legislature and Governor Kay Ivey.

The ABC approved a 5 percent "markup" on liquor on June 14, 2017. The measure is expected to raise $8.2 million next year. The Alabama legislature conditionally earmarked $6 million of the increase for district attorneys and $2.2 million for the Unified Judicial System.

Don't believe for a minute this is a routine action by the ABC.

Over the last several decades, two of Alabama's 67 counties--Marshall and Calhoun--successfully passed "local bills" imposing a 5 percent tax on liquor above the fees and taxes collected by the ABC and the state. Many other counties have tried to pass similar measures and failed.

The ABC suddenly believes the relatively insignificant price disparity on a bottle of liquor in Alabama is a problem worth addressing.

"The change in mark-up will keep the price of a bottle (except in Calhoun and Marshall counties) basically the same everywhere in Alabama, and negates the need for the local sales tax bills," wrote ABC Board spokesman Dean Argo.

Let me parse out that logic.

In the name of price equity, the ABC suggests it alleviated a need to raise taxes in 65 of Alabama's counties by raising taxes administratively in every county. First, if there's a need to raise taxes for a specific purpose, it simply isn't the ABC's job. Second, price equity isn't a real issue. If Marshall and Calhoun counties were concerned about it, they shouldn't have raised taxes in the first place. Finally, the ABC "solution" didn't actually address the existing price differences. There's so much wrong with the ABC's logic that it should make your head spin.

Argo also noted, "ABC Board staff did not ask legislators to "earmark" [revenues for district attorneys]."

That might be technically true, but it's clear the ABC worked with the legislature, the district attorneys and others to develop the plan.

The markup has absolutely nothing to do with alcohol. More importantly, it doesn't clearly fit into one of the four rationales for markups noted in the ABC's administrative code.

In addition to ABC executive director Mac Gipson, all three of the ABC board members are Robert Bentley appointees. Their apparent willingness to raise taxes looks like something right out of our former governor's playbook. All three board members are holdovers whose terms expired on April 12, 2016.

We ought to support law enforcement. The majority of Alabama's voters don't want to raise taxes, but funding the district attorneys is as good of a reason to consider it as any.

The legislature clearly didn't want to vote on a tax hike--even a relatively small one. Rather than explaining the need for a small tax hike, they hid behind the ABC. Governor Ivey could have replaced the Bentley-appointed board or pressured them to reject the "markup." She did neither. The legislature and Governor Ivey simply passed the bottle to the ABC to avoid accountability. We shouldn't let them get away with it.

Cameron Smith is a regular columnist for AL.com and vice president for the R Street Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C.
Through siege and struggle, tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have found comfort in Quranic studies.

Occupied Gaza Strip  I consult the Quran before I speak, explained 48-year-old Kareema Abu Shahma, surrounded by young students in the Jafer mosque in Khan Younis.

If I need to go somewhere, I study first and then I leave my house. If Im feeling ill, I study.

Abu Shahma starts and ends her day by reciting the Quran. Having memorised all 6,236 verses of the Muslim holy book in braille over the course of five years, she takes her highly respected title of hafiza one who has memorised the Quran  seriously.





Every day she revisits about a quarter of the 600-page book to ensure perfect recall.

In the city of Khan Younis, she leads a class of 25 young girls, hoping to help them achieve the same goal by the first week of September when representatives of the Islamic Waqf (Islamic Trust) will test their knowledge.

During the exam, the students are given six random verses to recite from. If they are able to successfully recite them word-for-word, they earn the title of hafiza (or hafiz for boys), a high distinction in Islam.

In the mosque, girls sit in small circles. One recites verses while her partner follows the lines in the Quran, making sure there are no mistakes.

For a foreigner, it sounds like they are singing, but there is meticulous precision in the recitation of these melodic verses. With Abu Shahmas help, they are perfecting their tajweed (pronunciation).

Abu Shahmas ears are particularly fine-tuned. Born blind, she has turned her disability into a strength, refusing to be discouraged from achieving her goal of memorising the Quran and becoming a teacher.

READ MORE  Gaza power cuts: This is the worst its ever been

I wasnt strong in my life; no one accepted me, but when I memorized the Quran, people started to respect me as a blind person. Everybody knows now who I am and what I can do, Abu Shahma said.

The Quran is my strength. It will always be your guide and it will always give you the power to be whatever you want to be. If you want to have a strong character, you should memorise the Quran.

Eight-year-old Maram stands close to Abu Shahma and quickly recites a memorised chapter.

It is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during which observant Muslims of age are expected to fast from sunrise to sunset. And although Maram is not yet old enough to fast for the full day, she has already memorised one-fifth of the Quran.





Hundreds of Palestinian youth in Gaza are participating in day camps this Ramadan to help them better memorise the Quran, as the besieged Strip deals with one of its worse electricity crises on record.

The Strips two million residents are in the middle of an electricity shortage that has left them with just a few hours of electricity a day, turning many aspects of everyday life upside down and raising concerns of a looming humanitarian crisis.

Since 2006, Gazas Islamic Waqf has recorded nearly 40,000 newly registered hafazet al-Quran.

The Quran gives us comfort. Were living in bad conditions, under pressure. The Quran teaches us patience, said Zakariya Alzemly, a professor of the Science of Quran and Comparative Religion at the Islamic University in Gaza.

Many people in Gaza, besieged by Israel for the past decade, have turned to the Quran to cope with the feelings of isolation and hopelessness that come along with being cut off from the world, Alzemly explained.

Muslims believe that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during the holy month of Ramadan. Those who memorise the holy book in its entirety are believed to earn many blessings.

In Pictures: Mass protests on Gazas borders over electricity crisis

The practice dates back to the sixth century CE when memorisation was a common skill in society. When the Prophet Muhammad recited the verses of the Quran, his followers preserved his words by memorising them.

It was not until after Prophet Muhammads death that his companions wrote the Quran in its entirety.

Nearly 1,400 years later, the Qurans verses in classical Arabic remain unchanged. It is the only book memorised entirely by millions of people around the world.

In Gaza, the Quran can be found everywhere, especially during Ramadan when cab drivers tend to turn up the volume whenever it is recited on the radio.

It is played in grocery stores and small shops, and its verses can be found scrawled on walls in graffiti, printed on street signs, and hung in offices with framed photos of Al Aqsas Dome of the Rock taped to the wall.

For Abu Shahma, memorising the Quran not only helped her feel closer to God, it also helped her feel more confident.

Growing up, people often pitied her for her visual impairment. Her friends from high school thought her goal of becoming a Quran teacher was a far-fetched dream.





But she has proved them wrong, and in the process, improved her memory.

She began memorising the Quran while studying for her Bachelors degree in Islamic Sharia Law at Hebron University. It was easier to memorise then, she explained, as there were many people available to listen to her recitations and help perfect her pronunciation.

But when she moved back to Gaza after graduation, her home was far from the local mosque and it was difficult to find someone with experience to listen to her recitations. For a few years, she resorted to reciting for hours on the phone to her friends living in the West Bank.

She persevered and went the extra mile to attain another Bachelors degree in Qiraat, where she learned the ten different readings (pronunciations) of the Quran  a feat only an accomplished few have achieved.

When I memorised the Quran and I first started teaching in mosques, visitors were giving me their money; they thought I was begging, Abu Shahma said.

They couldnt understand that I can do the job just as well as someone with eyesight. For those of us who are blind, people look to us as if we cant do anything.

Today, Abu Shahma is a highly respected leader in her community. She has been teaching students for over 20 years and recites at almost every funeral in Khan Younis.

Under her tutelage, 80 students have attained the status of hafiz.

Gazas hafazet al-Quran have developed a reputation for being some of the most beautiful Quran reciters in the world.

When the Egyptian Rafah border was open regularly during Mohamed Morsis presidency, nearly a dozen hafazet al-Quran from Gaza were invited to lead Taraweeh (the extra evening prayer during Ramadan) in Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries.

Eighteen-year-old Muhammad Abu Asi hopes to do the same one day. He attended a Quran memorisation course for the blind last year and already has half the book memorised.

Although he is mostly self-taught, he surprised his teachers at the camp with his perfect pronunciation, thanks to endless hours of listening to Quran recitations on Egyptian radio shows, he said.

Like Abu Shahma, Abu Asi considers his visual impairment an advantage in strengthening his memory.

My blindness is from Allah, so Im okay with it, he said. Im comfortable with it and it gives me more confidence.
Brazil could have had one of the worlds most progressive migration bills but Islamophobia and xenophobia killed it.

In the midst of a global refugee crisis, Brazilian congress has approved a new migration law, considered initially by many specialists as a breakthrough. Yet, after the bill was unanimously approved by the National Congress in May, pressure from right-wing politicians, the security forces, and extreme right-wing activists forced President Michel Temer to disfigure the law into something unrecognisable by vetoing several items in it.

The new Migration Law will be replacing the previous Statute of the Foreigner, a bill inherited from the military dictatorship, which among its other ills, treats any foreigner as a potential threat  something quite odd considering Brazil is a nation built on the migration of peoples from different parts of the world.





Under the new law, foreigners may find it easier to deal with the unnerving bureaucracy of the Brazilian migratory system. The bill also has several precautions against discrimination and xenophobia and it gives the migrants the right to unionise and participate in political demonstrations.

However, despite all these positive qualities, after Temers 20 vetoes, the law transformed into a text focusing on national security rather than the rights of migrants.

For instance, Temer vetoed a part of the proposed law that would have granted Brazilian indigenous population the right to freely move over national borders. Another veto by Temer opened the way for migrants that have been convicted of a crime in Brazil to be expelled from the country.

According to Mauricio Santoro, a professor of international relations at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, the vetoes are significant and meet the pressures coming from the police and the military. Moreover, he says, they mainly affect sections of the law relating to indigenous peoples, the regularisation of immigrants who arrived in Brazil without adequate documentation, and the possibility of foreigners occupying public posts.

No amnesty or free healthcare

Another heavily criticised veto by Temer made healthcare, which is universal and free for Brazilians, not accessible for foreigners. The president also vetoed a section of the law that would have allowed migrants to work as public servants. Under the amended proposal, a foreigners chances of becoming a public servant are heavily restricted.

The justification for the veto in this case was not only discriminatory, but also biased, says Juliana Vitorino, a professor of International Relations from University Center Estacio of Recife.

She adds that, in its amended form, the new law of migration agrees with the general spirit of the Statue of the Foreigner. It does not stray too far from the Statue of the Foreigner, regarding the continuity of legislation that presses more for control and security bias.

OPINION: There is no justice for the poor in Brazil

International law professor Deisy Ventura, from the University of Sao Paulo, says Temers most problematic veto to the new migration law was to the article 188, which was originally designed to grant amnesty to migrants who arrived in Brazil before June 6, 2016 without necessary documents. According to Ventura, the veto was based on the mistaken understanding that an amnesty would have reduced the discretion of the Brazilian State.

Ventura adds that she believes that the Federal Senate will not overturn the vetoes of the president as the current political environment in the country and the threats of impeachment against Michel Temer would not allow for the necessary pressure to be applied. So it is widely expected for the law, in its amended form, to come in to force in approximately 180 days after a second confirmation in the senate.

The amended final draft of the bill is a positive, albeit small, step towards the right direction. Unfortunately, it still differs little from the former Statute of the Foreigner in some key points, to the great concern of experts. by

The influence of the right wing

The original text of the migration bill, which was approved unanimously by the senate, faced enormous resistance from not only the Brazilian Armed Forces and the Federal Police, but also fringe right-wing groups.

Before the bill was put before the Federal Senate in May, dozens of protesters gathered at Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo. They were chanting slogans against immigration, but most of their anger was directed at Muslims.

The demonstration, which was small in numbers but big in its impact, was organised by the members of a fascist Facebook group called Direita Sao Paulo (Right-wing Sao Paulo). The group chanted slogans against what they called the Islamisation of the country. They called Brazils Foreign Affairs Minister Aloysio Nunes, who proposed the new migration bill, a traitor. They also called for and a military intervention and a new dictatorship in Brazil. As expected, the protest was countered by left-wing activists and several people were arrested as a result of the skirmish that ensued. The same fascist group staged another small demonstration in the following week, but this time they did not face any confrontation.

Of course, these demonstrations were not the sole reason behind Temers regressive vetos on the migration bill, but they clearly showed that anti-migration sentiments are becoming more vocal in the Brazilian society.

Several politicians also jumped on the anti-migration bandwagon and criticised the proposed migration law for being too migrant friendly. For example, Jair Bolsonaro, a representative from the state of Rio de Janeiro and possible presidential candidate in the 2018 elections, released a series of videos and statements against the original version of the draft law saying Brazilians will face the consequences of the inconsequence that will be voted. Bolsonaro has the support of several fringe right-wing groups and he is rapidly growing in the polls.

READ MORE: Brazil  Targeting trans people with impunity

With a population over 200 million, the number of migrants in Brazil is just below two million, constituting a mere 0.9 percent of the total population. The number of migrants from Muslim countries is even more minuscule, as not a single Muslim country makes it into the list of the top 10 countries which migrants to Brazil come from.

It is not to say that Brazil did not receive a number of Muslim, and specifically Syrian, refugees in the past couple of years. According to the National Committee for Refugees, in 2015, Brazil welcomed 1,700 Syrian refugees  making it the country hosting the highest number of Syrian refugees in Latin America. While the influence of Islam in Brazil has been growing visibly in the last couple of years, it is not possible to talk about the Islamisation of the Latin American giant.

The terror factor

The rise of the right-wing, Islamophobic discourse in Brazil coincides with the implementation of an anti-terrorism law that had been sanctioned in March 2016 by the then President Dilma Rousseff. Several social movements and NGOs argued that the anti-terror law was too over-reaching and that it can be used to punish anyone taking part in peaceful political demonstrations, but did not succeed to halt its implementation.





In July of that year, using the powers granted to them by the controversial anti-terror law, security forces arrested a group of 10 Brazilians who recently converted to Islam for allegedly plotting an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) attack. The evidence presented during their trials showed that the suspects efforts were highly amateurish and sloppy, but the case nevertheless increased tensions in the country. Later that year, the police arrested a further 15 suspects, as part of an operation dubbed Hashtag, for allegedly plotting on social media and on WhatsApp to commit terror acts. Eight of the suspects were eventually convicted and received penalties ranging from five to 15 years in jail.

These convictions fuelled the right-wing anger towards Muslims, as well as the concerns of the state security apparatus. As a result of the frenzy caused by these convictions, Brazils pre-existing xenophobia and anti-migrant sentiments met with Islamophobia, the fear of refugees from Muslim countries and the fear of Brazilian youths being converted into a foreign religion to carry out terror acts.

Brazil is a country that historically welcomed refugees and migrants from all over the world and built a national identity based on the juxtaposition of different cultures. Brazil did not reach to this melting pot status without going through conflicts, tensions and setbacks, but today this multiculturalism, this ability to recognise the countrys diverse ancestry, is part of what means to be a Brazilian.

The new Migration Law was initially drafted to ease the pressure coming from different social actors, NGOs, political and human rights activists regarding the grave condition of migrants rights in Brazil. Yet it faced opposition from forces within the state, as well as right-wing groups and ended up disfigured. The amended final draft of the bill is a positive, albeit small, step towards the right direction. Unfortunately, it still differs little from the former Statute of the Foreigner in some key points, to the great concern of experts.

Raphael Tsavkko Garcia is a journalist and a PhD candidate in human rights at the University of Deusto in Spain.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Technologies that will shape our future are already in play around us, and they will soon wreak havoc on our reality.

Jobs are disappearing, incomes retreating, the precariat growing. Thousands of people risk their lives in stormy seas to flee wars, moribund economies and climate change on a daily basis. Traditional politicians continue to avoid publicly addressing the tsunami of unemployment, apparently baffled as to how to react to a historic transition: the automation of critical masses of labour once performed by humans.





Five acronyms  AI, AR, VR, BC and UBI  promise to shape the developed worlds future and solve the problems of the present. In the process, however, these innovations risk transforming the world around us, and upsetting humanitys very definition of itself.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a series of algorithms designed to improve the performance of robots by making it possible for them to learn from their surroundings. As AI increasingly autonomises formerly human-managed objects like cars and factory assembly lines, it displaces not only millions of workers employed in repetitive jobs like driving and assembling products, but white-collar employees, too. With the Internet of Things expanding into the physical realm, youll find yourself encountering AI-enhanced objects more often, especially in service industries.

Replacing humans with robotic transactions delivered in unthreatening lilts, AI will further contribute to our de-socialisation, and feed the self-absorption and narcissism fuelled by Internet-powered consumerism.

READ MORE: Could artificial intelligence lead to world peace?

Augmented Reality (AR) will overlay information onto the naked world, earning its wearers social, professional and other edges over those sticking to the boring old reality. Soon, augmenting your surroundings will become as essential as a cellphone if you want to participate in employed living.

Projectors and screens will be done away as spreadsheets and calendars are shared with colleagues during work meetings by superimposing them over reality.

Nanobot implants will connect journalists to the internet, allowing them to dispense with cameras and use their own eyes and ears to film interviews, or perform real-time background checks on people they have just met. Soldiers will view aerial perspectives of the complex theyre about to assault, streamed from hovering drones, while supporting engineers thousands of miles away broadcast 3D immersive designs of the complex and its occupants direct to the soldiers vision. Later, the soldiers themselves will be replaced by agile robots, as the debate over the permissibility of lethal killing machines is won by those arguing for using them against conveniently dehumanised terrorists.

OPINION: Rebellion against the invisible tyrant  The internet

The element of surprise or enchantment in everyday life  as indispensable a part of being human as missing someone or feeling melancholy  will be even further retrenched, replaced by accumulating, awkward time-outs: motionless figures in public spaces, apparently present, but absorbed in a private, incommunicable world.

Soon, turning on the computer or fishing your phone out of your pocket will no longer be a precondition to being online. by

Potentially, the greatest game-changer is Blockchain (BC). It leverages the power of an online distributed ledger system in creating an all-encompassing, entirely interconnected digital grid that can be used to assess participants on a staggering tally of issues. Though open to authoritarian abuse, this tool would also enable individuals to delink themselves from the arbitrariness of the nation-state organising principle. BC could be used to assess our environmental footprint more completely than is now possible and opens the door to new forms of democracy, the abolition of banks and other intermediaries, and a new global taxation system based not on our income but our impact on Planet Earth.

Supplementary technologies such as ambient computing  always-on, hands-off computing peripherals that allow speech-powered typing and automatic forms of identification  will be premised on a context of permanent activity. Soon, turning on the computer or fishing your phone out of your pocket will no longer be a precondition to being online.

Real and virtual escape routes

As millions of people  mostly older, unskilled monolinguals  find themselves thrust into a world where they are nothing but surplus or collateral damage in the ongoing technological sprint, they may come to depend on another two, just-round-the-corner innovations to cushion their obsolescence: a Universal Basic Income (UBI) providing participants, whether employed or not, with a guaranteed salary; and the seductively immersive worlds of Virtual Reality (VR).

UBI is already a thing, with trials running on all continents aside from Australia and Antarctica. Switzerland put the idea to referendum last year, but its wealthy citizens rejected it for fear that introducing a guaranteed income would lead to the country being overrun by immigrants. UBI contains several dangers, including the risk of hardening our societies current inequality into an irreversible orthodoxy, or being used as a pretext to scrap state-provided health services and other forms of welfare.

OPINION: Artificial intelligence will delete nationalism

Finally, there is VR, the most widely-available of all these technologies. Hailed as a reality-suspending innovation exceeding even the invention of the moving image, it is poised to go mainstream this year.

Drowning in the digital tumult





But despite the sizzling pace of change, there is no apparent sense of urgency, no panic at how quickly we are hurtling towards our future. Even as we start checking into fully-automated hotels, being transported by driverless cars, and even choosing robots for sexual and spiritual succour, the voices of those questioning how such scarce public debate can mark such momentous innovations appear puny and drowned-out by the digital tumult.

Does anyone ask what the social consequences of discarding significant sections of society for being less efficient than robots are? How will those who cannot adapt react to the realisation that, rather than failed individuals, they belong to powerful, potentially disruptive constituencies numbering in the hundreds of millions? What ethical frontiers will humanity trespass upon once the elites can afford to engineer selves or descendants immune to disease and fatigue?

Make elections great again

As the dominant economic system first shoves millions of people to the margins of society, then sweeps them off its edge, we must recognise that new technologies will be used to radically transform the already dysfunctional way in which we conduct our economic, ecological and electoral affairs: both constructively (Blockchain can replace quadrennial elections and conduct hack-proof referendums on a myriad of issues affecting us) and destructively (the psychological damage caused by absolute immersion into virtual worlds more attractive to their users than their jobless realities; how human psychology is redefined when work is no longer the defining motivation in ones existence; or the potential for AI to autonomously advance in threatening directions to humanity).

At a time of ecological meltdown, it is worth taking two steps back and questioning whether the planet can sustain eight billion people aspiring to a consumerist lifestyle and an economic system premised on devouring natural resources. How can the extraordinarily powerful technological tools currently in development be leveraged to reduce the inequality that has only increased in the Internet Era, while minimising our impact on the environment?

Holding this debate is hardly in the interest of those making wild, tax-free savings by substituting machines for humans. So its unsurprising that the kind of politicians supported by transnational business lobbies continue misleading their constituencies with feel-good narratives that appeal to two shrivelling realities: national, religious and ethnic identities that are increasingly irrelevant in our globalised world, and the illusory promise of a return to 20th century-style economic health. As long as critical masses of voters continue imbibing narratives of self-actualised, empowered individualism we will not be able to honestly debate what consequences technology is bringing upon us.

Iason Athanasiadis is a Mediterraneanist based between Istanbul and Tunis.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Hisham Barakat, who oversaw President Mubaraks acquittal, was killed by a car bomb near his home in Cairo in 2015.

A criminal court in Egypt has sentenced 31 people to death for their alleged part in the June 2015 assassination of the countrys top prosecutor, Hisham Barakat.

The ruling on Saturday, issued by judge Hassan Farid, referred the case to the countrys top theologian to get his non-binding opinion on the death sentences, a formality followed by courts in the case of capital punishment.

Delivering the verdict, Farid called Barakats assassination a heinous and cowardly conspiracy.

READ MORE: The tragedy of Egypt\s stolen revolution

They shed the blood of a Muslim while he was fasting in Ramadan, Farid said, referring to the Muslim holy month that fell in July in 2015.

And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell, the judge added, quoting a verse from Islams holy book, the Quran.

Barakat was appointed prosecutor-general by Egypts then interim President Adly Mansour in July 2013, shortly after the military ousted the countrys first freely-elected president, Mohamed Morsi.

He oversaw the acquittal of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

He was killed by a car bomb near his house in Cairo on June 29, 2015, and is the most senior government official killed by armed groups since Morsis overthrow.





No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The court will reconvene on July 22 to reaffirm the death sentences and issue its verdict on the 36 other defendants in the case. Of the 67 defendants, 15 are at large.

The other suspects on trial have yet to receive their judgements.

Egyptian authorities have accused the Muslim Brotherhood movement and the Palestinian group Hamas of involvement in the attack, an accusation strongly denied by both groups.

Dozens of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and followers have been given heavy-handed sentences since Morsis overthrow.

Amnesty International has recently criticised the increasing number of mass death sentences handed down in Egypt.
Attacker is killed after wounding seven US troops at a northern Afghanistan base in second insider attack in a week.

An Afghan soldier has opened fire on American troops, wounding at least seven of them, before being shot dead in a military base in northern Afghanistan, officials said, in the second so-called insider attack in the past week.

Abdul Qahar Araam, spokesman for the US military, said on Saturday that the attack took place at Camp Shaheen in Mazar-i-Sharif. Araam added that the soldiers returned fire and killed the attacker.





General Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry, also confirmed the incident.

The Resolute Support, the international training mission to Afghanistan, announced on its Twitter feed that seven US service members were wounded, adding that there were no US fatalities.

Al Jazeeras Rob McBride, reporting from Afghanistans capital, Kabul, said NATO soldiers were training their Afghan counterparts at the base where the attack took place.

A source told Al Jazeera that the attack happened at the end of a training exercise, he said.

We understand that the soldiers were getting back into their vehicle when a soldier from the Afghan national army picked up what is said to be a rocket-propelled grenade and fired it at the group of soldiers, and that is how these injuries have happened.

Another insider attack

Three US soldiers were killed and a fourth was wounded on June 11 when an Afghan soldier opened fire on them at a base in eastern Afghanistans Nangarhar province.

Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the armed group, said at the time that a Taliban loyalist had infiltrated the Afghan army just to attack foreign forces.

On Saturday, Mujahid praised the camp Shaheen attack in a statement sent to the media, but did not claim Taliban responsibility.

READ MORE: US troops killed in insider attack in Nangarhar

In April, scores of Afghan soldiers were killed when fighters breached security at the camp, detonating explosives and shooting hundreds at a mosque and dining hall on the base. The attackers were disguised in Afghan army uniforms.

Coalition countries, led by the US, are considering sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan to help advise and assist Afghan forces struggling against Taliban and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Monday he would present options on Afghanistan to President Donald Trump very soon.
At least 18 people arrested in the US city of St Paul following acquittal of officer who shot and killed a black man.

At least 18 people have been arrested in the US city of St Paul during a mass protest that erupted following the acquittal of a police officer who shot and killed an African American man.

Protesters were rallying outside the Minnesota State Capitol on Friday night and into Saturday, after a jury acquitted police officer Jeronimo Yanez of manslaughter and other charges, in the fatal shooting last summer of Philando Castile during a traffic stop.

The protesters eventually left the capitol and began marching through the streets, with hundreds splintering off and blocking a highway for about two hours.

WATCH: Do black lives matter in the US? (5:41)

The Minnesota state police said officers began arresting the protesters past midnight, after issuing three warnings for them to get off of a major highway in the city.

The protesters were booked on charges including being a pedestrian on the busy freeway.

Castiles death was captured via a Facebook livestream launched by his girlfriend seconds after he was shot by the police officer.

In it, Castile was seen bleeding to death in the drivers seat.

His death sparked outrage against police and allegations that it was racially motivated.

But no video existed of exactly what happened inside the car.

That left a jury to decide whether they believed police officer Yanez on the witness stand, and they opted on Friday to acquit him.

In the US, legal cases are usually decided by a panel of 12 people sworn to give a verdict based on evidence submitted to a court. Their decision is administered by a judge.

Yanez testified that Castile, a school cafeteria worker, was reaching for his gun despite his commands not to pull it out. Yanez said he feared for his life.

Yanez had initially singled out Castile for a traffic stop because the officer thought he bore a resemblance to a robbery suspect.

Tragic, needless death

Castile, however, had no criminal record.

Castile volunteered that he was legally carrying a gun. Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me, he said.

Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her then four-year-old daughter were also in the car when the officer shot Castile.

The officer asked Castile not to pull out the handgun. But moments later Yanez fired seven shots while Castile was still buckled into his seat. Reynolds, the girlfriend, said Castile had been trying to pull out his wallet.





Yanez said he feared for his safety and thought Castile was reaching for the gun.

But Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, who filed charges against the officer, declared such fear unreasonable.

Valerie Castile said her son was murdered.

Im mad as hell right now. Yes, I am, Castiles mother tearfully told a group of reporters after the verdict was issued. The system continues to fail black people.

Glenda Hatchett, a lawyer who represented Valerie Castile, said her son had suffered a tragic, tragic needless death.

This time we had a young man who had no criminal record, she said. This time there should have been, in our opinion, a very, very different outcome.

Community activists expressed anger and disappointment.

It was a clear-cut case, Jaylani Hussein, chief of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said on local TV station KSTP.

It sends a very harsh message that we still have major race issues in this country.
The Bethlehem Center, Art 120, and local artist Christina Thongnopnua will present "Painted Story Children's Gallery" on Monday from 6-8 p.m. at the Bethlehem Center, W. 38th St. in Chattanooga.For a minimum $5 donation, guests can help support the gallery and the Read to Lead Academy."Visitors will view art from a kid's perspective, enjoy hors d'oeuvres that are sure to take you back to your childhood," officials said.
African Union says it will send a fact-finding mission to the countries as tensions between the neighbours mount.

The African Union (AU) has urged Djibouti and Eritrea to show restraint as tensions over a disputed border territory intensified and threatened to revive a long-standing and at times violent dispute.

Djibouti on Friday accused Eritrean soldiers of occupying territory in the contested Doumeira region following the departure of Qatari peacekeepers from the location earlier this week.

Doumeira is situated northeast of Djibouti and east of Eritrea near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic waterway at the foot of the Red Sea through which nearly four million barrels of oil are shipped daily to Europe, the United States and Asia.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, AU commission chairperson, said on Saturday that the union would send a fact-finding mission to the Djibouti-Eritrea border.

The AU is ready to assist Djibouti and Eritrea to normalise their relations and promote good neighbourliness within the framework of relevant AU instruments, he said.

Qatar announced that it was pulling its contingent out on June 14, days after the two East African countries sided with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies in a major diplomatic standoff with Doha.

Qatars foreign ministry did not give a reason for the move.

Djiboutis Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssef said on Friday that his countrys army was on alert and accused Eritrea of moving its forces into the Doumeira region where Qatari peacekeepers had been stationed since 2010 as a buffer between the two nations armies.

READ MORE: Djibouti accuses Eritrea of occupying disputed area

In a statement issued on Saturday, Eritrea did not address the allegations directly, saying it would not respond to news  factual and speculative  churned out in the last few days.

The government of Eritrea will make its views known when it obtains full information of the entire episode, said the statement issued by the information ministry in Asmara.

Djibouti, a close Western ally, has repeatedly clashed with Eritrea over the disputed territory, raising fears that the spat could engulf the entire region.

Clashes broke out between the Horn of Africa countries in June 2008, which triggered several days of fighting that killed a dozen Djiboutian troops.

Eritrea had initially denied making any incursions, accusing Djibouti of launching unprovoked attacks.

The UN Security Council then requested both sides withdraw from the area before the neighbours accepted a Qatari request to mediate and deploy peacekeepers.
ISIL is preventing civilians fleeing and plans to use them as human shields before final battle for Old City, UN says.

The United Nations believes up to 150,000 civilians are still trapped in harrowing conditions in Mosuls Old City, where ISIL fighters battling advancing Iraqi forces are shooting at anyone trying to flee as part of a tactic to keep them as human shields.

The UNs humanitarian chief Lise Grande said in an interview on Friday with The Associated Press that the global body expects the final battle for the Old City to start within days. She said conditions there are desperate and the UN expects almost all civilians to try to escape.





US-backed Iraqi forces have been battling fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in Mosul since October. ISIL now control only a handful of neighbourhoods in and around the Old City.

Grande said there have been more than 7,000 gunshot wounds of people trying to leave districts still controlled by ISIL.

The reason we know that theyre being shot at by snipers and not crossfire is because theyre being shot in the back, she said.

Around 860,000 people have already fled Mosul, which was beyond the worst case scenario of 750,000 that the UN had planned for, said Grande.

The UN and Iraqi authorities have coordinated to build new camps and find spaces in existing camps for families returning to already recaptured eastern Mosul.

Grande said the Iraqi forces have tried to keep the daily flight of people below the saturation point of 20,000 when they attack a neighbourhood.

Were averaging between 8,000 and 15,000 a day, she said.

Its going to get much worse

Al Jazeeras Bernard Smith, reporting from the city of Erbil, east of Mosul, said that trapped civilians were reportedly without food or running water in the Old City, and that  while Iraqi forces have dropped leaflets urging residents to flee before the final battle for control of the area  ISIL are shooting people that try to leave and are even welding doors shut.

All indications are that its going to get much much worse for the civilians trapped in the city before its going to get any better, said Smith.

OPINION: Iraq deserves heroes, but only has monsters

Our correspondent said that the final battle in the dense streets of the Old City  believed to be held by around 1,000 ISIL fighters preparing to fight to the death  means that a large number of civilians will be trapped amid what the US-led coalition has described as possibly being some of the toughest urban fighting in recent decades.

The Iraqi forces have done an awful lot to reduce the number of civilian casualties, air strikes are much more carefully considered before they are called in, he said.





The problem with having air strikes in this part of the Old City is because it is so built-up and dense, it is very difficult to avoid civilian casualties  that battle for the Old City is going to be perhaps the most challenging and difficult fight for all those fights for Mosul, he said.

Amira Abd El Khalek, public information officer with the UNs refugee agency, told Al Jazeera that the UNs was extremely concerned about the remaining civilians in Mosul and that their top priority is to get them out safely as soon as possible.

As long as there are safe passages that the Iraqi forces are able to establish, then civilians can move out. However, the civilians are trapped inside their homes, it is extremely difficult for them to get out because they are targeted by snipers, she said from Erbil.

So unless safe passages are available then it will be very difficult for civilians to get out. They are trapped inside with very little food and very little water. Some resort to drinking sewage water and there is no fuel left. So it is a very dire situation, said El Khalek.
More than 1,500 Muslims who found refuge in a church over a month ago are growing restless and desperate, priest says.

Bangui, Central African Republic  At least 1,500 people, mostly Muslim civilians, currently stuck in a Catholic church in the countrys southeast, are growing increasingly desperate, a priest has told Al Jazeera.

The displaced people took refuge in the cathedral in the town of Bangassou after fleeing deadly violence in mid-May.

The situation is not safe enough to leave, and so they cannot move from here, said Father Alain Blaise Bissialo, the priest at the church.

There are men who walk around town with guns.

The crisis in Bangassou began between May 13-17 when Anti-balaka, a vigilante militia made up of mostly Christians, launched a series of attacks on Muslims in Tokoyo, a largely Muslim district of Bangassou.





Thousands flocked to a nearby mosque to seek refuge.

Yet, the mosque was subsequently attacked too, culminating in the killing of the local imam.

In an attempt to save civilians at the mosque, the Catholic bishop sent trucks to Tokoyo to transport as many civilians as possible back to the church for their safety.

At last count, 150 people were killed during the violence since mid-May, but this number could rise, Antoinne Mbao Bogo, president of the local branch of the Red Cross, told Al Jazeera on Friday.

Alidou Djibril, a displaced person at the church, said there was a shortage of food and clothes.

Its hard for us, we have to stay in the same place, we cannot move, and we are fasting, he said.

Djibril said they only received food one week after arriving at the church, adding that the Anti-balaka were not allowing traders to bring food to them.

According to the United Nations, most of Bangassous 35,000 residents fled, some to sites for internally displaced people and others across into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

OPINION: Worlds most neglected conflict rages on in the CAR

MINUSCA, the UNs mission in the Central African Republic (CAR), said the security situation in Bangassou has calmed significantly, adding, however, that it was still not safe for the displaced to return home.

Despite the MINUSCA patrols, the area is not safe enough and their homes and businesses have been destroyed, and so many have nowhere to go, Vladimir Montiero, MINUSCA spokesperson, told Al Jazeera from Bangui.

It is not safe for them to leave the church.

Bob Libenge, acting president of the local branch of the Red Cross, told Al Jazeera that some people were sleeping inside the church and the rest were outside, on mats, within the complex.

Food and sanitation

Meanwhile, a number of nongovernmental organisations have come forward to assist with food and sanitation.

There has been an escalation of violence across central and southeastern parts of the CAR over the past two months, with armed groups clashing in Bria, Alindou and Bakouma in particular.

Earlier in the week, MINUSCA warned the Popular Front for Renaissance of Central African (FPRC), a group associated with the Seleka, to not attack Bangassou.

Sources at the UN say that MINUSCA is concerned that there would be revenge attacks on the Christian civilian population if the group entered the city.

CAR has been beset with violence since Muslim-led Seleka fighters unseated the countrys president in a coup in 2013.

Following a spate of abuses by the Seleka, a vigilante militia called the Anti-balaka, made up of Christians and animists embarked on a series of revenge attacks on the Muslim community.

INTERACTIVE: The war across the river

While the CAR has no history of sectarian conflict, armed groups have increasingly manipulated religious fault lines to expand their influence.

In 2016, CAR held a successful general election. But a year later, President Faustin-Archange Touaderas government wields little influence outside his capital.

At least 14 groups, including different incarnations of the Seleka, rule the countryside, monitoring roads, collecting taxes and policing the population.

The UN says that the country is facing a dire humanitarian crisis. More than 50 percent of CARs population requires humanitarian assistance.

At least one in five Central Africans are currently displaced, the highest proportion since the height of the crisis in 2014.
Government denounces new US restrictions on trade and travel, saying attempts to change its political system will fail.

The Cuban government of Raul Castro has criticised Donald Trumps hostile rhetoric in announcing new restrictions on US ties to the country, but repeated its willingness to hold respectful dialogue with Washington.

Earlier on Friday, the US president pledged to overhaul his predecessor Barack Obamas Cuba policy.

The government of Cuba denounces the new measures toughening the embargo imposed since 1962, according to a statement read on Cuban state television.

However, it said Cuba reiterates its willingness to continue the respectful dialogue and cooperation that have taken place with Washington since 2015 when the drive for restored ties began under Obama.

READ MORE: Cuban Americans warily await Trumps policy rethink

Although the policy changes announced were limited, Trump has tightened rules for Americans travelling to Cuba, banned ties with a military-run tourism firm and reaffirmed the existing US trade embargo.

The Cuban statement criticised the hostile rhetoric that recalls the time of open confrontation and return to the coercive methods of the past.

It regretted a reversal in relations between the two countries.

Any strategy to change the political, economic and social system in Cuba, whether through pressure  or through more subtle methods, will be doomed to failure.

Diplomatic ties to remain

Diplomatic relations, restored only two years ago, will remain intact. But, in a shift from Obamas approach, Trump said trade and other penalties would stay in place until a long list of prerequisites was met.

America has rejected the Cuban peoples oppressors, Trump said in Miamis Little Havana.

Declaring Obamas pact with Castro a completely one-sided deal, Trump said he was cancelling it.

In practice, however, many recent changes to boost ties to Cuba will stay as they are.

Embassies in Havana and Washington will remain open. US airlines and cruise ships will still be allowed to serve the island.

The wet foot, dry foot policy, which once let most Cuban migrants stay if they made it to US soil but was terminated under Obama, will remain terminated.

Remittances from people in the US to Cubans will not be cut off.

But individual people-to-people trips by Americans to Cuba, allowed by Obama for the first time in decades, will again be prohibited.

And the US government will police other trips to ensure travellers are pursuing a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities.

Trumps excitement

Trump said that easing restrictions on trade and travel only helps the Castro government, and he wants US money to go only to the fledgling private sector.

But the overwhelming majority of the Cuban economy is controlled by the government.

The Cuban people were so excited when President Obama came, Caridad Gonzalez, who runs a bed-and-breakfast, told Al Jazeera.

We thought our lives would improve, and with tourism they did. But now were being blocked again. Its the people wholl suffer the consequences, not the Cuban state.

Some 285,000 people visited the Caribbean country in 2016, up 74 percent over 2015, with Americans the third-biggest group after Canadians and Cuban expatriates.
Groups fighting to end Indian rule step up attacks on Indian government forces patrolling the divided region.

Clashes in Indian-administered Kashmir have killed 10 people  five police officers, a soldier, two civilians and two suspected separatist fighters, according to Indian authorities.

Suspected separatist ambushed a police patrol in the town of Achhabal, killing five police personnel, a police officer told AFP news agency on Friday.

Armed groups active in divided Kashmir have stepped up attacks in recent weeks on Indian government forces patrolling the area as part of counterinsurgency operations.

Earlier, soldiers and a police special counterinsurgency force cordoned off Arwani village on a tip-off that armed men were hiding in two homes, setting off a firefight, the officer said.

Two civilians, including a teenage boy, were killed when security forces fired at hundreds of villagers who marched to the site of the attack to help the fighters escape, the police officer said.

Two suspected separatists were also killed, the officer said.

The unrest spread to neighbouring villages as thousands of residents clashed with government forces, hurling stones and chanting: We want freedom and Go India, go back.

READ MORE: Manufacturing consent in Indian-administered Kashmir

Separately on Friday, an Indian army spokesman said a soldier was killed when Pakistani forces fired at Indian posts in southern Naushera along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between the two countries.

The two armies have traded heavy fire along the de facto border almost daily in recent weeks, killing civilians and soldiers on both sides while accusing each other of breaching a 2003 ceasefire agreement.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947, but both claim the Himalayan territory in full.

India maintains roughly 500,000 soldiers in the territory and blames Pakistan for fomenting unrest.

Pakistan denies the allegation, saying it only provides diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle for the right of self-determination.

Officials say dozens of youth have joined the separatist ranks since last July after a popular commander was killed by security forces, sparking months of wide-scale protests in the territory.
Mukhtar Mai travels to LA to watch Thumbprint, which recounts her 2002 rape and decision to take her attackers to court.

Fifteen years after her gang rape by a local clan in her village in Pakistan, Mukhtar Mai is reliving her ordeal, but also her courage, through a US opera inspired by her story.

The opera, by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz, recounts Mais 2002 rape and her decision to defy her attackers and take them to court.

Mai was raped with the approval of the village council as punishment after her 12-year-old brother was falsely accused of having an illicit relationship with a woman from the dominant clan in the village.





She travelled this week from her home, in the remote Pakistani village of Meerwala, to attend the west coast premiere.

I was very emotional when I first started watching it and began reliving the incident in my mind, Mai, 37, told AFP news agency after attending the Los Angeles premiere of Thumbprint on Friday.

But then as the opera progressed, it became easier to watch and I felt more courage.

It was an unusual move in male-dominated Pakistan, where a woman who suffers such a crime often commits suicide rather than endure the stigma and shame associated with it.

Thumbprint first opened in New York in 2014, but Mai had never seen the opera.

While the story on stage ends when Mais rapists have been sentenced to death; in reality, her attackers walked free.

They are seemingly going about their daily life with total impunity after their sentences were overturned on appeal.

My rapists live across from my house and I try not to cross paths with them, said Mai, who used compensation money from her case to start several schools and a womens shelter in her village.

READ MORE: India  Men gang-rape woman, smash skull with bricks

When I walk past, they taunt me and make catcalls.

In an added strange twist to her story, the children of her rapists attend her school and the daughters of some of the village elders who ordered her rape have sought refuge at her shelter.

Even though some members of my own family were outraged, I told them I could not turn away the kids as the school is here to serve everyone in the community, she said.

In 2005, Mais name was placed on the countrys Exit Control List after it emerged she was scheduled to fly to London at the invitation of Amnesty International, the rights advocacy group.

Pervez Musharraf, the then Pakistan president, admitted it was the case because he did not want to project a bad image of Pakistan.

Delayed justice

Mai acknowledged that her story had empowered women in her village and beyond, giving them the courage to stand for their rights.

But she said she held little hope that the legal system in Pakistan would ever deliver her justice.

High costs, heavy delays, the lengthy appeals process and the dangers associated with producing witnesses has had a huge effect on getting justice for rape victims in Pakistan, according to aid workers.

The delays are astounding. It may take five to seven years for a case to finish, Maliha Zia, associate director at Legal Aid Society, told Al Jazeera.

You have to go to court day in, day out and even when youre there, you dont know when your turn will come. In addition, this culture of counterclaims and countercases prolongs the issue even further.

I would like for the people who committed this crime to be identified and come face to face with what they did by Mukhtar Mai

The unequal power system in Pakistan has also had a lot of influence on the fate of rape allegations, argued Zia.

But what it has done is open up a dialogue about the topic. Now, theres less shame in reporting rape. The situation hasnt improved immensely but there are discussions taking place as to how to take it forward.

Mai, meanwhile, doubts the opera will ever be shown in Pakistan, where it would certainly hit a nerve.

I would like it to be shown everywhere, she said. And I would like for the people who committed this crime to be identified and come face to face with what they did.

Zia believes that while there will be mixed feelings were the opera to be shown in Pakistan, it will be a welcome thing for people in Pakistan to watch.

Theres a pro-Mai and anti-Mai camp in Pakistan. Many people feel she shouldnt have publicised it and it damaged Pakistans reputation. Others are saying that it was correct to be reported because its a fact it happened, she said.

While the government has taken ownership of the legislation, I have my reservations about the laws. But weve seen some positive steps and, hopefully, a screening here in Pakistan may be the start of another conversation.

With additional reporting by Faras Ghani: @farasG
Hamas says ISIL claim that three of its fighters attacked Israeli police is false and an attempt to muddy the waters.

Palestinian groups have rejected ISILs claim of responsibility for Fridays attacks in Jerusalem, which left one Israeli police officer killed and resulted in Israeli soldiers killing three Palestinians.

It is the first attack in Israeli-occupied territory claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, known as ISIS) group. But the statement it released on Saturday appeared to have major discrepancies with Fridays events.

Three Palestinians attacked officers at the Damascus Gate in occupied East Jerusalem late on Friday and were killed by Israeli security forces.

Another Palestinian man from Hebron was also injured by Israeli security forces, despite playing no role in the attacks.

READ MORE: How Israel has failed Palestinian victims

Hamas, the Palestinian group that administers the Gaza Strip, dismissed ISILs claim, saying the three attackers had come from among its own ranks, as well as the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman, said the ISIL claim was an attempt to muddy the waters, adding that the attack was carried out by two Palestinians from the PFLP and a third from Hamas, AFP news agency reported.





The killing was a natural response to the crimes of the occupier, he said.

Israels Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three Palestinians as Bara Saleh, born in 1998; Adel Ankoush, born in 1999; and Asama Atta, born in 1998.

All three men were from the village of Deir Abu Mashal, near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

The PFLP said Salah and Atta had recently been released from several months in Israeli prison.

The names differ from those reported by ISIL, which said the attack was carried out by three brothers by the names of Abu al-Baraa al-Maqdisi, Abu Hassan al-Maqdisi, and Abu Rabah al-Maqdisi, AFP reported.

Shoot-to-kill

Since October 2015, about 250 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, with many instances occurring within close range or during protests in occupied territory.

A number of local and international human rights groups have raised concerns that Israeli security forces have employed a shoot-to-kill policy when confronting Palestinians.

The Israeli police relaxed its open-fire regulations in December 2015, permitting officers to fire, with live ammunition, on those suspected of throwing stones or firebombs as an initial option, without having to use non-lethal weapons first.

About 42 Israelis have also been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians since October 2015.

Palestinians say those attacks result from anger over decades of Israeli occupation.
Jeronimo Yanez also cleared of two lesser charges of endangering Castiles girlfriend and her then 4-year-old daughter.

A Minnesota police officer was acquitted of manslaughter on Friday for the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, a black motorist whose girlfriend streamed the aftermath live on Facebook.

Jeronimo Yanez was also cleared of two lesser charges related to the July traffic stop in a St Paul suburb. Jurors deliberated for about 29 hours over five days before reaching the verdict in the death of Castile, 32, who was shot just seconds after informing Yanez that he was carrying a gun.

Yanez, who is Latino, testified that Castile was pulling his gun out of his pocket despite his commands not to do so. The defence also argued Castile was high on cannabis and said that affected his actions.

Castile had a permit for the weapon and prosecutors questioned whether Yanez ever saw it. They argued that the officer overreacted and that Castile was not a threat.

WATCH: Thousands gather in US as Philando Castile laid to rest (1:57)

Castiles shooting was among a string of killings of black people by police around the United States, and the livestreaming of its aftermath by Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, attracted even more attention.

The public outcry included protests in Minnesota that shut down highways and surrounded the governors mansion. Castiles family claimed he was profiled because of his race and the shooting renewed concerns about how police officers interact with minorities.

Minnesota Democratic Governor Mark Dayton also weighed in, saying he did not think the shooting would have happened if Castile had been white.

Castiles family reacted angrily to the verdict. His mother, Valerie Castile, said the police officer got away with murder.

His mother said she is very disappointed in the system here in the state of Minnesota.

READ MORE: Aftermath of US police killing streamed on Facebook

Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines suggest around four years is more likely. He also faced two lesser counts of endangering Castiles girlfriend and her then 4-year-old daughter for firing his gun into the car near them.

The jury began deliberations on Monday, after just five days of testimony, evidence and arguments. Two of the 12-member jury were black. The rest were white.
Foreign ministry says 2011 phone recording pertains to Qatari mediation efforts made with approval of Bahrain officials.

Qatar has rejected accusations of attempting to undermine security in the neighbouring Arab Gulf state of Bahrain.

On Friday, Bahrains official news agency BNA broadcast the recording of a 2011 phone call alleged to have taken place between Hamad bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, an adviser to Qatars emir, and Hassan Ali Joma, a leader of Bahrains opposition Shia al-Wefaq group.

The news agency accused Qatar of meddling in Bahrains internal affairs with the aim of overthrowing the government.





In response, the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement the phone call was part of Qatari efforts to mediate between Bahraini authorities and the opposition in the wake of the 2011 unrest there.

The statement said the contacts had been made with the approval and knowledge of the authorities in Bahrain.

The Qatari mediation has stopped after the decision of military intervention to disperse the protests and sit-ins, the statement said, referring to the decision to send Saudi-led forces to quell the protests.

The ministry described the broadcast of the phone call as a naive attempt to twist the facts and take them out of context.

On June 5, five Arab countries  Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain and Yemen  abruptly cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism.

Qatar, for its part, denied the accusations, calling the moves to isolate it diplomatically unjustified.
The shooting happened after two boats fishing in the Gulf were pushed off course by waves, say Iranian reports.

Saudi coastguard officers have opened fire on Iranian fishing boats in the Gulf, killing a fisherman, according to Iranian media, amid high tensions between the two rival states.

Two Iranian boats that were fishing in the waters of the Persian Gulf were pushed off their course by waves. There was shooting by Saudi border guards  and one Iranian fisherman was killed, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted an interior ministry official as saying about Friday nights incident.

We are pursuing this matter to determine if the Iranian boats had crossed the Saudi border or not, but the action of the Saudis does not comply with humanitarian and navigational principles, said Majid Aqababai, an Iranian border affairs official, according to Tasnim.





The IRINN TV news channel also reported the incident, quoting local sources from Bushehr province.

There was no immediate Saudi reaction.

Relations between the two countries are at their worst in years. Last week Riyadh, along with several other countries, severed ties with Qatar, citing its alleged support for terrorism and of Iran as reasons. Qatar strongly denied the allegations.

Days later, suicide bombings and shootings in Irans capital, Tehran, killed 17 people. After the attack, Shia Muslim Iran repeated accusations that Saudi Arabia funds Sunni fighters, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). Riyadh has denied involvement in the attacks.

Iran and Saudi Arabia accuse each other of subverting regional security. They also support opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. Iran and Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties in 2016.
An 18-year-old from Georgetown was arrested for illegal hunting.

Eugene Clay Myers, of 11309 Highway 58, was charged with hunting without permission, illegal taking of wildlife, deer hunting in a closed season, false reports and tampering with evidence.

A wildlife officer said on April 2 he was contacted that a turkey had been shot without permission on Monger Lane.

A homeowner said he heard a shot, then saw an individual take a turkey from his field. He said the shooter took the turkey to adjacent property on Snow Hill Road, where a white truck was parked.

The officer said he found Myers dressed in camouflage by the truck. He had a shotgun with him.

He acknowledged he had been hunting, but denied he had shot anything. He could not produce a hunting license.

The officer said he used a tracking dog to find evidence that a turkey had been shot. Blood was found on the tailgate of the truck. He said it was from a turkey his friend had shot the day before.

The officer said it was learned through the defendant's cell phone that he had another individual come and pick up the turkey.
Unnamed official says kingdom cannot allow Turkey to build military bases on its territories, SPA news agency reports.

Saudi Arabia has rejected an offer from Turkey to build a military base in the kingdom, saying it cannot allow Ankara to establish such a facility on its territories, according to state-run media.

The official SPA news agency reported on Saturday that the kingdom would not be welcoming a Turkish military base similar to that built in neighbouring Qatar since its armed forces and military capabilities are at the best level.





Quoting an unnamed official, the statement said: Saudi Arabia can not allow Turkey to establish military bases on its territories, before adding that Saudi armed forces were participating abroad, including from Turkeys Incirlik base, in the fight against terrorism and protecting security and stability in the region.

The statement came days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Portuguese broadcaster RTP that he had offered to build a military base in Saudi Arabia shortly after work began on Turkeys facility in Qatar in 2014.

I made the same offer to King Salman  and said that if its appropriate we could also establish a base in Saudi Arabia. They said they would look into it but since that day nothing more came, he said.

Last week, the Turkish parliament fast-tracked a bill allowing the deployment of troops to its military base in Qatar.

ANALYSIS: Why is Turkey deploying troops to Qatar?

Turkey has been leading efforts to defuse a diplomatic fallout in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar on June 5.

They accused Doha of supporting extremists and their regional rival, Iran  charges Qatar has called baseless.

Turkeys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday reiterated the need to resolve the crisis as soon as possible and urged the countries accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism to provide evidence.

Qatar wants to see that, Kuwait, which is mediating, wants this and we too, he said in a statement after holding talks in Saudi Arabia with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Friday.

Cavusoglu said that until now, those leading the accusations against Doha had yet to submit documents or evidence to anyone.

He added that he had explained his countrys vision to resolve the crisis during his visit to Saudi Arabia.

The meeting was positive, AFP news agency reported, quoting diplomatic sources, but there were no specifics.
Five soldiers killed, eight wounded in an attack in northern region, which is frequently attacked by armed fighters.

At least five soldiers have been killed in an attack on an army post in northern Mali, according to the countrys military.

Eight others were also wounded in the attack in Bintagoungou early on Saturday, Colonel Diarran Kone, spokesman for the Malian Army, told the Associated Press news agency.

An Army statement said nine vehicles were destroyed in the attack, which took place around 80km from the historic city of Timbuktu.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

WATCH: Orphans of the Sahara (46:29)

All the camps military material was ransacked, a local official told the AFP news agency.

A resident had earlier said that there were no Malian soldiers to be seen  the camp has been laid waste. The jihadists left with military hostages.

Northern Mali continues to fall prey to attacks by armed groups.

On June 8, at least three UN peacekeepers from Guinea were killed in an assault near their base in Kidal.





The Group to Support Islam and Muslims, a fusion of three armed groups with previous al-Qaeda links that is also known as Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen in Arabic, claimed that attack.

Formed in March and led by Iyad Ag Ghaly, a former leader of the Ansar Dine group, the group has claimed multiple attacks on domestic and foreign forces since its formation, notably the 12,000-member MINUSMA, the UN force in Mali.

MINUSMA began operations in 2013, providing security to and assisting Malian troops in a region which fell to armed groups linked to al-Qaeda in March 2012.

Although a French-led military intervention the following year drove the groups out of key towns, they have since spread further south.

The unrest has continued despite a 2015 peace deal between the government and Tuareg-led rebels offering partial autonomy to the north.

The violence has also prompted five West African countries, known as G5 Sahel, to call for the creation of a regional military force by the end of this year.

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the wave of attacks shows a growing spillover of instability into Malis neighbouring countries, and demonstrated the need for enhanced regional cooperation.
Doha-based network says brief suspension of official account appeared to be caused by an organised campaign.

The Twitter account of Al Jazeeras Arabic channel has been restored after being briefly suspended.

The Doha-based network said Saturdays suspension appeared to be caused by an organised campaign.

The account went offline at around 10am local time (07:00 GMT) and was restored within a few hours.

Engineers at Al Jazeera Arabic who were in communication with Twitter said there was a storm attack of mass reports of the account to Twitter, which forced the algorithm to temporarily suspend the account.

Al Jazeera Arabic Channelss twitter account has been briefly suspended earlier today, the account is once again active, Al Jazeera Media Network said in a statement.

Al Jazeera is investigating the reasons behind the suspension. We would like to assure our viewers that Al Jazeera continues to abide by its professional standards and continues its efforts to reach out to audiences via all possible means.

Twitter did not immediately respond to request for comment.

According to Twitters website, accounts are suspended due to spam, if an accounts security is at risk or if an account is reported as violating [Twitters] rules surrounding abuse.

Al Jazeera was recently the target of coordinated hacking attacks targeting its different platforms.

The developments come as countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt have cut ties with Qatar, where the network is headquartered.
Syrian military announces 48-hour lull in fighting in Syrian city, as diplomats seek to resume stalled talks.

The Syrian military says it has suspended combat operations in the southern city of Deraa for 48 hours, as mediators announced two separate attempts to convene a new round of talks next month.

The Syrian army general command said the ceasefire, effective at 09:00 GMT on Saturday, was being implemented to support reconciliation efforts, according to a statement carried by state news agency SANA.

The announcement came on the same day as the United Nations said it wanted to start a fresh round of talks between Syrian factions on July 10 in Geneva, and Moscow said it hoped to hold discussions in Kazakhstans capital, Astana, on July 4-5.

READ MORE: Syrias civil war explained from the beginning

Since a resumption of negotiations last year, there have been multiple rounds brokered by the UN in Geneva between representatives of Syrian rebels and the government of President Bashar al-Assad, resulting in scant progress.

Another track of talks brokered by Russia  a key Assad ally  has also been happening in Astana, Kazakhstan, since January.

In an emailed statement, the office of Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, said he wished to convene a seventh round of Geneva talks in July and further rounds in August and September, reported Reuters news agency.

The United States welcomed the truce announcement and called on the Syrian government to live up to its ceasefire commitments.

We will judge this initiative by the results not the words, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

She urged Syrian opposition groups to halt attacks to allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need.

Pause in hostilities

In more than six years, the Syrian conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven more than 11 million from their homes.

In May, Iran, Russia and Turkey brokered a deal in Astana to create four de-escalation zones in Syria.

Violence levels have been vastly reduced in those proposed de-escalation areas, but fighting has continued in major front-line areas, including in Deraa.

The Syrian army and Iran-backed militia forces have stepped up attacks against a rebel-held part of Deraa in recent weeks, in a possible prelude to a large-scale campaign to gain full control.





De Mistura said this week a new round of talks would depend on the progress made in setting up the de-escalation zones.

The US and Russia have been holding talks in Jordan on creating a separate de-escalation zone in southwestern Syria that would include Deraa province, on the border with Jordan, and Quneitra, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Jordans government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said on Saturday he hoped all parties would abide by the ceasefire, which was important for those in need of humanitarian aid, Jordans state news agency Petra reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor said the level of violence in Deraa had fallen seven hours after Saturdays ceasefire was due to take effect. Yet, the SOHR and rebels said there was some bombardment for the first couple of hours.

The SOHR said there was a cautious calm by 7pm local time (16:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Statement by Pakistani reporter says he was held with his cameraman while covering a visit by Turkeys foreign minister.

Saudi Arabia detained a Pakistani journalist and his Turkish cameraman working for Turkeys state-run English language television channel for some 10 hours on Friday, according to a statement by reporter Hasan Abdullah.

TRTs Abdullah and cameraman Nihat Yayman were in Saudi Arabia to cover a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who held talks with Saudi King Salman as part of mediation efforts to defuse an ongoing diplomatic crisis between a Saudi-led group of countries and Qatar.

The two TRT workers were detained by Saudi authorities at their hotel in Mecca after a live television appearance, and were asked questions about the Gulf crisis, Abdullahs statement said.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  All the latest updates

They were later released after Cavusoglu personally intervened with the Saudi king, it added.

We had been there with official Special Visa to cover the Turkey-Saudi meeting. The ordeal lasted nearly 10 hours during which we faced multiple interrogations and lock-up, the statement said.

The pair are now heading back to Turkey.

There was no immediate response from Saudi authorities.

Mediation efforts

Cavusoglu was in Saudi Arabia to hold talks aimed at easing a major diplomatic rift, after the kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and a number of other countries severed diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar last week, accusing it of supporting armed groups and Iran. Qatar rejects the accusations.

Riyadh also shut its border with Qatar, the emirates only land frontier. In addition, the three Gulf counties closed their airspace to Qatari flights, causing disruptions for a country that is heavily dependent on imports.

Turkey  which regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf, but is also eager to maintain its improving relations with the key regional power Saudi Arabia  has been trying to act as a mediator between the two sides.

It has strongly backed Qatar in the crisis and called on Riyadh to take a lead role in resolving the issue.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Cavusoglu also visited Qatar and Kuwait earlier this week.
Anger is rising against British authorities over safety failings and a widely perceived slow release of information.

Fifty-eight people who were in Londons Grenfell Tower are still missing and are presumed to be dead, UK police announced on Saturday, raising the death toll in an inferno earlier this week that turned the public housing block into a charred ruin.

Police Commander Stuart Cundy said the latest number, which was based on reports from the public, may rise and includes the 30 deaths that have already been confirmed after Wednesdays blaze at the west London 24-storey building. He said it will take weeks or longer to recover and identify all the dead.





Sadly, at this time there are 58 people who we have been told were in the Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing, and therefore sadly, I have to assume that they are dead, he said.

Cundy said there may have been other people in the tower that police are not aware of, which would add to the final death toll. He asked anyone who was in the tower and survived to contact police immediately.

The first victim has been formally identified as 23-year-old Mohammed Alhajali, a Syrian refugee who lived in Grenfell Tower.

Police say the harrowing search for remains had been paused on Friday because of safety concerns at the blacked tower but has now resumed, with emergency workers reaching the top of the tower.

The identification of the victims is proving very difficult  which experts attribute to the extreme heat of the fire. British health authorities say that 19 fire survivors are still being treated at London hospitals, and 10 of them remain in critical condition.

Cundy said police will investigate the towers refurbishment project, which experts believe may have left the building in the North Kensington area more vulnerable to a catastrophic blaze.

Rising anger

The government has promised a full public inquiry, but that has done little to a sense of frustration and anger among residents and neighbours who demand answers for how the blaze spread so quickly and trapped so many of the towers roughly 600 residents.

Some Grenfell Tower residents had warned months ago fire safety issues at the building meant that it was at risk of a catastrophic event.

They say their complaints were ignored  and fear it was because the tower housed mainly poor people in an extremely wealthy neighbourhood.

British media have reported that contractors installed a cheaper, less flame-resistant type of exterior panelling on the tower in a renovation that was completed just last year.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, facing criticism for the governments handling of the disaster, on Saturday met a small group of fire survivors at her official residence at 10 Downing Street.

The meeting is unlikely to quell complaints that May has been slow to reach out to victims, despite her announcement of a $6.4m emergency fund to help the displaced families. May was jeered on Friday after she visited the affected community.

READ MORE: Grenfell fire  Protests, anger as death toll rises

Al Jazeeras Sonia Gallego, reporting from west London, said there has been a lot of distress in the area at the slow release of information and the perceived lacklustre response by the authorities.

There is also a lot of anger and frustration at the lack of any kind of presence here of the local council. The local community really has been spearheading a lot of the support here to try to give those affected by the fire food, water and shelter, she said.

The tragedy has provoked a huge response from nearby communities. More than three million pounds ($3.8m) have been raised for the affected families.

Hundreds have been left homeless by the blaze, putting more pressure on officials in a city plagued by a chronic housing shortage. Many of the displaced are living in churches and community centres.





So far, 109 families have been given temporary accommodation by in hotels within the local area, Gallego said.

But it is still not 100 percent certain if they will be [permanently] re-housed in the borough. That is very controversial here, as it is a place that people have made their homes, have families, and have networks, she added.

Scuffles broke out near the Kensington and Chelsea town hall offices on Friday as demonstrators chanting We want justice! surged towards the doors.

Engineering experts and fire safety specialists believe the buildings exterior cladding may have quickly fuelled the blaze, overwhelming fire protection devices. British officials have ordered a review of other buildings that have had similar renovations.

The use of flammable cladding in tall buildings is banned in some countries, including the United States and Germany. Grenfell residents also claimed that newly installed gas pipes running up the inside of the building were not boxed in with fire-retardant covers, and there was no sprinkler system.

Ronnie King, the UKs former chief fire officer, told Al Jazeera: I wouldnt wish to denigrate those who installed the cladding because  whatever the cladding was  it did not have to be fire resistant under the building regulations, said King.

We were seeking a change to the building regulations for that very purpose.

King also said that there are around 4,000 tower blocks in the UK without automatic fire sprinkler protection systems in place.

Weve long been advocates of automatic fire sprinkler protection in tall tower blocks and they work  people dont die in sprinkler buildings, he said.

Two Underground lines near the fire area were partially shut down on Saturday to make sure that debris did not land on the tracks.
As Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain criminalise sympathy with Qatar, what will be the long-term effect of these laws?

A violation of freedom of expression  thats what Human Rights Watch has called the crackdown by three Gulf countries against people who criticise them on social media.

It is the rulers who decide who is your friend and who is your foe. The Qataris were our brothers until our rulers decided they were no longer our brothers. We are treated as non-entities. We are pawns used according to the taste or whim of the ruler. It is a very, very sad situation. by Saeed al-Shehabi, Bahraini activist and leader of the Bahrain Free Movement

Bahrain has jailed one of its citizens for comments made on social media after it passed a controversial law criminalising sympathy with Qatar, while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have threatened similar punishments as the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf worsens.

Together with Egypt, the four countries severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 and imposed a land, sea and air blockade.

Qatars National Human Rights Committee says since then, more than 13,000 citizens from the three Gulf countries living in Qatar have been affected, with the rights group receiving 155 complaints from mixed families separated by the travel ban.

The committee also says its received reports of at least 764 human rights violations.

So whats the human cost of the blockade against Qatar? And what will be the long-term effect?

Presenter: Jane Dutton

Guests:

Saeed al-Shehabi  Bahraini activist and leader of the Bahrain Free Movement

Khalil Jahshan  executive director of the Arab Center of Washington

Saad Djebbar  international lawyer
Testing times as police raid Indias liberal NDTV station. Plus, the media wars between Russia and Belarus.

On The Listening Post this week: Testing times as police raid Indias liberal NDTV station. Plus, the media wars between Russia and Belarus.

Indias NDTV Raided: Politics, patriotism and the press

No country has more TV news channels than India. And one of them says its under political attack for criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modis government.

When Indias NDTV network was raided on June 5, government officials said it was part of a financial investigation, but the channels directors called it a thinly disguised witch-hunt, an attack on press freedom orchestrated by Modis BJP party.

Contributors:

Anuradha Dutt, lawyer, NDTV

Madhu Trehan, editor, Newslaundry

Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor, The Wire

Mrinal Pande, chairperson, The Media Foundation

R Jagannathan, editorial director, Swarajya magazine

On our radar:

 In Egypt, as many as 64 news websites have been blocked, including some of the countrys few remaining critical outlets.

 As the diplomatic rift in the Gulf deepens, the state of Qatar and the media outlets it sponsors, including Al Jazeera, continue to be targeted by GCC and other Arab countries  actions that Human Rights Watch has called a blow to free speech. Israel also appears to be backing the GCC blockade against Qatar and Al Jazeera.

 Chelsea Manning, the American soldier responsible for the biggest leak of classified documents in US history, has spoken out for the first time since leaving prison.

Russia and Belarus: Media battles

The Russian state-controlled media has its usual Western targets. But occasionally, it sets its sights on its neighbour Belarus.

Minsk and Moscow have been allies for years, but a recent spat over energy subsidies and Russias campaign in Ukraine have made relations fragile.

The two countries have made peace for now, but the Kremlins media machine has become increasingly uncomfortable for Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, not least because of its significant influence over the Belarusian media landscape.

Contributors:

Dzianis Melyantsou, senior analyst, Belarus Institute of Strategic Studies

Amy MacKinnon, senior editor, Coda Story

Michal Janczuk, former Minsk bureau chief, Belsat TV

Andrei Bastunets, head, Belarusian Association of Journalists
Dr Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility which follows on the success of Nobody: Casualties of Americas War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
Where are they? Where are the posts by those who almost daily blast President Trump calling him an illegitimate president and a traitor? Where are their posts denouncing this recent attack on a member of Congress? Where is their rejection of a "play" in Central Park depicting a character representing President Trump being stabbed to death in a parody of the death of Julius Caesar?



Where is the man obsessed by the Tea Party who boasts that he is "a real American" or the man "who fears for America" presumably because Trump won? Where are their denunciations of this bloody attack, the reprehensible rhetoric, the Portland anarchist riots, the stabbing parody or Kathy Griffin's deranged photo?



Do they not see the Left is just normalizing violence by people against government officials they don't like or even despise? I can't imagine their outrage if this hate was directed toward Mrs. Clinton. I remember their posts attacking unidentified Tea Party members for supposedly spitting or taunting. And they were quick to assign motives. But where are they now?



CNN posted some very nasty rants against "Mr Trump & Company" on this Bernie Sanders campaign worker's Facebook page and now CNN reports he had a hit list of Republicans. Actually it was a kill list. So when are the people who call Republicans and conservatives witless, racists and bigots going to see they might be contributing to an atmosphere of violence?



When one finally does get around to making a comment it will most likely be a lecture on the need for gun control or how disturbed this man was.



Ralph Miller

* * *

"There is no difference between these two groups - ISIS and Liberals."







Courtesy of Chattanooga Tea Party Facebook Page. Posted June 16, 2017.

Melissa Cantrell

Signal Mountain

* * *

Thank you, Mr. Miller, for your post. Hopefully they are in classes learning respect and how to become gracious in defeat. They, along with main street media, have stooped to all time lows and doubtfully will they ever gain respect in their reporting or talk. They are destroying this country from within and are doing more damage to their party then they can begin to realize. If they continue on this same path I fear the day will come when the right decides they have had enough and take control of the situation just as these 63 million people put our great President Trump in office.

For the most part the right is an extremely patient and non violent bunch. However if you continue to back a dog up in the corner sooner or later he is going to come out fighting.

Never was I a fan of Obama but he was our president and he garnered respect and support from the majority of the right for eight years. I didnt block streets in protest, hold a head depicting decapitation, staged a play killing him, etc., etc. I didnt like him but at least I had enough respect for our country to avoid violent protesting with hate filled passion.

Time for the right to take control of their violent people and put them in place. Then maybe they can gain my respect someday as a party of intelligent people with different views then mine. I can respect them for their views even though I disagree and can do this with class, not violence. I was raised a hard core Democrat in the 60s and 70s and we never acted like they do now. Eventually I became independent and voted for those I liked the best because of their views. Now Im pretty much a solid Republican and support their agenda 99 percent.

Keep on draining the swamp, President Trump.

Michael Mansfield
Between stern talks, moments of relief and poking fun at Gov. Rick Scott, the Graduate Assistants United labor union and a UF bargaining team made progress on their monthslong negotiations Thursday.

Chief among them was adding gender identity to the contracts list of protected statuses against workplace discrimination, said Charles Shields, GAUs communications chair.

It was not mentioned at all in the original (contract), Shields said. Now its in there. Now its a protected class.

Shields, 30, said gender identity workplace protections were in place before through UFs Human Resources Employee Handbook

However, they were not held in a binding contract for graduate assistants  UFs nearly 4,000 graduate-student employees including research assistants and teaching assistants.

Those policies can change, and theyre not necessarily governed by a contract. Shields said, referring to the handbooks policies. This just strengthens that protection by getting this in the contract.

GAUs 11 members and the UFs four representatives  UFs chief bargainer, Bill Connellan; the senior associate dean of the Graduate School, Paul Duncan; the employee relations director, Brook Mercier; and assistant Kim Bagley  also discussed health care, intellectual property and briefly touched on stipend complications during their nearly two-hourlong negotiations.

GAU Bargaining Chair Bobby Mermer urged for an agreement on financing Summer health insurance for grad assistants who graduate in Spring.

The problem is that people transitioning from being graduate assistants into faculty or into other jobs  that usually doesnt happen (instantly), Mermer told the four administrators during the meeting. We dont want a gap in coverage.

Connellan responded by saying the health insurance move would cost UF, and theyd have to discuss it further during their next meeting Monday.

Both GAU and UF also hoped to reach an agreement on stipend increases Thursday, the most controversial issue left, Shields said.

The minimum stipend is an annual $15,000 salary for a graduate assistant working 20 hours a week. However, Shields said many live in what is essentially poverty because they work closer to 10 hours a week, making their annual stipend about $7,500.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now

At the meeting, Connellan told Mermer and the other 10 GAU representatives that negotiations on stipends would have to be put on hold because of actions in Tallahassee.

The Governor in his infinite wisdom yesterday vetoed the higher ed bill, Connellan said sarcastically. Were trying to understand what implications this has for us.

On Wednesday, Scott vetoed higher education bill SB 374, which outlined permanent boosts to the Bright Futures program. Scott said he felt the bill would impede progress at Floridas 28 community colleges at the expense of universities, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Connellan told GAU hed need to wait until at least Monday to figure out whether Scotts veto would have an effect on the amount of money UF is able to offer graduate assistants.

We dont know how it affects us, he said. People are working on it right now to figure out what it is.

For GAU members Alec Dinnin and John Hames, the stipend issue is vital.

At the end of the day, its about putting food on the table, said Dinnen, a 28-year-old UF political science doctoral candidate and former GAU co-president. We dont make a lot of money  at least most of us dont  so the raises that were able to agree to are going to probably be the most significant thing to come.

Hames, a 35-year-old former GAU chief negotiator, said the stipend issue comes down to fairness for graduate students.

We do a significant amount of the work and the research and teaching that makes this university what it is, said Hames, who will graduate in August with a doctoral degree in anthropology.

Hames said since 2014, the across-the-board stipend raise packages from UF have steadily declined. He said when you look comprehensively at the fees, low stipends and rising costs of health care in certain areas, it becomes clear the fee issue has not been addressed in a fundamental way.

President Fuchs is partly evaluated based on how successful he is at raising stipends for graduate assistants, he said. If you look at the record over the last couple of years, its mixed at best.

The current contract between GAU and UF expires June 30, and they have until then or early July to finish negotiations, according to Alligator archives.

So far, theyve reached tentative agreements on 19 articles of the contracts total 26, Shields said. Once theyve reached agreements on all 26, GAU will host a referendum for graduate assistants to vote and approve the new GAU-UF contract, which will last through July 2020.

Were gonna fight for a good stipend raise, Hames said. The university really needs to step up.

Alec Dinnin, a former co-president of the Graduate Assistants United labor union, prepared a basket outside Tigert Hall filled with items graduate students can't afford because of university fees on Nov. 19, 2015. Dunnin, a 28-year-old political science doctoral candidate, said GAU wanted to make fees real and visible in a creative way.
World Refugee Day is marked each year on 20 June to honour the courage and resilience of families forced to flee war, violence or persecution. This year the Department of Home Affairs and UNHCR will commemorate World Refugee Day in eThekwini Municipality to promote social cohesion, tolerance and peaceful co-existence among refugees, asylum-seekers and host []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
Defence cooperation between the UK and Ghana remains an important part of the British High Commissions activity in country. On 17 May, a team from the UKs 7th Infantry Brigade (The Desert Rats) arrived in Ghana eager to participate in Ex UNITED ACCORD. This was an excellent opportunity for the UK military team, drawn from []Source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is examining a false threat that a dirty bomb was on the Maersk Memphis at the Port of Charlestons Wando Welch terminal, according to a report from Reuters news service.



The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is examining a false threat that a dirty bomb was on a containership at the Port of Charlestons Wando Welch Terminal, Reuters reported.

The terminal was shut down Wednesday night and reopened early Thursday morning after law enforcement officials completed a scan of the U.S.-flag containership, Maersk Memphis.

The 6,478-TEU containership arrived at the Port of Charleston at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, and about half an hour later, authorities were made aware of the potential threat and evacuated the terminal.

The FBI launched the investigation because it is a crime to make a false threat against a U.S.-flagged ship, said Donald Wood, a spokesperson for the bureau in Columbia, S.C., according to Reuters.

Thursday morning, the port resumed normal operations with minimal impacts to our operations from the incident, Erin Dhand, South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) manager, corporate communications and community affairs told American Shipper. Only one shift was missed, and that work was made up within the day with the support of the ILA 1422 and 1771, stevedores, maritime community and SCPA operations team.

By Thursday afternoon, the Maersk Memphis had left Charleston and set sail for Savannah, Ga.

According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the Maersk Memphis is deployed on Maersk Lines MECL loop, which has a rotation of Houston, Savannah, Norfolk, New York, Algeciras, Port Said, Djibouti, Salalah, Dubai, Port Qasim, Pipavav, Mumbai, Salalah, Algeciras, New York, Charleston, Savannah and Houston. The MECL deploys 11 vessels with an average capacity of 6,386 TEUs.


Pop the champagne corks, set off the fireworks, former FBI Director, James Comey nixed the "Russian collusion." In his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey cleared President Trump of all charges  no collusion, no conspiracy, no investigation, no there there.

Yay! It's over. The Russian conspiracy nonsense is finally debunked. Whew!

Does anyone else see the insanity here  that we celebrate when the president is cleared of phony charges, that we breathe a sigh of relief when the fired FBI director fails to establish an obstruction of justice charge?

Does anyone wonder why we anxiously watch each inane congressional hearing to see if the left gets the goods to pull off its coup, why we wake up each morning terrified that the insurgents have hit their mark, found something, anything they can use to depose a duly elected president?

We are watching, in real-time, a palace revolution, an overt effort to remove the president of the United States. Just as James Comey proudly admitted he leaked privileged communication to the press, so these insurgents brazenly brag that they want to harm the president, to impeach him, to overthrow our government. The American people seem shockingly oblivious to the looming danger.

How did we get here? Well, let's give credit where credit's due: the left has its ducks in a row. Leftists are carrying out a carefully planned, well executed plot to take control of our government.

Oh, it's not soldiers bursting through the White House gates to forcefully remove the president, or, as the left says, not yet. No, they're using a form of behavior therapy, systematic desensitization, to numb the American people to their insurgence.

Systematic desensitization is a technique used to treat phobias. The patient, while relaxed, is exposed to progressively more frightening aspects of his phobia. For instance, treatment for arachnophobia, fear of spiders, might start by showing the phobic an image of a spider. The patient employs relaxation techniques while exposed to the image until he overcomes his anxiety. Next, a real spider may be introduced, far away, in a cage. After the person accepts that exposure, the spider is taken out of the cage and moved closer and closer until the patient is able to hold a live spider in his hand.

Congress, corporate and social media, activist courts, and a contingent in our intelligence community unite to form a cabal (a conspiratorial group of plotters). This cabal uses this desensitization technique to condition us to overcome our fear of losing our freedom, of a disappearing democracy.

Using this technique, the cabal does something wrong, illegal, or unconstitutional  behavior that's a threat to our republic.

 Benghazi  Obama and his administration to the American people that a video caused the horrific massacre. President and allies openly engage in cover-up.

 FBI investigation on Hillary Clinton  Comey announces Hillary's guilty on all counts, then the judgment, and she walks. A two-tier justice system; Hillary's above the law.

 CNN caught giving to Hillary Clinton. Democrats rig debates. Democrats cheat Bernie Sanders out of the nomination. Democrats rig elections.

These are just a few of the unacceptable transgressions by our corrupt leaders. Each time, outraged conservatives demand that the perpetrators be brought to justice. Each time, the press gaslights the American people with a media blackout, acts as though the incident never happened. Each time, the cabal rides out the news cycle until the story fades, and everyone's home free.

Time and again, the deception, lawlessness, violation of the Constitution, or open act of sedition is met with disbelief. This is banana republic stuff; these things don't happen in America. The people look to our system of checks and balances to restore order.

Except the only checks the members of Congress care about are the ones from their donors, and some in Congress are actually members in good standing with the cabal. But the courts will intervene, right? Nope  the courts are no longer confined to interpreting the law. They now make the law  not a reprieve, but another hurdle.

Oh, and our media, that last bastion of democracy  they're actually facilitating the coup. They ignore the transgressions, excuse them, or explain them until our anxiety wanes and we learn to live with treason. Then it's on to the next level, the spider moving ever closer.

Conservatives sidestep the seriousness of this open rebellion. National media waging a campaign to usurp our president is not bad journalism; its sedition:

To write, print, utter or publish, or cause it to be done, or assist in it, any false, scandalous, and malicious writing against the government of the United States, or either House of Congress, or the President, with intent to defame, or bring either into contempt or disrepute, or to excite against either the hatred of the people of the United States, or to stir up sedition.

Wow  that's like the media's playbook, right? Well, there are some who see the problem. Freedom Watch's Larry Klayman is demanding regulatory enforcement action against CNN for "a persistent campaign of dangerous, incendiary, false, and libelous propaganda against now President Trump." It's a start.

The media's role in this conspiracy is why their effusive praise for the newly appointed special prosecutor of nonexistent crimes, Comey's BFF and mentor, Robert Mueller, is a red flag. The dichotomy of a prosecutor without a crime to prosecute is troubling. Questions abound. What's his mission? How will he prosecute if his friend, Comey, is implicated? Or maybe we're just being paranoid, overly dramatic. Or maybe it's the next level, the spider within reach.

What's next? Will this cabal one day walk into the Oval Office and escort the president out, to prison, to execution? Ridiculous, you say. This is America.

Really? Is it America when national media poison the people against their president, stir sedition, and advocate an overthrow? Is it America when nearly all news outlets publish lies and fake news to indict the president?

Is it America when Democrats "resist" and "obstruct" our government with the stated intention of weakening the president, making him an easier target; when courts establish authority over our commander-in-chief on foreign policy; when our intelligence communities use their superpowers to spy on the American people with impunity?

Is it America when the left invents a story, Russian collusion, and every branch of our government advances the lie, when the media join forces to turn news channels into indoctrination centers to smear the president, to prop up the Russian fiction?

Even if the Russian contrivance falls through, these rebels will keep the ground they've taken, and it's significant. They've recruited a sizable number to their cause with their lies, fake scandals, and Hitler-style indoctrination. They've normalized lawlessness and deception, rigged investigations, erected a two-tiered justice system, rigged debates, rigged elections, and instituted a national campaign to usurp the president. Seriously, what's left?

They could still pull the Russian thing off. After all, the only steps we're taking to stop this coup d'etat is to whine about witch hunts, call them sore losers, left-wing media, and spineless Republicans. But in the end, that's like complaining that the guy slashing you to death is using a dull knife.

Lies and fake news are the norm these days, the once unthinkable and now the expected. This cabal is a powerful alliance. If we don't stop them, if we continue to allow this open treason, they'll eventually reach their goal, and there will be no way back.

Ronald Reagan warned: "You and I have the courage to say to our enemies, 'There is a price we will not pay.' 'There is a point beyond which they must not advance.'"

I pray he's right. Their price is our freedom, their next stop tyranny. And they're moving ever closer.
The Senate Republicans had the good sense to vote through the nomination of Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court justice with a simple majority, instead of a 60-vote majority required to overcome a filibuster. Now its time for Republicans to abandon the filibuster protocol altogether and adopt a simple majority to advance and pass legislation. They need to do this not because President Trump has encouraged it, but rather because the Democratic Party is now an obstructionist party -- a lawless extra-constitutional party that is committed to sabotaging President Trump and his economic growth initiatives. Democrats now appear more comfortable embracing the George Soros-funded hate America crowd of the left than they are inclined to find any common ground with Republicans. And there is little or no prospect of that changing any time soon.

The Democratic Party is also joined at the hip with the mainstream media and its 24/7 obsession with drama over substance to denigrate President Trump and paralyze his administration. And so far, it appears to be working. Exhibit A is the slow pace of legislation, and Exhibit B is the slow confirmation of nominees in the Senate -- impairing effective government due to unprecedented high levels of vacancies of key deputy and assistant level appointments at this stage of a new administration.

Republicans simply have to get their act together if they are serious about retaining control of Congress. The American people voted for change in 2016, and the only way voters can judge whether or not the country is moving in the right direction is by passing legislation that implements the public policies on which Donald Trump and the Republicans campaigned. And with the U.S. federal debt clock about to hit the $20 trillion milestone, there is no time to lose.

The worlds biggest debtor is the U.S. government, which borrowed to finance deficits averaging $913 billion annually during the Obama years. To put that in perspective, during all the years prior to Obama, the highest single year U.S. deficit was $459 billion, about half of the annual average deficit during the eight years of Obama rule. And in those eight years of Obama, the amount of new debt created by Uncle Sams Treasury almost equaled all the debt created by the prior 43 administrations over 226 years combined.

Although Washington may be in denial, this trajectory is unsustainable, with compounding of debt service costs resulting in a Ponzi-like collapse. And barring reductions in entitlement spending, which has consistently proven to be the third rail of politics, the only solution to avoid the national catastrophe of insolvency and economic collapse is to ramp up economic growth and the tax revenues that follow.

There is always a lag factor when new policies are implemented. So even if sweeping tax reduction and simplification are passed in the first year of the Trump administration along with regulatory relief measures, there will be delay in the resulting economic boom and increased tax receipts, which suggests high deficits will continue through much of fiscal year 2018. Fiscal year 2019 begins two months before the next election, and positive trends on tax receipts and shrinking deficits by that time is likely to be a key causal factor in retaining Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell recently said, There wasnt a single senator in the majority who thinks we ought to change the legislative filibuster not one. Such a statement brings into full relief just how out of touch Republicans in Washington really are.

Real leadership is doing what is necessary to save the country from the abyss of financial collapse. The most important priority now is delivering on economic growth by assuring timely passage of major tax and regulatory reduction and simplification legislation.

If patriotism is an insufficient motivator for Senator McConnell to lead his colleagues to dispense with the filibuster protocol in order to assure key economic growth legislation gets passed expediently, he needs to be reminded that either financial collapse or the loss of an historic Congressional majority in 2018 will be the legacy for which hell be forever remembered.

Scott S. Powell is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle. Reach him at scottp@discovery.org
One of the mainstay courses at the recently newsworthy Evergreen State College is an all-year course entitled The Human Condition. This 36-credit course has its inspiration from a book of the same name written by Hannah Arendt (1906-75). Arendt was an assimilated German Jewess student in the Weimar Republic before the rise of National Socialism. In the 1930s she was forced to move around Europe before finally leaving for America in 1941 as World War II initially exploded in Germanys favor. Considered one of the most important social theorists of the 20th century, much of Arendts worldview was absorbed from German existentialism that was presaged by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), but essentially rooted in the writings of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), and Karl Jaspers (1883-1969).

While Kant himself often blew a gasket when he started to talk about Jews in his lectures, both Schopenhauer and Nietzsche were proto-Nazis of sorts. Schopenhauer and Nietzsche were the Fuhrers favorite philosophers. The Nazi cult of the Triumph of the Will was extolled in honor of these two philosophers. Heidegger himself was an actual Nazi who never repented of his fascist activities during the 1930s. In fact, Heidegger positioned himself to become the interpreter of Nietzsche for National Socialist consumption that continued until late in the war. More telling, Heidegger was a vehement anti-Semite. Jaspers was initially naive of the true face of National Socialism in the early 1930s, but soon got educated. He eventually lost his professorship in 1937 due to a fascist gauntlet that enveloped him. He was married to a Jewess.

While there is no small disagreement among scholars over how subjective Kants philosophy actually was relative to the question of whether objective truth was humanly attainable this side of the grave, it cannot be denied that many German thinkers after him immersed themselves in subjectivist philosophies of what today are otherwise known as Romanticism and Existentialism. Both Romanticism and Existentialism highlighted a romance with nature together with an emphasis that esteemed earthly existence over the human mind and/or the Judeo-Christian worldview that described a heavenly realm far above the natural world. Both Romanticism and Existentialism valued subjectivity over objectivity, the subject over the object, existence over abstract categories, nature over theology or philosophy, naturalness over the civilized, authenticity over the artificial, spontaneity over mindful preparedness, real life experience over doctrine, matter over mind, activity over contemplation, intuition over reason, willpower over thought, instincts over rationalism, and holism over what was considered divisive rational analysis. What was desirous of Romanticism and Existentialism was the whole of life, not just intellectualism.

With medieval dogmatism, religious legalism, and scientific determinism that viewed both man and nature as a machine, what was needed was a re-enchantment of life itself for people to recover life indeed  romantically and existentially appreciated, and not just rationally analyzed. It was this German-based existentialism that captivated Hannah Arendt during the bloom of her youth. Her 1971 book on The Life of the Mind is a tribute to the legacy of this German escapade that grew up side by side with Kants secularist philosophy that dominated continental European thought throughout the 1800s and early 1900s.

One of the most conspicuous existential truths of the 20th century is how young Hannah Arendt had a torrid affair with her teacher Martin Heidegger in the mid-1920s. The fallout of this adulterous relationship has yet to be sorted out in the postmodern academic Western world that they essentially established together after the war. While the affair came to an end, and Arendt was later shocked by Heideggers Nazi passions, like so many lovers quarrels that are so existentially rooted in the ups and downs of everyday emotions, she reconciled with him after the war. Arendt even became Heideggers apologist by downplaying his earlier Nazi commitments as an aberrant misjudgment of weakness that had nothing to do with his philosophy. In so doing, Arendt managed to rehabilitate Heidegger back into Western academia. According to Dr. Richard Wolin, Arendt essentially became Heideggers de facto American literary agent, diligently overseeing contracts and translations of his books. This allowed Heideggers brand of Nazi existentialism to seep back into western philosophy and leftist political, historical, and literary circles that laid the cornerstone for what today is called Postmodernism.

While Heidegger himself resisted being called an existentialist, he is certainly the father of Postmodernism. What is meant by Postmodernism is very difficult to express. First, Postmodernism is a form of existentialism. This by itself makes it very difficult to define because under existentialism, the application and power of rationalism and reason is greatly diminished. Ready-made designations, classifications, and descriptions are thus very hard to come by.

After the war, Heideggers writings became more opaque, which managed to disguise his Nazism. In so doing, Heideggers racism and anti-Semitism were replaced with anti-humanism, which should by no means be understood as any kind of progress, but a deepening of all the problems connected to his existentialism. Thanks to Heidegger, much of postmodern Western philosophy is deeply committed to various forms of anti-humanism, particularly with regard to the misanthropy of environmentalism. By overvaluing all of life, whether that be nature itself, or even by overemphasizing the willpower, passions, and instincts of human behavior rather than a thoughtful morality, Romanticism and Existentialism invariably opened the door to amoral anti-humanism where the laws of the jungle ultimately prevail -- as was particularly the case with regard to National Socialism.

Closely related, it was Arendt who gave to the Western world the banality of evil thesis concerning the Holocaust while writing on Nazi SS official Adolf Eichmanns (1906-1962) trial for The New Yorker. Published in February of 1963, Arendt used Raul Hilbergs detailed historical account, which focused on the German bureaucracy that administratively carried out the destruction of the Jews step by step. However, Arendt added her own existentialist kink to Holocaust interpretation by accentuating the bureaucratic everydayness of Eichmanns evil. According to Arendt, Eichmann was a cog in a vast bureaucratic machine in which monstrous evil become monotonously banal. Thus, crimes without conscience became an existential routine during the war.

What somehow escapes Arendt is that such everyday existentialism is precisely what the German academy had been breeding in the hearts and minds of Germans for quite some time before the advent of National Socialism. Arendt herself was steeped in it. As such, she unwittingly gave an existentialist interpretation of the Holocaust -- an existentialism that was just as much of part of the problem with regard to the Holocaust as was Nazi Social Darwinism and scientific racial hygiene. Both complemented one another into an explosive holistic synthesis -- the syncretistic mixture of which blew up all of Europe.

In the Deconstruction of Literature: Criticism after Auschwitz, Dr. David Hirsch warns, It is misleading to disengage contemporary anti-humanism from Nazi dehumanization, for they share (the same) philosophical and cultural origins. Hirsch has thus strongly argued that postmodernism should best be understood as post-Auschwitz. In short, postmodernism is existentialism after Auschwitz. Much more disturbing, according to Hirsch, the goal of postmodernism is to deconstruct the sober truth that the European academy, particularly in Germany, actually fed the intellectual beast which led to the Holocaust. Neither Europe nor the North American leftist academy have come to grips with the fact that the 20th century was a socialist slaughterhouse of epic proportions. Postmodernism thus moved in to save secular Europe from confronting its own intellectual catastrophe in the face of the apocalyptic abyss of World War.

Thanks to her own existentialism, Arendt never noticed Heideggers fascism that he taught her in the 1920s. Neither did Arendt ever acknowledge that her own educational background was deep-rooted in the exact same training that led to the destruction of her own people. Such was one of the banal dangers of being an assimilated Jew in Weimar Germany.

Existentialism does not enlighten about real life. It only obfuscates. This is the semi-fascist human condition that besets the postmodern academy in the West these days, particularly now at Evergreen State College, with no small thanks to the adulterous affair between Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger. Much of the dumbing down and mindlessness that is now at the heart of the modern university is rooted in existentialist philosophies of continental Europe, with the lions share of it imported particularly from Germany. Indeed, with regard to Jean Paul Sartres Existentialism (1905-80), Heidegger once quipped, When the French want to think they have to think in German.

Mark Musser is a part-time pastor, author, missionary, and a farmer who lives in Olympia, Washington. He is a contributing writer for the Cornwall Alliance. His book Nazi Oaks provides a sobering history lesson on the philosophical foundations of the early German green movement, which was absorbed by National Socialism in the 1930s that proved to be a powerful undercurrent during the Holocaust. Mark is also the author of Wrath or Rest, which is a commentary on the warning passages found in the epistle to the Hebrews.
In the week since twin terrorist attacks in Tehran left 17 people dead, Iran has arrested almost 50 people and pledged to crush domestic terrorist cells. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings and gun attacks, the first IS-led attacks inside the otherwise tightly controlled Shiite Iran. In the aftermath of the attacks, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directly pointed the finger at both Saudi Arabia and the United States. The Iranians called the U.S. response repugnant because President Trump drew attention to Irans funding of terrorism across the Middle East.

The IRGCs name calling and finger pointing, though, cant hide the one key takeaway of the Tehran attacks -- where it once thought itself impervious to terrorism, Iran is now paying the price for funding and supporting the Assad regime at home.

More importantly, the incident represents much more than an isolated security breach in Irans fight against Sunni militants in the region. If the attack helps embolden those who oppose Irans Syrian intervention in the halls of power in Tehran, it could be the catalyst for Assads grip on power finally slipping.

Irans role in the Syrian conflict on behalf of the Assad regime has been a source of tension among the Iranian ruling elite since at least 2011. Five years on, a power struggle has emerged between President Hassan Rouhani and his reformist allies on the one side, and hard-line reactionaries led by the IRGC and the Ayatollah Khamenei on the other.

Fuel for internal strife has been building up for years. Irans commitment to Assad has held firm since the war began, despite a grinding war of attrition and exponentially increasing costs of engagement. The Syrian intervention has cost the lives of more than 700 Iranian troops, and Irans principal local proxy, the terrorist organization Hizballah, has lost over 1,000 men. In addition to being bloody, the conflict is also costly: Tehran is estimated to be spending $6bn a year on its support for the regime.

The signs of strain have been showing since last year, when Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif fired Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the man who led Irans diplomatic efforts in Syria. His firing provoked angry responses from conservative websites and mass media. Called a revolutionary diplomat by IRGC-controlled press outlets, Amir-Abdollahian was regarded by many as the embodiment of Islamic Revolution diplomacy, and branches of the Basij militia accused Zarif of yielding to pressure from the U.S. and Arab countries.

Speaking out openly against the intervention, though, is still dicey. Many Iranian ideologues see it as a war for existence-- a battle abroad intended to keep a similar war from occurring on Irans own soil. Then again, that strategy has not exactly gone according to plan. As early as mid-2014, reports were spreading of ISIS militants crossing the Iraqi border into Iran, with the commander of Irans land forces later admitting to the group recruiting among Iranian Sunnis. In March, ISIS operatives in eastern Iraq posted a video on social media networks, with militants vowing to invade Iran and return it to Sunni control.

Moreover, Iran faces a much different regional context now that Barack Obamas awkward courtship has ended and President Trump has replaced it with firm backing of a resurgent Sunni alliance. Since taking office, Trump has played a significant role in shoring up the confidence of American allies who worried Obama was selling out American interests (and theirs) by bending over backwards for the Iranians. Trumps first trip abroad as President was to Saudi Arabia, where he gave a now-famous speech on the importance of global unity in combating terrorism. That speech unequivocally singled out Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, sectarianism, and instability in the Middle East and recognized the central role played by Riyadh in stabilizing the region.

Indeed, the Presidents assertive stance has all but turned the tables in the Middle East. Longstanding economic and political alliances, once stifled by Obamas ambivalence, are once again gearing up to defend the Middle East against Irans bid for Islamist-minded hegemony. President Trumps commitment to isolating Iran is coupled with a keenness to challenge foreign policy dogma, putting forth a doctrine of principled realism that rejects the clash of civilizations in favor of building an alliance against terror. As the President himself said: "This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilizations. This is a battle between barbaric criminals [] and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it.

Already, U.S. forces on the ground in Syria are changing the status quo with direct attacks on pro-Assad militia forces and shooting down an Iranian drone. But that support should not be taken for granted. Instead, the $110 billion arms deal announced during Trumps visit underscores the central role Saudi Arabia will play in fighting terrorism in the region. And while the President clearly stated that no sudden interventions will take place under his watch, Riyadh was reassured that the bilateral alliance will never be called into doubt again.

Faced with no-nonsense leadership from Washington, Irans dreams of ascendancy facilitated by a complicit Obama administration have been firmly dashed. As America finally stands up to its destructive actions in the region, Tehran may finally be forced to rethink its support for tyrants and terrorists. If it does, it wont come a day too soon.
The organized enemies of coal are at bottom enemies of carbon dioxide (CO2). Enemies of CO2 are believers in the greenhouse gas catastrophic global warming hypothesis. That hypothesis is and always has been poorly supported by evidence. The evidence is really computer models that make predictions. Those predictions have failed to materialize.

Coal is the hydrocarbon fuel with the most carbon and the least hydrogen. Thus, when coal is burned as fuel, more CO2 is released to the atmosphere than would be the case if natural gas were used. The main use of coal is generating electricity. Natural gas is the main alternative to coal for electricity. For the same amount of electricity, using the most efficient technology, coal emits about 2.5 times as much CO2 as natural gas. This is not only due to coal having a greater proportion of carbon, but also to the fact that so-called combined cycle natural gas plants are 50% more efficient than coal plants. The hydrogen in hydrocarbon fuels turns into water (H2O) when the fuel is burned. Liquid hydrocarbon fuels, such as diesel fuel, are rarely used for large-scale electricity production because they are too expensive.

Historically, coal has been a much cheaper fuel than natural gas. But, due to the advent of fracking, plentiful supplies of natural gas have driven down the price of gas to the point where it is often competitive with coal for electricity generation. But the low price of natural gas may be temporary. The price may increase as facilities for the export of natural gas are constructed, expanding the market beyond North America. In the long term it may be unwise to lock the electricity sector into natural gas. Natural gas is a premium fuel. It naturally burns cleanly and it can be used in many applications, including transportation, for which coal is not practical. On the other hand, the U.S. is blessed with vast coal reserves that could last for hundreds of years.

The greatest enemy of coal is the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club is a big business with three million members and supporters, and a budget of around $100 million per year. The Club has a long-running propaganda campaign intended to destroy the coal industry.

The threat of global warming is no longer convincing to most of the general public. There has been little or no global warming for two decades in spite of increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. Increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere helps crops to grow faster with less water. CO2 is for plants like oxygen is for animals.

Rather than honestly say that they want to shut down coal because the CO2 emissions will cause global warming (that they now call climate disruption), the Club has made many dubious claims to the effect that burning coal creates medical problems, especially causing and aggravating asthma, especially among children. A search of the Clubs Beyond Coal website brings up eight pages of claims linking coal to asthma. A recent book by billionaire Michael Bloomberg and former Sierra Club president, Carl Pope, also harps on the supposed coal-asthma connection.

The coal-asthma connection is basically made-up science. Experts on asthma say that they dont know what causes asthma. The existence of dubious correlations underlines the lack of knowledge. For example, planned caesarian birth is associated with childhood asthma; but not unplanned caesarian birth. People who have asthma seem to have attacks triggered by a wide variety of circumstances, including such things as the weather, dust mites, air pollution, and stress. It is known that there are genetic factors involved.

An interesting study compared immigrant Chinese adolescents in Vancouver, Canada, with Chinese adolescents in three big cities in China, and Chinese adolescents born in Vancouver. Vancouver has extraordinarily clean air, while the Chinese cities have very dirty air and massive use of coal electricity. But asthma rates are lowest in China, intermediate among immigrants, and highest among Chinese born in Vancouver. The asthma rate for Chinese born in Vancouver was more than double the rate for Chinese living in the dirty, coal friendly, Chinese cities.

The hygiene hypothesis is that asthma is the result of leading an excessively clean lifestyle without early life exposure to various allergens. Then when the allergens are encountered later in life the immune system overreacts. That might explain the Vancouver study citied above.

Modern coal plants are very clean, something not highlighted by the Sierra Club. I had occasion to visit the John W. Turk, Jr. power plant near Fulton, Arkansas. This modern plant, completed in 2012 operates very efficiently producing electricity at low cost and with very low pollution. Nothing can be seen exiting the smokestack when operating at full power. Pollution control systems remove the major pollutants: sulfur, particulate matter, mercury, and oxides of nitrogen. The minor pollution that escapes removal is dispersed by the high smokestack and cleaned by natural purification and sequestration processes.

Instead of telling the truth about coal pollution, the Sierra Club prints misleading photos of smokestacks and cooling towers backlit by the sun so as to make it appear that harmless steam is black smoke.

If a commercial company makes up lies to sell its products there are many legal channels for correcting the situation. For example, pharmaceutical companies suffer massive lawsuits if they slightly misrepresent the efficacy of their products. There are many government agencies dedicated to protecting the public from commercial misrepresentation. Additionally, free speech does not legally exist for commercial companies. The system is certainly not perfect; the regulated often capture the regulators. But, in the environmental area, the government agencies charged with protecting the environment often work hand in hand with the scare campaigns run by environmental groups. The environmental groups often sue the government and commercial companies, but rarely suffer lawsuits themselves for the many lies they tell.

Unfortunately it is easier to make up scare stories than it is to refute them. The Sierra Club and many similar organizations make up stories with a scientific gloss. In order to refute the scare stories, one has to objectively study the evidence and bore the reader with complex arguments. By means of lies and distortions designed to raise the maximum amount of money and membership, environmental organizations can send the country down the wrong course, impoverishing the economy, and doing next to nothing to improve the environment or American lives. Substituting windmills for coal plants is an excellent example of this.

Norman Rogers writes often about global warming and environmental matters. He has a website.
Ocean City, Maryland is a blue-collar resort town featuring a thin strip of beach sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and dozens of condo high-rises, which themselves back up to the traffic-snarled Coastal Highway. It's not the type of place Maryland's liberal elite favor, unless it's a necessary photo-op or a convention. But for your average Joe from Maryland or elsewhere on the mid-Atlantic, it offers an affordable family vacation, and some folks just like the honky-tonk atmosphere. I know I did in my younger days.

A chief beach attraction for most guys is lots of almost naked women  almost meaning flimsy tops and bottoms at Ocean City. Seems that has not been the case recently, with some ladies going topless. You won't get an argument from me, but families with small children demurred and lodged complaints with the city. The city sought to enforce its pre-existing ban on topless women and predictably was quickly challenged by women who wished just to let things hang. The city sought the opinion of the Maryland state's attorney's office before continuing to enforce the ban.

Enter Brian Frosh, the state's attorney. Frosh is a rather odious, self-righteous liberal fellow, who in 2013 as a state legislator largely drafted and shepherded through Maryland's draconian gun ban, of which he is extremely proud, and which he continues to waste the state's money defending from constitutional challenges. He is also wasting the state's money in a similarly vainglorious lawsuit against President Trump for supposedly violating the emoluments clause in the Constitution. What has Maryland to gain from either pursuit? Nothing.

But he's not averse to lying about it anyway. About a year after the gun ban passed, when Frosh was running for his current position, I heard him give a speech in which he claimed that the gun ban had already saved thousands of lives. It's now 2017, and there is not a shred of evidence that the ban has saved a single life, much less thousands, but what do facts matter when your main objective is sowing hysteria and fear for your own political benefit?

Anyway, Frosh and his liberal cohort in Maryland's utterly Democrat-dominated government can be found on the far left side of almost any social issue, including those related to gender relations. Maryland passed a transgender rights law back in 2014 and has forcefully opposed efforts to restrict application of transgender "rights" to school and public facilities by the Trump administration. Maryland also recently passed an enhanced equal pay for equal work law, expanding the law for gender identity, applying it to all employers, and affording almost countless grounds for women to litigate over pay and performance issues.

So it would seem pretty much a no-brainer for Frosh to come down on the side of women who want to go topless. After all, as they claim, how is it fair under Maryland's anti-discrimination laws to require some Marylanders with a little extra breast tissue to wear tops while those with less tissue (sometimes) do not?

But Frosh is a typical liberal, which is to say hypocrisy is his stock in trade. Ocean City is a valuable source of taxable income for the state, and Maryland taxes its residents about as much as any state in the union. If city officials say that cash cow is at risk  which, after all, pays Frosh's salary and God knows how many other lawyers to pursue his futile lawsuit against Trump  how can Frosh deny them? He might need that support should he run for governor, and for that he'll risk the topless woman vote.

Somehow Frosh's office found that women have different bodies from men's and backed Ocean City in enforcing the topless ban. But wait: how is that even possible, given that according to Maryland's transgender law, being a woman or a man is not a matter of what kind of body you have, extra breast tissue or not, but your gender identity?

It is pretty clear now that under Maryland law, a woman who wants to go topless can still do so. She just must insist to the Beach Patrol that she is a man.
There's nothing so pathetic as an overblown ego in meltdown. And in the case of President Obama's former "mind meld" and deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, it's the rage of an ego whose legacy is being hosed away as bad rubbish. Infuriated at President Trump's rollback of all the goodies to the Cuban regime laid out at his direction by the Obama administration  Rhodes has whipped out the totalitarian cudgel on his Twitter feed, demanding that any Cuban who opposes his succoring of the Castro regime be "held accountable."

The few people in Miami enabling Trump in carrying out this charade should be embarrassed/ held accountable. He could care less about Cubans  Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) June 16, 2017

Held accountable?

For what? Opposing President Obama's doing the stadium wave with a fifty-year military dictatorship and its murderous aging dictator?

Or is it this shot of glory for the U.S.'s international standing?

Or is it most likely that Rhodes's real problem is that Cuban exiles who have fled the horrors of communism and endured many losses are a problem to him, a standing rebuke to his party-time-with-Castro policy and thus inconveniences in the way of his "progress" and "the future" (to use the smarmy commie logic he uses) and therefore, in the Stalinist style, necessarily "non-persons"?

Or is it the horrible reality that the policy has failed? Dissident beatings are up. The Cuban military's coffers are filled. The Cuban secret police's coffers are filled. And the Castroites continue to use a starvation policy to keep their population docile. And that Castrocare remains a disaster? These are inconvenient facts. And nobody but Rhodes could call them "progress." This is not a successful policy. It's succoring a dictator  in exchange for nothing, as Cuban-American leaders such as Marco Rubio have pointed out and as President Trump has recognized.

Rhodes would have you think the Cubans who oppose Obama's Cuba policy  whether the exiles who won Florida for President Trump in the election or the dissidents in Havana who have taken real risks for their views  are small in number, unimportant, and insignificant compared to all the Cuban people he claims he has on his side.

It's a sorry picture, given that Castroite encounters with Westerners are tightly controlled, and Rhodes on his many visits to the socialist paradise of Bill Ayers's and many other leftists' dreams would have been carefully screened from any unwelcome views. Rhodes shows himself to be a useful idiot in his claims to know what the Cuban people want.

The ego is there, too. This, along with the Iran deal and the Benghazi talking points, is his legacy, his little mark on history that enables this creative writing major to compete in the eyes of his parents, maybe, with his smarter brother, David Rhodes, president of CBS.

For all his pleading protestations written in a piece in The Atlantic, shielding his despicable scheme behind the skirts of Pope Francis, citing all the Republicans in vague polls who supposedly support him, and casually name-checking "socialism" as one cause of Cuba's misery and then moving on to what he really thinks is the problem: the U.S. trade embargo, so Cuba's military dictatorship can buy our goods with our money (and stiff us as they have every other international creditor).

It's indistinguishable from the Castroite line itself. In fact, there's no daylight between what the Castroites want from us and from what Ben Rhodes wants from us. The thought that springs to mind is, is this why Ben Rhodes, alone of 187 Obamatons, was unable to get a security clearance? We still want to know about that one. He's Castro's most vocal shill right now.
Do you think imposing so-called transgenderism on children as a sexual norm might be harmful to their moral development? Do you question the legitimacy of using made up so-called gender-neutral pronouns as replacements for the standard English words "he" and "she"?

If you answered yes, or even maybe, to either of those questions, then, as of today, you are in violation of Canada's Human Rights Code, and subject to fines, re-education, or  should you refuse comply and repent  prison time.

Canada's Senate has passed a "controversial" (read: fascistic) new law, Bill C-16, which adds "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the nation's hate crime laws  Canada being a world leader in legislating who should be hated and who shouldn't  thus effectively making it a crime for a business owner to "discriminate" on the basis of not wanting his male employee to wear a dress, or for a teacher not to use a nonexistent, politically correct pronoun whenever a student tells her to. More generally, it makes a hate criminal of anyone who openly expresses a view not perfectly compliant with the zeitgeist on gender identity, transgenderism, or what have you. The debate is now, officially and legally, over.

Campaign Life Coalition, the political arm of Canada's pro-life movement, condemned the passage of Bill C-16. "This tyrannical bill is nothing but social engineering to the nth degree, all in the name of political correctness," Campaign Life's Toronto vice president Jeff Gunnarson told LifeSiteNews. Jack Fonseca, Campaign Life's senior political strategist, said the bill will be used to attack Christian belief. "Mark my words, this law will not be used as some sort of 'shield' to defend vulnerable transsexuals, but rather as a weapon with which to bludgeon people of faith and free-thinking Canadians who refuse to deny truth," he told LifeSiteNews.

In other words, a postmodern, nihilistic, neo-Marxist pseudo-theory of sexual identity and systemic oppression, dreamt up by some pretentious careerist professor of "queer studies" climbing out of the academic slime somewhere five years ago, has officially been declared the unassailable Absolute Truth by Justin Trudeau's government. Unassailable as in "alternative views will not be given a hearing." Unassailable as in "heretics will be burned."

One of those heretics, a sort of hero of the martyrs brigade, is University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson, who has stood up publicly, including in front of the Senate committee debating C-16, against the imposition of what he correctly calls "compelled speech" and specifically speech that implies acceptance of a particular, specious (to put it politely) theory of human nature.

For the past ten years, I have lived and worked in South Korea, under constant threat of nuclear attack from the communist North. I used to use that phrase, "the communist North," without any ambiguity. Today, for the first time, I note the irony in a Canadian referring to any other land as "the communist North." And today I ask myself without a hint of irony whether, if given the choice, I wouldn't prefer to remain under permanent threat of nuclear attack, or even to face the reality of such an attack, rather than return to a homeland which is itself vigorously lunging toward the dystopian horrors of North Korean communism on a daily basis  compelled thought, re-education camps, criminalized dissent, and the mass hypnosis of a mindlessly compliant population. In short, is it worse to be attacked by a communist state or to live amid the incipience of one?

I wish I could at least feel the catharsis of crying out to the heavens, "My God, what happened to my country?" But the sad truth is that I know what happened. Progressivism happened. Public education happened. Socialized medicine happened. Moral deliquescence happened. Pierre Trudeau, North America's first communist-admiring political leader, happened.

Pierre's son Justin  the stereotype of the fop who takes a women's studies class and talks the "systemic oppression" talk because it's the best way to pick up cool, forward-thinking chicks  is merely window dressing on the revolution, a useful distraction to draw attention away from the blood smeared on the walls as the last generation of dissenters are dragged away by the thought police.

You think I'm exaggerating? That's because totalitarianism rarely looks spectacular from up close. The fired professors (or talented but never hired ones), the small business owners forced through state-designed tolerance-counseling sessions, and the parents turned in by their children for moral re-education, or fined for forcing their children to read the Bible with all its intolerable violations of Bill C-16, will start piling up. (The Quran will not be so assailed, of course, for its believers remain, for the time being, useful partners in the progressives' anti-Western crusade, and therefore almost as morally untouchable as the boy whose parents dare to discourage him from wearing his mother's make-up on the pathetically antiquated grounds that it might confuse him.) And almost no one will notice these atrocities, apart from the victims themselves.

Such "peaceful" but ever accelerating gradualism is the defining difference, when all is said and done, between violent communist revolution and "democratic socialism." The two methods' destinations, however, are in essence one and the same. Not a place anyone with a soul would want to be  nor a place anyone with a soul will be allowed to remain for long.

Daren Jonescu writes about politics, philosophy, education, and the decline of civilization at http://darenjonescu.com.
There is a Persian proverb saying those fearing the dark scream to overcome their fears. Iran, considering its domestic and foreign dilemmas, resembles that very individual who is afraid of the dark and is screaming to overcome its fears.

On Wednesday, June 7, Iran was attacked by terrorists in a twin assault that ISIS claimed responsibility for, targeting the parliament and the tomb of the regime's founder. In contrast to others victimized by terrorism, Tehran actually welcomed this attack and portrays itself as the victim.

Iran was under intense pressure from an international coalition against its measures in the Middle East and needed an escape route. Tehran sought to cloak the reality of being the central banker of international terrorism. The position taken by U.S. president Donald Trump and a recent Senate resolution became impassable hurdles. To this end, Iran began broadcasting fake news accusing the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Iran's main opposition coalition.

"[A] filthy regional war came to life following the June 7th incident led by Trump, [Iranian opposition leader] Maryam Rajavi and [Saudi Foreign Minister] Adel al-Jubeir," according to a report by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. "[T]he positions are taken by various countries after the terrorist incident indicated their relations to the terror campaigners and those who planned it. Trump resorted to a certain language signaling threats and revenge. Trump used terms better resembling the truth of US policy vis-a-vis the Middle East. Each party has revealed their mentality regarding terrorism, terror attacks[.] ... [T]he truth is the policy of terror, fear and spreading hatred is continuing by the Trump-Jubeir-Maryam Rajavi triangle[.]"

Nearly all other official and semi-official media outlets in Iran, parallel to government officials, have launched an organized choir condemning this "triangle" for the recent attack.

Why has Iran resorted to such obvious lies, accusing the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) of staging this terrorist attack?

Iran, considering all its crises, has no other choice but to distribute such fake news. These lies are a reflection of Tehran's true status quo.

Why the Fear?

Iran is witnessing the establishment of an international coalition led by Riyadh and backed by Washington against its meddling in the region. Iran's golden era of Obama's appeasement doctrine has come to an end, and the mullahs will begin paying the price for their atrocities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and other countries.

However, Iran's main fear lies in the third part of this triangle, the PMOI, representing a powerful and organized opposition. The mullahs are terrified of the PMOI gaining widespread popular support inside Iran and enjoying the capability of launching major campaigns, as seen vividly during the so-called presidential election held last month. These activists were seen distributing images of Maryam Rajavi in cities across Iran and demanding accountability against the perpetrators of the horrific 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners, mostly MEK members and sympathizers.

For eight months prior to the May elections, PMOI/MEK supporters in Iran have focused their efforts on raising awareness. Such a campaign has dealt a severe blow to the mullahs' apparatus, forcing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to unprecedentedly acknowledge this massacre and place his weight behind it.

In the past few weeks, images of Iranian opposition leaders and the 10-point plan presented by Maryam Rajavi, as president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, have been put up in dozens of cities throughout Iran.
The man who nearly become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom would seize the homes of wealthy neighbors to house the survivors of the public housing fire in Grenfell Tower were he in power. James Tapsfield reports in the U.K. Daily Mail:

The homes of rich people in Kensington could be seized for Grenfell Tower residents made homeless by fire, Jeremy Corbyn said today. Mr Corbyn said the London borough was a 'tale of two cities' between a wealthy south and a poor north. He suggested that 'requisitioning' vacant properties would be a solution to the shortage of available accommodation for those displaced. 'Properties must be found  requisitioned if necessary  in order to make sure that residents do get rehoused locally,' Mr Corbyn told a meeting of MPs. 'How is it acceptable that in London you have luxury buildings and luxury flats kept empty as land banking for that future while homeless people look for somewhere to live?'

I am far from an expert on London real estate values, but I do know that Kensington is an upscale district, albeit one with some housing projects in addition to the multi-million-pound houses for which the borough is famous. No doubt some houses are vacant some of the time because the owners have multiple houses in various cities, while others are being held for appreciation, renovation, and sale. This is exactly the kind of red meat that anti-property rights leftists seize on to decry some people having too little, while others have "too much"  according to leftists.

Let us be clear: the Grenfell Tower victims were victimized by socialist housing policies. It was government negligence that led to flammable siding being installed in an expensive "renovation." It is not the "unfairness" of private property that made them homeless; it is the lack of accountability of government bureaucrats. Should government seize the property of others, you can be sure that property's condition will worsen under the care of the bureaucrats and their chosen beneficiaries. The crumbling buildings of Havana speak to the future of Britain should Corbynites gain power.

Should a coalition government be unable to form, and should a new election be called, there is a good chance Corbyn will get the power he seeks.

In April, Theresa May had a healthy net favourability rating of +10. At the end of May, following the campaign and negative reception of the Conservative manifesto, it fell to -5. Following the election result it has plummeted to -34. The Prime Minister is currently about as unpopular as Jeremy Corbyn was in November last year, when he scored -35. Meanwhile, the Labour leader has experienced a remarkable turnaround in public perception. Having experienced increasingly worse favourability ratings since Theresa May took office last summer, Jeremy Corbyn sank to a low of -42 in late April, just after the election was called. However, the public's view of the Labour leader improved markedly over the campaign, reaching -14 in the last YouGov favourability survey before election day. Now, following the result, his net favourability score is +0  meaning that as many people now have a favourable view of him as have an unfavourable view. The results clearly chart how the Prime Minister alienated a big section of her voter base. While Theresa May was seen favourably by 85% of 2015 Conservative voters in late April, by mid-June this had fallen to 57%. By contrast, over the same timeframe, the proportion of 2015 Labour voters with a positive impression of the Labour leader rose from 40% to 75% as Corbyn won them round. He also experienced a huge improvement among 2015 Lib Dem voters, rising from 15% to 69% over the course of the campaign. Nothing would kill the UK economy faster than a Corbyn government seizing the houses of the rich. London is full of property owned by foreigners, who would dump it on the market and pull their money out of the London financial markets. Best of all (for the left): they would blame it on Brexit.

Socialism ruins everything it touches. London could go from one of the world's premier cities to a dull, stagnant, depressed hellhole full of angry poor people. See the fate of Caracas.
President Donald Trump's straight talk about veneration of violence in Palestinian society has had important consequences. It was the catalyst for Norway and Denmark to disassociate from the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) habit of naming public spaces for terrorists. UNRWA, the Red Crescent (UAE), and the U.N. secretary general have all denounced various terrorist behaviors of both Hamas and the P.A. Whether they did it from conviction or are just moving in the direction they believe the president of the United States wants them to go is almost irrelevant  they're going there.

However, when it comes to what the P.A. itself says, caution and a heaping tablespoon of salt are required. The P.A. fears that a key source of foreign aid  the U.S. government  is finally fed up with Palestinian behavior, both incitement and payments, and may pull the plug. The House and Senate are considering the Taylor Force Act  which would require certification that the P.A.:

Is taking steps to end acts of violence against U.S. and Israeli citizens perpetrated by individuals under its jurisdictional control, such as the March 2016 attack that killed former Army officer Taylor Force;

Is publicly condemning such acts of violence and is investigating, or cooperating in investigations of, such acts; and

Has terminated payments for acts of terrorism against U.S. and Israeli citizens to any individual who has been convicted and imprisoned for such acts, to any individual who died committing such acts, and to family members of such an individual.

That's good reason for them to worry, but the salt of skepticism was missing when U.S. secretary of state Rex Tillerson announced in a Senate hearing, "They [the P.A.] have changed that policy and their intent is to cease the payments to the families of those who have committed murder or violence against others. We have been very clear with them that this is simply not acceptable to us."

He may have been clear, but Palestinian "intent" is a twisty, bendy thing, especially since the P.A. claimed that it had already stopped paying in 2014. If it stopped then, why does it have to "intend" to stop now?

Two months ago, I wrote for The Gatestone Institute:

Largely through the work of Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), the question of payments to terrorists and their families has come to the fore. Worried about foreign aid payments from the U.S. and the EU, in 2014 the Palestinian Authority claimed it stopped paying salaries and that future money would come from a new PLO Commission of Prisoner Affairs. However, PMW reported from Palestinian sources: "The PLO Commission was new only in name. The PLO body would have the same responsibilities and pay the exact same amounts of salaries to prisoners; the former P.A. Minister of Prisoners' Affairs, Issa Karake, became the Director of the new PLO Commission and P.A. Chairman Mahmoud Abbas retained overall supervision of the PLO Commission." Tower Magazine reported that in 2015, a year after the P.A. "officially" transferred authority over Palestinian prisoners to the PLO, it also transferred an extra 444 million shekels (more than $116 million) to the PLO -- nearly the same amount that the P.A. had allocated in the previous years to its now-defunct Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs. Citing PMW, Tower wrote that the transfer to the PLO was meant to evade pressure from Western governments that demanded an end to terrorist salaries -- specifically the United States and the UK, which froze payments to the P.A. in 2016 over the problem.

Money is fungible; law may be a different matter. In an enormously important article in Commentary, Douglas J. Feith and Sander Gerber looked at legislation passed by the Palestinian Authority governing the financial and social treatment of Palestinians convicted and jailed by Israel, as well as the families of those killed.

In short, the P.A.'s "Amended Palestinian Prisoners Law No. 19" mandates free tuition, health insurance, and professional training for Palestinians released from Israeli jail. It talks about salaries "linked to a cost-of-living index." In 2013, according to Feith and Gerber, the law was amended to give released prisoners "priority in annual job placements in all State institutions." There's more.

It isn't simply a matter of not issuing checks  it is how Palestinian society works. Will the P.A. stop offering jobs to released terrorists? Remove released terrorists from jobs they currently hold? Cut off tuition? Cut off families of dead terrorists?

Will it amend its laws?

The Taylor Force Act is a serious expression of American revulsion; Israeli and American victims of terrorism deserve no less. But it may be only the first step in actually affecting Palestinian behavior.
A protest against the Shakespeare in the Park production of "Julius Caesar," which depicts the assassination of President Trump was interrupted by two protesters who work for the website Rebel Media. The protest was streamed live on social media.

Laura Loomer was first to hit the stage. She screamed, "Stop leftist violence" before being drowned out by booing members of the audience. She was hustled offstage. The New York Post reports that she was arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing.

After Loomer was taken away, Jack Posobiec, also of Rebel Media, who recorded the whole thing, began to shout, "You are all Nazis" before he, too, was dragged off by security people.

BREAKING: Julius Ceasar Gets SHUTDOWN pic.twitter.com/ITgfMR0tHE  Jack Posobiec  (@JackPosobiec) June 17, 2017

Notice anything left out by the Post in their reporting on the incident?

As she interrupted the play, fellow blogger and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec filmed the disturbance while screaming "Goebbels would be proud" at the audience. Police said the woman was charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. The duo apparently staged a protest because they were upset that the classic Shakespeare play depicts a US president similar to Donald Trump as Julius Caesar.

The Post refused to give the real reason for the protest. The Rebel Media writers weren't upset so much that Trump was being parodied. They were upset for the obvious reason that Caesar is assassinated. If they had depicted Trump as Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night, no one would give a hoot. Funny how the Post forgot to mention the proximate cause of the protest.

The transgression against civil society and common decency in depicting the assassination of a sitting president is serious enough to warrant this type of protest. No one connected with that show can hold their head up after disgracing the American theater with this blatantly un-American, fascist, anti-liberal display of hate for the president.

Goodness knows you can oppose Donald Trump without resorting to wishing for (encouraging?) his death. This is the sort of propaganda that the notorious anti-Semite Julius Streicher published in his daily newspaper, Der Sturmer. The anti-Jewish propaganda published by Streicher and the Nazi party encouraged ordinary people to kill Jews. I fail to see the difference between that and what the Shakespeare in the Park production is trying to accomplish.

The tremendous irony is this: the more the left's hysteria about Trump gets out of control the more likely his re-election. The vast majority of voters do not see Donald Trump as Hitler, nor do they see him as a threat to American liberty. And if the Democrats nominate a candidate who expresses the same hatred of Donald Trump shown by their far-left base, the president will win in a landslide.
Thousands Protest In St. Paul After Cop Who Killed Philando Castile Is Acquitted

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 17, 2017 2:20PM



More than 2,000 people took to the streets on Friday night in St. Paul, MN to protest the acquittal of police officer Jeronimo Yanez, who shot and killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop last July.

Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered together by around 7:15 p.m. at the state Capitol, just hours after the jurywhich deliberated for more than 24 hours totalfound Yanez not guilty of manslaughter and other charges. Demonstrators later in the night marched onto Interstate 94, shutting down traffic in protest.

A diverse crowd, including many people with children, rallied at the Capitol, according to the AP. Signs reading "Unite for Philando" and "Justice Not Served for Philando" could be seen; chants of "No justice, no peace, prosecute the police" were heard during the largely peaceful protest.

"This verdict shows how the system is rigged against justice for victims of police terror," organizers wrote on Facebook. Like many who expressed alarm at the verdict, they were critical of the makeup of the jury: eight men (one black) and four women (also one black).

Marchers heading for University Ave now. Huge group, chanting as they go: "No justice no peace, prosecute the police." #yanezTrial pic.twitter.com/tYgg1kZ8uC  Liz Sawyer (@ByLizSawyer) June 17, 2017 At least 1,000 people are estimated to be at the rally for #PhilandoCastile at the Capitol now. pic.twitter.com/GI7dS3fPCf  Mara Gottfried (@MaraGottfried) June 17, 2017

As crowds swelled into the thousands, protesters began marching through the streets, toward St. Paul Cathedral. The Twin Cities NBC affiliate KARE 11 and CBS affiliate WCCO captured arial footage of the march.

HAPPENING RIGHT NOW:

People marching in memory of #PhilandoCastile in Minnesota.

We stand with you, brothers and sisters  pic.twitter.com/WxxmgjT0bd  Black News (@BlackNewsOutlet) June 17, 2017

By around 10:30 p.m., a large crowd of protesters broke off from the march and took to Interstate 94, blocking traffic on a downtown stretch for more than an hour. CNN reports that 18 demonstrators were arrested following the I-94 takeover after a line of riot-geared police eventually met protesters and the crowd was told to leave. Crowds marched on I-94 in 2016 also, in the aftermath of Castile's killing.

Yanez, 29, on Friday was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of intentional discharge of a dangerous weapon. Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, streamed the immediate aftermath of the shooting on Facebook. Reynolds said Castile told Yanz he had a permit to carry a handgun and was reaching for ID when he was shot. Reynolds' four-year-old daughter was in the backseat when it happened. Large-scale protests in Minnesota and beyond followed in 2016.

"I am so disappointed in the state of Minnesota," Philando Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, told reporters on Friday after the verdict was announced, the Star-Tribune reports. "My son loved Minnesota. He had one tattoo on his body and it was of the Twin Cities. My son loved this city, and the city killed my son and the murderer gets away."

Yanez was fired from the police force following the verdict on Friday.
After Grenfell: Tory haters are using the victims graves for a political slogan

Much nastiness has been written about the Tories since the horror at Grenfell. As Ive said, the race to blame, to point the finger and scream Murderers at people who clearly arent is degrading. However tempting it is to demand instant justice, such behaviour should be resisted.

To behave so when brave men and women are searching for bodies in the blackened tower, and below that grim and dangerous task the missing and deads relatives and loved ones are hoping and praying for miracles is cruel. People are seriously ill in hospitals across London. Medics are fighting to save their lives. Many more people are shellshocked by what they survived.

But no sooner was the fire news than party politics waded in. Important questions are being funnelled into party lines. The Labour Partys assumption that it has a monopoly on grief is despicable. But its been ever thus since Tony Blair told us Princess Diana was Queen of all out hearts. (But, as one commenter writes notes, Theresa May is a politician who cant seem to do politics at any level. Shes working out her notice. Emoting in public might be the least of her worries.)

And I think weve reached rock bottom in this party political campaigning on a ruined building and destroyed lives. As Jeremy Vine notes: Somehow using what is effectively a vertical graveyard for a political slogan seems wrong at this time.

It is wrong. Its horrible. To use the dead of Grenfell Tower to draw battle lines in another General Election is callous  it might even be more callous than those dastardly Tories.

Anorak

Posted: 17th, June 2017 | In: Politicians, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Rome, June 16 - Italy on Friday paid tribute to former German chancellor Helmut Kohl who has died at 87, with President Sergio Mattarella, Premier Paolo Gentiloni, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano and former European Commission president Romano Prodi all remembering a great European who presided over German reunification.

Mattarella wrote to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier saying "I have learned with deep sorrow of the passing of Helmut Kohl, a political personality of extraordinary significance in the recent history of Germany and the whole of Europe".

He said "his passing deprives Germany of a great personality and Europe of one of its founding fathers".

Mattarella went on: "He who was, rightly, described as 'the Chancellor of Reunification', worked with far-sightedness and determination, in years marked by deep and epochal changes in world equilibria, to give back unity to his country in the framework of the great project of European integration.

"As an authentic statesman, he knew how to combine pragmatism and a capacity of vision, furnishing a courageous contribution not only tot he fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, but also to overcoming the dramatic divisions which, for decades, had torn Europe".

Gentiloni, for his part, tweeted: "Honour to the memory of Chancellor Kohl. "Italy remembers him as the protagonist of German reunification and the fall of the European Wall".

Alfano tweeted that "his ideals must continue to inspire young generations who believe in #European unity".

Former two-time centre-left Italian premier and ex-European Commission chief Prodi said that "we have lost a giant of politics, a giant of a united Europe".

"Today with the death of Helmut Kohl a reference of extraordinary greatness passes. He was the father of the reunification of Germany, author of the fall of the Berlin Wall and resolute constructor of the European Union.

"I shared with him the desire for a united Europe that would let all nations live in peace with common goals".

Prodi went on: "Our relations were always good and friendly even when we found ourselves on different positions and our meetings never stopped, up till the last time when he voiced to me the idea that a new generation in Europe was now ready to take up and give new impetus to the dream of the founding fathers. I keep this memory which is also a hope.

"My thoughts go out to his family and those who loved him".


If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both
BEIJING -- Chinese prosecutors have indicted some staff of two companies connected to Interpol "red notice" criminal suspect Guo Wengui, judicial sources said Saturday.

A procuratorate in Dalian city in northeastern China on Friday filed a public lawsuit against several executives and employees of Beijing Pangu Investment Co., Ltd, on suspicion of duty encroachment and misappropriation of funds.

On the same day, Kaifeng City People's Procuratorate in central China's Henan Province also initiated a public prosecution against Guo's Henan Yuda Real Estate Company and its employees, on charges of defrauding loans and bill acceptance.

The procuratorate in Dalian found that in 2008 to get Zhao Yun'an, then chairman of Tianjin Huatai Holding Group Ltd., out of jail, Zhao's wife approached Guo Wengui through an intermediary to bail out Zhao.

With Guo's help, Zhao was granted bail, but promised to transfer Huatai's assets to Guo, so that Guo took control of the company.

In July 2008, without calling a board meeting, Guo directed Qu Long, a defendant in the case and former executive of Huatai, to transfer more than 400 million yuan (about $60 million) to companies controlled by Guo for Guo's personal use.

To keep the 400 million yuan, in 2012 Guo persuaded Gao Song, Ma Nan and Cheng Xiuhua, all former senior managers with Beijing Pangu Investment Company, to forge a series of agreements and memorandums and file a false civil court action.

Thus, Guo transferred liabilities worth more than 400 million yuan to ZhengZhou Haohang Company which has no loan repayment capacity, so that he could illegally pocket the money.

Qu is accused of taking advantage of his posts to misappropriate a huge amount of corporate funds, while the other three defendants are accused of duty encroachment for actively assisting Guo's illegal seizure of Tianjin Huatai's capital.

In the other case, the procuratorate in Henan Province found that in 2008, Guo directed Ma Cheng, Zhang Xincheng, Guo Lijie and Xiao Yanling, all former senior staff of Henan Yuda Real Estate Company, to fraudulently obtain loans and bill acceptance totalling 1.5 billion yuan from seven banks by setting up shell companies and fabricating contracts and projects.

Part of the money was used to clear the debts of Yuda which was controlled by Guo, while the rest was transferred to Beijing Pangu Investment Company or overseas. More than 213 million yuan is yet to be recovered.
Unions have sought an appointment with Civil Aviation Minister Gajapathi Raju to dicuss concerns.

New Delhi: Seven unions of Air India employees have warned the government of large-scale protests if a proposal from NITI Aayog to privatise the national

carrier is approved.

In a letter dated June 14, the unions have sought an appointment with the Civil Aviation Minister Gajapathi Raju to discuss their concerns over Air India's future. The unions have written that they oppose the "arbitrary and unilateral" recommendations of the government's top policymaking body to privatise Air India and have called it a "spokesperson of the private sector".

"We urge you not to accept the hurried recommendations by the NITI AYOG and not to force the employees of Air India to agitate which will lead to industrial unrest and disharmony," the letter said.

The letter also raises concerns over job losses due to the government's move, particularly for those who fall in the reserved categories "as private sector has no obligation to follow the reservation policy".

The letter further said employees all over India were "agitated and apprehensive" about the issue. There are a total 21,137 employees of Air India,

including its subsidiaries. The letter has been written collectively by AI Air

Corporate Employees Union, AI Employees Union, AI Aircraft Engineers' Association, United Air India Officers' Association, AI Engineer's Association, AI Cabin Crew Association and AI Service Engineers' Association.

The letter also alleged that the airline which was built over a period of 64 years was being "demolished within 15 days by the NITI AYOG". The unions also questioned the justification to privatise the airline because it had a mere 14 per cent of the market share.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had last month pitched for Air India's divestment saying it has a market share of 14 per cent whereas its debt is Rs 50,000 crore, following which the the Civil Aviation Ministry said it was looking at all possible alternatives to make the airline viable.

"The government and the government alone are (sic) responsible for this decline in passenger traffic. No autonomy was granted to the management of Air India to determine to which sectors the Air India should operate its flight," the letter adds.

Employees also demand that the offer of waiving Air India's debt to enable a private player to buy the debt-ridden carrier be made to Air India to help it in its turnaround plans.

The Cabinet is expected to take a call on privatising Air India soon.

The CBI has also registered three FIRs and a preliminary enquiry (PE)on several decisions made by the erstwhile UPA government with regard to Air India.
The IT giant also announced the appointment of Inderpreet Sawhney as the group general counsel.

Bengaluru: IT bellwether Infosys on Friday announced a rejig in their management after Infosys president and head of Americas Sandeep Dadlani quit the company to pursue personal interests.

Sandeep has played a key role in the success of Infosys over his career and in our transformation journey these past three years. We wish him the best in the journey ahead, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said.

The company on Friday announced the appointment of Karmesh Vaswani as the global head for retail, CPG and logistics (RCL) and Nitesh Banga as the global head of manufacturing. The IT giant also announced the appointment of Inderpreet Sawhney as the group general counsel.

I congratulate Karmesh and Nitesh on their appointments as the global leaders for two of our key strategic industry segments. I have worked closely with them over the last three years and have tremendous faith in their passion for client success and their ability to help clients see and achieve their digital aspirations. I am confident that our RCL & Manufacturing businesses will thrive under their leadership, said Mr Sikka.

According to a release by Infosys, Karmesh Vaswani and Nitesh Banga have held strategic portfolios across the organisation for over 10 years.

Additionally, the company has also appointed a former Wipro executive Inderpreet Sawhney as group general counsel.

I am delighted to welcome Inderpreet Sawhney to Infosys. Inderpreet has a strong and diverse, global experience over a career spanning 24+ years, and her expertise will be integral to the transformation journey we are on, said Mr Sikka.
The actress says that her first Hollywood agent asked her to go under the knife to get a role in films.

London: Actress Elizabeth Banks says her first Hollywood agent asked her to go under the knife to get a role in films.

The 43-year-old actress-director says she is happy she did not pay attention to the agent's suggestion, reported Contactmusic.

"The first agent I ever met in this industry told me to get a b**b job. I was so grateful that I didn't have enough money at the time to follow his advice. I also did not sign with him despite that," Banks says.
Kejriwal has reportedly warned the Delhi govt officials not meeting members of the public without appointment of disciplinary action.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has suggested Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal to hold 'Janata Darbar' (public meeting) for an hour on the lines of the AAP government holding the same.

In his letter to Baijal, Kejriwal has said that there are many subjects of public dealing like the police and the Delhi Development Authority for which the LG is directly responsible.

"Most humbly, may I request LG also to meet public..., without appointment, and hear public grievances? This would be appreciated by everyone and also set an example for all officers that if LG and chief minister themselves are meeting public, than they should also meet," the letter states.

The chief minister has reportedly warned the Delhi government officials not meeting members of the public without appointment of disciplinary action.

Recently in a letter to the chief secretary, Kejriwal had asked the top official to issue a strict warning to all officers that violating the instructions in this regard will lead to disciplinary action.

The chief minister in his letter said that he has asked all the ministers and the officials to meet the public without appointment at their respective offices from 10 am to 11 am on all working days.

"This step is being taken to make government accessible to the public. In fact, I myself along with all my ministers and MLAs, am also available during this time to meet the public," Kejriwal said in his letter to the LG.
It is believed that the militants wanted to take revenge for the Arwani encounter in which their top commander, Junaid Mattoo, was killed.

New Delhi: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday that the killing of six policemen in a terrorist ambush in Kashmir was an act of "cowardice".

A group of militants, believed to be from Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashker-e-Taiba, ambushed a police party at Achabal in Anantnag district of South Kashmir on Friday,

killing six policemen.

They also disfigured the faces of the policemen before walking away with their weapons.

A sub-inspector, identified as Pulwama-resident Feroz Ahmed Dar, a driver and four other policemen, who were on a routine round in their jeep, died in the attack.

"Killing of six policemen by terrorists in #Achabal is a cowardice act. My condolences to the bereaved families. Salute to martyrs," Jaitley tweeted.

It is believed that the militants wanted to take revenge for the Arwani encounter in which their local commander, Junaid Mattoo, was killed.
GJM protestors injured 1 cop, torched a police vehicle as Darjeeling continued to boil under indefinite strike for 6th day in a row now.

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday teared into the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters, stating that they aren't listening to the court, even after it had passed an order citing the bandh was illegal.

"The board members of the State have formed a committee assuring that peace will prevail in the hills as it will be their first priority to work on. Looking at the angry GJM supporters who went on rampage torching a railway station, a police outpost and vehicles after a police raid on party chief Bimal Gurung's house in Darjeeling shows that they aren't listening to the court, even after it had passed an order citing the bandh was illegal. I don't know where they are getting the support from," Mamata said at a press conference in Kolkata.

"You (GJM) enjoyed for five years. Now when the elections are nearing, why are you starting the violence again? Is it because you have lost all your credentials? I am ready to talk to them on this matter as we cannot support violation of the Constitution," Mamata added.

Earlier on Saturday, Morcha protestors resorted to fresh violence after the police raided and allegedly vandalised the residence of Assistant Gen Secretary of Morcha Binay Tamang on Friday night.

The angry protestors left one policeman injured and torched a police vehicle as Darjeeling continued to boil under indefinite strike for the sixth day in a row now.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation in West Bengal's Darjeeling by sending more troops to help restore normalcy as the state government has not yet submitted its report on the situation.

The GJM announced an indefinite strike from Monday encompassing Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Dooars protesting against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to make Bengali language compulsory in state-run schools.

The strike was called even after the Chief Minister assured that the new rule would not be imposed in the hill districts.

The protestors are also asking for a separate Gorkhaland, a long pending demand of the people of the hills.
Civic officials beat up 44-year-old for protesting photos they were clicking of the women defecating in the open.

The victim's brother Noor Mohammed has named five officials including Nagar Parishad commissioner Ashok Jain, in his complaint. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

Jaipur: Zaffar Khan, a Communist Party of India (ML) member and activist who was allegedly lynched on Friday for stopping municipal council employees photographing of women defecating in the open was also taking a stand for his daughter and wife among others.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the younger of Khans two daughters, Sabra said, It was about 6:30 am and we had gone for latrine [to relieve ourselves] when the car of municipal officials came. They started clicking our photos, abusing us and kicking our water mugs. Abba came out and told them to stop after which they started beating him.

They threatened my 14-year-old daughter, said theyll burn her father, break my face, Rashida, wife of the killed, said in the report.

The report also stated that eyewitnesses had confirmed that Khan was attacked and lynched in front of them.

On the other hand, the report says, governments Swachh Bharat scheme involves photographing of people defecating in the open with a view to shame and deter them from such a practice. Experts have noted that villagers in backward areas rarely have access to functional toilets and hence shaming doesnt work as a solution.

A case of murder has been registered against the accused and three have been detained.

Zaffar was allegedly kicked, punched and beaten with a stick. He died later at a hospital. The autopsy report said he died of heart failure. Three people have been detained.

The incident happened near Bagwasa Kachi Basti area on Friday around 6.30 am when a few women had gone to relieve themselves.

The officials of Pratapgarh town municipality were on their morning tour of the area when they saw the women excreting in the open. When they started taking their photographs, Zaffar Khan intervened and told them not to take pictures.

The officials then brutally hit Khan, according to the FIR filed by his brother Noor Mohammed.

In his complaint, he has named five officials including Nagar Parishad commissioner Ashok Jain, Pratapgarh Kotwali police said.

Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police, Shivraj Meena said, "We are investigating the case and a case has been registered against the accused named in the FIR."

The police have deployed personnel to maintain law and order in the area.
Three people have been detained in the incident in which a man was beaten to death by municipal council employees.

Activist Zafar Hussein lynched to death in Pratapgarh for objecting photography of women defecating in open. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

Jaipur: A 55-year-old man in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh was allegedly beaten to death by municipal council employees after he tried to stop them from clicking photographs of women defecating in the open. He was allegedly kicked, punched and beaten with a stick. He died later at a hospital. The autopsy report says he died of heart failure. Three people have been detained.

A case of murder has been registered against the accused, but no arrests have been made so far.

The incident happened near Bagwasa Kachi Basti area on Friday around 6.30 am when a few women had gone to relieve themselves.

The officials of Pratapgarh town municipality were on their morning tour of the area when they saw the women excreting in the open. When they started taking their photographs, Zafar Khan intervened and told them not to take their pictures.

The officials then brutally hit Khan, according to the FIR filed by his brother Noor Mohammed.

In his complaint, he has named four officials including Nagar Parishad commissioner Ashok Jain, Pratapgarh Kotwali police said.

Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police, Shivraj Meena said, "We are investigating the case and a case has been registered against the four accused named in the FIR."

The police have deployed personnel to maintain law and order in the area.
The panel has given a clean chit to procurements worth Rs 10 crore by nine state government departments done during the last 15 years of.

Mumbai: A committee headed by former chief secretary Swadhin Kshatriya has given a clean chit to procurements worth

Rs 10 crore by nine state government departments done during the last 15 years of the Congress and NCP rule. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had ordered the probe in 2015, after one of his ministers, Pankaja Munde was accused in the Chikki scam. The pan-el did not uncover anything irregular. But that has not satisfied the chief minister, who has now ordered a probe by the economic offence wing and directorate of accounts and treasury.

Besides Mr Kshatriya, the other members of the committee included the then finance secretary Sudhir Shrivastav and then industries secretary Apurva Chandra. The re-port was submitted to the CM in March 2017 before Mr Kshatriya retired.

The committee probed into procurements above Rs 10 crore undertaken by nine government departments, namely agriculture, home, health, social justice, women and child welfare, rural development, school education, information technology and tribal.

A report accessed by this newspaper did not mention anything objectionable in the inquiry. In fact, it has recommended independent inquiries by the respective departments if necessary.

As the scope of the committee is limited, the report said, One has to check the system of rate of contract and from whom the purchase was done. The committee does not have that probe mechanism in the limited period and hence the officials responsible for recruitment can have an independent inquiry.
Ms Banerjee slammed the GJM for the ongoing unrest, while making oblique references to the BJPs support of the protesters.

Kolkata: As violent protests for statehood in the Darjeeling Hills took an ugly turn on Saturday, with the police and supporters of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) engaging in violent clashes, and one reported death, Union home minister Rajnath Singh called up West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to discussed the situation.

During the telephonic conversation, the chief minister briefed Mr Singh about the steps taken to maintain law and order.

West Bengal also wrote to the Centre, seeking more forces to quell the current unrest in Darjeeling Hills.

Trouble began early on Saturday, in reaction to the arrest of the son of a Morcha MLA and police raid on a senior GJM leaders house on Friday night.

Morcha supporters alleged that the police had ransacked his house and started pelting stones and hurling petrol bombs at the police.

While the GJM claimed that two of its supporters were killed in Darjeelings Singmari when the police opened fire, an allegation denied by the police, the ADG police said that an officer had been stabbed by Morcha protesters and 19 of the 35 police officials injured were hospitalised.

A police vehicle was also set on fire by protesters, authorities said.

Ms Banerjee slammed the GJM for the ongoing unrest, while making oblique references to the BJPs support of the protesters.

They are using the national flag for vandalism, which they cannot do. I will request the Central government not to encourage them to behave like this. If anything happens to any foreigner (tourist) it will bring bad name to the country What is happening is a deep-rooted conspiracy. These arms were not collected in a day, they were collected over time, Ms Banerjee said.

Her remarks drew a derisive response from BJP chief Amit Shah, who said she saw conspiracy in everything.

Bimal Gurungs GJM is an ally of the BJP in NDA. Mr Banerjee claimed that the GJM has connections with terrorists and that firearms were collected and distributed among party workers to spread unrest just before the (GTA) election.

Five years you (GJM) enjoyed, now when elections are coming you start violence because you have lost credibility, Ms Banerjee said. The agitation in Darjeeling was initially against the forced implementation of Bengali language in schools, but soon transformed into a renewed demand for a separate Gorkhaland.

Reacting to Morchas claim that two of their supporters were killed in police firing, additional director general of police (law and order) Anuj Sharma said, It was the Morchas people who fired. Several of our vehicles were set on fire, government property ransacked and as many as 35 police personnel were injured, including serious injury to Kiran Tamang, an India Reserve Battalion officer who was stabbed in the back with a traditional Gorkha knife.

Ms Banerjee backed the polices claims and said that GJM has fired and not the police. Many of their (GJM) leaders have been chargesheeted in the Madan Tamang murder case. They are doing this vandalism to save themselves. Law will take its own course. We cannot support vandalism, she said. GJM leaders however demanded a judicial probe into the death of their two supporters. We want judicial probe in the death due to police firing. Police did not fire rubber bullets or water cannons. They opened fire using .303 bullets. Are we the enemies of India? Morcha spokesperson and assistant general secretary, Binay Tamang, said. Later in the day the GJM called a 12-hour bandh in the plains at Doars where a large number of tourists have been staying after they cut short their stay in Darjeeling due to the unrest. Ransacking and torching of vehicles, including buses, was reported from Singmari, Lebong, Chawkbazar and Ghoom. A vehicle of the electricity board was also set on fire at Gorubathan.

In retaliation, the security personnel fired teargas shells and resorted to baton charge to disperse the mob. Army personnel were seen busy with their area domination all through the day.

Seven Morcha supporters were arrested by the police.
Step is to ensure that access to justice is provided to all.

New Delhi: India is likely to take up with the United Nations for declaring one day in a year as the International Day for Justice (IDJ) with a view to reminding the member countries to provide easy access to justice to the citizens.

This is a sequel to a representation made by Supreme Court advocate Ravinder Raj to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urge the UN to consider passing a resolution for declaring one day as International Day for justice.

The lawyer wrote to the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres for celebration of International Day for Justice to inspire the quality and pro-people justice in all the nations. He said many of the developed, developing and undeveloped democracies are seemingly rendering injustice to their innocent, untrained, uneducated, weak and resources less population through the hegemony prevalent in the system, thus violating the cardinal values of cherished principles of natural justice.

Mr Raj pointed out that justice delayed is justice denied. Further, justice must not only be done but it must appear to have been done. In most of the countries, there is no transparency or accountability in the justice delivery system and as a result people are denied justice. He said by declaring a day in a year as IDJ, the United Nations can ensure that access to justice is provided to all.

In response to this letter, the office of the UN secretary general said normally such declarations are done on the basis of resolutions passed in the General Assembly on the request of any one or more member countries.

Hence, the United Nations asked the lawyer to persuade India to send a request in this regard for the consideration of the UN.

Accordingly, Mr Raj sent a representation to the Prime Minister Modi to pursue the matter further and he has received acknowledgement from the Prime Ministers Office. According to Mr Raj, it is likely that the matter will be taken up with the UN soon.
In a petition to the governor, the DMK demanded a fresh vote of confidence, and asked the governor to direct a probe into the money trail.

Chennai: Tamil Nadus Opposition leader, DMK chief M.K. Stalin, met governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao on Saturday and demanded a CBI inquiry into allegations of horse-trading during the confidence motion moved by chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami in February.

Speaking to the media after meeting the governor, Mr Stalin said he had appealed to Mr Rao to cancel the voting if the charges are found to be true, and dissolve the government immediately. The governor assured him that he would look into the matter and take appropriate action.

In a petition to the governor, the DMK demanded a fresh vote of confidence, and asked the governor to direct an investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or the Enforcement Directorate to unearth the money trail as well as to investigate the alleged offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The horse-trading allegations, if proved to be true will kill the spirit behind seeking vote of confidence, shake the entire edifice of democracy and demolish the faith Tamil Nadu has in the democratic institutions like the legislative Assembly, the petition said.

Recalling his earlier petition, the DMK leader said Speaker P. Dhanapal refused to conduct a due and thorough inquiry into the allegations, regarding MLAs being kept in captivity and the floor test, had no legal validity.
The accused had asked for money from another boy in the neighbourhood saying they had killed a person and needed cash to leave the city.

The motive behind the crime has not yet been found, police said. (Photo: File/Representational)

New Delhi: The body of a teenager, tied to a chair with his throat slit, was found in outer Delhi's Kanjhawala, the police said on Saturday.

The 17-year-old boy was a Class XI student and lived with his family at Kanjhawala.

According to a senior police officer, the incident came to light around 12.30 am in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday when they were informed about the body found in a house at Ladpur in Kanjhawala.

He added that the body was found tied to a chair with a clutch wire. The deceased had left home saying he was going for a walk. As he did not return after a few hours, the family members started looking for him.

Subsequently, the police informed them about the body being found. The police claimed that they had identified the two accused, both juveniles, and added that they would be apprehended soon.

They said while fleeing the spot, the accused had asked for money from another boy of the same neighbourhood saying that they needed it in order to leave Delhi as they had killed someone. The boy told them he did not have any money and subsequently, informed his father, who is with the Delhi Police, of the incident.

The motive behind the crime was not immediately known, the police said.
There are allegations that Mr Khan made a trust  Maulana Johar Ali Education Trust  and diverted funds from waqf properties to it, sources said.

New Delhi: The Samajwadi Partys Muslim face and the self-styled messiah of the minority community, Azam Khan, is in serious trouble. Barely two months after the SP suffered a humiliating defeat in the state Assembly polls, tough days are ahead for former SP minister. With the CBI preparing to start its enquiry to probe the alleged irregularities worth multi-crores in the functioning of Shia and Sunni waqf boards in Uttar Pradesh, the role of Azam Khan, who was minister for waqf in the previous SP government, is now under the scanner.

The CBI is expected to start its probe by Tuesday. The agency is just waiting for a formal notification to investigate the case by the department of personnel and training (DoPT), the nodal body governing the countrys premier investigating agency, sources in the CBI said. It is believed that UP governments recommendation has reached the DoPT. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday recommended a probe by the CBI into the alleged irregularities in the functioning of both waqf boards in the state.

There are allegations that Mr Khan made a trust  Maulana Johar Ali Education Trust  and diverted funds from waqf properties to it, sources said. The scam worth crores has come to the fore in a probe by the Waqf Council of India (WCI). The role of the chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, Wasim Rizvi and Azam Khan had come under scanner after the inquiry by the WCI. It is also alleged that Mr Khan as minister allegedly misused his position to grab properties under the boards, they said.
Owned by 43-year-old artist Marcus Bracey, the gallery houses four generations of neon works

On the flick of a flurry of switches, a studio on a gray industrial estate in East London lights up to reveal hundreds of bright neon artworks.

Owned by 43-year-old artist Marcus Bracey, the gallery in Walthamstow, called 'God's Own Junkyard', houses the collection of four generations of his family who have made, bought and displayed neon works.

The pieces are accompanied by kitsch memorabilia that Bracey has collected from film sets and car boot sales across Britain, leaving just enough room for a narrow winding aisle for visitors to navigate their way through the gallery.

"This is my neon emporium, my museum of light, my Aladdin's cave," Bracey told Reuters from the center of the high-ceilinged studio which runs up an electricity bill of over 700 pounds ($900) a week.

Some of Bracey's works have appeared in films, including "Mission Impossible" and "Eyes Wide Shut", or decorated department stores, namely London's Selfridges, while others have been bought by celebrities such as Kate Moss.

Bracey recently sold a large God Save the Queen neon sign in front of a heart-shaped British, Union Jack, flag for 58,000 pounds ($74,700) at auction to a buyer in Dubai.

A replica is on display at God's Own Junkyard, which Bracey opened with his father Chris in 2008 after running out of space at home to store the family's work.

The earliest pieces in the showroom, often used for film shoots, date back to the 1950s, when Marcus's grandfather left his job as a miner in Wales to join a lighting company and eventually make signs for carnivals across Britain.

"He left the dark and came into the light," Bracey said.

Numerous sex shop signs can also be found, pieces made in the 1980s by Marcus's father Chris who flooded London's seedy Soho sex shops with a swath of fluorescent neon signs in a bid to turn the area into a replica of Las Vegas.

Bracey's new works, which take around six weeks to make with neon moulded over 800 degree burners, now sit alongside those of his 17-year-old daughter Amber, a graffiti artist and next in line to take over the family business.

Bracey, however, isn't ready to step away from his neon wonderland just yet.

"The buzz, the feel, the happiness. To turn it on and see what it looks like," he said of the excitement he gets every time he flicks on those switches.
This will include bifocal and vocational courses and the number of seats available per course.

Mumbai: First year junior college (FYJC) online admissions for the new academic year being conducted by the state school education department started on Friday and will end on August 3. The education department has announced that it will declare four cut-off lists but if needed, colleges can put up more cut-off lists to fill vacant seats.

According to education department officials, subjects offered by every college will be listed next to its name. This will include bifocal and vocational courses and the number of seats available per course. This will help students make an informed choice, they said.

FYJC admissions will see students who have passed the secondary school certificate (SSC) exams on Tuesday competing with their counterparts from non-state boards such as CBSE and ICSE. While 3.8 lakh students have passed in the Mumbai division, only about 2 lakh seats are available across streams. The education department has subsequently increased number of seats in science and commerce streams in city colleges. The arts stream has seen no such increase. This year, 5,600 additional science seats and 3,000 additional commerce seats had been made available. The number of seats in the arts stream has dropped by 1,000 whereas nearly 6,000 seats are available for vocational courses.

Principal of Ruparel College, Tushar Desai, told The Asian Age, Most of the students opt for arts as they want to pursue further careers by cracking competitive exams. In arts, they can spend maximum time studying while in science, there are practicals and journals. Albeit this year the results are fair enough but the education department has increased the number of seats so there shouldnt be any problem. Besides, many students opt for a diploma as well.

The total number of seats in the city has gone up from 2,78,282 last year to 2,92,090 this year, with 13,808 more seats up for grabs.

Admission timetable
He had booked room in same establishment in 2014 and got away without paying dues.

Mumbai: The Cuffe Parade police arrested a 61-year-old man, who was trying to flee from the Vivanta by Taj Hotel without paying his bills. The man spent two days in the hotel, living it up in style, before he was caught fleeing by the hotel staff. This was the second time that he was pulling this stunt in the same hotel. He had booked a room here in 2014 but had managed to escape. But this time he was not so lucky.

According to the police, the man, Bhimsent John, was on a spree of cheating five star hotels ever since he had his former employers, a tour and travel agency where he worked in 1997, had not paid him his dues.

A resident of Tamil Nadu, John arrived in Mumbai in the first week of June. On June 4, he booked a room in the hotel through its centralized reservation service and checked into a suite on June 6. He was caught the next night while trying to flee. John enjoyed services of the hotel and was trying to flee, when the hotel staff apprehended him. When they presented him with a bill of `50,000, he claimed that his friends would pay the bill, said Rashmi Karandikar, spokeswoman for the Mumbai police.

The staff informed the Cuffe Parade police who arrested him. Interrogations revealed that he had committed a similar offence in 2014 and had similar cases registered in Tamil Nadu. According to the cops, he had decided to dupe at least 200 hotels in a similar manner to avenge his former employers.

The police have registered a case under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 427 of the IPC.
The railway police received a letter complaining about beef being transported in railway parcels at CST and LTT stations.

Officials said that one Salim Qureshi, who runs Zeenat beef shop in Bandra had been ordering beef from outside Maharashtra, suspected to be sent from Bhopal, following the state ban on beef.

Mumbai: The railway protection force (RPF) seized 95kg beef at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) which was ferried by Punjab Mail to Mumbai, based on the order of a Bandra-based butcher.

The railway police received a letter complaining about beef being transported in railway parcels at CST and LTT stations, following which it checked the parcels at the station and seized the flesh, which they suspect is beef.

Officials said that one Salim Qureshi, who runs Zeenat beef shop in Bandra had been ordering beef from outside Maharashtra, suspected to be sent from Bhopal, following the state ban on beef.

After RPF officials unloaded the sealed boxes, they found them bearing a sticker with gate pass number J788867 i.e. they were brought by Punjab Mail. Qureshi, who runs the beef shop since 16 years, said that he had been ordering beef from outside since the past couple of months. We have seized the parcels, said a RPF official.
Only the front portion and the gate of the house, situated in Mohalla Khuda Dad near historic Qissa Khawani bazaar, are intact now.

Peshawar: Bollywood legend Dilip Kumars century-old ancestral house, which was already in a dilapidated condition, has collapsed but the authorities say a replica would soon come up at the site.

Only the front portion and the gate of the house, situated in Mohalla Khuda Dad near historic Qissa Khawani bazaar, are intact now, according Shakeel Waheedullah, General Secretary, Cultural Heritage Council.

Prominent members of the city criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government for neglecting the preservation of the iconic structure even though it was declared a national heritage in 2014 by the archaeology department.

Waheedullah said he submitted six applications to the KP government to draw their attention to the condition of the house but no action was taken. He said Saira Bano, wife of Dilip Kumar, has been informed about the condition of the house. Saira Bano became dejected after she came to know about the collapse of the ancestral house of Dilip Kumar, he said.
US to seize stolen assets, paintings in 1MDB probe.

Los Angeles: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has turned over an Oscar won by Marlon Brando to US investigators probing alleged money laundering by a state-owned Malaysian investment fund, his representatives said on Thursday.

DiCaprio has also initiated the return of other, unidentified items that the actor said he accepted as gifts for a charity auction and which originated from people connected tothe 1MDB wealth fund, they said in a statement.

In July, Hollywood production company Red Granite was accused in a U.S. Civil lawsuit of using $100 million that prosecutors said had been diverted from the 1MDB fund to finance DiCaprios 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, in which he starred.

He said that he was cooperating with the probe and would return any gifts or donations if they were found to have come from questionable sources.

Mr DiCaprio initiated return of these items, which were received and accepted by him for the purpose of being included in an annual charity auction to benefit his eponymous foundation, Thursdays statement said. He has also returned an Oscar originally won by Marlon Brando, which was given to Mr DiCaprio as a set gift by RedGranite to thank him for his work on The Wolf of Wall Street, the statement added.

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, set up in 1988, supports a range of environmental projects. In a new filing on Thursday, the US department of Justice moved to seize artwork by Picasso and Basquiat that it said had been purchased with laundered Malaysian money and gifted to Di Caprio by associates of Red Granite.

It was not clear from Di Caprios statement whether he had already returned the two paintings, and a Diane Arbus photograph that was also listed in the DOJ legal filing.

Thursdays filing also sought to seize the assets of two other Red Granite produced films which investigators allege were financed by money from the 1MDB fund - the 2014 comedy Dumb and Dumber To starring Jim Carrey, and 2015 comedy Daddys Home starring Will Ferrell.

Los Angeles-based Red Granite Pictures said in a statement on Thursday it was actively engaged in discussions with the Justice Department aimed at resolving these civil cases and is fully cooperating. Representatives of Carrey and Ferrell did not immediately return calls for comment.
The opera, by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz, recounts Mai's 2002 rape and her decision to defy her attackers.

Pakistani human rights activist Mukhtar Mai (C) receives a standing ovation as she takes the stage following performance of the opera 'Thumbprint', at the Roy and Edna Disney/Calarts Theater (REDCAT) in Los Angeles

Los Angeles: Fifteen years after her horrific gang rape by a local clan in her village in Pakistan, Mukhtar Mai is reliving her ordeal and courageousness through a US opera inspired by her story.

"I was very emotional when I first started watching it and began reliving the incident in my mind," Mai, 37, told on Friday, after attending the Los Angeles premiere of "Thumbprint."

"But then as the opera progressed, it became easier to watch and I felt more courage," she said in Urdu, speaking through a translator.

The opera, by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz, recounts Mai's 2002 rape and her decision to defy her attackers and take them to court an unusual move in male-dominated Pakistan, where a woman who suffers such a crime often commits suicide rather than endure the stigma and shame associated with it.

"Thumbprint" first opened in New York in 2014 but Mai had never seen the opera. She traveled this week from her home in the remote Pakistani village of Meerwala to attend the West Coast premiere.

While the story onstage ends when Mai's rapists have been sentenced to death, in reality her attackers walk free seemingly going about their daily life with total impunity after their sentences were overturned on appeal.

The men had raped Mai with the approval of the village council as a punishment after her 12-year-old brother was falsely accused of having an illicit relationship with a woman from the dominant clan in the village.

"My rapists live across from my house and I try not to cross paths with them," said Mai, who used compensation money from her case to start several schools and a women's shelter in her village. "When I walk past, they taunt me and make catcalls."

In an added strange twist to her story, the children of her rapists attend her school, and the daughters of some of the village elders who ordered her rape have sought refuge at her shelter.

"Even though some members of my own family were outraged, I told them I could not turn away the kids as the school is here to serve everyone in the community," she said.

Mai, who married in 2009 and has three children, acknowledged that her story had empowered women in her village and beyond, giving them courage to stand for their rights. But she said she held little hope that the legal system in her country would ever render her justice.

"All four of the men who raped me and the two village elders who ordered the rape are free," she said. "And they will only learn that what they did is a crime if they are punished."

She said she had grown tired of being the woman everyone points to because of her ordeal, in contrast to her rapists who are unconcerned and will likely never pay for their crime.

"I am the one who is always interviewed and put forward in this case," she sighed. "Why doesn't anyone confront them, why doesn't anyone point them out in the street and say, 'These are the people who committed horrific acts against Mukhtar Mai?'"

She said she receives threatening messages daily on her telephone, Facebook page or in person and is now afraid for the safety of her children.

"I have reported nearly 35 such threatening calls and incidents and only one person was arrested, but even he was let out on bail," she said. "I want to make it known that if anything happens to me or my children and family members, the Pakistani government is responsible."

As for the opera inspired by her story, she doubts it could ever be shown in Pakistan, where it would certainly hit a nerve. But, she said, "I would like it to be shown everywhere."

"And I would like for the people who committed this crime to be identified and come face to face with what they did."
New study shows genetic makeup allow them to adapt to higher altitudes

Tibetans can adapt to high altitude living due to genetic variations that allow them to maintain low red blood cell levels in environments with thin air (Photo: Pixabay)

Beijing: Tibetans can adapt to high altitude living due to genetic variations that allow them to maintain low red blood cell levels in environments with thin air, researchers have found in a new study.

The study conducted by Chinese researchers, however, suggested that there might be a limit to the altitude at which Tibetans can live without incurring grave health complications - 4,500 meters.

According to the study led by Tibet University Professor Cui Chaoying and two research teams, the gene variants discovered seem to cease to be effective in maintaining low red blood cell levels at altitudes higher than 4,500 meters.

Scientists discovered that ethnic Tibetans living on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau can adapt to high altitude living due to genetic variations that allow them to maintain low red blood cell levels in environments with thin air, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

In general, the human body reacts to low oxygen levels in the air by producing more red blood cells which transport oxygen between the lungs and body tissue.

But maintaining high red blood cell levels over a long time can result in conditions such as heart failure. Researchers collected blood samples from ethnic Tibetans

in 20 locations at altitudes ranging from 1,900 meters to 5,018 meters.

The study was published in the American Journal of Hematology
PM Narendra Modi never hosts an iftar and makes it a point to skip the one hosted by the President.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and a host of former ministers and environmentalists lined up for the launch of Jairam Rameshs book, Indira Gandhi  A Life in Nature, at a small gathering last week. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was conspicuous by his absence at the programme which was held as part of Indira Gandhis birth centennial year. He was apparently scheduled to attend the book launch but failed to turn up. Those who attended said the programme was delayed and the guests were kept waiting for Mr Gandhi and even Mrs Gandhi appeared clueless about her sons whereabouts.

The proceedings got under way only after the Congress president got a message from Mr Gandhi that he would not be coming as he was in Amritsar that day.

This seemingly minor incident basically reflects the communication gap between the party president and vice-president. When this is the situation at the top, it is not surprising that the Congress rank and file feels frustrated with Mr Gandhis inaccessibility to the ordinary party workers, who end up spending days in New Delhi waiting to meet him. Most often, they are unsuccessful in their mission.

Till three years ago, politicians across the political spectrum made it a point to host an iftar party during the holy month of Ramzan. But these iftar parties, an occasion for both socialising and politicking, have virtually stopped after the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014.

While the BJP has never been comfortable on such occasions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi never hosts an iftar and makes it a point to skip the one hosted by the President. He had once famously declined to wear a skull cap offered to him when he was Gujarat chief minister.

Given this backdrop, everyone was taken aback when Gujarat governor O.P. Kohli, who is holding additional charge of Madhya Pradesh, hosted an iftar in Bhopal last week. This move was particularly bewildering because Mr Kohli is a senior BJP leader, deeply rooted in the partys culture and ethos. With no other explanation forthcoming, people believe that Mr Kohli had possibly deferred to Bhopals composite culture when he decided to host an iftar in the city. The big question now is: Will Mr Kohli host a similar gathering in Gujarat, a state whose people are not only extremely conservative but are also more attuned to Mr Modis brand of politics?

As speculation about changes in the Congress Partys state units gathers momentum, the rivalry between former ministers and political rivals Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia is also intensifying. Both leaders are keen to head the Madhya Pradesh Congress and have made strenuous efforts in the recent past to establish their credentials for this post. Recently, when Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi travelled to Mandsaur to visit the families of farmers killed in the violent protests, he was accompanied by Kamal Nath and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh. Mr Nath had been prompt in issuing a press statement a day before, condemning the police firing on protesting farmers.

Mr Scindia, who was abroad at that time, cut short his stay when he heard about the violence in his home state. Like the others, he also attempted to visit Mandsaur, but was stopped from reaching there by the police.

Mr Scindia then followed it up with a satyagraha while Bhopal was plastered with posters proclaiming, Kisan ke samman mein, Scindia maidan mein. Mr Scindia was also quick to publicise his efforts on Twitter. Clearly, the battle for Madhya Pradesh is heating up in the Congress.

There was a time when minister of state for commerce Nirmala Sitharaman was among the most recognised faces of the BJP. Before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, she was fielded regularly by the party to hit out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. Articulate and intelligent, Ms Sitharaman was therefore a natural choice for a ministerial berth in the Narendra Modi government. Unlike her Cabinet colleague Smriti Irani, who has a knack for hitting the headlines often for the wrong reasons, Ms Sitharaman has virtually disappeared from the scene. She is barely seen or heard these days. It was also surprising and mystifying that Ms Sitharaman was not among the frontline ministers who were called upon to present the governments achievements during its third anniversary celebrations. This has predictably resulted in several conspiracy theories.

Her detractors in the party maintain this may be because the top bosses are not happy with her handling of the commerce ministry. However, Ms Sitharaman was called in last week after a prolonged gap to attack former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit for his unbecoming remarks about the Army Chief. But this failed to convince the sceptics in the BJP.
Samsung is readying an early preview version of English commands for Bixby in the US.

Samsung says that Bixby will be able to have a better control over apps and local devices than existing AI assistants.

When the Samsung Galaxy S8 has announced din April, it caught the attention of the world with its gorgeous looks, incredible specifications and a slick software. One feature that was supposed to be a major highlight at the time of launch was Samsungs own AI assistant  Bixby. Bixby was debuted as a utility with calendar and memo functions, even though Samsung promised it as a full-blown rival to Google Assistant. Now though, it seems that Samsung is closer to deliver its promise.

Samsung has announced its decision to get Bixby voice commands working in the US, albeit with a catch. Bixbys voice recognition capability will be available only as a preview for now to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ customers. That means that only a selected few will be able to get a glimpse of Samsungs software marvel before its official launch in the US sometime later in the year.

To recall, Samsung got Bixbys voice recognition working for the Korean market last month. It is now known that Bixby can do much more than just keeping being a calendar or memo taking app. It can play songs, narrate a poem, do a custom rap song and much more. Samsung says that Bixby will be able to have a better control over apps and local devices than existing AI assistants. For example, users can ask Bixby to click a photo and send it to someone without touching the screen. Thats something that existing assistant software lack.

However, Samsung announced a few days back that Bixby was having trouble in learning the English language and it would be taking some time before it would start having conversations with existing Bixby-supported handsets. There has been no word on the roll-out of the preview in the Indian market, one of the largest markets for Samsung with a considerable number of Galaxy S8 handsets out in the wild.

If you want to register for the early access, you can do it from here.

(Source)
Along with the accused, the judge also indicted the victims father for permitting child abuse and endangering children.

The incident of brutal torture which led to death of Aaliyah came into light after a postmortem report was revealed in the court. (Representational Image)

Columbus: A 25-year-old US woman, on Thursday, was given life imprisonment for brutally torturing and killing her boyfriends 4-year-old daughter at her residence in Toledo, Ohio.

According to a report in The Sun, Bridgette White was found guilty of murder and endangering children over the death of Aaliyah Smith, a younger child of her live-in partner Tyrone Hooks.

The incident of brutal torture which led to death of Aaliyah came into light after a postmortem report was revealed in the court.

Frank Spryszak, an assistant county prosecutor, told the court that Aaliyah had burns and blunt force trauma marks to her scalp, face, torso, buttocks, arms, hands, legs, and feet.

It was also brought to the courts notice that the accused was a drug addict, and that, traces of heroin and cocaine were found in the childs blood.

The court heard, the accused was meant to look after Aaliyah and her elder sister while her boyfriend, the girls father Tyrone Hooks, was at work.

Tyrone discovered the body of Aaliyah on November 22, 2016, and later called 911 to report the death. Subsequently, the father and his live-in partner were arrested.

The accused, at times used to lock Aaliyah up in a dog cage in a poorly lit basement. Police found the dog cage containing her hair fibres and a pair of the childs underwear.

US court Judge Ruth Ann Franks while pronouncing the verdict told White repeatedly that she will be facing a maximum term of life in prison without eligibility for parole.

The judge said: Presume you will never be released from the state penitentiary and you will die in prison.

Along with the accused, the judge also indicted the victims father for permitting child abuse and endangering children.
'We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer', Trump said at a cheering crowd in Miamis Cuban-American enclave.

Miami: President Donald Trump on Friday ordered tighter restrictions on Americans travelling to Cuba and a clampdown on US business dealings with the Caribbean islands military, saying he was cancelling former President Barack Obama's "terrible and misguided deal" with Havana.

Laying out his new Cuba policy in a speech in Miami, Trump signed a presidential directive rolling back parts of Obamas historic opening to the Communist-ruled country after a 2014 diplomatic breakthrough between the two former Cold War foes.

But Trump left in place many of Obamas changes, including the reopened US embassy in Havana, even as he sought to show he was making good on a campaign promise to take a tougher line against Cuba, especially over its human rights record.

"We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer," Trump told a cheering crowd in Miamis Cuban-American enclave of Little Havana, including Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who helped forge the new restrictions on Cuba.

"Effective immediately, I am cancelling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump declared as he made a full-throated assault on the government of Cuban President Raul Castro.

Trumps revised approach calls for stricter enforcement of a longtime ban on Americans going to Cuba as tourists, and seeks to prevent US dollars from being used to fund what the Trump administration sees as a repressive military-dominated government.

But, facing pressure from US businesses and even some fellow Republicans to avoid turning back the clock completely in relations with Cuba, the president chose to leave intact some of his Democratic predecessor's steps towards normalization.

The new policy bans most US business transactions with the Armed Forces Business Enterprises Group, a Cuban conglomerate involved in all sectors of the economy. But it makes some exceptions, including for air and sea travel, according to US officials. This will essentially shield US airlines and cruise lines serving the island.

"We do not want US dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba," Trump said, pledging that US sanctions would not be lifted until Cuba frees political prisoners and holds free elections.

While the changes are far-reaching, they appear to be less sweeping than many US pro-engagement advocates had feared. Trump based his partial reversal of Obamas Cuba measures largely on human rights grounds.

His critics, however, have questioned why his administration is now singling out Cuba for human rights abuses but downplaying the issue in other parts of the world, including Saudi Arabia, a close US ally Trump visited last month where political parties and protests are banned.

Trump, however, stopped short of breaking diplomatic relations restored in 2015 after more than five decades of hostilities. He also will not cut off recently resumed direct US-Cuba commercial flights or cruise-ship travel, though his more restrictive policy seems certain to dampen new economic ties overall.

The administration, according to one White House official, has no intention of disrupting existing business ventures such as one struck under Obama by Starwood Hotels Inc, which is owned by Marriott International Inc (MAR.O), to manage a historic Havana hotel.

Nor does Trump plan to reinstate limits that Obama lifted on the amount of the islands coveted rum and cigars that Americans can bring home for personal use. Still, it will be the latest attempt by Trump to overturn parts of Obama's presidential legacy. He has already pulled the United States out of a major international climate treaty and is trying to scrap his predecessor's landmark healthcare programme.

When Obama announced the detente in 2014, he said that decades of US efforts to achieve change in Cuba by isolating the island had failed and it was time to try a new approach.

Critics of the rapprochement said Obama was giving too much away without extracting concessions from the Cuban government. Castro's government has clearly stated it does not intend to change its one-party political system.

Trump aides say Obamas efforts amounted to "appeasement" and have done nothing to advance political freedoms in Cuba, while benefiting the Cuban government financially.

"It's hard to think of a policy that makes less sense than the prior administration's terrible and misguided deal with the Castro regime," Trump said in Miami.

International human rights groups say, however, that renewed US efforts to isolate the island could worsen the situation by empowering Cuban hard-liners.

The Cuban government, which has made clear it will not be pressured into reforms, had no immediate comment.

But ordinary Cubans said they were crestfallen to be returning to an era of frostier relations with the United States with potential economic fallout for them.

"It's like we are returning to the Cold War," said Cuban designer Idania del Rio, who joined a group of friends in a hotel in Old Havana to watch the speech in English on CNN.

Trump announced his new approach at the Manuel Artime Theater in the heart of the United States' largest Cuban-American and Cuban exile community, whose support aides believe helped him win Florida in the election.

The venue is named after a leader of the failed US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 against Fidel Castros revolutionary government.

I have trust in Trump to do the right thing when it comes to Cuba, said Jorge Saurez, 66, a retired physician in Little Havana.

Trumps vow to keep the broader decades-old US economic embargo on Cuba firmly in place drew criticism from some US farmers, especially growers of corn, soybeans and rice. Obamas detente has already lifted exports and raised hopes for more gains, which they said were now in doubt.

Mexicos foreign ministry urged the United States and Cuba to resolve their differences "via dialogue."

But Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose leftist government is Cuba's main regional ally, slammed Trump's tightening of restrictions as an "offence" against Latin America.

"His speech was aggressive and threatening, revealing his contempt and ignorance," President Nicolas Maduro said in a speech. "We reject Donald Trump's declarations against our brother Cuba. It is an offence against Latin America."

The biggest change in travel policy will be that Americans making educational people-to-people trips, one of the most popular authorized categories, can no longer go to the island on their own but only on group tours. Trump's aides said the aim was to close off a path for Americans seeking beach vacations in a country where US tourism is still officially banned.

US Senator Jeff Flake, one of the Republican Party's most vocal advocates for easing rules on US dealings with Cuba, called for a vote on legislation lifting restrictions on American travel there. But the Republican leadership in Congress has long blocked such a move, and it appears unlikely to budge.

Under Trumps order, the Treasury and Commerce departments will be given 30 days to begin writing new regulations, which will not take effect until they are complete.

In contentious deliberations leading up to the new policy, some aides argued that Trump, a former real estate magnate who won the presidency vowing to unleash US business, would have a hard time defending any moves that close off the Cuban market.

But other advisers have contended that it is important to make good on a campaign promise to Cuban-Americans.
'Helmut hated war but he detested totalitarianism even more', George HW Bush said in a statement of the former German chancellor.

Washington: US leaders mourned the death of Helmut Kohl on Friday, praising his role in the reunification of Germany, with former president George HW Bush calling him "one of the greatest leaders in post-War Europe."

"Helmut hated war but he detested totalitarianism even more," Bush said in a statement of the former German chancellor. "Working closely with my very good friend to help achieve a peaceful end to the Cold War and the unification of Germany within NATO will remain one of the great joys of my life," he added.

Former president Bill Clinton said he was "deeply saddened" by the death of "my dear friend" whose "visionary leadership prepared Germany and all of Europe for the 21st century." "He was called upon to answer some of the most monumental questions of his time, and in answering them correctly he made possible the reunification of a strong, prosperous Germany and the creation of the European Union," Clinton said.

"I will never forget walking with him through the Brandenburg Gate in 1994 for a large rally on the eastern side, and seeing genuine hope in the eyes of tens of thousands of young people," he said.

"I knew at that moment that Helmut Kohl was the man who could help them realize their dreams. History continues to prove that he delivered." President Donald Trump hailed Kohl as a "friend and ally" of the United States.

"He was not only the father of German reunification, but also an advocate for Europe and the transatlantic relationship. The world has benefitted from his vision and efforts. His legacy will live on," Trump said in a White House statement.
Sunni-ruled monarchies sided with the protesters in March 2011, when the war started with the brutal repression of anti-govt demonstrations.

Qatar led most mediation efforts to obtain the release of hostages held by the group formerly known as Al-Nusra Front. (Photo: representational/AP)

Beirut: A diplomatic crisis pitting Saudi Arabia against Qatar has put Syrian rebels in a difficult position, analysts say, after rivalries between Gulf backers had already weakened the opposition.

Both Sunni-ruled monarchies sided with the protesters in March 2011, when the war started with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations.

They continued supporting the mostly Sunni rebels when unrest spiralled into conflict between the armed opposition and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the country's Alawite Shiite minority and is backed by Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran.

But six years later, the rebellion has been plagued by rivalries between Riyadh and Doha, as well as weakened by Russia's military intervention in support of Assad's forces. Moscow's support for regime forces led to a series of setbacks for the rebels, including their landmark loss in December of second city Aleppo.

Last week, Saudi Arabia and allies, including the United Arab Emirates, severed or reduced diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations the emirate supports extremism, claims Doha has denied.

"The current rupture puts the Syrian opposition in a very awkward position politically, as nobody wants to have to take sides publicly nor can afford to alienate either side," said Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Centre.

A rebel official in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus said he hoped the crisis between Doha and Riyadh was just "a temporary storm".

"Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have supported the revolution of the Syrian people and shown solidarity throughout years of tragedy," the rebel official said.

In a sign of the embarrassment the crisis is causing, several rebel groups approached by AFP refused to comment, saying it was a "sensitive" issue. But Sayigh said the latest flare-up in relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia will have a limited impact on the Syrian conflict.

"It probably won't have a major financial impact, nor a military one since the US and Turkey have stepped up their support for factions that previously were close to Qatar or to Saudi Arabia," Sayigh said. Riyadh "reduced its funding sharply starting" from the summer of 2015 "after it launched its intervention in Yemen" earlier in the year, he said.

Six years into the war, Syria's fractured rebellion controls just around 10 percent of the war-torn country, with backing from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and the United States.

Pro-Doha rebels including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group are present in the north of the country. In Eastern Ghouta, pro-Doha opposition groups exist alongside the pro-Riyadh Jaish al-Islam rebel alliance.

Rebels in the south, meanwhile, are trained by Amman and Washington. Another influential player is Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, which now leads the Tahrir al-Sham group and which some analysts and Syrian factions say has links with Qatar, although Doha has denied this.

Qatar led most mediation efforts to obtain the release of hostages held by the group formerly known as Al-Nusra Front. In Eastern Ghouta, even before the Gulf crisis, factions supported by Qatar on one side and Saudi Arabia on the other had already clashed, killing hundreds of fighters.

Raphael Lefevre, a researcher at the University of Oxford, said the latest Saudi-Qatari crisis could well spark further tensions between rival groups in the rebel enclave.

In 2013 and 2014, "Qatar and Saudi Arabia competed for influence within exiled opposition bodies, each by supporting different factions and leaders, something which largely contributed to paralysing and fragmenting the Syrian opposition," he said.

But the consequences of the latest spat "could be much bloodier, especially as the two countries support rival rebel factions in areas already marked by a great degree of opposition infighting and regime violence such as the Eastern Ghouta", Lefevre said.

Syria expert Thomas Pierret however said "local dynamics rather than external patrons determine alliances" in Eastern Ghouta. He said Ahrar al-Sham risked "suffering financially from a reorientation of Qatari politics", even if it continues to enjoy support from Turkey, which has intervened as a mediator in the Gulf dispute.

Syria's exiled political opposition is also fractured. The High Negotiations Committee is based in Riyadh, while the National Coalition work out of Istanbul.
The king's decree issued on Saturday renames the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution as the office of Public Prosecution.

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's King Salman has issued a royal decree that restructures the country's system for prosecutions, essentially stripping the crown prince of longstanding powers overseeing criminal investigations.

The king's decree issued on Saturday renames the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution as the office of Public Prosecution and orders that a newly appointed public prosecutor report directly to the monarch.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who also serves as Interior Minister, had overseen the BIP and had been tasked with nominating its chairman. Rather than being a part of the Ministry of Justice, the bureau has been attached to the Ministry of Interior, which oversees police and other security forces.

Its broad range of duties included investigating crimes, filing cases, prosecuting individuals, appealing court judgments and supervising the execution of criminal sentences.
Professors, students, intellectuals and private donors, in Iraq and abroad, are contributing with books and donations. The initiative began three months ago, when the eastern sector of the city was freed. The university president bemoans the destruction, almost 100 per cent loss. The library held thousands of rare books inside. So far 6,000 books have been collected so far.

Mosul (AsiaNews)  A campaign to restore the holdings of the library of the University of Mosul has received an enthusiastic response since it began three months ago.

Professors, students and private donors inside and outside Iraq are contributing books and other materials even before government military action to reclaim the city from Daesh (Islamic State) has ended.

The initiative began to take shape soon after the Iraqi military launched an offensive  with the support of Kurdish and Shia forces  to free the city.

So far, the eastern part of Mosul and most of the Nineveh Plain have been cleared of Jihadi presence, but strong pockets of resistance remain in western Mosul and the Old Town.

This month marks the third anniversary of the capture by Islamic State (IS) fighters in 2014 of Iraqs second largest city. When it captured Mosul, IS seized the library and made a show of destroying its books and manuscripts, many of them ancient and priceless.

The largescale devastation inflicted by Jihadis on Iraqs (and Syrias) historical and cultural heritage pushed UNESCO, the UN education, science and culture agency, to issue a warning in 2015.

Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako in December called for action to protect threatened the art work, artefacts, and books, which he said "belong to all" and are worth more than oil.

Speaking about the library, The destruction is complete, said Obay al-Dewachi, president of the University of Mosul. Almost 100 per cent of the universitys library and holdings were destroyed.

Al-Dewachi has been running a University of Mosul campus in exile in Dohuk in Iraqi Kurdistan since 2015.

Many of the librarys older manuscripts had been digitised and backed up on servers, so they have not been entirely lost to posterity, said Mohammed Jassim, the librarys director, who has been working in Kirkuk for the past three years.

Some manuscripts are intact because employees spirited them away when Islamic State captured Mosul.

The library contained 3,500 rare books dating as far back as the early 18th century. The library also had 5,000 government publications dating back to the establishment of the modern Iraqi state in 1921.

Making matters worse, most of the librarys holdings of about one million books were destroyed when US-led coalition fighter planes launched an air strike on the library in March of 2016 because coalition forces believed it was being used as an Islamic State command centre.

In January of this year, as Iraqi forces reclaimed the university campus, IS set fire to the building, apparently to destroy evidence about its operations.

You can smell the soot from 500 metres away, said Ali al-Baroodi, a lecturer in the translation department at the University of Mosul. The books were piled in a corner and set on fire.

The campaign to rebuild the university library began in February of this year, soon after the liberation of the eastern part of the city, where the universitys campus is located. It was led by the Iraqi blogger Mosul Eye who anonymously documented the massacres and destructions carried out by the Islamic State.

So far, the university has collected more than 6,000 books and has a pledge of 20 tonnes of books in response to the appeal made by Mosul Eye.

The community at Baghdad College, a prestigious high school established by American Jesuits in 1932, has also been collecting books for the library. Anas Jaroo, 23, a software engineer and Baghdad College alumnus, donated 40 books on medicine and civil and computer engineering.

My father, who is a retired physician, graduated from Mosul Medical College in 1982, said Jaroo, who lives in Baghdad. He used to tell me about the university in the old times. For him, it was a little Harvard.
by Christopher Sharma

Poll is now set for September. The Rastriya Janata Party has threatened violent opposition if their demands are not heeded. Other parties and ordinary citizens protest the postponement. Some fear Indian interference against the countrys secular constitution.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews)  The Nepali government has announced the postponement until 18 September of local elections in Province N. 2, which is located on the border with India, following threats of violent protests against the elections by the Rastriya Janata Party (RJP).

Some fear that India is interfering in the province in order to disrupt the elections. Elections in Provinces N. 1, 5, and 7 will go ahead as planned on 28 June.

The RJP has put pressure and threatened violent protests to prevent the poll until its requests are heard. As long as the government does not consider our demands we will not participate in the elections, said Senior RJP leader Anil K. Jha.

"The government has agreed to amend the constitution, but there has been no progress towards increasing local districts based on the population," Jah added. "If we go into the elections right now, we wont have any plans to reassure the Madhese."

The Unified Leninist-Marxist Party (UML) slammed the decision. The "RJP is ruled and driven by Indian and Nepali Hindu fundamentalists who want to prevent the application of the secular constitution, said UML Party Secretary Yoges Bhattarai.

They believe that if elections are held, secularism will be institutionalised and religious freedom will prevail. That is why they want to undermine the new secular constitution and re-establish Hinduism with the help of India, he added. There is no political reason for postponing the elections, but there is a malicious interest in depriving people of their secular rights."

Sudir Sharma, editor of the well-known Kantipur newspaper, noted that some in the province are worried that the RJP is becoming a tool of India to weaken the constitution.

Upendra Yadav, a leader of another Madhese party, criticised the postponement. "The RJP is not the only party in Madhesh," he explained. "The will of the people should not be controlled by the personal interests of a few leaders."

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Gopal Man Shrestha, who also acts as government spokesperson, explained that the decision was made after opponents said that they would participate in the elections in September. He also noted that the purpose of the step is to avoid clashes and deaths among Nepali citizens.
The bishop is recognised by the Holy See but not by the government. He was held for 27 days during which he attended a religious seminar" to convince him to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and force the Vatican to appoint right away a coadjutor bishop from the official community.

Wenzhou (AsiaNews) - Mgr Peter Shao Zhumin, bishop of Wenzhou, returned to Wenzhou two days ago. He went missing into police hands on 18 May, kept in a secret place for 27 days. His disappearance came after he was summoned for a "conversation" with the citys Religious Affairs Bureau.

He is not free in the ordinary sense of the word because he came back to Wenzhou with a police escort. Mgr Shao is under control because he belongs to the underground community, whose actions (Masses, meetings, and catechesis in unregistered places) are deemed "criminal".

Although a member of the unofficial community, Mgr Shao is bishop of Wenzhou and has been recognised by the Holy See, a fact that the Religious Affairs Ministry does not accept.

According to some Catholics in Wenzhou, during the 27 days of forced absence, Mgr Shao took part in a "religious seminar" that had two purposes.

The first one was to get him to ask the Vatican to appoint right away a co-adjutor bishop from the official community, with membership in the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA). The faithful explain that although the CPCA wants to impose the method of "autonomy" and self-ordination, the approval of the Holy See is necessary for the new bishop to be accepted by the community.

The second reason for the "religious seminary" was to convince Mgr Shao to join the CPCA and participate in the Council of Bishops. The CPCA wants to build a Chinese Church independent of the Holy See and the Council of Bishops embraces all official bishops, including those not nominated by the Vatican and in a position of excommunication. It excludes unofficial bishops. A Letter from Benedict XVI to Chinese Catholics  which Pope Francis often praises  states that the principles on which the two bodies are founded are "incompatible with Catholic doctrine".

Mgr Shao had also been abducted by police in April, a few days before Easter. His diocese of Wenzhou has been deeply divided between the official and underground Christian communities. It is estimated that it has some 120,000 members, more than 80,000 in the underground group. Its 50 or so priests are evenly divided between the two branches.

In the recent past, the Holy See has sought to reconcile the communities by nominating Mgr Zhu Weifang (now deceased) as ordinary bishop and Mgr Shao as bishop with right of succession. According to the faithful, who love and respect Mgr Shao, "the local government does everything to keep us divided".
A man charged with murder in a shooting outside a Bakersfield dollar store last month had been at large since 2013 on charges stemming from a 
In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
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Cape Kiwanda, Oregon Coast: Complete Travel Guide, Info

Published 06/16/2017 at 10:24 PM PDT - Updated Constantly

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Pacific City, Oregon)  One of two centerpieces to Pacific City (the other being Haystack Rock), Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area is the southernmost cape in the north Oregon coast's famed Three Capes Route. It's about a half hour drive from Lincoln City, and about an hour or slightly more from north coast hotspots like Cannon Beach or Seaside. It's also near the dividing line between what is considered the north Oregon coast and the central coast.



At about 240 feet high (measuring the dune), Cape Kiwanda is still not the tallest of the three capes, but it makes it the tallest dune on the entire coastline.

This guide takes you through many basics of the cape, as well as facts and travel tips not found anywhere else. However, there are numerous details here that will really assist your visit. Look for the links to even more information on the various subjects.

Some other basics:



There is a handicap accessible viewpoint nearby, at the edge of the road going down to the beach. There's an airport here in Pacific City, not far from the beaches. See Approaching Kiwanda, Handicap Accessible Viewpoint.

Hiking up the cape is not easy, but it's only about 30 or 40 feet to get to the top of the rocky section and its viewpoints. There are no specific hiking trails as the area is wide open.

Once at the top the views are legendary. Several sections look straight out to sea, where you can soak in the panoramas and the blindingly beautiful sunsets that can light up this area's golden cliffs into fiery, memorable reds and oranges. See Top of Cape Kiwanda.

Various tide pool areas dot the base, as well as curiously pockmarked cliffs. There's even a small sea cave you can just barely see. Be extremely cautious here, however, and do not even go near this base except in the calmest of conditions. See Cape Kiwanda, Tide Pools, Rocky Crevices.

The Dory fishing fleet is famous here. A tradition that goes back decades, these small boats are most remarkable for the spectacular way they land, which is by heading straight for the beach at a high speed and literally stranding themselves there.

Safety: Stay away from ledges and do not cross the fenced areas. People continuously die here by doing so. That includes the Punchbowl area you look down on wild wave action from one viewpoint, and especially stay clear of the tip (where the duck bill rock once resided). Kiwanda's Mighty Mysteries: Astounding, Forbidden Sights.

All 185 acres of Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area were acquired from B.A. McPhillips in 1973.





Fun Details of Kiwanda

From many angles, the top is downright surreal, like something out of a Yes album cover done by Roger Dean or a Dr. Suess book.

Lodging in Pacific City in this area - Where to eat - Maps and Virtual Tours

It also makes interesting noises, however. If the wind is whipping things up enough, parts of the cape start to sing. You'll hear a variety of whistling noises, likely coming from the pipes that hold the fences, but also quite possibly the wire fencing as well. Sights and Sounds of Cape Kiwanda

That westernmost tip area looks quite alien (the one you need to stay away from). Of historical curiosity: there was a kind of giant ape face visible from here. At least around 2000 it still existed. Later pictures from about 2016 show it having deteriorated quite a lot (according to pics taken of the now-destroyed Duck Bill Rock at the time). Kiwanda's Mighty Mysteries: Astounding, Forbidden Sights.

It's a testament to how the cape is slowly disintegrating.

This brings up the subject of the makeup of Cape Kiwanda. Geologically, it began some 18 million years ago, and it's comprised of a number of different kinds of rock materials. Mostly, however, it's mudstone and sandstone, which is much less resilient than the basalt stuff that makes up the other two capes or big well-known features like Tillamook Head.

Consequently, it's eroding much faster than most features of this shoreline. However, it would be eroding even faster if it weren't for the presence of Haystack Rock, which lessens the tidal poundings. See Geology of an Oregon Coast Icon: Sweeping Cape Kiwanda.

At its very northwestern edge, from McPhillips Beach (or by walking down the northern slope of the cape), you can catch site of a wild, chaotic ocean canyon. This was made visible by the eroding of Kiwanda, when an arch hanging over that section collapsed. The subsequent pile of rocks created a dam at that end which allowed people to peek around the rocks that was normally cut off by a long tide line. Photos of Manic Moods of Cape Kiwanda

More information links:

Startling Oregon Coast: Manic Moods of Cape Kiwanda. About a mile north of the parking lot for Cape Kiwanda, youll find an unmarked, one-lane road that mysteriously wanders down a steep hill to the west. This is still Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, but a section otherwise known as McPhillips Beach.

Cape Kiwanda: Wild Canyon Full of Ocean. Under certain conditions, the ocean sounds a bit like the roar of a small jet engine in the distance. Perhaps its just the acoustics of the sound of the waves bouncing around the cliff walls, but its an unusual and delightful facet of this spot.















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Two Southeast Texas sailors who were aboard a Navy destroyer that collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan on Friday are safe and accounted for, the families said.



Josh Mason, 22, of Lumberton, and Skyler Click, 20, of Orangefield, were aboard the USS Fitzgerald before dawn Friday when their ship collided with a container vessel four times its size.



U.S. and Japanese vessels and aircraft searched Saturday for seven American sailors who were still missing, the Associated Press reported. At least three sailors were injured.

MORE | Navy confirms sailor from South Texas killed in collision



Mason sent messages to loved ones Friday evening, letting them know both sailors were safe and not among those missing or injured.



Denise Mason said she received a short text message from her son saying he was OK and would call when he could.



"When we finally got a text message from him saying he was OK, it was like getting the world lifted off our shoulders," she said.
Plano, Texas-based Community Hospital Corp. appointed Tammie Chavez Stump, RN, CEO of Union County General Hospital of Clayton, N.M.

Here are five takeaways:

1. Ms. Stump has been working at Union County General Hospital since 2015, serving as COO, CNO and compliance officer.

2. She came to the hospital from Artesia (N.M.) General Hospital, another CHC facility, where she was operations officer and interim CNO.

3. She also previously served in leadership roles, including as director of quality/risk management, at CHC's Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell, N.M.

4. Ms. Stump holds an MBA degree from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales.

5. Community Hospital Consulting, the management and consulting arm of CHC, has been managing Union County General Hospital since September 2014.
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health plans to close the skilled nursing and sub-acute units at Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center St. Luke's campus in San Francisco on Oct. 31, according the San Francisco Business Times.

The closure of the two units will affect 72 employees. In a letter to employees sent last week, Edward Battista, vice president of human resources at Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center, said layoffs will occur throughout August, according to the report.

Sutter spokesman Dean Fryer told the San Francisco Business Times the closure of the two units is part of the hospital's transition into a new campus, which is set to occur in early 2019.

"CPMC has assembled a team to work with patients and their families and our community partners to ensure a smooth transition to a care facility of their choice," Mr. Fryer told the San Francisco Business Times. "CPMC is also working with staff members who are impacted by the closure, and their union representatives, to identify various options including job retraining, alternative placement within CPMC as well as or other opportunities."

More articles on leadership and management:

Mississippi health system cuts more than 100 jobs

Study finds deductibles would be higher under AHCA

Dr. Anthony Tersigni: Mental and behavioral health crisis deserves our national attention
When Senate Republicans return to Capitol Hill on Monday, they will have just two weeks before their deadline to vote on the American Health Care Act. Failure to prepare the bill for a vote before the Fourth of July recess could derail their seven-year-old pledge to repeal the ACA, reports Politico.

Finalizing a bill in this time period will be a challenge, as Republicans in the Senate have expressed varying views on key policies, such as when to roll back Medicaid expansion and the depth of funding cuts to the program. They must also determine how to lower insurance premiums, when to cut taxes that support the ACA and whether to include funding for Planned Parenthood, according to the report.

The AHCA needs at least 50 of the 52 Senate Republican votes to pass through the reconciliation process.

According to Politico, it's unlikely the Senate will meet their deadline.

Click here for the full story.
Tech companies are trying to take the hassle out of healthcare, but Rahul Parikh, MD, questions in an opinion article for Slate whether applying gig economy-style apps directly to healthcare is the most efficient strategy.

In the article, Dr. Parikh, a San Francisco-based physician and writer, discusses the effectiveness of apps like Lemonaid or HealthTap, which allow users to connect with physicians for diagnoses via video or phone. While he is onboard for disruption, several aspects of these freelance physician apps are concerning to him. First, similar to Uber's self-driving cars, he worries the apps will eventually be able to leverage data and artificial intelligence to make diagnoses independent of physicians  which not only displaces their work, but also opens up the issue of missing a larger, more serious condition.

Second, he is concerned the apps won't be financially sustainable  most people need Uber rides more frequently than a physician's visit, and so few patients spread among many physicians offers little payout. Third, the model may not even reduce healthcare costs because studies show people often do not use virtual care apps as a substitute for office visits. Instead, they often use them for minor issues, like colds, when they may not have even visited a physician at all and the symptoms would have cleared up on their own.

These apps would be much better applied to enhance existing physician practices and relationships with patients, rather than randomly assigning patients to physicians, according to Dr. Parikh.

"It's hard to quantify, but trust and familiarity between a patient and her physician, someone who knows her and her health problems, is one of the greatest efficiencies in healthcare," he writes. "There's less time and effort getting to know all the nitty-gritty details of that patients health history and more time to focus on the problem at hand."

Read the full article here.

More articles on integration and physician issues:

Survey reveals more than 25% of healthcare organizations are not using any electronic credentialing process

NYU Langone enlists transgender actors to help with physician training

UTHealth School of Public Health receives $2.6M grant
Several states have requested rate hikes for individual plans sold on the ACA exchanges for 2018.

Here are seven payers or groups of payers that have requested double-digit premium hikes, as reported by Becker's Hospital Review.

1. Wilmington-based Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware requested an average 33.6 percent rate hike for individual ACA exchange plans next year.

2. Detroit-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan wants to raise premiums for its individual ACA exchange plans 26.9 percent on average next year  a figure the payer says would increase to 31.7 percent if federal subsidies are discontinued.

3. Health insurance policyholders asked state regulators to deny Anthem's desired 33.8 percent average rate increase for 2018, labeling it excessive and unaffordable.

4. California's health insurance exchange will instruct insurers to increase premium prices if the federal government doesn't confirm it will pay the ACA's cost-sharing reductions by mid-August. A recent Covered California-commissioned analysis found premiums for silver-level ACA health plans could increase 16.6 percent if CSRs are not issued.

5. New York state health insurers requested an average 16.6 percent increase on premiums for 2018 ACA exchange plans.

6. Durham-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina requested a 22.9 percent average rate increase for health plans it sells on the ACA exchanges.

7. Baltimore-based CareFirst filed requests to raise rates an average of 52 percent in Maryland and 21.5 percent in Virginia for individuals and families buying their own coverage, according to the report. In Washington, D.C., the payer is seeking an average increase of 40 percent for its health maintenance organization plans and 20 percent for its preferred provider organization plans.
Healthcare industry trends such as growth in data analytics and high-deductible health plans are causing payer and provider relationships to evolve.

With this evolution comes the need for greater communication and collaboration between the two sides. A recent Availity survey of 40 health plans and 400 practice- and facility-based providers found 53 percent of payers "strongly agree" providers and health plans need to collaborate to be profitable.

Craig Samitt, MD, chief clinical officer of Indianapolis-based Anthem, sees collaboration between payers and providers as a mandate rather than an option for managing population health and for the continued evolution and transformation of healthcare.

Anthem has changed how it interacts with providers in the last several years. This change is based on the belief that collaboration between health plans and providers leads to better outcomes and lower costs, says Dr. Samitt.

Optima Health CMO Thomas Lundquist, MD, agreed payer and provider relationships have become more collaborative. Optima is part of Sentara Health Plans, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based payer with more than 26,000 in-network providers and more than 100 in-network hospitals.

"I think in some cases some payers are playing the role they always have and are not necessarily very interactive with many providers. On the other hand some payers like ourselves are very much collaborating with and investing our time and energy and our team's bandwidth in providers, especially those organized around the healthcare Triple Aim," he says.

Although collaboration is improving, disputes between payers and providers is still a common occurance, according to Dennis Laraway, executive vice president and CFO of Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System. He says there are still many legacy payer-provider relationships that are often fee-for-service oriented and unit price oriented. At Memorial Hermann, for instance, more than 95 percent of the system's revenue stream is still fee-for-service, claims-based reimbursement.

"Even in the day-to-day joint operating activities between payer and provider, you still see a great deal of payment dispute activity over the authorization of the service, and payment arrangements per contract vs. those that were adjudicated in the claim," sais Mr. Laraway. "Again very much a legacy framework, fee for service, that still carries out today between payer and provider."

Still, Mr. Laraway acknowledges some evolution of change has occurred, as there are more contemporary arrangements emerging between payer and provider along accountable care structures.

"Memorial Hermann's success as an ACO for the CMS payment demonstration is evidence of our commitment to shift volume into a population-based framework. We're continuing to work with commercial payers to strive for similar payment models, especially when the member can truly be attributed directly to our provider network," says Mr. Laraway.

Karim Habibi, senior vice president and chief of managed care at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, also noted the payer-provider relationship has become collaborative.

"These value-based contracts are still laid on the top of the fee-for-service contracts and have the inherent limitations of fee for service, but such contracts are expected to continue to improve and evolve over time," said Mr. Habibi.

Data analytics

While payers and providers talked in general terms about the relationship between the two sides, they specifically discussed how data analytics now plays a role.

Dr. Samitt discussed Anthem's AIM Specialty Health subsidiary, a specialty benefit management company, which he says makes actionable data available to physicians so they can make better informed treatment decisions in high-risk, high-cost areas such as oncology. Additionally, he noted Anthem's partnership in California called Vivity, which is a product off the insurer's California health plan in partnership with seven health systems in the state. Dr. Samitt says Anthem worked to develop an analytics platform in support of Vivity that provides participating health systems with necessary population health information and predictive analytics.

Dr. Lundquist with Optima acknowledged health plans weren't previously designed to do physician-level reporting very well. Therefore, Optima invested in a couple key areas of provider analytics.

"We had to spend time and energy and continue effort to make sure our database is structured for physician reporting," he says. "Then on top of that, once you get that data cleaned up, we've invested in... creating analytics platforms that allow us to show provider at a provider level and also a provider group level and also at a clinically integrated network level how the cost efficiency or lack thereof exists around an episode of care."

Still, he says Optima believes the health plan must improve in certain analytics areas, such as creating transparency in real time when it comes to quality. That way the health plan can give providers their quality score card on a monthly basis if possible. Optima representatives said the organization provides "efficiency and effectiveness" scores at the request of providers, as well as quality scorecards to its clinically integrated network.

At Memorial Hermann, Mr. Laraway says the system has been participating in the introduction of the accountable care models through member attribution logic with the large commercial payers in Houston. "It allows us to obtain claim information to then be shared between payer and provider network."

As a result, Mr. Laraway says Memorial Hermann is able to link claim information with its clinical information system, allowing the organization to view trends and incidents of its patients and begin making decisions around clinical care management.

"By having the data, it allows us to stratify the population, work with our physicians around data trends for the patients they're serving and we can provide value back to the table for the payer. That allows both parties to share in some performance incentives that are now value driven rather than volume driven," he adds.

Mr. Habibi with NYU Langone believes analytics is crucial to success under value-based contracts. However, he said this requires significant investment in IT infrastructure, which allows providers to integrate claims data from the payers with hospital EMR data and physicians EMR data. He said providers also need the "ability to normalize the data to create a clinically enriched data sets that can be used to manage the health of the attributed patient population."

High-deductible health plans

Along with analytics, the rise in popularity of high-deductible health plans has played a role in the evolving payer-provider relationship.

Dr. Samitt says HDHPs have contributed to payer-provider collaboration in two major ways. First, the growth of such plans is essentially transforming healthcare into a retail market, especially for services viewed as commodities like imaging. Second, he believes HDHPs force an imperative for payers and providers to work collaboratively to improve quality while reducing costs.

"The reason why both force the necessity for payer and provider collaboration is each distinct player has done what they can in their world to drive toward greater value," says Dr. Samitt. "Payers have used historical benefits management tools to maximize quality and reduce cost. Providers have worked to improve value but with limited access to capital and tools to move to the next level. And unless we begin to see partnerships with shared accountability and coordination of functions across players, consumers are not going to get what they need in a high-deductible world."

When it comes to patients with HDHPs, Dr. Lundquist agreed payers and providers both have roles to play in creating value for consumers. For instance, two medications that provide the same treatment could have different costs to patient. Therefore, he says providers need to know cost to the health plan and patient, while payers need to be able to provide patients with information about medications and tests and what their projected costs are.

HDHPs have also affected the roles of payers and providers when it comes to the back end of the revenue cycle, as providers are now seeking more payment from the patient rather than the payer, Mr. Laraway notes. "Direct patient billing is perhaps the most difficult aspect of the overall revenue cycle, so further shifting financial responsibility from primary payer to patient puts added pressure on the provider sector to chase payments  one patient at a time."

Still, Mr. Habibi said there is opportunity for providers and payers to collaborate on reducing inappropriate or unnecessary care instead of pushing that responsibility on consumers through HDHPs.
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Retired textile executive Alexander (Lex) McVicker is off tomorrow on a sentimental trip to South America to recapture memories of the happy childhood he had in Peru.

Lex (65) was born in that sprawling country and spent the first nine years of his life there. He is the son of Baptist missionary John McVicker and his wife, Mary, whose home was in north Antrim.

John, originally from Dunseverick, not far from the Giant's Causeway, packed his bags and headed for Peru to deliver the Christian message in 1950, and his sweetheart, Mary (McMullan), followed him a year later.

The couple were married in a civil ceremony the day Mary arrived, and there was a religious wedding performed by Sam Jardine, another Irish missionary, a few days later.

Their four children, Lex, Ronnie and daughters Joan and Helen, were all born in Peru. Lex, the oldest, came home to Northern Ireland to live with relatives, sit the 11-Plus and continue his education at Ballycastle High.

"In the beginning we were all home-taught by our mother back in Peru," says Lex, who went on to take a degree in engineering at Queen's University in Belfast.

He and his wife, Iris, who have three grown-up children, Shane, Alice and Emily, and four grandchildren, are going at the same time as a party - led by another former missionary, Dessie Creelman - is heading for South America to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Irish Baptist churches bringing Christianity to Peru.

The anniversary has already been commemorated in Belfast at a gathering of the Association of Baptist Churches, attended by Peruvian visitors and missionaries who still serve in the country.

A book called Peru 90, edited by Mervyn Scott and telling the story of how Christianity reached the South American country in 1927, has been published by the Baptist Association.

Lex McVicker recalls his father telling him that his initial journey to Peru, where he settled in a village called Puno, was an arduous seven-week voyage on the Reina del Pacifico liner, which was built at Harland and Wolff.

This was the vessel on which former Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald died in November 1937 while on a holiday cruise.

John McVicker eventually returned home for good and became pastor of Kilrea Baptist Church for 12 years.

Laura solves mystery of a crime drama

The mystery of whether the thriller Not Dead Enough was coming to Belfast and who would be playing top cop Roy Grace has just been solved for me by actress Laura Whitmore.

She has confirmed that ex-Coronation Street actor Bill Ward will be Superintendent Grace at the Grand Opera House, Belfast from Monday, June 26 for a week and that she will co-star as Cleo Morey.

Which gives me an excuse to show off this charming picture of Dubliner Laura who has read the novel by Peter James on which the stage drama is based.

"It's a fiendishly clever plot and one of the best in the Roy Grace series," says Laura.

"The books have been published in 36 languages and 17 million copies have been sold."

On the night Brian Bishop murdered his wife, he was 60 miles away, asleep in bed. At least that's what he claims.

But as Superintendent Grace continues to deal with the mysterious disappearance of his own wife, he starts to dig a little deeper into the chilling murder case and it soon becomes clear that love can be a dangerous thing.

Laura, who's just turned 32, has been a news presenter and has taken part in Strictly Come Dancing.

In her time she has also presented I'm a Celebrity.

Winged guests playing with fire

We are being tormented at our place this high summer by unwanted daily visitors who are hard to get rid of.

They don't come knocking at the door - believe it or not these callers come slipping and sliding one a day down the chimney of the log burner and pop out of the grate into the family room.

They seem to time their arrival just as the Emmerdale credits are rolling.

I'm talking about small birds like wrens, sparrows and robins who hide under armchairs until I get the window open so they can flutter out to freedom.

This takes ages.

The problem is caused when these winged guests perch on the lip of the chimney and then topple into the flue. No matter how many times this happens they never seem to catch on.

Perhaps they are simply young birds who haven't yet learned how to perch safely.

I hope that is the case as I shudder what's going to happen when winter returns and the log burner is reignited. It would be a catastrophe.

I don't fancy roast robin or wren for dinner.

Stan and Ollie in another fine mess

I hope when the film about comedy duo Laurel and Hardy is produced later in the summer it is remembered that Stan and Ollie visited Belfast in 1952, staying at the old Midland Hotel while performing at the Grand Opera House.

And it was in the foyer of the Midland that the late Frank Carson came face to face with Ollie one afternoon during the run.

After a chat and a few jokes (naturally enough) Frank queried: "Where's Stan?"

It turned out that the little one of the duo was right across the road in a barber's getting a haircut. So Ollie and Frank joined him and told Stan he needed a shave, too. For months later the barber had a notice in his window which declared: Hairdresser to Stan Laurel.

In the BBC film now being planned Steve Coogan is to star as Stan Laurel alongside John C Reilly as Oliver Hardy.

Way back in 1931 a solicitor in Strabane who took his family to the pictures to see Laurel and Hardy wasn't impressed at all by the film. So he wrote to Stan and Ollie in Hollywood telling them their film wasn't up to their usual standard. The duo replied saying it was an early movie over which they had no control.

Who was that solicitor?

How Labour's Jeremy forced the pundits to eat their words

I'm certain today that clever-with-words journalist Quentin Letts will never suggest again that Jeremy Corbyn is about to self-destruct or hint that he looks like Compo in Last of the Summer Wine.

Letts must have a red face now that this politician has become a force to be reckoned with after the General Election.

In his national newspaper column Quentin has been name-calling Jeremy, who for a time last weekend emerged as a possible Prime Minister.

Let's be clear about it - Letts will be treating Corbyn with more respect from now on.

And so will a few other columnists and TV political commentators.

Quentin isn't the only one who got the election all wrong.

Mind you, I don't like some of Jeremy Corbyn's ideas, but that's no reason to bad mouth him in print.

In my opinion Patch and Shep were the real Blue Peter stars

I'm sorry that John Noakes has died at 83, but I have to confess that I preferred his dogs Patch and Shep.

To my mind Noakes was a show-off on Blue Peter although I was impressed by his pluck and courage in some of his stunts. I still shudder when I see that clip of him climbing Nelson's Column in London without any apparent safety equipment.

As we say in Northern Ireland, he was always determined to be the person in the big picture and that didn't go down well with me and a few of my pals.

We preferred to kick a ball about out on the lawn when John came on the screen.

However, the dogs were devoted to him and he trained them so well and they became as famous as the presenters of that much loved children's programme.

It's hard to believe that soon the days will be on the turn

Wednesday, June 21 will be the longest day of the year.

It is not to be confused with Midsummer Day, June 24, nicknamed the Methuselah of the Year. By the way, the film The Longest Day has nothing to do with either of these June dates but rather refers to D-Day in World War Two, June 6, 1944, when the largest ever seaborne invasion began in Europe to liberate it from the Nazi yoke.

The longest day has been celebrated for centuries across the globe including by those who visit Stonehenge to watch the sun rise among the stones. The celebration is often accompanied with bonfires, dancing and general merriment.

June 21 is also International Yoga Day, so those who like to stretch and find inner peace will have plenty of time to do so.
Sean McGrotty, with his partner Louise holding Rioghnach-Ann and sons Mark (right) and Evan

Sean McGrottys brother Jim and his wife Faye arriving at the preliminary hearing into the Buncrana pier tragedy at the Inishowen Gateway Hotel in Buncrana, Co Donegal

The inquest into the deaths of five people who lost their lives in the Buncrana pier tragedy will be held over two days in November.

Sean McGrotty, his sons, Mark (12), and Evan (8), their grandmother, Ruth Daniels (57) and her daughter, Jodie Lee (14) all lost their lives on March 20 last year when the car they were in slid off the pier and into Lough Swilly.

Mr McGrotty's baby daughter Rioghnach-Ann, who was also in the car, was the sole survivor of the tragedy.

Dr Denis McCauley, Coroner for Donegal, outlined the content of the inquest when it gets underway on November 22, which he said was to prevent adjournments.

Four members of Sean McGrotty's family attended the pre-evidential hearing at the Inishown Gateway Hotel, where Dr McCauley described the loss of life at the pier as a "terrible tragedy".

Mr McGrotty's father Noel, his daughter Shannon, brother Jim and sister-in- law Faye sat in silence during the brief hearing.

Louise James - Mr McGrotty's partner and mother of Mark, Evan and Rioghnach-Ann - was not at the brief hearing.

A jury will be appointed ahead of the formal opening and will hear evidence from 12 agreed witnesses out of 69 people who made statements to gardai.

Dr McCauley explained that the first inquest will be that of Sean McGrotty, who was behind the wheel of the family car when it entered the water.

Evidence of what happened at the Buncrana Pier on the fateful night will form the first part of the inquest, but Dr McCauley explained that he intended to "look at all piers and slipways in Donegal".

He also intends to look at guidelines for people about what to do if their car goes into water.

Expert witnesses from the Irish Water Safety Authority and the Road Safety Authority will also be called by the coroner, who has also asked Donegal County Council to provide both internal and external reports it has commissioned into the tragedy.

A representative of the company that insured Mr McGrotty's car, Eoin Armstrong, of Hegarty and Armstrong Insurers, Sligo, was also at the hearing.
A Fermanagh woman who was left badly burned by a car fire that claimed her sister's life says there is light at the end of the tunnel for those injured at Grenfell Tower.

Melanie Grimsley was just two when she suffered serious injuries after the vehicle she was in burst into flames as her mother went to buy milk at a shop in Enniskillen in 1988.

Passers-by tried to pull Melanie and her three-year-old sister Amanda from the car. Amanda did not survive, and Melanie was left with third-degree burns.

Melanie said that as she watched events unfold in London, she knew the residents would be setting out on a very long journey, but there was hope for them.

"This is going to be a long journey for a lot of people, but it's one that you can, in the end, triumph over," she said.

"We need to see these people as survivors and support them as best we can and help them move forward from this tragedy."

Melanie has no memories of the blaze that changed her life, but has vivid recollections of her long recovery.

"I knew from a very early age the type of recovery process that I was on," she explained.

"Any accident is going to have a huge impact because of the injuries that are sustained.

"I remember when I was about three or four telling people that the doctors were going to make me new fingers. My fingers had been fused together as a result of the fire.

"The thing about burns is that as well as affecting you physically, they can change dramatically the way you look and you have to get used to the new image of yourself.

"The different dynamic of a burn injury is the loss of what you had known as your identity at the time. But one thing I would always say to anybody is that it does get better in time.

"It's a very long road but the scars can improve in texture and appearance and the technology, I am sure, is much better now than when I was burned. There is a tremendous amount of help out there."

Melanie received a lot of help from charities like the Katie Piper Foundation, which assisted her with techniques for scar rehabilitation. She said she could empathise with people who survived the fire, but she also knew what it was like to lose a family member in similar circumstances.

"In the aftermath of this tragedy in London, this is a real time of compassion, a time to help people who are going to be dealing with it for the weeks and months ahead," she added.

"I hope there can be plenty of compassion, that they can make it through and there is support for them to regain their quality of life."

And she hopes the emergency services who battled to rescue people get the support they need as well.

"Firefighters have always been my heroes too," she said.

"Whenever you hear of tragedies of this scale, you get to see the best of people as well and the bravery of the firefighters, the emergency services and the members of the public who try to help.

"The bravery they show to go into this situation and rescue people - it's a tremendous job that they do and I trust they get the support they need for the things that they've seen."
Russia is trying to verify reports that its military has killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an air strike targeting a meeting of militant leaders.

The Defence Ministry claimed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in late May with other senior group commanders just outside the group's de facto capital in Syria, adding that information is "being verified".

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: "I don't have a 100% confirmation of the information."

There have been previous reports of al-Baghdadi being killed but they did not turn out to be true. The IS leader last released an audio recording on November 3, urging his followers to keep up the fight for Mosul as they defend the Iraqi city against a major offensive.

A spokesman for the US-led anti-IS coalition said he could not confirm the Russian claim.

The report of al-Baghdadi's death comes as IS suffers major setbacks in which they have lost wide areas of territory and both of its strongholds - Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.

Both are still under attack by various groups fighting under the cover of air strikes by the US-led coalition.

As the militants take a pounding in their eroding strongholds, US officials and Syrian activists say many commanders have fled Mosul and Raqqa in recent months for Mayadeen, a remote town in the heart of Syria's IS-controlled Euphrates River valley near the Iraqi border.

Their relocation could extend the group's ability to wreak havoc in the region and beyond for months to come.

Most recently, the group claimed attacks in Iran's parliament and a shrine to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran, killing at least 17 people and injuring 50.

It also claimed the June 3 London attack that killed eight people.

Mr Lavrov said that if al-Baghdadi's death is confirmed, its importance must not be overestimated. He said that "past examples show that those structures later regained their capability".

The claim of al-Baghdadi's possible death comes nearly three years to the day after he declared himself the leader of an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria, from a historic mosque in Mosul.

If confirmed, his death would mark a major military success for Russia, which has conducted a military campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad since September 2015.

It is not clear who would replace al-Baghdadi if he was killed - the group has lost many senior commanders in US-led air strikes, including second-in- command Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali and top financial official Abu Ali al-Anbari.

Moscow's Defence Ministry said the air raid on May 28 killed about 30 mid-level militant leaders and 300 other fighters.
An SDLP MLA says he didn't have time to think" whether his life was at risk after he said he was threatened had his car attacked by a mob in Co Londonderry.

John Dallat says his car was attacked by a group of around a dozen people for around 20 minutes after he went to collect a takeaway in his hometown of Kilrea on Friday night.

The 70-year-old was then forced to call the police, who responded quickly to the incident  which took place around 8.30am - before the crowd then dispersed.

The East Londonderry MLA said a loyalist parade was taking place in the area at the time.

I came into the town for a Chinese takeaway. While I was waiting, a loyalist parade started, he told the Belfast Telegraph.

I crossed the road to my car, and then I was surrounded by men and women, with people taking pictures on their mobile phones.

I was hemmed in the car... they were battering on the roof and windscreen.

Eventually, after tolerating it for a long time, I eventually felt it was in everyone's interest to dial 999, and that's what I did.

Police came very quickly, they were very good. They ceased their activates when the police arrived."

Mr Dallat said he didn't have time to consider whether his life could have been at risk during the incident.

I hadnt time to think about that, he said.

Kilrea is a town that is known for its tolerance and respect of diversify.

This was not the Orange Order, it was a loyalist parade."

Mr Dallat says it's the first time he's been face-to-face with such aggression.

There was a large crowd in the town, probably several hundred. Footpaths would have been five or six deep.

There were about a dozen people (outside the car). I feel like if it had gotten bigger I might have not fared so well.

I havent been in that situation before, where you have people surrounding your car, with phones and kicking your car.

I lived under threat before, but it's the first time I have seen it close up, and the first time I've felt I needed to dial 999.

I think the resented the idea I was in my own town. That's not acceptable.

He said he believes those who attacked his car were not from the local area.

I want to make it clear, I did not recognise one of them. I have very good relationship with people locally who are attached to bands.

A PSNI spokesman said: "Police received reports of a concern for safety from a 70-year-old male at 8.50 pm on Friday, June 16, in the Main Street area of Kilrea.

"Police were in the vicinity at the time due to a band parade taking place and were able to assist in resolving the incident."
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent messages to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel, respectively, expressing his condolences over the death of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people and in his own name, Xi voiced deep condolences over Kohl's death and sincere sympathy for the former chancellor's family.

As an outstanding politician, Xi said, Kohl has made great contributions to German reunification and European integration, and his historic legacies will be remembered by all.

Xi said the Chinese people will never forget their old friend for his consistent commitment to promoting China-Germany and China-Europe dialogues and cooperation, his positive contributions to the development of China-Germany relations, as well as his understanding and support for the Chinese people to realize complete national reunification.

The Chinese government and people always treasure the friendship between the Chinese and German people, and are willing to work with the German side to create a better future for the China-Germany relations.

Kohl died, at the age of 87, Friday at his home in Ludwigshafen in Germany's western state of Rhineland-Platinate. He led Germany for a record 16 years -- first as chancellor of West Germany from 1982 to 1990 and then as chancellor of the reunited Germany until 1998.

The second longest serving chancellor in German history after Otto von Bismarck, Kohl was not only the architect of German reunification, but also an avid advocate of European unity, pushing for the creation of the continent's single currency the euro in 2002.

Xinhua
A retired firefighter with 35 years' experience is calling for legislation to make sprinklers compulsory in Northern Ireland's tower blocks after it emerged that none were installed in any of the Housing Executive's 32 high-rises.

Paul Burns, who began his career with the Northern Ireland Fire Auxiliary in 1961, believes the installation of sprinklers "could have saved lives" in Grenfell Tower in London, and would also protect residents should a similar situation occur here. The death toll in the London tragedy is currently 30, but is expected to rise significantly.

None of the NI Housing Executive's high-rises, built in the 1960s and 1970s, have sprinklers, which the organisation says "are not required by building control or fire regulations".

Several online petitions have been launched to make the installation of sprinklers in high-rise buildings compulsory in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, with one attracting more than 130,000 signatures to date.

"I think there has to be a law change to put sprinklers in high-rise buildings, and if they had been fitted in Grenfell Tower they would undoubtedly have saved lives," Mr Burns told the Belfast Telegraph.

"I also believe that the cladding on the outside of Grenfell Tower is partly to blame.

"Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience in tackling hundreds of fires in high-rise flats in London, but when we were fighting them they had no external cladding - they had cast concrete or pebble-dash fascias, which don't burn or pose an external threat.

"In the case of other tower blocks with cladding, the first thing I would be looking at is the specification of the cladding and what tests it had been put through.

"If I was living in a high-rise building in Northern Ireland, I would also be asking when the last time was that there had been a mass evacuation exercise."

Yesterday the NIHE told the Belfast Telegraph it "cannot comment" on whether the cladding used on its tower blocks is made of the same material as that which was used on Grenfell Tower "until the official report into the Grenfell Tower fire has been published".

When asked if the cladding on NIHE tower blocks is completely fire retardant, both internally and externally, it said that "the cladding systems in use meet the requirements of building regulations".

NIHE representatives are scheduled to meet with cladding manufacturers next week, and the NIHE met with the Fire Service and local government authorities on Thursday to discuss fire safety and building regulations.

The NIHE said checks on all 32 high-rise residential accommodation blocks in Northern Ireland were ongoing to ensure they "remain fully compliant with all fire safety regulations".

Tenants in the buildings also received fire safety leaflets.

Residents with concerns can contact the NIHE on 03448 920 900.
TUV leader Jim Allister has said that proposed boundary changes which would see Sinn Fein become the largest Northern Ireland party at Westminster must be "robustly resisted".

As revealed in yesterday's Belfast Telegraph, the local political landscape would be dramatically changed under the blueprint, with the DUP losing three MPs and Sinn Fein gaining two.

The redrawing of the electoral map would leave Sinn Fein with nine MPs to the DUP's seven, according to the UK's leading election prediction website Electoral Calculus.

The Alliance Party said it believed the Boundary Commission had done a good enough job free from political considerations. The Ulster Unionists vowed to challenge the proposals.

The DUP didn't comment but, given the drastic consequences for her party, Arlene Foster may prioritise the issue in her discussions with Theresa May.

Mr Allister said: "Proposals which would reward a party which received less than 30% of the vote with more than 50% of the seats are clearly seriously flawed. Should they be allowed to go ahead, they would have serious long-term consequences for Northern Ireland, not just at Westminster but also at Assembly level. All democrats should robustly resist these proposals."

The number of seats in Northern Ireland would fall from 18 to 17 as part of a UK-wide shake-up to reduce House of Commons numbers from 650 to 600.

If the Boundary Commission's blueprint is approved by Parliament, the changes would come into effect next year.

Belfast would lose an MP. The DUP would safely hold East Belfast but Sinn Fein would win the two new constituencies of Belfast North West and Belfast South West if last week's voting patterns were repeated.

The party would win the new constituencies of Upper Bann and Blackwater, Glenshane, and Tyrone North. It would hold South Down, Foyle, Newry and Armagh, and Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

In the latter, the Ulster Unionists' Tom Elliott would have no chance of ever taking back the constituency, as Sinn Fein would widen its lead over him with Michelle Gildernew securing 49% to the UUP man's 36% if last week's results were replicated.

Mr Elliott said: "The Boundary Commission proposals just don't make sense. Substantial change was needed in four or five constituencies, but only minor tweaking in the rest. Instead, we have seen major surgery almost everywhere."

He said that his own constituency already complied with the new regulation requiring between 71,000 and 78.500 voters, and needed only minimal change. "The Boundary Commission's proposals make it harder for unionism to win back Fermanagh and South Tyrone and effectively make it a safe republican seat for eternity," he added.

Neither Sinn Fein nor the SDLP responded to requests for comment on the proposed changes. But former Alliance leader David Ford said that it was "impossible to please everyone".

"There is an inevitability of Belfast being reduced from four constituencies to three, as the size of the existing population doesn't warrant four seats," he said.

Mr Ford insisted that drawing up new boundaries shouldn't involve consideration of the likely electoral outcome: "Those arguing that it should are effectively promoting gerrymandering."

Mr Allister said that while reducing the number of constituencies here from 18 to 17 was logical, "the radical reshaping of the province's political map suggested in these proposals is totally uncalled for".

He claimed that the commission had failed to keep its pledge to respect geographical features and local ties.

Mr Allister also hit out at East Londonderry's disappearance from the electoral map.

"It smacks of political meddling in a process which should remain free of political interference," he said.

"How else does one explain why Londonderry is the only county of Northern Ireland not to feature in the name of one of the new constituencies?"
It's been an interesting week for those concerned with the role of faith in politics. After being subjected to an intolerable media campaign about his faith, Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, found himself "torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader", and resigned.

This followed repeated labelling by the media of the DUP as extremist for the role of faith in some of its policies. The move to brand anyone we disagree with as an extremist risks letting the real extremists off the hook and will have implications on any future counter-extremism strategy.

David Laws, a former colleague of Farron, has now weighed in to the debate saying that tolerance is not enough to be a liberal - you must respect me. It is a subtle but significant shift. It reflects a desire to control what people think or even feel.

Farron tried the "my faith is private" line to no avail. He tried to prove his liberal credentials by voting to redefine marriage and support gay rights, but this was not enough. He was pursued for what he believes. He was relentlessly asked a theological question - is gay sex a sin? - by people who don't believe in God, sin or theology. In the end he gave in and said "no", but that still wasn't enough.

A number of Christians in England lost their seats in the recent election after they appeared to be targeted with unsavoury media criticism and activist protests based on their beliefs. These same beliefs drove justice campaigners such as Hannah More, William Wilberforce, Shaftesbury and Kier Hardie.

The same beliefs around justice and equality drive many Christians today, but the views of the surrounding culture have changed radically and rapidly. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not Christians who are obsessed with the issues of marriage and sexuality, but much of the media and culture.

As talks commenced on a deal between the DUP and the Tories, Ruth Davidson, who leads the Conservatives in Scotland, said she wanted to protect LGBT rights in Britain and campaign for change in Northern Ireland. However, she also wanted to stop the DUP protecting marriage in Northern Ireland or campaigning for change in the rest of the UK. Equality no longer applies equally to everyone.

This is classic bait and switch. The argument is to change law and policy to respect people's personal choices. But once the law is changed, something Farron supported, traditional views are marginalised and alienated, with Laws calling Farron's views prejudiced.

In the end Farron resigned because "to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me". He went on to say that "we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society". Ironically, Farron was too liberal for the Liberal Democrats.

But in the end faith won because freedom of thought and belief is unstoppable. The Resurrection changes everything, the freedom it brings compelled Farron to lay down his political career for the One who had given everything for him. He put faith first and finished his resignation statement with the words of Isaac Watt's great hymn: "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
Prime Minister Theresa May is to meet victims from the Grenfell Tower disaster at Downing Street.

The meeting on Saturday comes amid criticism levelled at Mrs May for not meeting those caught up in the fire in the immediate wake of the tragedy.

Mrs May arrived in Downing Street on Saturday where she is chairing the Government task force on the disaster. She will meet victims, volunteers and community leaders afterwards, No 10 said.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister is this morning chairing a cross-Government meeting to ensure everything possible is being done to support those affected by the Grenfell tragedy.

"Afterwards, she will meet a group of residents, victims, volunteers and community leaders in No 10. The PM has sent her best wishes to HM Queen on the event of her birthday."

On Saturday, NHS England said 19 people were being treated in hospital, including 10 in critical care.

Search and rescue teams from London Fire Brigade reached the second from top floor inside the Tower on Saturday.

On Friday, grief over the disaster turned into anger as protesters took to the streets to vent over the fire which killed at least 30, with dozens more deaths feared.

Mrs May was greeted with cries of "coward" and "shame on you" as she returned to the site of the devastating fire in west London on Friday.

Later, demonstrators stormed the offices of Kensington and Chelsea Council over its handling of the crisis amid concerns that earlier renovation work was linked to the dramatic spread of the blaze.

Hundreds of protesters also marched on Whitehall, central London, to voice their frustration at the Government's response to the fire, which ripped through the tower block in north Kensington on Wednesday morning.

Firefighters who rushed towards danger have spoken of their ordeal - and their fears that the tower could have collapsed like the World Trade Centre.

Leon Whitley, 34, described the scene as "hellish", adding: "It was crazy. The screams were coming from all directions. I don't think I will ever forget them".

More than 3 million has been raised for the victims of the fire, while Downing Street has pledged a 5 million fund for emergency supplies, food and clothing for victims amid concerns the death toll will rise, with more than 70 people in total still believed to be unaccounted for.

There was a large police presence as Mrs May met a group of victims, residents, volunteers and community leaders at St Clement's Church close to the scene of the horrific blaze on Friday afternoon.

But the visits, which took place more than 48 hours after the devastating fire broke out, have done little to quell the growing anger over the way she has dealt with the tragedy.

Speaking on Friday evening, Mrs May said: "Everyone affected by this tragedy needs reassurance that the Government is there for them at this terrible time - and that is what I am determined to provide."

In a television interview, the Prime Minister said the fire was "absolutely horrifying" and had been a "terrifying experience" for those affected.

But she sidestepped questions over whether she had failed to judge the public mood.

Told there was a need for the public to hear her say something had gone badly wrong and the Government accepted responsibility, Mrs May said: "Something terrible has happened.

"This is an absolutely awful fire that took place. People have lost their lives, people have had their homes destroyed, they have fled for their lives with absolutely nothing."

Two of the dead have been confirmed as 24-year-old artist Khadija Saye and Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali, 23.

Ms Saye was in her flat on the 20th floor when the fire struck, with her mother Mary Mendy, who is thought to be in her 50s.

Tottenham MP David Lammy confirmed the news on Twitter, writing: "May you rest in peace Khadija Saye. God bless your beautiful soul. My heart breaks today. I mourn the tragic loss of a wonderful young woman."

The Queen and Duke of Cambridge went to temporary relief centres on Friday where they met volunteers and residents who had lost everything.

Confirming the latest death toll, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy said the tower remained "in a very hazardous state" but there was "nothing to suggest at this time that the fire was started deliberately".

Mr Cundy vowed police "will get to the answer of what has happened and why", adding: "If criminal offences have been committed it is us who will investigate that."

The council said 110 households had been given temporary accommodation by Friday morning, and added that it was working to find more permanent homes.

But the authority's latest statement said: "While we will try to do our utmost to ensure those affected remain in or near the borough, given the number of households involved, it is possible the council will have to explore housing options that may become available in other parts of the capital."

Mrs May's most senior minister, First Secretary of State Damian Green, defended the way she had handled the tragedy.

Mr Green said suggestions the Prime Minister does not seem to have what it takes to respond to such a disaster were "terribly unfair".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "She's distraught by what happened as we all are."

"Absolutely she has the same degree of sympathy and horror at these events that we all have," he added.

Mr Green said the Government expected to appoint a chairman to lead the public inquiry "in days rather than weeks".

"We want it to be able to have interim reports as well," he added. "So this is not going to be one of those exercises of using a public inquiry to delay a response. Actually, we want the response to be as fast as possible."

Mr Green said the probe will look at whether sprinklers should be retrofitted to tower blocks and the Government will "follow the recommendations of the public inquiry".
Pupils from Eden Girls School in Waltham Forest take part in last nights vigil for the victims in Potters Field Park

Police fear they may never identify all of those killed in the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Six bodies have so far been recovered from the gutted 24-storey tower, while 11 have been located inside but cannot yet be removed.

Of those 17 people known to have died, six have been provisionally identified, but the death toll is expected to rise significantly.

Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said: "It may be - and I just don't know - it may be that ultimately some victims remain unidentified. I won't know that until we've gone through the full recovery from Grenfell Tower and we know exactly what we've got and I anticipate that is going to take a considerable period of time.

"Not just the immediate recovery of the bodies we have found but the full search of that whole building, we could be talking weeks, we could be talking months - it is a very long process. There is a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody."

Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a full public inquiry into the disaster amid mounting anger that the fire might have been preventable.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also visited the area, and comforted residents at St Clement's Church, where shelter and support was being given to people affected by the fire.

Speaking to reporters, commander Cundy's voice at one stage cracked as he revealed the emotional toll of the events.

Asked if the death toll could climb to triple figures, he said: "For those of us that have been down there, it's pretty emotional, so I hope it is not triple figures, but I can't be drawn on the numbers."

In other developments:

Search teams were forced to leave the tower when the fire restarted yesterday afternoon.

Six bodies - all recovered from outside the building - have been taken to Westminster Mortuary.

Of the 17 known to be dead, six were identified by items such as passports.

One of the victims was named as 23-year-old Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali.

A total of 30 people continue to receive hospital treatment, of whom 15 are still in critical care, all have been identified and reunited with family.

Scores of families were preparing for a second night in temporary accommodation.

A criminal investigation has been launched, after calls for those involved in the building's recent renovation - which many claim posed a major safety risk - to face prosecution.

"We as the police have started an investigation, I mentioned when I was down at the scene this morning that one of our very senior investigating officers is leading that for us," the commander said.

"I am not saying there are criminal offences that have been committed, that's why you do an investigation. This will need to be a lot of work between us and other investigating agencies to establish what has happened and why and that is going to take a considerable period of time."

The fire was initially extinguished shortly after 1am - 24 hours after the first alarms - paving the way for searches in Grenfell's worst-affected areas. But the blaze flared up again yesterday afternoon, forcing search teams to scale back their efforts.
Outgoing Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has given all of his MPs a job in his frontbench team.

The party increased its number of parliamentary seats from nine to 12 in the general election, with some of its more well-known figures such as Sir Vince Cable and Jo Swinson returning.

Both are expected to fight for the party's top job after Mr Farron made the surprise announcement on Wednesday that he was standing down because he had been unable to reconcile his Christian faith with the demands of leading a "progressive, liberal" party.

In Mr Farron's top team, Ms Swinson becomes the foreign affairs spokeswoman while Sir Vince takes on the treasury brief.

Tom Brake will speak on Brexit and international; Ed Davey on home affairs; Norman Lamb on health; and Alistair Carmichael on Northern Ireland in addition to his duties as chief whip. New MPs Layla Moran, Wera Hobhouse, Christine Jardine and Jamie Stone will speak on education, communities, culture and Scotland respectively.

Stephen Lloyd, who returns after losing his seat in 2015, becomes the party's work and pensions spokesman.

Mr Farron said: "I am delighted to announce our new shadow cabinet team, which brings together a wealth of experience.

"The party has people with a range of skills from within government, business and the charity sector.

"Together we will provide the strong Opposition Britain needs to stand up to this Conservative government."

Mr Farron announced he was standing down as leader this week, saying he had been unable to reconcile his Christian faith with the demands of leading the party.

He faced intense criticism during the election campaign for failing to answer questions about his position on homosexuality.

While he made it clear he supported equal marriage and LGBT rights, he initially refused to say whether he thought gay sex was a sin, eventually saying he did not only after days of pressure.

In a statement announcing his resignation, he said his faith had made him a "subject of suspicion" in a way which showed "we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society".
Two people were taken to hospital after 18 stowaways were found in the back of a lorry on the hottest day of the year so far.

The stowaways waved to alert passing motorists who flagged down the HGV driver to stop on the A22 in East Grinstead, West Sussex, at around 9.20am on Saturday.

Immigration enforcement officers found 18 people who said they came from Iraq, Syria and Iran. A male and a female were taken to hospital with dehydration, but were later discharged.

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Six people claiming to be children were passed to social services to have their age assessed. A Home Office spokesman said: All will be processed in line with immigration rules.

Sussex Police said those who did not need hospital treatment were given water and medical aid. The nearby Trinity Methodist Church was used as a refuge centre as immigration officers arrived.

The lorry driver, a 63-year-old man of no fixed address, was arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration. He was in police custody.

With temperatures in East Grinstead hitting 25C on Saturday, police said it was vital that they reacted quickly to free the stowaways from the lorry.

Sergeant William Keating-Jones, of Sussex Police, said: Our priority was for the welfare of the occupants who were in the back of the lorry. The vehicle was exceptionally hot and it was important we reacted quickly.

This was a great multi-agency response to a potentially life-threatening situation, with emergency services, immigration officials, volunteers and even local residents all pulling together. We were also mindful of causing minimal disruption to motorists, and the road was closed for about 20 minutes while we were at the scene.
Donald Trump arrives at the White House after speaking about his new Cuba policy (AP)

US president Donald Trump has thrust America and Cuba back on a path towards open hostility with a blistering denunciation of the island's communist government.

He clamped down on some commerce and travel, but left intact many new avenues his predecessor Barack Obama had opened.

The Cuban government responded by rejecting what it called Mr Trump's "hostile rhetoric", but said it was willing to continue "respectful dialogue" on topics of mutual interest.

Even as Mr Trump predicted a quick end to President Raul Castro's regime, he challenged Cuba to negotiate better agreements for Americans, Cubans and those whose identities lie somewhere in between.

Diplomatic relations, restored only two years ago, will remain intact, but in a shift from Mr Obama's approach, Mr Trump said trade and other penalties would stay in place until a long list of prerequisites was met.

"America has rejected the Cuban people's oppressors," Mr Trump said in Miami's Little Havana, the cradle of Cuban-American resistance to Mr Castro's government.

"Officially, today, they are rejected."

Declaring Mr Obama's pact with Mr Castro a "completely one-sided deal", Mr Trump said he was cancelling it.

In practice, however, many recent changes to boost ties to Cuba will stay as they are.

Mr Trump cast that as a sign the US still wanted to engage with Cuba in hopes of forging "a much stronger and better path".

In a statement on government-run websites and television, President Castro's administration said Mr Trump's speech was "loaded with hostile rhetoric that recalls the times of open confrontation".

The lengthy statement then went on to strike a conciliatory tone, saying Cuba wants to continue negotiations with the US on a variety of subjects.

"The last two years have shown that the two countries can cooperate and co-exist in a civilised way," it said.

Embassies in Havana and Washington will remain open and US airlines and cruise ships will still be allowed to serve the island 90 miles south of Florida.

The "wet foot, dry foot" policy, which once let most Cuban migrants stay if they made it to US soil but was ended under Mr Obama, will remain so and remittances from people in America to Cubans will not be cut off.

But individual "people-to-people" trips by Americans to Cuba, allowed by Mr Obama for the first time in decades, will again be banned and the US government will police other trips to ensure travellers are pursuing a "full-time schedule of educational exchange activities".

The changes will not go into effect until new documents laying out details are issued.

Once implemented, Mr Trump's policy is expected to curtail US travel by creating a maze of rules for Americans to obey.

It bans most financial transactions with a yet-unreleased list of entities associated with Cuba's military and state security, including a conglomerate that dominates much of Havana's economy, such as hotels, state-run restaurants and tour buses.

Surrounded by Florida Republican officials, the president was unabashed about the political overtones of his election victory and Friday's announcement, saying: "You went out and you voted, and here I am, like I promised."

Cheered by Cuba hardliners in both parties, Mr Trump's new policy is broadly opposed by US businesses eager to invest in Cuba.

The US Chamber of Commerce, typically supportive of Republican presidents, predicted the changes would limit prospects for "positive change on the island" and Minnesota Republican congressman Tom Emmer, said the policy was "misguided" and would hurt the US economically.

Mr Trump's declaration in a crowded, sweltering auditorium was a direct rebuke to Mr Obama, for whom the diplomatic opening with Cuba was a central accomplishment of his presidency, yet it also exposed the shortcomings in the Obama approach.

Unable to persuade Congress to lift the decades-old trade embargo, Mr Obama had used his power to adjust the rules that implement the embargo to expand built-in loopholes.

Mr Obama and his aides argued that commerce and travel between the countries, which has blossomed since he relaxed the rules, would make his policy irreversible.

For Cubans, the shift risks stifling a nascent middle class that has started to rise as Americans have flocked to the island on airlines, patronising thousands of private bed-and-breakfasts.

"When he's cutting back on travel, he's hurting us, the Cuban entrepreneurs," said Camilo Diaz, a 44-year-old waiter in a restaurant in Havana.

"We're the ones who are hurt."

AP
Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, who has died aged 87, was a "towering figure" who had strength and courage in abundance, Sir John Major has said.

Leading British tributes to the man who brought about the reunification of Germany, the former prime minister said Mr Kohl was intensely human, with a mischievous sense of fun.

The former Christian Democratic Union leader was the longest-serving chancellor of the last century.

Sir John said: "Helmut Kohl was a towering figure in German and European history.

"He entrenched Germany in a wider Europe, in the hope of achieving a unity and peace that the continent had never known before. This required great political strength and courage - both of which qualities Helmut had in abundance.

"But behind his public image, Helmut was an intensely human man: sometimes reflective; sometimes emotional; but always with a mischievous sense of fun.

"Helmut had a huge personal presence, with a heart to match: he was a strong and true friend. I was immensely fond of him, and will miss him."

Irish President Michael D Higgins also paid tribute to the former German Chancellor last night.

"It is with sadness that I have learned of the death of former Chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl," he said in a statement.

"He will be remembered for his 16-year tenure as chancellor, as well as for his role in the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990.

"His deep commitment to the European project was unshakable, referring as he often did to the common European House, in the construction of which everyone would have a role.

"On behalf of the people of Ireland I wish to convey my deepest sympathies to his family and to the people of Germany."

Born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein on April 3, 1930, Helmut Kohl was drafted to the German army in 1945 but not involved in combat, with the Second World War ending that year. He joined the CDU the following year and started his career in politics.
Dreams are used by God to warn us of imminent peril, to give us insight regarding a situation or to help plan our course. Man's purpose could be revealed through dreams or it could be last night's pizza, so we need discernment. But we can't disregard that our dreams are a portal into the future. The Lord knows that we need guidance because life can be one incalculable mess. In the Bible, the Lord sent dreams to aid His people. Without a dream, Joseph would not have a compass regarding the calling of God in his life. He struggled against the jealousy of his brothers and received reassurance from a dream. Joseph had a dream and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, 'Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.'" God still employs dreams to help us maneuver through life. Here are 5 reasons that your dreams matter.

They are a tool for communication.

They are used to bring healing.

They can warn us about the future.

They are used as creative inspiration.

They are used to bring encouragement.

Corine Gatti-Santillo is a freelance digital journalist, editor, and content producer. She is also the The Christian Post Voices Editor. She is also a former editor at Beliefnet.com.

Just like God gave Joseph a dream about his future, the Lord also spoke through Joel in dreams: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions. Your success as a believer depends on hearing what God has to say. First, you need to believe God wants to speak to you. Jesus said in John 14:26: "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you." Be sensitive to what God is speaking in a dream and be open in hearing His voice.British adventurer, Bear Grylls, suffered from a parachuting accident in Zambia in In 1996. Afraid to return to skydiving, he kept having a dream about falling and it healed him emotionally from the traumatic episode. God heals through faith, the laying on of hands but also through prophecy and dreams. Said Grylls: "Im away a lot, so I kind of cling to the simple things, like, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and Im holding you by your right hand. The simple things are what I try to keep my faith like. Jesus is unchanging and we are forgiven," he described to Relevant.Look no further than in the Book of Revelation where John wrote about the return of Christ and when world history comes to an end! "In those last days, evil will be conquered and banished forever. God will judge all humanity. Those who have rejected him and his Son will be ejected from Gods presence, and the source of all evil, the beast or satan, will be destroyed." Have you ever had a dream that warned you to drive better, behave better or shared that a loved one was going to become sick? God uses dreams to warn us of pending dangers that lurk ahead.Not all dreams are warnings of danger. Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding the atomic structure and quantum theory. He had a dream about the atomic structure beforehand and tested it. In 1922, he received the Nobel Prize in physics for his work. C.J. Walker was the first African-American woman to become a self-made millionaire and it all started with a dream. An angel in the dream told her what ingredients were needed to fight against hair loss. She developed the Walker System and sold her hair care products and became a wealthy woman.Pilate's wife was given a dream to encourage the governor to free Jesus during His trial. She was convinced that they were executing an innocent man. While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, she begged: Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered." But Pilate couldn't do anything. Paul had several visions to inspire him. He was encouraged to keep preaching in Corinth and God gave him a vision of Heaven. Zacharias was an old priest and was told that he would have a son, John the Baptist, in a dream. God gave Solomon a dream and posed the following question: "Ask what you wish Me to give you." Solomon answered: "Wisdom." More recently, Olympian Edwin Moses, a former American track and field athlete, said that he had a series of encouraging dreams that offered peace and resolution about running. He went on to win 10 races in a row!What can we gather from the way that the Lord works? Well, He's always on the move and dreams are just another way for Him to communicate with us. Dreams are the perfect way to hear from God because you can't simply ignore them. But also use discernment as not every dream is from God. Pray that God would expose the origin of the dream and confirm if it is from Him and seek wisdom from other Christians. Also, make sure you pray and seek God's presence while hunting down the facts.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, arrive at the opening ceremony of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders summit in Manila, April 29, 2017.

United States authorities have stepped up efforts to seize assets, including a diamond necklace for Prime Minister Najib Razaks wife, bought with money allegedly stolen from Malaysias sovereign wealth fund, according to a lawsuit filed in a California court this week.

In the suit lodged at the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday, the Justice Department moved to recover about U.S. $540 million (2.3 billion ringgit) in assets allegedly stolen by businessmen associated with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund, known as 1MDB, established by Najib to promote economic development.

About a year ago, the United States filed court papers to forfeit and recover more than $1 billion (4.2 billion ringgit) in assets associated with what it called a global conspiracy to launder funds stolen from 1MDB.

This week, U.S. Justice officials said a total of $4.5 billion (19.2 billion ringgit) had been misappropriated from 1MDB. It did not name Najib in both the suits, but Malaysian and U.S. government officials previously confirmed that Malaysian Official 1 cited in court documents referred to the prime minister.

Todays complaints reveal another chapter of this multi-year, multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme, bringing the total identified stolen proceeds to $4.5 billion, acting assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco said in a statement Thursday.

This money financed the lavish lifestyles of the alleged co-conspirators at the expense and detriment of the Malaysian people, he said. We are unwavering in our commitment to ensure the United States is not a safe haven for corrupt individuals and kleptocrats to hide their ill-gotten wealth or money, and that recovered assets be returned to the victims from which they were taken.

Nearly $28 million (119 million ringgit) allegedly from siphoned proceeds from a bond sale linked to the 1MDB scandal was used to buy jewelry for Najibs wife, Rosmah Mansor, according to the civil lawsuit.

Funds traceable to the diverted proceeds of the 2013 bond sale were used to purchase a 22-carat pink diamond, set in a diamond necklace, for the wife of Malaysian Official 1, according to the court documents.

The stone and necklace were purchased from New York-based jeweler and jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz Inc., which specializes in high-end bespoke diamond jewelry. The total purchase price for the stone and necklace was $27,300,000.

A deeply flawed case: Jho Low

Other assets sought by the U.S. authorities include a Picasso painting given to American film star Leonardo DiCaprio and the rights to two Hollywood films.

The jewelry purchases for Rosmah were allegedly arranged by controversial Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, who is also accused of giving DiCaprio the Picasso.

In a statement issued through a representative, Low said the Justice Departments actions were a further example of global overreach in pursuit of a deeply flawed case, according to Reuters news agency.

The U.S. Department of Justices latest move continues its inappropriate efforts to seize assets despite not having proven that any improprieties have occurred, the statement said.

A spokesman for DiCaprio on Thursday said the actor had begun proceedings to transfer ownership of the Picasso to the U.S. government, having in July 2016 initiated the return of gifts he had received from financiers connected to the 1MDB case, Reuters also reported.

Najib had been tied to the 1MDB scandal for the past two years since the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported in July 2015 that nearly $700 million ended up in his private bank accounts. He has denied wrongdoing or taking money for personal gain over the 1MDB affair.

Malaysian Attorney General Apandi Ali previously said the funds that went into Najibs account were a legal political donation from Saudi Arabia and most of the money was returned.

On Friday, he again came to Najibs defense, saying the U.S. Justice Department was making insinuations against the premier.

At no point in the civil claims is the prime minister named as a defendant or has been alleged to have committed any criminal wrongdoing, Apandi said, adding there was no evidence of misappropriation of money from the state fund.

After review, we found that no crime was committed, Apandi said, noting there was an ongoing investigation by Malaysian police.

The countrys top government lawyer also expressed his frustration that the U.S. Justice Department had failed to inform or alert his office over the latest suit.

Former Malaysian Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim questioned Apandis stand.

The U.S. Dept of Justice complaint on 1MDB is 250 pages long, and AG Apandi is still insisting it is without basis? Zaid said on his Twitter account.

The cash-strapped and state-run Malaysian fund is the target of money-laundering probes in at least one-half dozen countries including neighboring Singapore.

Najibs press secretary, Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad, also came to the premiers defense, suggesting the suit went beyond the objective of seizing assets.

The judicial process is not served by headline seeking. Malaysia stands firm in its support of transparency and good governance. That includes ensuring that accusations have a basis in fact, rather than smears briefed by political opponents, he said in a statement.

Eric Paulsen, executive director of Lawyers for Liberty, a local NGO, said Malaysian enforcement authorities must first question Jho Low before criticizing the Justice Departments move.

However, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar indicated his department would not extend any help to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its probes related to 1MDB.

No (cooperating with FBI) in civil matters, he said Friday.

A statement by 1MDB on Friday said it was not a party to the civil lawsuit and it had not been contacted by the Justice Department.

1MDB notes that the civil lawsuit does not contain any appendices with documentary proof or witness statements to support the allegations made by the DOJ, 1MDB said, adding the company would cooperate fully with any foreign lawful authority subject to international protocols.
Troops advance into an area controlled by Islamic State-linked militants in the southern Philippine city of Marawi, June 16, 2017.

The Philippine government on Friday defended its security clampdown in the southern city of Marawi, where military forces have been battling Islamic State-inspired militants who still control a small portion of the citys lakeshore area.

Aid convoys going into the ravaged city have also been advised instead to coordinate with local government officials overseeing humanitarian assistance, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said.

Padilla said the situation remained volatile, amid sketchy reports that about 300 militants have been spotted in the outskirts of nearby Lanao del Norte province. Military officials said that the militants may be trying to enter other urban areas.

We are not denying that there may be (militants) who have slipped with evacuees who fled Marawi going to other places, Padilla said. So these individuals may have gone through.

The Philippine military has been trying for 25 days to unshackle Marawi from the tight grip of about 200 local extremists, who are backed by fighters from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and other countries.

The vicious fighting that included aerial bombings by the Philippine military has alarmed governments across Southeast Asia, with officials expressing fears that the ultra-radical IS might set up a stronghold in Mindanao, potentially threatening the region.

As of Friday, the fighting has killed 225 gunmen, 59 government troops and more than 20 civilians, according to government figures.

Padilla said tighter security measures were necessary to prevent unintended harm to civilians, citing Thursdays incident involving an Australian journalist who was hit in the neck by a wayward bullet. The journalist was evacuated but his injury was not life threatening.

Padilla also said security forces were placed under heightened alert in the nearby cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro to check and to watch closely any possible movements of suspicious persons, so that communities remain safe.

Clashes flared up on May 23 when troops and police moved to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, the acknowledged head of the Islamic State in the predominantly Catholic Philippines. But they were met by a big force of gunmen composed of militants from the Maute group, backed by an undetermined number of foreign fighters.

What followed was an explosion of violence that saw the gunmen reduce the previously unknown but scenic city into rubble. The militants were also reported to have gone on a houseto-house hunting spree to kill Christians in Marawi, a Muslim trading hub.

President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the entire southern region of Mindanao under military rule.

Dutertes government has also been forced to ask for intelligence help from the U.S. military, an embarrassing turn of events after the president has repeatedly lambasted Washington to curry favor from rival China and Russia.

Hundreds of civilians are believed still trapped inside the areas controlled by the militants.

Amid reports that rebel reinforcement could try to breach nearby areas, civilian armed groups have sought permission from the authorities to allow them to help.

"We are ready because all civilian groups, particularly the gun holders associations, were tapped to prevent militants from launching attacks in the city," said Jose Pantoja, a spokesman for nearby Lanao del Norte province.
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COLUMBUS  A Columbus man who was found sleeping while slumped over the steering wheel of his running pickup with an open beer can in his lap and fresh paint transfer on his vehicle began serving 60 days in the county jail on Wednesday.

Platte County Court Judge Frank Skorupa sentenced Brandon LaPointe to the time behind bars for his conviction of third-offense driving under the influence in connection with the Sept. 3 incident. The defendant got credit for six days already served.

LaPointe was also sentenced to 12 months of probation, fined $1,000, had his operators license revoked for two years and was ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

The defendant was initially charged with an aggravated third-offense DUI, which carried a penalty of up to three years in prison. The reduced DUI had a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $10,000 fine.

In exchange for LaPointes no contest plea, the county attorneys office dismissed charges of leaving the scene of an accident, refusal of a preliminary breath test and open container.

Columbus Police Officer Jorge Magdaleno reported finding the city mans 2001 Chevrolet pickup, with the defendant sleeping inside, idling while parked with the headlights and taillights on in the 2500 block of Ninth Street.

Court documents describe a police investigation that began shortly after 2 a.m. with a report of a hit-and-run accident in the 1000 block of 25th Avenue. At the scene, Magdaleno found a parked 1997 Honda Civic that had been struck on the rear passenger side by an unknown vehicle. A couple of blocks away, the officer found LaPointe sleeping inside his pickup.

There appeared to be fresh damage to the front bumper of the pickup, Magdaleno wrote in his probable cause arrest statement, and LaPointe had an open can of Steel Reserve in his lap.

During an inspection of the defendants pickup, the officer said he found fresh blue paint transfer on the passenger side front bumper that matched the Honda Civic.
For Immediate Release, June 15, 2017



Contact: Jean Su, (415) 770-3187, jsu@biologicaldiversity.org Lawsuit Seeks Federal Documents on Trump's Border Wall Prototypes Secretive Administration Continues Evading Environmental Laws SAN DIEGO The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection today for failing to provide environmental documents required for the construction of border wall prototypes in San Diego County. The Center requested the public records in May under the Freedom of Information Act, but the agencies have failed to provide any response. Prototype construction is scheduled to begin this summer. There's no evidence that the Trump administration has done any environmental review, though the review is required by federal law. We're calling out the Trump administration's disturbing failure to study how these border wall prototypes will hurt communities and endangered wildlife, said Jean Su, an attorney with the Center. The administration can't pick and choose which laws to follow. This project requires compliance with federal environmental laws that protect people and wildlife. The prototypes are supposed to be built in the Otay Mesa area of south San Diego, which is surrounded by thousands of communities and contains critical habitat for several endangered species, including Quino checkerspot butterflies. The Trump administration's refusal to produce a shred of environmental analysis on the prototypes is a grim omen for the construction of the larger border wall, Su said. Officials are ignoring thousands of communities and species that will be threatened by these destructive plans. The Center recently filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection over threats to endangered species and critical habitat from building the prototype designs in San Diego County. A recent study by the Center identified more than 90 endangered or threatened species that would be threatened by border wall construction along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. The Center and U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sued the Trump administration in April over the proposed border wall and other border-security measures, calling on Homeland Security to conduct an in-depth investigation of overall border-security environmental impacts. In May the Center sued the Trump administration for failing to provide documents prepared for Trump's transition team about border-wall construction. Those public records, first requested in January, could provide information about the feasibility, effectiveness or impacts of the wall. In addition to jeopardizing endangered species, Trump's plan for a 30-foot impenetrable wall would separate communities and endanger cultural and religious practices among people whose ancestral lands straddle the border. Download today's lawsuit here.



Download one of the original records requests here. Beyond jeopardizing wildlife, endangered species and public lands, the U.S.-Mexico border wall is part of a larger strategy of ongoing border militarization that damages human rights, civil liberties, native lands, local businesses and international relations. The border wall impedes the natural migrations of people and wildlife that are essential to healthy diversity.
For Immediate Release, June 16, 2017 Contact: Nathan Donley, (971) 717-6406, ndonley@biologicaldiversity.org Emergency Ban of Dicamba Pesticides Recommended in Arkansas Misuse of Drift-prone Pesticide Has Prompted 87 Recent Complaints LITTLE ROCK In response to dozens of new complaints of misuse of the highly toxic and drift-prone pesticide dicamba, an Arkansas regulatory committee today recommended an emergency ban of the controversial pesticide that has spurred three lawsuits and a dispute that led to the murder of an Arkansas farmer. If the Arkansas Pesticide Committee's recommendation is approved on Tuesday by the Arkansas State Plant Board, as well as by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the ban on in-crop uses of the pesticide will be immediate. What we're seeing in Arkansas is proof of what we all already knew  that this dangerous, drift-prone pesticide is not safe to use, said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. Assurances from pesticide makers that new dicamba products and tighter application regulations would end the drift problems that damaged hundreds of thousands of acres simply ignored reality. As of today Arkansas regulators have received 87 complaints of dicamba misuse this spring. Missouri regulators are also already reporting complaints about damaging drift from applications of the toxic pesticide. Missouri led the nation last year with more than 200 dicamba-related complaints. Earlier this month dicamba drift ruined more than 100 acres at an Arkansas agricultural research station plot, where conditions are tightly controlled. The dicamba-drift problems began last year when Monsanto released soybean and cotton seeds that had been genetically altered to resist the pesticide. But new, supposedly less drift-prone formulations of dicamba were unavailable for use last year, prompting farmers using the new seeds to turn to older, more drift-prone dicamba products  thus triggering the hundreds of reports of damage that have spurred the three suits against pesticide makers. This dicamba crisis is only the latest evidence that dumping more pesticides on the landscape is a road to nowhere, said Donley. And it's only going to get worse  Monsanto predicts that annual dicamba use on soybeans and cotton will jump from less than 1 million pounds just a few years ago to more than 25 million over the next three to four years. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Starting your day with a cup of mushroom coffee can give a much-needed twist to your daily regimen. Many speak of its benefits, and some even prefer it to regular coffee. But given its unique
Technology has become an integral part of agricultural production and mobile apps are an important component. It is evident smartphones are common for farmers and ranchers  no matter their age  and this valuable technology can do much more than check email and social media.

Nebraska Extension continues to develop agricultural apps to help producers manage their operations from the field, tractor or easy chair. To access these apps and others, go to http://ianr.unl.edu/mobile-apps or search for the appropriate name in your mobile devices app store.

Speed scouting is a new method for determining whether pest populations have reached the action threshold for treatment with an insecticide. These two apps, Aphid Speed Scout and Western Bean Cutworm Speed Scout, will reduce the amount of time needed for scouting in order to make treatment decisions.

The Nebraska On-Farm Research Network app helps producers participating in the network to design and manage their on-farm research. The app enables you to create treatment strips in your own field and develop a map of your research study. Once the field is created, you have the ability to enter periodic observations related to pests, irrigation or other key observations, including photos. At the conclusion of the trial, you input harvest data and export to an Excel file with all of the observations, yield data and plot layout. The app is free and available for Apple and Android devices.

The Pesticide Recordkeeping or PeRK app was developed by the Pesticide Safety Education Program as an easy way to keep pesticide records on the go. The app provides an easy, step-by-step data-entry process to enter pesticide application data and meets all Nebraska record-keeping laws for private and commercial/non-commercial pesticide applicators. Records are saved within the app and can be exported via email. This app is also free and available for Apple and Android devices.

The Grain Marketing Plan app allows you to create grain marketing plans for corn, soybeans and winter wheat. The application updates you daily with new information allowing you to modify your plans based on current market conditions. Most importantly, this application helps you implement your plan by notifying you when its time to market your grain. The app is available for Apple devices and is free if you can use the code LINE17 to access protected features of the app.

The Harvest Test Weight Converter app can assist you in determining crop-shrink volume of grain, in-field estimation of crop yields for corn, soybeans and wheat and volume of grain bins and grain piles. The app is free and available for Apple and Android devices.

I want to thank Tyler Williams, Extension educator in Lancaster County, for providing the information used in this weeks column.
Members of the local Burmese community said that official event held at the Toronto City Hall and attended by the Mayor of Toronto was tightly controlled to keep controversial issues of the agenda.

According to the KCC, the event was so strictly controlled by the Myanmar Embassy that attendees had to submit their names and any questions they wished to ask two weeks before the event. Karen community members strongly suspect the questions were screened and filtered, with the more contentious questions removed.

Sheila Htoo, a Karen youth leader in Toronto said.

The questions selected didnt address the most pressing questions facing Burma today, such as ongoing war, displacement, refugees, or the persecution of Rohingya,

It was the first time ever that the Karen community in Canada have staged a public demonstration and Sheila Htoo said that it was a risk to express their resistance against the dominant media narrative of peace-making that Aung San Suu Kyis visit symbolized.

Its like, you must be an idiot to oppose this international icon. So, we made it clear in our messaging that we are not opposed to Aung San Suu Kyi, but we want her to do more, we want to hold her accountable to stand up to the military and to get to the roots of the [countrys] problem, to speak out on behalf of the suffering ethnic peoples of Burma. Above all, we are opposing the military that obstructs the peace process.

The Karen Community of Canada issued a statement that criticized Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League of Democracy government. The KCC statement claimed that the NLD government, led by Ms Suu Kyi had done virtually nothing to alleviate the militarization and human ongoing rights abuses in ethnic areas. The Karen Community of Canada (KCC), represents ethnic Karen refugees from Burma now living in Canada.

Sheila Htoo and Andrew Paul, who work with the Karen communities in both Burma and Canada, pointed out the deep contradictions between Burmas changing international reputation and the realities of ongoing military occupation of the Karen peoples homelands.

Ms Htoo and Mr Paul said that they were concerned that, amid celebration of change in Burma, the voices and lived experiences of ethnic villagers such as the Karen will be ignored and further marginalized.

Ms Htoo and Mr Paul claimed that the NLD and Ms Suu Kyi provides a public relations screen for the military, giving it totally undeserved international legitimacy while it continues its reign of terror against non-Burman ethnic communities.

Ms Htoo and Mr Paul said that it was ironic that the image of Burma as a reforming country renders these people even more vulnerable, as shortfalls in refugee assistance are forcing many to return to their villages even though the occupying military, which destroyed their villages in the first place, has not withdrawn any of its military bases.

Naw Hsa Moo, a Karen community member in Canada warned countries that have given money to the Myanmar government in the name of peace, without questioning if government has made any genuine efforts to achieve peace.

We encourage the Canadian government to be supportive, but also critical of its own support so as to ensure Canadas democratic principles and federal concept would not be undermined by the Myanmar government. Naw Hsa Moo said. Where is the peace process going and why the Karen people should be supporting it if it does not give them any hope?

Karen communities in eastern Burma said that since ceasefires agreed to in 2012 the Burma Army has increased its military presence in Karen State. Their detail statistics show that in Mutraw District of northern Karen State alone, the number of Burmese military bases has risen from 65 to 81 during the ceasefire.
Never once during the week was there any mention of the ongoing war in Kachin State that has displaced as many as a 100,000. On June 9, the day that Aung San Suu Kyi attended a Burmese community event at Toronto City Hall, was the sixth anniversary of the resumption of the Kachin war. However, the only Canadian media coverage of the event, an article in the Toronto Star, was silent on this issue. There was also no discussion of ongoing military occupation in ceasefire zones such as Karen State, where thousands of displaced villagers staged demonstrations last month.

In short, media coverage gave the Burmese military a free ride, while focusing all criticisms on Aung San Suu Kyis governments treatment of the Rohingya.

The focus on Rohingya suffering is understandable, and we are certainly not arguing that this coverage should stop. To the contrary, it needs to be set in the context of historical and ongoing patterns of Burmese military abuses. Singularly focusing on the Rohingya does not do justice to the suffering of other non-Burman ethnic peoples in the country. It also creates the simplistic notion that if only the government would uphold human rights of Rohingya, Burmas problems would be solved. However, Burmese military oppression is systemic in nature and permeates all of the militarys dealings with non-Burman ethnic communities.

Simplistic media portrayals of the situation in Burma are very troubling when we consider international development assistance to the central government. If international donors like Canada do not understand the complex situation in Burma, they risk subsidizing the Burmese governments continuing efforts to oppress and control the ethnic peoples. Our Karen community in Canada is very concerned with recent funding announcements by the Canadian government totaling CAD $28.8 million. We are worried that this funding will be distributed through central Burmese government channels, marginalizing ethnic civil society that continues to be a much-needed lifeline for conflict-affected communities.

The following case illustrates the impact of ongoing media marginalization of our Karen community in Canada.

On June 9, our Karen community staged a demonstration in front of Toronto City Hall, while Aung San Suu Kyi attended an event with the Burmese community inside. Kachin and Rohingya communities staged concurrent protests. Our protest groups were gathered in the same area, all with strong messages condemning ongoing war, militarization, and human rights abuses in Burma. It was a perfect opportunity for Canadian news media to become more informed about the human rights situation in Burma. However, the resulting Toronto Star article only contained passing reference to the Rohingya protest, completely ignoring the Kachin and Karen demonstrations.

The Irrawaddy article covering our Karen demonstration made the opposite mistake, including reference to the Kachin protest nearby, but never mentioning the demonstration by our Rohingya brothers and sisters.

Media narratives that narrowly focus on single issues can be used to divides us and undermine our common struggle for justice. Following the demonstration, racist elements in the Burmese-Canadian community began attacking the Rohingya online. One of these attackers referenced incomplete coverage in both the Toronto Star and the Irrawaddy to bolster his attacks, taking to social media to claim that our Karen and Kachin protestors keep a distance from the Rohingya.

This is patently untrue. In fact, we collaborated with our Rohingya counterparts in organizing our joint events. Although there were times when our demonstrations diverged, we stood in solidarity together against the same oppressors  the Burmese military. We also agreed to work together more closely with our Rohingya brothers and sisters in the future, and to combat racist and Islamophobic attitudes that persist among some in the overseas Burmese community. There is no room for racism or discrimination in our movement.

The mainstream medias singular focus on the Rohingya issue is unhelpful, as it overlooks ongoing suffering of other ethnic peoples under the same military oppression. There is a need for more informed media reporting on Burma issues to demonstrate that the plight of Rohingya and other ethnic nationalities in Burma are all part of the same root problem  denial of basic human rights and equal right to life for all ethnic peoples in Burma. This realization should build more unity in our resistance, for only in unity will we have the strength to prevail.

Saw Lay Khu Wah is an informed Karen Community member in Canada. He can be reached at [email protected]


A file photo.

CHENNAI (PTI): Elevan Naval Pilots were awarded the "Wings" upon successfully completion of the 17-01 Helicopter Conversion Course during the Passing-Out Parade held at the Naval Air Station Rajali, Arakkonam, near, Chennai, on Friday.



The pilots underwent "rigorous" training for 21 weeks in flying and aviation subjects at the Naval Air Squadron 561, Helicopter Training School commanded by Captain Rajan Kapoor, an official release said.



Director General, Project Varsha, Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy), Rear Admiral, Mukul Asthana was the Chief Guest on the occasion.



Nearly 682 pilots have successfully graduated from the school for Navy and Coast Guard till date, it said.



Commanded by Commodore VK Pisharody, INS Rajali is the largest operational air base of the Navy which celebrated the silver jubilee in March.



Mukul Asthana presented the "Governor of Kerala Rolling Trophy" to Lieutenant Commander Rahul Verma for being adjudged as the Best All Round Trainee Pilot.



Asthana also presented the "Flag Officer, Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command Rolling Trophy" to Lieutenant Subham Sahlot for standing first in order of merit.



The graduated pilots would join operational flights in Goa, Kochi, Mumbai, Port Blair and Vishakapatnam, it added.




A file photo.

WASHINGTON (PTI): No decision has been taken on increasing the number of US troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Friday, amid speculation that Defence Secretary James Mattis may have finalised plans to dispatch 4,000 additional troops to the war-torn country.



"Secretary Mattis has made no decisions on a troop increase for Afghanistan. As he said throughout the week in testimony, the revised Afghanistan strategy will be presented to the President (Donald Trump) for his approval in the coming weeks," Pentagon spokesperson Dana W White said.



"The president has delegated force management authority for Afghanistan to the secretary. The secretary will continue to follow the president's guidance on our overall strategy.



"Any decisions about troop numbers will be made only after consultation with the inter-agency, the Afghan government, NATO allies and coalition partners," White said.



The White House said such an authorisation to Mattis is part of the broader plan.



"The president is simply giving the secretary of defence -- this is one piece of a broader cohesive plan for that region -- and he wants to give secretary Mattis the ability to manage the troops and the resources to do so," White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference on Thursday.



On Thursday, media reports claimed that Mattis was authorised by Trump to "manage" US troop levels in Afghanistan, paving the way for sending more American forces amidst a surge in Taliban attacks in the war-ravaged country.



It was reported that the US may send 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan where currently 8,400 American troops are stationed.


More than 80 garda detectives are to stop providing armed cover on a 24/7 basis in the Cork region amid claims they have been left vulnerable by garda managements refusal to give them proper training and equipment to tackle gangland crime or terrorist attacks, writes Sean ORiordan.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has told garda management, that, from July 1, detectives will no longer provide armed cover around-the-clock, which is likely to lead to gaps in service provision at certain times of the night.

Since 2011 the GRA has been seeking the same training and equipment for Cork-based garda detectives as has been given to the Special Detective Unit in Dublin, whose members are equipped with bullet-proof shields. That unit was issued with the shields so they could provide armed cover when the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) was not working in the Dublin area.

The GRA call for the same shields to be issued in Cork was sparked a few years ago by an incident in the Minane Bridge area, 25km south of Cork City, when a uniformed garda risked his life to save three children by taking off his bullet-proof jacket and using it to shield them from a man who was shooting at him and his colleagues.

Garda John ONeill, who is stationed in Bandon, used his protective jacket to assist the children as gardai are not equipped with bullet-proof shields.

GRA Cork City Garda Division secretary, Detective Padraig Harrington, was involved in the same incident and gave Garda ONeill his vest and a spare one so he could wrap one around each of the three children, all aged under seven, and get them to safety.

Det Garda Harrington said that last May, on foot of GRA concerns, garda management agreed to train detectives in the use of Sig 9mm pistols and ballistic [bullet-proof] shields.

Last September, 25 detectives received the training, but then it was discontinued by garda management.

Det Garda Harrington said the training was carried out in Cork over a two-week period and it would take just four more weeks to train the remaining detectives, each of whom would undertake a two-day course.

At the same time, the GRA applied for the roll-out of the bullet-proof shields to detectives in Cork, but to date none have been supplied by garda management.

As of July 1, we will not co-operate with providing 24/7 armed cover as it is in breach of the working time directive and health and safety [legislation], said Det Garda Harrington. We are only seeking to be brought in line with what the Special Detective Unit has in Dublin.

If management does not agree to the GRAs demands it will withdraw the full-time cover its detectives have been operating in Cork for the past 20 years.

The decision will have wider implications because armed detectives from the Cork City Garda Division have attended serious incidents in north and west Cork, as well as in Co Kerry and South Tipperary.

Senior GRA officials have been informed of the threat of withdrawal of 24/7 cover and are expected to raise the matter with senior garda management including Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan and Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan.

Garda management has announced it intends to create an extra armed Regional Support Unit in the Cork area, however the GRA believes it will take a considerable amount of time to carry out interviews and for the selected gardai to complete 12 weeks of training.

Det Garda Harrington estimated that, as a result, it might be at least next January before that new unit becomes operational.

This article first appeared in the Irish Examiner
A "feud" between two farmers over a small dirt track linking their farms, led to one man shooting the other and killing his dog, a court has heard today, writes David Raleigh.

Ted ODonoghue, (aged 72), of Killmoreen, Kildimo, Co Limerick, appeared before a special sitting of Limerick District Court, charged with assault causing harm to John Hayes, (aged 65), at farmlands at Ballycasey, Kildimo, on Friday, June 16.

Despite strenuous garda objections to bail, Judge Marie Keane, remanded Mr ODonoghue in custody with consent to bail on a number of very strict conditions.

During the bail hearing, Garda Jason Mitchell, Newcastle West garda station, said the accused allegedly fired a shot from a single barrel shotgun at Mr Hayes, wounding him in the right shoulder.

He told judge Keane the serious incident was linked to a dispute over a right of way.

Garda Mitchell alleged gardai had been called to lands at Ballycasey on five occasions since June 2014, and that the shooting last Friday, was the latest in an ongoing long running feud over a right of way.

Further more serious charges are anticipated, Gda Mitchell added.

The court heard the right of way is on Mr ODonoghues land, but three other landowners, inlauding the injured party have to access it to get to their lands.

There is no other access, Gda Mitchell said.

Objecting to bail under Section 2 of the Bail Act, and under OCallaghan Rules, gardai said they feared Mr ODonoghue would interfere with witnesses.

Inspector Alan Cullen, Newcastle West garda station, said the matter should never have come before a criminal court, and that "it's an unfortunate scenario".

He alleged the dispute should have been resolved" but has now "escalated".

William ODonoghue, the accuseds brother, alleged the dispute had been ongoing for seven or eight years.

He told the court tensions would flare up from time to time.

William ODonoghue gave an undertaking in court, to act as surety for his brother, and to monitor his movements whilst on bail, including chaperoning him to Mass services outside the locality.

He also agreed to manage the day-to-day running of the family farm at Ballycasey, where his brother allegedly shot and injured father-of-four John Hayes, and fatally wounded Mr Hayess dog Lassie.

Gardai told the court a conviction, on indictment, for Section 3 assault carried a maximum five-year prison sentence.

The injured party has stated (to gardai) that the accused fired a shot at him, injuring him, and killing his dog, Gda Mitchell alleged.

The court heard gardai had recovered a gun believed to have been used in last Friday's shooting.

Garda Mitchell said he arrested Mr ODonoghue, at 1.10pm, Friday, June 16, at Barnakyle, Patrickswell. He said the accused made no reply when charged at 10.15pm on Friday night.

John Hayes, 65, who was shot in the shoulder.

Remanding Mr ODonoghue on bail, judge Keane ordered that 3,000 of an independent cash surety of 5,000 be lodged.

She warned Mr ODonoghue: If you breach any of these bail conditions you will be arrested and incarcerated.

Granting bail, the judge noted it was a very busy time of the year for farmers cutting silage.

The accused agreed to strict bail conditions, including that he stay away from his farmland at Ballycasey.

He also agreed to hand over management of the farm to his brother William; to sign on daily at Newcastle West garda station; obey a (10pm-8am curfew); be available to gardai at all times,

He also agreed not to contact Mr Hayes nor any other witnesses nor adjoining landowners at Ballycasey.

If you see your neighbours, you blank them; you don't even look at them, the judge told the accused.

Judge Keane described the matter as very serious.

She remanded Mr ODonoghue to appear before Limerick District Court on June 21.
Gardai in Galway are appealing for witnesses after a man was seriously injured in a road traffic collision.

The collision occurred at Bushy Park, Moycullen Road, Galway at approximately 1.40am this morning, Saturday June 17.
A baby girl has been born on board the Irish ship the LE Eithne during a rescue operation.

The ship's crew rescued 703 migrants from five inflatable boats off the coast of Libya yesterday.
President Micheal D Higgins has paid tribute to Dick Warner, who has died.

President Higgins described Warner as a dedicated environmentalist and a wonderful filmmaker.

"It is with great sadness that I have learned of the death of Dick Warner.

"He was a dedicated environmentalist as well as a wonderful filmmaker, and his beautiful work on the canals of Ireland was outstanding.

"Only last month, at an event celebrating the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Royal Canal, I referred to his dedication and skill in describing the rich heritage of our inland waterways.

"Sabina and I wish to express our sympathy with his family and wide circle of friends."

Mr Warner was best known for his waterways documentaries on TV and had a career in media for over 40 years.
Al Porter took to the Live at the Marquee stage to share his camp comedy gold with the enthusiastic Cork audience, writes Breda Graham.

A sea of sunglasses arrived at the Marquee in the 22-degree sunshine to see the comedian in all his glory.

The 24-year-old who has this year taken to the airwaves as Today FMs newest lunchtime presenter, performed at the venue for the first time, attracting thousands of people.

Tipped by critics as the successor to Michael McIntyre, for his camp comedy and witty innuendos, he arrived on stage after the opening acts, Sugarbabes and Eric Lalor.

His old-school aura shines from the get-go as he arrives in a sharply tailored purple suit resembling that of British comedian Larry Grayson and sporting perfectly coiffed hair that would put Leslie Crowther's to shame.

@TheAlPorter We await you Al!!! Rock on KIIIIIDDDD.. as we say in Cork... pic.twitter.com/ShEN73lLe0  Redzer -Pure Cork Feen! (@redzercork) June 16, 2017

He begins his show with a song alongside his band before singling out a member of security, asking him, "Do I know you, I recognise the back of your head."

The crowd erupts into laughter, all the more so because hes showing off his backside saucily to a man in the front row.

That same man is the butt of gay innuendoes throughout, as Porter insists he doesnt want to be crude, but innuendo finds him.

Commenting on the man's body language, he said, "You're like a lightbulb, you're dim but I wouldn't change you."

With a personality that bears no resisting, the audience bellowed with laughter from the first routine, about his appearance on Living with Lucy and how his mother managed to make their council house in Tallaght sound like a desirable place to live.

Watching @TheAlPorter through the window in work while he is on the radio... see you tonight at the marquee... #soundlikeastalker  sarah murphy (@sarahmurph89) June 16, 2017

The theatrical monologue throughout, resembling that of Mr Humphries from the BBC1 comedy show, Are You Being Served?, makes obvious the nine seasons Porter has under his belt as a pantomime dame.

Porter plays up to the camp, indiscreet stereotype which he is best known for, but knows when to reign it in, making judgements on the crowd's reactions.

He effortlessly takes a unique angle on his material, like the partners who get trapped on his porch when trying to make their morning getaways.

Recounting his childhood and growing up in Tallaght, we see some of the brazing deviance underneath the shiny exterior.

This world and his friendships such as with Sarah Maternity Ward, who had two babies while still at school, portrays his real, down-to-earth persona.

Showing similarities to Irish comedian, Dave Allen, Porter pulls up a stool to tell of stories which don't portray him in the best light.

One of which is the story of being escorted through London City airport in a wheelchair he didn't need.

Before the end of the night, he acknowledged the happenings in London and around the world.

Inspired by Nanny Pat, the 84-year-old who hadn't been to the cinema in 60 years who now reviews movies for his lunchtime show on Today FM, he said, "Whatever you're going through, we can all get through it."

Porter appealed to all ages, with tell of his stint in a folk band, ending on a cheerfully sacrilegious singalong called Living Next Door to Jesus.

There couldnt have been an audience member who wasnt filled with pleasure at the democratic, old-school, effortlessly witty entertainment Porter provides with his crowd-pleasing comic talent.

The Dublin native has seen increased success since his first television appearance in 2010, and was the youngest comedian to ever headline Vicar Street in 2015.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Pope Francis encouraged her to work to preserve the Paris climate accord despite the US withdrawal during a meeting at the Vatican.

Speaking after a 40-minute meeting in the Apostolic Palace, which focused on the G20 summit that Germany is hosting in Hamburg on July 7-8, she said the Pope also shared her aim to "bring down walls" and not build them.

The Vatican said the talks focused on the need for the international community to combat poverty, hunger, terrorism and climate change.

Ms Merkel told reporters she briefed the Pope on Germany's G20 agenda, which she said "assumes that we are a world in which we want to work together multilaterally, a world in which we don't want to build walls but bring down walls".

Francis has consistently called for nations to build bridges not walls - including in reference to the border wall the Trump administration wants to build with Mexico.

Ms Merkel said Francis encouraged her to fight for international agreements, including the 2015 Paris climate accord, which aims to curb heat-trapping emissions.

"We know that regrettably, the United States is leaving this accord," Ms Merkel said.

As he did when President Donald Trump visited last month, Francis gave Ms Merkel a copy of his environmental encyclical, Praise Be, which casts fighting climate change and caring for the environment as an urgent moral obligation.

Francis issued the encyclical in the run-up to the Paris negotiations in hope of urging a global consensus on the need to change the "perverse" development models which he said had enriched the wealthy at the expense of the poor and turned God's creation into an "immense pile of filth".

The audience began with Francis expressing his condolences over the death of former chancellor Helmut Kohl.

In his formal note of condolences, Francis called Mr Kohl a "great statesman and convinced European" who worked tirelessly for the unity of his homeland and the continent.

In a particularly heartfelt tone, Francis said he was praying that the Lord gives Mr Kohl "the gift of eternal joy and life in heaven".

AP
A number of friends and family members of those missing following the Grenfell Tower fire told of chaos and frustration as they tried to find information about their loved ones.

Hundreds of people have protested outside Downing Street for the removal of British Prime Minister Theresa May after criticism over her response to the Grenfell Tower inferno.

It comes after police revealed that 58 people are missing and presumed dead.

Members of the public said there appeared to be no centralised list of those missing, and that they were forced to continually visit or call the various rescue centres and hospitals that were dealing with those affected.

Victims of the fire have made clear their demands to Mrs May in the two-and-a-half hour meeting in Number 10 this afternoon.

They left Number 10 after their meeting with the Prime Minister as demonstrators shouted: 'May out!' just metres away.

A man representing the group, who did not give his name, told reporters they would make a full statement "in the community".

He said the group had spoken about their "demands and what we expect".

Back in the area around Grenfell Tower, Mirna Suleiman, 26, a family friend of the first named victim, Mohammad Alhajali, claimed she and members of his family were told by the designated casualty line that there was no such list of missing people - even a day and a half after the fire had taken place.

"I spoke to the casualty helpline and they didn't have any information... they didn't offer any help. I was expecting to hear lists of missing people, lists of people who had died, passed away. (But there was) nothing, they weren't collating these numbers."

She also claimed that the rescue centres maintained no formal records of those that had attended, and even said one hospital told her they were unable to say whether Mr Alhajali was there for confidentiality reasons.

It comes after Mrs May avoided speaking to the protestors who gathered outside Kensington Town Hall on Friday night to demand answers about the tragic fire.

In a statement today, The Prime Minister said there had been "huge frustrations" on the ground as people struggled to find information.

She added: "The response of the emergency services, NHS and the community has been heroic.

"But, frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough."

There should be a Criminal Investigation into #GrenfellTower



Listen to the excellent @AamerAnwar https://t.co/HpPvtFociU  Saghir (@SaghirM) June 17, 2017

Mrs May had earlier sidestepped questions over her response to the disaster, after facing criticism of her reaction to the tragedy.

The British Prime Minister met a group of victims, residents, volunteers and community leaders at a church close to the scene of the horrific blaze, and earlier visited survivors in hospital.

But the visits, which took place more than 48 hours after the devastating fire broke out, have done little to quell the growing anger over the way Mrs May has dealt with the tragedy.

As she left St Clement's Church following a visit lasting less than an hour, the PM faced cries of "coward" and "shame on you".

BBC reporter trying her utmost to stop lady telling the truth; trying to put spin on it. Bravo, lady. #GrenfellTowerpic.twitter.com/snYSCY82G7  Z4M1R (@Z4M1R7) June 15, 2017

One woman wept saying it was because Mrs May had declined to speak to anyone outside the meeting.

In a television interview, Mrs May said the fire was "absolutely horrifying" and had been a "terrifying experience" for those affected.

But she sidestepped questions over whether she had failed to judge the public mood.

Told there was a need for the public to hear her say something had gone badly wrong and the Government accepted responsibility, Mrs May said: "Something terrible has happened.

Ishmahil Blagrove had some strong words for the mainstream media outside #grenfelltower and everyone cheered. pic.twitter.com/ze1PoFz5zz  Fiona Rutherford (@Fi_Rutherford) June 15, 2017

"This is an absolutely awful fire that took place. People have lost their lives, people have had their homes destroyed, they have fled for their lives with absolutely nothing."

Asked if she had misread the public anger, she replied: "What I have done since this incident took place is, first of all, yesterday ensure that the public services had the support they need in order to be able to do the job they were doing in the immediate aftermath."

Pressed again on whether she had failed to understand the anger felt by the public, she said: "This was a terrible tragedy that took place. People have lost their lives and others have lost everything, all their possessions, their home and everything.

"What we are doing is putting in place the support that will help them.

"But it is a terrible tragedy. I have heard horrifying stories from the fire brigade, from police and from victims themselves who were in that tower but also from other local residents, some of whom of course have not been able to go back to their homes either.

"What I'm now absolutely focused on is ensuring that we get that support on the ground.

"Government is making money available, we are ensuring we are going to get to the bottom of what happened, we will ensure that people are rehoused, but we need to make sure that that actually happens."

Mrs May said the public inquiry into the fire will take place "as soon as possible" and insisted the Government had acted on previous warnings about tower block safety by a coroner.

"The Government has taken action on the recommendations of the coroner's report," she insisted.

Asked how residents in other high rise blocks would be able to sleep at night, Mrs May said: "The Government is doing everything in its power to ensure that people are safe.

"We have identified those buildings and now and over the weekend people are going in and inspecting those buildings."
Church of the Brethren Newsline

June 16, 2017

Fourteen young adults from various Church of the Brethren districts traveled to Nepal to assist in post-earthquake recovery in Dhading District, east of Kathmandu. Assisted by Heifer International staff in Nepal, the young adult workcamp worked at two school sites in the mountain community of Kebalpur, which was not far from the epic center of the April 2015 earthquake that killed over 9,000 people. The workcamp group was led by Church of the Brethren staff members Emily Tyler and Jay Wittmeyer.

The theme, Say Hello, based on 3 John 14 gave inspiration to the workcamp team. The verse emphasizes the significance of meeting in person, face to face. While the Church of the Brethren gave disaster grants to families through Heifer immediately after the earthquake, to replace animals and rebuild animal sheds and barns, the group desired to be present with Nepali families as they worked to rebuild their homes and communities.

In Kebalpur, every village was greatly impacted by the earthquake and up until now, very few have been able to rebuild. Most families are still living in small, tin-roof sheds. In addition to the hard work of construction, the workcampers were able to spend considerable time with school children, working and playing and singing.

One of the work sites was 1,200 feet above the road where workcampers were dropped off in the morning, and required a strenuous hike just to reach the school site. Briawna Wenger commented on how just this simple act of hiking to and from the school every day gave her insight and appreciation for the struggles the Neplese endure in their daily lives.

Arriving in Kathmandu, the workcampers oriented themselves to Nepal and walked to historical sites, including the monkey temple, Swayanbhunath. At the end of the trip, the team traveled to more Heifer working areas, and rode elephants into the jungles of Chitwan National Park.

 Jay Wittmeyer is executive director of Global Mission and Service for the Church of the Brethren. Emily Tyler serves as coordinator of the Workcamp Ministry. Find out more about the Church of the Brethren workcamps at www.brethren.org/workcamps .

Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week.
Church of the Brethren Newsline

June 17, 2017

It now seems undeniable that famines in our global world are directly related to war and violence. A famine is usually the intersection of deep political, racial, or social injustices compounding food insecurity, malnutrition, and drought found in at-risk communities. If we mix in war and uncontained violence, humanitarian response actors cant respond and the crisis is elevated to a famine.

If we can reach the people, we can prevent the famine. The last decade of escalating violence in Africa and the Middle East has led to the largest refugee crisis since World War II, further resulting in malnutrition, hunger, starvation, and now famine. In reference to the growing famine in South Sudan, World Food Program South Sudan director Joyce Luma stated, This famine is manmade. While water shortages and decreased rainfall are part of the crisis, it is the violence and lack of security that prevents aid from reaching malnourished and starving people.

Famine is a technical term used when one in five households faces extreme food shortages, more than 30 percent of the population is acutely malnourished, and there are at least two hunger-related deaths per 10,000 each day. When a famine is declared, the world already has failed to protect basic human rights and people are dying of starvation.

South Sudan has two regions already experiencing famine, while northeast Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen are at a very high risk of famine due to war, government policy or inaction, and drought. Some experts suggest parts of northeast Nigeria have escalated to a famine, but the security situation is so bad that aid workers cant assess the situation. Severe food insecurities and malnutrition are already prevalent in these countries and others in the region such as Ethiopia and Kenya. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) reports 70 million people are in need of food assistance across 45 countries, an unprecedented level of world hunger. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen OBrien reports that we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the UN.

To mount a large-scale response to the threat of famine, the United Nations has requested $4.4 billion in aid, though the UN has received less than $1 billion in pledges. Most large aid organizations are trying to raise funds to prevent worse atrocities, but they find it difficult as many donors are fatigued by the constant needs from the crises in the last years. Church of the Brethren donors also may be feeling this fatigue as the Nigeria Crisis Response continues.

Preventing famine

Given the resources, beliefs, and practices of the Church of the Brethren, we strive to prevent famine with two key ministry areas: the Global Food Initiative (GFI) and Brethren Disaster Ministries. The GFI (formerly the Global Food Crisis Fund) was founded in direct response to famine in the Horn of Africa in the 1980s.

In the past 35 years, the GFI and many other non-profit ministries and agencies, in an effort to prevent famine and malnutrition, have gradually shifted away from famine relief and toward allocating development funds to projects and places where hunger is chronic. Too often a lack of government services and/or the existence of structural injustice result in communities with deeply rooted poverty. In this context, simply providing food, funds, or material aid will be ineffective, and possibly even harmful. The GFI development approach has proven to be very effective in Haiti and continues the community development that began during the 2010 earthquake response.

Brethren Disaster Ministries, funded by the Emergency Disaster Fund, responds to natural and human-caused emergencies and refugee crises. This programing often starts by providing emergency services such as food, water, and shelter to help save lives and prevent suffering. As quickly as possible, programing transitions to community re-development and long-term recovery. The goal is to help families become increasingly self-supporting through the crisis recovery. As the recovery programs continue, Brethren Disaster Ministries partners more with the GFI to provide holistic recovery in these communities.

Two important examples of Church of the Brethren programs preventing famine are happening in Nigeria and South Sudan. In these long-term mission points, although at very different levels of development, Brethren already have helped avert malnutrition and are preventing famine through large-scale and smaller grassroots organizing. Brethren Disaster Ministries, with grants from the Emergency Disaster Fund, works with the GFI to provide emergency food and supplies, while also supporting sustainable agricultural development and food security. This work is combined with efforts for effective community development, peace building, and trauma healing. It may be that our many efforts at peace building will have the greatest impact on food security in the long term. When people live in peace, disasters can be overcome as neighbors from near and far support each other.

Highlights of this important work

Northeast Nigeria, as part of the Nigeria Crisis Response:

 More than 95 separate food distributions

 Distributions provided in 30 different areas

 Assisting over 36,500 family units (averaging 6 people per family)

 Seeds and farm implements provided to displaced persons and newly settled families

 Seeds and fertilizer provided to 8,000 families who had returned home from displacement

 6 agricultural leaders attended ECHO conference

 5 agricultural leaders attended a soybean innovation lab research farm in Ghana

 Goat trial project

 Vaccinations for 10,000 chickens

 $1,770,717 total food and agricultural ministry expenses from 2014 to 2016

 $4,403,574 total response and ministry 2014 to 2016

The situation in South Sudan is so difficult that even sending funds into the country to support ministry is challenging. With a new Peace Center in Torit as a base, and partnerships with the Africa Inland Church, many grassroots programs are having major impacts on local communities. A master ministry plan for South Sudan focuses on long-term development in the states in southeast South Sudan. This plan includes significant agricultural development programs.

South Sudan, as part of the Church of the Brethren mission point:

 Peace Center built with plans to expand the campus outside the city of Torit

 Toyota Landcruiser purchased to support all South Sudan mission and relief activities

 Emergency food supplied to villages in crisis and to displaced families traveling through Torit

 Tarps, shelter materials, and tools provided to villages that have burned

 South Sudanese farmers trained in Farming Gods Way, a faith-based agricultural development program

 Mediation and reconciliation programing helping to build peace between people of different towns and tribes

In Kenya, severe drought is affecting 2.7 million men, women, and children, and is expected to cause 70 percent of crops to fail. The Church of the Brethren is supporting a Church World Service response seeking to prevent this crisis from becoming worse. A grant of $25,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund will help provide water and emergency food assistance.

Working together

Together, we can prevent the next famine. With the support of many Church of the Brethren congregations, disaster auctions, and church members, we are making a difference in the midst of enormous challenges facing the world today. When necessary, we provide material aid such as food, clean water, shelter, medicines, and clothing. We then focus on partnering with local churches and church leaders.

We seek to not only make an impact in the short-term, but also to plant the seeds of hopeand sometimes actual seedsthat will allow for a future when they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken (Micah 4:4).

 Roy Winter is associate executive director of Global Mission and Service and Brethren Disaster Ministries ( www.brethren.org/bdm ). Jeff Boshart is manager of the Global Food Initiative ( www.brethren.org/gfi ) and the Emerging Global Mission Fund.



Find a Guardian photo essay on the effects of famine in northern Cameroon, an area where many refugees from Boko Haram violence have sought safety, at www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jun/16/lake-chad-crisis-one-meal-a-day-pictures .

Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week.
The community of a Tuggeranong church is reeling after its main building was destroyed in a fire on Saturday, with police treating it as suspicious.

The Tuggeranong Baptist Church was unable to be saved after the blaze broke out just after 6am, completely engulfing the building.

A fire has completely destroyed the Tuggeranong Baptist Church. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

While the inferno was extinguished by fire crews shortly after 10am, its assistant pastor Paul Massen said nothing was able to be salvaged from the ruins.

"The damage is unbelievable. It can't be repaired obviously and it can't be replaced," he said.
A crackdown on citizenship rights for children of migrants and foreign diplomats is among a number of dumped Tony Abbott-era proposals to have resurfaced in the Turnbull government's citizenship revamp.

The government says the restrictions are necessary to stop parents using their children's citizenship "as an anchor for family migration" or to win sympathy in their own migration disputes.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull welcomes a new citizen at an Australia Day ceremony. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Under the proposed changes, children will no longer become citizens on their 10th birthday if, at any point, they were present in Australia unlawfully or re-entered Australia without a valid visa.

The same will also apply if a child's parent lacked a "substantive" visa at the time of the child's birth and was present in Australia unlawfully prior to the birth. That means a child born to parents on bridging visas would not automatically acquire citizenship.
Police are hunting for the driver of a four-wheel-drive after a teenager was hit at Noosa Heads on Friday night.

The 16-year-old boy was crossing David Lowe Way, between Cooyar Street and Bicentennial Drive, about 2am when he was hit by a Toyota Prado.

Police are searching for the driver of a Toyota Prado which hit a 16-year-old boy in Noosa Heads. Credit:Marina Neil/Fairfax Media

The car did not stop and officers found parts of the four-wheel-drive nearby. Police were searching for a Prado which is missing the Toyota badge.

The victim was taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
It was a tragic four-wheel-driving accident, which claimed the life of a young man "with so much more to live" on Thursday evening.

A towing strap smashed through the back window of the 4WD being driven by 26-year-old Chris Poulsen, hitting him in the head at a central Queensland beach.

Mr Poulsen's death has been described as "a travesty". Credit:Facebook

At the time of the accident, the Yeppoon man was trying to rescue a friend's 4WD after it became bogged in the sand on Farnborough Beach at Bangalee, near Yeppoon.

Initial investigations suggest a tow point on the bull bar of the car being towed broke, causing the towing strap to fly through the back window of Mr Poulsen's car and hit him.
Tesla is only weeks away from installing the first unit of its new Powerwall model in WA after issues with regulators left customers facing months of uncertainty.

Tesla's Powerwall 2 was announced in October 2016, almost doubing the capacity of its predecessor and upgrading from 7kWh to a full 14kWh.

Earlier this week, Brendan was the first homeowner in Victoria to install a Powerwall 2 for the cost of $10,917.

This has been calculated to allow Australian households the potential to offset their entire electricity bill, and perhaps even move off the grid.

The product gained a huge following late last year, and some WA retailers were taking orders as of December last year.
"Anyone trying to evade police by driving recklessly or failing to stop when the world turns red and blue in your rear vision mirror needs to get it through the grey matter that no matter how short that rush of stupid to the head lasts, be it 30 seconds or 30 minutes, when you're arrested for trying it on you are going to be sent to jail - the next six months of your life is set in rapid setting concrete and the fault is all down to the person consciously deciding not to stop," the post reads.

"Remember how you hated being sent to your room for an hour or two for stepping outside the rules of your home as a kid? This is a bit like that but with no chance of an apology to mum or dad getting you an early release  six months in jail sharing a cell with Big Bad Beautiful Bubba is not on many bucket lists."

"Just so we are clear - in most instances the drivers or riders are caught  sometimes not immediately but certainly in most cases within a day or two. Six months, Bubba the Beautiful or pull up, take out all the danger to the public and police and cop what's coming like a man (or woman)."

Mr Hammond told WAtoday in March, no Facebook comment by police should be posted prior to the hearing of the charges against an accused.

"Vilifying an accused publicly to this degree is no different to putting the accused in stocks in Forrest Chase and pelting him with tomatoes," he said.
A 49-year-old Perth woman has been charged with the murder of an elderly woman in the north-east of Perth.

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Police arrested the woman in relation to the murder of an 81-year-old woman in Stratton on Thursday night.

A woman has been charged with the murder of an elderly woman. Credit:Marina Neil/Fairfax Media

The woman was due to appear in the Perth Magistrates court on Saturday.
St Paul, Minnesota: A jury on Friday found the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist during a traffic stop last year not guilty of second-degree manslaughter.

St Anthony Police Department officer Jeronimo Yanez fatally shot Philando Castile, 32, last July in an incident that drew international attention and local protests when the driver's girlfriend, who was sitting in the passenger seat, streamed it on social media.

Yanez had testified that he was afraid for his life and that Castile did not follow his orders.

The shooting, like similar incidents across the United States, fuelled debate about the appropriate use of force by law enforcement against minorities.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte charmed onlookers at the annual Trooping the Colour parade on Saturday.

The young royals were seen first peeking through the windows of Buckingham Palace before stepping out into the blazing sunshine for the Queen's Birthday celebration.

Princess Charlotte and Prince George wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Credit:Chris Jackson

The Prince, who will turn four next month, and his sister Princess Charlotte appeared transfixed by the flypast, as they made their now-annual appearance on the palace balcony to wave to assembled crowds.

The 91-year-old monarch was greeted on Saturday by hundreds of well-wishers on a sunny day in the heart of ceremonial London.
Springfield quarry plan still unresolved as residents wait, worry

Conditional Use Hearing on a proposed quarry along Rt. 309 in Springfield may be nearing an end after two years. Here's what residents have to say.
State Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10) presented a check to Yardley Borough Police Chief Joseph Kelly for $68,600 for the purchase of a new police vehicle and motorcycle during a visit to the station. Our police put themselves on the line every day to keep our community safe, said Sen. Santarsiero. Dating back to when I was a Lower Makefield Township Supervisor more than...
NJ Weedman got a license to sell NJ legal weed. He almost said no.
It is not just which is planning a global foray by acquiring coal assets abroad with listing on the London bourse. Its trade unions, too, appear to be keen on having global exposure which may help them learn and adapt better to changing business dynamics.
Reducing cross-holdings among the Tata group has been one of the top priorities for N Chandrasekaran since he took charge as chairman on February 21. And, on this to-do list Tata Steel has been the most important entity because of its Rs 83,014-crore gross debt at the end of March, which is 2.3 times its equity.

On Saturday, said it would buy 83.6 million shares or 2.85 per cent stake in Tata Motors from Tata Steel on or after June 23. These shares of the automaker are currently valued at Rs 3,809 crore, at the current market price of Rs 455.5 a share on the BSE.
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TDP MP J C Diwakar Reddy, who has been banned by all domestic airlines from flying over his alleged unruly behaviour at the Visakhapatnam airport, flew to Europe last night as part of his annual family vacation.

According to J C Prabhakar Reddy, brother of the Anantapur MP, the tour was planned well in advance.

It is something the family does every year, he said.

"He and his family left for vacation last night. I was also supposed to go along with them. But I could not go due to personal work. What is wrong in his foreign tour? He got his visa long ago. It was not planned yesterday," Prabhakar, a TDP MLA from Anantapur told PTI on Saturday.

He, however, did not disclose the holiday destination as well as the airline his brother took for the overseas trip.

Though the exact duration of the vacation is not exactly known, a TDP leader said it may last seven to 10 days.

Following the June 15 episode, in a show of unity, all major domestic airlines have barred the MP from taking their flights  similar to action taken by the carriers after the incident involving Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad earlier this year.

On Thursday, Reddy was scheduled to fly IndiGo's flight 6E-608, which departs from Visakhapatnam at 8.10 am, to Hyderabad. But he reached just 28 minutes before the scheduled departure, according to the airline.

As per norms laid out by the aviation regulator, airlines close check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure.

Enraged, Reddy got into a verbal spat with the ground staff and threw a printer kept at the airline's counter after he was informed that boarding for his flight had closed.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who also belongs to the same party, has said that he would get the entire incident "enquired into" and will ensure "lawful outcomes" follow.

Prior to this incident, Reddy had allegedly vandalised the Air India office at Gannavaram airport in Vijayawada last year after he missed his flight.
After a 35-year long hiatus, the West Bengal government had to again fall back on Indian Army's help in its efforts to contain escalated tension in the Darjeeling hills following the revival of the demand of a separate state for the Gorkhas by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).


Prakash Jawle is no ordinary man. He is one among the millions of across Madhya Pradesh whose achievements were prominently displayed by the state during a presentation that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made in April before the governing council of NITI Aayog.
While the Khushboo ki campaign featuring popular actor Amitabh Bachchan gave the much needed push to Gujarat's tourism sector, now that the campaign is well past its prime, the state has managed to hold on to the impressive growth rates in tourist footfalls. On a much enlarged base, it has managed to accomplish a 16.94% growth in tourist arrivals in FY17 over the previous year.
The H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a thorny issue in the maiden meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister and the talks could yield a "win-win formula" for both the sides, a top American business advocacy group today said.

"I believe the visit will yield a win-win formula for both countries. I am very optimistic that it will go very well when Prime Minister comes here," Mukesh Aghi, president of US India Business Council (USIBC) told PTI.



Under the umbrella of US Chambers of Commerce, USIBC is the largest representative body of top American businesses having a footprint in India.

Prime Minister Modi will on June 26 hold talks with President Trump on a range of issues, including terrorism and India's concerns over possible changes in H1B visa rules, in their first bilateral meeting after the new administration took over in the US.

The bilateral talks appear to be no bed of roses as they come amidst thorny issues like US' plans to reduce the number of H-1B visa slots that are mainly used by Indian IT workers, and its withdrawal from the historic climate accord.

Closely involved in the preparations for Modi's US visit from June 25 as an industry representative, Aghi said the H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a major issue of discussion between the two leaders.

Responding to a question, he said it is unlikely to be a strain in India-US ties.

"I believe this (H-1B) will not be an issue which will cause any kind of strain in discussion. The US industry needs technical resources to become more efficient, more competitive. And at the same time, I think have a good supply from India," he said, adding that H1B visa issue is not just a US issue, it is an issue for the US business community.

"It is a supply and demand issue. And, the industry needs more technical resources and the supply is constrained there," he said.

"Our (USIBC) position is that we basically are supportive of H1B programme, and I don't believe that's the issue between the two leaders because you look at last year's number, the number has dropped by 35 per cent from Indian companies, for H1B," said the USIBC president.

Trump had made the alleged abuse and fraud in H-1B visa system a major election issue during his campaign.

Aghi said India-US ties is the most important strategic issue at this stage.

"I think all sides realise value of this partnership and both sides are working to make this deeper and much further than where it is now," he said.

"When I walk the corridors of the Hill, or down in the White House, what I essentially get is, this is very important relationship, and tell us what needs to be done to move the bar further up between the two countries," Aghi said.

Of the firm belief that the Indian economy will grow at a faster pace at least for the next 20 years, the USIBC president said this would create tremendous market opportunity for US companies.

"To gain market share, if you look at Uber or Amazon or Facebook or WhatsApp, their market dominance in India is growing, and it affects their stock up to the Chinese market also," he said.

Responding to a question, Aghi said Trump's 'America First' and Modi's 'Make in India' policies are complimentary to each other.

"I believe they're complementary, because I see India buys more and more defence, which in turn creates more jobs. Indian airlines place more order by US manufacture of planes, place more jobs here," he argued.

"If you move a lot of these manufacturing to India, it still creates more jobs. It is a complementary relationship. So I think my perspective of this is, it needs more long-term capital investment for the infrastructure. And, there is a lot of cash, it's not earning that high interest of return, so India provides the opportunities, especially for large pension funds," he said.

Notably, Modi's US visit comes in the backdrop of Trump's announcement to withdraw the US from the historic Paris Climate Agreement signed by over 190 other countries. Trump had blamed India and China for the US withdrawal.
Maintaining that the Army has a very good human rights record, Army Chief General today said the incident of a Kashmiri man being used as a 'human shield' against stone pelters was circumstances-based and could not be made a standard operating procedure to deal with such situations.

He said, "misinformation and disinformation" was being spread among the people of Jammu and Kashmir, compelling the younger generation to pick up arms against the security forces.

Commenting on Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied the man to a jeep purportedly as a shield against stone pelters, Rawat said, "Everything and every action that we take is considering the nature of the task that we are expected to carry out under the circumstances."



"But we are concerned about human rights and we make sure rights of people are not violated," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

Rawat was in the city as the chief guest at the combined graduation parade, marking the completion of the pre-commissioning training of Indian Air Force flight cadets at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal.

When asked whether it (human shield incident) could be made a standard operating procedure (SOP), the Army chief said, "No...It is not...What I am saying is it is not considered...I said it depends on the circumstances. It is circumstances-based. Each one takes action based on the circumstances, but the effort is to make sure that human rights violations are not there."



On handling the situation in Kashmir wherein some school children were also seen to be part of the mob hurling stones at the security forces, Rawat said the Army follows very stringent rules of engagement in the Valley.

"They have been trained to handle such situations and when they find that there are children and women, who are coming in the front, they deal with them accordingly and harsh measures are never used. We are an Army which believes very strongly in human rights and we have a very good human rights record. We know how to deal with children and women under such circumstances," he said.

When asked about some cases of even locals and minors picking up arms and attacking the Army and security personnel, Rawat said, "There is some misinformation and disinformation which is being spread amongst the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which is causing this trouble and possibly, I would say, compelling some of the younger generation to pick up arms."



"But, I am quite confident that they will soon understand that any (such) thing that they are doing is not good for their own state and for the people," he said.

All that the armed forces and other security forces want is peace and tranquillity in the Valley, Rawat said, adding the security forces were doing a great job in bringing the Kashmir situation under control.

He said the Jammu and Kashmir situation should not be looked from the perspective of what was being projected and that the security forces were taking necessary action in the Valley.

"You should not look at the Jammu and Kashmir situation from the perspective of what is being projected. Let me tell you the security forces and all other agencies are doing a great job to bring the situation under control," he said.

"Some parts of South Kashmir are indeed troublesome, but necessary actions are being taken to ensure that the situation there is fully brought under control. Therefore, I think there should not be any cause for worry for anyone," he said.

"We all are looking at bringing peace and tranquillity and I am quite sure that some of the young people, who should be having books and computers in their hands and preparing for exams for entering the IITs and IIMs, will soon be brought on the right side of the fence and they will themselves understand that they were not choosing the right path," the General said.

Rawat said he was quite confident that the situation would be brought under control.

On frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan, he said, "Ceasefire violations take place with a purpose and we have to counter it."



When asked how Army viewed 'political' comments against it, he said, "Armed forces do their work and task. We do not care about other things."



Asked if the situation was deteriorating in the Valley with each passing day, Rawat said, "..Well, not really. We are there to make sure the situation is brought under control. Therefore, I think at the present juncture we have to continue with the task in the manner in which we are carrying on."



"The Indian armed forces belong to the people. We are the people's armed forces. Therefore, the Army is for the people. We have been called upon to do a particular task by the Government of India. Because they do feel that there is a requirement for the Army to be there. Therefore, we are there," he said.

Earlier in his address after reviewing the parade, Rawat said the defence forces in India have an impeccable track record.

"Today we command respect in all walks of life and that is because we have always successfully served the nation against external threats, internal disorders, during natural calamities or in rescue missions. Internationally also, we have been praised for our professionalism, courage and patience during deployments for United Nations-sponsored peacekeeping missions in the most difficult and volatile places in the world," he said.

He said the defence forces are required to be always alert in view of the myriad external security challenges and law and order situation in a few states.

"The advancement in globalisation and technology is changing the way wars are being fought. Moreover, these technologies are not only available to our adversaries but also available to non-state actors too," he said.

Stating that integrity was the foundation of the military profession, the Army chief said, "Without it, we may lose the trust of the society. In case the society does not trust its defence forces, it will be difficult for the nation to maintain its military and protect itself. In this context, integrity includes honesty, truthfulness, reliability, impartiality, sincerity and courage."



The Army chief conferred the 'President's Commission' to 120 graduating trainees of various branches, including 25 women trainees.
Indian shuttler dished out a gritty performance to stun the World No 1 Korean Son Wan Ho to reach the finals of the $1,000,000 Indonesia Super Series Premier in Jakarta on Saturday.

The 24-year-old from Guntur fought like a man possessed to outclass Son 21-15 18-21 24-22 in an energy-sapping men's singles match that lasted an hour and 12 minutes in Jakarta.

Srikanth had a 2-4 head-to-head record against Son, having lost to the Korean four times in the last four meetings but all that didn't matter today as he survived a battle of attrition at the Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC).

The World No 22 Srikanth will next face Japanese qualifier Kazumasa Sakai in the finals on Sunday.

This is the fourth Super Series final for Srikanth, who had reached the summit clash in Singapore in April and won the 2014 China Open and 2015 India Open.

Earlier, giant-killer H S Prannoy played his heart out but eventually ran out of steam against Japanese Kazumasa Sakai to go down narrowly in the other semifinal.

The World No 25, who had shocked Olympic silver- medallist Lee Chong Wei and gold-medallist Chen Long in the last two days, got to the match point five times but he could not convert to eventually go down 21-17, 26-28, 18-21 in a 77 -minute men's singles match.
Army jawans stand guard during an encounter with militants at Arwani village of Anantnag district of South Kashmir on Friday. Two youth were killed and nearly a dozen others injured as security forces opened firing to chase away stone-pelting protest
Prime Minister on Saturday urged people to "give a book instead of a bouquet as a greeting", saying there is no joy greater than reading and no strength greater than knowledge.

Speaking at the launch of P N Panicker Reading Day celebrations in Kerala's capital Kochi, Modi said the state had been an inspiration to the whole nation in achieving high literacy rate.

"Kerala has been a torchbearer and inspiration to the whole nation in the field of literacy," he said, also urging the youth to take the pledge of reading.

"Together, we can once again make India a land of wisdom and knowledge," Modi said, adding: "I appeal to people to give a book instead of bouquet as a greeting. Such a move can make a big difference."

"There can be no joy greater than reading and no strength greater than knowledge. Kerala had been an inspiration to the whole nation in literacy," he added.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday offered condolences to the families of six policemen killed by militants near Achabal in south on Friday, terming the attack as a "cowardice act".

"Killing of six policemen by terrorists in #Achabal is a cowardice act. My condolences to the bereaved families. Salute to martyrs," Jaitley posted on his Twitter handle.

Within hours of the killing of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Junaid Mattoo by security forces in Kulgam district on Friday, a group of 10-15 heavily armed LeT militants ambushed a vehicle carrying six policemen, including station house officer (SHO) of Achabal Police Station in Anantnag district.

Reports said the LeT militants came in two vehicles and surrounded the jeep carrying SHO Feroz Ahmad Dar, the driver of the police jeep and four guards.

The militants hurled grenades inside the police jeep and opened heavy automatic fire killing the five, including the officer on the spot. The militants also disfigured their bodies.
Prime Minister Narender Modi authorized Rs 50,000 for a brother-sister duo in Kota who had found Rs 96,500 in the form of 171 demonetised bank notes, months after the government's deadline to exchange such notes, as reported by Hindustan Times.



The children, Sooraj Banjara (17) and his sister Saloni (9) are orphans and live in a shelter home.
The Telangana cabinet today decided to issue four ordinances to amend existing acts.

One of these ordinances will amend the Gaming Act to ban online gambling, said deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari after the cabinet meeting in Hyderabad.

Another ordinance will amend Record of Rights Act to ban registration of government lands in the name of private persons and effect cancellation of past illegal registrations of these lands, he said.

"Soon after the formation of Telangana, the CM had ordered police to crack down on clubs and other places which encourage gambling. But the government received complaints that people are now indulging in . We want to eliminate gambling in all forms. So the Gaming Act would be amended, banning . The cyber police will track and act against violators," Srihari said.

An ordinance amending the Preventive Detention Act is aimed at curbing the sale of spurious seeds and fertilisers, adulteration of food items and the use of fake educational certificates.

The fourth ordinance will amend the VAT Act, to enable it to be in force for six years after the GST roll-out to resolve pending VAT disputes.
The evolution of trade agreements finds its genesis in a series of flip-flops in the trade policies of Europe and the United States which, for over two centuries, were heavily influenced by mercantile economic theory. A favourable balance of trade through tariffs and quotas on imports and thwarting anything that might help a foreign nation to compete with the domestic production of goods were the overarching objectives.
Gold import in May reached nearly a two-year high level at $4,958.6 million. In terms of quantity, it was estimated at 122 tonnes, the highest after March 2015. According to the data provided by the commerce ministry, gold import in May was the highest after August 2015, when it was $4,958.7 million.

The reason for the high import is that traders wanted to replace gold that was not earlier shown on the books ahead of the goods and services tax (GST). Once that is done, jewellers are in a hurry to sell jewellery ahead of the . That is also the reason for the gold price quoting at a discount in the spot market.
State Bank of India is trying to increase corporate lending in Europe. SBI Frankfurt, which has the status of an independent bank in Europe, has traditionally lent for trade financing but now wants to fund Indian business houses in Europe and European firms in India.
106th International Labour Conference, 2017

The 106th Session of International Labour Conference (ILC) was held from 5-16th June 2017. An Indian Tripartite Delegation led by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge), Shri Bandaru Dattatreya participated in the ILC.Speaking at the Plenary Session of the International Labour Conference on 14th June 2017, Labour and Employment Minister expressed his happiness over the growing coherence between the Sustainable Development Goals and the agenda of ILO and other UN forums. The Minister said that no development was complete unless it benefitted each and every person in the society. Shri Dattatreya further added that Poverty eradication, employment generation and reducing inequality formed the core of the development strategy of India. On ratification by India of two core ILO conventions on Child Labour, the Minister reiterated Indias commitment for a safe, healthy and happy future for children. Shri Dattatreya further added that the government is committed to provide social security for 450 million workforce in the informal sector. The Labour and Employment Minister informed about the amended Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017 that provides for paid maternity leave of 26 weeks which would encourage women into employment. The Minister delivered his speech in Hindi and ended his speech by reaffirming Indias commitment for promoting the welfare of the workers in and outside the country including promoting their skill development and protecting their rights.Smt M. Sathiyavathy, Secretary, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, addressed the Plenary Session of the 106th ILC and placed on record Indias appreciation for a comprehensive and topical report of Director General, ILO, Mr Guy Ryder on Work in a changing climate: The Green Initiative. Smt. Sathiyavathy indicated that the Paris Agreement of 2015 had defined the global climate initiative in the changing context of globalization which recognized national contexts, yet respected the principles of shared responsibility and collective commitments. The fact that 195 countries have signed and 147 have recognized it, is a testimony of its importance. She reiterated Indias commitment to cleaner climate and energy transition. The Secretary mentioned about setting up of the international and inter-governmental organization- International Solar Alliance headquartered at National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in India that is dedicated to promotion and for making solar energy a valuable source of affordable, reliable, green and clean energy in 121 member countries.

She further added that India has initiated several measures towards achieving sustainable development through green pathway including increasing the forest cover, reducing carbon emissions, river conservation and tackling solid waste and air pollution. She expressed concern over the likely impact of the transition to green jobs in sectors such as agriculture which is the primary sector of many economies and therefore stressed on the need to build responses very carefully keeping in mind not only the limitations of the member states but also ensuring that their strengths are not compromised. In a historic step towards eradication of Child Labour from the country, India ratified International Labour Organizations Convention No 138 (minimum age for employment) and Convention No 182 (worst forms of child labour) to symbolise its commitment and initiatives for eradication of child labour and attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 related with curbing of child labour. The ratification of both conventions coincided with the International Day against Child Labour expressing countrys commitment along with global partners to fight the menace of child labour and providing the childhood back to them. Shri Bandaru Dattatreya handed the Instruments of Ratification to Mr. Guy Ryder, DG, ILO at the sideline event held in Geneva at the International Labour Conference, 2017 on 13th June 2017. With ratification of these two core ILO conventions, India has ratified 6 out of 8 core ILO conventions, with the other 4 core ILO conventions relating to abolition of forced labour, equal remuneration and no discrimination between men and women in employment and occupation, thus reaffirming its commitment for promoting and realizing fundamental principles and right at work. This action is in sync with the Governments broader intent for social equality and growth for all. Several multilateral meetings were held on the sidelines of the ILC. At the NAM Ministerial Meeting held on 13th June 2017, Labour and Employment Minister, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya said In India, we have leveraged the technological advancement. Technology forms the basis of many of our programmes, like Digital India, National Career Service (NCS) portal, extending social security benefits (DBT). NCS portal is our strengthened public employment services platform effectively using the Information technology. The Portal already hosts more than 38 million job seekers and around 1.5 million job providers. At the ASPAG Ministerial Meeting held on 13th June 2017, The Minister of Labour and Employment, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya said India firmly believes that employment generation with assured social protection and greater gender parity are fundamental to create an inclusive society". The Minister further added that poverty alleviation strategy must be linked to robust employment generation policies and equally robust wage policies and social protection. Our challenge is to implementing these policies to the informal sector. In a recent massive drive we were successful in opening bank accounts for close to 5 million wage workers across the country in last 6 months. We amended the legislative provisions to enable the payment of wages through banking transactions thereby adding to the transition to formality". At the G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting held on 14th June 2017, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, expressed his happiness that issues like technology transfers by businesses in the global supply chain and promotion of decent work through capacity building formed the part of the G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Declaration adopted by G20 Labour and Employment Ministers in Bad Neuenahr, Germany in May 2017. He further urged the G20 countries to explore the possibility of signing bilateral agreements for providing social security cover to our workers and for promoting their skill development. Indian delegation led by Labour and Employment Minister also participated in bilateral meeting held with Iran and spoke about issues concerning MSMEs, rural employment and vocational training.
Final raising of Sardar Sarovar Dam cleared by Narmada Control Authority

Narmada Control Authority (NCA) has cleared the final raising of Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) in Gujarat by lowering of gates and impounding of water in the reservoir upto its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of EL 138.68 mts. The NCA which met here yesterday under the Chairmanship of Dr. Amarjit Singh, Secretary (WR, RD & GR) considered all aspects of environmental and Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) issues. It may be recalled that the last time raising of SSD was cleared on June 12,2014, wherein permission for Phase-I construction of piers, overhead bridge and installation of gates in open or raised position was granted. At that time, the effective height of SSD remained at EL 121.92 mts. with backwater levels of EL 134.32 mts. at dam site.With lowering of gates of SSD, the live storage capacity would increase from 1565 to 5740 MCM i.e. by 4175 MCM (267%). The clean (hydro-power generation) would increase by present 1300 MW to 1450 MW with increase in annual generation by about 1100 Million Units (i.e. about Rs.400/- crore per annum). In addition, this additional storage would irrigate about 8 lakh hectares.

Additionally, about one crore population would get assured drinking water. As it is well known, the Sardar Sarovar Project would primarily meet the water requirement of drought prone and desert areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Prior to clearance by NCA, the Environment Sub-group of NCA chaired by Shri Ajay Narayan Jha, Secretary (MoEF&CC) reviewed the implementation of Environment Safeguard Measures on May 01,2017 and after observing substantial progress, recommended Phase-II proposal of lowering down of the gates and impounding of water in the reservoir to FRL of EL 138.68 mts. The Environment Sub-group has also asked the State Governments to complete leftover works by June 30,2017. The Resettlement and Rehabilitation sub-group chaired by Smt. G. Latha Krishna Rao, Secretary (MoSJ&E) reviewed the progress of R&R and the opinions received from Grievance Redressal Authorities (GRAs) of the States of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra on June 16, 2017. The State Governments have assured to address all issues of Project Affected Families (PAFs) on priority basis in accordance with Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) Award, liberalized policies of the State Governments and Supreme Court Order dated February 08,2017. NCA has permitted final raising of SSD after following the procedure laid down by Supreme Court order dated October 18, 2000 in WP(C) 328 of 2002 in Narmada Bachao Andolan Vs. Union of India & others.
Knowledge is the Emerging Currency of the World in the present century, says President

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee addressed the convocation ceremony of the passing out Engineering Graduate Courses of College of Military Engineering, Pune today (June 17, 2017).Addressing the Engineering Graduates, the President said that as they are aware, knowledge is the emerging currency of the world in the present century. They should make full use of technical knowledge acquired by them at this prestigious institution of excellence of military engineering. They can be successful in all their endeavors only by being professionally competent and by keeping abreast with the latest developments. The need of the hour is therefore to exploit the cutting edge technologies which are best suited to meet the requirements. He was sure the technical knowledge they had acquired would stand them in good stead.

Their passion to accept challenges would empower further them to achieve unprecedented goals. The President expressed happiness that the college would be celebrating its platinum jubilee next year. He said that in these glorious 75 years the college has left an indelible mark in the service to the nation. The personnel who have passed through the portals of CME have proved their mettle both in operations and peacetime. This has been made possible due to the untiring efforts of the faculty in ensuring that the institution kept pace with the changing security environment and technological advancements. The President said that in the rapidly changing environment, one factor which has not changed is the faith reposed in the armed forces by the entire nation. The Indian Army Engineers have traditionally left their mark on prestigious national projects be it oil pipe line at Siachen, prestigious naval bases and airfields in the north and north east or roads cutting through the Himalayan ranges. He was sure that each and every one of them would also follow the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors and shall live up to the high standards expected of them.
Moving ahead for Child Labour Free India- Initiatives taken along with ratification of ILO Conventions on Child Labour

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge), Shri Bandaru Dattatreya briefed the press about the initiatives taken for Child Labour free India along with ratification of ILO Conventions on Child Labour in a press conference held in New Delhi, today. Shri Dattatreya informed that India ratified International Labour Organizations Convention No 138 (minimum age for employment) and Convention No 182 (worst forms of child labour) to symbolise its commitment and initiatives for eradication of child labour and attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 related with curbing of child labour. The ratification of both conventions coincided with the World Day against Child Labour expressing Indias commitment along with global partners to fight the menace of child labour and providing the childhood back to them. Shri Bandaru Dattatreya handed the Instruments of Ratification to Mr. Guy Ryder, DG, ILO at the sideline event held in Geneva at the International Labour Conference, 2017 on 13th June 2017.With ratification of these two core ILO conventions, India has ratified 6 out of 8 core ILO conventions, with the other 4 core ILO conventions relating to abolition of forced labour, equal remuneration and no discrimination between men and women in employment and occupation, thus reaffirming its commitment for promoting and realizing fundamental principles and right at work. This action is in sync with the Governments broader intent for social equality and growth for all.Ratification of these 2 core conventions by India has not only national but international ramifications for eradication of child labour as it means that almost all children (99%) in the world are covered by Convention 182, while coverage of Convention 138 enhanced from approximately 60 percent to almost 80% of the worlds children population. India is the 170th ILO Member State to ratify Convention No 138, which requires States to set a minimum age under which no one shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation, except for light work and artistic performances. Similarly, for Convention No 182, India is the 181st member state to ratify and reaffirm its commitment for the prohibition and elimination of worst forms of child labour, including slavery, forced labour and trafficking; the use of children in armed conflict; use of children for prostitution, pornography and in illicit activities ( such as drug trafficking); and hazardous work.Government of India has initiated various measures and realization of a multipronged strategy on ground to move firmly towards a child labour free society. A landmark step in the endeavour to have a child labour free society was the enactment of the Child labour (Prohibition and Prevention) amendment Act, 2016 in August 2016 that provides for complete prohibition on employment of children below 14 years in all occupations and processes and prohibits employment of adolescents (14-18 years) in hazardous occupations and processes. The age of admission to employment has been linked to the age of compulsory education under Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009.In order to facilitate compliance of the provisions of the Act, Government of India has also notified the amendment in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Central Rules after extensive consultation with the stakeholders. The Rules for the first time provide broad and specific framework for prevention, prohibition, rescue and rehabilitation of child and adolescent workers. To clarify on issues related with help in family and family enterprises and definition of family with respect to child, specific provisions have been incorporated in rules.

Further, it also provides for safeguards of artists which have been permitted to work under the Act, in terms of hours of work and working conditions. The rules provide for specific provisions incorporating duties and responsibilities of enforcement agencies in order to ensure effective implementation and compliance of the provisions of the Act. In order to clarify the issues on Schedule of hazardous occupations and processes, the Schedule has been reviewed and the intent notification has been issued to include a comprehensive list of about 118 occupation and processes. For fulfilment of the objective of a strong legislation, it requires equally strong tools on field to be implemented and to provide this, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has already prepared a comprehensive strategy for effective enforcement. Labour being in the concurrent list, an elaborate Action Plan was sent to all State Governments after enactment of the Legislation for implementation and all the State Governments have been sensitised about the major shift in the legislation with the direction to spread the same to the ground level. To remove all ambiguities a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is being framed for all stakeholders particularly, enforcing agencies and this would be supported by IT Platform PENCIL" which has components ensuring enforcement of the Act, mechanism for redressal of complaints, child tracking system and a monitoring mechanism. This platform would integrate all the State Governments with the Central Government for effective coordination and convergence of various measures being taken for compliance of the Act. To meet the objective of child labour free society, the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) has been aligned with changes in the Act. NCLP is a rehabilitative scheme for child and adolescent labour. Under the scheme, children are provided bridge education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health check-up etc. This scheme has been strengthened recently in terms of improving its quality and extending its coverage to all the districts of the country. The annual expenditure under the Scheme for FY 2016-17 was apprx Rs. 105 Crore and budget allocation for the current FY 2017-18 is Rs. 150 Crore. There is historical precedence that curbing any social menace requires concerted action of Government, civil society, corporates and most importantly community. When community awareness and community monitoring are active it surely yields the desired result in less time. As mentioned by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi After the total prohibition of child labour, ratification of two conventions is yet another important step by Government of India in protecting all our children from exploitation and abuse. However, it now remains a collective responsibility of everyone to do their bit to remove the scourge of child labour from the country." Other prominent members of the Civil Society groups and the child labour activists have widely appreciated Indias recent initiative for complete eradication of child labour.
PMs Address at the launch of PN Panicker Reading Day Reading Month Celebration

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It gives me great pleasure to be here on the occasion of the inauguration of reading month celebration. I thank and congratulate the P.N. Panicker foundation for organising this. There can be no joy greater than reading and no strength greater than knowledge. .

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Friends. .

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Kerala has been a torch-bearer and inspiration to the whole nation in the field of literacy. .

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The first 100 percent literate city and first 100 percent literate district have been from Kerala. Kerala was also the first state to attain 100 percent primary education. Some of the oldest colleges, schools and libraries of the country are also situated in Kerala. .

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This could not have been achieved by Government alone. Citizens and social organizations have played an active role in this remarkable achievement. Kerala has set an example in peoples participation in this regard. I admire the work of people like late Shri P.N. Panicker and his foundation. Shri P.N. Panicker was also the driving spirit behind the library network in Kerala. He did this through Kerala Grandhasala Sangham set up by him in 1945 with 47 rural libraries. .

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I believe that reading and knowledge should not be limited only to work related aspects. It should help develop habits of social responsibility, service to the nation and service to humanity. It should cure the evils in society and nation. It should spread the idea of peace along with respect for unity and integrity of the nation. .

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It is said that one literate woman can educate two families. Kerala has set an example worthy of emulation in this regard. .

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I learn that PN Panicker Foundation together with a number of Government agencies, private sector entities and civil society organisations, is leading an initiative of reading. .

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Their target is to reach 300 million under-privileged people by 2022. The main objective of this mission is to promote reading as a means to grow and prosper. .

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Reading can help broaden ones thinking. A well-read population will help India excel globally. .

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With the same spirit, I had started a similar movement by name of VANCHE GUJARAT when I was Chief Minister of the State. It means Gujarat Reads". I had visited a public library to motivate people to read. The movement targeted the young generation, in particular. I also requested citizens to think about building a Granth-Mandir - a temple of books - in their village. This could be started with 50 or 100 books. .

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I appealed to people to give a book instead of bouquet as a greeting. Such a move can make a big difference. .

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Friends! .

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From the time of the Upanishads persons with knowledge have been respected through the ages. We are now in the information age. Even today, knowledge is the best guiding light. .

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I am told that as a pilot project of Digital Libraries, Panicker Foundation is working with 18 public libraries in the state in collaboration with Indian Public Library Movement, New Delhi. .

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I would like to see such a reading and library movement in the entire country. The movement should not be limited to make people literate. It should try to achieve the real goal of bringing social and economic change. The foundation of good knowledge should be followed by a super-structure of a better society. .

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I am happy to note that the State Government has announced 19th June as the reading day. Obviously, a lot of effort will converge to make this a popular activity. .

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The Government of India has also provided support to the activities of the foundation. I am told that about 1.20 crore rupees have been given to the foundation in the last two years. .

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I am also happy to see that the foundation is now focusing on digital literacy. This is the need of the hour. .

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Friends! .

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I believe in peoples power. It has the capacity to make a better society and nation. .

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I urge every young person in the audience to take a pledge of reading. And enable everyone to do so. .

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Together, we can once again make India a land of wisdom and knowledge. Thank You! .

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Speech of the President at the Convocation Ceremony of the passing out Engineering Graduate Courses of college of Military Engineering, Pune

1. It is indeed a proud privilege for me to be present amidst you for the convocation ceremony of this prestigious College. At the outset, I would like to congratulate all the graduating officers for the successful completion of the course.2. This convocation is a significant milestone in your academic growth. The degrees and awards earned by all of you are a result of your relentless hardwork and immense dedication. This is a proud moment for all of you, as much as it is for your instructors, guides, faculty members and parents. Your quest for higher learning, which began in the portals of the college, will continue all through your professional life in the Indian Army. Learning is a never ending process and the firm foundation provided to you by your alma mater will empower you to explore new horizons.3. Gentlemen, while the successful completion of your course is a matter of pride and joy, it is just a stepping stone to the challenges that lie ahead of you in the future. You live in an era where the pace of technology transition is taking place at a mind bobbling pace that even as I speak, new concepts are being introduced, established paradigms are being refined and research is opening new vistas. The change being driven by pathbreaking research is both exhilarating and mesmerising.4. As young technocrats, it will be your challenge, to imbibe the latest developments in the field of technology for defence forces. As the technical intellect of armed forces, the nation will look upto you to define and modify the way defence forces operate by exploiting these technological advancement. As engineers in uniform, you have to perform the dual role of being good engineers and equally good soldiers. You face the formidable task of providing the Indian Armed Forces with the technical know-how and skills required by them to fulfill their assigned task of ensuring the security of the nation and millions of our people. Building infrastructure in the remote areas of the country is one of the biggest challenge and enormous responsibility rests on you as engineers. I am sure you will make full use of the technical knowledge and expertise gained here to meet the above challenges.5.

As you all are aware, knowledge is the emerging currency of the world in the present century. You should make full use of technical knowledge acquired by you at this prestigious institution of excellence of military engineering. You can be successful in all your endeavors only by being professionally competent and by keeping abreast with the latest developments. The need of the hour is therefore to exploit the cutting edge technologies which are best suited to meet the requirements. I am sure the technical knowledge you have acquired will stand you in good stead. Your passion to accept challenges would empower you further to achieve unprecedented goals. 6. I am pleased to learn that the college will be celebrating its platinum jubilee next year. In these glorious 75 years the college has left an indelible mark in the service to the nation. I am told that the personnel who have passed through the portals of CME have proved their mettle both in operations and peacetime. This has been made possible due to the untiring efforts of the faculty in ensuring that the institution kept pace with the changing security environment and technological advancements. 7. In the rapidly changing environment, one factor which has not changed is the faith reposed in the armed forces by the entire nation. The Indian Army Engineers have traditionally left their mark on prestigious national projects be it oil pipe line at Siachen, prestigious naval bases and airfields in the north and north east or roads cutting through the Himalayan ranges. I am sure that each and every one of you will also follow the footsteps of your illustrious predecessors and shall live up to the high standards expected of you. 8. Today, as you graduate I implore you to set yourself a befitting goal and having done so, utilise your technical threshold and dedicated hardwork to realise it. My compliments and appreciation go out to all of you, especially the award winners, for achieving this wonderful success in their endeavours. 9. In the end, I wish you all a rewarding and professionally satisfying career, good health, and success in all your endeavours. The best wishes of the entire nation are with you. Jai hind!
At least 58 people may have died in the massive fire that engulfed a 24-storey residential tower housing over 100 families in west London, Scotland Yard said on Saturday, warning that the casualty figures "may increase".

Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said that number "may increase" further and that the "significant" recovery operation is likely to take weeks.

"As soon as we can, we will locate and recover loved ones," he said.

His statement came as Queen Elizabeth II reflected upon the sombre mood in the UK following tragedies in London and Manchester in recent weeks.

In her traditional birthday message, the 91-year-old monarch made a reference to the "succession of terrible tragedies", a day after she paid a visit to people affected by the massive Grenfell Tower blaze in west London.

She said: "Today is a traditional day of celebration. This year, however, it is very difficult to escape a very sombre national mood.

"Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity."



She said that during her recent visits to Manchester, the site of the suicide bombing last month which claimed 22 lives, and London - the scene of a terror attack earlier this month and most recently the massive fire - she has been "profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need".

"United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss," she said.

Meanwhile, firefighters continue their search at the site of the fire in North Kensington, where a 24-storey residential block was burnt to the core within minutes early on Wednesday.

The blaze tore through all floors of the building and took more than 200 firefighters 24 hours to bring it under control.

Grief has since given way to anger as protests were held in London on Friday by residents demanding more support for those affected by the fire.

Between 50 and 60 people stormed Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall as members of the public demanded the council, which owned the tower blocks, to give reassurances to the victims.

Dozens of demonstrators surged towards the entrance and there were scuffles outside as organisers appealed for calm.

British Prime Minister TheresaMay has faced criticism for not meeting survivors in the immediate aftermath of the major fire, which has rendered hundreds homeless, unlike Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London mayor Sadiq Khan who met with the locals on their site visits.

She sought to combat some of the criticism with a meeting with residents, victims, volunteers and community leaders at Downing Street today.

The first secretary of State in her Cabinet, the equivalent of deputy PM, Damien Green came to her defence.

"She has the same degree of sympathy and horror at these events that we all have. We are all desperately sad, we are angry, but of course none of us as angry as those who were directly affected. I absolutely get why they are angry," he said.

Corbyn has written an open letter to the Prime Minister, calling for the public inquiry to ensure "all necessary lessons are learned".

May has committed five million pounds for clothes, food and emergency supplies as part of Grenfell Tower Residents' Discretionary Fund on Friday, which includes the aim to re- house residents within three weeks as close to where they lived before as possible, to pay for temporary housing in the meantime and to provide extra financial assistance.

"The government is making money available, we are ensuring we are going to get to the bottom of what has happened, we will ensure that people are re-housed. We need to make sure that actually happens," she said.

"This was a terrible tragedy that took place. People have lost their lives and have lost everything. What we are doing is putting in place the support that will help them," she added.

Scotland Yard is leading the criminal investigation into the fire at Grenfell Tower to establish the exact cause of the fire.

The UK government has already announced a full judge-led public inquiry in an attempt to learn lessons from the tragedy and implement any necessary fire measures in other residential towers blocks.
If fires Rod Rosenstein or prods him into recusing himself from the Russia meddling investigation he oversees, the president risks creating chaos at the Justice Department while failing to stop the inquiry.
Seven American crewmembers were reported missing on Saturday after a US destroyer crashed into a cargo ship off the coast of Japan, the Navy said.

The USS Fitzgerald and the cargo ship collided in the Pacific Ocean about 56 nautical miles off the coast of Yokosuka in the early hours of Saturday, the Japanese coast guard told CNN.

The Fitzgerald suffered damage to its starboard side above and below the waterline which resulted in some flooding, the Navy said.

Commander Bryce Benson was one of four injured sailors who needed to be flown to a naval hospital in Yokosuka, Japan.

He is in stable condition, the Navy said.

A Navy official told CNN the destroyer is under its own power but has limited propulsion.

The vessel was taking on water after the incident, but the crew was working to stabilise the ship by pumping water out of the hold, the official said.

According to the Navy, a Japanese coast guard helicopter was helping evacuate the injured, and Japanese state broadcaster NHK showed video of an apparently injured person being lifted aboard a coast guard helicopter from the ship.

The Japanese coast guard said four of its vessels and one helicopter were assisting the US Naval destroyer with damage assessment and searching the area around the ship, working on the possibility that some of the missing may have fallen into the ocean.

The Fitzgerald is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer with a crew of approximately 330 sailors.

The ship completed $21 million in upgrades and repairs in February and is currently forward-deployed to Yokosuka, supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The White House was tracking the incident, an administration official told CNN.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump appeared to confirm that he was being probed for firing the FBI chief and described it as a "witch hunt", as he asserted that there was no proof of his "collusion with the Russians" even after seven months of investigation.

"I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director (James Comey) by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt," Trump said in an early morning tweet.

Trump's apparent confirmation that he is under probe for obstruction of justice by special counsel appointed to probe alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential polls came a day after a Washington Post report pointed to such an investigation.

The probe by special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI chief, "marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin," The Washington Post had reported.

Trump did not respond to shouted questions from the media as he was leaving the White House lawns to board Marine One for the Joint Andres Air Force Base for his day-long trip to Florida.

"Despite the phony Witch Hunt going on in America, the economic and jobs numbers are great. Regulations way down, jobs and enthusiasm way up!" said the US President in another tweet.

He accused the mainstream American media of allegedly spreading the wrong news.

"The Fake News Media hates when I use what has turned out to be my very powerful Social Media -- over 100 million people! I can go around them," Trump said.

In the past, he has frequently used the term 'Fake News Media' for outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN.

"After 7 months of investigations and committee hearings about my 'collusion with the Russians', nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!" Trump said in his first tweet of the day.

A day earlier, Trump had questioned why his general election rival Hillary Clinton was not being investigated.

"Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?" Trump questioned.

"Crooked Hillary destroyed phones with hammer, 'bleached' emails, and had husband meet with Attorney General days before she was cleared -- and they talk about obstruction?" he had said.

The Post reported that the obstruction of justice investigation of the president began days after was fired as the FBI Director on May 9.

Mueller is overseeing a host of investigations involving people who are or were in Trump's orbit, people familiar with the probe were quoted as saying.

Significantly, Preet Bharara, the India-born former top US federal prosecutor, earlier this week had said that there was enough evidence to begin an obstruction of justice case against Trump over his alleged interference in the Russia probe.

Trump has said he is "100 per cent" willing to testify under oath on Comey meetings and tell the FBI Special Consul Robert Muller that he never asked FBI to stop investigating.
Abdul Qayyum, who has been acquitted from all charges in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, on Saturday batted for innocents like him who are languishing in various jails.

"Many innocent like me are in the jail. I request that the innocent should be released," Qayyum said.

When asked about his future plans, Qayyum said that he will do business and declined to go abroad by saying that India is his country and he will stay here only.

Earlier on Friday, Six out of seven accused, including Abu Salem, were convicted by a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court, in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blast case.

The others who have been convicted are: Mustafa Dossa, Riyaz Siddique, Firoz khan, Tahir Merchant, and Karimullah Shaikh.

However, all accused were acquitted on the charge of waging war against the nation.

Accused Abdul Qayyum was acquitted of all charges in the case. Court ordered his release on personal bond.

The court has set the next hearing date on June 19 to decide the date for argument on quantum of sentence.

257 people died while 713 others were injured after a series of bomb blasts rocked Mumbai City on March 12, 1993.
Former federal minister and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Punjab president Imtiaz Safdar Warraich has joined the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Warraich announced his decision of joining the party at PTI Chairman Imran Khan's residence in Bani Gala on Friday.

Welcoming Warraich's decision, Khan said his inclusion in the party would strengthen the PTI in Gujranwala division.

Taking a dig at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the PTI chief said the premier should resign from his post as his family's offshore assets were being investigated by a Supreme Court appointed joint investigation team (JIT).

He said the JIT members must not feel threatened or worried due the threats being hurled at them as the people of the country are with them.

"The people of Pakistan haven't given anybody a mandate to indulge in corruption and money laundering. This nation is in debt because of the ongoing corruption and money laundering," The Express Tribune quoted Khan, as saying.

He termed the Qatari prince's letter produced in the Panama Papers as a fraud.

Khan alleged that Sharif did not produce the letter for eight months and suddenly came up with it after his address in the parliament.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday flagged off Gandhi Darshan Astha Special Train from Sabarmati Railway station on the completion of 100 year of Sabarmti Ashram.

In order to honour the centenary celebration of the Sabarmati Ashram founded by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, the Ministry of Railways, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and the Gujarat tourism had decided to run the Gandhi Darshan Special Tourist Train.

"On behalf of the people, I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who allowed commencing this train which is related to the Mahatma Gandhiji. I am sure that this nation will move forward on the basis of Gandhian ideology," Chief Minister Rupani said.

The train will cover all the important destinations connected with India's freedom struggle movement and Mahatma Gandhi like Wardha, Motihari, Gaya, Varanasi, Allahabad and Surat.

It will be a nine-day tour organised by the Railway Ministry.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Muchipara Police on Saturday summoned Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel to appear before it on June 27.

Talking to media Samuel said, "The Police asked me three questions and put me sitting over there for such a long time, the same question they asked me first day. Yesterday they asked me 10-12 questions about my bank statement."

He further said that he will co-operate with the police and will come up with the documents asked by them later in the month.

Earlier on Thursday, the Kolkata Police questioned Samuel in connection with a case of an alleged extortion call to a former Bihar MP.

Talking to the media outside airport, Samuel said he will not react on anything except the registered case.

"I got summon from the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). So, for that purpose I am here. I couldn't come because of health reasons. Let's see what is going to happen. They can only ask about the case which has been registered, but I will not answer anything about the sting operation," he said.

Samuel had created a political furore after releasing videos of a sting operation allegedly conducted by him that showed people resembling senior Trinamool Congress leaders in West Bengal receiving money.

The CBI is probing the matter on a Calcutta High Court order and has registered FIRs against 12 senior Trinamool leaders, including lawmakers and ministers and an IPS officer.

It was claimed in the FIR that an ex- lawmaker of Bihar was asked to pay Rs. five crore failing which a sting operation footage of him allegedly accepting bribe would be made public.

The extortion call was allegedly made from a hotel in Muchipara area of the city.

Samuel had earlier been asked to appear before the police by April 20, but he had then sought time claiming that travelling for him was prohibited as doctors had advised him complete bed rest for at least three months after a surgery.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The leaders of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have slammed Pakistan for human rights violations in the region during the ongoing 35th session of Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Speaking during the ongoing 35th session of the Human Rights Council, United Kashmir People's National Party Foreign Affairs Secretary Jamil Maqsood expressed concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in so-called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit- Baltistan.

"We are sadly concerned about deteriorating human rights situation in so-called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit- Baltistan. People of both regions living in regrettable situation since long," he said.

Maqsood alleged that the people of these regions do not have freedom to exercise their fundamental rights.

He said that exploitation of natural resources in both peripheries of Pakistan is at its highest level.

Maqsood added that both regions have systematically deprived from their natural resources including right to development by the exploration of these resources.

He held the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) responsible for the exploitation of regions natural resources and said that it has created drastic environmental effects in the region.

Maqsood further said that simultaneously this exploitation has jeopardized natural habitat of wild life and huge population.

He said that the CPEC project is clear violation of the international laws as well as United Nations resolutions on Jammu & Kashmir.

"In recent months, Pakistan has introduced draconian laws to press freedom of expression and freedom of thoughts to curtail its minorities and other ethnic groups under so-called security doctrine. Pakistan protection Ordinance (POPA) was termed by the ICJ as repressive and hastily drafted. That act was immediately come into effect in Pakistani peripheries and nationalists and progressive political workers have become its victim," Maqsood said.

He alleged that political leaders in Gilgit- Baltistan has been victimized under anti- terror laws and establishment of military courts as parallel judicial system has further demonized fundamental freedoms of the people in Pakistan and in PoK.

"The cyber crime act has inflicted damage to the civil society activists and human rights defenders. This act has barred human rights defenders to criticize undemocratic legislation of the state," he said.

Maqsood said that practically the state of Pakistan has become a hell for the progressive people, human rights defenders and journalists and in the absence of indigenous media, the community is very blind about human rights violations in these regions.

He added the local culture and languages are at the verge of destruction by the oppressive regimes of Pakistan.

Maqsood urged the UN to take an urgent heed to these developments taking place in Pakistan so that the life of hundred thousand political workers, civil society and human rights defenders could be saved from Pakistan security apparatus.

Ecoching similar sentiments, United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP) leader Nasir Aziz Khan also drew Human Rights Council attention towards grave human rights violations in so-called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, which are part of the erstwhile princely State of Jammu and Kashmir and has been illegally held by Pakistan since 1947.

He said for the last 70 years, the Pakistan Government has not only neglected this area's development, it has systematically indulged in politically repressing the people.

"Though so called Azad Kashmir is supposed to be a self-governing state, it really has remained a colony of Islamabad, with Pakistan's central government taking all decisions," he said.

Nasir said exploitation of natural resources in Gilgit-Baltistan and so-called Azad Kashmir has deprived the natives of the region from their own natural wealth.

"Islamabad is constructing mega dams, China Pakistan Economic Corridor project which runs across our region before it enters Pakistan. Mega projects in a disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir are a clear violation of international laws and UNCIP resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir," he added.

He noted that on March 6 this year, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had reported that in Gilgit-Baltistan hundreds of young political workers and rights activists are behind bars under Anti-Terrorist Act, which was enact in Pakistan primarily to eliminate dangerous terrorists, adding that any voice for rights in the region is suppressed by law enforcement agencies.

Nadsir further said that the security forces continue to act with impunity and are accused of widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, deaths in custody and extrajudicial executions targeting political activists, journalists, religious minorities and human rights defenders.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the Congress party seeking for names and consensus over presidential election from the ruling dispensation, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Saturday said the "minority party" has no right to make such demand names from a "majority party."

"We are not soliciting their approval. We want their consensus. We have a candidate; we have absolute majority to get them elected. If it is the Opposition which will tell us that they have a candidate, then it does not make sense. They are a minority party and they are asking a majority party to give names, I mean 'who the hell are you?' This is the arrogance of the Opposition," Swamy told ANI.

Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu yesterday met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence to discuss matters related to next month's presidential elections.

Both of them have already spoken to Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Praful Patel and Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Satish Mishra.

Naidu on Thursday spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu over the same.

The TDP chief said his party would stand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision in this regard.

As President Mukherjee's term nears its end, the Presidential election will be held on July 17.

The Election Commission said the last date of nomination is June 28 and the counting of votes will be taken up on July 20.

President Mukherjee will demit office on July 25 and Vice President Hamid Ansari will complete his second tenure in August.

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Pakistan's Interior Ministry has said that new evidence regarding the murder of two nationals by the militant Islamic State (IS) group in Quetta, Balochistan, reveals that the couple were offered security cover, but they refused to accept it.

"They were offered security, but they refused to accept the offer," the Dawn quoted the ministry, as saying.

Security and intelligence agencies have looked into the background of the incident and reviewed photographs of the kidnapped pair to reach their assessment.

Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26, were abducted by armed men pretending to be policemen on May 24 in Quetta. The IS claimed last week that it had executed them.

The interior minister was earlier told that the couple had gone to Quetta to preach under the garb of learning Urdu from a Korean national, Juan Won Seo.

The ministry said that it was revealed during the investigation that Seo alias Gilbert came to Pakistan on a business visa, but set up an Urdu academy, and was "engaged in illegal activities".

It also emerged during the investigation that the two nationals had been taken into police custody from Quetta's Kharotabad area some time ago and were informed about the threat to their security.
After the Puducherry Assembly passed a resolution aimed at limiting the powers of Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, Chief Minister V. Narayanswamy clarified that this was not the issue of "suppression of power."

"This is not an issue of suppression of power. Some clarity is required, therefore we passed a resolution in the Assembly. The members of the Legislative Assembly wanted a resolution to be brought that the elected government should be centered. We have not passed any resolution against any individual," Chief Minister Narayanswamy told ANI.

Narayanswamy also wrote a letter to the Government of India demanding "to define powers."

"As far as the Government of India is concerned, I want a clarification and that's why, have sent a letter to them asking them to define the powers," he said.

He further added that the reason of dispute is that she called for video conferencing without the Chief Minister's knowledge.

"The reason of dispute is that she is calling the officers for video-conferencing without the knowledge of minister of the department and the Chief Minister. She wants a review meeting of the departments without the minister of department knowing it. She cannot act independently," he added.

Yesterday, the State Assembly adopted a resolution to amend the law in order to curtail the powers of the Lieutenant Governor.

Narayanasamy said the Government of India should give more power to the union territory's legislature.

"The Government of India should give more power to the legislature. A resolution in this regard has been passed in the Puducherry Assembly," Narayanasamy said earlier.

Narayanasamy had last month openly challenged Bedi from the floor of the House during the Assembly proceedings. He had dared Bedi to prove her charges of "corruption and malpractices" in admission to post graduate courses in private medical colleges here.

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The Rajasthan Police on Friday arrested five people in connection of the illegal mining of stone from Tayra village of Rajasthan's Bharatpur district.

The Police have also seized five bikes and four tractors that were used by the accused for transport purpose. The incident took place when the Police conducted raid in the region a tip off received to them. The miners' first attack the police with stone after that they started firing.

One of the accused got injured in the exchange of firing between the police and the culprits.

As per the local police, the incident has created a chaos in the mining mafias.

It is also suspected that the area's Forest Conservative Department was well aware of the illegal activity being carried out in the region, but never raised the issue.

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When India will take on Pakistan in the much-anticipated, high octane summit clash of the Champions Trophy 2017 on Sunday, Mehboob Hasan, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed's uncle, will be praying and cheering for Virat Kohli & Co to defend the coveted trophy they won in 2013.

Hasan, who is a senior clerk in Etawah Agriculture Engineering College, lives in Etawah with his family.

Sarfraz's mother Aqeela Bano (Hasan's sister) after marrying Shakeel Ahmad, moved to Karachi.

"I am sure Team India will win. Our players are very good and they are better than players of the other teams," Hasan told ANI.

"It is true that my nephew Sarfraz Ahmed is playing for Pakistan and we wish him and his team all the very best. But nation is above everything and we will be playing for victory of India. India is our nation and therefore we will pray for its win," he added.

Team India, the defending champions, registered their place in the Champions Trophy final after registering resounding nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second semi-final to set up another mouth-watering, high-octane clash with Pakistan in the finals on Sunday.

Going into the match, India would be high on confidence having comprehensively defeated their Asian neighbour by 124 runs in the group stage.

India have won four of their last five ODI matches against Pakistan, including a 124-run victory earlier in this tournament during the group stage.

However, it would not be an easy one for the Men in Blue to defend their title as they would face a charged-up and equally confident Pakistan, who surprised everyone by beating favourites England in the first semi-final at Cardiff on Wednesday.

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Special Envoy of South Korea, Jeong Dong-Chae on Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Modi also conveyed his appreciation for President of Republic of Korea Moon Jae-In's gesture of sending Chung as his Special Envoy to India.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi recalled his visit to the Republic of Korea in May 2015, during which the bilateral relationship was upgraded to a 'Special Strategic Partnership', and said that the Republic of Korea is an important development partner for India.

The Prime Minister also welcomed the deepening of bilateral partnership not only in trade and economic spheres, but also in new areas like defence cooperation.

The Prime Minister further asserted that he is committed to working with President Moon for further enhancement of bilateral relationship and looked forward to an early opportunity to meet the latter.

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A Cairo criminal court on Saturday sentenced 31 persons to death on charges of involvement in the assassination of Egypt's former attorney general, officials said.

Hisham Barakat, who was 63 years old when he was appointed attorney general by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi following a military coup against Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, was assassinated in a June 2015 terror attack, Efe news reported.

The 31 men have been charged with crimes including premeditated murder, belonging to a terrorist group, joining a foreign terror organisation, possessing and manufacturing explosives, illegally possessing firearms and blades, illegally crossing the border and espionage.

The prosecution also accused them of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood -- considered a terrorist group by the current Egyptian government -- and to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

The ruling is set to be sent to the Egyptian Mufti, an Islamic scholar and legal expert, although his opinion is non-binding.

The definitive verdict is scheduled for July 22.

--IANS

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Seven Moroccan nationals died in the massive fire that engulfed a residential building in west London, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The ministry said Morocco's diplomatic missions in London are working closely with the British authorities to identify the victims, Xinhua news agency reported.

Following the incident, King Mohammed VI of Morocco gave instructions to the Moroccan embassy and general consulate in London to closely follow the Moroccan victims and provide them necessary help.

The fire broke out at the 24-storey block Grenfell Tower in North Kensington in the early hours of Wednesday, killing at least 30 people.

--IANS

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Saturday declined to comment on who is likely to be nominated as the next candidate for the Presidential election.

"We are discussing and considering various names, among ourselves and all the NDA constituents," Shah said, keeping the party's cards close to his chest.

On the names -- RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat and agro-scientist M.S. Swaminathan -- suggested by ally Shiv Sena, he assured all names would be considered and discussed before any final decision is taken.

"If you have any names in mind, please give it to me. We shall consider that too," he said jocularly, addressing a press conference here.

Earlier, he gave a report card on the completion of three years of the NDA government led by Prime Minster Narendra Modi and its achievements in all sectors of the economy.

"Modiji is the most popular and efficient Prime Minister of India since Independence. The BJP has achieved in just three years what could not be done in the past 50 years," Shah said.

Shah arrived here on Friday, a much-anticipated three-day visit to Mumbai, the highlight of which will be a meeting with ally Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday morning.

--IANS

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In a major operation with national security implications, the Maharashtra ATS and Police, along with the Department of Telecommunication, have busted two illegal telephone exchanges that are suspected to have been used by Pakistani agencies for spying in India, an official said here on Saturday.

Two persons have been arrested in the operation which was carried out at two locations in the state's Latur district on Friday following an alert from Indian Army military intelligene in Jammu & Kashmir, an ATS official said.

The sleuths have recovered 174 SIM cards, seven illegal machines used as international gateways, two computers and other electronic materials totally worth around Rs 460,000.

According to the ATS, the acused were running these illegal telephone exchanges whereby international VOIP calls were routed through local mobile numbers.

They used to convert a VOIP call from abroad into a voice illegally and transferring that voice to the local beneficiary or call receiver in India through the illegal international gateway.

"It is learnt that this type of illegal VOIP exchanges were used by intelligence agency of the neighbouring country to acquire sensitive military information," the ATS said.

The DOT has estimated its total losses from these illegal call centres to be around Rs 15 crore.

In the first case, the teams raided the home in Latur's Prakashnagar to unearth a fake telecommunication junction being run since six months and arrested its owner.

They seized 96 SIM cards, one computer, a CPU and three machines for call transforming or illegal international gateways, costing around Rs 190,000.

Following interrogation of the accused, the teams swooped on a shop in Valandi village, around 70 km away, and recovered 14 SIM cards, and other electronic material worth around Rs 120,000.

This was followed by a raid on a rented premises in Chakur, around 50 km from Latur, where they found the fake telephone exchange running since five months, 64 SIM cards, a laptop and two illegal international gateway machines, plus other materials worth around Rs 150,000. The tenant of the premises was arrested.

Police have booked cases at the MIDC and Shivajinagar police stations under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Indian Telegraph Act, Indian Wireless & Telegraph Act, against the two accused.

--IANS

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Bhutan has assured an Indian delegation led by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Director General Archana Ramasundaram that it will not allow anti-India activities on its territory.

Bhutan's commitment came during a meeting between Ramasundaram and the Bhutanese Home Minister in Thimpu, an SSB statement said here.

"In a meeting with a Bhutan delegation led by the country's Home Minister Lyonpo Dawa Gyeltshen, the Bhutan side assured of not allowing its territory to be used for activities inimical to the interests of India," the statement said.

A senior officer from the Indian embassy at Thimpu was also present during the meeting between the Ramasundaram-led Indian delegation and Bhutan's delegation, which included Home Secretary Dasho Sonam Topgay, Director Department of Law and Order Dasho Tashi Penjor, Chief of Police Col. Chimi Dorji and other officials.

Ramasundaram is on a four-day visit to Bhutan from June 16 to 19, accompanied by SSB's Inspector General (Operations and Intelligence) Ashok Kumar Singh and Deputy Inspector General Amit Kumar.

The SSB Director General made a courtesy call on the Home Minister of Bhutan, which was followed by a small presentation from the force mandated to guard the 699-km India-Bhutan border.

"Issues of mutual concern were discussed in the meeting," the statement said.

It said the SSB chief empathised that as the borders were open and porous between the two friendly nations, most of the border guarding operations had to be based on prompt sharing of inputs and good intelligence.

The SSB chief also thanked the Royal Bhutan Force for their excellent co-operation with the SSB.

According to the statement, the Home Minister of Bhutan was appreciative of the role played by the SSB, especially the tough action taken by the force in recent years resulting in putting an end to the kidnapping of Bhutanese nationals for ransom.

The Home Secretary of Bhutan hosted a dinner on Friday in honour of the SSB chief.

--IANS

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the BJP has submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court, stating that it won't implement the Swaminathan Committee report, which promises 50 per cent profit to farmers.

Speaking at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s National Farmers' Conclave, the Chief Minister said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power promising to implement the report and now by denying it, "they're cheating farmers".

"No one knows about this. Every farmer should be told how they've been cheated. We want to take this affidavit to every farmers' house and this will be our first job," Kejriwal said.

He added that farmers were not asking for alms but only compensation for their work. "Everyone should take a vow that Swaminathan Committee report will be implemented. It's our responsibility to ensure that farmers get proper price for their produce."

The conclave, which began at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Constitution Club of India here, saw the participation of farmers' representatives from 20 states and top AAP leaders.

In the first half of the conclave, farmers' problems were discussed and in the second half, solutions were worked out.

Kejriwal said that the conclave came to the conclusion that cold storage markets should be set up for marketing and procurement of farm produce.

He also said that agro processing industries should be created near villages. "This will provide employment to youth in villages and they won't have to go to cities for jobs."

The Chief Minister said that a special session of Parliament should be convened for discussing the current farmers' crisis and added that it shouldn't be limited to a discussion only.

Senior party leaders Gopal Rai, Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas and others took part in the conclave.

--IANS

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A CBI team on Saturday visited the Uttar Pradesh capital to probe the unexplained death of 2007-batch IAS officer Anurag Tiwari, a day after it filed a case of murder as part of the investigation.

The CBI filed an FIR on Friday and took over investigation of the case on the request of the Uttar Pradesh government and further notification from the central government into the death of Anurag, whose body was found outside a guest house in Lucknow a month ago.

According to the FIR, Anurag's brother Mayank Tiwari suspected foul play in the death.

"A team of CBI officials today (Saturday) visited Lucknow to probe the murder of IAS Anurag Tiwari. We had registered a case in the murder on Friday night," a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spokesperson told IANS.

The CBI took over the investigation from the Uttar Pradesh police that registered an FIR on May 22 at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow against unknown persons on the complaint of Mayank.

Anurag, 36, was found dead in Lucknow on May 17.

The Karnataka cadre officer was posted as the Commissioner of the Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department in Bengaluru.

Anurag, a resident of Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh, was in Lucknow for a few days to attend a training for the IAS officers.

In his statement to the local police, Mayank said that Anurag confided in him about exposing a scam in Karnataka and was under immense pressure to sign certain documents against his will.

He also told the police that Anurag had once spoken about a threat to his life.

Earlier this month, Anurag's family members met Uttar Pradeh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and asked for a CBI investigation.

--IANS

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A vehicle of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) came under fire from militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district on Saturday but there were no casualties, police said.

"Militants fired at a CRPF vehicle in Duniwari area of Badgam. There is no report of any casualty so far," a police officer said, adding that the area has been cordoned off for searches.

Reports from the area said the motorcycle-borne militants had fired at the CRPF vehicle.

--IANS

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday condemned the vandalism by the Gorkha Janmukti Morch (GJM) and alleged "deep-rooted conspiracy" as violence took centre-stage in the northern West Bengal hills amid the GJM-sponsored indefinite shutdown.

"This is a deep-rooted conspiracy. So much of arms and ammunition couldn't have come in a single day. There is an international border and state border. They are violating the Constitution.

They are only throwing bombs. They are stockpiling illegal arms and bombs," she said. An assistant commandant of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was killed when Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists clashed with security forces. The IRB second battalion Assistant Commandant Kiran Tamang was critically injured after being hit by a 'khukri' (sharp-edged weapon) during the clash, IRB sources said.

Banerjee alleged the GJM had connections with the northeast insurgency groups.

"I am told there is a connection with the underground insurgency from northeast India. I have requested that they should not extend any support in Darjeeling," she said.

Singmari area in Darjeeling turned into a battleground today as GJM activists threw petrol bombs and stones at riot police, who in retaliation fired teargas shells and resorted to baton charge.

The incident, in which several people were injured, prompted the administration to deploy army troops in the area.

As the indefinite shutdown to demand a separate state entered its third day, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha activists took out a protest rally from the GJM headquarters in Singmari.

As prohibitory orders were in force in the area, the police told the protesters, who were carrying the tricolour and GJM flags, to return.

The slogan-shouting protesters did not relent and started throwing stones and bottles at the police. A vehicle was also set on fire.

The police fired teargas shells and baton-charged the agitators.

Some police personnel and GJM activists were injured in the clash, the police said.

A large contingent of police and paramilitary personnel was rushed to the spot under the command of the superintendent of police and other senior IPS officers.

Barring pharmacies, all others shops and hotels were closed in Darjeeling.
Trouble-hit Darjeeling and other areas in the north West Bengal hills on Saturday saw fresh violence and arson, as GJM activists, including the women's wing, came out on the streets in hundreds to protest an alleged police raid on the residence of party assistant General Secretary Binay Tamang.

The area virtually turned into a battlefield as protests marked the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) indefinite shutdown which entered the sixth day. The GJM protest to demand a separate Gorkhaland is being countered by supporters of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress.

An officer of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was critically injured in the violence, while the GJM claimed two of its supporters were killed.

Violence erupted on Saturday after the alleged police raid and vandalising of the residence of Tamang at around 3 a.m.

Tamang claimed his house was "raided and vandalised by the police and the Trinamool Congress cadres" in the same manner as they had raided party chief Bimal Gurung's house in Darjeeling district two days ago.

He also claimed Vikram Rai, son of party MLA Amar Rai, had been arrested.

However, Amar Rai said his son has no political affiliations and he was released later.

Widespread protests were reported from Singamari, the northern point of Darjeeling, as hundreds of GJM's women activists rallied with shrill condemnation of the raid, and shouted slogans for a separate Gorkhaland as they held aloft the tricolour.

Several vehicles including three of police were set ablaze.

Later in the day, the effects of the trouble were felt in Kalimpong's Gorubathan market where GJM supporters allegedly torched a vehicle of the power supply authority, while the Jaldhaka police station was vandalised.

Police fired tear gas shells as the women activists pelted stones and pushed back at the police barricade shouting "Police Go Back".

Kiran Tamang, Assistant Commander of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), was critically injured in the clash and was taken to a nursing home for treatment.

The GJM claimed two of their supporters were killed and five were critically injured in police firing, but police denied the allegation.

"Police had not fired. GJM supporters are creating violence and attacking police. Many police personnel are seriously injured. We cannot tolerate this hooliganism," said Additional Director General (Law & Order) Anuj Sharma.

In other incidents of violence, GJM supporters allegedly pelted stones and lobbed petrol bombs at the residence of Trinamool activist Deoraj Gurung in Lebong Cart Road, attacked a local Trinamool activist's residence at Pankhabari, and reportedly set a PWD office at Bijonbari on fire.

The Army has also been called in. Official sources said that troops were patrolling in the entire hills.

As the GJM shutdown entered its sixth day, the party called for a 12-hour strike in Dooars on Sunday.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday condemned the vandalism by the GJM and alleged a "deep-rooted conspiracy".

Meanwhile, GJM chief Bimal Gurung said: "Gorkhas are facing a lot of torture. Two of our supporters have died because of the state government. I appealed to all the Gorkhas to protest against torture."

BJP state women's wing president Roopa Ganguly also raised her pitch against the Trinamool government saying the unrest in the hills was due to Banerjee.

"During peak season, tourists were heckled by the Chief Minister with her statements. She should stop lecturing so much and concentrate on her job. With folded hands, I request her to decide first whether she is Trinamool Congress chief or the Chief Minister of the people of the state. If she is the state's Chief Minister, she is my Chief Minister also," Ganguly said.

The ongoing agitation has crippled tourism.

The famed toy-train service of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has been suspended in view of the strike.

The GJM announced an indefinite general strike from Monday in the hills encompassing Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Dooars (foothills of the Himalayas covering stretches of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar district) protesting against the government's purported decision to make Bengali language compulsory in state-run schools and to press for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

--IANS

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DMK Working President M.K. Stalin on Saturday condemned a petrol bomb attack on the CPI-M office in Coimbatore.

Some miscreants late on Friday threw petrol bombs at the CPI-M office in Coimbatore, around 500 km from here, damaging the office windows and a parked car slightly.

Tolerating a different political ideology and exchanging views in a democratic manner is healthy politics, said Stalin in a statement here, adding that his party strongly condemns the attack.

He urged the AIADMK government to not keep quiet when law and order is being disturbed by some forces.

According to the Coimbatore Police, Friday's attack was carried out by two persons on a motorcycle.

--IANS

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Hadramaut, June 17 (IANS/WAM) The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), a volunteer humanitarian organisation in Dubai, has distributed food to underprivileged families in the governorates of Yemen as part of its Ramadan humanitarian programme.

The ERC distributed iftar meals in mosques and slums in the Tarim district in Yemen's Hadramaut Governorate as part of its "Breaking Fast" initiative during the holy month of Ramadan.

An ERC representative on Friday said that the project will continue and people who received the aid expressed their gratitude to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its continued humanitarian support.

--IANS/WAM

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The Trinamool Congress (TMC) Tripura unit's founder Chairman and incumbent Vice-President Arun Chandra Bhowmik and other leaders have joined the BJP, the BJP said on Saturday.

"At a public rally in Belonia (in southern Tripura) on Friday, TMC leaders Arun Chandra Bhowmik, Arjun Sarkar and Badal Sarkar along with 720 voters of other parties joined the BJP," BJP's Tripura unit media-in-charge Victor Shom said in a press release.

He said that local Congress leader Rajeswar Sen also joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Bhowmik, a veteran lawyer, said only the BJP can oust the ruling Left Front from power in the state assembly elections due in February next year.

Several TMC and Congress leaders besides scores of party workers had earlier joined the BJP.

State BJP President Biplab Kumar Deb, who addressed a public rally in Belonia, said his party would contest the assembly elections alone and field candidates in all 60 assembly seats.

"We have engaged a private agency to study about the prospective candidates for next year's elections. We would put up those people as BJP candidates who would have the maximum chance of winning. No favouritism would be done in selecting the best candidates," Deb told reporters.

The BJP has given utmost emphasis to defeat the ruling Left Front in Tripura.

"To strengthen the BJP's political base in Left-ruled Tripura, over 45 central Ministers and many central BJP leaders have visited the state during the past three years. Besides scores of BJP MPs, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Finance, Health and Family Welfare and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and several other Ministers of Assam campaigned for the party in the state (Tripura)," a BJP leader said.

Sarma, who is also convener of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), has been holding talks with several tribal parties in Tripura to support the party in the assembly elections next year, he said.

--IANS

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An illegal building owned by former Uttar Pradesh Minister Gayatri Prajapati, who is currently in jail over gang rape charges, was demolished in the state capital on Saturday.

Many norms were flouted in the construction of the building, officials said.

The Allahabad High Court had earlier ordered the building's demolition but the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) dragged its feet out of fear of the once-powerful Minister. The LDA sprung into action after a recent rap by the court over the delay.

Three bulldozers of the LDA went to the multi-storeyed building at Saleh Nagar in Aashiana on Saturday around noon and brought it down. There was no protest from anyone in the locality over the demolition, an official told IANS.

Several armed police officers had accompanied the squad fearing that locals and Prajapati supporters might create a ruckus.

Prajapati was one of the most powerful ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav cabinet and is currently in jail over charges of a gang rape and intimidation of the survivor.

He is also being probed by the CBI over illegal mining charges.

--IANS

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With a view to have better interaction with public, Ghaziabad police have initiated a move to create Whatsapp groups. These groups will be created by police stations in their respective areas, a police official said on Friday.

In a communication to all the nine police stations of Ghaziabad, SP (City) Akash Tomar has instructed their incharges to form Whatsapp groups for the residents living within their jurisdictions.

Tomar also asked them to identify the distinguished persons in their respective areas and include them in their Whatsapp groups.

"The purpose is to establish a better interaction with the public," the SP (City) underlined.

In the communication, Tomar has told the police station heads that this step would not only strengthen the police-public relations but also improve the image of police among the masses.

"I will monitor all the information posted in the Whatsapp groups generated by the police stations and will guide them on how to further improve communication with the masses.

"An enhanced interaction with the public will also provide police with better local intelligence inputs," added the police official.

--IANS

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For a party known for its hubris, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) decision to consult the opposition for a consensus on the presidential candidate has come as a pleasant surprise.

However, it is possible that its majority in the electoral college has enabled the party to display a show of magnanimity.

At the same time, the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Venkaiah Naidu, has reminded the opposition parties that although the consultations will take place in the "true spirit of a democracy", they must remember that "the mandate of the people is for the government."

Naidu is one of the three chosen by the BJP to interact with the opposition. The other two are Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

However, the chances of a consensus candidate being chosen will brighten only if the BJP refuses to abide by the wish reportedly conveyed by its mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that the party must utilise the advantage of a majority in the electoral college to choose a person who is a Hindutva ideologue.

Considering that the RSS has succeeded in planting saffron aficionados in a fairly large number of "autonomous" institutions, including the Indian Council of Historical Research and the Indian Council of Social Science Research, it is unlikely to be hesitant about having a man of its choice in Rashtrapati Bhavan -- the best prize of all.

Perhaps reading its mind, the Shiv Sena had suggested RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's name as the next President. The Maharashtrian party may have also wanted to test the BJP's sincerity to the cause of Hindutva, for it has said that Bhagwat will be a good choice to turn India into a Hindu rashtra (nation).

However, after Bhagwat himself turned down the proposal, the Sena has opted for M.S. Swaminathan, known as the father of India's "green revolution" in agriculture. The name of E. Sreedharan, the engineer who built the world-class Delhi Metro, has also been mentioned. Needless to say, both are eminently suitable for the high office if only because of their distance from .

There might have been a faint chance of a compromise between the BJP and the "secular" parties if L.K. Advani's name was put forward. However, the BJP's margdarshak (visionary) has not been a favourite of the RSS ever since he praised Mohammed Ali Jinnah during a visit to Pakistan. Indeed, he had to leave the party president's post soon afterwards.

More recently, however, his involvement in the Babri Masjid demolition case as a "conspirator" has effectively ruled out his chances. Similarly, Murli Manohar Joshi, who is known to be close to the RSS, has also lost the opportunity for making it to the big house on top of the Raisina Hill because of the Babri Masjid case.

Cynics have said that the reopening of the case against them by the Central Bureau of Investigation was meant by the powers that be to keep them out of reckoning, for neither of them is believed to enjoy Narendra Modi's trust.

However, another person, who was not delighted with Modi's elevation in the BJP before the general election, viz. Sushma Swaraj, has come to the forefront. She has several plus points. One is her humanitarian acts as the external affairs minister where her help is required by, among others, by stranded NRIs and ailing Pakistanis. The other, and more important, is that she is believed to enjoy the backing of the RSS.

Among the other front-runners are Draupadi Murmu, the governor of Jharkhand, and Sumitra Mahajan, the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The choice of Murmu, a tribal, will enable the BJP to reach out to one of the most neglected communities in the country, about whom the now virtually forgotten but undoubtedly their foremost leader, Jaipal Singh Munda (1903-1970), told the Constituent Assembly that "the whole history of my people is one of continuous exploitation and dispossession by the non-aboriginals of India".

It is clear that none of the BJP's opponents will oppose her choice for obvious reasons. But whether Murmu herself will be interested is unclear, for the President's post can be the end of the road where a political career is concerned. Being 59 years old, a relatively young age for a politician, she may be unwilling to put a full stop to any further advancement in . Rumours have it, therefore, that she is keener on a cabinet berth at the Centre.

A consensus is also possible on Mahajan, for she has shown herself to be temperamentally calm. But this may be the very reason why the RSS is said to be against her.

In less fraught times, it may have been possible to evolve a consensus on the former Lok Sabha Speaker, Meira Kumar, who, as a Dalit and with a distinguished lineage -- she is Jagjivan Ram's daughter -- may have had claims similar to Murmu's for being selected for the highest constitutional position in the land.

But her Congress background ruins her chances straightaway in view of the BJP's avowed intention of making India Congress-mukt (free). Moreover, the RSS would have been appalled to find a Congress person once again becoming the President.

If the Congress is an untouchable for the saffron lobby, so are the Muslims, which is why the Vice President Hamid Ansari did not have a chance. And there is no one like A.P.J. Abdul Kalam around, who was a nationalist despite being a Muslim, as Minister for Culture Mahesh Sharma said.

The Left parties have been pushing for Gopal Krishna Gandhi, a grandson of the "chatur bania" (clever trader) as BJP president Amit Shah descried Mahatma Gandhi.

But for all his credentials -- a former governor and diplomat and related to the Mahatma and C. Rajagopalachari -- his palpable secularism is a black mark where the Modi dispensation is concerned.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP on Saturday accused the AAP government in Delhi of "new gimmicks" to mislead the people and alleged that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has wasted crores of taxpayers money on false advertisements.

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Manoj Tiwari said: "The falsehood of the Kejriwal government is being exposed gradually. Kejriwal was till a few days ago making tall claims about his government's achievements but after the loss in civic polls he is now playing new gimmicks to mislead the people."

Taking a dig at Kejriwal, Tiwari said the Chief Minister himself admitted to shortage of medicines after inspecting the hospitals.

"Today (Saturday) he also found deficiency in the services of the anganwadi," Tiwari said.

He also said the Kejriwal government claimed about providing free medicines and best anganwadi service in the country through advertisements in various newspapers.

"People want to know from Kejriwal that when he has himself admitted about irregularities in the hospitals and anganwadi services then why has he wasted crores on false advertisements?" he asked.

Tiwari's remarks came after the Chief Minister on Saturday paid a surprise visit to several anganwadi centres in Delhi. Earlier on Friday, he made a surprise visit to the hospitals in Delhi.

Slamming Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia over his recommendation to remove Director of Information and Publicity Jaidev Sarangi, Tiwari said, "When the CBI was investigating the 'Talk to AK' matter, Sisodia's recommendation to remove the DIP for not obeying his arbitrary orders shows his egotism."

Tiwari, who represents the northeast constituency of Delhi in Lok Sabha, said that Sisodia had not recommended Sarangi's removal for denying the Facebook live programme.

"But the real cause of removal was his refusal to issue advertisements with jugglery of data of board examination results," he alleged.

--IANS

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If you crib about your employees being dull, lazy and unproductive, stop blaming them. Start leading your professional life with a purpose instead.

According to the researchers, when managers displayed purposeful behaviour, employees were less likely to quit, showed more satisfaction, were willing to go the extra mile, tend to be better performers and were less cynical.

The study characterised purposeful leadership as having three core qualities: leaders must have a strong moral compass, a commitment to stakeholders as well as clear vision.

"The study shows that the modern workplace is as much a battle for hearts and minds as it is one of rules and duties," said Catherine Bailey, Professor at the University of Sussex in Britain.

People tend to expect an organisation to go beyond short-termist, financial imperatives -- blamed by many for causing the 2008 recession.

"In turn, they respond to leaders who care not just about themselves but wider society, who have strong morals and ethics and who behave with purpose," Bailey added, in the study conducted in concert with the non-profit organisation CIPD.

The researchers suggest that there is much that organisations can do to foster purposeful and ethical leadership, including the adoption of relevant policies, leader role-modelling, alignment around a core vision, training and development, and organisational culture.

The traditional focus on leader behaviour only goes so far as to develop their ability to perform in a role.

"Instead, what is required is a development of the whole person, while accepting that it is impossible to mould all individuals into a uniform model of morals and ethics," explained Amanda Shantz from the University of Greenwich.

--IANS

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Two more farmers committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh, taking to 10 the number of farmer suicides in the state this week.

Jagdish More, 35, consumed poison in Rampura area of Dhar Police Station on Friday. He died later in the day.

Rajendra Navaria, the in-charge of Dhar Police Station, confirmed that the farmer committed suicide.

The deceased farmer's family told the police that he committed suicide as he was upset over the pressure built by the bank for repayment of debt.

Another farmer named Imrat died after consuming sulphas pills in Chandlaun village in Gotegaon, Narsinghpur. He breathed his last enroute to Jabalpur for treatment.

R.K. Soni, the in-charge of Narsinghpur Police Station, told IANS that the farmer bought a piece of land 10 years ago but could not get it registered till date.

"He was disturbed as he could not get his agricultural land registered. So, he consumed sulphas pills and committed suicide. Even his family has acknowledged that he was depressed," he said.

Madhya Pradesh has been witnessing widespread protests by farmers demanding loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce. On June 6, five farmers were killed in police firing while another died of his injuries later in Mandsaur district.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday strongly condemned the violence unleashed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morch (GJM) in Darjeeling and said her government is ready to initiate a dialogue with the party in a conducive environment.

Banerjee, who chaired a high level meet at the state secretariat in Nabanna that was participated by various development boards of the hills, said an all-party meeting will be held in Siliguri on June 22 to discuss the growing unrest in the northern West Bengal hills. The GJM has called an indefinite shutdown in the hills to demand a separate Gorkhaland state.

Coming down heavily on the GJM violence, Banerjee said: "This is a deep-rooted conspiracy. So much of arms and ammunition couldn't have come in a single day. There is an international border and state border. They are violating the Constitution. They are only hurling bombs. They are stockpiling illegal arms and bombs."

Banerjee said the state government is ready to initiate a dialogue with the party in a conducive environment.

"We are ready but not under the current situation," she said.

Banerjee alleged the GJM had connections with the northeast insurgency groups as well as a "foreign" link.

"We have come to know from the police that there is a link with terrorists. I am told there is a connection with underground insurgents from the northeast India. I have requested that they should not extend any support in Darjeeling," she said.

"Development work will continue and there should be an end to this deep rooted conspiracy in the hills. In this matter, the central and state government must come together," she said.

"The board members have set up a committee to maintain peace," she said.

Banerjee slammed the GJM supporters for "insulting" the national flag.

"They aren't listening to the court (Calcutta High Court) even after it passed an order saying the bandh is illegal. Don't know from where they get support. They are using the national flag for vandalism. We are proud of our national flag... How can they throw bombs at the national flag? How can they do it? They have stopped tourism, transport, drinking water supply and food. The GJM supporters burnt down the primary health centre. Mediapersons are in danger, they are being blackmailed and threatened," she said.

Banerjee urged the people in the hills to not listen to the GJM leadership.

"I will urge the people in the hills to not be misled by the GJM leadership. They are corrupt. They have vested interests and are selling the hills. They have stockpiled illegal arms and illegal money," she said.

Asked about reports of police firing, Banerjee denied the charge.

"That is absolutely wrong. They (GJM) started firing. We can't support those who are indulging in violence and hooliganism," she said.

Earlier, GJM protesters resorted to fresh violence after the police raided and allegedly vandalised the residence of Morcha Assistant General Secretary Binay Tamang in the early hours of Saturday.

An Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) officer was critically injured in a clash with GJM supporters while the party claimed two of its supporters were killed and five critically injured in police firing.

--IANS

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A day after protesters chastised her near the scene of the deadly Grenfell Tower disaster, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday met the victims and residents of the tower at 10 Downing Street.

Hundreds protested outside Downing Street for her removal shouting "May out!". The embattled PM has been under relentless criticism since visiting and leaving the scene on Thursday without talking to any of those who had lost their homes in the blaze, the Daily Mail reported.

She then faced cries of "shame on you" and "coward" when she finally turned up to the scene of the disaster on Friday.

Police officers held back booing crowds and broke up scuffles as her vehicle drove off from a local church, where she had met survivors, residents and volunteers.

At least 30 people have been confirmed dead and more than 70 are reportedly missing in the fire. The toll is expected to rise further, the report said.

"The Prime Minister is this morning chairing a cross-government meeting to ensure everything possible is being done to support those affected by the Grenfell tragedy," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

May's meeting on Saturday with victims, residents, volunteers and community leaders came as Queen Elizabeth II marked her official birthday with a statement saying it was "difficult to escape a very sombre national mood."

The Prime Minister has promised a full public inquiry and announced a fund of 5 million pounds ($6.4 million) to help those affected by the blaze.

But on Friday she continued to sidestep questions over whether she had failed to grasp the mood of the public by failing to meet residents in the fire's immediate aftermath.

The anger on the streets of London's North Kensington has been growing. Residents furious over the handling of the Grenfell Tower disaster descended on the local town hall on Friday in west London, shouting, "We want justice".

Some wore T-shirts with images of missing loved ones as they climbed the front steps and pushed their way into the building.

A second protest began later at Britain's Home Office, which oversees fire prevention and policing nationally.

Organisers handed out fliers that read, "Your anger must be heard." The protesters eventually made their way to busy Oxford Circus, where they staged a sit-in.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that in the rapidly changing environment, the nation's faith in the armed forces has remained unshaken.

"In the rapidly changing environment, one factor which has not changed is the faith reposed in the armed forces by the entire nation," Mukherjee said while addressing the convocation ceremony of the College of Military Engineering (CME) here.

In all, 71 M.Tech and B.Tech students passed out from the premier technical and tactical training institution of the Indian Army, established in 1943.

Mukherjee said that the Indian Army engineers had traditionally left their mark on prestigious national projects, "be it oil pipeline at Siachen, prestigious naval bases and airfields in the North East or roads cutting through the Himalayan ranges".

He said that young technocrats would have to imbibe the latest developments in the field of technology for defence forces, and being the "technical intellect of armed forces", the nation would look up to them to "define and modify the way defence forces operate by exploiting technological advancement".

"As engineers in uniform, you have to perform the dual role of being good engineers and equally good soldiers. You face the formidable task of providing the Indian armed forces with the technical know-how and skills required by them to fulfil their assigned task of ensuring the security of the nation and millions of our people," he said.

"I am sure that each and everyone of you will follow the footsteps of your illustrious predecessors and shall live up to the high standards expected of you," the President said.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said prosperity or development is not possible in Odisha as long as Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is in power.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed for 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'. But there can't be development of all till BJD is in power," said Chouhan while addressing a meeting during a Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas programme in Bargarh district.

He said a huge fund is being released to the state from Centre apart from Rs 400 crore per month towards the Re 1 per kg rice scheme.

"However, the central schemes are not implemented deliberately in the state apprehending that the popularity of BJP may increase with the faster implementation of the schemes. That is why they never implement the schemes with sincerity," he added.

The BJD reacted sharply to Chouhan's remarks.

"Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's statement is very unfortunate. He should rather concentrate on his own state where his government is killing innocent farmers," said state Cooperation Minister Surya Narayan Patro.

The Congress also criticised Chouhan.

"The Chief Minister should clarify why farmers in Madhya Pradesh are either committing suicide on a regular basis or get killed by their state government," said state unit chief Prasad Harichandan.

He said several Union Ministers are visiting Odisha in name of "Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas", but are unable to address real issues of the state.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actress Simran Bagga says she has landed a powerful role in actor Sivakarthikeyan's next yet-untitled Tamil project and she is quite excited about the opportunity.

"I can't talk about my role. However, I can say it will be a powerful one and I will be seen throughout the film. I'm excited to be working with a very energetic team," Simran told IANS.

The film, being directed by Ponram, went on the floors on Friday.

"We will be shooting in Tenkasi and Kuttralam. Like Ponram's earlier films, this project will also be high on humour. I'm looking forward to joining the team," she said.

Sivakarthikeyan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, pairing up for the first time, play the leads.

This project marks the third time collaboration of Sivakarthikeyan and Ponram after "Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam" and "Rajini Murugan".

--IANS

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Samir Gaikwad, the prime accused in the sensational killing of senior Communist leader Govind Pansare, was granted conditional bail by a court here on Saturday.

Gaikwad is an activist of the right-wing Sanatan Sansthan, who was arrested for the attack on Pansare and his wife Uma when they were on a morning walk on February 16, 2015. While Pansare, 82 succumbed four days later in a hospital, his wife survived.

A Sanatan Sanstha activist since 1998, Gaikwad was nabbed by the Kolhapur police and its Special Investigation Team on September 16, eight months after the killing and has remained in custody since then. He was later charge sheeted in the case and had applied for bail twice, which was rejected.

Arguing forcefully for his bail, Gaikwad's lawyers Samir Patwardhan and Virendra Ichalkaranjikar claimed that nearly two years after his arrest the police have yet to come up with credible evidence proving his involvement in the killing.

Strongly opposing the bail, Special Public Prosecutor Harshad Nimbalkar argued that if released on bail, the accused would attempt to influence witnesses in the case or even abscond.

While granting bail with a surety of Rs 25,000, District Sessions Judge L. D. Bile ordered the accused to surrender his passport, not enter Kolhapur district, not to leave Maharashtra, report to police every Sunday and provide his residential address to the court.

Expressing shock at the developments, Medha Pansare, the couple's daughter-in-law told media persons that the investigations are still underway and the government must immediately appeal against the bail order in the Bombay High Court.

Hamid Dabholkar, son of slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar also urged police and the government to challenge Gaikwad's bail urgently before the high court.

Pansare, a veteran Communist leader, intellectual, writer and rationalist, and his wife were shot at by at least two unknown person near their home in Kolhapur on February 16, 2015. He was shifted to Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital, where he succumbed on February 20.

The brutal killings of Pansare, Dabholkar and later Prof. M. M. Kalburgi, had sent shockwaves across the country, with protests and demonstrations in Maharashtra and elsewhere seeking arrest of their killers.

Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune on June 20, 2013, followed by Pansare's killing in February 2015 and later the daylight shooting down of Kalburgi on August 30, 2015 near his home in Karnataka's Dharwad.

--IANS

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Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday led a solemn minute of silence in memory of the victims of a fire at a high-rise residential tower block in west London that left at least 30 people dead.

Coinciding with her 91st birthday, the British monarch joined the people gathered in front of Buckingham Palace to pay tribute to the victims of the blaze that erupted on Wednesday at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, Efe news reported.

She was accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Her visit followed protests over the deadly fire.

Previously, the monarch had released an unprecedented statement in which she said that the UK remained "resolute in the face of adversity", in reference to the terror attacks in Manchester and London, as well as the deadly fire.

"In recent months, the country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies. As a nation, we continue to reflect and pray for all those who have been directly affected by these events," read the statement.

"United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favor, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss," it added.

The Queen, who on Friday visited some of the surviving residents of Grenfell Tower, said she had been "profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need."

Some 70 residents of the fire-ravaged tower were still missing. Protests were held in London on Friday as residents demanded more support for those affected by the fire, BBC reported.

Between 50 and 60 people stormed Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall as members of the public said the homeless needed help "right now".

There were also angry scenes outside the Clement James Centre, in North Kensington. Dozens of demonstrators surged towards the entrance and there were scuffles outside as organisers appealed for calm.

The London Metropolitan Police service said that there were likely no more survivors, which could further increase the death toll and bring it into triple digits.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, considered a possible contender in the Presidential race, on Saturday sought to suggest that she was not in it as BJP President Amit Shah said "all names" would be considered, a day before he meets Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who has pitched for RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat or agro-scientist M.S. Swaminathan for the top post.

Swaraj, who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a function of her ministry, described as "rumours" media reports suggesting that she is one of the candidates under consideration by the party.

"These are rumours. I am the External Affairs Minister and you are asking me something which is an internal matter," she said.

Shah, who held a press conference in Mumbai on three years of the Narendra Modi government, said, "We are discussing and considering various names among ourselves and all the NDA constituents. The BJP believes in consensus and consultations with all parties."

On the names suggested by ally Shiv Sena, he said all names would be considered and discussed before any final decision is taken.

"If you have any names in mind, please give it to me. We shall consider that too," he said jokingly.

Asked about the complaint by Opposition parties, whose leaders were met with by Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu, that the government side did not give any name, Shah said, "If we propose any names, they will say it has already been decided, so what is the purpose of these meetings...."

Shah is slated to meet Thackeray on Sunday morning in Mumbai and discuss issues including the candidate for the President's election.

The Shiv Sena, which shares power with the BJP both in the centre and the state, has been sulking over various issues and keeps sniping at the saffron partner.

The party has not voted with the BJP in the last two Presidential elections.

On Friday, Rajnath Singh and Naidu were reportedly asked by CPI leader D. Raja whether the BJP would be fielding Bhagwat or Swaminathan as suggested by the Shiv Sena. Naidu reportedly told him that the RSS does not contest elections.

Meanwhile, the Opposition parties may be meeting early next week to decide its strategy on whether to field a candidate against the nominee of the government depending on the choice.

Opposition sources said the non-BJP parties may discuss the issue even before the government comes out with a name in case there is undue delay.

--IANS

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An Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) officer was on Saturday critically injured in a clash with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters in the northern West Bengal hills.

Kiran Tamang, Assistant Commander of IRB, was later brought to Siliguri for treatment, Mrinal Ghosh, Commandant IRB Second battalion, said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, commenting on the incident, said in Kolkata: "As per the reports we got, Kiran Tamang is critically injured. He is not dead."

Earlier she had said the Assistant Commander was dead.

Meanwhile, the GJM claimed two of its supporters were killed and five critically injured in police firing.

"As of now two persons were killed and five are critically injured. We are searching for our men and women," GJM assistant general secretary Binay Tamang said.

Police have denied firing at the protesters.

"Police did not fire. GJM set fire to our vehicles. We are looking into the incident," ADG law and order Anuj Sharma.

The GJM sponsored indefinite shutdown in the northern Bengal hills, which entered the sixth day on Saturday, saw fresh violence and protests after GJM's Tamang alleged his house had been raided and vandalised by police.

--IANS

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Punjab Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday ordered the immediate grounding of the amphibious bus service in Harike Patan water body in the state's Tarn Taran district.

The bus service, a brainchild of former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, was launched by the previous Shiromani Akali Dal government with much fanfare last year.

"Operating of this bus service has proved disastrous for the farmers of the region for the releasing of water to operationalise the project has ruined the crops of 5,000 farmers, besides leading to drastic reduction in the number of migratory birds," Sidhu told media in Tarn Taran district, around 275 km from here.

The minister said that a vigilance would probe the looting and plundering of the resources of Punjab under the garb of tourism by the previous government and those found guilty would be strictly proceeded against.

Sidhu said that Harike Pattan would be transformed into a tourism hub.

Taking the previous government to task, he said that the state-run Punjab Roadways Transport Corporation (PRTC) is reeling under a loss of Rs 350 crore due to the inefficiency of the previous regime which was in power for 10 years (2007-2017), whereas the number of buses operated by the family of previous Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had rapidly increased.

He said that the illegally plying private buses in the state would be stopped soon which would result in the PRTC coming out of the red. Sidhu had earlier claimed that the Badal government had wasted Rs 10 crore in getting the amphibious bus service started at Harike Patan.

The original bus stopped plying immediately after its inaugural run. Later, another new bus was brought, replacing the earlier one.

--IANS

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The Syrian army announced a unilateral ceasefire in the city of Daraa in order to support national reconciliation efforts, the media reported.

According to a brief statement published by state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency, the cessation of hostilities began at 12.00 p.m. (local time) on Saturday.

The ceasefire comes as part of the Syrian army's support to the "efforts of national reconciliation", according to the report.

Although Daraa is within the four de-escalation zones agreed between Russia and Turkey, the Syrian regime has continued to attack this city, which is partially-controlled by rebel forces, EFe news reported.

Daraa is where the Syrian protests against President Bashar al-Assad first erupted in March 2011, later escalating into a fully-fledged civil war that is still ongoing.

This comes as the UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistrua, announced that the seventh round of Geneva talks will take place on July 9.

Mistura said that the talks will rely on the progress made in the de-escalation zones' deal, which was internationally backed and went into effect last May.

--IANS

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The story of the Black Lips began in Dunwoody, Georgia, a quiet, conservative suburb of Atlanta, in the year 1999. Born of a mutual love of Link Wray, The Stooges, and The Ramones, and sealed through a shared dedication to defiance, the band formed after childhood friends Jared Swilley and Cole Alexander were kicked out of Dunwoody High for separate, yet equally bad, behavior. The former classmates took their love of music and restless energy and channeled it into their newly found free time, and joined by friends Ben Eberbaugh and Joe Bradley, the Black Lips started playing shows around Atlanta, at house parties and bars. They spent this time honing their sound  garage rock infused with blues, psychedelia, and punk, plus a healthy dose of reckless abandon  and released their first 7-inch, Aint Coming Back, in 2002 on Die Slaughterhouse records (named in homage to the flophouse den they called home). Shortly before the band was set to head out on their first ever national tour, Eberbaugh was tragically killed by a drunk driver. Devastated but determined to carry on in Eberbaughs honor, the Black Lips hit the road as a trio just a few days later. Its been 15 years, but that passionate dedication to touring has never left the band. The Black Lips have released eight full-length albums since that first tour, and have traveled the country and the world extensively, making a name for themselves as an electrifying, must-see live act. It helps that the same mischievous spirit that helped speed up their exit from the educational system is still very much alive, thriving in its new environment on stage, resplendent with punk rock theatrics and miscellaneous bodily fluids, amongst other things. The bands energy and unique flower punk sound helped them build a rabid fan base, and after releasing their first two albums through Bomp!, they put out the critically celebrated Let It Bloom on In The Red records. This record garnered the Black Lips features in Spin and Rolling Stone, and they were soon signed to Vice Records, subsequently releasing Los Valientos Del Mundo Nuevo, an ambitious album recorded live at a bar in Tijuana, Mexico, in February of 2007. In their decade-long tenure with Vice, the Black Lips have evolved from wildly crooning over fuzzy, raucous music at house shows full of kids to wildly crooning over fuzzy, raucous music at international festivals in front of thousands of fans. They have toured consistently, with their zeal for travel taking them all over the world, and not without some international adventure: In 2009 the Black Lips went on their first (and last) tour of India, playing shows in Bangalore and Mumbai before chaos struck in Chennai after the band ditched their toned-down presence in favor of classic Black Lips capers, including some not so well received Lips-locking. After the same sex smooching and also Alexander baring his butt to the rowdy crowd, the tours sponsors pulled out and the band was nearly jailed, their passports confiscated by the disgruntled promoters. According to Swilley: The first few shows, we were being really reserved because we didnt want to offend anyone, but they kept telling us to do what we wanted...I guess do whatever you want didnt include kissing each other, and I think Cole mooned the crowd, which is a huge no-no. We had to physically wrestle our passports back from the promoters. It was the scariest 15 hours of my life, but we got out of there. The band ended up taking a 200 mile cab ride to the next province and hopped a flight to Berlin, narrowly escaping Indian prison. Undeterred, the band jumped at the chance to become the first Western punk band to tour another notoriously conservative continent, the Middle East, just a few years later. Why? It was important for a number of reasons, Swilley says of the tour. Weve always wanted to push boundaries of where we go. Plus, a lot of people told us we couldnt do it, and anytime someone tells us we cant do something, then we kind of have to. We have O.D.D, oppositional defiance disorder. This time, their shows went off without a hitch, and Black Lips played shows for crowds in Jordan, Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraqi Kurdistan, and the United Arab Emirates in 2011 in support of that years release of their record Arabia Mountain, produced by Mark Ronson. The title was actually a reference to a mountain in Georgia, but that didnt stop the Lips from playing the record all over the Middle East, to enthused fans and without causing any further international incidents. Everyone was really nervous about us going there, but it really went off without a hitch, adds Swilley. The band also hasnt abandoned plans to become the first rock band to play on all seven continents, hoping to hit their last remaining one, Antarctica in the near future, and disregarding Metallicas claim of this achievement: Just when we were securing the funding, Metallica sniped us. They took a boat, probably a gold plated Versace boat, down there. But they actually didnt play on land, and they didnt play with amps, so technically they havent played Antarctica. Metallica hasnt beat us yet. For their ninth studio album, the Black Lips have teamed up with Sean Lennon, who got on board to produce Satans graffiti or gods art? in 2016. The Black Lips had formerly worked with Lennon on Arabia Mountain, where Lennon played theramin on several tracks. The band moved up to Lennons studio compound on a remote farm in upstate New York, and spent several months living and breathing the new record. This removal from the outside world, plus the return of beloved early guitarist Jack Hines and the exciting addition of new members Oakley Munson on drums and Zumi Rosow (the first female Black Lip) on saxophone, infused the project with a focused, intoxicating liveliness, similar to the spirit that had brought the Black Lips to life in the first place, way back in 1999. Only this time, the band is drawing from nearly two decades of experience and musicianship, and the newness is tethered by familiarity: Munson is a longtime friend of the band, and Rosow has been playing live with the Black Lips for several years now. Theres even a dash of kismet: unbeknownst to the band, after being off the grid for some time, Munson had just recently moved to a cabin a short distance away from Lennons compound, and the first time his phone ever rang after he plugged into the wall, Alexander was on the other end, asking him to play. All of this excitement and immersion created the perfect storm for the Black Lips most musically evolved album to date. It was a really beautiful experience. We were very far from civilization, and we were all living at the studio. We werent going home to our own beds every night; that was our whole world, 100% of the time, says Swilley of the experience. Making this record was the most wonderful few months of my life. It was by far my favorite time recording an album so far...It was just magic. The Black Lips were joined by Saul Adamczewski of Fat White Family, who helped co-produce the record with Lennon, plus another rather magical guest: Yoko Ono. Shes very cosmic, Swilley says of the celebrated artist and musician, who makes an appearance on a few of the tracks. The final product is urgent and thoughtful, reflecting the growth the Black Lips have experienced since bursting onto the scene (once or twice quite literally on fire), but its also true to their original blistering, careening take on rock n roll: fuzzy, dirty, and rife with three and four part harmonies. Satans graffiti or gods art? proves that while they may have grown up a bit and changed a few things around, the Black Lips are still as creatively unhinged and exhilarating as ever. Satans graffiti or gods art? is out May 5th on Vice Records.
Three women from Nepal were rescued from human traffickers and one accused arrested in near the India-Nepal border in West Bengal's Darjeeling district, an official said on Saturday.

"On specific information, a team of Border Outpost Panitanki, under the command of Reena AC, apprehended one trafficker and rescued three victims from Quarter more near Panitanki at 10 a.m.," said Rajib Rana, Commandant, of Sashastra Seema Bal's 41st Battalion.

According to him, the three women victims were being reportedly taken to Delhi and further to Kuwait by the trafficker.

All the victims were from economically poor background.

"The victims and trafficker have been handed over to the Nepal Police in the presence of the representatives of an NGO," the official added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump announced that he was reversing crucial pieces of what he called a "terrible and misguided deal" with Cuba and will reinstate travel and commercial restrictions eased by the previous administration, the media reported.

During a speech on Friday night in Miami's Little Havana, the epicentre of a Cuban exile community that supported him in the election, Trump said he was keeping a campaign promise to roll back the policy of engagement started by former President Barack Obama in 2014, which he said had empowered the communist government in Cuba and enriched the country's repressive military, reports The New York Times.

"We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer...Effective immediately, I am cancelling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump said at the Manuel Artime Theatre.

After the speech, he signed a six-page directive that ordered new travel and commercial restrictions while leaving in place some key Obama-era measures that eased sanctions.

As part of the new policy, Americans will no longer be able to plan their own private trips to Cuba, and those who go as part of authorised educational tours will be subjected to strict new rules and audits to ensure that they are not going just as tourists.

American companies and citizens will also be barred from doing business with any firm controlled by the Cuban military or its intelligence or security services, walling off crucial parts of the economy, including much of the tourist sector, from American access.

Embassies in Washington and Havana will stay open and cruises and direct flights between the Washington and Havana will be protected under an exception from the prohibition on transactions with military-controlled entities.

The President also directed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to convene a task force on expanding internet access on the island and reiterate the USs' opposition to efforts in the UNs to lift the Cuban embargo until more is done to honour human rights, reports CNN.

"To the Cuban government, I say, put an end to the abuse of dissidents, release the political prisoners, stop jailing innocent people, open yourselves to political and economic freedoms, return the fugitives from American justice," Trump said.

In response, the Cuban government late Friday said that any attempt to change the political system on the island would be destined to fail.

"Any strategy aimed at changing the political, economic and social system in Cuba, whether it seeks to achieve it through pressures and impositions, or by employing more subtle methods, will be doomed to failure," Efe news quoted President Raul Castro as saying in a statement.

While he acknowledged that changes in Cuba were necessary, pointing to the ongoing process of modernising and developing the island's economic and socialist model, he insisted that Cubans would decide its own fate independent of foreign influence.

"We will assume any risk and remain firm and secure in building a sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable nation," he added.

The statement added that Trump was "poorly advised" to favour the political interests of an "extremist minority" of Cuban-Americans living in Florida, who, because of "petty motivations, will not give up on their ambition of punishing Cuba and its people".

The Cuban leader added that "the US is not in a position to give us lessons", voicing "serious concerns" on the "numerous cases of murders, brutality and police abuses, the exploitation of child labour, racial discrimination and restrictions on healthcare services."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday squarely blamed the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) for unleashing violence in northern West Bengal hills where protests and arson took centrestage, as GJM activists, including the women's wing, clashed with the police, ratcheting up their demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.

As the GJM shutdown entered its sixth day, Banerjee strongly condemned the vandalism by the GJM and alleged a "deep-rooted conspiracy".

Banerjee, who chaired a high level meet at the state secretariat in Nabanna that was participated by various development boards of the hills, asserted her resolve to restore peace in the hills.

Upping the ante, GJM activists, including the women's wing, came out on the streets in hundreds to protest an alleged police raid on the residence of party assistant General Secretary Binay Tamang.

The area virtually turned into a battlefield as protests marked the GJM-sponsored indefinite shutdown which spilled out onto the plains.

The GJM protest to demand a separate Gorkhaland is being countered by supporters of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress.

Kiran Tamang, an officer of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was critically injured in the violence, while the GJM claimed four of its supporters were killed.

Expressing shock at the incident, Banerjee said an all-party meeting will be held in Siliguri on June 22 to discuss the growing unrest in the northern West Bengal hills.

Coming down heavily on the GJM violence, Banerjee said: "We have come to know from the police that there is a link (of GJM) with terrorists. I am told there is a connection with underground insurgents from the northeast India. I have requested that they should not extend any support in Darjeeling."

Banerjee said the state government is ready to initiate a dialogue with the party in a conducive environment.

The alleged police raid and vandalising of the residence of Tamang at around 3 a.m. triggered massive resistance from GJM supporters.

Tamang also claimed Vikram Rai, son of party MLA Amar Rai, had been arrested.

However, Amar Rai said his son has no political affiliations and he was released later.

Widespread protests were reported from Singamari, the northern point of Darjeeling, as hundreds of GJM's women activists rallied with shrill condemnation of the raid, and shouted slogans for a separate Gorkhaland as they held aloft the tricolour.

At least four vehicles including three of police were torched while eight vehicles were vandalised. Police said at least 25 people were injured in clashes.

Later in the day, the effects of the trouble were felt in Kalimpong's Gorubathan market where GJM supporters allegedly torched a vehicle of the power supply authority, while the Jaldhaka police station was vandalised.

Police fired tear gas shells as the women activists pelted stones and pushed back at the police barricade shouting "Police Go Back".

Additional Director General (Law & Order) Anuj Sharma and Banerjee denied charges of police firing on protesters.

"Police had not fired. GJM supporters are creating violence and attacking police. Many police personnel are seriously injured. We cannot tolerate this hooliganism," Sharma said.

In other incidents of violence, GJM supporters allegedly pelted stones and lobbed petrol bombs at the residence of Trinamool activist Deoraj Gurung in Lebong Cart Road, attacked a local Trinamool activist's residence at Pankhabari, and reportedly set a PWD office at Bijonbari on fire.

The Army has also been called in. Official sources said that troops were patrolling in the entire hills.

The party called for a 12-hour strike in Dooars on Sunday.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung said: "Gorkhas are facing a lot of torture. Two of our supporters have died because of the state government. I appealed to all the Gorkhas to protest against torture."

BJP state women's wing president Roopa Ganguly also raised her pitch against the Trinamool government saying the unrest in the hills was due to Banerjee.

The ongoing agitation has crippled tourism.

The famed toy-train service of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has been suspended in view of the strike.

The GJM announced an indefinite general strike from Monday in the hills encompassing Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Dooars (foothills of the Himalayas covering stretches of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar district) protesting against the government's purported decision to make Bengali language compulsory in state-run schools and to press for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Today is a memorable occasion, the resurrection of a happening in our freedom struggle, a reminder to a younger generation of the role that media in the hands of people committed to a cause could do to motivate the public.
Under attack from the opposition for "shelving the promise of dialogue with the separatists", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister on Saturday told the Assembly that there was "no other way but talks" for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

"Dialogue has always been part of our agenda and manifesto, whether it was in 2002 or today. Several wars have been fought but the issue has not been resolved. You cannot resolve issues with guns or armies. We have to unite to get this (resolving the issue) done. Our people are dying, life along the border is disturbed and poor people on both sides are dying," she said while taking part in a discussion on obituary references for notable leaders who passed away between the two sessions of the state Assembly.

The Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly met in Srinagar on Saturday for a special session on the implementation of goods and services tax (GST) in the state but decided to adjourn the House indefinitely till an all-party panel, formed to look into the new tax regime, submitted its report.

Mehbooba said while India was surging ahead of its neighbouring countries due to democracy, the "strangulation of this very idea in Kashmir" had led to the deteriorating situation in the Valley over the years.

"It is democracy, which has kept the nation alive and helped it move ahead of its neighbours. In our state, the main reason behind the bloodshed we are witnessing is that democracy was not allowed to take roots here. It was rejected and strangulated," she said.

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief said it was only in a democracy like India that people could put their divergent views out in the public domain.

"(Independent MLA) Engineer Rashid is talking big here and he can do it. We will not see this anywhere else. There is no tolerance for such things (in other countries)," she added.

Stressing on the need for dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, she said whatever happened in the past should not come in the way of efforts to resolve the issue "through talks".

"Those who used to talk about drowning the separatists in the Jhelum and killing all the militants when the then prime minister A B Vajpayee mooted a Ramzan ceasefire, are calling for a dialogue today. This means things are changing slowly," said the chief minister.

Responding to the allegation of "state terrorism" levelled by the opposition, the Conference (NC) and the Congress, she said if it was true, 12-year-old kids would not be pelting stones near the encounter sites.

"Somebody was talking about state terrorism. There was a time when people used to run away from the encounter sites due to the fear of being used as human shields. Some people had even lost their lives in this manner (due to being used as human shields). That is state terrorism. If there was state terrorism today, then 12 and 14- year-olds would not pelt stones (at the security forces) at the encounter sites," Mehbooba said.

Highlighting the importance of dialogue in resolving issues, the chief minister, however, hinted at Pakistan not reciprocating the gestures of the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"(Former prime minister) Manmohan Singh wanted to visit his hometown in Pakistan but could not do so. Modi went to Pakistan, but then the Pathankot (terror attack) incident happened," she said.

Earlier, NC leader Mohammad Shafi Uri urged the government to stop the "state terrorism" and killing of innocents to pave a way for dialogue.

"I appeal to the central and state governments to open the doors for dialogue to put an end to the atmosphere of state terror as it cannot solve the issues. It only complicates them further," he said while initiating the proceedings on the obituary references in the Assembly.

Uri accused the Jammu and Kashmir government of "imposing state terrorism" and said words were not enough to condemn it.

He said the statements coming from the leaders of the central government indicated that they were trying to resolve the Kashmir issue through administrative measures, "which will have dangerous implications".

"I am surprised that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said a durable solution to the Kashmir problem would be found soon. How can he do that when the doors for dialogue have been closed. Look at the world history. Internal resistance movements have always been resolved by dialogue. Talks have been going on with the Nagas. They come from Burma (Myanmar), hold talks and go back. Democracy demands that the doors for dialogue should never be closed," he said.

Congress leader G M Saroori lashed out at the Centre and the state for the "incessant bloodletting" and deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The dance of death has entered the schools and colleges. Security forces personnel are getting killed. Pellet guns are being used on the students. You (the PDP-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state) have no right to remain in power," he said.

Referring to the Centre's stand on triple talaq and beef ban, the Congress leader claimed that the PDP had "no dignity left" by continuing in the coalition government with the BJP.

"You have no dignity left by continuing in the government which is being run by the Bajrang Dal and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)," he said.

The other leaders who spoke on the obituary references included Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, BJP leader Sat Sharma, Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA M Y Tarigami, Independent legislators Hakeem Mohammad Yasin and Sheikh Abdul Rashid.
A soldier and 12 militants were killed in clashes in DR Congo's restive eastern North-Kivu province, the army said.

"Twelve Mai-Mai and an officer from the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo died in fighting that lasted nearly all of yesterday for control of the Kabasha area," army spokesman Lieutenant Jules Tshikudi told AFP.

The Mai-Mai are vigilante groups that run along ethnic lines. During the brutal Second Congo War between 1998 and 2003, numerous groups were armed by the government to fight against Ugandan or Rwandan forces, and some of them never disarmed.

Yesterday's clashes broke out when Mai-Mai fighters attacked the army's position in Kabasha, Tshikudi said, without indicating their ethnicity. The army is now in control of the area, which civilians have fled, he added.

Kabasha lies 24 kilometres south of Beni, a city that has suffered a wave of violence since 2014 with nearly 700 civilians killed, many of them hacked to death.

Those killings have been blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces, a shadowy rebel group dominated by hardline Ugandan Muslims who were initially focused on overthrowing Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni.

Six days ago, more than 900 inmates escaped during an attack on Beni's central prison by armed assailants who have yet to be identified by authorities.

The eastern DR Congo has been rocked by more than 20 years of armed conflict among both domestic and foreign armed groups, fuelled by struggle for control of lucrative mineral resources as well as ethnic and property disputes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five Malian soldiers were killed and eight wounded today in an attack on a military camp in the north, the army said.

Nine vehicles were also destroyed in the attack on the camp at Bintagoungou at about 5:00 AM, an army statement said.

Local sources had told AFP earlier today that two soldiers had been killed and several were missing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Embattled President Michel Temer exchanged furious denunciations of corruption with a leading businessman who alleges Brazil's leader was behind the bribes paid by business executives to politicians and government authorities in exchange for political favours.

Meatpacking billionaire Joesley Batista, who is himself under investigation for fraud, claimed in an interview published in the magazine Epoca that "Temer leads Brazil's largest and most dangerous criminal organisation." He provided no specifics to back up his charge.

Temer's office fired back yesterday with a statement describing Batista as "the most notorious and successful bandit in Brazil's history" and it promised to file criminal and civil lawsuits against him.

Batista is now a key witness in corruption investigations that threaten to force Temer out of office before his term ends in December 2018.

Prosecutors have said they are considering charging the president with receiving bribes and with trying to obstruct the investigation into a colossal corruption scheme at the state-run oil company that involved huge kickbacks to politicians in return for inflated contracts.

Dozens of politicians and business executives already have been convicted in the Petrobras case.

A key part of the evidence against Temer comes from plea bargain agreements with prosecutors signed by Batista and his brother Wesley that allow the two men to remain free. Under investigation in a pension fund fraud, they have said they paid kickbacks to more than 1,800 politicians to win favours for their JBS meatpacking company.

JBS is the world's biggest meat processing company and operates more than 100 industrial units around the world, including in the United states.

Their revelations include a recording of a March meeting between Batista and Temer in which the president appears to condone the payment of hush money to imprisoned former Speaker of the House Eduardo Cunha, who is serving a 15-year corruption sentence.

Prosecutors have said that in the recording Temer is heard authorising Batista to pay Cunha the equivalent of about $150,000 a week for not reaching a plea bargain deal.

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Union minister Harsh Vardhan today assured that the central government will extend all possible support to any scheme for enhancing the beauty and ecology of the Aravali range.

He also urged the people to work with resolve and dedication to make the Aravalis more beautiful.

Union environment, forests and climate change minister Vardhan was addressing the gathering at a function to inaugurate the Swarna Jayanti Nature Camp and launch of nature awareness and Aravali conservation campaign on the occasion of the United Nations World Day to Combat Desertification 2017, in Bhondsi, in Gurgaon district.

Vardhan said desertification could be tackled effectively with the active participation of local people and cooperation at all levels.

He urged the people of Haryana and the nation to become a large force of 'Paryavaran Rakshaks' (environment protectors) to fight the challenges posed by desertification, global warming and climate change.

He said photos of persons doing commendable work in the area of environment will be circulated in the entire country, if they upload their photos along with their work on the website of the environment ministry.

Such persons will also be rewarded on the occasion of World Environment Day next year, he said.

In such a way, a big force of environment protectors would be raised, he added.

Pointing out that modern science and technology and environment could come together to protect nature, he referred to the devising of a solar tree by scientists over an area of four square metres, which generates 5 KW of electricity.

He also highlighted the leading role played by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in forming the International Solar Alliance at the Conference of Parties on Climate Change in Paris in 2015, and added that the government was firmly committed towards implementing policies on solar energy.

Speaking on the occasion, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said climate change was having an adverse impact on the lives of the people, and was also adding to the desertification of land.

He stressed that afforestation could act as a bulwark to stop the process of desertification of land.

He also announced that the forest around Bhondsi area had been renamed as 'Chandra Shekhar Smriti Van' in the memory of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar.

Khattar exhorted the people to plant trees equal to the population of the village and to plant 2 crore trees in the next one year for protection of the environment.

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: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami will host the AIADMK's annual Iftaar function here on June 21, the party said today.

Palaniswami, also the Headquarters Secretary of the AIADMK (Amma) faction, will host the Iftaar function at the Chennai Trade Centre here on June 21, a party release said.

Last year, late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had hosted the event.

In a series of developments since Jayalalithaa's death on December 5 last year, AIADMK has suffered a split, with Palaniswami and his predecessor O Panneerselvam leading the respective factions.

Incidentally, a section of MLAs in the ruling party are rallying behind Amma faction Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran, who is out on bail in a bribery case.

They have taken up "leadership issue" with Palaniswami concerning Dhinakaran.

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Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia today said his party will continue its struggle for the farmers in Madhya Pradesh till their problems are resolved.

Scindia, who is the Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha, wrapped up his 72-hour 'Satyagraha' in the Dhar district.

"State government should not heave a sign of relief that the Congress' 'Satyagraha' in support of farmers' demand is over now," he said addressing a gathering while ending his 'Satyagraha' at Khalghat area.

"This fight has not ended yet. The 72-hour 'Satyagraha' begun from Bhopal will reach all the assembly constituencies of the state. Congress will keep the torch, which was lit by farmers in Mandsaur, burning," Scindia added.

He demanded that the officials responsible for "killing" five farmers at Mandsaur should be booked, tried and punished as soon as possible.

Scindia also demanded that over 300 farmers arrested during the cultivators protest be released immediately and Swaminathan Commission's report be implemented.

Senior Congress senior leader Kamal Nath said the situation has come to such a pass in the state that 10,000 industries have been closed.

"10,000 industries have been shut down in the state during the 13-year BJP rule," the MP from Chhindwara said.

Nath, a former Union Minister, also claimed that no industrialist wants to invest in MP.

MP Congress chief Arun Yadav said if Congress wins the next year's MP assembly polls, the party will waive all the loans of the farmers.

Later, several Congressmen courted arrest and were released at the venue of the Satyagraha.

Meanwhile, Scindia tonight reached Mandsaur to console the kin of the five farmers "killed" in police firing on June 6 and another cultivator who died in violence during the peasant's stir.

After entering Mandsaur, Scindia along with former Mandsaur MP Meenakshi Natrajan straightaway went to the deceased farmer Ghanshyam Dhakad's house at Badavan village.

Scindia told Dhakad's kin that Congress and he stand with them.

Scindia said he wanted to meet them earlier and claimed that he wasn't allowed to enter the district.

Locals had alleged that Dhakad was beaten up by policemen.

Madhya Pradesh had witnessed a major farmers' protest in the past fortnight.

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On the boil for the past 10 days over a separate state demand, Darjeeling today witnessed widespread clashes between GJM activists and the police in which one person was killed and 35 security personnel were injured, including an IRB officer seriously.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) workers hurled petrol bombs, stones and bottles at the police at several places which led the security forces to lob teargas shells and resort to baton-charge to disperse the mobs, a police official said.

Army contingents were deployed to control the situation and they staged flag marches in several areas of the violence-hit hill district, where the indefinite shutdown to press for a separate Gorkhaland entered the third day.

Singmari in Darjeeling turned into a battleground as GJM activists threw petrol bombs and stones at the anti-riot police personnel, who fired teargas shells and lathi-charged the agitators.

The incident, in which several people were injured, prompted the administration to deploy the Army.

Besides Singmari, clashes also took place at Lebongcart Road, Chowkbazar and Ghum, where the country's highest railway station is located.

West Bengal ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma said in Kolkata that one person was killed at Singmari and around 35 policemen were injured, 19 of them seriously. This was the first death since violent protests returned to Darjeeling on June 8, after a gap of a few years.

The GJM, however, claimed that two party supporters were killed in police firing.

"Two of our comrades were killed in police firing. They are martyrs of the Gorkhaland movement. The people of the hills will not stop until and unless Gorkhaland is achieved," GJM chief Bimal Gurung said in a statement from an undisclosed location..

"The final battle is on. Either we get our right or die fighting for it," he said.

Gurung's claim was dismissed by ADG Sharma. "The police did not open fire. Not a single bullet was fired, It was the GJM which was firing at us," he said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata that India Rerserve Battalion's Assistant Commandant Kiran Tamang was critically injured in the violence.

Tamang, who belongs to IRS's 2nd Battalion, has been shifted to a private nursing home in Siliguri, the police said. Earlier, IRB sources said Tamang was killed in the clash.

"What is happening today is a deep-rooted conspiracy. So many bombs and arms cannot be gathered in a day," Banerjee told reporters, adding, "I am ready to sacrifice my life, but I will not allow Bengal to be divided."



She said that the GJM has connections with insurgent groups in the Northeast and some foreign countries. She, however, did not name any insurgent group or foreign country.

"There is a terrorist brain behind this hooliganism. We have got clues that they have connections with underground insurgent groups in the Northeast. There are some other countries also helping," Banerjee said.

The police said seven GJM supporters were arrested for their alleged involvement in the violence.

Giving details of the Singmari incident, a senior police officer said prohibitory orders were in force in the area and the police told the protesters, who were carrying the tricolour and GJM flags, to return.

The slogan-shouting protesters did not relent and started throwing petrol bombs, stones and bottles at the police, he said. A number of police vehicles were set on fire, he said.

"We asked them to go back, but they started throwing stones, bottles and petrol bombs. We had to resort to lathi- charge," the official said.

ADG Sharma told PTI, "We are waiting for the postmortem report, but it seems that the man died of gunshot wound.

"We are trying to identify the person, but going by the preliminary investigation it seems that he is a local," he said.

"Law will take its own course. We will arrest anybody found violating law and order in the hills. The police will be tough." he said.

Barring pharmacies, all others shops and hotels were closed in Darjeeling, one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the country.

Meanwhile, GJM leaders claimed that Vikram Rai, son of GJM MLA Amar Rai, was 'picked up' by the police from Darjeeling.

Vikram is the in-charge of the GJM's media cell.

The police last night raided the residence of senior GJM leader Binay Tamang, following which party activists tried to torch a PWD office in Bijanbari area in the hill town.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The All India Hindu Convention today passed a resolution demanding that India and Nepal be declared 'Hindu Rashtra'.

"Various pro-Hindu and patriotic organisations all over India and abroad are striving to establish Hindu Rashtra. Declaring India and Nepal Hindu Rashtra was one of the many resolutions passed at the convention," Hindu Janajagruti Samiti leader Charudatt Pingale told reporters here.

"The 6th All India Hindu Convention, which was organised to unite and channelise the efforts of these organisations, concluded successfully," he told a press conference.

Over 342 delegates representing 132 right-wing organisations from across India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka attended the four-day convention at Ramnathi in Ponda.

Pingale said the convention adopted resolutions to launch a "legal campaign" against "rampant malpractices" in administrative, commercial, educational and political domain.

"Only when these sectors are able to provide clean, corruption free and pro-people services to the society will it be possible to establish Hindu Rashtra....This is something all pro-Hindu organisations have agreed upon," he added.

According to Pingale, all these organisations have pledged to unitedly work to protect the nation and dharma (religion).

BJP MLA from Talangana T Raja Singh said, "BJP should decide on a national agenda for curbing cow slaughter.

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DMK-led Tamil Nadu's opposition parties stepped up its attack on the state government today over the alleged horse-trading of AIADMK MLAs and urged Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to 'nullify' the February 18 trust vote.

The opposition parties, in a meeting with the governor, also urged him to dismiss the government and order a fresh floor test.

With the issue triggering a storm in the state assembly, the DMK, Congress and IUML sought a probe by the CBI and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to "unearth the money trail and offences under the prevention of corruption act."



Led by DMK working president M K Stalin, the opposition parties met Rao at the Raj Bhavan here and presented a memorandum highlighting their demands.

"The trust vote was won (by the Palaniswami government) only due to horse-trading. So, that voting should be cancelled and this government should be dismissed immediately," Stalin, also the leader of opposition in the state assembly, later told reporters.

These demands have been raised with the governor and he has "assured" us to look into the legal aspects of the matter, Stalin said.

The opposition move comes amid its failed bid to raise in the state assembly the issue of a TV 'sting' operation where O Panneerselvam camp MLA S S Saravanan is purportedly shown making claims of horse-trading of his party legislators ahead of the crucial February 18 trust vote that was won by incumbent Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

The opposition has been denied permission by Speaker P Dhanapal to raise the matter for three consecutive days.

The DMK members including Stalin were evicted en masse on Wednesday while the party staged a walkout on the next two days on being denied permission.

In a memorandum submitted to the governor today, Stalin recalled the chain of events preceding the trust vote, such as the revolt of former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam against party chief V K Sasikala and her conviction in a disproportionate assets case.

He said AIADMK MLAs were later taken to a seaside resort at Koovathur near here and "detained illegally" prior to the trust vote and later brought to the assembly for voting.

DMK, as a "responsible opposition party" had demanded then that the speaker should either order for a secret ballot or adjourn proceedings for a week to make sure that the MLAs cast their "votes in a cordial atmosphere with free will and consent," he said.

But none of the demands were heeded to, he said.

"The very basic features of the floor test in the House stand defeated mercilessly and recklessly. The speaker failed to conduct a real lawful test in the House and in the pandemonium which followed, the speaker declared that the motion of confidence moved by the newly appointed chief minister has been passed and he has won the vote of confidence," he said.

The DMK had then itself urged the governor to nullify the floor test, he said, recalling it had also moved the Madras High Court challenging the validity of the trust vote.

On the TV 'sting' operation about alleged horse-trading of AIADMK MLAs ahead of the trust vote, Stalin said Madurai South MLA SS Saravanan belonging to AIAADMK Puratchi Thalaivi Amma had made claims in this regard.

The legislator has, however, denied it was his voice in the TV video footage on the alleged horse-trading though he had admitted he was there in the video.

"It is me in the video, but the voice is not mine," Saravanan had said.

Stalin further said in the memorandum that "we state, therefore, that the video recordings of the sting operation constitutes material evidence which has a significant bearing on the validity of the proceedings of the vote of confidence."



The "sting operation" was "important evidence" regarding the circumstances in which the confidence vote was held, he said.

Despite their repeated pleas in the first three days of the ongoing assembly session, the speaker had refused to take up the matter for discussion, he said.

The video-footage of the 'sting' operation "reveal that the vote of confidence was vitiated by inducements and bribery of the AIADMK MLAs," he alleged.

Allegations of AIADMK MLAs having taken illegal gratification to cast votes then "is now corroborated by the material that has come to light through independent media sources," he said.

"These actions of inducement, bribery and illegal gratification, if proved true, throw our entire democratic system in peril and also require investigation for offences under Prevention of Corruption Act, Income Tax Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act," Stalin said.

The governor should, therefore, "order for a fresh vote of confidence" and direct an impartial investigation by the CBI into the offences of Prevention of Corruption Act," he said.

The governor should also direct an investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or ED "to unearth the money trail and to investigate the offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act," Stalin added.

Stalin, accompanied by Congress Legislature Party Leader K R Ramasamy and Indian Union Muslim League MLA KAM Mohammed Abubakker, said the opposition parties will discuss the future course of action if the governor did not act on their demands.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Led by the DMK, the Tamil Nadu's opposition parties met governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao today and sought dismissal of the AIADMK's K Palaniswami government, alleging it won the February 18 trust vote by horse-trading.

DMK working president M K Stalin also sought a CBI probe into the issue based on a 'sting' operation by a private TV channel, besides the Enforcement Directorate joining the investigation.

"The trust vote was won (by the Palaniswami government) only due to horse-trading. So that voting should be cancelled and this government should be dismissed immediately," Stalin, also the leader of opposition in the state assembly, told reporters here.

These demands have been raised with the governor and he has "assured" us to look into the legal aspects of the matter, Stalin added.

Stalin said he had earlier demanded secret ballot for the February 18 trust vote which was not heeded to.

"This government is running on a trust vote won by horse-trading. This sting operation has proved that," he said, referring to the O Panneerselvam camp member and Madurai (South) MLA S S Saravanan reportedly making claims in this regard.

The legislator has, however, denied it was his voice in the TV video footage on alleged horse-trading though he had admitted that it was him in the video.

"It is me in the video, but the voice is not mine," Saravanan had said.

The matter related to purported claims by Saravanan in the TV 'sting' operation about alleged pay-offs to ruling party MLAs ahead of the trust vote that was won by incumbent chief minister K Palaniswami.

Stalin, accompanied by Congress Legislature Party Leader K R Ramasamy and Indian Union Muslim League MLA KAM Mohammed Abubakker, said the opposition parties will discuss the future course of action if the governor did not act on their demands.

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Actress Elizabeth Banks says her first Hollywood agent asked her to go under the knife to get role in films.

The 43-year-old actress-director says she is happy she did not pay attention to the agent's suggestion, reported Contactmusic.

"The first agent I ever met in this industry told me to get a b**b job. I was so grateful that I didn't have enough money at the time to follow his advice. I also did not sign with him despite that," Banks says.

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One person has been arrested in connection with seizure of counterfeit products of many well- known brands worth Rs 10 lakh, at a warehouse in east Delhi's Shahdara area, police said today.

After receiving a complaint related to products bearing fake logos, the police raided a house in Dalhai Mohalla, Bhola Nath Nagar in Shahdara where the alleged products were found on the ground floor.

"During the raid, the owner of the premises, Hardeep Singh, a resident of Dayanand Colony, at Lajpat Nagar-IV in south Delhi turned up and was arrested.

"Singh was asked about documents related to the material stored inside the warehouse but he could not give any satisfactory reply nor he could produced any document related to the material," a senior police official said.

Among the counterfeit products seized by the police included, several air filters with logo of a technology major, oil filter with the logo of a car-making firm and outer box with logo of a major technology company.

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Farmers and the Congress workers today staged protests against the central and state governments following alleged suicide by a debt-ridden farmer at Berinag in Pithoragarh district.

The workers of the Opposition party, led by PCC chief Pritam Singh, marched from the Congress office in Dehradun to Ashtley hall shouting slogans against the central and state governments and accusing them of being insensitive to the problems being faced by farmers.

They also burnt the effigies of the governments.

The PCC president reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his pre-poll promise of farmers getting a loan waiver and interest free loans, if the BJP was voted to power.

Accusing him of reneging on his promise, Singh said the party will fight for farmers both in the legislature and the streets.

Similar protests broke out in Berinag block of Pithoragarh district, where a farmer allegedly committing suicide yesterday after receiving a notice from a bank for non repayment of his loans.

The protesters in Berinag and Lohaghat came on roads and demanded that all loans taken by farmers in the region be waived off as their crops have been damaged first by draughts and then by rains.

"The farmers in the hill region of the state are not in a position to repay agricultural loans," Block Pramukh in Berinag block, Rekha Bhandari said.

A magisterial probe has been ordered into the farmer's death but his wife said he took the extreme step as he had received bank notices but was unable to repay a loan of Rs 50,000 taken about six months ago from the Gramin Bank.

The farmer, Surendra Singh, a resident of Purana Thal village of Pithoragarh district, was declared brought dead by doctors when he was brought to Thal hospital after he consumed some poisonous substances at his home near the village.

Pithoragarh district magistrate C Ravi Shankar said that Berinag SDM Vivek Prakash will conduct the inquiry to find if he had committed suicide due to bank loans and whether his crops have been covered under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima yojana or not.

While an official at Gramin bank confirmed notices being issued to farmers on payments of loans, Pithoragarh district magistrate said that the subject of incapability to repay loans will also be inquired.

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Demanding loan waiver, farmers in the district staged protests today after a cultivator committed suicide allegedly on receiving a debt repayment notice from a bank.

The protesters in Berinag and Lohaghat came on roads and demanded that all loans taken by farmers in the region be waived off as their crops have been damaged first by draughts and then by rains.

Farmers alleged that the state government was having an indifferent attitude to their demands for loan waiver after their crops were damaged due to heavy rains and hailstorm last month.

"The farmers in the hill region of the state are not in a position to repay agricultural loans," Block Pramukh in Berinag block, Rekha Bhandari said.

Meanwhile, Pithoragarh district magistrate C Ravi Shankar said that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered after a farmer in a village near Thal town committed suicide yesterday allegedly due to bank notice on the loans he had taken from them.

The farmer, Surendra Singh, a resident of Purana Thal village of the district, was declared brought dead by doctors when he was brought to Thal hospital after he consumed some poisonous substances at his home near the village.

"We have found notice of bank beneath his bed, on a Rs 50,000 loan he had taken from Gramin Bank's Berinag branch some six months ago and could not repay due to damage to our crop in heavy rains and hails this year," said Manju, wife of the deceased farmer.

Shankar said Berinag SDM Vivek Prakash will conduct the inquiry to find if he had committed suicide due to bank loans and whether his crops have been covered under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima yojana or not.

While an official at Gramin bank confirmed notices being issued to farmers on payments of loans, Pithoragarh district magistrate said that the subject of incapability to repay loans will also be inquired.

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Five soldiers were killed today in northern Mali, where a surge in violence has prompted calls for the UN to create a new anti-jihadist force for the region.

Eight soldiers were wounded and nine vehicles were destroyed in the attack on the camp at Bintagoungou at about 5:00 am (local time), an army statement said.

Local sources told AFP earlier today that jihadists led the assault, which took place around 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Timbuktu, and has not been claimed.

"All the camp's military material was ransacked," a local official told AFP.

A resident earlier said that there were "no Malian soldiers to be seen - the camp has been laid waste. The jihadists left with military hostages."



Northern Mali continues to fall prey to jihadist attacks. Four people were killed in an assault on UN peacekeepers near their base in Kidal earlier this month.

The Group to Support Islam and Muslims, also known as Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen in Arabic, a fusion of three jihadist groups with previous Al-Qaeda links formed in March, claimed that attack.

Led by the Malian jihadist Iyad Ag Ghaly, a former leader of the Ansar Dine Islamists, the group has claimed multiple attacks on domestic and foreign forces since its formation, notably the 12,000-member MINUSMA UN force.

MINUSMA began operations in 2013, providing security to and assisting Malian troops in a region which fell to jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in March 2012.

Although a French-led military intervention the following year drove the groups out of key towns, they have since spread further south in the troubled West African nation.

The unrest has continued despite a 2015 peace deal between the government and Tuareg-led rebels offering partial autonomy to the north.

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Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours today:



FGN11 TRUMP-2NDLD CUBA



By Lalit K Jha



Washington/Miami: Chipping away at Barack Obama's legacy, US President Donald Trump cancels his predecessor's "one- sided" Cuba deal and put the two Cold War-era rivals on collision course again by vowing to not allow dollars to prop up Raul Castro's "military monopoly".

FGN12 PAK-SHEHBAZ-LD JIT



By Sajjad Hussain



Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's younger brother and Punjab chief minister was today questioned by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the high-profile Panamagate graft case against his family.

FGN15 NEPAL-MADHESIS



By Shirish B Pradhan



Kathmandu: A meeting between Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and a key Madhesi party over the current crisis today failed to yield any results as the minority party insisted on amending the Constitution before the local body polls on June 28.

FES32 UK-QUEEN



By Aditi Khanna



London: Queen Elizabeth II says the UK has been "resolute in the face of adversity" following recent tragedies in London and Manchester in a message released on her official birthday.

FES24 LANKA-YOGA



Colombo: Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena performs a number of yoga asanas and joined thousands of yoga enthusiasts to celebrate the International Day of Yoga.

FES31 MODI-TRUMP-USIBC



By Lalit K Jha



Washington: The H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a thorny issue in the maiden meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the talks could yield a "win-win formula" for both the sides, a top American business advocacy group today said.

FGN7 ISRAEL-4THLD ATTACK



Jerusalem: (AFP) An Israeli policewoman was stabbed and killed in an attack outside Jerusalem's Old City and security forces shot dead three suspected Palestinian assailants, police said.

FGN6 US-SHIP-2NDLD COLLISION



Tokyo: (AFP) Seven crew on a US destroyer were missing and their commander injured today after their Navy destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship off the coast of Japan, with the badly damaged US vessel partially flooded.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following are the top foreign stories at 2100 hours today:



FGN28 UK-FIRE-LD TOLL



By Aditi Khanna



London: At least 58 people may have died in the massive fire that engulfed a 24-storey residential tower housing over 100 families in west London, Scotland Yard says, warning that the casualty figures "may increase".

FGN11 TRUMP-2NDLD CUBA



By Lalit K Jha



Washington/Miami: Chipping away at Barack Obama's legacy, US President Donald Trump cancels his predecessor's "one- sided" Cuba deal and put the two Cold War-era rivals on collision course again by vowing to not allow dollars to prop up Raul Castro's "military monopoly".

FGN19 PAK-SHEHBAZ-3RDLD JIT



By Sajjad Hussain



Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's younger brother Shehbaz Sharif hits out at the country's powerful military, saying unlike the military rulers who "usurped" power at gunpoint, his family respects the law.

FGN15 NEPAL-MADHESIS



By Shirish B Pradhan



Kathmandu: A meeting between Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and a key Madhesi party over the current crisis today failed to yield any results as the minority party insisted on amending the Constitution before the local body polls on June 28.

FES32 UK-QUEEN



By Aditi Khanna



London: Queen Elizabeth II says the UK has been "resolute in the face of adversity" following recent tragedies in London and Manchester in a message released on her official birthday.

FES24 LANKA-YOGA



Colombo: Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena performs a number of yoga asanas and joined thousands of yoga enthusiasts to celebrate the International Day of Yoga.

FES31 MODI-TRUMP-USIBC



By Lalit K Jha



Washington: The H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a thorny issue in the maiden meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the talks could yield a "win-win formula" for both the sides, a top American business advocacy group today said.

FGN25 US-COSBY-LD TRIAL



Norristown (US): (AFP) A US judge declares a mistrial in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case after the jury announced that they remained deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict against the fallen television star.

FGN22 AFGHAN-SOLDIER-LD FIRING



Mazar-I-Sharif: (AFP) At least three US troops were wounded today when an Afghan soldier opened fire at them at a military base in northern Afghanistan, the defence ministry said, in an apparent insider attack.

FGN7 ISRAEL-4THLD ATTACK



Jerusalem: (AFP) An Israeli policewoman was stabbed and killed in an attack outside Jerusalem's Old City and security forces shot dead three suspected Palestinian assailants, police said.

FGN6 US-SHIP-2NDLD COLLISION



Tokyo: (AFP) Seven crew on a US destroyer were missing and their commander injured today after their Navy destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship off the coast of Japan, with the badly damaged US vessel partially flooded.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A left-leaning German newspaper is apologising for a front-page headline on the death of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl that some considered distasteful.

The conservative Kohl, who spearheaded Germany's reunification in 1990, died yesterday at age 87.

Today, the daily Tageszeitung's headline was "Blooming Landscapes," an allusion to Kohl's promise of an economically flourishing eastern Germany, over a picture of wreaths.

Chief editor Georg Loewisch said on the newspaper's website it had been trying to counter an "uncritical glorification" of powerful people when they die.

The newspaper, he said, creates its front pages "with the principle, 'better cheeky and free than well-behaved.' In this case, it failed. And I am sorry for that."



A lawmaker with Kohl's party, Marco Wanderwitz, wrote on Twitter that the front page was "shameful, unworthy and small-minded.

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The Puducherry government has uploaded the copy of Madras High court order on admission of students to the Post Graduate medical courses in deemed universities here, in the official website of the Directorate of Health and CENTAC.

According to an official release, a copy of the order of the High court had been uploaded in the website of the Directorate of Health (http://health.Puducherry.Gov.In) and also in the website of the CENTAC (www.Centaconline.In).

It also said, the office of CENTAC on the premises of Pondicherry Engineering College in neighbouring Pillaichavady would remain open till June 19 between 9 AM and 4 PM to enable the students or parents to deposit the fee.

The government had designated Dr N Nilamani as Nodal Officer for the Grievances Cell constituted to attend and redress the grievances in respect of matters relating to NEET or CENTAC, it added.

The Madras High court had in its interim order yesterday directed four self-financing deemed universities in the Union Territory to admit students in the PG courses at an annual fee of Rs 10 lakhs.

The order was given by the court on a public interest lawsuit filed by an advocate V B R Menon on the issue of fees the deemed universities had levied.

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Hundreds of yoga enthusiasts gathered today at the historic National Mall here to observe the third International Yoga Day by flexing their bodies in various postures.

"What has happened in the last three years is quite phenomenal that this movement of pushing forward and achieving recognition of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga," Ambassador of India to the US Navtej Sarna told people.

The day has "actually brought this ancient discipline, philosophy and practice from India into the hearts and lives of people in every corner of the globe".

"So, what you will see during this week is this day being celebrated in similar gatherings in every country in the world," Sarna said, adding it is a very moving sight to see so many people in the heart of Washington early on a Saturday morning coming to celebrate yoga, and ready to perform this wonderful session.

This is not a political or economic movement, he said.

"This is something which is only for the benefit of all humanity at both an individual level and a macro level because ultimately all societies in all countries are made up of human beings.

"If we have each human being who has a balanced view on life, who has achieved a kind of equilibrium inside and outside, I think ultimately will go and affect how nations govern and are governed and how they relate to each other," Sarna said.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, in a citation, sent his best wishes for "a joyous observance" of the third International Yoga Day organised by the Indian Embassy here in association with the Friends of Yoga.

Virginia Governor Chris Van Hollen sent his citation on the occasion in recognition of "the spiritual value that yoga and meditation offer, and with appreciation and gratitude for the organising committee's outstanding efforts to encourage, peace, harmony and consciousness".

Extending warm greetings to all who are gathered on the occasion, Senator Mark Warner, in his message, said the event provides an opportunity to celebrate one of the many important traditions of the Indian culture, yoga.

"The appeal of this ancient, holistic tradition crosses cultural boundaries and increases international understanding and friendship. I hope all of the attendees enjoy taking part in today's activities," said Warner, a Ranking Member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus.

Warner said he remains very optimistic about Indo-US relationship, and continues to believe that they can make great strides together.

"As two of the world's largest democracies, and with the incredible Indian-American population that contributes so much to our culture, commerce and community in this country, it is critical for us to continue to deepen and broaden the existing framework of partnership and friendship.

"In the last Congress, we were able to expand the US- India relationship on several fronts, including hosting Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi for a joint session. During this session, the prime minister described the many ties that bind India and the US together, as well as the significant contributions the Indian-American community has made to this country," he said.

"The overwhelmingly positive response to his visit demonstrates the strength of the relationship between the US and India," Warner added.

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From Washington to Nairobi and from Sydney to Paris, Indian missions abroad are gearing up to celebrate the International Yoga Day (IYD) on June 21.

In Colombo, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena joined yoga enthusiasts at the Independence Square while Navtej Sarna, Indian ambassador to the US led a group of yoga aficionados at the National Mall in Washington DC performing different asanas.

Ever since the declaration of June 21 as the International Yoga Day by the United Nations, Indian missions have played a major role in celebrating yoga day across the globe with much fanfare.

To begin with, the missions have been themselves organising IYD programmes, attended by people of different nationalities.

Today, Indian missions in France, the US, Switzerland, Uganda, Kenya, Australia organised yoga sessions, ahead of the IYD.

"Scan & join Yoga Session @UN posters attracting enthusiasts in unprecedented numbers," Syed Akbaruddin, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations tweeted, depicting the mood at UN office in New York, ahead of the IYD.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Islamic State group today claimed responsibility for the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman outside Jerusalem's Old City.

It was reported to be the first time the Islamic State group has claimed an attack in Israel.

The jihadist group, in an online statement, said three IS fighters had targeted "a gathering of Jews" in an operation yesterday during which the three attackers were killed by Israeli police.

The group warned that "this attack will not be the last."



During the attack, the police officer was killed and others were wounded, according to IS.

It took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.

The policewoman was stabbed and critically injured and later died in hospital of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.

Israeli police said the three Palestinian assailants were killed.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

This was the first time that the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Israel, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist organisations.

In its statement IS said the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims."



"Let the Jews watch for the demise of their state at the hands of the soldiers of the Caliphate," the statement added.

Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone consultation with the chief of police and public security minister, and decided to cancel the family visits, a police statement read.

Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said.

The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah and Asama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year.

All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in "popular terror activity," a Shin Bet statement read.

A fourth Palestinian, a Hebron resident who had been identified by Palestinian security as a perpetrator, was in fact a passerby who was wounded by gunshots and taken to hospital, Israeli police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Israeli policewoman was stabbed and killed in an attack outside Jerusalem's Old City and security forces shot dead three suspected Palestinian assailants, police said.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the fatal stabbing. However, Hamas said the three Palestinians shot dead in Jerusalem after the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman belonged to local Islamist and leftist movements, rejecting the claim by the Islamic State group.

The attack took place yesterday as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.

"Female border policewoman injured critically in attack at Damascus gate," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement. "3 Arab terrorists shot by police units that responded at the scene."



Police said the three were killed.

The policewoman was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevy identified the three attackers as Palestinians from the West Bank.

Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays.

"During Ramadan there are large numbers of (Palestinian) youths who enter without permits, they take advantage of Ramadan to be in Jerusalem," Halevy told media at the scene of the attack.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone consultation with the chief of police and public security minister, and decided to cancel the family visits, a police statement read.

Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said.

The area around Damascus Gate was sealed off in the hours after the attack, with a few youths throwing fireworks at security forces.

A road leading to Damascus Gate full of stalls opened especially for Ramadan was closed off by police, and a shopkeeper said this would normally be one of the busiest nights of the year.

Inside the Old City shops were open but the atmosphere was subdued and numbers of people much lower than normal.

Large numbers of heavily armed security forces were patrolling throughout the Old City, an AFP reporter said.

The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah and Asama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year.

All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in "popular terror activity," a Shin Bet statement read.

A fourth Palestinian, a Hebron resident who had been identified by Palestinian security as a perpetrator, was in fact a passerby who was wounded by gunshots and taken to hospital, Israeli police said.

Medics said four people besides the officer were wounded in the incident, two of them moderately and two lightly. Two of those wounded were Palestinians from east Jerusalem.

The Islamist movement Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip condemned the shooting of the Palestinians as a "crime by the occupation."



A spokesman for the movement, Hazem Qassem, said the attack was "proof that the Palestinian people are leading a revolution against the enemy."



He also said the attack proved the Palestinian Authority's policy of security coordination with Israel was wrong, calling it "a national crime".

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 272 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

The Old City in annexed east Jerusalem is one of the focal points of the wave of violence.

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Former Chief Justice of India P N Bhagwati, who died on Thursday, was today cremated here.

The cremation took place at the the Lodhi Road Electric crematorium and was attended by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union minister Arun Jaitely and senior advocate Soli Sorabjee among others.

Former Chief Justice of India A S Anand and sitting Supreme Court judge S K Kaul were also present.

Senior advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association President R S Suri paid floral tributes to departed soul on behalf of the lawyers' body.

Bhagwati, who died at the age of 95 after brief illness, is survived by his wife Prabhavati Bhagwati and and three daughters.

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Two juveniles have been nabbed for allegedly firing at a man near Mundka metro station for exacting revenge over their cousin's killing.

The juveniles were apprehended by the Police Control Room staff while one of their accomplices fled from the spot, the police said.

Yesterday, while patrolling in the PCR van around the metro station, an assistant sub-inspector and a constable heard gunshots in the area, said Monika Bhardwaj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (PCR).

They started driving towards the area from where the sound was heard and saw three suspects fleeing on a motorcycle, she said.

The police personnel followed them and nabbed two of them while the third fled.

The two juveniles told police that one of their cousins was killed by one Shekhar in Kanjhawala last year, said the officer.

To take revenge for their cousin's murder, they hatched a plan to kill Shekhar for which they came to Mundka. They fired a round at him while he was driving a Gramin Sewa vehicle. The bullet hit him on shoulder.

When they tried to fire another round, it got stuck in the gun's chamber and they fled from the spot, she said.

Shekhar was rushed to hospital by another PCR van and is currently undergoing treatment.

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Noting that technology was at the centre of the challenges faced by the world, President Pranab Mukherjee today urged young Army engineers to keep themselves abreast with new technology and "refine" it for the armed forces.

Speaking at a convocation ceremony of the College of Military Engineering (CME) here, Mukherjee told the students that as engineers they should be prepared for a "dual role of good engineers and good soldiers".

"New challenges are there in domestic and international domains... Technology is at the centre of the challenges faced by the world today... (And) you must prepare to provide the technological knowhow (to ensure the security of the country)," he exhorted the students.

He said the next challenge for the students would be to "refine technology for the armed forces".

"Building infrastructure in remote areas of the country is an enormous responsibility that rests on your shoulders," he told the graduates.

Seventy-one M.Tech and B.Tech students graduated from the premier technical and tactical training institution of the Indian Army, established in 1943.

Earlier, Lt Gen D R Soni, General Officer Commanding- in-Chief (GOC-in-Chief) of Army Training Command (ARTRAC), said the armed forces had been engaged in low-intensity operations in Jammu and Kashmir, and added that proxy war remained a challenge.

"We need to remain fully prepared for a full-scale war at all times in the present turbulent regional scenario. The Army must remain abreast with most advanced art and craft of warfare," he said.

The CME is one of the bedrocks of Indian armed forces and awards the degrees jointly with Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

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The Kerala government today wanted the Centre to withdraw its notification relating to the display and sale of ornamental fish as it would affect the job prospects of lakhs of people in the state.

This was one of the main demands in the memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues during his visit to Kochi.

"The Ministry of Environment and Forests should freeze the notification on the sale and display of ornamental fish as it will adversely affect the employment of lakhs of people," the memorandum said.

The Centre should hold a discussion with state fisheries ministers in this regard, the memorandum added.

According to official sources here, the notification, issued last month, had restrained, among others, the sale, display and catching of over 150 varieties of ornamental fish.

It has come at a time when the state was planning a 'mega project' to tap the potential of the sector further, the sources said.

Vijayan handed over the state's list of demands to the prime minister during a meeting held at Kochi after the inauguration of the Kochi Metro, an official release said.

The chief minister later said the meeting was "very fruitful" and the prime minister assured him that the demands of the Council of Ministers would be considered "sympathetically".

"The PM was very positive with regard to Kerala's demands. He appreciated the state's efforts and initiatives on the development front and social sectors," Vijayan said.

The memorandum sought clearance for the state's various demands, including setting up of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences and an International Ayurveda Institute.

The Kochi Metro second phase extension project, with an estimated cost of Rs 2577 crore, was now pending before the Rural Development Ministry, the memorandum said and sought its early clearance.

It wanted an early sanction of Rs 636 crore arrears with regard to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Vijayan sought financial support from the Centre to enhance the production incentive being given to rubber cultivators to Rs 200 per kg from the present Rs 150 per kg.

The state requested a one time financial help of Rs 500 crore for completing the National Rural Drinking Water project.

With regard to the state's long term plea of setting up All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the memorandum said the state government had located 200 acres of land for the purpose at Kozhikode.

The state also wanted the Centre not to privatise public sector undertakings including HLL Ltd and sought help for the expansion of Kochi Special Economic Zone by including 200 acres more to the existing 100 acres.

The state requested funds for setting up a gas based Urea Plant at FACT at Kochi. The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has agreed to give 200 acres of land for Rs 1200 crore at FACT, according to the memorandum.

The plan was to set up an eight tonne capacity plant for which financial help of the Ministry of Fertilizers was needed, it added.

Meanwhile, Opposition leader in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala also submitted a memorandum seeking urgent clearance of arrears with regard to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

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The Lucknow Development Authority today demolished an under-construction building belonging to former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapati in Aashiana area of the state capital for flouting norms.

"The building which was under construction was being constructed on a residential plot given to him (Prajapati). The map of the building was passed accordingly. But the construction was not as per the approved plan," Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) Vice Chairman P N Singh told PTI.

He added that construction was under way for a commercial property in the three-storeyed building.

The demolition comes two days after the Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file a report on June 19 on the issue of an illegal construction in the city allegedly by former minister Gayatri Prajapati in connivance with some LDA officials.

On June 15, a vacation bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary also directed the state and the LDA chairman to act against the erring officials who allowed the illegal construction in Ruchi Khand locality here.

The court's direction came on a petition moved by Prajapati's son Anurag. He had filed the petition in anticipation of some relief from the court challenging the order of demolition, and the court order came as a setback to him.

The court observed that no efforts were made by the LDA officers to demolish the illegal construction even though there was no stay order passed by any authority to stop it. Officials were in collusion with Anurag and his father and for reasons best known to them were not taking any effective steps for the demolition of illegal constructions, it said.

"It would have been appropriate to dismiss the petition at this stage but in that case this court has serious doubt that erring officers of the development authority will take any action at all against the illegal constructions of the petitioner or against the officers who have permitted such huge constructions to be raised without there being any sanctioned map."



Additional Advocate General M M Pandey and LDA lawyer Ratnesh Chandra submitted that their officials were ready and willing to comply with the law and would take immediate steps.

Both the counsels requested that the matter be adjourned only for a few days and they would submit a report of compliance of law.

At this, the court posted the matter for June 19 directing the LDA chairman to file his personal affidavit showing the steps taken by the next date against the illegal construction and also against the officers and employees of the LDA, who permitted them in an illegal manner.

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: Narcotic drugs worth Rs 71 crore were seized and 10 persons arrested after a surprise check at at a manufacturing unit near here.

Acting on a tip-off that huge quantity of Methamphetamine, a narcotic drug was being manufactured at a facility in Red Hills near here, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials undertook a surprise search at the unit.

During the search it came to light that the 10-member gang under the pretext of manufacturing detergent powder, was making "narcotic drugs", DRI said in a release today.

The gang including a Malaysian national, had installed an elaborate apparatus to process and "cook" Methamphetamine, in an isolated place inside the factory, it said.

The leader of the gang and nine other persons were arrested for the crime, the release said.

The seized drugs included 11 kg of Methamphetamine, 56 kg of Pseudoephedrine and 90 kg of heroin, together valued at about Rs. 71 crore, the release added.

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Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, RJD president Lalu Prasad and a host of ministers today attended an "Iftar party" hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his official residence here.

Kumar extended greetings on the occasion and prayed for peace, amity and brotherhood in the society. He also prayed for the progress of the state.

"Iftar is hosted by the state government every year in the holy month of Ramzan in a traditional way. I thank from the bottom of my heart to those who have come here to participate in today's Iftar... I welcome everyone and extend my greetings to all on the occasion," Kumar told reporters at his residence.

The Iftar was hosted at a newly built 'Nek Samvad' at the CM's house - 1, Aney Marg.

A mass prayer was organised. The CM along with other dignitaries, political workers and intellectuals also attended the gathering.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad extended his greetings to the people on the occasion.

Earlier, the chief minister inaugurated the newly built 'Nek Samvad' at his official residence - 1, Aney Marg here.

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Philippine troops pounded Islamist militants holding parts of southern Marawi city with air strikes and artillery today as more soldiers were deployed and the death toll rose to more than 300 after nearly a month of fighting.

Fires erupted and dark plumes of smoke rose from enclaves still occupied by the militants as the air force staged bombing runs to support ground troops struggling to dislodge the fighters from entrenched positions, AFP journalists at the scene said.

MG520 attack helicopters and FA50 fighter jets were used in the raids, while sustained bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard in the distance, indicating the intensity of the fighting.

Also on Saturday, 400 fresh troops were airlifted to Marawi from the central Philippines, ANC television said quoting military officials.

Television footage showed the soldiers bidding goodbye to their families before being flown to the conflict zone.

Hundreds of militants -- supported by foreign fighters -- rampaged through Marawi, the largely Christian Philippines' most important Muslim city, on May 23 waving black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in the entire southern region of Mindanao to counter the attack, which he said was part of a plan by IS to establish a base in the country.

Such a base could be crucial for IS' ambitions to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia, analysts say.

The military has said eight foreign fighters from Chechnya, Yemen, Malaysia and Indonesia were among the militants killed in the Marawi fighting.

The overall death toll rose to 329 with 310 -- 225 militants, 59 soldiers and 26 civilians -- killed in the conflict, according to government figures.

The 19 others deaths came from those displaced by the fighting, said Mujiv Hataman, the governor of a Muslim autonomous region in the south.

Hataman said the deaths among the evacuees were caused by severe dehydration from diarrhoea.

More than 309,000 people have been been displaced in Marawi and nearby areas, the government said. Many have fled to the homes of friends and relatives and others are in evacuation centres.

"Our forces are moving towards the heart of the enemy," regional military spokesman Jo-ar Herrera told reporters in Marawi on Saturday, referring to the heavy fighting under urban conditions.

"It's the centre of gravity. This is where the location of their command and control, the leadership of the enemy."



Ground commanders estimate "more than 100" militants are still holding out in at least four villages in Marawi, military spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said in Manila.

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Yoga guru Ramdev today said he has plans to launch 10,000 Patanjali Wellness and Health Centres globally to popularise yoga.

The Gujarat government is organising, with Ramdev's support, a mega event at GMDC ground here on Yoga Day (June 21) with the aim of setting a new world record of highest number of people performing yoga at one place.

"We will make yoga popular in the entire world. We will open 10,000 Patanjali Wellness and Health Centres in the world, starting with 1,000 centres in the country in a short time," Ramdev told reporters.

About 1.25 lakh people are expected to participate in the event at GMDC ground on June 21, Ramdev said.

The existing record was set in Delhi on June 21, 2015 when 35,985 people performed yoga in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ramdev said Modi himself had asked him to break this record.

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Saudi Arabia detained two Pakistani reporters for Turkey's state-run English language channel TRT World for some 10 hours during a visit by the Turkish foreign minister, before releasing them, reports said today.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu late yesterday held talks with Saudi King Salman in Mecca aimed at easing the crisis over the diplomatic and economic isolation of Ankara's ally Qatar.

Correspondent Hasan Abdullah and cameraman Nihat Yayman, who were covering the talks, were detained by Saudi authorities at their hotel but then released after Cavusoglu personally intervened with the Saudi king, the Hurriyet daily said.

Abdullah said in a statement the pair "were detained from our hotel by Saudi police in Mecca after a live analysis" on the crisis with Qatar.

"The ordeal lasted nearly 10 hours during which we faced multiple interrogations and lock-up," he said, expressing gratitude to the Turkish authorities for solving the issue.

There was no immediate indication over why they had been detained or if it directly concerned their reporting from the kingdom.

Hurriyet said they were freed on the instructions of the Saudi king after Cavusoglu brought up the issue. The pair are now heading back to Turkey.

Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism".

The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf but is also keen to maintain its improving relations with the key regional power Saudi Arabia.

While strongly backing its ally Qatar, Turkey has stopped short of directly criticising Saudi Arabia's actions and called on Riyadh to take a lead role in solving the crisis.

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Saudi Arabia said today a Turkish military base similar to that built in neighbouring Qatar would not be welcome in the kingdom, insisting it is "not needed".

The statement came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly said he had offered to build a military base in the Muslim kingdom shortly after work began on Turkey's facility in Qatar.

Ankara is at the forefront of efforts to defuse a diplomatic crisis that led Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain, as well as Egypt and other countries, to sever ties with Qatar, which is a strong ally of Ankara.

"The kingdom cannot allow Turkey to set up a military base on its territory," said a statement carried by SPA state agency.

The statement, quoting an unnamed official, said Saudi Arabia "does not need such thing", adding that its armed forces and military capabilities were "at the best standards".

The official said Saudi armed forces were participating abroad, including from Turkey's Incirlik base, "in the fight against terrorism and protecting security and stability in the region".

Erdogan told Portuguese television this week that he had approached the Gulf state's King Salman "with the same idea for Saudi" after work began on the base in Qatar in 2014.

"I made the same offer to King Salman... And said that if it's appropriate we could also establish a base in Saudi Arabia. They said they would look into it but since that day nothing more came," he said.

The Turkish parliament approved the deployment of troops to the base in Qatar only two days after the Gulf crisis broke out earlier this month.

On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held talks with King Salman as part of Ankara's efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and others severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremist groups, including some backed by Iran.

Asked by Turkey's state-run Anadolu agency if the talks had found a solution, Cavusoglu replied: "No. There are other countries involved... It's very complicated at the moment."



Cavusoglu said he told the Saudi king that "it would be useful now to soften the conditions" against Qatar.

He had passed on a message for Salman from Erdogan that "we expect (the king) to find a solution in a worthy way. We are also prepared to contribute.

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The US and Japan launched a major search operation to find seven missing American sailors on Saturday after their navy destroyer collided with a container ship, crushing the side of the military vessel.

Planes, boats and helicopters scoured the seas off Japan's Pacific coast in a bid to find the crew who disappeared in the predawn accident, which also left the USS Fitzgerald's skipper injured.

It was not clear where the missing sailors were when the collision happened.

Several other crew members were injured and had to be evacuated by air to hospital, including the guided missile destroyer's commanding officer Bryce Benson.

Aerial television footage showed one person lying on a stretcher and a rescuer being pulled up to a helicopter that was hovering above the Fitzgerald, part of its right side caved in.

"There are seven sailors unaccounted for; the ship and the Japanese Coast Guard continues to search for them," the Navy said.

The collision between the Fitzgerald and Philippine- flagged container ship ACX Crystal happened around 2:30 am (1730 GMT Friday) off the coast of the Izu peninsula, southwest of Tokyo.

The area is a busy shipping channel that is a gateway to major container ports in Yokohama and Tokyo.

"The volume of ships is heavy in this area and there have been accidents before," coastguard official Yutaka Saito told Japan's public broadcaster NHK.

NHK said the massive 222-metre (730 foot) container ship made a sharp turn around the time of the accident, but its captain suggested otherwise.

"(We) were sailing in the same direction as the US destroyer was and then collided," he was quoted as saying by Jiji Press agency.

Japan's coastguard, which is probing the incident, said it has sent a half dozen vessels, several aircraft and a team of specially-trained rescue personnel to the scene. They were later joined by the country's Self-Defence Forces.

"We're going all out in the search to find these missing people... But we still haven't found any clues about where they might be," a coastguard spokesman said, adding that the search may continue overnight.

The 154-metre Fitzgerald -- which was commissioned in 1995 and deployed in the Iraq war in 2003 -- is based in Yokosuka, operating in the Pacific and the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

The accident happened 56 nautical miles (104 kilometres) southwest of Yokosuka, the navy said.

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Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena today performed a number of yoga asanas and joined thousands of yoga enthusiasts to celebrate the International Day of Yoga.

Messages from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj were displayed at the venue.

Sirisena performed a number of yoga asanas and encouraged yoga institutions in Sri Lanka to continue their good work in the event organised by the Indian Cultural Center here.

Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu highlighted the efforts led by Prime Minister Modi in the UN declaring June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. He said the world now recognises yoga, as a human treasure - a key to good health.

This event followed weeks of yoga activities across Sri Lanka, including the first-ever Yoga Road Show, a unique event that saw dozens of yoga instructors travel by bus to various locations across Sri Lanka, including Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Kataragama, Galle, Jaffna and Colombo to promote, popularise and teach yoga.

The journey connected thousands of minds, spreading the message of yoga for well-being, Sandhu said.

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The Central government has approved a start-up incubation centre for Mangaluru to provide basic facilities for people intending to set up self-employment units, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The Centre would start functioning within four monthswith an investment of Rs 1.18 crore, she said.

Facilities would be provided to 60 start-up companies at the centre in the initial phase, the Minister of state for for Commerce andIndustry said after inspecting the site identified for the centre here last evening.

The start-up companies could function here for aspecified term and required facilities would be provided in the second floor of the corporation sub office.

Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nitte University, National lnstitute of Technology, Karnataka (NIT-K) and the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) would extend assistance to the centre, shesaid.

The minister directed Dakshina Kannada district DeputyCommissioner K G Jagadeesh to provide technical assistance,separate cabins, power, 4G internet facility, 3D printers, cafeteria and other facilities required by the companies.

The start-up companies could function at the incubation centre for a week or a month during which they would get the opportunity to hold consultations with intendingcustomers about the marketing of their products, she had said.

Nalin Kumar Kateel MP, Shobha Karandlaje MP and citymayor Kavita Sanil, were present during the inspection.

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A coming deployment of up to 4,000 more US forces to Afghanistan, expected as part of a new Trump administration approach to America's longest war, reflects the Pentagon's view that beefing up its training- advising role and its counterterrorism effort can help turn around recent Taliban gains and snuff out a growing Islamic State threat.

But adding troops is a US tactic that has failed in the past and much will depend on the president's broader strategy for stabilising Afghanistan.

Defence Secretary Jim Mattis's chief spokeswoman, Dana W White, said yesterday that Mattis had made no decision on a troop increase.

She was responding to an Associated Press report Thursday, citing an administration official, that Mattis has settled on a plan to send almost 4,000 more troops and that it could be announced as early as next week. Another option is to hold off on the troop numbers until the new strategy is ready, which Mattis has said would be in July.

White said in a written statement that "any decision about troop numbers will be made only after consultations" with other US government agencies, NATO allies and Afghanistan. Such consultations have been ongoing for weeks. Mattis is due to attend a NATO defense ministers meeting later this month.

The retired Marine general has said repeatedly that adding US troops and other resources to Afghanistan would be just one part of a larger strategy, developed in conjunction with the State Department and other national security agencies.

The plan envisions addressing the roles played by Pakistan, India, China and Iran and perhaps Russia. Pakistan is a particularly difficult problem because it has provided sanctuary for elements of the Taliban.

Among the Taliban's factions, the strongest is the so- called Haqqani network with its deep ties to Pakistan and particularly its intelligence agency.

The relationship dates back to the 1980s Afghan war against the Soviet Union, which had sent in more than 100,000 soldiers to support the pro-communist Afghan government. Pakistan has been a troublesome ally for multiple US presidents, permitting large-scale U.S. Air attacks on extremist targets but sometimes halfheartedly addressing threats itself.

The latest is posed by Islamic State extremists, evidenced in a rash of deadly attacks in the capital city of Kabul, which have only fueled calls for a stronger US presence.

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US President Donald Trump has condoled the death of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, the father of German reunification, and hailed him as a "friend and ally" of the US whose "legacy will live on".

"The longest serving Chancellor in modern German history, Chancellor Kohl was a friend and ally to the US as he led the Federal Republic of Germany through sixteen pivotal years," Trump said in a statement.

"He was not only the father of German reunification, but also an advocate for Europe and the transatlantic relationship. The world has benefited from his vision and efforts. His legacy will live on," he said.

Offering his deepest condolences to the people of Germany and to the family and loved ones of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Trump said: "We were saddened to learn of his passing today in Ludwigshafen, his boyhood home".

Kohl, Germany's ex-chancellor and architect of reunification in 1990, died yesterday aged 87. He is credited with bringing East and West Germany together after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In a separate statement, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said it is impossible to imagine a unified Germany without Helmut Kohl's unshakable commitment to building bridges between the East and West.

"His name will forever be associated with the deepening of the European Union and the creation of the common European currency," she said.

"A child during the Second World War, he believed in the importance of international cooperation, which remains as critical today as it was during Helmut Kohl's life," Lagarde said.

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Unidentified persons hurled a petrol bomb at the district CPI(M) office in Coimbatore early today, prompting condemnation from opposition parties in the state.

Though nobody was injured in the incident, a car parked there was partially damaged, police said.

The CPI(M) blamed 'Hindutva' activists for the attack and claimed it was a "continuation" of the recent attempt to attack party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury in Delhi.

CPI(M) state Secretary G Ramakrishnan strongly condemned the incident and said a four-wheeeler and a window suffered damage in the attack.

He said his party had actively worked towards ensuring communal harmony and unity in the past when communal violence broke out in Coimbatore.

"It is worrying that elements trying to disrupt communal harmony and unity in Coimbatore are on the rise of late," he said in a statement.

Ramakrishnan also recalled the recent attacks at the party's local offices in Kanyakumari district.

He urged the state government to arrest those behind today's incident.

The incident was a continuation of the attempt to manhandle Yechury recently by "intolerant activists," the party's Coimbatore District Secretary V Ramamurthy said.

"As the party was fighting against the communal forces and their deeds, the intolerant Hindutva activists, through such attacks, were trying to throttle the voice of CPI(M)," he told reporters.

DMK Working President and Tamil Nadu Opposition Leader M K Stalin strongly condemned the attack on the Left party's office.

He alleged "evil forces" were trying to resort to violence and affect law and order in the state and urged the state government to bring the culprits to the book.

"Opposing views should be countered by tolerance and opinions towards constructive politics," he said.

CPI state secretary R Mutharasan and MDMK founder Vaiko also slammed the attack.

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US Vice President Mike Pence has lauded the Sikhs' contribution, saying the community should continue to give back by serving in the military and public offices at local, state and federal levels.

Pence, 58, said the community's "issues" were close to his heart and he was aware of them.

"Sikhs Community and its issues are always close to my heart and I always admire the contribution of Sikhs in Indiana and across the United States," Pence told a Sikh delegation in Indianapolis.

"I am fully aware of Sikh awareness issues since me days as Governor," Pence told Sikhs Political Action Committee (SikhsPAC) led by Gurinder Singh Khalsa.

Main topic of discussion with the delegation was Sikh awareness and introduction of Sikh History in public history curriculum through federal department of education.

Pence also admired the efforts of SikhsPAC for encouraging the community's participation in the main stream politics, a SikhsPAC statement said.

During the meeting, Pence reaffirmed his commitment to Sikh community and encouraged it to continue to give back in the form of serving in the military and public offices at local, state and federal level, it said.

Early this week, Khalsa visited Washington DC and met about two dozen US Senator and Congressmen.

He also attended US Global Leadership Collision where about 500 world faith leaders, veterans and elected leaders participated to influence the American foreign aid policies.

Pence was the first siting Governor who attended Sikh Parade and bestowed highest Civil award to a Sikh in 2015.

The US state of Indiana has passed a resolution recognising Sikhs' "significant contributions" to America.

Hate-crime incidents against Sikhs have seen a spurt in in America recently.

A 39-year-old Sikh man was shot in the arm outside his home in Kent, Washington in March by a partially-masked gunman who shouted "go back to your own country".

Earlier, Indian-origin convenience store owner Harnish Patel, 43, of Lancaster in South Carolina was found dead of gun shot wounds in his yard in the same month.

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Bhutan today assured India that it will not allow its territory to be used for any activity inimical to the interests of its neighbour, as the two sides discussed issues related to border security in Thimpu.

A delegation of Indian officials, led by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Director General (DG) Archana Ramasundaram, met Bhutanese home minister Lyonpo Dawa Gyeltshen and other senior officials from the security establishment of the neighbouring country.

The DG, a senior SSB official said, gave a presentation to the Bhutanese side as she stated that owing to the open and porous nature of the Indo-Bhutan border "most of the border guarding operations had to be based on prompt sharing of inputs and good intelligence."



Ramasundaram also thanked their counterparts--Royal Bhutan Force--for their cooperation on the border.

"The home minister of Bhutan appreciated the role played by the SSB, especially the action taken by it in recent years that resulted in ending the kidnapping of Bhutanese nationals for ransom.

"The Bhutanese side assured its commitment for not allowing its territory to be used for activities inimical to the interests of India," the SSB said in a statement.

A senior official from the Indian embassy in Thimpu and other senior Bhutanese officials were present during the meeting.

The DG-led delegation is in the neighbouring country for a four-day visit ending June 19.

The Sashastra Seema Bal, that works under the command of the union home ministry, is tasked to guard the 699-km-long Indo-Bhutan border.

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The international law firm formerly operating under the name Limcharoen Hughes & Glanville has nowrebranded to Limcharoen.

Senior Partner Christian Glanville has been appointed as COO of the group of firms and will be overseeing thefirm's continued operations in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. A new team of Thai and foreign lawyers has been assembled for Phuket and will be working from its new office premises at Royal Phuket Marina.

"We will continue to provide our clients in Phuket with professional legal services, especially in the propertyand hospitality business which has been our expertise in Phuket and Samui for over 10 years. Besides, we will

continue our firm's expansion into other locations and will open an office in Jakarta early 2nd quarter of 2013.

Beyond our current focus, we will put emphasis on foreign direct investment related work across those locationswhere we operate as we have identified valuable synergy effects and growing client demand for this in theadvent of ASEAN economic community in 2015" says Kris Limcharoen, the firm's CEO

For more information www.limcharoen.com
LOGAN  Located in Californias San Joaquin Valley, the <a href=http://www.water.ca.gov/swp/facilities/Oroville/LakeDam.cfm target=_blank>Oroville Dam</a> is the tallest dam in the United States and is one of the largest earth-filled dams in the world. Critical to the Golden States <a href=http://www.water.ca.gov/ target=_blank>Department of Water Resources</a> (DWR) and the <a href=http://www.water.ca.gov/swp/ target=_blank>California State Water Project</a>, the dam plays a key role in agriculture, hydroelectric power and municipal/industrial water.

In February 2017, the Dams spillway sustained crippling damage due to severe flooding, prompting the emergency evacuation of nearly 200,000 people living downstream along the Feather River as a precautionary measure. While the worst-case scenario, a catastrophic breach of the dam, did not occur, the DWR began working immediately to assess and mitigate the threat, initiate repairs and develop a lasting solution. The <a href=https://uwrl.usu.edu/ target=_blank>Utah Water Research Laboratory</a> (UWRL) at Utah State University was commissioned to be involved with the project on a hands-on level, tasked with constructing a physical model of the failed Oroville Dam spillway and the replacement spillway design. Data from simulations being conducted on the model is being used in the spillways reconstruction.

They saw our capabilities, potential, our resources and what we could do and asked if we were interested in being a part of the team to basically rebuild, reconstruct, repair the spillway and put it back into service, said Dr. Michael Johnson, lead project engineer, so thats how we got the contract, and weve been working on it ever since.

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Johnson is a USU research professor and principal investigator on the project, sharing the responsibility with Dr. Zachary Sharp, a UWRL research engineer. The UWRL was awarded a $277,000 noncompetitive contract to construct the model, run the tests, prepare a report and, said Johnson, coordinate all of the work that goes in to leading a study from start to end.

Dr. Mac McKee is the director of the UWRL. He said the Oroville Dam spillway project is significant because it recognizes the historically established capabilities of the UWRL and validates the role physical modelling plays in solving complex water flow problems. He said the UWRL has built models of dam, spillways and energy dissipaters all around the world and has a stellar reputation. To be awarded a no-bid contract, he said, is especially telling.

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They just picked up the phone and called us. That says something right there, McKee said. Were very proud of what these guys do. In our shop here, weve got Mike and Zach and other world class hydraulics engineers. In a time when everybody else is getting out of the physical modeling business because it is very expensive, were doing more and more of it all the time and were really, really proud of what these guys do. They bring good recognition to the University, to the water lab. We dont get a herd of press every time we build a model, so this is indicative. This problem has gotten international attention, and were just proud to be a part of the solution.

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Over the course of just 40 days, a 15-member UWRL team of engineers, technicians and students used wood, steel, concrete and acrylic to construct a 1:50 scale model of the Oroville Dam spillway. The model is 100 feet long and 60 feet wide and simulates a prototype dam and spillway area of more than 4.4 million square feet. At full flow, the model supplies just over 7,030 gallons of water per minute to simulate the Oroville Dam spillways probable maximum flood rate of 277,000 cubic feet per second.

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The most interesting part about doing this is that it was an actual, real-time issue, said Mark Cannon, a research engineer who was involved with the planning and the setup of the model. We were able to see it on the news. We were able to see all the destruction it did and so when we got the contract and started building it, we were actually able to, in more real time, kind of get that satisfaction in actually seeing how it looked when it was damaged, when it broke, and how similar our model looked to the actual issue. That way, when we modeled the fix for it, we were very confident in what we were doing. We knew that what we were going to propose was going to work well for them.

The California DWR has negotiated a $275 million contract with <a href=http://www.kiewit.com/locations/united-states/alaska/kiewit-infrastructure-west-co/ target=_blank>Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.</a> of Omaha, Nebraska, to rebuild the lower third of the Oroville Dam spillway chute under a rigorous construction schedule. A crew expected to reach 500 will work 20-hour days, six days a week through November in an effort to have the project complete before the San Joaquin Valleys rainy season begins. In the meantime, Johnson said a team of engineers is conducting a forensic study to assess what caused the spillway to fail.

The failure in this case was the main structure itself, he said. Something moved, something shifted, so the water was not going where it was intended to go. We dont know the answers yet, but theres a team of expert theyre going to send to find those answers. And this model is a tool thats being used by the design team to help them know what to expect to keep safety first and foremost so the dam will continue to function and operate safely.

Matt Jensen, public relations specialist with the USU College of Engineering, said the project brings tremendous visibility to Utah State University and the College of Engineering, demonstrating that the universitys faculty and engineering researchers are among the best in the world when it comes to water resources engineering. He said the data collected from the simulations run on the model will help verify the repair and reconstruction solutions being implemented by the DWR.

This is a very newsworthy model, Jensen said. Water resource engineers and dam experts all over the world have their eyes focused on whats happening at Oroville Dam, and there are conversations happening in academia, in professional engineeringso to bring in the water lab on this project demonstrates that our researchers and our experts really have the background and the clout to work on a major project like this.

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jennifer@cvradio.com




It couldnt have ended any other way. There simply was too much magic at work. And everyone who was at Santa Anita on Nov. 2, 2013 could feel that magic. The fairy tale journey of Mucho Macho Man and trainer Kathy Ritvo began five years ago, and after watching the towering 5-year-old son of Macho Uno  Ponche de Leona, by Ponche win the $4.6 million Breeders Cup Classic (gr. I) and experiencing the emotional aftermath, one had to feel that destiny was guiding the two all the way, and that this special moment in time was preordained.

Shakespeare wrote: It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.

It was Ritvos fight for life after being so close to death, stricken with the heart disease cardiomyopathy, a severe deterioration of the heart muscle, and her incredible will to live that brought her and Mucho Macho Man together to share something so special it brought waves of rapturous cheers and, yes, a few tears.

Ritvo had thought this moment would come a year earlier, but a heartbreaking defeat in the Classic seemingly had put an end to the dream.

The wait for the horses to emerge from the tunnel seemed interminable. A woman stood alongside the fence near the gap holding a sign that read, Team Mucho Macho Man Has Heart (with the heart represented by a bright red heart). The track bugler walked by and when he saw the sign he went over to the woman and began playing the song Macho Man by The Village People.

A few minutes later, the horses finally appeared. Ritvo, just as she had done last year, stood by the rail near the gap as the Classic field paraded to the post. Because of her diminutive size, she had to step on a small stool to get a better look. But she was still too far away to see the entire stretch, so she stepped up on a ledge and leaned her body over the rail. When Mucho Macho Mans name was introduced in the post parade, a cheer went up from the crowd, and even Ritvo applauded her horse with gentle claps.

She could see jockey Gary Stevens, who was on a magical journey himself, move Mucho Macho Man into a perfect position down the backstetch and she could plainly see him gun the big horse to the lead at the five-sixteenths pole, unlike last year when Macho was forced to try to get past a stubborn Fort Larned and couldnt do it, falling a half-length short.

Now, he was in front, with his ears up. Stevens, who has made a remarkable comeback after being retired for seven years, had won the Awesome Again Stakes (gr. I) on his first mount aboard Mucho Macho Man and felt the urge to go to the whip, but refrained, knowing the horse was giving him everything he had and disliked being whipped.

Ritvo began cheering her horse on as he led by daylight inside the eighth pole, but here came another giant of a horse, Travers Stakes (gr. I) winner Will Take Charge, bearing down on him from the far outside, with the Irish invader Declaration of War closing ground in between the two.

When they hit the wire, Ritvo felt confident she had won when she saw Stevens give a little celebratory shake of his whip.

I think we got it, she said, looking for affirmation from anyone. Gary thought he won; he shook his stick. But I dont know what that means.

Others around her, however, werent as confident. When they showed the replay a gasp went up from the crowd as they hit wire. Could it be that Will Take Charge had stuck his nose in front? Ritvo now began having feelings of deja vu. Had Mucho Macho Man suffered another heartbreaking defeat? Could fate be so cruel as to lead them here again only to end in failure?

The stretch run was replayed again, and this time Ritvo kept urging her horse on, as if watching the race live.

Come on, buddy. Come on, buddy, she pleaded in a soft tone.

When they hit the wire, she turned around and asked no one in particular, Did he get it?

Then came a feeling of dread when the camera switched to Will Take Charge on the infield screen just as the unofficial results sign went up. But a second later, the number 6 went up and the announcement was made. Mucho Macho Man had won the 30th Breeders Cup Classic. The dream was complete.

Bedlam broke loose, and tears began to well up in Ritvos eyes. Im so happy for the horse, she said. I hope my mothers watching.

Ritvos mother has been in the hospital for several weeks with heart problems.

Ritvos husband, Tim, who is the president and general manager of Gulfstream and who actually trained Mucho Macho Man when the horse broke his maiden, came over and the two embraced.

Its an amazing story, Tim said. She fought to live for her kids. Shes worked for this her whole life and she deserves every minute of it. This is all about her. Shes done such a great job with this horse. Its unbelievable. Shes been through so much. She was dead, Im telling you; she was dead. Thats how bad she was. This is just a wonderful wonderful thing.

The Ritvos two children, Dominique, 21, and Michael, 19, had to endure their mothers debilitating illness starting when they were 9 and 7.

They lived through the worst of it and were always very supportive. Tim said.

Michael, who aspires to be a rider, walked around as if in a daze, a perpetual smile on his face.

Its just so amazing, seeing her in the hospital, almost dead, to this, the pinnacle of racing, he said. It was so awful to see her like that, lying on the floor in the hospital, sick, sick, sick all the time. Shes the best. Shes an inspiration. Im just so happy for her.

The story of Ritvo and Mucho Macho Man and Stevens and majority owners Dean and Patti Reeves have so many intertwining plot lines it would difficult to make it up and get away with it.

The story began in 2008, as Ritvo lay in a hospital bed in Miami Fla., hooked up to an IV of dopamine, a heart muscle stimulant that was keeping her alive. In 2000, she had gotten pregnant with their third child and was almost five months along when she was diagnosed with her illness and the pregnancy had to be terminated.

The way she was living was unbearable, Tim said. Her legs were blown up like tree stumps. She was hooked up to the IV for seven months. But she had this unbelievable will to live to see the kids go to school and grow up and eventually get married. Thats what kept her going

Ritvos daily regimen of medication sounded like drugs gone wild  12 anti-rejection pills at 7:30 every morning, 15 vitamins at noon, and eight more anti-rejection pills at 7:30 at night.

As Ritvo struggled to stay alive, some 250 miles away in Ocala, Fla., a strapping bay colt was born on June 15 at Carole and John Rios farm that they leased, unusually late for a Thoroughbred. The 9-year-old Ponche de Leona had been three weeks overdue and the Rios were staying up day and night waiting for her to foal.

It was Fathers Day when the Rios were returning to the farm after attending to Caroles champion miniature pinchers and received a call from farm manager Jeff Sekay telling them the mare was foaling.

Oh damn, said Carole, who didnt like foaling mares out in the field.

When they arrived, Sekay and his wife were standing over the foals seemingly lifeless body and were praying. After several minutes and no sign of life, the foal was feared dead. Carole started rubbing him and then stopped and began praying herself.

Just then, this sucker jumped up and started running across the field, Carole said. He didnt walk, he ran. From that day on I started calling him Lazarus. I remember saying to my husband, Well, heres your Fathers Day present. And he said, Well find out in two years how good of a gift it is.

Five months later, on Nov. 13, as the weanling colt, later to be named Mucho Macho Man, romped about in his paddock, Ritvo also rose from the dead following a successful heart transplant, for which she had been waiting for what seemed an interminable amount of time. When she awoke from anesthesia, she took a deep breath, something she hadnt been able to do for years, and in six months was back at the racetrack training horses.

As if in a movie script, Ritvo and Mucho Man Man would one day unite and embark on a journey that would lead them to a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, five weeks before the colt's actual third birthday, and two years later to the winners circle of Americas richest horserace.

As Michael said, The horse had his rebirth and my mom had hers, and look what theyve done with it.

That ended the first chapter of the Mucho Macho Man story. The second chapter began when the colt was purchased from the Rios by Jim Culver of Dream Team One Racing. Culver had watched the colt develop and grow and had a feeling he would be something special. When he was entered for his career debut at Calder, trained at the time by Bill White, he had to be scratched when the horse in the stall next to him flipped in the gate and he got nicked up enough to be withdrawn by the veterinarian.

When he was entered back seven days later, he finished a strong second to a highly touted colt named Gourmet Dinner. At the time, the Reeves were looking to buy a young horse and had been touted on Gourmet Dinner. Dean watched the tape of the race with the intention of purchasing the colt, but after the race he uttered the words that would change his and Pattis life forever: I like the second horse. So, he contacted Culver and bought majority interest in Mucho Macho Man, eventually buying out Dream Team One Racing.

Had he started that first time and not been scratched I truly believe he would have won and the Reeves never would have seen him in the maiden race with Gourmet Dinner, Carole Rio said. It was in the cards for the Reeves to own him and Kathy to train him. He just was meant to be where he is.

When Mucho Macho Man was a yearling in 2009, the Rios consigned Ponche de Leona to the Ocala Breeders October mixed sale, a move Carole was against. She felt even worse when, because of a miscommunication regarding the mares reserve, she sold for only $5,000. But because of legal issues surrounding her new owner, Carole was able to buy her back, enabling that chapter to have a happy ending as well.

The Reeves were Tim Ritvos clients and they gave him the horse to train. While Tim was up in New York, Kathy was helping out at the barn in Florida. It was Kathy who went to Whites barn and vetted him for the sale, along with Dr. Scott Hay. After the deal was completed, she galloped the colt for a couple of days and fell in love with him. She then sent him to Tim in New York. When Tim took the job at Gulfstream shortly after, he convinced the Reeves to keep the horse with Kathy and one of the sports great marriages was born.

Mucho Macho Mans 5-year-old campaign was compromised by a virus and bacterial infection early in the year. While training for the Met Mile (gr. I) he suffered a quarter crack and was forced to miss the race. After returning and finishing third in the Criminal Type Stakes and Whitney Invitational Handicap (gr. I), it was decided to put Gary Stevens up and send the horse to Santa Anita to prep for the Classic in the Awesome Again Stakes (gr. I).

Stevens, who had been struggling with pain for several years, was involved in a horrific spill at Arlington Park that could easily have cost him his life, but he made an amazing comeback from that near-tragic incident. He continued to live with extreme pain in his knees before finally retiring in 2005. Over the years he briefly trained horses, was racing manager for Prince Ahmeds The Thoroughbred Corp, was an advisor to IEAH Stables, worked as a TV analyst for several networks, and even acted in movies and television, getting excellent reviews for his roles in the film Seabiscuit and the short-lived TV series Luck, in which he played veteran washed-up jockey Ronnie Jenkins, who had turned to alcohol following a bad spill.

Following Lucks cancellation, Stevens, remarkably, after seven years, decided to come out of retirement, as if continuing his role as Ronnie Jenkins, intent on proving to the world he still could ride with the best of them. To most everyones amazement, Stevens returned as strong and as fiercely competitive as he had been back in his glory days of the 1990s. He lost none of his strength and timing and his comeback was an immediate success, highlighted by his victory aboard Oxbow in the Preakness Stakes. His fellow jockeys were amazed he could come back off such a long layoff at the age of 50 and compete at the same high level he had seven years earlier.

Now, here he was aboard a horse who had an excellent chance to give him his first Breeders Cup Classic victory.

Mucho Macho Man had a unique record going into the Awesome Again. Since his career debut at Calder he was six-for-six when he had the lead at the eighth pole and 0-for-14 when he didnt. Stevens gunned him to the front on the far turn and drew off to a 4 1/4-length victory. Now, Mucho Macho Man was seven-for-seven when he had the lead at the eighth pole. The strategy for the Classic seemed pretty simple.

The Classic attracted a deep and talented field of 11 with the scratch of Ron the Greek due to a quarter crack.

Sent off at 4-1, Mucho Macho Man actually outbroke the field and held the lead briefly until Stevens took him back and let him settle off the pace in fourth.

He left there like a Quarter-horse, Stevens said. I could have put him on the lead, but hes so push-button, I just slid my hands back a little bit and he shut it down. Its exactly what I wanted him to do.

Game On Dude, the 8-5 favorite went to the front, as expected, dogged by Moreno and Fort Larned. After a quarter in :23.39, Moreno took a short lead over Fort Larned, as Game On Dude slipped back to third, followed by Declaration of War, who was showing excellent speed in his dirt debut under jockey Joseph OBrien, son of trainer Aidan OBrien. Mucho Macho Man was right alongside, as they hit the half in a solid :46.36.

As they rounded the far turn, Fort Larned had a half-length lead over Moreno and Game On Dude, with Mucho Macho Man ready to pounce from the far outside. Declaration of War was hanging tough behind horses, as Palace Malice, who had broken slowly and dropped back to last early, made a bold move to reach contention, with Will Take Charge being pushed along behind him. Palace Malice was ridden by Rafael Bejarano, who replaced John Velazquez, who was taken to the hospital following a spill in the Juvenile Fillies (gr. I).

Passing the five-sixteenths pole, Stevens remembered about Mucho Macho Man's unique record at the eighth pole and was intent on getting there in front. He started nudging on the big horse and he moved up to take the lead from Fort Larned, as Moreno and then Game On Dude began to drop out of it. Fort Larned hung tough and put up a fight, and it looked to be between the same two Classic antagonists as last year. Mucho Macho Man was too much this time and continued to ease clear at the eighth pole with his ears up. Stevens haa gotten him where he wanted him  in front at the eighth pole

But Will Take Charge was now flying on the far outside, with Declaration of War, still on his left lead, closing fast as well. The three hit the wire in a photo, with Mucho Macho Man getting the narrowest of decisions over Will Take Charge, who was a head in front of Declaration of War. It was another 3 1/4 lengths back to Fort Larned in fourth. The final time for the 1 1/4 miles was 2:00.72.

Ritvo had become the first female trainer to win the Breeders Cup Classic.

Kathy and Finn (racing manager Finn Green) have worked on this all year to come back and make up that half-length, Dean Reeves said. Its pretty special. We love this horse. There are a lot of people that get a lot of smiles every day thinking about Mucho Macho Man.

Patti added, When we went to the Derby we invited fans to come along on the ride. We were so new in the horse racing business ourselves and we wanted all the fans along with us, so we started a Facebook page for the horse and Twitter, and they just started following and coming.

For Finn Green, he was experiencing his own miracles. While Mucho Macho Man and Ritvo virtually came back from the dead, Green had come back from hell. It was the hell of a failed business, a failed marriage, a failed relationship with his daughter, and his and his daughters own losing battles with alcohol that left him teetering on the edge between life and death.

But in the end it was his faith in God, his strong will, and his new-found relationship with his daughter that eventually led him to Dean and Patti Reeves and Mucho Macho Man.

I had gotten so bad that only God could help me, he said. I lost my house, my wife, my business, and then my daughter. I felt like I had failed completely as a father and a human being and I thought about killing myself. Going bankrupt and losing the house and all the material stuff was one thing, but failing as a father was too much to accept. But I still hadnt been broken down, and Im the type of guy who wasnt going to give up until I was ground into dust.

After getting sober and helping his daughter with her problem and reestablishing their relationship, Finn, whose father had managed Greentree Stud for many years, got back into racing. He went to the Keeneland September yearling sale, where he fell in love with a yearling filly selling as Hip No. 703. All he had to spend was $50,000, and after the bidding reached his limit, he upped it to $55,000. His final bid actually stood for a brief while, but was upped to $60,000 and the hammer fell. Green had missed by $5,000 of purchasing the filly, later to be named Zenyatta.

He eventually got a job with Taylor Made Farm as business developer and had started following the career of Mucho Macho Man after the colts second-place finish in the Remsen Stakes. He contacted Dean Reeves and met him at Gulfstream Park and told him he was the business developer at Taylor Made, and because the Reeveses were new in the horse business he wanted to reach out and introduce himself.

Reeves was so impressed by Greens knowledge of all aspects the industry, he offered him a job, which he accepted in September, 2011. Green had stepped back from the edge of the abyss and had now found happiness in all aspects of his life

Needless to say, there was plenty of happiness going around following the Classic. But for one Hall of Fame trainer, there was the agony of getting beat by inches. As Dean Reeves walked back through the tunnel after the race, Wayne Lukas, trainer of Will Take Charge, came over to shake his hand, but was noticeably crushed by the defeat.

That one tore me up, he said.

Aidan OBrien, who had won the BC Turf with Magician, was thrilled with Declaration of Wars performance, as well as the ride by his son.

He ran a great race and he fought all the way to the wire, he said. I would like to thank my team (at Coolmore) for letting me run him here. Its a privilege to be here. Joseph did everything right on the horse.

Emotions continued to run high well after the race. Dean Reeves sister, Camilla Ellenburg, wept as she hugged her brother, and then sought a spiritual meaning to Mucho Macho Mans victory.

Its just amazing, she said. The Lord had him wrapped around his arm, thats all I can tell you. He knew.

Mike Sivo, who owns a minority share in Mucho Macho Man with his wife Laura, said, Im in shock; Im totally in shock. Im still shaking my head.

Laura wrote on Facebook the following day, When you're a little fish in a big pond in the Sport of Kings it is good to feel like a king, if only for a day. Our journey with Mucho Macho Man started over two years ago and it has been the ride of a lifetime. I couldn't have more gratitude for the experience, and I couldn't be happier for this magnificent horse and dedicated trainer Kathy Ritvo.

Meanwhile, in Ocala, Carole Rio watched the Classic at a local restaurant and was extremely confident, but for an unusual reason.

My miniature pincher, who is ranked number 3 in the country won her record 108th Best in Show on that same Friday and Saturday, and when I got the text she had won I knew Mucho Macho Man was going to win, because every time she wins a Best in Show, he comes right back and wins a race immediately afterward, Rio said. Its unbelievable.

I had such tunnel vision watching the race I didnt even know it was a photo. I just started celebrating. I was sobbing with tears of joy. Its an indescribable feeling for small-time breeders like ourselves. I just started thinking of him laying in that field, and everyone believing he was dead. And then there was the time the vet had to cut a canker out of his foot. I remember it like it was yesterday. You cant make this stuff up. Im just so proud of him.

The bond between humans and horses has been romanticized for centuries. Who can explain why Mucho Macho Man and Kathy Ritvo were destined to travel the same path in life and why that path led them to glory on racings biggest stage? From a physical standpoint, Ritvo is dwarfed by the towering Mucho Macho Man, but their hearts, which once had seemingly gone silent, now beat as one. And nothing as mundane as a photo finish camera was going to deny this fairy tale its happy ending.

Following a group photo in the winners circle, Michael Ritvo, walked off by himself, and suddenly it hit him:

My mom won the Breeders Cup Classic.

Sometimes, a simple revelation can have such profound meaning.

But it was Dean Reeves who summed up this magical day best and put everything in proper perspective.

Im just so happy for Macho, he said. Hes part of racing history now.



Kathy Ritvo, Finn Green, and Mucho Macho Man prepare for the colt's gallop prior to the Classic



Mucho Macho Man turned in a strong gallop for the Classic



The towering Mucho Macho Man has ears to match



Always bright-eyed and alert



Mucho Macho Man and the fans both seem intrigued by each other



Mucho Macho Man seems curious to know what's in the veterinarian's report the morning of the Classic
Friday, June 16, 2017 at 9:22PM

While Vivo might be an unfamiliar name here, the Chinese manufacturer has been aggressively promoting its brand across Asia. And it looks like itll be leading the charge when it comes to introducing a device with an on-screen fingerprint sensor. A leaked video on Chinese microblogging site Weibo shows what looks like the Vivo X9 Plus but with the optical fingerprint sensor embedded into the screen itself. A report coming out of Korea reaffirms this claim but says Huawei will be the first to put on-screen fingerprint sensing on its device with the P11 and then theyll be followed by Xiaomi and Vivo.

For this side of the world, though, Apple is said to be making this feature a mainstream requirement for phones with the upcoming release of the next iPhone. Samsung supposedly wont have it ready in time for the release of the Galaxy Note 8 because of security vulnerabilities.

Source: Android Central
"Especially in a workplace where people wouldn't want to talk about [suicide] openly, something like Lock Up Your Boss is fun and you can interact with people which can make the situation less serious than it needs to be," Ms Whittaker said.
The Department of Environment and Energy must formally assess and approve the development, as well as an adjoining extension of the Indian High Commission, because the projects were deemed to have a "significant" impact on the critically endangered golden sun moth.
"It's obviously a concern [that the fire is being treated as suspicious]. It hasn't really sunk in that there's someone in Canberra who would do something like this."
Many of the residents only found out about the material used to build their homes in 2014 as the Mr Fluffy campaign ramped up across Canberra.
This year the festival has brought together more than 300 young musicians from schools across Australia for three days of rigorous rehearsals, culminating in the two hour festival concert in the Great Hall of Parliament House on Saturday.
Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Access unlimited news content and The Canberra Times app. Premium subscribers also enjoy interactive puzzles and access to the digital version of our print edition - Today's Paper.
There is no equality when: (a) just one recipient in the top order is female (and there are 15 recipients); (b) there are only 15 female recipients out of 55 recipients in the next category; (c) there are only 58 female recipients out of 171 recipients (or 34 per cent) in the AM group; and so it goes on.
One thing lost in all the talk about shark attacks is that far more people drown at our beaches each year than get bitten by a shark. Since 2004-05, the lowest number of drowning deaths per year has been 69, while the highest number of shark fatalities has been four. In 2015-16, coastal drownings were up 24 per cent on the year before to 130  in part due to a warmer summer and more people swimming  but this has not seen politicians or the public up in arms.
Primal blues-rock duo THE PICTUREBOOKS are Fynn Claus Grabke [vocals, guitar] and Philipp Mirtschink [drums] perform their blues-saturated heavy rock.

The duo has received acclaim not only on their 2014 full-length Imaginary Horse (RidingEasy Records), but also for their craft of building and customizing motorcycles, and their skateboarding skills. The band has been featured on Noisey/Vice, Team Rock, Daytrotter, and more, and the groups motorcycle designs have been featured in the biggest bike magazines across the world, including Easyriders (USA), Custombike (Germany), Dice Magazine (UK), Hot Bike (Japan), and more.

The Picturebooks' sound is as distinct as the smell of burnt motor oil coming off the sun-baked California desert highway, explains Another Centurys VP of A&R Mike Gitter. They are at once completely unique, musically unforgettable, and tapped into the psyche of rock n' roll at its most primal. We had to get involved with these raw riders of the sonic highway.

With a rigorous touring history, the band has played alongside Eagles of Death Metal, Kadavar, The Answer, and more, as well as performed at Riot Fest (Chicago, Denver; USA), Governors Ball (New York, USA), and Sziget (Hungary). Their next album comes out March 10th 2017 and the Band will embark on a long European-Tour with "Monster Truck" from Canada.

About THE PICTUREBOOKS:

It's not surprising that The Picturebooks recorded their 2014 album, Imaginary Horse [RidingEasy Records], in the same garage where they regularly refurbish and repair motorcycles and choppers. The German duoFynn Claus Grabke [vocals, guitar] and Philipp Mirtschink [drums]capture a raw, rich, and real energy befitting of the room's natural reverb, industrial aura, and spiritual spark.

Fynn and Philipp first crossed paths at a local skate park. Becoming fast friends, they realized their mutual interests extended beyond skateboarding and into music like The Smiths, The Cure, and Minor Threat. Soon, they began writing songs together, utilizing equipment Fynn's dad Claus had accumulated over his years as a musician and record producer.

After two independent releases in Europe, the pair played major festivals such as Sziget and toured with everybody from International Noise Conspiracy to Spinnerette. Simultaneously, they garnered international attention for their motorcycle builds and received prominent profiles in tastemaker publications including DICE Magazine, Kustom, and many others. Following an explosive Hollywood gig supporting Eagles of Death Metal for DICE, they embarked on their inaugural North American tour and buzz began to organically spread through word of mouth and social media. By the time they returned home, the group had inked a deal with Riding Easy Records.

The Picturebooks retreated to their "garage" in order to record their debut North American record. Mirroring their daredevil skateboarding ethos, they broke rules while recording. For starters, there was considerable physical space between the musicians and the microphones, and it wasnt simply a sterile studio environment. The concrete floors and airy expanse contributed to the sound, and the overall atmosphere proved quite a propos. They even constructed their own instruments to boot. Fynn picked up thrift shop guitars in Los Angeles. Influenced by the tribal sounds of Native American music, the band built custom percussion and augmented their feet with bells. Moreover, Philipp decided to eschew playing cymbals and adopted large Toms, which he bashes with mallets instead of sticks. They conjured true fire in the garage with that astounding, untainted reverb and their personal arsenal of modified instruments.

Ultimately, all of these pieces form a blues rock pastiche that's as individualistic as it is infectious. In 2016 the band signed with Another Century records and have confirmed a number of tour dates. Their Another Century debut comes out March 10th 2017.
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
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Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

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You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
For many of us, recognizing our ancestral lineage is an important part of our life. We listen to stories from older family members, we search through family Bibles or join services that will help trace our family tree all to discover who we are.

But for a group of 20 cyclists whose lineage can be traced to the Cherokee Nation, the journey to self-discovery begins on top of a bike as they peddle 950 miles along the Trail of Tears as part of the Remember the Removal Bike Ride.

On Tuesday evening the cyclists made Farmington their stopping point after a long hot day of riding from the Trial of Tears State Park in Jackson, Missouri, a journey of 60 plus miles.

When they got to Farmington this year, their reception was just a little different than years past. Instead of having dinner somewhere in town, they were able to enjoy a home cooked meal from someone with a connection to both communities  Farmington and the Cherokee Nation  Marylee Visnovski, the owner of Earth Mother Health Foods on East Harrison in Farmington.

I have a little bit of Cheokee blood myself, and I have family in Oklahoma, Visnovski said. One of my cousin's sons, Hunter Scott, is a cyclist with the group this year. He is actually the youngest at only 16 years old. So it is an honor to do this for him and the others.

For dinner, Visnovski developed a dinner that had some type of food from every state the Trail of Tears passes through. Starting in Georgia where the Remember the Removal Bike Ride began, Visnovski offered wild hog, which her son actually shot and prepared; Tennessee, vegetables; Kentucky, seven kinds of beans; Illinois, wheat for the buns and the cake; Arkansas, watermelon; Oklahoma, squash, tomatoes and corn cooked together, and Missouri, buffalo and beef.

According to Visnovski, feeding the cyclists is just what her family does  they feed people.

Meals bring people together, and we come from a family who always fed people, Visnovski said. They say my great grandmother always had her table set with the plates face down, so if someone came to her house, there was always a place for them.

The dinner commemorating the Trail of Tears was definitely a family affair for Visnovski. Her son helped serve the cyclists dinner and her cousin and his colleagues definitely enjoyed a home cooked meal, a bit of normalcy not typical for the riders on this trek.

After talking to his mother and other family members, Scott, who is from Bunch, Oklahoma, found himself interested in making the trip.

My ancestors were on the trail, and I have had friends and family members who have ridden the trail as well, Scott said. They told me it was an awesome experience and that it will change you. I wanted to say that I did it as well.

So far, Scott said the biggest challenge, besides the rolling hills of Missouri, was during the training days when he first got on the bike.

When I first got accepted, I didnt think it was going to be that hard because I have been running cross country for a couple of years, and I am pretty fit, Scott said. But I was wrong. It was a lot harder than I thought.

Joining Scott and the other riders is Will Chavez, who at 50 years old is the mentor rider on this years trek. Additionally, Chavez is one of the original riders from the inaugural ride in 1984.

When they asked me to make the ride, I had to think about it, Chavez said. I was 17 years old when I did it the first time, now Im 50. I started training in January and kept training until May when the ride started.

Since starting, Chavez said he has seen a lot a difference along the trail, including the trail not being marked.

One of the reasons we made the original ride is because the trail wasnt marked and we wanted to bring awareness to it, Chavez said. Three years later, Congress appropriated money to have the trail marked. I dont know if we made the difference, I would like to think so.

Chavez says his this ride is a bit different because of his age and life experiences.

I am experiencing all the places with older eyes and more appreciation, Chavez said.

On Wednesday morning, the cyclists were heading toward Cuba, Missouri for their next stop and eventually to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
What should have been an entertaining day trip has turned into a nightmare, in the blink of an eye, for the passengers of a bus that was hit by a speeding car.



The shocking dashcam footage shows a hatchback going airborne all of a sudden, flying over the guardrail to the other side of the road and hitting the bus, which then rolled into a ditch before coming to a complete stop.

When emergency services arrived at the scene, it was too late for the 62-year old driver of the car, who was pronounced dead at the scene, reports JapanNews. 45 occupants of the bus, which was carrying 44 passengers, one tour guide, one conductor and the driver, sustained non life-threatening injuries.

The accident, whose cause has yet to be revealed, happened last Saturday morning on the Tomei Expressway, in Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, as the bus was taking its occupants to a cherry-picking day trip, from Toyokawa, Aichi, to the Yamanashi Prefecture.

VIDEO
Photo: CTV

The real estate market in the Okanagan has gone slightly soggy, as ongoing flood concerns in the area appear to be driving some prospective buyers away.

Bill Hubbard, a Vernon-based real estate broker, says homes have begun to stay on the market for longer, and fewer of them are selling.

He says the slowdown is unusual because, until a few weeks ago, the red-hot real estate market had been seeing homes sell at a blistering pace, with bidding wars and over-priced offers common.

For Hubbard's perspective on the phenomenon, as well as how it's affecting Okanagan residents who are buying or selling homes, read the full story on Castanet's sister business news website, Okanagan Edge.
Photo: Westcorp Design changes are being made to the downtown Westcorp Hotel.

Three years after receiving a development permit, all remains quiet on the site of a proposed new downtown Kelowna hotel.

After several delays, Westcorp is now in the process of submitting new design drawings for the hotel on the former Willow Inn site.

According to city planners, meetings between city staff and Westcorp have been taking place.

New design drawings are expected to be received within the next week or so.

The original design called for a 214-room hotel and conference centre featuring a 24-storey tower.

As part of the design, Westcorp has agreed to purchase a portion of Mill Street for $1.915 million.

The company has also indicated recent flooding will have no impact on the design, or construction of the hotel.
Photo: Contributed Travis Whiting

The City of Kelowna didn't have to go very far to find its new fire chief.

Travis Whiting, a deputy chief within the Kelowna Fire Department, was named to the job Friday.

The hiring concluded an extensive search and review of candidates from across the country.

For the past two years, Whiting has served as deputy fire chief, leading the emergency management and fire communications branch of the department.

He spearheaded a number of initiatives in his role, including an upgrade of the fire dispatch service and formalizing the Emergency Operations Immediate Action Team.

Prior to his move to Kelowna, Whiting served as senior manager of protective services for the Capital Regional District in Victoria. He began his career as a paid-on-call firefighter in Williams Lake.

Whiting has also earned a bachelor of commerce in entrepreneurial management from Royal Roads University, and is completing his local government aAdministration certificate through Capilano College.
Photo: Contributed BC Cancer Agencys Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre

A $5 million fundraising initiative will help bring PET/CT technology to local cancer patients.

The B.C. Cancer Foundation initiative will bring the scanner to the BC Cancer Agencys Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre for the Southern Interior. With more than 5,000 new cancer diagnoses expected this year in the region, the time to bring this essential diagnostic tool to Kelowna is now.

Each year, more than 900 patients must travel from the Southern Interior to the B.C. Cancer Agency Vancouver Centre for a PET/CT scan.

With a growing and aging provincial population, cancer incidence is expected to increase and we are committed to bolstering cancer care in the Southern Interior, says Sarah Roth, President & CEO of the BC Cancer Foundation.

Today we bring good news to cancer patients in the community with a goal to raise $5 million for PET/CT technology.

Oncologists utilize the results of a patients PET/CT scan to accurately plan treatment, monitor treatment effectiveness and detect cancer recurrence. The scan plays an integral role in a patients care, as the most precise and detailed cancer diagnostic tool.

Our mission is to deliver the best cancer care close to home for the people of B.C. Bringing a PET/CT to Kelowna will dramatically improve care for patients in the Southern Interior and add value to our flourishing clinical research programs, says Dr. Malcolm Moore, President, BC Cancer Agency.

To learn more about the PET/CT campaign, how this technology impacts care and how to support, visit: www.bccancerfoundation.com/PET-CT.
DEAR READERS: Allow me to wish a Happy Father's Day to fathers everywhere -- birth fathers, stepfathers, adoptive and foster fathers, grandfathers, and all of those caring men who mentor children and fill the role of absent dads. I applaud you all.

P.S. And once again, a big shout-out to dual-role moms. -- LOVE, ABBY

DEAR ABBY: Regarding "Needs a Playmate" (Feb. 15), I agreed with your advice to 7-year-old "Jessie's" mom to make it clear that what happened was not her daughter's fault, and that "Jason" was in the wrong. You also addressed Jason's mother's unwillingness to deal with the issue. However, I don't believe your advice went far enough.

What 13-year-old Jason did was not merely misbehaving. It was an attempt at sexual molestation and a huge red flag. Chances are he has tried this behavior before, and likely succeeded. There is also the possibility that Jason himself has been a victim or has been exposed to sexually arousing material. In any case, he needs help. An investigation should occur to locate other possible victims. The appropriate reaction to something like this is to contact the local authorities and child protective services. -- CONCERNED READER IN UTAH

DEAR READER: Thank you for raising this issue. Other readers were also concerned that my advice did not go far enough. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: In many states, if there is a four-year age gap between children who engage in "sex play," it may constitute a crime. In many counties, children's services will step in to investigate whether Jason has also been abused or, more likely, is watching pornography. Jason needs to be reported. Reporting this would be a good thing for him to ensure that he won't eventually become part of the juvenile justice system. -- A LITTLE SHOCKED IN DAYTON, OHIO

DEAR ABBY: That 13-year-old boy attempted to sexually abuse Jessie, which is a crime. He may also have done other things to her that, at her age, she may not be able to understand were wrong. Her mom should have her examined by a physician and get a referral for counseling. The police should also be notified to investigate. Don't forget -- Jason has a younger sister who could be a victim, too.

He's old enough to know his behavior is wrong, and without intervention he could repeat it. He may even make another attempt on Jessie, since she lives close by. She may be at risk for being abused again and remain silent because she lost her friend when she told her mother what happened in the first place. Mom: Please don't overlook this. -- NANCY IN NEW ENGLAND

DEAR ABBY: When I watch videos on my laptop or phone, I usually use headphones so the noise doesn't disturb others. If the video is funny, I laugh. Like most people, I love comedy and I love to laugh.

In recent months, however, my father has frequently made a point of telling me that my laughing is disturbing, especially when no one else can hear what I'm laughing at. He says the sound can be startling, and that I sound maniacal or hysterical. Naturally, I feel guilty, and it tends to ruin the enjoyment of whatever I'm watching.

What do I do to resolve this source of conflict? Try not to laugh when he's around? -- LAUGHING OUT LOUD

DEAR L.O.L.: Try this: Because you know your sudden bursts of laughter startle your dad, view your videos in another room so you won't disturb him.

DEAR ABBY: I've never written to you before, but I'm having a disagreement with my husband. We are taking our daughter out of state to drop her off at college in August. Our twin 15-year-old boys will be starting high school at the same time.

My husband thinks we can leave them home alone together for the five days and four nights we'll be gone; I feel we should arrange to have them stay with friends. He says we can trust them, and he's worried we'll be putting a burden on our friends. I'd like to ask two different families to take them for two nights each.

They are pretty responsible boys. I do trust them, but I still feel it's a bad idea to leave them home alone for that period of time. What do you think? -- HOME ALONE IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR HOME ALONE: I agree with YOU. Your sons may be angels, but to leave two minors who are not yet in high school alone for that length of time would be irresponsible. Don't do it.

DEAR ABBY: My co-worker, "Sara," comes to work drunk. After I reported it to my supervisor, "Ben," Sara stopped for a while, but now she has started again. Sara has not been doing her job correctly. Ben is now asking me to sign a statement about it. She is my best friend, and I don't want to get her in trouble. But I'm scared that she's going to get hurt at work or while driving. Please help! -- DANGER IN THE WORKPLACE

DEAR DANGER: Your friend needs some kind of intervention. Some companies have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which might enable Sara to get the professional help she needs. An EAP is a voluntary, work-based program that offers free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals and follow-ups to employees who have personal and/or work-related problems.

Before you sign the statement, find out if your company offers this program and if your supervisor will make it available to Sara. Do not worry about getting her in trouble. She's already in trouble, and this may be the solution.

DEAR ABBY: A couple times a year I have lunch with an old friend. I recently ran into her at the store and noticed she now has very white teeth. They look great; however, they almost do not look like real teeth. We're having lunch together next week, and I would like to compliment her on her beautiful teeth but, if she now wears dentures or has implants, I don't want to embarrass her. Would it be OK if I tell her I think her teeth look beautiful and pearly white, or should I keep quiet? -- PEARLY WHITES IN ARIZONA

DEAR PEARLY WHITES: Your friend may have gotten dentures or implants, but she also could have simply had her teeth brightened by her dentist. If you want to compliment her, be a little more subtle than to mention her teeth. All you need to say is, "You know what? You've got a great smile!" If she wants to respond by giving you all the details, she will. If not, you will not have encroached upon her privacy.

DEAR ABBY: You missed the mark in your answer to "Mother Doesn't Know Best" (July 7), whose 8-year-old stepson arrives for visits in old, ill-fitting clothing, even though the father purchases new clothes for him on every visit.

I live in Ohio, and the state considers housing, food, electricity, gas and running water as part of the makeup of child support. I know this firsthand. You also need to know if the mother is working and if she contributes to her son's support. What about other expenses (toys, haircuts, uniforms, etc.)?

Part of the problem may be that Stepmom and Dad live across the country and aren't there to see what exactly goes on day to day. Yes, the little boy shouldn't be showing up at their home in clothes that are too small, but even Stepmom said he was putting on weight. -- MITZI IN DAYTON, OHIO

DEAR MITZI: Your points are well taken. However, the majority of the feedback I received about that letter pointed out that children arriving in old clothes for visits with their dads is a popular ploy that some custodial mothers use in order to get new clothes, and some even return the clothes for cash. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: I had a divorced girlfriend I had confided in about this same problem. She said, "Don't you know? We always send the kids to their dad's in their worst clothing. That way, they'll have to buy them new stuff during the visit."

You can't assume that because a child arrives in worn or ill-fitting clothes that the custodial parent is unfit or that the child doesn't have lots of better clothing at home. -- MRS. D. IN VIRGINIA

DEAR ABBY: Please suggest that when Stepmom and Dad buy clothes for his son, they mark the labels with the boy's initials. The mom may be returning the items for cash and buying something she wanted for herself. -- MOM WHO KNOWS

DEAR ABBY: I am writing this as I sit in a hospital at my daughter's bedside. When staff comes into her room, she asks them to wash their hands in front of her before putting on their gloves. Several doctors took offense at this. We even posted a note on the door, asking the staff to wash up inside the room. Were we wrong? She doesn't want to increase her risk of infection. I would think that a patient worried about proper hygiene would not be sneered at by the people trying to get her healthy. -- TRYING TO STAY HEALTHY

DEAR TRYING TO STAY HEALTHY: Bravo to you for speaking up! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hospital-acquired infections have cost the hospital industry $30 billion and resulted in 100,000 patient deaths. A 2013 New York Times article reported that unless pushed to do so, hospital workers wash their hands only as little as 30 percent of the time they interact with patients. The problem is so widespread that some hospitals must monitor workers via video cameras or have them wear electronic badges to "encourage" compliance, while others have resorted to "bribing" workers to do the right thing.

You were not wrong to ask staffers at your daughter's hospital to wash their hands. Nobody should feel reluctant to ask for something that is standard procedure.

Because many patients in hospitals and care facilities feel vulnerable and dependent, they fear that staff will "dislike" them if they ask for too much. For patients to request handwashing is not only in their best interest, but also the hospital's. Too often, change doesn't happen in the medical profession until patients speak up and advocate for their own well-being. You would not have been "sneered at" if your request hadn't made those individuals feel defensive.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Castanet's Foodapalooza is picking up steam.

Challenges are starting to fly, videos are being submitted, and the Kelowna Community Food Bank is the beneficiary.

So far, we've received videos from Total Restoration, Farris Law, Spence Valuation Group, MNP, Capri Insurance and Coast Capital Savings. And each of those businesses has challenged five others, who will challenge five others, and so on.

The idea is to collect food and cash for the food bank and record a YouTube video of your donation, issuing a challenge to five others.

The videos will be shown on Castanet to give donors the recognition they deserve  and the best one wins a $5,000 advertising package on Castanet.

The food bank's Tammy Jackson explains how it works:

Take a video of your company dropping off your food donation or donating online at cofoodbank.com and challenging five other companies.

Make sure they know they have been nominated and that they have five business days to complete the challenge. The food bank will help keep track of the contest.

Post your video online https://www.castanet.net/foodapalooza/index.htm and tag them on Facebook.

You can hashtag your post with #foodaplooza and #jointhefoodmovement.

The most needed items at the food bank are: pasta and sauce, canned tuna/chicken/salmon, Chunky soup, canned fruit and vegetables, baby food, and Boost.
Photo: Twitter Michelle Carter

A woman who sent her boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself when they were both teenagers was convicted Friday of involuntary manslaughter in a trial that raised questions about whether words can kill.

The judge found that Michelle Carter caused the death of Conrad Roy III, who intentionally filled his truck with carbon monoxide in a Fairhaven, Mass., store parking lot in July 2014.

Carter, who faces up to 20 years in prison, cried and clutched a handkerchief to her face as Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz detailed her conduct and the circumstances of Roy's death, but she was stoic when the verdict was formally pronounced. As spectators and members of both the Roy and Carter families left the courtroom, she sat at the defence table, sobbing, while her lawyers tried to comfort her.

The judge focused his ruling on three words Carter said to the 18-year-old Roy after he climbed out of his truck as it was filling with toxic gas and told her he was scared.

"Get back in," Carter told Roy, according to a friend who testified that Carter described the conversation in a text message to her about a month after Roy died.

The judge said those words constituted "wanton and reckless conduct."

He said Carter, then 17, had a duty to call someone for help when she knew Roy was attempting suicide. Yet she did not call the police or Roy's family, he noted.

The case provided a disturbing look at teen depression and suicide. Carter and Roy met in Florida in 2012 while both were on vacation with their families.

"You can't think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don't get why you aren't," Carter wrote to Roy the day of his suicide.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The jury in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case tested the patience of defence lawyers and even the judge on the fifth day of deliberations Friday as it repeatedly asked to run through testimony from the TV star, his accuser and others, struggling to break a deadlock that threatens to end the trial without a verdict.

With deliberations running about as long as the testimony of all the witnesses combined, the 79-year-old TV star's lawyer complained that jurors were seeking a replay of the entire trial.

Judge Steven O'Neill twice refused defence requests for a mistrial, declaring that jurors could talk as long as they wanted over allegations that Cosby drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004.

But even the solicitous judge had his limits, putting his foot down late Friday afternoon when the jurors asked to hear a sliver of testimony they'd just had read back to them. The judge told them they had to rely on their collective memory.

As the panel deliberated charges that could send Cosby to prison for the rest of his life, Cosby tweeted thanks to his fans and supporters.

Dozens of women have come forward to say Cosby drugged and assaulted them, but this was the only case to result in criminal charges.

On Friday, the jury asked to review multiple pieces of evidence, including Cosby's 2006 deposition testimony about quaaludes, a now-banned party drug.

The jurors also listened to the definition of reasonable doubt, the threshold that prosecutors must cross to win a conviction, and reviewed testimony from Constand and her mother about phone conversations they had with Cosby after the encounter.

If the panel can't break the deadlock, the judge could declare a hung jury and a mistrial. In that case, prosecutors would get four months to decide whether they want to retry Cosby or drop the charges.
While many people are gearing up to celebrate a historic milestone in Canadian history, one group wants people to be aware of a darker part of the past.

Members of the Okanagan Syilx community have launched a fundraising campaign to show the history of their people over the past 150 years.

A statement on their fundraising page paints a much different picture of Canada: Across Canada, all levels of government and many social and cultural groups have been organizing to celebrate the 150th anniversary of confederation, from July 1, 1867 to July 1, 2017. This date is considered by many to be the official beginning of Canada as a country. However, this story about the beginnings of Canada ignores the long history of Indigenous peoples on their lands, and minimizes or ignores entirely how Canada takes place through ongoing, violent processes of occupation and displacement processes that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has labeled cultural genocide.

Members of the Syilx community are looking at different ways to tell their story to Canadians.

'Rethink 150: Indigenous Truth' will use creative interventions in multiple media and multiple locations to tell their stories, to generate cross-cultural listening and learning, to develop visions of new ways of living together, and to leave a lasting, material legacy that can guide the communities of the Okanagan.
Photo: Mike Biden

As Okanagan Lake's rapid rise appears to have come to a halt, some residents can begin removing sandbags from their properties.

Central Okanagan Emergency Operations says that with the exception of properties along the lake, sandbags that have not been in contact with water for at least two weeks can be removed.

These include properties along Mill Creek, upstream of Pandosy Street, Brandts Creek, upstream of Richter Street, Fascieux Creek, upstream of Gordon Drive, Scotty Creek and Middle Vernon Creek, upstream of Woodsdale Road.

Local governments will begin co-ordinating the removal of sandbags. Residents will not be charged for the removal.

Officials are urging residents not to empty their sandbags onto beaches or into creeks.

While recovery efforts are co-ordinated, residents can drop off sandbags at their own cost to the Cook Road boat launch outside the Hotel Eldorado, the Apple Bowl parking lot on Burtch Road, or the Beasley Park parking lot in Lake Country.

Properties along Okanagan Lake and those near the mouths of creeks are still at risk of flooding and residents should keep sandbags in place.

Approximately 1.7 million sandbags, equalling 1,500 truckloads of sand were delivered in the Central Okanagan during the flooding crisis.
Poll: No more dining out? Poll - 7:30 pm
Photo: Nature Trust of BC

Dine on some of the Okanagan's best food, drink some of the valley's best wine  and feel good about it, because you'll be helping preserve a threatened and scenic Okanagan ecosystem.

This year's Nature Trust of BC fundraiser, Earth, Wind, Fire, returns next weekend at the Delta Grand Hotel.

Its objective is to conserve a 35.4-hectare parcel on the east side of Skaha Lake, south of Penticton.

This property would expand the Trust's existing Skaha Lake complex, part of a larger wildlife management area that encompasses 6,491 hectares and is prime bighorn sheep habitat.

The steep terrain and benchlands include grasslands at lower levels, transitioning through mixed forest at the mid-level, to rocky terrain at higher elevations. It includes three of the four biogeoclimatic zones of conservation concern in B.C.  bunchgrass, ponderosa pine, and Interior Douglas fir.

The area has species and ecosystems not found anywhere else in Canada, and in some cases the world. It is also home to the white-throated swift and western rattlesnake.

The estimated project cost is $1.3 million, which includes land acquisition, legal, appraisal and land management.

Guests at the June 24 gala will enjoy food from chefs Rod Butters, Bernard Casavant, Jesse Croy, Ross Derrick, Willi Franz, Kai Karoll, Stu Klassen, Jeremy Luypen, and Iain Rennie, as well as matched wine pairings from wineries throughout the region.

A live auction and dance follow the dining.

Tickets are $175 and can be purchased at naturetrust.bc.ca or by calling 1-866-288-7878.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Carrie Fisher died from sleep apnea and a combination of other factors, but investigators were not able to pinpoint an exact cause, coroner's officials said Friday.

Among the factors that contributed to Fisher's death was buildup of fatty tissue in the walls of her arteries, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said in a news release late Friday. The release states that the "Star Wars" actress showed signs of having taken multiple drugs, but investigators could not determine whether they contributed to her death in December.

Her manner of death would be listed as undetermined, the agency said.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for additional details about whether a full autopsy report and toxicology results were available.

Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person's breathing pauses during sleep. The pauses may be brief or last several minutes, according to information from the National Institutes of Health.

Fisher, 60, suffered a medical emergency on an international flight on Dec. 23 and died four days later. Her mother, longtime movie star Debbie Reynolds, died the following day.

The actresses were laid to rest together at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills, a cemetery where numerous celebrities are buried.

Fisher's brother, Todd Fisher, said he was not surprised by the results. He added that his family did not want a coroner's investigation of his sister's death. "We're not enlightened. There's nothing about this that is enlightening," he said.

"I would tell you, from my perspective that there's certainly no news that Carrie did drugs," Todd Fisher said. He noted that his sister wrote extensively about her drug use, and that many of the drugs she took were prescribed by doctors to try to treat her mental health conditions.

Fisher long battled drug addiction and mental illness. She said she smoked pot at 13, used LSD by 21 and was diagnosed as bipolar at 24. She was treated with electroshock therapy and medication.

"I am not shocked that part of her health was affected by drugs," Todd Fisher said.

He said his sister's heart condition was probably worsened by her smoking habit, as well as the medications she took. "If you want to know what killed her, it's all of it," he said.

Todd Fisher said it was difficult to blame doctors who treated his sister because they were trying to help her.

"They were doing their best to cure a mental disorder. Can you really blame them?" Todd Fisher said. "Without her drugs, maybe she would have left long ago."

Carrie Fisher made her feature film debut opposite Warren Beatty in the 1975 hit "Shampoo." She also appeared in "Austin Powers," ''The Blues Brothers," ''Charlie's Angels," ''Hannah and Her Sisters," ''Scream 3" and "When Harry Met Sally ..."

She will reprise her role as Leia Organa in the eighth installment of the core "Star Wars" franchise, "The Last Jedi," which will be released in December.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Bill Cosby's trial on sexual assault charges has ended without a verdict after jurors failed to break a deadlock.

Jurors deliberated more than 52 hours over six days before telling a judge they couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether "The Cosby Show" star drugged and molested Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

The judge then declared a mistrial for the 79-year-old comedian.

Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

His lawyer says Cosby and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual sexual encounter.

Dozens of women have come forward to say he had drugged and assaulted them. This was the only case to result in criminal charges against Cosby.

Prosecutors say they'll retry Bill Cosby on sexual assault charges after his first trial ended in a hung jury.
Photo: The Canadian Press London police say 58 people who were in Grenfell Tower are still missing and assumed to be dead.

London police say 58 people who were in Grenfell Tower are still missing and assumed to be dead.

Police Commander Stuart Cundy said Saturday that this number, which was based on reports from the public, may rise. He says it will take weeks or longer to recover and identify all the dead in the public housing block that was devastated by a fire early Wednesday.

He said there may have been people in the tower that police are not aware of, which would add to the death toll.

He says the search for remains had been paused because of safety concerns but has resumed. Emergency workers have reached the top of the 24-story tower.

Cundy promised an exhausting investigation into the tragedy. He says "my heart goes out to those affected."
If you've been wondering what "loyalty" means to President Trump, his most recent Cabinet meeting provides an illustration. Hint: It doesn't necessarily include loyalty to the United States of America.

Rather, to the assorted Wall Street billionaires, politicians and captains of industry that the president has surrounded himself with, loyalty equates with obsequious, sycophantic praise for Trump himself.

The televised spectacle has to be seen to be believed. And the question is: Was it more laughable, or more scary? I confess to being of two minds.

On the comic side, I couldn't help but think of the "most mighty Emperor of Lilliput, Delight and Terror of the Universe" in Swift's "Gulliver's Travels." To determine which of his courtiers gained preference, the emperor -- every bit of 6 inches tall -- conducted public exhibitions of "leaping and creeping," rather like dog agility trials. The winners particularly excelled at groveling.

That would be quite a competition in Trump's Cabinet. In an obviously scripted moment, Vice President Pence set the tone by piously intoning how serving the great man was the honor of his life.

He's really good at piety, Pence.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus then thanked Trump "for the opportunity and blessing that you've given us to serve your agenda and the American people." Around the table it went, each secretary striving to outdo the others in expressing devotion to Trump.

The oleaginous Tom Price may have taken the prize: "What an incredible honor it is to lead the Department of Health and Human Services at this pivotal time under your leadership. I can't thank you enough for the privileges you've given me and the leadership that you've shown."

This isn't a cabinet, it's a fan club.

Where did they find such an assemblage of brown-nosers? And why would a confident chief executive want them? Good luck getting anybody at that table to ever tell Trump anything he doesn't want to believe.

Not that he ever listens.

Anyway, even with his disapproval rating in Gallup's daily tracking poll at 60 percent (versus 36 percent favorable), Trump positively wallowed in the warm bath of his underlings' praise. I've seen cocker spaniels more resistant to petting. Who's a good boy? Donald's a good boy!

The president modestly allowed that only Franklin Delano Roosevelt had accomplished as much during his first months in office.

Nobody laughed.

Thankfully, I suppose, only Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis resisted the urge to flatter the president. Instead, he spoke highly of serving "men and women of the Department of Defense," as well he should. I actually believe it's the patriotic duty of Mattis and beleaguered national security adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster to remain on duty almost regardless of the president's follies.

Somebody's got to man the watch.

Because on the scary side, you'd have to go somewhere like North Korea or, yes, Russia to find contemporary examples of the "Dear Leader" school of political leadership. That said, if Vladimir Putin appears to be Trump's role model, there's no reason to think the cunning Russian dictator is anywhere near as susceptible to flattery as our man-child president.

Nor as vulnerable, ultimately, to public opinion. In Russia, anybody as dangerous to Putin as Gen. Michael Flynn appears to be to President Trump would already be dead. A figure like former FBI Director James Comey would be in prison or exile. He'd be well-advised to avoid high balconies and open windows.

But this ain't Russia.

Trump's feckless attempts to co-opt, then fire Comey -- a cagey, experienced political infighter -- track almost exactly with Flynn's legal perils. He first sought the FBI director's personal loyalty one day after then-Acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned the White House that Kremlin operatives had compromised Flynn. Trump then asked Comey to lay off Flynn the day after newspaper accounts forced Flynn's firing. Why?

The president's attempts at damage control have failed spectacularly. "Do you think Donald Trump colluded with Russia?" Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton asked during Comey's recent Senate testimony.

"That's a question I don't think I should answer in an open setting," Comey answered, definitely not the response Cotton was looking for. He said a final answer would have to come from the ongoing FBI investigation.

Did I mention how cagey Comey can be?

Meanwhile, if upwards of one-third of American voters appear to have chosen party (in the person of Trump) over country, the rest of us surely have not. Moreover, Trump supporters' loyalty to him is based less upon indifference to Russian meddling in U.S. elections than simple disbelief. Many seem to be buying the president's (pardon me) childish alibi that Democrats have made it all up to explain away Hillary Clinton's losing the election.

How these things normally work is that zealous supporters cling to Dear Leader until the day after it all comes crashing down. Then suddenly nobody knows him anymore.

Arkansas Times columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of "The Hunting of the President" (St. Martin's Press, 2000). You can email Lyons at eugenelyons2@yahoo.com
Photo: Kate Bouey

Okanagan Lake continues to go down, but it still has a long way to go before it reaches normal pool.

Carla Weadon, public information officer with the EOC, said the lake went down five millimetres overnight.

It's still 72 centimetres above full pool. We are all thrilled that it is trending down, but we have 72 cm to go. We are in it for the long haul. We are anticipating high lake levels for an extended period of time, said Weadon.

Weadon said any wind or rain could cause problems and residents still need to be mindful of that.

People still have to reinforce the protective measures they have in place because any wind event or rain event is of considerable concern, she said. Along the foreshore we have a long way to go.

With the exception of properties along the lake, sandbags that have not been in contact with water for at least two weeks can be removed.

These include properties along Mill Creek, upstream of Pandosy Street, Brandts Creek, upstream of Richter Street, Fascieux Creek, upstream of Gordon Drive, Scotty Creek and Middle Vernon Creek, upstream of Woodsdale Road.

And as the weather warms up and people head outdoors, Weadon said the lake level is not the only concern.

As a fire along the Westside last week showed, the hills are drying out and people need to be careful in the woods.

It's the fourth wettest spring in history, but it is dry out there, so we have to take the same precautions that we would any other year, she said.


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Buzz Ruttenberg, founder of Belgravia Group, Ltd., Belgravia Group said his firm has a contract to buy a triangular, 4.5-acre land parcel along Elston and Webster avenues for about $20 million. (James F. Quinn / Chicago Tribune)

A Chicago firm wants to build more than 300 condos and apartments along Elston and Webster avenues, in one of the first North Side developments to emerge since the City Council voted to allow new types of development along a 3.7-mile stretch near the Chicago River.

Belgravia Group has a contract to buy a triangular, 4.5-acre land parcel for about $20 million, Belgravia founder David "Buzz" Ruttenberg said. The deal, expected to close next year, is contingent on Belgravia obtaining zoning that would allow residential development, he said.

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The seller is a venture of Chicago media mogul Fred Eychaner's printing and broadcasting company, Newsweb, which owns several properties along Elston.

Belgravia's preliminary plan is for multiple low-rise buildings with about 90 condominiums, 250 apartments and 60,000 square feet of retail. Ruttenberg declined to say how much the project would cost.

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The city earlier this year unveiled a long-awaited draft of planned zoning changes to a 760-acre industrial corridor, saying many manufacturing uses were no longer viable in the strip along North Side neighborhoods.

In May, the City Council formally signed off on the plan. But specifics of the zoning overhaul still are being hashed out, and each individual development will require negotiations with the city.

Other developments are in the works nearby, including Sterling Bay's multibillion-dollar plan to put residential, office, hotel and retail buildings on the former A. Finkl & Sons steel plant and surrounding land Sterling Bay owns.

The site Belgravia plans to buy is along Webster, Elston and train tracks just west of a Mariano's grocery store.

"It's kind of a tweener location for residential," said Mike Drew, a principal at Chicago-based Structured Development who is not involved in Belgravia's project. "But with a parcel that size, you could create a neighborhood where there wasn't one."

Ruttenberg concedes his firm is arriving early to a relatively undeveloped area near Lincoln Park and Bucktown, but said, "We've made a career at Belgravia being first to areas of the city."

Belgravia also develops in well-established areas, including two condo buildings it plans to start building this year in River North.

The firm has sold 21 of a planned 51 condos at Renelle on the River, which it plans to kick off near Trump Tower by September, Ruttenberg said. Belgravia also has sold eight of 38 units for a project it will start building on Erie Street by November, he said.

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Newsweb President Charles Gross did not return calls requesting comment. Newsweb prints small-circulation newspapers and owns radio stations.

rori@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @Ryan_Ori
Elizabeth Carr, left, the first person born through in vitro fertilization in the U.S., appears June 16, 2017, on stage with Louise Brown, the worlds first IVF baby, at the Midwest Reproductive Symposium International at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. It was the first time the women had met. (Kristen Norman/Chicago Tribune )

Louise Brown and Elizabeth Carr have heard all sorts of questions.

"Do you feel normal?"

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"How did you climb out of the test tube?"

"Do you have a belly button?"

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Brown, the world's first baby born through in vitro fertilization, and Carr, America's first IVF baby, compared memories on stage after meeting for the first time at the Midwest Reproductive Symposium International on Friday in Chicago, a conference for reproductive health professionals. They both grew teary-eyed when they hugged in front of the crowd of doctors and others.

"There's no guidebook when you're the first," Carr said. "I think Louise is probably the only other person in the entire world who understands what this wacky life is."

When Brown was born in England in 1978 and Carr was born in Virginia in 1981, IVF was a new, almost unbelievable concept. The infants' images graced newspaper front pages and magazine covers, reporters surrounded their families, and letters poured in from around the globe. Their births inspired awe, derision and controversy over the ethics of using science to make babies.

Their births also, however, kicked off a new era of hope for women and couples struggling with fertility. More than 1 million babies have been born through IVF and related treatments in the U.S. over the last 30 years, according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. Illinois requires health insurers to cover IVF, though many states do not.

But at the time of Brown and Carr's births, much was still unknown, and the public grappled with how to react.

Brown underwent about 100 tests right after her birth, as doctors and nurses scrambled to make sure she was healthy despite the unusual circumstances of her conception.

"Had there been the slightest abnormality with me, I think that would have wiped the program, that would have been it," said Brown, who now lives in Bristol, England.

Carr, who lives in Boston, attended her first news conference at 3 days old, and Brown visited Chicago for the first time when she was about 1 year old to appear on Phil Donahue's show.

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For the women, who now have children of their own, all the attention was normal. Carr grew up thinking, for a time, that all babies were born through IVF, in which eggs are fertilized by sperm in a lab and a resulting embryo is implanted in a woman's uterus. During sex education in fifth grade, Carr even corrected her teacher as she explained conception.

"I raised my hand and said, 'Not how I was born,'" Carr remembered Friday, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Over the years, Brown said most of the reaction she's received has been positive  and that was especially true of her reception Friday; many of the medical professionals' livelihoods grew out of Carr and Brown's pioneering births. One of the doctors responsible for Brown's birth, Robert Edwards, won the 2010 Nobel Prize for his work.

Dr. Angeline Beltsos, who started the symposium and is the CEO of Vios Fertility Institute Chicago, said she was "humbled" Friday to witness the two women meeting for the first time.

IVF has come a long way since Brown and Carr were born, Beltsos said. Since then, doctors have improved techniques for creating stronger embryos in the lab, helping lead to recommendations that only one embryo at a time be transferred into the mother in many cases. For a time, it was common for multiple embryos to be transferred, which sometimes led to multiples and riskier pregnancies.

Patients undergoing IVF can now also have embryos screened for certain diseases and chromosomal abnormalities before they're transferred. And egg freezing techniques have improved, giving women a better shot of having children when they're older or after cancer treatments, Beltsos said.

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lschencker@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lschencker
LAKEVIEW  Breakfast just got a bit more exciting for bicyclists, as Heritage Bicycles launched an in-store Heritage Kitchen this week at its Lakeview location. Led by chef Ryan Silver (Soho House West Hollywood, True Food Kitchen), the Kitchen offers a trim menu of breakfast favorites, including a burrito, sandwich and a brisket hash, sourced with local ingredients and focused on family-owned suppliers. While breakfast is currently the only meal option, plans to add a lunch menu are on deck, if all goes well. Breakfast is served daily (except Tuesday) 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Founder Michael Salvatore suggested in a press release that Heritages foray into food could expand further: The food is simple, accessible and delicious, says Salvatore. We will eventually add more of our in-house options to the other Heritage Outpost locations, and we will have pop-up nights at our bar Larrys. 2959 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-245-3005.

GOLD COAST  After opening Southern Cut Barbecue in Gold Coast earlier this year, the same team is launching a reduced-format version closer to the financial district, called Southern Cut Barbecue Cafe. That team includes renowned pitmaster Lee Ann Whippen, who will join the Cafe after helping launch the first location of the restaurant and oversee an abbreviated menu that features most of Southern Cuts popular menu items. The cafe aims to cater to the on-the-go, office-working crowd in the area and will serve lunch and dinner. The new 30-seat storefront opens Tuesday adjoining sister restaurant Ocean Cut. 20 W. Kinzie St., 312-291-8366.

Mizrahi on Clark. The kosher Mediterranean restaurant opened in May, bringing some of the best shawarma and falafel in the area from the suburbs to the city. (Indeed, we featured the falafel in our LAKEVIEW  The new location of Mizrahi is now open, named for its location as. The kosher Mediterranean restaurant opened in May, bringing some of the best shawarma and falafel in the area from the suburbs to the city. (Indeed, we featured the falafel in our 31 days of Chicago's best sandwiches ). 3037 N. Clark St., 773-525-8777.

LAKEVIEW  From the team behind the discreetly located Room 13 speakeasy, Sunset Supper Club is planning an opening later this summer. The supper club will feature a rotating pan-tropical prix fixe menu, according to a press release, to accompany classy cocktails and Havana vibes. 3216 N. Sheffield Ave.



LAKEVIEW  A family-friendly Italian restaurant is coming to the western part of the neighborhood this month, as Sal's Trattoria is aiming for a mid-June opening. The restaurant  from the brains behind Butcher & The Burger  will feature freshly made pastas, as well as traditional Italian entrees and desserts. Its BYOB while it waits on its liquor license. 2834 N. Southport Ave., 773-857-1401.

THE LOOP  Popular downtown salad spot Sweetgreen is sending some green to the south side of the river, as a second location of the chain restaurant opened near the Madison/Dearborn intersection in the Loop. 1 N. Dearborn St.

LOGAN SQUARE  Navigator Tap Room is aiming for a July 1 opening date. Navigator is one of multiple new PYO (pour your own) spots that have opened in the city recently, essentially bars without a bartender, where guests pour their own draft beverages, and intake is monitored when guests purchase additional pours. 2211 N. Milwaukee Ave., Suite 100, 773-270-1690.

OAK BROOK  The District at Oakbrook Center added another popular local vendor to its already stellar food lineup, as DMK Burger Bar will operate a counter service restaurant in the food hall, featuring an abbreviated menu of favorite items. 100 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, 630-573-0700.

Portsmith will be an upscale seafood restaurant in the lobby level, the group was not ready then to name the chef. Now we can report that the restaurant will be led by executive chef and partner Nate Henssler, and will be open seven days a week. In addition, Fifty/50 reports that a separate space, Leviathan, will serve cocktails from barman Benjamin Schiller, daily except Sunday. Each concept is set to launch later this summer. 660 N. State St., 312-202-6000. RIVER NORTH  The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group has shared more of its plans to remake the Dana Hotel and Spa. Though Phil Vettel's annual Summer Eating List reported thatwill be an upscale seafood restaurant in the lobby level, the group was not ready then to name the chef. Now we can report that the restaurant will be led by executive chef and partner Nate Henssler, and will be open seven days a week. In addition, Fifty/50 reports that a separate space,will serve cocktails from barman Benjamin Schiller, daily except Sunday. Each concept is set to launch later this summer. 660 N. State St., 312-202-6000.

UKRAINIAN VILLAGE  Earlier this week, Kanela Breakfast Club opened the doors to its sixth Chicago location, just west of the Damen intersection along Division Street. The new location features largely the same menu as the other locations of the popular breakfast chain, and, although its opening as a BYOB, will start serving cocktails next month. Thats also when a 24-seat patio will open. 2127 W. Division St., 773-362-5052.

ICYMI

LINCOLN PARK  Korfusion is probably the citys best restaurant in a gas station.

LINCOLN PARK  Blue Door Farm Stand is returning to the neighborhood in the next couple of weeks, this time for real.

THE LOOP  After departing The Blanchard, chef Jason Paskewitz is bringing his French cuisine to Pearl Tavern.

WEST TOWN  Chef Zoe Schors long-awaited new Americana restaurant, Split Rail, has opened.

WEST TOWN  Chef Mark Steuer (The Bedford, Mindy Segal's Hot Chocolate) aims to put a little funk into his German fare at Funkenhausen, aiming for an October opening.

CLOSINGS

Bar Marta will close its doors this weekend after nearly two years in Humboldt Park.

Eater reports the the critically acclaimedwill close its doors this weekend after nearly two years in Humboldt Park.
Indeed, flamencos roots are as deep and complex as Spain itself, which is perhaps why Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater is still able to excavate new and interesting material after 41 years of making dances. Through Sunday at Skokies North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, the companys most recent program, Raices, which literally means roots, touches on flamencos cultural origins as well as those of Chicagos longest-standing, best-known presenter of Spanish dance. Two works on the program are by Ensemble Espanols founder Dame Libby Komaiko, with two more from its current artistic director Irma Suarez Ruiz, and stellar solo performances by Ruiz and Jorge Perez, the companys longtime executive director. In these ways, Raices is a journey through Ensemble Espanols history, and the older works (Ruizs Madrileno choreographed with Paco Alonso in 1989, and Komaikos 1976 Zapateado and 1979 Danza del Fuego) hold up surprisingly well against the test of time. But Raices demonstrates where flamenco is going more so than where it has been, as new choreography pushes the confines of this technical dance form.

Its a gentle push, really, with the most far-reaching examples being the last piece of each act. Guest artist Angel Rojas world premiere Defalla, Fuera de la Caja closes the first half, set to Leonide Massines ballet music commissioned for Diaghilevs Ballet Russes in 1919. But this is no ballet  in fact, if en vogue contemporary choreographer Alexander Ekman were to make a Spanish dance, it might look something like this. An eye-piercing light illuminated the whole audience, blinding us as costume items dangled and dancers entered from the house in plain clothing. Despite the drama and theatricality of the stage's dressings, which also include legs and curtains being flown out midpiece to reveal the crew and North Shore Centers impressive fly rail, the idea is to shed all those previously mentioned archetypes of the Spanish dancer  no ruffles, no machismo, no fans  and reveal a bit of the humanity of each performer. I think it works, but what struck me most about the piece is that individuality and uniformity can coexist beautifully. Defallas strong unison phrases didnt prevent me from really seeing each dancer and noting the nuances he or she brought to the work. Having never witnessed these dancers performing in pedestrian clothing, it was a refreshing reminder that flamencos propensity for the hypermasculine and hyperfeminine doesnt, actually, put one sex above the other. Unlike an exhausting number of ballets and contemporary works, Defalla (and flamenco, generally) positions men and women as equally strong, and equally capable of love, lust and ferocity.

Rojas also weighed in for Iroko, a 2016 collaboration with Carlos Rodriguez that celebrates flamencos varied cultural influences and draws inspiration from the African Iroko tree, used here, I think, as a metaphor for the resilience, strength, and adaptability of Spaniards. Of these two modern takes on Spanish concert dance, my preference is for the first  Irokos multiple costume changes, heavy use of traditional Spanish props (scarves, castanets and fans, among others) and Manuel Parrillas music, which at times resembled John Teshs 1995 Barcelona  all of it impressed, but less so, somehow, than genuineness of the more stripped-down Defalla. Nonetheless, Irokos opening tableau in which a single dancer moving through heavy fog crouches as a tangle of undulating arms frames her is beautiful and weird, in the best way.

Also of note is Siento, a solo conceived by Rodiguez, who performs it with hypnotizing ferocity, ensemble works La Liebre, and Rendicion, and frankly everything on the bill incorporating the outstanding ensemble of musicians. Music and rhythm feel like the least common denominator here: informing most choreographic decisions and guiding the emotional investment of each dancer as his or her feet make music too. Honestly theres not a bad piece on this program, though there might be a few too many of them. But the specific worlds created by each dance, considered together, take viewers on a journey that spans past and present, highlight flamencos far-reaching influences and explore new interpretations of the form. Its a journey that, for me, is well worth taking.
John Kinzie was one of Chicago's first settlers as well as the assailant in Chicago's first documented slaying. He is buried in Graceland Cemetery in the Uptown neighborhood. (Colleen Connolly / Chicago Tribune and Chicago History Museum)

In 1812, Chicago was not a city, but rather a frontier settlement occupied mostly by French-Canadian and American traders as well as soldiers and Native Americans. It was the home of Fort Dearborn, the site of the famous battle that would take place that same year.

But Fort Dearborns history was bloodied even before it became known for the battle that bears its name. Just two months earlier  on June 17  it was the site of Chicago's first documented slaying  and some say its first murder.

The suspect in the slaying was John Kinzie. In history, he is sometimes referred to as "Chicago's first citizen," but Haiti-born Jean Baptiste Point du Sable is widely considered to own that title today. (Du Sable built a cabin just north of the Chicago River near Lake Michigan  approximately where the Tribune Tower is today  in 1779, where he established a trading post. That same cabin was later purchased by Kinzie in 1804.)

The deceased was Jean La Lime, a French trader who also served as an interpreter among the settlement's inhabitants and the Native Americans. La Lime first purchased du Sable's cabin and later sold it to Kinzie.

In 1812, Kinzie and La Lime were neighbors, but historical accounts do not portray their relationship as neighborly. There was "bad blood" between them, according to a Chicago Daily Tribune article from 1942.

"They had some long association with each other," Russell Lewis, chief historian at the Chicago History Museum, said. "It was a very small neighborhood  and people were competitive. John Kinzie was not known as a particularly generous or affable person."

While Kinzie's name triumphed over La Limes in Chicago lore, historical portraits of him aren't all flattering. A Chicago Tribune article from 1966 paints Kinzie as an "aggressive" trader who clashed with some American soldiers stationed at Fort Dearborn. Ann Durkin Keating, a history professor at North Central College in Naperville, describes Kinzie as a "volatile and violent character."

Tensions between Kinzie and La Lime came to a head on June 17, 1812, when the two men met outside Fort Dearborn, La Lime armed with a pistol and Kinzie with a butchers knife. Keating describes the murder that ensued as "premeditated" in her book "Rising Up from Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn and the Birth of Chicago."

A witness account of what followed appears in Keating's book: We saw the men come out together; we heard the pistol go off, and saw the smoke. Then they fell down together. I dont know as Lalime (sic) got up at all but Kinzie got home pretty quick. Blood was running from his shoulder where Lalime (sic) shot him.

The reasons for the fatal dispute are unknown. Kinzie fled the area afterward and didnt return until authorities ruled the slaying was in self defense. Historians do not know whether Kinzie attacked La Lime first or if it were the other way around.

"The fact that Kinzie, of course, after La Lime was killed, ran away and became a fugitive, that's open to lots of different kinds of interpretation," Lewis said. "He was innocent if it was self defense, so why did he run away?"

Whether Kinzie really did murder La Lime in self defense  and it's suggested that his gunshot wound is evidence that he might have  another possible reason he fled is because of his loyalties. Chicago in 1812 was a frontier settlement with people from all over the world  France, Canada, Great Britain and possibly Spain, to name a few  as well as the Native Americans who already lived there. Kinzie may have stood out in this melting pot for his pro-British and anti-American stance, Lewis said. This may have made him unpopular with some of the settlements inhabitants, possibly leading Kinzie to believe he wouldn't get a fair trial.

After recovering from the gunshot wound from La Lime, Kinzie narrowly escaped death again at the Battle of Fort Dearborn on Aug. 15 that year. He died in Chicago in 1828.

Today, Kinzie's remains are buried at the historic Graceland Cemetery in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. La Lime's body was rumored to be buried near Kinzie's cabin. In 1891  79 years after the slaying  a partial skeleton thought to belong to La Lime was excavated at Illinois Street and Cass Street (now Wabash Avenue) and given to the Chicago Historical Society, which still possesses the preserved skeleton. The remains have never been confirmed to belong to La Lime, whose legacy remains nearly as anonymous as his skeleton.

coconnolly@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ColleenMConn
Shootings occurred in the Loop, South Austin, West Humboldt Park, Englewood, Back of the Yards, East Garfield Park and other areas across Chicago from June 15 to 18, 2017. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

Four people were fatally shot and 21 others were wounded across the city during 18 hours from Saturday to Sunday, according to police. Of those shot, eight were wounded in two separate quadruple shootings on the West Side.

Six people were shot within a 40-minute period early Sunday, including a 25-year-old woman killed on the Near North Side early Sunday, according to police.

About 2:40 a.m. Sunday, the woman was standing with someone she knew in the 500 block of East Ohio Street when someone fired shots toward them, hitting her in the head, police said. The woman was identified as Raven Lemons, 25, of the 1500 block of South Avers Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. She was pronounced dead at 3:13 a.m. at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

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Lemons had just turned 25 on Friday, according to public records.

Police had originally reported that the shooting took place in the 600 block of North Lake Shore Drive.

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Just before 5 a.m., a 17-year-old girl was critically injured and a 30-year-old man was wounded in a shooting in the 3500 block of West Huron Street in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, police said. They were in the rear of an apartment building when shooters opened fire. The girl was shot in the back of the head, and the man was shot in the upper right leg. Both were taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital. The girl was pronounced dead about 12 hours later.

Rifle shootings in Back of the Yards

Four people were wounded, one fatally, in separate rifle shootings Saturday in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the city's Southwest Side.

The fatal attack happened just before 6:30 p.m. in the 4800 block of South Racine Avenue.

A 32-year-old man had parked his car and was crossing the street when a dark-colored vehicle approached. Two shooters then got out of the car and opened fire, hitting him multiple times.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified as Dario Balderrama, of the 4900 block of South Justine Street, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

In the Englewood neighborhood just after 4:15 p.m. Saturday, two teenage boys were wounded in the 5500 block of South Shields Avenue. The teens were standing outside when the shooter approached, opened fire and then took off in a silver car. A 16-year-old boy, Mishawn Green, was shot in the head, and he died at Stroger Hospital on June 21 after being taken there after the attack. Police earlier said Green was 15.

Another 16-year-old boy was taken by relatives to Comer Children's Hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound to his left leg. His condition had stabilized.

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About an hour later, at 7:30 p.m., three people were shot in the 1600 block of West 44th Street, police said.

A 32-year-old man was shot in the right arm and right leg. His family drove him to Stroger Hospital for treatment.

A 36-year-old woman was shot on the right side of her body and also was taken to Stroger. A third victim, 36, also was shot on his right side and was taken to Rush University Medical Center. None of the three victims' conditions was available.

Rifle casings were visible at both shooting scenes, marking the latest instance of the weapon being used in city violence.

In February, the Tribune reported that gangs in Back of the Yards and Brighton Park were increasingly using rifles. Police said that was the only area of the city where rifles styled after AR-15s and AK-47s were regularly used, a menacing new development in the gang fights.

At the time, there were more than 30 shootings believed to have been tied to semi-automatic rifles in the two neighborhoods over the previous nine months. At least 46 people were shot in those attacks, 13 fatally.

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Police suspected the rifles were being passed around by members of four rival Hispanic gangs in the area  La Raza, the Almighty Saints, Satan Disciples and Gangster Two-Six.

Since February, several more people have been shot by rifles in that area. Among them were two Chicago police officers shot and wounded in early May at 43rd Street and Ashland Avenue in Back of the Yards. A reputed member of La Raza has been charged in the shooting.

About a week later, 10 people were shot, two of them fatally, in another rifle shooting near 46th Place and Rockwell Street in Brighton Park.

Quadruple shootings

Four people were shot about 2:05 a.m. Sunday in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, police said. The group was standing in the 3300 block of West Crystal Street when two people opened fire from a nearby corner.

A 25-year-old man was shot in the right shoulder, and his condition was stabilized at Stroger Hospital.

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A 26-year-old woman was shot in the right leg, a 26-year-old woman was struck in the left shoulder and a 27-year-old man was shot in the chest. All three took themselves to Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, where their conditions were stabilized.

In South Austin about 4:40 p.m. Saturday, four people were wounded in the first block of Latrobe Avenue. A woman, who was inside a car, was talking to three men when someone inside another car fired shots at them, police said.

A 21-year-old man was shot in the chest and taken in critical condition to Loretto Hospital. A 20-year-old woman suffered wounds to the back and chest and was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital.

A third victim, a 22-year-old man, was shot in the left leg, and a 24-year-old man was shot in the leg. Those two victims also were taken to Stroger Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized, police said.

Other shootings:

A 58-year-old man who was shot in the 10100 block of South Wentworth Avenue in the Fernwood neighborhood crashed on a Dan Ryan ramp as he tried to get himself to a hospital, police said. About 2 a.m. Sunday, the man was shot in the left hand and both legs. He told police that he was on his way to a hospital when he crashed his car on the Dan Ryan ramp near 111th Street. His condition was stabilized at Advocate Christ Medical Center. Police did not release details about how the shooting happened.

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About 11:45 p.m. Saturday, a 25-year-old man was shot in the right arm during a robbery in the 600 block of East 77th Street in the Chatham neighborhood, police said. He was walking in an alley when another man, armed with a gun, approached and announced a robbery. The 25-year-old man was shot as the two men struggled to gain control of the gun. His condition was stabilized at Stroger Hospital.

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About 7:20 p.m. Saturday, two men were shot in the Logan Square neighborhood in the 3000 block of West Wabansia Avenue. They were inside a car when they began arguing with men who were walking, when one of the men opened fire at the car. An 18-year-old man was wounded in the right leg. Another man, 19, was shot in the right arm. Their conditions were stabilized at Stroger.

Just before 6 p.m., two victims were shot in the South Austin neighborhood in the 5200 block of West Chicago Avenue, police said. A light-colored sedan pulled up and someone fired shots. A 16-year-old girl suffered a wound to the left thigh and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where her condition was stabilized. A 19-year-old man also was shot in the thigh and was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, police said.

Not long after 2:30 p.m., a 31-year-old man was wounded in the 6300 block of South Drexel Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood. He was shot in the back, and he was taken in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said.

Saturday morning, authorities were searching for the shooter responsible for wounding a man in a Humboldt Park neighborhood attack. In the 3700 block of West Chicago Avenue about 11 a.m., a 29-year-old man was shot in the back and left arm, according to Chicago police. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, officials said.

Chicago Tribune's Peter Nickeas contributed.

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Editor's Note: This story was updated on June 21 to reflect the death of Mishawn Green, who died on June 21, according to the medical examiner's office

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Patrick Hale, the man credited by law enforcement with forcing the surrender of two Georgia prison escapees, speaks to reporters in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Friday, June 16, 2017, while his wife, Danielle, looks on. (Erik Schelzig / AP)

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn.  The man credited by law enforcement with holding two Georgia prison escapees at gunpoint until police arrived rejected the "hero" label the day after their capture and said credit should go to forces well beyond his control.

"I realized I had two ex-cons wanted for murder who had just shot at law enforcement who had nothing to lose and for some reason they surrendered and laid down on the concrete in my driveway," Patrick Hale said Friday. "If that doesn't make you believe in Jesus Christ, I don't know what does."

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Hale said friends had just alerted him that the fugitives wanted in the slayings of two prison guards had been spotted in his area of rural Tennessee, so he quickly loaded his guns. Moments later, he saw them climb over his fence and approach his home, where he was alone with his little girl.

He decided to flee  getting into his car with his girl. Then, just as he prepared for the worst, the inmates took off their shirts and waved them in the air in a sign of surrender. He thinks they mistook his car for a law enforcement vehicle.

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He said he never had to pull out his weapon  but the wait was agonizing. More than 45 police officers began showing up within three minutes, he said.

"I cannot tell you how grateful I was to see them arrive," Hale said.

The manhunt for Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose suddenly focused on Tennessee Thursday evening after the fugitives invaded a home in Shelbyville and held a man and his wife hostage for several hours.

That couple "are lucky they're alive," Bedford County Sheriff Austin Swing said. The fugitives "told them that they would probably be dead in 24 hours and they didn't have anything to lose."

The fugitives tied them up, and when the man tried to break free, they tied him up tighter, putting socks on his hands so he couldn't loosen his bonds, Swing said. They also ate a beef stew the woman had been preparing, took valuables and clothing, and ordered them to concoct a story that would conceal their identities.

"They threatened them that they would be back if they didn't," Swing said.

By about 5 p.m. they were on the run again, in the couple's Jeep. Within 15 minutes, the couple managed to call for help.

"We've had an armed home invasion," the man told a 911 dispatcher . "It's the two people from Georgia, escapees. They're in a black Jeep Cherokee Trailblazer. We need help out here quick ... hurry!"

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His wife can be heard sobbing as he tries to reassure her, saying: "It's all right. You've survived. You've survived. You did it. You did a good job. Come here and let me hold you."

Deputies spotted the car and chased it for 20 miles (32 kilometers) at high-speed, Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Bill Miller said.

Rutherford County Sheriff Michael Fitzhugh said the suspects fired shots, striking several cruisers, but his deputies weren't hit and didn't return fire to avoid endangering other motorists on Interstate 24 southeast of Nashville.

The chase ended with a crash near the community of Christiana, Tennessee. With deputies in hot pursuit, the suspects left the weapons they had stolen from their guards in the couple's wrecked car, and ran through trees to Hale's property.

Miller said the homeowner held them at gunpoint until deputies arrived. But Hale said he wanted to set the record straight: "I had a weapon on me, but I never had to draw the weapon as has been in the news."

TBI Director Mark Gwyn said he's "totally grateful to everyone involved."

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"True bravery is what's caused us to stand before you tonight to talk about a successful capture instead of a tragic incident," he said.

Hale took a picture of the escapees once they were surrounded by law enforcement officers. It shows them spread-eagled and shirtless, face-down on the concrete  the same postures he said they had assumed themselves without saying a word to him.

The fugitives were taken to the Rutherford County jail, and in a hearing on Friday, wearing orange jumpsuits and surrounded by officers, they waived their right to challenge their extraditions to Georgia.

"They will be brought to justice swiftly for their heinous crime against our officers," Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Dozier said in a news release.

Their escape began early Tuesday, when authorities said they somehow got through a door that should have been locked separating the guards from the inmates on the prison bus.

Sgt. Christopher Monica and Sgt. Curtis Billue were overpowered and shot to death with their own weapons. The fugitives then locked up 31 other inmates and jumped out with the guards' 9 mm Glock pistols, carjacking a driver who happened to pull up behind them.

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It was the first of four cars they stole on the run, authorities said. The fugitives ditched the Honda Civic and their prison uniforms, ransacked a home and then stole a Ford pickup truck in Madison, Georgia, later Tuesday. They left that truck in Tennessee and stole a white sedan, which they abandoned near the hostages' home, Swing said.

The FBI announced a tip line and advertised a $130,000 reward on billboards. The Tennessee and Georgia bureaus of investigation weren't immediately sure who would collect the reward.

Monica and Billue were transfer sergeants at Baldwin State Prison, where Rowe, 43, had been serving life without parole since 2002, and Dubose, 24, began a 20-year sentence in 2015, both for armed robbery and other felonies.

Kate Brumback reported from Madison and Atlanta. Associated Press writers Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
Former Milwaukee police officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown, right, sits in court during his trail in Milwaukee on Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Milwaukee. Heaggan-Brown is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of 23-year-old Sylville Smith. (Michael Sears / AP)

MILWAUKEE  A former Milwaukee police officer on trial in a fatal shooting that sparked riots in a predominantly black neighborhood said Friday he will not testify, as his attorneys prepare to begin presenting his defense.

Dominque Heaggan-Brown announced his decision a day after jurors saw bodycam video showing how his fatal encounter with Sylville Smith unfolded in the span of 12 seconds. Smith ran away from a traffic stop and was armed when the foot chase began, but he had thrown his gun over a fence a split second before Heaggan-Brown shot him in the chest last year.

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Prosecutors contend Heaggan-Brown shouldn't have fired the shot that killed Smith, while the officer's attorneys maintain he had to react quickly to defend himself.

The Aug. 13 shooting triggered two nights of riots in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood where it happened, bringing to the surface the long-simmering tension between black Milwaukee residents and the police department.

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But unlike other police shootings that have given rise to a national debate over how officers interact with African-Americans, Smith, 23, and Heaggan-Brown, 25, are both black and from the same neighborhood where the shooting occurred.

Video from the body cameras of Heaggan-Brown and another officer at the scene have become the focal point of the trial, showing how rapidly the traffic stop escalated. The trial was the first time the videos were shown publicly.

"It happened so quick, like we just," Heaggan-Brown said, snapping his fingers twice as he sat in a police cruiser talking to a supervisor several minutes after the shooting.

On Monday, Heaggan-Brown's defense attorneys plan to call a police trainer to testify about how officers are taught to assume that someone who has a handgun is likely to be armed with another.

Heaggan-Brown has said he thought Smith was reaching for another gun in his waistband when he shot him in the chest. But prosecutors have said during the trial that Heaggan-Brown and other officers on the scene never bothered to check Smith for other firearms after he was killed.

Heaggan-Brown's bodycam video shows him begin chasing Smith immediately after stepping out of his patrol car. The camera shows Heaggan-Brown briefly pointing the gun at Smith as he begins running after him, but puts his gun back in his holster as Smith turns into a path between two houses.

Smith slips and falls near a fence, dropping his gun. He begins reaching for it as he stands up, his left hand holding the fence.

When the video is slowed frame by frame, Smith is seen holding the gun by the barrel to throw it over the fence. Prosecutors argue that shows Smith no longer posed a threat.

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The two shots by Heaggan-Brown came in quick succession  within two seconds of each other  striking Smith once in his right arm as he threw away his gun and then in the chest as he hit the ground on his back.

Heaggan-Brown and two other officers had approached Smith's rental car because it was parked more than a foot from the curb, and a man standing by Smith's passenger door led police to believe a drug deal was happening.

Heaggan-Brown faces 60 years in prison if he's convicted of first-degree reckless homicide. He was fired in October after being charged with sexual assault in an unrelated case. He's scheduled to go on trial in that case in August.
Ann DiValerio, a World War II veteran and former president of the Illinois Women Marines Association, died May 28, 2017, at 93. A former Park Ridge resident, she had lived in Huntley since 1999. (Family photo )

Ann DiValerio, a veteran of the Marine Corps, traveled to Washington last summer to visit the Iwo Jima Memorial near Arlington National Cemetery and attend a concert by the United States Marine Band.

As the World War II veteran entered the concert grounds in a wheelchair, she was spotted wearing her Marine Corps cap and was given an escort to a special viewing section and seated in the front row.

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A few minutes later, DiValerio was approached by two men dressed in formal military uniforms who introduced themselves as Robert Neller, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and four-star Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"Both men gave her a kiss on the cheek and thanked her for being a pioneer woman in the Marines," said DiValerio's daughter, Denise, who accompanied her mother on the August trip. "And that's when mom nearly fell out of her wheelchair."

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DiValerio would later describe that moment as one of her life's greatest experiences.

"I thought I was just coming to listen to the concert and pay my respects to the memorial and all it symbolizes," she recounted in October to the Sun Day, a newsletter for the Sun City retirement community in northwest suburban Huntley, where DiValerio lived. "Here were two of the most famous officers in America and they were going out of their way to welcome me and thank me for my service."

DiValerio, 93, previously of Park Ridge, former president of the Illinois Women Marines Association, died May 28, at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, of complications related to myasthenia gravis, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes muscular weakness, her daughter said.

"Whether you're a man or a woman, or whether it's 1943 or 2017, Ann was a shining example of what it means to be a Marine," said Maj. Shanelle Porter, commanding officer at the Marine Recruiting Station Chicago. "Her quiet confidence, strength of character and constant humility earned her so much respect."

Porter first met DiValerio at an event in 2014, and the two women  despite their age difference of more than 45 years  hit it off.

"We'd sit and talk about our Marine experiences," Porter said. "Back when she served, female Marines couldn't even train with a weapon. Today we do everything a man does  on and off the battlefield."

Born and raised Ann Marie Serio on the Northwest Side, DiValerio graduated from Notre Dame High School for Girls in 1942. Later she worked at the Chicago Public Library, where she met a Marine and became engaged before he shipped out to serve in the Pacific Theater during WWII.

Active in the USO, DiValerio wanted to do more for the war effort, so in 1943 she joined the Marines, which had allowed women to enlist and perform clerical duties since 1918 and activated the Marine Corps Women's Reserve in 1943.

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"She signed up, but only under her father's condition that she not serve overseas," her daughter said.

She completed a six-week boot camp at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. While in training, she was notified that her fiance had been killed in battle. He later received the Silver Star posthumously.

After boot camp, DiValerio was sent to the San Diego Marine recruiting depot in California, where she worked in the library, under the supervision of a male sergeant.

"It was good duty, but I later asked for a change, and they made me a CQ, a Charge of Quarters person who performs security duty, both days and nights," DiValerio told the Sun Day. "I had to stand for inspections and make sure I and everything I was responsible for was 'spit and polished.' It was great duty."

By 1944, DiValerio was transferred to the Bremerton, Wash., Naval Yard, where she worked in the Quartermaster Corps, and helped Marines returning from the war zone by replacing their clothing and personal effects.

"I made out the requisitions for the stuff they needed, many had clothes in really bad condition," she told the Sun Day. "It was depressing but important work."

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DiValerio served two and a half years of active duty and was discharged in 1946. She returned to the Chicago area, took a job at the Northwestern University dental school, and soon met her future husband, Anthony DiValerio, a veteran of the Army Air Forces. He died in 2000.

The couple married in 1947 and settled in Park Ridge, where she worked as a receptionist for a dentist.

DiValerio served two terms as Illinois president of the Women Marines Association in the late 1990s and early 2000s. During that time, she hosted the Regional Conference and participated in many Chicago-area parades. She also participated in a Marine alumni group in Sun City, after moving there in 1999.

"As a Marine, Ann inspired me in so many ways," Porter said. "She'd remind me that we're not in it for the glory, but for love of country and because it's the right thing to do.

DiValerio also is survived by two sons, Dennis and Greg; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Services were held.

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Joan Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
Ever since Election Day 2016, a large group of young immigrants has been in a painful state of suspense. They were brought here without authorization as children, and many of them have no memory of their native lands. Barack Obama, unable to get Congress to pass legislation allowing it, issued an order allowing most of those in this group, known as the "dreamers," to stay, go to school and work. But it wasn't clear if Donald Trump would agree.

Now they can take a breath. On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which covered some 750,000 people, will be left in place, at least for the time being. They are not about to be forcibly exiled from the only home many of them know.

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The preservation of DACA comes as a relief, though not entirely a surprise: Trump said during the campaign he would "immediately terminate" it but later expressed sympathy for those affected. "They shouldn't be very worried," he said in January. "I do have a big heart."

It's also sound policy. The great majority of these kids are working or going to school. Having educated them, Americans would be making a bad trade to send them back to the places from which they came, taking their skills and ambitions with them. Better to keep them here, where they can contribute to the American economy. Trump was wise to see that.

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His big-hearted step came in an announcement that DHS was rescinding a later program that allowed the parents of these young people to stay and work. That move was less significant because the initiative never took effect, having been blocked by a federal court after 26 state attorneys general sued. It's also a harder case, since those affected by it came as adults and chose to violate the law, unlike the kids they brought.

These decisions are just part of the administration's overall approach to unauthorized immigration, most of which echoes his aggressive campaign language. It has set out to hire 10,000 more Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents and broadened the population of people it considers priorities for deportation. The president still plans to build that wall on the southern border. And as acting ICE director Thomas Homan recently warned undocumented foreigners, "You should look over your shoulder, and you need to be worried."

But enforcement and tough rhetoric can only accomplish so much. What is really needed is legislation that addresses the broad matter of the estimated 11 million undocumented foreigners living in this country  most of them doing useful work, paying taxes and contributing to their communities.

Rather than pretend we can deport all or most of them, Congress and the president ought to come to an agreement that provides a path to legal status or citizenship for the many of them who have clean records. Our leaders should also expand the avenues for legal immigration, which is the best cure for illegal immigration. Securing the border and overall enforcement would be far easier if foreigners whose skills are in demand could get permission to come.

George W. Bush recognized the need for comprehensive immigration reform, and so did Barack Obama, but neither was able to make it happen. We have no reason to think Trump would even try. In that case, the problem will be around for his successor.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.

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The painful truth is that if you don't appeal your Cook County property tax assessment every chance you get, you're a fool.

Seeking a reduction is a free shot at saving big money on your tax bill. Not only does it cost nothing, there is no chance  zero, according to Tom Shaer, spokesman for Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios  that officials will examine your appeal, take a closer look at your home and similar surrounding properties and say, "Hey, thanks for calling this to our attention! Your place is actually worth more than we thought."

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"Citizens are guaranteed equal protection under the law," Shaer explained. "Everyone must be assessed using a formula based on the pattern of sale prices and market conditions, and we won't change that on you just because you avail yourself of the right to appeal."

The no-risk nature of such appeals is standard practice nationwide, according to Larry Clark, director of strategic initiatives for the Missouri-based International Association of Assessing Officers. "Increases on appeal are virtually unheard of," Clark said, even when homeowners ask for them in an effort to boost the market value of their properties.

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Another reason you're a fool if you don't appeal is that your free shot is likely to hit the mark. A little more than 50 percent of reduction requests were OK'd at the first stage in 2016, and after certain rejected appeals were considered by the Cook County Board of Review that figure rose to 80 percent.

My spot checks in other nearby counties found initial success rates for appeals running over 40 percent, though Will County reported a success rate of just 2.4 percent.

And the reason this is a painful truth is that I have been just such a fool. In more than 30 years of owning property in Cook County, I've appealed my assessment just once.

I deferred in part because the assessments have generally seemed reasonable to me  about what I expected. And also in part because I was under the false impression that an appeal was a gamble I might lose.

It wasn't laziness. I found the process easy the one time I tried it. Going through the assessor's website I found several houses in my neighborhood that were similar to mine but assessed at a lower value, filled in a few blanks and clicked "submit." A couple of weeks later I received a note that I'd earned a modest reduction.

Shaer said finding comparables in one's neighborhood takes about seven minutes, and filling out the forms takes about five minutes. Further, county employees can help homeowners find appropriate comparable properties.

Do you need a lawyer to walk you through the process? No. It's very straightforward. And contrary to what I'd always assumed, a lawyer doesn't even seem to help.

Shaer said that residential appeals filed with the help of an attorney had a 53.9 percent initial success rate in 2016, while those filed without the help of an attorney had a 55.3 percent success rate.

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In 2015 the spread was a bit wider, 52.3 percent success with an attorney, 56.7 percent without.

But although filing an assessment appeal isn't technically difficult, costs nothing even if you hire an attorney (they typically work on a contingency basis and take a cut of your tax savings, if any) and can be accomplished relatively quickly, it still requires a certain savvy and comfort with the system. And it's a lot easier if you have ready access to a computer and know how to use it.

So, in fairness, you may not be a fool like me if you don't appeal. You may be intimidated by the bureaucracy, confused by the lingo and misled by the myths. You may not be able to afford internet service or have the time to go to one of four assessor's office locations for help.

These realities tend to skew the benefits of the appeals process toward people in higher income brackets, a phenomenon thoroughly documented in Tribune reporter Jason Grotto's recent series "The Tax Divide."

Over time, wealthier neighborhoods like mine, where a greater percentage of people file appeals, tend to become under-assessed. And since property taxes are a zero-sum game, poorer neighborhoods become over-assessed.

Shaer said the county is trying to rectify this problem by focusing tax-appeals seminars in low-income neighborhoods.

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But given how easy he says it is and how often appeals result in lowered assessments, why not incorporate appeals directly into the assessment process? Why not automatically run every property though the Assesso-meter and introduce more fairness into the system?

Shaer said this would be a waste of time and resources, as only 19 percent of owners of residential properties appealed last year  14 percent if you don't count condos, which appeal at a very high rate. "It can't possibly be that the other 81 percent don't know how to appeal," he said. "They don't appeal because the assessor's office initial figure is far more in line with market value than we get credit for."

Or they're fools like me.

Re: Tweets

The winner of this week's reader poll for funniest tweet is one of the most stolen jokes on the internet: "At my funeral, I want the organist to start playing 'Pop Goes the Weasel' really slowly, until everyone is staring at the coffin in dread."

I have no idea who first thought of juxtaposing the jolly jack-in-the-box tune with a body lying in state, but Google finds nearly 80,000 such references, none that I've seen reliably attributed.

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Here, for the benefit of my editors and other punctuation lovers, is the third-place finisher out of 14 finalists: "Good Cop: You're under arrest. Bad Cop: Your under arrest," by @JB4Realz.

ericzorn@gmail.com

Twitter @EricZorn
Township High School District 214 plans to challenge whether a new special taxing district in Mount Prospect should be invalidated. (Karen Ann Cullotta / Pioneer Press)

Township High School District 214 officials are taking aim at a new special taxing district in Mount Prospect, challenging the justifications the village used to create a district for its downtown and saying it creates an unfair tax burden for some residents.

David Schuler, superintendent for the Arlington Heights-based District 214, said the body plans to file a lawsuit on Monday alleging the "Prospect and Main Tax Increment Financing District" includes a significant portion of an area that has been a tax increment financing district since since 1985.

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"We do not take this action lightly, but when we have significant concerns about the eligibility of a TIF district and when the village has failed to respond to our concerns, we feel we have no other option," Schuler said in a statement.

When an area is designated as a TIF district, property tax revenue  which is divvied up among taxing bodies including public schools  is frozen. Any amount above that, the "increment," is then put into a fund that can be used or borrowed against for projects to fuel economic growth in the area. Those projects can include granting tax breaks to new businesses, paying for public utility improvements and street-scaping, as well as other costs related to redevelopment projects.

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Under Illinois law, TIF districts are limited to 23 years, but towns can receive an extension.

In October 2016, village officials dissolved a downtown district that was created in 1985 and was extended years later. A couple of months later, in January, Mount Prospect officials created a new TIF district that Schuler said covers many of the same downtown areas.

Schuler said that effectively, a large part of downtown Mount Prospect will have been under a TIF district for a 55-year period, from 1985 to 2040, and would limit the amount of property tax dollars that would go to other area taxing bodies, including District 214, for decades.

Michael Cassady, village manager for Mount Prospect, said he was disappointed to hear about District 214's intentions to file a lawsuit, saying the joint review board, which is made up of area taxing bodies that would be affected by a new TIF district, including District 214, thoroughly reviewed the proposed downtown TIF district before approving it last fall.

He said he has asked Schuler and school board members to postpone filing the lawsuit to give village officials a chance to present their side of the issue to school board members during a meeting in July.

"I hope they don't just jump to the legal process," Cassady said. "That's just forcing the matter on the taxpayers, who will have to fund the litigation, which is a zero-sum game."

Behind closed doors during a meeting Thursday, school board members at Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214 discussed the possibility of filing a lawsuit Monday, challenging the legality of creating a new TIF district that covers the same areas that were under the purview of another TIF district, school officials said.

Schuler said district officials also have tried contacting Mount Prospect officials numerous times to share their concerns about the new TIF district and work on a resolution, but the village has yet to respond.

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The new TIF district was created after the local joint review board approved it in November 2016, although District 214, Harper College and a public citizen, Sann Knipple, voted against it. Representatives from Cook County, Elk Grove Township, Mount Prospect School District 57, the Mount Prospect Library and the Mount Prospect Park District all voted to support the TIF.

District 214 officials also said they based their decision to file a lawsuit on the recent findings of an independent consultant hired by the district.

Lake Bluff-based Allen L. Kracower and Associates determined that the properties within the new downtown TIF district in Mount Prospect do not qualify for a TIF designation because the area does not suffer from deterioration, inadequate utilities or a lack of community planning, District 214officials said.

Schuler also questioned the eligibility of the TIF district and whether it met the required criteria that stipulates the area in downtown Mount Prospect has to be blighted and deteriorating, and in need of tax incentives to spur economic development.

"I drive down Northwest Highway and see a lot of nice, new development that has already taken place in that area," Schuler said.

He also argued that, in the past, the downtown TIF district in Mount Prospect has shifted the tax burden to residents and businesses within District 214's boundaries.

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The District 214 attendance boundaries covers several different communities, including Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines Elk Grove, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling, meaning residents from all of these towns  not just Mount Prospect  will see their property tax bills increase as a result of the new TIF, according to District 214 officials.

Dan Petro, vice president of the District 214 board, said as the equalized assessed valuation of a property goes up, the tax rate goes down.

"If you also consider the fact that every year we levy a certain amount of money for the district, and let's say that goes up 1 percent," Petro said. "The thing is, without that new growth, everybody else's tax rate goes up to cover the increase in the levy except for the properties that are in the TIF."

Petro compared the dynamic to a large party going out to dinner.

"You go out to dinner with 10 friends, and one of the friends doesn't have any money," he said. "Well, what happens? The other nine pick up the tab. That's pretty much what we're talking about."

Petro said District 214 officials are objecting to the new Mount Prospect TIF  one of 16 TIF district within the district's boundaries  in an effort to stem the tide of TIF tax increases, and the shift of the school property tax burden to residents and businesses outside the TIF.

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"I suggest that our legislators and governor review the misuse of TIF districts and other tax incentives that create additional tax burdens on residents of our community," Petro said.

kcullotta@tribpub.com

Twitter @kcullotta
Crystal Jauregui, 13, shows a painting she produced for an art contest sponsored by the Kane County Juvenile Justice Council. ( David Sharos/The Beacon-News )

Fox Valley area students offered their take on important issues through art at an exhibition in Batavia.

"I think the biggest issues we face today are suicide and depression," said Tyler Magnuson, 17, of Aurora. "I like the concept of people expressing themselves through art rather than words."

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Students representing a number of area school districts displayed work June 14 at Water Street Studios as part of an awareness campaign sponsored by Kane County Juvenile Justice Council.

Kane County Juvenile Justice Council Coordinator Julia Ankenbruck said about two dozen submissions were entered through the program and that entries were largely submitted by high school age students.

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"We had a theme each month, and the majority of the drawings were done in colored pencils or oil pastels and put on poster board," Ankenbruck explained. "There were five winners selected that are on display tonight, and they are going to receive a plaque as well as some art supplies and gift bags which are being donated by the studio here."

Themes of the program included homelessness in January, unhealthy relationships in February, bullying in March, substance abuse in April and mental health issues in May.

Program manager for Kane County Juvenile Justice Pamela Ely said about half of the submissions at the event came "from my kids who are in detention."

"Obviously when you are in detention, you've got a lot of time on your hands and when I offered some of these kids the opportunity to participate, they did," Ely said. "Obviously they can't be here tonight due to confidentiality issues, but a lot of these kids come from difficult backgrounds and know some of these issues personally by living through them."

Parents and students as well as local officials like Lake Cowart, assistant state's attorney for Kane County, visited the exhibition. Cowart acknowledged that it "is hard sometimes" for others to express themselves in words.

"Kids are skilled in other ways, including art, and having something like this is an excellent way to give kids a voice and express themselves," she said. "Increasing awareness of the issues and risk factors is important given some of the challenges families are facing."

Marisela Jauregui of Aurora said her daughter, Crystal Jauregui, 13, was one of the students who submitted a drawing which consisted of a pair of hands bound in chains. She said she found the drawing to be "scary."

"My daughter is really quiet but I know she loves drawing and painting," she said. "Her picture was scary, but I'm glad she's found a way to express herself."

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Crystal said she worked on her art project for about a week and that her inspiration came from thinking about the aftermath following something traumatic.

"If you think about the topic of rape, for example, it's the type of thing that holds you down like you're in chains and you can never forget it," she said. "The background I used in my drawing is the space you live in afterwords along with what you remember."

Ankenbruck said the work of the students on display "would be used in promotional materials" the Kane County Juvenile Justice Council plans to produce in the coming months.

Magnuson predicted those student-inspired materials would be effective.

"I think the message is better in that you have kids relating to kids, rather than adults always telling kids 'no,'" he said. "Kids telling other kids not to do something is a lot more effective."

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
People in Aurora will get a chance to see the draft Downtown Master Plan during an open house coming up.

The plan is an update of the 2005 Seize the Future Master Plan to strengthen downtown Aurora's vitality and create a more livable, walkable downtown, city officials said.

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It has been a city of Aurora project, along with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, or CMAP, which provided the technical assistance for the update as part of grant to the city.

The planning agency and city officials have been working on the plan for more than a year, and are ready to get more public input on what has been done.

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The open house will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Meyer Ballroom in the Paramount Theater, 8 E. Galena Blvd.

The draft downtown master plan will be available for public review and comment before beginning the formal review process with the City Council.

From 4 to 6 p.m., the event will use an open house format that allows attendees to learn about the downtown master plan and provide input at their own pace.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin will give some remarks at 6 p.m., after which there will be an open dialogue discussion with participants. City and CMAP representatives will be on hand to gather feedback, answer questions and provide clarification.

According to a press release on the event, some of the areas the plan will focus on include: the downtown experience; revitalizing the downtown economy; activating downtown through arts and culture, the heart of downtown: The Fox River; mobility: getting to and around downtown Aurora; and building the downtown community.

Each focus area includes a vision statement, key findings, and a set of recommendations with a description of actions to be undertaken, officials said.

More information about the downtown Aurora master plan is available at cmap.is/lta-aurora.
The news hitting the public that second week in May was awful enough: A hostage situation at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva involved nurses and a patient with a gun.

Hours later, that patient, a 21-year-old prison inmate, had been shot dead by a SWAT team member and the victims released.

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But the information that came out almost two weeks later in a lawsuit filed by several nurses was even more horrifying: Contrary to earlier reports that there were no injuries, the suit claims one of the nurses was held hostage in the dark for hours with a gun to her head, and was not only beaten, tortured and raped during the ordeal, she was hit in the arm by the bullet that killed prisoner Tywon Salters on May 13.

Certainly I wasn't surprised when the headlines prompted an immediate call from my daughter-in-law, a nurse in the Dallas area who will never forget the time a prisoner she was attending in the ER all but destroyed his hospital bed, despite having one hand in handcuffs. The Delnor story, she said, has everyone in the profession talking, especially those who work in emergency rooms where you never know who is going to come through the door in an often high-stress and at times volatile situation.

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Closer to home, there's no question that what happened in Geneva had a chilling effect on hospital employees across the Fox Valley.

Officials from Delnor declined to be interviewed, but the hospital issued a statement noting that safety "is our highest priority" and that the "professionalism and bravery demonstrated by our staff during the May 13 incident likely saved many lives."

The statement continued, "We are now focused on supporting our employees, implementing procedures to prevent this from happening again and caring for the patients who trust us for their care."

Likewise, Presence Healthcare, which includes Presence Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, Presence St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin and Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, where a convicted murderer transported from Stateville Correctional Center earlier this month briefly held a corrections officer and caregiver hostage with a makeshift weapon, declined an interview. But Regional Chief Nursing Officer Grace McBride said in a statement that Presence Health follows "tested emergency protocols and procedures" and regularly participates in drills and in coordination with other organizations in the region.

As it turned out, four months before the Delnor incident, Rush Copley Medical Center began working with the Aurora Police Department to implement security enhancements as a response to an increase in violence that seems to be permeating society. New policies and procedures put in place at that time included more access restrictions as well as upgrades in badge and surveillance camera technology.

But even as the Delnor situation was playing out, Rush Copley officials "were talking to staff," said Chief Operating Officer John Diederich. And in the immediate aftermath of that hostage crisis, there was no question, he added, that nurses and other employees felt the need to revisit the policies and procedures that had just been upgraded a few months prior.

"It shook them up," he said, creating a sense of "vulnerability among staff and administration."

For that reason, officials have tried to check up more often on those working in the ER "just to make sure they are comfortable," Diederich noted. Also in response, Rush Copley held a series of employee forums that offered nurses and other employees a chance to voice their concerns and offer ideas.

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"There are always gaps in policies, and since then, we have taken a hard look at this employee input," he said. "How do we work together with the APD or any other law enforcement group that brings prisoners to the hospital? How do we work together to keep our employee safe?"

Some of those discussions have led to changes in code policy. For example, they have designated a word to signal when there's a combative patient, and security is notified of the need to deescalate the situation.

"We already had a good response in place," said Diederich. "But the staff told us we needed to form a perimeter around that area  to ensure the public remains outside and certain hallways are blocked off.

"We took it up a notch," he said, "to improve what we already had in place."

Geneva police secure an entrance to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva during a hostage situation May 13. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune )

In part because of its close relationship with Linden Oaks Behavioral Health, Edward Hospital in Naperville began aggressively tackling the issues of violence in the workplace two years ago, officials said. All 8,000 employees, including those at its 60-plus off-campus sites, have gone through safety training, noted Edward Public Safety Manager Dave Hoffman. And security measures, including better camera coverage and more panic buttons, have been added.

In addition to more face-to-face time between nursing supervisors and those on the front line, Edward has also been holding forums and discussions on ways to promote a culture of safety. Since March of 2016, representatives from all hospital departments converge once a day Monday through Friday to discuss any safety issues  no concern is too small  that have arisen in the last 24 hours.

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"It does not have to be pulling a gun," noted Chief Nursing Officer Patti Ludwig-Beymer, to constitute a threat to an employee.

Also, in the last nine months, there have been three major "active shooter" drills, including a full-scale drill in April that involved Naperville police and fire personnel. And a zero-tolerance policy in place encourages all staff to report when visitors display any type of violence toward them.

"Over the years, we just thought the abuse was part of the job," noted Cindy Rentsch, service line director for Edward. "Now we convey to the patient that we will not tolerate it."

There's no question, these health professionals say, there's been a breakdown in civility that has made their work more difficult.

"For the past five years there has been an escalation in patients acting out, verbally and physically," Rentsch said, and not just in the ER but in many departments.

"As a population, people are angrier," she said. "The world is moving at a faster pace and social media is providing a stage for people to act out."

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Adding to the problem is that some of the mental health infrastructure in the state has disappeared, said Rentsch. With institutions closing and state funding drying up, emergency rooms have become ground zero for treating these patients who are not getting the help they need. And while inner cities have always had stronger safety protocols in place, these experts said, suburbia has been lulled into a sense of security now being challenged by recent events.

Hospital officials agree that, no matter how good the security measures are, they will always need to be re-evaluated.

"We will never be able to eliminate the risk," said Rush Copley's Diederich, "but we can minimize it."

Ludwig-Beymer agreed. "We look at vulnerabilities and see where we can get better," she said. "This is a journey that will continue forever."

Dcrosby@tribpub.com

Twitter @dencrosby
Ahlam Abdelrahaman Yasin, right, was the junior high school recipient of the annual AnnMarie Integrity award presented by District 135 and the AnnMarie Foundation. (Donna Vickroy / Daily Southtown )

As she always does, Susan Blaha attended the District 135 annual awards ceremonies that honor her daughter's memory.

Last week, at the close of the school year, the AnnMarie Integrity Award for kindness, loyalty and friendship was presented to Ahlam Abdelrahaman Yasin, a soon-to-be eighth grader at Jerling Junior High, and to Klaudia Sieczka, a soon-to-be sixth grader at Century Junior High.

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The award includes a $500 grant that is made possible through the AnnMarie foundation, which has worked to educate parents and children about youth suicide. That work led to the 2015 passage of AnnMarie's Law, which mandates that Illinois schools provide suicide and depression awareness and prevention education programs.

Klaudia Sieczka was the intermediate school recipient of the annual AnnMarie Integrity award. (Donna Vickroy / Daily Southtown)

Each year the award recipients are chosen by their teachers, and this year there were several runners-up, a sign that the campaign to promote sensitivity and compassion is working across the district, officials say. An important component of the award criteria includes the student's ability and willingness to reach out to adults when issues arise with friends or themselves, district spokeswoman Jen Beshansky said. By promoting kindness and openness across the school community, Beshansky said, the AnnMarie Foundation hopes to spread awareness and prevent such an incident from happening to others.

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Born in Colombia, Ahlam has only lived in Orland Park, and the United States, for a year, but, as usual, her mother said, "She has amassed a crowd of friends."

Ahlam says she strives to be positive, even in the face of adversity, and that she encourages her friends to do the same.

"When they're feeling down, I tell them to look on the bright side," she said. "To kids who are struggling or having a hard time, I tell them there are other people in the world who support you and who can help you. If you're thinking about doing something awful, think about how the people who love you will feel. How they would react if you weren't in their life anymore. There are people who care for you. You're not alone."

An avid rollerblader, Ahlam said her definition of a good friend is someone who is honest and trustworthy and who strives to be positive. She hopes to become an optometrist one day so she can help kids like her younger sisters who have vision problems.

Klaudia, who recently finished up at Meadow Ridge, the same school AnnMarie attended, said when her name was called, "I was so surprised."

The award, she said is a "big deal."

"Integrity is important. It means showing responsibility, caring, kindness and respectfulness, all different kinds of ways you can change a person's day with words," she said.

Being a good friend, she said, means being supportive and trying to understand what someone else is going through.

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"In my life, I've gone through some obstacles and my friends actually helped me through," she said.

The pain of losing her aunt and uncle still lingers, she said. But her friends continue to support her, a sentiment she continually tries to afford them, as well.

She said she also relies on her passion for dance to help turn around a bad mood. She takes lessons in contemporary, jazz, Latin, Polish and ballroom dance and thinks maybe she'll be a professional dancer when she grows up.

Upon learning the story of AnnMarie, Klaudia said, "It's hard to believe someone my age could be that sad. I would never think that a girl my age would do something like that. If my friends talked about it. I would tell them I care about them, not to do it."

Each year, Blaha attends the ceremonies to congratulate the winners.

"I love it when teachers or parents say (the award recipients) are 'so much like Ann,'" she said.

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Remembering AnnMarie

The AnnMarie Integrity award is handed out in District 135 at the end of each school year in memory of AnnMarie Blaha, a Meadow Ridge School student, shown here just weeks before she died tragically in 2013.

Blaha has only recently begun to talk openly about her daughter's suicide.

"For so long, it was just too hard," she said. "But it's important that people remember Ann, that they know her story."

AnnMarie was "our gift," said Blaha, a nurse whose husband Michael Blaha, is deputy chief of police for Orland Hills.

"Her brother and sister were 14 and 16 years older than her. So she was the light of our lives," Blaha said. "She was smart and fun and her heart was huge."

Blaha said, again and again, at parent-teacher conferences, she was told about her daughter's compassion, how she'd reached out to a new student or to someone who felt left out. AnnMarie, she said, met her best friend while standing up for the other girl during a bullying altercation when they were in kindergarten.

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There seemed to be no limits to AnnMarie's capacity to care for others. And that, her mother said, may have been her downfall.

"She took the weight of the world on herself," she said.

On June 10, 2013, days after school let out for summer break, AnnMarie, who'd just wrapped up fifth grade, took her own life.

Though Blaha says she'll never understand why her daughter chose such a final solution, she now has a clearer picture of what was going on with her emotionally.

Kids, she said, need to understand that some things in life are so big they warrant a teacher's or parent's involvement.

Blaha admits it is not easy now to stand tall on behalf of others when the loss of her own child has knocked her to her knees, but she is determined that some good come of the heartbreak.

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"If I can help one child," she said. "If I can spare one parent this pain."

Alarming trend

Four years have passed since that fateful day, two years since AnnMarie's Law requiring school boards to adopt a suicide prevention policy was enacted and yet, Blaha said, "It keeps happening."

The Centers for Disease Control states that suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 10-14-year-olds and 15-24-year-olds.

The number of children and adolescents admitted to children's hospitals for thoughts of suicide or self-harm more than doubled during the last decade, according to new research presented at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in San Francisco last month.

Lead author Dr. Gregory Plemmons, an associate professor of pediatrics at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in Vanderbilt, reported that slightly more than half the patients with suicidal thoughts or actions were aged 15 to 17, while 36.9 percent were 12 to 14, and an additional 12.7 percent were children between ages 5 and 11.

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Positive light

The awards present another angle, something positive and uplifting, Blaha said. To see other children who, in AnnMarie's likeness, get recognized for being caring and compassionate is rewarding and comforting, she said.

By celebrating kindness, friendship and compassion, Blaha said, "We are telling the world that having a good heart is a good thing."

Stacy Westin, assistant principal at Jerling, agreed.

"Character is huge," Westin said. "Nowadays, in education and in the workforce, character is so important."

When she entered the field of education 15 years ago, Westin said, social media was on the far horizon and suicide was hardly addressed. Today, both are important topics that are often linked.

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And today, both are openly discussed in District 135.

"We're trying educate our students about the affect social media can have. I think it's getting better. I think sometimes it's so easy for a child to get behind a phone or a screen and type something that's not kind or that can be very hurtful because they're not face to face with the recipient," she said. "That's why we're trying to educate and help our kids understand  by having consistent conversations and by integrating a message of kindness into everyday life."

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Blaha said the awards are a fitting way to remember the girl who loved Disney World and mother-daughter trips to downtown Chicago.

"Every summer we'd go to the zoo, then shopping. We'd go to the Hershey's store and across the street to Ghirardelli's. Then we'd take a carriage ride all the way to the lake," Blaha said. "I miss those things so much."

The foundation, she said, "has given me something to work for. To be honest, it is helping me be here everyday."

A new granddaughter provides added strength.

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"Melissa (her daughter) named her Olivia AnnMarie," she said. "They call her Liv. And when she's angry, she says 'LivAnnMarie' which sounds like 'Live Ann Marie.'"

dvickroy@tribpub.com

Twitter @dvickroy
Will County officials continued to push forward on their capital projects campaign by hiring Kluber Architects and Engineers to begin the programming and site selection for its new Health Department building.

In Thursday's county board meeting, the Batavia-based firm was contracted for $59,500 to identify the functions to be included in the new facility, and evaluate three potential sites, one of which is the current site at 501 Ella Ave. in Joliet, and two other Joliet area sites to be selected by the county.

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One of those sites could be the existing courthouse on the southeast corner of Jefferson and Ottawa streets, which officials previously considered remodeling, but have not yet taken action.

The county plans to begin construction on a new courthouse on the southwest corner of that intersection in early 2018.

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In other matters Thursday:

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

 Officials approved resolutions to increase the cost of the new 10-story courthouse to $215 million, from $195 million, and to add $4 million to the cost of its new Public Safety Complex, now being built on Route 52 and Laraway Road in Joliet. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of December.

 The board hired Joel Van Essen as its new facilities management director at an annual salary of $115,000. Van Essen will first develop an automated maintenance program for the new Public Safety Complex, and the new courthouse, and later will incorporate all county facilities, said David Tkac, deputy chief of staff for Executive Larry Walsh.

Van Essen is a 20-year veteran of the US Navy, and was a facilities manager on Naval bases, Tkac said. He most recently was employed at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

 Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow reported that the Leopardo Foundation donated $10,000 to the county's Child Advocacy Center, citing it as the "largest cash gift ever." It is the charitable arm of Leopardo Construction, the construction management firm for the Public Safety Complex and the new courthouse.

"It's great when people who profit from their relationship with the county realize the importance of giving back," Glasgow said.

slafferty@tribpub.com

Twitter @SusanLaff
Husband and wife team Robert and Quynh Mutert plan to open Q88, specializing in authentic Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, to the former Masa Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Carpentersville. ( Erin Sauder/The Courier-News )

Husband and wife team Robert and Quynh Mutert are excited to bring authentic Vietnamese and Thai cuisine to the Carpentersville area.

Recently, the duo took ownership of the former Masa Steakhouse and Sushi Bar at 7020 Huntley Road.

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With chef Sam Phounsavat at the helm, the restaurant, now called Q88, will specialize in fare such as pho and sushi.

The establishment's name encompasses the first letter in the name Quynh and the number eight, which is associated with prosperity and confidence in Asian culture, Robert Mutert said.

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He credits his wife as the brainchild behind their new endeavor.

When visiting Hanoi in 2009, Mutert, who works in the theater business, was told he should visit the French restaurant, Le Beaulieu Restaurant, located inside the legendary Metropole Hanoi. While there, he met the restaurant manager, Quynh, who he married a year later.

Her name, he said, means "beautiful evening flower" in Vietnamese.

The pair, including their two children, moved in 2012 from Hanoi to Napa Valley, Calif., where Mutert had lived for a decade as technical director for the Napa Valley Opera House, which he helped to restore and open.

The family then moved to Algonquin in 2013 to be closer to family.

"I've got to admire her courage," said Mutert, who grew up in Mount Prospect. "She had the desire to bring the high-quality, authentic Vietnamese cuisine she grew up enjoying to diners. This was something she envisioned."

The Muterts first met Phounsavat, a Thailand native, while dining at Bangkok Thai & Sushi in Algonquin where he was a chef.

"We were regular customers because Sam made us feel so welcome," Robert Mutert said. "He spoke Vietnamese with Quynh. Then Quynh told him about her desire to open a place. Sam heard about (the former Masa building) being available and told Quynh and here we are."

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Phounsavat opted to join the pair on their new endeavor. He's looking forward to bringing his flair to the restaurant.

Pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth and rice noodles, "is rising in popularity in the consumer market," Phounsavat said.

The restaurant will also feature a full bar, "where any and all cocktails, beer and wine will be available," Mutert said.

The lounge area is expected to take up nearly a third of the restaurant's floor space, he added.

Q88 is expected to open this summer.

"We would love to open in a couple of weeks but we want to make sure it's right," Mutert said.

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They are excited to put down business roots in Carpentersville.

"The people at Village Hall are the best to work with," Mutert said. "They're pulling for us and doing everything they can to help us move forward. We love this area."

Erin Sauder is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
School District 300 may be ready to lift some of the restrictions put in place after a half dozen students contracted mumps this spring.

On Tuesday, Superintendent Fred Heid said the district will allow any unvaccinated person back into Jacobs High School after June 25 if there are no more cases reported by county health departments.

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"If we don't receive any other confirmations of suspected cases or fully identified cases at that time, we can lift all the restrictions as far as the exclusionary practices and what we've put in place," Heid told D300 board members.

During a recent school board meeting, Heid repeated that three more students had tested positive for mumps just as the school year ended last month. Six students tested positive for the contagious disease in May at the Algonquin school.

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The six lived in either McHenry or Kane counties, and all six had been vaccinated against mumps, he said. The outbreak at Jacobs follows a similar mumps outbreak that occurred just south of the D300 boundaries in Barrington earlier in the year.

Mumps typically causes swelling and tenderness of the salivary glands in the cheeks and jaw. Recommendations are for the infected to limit contact with others for up to five days to prevent further contamination.

Last Friday, D300 conducted a shot clinic for staff who either wanted to take the booster or could not provide vaccination records for mumps, added Heid. At a prior board meeting, Heid had suggested giving staff the mumps vaccine after Barrington had done something similar.

Board members have welcomed administration's communication regarding the outbreak, noting the openness and the consistent updates from the district to the public.

"I know more about mumps now," board member David Scarpino told Heid. "It's amazing and I truly appreciate it."

raguerrero@tribpub.com
Cord Thornton checks on the status of some ribs in a smoker Saturday at Smokin Joes Hog Wild BBQ stand, one of many rib vendors at Festival Park for the annual Elgin Ribfest. This was the first year Smokin Joes has participated in the event. (Gloria Casas / The Courier-News )

Joe Henderson's crew was at Festival Park on Saturday long before the crowds arrived, putting the ribs in the smoker and cooking the brisket for the annual Elgin Ribfest.

"We do a dry Kansas City or Texas barbecue rub, then we smoke them for eight hours," said Henderson, of Smokin' Joe's Hog Wild BBQ.

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Once the ribs come out of the smoker, they're wrapped up to keep their moisture, he said. Later, the pit crew will "sauce'm up" with his homemade recipe.

In his Kentucky hometown, Henderson said, barbecue is "just called dinner," he said.

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The secret to doing it at home, he said, is low, slow heat and dry rub. If using a gas grill, cook the ribs inside for an hour and a half before putting them on the grill, he said.

And, of course, sauce'm up, Henderson said.

This is the first year Smokin' Joe's has participated in the Elgin Ribfest. Organizers were looking for more "ribbers," he said, and Henderson had a weekend open so he signed on. He'll also be at Naperville Ribfest from June 30 to July 3 and at the Lake in the Hill Rotary's Rockin' Ribfest starting July 6.

Elgin Ribfest has become a Father's Day weekend tradition, and organizers have added more rib vendors, more drink options, more bands and more family activities, according to its website.

A portion of the proceeds support three organizations: the Elgin Boys and Girls Club, Marklund at Little Angels of Elgin and Ecker Center for Mental Health.

Dorian Ross and her mother, Delia, both of Elgin, were among the first through the gate Saturday.

"I'm ready to eat," Dorian Ross said.

The two like to barbecue at home and look forward to going to summer ribfests to get ideas on how to use different flavors and ingredients.

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Dorian Ross said she likes trying a variety of ribs from different regions, especially those with sweet flavors. Her mom prefers hot and spicy, she said.

BBQ King Smokehouse had plenty of spicy choices in addition to ribs, including a buffalo mac-and-cheese and BBQ nachos. The Woodstock restaurant recently won the 2016-17 Chicago Ribfest competition for ribs and best sauce in a North Carolina competition, owner Jason Szmurlo said.

"We do things right," he said. "We cook everything fresh and we make our sauces from scratch."

Szmurlo said he hopes to have a second BBQ King open in Huntley by the end of the year.

Besides the food, what Szmurlo likes about Elgin Ribfest are the bands.

Those scheduled to perform Sunday include Heartache Tonight, Fairlanes and Tynan. Festival hours Sunday are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Elgin City Council members have started taking guided tours of the Tower Building, getting a first glimpse of the work converting what had been offices into a 45-unit, market-rate apartment building.

"It seems like they're doing a great job," Carol Rauschenberger said.

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The city is providing a total of $6.35 million in development assistance for the Tower Building project, which has an estimated $16.6 million construction budget.

Once completed, the 15-story, 1929-built Tower Building will house 45 one- or two-bedroom apartments, with rents set between $863 and $1,200 a month. Residents will pay for monthly parking passes for downtown parking spots, 55 of which will be set aside for Tower residents, city officials said.

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Missouri-based Capstone Development Group and Chicago developer Richard Souyoul had been working on a deal for the iconic downtown structure since 2014. A groundbreaking ceremony for the project happened in late September.

Rauschenberger went through Elgin's tallest building Friday morning and noticed that workers were putting up some drywall. She noted that the work is being sympathetic to historic preservation needs by retaining elements of the Depression Era building into the update.

Apartments on the upper floors of the Tower are smaller than Rauschenberger thought they might be, but offer beautiful views of the city and the Fox River, she said. And Rauschenberger said learned that the building was only a bank for three months before the Great Depression hit.

Rauschenberger and other Council members said the project was behind schedule in part because of issues getting the right windows to meet specifications required as one of the terms of a state tax credit program.

As one of the several funding mechanisms being utilized, developers are taking advantage of the state's River Edge Redevelopment Zone Historic Tax Credit program, which was put together to help the Illinois river towns of Aurora, East St. Louis, Elgin, Peoria and Rockford revitalize, particularly their old downtowns. According to reports, a bill that would extend the program through 2022 is waiting for Gov. Bruce Rauner's signature.

Mayor Dave Kaptain and Council member John Steffen visited the Tower Building last Monday, and both were pleased with the progress.

"It's a huge, multi-layered project," Kaptain said. "It's involved reconstruction as well as demolition, removal and restoration of details like trim and doors."

Steffen said, "It's much more expensive than imagined to remove what they had to in order to begin on the renovation."

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Crews also had to deal with architecture and engineering from another era, Steffen said, the odd angles of the building's design and features such as having just one bathroom on each floor, with men's and women's facilities found on alternating floors.

Terry Gavin is set to tour the site Wednesday. Gavin said he would be asking about the status of the project and the timeline for its completion. Both Kaptain and Rauschenberger said they were told at least one apartment should be finished by the end of this year.

"There's a lot of enthusiasm out there for having the Tower Building operational and for it having tenants," Gavin said.

Council member Rich Dunne presently is attending a class at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and said he intends to take a tour upon his return from the Boston area.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what they've done with the layout and its quirks and learning about the unique challenges of this project," Dunne said. "I'm also interested in construction details such as what they had to do for plumbing."

As of Friday, Tish Powell had yet to schedule her visit to the Tower Building and was looking forward to seeing the transformation.

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Powell said her questions would include what problems Capstone encountered that they didn't anticipate, the oddest thing they found while doing the work and what they've might have done differently.

Rose Martinez, Toby Shaw and Corey Dixon have not toured the building yet.

Martinez said she was looking forward to seeing how crews improvised on their work and to seeing examples of how the developer has not cut back on anything in renovating the structure. Martinez has invited Bill Briska and Liz Marston from the Elgin History Museum, local historian Jerry Turnquist and Kim Bauer from the Elgin Heritage Commission to join her when she visits the Tower Building.

"They all know a good deal about the building, and I thought they would appreciate seeing the progress being made," Martinez said.

Shaw said he would be making sure there has been progress on the project, particularly as there has been disappointment that the work seems to be lingering on and on.

"It's important to get this done," Shaw said. "I'm curious to see the progress. It's a neat building."

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Dixon said he, too, is looking forward to a tour.

"I know there's been a lot of work put into the building, and it's very much anticipated," Dixon said. "It's vital infrastructure, and I'm very happy to see it's being reutilized. That's what we do as a city. We find ways to reinvent ourselves."

mdanahey@tribpub.com
Captain's log, stardate June 15 , 2017. Time, 7:30pm . Sat in on Carboard Playhouse's production of the Tony award-winning play Peter and the Starcatcher at its New Mexico premiere at the South Broadway Cultural Center . Adapted from novels by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, the play tells the story of an orphan from Victorian England, who eventually lands on a mysterious island. The fantastical play depicts life and adventure on the other final frontier. (Maggie Grimason)

Based on Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's best-selling novels about a young orphan and his mates are taken from England to a distant island ruled by an evil king.

Cardboard Playhouse Theatre Company, winner of The Alibis Best of Burque for Best Theatre Company and Best theatre performance will tell the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be the The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan) at the South Broadway Cultural Center later this month. This will be the New Mexico Premiere.

Tony Award-winning Peter and the Starcatcher is a wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's best-selling novels. The play was conceived for the stage by directors Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, and written by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker. From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair and the bonds of friendship, duty and love.

A young orphan and his mates are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They know nothing of the mysterious trunk in the captain's cabin, which contains a precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in- training who realizes that the trunk's precious cargo is starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. When the ship is taken over by pirates - led by the fearsome Black Stache, a villain determined to claim the trunk and its treasure for his own - the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure.
State Rep. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, left, and state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, discuss the state budget and other legislative matters during a town hall meeting held June 16, 2017, at the Glenview Park District Park Center. (Alexandra Kukulka / Pioneer Press)

During a Friday town hall meeting in Glenview, state Rep. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, criticized Gov. Bruce Rauner's decision to call the state legislature into a special session to discuss the state budget.

Illinois has been operating under a two-year budget impasse, and the General Assembly failed to pass a spending plan by the end of its regular session on May 31. The governor announced the special June 21-30 session on June 15; if lawmakers don't pass a spending plan by the start of the next fiscal year on July 1, Illinois will continue operating without a budget.

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Fine said that since the end of regular session, the legislature has been working in continuous session, which means "we're not done yet" and representatives work from their districts. Different legislative groups have been trying to find a compromise on the state budget before the July 1 deadline, she said.

But Fine said that while the special session "sounds great on paper," it will cost taxpayers $70,000 a day because the state is required to pay legislators a per diem.

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"By staying in continuous session and just getting the work done here and then going back for a vote, it would have saved the state a whole heck of a lot of money," Fine said.

About 60 people attended the town hall meeting, held by Fine and state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, at the Glenview Park District Park Center.

Fine said that for the past two years, the state has been overspending without having a budget, causing "devastation" around the state.

State universities have been "crumbling" without an operating state budget because student Monetary Award Program Grants, which support low-income students, are not being paid to the universities, Fine said. The lack of MAP grant funds hurts students because most universities won't allow them to graduate if they have an unpaid debt, Fine said, adding that she is concerned students will go to out-of-state schools to receive better funding and then not return to Illinois.

Fine said many state-funded programs  like after school, youth and non-violence programs  have been shut down because the state doesn't have the funds to support them.

"It's going to take a while, even if we pass a budget tomorrow, to try to repair the damage that's already been made," Fine said.

Both representatives said they are confident that the legislature will reach an agreement on the state budget before July 1.

"I'm hopeful ... we will be able to come to some agreement," Gabel said.

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Gabel said legislators have not suggested taking money away from local municipalities during budget discussions, and have in fact slightly increased or maintained those funding levels.

A resident asked if the legislature has a plan to fund Illinois Department of Transportation projects beyond July 1 if the state doesn't pass a budget. Gabel said there is no plan, which means projects would stop July 1.

Another asked if the state can balance a budget without increasing revenue. Fine said that it can't because the state's required bill payments, like Medicaid and pensions, "are so high right now, and we just do not have the money coming in."

akukulka@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @Akukulka11
A letter sent to all maintenance and custodial employees at Waukegan District 60 told employees that they should not communicate with anyone other than their immediate supervisors about district business. (Emily K. Coleman / News-Sun)

In the military, the chain of command starts at the top and filters down to the enlisted folks who do the real work. The chain is a required part of the military's power structure, whether the branch of service be the Army or Marines, for lives are at stake.

We're not so sure Waukegan school officials needed to invoke the military's "chain of command" in a recent letter sent to 60 maintenance and custodial employees. The workers were warned that what happens in District 60 should stay in District 60, or at least within the parameters of reporting odd goings-on to one's supervisor.

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Forgive us, but that letter reminding employees to follow "the chain of command" didn't sound as innocent as school officials claim.

It sure sounds to us like: If you see something, you better not say something if you want to keep your job. Or, in layman's terms: You better keep your trap shut. And, especially don't go running to the newspaper if you see something out of sorts.

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This "chain of command" letter comes on the heels of the discovery that the personnel file of District 60 Superintendent Theresa Plascencia has gone mysteriously missing from a locked file drawer and remains unaccounted for. The warning to employees also follows the report earlier this year that the district spent $123,000 to spruce up administrative offices inside school headquarters at Lincoln Center, Sheridan Road and Glen Flora Avenue.

Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

The letter asks workers to observe the chain of command when they have "questions or concerns as it relates to privileged departmental or District business" and to bring those concerns "to your direct supervisor for discussion and resolution." Some of those concerns are spelled out in the letter, including the misuse of district funds or equipment.

District 60 officials deny the letter is a way to control information in the district, calling it a decision to increase efficiency in the maintenance and custodial departments. And what taxpayer doesn't want to see efficiency in a school district?

Yet, hierarchy in the district is so worried about efficiency that since the letter was disseminated in March, officials have failed to have meetings with employees about it. Nor has anyone been disciplined for not following the chain of command protocol.

What is troublesome to us and should be to district parents and employees is the letter seems to skirt the issue of criminal activity or corruption. Rather, employees are urged to report things they observe to their supervisors or use the operations work-order system. Those directions appear obtuse, especially in the era of "See something, say something."

Those concerned about their jobs might be more inclined to report a crime or something untoward to a supervisor, rather than immediately calling law enforcement. That doesn't foster openness, especially if a supervisor is the problem.

Instead, it sends a chilling reminder to workers to keep any problems that crop up or they notice in-house so they can be controlled and contained. That's the wrong message to send to district employees and the community.

A better way in this context is for district officials to offer employees open-door policies to bring about change if they view incidents that need correcting. Unless district officials believe they are on a war footing and need a strict chain of command.
Former school board candidate Josh Gordon reviews materials from his complaint before the Libertyville School District 70 ethics commission during its May 31 meeting. (Rick Kambic/Pioneer Press)

A candidate who unsuccessfully ran for a spot on the Libertyville School District 70 Board of Education has filed ethics complaints with the district accusing the school board president, superintendent and teachers union president of breaking school board prohibitions against political activities and using district email accounts for political activities.

A newly formed three-person ethics commission is scheduled to reconvene on June 20 following an initial May 31 session. The formation of the commission came after Libertyville resident Josh Gordon filed a complaint on April 21 to Superintendent Guy Schumacher and followed up with an addendum on May 16 to Chris Kennedy, a school board and, now, ethics commission member.

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The complaints accused district employees of sending out election-related material on work time and using district-provided email accounts. Gordon also said district officials planned to allow election-related meetings to take place on school property and used a Facebook post to promote a board candidate.

"The job of every citizen is to hold our public officials accountable to following the rules," Gordon said. "State law allows for an ethics commission to determine if that happened."

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Four school board seats were up in the April election and Gordon came in fifth out of eight candidates, according to election results.

Named to the ethics commission were Kennedy, an insurance lawyer who was not up for reelection this past cycle; former longtime school board member Laura Beltchenko, a retired teacher and administrator, and Don Morrison, a district resident and former prosecutor.

District policy makes the superintendent responsible for creating the commission. Morrison said Schumacher assembled the group.

Both Schumacher and School Board President Tom Vickers said they recused themselves from involvement in the commission's work because they were mentioned in the complaint. They said Kennedy was the next ranking school board member willing to accept the task.

Kennedy said he contacted the district's attorney, Robert Kohn, who told him that he was unaware of any previous instances in which an ethics commission was assembled, and had no point of reference on how the group should function.

Morrison, who was voted chairman of the commission, initially declined to provide Pioneer Press with a copy of the complaint, saying some of the people mentioned are district employees with privacy rights.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, District 70 later provided a copy of Gordon's original letter and his emailed complaint addendum, which was later added to the items considered by the commission.

In their first meeting, commission members discussed procedures and decided to review details of the complaint privately on their own, to save time. They expressed caution about consulting each other outside of a meeting because two members talking would constitute a quorum and violate the Open Meetings Act.

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Gordon says in his complaint that teachers union president Cheryl Crenshaw, a first-grade teacher at Rockland School, used school resources to organize and conduct candidate interview sessions for the union's endorsement.

Gordon's complaint says Crenshaw sent emails on a district-provided account during the workday, and said she planned to use Rockland School for the union's candidate interviews. Gordon said school policies and state laws prohibit the use of school property and time for campaigning.

One email acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request shows Crenshaw asking Schumacher for permission to use her school email account to contact candidates and notified him of the union's plan to meet at Rockland School. The email shows Schumacher granting Crenshaw permission to use her school email account, though he did not comment on the plan to hold the union meeting at Rockland.

Responding to Gordon's allegations about the email being sent during work hours, Crenshaw said all teachers have "duty-free" periods throughout the day during which they're allowed to conduct personal business.

Additionally, she said, the union has used district schools for interviews in the past without any problems. She said, though, that she moved the proceedings to the Cook Memorial Public Library when Schumacher received a complaint. Schumacher said he helped Crenshaw reserve space at the library in an effort to be responsive to the concern.

"We're fortunate in this district to have amicable relationships with our counterparts," Crenshaw said. "That is not evidence of any collaboration or joint objective. The LEA does what's in the best interest of its members."

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The district's policy states that, "No employee shall intentionally perform any prohibited political activity during any compensated time. No board member or employee shall intentionally use any property or resources of the district in connection with any prohibited political activity."

The policy's 15-point definition of prohibited political activity includes "preparing or reviewing responses to candidate questionnaires" and "preparing for, organizing, or participating in any political meeting."

Gordon said that Vickers was aware of his concerns about the sessions but did not take action.

"(The emails) show a pattern of Dr. Schumacher inserting himself in the campaign and exerting influence over the election through use of district resources and in conjunction with the LEA (Libertyville Education Association), both of which are in direct violation of District 70 board policy," Gordon's supplemental complaint reads.

When contacted by Pioneer Press, Vickers denied any wrongdoing and said Gordon's actions reflect "sour grapes" about having lost the election.

"Assertions of collusion and of some big cabal here, those are very, very dangerous things to say," Vickers said. "I take great offense to it. I take offense to being called complacent. I caution anyone that's going to start running around and making those sort of assertions."

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When asked about Vickers' comment, Gordon disagreed and said he was merely following up on matters that occurred before the election.

When asked about Gordon's claims that he improperly corresponded with people who had questions about school board candidates, Schumacher disputed many of the allegations.

"I'm a prominent figure that people often contact for a lot of reasons," Schumacher said. "We don't often have contested elections, so there were a lot of questions sent my way. I wish Josh (Gordon) would have talked to me about these things. I could have explained what happened."

Another accusation made by Gordon involves a Facebook post on the district's page that pictured then-candidate, now-board-member Marc Grote at a March school board meeting while noting his appreciation for being part of the regional training for future school board members. Gordon's complaint contends the post was used to "promote school board candidate Marc Grote."

Grote's wife is a teacher in the district.

The post said Grote as well as incumbent candidates Tom Vickers and Wendy Schilling all attended the training, and then named the other candidates for school board.

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That Facebook post is no longer online. Shortly after it was posted, the district published a post that said the district does not support or endorse any political candidates.

In an email acquired through a FOIA request, Schumacher responded on April 19 to concerns over the Facebook post and said it had been removed. He wrote that, "while, according to counsel, it did not suggest any violation, it seemed to be causing unnecessary disturbance."

When asked about the Facebook post, Vickers said the district account is very active and the post in question was likely part of an effort to provide information to community members but was maybe too rushed. He noted that all candidates were still identified and no one was left out.

Robin Kollman, the district's public relations facilitator who frequently posts to the Facebook account and school websites, disagreed with Gordon's assessment in an emailed statement when asked to respond to his concerns over the post.

"The social media post being questioned was both accurate and factual and in no way a political endorsement," Kollman told Pioneer Press in an email. "As a former reporter with more than 20 years of news experience, I believe the post also was objective and fair."

The commission plans to reconvene at 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 20 at the district office, 1381 W. Lake St., to determine whether additional investigation into the complaint is needed and to possibly schedule a hearing.

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rkambic@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @Rick_Kambic
Jim Zay, DuPage Stormwater Committee chairman and County Board member, talks about the Fawell Dam site in the McDowell Grove Forest Preserve, where modifications are to be made in order to make it easier for fish to swim upstream. (Gary Gibula / Naperville Sun )

Changes to Fawell Dam in Naperville could make it easier for some fish species to go upstream in the DuPage River's West Branch and at the same time save taxpayers millions of dollars, DuPage County officials said.

Dam modifications, expected to be completed in 2019, will decrease the underwater slope below, compensating for the 4-foot difference between the water levels on either side, DuPage River Salt Creek Workgroup Director of Watershed Protection Stephen McCracken said.

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As a result, weaker or smaller fish will be able to swim through the opening and reach areas of the river north of the dam.

"There are 12 fish species below the dam, and you don't find any of those species upstream at all," McCracken said.

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There's a financial incentive as well. If the changes are not made, municipal wastewater treatment plants along the DuPage, including Naperville, would be mandated to follow more stringent regulations to comply with Clean Water Act standards enforced by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Officials estimate $64 million in wastewater treatment plant improvements  and increased water prices to consumers  could be staved off by dam enhancements, which are estimated to cost less than $10 million.

"I'm a water quality scientist, but I'm also a trained economist," McCracken said. "This is people's money, and we've got to make sure we're making the cleanest decision with it. Economically and ecologically, this is a cost-effective improvement that makes very good sense."

The dam is located north of Ogden Avenue, in the McDowell Grove Forest Preserve. It was built in 1971 to help control water flow and flooding in the area.

Three large iron floodgates are raised and lowered according to conditions. An emergency spillway was added when DuPage County took ownership of the structure in 1998. The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County owns the surrounding land and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources owns the waterway itself and its contents.

Officials from various agencies have worked together in recent years to complete water quality projects, such as the river re-meander north of the dam and the removal of small spillway dams north of Warrenville Road and at Churchill Woods.

DuPage Stormwater Committee Chairman Jim Zay said the mutual cooperation is helping save taxpayer money.

"Compared to treatment plant expansion, this is an easier fix," Zay said. "The residents won't be impacted by higher sewage fees that they'd be charged by the municipalities. In the long run, it's going to save tens of millions of dollars."

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Consultants and county engineers currently are completing a hydraulic analysis of the project, which officials said would take another two months. The permit process will take another year before construction can start.

"The goal is to see the reintroduction of the downstream fish species into the upstream," DuPage Stormwater Manager Anthony Charlton said. "We know there's no reason they should not be there, other than that dam. Once we have all the species that historically should be in this river, that's when the IEPA will tell us we've restored the stream back to the Clean Water Act goals of having a fishable, swimmable waterway."

According to McCracken, the fish species found both upstream and downstream of Fawell Dam include sunfish, largemouth bass, carp and a few others.

"We set out and measured fish populations every mile of the West Branch and then looked for distortions or places where the fish were disappearing," he said. "We found the biggest factor affecting that was the Fawell Dam. You could clearly see that certain fish were unable to swim through the structure."

The fish species missing from the river north of the dam include hornyhead chub, central stoneroller, bigmouth shiner, blackstripe topminnow, shorthead redhorse, emerald shiner, largescale stoneroller, blackhead catfish, tadpole madtom, white perch, rock bass and longear sunfish.

"The good news here is that project itself will be paid for by wastewater treatment facilities because this is a much cheaper option than what they'd otherwise have to do," McCracken said.

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Zay said engineers currently are working on a design that would decrease the underwater slope from the current 5-percent grade to a slope of zero to 2 percent. It has not yet been determined whether the modification is needed below one, two or all three of the dam gates.

"We don't know the exact cost yet because it hasn't been decided what exact modifications need to be made," Zay said. "We know we can make it work hydraulically. Now, we need to make sure it can work structurally."

Officials from the cities of Naperville and Warrenville issued statements pledging full support and cooperation as the project moves forward.

"Our first job is flood control," Charlton said. "However we modify the dam, we must make sure it can still do its job to protect the residents and properties."

Gary Gibula is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Nasira Irfan, left, and Imrozia Imran prep food Wednesday that will be served during the iftar buffet at the Saag Hut on Frontenac Street in Aurora. Iftar is the meal served after sunset to break the fast Muslims partake in during Ramadan. (Suzanne Baker / Naperville Sun )

On a humid 90-degree day, Imran Ahmad, owner of the Saag Hut, was washing dishes because the person who performed those duties quit amid the owner's busiest month the year.

"I might be the owner, but today I am the dish washer," he said.

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For Naperville-area restauranteurs like Ahmad, Ramadan means big business even though the bulk of their clientele don't eat during the day.

Ramadan is Muslim holy month marked by a daily dawn-to-dusk fast  this year from the evening of May 26 through the evening of June 24  celebrating the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad.

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Teens and adults who observe the fast refrain from eating and drinking liquids during daylight hours. At night, they break their fast to consume as much as they want.

To feed that craving, local restaurants are more than willing to cook so families don't have to do the work or be tempted to sample what's on the stove.

And those dollars can add up.

The Islamic Center of Naperville hosts nightly dinners during Ramadan at both its Ogden Avenue and Olesen Drive locations. The Ogden Avenue center alone serves between 450 to 500 people.

To cover the cost of the catered food, utilities, supplies and cleanup, the Islamic Center will spend on average $4,300 a day, which pumps roughly $129,000 into local economy over the course of the month.

Several local restaurants see business increase during Ramadan.

Ahmad, who is Muslim, said he's not fazed by the smells from the family recipes passed down from his mother he has cooking throughout the day in preparation for the buffet spread his Aurora restaurant serves after sunset or the heavy carryout business he gets during Ramadan.

It's not the hunger pangs, it's the heat and inability to take a sip of water that proves his faithfulness to the fasting.

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As stifling as it was outside Wednesday afternoon, the heat in the kitchen where Ahmad washed dishes was equally intense, mostly from the clay pot oven used for making bread, like naan.

His specialty and most popular dish is saag, a mixture of leafy greens and spices. It's so much in demand, he'll mix up a fresh 200-pound batch every other day.

Ahmad said business picks up significantly even though he pushes back opening the restaurant until noon during Ramadan.

Non-Muslim customers sometimes will pick up lunch, but most of his customers, he said, don't start ordering for carry-out or for catering larger gatherings until mid-afternoon.

Because everyone wants to eat at the same time, Ahmad said he and his family are swamped in the early evening preparing for the buffet and the other orders at the restaurant on Frontenac Street, just south of Ogden Avenue.

"It's chaos in the back," Ahmad said. "After 6 (p.m.), nobody knows what time it is."

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Dine-in customers generally start arriving about 8:15 p.m. as the servers bring out the food for the buffet. He said buffet items change nightly for frequent customers.

As the owner, Ahmad said it is his job to alert everyone in his restaurant when they officially can break the fast and eat.

He said those who don't reserve a seat or arrive too late often wait in their cars until there's room in the Saag Hut to sit. Because they're often so hungry, Ahmad said he lets waiting customers grab a plate of food to eat in their car until others finish dining and leave.

Placing a reservation early assures people get at a table on weekends at Sara's Pakistani and Indian Cuisine in Naperville, owner Sajjad Bhatti said.

Ramadan is his busiest time of year between customers who dine in, carry out or cater a meal.

"It's one of my best months," Bhatti said.

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He even hires extra staff to keep up with the high demand.

Besides catering family gatherings, Bhatt said he receives large orders from mosques throughout the Chicago area, Peoria, Champaign and Michigan.

Bhatt, who is Muslim, said he strives to create a family atmosphere at his restaurant and he includes a time of prayer during his evening buffet at his restaurant, located on Route 59 near 95th Street.

"When you come, we want it to feel like a home," he said.

On weekends, some Muslims stay awake all night. Restaurants like Sara's offer pre-dawn breakfasts early Saturday and Sunday mornings so customers can get in a final meal before the daily fast begins.

Even traditional American restaurants  IHOP, Dunkin' Donuts or McDonald's  are popular hangouts for younger Muslims because they're open late into the night and early in the morning, said Safa Farid, a 22-year-old Naperville resident who studied neuroscience at University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Because JK Kabab, on Weston Ridge Drive in Naperville, has no buffet and customers must order off the menu, restaurant staffer Zehra Hasan suggests people order ahead of time so their party's meal is ready at sunset.

Because the restaurant is busy all at once and there are carryout orders being prepared, customers might have a long wait if they hold off ordering until they arrive, Hasan said.

Even though meals are pre-ordered, there's no guarantee a table will be available. Hasan said it's equally important to get to the restaurant at least a half hour before sunset to grab seats.

subaker@tribpub.com

Twitter @SBakerSun1
After several parents shared their concerns, Oak Park School District 97 has announced it will retain library assistants in all 10 of its buildings for the upcoming school year.

In a statement released June 8, district spokesman Chris Jasculca announced all media assistant positions were being restored for the 2017-18 school year.

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"We are in the process of contacting the individuals who served in these positions this year to gauge their interest in returning, and plan to recommend their re-employment as part of the personnel report being presented for action [at the June board meeting]," Jasculca said.

Jasculca said school board members unanimously approved the plan to restore the positions June 13.

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"Any positions that remain open following completion of this process will be posted with the goal of filling them prior to the start of the school year," Jasculca said.

During the May 23 school board meeting, several parents and staff members spoke to the board and asked for them to reconsider the impending cuts. Retired District 97 teacher Judy Chrisman was one of the many who spoke at that meeting, adding she did not expect cuts following the community's approval of an operating fund referendum question on the April ballot.

"I found out that all of the library assistants in every school in the district were going to be fired regardless of whether the referendum passed or not," Chrisman said. "I wonder how many of you spent time in District 97 libraries over the past year when this decision was being made. I believe, after voting for the referendum, that the public will be appalled [if you fire them]. There's no way you can run a library with just one staff member."

Resident Pattie Campuzano also spoke in support of retaining the assistants.

"This vote was done very quickly, without discussion," Campuzano said. "This issue is about librarians and quality education. I'm not sure many of you know what the district library programs are about, yet you saw fit to hit the delete button."

School officials said they would better work with the community regarding similar decisions in the future.

"We will continue to engage our faculty and staff, students, parents/guardians and community members in a dialogue about ways we can modernize our learning spaces and practices to help advance our vision and aid the growth, development and progress of our students," Jasculca said. "We also want to express our appreciation to the people of Oak Park for their support of our schools and the children we serve."

sschering@pioneerlocal.com

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Members of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi perform a traditional welcoming dance Saturday at Hobart's Water Festival event at Festival Park. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune )

Dressed in ceremonial regalia, members of the Pokagon band of Potawatomi Indians on Saturday performed traditional dances as a circle of men from the tribe beat a large drum and sang.

Each song had a meaning. The dances told a story of the tribe's way of life

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"The women's jingle dress dance represents healing. It came from a young lady who dreamed of healing and helping people," said Brian Dayson, a tribe member from Dowagiac, Mich., who participated in the 6th Annual Water Festival in Hobart's Festival Park.

The cone-shaped beads adorning the women's dresses represented water, which to the tribe means life, Dayson said.

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The festival is put on each year by the Hobart Stormwater District, with the aid of a Lake Michigan Coastal grant, MS4 director Tim Kingsland said.

The grass dance performed by the tribe was initially done years ago to lower the tall grasses, revealing the enemies hiding amongst them and driving away any snakes and animals that made their home there, Dayson said.

There was no dancing as the mood grew more somber during a Vietnam veterans song.

"We always pay respect to our veterans," Dayson said.

Hobart resident Erica Wojihoski said she was "absolutely enjoying" the songs and dances by the Pokagon band, whose members traveled from South Bend and Dowagiac to perform at the festival.

"It brings you into their culture. It's so different to see and hear their heritage in person," said Wojihoski, who participated in the final dance, joined by her son Ethan, 7, her soon-to-be-adopted son Max Engers, 14, and several other festival goers.

The trio also joined others to watch members of the Pokagon band perform a water blessing ceremony in which they passed out blessed water to the crowd and poured a special "mixture" consisting of cornmeal, maple syrup, strawberry and a "tiny bit" of tobacco into Lake George.

"I'm sure the fish will enjoy that formula," said Barbara Ann Warren, "Nimgizmokngkes" or "Setting Sun Almost Evening Star," who led the ceremony.

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She said the tribe respects the water and its healing qualities.

"We love it, we respect it, we were born in it," Warren said.

Kingsland said the Stormwater Department tries to make the festival bigger and better every year.

"I feel this is the best one we've done yet," he said.

The festival also included Animals for Awareness, featuring such animals as a boa snake, tortoises and domestic skunk, Dumpster Drummers, a bounce house and educational booths.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Dean White sits in the drivers seat at the 1970 groundbreaking of the Twin Towers office building in Merrillville. (Calumet Regional Archives)

The Star Plaza Theatre will soon see its last encore.

After a short-lived reprieve from the wrecking ball following an outcry from patrons and some of the acts that have performed there, the iconic Merrillville theater will be demolished along with the Twin Towers office complex to make way for an expanded redevelopment at the intersection of Interstate 65 and U.S. 30 in Merrillville, according to property owner White Lodging.

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White Lodging announced Friday afternoon that redevelopment plans for the Star Plaza property, including the Radisson Hotel that is almost completely demolished already, have expanded to include all 30 acres at the intersection.

The company originally announced plans to raze the hotel and theater in August 2016.

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Built in 1969, the Radisson Hotel, including the ballrooms and restaurants it encompassed, is expected to be demolished within a couple of months, officials said. That project started in April.

The hotel, its restaurants, the adjacent Holiday Star Theatre (later renamed the Star Plaza Theatre) and various colleges and businesses helped stimulate the local economy and were instrumental in transforming the area around it into a retail and hospitality corridor for half a century.

The Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville will be demolished in 2018, according to White Lodging. The demolition of the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza is already underway. (Joe Puchek/Post-Tribune )

Merrillville-based White Lodging has not indicated what will go on the site, other than a new, more upscale hotel. The hotel, which will have 215 rooms and 12,000 square feet of meeting space, is expected to open in late 2018, according to White Lodging.

Deno Yiankes, president and CEO, investments and development, at White Lodging, said the company's priority is the new hotel, with an overall phased development that would honor the legacy of the late Dean White, who developed the Holiday Inn at Star Plaza at the intersection almost 50 years ago, and benefit the community for decades to come.

He said it has become clear that a "clean slate" would be needed to proceed with the new project, which is why the theater and towers will be razed.

"As we think about the end goal of creating a development with a unique sense of place that will enhance the local community for decades to come, it became clear through a collaborative effort with our development and land planning team that leaving the theater and office complex would have, in many ways, limited the full potential of the redevelopment," Yiankes said.

"While it will require some patience, we have no doubt this clean-slate approach will allow us to create a destination that will have an everlasting impact on Northwest Indiana as Dean White's original development provided for nearly 50 years," Yiankes added.

He said construction of the first phase of the new development will likely begin in the summer of 2018.

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Speros Batistatos, CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, said he met earlier in the week with Yiankes, who explained to him planners felt they couldn't do something completely new and fresh if they had to work around really big things, such as the towers and theater.

He said he did not know the plans for the site.

White Lodging was founded by Bruce White, son of Dean White.

The 3,400-seat Star Plaza Theatre was opened in 1979 and was a stop for many A-list performers such as James Taylor, the Oak Ridge Boys and Roy Clark through the years, some of whom returned numerous times.

Shows will continue through December, with a grand finale event headlined by the Oak Ridge Boys, the only act to play at the theater every year since its opening, according to White Lodging.

Tenants of the office tower will finish their remaining leases, with the building expected to be fully vacated by summer of 2018.

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Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
A mother of adopted twin girls reconnects with them 18 years later, giving birth to a dream to see them again in person. (Jerry Davich/Post-Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

As soon as Billie Jo Mikesic met Nancy and Randy in September 1998 she knew they should be the adoptive parents of her twin baby girls.

Mikesic's daughters, Kyla and Kayla, were only 13 months old at the time. At 19 years old, Mikesic didn't feel much older than them. She also felt painfully unprepared to raise two tiny humans.

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"I didn't want them going to eight different schools before high school, constantly moving because I couldn't afford rent, or having to need for things," Mikesic recalled. "I wanted them to have Easter, birthday parties and Christmas. Those things were rare for me."

"I was uneducated and made too much money working at a gas station, so I couldn't qualify to get food stamps. That's all I wanted."

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After giving birth to the twins, the idea of giving them up wasn't even imaginable for Mikesic, who nurtured maternal dreams as any new mother might. After a while, though, adoption felt like the right path.

Nancy and Randy, who live in California, were chosen as possible adoptive parents for Kyla and Kayla. They asked that their last name not be used for this column. A plane trip was scheduled there with both babies in tow.

Billie Jo Mikesics twin daughters, Kyla and Kayla, are seen as infants. (Billie Jo Mikesic)

"I was like, 'Eh, we'll go for the visit and then come back home,'" Mikesic recalled. "But something else happened."

On the drive with the prospective parents from the airport to their home, Mikesic noticed Randy nonchalantly reach over and gently hold Nancy's hand.

"I just cried on the inside," Mikesic recalled. "That's love, I thought to myself."

Mikesic had never felt such love. Her daughters' father didn't show it to her, she thought to herself. He was never in the girls' lives, signing away his rights soon after they were born.

The love that Randy and Nancy shared seemed like something from a Hollywood movie, not from this unwed Hoosier teen's early life, Mikesic said.

When she arrived at the couple's home that day, a beautiful bedroom was already in place for Kyla and Kayla. Two tiny beds faced each other. Warmth, affection and stability filled the air.

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"They instantly connected and had a bond," Mikesic said. "For the first time I was seeing what I thought existed only in movies  love. I knew I wanted everything they had to offer for them."

Mikesic signed the adoption papers giving away her babies, knowing it was the right thing to do.

"Inside, I was ripping my heart out," she said. "But not for one second did I doubt it was the best choice for my girls."

Nancy made a scrapbook for Mikesic, which she has always kept close.

"Like a Bible," Mikesic said.

Mikesic brought it back home with her and waited for new photos of the girls to add to it.

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"I felt like I won the lottery every time I saw that manila envelope in my mailbox," she said.

The years peeled away, fewer photos arrived, phone calls were made, but the daily rigors of life got in the way.

"Totally understandable," Mikesic said.

Life also continued on for Mikesic, who eventually married her own loving husband, Frank Mikesic, and gave birth to two more daughters. The family lives in Merrillville and she works as a dental office manager.

Billie Jo Mikesic went on to marry Frank Mikesic, left. (Billie Jo Mikesic )

Life was rosy except for one thorny emotion that blossomed into a painful regret.

"I felt like a part of me had died ever since I left them," Mikesic said.

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She couldn't wait until the girls turned 18, last year, when they could possibly reconnect with her, if they wanted.

"I swear it took forever," she said.

Mikesic called the adoptive parents to chat about a possible visit to meet Kyla and Kayla, who were young women with busy lives of their own after graduating from high school.

"They weren't interested in knowing me," Mikesic said she was told. "I was heartbroken. But I totally understood. I knew this was never going to be easy."

Mikesic tried searching for her daughters on social media. She came up empty.

"I just wanted to see what they were up to, or what they liked," she said.

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Earlier this year, Mikesic noticed the girls had online Instagram pages. On March 31, while proudly showing her husband a photo of Kyla, fate stepped in.

"Without me knowing it, his fat thumb accidentally clicked to follow her page," Mikesic said.

The next day, Mikesic received a return request.

"I went 50 shades of crazy on my husband," she said. "I didn't know what to do."

At 8 p.m. that night, Kyla sent Mikesic a message.

"Your name sounds familiar. Do I know you?" Kyla asked.

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"Kind of," Mikesic replied.

Mikesic explained that she is her biological mother. They both cried. They've been chatting online since that day, she said.

Giving them up "was the hardest decision of my life," Nancy said.

Mikesic then reached out to Nancy, who's been very supportive of her renewed relationship with the girls.

"I really can't say enough good things about (Nancy and Randy)," Mikesic said.

This isn't the end of the story. Actually, it's the beginning.

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Mikesic has made plans to finally meet her girls, for the first time in going on 19 years.

"I want my young girls, Isabella and Olivia, to meet my older girls, Kyla and Kayla," Mikesic said.

Nancy and Randy are fine with this reunion, they told me. Kayla, however, is struggling with the idea of finally meeting her biological mother, Nancy said.

Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

"Kyla is more open to this and wants to meet Billie Jo," Nancy told me.

Mikesic is selling homemade salsa to raise funds for a flight for four to California. Her project is called "Salsa for Cali."

"I will make my salsa until I bleed," she said.

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So far she has raised a quarter of what she needs for her entire family to reunite where she once left her daughters, and part of her heart.

"I just want to hug and hold my babies again," she said.

jdavich@post-trib.com

Twitter @jdavich
Wanda Piazza had to leave Froebel School in Gary at age 16 to get a job during the Depression. (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune) (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune)

Wanda Piazza revealed the smile of a schoolgirl when she noticed the black cap and gown on a hanger.

"This is for you," Renne Reed told her while draping the gown around Piazza's shoulders and adjusting the cap.

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Piazza didn't understand at first. In just a few days, she would be turning 100 years old. She figured all the hubbub was in advance of her milestone birthday. That long-anticipated celebration, though, would come later.

"This is your graduation day," explained Reed, director of admissions at Miller's Merry Manor in Portage.

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Piazza, who's been a resident there for only a few years, chuckled to herself and peeked into the center's therapy room. It was crowded with guests, including several family members, fellow residents and quite a few nursing care staff members.

Together, they burst into applause as "Pomp and Circumstance" played in the background. (Watch a video at www.post-trib.com/opinion.)

"Please stand, if you're able, and help us welcome the graduating class of 2017!" announced Beth Ingram, the facility's top administrator.

Reed escorted Piazza into the room, past all the guests. Piazza turned toward them, still slightly stunned, and gently smiled. Her oldest son Joe, who's 80, was among the guests, along with nieces, grandsons and other extended family.

"Oh  my  God," Piazza sighed after realizing what was happening.

Reed, the mastermind behind this surprise ceremony, guided Piazza into a chair in front of the guests. It was flanked by several black and gold helium balloons, imprinted with "Congrats!" and "2017."

Piazza looked at everyone and shook her head in disbelief.

She never dreamed of graduating since dropping out of Froebel High School in Gary in 1933. She was 16, the Great Depression ruled the country, and her mother had needed help paying the bills. Piazza decided to take off just one semester to work in a nearby factory, Bear Brand Hosiery.

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She earned six cents an hour for the first week, then 35 cents an hour after that. She operated a machine that sewed together the toe section of socks and hose. She got so good at it that her boss later bumped her pay to 50 cents an hour.

Piazza never made it back to school.

At 18, she married a young man named Sam Piazza. They lived with his family for 18 months before moving to the Glen Park section of Gary, where they purchased a home for $3,500.

"It was brick," said Piazza's niece, Margie Herzog, of Hobart.

At 45, Piazza became a widow when her husband died from a heart attack.

She's lived a good life since then. High school became a hazy memory, obscured by the daily necessities of raising a family and paying bills. The kids grew up and Piazza moved from Gary to Hobart and eventually Lakes of the Four Seasons, where she lived with her son, Jerry.

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Wanda Piazza, who turns 100 June 18, poses for photos with her new high school diploma after a brief ceremony June 14 at Miller's Merry Manor in Portage. (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune)

In 2012, she moved into Miller's Manor in Portage, where she's become a friend to staff members and a close friend and mentor to Reed. Their bond is obvious. And sweet.

Last June, around high school graduation time, Piazza joked to Reed about never graduating from high school.

"It's never too late," Reed told Piazza, who dismissed the idea.

Reed, however, never forgot their conversation.

Earlier this year, she was determined to get Piazza an honorary diploma of some kind. Without revealing her plan, she did some homework.

Reed contacted Neo Adult Education learning center in Portage to ask if Piazza could take an assessment test for a certificate of high school equivalency. It may have been the longest hour in Piazza's long life.

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She passed most of it, enough to earn an honorary certificate, which Reed secured a copy of for Piazza's "graduation" day earlier this week. Reed also ordered online an honorary diploma, embossed with "Froebel High School," as if it were from the long-gone school.

"I really wanted it to look as good as possible since she wanted it so badly," Reed told me. "We tried to get her transcripts from high school, but the school corporation didn't have them."

Renne Reed, from Miller's Merry Manor in Portage, shows a graduation card she gave to Wanda Piazza during Piazza's high school "graduation" ceremony June 14. (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune)

In front of the guests, Reed pulled out the fancy diploma, framed with a photo of Piazza taking her assessment test.

"Miss Wanda, I love you to death and I'm happy to present this diploma to you," Reed said, her voice quivering with emotion. "I hope if I ever make it to 100 that I'm as wise as you are."

Piazza clutched her diploma and looked up at Reed.

"Well, you sure kept everything a secret, didn't you?" Piazza said.

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Everyone laughed.

"She can't believe we kept it a secret," Herzog told me.

Ingram stood behind a makeshift podium to also say a few words.

"You are the perfect example of a lifelong learner," she told Piazza. "And you still are. First thing every morning you want to read the newspaper from front to back."

Applause, again.

Then a graduation cake, as tradition calls for at any age. Even for Piazza, who turns 100 on Sunday.

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Afterward, Piazza was the talk of the facility, just as she's been since receiving a birthday card from the office of President Donald Trump a couple weeks ago.

Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

"She was so excited, she showed everyone," Herzog said. "She was most excited about the embossed lettering on the return address, stating the White House, Washington, D.C. I don't think so much about the signatures inside."

This turned out to be true.

When she first received that card, Piazza showed it to a female staff member at the facility. She shared their exchange at Piazza's graduation ceremony.

"Look what I got!" Piazza told her that day. "It's from Donald Duck."

Laughter, again.

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Wanda Piazza, who turns 100 June 18, greets her son Joe Piazza, 80, during her high school "graduation" ceremony June 14 at Miller's Merry Manor in Portage. (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune)

jdavich@post-trib.com

Twitter@jdavich
Police ask public to help identify vehicle allegedly used in homicide
Two-way trade in goods between Britain and China's southern city of Guangzhou rocketed by over 40 percent in the first three months of 2017, reaching a value of more than 700 million U.S. dollars, new figures have revealed.

The trading figures were announced to coincide with a visit to London by Cai Chaolin, vice mayor of the southern China port city. His visit aimed at further fortifying Guangzhou's position as a key trade and investment hub for major western economies.

The visit saw him make a keynote presentation at a forum which looked at approaches to innovation and open perspectives between Britain and Guangzhou.

Joining key partners in London to discuss future relations between Guangzhou and Britain, Cai Chaolin said: "With Guangzhou's business-friendly environment, strategic geographical advantages, proven history as a leading trade and commercial hub, and tremendous growth across industries, I believe that our city is primed to help bolster growth for British companies that are strategically preparing for a bright future ahead."

The London event this week is a precursor to the upcoming 2017 Fortune Global Forum which takes place this coming December in Guangzhou.

The latest statistics show the volume of goods trading between Guangzhou and Europe last year reached 19.08 billion U.S. dollars, with Britain alone accounting for 2.39 billion U.S. dollars of the trade volume, representing a 7.7 percent year on year increase.
A new freight train arrives at the Budapest Intermodal Logistic Center in Budapest, Hungary, on June 16, 2017. This freight train departed from southern Chinese city of Changsha on May 27, carrying 41 containers of electronic products, shoes and apparel, fiber optic cable, hardware and machinery parts made in China. [Photo/Xinhua]

After traveling about 10,000 kilometers, the first freight train from Changsha, China to Budapest arrived at the Budapest Intermodal Logistic Center on Friday.

It departed from Changsha on May 27, and passed an corridor through Russia and Ukraine. The train carried 41 containers of electronic products, shoes and apparel, fiber optic cable, hardware and machinery parts.

Zhou Xinjian, economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Hungary, told Xinhua that the trade between the two countries reached more than 9 billion U.S. dollars last year, and was expected to exceed 10 billion U.S.dollars this year.

"In this case, China's freight trains continue to come to Hungary, delivering Chinese goods to Hungary and the Central and Eastern European countries, also promoting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries," he underlined.

Friday's train passed less countries, took less time, so it is a better choice for Chinese goods and exporters, Zhou added. The freight train service will operate once a week for one-way at the initial stage.

Besides the above mentioned rail links in the north, China and Hungary are also connected in the south by the China-Europe Land-Sea express line.

In the future, besides the rails and sea links, Chinese and Hungarian cities and provinces are also looking up at the sky.

"Chinese and Hungarian provinces and cities are negotiating for direct air freight service, and good results are expected, so at that time Chinese goods will come to Hungary by land, sea and air. Hungary will become a distribution center for Chinese goods in Central and Eastern Europe," Zhou explained to Xinhua.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Roosevelt Room of the White House after meeting with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington, U.S. May 16, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Tensions between Qatar and Gulf Arab neighbors have grown apace in recent years as part of a struggle for regional leadership. In the wake of the "Arab Spring in 2011," Qatar has embraced Islamist movements in the region including the Muslim Brotherhood, against the wishes of key player Saudi Arabia and its ally, the UAE. Qatar has also sought to warm up relations with Iran, Riyadh's arch-rival.

The recent Arab-Islamic-U.S. summit in the Saudi capital was a turning point in the most accurate sense of the word and the before-and-after formula lies perfectly here.

President Trump's dubbing of his visit to Saudi Arabia as "historic," and the description of the understanding document between him and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud as "unprecedented," according to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir at a press conference with his American counterpart Rex Tillerson in Riyadh on May 20, emanate from a preconceived idea of what the Trump visit would produce.

After the visit, the Saudi regime speedily reviewed its regional relations on the basis of reproducing the classic American policies in the Middle East that prevailed during the cold war era.

Contrary to former presidents from Bill Clinton to Barack Obama, Trump seems to be in full readiness to revitalize the strategic partnership with the regional allies, encompassing sharp political alignments and adoption of the allies' conceptions of the region's future shape, and essentially return to the logic of political polarization.

In his speech in Saudi Arabia, Trump said "Qatar, which hosts the U.S. Central Command, is a crucial strategic partner," trying to keep an intentional policy balance.

However, two striking tweets by him later said it all:

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be any funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look! "[Saudi Arabia and its allies] said they would take a hard line on funding. ... ...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

From a Saudi perspective, Trump's visit provided an implicit mandate and tutelage to the Kingdom to administer and lead regional policy.

However, Trump's siding with Saudi Arabia is not as smooth as it seems on the surface. There are two issues involved: fighting terrorism on one hand, and the deftness of trade negotiating and creating money on the other hand. These are two aims that, if not attained, add two more cards in the hands of the impeachment team facing the president with several complementary investigations underway.

Trump has got little evidence on show to attest the aptitude of alliance with Saudi Arabia, at a time when remonstrations are rising in the capitals of international decision-making, demanding a halt to Saudi Arabia's extremist ideology from sweeping into the Western societies and jeopardizing their domestic security and peace.

The Saudi and Emirati accusations that Qatar is "supporting" terrorism are of a regressive nature, as Qatar's embrace of extremist religious groups is not a unilateral policy, but it has been and still is part of a universal U.S.-European-regional (Turkish-Saudi-Qatari) project.

As a result, it is not a war between angels and demons, but one for guardianship under American patronage.

Regardless of the timeframe that might emerge in the Gulf crisis, Saudi Arabia and the UAE is seeking to impose a role function on Qatar; for the moment, that falls short of creating a large-scale war with Iran, where the recent terrorist attacks were seen as implementation of a threat by Saudi Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to move the battle to Iran.

This has drawn attention to an alleged relationship between ISIS and Al Saud. In that case, we could be entering a new chapter of proxy wars again, where the West would have to choose between fighting terrorism or going to war with Iran.

However, the U.S. might not want to go so far in inflaming tensions between the Gulf States as it has 10,000 troops at al-Udeid base near Doha, its largest military base in the region. Qatar bears the full financial cost of this American presence on its land. It would cost Washington much time and money to move these troops to Saudi Arabia or Abu Dhabi.

When examining U.S. goals in general, what always comes to mind is that it is really seeking to promote a policy of fragmentation and hegemony, using local tools. While it seems that there are attempts to breathe life into the old regional system, the Trump administration's policy, as always, seems fraught with uncertainty.

Haifa Said is chief editor of Syria Arab News Agency.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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China and the United States will hold their first diplomatic and security dialogue next Wednesday in Washington D.C., a Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced in Beijing Friday.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi will co-chair the dialogue with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, said spokesperson Lu Kang at a daily press briefing.

Lu Kang, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, at a daily press briefing in Beijing, June 16, 2017. [Photo/fmprc.gov.cn]

Fang Fenghui, a member of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) and chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department, will also participate in the dialogue.

The two sides will exchange views on China-U.S. relations and other issues of common concern, Lu said.

The diplomatic and security dialogue is one of four high-level mechanisms established during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida in April.

The other three are dialogues on economics; law enforcement and cyber security; and on social, cultural and people-to-people exchange.
The Yangtze-Volga relationship has yielded great outcomes through cooperation and achieved expanding influence, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said. [Photo/VCG]

The Yangtze-Volga mechanism that links areas along the two major rivers in China and Russia, respectively, is working effectively, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said on Friday. It plays a positive role in promoting ties and cooperation between the nations, Yang said.

Yang made the remarks when serving as co-chair of the second meeting of the council of cooperation between areas along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the Volga Federal District.

The second meeting, held this year in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, was part of an exchange created in 2013 to boost collaboration between the two riverside regions.

Yang noted that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination "is maintaining a high-level operation under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders".

The Yangtze-Volga relationship has yielded great outcomes through cooperation and achieved expanding influence, Yang said.

It is hoped that the two sides will grasp the opportunities introduced by the building of the Belt and Road, meet local demand, further implement priority cooperative programs and explore new areas for cooperation to promote development and prosperity in the two regions and benefit both peoples, Yang added.

Mikhail Babich, representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Volga Federal District and the co-host of the meeting, spoke highly of the progress made in cooperation between the two regions.

Russia is ready to work with China to further translate the leaders' consensus into actions, and achieve new progress in cooperation by localities in areas like economy and trade, transportation, tourism, culture, education and youth, Babich said.

At the first meeting, held last year in Ulyanovsk, Russia, both sides decided to elevate the Local Leader Symposium to a council of cooperation between the two regions.

On Friday, Yang and Babich jointly inaugurated the official website of the Yangtze-Volga cooperation council and witnessed the signing of many cooperative documents by local governments from the two sides.

The upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River comprises five provinces and one municipalityAnhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan provinces and Chongqing.

It accounts for around 20 percent of China's total GDP and it plays a key role in the country's agricultural and manufacturing sectors, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The Volga Federal District accounts for 6.1 percent of Russia's land, and around 15 percent of the Russian GDP.

Similarly, the district is a key region of Russia's agriculture and industrial production.

Diplomats noted that the local-level cooperation is taking off at a time when the two sides are gearing up efforts in promoting trade, mutual investment, connectivity, infrastructure, major projects and business start-ups.

Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui noted earlier this year that invigorating cooperation among the localities is one of the ways the two sides will promote further joint development.
The central bank announced measures on Friday to support the establishment of five green finance pilot zones, a move to help upgrade the industrial structure and honor commitments under the framework of the Paris climate accord.

Incentives will be established to boost the development of green finance, especially interest discounts and tax incentives, from the central and local governments, Chen Yulu, vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, said during a policy briefing.

The central bank will support the zones through preferential loans and low-cost capital from green development funds, which will reduce financing costs in the field, he said. Chen added that the central bank will closely work with local governments to promote the project. He also urged innovation in green finance products and services and increasing transparency of the market.

Chen's announcement came after a decision at a State Council executive meeting, which was presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday, to set up the five pilot zones. They will be in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guizhou and Jiangxi provinces as well as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"The key to developing green finance is to balance environmental and economic benefits by endowing green economies with effective financial support to achieve sustainable development," the premier told the meeting.

Green finance will help improve the environment and increase efficient utilization of resources, a significant component in China's commitment to the Paris climate accord, the vice-governor said.

The cities of Huzhou and Quzhou in Zhejiang, for example, will focus on industrial transformation while Guizhou will focus more on modern agriculture and ecological protection, according to the central bank.

"Green development is an international trend, which cannot be reversed. China will develop green finance to transform its development model as a responsible country. It also meets the internal demand for China's economic development," Chen said.

On June 1, US President Donald Trump declared the United States would withdraw from the Paris agreement, while China maintains its commitment to the accord.

China became the first country to boost green finance nationwide last August, when the central government released a guideline on building a national system for green finance, he said.

The pilot zones have been selected in eastern, central and western areas that are at different stages of economic and social development, Chen said.

The regions have their own specialties and lessons learned can be promoted and replicated in other regions, said Wang Yao, president of International Institute of Green Finance at the Central University of Finance and Economics.
Hong Kong companies are enjoying an export boom in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, fueled by growing free trade in major products during the past 13 years.

More than 75 billion yuan ($11 billion) worth of goods from the special administrative region have enjoyed zero tariffs since the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, or CEPA, was rolled out in 2004.

Up to 198 Hong Kong businesses have benefited from the deal, figures released by Shenzhen Customs showed.

Last year, the value of Hong Kong-imported goods was 5.91 billion yuan, which was seven times higher than the 860 million yuan figure in 2004, according to customs authorities.

The range of goods also expanded from 10 categories to 13, including chemical, textile, plastic products, food and optical instruments.

"More and more Hong Kong-produced goods are enjoying zero tariff entry because of CEPA," said Zheng Dongyang, the Shenzhen Office of Rules of Origin director at the General Administration of Customs.

"This has strengthened economic and trade cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong as well as promoting Hong Kong growth," Zheng added.

Xu Qiaofen, deputy director of customs declaration at Shenzhen Vitasoy (Guangming) Foods and Beverage Co Ltd, pointed out that CEPA had changed the firm's business.

Since 2005, the Shenzhen distributor for Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd in Hong Kong has seen the Vitasoy brand expand across the city.

"Tariff rates for beverage products were as high as 35 percent before CEPA, which meant low profits," Xu said. "CEPA enabled us to reduce costs and become more competitive in Shenzhen."

Vitasoy has since become a big favorite with consumers in Shenzhen as sales of its drinks products continue to rise.

Xu confirmed that more than 11.4 million boxes of Vitasoy beverage products, worth approximately 437 million yuan, had been imported since business operations started in October 2005.

Zero tariffs have saved Vitasoy International 150 million yuan during that period.

"With the launch of CEPA, we were able to provide a wider range of quality products to mainland consumers in a convenient way," Xu said.

"It also helped ensure continued production at our Hong Kong factory, thereby ensuring stable employment," she added.
LONDON  Two-way trade in goods between Britain and China's southern city of Guangzhou rocketed by over 40 percent in the first three months of 2017, reaching a value of more than $700 million, new figures have revealed.

The trading figures were announced to coincide with a visit to London by Cai Chaolin, vice mayor of the southern China port city. His visit aimed at further fortifying Guangzhou's position as a key trade and investment hub for major western economies.

The visit saw he make a keynote presentation at a forum which looked at approaches to innovation and open perspectives between Britain and Guangzhou.

Joining key partners in London to discuss future relations between Guangzhou and Britain, Cai Chaolin said: "With Guangzhou's business-friendly environment, strategic geographical advantages, proven history as a leading trade and commercial hub, and tremendous growth across industries, I believe that our city is primed to help bolster growth for British companies that are strategically preparing for a bright future ahead."

The London event this week is a precursor to the upcoming 2017 Fortune Global Forum which takes place this coming December in Guangzhou.

The latest statistics show the volume of goods trading between Guangzhou and Europe last year reached $19.08 billion, with Britain alone accounting for $2.39 billion of the trade volume, representing a 7.7 percent year-on-year increase.
LONDON  Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU) will not be a handicap to collaboration between Britain and China in financial services and trade, according to James Sassoon, chairman of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC).

"Bilateral trade, (Britain's) exports to China and the Chinese investment in the UK have grown very strongly and I think that is the trend that will continue," Sassoon told Xinhua recently in an exclusive interview.

China-Britain trade in goods stood at $74.34 billion in 2016, according to statistics from the official website of the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom.

Britain had a surplus with China on trade in services, outweighed by a deficit on trade in goods. China, the seventh-largest export market for Britain, contributed 3.6 percent of Britain's exports and 7 percent of all of Britain's imports.

"Bilateral trade started from a very low base. It was embarrassing to me when I took over as chairman of CBBC four years ago that our UK exports were lower than Italian exports to China. Those days are well behind us," Sassoon said.

The British capital London is one of the world's most important financial centers and the largest single hub for trading in currencies.

Sassoon said that London's financial services and Britain's financial and capital markets have been crucial drivers for the Britain-China relationship.

The British government from 2010 onwards has played an active role in promoting London's financial capabilities to China, one of which was in propelling the internationalization of the Chinese currency renminbi.

The City of London Corporation (CLC), the municipal body of the financial district, has supported the growth of a long-term sustainable offshore RMB market in Britain.

Britain's central bank, the Bank of England (BOE), and its Chinese counterpart the People's Bank of China set up a sterling/renminbi swap facility in 2013, which is now worth 350 billion yuan (about $51.3 billion). The facility is aimed at supporting domestic financial stability in Britain. If a generalized shortage of offshore renminbi liquidity emerges, the facility will also allow the BOE to facilitate renminbi liquidity for eligible institutions in Britain.

The value of the swap line increased in 2015 from the original figure of 200 billion yuan set in 2013. The increase reflected the continuing growth of renminbi trading in London, according to the BOE.

BOE governor Mark Carney added that it reflected a constructive approach to support the development of an effective and resilient renminbi market in London.

Many major Chinese banks have opened offices in London over the past ten years.

As of January 2016, deposits of 50 billion yuan were held in the London market, making it one of the largest markets outside Asia.

Of all offshore Chinese renminbi foreign exchange transactions outside mainland China, 36.3 percent are carried out in the United Kingdom, according to SWIFT, a global financial transactions firm.

London overtook Singapore to become the largest center for offshore renminbi trades last year, and has retained the premier spot since.

Sassoon added that as commercial secretary to the Treasury between 2010 and 2013, he was involved in discussions with Chinese authorities to identify areas of mutual benefit in financial services.

During the talks in 2011, British financial institutions wanted to "explore what can be done between China and the UK on offshore renminbi," said Sassoon.

London prides itself on being "the most international financial center," a place to allow any Chinese banks, securities houses and commodity traders to conduct business and set up branches.

"And things have developed from there - the Hong Kong exchange's acquisition of the London Metal Exchange, the China Investment Corporation's investment in property, and the big Chinese banks either setting up here or converting to branch status -- there has been great momentum," he said.

"I see that as something that continues and will be a key plank in the (bilateral) relationship," Sassoon said.
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea  India will host the third annual meeting of the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2018, the bank said on Friday.

According to the AIIB press release, the third annual meeting of the AIIB's board of governors will be held in Mumbai, India in June 2018. India is AIIB's second-largest shareholder.

"We appreciate the strong support provided by the Indian government," said Sir Danny Alexander, vice president and corporate secretary at the AIIB.

Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley noted that his country would be honored to become the host country for the third AIIB annual meeting.

The first annual meeting was held in Beijing last year. The second meeting, which would last for two days through Saturday, was launched in South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju.

Officially launched in January 2016, the Beijing-based AIIB is a multilateral development bank initiated by China and supported by a wide range of countries and regions, which will provide financing for infrastructure improvement in Asia.
TILBURG, The Netherlands  A new direct rail link from Chengdu to Tilburg, the sixth largest city and the second largest logistic hotspot in the Netherlands, is being seen as a "golden opportunity."

Chengdu is 10,947 kilometers away in China's Southwest Sichuan province. The latest alternative logistic service is growing in popularity and promises broadened industrial cooperation between the two cities.

The service, launched in June last year, now has three trains westbound and three trains eastbound per week. "We plan to have five trains westbound and five trains eastbound by the end of this year," Roland Verbraak, general manager of the GVT Group of Logistics told Xinhua.

GVT, a 60-year-old family company, is the Dutch partner of CDIRS Chengdu International Railway Services.

Various rail freight services along three main routes with 43 transit hubs on the network are currently in operation or under planning.

For the Chengdu-Tilburg link, trains travel through China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany before reaching RailPort Brabant, a terminal located in Tilburg and owned by GVT.

Cargo coming from China is mostly electronics for multinational groups such as Sony, Samsung, Dell and Apple as well as products for European aerospace industry. Some 70 percent of them go to the Netherlands and the rest are delivered by barge or by train to other destinations in Europe, according to GVT.

Cargo going to China includes auto spare parts for big manufacturers in China, new cars and food articles such as wine, cookies, chocolate.

At the end of May, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), a global leader in diversified chemicals headquartered in Riyadh, joined the growing group of eastbound clients. The Saudi company that operates in 50-more countries shipped its first eight containers of resin, produced in Genk (Belgium), as feedstock for its own facilities and its customer's facilities in Shanghai via Tilburg-Chengdu rail freight service.

"Typically we ship via ocean, but currently we are facing constraints on ocean freight capacity from northern Europe to the Far East, so we need alternatives. Shipping via air is of course very fast but also very expensive with a cost per ton similar to the sales price per ton. So SABIC is happy with the New Silk Road, a good alternative for air transportation," said Stijn Scheffers, Eurpean logistic manager of the Saudi company.

The containers arrived in Shanghai via Chengdu in about 20 days. "Everything went well. The material was in good condition and arrived on time to avoid a production stop," Scheffers told Xinhua. "The Chengdu-Tilburg rail link has proven to be a reliable mode of transport, we will use it more in the future for sure."

He added that other companies headquartered in the Middle East are also interested in the services. "They have multiple production sites in Europe from where a lot is shipped directly to China, they can all make use of this connection."

Optimistic about the growing popularity of this service, Verbraak believes the Chengdu-Tilburg link will further boom when the challenge posed by border-crossing in Malewice (between Russia and Poland) is resolved. Russia and Poland have different widths of the track so trains have to change the wagon sets at border-crossing and Malewice terminal can only handle 12 trains a day.

As to the competition with other links such as Chongqing-Duisburg, Verbraak said each link is based on the needs of its own area and competition means healthy business.

"We have the experience that it changes the landscape of economies because it opens a complete new market for the Netherlands. That's why we work closely together with local governments here and in Chengdu to connect also the industries with each other," he said, "We see possibilities in that Dutch companies produce for the Chengdu market, and also start producing in Chengdu for the European market."

Together with the municipality of Tilburg, GVT will arrange business trips this year to connect the industries from both regions. In September, the city of Tilburg will set up a "China desk" and officially celebrated its direct rail link with Chengdu.

"For us it is very important to have these excellent connections, because it will make us an even more important logistic hub facility for big international companies," said Erik De Ridder, vice mayor of Tilburg. "Every country in Europe wants to have good connections to China. China is such a very strong and important economy."

De Ridder believed that the Chengdu-Tilburg link develops in an excellent way with increasing frequency and volume of goods. "We see much demand, now we need even more trains to drive to China and back, because we have so many companies interested in this connection."

"For us it is very important to set the attention to this opportunity, because we see it as a golden opportunity for the future," De Ridder said.
BEIJING  Around 440 years ago, two Chinese galleons sailed into the Mexican port of Acapulco, laden with prized goods from the Orient, including 23,730 meters of silk fabrics and 22,300 pieces of porcelain made in China, as well as ivory, lacquerware and Asian spices.

The two merchant ships carrying Chinese goods were also known as the Manila Galleons because they set sail from Manila, the current capital of the Philippines, and their arrival mirrored the very early days of the brisk trans-Pacific trade between Asia and Latin America.

After their cargo was unloaded, the galleons returned from Acapulco, carrying goods from the New World, such as silver, cacao, maize, potatoes and tomatoes.

This trade route was an extension of China's ancient Maritime Silk Route, and formed a key part of the glorious history of trade between China and the rest of the world.

Nowadays, China and Latin America are once again connected, this time by the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, part of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013 with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

The new maritime route extends to Latin America and the Caribbean, a region looking for stronger infrastructure and greater inclusion in global value chains.

In the past decade, trade between China and Latin America has increased significantly, amounting to $216.5 billion in 2016.

There's little doubt that China and Latin America are natural trade partners. The region has abundant natural resources and has historically been a leading exporter of raw materials, while China, the world's second-largest economy, has a great demand for commodities.

According to the United Nations' Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, each one-percent increase in China's economy translates into a 0.5-percent increase in Latin America's gross domestic product (GDP).

China's agricultural imports from Latin America have grown and are poised to increase further, with the Chinese market's opening up to a variety of regional produce, a sign of Beijing's commitment to diversifying and balancing bilateral trade.

As the global economy is currently undergoing a rocky period of transition, China and Latin America are both tackling structural reforms to spur development, with shared goals and interests that go beyond mere trade.

In July 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to the region for the second time, proposing a three-pronged growth strategy for both regions to promote trade, investment and financial cooperation.

By 2016, China's non-financial direct investment in Latin America grew to $29.8 billion, up 39 percent from the previous year.

Behind the stable development and pragmatic cooperation in trade and investment between the two sides is a belief in free trade that stands in sharp contrast with the recent rise in trade protectionism, as evidenced by Britain's exit from the European Union and the U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The Belt and Road Initiative aims to coordinate public policy, connect infrastructure, eliminate trade barriers, integrate financial systems and strengthen ties between countries to spur development.

In essence, China proposes boosting transportation infrastructure, including roadways, rail lines, air links and ports, to increase trade.

Today, China and Latin America need to show the same courage and determination shown by the 16th-century explorers to overcome the currents of protectionism in parts of the world, and stay the course towards free trade and global development to benefit peoples around the world.
GAC Motor exhibits its products at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the United States, in January, attracting the attention of global industry insiders. [Photo provided to China Daily]

GAC Motor, the only Chinese carmaker joining Michelin Movin'Onthe global sustainable mobility summit in Montreal, Canadaand an important partner of Michelin, will develop more customized products to meet market demand for sustainable mobility, according to a senior company executive.

"The company's strategy of making market-oriented products plays a key role in its sustainable development. The future of driving will feature more electricity-driven mobility," said Yu Jun, president of GAC Motor.

Yu made the remarks during his key speech during the Movin'On summit, which was held from June 13-15 in Montreal to promote sustainable mobility solutions.

"We always have great respect and appreciation for the sustainable mobility market. In the field of new energy, the best solution is not to prescribe one certain outcome, but to experiment and explore different pathways together and let the market make the final choice," said Yu.

Though the transition period from traditional power to full electric power may be long, as Yu pointed out, GAC Motor's own revolution in the new energy vehicle sector is now in full swing, with the company's plans to introduce seven new energy vehicle models, including both electric and hybrid plug-in designs, to the market this year.

While structuring a sustainable development strategy to engineer trustworthy, environmentally friendly vehicles that excel in design, performance and reliability, GAC Motor has set a practical goal of selling 1 million vehicles by 2020, among which 20 percent will be new energy vehicles, according to the company.

Established in Guangzhou, the capital of South China's Guangdong province, in 2008, GAC Motor has achieved an 85 percent compound annual growth rate for six consecutive years.

In the first five months of 2017, the company refreshed previous records with 207,000 cars sold, marking a 62.2 percent year-on-year increase.

"We are not only looking at selling more cars, but also reinventing the way people travel," said Yu.

GAC Motor's innovation-driven strategy has attracted the attention of global industry insiders.

The company is expanding a global automotive R&D network supported by its technology center, top global suppliers and research institutions.

GAC Motor has already established a presence in the Middle East by introducing its signature models, including the GS8 and GA8, as the initial stage of entering global markets. It is also adding more distribution channels to its strongest markets.

Also, GAC Motor has signed a strategic partnership with the world's top 10 auto suppliers, including Michelin, Aisin Seiki, Continental and Faurecia.

"By expanding our footprint in countries related to the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the European and the United States markets, we will create a high-end brand image to enter the global market as a world-class automaker that excels in research, manufacturing and sales," said Yu.

The company has established a global sales and services network covering 14 countries. It has also launched its talent recruitment program to gather skilled people in the fields of engineering and technology R&D, marketing, and communications and management.

After the establishment of its first North American R&D center in Silicon Valley by parent company GAC Group, GAC Motor is set to enter the US market no later than 2019, according to Yu.

"We believe safety, energy conservation, environmental-friendliness and comfort are consumers' direct needs," said Yu. "By launching quality and premium models to global customers, GAC Motor will be creating a new transportation ecosystem and promote the sustainable mobility of human beings."

Yu Jun, president of GAC Motor, delivers a speech at the Michelin Movin'On event in Montreal, Canada. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Q+A: Yu Jun

Before the opening of Movin'On 2017, the world's preeminent international summit on urban mobility and sustainable transportation held on June 13-15, Yu Jun, president of GAC Motor, talked to China Daily about the company's vision of developing sustainable mobility.

GAC Motor's latest models, the GS4 and GS8, have been hot sellers in the market. Do highSUV sales play a crucial role in the company's business?

SUVs have become hot sellers in the entire Chinese market. As a local Chinese carmaker, GAC Motor has developed SUV models with high quality and top design to meet the market demand. Our models, including the GS4 and seven-seat GS8, are very competitive in the Chinese market, which is traditionally dominated by foreign brands. For sustainable development, we will make more market-oriented vehicles, not only in the SUV sector but in sedans and new energy cars, to diversify product varieties.

How is GAC Motor preparing for the development of sustainable mobility?

We are aiming to develop into a world-class Chinese car branda long-term vision for us. We are transforming into an international carmaker in terms of production, sales and research. In developing sustainable mobility, we will give priority to quality and technology in the production and sales of vehicles. We will also export more cars to overseas countries and regions, aiming to boost our presence in the international market.

GAC Motor has seen rapid sales growth in recent years. Do you see any obstacles that will affect the business in the near future?

Production capacity and supplies of core components will be major concerns for us. In this regard, we have been making great efforts to expand production capacity by optimizing our current manufacturing lines and building more factories. We have started construction of new plants in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, as well as Zhejiang and Hubei provinces. We have also signed agreements with key international suppliers during this year's Shanghai auto show.
As China moves to the forefront of fifth-generation or 5G mobile communication technology, 6.3 trillion yuan ($925 billion) of economic output and 8 million jobs will be created by 2030, a telecom academy said.

The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology said in a report that 5G will accelerate digitalization and promote the rapid growth of telecom, equipment manufacturing and information services.

The report also said at the initial stage of commercialization of 5G mobile networks, telecom carriers will carry out large-scale network construction. Revenue from the investment on network equipment will become the major source of economic output related to 5G.

China and the rest of the world are going through a crucial period of development of 5G standards and applications, the report said.

"The report underestimates the impact of 5G on social economy. It isn't yet more than five years since 4G was launched, but it has had a huge influence in boosting the development and popularization of mobile payments. I expect 5G will bring greater economic benefits and generate more new jobs," said Xiang Ligang, a telecom expert and CEO of cctime.com, a telecom industry website.

The country has attached great importance to 5G in its 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), with the aim of commercializing it by 2020.

In March, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the country had established the world's largest 5G test field in the race to standardize the technology.

China Mobile Communications Corp, China United Network Communications Group and China Telecom Corp, the country's major telecom operators, have already accelerated their efforts to develop 5G technology, with their total investment in 5G infrastructure forecast to reach up to $180 billion over a seven-year period.

That would dwarf their estimated $117 billion investment in 4G from 2013 to 2020, an analyst at Jefferies, an investment bank, was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post.

Xiang said the commercialization of 5G not only involves network construction by telecom carriers but inputs on terminal devices such as refrigerators, air conditioners and automobiles. So 5G network inputs would be more than estimated.
Investigators and medical examiner staff collect evidence on Friday at the location of the Thursday blast. Eight people were killed,including the suspect, who died at the scene.Li Xiang/Xinhua

A homemade bomb was the cause of an explosion in Fengxian county, Jiangsu province, on Thursday that left eight people dead and 65 injured, including the suspect, who died at the scene, according to the provincial public security department.

Police found materials used to make explosives at the rented home of the 22-year-old suspect. The man, surnamed Xu, wrote "die", "extinct" and "kill" on the walls.

Officials said Xu, a local resident, left school due to a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which controls breathing, digestion and other functions. The illness can cause symptoms like panic and depression. He worked near the location of the blast, which was at a kindergarten's gate, police said.

Among the eight seriously injured, four are no longer in danger, officials said. About 50 medical experts from the provincial capital, Nanjing, and Shanghai arrived in Xuzhou, which administers the county.

Seriously injured people were transferred to Xuzhou. Every injured person and relative of the dead will also have access to a psychologist, according to the local publicity department.

Many of the injured are parents who were waiting to pick up their children in front of the gate. No children or teachers from the kindergarten were hurt in the explosion, which struck at 4:50 pm, just before they started to head to the front door. Two people died at the scene and six died after being taken to hospitals.

On Friday, the Ministry of Education ordered that middle and elementary schools, as well as kindergartens across the country, scrutinize the surrounding environment and ensure students' safety.

It also ordered schools and kindergartens to work with public security, and the food and drug supervision and urban management departments, to eliminate potential dangers for children.

The Ministry of Public Security has sent a team, led by Vice-Minister Huang Ming, to Xuzhou to investigate.

Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun has also ordered enhanced examinations of possible dangers at densely populated venues.

In Fengxian county, hundreds of locals voluntarily went to the blood center to donate blood for the injured. Many also went to hospitals to provide food and help with the rescue work.
Three sentenced in first trial related to tycoon who fled overseas 3 years ago

Three ex-executives of fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui have been given prison terms for fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign currency, a court said on Friday.

Lyu Tao, former deputy general manager of Beijing Pangu Investment Inc, controlled by Guo, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, while Xie Honglin and Yang Ying, who both worked for the company's financial department, were sentenced to two years with a three-year reprieve.

The three were also fined, and the company was asked to pay 245 million yuan ($35.9 million) in fines, according to the judgment by Xigang District People's Court in Dalian, Liaoning province.

The defendants and the representative of the company said after the announcement that they will not appeal.

During the court hearing on June 9, the three confessed to obtaining a loan of 3.2 billion yuan from Agricultural Bank of China in the name of the company by using fake contracts, materials and seals in 2010.

Lyu and Xie also said they illegally obtained $13.5 million in foreign exchanges with forged invoices in 2012.

All of them expressed regret in court, adding that they were obeying Guo, who was behind all the cheating.

"The three defendants were Guo's subordinates and acting under his orders, and they all pleaded guilty. Meanwhile, the loans have been returned. In consideration of that, we gave them lenient terms," the court said in the judgment.

It was the first trial of a series related to the company and Guo, who fled overseas about three years ago.

Interpol issued a "red notice" - the closest thing to an international arrest warrant - for Guo in April, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Prosecutors also accused a number of people related to the company and Beijing Zenith Holdings Company of gaining benefits illegally, destroying accounting evidence and fraudulently obtaining bank loans in three separate cases, according to the court.

In addition, several connected cases involving forced transactions, offers of bribes, embezzlement and illegal detention are being handled by judicial authorities, it added.

On Tuesday, nine Chinese mainland-based construction companies jointly filed a lawsuit against Guo in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the United States, accusing him of failing to pay project debts amounting to 272 million yuan, plus bank interest, business magazine Caixin reported.
A new high-speed railway will be built soon between Shanghai and Nanjing, Jiangsu province, linking up more cities in the Yangtze River Delta and shortening travel time in one of China's economic powerhouses, according to a recently released official document.

The railway project's preparatory team said in a notice that it has entrusted two companies to conduct an environmental assessment of the new railway.

The notice said the new 274-km line will link Nanjing and Taicang, where the new line will join another railway under construction to reach Shanghai.

The railway is designed with a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour, based on which observers estimated that the new line could further shorten travel time between Shanghai and Nanjing to less than one hour.

The existing passenger railway between Shanghai and Nanjing - one of the busiest railways in the country - was built with a designed top speed of 300 km/h. The fastest train service between the two cities takes one hour and seven minutes.

According to the notice, the new line will link up cities in the southern part of Jiangsu province, such as Zhangjiagang and Taicang, which are not connected by any high-speed railways.

Wen Qingze, deputy director of Zhangjiagang Transport Bureau, said that the new high-speed railway will make a valuable contribution to environmental improvement and bring talent to Zhangjiagang.

"With the completion of the railway, more people may come to our city to travel, work or live. Moreover, citizens may choose the train instead of buses or private cars for traveling, which will help reduce air pollution caused by vehicle emissions," Wen said.

He added that Zhangjiagang would spare no effort to coordinate with relevant departments on the construction project, such as for route selection, resettlement and safety control.

Previous media reports said research into the project has been ongoing for about seven years.

News of the construction has already caused some sensation among residents in Jiangsu and Shanghai.

Enthusiastic travelers posted plans about how to taste the best food in Jiangsu cities in one day and the best one-day trip from Shanghai to Jiangsu.

Wang Lichun, a postgraduate student at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said the new railway might make long-distance relationships much more convenient.

"It's good news for students like me," Wang said. "My girlfriend is studying in Changshu. It takes me up to four hours to get there by intercity bus from Nanjing, which is really tiring. However, with a direct line to her, our relationship would be so much better."

Cao Chen contributed to this story.
BEIJING -- Meteorological authorities on Saturday warned of possible geological disasters in southern China as heavy rain is expected in the region.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) and the Ministry of Land and Resources warned of high risks of geological disasters including flash floods in parts of Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces from Saturday to Sunday evening.

The NMC revoked a blue alert for a rainstorm on Saturday afternoon, but the forecast of heavy rain in Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan and Yunnan will continue.

People affected by the rain should take precautions against possible mountain torrents, mud-rock flows and landslides, the NMC warned.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Over the past years, China has suffered some large-scale natural disasters, from extreme weather to geological events, causing huge losses of life and property.
BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent messages to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel, respectively, expressing his condolences over the death of former chancellor Helmut Kohl.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people and in his own name, Xi voiced deep condolences over Kohl's death and sincere sympathy for the former chancellor's family.

As an outstanding politician, Xi said, Kohl has made great contributions to German reunification and European integration, and his historic legacies will be remembered by all.

Xi said the Chinese people will never forget their old friend for his consistent commitment to promoting China-Germany and China-Europe dialogues and cooperation, his positive contributions to the development of China-Germany relations, as well as his understanding and support for the Chinese people to realize complete national reunification.

The Chinese government and people always treasure the friendship between the Chinese and German people, and are willing to work with the German side to create a better future for the China-Germany relations.

Kohl died, at the age of 87, Friday at his home in Ludwigshafen in Germany's western state of Rhineland-Platinate. He led Germany for a record 16 years -- first as chancellor of West Germany from 1982 to 1990 and then as chancellor of the reunited Germany until 1998.

The second longest serving chancellor in German history after Otto von Bismarck, Kohl was not only the architect of German reunification, but also an avid advocate of European unity, pushing for the creation of the continent's single currency the euro in 2002.
BUCHAREST -- "Chinese Ambassador Scholarship" was launched at the Chinese Embassy in Romania on Saturday, with some 300 students, teachers, representatives of overseas Chinese community and Chinese enterprises participating in the ceremony.

"The main goal of the scholarship is to encourage Romanian students to learn Chinese and to warmly welcome as many young people as possible to join the Chinese Language connoisseurs and to become successors and heirs of the friendship between China and Romania," said Chinese Ambassador to Romania Xu Feihong.

Xu added that Chinese learning enjoys great popularity in Romania, where over 8,000 people are studying Chinese in four Confucius institutes, eight Confucius classrooms and over 100 Chinese teaching points.

About 20 students and four educators were awarded with mobile phones and cash prizes at the ceremony.

Xu told Xinhua after the ceremony that in Romania, one of the important countries along the Belt and Road, many people realize that the initiative will bring about increasing demand for talents in their country, for Romanians who know the Chinese language.

He hoped that more and more young people in Romania play an active role in various fields such as economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

"The establishment of the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship fully demonstrates the importance attached by the Chinese Embassy to the Chinese teaching, as well as the strong support of Chinese enterprises and Chinese business associations in Romania for the Chinese teaching," Romanian co-director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Bucharest, Luminita Balan, told Xinhua.

At the awards ceremony, students also performed traditional Chinese singing, dancing, clapper talk, cross-talk and taiji.

"The performance makes me realize that I have to redouble my efforts and learn Chinese well," a student at the Confucius Institute in Bucharest told Xinhua.
Events and stories coming up in the next few days

Ghana vice-president to visit

At the invitation of Vice-President Li Yuanchao, Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia of Ghana will pay an official visit to China from Tuesday to June 25, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said. Bawumia will attend the China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation-Ghana Promotion Conference. Ghana was among the first group of sub-Sahara African countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Bawumia's visit will be the first official one by the Ghanaian leadership since its new government was formed at the beginning of the year.
SINGAPORE - Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said there are "deeply troubling circumstances" over how the will of his father and the founding leader of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, was drawn up, in the latest salvo in a family feud that has shaken the city state this week.

The prime minister's younger brother and sister, Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling, said on Wednesday they had lost confidence in Lee Hsien Loong and feared that the state's organs would be used against them. Lee Hsien Yang said he and his wife, lawyer Lee Suet Fern, would be leaving Singapore because they felt closely monitored and threatened.

A timeline issued by the prime minister's lawyers and published on Facebook on Thursday showed that the three children of Lee Kuan Yew, who ruled the country for three decades, have been battling over the will for several years.
After years of separation from his wife and young daughter in Taiwan, Hou Yen-chin, 36, owner of a china porcelain shop, finally had his family travel across the Taiwan Straits to join him in Xiamen, Fujian province, this year.

"There are many things in common between this city and my hometown," he said. "I came from a small village of Miaoli county in Taiwan. I found they both have a slow and tranquil lifestyle."

After he quit his job as a manager at a listed company in Taiwan with a monthly salary of about 8,000 yuan ($1,180), Hou opened a store in Zengcuoan village of Xiamen in East China in 2015 due to his love for porcelain.

Now tourists from across the country come to his shop to paint porcelain cups with custom words and pictures, showing love for their loved ones, he said.

He got the idea from a woman from Taiwan who posted a photo of such cups on Facebook, he said.

"I believe there is a market on the Chinese mainland because its economy is very stable and there will be more people willing to pay for something that is not necessary for daily life yet unique for themselves," he said.

His cups have been sold in many countries including France, Italy, the United States, Japan and Vietnam. The store now has more than 8,000 fans on the Chinese social networking platform WeChat, he said.

His father and 5-year-old daughter influenced him most when he made the decision to go to the mainland, he said.

Hou's ancestors came from Meixian county of South China's Guangdong province. His father has run a cross-Straits trading enterprise for metal parts in Xiamen since 1994.

Hou came to the mainland for the first time at the age of 26 and stayed for eight months at his father's factory.

"When my daughter was born in 2011, I was attending courses in college to get promoted in the company," he recalled. "I was always thinking of how far I could go in the company and how I could offer my family a better life."

He said the company's staff generally worked 12 hours a day and the salary was not very high.

But now, flourishing businesses on the Chinese mainland are appealing to job seekers across the Straits.

"My father asked me if I wanted to seek a fortune here too. And I said yes," he said.

His first source for the porcelain cups was an old man surnamed Jiang from Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, who set up a stall in Xiamen, selling porcelain products.

As a volunteer in the city, Hou's father had helped Jiang when he struggled with diabetes.

"My father earned more than 1,000 yuan in the first month by selling those cups, so he introduced this small shop to me," he said. "I fell in love with it immediately."

Hou said he could tell stories of all the 400 cups on the shelves painted by guests.

He said he expected to sell his cups around the world and to Taiwan in the future.

"I have made some sincere friends here. I'd like to give suggestions about traveling in Xiamen if needed," he said.

"What matters most is that I am now with my family and doing something meaningful."

(China Daily 06/17/2017 page9)
Belt and Road Initiative legal study base launched in Beijing 2017-06-16 13:05:17 chinadaily.com.cn CAO YIN A base for studying legal issues related to the Belt and Road Initiative was launched at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Thursday.

A base for studying legal issues related to the Belt and Road Initiative was launched at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Thursday.

It is the China Law Society's seventh legal study base and the only one dedicated to the initiative.

"We hope the base can become a top think tank for pushing forward the initiative and effectively coming up with solutions for the problems and risks faced by Chinese enterprises involved," said Zhang Mingqi, deputy head of the society.

He described the base as a cradle of education for Chinese lawyers, which would enable them to better handle legal cases in foreign countries.

Zhang Wei, deputy head of Beijing Lawyers Association, said the base would help improve lawyers' abilities to provide legal services in foreign disputes, adding that it is necessary to increase cooperation and build a system to educate legal talent.

Also on Thursday, a number of law professionals attended a seminar focused on the initiative that was held in the university. They had a heated discussion on how to better apply international law to foreign investments and disputes.

Chen Fuyong, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Arbitration Commission, suggested China voice its opinion more when international rules or conventions were being made.

"We should also be familiar with the rules and know how to make use of them," he said.

Liu Jingdong, a deputy chief judge of the Supreme People's Court, said diverse solutions were needed to tackle civil and commercial disputes concerning the initiative.

"For example, we could set up a special court for such cases," he said.

Liu Chao, deputy head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade's law affairs department, called on industrial and commercial members to play their role in improving the initiative.

"We're building multilateral and bilateral business cooperation commissions and gathering more experts to provide related services," he said, adding that China should aim to increase prevention of trade disputes and take advantage of mediation to solve related cases.
China initiates new public prosecution on Guo Wengui's company 2017-06-17 19:45:47 Xinhua Chinese prosecutors have indicted some staff of two companies connected to Interpol "red notice" criminal suspect Guo Wengui, judicial sources said Saturday.

BEIJING -- Chinese prosecutors have indicted some staff of two companies connected to Interpol "red notice" criminal suspect Guo Wengui, judicial sources said Saturday.

A procuratorate in Dalian city in northeastern China on Friday filed a public lawsuit against several executives and employees of Beijing Pangu Investment Co., Ltd, on suspicion of duty encroachment and misappropriation of funds.

On the same day, Kaifeng City People's Procuratorate in central China's Henan Province also initiated a public prosecution against Guo's Henan Yuda Real Estate Company and its employees, on charges of defrauding loans and bill acceptance.

The procuratorate in Dalian found that in 2008 to get Zhao Yun'an, then chairman of Tianjin Huatai Holding Group Ltd., out of jail, Zhao's wife approached Guo Wengui through an intermediary to bail out Zhao.

With Guo's help, Zhao was granted bail, but promised to transfer Huatai's assets to Guo, so that Guo took control of the company.

In July 2008, without calling a board meeting, Guo directed Qu Long, a defendant in the case and former executive of Huatai, to transfer more than 400 million yuan (about $60 million) to companies controlled by Guo for Guo's personal use.

To keep the 400 million yuan, in 2012 Guo persuaded Gao Song, Ma Nan and Cheng Xiuhua, all former senior managers with Beijing Pangu Investment Company, to forge a series of agreements and memorandums and file a false civil court action.

Thus, Guo transferred liabilities worth more than 400 million yuan to ZhengZhou Haohang Company which has no loan repayment capacity, so that he could illegally pocket the money.

Qu is accused of taking advantage of his posts to misappropriate a huge amount of corporate funds, while the other three defendants are accused of duty encroachment for actively assisting Guo's illegal seizure of Tianjin Huatai's capital.

In the other case, the procuratorate in Henan Province found that in 2008, Guo directed Ma Cheng, Zhang Xincheng, Guo Lijie and Xiao Yanling, all former senior staff of Henan Yuda Real Estate Company, to fraudulently obtain loans and bill acceptance totalling 1.5 billion yuan from seven banks by setting up shell companies and fabricating contracts and projects.

Part of the money was used to clear the debts of Yuda which was controlled by Guo, while the rest was transferred to Beijing Pangu Investment Company or overseas. More than 213 million yuan is yet to be recovered.
China warns of geological disasters in the south 2017-06-17 20:31:43 Xinhua Meteorological authorities on Saturday warned of possible geological disasters in southern China as heavy rain is expected in the region.

BEIJING -- Meteorological authorities on Saturday warned of possible geological disasters in southern China as heavy rain is expected in the region.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) and the Ministry of Land and Resources warned of high risks of geological disasters including flash floods in parts of Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces from Saturday to Sunday evening.

The NMC revoked a blue alert for a rainstorm on Saturday afternoon, but the forecast of heavy rain in Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan and Yunnan will continue.

People affected by the rain should take precautions against possible mountain torrents, mud-rock flows and landslides, the NMC warned.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Over the past years, China has suffered some large-scale natural disasters, from extreme weather to geological events, causing huge losses of life and property.
Chinese president expresses condolences over former German chancellor's death 2017-06-17 22:15:08 Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent messages to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel, respectively, expressing his condolences over the death of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent messages to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel, respectively, expressing his condolences over the death of former chancellor Helmut Kohl.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people and in his own name, Xi voiced deep condolences over Kohl's death and sincere sympathy for the former chancellor's family.

As an outstanding politician, Xi said, Kohl has made great contributions to German reunification and European integration, and his historic legacies will be remembered by all.

Xi said the Chinese people will never forget their old friend for his consistent commitment to promoting China-Germany and China-Europe dialogues and cooperation, his positive contributions to the development of China-Germany relations, as well as his understanding and support for the Chinese people to realize complete national reunification.

The Chinese government and people always treasure the friendship between the Chinese and German people, and are willing to work with the German side to create a better future for the China-Germany relations.

Kohl died, at the age of 87, Friday at his home in Ludwigshafen in Germany's western state of Rhineland-Platinate. He led Germany for a record 16 years -- first as chancellor of West Germany from 1982 to 1990 and then as chancellor of the reunited Germany until 1998.

The second longest serving chancellor in German history after Otto von Bismarck, Kohl was not only the architect of German reunification, but also an avid advocate of European unity, pushing for the creation of the continent's single currency the euro in 2002.
One-China principle key to cross-Straits relations: top political adviser 2017-06-17 22:23:45 chinadaily.com.cn Zhang Yi China's top political adviser, Yu Zhengsheng, has reiterated the importance of the 1992 Consensus in cross-Straits relations and encouraged people-to-people communications between the two sides.

China's top political adviser, Yu Zhengsheng, has reiterated the importance of the 1992 Consensus in cross-Straits relations and encouraged people-to-people communications between the two sides.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks in a meeting with delegates to the 9th Straits Forum on Saturday.

Upholding the 1992 Consensus and fighting against Taiwan independence are the keys in sticking to the correct direction for developing peaceful cross-Straits relations, Yu said.

"The core of the 1992 Consensus is the one-China principle, which recognizes that the mainland and Taiwan are both part of China. Cross-Straits relations are not the relations between two countries. With this issue being clarified, many problems between the two sides could be addressed through consultation," Yu said.

"More people-to-people communications, especially among young people, should be strengthened to enhance understanding and bring the ties closer," he said.

Hung Hsiu-chu, chairwoman of the Taiwan-based Kuomintang was present at the meeting.

She said it is of great importance to open the 9th Straits Forum under the circumstances that the cross-Straits relations are facing a period of depression.

The forum has been highly regarded between the two peoples with the 1992 Consensus being the foundation for cross-Straits communications, she said, adding that people in Taiwan hope to step up economic cooperation with the mainland and to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The 9th Straits Forum opened in Fujian province today and will last about a week.

The forum covers a variety of topics on cross-Straits relations and includes exhibitions in a number of areas, such as digital innovations. Composed of 21 major events, it focuses on youth exchanges and grassroots communications, as well as economic and trade communications. More than 8,000 delegates from Taiwan are expected to take part in the forum.

Starting in 2009, the Straits Forum became the largest platform for people-to-people exchanges between the two sides.
In challenging times for UK, hopes that the Queen's birthday ceremony acts as anchor 2017-06-17 20:10:30 chinadaily.com.cn Chris Peterson in London With the UK beset by terror attacks and a massive loss of life from a burning London tower block, Queen Elizabeth's official birthday celebrations, known as Trooping the Colour, went ahead today, with officials hoping the display of colour and pageantry will help pull the country together.

With the UK beset by terror attacks and a massive loss of life from a burning London tower block, Queen Elizabeth's official birthday celebrations, known as Trooping the Colour, went ahead today, with officials hoping the display of colour and pageantry will help pull the country together.

The Queen, now 91, is viewed with deep affection by many of the country's 65 million population, and for decades the annual Trooping of the Colour ceremony, in which she reviews her personal military bodyguard, has been a focal point of her reign.

In her unusual message issued on her official birthday today, the Queen admitted to a "very sombre national mood", following the tragedies, adding: "Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity."

The monarch earlier this week met volunteers, residents and community representatives at the scene of the fire, in a 24-storey tower block near London's Notting Hill. Police say 17 are confirmed dead and about 70 missing.

There have been three major terror attacks since March, two in London involving Islamic militants driving vehicles at pedestrians and then attacking survivors with knives, and a suicide bomber who blew himself up at a crowded pop concert in Manchester.

"During recent visits in Manchester and London, I have been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need.

"United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss."

Yesterday hundreds of angry residents affected by the tower fire forced their way into the town hall of Kensington and Chelsea, one of London's wealthiest boroughs, demanding action from council officials and the government.

They eventually withdrew amid scuffles with police and security guards after getting assurances that those made homeless by the fire will be rehoused as soon as possible in the area.

In the Queen's traditional Birthday Honours list, Keith Palmer, the unarmed policeman who was killed trying to stop a knife-wielding attacker enter the Houses of Parliament, was posthumously awarded the country's highest civilian award for bravery, the George Cross.

Political leaders will be hoping the pomp and pageantry of today's ceremony will send a signal that it is business as usual in the UK, as the government struggles to repair the physical and psychological damage caused by this week's fire.

Up until 1987, the Queen, in full dress uniform as a Colonel in the Horse Guards, would ride side-saddle at the head of the procession, but she now parades from Buckingham Palace, along Pall Mall and into Horse Guards Parade, where the main ceremony takes place, watched by thousands of visitors and Britons alike.

This year, armed police and, according to officials, elite Army sniper teams, are guarding the parade, which involves 1,400 officers and men of the Household Division, as well as 200 horses and 400 musicians from 10 military bands and corps of drums.

Contact the reporter on chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com
Chinese president expresses condolences over former German chancellor's death 2017-06-17 22:36:47 Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent messages to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel, respectively, expressing his condolences over the death of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent messages to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel, respectively, expressing his condolences over the death of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people and in his own name, Xi voiced deep condolences over Kohl's death and sincere sympathy for the former chancellor's family.

As an outstanding politician, Xi said, Kohl has made great contributions to German reunification and European integration, and his historic legacies will be remembered by all.

Xi said the Chinese people will never forget their old friend for his consistent commitment to promoting China-Germany and China-Europe dialogues and cooperation, his positive contributions to the development of China-Germany relations, as well as his understanding and support for the Chinese people to realize complete national reunification.

The Chinese government and people always treasure the friendship between the Chinese and German people, and are willing to work with the German side to create a better future for the China-Germany relations.

Kohl died, at the age of 87, Friday at his home in Ludwigshafen in Germany's western state of Rhineland-Platinate. He led Germany for a record 16 years -- first as chancellor of West Germany from 1982 to 1990 and then as chancellor of the reunited Germany until 1998.

The second longest serving chancellor in German history after Otto von Bismarck, Kohl was not only the architect of German reunification, but also an avid advocate of European unity, pushing for the creation of the continent's single currency the euro in 2002.

Xinhua
Premier Li extends condolences over former German leader's death 2017-06-18 01:40:55 chinadaily.com.cn HU YONGQI On behalf of the Chinese government and in his own name, Premier Li Keqiang extended a message of condolence on Saturday to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the death of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl.

On behalf of the Chinese government and in his own name, Premier Li Keqiang extended a message of condolence on Saturday to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the death of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Kohl, who served as chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998, passed away on Friday at the age of 87.

As an outstanding German leader and an old friend of the Chinese people, Kohl had actively promoted bilateral relations between China and Germany, Premier Li said in the message. His contribution in promoting China-Germany exchanges and cooperation will be remembered, Li said.

Germany has been China's strategic partner in Europe and bilateral relations and cooperation has continuously made new progress, the premier said.

He added that China-Germany ties and friendship will take another leap with joint efforts of both countries.
Yangtze, Volga help ties bloom 2017-06-17 09:15:40 China Daily Zhang Yunbi in Hefei The Yangtze-Volga mechanism that links areas along the two major rivers in China and Russia, respectively, is working effectively, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said on Friday.

The Yangtze-Volga mechanism that links areas along the two major rivers in China and Russia, respectively, is working effectively, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said on Friday. It plays a positive role in promoting ties and cooperation between the nations, Yang said.

Yang made the remarks when serving as co-chair of the second meeting of the council of cooperation between areas along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the Volga Federal District.

The second meeting, held this year in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, was part of an exchange created in 2013 to boost collaboration between the two riverside regions.

Yang noted that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination "is maintaining a high-level operation under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders".

The Yangtze-Volga relationship has yielded great outcomes through cooperation and achieved expanding influence, Yang said.

It is hoped that the two sides will grasp the opportunities introduced by the building of the Belt and Road, meet local demand, further implement priority cooperative programs and explore new areas for cooperation to promote development and prosperity in the two regions and benefit both peoples, Yang added.

Mikhail Babich, representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Volga Federal District and the co-host of the meeting, spoke highly of the progress made in cooperation between the two regions.

Russia is ready to work with China to further translate the leaders' consensus into actions, and achieve new progress in cooperation by localities in areas like economy and trade, transportation, tourism, culture, education and youth, Babich said.

At the first meeting, held last year in Ulyanovsk, Russia, both sides decided to elevate the Local Leader Symposium to a council of cooperation between the two regions.

On Friday, Yang and Babich jointly inaugurated the official website of the Yangtze-Volga cooperation council and witnessed the signing of many cooperative documents by local governments from the two sides.

The upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River comprises five provinces and one municipalityAnhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan provinces and Chongqing.

It accounts for around 20 percent of China's total GDP and it plays a key role in the country's agricultural and manufacturing sectors, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The Volga Federal District accounts for 6.1 percent of Russia's land, and around 15 percent of the Russian GDP.

Similarly, the district is a key region of Russia's agriculture and industrial production.

Diplomats noted that the local-level cooperation is taking off at a time when the two sides are gearing up efforts in promoting trade, mutual investment, connectivity, infrastructure, major projects and business start-ups.

Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui noted earlier this year that invigorating cooperation among the localities is one of the ways the two sides will promote further joint development.
Pilot zones will boost green finance 2017-06-17 09:22:56 China Daily Hu Yongqi The central bank announced measures on Friday to support the establishment of five green finance pilot zones.

The central bank announced measures on Friday to support the establishment of five green finance pilot zones, a move to help upgrade the industrial structure and honor commitments under the framework of the Paris climate accord.

Incentives will be established to boost the development of green finance, especially interest discounts and tax incentives, from the central and local governments, Chen Yulu, vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, said during a policy briefing.

The central bank will support the zones through preferential loans and low-cost capital from green development funds, which will reduce financing costs in the field, he said. Chen added that the central bank will closely work with local governments to promote the project. He also urged innovation in green finance products and services and increasing transparency of the market.

Chen's announcement came after a decision at a State Council executive meeting, which was presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday, to set up the five pilot zones. They will be in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guizhou and Jiangxi provinces as well as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"The key to developing green finance is to balance environmental and economic benefits by endowing green economies with effective financial support to achieve sustainable development," the premier told the meeting.

Green finance will help improve the environment and increase efficient utilization of resources, a significant component in China's commitment to the Paris climate accord, the vice-governor said.

The cities of Huzhou and Quzhou in Zhejiang, for example, will focus on industrial transformation while Guizhou will focus more on modern agriculture and ecological protection, according to the central bank.

"Green development is an international trend, which cannot be reversed. China will develop green finance to transform its development model as a responsible country. It also meets the internal demand for China's economic development," Chen said.

On June 1, US President Donald Trump declared the United States would withdraw from the Paris agreement, while China maintains its commitment to the accord.

China became the first country to boost green finance nationwide last August, when the central government released a guideline on building a national system for green finance, he said.

The pilot zones have been selected in eastern, central and western areas that are at different stages of economic and social development, Chen said.

The regions have their own specialties and lessons learned can be promoted and replicated in other regions, said Wang Yao, president of International Institute of Green Finance at the Central University of Finance and Economics.
Chinese delegation in Kenya to look for investment opportunities 2017-06-17 10:38:19 Xinhua Representatives of Chinese companies from Shenzhen are in Nairobi to meet local investors to discuss investment opportunities in energy, trade, finance and agriculture sectors.

NAIROBI  Representatives of Chinese companies from Shenzhen, one of the most innovative cities in China, are in Nairobi to meet local investors to discuss investment opportunities in energy, trade, finance and agriculture sectors, officials said Friday.

The Chinese delegation,led by Lu Pengqi, the vice chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and Chen Biao, the deputy mayor of Shenzhen municipal government, is comprised of entrepreneurs from various sectors such as manufacturing, IT and real estate.

"Kenya and China has developed a robust trade and investment tie in recent years. As the first Special Economic Zone and one of the most innovative cities in China, Shenzhen is in a good position to cooperate with Kenya to a win-win goal, which will help both Kenya's industralization process and Shenzhen's aspiration for international capacity cooperation," said Lu.

Chen echoed with Lu's words, saying that some companies from Shenzhen such as Huawei have come to Kenya and perform well in the east African nation. He believes in Kenya's economic potential and hopes Shenzhen and Kenya strengthen their cooperation in areas like energy, transportation, communications and tourism.

Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) Managing Director Moses Ikiara said the delegation is in Kenya to explore opportunities for investment and trade with Kenya in the main economic growth sectors like agriculture and to build business-to-business relations between the two countries.

"We have given them information about investing in Kenya. We are now going to have three days of detailed interactions between businesses to let the Chinese companies learn more about Kenya. This will enable them to form views about the country," Ikiara told Xinhua in Nairobi.

Emmanuel Kalenzi, Representative of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Field Office in Kenya, said the Chinese companies could consider investing in industrial parks as a step towards promoting private investment and trade between African countries and China.

Kalenzi said UNIDO has conducted a pilot study on the possibilities of promoting investment in private enterprise through the construction of the industrial parks in African countries.

Some Chinese companies, including the Guangdong New South Group Limited signed an agreement with the Kenyan government in May this year to build $1.9 billion industrial park in Kenya's western town of Eldoret, where the government hopes to build a Special Economic Zone.

The industrial park being financed by the Chinese company was signed at a ceremony witnessed by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The agreement was signed as part of the Africa Economic Zones in Beijing, a firm which is now investing in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

The delegation of 40 companies is looking for agribusiness opportunities in Kenya.

One of the Chinese companies, Avic International, is building the Global Trade Center in Nairobi, a 30,000 square meters project with mixed use, including hotels, executive offices and shops.

China has billed its investments in Africa as part of its "going global" initiative with locally-based enterprises now finding niche markets abroad, including in Kenya.

Guo Ce, counsellor of the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said Beijing's decision to raise its relations with Kenya signaled the highest level of economic and political cooperation.

He said the decision by the Chinese government to upgrade its relations with Kenya to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest level of cooperation, showed the commitment at the highest level of government between Nairobi and Beijing to promote their diplomatic cooperation.
Compared with the recently concluded annual college entrance examinations, or gaokao, which was taken by 9.4 million students, a contest concurrently held in Shanghai and Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, that brought together youths from across the world for a skills' competition invited much less attention.

Most of the participants in the 2017 global skills' competition graduated from vocational schools. However, compared with those who passed gaokao and are considered by many as the "favored sons of God", the vocational school graduates seemed more proud of their professional skills. The event simultaneously held in Shanghai and Suzhou was the first large-scale global contest for skills hosted by China, which has participated in three previous such events and won five gold medals at the 43rd WorldSkills Match Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2015.

The importance attached by the Chinese government to skilled labor highlights its resolve to transform China from a "big manufacturing" to "powerful manufacturing" country, for which a large number of highly skilled workers are needed. According to media reports, skilled workers are in short supply in China, which, to a large extent, can be attributed to the lack of social respect for skilled labor.

Thanks to the promotion of the "Made in China 2025" strategy, the inclusion of the "spirit of craftsmanship" in the Government Work Report and manufacturing enterprises' efforts to raise their standards, the salary and social status of skilled workers have been rising and a healthy relation is being formed between vocational education and the real economy.

But Chinese society's inherent discrimination toward skilled labor has not changed. Many Chinese still believe entering a college is the best way for a person to climb up the social ladder. And they still see a blue-collar worker, no matter how skilled he or she is, as second best, if not a failure.

Even if senior blue-collar workers earn several times more than white-collar workers, they are still considered inferior social beings. Such a perception largely stems from people's belief that white-collar workers make larger contributions to society. And that is the problem.

Statistics show that highly skilled workers account for 27.3 percent of all skilled workers in China, compared with more than 40 percent in some advanced economies. In previous WorldSkills matches, most of the medals for automobile technology, car spray-painting, aircraft maintenance and even bricklaying were won by skilled workers from industrialized countries such as Britain, Australia and Japan. And it is skilled workers who have largely helped these countries evolve into manufacturing powers.

The question is: How can China encourage more youths to accept that skilled workers are also talents and make equal, if not greater, contributions to the country's development? To begin with, China should cultivate a vocational culture that respects blue-collar workers. In these regard, Shanghai has made extensive efforts to improve vocational education, an example that other cities and provinces should follow.

In recent years, an organic combination of educational mechanism has been introduced to elementary and middle schools to make students aware of the advantages of vocational education and sharpen their vocational skills. The incorporation of the "spirit of craftsmanship" into basic education will also help them abandon their prejudice against blue-collar jobs.

To accord blue-collar workers more social respect, China's vocational education system must follow the trend of the times. Vocational education should not only cultivate traditional craftsmanship, but also add value to emerging technologies and industries. At the 2017 WorldSkills Match in Shanghai and Suzhou, 21 different skills were on show in which contestants not only displayed their skills in areas such as carpentry and welding, but also demonstrated their expertise in virtual-reality technology, smart building techniques and robotic technology. The event also showed innovation is becoming a key part of competition.

The social status a society accords to its skilled workers reflects its value orientation and attitude toward its workers in general. Only by building a cultural atmosphere that respects and favors skilled labor can China realize its dream of becoming a modern manufacturing powerhouse.

This article was originally published in People's Daily.
The media in the United Kingdom looked to horror movies for inspiration to describe British Prime Minister Theresa May's shock setback in the June 8 election, but by mid-week they had recycled the theme to suggest she might yet rise from the grave in which many thought she had been prematurely buried.

To recap: May's ruling Conservative Party did win the snap poll, but her failure to secure absolute majority in the House of Commons shattered her claim to be the only "strong and stable" leader to undertake Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

By contritely apologizing to her members of parliament for the mess she had landed them in, May has perhaps bought herself some time. A much-criticized tactical alliance with Northern Ireland's ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party could give her the necessary votes to get a stripped-down manifesto through parliament.

A combination of pragmatism and ambition on the part of the Conservatives is likely to leave May in place, at least for the time being. But she is seriously weakened as she prepares to launch negotiations with the EU, as early as next week, on the terms of the UK's departure from the European bloc.

That has given some comfort to pro-EU members of all parties who hope that the government would now be obliged to aim for a so-called "soft" Brexit that would leave many of the benefits of EU membership in place. May wanted to contest the election on the Brexit issue, although the opposition Labour Party skillfully shifted the emphasis to the Conservatives' record on austerity, welfare and the state health service.

Nevertheless, there are indications that Brexit did play a central role in the result. Young people, shocked into action by the results of last year's referendum in which many of them had not bothered to vote, turned out in large numbers for Labour in revenge for Brexit. Labour also did well in those areas which had seen a large "remain" vote in 2016.

The irony is that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is scarcely an EU enthusiast, having run a lackluster campaign in 2016 that left "remainers" suspecting he was a secret "Brexiteer".

However, a majority of Labour MPs support a "soft" Brexit, as does a minority of the Conservative Party. Even May's potential allies in the pro-Brexit DUP want to retain some of the free trade benefits of EU membership after Britain leaves the bloc. That means a majority of the House of Commons opposes May's stance, as spelled out in the election campaignthat no deal with the EU is preferable to what she would regard as a bad deal.

The question is whether this diverse alliance can rally the parliamentary clout to influence the course of Brexit negotiations.

The Conservative Party, which has been periodically torn apart over the past four decades by a civil war fought on the battleground of the EU, is known for its sharp survival instincts. Even if a majority of its members favor a "soft" Brexit, staying in power will come first in the party's calculations.

On the other hand, an EU invigorated by the election of French President Emmanuel Macron and the prospect of Germany's Angela Merkel being re-elected this autumn, is viewing Britain's political antics with increasing irritation. It is now a year since the British voted, by a narrow margin, to quit the EU and talks, which have a two-year deadline for completion, are only now about to begin.

The Europeans, previously shocked and disappointed by Britain's decision to quit the EU, may now be thinking "good riddance". The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, warned this week that the UK risks quitting the EU in March 2019 with no deal in place if it does not appoint a stable and accountable negotiating team to sit down for talks "very quickly".

In a withering put-down of Britain's current political confusion, Barnier commented: "I can't negotiate with myself."

The author is a senior editorial consultant for China Daily, Europe. harveymorris.gmail.com
Eason Chan releases his first electronic dance music song Fang. [Photo provided to China Daily]

It is midnight and the usually busy streets of Beijing are silent, but Dada Club, a small music venue hidden in an old narrow hutong is just about to come alive with an electronic music feast for restless night crawling hipsters.

"I don't like catchy pop music or mainstream Billboard remixes that they play in most clubs," says Wang Xinzi, a 27-year-old Dada fan says outside the crowded club. "I prefer music that excites me and I can dance to."

In China's culture hubs of Beijing and Shanghai, it is not rare to see electronic music venues such as Dada Club packed on weekday nights especially when the venue has foreign guest DJs performing.

Though pop has a dominant position in market, it seems that China's music scene is changing and becoming more diverse.

Last month, thousands of music lovers climbed the Great Wall for an electronic music festival disregarding pouring rain and danced to music by DJs from home and abroad.
Shennongjia's well-preserved natural beauty recently earned it the privilege of hosting the first China Cultural and Natural Heritage Day and a world natural heritage conference on June 10. [Photo by Yang Feiyue/China Daily]

It is practically a world surrounded by green. And it is cool during our visit in early June, with its green mountains and gurgling rivers covered by a mist.

Shennongjia, in the western part of Hubei province, in central China, has long been known for its pristine environment, diverse landscapes and wildlife. It not only has magnificent peaks that stand more than 3,000 meters above sea level, but also grand and quiet valleys.

Here, geologists have found strata from the past one billion years and call the region a museum, says Li Faping, a senior official in Shennongjia.

At the same time, waterfalls, rivers and lakes have given rise to an impressive cave system underground.

Its well-preserved natural beauty recently earned Shennongjia the privilege of hosting the first China Cultural and Natural Heritage Day and a world natural heritage conference on June 10.

The event was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction and the Hubei government.

Meanwhile, the State Council has penciled in every second Tuesday of June as heritage day from this year to raise public awareness about natural landscapes, history and culture protection.
NEW YORK - Nearly half a century after John Lennon released the song Imagine, his widow and artistic collaborator Yoko Ono will be listed as a co-writer.

The announcement was made as the iconic 1971 ode to world peace was declared "song of the century" at a gala of the National Music Publishers Association on Wednesday in New York.

As Ono and their son Sean Lennon came up to receive a trophy, the association announced unexpectedly that Ono would join John Lennon on the songwriting credits.

During the gala, a BBC interview with John Lennon in 1980, shortly before he was assassinated, was shown in which he said that Imagine was inspired in part by lines in Ono's conceptual art book Grapefruit.

"Imagine should have been credited as a Lennon/Ono song. If it had been anyone other than my wife, I would have given them credit," John Lennon said.

Sean Lennon later wrote on Facebook that the announcement was the "proudest day of my life".

Patti Smith, the godmother of punk rock, and her daughter, Jesse Smith, marked the occasion by performing Imagine as Ono and her son accepted the award.

Ono, herself an avant-garde artist when she met Lennon while he was still a Beatle, collaborated closely with Lennon and has sought to preserve his legacy since his death.

Imagine, with its call for a world without divisions, remains one of pop music's most recognizable tracks and an anthem of peace activists.

Ono is unlikely to see any personal windfall in the immediate future, since she already is heir to Lennon's estate.

But the change could have a practical effect, because under US law songs come into the public domain - meaning that writers no longer receive royalties - 70 years after publication, with Ono's addition to the credit potentially extending the period.

AFP
HAVANA -- Cuba's government rejected on Friday the newly announced US policy towards Cuba, but said it is open to continue dialogue with Washington on issues of mutual interest.

"Any strategy aimed at changing the political, economic and social system in Cuba, whether it aims to achieve it through pressure or imposition, or by using more subtle methods, is doomed to fail," the Cuban government said in a statement published in the state daily Granma.

US President Donald Trump earlier in the day announced he was "canceling" the rapprochement with Cuba spearheaded by his predecessor Barack Obama.

Trump's announcement "reverses the advances made in the past two years since Dec. 17, 2014, when presidents Raul Castro and Obama revealed their decision to restore diplomatic relations and begin the process of normalizing bilateral ties," said the statement.

Trump announced a return to restrictions on travel and trade, and "justified that policy with alleged concerns over the human rights situation in Cuba and the need to rigorously apply" the trade embargo and blockade against the island, which Obama had relaxed, it said, adding "once again the US government is resorting to the coercive measures of the past."

"Cuba rejects the manipulation with political purposes and the double standard concerning the issue of human rights," said the statement.

The Cuban government has defended the people's right to universal health and education services, among other social achievements, it said.

Saying it will issue a deeper analysis of the scope and implications of the about-face on foreign policy at a later date, the government added it "denounces the new measures to toughen the blockade, which are doomed to fail, as has been repeatedly shown in the past, and will not succeed in their goal to weaken the Revolution."

However, the Cuban government also made it clear that it is willing to continue "respectful dialogue" and cooperation with Washington on issues of mutual interest.

It vowed to take "any necessary risk" and continue the construction of a "sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable nation."
RIYADH -- Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that it won't allow Turkey to establish military bases on its land.

A source from the ministry tweeted that Saudi Arabia doesn't need such bases as its military forces and competency are one of the best, and the country has been involved in various foreign military assistances to fight terrorism and protect regional security.

The announcement was made after a meeting between Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Jeddah on Friday to discuss regional issues, especially the decisions of Saudi-led pan-Arab countries to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar.
With the UK beset by terror attacks and a massive loss of life from a burning London tower block, Queen Elizabeth's official birthday celebrations, known as Trooping the Colour, went ahead today, with officials hoping the display of colour and pageantry will help pull the country together.

The Queen, now 91, is viewed with deep affection by many of the country's 65 million population, and for decades the annual Trooping of the Colour ceremony, in which she reviews her personal military bodyguard, has been a focal point of her reign.

In her unusual message issued on her official birthday today, the Queen admitted to a "very sombre national mood", following the tragedies, adding: "Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity."

The monarch earlier this week met volunteers, residents and community representatives at the scene of the fire, in a 24-storey tower block near London's Notting Hill. Police say 17 are confirmed dead and about 70 missing.

There have been three major terror attacks since March, two in London involving Islamic militants driving vehicles at pedestrians and then attacking survivors with knives, and a suicide bomber who blew himself up at a crowded pop concert in Manchester.

"During recent visits in Manchester and London, I have been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need.

"United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss."

Yesterday hundreds of angry residents affected by the tower fire forced their way into the town hall of Kensington and Chelsea, one of London's wealthiest boroughs, demanding action from council officials and the government.

They eventually withdrew amid scuffles with police and security guards after getting assurances that those made homeless by the fire will be rehoused as soon as possible in the area.

In the Queen's traditional Birthday Honours list, Keith Palmer, the unarmed policeman who was killed trying to stop a knife-wielding attacker enter the Houses of Parliament, was posthumously awarded the country's highest civilian award for bravery, the George Cross.

Political leaders will be hoping the pomp and pageantry of today's ceremony will send a signal that it is business as usual in the UK, as the government struggles to repair the physical and psychological damage caused by this week's fire.

Up until 1987, the Queen, in full dress uniform as a Colonel in the Horse Guards, would ride side-saddle at the head of the procession, but she now parades from Buckingham Palace, along Pall Mall and into Horse Guards Parade, where the main ceremony takes place, watched by thousands of visitors and Britons alike.

This year, armed police and, according to officials, elite Army sniper teams, are guarding the parade, which involves 1,400 officers and men of the Household Division, as well as 200 horses and 400 musicians from 10 military bands and corps of drums.

Contact the reporter on chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com
ISTANBUL -- Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said Saturday that his country has supplied 5,000 tons of food to Qatar facing a blockade by a number of Muslim countries.

The minister said the supplies were sent to Qatar with 71 planes after the Gulf country was plunged into a crisis on June 5, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and some other countries severed diplomatic ties and closed off sea, air and land links to Doha, accusing it of funding terrorism, hosting terrorists and interfering with their internal affairs.

"Our shipments via sea route will also begin this weekend," Zeybekci said at a TV program in Istanbul. "Right now our trucks are on their way."

"Turkey could supply all the humanitarian needs of Qatar," he was quoted as saying by the Haberturk daily.

Turkey has been siding with Qatar and pushing for a settlement through dialogue.

Addressing a meeting of Turkish exporters in Istanbul on Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated a call for the resolution of the dispute before the Muslim's holy month of Ramadan ends on June 24.

The president said Turkey's prime minister and foreign minister are working hard with him to resolve the crisis by meeting with all the sides involved.

Erdogan referred to Saudi Arabia as the "big brother" of the Gulf countries, saying he believes Riyadh is capable of solving the issue.
On behalf of the Chinese government and in his own name, Premier Li Keqiang extended a message of condolence on Saturday to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the death of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Kohl, who served as chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998, passed away on Friday at the age of 87.

As an outstanding German leader and an old friend of the Chinese people, Kohl had actively promoted bilateral relations between China and Germany, Premier Li said in the message. His contribution in promoting China-Germany exchanges and cooperation will be remembered, Li said.

Germany has been China's strategic partner in Europe and bilateral relations and cooperation has continuously made new progress, the premier said.

He added that China-Germany ties and friendship will take another leap with joint efforts of both countries.
LEBANON  The city of Lebanon and the Urban Renewal Agency of Lebanon have entered into an economic development agreement with Northside Developers LLC.

Northside is working to develop the 50-acre Mill Race property at the intersection of Reeve's Parkway and Highway 20. The project is in the Northwest Urban Renewal District and could include a mix of low- and high-density residential uses, as well as commercial and light industrial, said city attorney Tre Kennedy.

Through the agreement, the city is "financing the public improvement portions of the development through exclusively the use of tax increment financing," Kennedy said. "In other words, we don't pay back anything that is not first received as an increase in the taxes in the (Northwest) Urban Renewal District from the actual development itself."

Kennedy added that it is a unique agreement, but it's not the first time the city has used this type of financing. The developer will pay all system development charges and permitting fees up front, but those fees are reimbursable as part of the agreement. The total estimate for the public infrastructure cost is more than $8.7 million, and the developer is entitled to 110 percent reimbursement of that estimate.

"If the improvements go over, the developer certainly can apply to get reimbursed up to 110 percent of that total in terms of the URD, which expires in 2028," Kennedy said.

"It's obviously an exciting project and this would put in a financing mechanism for those public improvements," Kennedy said.

City Manager Gary Marks negotiated portions of the agreement with Larry Spires, managing member for Northside Developers.

"It's structured so that during the first five years, 80 percent of the increment would be committed to reimbursement, "Marks said. "It then drops down to 75 percent and thereafter until the year 2028."

If the project list was completed as presented, the benefit to the city would be about $1.5 million in tax revenue per year after the Northwest URD expires in 2028.

"Until then, the city would receive 20 or 25 percent of that new revenue," Marks said.

That revenue will be shared with Linn County and the Lebanon Fire District, and other surrounding government organizations, he said.

"That's the benefit in the long run," Marks said. "I believe the (agreement) is key to their financing scheme to make this project happen."

City Councilor Jason Bolen voiced concern that a mixed-use development could create empty commercial spaces in that area.

"I worry about the buildout, and then a lack of secure commercial occupancy," Bolen said. "We would have these neighborhoods interspersed with big, blank lots, and that concerns me because that devalues the neighborhood."

Marks responded he couldn't comment that much on the developer's plan, "other than to say it's my understanding he has some agreements with some private commercial interests for the property."

Marks said that attracting commerce is always a risk in property development, and the situation described by Bolen is a possibility.

"I'm not a good gauge for success here, but I believe he has a plan in place, and if you approve this we're going to see if he can make it happen," Marks said.

In other business, the City Council adopted the 2017-18 fiscal year budget. The city's Budget Committee approved the budget in May.

At the May 4 Budget Committee meeting, the committee consensus was to recommend a $500 increase to the mayors monthly stipend  bringing the total stipend to $1,000 per month. The council amended the budget to reflect that change.

The budget maintains current service levels, and adds one police officer position. Fifty-three percent of the overall budget is for capital improvements mostly because of the water treatment plant construction.

The Urban Renewal Agency adopted the three budgets for the three URDs within the city of Lebanon.

The council also approved its revised city fee schedule. Marks said there were only minor changes. Academy Square Gazebo and Strawberry Plaza were added to the city's park system, so a $75 fee was added for private citizens to rent those parks.
It's hot in Houston, but that's not why people were running through Rice Village nearly naked today. Well... not the only reason anyway.

The annual Hot Undies Run was today and the city's bravest stripped down to their unmentionables to raise money for Girls On The Run of Greater Houston. The program encourages girls to build inner strength through team activities and running. A worthy cause.
A Friendswood man facing intoxication manslaughter charges was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday, after killing a 4-year-old child during a drunk driving accident last summer, according to a news release from the Galveston District Attorney's Office.

Justin James Forsyth, 38, was sentenced after a week-long jury trial in the 56th District Court in Galveston. During the trial, witness testimony and physical evidence were presented concerning Forsyth's actions in July 2016.

Based on witness testimony, Forsyth began drinking alcohol at his home around 8 a.m. on July 17, 2016. The defendant and his girlfriend eventually went to a local bar in Bacliff in the afternoon, where he consumed more alcohol.

At 7:15 p.m., he returned to his home, drove his motorcycle with his girlfriend's 17-year-old son and then left again to return to his girlfriend's house. Forsyth was later seen driving south around 7:30 p.m. at a high rate of speed on 10th Street in Bacliff. Witnesses testified that before Forsyth turned onto 10th Street, he didn't completely stop at the stop sign and almost struck it.

The 4-year-old was outside playing with a group of children, including his two siblings, on the east side of 10th Street. When Forsyth turned onto 10th, he was seen driving with his head down and on the wrong side of the road.

He eventually struck the 4-year-old, who died of extensive head injuries at Clear Lake Regional Hospital.

The child was dragged nearly 50 feet after being struck by Forsyth, according to witness testimony.

After the accident, witnesses said Forsyth was stumbling around and his speech was slurred. Authorities arrived and determined the defendant was intoxicated, arresting him for driving while intoxicated before he was transported to the hospital.

Medical records show Forsyth's blood alcohol level was .260, more than three times the legal limit. The jury reached a guilty verdict on Thursday after about 30 minutes of deliberation.

On Friday, when determining the punishment for the defendant, Assistant District Attorney Kacey Launius told the jury that when deciding on the number of years to ask themselves, "What is a lifetime of birthday parties at the cemetery worth?"

The jury deliberated and decided to punish him with 15 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a $10,000 fine.

Forsyth was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Kayla Allen and Kacey Launius under Judge Lonnie Cox. The investigation was conducted by the Galveston County Sheriff's Office.
Father's Day for the Baumgartner family probably will be forever veiled in the loss of father and husband Stacey Baumgartner, a police sergeant in East Montgomery County who died in the line of duty a year ago Monday.

However, the sheer of the veil is getting more transparent with each passing day  some filled with tears, others with laughter  as Stacey's wife Donna Baumgartner, 5-year-old daughter Chloe and 21-year-old son Brent learn to cope with their loss.

Baumgartner worked with the Patton Village Police Department and was chasing a public urination suspect on Texas 242 when he collided with an SUV at the highway's intersection with FM 1485 the night of June 19, 2016. Both Baumgartner and 11-year-old Adan Hilario Jr., who was inside the SUV, were pronounced dead at the scene.

"This last year has been surreal," Donna Baumgartner said. "It's overwhelming. I've been blessed with the support I have from my family and my law enforcement family as well."

Donna Baumgartner works as a 911 dispatcher with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, which dispatches most law enforcement agencies throughout Montgomery County  including the Patton Village Police Department. She was not working on the night of the crash, but it took some time for her to get back to work immediately following her husband's death.

"In the beginning, it was hard for me to get back, but I went back anyway," Donna Baumgartner said. "It's the job that you do. It's gotten better over the last year. I'm at the point now where I enjoy going back to work. In the beginning, I was going through the motions going to work. Our daughter wants me home all the time, but that's just not feasible."

The family spent the last year learning how to live without a husband and father. Baumgartner was honored at a police memorial event last month in Austin and Washington, D.C., since he died in the line of duty.

Chloe had a particularly hard time at the May 1 statewide memorial in Austin. Donna Baumgartner took a photo of Chloe sobbing after seeing her late father's name on the Texas Peace Officers Memorial near the state Capitol and posted it to Facebook as a testament of the realistic struggles of losing not only a peace officer  but a father.

"She remembers a lot about him," Donna Baumgartner said. "My husband left a great impression on our daughter. He was an awesome man of God and an awesome father to her. She talks about him every day and how much she misses him. In her mind, she understands where he's at and knows one day we'll see him.

"The only thing I tell her is we were blessed to have him in our lives for as long as we did, and we're blessed that he is in heaven," she said. "I tell her it's OK to cry for him, it's OK to ask about him and talk about him because his legacy is still living on even after he's gone."

To help commemorate this year's Father's Day and Baumgartner's loss, the family will recreate a memorable road trip to Florida, much like one the family took months before the sergeant's death.

"Shortly after his passing, Chloe said she wanted to go back to Florida and spend Father's Day there in memory of her father," Donna Baumgartner said. "It is a special place for us."

Hilario's family was unable to be reached. In an online post soon after the crash, family and friends described him as an amazing child.

"He was full of dreams as any other child would be and he had a whole life ahead of him," the post stated.

Garrett Nee, 30, was the suspect Baumgartner was chasing at the time of the crash. He is facing two second-degree felony charges of evading arrest detention causing death and two third-degree felony charges of evading arrest causing serious bodily injury. Nee originally faced nine felony charges, including murder, intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault, but prosecutors dropped those charges May 23, court records show, in lieu of the four felony evading charges.

Nee is set for trial in Judge Phil Grant's 9th state District Court Sept. 25.
Five years ago, West Albany High School was poised to welcome not one, not a dozen, but 20 valedictorians to its 2012 commencement ceremony.

Administrators applauded the number of high-achieving students  but also decided maybe it was time to tighten the requirements.

If the goal was strictly to cut down the numbers, it worked. West Albany honored just four valedictorians at the 2017 graduation, and Principal Susie Orsborn said no further changes are planned.

"Yes, we think it is doing exactly what was intended: to honor the well-rounded, academic achievers with great character," she said.

In some parts of the country, valedictorians are on the way out. In 2010, the National Association of Secondary School Principals noted only about half of schools reported class rankings at all.

The mid-valley hasn't joined the trend, however. Local districts say they plan to continue honoring their top students, although they do so in a variety of ways.

Oregon schools aren't required to choose their top students using any specific system. Some go strictly by grade point average. Some add "weight" to college prep or Advanced Placement classes. Some, like West Albany does currently, require a combination of factors, from classes taken to state test scores to the number of behavior referrals.

The result: In the mid-valley, valedictorian counts ranged this year from two at Central Linn High School to seven at Sweet Home High to a full baker's dozen at Corvallis High School.

Small changes continue. Corvallis, for instance, plans to start allowing nongraded courses to be counted in a grade point average, as long as they aren't given in a core class. That's to enable would-be valedictorians to continue signing up to be peer tutors without endangering their GPAs.

For the most part, districts say their top-ranking systems will stay the way they are.

"All of these students achieve high academic standards and demonstrate exemplary citizenship," said Brenda Downum, spokeswoman for the Corvallis School District. "If the high schools did not hold tight to the criteria, the list would have been even longer for both valedictorians and salutatorians this year."

A roundup of valedictorian requirements around the mid-valley:

Albany

South Albany uses a weighted grade point average to determine its valedictorians. AP classes and core academic college courses are weighted with 5 instead of 4 for an A. Students also must meet the state assessment standards in science, math and language arts.

Principal Brent Belveal noted that in addition to valedictorians and salutatorians, graduation speakers can come from throughout the senior class. South holds an open audition for all seniors and selects two to three additional speakers to represent the student body.

West Albany students must exceed state requirements on tests in math, writing, language arts and science; complete a minimum of seven AP classes with at least three each in the humanities and in math or science; take at least six classes each semester all four years and have four credits each in math, science, language arts and social studies.

Central Linn

Valedictorians must qualify for an honors diploma, which means achieving a grade point average of at least 3.5, including eight credits of advanced courses. The list of qualifying courses includes any third year of a foreign language and most college-level and AP courses. An additional 50 hours of documented community service for a total of 100 hours also is required.

Corvallis

Valedictorians for both Corvallis and Crescent Valley high schools are chosen based on grade point average combined with honors or AP courses (10 credits at Crescent Valley, nine at Corvallis High).

Crescent Valley students must have at least 26 credits, 25 of which must be graded. No class offered with a grade may be taken pass/fail.

Corvallis High is making a minor change next year along those lines, Downum said. Students there must have at least 25.5 graded credits by graduation, and until now, no nongraded classes could be considered. However, Principal Matt Boring has said he doesn't want to discourage students from signing up as peer tutors, which is considered a nongraded class. "We are going to change the 25.5 graded credit criteria to, 'Students may not take core classes P/NP,'" Boring said.

Harrisburg

Valedictorians are determined by grade point average once required coursework is completed, including four years of language arts (honors level or above), four years of math (geometry or above), three years of social studies, three of science and two of a foreign language.

Jefferson*

Valedictorians must earn honors diplomas in addition to having the highest grade point average. Honors diplomas require 21 or more credits from a list of classes approved by the National Honor Society.

Lebanon

Valedictorians must have earned an Academic Honors diploma in addition to having the highest grade point average. Academic Honors means having a GPA of at least 3.5 and a minimum of six credits on the LHS campus during junior and/or senior years and successfully completing eight credits of advanced courses through the second semester of the senior year. The advanced courses must be taken from a list that includes foreign languages, AP and college-level courses.

Scio

Valedictorians must have earned an Academic Honors diploma in addition to having the highest grade point average, which relies in part on weighted grades for college-level courses. Academic Honors means achieving at least a 3.5 GPA with four years of math (including College Algebra), four years of science (including chemistry), two years of the same foreign language, four years of Language Arts (including College English) and two years of any combination of applied and fine arts, excluding a language.

Sweet Home

Valedictorians must earn an honors diploma, which includes specific course requirements in Language Arts, math, science, social science, electives, health and P.E. They must also pass state assessment tests in all subjects and earn at least 26 credits.

*Editor's note: Jefferson's information was not immediately available for the print edition of this story and has since been added.
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An armed suspect was taken into custody Friday evening after barricading himself inside a storage shed in the Energy Corridor, according to Houston police.

Police first received multiple reports around 7:15 p.m. about a 30-year-old man robbing people at gunpoint within two neighboring apartment complexes, according to HPD spokesman Kese Smith.
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Outspoken conservative commentator Tomi Lahren is stirring controversy again, this time in her home state.

The ex-Blaze commentator recently visited Dallas to share her thoughts on conservatism, womanhood and leadership.

"Being a conservative is much harder than being a woman," Lahren said to a group of teens at the Young Women's Leadership Summit, a four-day conference for young, conservative women.

Opening her speech by looking back on the 2016 election, Lahren said the first female president would have been a "big deal for all of us" but said she would "rather it not be Clinton," whom Lahren described as a liar and a crook  to which the audience responded with cheers and calls to "lock her up."

RECENTLY FIRED: Tomi Lahren lectures students on holding a job

The 24-year-old recently drew ire from conservative circles for her endorsement of abortion rights in an ABC appearance that would eventually lead to her show's termination from Glenn Beck's conservative media site, The Blaze.

Lahren has also previously received widespread criticism from many outside the right for her comments comparing Black Lives Matter to the "new KKK" and feminism as "b.s. masqueraded as women's rights."

"There's no better place to be a woman than the United States of America," Lahren said in the same leadership speech. "Somebody tell Katy Perry that."

LAHREN: 'Stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body'

"You will encounter people that think you're going to back down because you're a woman," Lahren added. "They think you'll just go away. Never go away."

The Young Women's Leadership Summit began on Thursday and will be attended by other conservative female figures including Kellyanne Conway, Laura Ingraham and Carly Fiorina.

Click through above to see things to know about Tomi Lahren.
NOVELTY, Ohio -- By the last two weeks of the school year, the minds of most students are already on summer vacation.

Students at Laurel School in Shaker Heights were taking a field trip back to the year 600 A.D.

The seventh graders traveled to the school's Butler Campus in Novelty and spent their last two weeks on a simulated archeological dig, making discoveries about the Whittlesey tribe -- Paleo Indians who lived along the Cuyahoga River from 600-1000 A.D.

Prior to their arrival, teachers had arranged for a bulldozer to bury pottery, nuts, tools, arrowheads and other artifacts, haphazardly and at various depths, in a 10-by-10 meter square.

The students worked in pairs, each pair assigned to a 2-by-2 meter section, a foot deep.

Then, they slowly began to put everything they had learned throughout the year to use.

"This is the culmination of their Humanities program," said Carrie Ruhrkraut, a seventh-grade team leader who teaches middle school math at Laurel. "We debated the use of Native Americans as mascots, from their perspective as seventh graders. After they unearth this Whittlesy site, we'll talk about whether or not their perspectives have changed."

While on the site, the girls were in constant motion, kneeling on the wet sand, carefully scraping or brushing layer after layer, in search of clues to the Whittlesy lifestyle. They worked with their partners, screening bucketsful of sand, then running to help another student plot the location of her find on the 2x2 grid.

"I found an artifact!" Olivia DeLorezo shouted as she quickly brushed the sand away from something small and dark, less than the size of a quarter.

"Wait, I'll get the tape measure," yelled Emerson Coy from an adjacent square, as she jumped over the pink and yellow strings marking each plot. The girls note the position of the find, it's directional location and it's depth.

"The depth of the artifact tells a story as well," leader Ruhrkraut said. "If this is buried a little bit deeper, what does that tell you?"

"It could be older," the girls answered. "Correct," Ruhrkraut replied.

"The girls have to use their math and geometry skills to look at the dig and picture it as a three dimensional space," Ruhrkraut said as she listened to the girls speculate on what Olivia found. They determined, correctly, that it was a nut, helping to bolster their observations on the corn, beans and nuts they have found, confirming that the Whittlesy people were known as a "Maize Tribe."

A volunteer helped pour a particularly heavy bucket of sand into the screen box two students held. The woman, Maia Rucker of Cleveland Heights, is a Laurel alumnus, about to celebrate her 20th class reunion. She kept an eye on her daughter, Sidney Rucker. The student's legs were spread in a wide vee, knee-high red rubber boots speckled with sand. Sidney said she loves the outdoors, but doesn't particularly like to get muddy. She does, however, like to get into her work. She was covered.

"I already know I'm going to have to wash everything you have on, including you, probably," Maia said to her daughter, smiling. "You're gonna need a two year shower."

Sidney soon discovered a pottery shard, plotted it with the help of Zellie Winterich, then placed a red flag to mark the location.

"Since we're always inside the classroom, it's nice to have a change of scenery," Sidney said. "There's only so much a textbook can teach you."

Her mother smiled at her daughter's wisdom.

"I've discovered that a large part of this process is they've learned to work together," Maia said, watching "her" girls with obvious pride. "Communication has increased. 'Please' and 'thank you' is happening, and they see how that kindness makes things easier." She stepped a bit closer to the girls, watching to see if anyone needed her help.

"They have become more resilient," she said. Some come out here and haven't found a thing, but they are all committed to completing the process. Even though this is the end of the year, they are building new friendships, and learning together."
April is the cruelest month, poet T.S. Eliot wrote. But for Ohio taxpayers, every other June can be crueler. This is one of those Junes - when the Ohio General Assembly writes a state budget.

Ohio's current two-year budget will expire on June 30.

The state Senate hasn't yet passed the pending budget bill, House Bill 49.

Senate passage will likely come next week. Only then can a Senate-House conference committee propose a final budget package that the House and Senate can send Gov. John Kasich.

A time crunch looms, though.

By this point in June, the Kasich era's three previous budgets had reached a conference committee. So, the next dozen days at the Statehouse could be especially frantic. The legislature has a lot to do, but not much time to do it.

And in one of the real world's few intrusions on Capitol Square, haste makes waste at the Statehouse. It also makes for dicey deals and special-interest bills that voters, distracted by a budget debate, might not notice. That suits the Statehouse's lobbyists and their legislative chums just fine.

It's anyone's guess why this year's budget timeline has gotten squeezed. Maybe it's because the closer that an Ohio General Assembly member gets to July 1, the more she or he just wants to go home and have the legislative session over with. That git-r-done attitude can really cut down on legislative floor-debate yammering, reducing legislative leaders' headaches.

Or General Assembly Republicans may have been on standby, hoping for an uptick in tax collections that've fallen short of revenue estimates.

That uptick doesn't seem to be happening. And the GOP won't face the fact that its tax-cut mumbo-jumbo squeezed Ohio's budget without noticeably spawning new jobs.

Amid the tightness of a budget debate's timeline, budget conference committees can do parliamentary magic. They can insert in a bill items that weren't in either the House-passed version of a proposed budget or a Senate-passed version. That's a great way to pass laws that might never pass on their own, or to hide the parents of a special-interest law.

It's an open question whether orphan amendments written by a conference committee, amendments without an obvious House or Senate parent, are even constitutional. That'd be up to the Ohio Supreme Court, if anyone asks. Don't hold your breath. Suing the legislature isn't a smart move.

June's hurly-burly, combined with budget horse-trading, may confuse voters trying to keep watch on a Statehouse where they're supposed to reign. Confusion reigns instead. Dust thrown up by a budget stampede can also hide what may be happening with controversial non-budget bills, such as bids to make consumers subsidize electric utilities, among Ohio's most powerful lobbies.

Still, there's a paradox in this month's rush. Even if legislators adjourn after passing a budget, they might have to return to Columbus sooner than they think. Reason: To rewrite Ohio's Medicaid program if Congress passes Paul Ryan's American Health Care Act, which would slash Medicaid.

Medicaid, the Ohio Department of Medicaid reports, "is the largest health insurer in the state ... [and] accounts for 4 percent of Ohio's economy."

It'd take a lot to lure a General Assembly back to the Statehouse from hometown tractor pulls and pie suppers. But a congressional Medicaid squeeze on community hospitals and neighbors' health care just might do it.

Meanwhile, the 2017-19 state budget bill looms. In a celebrated ruling, a New York judge once wrote that "no man's life, liberty or property are safe when the Legislature is in session." That's especially true in Ohio. At its Statehouse. Now.

Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.

To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-999-4689

Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts, and stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Notification Settings (in blue) just below.
WILLOUGHBY, Ohio -- Police are asking for the public's help in identifying assailants connected to an assault at Dave's Cosmic Subs in Willoughby.

The incident happened just after 3 a.m. Sunday, according to a post from the Willoughby Police Department's Facebook page. The store is located on Glenn Avenue near Erie Street.

The attackers were gone when officers arrived on scene, the post says.

Anyone with information on who the attackers are is asked to call the Willoughby Detective Bureau at 440-953-4210 or patrolman Mike Fitzgerald at 440-953-4212.

Assault at Dave's Cosmic Subs On June 11th at 0305 a.m., Willoughby officers responded to Dave's Cosmic Subs in Downtown Willoughby for an assault that had just occurred. The suspects had already left the scene prior to our arrival. The video is not of the best quality, but if someone has information that would be helpful in identifying the suspects, please contact Patrolman Fitzgerald at 440-953-4212 or the Willoughby Detective Bureau at 440-953-4210. Posted by Willoughby Police Department on Friday, June 16, 2017

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.
The Better Business Bureau has been warning consumers against Pandorapick.com. The site boasts discounts of "up to 75% off" on jewelry such as charm bracelets, charms, beads and earrings.

Pandorapick.com closely resembles Pandora Jewelry's site, Pandora.net. Pandora is a legitimate Danish jewelry company with U.S. headquarters in Baltimore. But Pandorapick.com, the Better Business Bureau says, is selling "cheap imitations from China." They've received complaints through their Scam Tracker tool from users who've received low-quality items.

The two sites look similar at first blush, but a closer look at Pandorapick.com reveals red flags such as grammatical errors and a statement on the payment page saying the buyer may be charged international fees.

Pandora Jewelry writes on its website, "Pandora will continue to fight those who attempt to abuse our name and brand to sell counterfeit products and deceive our customers, and our Brand Protection team maintains the highest standards of brand protection."

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the global counterfeit trade industry is worth nearly half a trillion dollars a year. And cheap knockoffs are not the only problem. "There are a lot of websites that are not even shipping a fake product, they're just taking money and running," says David DeMille, a security expert with A Secure Life, a website that offers advice about all aspects of personal security as well as reviews of products such as home security systems and anti-virus software.

If you see a great deal online, it can be tempting to grab it right away  but first, protect your wallet by knowing how to spot some major warning signs.

Too-steep discounts

If you see a deal on an item that seems a little too good to be true, do some price comparison shopping before you click "purchase." Visit websites of other retailers and see if you can find any similar deals on the same product. Usually, other retailers will try to compete if one is offering a big discount. DeMille recommends the website shopstyle.com, which is essentially a search engine for fashion products. "They vet the companies they're working with, so they're all legitimate," DeMille said. You can search for the type of item or brand you're looking for  and look for new sales and deals on that item. Let's say you see a handbag for $50 on a site you're not sure is legitimate. If you don't see any on sale for under $100 on shopstyle.com, the site you saw is likely a fake.

Poor website design and sloppy English

Fashion companies specialize in design  and most spend good money on perfecting the design of their site. "They're always going to want to have the best imagery of their products and it's going to be shiny and fancy," says DeMille. Poor-quality photos and cluttered, unprofessional-looking design are huge red flags that the site can't be trusted. Also, read the fine print carefully before buying anything. Look out for strange wording or spelling and grammar mistakes, as it's common for these sites to be run out of countries where English isn't the first language.

A suspect domain name

Most retail websites have simple URLs  like michaelkors.com, louisvuitton.com or calvinklein.us. If the company has a trademark on its name, its domain name typically matches that name. If you see extra words in the URL like "deals," "sales" or "super discounts," as well as extra characters, there's a good chance the website is a scam. You can also type an address into Google's Transparency Report to see the site's safety rating from Google.

The site hasn't been around for very long

With some exceptions, most established brand names and retailers have been on the Internet for years. If you're not sure about a site, check the Wayback Machine, an archive of the Internet found at archive.org. Users can look up a website and see archived versions of the website across time. "You can actually see what content used to be there, what design used to be there," DeMille said. "It could be a big red flag if within the past year the website came into being."

You can't pay with a credit or debit card

Beware if the seller is requiring you to pay by money order, bitcoin, cash, wire transfer or a prepaid gift card. Reputable sites will almost always allow you to pay with secure methods, such as credit cards, debit cards or PayPal. With methods such as wire transfers, you have little recourse to get your money back. Also, go elsewhere if a site ever asks you for information that seems too personal or unnecessary for the transaction, such as your Social Security number.

Shady contact information

If the contact email given is a yahoo email address, or if there's simply a form to fill out on the page instead of an address or phone number, watch out. Trusted retailers typically use their company name or the site's domain name in their email address. An international contact number is another major sign something is amiss. Try calling the number if you suspect something isn't right. If you don't get an answer during normal business hours or the number isn't in service, the site probably isn't legitimate. You can also look up the website on GoDaddy's WHOIS tool. WHOIS will show you the email address and phone number associated with the account, where the site is purportedly located, and the site's creation date. If the site is located in China and the brand is based in New York, this could be a major tipoff.

Unclear refund policy

A trustworthy retailer will tell you how and where to return a product you're unhappy with. Fake websites, on the other hand, will often have refund policies that are difficult to understand, hard to find or nonexistent. If you can't find the policy, try contacting the company to ask them directly. Stay away if you get a vague answer. Also, if they're shipping the product, they should give you an idea of when it will arrive. Be aware that the Federal Trade Commission requires sellers to ship items within 30 days of the order if no specific date is promised.

Poor reviews

Of course, bad reviews from other users is one of the biggest signs that a website is fraudulent. Type the company's name and "scam" into Google and see if there are any complaints about the site. Also, you can check the Better Business Bureau for reviews or use their Scam Tracker tool to see if others have reported the site.

If you think you've been scammed

If you think you've already made a purchase from a fraudulent website, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, your state attorney general, or the Better Business Bureau.

Trust your instincts

Above all, go with your gut. DeMille says people are sometimes willing to suspend disbelief because they want the discounts they're seeing to be real. "I think a lot of people kind of know in the back of their head that they're on a website that's maybe a little less reputable," DeMille said. "If you have some hesitation, really dive in, do a little bit of research and try to determine if the website is official or not before putting in any of your credit card information."

CNBC's "American Greed" looks at the dark side of the American Dream. Catch an all new episode Monday 10P ET/PT
In this aerial view blocks of the Prora building complex stretch along the beach on Ruegen Island on June 15, 2017 in Binz, Germany.

More than 75 years after Adolph Hitler's commissioned a dream tourist destination nestled near the Baltic Sea, the Nazi-era resort has been redeveloped for the general public.

Prora, which is located on the north eastern German Baltic coast on Ruegen Island, was originally commissioned by Hitler as a massive, 4.5 kilometers long beach holiday resort complex for German workers, under a program called "Strength through Joy."

The original plans called for a festival hall and rooms located in eight, 450 meter-long blocks to accommodate 20,000 guests, with each room facing the sea. However, construction halted in 1939, and during World War II the complex housed Soviet soldiers. Decades later, the German government, which assumed administration after 1989, sold the five existing blocks to private investors.

Fast forward to 2017, and Prora is now a massive real estate development. While some parts are still in ruins, others have been rehabilitated to include a hotel, holiday apartments, a museum and a youth hostel.

As this resort destination comes alive almost 78 years later, Getty Images photographer Sean Gallup, captured the current state of development on the island.
While multilateral development banks (MDBs) can support the infrastructure buildout in Asia, national governments need to be the institutions driving the process, a panel of experts said on Saturday.

The panel held during an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) meeting in Jeju, South Korea, focused on the work of governments, commercial banks and multilateral institutions in improving infrastructure financing in Asia.

The AIIB was launched in 2016 as a multilateral financial institution, in the style of the World Bank, to support infrastructure building in Asia-Pacific. The China-backed development bank told CNBC earlier this week that despite its roots, the AIIB was a global institution that did not just support China's interests.

MDBs play a critical role in de-risking infrastructure projects by transitioning them from purely public-led schemes to more leveraged ones, said Joachim Von Amsberg, vice president of policy and strategy at the AIIB.

However, multilateral banks like the AIIB cannot be a substitute for government, Von Amsberg said. "National leadership has to drive the process and take ownership," he added.

Asia has an estimated $1.7 trillion infrastructure gap if it continues to develop at current growth rates, according to the Asian Development Bank. At present, 300 million in the region do not have access to potable water, 400 million live without electricity and 1.5 billion do not have basic sanitation. Transportation infrastructure is also lacking in the region.

One of the problems behind the persistent infrastructure gap could be the low levels of private sector involvement in such projects.

The development of local capital markets could improve things in the future. In addition, other forms of financing are also being explored, such as the listing of infrastructure projects on stock exchanges.

As for sovereign government, the biggest task remaining is to create an enabling environment for change, reform and growth, said former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz. He pointed to introducing price checks on major infrastructure projects as a way of targeting corruption and pushing for greater privatization in the economy.

Only if governments drive the reforms necessary to create such an environment will institutions, such as the ADB and World Bank, step in and provide assistance, he added.

"The driver has to be the sovereign. It cannot be the lender," he said
Actor and comedian Bill Cosby arrives with his wife Camille for the sixth day of his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S. June 12, 2017.

A Pennsylvania jury convened to hear sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby deadlocked on Saturday after days of deliberations, forcing the trial judge to declare a mistrial.

The 79-year old actor and comedian, known affably as "America's Dad" has been laid low by allegations that he drugged and assaulted several women over the course of decades. Throughout it all, Cosby's wife Camille has been supportive, and she issued a statement that thanked the jurors while lambasting the district attorney and the judge.

The sequestered jury had been in deliberations since Monday, and tensions were rising as the panel found itself unable to reach consensus on whether Cosby had drugged and molested Andrea Constand, a Temple University employee, at his home in Philadelphia more than a decade ago.

The judge asked each individually: "Do you agree that there is a hopeless deadlock that cannot be resolved by further deliberations?" Each juror answered yes.

Cosby will now be released on bail, with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania already stating it intends to retry the case. He still faces a litany of other legal woes, including several civil suits.

During the deliberations, the panel asked several times to revisit key evidence, including Cosby's decade-old admissions that he in fact did fondle Constand after giving her pills in 2004. Still, the actor retained a passionate core of supporters as well as detractorssome of whom lashed out in the wake of the mistrial.

To everyone who criticizes women for taking confidential settlements: this is why. Justice system often fails women

As lurid accusations became major headlines, Cosby's wife Camille was supportive, and was frequently photographed by his side throughout the trial.

In a statement posted to Cosby's verified Twitter account on Saturday, Camille Cosby expressed gratitude for the jury's decision, but lashed out at the prosecutor as "heinously and exploitively [sp] ambitious." She also minced no words regarding her thoughts about the media and Cosby's accusers.

Statement from Camille Cosby

--NBC News and The Associated Press contributed to this article.
President Donald Trump takes questions while addressing a joint news conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S. June 9, 2017.

This story was co-published with The Washington Post.

The pressure is growing to force President Trump to turn over his tax returns. The other day, for example, 200 Congressmen filed a suit in federal court, arguing that voters and lawmakers have a right to know whether Trump's businesses are violating the Constitution's emolument clause, which bars the president from accepting payments from foreign countries.

The lead Senate plaintiff in the suit, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), said that the legal effort could force release of the president's tax returns and other business documents during the discovery stage of the litigation.

"By failing to release his tax returns  reflecting payments and benefits from foreign powers  President Trump is thumbing his nose at the American people and the Constitution," Blumenthal told my Washington Post colleague Tom Hamburger. "He is violating the Constitution by accepting foreign government payments and benefits without consent from Congress  which can't consent to what it doesn't know."

But Trump hasn't filed a tax return for 2017, which is the year he became president and the emolument clause began to apply to him. So even if we got his earlier returns, we wouldn't know what he's done since taking office Jan. 20.

As for the argument that seeing his returns would expose Russian connections, should they exist: I've written before, his old tax returns, should they ever see the light of day, are unlikely to tell us much about any possible personal foreign entanglements.

Those might show up, if they exist, in the filings of the hundreds of companies that make up the Trump empire. But Trump's personal returns are unlikely to show them.

But seeing his old returns would tell us something especially relevant about a president who wants to radically reshape our tax code.

It would show us how much and in what ways Trump has personally benefited from the legal loopholes scattered throughout the current system. And what impact the changes he's proposing would have on him personally.

Trump's tax returns would also let us see, I suspect, that a good part of the tax payments that showed up on Trump's leaked partial 2005 federal return was refunded to him in later years.

When the first two pages of that return became public in March, he and his backers took victory laps because the return showed him paying $36.5 million of income tax and having made about $153 million during the year.

Among the boasters was Donald Trump Jr., who tweeted about his father's 2005 payments at least three times and at a May campaign rally in Montana told a heckler that his father's 2005 return shows that, "You can do it all. You can be successful [and] you can pay your taxes."

However, for reasons I'll get to in a bit, I think there's a very good chance that Trump got a major portion of his 2005 tax refunded to him in 2006 and later. If I'm right, it means that a good part of the 2005 payments that Trump and Trump Jr. and other Trump types boasted about amounted to temporary loans to the Treasury. Not tax payments as we normally think of them.

If so, that would be yet another example of how Trump has gotten a free ride  okay, in this case a reduced-fare ride  on his income taxes.

Getting refunds like the ones I think Trump got is perfectly legal. But for us to see the 2005 tax payments but not any subsequent refunds leaves us with a misleading picture.

Should these refunds exist  I think they do, but I can't prove it  they would show up on post-2005 tax returns that we haven't seen and that Trump refuses to disclose.

Seeing if he got refunds on his 2005 taxes is yet another good reason for us to want to see Trump's returns, which presidents and presidential candidates had been providing since the days of Richard Nixon.

We'd find out about possible refunds of Trump's 2005 taxes by looking at the "Other Credits" line on the second page of those returns and seeing if he took any credits on IRS Form 8801.

I emailed both Trump's tax attorney and the White House several weeks ago asking them to respond to my theory about Trump having gotten refunds in subsequent years. The law firm to which Trump tax attorney Shari Dillon belongs sent a quick and courteous "no comment" response. My email to Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks went unanswered.

So I'm relying on my own analysis, which is based on information and guidance that I got from about half a dozen tax experts, some of whom I've worked with for decades in the course of writing about taxes. Some of the experts I consulted for this column are tax practitioners, some are theoreticians. Their political preferences range from pro-Trump to socialist.

Okay. Now, here we go.

If you look at Trump's partial 2005 return, which made its way to veteran tax journalist David Cay Johnson (with whom I worked at The Detroit Free Press in the 1970s), who gave it to "The Rachel Maddow Show" and put it into the public domain, you see three telling things.

First, you see the words "Client Copy" on the second page, which raises the possibility that the partial return was sent by someone in Trump's camp with access to Trump documents. Because it puts Trump in a good light, this wouldn't shock me.

Second, you see that most of the income tax Trump paid  $31.6 million out of $36.5 million  arose from what he owed as a result of the alternative minimum tax, a provision of the tax code intended to make sure high-income people pay at least some taxes.

Third, you see that Trump used $103.2 million of losses from previous years to reduce his taxable 2005 income. Those losses were lower than his total taxable income. This almost certainly means that he had no losses left to write off, because had more write-offs been available, Trump could have used them to lower his tax bill.

Now, let me try to make sense of all this for you.

The only other Trump tax filings that are public  partial 1995 New York, New Jersey and Connecticut state returns  show that back then, he had an astounding $915 million of losses that he could use in future years to offset income for federal, New York state and New York City income tax purposes.

The 2005 return indicates to me that Trump used up his losses in 2005  he showed $48.6 million of taxable income after subtracting the aforementioned $103.2 million of losses. I'm assuming that from 1996 through 2004, he wiped out his taxable income for federal, New York state and New York City purposes by using the $915 million in losses, which were generated by the collapse of his real estate-casino empire in the 1980s and 1990s, and were probably supplemented with paper losses generated by a special tax code provision that benefits real-estate professionals such as Trump.

Now, I'll give you a simplified version of why I think  but hasten to say, yet again, can't prove  that Trump recovered a good part of the $31.6 million of alternative minimum tax that he paid for 2005.

The AMT, as it's known, has become a plague to middle-income and upper-income types who live in states with high income and real-estate taxes. That's despite the fact that when Congress created the AMT in 1969, its goal was to stop a handful of rich people from avoiding income taxes all together. Over the years, however, Congress failed to modify the AMT sufficiently to keep it from ensnaring millions of middle- and upper-middle taxpayers.

It turns out there are two separate types of alternative minimum tax. Most people  including me  who pay AMT on top of their regular income tax do so because state and local income taxes and the real-estate taxes on our personal residences aren't deductible under the AMT the way they are for regular tax purposes. That leads to the AMT being higher than our regular tax, and the difference between AMT and regular tax gets added to what we owe Uncle Sam.

That kind of AMT payment  arising from what tax techies call an "exclusion preference"  isn't refundable.

But judging from Trump's tax return, it looks like the vast majority of the additional tax he paid as a result of the AMT arose from so-called "deferral preferences." And that most of the $103.2 million of losses he carried over from previous years were deductible for regular income tax purposes in 2005, but not for AMT purposes.

Under the tax laws, Trump can get refunds, over multiple years, up to the refundable portion of the 2005 AMT that he paid. Which was probably the vast majority of his AMT.

For instance, let's say that Trump had the same income in 2006 that he had in 2005, but didn't have the $103.2 million of losses from previous years.

Because the AMT is assessed at a 28 percent rate and the top regular rate in 2006 was 35 percent, Trump's regular income tax would probably have been $6.5 million to $7 million higher than his AMT would have been. This would have yielded him a $6.5 million to $7 million refund, with future refunds coming in future years when his regular tax was higher than his AMT.

To be sure, part of Trump's 2005 AMT probably comes from not being able to deduct real-estate taxes on his personal residences. That "exclusion preferences" part of his AMT wouldn't be refundable.

But the vast majority of Trump's AMT appears to be from "deferral preferences"  especially since it's unlikely that he paid any significant New York state or New York City income taxes from 1996 through 2004 because the losses he carried over from previous years would have been deductible for New York state and New York City purposes and would probably have wiped out all or virtually all of his New York income.

Given the size of the numbers we're dealing with, his personal real-estate taxes and any personal income taxes he might have paid outside of New York are probably rounding errors, at most.

So unless Trump started running up big losses post-2005, when his losses dating back to the 1990s were all used up, it looks like his regular income tax (at a 35 percent top rate in 2006 and 39.6 percent in recent years) would have exceeded his 28 percent alternative minimum tax.

This means that a good part of the AMT that he paid in 2005 would likely have flowed back to him as credits in subsequent years. Hence my conclusion that although Trump paid $36.5 million of federal income tax in 2005, his ultimate income tax cost for the year was considerably lower. That's the bottom line. Or at least, I think it is.



Of course, there's only one way to find out for sure, and that's to view Trump's post-2005 tax returns. If they somehow show up at ProPublica, whose mailing address is 155 Avenue of the Americas, 13th floor, New York, NY 10013, I'll be more than happy to look at them. Even if they prove me wrong.

I collaborated with Cezary Podkul of ProPublica on this story, and received reporting help from Alice Crites and Tom Hamburger of The Washington Post.
A bipartisan group of governors are criticizing the Republican health care bill currently being crafted in Congress, arguing the legislation fails to protect the vulnerable and shifts the financial burden of coverage to the states.

In a pointed letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Republican and Democratic governors called on senators to engage with them in the health care reform debate arguing the current draft of the GOP's health care bill was insufficient to ensure adequate coverage and affordability.

"Improvements should be based on a set of guiding principles, included below, which include controlling costs and stabilizing the market, that will positively impact the coverage and care of millions of Americans, including many who are dealing with mental illness, chronic health problems, and drug addiction," the letter stated.

"Unfortunately, H.R. 1628, as passed by the House, does not meet these challenges," it added.

The group included Republicans John Kasich of Ohio, Brain Sandoval of Nevada, and Charles Baker of Massachusetts. Democrats Steve Bullock of Montana, John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, and Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania also signed on.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump reportedly described the House bill as "mean," even as he celebrated its passage last month. Senate Republicans are working on their version of a bill, but have kept the negotiations largely shrouded from public view.

"We feel that true and lasting reforms are best approached by finding common ground in a bipartisan fashion," the governors wrote, laying out a set of principles that include improving affordability and stability to insurance.

They are also seeking flexibility for states to innovate, and less regulatory red tape.

The letter's signatories represent states that chose to expand the Medicaid program, in which the federal government pays at least 90 percent of the costs. However, that funding would be zero by 2020 under the House bill. "Medicaid provisions in this bill are particularly problematic," they wrote.

Governors from expansion states have been especially vocal about cutting funding to the states. The Congressional Budget Office (CB) estimates the House bill will knock 14 million people off the Medicaid who would otherwise have been covered.

In an interview with CNBC, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said, "Ultimately governors are the ones who are going to have to implement whatever they come up with, and I think it would be unfortunate if we are not part of that process of figuring out what are the best compromises cause."

Still, the governors believe there is common ground in driving down costs and stabilizing the marketplace, although Obamacare's passage in 2009 looms large over the negotiations.

"You cannot write major legislation with one party, it doesn't work," Kasich told MSNBC in a May interview. "Obama tried it, Obamacare is, you know, under fire every day. If Republicans do it, and they do it alone, it isn't going to last."

Here is the letter in its entirety:
Despite the hype, the travel industry will continue its expansion into Cuba, though the journey may be tougher for some.

President Donald Trump announced a policy shift on Friday that would prohibit solo trips to Cuba, but would allow group trips to continue. More than a year ago, former President Barack Obama loosened restrictions on travel to Cuba , allowing individuals and groups to go to the island nation for educational purposes.

One observer told CNBC on Tuesday that the change amounted to a clarification of existing policy.

"All the Trump administration is saying is, 'there's one thing we're going to change, and that is we're no longer going to permit individual travelers to purport to be traveling to Cuba under the education exemption,'" said Harry Clark, a partner at Orrick and chair of the law firm's international trade and compliance group.

The changes Trump announced will allow cruises and airlines to continue normal activity, but they could dampen hotel development plans. They could make traveling to Cuba more difficult for passengers, who would be subject to audit by the Treasury Department to ensure their trips to Cuba fall into one of the 12 acceptable purposes.

The full scope of the new policy remains to be seen, as the Treasury and Commerce Departments will release precise regulations within 30 days. Still, Carnival , Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines expressed satisfaction that Trump's policy will allow them to continue sailing to Cuba.
Ke Jie, left, takes on the AlphaGo AI Go player represented by Aja Huang during the second of three games at the Future of Go Summit in China in May 2017.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere, from Apple's iPhone keyboard to Zillow's home price estimates. There's also a lot of stuff out there that marketers are calling AI, but really isn't. Perhaps things reached a new high point last month when AlphaGo, a virtual player of the ancient Chinese board game Go developed by Alphabet's DeepMind AI research group, trounced the top human player in the world, China's Ke Jie. A moment of drama encapsulates the achievement: After Jie resigned in the second of three matches, the 19-year-old lingered in his chair, staring down at the board for several minutes, fidgeting with game pieces and scratching his head. Aja Huang, the DeepMind senior research scientist who was tasked with moving game pieces on behalf of AlphaGo, eventually got up from his chair and walked offstage, leaving Jie alone for a moment. Still, it's generally true that a human being like Jie has more brainpower than a computer. That's because a person can perform a wide range of tasks better than machines, while a given computer program enhanced with A.I. like AlphaGo might be able to edge out a person at just a few things. But the prospect of A.I. becoming smarter than people at most tasks is the single biggest thing that drives debates about effects on employment, creativity and even human existence. Here's an overview of what A.I. really is, and what the biggest companies are doing with it.

So what is AI, really?

Given that everybody's talking about A.I. now, you would think it's new. But the underlying techniques are not. The field got its start in the mid-twentieth century, and one of its most popular methods came about in the 1980s. AI first took hold in the 1950s. While some of its underlying concepts predate it, the term itself dates to 1956, when John McCarthy, a math professor at Dartmouth College, proposed a summer research project based on the idea that "every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it." In the next few years A.I. research labs popped up at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University. Research touched on computer chess, robotics and natural-language communication.

The first definition of AI: "every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it." John McCarthy Professor, Dartmouth College -- 1956

Interest in the field fluctuated over time. A.I. winters came in the 1970s and 1980s as public interest waned and outside funding dried up. Startups boasting promising capabilities and venture capital backing in the mid-1980s abruptly disappeared, as John Markoff detailed in his 2015 book "Machines of Loving Grace." There are several other terms you often hear in connection to A.I. Machine learning generally entails teaching a machine how to do a particular thing, like recognizing a number, by feeding it a bunch of data and then directing it to make predictions on new data. The big deal about machine learning now is that it's getting easier to invent software that can learn over time and get smarter as it accumulates more and more data. Machine learning often requires people to hand-engineer certain features for the machine to look for, which can be complex and time-consuming. Deep learning is one type of machine learning that demands less hand-engineering of features. Often the approach involves artificial neural networks, a mathematical system loosely inspired by the way neurons work together in the human brain. Neuroscientist Warren McCulloch and mathematician Walter Pitts came up with the first such system in 1943. Through the years, researchers advanced the concept with various techniques, including adding multiple layers. With each successive layer, higher-level features could be detected in the original data to make a better prediction. The layers pick out features in the data themselves. But using more layers demands more computing power.

Why is it suddenly so hot?

Through the years, hardware has gotten more powerful, and chipmakers including Nvidia have refined their products to better suit A.I. computations. Larger data sets in many domains have become available to train models more extensively as well. In 2012, Google made headlines when it trained a neural network with 16,000 central processing unit (CPU) chips on 10 million images from YouTube videos and taught it to recognize cats. But later that year, the world of image recognition was rocked when an eight-layer neural network trained on two graphics processing units (GPUs) outdid all others in a competition to accurately classify images based on their content. Months later, Google acquired DNNresearch, the University of Toronto team behind the breakthrough. Since then, A.I. activity has only accelerated, with the world's top technology companies leading the way. Meanwhile, the world's most valuable companies -- technology companies! -- continue to publish research on their latest gains, which only adds to the fascination.

Who's leading the field?

Google and its parent company Alphabet have made several A.I. acquisitions, the most significant being its reported $500 million purchase of DeepMind in 2014. While DeepMind's AlphaGo project has brought Alphabet lots of attention, DeepMind's AI software has led to real business value, lowering the cost of cooling Google data centers by some 40 percent.

Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Google's artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepMind. Jeon Heon-Kyun | Getty Images

Meanwhile Google has enhanced its core search engine, Gmail, Google Street View, Google Photos, Google Translate, YouTube and other applications using A.I. In recent years several open-source frameworks for deep learning have emerged, but Google's TensorFlow is thought to be the most popular. Googlers have even developed a tensor processing unit (TPU) to accelerate network network training and predictions beyond what's currently possible with commercially available silicon. And Alphabet's Waymo is at the forefront of autonomous vehicle research. Alphabet research scientists regularly publish academic papers on their latest achievements, which is somewhat rare in a such a highly competitive industry that values secrecy. In fact, A.I. is so important to the company that Google CEO Sundar Pichai has begun describing Google is an AI-first company. Amazon has long used A.I. to recommend products in its e-commerce business, and it employs robots to move products around fulfillment centers. But in the past few years the company has brought in some revenue by selling Amazon Echo speakers through which people can talk to Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant. While Alexa's speech recognition isn't perfect, it does quickly respond to user input, and it plugs into an increasing number of third-party services and devices. Building on the public's fascination with Alexa, Amazon last year introduced AI services for recognizing objects in images and understanding voice and text input. Amazon has also opened a convenience store that uses A.I. to identify the products that customers grab off the shelves. Apple has looked to AI to recognize handwriting, lengthen device battery life and even find the text that could be selected in PDF files. But Siri, Apple's virtual assistant on iPhones and other Apple hardware, uses deep learning now, and the company has recently announced the HomePod speaker that packages up Siri.

New Apple HomePod smart speaker are on display during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, on June 05, 2017. Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images

Apple has also sought to improve image recognition in its Photos app and emoji prediction in the QuickType keyboard on iOS. Most recently, Apple introduced Core ML, a software library for running machine learning workloads, including neural networks, on Apple devices. Apple is also reported to be developing an AI chip that could be tucked inside its mobile devices. On the whole, Apple has sought to differentiate its A.I. efforts by emphasizing privacy. The company has not published much of its A.I. research, although it did recently hire a prominent researcher, Russ Salakhutdinov, as its director of A.I. research. It has also accumulated talent through acquisitions of startups like Perceptio. Facebook set up an A.I. research group in 2013, with the hire of Yann LeCun, who is known for popularizing a technique called convolutional neural networks. You can see him explaining the technique in this video from 1993:

The group often publishes research papers and has released the Caffe2 and PyTorch open-source A.I. frameworks. It has even come up with special server hardware that's optimized for deep learning with GPUs. But Facebook has also looked to A.I. to better rank posts in the News Feed, translate users' posts into different languages and even generate text descriptions of users' images. Most recently Facebook said it would try to curtail terrorism-related content with the help of A.I. Last year Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg cited A.I. -- along with virtual reality, augmented reality and connectivity -- in its 10-year roadmap, pointing to vision, language, reasoning and planning as areas of exploration. Microsoft has employed A.I. researchers for many years, although in September AI appeared to become a higher priority with the formation of its Microsoft AI and Research Group. Microsoft has incorporated A.I. into Cortana, Word, PowerPoint, Skype and SQL Server. Earlier this year it introduced Story Mix, an video editing app that can keep additions like stickers tied to specific objects as they move in video, thanks to A.I. Microsoft has also introduced services for speech recognition, computer vision, emotion detection and video understanding that developers can use in their own apps. Microsoft fields the Cognitive Toolkit open-source A.I. framework.

So where do we go from here?

None of this gets at what's possible in the future. First, more of human labor could be automated. Drivers at app-enabled cab companies like Uber and Lyft, for example, could find themselves without work as self-driving cars using A.I. become acceptable for everyday travel. Machine translation systems could render human translators unnecessary except for specialty jobs. Banks would not need to employ tellers once ATMs can create new accounts and give out loans. Fewer journalists will be needed to write the news. The thought of those developments has lead to discussion of alternative economic models like universal basic income, which Zuckerberg recently talked up.
The world's largest long-haul airline wants both employees and customers using smart glasses.

Emirates Airlines, based in Dubai, revealed this week that the company sees smart glasses as a strategic initiative that should help them fend off discount airline rivals.

Airlines succeed when they can treat passengers with a personal touch and top-notch customer service. For example, flight attendants can call passengers by name, provide personalized meals (that are, say, vegetarian or kosher), give extra attention to nervous fliers, provide added service for loyalty-card members or keep an eye on passengers with a history of disruptiveness.

This kind of service is hard to provide because of the lack of readily accessible knowledge.

Flight attendants wearing augmented reality smart glasses, however, could use face recognition that identifies a passenger, with a heads-up display (HUD) that shows the airlines' notes about each individual. The end result is that these employees will perform like they have incredibly actionable knowledge -- as if they recognize each passenger and "know" exactly what they need for optimal service.

[ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ]

Emirate's initiative strongly hints at the the five surprising and important things you need to know about the coming world of smart glasses.

1. Google Glass was a success

The best-known smart glasses product is Google Glass. The false narrative around Glass is that Google tried to rush it into the market and that it was rejected by the public, and therefore failed.

The truth is that Google's R&D lab launched a splashy and expensive public beta program, expressly to determine what this new technology could best be used for. They learned all they could, then transitioned the project out of the lab and into a division for developing glass as a product.

The first Google Glass product is called Glass at Work. Google runs a Glass at Work developers program for the creation of enterprise applications for Glass.

One of the biggest and earliest users of Google Glass in manufacturing is Boeing, whose workers use Glass for building airplanes.

Specifically, Boeing airplane manufacturing involves a complex process of connecting all the wiring that controls a plane's many electrical systems. The process is massively knowledge intensive. Google Glass enables workers to function as if they've memorized all the complexities of connecting the wires. They behave as if they have perfect knowledge, and keep their hands free to do the work itself.

Google Glass is also being used heavily in medicine, both for research and clinically.

One inspiring project at Silicon Valley's Stanford University called the Autism Glass Project is using Google Glass to help children with autism form emotional bonds with people by helping them read facial cues and other forms of emotional communication.

With "pilot" projects like Emirates to real manufacturing applications like Boeing to a world of smart glasses research, the Google Glass program has delivered an important platform and a huge body of knowledge for figuring out how smart glasses would work.

2. Augmented reality is all about smart glasses

The public can be forgiven for believing that the smart glasses industry is just a moribund category of wearable computing that itself has disappointed expectations. Instead, the industry has moved on to focus on more promising and exciting technologies, like augmented reality.

The more sophisticated understanding, however, is that augmented reality and smart glasses are the same thing. In other words, all the investment and progress in augmented reality is building a foundation for the coming smart glasses revolution.

As Google demonstrated with Google Glass, the hardware part of smart glasses simply involves a camera, a way to control the interface (such as voice commands or touch screen) and some way to bend light into the wearer's eye.

Such hardware is already available, but it's too big and clunky to be socially acceptable. However, it's getting better, smaller, lighter, offers longer battery life and is becoming more "wearable" all the time. The hardware is an industry-wide work in progress.

More important than hardware is the creation of development platforms and the resulting interfaces and content for smart glasses -- augmented reality platforms and apps. Earlier this month, Apple unveiled something called ARKit, an augmented reality developers kit for the upcoming iOS 11 mobile operating system.

In fact, the normally stoic and circumspect CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, told an interviewer this week that he's so excited about augmented reality that he wants to "yell out and scream."

The ARKit idea is that developers can build apps for iPhones and iPads that use the camera for augmented reality. You look at the screen, and see what's on the other side of the device, plus whatever digital objects or information are to be inserted as augmented reality.

Thousands of developers are expected to use ARKit, so we can look forward to thousands of apps. But augmented reality on a phone or tablet is clearly just a stopgap for development while smart glasses evolve sufficiently for widespread use.

Apple is rumored to be working on smart glasses, a rumor that was extremely convincing even before Apple announced an all-out push into augmented reality.

Once developers have used ARKit to build mobile apps, the distance to supporting smart glasses is very short. On such a platform, the "reality" part will be normal vision, with the "augmented" bits superimposed on what the user is actually looking at.

In fact, it seems like every major technology industry is working on augmented reality platforms. Facebook, at its own developers conference recently, unveiled its platform for augmented reality. It's called the Facebook Camera Effects platform. And other major companies are not only working on augmented reality platforms, but have also announced smart glasses hardware itself.

Microsoft Microsoft demonstrates Hololens with interactive games, but the product is pure enterprise for now.

Microsoft, of course, is working on its highly anticipated HoloLens, which is available currently only to developers and mostly for enterprise applications.

Former Android founder Andy Rubin is in the news because his unicorn startup, Essential, announced a new phone and virtual assistant appliance. Less well known is that Essential's got a patent for smart glasses. Rubin is a well-known fan of the Google Glass concept .

And, of course, augmented reality smart glasses startups like Google-backed Magic Leap are getting major funding.

So whether we're talking about the companies like Microsoft and Magic Leap that emphasize hardware, or companies like Apple and Facebook that emphasize augmented reality, they're all working toward the same goal: the mainstreaming of augmented reality smart glasses.

3. Smart glasses are really about prosthetic knowledge

Why would Emirates Airline go to the trouble of outfitting flight attendants with smart glasses? Why not give them tablets to look up the same information?

The reason is that the effect of smart glasses will be completely different from every other user interface. It won't look or feel like people are "using" a computer.

Let's say Emirates did roll out augmented reality tablets. One flight attendant wants to interact with the passenger in seat 2B. He goes and gets the tablet. He stands next to the passenger and holds up the tablet, which shows the passenger's name and some helpful personal information.

This scenario is ridiculous and would never happen.

Now let's do the smart glasses version. The passenger in seat 2B presses the call button. The flight attendant comes over, and instantly the passenger's name and other information appears overlaid on his glasses. He's able to respond in a customized fashion, recalling previous engagements on prior flights and reflecting the passenger's personal profile.

The difference is that using augmented reality on a phone or tablet is like "using" a computer. Using augmented reality with smart glasses is like "prosthetic knowledge"  the information appears to the wearer in a way that simulates the occurrence of a thought or memory.

It feels that way, too.

I used a Google app called Word Lens on Google Glass while living in Italy three years ago. Word Lens is an early augmented reality app that translates the language of words. It's amazing because it keeps the translation in the same color and typeface as the original.

As I wore Glass around Tuscany, the effect was not like "using" a translation app. It felt like I could read Italian. And it was an amazing feeling.

4. The real impact of smart glasses will be in the enterprise

Whenever people talk about smart glasses, they assume the conversation is all about consumers walking around watching YouTube clips and seeing text messages through their prescription glasses or sunglasses. (Emirates, for example, envisions passengers using smart glasses to navigate through airports. _

Consumer use is coming. But the real impact will be in the enterprise. Entire industries from manufacturing to transportation to healthcare and many others are already leading the way. In fact, it's hard to think of any industry or profession that won't benefit from this kind of prosthetic knowledge.

And it's because of the coming ubiquity of smart glasses in the enterprise that...

5. ...Smart glasses will be the second most transformative tech over the next 25 years

While autonomous cars and trucks will be the top most transformative tech, augmented reality smart glasses -- and the prosthetic knowledge they provide -- will deliver a boost to any industry where knowledge is a competitive factor.

Augmented reality smart glasses will enable companies to bolster training and knowledge programmatically, by which I mean they'll be able to upgrade the "knowledge" of tens of thousands of workers using a five-minute update in a database. The net effect of this knowledge upgrade for the entire enterprise workforce will be comparable to the PC and mobile computing transformation of the past 50 years.

So as you read about augmented reality over the next few years, understand where it's going: straight into smart glasses to power enterprise applications that will transform the world.
CORNWALL, Ontario  James Labelle, 29, and Keisha Maneilly, 21, both of Cornwall were arrested and charged as follows:

Possession of cocaine

Possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine

Possession of Methamphetamine

Possession for the purpose of trafficking methamphetamine

Possession of Marijuana

Possession for the purpose of trafficking Marijuana

Labelle was also charged with breach of probation for being in possession of drugs and failing to keep the peace.

It is alleged on June 6, 2017 members of the Cornwall Street Crime Unit executed a warrant at an Alice Street residence and located a quantity of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine pills. Both were taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court at a later date.
Data center News

Former Employee Lawsuit Says CenturyLink Agents Committed Wells Fargo-Like Fraud, Motivated By Aggressive Sales Goals

Joseph F. Kovar

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A former CenturyLink employee is suing her former employer, alleging she was fired for bringing to light concerns the telecommunications company got customers to pay for services they did not request.

Bloomberg on Friday reported that the employee, Heidi Heiser, who worked from home as a CenturyLink customer service and sales agent for a little over a year, was fired within days of notifying CenturyLink CEO Glen Post of a scheme by CenturyLink employees to take advantage of personal incentives to add services or lines to customer accounts.

Those employees allegedly then falsely indicated that those services or lines were approved by customers, which sometimes resulted in unauthorized charges to customers, Bloomberg reported.

[Related: CRN Exclusive: CenturyLink Execs Detail New Channel Focus, Plans To Bring Top IT Vendors To Its Telecom Partners]

Bloomberg reported that Heiser compared the actions of the CenturyLink sales agents to the recent scandal at Wells Fargo where "employees opened deposit and credit card accounts without customers' consent to earn incentives and meet sales goals." That case resulted in the firing of over 5,000 employees and $185 million in fines.

John Hudson, director of service provider solutions for Lumenate, a Dallas-based IT consulting firm and CenturyLink partner, told CRN that he thought "slamming," or the illegal practice of switching a consumer's telephone service without authorization, was a thing of the past.

"As an agent, we work with enterprises," Hudson said. "I can't imagine making those kind of decisions for our customers."

Hudson said the lawsuit was only just filed, and so it will take some time to know the truth. Even so, he expects some customers will ask about it when discussing CenturyLink services.

"If we were in a sales situation with CenturyLink competing against AT&T or other carriers, I could see customers asking questions," he said.

A CenturyLink spokesperson, in response to a CRN request for more information, replied via email that the company is focused on serving customers.

"As such, CenturyLink holds itself and its employees to the highest ethical standards and does not condone any type of unethical behavior. The allegations made by our former employee are completely inconsistent with our company policies, culture and Unifying Principles, which include honesty and integrity," the spokesperson wrote.

CenturyLink has what it calls an "Integrity Line," operating 24 hours a day, where employees are welcomed to express any concerns about ethics or compliance issues, the spokesperson wrote.

"This employee did not make a report to the Integrity Line and our leadership team was not aware of this matter until the lawsuit was filed. We take these allegations seriously and are diligently investigating this matter," the spokesperson wrote.

CenturyLink, a Monroe, La.-based global communications and IT services company, is in the process of acquiring Level 3, a Broomfield, Colo.-based provider of communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. That acquisition is slated to close by the end of September.

Level 3, in response to a CRN request for more information, referred the matter to CenturyLink.

CenturyLink shares fell nearly 5 percent to $25.75 a share, while Level 3 shares dropped almost 3 percent, to $62.03 a share, in Friday trading.

The lawsuit, case number CV2017-008928, was filed in the Maricopa County branch of the Arizona Superior Court on Wednesday.
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DANBURY  When Mohammed Wardeh was a young boy in Damascus, he would often point at broadcasts of the United Nations Security Council on TV and tell his mother, One day, Ill work right there.

His dream, he said, was to graduate from a school in the United States, a country he saw as a haven for innovation, technology and opportunity, unlike his native Syria.

I was just a little boy, I didnt know thats what (the Security Council) was, but my dream was to graduate from the U.S., Wardeh said. I was just waiting for the right chance.

Wardeh got his chance 10 years ago when he was offered a job as a web developer for the United Nations in New York City.

Now living in Danbury with his family, he has since earned his masters degree from Boston University, a position as an infantryman with the National Guard and, just last week, with the help of U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, his U.S. citizenship.

Becoming an American

The now-35-year-olds journey to citizenship began in 2007 as he was preparing to return to Syria after his wife was denied citizenship in Switzerland, where Wardeh had been working for the United Nations for two years. While packing his bags, Wardeh received an email offering him a position in New York.

He was given a G-4 visa  a nonimmigrant U.S. visa for employees of international organizations  and he and his wife moved to New Rochelle N.Y. That was Wardehs third move to another country for a job, but jobs are far and few between in his native country.

The situation in Syria is so tough, he said. People are very poor and opportunties are so rare. ... If you are not connected to officials with the government, you have no chance.

Although his childhood had been rough, Wardeh said, not until the Syrian civil war began in 2011 did he know he would not be able to return home. His family began to receive death threats, were forced out of their Damascus home and his brothers were beaten by Syrian security forces, Wardeh said.

His family fled to Egypt that year and have since moved to Dubai. But Wardeh knew that he needed to secure his safety in the United States, and was granted asylum in 2012.

I thought, Hey, you might lose your job at the U.N. tomorrow, you never know, he said. Theres no way Im going back to Syria. Its my life at stake.

The next step was earning his permanent resident status with a green card, which he received after a yearlong background check in 2014. Then Wardeh saw an opportunity to give back.

As a permanent resident, he was now eligible to join the National Guard.

This country protected me in 2012 when they gave me asylum so ... I wanted to give back to the people who protected me and my family, he said. When somebody extends their hand for you and for your family, this hand should be appreciated.

But Wardeh hit a roadblock in achieving the last step of his lifelong dream  American citizenship. At the National Guards naturalization ceremony at the end of basic training, everyone but Wardeh was awarded citizenship. He was told additional background checks were needed because he was Syrian and a policy hold had been put on his certificate of naturalization.

This is where Sen. Murphy interfered and said, This is not acceptable, said Wardeh, who had reached out to the Connecticut lawmaker. (His staff) took things so personally and kept calling.

Just two months later, on what he calls the best day of his life, the hold was lifted and Wardeh became a U.S. citizen.

Mohammed has been through a lot since leaving Syria, but despite it all, he has chosen to serve to our country and become a U.S. citizen, Murphy said in a news release. ... Helping people like Mohammed is some of the most rewarding work I do in the Senate. Im thrilled that my office could step in to help.

Lingering obstacles

Although becoming an American has fulfilled Wardehs lifelong dream, there are still challenges for him, and for immigrants like him, in his adopted country.

Wardeh said it is especially tough to be a Muslim in America today. When he started his basic training in the National Guard, he experienced name-calling and racism from his officers and fellow trainees, much of which he believes stemmed from a lack of knowledge about his religion or a fear of extreme or terrorist ideologies.

But once people got to know him, Wardeh said, he made a lot of friends.

People dont usually hate each other, people just dont know each other, Wardeh said. ... The freaks of al-Qaeda (attacked America), so if they hated us, I understand, but this is not Muslims .  They do not represent Islam or Muslims.

Wardeh, who says he has not seen his mother in six years, tried to bring his parents to America before starting his basic training last fall. He was unable to bring them, and now says he might have to defer his dream of earning his Ph.D. to take care of his family in Dubai.

I understand not everyone can come here, but for my parents, they are old people and I need to take care of them, Wardeh said. I will keep trying.

He hopes President Donald Trumps proposed travel ban, which he believes serves only to turn people against one another, will be struck down.

Wardeh said when he first came to America, he was overwhelmed by the amount of work it took to find a full-time job, go to school and support his wife and three children. But, he believes it was all worth it.

"There are so many barriers, but all the difficulties paid off, he said. Its never easy and there are no free meals here, you have to work hard to get it. But, at the end of the day, it paid off.

aquinn@newstimes.com; @QuinnNewsTimes
Cuba and Mozambique sign cooperation agreement on agriculture

The ministries of agriculture of Cuba and the Republic of Mozambique today signed a cooperation agreement in this capital with the purpose of developing bilateral ties in this area, as well as food security and agricultural research.

Jose Miguel Rodriguez, Cuban Deputy Minister of Agriculture, and his counterpart Luisa Caetano, who is part of the delegation that accompanies the president of that nation, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, signed the document.

During the event it was known that the agreement aims to define the basis of the institutional relationship between both agencies, with a view to fostering links in this branch of the economy.

On this day, the two countries also signed an agreement on reciprocal exemption from the lease payment of the property delivered by each of the parties for the operation of their diplomatic missions and official residences in their respective territories.

This document was signed by Marcelino Medina, Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, and Oldemiro Julio Marques, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique.

Both countries signed a cooperation agreement between their ministries of education last May to share experiences in education to strengthen training and education in the public education system.

As scheduled, President Nyusi will hold talks today with Army General Raul Castro, President of the Cuban Councils of State and Ministers.

Strengthening collaboration in key sectors such as health, agriculture, technical and vocational training, culture and tourism stand out among the interests of the bilateral agenda, diplomatic sources announced.

The peoples, parties and governments of Cuba and Mozambique have been together for more than four decades with strong ties of cooperation and friendship.
Pa. Dems could flip the House of Reps. Here's what that might mean.

elections
The great Conservative prime minister Benjamin Disraeli, known as the founder of the modern Tory Party, issued a chilling warning about the dangers of social and economic division in a famous novel almost 200 years ago.

Disraeli declared in his book Sybil that Britain had turned into two nations between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each others habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets. The rich and the poor.

As far as Disraeli was concerned, it was the task of the Conservative Party to bind those two nations together. Otherwise, he predicted, the Conservatives would face extinction as a national party  and deservedly so.

The heart-rending loss of life in the Grenfell tower block in West London this week (pictured) demonstrates that two nations still exist in Britain today

The heart-rending loss of life in the Grenfell tower block in West London this week demonstrates that two nations still exist in Britain today. Many of those who died lived in a way that could hardly have been more different to their neighbours in the more affluent areas of Notting Hill just a few hundred yards away.

Pictures taken from a helicopter of the burning husk of Grenfell tower reveal rows of brown brick flats close to the tower block and, just beyond, the white stuccoed crescents where well-heeled families reside in houses worth 10-20 million.

This part of West London was, of course, home territory to former prime minister David Cameron and his friends in the Notting Hill Set  the clique which formed the informal nerve centre of the Tories throughout Mr Camerons time as leader.

Of course, that is no coincidence. David Camerons moral and social universe  just like Tony Blairs  was inhabited by the investment bankers, hedge fund managers, aristocrats and Russian oligarchs who could afford expensive West London houses.

This was a world where, in the words of Tony Blairs amoral consigliere Peter Mandelson, it was perfectly all right for people to get filthy rich.

But as the wealth multiplied under David Cameron and Tony Blair, so did the social divide in many areas of Britain. Now the horrible suspicion lurks that had the Grenfell residents been better off, nobody would have taken such appalling risks with their safety.

Many Grenfell survivors actually believe the fire was a deliberate attempt to get rid of them. While plainly nonsense, this conspiracy theory shows the depth of distrust and suspicion that exists between the strata of British society.

Pictures taken from a helicopter of the burning husk of Grenfell tower reveal rows of brown brick flats close to the tower block and, just beyond, the white stuccoed crescents where well-heeled families reside in houses worth 10-20 million

This weeks tragedy has caused a rent in our social fabric because so many of the victims were from the lower end of the income scale. For that reason it has rapidly become a testy political issue. Yesterday there were ugly scenes when angry crowds burst into Kensington Town Hall, and jeered Theresa May amid scuffles with the police. In such circumstances, a Tory prime minister inevitably becomes a target for those seeking a focus for their anger.

Conversely, since the disaster, whatever you think of his motives, Jeremy Corbyn has come across as being the most concerned politician, being pictured hugging a series of people near the charred tower. Just as David Cameron and Tony Blair were prime ministers for the rich, Mr Corbyn has positioned himself as the spokesman for the less well off.

Some have criticised him for milking political advantage by blaming the Tories and the cuts for the Grenfell catastrophe  and they make a reasonable point. At this stage, nobody knows exactly who or what caused the disaster. It is far too early to point blame.Meanwhile, Mr Corbyns demands that the empty houses of wealthy but absent foreigners should be made available to those whove lost their homes this week are not only playing to the crowd, they are half-witted. They also have chilling overtones of that old Left-wing slogan that all property is theft and should therefore become the possession of the State.

For all that, Mr Corbyn has found a voice to comfort the bereaved. The stilted language used by Mrs May when she visited Grenfell just after the disaster recalls the awful performance of William Hague following the death of Diana.

A spokesman for Mrs May put her failure to meet victims down to security concerns. Yet the arrival of the Queen and Prince William at the scene yesterday put this excuse in perspective.

It is another PR disaster for a Prime Minister whose position is already under grave pressure. However, all is not lost. Mrs May is better placed than she may seem to respond in a statesmanlike way to the Grenfell disaster. She should look to her early speeches as Prime Minister, when she promised to speak up for ordinary hard-working people. She promised a society where we all look out for each other. This has to be right.

Take the case of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where Grenfell tower is located. This is the most affluent borough in Britain, home to some of Britains wealthiest inhabitants.

Yet the Conservative leaders of this borough have repeatedlyboasted of how low council taxes are. This may be down to prudent housekeeping but maybe its time residents started to fork out a bit more. Very low council tax is a bad thing if it means that safety is compromised in places like the Grenfell estate.

However, we shouldnt think of this as merely a Conservative matter. While it may well be the case that Kensington and Chelsea were shockingly negligent, Labour councils are every bit as bad. Grenfell could have happened in Tower Hamlets or Newham in East London.

Inevitably, one of the pressing issues thats emerged this week is the question of housing provision in this country. Thousands of people still live in high-rise blocks which may be just as unsafe as Grenfell.

Its clear that we urgently need to build more affordable flats and houses, not least in response to the rapid population rise since New Labour effectively ended border controls nearly 20 years ago.

However, building homes costs money, and  with Britains dizzying debt rising all the time  those funds are going to have to come from somewhere. That is a conundrum for the Prime Minister, but her most pressing task is to react to this disaster by acting decisively and in the interest of the nation as a whole.

Mrs May was a popular figure for a reason when she became Prime Minister. Shes an ordinary person who is emphatically not part of any social elite.

Shes every bit as much a fish out of water among the Notting Hill Set as Jeremy Corbyn would be. Yet unlike the Labour leader, she would not impose swingeing taxes on the wealthy  who can move from this country to any that they want.

I believe Mrs May is every bit as concerned about social justice as Mr Corbyn  which is why, for example, she has promised to raise the minimum wage again.

She is a true One Nation Conservative in the tradition of Disraeli  which is why this vicars daughter must strive to bring together the two Britains that sit cheek by jowl in West London.

Though her early response was awkward, she has done exactly the right thing by calling a full-scale public inquiry, and now committing 5 million to help victims.

She simply has to show that she cares  and then act accordingly to stop such a tragedy ever happening again.

The febrile crowds on the streets of Kensington yesterday had worrying echoes of the London riots of 2011. For that reason, and for the sake of those poor souls who perished this week, Mrs May must now show that she can unite this country.

Qatar is imperfect, but our best hope

Which side should we support in the terrifying Middle East stand-off between Saudi Arabia and the tiny Gulf State of Qatar, which has been isolated in recent days by several powerful neighbours?

Many observers wish a plague on both their houses. But I strongly disagree with them.

For all of its faults  and it stands accused by some of sponsoring terrorism  Qatar is the best hope for freedom and democracy in the Persian Gulf.

Saudi Arabia and its allies demand that Qatar shut down its TV station, Al Jazeera, which has done such courageous work in shining a light on events in the Muslim world over the past 15 years. This is authoritarian dictatorship.

Anybody who loves Press freedom has no choice but to support Qatar in this ugly conflict.

And how shaming that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, himself a former journalist of some repute, should refuse to take sides.

Greece's bailout disaster

There is unmitigated joy in Brussels at the International Monetary Funds decision to bail out Greece by releasing several billion dollars to pay off the countrys debts.

But for ordinary Greeks this is a disaster which will keep the country in the euro, meaning mass unemployment, national humiliation and heartbreaking poverty for years to come.The only solution for Greece is to return to the drachma. Were it to do so, it could devalue its currency  making it more attractive to foreign investment  and prosperity would return within the period of a few short years.
After the horrific blaze at Grenfell Tower, this should have been a week for the nation to unite in grief for the dead, the bereaved and the relatives of the missing.

It should have been a week for politicians to join in demanding how such a catastrophe could happen in a first-world country, and seek immediate ways of averting another.

But no. Barely had the body count begun  and it seems, tragically, that it will run into scores  than hard-Left supporters of Jeremy Corbyn were spinning a narrative about the fire, blaming divisions of wealth, profiteering and (inevitably) Tory cuts.

After the Grenfell fire, hard-Left supporters of Jeremy Corbyn were spinning a narrative about Tory cuts. The Labour leader is pictured at the scene

Meanwhile, the Labour leader himself sought to advance his class-war agenda by insisting that the state should seize the properties of Kensingtons absentee rich to house those made homeless by the fire.

As if this werent bad enough, the Left played an unseemly game of competitive compassion (if Theresa May cared as much as Mr Corbyn, she would have talked to victims, not just emergency services).

Enough! Out of respect for the victims and concern for others at risk, it is imperative to take the politics out of this tragedy and for our leaders, calmly yet urgently, to learn its lessons.

One thing is abundantly clear: budget cuts by the Tory council had nothing to do with it. Indeed, the tragic irony is that if Kensington and Chelsea had spent not a penny on refurbishment, the blaze could almost certainly have been contained.

As it was, the authority spent 8.6million on improvements  money that appears to have been spent with appalling incompetence, hugely increasing the risk of an inferno. The way residents warnings were ignored should haunt all concerned.

For just 200,000, life-saving sprinklers could have been installed. Instead, priority seems to have been given to meeting EU targets for energy conservation, with the contractors using inferior exterior cladding of a type banned in other countries and insulation known to emit lethal cyanide.

Equally groundless are the Lefts attempts to blame cuts in Londons fire service. In fact, 40 appliances tackled the blaze  with the first of 300 heroic crew arriving within six minutes, in a city with the fastest response times in the country.

As for the Lefts efforts to smear Mrs May, yes, a more image-conscious politician might have ignored police advice and mingled with the victims, parading her compassion before the TV cameras. But given her shaken appearance, her prompt decision to set up a public inquiry and a 5million emergency relief fund, it is simply malicious to suggest she doesnt care.

This should have been a week for the nation to unite in grief for the dead, the bereaved and the relatives of the missing. The fire is pictured above

Which brings us to Mr Corbyns sinister call to requisition houses whose owners are overseas  even though ample accommodation was offered elsewhere.

Leave aside that property seizures would prompt a mass flight of the rich from London, causing untold harm to the economy. No, this was a naked, rabble-rousing attempt to stir up class envy  a classic tactic of the hard-Left.

More blatant still are the efforts by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell to provoke a union-led popular uprising. His aim is to topple this shaky government with a summer of strikes and million-strong demonstrations, culminating in power for Mr Corbyn in a Red October. The threat of violence, already bubbling to the surface in London yesterday, is implicit.

But then what could we expect of a self-described Marxist, who has backed terrorists and makes no secret of his belief in taking power by undemocratic means? Truly, these are chilling times for Britain.

Yes, there are devastating questions for officials, contractors, councillors and ministers to answer about Grenfell Tower. But to exploit this tragedy in order to foment division is not only an affront to British democracy but a betrayal of the victims themselves.
A mother from Queensland didn't find out she was expecting a baby until she was 18 weeks pregnant.

Jodie Hollis, 21, was going for her regular cysts scan when her doctor broke the news to her.

'It was a bit of a shock but it happened, even though I was on the pill. He's a miracle baby. My doctor was like "do you know you're pregnant?". I thought she was pulling my leg,' she told FEMAIL.

'It was a bit of a shock but it happened, even though I was on the pill. He's a miracle baby', she told FEMAIL

Ms Hollis and the children's father Joshua Meehan had only five weeks to prepare for their new baby as Hudson was born June this year. He is now 12 days old, but was born at 23 weeks, making him 17 weeks premature.

'It was terrifying to prepare for. We thought he would be early but not that early. It has been a struggle, he's struggling but he is managing'.

The birth itself was complicated as Ms Hollis had bulging membranes and Hudson's foot was in her cervix. The safest way of delivery was an emergency C section.

A mother from Queensland didn't find out she was expecting a baby until she was 18 weeks pregnant

'I had the option of being put to sleep but if he came out drowsy they wouldn't be able to resuscitate him if he wasn't doing well. We didn't want him to struggle'.

'I remained awake for the cesarean and did it with an epidural. We wanted to give him the best opportunity he deserved'.

It took the medical team 58 minutes to take Hudson to the nursery and five attempts to intubate him.

'His lungs weren't developed because he was so premature and he couldn't breathe by himself, which was expected,' Ms Hollis explained.

Hudson is yet to make it home and will remain in incubation at least until his due date until September. The medical team are monitoring him closely and will lengthen his stay if they deem it necessary.

Hudson currently weighs 684 grams and is 30 cm long, Ms Hollis says he's the size of a foot long sub from Subway

'He had a nasty turn a few nights ago and they had to put him on a rescue ventilator as they thought they were going to lose him, his lungs almost collapsed. The hospital are doing the best they can do and we're taking it day by day,' she said.

Ms Hollis said he had to have blood transfusions in his first week, and is on a lot of medication.

He currently weighs 684 grams and is 30 cm long, Ms Hollis says he's the size of a foot long sub from Subway.

None of Ms Hollis's doctors have an answer for why Hudson was so premature but this isn't the first time it has happened to her or her children.

Her first son Tobias, almost one, was born at 25 weeks and her daughter Ariella'Jayne, now two and a half, was born at 33 weeks.

This isn't the first time Ms Hollis has had a premature baby, her Daughter Ariella'Jayne, now two and a half, was born at 33 weeks

Although her first two children also faced complications due to being premature, they are now happy and thriving.

'I have no answers, this just seems to have happened for all of my births. I wouldn't wish what is currently happening to us on our worst enemy, the uncertainty is hard.

'Although at first I was in shock, I couldn't imagine not having him now. He's such a little miracle. I mean, all three of my babies are. I'm blessed beyond measure'.

Ms Hollis says he had to have blood transfusions in his first week, and is on a lot of medication

At the moment Ms Hollis has only been able to wipe Hudson's mouth once a day as he's too sensitive, but even with Toby she wasn't able to hug him until he was eight days old.

'I just want to say a big thank you to everyone at the Royal Brisbane Women's hospital, they're trying their hardest. Hudson has yet to be cuddled but I can't wait until I can'.

Ms Hollis has set up a Facebook page for those who want to keep up to date with how baby Hudson is improving.
While it might feel as though some people have all the luck, it's refreshing to hear that even the most successful entrepreneurs have to put in a bit of grafting, too.

Alyce Tran of the hugely successful personalised leather boutique, The Daily Edited, recently shared her business secrets and how she made her first AUD $1 million.

The 31-year-old former lawyer from Sydney famously turned her 'side hustle' of leather goods into an AUD $23 million empire, and gave up her day job as a lawyer to run her own e-commerce website.

Alyce Tran (pictured) of the hugely successful personalised leather boutique, The Daily Edited , recently shared her business secrets and how she made her first AUD $1 million

The Daily Edited is beloved by celebrities and It girls including Nadia Fairfax (pictured) - it is set to turn over AUD $23 million this financial year

According to Ms Tran (pictured), the number one secret to making it in business is 'hard work' - 'It's harsh, but if you want to be successful, then you're not leaving at 5pm,' she said

Speaking of her secrets to success, Ms Tran told Marie Claire Australia that there is no shortcut for 'hard work':

'I read a quote from another Australian entrepreneur who said: "How can you achieve anything if you leave at 5pm?",' she said.

'It's harsh, but if you want to be successful, then you're not leaving at 5pm.'

Ms Tran famously developed a fashion blog which provided the starting point for The Daily Edited while working as a lawyer between 9am and 7pm.

She would later work on her website between 7.30pm and 2am, and putting up 'cr*ppy photos of the products taken with my iPhone'.

Ms Tran famously developed the fashion blog which provided the background for The Daily Edited while working as a lawyer between 9am and 7pm - she launched it with her friend, Tania Liu (both pictured)

When she finished her day job, Ms Tran would return home to work on her accessories label between 7.30pm and 2am

Ms Tran (right) was a successful lawyer before she quit her corporate role to focus on TDE

These days, The Daily Edited boasts eight stores around the world, concessions in countless department stores and a website (pictured left: Kate Waterhouse)

'I worked so hard during that period, but that's how you become successful. It doesn't happen by doing nothing,' the 31-year-old told the publication.

Ms Tran later launched The Daily Edited with her friend and fellow lawyer, Tania Liu, and $7,000 of her personal savings.

These days, The Daily Edited boasts eight stores around the world, concessions in countless department stores and a website.

It is expected to turn over $23 million this financial year and is regularly seen on the arms and phones of countless Australian It girls including Nadia Fairfax and Steph Claire Smith.

'We bought our first lot of stock in September 2014 and sold out within three weeks, so we re-ordered and haven't looked back since, Ms Tran previously told FEMAIL

Australian model Steph Claire Smith is a fan

The business duo now receive hundreds of orders every single day

'Besides spending our whole disposable income on clothes and having a mutual passion for fashion, we had no experience in the industry but were keen to do something creative outside of work,' Ms Tran said

Speaking previously to Daily Mail Australia about the business launch and her partner, Ms Tran said:

'Besides spending our whole disposable income on clothes and having a mutual passion for fashion, we had no experience in the industry but were keen to do something creative outside of work.'

However, the pair didn't quite realise how much of a winner they were onto with their e-commerce site, until the stock they ordered sold out in just two weeks:

'We bought our first lot of stock in September 2014 and sold out within three weeks, so we re-ordered and haven't looked back since, Ms Tran told FEMAIL.

To find out more about The Daily Edited, you can visit the website here. You can follow the label on Instagram here.
Screening newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients for pancreatic cancer could slash the number of deaths from the killer disease.

Experts are issuing the advice as they believe that the blood sugar condition suffered by four million Britons may be an early warning sign of the aggressive tumours, which are typically discovered too late to treat.

Research suggests that three per cent of pancreatic cancer sufferers will have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the 18 months before their cancer diagnosis.

Survivor: Ali Stunt's cancer was caught early and could be treated, thanks to a CT scan

Ross Carter, consultant pancreatic surgeon at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, said: Type 2 diabetes is generally age- and obesity-related. But when type 2 is found in patients who do not fit the profile, it should be considered a red flag.

One pioneering Hampshire GP is now offering CT scans  the only reliable test for pancreatic cancer  to these patients to ensure it is not the first symptom of the much more serious problem.

Dr Paul Bennett, of the Westlands Medical Centre in Portchester, examined the records of his practices 10,000 patients after watching an educational film three years ago produced by UK charity Pancreatic Cancer Action (PCA) highlighting the link between the disease and diabetes.

His own research suggests that as many as one in ten atypical type 2 diabetes cases  those not linked to weight gain  could be an early warning sign of the devastating cancer, which kills more than 8,800 Britons a year.

Backing this drive is PCA founder Ali Stunt, who discovered she had pancreatic cancer a year after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, despite being a healthy size 10.

This year Ali, now 51, celebrated an astonishing ten years survival.

Fewer than one per cent of pancreatic cancer patients live for this long. The disease has the worst survival rate of any cancer, with 80 per cent of sufferers diagnosed too late for lifesaving treatment.

Ali said: Even though it was picked up relatively early, its proximity to major blood vessels would soon have rendered the cancer inoperable.

Experts are issuing the advice as they believe that the blood sugar condition suffered by four million Britons may be an early warning sign of the aggressive tumours, which are typically discovered too late to treat

Research has shown that pancreatic cancer patients will have visited their GP four times on average before being referred to a specialist for a scan. I saw mine more than that. But type 2 diabetes not associated with weight gain is often one of the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer, as it was in my case. If GPs began routinely screening these patients, it may lead to the disease being picked up earlier.

Ali, a mother-of-two who lives with financier husband Phil, 53, in Haslemere, Surrey, was diagnosed after being referred to a pancreatic specialist who immediately admitted her to hospital for a CT scan.

Within five days, she was having a five-hour operation to remove a large tumour. After six months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she quit her job studying meteorites to set up PCA with the aim of improving early detection and therefore survival rates.

Dr Bennett now wants GPs across Britain to carry out audits on their patient records to identify those recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but whose weight falls within healthy guidelines.

They would then be contacted to ask if they would like to be referred for a CT scan that examines the abdominal area, to rule out pancreatic cancer.

Research suggests that three per cent of pancreatic cancer sufferers will have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the 18 months before their cancer diagnosis

Diabetes is a condition in which the body does not produce enough insulin, the hormone responsible for moving sugars digested from food from the bloodstream and into the cells where it can be used for energy.

Without enough insulin, sugar builds up in the blood and causes a raft of symptoms and damage to numerous organs.

The primary organ responsible for making insulin is the pancreas. However, it is not known whether diabetes contributes to the development of pancreatic cancer or is a potential consequence.

Dr Bennett said: There are two critical problems with pancreatic cancer. The first is that it is incredibly difficult to pick up because symptoms are so vague: tiredness, loss of appetite, stomach pain.

'The second is that it is therefore usually diagnosed too late to treat successfully, with devastating consequences.

If my approach was replicated at surgeries throughout the UK, wed be on our way to making an impact on a dreadful disease with the worst prognosis of all cancers.

Of the 9,000 people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer annually, fewer than five per cent will survive beyond five years  and those statistics have not improved in 40 years. There are currently more than four million people in the UK with type 2 diabetes.

Mr Carter added: If patients with diabetes are complaining of losing appetite, pain after eating, persistent indigestion and weight loss, they should be referred for a CT scan.

Im entirely supportive of practices undertaking a systematic review of their patients in this structured way, as early diagnosis is key to improving outcomes. It would be a major step forward.

Health comment: Dr Ellie Cannon

The symptoms of pancreatic cancer  pain in the upper abdomen, jaundice and sudden weight loss  occur only when the disease is at an advanced stage. Before this, it is hard to spot, and later detection means that it is often far too late for curative treatment.

Ali Stunt is one of a tiny number of the lucky ones who survive.

The more that GPs like myself and Dr Bennett can do, the more we will change these terrible odds and the more survivors there will be, like Ali.

We are diagnosing type 2 diabetes on almost a daily basis in general practice as the obesity epidemic fuels a huge rise in cases. Of course, the vast majority will not have extra complications. But all GPs need to be aware that when type 2 diabetes is found unexpectedly in a patient of normal weight, they must think of pancreatic cancer and send the patient for a scan.

Dr Bennett has already shown the effect this could have on detection and therefore survival rates. Its a simple thing to do and could mean the difference between life and death.
Churchill Cert: PG 1h 45mins

Rating:

Even now, more than 50 years after his death, Sir Winston Churchill is often voted the greatest Briton ever. But anyone who goes to see this film expecting a sepia-tinted eulogy to flag-waving, cigars and those extraordinary speeches is in for quite a big shock.

For in the new film from Jonathan Teplitzky, who brought us the Japanese prisoner-of-war drama The Railway Man, Churchill is depicted in a way we are certainly not accustomed to.

Yes, we know about the heavy drinking and the black dog depressions. But here, in the days immediately before D-Day, he is depicted as a drunken bully, haunted by his past and out of touch with modern warfare.

The key scene comes right at the beginning as we see Churchill (Brian Cox, above) standing on a lonely beach, staring forlornly as the waves turn blood-red; its a disorientating start...

More than anything, he is portrayed as a dangerous irritant, whose intransigence and interference could ruin everything. Which, presumably, is why we see the Supreme Allied Commander, Dwight Eisenhower, politely but firmly ignoring him, while Field Marshal Montgomery treats him with a scorn and disdain that borders on the cruel.

If D-Day was the moment that finally started to deliver the Allies their finest hour  the famous phrase that Churchill coined in a speech four years earlier  then, according to Teplitzky and his screenwriter Alex von Tunzelmann, it was going to be in spite of Churchill rather than because of him. This is provocative old stuff.

And youd expect quite a resultant fuss  headlines screaming Churchills reputation trashed  or rather you would if the film had a bigger budget and starred some Hollywood A-lister rather than the stalwart Scot Brian Cox.

More than anything, Churchill is portrayed as a dangerous irritant, whose intransigence and interference could ruin everything. Miranda Richardson (middle) as Clementine Churchill

But you might also expect more of a fuss if the films starting point wasnt quite so interesting. Ill leave it to real historians to separate fact from fiction, but for all its provocations  and von Tunzelmann admits she has manipulated some events  this is certainly a film that gets you thinking.

The key scene comes right at the beginning as we see Churchill standing on a lonely beach, staring forlornly as the waves turn blood-red before his eyes. Its a disorientating start  is this a dream or is this Churchill as an old man remembering the 4,400 men who died on that windy June day in 1944?

In fact its neither, for, as Churchill turns to his wife Clementine (a rather good Miranda Richardson), muttering about beaches always bring it back and 30 years ago, we realise that Churchill is remembering Gallipoli, the disastrous attempt to open a second front during the First World War with an amphibious landing on what was then part of the Ottoman Empire.

Brian Cox (right) gives it plenty in the central role, sensibly opting  given the lack of physical resemblance  to give a proper performance rather than an impersonation

Heavily backed by Churchill  then First Lord of the Admiralty  the campaign was a total failure, costing the lives of more than 56,000 Allied troops, including more than 8,700 Australians and 2,700 New Zealanders. So many young men, we see Churchill recalling, as he vows not to let it happen again, so much waste. Its relevant to point out that Teplitzky is Australian and von Tunzelmann a New Zealander.

So does Churchill echo to the sound of scores being settled? Frankly, it does a little, which will divide audiences.

Cox gives it plenty in the central role, sensibly opting  given the lack of physical resemblance  to give a proper performance rather than an impersonation. Around him, a supporting cast of fine character actors gets better as the film goes along.

A supporting cast of fine character actors gets better as the film goes along: (from left) Danny Web as Alan Brooke, John Slattery as Eisenhower, and Julian Wadham as Montgomery

John Slattery (Mad Men) plays the steely Eisenhower, and Julian Wadham is terrifying as Montgomery. Richard Durden is splendid as Churchills trusted friend and War Cabinet colleague Jan Smuts, who wisely tells Churchill: Sometimes you have to accept that you cant lead everything from the front.

This, however, is a film that never quite convinces.

I found it hard to believe that Churchill would dictate complex memos directly to a typist rather than a shorthand secretary, but not as hard as I found it to believe that King George VI (James Purefoy) would turn up in person to dissuade Churchill from the act of near lunacy that would have seen both the King and his Prime Minister sailing to the Normandy beaches themselves.

Ultimately, the film generally overcooks its premise, and I think its telling and less than generous that, as the end-credit captions attempt to introduce some historical perspective, there is no admission that many of Churchills concerns were well founded. Thousands of men would indeed die that day; only this time not in vain.

SECOND SCREEN

Gifted (12A)

Rating:

Rock Dog (PG)

Rating:

Whitney: Can I Be Me (15)

Rating:



Gifted is one of those rare films with a screenplay thats been polished till it shines. We all know that people dont talk like this in real life but, thankfully, it has an absolutely top-notch cast who, for a thoroughly entertaining 100 minutes, delightfully convince us that they do.

Chris Evans, taking time off from playing Captain America to earn a bit of street cred with this indie-style drama, plays Frank, who is raising a spirited seven-year-old, Mary, all alone and as best he can in Florida. But Frank, we slowly discover, is not a single parent; hes actually Marys uncle, who became the girls guardian when his sister  a brilliant mathematician  committed suicide.

But Mary, played astonishingly well by ten-year-old Mckenna Grace, has inherited her mothers mathematical talent. Shes a child prodigy, which causes all sorts of trouble for Frank and his plan to carry out his sisters wishes and raise her as a normal child. At school, her fellow first-graders are still on 1+1 while shes moved on to differential equations. Small wonder that her very pretty teacher (Jenny Slate) thinks that she ought to go to a school for gifted children.

Chris Evans earns some street cred with this indie drama; he plays the character Frank, who raises spirited seven-year-old, Mary, played superbly by 10-year old Mckenna Grace

Then Franks ruthlessly ambitious and driven mother arrives and things get even more complicated. A frustrated mathematician herself  she gave up the subject to have children  Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) wants Mary to come and live with her in Boston and go straight to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And shes prepared to take her own son to court to get custody.

Real mathematicians may quibble with some of the detail, I expect, but the rest of us can enjoy a slightly contrived-feeling story redeemed by some wonderful acting. Everyone is good but Duncan  looking super-coiffed and purring her way through this Cruella de Vil of a part  is an absolute joy.

Strictly speaking, Rock Dog is a Chinese-American co-production, but watching it, you soon get the impression that its essentially a Chinese cartoon thats been revoiced by an American and British cast.

After a clumsy and complicated beginning, this film becomes a lot of fun, largely thanks to a wonderful voice performance from Eddie Izzard as a fading rock star, Angus (right)

Normally, my spirits begin to sink at this point, but you need to give this one some time. For after a clumsy and over-complicated beginning  I wonder how many children will know what a mastiff is?  this becomes a lot of fun, largely thanks to a wonderful voice performance from Eddie Izzard as a fading rock star.

It begins in a Tibetan mountain village that (wait for it) is populated by sheep and guarded by mastiffs, whose job it is to protect the sheep from predatory wolves. Theres just one problem  at least there is once a radio has fallen from a passing plane: Bodi (voiced very well by Luke Wilson), the inevitably teenage mastiff, wants to become a rock star.

So, after a painful opening half-hour, hes off to the Big City to find the great Angus Scattergood (Izzard), who hes naively confident will want to give him a helping paw. From this point on its rather good  canine kung-fu and all.

Whitney Housten (above) was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel in 2012. If the film falls short, its largely due to lack of access to Robyn Crawford, Houstons best friend, and alleged lover

What Asif Kapadias Amy did for the tragic story of Amy Winehouse, now Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezals Whitney: Can I Be Me does for Whitney Houston, who was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel bathroom in 2012. She was 48.

The stories are so similar  controlling parents, drug abuse, ill-fated marriages  that comparisons of the films are inevitable, and if the Whitney one falls slightly short, its largely because the makers never gained real access to Robyn Crawford, Houstons best friend, creative director and alleged lesbian lover. Was she her greatest love of all?
Jo Whiley, 51, is best known for her welly-booted anchorage of TVs Glastonbury shows. She is married to music executive Steve Morton and they have four children.

What is your earliest memory?

Aged five, listening to Junior Choice with Ed Stewart with my mum and dad and my sister Frances, all in bed on a Saturday morning.

What sort of child were you?

I was very well behaved, because my sister was much louder and more demonstrative than I was. Even if she hadnt had a disability [a rare chromosomal disorder called cri du chat], she had flaming red hair and a temper to go with it, so she would always have been the dominant one.

'I was a very well behaved child, because my sister was much louder and more demonstrative than I was'

Tell us a secret about yourself

Im a big fan of fancy dress  recently Ive been Gromit and a banana. The best was when my son turned 16. I picked him up from school dressed as Spider-Man. He was furious with me as I was in character and was running around, shooting webs.

What is your most treasured possession?

My pale blue Renault 4, which my husband Steve gave me. I learned to drive in one and he managed to find one the same colour.

What is the worst thing anyone has ever said to you?

On my radio-journalism course, one of the tutors said I would never make it as I couldnt pronounce s properly.

What has been your most embarrassing moment?

At my 50th birthday party, I was presented with this amazing cake, made by Great British Bake Off winner Frances Quinn. As she gave it to me, it slid though my hands on to the floor, where my labrador ate it.

Which words or phrases do you overuse?

Sorry Im late. I always am. I cant help it. I was late to my first date with my now husband. I was late to our wedding. My daughter asked me: How do you get yourself on the radio every day on time?

What is your most unappealing habit?

I lose stuff  Im constantly losing phones, credit cards and keys. I once left an entire weeks worth of shopping on a train.

What is your guilty pleasure?

I am a sci-fi geek, so give me any old episode of Star Trek or Doctor Who.

What is the worst job youve done?

I was a lifeguard in Northamptonshire one summer when I was 17, and I just had no control over the teenagers in the pool. At one point I was pulled into the pool by a group of boys. I decided to quit after that.

Whats the best advice youve had?

Sir Terry Wogan told me to talk slowly and not be afraid of silence, as it is more powerful than any noise you can ever make.

Whats the worst pain youve experienced?

Childbirth. Ive done it various ways and it hurt every time.

LAST WORD Last film you saw? Moana, which is fantastic and has an amazing soundtrack. Last book you read? The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, as my son was doing it for A-level. It is really powerful and profound. Last TV show you loved? Rag n Bone Man at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. He is a huge character, is very entertaining and has a fantastic voice as well. Advertisement

Have you ever had a nickname?

Very early on in our relationship, my husband started calling me Mr Magoo. He calls me that because I blunder through life

When was the last time you cried?

I cry all the time and I always have. Im currently very weepy as my eldest son is going off to university in the autumn and my younger son is doing his GCSEs. They are growing up fast and it feels like my family life is going to change.

Whats the best kiss youve had?

The sweetest kiss was the one I gave to my grandad to say goodbye 15 or 16 years ago, when he was close to the end.

Whats the one thing every man should know about women?

Youll never understand us.

Whats one skill that every person should have?

Every person should be able to swim, as it saves lives.

Jo Whiley is part of the BBC team covering Glastonbury on BBC TV, radio, online and iPlayer
As every parent knows, drug use among young people is a huge concern. Around one in five aged between 16 and 24 used psychoactive drugs in the past year, compared with one in 12 adults. But the problem often starts at a younger age: a quarter of children between 11 and 15 say they have been offered a drug.

For many worried parents, a big concern is what to say to their child. Consultant psychiatrist and father Dr Owen Bowden-Jones has more than two decades of experience helping people with drug and alcohol problems, particularly teenagers. Parents ask the same questions: can I stop my child taking drugs? What signs should I look for? How do I talk to my child about drugs?

Let your child know in advance that you wish to talk to them about something important, but they are not in trouble

In response, he has written The Drug Conversation: How to Talk to Your Child About Drugs. This simple, excellent book is aimed at parents who want to make sure their children have the best possible information about drugs before they are exposed to them, as well as parents of children who are already using drugs.

The relevant facts are concisely distilled, including types of drugs (prescription as well as street) and detecting drug use, plus guidelines on how to start talking. As Dr Bowden-Jones says, Parents find having honest conversations about drugs difficult for good reason: it is really hard to talk about such an emotive and complex issue  rather like safe sex, it has the potential for excruciating embarrassment on both sides.

WHAT ARE PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS? These are chemical substances that alter brain functioning, causing changes in the way you think, feel and behave. They include some prescription medications (eg, benzodiazepines) and can be sedating, stimulating, cause hallucinations or produce an out-of-body state. Advertisement

I recommend you read The Drug Conversation, but to start with Dr Bowden-Jones outlines some approaches parents have found useful.

Let your child know in advance that you wish to talk to them about something important, but they are not in trouble. Agree with them on a time to sit down.

Decide if one or both parents should take part and prepare what you wish to say. Dont feel as though everything needs to be said in the first conversation. Begin with less personal questions such as, What have you learnt at school about drugs? If there is a family history of drug or alcohol problems, explain that may put them at greater risk. Dont miss out alcohol: its the most commonly used intoxicant in adolescence.

Listen carefully. You want to have a discussion, not to interrogate nor to give a lecture. Aim to find out what your child knows about drugs, if they know people who are using them and how they feel about drug use.

Your child will be bombarded with misinformation about drugs. Suggest reliable resources such as talktofrank.com.

Make time for questions; be prepared for them to ask whether you have taken drugs yourself  and always finish with praise.

The Drug Conversation is published by RCPsych Publications, price 12.99. To order a copy for 9.74 (a 25 per cent discount) until 9 July, visit you-bookshop.co.uk*

WHY USING DRUGS IN ADOLESCENCE IS A REALLY BAD IDEA The brain puts on a growth spurt at puberty, developing from back to front. Last to mature are the frontal lobes, which weigh up the risks and benefits of an action, so you can decide what to do. Meanwhile, the novelty-seeking reward centre (striatum) is racing ahead. With no mental brakes from the frontal lobes, risk-taking  such as drug use  is more likely, as is subsequent addiction. Psychoactive drugs can inflict long-term damage on the structure and functioning of the developing brain. Advertisement

I love Dr Bronners new natural All-One Toothpaste, formulated to freshen breath, whiten teeth and reduce plaque. Fluoride-free and low-foaming, it contains 70 per cent organic ingredients. In fresh but subtle peppermint, cinnamon and anise flavours, 6.49 for a 140g tube, drbronner.co.uk .

I love Dr Bronners new natural All-One Toothpaste, formulated to freshen breath, whiten teeth and reduce plaque

When the rays are beating down on the beach, I shall be protected in my black Une Piece long-sleeved, SPF 50 cossie from UV-conscious Australia. Crafted with 28 ray-defying panels and a front zip, its truly flattering. Also in white, red, dark and royal blue, 113, from unepiece.com.

When the rays are beating down on the beach, I shall be protected in my black Une Piece long-sleeved, SPF 50 cossie from UV-conscious Australia

STEP FORWARD FOR BREAST CANCER

Get fit this summer and raise money for charity by signing up for Breast Cancer Cares Pink Ribbonwalk in London on 1 July.

Choose your distance of either five, 10 or 20 miles. The event is open to women, men and children  all money raised will help Breast Cancer Care be there for the 62,000 people diagnosed with the most common cancer in the UK every year.

To sign up and take a step forward for people affected by breast cancer, visit www.breastcancercare.org.uk/ribbonwalk
Its just not enough to be an Oscar-winning actress starring in this years box-set must.

What you may not have known is that Big Little Lies star Reese Witherspoon also has a clothing and lifestyle brand, Draper James.

BLUE FLORAL DRESS, 290, Draper James, net-a-porter.com

Named after her grandparents, the line is, she says, a celebration of her all-American, Southern roots.

RED DRESS, 340, and BLUE LACE DRESS, 465, both Draper James, net-a-porter.com

There are already stores in Nashville, Dallas and Lexington, but should you not be in that neck of the planet any time soon, a selection of its incredibly flattering dresses has just landed at Net-A-Porter.

SKIRT, 385, and POUCH, 130, both Draper James, net-a-porter.com

Joining the Balenciaga show at the V&A, which is open until February 2018, and the exhibition of Princess Dianas dresses at Kensington Palace, which continues through the year, are several more reasons for a style-related but shop-free trip to London.

The Cartier in Motion exhibition at the Design Museum is running until 28 July

At the Design Museum youll find the Cartier in Motion exhibition, curated by Lord Norman Foster and running until 28 July (designmuseum.org.uk).

Catch a retrospective of designer Anna Suis work at the Fashion and Textile Museum

The Fashion and Textile Museum is holding a retrospective of American designer Anna Suis work until 1 October (ftmlondon.org).

Somerset House's Perfume exhibition will explore all things scent

And, at Somerset House, breathe deeply for Perfume, which will explore all things scent, from Wednesday to 17 September. somersethouse.org.uk.

Parisian swimwear label Reard found fame in the 1950s when the Riviera was awash with scantily clad movie stars.

The brand was an early purveyor of the bikini, which, in postwar Paris, was both scandalous and irresistible.

BLACK SWIMSUIT, 600, and BIKINI, 225, both Reard, reard.com

Now it has been reborn, and its high-tech, high-spec collection may be the one for you.

WEAR WHERE

Get your Glastonbury fill, whether youre watching from a muddy field or a sofa

This is the time to get your Glastonbury fill, whether youre watching from a muddy field or a sofa, as 2018 is the festivals year off to give the grass a chance; Wednesday-Sunday, glastonbury.co.uk.

WATERPROOF JACKET, 174, Parka London, parkalondon.com. JEANS, 185, Etre Cecile, etrececile.com

We love
As celebrated stylist Edward Enninful (right) takes the helm at Vogue and celebs compete to have the best fashion consultants on speed dial, these frock-brokers have the power to make or break designers and the clients they dress, says Amy E Williams

KARLA WELCH

Karla Welch was named Hollywoods most powerful stylist

If youre a seriously talented but under-the-radar actress, hiring Karla can help convert critical acclaim into mainstream recognition, essential for securing the high-profile, big-bucks roles that most young starlets are after.

This year, LA-based Karla was named Hollywoods most powerful stylist, not least for catapulting British star Ruth Negga into the sartorial stratosphere. Ruth was Oscar-nominated for her role in Loving, but it was arguably her red-carpet attire that got her noticed.

Karla even coined the hashtag #MeggaNegga to promote her newest protegee, and the influential Hollywood Reporter (which publishes the yearly power index of stylists) concluded at the close of this years awards season: A year ago, the world had never heard of Ruth Negga, and between her subtle turn in Lovingand her exquisitely standout red-carpet presence, courtesy of Welch, the actress is now a fashion force.

STAR CLIENTS Ruth Negga, Karlie Kloss, Elisabeth Moss.

BEST-DRESSED MOMENT Ruth Negga in red Valentino at the 2017 Oscars.

From left: Ruth Negga in red Valentino and Karlie Kloss in Carolina Herrera

REBECCA CORBIN-MURRAY

Rebecca Corbin-Murray regularly flies the flag for British brands

London-based Rebecca seems to have cornered the market for young Brit starlets. She helped transform Lily James from naughty Downton Abbey cousin to movie star with a Burberry campaign to boot. Likewise, former soap star client Jenna Coleman has, by way of ITV drama contracts and on-point designer ensembles, blossomed as a TV icon and potential leading Hollywood lady, while Emma Watson entrusted Rebecca to kit her out in ethical and eco outfits for her recent worldwide promo tour for Beauty and The Beast. The pair even set up a new Instagram account to document the challenge @thePressTour (480k followers and rising). Rebecca flies the flag for British brands, frequently dressing her clients in Burberry, Emilia Wickstead and Erdem.

STAR CLIENTS Jenna Coleman, Emma Watson, Lily James.

BEST-DRESSED MOMENT Jenna Coleman in seriously sexy Burberry at the Vogue Paris Foundation Gala last December.

From left: Jenna Coleman in Burberry and Emma Watson in Emilia Wickstead

KATE YOUNG

Kate Young once worked as an assistant to Anna Wintour

Having graduated from Oxford University and Vogue, where she once worked as an assistant to Anna Wintour, Kate possesses a good eye and a fierce intellect, both vital for a job that might seem fluffy, but entails tough negotiations, military-style powers of organisation and an ability to cut through the crap.

Kates key players Michelle Williams and Natalie Portman are under strict contracts with Louis Vuitton and Dior respectively, so do not have a vast choice for high-profile occasions, but still defer to Kate to make decisions with the fashion houses to ice their outfits (shoes/bags/jewels) and to help practise their posing.

[My clients and I] will always talk about the best way to stand in a dress, and work out what the best angles are, said New York-based Kate recently.

STAR CLIENTS Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams, Sienna Miller, Dakota Johnson.

BEST-DRESSED MOMENT Natalie Portman, heavily pregnant in Dior at this years SAG Awards.

From left: Natalie Portman, heavily pregnant in Dior, and Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton

ILARIA URBINATI

Ilaria Urbinati is style guru to celebs including Tom Hiddleston

Forget The Night Manager, and definitely forget Taylor Swift  according to Tom Hiddleston, his style guru, LA-based Ilaria, is one of the best things to ever happen to me. Increasingly, leading men-about-Tinseltown are in cahoots with a stylist to smarten up their profile. It is surprisingly easy to go wrong with an ill-fitting suit for a chat-show appearance in front of millions, while the right relationship with the right designers can lead to the cologne campaigns that pay far more than the independent movies they would like to be doing, dahling.

STAR CLIENTS Tom Hiddleston, Bradley Cooper, Captain America star Chris Evans, Riz Ahmed.

BEST-DRESSED MOMENT Tom Hiddleston in Ralph Lauren tails at the 2016 Met Gala.

From left: Tom Hiddleston in Ralph Lauren tails and Riz Ahmed in Prada

MICAELA ERLANGER

Micaela Erlanger found herself at the centre of a fashion furore ahead of this year's Oscars

An insight into the trickier, sequins-at-dawn world of the personal stylist came ahead of this years Oscars when much-respected Micaela found herself at the centre of a furore over whether her client, Meryl Streep, had accepted payment to wear a particular dress to the awards. Karl Lagerfeld claimed Micaela abandoned one of his Chanel creations after money was offered by a rival designer. Meryl and Micaela refuted the allegations and Lagerfeld apologised. Ultimately, Meryl looked spot-on in teal Elie Saab, but it demonstrates the pressure stylists are under to please their superstar clients and the fashion houses vying for their custom.

STAR CLIENTS Meryl Streep, Lupita Nyongo, Michelle Dockery.

BEST-DRESSED MOMENT Lupita Nyongo (who Erlanger is credited with turning into a fashion icon) in Prada at last months Met Gala in New York.
The clean eating movement has inspired a whole new beauty craze. Bella Blissett reports

'What we put into and on our bodies has become a national obsession'

Clean eating, clean living; Instagram snaps of everyone from Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to Jessica Alba and Karlie Kloss in the latest it leggings, power shake in hand These days, even smashed avo is practically a social media celebrity in its own right. Which all adds up to the fact that what we put into and on to our bodies has become a national obsession. So is it any surprise that beauty is getting in on the clean-up operation too?

Non-organic beauty products have been known to contain toxic ingredients and non-biodegradable chemicals, which may have a negative impact on our health. So its no wonder that many beauty brands are choosing to go organic or eliminate certain ingredients and processes, providing us with a safer alternative, says Lauren Bartley of the Soil Association, the UKs leading organic certification company.

Data from market research company Mintel certainly supports this belief. According to their report, an astonishing 36.4 per cent of products launched in the UK in 2016 carried the claim botanical or herbal, compared to a global average of 1.4 per cent, indicating our marked preference for brands that are perceived as being more natural.

For Victoria Buchanan, trends analyst at The Future Laboratory, The clean beauty movement reflects wider ideas about clean living, which is impacting all lifestyle sectors. It follows in the footsteps of clean eating and reflects the food sectors obsession with all-natural products.

Terms such as detox, gluten-free, vegan and cold-pressed seem to be blurring the boundaries between what we eat and what we apply to our skin. Yet its not just about using so-called clean ingredients  theres something about this trend that is justifiably concerned with whether the beauty industry has a clean conscience too.

The digital revolution and social media have given us a collective eco-conscience. Where before we might have succumbed to marketing claims or a celebrity endorsement, now were able to look up a brands policy towards ingredient sourcing and the environment, says Olivia Thorpe, founder of Vanderohe skincare. A new entry into the UK skincare market, her serum comes packaged in recycled and recyclable stiffened cotton cartons, illustrated with a map showing where in the world her high-grade oils are sourced.

Luckily for us, products in this category that might once have been judged at best worthy and at worst ineffectual are now both cool and effective. So we can have products with non-harmful ingredients and good intentions towards the wider world from brands that we know reflect our own values. Clean and simple as that. Heres our pick of the best new clean-beauty products

'Youd easily find the plant, nut and seed ingredients in your power smoothie'

Vanderohe No 1 Nourishing Face Serum, 88, vanderohe.com

Olivia Thorpes perfect face serum is 100 per cent organic and contains ingredients that include rosehip oil from Chile and apricot kernel oil from Pakistan, which hydrate, plump and perfect the skins texture and even out patches of pigmentation. Suitable for all skin types, its slightly thicker, oilier texture may mean most people use it at night. Pop on a drop or two in the morning, however, and youll love how it also works as a fabulous make-up primer when you need an extra glow. So clean its been certified as food grade quality by the Soil Association. You could eat it  but Id save it for your skin.

Neals Yard Remedies Deliciously Ella Rose, Lime & Cucumber Facial Wash, 16, and Moisturiser, 25, nealsyardremedies.com

Like whipping up a healthy recipe for one of her cookbooks, wellbeing influencer Deliciously Ella (aka Ella Mills) has chosen skin-loving ingredients  including hydrating rose essential oil plus antioxidant-rich blueberry oil and turmeric to protect and soften your complexion in her bestselling collection for Neals Yard Remedies. Naturally, both are certified by the Soil Association, Vegetarian and Vegan societies. Watch this space for more clean products coming from Ella in September.

RMS lip2cheek, 28, beautybay.com

Founded by make-up artist Rose-Marie Swift, this favourite among seriously glowing models (Miranda Kerr, Gisele and Lily Aldridge) is based on her belief that ingredients in many mainstream cosmetics are refined, bleached and deodorised  and thus stripped of their natural skin benefits. Instead, RMS skips all these processes, is gluten-free, has no GMOs (genetically modified organisms), comes in recyclable packaging and contains ingredients such as coconut oil, St Johns wort and liquorice that wouldnt be out of place in a healthy eating regimen. Lend lips and cheeks a healthy glow the clean way with this gorgeous tinted balm.

The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil, 9, theordinary.com

This is organic, vegan, nut-free, silicone-free and made using a cold-pressed technique (meaning that the plant source hasnt been exposed to external heat during the extraction process). It is said to yield the highest quality, uncorrupted oil without degrading its skin-hydrating, brightening and regenerating benefits. Containing only one ingredient, its simple, honest  and is exactly what it says on the very pared-down label.

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE LABELS Lauren Bartley of the Soil Association sorts the facts from the claims.  Certified Organic The ingredients have been farmed organically using no harsh chemicals or manufacturing processes. You dont, unfortunately, have the same guarantees with organic cosmetics that arent certified as theres currently no legal standard in place to protect the use of the term organic in these products.  Certified Natural Carries the same principles as certified organic, but may not necessarily contain organic ingredients. While organic is clearly the gold standard, opting for natural certification can be more feasible for businesses. Again, uncertified natural products do not carry those guarantees and greenwashing of the term natural is widespread.  Green A subjective term.  Non-toxic Again, subjective. For consumers looking for non-toxic products, we would suggest looking for certified organic products. Advertisement

The Natural Deodorant Co Clean Deodorant Balm, 6, naturaldeoco.com

Parabens, phthalates, aluminium the chemical ingredients commonly found in mainstream deodorants have been linked with hormone disruption, reproductive and developmental problems  and even cancer. So skip the nasties and let the magnesium oxide and sodium bicarbonate in this super-light balm provide odour control while your skin is nourished by coconut oil and shea butter  and you are left smelling sweetly of vanilla.

Kure Bazaar Nail Polish in Coquette, Kelly and Caicos, 15, lovelula.com

Nail varnish is notorious for the so-called toxic trio  toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate  which have been linked to potential hormone disruption within the body. Now your tips can come clean with Kure Bazaars range of shades that replace the trio with innovative ingredients such as potato starch to make the polish durable and cotton to make it hard and shiny. Crucially, colours are intense and glossy  and they last.

Clean Beauty Co Babe Balm, 28, BYBI

When founders Elsie and Dominika started comparing the labels of food and beauty products, they found themselves horrified. Made with positivity and transparency in mind, their own skin and hair products contain plant, nut and seed ingredients that youd just as easily find in your post-workout power smoothie. Try their multi-purpose monoi, hibiscus and calendula balm, which can be used as a cleanser, a highlighter or a moisturiser for the brows, elbows, cuticles the lot. Then make your own home-kitchen beauty products by following the skin mixology recipes on their website.

Clean Reserve Skin Eau de Parfum, 79 for 100ml, spacenk.com

This floral musk bouquet of vanilla orchid and peony with orange blossom and honeysuckle has sensual copaiba oil at its heart. Clean Reserve  a simple brand with a simple concept  creates eco-conscious fragrances which come in packaging thats both recycled and recyclable. It even uses a solar-powered manufacturing facility and works directly with communities in the Amazon to help ensure the sustainability of the oil.

Kerastase Aura Botanica Bain Micellaire Shampoo, 21.20, kerastase.co.uk

Driven by consumer demand for science-based haircare thats free from traditional silicones (which merely give the illusion of shine), phthalates and parabens, Kerastases Aura Botanica range contains ingredients such as Samoan coconut oil and Moroccan argan oil. The formulae are 99 per cent biodegradable, 98 per cent of ingredients are of natural origin, and the brand supports Samoan women and invests in a tree-planting scheme. This shampoo contains skincare-like micellar technology (comprising oil- and dirt-grabbing particles called micelles), which deeply cleanses the scalp while remaining gentle on skin.

Soaper Duper Fruity Green Tuberose Body Scrub, 7.50, soaperduper.com

Not only does this brand bypass parabens, sulphates and microbeads (tiny plastic beads that build up in oceans and are due to be banned in cosmetics by the end of the year), but it also avoids any ingredient that contributes to sea contamination and supports WaterAid and Clean the World, which help get water to drought-affected communities.
It may be a long way from Harpenden to Hollywood, but The Inbetweeners Movie star LAURA HADDOCK has crossed the pond and netted herself a string of blockbuster roles. She tells Kerry Potter how she manages the transformation from hands-on mum (with a certain heart-throb husband) to kick-ass action heroine

For British actress Laura Haddock, one of the benefits of making it in Hollywood is that no one there asks her impertinent questions about her surname. I dont think Americans eat haddock because no ones ever brought it up, she smiles.

Its not a particularly glamorous surname, is it? But then neither is [Sandra] Bullock. In America they struggle with my first name. They mishear Laura  at Starbucks Ill always get Nora written on the cup. But I quite like my alter ego  I could be Nora Cod, couldnt I?

Laura got her acting break when she starred in The Inbetweeners Movie. DRESS, Emilia Wickstead

The 31-year-old, who stars in the new Transformers: The Last Knight, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Hopkins, is also known as Mrs Sam Claflin (only on my Space NK loyalty card, she deadpans).

She married the 30-year-old Me Before You and The Hunger Games actor in 2013 and gave birth to their son Pip 18 months ago. Mother and toddler have just returned from visiting Sam in Tasmania on the set of The Nightingale, a 19th-century period drama. Hes rocking a mutton-chop sideburn right now for that role. Its not the most attractive look, she says. Tasmania has beautiful landscapes so we were taking photos  and theyre all Pip, Samand Sams sideburns.

Were drinking coffee and scoffing biscuits in a Soho hotel restaurant and Laura is easy, irreverent company. She wrinkles her nose when I mention her beauty  modelling was never on my radar  but her looks are impossible to ignore. She is cartoonishly gorgeous: big blue eyes, huge lips, ski-slope cheekbones, million-dollar smile. Later on, I will watch every head turn as she walks through the lobby.

She alludes to the fact that sometimes her looks get in the way of her landing the roles she wants, a hangover perhaps from her breakout movie appearance as Alison in The Inbetweeners Movie. I sometimes say to producers and directors, You might have a certain perception of me, but let me show you that I can be someone you dont think I am.

In the future Laura would love to work with her actor husband Sam Claflin. DRESS, Miu Miu

I notice the word breathe tattooed in cursive lettering on her right wrist: I had it done five years ago because I needed to remind myself to stay grounded and take a deep breath, she says.

Laura is 50 per cent poised, glossy starlet and 50 per cent wry Brit girl-next-door. She speaks fluent Hollywood, enthusing politely about her co-stars, pausing and changing tack when shes about to reveal too much and always saying the right thing.

Did you have to panic-watch the previous four Transformers movies when you got this part, I ask? No, Id watched them already, of course, she smiles beatifically, without missing a beat.

The more we chat, the more she relaxes (she starts to mention Sam by name rather than my husband), and a more mischievous side emerges. For every exclamation about Jennifer Lawrence  Sams The Hunger Games co-star  being really fun and the lovely Cameron Diaz (Laura was once routinely compared to her, now shes a friend of a friend), you get an anecdote like this: My baby was sick on Kurt Russell when we were filming Guardians of the Galaxy together.

Kurt came over and said, Hey buddy, you must be Pip. He went to take him out of my arms and Pip threw up on him. Whoopsie! she grins. And heres her typical breakfast: Scrambled eggs, avocado and rye bread. Of course it is. Then I get a box of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes and eat them out of the box with my hand.

When Pip was five months old, Laura signed up for Transformers: The Last Knight to play Vivian Wembley  a buttoned-up Oxford professor (she wears glasses and pencil skirts) charged with saving the world from robots with her sparring partner Mark Wahlbergs macho, all-American hero Cade Yeager.

Laura and Mark Wahlberg in Transformers: The Last Knight

Mark is wonderful, he tells great stories and hes very hardworking. He said to me at the beginning, You have to not take [the film] too seriously. Be playful and have fun. Because if you dont have fun, people wont invest in this world.

As for Vivian: Shes very confident about her education, but put her in a situation where she might have to flirt or be remotely sexual and she feels uncomfortable. Does that resonate with you? I wouldnt say Im entirely comfortable with being sexy, she giggles. When a director says, Can you do that again but make it sexier? I think, Riiiiight  you might need to let me know what you think is sexy. But in other ways Vivian and I are quite different  shes happy on her own whereas I like to be sociable.

The film involved a seven-month multi-location shoot, much of which Laura spent doing hair-raising stunts while things exploded around her. Back to work with a (literal) bang after maternity leave, then? I had a positive experience on Transformers.

Laura in Transformers: The Last Knight: 'We turned my trailer into Pips pad, filling it with toys and playmats'

'They made it possible for me to have Pip on set and I was really supported as a mum, she says. [Director] Michael Bay said that, in his eyes, the fact that Id just had a baby only made me stronger. A man saying that to me was amazing. I felt empowered by having Pip and knew it was something I could do, albeit with help from my mum who travelled with us. We turned my trailer into Pips pad, filling it with toys and playmats.

To prepare for the role and its physical demands, Laura embarked on a two-month programme of weights, barre work, pilates and riding under the supervision of a personal trainer.

I didnt try to rush it. My body was different after giving birth  my hips were a different shape and I had to be careful about my stomach muscles. How much pressure did she feel to ping back into shape?

All women whove just had a baby feel exposed and vulnerable, whether youre walking down a street or being photographed on a red carpet. You feel and look different. But, for me, that was combined with I dont care because Ive got my baby and its fantastic, she says. Then, later on, you start to think, Actually, Id quite like to feel confident again in those jeans. And I did think about the fact that [in the film] Id be wearing figure-hugging Victoria Beckham dresses and skirts, so, yes, there was an awareness.

All women feel vulnerable after giving birth: whether you're walking down a street or on the red carpet

Of course, the path of working motherhood never runs smoothly and there was one point during filming when Laura had to leave Pip at home in Chiswick, West London, with Sam, whod dashed back from filming overseas to take over childcare duties.

It was four nights away and Pip was only six months old. I felt like my heart was being ripped out and I sat on the Tarmac and cried. I remember saying to my husband, This cannot happen again, and for the rest of the shoot I never spent a night away from him. But I guess you have to test [the waters], to see what you can cope with. She and Pip wont see Sam now for a month until he returns from Tasmania: Its a different way of living but we have to make it work. Were very lucky  sometimes we have a month off and its just the three of us together.

Laura was 28 and Sam 27 when they married, relatively young by celebrity standards. But having a stable home life is vital, she says, as a counterpoint to the unpredictability of their industry. We probably were the first among our pals to marry. Im a combination of being a homemaker and a nomad. I love knowing that weve got a safe, happy home that weve built together. But we also both love going off on jobs and being independent.

What do they do when theyre reunited back home? Put on comfortable clothes, eat, turn on the telly, talk about logistics. Two self-employed people in a relationship bringing up kids? Its always going to be about logistics and schedules. So romantic! They dont pass the time pondering Sams status as a Hollywood heart-throb, then? It would be hilarious if we sat around talking about that. I think Id have to punch myself in the face.

Laura is sanguine about Sams legions of female admirers. Hell always do a photo or have a chat. Thats who he is and they are the reason why hes working. And, despite the fact that both of them are serious Hollywood players, she bats away talk of power couples. We would never see ourselves as a brand. Ever!

Laura in Da Vinci's Demons in 2013

Laura set her heart on acting aged six, after watching Hayley Mills in Pollyanna, the 1960 movie adaptation of Eleanor H Porters novel about an orphan so insanely upbeat she inspired an adjective.

She is so cheery and enthusiastic and I was similar growing up. I was a lets find the next adventure kind of kid and always putting on plays for my family. Laura left her Hertfordshire hometown of Harpenden at 17 to study drama for three years at Londons Arts Educational Schools.

Afterwards, it took a while to find her feet. Oh my gosh, the industry is hard and its really saturated in London. You have to learn so much about trusting people and their opinions of you. It could be heartbreaking but even if months went by without an audition, I still totally believed that acting was what I needed to do with my life.

When Laura was 22, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was tough but they caught it early and my mum is very strong. At that time I was auditioning, learning lines, working in a shop and spending the rest of my time with Mum. Were a very close family and that made us closer.

She talks fondly about family Christmases with her mother (a reflexologist), her accountant dad and her younger brother and sister. I love being the first one up at 5am on Christmas morning, running around and waking everyone up, even though Ive got a kid of my own now.

Laura set her heart on acting aged six, after watching Hayley Mills in Pollyanna. DRESS, TOP and RING, all Dior

She plugged away doing bits and pieces of TV drama and comedy before landing The Inbetweeners Movie in 2010. The Greek island-set spin-off from the anarchic E4 comedy starred Simon Bird (geeky Will), Joe Thomas (clever, vain Si), James Buckley (sex-obsessed Jay) and Blake Harrison (nice-but-dim Neil). Laura played Alison, the leader of a gang of girls whom the lads try to impress while on holiday.

It was a surprise hit, enjoying the biggest opening weekend of any UK comedy before going on to gross more than 50 million, as well as being a career game-changer for Laura. We all thought it would be a cult film that The Inbetweeners fans would watch, but none of us realised quite how many fans there were, she says.

The celebrated nightclub dancing scene  when the boys try to woo the girls by throwing some shapes  stands the test of time as a great British comedy moment. I do not know how they managed to cut that because we were laughing so much, it took around 50 takes, she says.

Next, Laura wanted to do something completely different so lobbied hard for a role in Upstairs Downstairs, BBC Ones reboot of the 1970s Edwardian-era drama. It was a big contrast to The Inbetweeners.

When I was auditioning, I said to them, You might not be able to see it but I know I can play this part. I went away and cut off my long blonde hair and dyed it brown. She played Beryl Ballard, a spirited maid. It was one of my favourite jobs. I loved the era, the writing was beautiful and it was a joy to work with Keeley Hawes and Claire Foy.

Laura with husband Sam Claflin last year

Since then shes done stints on BBC Ones superlative crime drama Luther; American historical fantasy TV drama Da Vincis Demons; ITV police drama The Level and both Guardians of the Galaxy films. Next, shell jet off on a world press tour for Transformers: The Last Knight, which involves a whole new level of logistics.

LAURA LOVES Treasured possessions My Tiffany wedding ring and my nans sewing machine. Listening to The Christine and the Queens album is awesome. Describe yourself in three words Enthusiastic, busy, loving. Beauty essential Shiseido Pure Retinol Express Smoothing Eye Mask. Favourite films I like quirky, dark-humoured indie films. Garden State has great music; I love Blue Valentine with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Party trick I can touch my nose with my tongue. TV pick Big Little Lies. It has brilliant writing and storylines with talented, powerful women. Dream dinner guests Hayley Mills because of my childhood love of Pollyanna, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton and Robin Williams. I loved his movies growing up. Fashion picks Paige for my favourite jeans, Cos and Emilia Wickstead for pretty dresses. Perfect Saturday night Watching Netflix with my hubby or out with our friends, eating loads and drinking cocktails. Advertisement

My brain never stops whirring. Ive bought a calendar where each member of the family has a different section  including our dog Rosie, because she has to go to the grandparents in Norfolk [where the Claflins live], or Hertfordshire if were both out of the country.

In future, she would love to work with Sam, and shes currently penning a TV screenplay with her writer/actor friend Eve Hedderwick Turner. Its based on a group of women, including Sylvia Plath, who interned for Mademoiselle magazine in New York in the 1950s; they rebel against what society expects of them, she says. I want to write womens voices.

Theres nothing better than reading a script and feeling like the words are coming out of your own mouth. Its a struggle to find those parts. She works late into the night before waking at dawn to make to-do lists on her iPhone until Pip wakes at 6.30am. Theres a lot to do and I end up thinking, How many hours sleep do

I actually need? she smiles. I love what I do and I want to continue doing it as much as I can. The last time I see her shes deftly manoeuvring her car out of the hotels tiny entrance into the hellish London traffic, while a small crowd gathers to gawp. A lesser woman might have crumpled under the pressure, but, even on four hours sleep, Nora Cod is a kick-ass action heroine.
There is a new entry in the bizarre world of illegal wildlife trade in India.

Enforcement agencies have discovered that the big monitor lizard (genus Varanus)  found across deserts, forests and coastlines of the country  is being poached for its sexual organ (hemipenis).

These organs are being sold as a lucky charm for virility and fertility in men.

Because of its forked appearance, it is called 'hatha jodi'. This is often used to confuse customers with the popular Ayurvedic plant 'hath jod', which serves to mend bone fractures.

Monitor lizards are being targeted by poachers

Priest Lokesh Jagidar who was found in possession of 13 hatha jodi pieces

The Madhya Pradesh special task Force (MPSTF) seized 68 pieces of the tiny reptile body part from four poachers in raids in Indore and Khargone from June 16-17.

One of those arrested was a priest of the famous Navagraha temple of Khargone, who was found in possession of 13 hatha jodi.

'This also points towards the artificially created religious beliefs around hatha jodi,' said RP Singh, additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) of MP.

Many pieces have been found smeared with vermillion around temples in the past few days. Three traders  Sumit Sharma, Sachin Sharma and Feroze Ali  were nabbed from Indore with 10 pieces of the contraband.

Lokesh Jagirdar, the Navagraha temple priest, was also arrested on June 16.

On Saturday, the trail led to their alleged supplier, Rajesh Porwal, who was taken into custody from Indore.

Officers said the items were most probably procured from western MP or the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, where the stony and desert topography harbours large populations of the lizard.

Monitor lizards are being hunted for their genitalia

Each piece was being sold for anywhere between `500 to `15,000 (6- 181) depending on how naive or desperate the buyer is.

'So many false pretexts are given, ranging from boosted sex life to success in lucky draws and gambling and prosperity in business. Unfortunately, with increasing prosperity in towns like Ujjain, Indore and Ratlam, people are willing to shell out the money as well,' Singh said.

Dr Sumit Dookia, herpetologist and professor at Delhi's Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, said: 'India has four varieties of these reptiles  Bengal, Yellow, Desert and Water Monitor Lizard.

'Their habitat is distributed across the middle Himalayas to Western Ghats. They are expert terrestrial animals as well as great swimmers.'

He added: 'Notably, they serve an important role in the ecosystem as scavengers, eating up the flesh of dead animals alongside eggs, insects, small birds and animals.

'Any downfall in their numbers is unhealthy for the ecosystem.'

The reptile is a Schedule 1 species under the India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) prohibits trade in the Bengal Monitor Lizard.

The reptile's genitals are being used to 'boost sex drive'

Additional director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Tilottama Verma, said: 'Previously, we had found 210 hatha jodis in Brahmeswarpatna area of Odisha on May 30.

'And 22 such pieces were confiscated in Hyderabad in March, taking the confirmed number of big lizards killed for their genitals to 300 at least.

'Some such items were seized in Chennai too.

'We have long known monitor lizards to be killed sporadically for their meat, fat and oil, consumed in mostly some tribal areas. But hatha jodis certainly came as a surprise to us.

'We sent them to various scientific labs to ascertain their true origin,' he added.

The items are also being sold online, even on big global e-tail firms.

'We had launched Operation Wildnet to get hold of such unscrupulous elements a few months back, which has so far been successful. This racketis a cause of worry for us,' Verma said.
Fake auto parts of high-end cars have been seized in a major raid, after a complaint to Delhi Police.

Officers recently raided a warehouse in East Delhi and seized fake auto parts, passed off as being produced by Bosch, Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki.

However, the manufacturer is still at large. The major companies learnt of the racket after receiving complaints from a number of car owners.

The auto parts were first sent to the forensic laboratories for examination of covert security features.

These include optical features such as concealed texts, nano texts, raster texts, and printing features such as UV ink and thermochromic ink.

Over 500 air filters with logos of Mahindra, and other fake parts were seized in the raid

It is yet to be ascertained whether the fake parts were also available in the service centre of the companies.

After learning about the racket, Bosch, Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki lodged a complaint with the police.

Following this, a raid was conducted in Gali No 7, Dalhai Mohalla, Bhola Nath Nagar.

Companies laid an official complaint after learning of the racket

It was learnt the ground floor was being used as a warehouse. The owner, identified as Hardeep Singh, was arrested.

'Upon checking, 506 air filters with logos of Mahindra, 1,251 outer boxes of Mahindra, 2,401 outer boxes of air filters and 157 sealed air filters as well as six sealed oil filters.

'There were also 1,001 outer boxes with logos of Maruti, 1,446 incomplete outer box sheets, 185 outer boxes, 33 diesel filters with logos of Bosch, 968 painted stickers of Mahindra and 3,841 stickers which were seized from the warehouse,' Nupur Prasad, DCP (Shahdara), said.

During the police investigation, Hardeep, a resident of Lajpat Nagar, allegedly said that the consignment used to be sent by someone and it was stored at the warehouse.

Furthermore, his only involvement was to pack the fake parts and seal them, for which he had employed a handful of people.
In a worrying development, spy agencies suspect that an ISIS terrorist of Indian nationality has died in the Philippines.

It is believed that he died while fighting for control over the city of Marawi, and officials are currently trying to verify information they have recently received.

'There are inputs that one person by the name of Mushtaq, who left India to join the terror group was part of the ISIS group which carried out the assault on the Filipino city and we are in the process of verifying the input,' a senior intelligence officer told Mail Today.

Smoke rises after aerial bombings by Philippine Air Force planes on Islamist militant positions in Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao on June 14

Marawi, on the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines, has been under siege for weeks, following an invasion by Islamic militants loyal to Abu Sayyaf commander Isnilon Hapilon in May.

The government forces there have launched an attack on the city.

But the battle to eradicate hundreds of ISIS-affiliated militants from the local areas has so far failed to make much headway in resolving the conflict.

A soldier taking a look at enemy positions, while they try to clear the city of armed militants

If confirmed, this would be the first instance of an Indian fighting for the ISIS in South East Asia, which is fast emerging as an attraction for the Islamic terrorists across the region.

However, the number of Indians who have gone to join ISIS in west Asia is negligible, considering that Muslims share more than 20 per cent of the 1.25-billion population of India, the official said.

However, he said that spy agencies are worried about isolated youths, who are radicalised over the internet and tend to become 'lone wolves' for targeting security forces or people from other faiths to wage a religious war as per their indoctrination.

Smoke billows from the city centre after an air attack by Philippine government troops

Filipino soldiers clearing a city street of militants in Marawi city, southern Philippines. Filipino officials announced on Friday that foreign fighters were among the Islamist militants killed in Marawi city during gun battles between ISIS-linked militants and security troops

'We have our eyes on certain suspects, who are getting radicalised and may get into action in future. The numbers may also have increased due to online indoctrination,' the official said.

There was recently an encounter in Lucknow, where a self-radicalised terrorist, Saifullah, was eliminated by the UP anti-terrorist squad.

Saifullah and other suspects were linked to a home-grown, self-radicalised group, inspired by ISIS owing allegiance to its elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Filipino soldiers clearing a city street of militants in Marawi city

All the six suspects, arrested in UP and MP, were active on social media and were in regular touch with ISIS handlers and might have got together from different places to carry out attacks on Indian agencies after meeting online.

The official added that a number of terrorists, who have returned from the ISIS war zones in Iraq, Syria and Libya, have come back.

He added that the reality they encountered there was totally different from what they had imagined while leaving for that country from India.

Spy agencies are checking whether an Indian ISIS fighter was among those killed

Filipino soldiers in Marawi city, southern Philippines

'The kind of brutality that they came across and the racial discrimination that they had to face from the Arab fighters of the ISIS has been scary and they have been left disenchanted,' the official said.

The security agencies are keeping a strict vigil on the returnees but have also held deradicalisation camps to draw them from their fanatic mindset.

The case involving a group of four engineering graduates was one of the first reported cases about Indians joining the ISIS. However, a few of them have returned with the help of Indian authorities.
Mop 'n' Bucket man: Mitie boss Phil Bentley

Barely a year ago, Phil Bentley was roasting his tootsies in the Florida sunshine.

As boss of Caribbean-focused telecoms firm Cable & Wireless, life wasn't half bad.

Head office in Miami. A bit of midweek island-hopping around Barbados, St Lucia and the Bahamas.

Not many out there would willingly swap it for an insalubrious business park just outside Bristol to work for unloved mop-'n'-bucket outsourcers Mitie.

Bentley took the chief executive job at Christmas, succeeding Baroness McGregor-Smith, the redoubtable, though  shall we say  testy, mother of two whose relationship with the City earned her the sobriquet 'The Prickly Peer'.

While yet to acquire such labels, Bentley's manner is no less forthright. Brash and cocksure with a toothy grin, residents of his native Bradford would describe him as a type not to 'soofer' fools.

He certainly doesn't like us hacks much. His tetchiness was forged from a lively stint as managing director of British Gas, a role which cast him as the poster boy for everything that was wrong with our much-loathed energy sector.

Rising energy prices against bumper profits made him an habitue of front-page newspaper splashes, none of them complimentary.

His endless tours of news studios to face down brickbats were legendary, even once agreeing to be mauled by Newsnight rottweiler Jeremy Paxman.

The man has submitted himself to more voluntary beatings than Max Mosley.

But then our Phil is not lacking in the self-confidence department. After taking up the cudgels at Mitie, he backed himself to the tune of 3.6million, acquiring 1.9million shares. The gamble has paid off.

Shares in the company leapt 13 per cent this week, despite announcing losses of 43million last year  and earning him more than 600,000.

Grilling: Bentley gives evidence to the House of Commons Energy Committee in 2009

Mind you, the Bentley finances were already in pretty rude health.

He earned 10.2million when Cable & Wireless was sold to US media tycoon John Malone last May. When he walked away from British Gas, he reportedly pocketed 13m, though he dismisses the figure.

And while his deal at Mitie remains undisclosed, it's hard to imagine it would be any less than the 2.5m a year his predecessor trousered. Quite an improvement on his first job at BP, for which he was paid just 5,000 a year after joining its graduate recruitment scheme in 1982.

Fifteen subsequent years foraging for oil and gas took him around the world, living in China and Egypt and the US, before he departed for Diageo to become group treasurer.

After three years at the drinks giant, he accepted an opportunity to become group finance director of British Gas's parent company Centrica, before being appointed managing director of British Gas in 2006.

His seven years there were not uneventful. Turnover increased by 3.9bn, but even he admits the job could be hellish at times.

As well as anger over price rises, the firm was rocked by customer services issues.

He hankered after the chief executive role at Centrica, but when chairman Sir Mike Rake let it be known he wasn't going to get it, he headed for the Caribbean in 2013.

The idyllic set-up out there at Cable & Wireless wasn't entirely straightforward. Wife Mhairi, whom he met in 1988 on the Brighton to London cycle ride, stayed at home in Teddington.

She has her own successful multinational marketing company, Brand Learning, plus their two children were starting university.

By the time the Mitie job came up he was not only ready for a new challenge but one which would keep him on these shores.

He's an Englishman at heart, anyway. A big rugger fan, he cites former England captain Martin Johnson as one of the people he most admires  and maintains a season ticket to Harlequins.

He appears delighted to be back at the helm of a FTSE 250 firm, predicting this week, with trademark self-assurance, that it will return to a 'modest growth' in profits this year.

That'd give the old grafter an excuse to crack open the premier cru. Just don't expect him to be pouring members of Her Majesty's Press a glass.
Damian Herrera, 21, (seen in an undated booking photo) was arrested after allegedly fatally shooting five people in New Mexico on Thursday

A New Mexico man accused of killing three family members and two other people in a shooting rampage that crossed two counties is in custody following a pursuit and crash, authorities said.

The New Mexico State Police said 21-year-old Damian Herrera was arrested Thursday evening after allegedly killing his stepfather, Max Trujillo Sr., 55 and younger brother, Brendan Herrera, 20, at a home in La Madera, New Mexico in what appeared to be a domestic dispute.

Herrera also shot his mother, Maria Rosita Gallegos, 49, who was taken to the hospital in critical condition, but was taken off life support and died on Friday.

After leaving the house in La Madera on Thursday, authorities say that Herrera then went to Tres Piedras, New Mexico, where he killed Michael Kyte, 61, a retired archaeologist, at his home and stole his truck.

Herrara then shot and killed his final victim, Manuel Serrano, 59, of Youngsville, New Mexico, at Bode's General Store in Abiquiu in Rio Arriba County, authorities said.

Authorities said that Herrera did not know either Kyte or Serrano prior to killing them, according to KOAT.

Sheriff's deputies spotted Herrera driving Kyte's stolen pickup and began chasing him southbound on US 84.

'Herrera was driving so fast that when he came upon a curve he was unable to maintain his lane of travel and veered into oncoming traffic,' the State Police said in a statement.

Herrera, a college student from New Mexico, does not appear to have a criminal record and no motive for the shooting has been provided by authorities. He is being held without bond

Herrera is accused of having killed his mother Maria Rosita Gallegos, 49, stepfather Max Trujillo Sr., 55 (left), and brother Brendan Herrera, 20 (right) following a domestic dispute. Authorities say that he then went on to kill two other men before he was arrested by police

Herrera is also accused of having killed retired archaeologist Michael Kyte, 61, in his home

The pickup then over-corrected to avoid an oncoming State Police vehicle headed to the Abiquiu shooting site, and crashed into a tree.

Herrera got out of the crashed pickup, ran toward deputies and was arrested after a scuffle and use of a stun gun, the State Police said.

During the scuffle, Herrera tried to disarm a deputy whose gun discharged but no one was injured by the shot, the State Police said.

However, an Espanola Police Department officer injured his elbow during the scuffle.

District Attorney Marco Serna said his office will charge Herrera with five counts of open murder.

Pictured here, the home where Herrera's shooting spree allegedly began on Thursday

The Bodes General Store where Herrera allegedly killed his final victim, Manuel Serrano, 59

The killings 'are horrific, senseless and have rocked northern New Mexico to its core,' Serna said.

Herrera, reportedly a sophomore at University of New Mexico-Taos, is being held without bond, according to the Sante Fe New Mexican. He was arraigned via video and a judge entered no plea on his behalf.

During the arraignment, Herrera was said to have answered questions calmly and without emotion.

'That's how he was pretty much last night,' Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan told the Santa Fe New Mexican, regarding Herrera's behavior in jail while he was there overnight.

KRQE reports that Herrera does not appear to have a criminal history.

No motive for the shootings has been released by authorities.
A man 'seen with blood on his shirt' the day three siblings vanished has died 50 years on, with mystery still surrounding the disappearance of the Beaumont children.

Allan 'Max' McIntyre, 89, was found dead in a Yorke Peninsula nursing home, west of Adelaide, on Tuesday, The Age reported.

Jane nine, Arnna, seven, and Grant, four, Beaumont disappeared from Glenelg Beach, Adelaide, on Australia Day 1966, never to be seen again despite a major manhunt and one of the nation's biggest ever police investigations.

'Max' McIntyre was investigated over the Beaumont's kidnapping but he always denied any involvement.

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Jane (right), nine, Arnna (left), seven and Grant (centre), four, disappeared from Adelaide''s Glenelg Beach on Australia Day, 1966 never to be seen again

Allan 'Max' McIntyre (pictured), who was investigated over the disappearance of the Beaumont children but denied involvement, died on Tuesday in a South Australia nursing home

The diary of Andrew McIntyre links convicted paedophile Anthony Munro (pictured) to being at Glenelg Beach, Adelaide, where the three siblings were last seen, at the time they vanished

Earlier this month, the rediscovered childhood diary of 'Max' McIntyre's son, Andrew McIntyre, had been touted as the possible missing link to finally solving Australia's biggest kidnapping mystery.

Andrew McIntyre often went diving with his father and Anthony Alan Munro, a family friend and convicted paedophile, at Glenelg Beach.

Throughout his adventures along the coast, Andrew McIntyre, now 63, and another child kept a diary of events. They called it the 'salvage and exploration club'.

Munro, a former scout leader, will face court in August to be sentenced over child sexual offences against boys dating back to 1965 - including Andrew McIntyre.

Witnesses told police the Beaumont children were playing with a tall, blond man aged within his 30s on the day of their disappearance - a description that matches Munro's appearance at the time.

However, Munro has always denied any involvement and no charges have ever been laid.

Despite a major manhunt and one of the nation's biggest ever police investigations, the three Beaumont siblings have never been found

Andrew McIntyre (left) often went diving with his father Allan 'Max' McIntyre (centre) and also Munro along the South Australian coastline (Also pictured is Andrew's sisters Ruth and Clare)

Anthony Alan Munro (at left) and Allan 'Max' McIntyre (at right), who Andrew McIntyre has claimed were both involved in the Beaumont kidnappings, which both denied

When providing information to police about the disappearance of the Beaumont's, Andrew said he believed his father and Munro were involved.

Munro returned to Australia last year and was questioned over the disappearance of the three Beaumont siblings but police found no evidence that he was responsible and his lawyer similarly denied it.

According to the diary, the day the Beaumont children vanished Andrew McIntyre was meant to go diving with his father and Munro, but was later told to stay home.

When the pair arrived home both reportedly looked downcast, with Andrew claiming his father had his head in his hands and said: 's**t, s**t, s**t'.

He also claims that when they returned home, sand and blood was in Munro's car.

Andrew's sister Ruth Collins has backed his claims, having previously said Munro and her father had a role in the mystery kidnapping.

She claimed that when Munro and 'Max' McIntyre returned from the beach, her father's shirt was covered in blood and the three body's were in Munro's boot.

Yet Despite Andrew and Ruth's claims, police have never found any evidence implicating Munro or 'Max' McIntyre.

Andrew McIntyre (right) and his sister Ruth Collins (left) both believe their father and Munro were involved in the disappearance of the Beaumont children, yet police have never found any evidence implicating Munro or 'Max' McIntyre

Andrew McIntyre (pictured) said he believed personal belongings of his father's which could implicate Allan 'Max' McIntyre in the disappearance of the Beaumont children had been burnt in the days following his death

Danny McIntyre (pictured) told 7 News: ''It's just timber, mate. I'm not saying a word'

But Stephen Ey, the lawyer for Munro, slammed these claims as 'fanciful ravings'.

'Max' McIntyre was investigated over the Beaumont's kidnapping after his daughter voiced her claims.

The mystery deepened on Friday following 'Max' McIntyre's death, with claims items which may implicate him in the Beaumont children's disappearance had been burnt by another of his sons, Danny, on his father's property, 7 News reported, allegations which Danny has denied.

It followed reports of a smoldering fire on a property which was owned by 'Max' McIntyre.

'I think he may be getting rid of my father's personal belonging which could implicate him,' Andrew McIntyre said.

His brother, Danny McIntyre, said: 'It's just timber, mate. I'm not saying a word'.
The ghostly Connecticut village of Johnsonville has been put back on the market two years after an attempt to sell it for $2.4million fell through.

The 62-acre town in East Haddam, Connecticut was put up for auction in October of 2015, with the highest bid coming in at $1.9million, however the offer fell through. It is back up for grabs for the same price.

Back then, Chicago-based writer and designer Dan Sinker lead a social media movement to try and raise enough money to buy the deserted hamlet, which has an array of Victorian buildings, including an old post office, a schoolhouse, a general store, the original homestead of the mill owners, and even an abandoned church.

Long abandoned: Johnsonville in East Haddamin, Connecticut is back on the market for $1.9 million after failing to sell for $2.5 million. Above, for the past few decades, 'No Trespassing' signs have hung off properties in the town

Deserted: The new owners will inherit a huge 62 acres of land and the buildings that sit on it, but the town has long said to be haunted

Over 108 people contributed to a collection to get the property but the plan eventually fizzled out.

Johnsonville was part of a thriving mill community in the 1800s.

In the 1960s, a millionaire industrialist bought the land around the mill and moved other Victorian-era buildings there in hopes of potentially building a tourist attraction, according to the Hartford Courant.

Ghostly feel: The buildings include an old post office, a schoolhouse, a general store (pictured) and the original homestead of the mill owners

Included: The old twin mill town, nestled in the Moodus section of East Haddam, was the unfulfilled vision of 'eccentric' aerospace engineering executive, Raymond Schmitt, who died in 1998. Above is an abandoned church

In a state of disrepair: Damned Connecticut last year called the grounds 'a weird dead spot' in an otherwise populated town

In 1972, Raymond Schmitt, owner of aerospace part firm AGC Inc, bought the property after a lightning strike destroyed the mill.

Schmitt decided to create a Victorian-era tourist attraction, so he traveled around the northeast, buying up entire buildings and shipping them to the town.

In addition to the vast array of properties he purchased, he also bought a paddleboat from the World's Fair in the 1960s.

Origins: Johnsonville started in the 19th century as a mill town built around an active twine mill operation on the Moodus River. Above, this photo, posted to the town's Facebook page, shows the original Neptune mill in 1832. It was struck by lightning in 1972 and burned

Not as hoped: Schmitt decided to create a Victorian-era tourist attraction, so traveled around the northeast, buying up entire buildings and shipping them to the town. But the town never became a bustling hub for tourists. Above, visitors explore Johnsonville in the 1970s

He later transported it to Johnsonville, where he hoped to use it to ferry passengers around the lake in the middle of the property.

But although Schmitt allowed visitors onto the grounds, and weddings were occasionally held at the Swiss chalet-styled restaurant, the town never truly became a bustling hub for tourists and the owner died in 1998. Even the paddleboat began sinking into the lake.

Empty for decades: Above, one of the properties in the village, which has been closed to visitors for decades

For the past few decades, 'No Trespassing signs' have hung off properties, warning curious travelers to stay away.

Danbury, a Connecticut-based hotel company Meyer Jabara Hotels currently owns the property.

They paid $2.5million dollars for it back in 2001.
An 18-year-old mother-of-one was killed in a car crash only 15 minutes after she posted to Facebook saying to take chances 'because you don't when it could be your last'.

Tammy Marchant was killed about 12.30am Thursday along with friend Josh Graham, 26, after their Nissan four-wheel-drive rolled at Lake View, 170kms north of Adelaide.

The pair died at the scene while two other passengers were airlifted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with minor injuries.

At 12.15am, Ms Marchant posted a tribute to her pet dog Troy which proved hauntingly prophetic.

18-year-old mother-of-one Tammy Marchant (pictured) posted a hauntingly prophetic message to Facebook only 15 minutes before she was killed in a tragic car crash

Tammy Marchant (left) was killed about 12.30am Thursday along with friend Josh Graham, 26, after their Nissan four-wheel-drive rolled at Lake View, 170kms north of Adelaide

At 12.15am, Ms Marchant posted a tribute to her pet dog Troy which proved hauntingly prophetic

'I miss my boy Troy so much why does the heaven always take the good ones so quick,' she posted.

'This trip has definitely made me realise take all the chances and memories you have because you don't when it could be your last.'

Only 15 minutes later she was tragically killed along with Mr Graham shortly before arriving in Adelaide.

The group of four friends were travelling from Western Australia when their road trip was suddenly cut short.

Passenger Aaron Bishop posted details about the crash to social media as he tried to come to terms with the loss of two friends.

'Last night we were driving to Adelaide where I woke up from the back seat to see the car heading for the trees in the middle of the freeway,' he posted.

'This trip has definitely made me realise take all the chances and memories you have because you don't when it could be your last,' Ms Marchant (pictured) said

Two died at the scene while two other passengers were airlifted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with minor injuries

The mangled wreckage of the Nissan four-wheel-drive Ms Marchant was travelling in when she was killed in the early hours of Thursday morning

'I blacked out, and when it all stopped I just screamed. I kicked the window through with my feet not hearing any of the other three.

'The feeling knowing your best friends have died right next to you and you couldn't do anything to help or stop it happening. I feel so weak and empty.'

Mr Bishop has since created a GoFundMe to raise money for Ms Marchant's daughter and her family 'to help to survive this horrible ordeal'.

'I will work with Tamara's mother and father as much as I can to assure that her two-year-old bubba will grow up knowing her mother loved her very, very much and have enough so when she is older she can have her life sorted out for her,' he said.

Friend Josh Graham (pictured), 26, was also killed in the car crash north of Adelaide

A GoFundMe has been made to raise money for Ms Marchant's (pictured) daughter and her family
Megyn Kelly and NBC are still scrambling to finish the third episode of the NBC host's Sunday news magazine, which this week features an interview with Alex Jones.

The program appeared to be in good shape last Sunday when the network aired its first preview, but things soon took a turn when that one-minute segment was met with outrage among many.

No one was more upset however than the family members and friends of the 20 students and six educators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in a 2012 massacre that Jones has called a hoax in the past.

Some took to social media to lash out at Kelly and she was fired from her post as host of the charity's annual gala, a move that also left her without content to run on Sunday as she planned to film the event for her show.

The network and Kelly managed to kill two birds with one stone it seems however, with Page Six reporting that Kelly has invited the parents of some victims of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting on the show and interviewed them to balnce out the segment.

Other parents however are still appalled, and in a legal letter to NBC, 12 family members asked that the network not air the program over threat of a lawsuit.

It is unclear on what grounds they might sue and it is not revealed in the letter, which was sent to NBC counsel Kimberley D. Harris, NBC News chairman Andy Lack and Kelly's executive producer David Corvo.

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Meg and Alex: Twelve family members of victims who died in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre have sent a letter threatening to sue NBC if they air Alex Jones' interview (above wih Megyn Kelly during their interview last week)

Heartbreak: Neil Heslin (above), the father of 6-year-old victim Jesse Lewis, will appear on Kelly's show Sunday

Don't try it: The legal letter that was fired off to NBC by angry family members (above)

'NBC was scrambling to find a way out of this mess without having to back down and cancel Sundays episode of Megyns show,' a source told Page Six.

'Megyn and her producers made numerous calls to the Sandy Hook families this week to ask them to appear on the show. Some refused because they didnt think appearing on her show would do enough to counter Alex Jones venom.'

Another source added that 'everyone on the show believes its vitally important that the piece conveys the immense pain that Jones has caused the Sandy Hook families.'

Neil Heslin, the father of 6-year-old victim Jesse Lewis, is among those who will be making an appearance on the program.

Meanwhile, 12 of the parents refused to sit down with Kelly and instead fired off a legal letter threatening to sue the network if they aired the interview on Sunday.

'Surely, we can agree that these families have suffered enough already, and that they will continue to suffer enough to last several lifetimes,' resds the letter, penned by attorney Joshua Koskoff.

'Which is why we cannot fathom  from a moral, ethical or legal standpoint  NBCs decision to amplify the voice of a man who has made a living debasing that suffering and smearing our clients names.'

Then letter then goes on to address Jones, and the pain he has caused the already grieving parents of these children.

'Over the last few years, Alex Jones has weaponized his radio show to publish false and defamatory statements about our clients: chief among them that they are actors perpetrating a massive fraud on the American public by faking the deaths of their loved ones,' states the letter.

'Parents have marked their childrens seventh, eighth, and ninth birthdays not with wonder and joyful chaos, but with the most profound loneliness this world knows,' reads the letter.

'NBC is not responsible for the harassment and abuse Alex Jones has cruelly visited on our clients.'

It continues: 'But, by choosing to air his interview with Ms. Kelly  at all, let alone at prime time on Fathers Day  NBC has tendered its good name and considerable influence to provide Mr. Jones with something he has never enjoyed: legitimacy.

'This decision may be driven by the simple urge to gain an edge in a well-publicized ratings war; but it has devastating human consequences as well.

The letter opens meanwhile with an overview of how difficult and painful the 1,644 days have been since these parents lost their children.

'Erica Lafferty walked through a graveyard in her wedding dress and veil so that she could feel close to her mother, Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung  a woman who died trying to protect other parents children.

'Then there are all the other days; regular Thursdays like this one where a sound or a smell can transform the unrelenting ache of grief into intense, physical pain.'

It is signed by Mark and Jacqueline Barden, Hannah DAvino Nicole and Ian Hockley, Erica Lafferty, Veronique Pozner, Donna and Jillian Soto, Carlee Soto Parisi , and David and Francine Wheeler.

Carlee Soto (above, who signed the legal letter) reacts as she learns her sister, Victoria Soto, a teacher at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, was one of 26 people killed

Veronique Pozner (above, who signed the legal letter) waves to the assembled media as she leaves after a funeral service for her 6-year-old son Noah

Ian and Nicole Hockley (above, who signed the legal letter), parents of Sandy Hook School shooting victim Dylan, attend a news conference a month after the shooting

Kelly has kept relatively quiet about the controversy over her interview with Jones, which has been brewing since she previewed the pair's sit-down on the most recent episode of 'Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly.'

Kelly did briefly address the issue in an interview with The New York Times while defending her decision to bring Jones on her program.

'What we do as journalists is we shine a light on those with power, those with influence, those who have become culturally relevant,' said Kelly.

'Of course, it's upsetting to know that doing that causes any upset to the Newtown families, many of whom I know well. But I have to do my job.'

'As journalists, we dont get to interview only the good guys  thats not journalism,' Kelly told the Times.

'Its going to be very difficult for us to keep an eye on the more controversial figures of our time if we never talk to them.'

Kelly said she sat down with Jones to examine 'his influence and his  for lack of a better term  method for putting information together to figure out how he got to be so important in the presidents world, in millions of peoples world.'

She also stated that currently 'there are a lot of people who are very angry that Donald Trump is president and a lot of people who believe Alex Jones played a large role in it.'

Mourning still: The sisters of Sandy Hook Elementary teacher Victoria Soto, Carlee Soto, left, and Jillian, right, wjo both signed the letter

David and Francine Wheeler (above who signed the letter) parents of Sandy Hook School shooting victim Benjamin speak at a news conference in 2013

Hannah D'Avino, sister of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Rachel D'Avino, left, wipes a tear as Erica Lafferty, daughter of principal Dawn Hochsprung, right, looks on (both signed the letter)

Kelly is also dealing with another issue as the second episode of her NBC news magazine tanked in the ratings, losing almost half its audience from the premiere one week prior.

Final Nielsen numbers show that the latest episode of 'Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly' pulled in 3.61 million total viewers and scored an 0.6 rating in the all-important adults 18-49 demo, which was a slight improvement in the 7pm time slot from the previous year.

It was far, far lower however than the 6.1 million viewers and 0.8 rating notched by the premiere, which featured an interview with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Kelly has been feeling the heat over her decision to interview InfoWars' host Alex Jones for her Sunday news magazine this week.

Sandy Hook Promise, an organization that was created in memory of the 20 students and six staff members who were massacred in the 2012 school shooting in Newton, Connecticut, announced on Monday that Kelly would no longer host one of their annual Promise Champions Gala,

That announcement came just two days before Kelly was set to take the stage at the event on Wednesday night in Washington DC.

The decision made by the non-profit organization also left Kelly with a big gap in her episode that will be airing this Sunday, as she planned to film the gala to run alongside her interview with Jones.

That plan went up in smoke however when she managed to draw the ire of Sandy Hook parents, who lashed out loud and quick as they attacked Kelly for allowing Jones' ideas to be heard by her audience of 6 million.

Kelly responded to the controversy on Tuesday in a statement, saying she was 'disappointed' but also 'respected the decision' of the charity.

'I understand and respect the decision of the event organizers but I'm of course disappointed that I won't be there to support them on Wednesday night,' began Kelly in her statement.

'I find Alex Jones's suggestion that Sandy Hook was "a hoax" as personally revolting as every other rational person does.'

She then explained: 'It left me, and many other Americans, asking the very question that prompted this interview: how does Jones, who traffics in these outrageous conspiracy theories, have the respect of the president of the United States and a growing audience of millions?'

Kelly then offered theories, stating: 'President Trump, by praising and citing him, appearing on his show, and giving him White House press credentials, has helped elevate Jones, to the alarm of many.'

'Our goal in sitting down with him was to shine a light - as journalists are supposed to do - on this influential figure, and yes - to discuss the considerable falsehoods he has promoted with near impunity,' said Kelly.

Regardless of the aim, advertisers were not happy, and JP Morgan pulled their spots from the time slot.

Impressive intro: Over six million viewers tuned into Kelly's premiere episode with Russian president Vladimir Putin (above)

Disappointing drop: Kelly's second episode, which featured an interview with Erin Andrews (above), lost half of the audience from the premiere one week prior

In the preview of her interview with Jones, the NBC News host demands to know how he can declare something like Sandy Hook a hoax given the loss of young lives and parents who are still grieving for their children.

'Oh I know, but they don't get angry about the half-million dead Iraqis from the sanctions...' starts Jones before he is cut off by Kelly and accused of dodging her question.

'The media doesn't cover all the evil wars...' begins Jones, who again is cut-off by Kelly.

'That doesn't excuse the things you said about Newtown, you know that,' states the host, who actually traveled to Texas to meet with Jones in his own studio.

'Here's the difference, I looked at all the angles of Newtown and I made my statements before the media even picked it up.'

And in 2012, in the wake of the Aurora cinema massacre that saw 12 killed and 70 injured when a gunman opened fire during a screening of The Dark Knight, Jones claimed it was a 'false flag'.

'If you look at the full spectrum of information unfolding right now, 100 per cent chance that the mass murder committed in the suburb of Denver, Colorado, right next to Littleton and Columbine was a false flag mind control event.'

He even blamed President Obama for being behind a series of deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma back in 2013 that claimed the lives of over 30 people.
An Ohio family band member accused of killing his mother and brother was in critical but stable condition Friday at a Cleveland hospital after shooting himself in the head, authorities said.

Jacob Stockdale, 25, killed his mother Kathryn, 54, and brother James, 21, with a shot gun at the family's farm home near Beach City, Ohio, Thursday, according to the local sheriff's office.

Jacob then turned the shotgun on himself and suffered a self inflicted gun shot wound to the head. The violent scene played out at the family's 150-year-old farm.

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Jacob Stockdale, (second left), is accused of shooting dead his mother Kathryn and younger brother, James, (second right), at the family's home near Beach City Ohio last night. The pair played in the family band along with their two other brothers and father Tim, left, and family friend and bandmate Joe Steiner (far right)

Murdered: Kathryn Stockdale (pictured here) during an appearance on ABC's reality show Wife Swap in 2008 was also found shot dead

Timothy Stockdale, the family patriarch, wasn't home at the time of the shooting, and two other sons live in a different town. Deputies say Timothy is cooperating with the investigation.

Stark County Sheriff George T. Maier said Timothy 'indicated there were no issues leading up to' the incident.

Maier added: 'It's hard to surmise what the motive may have been. There's some speculation... We'll continue to investigate this case and try to determine the motive.'

According to the Canton Rep, Timothy, who played in The Stockdale Family Band with his sons, arrived home shortly after 6pm and fell to his knees crying when told about the shooting.

The band, known for playing bluegrass, performed just this Tuesday at Wild Cat Ranch and had concerts scheduled throughout the summer. Kathryn, the mother, worked as the band's manager, helping book all concerts.

The band previously consisted of five members of the Stockdale family, including brothers Calvin and Charles, and father Tim in addition to Jacob and James. According to the website, after older siblings Calvin and Charles moved out of Stark County, the band became a four-man ensemble. Tim, Jacob and James played shows with family friend Joe Steiner.

The sheriff said he did not know whether the shotgun belonged to Jacob Stockdale, and if there were other guns in the home. 'It's really early in the investigation. There are a lot of unanswered questions for us yet,' he said. 'This is a tragedy for the family. It is a tragedy for the community.'

Neighbors said they heard between 10 and 12 shots between 1pm and 3pm yesterday. Maier said officers investigating a 911 hang-up call Thursday afternoon spotted someone through an open door of the family home and heard a gunshot go off as they approached the Beach City residence.

Neighbor Michael Fuller said: 'They are a religious family and conservative and this seems out of place.'

Jacob, (second left), turned his shotgun on himself but failed in a suicide bid, deputies claimed

In an interview hosted on the family band's website, Mrs Stockdale spoke about their experience on ABC's reality show Wife Swap: 'Being a farm, home-schooling, bluegrass band family, we enjoy a lot of common experiences, but we have to chalk the Wife Swap adventure as the grand family bonding experience for the Stockdales for which we will never be the same.

Jacob Stockdale (pictured) is accused of fatally shooting his mother and his brother. Jacob is a champion fiddler

'We relate differently in that we have even more and deeper collective experiences where we overcame obstacles and accomplished a giant task together. No one else will understand the Wife Swap journey like we do and that is one of the things that will make our family unit different and special forever.'

The family's four sons Calvin, Charles, Jacob and James were all home schooled and 'insists they adhere to wholesome values, untainted by modern culture'.

The profile added: 'The boys have little or no interaction with the outside world, and dating is out of the question, including for Calvin, who is 19 at the time'.

Timothy Stockdale released a statement regarding his late wife Friday, according to Michah Derry, the family's spokesman: 'Kathy has been my beloved wife of 32 years and a wonderful mother to our four sons... She had a strong love of learning and was passionate about her Christian faith, natural health, and organic farming.'

Mother and her sons: Kathryn Stockdale reading to her sons during their Appearance on Wife Swap in 2009

Calvin Stockdale also issued a statement Friday regarding his late brother, James and his brother Jacob who is being accused in the family murders: 'James, our youngest brother, has always been a catalyst of family fun... He leaves behind many friends and a family that love him dearly. My brother, Jacob, is still in critical condition and we are praying for his physical recovery as our family makes funeral plans and begins the healing process.'

Michaela Madison of Stark County Sheriff's Office confirmed they are investigating the double homicide and attempted suicide in Beach City. She said: 'On Thursday June 15 at 4.36pm dispatch received a 911 hang up call made from a landline phone at 9115 Dolphin Street.'

Deputies responded and arrived a the scene at 4.56pm. 'Upon arrival, deputies cautiously approached the front door of the home, at which time they could see a male victim through the open door.

The Stockdale Family Band poses with a mascot in happier times

Police arrived at the scene of the double shooting shortly before 5pm yesterday, pictured

'Once deputies could safely enter the home they located two deceased victims, who have been identified as 21-year-old James William Stockdale and 54-year-old Kathryn Barbara Stockdale.

'The alleged suspect, 25-year-old Jacob Timothy Stockdale, suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.'
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Amazing images have been revealed of native Australian animals being rescued from floodwaters more than 50 years ago.

During the wet season of 1971-1972, the Ord River was dammed to create Lake Argyle in Western Australia, which is now Australia's second-largest freshwater man-made reservoir.

The Western Australian Wildlife Association (WAWA) was tasked with rescuing wallabies, skinks, snakes and other animals in the area who were at risk of drowning, in 'Operation Ord Noah'.

The WAWA used boats to herd cows and their calves to higher ground through floodwaters, after bushland flooded.

Project leader Henry Hall, who passed away in 2015, donated his incredible photos of the rescue to the Kununurra Museum.

In one image, volunteer Bert Lee is seen waist-deep in floodwaters holding a wallaby up to the camera.

Another photograph shows volunteer Harry Butler completely submerged in the water, passing two skinks up to his fellow volunteers on the boat.

Other images show volunteer Harry Butler bringing a King Brown snake to a boat, while another volunteer holds a lively sand goanna or 'bungarra' by his tail to get him into the boat.

Amazing images have been revealed of native Australian animals being rescued from floodwaters more than 50 years ago. Pictured is Western Australian Wildlife Association (WAWA) volunteer Bert Lee holding a Euro wallaby up to the camera

During the wet season of 1971-1972, the Ord River was dammed to create Lake Argyle in Western Australia. Pictured is Harry Butler bringing a King Brown snake to a boat

Lake Argyle is now Australia's second-largest freshwater man-made reservoir. Pictured is Harry Butler in the water passing two skinks to Malcom Douglas and Henry Hall

The Western Australian Wildlife Association (WAWA) rescued wallabies, skinks, snakes and other animals in the area who were at risk of drowning, in 'Operation Ord Noah'. Pictured is project leader Henry Hall inspecting a rescued wallaby for damage

Pictured is WAWA volunteer Malcom Douglas standing on the side of a boat holding a lively sand goanna or 'bungarra' by the tail in his rescue efforts

Mr Hall (pictured left with a wallaby) who passed away in 2015, donated his incredible photos of the rescue to the Kununurra Museum. Pictured right is fellow volunteer Ian Hall and Bert Lee in the water (centre)

Pictured is a car almost completely submerged in the floodwaters, captioned as 'deeper than Dave Oldmeadow thought'

Another photograph shows volunteers Bob Dear (left) and Neville Beeck (right) bringing a wallaroo or 'euro' ashore

Argyle Downs station was completely flooded in the process. Pictured are the volunteer wildlife rescue crew standing on the roof of a building to the right

Some of the wildlife rescue volunteers are seen landing their boat to visit Dortch's Diggings

The crew used multiple boats to track down and rescue animals from the floodwaters. Pictured are Butler and Vaughan chasing after nail-tailed wallaby in a WAWA boat

Pictured is the wildlife rescue crew running past Harry Dortch's Diggings
Several sixth formers have been suspended from a prestigious independent school amid claims they were operating a drug ring through social media.

Pupils at Culford School in Suffolk, where fees reach 29,985 a year, were buying cannabis in a nearby town and selling it at double the price to younger children, an insider claimed.

They allegedly used encrypted messaging app WhatsApp to inform their co-conspirators about the deals and where to meet on school grounds to smoke the drug themselves.

Several sixth formers have been suspended from prestigious independent school Culford School in Suffolk (pictured) amid claims they were operating a drug ring through social media

The mixed sex school, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are said to have considered sending Prince George, yesterday refused to discuss why the pupils had been suspended and denied any knowledge of drugs being sold there. But a pupil said: In town they were buying it at just the usual price but they doubled the price for younger pupils.

Clearly they were buying quite a lot because they smoked it themselves and had enough [to sell] to the younger pupils.

The buyers are understood to have started purchasing cannabis from dealers in Bury St Edmunds for around 10 a gram about three months ago. They then sold it for 20 a gram to younger children.

Other members of the group, said to include prefects, were kept informed of their progress on WhatsApp, which security services have warned is being used by terrorists to send messages as they cannot be read by third parties. As a Class B substance, cannabis carries a maximum five year jail term for possession and up to 14 years for supply or production, plus an unlimited fine. A source said of the WhatsApp group: It was very informal but it became known to the wider community. They would use it to organise where and when to meet up for a smoke.

Pupils at the school (pictured), where fees reach 29,985 a year, were buying cannabis in a nearby town and selling it at double the price to younger children, an insider claimed

The sixth formers, who are understood to have included international students, were suspended earlier this week.

However, parents appear not to have been informed until the Daily Mail started making inquiries.

One said: We should have been made aware of this immediately. Founded in 1881, Culford School,  rated outstanding by Ofsted has 700 pupils aged three to 18.

Suffolk Police yesterdy said they had not been informed of the allegations by the school.

Head Julian Johnson-Munday said: I can confirm that a small number of sixth form pupils have been involved in a serious breach of school rules. Those pupils are suspended pending further discussion with their parents. Because the matter is ongoing, it would be wrong of me to comment further.
A 44-year-old man is in custody after allegedly ramming two police cars on Carlton Street in a blue Toyota Sedan.

The man allegedly rammed a marked car parked at a police station station in Granville, western Sydney, driving a blue Toyota Sedan at 8.30am on Saturday morning.

The police car then slammed into another parked car with one officer in the driver's seat, but was unharmed during the incident.

A 44-year-old man in a blue Toyota Corolla (pictured) allegedly rammed two police cars at Granville police station

A photo of the blue Toyota Sedan that crashed into a police car on Carlton Street

Police arrested the 44-year-old and took him to Granville Police Station.

The police statement claims the man was driving along Carlton Street when he 'crashed' into two police vehicles outside the station.

The man was arrested and taken, but was taken to a medical facility for assessment and is helping police with their inquiries.

Investigations are underway.

The blue sedan hit the police car causing it to hit another police car on Saturday morning
Some will always regard him as a giant among German Chancellors, a visionary who helped end the Cold War and without whom Germany might never have been reunified.

And yet, at his death aged 87, so much that surrounded Helmut Kohl was failure. The euro with which the former Hitler Youth member had pressed ahead, blinded by his own obsession with European integration, lurches from crisis to crisis, keeping many of its member states on the breadline.

And many leading analysts, even in Germany, believe that in bringing about his other obsession, German unity, he sowed the seeds of the eventual break up of his European dream.

Some regard Helmut Kohl as a giant among German Chancellors, a visionary who helped end the Cold War - but so much that surrounded him was a failure

For todays all-powerful Germany may now be simply too big and powerful to be a genuine partner  as opposed to the dominant member pulling the strings to its own advantage  in the European Union.

As Wolfgang Munchau, one of Germanys leading economic analysts, said: Unification is not only one of the underlying causes of the euro crisis, it is also one of the reasons behind our inability to solve it.

This is exactly the tragedy of Helmut Kohl: with his great political coup of German unity, he sowed the seeds for the destruction of his greatest political dream of European unity.

As for the family life of this huge man obsessed with politics, that tragically disintegrated long ago. His two sons Walter and Peter had nothing to do with him  even though his last seven years were spent in a wheelchair following a fall  after he married a woman of whom they disapproved following the suicide of their mother.

If all political lives really do end in failure, then, surely, here is failure on a grand scale, astonishingly enough for a man whose 16 years in office from 1982 to 1998 dwarfed both Margaret Thatchers 11 years and Tony Blairs ten, and made him Germanys longest-serving Chancellor since Bismarck.

Even his retirement from politics two years after election defeat in 1998 was tarnished by a corruption scandal within his CDU party over illicit donations.

Who knows, his great adversary Thatcher, about whom he had scarcely a good word to say, even when she died  She was difficult just as our relationship was difficult  may be looking down on him now with a measure of sympathy instead of the anger and exasperation he usually set off in her.

She was ice cold in pursuit of her interests, he wrote in a memoir of Mrs Thatchers fight to win a rebate from Britains contributions to the European budget.

When a compromise was reached which allowed her to appear the winner, she didnt even say thank you. Understandably perhaps, since she had won a whopping 66 per cent rebate to which Britain was entitled.

Kohl was not only infuriated by Thatchers intuitive opposition to German reunification, he was also angered when she complained about him being so German in serving his favourite dish of pigs stomach with sausage and sauerkraut. In return, he made deeply unflattering observations about her, pointedly claiming she would doze off at leaders summits.

Once he had retired, the opinionated ex-Chancellor (pictured) dispensed with the niceties of international diplomacy

Once he had retired, the opinionated ex-Chancellor dispensed with the niceties of international diplomacy. In conversations taped for a memoir, he described Prince Philip as a blockhead, and Prince Charless marriage to Diana as an absolutely idiotic affair.

Had she become Queen immediately she would have done her bit in bed, created three princes and her duty to the nation would have been fulfilled, he ruminated.

But divorced from the Prince, he continued, she had to travel around, talk to mayors and so on and then she withered away.

Even Angela Merkel, once his protegee  and now his successor as Chancellor and the most powerful politician in Europe  didnt escape his disparagement. He observed that she used to be so awkward that she could barely hold a knife and fork properly.

And yet there was another Kohl, a figure described by Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton as the greatest European leader of the second half of the 20th century, a man anxious for Germany to confront its Nazi past and take a leading role in the world as a peacemaker.

Early in 1984 he became the first post-war German Chancellor to address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, saying hed had the mercy of a late birth  in other words, he was grateful he had been too young to serve in Hitlers forces of destruction.

His elder brother Walter served and died in the war.

Kohl was infuriated by Thatchers intuitive opposition to German reunification. They are pictured together in 1985

Even his retirement from politics was tarnished by a corruption scandal within his CDU party over illicit donations. Prime Minister John Major and wife Norma Major in 1995

Later that year he and Frances President Mitterrand met at the site of the Battle of Verdun, where French and German soldiers had slaughtered each other in World War I. Their interminably long handshake became a symbol of reconciliation.

A month later he visited President Ronald Reagan in the White House, and in a reciprocal visit the following year, the two leaders significantly visited the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

All this from the son of a provincial civil servant who was not expected to survive for very long when he came to power in 1982.

After the intellectual sophistication of his predecessor Helmut Schmidt, Kohl was seen as a rough-cut figure, a stumbling public speaker. But then, he hadnt reached the top without knowing how to pull the levers of power.

And the German public felt a bond with this large but otherwise ordinary-sounding man.

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 he claimed he grabbed the mantle of history and speedily set up the machinery for reunification  with Soviet Russias approval.

The moment came on October 3, 1990 the high point of his political life  when he became known as the Unification Chancellor, the father of German unity.

Meanwhile, on the personal front, Helmut Kohl did not enjoy the same kind of success. He had been a Rhineland local conservative politician when he married a pretty village girl, Hannalore.

She had no idea he was fanatically ambitious with his sights set on becoming Chancellor. As he climbed the greasy pole she hated the publicity so much that she refused to talk politics even with her husband, and banned their two sons from doing so.

The more powerful he became, the greater the public adulation, the more she deplored their life together. With her tightly shaped blonde hair she began to be known as his Barbie Doll. Then came rumours of his affairs, especially one involving a party official.

Despite 16 years in office as Chancellor, in 1998 Kohl decided to run once again. He was 68, and he and Hannalore had been married for 38 years, yet he hadnt even discussed the plan with her. She learned of his decision from the evening news.

Hannalore suffered from a condition called photodermatitis, a debilitating allergy to light believed to have started in 1993 when she took the wrong antibiotics.

By then, her condition was so bad that on all but the darkest days she stayed in their shuttered home all day, only going out at night. Friends urged her to divorce him, but she never did.

Kohl lost the 1998 election, heavily defeated by the Social Democrats, led by smooth former lawyer Gerhard Schroeder.

But it was another two years before he gave up politics in the wake of the corruption scandal. The following year, 2001, Hannalore Kohl committed suicide with sleeping pills.

Four years later, Kohl introduced the trim Maike Kohl-Richter, 34 years his junior, as the new woman in his life. She was a former party youth wing supporter who had worked her way up to become a government economic official.

Walter and Peter were not invited to the wedding in 2008. They were told about it by telegram. You could feel that my father saw his future with Maike, even if it meant ending his relationship with us, Walter Kohl wrote afterwards.

The couple settled into an increasingly secluded life in their bungalow in the West German village of Oggersheim. When old friends complained they had lost contact with Kohl, Der Spiegel magazine described his wife as the Lady Macbeth of Oggersheim.

Then, not long after their wedding, came that fall  after which Kohl became a tragic figure who slurred his words and couldnt talk for more than a few minutes at a time.

A few years ago, his eldest son, Walter, a businessman, published a bitter memoir in which he said: For my father, politics was, and is, his true home. His real family had the name CDU, not Kohl . . . I was not able to reach my father.

Whether or not the euro survives, what a damning and tragic epitaph for the father of modern Germany.
Megyn Kelly is effusive in her praise of Alex Jones in a secret audio recording that was released by the conspiracy theorist on Friday.

On the tape Kelly can be heard stroking Jones' ego and telling him how much sjhe hopes to profile the polarizing pundit rather than just churn out some hit piece.

She then goes on to admit that he first came to her attention while he was battling with his ex-wife in court.

'The reason you are interesting to me is because I followed your custody case and I think you had a very good point about the way the media was covering it,' said Kelly.

'And for some reason they treated you and your family as fair game, and they never would have done that with a mainstream-media figure.'

Kelly continued: 'I saw a different side of you and you became very fascinating to me. Your comments during the trial just reminded me you are just like anybody and I thought that would be an interesting story to tell.'

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Killing it: Alex Jones (above) released a second secret audio' of Megyn Kelly on Friday afternoon after hyping up the recording, taken during their NBC interview last week

What's the fuss: The 30-minute audio featured Kelly fawning over Jones and saying how impressed she became with him after following his child custody hearing(above in Texas on June 6 when Kelly conducted the interview)

She started off her piece meanwhile by assuring Jones that this would not be a segment that tried to make him look foolish or dumb.

'My goal is for your listeners and the left, who will be watching on NBC, to say, "Wow, thats really interesting,"' said Kelly.

'Its not going to be some gotcha hit piece, I promise you that.'

She then added: 'If theres one thing about me, I do what I say I am gonna do. I dont double-cross.'

That is just what happened though according to Jones, who said this was the first time he had recorded another journalist.

'God, she was like, "I want to get steaks with you, Im obsessed with you, oh my God," wiggling around in her seat. It was all crap,' said Jones.

'I knew it was all a lie. I said, "Sandy Hook happened," and she wouldnt even put it in the promo pieces. So were going to release, oh yeah, were going to release the pre-interview. And then when they put their fraud out on Sunday, which Ive asked them not to air because theyre misrepresenting who I am and saying Im as bad as Saddam Hussein, or Jeffrey Dahmer, or Charles Manson.'

That is when Jones announced that he had the 'whole interview' to show his side of the story.

Most damaging may be Kelly's claim that she would personally look at any clips she planned to use of Jones and have producers run them by him ahead of air.

'Im not looking to portray you as some kind of boogeyman,' said Kelly.

'The craziest thing of all would be if some people who have this insane version of you in their heads came away saying, "You know what? I see the dad in him. I see the guy."'

Pool party: Alex Jones released his 'secret audio' of Megyn Kelly on Friday morning after hyping up the recording, taken during their NBC interview (Kelly and Jones above being eaten by sharks in and animated portion of the video)

I get a kick: In another animated video, Kelly is attacked by a J.P. Morgan mascot in a suit (above), with the financial company pulling their ads from the show this week

The previous audio released on Friday morning proved to be anything but damning, featuring audio of Kelly from just a single phone conversation that lasts less than a minute.

The exchange also gives the appearance that the NBC host and conspiracy theorist had a very cordial and professional relationship, which while admittedly shocking is not the revelation which Jones and the InfoWars staff seemed to be teasing earlier in the week.

An NBC News spokesperson said in a statement on Friday: 'Despite Alex Jones' efforts to distract from and ultimately prevent the airing of our report, we remain committed to giving viewers context and insight into a controversial and polarizing figure, how he relates to the president of the United States and influences others, and to getting this serious story right.'

Jones tried to cover up the lack of a smoking gun in his first recording by filling a majority of the tape with his own impassioned rants on everything from Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer to Pizzagate.

There are also a staggering number of sound effects cut into the audio, which is nothing if not enthusiastically edited.

At one point, four minutes in, Jones even included a scene from 'Clash of the Titans' which showed the battle between Perseus and Medusa.

Jones is like the hero Perseus in this instance, while Kelly is the snake-haired lunatic who turns men to stone with a single glance.

Later, there is an animated sequence that starts off by depicting J.P Morgan's decision to not run advertisements during Kelly's program on Friday by having a man in a suit whose head is the company symbol walking over to the host and kicking her forcefully in the crotch.

Her firing on Monday as the host of the annual Sandy Hook Promise gala is next, which is reimagined by having her dropped out of a wall bearing the charity's name and then furiously banging to be let back in.

'IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A HIT PIECE, PROMISE' In his video, Jones played a recording that appeared to be from a phone conversation with Kelly. This is what it says: 'All I can do is give you my word and tell you if there's one thing about me, I do what I say I'm gonna do, and I don't double-cross.' 'You know you just became very fascinating to me. I just always thought you were this maybe, one-dimensional guy, like this is your thing' 'My goal is for your listeners and the left - you know, who will be watching some on NBC - to say, "Wow, that was really interesting."' 'And then the next time I wanna get somebody, they're gonna say, "Look what you did to Alex Jones!" It's not going to be some gotcha hit piece, I promise you that.' Advertisement

Last, but not least, there is a scene meant to symbolize their own interview, with Jones drifting around a pool in an inflatable ring while Kelly approached with a microphone.

The pair are soon surrounded by sharks, who suddenly jump out of the water and eat the two, killing them in an instant.

In this instance, the sharks appear to be stand-ins for members of the media.

In another bit of completely transparent trickery, Jones' can be heard taking Kelly to task as he asks her some difficult questions about the questionable editing practices her team used when it came to cutting down some of his answers.

Once he is done with the question, Kelly does not give an actual response to the question though, and it is not clear if one exists and he was not able to get permission or he is just manufacturing drama.

In one instance, after Jones lays into Kelly over how the NBC team depicted his role in the Pizzagate scandal, the InfoWars founder just plays an entirely unrelated tape from when Kelly spoke about the incident in 2016 - while on Fox News.

After posting the video online Friday, Jones' wrote on Twitter: '#NBCFakeNews #msmFail #infowars.'

He and the InfoWars staff also went out for a raw bar dinner on Thursday night to celebrate the pending release of the audio.

Out in her...: In another animated clip, Kelly is seen being dropped by Sandy Hook Promise (above) who fired her on Monday as the host of their annual gala

Flashback Friday: At one point, four minutes in, Jones even included a scene from 'Clash of the Titans' which showed the battle between Perseus and Medusa (above)

Jones had spoken about as the recording as if it were a complete shock and surprise to NBC and Kelly. something that seem suspect given his self-admitted penchant for taping conversations.

And the release of the tape, along with his Hollywood Reporter interview on Thursday, have managed to come out at exactly the right time to help promote the third episode of Kelly's during a week when she has opted to stay radio silent.

In that interview Jones spoke at length about his desire for NBC to not air the show, a plea that usually does wonders to increase tune-in for a sit-=down as it implies there will be a good deal of tension and animosity.

'Don't air the piece, because from the promos NBC has run, Megyn is distorting me," said Jones.

'It has all the markings of a PR stunt. The minute she put that promo out there, there were groups calling for boycotts. It was basically instantaneous.'

Jones also said that the media just wants to make him seem like the 'devil' because he is a member of the 'alternative media,' an assignation that some mighjt contest given the more than 6 million people who tune in to his show.

'Fake news lives at NBC. They basically made me look like a Halloween character,' bemoaned Jones to a television trade publication previewing his interview on the network.

He also stopped gunning for Kelly and NBC long enough to start gushing about his best bud President Donald Trump.

'I talk to him quite a bit, but I miss a lot of his phone calls because I tend to not stay up past 10 at night' said Jones.

'The president finishes my sentences sometimes because he's the real deal, and that's why we're synced up  God, guns, John Wayne, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, free-market capitalism and 1776.'

He then added: 'The media tries to hurt the president with his association with me, but that gives him the rock 'n' roll aura.'

Bottom feeders: In addition to Jones' own diatribes, an astonishing number of sound effects are used to make the audio seem more dramatic, despite the lack of a smoking gun (InfoWars staff at dinner on Thursday)

Kelly meanwhile has kept relatively quiet about the controversy over her interview with Jones, which has been brewing since she previewed the pair's sit-down on the most recent episode of 'Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly.'

Kelly did briefly address the issue in an interview with The New York Times while defending her decision to bring Jones on her program.

'What we do as journalists is we shine a light on those with power, those with influence, those who have become culturally relevant,' said Kelly.

'Of course, it's upsetting to know that doing that causes any upset to the Newtown families, many of whom I know well. But I have to do my job.'

'As journalists, we dont get to interview only the good guys  thats not journalism,' Kelly told the Times.

'Its going to be very difficult for us to keep an eye on the more controversial figures of our time if we never talk to them.'

Kelly said she sat down with Jones to examine 'his influence and his  for lack of a better term  method for putting information together to figure out how he got to be so important in the presidents world, in millions of peoples world.'

She also stated that currently 'there are a lot of people who are very angry that Donald Trump is president and a lot of people who believe Alex Jones played a large role in it.'

Kelly is also dealing with another issue as the second episode of her NBC news magazine tanked in the ratings, losing almost half its audience from the premiere one week prior.

Kelly's sit-down with Jones will air Sunday at 7pm on NBC (pair above)

Final Nielsen numbers show that the latest episode of 'Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly' pulled in 3.61 million total viewers and scored an 0.6 rating in the all-important adults 18-49 demo, which was a slight improvement in the 7pm time slot from the previous year.

It was far, far lower however than the 6.1 million viewers and 0.8 rating notched by the premiere, which featured an interview with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Kelly has been feeling the heat over her decision to interview InfoWars' host Alex Jones for her Sunday news magazine this week.

Sandy Hook Promise, an organization that was created in memory of the 20 students and six staff members who were massacred in the 2012 school shooting in Newton, Connecticut, announced on Monday that Kelly would no longer host one of their annual Promise Champions Gala,

That announcement came just two days before Kelly was set to take the stage at the event on Wednesday night in Washington DC.

The decision made by the non-profit organization also left Kelly with a big gap in her episode that will be airing this Sunday, as she planned to film the gala to run alongside her interview with Jones.

That plan went up in smoke however when she managed to draw the ire of Sandy Hook parents, who lashed out loud and quick as they attacked Kelly for allowing Jones' ideas to be heard by her audience of 6 million.

Kelly responded to the controversy on Tuesday in a statement, saying she was 'disappointed' but also 'respected the decision' of the charity.

'I understand and respect the decision of the event organizers but I'm of course disappointed that I won't be there to support them on Wednesday night,' began Kelly in her statement.

'I find Alex Jones's suggestion that Sandy Hook was "a hoax" as personally revolting as every other rational person does.'

She then explained: 'It left me, and many other Americans, asking the very question that prompted this interview: how does Jones, who traffics in these outrageous conspiracy theories, have the respect of the president of the United States and a growing audience of millions?'

Impressive intro: Over six million viewers tuned into Kelly's premiere episode with Russian president Vladimir Putin (above)

Disappointing drop: Kelly's second episode, which featured an interview with Erin Andrews (above), lost half of the audience from the premiere one week prior

Kelly then offered theories, stating: 'President Trump, by praising and citing him, appearing on his show, and giving him White House press credentials, has helped elevate Jones, to the alarm of many.'

'Our goal in sitting down with him was to shine a light - as journalists are supposed to do - on this influential figure, and yes - to discuss the considerable falsehoods he has promoted with near impunity,' said Kelly.

Regardless of the aim, advertisers were not happy, and JP Morgan pulled their spots from the time slot.

In the preview of her interview with Jones, the NBC News host demands to know how he can declare something like Sandy Hook a hoax given the loss of young lives and parents who are still grieving for their children.

'Oh I know, but they don't get angry about the half-million dead Iraqis from the sanctions...' starts Jones before he is cut off by Kelly and accused of dodging her question.

'The media doesn't cover all the evil wars...' begins Jones, who again is cut-off by Kelly.

'That doesn't excuse the things you said about Newtown, you know that,' states the host, who actually traveled to Texas to meet with Jones in his own studio.

'Here's the difference, I looked at all the angles of Newtown and I made my statements before the media even picked it up.'

And in 2012, in the wake of the Aurora cinema massacre that saw 12 killed and 70 injured when a gunman opened fire during a screening of The Dark Knight, Jones claimed it was a 'false flag'.

'If you look at the full spectrum of information unfolding right now, 100 per cent chance that the mass murder committed in the suburb of Denver, Colorado, right next to Littleton and Columbine was a false flag mind control event.'

He even blamed President Obama for being behind a series of deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma back in 2013 that claimed the lives of over 30 people.
Keith Palmer (pictured) has been awarded a posthumous honour for confronting Westminster attacker Khalid Masood

The policeman killed confronting an armed jihadist who attacked Westminster has received a posthumous honour for his exceptional bravery.

Keith Palmer was stabbed to death tackling crazed Muslim convert Khalid Masood as he tried to burst into the Houses of Parliament wielding two large knives on March 22.

Last night, the police officer won the George Medal, a gallantry award for civilians and armed forces personnel which recognises acts of bravery that took place outside of military combat.

He was honoured in the Queens Civilian Gallantry List which also commended pensioner Bernard Kenny  the have-a-go hero who was stabbed in the stomach trying to fight off the neo-Nazi who murdered MP Jo Cox a year ago yesterday.

And a former Royal Marine received the highest civilian honour  the George Cross  for rescuing 200 people from a Kenyan shopping centre targeted by terrorists four years ago.

Paying tribute to 48-year-old PC Palmer, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: He confronted a vicious terrorist in order to save the lives of others, and in doing so made the ultimate sacrifice. It is absolutely fitting to honour such heroism with a George Medal.

Our emergency services are the very best of us. Its the abilities and knowledge of those right from the frontline to leaders of services which I am very pleased has been recognised today. They keep us safe, they protect us and they are there when we most need it.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said: Keith acted that day with no thought for his own safety, intent simply on doing his job and protecting members of the public and Parliament.

He paid the ultimate price for his selfless actions. We continue to grieve the loss of a much-loved and respected colleague and friend while supporting his family through this truly difficult time.

Describing the immense pride at PC Palmers bravery medal, she added: It is an honour that could not be more deserved and I know it will mean a great deal to all those who knew and loved him.

PC Palmer, who had served with the Met for 16 years, confronted 52-year-old terrorist Masood on March 22 while on duty at the Palace of Westminster.

PC Palmer confronted 52-year-old terrorist Masood on March 22 while on duty at the Palace of Westminster. The emergency services are pictured trying to save his life

Seconds earlier, the fanatic had murdered four innocent people by mowing them down with a hired Hyundai 4x4 on Westminster Bridge.

Determined to protect the public, PC Palmer tackled the attacker despite the danger he faced from two large blades. Tragically, the policeman was fatally wounded  moments before the killer was shot dead by armed officers.

His gallantry list citation stated: PC Palmers bravery and professionalism unquestionably saved lives. PC Palmer did his duty. He stood his ground and placed himself between Parliament and a terrorist determined to harm those within. In doing so he made the ultimate sacrifice.

Senior officers had feared PC Palmer could be snubbed by the honours committee. In 2006, the Daily Mail revealed Special Branch detective Stephen Oake, killed by an Al Qaeda terrorist three years earlier, had been overlooked for a George Cross. Three years later, he was awarded the Queens Gallantry Medal.

Retired mine worker Bernard Kenny (pictured), 78, was also awarded a George Medal for trying to save MP Jo Cox

Retired mine worker Mr Kenny, 78, was also awarded a George Medal, the second highest honour which can be given to a civilian in Britain.

He was waiting for his wife when he saw a far-right extremist Thomas Mair launch a knife and shotgun attack on Labour MP Mrs Cox outside her constituency surgery Birstall, West Yorkshire.

He rushed to the scene and tackled the assailant but was stabbed and forced to retreat to a cafe. A first aider at the cafe said Mr Kenny whispered I was trying to help her as he lay bleeding, his liver pierced by the knife.

Extremist loner Mair was later convicted of the brutal murder and jailed for life.

Two West Yorkshire Police officers, PC Craig Nicholls and PC Jonathan Wright, who arrested Mair are awarded the Queens Gallantry Medal.

Dominic Troulan, an ex-Royal Marine who also served in the Special Forces, became the first civilian to be honoured with a George Cross in 41 years.

The 54-year-old retired Major saved hundreds of lives by carrying hostages, including a baby, out of the besieged Westgate Shopping Mall when it was overrun by terrorists in Kenya in September 2013.

Describing it as one of the hardest six hours of my life, the former soldier is thought to have saved in the region of 200 people during 12 trips in and out of the centre to search for survivors after it was attacked by the Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab extremists. A total of 67 people were killed in the outrage.

Father-of-two Mr Troulan, who lived in Co Antrim in Northern Ireland before moving to Kenya as a security consultant, said receiving the award was a bitter-sweet experience.

He said: I am in a bit of shock really, I am overawed and Im not normally like that. I am normally quite balanced and quite proactive. But its a huge honour. To be honest with you I still remember the day and all the kids and all the people that were killed and the victims and whilst its a great honour, its just difficult really.

Also honoured are two men who helped the wounded during the 2015 terror attack in Sousse, Tunisia.

Allen Pembroke and Paul Short both receive the Queens Commendation for Bravery for their actions after an Islamic State-inspired gunman opened fire at a holiday resort, killing 38 people in June 2015.
Theresa May has been slammed by viewers for showing a 'lack of empathy' during a gruelling interview in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The Prime Minister appeared uncomfortable as she received a grilling from the BBC's Emily Maitlis on Newsnight over her actions following the devastating blaze.

The 'embarrassing interview' came at the end of a disastrous day for Mrs May.

She has been heavily criticised for failing to meet with victims when she first visited the site of the fire on Thursday.

Theresa May has been criticised for showing a 'lack of empathy' following the Grenfell Tower tragedy

So far 30 people have been confirmed dead with reports of up to 70 more missing after the blaze ripped through the west London building.

Mrs May eventually met victims on Friday but had to be bundled into a jeep to escape an angry crowd who branded her a 'coward' and called for her resignation.

Maitlis told the Prime Minister last night: 'You misread the public mood on this one. You misread the anger that people feel about this.

'They shouted coward at you this afternoon.'

Seemingly skipping over the comment, Mrs May replied: 'What I have done since this incident took place is, first of all yesterday, ensure that public services had the support that they needed in order to be able to do the job they were doing in the immediate aftermath.'

Maitlis said: 'That's three days on, Prime Minister, this is Friday evening. They needed those things in place on Wednesday.'

Mrs May has been heavily criticised for failing to meet with victims of the tragedy when she first visited the site of the fire in west London on Thursday

But Mrs May still refused to give a straight answer. She said: 'What I have done today is ensured that we are, as a government, putting that funding in place for people in the area.'

After watching Theresa May's interview on Newsnight, local residents in White City reacted with fury.

One woman, who gave her name as Miss Jeffries, 51, said: 'She just wants to make sure the fire service have what they need but not what the community have what they need. She just doesn't answer the questions.

'There was quite a lot of tension last night at the protests, an energy within the community - it's the first time they feel they can say something. It's the first time they feel like anybody's listening.

'This fire is the sort of thing you expect in Bangladesh, not in London.'

Many viewers also took to social media to vent their rage over the Prime Minister's performance during the interview.

One Twiter user Matt Ots wrote: 'Theresa May made an appearance on Newsnight tonight.

Maitlis accused the Prime Minister of misreading the public mood in the wake of the fire

Frankly, I was appalled at her lack of empathy and complete avoidance of the issues.'

Another, Tye Adams wrote: 'Theresa May on Newsnight tonight was just embarrassing. Very evasive and lacking in empathy. Why can't she just answer a question?!!'

While Dave Branwood said: 'Theresa May awful again on Newsnight. If she was in the Wizard of Oz she would be 'The Tin Woman' without a heart, never mind The Iron Lady.'

One outraged viewer wrote: 'How can someone be so inhuman and uncaring? Theresa May is a write off now more than ever.'

Criticism of the Prime Minister's 'lack of heart' comes after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was pictured hugging and talking with victims.

Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke said he hoped the Government can 'build trust' with the victims of the fire by getting to the bottom of what happened.

He told the BBC: 'I hope if there is an issue on trust that by the work that we undertake that we demonstrate both a determination to help the victims, but also demonstrate our determination to get to the bottom of what really happened and to respond to the truth, and that's how I hope we can build trust with the people of Grenfell Tower.'

Theresa May was booed and jeered tonight by an angry crowd after she met survivors of the Grenfell inferno after 24 hours of fury at her sluggish response to the crisis

Mrs May's most senior minister, First Secretary of State Damian Green, defended the way she had handled the tragedy.

Mr Green said suggestions the Prime Minister does not seem to have what it takes to respond to such a disaster were 'terribly unfair'.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'She's distraught by what happened as we all are.'

'Absolutely she has the same degree of sympathy and horror at these events that we all have,' he added.

He said the Government expected to appoint a chairman to lead the public inquiry 'in days rather than weeks'.

'We want it to be able to have interim reports as well,' he added. 'So this is not going to be one of those exercises of using a public inquiry to delay a response. Actually, we want the response to be as fast as possible.'

Mr Green said the probe will look at whether sprinklers should be retrofitted to tower blocks and the Government will 'follow the recommendations of the public inquiry'.

Mrs May marched into the fury as she left a meeting that included victims of the disaster, community leaders and neighbouring residents

Anger outside the church boiled over as Theresa May left but the PM was exposed to the public's rage for only a matter of seconds before she was bundled into her car

The police bundled the ailing PM out of the church's side entrance following her private meeting with people inside

The Queen and Prince William have also met with survivors of the blaze.

During her visit to north Kensington on Friday the Prime Minister was barricaded inside St Clement's Church where she was holding a private meeting for around half an hour.

Tensions began to boil over among a crowd outside the building as news spread that she was inside.

When Mrs May eventually left the church she was met by a barrage of abuse from the public.

Officers swiftly escorted her into her government Land Rover which was surrounded, hit and pursued as she was driven away.

Queen Elizabeth II meets members of the community affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comforts a local resident in St Clement's Church on Thursday

An angry protester shouted: 'What is she doing here? She's going back to her nice cosy home.

'Why has she come only on Friday? Get the f*** out.'

Other people screamed 'murderer', 'shame on you' and 'coward' at the Prime Minister as she abandoned the meeting to return to the security of Downing Street.

In an effort to ease the criticism, Mrs May has announced a 5million support package of the victims of the blaze, which will include legal aid for victims in the public inquiry.
A woman has made a nasty discovery after claiming to have found faeces lying inside a cauliflower she bought at a Coles supermarket.

Kimmy Pettit posted a picture of the brown surprise to Coles' Facebook page on Friday night.

Ms Pettit told Daily Mail Australia she initially thought it was a lump of dirt before she inspected further.

A woman has made a nasty discovery after claiming to have found faeces lying inside a cauliflower she bought at a Coles supermarket

Kimmy Pettit posted a picture of the brown surprise to Coles' Facebook page on Friday night, saying she found the discovery amusing

'I am quite certain it was poop,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'When I first saw it, I just assumed it was a lump of dirt but as I pulled the leaf out a little more, it smelt and looked more like poo.

'It was way too big to be a rabbit's and I can't think of what other animal it could've been. I definitely thought about it being a human's.'

Ms Pettit said she went to cut the cauliflower when she made the shocking discovery, which she found amusing.

'Thanks for the laugh tonight, Coles! Went to chop up some cauliflower only to see this,' she wrote.

'The poor lady who I spoke to didn't seem to believe me, now to return it!'

Ms Pettit said she purchased the cauliflower from a Coles supermarket in Ipswich, southwest of Brisbane on Thursday (stock image)

In the picture posted to Facebook, a brown sludgy substance can be seen lying in between the cauliflower leaves.

Ms Pettit said she purchased the cauliflower from a Coles supermarket in Ipswich, southwest of Brisbane on Thursday.

Coles apologised to her for the 'unpleasant surprise' and asked for further details about the product.

Ms Pettit said there were 'no hard feelings' and that she hadn't laughed 'so hard in a long time'.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Coles but they have declined to comment.
Advertisement

The parents of Conrad Roy, the teen who killed himself in 2014 after being encouraged to by his then girlfriend Michelle Carter, 20, are speaking out for the first time since her involuntary manslaughter conviction.

'I don't believe she has a conscience,' Lynn Roy says on an episode of CBS' 48 Hours airing Friday night. 'I think she needs to be held responsible for her actions 'cause she knew exactly what she was doing and what she said.'

'It was a shock. It was an absolute shock,' Lynn told correspondent Erin Moriarty. 'Losing a child, I will live with this forever - the pain.'

Scroll down for video

Michelle Carter, 20, broke down as Judge Lawrence Moniz explained his reasoning Friday in Bristol Juvenile Court in Massachusetts

Roy Conrad (left) was 18 he was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his pickup truck. Lynn Conrad (right) Roy's mother, speaking out Friday night on CBS' 48 Hours about her son being encouraged to commit suicide by his then girlfriend Michelle Carter

Roy's parents, Lynn (left) and Conrad II (right) were pictured leaving the court on Friday after Michelle Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter

Conrad Roy's mother Lynn (dressed in white) teared up as she listened to the judge's verdict Friday

Roy's father, Conrad Roy Jr., gave a brief statement following the verdict to thank police and prosecutors. He said his family wanted time to process the guilty verdict

Roy's father, Conrad Roy Jr, gave a brief statement after Friday's conviction of Carter: 'This has been a very tough time for our family and we'd like to process this verdict that we're happy with.'

The younger Roy, who had struggled with anxiety and depression and attempted suicide before, was found dead in his pickup truck on July 13, 2014. He poisoned himself with carbon monoxide.

Carter, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Friday, sent Roy a barrage of text messages encouraging him to kill himself.

The 20-year-old broke down as the Massachusetts judge ruled on Friday in Bristol Juvenile Court that she caused the death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III.

She now faces up to 20 years in prison.

Carter was 17 when she sent Roy dozens of messages urging him to take his own life. Roy was found dead after filling his truck with carbon monoxide in a parking lot in Fairhaven, Massachusetts on July 12, 2014.

Judge Lawrence Moniz called Carter's actions 'reckless' as he read out the reasoning behind his verdict on Friday.

He described how Roy had climbed out of the truck as it was filling with toxic gas and told Carter he was scared, but she urged him to get back in.

'She did not issue a simple additional instruction: Get out of the truck,' the judge said.

He said Carter had a duty to call someone for help when she knew Roy was attempting suicide. Yet she did not call the police or Roy's family.

Carter, 20, broke down as Judge Lawrence Moniz explained his reasoning Friday in Bristol Juvenile Court in Massachusetts

Michelle Carter, 20, was found guilty on Friday of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 death of Conrad Roy III after she sent him a barrage of texts encouraging him to kill himself

Michelle Carter's parents, Gail and David, listen to Judge Lawrence Moniz before he announces his verdict on Friday

It was apparent from evidence that Roy was struggling with his issues and trying to find a way to deal with them, the judge said.

'His research was extensive. He spoke of it continually. He secured the generator, he secured the water pump. He located his vehicle in an unnoticeable area. He commenced his attempt by starting the pump,' the judge said.

'When Ms Carter realizes Mr Roy had exited the truck, she instructs him to get back in the truck, which she has reason to know is becoming a toxic environment.'

The judge said Carter's instructions constituted 'wanton and reckless conduct'.

Sobs broke out in the courtroom when the judge announced the guilty verdict. The judge ruled that Carter can remain free on bail until her sentencing on August 3.

The judge described Carter's actions as reckless and noted that she admitted in text messages to taking no action, even though she knew the location of the truck Roy killed himself in

A tearful Carter was hugged by her attorney Joseph Cataldo as they listened to the judge before he found her guilty of manslaughter

Carter has been prevented from texting and using Facebook or Snapchat ahead of her sentencing. She was also ordered not to have any contact with Roy's family.

The sensational trial raised questions of whether words can kill and offered a window into teen depression and suicide through text messages and Facebook communications.

Prosecutors had argued during the high-profile trial that a then teenage Carter pressured Roy to take his own life through a torrent of text messages.

'I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it. You can't keep living this way,' Carter wrote in one message.

'Everyone will be sad for a while, but they will get over it and move on. They won't be in depression I won't let that happen.'

During the trial, prosecutors said she told Roy to 'get back in' his truck when he became frightened while trying to kill himself with carbon monoxide.

Carter, pictured arriving in court on Friday, broke down as Judge Lawrence Moniz explained his reasoning Friday in Bristol Juvenile Court in Massachusetts

Carter was checked through security when she entered the courthouse on Friday morning

Carter's lawyer argued that Roy had attempted suicide previously and made his own decision to take his life. He also said that she initially tried to talk him out of it.

The judge disagreed on Friday, saying he did not take into account in his verdict Roy's previous attempts at suicide.

An involuntary manslaughter charge can be brought in Massachusetts when someone causes the death of another person when engaging in reckless or wanton conduct that creates a high degree of likelihood of substantial harm.

Roy's handwritten suicide note was shown in court on Tuesday as prosecutors delivered their closing arguments. In the note addressed to Carter, Roy had thanked her for her 'effort and kindness'.

Prosecutors had argued during the high-profile trial that a then-17-year-old Carter pressured Roy, 18, (above) to take his own life through a torrent of text messages

'I love you and greatly appreciate ur effort and kindness towards me,' Roy wrote in a handwritten note in a spiral notebook. 'I'll forever be in your heart and we will meet up someday in Heaven.'

The court also released Roy's suicide note to his father, in which he expressed his love and his feelings of inadequacy.

'I'm sorry I wasn't the boy you wanted. I can't take the pain,' Roy wrote. 'I did this to finally be happy.'

On Monday, psychiatrist Dr Peter Breggin testified for the defense saying that Carter was a 'very troubled youngster' who suffered from depression.

At the time of Roy's death, Carter was taking Celexa, an antidepressant Breggin said targets the brain's frontal lobe, which controls empathy and decision-making.

Text messages, displayed in court, revealed Carter had pushed her boyfriend to kill himself, telling him 'it's time to do it today'

Roy's suicide note addressed to Carter was introduced into evidence. Roy had thanked her for her 'effort and kindness'

A photograph of the truck in which Conrad Roy III killed himself is projected during testimony in the trial

Breggin said Roy talked about how he wanted to kill himself with a younger and emotionally troubled Carter. He said Carter eventually endorsed Roy's wishes.

The psychiatrist said he reviewed all the text messages and Facebook conversations between Carter and Roy. He said that beginning in 2012, Roy told Carter he wanted to kill himself and said there was nothing she could do to stop him.

'He goes on and on for hours and hours, and pages and pages,' Breggin said of Roy's communications with Carter about killing himself at a time when Breggin says Carter is 'a little girl' overwhelmed by her boyfriend's unceasing focus on suicide.

'IT'S NOW OR NEVER': MICHELLE CARTER'S TEXT MESSAGES TO CONRAD ROY Here are a series of texts between Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy that were shown to the court. They appear here chronologically: June 19, 2014: Carter: 'But the mental hospital would help you. I know you don't think it would but I'm telling you, if you give them a chance, they can save your life' Carter: 'Part of me wants you to try something and fail just so you can go get help' Roy: 'It doesn't help. Trust me' Carter: 'So what are you gonna do then? Keep being all talk and no action and everyday go thru saying how badly you wanna kill yourself? Or are you gonna try to get better?' Roy: 'I can't get better I already made my decision.' June 23, 2014: Carter: 'How do you want to harm yourself' Roy: 'Something idkk yet' Carter: 'Please don't' Roy: 'I hate myself I'll always hate myself, I'm never gonna view myself as good I'm so far behind' Carter: 'What is harming yourself gonna do!? Nothing! It will make it worse!' Roy: 'Make the pain go away like you said' Carter: 'It will make the pain go away temporarily, but when you're done, you'll just regret it and feel even worse!' July 7, 2014: Roy: 'If you were in my position. honestly what would you do' Carter: 'I would get help. That's just me tho. When I have a serious problem like that my first instinct is to get help because I know I can't do it on my own' Later that day, they talk about how he could make carbon monoxide (CO) in order to suffocate to death Carter: 'Well there's more ways to make CO. Google ways to make it. . . ' Roy: 'Omg' Carter: 'What' Roy: 'portable generator that's it' July 8, 2014: Carter: 'So are you sure you don't wanna [kill yourself] tonight?' Roy: 'What do you mean am I sure?' Carter: 'Like, are you definitely not doing it tonight?' Roy: 'Idk yet I'll let you know' Carter: 'Because I'll stay up with you if you wanna do it tonight' Roy: 'Another day wouldn't hurt' Carter: 'You can't keep pushing it off, tho, that's all you keep doing' July 11, 2014: After Roy suggests putting a generator in the truck to make CO rather than a water pump: Carter: '...Well in my opinion, I think u should do the generator because I don't know much about the pump and with a generator u can't fail' July 4-12, 2014: The following was sent over a nine-day span. The *** symbols show a gap in communications between the two. Carter: 'You're gonna have to prove me wrong because I just don't think you really want this. You just keeps pushing it off to another night and say you'll do it but you never do' *** Carter: 'SEE THAT'S WHAT I MEAN. YOU KEEP PUSHING IT OFF! You just said you were gonna do it tonight and now you're saying eventually...' *** Carter: 'But I bet you're gonna be like 'oh, it didn't work because I didn't tape the tube right or something like that' . . . I bet you're gonna say an excuse like that' *** Carter: 'Do you have the generator?' Roy: 'not yet lol' Carter: 'WELL WHEN ARE YOU GETTING IT' *** Carter: 'You better not be bulls***ing me and saying you're gonna do this and then purposely get caught' July 11-12, 2014: Again, *** shows a gap in communications Roy: 'I'm just to sensitive. I want my family to know there was nothing they could do. I am entrapped in my own thoughts' Roy: 'like no I would be happy if they had no guilt about it. because I have a bad feeling tht this is going to create a lot of depression between my parents/sisters' Roy: 'i'm overthinking everything. . f**k. I gotta stop and just do it' Carter: 'I think your parents know you're in a really bad place. Im not saying they want you to do it, but I honestly feel like they can accept it. They know there's nothing they can do, they've tried helping, everyone's tried. But there's a point that comes where there isn't anything anyone can do to save you, not even yourself, and you've hit that point and I think your parents know you've hit that point. You said you're mom saw a suicide thing on your computer and she didn't say anything. I think she knows it's on your mind and she's prepared for it' Carter: 'Everyone will be sad for a while, but they will get over it and move on. They won't be in depression I won't let that happen. They know how sad you are and they know that you're doing this to be happy, and I think they will understand and accept it. They'll always carry u in their hearts' *** Roy: 'i don't want anyone hurt in the process though' Roy: 'I meant when they open the door, all the carbon monoxide is gonna come out they can't see it or smell it. whoever opens the door' Carter: 'They will see the generator and know that you died of CO. . . .' *** Roy: 'hey can you do me a favor' Carter: 'Yes of course' Roy: 'just be there for my family :)' Carter: 'Conrad, of course I will be there for your family. I will help them as much as I can to get thru this, ill tell them about how amazing their son/brother truly was' *** Roy: 'Idk I'm freaking out again' Roy: I'm overthinking' Carter: 'I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it! You can't keep living this way. You just need to do it like you did last time and not think about it and just do it babe. You can't keep doing this every day' Roy: 'I do want to. but like I'm freaking for my family. I guess' Roy: 'idkkk' Carter: 'Conrad. I told you I'll take care of them. Everyone will take care of them to make sure they won't be alone and people will help them get thru it. We talked about this, they will be okay and accept it. People who commit suicide don't think this much and they just do it' July 12, 2014: In these exchanges on the day before his body was found, Roy expresses more hesitation about his plan. Carter: 'So I guess you aren't gonna do it then, all that for nothing' Carter: 'I'm just confused like you were so ready and determined' Roy: 'I am gonna eventually' Roy: 'I really don't know what I'm waiting for. . but I have everything lined up' Carter: 'No, you're not, Conrad. Last night was it. You keep pushing it off and you say you'll do it but u never do. Its always gonna be that way if u don't take action' Carter: 'You're just making it harder on yourself by pushing it off, you just have to do it' Carter: 'Do u wanna do it now?' Roy: 'Is it too late?' Roy: 'Idkk it's already light outside' Roy: I'm gonna go back to sleep, love you I'll text you tomorrow' Carter: 'No? Its probably the best time now because everyone's sleeping. Just go somewhere in your truck. And no one's really out right now because it's an awkward time' Carter: 'If u don't do it now you're never gonna do it' Carter: 'And u can say you'll do it tomorrow but you probably won't' *** Carter: 'You just need to do it Conrad or I'm gonna get you help' Carter: 'You can't keep doing this everyday' Roy: 'Okay I'm gonna do it today' Carter: 'Do you promise' Roy: 'I promise babe' Roy: 'I have to now' Carter: 'Like right now?' Roy: 'where do I go? :(' Carter: 'And u can't break a promise. And just go in a quiet parking lot or something.' Advertisement

In several messages in 2012 that were shown to the court, Roy told Carter that Satan wanted him in hell on a certain date and it was his time to go.

But the tone of the texts between the pair shifted in 2014. Prosecutors focused on a series of text messages Carter sent Roy in the days before he killed himself.

'So I guess you aren't gonna do it then, all that for nothing. I'm just confused like you were so ready and determined,' Carter wrote to Roy the day of his suicide.

'You can't think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don't get why you aren't.'

She also instructed him in various texts to 'go somewhere in your truck' and 'go in a quiet parking lot.'

Carter and Roy met in Florida in 2012 while visiting relatives. Their relationship largely consisted of text messages and emails.
A mother of five has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer just days after giving birth to her fifth child.

Felicity Plew, 32, who lives with her children and husband Simon in Nhulunbuy, in the Northern Territory, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, reported the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Ms Plew, a nurse and midwife, was reportedly waiting at home for the birth of her fifth child Jesse when she realised something was wrong.

Mother of five Felicity Plew (left with husband Simon and right with baby Jesse) has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer just days after giving birth to her fifth child

Ms Plew, a nurse and midwife, was waiting at home for the birth of her fifth child (pictured) when she began getting severe headaches, confusing her words while speaking and struggled with gestational diabetes

She began getting severe headaches, struggled with gestational diabetes and began confusing her words when speaking.

Doctors discovered a 5.5cm tumour in Ms Plew's brain in Darwin and she was flown to Adelaide for the birth of her baby and to prepare for neurosurgery.

Her son Jesse was born on May 24 and is currently in a special care nursery, where it's believed he will stay for the next few weeks.

Ms Plew had neurosurgery on June 7, where doctors were able to remove 80 per cent of the tumour, with MRI scans showing it had grown to 7cm.

Doctors discovered a 5.5cm tumour in Ms Plew's brain in Darwin and she was flown to Adelaide for the birth of her baby (pictured) and to prepare for neurosurgery

Her son Jesse (pictured) was born on May 24 and is currently in a special care nursery, where it's believed he will stay for the next few weeks

The remaining 20 per cent of the tumour cannot be removed with affecting Ms Plew's quality of life.

Biopsy results on June 14 showed Ms Plew has Stage 4 brain cancer and she will begin treatment with radiation and chemotherapy in the next few weeks.

Friends of the family have set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money for the family's medical costs.

Ms Plew had neurosurgery on June 7, where doctors were able to remove 80 per cent of the tumour, with MRI scans showing it had grown to 7cm. She is pictured recovering after surgery

Ms Plew's other four children, Alexander, eight, Gracie, six, Sophia four, Charlie two are staying in a caravan park in Adelaide with their father.

Mr Plew has had to take extended leave from work, plus cover the costs of day to day necessities, bills, paying a mortgage in South Australia, rent in the Northern Territory, hiring a cabin in Adelaide and the cost of cancer treatment.

So far, the page has raised more than $46,000 which will be used to pay for the family's expenses and medical costs.

Biopsy results on June 14 showed Ms Plew has Stage 4 brain cancer and she will begin treatment with radiation and chemotherapy in the next few weeks
Plastic straws are being phased out by a leading food and drink chain in a new attack on waste and pollution.

Just as supermarkets have replaced plastic cotton bud sticks with paper, and microbeads are to be banned from beauty products, so plastic straws are now being targeted.

The plan has been announced by All Bar One, part of the Mitchells & Butlers group. The company, which said a plastic straw can take up to 500 years to rot if sent to landfill, will stop offering them with many drinks.

Plastic straws are being phased out by leading food and drink chain All Bar One in a new attack on waste and pollution

Currently the 56 All Bar One outlets serve straws in one in four drinks and the group uses 4.7million a year.

A spokesman for the chain said: We know how incredibly harmful plastic straws are to animals and the environment, so weve decided to do something about it. The company is urging other chains and pubs to drop plastic straws under a campaign using the hashtag #strawsuck.

It is possible the whole Mitchells & Butler group, which has hundreds of outlets, including Harvester, Sizzling Pubs, Vintage Inns, Harvester, Ember Inns, Toby Carvery, Nicholsons, ONeills, Browns and Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery, could follow suit.

Plant-based straws will be supplied by Edinburgh-based firm Vegware. It has developed a range of compostable green cups and packaging to replace plastic.

Attempts to reduce the use of plastic straws are part of a much wider backlash against so-called plastic poison that blights the landscape as litter pollutes rivers and seas and harms wildlife.

ALERT OVER CHEMICALS IN BOTTLES A health warning has been sounded on a chemical used in plastic food containers. The European Chemicals Agency named Bisphenol A, also known as BPA, as a substance of very high concern because of its endocrine- disrupting properties which cause probable serious effects to human health. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can interfere with peoples hormone systems. BPA is used to make plastics including those that come into contact with food, such as refillable drinks bottles and storage containers. The European Food Safety Authority said in January 2015 there was no risk to health at current BPA exposure levels. But Alice Bernard, a lawyer for the green lobby group ClientEarth, said: Now BPA is finally recognised as an endocrine disruptor, the EU and national governments must act fast to limit the irreversible damage this chemical does to people and the environment. Advertisement

Many supermarkets and manufacturers have replaced the plastic rods used in cotton buds with rolled paper. The last Government pledged to introduce a legal ban on the use of plastic microbeads in body scrubs and personal care products.

It also promised a review of the idea of introducing a deposit and refund scheme on plastic bottles, as exists in countries such as Germany and Scandinavia, as well as parts of the US and Australia.

The idea of trials has even been supported by Coca-Cola.

Last month, Keep Britain Tidy called on high street businesses to offer free tap water to stop the growing blight of plastic bottles.

Millions are buying small bottles of water when they would rather carry a reusable one and get free tap water refills, according to the green charitys research.

It said a move to make tap water more freely available would help cut down on the number of plastic bottles that are bought, dumped in landfill and burned.

A deposit scheme aimed at curbing the toxic blight of plastic bottles on the environment is being considered by ministers, following an appeal by the Daily Mail. This newspaper also campaigned successfully for the introduction of the 5p charge for plastic bags and a curb in the use of toxic plastic microbeads.
This week has been tricky for Daphne Harris, the 72-year-old grandmother who is nominally in charge of Britains wealthiest animal charity, the RSPCA.

On Monday, her troubled 140 million organisation admitted that it had parted company with its chief executive Jeremy Cooper, in mysterious circumstances, just 14 months after he took the job.

Mr Cooper left days before what promises to be a fractious annual general meeting, and became the third CEO to go in just five years.

An RSPCA inspector in 1958 introducing abandoned birds to children. The charity was a trusted byword for animal welfare for decades

His departure was not a happy one. Indeed, as we shall see, it is being linked to friction with a clique of animal rights extremists on the RSPCAs governing council, which Mrs Harris chairs.

Two days after Mr Cooper left, a second scandal came along. This one struck much closer to home for Mrs Harris. According to the front page of a popular newspaper, the RSPCA has paid almost 1 million in recent years on the purchase, conversion and running of a small cattery.

Its located at a rambling semi-detached property two doors down from the cottage where Mrs Harris lives in rural Kent.

The full-time occupant of this desirable residence is one Katie Toms. Not only does she live there, rent-free, with a husband and child, she also happens to be Mrs Harriss daughter.

In addition, Ms Toms benefits from the use of a 40,000 4x4 vehicle, along with an 18,000 salary courtesy of the RSPCA for running the cattery, which is open just 18 hours per week.

Daphne Harris, chair of the RSPCA's council and in charge of Britain's largest animal charity

Around 950,000, including the 2011 purchase cost of 465,000, has already been spent on the facility. The RSPCA says it has re-homed around 1,300 cats and contributed towards vet bills for 1,600 more, and the house has gone up in value. Still, this equates to a cost of over 325 per animal helped.

Its an eye-watering sum. And while Mrs Harris insists that she was not involved in her daughters appointment, some think it an unconventional use of charity funds.

The Charity Commission certainly seems uneasy about the whole thing. It is urgently addressing concerns about the cattery in order to determine whether it needs to be formally investigated.

If that werent awkward enough, Wednesday saw another dramatic announcement from the watchdog. In a virtually unprecedented move, the Commission said that the RSPCA is to be placed under formal observation as a result of Jeremy Coopers departure, because its governance has fallen below what we expect in a modern charity.

The move, it said, was taken to address concerns over dwindling public confidence in the high-profile organisation and its management. It follows a string of scandals that have tarnished the reputation of the 193-year-old charity, which was founded by the anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce, and counts Her Majesty the Queen as its patron.

The RSPCA was once a cherished institution that symbolised our status as a nation of animal lovers. It was historically known for laudable, if somewhat unglamorous, animal welfare work.

The RSPCA has been placed under formal observation after Jeremy Cooper's departure, who was the third CEO of the animal charity to go in just five years

Today, however, it seems just as likely to make headlines for political tub-thumping, aggressive litigation, and unsavoury fundraising scandals as it is for its commendable day job of looking after mistreated pets, stray dogs and sickly hedgehogs. Recently accused by a committee of MPs of hounding pet owners and targeting vulnerable, ill, or elderly people, it has become the UKs largest private prosecutor, spending around 8 million every year dragging people to court  often with disastrous results.

Among the many high-profile victims of this policy was the Byrnes family of Tring, Hertfordshire. Their elderly cat Claude was seized and put down against their wishes in 2013, in what an official report later dubbed a travesty.

The family, which was then threatened with prosecution, finally got a grovelling apology last year for the RSPCAs disproportionate and insensitive conduct.

The charity had repeatedly lied about Claudes death in what the familys lawyer called a disgraceful attempt to besmirch the Byrneses reputation in the Press in order to salvage its own.

Then there was a costly hoo-ha involving the Heythrop Hunt (which then prime minister David Cameron had ridden with), during which the RSPCA spent what a magistrate called a staggering 326,000 prosecuting the Hunt for chasing foxes.

The RSPCA has been accused of targeting vulnerable and elderly people, and has spent 8million every year dragging people to court

At the end of what many regarded as a politically motivated show trial, the Hunt was found guilty, but fined a mere 6,800. To the growing disquiet of the public, MPs and the Charity Commission, some prosecutions have carried a human (as well as financial) cost, with a string of vulnerable men and women committing suicide while facing investigation by the RSPCA.

The charity has also threatened farmers who allow the Government to cull badgers on their land  to prevent the spread of deadly bovine tuberculosis  with being named and shamed for selling milk soaked in badger blood.

Finally, Daphne Harris was dragged before MPs last year to explain why the RSPCA had used exploitative and unethical fundraising methods to finance its initiatives. It had been caught buying and selling the personal data of its supporters, including a dementia sufferer.

In a staggering admission of incompetence for the Chair of an organisation which employs around 1,600 people, Harris said she did not know that this had happened.

All of which brings us back to this weeks headline news: the sudden and mysterious departure of the RSPCAs 150,000-a-year chief executive, Jeremy Cooper.

Formerly the head of the charitys Freedom Food label, which certifies ethically farmed meat products, he arrived in the top job last year, promising to repair the RSPCAs tattered reputation and reverse dramatic declines in membership. (Today, it has fewer than 20,000 members, down from 30,000 in the Nineties. The RSPB, in contrast, boasts more than 1 million.)

Shortly after taking office, Cooper admitted that the RSPCA had become too partisan and adversarial, telling an interviewer that fox-hunting prosecutions would be very unlikely under his stewardship because we are going to be a lot less political.

This pragmatic approach delighted the Charity Commission, whose chairman William Shawcross has criticised the RSPCAs zeal for prosecutions. However, it caused instant outrage on the RSPCAs 25-member ruling council, which Mrs Harris chairs.

Cooper has admitted that the RSPCA has become too partisan - a far cry from its earlier pragmatic years

Dominated, as we shall see, by a cabal of militant animal rights campaigners, the powerful body promptly slapped him down, insisting that the RSPCAs prosecution policy would be unchanged.

Over the ensuing months, the council frustrated several efforts by Mr Cooper to reform the charitys management and policies. They also made it tricky for him to select preferred candidates to fill vacant senior executive roles.

The council is dysfunctional, an acquaintance of Mr Cooper says. Its been infiltrated by people who hold frankly extreme views: stuff like banning horse racing, shutting down pet shops, and making Halal slaughter illegal.

Jeremy refused to be their puppet and do everything they wanted. Instead, he showed independence, for example instructing field officers to focus on prevention rather than prosecution, and educate vulnerable people who mistreat animals, rather than drag them to court. They hated it.

Matters apparently came to a head on Tuesday, May 30, when Cooper left in circumstances that remain highly opaque.

A senior RPSCA source tells me he arrived at a scheduled appraisal meeting that day to see Mrs Harris and three senior council officers, along with someone unexpected: an external employment lawyer.

They told him it was time to go, says the source. He was offered a large financial settlement in return for agreeing not to go to an employment tribunal, and not to speak publicly about why hed gone.

An acquaintance has accused the RSPCA's council of being 'dysfunctional'

The source insists that Cooper was paid a high five- or low six-figure sum, and added: You can judge for yourself whether thats a sensible use of money people donate to the RSPCA.

This version of events dovetails, in part, with one reported by the website Third Sector, which covers charity issues.

Third Sector claims that Cooper was unceremoniously asked to leave  in other words, sacked.

However, the RSPCA insists thats inaccurate. It claims that Cooper left voluntarily and amicably to become a freelance business consultant. However, it refuses to explain why  if this is the case  he wasnt required to work his notice period.

Whats more, the charity wont confirm whether any of its funds were spent giving him a pay-off, or whether he signed a so-called gagging agreement. Whatever occurred, the shambles highlights the dysfunctional nature of the charitys ruling council, and the hardline views of its members. They include, for example, Peta Watson-Smith, a vegan extremist who, in a 2014 interview that outraged the Jewish community, described farming as a holocaust going on behind closed doors.

Also on the council is Margaret Baker, who recently circulated a petition to ban Halal slaughter (the method by which Muslims kill animals by slitting their throats), writing on her Facebook page: The world has moved on. Its no longer necessary to inflict suffering in order to get food.

Baker has called for animal abuse to be as punishable as child abuse, and for police dogs to be given similar legal status to officers.

Then there is Paul Baxter, a driving instructor from Newport, South Wales, whose social media carries a Ricky Gervais quote on country sports: I dont understand why loads of inbreds get the f*****g horn when they see a fox cowering in fear.

Another Corbyn supporter in the ranks is Robert Baylis, who has campaigned for The Sun newspaper to be outlawed in his native Norwich because he dislikes its coverage of immigration.

Baylis has variously lobbied against the Grand National horse race and called for bans on pet shops selling puppies, and on fur being worn at London Fashion Week. His social media accounts include photos of him being arrested at animal rights demonstrations in the Eighties.

Elsewhere, we have Jane Tredgett, a vegan who has circulated petitions to stop the Queen killing bears to make busby hats, and Christine Beaumont-Kerridge, a supporter of Vegan Outreach, which campaigns to move society away from eating animals and their products, and who has campaigned to ban foie gras, grouse shooting, and traps which use glue to catch mice and rats.

The RSPCA's dysfunctional council also highlights the hardline views of some of its members

Sitting alongside them are Joseph Piccione, who persuaded the RSPCA to withdraw from Crufts because of concerns over pedigree dog breeding; Richard Booker, an anti-hunting activist who calls people who follow the sport a bunch of thugs; Jose Parry, a veteran anti-vivisection campaigner; and Dan Lyons, an academic from Sheffield who wants pet owners to sit exams, and is chief executive of the Centre for Animals and Social Justice, a charity exploring ways to represent animals in Parliament.

If you think they sound like a rum lot, youre not alone. But, crucially, their domination of the RSPCA council turns out to have happened by design, rather than by accident, in a classic case of entryism, whereby extremists gain control of large organisations by getting seats on the small but powerful committees that control them. This particular infiltration began in 1970, back when the RSPCA devoted almost all of its huge financial resources to the business of looking after domestic pets and injured wild animals.

This focus upset militant members of the animal rights lobby, which was then in its infancy. They believed the charitys funds would be better spent supporting their campaigns on vivisection, hunting, the fur trade, and factory farming.

Several duly founded an organisation called the RSPCA Reform Group, and began seeking election to the council.

Because only a small proportion of the Societys members bother to vote in such ballots, they were soon able to gain seats on the body  and some have been there ever since.

Perhaps the best known is Richard Ryder, who has been described as the founding father of the animal rights movement and coined the term speciesism  which is effectively what he regards as discrimination against non-human animals.

Elected to the Council in 1972, he was also director of the Political Animal Lobby which donated 1 million to the Labour Party before the 1997 General Election to secure the ban on fox hunting.

At a time when the RSPCA has been instructed by the Charities Commission to reform, its coming AGM will see another five members elected, several of whom are likely to be allies of Ryder.

The hardliners domination of the council, so typical of the manner in which the Left has taken hold of Britains public bodies, doesnt just impact on RSPCA policies.

It also, as this weeks events show, seriously affects its ability to function properly and work with sensible senior executives such as Jeremy Cooper.

An RSPCA Chief Inspector in earlier days. It's hard to be surprised that the modern organisation has haddisasters with its toxic mix of politicisation and incompetence

Though modern charity trustees are encouraged to serve short terms of between three and five years, many of the RSPCAs have been there for decades, sometimes leaving then returning for three or four stints.

Though the largest moderncharities have small boards (the National Trust boasts just a dozen trustees) stuffed with politicians, captains of industry, public sector chiefs and other high-fliers, the RSPCAs vast council has almost no one with any experience running multi-million-pound organisations.

The Chair, Daphne Harris, for example, is a mother of three who has run a local RSPCA branch and rescue centre in her free time. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but hardly a qualification to lead the board of a complex charity with thousands of employees and hundreds of millions in assets.

With this toxic mixture of politicisation and incompetence at the top, its hardly surprising that the organisation should lurch from disaster to disaster.

The Charity Commission, for its part, now hopes that improvements will be made to the RSPCAs governance with necessary urgency to prevent it having to take over day-to-day running of the entire organisation.

But dont hold your breath: for as long as it continues to be run by a cabal of obsessive animal rights activists, Britains wealthiest animal charity will inevitably remain its most dysfunctional.
A firefighter who charged up to the 15th floor of Grenfell Tower said it was the first time he was ever 'scared' on a job.

Leon Whitley, 34, was one of the first on the scene after arriving at the West London site at 1.45am.

He courageously fought his way up the burning tower, despite fears that it could collapse at any time.

A firefighter who charged up to the 15th floor of Grenfell Tower said it was the first he was ever 'scared' on a job

Leon Whitley, 34, was one of the first on the scene after arriving at the West London site at 1.45am

'I usually walk into fires very cautious but not scared. That was the first time I was scared,' he told The Sun.

'The screams were horrifying because you knew everyone needed help but you couldn't see them.'

Comparing the catastrophe to 9/11 in America, he said it was the thought of his own son in danger that gave him the courage to save others.

Although the current death toll stands at 30, Mr Whitley has told media he fears the final number could rise above 100.

He (circled) courageously fought his way up the burning tower, despite fears that it could collapse at any time

'I usually walk into fires very cautious but not scared. That was the first time I was scared,' he said

Soon after the fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday, the upper floors of Grenfell Tower quickly became inaccessible.

Search and rescue teams reached the roof of the tower yesterday, after more than two days.

The Met Police added that the building remains in a hazardous state and it will take time for a full search to find those who have perished.

Large areas have not been checked and even now small fires are continuing to break out.

The bodies of 12 victims have been transported to a mortuary but an unknown number remain trapped in the tower.

Although the current death toll stands at 30, Mr Whitley has told media he fears the final number could rise above 100

The bodies of 12 victims have been transported to a mortuary but an unknown number remain trapped in the tower
Not one fire appliance in the UK would have been tall enough to reach the top of Grenfell Tower. Fire chiefs in London had to borrow a 42metre (138ft) aerial platform from neighbouring Surrey to help tackle the blaze

Not one fire appliance in the UK would have been tall enough to reach the top of Grenfell Tower, it emerged yesterday.

Fire chiefs in London had to borrow a 42metre (138ft) aerial platform from neighbouring Surrey to help tackle the blaze.

The 700,000 truck, the tallest in the country, was among 40 fire-fighting vehicles which attended the disaster.

Although bigger than every appliance in London, it was still unable to reach the top of the 70metre (230ft) tower block.

And it is tiny compared to appliances in the US, where aerial platforms such as the 112 Bronto Sky Lift can reach a maximum height of 112metres (367ft).

The disclosure raises questions about whether Britains fire services are suitably equipped to deal with fires in high-rise buildings.

The tallest aerial appliances in the London Fire Brigades fleet only reach a maximum of about 30metres (98ft).

The fire affected all floors of the 24-storey building, and was finally extinguished after 24 hours. The higher floors, which could not be reached, burned themselves out.

Former Surrey police and crime commissioner Kevin Hurley said it was a no brainer that LFB should have several 42metre trucks of its own.

LFB said: Although ladders with a greater height than our current aerial appliances do exist, they require more room and carry more weight and so are often impractical in a city like London.

The tallest aerial appliances in the London Fire Brigades fleet only reach a maximum of about 30metres (98ft)
Watch out Australia, the zombie worms are here.

The blood-red, faceless worms with a craving for bones instead of brains have been found in Australian waters for the first time in a deep-sea abyss off the east coast.

After hauling up the skull and spine of a pilot whale lying four kilometres underwater just off the northern NSW seaside town of Byron Bay, scientists discovered the worms burrowed deep inside the bones and sucking on the marrow.

The one-centimetre long worms have previously been found in parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans but never off the Australian coast.

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Blood red and faceless words found in Australian sea waters for the first time by scientist

Scientists believe they've been around for millions of years and once feasted on the bones of aquatic dinosaurs.

The worms were among hundreds of new and rarely seen marine creatures discovered by the team of 58 scientists, technicians and crew during a month-long voyage, which ended in Brisbane on Friday.

Dr Tim O'Hara, the chief scientist on board and Museum Victoria's senior curator of marine invertebrates, described the worms as an exciting find given their unusual way of feeding.

The worms lack a proper mouth and instead use tentacles to devour bone marrow after it's been broken down by bacteria.

'They're just living in a soup of bacteria and sucking up the nutrients,' Dr O'Hara told AAP.

'They've been a fascinating story in marine biology really because everyone's wondered how they get from one skeleton to another.

The one-centimetre long worms have been found in the Pacific before but never in Australia

'Scientists have been looking at that for a few years and found they are everywhere in the plankton just waiting for a whale to fall to a sea floor.'

The exploratory voyage by the Museums Victoria and CSIRO scientists marked the first time the murky depths of the abyss have been studied.

A metal sled-style device attached to eight kilometres of wire was plunged into abyss each day to collect samples of marine creatures.

About 10 new types of eels were discovered along with several unique crustaceans, sea stars and sea cucumbers.

Dr Tim O'Hara, the chief scientist on board and Museum Victoria's senior curator of marine invertebrates had led the month-long voyage which had ended on Friday

Rarely-seen creatures including a blob fish - dubbed the world's ugliest fish - tripod fish with long spikes sticking out of their fins, and a type of faceless fish not found in Australian waters for more than a century were also collected.

'There's a lot of new forms of life here and we are really adding to our knowledge of the biodiversity of the deep,' Dr O'Hara said.

However, while the scientists were impressed by the creatures they found, they were disturbed by the amount of rubbish including paint tins, fishing lines and other items dating back to the days of steamships.

Much of their marine haul will be displayed in museums across Australia and overseas as a way of 'bringing the deep sea to the people', Dr O'Hara said.

More exploratory voyages of the abyss are being planned, including one focused on the little-known habitats of its rocky sea mountains.
Sex crimes in schools have more than tripled in four years, fuelled by pupils easy access to online porn, police and child protection experts have warned.

While most of the victims were pupils, teachers are also being targeted, with one in ten offences committed against adults.

Reported sexual offences in schools rose from 390 in 2012 to 1,386 last year, according to figures from 24 police forces that provided comparable data. Last years figure is a rise of 18 per cent on the 1,176 offences reported in 2015.

Experts say the increase could be due to rising numbers of children viewing porn on tablets and smartphones.

Jon Brown, of the NSPCC, said yesterday: We think the real-terms increase could be due to the ease of availability of pornography online.

Experts say the increase in reported sex crimes in school could be due to rising numbers of children viewing porn on tablets and smartphones (picture is a stock image)

For some young people, that can have undue influence in terms of sexually abusive and sexually aggressive behaviour.

He added: The majority of young people who do view pornography online are able to make a clear differentiation between viewing that and their real-life sexual behaviour.

But for some young people, they are not able to do that, so we think that could be a driver.

Norfolk chief constable Simon Bailey, senior officer for child abuse issues at the National Police Chiefs Council, said it was clear the increased availability of sexualised material, such as online pornography, poses a threat to young people.

He added increased awareness and reporting might also partly explain the rise.

The Mail has campaigned vigorously for tougher measures to prevent children from having access to porn online.

The data came from 32 police forces after a freedom of information request by the Times Educational Supplement. Two-thirds of the 24 forces that provided comparable figures saw a rise in sex offences in schools last year compared with 2015.

In some areas of the country, the number of reported sex crimes more than doubled. And in Warwickshire, police reported the figure almost trebling from 18 to 52 reported offences.

Norfolk chief constable Simon Bailey, pictured at a non-related event in 2015, said it was clear the increased availability of sexualised material, such as online pornography, poses a threat to young people

However, the overall the biggest year-on-year rise in the past four years was from 2013 to 2014, when the number of reported crimes rose by 64 per cent from 555 to 912.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: School leaders will be horrified. They will feel all the more need to make sure these things are dealt with in terms of sex education and disciplinary policies.

Lucy Russell, of the childrens charity Plan UK, said the figures back up its research. She added: Young people were saying, This has become a culture in our classroom, in the corridors and behind the buildings. We dont feel safe in schools. [They felt] it was just something you had to put up with.

The Mail has campaigned vigorously for tougher measures to prevent children from having access to porn online

In September, the Commons Women and Equalities Committee said sexual harassment and abuse of girls in schools is being accepted as part of daily life, adding that children are learning about sex and relationships through hardcore pornography.

The Department for Education said: Schools should be safe places and we issue safeguarding guidance to protect pupils welfare.

We think the right laws are in place to enable teachers to take swift action to deal with underlying behaviours and stop it escalating but we will work with schools on whether further support is needed.
One of the great myths of our age is that we live in a time of unparalleled tolerance, a paradise of liberalism, conscience and free speech.

You can think what you like, say what you like and do as you please, and nobody will ever tell you otherwise.

That is the theory. The reality, alas, is rather different. For this week came yet another worrying sign that the prejudices of our liberal cultural elite are no less stifling and no less repressive than the taboos they pride themselves on having banished.

At the heart of this is the Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who resigned on Wednesday after less than two years in the job.

When I heard Tim Farron say he could not reconcile his heartfelt Christian principles with his leadership of an avowedly liberal party, I wondered what had happened to tolerance

I hold no torch for Mr Farron, who never struck me as an international statesman in waiting. But when I heard him say he could not reconcile his heartfelt Christian principles with his leadership of an avowedly liberal party, I wondered what had happened to our traditions of tolerance and democracy.

At the heart of his dilemma were his views on gay sex, which on several occasions he had failed to say outright was not sinful, as well as his disapproval of abortion (he later claimed to have changed his mind on the issue). But he never tried to impose those views on others. Nor did he propose to outlaw homosexuality, or to recriminalise abortion.

For his liberal critics, however, this was not good enough. As they saw it, he was guilty of what George Orwell called thoughtcrime. Only a full recantation  and presumably the renunciation of his Christian faith  would have been enough to save him.

Tim Farron's liberal critics thought he was guilty of what George Orwell called thoughtcrime

I seem to be the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in, Mr Farron said on Wednesday, in which case we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society.

Alas, this is not merely an issue for the Lib Dems, for the sickness of liberal intolerance is far more widespread. Seeping out of our schools and universities, the culture of hysterical outrage is now in real danger of polluting our public life, stifling debate and silencing dissent.

Just look, for example, at the absurdly strident way the Left has reacted to the prospect of a deal between the Conservatives and Northern Irelands Democratic Unionists. As staunch social conservatives, rooted in the Presbyterian churches, the DUP are opposed not just to gay marriage but to the extension of abortion rights to Northern Ireland  views clearly too much for the metropolitan dinner-party elite.

Never mind that the DUP are the single biggest party in one of the four nations of our kingdom. Never mind that their views are shared by the vast majority of ordinary people in Northern Ireland, who are understandably sick of being caricatured as reactionary primitives.

To the Left, such people are thought criminals. There is no place for dissent in the modern liberal imagination, no room for those who question the new orthodoxies of the chattering classes.

So racism must always be treated as the ultimate evil.

The equality of the sexes can never be questioned; indeed, the very idea of gender itself is deeply suspect. Immigration is always good. Welfare is wonderful; capitalism is monstrous. America is corrupt; Israel is worse. Patriotism is always bad, especially British patriotism. And so on.

In some ways we have been here before. In the late Sixties and early Seventies, the headlines were full of half-crazed students picketing visiting speakers and staging sit-ins.

The culture of hysterical outrage is now in real danger of polluting our public life, stifling debate and silencing dissent

But there are two significant differences today.

First, with undergraduate numbers at around two million, there are ten times as many students as they were then  which means universities are more influential than ever. Second, university lecturers have become almost exclusively Left-wing.

In 2015, a pitiful 7 per cent of lecturers voted Conservative; the vast majority voted Labour, Lib Dem or Green.

So perhaps it is no wonder that, according to YouGov survey data, a staggering 66 per cent of 18 to 19-year-olds, and 62 per cent of 20 to 24-year-olds, voted Labour on June 8.

I hesitate to say they have been brainwashed, but at the very least their brains have been given a light rinse.

Perhaps that sounds alarmist. But consider what happened at Tyssen Community Primary School in Hackney, East London, on election day. When voters arrived to cast their ballots, they were met by posters, drawn by the children, demanding more money for schools and libraries.

We cant tell you how to vote, read a notice by the posters, but the kids arent happy. They want change. Vote with your heart.

I seem to be the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in, Mr Farron said on Wednesday, in which case we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society'

To make matters worse, some of the childrens posters had been adorned with the hammer and sickle. If that isnt indoctrination, I dont know what is.

The tragedy is that our schools and universities are supposed to be crucibles of debate where no idea is too outlandish, no opinion too heretical. Instead, they are becoming bubbles of received opinion, echo chambers in which the same lazy prejudices  the vital importance of transgender toilets, and so on  reverberate unceasingly.

Here is just a taste of the madness that has infected our higher education system in the past few years. At Oxford, the equality and diversity unit has warned staff and students that if they fail to look people in the eye, or if they ask where people come from, they will be guilty of microaggression, a kind of subtle, everyday racism.

At Cambridge, Dr Lucy Delap, deputy director of history and policy, has asked her colleagues to stop using terms such as brilliance, genius and flair, as they apparently carry assumptions of gender inequality and also of class and ethnicity inequalities.

At Sussex, students have been warned not to use the pronouns he and she because they might offend transgendered colleagues.

And at Cardiff Metropolitan University you are not allowed to call girls girls, nor can you use the terms forefathers, mankind or sportsmanship. Even complaining about the taxman apparently marks you out as a dangerous reactionary.

Even Christianity, unless of the most explicitly Left-wing kind, is enough to damn you. Pictured, Tim Farron with wife Rosie

Risible? Of course. And an embarrassment to our national tradition of a system of education based on open-minded debate and the challenging of received wisdom.

The problem is that too many universities seem incapable of striving for those ideals, preferring instead to close down debate.

At Londons City University, the student union has banned both the Mail and the Sun, accusing them of fostering fascism and social divisiveness. That, by banning newspapers, they were copying what genuine Fascists once did in Germany and Italy clearly never occurred to them.

In fact, destroying newspapers has become something of a habit for the modern liberal Left. During the election campaign, Left-wing activists eagerly tweeted pictures of themselves burning front pages of newspapers that criticised their hero, Jeremy Corbyn.

Yes, burning newspapers: a Fascist trademark of the Thirties, when the Nazis held huge bonfires of books they disagreed with.

Incidentally, the Nazis were also great ones for demolishing statues of historical figures they disliked  rather like the student activists in the Rhodes Must Fall campaign, who wanted to tear down Oxford Universitys statue of the empire-builder Cecil Rhodes.

But this is Britain in 2017. We are supposed to be living in an age of pluralism and tolerance, freedom of religion and freedom of speech

The Nazis were also keen on rewriting history  as are student activists who want to decolonise the curriculum by forcing lecturers to put more black and female writers on syllabuses instead of boring white men such as Shakespeare and Dickens.

The extraordinary thing, though, is that these modern-day book-burners reserve most of their intolerance not for their adversaries on the Right, but for heretics and apostates on the Left, such as the feminist writers Germaine Greer and Julie Bindel, or the columnist Nick Cohen.

And of course poor old Tim Farron, forced out for daring to hold views about gay marriage which held sway for millennia in this country. A favourite trick is no-platforming, when visiting speakers are denied the right to air their views in case they offend anyones sensibilities.

At Canterbury Christ Church University, the student unions lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender officer refused to share a platform with veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.

What was Mr Tatchells crime? He had signed an open letter deploring the rise of . . . no-platforming. By doing so, apparently, he was guilty of incitement of violence against transgender people.

There is confected outrage in some Leftist quarters at Theresa May, a vicars daughter, when she dared to talk about Britains Christian values at Easter; and hence the rage against poor Mr Farron

If Mr Tatchell, probably the best-known gay rights campaigner in the country, a man who was badly beaten by Robert Mugabes bodyguards when he attempted a citizens arrest on the despot, is really guilty of thought crime, then none of us is safe. Indeed, merely by writing these words, I am doubtless identifying myself as a dangerous racist and sexist homophobe who deserves a long stretch in a re-education camp.

Still, if the revolution does come, I will be in good company. My fellow inmates will include not just Mr Tatchell but Colin Firths wife Livia (guilty of cultural appropriation last week for wearing an American Indian headdress), the Star Trek actress Alice Eve (guilty of wearing cornrows, regarded as an Afro-Caribbean hairstyle), the novelist Lionel Shriver (guilty of writing about black characters in a novel) and the feminist writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (guilty of suggesting transgender women might be different from other women).

That all these people, many of them achingly right-on, have fallen foul of the new censors tells you all you need to know. For we live in an age of witch-hunts and purges, when the slightest deviation from the ultra-earnest, ultra-liberal orthodoxy invites charges of racism, sexism and worse.

Tim Farron was forced out for daring to hold views about gay marriage which held sway for millennia in this country

Even Christianity, unless of the most explicitly Left-wing kind, is enough to damn you. Hence the confected outrage in some Leftist quarters at Theresa May, a vicars daughter, when she dared to talk about Britains Christian values at Easter; and hence the rage against poor Mr Farron.

As the Bishop of Leeds remarked last December, we are close to creating a society in which practising Christians  never Muslims, who seem to be immune from criticism  are afraid even to talk about their faith in case they are hounded out of their jobs, like the British Airways worker who dared to wear a crucifix, or the nurse who chose to pray for her patients.

The supreme irony is that this new intolerant liberalism is itself a kind of secular religion, albeit of a debased and degenerate kind. Its adherents live in a strange world of true believers and heretics, the pure and the damned.

They venerate a bearded prophet with the initials JC  Jeremy Corbyn. They believe unswervingly in his final victory. Doubt is unthinkable. To criticise him, as even Left-wing columnists such as the Guardians Polly Toynbee and Owen Jones have discovered, invites accusations of treachery and worse.

Like religious fanatics of old, they are always looking for witches and scapegoats, preferably female. A particular target, for example, is the BBCs political editor Laura Kuenssberg, whom Corbynista fanatics boo and hiss whenever she dares to ask him a question.

From the way they carry on, you might think we were in Spain during the darkest days of the Inquisition, when Catholic fanatics searched the land for Jews and Muslims; or in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1690s, during the notorious witch trials that inspired the play The Crucible.

But this is Britain in 2017. We are supposed to be living in an age of pluralism and tolerance, freedom of religion and freedom of speech, and in a land where your conscience is your own.

As it happens, this year marks the 500th anniversary of the moment that, more than any other, ushered in the modern world. On October 31, 1517, the German monk Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, challenging the corruption, self-interest and authoritarianism of the Catholic Church, and starting the Protestant Reformation.

By daring to speak his mind, Luther set off an explosion of discussion and debate.

From his lone gesture of defiance you can trace a line from the Reformation to the Scientific Revolution, the 18th-century Enlightenment of new ideas and social philosophy, and finally the age of tolerance and freedom we are lucky enough to inhabit today.

What a grim irony that, even as the world prepares to mark the anniversary of the Reformation, new zealots are trying to slam the door on free speech.

For if freedom means anything, it means the right to hold unfashionable opinions, to say the unsayable and to stand in the last ditch, when every man is against you, for what you truly believe.

Tim Farron put his faith above his political career. Good for him. He has shown himself a far better man than the so-called liberals who brought him down.

But I fear he will not be the last victim of the new intolerance. Unless the rest of us stand up to the zealots, they will not rest until all dissent is silenced.

They are a threat to everything this country stands for. They must be fought. They must be beaten.
A couple who both grew up as Muslims in Pakistan have told why they turned their backs on Islam.

Sami Shah and Ishma Alvi, who became Australian citizens in January and live in Melbourne, said extremism, sexism and misogyny were key reasons why they opted out of the religion.

The couple also explained the reasons for their transition by citing passages from the Quran, which Mr Shah has described as 'maddening as a text'.

An edited extract from Mr Shah's latest book, The Islamic Republic of Australia, which details the move from Muslim to non-Muslim was published in The Weekend Australian magazine on Saturday.

The book also 'is an entertaining and fascinating snapshot of Islam down under today' and 'takes us behind the stereotypes and generalisations to find out who Australian Muslims are', an overview of the title says.

Ishma Alvi and Sami Shah (pictured) have told why they left Islam behind despite both growing up as Muslims

Mr Shah (pictured) grew up as a Muslim in Pakistan but started turning his back on Islam following a series of violent attacks by extremists in the name of religion

In the piece published in The Weekend Australian, Mr Shah said for Muslims to turn their backs on Islam, the controversial move can be punishable by death but he was happy to now be living openly as an atheist.

While he grew up in Pakistan, a Muslim country, he found himself gradually turning away from Islam over time, angered by violent attacks committed by extremists in the name of religion.

'What stood out for me wasn't just the mass murder and carnage initiated by the extremists but also their religious justification for it,' Mr Shah said in the piece published in The Weekend Australian.

'The religion I had been told my entire life was a religion of peace - an argument I myself had propagated when confronted with Islam's critics while studying in America - was comfortably being used as a religion of war.'

Mr Shah said he was happy to now be living in Australia where he did not have his daily life heavily influenced by Islam.

Ms Alvi, a psychologist, said she believed Islam was not female-positive, a notion she first came to when she was aged 17.

Mr Shah said the religion he had been told was one of peace was 'comfortably being used as a religion of war'

Mr Shah this week spoke on Channel Ten's The Project where he also spoke candidly about his transition from a devout Muslim to an atheist

'I started seeing Islam as swinging between benevolent sexism [if there is such a thing] and venomous misogyny,' she said.

She said while she started drifting away from the religion as a teenager she came back to Islam on two occasions, once by necessity when she was at university to avoid being attacked on public transport and the other through a friend.

But she said she was left feeling angry and tired at the expectations Islam have of women and her believe females were considered to be half a man, using a passage from Quran 2:282 to explain her reasoning.

Mr Shah, who is an author and comedian, this week also revealed his life changed the first time he tried bacon after ditching his religion and becoming an atheist.

He appeared on Network Ten's The Project to promote his new book, and told Islamic host Waleed Aly about the joys of eating pig - which is banned in Muslim culture.

'I thought I can't do this... and then I took one bite and thought, ''I'm never going back'',' Mr Shah told Aly.

'I open my day with bacon now. My fridge right now is an entire pig dissected.'

Mr Shah spoke candidly about his transition from a devout Muslim to an atheist on The Project.

'For me it was just a matter of skepticism and once I started becoming skeptical about religion I thought I couldn't call myself a believer anymore,' he admitted.
British children show more interest in drugs, alcohol and tobacco websites than peers abroad, a new study shows.

Analysis has revealed Britain has had a higher proportion of attempts by youngsters to access such material online over the past 12 months than 55 other countries.

The data was gathered via parental control and security software, which is installed by families to restrict access to inappropriate material.

Kaspersky Lab analysed the online activities of 80 million personal computers using its safety software between May 2016 and May 2017.

The data was gathered via parental control and security software, which is installed by families to restrict access to inappropriate material

It found 37.6 per cent of children in Britain tried to access a website featuring information on tobacco, drugs or alcohol.

The figure was the highest out of all the countries for which the company holds information.

The UK total compares with 31.9 per cent of children in the US and just 3.2 per cent in Egypt.

It found 37.6 per cent of children in Britain tried to access a website featuring information on tobacco, drugs or alcohol

The report suggests that the topics of tobacco, drugs and alcohol are a part of teenage culture.

British children were also the most likely to attempt to access content relating to online gaming, with over a quarter visiting a website to play a computer game.

Meanwhile, children in China were the most likely to try to access websites and software downloads that would allow them to watch and listen to videos and music 18.5 per cent  compared with only 6 per cent in the UK.
James Middleton has cut the price of shares in Boomf, indicating a cash-call may be on the cards

Does James Middleton plan to tap up investors in his loss-making marshmallow company for yet more money?

The Duchess of Cambridges younger brother has cut the price of shares in Boomf, indicating a cash-call may be on the cards.

But Middletons investors may not be happy  including his new brother-in-law, hedge fund millionaire James Matthews.

Pippas new husband spent almost 100,000 propping up Boomf in the year it made a 1 million loss, buying 12,853 shares at 7.78 each.

However, Middleton, 30, has now passed a resolution saying that shares in his company can now be sold to investors for as little as 2.50.

Based on the new price of Boomf shares, Matthewss stake would now be worth around 32,000, less than a third of the price he paid for it.

When Matthews invested in Boomf as part of a fundraising round in late 2015, shortly before he proposed to Pippa with a 250,000 diamond sparkler, Boomf was valued at 10 million. But in the light of the share downgrade, that valuation looks ambitious.

Middleton, who calls himself Boomfs Wonka-in-Chief, declines to comment on whether he is planning to raise more money, after securing 2.25 million from investors since launching Boomf in 2013.

Middleton tells me: Im not able to go into detail about the changes in the articles of association, but it is done in positive progress for Boomf. We are continually looking at new opportunities which present themselves as the business continues to grow.

In 2015, the most recent accounts available, Boomf made a 1 million loss, and took out a 500,000 bank loan with Barclays. In addition to Pippas husband, Middletons investors include Pippas ex-boyfriend, nightclubs entrepreneur Charlie Gilkes.

Middletons investors may not be happy  including his new brother-in-law, hedge fund millionaire James Matthews (pictured with wife Pippa Middleton)

But Middleton says Boomf is not propped up by friends and family. He said in 2015: That calibre of investors do not just give hand-outs.

They are people who want us to make a return for them.

It could be quite a wait, as Boomf struggles to break even. Middleton shut down two previous businesses, the Cake Kit Company and Nice Cakes, but says they did not fail.

I shut them down . . . with my head held high, he said.

I learned so much from them. That is important.

Sir Salman Rushdie has received a personal gift from former BBC creative director Alan Yentob to mark his 70th birthday.

Ive given him a very special bottle of French red wine because he gave me one for my birthday with my date of birth, Yentob tells me.

He likes that sort of thing. Its something hell have to find the occasion on which to drink it  preferably with me.

Mentioning no names...

Which greedy Duke, who already has a wife and a mistress, is now friendly with a woman young enough to be his daughter?
A ferocious blaze is being treated as suspicious by police after it ripped through a church at dawn.

The intense fire gutted the Tuggeranong Baptist Church in Kambah, south Canberra, just after 6am on Saturday.

Crews contained the blaze and stopped it from spreading to neighbouring properties within an hour.

A ferocious blaze is being treated as suspicious by police after it ripped through a church at dawn

Firefighters contain the blaze at Tuggeranong Baptist Church on Saturday morning

The intense fire gutted the Tuggeranong Baptist Church in Kambah, south Canberra, just after 6am on Saturday

Firecrews initially struggled to gain access to inside the church due to the intensity of the fire.

They eventually entered the church about 9am after the fast-moving blaze was brought under control, but most remained outside the building working to put out the flames.

Assistant pastor Paul Massen said he doesn't believe there is a way of salvaging anything from the fire.

'The damage is unbelievable, it can't be repaired obviously and it can't be replaced,' he told the Canberra Times.

'I couldn't find anything that hadn't been damaged and it's quite a big building. Some of the walls have collapsed and the roof has buckled and caved in.'

He said the church's op-shop, which helped less fortunate families in the area, was also destroyed in the fire

Firecrews initially struggled to gain access to inside the church due to the intensity of the fire but eventually gained access about 9am

Crews contained the blaze and stopped it from spreading to neighbouring properties within an hour

A number of homes were left without electricity in the morning after power was shut off in the area to assist firefighters, the Canberra Times reported.

Crews were forced to stay away from the main part of the church while the structural integrity of a large slab of roof was assessed.

The building has been destroyed and a structural engineer called in to complete a detailed assessment.

The cause of the fire will be investigated but is being treated as suspicious, with detectives on the scene.

Police have asked that anyone that witnessed this incident, or who may have information about the fire, to come forward.
NBC's Connecticut station has refused to air the controversial Megyn Kelly interview with Alex Jones, who has previously claimed the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax.

In an internal memo obtained Friday by the Associated Press, NBC Connecticut staff members were told WVIT station executives made the decision after listening to concerns from employees, Sandy Hook families and viewers.

Susan Tully, the general manager and president of WVIT, sent a memo to the station's staff saying because the wounds caused by the Sandy Hook tragedy are 'understandably still so raw, we have decided not to air this week's episode of Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly'.

The station serves an area that includes Newtown, the city in which the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting took place in 2012.

Jones, who is the operator of the website InfoWars, has come under fire for claiming that the victims, 20 of whom were children, were played by actors.

Whenever there is news about Sandy Hook, 'we know that the pain resurfaces for our community,' Tully wrote.

The memo says the executives 'considered the deep emotions from the wounds of that day that have yet to heal'.

Connecticut's NBC station, WVIT, has refused to air the controversial Megyn Kelly interview with Alex Jones, who has previously claimed the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax. Kelly is pictured with Jones during their interview last week

In an internal memo obtained Friday by the Associated Press, NBC Connecticut staff members were told WVIT station executives made the decision after listening to concerns from employees, Sandy Hook families and viewers

Kelly says she believes there's value in exposing what Jones says to the American people. Jones (pictured) has said he believes her report will be a 'fraud'

WVIT will include a report on its 11pm broadcast Sunday. The interview will be available to those who want to see it on Monday on NBCNews.com.

NBC News has vowed to go ahead with Sunday's program despite the outcry.

Kelly says she believes there's value in exposing what Jones says to the American people.

Jones has said he believes her report will be a 'fraud'.

News that the interview won't be aired comes after Kelly and NBC were said to be scrambling to finish the third episode of the host's Sunday news magazine, which features Jones.

The program appeared to be in good shape last Sunday when the network aired its first preview, but things soon took a turn when that one-minute segment was met with outrage among many.

Susan Tully, the general manager and president of WVIT, sent a memo to the station's staff saying the interview would not air because the wounds caused by the Sandy Hook tragedy are 'understandably still so raw'

No one was more upset however than the family members and friends of the 20 students and six educators killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Some took to social media to lash out at Kelly and she was fired from her post as host of the charity's annual gala, a move that also left her without content to run on Sunday as she planned to film the event for her show.

The network and Kelly managed to kill two birds with one stone it seems however, with Page Six reporting that Kelly has invited the parents of some victims of the shooting on the show and interviewed them to balance out the segment.

Other parents however are still appalled, and in a legal letter to NBC, 12 family members asked that the network not air the program over threat of a lawsuit.

It is unclear on what grounds they might sue and it is not revealed in the letter, which was sent to NBC counsel Kimberley D. Harris, NBC News chairman Andy Lack and Kelly's executive producer David Corvo.

'NBC was scrambling to find a way out of this mess without having to back down and cancel Sunday's episode of Megyn's show,' a source told Page Six.

'Megyn and her producers made numerous calls to the Sandy Hook families this week to ask them to appear on the show. Some refused because they didn't think appearing on her show would do enough to counter Alex Jones' 'venom'.

Another source added that 'everyone on the show believes it's vitally important that the piece conveys the immense pain that Jones has caused the Sandy Hook families'.

Neil Heslin, the father of six-year-old victim Jesse Lewis, is among those who will be making an appearance on the program.

Neil Heslin (pictured), the father of six-year-old victim Jesse Lewis, is among those who will be making an appearance on Kelly's program

Angry parents of Sandy Hook victims sent a legal letter (pictured) to NBC. The 12 family members asked that the network not air the program over threat of a lawsuit

Meanwhile, 12 of the parents refused to sit down with Kelly and instead fired off a legal letter threatening to sue the network if they aired the interview on Sunday.

'Surely, we can agree that these families have suffered enough already, and that they will continue to suffer enough to last several lifetimes,' reads the letter, penned by attorney Joshua Koskoff.

'Which is why we cannot fathom  from a moral, ethical or legal standpoint  NBC's decision to amplify the voice of a man who has made a living debasing that suffering and smearing our clients' names.'

The letter then goes on to address Jones, and the pain he has caused the already grieving parents of these children.

'Over the last few years, Alex Jones has weaponized his radio show to publish false and defamatory statements about our clients: chief among them that they are actors perpetrating a massive fraud on the American public by faking the deaths of their loved ones,' states the letter.

'Parents have marked their children's seventh, eighth, and ninth birthdays not with wonder and joyful chaos, but with the most profound loneliness this world knows,' reads the letter.

'NBC is not responsible for the harassment and abuse Alex Jones has cruelly visited on our clients.'

It continues: 'But, by choosing to air his interview with Ms. Kelly  at all, let alone at prime time on Father's Day  NBC has tendered its good name and considerable influence to provide Mr. Jones with something he has never enjoyed: legitimacy.

'This decision may be driven by the simple urge to gain an edge in a well-publicized ratings war; but it has devastating human consequences as well.

The letter opens meanwhile with an overview of how difficult and painful the 1,644 days have been since these parents lost their children.

'Erica Lafferty walked through a graveyard in her wedding dress and veil so that she could feel close to her mother, Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung  a woman who died trying to protect other parents' children.

'Then there are all the other days; regular Thursdays like this one where a sound or a smell can transform the unrelenting ache of grief into intense, physical pain.'

It is signed by Mark and Jacqueline Barden, Hannah D'Avino Nicole and Ian Hockley, Erica Lafferty, Veronique Pozner, Donna and Jillian Soto, Carlee Soto Parisi , and David and Francine Wheeler.

Carlee Soto (above, who signed the legal letter) reacts as she learns her sister, Victoria Soto, a teacher at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, was one of 26 people killed

Veronique Pozner (above, who signed the legal letter) waves to the assembled media as she leaves after a funeral service for her six-year-old son Noah

Ian and Nicole Hockley (above, who signed the legal letter), parents of Sandy Hook School shooting victim Dylan, attended a news conference a month after the shooting

Mark and Jackie Barden, parents of Sandy Hook School shooting victim Daniel Barden hold hands during a news conference at the Capitol in Hartford in 2013

Kelly has kept relatively quiet about the controversy over her interview with Jones, which has been brewing since she previewed the pair's sit-down on the most recent episode of Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly.

She did briefly address the issue in an interview with The New York Times while defending her decision to bring Jones on her program.

'What we do as journalists is we shine a light on those with power, those with influence, those who have become culturally relevant,' said Kelly.

'Of course, it's upsetting to know that doing that causes any upset to the Newtown families, many of whom I know well. But I have to do my job.

'As journalists, we don't get to interview only the good guys  that's not journalism,' Kelly told the Times.

'It's going to be very difficult for us to keep an eye on the more controversial figures of our time if we never talk to them.'

Kelly said she sat down with Jones to examine 'his influence and his  for lack of a better term  method for putting information together to figure out how he got to be so important in the president's world, in millions of people's world'.

She also stated that currently 'there are a lot of people who are very angry that Donald Trump is president and a lot of people who believe Alex Jones played a large role in it'.

Mourning still: The sisters of Sandy Hook Elementary teacher Victoria Soto, Carlee Soto (left) and Jillian (right) who both signed the letter

David and Francine Wheeler (above who signed the letter) parents of Sandy Hook School shooting victim Benjamin speak at a news conference in 2013

Hannah D'Avino, sister of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Rachel D'Avino (left) wipes a tear as Erica Lafferty, daughter of principal Dawn Hochsprung (right) looks on (both signed the letter)

Kelly is also dealing with another issue as the second episode of her NBC news magazine tanked in the ratings, losing almost half its audience from the premiere one week prior.

Final Nielsen numbers show that the latest episode of Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly pulled in 3.61 million total viewers and scored an 0.6 rating in the all-important adults 18-49 demo, which was a slight improvement in the 7pm time slot from the previous year.

It was far lower however than the 6.1 million viewers and 0.8 rating notched by the premiere, which featured an interview with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Kelly has been feeling the heat over her decision to interview Jones for her Sunday news magazine this week.

Sandy Hook Promise, an organization that was created in memory of the 26 victims announced on Monday that Kelly would no longer host their annual Promise Champions Gala.

Sandy Hook Promise, an organization that was created in memory of the 26 victims announced Monday that Kelly wouldn't host their annual Promise Champions Gala

That announcement came just two days before Kelly was set to take the stage at the event on Wednesday night in Washington, DC.

The decision made by the non-profit organization also left Kelly with a big gap in her episode that will be airing this Sunday, as she planned to film the gala to run alongside her interview with Jones.

That plan went up in smoke however when she managed to draw the ire of Sandy Hook parents, who lashed out and attacked Kelly for allowing Jones' ideas to be heard by her audience of 6 million.

Kelly responded to the controversy on Tuesday in a statement, saying she was 'disappointed' but also 'respected the decision' of the charity.

'I understand and respect the decision of the event organizers but I'm of course disappointed that I won't be there to support them on Wednesday night,' began Kelly in her statement.

'I find Alex Jones's suggestion that Sandy Hook was 'a hoax' as personally revolting as every other rational person does.'

She then explained: 'It left me, and many other Americans, asking the very question that prompted this interview: how does Jones, who traffics in these outrageous conspiracy theories, have the respect of the president of the United States and a growing audience of millions?'

Kelly then offered theories, stating: 'President Trump, by praising and citing him, appearing on his show, and giving him White House press credentials, has helped elevate Jones, to the alarm of many.'

Impressive intro: Over six million viewers tuned into Kelly's premiere episode with Russian president Vladimir Putin (above)

Disappointing drop: Kelly's second episode, which featured an interview with Erin Andrews (above), lost half of the audience from the premiere one week prior

'Our goal in sitting down with him was to shine a light - as journalists are supposed to do - on this influential figure, and yes - to discuss the considerable falsehoods he has promoted with near impunity,' said Kelly.

Regardless of the aim, advertisers were not happy, and JP Morgan pulled their spots from the time slot.

In the preview of her interview with Jones, the NBC News host demands to know how he can declare something like Sandy Hook a hoax given the loss of young lives and parents who are still grieving for their children.

'Oh I know, but they don't get angry about the half-million dead Iraqis from the sanctions...' starts Jones before he is cut off by Kelly and accused of dodging her question.

'The media doesn't cover all the evil wars...' begins Jones, who again is cut-off by Kelly.

'That doesn't excuse the things you said about Newtown, you know that,' states the host, who actually traveled to Texas to meet with Jones in his own studio.

'Here's the difference, I looked at all the angles of Newtown and I made my statements before the media even picked it up,' Jones said.

And in 2012, in the wake of the Aurora cinema massacre that saw 12 killed and 70 injured when a gunman opened fire during a screening of The Dark Knight, Jones claimed it was a 'false flag'.

'If you look at the full spectrum of information unfolding right now, 100 per cent chance that the mass murder committed in the suburb of Denver, Colorado, right next to Littleton and Columbine was a false flag mind control event.'

He even blamed President Barack Obama for being behind a series of deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma back in 2013 that claimed the lives of over 30 people.
A Florida fisherman has been disqualified from a marlin fishing tournament and will lose the $2.8million prize money, a Maryland judge has ruled.

On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that fisherman Philip Heasley, of Naples, Florida, who was named winner of the 2016 White Marlin Open tournament in Ocean City, Maryland last August, would be disqualified and that the prize money would be redistributed to other contestants, reports The Baltimore Sun.

Heasley won the tournament by catching a 76.5 pound white marlin, but when he failed two polygraph tests afterwards, tournament organizers claimed that he violated the rules of the contest and withheld the prize money.

A federal judge has ruled that Philip Heasley (second from left) will be disqualified from the 2016 White Marlin Open and lose his $2.8million prize money after failing two polygraph tests

Organizers rely on polygraph results  particularly when the prize winnings are high  to confirm that contestants don't cheat during the competition because there is no way to police the more than 300 boats and 2,000 participants once they are out at sea.

The judge agreed with the tournament organizers, ruling that by failing the polygraph tests, Heasley, president and CEO of payment systems company ACI Worldwide, had not complied with the tournament contract.

The judge found that Heasley and the crew of the Kallianassa boat had also violated tournament rules by casting their lines prior to the official 8.30am start time.

White Marlin Open officials claimed that it appeared that the time Heasley caught the winning marlin was changed on the official scorecard.

Competition organizers said that Heasley violated the contest rules by casting his fishing lines out prior to the official start time and changing the recorded time he caught the winning marlin

Court documents indicate that Heasley's disqualification means Rich Kosztyu (left) of New Jersey will receive an additional $2.3million for catching the prize-winning tuna that day

The fish appeared to be originally recorded as having been caught at 8.15am, but that time was erased and rewritten as 9.05am, according to theAsbury Park Press.

During the trial, Heasley denied lying during the polygraph tests.

He claimed that because he doesn't wear a watch, he was uncertain about what time he and his crew dropped their lines into the water the morning of the competition.

But, based on testimony and technical data, it appeared that the crew on the Kallianassa cast their lines out between 8.08am and 8.23am, NJ.com reported.

Heasley also testified that his answers didn't pass the polygraph tests because he was worried about the questions' ambiguity, which lead to him to struggle to find certain answers. Heasley noted that he didn't have answers to some questions because they should've been directed to his crew members instead of himself.

'We are obviously disappointed by today's ruling. We maintain that Mr. Heasley and his crew abided by all of the tournament rules and regulations,' Heasley's attorney, Chris Sullivan, said in a statement.

Sullivan added that they are 'reviewing the decision and are considering our options.'

Heasley has 30 days to appeal the judge's decision.

The case went before a federal judge because Heasley and other participating fishermen reside outside Maryland.

The $2.8million prize money is now set to be divvied up between 13 other competitors.

Big winners from the judge's ruling, according to the court documents, include Richard Kosztyu of Hamilton, New Jersey, who is expected to receive an additional $2,312,152; Jim Conway of Glen Burnie, Maryland who will land $254,620; and Mark Hutchison of Talbot County, Georgia who will receive $140,509, according to court documents.
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Australian and international scientists returning from a month-long marine voyage have found a total 21 deep sea creatures, as well as some never before seen species.

The team which comprised 58 scientist, technicians and crew, from fourteen institutions locally and the world ended their trip on Friday but not before discovering and rediscovery several amazing sea creatures along the way.

Led by Museums Victoria and supported by CSIRO Marine National Facility and the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub, the team was headed by Chief Scientist and Museums Victoria's Senior Curator of Marine Invertebrates Dr Tim O'Hara.

'Australia's deep-sea environment is larger in size than the mainland, and until now, almost nothing was known about life on the abyssal plain.

'We're really excited about the discoveries that we've made and are thrilled that we can now share them with the Australian and international public,' Dr Tim O'Hara said in a statement.

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Dr Tim O'Hara (pictured) had led the month voyage for a month with 58 scientists on board the vessel

The team of scientist had traveled from Launceston to Brisbane on board the Marine National Facility research vessel Investigator and were elated to have rediscovered the 'faceless' fish in Australian waters after 140 years.

With no eyes and a Mona Lisa smile, the 'faceless' fish had the crew completely baffled when it was brought up from 4 km below the surface.

This faceless fish was rediscovered by scientist after 140 years of absence baffling scientist who were elated with the find

Next, scientist discovered a little deep sea coffinfish with bluish eyes and red feet belonging to the anglerfish group.

Its the deepest species collected in Australia, setting a new record.

Scientists have also labelled the find as a potentially new species.

Marine scientist have also discovered a new species of coffinfish which was the deepest one collected from the expedition

Another first timer discovered from voyage was the Cookiecutter Shark.

This fish is known to prey on big fishes, whales, dolphins and the occasional unfortunate swimmer, by latching onto them before gouging out cookie-sized chunks of flesh.

Cookiecutter Sharks is a little bio luminescent shark that has neatly arranged serrated teeth and inhabits oceans at 1000 m

Then there were the giant anemone-sucking sea spiders which has been known to be one of the oldest arthropods to mankind.

These sea spiders have legs that glow in the dark.

Remember Mr Blobby, the social media marine species that was voted the World's Ugliest Fish in 2013.

Just like its cousin, the blob fish which was discovered 2.5 km off New South Wales, has soft watery flesh and is an ambush predator that lies very still on the bottom waiting for unsuspecting prey to pass through.

Then there is this bright red gorgeous spiny crab with armors tailored to protect it from the dangers that lurks in the deep blue sea.

These crabs are not true crabs but are related to hermit crabs.

The crew also discovered Tripod Fish, Flesh Eating Crustaceans, Zombie Worms, Carnivorous Sponge, Glass Sponge, Bioluminescent Brittle Stars, Shortarse Feelerfish, Hard of Sea Pigs, Dumbo Octopus, Corallimorph, Jumbo Prawn, Bamboo Carol, Peanut Worms, and Pancake Urchin.

Dr O'Hara said Melbourne museum will be showcasing a selection of these recently discovered marine creatures in an exhibition in the coming months.

These orange coloured sea spiders are one of the oldest arthropods in the world and have legs that glow in the dark

This blob fish which was discovered 2.5 km off New South Wales, has soft watery flesh and is an ambush predator

This bright beautiful red spiny crab sports an armor of spikes tailored to protect it from the dangers of other sea creatures

Tripod fish are iconic abyssal fishes, often called spiderfishes, prop high off the seafloor on their stilt-like fins. Like all fishes in the spiderfish family, they have very reduced eyes. To feed, they face into the current, extending their elongated pectoral fins forward feeling their prey items drifting by

Flesh-eating crustaceans such as this amphipod are deep sea scavengers and will eat almost anything nutritious they come across, including the decaying remains of a dead whale, drifted down from the world above

Zombie worm Osedax have no functioning mouths, guts or anuses, they have bacteria that digest their grisly remains

Carnivorous sponge differ from others of their species in that they hook crustaceans and other miniature creatures in wicked, velcro like spines, while they are slowly digested by the sponge

Glass sponges have a skeleton made of a lattice of silica fillaments, some of which can be up to a metre long. They feed by sifting bacteria and other single celled organisms from the water gently passing over their delicate glass housing

Shortarse Feelerfish or its scientific name Bathymicrops Brevianalis belongs to the same family as the iconic deep sea Tripod Fish, and like them has tiny reduced eyes

Herd of sea pigs are cute little oceans vacuum cleaners, using their tube like feet to move across the abyssal mud, hoovering up microorganisms. They are the only type of sea cucumber with feetand can gather in great numbers where food is abundant in the abyssal realm

Dumbo Cctopus flap its ears to glide gracefully to move from one spot to another says marine scientists studying the species

Corallimorph belong to the same group as anemones, jelly fish, hard corals and other tentacled creatures of the sea

Jumbo Prawn discovered by scientist recently is a deep sea prawn that swims in the dark depths of the Australian abyss

Bamboo coral is a delicate deep sea organisms that have a calcium carbonate skeleton with joint like nodes giving them the appearance of bamboo. They can live incredibly long with specimens recorded at around 4000 years old. They have growth rings like trees and so can record events in the oceans history in their biology.

Peanut Worms Sipuncula is a deep sea worm and when its threatened they can contract their long head inwards and more resemble a peanut. These deep sea worms can reproduce both sexually and asexually

Pancake urchin are round disks of concentrated urchin are not actually flat in their natural habitat. Their buoyant bodies are held up by water pressure in the deep ocean, but when brought to the surface they quickly deflate
Police are searching for a woman whom they say abandoned her four-year-old daughter with two strangers at Atlanta airport before skipping town.

Miranda Hakimi Harvey, 29, of Odenton, Maryland, drove almost 700 miles from her home and arrived at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, early Friday morning.

When she got to the airport atrium around 2am, authorities say Harvey asked a couple to watch her child while she shopped.

She never returned and the couple called the police at 7:15am.

Police are searching for Miranda Hakimi Harvey, 29 (pictured), of Odenton, Maryland, who is accused of abandoning her four-year-old daughter at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, early Friday morning

'Why this child was left in the airport for all this time, unattended, is concerning,' Atlanta Police Sgt Warren Pickard said.

'Who would leave a four-year-old child with strangers? Even if you were going to shop, a wise person would not do that.'

Police said Harvey may still be driving the 2016 white Nissan Versa bearing Florida tag HKNA2 that she rented at the airport to leave town in.

When Harvey got to the airport (pictured) around 2am, police say she aasked a couple to watch her child while she shopped

Police say Harvey may still be driving the 2016 white Nissan Versa (pictured) bearing Florida tag HKNA2 that she rented at the airport to skip town in

It is not known what Harvey's motives are, where was headed to, or what ties - if any - she has to Atlanta.

The child is with police until relatives in Maryland can be reached.

Harvey is described as a 5-foot-2, 135-pound woman with brown hair and brown eyes.

A description of the clothing she was last seen in was not immediately available.
Eighteen people were arrested after peaceful protests erupted in St Paul in response to a Minnesota police officer's acquittal in the shooting death of black cafeteria worker Philando Castile.

Carrying signs that read 'Justice not served for Philando', protesters streamed onto Interstate 94 on Friday, splitting off from a group that started off at the state Capitol.

Their outrage followed the verdict that cleared St Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez, 29, of manslaughter after he shot dead 32-year-old Castile during aJuly 6, 2016, traffic stop.

Castile informed the police officer he was carrying a gun just moments before he was shot. The officer said he feared for his life, testifying that Castile was ignoring his commands not to pull out the gun.

Castile's furious mother Valerie Castile gave a rousing speech outside the Ramsey County Courthouse in response to the verdict, calling her son's death a murder while saying: 'I hope [Yanez] dies tonight!'

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Thousands of people gathered Friday evening at the state Capitol after St Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted in the shooting death of Philando Castile

Demonstrators march and hold signs along Interstate 94 on Friday in St. Paul, MN

Supporters of Philando Castile block traffic in both directions on I-94 at Dale Avenue in St Paul, MN Friday

Castile was seven times July 6, just seconds after Castile informed Officer Yanez that he was carrying a gun

The verdict was announced on Friday, nearly a year after Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynold, posted a shocking Facebook live video showing the 32-year-old slumped over in the driver's seat with blood seeping through his shirt.

Castile's mother said: 'I'm mad as hell right now. My son loved this city, and this city killed my son.

'The system continues to fail black people, and it will continue to fail you all.

'The fact in this matter is that my son was murdered, and I'll continue to say murdered, because where in this planet (can you) tell the truth, and you be honest, and you still be murdered by the police of Minnesota,' his mother said, referring to the fact that her son was shot after he volunteered to Yanez, 'Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me.'

Thousands of people gathered Friday evening at the nearby state Capitol to protest the verdict, and began a march that organizers said was headed for the St. Paul Cathedral.

The mixed-race crowd, including many people with children, carried signs that read 'Unite for Philando' and 'Corrupt systems only corrupt.'

Protesters hold signs as they march along the streets of St Paul, MN Friday

A woman waves a Black Lives Matter flag in support of Philando Castile during a rally on the capitol steps

Protesters march on the streets of St Paul, MN Friday after Officer Jeronimo Yanez was cleared of all charges in the fatal shooting last year of Philando Castile

Lakota PlentyHorse , 11 (front center) spray paints a sign in support of Philando Castile during a rally on the capitol steps

The protest was peaceful, though it disrupted light-rail trains. Interstate 94 was also shut down in both directions by a group of about demonstrators chanting 'Black lives...they matter here!'

Minnesota State Police said 18 people were arrested around 12.30am after they did not comply with orders to disperse.

By 1.30am on Saturday, a few dozen remaining protesters gathered in front of the governor's mansion, where many protests were staged last year in the wake of Castile's death.

A reporter for Pioneer Press said members of the remaining crowd were simply talking, and playing the harmonica and banjo.

The protest was peaceful, though it disrupted light-rail trains. Interstate 94 (pictured, where a protester sat down in front of a line of police) was also shut down in both directions

Pictured, a protester named Maya (last name withheld) yelling at a law enforcement on I-94

Minnesota State Police said 18 people around were arrested around 12.30am

They were taken to the Ramsey County jail to be booked after failed to comply with orders to disperse

Yanez was charged with manslaughter in November after Castile pulled over for a broken tailight. Reynolds was in the passenger seat, while her four-year-old daughter sat in the backseat.

Yanez shot Castile seven times just seconds after Castile informed him he was carrying a gun and reached into his glove compartment.

His girlfriend said he was just getting his driver's license, but Yanez claimed he he feared for his life and testified that Castile ignored his commands not to pull out the gun.

Speaking directly about Yanez, Valerie said: 'He shot into a car with no regard to human life. And that's OK. Thank you Minnesota.

After the verdict was announced, the victim's mother, Valerie Castile, reportedly stormed out of the court saying 'f*** this s***'

Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, spoke with passion about her reaction to a not guity verdict for Officer Jeronimo Yanez at the Ramsey County Courthouse

'Yanez may have gotten away with justice on this planet of existence. He will not get away with divine justice. He has to answer to someone bigger than all of us. He's just here.

'We're just going through this human experience, and he will have to face his creator... I hope he dies tonight.'

After the verdict was announced, the city of Minnesota said Officer Yanez was being relieved of his duties.

The city of St. Anthony says it concluded the public 'will be best served' if Officer Yanez no longer works for the city.

The statement says the city plans to offer Yanez a 'voluntary separation' so he can find another job.

Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, makes a statement after St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez was found not guilty on all counts

After the verdict was announced, the victim's mother, Valerie Castile, reportedly stormed out of the court saying 'f*** this s***.'

The 12-member jury, 10 of whom were white, deliberated for five days before announcing their decision on Friday afternoon. On Wednesday they told the judge they were deadlocked, and he sent them back to continue deliberation.

A member of the jury called deliberations 'very, very hard' and says he thinks the panel delivered the right verdict.

Dennis Ploussard says the jury was split 10-2 early this week in favor of acquittal for Officer Yanez.

Ploussard says jurors spent a lot of time dissecting the 'culpable negligence' requirement for conviction. He says the last two holdouts eventually agreed on acquittal.

Ploussard wouldn't identify the two holdouts, but says they were not the jury's only two black members.

Judge Glenda Hatchett was hugged by Philando Castile supporter Guthrie Morgan, 7, (left) while family and friends of Valerie Castile and Philando Castile walked out of the courthouse in shock

Ploussard declined to say whether he thought Yanez acted appropriately. He says the jury sympathizes with the Castile family.

Reynolds released a statement after the verdict was announced, according toKSTP.

She said: 'I am incredibly disappointed with the jury's verdict. My boyfriend, Philando Castile, was pulled over because, per Officer Yanez, he had a wide nose and looked like a suspect.

'He did nothing but comply with Officer YANEZ's (sic) instructions to get his driver's license. He was seatbelted and doing as he was told, when he was shot by Officer YANEZ who fired 7 shots into the vehicle where my 4 y/o daughter and I also sat.

'It is a sad state of affairs when this type of criminal conduct is condoned simply because Yanez is a policeman. God help America.'

Officer Jeronimo Yanez (left) who fatally shot Philando Castile (right) during a traffic stop last year has been found not guilty of manslaughter

Yanez, who is Latino, testified that Castile, who worked as a school cafeteria worker, disregarded his commands not to pull out the gun and that he feared for his life

St Paul public schools released a statement to say they will continue to mourn Castile's loss, and counselors will be available for students if needed.

Minnesota's governor Mark Dayton also released a statement in which he expressed his condolences to the victim's family, and said: 'I will continue to do all I can to help our state heal.'

Sherrilyn Ifill, of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said: 'This incident seemed so egregious and avoidable that we hoped that this time, it might be different -- that this time, justice might be served.

'Because if the government can take your life and no one is held responsible, you are a second-class citizen, if not fully dehumanized in the eyes of the law.'

'That is the devastating message this verdict, along with all those similar acquittals before it, sends to communities of color across the nation.'

During his trial, Yanez (pictured left on May 30 with his attorney) broke down on the stand while saying he did not want to shoot Castile, but he thought his life was in danger

Photo shows a memorial for Castile following his death, which happened nearly a year before the decision to acquit the officer who killed him

Had he been convicted, Yanez would have faced 10 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines suggest around four years would have been more likely.

He also faced two lesser counts of endangering Reynolds and her daughter for firing his gun into the car near them. He was acquitted on all counts.

Conviction on the manslaughter charge required the jury to find Yanez guilty of 'culpable negligence,' which the judge described in jury instructions as gross negligence with an element of recklessness.

Castile was one of 963 people fatally shot by police officers last year, according to the Washington Post.
The man who avoided jail time after stabbing a pet labrador to death in a Perth park has had security around his home boosted after being the target of a protester.

Four-year-old labrador Luna was stabbed with a knife at Apple Blossom Polyantha Reserve in Mirrabooka on May 17 after his 22-year-old owner, Bridgette, let him and her other dog run off their leads.

Jayde Paul Rowan, 37, was chased by angry protesters screaming 'murderer' outside court on Thursday after he escaped an immediate jail sentence and now he has been the target of an angry protester outside his home, according to Seven News.

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Jayde Paul Rowan, 37, (centre) was chased as he left Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday

Mr Rowan (pictured) has been the subject of alleged abuse since the suspended sentence

Four-year-old labrador Luna (pictured) was stabbed with a knife at Apple Blossom Polyantha Reserve in Mirrabooka on May 17

Neighbours claimed an unidentified man allegedly hurled abuse outside Mr Rowan's home, but fled before police arrived, according to the publication.

Police minister Michelle Roberts said she understands the growing community frustration.

Defence lawyer Michael Tudori told Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday that Mr Rowan was reacting to a perceived threat to his puppy when he stabbed Luna.

But Mr Tudori conceded his client's reaction was not reasonable.

Mr Tudori said Rowan, who walked away after the stabbing and jumped over a fence, was remorseful and did not intend to kill Luna.

'He wants to express his regret,' Mr Tudori said.

'He is an absolute animal lover.'

Mr Tudori said Rowan's 13-year-old staffy cross was killed in an attack by two dogs at a park 10 years ago and several months ago, his puppy was also threatened by dogs.

Luna pictured with her owner Bridgette before she was fatally stabbed at a Perth park in May

The court heard Rowan had also written a letter to Bridgette.

Throughout proceedings, protesters in the public gallery scoffed and heckled Rowan, calling him a 'maggot' and 'murderer'.

Chief Magistrate Steven Heath accepted that Rowan was an animal lover, but said he over-reacted and this act of animal cruelty required more than a fine.

'It was an instantaneous reaction by you with one blow without an intent to cause serious harm,' Mr Heath said.

Rowan was sentenced to seven months in prison, suspended for nine months.

Rowan was shouted at and kicked by protesters, and chased by media as he left Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday

Rowan's defence lawyer said his client stabbed Luna (pictured with his owner Bridgette) because he thought it was a threat to his own dog

Luna's owner Bridgette cries as she recounts what happened to her beloved dog Luna

Outside court, the animal advocates chased Rowan down the street, hitting him with their signs and yelling 'murderer' as police monitored the situation from a distance.

Many of the activists, who held signs that read 'Justice For Luna' and 'Harsher Penalties for Animal Cruelty', said they did not think justice had been served.

Bridgette told reporters at the time of the stabbing that she found Luna covered in blood and she started screaming.

A GoFundMe page created to raise money for Luna's funeral raised $2430, with additional money going to a dog rescue group.
Five people have been airlifted to hospital and at least four more have been injured after a high-speed ferry struck a jetty in Hyannis and began taking on water.

The ferry Iyanough hit the jetty and grounded on the rocks at the Hyannis Harbor entrance in Massachusetts around 9:30pm Friday.

It was due to dock at Hyannis at 9:45pm.

Of the nine people injured, three were seriously hurt, according to Cape Wide News.

The ferry serves a 26-mile route between Nantucket and Hyannis.

There were 48 passengers, six crew members and three food service workers on board the vessel at the time of the mishap.

In addition to the five medevaced passengers who were injured, 10 other passengers who could not navigate the slippery the slippery rocks were also airlifted, according to Cape Wide News.

Five people have been airlifted to hospital and at least four more have been injured after a high-speed ferry (above) struck a jetty in Hyannis and began taking on water

An injured person is transported from the helicopter to ambulance at Barnstable municipal airport after a high-speed ferry striked a jetty in Hyannisport, Massachusetts late Friday

Bad weather, strong winds and choppy seas are believed to have contributed to the grounding of the Iyanough

The Coast Guard says rescue crews worked into the night to transfer passengers and ferry crew

Footage shot by Laura Pereira, who was on board the ship, shows passengers putting on flotation devices as they wait to be evacuated

The rough seas have hampered the massive rescue operation, forcing stranded passengers to remain on the vessel for hours

Bad weather, strong winds and choppy seas are believed to have contributed to the grounding of the Iyanough, the authority said in a statement.

The Coast Guard says rescue crews worked into the night to transfer passengers and ferry crew.

The rough seas have also hampered the massive rescue operation, forcing stranded passengers to remain on the vessel for hours.

The Coast Guard says that rescue crews will also assess the ferry's damage.

The ferry Iyanough (seen in the above stock image) hit the jetty and grounded on the rocks at the Hyannis Harbor entrance in Massachusetts around 9:30pm Friday

It was due to dock at Hyannis at 9:45pm. Of the nine people injured, three were seriously hurt

The ferry is operated by the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, connecting the Massachusetts islands with the mainland.

It can hold up to 400 people.

'Our concerns, first and foremost, are the safety and well-being of our passengers, and we deeply appreciate the efforts of all who guided them safely to shore,' said Wayne Lamson, general manager of the Nantucket Steamship Authority.
A horse has sustained large claw like injuries to its body with an expert claiming it could come from a cougar-like big cat.

The horse in rural Gympie, north of Brisbane, suffered huge claw-like injuries to its rump in June when the report was listed on pantherpeople.com.

The founder of the website and a big cat researcher has claimed the attack could come from a big predator with recent reported activity in the area.

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The wounds along the rump and back of the horse possibly inflicted by a big cat according to an expert

The scratches and wounds suffered by the horse reported on pantherpeople.com

'These injuries bear numerous similarities to that of failed attacks on horses by cougars in North America, and attempts on zebra by leopards in Africa,' Big cat researcher Vaughan King told The Sunshine Coast Daily.

The former Australian Zoo big cat trainer turned Australian Big Cat Research Group researcher said the wounds did not match scratches from barb wire because they were too clean and of various heights.

The expert claimed big cats are extremely opportunistic and there is no prey a predator won't attack, but would potentially back down after realising the mammoth task of taking down a horse.

However, the former big cat trainer, who shares information on the animals via his YouTube channel, said there was no native Australian animal capable of causing such severe wounds as seen on the horse.

The wounds suffered by the horse in Gympie north of Brisbane

'No Australian natives have got claws that would match that,' the expert claimed.

The Panther People founder - aimed at building an analytical track of big cats in Australia - also claimed the Gympsie area has had a string of recent sightings of big cats.

The website also shows a report of a large dark coloured cat caught the attention of a local as it ran across the road close to Amamoor, near Gympie.
Pictures from inside an Austrian artist's polarising 'sacrifice ritual' show, where a dead bull and its bloodied entrails took centre stage, have surfaced.

Hermann Nitsch's show '150.Action' went ahead on Saturday at Dark Mofo festival in Hobart, amidst protests from animal rights activists.

Photography and filming were banned at the controversial live art performance involving a slaughtered bull and hundreds of litres of animal blood.

But leaked pictures show people blindfolded and hanging on crucifixes with blood dripping down their naked bodies.

Pictures from inside Hermann Nitsch's polarising 'sacrifice ritual' show, where a dead bull and its bloodied entrails took centre stage, have surfaced

People posted photos to Instagram saying the show was 'intense' and they became involved in the performance 'more than expected'

Spectators at Nitsch's show on Saturday walked on floors that were covered in blood

Spectators walked on a concrete floor that was drenched in the blood of a carcass in what appeared to be a warehouse.

People posted the photos to Instagram saying the show was 'intense' and they became involved in the performance 'more than expected'.

About 700 spectators for the event were confronted as they lined up to enter by more than 60 activists.

Protesters held up placards and pointed mirrors at attendees to 'reflect society' back to them, ABC reported.

'It doesn't make you cool, it makes you complicit in the murder of an animal that wanted to live,' one slogan read.

One woman attending the show questioned why the activists had chosen to focus their protests on the spectators.

A bloodied footprint from the 'sacrifice ritual' show that was part of Dark Mofo festival

Spectators walked on a concrete floor that was drenched in the blood of a carcass in what appeared to be a warehouse

A naked and bloodied man wearing a blindfold hangs before a packed audience inside a warehouse

About 700 spectators for the event were confronted as they lined up to enter by more than 60 activists

Protesters held up placards and pointed mirrors at attendees to 'reflect society' back to them

'We didn't kill the animal. It would have already been slaughtered. We are not eating it. Why aren't they protesting the food trucks,' she told ABC.

Another man said he was simply handed a ticket to the show and was attending with an 'open mind'.

But activists asked the spectators if they would attend if it was their pet dog on display, The Mercury reported.

The protest finished without incident once the majority of spectators reached their meeting point.

From there they were taken to a secret location where the show took place with no photography or recording allowed.

Activists asked the show's spectators if they would attend if it was their pet dog on display

Hermann Nitsch's (pictured) show was described as: 'A bloody, sacrificial ritual performed by the patriarch of Viennese Actionism, his devoted disciples and an orchestra'

Hermann Nitsch upcoming performance at the Dark Mofo festival sparked controversy. Pictured: One of the artist's performances in Austria in 1998

Animal Liberation Tasmania's petition called for the show to be cancelled and quickly attracted thousands of signatures

The show was initially cancelled and tickets reissued after organisers discovered protesters had acquired tickets and planned to disrupt the event, the ABC reported.

An online petition asking the Hobart City Council to 'take action against the slaughter of a bull for art' gained over 20,000 signatures but failed to stop Nitsch from performing his piece.

The performance was an over-18 only event and warned ticket-holders about its 'distressing' content.

It was described by organiser Dark Mofo as: 'A bloody, sacrificial ritual performed by the patriarch of Viennese Actionism, his devoted disciples and an orchestra.'

Despite the morbid subject matter, the show sold out of its 1000 first-round tickets, and another 1000 people were invited to queue outside the venue to get a glimpse of the three-hour show.

The performance was an over-18 only event and warned ticket-holders about its 'distressing' content. Pictured: A promotional shot for the performance
A woman who was filmed going on an alleged racist rant against two bus passengers has apologised, saying she is 'embarrassed' and 'sorry'.

Stacey Marie Thomason, 31, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday, charged with offensive language in November last year, reported the Adelaide Advertiser.

Footage published on social media, at the time, allegedly showed Thomason swearing repeatedly at an Asian woman and her daughter on a public bus.

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Stacey Marie Thomason (pictured) has apologised for an alleged racist rant at an Asian mother and her daughter on a public bus in Adelaide in November last year

Ms Thomason, 31, (pictured) appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday charged with offensive language. She apologised outside, saying she was embarrassed and 'very sorry'

Prosecutors allege the incident took place on bus in the southern suburb of Fullarton.

'Excuse me, they're not f******* people, they're not f******* Australian and she didn't pay for her f***ing ticket d******,' Thomason is allegedly heard saying.

'Literally, theyre f***ing invading our country, cant you see it  f***ing Chinese people (are) f***ing everywhere.

'Wake up man, close your f***ing eyes eh. F***ing were getting f***ing invaded by these f***ing c****.'

At the time of the incident, police told Daily Mail Australia they were investigating.

'This sort of behaviour, namely offensive language, is not acceptable,' a police spokeswoman said.

During her irate rant Thomason is allegedly heard swearing repeatedly at an Asian mother and daughter, accusing them of not being Australian

It's alleged Thomason also accused the Asian mother of not paying for her ticket and told her that Chinese people were invading Australia

Outside court on Friday Thomason told reporters she was sorry and when asked if she was embarrassed, she said: 'Very much so'.

'It is not like me at all,' she said. 'I am a very nice person and I am not normally like that. At the moment no comment until my court (hearing), if that is okay.'

Thomason, of Wallaroo, is yet to formally enter a plea to the charge.

Magistrate Gregory Clark remanded her on continuing bail to appear again in court later in July.

Thomason has already served a three month Transport Barring Order.

Outside court on Friday Thomason (pictured) told reporters she was sorry and when asked if she was embarrassed, she said: 'Very much so'. She is yet to enter a formal plea
Australian property owners whose buildings are clad in flammable materials face expensive repair bills and falling prices in the wake of the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in London.

The Australian Society of Building Consultants NSW president has warned property prices could drop once the nation becomes aware of the dangers of flammable aluminium composite cladding used in apartment blocks, The Australian reported.

'If this gets out into the wider public, and everyone has seen London now, you would have to suggest property prices will drop and there is already an oversupply of apartments in Melbourne and Brisbane,' Chris Dyce told the publication.

Seventy people are missing and feared dead after fire ripped through the Grenfell Tower in west London in the early hours of Wednesday

The Lacrosse building, in Melbourne's Docklands precinct, caught fire in late-2014 (pictured), and it was later revealed combustible cladding laid throughout the complex may have helped fuel the inferno

Mr Dyce said it would cost a significant amount of money for remediation work to be carried out on high-rise apartment blocks, which would impact the property market.

'For example, to scaffold a 24-storey tower, take off the panels and reclad it... you are talking serious money,' he said.

Almost 3000 buildings in Sydney reportedly have aluminium composite cladding and about half of Melbourne's apartment blocks have the cladding.

Seventy people are missing and feared dead following the Grenfell Tower blaze, with 24 still receiving treatment, of which 12 are in critical care.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday at the 120-apartment block in White City, which houses about 600 people.

Fears have emerged cladding used inside and outside the housing block was a major factor in it quickly becoming engulfed in flames.

Fire broke out in the 120-apartment Grenfell Tower in London early on Wednesday morning

Fears have emerged cladding used inside and outside the west London housing block was a major factor in it quickly becoming engulfed in flames

The cladding, installed at the west London tower in May 2016 as part of a 10million refurbishment, is feared to have contributed to the building 'lighting up like a matchstick'.

In late-2014, more than 400 residents were forced to flee for their lives in the middle of the night as the Lacrosse building, in Melbourne's Docklands precinct, caught fire.

Following the blaze, started by a lit cigarette left on a balcony, it was revealed combustible cladding laid throughout the complex may have helped fuel the inferno.

An audit of 170 buildings was carried out after that fire. Recently, 41 were still classed as being 'non-compliant', which authorities say does not mean they are unsafe.
An historic World War Two Spitfire worth 3million crash-landed when its undercarriage collapsed as it touched down on a grass landing strip.

The rare two-seater version of the iconic fighter, which helped in the Battle of Britain aerial clash with the Luftwaffe, suffered damage to its landing gear and propeller.

The impact may also have damaged the plane's Merlin engine. The accident - the latest in a string of similar crashes - happened when the aircraft, nicknamed Elizabeth, came into land at Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire this morning.

Botched landing: An historic World War Two Spitfire worth 3million crash-landed when its undercarriage collapsed as it touched down on a grass landing strip, pictured

Damaged: The rare two-seater version of the iconic fighter - which helped in the Battle of Britain aerial war against the Luftwaffe - suffered damage to its landing gear and propeller

Aero Legends, the company that owns and operates the aircraft, said the undercarriage was not fully locked down and so collapsed when it took the full weight of the 73-year-old fighter.

A spokesman from Aero Legends said: 'We are very sad to have to advise you that our two seat Spitfire "Elizabeth" experienced a landing today where the undercarriage was not fully locked down. The passenger and pilot are unhurt and the damage to the aircraft appears to be light.

'We will post a more comprehensive report on the damage when the engineers have properly assessed its condition.

'We thank everyone for the kind messages that we have been receiving and hope to get Elizabeth back in the air as soon as possible.'

Not the first time: The accident - the latest in a string of similar crashes - happened when the aircraft, nicknamed Elizabeth (pictured), landed at Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire

Love is in the air: Flight Lieutenant Bruce Whiteford flew NH341 more than any other pilot and had his wife Elizabeth's initials and name painted on the aircraft, pictured

Later the company announced that the plane - with registration number NH341 - had been taken to an onsite hangar and should be set to take to the skies again soon.

They said: 'Engineers from Aircraft Restoration Company have inspected the damage and are confident that they will have her flying shortly. We would like to thank the Sywell Aerodrome RFFS and Management, Richard Grace of Air Leasing Ltd and all others who have helped and sent their support.'

Three years of restoration work on the plane was only completed last year.

Air repair: Three years of restoration work (pictured) on the plane was only completed last year

It is now used for pleasure flights from Sywell and Headcorn airfield in Kent. A 20-minute trip in the second seat costs more than 100 per minute at 2,500.

It is the third accident involving a Supermarine Spitfire in the last eight months. In September last year another plane landing at Sywell suddenly tipped forward on its under-wing wheels, causing the propeller and front of the plane to hit the ground.

Just last week a Spitfire was badly damaged when it crashed at a French airfield as it took off for an air display near Verdun. The plane nose dipped and it flipped over onto its back. The pilot was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The pilot of a light aircraft that went missing on Friday afternoon has been found dead inside the wreck.

At 2pm the plane left an Upper Turon airfield, north of Bathurst, and did not return as scheduled.

Emergency services were contacted about 3:15pm and launched an extensive ground and air search however the plane was not located.

The pilot of a light aircraft that went missing on Friday afternoon has been found (stock picture)

The search was resumed early Saturday morning and the aircraft was found about 8:30pm in bushland in the Upper Turon area.

Police will now prepare a report for the coroner as investigations will continue.
Cruise liner MS Brillance of the Seas is set to face a fine over an all-night party on a stopover in Ibiza.

Town hall officials on the island capital say they received a string of phone calls complaining about noise.

Police and port authorities were alerted but say they were unable to get the music turned down.

Local reports said the noise on the ship, which docked in Marina Botafoch in Ibiza for two days after arriving from Barcelona, continued until around 8.30am yesterday.

The ship was docked in Marina Botafoch in Ibiza when the complaint was made. Pictured: A stock photograph of MS Brilliance of the Seas

Port authorities have now initiated proceedings expected to result in a fine for the cruise ship's agent. Pictured: MS Brilliance of the Seas during a stopover in Florida

Port authorities have now initiated proceedings expected to result in a fine for the cruise ship's agent, with sources warning last night it would be the 'maximum possible under the law' for breaching noise regulations.

MS Brilliance of the Seas belongs to the Royal Caribbean's Radiance Class.

The 2002-built vessel can hold 2,500 passengers.

It sails Western Caribbean itineraries out of Florida during the winter season before crossing the Atlantic in late April and offering several Mediterranean itineraries out of Barcelona through summer and autumn.

A spokesman for Royal Caribbean said: 'Brilliance of the Seas was on charter by Shipsomnia for a music and arts cruise.

'During her stopover in Ibiza, Spain, the charter had some onboard events that caused complaints about the noise levels. Our crew worked with our charter client to reduce the music volume. We are currently working with city officials regarding this incident. To date, Royal Caribbean International has not been fined.'
This is the horrifying moment a woman hurled vile racial abuse at a man in Huddersfield town centre.

The woman was sitting in a doorway on Kirkgate when she began abusing the man in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Her victim, a 21-year-old who does not want to be named, took out his phone to record her slurs.

The victim said he was walking down Kirkgate after breaking fast for Ramadan when the woman began her unprovoked tirade of abuse.

The woman, who even appeared to be on the phone at the time, yelled: 'Do you wanna know why I'm being racist? In my own country? Because it's your race that's blowing up our f***ing nation.'

The aggressive abuse continues as she screams: 'What are you going to do? I'll s*** in your face you P*** b******.'

The woman was sitting in a doorway on Kirkgate when she began abusing the man in the early hours of yesterday morning. Her victim, a 21-year-old male asked not to be named

The woman, who appeared to be on the phone at the time, yelled: 'Do you wanna know why I'm being racist? In my own country? Because it's your race that's blowing up our f***ing nation.'

The abuse continued and she even verbally threatened to stab the man in the face

He said: 'I was minding my own business. She just started having a go at me. I asked her what her problem was and she just carried on.

'I could tell she had had a bit to drink but there is no excuse for it.'

He added: 'I am a 21-year-old British Pakistani born and raised in Huddersfield and I have never been in this situation before. After this I seriously don't feel safe in my own country!'

The victim said: 'I was minding my own business. She just started having a go at me. I asked her what her problem was and she just carried on. 'I could tell she had had a bit to drink.'

A representative for West Yorkshire Police told the MailOnline that a hate crime has been recorded and enquiries are ongoing.

'A report was made to police at 4.47pm on Friday 16 June following an incident that had occurred around 1am of the same day where a woman verbally abused a 21-year-old man who was with friends in Huddersfield Town Centre,' the representative said.

West Yorkshire police encouraged anyone with any information related to the incident to contact police on 101 quoting 13170274705.
A grieving widow is suing a hospital for $2.5 million in damages after she claimed a 'chain of failures' led to his death following surgery to remove stomach cancer.

Sophie Pearson's husband Malcolm, 51, died three years ago after the father-of-two underwent his second operation at Wesley Hospital in Brisbane.

She has filed legal action against Dr Brian Meade and Wesley Hospital and alleges the hospital was 'ill-equipped' to perform the complex cancer removal surgery on Mr Pearson, the Courier Mail reports.

Sophie Pearson's (pictured) husband Malcolm, 51, died three years ago after the father-of-two underwent his second operation at Wesley Hospital in Brisbane

She has filed legal action against Dr Brian Meade and Wesley Hospital (pictured) and alleges the hospital was 'ill-equipped' to perform the complex cancer removal surgery on Mr Pearson

Ms Pearson also alleges during the second operation Dr Meade failed to insert a stoma in her husband's stomach and instead 'closed' him - and claims his death was a direct result of this 'breach of duties'.

The woman - who is a lawyer herself - says Mr Pearson had worsened abdominal pain and appeared 'grey' in colour ten days after the surgery.

She is seeking $2 million in damages for the loss of 'financial dependency' for the couple's two children, as well as $500,000 in 'lost domestic services' after her husbands death which came as an 'unexpected shock'.

'He was a devoted dad. It is such a terrible loss for the whole family, but in particular the children, who relied on him every day for all his love and support,' she told the publication.

Dr Meade and Wesley Hospital have not filed defences for Ms Pearson's suit.

Ms Pearson also alleges during the second operation Dr Meade failed to insert a stoma in her husband's stomach and instead 'closed' him - and claims his death was a direct result of this 'breach of duties'
An Australian start-up company has just raised $34.5 million in one year and you've probably unknowingly helped them get it.

Rokt is an internet marketing service founded in Sydney that launches those pop ups you receive once you make a transaction online.

The pop up normally begins with 'claim a selection of great offers, discounts and services from our promoted sponsors' and once clicked allows you to do a quiz or answer questions for a selection of well known brands.

Rokt is an internet marketing service founded in Sydney that launches those pop ups you receive once you make a transaction online

So if you've ever bought anything from Ebay, Emirates, Ticketmaster, Gumtree, Live Nation or Domino's there is a good chance you've contributed to Rokt who just received the largest round of investment funding of any local start-up in 2017.

Interestingly the CEO is Bruce Buchanan - who also happens to be the former boss at Jetstar.

The idea behind the pop-ups is in the fact you've likely still got your credit card out from making the last transaction, so why wouldn't you want to purchase more?

So if you've ever bought anything from Ebay, Emirates, Ticketmaster, Gumtree, Live Nation or Domino's there is a good chance you've contributed to Rokt who just received the largest round of investment funding of any local start-up in 2017

The idea behind the pop-ups is in the fact you've likely still got your credit card out from making the last transaction, so why wouldn't you want to purchase more?

Rokt's website confirms that over 100 million people have said yes to splurging even after they've made a significant purchase online shopping. So there is clearly success in their business model.

The team have just launched in Singapore, the US, London and Auckland so they'll be getting some of the same 'insane deals' we've been seeing for the past few years.

'Although we have achieved a triple-digit growth rate year on year for the last couple of years, we think there is still a massive opportunity in the US,' Mr Buchanan told the Australian Financial Review.

'We also think there is a massive opportunity in Europe, and while China and Japan are tougher markets to crack, we are trying to get into a position where we have a proposition in all of those major markets for clients that want to work with us globally.'
Thousands of schools, hospitals and buildings in the UK may have to be checked for cladding similar to the type blamed for the Grenfell Tower inferno.

At least five councils in London are to carry out safety inspections at similar developments after at least 17 died in the tower block whose flammable , with the death toll expected to rise significantly.

Now, it has emerged that 553million of taxpayers' money has been spent on hundreds of public sector contracts to fit buildings across the UK with some form of cladding.

Date seen by MailOnline shows more than 500 public trusts, councils, schools, universities and hospitals have spent millions on 'cladding' in the last three years.

The authorities to purchase the cladding, at a cost of up to 200million, include Bournemouth and Poole College, Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Mid Essex Hospital and Edge Hill University.

Thousands of buildings - including Mid Essex Hospital (pictured) - in the UK may have to be checked for cladding similar to the type blamed for the Grenfell Tower inferno

It has emerged that 553million of taxpayers' money has been spent on hundreds of public sector contracts to fit buildings across the UK with some form of cladding. Pictured: Edge Hill University, which paid for cladding to be installed

At least five councils in London are to carry out safety inspections at similar developments after at least 17 died in the White City blaze (pictured)

It is unclear whether the cladding was made from the same aluminium panels believed to have set light to the 27-storey tower block in just 15 minutes.

The data was collated by Tussell, a database of UK public procurement.

'This gives a sense of how common its use is in the public sector alone,' Tussell spokesman Gus Tugendhat told the Times.

He added: 'Over the last three years, 75 contracting authorities across the wider public sector have awarded 558 contracts mentioning cladding with an aggregate value of 553 million to 234 different suppliers.'

Manchester City Council is now reported to be doing 'systematic checks of fire-risk management of each of the blocks they manage to ensure they are robust'.

As many as 87 tower blocks are said to be the subject of fire enforcement notices due to lax safety precautions.

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said that people living in tower blocks with cladding needed to be told what kind of materials had been affixed to their homes.

It is unclear whether the cladding paid for by the likes of Queen Victoria Hospital (pictured) was made from the same aluminium panels believed to have set light to the 27-storey tower block in just 15 minutes

The data which featured Bournemouth College (pictured) was collated by Tussell, a database of UK public procurement

Manchester City Council is now reported to be doing 'systematic checks' of blocks in the wake of the Grenfell Tower inferno. Pictured: The charred building following the fire

Fire Safe Europe, a group which lobbies for fire safety, told the Times that Britain needs to improve its building regulations when it comes to cladding material.

An FSE spokesman told the paper: 'When it comes to high-risk buildings such as high-rise structures, schools, hospitals or other large buildings where occupants may struggle to escape, all possibility for errors must be designed out: nothing can be left to chance.

It comes as the government launches an emergency review of 4,000 council-owned tower blocks around the country and officials claim the cladding used on Grenfell Tower is banned from tower blocks in the UK.

Officials claimed last night that cladding used on Grenfell Tower were banned from tower blocks in Britain.

Reynobond PE aluminium panels are forbidden on tall buildings in America and Europe under fire safety rules because of their plastic core but a contractor said yesterday that they were supplied for the 8.6 million refurbishment of the tower.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said that such panels would also be banned by building regulations here.

Fire Safe Europe, a group which lobbies for fire safety, told the Times that Britain needs to improve its building regulations

The government has launched an emergency review of 4,000 council-owned tower blocks in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster

Officials claimed last night that cladding used on Grenfell Tower were banned from tower blocks in Britain

Meanwhile one of Britain's top fire experts told MailOnline that tinder box cladding wrapped around buildings should be ripped down immediately because thousands of lives could be at risk.

Grenfell Tower in White City had insulated aluminium panels installed on the outside by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited - but it ignited 'like a firelighter' after a fridge exploded yesterday.

It has emerged that the same company, and the main contractor Rydon, did the same work at dozens of other buildings including scores of high-rise blocks housing thousands.

Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of 16 million, raising fears for the safety of thousands other residents.

Warning posters have been put up in communal areas telling residents to 'be aware'.

And Labour MP David Lammy today branded the Grenfell Tower blaze 'corporate manslaughter' and demanded arrests are made because he fears hundreds may have died in Britain's worst fire for decades.

At least five councils in London are to carry out safety inspections at similar developments after at least 17 died in the White City inferno yesterday.

Grenfell Tower in White City had insulated aluminium panels installed on the outside by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited

Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of 16 million

Labour MP David Lammy today branded the Grenfell Tower blaze 'corporate manslaughter' and demanded arrests are made

Architect and fire expert Sam Webb, who also advises Parliament on housing safety, told MailOnline: 'The cladding should be torn down.

'You only have to look out of your window to see these colourful buildings. In the past they would never have been built because they wouldn't have met the regulations. Tear them down. People have a right to be safe when you're in a building'.

He added: 'When you get on a bus, you expect that bus' breaks to work. This building was like a bus full of people without any brakes. If we have to send someone to prison, then we have to do what we have to do.'
Teenage ISIS inspired terror suspects are radicalising other detainees by preaching extremist Islam inside prison.

This has prompted the NSW public sector union to call for a separate facility to house radical teenage offenders, The Australian reported.

Juvenile Justice officers are finding it difficult to handle a small number of radical inmates, some of whom have been arrested for planning ISIS-inspired attacks.

Teenage ISIS inspired terror suspects are radicalising other detainees by preaching extremist Islam inside prison (stock image)

Teenage ISIS-inspired terror suspects are radicalising prisoners by preaching extremist Islam in prayer groups (stock image)

Authorities are worried about two particular inmates who were arrested in Bankstown in Sydney's west last year, allegedly on their way to commit a terrorist attack.

The young men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, bought bayonets from a local gun shop and stopped at a prayer hall before the planned attack.

Since being housed in juvenile justice, sources told The Australian, the teenagers have been attempting to convert other inmates, particularly indigenous detainees.

The government is currently discussing ways to help authorities manage this problem.

Juvenile justice industrial officer Julie Bond said radical inmates were taking on leadership roles.

'Most are compliant but we're starting to observe a change in the behaviour of other kids. They're up on a pedestal. Other kids view them as greater peers,' she said.

Public Service Association general secretary Stewart Little said the problem was so bad that a specialist centre was needed to house extremist inmates (Cobham Juvenile Justice Centre pictured)

Juvenile Justice officers are finding it difficult to handle a small number of radical inmates, some of whom have been arrested for planning ISIS-inspired attacks (stock image)

Many young people in juvenile justice centres are Aboriginal and are considered particularly vulnerable to radicalisation because of a lack of support offered.

Public Service Association general secretary Stewart Little said the problem was so bad that a specialist centre was needed to house extremist inmates.

'My members at the juvenile justice centre at Cobham have to deal with radicalised young people who openly speak about waiting for an opportunity to behead someone,' he said.

NSW Corrections Minister David Elliott said in 2016 the government spent $1 million helping staff to handle high-risk inmates.
A manhunt has been launched after an 18-year-old woman was found dead in a Wigan park.

A student was reported missing yesterday evening by her family after she failed to return from college and police are working to establish if she is the victim.

The body was found in local beauty spot Orrell Water Park at about 2.30am this morning after police received information 'via social media'.

They said she was found with head injuries.

Detective Superintendent Howard Millington said it was a 'brutal attack' of a kind 'rarely seen in Greater Manchester'. Pictured: Orrell Water Park, where the woman's body was found early this morning

The body of the 18-year-old girl was found in Orrell Water Park (pictured above) at about 2.30am this morning

Police said they can't rule out a sexual motivation for the attack. Pictured: An officer guards the entrance to the park

Pictured: Police at the scene investigating the death. Detective Superintendent Millington said: 'Things like this don't happen in Orrell'

Detective Superintendent Howard Millington said: 'This was a brutal attack on a young woman, the type rarely seen in Greater Manchester.

'We have a full investigation team working on finding out what exactly happened to her and to try and find the person who did this.'

He added: 'I understand that there will be many people in the community extremely worried, things like this don't happen in Orrell, but I would like to reassure them that we are working as hard as we possibly can to get the answers to all of the questions.'

Police also said two young women were reported to have been followed by two men in the area on Thursday.

Pictured: Police investigating at the scene in Wigan

Pictured: Flowers, which have already been laid for the victim of the attack

Pictured: Flowers laid at a sign near Orrell Water Park in Wigan

There will be a large police presence in the area and on the streets as the death is investigated.

Police said they 'can't rule out' a sexual motive in the investigation, but they don't yet have any suspects.

They also warned people from going near the area.

Detective Superintendent Millington added: 'This is very much an ongoing investigation, we will leave no stone unturned and myself and my team will not stop until we have found out exactly what happened and have brought whoever did this to justice.'

Pictured: A close-up of a bouquet of flowers left at the scene of the 18-year-old girl's death

Police said there will be a large police presence in the area (pictured) and on the streets as the death is investigated

Formal identification has yet to be established and police said they are keeping an open mind at this stage.

At a press conference this afternoon, Detective Superintendent Millington said he would dedicate 'significant resources' to the investigation.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 7103 or 101.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers - anonymously - on 0800 555 111.
Australian comedian Wil Anderson has been arrested after a 'misunderstanding' on a Qantas flight over his sore back.

Police were called to Wagga Wagga airport on Saturday at 4pm after being told a passenger on board a flight from Sydney was being a nuisance and not following basic crew instructions.

But Anderson, 43, insisted his arrest was a result of his pacing up and down the aircraft because of discomfort over his back.

'I have a sore back and I was up and about pacing and there was a misinterpretation of my intentions in my pacing. I was just trying to stretch out my back,' he told 9News.

'I have a sore back and I was up and about pacing and there was a misinterpretation of my intentions in my pacing. I was just trying to stretch out my back,' Anderson told 9NEWS

The 43-year-old was on his way to perform at a sold-out show in the regional city centre when he was picked up by police and questioned at Wagga Wagga's police station.

A Twitter user wrote at the time: 'Wil Anderson tweeted earlier about Qantas being s*** and not helping him. He's now been arrested for 'playing up' on the flight and the tweet is gone.'

'A big f*** you to the crew at Qantas for their no help today. Sorry Wagga if I can't walk when I get off the plane today,' his tweet reportedly said.

Another social media user wrote 'stoked to be seeing Wil Anderson tonight in Wagga Wagga!'

'A big f*** you to the crew at Qantas for their no help today. Sorry Wagga if I can't walk when I get off the plane today,' the tweet reportedly said (pictured Wagga Wagga airport)

A statement from Qantas said 'to ensure all of our flights are comfortable and safe for passengers, we do not tolerate disruptive behaviour on board'

A statement from Qantas said 'to ensure all of our flights are comfortable and safe for passengers, we do not tolerate disruptive behaviour on board.'

Police have since confirmed that Mr Anderson has been released from their custody.

The 43-year-old said 'it was all a misunderstanding' and addressed his audience at the Civic Centre tonight by saying 'Sorry I'm late. I got arrested.'

'Funny thing happened to me on the way to the show tonight. I've been a comedian for 22 years and I've seen s*** comedians always go "funny thing happened to me on the way", it's never f****** happened until the town so nice they named it twice.

'I have a bad back, my back is all taped up, I hurt by back really badly and they put me in the emergency exit row which is good because I get a little bit of extra leg room.

Police were called to the tarmac on Saturday at 4pm after being told a passenger on board a flight from Sydney was being a nuisance

'And just before we were about to take off on the plane the flight attendants came up to me and told me 'your back is too bad for you to operate that door.'

Mr Anderson went on to tell 9NEWS that he 'hoped he wouldn't be charged' but felt the misunderstanding was just two different people having a separate 'interpretation' of what was happening.

The Victorian funnyman was diagnosed with a severe form of osteoarthritis in his mid-thirties which causes him to have almost 'daily pain' in his hips and back, the 43-year-old told Mamamia.

'Sometimes I'm going to get off a plane and I won't be able to walk for a while...' he said.

Twitter users have thanked Mr Anderson for committing to the show despite the 'misunderstanding.'

'Thank you for an amazing show. Great you were still able to make the show in Wagga. Hard day but think of the material,' one person wrote.
George and Amal Clooney pictured in January before the recent birth of their twins

With high fences, state of the art security cameras on every shore, and resident bodyguards on constant vigil, George Clooney's new estate on a private island in the Thames is something of a fortress.

But as these pictures show, Fort Clooney came under attack from a rather unexpected enemy this week.

As the Hollywood star and his wife Amal, a prominent human rights lawyer, welcomed their new twins into their Sonning home this week, a undignified assault on the property happened on the shore just a few yards from the house.

The scene had been an idyllic one. Just the burbling of the backwater, the buzzing of dragonflies and the occasional volley of laughter echoing across the water from the Clooney estate.

But calm quickly turned to panic as a large motor yacht loomed into view and attempted to turn round in the narrow straight between Clooney's island and the river bank in the sleepy Oxfordshire village.

And as the photos indicate, the boat house is likely to be an obstacle for other river users in this busy but narrow stretch of water as it runs opposite the Upper Thames Motor Yacht Club.

First came the sound of bickering from the launch, then squabbling, and then hollering.

Finally a loud crunch split the air as the boat appeared to plough headlong into Clooney's newly-built boathouse.

After 20 million high-security renovations, Fort Clooney comes under surprise waterborne attack. The boaters were trying to turn the yacht when it got stuck by the Clooney's boathouse

Two elderly couples had taken this motor yacht, the Juno Too, out for a lazy afternoon cruising the backwaters of the Thames on the Berkshire-Oxfordshire borders.

The scene unfolded as they returned to moor at the Upper Thames Motor Yacht Club, opposite Clooney's island estate.

Coming in at speed, the four soon discovered the stretch of water between Clooney's island and the moorings at the yacht club was only about 50 feet across and - importantly - made even narrower by the location of the newly-renovated boat house Clooney recently had rebuilt as part of the house renovations.

A man can be seen here trying to fend the boat off of the large boathouse which juts out over the River Thames that runs outside the Clooney's 10m Sonning, Berkshire estate

The skipper attempted a three point turn heading starboard - that's right for any land-lubbers.

But it soon became evident that he had underestimated the rate of knots at which the Juno Too was approaching the manoeuvre.

Unable to turn in time and unable to stop the vessel going forward, the skipper looked on helplessly and the boat ploughed determinedly towards Clooney's new boathouse.

This is the aerial view of the Clooney's riverside Aberlash House. The property has a 12-seater cinema, Astroturf tennis court, riverside pagoda, a film editing suite, a 60 foot pool, hot tub, luxury pool house with staff quarters, wine cellar, gym, steam room and the boat house

Two couples had taken this motor yacht, the Juno Too, out for a lazy afternoon cruising the backwaters of the Thames on the Berkshire-Oxfordshire borders before the collission

The other white-haired male on board - seen here in a gingham shirt and blue trousers - tried in vain to push the roof of the boat house away out of danger.

When that failed to work, as these images show, he tried desperately as a last resort to push at the wall of the boathouse with his leg.

All of which must have looked like quite a kerfuffle for whoever was watching at the other end of the CCTV camera which was located just inches from the man's behind.

The scene unfolded as the boaters returned to moor at the Upper Thames Motor Yacht Club which is located opposite the Clooney's large island estate on the Thames

Thankfully, despite the sound of a crunch, it appeared that no damage had been done to either the boat or the boathouse and the rattled pensioners managed to moor successfully at the club opposite and live to tell the tale.

However it seems that erroneous spacial judgement might not be the only reason for the shunt on Friday afternoon.

The boat house already jutted out into the river course and was subject to a planning issue in the original plans submitted by George, because it was deemed to be too large.

International Human Rights Lawyer Amal Clooney recently gave birth to twins Ella and Alexander. The family had returned to their Berkshire home before the boathouse crash

In May 2015, just before renovations began, South Oxfordshire District Council asked for his plans for the new timber boat house 'the river house' next to the Thames to be scaled down.

Conservation and design officer Samantha Allen said the new building would be far larger than the existing one and it would harm the setting of the main listed building, the conservation area and the riverside appearance of that part of the Thames.

The river house and veranda would have stone steps going out into the river.

Actor George Clooney and Amal had spent four days at the Lindo Wing of ST Mary's hospital, where they hired three suites for an entire week, which cost an eye watering 120,000

Ms Allen said she would be willing to support amended plans which were proportional to the size of the current river house, which is made out of brick with a slate roof.

This was subject to the proposed building being in keeping with the area and materials remaining the same as in the original plans.

George and Amal returned to their Berkshire home this week after spending four days at the Lindo Wing of ST Mary's hospital - where at least four Royal babies have been born in the past few decades.

They hired three suites for an entire week, which cost an eye watering 120,000.

The original plans for the boathouse were turned down for being 'too large' but despite revised plans it still seemed to get in the way of these boaters when they tried to moor nearby
An investigative report into the disastrous Grenfell Tower fire may not be made public for years, it has been revealed.

MPs and protestors alike have called for immediate answers to questions such as why the fire, which led to the death of at least 30 people after the entire 27-storey tower block went up in flames on Wednesday, spread so quickly.

But the London fire service has said the report will not be made public until an inquest is complete - which could take years.

An investigative report into the disastrous Grenfell Tower fire may not be made public for years. Pictured: Protesters gather outside Kensington town hall on Friday afternoon

A spokesman for the fire service told the Guardian: 'The report will not be in the public domain until that inquest is complete.

'There is no timeframe for when the inquest will be, but certainly not in the short term.'

So far 30 people have been confirmed dead with reports of up to 70 more missing after the blaze ripped through the building in west London in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Theresa May, above, faced anger as she left St Clement's Church near Grenfell Tower under police guard on Friday afternoon. MPs and protestors alike have called for immediate answers to questions such as why the fire, which led to the death of at least 30 people after the entire 27-storey tower block went up in flames on Wednesday, spread so quickly

The flats were home to up to 600 people.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid promised that the Government will do 'whatever is required' in the wake of the disaster.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there would be immediate action following the early conclusions from an investigative report into the blaze.

The London fire service has said the report will not be made public until an inquest is complete - which could take years. Pictured: Grenfell Tower at 4.20am on Wednesday

Javid said: 'We need to do whatever it takes to make people that live in those properties safe: that's either make the properties safe or find some other accommodation, it has to be done.'

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said people were frustrated by the lack of information about the missing and the dead as well as a lack of coordination between support services.

'The scale of this tragedy is clearly proving too much for the local authority to cope with on their own,' Khan said in an open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May.

One protester held a sign saying 'Tories have blood on their hands' at Friday night's march

The shell of Grenfell Tower looms over protesters at Notting Hill Methodist Church on Friday

He called for an interim report on the fire to be published this summer.

London Police have launched an investigation to determine whether any crimes contributed to the blaze. May announced a public inquiry on Thursday.

Victims of the horrific blaze demonstrated their anger at the lack of answers by staging protests yesterday evening.

Protesters at Oxford Circus held signs saying 'Justice for Grenfell - We demand the truth'

Hundreds of people gathered outside Kensington town hall in west London, wanting to know how the tragedy could have happened.

A separate march was held on Whitehall, where protesters were angry with the response from the Government following Wednesday's disaster.

The group brought the heart of London to a standstill as they tried to march from the Home Office headquarters to Downing Street.

Frustrations boiled over about the fatal fire at Kensington town hall on Friday

The crowd, shouting 'May must go', 'justice for Grenfell' and 'blood on your hands', were met with a cordon of police officers as they marched up Horse Guards Parade, coming to a stop outside Downing Street.

Organisers estimated at least 1,400 were involved, with many waving placards. Protesters were also seen holding a sit-in at Oxford Circus and a further demonstration outside the BBC's Broadcasting House.

As criticism was hurled at her for not visiting victims until yesterday, Mrs May announced a 5million support package of the victims of the blaze, which will include legal aid for victims in the public inquiry.
The architect of the Second World War prison break immortalised by The Great Escape is to be honoured with a plaque on the spot where Gestapo officers murdered him in 1944.

Daredevil skiier, ladies' man and multilingual Cambridge-educated barrister Roger Bushell helped 76 prisoners of war escape from Stalag Luft III, a Nazi camp in occupied Poland.

Just 33 at the time of his death, Squadron Leader Bushell - played by Richard Attenborough in the classic 1963 film - had been in enemy hands since his first day of combat, when he was shot down in a Spitfire during the Dunkirk evacuation.

Now Bushell, whose place of death was only established two years ago, will finally be remembered with a plaque and ceremony on July 1, according to The Times.

Roger Bushell (pictured right) is set to finally be commemorated with a plaque on the spot where he was murdered by the Gestapo

Roger Bushell was played by Richard Attenborough (pictured front) in the classic 1963 film The Great Escape. Pictured behind him is Steve McQueen, who played Captain Virgil Hilts of the United State Army Air Force

He was shot in the back of the neck and head on Hitler's orders on a then-empty stretch of road between Kaiserslautern and Landstuhl, which is now close to the US's Ramstein Air Base, five days after masterminding the escape.

His fate was shared by 49 other escapees, with only three of the original 76 successfully returning to Allied territory.

Simon Pearson, a biographer of Bushell's, said the squadron leader was only ever 'mentioned in dispatches' for his efforts and never given proper recognition.

'He was the man who galvanised the prisoners,' he said. 'He got 600 of them working on the escape plan. But he also turned the north compound of Stalag Luft III into an outpost of MI9. They collected serious intelligence information about V1s, V2s.'

Dashing: Bushell, who was born in South Africa, was a well known ladies' man

Bushell managed to help 76 prisoners escape Stalag Luft III prison camp (pictured) in 1944

Pictured left: Bushell, an accomplished skiier, shows off his snow skills. Right: The man in uniform

The ceremony to remember the South African-born Bushell will include a French air force fly-by for attendees, among whom are expected to be senior British, German and French officers.

The plaque that will be erected on the spot where he was killed has been paid for by over 5,000 of donations, including from a group associated with his old RAF 92 Squadron

Bushell is also commemorated at the military cemetery in Poznan, Poland, along with the other murdered prisoners.

When Bushell arrived at Stalag Luft III in September 1942, he was determined to hit back hard at the Germans, who were reputed to have tortured him when he was recaptured following his last escape.

Pictured: The entrance to the famous 'Harry' escape tunnel originally built by Allied airmen at the German Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp in Zagan, Nazi-occupied Poland

His plan was to construct three tunnels and proceed on the assumption that if the Germans discovered one, they would not suspect a second  and if they did find a second, they would never suspect a third.

From Bushells arrival to when the tunnel used for the breakout was completed (it was dubbed Harry), a whole escaping industry was set up to provide essential kit such as false papers and civilian clothes, which were modified from RAF uniforms with varying degrees of success.

The escape happened on the night of March 24-25  and from the very start it was beset with problems.

A few of the men suffered claustrophobic panic attacks in the tunnel, while others forgot to pull through behind them their fellow escapers, using special trolleys.

Pictured: Roger Bushell

Pictured: Prisoners play football at the Stalag Luft III compound in Nazi-occupied Poland

A power cut did not help, nor did the fact that it took two hours to open the exit trapdoor because it had swollen with damp. And, infamously, the tunnel fell short of its intended target  the woods which meant the PoWs had to emerge into the open.

Of the 76 who managed to get away, nearly all were recaptured within 48 hours.

Bushell was captured on the afternoon of March 26 with his French escape partner Bernard Scheidhauer at Saarbrucken railway station on the French-German border, 450 miles from the camp.

His papers were at fault, although it is also likely he inadvertently replied in English to a question put to him by a policeman  a mistake ascribed to his companion (played by Gordon Jackson) in the film.

Bushell and Scheidhauer were delivered into the hands of the Gestapo, who said theyd drive them back to the PoW camp.

However, on the way, the two men were ordered out of the car for a rest stop. As they urinated next to some trees, they were shot in the back of the head by two Gestapo officers.
A cousin of a family of five who went missing in the Grenfell Tower inferno has revealed his despair as they have still not been found since the blaze.

Devastated father-of-three Abdul Khan has not seen his cousins Abdul Hamid, 26, Abdul Hanif, 29, and Hosna Begum, 24, since the fire which has so far claimed at least 30 lives with dozens more feared missing.

His uncle Komru Miah, 82, and aunt Razia Begum, in her late 60s, are also missing since the blaze which engulfed the 17th floor flat that all five of the family members shared in west London.

Razia Begum, believed to be in her late 60s, with her daughter Hosna, 24, who was due to marry in just three weeks

Abdul Khan, the cousin of Abdul Hanif, Abdul Hamif and Hosna, who has told of his despair as there is still no word from them

Hosna, a retail worker, was due to be married in just three weeks, in a traditional ceremony with 1,000 guests expected.

Abdul, 60, who is originally from Bangladesh but who has lived in Britain for decades, told MailOnline: 'The pain had just been getting worse. Five members of family were lost and we had no idea where they were.

'When I found out they were missing I wasn't 100% sure what to think at the time, I was very confused.

Grenfell Tower victim, 24, was due to marry in just three...

Home Office says it WILL help parents of Syrian inferno...

'With the state of the fire I had seen on the news I thought maybe they were trapped in the flat.

'My uncle said "I'm going, forgive me if I've been offensive to anyone".

'He was on the phone to some relatives for three hours - the blaze was still going down and firefighters and fire crew were struggling to save as many people as they can but it's beyond their control.

Hosna, pictured, in a headscarf, worked at the Carphone Warehouse and is said to have been excited about getting married and finding her life partner

'Within 15 minutes the fire had spread through the whole building. How can this happen? When the whole building went up I thought 'it must be a miracle for my family to survive'. My eyes couldn't believe it had happened.

'For me, at that time I said to god "please find a way that they can come along with other people trapped in the tower who are safe and well". That's all I could think about in that moment.'

Taxi driver Abdul, who has lived in London for 35 years and now stays in Henson, said: 'Emotionally I've been very down and very sad. Not only for the relatives of ours but for every person who's still missing.

'We feel what their family members are going through. They're all human beings - those people who suffered, those people who lost their lives, those relatives who lost their loved ones.'

Speaking of Hosna's upcoming wedding, Abdul said: 'Husna was born and raised here in this country. She was very active, she was very helpful and she was a very loved young lady by the whole family.

Hosna with her father, Komru Miah, 82, who made phone calls inside the flat as the fire raged

'She was a very easygoing person, very kind. All the friends that she had who have lost her are still coming to terms with it - they can't feel that she's gone. Last time I saw her all she could talk about was the wedding - everything was arranged, all the invitations were sent.

'She was looking forward to it, she was excited to be getting a life partner, she was getting married to the person that she loves. Her partner is doing terribly - you can imagine what he is going through.

'They were planning a normal Indian Bangladeshi wedding with more than 1,000 guests. Everybody was looking forward to the wedding day and now it's the opposite - everything is turned upside down.'

One of Abdul's sons who lives nearby as well as his daughter-in-law and granddaughter are now helping the community.

He said: 'Everyone is comforting each other. We believe very much in faith. It's important for us to help and be part of the community.

'The community, the public was much more helpful than the government - people from all walks of life came together and tried to help as much as possible.

'But I was very surprised at the government. The prime minister of this country only came after 36 hours. That was unbelievable and unacceptable. Even the Queen, Her Majesty, came down and the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was hugging with people but Theresa May isn't giving any kind of reaction. It's very bad.'

'We shall overcome': Friends pay tribute to the 'beautiful, loving lady' who shared heartbreaking call with her brother before she went missing in tower with her two-year-old son

The brother of a woman missing alongside her young son following the Grenfell Tower blaze has gathered with friends to pay tribute to her.

Zainab Dean, who was in her 14th floor flat with her son Jeremiah, two, when the fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning, is described as a 'beautiful, loving lady'.

A few dozen people, some carrying flowers and wearing T-shirts featuring a picture of the 28-year-old and her son, walked along Bramley Road in west London singing songs including Amazing Grace.

When they were in sight of the remains of the tower, some pointed and shouted 'we shall overcome' before breaking into song again.

At least 58 people were likely killed in a fire which engulfed a London tower block earlier this week, police announced today, making it the deadliest blaze in London since World War Two.

The brother of Zainab Dean, who is missing alongside her young son following the Grenfell Tower blaze, has gathered with friends to pay tribute to her

She said Zainab (left) had been on the phone to her brother from the 14th floor flat in which she was living with Jeremiah (right) as the fire raged

Dean, who was in her 14th floor flat with her son Jeremiah when the fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning, is described as a 'beautiful, loving lady'. Pictured: Her family

A few dozen people, some carrying flowers and wearing T-shirts featuring a picture of the 28-year-old and her son

The group then walked towards a spot nearby where candles have been lit and messages left on heart-shaped paper, where one woman described Ms Dean, originally from Sierra Leone, as a 'beautiful, loving lady'.

Francis Dean, Ms Dean's brother, was too upset to speak. Members of the UK's Sierra Leone community travelled from Manchester and Birmingham to take part, a friend, Isha Thomas, said.

She said Ms Dean had been on the phone to her brother from the 14th floor flat in which she was living with Jeremiah as the fire raged.

She said she believed Ms Dean was following advice not to leave the building, adding: 'She was on the phone to her brother until four in the morning.'

She added: 'We are just devastated. I just want them (authorities) to answer. We need answers, we need to know what happened.'

Ms Thomas, who knows Ms Dean through the City of Light evangelical ministry in Brentford, said the family have been checking hospitals but have heard nothing.

Members of the UK's Sierra Leone community travelled from Manchester and Birmingham to take part

She said: 'I'm hopeful, I have to be hopeful.'

Today Commander Stuart Cundy said: 'There are 58 people who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing and therefore sadly I have to assume that they are dead.'

Cundy added that the figure could change. Police had previously put the death toll at 30.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government earlier sought to quell anger over the fire, pledging to support the victims of the blaze after protesters jeered her when she visited local residents.

May was rushed away from a meeting with residents on Friday under heavy police guard as protesters shouted 'Shame on you' and hundreds stormed a local town hall calling for justice.

Floor by floor, how the tragedy unfolded: As 70 are feared dead, graphic reveals where the dead and missing were living when fire swept through Grenfell Tower





Heartbreaking new details have emerged showing where the Grenfell victims lived inside the 'Tomb Tower' as a haunting roll call of the missing continues to soar.

An artist whose work is currently being shown at the Venice Biennale was today named as the fifth victim of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Heartbroken family members of Khadija Saye confirmed the 24-year-old was killed when fire ripped through the building in West London where she lived on the 20th floor in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Ms Saye, a friend of MP David Lammy, was in her flat with her mother Mary Mendy, 54, who is still missing. She was last heard from at 3am when she was direct messaging from her flat, as her phone was not working.

Ms Saye had been filmed for the BBC2 documentary Venice Biennale: Sink or Swim, but that has now been pulled from schedule - a spokesman said it would not show for 'obvious reasons'.

A BBC spokesperson said: 'The BBC Two programme Venice Biennale: Sink or Swim features various artists, one of whom is Khadija Saye. Our deepest sympathies are with Khadijas family and friends and all of those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. We have made the decision to postpone the programme and further information about the transmission will be made available in due course.'

Mr Lammy, the Labour representative for Tottenham, said: 'May you rest in peace, Khadija Saye. God bless your beautiful soul. My heart breaks today. I mourn the tragic loss of a wonderful young woman.'

Syrian refugee Mohammad Alhajali, 23, student at the University of West London, was yesterday named as having also died in the blaze after he and his brother became separated as they scrambled to escape the blaze.

Engineering student Mr Alhajali, who fled his war-torn home of Daraa three years ago, was confirmed by family and friends as having died in Wednesday's fire which killed at least 17 people and injured scores more.

But his older brother Omar, a 25-year-old business student, survived the blaze and is now in a stable condition, recovering in hospital. His family were earlier said to have been 'worried sick' about the two siblings.

Italian couple Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi, who have also been confirmed dead, made final phone calls to relatives as the flames closed in on their flat. The family's lawyer said there was 'no hope to find them alive'.

The fifth victim confirmed dead is Khadija Khalloufi, 52, whose husband, retired lecturer Sabah Abdullah, told of his horror of losing her after he lost his grip on her hand in the stampede as they tried to escape.

The flats were home to up to 600 people, with 30 now confirmed dead.

Sky News reported that sources had told them 70 people are missing and feared dead

There are 24 still receiving treatment, of which 12 are still in critical care. At least 70 are missing - and 2.8million has been donated for the victims.

Khadija Saye (left), who lived on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower in West London, and Khadija Khalloufi (right) have both died

Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi were captivated by the views over the capital they enjoyed from their 23rd floor flat

Student Mohammad Alhajali (left), 23, who has died, had fled his war-torn home in Syria with his brother Omar (right), 25

CONFIRMED DEAD

Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi: Italian couple made final phone calls to their families as flames closed in around their 23rd floor flat

Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi made heart-rending final phone calls to their families as the flames rose towards their 23rd floor flat.

The couple, both architecture graduates, moved to London three months ago to look for work and were captivated by the views over the capital they enjoyed from their 23rd floor flat.

Mr Gottardi, also 27, called his family at 3.45am and again just after 4am.

Italian couple Gloria and Marco lived on the 23rd floor of the tower block and had been in London for three months working

Gloria Trevisan uploaded this picture on April 10 with the caption 'Goodnight London' and is thought to have been taken from their 23rd-floor flat

His father Giannino told Italian newspaper Il Mattino di Padova: 'In the first call Marco told us not to worry, that everything was under control, that basically we must not worry.

'He was trying to minimise what happened, probably not to unsettle us.

'But in the second call  and I can't get this out of my head  he said there was smoke, that so much smoke was rising.'

The family's lawyer Maria Cristina Sandrin said: 'I've heard the recording of Gloria talking to her mother and there is no hope to find them alive.

'She said goodbye. She said, 'Thank you mother for what you have done for me'.'

The lawyer said the families wanted to bring the couple's remains home to Italy, but added: 'We don't know in what condition we will find the bodies, if we will find the bodies.'

Miss Trevisan, 27, called her parents as the fire engulfed the doomed tower block and told her mother (pictured): 'Thank you for what you have done for me'

Khadija Khalloufi: Died in fire after her husband lost his grip on 17th floor

Sabah Abdullah, 72, and his wife Khadija Khalloufi, 52

A retired lecturer has told of his horror of losing his wife in the London fire after he lost his grip on her hand in the stampede as they tried to escape.

Sabah Abdullah, 72, was leading his wife, Khadija Khalloufi, 52, through the smoke-filled stairwell as they fled their flat on the 17th floor.

'I feel lost. I don't know what's going on. I just want my wife back,' he told MailOnline.

When the fire started, both left their flat in pyjamas and dressing-gowns, having been asleep when the block filled with smoke. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, he said: 'I said to my wife, put a part of your robe over your nose so you can at least filter it, and I pulled her from the flat.

'I pulled her from the 17th floor and it was very awkward. People were pushing and forcing you to move because each one was running for his life. It was a stampede, with killer smoke. I could see only half a metre in front of me. The noise was indescribable.

'Not only were people screaming, you could feel that every one of them was very nervous and afraid, scared, wondering what's going on. Nobody was expecting this. We were all coughing terribly in the black smoke. There was a mixture of people, mainly adults but some children. I thought, OK, my wife is behind me. All I need to do is keep my hand in her hand and the other hand over my nose.

'But how could I keep my balance? They kept pushing me left and right, how could I balance? I found myself letting go of her hand and putting my hand on the rail. I thought she was safe behind me. I couldn't keep hold of her hand and keep my balance,' he added. 'I had to let go. I can't say exactly what happened next because I couldn't see anything. I never had a head at that time. It was crazy.'

Mr Abdullah was leading his wife, Khadija Khalloufi (pictured) through the smoke-filled stairwell as they fled their flat

When he got to the 15th floor, Mr Abdullah realised his wife was missing. Concluding that she must be making her own way down, he followed the crowd down through the building.

When Mr Abdullah got out of the building, he was shocked to see that his wife Mrs Khalloufi was nowhere to be seen

'Thereafter, I didn't care. I thought she was downstairs,' he said. 'I was pushing other people, doing exactly the same thing as them. I felt like I was behaving like an animal, but everybody was the same. Everybody was panicking. When people fell on the floor, we pulled them up and carried on.'

When he got out of the building, he was shocked to see that his wife was nowhere to be seen.

'A police officer told me to get out of the way. I told him my wife was missing, and he pushed me. It was not a graceful push. I fell over, cutting my feet.'

The rest of the night, he said, was a blur. 'I don't know if it's today or yesterday. I can't concentrate on anything,' he said. It's not easy, I can't sleep last night. But when it got to five, automatically I slept.'

Mr Abdullah described his wife as 'wonderful and generous'. They met when she attended one of his lectures in business studies at Kensington and Chelsea Colleges 28 years ago, he added.

'We were married for 28 years, wonderful, wonderful years,' he told MailOnline. 'We have two stepchildren.'

A friend of the family said: 'When you look at Khadija, she's full of life with a big heart. She is such a humble person, very welcoming. She opens her home to you, when you go to their house, she can't stop feeding you.

'She is a very generous person, very pure. She supports a lot of people in their lives. She cares for neighbours and everyone and loves her husband and stepchildren very much.'

Mr Abdullah described his wife as 'wonderful and generous'. They met when she attended one of his lectures in business studies at Kensington and Chelsea Colleges 28 years ago, he added

Mohammed Alhajali: Refugee who fled Syria dies but his brother survives

A refugee who fled the bloody civil war in Syria for a new life in Britain was among those who died in the inferno.

Mohammed Alhajali, 23, attempted to escape hand-in-hand with his older brother Omar but was forced to let go after he was overwhelmed by smoke.

He returned to their 14th floor flat alone and was trapped there for two hours before sending a final tragic message to a friend in Syria, saying: 'The fire is here now, goodbye.'

Friends spoke of the irony of the brothers who fled war-torn Syria, only for one to die in their new home in London.

Kareen El Beyrouty said: 'They are lovely boys and have been through hell to get here. Syrian refugees come here to escape death, not to meet it.'

Mohammed, older brother Omar, 25, and younger brother Hashem, 20, were granted asylum in Britain after fleeing Daraa in southern Syria, the cradle of the revolution against the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Omar, a business student, made it out of Grenfell Tower and is recovering from smoke inhalation in hospital. Younger brother Hashem lived outside the tower.

Mohammed was a civil engineering student at the University of West London and wanted to use his studies to return to Syria and help rebuild his homeland one day, friends said.

Abdulaziz Almashi, of the Syria Solidarity Campaign, said: 'He survived Assad, the war in Syria, only to die in a tower block in London. There are no words.'

Mohammad Alhajali (pictured left and right) was confirmed by family and friends today as having died in yesterday's fire

Khadija Saye: Artist was stuck in her flat on the 20th floor with her mother

Another victim of the Grenfell Tower fire has been named as 24-year-old artist Khadija Saye. Ms Saye was in her flat on the 20th floor when the fire struck, with her mother Mary Mendy, who is thought to be in her 50s.

Tottenham MP David Lammy confirmed the news on Twitter, writing: 'May you rest in peace Khadija Saye. God bless your beautiful soul. My heart breaks today. I mourn the tragic loss of a wonderful young woman.'

The Labour MP knew Ms Saye through his wife Nicola Green, a fellow artist who mentored her for four years.

Ms Green said that Ms Saye was last heard from at 3am on the night of the fire. 'She was on Facebook saying she was unable to get out of the flat, that the smoke was so thick,' said Ms Green.

'She was saying she just can't get out and: 'Please pray for me. There's a fire in my council block. I can't leave the flat. Please pray for me and my mum.''

Ms Saye's work is currently on show in Venice, responding to the theme of diaspora. Mr Lammy had previously labelled the Grenfell Tower fire 'corporate manslaughter' as he spoke about the search for his friend.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'This is the richest borough in our country treating its citizens in this way. We should call it what it is, it's corporate manslaughter, that's what it is and there should be arrests made, frankly.

'We built buildings in the 70s, those 70s buildings, many of them should be demolished, they haven't got easy fire escapes, they've got no sprinklers - it's totally, totally unacceptable in Britain that this is allowed to happen and people lose their lives in this way, and people should be held to account.'

Another victim of the Grenfell Tower fire has been named as 24-year-old artist Khadija Saye

MISSING

Isaac Shawo: Boy told his mother he 'didn't want to die' on 18th floor

Isaac Shawo has been missing since the blaze broke out

A boy told his mother he 'didn't want to die' just moments before they were separated as they fled the inferno.

Terrified Isaac Shawo, five, was lost in thick black smoke as his family tried to flee their 18th floor flat. He was holding the hand of a neighbour but disappeared as his parents and brother Luca, three, stumbled down a fire escape.

Choking back tears, his mother Genet Shawo said: 'I will not fear the worse, I am still hoping and praying for him. He is a beautiful boy. He told us during the fire that he didn't want us to die.

'My neighbour said he would hold him and bring him down. But when I got outside I realised Isaac wasn't there. I have been to all the emergency centres, all the hospitals and there is no news of him. I just want help, anyone who has any information can they please come forward.'

The family have heard no news of the fate of Isaac, who attended the nearby Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School.

Describing how their escape, Mrs Shawo, who is originally from Ethiopia, told London's Evening Standard that they were beaten back by heat and smoke.

She and her husband Paulos Petakle, a taxi driver, used wet towels to try and protect their children.

'We opened the door and there was thick smoke which came into our home. You couldn't see anything it was so dark. The fire was so hot,' she said.

'I was helping my neighbour to put towels on his children, and started helping them down. I had put a wet towel already on Isaac.

'My neighbour said he had lost hold of him inside and couldn't find him. It was so dark, you couldn't see anything in the smoke. I am praying he managed to get out somehow or someone else saved him.'

Isaac Shawo, pictured with his mother Genet, was lost in thick black smoke as his family tried to flee their 18th floor flat

Farah and Omar Hamdan and their baby: Youngest missing tower resident



Farah Hamdan and her six-month-old baby are among the missing, along with Ms Hamdan's husband Omar Belkadi

A six-month-old baby is feared to be the youngest victim of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Mother Farah Hamdan, her young baby daughter and her husband Omar Belkadi have not been seen since the blaze ripped through the west London block on Tuesday night.

The couple's two older children - 10-year-old Malek Belkadi and Tamzin Belkadi, six - were however located in hospital. Tragically, Malek later died in hospital.

Ms Hamdan's cousin Adel Chaoui has complained about the lack of help the family have received from authorities.

Mr Chaoui said they were given almost no information about where the two children who have been found were, until a health worker at one hospital they went to took pity on them.

He told the Telegraph: 'The hospitals had no idea who these children were- they didn't even realise they were related'.

He added: 'The police are following protocol they have in place during terrorist incidents. There needs to be separate protocol for civil disasters. That's what's going wrong here.'

Ms Hamdan, Mr Belkadi and their six-month-old daughter are still unaccounted for, according to Farah's father, Rkia. 'We've been to all the hospitals and we've been searching all day but we still haven't found them, we just want to know they are safe,' he told The Sun. 'We have had no help from the police, we understand that they're busy but they've got casualties in the hospitals.'

Ms Hamdan's cousin Adel Chaoui has complained about the lack of help the family have received from authorities. Pictured, Tamzin Belkadi

Mother Farah Hamdan (right), her young baby daughter and her husband Omar Belkadi (left) have not been seen since the fire

Mierna, Fatima, Zaenab, Nadia, Bassam & Sirria Choucair: Lived on top floor

Nadia Choucair, her husband and three children are missing

A mother-of-one has told how she lost six family members in the London inferno but survived herself because she was 'too lazy' to leave a friend's house after a big meal, MailOnline can reveal.

Sawsan Choucair, 42, a baker, lives on the 22nd floor of the doomed Grenfell tower block with her family. On the night of the fire she was visiting a friend to break the Ramadan fast.

'It was just a normal visit but we got talking about culture and got carried away, so spontaneously I decided to stay over,' she told MailOnline.

'We have been fasting for almost a month now and your tummy shrinks so you feel too lazy to move. That's what saved my life, though in the end it is all from God.'

Ms Choucair is still holding out hope that her six family members  her mother Sirria, her sister Nadia, 30, brother-in-law Bassam, 33, and nieces Mierna, 14, Fatima, 11 and Zaenab, 3  will be found alive. Her 15-year-old child is abroad.

'I was just going to bed at my friend's house when I got a text from someone in the tower block telling me to come and help,' she said. I got straight in an Uber and rushed over. It was surrounded by police and the fire brigade and everything was in a state of chaos and confusion.

Three young sisters Mierna, 13, Fatima, three, and Zaynab Choucair, ten, are all missing following the fire at Grenfell Tower

'I kept calling my family and friends inside and I'd get through but then I kept getting cut off. One minute I could get through, the next minute I couldn't.

'They were screaming and I was shouting at them, just get out, just get out, even if you have to run through fire. I spoke to my sister Nadia and her husband Bassam. Some friends were with them, and they told me that one of them was pregnant.

'The last thing I heard was my sister telling me that 20 people were there. I don't know if she meant in the flat, in the stairwell or what. There was a lot of screaming. I didn't have time to tell her I loved her. I was just shouting to her to get out. Then we got cut off.'

When asked how she feels this morning, Ms Choucair said she was 'devastated'. 'I'm still hoping,' she added. 'I have faith. I'm not giving up.'

Sawsan Choucair, 42, a baker, has told how she lost six family members in the London inferno but survived herself because she was 'too lazy' to leave a friend's house after a big meal

Rania Ibrham: No contact after filming harrowing video from 23rd floor

A mother trapped on the 24th floor of the Grenfell tower recorded a harrowing Facebook live video as she and her two young children desperately tried to escape.

Rania Ibrham, 30, was in her flat when the raging fire engulfed the housing block in London in the early hours. In the distressing clip, she can be heard screaming for help as she tries to find a way out of the burning building.

Her grief stricken friends told MailOnline they were still anxiously waiting for news on Ms Ibrham and her children, aged three and five, who have not been seen since her phone cut out.

A friend of a mother who lives in the tower block said she still heard from her after receiving a video of the blaze at 3am. Rania Ibrham (left), 30, sent her friend Maseen (right) the clip just moments after the blaze started

Ms Ibrham's friend Suhair Sharif, 55, who lives in Edgware Road, rushed to the scene following the disaster. She told MailOnline: 'Rania lived with her husband and children on the 24th floor.

'Her husband was in Egypt but he flew back as soon as he heard the news. Rania made it down to the floor below to my other friend's flat, but Rania, her two children and my friends on the 23rd floor are all still missing.

'In the video we just heard her saying 'oh my god', but she carried on filming despite the fire. We have not heard from her since the video ended.'

Mrs Sharif added: 'We didn't see any casualties coming out, it is as if they just left them in there to die. One man was told to stay in his flat by police but he refused and escaped with his wife and children.'

Ms Ibrham also sent a heartbreaking Snapchat message to another friend at 2.45am in which she said in Arabic, 'forgive me everyone, goodbye'. In the video Ms Ibrham, who is from Sudan, screams 'Hello, hello, come here' as she ignores the advice of a friend and family members to keep her door closed.

Residents are seen rushing through her door as they try to shelter from the smoke and flames of the inferno.

This photo posted on Facebook by Ms Ibrham's friend Rahmana Rashid is believed to show her along with her two children

Anthony Disson: Lost contact at 3am from the 10th floor

Known as Tony, the 66-year-old is reported to have last been in contact with his family at around 3am while he was inside the building - and said: 'Tell my sons I love them.'

Lee Disson, Tony's son, posted an appeal for information on Facebook and said he was 'still praying for him'.

The appeal read: 'If anyone has seen my Dad, Tony Disson could they let us know. My heart goes out to all the people at Grenfell Tower.'

Lee, 47, confirmed that his father was still missing. He is reported to have lived on the 10th floor and his wife Cordelia, Lee and three other sons have been searching for him in hospitals.

Lee told the Mirror: 'People called my dad and said, 'Put a blanket over your head and get out'.He said he couldn't as he was trapped and the floor was too hot. A friend rang at 4am and one of the last things he said was, 'Tell my sons I love them'.'

Tony Disson, 66, (left) was last in contact with his family at 3am and still inside the building. His wife Cordelia and three sons have been searching hospitals all day but have been unable to find him. Steve Power (right) is also thought to be missing

El-Wahabi family: Couple and three children who lived on 21st floor

Abdul Aziz el-Wahabi, 52, his wife Faouzia el-Wahabi, 42, and their three children, Yasin, 21, Nur Huda, 15, and Mehdi, eight, are all now believed to have died.

Otman Boujettif, 42, a cousin, told the London Evening Standard: 'An entire family's been wiped out. We spoke to them at about 1.30am but they'd been told by the fire brigade to stay in their flat, put towels down, wet the floors and wait. But they followed the wrong advice and now they are gone. It's devastating.'

The family all lived on the 21st floor of the tower, according to Mr Wahabi's sister. Hanan Wahabi told reporters: 'I rang him and the fire had not reached the top of the block at that point. He said he had been told to stay inside, stay in one room together and put towels under the door.

'I told him to leave. He said he was going to come. Then I called him and he said there was too much smoke. The last time I saw him they were waving out the window. The last time I spoke to his wife, he was on the phone to the fire brigade.'

Housewife Amina Ahmed, 28, who lives on the 19th floor of next door tower block Winstable, knew the Moroccan family of five.

She said: 'They were on the 21st floor of Grenfell and were told not to leave their flat when the fire started. Had they left at the time they would have got out alive.

'I'm so heartbroken as I could see it and could hear families screaming. I felt so helpless. Our building is very similar so we are just terrified of it happening to us one day.'

Also unaccounted for is teenager Nurhuda El-Wahabi (left), as well as her older brother Yasin (right), aged 21, both of whom are understood to have been inside the tower block when the fire broke out

The family all lived on the 21st floor of the tower, according to Mr Wahabi's sister. Pictured, 21-year-old Yasin

Ligaya Moore: Embassy appears for details on 'admirable woman'

The Embassy of the Philippines in London has appealed for information about Ligaya Moore, 79, who lived in Grenfell Tower. Ms Moore's grandson, Nico Purificacion, called her 'an admirable woman'.

'Our family loves her so much,' he told the Press Association. 'She's very fun to be with despite her age. So innocent yet very straightforward. She's been in London for a very long time, she visits us here in the Philippines once in a while.'

The Embassy of the Philippines in London has appealed for information about Ligaya Moore, 79, who lived in Grenfell Tower

Firdaws, Yahya, Yaqub, Noura and Hashim Jemal: Family stuck on 23rd floor

Three children who are believed to have died in the Grenfell Tower fire were 'lively, intelligent and articulate', a family friend said today.

Firdaws, 12, Yahya, 13, and Yaqub, six, have been missing since the devastating fire. It is believed they were with their parents, Noura and Hashim Jemal, inside their 19th floor apartment on the 23rd storey of the tower block.

Siblings Firdaws and Yahya regularly attended Solidarity Sports, a local youth charity which organises activities including football and climbing.

Sean Mendez, 36, who runs Solidarity Sports, said: 'I have known the children and the family for more than four years, both kids really enjoyed football and were both really intelligent and articulate. Firdaws was really good at art, she was very sensible and a responsible girl. Yahya was very endearing and had a good sense of humour, they were all very smiley children.

'I last saw Yahya during Easter and he came to play football. I saw Noura lots at the pick up and drop off times, she was a very sweet and kind lady and always very grateful for us looking after her children. She went out of her way to thank us and that was very rewarding to get her support.'

Mr Mendez added: 'As far as I know the whole family of five are missing, I have heard of a lot of children who come here who were caught up in the fire.But it is really good to see the whole community pulling together.

'Yaqub was the liveliest of the three kids, he was a bit too young so he didn't come to our projects but he would come with Noura to pick up the other two. He was very lively and smiley.'

Siblings Firdaws and Yahya regularly attended Solidarity Sports, a local youth charity which organises activities including football and climbing

Firdaws, 12, Yahya, 13, and Yaqub, six, have been missing since the devastating fire. It is believed they were with their parents, Noura and Hashim Jemal, inside their 19th floor apartment

Dennis Murphy: Nephew makes appeal over uncle trapped on 14th floor

Stevan Racz shared a post seeking information about his uncle, 56, whom he said had called while trapped on the 14th floor of the building.

'We haven't heard anything since. Can anyone with any information contact me please,' he said. One commenter on another post seeking Mr Murphy wrote: 'I've been around asking everyone, going to the centres, no one's seen him.'

Stevan Racz shared a post seeking information about his uncle Dennis Murphy, whom he said had called while trapped on the 14th floor. 'We haven't heard anything since. Can anyone with any information contact me please,' he said. One commenter on another post seeking Mr Murphy wrote: 'I've been around asking everyone, going to the centres, no one's seen him.'

Jessica Urbano: Schoolgirl, 12, from 20th floor who phoned from a fire escape

Twelve-year-old Jessica Urbano is still missing following the fire at the block.

Ana Ospina posted an image of the young girl, said to be about 5ft tall, on Facebook, saying: 'Please continue to share the photo of my niece who has not yet found her. I know there are people who say they already found her, but the reality is that there has been no news of her.'

Mrs Ospina said the young girl lived on the 20th floor, adding: 'She last spoke to her mum when she borrowed a phone and told her she was on the stairs with other people.

'We than have had unconfirmed reports/sightings of her outside of the flats and also being put into an ambulance, but we have checked hospitals and no news.'

Jessica's cousin Jason Garcia, 23, who works in marketing, said he was out for almost 24 hours from 2am on Wednesday searching hospitals and community centres for any trace of her.

He is now wearing a picture of her on his t-shirt to continue to get the message out. He said: 'We've had no news; there have been some reported sightings but nothing has come of them.

'A building should not go up in flames that quickly. I don't know what happened with the fire alarms, but the fire should not have spread so quickly.

'All we can do now is continue to check, double check, triple check everything, put up posters everywhere, get her picture out there and hope for good news.'

Natalie Garcia tweeted to say her 12-year-old cousin little cousin Jessica Urbano (above) was missing after trying to escape

Jessica is pictured with her parents Ramiro and Adriana. Jessica's parents last heard from her at 1.39am when she phoned from a fire escape in the flats

Hackim Bakkal, 21, a cousin of missing 12-year-old Jessica Urbano said he was being passed around in a circle by the authorities who are unable to answer his questions.

He said: 'Police are sending you to the crisis bureau and they send you to the hospitals and then back to the police.

'The crisis bureau have answers but they are refusing to give them.

'They just say 'I cannot give you that information, sit tight and we will call you.'

'Jessica could be unconscious, dead or alive we do not know, but I am going to keep pestering them until they give me what I want.

'Yesterday Jessica's family searched every hospital in the area and they did the same thing this morning and they haven't got any answers.

'The crisis bureau are sending everyone in circles, I don't know if it is to buy more time?

'We are very hopeful, I think that Jessica is unconscious some where. We just want to find her.'

Friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts

Hackim Bakkal, 21, a cousin of missing 12-year-old Jessica Urbano said he was being passed around in a circle by the authorities who are unable to answer his questions

Bakkal said: 'Police are sending you to the crisis bureau and they send you to the hospitals and then back to the police'

Jessica's cousin Jason Garcia, 23, who works in marketing, said he was out for almost 24 hours from 2am on Wednesday searching hospitals and community centres for any trace of her

Briket Haftom and her son Buroke

Berkti Haftom, 30, and her 12-year-old son Biruk live on the 18th floor of the high-rise and have not been seen since the blaze broke out.

Relatives are urgently trying to find them and have gathered in nearby St Clement's Church to wait for any news.

Arsiema Alula said: 'There's no information from anyone who has seen them.

'We've tried the emergency number but they wouldn't give out any information. We tried all the hospitals, all six, but there was nothing.

'Someone posted on social media that they had seen Biruk - it's really confusing. We need information from the critical casualties.'

Two more of the missing have been identified as Briket Haftom and her son Buroke Haftom

Mariem Elgwahry: Resident on 19th floor 'missing with her mother'

A friend shared an appeal to find long-time friend Mariem Elgwahry, who lived on the 19th floor of the tower block and was said to be missing with her mother.

The friend said that Ms Elgwahry had last been heard from when she spoke to another friend in the tower block - who was since confirmed safe - at around 2.30am.

She added that she had been to a number of rescue centres in the area 'with no luck yet'.

Mariem Elgwahry (pictured) has not been seen by friends since 2am on Wednesday morning. A friend said on Facebook that Mariem was on the 19th floor

Ali Yawar Jafari: Resident on 10th floor lost contact with his relatives

Ali Yawar Jafari, 82, is thought to be among those missing. His son, Hamid Ali Jafari, said his father had lost contact with his mother and sister, who lived with him in Grenfell Tower, on the 10th floor.

The younger Mr Jafari said he had been to several rescue centres throughout the day since first reporting his father missing on Twitter just before 8am. Asked if he had any news since then, he said: 'No.'

According to the Telegraph, Mr Jafari said: 'He was with my mother and sister in the lift and she said the lift stopped on the tenth floor and he said there was too much smoke and he couldn't breathe and he got out of the lift and then the doors shut and it didn't stop again till the ground floor.'

Hamid Ali Jafari tweeted asking for any information on his missing father Ali Yawar (pictured), who he says he was separated from on the 12th floor

Saber Neda: Fire ripped through father's top-floor flat

Afghan migrant minicab driver Mohammed 'Saber' Neda, 57 with his wife Shakila, 45, and son Farhad, 24

Saber Neda, an Afghan migrant minicab driver, is feared dead after the fire ripped his top-floor flat. While his wife Shakila, 45, and son Farhad, 24, fled the blaze, Saber's family say he stayed behind because he was injured.

The 57-year-old was last heard from at 2.20am when he made a frantic phone call to a relative to say that the building was burning and that there was 'no help'.

Saber, whose birth name is Mohamed, is understood to have parted with Shakila and university graduate Farhad at 3.30am but has not been seen since.

The father-of-one's nephew Reshad Habib, who lives in the Netherlands, said: 'We are all trying to find him. He was last heard from at 3.30am when he told his wife and son to leave him. He said that they had to get out. He said they should go and he would follow.

'We all don't know the exact reason why he waited behind, but we think he was injured or something. They were both taken to hospital. We don't know how they are. We haven't heard anything from my uncle since. They had been living for 20 years in that flat and they lived on the very top floor of the building.

'We got a call when the fire started. He said there was a big fire at the flat and that there was no help at the moment. That was at 2.20am. His wife and child are OK. I have talked briefly to his son. My auntie and him are in different hospitals from each other in a stable condition. We just hope that they will find him.

Saber Neda who lived in a top-floor flat, is feared dead after the fire ripped through the 27-storey building. While his wife Shakila, 45, and son Farhad, 24, fled the blaze, Saber's family say he stayed behind because he was injured

Mohamednur Tuccu: Missing along with his wife and daughter from 19th floor

Mr Tuccu is missing along with his wife Amalahmedin and his three-year-old daughter Amayah after visiting relatives in Grenfell Tower, his employer said.

Mr Tuccu's manager, chief executive of Red Consultancy Mike Morgan, told Sky News: 'Mo is a part of the family. He will have been with us for 10 years next month and is due to be awarded his decade milestone. We all just want to hear that he is OK.'

Like many Muslim families, the Tuccus were breaking their Ramadan fast when the fire broke out.

The British national, whose family are from Eritrea, has not been heard from since the blaze.

Breaking fast: Amayah Tuccu, three, with mother Amalahmedin. Like many Muslim families, the Tuccus were breaking their Ramadan fast when the fire broke out

The firm Red Consultancy tweeted to appeal for news on their staff member Mo Tuccu, pictured

Zainab and Jeremiah Dean: Told to stay in their 14th floor flat

Francis Dean said his sister Zainab told been told by firefighter to remain in her flat on the 14th floor along with her son Jeremiah, 2.

He told The Telegraph: 'My sister called me to say there was a fire in the tower. I told her to leave by the stairs but she said she had been told to stay inside her flat. That was in the early hours of today and I've not heard from her since. I fear the worst.'

Mr Dean said that a firefighter used his phone to speak to his sister. 'He told her to keep calm and that they were coming to get her,' he said. 'He kept saying that to her again and again.

'But then he handed me the phone and said to me 'Tell her you love her'. I knew then to fear the worst. The phone went dead and I couldn't talk to her.'

Two-year-old Jeremiah was in the 14th floor flat with his mother Zainab Dean and both are still missing

Francis Dean said his sister Zainab (left) told been told by firefighter to remain in her flat on the 14th floor along with her son Jeremiah, 2

Hesham Rahman: No news from 20th floor resident since fire began

Noha Baghdady shared a picture of her brother Hesham Rahman, 57, across a number of platforms, saying he lived on the 20th floor of the tower block and had not heard any news since the fire broke out.

She said her nephews were 'currently searching hospitals' and added: 'I'm feeling so helpless all we can do is pray he is safe and well.'

According to Sky News, Mr Rahman's last contact with his family was at around 3am when he told them he could smell smoke.

It was also reported that Mr Rahman has diabetes, making it difficult for him to walk down stairs.

One woman took to social media to appeal for help finding her brother, Hesham Rahman, who lived on the 20th floor

According to reports, Mr Rahman's last contact with his family was at around 3am when he told them he could smell smoke

Fathaya Alsanousi: Elderly woman stuck with her children on the 23rd floor

Fathaya Alsanousi, who is in her 70s, was stuck in her 23rd floor flat with her son Abu Feras, 38, and daughter Esra Ibrahim, 35. All three are still missing.

Fathaya Alsanousi (pictured) was stuck in her 23rd floor flat with her son Abu Feras, 38, and daughter Esra Ibrahim, 35. All three are still missing

Sheila Smith: Oldest missing person, from 16th floor

Sheila Smith, 84, is the oldest of those to be declared missing so far. Her son Adam, who describes himself as a tech entrepreneur, launched an appeal on Twitter, writing 'my Mum is missing - Sheila, 84 years old, 16th floor Grenfell Tower.'

Sheila Smith, 84, is the oldest of those to be declared missing so far. She lived on the 16th floor of the block

Hamid Kani: Iranian man who lived on the 15th floor

The 61-year-old Iranian lived on the 15th floor of the tower block.

Iranian Hamid Kani, 61, lived on the 15th floor of the tower block and has been reported missing by relatives

Bangladeshi family of five: Relatives fled the 17th floor

The friends of a family of five who lived on the 17th floor of Grenfell Tower are appealing for any reports of their whereabouts.

Bangladeshi newspaper the Dhaka Tribune named the family as Komru Miah, 82, his wife Razia Begum, 65, and their children, Abdul Hanif, 29, Abdul Hamid, 26, and Hosna Begum Tanima, 22, citing a local official.

A family friend said: 'We are all just waiting and praying for some good news.'

Hosna, who works at Carphone Warehouse, was due to get married next month.

Hosna Begum (pictured, in headscarf), who works at Carphone Warehouse, was due to get married next month. Pictured far right, Komru Miah, 82

Bangladeshi newspaper the Dhaka Tribune named the family as Komru Miah, 82, his wife Razia Begum, 65, and their children, Abdul Hanif, 29, Abdul Hamid, 26, and Hosna Begum Tanima, 22, citing a local official

Grandmother Marjorie Vital and her son Ernie Vital who lived on the 16th floor

Two further people were identified as grandmother Marjorie Vital, 67, and her son Ernie Vital, 43. A relative said on Facebook: 'We're looking for my uncle and my grandmother, Ernie Vital and Marjorie Vital.

'They live in Grenfell Tower on the 16th floor. If anyone can help or knows anything please call.'

Another relative said: 'We've been desperately searching in all the hospitals but we still haven't found them.'

Another of the missing was today identified as Marjorie Vital. A relative said on Facebook: 'We're looking for my uncle and my grandmother, Ernie Vital and Marjorie Vital'

A relative of Ernie Vital said: 'They live in Grenfell Tower on the 16th floor. If anyone can help or knows anything please call'

Stefan Anthony-Mills

Candice Bowen wrote on Facebook: 'Has anyone seen Stefan Anthony-Mills?! He's a friend of mine and hasn't been heard from since the Grenfell tower fire.

'I've had a few of his close friends message me and ask of his wearabouts... please please share and get this seen in as many places as possible as I'm sure his family are extremely worried.'

Candice Bowen wrote on Facebook: 'Has anyone seen Stefan Anthony-Mills?! He's a friend of mine and hasn't been heard from since the Grenfell tower fire'

Another tragic poster showed a mother, Amal, and daughter among the missing

Amal and her daughter

Another tragic poster showed a mother, Amal, and daughter among the missing.

How MailOnline readers can donate to a charity helping the Grenfell Tower fire victims The Grenfell Tower fire has prompted an extraordinary outpouring of support from Britons as they try to help the victims both financially and with gifts of food, clothing and other essentials. And MailOnline readers can donate to a charity co-ordinating efforts to help those whose lives were devastated by clicking here. The money will go to the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, the companys local charity partner. The foundation is coordinating a major funding appeal with support from London Funders and the London Emergency Trust Fund, and has set up a donation page on its website. Every penny raised on the site will go directly to charities funding the relief effort in the local community, both for those who lost loved-ones and those who lost their homes and all their possessions. Readers can also donate via cheque. Please make cheques payable to The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation and send to: Grenfell Tower Appeal, The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, 111117 Lancaster Road, London W11 1QT. The gutted block is just over a mile from the MailOnline and Daily Mail offices in Kensington, West London, known as Northcliffe House. Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) chairman Lord Rothermere and chief executive Paul Zwillenberg last night announced a 100,000 donation to the charity. Advertisement

Raymond 'Moses' Bernard who lived on the 21st floor

Friends of the popular Raymond 'Moses' Bernard, one of at least 70 people reported missing after the Grenfell Tower fire in London, say hopes of finding him alive are ebbing away as the days pass.

Trish, who has been friends with Mr Bernard's for 40 years, said he was staying in his flat on the top floor of the building on Wednesday night when fire engulfed the building, and has not been seen or heard from since.

'He's not a guy to just go off somewhere and there's been no kind of contact whatsoever,' Trish said. 'Everyone's devastated. We've just been sitting and waiting, but as the days are going past, it's becoming worse,' she added.

She said the 63-year old Mr Bernard often stayed with his partner, Karen McMillan, on a different floor of the tower block.

But on Wednesday night he decided to stay in his own flat on the top floor with the dog the couple shared, a King Charles spaniel named Marley. 'There's no way he would have left the dog,' said Trish. 'The dog was like their child.'

Mr Bernard was reportedly a popular character in the area, often seen out walking Marley. But he walked with aid of a stick and suffered from a number of health issues, causing friends to worry for his ability to get down the building's smoke-filled stairwell from the top floor.

'On the first day after the fire we went down and saw some of the neighbours nearby,' Trish said. 'We went and saw the guys and asked if they'd seen Moses, and they said: 'We were trying to call his phone', but they didn't get an answer. He was always telling people to be good to each other and it's devastating to think anything bad could have happened.'

Maria Del Pilar

Maria Del Pilar Burton, 65, and her husband Nicholas were caught in the blazing fire.

Nicholas woke in hospital not knowing where his wife was and has appealed for help to trace her.

Simon, a resident who helped the pensioner outside the burning building, said: 'We were helping downstairs in the building to get people out.

'Nicholas does not know where Maria is and she has Alzheimer's, but we know she got out. He's desperate to find her.'

Sakineh Afraseiabi and Fatima Afraseiabi who were living on the 18th floor

A concerned acquaintance wrote on Facebook: 'Friend from my work hasn't heard anything from her mum and aunty pictured below who both lived in Grenfell Tower.

'The names are Sakineh Afraseiabi and Fatima Afraseiabi. Please any help would be appreciated.'

A family friend confirmed that 65-year-old Raymond Bernard, known to friends as Moses, remained missing after the fire

Maria Del Pilar Burton, 65, and her husband Nicholas were caught in the blazing fire

A concerned acquaintance wrote on Facebook: 'Friend from my work hasn't heard anything from her mum and aunty pictured below who both lived in Grenfell Tower. The names are Sakineh Afraseiabi, 65, (left) and Fatima Afraseiabi (right)

Furious residents even vented their anger on a memorial to the victims, aiming blasts at politicians with slogans including 'Theresa May stay away'

Sabu Hussain, who helped decorate the memorial, said it should be made into a permanent mural so the victims of the blaze will never be forgotten

The memorial wall was also covered in posters showing the faces of missing people

Tottenham MP David Lammy appealed to followers on Twitter for any information on Khadija Saye. He wrote: 'If you have any information about Khadija Saye pls contact me. She is our dear friend, a beautiful soul and emerging artist'

Moments after cheating death and escaping Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White City, relatives are now faced with the prospect of having to search for those who have gone missing during the ensuing chaos

Lee Disson posted a message on Facebook asking for anyone to provide information on his missing father Tony

A woman covered in ash is comforted by others as she looks on while the enormous fire rages through the night and into the morning

Fears are growing for thousands of families living in tower blocks around Britain after it was revealed the firm which supplied the panels at the centre of the west London inferno has also carried out similar work across the capital

Many residents who gathered outside the smoldering ruins of the building said the fire had been caused by a faulty fridge in one of the flats, but the fire service told MailOnline it could not confirm the reports at this stage

More than 600 residents desperately tried to escape the flames as the fire broke out in the middle of the night, with many woken by the screams of others and the smell of burning plastic

In this image taken by eyewitness Gurbuz Binici, a huge fire engulfs the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White City

Michael Paramarsivan, 37, was asleep on the seventh floor of Grenfell Tower with partner Hannah and her daughter Thea, five, when the fire broke out. He told MailOnline he woke to the smell of smoke and ignored safety advice to stay inside, instead deciding to get his family out of the building

The trapped, some of whom are still inside, were heard begging for their lives while waving white towels, torches and mobile phones

The 27-storey Grenfell building, which was built in 1974 but refurbished last year, has an average of six flats per floor lived in by council tenants and a smaller number of private owners or tenants

A casualty bureau close to the fire that broke out at Grenfell Tower asked people to get in touch with a dedicated missing persons line

Local residents gather close to the scene of a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London

Many residents were forced to flee in just their pyjamas after the fire was sparked in the early hours of the morning

Residents evacuated from the building receive treatment at the scene of a huge fire at Grenfell tower block in White City

Hundreds of people have been left homeless after the blaze, with community centres opening their doors to those affected
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Britain will be hotter than Thailand as today's Father's Day frazzle pushes the hottest June 18 since records began 167 years ago  but thunderstorms threaten Glastonbury mud from midweek.

Today has already nudged 30C and the Met Office has forecast sunshine with 30C in the South-East tomorrow and up to 28C in the North-East.

Monday is due to be even hotter at 32C. Even Scotland is seeing 27C.

Beach babe: Corinne Evans pictured enjoying the sun and the surf at the Tolcarne Beach in Newquay, Cornwall. A 2,000-mile wide Spanish Plume of hot air from 45C Spain is bringing the sizzle to Britain this weekend

Britain will enjoy its hottest day of the year  beating May 26's 29.4C in Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland  and will tomorrow be close to the hottest June 18 since records began in 1850, date temperature records used to compile Met Office records show.

The June 18 record is 32.2C, set in 1893 in Ochtertyre, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

Britain is currently hotter than 29C Phuket, Thailand, and 25C Malta.

The heat was so intense in London that at least five Guardsmen were stretchered off after fainting in their sweltering uniforms during the Trooping the Colour ceremony at the Queen's birthday celebration.

At least five Guardsmen were stretchered off after fainting in their sweltering uniforms

Dressed in full uniform, including a 2lb bearskin, one soldier fell forward out of his formation as temperatures soared to 28C (82F) in Central London.

As the band marched towards his position, the guardsman collapsed to his knees before landing face down with his hands to his side.

Dressed in full uniform, including a 2lb bearskin, one soldier fell forward out of his formation

But many people were lucky enough to wear bikinis not bearskins and anby of them flocked to Brighton beach in east Sussex

But many people were lucky enough to wear bikinis not bearskins today, and they escaped the city heat for the beach in droves.

And one couple, keen to enjoy their sun-soaked day on the sand, brought their furry friends to enjoy the seaside breeze too.

But the kooky couple had nothing as conventional as a cat or dog in tow - they chose instead to bring their pet rats for a dip in the sea.

A couple who did not want to leave their furry friends sweltering alone at home for the day decided to take their pet rats for a walk on Fistral beach in Newquay, Cornwall today as temperatures soared across the country

And all this sunshine has unsurprisingly given a major boost to beach visits and BBQ sales.

The biggest beach rush since last summer sees traffic jams expected on coastal routes including the A23 to Brighton, A31 to Dorset, A30 to Cornwall and M55 to Blackpool.

Brighton is expected to see 150,000 sunseekers today and the same numbers are expected again tomorrow.

People enjoy the hot weather at the Fistral beach in Newquay, Cornwall with a surf lesson on the beach's famous waves. The good weather is bound to be a welcome boost to coastal businesses as thousands of people descend to Britain's shore line

A BBQ frenzy is seeing Asda expected to sell a million burgers and 500,000 sausages this weekend. Tesco is set to sell 200,000 ice lollies, up to three million bottles of beer and two million bottles of wine.

But deaths are also feared as temperatures soar. 300 extra Brits died in July 2009 amid 32C highs, Department of Health records show.

And the good weather is creating some stunning photo opportunities. This image captures children plaing in a water fountain in Bradford, Yorkshire, as Britain is set to bask in its hottest day of the year this weekend, with the fine weather continuing

The biggest beach rush since last summer sees traffic jams expected on coastal routes including the A23 to Brighton, A31 to Dorset, A30 to Cornwall and M55 to Blackpool. Brighton is expected to see 150,000 sunseekers both today and tomorrow

A Government Level 2 heat alert put hospitals on alert for an increase in admissions and ordered health and social workers to prepare to make daily contact with the ill, vulnerable and elderly.

Public Health England's Heatwave Plan for England said: 'Excessive exposure to high temperatures can kill. Excess seasonal deaths start to occur at 25C.'

Brighton's famous pier will be a popular spot for sun worshipers this weekend as people head out to enjoy what is predicted to be one of the hottest days of the year with temperatures exceeding 30c Seasonal weather in Britain

A 2,000-mile wide Spanish Plume of hot air from 45C Spain is bringing the sizzle.

But Glastonbury risks mud as thunderstorms threaten Britain from Thursday, with a wet weekend following 'for all parts.'

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Corinne Evans enjoys the sun and the surf at the Tolcarne Beach in Newquay, Cornwall, as Britian basks in hot weather over the weekend. The temperatures in Britain are hotter than Thailand this weekend and records may be broken tomorrow

Cooling off: People relax by the water at Hove beach. The weather is set to reach record temperatures tomorrow for June

The 150,000 fans attending the Somerset festival were told to 'certainly' prepare for rain. Glastonbury runs from Wednesday to Sunday.

Highs are most likely to ease to the mid 20s from midweek.

June's record temperature is 35.6C, set on June 28, 1976, in Southampton.

This graphic shows the three day weather forecast across Britain this weekend and into Monday

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: 'Sunday looks like around 30C and close to the June 18 date record, with Monday hotter at 32C as the heat peaks.

'Tuesday is due 26C with temperatures then most likely to ease, although with a low probability of temperatures climbing again into the upper 20s.

A group enjoy the seasonal weather in Newquay, Cornwall today as temperatures soar into the 30s in some places

The beaches are set to be busy this weekend as people rush to the shore to soak up the exceptionally good weather

'Glastonbury fans should certainly prepare for rain, which would give an increasing risk of soft ground.

'The festival looks like a warm start but the UK sees a chance of showery outbreaks arriving from the West on Thursday and Friday, which may be thundery, then rain for all parts at the weekend as temperatures tail off.'

The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: 'It remains very warm in the South  but there is the risk of thunderstorms.'

Surf's up! People pictured enjoying the hot weather at the Fistral beach in Newquay, Cornwall and grabbing surfboards to hit the waves. The UK is set to bask in sunshine all weekend with record temperatures forecast tomorrow

People cool off at Hove beach on a hot and humid day. The weather has already nudged 30C and the Met Office has forecast sunshine with 30C in the South-East tomorrow and up to 28C in the North-East of the country this weekend

Summer sunshine: Crowds bask in the hot weather at Fistral beach in Newquay, Cornwall. Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: 'Sunday looks like around 30C and close to the June 18 date record, with Monday hotter at 32C

Thousands of people are expected to hit the beaches this weekend as the summer sun entices people out to the water

The waves are proving a popular place to cool off as hundreds of people don wetsuits to and grab surfboards and body boards to enjoy the swell at Fistral beach in Newquay, Cornwall while Britain's temperatures soar higher than Thailand's

A surfer enjoys the waves in Newquay, Cornwall as the sun shines across Britain with record temperatures forecast

People bring tents and windbreakers to shield sunbathers from too much of the elements as the beaches fill up this weekend

A paddleboarder conquers both waves and whitewater at Newquay, Cornwall today as temperatures soared in Britain
Pope Francis was all smiles when German Chancellor Angela Merkel popped to the Vatican to discuss climate change ahead of a G20 summit.

Merkel said the pope encouraged her to work to preserve the Paris climate accord despite US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the agreement at the beginning of the month.

She added that Francis shared her aim to 'bring down walls' rather than building them.

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Bringing down walls: Pope Francis (right) was all smiles when German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) popped to the Vatican to discuss climate change ahead of a G20 summit

Sharing a joke: Merkel said the pope encouraged her to work to preserve the Paris climate accord despite US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the agreement earlier in June

The pair met for around 40 minutes today. Their talks come ahead of the G20 summit Germany is hosting in Hamburg on 7 and 8 July.

The Vatican said the talks focused on the need for the international community to combat poverty, hunger, terrorism and climate change.

Merkel told reporters that she also briefed the pope on Germany's G20 agenda.

Progress: The German Chancellor added that Francis shared her aim to 'bring down walls'

Exchanging gifts: The pair met for around 40 minutes today. Their talks come ahead of the G20 summit Germany is hosting in Hamburg on 7 and 8 July

She said the agenda 'assumes that we are a world in which we want to work together multilaterally, a world in which we don't want to build walls but bring down walls.'

The brief meeting comes after a senior Vatican official said on Friday that US President Donald Trump is sending US energy production 'back to the past' with disastrous decisions to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and to promote the coal industry.

Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, head of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, said Pope Francis was concerned that any harm to the environment will be like a 'boomerang that will come back... especially to poor people' with ever worsening effects.

Getting down to business: The Vatican said the talks focused on the need for the international community to combat poverty, hunger, terrorism and climate change

Solid relationship: Merkel told reporters she also briefed the pope on Germany's G20 agenda

President Trump said on June 1 he was pulling the United States out of the 195-nation Paris climate agreement, the first to oblige all nations to limit greenhouse gas emissions, saying he wanted to create jobs in the US fossil fuel industry.

The President said participating in the pact would undermine the US economy, wipe out jobs, weaken national sovereignty and put his country at a permanent disadvantage.

Sanchez Sorondo, an Argentine like the pope, told Reuters: 'This is to go back to the past and not to see the future.'

Working together: The brief meeting comes after a senior Vatican official said on Friday that US President Donald Trump is sending US energy production 'back to the past' with disastrous decisions to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and to promote the coal industry

Many other leaders aside from Merkel and Francis have expressed dismay and anger at Trump's withdrawal and pledged to push ahead with the Paris accord

He said future energy jobs would be in renewables, such as wind or solar power, rather than coal.

Sorondo added that withdrawal from the Paris Agreement 'is a disaster for this country (the United States) and also for all the world.'

Many other leaders aside from Merkel have expressed dismay and anger at Trump's withdrawal and pledged to push ahead with the Paris accord.
A tiny, fire-damaged terrace which sold for nearly $1 million is the latest overvalued property to enrage penny-pinching millennials desperate to own a house.

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom 1880s Port Melbourne home is described by the real estate agent as 'ready for a new breath of life' and was snapped up by a starry-eyed renovator who saw its 'potential', realestate.com.au reports.

It was spotted by a jogger who ran past the ramshackle terrace and was willing to splash $964,000 in the hopes of reverting the historic home back to its original glory.

The fire-damaged property (pictured) was snapped up by a man who spotted the neglected terrace while jogging

It was sold for close to $1 million despite being extensively damaged and with a shocking interior

Situated opposite the lush parkland in Melbourne's Turner Reserve, the single-story property comprises four rooms and a quaint courtyard.

It is nestled between two larger homes and was originally valued between $700,000 and $770,000.

But the buyer, who picked it for a $194,000 mark up, was undoubtedly lured by its close proximity to Port Melbourne's beaches and historic fixtures and fittings dating back well into the 1800s.

The old-fashioned cottage looks inviting from the outside but was severely damaged inside following a blaze dating back to an unknown time-frame.

It is nestled between two larger homes and was originally valued between $700,000 and $770,000

But the buyer, who picked it for a $194,000 mark up, was undoubtedly lured by its close proximity to Port Melbourne's beaches and historic fixtures and fittings dating back well into the 1800s

The old-fashioned cottage looks inviting from the outside but was severely damaged inside following a blaze dating back to an unknown time-frame (Courtyard pictured)

Interior photos of the 85sqm property reveal the extent of its damage with peeling wallpaper, charred ceilings, burnt-out door frames and upturned floorboards.

The courtyard behind the property also appears to require a renovators touch, as its original charm is overshadowed by patchy grass, discarded debris and crumbling brickwork.

Cayzer Real Estate Albert Park's Jordan Gravestein told Domain the new property owner beat out builders, developers, first-home buyers and landbankers to snag the $964,000 terrace.

It follows the sale of another 'dilapidated' house in Prahan with a bright green paint job which fetched $1.125 million in a three-bidder auction, and a tiny one-bedroom property in North Melbourne which earned $1 million in its first sale since 1979.
At least five Guardsmen were stretchered off after fainting in their sweltering uniforms during the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

Dressed in full uniform, including a 2lb bearskin, one soldier fell forward out of his formation as temperatures soared to 28C (82F) in Central London.

As the band marched towards his position, the guardsman collapsed to his knees before landing face down with his hands to his side.

At least five Guardsmen were stretchered off after fainting in their sweltering uniforms

Dressed in full uniform, including a 2lb bearskin, one soldier fell forward out of his formation

One dazed soldier was pictured being helped up by armed police officers

His colleagues maintained position as the ceremony to mark the Queen's birthday continued around him.

Three soldiers then walked to his aid. One removed his bearskin before the guardsman was lifted on to a stretcher almost a minute and a half after he fainted.

At least four other guardsmen at the event are believed to have fallen victims to the higher-than-average temperatures on Saturday.

An Army spokeswoman said: 'We can confirm that during the Queen's birthday parade today a small number of soldiers fainted'

In the blistering temperatures a number of soldiers fainted in the heat, with around five men taken from the parade ground after being overcome by the sweltering conditions

The Colour being paraded on Horse Guards this year was the flag of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards

One dazed soldier was pictured being helped up by armed police officers.

An Army spokeswoman said: 'We can confirm that during the Queen's birthday parade today a small number of soldiers fainted.

'It is an extremely hot day and all were removed from the Parade and checked by medical staff where they were hydrated.'

A spokesman added that all those who fainted were removed from the Parade and checked by medical staff where they were hydrated

The Queen said the country should be 'resolute in the face of adversity' following a succession of tragedies as she marked her official birthday with the Trooping the Colour.

In her birthday message she said it was 'difficult to escape a very sombre mood' in the UK, which was 'united in sadness' after recent suffering in London and Manchester.

Security was tight around Buckingham Palace and The Mall as the final preparations for the annual celebration started this morning.

The Queen said the country should be 'resolute in the face of adversity' following a succession of tragedies as she marked her official birthday with the Trooping the Colour

The Monarch arrived in an open horse drawn carriage with Prince Philip by her side as thousands turned out to watch the spectacle of might, splendour and precision.

The Prime Minister normally attends the parade but Theresa May, who has faced criticism over her handling of the Grenfell Tower fire, was not seen at the event.
Five men have been arrested after an attempted armed robbery was caught on surveillance camera.

A security camera caught the moment three armed men entered an unsuspecting victim's porch in Sarasota, Florida, in an attempt to rob the homeowner.

Footage shows the masked robbers menacingly entering the porch with their weapons raised before a homeowner appears with a machete and begins chasing them around the property.

A security camera caught the moment three armed men entered an unsuspecting victim's porch in Sarasota, Florida, in an attempt to rob the homeowner

Police have arrested Alen Beltran Vazquez, Ronier Jaurgui-Lorente, Angel Cabrera-Basulto, Jorge Valido-Leyva and Roberto Salcedo-Balanza in connection with the robbery

Police have arrested Alen Beltran Vazquez, Ronier Jaurgui-Lorente, Angel Cabrera-Basulto, Jorge Valido-Leyva and Roberto Salcedo-Balanza in connection with the robbery, according to the Sheriff's office.

The men, armed with a crowbar, a machete and a shotgun, allegedly told the homeowner to get on the ground.

The victim was 'in fear for his life and retreated to his residence and grabbed a machete,' reported ABC News.

The men, armed with a crowbar, a machete and a shotgun, allegedly told the homeowner to get on the ground

Video then shows the homeowner come out of his home with the machete and start to chase one of the robbers around the porch

Video shows the homeowner come out of his home with the machete and start to chase one of the robbers around the porch.

He was eventually able to disarm Beltran-Vazquez, who was reportedly carrying a shotgun, and held him until police were able to arrive.

Sarasota County police recovered the machete, crowbar and shotgun at the scene of the crime.

The video shows him chasing one of the robbers around the porch with his machete, though two others were able to escape

Eventually the homeowner managed to disarm Beltran-Vazquez, who was reportedly carrying a gun, and held him until police arrived

The victim told police two other men, who were later identified as Cabrera-Basulto and Jauregui-Lorente, escaped before they arrived. The two men were seen fleeing the scene in the surveillance video.

After arresting the five men, police said suspects admitted to attempting the robbery. They now face multiple charges, including armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

They are being held at the Sarasota County Jail without bond.
Charity donation site JustGiving has been criticised for refusing to cap the fee it takes from pledges as people donate to the Grenfell Tower victims.

JustGiving takes five per cent of donations made through the site and so far it's made 115,000, leaving people furious.

On Facebook, the firm shared a link to its donation page, writing: 'People are coming together to show their support for the residents of Grenfell Tower. If you'd like to donate to help those affected by the devastating fire, you can do so here.'

JustGiving is directing members of the public who wish to donate to several pages which have been set up to raise funds

But those who have realised that not all their donation will go to the victims are warning others.

Steven Evans said: 'Rubbish you only exist cos of your high fees and generous people opening their wallets to help others.

'Hope your 115,000 fee brings happiness to your families and stuff the people struggling to deal with terms and battles since the fire which claimed many lives.'

Several donation pages have been set up after the Grenfell Tower blaze, with at least two bringing in more than 1million

Indiana Edwards said: '115,000 fee. Maybe you should change you name to JustTaking.'

Jonnie Greaves said: 'Dont you think the situation requires every penny to go to the victims and their familes as were looking at at least 70 dead and many more having lost everything?

'It just seems distasteful that you'd take any fee.'

Sally Hosking said: 'Give back a % of what you have got from all the people who donated. Your 5% admin fee for this outrageous.'

Multiple fundraising pages have started, with some of the biggest ones raising more than 1million.

It's not the first time the website has come under fire for its fee.

After the Westminster attacks, the firm made money from the page set up for hero police officer Keith Palmer, after hundreds of people donated to his widow and children.

While it donated 10,000 to the page itself, it still took a net fee of more than 20,000 after the total rocketed to more than 650,000.

But not all the money will go to the victims, as Justgiving takes 5 per cent of all donations made through its site as its own fee

An urban search and rescue team member looks through the rubble and ruin of the burned out building today

The firm's boss has a pay package close to 200,000 as it takes around 20million annually from the fee on every donation page set up.

Accounts show more than 10million last year went on staff costs  with the website's directors, technicians, sales and administration workers paid an average salary of more than 60,000. The boss of the firm earned a pay package of 198,000.

In a statement to MailOnline, a JustGiving spokesman said: 'Everyone at JustGivings thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families at this awful time. We exist only to help good causes raise more money.

'Thanks to the investments we keep making to ensure our website is robust, safe and secure, especially at times of crisis, people in need raise much more than they would on their own.'

In a statement on the Facebook page, the firm said: 'Over the last few days, weve been working hard to help the thousands of people who have turned to JustGiving to support those affected by the devastating fire in West London. JustGiving only exists to help raise money for good causes.

'Our fee enables us to maintain a robust, safe and stable platform that continues to innovate and improve. That is why millions of people and thousands of charities turn to JustGiving at times of crisis.

'We are proud to be the platform of choice at times like these, and simply wouldnt be able to provide the service we do without a small charge. Well continue to work around the clock to enable hundreds of people to raise funds, and hundreds of thousands to give to causes they care about.

'Our thoughts are with those affected by the horrific incident and those who lost loved ones.'
Rhode Island's Teacher of the Year made his LGBT pride known when he struck a fierce pose in a photo-op with United States President Donald Trump.

A photo posted by Beacon Charter High School for the Art teacher Nikos Giannopoulos shows a highlighted moment from his visit to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC back in April.

The moment, as shown on Facebook, shows the chic teacher decked in a jazzy navy print blazer with a rainbow pin attached along with a gawky golden anchor collar necklace while waving a black laced fan in a slaying pose with the 45th President and his wife.

A photo posted by Beacon Charter High School for the Art teacher Nikos Giannopoulos shows the moment he met President Trump and the First Lady Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC back in April

Slay: The chic teacher was decked in a jazzy navy print blazer with a rainbow pin attached along with a gawky golden anchor collar necklace while he waved a black laced fan

'Rhode Island Teacher of the Year 2017 meets the 45th President of the United States. That's all,' he captioned the photo along with three rainbow emojis on Thursday

'Rhode Island Teacher of the Year 2017 meets the 45th President of the United States. That's all,' he captioned the photo along with three rainbow emojis on Thursday.

In a previous post back on April 29, he described how he along with the other state teachers and the national teacher met with United States Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.

Trump, who Giannopoulos refers to as 'the man', was said by the teacher to have 'read prepared remarks from a sheet of paper and made some comments about CEOs and which states he loved based on electoral votes that he had secured.'

Trump, who Giannopoulos refers to as 'the man', was said by the teacher to have 'read prepared remarks from a sheet of paper and made some comments about CEOs and which states he loved based on electoral votes that he had secured' to all the teachers who had been awarded Teacher of the Year in their state (pictured).

The teacher - who teaches special ed and posed with his partner - added that the president didn't hand National Teacher of the Year 2017 Sydney Chaffee her award or allow her to speak

Giannopoulos said that he wore the pin 'to represent my gratitude for the LGBTQ community that has taught me to be proud, bold, and empowered by my identity' and rocked the fan 'to celebrate the joy and freedom of gender nonconformity'

The teacher added that the president didn't hand National Teacher of the Year 2017 Sydney Chaffee her award or allow her to speak. All the teachers then one-by-one took photos with Trump and Melania.

Giannopoulos said that he wore the pin 'to represent my gratitude for the LGBTQ community that has taught me to be proud, bold, and empowered by my identity' and rocked the fan 'to celebrate the joy and freedom of gender nonconformity.'

'Had I been given the opportunity, I would have told him that the pride I feel as an American comes from my freedom to be open and honest about who I am and who I love,' said the special-education teacher about how the president didn't allow each teacher to speak for a few minutes like President Obama had done last year.

'I would have told him that queer lives matter and anti-LGBTQ policies have a body count.'
A right-wing French mayor was today arrested for an alleged assault on a leading female politician who was left lying unconscious in a Paris marketplace.

Vincent Debraize, 55, is said to have launched the attack on Nathalie Kosciuzko-Morizet, the former environment minister under Nicolas Sarkozy, on Thursday.

Horrifying pictures showed the divorced mother of two, who is usually referred to by her initials of NKM, out cold in the French capital's 5th arrondissement.

The 44-year-old briefly lost consciousness and was taken to hospital, her campaign team said.

Unconscious: A man has been arrested after horrifying pictures showed Nathalie Kosciuzko-Morizet (above) out cold in the French capital's 5th arrondissement

Vincent Debraize, 55 (pictured), is said to have launched the attack on Nathalie Kosciuzko-Morizet, the former environment minister under Nicolas Sarkozy, on Thursday

Mr Debraize, who this morning reported voluntarily to a central Paris police station, was remanded in custody, and now faces trial for 'voluntary violence against a person in public life'.

He is thought to have denied any physical contact with NKM, according to sources close to the case.

Mr Debraize is an independent mayor in the hamlet of Chamignolles, close to Conches-en-Ouche, west of Paris, but he usually supports NKM's conservative Republicans party.

He is a particularly strong supporter of tough law and order policies, arguing that the last Socialist government was too soft on rural crime.

Kosciusko-Morizet, widely known by her initials NKM, was insulted while visiting a market in central Paris and then lost her balance when he tried to throw her campaign leaflets in her face

Before today, Mr Debraize was reportedly last seen walking away from NKM's unconscious body, and disappearing into the Paris Metro system.

She lost her balance and after falling, blacked out for several minutes before being revived by emergency services.

A photographer who witnessed the incident confirmed Mr Debraize did not actually touch NKM, but instead insulted her in an aggressive manner.

Mr Debraize allegedly said she was a 'dirty bobo' - the French word for a young aspiring professional with liberal views.

He also made a reference to Paris's Socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, saying: 'It's your fault we have Hidalgo as mayor'.

NKM fell to the ground and the man in the chinos and shirt (right) disappeared from view

The attacker also reportedly said she should 'go back to the Essonne', the department in the region of Ile-de-France to the south of Paris where she used to be an MP.

NKM is standing as a Republicans party candidate in parliamentary elections on Sunday, but is expected to lose to Gilles Le Gendre from the Republic on the Move party (En Marche!) of President Emmanuel Macron.

She is thought to have fallen over because she feared an attack after having election leaflets waved in her face, and then banged her head on the ground.

After spending a night in hospital, NKM said: 'I'm better, but I still need some time to recover'

After spending a night in hospital, NKM said on Friday: 'I'm better, but I still need some time to recover.'

She would not discuss details of the incident, but thanked other politicians who had sent their best wishes.

Ms Hidalgo, the Paris mayor, who called the assault in Maubert square (Place Maubert) 'cowardly and intolerable', and called for everything to be done to bring the assailant to justice.

The former minister and spokeswoman under ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy was campaigning to win a seat in her central Paris constituency against Gilles Le Gendre

France's Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, also spoke out against 'this unacceptable act of violence'.

NKM, who last year failed to win the Republicans party ticket to stand for president, is the granddaughter of Jacques Kosciusko, a French Resistance hero, and a former ambassador to the USA.

She was first elected to the National Assembly at the age of 29, and at one stage was the official spokesman for former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who also appointed her Ecology Minister between 2010 and 2012.
A zero-tolerance approach to drug-takers at music festivals will give police new powers to stop and search attendees without any reason.

Victorian police and the state government are attempting to change the law in order to halt the amount of deaths and mass overdoses in recent years.

Paramedics are on average responding to more than 30 drug overdoses a day - which is more than double what they faced five years ago -and a 20 per cent increase over the past 12 months alone.

Victorian police and the state government are attempting to change the law in order to halt the amount of deaths and mass overdoses in recent years

These are numbers authorities are hoping to diminish with the introduction of safer laws.

At present officers must have 'reasonable suspicion' that a person is under the influence of drugs or selling illicit substances before they can search them.

With the introduction of new laws the government will be targeting drug drivers, 'bush doof' ravers who party too far away from medical treatment if things turn sour and organisers of large events that don't provide adequate help to festival-goers.

With the introduction of new laws the government will be targeting drug drivers, 'bush doof' ravers who party too far away from medical treatment if things turn sour and organisers of large events that don't provide adequate help to festival-goers

Police Minister Lisa Neville told the Herald Sun: 'This is about protecting lives and ensuring music festivals are great places for young people to get together  not places for tragedies.'

Another option of pill testing at festivals fell to the wayside when Ms Neville said 'not every drug can be effectively tested.'

In February more than 20 people  many fighting for life  were taken to hospital after a mass overdose of the drug GHB, a form of liquid ecstasy, at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Lisa Beechey said: 'Police play an active role in detecting and disrupting drug trade, be that at festivals, events or in the wider community'

Daniel Buccianti, 34, died at the Rainbow Serpent event in 2012 after taking 'bad acid.'

Victoria Police spokeswoman Lisa Beechey said: 'Police play an active role in detecting and disrupting drug trade, be that at festivals, events or in the wider community.'

'However, drug use is a whole of community issue which requires a collaborative approach to address.'
A 49-year-old Ballajura woman has been charged over the alleged murder of an 81-year-old Stratton grandmother who died on Thursday in Perth.

Major Crime Squad arrested the accused woman, Tania Denise Shayler, on Friday night.

On Saturday Ms Shayler made a brief appearance in the Perth Magistrates Court after she was arrested in Midland according to Perth Now.

A 49-year-old Ballajura woman has been accused of the alleged murder of an 81-year-old grandmother from Stratton

Major Crime Squad arrested the accused woman, Tania Denise Shayler, on Friday night

She is due to make another appearance in court on Monday and will remain in police care until that time.

The woman was seen by medical staff at Royal Perth Hospital for surgery on one of her fingers, police prosecutors say.

She is required to undergo a physiological assessment according to the magistrate.

Police arrested the accused woman, Tania Denise Shayler, on Friday night who was seen by medical staff at Royal Perth Hospital (pictured) for surgery on one of her fingers
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Friday that Donald Trump was innocent of obstruction of justice because he is president  even though Gingrich led the charge in impeaching former President Bill Clinton in 1998.

Technically, the President of the United States cannot obstruct justice, Gingrich said on Friday at an event in Washington.

Gingrich is making public appearances to promote his book, which is titled Understanding Trump.

The president of the United States is the chief executive officer of the United States. If he wants to fire the FBI director, all he's got to do is fire him.

His remarks were reported by CNN.

Gingrichs comments are ironic given that he supported the Republican-led effort to impeach Clinton for obstruction of justice and perjury.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Friday (above) that Donald Trump was innocent of obstruction of justice because he is president  even though Gingrich led the charge in impeaching former President Bill Clinton in 1998.

Gingrich has been one of Trumps most vocal supporters. Trump also nominated Gingrich's wife, Callista (left), to be the ambassador to the Vatican. The couple is seen above at Trump's inauguration in Washington on January 20, 2017

The GOP-led House of Representatives voted in 1998 to impeach President Bill Clinton amid a scandal over his sexual relationship with a White House intern. Then-Speaker Gingrich is seen left with then-President Bill Clinton (right) at the White House in 1995

The GOP-led House of Representatives voted in 1998 to impeach Clinton amid a scandal over his sexual relationship with a White House intern.

The Senate in 1999 voted to acquit the president.

Gingrich now says that unlike Clinton, Trump is the subject of a witch hunt.

The left right now is engaged in the Salem witchcraft process of, We know somebody's evil, we know somebody's bad. I wonder who we should burn at the stake? Maybe it's you, whoever you are, Gingrich said.

Gingrich now says that unlike Clinton, Trump (seen above at the South Lawn of the White House on Friday) is the subject of a witch hunt

Gingrich advised Trump against terminating special counsel Robert Mueller (seen above in 2013), though attacked the former FBI chief for hiring 'bad people' to handle the Russia probe

Gingrich says that the the mentality of the left right now is reminiscent of Arthur Millers book The Crucible.

The former Georgia congressman says that any suggestion that Trump or his aides colluded with Russia to hack the election is a fantasy.

Everybody on the left has been walking around town chanting, watch for the Russian connection, watch for the Russian connection, look for the collusion, Gingrich said.

Gingrich is making public appearances to promote his book, which is titled Understanding Trump

Turns out, even Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the (Senate) intelligence committee, says there is zero evidence of collusion. So now the newest one is, Ah, but there was obstruction of justice over the collusion.

Gingrich has been one of Trumps most vocal supporters.

Trump also nominated Gingrich's wife, Callista, to be the ambassador to the Vatican.

Gingrich on Friday said he has warned the president and Trumps aides of just how serious the current investigations are.

I keep telling everybody at the White House, this is not like New York real estate law, this is criminal law, he said.

These people are coming after you to put you in prison, and you need to be very careful and you need to listen to your lawyers, and I say this as much to the president as anybody; this is not a game.

Gingrich advised Trump against terminating special counsel Robert Mueller, though attacked the former FBI chief for hiring 'bad people' to handle the Russia probe.

The former speaker tweeted Thursday that Mueller was clearly the tip of the deep state spear aimed at destroying or undermining and crippling the Trump presidency

Gingrich reversed course from a month ago, when he tweeted praise of Mueller, calling him a superb choice to head the Russia investigation. His reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity, Gingrich tweeted on May 17

The former speaker tweeted Thursday that Mueller was clearly the tip of the deep state spear aimed at destroying or undermining and crippling the Trump presidency.

Gingrich reversed course from a month ago, when he tweeted praise of Mueller, calling him a superb choice to head the Russia investigation.

His reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity, Gingrich tweeted on May 17.

Media should now calm down.
Three men have been arrested after allegedly stealing $300,000 worth of avocados from their employer.

Police arrested Joseph Valenzuela, 38, Carlos Chavez, 28 and Rahim Leblanc, 30, on suspicion of 'grand theft avocado.'

They are accused of stealing the fruit from their employer, Mission Produce, in Ventura County, California, and reselling them for a profit.

Police arrested Joseph Valenzuela, 38, Carlos Chavez, 28 and Rahim Leblanc, 30, (pictured left to right) on suspicion of 'grand theft avocado'

The three men were accused of stealing $300,000 worth of avocados from their employer

In total, the company believes more than $300,000 worth of the fruit were stolen.

'Everybody loves avocados. We take these kinds of thefts seriously,' Ventura County Sgt told the Los Angeles times.

Police have been watching the trio of suspects since May, when Mission Produce's president, Steve Barnard, became suspicious of the thefts.

He was tipped off by customers and surveillance video, according to the Times.

Authorities have not yet determined exactly how many pounds of avocados were stolen, and believe the men resold the fatty fruits to 'unknowing customers'.

Mission Produce (pictured) is one of the largest avocado distributors in the world. Prices for the fatty fruit have skyrocketed in recent months after diminished crops in California and Mexico did not meet the increased worldwide demand

Police believe the illegal sales were going on for several months, and think the customers thought they were paying Mission Produce for the food.

Barnard told the Times sells a box of avocados for $50, and suspects men were selling them for $20 or $30 a box, far below market price.

Mission Produce is one of the largest avocado distributors in the world. Prices for the fatty fruit have skyrocketed in recent months after diminished crops in California and Mexico did not meet the increased worldwide demand.
It was one of his most deadly missions and it would be his last. The Special Forces trooper had been ordered to secure a high value target and clear multiple enemy compounds when he was hit by a hail of bullets.

With blood pouring from gaping wounds across his body, he was flown to the nearest base used by the Special Boat Service (SBS) in the war-ravaged country the Daily Mail has chosen not to name.

The former Royal Marine  one of the first to discuss details of his regiment's covert missions in recent history - said: 'We feel fear. Everybody feels fear. We'd be lying if we said we don't.

Ex-elite troops and Royal Marine commandoes paddled down the River Thames to raise money for injured Special Forces soldiers who can endure life changing injuries

'But it's that adrenalin rush that covers the fear, the knowledge and the confidence in the training that you've done and the guy next to you too.'

His story  along with others  came to light yesterday as ex-elite troops and Royal Marine commandoes paddled down the River Thames to raise money for injured Special Forces soldiers.

Model, racecar driver and TV personality Jodie Kidd took to the water in support of the charity yesterday.

Jodie Kidd joined ex-elite troops and Royal Marine commandoes as they paddled down the River Thames to raise money for injured Special Forces soldiers yesterday

In the first public event of its kind, the Special Boat Service Association (SBSA) charity has decided to come out from the shadows and highlight the devastating injuries elite soldiers have suffered.

The event was held to mark the 75th anniversary of Operation Frankton, in which ten commandos  known as the 'Cockleshell Heroes'  were tasked with destroying enemy ships in the Nazi war effort.

They were the bloodline that the modern SBS draws its routes from.

Referring to the mission that forced him to abandon his career and seek support from the SBSA, the ex-marine said: 'We were due to go out and clear a high value target and multiple compounds.

'We'd bombarded it to clear it and we were confident there wasn't much left of it. But then as we walked through all hell broke loose.'

Jodie Kidd and the Special Boat Service Association pictured. They recreated a training paddle once made by the 'cockleshell Heroes' preparing for operation Frankton 75 years ago

He added: 'A rampage of rounds came towards us and unfortunately I ended up picking up most of them.

'I had three medics working on me from within the patrol, they found several holes in me, they torniqued them, sealed them up, and called in for a cas-evac (casualty evacuation).

'I exhausted the base's entire supply of my blood group whilst I was being operated on me.'

Another former SBS trooper who has been helped by the SBSA said: 'The UK Special Forces is the hardest selection process in the world.

In the first public event of its kind, the SBSA charity has come out from the shadows to highlight the devastating injuries elite soldiers suffered. Jodie Kidd attended the fundraiser

'As soon as you step off that helicopter you are as one and you'd do anything for that person beside you.'

He revealed how his comrade was killed and he sustained life-changing injuries after being tasked to go after a high value target while deployed in a recent conflict.

He said: 'That night we were tasked to go on an operation to go after a high value target.

'It was about midnight. We broke off into a team and headed off up the side of a mountain. The terrain was very challenging.

'We were clearing each position as we progressed. As we approached the next position the first shots were fired. Myself and another member were hit.'

Tragically, he said: 'With great sadness we lost a very valuable member of the team.'

He said he was hit in the right hip and fractured his femur, adding: 'Another round went through my calf and my right ankle and my sciatic nerve.

'I also took a round in my left elbow and one in my helmet, which fortunately did its job that day.

'I had no feeling in my legs, I thought that this might be it. I was thinking of my family, thinking of my friends.

'I had to get off this mountain as quickly as possible. I had to use the mountainside and gravity, which sent me tumbling down.'

Luckily, he fell into the feet of British forces. 'The rest of the guys then went up and finished what we'd started', he said.

With the injuries he sustained  having no sensation or movement in his lower left leg  he was forced to leave the service.

'The hardest thing to accept is not having control of your career anymore within the military.

'When you have a future planned and you have that taken away from you in a split second it's very difficult', he said.

But the Royal Marine yesterday praised the SBSA charity, which he said had supported him and his family, and helped him get a university degree.

'It's something I don't want to be remembered for  the guy that was shot', he said.

The SBSA has supported 1500 special forces troops and their members since 1998, including amputees, those blown up by bombs and those shot at.

Former Royal Marine Mick Betteridge, the chief executive of the charity, said of the public event: 'This is a ground-breaking step for us.'

The normally low-profile SBS  made up of hundreds of commandos drawn from the Royal Marines, carries out covert and daring missions across the world.

They regard themselves as even fitter than the Special Air Service  and are specialists in counter-terrorism, beach reconnaissance, sabotage, oil platform and large ship assault.

They do most things the SAS does, but may swim 10 miles or carry a canoe as well.

Missions have included boarding ships suspected of carrying explosives and biological weapons in the Channel.

The Cockleshell Heroes, as they would later be known, were the harbingers of today's Special Boat Service (SBS).

During an operation in December 1942, codenamed Frankton, they carried out a daring attack on merchant ships moored in the harbour of Bordeaux, some hundred miles upstream.

To reach their targets, fast blockade runners used to carry German supplies to Japan and vice versa, the 10 commandos paddled for nights on end.

They lay under cover on isolated stretches of riverbank during the day. Their weapons were limpet mines, to be attached to the ships' hulls before detonation.

Four men reached Bordeaux and attacked the German boats, planting their explosives before fleeing.

The mission was hailed by Lord Mountbatten as 'the most courageous and imaginative of all the raids ever carried out by the men of Combined Operations'.

To donate, click here.
A mother has expressed the heartache she is facing after her 18-year-old son developed a relationship with his teacher, merely three months after he graduated school.

The woman, who is also a teacher, at the same school, and not named, says her son told her that he and his 30-year-old teacher did not develop their relationship until once he was out of school, however mother's instinct suggests otherwise.

'Im not convinced, nor does it matter, because something did happen. For two years, she was his teacher during which he was groomed and emotionally manipulated to the point of dependency,' she wrote on Mamamia.

A mother has described her torment over her son dating his high-school teacher (stock picture)

She now faces a crisis as she weighs up whether to go to police over the matter and risk losing her son to a dark place he may never come back from - or lose him to her for good.

The woman admits there have been issues that may have caused him to be an easy target to be groomed by the her love-struck colleague.

The youngster grew to confide in his teacher after struggling with a few issues while transitioning through teenage years with his father, described as 'absent' and 'narcissistic', helping to fuel anger issues.

She says the father's absence 'confused his identity' with conflicting responsibilities as man of the house or child when being disciplined.

As a colleague and friend, the teacher would notified his mother when the communications began, to let her know they were talking.

When the boy turned 18, three months after he graduated, the pair began to date. He says the pair's relationship did not develop until after he had finished school (stock picture)

Eventually the relationship grew and the teenager broke up with the female student he was in a committed relationship with. His mother now believes that decision was heavily swayed by her son's teacher.

'In reflection, I can see my sons breakup was manipulated by his teacher for her own personal gain,' she said.

For now, it is about working through her feelings of conflict as she works to decide the best fate for her son's overall well-being, and their family.

Eventually, she believes, the authorities will be informed and the teacher will be made to answer for her actions, and the mother will be left to hold her son once more.
Seven American troops were wounded Saturday in an insider attack by an Afghan soldier at a military base, as the US appears set to boost its troop presence in the country.

The shootout at Camp Shaheen near northern Mazar-i-Sharif city is the second 'green-on-blue' attack -- where Afghan soldiers turn their weapons on international forces assisting them -- reported this week.

It comes as Washington is expected to announce an increase in the US military deployment in the country to bolster Afghan forces who are struggling to contain the Taliban's nationwide offensive.

'Seven U.S. service members wounded, evacuated for treatment,' US-led NATO forces said in a brief statement on Twitter. 'Insider attack Camp Shaheen, Mazar-e Sharif under investigation.'

Green-on-blue attacks have been a major problem during NATO's long years fighting alongside Afghan forces

The military coalition had earlier said that one Afghan soldier had been killed and another wounded in the incident.

The Taliban in a statement did not say if they were directly behind the attack, only crediting a 'patriotic Afghan soldier' for the assault.

The latest attack comes just a week after an Afghan commando killed three American troops and wounded another in eastern Nangarhar province, in an insider attack that was claimed by the Taliban.

Camp Shaheen is the headquarters of the Afghan army's 209th Corps where around 150 Afghan soldiers and policemen were killed in April when it was stormed by Taliban fighters dressed in military uniforms and armed with suicide vests.

Green-on-blue attacks have been a major problem during NATO's long years fighting alongside Afghan forces. Western officials say most insider attacks stem from personal grudges and cultural misunderstandings rather than insurgent plots.

U.S. forces and Afghan security police are seen in the province of Asad Khil

US Marine's watch an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter fly over Bost Airfield in Afghanistan

Analysts say such attacks are expected to increase this year as US troops engage with the Afghan military to double the size of its special forces, considered to be effective in the fight against insurgents.

The latest insider attack comes at a time of intensified violence and when the United States is actively considering sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said this week that he will present a new US military strategy for Afghanistan, along with adjusted troop numbers, in the coming weeks to President Donald Trump.

American military commanders in Afghanistan have requested thousands of additional boots on the ground to boost the NATO troop presence in the country.

US troops in Afghanistan currently number about 8,400, with another 5,000 from NATO allies, who mainly serve in a training and advisory capacity.

The Afghan conflict is the longest in American history, with US-led forces at war there since 2001, after the ousting of the Taliban regime.
Mr Young, 52, fell on to railings outside the luxury flat in Montagu Square, Marylebone, central London, after telling police he was fearing for his life

Evidence from the scene of tycoon Scot Young's death have been released as it is claimed he was killed by a Russian hit squad.

Mr Young, who died in December 2014 after falling from a balcony in a London flat and being impaled on railings, was one of nine people to die in strange circumstances after telling police he was being targeted by Russian hitmen.

All the cases were deemed non-suspicious by police in Britain, but a new investigation has claimed MI6 asked US officials if the deaths could be assassinations.

New images released from the scene of his death to BuzzFeed News show scratch marks on the windowsill where he fell, which his daughter, Sasha, says is evidence that he didn't jump.

Other photographs show his white trainers splattered with blood, a stained white sock, two mobile phones - one of which has been deconstructed following the impact of the fall, a packet of Epilim tablets (used to treat epilepsy) and a Crisis card, which contains a helpline number for people who need help and support if they are having a crisis in relation to their mental health.

Mr Young had also been spotted with Patrick Adams, a member of the north London gang the Adams family, in the months before his death. Mr Young, who met Mr Adams in the 90s, was spotted meeting Mr Adams in a pub months before his death, and subsequently told people he was being 'looked after', according to BuzzFeed.

Police records state Mr Young rang the police in August 2009 and 'disclosed to officers that he believed he was going to be assassinated by gangsters and the Russian Mafia'.

New images released from the scene of his death show scratch marks on the windowsill where he fell

He was also spotted with gang boss Patrick Adams in the months leading up to his death

Evidence from the scene of his death show medicine, a crisis card and a note containing an inventory of patient's property

One of his mobile phones had been deconstructed and broken following the impact of the fall

A second mobile phone, a Nokia, survived the impact, but had a smashed screen. Buzzfeed manage to rebuild the phone and released some of the text messages inside

He was later arrested after an altercation and was sectioned under Mental Health Act after doctors concluded he was 'paranoid, with a manic flavour' and had a 'complex delusional belief system.'

BuzzFeed also claimed US officials suspect a further 13 deaths in Britain may be linked with Russia's security services or the Mafia.

And they told the website that they have shared all the information, from human sources, intercepted communications, and public material, with British Police, but in every instance, officers ruled out foul play.

MI6 reportedly asked its US counterparts for information about each of the 14 deaths 'in the context of assassinations'.

Here is the window where Mr Young fell and was killed after being impaled on railings

Mr Young was one of nine people to die in strange circumstances after telling police he was being targeted by Russian hitmen. Pictured is the scene where he died

In 2014, the MailOnline reported that Mr Young may have been murdered by Russian gangsters who stashed his fortune offshore but then refused to give back control of his money.

The claim was made by reclusive tycoon Valery Morozov, who fled for Britain after exposing corruption in Russia, who claimed the sting means police and secret services in Moscow are paying 'close attention' to Mr Young's death.

Prior to his death, Mr Young had been at the centre of one of Britain's most notorious divorce cases, which culminated in him being jailed for refusing to reveal how much money he was worth to his ex-wife Michelle.

She said her ex-husband had up to 400million stashed offshore but Mr Young said he was penniless and 30million in debt.

Mr Young was also at the centre of one of Britain's most notorious divorce cases after refusing to reveal how much money he was worth to ex-wife Michelle

Mr Young is pictured with his then-girlfriend Noelle Reno. Buzzfeed has claimed US officials suspect a further 13 deaths in Britain may be linked with Russia's security services or the Mafia

Ms Reno and Mr Young arrive at The Masterpiece Marie Curie Party supported by Jaeger-LeCoultre and hosted by Heather Kerzner at The Royal Hospital Chelsea in 2014

It was later claimed in court by his embittered ex-wife's legal team that Mr Young's sudden and bizarre loss of his gigantic fortune was part of a plan entitled 'Project Marriage Walk'.

Young said he lost his immense wealth in the Russian capital of Moscow.

Mr Morozov said at the time he feared Mr Young was stitched up by a group who left him with no control over his carefully-hidden offshore fortune.

And he believed Russian mafia could be connected to the death of former Kremlin insider Boris Berezovsky, who was found dead in his toilet near Ascot in 2013 after fleeing Moscow fearing for his life.

In 2015, a coroner ruled Mr Young's death could not be ruled as suicide due to insufficient evidence.

The coroner said after hearing the evidence, she could rule out any kind of foul play.
Passchendaele  the name alone is synonymous with the misery of the First World War. The battle took place a century ago near Ypres in Belgium, and came in the second half of a year that had brought unparalleled misery for British troops.

The battlefields through France and into Belgium were featureless wastelands.

Villages were obliterated and woods stripped back to charred trunks. Soldiers fought on in mud so thick that tanks became stuck and men and horses drowned.

Here is series of rarely seen words and pictures recorded by soldiers during the First World War. Pictured: British troops prepare a machine-gun position at Ypres

An end to the fighting was nowhere near in sight.

At home, popular enthusiasm for the struggle had long since waned. Yet the British Army did not lack humour or morale  as can be seen in this remarkable new account, a series of rarely seen and never before published words and pictures recorded by the soldiers themselves, even though cameras had been forbidden by the Army since 1914.

Fresh and compellingly human in its detail, it is a gripping account of the long and bloody march through the months that finally gathered in the fury of the Third Battle of Ypres  and the hell of Passchendaele itself.

Scorched earth and boobytraps

The Germans had been on the defensive since the end of the Somme in 1916 and had established a new position, the Hindenburg Line, but were unsparing in their attempts to wound the enemy.

Captain Graham Greenwell, of 1/4th The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, wrote of the territory gained: The Huns put arsenic in the wells at Baisieux, and they have left all sorts of little boobytraps behind them.

The cunning dogs half sawed through some bridges across the Somme, and put bombs underneath, which promptly blew up. They have left stoves in the dugouts all ready for lighting, which also blew up.

Second Lieutenant Harry Trounce, 181 Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers, concurred: In the barbed wire on top of the trenches we would find the German hairbrush bombs [stick grenades] tied by their fuses to the wire.

In the trenches we found thousands of German egg bombs [small grenades] connected to and underneath the duckboards [wooden planking].

These would be fired by anyone stepping on the duckboard. We would find attractive souvenirs hung up with bombs attached. Some poor chap would see a good-looking German helmet hung in a dugout, attempt to remove it and fire the bomb attached.

Lieutenant Keith Henderson, Royal Flying Corps, said: At one of the loveliest towns [Peronne] in France, the Huns have destroyed every single house, all the bridges, and the cathedral, too  a pale crushed ghost in the deserted marketplace.

On a huge noticeboard in the Grande Place the Hun has written in German: Dont argue: only wonder! We have destroyed your city. We took your precious town from you. Here it is back again. With our love.

Some merry soldier wrote that up, I suppose. It was a pity.

Under attack during the battle of the skies

Both sides fought for control of the skies. Captain Lawrence Gameson, Royal Army Medical Corps, 71st Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, wrote: I saw a German plane dive from the clouds with no wings. It hit the earth with a hideous impact 200 yards from me.

The pilot was a bag of broken bones: had not his uniform held him he would have been pretty well amorphous. And so it goes on.

Final preparations: Royal Scots Fusiliers practise a gas drill before departing for the Western Front

Driver Aubrey Smith, 1/5th (City of London) Battalion, London Rifle Brigade: A long line of ammunition lorries stretched from one end of the village to the other. We were in our billet wrestling with bully beef tins and did not observe the appearance of German aeroplanes which flew over the village, noticed the congested state of the main street and promptly signalled to their guns.

'The first we knew of it was when a loud explosion occurred  the biggest we had ever heard  which violently shook the ground. Boom! Another sudden upheaval of bricks, masonry and lorries, lost in great clouds of smoke!

Steady as rocks... the brave who went over the top

North of Arras lay Vimy Ridge, a German-held patch of high ground crucial to the success of the Arras offensive. Sergeant Rupert Whiteman, 10th Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), wrote: With a roar the heavens and Earth seemed to be rent asunder; every gun along that 15 miles of front opened fire simultaneously from Vimy to Croisilles.

One sheet of flame rippled along the German lines caused by the bursting of thousands of British shells. None of us had ever before been eyewitnesses to such awful artillery fire.

The barrage meant the infantry battalions were about to go over the top. Major Bertram Brewin, 16th The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment), wrote: I shoved my men over.

'They went as steady as rocks, swearing at the mud and wire, but calling to one another to keep their dressing [advancing in line] just as they had at practice. It is a most desperate and naked feeling to step up over the parapet into no-mans-land  you felt as if you hadnt a stitch of clothing on.

Sergeant Rupert Whiteman, 10th Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment): We could not help pitying those poor chaps in the trenches yonder. Despite their nationality they were human after all  and this was a hell-let-loose.

A British tank advances through thick mud up the Messines Ridge. The charred landscape of the front is clearly visible

Private George Culpitt, 10th The Royal Welsh Fusiliers: Nothing can live in such as this. A glance to the left towards Vimy and the scene is the same. The whole of the ridge one mass of flame and rising earth.

'Around us, Fritzs shells are exploding as he vainly endeavours to stay our advance. Now and then a man falls dead or wounded but we take no notice. Our casualties are slight for the terrible bombardment is too much for the enemy machine-gunners who are either killed or cowering down a deep dugout.

Lieutenant Alan Thomas, 6th Queens Own (Royal West Kent Regiment): Crossing a trench, I glanced down and saw one of our men in a pool of blood. His body had been split from the shoulder, downwards, and some of his entrails were hanging out. I had seen a dead body before, but never one so mutilated.

I felt frightened and shaky. My knees nearly gave way under me. I pulled myself together and hurried on. The image remained with me for hours afterwards. So long as I live I shall never be able to obliterate it altogether.

Lieutenant Arthur Worman, 6th Queens (Royal West Surrey Regiment): A Hun was lying on the ground ahead of us, apparently dead but with such life that he had left in him, he twisted himself over and fired an automatic pistol at my batman [personal servant]. What stamina and what hatred.

Captain Douglas Cuddeford, 12th The Highland Light Infantry: The horses seemed to suffer most. For a while we put bullets into poor brutes that were aimlessly limping about on three legs, or else careering about in agony, like one I saw that had its muzzle blown away. Why it had been thought fit to send in cavalry, we never knew.

2,000 lives extinguished - for a 400-yard advance

South of Ypres lay the strategically crucial Messines Ridge, in German hands since the autumn of 1914. The men of 419 Field Company, Royal Engineers were surprised to receive an instruction from the War Office.

It dealt with discipline in the Army, emphasising in particular the necessity for the men to properly salute their officers. This untimely message arrived hot on the heels of a note stating that owing to the shortage of fat, men were allowed to dip their bread on the bacon fat on one side only. They had been warned.

On July 31, 1917, as the Third Battle of Ypres was about to commence, everyone waited for the final furious bombardment before going over the top.

The initial assaults were not promising. On August 10, more than 2,000 casualties were sustained for a gain of 400 yards.

Private Thomas Hope, a 16-year-old signaller with the 1/5th Kings Liverpool Regiment, chanced upon one injured man in a shellhole: Poor fellow, he has lost both legs above the knee and has a nasty wound in the stomach. At first we think he is dead, but a movement of the eyes assures us he still lives. His glassy, staring eyes follow our every movement, not a groan escapes his lips. I think I understand the look in his eyes. I wouldnt want to live without my legs; to have to crawl on my stomach like a worm; that isnt life but a living hell.

Deadly surprise: A trench mortar - known as a 'plum pudding' - moments before it was fired at the German lines

By August 16, the village of Langemarck had fallen, the one highlight in a dismal day. Four Victoria Crosses were awarded, but the battle was disintegrating into grinding attrition.

Lieutenant George Brown, 9th the Suffolk Regiment: I had two pathetic letters today, one from the fiancee of a man to whom I had to break the news of his death, thanking me  oh, so piteously!  for my kindness, and asking for a souvenir to take with her down the empty years that lie ahead.

The second was even more touching. The writer had lost both husband and brother. She wrote: Please dont laugh at me, but I am a lonely woman now. If there is in your company a lonely soldier who would be glad of letters and cigarettes, do me a kindness and let me have his name.

Somehow I found tears in my eyes as I read it, it was so infinitely sad and yet so beautiful.

In September and October there were further advances, including the strategically important ridges and spurs around Ypres that allowed battlefield supremacy and observation over German-held territory.

Private Hugh Quigley, of the 9th (Scottish) Division, was in the centre of the attack surrounding the Belgian village of Passchendaele, now known to posterity as the First Battle of Passchendaele, which commenced on October 12: None of us knew where to go when the barrage began.

I was knocked out before I left the first objective, which was littered with German corpses. One sight almost sickened me. I thought the position of a dead officers helmet curious.

My platoon sergeant lifted it off, only to discover no upper half to the head. All above the nose had been blown to atoms.

Apart from that, the whole affair appeared rather good fun. You know how excited one becomes in the midst of great danger.

As the battle dragged on into November, General Sir Douglas Haig brought down the Canadian Corps to help push the line on to the Passchendaele Ridge. No troops had been more tested in battle.

Major George Wade, Officer Commanding, 172nd Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps: It was a terrible thought as one passed each of those stiff, chilled soldiers, that he had once been dear to some mother, wife, sweetheart or child.

The most poignant memory was just a tiny piece of army biscuit. In a large shellhole there was a machine-gun team. The sergeant asked in a hopeless way: Can anything be done about this man?

His face was waxen and his eyes were closed. He had been hit four days before, was breathing very faintly and there was no possibility of evacuating him.

On his half-opened lips were little bits of army biscuit. That was all his fellow machine-gunners had to offer a mortally stricken man.

For six days one of our men, shot through both legs, lay out in no-mans-land.

Each night Germans from a nearby shellhole crept out to give him a warm drink, every drop of which they must have longed for themselves as their plight was as bad as that of the British.

At 6.20am on November 20, in mist and drizzle, a 1,000-gun bombardment opened up, smashing enemy batteries and defences before the tanks rolled over the enemys barbed wire, engaging trenches and machine-gun positions while the infantry followed, using the tanks as cover.

This was the Battle of Cambrai, the last offensive of the year. The results were unexpected and spectacular. The mighty defence of Germans Hindenburg Line had been breached.

The year had cost Britain and her Empire around 450,000 casualties, about 2,700 each fighting day.

But for terrible weather, the year might have ended with victory  we shall never know.

The revolution in Russia changed the tide of war by permitting Germany to switch a million troops from the Eastern to the Western Front and to launch its own bid to win the war the following spring. Despite the bloodshed of 1917, the horror would continue.

 Richard van Emden, 2017

The Road To Passchendaele, by Richard van Emden, is published by Pen & Sword at 25. Offer price 20 until June 25. Order at mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640; p&p is free on orders over 15.
A group of Florida fishermen came up empty-handed after the giant tarpon they had caught was immediately devoured by three sharks.

Justin Knowles, along with friends Ray Curtis and Russell Poppell, was tarpon fishing five miles from Boca Grande, Florida on May 27 when Curtis hooked the mammoth fish.

In the video posted yesterday, the clip opens up with Curtis trying to secure it.

Scroll down for video.

What a catch? Justin Knowles, along with friends Ray Curtis and Russell Poppell, was tarpon fishing five miles from Boca Grande, Florida on May 27 when Curtis hooked the mammoth fish.

Struggling to reel the fish for 45 minutes, Curtis was finally able to get the tarpon next to the boat before three bull sharks attacked the fish

Struggling to reel the fish for 45 minutes, Curtis was finally able to get the tarpon next to the boat.

And while Poppell tried to release the fish, it was mobbed by threes bull harks right next to Curtis' 24 ft Shoalwater flats boat.

Not scared: The big sharks aren't afraid to swim right nect to the boat as they devour the fish

Tog-o-war: The three sharks take turns taking the fish and chomping on it

In the video captured by Knowles, blood taints the water surrounding the fish and sharks as they eat take chunks out of it.

The short clip ends with the shark trying to swim off with their new caught prize.

It has already received more than 1000 views in less than a day
Police officers had to leap out of the way to avoid being run over by a car full of desperate migrants hoping to reach Europe when the vehicle sped through border control to enter a Spanish territory from Morocco.

Five migrants were caught after hiding inside the car which careered through a border post between Morocco and the Spanish city of Melilla in the second botched smuggling in the area in two days.

The migrants had hidden in the boot, under a false bottom in the rear seats, and even inside the dashboard of the vehicle.

Migrants hoping to reach Europe through the Spanish territory often resort to desperate measures to cross the border, and although this method had not been used in years it happened once in March, and again just yesterday.

Caught: Police officers had to leap out of the way to avoid being run over by a car full of desperate migrants (pictured) hoping to reach Europe when the vehicle sped through border control to enter a Spanish territory from Morocco

Melilla and its sister city Ceuta, 400 kilometres northwest along the Moroccan coast, are the only two land borders between Africa and the European Union.

The central government's representative office in Melilla said the car came up to the border post normally, queuing with other vehicles.

A spokesman said: 'When it got near the first police control, it abruptly changed direction, took a lane adjacent to the one it was in and dangerously evaded police controls at high speed.

Desperate: The migrants had hidden in the boot, under a false bottom in the rear seats, and even inside the dashboard of the vehicle, pictured

'The car damaged one of the border post's barriers and forced 'officers to abandon their posts so as not (to) be run over.'

Once inside Melilla, the Moroccan driver abandoned the car but was soon detained by police.

Inside the vehicle, they found five migrants - two in the boot, two under a false bottom in the rear seats, and another in the dashboard.

Botched operation: Five migrants were caught after hiding inside the car which careered through a border post between Morocco and the Melilla in the second smuggling in two days

Three of them were minors.

The incident comes just a day after another car forced its way through the Melilla border post with nine migrants on board.

Surveillance footage tweeted by Spain's interior minister showed a police officer rushing to close large gates at the border post but being flung to the floor as the car forced the barriers open at high speed.

The border between Morocco and Melilla and Ceuta is regularly hit by disturbances as migrants try to get through by hiding in vehicles or climbing over high fences (file pic)

The border between Morocco and Melilla and Ceuta is regularly hit by disturbances as migrants try to get through by hiding in vehicles or climbing over high fences.

Spain announced in March that it would nearly double the capacity of its migrant reception centres in the two territories to 8,500 places from 4,500.

Migrants and refugees also regularly take to rickety boats to cross the Mediterranean between north Africa and Spain.
A prisoner who was allegedly tortured and had a disturbing ISIS slogan branded onto his forehead by his radical Islamic cellmate will walk away with $400,000 in compensation.

Michael Sean OKeefe sued the state after the alleged razorblade torture left him fighting for his life when he was paired with then 18-year-old Bourhan Hraichie at Kempsey Prison in NSW.

He suffered a broken sternum, was put into an induced coma and was left with deep scars following the alleged prison cell torment, the Daily Telegraph reports.

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Bourhan Hraichie, 18, (pictured) who allegedly carved an ISIS sign into his cellmate's head is now being reporteldy investigated over threats to behead staff

Michael O'Keefe, 40, was attacked after he and Hraichie were placed in the same cell at Kempsey jail (pictured) in New South Wales despite having different security classifications (stock image)

Correctional Services settled the matter outside court and Mr O'Keefe - who was a former Army Reservist -was awarded between $400,000 and $500,000, a criminal lawyer told the publication.

His alleged attacker Hriachie charged with four counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder and will face court on Monday.

Mr OKeefe was released from Kempsey Prison after he spent several months behind bars for domestic violence offences.

Hriachie was moved to Goulborn Supermax prison following the alleged torture.

He was accused of using a razor blade to etch 'E4E'  meaning 'eye for an eye' into Mr O'Keefe's forehead.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that a threatening letter to staff was written in the name of ISIS.

The teenage jihadi was charged with causing grievous bodily in April after allegedly using a razor blade to etch 'E4E'  meaning 'eye for an eye' into O'Keefe's forehead (stock image)

A Corrections Department spokeswoman said the department would not comment on the threatening letter 'as the matter is the subject of a police investigation' (stock image)

Hraichie had been reprimanded twice recently for writing ISIS propaganda on his prison cell walls.

Mr O'Keefe was attacked after he and Hraichie were placed in the same cell at Kempsey jail in New South Wales despite having different security classifications.

On top of the gruesome carving, it is alleged Hraichie also poured boiling water onto a towel he then placed on the 40-year-old former Toowoomba-based digger's face

Senior prison sources claim the bloody assault went on for more than 20 minutes before Mr O'Keefe was rushed to Port Macquarie hospital.

The teen ISIS supporter was transferred to Goulburn Supermax Jail (pictured) after allegedly assaulting Mr O'Keefe on April 7

He also suffered serious burns to his face and injuries to his head.

Following the attack, the general manager of the prison, Greg Steele, was stood down.

The teen ISIS supporter has been a known supporter of the terrorist group for several months and had been previously caught sending graphic images of beheadings to other IS extremists housed in Goulburn.
Beguiling: Rebecca Fenton with Piers during their interview at her maximum-security prison

It was, quite literally, the $1 million question. You see Rebecca, I said, staring straight into the tear-stained eyes of the strawberry-blonde killer sitting just 2ft from me in the maximum-security prison visitors room, I dont know whether youre either the victim of an extraordinary miscarriage of justice, in which case your incarceration here for the rest of your life is unspeakably unfair

She nodded. Thats correct.

 Or, I continued, youre a cold, calculating murderess and the best liar Ive ever met in my life.

Ive heard people say that too, she nodded again.

Rebecca Fenton is serving a life sentence for the cold-blooded assassination of her handsome, Clint Eastwood-lookalike husband Larry, 57, in a bid to claim $1 million from a life insurance policy and his estate.

She was convicted of methodically planning his death and then pumping bullets into him at their luxury home in Clearwater, Florida, in 2008 as he watched sport on TV.

It was an inexplicable crime that took police six years to solve, because everyone thought that Rebecca and Larry had the perfect marriage.

To this day, there is absolutely no forensic evidence that proves she killed him.

I interviewed Rebecca for my new five-part ITV series Killer Women, which starts on Thursday and features female murderers who have committed unspeakable crimes.

Of all the women I met, she was the most fascinating; a highly intelligent, eloquent, passionate and beguiling creature.

Towards the end of our extraordinary encounter, I asked Rebecca, now 49, to look directly into the camera and tell viewers why they should believe she is innocent.

Pictured: Rebecca and Larry Fenton. Larry's murder was an inexplicable crime that took police six years to solve, because everyone thought that Rebecca and Larry had the perfect marriage

She composed herself, turned to the lens and began to speak in slow, measured tones.

I was very much in love with my husband, she declared. I had a lifestyle that was very grand. It would not have done me any good whatsoever to hurt him.

I would not have gained anything monetarily. I would have gained more by having him alive.

Im not spiritually capable of hurting anybody. Im not a murderer. I did not do this.

It was a compelling performance. Yet to the detectives who investigated this case, thats exactly what it was: a performance.

They believe that she grew bored with her perfect life and brutally killed Larry to set up a new life with a man she had been secretly seeing on the side.

But doubts remain, and all the evidence against her is entirely circumstantial.

Rebeccas defence lawyer told me: I look at the evidence. Your gut can be right, but your gut can also be wrong. Somebody can be a sociopath and trick you.

So I go by evidence, and I believe that shes innocent. I believe shes been wrongly convicted.

Meeting a monster: Sheila Davalloo stalked and killed a love rival in a jealous rage and then attempted to murder her husband

But Detective Mike Hasty, who was brought in years after the murder to re-examine the case, was insistent: I am 100 per cent certain she shot and killed Larry. A circumstantial case doesnt mean a bad case.

Whatever the truth, what is indisputable is that, until the murder, Rebecca lived the kind of privileged life most women can only dream about.

She met Larry in a gym and married him a year after they started dating. They made a great couple; she was a dazzling, fun-loving beauty; he was a wealthy, successful pharmaceutical rep. He was very tall, a very good-looking man, she told me. He looked like Clint Eastwood.

He was very refined, articulate, and he carried himself with a sense of class.

I asked her what kind of lifestyle she had. Very spoiled, very pampered, she replied. Anything I wanted, I got.

I had a beautiful car and beautiful clothes, beautiful things in my home, a gorgeous house. I had the nail salon, the hair salon, the spa, the shopping. It was a very, very good lifestyle.

Killer Women features female murderers who have committed unspeakable crimes. Pictured: One of the inmates on the programme

I love that man madly. He told me on a daily basis that I was his world. Everything Larry did was for me.

We had something very special. This man would have taken care of me in a very high-class lifestyle for the rest of my life.

Larry, in return, had the best catch in town.

Rebecca was one of those ladies who looked fantastically super, said a neighbour. Whenever she came outside, all the men on the block would come out to get their mail.

So why would she want Larry dead? The truth almost certainly lies with those two most tempting of sins: greed and adultery.

Police believe that Fenton was pursuing a romantic relationship with a local man named David Chase, whom she had met at a local AA meeting (Rebecca suffered from alcohol issues throughout her marriage).

She angrily denied any affair to me, but her mother Karen confirmed it. She told me she had eyes for this man, a long-haired biker kind of guy, said Karen.

Im like, Are you insane? What are you doing? And she said, Mum, I dont know why I would pick a pauper when I have a prince. 

Police then unearthed evidence that Rebecca had signed a pre-nup deal before her marriage to Larry that would pay out just $24,000 if they divorced. But he had also taken out a life insurance policy, and she stood to gain more than $1 million if he died.

Rebecca thought that she was going to get the insurance money and continue to live this fairytale lifestyle with her new love interest, said another detective, Kerri Spaulding.

But her defence lawyer offered a different explanation: If Rebecca was guilty, she would have left. The guilty person runs away. But she stayed.

Everywhere you look in this murder case, there are giant clues that point to Rebecca Fenton being the killer, yet none is conclusive.

During the programme Piers Morgan meets female criminals and asks them to discuss their actions

Police found the gun that killed Larry in her car, along with some of his jewellery. It was his gun, that he kept locked away in their bedroom.

Rebecca claimed she checked her husbands pulse after finding him lying in a pool of blood, yet the blood around his body was completely undisturbed.

She said the house had been ransacked by burglars, yet there had been no attempt to take anything.

There is no way to explain some of this, she admitted.

However, her DNA wasnt found on the gun, nor was any gunshot residue found on her body.

Police put huge significance on the evidence of a man she dated several years after the murder named Alfred Nolan, who told them that during a violent row at her home, she held a knife to his neck and snarled: I will kill you like I killed Larry!

But again, Rebecca emphatically denies this and points out that Nolan is a seriously dodgy convicted criminal whose testimony is thus deeply flawed.

In the end, youre left with your gut feeling about Rebecca Fentons guilt or innocence, rather than hard evidence. Even her mother now thinks she did it, after years of defending her. I feel guilty saying this, said Karen. Nobody wants to hear that their mother thinks youre a murderer, but yes, I believe that she killed Larry.

Many of the inmates sobbed as they recalled their crimes

At the end of my interview with Rebecca, I relayed this bombshell news. She looked completely stunned. Thats the first time Ive ever heard that. Im not sure I believe you, she said. I cant believe that I just dont Her support and undying love

She has never led me to believe that she thought I was guilty. I just dont believe you.

Then she stood and sobbed uncontrollably for five minutes.

It was either the reaction of a guilty woman who knew shed now lost the support of her greatest advocate, her own mother, or the reaction of an innocent woman whod just had another cruel nail driven into her heart.

She shuffled away, back to the cell where she will live for the rest of her life.

My gut tells me that Rebecca Fenton is guilty and is the best liar Ive ever met. But, as her defence lawyer rightly said, sometimes your gut is wrong.

Where my gut is incontrovertibly correct is in the case of Sheila Davalloo, the single most dangerous woman I have met in my entire life. To the outside world, Sheila was a nice, normal, attractive and successful health company executive, who, like Rebecca Fenton, had everything going for her in life. But beneath that squeaky-clean veneer lurked a monster who stalked and viciously murdered her lovers girlfriend, then tried to kill her husband during a kinky sex game.

I realised how dangerous Sheila was when two heavily armed male guards escorted her into our prison interview room and then sat with us throughout the chat.

In all my other Killer Women interviews, theres always just been one female guard. But Sheila is in a different league of sinister menace.

Shes one of the most dangerous people I have ever seen, said the detective who ran her case. A woman capable of extreme violence on a horrific scale.

Sheila is very bright, so much so that she even conducted her own defence at her trial.

Shes calculating, self-serving, conniving and truly thinks shes going to fool us all, said another detective, Alison Carpentier.

In the flesh, Sheila seemed innocuous enough, friendly even. Yet I was mindful of the unbelievable savagery with which she had committed her crimes, and that, coupled with the armed guards, made me unusually nervous.

Her descent into depravity came after she fell in love with work colleague Nelson Sessler and they entered into a torrid affair.

Killer Women, with Piers Morgan, will be shown on ITV at 9pm on Thursday. Pictured: One of the inmates featured in the programme

Nelson was seeing another woman at the time, a stunning beauty named Anna Lisa Raymundo, who also worked at the firm.

After a summer of two-timing both women, Nelson broke things off with Sheila so that he could marry Anna Lisa.

Demented with jealousy, Sheila plotted to murder her love rival so that she could have Nelson to herself.

She stalked her prey for weeks, then calmly left work one morning when she knew Anna Lisa was at her expensive waterside home, and knocked on the door.

When Anna Lisa opened it, Sheila launched a frenzied knife attack, including stabbing her in the face until she was dead.

She then cleaned herself up and returned to work as if nothing had happened.

At first, police were clueless as to who had killed Anna Lisa.

Sheila, meanwhile, offered herself as a comforting shoulder for Nelson to cry on  one that he readily accepted.

They even went on holiday together just months after the murder.

But to be with him permanently, she knew shed have to get rid of her unsuspecting husband, Paul.

So Sheila devised a shocking plan: a sex game at their home in upstate New York in which they would both wear blindfolds and touch each other with objects.

When Paul put his blindfold on, Sheila plunged a knife into his chest.

Then did it again.

Paul screamed in horror and asked what the hell was happening. Sheila said she had made a terrible mistake and had accidentally cut him, then drove him to the local hospital.

Once there, she attacked him again in the car park, stabbing him to try to finish him off.

But her husband, realising to his horror that she was trying to kill him, fought back and eventually she fled. This is when her story unravelled.

Detective Carpentier found Sheilas mobile and noticed that her last phone call was to someone called Nelson.

Curious, she drove to see him.

Are you here about the murder? asked a neighbour when she arrived at his house.

No, he didnt die. Im here about the assault, the detective replied.

No, the neighbour persisted, SHE died.

Smelling a humongous rat, Detective Carpentier raced to see the local police, who explained that Nelsons fiancee had been murdered months before  stabbed just like Paul in a ferocious attack.

They also played her a mysterious 911 emergency call made by a female witness on the day of Anna Lisas murder, reporting an incident at her house.

Thats Sheila Davalloos voice! exclaimed Detective Carpentier.

It was, but proving that and the fact that Sheila had killed Anna Lisa was not easy.

GIRL OF JUST 15 WHO PLOTTED GRISLY KILLING Fifteen-year-old Seath Jackson was beaten, shot, chopped into pieces and burned on a fire. One of the killers was his girlfriend Amber Wright, pictured What makes a gang of young children commit a despicable murder? Fifteen-year-old Seath Jackson was beaten, shot, chopped into pieces and burned on a fire. One of the killers was his girlfriend Amber Wright, also 15. Wright wanted to be with another boy, and so, staggeringly, she decided Seath had to die. To achieve this grisly goal, she lured him by text message to a trailer home for what he thought was a kiss-and-make-up meeting. Instead, he was met by Amber and five others who set about murdering him in the most heinous manner. Shes manipulative, shes diabolical. She is the most dangerous 15-year-old Ive ever encountered, said Detective Rhonda Stroop. Yet when I met Amber, left, she seemed such a tiny, fresh-faced, innocent youngster. I met Seaths parents, Scott and Sonia, for a highly charged and emotional interview. They had regularly entertained Amber at their home with their son. Sonia was remarkably dignified  but Scott was utterly unforgiving. I wanna torture and kill the b****, and I wouldnt lose any sleep over it, he said. I wish I could say that I would be like Sonia if that happened to one of my children, but I fear I would feel exactly the same as Scott. Advertisement

Several years passed before the crucial breakthrough came.

A tiny speck of blood had been found on a downstairs bathroom tap at Anna Lisas home.

Heavily delayed DNA testing, in its infancy at the time, revealed it almost certainly belonged to Sheila Davalloo. That, and the phone call, nailed her.

During our interview, Sheila lied through her back teeth about everything. I am very misunderstood, she insisted.

No, shes not. Shes an astonishingly selfish, greedy, obsessive, devious and dishonest lunatic.

I felt relieved to leave the prison that day. It had been a very unsettling experience.

If she was ever let out, said another detective, Tom McGinty, she would probably find somebody else and kill again.

Killer Women, with Piers Morgan, will be shown on ITV at 9pm on Thursday.
Bill Cosby's wife lashed out at the prosecution in a written statement after it was announced that the jury in her husband's sensational trial for aggravated indecent assault failed to reach a verdict Saturday morning.

Camille Cosby specifically vilified the prosecution, the district attorney, the accusers and the judge in her statement, which was read Saturday morning just after the decision was announced.

'How do I describe the district attorney? Heinously and exploitevly ambitious. How do I describe the judge? Overtly arrogant and collaborating with the district attorney.

Bill Cosby's wife lashed out at the prosecution in a written statement after it was announced that the jury in her husband's sensational trial for aggravated indecent assault failed to reach a verdict on Saturday morning

Smiling Camille Cosby, 73, showed up at court on Monday arm-in-arm with her husband as they arrived at the Norristown, Pennsylvania courtroom

'How do I describe the councils for the accusers? Totally unethical' her statement said.

Mrs Cosby also lashed out at the press, referring to the 'general media' as 'blatantly vicious entities' who 'disseminate intentional omissions of truth.'

After 53 hours of deliberation, the jury announced Saturday morning they were 'hopelessly deadlocked,' bringing to end a trial that lasted just six days and a defense that lasted just six minutes.

Moments after the jury had confirmed that it was hopelessly deadlocked after 53 hours of deliberation  one of the most selfless courageous acts Judge ONeill said he had ever seen  Brian McMonagle asked for a mistrial.

Mrs Cosby, pictured on Monday, also lashed out at the press, referring to the 'general media' as 'blatantly vicious entities' who 'disseminate intentional omissions of truth'

Bill Cosby smiled as he was arriving in court on Saturday morning

Montgomery County will retry Cosby on all three counts. Prosecutor Kevin Steele announced the decision as ONeill released Cosby who remains charged and on bail in this county on three counts of aggravated sexual assault.

There was an loud gasp from the court when Steele told the judge that the Commonwealth will retry Cosby  who did not react.

Cosby came to the courthouse without Camille on Saturday morning, who was not in court to hear the verdict nor prosecution during the trial.

There was an loud gasp from the court when Steele told the judge that the Commonwealth will retry Cosby  who did not react

After the announcement, the disgraced actor's spokesman, Andrew Wyatt (pictured left) also gave a statement, taking aim oat the high-profile lawyer representing several of his accusers

After the announcement, the disgraced actor's spokesman also gave a statement, taking aim oat the high-profile lawyer representing several of his accusers.

Andrew Wyatt quoted a co-founder of the Black Panther Party in his criticism of Gloria Allred, saying: 'In the words Huey P Newton, power is the ability to define a phenomenon, making it act in a designed manner.

'Mr Cosby's power's back, the jurors, they used their power to speak, and Mrs Cosby's power's back.'

'And for all those attorneys who conspired like Gloria Allred, tell them to go back to law school and take another class.'

After 53 hours of deliberation, the jury announced Saturday morning they were 'hopelessly deadlocked,' bringing to end a trial that lasted just six days and a defense that lasted just six minutes

Camille, who has been married to the comedian for more than five decades, was absent from the week-long trial, a trial in which the court heard admissions from Cosby's own sworn testimony, given in a 2005 and 2006 deposition, that the 79-year-old had stockpiled Quaaludes with the intention of giving them to young women with whom he intended to have sex.

The courtroom, according to Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt, would not have been a 'comfortable' place to Camille as, across five days of prosecution, the court heard in explicit detail both Constand and Cosby's account of what she alleges were unwanted sexual advances culminating in her being drugged and rapes, which he maintains was all consensual.
The celebrity women's rights attorney Gloria Allred has told Bill Cosby that 'it's too early to celebrate' after the disgraced actor's criminal sexual assault trial ended in a mistrial.

Allred, who represents 33 women in civil claims against the former Cosby Show star, spoke out outside the Norristown, Pennsylvania courthouse where a judge on Saturday declared the mistrial.

Allred is not the primary attorney for the alleged victim in the criminal trial, Andrea Constand, but attended throughout the trial and deliberations flanked by other accusers whom she represents.

'We can never overestimate the blinding power of celebrity. But justice will come,' Allred said to a gaggle of news cameras and reporters.

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'We can never overestimate the blinding power of celebrity. But justice will come,' celebrity women's rights attorney Gloria Allred (center) said after a mistrial was declared on Saturday

Bill Cosby will face a re-trial after his criminal trial for sexual assault ended in a hung jury

'It's too early to celebrate, Mr Cosby,' she declared. 'Round two may be just around the corner. And this time, justice may prevail.'

District Attorney Kevin Steele announced a short time later that Cosby would face a re-trial in the criminal case, in which the 79-year-old is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand in 2004.

Cosby and his attorneys have maintained that the two were romantically involved and the encounter was consensual.

Allred represents fellow Cosby accuser Kelly Johnson, who testified to a prior encounter with the married actor at the criminal trial.

The prosecution had sought to bring 13 of her clients to the stand for similar testimony.

'If the court allows more accusers to testify next time, it might make a difference,' said Allred.

Allred noted she would be back in court in Santa Monica, California on June 27 representing Judy Huff in a civil suit against Cosby, at which time she hopes for a court date to be set.

Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt (left) quoted a co-founder of the Black Panther Party to say that Cosby's 'legacy' has been restored and Cosby's 'power is back'

The Cosby camp blasted back at Allred, accusing the civil attorney of being a publicity hound throughout the civil trial.

'For all those attorneys, who conspired like Gloria Allred, tell them to go back to law school and take another class,' said Cosby spokesman told television reporters outside the courtroom, flanked by Cosby.

Wyatt also quoted a founder of the Black Panther Party to say that Cosby's 'legacy' has been restored.

'In the words of Huey P. Newton, power is the ability to define phenomenon, making it act in a designed manner,' Wyatt said.

'Mr. Cosby's power's back, it's back it has been restored,' he said. 'The jurors, they used their power to speak and Mrs. (Camille) Cosby's power is back, so the legacy didn't go anywhere, it has been restored.'
What to do if you come home to find Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys cavorting in your bed?

That was the question facing Marion Hutton when she returned from a shopping trip, having let her house in Tenby to a film company making The Edge Of Love, a biopic about Dylan Thomas.

I wasnt allowed in the bedroom itself, of course, says Marion, 70, who worked in London before retiring to the Pembrokeshire resort. But I was allowed to join the rest of the crew in my bathroom where they were watching the proceedings on a monitor.

Lexden House, circled. Although built in the 1840s, a decade after the Georgian period, it has a wealth of Georgian features

The bedroom was actually meant to be in Chelsea during the Blitz, and it would have been ideal but for one thing  the seagulls.

Every time they squawked, the actors had to start again. At one stage, things were going so slowly that it looked as if theyd have to shoot the scene in a studio instead. In that case, they wanted to take my bed away for the sake of continuity!

Fortunately, the 2008 film  about the love triangle involving Thomas (Matthew Rhys), his wife Caitlin (Sienna Miller) and his old flame Vera Phillips (Keira Knightley)  was finished on schedule.

Thomas had spent long periods of the war in Wales, so it made sense to shoot as much of the film there as possible.

For Marion, the experience of letting out her property was a success. She received 6,000 for two days of filming, although she allowed the crew access for a further five days so they could transform this light, high-ceilinged, Grade II listed house into a dark, bohemian garret.

They allowed me to keep some of the changes they made, including a window seat they built for a love scene between Keira and Cillian Murphy, who plays a British Army officer, says Marion.

Keira Knightley as Vera Phillips and Sienna Miller as Caitlin MacNamara in The Edge of Love

The cast and crew drove here from Aberaeron every day and they were all lovely. I didnt meet Keira but I had my picture taken with Sienna  she was charming.

It was little wonder that the films location manager, Alex Gladstone, was so taken with Marions property, Lexden House. Although built in the 1840s, a decade after the Georgian period, it has a wealth of Georgian features, such as internal shutters, rustic floorboards and ornate ironwork on the terrace. The house was also used in the filming of the 1998 TV mini-series Vanity Fair.

AT A GLANCE Price 1.4 million Location Tenby, Pembrokeshire Bedrooms 5, plus an additional one-bedroom basement flat Unique features Where Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Matthew Rhys and Cillian Murphy filmed The Edge Of Love; Grade II listed; sea views. Advertisement

Marion bought Lexden House in 1991 for 200,000 with her late husband, Tommy, a silk merchant. She had loved West Wales since visiting for holidays as a girl and later studying at Aberystwyth University. She and Tommy owned a holiday property in Tenby, but later decided they would like to live in the town permanently.

The house was in a terrible state, Marion recalls. Apart from needing structural repairs, decoratively it was stuck in a 1970s time warp, with brown walls in the hall and a foul red carpet.

The Huttons spent another 200,000 on restoring the house. Today you will not find a primped and perfect property  rather, it is bookish, full of beautiful art and antique furniture. The five-bedroom house boasts sea views and features a glorious Georgian staircase and American walnut doors. There is also a self-contained, one-bedroom flat in the basement.

In 2013, Marion allowed a pop-up cinema group, Films4Tenby, to use Lexden House for a showing of The Edge Of Love. The film buffs were fascinated to find the window seat where Keira had filmed her love scene still in place.

Marion is now selling up for 1.4 million because the house is far too big for her. However, locals will long remember her as the woman who brought the Hollywood stars to Tenby.

birtandco.co.uk
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US Navy rescuers are continuing their search for seven missing sailors lost after an American warship hit a Japanese commercial vessel off the coast of Japan early on Saturday.

The 10,000 ton USS Fitzgerald collided with the 29,000 ton ACX Crystal early on Saturday - raising fears the crewmen either fell overboard or are trapped below deck.

And on Saturday, US and Japanese forces launched joint air-and-sean search missions to find them as the heavily damaged $1.5bn guided-missile cruiser limped to its home port of Yokosuka Naval Base, just south of Tokyo.

The owners of the commerical ship reported that all 20 of its Filipino crew were safe.

With the Fitzgerald back at base it is now up to investigators to work out how the two huge vessels collided at night just off the coast of Japan.

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Limping home: The USS Fitzgerald makes its way back to Yokosuka Naval Base, just south of Tokyo on Saturday with the help of tug boats

Crashed: The starboard side of the USS Fitzgerald is clearly manged in this picture taken on Saturday as the ship returned to base

This comes as it emerged the captain of the stricken USS Fitzgerald was among those injured during the collision of the warship with the cargo vessel on Saturday.

Captain Bryce Benson was 'transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka and is reportedly in stable condition', according to a press statement from the US 7th Fleet.

The Wisconsin native, who took command of the AEGIS-equipped vessel in May of 2016, was med-evacuated along with two other crew members from the ship after the collision with the the container vessel ACX Crystal and is in a stable condition.

Meanwhile, the United States has refused to speculate on the shocking accident despite not having an official ambassador to Japan after Caroline Kennedy returned home and the Trump administration not announcing a replacement.

Collision: Heavy damage is pictured on the US Navy missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald after it collided with a cargo ship near Japan early on Saturday morning

Bryce Benson, has been transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka and is reportedly in stable condition

The destroyer's commanding officer is Commander Bryce Benson (pictured) who earned his commission through the Naval ROTC program at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald suffered severe damage when the container ship plowed into it at 2.30am local time

Missing: A US defense official confirmed that there are seven sailors unaccounted and that the destroyer suffered flooding in three compartments

The commander of the guided missile destroyer Bryce Benson was injured during the collision. He took command two months ago

An injured sailor is carried by U.S. military personnel, left, and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force members upon arriving at the U.S. Naval base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo

U.S. military personnel prepare to transfer an injured sailor on board USS Fitzgerald, after the Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship

Rescuers are searching for seven US Sailors thought to be lost at sea or trapped inside the damaged Navy destroyer which collided with a 29,000 ton cargo ship 56 miles off the coast of Japan on Saturday.

The guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald suffered severe damage when the container ship ACX Crystal  which is four times the size of the naval vessel  plowed into it at 2.30am local time.

Aerial footage shows the crushed exterior of the 9,000 ton $1.5billion destroyer which is commanded by Commander Benson, who took over in May.

Japanese coast guard spokesman Yoshihito Nakamura said the rescuers are searching for the seamen who were thought to have been thrown into the sea or possibly trapped inside damaged sections of the destroyer. Two crew berthings and one engineering main space have been flooded.

Three aboard the destroyer were medically evacuated, including the ship's commanding officer, Cmdr. Benson, who was reportedly in stable condition after being airlifted to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, the Navy said.

The other two injured were transferred to the hospital for lacerations and bruises, while other injuries were being assessed, it said.

'It was a was real fight by crew to keep the ship afloat. Our concerns now are with ship mates; seven sailors missing and 2 evacuees. When the news came we were all focused on the safety of or ship and the crew,' a naval spokesman in Yokosuka told DailyMail.com. 'We at the base are still reeling from the events.'

Course: This was the approximate route of the ACX Crystal before it collided with the USS Fitzgerald on Saturday morning

The ACX Crystal's course shows that it performed a rapid U-turn at speed and then turned to head back to Tokyo - at which point it collided with the USS Fitzgerald

The president offered his thoughts and condolences to those affected by the USS Fitzgerald collision

Most of the more than 200 sailors aboard would have been asleep in their berths, some of which were reportedly flooded.

At full strength the Fitzgerald - a 154-meter long Aegis destroyer weighing 8,315 tons - has a crew of 331 sailors.

It is unclear how fast the destroyer was going when it collided with the merchant ship. The area is particularly busy with sea traffic, said Yutaka Saito, of the coast guard.

The 7th Fleet revealed that the ship is proceeding back to her home port of Yokosuka under her own power although her propulsion is limited. The USS Dewey - another destroyer - and two Navy tugs have been dispatched to provide assistance. Naval aircraft are also being readied.

The Fitzgerald arrived back in Tokyo on Saturday.

The ACX Crystal, which is 222.6 meters long and weighs 29,060 tons, is now on route to Tokyo with superficial damage and no reports of casualties.

Damage to the US destroyer is catastrophic, with the ship sustaining damage on starboard side above and below waterline. Helicopter and spy satellite footage shows considerable damage to the starboard of the Aegis destroyer.

Listing: The $1.5billion missile destroyer is listing to the side and is taking on water after the violent collision

Damage: Damage to the bow of the 29,000 ton cargo ship ACX Crystal after it collided with the USS Fitzgerald

The 29,000 ton ACX Crystal is much larger than the 9,000 ton USS Fitzgerald. The cargo ship appears to have hit the destroyer head on

According to the US Navy, the collision occurred 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, off the coast of Japan (above)

'U.S. and Japanese support from the Navy, Maritime Self Defense Force and Coast Guard are in the area to ensure that the Sailors on USS Fitzgerald have the resources they need to stabilize their ship,' said Adm. John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations in a statement.

'As more information is learned, we will be sure to share to it with the Fitzgerald families and when appropriate the public. Thank you for your well wishes and messages of concern. All of our thoughts and prayers are with the Fitzgerald crew and their families.

The collision hit the crew's sleeping quarters squarely on, and there are fears that lives may have been lost.

Footage taken of the crash by Japanese media outlet NHK shows damage to the starboard side - above and below the waterline of the destroyer - but the Navy says the extent 'is being determined'.

According to marine tracking websites, the Philippine-flagged cargo ship was on its way to Tokyo.

It is unclear how much warning the crew had that a collision was imminent.

Footage also captured a person in a stretcher being taken up to a helicopter from the deck of the USS Fitzgerald. The injured sailor had a head injury.

Following the collision, the Navy requested the assistance of the Japanese Coast Guard, with cutters Izunami and Kano on station.

The cargo ship (pictured) weighs 29,000 tons and is more than 740 feet long. According to marine tracking websites, it was on its way to Tokyo

According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, one person is injured and seven are unaccounted for (damage pictured above)

The ACX Crystal received minimal damage to the port bow (pictured). According to marine tracking websites, the Philippine-flagged cargo ship was on its way to Tokyo

The USS Fitzgerald (pictured in August 2012) was commissioned in 1995 and is based in Yokosuka, according to the Navy

THE USS FITZGERALD Armaments: One 29 cell and one 61 cell Mark 41 vertical launching systems - a shipborne missile canister launching system which provides a rapid-fire launch capability against hostile threats

90 RIM-156 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-ASROC missiles

Two Mark 141 Harpoon Missile Launcher SSM (surface-to-surface missile)

One Mark 45 5/54 inch (127/54 mm) lightweight gun

Two 25 mm chain guns

Four .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns

Two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS (an advanced radar-controlled gun system)

Two Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes Specifications: 9,000 tons

505 feet long

66 feet wide

Top speed: 30 knots

Range: 4,400 nautical miles

Crew:

33 commissioned officers

38 chief petty officers

210 enlisted personnel

Propulsion: 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower Advertisement

Relatives of crew members were awaiting news of their loved ones.

'Just heard the sweetest voice and saw a wonderful face. He's okay. Thank you all for the prayers,' Rita Schrimsher of Athens, Alabama, tweeted after speaking with her 23-year-old grandson Jackson Schrimsher, a sailor aboard the Fitzgerald, via Facetime.

'It could have been worse so we're grateful,' she said by phone.

In a statement, Admiral Scott Swift, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said: 'Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the Sailors.

'We thank our Japanese partners for their assistance.'

The destroyer's commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson, earned his commission through the Naval ROTC program at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In November 2015, Benson reported as the Executive Officer of the USS Fitzgerald as part of the Surface Navys Command Fleet Up program.

On May 13 this year, he relieved Commander Robert Shu as the Commanding Officer of the destroyer.

According to a report from the Navy Times, Executive Officer Commander Sean Babbitt has assumed command after the collision.

The USS Fitzgerald - whose motto is 'Protect Your People' - was commissioned in 1995 and is based in Yokosuka, according to the Navy, at a cost of $1.48billion.

Its crew includes roughly 33 officers, 38 chief petty officers and 291 enlisted members of the Navy.

The Fitzgerald completed $21 million in upgrades and repairs in February, and recently made a port call to the US Navys Subic Bay base in the Philippines and conducted patrols in the South China Sea.

The ships crew used the stop to conduct some minor repairs with the assistance of Philippine companies.

Ryan Barenklau, from the Washington-based intelligence company Strategic Sentinel, told DailyMail.com: 'This is a very tragic event. There is not much information currently on how an advanced destroyer could have collided with a massive cargo ship, but I am confident that there is a reasonable explanation and I am sure we will hear what that is in the coming days.

'The ship was hit near 2 berthings and 1 engineering compartment. It is likely that the berthings had crewman sleeping due to the early hour of the incident.'
A Republican senator has expressed his indignation, claiming that a prankster signed him up for multiple Nickleback email newsletters.

Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse issued the charge Friday on Twitter, claiming multiple work and email addresses of his had been signed up for newsletters from the Canadian rock group.

Nickleback has often been called the 'world's most hated band', even drawing academic study over why the group is so detested.

'To whoever just subscribed my email accts (family, work, obsolete) to multiple Nickleback promotional & fan newsletters: It's. Not. Funny,' Sasse wrote on Twitter.

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Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse on Friday claimed that multiple work and email addresses of his had been signed up for newsletters from the Canadian rock group Nickleback (file)

Nickleback's Chad Kroeger is seen at a Monday performance. The group has frequently been called the most hated band in the world

Sasse made the shocking claim on Twitter Friday, saying he'd received multiple newsletters

Some Twitter users disagreed with his assessment, saying that it was, in fact, funny

Many replies to the tweet focused on the Republican health care bill however, which critics say is being negotiated behind closed doors in the Senate in excessive secrecy

On eagle-eyed user noted this was not the first time Sasse had claimed to be the victim of Nickleback-related newsletter pranks

Others disagreed. 'Its really, really funny,' Twitter user @scottbix wrote in a reply to Sasse's tweet.

Many replies to the tweet focused on the Republican health care bill however, which critics say is being negotiated behind closed doors in the Senate in excessive secrecy.

'Your tweets are great, and you seem like a considerate person, but this effort to keep healthcare repeal secret is terrifying,' wrote user @BLeeDrake.

Suspicion in the Nickleback incident turned quickly to the office of Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, a known instigator of Sasse on Twitter.

Three hours after the original tweet, Sasse wrote in an update that Hatch's office 'just [messaged] me to apologize'

Hatch's office replied on Twitter that the Utah senator didn't want Sasse to miss Nickleback's new album, Feed The Machine, which dropped on Friday

Three hours after the original tweet, Sasse wrote in an update that Hatch's office 'just [messaged] me to apologize.'

'Just didn't want you to miss this. It must be a big day in the Sasse house,' Hatch's office replied on Twitter, including an image of Nickleback's new album, Feed The Machine, which dropped on Friday.

The album's title track, about a dystopian totalitarian government, received mixed reviews.

A reviewer for The Edge calling the song's guitar work 'surprisingly catchy', but confessed that 'the most compelling thing about Nickelbacks latest single is that its not as awful as the rest of their work.'
Fox News co-host Abby Huntsman is having her first child, and its a girl.

The Fox & Friends Weekend personality made the announcement on her show Saturday morning.

Flanked by her two co-hosts Pete Hegseth and Clayton Morris, Huntsman began a segment on the show addressing tweets and questions from viewers who noticed something different about her.

When asked about her growing appetite and her glow, Huntsman invited her husband, Jeff Livingston, onto the show to clear the air.

Thats when she confirmed that she was pregnant with her daughter.

We have a new addition coming to the Fox News family! Congrats @HuntsmanAbby pic.twitter.com/D0QLakbynH  FOX&friends Weekend (@ffweekend) June 17, 2017

Fox News co-host Abby Huntsman (seen right with her husband Jeff Livingston) is having her first child, and its a girl

The Fox & Friends Weekend personality made the announcement on her show Saturday morning

Flanked by her two co-hosts Pete Hegseth and Clayton Morris, Huntsman began a segment on the show addressing tweets and questions from viewers who noticed something different about her. When asked about her growing appetite and her glow, Huntsman invited her husband, Jeff Livingston, onto the show to clear the air

Huntsman says that she is due to give birth sometime around Thanksgiving

Huntsman says that she is due to give birth sometime around Thanksgiving.

The 31-year-old Huntsman joined Fox News in October 2015.

Prior to that, she hosted and produced a segment for HuffPost Live, the Huffington Posts steaming service.

In July 2013, she began a stint as a frequent co-host of MSNBCs The Cycle.

Huntsman posted a photo of her Instagram account showing her with a small baby bump

The couple met when they were both attending the University of Pennsylvania

Livingston is a business analyst for the New York consulting firm McKinsey & Company

The 31-year-old Huntsman joined Fox News in October 2015. She is seen above at a luncheon hosted by Glamour and Facebook to discuss the 2016 election in New York City on July 11, 2016

Prior to that, she hosted and produced a segment for HuffPost Live, the Huffington Posts steaming service. In July 2013, she began a stint as a frequent co-host of MSNBCs The Cycle

She is the daughter of former Utah governor and Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman

Huntsman co-hosts the weekend edition of Fox News Channel's morning program Fox & Friends. She is seen on the set of Fox & Friends with her dad (right) and her mother, Mary Kaye Huntsman

Prior to her journalism career, she worked for a public relations firm in New York.

She is the daughter of former Utah governor and Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman.

Jon Huntsman served as former President Barack Obamas ambassador to China until 2011.

He would eventually lose the Republican primary to the eventual nominee, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Livingston is a business analyst for the New York consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

He met his wife when they were both attending the University of Pennsylvania.
It may have been the last state to join the United States, but Hawaii may trail blaze and become the first to offer guaranteed basic income.

A bill was recently passed through both the houses and state legislature in a unanimous vote that declares that all Hawaiians 'deserve basic financial security' and prompts state agencies to look over 'universal basic income' along with other policy.

'As innovation and automation and inequality disrupt our economy, we want to make sure that everybody benefits and nobody is left behind,' said state Representative Chris Lee of Kaliua to Mother Jones.

A bill was recently passed in Hawaii through both the houses of the legislature in a unanimous vote that declares that all Hawaiians 'deserve basic financial security' and prompts state agencies to look over 'universal basic income' along with other policy

'It's past time that we had a serious talk about not just tweaking our economic policies but having a new discussion from the ground up about what our values and priorities are.'

'As innovation and automation and inequality disrupt our economy, we want to make sure that everybody benefits and nobody is left behind,' said state Representative Chris Lee of Kaliua

While Alaska has provided state residents a stipend funded by oil revenue since 1976, Hawaii is the first to consider the income to cover living expenses.

Hawaii's cost of living - the highest in the country - motivated the passing of the resolution in May along with the states reliance on low-paid service industry jobs.

According to Lee, Hawaii has a very limited manufacturing and tech sector which puts the service-focused economy at risk.

The text of the measure mentions the impact of technological advancements which have helped kill jobs in the state.

'There has been a discussion for a long time about how do we build an economy where everybody can afford to live here and survive,' Lee said.

According to Lee, Hawaii has a very limited manufacturing and tech sector which puts the service-focused economy at risk. Next a collective of community leaders will need to come together to see if universal basic income is actually tangible.

Next, Hawaii has to gather a 'basic economic security workshop group' comprised of leaders from various sects of public life.

Silicon Valley in Northern California is also potentially looking into UBI with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna (bottom right) proposing a $1 trillion earned income tax credit for working families

They will be tasked with assessing the state's exposure to 'disruptive innovation' and submit studies on universal basic income (UBI).

Lee said: 'There is definitely a recognition that beyond just talking about basic income that things need to change.

'We need to take proactive action to chart a stable path forward for our economy and all of our residents.'

Other states have tossed about the idea of UBI for their residents. California's Silicon Valley is looking to explore how working to address its displacement of blue-collar workers.

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna proposed a $1 trillion earned income tax credit for working families. This is seen as a huge step for the movement of UBI.
A corrections officer who was slain while transporting inmates was a hero who spent his career protecting other people, Georgia's top prison official said at the man's funeral.

Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday in central Georgia to remember Sgt. Curtis Billue, one of two Georgia prison guards killed when two inmates escaped Tuesday from a prison transfer bus.

Law enforcement officers from around the state joined relatives and friends of Billue for his funeral at Wilkinson County High School in McIntyre. Billue was 58.

Members of the Georgia Department of Corrections carry the body of corrections officer Sgt. Curtis Billue out of the Wilkinson County High School gymnasium after funeral services Saturday, June 17

Georgia corrections officers hold hands while praying during funeral services for corrections officer Sgt. Curtis Billue on Saturday, June 17

Billue's casket was draped with an American flag. He was remembered as a military veteran and devoted father of two sons.

'We know he served in many roles, but hero comes to mind. Curtis Billue gave his whole life to protecting and serving others,' Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Dozier said, according to The Telegraph newspaper of Macon.

Authorities said Billue and Sgt. Christopher Monica, 42, were overpowered and shot with their own weapons.

Escaped inmates Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose were captured Thursday in Tennessee.

Denise Billue kisses her hand (left) before placing it on the casket of her brother Sgt. Curtis Billue (right) during his funeral

A large photograph of corrections officer Sgt. Curtis Billue stands besides flowers during his funeral

Elder Frank Billue says a prayer during the funeral services for his brother Officer Curtis Billue

Baldwin State Prison Warden hands Denise Billue her brother Sgt. Curtis Billue's badge during funeral services

One of the murdered guards was Christopher Monica (pictured), who had been a prison guard since 2009

Dozier has promised they 'will be brought to justice swiftly for their heinous crime against our officers.'

Monica's funeral is set for Tuesday in nearby Milledgeville.

Bruce Billue said his brother never hesitated to help someone in need.

'Curtis' heart was engraved with service. He took all these position and tried to excel and make life better for others,' Bruce Billue said. 'We will miss you, love you beyond words.'

By giving his own life, Curtis Billue may have saved other officers, Pastor Harold Banks said.

He said the sergeant would want his loved ones to forgive the men who committed these 'atrocious acts.'
Kimberly Felder, 45, was allegedly seen hitting, biting and choking her child

A California woman was arrested after allegedly trying to perform an exorcism on her 11-year-old child.

Kimberly Felder, 45, was allegedly seen hitting, biting and choking her child at Centerville Beach near Ferndale, California on Friday morning, reported the Sacramento Bee.

A 911 caller reported the mother, and said she was attempting to perform an exorcism.

Felder had stripped the child naked and was shoving sand into the pre-teen's eyes and mouth, according to the caller.

She reportedly told witnesses she was trying to remove demons from her child, according to the Bee.

Ten or twelve people watched the scene unfold, but only one man stepped in to help, according to a news release.

Felder was allegedly trying to hold an exorcism on her child at Centerville Beach, near Ferndale (pictured), and reportedly told witnesses she was trying to remove demons from her child

John Marciel stepped in and attempted to restrain Felder, struggling to hold her to the ground as she continued hitting the child on the head with a piece of driftwood, according to police.

John Marciel (pictured) stepped in and attempted to restrain Felder

Police arrived just a short while later and were able to arrest the mother.

They also sent the child to the hospital, where he or she was treated for injuries, including severe damage to an ear.

Felder was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility, faces charges of attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, felony child abuse and aggravated mayhem, reported the Bee.

The Humboldt County Sheriff's office commended Marciel for stepping in, and have said he may have prevented the child from being killed.

The office has requested he be recognized with the Red Cross Live Saving Award for his actions.
Former Mets infielder John Valentin

A retired ballplayer and his mother have suffered non-life-threatening injuries after he plowed his SUV through the wall of a building.

John Valentin, the former Mets and Red Sox infielder, crashed through the wall of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey in Red Bank in Red Bank, New Jersey on Thursday, police said.

Valentin, 50, and his 71-year-old mother in the passenger seat were both injured in the crash, but the building was unoccupied, police said.

Valentin played shortstop and third base for the Boston Red Sox from 1992 to 2001, ending his career as a New York Mets infielder in 2002.

John Valentin, the former Mets and Red Sox infielder, crashed through the wall of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey in Red Bank in Red Bank, New Jersey on Thursday

Valentin played shortstop and third base for the Boston Red Sox from 1992 to 2001, and the New York Mets in 2002. He was the 10th player in MLB history to turn an unassisted triple-play.

In 1994, he was the 10th player in MLB history to turn an unassisted triple-play.

Police said that Valentin may have suffered from a medical condition prior to the crash.

Photos from the scene showed the rear of a white SUV protruding from the building's brick facade.

The Visiting Nurse Association building is located at a sharp bend in the road on state Route 35.
Two young men were killed in a horrific car crash in New York City that left the vehicle split in half.

James Montague, 21, and Blake Gary, 22, died after a Toyota Corolla slammed into a fire hydrant in Hollis, Queens, and broke in two upon impact, with the front half flying 50 feet into a neighbor's yard.

A third person in the car fled the scene on foot, although police said it remains unclear whether he was the one driving at the time of the crash, police said.

He has been taken into custody, where he is being questioned by the police, Officer Tiffany Phillips told the Dailymail.com.

James Montague, 21,(left) and Blake Gary, 22, (right) died after the car slammed into a fire hydrant in Hollis, Queens, and broke in two upon impact

Witness Titus Francis told NBC: 'I heard the squeal of tires and then I just heard a loud boom.'

The car careened down 100th Avenue near 205th Place around 1am on Saturday when it slammed into a fire hydrant, and split in two upon impact.

Gary was pronounced dead at the scene, while Montague died in the hospital.

The front half of the car flew 50 feet, knocked down part of a chain link fence across the street, and ended up in Sadie Yarbrough's yard.

She told the New York Post: 'When I came to the door, I saw half of a car in my yard. Had I not had the fence up, they wouldve come directly to my house.'

Gary's younger sister paid tribute to the 22-year-old, saying: 'He always put others put before himself. and he valued his family a lot.'

Montague's brother Keith Ford remembered Montague as 'the best brother you could ask for', and said the 21-year-old hoped to attend college and pursue a future in forensics.

The front half of the car flew 50 feet, knocked down part of a chain link fence, and ended up in Sadie Yarbrough's yard (pictured)
The man who shouted out in frustration during a police press conference outside Grenfell Tower has revealed how he cannot forget harrowing visions of victims 'crying out for dear life'.

Rayaan Haq, who lost a friend in the tragic blaze, vented his anger at Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy as he spoke to journalists and residents in west London this afternoon.

As Commander Cundy gave a statement, Mr Haq shouted: 'Will there be a criminal inquiry into the construction company that used the material which is banned in Dubai and redacted a statement that initially said they had checked fire safety standards?

Rayaan Haq shouted out in frustration during a police press conference on the Grenfell Tower tragedy

Left, the fire rages through several floors of the Grenfell Tower, centre, the inferno rips through the building towards the top floors and right, firefighters attempt to battle the flames on Wednesday morning

'The words from the second statement were redacted 'fire safety standards' - why?

'Is there going to be a criminal inquiry?'

His was one of many emotional interventions by local residents who have felt they are not being given answers by officials in the wake of Wednesday's inferno.

Revealing little, Commander Cundy replied: 'The investigation is a police investigation. We investigate criminal matters.

'The investigation will identify any criminal offence that has been committed. It will be wide-ranging.

'It will aim to provide the answers to what happened in the fire and how it spread. It will look at the building itself. It will look at the refurbishment as well.'

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline afterwards, Mr Haq said he had been with friends who lived in the tower on Tuesday night.

Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy held a press conference in west London this afternoon

One friend returned to Grenfell just 15 minutes before the fire started - the person died that night.

Mr Haq said: 'It's intense. I keep seeing the images of people crying out for dear life and trying to get out.

'It's more intense when you can't sleep for two days because all that's constantly going through your head is the story of the mothers who are screaming, looking for children they can't find, and the children who are looking for mothers who have no clue where they are.

'It's more intense when you see the children leaving the building covered in tar, covered, unable to identify their parents.

Mr Raq praised the efforts of volunteers in the wake of the tragedy.

He said: 'People have come forward in huge numbers. We've had volunteers to the extent we've not had enough tasks to assign.

The remains of Grenfell Tower stand in west London

'We've had aid coming from all over the country. Just now we have unloaded three vans that have come from places like Cardiff, from Lancashire, from Scotland.

He added: 'I also want to say a massive thank you to the London Fire Brigade because on the night of the blaze those people risked their lives and did not look back once.

'Those people were the ones that set aside their own families to prioritise and try to save at least 27 hours straight without any sleep, and they did not stop once.'

Speaking of the police conference, he said: 'The response was very inadequate I think it came across as a politician's answer, the same way Theresa May came across.

'The political response has been absolutely shocking, the local councillor decided to show face and grace us with his amazing mighty appearance yesterday almost two days after the disaster had happened.'
The royals on the balcony spanned four generations, from Queen Elizabeth to the young Princess Charlotte

1) Prince Edward: The Earl of Wessex is the third son of the Queen, and currently ninth in line to the throne. He is married to Sophie Helen, Countess of Wessex.

2) Camilla Parker Bowles: The Duchess of Cornwall is the second wife of Prince Charles. She divorced her husband Andrew in 1995 before marrying Charles in 2005.

3) Prince Andrew: The Duke of York is the second son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Prince Andrew saw action with the Royal Navy in the Falklands War, flying warfare missions along with search-and-rescue operations.

4) Prince Charles: The Duke of Cornwall is next in line for the throne. He was reportedly 'perplexed' by his son's decision to talk about their mental health in wake of their mother's death in 1997.

5) Princess Beatrice: The eldest daughter of Prince Andrew is seventh in line to the thrown. The 28-year-old is currently working in Manhattan, and used to date Uber executive Dave Clarke.

6) The Queen: In September 2015 Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria's 63 years and 216 days.

7) Prince Philip: Queen Elizabeth's husband recently retired from public engagements at the age of 96, joking that he 'can't stand up for much longer'.

8) Prince Harry: The young Prince has had the country on tenterhooks over whether he'll announce plans to marry Canadian actress Meghan Markle.

9) The Duchess of Cambridge: Kate Middleton met Prince William when they were both students at the University of St Andrews. The couple split up before rekindling their relationship years later.

10) Prince George: George has recently elected to attend the prestigious Thomas' primary school in Battersea

11) Princess Charlotte: The youngest child of Prince William and Kate Middleton, Charlotte was born on May 2 2015 at St Mary's Hospital in London.

12) Prince William: Like Prince Andrew, Prince William served as a search-and-rescue pilot with the RAF, before becoming an air ambulance pilot with East Anglian Air Ambulance.

13) Peter Phillips: The only son of Princess Anne, Peter Phillips worked for the Williams Formula 1 team in Canada. There he met his future wife, Autumn Kelly.

14) Savannah and Isla Phillips: The young daughters of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly

15) Autumn Kelly: She and Peter Phillips first started dating soon after the Canadian Grand Prix in 2003. She had no idea he was a member of the Royal Family until she saw him on a TV programme about Prince William. She has renounced her Catholic faith so Peter can retain his position in line to the British throne

16) Eloise and Estella Taylor: The two teenagers sit 41st and 43rd in line for the throne. In a 2011 Trooping of the Colour the Duchess of Cambridge was reportedly enamored with the pair.

17) Flora Ogilvy: The fashion-conscious royal has been hailed as the most beautiful member of the royal family. She has already walked the runway for Dolce and Gabbana.

18) Lady Helen Taylor: Lady Helen Taylor, 51, is the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Once affectionately called 'Melons' by the press for her ample proportions - a nickname she admitted she hated - she married art dealer Timothy Verner Taylor in 1992.
Tim Farron has been the victim of a vicious smear campaign by an ex-porn star and Liberal Democrat party member enraged by the former leaders views on homosexuality, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Chris Cooke became a Liberal Democrat candidate and policy adviser after leaving the pornography industry.

He was under suspension after making an offensive tweet about another politician when he raised outrageous allegations against Tim Farron. He made a formal complaint to party managers in the middle of the Election campaign, raising unfounded claims about Mr Farrons personal conduct as an act of revenge over the suspension.

Mr Farron (left) resigned as party leader on Wednesday, on the grounds that remaining faithful to Christ was incompatible with leading his party. Chris Cooke (right) complained to party managers in the middle of the Election campaign, raising unfounded claims about Mr Farrons personal conduct

Mr Cooke, 33, had starred in films titled Double Pleasure, SoldierBoy and SpyBoy.

Embarrassingly, just eight months before he made the complaint, Cooke  who chaired the partys LGBT+ campaign wing  was pictured with his arm around Farron at the partys annual conference in September last year, smiling and giving the thumbs-up as they drank together.

His complaint to the partys compliance officer, David Allworthy, came soon after married Mr Farron, a devout Christian, had been embroiled in controversy on the campaign trail over whether he regarded homosexuality as a sin. After weeks of dodging the question, he eventually said it was not a sin, but not before his stalling had infuriated many pro-gay party members.

Mr Farron resigned as party leader on Wednesday, on the grounds that remaining faithful to Christ was incompatible with leading his party.

It came after a number of senior Liberal Democrat figures had visited Mr Farron to try to persuade him to step down in the wake of the partys disappointing Election results, increasing its number of MPs by just three, to 12.

Yesterday, explaining why he had made the complaint, Mr Cooke said: I felt betrayed by the party and was drunk at the time.

It is an email I regretted sending and have retracted.

Mr Cooke, from Bramcote, Nottingham, was suspended from the party after saying on Twitter in May that local Tory MP Anna Soubry should not be spared the noose over her expenses claims.

Mr Cooke said: I was just p***ed off with my suspension over a non-issue and made up a story to cause trouble.

Last night the Liberal Democrats confirmed that the allegations made by Mr Cooke were completely untrue.

A senior party official told The Mail on Sunday that the complaint had compounded the alarm in a party which was at the time struggling to achieve a breakthrough in its campaign amid the continuing fall-out from the row over Mr Farrons religious beliefs.

Just eight months before he made the complaint, Cooke was pictured with his arm around Farron at the partys annual conference in September last year

The official, who helped to persuade Mr Farron to resign, said: I was aware of the complaint and obviously I mentioned it to somebody in his office but there was nothing more than that.

Tims office had no power to do anything and I had no power to do anything.

It appeared to be motivated by anger over the row about Tims beliefs. One of Mr Cookes friends told this newspaper: Many people thought Farron was not only a liability in terms of his anti- gay views but not liberal or Left-wing enough.

There was a section of the party that were simply out to get him. At the time of his suspension, Mr Cooke had already been picked to fight last months county council elections in the former mining community of Ollerton in North Nottinghamshire. He won 126 votes out of almost 3,500 cast. In his televised resignation speech last week, Mr Farron said: From the very first day of my leadership, I have faced questions about my Christian faith. Ive tried to answer with grace and patience. Sometimes my answers could have been wiser.

The consequences of the focus on my faith is that I have found myself torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader.

He added: To be a political leader  especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017  and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bibles teaching, has felt impossible for me. I seem to be the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in. In which case, we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society.

A Liberal Democrats spokesman said last night: While subject of disciplinary proceedings within the party, Mr Cooke made wildly defamatory allegations. The investigation against Mr Cooke continues.

Doomed by his 'death threat' tweet By Ross Slater Activist Chris Cooke was suspended from the Liberal Democrats after saying that he hoped a prominent Tory would not escape the noose. He made the remark on social media about MP Anna Soubry, who called on Tim Farron to condemn it. Mr Cooke is now likely to face further investigation after admitting manufacturing the allegations against Mr Farron. Mr Cooke deleted his entire Twitter account  but his supporters insisted he was not making a death threat and was just using a colourful image in a debate about a police investigation into election expenses. Cooke, a student nurse, made the remark late on April 30 when a Twitter user, referring to the investigation, claimed that Ms Soubry was one of the accused. Mr Cooke wrote back: I think youve just made my bank holiday weekend. She is a nasty piece of work. When a fellow Lib Dem claimed the Conservatives were delaying the inquiry, which later cleared all but one person, Mr Cooke replied: There are many of us hoping that she will not escape the noose this time. Do you reckon it should be a GE [general election] issue? The offending message did not name Broxtowe MP Ms Soubry but she spotted it a day later, saved an image of it and tweeted it to Mr Farron, saying: Pls condemn this type of language. He is Broxtowe Lib Dem activist & needs telling this is unacceptable. Advertisement

From 'James Bonk' blue movie actor to senior Lib Dem gay rights officer

Chris Cooke capitalised on his good looks and impressive physique by becoming an actor in gay porn films

In 2001, aged 19, Chris Cooke capitalised on his good looks and impressive physique by becoming an actor in gay porn films.

He was known as a Twink in gay circles, and profited from a boom in the porn industry fuelled by the internet.

He made films for a London-based firm specialising in their production and distribution.

His career highlights included movies with titles such as SpyBoy, in which he played the lead role of James Bonk, and Fallen Angels.

During this time he was based in Berlin but after almost a decade making films, he moved back to the UK and set up home in Nottingham.

It was there he turned his life around as he took on an access course at Derby College before starting a BSc in Nursing at the University of Nottingham last year.

But he was also keen that his worldly experience be put to some use and joined the Liberal Democrats Sex Work Policy Group in September 2015.

The following year he was chosen as chair of the partys LGBT+ campaign wing but internal arguments, many driven by disagreement over Tim Farrons leadership, meant that by April of this year he had been replaced.

His devotion to the Liberal Democrats had begun to wane by February when he announced on Facebook that he had left the Sex Work Policy Group.

As a local activist in Bramcote near Nottingham, he could be prickly. Teased for lacking local knowledge on an online forum, he responded by posting: As someone who spends 40 hours a week on clinical placements in the NHS, and another 25 hours a week doing university work around that, I dont always have the time I would like to spend in my local community.

My commitments meant I had to give up the voluntary work I performed with Terrence Higgins and with an outreach project in London providing respite care for the carers of elderly people suffering with HIV. These are the sacrifices we make for vocation.
Friday marked the second anniversary of the moment Donald Trump descended the elevator in New York's Trump Tower to announce he would be running for president.

Little did he know, that announcement would change the rest of his life.

Two years after the historic announcement, DailyMail.com has decided to look at what changes the time brought with it.

Friday marked the second anniversary of the moment Donald Trump descended the elevator in New York's Trump Tower to announce he would be running for president

 Slide me  Ivanka recently stepped down from her fashion label, and now works with her father as assistant to the President

 Slide me  Kushner now serves as Senior Advisor to the President and works in the White House with his father in law

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner moved to Washington to work with the President.

The couple each took new jobs within the administration, with Kushner serving as senior advisor to the President and Ivanka as assistant to the President.

They also welcomed another member to the family. In 2016 the First Daughter gave birth to Theodore, who is now just over one years old.

 Slide me  Melania Trump just recently made the move to Washington to join her husband in the White House

 Slide me  Barron, the youngest Trump child, recently moved with his mother to the White House after finishing out his school year in New York. He has grown six inches since 2015

 Slide me  Since 2015, the youngest Trump daughter Tiffany graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She was recently admitted to Georgetown's Law School where she will start classes in the fall

Melania Trump just recently made the move to Washington to join her husband in the White House. The delay was so that the youngest Trump child, Barron, could finish out the school year at the same place he started it.

In the two years Barron, who is now 11, has grown over six inches.

Since 2015, the youngest Trump daughter Tiffany graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She was recently admitted to Georgetown's Law School where she will start classes in the fall.

 Slide me  Eric, who seems to have recently donned a new hairstyle, and his wife also recently announced she is pregnant with the couple's first child

 Slide me  Donald Trump Jr took over as head of his father's company, alongside his brother Eric, but is still living with his family in New York

Eric and Donald Trump Jr have now taken over as heads of their father's company, but are still living and working in New York.

Eric, who seems to have recently donned a new hairstyle, and his wife also recently announced she is pregnant with the couple's first child.

And Donald Trump went from real estate mogul to President of the United States.
Anger is spilling over onto the streets of London. Three days after a tower block of sleeping people turned into a flaming torch in the sky, people have had enough.

They are sick of the lack of information. And despairing at the impotence of the politicians and leaders who have failed to react in any meaningful way to their anguish. Or to offer anything that feels like real help.

What do we want? JUSTICE. When do we want it? NOW. They shouted as they marched.

What they really want is answers. Answers to all the simple question will answer. Based on what we do know, how many are thought to be dead?

'Three days after a tower block of sleeping people turned into a flaming torch in the sky, people have had enough'

'The fire authorities confirm the heat was so intense some victims may never be identified'

The official toll was a dozen, then 30. At time of writing the number missing and dead is now best guessed at 58. The number known to be living in the block - kept hidden from view.

Family and friends have been begging for the register of names of the people known to have been living in the tower so that they can subtract the known survivors and calculate how many are missing. Its a simple sum and the crowds are rightfully demanding to hear an answer.

They aren't asking for a list of the dead. They understand it is too soon for that, that so far its impossible to know or even guess. The fire authorities confirm the heat was so intense some victims may never be identified.

What the family and friends are left with is guess-work and desperation. And anger.

The politicians have turned up on cue. Thoughts and prayers. Sympathy and support. And other trite phrases from people in suits - keen to get in, show face, and get out quick, before things get really nasty.

'Today she tried to make amends again with a carefully controlled visit by relatives to No10 while protesters howled from behind Maggie's gates to Whitehall'

The best Sadiq Khan could come up with was a letter, posted on Twitter, which tried to lay the blame at the door of the PM.

Khan makes John Major look like Action Man. I imagine he is keen to distance himself from donations made to his mayoral campaign from a property management firm fined for failing safety standards for tenants.

Theresa May hid amongst the safety of uniforms and firefighters. Later she visited the injured in hospital and gave a recorded interview to camera with her PR people and film editors on hand for safety, displaying the very same inability to act like a human that cost her a majority in the general election. (I thought she fired the advisers responsible for that?)

Today she tried to make amends again with a carefully controlled visit by relatives to No10 while protesters howled from behind Maggie's gates to Whitehall and an admission that official reaction to the fire had 'not been good enough.'

You think?

'Only Jeremy Corbyn has been seen to offer any basic humanity'

Sometimes I feel bad for her because in the eyes of the press she can do nothing right. But then I remember, at the moment, she does everything wrong.

Only Corbyn has been seen to offer any basic humanity. However, the newly elected Labour MP Emma Dent Coad was on the board of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation until 2012 (KCMTO).

It is astonishing that others  such as the CEO of the KCMTO and members of the board, who must have signed off on the decision to clad a building in stuff now suspected of being more flammable than jet fuel  are still walking free, unchallenged.

As one angry resident said: Still free to sit in their homes, to hug their children, to plan their holidays and sleep in their beds.

I am reminded of my own anger, after the London Bridge attack, when we had no idea how many jihadis were still allowed to roam free even as our young people fought for their lives in hospital. The parallels of anger due to inaction are clear.

At least here no one is saying we stand united or making heart shaped gestures at the sky. Yet.

Clearly there are layers of issues to be waded through.

But I have stood in the shadow of that man-made crematorium in the sky, that incinerator of human beings, and the immediate truth is very ugly indeed.

'The best Sadiq Khan could come up with was a letter, posted on Twitter, which tried to lay the blame at the door of the PM'

'Family and friends have been begging for the register of names of the people known to have been living in the tower so that they can subtract the known survivors and calculate how many are missing'

You cannot look at it and not know scores have gone.

The gulf between what people are being told and reality is huge, and its filling up with anger.

The politicians will tell us lessons will be learned and changes will be made to prevent future disasters like this one. But lessons need to be learned about how to handle tragedy and disaster, too.

When people are angry they need help and information. They also need to be shown some basic humanity.

As a concerned local, Liz, emailed me with her practical concerns. 'Kensington Council should be gripping the administrative nightmare these people's lives have become and give them proactive help they need to assist with the tasks ahead.'

A recovery station needs to be set up: with bank representatives, able to deliver temporary accounts and access to cash; a public records desk - sorting birth certificates and replacement documentation for driving licences, professional qualifications, the stuff of work and jobs; direct payment advisors - assuring residents any direct debits for rent / council tax are cancelled. Ditto all utilities. And a Life Salvation section equipping people with gadgets and tools they need to make life work.

Not bags of jumble earmarked for the charity store.

Despite the kind intentions, I didn't enjoy watching junk being dumped for those with nothing.

An information desk needs to be manned for as long as it takes. Information that is shared honestly and openly. Not scripted and staged. People are not stupid. We have become conditioned to seeking truths for ourselves online. We are not as easy to manipulate as we once were.

None of this practical help has been forthcoming.

And the anger filling the void has to go somewhere. If it is not channelled and resolved, it spills over into rage.

Some have genuine torment that explodes inside of them and needs to be released. Others need little encouragement to protest as an expression of every slight they have ever felt, or for excitement, relief from the mundane, or a chance to take power for a moment.

After the attacks at Westminster Bridge, Manchester and London Bridge many of us wanted immediate action, too. We were angry, we wanted swift justice  the jihadis rounded up, everyone on the watch list temporarily incarcerated.

'The politicians will tell us lessons will be learned and changes will be made to prevent future disasters like this one. But lessons need to be learned about how to handle tragedy and disaster, too'

And Sadiq Khan said we stood united. That we were stronger than this. That terror would not win. And held a vigil.

That impotent response did not help us either. It made many of us more angry, more incensed. A lack of real action is never acceptable.

Perhaps, finally, we can stand united in saying that hashtags, vigils, scripted shit and letters are never an appropriate answer, whether in response to terror or to corporate manslaughter.

Inaction and politicking are the last things we need whether we have been shot at, stabbed, mown over or incinerated in a fire. And a codified narrative provided by the MSM comforts no one.

This is a mess. Our country is divided along every faultline you can imagine. It is a wonder we don't splinter into insignificance.

But right now I believe these protestors have every right to be angry, both at the actions which caused this tragedy and the lack of action since.

Just as we all still feel angry over the assaults on innocents elsewhere in Manchester and in London. Terror and tragedy. We all rage. It's all we have.
Theresa May was fighting for her political life on two fronts last night as she apologised for her response to the Grenfell Tower fire while facing an MPs rebellion over Brexit.

After days of mounting criticism over her handling of the fatal blaze, Mrs May admitted that the response to families needing support was not good enough.

Her statement was billed by a No 10 source as a mea culpa. But her critics described it as a belated act of contrition which was itself not good enough.

Mrs May admitted that the response to families needing support was not good enough

The apology came as Mrs May met survivors of Grenfell Tower in Downing Street  her third attempt in as many days to assuage public anger over the tragedy, which has so far claimed at least 58 lives.

While she was meeting the victims, hundreds of protesters gathered in Whitehall chanting for her to resign.

Her statement of regret did little to stem growing unrest on the Tory backbenches over Mrs Mays authority, following her disastrous decision to call a snap Election that led to the loss of her Commons majority.

Brexit-supporting MPs say they fear Mrs Mays political weakness is allowing Chancellor Philip Hammond to swing the Governments position round to a soft Brexit in which the UK would remain in the customs union.

Influence: Chancellor Philip Hammond

However, a Survation poll for this newspaper found that more than two thirds of voters  69 per cent  support Mr Hammonds soft Brexit approach. There is also strong opposition to Mrs Mays declaration that no deal is better than a bad deal, with 65 per cent calling for the UK to leave the EU with some form of agreement in place. And there is now a majority in favour of holding a second referendum to approve the Brexit deal.

The machinations on the backbenches are being fed by the Cabinet split between the Remainers, headed by Mr Hammond and Home Secretary Amber Rudd, and the Brexiteers, led by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis.

Yesterday, former Brexit Minister David Jones, speaking just hours before the start of our negotiations to leave the EU, warned Mrs May that to pursue a soft Brexit would be a betrayal of the nation. And another Brexit-backing MP said plans were being hatched to send the required 48 letters of no confidence to the Tory backbench 1922 Committee to trigger a leadership contest, which they hoped would lead to a coronation for Mr Johnson.

The rebellion is also being driven by MPs who have been dismayed by the negative response to Mrs May they have picked up in their constituencies over the weekend  in particular over her handling of Grenfell Tower.

Meanwhile, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the cut-price cladding blamed for accelerating the inferno was installed despite warnings that it was too dangerous for tall buildings.

Mrs Mays response to the tragedy was in stark contrast to that of the Queen, who yesterday issued a message acknowledging the very sombre national mood. She also appeared close to tears as she spoke to survivors about their ordeal on Friday morning.

Her statement of regret did little to stem growing unrest on the Tory backbenches over Mrs Mays authority

In comparison, the Prime Minister made three attempts to show that she cared about victims of the tragedy before yesterdays statement.

She first went to the scene of the fire on Thursday morning, but spoke only to members of the emergency services.

On Friday she had to run a gauntlet of protesters as she fled a meeting with survivors.

And later that night, she gave a disastrous interview to BBC2s flagship Newsnight programme, in which she was accused of appearing inhuman by repeatedly avoiding questions about whether she had misread the public mood.

In yesterdays statement, issued after the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, Mrs May said she had heard the concerns of those affected by the fire and agreed they had been let down. She said: The response of the emergency services, NHS and the community has been heroic. But, frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough.

The Prime Minister gave a disastrous interview to BBC2s flagship Newsnight programme, in which she was accused of appearing inhuman

A spokesman for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he welcomed the fact that the Prime Minister is finally facing up to her responsibilities after the terrible fire. The Government needs to listen to the voices of residents and give them the support they deserve.

Sir Craig Oliver, who was David Camerons communications director, claimed yesterday that Downing Street had been hollowed out and so there was no one to tell Mrs May that she risked looking like she lacked grip or empathy if she didnt meet victims.

Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, said: Theresa May is acting like a hopeless by-stander rather than Prime Minister. We are several days on, and her belated act of contrition is not enough.

Despite the heroic work of the emergency services, support for survivors has been a shambles. This is a national disaster  yet the Prime Minister has largely left the response to the council and charities.

But Cabinet Office Minister Damian Green, Mrs Mays new No 2, sprang to the PMs defence saying she was as distraught as anyone over the tragedy and said that criticism of her response was terribly unfair.
A nurse was shot inside a hospital in Ocala, Florida at about 3 pm on Saturday afternoon.

The incident occurred at the West Marion Regional Center - a nationally recognized 222-bed hospital in the heart of Ocala, News 6 reported.

Police responded to calls of an active shooter but the suspect fired one round aiming at one person, Ashley Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Ocala Fire Rescue said.

'We responded to reports of an active shooter but that turned out to be incorrect,' Lopez said. 'It all happened and ended very quickly.'

A nurse was shot inside the West Marion Regional Center - pictured - on Saturday, at round 3 pm

Earlier that day, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper brought the suspect to the hospital. The shot went off while the two were fighting in the hospital room the suspect was being treated.

The nurse was hit in the leg and was taken to a different hospital where police say shes healing from non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect has been placed in custody. Authorities are yet to release information about the nurse's identity.

'Everything is under control,' Maureen Alonso from the Ocala Police Department told DailyMail.com.

The West Marion Regional Center did not immediately respond to calls made by DailyMail.com.
In 1950, Velma Johnston lived on a ranch outside Reno. She was driving into Reno where she worked as secretary as she came up behind a cattle truck full of gathered wild horses. She could see blood running from the trailer, and since she had been around horses all her life, such treatment enraged her. She followed the truck to a slaughterhouse where she took photos of the horses as they were unloaded.

She started a letter-writing campaign designed to protect wild horses, often working with children in schools. Her grassroots effort included writing articles for newspapers and magazines and urging people to petition their congressional representatives. Her critics named her Wild Horse Annie as an insult, but she proudly used this name as she worked to protect the animals.

Her efforts paid off in 1959 when Congress passed a law called the Wild Horse Annie Bill or the Save the Mustangs Bill. It outlawed the use of mechanized vehicles in wild horse gathers. The BLM could see they were going to be charged with management of these horses and tried to place a rider on this bill allowing them to use aircraft during gathers. The outrage against Mustangers and their methods was too great and the rider was not included. The bill also did not contain language Wild Horse Annie wanted to set up a program to protect, manage and control wild horses and burros.

Across the country, sentiment for wild horse was rapidly building. In 1971, the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act passed congress by a unanimous vote and President Richard Nixon signed it.

The act charges federal agencies, primarily the BLM, with the task of protecting all wild horses on the public lands they administer. The act states that wild horses will be managed in a way to achieve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance on public land.

The act calls wild horses living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West ... [they] shall be protected from harassment or death. It states that the wild horse is an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.

In 1971, the BLM created the Wild Horse and Burro Program (NHBP). They estimated 9,500 wild horses lived on Western rangelands. The first task was to separate domestic from wild stock. In 1975, a claims program required ranchers to pay a fee and remove any domestic horses from wild herds, and it then became illegal to run private stock in wild horse herds. One Elko County rancher told me his father and other area ranchers specifically gathered and claimed every wild horse in the area, to make sure none were around when Herd Areas were set up.

The Wild Horse Organized Assistance (Whoa!) organized the first adoptions. Velma Johnson and todays chairwoman, Dawn Lappin, founded this group. The numbers of adoptions quickly overwhelmed the group and in 1976, the BLM took over the adoption program. Also in 1976, the BLM received permission to use helicopters during gathers since helicopters, compared to horsemen, reduced the stress on gathered horses.

After the claims program ended, Herd Areas were delineated anywhere wild horse herds existed. The BLM checked each Herd Area to ensure each provided adequate food, water, cover and space for a healthy herd of horses over the long term. Those that passed became Herd Management Areas (HMA).

The Herd Areas that failed this test had their horses removed entirely. The WHBP is only responsible for maintaining wild horses inside HMAs and any horses outside of these areas are generally removed entirely.

The appropriate Management Level (AML) is the number of horses the WHBP experts believe an HMA can support over the long term. It is based on the lands ability to maintain a healthy and diverse horse population while maintaining habitat quality for horses, wildlife and livestock. The next step was to assign AMLs for each HMA. AMLs consist of two numbers, a lower number of the least number of horses that HMA should always contain and a higher number which is the most horses it should contain. The BLM is supposed to gather excess horses to bring that herds population down to between those AML numbers. All HMAs in Elko County contain horse populations above their AML at the present time.

At the present time, the WHBP is not conducting gathers, citing no money to move horses and nowhere to place these gathered horses. Numbers of wild horses are astronomical in some HMAs and growing each spring. No one knows what the future holds for the WHBP.
Ronan Farrow is still not Woody Allen's biggest fan and he decided to remind the world just in time for Father's Day this Sunday.

After receiving an alert from OpenTable saying 'Ronan, Father's Day is 3 days away! Find a reservation', the 29-year-old screenshot the notification and posted his reply on his Twitter and Instagram.

'OpenTable, I have a few things to tell you,' he said regarding the father he no longer has the best relationship with.

The rocky relationship between Woody Allen (left) and son Ronan Farrow (right) reach new heights and just in time for Father's Day

After receiving an alert from OpenTable saying 'Ronan, Father's Day is 3 days away! Find a reservation', the 29-year-old screenshot the notification and posted his reply on his Twitter and Instagram. 'OpenTable, I have a few things to tell you,' he said regarding the father he no longer has the best relationship with

Social media users harped on the obvious dig, pointing out the shade in the MSNBC host's tweet.

'If it were not for our sense of humor, many of us who had s****y fathers woulda never made it,' said @Elleique making a light comment of the shady comment.

@irishbearaz added fuel to the fire and said: 'It was 95 degrees here today, but the shade I just found here is nice.'

'If it were not for our sense of humor, many of us who had s****y fathers woulda never made it,' said @Elleique making a light comment out of the shady comment

@irishbearaz added fuel to the fire and said: 'It was 95 degrees here today, but the shade I just found here is nice'

The sentiment was shared by @Howard_Lovy who made a movie joke and said: 'Sounds like the plot to a really funny Woody Allen movie. What? Did I say something wrong?'

The sentiment was shared by @Howard_Lovy who made a movie joke and said: 'Sounds like the plot to a really funny Woody Allen movie. What? Did I say something wrong?'

Ronan has adamantly voiced that he believes his sister's claims of sexual abuse, allegations Allen has denied vehemently.

Last year, Ronan Farrow lashed out at his estranged father and the way the media has treated his sister's claims that she was abused by the Oscar-winning director in an essay.

'I believe my sister,' he wrote about that allegations made by Dylan Farrow when she was seven years old that she was inappropriately touched by their father.

'This was always true as a brother who trusted her, and, even at 5 years old, was troubled by our father's strange behavior around her: climbing into her bed in the middle of the night, forcing her to suck his thumb  behavior that had prompted him to enter into therapy focused on his inappropriate conduct with children prior to the allegations.'
Jon Wharnsby (pictured) recalls the agony of choosing between a terrified mother and daughter screaming on a tenth-floor stairway  or pushing on to a 14th-floor flat where residents also faced death

The apocalyptic scenes confronting firefighters inside Grenfell Tower are today revealed in detail for the first time by a rescuer who twice fought his way inside the burning building.

Jon Wharnsby recalls the agony of choosing between a terrified mother and daughter screaming on a tenth-floor stairway  or pushing on to a 14th-floor flat where residents also faced death.

In a split second, he and a crewmate reached the same decision. Bellowing at each other through breathing masks, they agreed: the people choking on fumes in front of them could be saved; the fate of residents higher up was less certain.

Without help, the woman and her girl would have needed a miracle to make it downstairs through the thick, choking smoke.

Minutes after carrying them to safety, Jon and crew partner Terry Lowe were back inside, again trying to reach the 14th floor.

By now, the smoke was swirling lower and thicker. They were forced to step over residents collapsed on the stairs with firefighters attending to them.

By the eighth floor, the heat had reached a new, raw intensity. When they found another mother and young girl clinging to a handrail, too frightened and confused to move, they again had to choose the living and head downstairs. Jon is haunted by the memory. We ran into an apocalypse like every firefighter that night, he says.

We were tasked to reach a flat on the 14th floor. We all wanted to make a difference. But I never got to the people in that flat. Now those numbers are locked in my head.

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When they found another mother and young girl clinging to a handrail, too frightened and confused to move, they again had to choose the living and head downstairs

Jon says he was inspired by the incredible courage and professionalism of the 270 colleagues alongside him

In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Jon, a Fire Brigades Union station rep, played down his role, stressing he was nothing special and had a small part.

He was not paid for this interview. The Mail On Sunday is making a donation to a Grenfell Tower victims' appeal fund at his request.

Jon says he was inspired by the incredible courage and professionalism of the 270 colleagues alongside him. People need to know the reality, he adds. They need to know what those firefighters faced inside Grenfell Tower.

He revealed how:

One firefighter was struck a glancing blow by someone falling or jumping from a high window. He could do nothing for the victim and stayed at his post;

A 26-year-old woman, part of Jons crew at Shoreditch, entered Grenfell Tower with just five days experience as a frontline firefighter;

London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton missed being hit by a falling chunk of burning debris as she used a police riot shield for protection.

Jon, 37, a father-of-two with 16 years service, started his Red Watch night shift at 8pm on Tuesday. The evening was quiet with just a couple of routine calls which he now cannot remember. At 12.54am on Wednesday, nine miles west, the first alert about the blaze came in. As the scale of the horror unfolded, fire commanders began sending an increasing number of fire engines to the scene. Eventually, 40 vehicles were there.

Jon is haunted by the memory. We ran into an apocalypse like every firefighter that night, he says

Shoreditch  call sign Foxtrot 241  received its shout at 2.03am.

Jon recalls: The bell went, we were down the pole and away. It took no more than 90 seconds. There was five of us riding and our guvnor starts reading from the tip [teleprinter] sheet. He says, Its a 40-pump fire. Someone said, Four pumps, surely?

He repeats, Forty pumps. He tells us its a high-rise tower. And then he says our brief is FSG [Fire Survival Guidance], meaning people were definitely trapped in those flats.

Jon will never forget his first glimpse of Grenfell Tower. How can you find rational words, he says. It was like a giant had taken a flaming sword and cut a diagonal swathe top to bottom through it.

One side was completely black, the other flaming orange. The Shoreditch crew put on their masks and headed for the main entrance. Jon was with Terry Lowe, 52, who has 20 years experience, Paul Chester Desmond, 38, and 26-year-old April Cachia, who was just five days into the job.

Around them blazing debris plummeted to the ground, and the firefighters were briefly forced to shelter beneath an elevated walkway. Then they ran inside, joining ten other firefighters waiting to reach the third-floor bridgehead.

It was organised chaos. Everyone wanted to get to the front, to go up and help. I have never seen people push themselves like that  it was incredible'

If your air reserve drops too low a warning whistle sounds, Jon says. Whistles were sounding constantly as people came down. That shows how long theyd been in the tower.

It was organised chaos. Everyone wanted to get to the front, to go up and help. I have never seen people push themselves like that  it was incredible.

It was Aprils first search-and-rescue. I grabbed her helmet, looked her in the eye and repeated, Slow and steady wins the race. 

He adds: Of course you want to sprint up the steps. But you only have so much air, so much time. We were heading for the 14th floor. We had to make sure we could get back.

There were no numbers on the stairwells so everyone was told in no uncertain terms, Count your floors. Its not as easy as it sounds in those conditions.

Jon will never forget his first glimpse of Grenfell Tower. How can you find rational words, he says. It was like a giant had taken a flaming sword and cut a diagonal swathe top to bottom through it.

On the way up wed pass flats and hear shouts of, Casualty  crew coming out. They were taking down survivors and had priority. We stood back. A rescue worker is pictured inside the shell of Grenfell Tower today

We had TICs [thermal imaging cameras] but above the sixth floor they were all but useless. The smoke was so thick I could barely see into the eyepiece. At that level you could feel the heat rising. Thats some feat because our protective gear is pretty good.

On the way up wed pass flats and hear shouts of, Casualty  crew coming out. They were taking down survivors and had priority. We stood back.

By now, about 3am, reports were emerging of people throwing children from windows and tying bedsheets together to try to climb down. Jon and Terry had reached the tenth floor when they found a mother carrying her daughter.

How she was walking and still screaming in that smoke I will never know, Jon says.

Terry and I were shouting at each other through our masks. Wed reached the same conclusion. If it was this bad on the tenth floor, we might not make it to the 14th. And if we did make it to the 14th, how were we ever going to get people out without masks?

When that ignited we were suddenly fighting a fire that was outside, that wasnt contained, that was spreading upwards with astonishing speed and was then working its way back inside to trap people in their homes', Jon added

Im going to take a couple of weeks, see if I can process it, make sure the images dont keep returning', said Jon. A search and rescue worker is pictured inside Grenfell Tower today

It was a terrible dilemma. You are tasked to go to a flat where you know people need your help. But these people also needed us'

We had two people with us, one a child. They needed us now. We took them down to the third floor and handed them to other crews.

I hope they are OK. Id like to know some time. We then had a quick check of our air and decided to try again for the 14th floor.

It was probably foolhardy. This time we only made it to the eighth floor before finding another mother with a little girl in her pyjamas.

It was a terrible dilemma. You are tasked to go to a flat where you know people need your help. But these people also needed us. We took them down and at that point were ordered to leave the building. The fire and smoke had become just too bad.

Outside, Jon directed high-pressure hoses on to upper flats. He met a firefighter who had been running into the building when a falling resident struck the riot shield he was holding above his head.

When the man looked back, he could see body parts, Jon reveals. First aiders were already with the victim  unfortunately you cant imagine he survived.

Crews were visited by Commissioner Cotton and thanked for their extraordinary response. It was a small gesture but it felt really genuine, Jon says

Imagine that the tower is a candle but with the wick on the outside. Theres no strategy to deal with that', said Jon

With 4am approaching, the tower was effectively lost, but desperate families still maintained hope.

And that was what almost broke me, Jon says.

A woman came up to me, weeping uncontrollably. She shouted at me that her son was still up on the 18th floor. She was begging us to rescue him and asking when it would happen.

I said wed be with him as soon as possible. I was trying to reassure her by lying. Because, by then, as soon as possible would be too late.

Where you had seen a torch signalling, or a blanket or flag waving to attract our attention, one by one they slowly disappeared.

This is where I feel for our controllers. They are speaking over the phone to people in their last moments and then suddenly the line goes dead. How hard is that?

They so often get forgotten but they are brilliant.

As dawn broke, exhausted crews could be seen sitting or lying in the shadow of the smouldering tower. Each was visited in turn by Commissioner Cotton and thanked for their extraordinary response.

It was a small gesture but it felt really genuine, Jon says. She was personally handing out bottled water to crews coming down. She won a lot of respect.

As dawn broke, exhausted crews could be seen sitting or lying in the shadow of the smouldering tower

We joked that we nearly needed another new chief officer. She had gone into the building under cover of a borrowed police riot shield.

Whether that would have stopped the burning debris which landed a few feet away, Im not sure.

We all noted her words at the morning press conference expressing concern for her firefighters.

She wants to make sure everyone who needs counselling gets it. You were told you could wait if you needed more time with a counsellor. But if others on your crew want to get home, are you going to be the one holding them back?

Im going to take a couple of weeks, see if I can process it, make sure the images dont keep returning. If they do then Ill seek help. And any firefighter with similar doubts should do the same.

People hold candles aloft during a vigil outside Latymer Church, close to Grenfell Tower. Jon agrees with those pointing to the cladding as the key contributor to the tragedy

Turning to his rookie colleagues brutal introduction to the profession, he says: April just got on with her job. She was being looked after well, but she went in and she did it. Seems like shell be a good hand.

In terms of wider lessons, he agrees with those pointing to the cladding as the key contributor to the tragedy.

Im no expert but to me the exterior cladding altered everything, he says. When that ignited we were suddenly fighting a fire that was outside, that wasnt contained, that was spreading upwards with astonishing speed and was then working its way back inside to trap people in their homes.

Imagine that the tower is a candle but with the wick on the outside. Theres no strategy to deal with that. In Shoreditch, the area we cover has increased due to surrounding stations being closed. Weve lost one fire engine ourselves.

This is despite our area having the highest density of high-rise towers in London. Something has to change.
William Pordy, 62, has reported $12M worth of art stolen from his Queens storage unit

A crook with a taste for fine art has swiped $12million worth of paintings from a storage unit in New York.

William Pordy, 62, told cops on Thursday that his Queens storage unit had been picked clean of 22 valuable paintings by the likes of Frank Stella and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the New York Daily News reported.

The retired doctor and inventor said he first discovered the paintings missing on June 1, when he visited the storage unit to retrieve a $10,000 painting he'd planned to give to a friend's daughter.

But to his horror, he found someone had cut the lock on his storage unit and replaced it with another lock.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's famed 'At the Moulin Rouge, the Dance' is seen. Other works by the French painter were said to be in Pordy's collection

A work by the minimalist painter Frank Stella is seen. Police believe the theft occurred on December 30, but Pordy did not discover the paintings were missing until June 1.

All but five paintings, apparently deemed unworthy by the highbrow crook, had been stolen.

'I'm upset because it's worth a lot of money,' Pordy told the Daily News. 'Do you have $12 million? The point is that I had it and was going to sell them.'

Cops reviewed records from the storage facility, on Northern Boulevard in the Sunnyside neighborhood, and found the the theft took place on December 30.

Police compiled a list of the stolen artworks and are canvassing to find anyone attempting to sell them.

In October, Pordy himself ran afoul of the police, when he allegedly kicked a six-year-old girl on the street who had brushed against him.

Pordy fled outraged bystanders by running into the Guggenheim Museum on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where he was arrested.

The art collector later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Pordy, a former kidney doctor, is the founder of a custom ice cream cone company called OWNcone.

In 2002, Pordy was awarded a $3million civil judgement in a lawsuit against Land o' Lakes, in which he accused the company of infringing his patent for a low-fat coffee creamer.
Jessica Urbano was just a few weeks shy of her 13th birthday

Smiling shyly at the camera, corkscrew curls dangling, she has become the face of the Grenfell Tower inferno  the girl who screamed 'Mummy, come and get me!' in a desperate final phone call.

On walls, fences, in shop windows, strewn across the streets of North Kensington, the happy image of a girl just a few weeks short of her 13th birthday is everywhere.

But Jessica Urbano herself is nowhere to be found.

Her distraught mother Adriana Ramirez has tirelessly searched the capital to find her daughter.

From street to street, from hospital to hospital, Adriana has pinned up posters, appealed for information, and has prioritised hope above the grief which threatens now to overwhelm her as the hours tick by with no further news. Because that hope is starting to fade. Behind a pair of oversized pink sunglasses, the tears are never far away.

Jessica was last heard screaming for her mother, trapped in a stairwell below the family's 20th-floor flat as the inferno seized the throat of Grenfell Tower.

Last night, Colombian-born Adriana, 38, gave her first account of the horror that has overwhelmed her life, telling The Mail on Sunday: 'I had just an hour's sleep last night, and the night before. But I can't sleep, I can't stop thinking about Jessica and where she is.

'What if she wakes up alone? She's a strong girl but I can't bear that thought. She needs her mummy to be with her. I need to be with her.

Her father Romero and mother Adriana have desperately searched for their daughter

'I'm looking at that building  is my baby in there? What if she is?

'What if she is dead? If she is, I can't live. How can I live? It's like something has been ripped from my body. I feel so guilty that I wasn't in  but I had to work.'

And work she did, one of the vast army of cleaners, most of them foreign born, who labour through the night in half-lit offices to keep the capital running by day. When Adriana left her two-bedroom flat for her regular overnight shift on Tuesday evening, she could never have imagined it might be the last time she saw her daughter alive.

The flat itself was a symbol of hard work and determination, bought by Adriana following nearly 20 years of saving on a meagre wage in order to provide for her children, including Jessica's older sister Melani, 20, a Coventry University student.

She says: 'I moved [to Grenfell Tower] a year ago from East London. I was happy here, I had made friends. I had just recently moved Jessica to a new school.

'She is such a kind, happy, clever girl and so strong.'

Jessica's mother was working just half a mile away when she heard on the news about the fire

Adriana says Jessica was only briefly alone on that fateful night. Melani had gone out with her boyfriend, and it is understood that Jessica's father  separated from Adriana  had returned to his flat on the third floor shortly after midnight. Within an hour, the deadly blaze broke out on the fourth floor, hundreds of feet below her. The first call to the emergency services was recorded at 12.54am.

Working just half a mile away, Adriana was alerted to news of the blaze by her boss, and immediately ran to the scene. It was while she was hurrying back that she received the devastating call from Jessica on an unfamiliar number.

'Jessica told me she was on the stairs. She was shouting: 'Mummy! Mummy! Come and get me!' I told her: 'Just get down the stairs, to the bottom of the building, and I will find you!' Then the line cut out.'

A composite photo showing the extent of the towering inferno. Adriana Urbano received a panicked call from their daughter as the fire raged

It was 1.29am  a mere 35 minutes since the start of the fire. According to Adriana, Jessica had been on her own for just half an hour, and had left the flat apparently after being woken by the blaze.

Now, she stood in the smoke-choked stairwell with other panicked residents trying to flee.

In the pandemonium, she had borrowed a mobile from neighbours Biruk and Brkite Haftom, who lived on the 18th floor. It would be the last time Adriana spoke to her daughter.

By the time she arrived at the tower, a safety cordon was in place and firefighters had to physically stop her from entering the building. She stands just a little over 5ft tall, but was determined to get up the stairs. 'I saw the fire in front of me. I needed to get in. I tried to run in and shouted at the firemen, 'F****** let me in!' But they wouldn't.

'I saw people coming out in blankets. I needed to get to my baby.'

Her only hope was that Jessica had not made a potentially fatal decision to return to the flat.

She continues: 'I hoped she kept walking down the stairs and didn't go back into the flat. If she kept walking down the stairs, she might have got out.'

Adriana Urbano's sister-in-law, Sandra Ruiz, praised the love and unity displayed in wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster

Jessica's father, Romero Urbano, had also taken a frantic call from Jessica. He had been in a flat on the third floor, and had tried to reach his daughter, but he was beaten back by the intense smoke and flames and had made the agonising decision to escape the building to save his own life. Powerless, Adriana and Romero could only look on as the blaze took hold.

By dawn on Wednesday, with no sign of Jessica, they were spurred into action in the hope that she may have been taken to hospital. Determined to be positive despite the tragedy of the events unfolding around her, Adriana began to search herself. A friend offered to drive her around the five central London hospitals who were treating victims of the disaster.

That morning, director Noel Clarke, who shot the movie Kidulthood in the area, tweeted a picture of Jessica, writing: 'Friends' niece Jessica Urbano is missing.' It quickly went viral.

The Urbano family were desperate to be positive, even as the devastation became clear

But at the hospitals, there was still no sign of Jessica.

'I would go into the A&E departments and show them Jessica's picture and give a description, but they would say they haven't heard her name. It was horrible.'

Frustration hampered Adriana's efforts, as the hospitals themselves still had no information on the identities of the 74 patients they were treating. But despite having more thorough patient lists on Thursday, they were still no more helpful.

'They'd quickly check the lists, but that's all,' she says. 'They didn't let me up to the wards, to see physically, with my own eyes, if Jessica was there. Because she might be there, lying unconscious.'

Her hopes were raised by rumours that a girl resembling Jessica was seen with paramedics in the early hours of Wednesday. But Adriana admits: 'I don't know where that came from.' By Thursday, every street within a mile of Grenfell Tower was covered with posters of Jessica. But it still wasn't enough for Adriana. Armed with hundreds more sheets, and with one strapped to her back, she trudged under the huge concrete Westway flyover, handing posters to plumbers' merchants and leafleting every car.

Posters have been plastered throughout west London in the hope that someone might have seen Jessica

At a Ladbroke Grove bus stop already bearing one poster of her daughter, she made sure there were three  so Jessica could be seen from every direction. Amid the white stucco townhouses of Portobello Road, she made sure Jessica's face shone out from upmarket restaurants and gastropubs.

But by Thursday evening, with still no word on Jessica, the effort of her tireless search had begun to take its toll. She now believes there is 'no point' in going round the hospitals any more. Defeat is not something Adriana takes lightly. She has found it hard to accept charity, despite losing almost everything. Instead, she is living at her nephew's flat a stone's throw from Grenfell Tower, making do with a pair of borrowed flip flops and jeans. An impromptu vigil in Bramley Road, near Latimer Road Tube, organised by Adriana's sister-in-law, Sandra Ruiz, saw crowds gathering to pay their respects to the missing.

Mrs Ruiz told the crowd: 'It's about love and unity. There are too many people affected by this.' Leading them in the Lord's Prayer, she added: 'Keep positive, keep looking for Jessica, keep praying!'

On Friday, Adriana and Romero met a police family liaison officer, assigned to help counsel them and take on the task of contacting hospitals. It is of little comfort.

There is still hope, but yesterday Adriana was at home, knowing there is little more that can be done.

'I think I have to prepare myself for the worst now,' she says.

'I should be the one who is dead. I wish it was me. I wish I could have been in the tower, and not her.'

If you would like to help Adriana and her family, please donate here.

'Please pray we don't have a painful death': Heart-wrenching final words of trapped family as they huddled together in their bathroom on 17th floor

Members of a family of five all feared dead told relatives on the phone: 'There is no way for us to escape now. Pray that we don't have a painful death.'

The heartbreaking conversation took place shortly before 2.30am as the Miah family sheltered from smoke and flames in the bathroom of their 17th-floor flat.

Shortly afterwards, phones belonging to the Bangladeshi family fell silent.

The Miah family sheltered from the smoke in the bathroom of their 17th story flat

Details emerged yesterday as relatives told how they had received increasingly desperate calls from their loves ones.

One of the family, Hosna Begum Tanima, 22, was due to get married and her siblings and parents had been busy shopping and preparing for her big day on July 29.

How MailOnline readers can donate to a charity helping the Grenfell Tower fire victims The Grenfell Tower fire has prompted an extraordinary outpouring of support from Britons as they try to help the victims both financially and with gifts of food, clothing and other essentials. And MailOnline readers can donate to a charity co-ordinating efforts to help those whose lives were devastated by clicking here. The money will go to the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, the companys local charity partner. The foundation is coordinating a major funding appeal with support from London Funders and the London Emergency Trust Fund, and has set up a donation page on its website. Every penny raised on the site will go directly to charities funding the relief effort in the local community, both for those who lost loved-ones and those who lost their homes and all their possessions. Readers can also donate via cheque. Please make cheques payable to The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation and send to: Grenfell Tower Appeal, The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, 111117 Lancaster Road, London W11 1QT. The gutted block is just over a mile from the MailOnline and Daily Mail offices in Kensington, West London, known as Northcliffe House. Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) chairman Lord Rothermere and chief executive Paul Zwillenberg last night announced a 100,000 donation to the charity. Advertisement

As well as Miss Tanima, her elderly father, Komru Miah, 82, and mother Razia Begum, 65, and two brothers, Abdul Hanif, 29, and Abdul Hamid, 26, are all feared to have lost their lives. They are believed to have moved in to Grenfell Tower a year ago.

Another son, Mohammed Abdul Hakim, lives nearby with his wife and children.

Last week, leaflets carrying the Miah family's pictures with appeals for information were plastered on walls around the streets of North Kensington, and pictures were posted on social media sites.

Mr Miah's nephew Abdul Rahim, who lives in Chelsea, told of the family's grief. He said he spoke to Miss Tanima at about 2.30am on the phone, as she and the rest of the family huddled in the bathroom to escape the fire.

Mr Rahim said: 'Her desperate prayers are still ringing in my ears. She said, 'We are all in the bathroom now, and there is no way for us to escape now. Pray that we don't have a painful death'.'

Mr Rahim said all his five relatives' phones went silent shortly after that conversation.

Yesterday Abdul Khan, 60, another cousin of Miss Tanima, spoke of his grief.

The cab driver, who has lived in the UK for 35 years, said: 'I've been very down and very sad, not only for our relatives but for every missing person.

'Hosna was born and raised here. She was very active, very helpful and a very loved young lady by the whole family.

'The last time I saw her, all she could talk about was the wedding  everything was arranged, all the invitations were sent. She was looking forward to it, getting married to the person that she loves.

'They were planning a wedding with more than 1,000 guests. Everybody was looking forward to the wedding day, but now everything is turned upside down.'
Anxious families seeking care homes for elderly relatives with dementia would no doubt be reassured to see the name Bupa above the door.

But an undercover investigation at a home run by one of Britains most prestigious private healthcare providers reveals shocking institutional abuse and neglect, including giving residents used incontinence pads and forcing them to have bed baths at 3.30am.

Social care watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has threatened to prosecute Bupa if it fails to raise standards after the appalling conditions were exposed.

A dementia patient escaped from his room and walked around the care home in just his underwear

Bupa makes 700 million a year profit. It can charge more than 1,000 a week for residents at its 140 dementia care homes in the UK. Yet the CQC brands more than a third of these homes failures on basic standards, including safety, care or leadership.

An undercover reporter for Channel 4s Dispatches programme got a job at Bupas Crawfords Walk home in Chester. The reporter, called Eilis, was disturbed to see a resident shouted at after filling her incontinence pad.

A care assistant railed at the woman: Youre full of c**p again. Youre so naughty! When the woman said she was sorry, the assistant replied: No, youre not sorry, because you know youre doing it!

Eilis told a colleague a resident had wet himself yet found him an hour later still in urine-soaked clothing. She was told incontinence pads were rationed within the home and one carer was seen reusing a pad with urine and faeces on it.

On the day of a CQC inspection, when she asked why so many staff were on duty, an assistant told the reporter: Shh, dont let the CQC hear you say that theyre not allowed to see were understaffed.

Other incidents included a nurse who was said to have told nightshift staff to get residents up at 3.30am for bed baths and a nurse who refused to check a womans wound after it appeared to become stuck to an incontinence pad.

A medicine cabinet was repeatedly left open and the reporter had to retrieve some pills after a patient grabbed them. Footage also showed a resident wandering outside in the small hours, having gone through an unlocked door with no alarm. Leading GP Dr Peter Holden, viewing the film, said: If that person had been on the floor outside and it had been cold weather, youd have been looking at death from hypothermia.

Crawfords Walk Care Home in Chester was part of the documentary

Perry Locks Care Home in Birmingham. An undercover investigation reveals shocking institutional abuse and neglect in a Bupa care home

Independent nurse consultant Lynne Phair said: This is absolutely classic, textbook, institutional abuse.

In a different care home, Perry Locks in Birmingham, suspicious relatives of 77-year-old resident Betty Boylan installed a secret camera which filmed an assistant pulling and shoving her head back in her chair. The culprit, Bina Begum, was fined for neglect and mistreatment.

But on a later occasion the camera caught a male resident, wearing only an incontinence pad, stumbling into Bettys room and staying more than an hour. Dr Holden said: I am concerned that the basic dignities of a human being are not being met.

Bupa has betrayed the very people it is paid to look after, said Andrea Sutcliffe, the CQCs chief inspector of adult social care.

The examples of poor care and a culture of inappropriate, institutionalised practice highlighted by this programme are wholly unacceptable. If providers are not capable of making the necessary improvements, we will take action that may result in the closure of poor, unsafe services.

Bupa makes 700 million a year profit. It can charge more than 1,000 a week for residents at its 140 dementia care homes in the UK

Joan Elliott, head of Bupa Care Services, said: We are shocked and saddened by these allegations.

But she added: We do not accept a number of the accusations and [Channel 4] have refused to show us the footage.

However we are taking this very seriously and are working with the CQC, local council and NHS.

Bupa said the nurse in charge of the medicine cabinet had been suspended and they had alarmed the fire doors. The 3.30am bed baths and the nurse refusing to check a wound were not a reflection of the care we expect.

Bupa denied additional staff were brought in for the CQC inspection, adding there was no shortage of incontinence pads and there would be no concerns about ordering extra ones. Apologising to Mrs Boylans family, Bupa said the man was taken back to his room by staff.

Dispatches: Bupa Care Homes Undercover. Channel 4, tomorrow, 8pm.
Grayson Perry attends a VIP preview of the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition last year

Artist Grayson Perry rejected his mother's dying wish for a reconciliation after a decade-long feud, his stepfather claimed last night.

Jean Dines became estranged from her son following the publication of Grayson's 2006 memoirs in which he gave a dismal account of his childhood and accused her of emotional neglect. And now it has been claimed the feud went with her to the grave.

Last night, her widower Alan Dines said that when Jean knew she was dying, she attempted to get back in touch with her son  but was snubbed and left broken-hearted.

'She phoned him a month or so before she died but he said 'I don't want to speak to you', put the phone down on her and promptly changed his number,' claimed Mr Dines. 'What kind of son does that to his mother? As far as I can tell, he's a good artist but he's a lousy human being.'

Earlier this month, the celebrity potter, well known for wearing women's clothes, launched his new show at London's Serpentine Gallery with the ironic title The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever.

Mrs Dines, a mother-of-four, suffered a fatal stroke just a week short of her 80th birthday at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, last year. She already had a heart condition.

Mr Dines, her second husband, helped bring up Grayson and his sister Helen, as well as his own children. He was at his wife's side when she died. The retired milkman, 75, said: 'I phoned Helen and she said she told Grayson straight away that his mum was very ill and might die. I know Jean stayed alive in that last week in the hope that Grayson would come and see her. She was in a coma.

'She'd had a stroke and a heart attack but she was clinging to life, I believe, for one last chance to put things right between them.

'I'm sorry to say Grayson Perry didn't take that final opportunity to put things right.

'Not only that, but he didn't come to the funeral service or send any word or message of sympathy or condolence. I have heard nothing from him to this day.'

Picture (left) shows Allan Dines, step father of artist Grayson Perry and his mother Jean Dines (right)

Two years ago, Mrs Dines told The Mail on Sunday of her enduring hope that there would be a reconciliation between her and her son. She said: 'I know I'm close to the end of my life now and it would mean the world to me if we could rebuild our relationship before it's too late.'

Mr Dines said his wife had a history of ill-health in recent years, including suffering several strokes and dementia.

'I loved my wife so much and I miss her every second of every day,' he added. 'I'm still so sad for her that she had to die with a broken heart.'

Grayson Perry did not respond to Mail on Sunday requests for a comment.
Police are searching for a man who they believe indecently exposed himself to a child in a Melbourne schoolyard.

The man is said to have pulled down his pants, revealing his buttocks to a boy standing in a schoolyard at St Patrick's Primary School in Packenham, in south-east Melbourne.

The incident happened about 3.10pm on June 8 as the man was walking south along The Avenue.

The alleged offender is believed to be in his mid-20s and overweight

The man is believed to have dropped his trousers and flashed his buttocks to a boy standing in the playground of St Patrick's Primary School in Packenham

The boy told investigators the man had stopped outside the school and began lifting his shirt and once catching the boy's attention, he then lowered his trousers.

He is said to be in his mid-20s, about 160cm tall and overweight.

The man is believed to be pale skinned and his hair is described as short, blonde and curly.

He was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and black shoes.

A composite image of the man has been released to help identify the offender.

Police urge anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers.
As the list of possible destinations flashed up on my phone screen, I longed for the agony to stop. I just wanted to know where I was headed.

I was already en route to Gatwick but still had no idea where I was flying to. What a way to start a family holiday.

But it wasnt disorganisation on my part. Rather, its the result of booking a mystery break with a new website called Surprise Trips.

Qin didn't know she was headed for Venice (pictured) until she reached Gatwick airport

The idea is simple: you enter your desired travel dates, the number of people, a departure airport and budget, and the site then scours flight and accommodation options.

You can end up in any one of 77 European cities, although you can veto three choices. The destination is revealed when you reach the airport.

When my city was finally revealed, I was a little disappointed to discover that I would be flying to a place Ive already visited  Venice.

Then there was a second hurdle to overcome. A decade ago, when I first visited the city as a teenager, it would have been just about acceptable to share a room with my parents. Now, as Im approaching 30, it was a prospect I dreaded.

But luck was on our side  a triple room at Hotel Ambassador Tre Rose turned out to be a spacious family suite. It was by no means luxurious but the location, just a few steps from Piazza San Marco, was unrivalled.

We had no time to plan an itinerary so Google Maps became our interactive guide for everything from attractions to restaurants.

Having been to Venice before already, Qin says she wouldnt have chosen it, but she's glad she got a chance to visit the places she missed a decade ago. Pictured, St Marks Basilica

We also decided to head to nearby islands  places we had missed out on during our previous visit to Venice.

We went to Burano, which is famous for its colourful buildings, Murano for its glass, and even sombre Cimitero, where the Venetians buried their dead.

Lunch at Ristorante Dalla Mora on Murano was touristy but tasty and inexpensive. Theres something to be said about fresh-out-of-the-fryer fritto misto with a generous squeeze of lemon and an ice-cold beer, especially on a hot summers day.

But nothing beats a twilight cruise up the Grand Canal  something we also missed last time. After a gruelling day in the sun, it was wonderful to be caressed by a cooling breeze as the city lit up for the evening.

It gave me time to reflect. I wouldnt have chosen to come back to Venice but Im glad I got a chance to visit the places I missed a decade ago.

And thats a satisfying feeling.
Her dad's won 10 Grammys for his beautiful songs, played at the piano.

So it makes perfect sense for John Legend's one-year-old daughter to want to try her hand on a keyboard.

On Friday, proud mom Chrissy Teigen, 31, shared a cute, 10-second Twitter video of her tot tickling the ivories at one of the luxury AirBnb homes the family has been staying in since John, 38, started his Darkness And Light Tour in Miami in May.

Piano time: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend's daughter Luna, one, looked cute as she tried to play the piano like her dad in the 10-second Twitter video Chrissy shared on Friday

Cute: Luna looked totally sweet in a blue and dark pink onesie as she sat at the piano gently playing the keys with both hands

Luna looked totally sweet in a blue and dark pink onesie as she sat at the piano gently playing the keys with both hands.

Her model mother, wearing a wrap in khaki colors, sat beside her girl, playing a few notes with her.

At one point Chrissy smiled up at the person behind the camera, probably John, revealing her make-up face.

Look, mom, I'm using both hands: The tot seemed totally used to the concept that playing the piano is better when you use two hands

In a second tweet, she shared another 10-second video of her daughter, still in her onesie, running around with the family's two dogs as Chrissy cooed: 'Ooooh! What a pretty girl.'

The model captioned that one, 'Beach day!'

The family were likely in Michigan, where John is due to play at the Meadowbank Amphitheare in Rochester Hills tonight, after rocking the The Fabulous Fox Theatre in Saint Louis, Missouri on Thursday night.

Proud mom: The 31-year-old appeared to be totally make-up free as she next to her little girl

This is how you do it: Luna paid close attention as her mom played a few keys

The star posted an Instagram snap of himself on stage, captioned: 'Thank you St Louis! A fabulous night at the Fox! #DarknessAndLightTour.'

Barely giving himself time to draw breath, John is due in Toronto, in Ontario, Canada on Saturday to play the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre.

He has six more gigs before wrapping the tour on June 30 at the Essence Festival in New Orleans on June 30.

'Ooooh! What a pretty girl': In a second tweet, Chrissy shared another 10-second video of her daughter, still in her onesie, running around with the family's two dogs

Set for fun in the sun: The model captioned the video 'Beach day!' The family were likely in Michigan, where John is due to play at the Meadowbank Amphitheare in Rochester Hills
She's been busy filming the remake Overboard in Vancouver recently.

But Eva Longoria enjoyed some time away from the film set as she was spotted getting close to her husband Jose Baston on Friday.

The 42-year-old beauty held hands with her 49-year-old media mogul partner as they walked the streets and stopped for a closer encounter.

Cute couple: Eva Longoria42, was spotted getting close to her media mogul husband Jose Baston, 49, on Friday

The Desperate Housewives actress looked sophisticated chic in a classic white oxford and black pants with a cute striped cuff on the bottom.

Daring to impress, the stunner went with minimal makeup as her natural beauty shined as a touch of berry licked her lips.

Casual flip flops adorned her feet and she hung a stylish black purse with gold chains as the strap.

Her dapper man rocked a grey classic suit that an open white shirt as he donned retro shades.

Closer: The Desperate Housewives actress looked sophisticated chic in a classic white oxford and black pants with a cute striped cuff on the bottom

Eva and Jose got married in a romantic ceremony in Mexico in May 2016, before enjoying a honeymoon in Cambodia.

She met the Televisa president through a mutual friend back in 2013, announcing their engagement December 2015.

Eva played played Gabrielle Solis on ABC's hit dramedy Desperate Housewives from 2004 until 2012.

But now she is busy filming the Overboard comedy with Anna Faris.

It is a remake of the Goldie Hawn vehicle, where Goldie played a spoiled heiress who hits her head and can't remember who she is after falling off her yacht.

Kurt Russel plays a carpenter who, after being rebuked by Goldie originally, convinces her she is the father of his two sons. Hilarity ensues.

In the new version, due out in 2018, Spanish heartthrob Eugenio Derbez plays spoiled playboy Leonardo who loses his memory after falling overboard and is saved by Anna.

Eva plays Theresa, Kate's manager at the pizza restaurant and trusted friend.

The comedy is due out in 2018, 31 years after the original hit, but has yet to set a date.
In this, the last article in the series about the Pyramid Lake Indian Wars, I want to tell about the consequences of this tragic and memorable time in the history of Nevada. As with many wars that have been fought throughout our history, there were no real winners.

In terms of the number of combatants killed or wounded, the totally unprepared militiamen of the first battle who marched against the Indians following the Williams Station incident suffered the greatest number of casualties. Seventy-six of them were killed and many more were wounded. Three more were killed in the massacre at Williams Station. There were reports that the Indians were justified in the killings at Williams Station due to the white men at the station having kidnapped and molested two Paiute girls.

Casualties suffered by the Indians were much lighter in terms of numbers killed and wounded. It has been difficult for historians to quantify the actual numbers of Indian casualties. Often the Indians were seen taking dead or wounded warriors away from the battlefields and no one is sure how many there were. Eyewitness accounts are widely varied. The real casualty of the war to the Indians was the loss of their way of life being destroyed by the sudden influx of whites into the territory following the discovery of silver in the Comstock. They had the foresight to send their women and children off to seek refuge in the Black Rock Desert country when the threat of war became eminent.

When the much larger force of military men came after the Indians following the first battle, the Indians were wise in making a retreat to the north to minimize their casualties. The second battle proved inconclusive, since there was no real defeat of the Indians. The real defeat to them was the loss of their lifestyle and the freedom to pursue the hunter-gatherer way of life that had sustained them for the past ten thousand years. Undoubtedly, many of these people may have starved or were forced to move away from the area to find refuge among other tribes.

Back in Virginia City and other places on the Comstock, there was a major panic after the Massacre at Williams Station and especially after the First Battle at Pyramid Lake in which the Indians clearly defeated the militiamen. People were spooked at all sorts of rumors about Indians seen coming up Gold Canyon after them and threatening to kill everyone. In their panic, some miners built a large cannon out of wood banded together with iron and set it up on the rocks at Devils Gate near Silver City. Fortunately, they never had to use it because when it was finally set off some time later, it exploded into smithereens.

The federal forces quickly built a small fort at the south end of Pyramid Lake in case any threat of hostile Indians surfaced. Several skirmishes continued for a few months, but were not of any consequence. The small fort near Pyramid Lake was abandoned in 1861 when Fort Churchill was built further south along the banks of the Carson River. This was located on the route of the Overland Trail and the Pony Express for protection of people traveling west to the Comstock and California. During the time of the Indian hostilities, there were actually some delays in mail service due to ambushes at some of the pony express stations.

A number of the Indians who had fought in the Pyramid Lake Indian Wars went on the participate in the Bannock Indian battles in Oregon and Idaho. Like the Pyramid Lake battles, these were fought due to the loss of food and other resources brought on by the influx of white settlers taking possession of former Indian lands.

In August of 1860, an informal cease fire between the whites and Numaga was reached in the area north of Pyramid Lake. By 1861, many of the Indians began returning to the reservation at Pyramid Lake. With the limited resources then available to them, they made a determined effort to assimilate somewhat to the life enjoyed by the white settlers. Some of the men found work on the farms and ranches of the region. Women began to seek jobs as domestic workers in various capacities.

Some enterprising Indians found a market in Virginia City for the salmon-like cutthroat trout and Cui-ui fish they caught at Pyramid Lake. Wagon loads of the fresh catch were brought to the Comstock to provide fresh fish for the restaurants and markets. A cannery was set up in Wadsworth during the 1880s to process the fish being caught at Pyramid Lake and nearby Winnemucca Lake.

Eventually, a small colony of Indians set up camps of sorts near Virginia City, Dayton, Reno, Carson City and other western Nevada towns to be near where they could find work among the thriving white population. It took time for the whites to get over their fear of the Indians and the Indians had an uphill battle finding work in a population filled with distrust and prejudice. Those who chose to stay on the reservations were provided with housing and a food allowance by the federal government. It was many years before the Pinion forests returned following the Comstock Boom so the Indians could once again gather the pine nuts they once used for survival. And thus ended one of the more painful stories in the history of Nevada.
She's been hopping around the sunnier spots in Europe over the past week or so.

But Ashley James descended into Gatwick Airport on Friday afternoon, refreshed and looking cheery, as she made the Arrivals terminal her personalised catwalk.

Stepping off the plane in a tiny black skirt and a sixties-inspired top, the 30-year-old DJ strutted through the airport, showcasing her lengthy pins, freshly tanned from her trip abroad.

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Back on home ground! Ashley James returns to the UK from her Spanish jaunt and struts through Gatwick Airport in a tiny black skirt and a plunging sixties-inspired top

Her figure-hugging top was turquoise and pink, and featured a psychedelic print and a plunging V-shaped neckline, held together with a criss/crossed lace.

The front of the top teased Ashley's increasingly famous bust.

She sported a dark gold pendant necklace and wore a pair of headphones around her neck.

Her locks were newly curled and she balanced some circular shades on top of her mane.

She's back: She's been hopping around the sunnier spots in Europe over the past week or so. But Ashley James descended into Gatwick Airport on Friday afternoon, refreshed and looking cheery

Walk the walk: As she made the Arrivals terminal her personalised catwalk she stepped off the plane in a tiny black skirt and a sixties-inspired top

The former Made In Chelsea star looked naturally tanned, with just a light dusting of make-up on her features, and slung a black satchel over one shoulder.

Hours before she shared a photo of herself dressed in a figure hugging lingerie-inspired dress taken from the changing room of upmarket couturiere La Perla.

She added a cheeky caption to the shot which read: 'Looking for a boyfriend who'll fill my wardrobe with La Perla lingerie.'

Boho: The 30-year-old DJ strutted through the airport, showcasing her lengthy pins, freshly tanned from her trip abroad

Home again: The former Made In Chelsea star looked naturally tanned, with just a light dusting of make-up on her features, and slung a black satchel over one shoulder

Ashley is never shy of showing off her body, while acting as a staunch advocate for women's empowerment and body confidence, and Friday's post was no exception.

The East London radio DJ showed off her curves with a floral number with delicate frills around her cleavage as she posed in the plush shop and stunning surroundings.

The blonde's flowing locks hung loosely past her shoulders and she stared seductively into a mirror which showed off her subtle gold jewellery that led down to her bust - perfect for highlighting her perky cleavage.

Wanted: Ashley James took to Twitter on Friday to share a seductive photo of herself with the caption 'looking for a boyfriend who will fill my wardrobe with La Perla lingerie'

Message: Ashley recently said 'I'm getting so bored of walking around and men and women muttering insults under their breath about my body'

Ashley has been very vocal about her body confidence in recent weeks, taking to Twitter last week to slam party-goers who supposedly commented on her looks at a London Fashion Week: Men party.

Despite looking sensational at the LFWM John Smedley show in an eye-popping leather dress, it appeared that somebody (or bodies) had rubbed her up the wrong way, leading her to scurry away into a corner and tweet vehemently about being insulted.

'I'm getting so bored of walking around and men and women muttering insults under their breath about my body,' she typed into the microblogging site.

Purfect: Kneeling on a bed with a kitten - Ashley captioned the sizzling photo with an uplifting message, telling her fans she's feeling confident with her curves

'My body is my body... It doesn't dictate my views, my personality, my heart. I'm embracing my body and learning to be confident after years of being slut shamed.

'And it takes so much guts to put on a figure hugging outfit that suits my body shape because I know I'll be sexualised and gossiped about... I CAN HEAR YOU!'

Ashley also posted a stunning swimsuit snap this month, while revealing that she wanted to share an untouched image to empower others.

Perky: 'I'm getting so bored of walking around and men and women muttering insults under their breath about my body,' she typed into the microblogging site

In another recent Instagram post - which featured her kneeling on a bed with a kitten - Ashley captioned the sizzling photo with an uplifting message, telling her fans she's feeling confident with her curves.

Posing in a black lingerie set, she wrote: 'Morrrrning! My new favourite part of my body is the top of my thighs where they crease.

'I've never noticed it before, so if it's a new development, I'm embracing my body and the way it changes (or pizza, I appreciate you too).'

While, supporting her body confident image, she shared a photo of herself looking less than her usual perfect shape.

She captioned: 'Thought I'd share a pic where my body isn't all stretched out with good angles,' she wrote. 'Drank and ate my way through the entire two weeks in Marbella and Sardinia.

'Definitely need to get back into a healthier balance with exercise (for my mind as much as my body), but you know what, I think I still look good a little squishier.

'Hope this helps if you're feeling be pressure to be "beach body ready", whatever the f*** that means. Life is for living.'
It used to be all about Aidan Turner's chiselled torso, topless scything and grafting down a tin mine.

But Poldark will be given a run for his money tomorrow night when the show's two new heart-throbs frolic in the see.

Young actors Harry Richardson and Tom York will whip off their shirts and breeches for the first time in the series to take a rather bracing dip in the Cornish sea.

Young actors Harry Richardson and Tom York will whip off their shirts and breeches for the first time in the series to take a rather bracing dip in the Cornish sea

Pictured: Harry Richardson as Drake Carne in the excerpt from the second episode of series 3 of the period drama Poldark

Poldark will be given a run for his money tomorrow night when the show's two new heart-throbs get their kit off

However while Turner has always maintained his manly grizzled look, young guns Richardson and York, both 24, show off smooth, hairless torsos.

And although the pair's topless scene might leave viewers hot under the collar on Sunday evening, there seems to have been nothing warming about the water they were swimming in.

Both men, who play Demelza's brothers Drake and Sam Carne, struggled to disguise their shock at the chilly temperature and appeared to be wincing.

Later in the episode, Australian actor Richardson, who is best known for ITV drama Doctor Thorne, will set pulses racing once again with another water-topless scene - when he is seen washing himself while wearing only trousers.

The hunky pair will be providing all the topless thrills for the third series, as Turner, 33, said that he would only be shown 'topless sleeping'.
She confirmed the duo had rekindled their relationship in February earlier this year.

And proving their relationship is going from strength-to-strength, Jo Wood and her partner Paul Scarborough couldn't have looked more loved-up as they attended a charity gala held at The Yacht Club De Monaco in Monte Carlo on Friday evening.

The former model, 62, put on an affectionate display with her beau as they were spotted cuddling up together in front of the cameras.

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Rekindled romance: Jo Wood, 62, and her partner Paul Scarborough put on an affectionate display while attending a charity gala held at The Yacht Club De Monaco in Monte Carlo on Friday evening

On arrival to the event, Jo and Paul cosied to one another as they posed for photographs together.

The builder had his arm around Jo, while clutching onto a glass of champagne in one hand.

She wore a smile across her face and looked ultra glamorous, as she showcased her womanly curves in a sophisticated black bodycon dress.

Her frock featured a plunging neckline that teased a look at the TV personality's ample assets.

Jo threw a sheer cardigan on top of her form-fitting number and finished off her look with a pair of barely-there heels.

Back on? The former model was spotted nestling into the chest of her ex-beau - four months after confirming they had found love again

She wore her trademark blonde locks down past her shoulders in a straightened style with a full fringe.

Jo finished off her ensemble with smokey eye make-up and a nude lip.

Paul, meanwhile, was aptly dressed for the occasion in a navy three-piece suit.

They had been among the guests in attendance for the charity gala evening and performance of the play A Life-Long Pas.

It had been in honour of Rudolf Nureyev a Soviet ballet dancer and choreographer - who is regarded as one of ballet's most gifted male dancers - that had passed away in the early 90s after suffering from AIDs.

The event was hosted by Club Eclectique and its founders Anna Nasbina and Yulia Polvida.

Glamorous: Jo showcased her womanly curves in a sophisticated black bodycon dress that featured a plunging neckline

As they sat in the front row waiting for the performance to start, Jo was pictured nestling into Paul's chest as he tenderly placed an arm around her back.

Their close appearance together is yet more confirmation that they have decided to get their relationship back on track.

Jo had initially called time on her relationship with Paul in 2012 on learning that he had been engaged to someone else.

A source close to Jo - who shares three children with her ex-husband Ronnie Wood - had said at the time: 'Paul had told Jo he was single. So you can only imagin her shock when she found out his fiancee was speaking out'

Paul's fiancee Samantha Whittaker claimed that his 'affair' with Jo had ended their 22 year relationship and cost her the 'love of her life'.

In response to Samantha's claims, a spokesman for Jo insisted she had no idea her former beau already had a girlfriend.

Rubbing shoulders: She was seen mingling with model Camilla Rutherford (left) at the bash

She is said to have become close to the builder again last year, after he carried out renovation work on her daughter Leah's apartment.

Speaking to The Daily Mail about the pair reuniting, Jo revealed back in February: 'Yes. Im seeing Paul again... Hes never left my life and has been a great friend to me.

'He was always there. Hes loved me for years so I thought Id see what it was like to go out with him again. I dont want to jinx it but hes so sweet.

'Hes got great kids and we all get on. My kids are warming to him.'
He's a father-of-three and owner of two enormous biceps.

And for hungry Ben Ungermann fans, Saturday may as well be Christmas.

Images surfaced of the hunky Dutch Masterchef Australia contestant's latest steamy photo shoot.

Unger hunger? On Saturday, Images surfaced of hunky Dutch Masterchef Australia contestant's Ben Ungermann's latest steamy photo shoot

In a steamy black and white snap, the 32-year-old is clad with a brooding machismo - and little else.

He wore unbuttoned shirt, flaunting his hairless washboard abs.

Ben's hair was styled in an exaggerated quiff as he clenched his jaw and raised a hand up to his aviator shades.

In another image shot by photographer Anthony Bryan he looked more like a powerful army commander than a promising amateur chef.

He's very ARMY! In one snap, he looked more like a powerful army commander than a promising amateur chef.

He wore a very 80's-inspired outfit comprised of a tight white shirt tucked into high-waisted olive pants.

Ben tossed both his worries and his leather jacket over his buff shoulders.

And it's clear the star is no one-trick-pony, with another snap proving he can also scrub-up nice enough for a trip to meet the parents.

The dapper Dutchman cut a suave figure in a grey suit as his ripped biceps looked powerful enough to erode the premium cotton fibers of his blazer's sleeves.

Meet the parents! And it's clear the father-of-three is no one-trick-pony, with another snap proving he can also scrub-up nice enough for a trip to meet the parents

Keep an eye on this one! But that doesn't mean it's safe to leave him unsupervised, as proven by the very next snap featuring the same outfit

But that doesn't mean it's safe to leave him unsupervised, as proven by the very next snap featuring the same outfit.

The bad boy hunk rebelliously balanced between two wooden crates as she showcased his lovely knee-high gumboots and naughty pout.

Two outdoor shots showcased Ben's ability to work with props.

Prop master! Two outdoor shots showcased Ben's ability to work with props, with the first showing him on a wooden ladder spread-out on a lawn

Suspended! In the second, he wore suspenders, and a tight long-sleeve shirt, unbuttoned slightly to offer another glimpse of his chest

In one, he sat on a wooden ladder spread-out on a lawn and shot a look at camera.

In the second, he wore suspenders, and a tight long-sleeve shirt, unbuttoned slightly to offer another glimpse of his chest.

He perched on the edge of a chair, crossed his legs, wearing zip-up boots.

Taken! His partner Alicia is his 'fav person in the world.'

The 32-year-old strutted the runways for five years before changing his priorities when he became a father at the age of 19.

He's a father of three to Ella, 13, Phoenix, nine, and Oli, seven.

His partner Alicia is his 'fav person in the world.'
Roxy Jacenko is a busy PR Maven but she's also a dedicated mother.

And on Friday night the 37-year-old shared an image of her daughter Pixie, 5, sleeping sick in bed.

She captioned the image: 'Poor Poor little monkey feeling so poorly' using a monkey emoji to symbolise the word.

Roxy Jacenko is a busy PR Maven but she's also a dedicated mother: On Friday night the 37-year-old shared an image of her daughter Pixie, 5, sleeping sick in bed

Roxy also added a pill emoji to the post.

In the image, Pixie, who appears to be asleep, lays in bed with her arms over her head, her normally slicked back hair around her face.

Fans quickly showed support, with one writing: 'It's so sad when they're sick'.

Another weighed in: 'It's that time of the year, sending warm cuddles your way Pixie hope you are feeling better soon'.

The post comes as Roxy's husband Oliver Curtis is expected to be released from prison next Friday following a one-year sentence for insider trading.

Fans quickly showed support, with one writing: 'It's so sad when they're sick'.

The disgraced former investment banker could be released from Cooma Correctional Centre as early as June 23, if he qualifies for good behaviour.

The PR queen was spotted without the stunning diamond engagement ring again on Friday, despite being otherwise dressed up with several other pieces of jewellery.

In footage uploaded to her Instagram story, Roxy's hands can be seen clearly as she opens an Orange Louis Vuitton box.

Release: The post comes as Roxy's husband Oliver Curtis is expected to be released from prison next Friday following a one-year sentence for insider trading

No rock Roxy? The PR queen has been spotted without her engagement ring just one week before hubby Oliver Curtis is set to be released from jail

Roxy Jacenko has previously stated she doesn't wear her engagement bling at the gym.

In February, Daily Mail Australia reached out for comment after Roxy was seen heading to the gym without her wedding ring.

'I do weights based training, can't be doing that with rings on my fingers!' Roxy stated.
He's the Australian actor whose career has had a Hollywood Renaissance thanks to Emmy and Golden Globe nominations in recent years.

But Ben Mendelsohn has credited good friend Claudia Karvan with saving his acting career.

The 48-year-old actor told The Sydney Morning Herald: 'I tell you what, Claudia saved my career.'

From washing dishes to Golden Globe nominations: Ben Mendelsohn has had a Hollywood Renaissance thanks to Emmy and Golden Globe nominations in recent years

During the early 2000s the actor said he suffered a career set back with little work available as a result of the industry downturn.

He took work at a bakery and as a dishwasher at glamorous restaurants frequented by directors and film industry heavy weights, while living in a cheap apartment in Bondi.

In 2007, Claudia cast him as her love interest in the Foxtel drama Love My Way, which she co-created and starred in.

Career Renaissance: The 48-year-old has credited good friend Claudia Karvan with saving his acting career

Good friends: In 2007, Claudia cast him as her love interest in the Foxtel drama Love My Way, which she co-created and starred in (left to right: Brendan Cowell, Claudia Karvan, Ben Mendelsohn, Asher Keddie)

But even before that she already knew of his incredible acting ability having worked opposite him in the 1990 Australian film The Big Steal.

'I don't see anything different between his performances in Rogue One or Bloodline and The Big Steal... It was there at the beginning, he's just on a different stage now,' she said gushing about her good friend.

At the time, the Secret Life Of Us actress revealed that Ben was a controversial choice for the role.

'One director, when I told him, said, 'I wouldn't hire him until I could see the light back in his eyes. But we thought we'd won the lotto,' she told the publication.

Talented: Claudia said, 'I don't see anything different between his performances in Rogue One or Bloodline and The Big Steal... It was there at the beginning, he's just on a different stage now'

Movie hits: Since making the move to Hollywood five years ago, Ben has worked on numerous acclaimed projects, including Animal Kingdom (pictured with Jackie Weaver), The Dark Knight Rises and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Despite this, the show went on to recieve countless accolades the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series throughout its three season run.

Claudia also added that she occasionally gets calls from him thanking her for helping reinvigorate his career.

Since making the move to Hollywood five years ago, Ben has worked on numerous acclaimed projects, including Killing Them Softly, Animal Kingdom , The Dark Knight Rises and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

He is currently busy filming Robin Hood, directed by Joe Wright.
She recently celebrated her 10th anniversary on the Today show.

And on Friday night, the 57-year-old flaunted her age-defying complexion on a date night with her husband Peter FitzSimons.

Though she was wearing a stunning red dress from Steele, fans were more focused on how the TV journalist had maintained such flawless skin over the years.

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Flawless: On Friday night, 57-year-old Lisa Wilkinson flaunted her age-defying complexion on a date night with her husband Peter FitzSimons

'Date night with hubby. #Friyay,' she captioned the post.

Sporting a luminous glow, Lisa added a glossy pink lip to her outfit.

Comments were quick to compliment the mother-of three with one fan even calling her the female version of Benjamin Button.

Praise: Fans were quick to compliment the mother-of three with one fan even calling her the female version of Benjamin Button

How does she do it? Fans questioned how Lisa's skin was so flawless after years on TV

Her big secret: Lisa credited a basic pharmacy moisturiser for her incredible skin.

Speaking to Now To Love, Lisa credited a basic pharmacy moisturiser for her incredible skin.

'I absolutely love Cetaphil moisturizer,' she said.

'I buy it in a huge pump pack - I use it all over, every single day.'

Low maintenance: 'I absolutely love Cetaphil moisturizer'

It just glides on: Confirming Lisa did have a strict skincare regime, makeup artist Jo Bentlety said because of it, applying her makeup is an easy task

Speaking to Daily Mail in earlier in the year, Lisa's makeup artist Jo Bentley dished on the former Dolly editor's makeup favourites.

Confirming Lisa did have a strict skincare regime, she said because of it, applying her makeup is an easy task.

Also detailing on her favourite product, Jo said the Melli Cosmetics custom made lip gloss that she wears nearly every day tops Lisa's list, even declaring that she 'would drink it if she could!'
She announced her engagement to Mark Andrew Tabone in July last year during a romantic holiday in Malta.

And a photo posted by Lisa Curry to Instagram on Friday had fans questioning whether the pair had secretly wed on a holiday in Fiji.

The swimming legend, 55, was cuddled up to her Elvis impersonator fiance, 50, while ensuring her ring finger was on display.

Is that a wedding ring I see? Lisa Currys fans question surprise nuptials as the Olympian posts loved-up snap with fiance Mark Tabone in Fiji flashing her ring finger on Friday

With wedding bells in their near future, fans quickly jumped at the possible joyous news.

Lisa captioned the post without any mention to the rings,instead tagging her fiance and using hashtags 'happy place' and 'happy hormones'.

Fans commented eagerly: 'Did you get married!'

Others were drawn to the rings: 'Is that a wedding ring I see?' and 'wedding ring??'

'Did you get married!' With wedding bells in their near future, fans quickly jumped at the possible joyous news

Lisa chose not to respond to her 20.1k followers and has since posted another photo without addressing the questions.

Whether they had been wed or not, many users were simply happy at how loved-up the pair seemed.

'So happy you have found happiness Lisa', 'love you two. I can feel your happiness through a pic. XX' and 'This is such a gorgeous photo!', were just a few of the gushing posts.

Daily Mail Australia have reached out to Lisa Curry for comment.

'So happy you have found happiness Lisa': Whether they had been wed or not, many users were simply happy at how loved-up the pair seemed

Lisa and Mark confirmed their romance on New Year's Eve 2015, with Lisa sharing an end of year post on Facebook.

First she referred to her split with her boyfriend of two years, Joel Walkenhorst, before confirming her relationship with Mark.

Lisa was previously married to professional Iron Man Grant Kenny from 1986 to 2009, and the former couple share three children - daughters Jaimi, 28, and Morgan, 25, as well as son Jett, 21 - together.

Did they? Daily Mail Australia have reached out to Lisa Curry for comment
The happy couple welcomed their precious baby son Boston 10 weeks ago.

And Joanna Burgess and NRL star husband George stepped out on Friday with their cheurbic-faced newborn.

In a photo posted to Joanna's Instagram account, the tot was seen frowning in the arms of his father, with the blonde comically writing: 'poo face game strong.'

Mummas boy? Joanna Burgess newborn son Boston adorable frowns in father Georges arms while showing a cute cherubic smile in his mothers

She later shared a selfie with the baby cuddling up to her in a more settled state with a love-heart emoji as her caption.

The married couple appeared to be spending the morning in a cafe together, with the stroller sitting alongside the table.

To keep warm, Boston was dressed in a cute bunny-print onesie and had his cloud-print blanket nearby.

Adorable! To keep warm, Boston was dressed in a cute bunny-print onesie and had his cloud-print blanket nearby

Cute! Joanna often shares snaps of George cuddling up to his son and has previously admitted their bundle of joy has brought the pair closer

Joanna often shares snaps of George cuddling up to his son and has previously admitted their bundle of joy has brought the pair closer.

She revealed to The Daily Telegraph that motherhood has strengthened her relationship with George, 25.

'It's brought George and I even closer,' the 27-year-old gushed.

'It's brought us closer': Joanna, 27, revealed to The Daily Telegraph that the birth of son Boston strengthened her relationship with NRL star husband George, 25

'It's been a challenge but the best challenge - words can't even describe it,' Joanna told the publication of first-time motherhood.

'There is just so much love in our life. And it's brought George and I even closer,' she continued.

The interior design student also added that little Boston 'definitely looks like his dad.'

Bundle of joy: Joanna gave birth to Boston in April this year, after the couple's December nuptials

Joanna gave birth to Boston in April this year, after the couple's December nuptials.

An intimate ceremony in Noosa, Queensland, saw the whole Burgess clan together, including George's brother Sam and his wife Phoebe.

'What an unbelievable day it was last Saturday getting married to my queen,' George sweetly wrote online at the time.

New chapter: The Rabbitohs star proposed in January last year, confirming later in September that they were expecting their first child

'It was everything we could have imagined. Thanks to everyone who was a part of our special day, and those who were there in spirit,' he added.

The Rabbitohs star proposed in January last year, confirming later in September that they were expecting their first child.

Joanna regularly shared updates of her pregnancy journey with her 24,600 Instagram followers.
Things between she and new boyfriend Tesla founder Elon Musk are said to be getting serious.

But on Friday, it was girl time for Amber Heard as she was spotted having lunch with ex-girlfriend Tasya van Ree in Hollywood.

Amber has remained close friends with artist Tasya after the duo dated several years ago.

Catching up: Amber Heard had lunch with ex-girlfriend Tasya van Ree in Hollywood on Friday

The stunning 31-year-old actress sported cropped Mother jeans, a white tee, and a wide-brimmed black hat with trendy cat-eyed sunglasses

The stunning 31-year-old actress sported a wide-brimmed black hat with trendy cat-eyed sunglasses.

She wore a white t-shirt and black cropped Mother Denim jeans that were frayed at the hemline, which showed her ankles.

The Zombieland actress picked a pair of patent leather flats for her walk around LA.

Amber and Tasya, whose name she once adopted, have remained on good terms since their break-up.

On March in 2008 in California, the star legally changed her name to Amber Van Ree and stated the reason to do so as they were in a 'domestic partnership'.

Happy: The slender actress has just returned from filming Aquaman in Australia

Three months later, California started issuing marriage licences to gay couples but that was halted later that year, with gay marriage not legal in California again until 2013 and across the US until 2015.

A source told British paper The Mirror that the couple went on to have a private ceremony in 2011 in New York, when same-sex marriage was legalized there - but did not make it legally official.

Since her divorce from Johnny Depp, which was finalized in January, Amber has been nearly inseparable from new beau Elon Musk.

A source told People, 'Its definitely not a casual relationship. Thats not Elon. He doesnt do anything casually.'

Sealed with a kiss: Amber and Elon, seen here in an Instagram picture she posted in April, are 'getting more serious'

The source continued that Elon, 45, 'is still very fascinated by Amber and loves her company. He seems very happy with her. She is spending a lot of time with his kids.'

Heard, 31, posted a series of photos playing with his sons Damian, Kai, Saxon, Xavier, and Griffin at the Sydney Opera House while they were in Australia as she filmed Aquaman in May.

His children are from his first marriage to wife Justine. His second marriage was to Westworld actress Talulah Riley, but they divorced in 2015.

Prior to their relationship, it is said that Amber refused to date Elon for 'a long time.'

She confirmed they were together in an Instagram post back in April, where they sat next to each other and he sported a kiss print on his cheek from Amber's lips.

It's a wrap: She recently finished filming her scenes as Mera in Aquaman, here she is seen as the character in this year's Justice League

Amber recently wrapped her scenes as Mera in Aquaman and has returned to Los Angeles.

She posted a photo from the makeup chair in May and revealed that she trained for six months and denied herself donuts to get prepared for the role.

It's been said her outfit was so tight that she could not sit down and that crew members followed her with a leaning wall for relief between takes.
Chloe Lattanzi knows how to get her fiance James Driskill's attention, she just poses for a sexy photo.

The the 31-year-old shared her seduction technique on Instagram on Saturday, across three saucy instructive snaps.

She captioned the images: 'When you in the mood for your man, but he's playing video games..... so you take sexy pics send them and..... oh here he comes!'

Love on the menu: Chloe Lattanzi knows how to get her fiance James Driskill's attention, she just poses for a sexy photo

In the series of images, the beauty, wearing skin-tight leggings and a revealing work out top, is posed on all fours on the bed.

Her skimpy bra top barely contains her ample assets as she gives the camera a peace sign.

In another image, a 'mermaid vibes' cap sits upon her head, and the blonde shoots a seductive look off camera.

Chloe moved with James, 33, to Oregon in December last year to set up a cannabis business in The Beaver State, where growing the plant is legal.

She captioned the images: 'When you in the mood for your man, but he's playing video games..... so you take sexy pics send them and..... oh here he comes!'

The dancer and her Jiu-Jitsu instructor partner announced their engagement in 2010.

They were forced to cancel their nuptials the following year due to Chloe's personal struggles.

In 2013, they sparked wedding rumours when they were spotted shopping for rings in California.

Saucy: In the image, the beauty, wearing skin-tight leggings and a revealing work out top, is posed on all fours on the bed

Earlier this week, Chloe hit back at 'internet trolls' who labelled her 'unhealthy' after she shared a very slender photo of herself wearing a boob tube top and smoking a cigarette.

'Ok I'm too skinny. Say what you like. I can't care anymore. I am in so much pain,' she responded on Instagram.

Loved up: Chloe moved with James to Oregon in December last year to set up a cannabis business in The Beaver State, where growing the plant is legal

Engaged: The pair have been engaged since 2010

'OK I'm too skinny.... I am in so much pain': Earlier this week, the 31-year-old addressed criticism over this picture she posted online

She then revealed she had been 'sobbing for an hour' after being criticised online.

Clearly struggling with current issues, she referenced her past battle with anorexia and depression in the harrowing post.

'Since I was born, this has been my life. This life is also what I believe what made me sick. The anorexia the depression', she wrote.

In an earlier post, Chloe vented 'social media is toxic, f*ck'.
Billie Lourd has responded to the coroner's report on her mother Carrie Fisher that was released on Friday.

The report determined Fisher died from sleep apnea and 'a combination of other factors', but investigators haven't been able to pinpoint an exact cause, and it was noted that Fisher had taken multiple drugs before her death.

'My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases,' Lourd said in a statement to People.

Billie Lourd has commented on the coroner's report about her mother Carrie Fisher's death on Friday, telling People, 'My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life'

Fisher died from sleep apnea and 'a combination of other factors', said the LA County's officials said Friday. She also had 'multiple drugs in her system', but investigators could not determine whether they contributed to her death (Pictured left in June 2016, and right in November 2016)

'She talked about the shame that torments people and their families confronted by these diseases. I know my Mom, shed want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles,' the 24-year-old Scream Queens actress continued.

She finished her statement with: 'Seek help, fight for government funding for mental health programs. Shame and those social stigmas are the enemies of progress to solutions and ultimately a cure. Love you Momby.'

Billie is Carrie's daughter with Hollywood agent Bryan Lourd, who left his marriage with Carrie for a man.

Close: Billie was Carrie's only daughter, her father is Hollywood agent Bryan Lourd

Among the factors that contributed to Fisher's death was buildup of fatty tissue in the walls of her arteries, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said on Friday.

The release states that the Star Wars actress showed signs of having taken multiple drugs, but investigators could not determine whether they contributed to her death in December.

The death certificate that was issued on January 9 by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health listed 'cardiac arrest/deferred' as the cause.

Tribute: Billie posted this photo with her mother and grandmother Debbie Reynolds one week after they both died one day apart from each other in December 2016

Fisher, 60, suffered a medical emergency on an international flight on December 23. Following four days in the intensive care at UCLA Medical Center, she passed away on December 27.

Her mother, Golden Age movie star Debbie Reynolds, died the following day after suffering a stroke.

Fisher's brother, Todd Fisher, said he was not surprised by the results. He added that his family did not want a coroner's investigation of his sister's death.

Fisher's brother, Todd Fisher, said he was not surprised by the results. 'I would tell you, from my perspective that there's certainly no news that Carrie did drugs', he said (Fisher pictured as Princess Leia in a 1977 still for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope)

'We're not enlightened. There's nothing about this that is enlightening,' he said.

'I would tell you, from my perspective that there's certainly no news that Carrie did drugs.'

He noted that his sister wrote about her drug use frequently, and that many of the drugs she took were prescribed by doctors to try to treat her mental health conditions.

Fisher long battled drug addiction and mental illness. She said she smoked pot at 13, used LSD by 21 and was diagnosed as bipolar at 24 (Pictured from left to right: Mark Hamill as Luke, Fisher as Princess Leia and Harrison Ford as Hans Solo, in a 1977 still for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope)

Fisher long battled drug addiction and mental illness. She said she smoked pot at 13, used LSD by 21 and was diagnosed as bipolar at 24. She was treated with electroshock therapy and medication.

'I am not shocked that part of her health was affected by drugs,' Todd Fisher said.

He said his sister's heart condition was probably worsened by her smoking habit, as well as the medications she took.

'If you want to know what killed her, it's all of it,' he said.

Todd Fisher said it was difficult to blame doctors who treated his sister because they were trying to help her.

Her mother, Golden Age movie star Debbie Reynolds (pictured, left, with Fisher in 1997), died the following day after she suffered a stroke

'They were doing their best to cure a mental disorder. Can you really blame them?' he said.

'Without her drugs, maybe she would have left long ago.'

Carrie Fisher made her feature film debut opposite Warren Beatty in the 1975 hit Shampoo but rose to fame as Princess Leia in George Lucas's Star Wars trilogy.

She also appeared in Austin Powers, The Blues Brothers, Charlie's Angels, Hannah and Her Sisters, Scream 3 and When Harry Met Sally.
They confirmed their engagement on the pink carpet at a YSL event in Melbourne in April.

And actor Anthony LaPaglia, 58, and his fiancee Alexandra Henkel, 28, appear to still be on cloud nine after their exciting announcement.

The couple were spotted by the valet after dinner at the exclusive Nobu restaurant in Malibu, on Wednesday.

Still on cloud nine! actor Anthony LaPaglia, 58, and his fiancee Alexandra Henkel, 28, were recently spotted looking as loved up as ever outside Nobu in Malibu

They held hands and look as loved up as ever, sharing a sweet kiss and snuggle.

Alexandra looked elegant in her simple grey shift dress that featured a slight thigh split and cosy in her long ash, brown and orange coat.

She teamed the evening ensemble with a pair of nude stilettos and a classic Saint Laurent Sac Du Jour bag.

Smitten: Alexandra looked elegant in her simple grey shift dress that featured a slight thigh split and cosy in her long ash, brown and orange coat

Snuggle: Anthony was dashing in head-to-toe black with a fitted blazer, T-shirt, jeans and boots

Meanwhile, Anthony was dashing in head-to-toe black with a fitted blazer, T-shirt, jeans and boots.

The Without A Trace star also sported a younger and rugged look with darker coloured hair and a growing beard, a far cry from the silver fox look in April.

Anthony and Alexandra first made their relationship public three months after splitting up with his wife of 17 years actress Gia Carides, with whom he shares a daughter.

Confirmed: They made their engagement public on the pink carpet at the YSL event in Melbourne in April

Old love: Despite his relationship breakdown his wife of 17 years actress Gia Carides he said their marriage was not a failure. 'It's an emotionally tough thing to go through but it happens and it's about adjusting to the fact that people change, life changes,' he said

Despite their relationship breakdown, the actor has said that he doesn't consider their marriage a failure, in a report by The Herald Sun.

'Twenty years is a long time for any relationship and so many positive and great things came out of it  my daughter being one of them.

'It's an emotionally tough thing to go through but it happens and it's about adjusting to the fact that people change, life changes.'

Aside from starring opposite Michelle Rodriguez in The Assignment as Honest John Hartunian, Anthony will star in the TV mini series Bad Blood, and the upcoming horror sequel Annabelle: Creation alongside Miranda Otto.
Radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson is the latest celebrity to throw their support behind Carrie Bickmore.

The Project host was slammed for 'insensitivity' after launching a Beanies 4 Brain Cancer appeal on the same day as a rival fundraiser for motor neurone disease.

After Kate Richie rushed to support the 36-year-old on Wednesday, Jackie O and her daughter Kitty were proudly flaunting beanies from Carrie's charity on Saturday.

You've got a friend in me! Radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson is the latest celebrity to throw their support behind Carrie Bickmore, after The Project host was criticised online during the week

The adorable Instagram snap saw the KIIS FM beauty, 42, with her arms wrapped around Kitty, 6.

The mother-daughter duo both looked thrilled with their new pink beanies from The Project host's charity.

It appeared the snap was taken on a school day, as adorable Kitty appeared to be wearing her uniform.

'Loving these pink beanies @bickmorecarrie,' Jackie wrote in the caption.

Thrilled! Jackie, 42 and Kitty, 6, both looked thrilled with their new pink beanies from The Project host's charity

Slammed: The Project host, 36, was slammed for 'insensitivity' after launching a Beanies 4 Brain Cancer appeal on the same day as a rival fundraiser for motor neurone disease

'Yay!! Glad they arrived!!!' Carrie later replied.

Which prompted Jackie to return: 'They did and we love them. Gorgeous colour.'

On Wednesday, Home and Away veteran Kate Richie, 38, shared a similar snap with her two-year-old daughter Mae.

'Thank you for our beanies @carriebickmore. Well done to you and to all the people, all over, who support a good cause close to their heart,' she captioned the picture.

Support: On Wednesday, Home and Away veteran Kate Richie, 38, shared a similar snap with her two-year-old daughter Mae, captioning the snap: 'There's room for everyone'

Debate: Carrie announced her new charity appeal on The Project on Monday, but was slammed for 'insensitivity' after launching on the same day as Neale Daniher's Big Freeze for MND

The Nova FM personality also appeared to address the charity controversy, by adding the hash tag, 'There's room for everyone'.

The photo was posted less than 24 hours after Carrie acknowledged the unexpected fan backlash.

Some alleged foul play after she launched her charity campaign on the same day as Neale Daniher's Big Freeze for MND.

Speaking on The Project, she said: 'Honestly it was completely unintentional.

'Absolutely gutted': On Tuesday, Carrie addressed the controversy on The Project saying that the clash was 'completely unintentional'. Pictured with co-host Waleed Aly (left)

'I spoke to Neale today, they had an incredibly successful campaign yesterday which is great news.

'We both pour our heart and souls into these campaigns and I have been absolutely gutted that anyone would think I would try and derail someone else's lifesaving work. I just wouldn't. It doesn't benefit us in any way to do that.'

In 2010, Carrie lost her husband, Greg Lange, to brain cancer and subsequently launched the Beanies 4 Brain Cancer charity.

Under fire: Social media users slammed Carrie for what they perceived as 'insensitivity'

However, the Gold Logie winner came under fire on social media after launching the latest campaign on Monday.

Several users took to Twitter to complain about the clash, with one stating, 'I'm quite disgusted in insensitivity shown to #FreezeMND #TheProjectTV are being. I realise both causes are worthy but please inappropriate today'.

Despite the complaints, the Carrie's beanies have been wildly popular, with buyers now having to wait eight weeks to have their charitable accessory delivered.
The split rumours that once plagued Georgia Love and Lee Elliott are now a distant memory.

And judging by what Lee, 36, had the pleasure of seeing Friday, there's been plenty of happier ones to take its place.

His stunning Bachelorette star girlfriend took to Instagram to share a very raunchy bath snap from their romantic getaway at the Grand Hyatt, Melbourne.

Raunchy! On Saturday, Georgia Love shared a raunchy bath snap from her romantic getaway with Lee Elliott at the Ambassador suite of the Grand Hyatt, Melbourne

Georgia reclined on the edge of the tub, allowing her bath robe to slip to her shoulders.

She shot a seductive look to camera, which was likely manned by her reality star beau.

The picture was just one of many from the couple's lavish stay at the Ambassador Suite, which offers Friday room rates in excess of $1540 per night.

Sneak peak! Georgia gave fans a look inside the impressive 100 Square Foot room via her Instagram story

Lucky couple! 'But it keeps going,' Georgia said in one of the video tours, walking around to reveal the king bed and panoramic city views

Georgia gave fans a look inside the impressive 100 Square Foot room via her Instagram story.

A video showed fans the modern-styled quarters, featuring long grey lounges and chic black furnishings.

'But it keeps going,' Georgia said in one of the video tours, walking around to reveal the king bed and panoramic city views.

Welcome! Georgia and Lee received gifts upon entry, including a letter that read: 'We hope you enjoy your stay while experiencing our new Southern American BBQ Burn City pop-up!'

Another image showed that they were greeted with chocolate fondue, strawberries, a bottle of champagne and a welcome letter.

The letter read in part: Dear Lee + Georgia, We hope you enjoy your stay while experiencing our new Southern American BBQ Burn City pop-up!'

In the next image, they visited the temporary restaurant in question, with Lee pictured enjoying some Oysters.

Chow down! In the next image, they visited the temporary restaurant in question, with Lee pictured enjoying some Oysters

Georgia later tagged the eatery who'd sent her the lovely welcome letter in a video and was heard saying 'meat meat meat,' as she enjoyed her steak dinner.

Next, she chowed down on a burger and sipped red wine, captioning the snap 'So. Happy.'

It was unclear as to whether or not the brunette beauty was staying with the Grand Hyatt as a guest of the hotel or Burn City Smokers.

Daily Mail Australia reached out to both for comment.
He recently revealed that his daughters 'love' his younger girlfriend.

And on Friday, Bob Saget was joined by his lady, Kelly Rizzo, and two of his three children for the Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine benefit in Los Angeles.

The 61-year-old actor was the honored at the event, which was created to aide in funding the Scleroderma Research Foundation.

HIs big night: On Friday, Bob Saget was honored at the Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine benefit in Los Angeles

The Fuller House star looked dapper in a dark suit and glasses.

Mark's eldest daughters, Aubrey and Lara, 27, joined their father for his big night. The comedian shares his girls, including youngest Jennifer, with screenwriter ex-wife Sherri Kramer.

Also along for the evening was Bob's travel host girlfriend Kelly Rizzo, who, at 38, is 23 years younger than the sitcom star.

Supporting their father: The Fuller House star was joined by two of his three daughters; twins Aubrey and Lara

Standing with her man: Also along for the evening was the star's much-younger girlfriend, Kelly Rizzo, 38

They're fans! Bob has said that his daughters 'love' his new lady

Happy days: The group was joined by realtor and entrepreneur, Adam Saget

In an interview with Closer Weekly, Bob revealed how his relationship was unexpected.

'I didn't think I'd have a relationship again. I was kind of in that "just work, make people happy and take care of your kids until they're 90" mindset.'

He also said that his daughters are fans of his lady love.

'My daughters love her!'

Beautiful: Bob's TV daughter Jodie Sweetin, 35, looked lovely in a cut-out, off-the-shoulder blouse and wide leg pant

Full House kids: Candace Cameron Bure, 41, was quite the vision in a bronze dress as she supported her TV dad's big night

While it was a family night for the star, his TV daughters were also on hand for the event.

Jodie Sweetin, 35, looked lovely in a cut-out, off-the-shoulder blouse and wide leg pant, while Candace Cameron Bure, 41, was quite the vision in a bronze dress.

Additionally, Bob's Fuller House co-star Dave Coulier also came out, along with Ryan Gosling and Jimmy Kimmel.

In this together: The actor's sitcom co-star and fellow comedienne Dave Coulier, 57, comically held hands with his pal

Handsome: Ryan Gosling, 36, looked dapper in a striped suit during the evening
She recently admitted her famous father Lionel Richie tracks her phone daily.

And on Friday night, 18-year-old Sofia Richie didn't seem to be too worried about her dad checking in as she clutched her phone while making her way into The Nice Guy in Los Angeles.

Richie was decked out in a fresh white tracksuit that flashed just a hint of her toned tummy.

Hot spot: Sofia Richie was seen making her way into LA restaurant The Nice Guy on Friday night

The outfit was made slightly more formal by a pair of black high heels for her night out.

The model's blonde locks were worn in a chic wavy bob with a center part.

After being spotted with Scott Disick in Cannes last month, Sofia took to Twitter to set the record straight.

Chic: Her blonde locks were worn in a wavy bob with a middle part for the outing

White hot: The model mixed casual and formal, sporting a white tracksuit with black heels

'Just so everyone can get their panties out of their asses, Scott and I are just homies #relax,' she tweeted.

A few days later she posted: 'My dad tracks my phone once a day. Awkwardly enough I get a notification every time. I think it's funny so I don't tell him I know.'

Though she claimed that she was just friends with Disick, they raised eyebrows on June 9th when they stepped out together arm-in-arm in Malibu for sushi.

Low-key: Richie was decked out in a fresh white tracksuit that flashed just a hint of her toned tummy

Stepping out: The outfit was made slightly more formal by a pair of black high heels for her night out

Both parties have been keeping in touch since their Cannes trip where she was seen flashing a boob as they partied on a yacht.

Sofia was even seen on FaceTime chatting with the legendary lothario in the terminal after touching down in Los Angeles.

Prior to the trip, Scott had proclaimed himself a 'horrible sex addict,' the father-of-three confessed to his 'condition' earlier in May on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Heading off: The star clambered into a cap and sped off into the night
She's the Auckland-born stunner who made her Victoria's Secret runway debut alongside supermodel Bella Hadid last year.

And Georgia Fowler has taken to Instagram to share an early birthday snap of herself seductively lying on a yacht.

In her racy photo, the 24-year-old is topless, wearing only a pair of retro sunglasses and a tiny bikini bottom alongside a blonde gal pal in the background.

Working on your tan? On Saturday, stunning New Zealand model Georgia Fowler took to Instagram to share a racy photo of herself tanning topless on a yacht

She captioned the post: 'Birthday Suit,' and including a cake emoji.

Her legions of fans complimented her on her enviable physique and wished her a Happy Birthday.

One said: 'happy birthday you beautiful human.'

While another fan simply added fire emojis.

Sizzling hot! Georgia Fowler took to Instagram to show off her model looks while behind the scenes of a glamorous photo shoot in Mexico

In May, she took to Instagram to show off her model looks while behind the scenes of a glamorous photo shoot in Mexico.

Georgia soaked up the sun as she showed off her tanned and toned physique with a peek of her ample assets.

Georgia wore an extremely low-cut black bikini top which showed off a hint of her tanned bust.

Her slender arms and chest were also on show as she posed effortlessly in the sun.

Born with it! Georgia often takes to social media to flaunt her glowing complexion and striking facial features

With her eyes closed and looking away from the camera, she showed off her impressive makeup with a fierce black winged eyeliner.

The rest of her makeup was kept natural and bronzed with her lips looking slightly chapped.

Her hair was slicked back off her face and kept secure with large silver clips.

Georgia captioned the snap with: 'Like a cat in the sun, meow!'

Rising star: The Auckland-born stunner made her Victoria's Secret runway debut alongside supermodel Bella Hadid last year

Tagged in the photo was Vogue Mexico, leading fans to believe she was behind the scenes of a shoot with the iconic magazine when she shot the selfie.

Her 263k followers fawned over the pic as it welcomed over 11,000 likes.

Adoring fans commented saying: 'You are flawless!' and 'So stunning'.

One makeup fan admired the pic saying: 'Oh damn I bet those wings can cut through butter!'
She's been modelling since the tender age of 15.

And Alessandra Ambrosio showed off her catwalk credentials as she stepped out in Malibu on Friday.

The Brazilian Victoria's Secret Angel, 36, showed off her endless legs in a chic ensemble as she headed to SoHo House with pal Milan Blagojevic.

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Heavenly: Alessandra Ambrosio showed off her catwalk credentials as she stepped out in Malibu on Friday

Looking effortlessly chic, the brunette beauty teamed a pair of gold embossed shorts, teaming it with a white t-shirt.

Injecting a hint of biker chic to her ensemble, she opted for a pair of biker boots and accessorised with a studded chain bag.

Completing the ensemble with an oversized denim jacket, the mother-of-two oozed understated style.

The beauty went for minimal make-up, making the most of her natural beauty, as she chatted easily with her pal.

Supermodel statistics: The Brazilian Victoria's Secret Angel, 36, showed off her endless legs in a chic ensemble as she headed to SoHo House with pal Milan Blagojevic

Milan, who is often seen travelling with a gaggle of supermodels including Adriana Lima and Heidi Klum, cut a casual figure in roll up jeans and loafers as they headed to the exclusive ocean-side members only club.

Alessandra is mother to daughter Anja, eight, and son Noah, five, with her partner of nine years Jamie Mazur.

The Brazilian model began dating Jamie, founder of RE/DONE jeans, in 2005.

Catwalk credentials: Looking effortlessly chic, the brunette beauty teamed a pair of gold embossed shorts, teaming it with a white t-shirt

The couple became engaged on 12 May 2008 after Alessandra became pregnant with their daughter.

However the couple are in no rush to get married, with the model telling presenter Mario Lopez last year: 'When I do the wedding, it's gonna be very special, so I want to take time for that.'

Alessandra recently spoke candidly about becoming a mother in an interview with Net-A-Porter last year and admitted since having children, her approach to modelling has changed.

Chic: Injecting a hint of biker chic to her ensemble, she opted for a pair of biker boots and accessorised with a studded chain bag

Casual: Completing the ensemble with an oversized denim jacket, the mother-of-two oozed understated style

Less is more :The beauty went for minimal make-up, making the most of her natural beauty, as she chatted easily with her pal

The fashion star explained: 'I used to be 100% comfortable on lingerie shoots - then I had a child.

'Somehow it felt a bit weirder to be in lingerie once I was a mum. Your body will never go back to exactly what it was before pregnancy, whatever people tell you. It can't.

'But I think I have a better body now than before I had kids... it just looks more formed now and I feel better about it than I did.'

Friends in high places: Milan, who is often seen travelling with a gaggle of supermodels including Adriana Lima and Heidi Klum, cut a casual figure in roll up jeans and loafers as they headed to the exclusive ocean-side members only club

Swift exit: The pals left the plush club following a quiet evening
She's the blonde socialite who has never been afraid to flaunt her near-naked form on social media.

And Imogen Anthony did not disappoint on Saturday when she shared yet another skin-baring selfie on Instagram.

The 26-year-old posed in front of a mirror, running her hand seductively through her blonde locks.

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Racy: Imogen Anthony turned up the raunch factor on Saturday when she posed nearly naked for a steamy mirror selfie

Wearing nothing but black G-string and a studded bracelet, Imogen barely covered her assets by holding her arms strategically across her chest.

Standing with her legs astride, the girlfriend of Kyle Sandilands, 46, taut and slender pins were on full display, while her enviable torso also took centre stage in the photo.

Imogen's legion of fans were quick to gush at the steamy post with many congratulating her shock-jock boyfriend.

Flaunt it: Wearing nothing but black G-string and a studded bracelet, Imogen barely covered her assets by holding her arms strategically across her chest.

'God Kyle is a lucky man, he deserves it but,' one fan offered while another could only manage a 'Ooohhhhhweeeeee,' in response to the steamy selfie.

It seems that Imogen's track record of daring social media photos is encouraged by beau Kyle.

Speaking on his KIIS FM breakfast show on Friday, Kyle revealed that Imogen would not take kindly to being told to cover up.

Hot bod: Standing with her legs astride, the girlfriend of Kyle Sandilands, 46, taut and slender pins were on full display, while her enviable torso also took centre stage in the photo

'I have my opinion and I voice it strongly, but she doesn't care what I think,' Kyle admitted.

He also revealed that Imogen's mother isn't as big a fan of her steamy selfies as much as he is.

'Imogen's mum doesn't like her doing the half naked shots,' he said. 'But i encourage her to do whatever she feels like she wants to do.'
She's achieved international fashion fame since winning Australia's Next Top Model in 2009.

So it was no surprise Tahnee Atkinson scored an invitation to the star-studded Dolce and Gabbana runway show in Milan on Friday.

The 25-year-old took to Instagram to share a photo of herself stepping out of a car outside event, clad in a black corset top that could barely contain her ample assets.

Busting out! On Friday, Tahnee Atkinson shared a photo of herself stepping out of a car outside event, clad in a black corset top that could barely contain her ample assets

The genetically-blessed star, who is currently signed to IMG Models, also added a pair of metallic patterned leggings to complete the look.

'Is it even legal to be this beautiful?' wrote on fan beneath the picture.

Another admirer more bluntly posted: 'Hottest chick on the planet'.

BFFs: Earlier in the night, Tahnee shared a picture to her Instagram Story that showed her spending time with close pal Jordan

Meanwhile, earlier in the night, Tahnee shared a picture to her Instagram Story that showed her spending time with close pal and fellow model Jordan Barrett.

Handsome Jordan, 20, looked dapper in a black tuxedo teamed with a pair of stylish black-rimmed specs.

The Byron Bay native held a cigarette in his right hand, while giving his signature smirk for Tahnee's camera.

Close: Jordan frequently appears on Tahnee's Instagram account

Earlier in the week, Jordan made headlines after he was linked to supermodel Bella Hadid, after the pair were pictured lounging in their underwear together inside Bella's New York apartment.

Shortly after sharing the photo, Bella took to Tiwtter to address rumours they were more than friends.

'J is like a brother to me buhhh this just ruined the surprise interview w/ @DerekBlasberg coming soon,' she Tweeted.

Jordan has previously been romantically linked to a slew of high profile models, including Lara Stone and Megan Blake Irwin.
He has been embracing single life after his high-profile marriage to Angelina Jolie broke down in September last year.

And Brad Pitt was seemingly seen sprucing up his bachelor pad on Friday as he moves on with his life in the Los Feliz, California home he previously shared with his family.

Giving his house a new lease of life, the American actor, 53, had a huge tree delivered to the property with the help of ten workers.

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New leaf of life! Brad Pitt spruced up bachelor pad with huge tree on Friday as he moves on from split with Angelina Jolie in the family home

The Allied star appeared to be adding some finishing touches to his property which was his kids' first real 'childhood home'.

Meanwhile, Angelina purchased a six-bedroom house reportedly for $25 million just five minutes away from her ex husband.

The Oscar-winning actress will live in the luxurious mansion with their six children: Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and twins Vivienne and Knox, eight.

Delivery! The American actor, 53, seemingly had a huge tree delivered to the property with the help of ten workers

Brad will be able to spend plenty of time with their kids thanks to the pad's close proximity to the Lara Croft icon's new home.

The World War Z actor has been throwing himself into his high-flying acting career and a secret art project following the collapse of their 12-year marriage.

Doing what he does best, the Hollywood hunk has been promoting his new film War Machine as he puts on a brave face as he makes his return to the big screen.

Revealed: The Allied star appeared to be adding some finishing touches to his property which was his kids' first real 'childhood home' as Angelina moves in with the kids five minutes away

The upcoming flick sees Brad take on the leading role of an overly confident general who leads the army into Afghanistan on a mission to win the war.

Recently, he has also been seen working through the night on what was understood to be a sculpture under the guidance of British artist Thomas Houseago.

Following a turbulent year, Brad has been focusing on recovery as the teetotal star has been attending therapy sessions after 'boozing' had 'ripped apart' his family.

Together: The former married couple share six children together, Maddox (pictured R), 15, Pax, 13, Zahara (pictured L), 12, Shiloh, 10, and twins Vivienne and Knox, eight (November 2016)

In May, the Fight Club actor gave a brave candid interview to GQ magazine where he was asked if it felt like he was grieving a death to which he simply replied: 'Yeah.'

At first the Mr and Mrs Smith star found it too difficult to remain in the family home so he stayed with a friend while he mended his broken heart.

'It was too sad to be here at first, so I went and stayed on a friend's floor, a little bungalow in Santa Monica,' he told the publication.

'This house was always chaotic and crazy, voices and bangs coming from everywhere, and then, as you see, there are days like this: veryvery solemn.'

Heartbreaking: The lovebirds (pictured together at Kensington Palace on May 8, 2014 in London) were married for 12 years before they announced their split

The sprawling Los Feliz mansion had held a lot of sentimental value for him as it was his kids' first real 'childhood home'.

The couple initially fell in love on the set of the 2005 movie Mr and Mrs Smith where they played the leading roles as a married couple who are assigned to kill each other.

Now Brad is channeling his energy into crafting his home which he first purchased for $1.7 million in July 1994.



Over the next 22 years - twelve years of which he spent with Jolie - the estate grew to encompass five adjoining properties.
She's the busy PR maven who was doting on her sick daughter Pixie, 5, on Friday.

And Roxy Jacenko was tending to her son Hunter, 3, on Saturday, fortifying his body against illness with a hearty bowl of matzo ball soup.

Hunter shared a photo to his Instagram page (which is administered by his mother) that showed the cherubic toddler tucking into the soup that was home delivered by Double Bay eatery Twenty One.

Doting mother: Roxy Jacenko was tending to her son Hunter, 3, on Saturday, fortifying his body against illness with a hearty bowl of matzo ball soup

With his eyes fixed firmly on his bowl, Hunter held a spoonful of soup to his lips, looking as though there was nothing he'd rather be doing.

Hunter's cropped golden fringe fell down his forehead as he ate while he was dressed in a cute pyjama top with cartoon cars emblazoned across it.

'When George at #twentyone delivers - Matzo Ball soup delicious,' the cut dinnertime photo was captioned.

Big appetite: With his eyes fixed firmly on his bowl, Hunter held a spoonful of soup to his lips, looking as though there was nothing he'd rather be doing

Hunter's photo set some of his followers' stomachs growling with fans commenting with the likes of: 'fixes everything,' and 'Mmmm.'

On Friday night Roxy shared an image of her daughter Pixie, 5, sleeping sick in bed.

She captioned the image: 'Poor Poor little monkey feeling so poorly' using a monkey emoji to symbolise the word.

Roxy Jacenko is a busy PR Maven but she's also a dedicated mother: On Friday night the 37-year-old shared an image of her daughter Pixie, 5, sleeping sick in bed

Roxy also added a pill emoji to the post.

In the image, Pixie, who appears to be asleep, lays in bed with her arms over her head, her normally slicked back hair around her face.

Fans quickly showed support, with one writing: 'It's so sad when they're sick'.

Another weighed in: 'It's that time of the year, sending warm cuddles your way Pixie hope you are feeling better soon'.

The post comes as Roxy's husband Oliver Curtis is expected to be released from prison next Friday following a one-year sentence for insider trading.

Fans quickly showed support, with one writing: 'It's so sad when they're sick'.

The disgraced former investment banker could be released from Cooma Correctional Centre as early as June 23, if he qualifies for good behaviour.

The PR queen was spotted without the stunning diamond engagement ring again on Friday, despite being otherwise dressed up with several other pieces of jewellery.

In footage uploaded to her Instagram story, Roxy's hands can be seen clearly as she opens an Orange Louis Vuitton box.

Release: The post comes as Roxy's husband Oliver Curtis is expected to be released from prison next Friday following a one-year sentence for insider trading

No rock Roxy? The PR queen has been spotted without her engagement ring just one week before hubby Oliver Curtis is set to be released from jail

Roxy Jacenko has previously stated she doesn't wear her engagement bling at the gym.

In February, Daily Mail Australia reached out for comment after Roxy was seen heading to the gym without her wedding ring.

'I do weights based training, can't be doing that with rings on my fingers!' Roxy stated.
She stars in a number of raunchy scenes in financial drama Billions.

But Malin Akerman opted for a more covered-up look as she attended a photocall for the series at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival on Saturday.

The actress, 39, looked chic in a white and black trouser suit, which featured an unusual geometric print all over.

Chic: Malin Akerman looked chic in a white and black trouser suit as she attended a Billions photocall at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival on Saturday

The Swedish-born star displayed a hint of cleavage beneath the Oriental-inspired jacket, with the flared trousers elongating her lengthy pins.

Keeping to the monochrome theme, she boosted her height further with a pair of black stiletto heels, adding a large statement claw ring to finish.

Rocking a choppy blonde bob, Malin accentuated her eyes with lashings of mascara and black kohl, before highlighting her lips with a pink lipstick.

Beauty: Rocking a choppy blonde bob, Malin accentuated her eyes with lashings of mascara and black kohl, before highlighting her lips with a pink lipstick

Stylish: The Swedish-born star displayed a hint of cleavage beneath the Oriental-inspired jacket, with the flared trousers elongating her lengthy pins

Malin attended the opening ceremony of the Monte Carlo Television Festival on Friday night, opting for a glamorous lace jumpsuit for the occasion.

The blonde beauty accessorised the sophisticated number with a metallic clutch bag and a pair of silver earrings.

A third series of hit Showtime drama Billions, which also stars Damian Lewis, was announced in March, with the second series airing earlier this year.

Finishing touches: Keeping to a monochrome theme, she added a statement claw ring to finish off the look

The show, follows ambitious hedge fund manager Bobby 'Axe' Axelrod, played by Damian, as one of the only survivors in his company following the September 11 attacks in New York.

Malin stars as Bobby's devoted wife Lara, who comes from a lower-class upbringing but has left her old life behind for a lavish existence with the city worker.

Away from work, the actress, who shares son Sebastian with musician ex Roberto Zincone, recently went public with new actor beau Jack Donnelly.

Glamorous: Malin attended the opening ceremony of the Monte Carlo Television Festival on Friday night, opting for a glamorous lace jumpsuit for the occasion

Speaking about the blossoming relationship, a source told People Magazine: 'They are together and really happy in one another's company.'

Malin has spoken previously about her split from Roberto, saying in 2016: 'It was jarring at first.'

'You cant control life. I roll with the punches and ultimately its like, "Where is the opportunity in this?"'
She's the former Miss World Australia who turns heads wherever she goes.

And Erin Holland certainly stood out at the star-studded Moet Gold Party in Sydney on Saturday night.

The model, 28, showed off her endless pins in an eye-catching Nicola Finetti frock that featured gold patterning.

Golden girl: All eyes were on former Miss World Australia Erin Holland at the Moet Gold Party in Sydney on Saturday night

The designer dress- which retails for $590- was short in length and featured only one strap, allowing Erin to flash some flesh as she posed against a media wall.

The statuesque stunner, who stands at 177cm tall, added a pair of gold Siren heels to the outfit, accentuating her already long legs.

Staying true to the theme of the evening, the model accessorised with gold statement jewellery

Trim pins: Erin showed off her endless pins in a navy Nicola Finetti frock

For the occasion, Erin had her brunette tresses preened to perfection by hair stylist Kevin McKenzie and kept her make-up minimal, allowing her to show off her natural beauty.

The beauty was just one of a number of high-profile stars to attend the glitzy event, held at Coogee Bay Pavilion in the city's eastern suburbs.

Jessinta Franklin, Natalie Roser and Amy Pejkovic were among the other big names in attendance.

Golden shower: Erin was the centre of attention as she launched a tube of confetti into the air

Endless pins: The brunette added a pair of gold Siren heels to the outfit, accentuating her already long legs

However, it was Erin who was the centre of attention as she launched a tube of gold confetti into the air.

Appearing thrilled by the golden shower of shiny paper, Erin beamed as she was snapped by a photographer.

In May, Erin dyed her trademark blonde locks brown, and her changing appearance has been the subject of recent attention.

Changing looks: Erin ditched her blonde pageant locks last month

Speaking with Daily Mail Australia on Friday, Erin talked about her style evolution.

'One of the biggest changes happened when I parted ways with my long blonde pageant locks,' she explained.

'I've had a fantastic response to the brunette [hair] so it's going to be staying for a while -only my mum isn't too keen on it!' Erin joked.

Back in the headlines! Jesinta Franklin showed some skin in an unusual thigh length dress

Additionally, the star'srepresentative confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that Erin has not had any cosmetic enhancements or surgeries.

Meanwhile, fellow model Jesinta also kept to the gold theme at the Moet event in a quirky long-sleeve dress.

The frock featured a hooped back, allowing the David Jones ambassador to show off some skin as she went without husband Lance 'Buddy' Franklin at the party.

Amy Petjkovic cut a more casual figure in a simple black and white ensemble, as she posed with her boyfriend, AFL star Adam Tomlinson.
She made headlines for flaunting some serious side boob while walking the red carpet at the Sydney Film Festival in 2015.

And Lisa Clark took care to avoid another wardrobe malfunction on Saturday, covering up in a baggy jumper at the Moet & Chandon party day gold party in Sydney.

The 31-year-old former Big Brother star cut a casual figure while attending the swanky event held at Coogee Pavilion.

Averting disaster! Former Big Brother contestant Lisa Clark covers up in an oversized black jumper at Moet event

Lisa went for streetwear chic at the French champagne event, wearing a pair of ripped denim cut-offs which showcased her slender pins.

She paired the shorts with platform black sneakers, bundling up from the cold in an oversized jumper.

Wearing her blonde locks out, Lisa showed off her natural complexion with understated makeup.

Casual: Lisa went for streetwear chic at the French champagne event

Didn't get the memo? Erin Holland and Jesinta Franklin favoured a more dressed up look in chic cocktail dresses

Lisa's understated look contrasted with other attendees such as models Erin Holland and Jesinta Franklin (nee Campbell), both women favouring a more dressed up look in chic cocktail dresses.

The Big Brother star's appearance on Saturday comes after Lisa wrote a blog offering career advice to millennials, advising them to find out if their workplace would offer free yoga.

In a blog for Skills Road, Lisa argued that young people should try not to settle for the first job that comes their way.

Is she really qualified? Former Big Brother housemate turned social media 'influencer' Lisa Clark (pictured) wrote a blog offering career advice to millennials this week

The former reality TV star explained she had been 'somehow conditioned' into sticking it out at her first job at a telemarketing company.

'I dreaded each day, my ears constantly had a ringing sound from the headset and asking people for money for charity over the phone was soul destroying,' she wrote.

But Lisa explained she had made the job work for her by using it to get the necessary experience for future employment.

'Asking people for money for charity over the phone was soul destroying': Lisa wrote she had 'somehow conditioned' herself into sticking it out at her first job at a telemarketing company

She then encouraged readers to ask themselves five key questions to make sure they were choosing the right job, and emphasised that they shouldn't turn up their noses at a role just because it's entry level.

'Entry level roles rock, you can learn all about the company you are working for without much pressure or expectation,' she said.

'Sure you may have to do a few coffee runs and an office work order or two but you can mostly chillax through the first three months.'
She's the Australian actress who has shot her fair share of steamy scenes for the hit Foxtel prison drama Wentworth.

And Nicole da Silva has revealed that she is proud to be pushing the same-sex relationship boundary on the show with psychologist Bridget (Libby Tanner) as rabid fans dub the union 'Friget'

Speaking to News Corp, the 35-year-old actress said that she believed all walks of life should be represented in the culture.

Wentworth star Nicole da Silva (R) has revealed that she is proud to be pushing the same-sex relationship boundary on the show with psychologist Bridget (Libby Tanner)as rabid fans dub the union 'Friget'

'It's important for all people to be represented in our stories and on Australian TV,' she told the publication. 'I'm glad to be a part of that conversation. There's not much in Wentworth that we shy away from.'

Nicole also revealed that the on-screen union had generated massive interest from fans of the show, with many indulging in the world of 'fan fiction' to delve deeper into the pair's relationship.

She admitted that while she finds the fan appreciation 'humbling', Nicole said that it's something she doesn't interact with too often.

No exclusions: 'It's important for all people to be represented in our stories and on Australian TV,' she told News Corp. 'I'm glad to be a part of that conversation

'I know there is a whole world of fan fiction out there for Friget. It's humbling,' she told the publication.

'But I don't look at it, it's a slippery slope once an actor engages too much in that. The fans have their own opinions. I just stay out of them.'

Nicole also revealed that she has also been subjected to some 'over-the-top' examples of rabid fandom.

Favourite: Nicole also revealed that the on-screen union had generated massive interest from fans of the show, with many indulging in the world of 'fan fiction' to delve deeper into the pair's relationship

'There have certainly been a few instances of people crossing the line...it certainly makes me mindful of where the lines are between fantasy and reality,' she said.

'It comes through on social media, there have been a few contacts through agents, letters and such, I try and avoid all of that.'

With the popular show edging closer to it's anticipated season five climax, Nicole said that she had been gaining traction in America, thanks to her turn on Wentworth, however the publication reported that her role in season six had 'yet to be confirmed'.
BRIAN VINER: Philippa lives in Edinburgh, where she works in a dreary sales job and is passed over for promotion. 'You are at the right level for you,' says her condescending boss.
He has been spending some time apart from girlfriend Vogue Williams as she holidayed in Marbella and the Cote d'Azur.

And Spencer Matthews looked delighted to be reunited with his flame at the Dolce and Gabbana men's show before he took to the catwalk himself.

The Made in Chelsea star, 27, got political in a #Boycott Dolce and Gabanna T-shirt, which he teamed with a pair of board shorts and flip flops.

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Summer of love: Spencer Matthews looked delighted to be reunited with girlfriend Vogue Williams at the Dolce and Gabbana men's fashion show in Milan

The controversial t-shirts were originally sold as a way to protest against the fashion label as First Lady Melania Trump regularly steps out in their outfits.

But the Italian brand got their own back on the campaigners when they started selling the t-shirts themselves.

The reality star beamed as he posed in the pair of 70s-inspired brown and green surf shorts, and finished his look with a pair of black flip flops.

It appears the reality star is breaking into the competitive world of male modelling as he stormed the catwalk at the Dolce and Gabbana show.

Blue Steel: Spencer, 27, got political in a #Boycott Dolce and Gabbana t-shirt as he strutted his stuff on the Milan runway

Spencer strutted his stuff on the red catwalk in an oversized black leather jacket with an encrusted collar and grey slacks.

The London native wore a grey version of the #Boycott top in the fashion show underneath a red scarf with black fringing.

His look was completed with a pair of red velvet loafers with bejeweled crosses on the front.

Smizing: Spencer sashayed down the runway in an oversized black leather jacket with an encrusted collar and grey slacks

In the holiday mood: Vogue supported Spencer at the fashion show in a flowing pineapple skirt and crop trop

Spencer's proud girlfriend Vogue sat and watched the reality star sashay on the catwalk.

The Irish beauty, 31, channeled an exotic look at the fashion show in a flowing pineapple skirt and crop trop as she posed before the runway show.

Vogue wore her famous honeyed locks over her left shoulder, half covering the pink and black sequinned detailling on her white vest top.

The model turned the t-shirt into a crop top by knotting the bottom of the white shirt on the left hand side.

Bronzed body: Vogue wore her famous honeyed locks over her left shoulder, half covering the pink and black sequinned detailling on her white vest top

Summer glamour: The light, gauzy material was covered in yellow pineapples, adding an extra exotic spice to her outfit

Natural beauty: Vogue teamed her look with a pair of nude heels and accessorised with three necklaces and gold hoop earrings

She flashed her toned abs in the summer ensemble, but covered most of her navel with her high-waisted skirt.

Vogue nipped in her waist with an elasticated black band, which floated out into the full pink skirt.

The light, gauzy material was covered in yellow pineapples, adding an extra exotic spice to her outfit.

Vogue teamed her look with a pair of nude heels and accessorised with three necklaces and gold hoop earrings.

Next stop: The pair, who have been dating since they met on Channel 4 series The Jump earlier this year, were later spotted leaving the event together
Surrounded by a claque of pals, Lily-Rose Depp was spotted enjoying a day out at Disneyland and posing for photos at the Mickey's Toontown area.

The 18-year-old model and her friends all perched themselves on a turquoise false car that's been set up near a themed rest stop called Goofy's Gas Station.

While in Toowntown, Lily-Rose and one of her friends also sat themselves down at a table that had got a massive cartoonish pink and white tea set laid out on it.

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Off to the Magic Kingdom: Surrounded by a claque of pals, Lily-Rose Depp was spotted enjoying a day out at Disneyland and posing for photos at the Mickey's Toontown area

Lily-Rose is Johnny Depp's child by Vanessa Paradis, whom he'd never wed but was with for 14 years between his failed marriages to Lori Ann Allison and Amber Heard.

Saint-Maur-Des-Fosses-born Vanessa and Owensboro-born Johnny have also got a now 15-year-old son called John Depp III, who like Lily-Rose was born in France.

Having dropped out of prep school last year, Lily-Rose pointed out to that year's December issue of British Vogue that her parents 'both left school when they were 15, so they cant really say anything. You know what I mean?'

Having a ball: The 18-year-old model and her friends all perched themselves on a turquoise false car that's been set up near a themed rest stop called Goofy's Gas Station

Relaxation: While in Toowntown, Lily-Rose and one of her friends also sat themselves down at a table that had got a massive cartoonish pink and white tea set laid out on it

She's explained that 'Ive never thought of university as my goal. Ive always just wanted to work and be independent. I didnt have any incentive to keep doing all that work. I read a lot of books, and I research stuff myself that interests me.'

Of her upbringing, Lily-Rose has recalled that 'My parents werent very strict. Theyve always trusted me to be independent and make my own decisions,' a tack that had the consequence that 'There wasnt really anything to rebel against.'

Lily-Rose's future work, per IMDb, includes Moose Jaws , which its writer and director Kevin Smith called: 'Jaws but with a moose instead of a shark' to Digital Spy.

Family matters: Lily-Rose is Johnny Depp's child by Vanessa Paradis, whom he'd never wed but was with for 14 years between his failed marriages to Lori Ann Allison and Amber Heard

He'd given that description in an interview the site ran in February, and as they've noted, Moose Jaws will join Tusk and Yoga Hosers in Smith's True North trilogy.

Tusk, out in 2014, and Yoga Hosers, which came out last year, each starred Johnny as Guy Lapointe, and as Kevin's told Digital Spy, Guy'll feature in Moose Jaws as well.

Kevin's dished: 'Johnny, when he heard we were making Moose Jaws, texted me saying: "Are you really making a movie called Moose Jaws?", and I said: "Yes", and he said: "Is that what I think it is?", and I said: "It's literally just Jaws with a moose instead of a shark", and he said: "Can I get eaten by a moose?", and I said: "Absolutely".'

Forthcoming: Lily-Rose's future work, per IMDb , includes Moose Jaws , which its writer and director Kevin Smith called: 'Jaws but with a moose instead of a shark' to Digital Spy

Moving forward: Having dropped out of prep school last year, Lily-Rose pointed out to British Vogue that her parents 'both left school when they were 15, so they cant really say anything'

In that interview, Kevin had also noted: 'Harley Morenstein plays our Chief Brody-like character. Genesis Rodriguez returns as a character she plays in Tusk called Ally - the Matt Hooper-type character, the animal behaviorist.'

He's revealed that 'our Captain Quint character is both Jay and Silent Bob, so we cross over the Canada universe and the New Jersey universe and put Jay and Silent Bob in it.'

To hear Kevin tell it, 'Everyone from the Tusk cast and the Yoga Hosers cast returns because it's kind of like an Aventers version of those movies. Everybody who was involved comes back, especially in the third act.'

Background: Of her upbringing, Lily-Rose has recalled that 'My parents werent very strict' and that 'Theyve always trusted me to be independent and make my own decisions'

Take a spin: Lily-Rose decided not to smile on the fun Tea Cup ride

High end hands: A funny snap of Mickey hands holding a swanky purse

Johnny was himself photographed this past Wednesday emerging from the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood at one point during the evening.

The 54-year-old Pirates Of The Caribbean leading man had decked himself out in a simple dark-colored ensemble and hugged a female pal outside the building.

His upcoming work includes a film of Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express that's been directed by Kenneth Branagh and will be out in November.

Alone in the world: Lily-Rose looked cute as a button riding solo

On the go: Johnny was himself photographed this past Wednesday emerging from the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood at one point during the evening

Heading out: The 54-year-old Pirates Of The Caribbean leading man had decked himself out in a dark-colored ensemble and hugged a female pal outside the building
CARSON CITY  Gov. Brian Sandoval completed the states work from the 79th legislative session Friday by signing several bills in Carson City.

They include the Governors Juvenile Justice Reform measure which was championed by First Lady Kathleen Sandoval and former Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta and a bill aimed at combating the prescription drug abuse epidemic.

In total this session, Sandoval signed 608 pieces of legislation  which is the most hes signed during a single session. The governor also vetoed four bills Friday on legislation involving renewable energy and Medicaid.

Among the bills signed Friday:

Assembly Bill 474 The Controlled Substance Abuse Prevention Act, which Sandoval introduced during his State of the State address in January. The law is designed to help combat prescription drug abuse.

Assembly Bill 472  First Lady Kathleen Sandoval and Justice Nancy Saitta secured a Technical Assistance Grant from the Council of State Governments and reviewed Nevadas juvenile justice system. As a result of the Task Force recommendations, the governor introduced the Juvenile Justice System Reform Act, which streamlines and standardizes criteria to match youth with the most effective services.

Assembly Bill 69, sponsored by the Governors Office of Economic Development, was designed tomake Nevada once again a national leader in the testing and implementation of fully autonomous vehicles. It creates autonomous vehicle network companies allowing cab companies and transportation network companies like Uber, Waymo and Lyft to fully test and utilize autonomous vehicles in Nevada.

Senate Bill 546 is the Capital Improvement Projects bill which includes funding to build the University of Nevada, Reno Engineering Academic Building, Northern Nevada Veterans Home, Nevada State College Education Academic Building, funding for the a new DMV in Reno, and other projects.

Assembly Bill 522 authorizes $300,000 for the Nevada Teach program at UNR. These funds will continue the programs mission of producing elite educators in science, mathematics and engineering.
They've been holidaying in the South of France together, appearing stronger than ever.

And Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez took their romance to Paris on Saturday, as they were spotted, looking typically chic, paying a visit to tourist favorite The Louvre.

A pair of massive sunglasses on her face, Jennifer, 47, wore a yellow, gold, grey and black print dress with ruffles at the neckline and sleeves folded up to the elbow.

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Bonjour, Paris: A-Rod, 41, and J-Lo, who've been holidaying together in France, were photographed on Saturday looking typically chic as they strolled out and about in Paris

Bracelets encircled both her wrists, and she carried a large beige purse, having slid on a pair of ankle-strap stilettos for her day out in l'Hexagone's capital.

Her hair had been slicked tightly back and wound into a ponytail, offering a full view of the gleaming set of hoop earrings the Selena star had popped on that day.

Meanwhile, A-Rod had popped on a pair of half-moon shades over a tight sky blue shirt he'd tucked into white trousers that spilled onto a walnut brown pair of shoes.

Oozing style: A pair of massive sunglasses on her face, Jennifer had worn a yellow, gold, grey and black print dress with ruffles at the neckline and sleeves folded up to the elbow

Meanwhile it seems A-Rod can't keep himself away from his girlfriend even when she's in middle of an interview with cameras rolling.

In a sweet moment, he appeared in the frame while she was chatting to Access Hollywood backstage at her Las Vegas residency show Jennifer Lopez: All I Have.

'Good show, baby,' said the besuited A-Rod, swiftly planting a kiss on his flame's cheek and then heading off, leaving J-Lo to effuse that 'He's the best' and 'so cute.'

J-Lo, 47, had dished about her relationship with A-Rod to Liz Hernandez earlier during that interview - which went online Monday - at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Dash of glitz: Bracelets encircled both her wrists, and she carried a large beige purse, having slid on a pair of ankle-strap stilettos for her day out in l'Hexagone's capital

'Everything's great,' she told Liz Hernandez, who then asked: 'Are you in love, J-Lo?' prompting the pop star to say with a laugh: 'Well, I'll tell you when we're alone.'

She did call herself 'very, very happy,' and him 'an amazing guy. You know, he's so supportive and loving and he's a great guy, and we're just having the best time.'

Saying she and her New York Yankee beau are 'blessed,' she explained: 'We have great lives and we have great children and we're just enjoying every minute of it.'

'Good show, baby': A-Rod crashed an interview of JLo's this week after her show in Vegas in a cute on-camera moment

Radiant: Her hair had been slicked tightly back and wound into a ponytail, offering a full view of the gleaming set of hoop earrings the Selena star had popped on that day

Liz said, giggling, that 'It seems like you willed him into your life, almost. Like, you've been wearing the New York hat for so long,' to which J-Lo joked that 'I have a little bit of that power - those powers.'

She's said that 'I feel like, you want something, you have to really put your mind to it, and then go: "This is what I'm - what it's gonna be. My life is gonna be this. It's gonna be this. It's gonna be healthy. It's gonna be happy. It's gonna be full of love."'

On All I Have, which began last January, J-Lo's confessed that though 'you get more comfortable in it,' she's found 'that as challenging as it was the first day, it's still as challenging as - you know, I really put together a, you know, a killer show.'

Taking in some sun: Meanwhile, A-Rod had popped on a pair of half-moon shades over a tight sky blue shirt he'd tucked into white trousers that spilled onto a walnut brown pair of shoes

Still going strong: J-Lo and A-Rod have been dating since at least March, and they've been seen getting cozy in L.A., New York, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Miami

J-Lo and A-Rod have been dating since at least March, and they've been seen getting cozy in L.A., New York, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Miami.

He'd been married from 2002 until 2008 to Cynthia Scurtis, whilst she's previously tried matrimony to three men: Ojani Noa, Cris Judd and Marc Anthony.

J-Lo and Marc have got nine-year-old twins called Maximilian and Emme, whereas Cynthia and A-Rod have two daughters: 12-year-old Natasha and nine-year-old Ella.

Fanfare: The songstress waved to fans as she left a restaurant with her man
Corinne Olympios was seen taking her dog for a walk in Los Angeles on Saturday, amid a scandal involving sex assault accusations on Bachelor In Paradise.

The 24-year-old reality star wore a relaxed ensemble with track pants, a T-shirt and pink aviator sunglasses.

Her outing comes after TMZ reported claims that, when she hooked up with DeMario Jackson while filming Bachelor In Paradise, she was inebriated to the point she fell face-first into a Jacuzzi.

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Out and about: Corinne Olympios was seen taking her dog for a walk in Los Angeles on Saturday, amid a scandal involving sex assault accusations on Bachelor In Paradise

It has also been claimed that her sexual encounter with DeMario did not stop even once she had fallen, been 'dragged' from the Jacuzzi and left 'laying on the ground.'

TMZ has cited insiders 'involved in Corinne's representation' who said that Corinne's alcohol intake that night included a half-bottle of champagne en route to the bar, as well as cocktails and 'one or 2 shots' at the bar.

According to those sources, after Corinne's fall into the Jacuzzi, a cast member asked producers 'to stop,' only to be told Corinne was 'fine.'

But this version of events is flatly denied by insiders who have had a look at the footage and told TMZ Corinne never suffered that fall into the Jacuzzi.

Sunlit: The 24-year-old reality star wore a relaxed ensemble with track pants, a T-shirt and pink aviator sunglasses

Accusations: Her outing comes after TMZ reported claims that, when she hooked up with DeMario Jackson while filming Bachelor In Paradise, she was inebriated to the point she fell face-first into a Jacuzzi

Upon seeing the footage, those sources allege, it's clear Corinne had it together while with DeMario in the swimming pool. These insiders have also insisted no cast members voiced concerns to producers.

DeMario and Corinne's castmate Jasmine Goode has said to People: 'Everyone saw them kissing and having fun together.'

She said: 'It was known the next day, just two people who hooked up, nothing out of the ordinary. There was other hookups between other cast members like any other season of Paradise, but for some reason this one is being brought to light. Doesnt make sense.'

Best friend: She has been keeping a relatively low-profile as of late

Hanging out: She has only been seen walking her dog on numerous occasions

Controversial: Production of the reality show has been completely halted

People reached out to Corinne's camp who have denied Jasmine's account of events.

DeMario's lawyer Walter Mosley has told Variety: 'This has caused a lot of trauma - both physical and emotional injury. Its been difficult for DeMario and his family. Hes a celebrity for all the wrong reasons.'

'I have requested the tapes and Im hoping to see the tapes next week,' he said. 'The tapes are the real facts needed to vindicate DeMarios name.'

Mosley added that he is 'not at liberty' to share his client Jackson's side of the story, but 'there's no criminal investigation and we don't fear any criminal investigation.'

Where and when: The scandal between Corinne and DeMario stems from a June 4 hookup during production of Bachelor In Paradise in Puerto Vallarta

The scandal between Corinne and DeMario stems from a June 4 hookup during production of Bachelor In Paradise in Puerto Vallarta.

After the duo learned they would be paired together for a storyline on the partially-planned reality series, Corinne and DeMario embarked on a night of heavy drinking and hooking up which ended with Jackson publicly performing oral sex on his fellow contestant.

Although there were multiple witnesses to the drunken tryst on the first day of filming, a complaint was only filed after a producer raised serious concerns about Corinne's ability to consent after reviewing the footage from the previous day. Production was halted shortly thereafter.
Former TOWIE star Cara Kilbey has announced she is expecting her second child with jailbird beau Daniel Harris.

The 29-year-old took to Instagram on Saturday to reveal her big news as she cradled her bump in a sweet snap before adding a caption reading: 'Oh Baby Baby #babyno2 #2under2', and credited the snap to her fellow reality star brother Tom.

Sitting on a bed, she cradled her stomach while daughter Penelope Blu mirrored her pose, as the image was shared just two months after Daniel was released from prison having served a year when he was accused of masterminding a drugs empire.

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Happy days: Former TOWIE star Cara Kilbey has announced she is expecting her second child with jailbird beau Daniel Harris

In March, Cara revealed Daniel had departed prison just weeks after he was slapped with a two-year sentence for stashing ill-gained cash.

She took to Instagram to share a selfie with Penelope in which she penned a caption to her 346,000 followers reading: 'Daddy we're waiting... it's hometime'.

Cara's amazing news comes after she suffered a miscarriage in 2015, two months after announcing her pregnancy. After news surfaced, she and Daniel were said to be inconsolable following the loss of their first child during its second trimester.

In a statement her representative confirmed: It is with great sadness that I must inform you, that last week Cara Kilbey suffered a late miscarriage. Cara was over five months pregnant when she lost her baby.

Daddy's home: The 29-year-old took to Instagram on Saturday to reveal her big news as she cradled her bump in a sweet snap before adding a caption reading: 'Oh Baby Baby #babyno2 #2under2', and crediting the snap to her fellow reality star brother Tom

The doting couple could hardly contain their delight at the arrival of Penelope Blu in February last year as she announced the news via Twitter, penning: 'Welcome to the World... Penelope Blu Harris 12.02.2016 9lb2oz,'

Her representative told MailOnline: 'Cara and Daniel are thrilled to welcome Penelope Blu Harris to the world, she weighed 9lb 2oz and both mother and baby are doing well.'

Cara revealed her pregnancy with Penelope when she was 22 weeks gone after months of nervousness due to her tragic loss earlier that year. She told Closer magazine: 'Daniel and I knew we wanted to get pregnant again straight away so I was overjoyed when I found out I was expecting two months later.

Mummy dearest: Sitting on a bed, she cradled her stomach while daughter Penelope Blu mirrored her pose, shared just two months after Daniel was released from prison having served a year in prison having been accused of masterminding a drugs empire

'We went through an awful time together, and I can see how something that traumatic can break a couple. But we saw a different, more caring side to each other and it brought us so much closer. I'll never forget my first baby, it'll always be part of our family, but now we can't wait to become parents.'

Daniel, who served a year of his spell in Wandsworth prison, was accused of masterminding a drugs empire yet was cleared of drugs charges and found guilty of stashing 116,000 in ill-gotten gains hidden in his daughter's bedroom.

Cara, who starred on the ITVBe show for four seasons before departing in 2012, was waiting patiently while her partner languished in jail, shortly after the birth of Penelope.

Happy days: The couple met while Harris was living out in Spain with his father and she was on holiday there. They returned to the UK in September 2015 when she fell pregnant

Daniel was accused of making 'vast profits' by sending drug couriers on mopeds disguised as trainee cab drivers around central London over three-and-a-half years. He was also charged over a 200,000 heroin deal which was scuppered by police in May 2015.

An Old Bailey jury deliberated for a day to clear him of plotting to supply cocaine and heroin, but found him guilty of stashing the money.

Police launched a covert surveillance operation tracking Harris's movements over the course of more than a year before swooping to arrest him in March 2016. The couple have been separated for almost a year when he was taken into custody in early 2016.

The couple met while Harris was living out in Spain with his father and she was on holiday there. They returned to the UK in September 2015 when she fell pregnant.

Other men, some of whom were his friends, went on to plead guilty to their part in the plots and have been jailed for more than 68 years.

Beloved dad: The couple met while Harris was living out in Spain with his father and she was on holiday there. They returned to the UK in September 2015 when she fell pregnant

Evidence suggested the cocaine gang had a turnover of nearly 500,000 a week at the height of their activities.

They kept it under wraps by hiring an East End flat and lock-up where they stored six scooters and packaged the cocaine after it was cut with benzocaine.

He knew some of his friends were drug dealers and, after being let in on their secret during a ski holiday to Verbier in Switzerland, he made use of the moped delivery service once, he said.

Daniel's father was arrested in December 2015 for allegedly smuggling drugs from Spain to the UK but he said that he in 'no way' had anything to do with it.

Prosecutor Peter Clement told the judge that he had been 'no mere custodian' of the money, but arranged for it to be gathered, collected it and kept it for weeks before it was discovered - 'all with a view to smuggling to another jurisdiction'.

That was then: Daniel was accused of making 'vast profits' by sending drug couriers on mopeds disguised as trainee cab drivers around central London over three-and-a-half years. He was also charged over a 200,000 heroin deal which was scuppered by police in May 2015

He acknowledged the offence was not motivated by personal gain, instead arising 'out of his father's crisis rather than his own'.

But, he said, an aggravating factor was that the cash was tainted by organised crime and that its intended destination was outside the UK - Spain.

Defending, barrister David Whittaker told the court the unemployed defendant had no money and had not funded the costs of his trial.

Mr Cooke ordered him to pay 4,576 costs to be paid within 56 days and a victim surcharge of 120.

He said he was satisfied that, while Daniel may not be able to pay the sum himself, he could draw upon others for assistance. While three men watched proceedings from the public gallery, the defendant's TV star girlfriend was nowhere to be seen.
Could Princess Beatrices start-up business be gathering pace at last?

Bea, 28, has been working with pals on plans to help launch a business consultancy since last June, with little sign of progress  leading some cynical souls to wonder just how serious she is.

But now Im told she has finally got around to looking at premises for the venture.

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Bea, 28, has been working with pals on plans to help launch a business consultancy since last June

Says my source: She viewed Westbourne Studios in West London but decided against it in the end and is now looking around in Mayfair. Its a good sign for the mystery project.

Beas last attempt at the nine-to-five life was with US brand-building company Sandbridge Capital.

Donna, 37, agreed to wear a 60,000 Swarovski crystal headpiece at an exclusive party at Claridges

She has secured herself a major Royal connection by dating James Middleton, brother of the Duchess of Cambridge.

But I wonder if Donna Air pushed things a little too far last week by parading at a fashion show in a crown.

Donna, 37, agreed to wear the 60,000 Swarovski crystal headpiece at an exclusive party at Claridges hosted by Chinese jewellery designer Beau Han Xu.

She sported her with aplomb, teaming it with an Amanda Wakeley ballgown and a winning smile, right.

She told me: It was rather heavy. I was worried it might fall off!

A spokesman for Beau Han Xu described the headpiece as a tiara.

One Show's Glasto blow

My heart goes out to the poor, hard-up folk at The One Show. Astonishingly, it seems the programmes annual outing to Glastonbury has been canned  because the BBC cant afford it.

The show has come live from the festival since 2013  last year presenters Alex Jones and Chris Evans were joined on the sofa by Ed Sheeran  but BBC insiders say this year it has been left studio-bound in London to save money.

Many viewers see The One Shows broadcast as the starting point for the BBCs blanket coverage of the event, which this year will run to 30 hours on TV. A spokesman said: The programme will feature a short live link-up and a film.
Indian airlines on Friday barred a lawmaker from their flights for unruly behaviour in the second case in three months against a top politician who abused staff.

Indian airlines on Friday barred a lawmaker from their flights for unruly behaviour in the second case in three months against a top politician accused of abusing staff.

J.C Diwakar Reddy, from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, allegedly pushed IndiGo airline staff and used abusive language at Visakhapatnam airport after he was too late to board a flight.

Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, a lawmaker from Reddy's regional Telegu Desam Party (TDP), ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Raju said on Twitter he would "find out the exact details and ensure that lawful outcomes follow".

IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and two budget airlines have already barred Reddy from their flights, Press Trust of India news agency said.

In March, India airlines acted against Ravindra Gaikwad, a hotheaded lawmaker from Maharashtra state, after he repeatedly hit a 60-year-old steward with his sandal in a row over a plane seat.

Gaikwad finally expressed remorse over the incident in parliament and his flying ban was revoked.

Last year a lawmaker was arrested on charges of assaulting an airline official after he and his family were prevented from boarding a flight because the gate had closed.

Indigo released a statement confirming the latest incident of "unruly behaviour" at Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday.

"Mr Reddy, who was scheduled to fly with IndiGo ... to Hyderabad reported 28 minutes prior to the scheduled departure. The staff politely informed him that boarding for flight is closed," it said.

"Mr Reddy expressed his annoyance and soon raged against the staff using aggressive and abusive behaviour," the airline said.

Reddy did not immediately comment.
The Trump helicopter is seen at the Mar-a-Lago Resort as President Donald Trump held meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 8, 2017 in Palm Beach, Florida

Becoming president forced Donald Trump to resign from a slew of corporate positions, but it also appears to have netted him much more income from his Mar-a-Lago resort and from book sales.

According to a financial disclosure form released late Friday, Trump earned around $37 million this year from the Florida resort -- a seven million dollar increase from last year.

Since coming becoming president on January 20, Trump has travelled to the Palm Beach property often and upped the membership fees substantially.

He has frequently referred to the property as the "Winter White House" and sought to promote the venue as an official presidential residence.

Trump's trips to Florida bring with them a retinue of Secret Service agents and government staff, who are reported to stay there at US taxpayers' expense.

The disclosure was made in forms released by the Office of Government Ethics. They are less detailed than full tax returns, which Trump has refused to release, breaking with decades of tradition.

The 98-page document shows that being president has also apparently increased Trump's earnings from sales of his book "The Art of the Deal" published in 1987 and that he resigned from positions in 565 companies on or around the day before becoming president.

His assets range from Pfizer stocks to a drinks company in Israel, but the disclosure also showed hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.
The attack took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque, seen in May 2017

The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman outside Jerusalem's Old City.

It was reported to be the first time the Islamic State group has claimed an attack in Israel.

The jihadist group, in an online statement, said three IS fighters had targeted "a gathering of Jews" in an operation Friday during which the three attackers were killed by Israeli police. The group warned that "this attack will not be the last."

During the attack, the police officer was killed and others were wounded, according to IS.

It took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.

The policewoman was stabbed and critically injured and later died in hospital of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.

Israeli police said the three Palestinian assailants were killed.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

This was the first time that the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Israel, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist organisations.

In its statement IS said the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims."

"Let the Jews watch for the demise of their state at the hands of the soldiers of the Caliphate," the statement added.
Brooke Henderson of Canada hits her tee shot on the eighth hole during the second round of the Meijer LPGA Classic, at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 16, 2017

Canadian star Brooke Henderson rolled in four straight birdies in the middle of her round en route to a 67 and a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Meijer Classic on Friday.

The 19-year-old could have had a bigger lead but she ended her round with back-to-back bogeys to reach a 12-under 130 total, setting the tournament's 36-hole scoring record.

Despite the weak finish, Henderson is able to look at the positive side and is full of confidence going into the weekend at the Blythefield Country Club course.

"Two bogeys to finish, but that just gives me a little more motivation going into tomorrow," said Henderson.

Henderson has a solid lead over South Korean Hur Mi-Jung (66), Spaniard Carlota Ciganda (64) and Lexi Thompson of the US in the $2 million LPGA Tour event.

"It's great to see my name up there (on the top of the leaderboard)," said Henderson of Ottawa, Ontario.

Hur Mi-Jung of South Korea reacts to a missed birdie putt on the ninth green during the second round of the Meijer LPGA Classic, at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 16, 2017

"It's been a little bit of a rough season so far, not getting the results that I've been looking for. But this week seems to be a turnaround week and hopefully I can just finish strong the next two days."

Henderson hit 85 percent of the fairways and averaged 290 yards off the tee.

Hur kept bogeys off her scorecard Friday as she fired her second straight five-under 66. She already has three top five finishes this season.

"I had four bogeys yesterday and I really frustrated myself," she explained. "Today was bogey-free, so I love it.

"My greens in regulation were a lot better than the last couple of years, which means I have a lot of chances to make a birdie, not par. Its made me play better the last couple of years."

Ciganda's 64 included five birdies and an eagle and was the round of the day.

"I played really solid, I made really good putts," said Ciganda. "I like the course. I feel comfortable. I played here last year and Im excited for the weekend."

Thompson, who is the lone American in the top nine, had a mixed round of 68 with six birdies and three bogeys.

Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn is proving there is more than one champion in the family. Moriya, the sister of world No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn, is alone in fifth at nine-under 133, three shots back of Henderson.
Returning Mosul residents are searching for their family cars in areas retaken from jihadists, but many are likely to have ended up as car bombs or in road blocks, like this one shown on June 9, 2017

Saliha Sultan searches in vain for the family car among mounds of charred car skeletons and mangled trucks blocking roads in parts of Iraq's Mosul retaken from jihadists.

Vehicles of all shapes and colours -- in varying condition -- fill the streets of the northern city as Iraqi forces battle to retake its last western districts from the Islamic State group.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled Mosul since anti-IS fighters backed by a US-led coalition launched the battle to retake the city in October.

As she searches for the family pick-up truck with her neighbour, Sultan is one of many Iraqis now returning home to find their vehicles are nowhere to be seen.

"We parked it near the house and left... but when we returned, it wasn't there," said the 40-year-old, dressed in a purple and brown overcoat.

"I don't know who took it," she said of the car her family left in their west Mosul district of Haramat when they fled fighting in March.

All around recaptured Mosul neighbourhoods, wrecked cars, windowless buses and upturned trucks block the thoroughfares, while empty yellow taxis sit abandoned by the road.

Near homes now abandoned by fleeing civilians, parked cars are covered in dust and rubble, some devoid of windows shattered in the fighting.

Umm Kamal, another returning Haramat resident in her forties, said she had no idea where her family's car has disappeared to either.

She and her family left the car near their home when they escaped as clashes intensified last month, but a few weeks later it has vanished.

"We reported it to the security forces, and we hope they will bring it back to us," she said.

"My children worked for 15 years to be able to buy it," said Umm Kamal.

Abu Nashmi, a 31 year-old member of the security forces, said he and colleagues have helped to reunite several families with their cars.

- 'Rather my car than my family' -

Iraqis are hunting for their family cars in Mosul areas retaken from the Islamic State group, but many -- like these in the western district of Zanjili on June 7, 2017 -- have been damaged in the fighting

"Many families are complaining about their cars having gone missing, burnt or stolen by IS," he said.

"Sometimes, we find cars parked in the parking lots of other people's houses," he said.

"If there's data available, we contact their owners and ask them to come and take them."

Rami al-Tamimi, a first lieutenant with the Rapid Response forces fighting IS, said jihadists often used abandoned cars to defend themselves against advancing Iraqi troops.

"Daesh would gather cars from the streets, trying to block our progress" with improvised road barriers, he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

And they would "burn them to block the view of reconnaissance drones, as well as Iraqi and coalition planes," he said.

In areas they had retreated from, "they rigged cars and trucks with explosives to detonate them remotely as we advanced", he added.

Near the Haramat neighbourhood, a large barrier of cars stacked one on top of the other cuts across the main road.

Abu Hassan, a 40-year-old businessman, said vehicles left behind by fleeing civilians were used "as a defence line between the army and Daesh during the fighting".

"IS burned some of these cars as revenge against owners who did not pledge allegiance" after it overran the city in 2014, Abu Hassan said.

But after Iraqi forces launched their assault to retake the IS bastion, the jihadists "turned a large number of the cars into car bombs, and burned others to obstruct the view of warplanes".

On their side, Iraqi "military bulldozers worked to pile cars and trucks from the streets on top of each other, out of fear of car bombs and to block any attack by Daesh".

Mosul civilians also helped, Tamimi said.

"A large number of families helped the army by parking their car in the middle of the road to cut it off from IS," the officer said.

"We heard many say, 'Rather my car than my family'."
Local militia members played a key role in pushing out the Boko Haram Islamist militants from northeast Nigeria

In 2013, thousands of young men formed a rag-tag militia and rounded up Boko Haram members in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, then handed them over to the military.

The Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), as it later became known, was instrumental in driving the Islamist militants out of the strategic city.

Since then, the ranks of the "vigilantes" have swollen to about 20,000 across the remote region.

Armed with home-made muskets, swords, axes, slingshots and bows and arrows, they man security checkpoints and even accompany the military on operations against the jihadists.

"If it wasn't for the CJTF (Maiduguri) would have long fallen into the hands of Boko Haram," said Saad Abubakar, a community leader in the Borno state capital.

"They are a fearless band of committed young men who know Boko Haram members and the terrain very well," he told AFP.

But with a relative calm returning to the northeast as a result of a sustained counter-insurgency, one question is increasingly being asked: what to do with the vigilantes?

Some have already been implicated in allegations of human rights abuses and there are fears that with no alternative employment, some could turn to a life of crime.

"What next after the war is our concern," said the Borno state coordinator of the CJTF, Abba Aji Kalli.

"Some vigilantes may decide to become criminals. The government should think twice before it's too late."

- No alternative -

The CJTF is largely made up of uneducated and unemployed young men, who receive no regular wage and are instead reliant on hand-outs from sympathetic locals.

Many lost their jobs in farming, herding, fishing and trading as a result of the conflict, which has left at least 20,000 dead and displaced more than 2.6 million others since 2009.

Umar Usman, 32, used to be a food spices trader and was one of 700 vigilantes trained in weapons handling.

He said he has no other way of earning a living and agreed that crime could be a way out for some.

"Going by the current trend we are heading towards a repeat of the Bakassi Boys scenario," he suggested.

The Bakassi Boys were a militia in Nigeria's oil-rich south, who were formed to fight armed robbery and other crime in 1998.

Politicians used them as violent enforcers during the 2003 elections but they turned to crime, including oil theft and kidnapping for ransom, when they were disbanded.

In Maiduguri itself, the ECOMOG, which took its name from the West African peace-keeping mission during the Liberian civil war, was a similar gang for hire.

They were used during the 2007 elections to intimidate political opponents and allow electoral fraud through threats and violence.

When they were let go, it is thought some joined Boko Haram.

"With money at the disposal of desperate politicians, it is very easy for the poverty-stricken and hungry vigilantes to compromise," said Abubakar.

- Grooming a monster? -

The military has made efforts to reign in the vigilantes, organising them into groups or sectors with central and unit commands, and given them basic security training.

Many young men have been given a sense of purpose through volunteering, not to mention a degree of authority, in a region blighted by poverty and unemployment.

Vigilante Modu Grema, however, said lax recruitment procedures has raised fears that criminals -- and even Boko Haram members -- may already have infiltrated their ranks.

In February, the head of the CJTF, Lawan Jaafar, was arrested on suspicion of links to the militants. Two local politicians are also in custody for alleged complicity with Boko Haram.

Grema said the influx of new members has compromised the structure and led to indiscipline, but Kalli maintained "appropriate sanctions" were given to offenders.

"We never take the law into our own hands," he said, citing the case of one vigilante who was convicted and sentenced to death in January last year for killing a civilian.

Borno state governor Kashim Shettima has acknowledged the potential security threat from the CJTF.

Some 1,700 vigilantes have been recruited into a youth empowerment scheme since 2013, which gives them a guaranteed monthly stipend of 15,000 naira.

The authorities want to recruit 1,000 more as firefighters and 500 as road traffic personnel, while a further 500 have joined the army and 30 the intelligence agency.

Kalli, however, said more was needed to secure the future, while Umar had a stark warning if the current situation continued.

"The government is unwittingly grooming another monster that will haunt it after Boko Haram is defeated," he said.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP)  Polygamous leader Lyle Jeffs one-year run from justice was ended by pliers, sharp-eyed pawn shop workers and an astute off-duty detective in a small town in South Dakota.

The events leading to Jeffs capture Wednesday in a lakeside area near the South Dakota-Nebraska state line where he was living out of his truck started a day earlier when a pawn shop owner called police about a man who had come to his shop twice acting nervous and fidgety.

After Jeffs sold two pairs of Leatherman pliers for $37 and provided his ID on Tuesday, a suspicious employee at River City Treasures and Pawn in Yankton looked up online the name he had been given and realized the man was wanted by the FBI, owner Kevin Haug said in an interview Thursday.

Haug said Jeffs re-arranged his name during the transaction, going by Jeffs Lyle Steed.

That was his shot at fooling everybody, Haug said.

Haug alerted police and his employee called the FBI  providing authorities with store video of Jeffs, pawn paperwork bearing his information and the vehicle Jeffs was driving: A silver Ford-F-150 pickup truck.

Every once in a while, when someones weird, we look into them for no apparent reason other than were just bored sometimes, Haug said.

The tip proved to be the break the FBI had been craving since Jeffs used olive oil to slip out of his ankle monitor and escape home confinement in Utah on June 18, 2016, ahead of his trial in an alleged multimillion-dollar food stamp fraud scheme.

Authorities ramped up their search for Jeffs based on the tip, and an off-duty Yankton police detective spotted Jeffs going into a bathroom at a marina-resort area next to picturesque Lewis and Clark Lake and then as Jeffs drove through the marina, Yankton County Chief Deputy Sheriff Michael Rothschadl said.

Jeffs complied with officers when he was arrested and acknowledged he was the fugitive they had been searching for, said Eric Barnhart, FBI special agent in charge for the Salt Lake City Division.

Authorities believe he had been in the area for about two weeks, running low on resources and struggling without the help of fellow sect members, Barnhart said. A falling out with his brother Warren Jeffs, who runs the sect while serving a life prison sentence in Texas for sexual assault of underage brides, led to the lack of support, the FBI has said.

Their group, known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is based in a small community on the Utah-Arizona border. Members of the sect believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. The group is an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, which disavowed polygamy more than 100 years ago.
Oracle Team USA skippered by Jimmy Spithill, seen in action during a training session ahead of the America's Cup, in Hamilton, Bermuda, on June 15, 2017

Skipper Jimmy Spithill is gearing up for "one hell of a fight" when he leads Oracle Team USA in defense of the America's Cup on Saturday against a New Zealand team out to expunge the bitter memory of 2013.

"I think you've got two of the best teams in the world going head to head in a real heavyweight battle," Spithill said on Friday, as he and Kiwi helmsman Peter Burling met the press on the eve of the 35th edition of yachting's venerable competition.

"I'm expecting it's going to be one hell of a fight."

Four years ago on San Francisco Bay, Spithill brought Team USA roaring back from a 1-8 deficit to beat Emirates Team New Zealand 9-8 in one of the greatest comebacks in sport.

Team New Zealand have since undergone a near-total overhaul, with 26-year-old rising star Burling taking center stage.

Burling, a gold medalist at last year's Rio Olympics, has steered New Zealand through the treacherous waters of challenger qualifying, including the team's return from a frightening capsize during the semi-finals.

Peter Burling, helmsman of Emirates Team New Zealand, speaks to the media during a press briefing ahead of the America's Cup, in Hamilton, Bermuda, on June 16, 2017

"We definitely feel like we're a lot harder team after the racing we have had," Burling says. "We definitely feel like we're a lot tougher coming into this than we were a few weeks ago."

But Team USA go into the best-to-seven series with a distinct advantage, including one bonus point gained from topping the qualifying round-robin.

Australia's Spithill also played up the local support the US team -- backed by tech billionaire Larry Ellison -- are receiving in Bermuda, where the racing will unfold on the Great Sound over the next two weekends -- and beyond through June 27 if necessary.

It's a space-age edition of a competition that began in 1851 -- when the schooner America defeated the best of the British fleet in a race around the Isle of Wight and the America's Cup was born.

The latest generation of twin-hulled America's Cup catamarans feature towering, 78-foot fixed-wing sails and can reach speeds of more than 50 miles per hour (80.5 km/h) as they rise above the water, virtually flying on their hydrofoils.

This year New Zealand have come up with a novel way to power the sophisticated hydraulic system, using "cyclors" on bike-style stations rather than traditional "grinders" using arm power to turn winches.

- Consequences -

Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill (R) and Emirates Team New Zealand helmsman Peter Burling pose for photos with the Auld Mug at Club AC in Hamilton, Bermuda, June 16, 2017

While technology will play a key role, racing acumen will also be tested.

"We're expecting obviously, very aggressive, very, very tight racing," Spithill said. "There's a reason both teams are here at this point. It'll be close.

"You'll see us pushing," Spithill said. But recalling the Kiwi race capsize and Oracle's two capsizes in training he noted that pushing too hard "can have consequences".

All the variables mean no one can afford to look too far ahead, Spithill said.

"You look at it from last time and clearly for them there's some unfinished business and for us we'd like to get out there and get number three," he said. "But to be quite honest, all we're really focusing on is one race at a time."
Smoke rises from buildings following a reported air strike on a rebel-held area in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, on June 14, 2017

A diplomatic crisis pitting Saudi Arabia against Qatar has put Syrian rebels in a difficult position, analysts say, after rivalries between Gulf backers had already weakened the opposition.

Both Sunni-ruled monarchies sided with the protesters in March 2011, when the war started with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations.

They continued supporting the mostly Sunni rebels when unrest spiralled into conflict between the armed opposition and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the country's Alawite Shiite minority and is backed by Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran.

But six years later, the rebellion has been plagued by rivalries between Riyadh and Doha, as well as weakened by Russia's military intervention in support of Assad's forces.

Moscow's support for regime forces led to a series of setbacks for the rebels, including their landmark loss in December of second city Aleppo.

Last week, Saudi Arabia and allies, including the United Arab Emirates, severed or reduced diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations the emirate supports extremism, claims Doha has denied.

"The current rupture puts the Syrian opposition in a very awkward position politically, as nobody wants to have to take sides publicly nor can afford to alienate either side," said Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Centre.

A rebel official in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus said he hoped the crisis between Doha and Riyadh was just "a temporary storm".

- 'Sensitive' issue -

"Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have supported the revolution of the Syrian people and shown solidarity throughout years of tragedy," the rebel official said.

In a sign of the embarrassment the crisis is causing, several rebel groups approached by AFP refused to comment, saying it was a "sensitive" issue.

But Sayigh said the latest flare-up in relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia will have a limited impact on the Syrian conflict.

"It probably won't have a major financial impact, nor a military one since the US and Turkey have stepped up their support for factions that previously were close to Qatar or to Saudi Arabia," Sayigh said.

Riyadh "reduced its funding sharply starting" from the summer of 2015 "after it launched its intervention in Yemen" earlier in the year, he said.

Six years into the war, Syria's fractured rebellion controls just around 10 percent of the war-torn country, with backing from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and the United States.

Pro-Doha rebels including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group are present in the north of the country.

In Eastern Ghouta, pro-Doha opposition groups exist alongside the pro-Riyadh Jaish al-Islam rebel alliance.

Rebels in the south, meanwhile, are trained by Amman and Washington.

Another influential player is Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, which now leads the Tahrir al-Sham group and which some analysts and Syrian factions say has links with Qatar, although Doha has denied this.

- Tensions in Eastern Ghouta? -

Qatar led most mediation efforts to obtain the release of hostages held by the group formerly known as Al-Nusra Front.

In Eastern Ghouta, even before the Gulf crisis, factions supported by Qatar on one side and Saudi Arabia on the other had already clashed, killing hundreds of fighters.

Raphael Lefevre, a researcher at the University of Oxford, said the latest Saudi-Qatari crisis could well spark further tensions between rival groups in the rebel enclave.

In 2013 and 2014, "Qatar and Saudi Arabia competed for influence within exiled opposition bodies, each by supporting different factions and leaders, something which largely contributed to paralysing and fragmenting the Syrian opposition," he said.

But the consequences of the latest spat "could be much bloodier, especially as the two countries support rival rebel factions in areas already marked by a great degree of opposition infighting and regime violence such as the Eastern Ghouta", Lefevre said.

Syria expert Thomas Pierret however said "local dynamics rather than external patrons determine alliances" in Eastern Ghouta.

He said Ahrar al-Sham risked "suffering financially from a reorientation of Qatari politics", even if it continues to enjoy support from Turkey, which has intervened as a mediator in the Gulf dispute.

Syria's exiled political opposition is also fractured. The High Negotiations Committee is based in Riyadh, while the National Coalition work out of Istanbul.
Johannes Vermeer's "Young Woman Seated at a Virginal" is displayed as part of the Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection exhibition at China's National Museum in Beijing

Standing in a dimly-lit gallery space in China's National Museum, the owner of the world's only privately-held Vermeer gazed at the small oil painting for a long moment, before showing it to the assembled press.

Since American billionaire Tom Kaplan purchased the piece in 2008, it has spent most of its time on loan to various museums around the world.

When the investor -- who made his fortune betting on precious metals and natural gas -- and his wife began buying up works by 17th century Dutch painters in 2003, their goal was to take "paintings from the private domain and return them to the public", he said.

Now the collection is set to find its biggest audience yet when a selection of around 70 of its more than 250 works goes on show from Saturday through September 3 just steps from the mausoleum of Communist China's founder Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Square.

China is the first stop on a world tour of the works, known as the Leiden Collection after the Dutch town where many of its contributors plied their trade during the European nation's golden age.

After three months in Beijing, the exhibition will move to a private museum in Shanghai before heading to Russia and then the United Arab Emirates.

The National Museum, according to officials, has passed the Louvre to become the world's most visited, and if all goes according to plan, the exhibition will see hundreds of thousands of visitors flood through its doors.

While the Vermeer is a showstopper, the exhibit is built around the Kaplans' collection of 11 Rembrandts and focuses on the artist's evolution and influence on his contemporaries.

It is a major step towards achieving the couple's goal of promoting the Dutch master's legacy to an international audience, an effort which Kaplan believes will be greatly boosted by a positive reception in China.

"The cultural influence of China is going to multiply in the next decade," he said, adding that the painter's future will "be very different depending on the way China reacts to his art".

"The country will hopefully embrace Rembrandt for the genius he is."

- 'Beauty is truth' -

Kaplan expresses a fervent belief in the transformative power of art, promoting his favourite painter with an almost missionary zeal.

The investor discovered the artist during a visit to the New York Museum of Metropolitan Art when he was six years old, sparking a life-long obsession with the Dutch master.

He and his wife began collecting Rembrandts after a chance encounter in 2003 with a renowned art expert, who informed him that many of the paintings remained in private hands and were available for purchase.

The couple soon began snatching up works from the era, buying "on average a painting a week for five years," Kaplan said.

He believes Rembrandt's power lies in his universality and the revolutionary message hidden in his work: "Beauty is truth. It's humanity. That's our salvation."

Rembrandt lived in an era when the Netherlands was a global trading powerhouse in the 17th century, something that should resonate with many Chinese visitors to the exhibition, who are grappling with their own country's sudden access to wealth.

"We believe very strongly that perhaps uniquely Rembrandt can serve as (a) bridge," he said.

"(Rembrandt) is truly a universal artist from whose DNA we've seen art all over the world be able to find its freedom and liberation."

- Beware of riches -

As attendees leave the exhibition, they will be confronted by a wall of paintings captioned with an admonition to "Beware of Riches."

It is a timely, if perhaps unintentional, warning for a country that is grappling with rampant corruption, as well as a spiritual malaise linked to what many see as increasingly pervasive materialism.

While the exhibition is expected to receive a warm welcome in China, the underlying message might find a less eager audience.

The concept of "universal values" is not a popular one in modern China, where the government of President Xi Jinping has demonstrated an almost reflexive distaste for the kinds of "Western" ideals Kaplan embraces.

But the billionaire has no interest in lecturing. Rembrandt, he said, speaks for himself.
A general view shows the city skyline of Seoul, capital of South Korea

A scandal-hit law professor bowed out of the running to become South Korea's justice minister Saturday over his controversial views on women and admissions of drink driving and other transgressions.

Ahn Kyong-Hwan withdrew his candidacy in the wake of a public outcry centred on his 2016 book "What is Man?" and past behaviour including the revelation that he had once forged a marriage registration with an ex-girlfriend without her knowledge.

The move is widely seen as a serious blow to South Korea's new President Moon Jae-In's efforts to reform state prosecution authorities under the command of the justice ministry, who have a checkered history of corruption and abuse of power.

Ahn's nomination sparked a storm of controversy immediately after it was announced last Sunday, with concern focusing on his confessions in a newspaper column three years ago that he had repeatedly driven drunk and had cheated in a tax return.

Ahn, a former head of the state human rights watchdog, also came under fire for his views on the role of women, outlined in his book, which featured musings such as "female company is essential for drinking".

"Women can live selling their bodies rather than begging. There are men in abundance who are willing to pay for sex," he said in the book.

His nomination sparked a public outcry.

"A man with such a distorted attitude toward the opposite sex is a high government official? Shame on the whole country," one person wrote on a news website.

Ahn, 69, held a press conference on Friday to express his contrition over the the false marriage registration, which was later nullified by a court.

"I committed a terrible wrongdoing when I was in my mid 20s. Since then I've been living in repentance, regretting my wrong behaviour," he said.

But he insisted that his writings had been taken out of context and said he had no intention to "insult women" and saying he wanted to give men "a chance to reflect on themselves by revealing my own nature and desire".

The presidential Blue House issued a statement Saturday expressing "regret" that Ahn had stepped down, adding "we respect his decision".
Philippine troops have rescued a Vietnamese sailor held hostage for seven months by Islamist militants in the country's south, the military said Saturday.

Hoang Vo, 28, was rescued by troops on Friday after an air strike and artillery fire on an Abu Sayyaf camp in the island of Basilan dispersed the kidnappers, regional military spokeswoman Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay said.

She said the sailor was being treated for an unspecified wound on his back.

There is no way to independently verify the military's account of the rescue.

The Abu Sayyaf network has been kidnapping foreigners and locals for years and holding them for ransom on its remote island strongholds in the southern Philippines.

Vo was seized last November along with five other Vietnamese crew members of a vessel that was boarded by the militants off Sibago island in the southern region of Mindanao.

A statement issued by the military's regional command based in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga said Abu Sayyaf militants are holding a total of 26 hostages, including several foreigners, in Sulu and Basilan.

The Abu Sayyaf is known to behead its hostages unless ransom payments are made.

German national Jurgen Kantner, 70, was beheaded earlier this year after the kidnappers' demand for 30 million pesos ($600,000) was not met.

Last year, the Abu Sayyaf also beheaded two Canadian hostages.

The Abu Sayyaf, originally a loose network of militants formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, has splintered into factions, with some continuing to engage in banditry and kidnappings.

One faction led by Isnilon Hapilon has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group, with members among those holding parts of Marawi, the largely Catholic nation's most important Islamic city, where the government has launched air strikes and deployed artillery and ground forces against them.
Pakistani human rights activist Mukhtar Mai (C) receives a standing ovation as she takes the stage following performance of the opera 'Thumbprint', at the Roy and Edna Disney/Calarts Theater (REDCAT) in Los Angeles, on June 16, 2017

Fifteen years after her horrific gang rape by a local clan in her village in Pakistan, Mukhtar Mai is reliving her ordeal -- and courageousness -- through a US opera inspired by her story.

"I was very emotional when I first started watching it and began reliving the incident in my mind," Mai, 37, told AFP on Friday, after attending the Los Angeles premiere of "Thumbprint."

"But then as the opera progressed, it became easier to watch and I felt more courage," she said in Urdu, speaking through a translator.

The opera, by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz, recounts Mai's 2002 rape and her decision to defy her attackers and take them to court -- an unusual move in male-dominated Pakistan, where a woman who suffers such a crime often commits suicide rather than endure the stigma and shame associated with it.

"Thumbprint" first opened in New York in 2014 but Mai had never seen the opera. She traveled this week from her home in the remote Pakistani village of Meerwala to attend the West Coast premiere.

Kamala Sankaram (C) portrays Pakistani women's rights activist Mukhtar Mai in the opera 'Thumbprint', at the Roy and Edna Disney/Calarts Theater (REDCAT) in Los Angeles, on June 16, 2017

While the story onstage ends when Mai's rapists have been sentenced to death, in reality her attackers walk free -- seemingly going about their daily life with total impunity after their sentences were overturned on appeal.

The men had raped Mai -- with the approval of the village council -- as a punishment after her 12-year-old brother was falsely accused of having an illicit relationship with a woman from the dominant clan in the village.

"My rapists live across from my house and I try not to cross paths with them," said Mai, who used compensation money from her case to start several schools and a women's shelter in her village. "When I walk past, they taunt me and make catcalls."

In an added strange twist to her story, the children of her rapists attend her school, and the daughters of some of the village elders who ordered her rape have sought refuge at her shelter.

Pakistani human rights activist Mukhtar Mai says she holds little hope that the legal system in her country would ever render her justice

"Even though some members of my own family were outraged, I told them I could not turn away the kids as the school is here to serve everyone in the community," she said.

Mai, who married in 2009 and has three children, acknowledged that her story had empowered women in her village and beyond, giving them courage to stand for their rights.

But she said she held little hope that the legal system in her country would ever render her justice.

"All four of the men who raped me and the two village elders who ordered the rape are free," she said. "And they will only learn that what they did is a crime if they are punished."

- Daily threats -

She said she had grown tired of being the woman everyone points to because of her ordeal, in contrast to her rapists who are unconcerned and will likely never pay for their crime.

"I am the one who is always interviewed and put forward in this case," she sighed. "Why doesn't anyone confront them, why doesn't anyone point them out in the street and say, 'These are the people who committed horrific acts against Mukhtar Mai?'"

She said she receives threatening messages daily on her telephone, Facebook page or in person and is now afraid for the safety of her children.

"I have reported nearly 35 such threatening calls and incidents and only one person was arrested, but even he was let out on bail," she said. "I want to make it known that if anything happens to me or my children and family members, the Pakistani government is responsible."

As for the opera inspired by her story, she doubts it could ever be shown in Pakistan, where it would certainly hit a nerve.

But, she said, "I would like it to be shown everywhere."

"And I would like for the people who committed this crime to be identified and come face to face with what they did."
Scotland's captain John Barclay (R) celebrates after beating Australia in their rugby union Test match in Sydney, on June 17, 2017

Scotland dug deep to pull off a 24-19 victory and end a run of close defeats against Australia in a gripping rugby union international in Sydney on Saturday.

The teams scored three tries each but Scotland were 17-12 ahead at half-time and after regaining the lead midway through the second period, they held on gamely for the win.

It meant Scotland finally tasted victory against the Wallabies after going down by just one point in their previous two meetings.

In a tense finish, the Wallabies tried desperately to conjure the converted try needed for victory but the Scottish defence refused to yield.

"It's really a proud day for us all," said coach Gregor Townsend, who has now won his first two games in charge after last week's victory over Italy in Singapore.

"For everyone involved in Scottish rugby to blow away those frustrations of the last couple of seasons and come away with such an important win is a credit to the players.

"It's down to the work over the last couple of seasons and the way the players have stuck to their task at training, they've learned from close defeats."

Scotland's Greig Tonks (C) grabs the ball in front of teammate Lee Jones and Australia's Tevita Kuridrani during their rugby union Test match in Sydney, on June 17, 2017

It was a triumph for captain John Barclay, who has been on the wrong end of close recent results against Australia.

The fifth-ranked Scots' last success against the Wallabies, currently the world number three, was also in Australia when they edged a wet, try-less game 9-6 on their last visit in 2012.

"For some reason whenever we've played each other in the last couple of years it's been very close. For us it's nice to end up on the right side of it," Barclay said.

The Wallabies were their own worst enemies in a ragged first half, gifting the Scots two tries to trail at half-time with two signature tries by fullback Israel Folau keeping the hosts in the contest up to half-time.

- Error-strewn Australia -

"I thought we were half-a-yard away from the game all the match," Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said.

Skipper Michael Hooper added: "They're a scruffy team to play. They get their feet into the rucks, get their hands into the rucks and we couldn't find our shape well tonight.

"I'm disappointed we couldn't get over the line... You look at Izzy's (Folau's second) try, there's potential across the whole park for us. It just didn't click tonight."

Australian Wallabies' Israel Folau powers to the line to score a try during their rugby union Test match against Scotland, in Sydney, on June 17, 2017

Australia made a sloppy start and a poor pass from scrum-half Will Genia to hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau was snapped up by inside-centre Duncan Taylor, who ran over from 30 metres.

Fly-half Finn Russell's conversion gave the Scots a surprise 10-0 lead after 15 minutes.

The Wallabies hit back minutes later when Bernard Foley found Folau with a huge gap out wide for the fullback to storm over.

But yet again Scotland seized on a Wallabies mistake when the influential Russell charged down Genia's clearing kick for a gift try to give the visitors a 17-7 lead after 27 minutes.

The Wallabies answered with a breathtaking second try for Folau, who easily out-jumped fullback Greig Tonks to score off Foley's pinpoint kick to the right wing.

That left the Wallabies trailing 17-12 at half-time but they returned with more intent and hit the front 19-17 when Genia burrowed over for a try from a ruck after 57 minutes.

But the Scots roared back with a well-taken try to openside flanker Hamish Watson, after winger Lee Jones leapt over an attempted tackle, as Scotland outnumbered the Australian defence.

In a tight finish, Scotland held out the Australians who tossed away another opportunity when lock Rory Arnold lost the ball in a lineout close to Scotland's line.
Japan's latest super-deluxe train the Twilight Express Mizukaze departed Osaka on its maiden trip with around 30 well-heeled passengers on a journey to the far reaches of Japan's main island

Japan's latest super-deluxe train left the station Saturday with a select group of passengers who paid thousands of dollars for a leisurely trip harking back to an era of Art Deco opulence and a slower pace of life.

The Twilight Express Mizukaze departed Osaka on its maiden trip with around 30 well-heeled passengers on a journey to the far reaches of Japan's main island.

A couple staying in the 10-car train's top room, The Suite, paid out a combined 2.4 million yen ($22,000) for a two-night, three-day return trip that rolls past emerald green rice paddies, craggy coastlines and ancient shrines.

That eye-popping price tag gets you five-star hotel luxury including a marble-floored bathroom with claw-legged tub in the priciest suite, food prepared by gourmet chefs, and sumptuous lounges where you can sip cocktails as you take in the dramatic scenery through huge viewing windows.

"I'm so delighted to get a spot on this historic train," Ayaka Kobayashi, a newlywed who was travelling on the Mizukaze with her husband, told Jiji Press news agency.

"I want to enjoy this special time and space."

The Mizukaze, which means "fresh wind" in Japanese, is just the latest luxury offering in train-mad Japan, which has an extensive railway network covering most of the country.

The top suite on the Twilight Express Mizukaze costs 2.4 million yen ($22,000) for a two-night, three-day return trip

These top-end rolling hotels pay homage to once numerous sleeper cars that were overtaken by Shinkansen bullet trains that cut hours off travel times.

"Things have been reset, giving birth to a new breed" of trains, said photojournalist and train expert Kageri Kurihara after touring The Mizukaze.

"Train companies are trying to show what they can do without constraints. You may have this idea that sleeper trains are cramped and inconvenient but these railways are saying 'look what we can offer!'.

"Japanese people are very fond of trains and you'd be excited with all these superb choices," he added.

- Gourmet grub, cypress tubs -

The dining car on Japan's latest super-deluxe train Twilight Express Mizukaze where passengers can enjoy food prepared by gourmet chefs

Last month, the Shiki-Shima left Tokyo's Ueno Station with passengers treated to meals whipped up by gourmet chefs.

A four-day journey in several rooms that boast a cypress wood tub cost a cool 950,000 yen per person.

Well-heeled passengers even got piano playing and a fireplace -- actually a trick created by steam and coloured light -- on the trip that took them from Japan's capital to the northernmost island of Hokkaido and back again.

It cost the Shiki-Shima's operator 10 billion yen to refurbish it and build special lounges at regular stops, among other expenses. The train is booked out through to March next year.

In 2013, Kyushu Railway unveiled its "Seven Stars" service with a piano and a bar, top-end dining and luxury suites.

Japan's train operators have some offerings a notch down too, including a carriage with a foot-soaker bath.

As Tokyo gets set to host the 2020 Olympics, the record numbers of tourists visiting Japan could be another lucrative market for luxury train operators.

"This trend comes when more and more travellers from abroad are visiting Japan so the timing is good," Kurihara said.

And while the economy may not be as booming as it once was, there are still many Japanese willing to pay for a local version of the Orient Express.

As Tokyo gets set to host the 2020 Olympics, the record numbers of tourists visiting Japan could be another lucrative market for operators of luxury trains such as the Twilight Express Mizukaze

Passengers on the Mizukaze and Shiki-Shima had to put their names into a lottery and hope they got picked.

"(Luxury train travel) is not feeling the impact of deflation or a weak economy -- and there are rich people out there," Kurihara said.

"Money aside, I'd love to travel on it just once in my life."
Israeli borderguards search a Palestinian man outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on June 16, 2017, following an attack

Palestinian militant factions on Saturday dismissed a claim by the Islamic State group that it was behind the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman in Jerusalem saying the assailants came from their ranks.

The Israeli security services also raised doubts about the veracity of the IS claim -- its first for an attack in Jerusalem -- which came with the jihadists facing defeat in their Iraq and Syria bastions.

Three Palestinians attacked officers just outside the walled Old City in annexed east Jerusalem late on Friday before being shot dead by security forces, Israeli police said.

In an online statement, IS said jihadist fighters had targeted a "gathering of Jews", warning that "this attack will not be the last".

But Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, dismissed the claim, saying the attackers had come from among its own ranks and those of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The assault took place as tens of thousands of Palestinians held night prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site, on the third Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

According to police, two assailants opened fire on a group of officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

Policewoman Hadas Malka, a 23-year-old staff sergeant major, was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds.

- 'Muddy the waters' -

Israeli border guards stand outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on June 16, 2017 following an attack

In its statement, IS said the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims".

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the IS claim was an attempt to "muddy the waters", adding that the attack was carried out by "two Palestinians from the PFLP and a third from Hamas".

The killing was "a natural response to the crimes of the occupier," he said, echoing the language used by Hamas after other recent attacks against Israelis.

A spokesman for Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency told AFP it was "impossible to corroborate (the IS claim) at this point."

The Israeli army said the assailants appeared have acted independently, like many of the attackers in a wave of unrest that has rocked Israel and the occupied territories since October 2015, violence Israel has dubbed "popular terrorism."

"A preliminary army intelligence evaluation found no evidence of them belonging to any group, rather they appear to have been a typical popular terror squad," an army spokeswoman said.

Hamas and the PFLP identified the three assailants as Bara Ata, 18, Osama Ata, 19, and Adel Ankush, 18, all from the village of Deir Abu Mashal near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The Shin Bet said they had been implicated in previous "popular terror activity".

The PFLP said Bara and Osama Ata had recently been released from several months in Israeli prison.

A family member of one of the three flatly rejected any connection to IS, angrily telling AFP the jihadist group's claim was a "lie" that didn't deserve mention.

The army sealed off the assailants' home village while troops went house to house, arresting two youths before leaving after a number of hours.

- UN envoy 'appalled' -

Israel had eased restrictions on the entry of Palestinians to Jerusalem and Israel from the West Bank for Ramadan.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to cancel permission for Palestinians to visit family members in Jerusalem and Israel, police said.

Major General Yoav Mordechai -- head of COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry agency responsible for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories -- said the 250,000 family visit permits were cancelled in response to "encouragement to terrorism" by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement.

In a Facebook post in Arabic, Mordechai charged that Fatah had congratulated the attackers and "alleged they were innocent and blameless, and executed without reason."

UN Middle East peace process coordinator Nickolay Mladenov said that "terrorist acts" like Friday's "must be clearly condemned by all."

"I am appalled that once again some find it appropriate to justify such attacks as 'heroic'," he said in a statement. "They are unacceptable and seek to drag everyone into a new cycle of violence."

The area around Damascus Gate was sealed off in the hours after the attack, with a few youths throwing fireworks at security forces

The unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 272 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

Saturday was the first time IS had claimed an attack inside Israel or annexed east Jerusalem.

The jihadist group has a major presence across Israel's southern border in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, from where it has claimed several rocket attacks into Israel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with journalists after his annual phone-in show in Moscow, on June 15, 2017

New US sanctions on Russia approved by the Senate will complicate the countries' relations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a TV interview Saturday.

"Of course this will make Russia-US relations more complex," Putin said in an excerpt from an interview due to air in full at 1700 GMT on Rossiya-1 television.

"I think it is harmful," the Kremlin strongman said, while adding that "it is premature to talk now about any response."

Nevertheless he warned that Russia would have to "adjust something" or "do something extra."

The president insisted that US sanctions would not lead Russia into a "deadlock or a collapse."

The interview was filmed directly after Putin's annual televised phone-in show on Thursday, at which he slammed fresh sanctions as coming "out of nowhere" and motivated by fear of Russia as a "serious competitor."

"Of course this is evidence of the continuing domestic political battle in the US, but it is completely out of nowhere," Putin told viewers.

"If it wasn't for Crimea, if it wasn't for other problems, they would think of other reasons to contain Russia."

The US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed tough sanctions on Russia over alleged election meddling. The measure has now gone to the House of Representatives.

Germany on Friday accused Washington of hurting European power companies through the new sanctions against Russia that target the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe.
Russia's bombing campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in September 2015

Russia said Saturday that airstrikes carried out this month had killed about 180 Islamic State jihadists in Syria, including two field commanders.

"As a result of June 6 and 8 aerial strikes on targets belonging to IS fighters, IS field commanders Abu Omar al-Belgiki and Abu Yasin al-Masri were killed" in Deir Ezzor, a province held mostly by IS forces, the defence ministry said in a statement carried by the Interfax news agency.

The ministry said that around 180 fighters were killed, and that 16 military vehicles were destroyed along with weapons stores.

It said the strikes took place after Russian forces using drones spotted preparations by IS fighters to break through the defences of a garrison held by Syrian government forces in the city of Deir Ezzor.

The defence ministry did not make any mention of the possible death of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, after saying Friday that it was seeking to verify whether he had been killed in a night raid in Syria last month.
People line up to look on as protestors and police face each other on highway 94 on June 16, 2017 in St Paul, Minnesota

Minnesota activists held a second rally against police violence Saturday following 18 arrests during a night of protests after a policeman was acquitted over the shooting of a black motorist.

Angry protestors had blocked a major highway in the state capital of St. Paul early Saturday after Friday's acquittal of Officer Jeronimo Yanez, 29, of all charges he faced in the shooting death of 32-year-old Philando Castile during a traffic stop.

Demonstrators held a smaller, more reflective rally and march Saturday evening "against injustice and to raise awareness that we will not stand for laws and policies that allow police to kill with impunity," organizers wrote on the event's Facebook page.

Demonstrations have taken place each day in Minneapolis since a jury acquitted police officer Jeronimo Yanez in the shooting death of Philando Castile

About 200 people turned out for that demonstration in Minneapolis -- the state's largest city that borders St. Paul -- according to the Star Tribune newspaper.

Castile's death was part of a series of high-profile shootings of African-Americans by police. Americans were stunned to see the video, livestreamed on Facebook, of his panicked girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, as blood spread on Castile's shirt.

Yanez fired repeatedly at Castile, testifying later he though the man was reaching for a gun. Reynolds said he was reaching for his wallet.

The verdict had sparked outrage among many in the St. Paul area. An estimated 1,500 people marched through the city, then poured onto interstate highway I-94, shutting it down.

When some marchers ignored repeated police orders to disperse, state and local officers arrested 18 of them shortly after midnight, a state police spokesman said.

The Star Tribune said those arrested included two reporters for other Minnesota newspapers who were covering the march.

A police statement said the charges against the 18 included "being a pedestrian on the freeway."
Smoke rises from buildings following a reported air strike on a rebel-held area in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, on June 14, 2017

Syria's army on Saturday declared a 48-hour ceasefire in the southern city of Daraa, bringing a cautious calm after days of heavy fighting.

In a statement, the army's general command said the truce went into effect at noon local time "in support of local reconciliation efforts".

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, reported a cautious calm in the hours after the truce was announced.

Daraa is among the areas included in a plan for "de-escalation zones" agreed by regime backers Russia and Iran and rebel supporter Turkey earlier this year.

But recent weeks have seen heavy clashes in Daraa city and the surrounding area, with civilians among those caught in fighting and bombardment.

Rebels control around 60 percent of Daraa city, and the province as a whole is one of the last remaining bastions of opposition forces in the country.

In Washington, the US State Department said "we welcome any initiative to reduce tensions and violence in southern Syria".

It urged Damascus "to live up to its own stated committment during this ceasefire initiative".

"The opposition should similarly halt attacks to allow the ceasefire to endure, and hopefully be extended," the statement added.

There was no immediate official confirmation that the opposition agreed to the truce but the quiet in the aftermath of the army announcement suggested hostilities had halted on both sides.

Syria's government has pursued a series of so-called "national reconciliation" agreements with rebels in different parts of the country, including recently near the capital.

Under the deals, rebels who surrender are generally offered safe passage to opposition-held territory elsewhere in the country.

The opposition criticises the deals as a "starve or surrender" tactic, saying they are forced into the agreements after heavy regime bombardment or siege.

But the government has touted the deals as the best way to end the six-year war, which has killed more than 320,000 people since it began in March 2011.
Iran said it was unclear if the fishing boats had strayed into Saudi waters

An Iranian fisherman was shot and killed Saturday by the Saudi coastguard which accused him of entering Saudi waters, Iran's interior ministry said, fuelling tensions between the regional rivals.

"Two fishing boats were in the Persian Gulf and strayed due to high waves. The Saudi coastguard say the boats entered Saudi waters and killed one of the fishermen," Majid Aghababaie, head of border affairs at the interior ministry, said in a statement published by Iranian media.

He said it was not clear if the fishing boats had strayed into Saudi waters and that Iranian authorities were trying to determine the facts.

"Even if the boats had entered Saudi waters, the coastguard were not authorised to open fire," Aghababaie added.

Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi issued a similar statement.

Iran's official IRNA news agency later quoted Aghababaie as saying one of the boats was missing.

"We have no news concerning one of the boats," he said.

The incident comes amid increased tensions between Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and its arch rival Iran.

The tensions flared after twin attacks on June 7 on the parliament and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran in which 17 people were killed.

The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility.

But Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has accused Saudi Arabia of involvement in the attacks.

Iran's Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi has also put the blame on Riyadh.

"Saudi Arabia is sponsoring terrorist groups in Iran," he said on Thursday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also pointed the finger at Saudi Arabia, during a visit to Norway this week.

"We have intelligence that Saudi Arabia is actively engaged in promoting terrorist groups operating on the eastern side of Iran in Baluchistan," Zarif said.

The incident also comes as the Gulf faces one of its worst diplomatic crises in years.

Earlier this month Saudi Arabia and several of its allies cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremist groups, including some backed by Iran.

Qatar denies the allegations.

Iran has urged its Gulf neighbours to engage in a dialogue to resolve their dispute.

It also sent several planeloads of food to Qatar earlier this month after the Gulf countries cut off air links with Doha.

Saudi Arabia also sealed its land border with Qatar, which relies heavily on imports for food and raw materials.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 presidential campaign (all times local):

5:45 p.m.

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee is encouraging the panel's Republican chairman to subpoena former FBI Director James Comey if he won't willingly come before the committee.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., right, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., left, listen as Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about his role in the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the investigation into contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russia, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Comey declined Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley's request to testify and went before the Senate Intelligence Committee instead.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein says in a letter to Grassley Thursday that Comey should testify as part of the Judiciary panel's separate probe into Russian interference in U.S. elections and possible political interference at the FBI.

Grassley and Feinstein met to discuss possible subpoenas earlier this week. Feinstein says committee Democrats "are supportive of issuing a subpoena should it become necessary."

In addition, Feinstein has asked Grassley to call Attorney General Jeff Sessions and several other Trump administration officials to testify.

___

5:25 p.m.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats has met with the Senate Intelligence Committee for more than three hours in a closed session as part of the panel's probe into Russian interference in U.S. elections.

Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top two members of the panel, said after the meeting Thursday that Coats was speaking to the committee to "clear up a number of questions" after he testified in an open session last week. He also discussed his agency's budget.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that special counsel Robert Mueller is seeking interviews with Coats and two other Trump administration officials and that the Russia investigation is widening to examine whether President Donald Trump tried to obstruct justice.

___

11 a.m.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will testify in open session before the House intelligence committee as part of its investigation into Russian interference in last year's election campaign.

The panel announced Thursday that Johnson will testify June 21. Last week, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, said the committee would ask Johnson to testify about interactions former President Barack Obama's administration had with secretaries of state and local election officials about the dangers the Russian hacking posed to election systems.

The Senate intelligence committee has also interviewed Johnson in connection with its investigation of Russian activities during last year's election campaign.

___

8:29 a.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says former FBI Director James Comey's acknowledgement that he had given memos of his conversations with President Donald Trump to a friend who leaked them to the media is "weird."

Speaking Thursday in live call-in show, Putin compared Comey's move to that of NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked thousands of secret documents from the National Security Agency. Putin added on a sarcastic note that Russia could grant Comey political asylum.

Snowden has been living in Russia since 2013 when it gave him asylum, resisting U.S. pressure to extradite him.

Comey told Congress last week that he leaked his memos of his conversations Trump to a friend after a tweet by the president suggested he may have taped the conversations.

_____

8:13 a.m.

President Donald Trump is telling his Twitter followers that they are witnessing the "single greatest WITCH HUNT in American history."

The president didn't clarify what exactly he was referring to in the early morning tweet, however he has frequently described reports about possible ties between members of his campaign and Russia as a "witch hunt."

Trump writes, "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA" - the acronym referring to his campaign slogan, Make America Great Again.

Earlier Thursday, Trump tweeted that a new report suggesting that special counsel Robert Mueller may investigate him for possible obstruction of justice after he fired FBI Director James Comey is a "phony story."

_____

7:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump is taking to Twitter denounce reports that the Russia investigation is widening to examine whether he tried to obstruct justice.

In a tweet early Thursday, Trump said: "They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice."

The Washington Post reported late Wednesday that special counsel Robert Mueller is seeking interviews with three Trump administration officials who weren't involved in Trump's campaign. Those officials are: Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Michael Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former NSA deputy director.

Accusations of obstruction arose last month when Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. Comey told Congress last week that he believed he was fired "because of the Russia investigation."

___

4:15 a.m.

The special counsel appointed to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 presidential campaign is now examining whether President Donald Trump tried to obstruct justice, The Washington Post reported Wednesday evening.

Accusations of obstruction arose last month when Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. Comey testified in a Senate hearing last week that he believed he was fired "because of the Russia investigation."

Comey also testified he had told Trump he was not under investigation.

The Post and The New York Times both reported that Mueller was seeking interviews with three Trump administration officials who weren't involved in Trump's campaign: Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Michael Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former NSA deputy director.
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's announcement that the Islamic State group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been killed in a Russian airstrike in Syria in late May - if confirmed - would be a huge military coup for Moscow as a key player in Syria's civil war and strengthen its hand in future peace talks.

It would also mark a climax in Russia's involvement in the Syrian conflict, in which it has sided with President Bashar Assad's government, from the first days of the air campaign two years ago to boots on the ground in the city of Aleppo.

The airstrike would also highlight the capabilities of Russia's modernized military, which has tested new precision weapons in Syria.

FILE - In this file photo taken on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a load of ammunition is prepared to be loaded on to Russian war planes at Hemeimeem air base in Syria. Russia claimed Friday, June 16, 2017 it killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike on a meeting of IS leaders just outside the IS de facto capital in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian strike in late May along with other senior group commanders. (Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, file)

Here are some key moments in Russia's military campaign in Syria.

QUICK DEPLOYMENT

A series of major battlefield defeats suffered by Assad's army in 2015 prompted Moscow to intervene to protect its long-time ally. On August 26, 2015, Russia signed a deal with the Syrian government on deploying an air force contingent and other military assets at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's province of Latakia, the heartland of Assad's Alawite religious minority.

In a matter of weeks, Russia's military built up the base so it could host dozens of Russian jets. It delivered thousands of tons of military equipment and supplies by sea and heavy-lift cargo planes in an operation dubbed the "Syrian Express." On Sept. 30, Moscow declared the launch of its air campaign in Syria - Russia's first military action outside the former Soviet Union since the federation's collapse.

TENSIONS WITH TURKEY

The Russian intervention angered Turkey, which has pushed for Assad's ouster and backed Syrian opposition forces since the start of the conflict in 2011.

On Nov. 24, 2015, a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber on the border with Syria. The pilot was killed by Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters as he parachuted from the plane, and a Russian marine was also killed during an operation to rescue the second pilot. Turkey said the Russian plane violated its airspace but Moscow denied that.

Putin described the downing as a "stab in the back" and responded with an array of economic sanctions, including a ban on the sales of tour packages to Turkey and imports of Turkish fruit and vegetables. The Russian military also beefed up its air defenses in Syria with the long-range S-400 missiles to force Turkey to back off.

FIGHTING FOR PALMYRA

In April 2016, Assad's forces, relying on Russian air support, scored a major symbolic victory by taking the ancient town of Palmyra from the Islamic State group. Russia deployed field engineers to clear mines from the world-famous archaeological site and then celebrated the victory with a concert by the St. Petersburg Mariinsky orchestra, led by renowned Russian conductor Valery Gergiev.

In December 2016, however, the Syrian army again lost Palmyra to IS. Assad's forces recaptured it in March, again under the Russian air cover and following fierce fighting.

BOOTS ON THE GROUND

Though most attention was focused on Russian airstrikes, Russia also became actively involved in ground operations. Senior Russian military officers were deployed alongside Syrian government troops to provide training, plan offensive operations and direct them in combat. Russia also dispatched special forces to conduct intelligence and coordinate air strikes. There were also some indications that Russian artillery units were deployed in key battlefield areas.

Russia's Defense Ministry never said how many troops it has in Syria, but turnout figures in voting from abroad in the September 2016 parliamentary elections indicated that Russian military personnel in the Arab nation at the time likely exceeded 4,300.

Russia has lost 38 servicemen in Syria so far, according to official data.

BATTLEFIELD TESTS

The Syrian war provided an arena for Russia's military to test its latest weapons in combat - including state-of-the art Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russian strategic bombers, navy surface warships and submarines. The long-range precision-strike cruise capability has given a major boost to the Russian military.

In another first, Russia's sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, sailed to the Eastern Mediterranean last fall to launch the first carrier-borne combat missions in Russia's navy history, during the months-long battles between Syrian government forces and the rebels for Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once its commercial hub.

Other weapons for the first time tested in combat included the Su-34 and the Su-35 warplanes, and the Mi-28 and the Ka-52 helicopter gunships.

President Vladimir Putin said in a national call-in show on Thursday that the Syrian campaign provided a "priceless" experience for the Russian military.

BATTLE FOR ALEPPO

In December 2016 the Syrian army won full control of Aleppo, Assad's greatest victory in the war, now in its seventh year. The fall of the city, which was divided into government- and rebel-controlled parts since 2012, demoralized the rebels, depriving them of the largest urban area under their control. Russian air support helped cut rebels' communications and supply lines.

Assad's victory followed ferocious battles, in which thousands died, and left the rebel enclave in ruins. Russia now has deployed hundreds of military police to patrol the city's former rebel-held eastern part.

RUSSIA-TURKEY RAPPROCHEMENT

Faced with massive damage from Russia's economic sanctions, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to mend ties, offering apologies for downing the Russian warplane in June 2016. Putin responded by strongly backing Erdogan during a failed military coup in Turkey.

Since then, the two leaders have held several meetings and frequent phone talks to narrow their differences on Syria. Turkey is also credited with playing a key role in negotiating the withdrawal of the opposition forces from Aleppo.

Also, earlier this year, Russia, Turkey and Iran brokered several rounds of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. Those meetings - though separate from the U.N. backed Syria peace talks in Geneva - brought together the Syrian government and its foes. In May, the three powers, which back opposing sides in the war, negotiated in Astana a deal on so-called "safe zones" in Syria, which was welcomed by the U.N. But the parties are still to finalize the boundaries of the zones and work out monitoring details in talks expected to be held in the coming weeks.

FILE - In this file photo made from the footage taken from Russian Defense Ministry official web site on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, Russian Su-33 fighter jets stand on the flight deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Russia claimed Friday, June 16, 2017 it killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike on a meeting of IS leaders just outside the IS de facto capital in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian strike in late May along with other senior group commanders. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/ Photo via AP, File)

FILE This file photo made from the footage taken from Russian Defense Ministry official website on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, claims to show Russian sappers looking for mines in a street in Aleppo, Syria. Russia claimed Friday, June 16, 2017 it killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike on a meeting of IS leaders just outside the IS de facto capital in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian strike in late May along with other senior group commanders. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/ Photo via AP, file)

FILE In this file photo taken on Saturday, June 18, 2016, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, center, visits the Hemeimeem air base in Syria. Russia claimed Friday, June 16, 2017 it killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike on a meeting of IS leaders just outside the IS de facto capital in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian strike in late May along with other senior group commanders. (Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service pool photo via AP, file)

FILE - In this file photo provided on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a lineup of Russian troops is held before withdrawal at Hemeimeem air base in Syria. Russia claimed Friday, June 16, 2017 it killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike on a meeting of IS leaders just outside the IS de facto capital in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian strike in late May along with other senior group commanders. (Vadim Grishankin/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, file)

This photo taken from the Russian Defense Ministry official web site on Friday, June 16, 2017, claims to show an aerial image at left of the IS headquarters on May 13, 2017, and an aerial image taken on May 29, at right, showing the same site following the Russian airstrike on May 28, 2017 on the outskirts of Raqqa, Syria. The sign at right reads Airstrike, the target destroyed. The sign on bottom right says The date of airstrike is May 28, 2017. Russia says it is verifying whether it killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike targeting a meeting of IS leaders just outside the group's de facto capital in Syria. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service Photo via AP)

FILE - In this Saturday, June 18, 2016 file photo, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visits the Hemeimeem air base in Syria, Saturday, June 18, 2016. Russia claimed Friday, June 16, 2017 it killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike on a meeting of IS leaders just outside the IS de facto capital in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian strike in late May along with other senior group commanders. (Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service pool photo via AP, file)
Rhode Island's Teacher of the Year is drawing attention for his display of LGBT pride in a photo-op with President Donald Trump.

The photo from Nikos Giannopoulos' visit to the Oval Office in April shows the teacher wearing a rainbow pin on his suit jacket and he is casually waving a lacey black fan alongside Trump, who is smiling and seated at his desk, and a standing first lady.

Giannopoulos posted the photo to his Facebook page on Thursday, and it has been shared thousands of times on social media.

In a previous post, Giannopoulos said he wore the pin "to represent my gratitude for the LGBTQ community" and brought the fan "to celebrate the joy and freedom of gender nonconformity."

Trump met with Teacher of the Year winners on April 26 at their traditional White House visit.
MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) - The Monterey International Pop Festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from a half century ago.

Back in 1967, the Monterey festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." The June 16-18, 1967, event featured local San Francisco bands still in early stages of their careers, like the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane. And it introduced Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Otis Redding and Ravi Shankar to an American audience.

Grammy-winning record producer Lou Adler, one of the original concert's organizers, came back to co-produce this year's event, which runs through Sunday. For him, being back at the Monterey County Fairgrounds was like traveling back in time but also a potent reminder that so much time has passed.

Eric Burdon performs during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." Burdon performed at the first festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

"It's emotional and, in a way, it brings back lots of memories," Adler said. "Not just memories of the music and the spirit, but of the people I worked with to bring about Monterey the first time who are no longer with us. So many good people no longer around, and that is one of the instant memories that comes to me."

"I'm feeling a lot of the same spirit and reverberations from the music," Adler added, drawing a parallel between the 1960s counterculture era and today's political divisions. "I think it's because the times we are in are similar to times we were in in 1967."

Ravi Shankar's daughter, Norah Jones, is among the two dozen performers signed up for the 50th anniversary concert. Three acts that played in 1967 will be back on stage this weekend, including Eric Burdon and the Animals, Booker T. Stax Revue and Phil Lesh.

One sign of changing times is the ticket price. The original prices ranged from $3 to $6.50. Tickets for this year's shows cost $105 per day, or $295 to $695 for a three-day VIP package.

Sarah Hayes of Carmel Valley, California, wasn't born when the first Monterey festival took place. But she didn't want to miss this one.

"I couldn't be here 50 years ago," said Hayes, 45, working as a greeter for the weekend festival, dressed in Sixties attire and holding a pink umbrella. "I heard there was going to be another Pop Festival, so here I am."

"The next few days I'm having fun, spreading love and unity," Hayes said.

___

Associated Press Writer Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Andrew Oldham, former manager of the Rolling Stones, gestures while introducing Eric Burdon and the Animals during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." Burdon performed at the first festival. Burdon played in the first festival that Oldham helped produce. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

A pair of women walk with flowers in their hair during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

People listen to Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats perform during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Andrew Oldham, left, and Lou Adler, center, listen to Charles Bradley and his Extarordinaires during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." Oldham, a former manager of the Rolling Stones, and Adler helped start the first festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

People listen to Charles Bradley and his Extarordinaires during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

People listening to Charles Bradley and his Extarordinaires are reflected in the glasses of Lou Adler during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." Adler co-produced the first festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Sarah Hayes, left, of Carmel Valley, Calif., listens to Joan Cerna, 78, right, of Salinas, Calif., talk about being at the very first festival 50 years ago during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Katie Dunkle listens to Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

People sit on colored cushions and watch Simon and Garfunkel in a documentary film at an exhibit during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." Simon and Garfunkel performed at the first festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Nathaniel Rateliff performs during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

People listen to Eric Burdon and the Animals perform during the Monterey International Pop Festival Friday, June 16, 2017, in Monterey, Calif. The festival turned 50 on Friday and celebrated its anniversary by kicking off another three-day concert that's bringing back a few acts from half a century ago. In 1967 the festival was the centerpiece of the "Summer of Love." Burdon performed at the first festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's Washington hotel saw almost $20 million in revenue during its first few months of operation - a period that coincided with his election and inauguration as the 45th president. His Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which he's visited seven times as president, pulled in millions of dollars more than it had previously.

The new details were included in a financial disclosure that Trump voluntarily submitted Friday to the Office of Government Ethics, the first snapshot of the Trump Organization's finances since its longtime leader became president.

When he took office in January, Trump turned over the reins of his global real estate, property management and marketing empire to his two adult sons and a senior executive. But Trump did not divest, instead placing his enormous portfolio of financial assets in a trust controlled by the executive and Donald Trump Jr. He can take back control of the trust at any time, and he's free to withdraw cash from it as he pleases.

FILE - In this June 13, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump speaks in front of Air Force One in Milwaukee, Wis. Trump is outlining the financial health of the business assets he placed into a trust when he took office. The information comes in a new financial disclosure he voluntarily made June 16, to the Office of Government Ethics. The documents cover January 2016 through this spring. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

On paper, at least, the billionaire president's finances don't appear to have been upended by the time-consuming campaign and transition to power.

He has at least $1.4 billion in assets and reported at least $594 million in income from January 2016 through this spring. Those top-line numbers were largely the same as he had reported in his previous filing, which included all of 2015 and part of 2016.

Trump's financial disclosures have added importance because he isn't following the long tradition of presidential candidates and office-holders making public their tax returns. Those returns provide more precise financial information than the disclosure forms that have broad ranges for income, assets and debts.

The latest report shows Trump resigned from more than 500 positions, stepping down from many on the day before his inauguration. He listed at least $315 million in liabilities, about the same as in the previous report.

The president still owes more than $100 million to Deutsche Bank and a similar amount to Ladder Capital Finance, a New York-based real estate investment trust.

What is unclear from the disclosure is whether Trump added to his debt in any significant way to help pay for his presidential campaign. Because the ranges required for disclosure under federal ethics laws are so wide - Trump's documents list five separate liabilities each at "over $50,000,000" - it is impossible to tell whether his debt load has changed appreciably.

Some of Trump's ventures appear to be making more money than they had a year earlier.

His book "The Art of the Deal" is having a comeback of its own. Royalties from the 1987 autobiography ranged between $100,000 and $1 million, according to the new report. The 2016 report listed royalties as being between $50,000 and $100,000, and the 2015 report put them at $15,000 to $50,000.

Trump's management fees from Indonesian companies tied to two planned resorts there more than doubled. The latest disclosure puts the fees $380,000, up from $167,000 he reported in 2016. Trump is partnering with a billionaire Indonesian, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, on the two ventures. One is planned for the tourist island of Bali, the other near Jakarta.

Mar-a-Lago, where Trump played host to several foreign dignitaries during his seven weekends there this winter, has improved its finances. Trump listed the resort's income as about $37 million, up from about $30 million it had taken in prior to his 2016 financial report.

His golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on the other hand, produced almost $20 million in revenue, about what it had during the previous reporting period. Trump recently began decamping to that property some weekends.

The documentation of revenue from each of those properties doesn't account for expenses, meaning those figures are not pure profit.

The Trump International Hotel, housed in the Old Post Office building down the street from the White House, has seen a burst of activity since opening its doors last fall. In addition to serving as a hub during inauguration festivities, it has hosted numerous events for foreign diplomatic and business interests.

The hotel is cited in three separate lawsuits arguing that Trump is violating the Constitution's "emoluments" clause, a ban on foreign gifts and payments. Trump and the Justice Department have called those claims baseless.

___

Associated Press writers Chad Day, Bernard Condon, Josh Boak and Marcy Gordon contributed to this report.
RAYMOND, Ill. (AP) - Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes was injured Friday in a collision between a pickup truck and a train.

Illinois State Police said Hughes' pickup was traveling on a road in central Illinois when the driver crossed railroad tracks marked with a warning. The truck was struck on the passenger side by the train.

The 43-year-old Hughes, who is from Hillsboro, Illinois, was airlifted to St. John's Hospital in Springfield.

In a statement, the hospital reported a trauma team stabilized Hughes "and continues to help him in his recovery."

Hughes is among the most accomplished welterweights in MMA history. The former All-American wrestler at Eastern Illinois became one of the UFC's first major stars during MMA's growth into a popular sport in the U.S.

The UFC Hall of Famer held the promotion's 170-pound belt for two lengthy reigns between 2001 and 2006, making seven title defenses. Hughes hasn't fought since 2011, but his career included victories over Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn, Royce Gracie and Matt Serra.

He officially retired in 2013 after back-to-back knockout losses, and he joined the UFC's front office as its vice president of athlete development and government relations.

Hughes' job was eliminated by the UFC last year after the company was sold, and he recently hinted at an interest in a return to fighting.

UFC spokesman David Lockett said the promotion will respect Hughes' family's privacy and "keep Matt and his family in our prayers."
ABIQUIU, N.M. (AP) - A man accused of killing his stepfather, brother and two strangers in a shooting rampage spanning nearly 200 miles across New Mexico had made troubling statements to family members about his intentions to kill or hurt people for fun, court documents said Friday.

An argument between Damian Herrera, 21, and his stepfather over using a pickup truck likely led to the shootings outside the family's home in a rural community not far from some of the state's popular tourist draws, according to a criminal complaint. Herrera shot his mother as she pleaded for her life, witnesses say.

After Herrera gunned down his family, police say, he carjacked and killed a driver before shooting another man hours later at a general store in a tiny town that artist Georgia O'Keeffe called home. That's where the final victim, a regular at the store and security guard at O'Keeffe's home, died.

This undated booking photo provided by the New Mexico State Police shows Damian Herrera. Authorities have arrested Herrera who they say fatally shot five people in New Mexico on Thursday, June 15, 2017. District Attorney Marco Serna says his office will be charging Herrera with five counts of open murder and will request the court hold him without bond. (New Mexico State Police via AP)

Herrera was arrested Thursday and initially accused of five counts of murder. But prosecutors later said Herrera's mother was in critical condition. She had been taken off life support, leading authorities to believe she had died, District Attorney Marco Serna said.

It was not immediately clear if Herrera had a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

His sister and others were at the family home in La Madera when they heard gunshots ring out Thursday.

Witnesses told police that Herrera shot his stepfather first while the two were outside. Hearing his calls, Herrera's brother and mother went outdoors. The brother was shot in the neck during a struggle, and Herrera then shot his mother in the head as she begged for mercy, according to the complaint.

Family members told police that Herrera was calm and had a blank stare as he opened fire, "as if he knew exactly what he was doing," the complaint said.

"None of these victims had a chance, none of them," State Police Chief Pete Kassetas said during a news conference.

Police found the lifeless bodies of Max Trujillo Sr., 55, and Brendon Herrera, 20, when they arrived. The mother, Maria "Brenda" Gallegos, 49, was bleeding and gasping for air and was taken to the hospital.

Damian Herrera then headed north toward the community of Tres Piedras, where he's accused of killing Michael Kyte, 61, and stealing his truck. Kyte had picked up Herrera after he ran out of gas, offering to help, police say.

One Taos County commissioner offered her condolences on social media, saying Kyte had recently retired from the Tres Piedras Ranger District, where he worked for years as an archaeologist.

Herrera drove into Colorado before finding his way back south into New Mexico, winding through a rural area dotted by just a few close-knit communities and scenic mountain ranges.

About five hours after the first 911 call came in about the family's slaying, Manuel Serrano, 59, was killed at the general store in Abiquiu, a traditional Hispanic enclave where O'Keeffe lived.

Community members were shaken.

Jonathan Naranjo, 35, of nearby Espanola, said his parents and uncle live along the road that leads past the store. They saw a stream of emergency vehicles just before sundown.

"My uncle was locked and loaded. Everybody was pulling out their rifles, because you know how it is around here. It's mostly ranchers," Naranjo said.

Herrera was caught after sheriff's deputies spotted the stolen pickup and chased it.

He was speeding through a curve when the truck veered into oncoming traffic, overcorrected and crashed into a tree, police said.

Herrera got out and ran toward deputies. He tried to grab one of their guns and it fired, authorities said. A second deputy used a stun gun on Herrera, and he was taken into custody.

An officer hurt his elbow but there were no other injuries, police said.

Kyle Frettem, who took classes at the University of New Mexico with Herrera and would go hiking with him, said he had not talked to Herrera in about a year but described him as someone who was into inner peace.

"He was the kind of guy who would go out into the mountains and meditate," Frettem said. "People can change pretty drastically in a year, but someone like this, it's like no way."

Court records show Herrera had no criminal record, just two traffic citations in the past two years.

___

Associated Press writers Paul Davenport reported from Phoenix and Mary Hudetz and Montoya Bryan from Albuquerque.

New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Marco Serna, center, describes a shooting rampage spanning nearly 200 miles across New Mexico that left four people dead, at a news conference in Espanola, N.M., on Friday, June 16, 2017. State Police Chief Pete Kassetas, left, and Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan, right, described a manhunt that led to the arrest of Damian Herrera in connection with the killings. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
TORONTO (AP) - Britain's Prince Harry says he avoided dealing with his emotions after the death of his mother, Princess Diana.

The 32-year-old prince said in an interview aired on Canada's CTV television network Friday that he lost "my mom when I was 12 so emotions were locked away very, very early on."

Harry paid tribute to his mother, saying she was passionate about caring for everybody. Now he's following her example as he promotes the Invictus Games for wounded veterans scheduled for Toronto this September.

He said everyone should "take their hats off to her because she drew a spotlight to the causes and the issues that no one wanted to talk about."

Diana made headlines in the late 1980s with her handshake with a man stricken with AIDS.

"You know good on her. And at the age of 36, you know, she was, she was taken away," Harry said.

The prince told The Daily Telegraph in interview published last month that he "shut down all his emotions" for nearly 20 years and had been "very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions." In that interview, he described a long, painful process of refusing to face his sense of loss that only came to an end when he was in his late 20s and sought professional counseling to cope with the pressures and unhappiness.

In the CTV interview, he said it is important to ask for help. "It is a sign of strength, it is a sign of bravery to ask for help," he said.

Harry, who served in the British army, created the Invictus Games as a way to inspire and motivate wounded soldiers on their path to recovery.

"I know what these, what these guys have been through. I've done the same training as them, I've done two tours of Afghanistan, I've seen some pretty bad stuff and I've got really good friends in the military," he said. "What better way than to use my position than to create a platform where they can shine and where they can use sport as part of the rehabilitation, not only for themselves, but for their families as well."
A Minnesota police officer was acquitted of manslaughter Friday in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, a black motorist who had just informed the officer that he was carrying a gun.

St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez was also cleared of two lesser charges in the July traffic stop in a St. Paul suburb. The case garnered immediate attention because Castile's girlfriend streamed the aftermath live on Facebook.

Yanez testified that Castile was pulling his gun out of his pocket despite his commands not to do so. Prosecutors questioned whether Yanez ever saw the gun. Castile had a permit for the firearm.

FILE - In this July 25, 2016, file photo, a memorial including a photo of Philando Castile adorns the gate to the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minn., protesting the July 6, 2016 shooting death of Castile by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez. Closing arguments began Monday, June 12, 2017 in in a Yanez' manslaughter trial in the fatal shooting of Castile.(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)

The case is among several across the United States in recent years that have increased debate about race and policing. Here are some other high-profile deaths of blacks during police encounters:

___

SAM DUBOSE

Prosecutors are retrying a white former University of Cincinnati police officer, Ray Tensing, in the killing of the unarmed motorist during a traffic stop near the campus in July 2015. The jury deadlocked after his first murder trial. He faces 15 years to life if convicted. Tensing's body camera captured much of the encounter, although the two sides dispute what conclusions can be reached. Tensing's attorney says DuBose was using his car as a deadly weapon. The university fired Tensing, restructured its public safety department and reached a $5.3 million settlement that includes free undergraduate tuition for DuBose's 13 children.

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SYLVILLE SMITH

Former Milwaukee police officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown, who is black, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in Smith's death, which ignited riots on the city's north side. The shooting happened in August 2016 after Heaggan-Brown and his partner stopped a rental car that police say was driving suspiciously. Once the car stopped, police say Smith ran away holding a gun. Prosecutors say Smith fell and Heaggan-Brown shot him once in the arm as he was getting up, still holding the weapon while facing the officer. They say Heaggan-Brown's second shot came after Smith had thrown his gun over a fence. Heaggan-Brown, 25, said he thought Smith was reaching for another gun in his waistband when he fired again. The trial is underway this week.

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JORDAN EDWARDS

The U.S. Justice Department said in May that it's investigating the fatal shooting of the 15-year-old by a white police officer in a Dallas suburb. Edwards was shot April 29 by Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver, who was fired and charged with murder. Oliver fired a rifle at a car full of teenagers leaving a party, fatally shooting Edwards, who was a passenger in the vehicle that was moving away from officers. Balch Springs police had originally said the vehicle was reversing "in an aggressive manner" toward officers, who had responded to a complaint about underage drinking. But Police Chief Jonathan Haber later said video taken at the scene proved the vehicle was actually driving away. Oliver is free on bond.

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TERENCE CRUTCHER

An Oklahoma jury on May 17 found white Tulsa police officer Betty Jo Shelby not guilty of first-degree manslaughter in the Sept. 16, 2016, death of Terence Crutcher, 40, shot shortly after Shelby arrived on a street to find Crutcher's SUV stopped in the middle of the road. Shelby testified that she was afraid because Crutcher didn't obey her commands and appeared to reach inside his SUV. Prosecutors told jurors that Shelby overreacted, noting that videos from a patrol car dashboard and a police helicopter showed Crutcher had his hands in the air and did not have a weapon.

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ALTON STERLING

Federal prosecutors announced May 3 that they would not seek charges against two white police officers who were involved in a deadly encounter with Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, last summer. Sterling, 37, was shot to death on July 5, 2016, as two white officers pinned him to the pavement outside a convenience store where he had been selling CDs. The killing was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely online, sparking demonstrations across Baton Rouge. U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson said Sterling was armed during the confrontation and the investigation didn't find enough evidence to pursue charges. State authorities are investigating to decide whether to bring charges.

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KEITH LAMONT SCOTT

A prosecutor cleared a black Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer in the September 2016 fatal shooting of Scott, 43, killed while sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot of his apartment complex as officers sought another man. A police review board decided that Officer Brentley Vinson followed proper procedure. Police video showed officers shouting for Scott to drop a gun numerous times Scott's family said he did not have a gun. Charlotte-Mecklenburg District Attorney Andrew Murray cited evidence that Scott was armed, including a store's surveillance video, DNA recovered from a handgun and a Facebook conversation from the man who said he sold the stolen gun to Scott.

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JAMAR CLARK

Clark's November 2015 shooting death sparked weeks of protests in Minneapolis. Two white officers, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, were trying to arrest the 24-year-old when he was shot once in the head. He died a day later. Some witnesses said Clark was handcuffed when he was shot, but federal and state probes concluded that he was not. Investigators said Ringgenberg felt Clark's hand trying to grab his weapon and shouted to Schwarze, who then shot Clark. Prosecutors decided not to charge either officer, and an internal police investigation cleared them.

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RICKY BALL

Former Columbus, Mississippi, police officer Canyon Boykin, who is white, was indicted in September for manslaughter in the shooting death of Ball, 26. Boykin, awaiting trial, said he fired because Ball appeared to point a gun at him during a foot chase in October 2015. The city fired Boykin, saying the officer violated policy by not turning on his body camera, by inviting his fiancee to ride with him and by making derogatory social media posts about African-Americans, women and disabled people. Boykin has sued the city, claiming violations of his constitutional rights. Ball's family has sued Boykin, the city and other police officials for wrongful death.

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JEREMY MCDOLE

McDole, 28, was sitting in his wheelchair when he was shot and killed in September 2015 in Wilmington, Delaware, after police received a 911 call about a man with a gun. A bystander's cellphone footage showed officers repeatedly telling McDole to drop his weapon and raise his hands, with McDole reaching for his waist area before shots erupted. The Delaware attorney general's office decided against criminal charges against four Wilmington police officers involved, although investigators concluded one officer showed "extraordinarily poor" police work. In January, a federal judge approved the city's $1.5 million settlement with McDole's family.

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WILLIAM CHAPMAN II

Former Portsmouth, Virginia, police officer Stephen Rankin was sentenced last October to 2 years in prison for fatally shooting Chapman while responding to a shoplifting call outside a Wal-Mart on April 22, 2015. Prosecutors allege Rankin killed the unarmed 18-year-old "willfully, deliberately and with premeditation." Some witnesses said Chapman was combative, and one said he knocked away Rankin's stun gun. Rankin, who is white, was fired.

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WALTER SCOTT

Prosecutors are recommending decades in prison for white South Carolina police officer Michael Slager, who shot Scott in the back as the motorist fled following a traffic stop. Slager pleaded guilty on May 2 to a federal charge of violating Scott's civil rights. A judge will determine his sentence, which could range from probation to life in prison without parole. Scott's shooting in April 2015 was captured on cellphone video and seen worldwide.

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FREDDIE GRAY

The 25-year-old man was shackled but alive when he was put in a Baltimore police van in April 2015. He came out with severe neck injuries, and his subsequent death led to rioting. Six officers were charged initially, but prosecutors in July 2016 dropped all remaining charges after acquittals and a hung jury. Gray's family agreed to a $6.4 million settlement with the city in September 2015.

__

ERIC HARRIS

Former Tulsa County volunteer sheriff's deputy Robert Bates, 74, was sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison for second-degree manslaughter in the April 2015 death of Harris, 44, who was unarmed and restrained. Bates, who is white, has said he confused his stun gun with his handgun. That shooting led to the temporary suspension of the reserve deputy program after a report found poor training of the volunteer officers, a lack of oversight, and cronyism. Bates is appealing his conviction.

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TAMIR RICE

The 12-year-old was fatally shot by a white Cleveland police officer near a gazebo in a recreational area in November 2014. Officers were responding to a report of a man waving a gun. The boy had a pellet gun tucked in his waistband and was shot after the officers' cruiser skidded to a stop, just feet away. A grand jury in December 2015 declined to indict patrolman Timothy Loehmann, who fired the fatal shot, and training officer Frank Garmback. The city settled Rice's family's lawsuit for $6 million. Cleveland in May fired Loehmann and suspended Garmback for 10 days. The officers' union said it will challenge the discipline, calling it politically motivated.

___

AKAI GURLEY

Rookie New York City police officer Peter Liang was convicted of manslaughter last year in the November 2014 death of 28-year-old Gurley. Liang, an American of Chinese descent, said he was patrolling a public housing high-rise with his gun drawn when a sound startled him and he fired accidentally. A bullet ricocheted off a wall, hitting Gurley. A judge reduced the conviction to negligent homicide and sentenced Liang to five years' probation and 800 hours of community service. The city settled with Gurley's family for $4.1 million.

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MICHAEL BROWN

The unarmed 18-year-old was fatally shot by a white officer, Darren Wilson, in August 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. A grand jury declined to indict Wilson, and the U.S. Justice Department opted against civil rights charges. Wilson later resigned. The death of Brown led to months of occasionally violent protests and became a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement, which rebukes police treatment of minorities.

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LAQUAN MCDONALD

Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder in November 2015, on the same day that the city, under a judge's orders, released dashcam video showing 17-year-old McDonald being shot 16 times on Oct. 20, 2014. Van Dyke, who is white, has pleaded not guilty. The video prompted local and federal investigations. The Justice Department determined in January that Chicago police have a long history of civil rights violations and excessive force. The Chicago Police Department has since released a new use-of-force policy that requires officers to undergo de-escalation training and imposes stricter rules on when they can fire their weapons at fleeing suspects.

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ERIC GARNER

The 43-year-old man died in July 2014 in New York City after a white officer placed him in a chokehold during an arrest for selling loose cigarettes. A grand jury declined to indict that officer, or any others involved in the arrest. The city agreed to pay a $6 million civil settlement.

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REKIA BOYD

Chicago police officer Dante Servin resigned in May 2016 after the police superintendent said he should be fired for killing Boyd four years earlier. Servin was off duty when he shot the 22-year-old unarmed woman. She had been walking down a street with her friends when he told them to be quiet, and he fired when he thought he saw a gun. Prosecutors charged Servin with involuntary manslaughter; a judge acquitted him in April 2016, saying he'd been improperly charged. The city settled a wrongful-death lawsuit in 2013 with Boyd's family for $4.5 million.

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This story corrects the spelling of Garmback in the second reference to the officer who was involved in the Tamir Rice shooting.
ERIN, Wis. (AP) - Hideki Matsuyama had a solid showing at the Masters in April. Then he stumbled a bit in his next three starts on the PGA Tour.

Looks like he might be back on track again.

Matsuyama vaulted into contention at the U.S. Open with a 7-under 65 on Friday, moving to 5 under and a tie for eighth - just two shots back of the four-way tie atop the crowded leaderboard. The Japanese star matched Chez Reavie for the best round of the day, three shots clear of the next best performance by Bill Haas.

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, walks to the 18th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament Friday, June 16, 2017, at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

"Shooting a good score today gave me a lot of confidence," Matsuyama said. "I really haven't been hitting the ball well as of late. To shoot a good round like today, I'm certainly looking forward to the weekend."

Matsuyama defended his title in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February, beating Webb Simpson in a playoff at TPC Scottsdale. He closed with a 67 at Augusta that got him into a tie for 11th at 1 under, but his game dropped off a bit from there.

After tying for 45th at the Memorial last month, Matsuyama arrived at Erin Hills on a downturn in a topsy-turvy season. He shot a 2-over 74 on Thursday.

"After yesterday's round, I received a couple of tips from different people, and it seemed to work well," he said.

Quite well.

The 25-year-old Matsuyama, ranked No. 4 in the world, birdied six of his first eight holes in the second round. He made the turn at 6-under 30, just one off the U.S. Open record of 29 for nine holes.

He added another birdie on the par-3 13th. He had a chance to match Jonny Miller's U.S. Open record for low round in relation to par, but he settled for par on the 676-yard 18th.

"There were a couple of loose swings out there, but when you shoot 65, you can take those," he said.

Matsuyama played alongside first-round leader Rickie Fowler and Jon Rahm, ranked No. 10 in the world. Fowler and Rahm each shot 73.

___

Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, hits a drive on the 14th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament Friday, June 16, 2017, at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, walks up the 12th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament Friday, June 16, 2017, at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, wipes his head on the 18th green during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament Friday, June 16, 2017, at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
HONOLULU (AP) - A Polynesian voyaging canoe is returning to Hawaii after a three-year journey around the world guided only by nature.

No modern navigation was used by those aboard to guide the canoe named Hokulea across 40,000 nautical miles (74,000 kilometers).

Instead, the canoe's navigators used only ocean waves, stars and the wind to find their way.

FILE - In this April 29, 2014 file photo, the Hokulea sailing canoe is seen off Honolulu. The Polynesian voyaging canoe is returning to Hawaii after a three-year journey around the world guided only by nature with navigators using no modern navigation to guide Hokulea across 40,000 nautical miles to 19 countries. Thousands are expected to welcome the double-hulled canoe to Oahu, Hawaii, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Sam Eifling, File)

Thousands are expected to welcome the double-hulled canoe powered by two main sails to Oahu on Saturday.

The voyage is perpetuating traditional navigating methods that brought the first Polynesians to Hawaii.

Navigators are also spreading a message of caring for the Earth.

Polynesian Voyaging Society President Nainoa Thompson notes that the ancestors who discovered Hawaii were good stewards of the islands.

The Hokulea will next embark on an eight-month journey throughout the Hawaiian islands.

FILE--In this June 8, 2016, file photo, the traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokulea, on an around-the-world journey, sails by the United Nations on New York's East River, during the World Oceans Day observance. The Polynesian voyaging canoe is returning to Hawaii after a three-year journey around the world guided only by nature with navigators using no modern navigation to guide Hokulea across 40,000 nautical miles to 19 countries.Thousands are expected to welcome the double-hulled canoe to Oahu, Hawaii, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
HAVANA (AP) - President Donald Trump's announcement that he's "cancelling" his predecessor's policy toward Cuba is a good deal less than meets the ear.

Trump's move, announced Friday in Miami, actually leaves in place most of the important elements of President Barack Obama's moves to open relations with the island.

And while his policy has the stated aim of helping the country's nascent private sector, it contains a measure that could damage thousands of small-business people who host, feed and transport independent American travelers to Cuba.

President Donald Trump speaks about Cuba policy, Friday, June 16, 2017, in Miami. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump's policy keeps a U.S. Embassy open in Havana and allows U.S. airlines and cruise ships to continue service to Cuba. Cuban-Americans can still send money to relatives and travel to the island without restriction. U.S. farmers can continue selling their crops to the Cuban government.

The new policy aims to starve military-linked businesses of cash by banning any U.S. payments to them. It pledges to help the entrepreneurial class that has grown since President Raul Castro enacted changes after taking office a decade ago.

"Effective immediately, I am cancelling the previous administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump said. "We will very strongly restrict American dollars flowing to the military, security and intelligence services that are the core of the Castro regime." He promised "concrete steps to ensure that investments flow directly to the people so they can open private businesses and begin to build their country's great, great future."

The policy will undoubtedly reduce the flow of cash to GAESA, the military-linked conglomerate that operates dozens of hotels and other tourism-related businesses. But those businesses host hundreds of thousands of Canadian, European and Latin American tourists a year, and do unfettered business with corporations from around the world, reducing the impact of any U.S. cutoff.

Weakening the impact further, Trump's policy carves out exceptions in the military ban for airlines, cruise ships, agricultural sales and remittances.

The policy also allows Americans to continue patronizing state-run hotels and other businesses that are not directly linked with Cuba's military and state-security services. And, of course, nothing prevents the Cuban government from simply moving revenue over to the military or state security, a vulnerability in the policy that the White House has not addressed.

The policy risks harming independent business people by restoring a requirement for most American travelers to visit Cuba as part of tightly regulated tour groups. The Cuban government has traditionally steered those tour groups to state-run business, meaning the majority of American travelers to Cuba will probably no longer be able to patronize private restaurants, bed-and-breakfasts and taxi drivers.

Private entrepreneurs say Americans represent a disproportionate share of their revenue because they spend more than other travelers for high-end services that badly run state-operated business typically cannot provide.

Trump also demanded the return of U.S. fugitives including Joanne Chesimard, a black militant convicted in 1977 of the murder of a New Jersey state trooper.

"The harboring of criminals and fugitives will end," Trump said. "You have no choice. It will end."

Many of the high-profile fugitives in Cuba are black or Puerto Rican militants who were offered political asylum by Fidel Castro during the 1970s and 1980s.

Cuba has repeatedly said it will not renege on the promise of the former president, who died in November.

____

Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd

___

Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein

President Donald Trump shows a signed executive order on Cuba policy, Friday, June 16, 2017, in Miami. From left are, Rep, Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., Florida Gov. Rock Scott, Cary Roque, and Vice President Mike Pence. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - A jail superintendent and 11 other officials were arrested in the wake of a jail break in which two militants who were on trial escaped from a high-security prison, Pakistani police said Saturday.

The arrested officials were being questioned to determine how two members of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group escaped Wednesday from the jail in the port city of Karachi, senior police official Khawaja Naveed said.

He alleged the two men escaped due to negligence of the jail staff. Naveed said efforts were under way to trace and capture the escapees who were arrested in 2013 over alleged links to terrorism.

His comments came two days after counter-terrorism officials claimed the two militants shaved their beards in a court bathroom located on the jail premises and fled without being checked. Authorities in Pakistan conduct trials of high-profile militants inside jails due to security reasons.

Also on Saturday, Mohammad Saeed, provincial head of the paramilitary Rangers, said security forces in an overnight raid arrested four members of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group and seized weapons and explosives from their hideout in Karachi. He said the detained men wanted to target a rally of Shiite Muslims.

The arrest of the four men came as Shiites prepared to hold rallies across Pakistan to observe the anniversary of the death of Imam Ali, the father of Imam Hussein who was killed along with 72 friends and family members at the battle of Karbala in Iraq.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has links to the Pakistani Taliban and is accused of killing scores of minority Shiite Muslims in Pakistan.
LANCASTER, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina's 5th Congressional District has all the usual campaign season trappings: signs dot many front yards and the airwaves are jammed with political ads. Yet the special election to fill the House seat vacated when Mick Mulvaney became White House budget director has largely unfolded without the intense partisan fever of contests elsewhere, like Georgia's hotly disputed congressional race.

Voters on Tuesday choose between Ralph Norman, a Republican backing the Trump administration, and Archie Parnell, a Democrat who says he is best aligned to represent the district's voters, in a district that was a Democratic stronghold more than a century until the Republican Mulvaney rode into office on a tea party wave in 2010.

While Georgia's special election Tuesday is widely seen as an early political test for the Trump administration, the race for Mulvaney's seat in this conservative Southern state is decidedly low key, barely registering on the national level. Despite the many signs, ads and events, even some voters are on the fringes of the race in their sprawling district, which crosses 11 counties from the state capital, Columbia, north to spillover suburbs of the banking hub of Charlotte, North Carolina.

"Honestly, we haven't kept up with all of it," Vicki Belk, 65, said recently over burgers and fries at Sam-Bo's Drive-In, a fixture in the rural community of Lancaster. But the retired state employee added on behalf of herself and her husband: "Both of us will vote Republican."

That's good news for Norman, a former state representative and developer who lost his initial bid for the seat in 2006 to longtime Democrat John Spratt. Norman is making another go of it this year, after emerging as the race's top Republican after a hard-fought, seven-way primary and runoff.

Parnell defeated two other Democratic contenders to win his party's nod.

Democrats held the seat for more than a century until Spratt's three-decade-long-run ended when Mulvaney beat him in 2010. Republicans say their recent hold on the seat - coupled with Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton here by more than 18 percent - shows a trend toward conservatism in this already deeply red state.

Norman has the backing of big-name conservatives such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who both have campaigned with him. A Washington-based conservative group, the Club for Growth, also infused Norman's GOP runoff campaign with TV ads, and he's run plenty of his own.

National Democratic Chairman Tom Perez has stumped with Parnell, as have a handful of congressional Democrats. But the race has drawn none of the national attention of Georgia's contest. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has only dropped $275,000 into the race, compared to a $5 million investment in the special election in Georgia's 6th District, which has been in GOP hands since Newt Gingrich's 1978 victory.

That money, according to DCCC, is largely being directed toward turnout within the African-American community - about 28 percent of the district's population, compared to more than 67 percent white.

Even in 2008, when Spratt was re-elected for the final time, the GOP ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin beat back Barack Obama and Joe Biden by a 15-percent margin here in Lancaster County. In 2016, Trump defeated Clinton by a resounding 26 percent here.

That's not stopping Parnell's enthusiastic attempt to recapture the seat Spratt and his predecessors had held under Democratic sway for decades.

"He's just a normal, everyday guy," Gil Small, 69, said of Parnell, a former Goldman Sachs tax adviser who's also worked as a Capitol Hill lawyer. Small added that Parnell has the knowledge to implement much-needed tax reform, as well as business development.

Democrats like Small are looking for a chance to flip the seat back to blue, arguing that the slim margin that separated the top two vote-getters in a hard-fought GOP runoff show divisions within that party. Norman topped centrist state lawmaker Tommy Pope by just over 200 votes.

But the deeply divided electorate, according to one of the Republicans defeated by Norman, is boding well for conservatives.

"There's such polarization that people are actually looking at issues, and they're not maybe identifying with party as much," said Chad Connelly, a former state GOP chairman who had sought the Republican nomination. "Thankfully for me as a Republican, they're finding out that conservative policies are what they're aligning with."

Small, who for more than a decade chaired Lancaster County's Democratic Party, said he worries about the shift, adding with a smile: "I want it back to the way it was 20 years ago."

___

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP. Read more of her work at https://apnews.com/search/meg%20kinnard
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Romanian border police have detained 32 Iraqis hidden in a truck transporting furniture who told authorities they were trying to reach a country in Europe's visa-free Schengen travel zone.

Police stopped the truck at the Romanian-Hungarian border Saturday and the Romanian truck driver told authorities he was headed to Italy. Police checked the vehicle and found 11 men, six women and 15 teens hidden among the furniture, all asylum-seekers in Romania.

The migrants told authorities they were headed to a Schengen country. Romania is not a member of the group. They said they hid in the truck because they did not have visas.

Police detained the migrants and are questioning them on suspicion of trying to cross the border illegally. The driver said he did not know about the migrants.
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial (all times local):

11 p.m.

Bill Cosby and his team declared victory after jurors in his sexual assault trial deadlocked and a judge declared a mistrial.

Bill Cosby raises his hand as he exits the Montgomery County Courthouse after a mistrial was declared in Norristown, Pa., Saturday, June 17, 2017. Cosby's trial ended without a verdict after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

But prosecutors say they will retry Cosby on charges he drugged and molested Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Cosby says the encounter was consensual.

Jurors deliberated more than 52 hours over six days before a judge declared a mistrial for the 79-year-old comedian on Saturday.

___

8 p.m.

Prosecutors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial have vowed to try him a second time.

A suburban Philadelphia judge declared a mistrial on Saturday after a jury insisted it was hopelessly deadlocked on charges the 79-year-old TV star drugged and molested Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. Cosby says the encounter was consensual.

District Attorney Kevin Steele says he's disappointed jurors didn't reach a unanimous decision, but says he'll retry Cosby. The jury deliberated for more than 52 hours over six days.

Cosby will remain free on $1 million bail.

___

12:35 p.m.

Bill Cosby's chief accuser is thanking prosecutors for taking her case after a jury failed to agree on a verdict.

Lawyers for Andrea Constand issued a statement on her behalf Saturday. It says the trial has "given a voice to the many victims who felt powerless and silenced."

Constand accuses the 79-year-old entertainer of drugging and molesting her at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. He says it was consensual.

The judge declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked on the charges after six days.

Prosecutors say they plan to try Cosby again.

Cosby will remain free on $1 million bail.

___

11:55 a.m.

Prosecutors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case are praising the accuser and say she's "entitled to a verdict in this case."

District Attorney Kevin Steele spoke to reporters after the judge declared a mistrial Saturday.

Steele says he's disappointed the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision.

He says he'll retry Cosby on charges the 79-year-old TV star drugged and molested Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. Cosby says the encounter was consensual.

Steele declined comment on a statement from Cosby's wife, Camille, which called him "heinously and exploitively ambitious."

A jury deliberated for more than 52 hours over six days before declaring itself hopelessly deadlocked.

Constand did not appear at the news conference.

Cosby will remain free on $1 million bail.

___

11 a.m.

The defense side in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial is declaring victory and going on the attack after jurors deadlocked and the judge declared a mistrial.

Spokesman Andrew Wyatt said Saturday that "Cosby's power is back."

Cosby's wife, Camille Cosby, slammed prosecutors for bringing the case to court. She issued a statement calling District Attorney Kevin Steele "heinously and exploitively ambitious." She also attacked the judge, the accuser's lawyers and the media.

The jury deliberated more than 52 hours on charges that Cosby drugged and molested Andrea Constand in his Philadelphia area home in 2004.

Steele says he will retry the 79-year-old comedian on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby's lawyer says he and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual sexual encounter.

Cosby will remain free on $1 million bail.

___

10:40 a.m.

Prosecutors say they'll retry Bill Cosby on sexual assault charges after his first trial ended in a hung jury.

Jurors deliberated more over than 52 hours over six days before telling a judge Saturday they couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether Cosby drugged and molested Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

The judge then declared a mistrial for the 79-year-old comedian.

Cosby remained stoic, while Constand embraced the person next to her.

Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault. His lawyer says Cosby and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual sexual encounter.

Cosby will remain free on $1 million bail.

___

10:25 a.m.

Bill Cosby's trial on sexual assault charges has ended without a verdict after jurors failed to break a deadlock.

Jurors deliberated more than 52 hours over six days before telling a judge they couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether "The Cosby Show" star drugged and molested Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

The judge then declared a mistrial for the 79-year-old comedian.

Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

His lawyer says Cosby and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual sexual encounter.

Dozens of women have come forward to say he had drugged and assaulted them. This was the only case to result in criminal charges against Cosby.

Prosecutors get four months to decide whether they want to retry Cosby or drop the charges.

___

9:30 a.m.

Bill Cosby is back in court for the sixth day of jury deliberations in his sexual assault trial.

The jury resumed deliberations Saturday over whether the 79-year-old TV star drugged and molested a woman in his Philadelphia-area home in 2004.

Jurors have already discussed the case for more than 50 hours since Monday, leading to Cosby's lawyer to push for a mistrial. The judge has refused, saying jurors are permitted under the law to deliberate as long as they want. The jurors have been trying to break a deadlock.

Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault that could put him in prison for the rest of his life.

___

1:20 a.m.

Deliberations in Bill Cosby's sex assault trial are pushing into Father's Day weekend after jurors failed to reach a verdict in the first five days.

But lawyers for the man once known as America's Dad say they've had enough. They repeatedly asked a judge for a mistrial on Friday.

Judge Steven O'Neill refused, saying there's no precedent to halt the jury's work.

Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle says jurors might think they have to deliberate until "the cows come home."

Deliberations resume Saturday. Jurors have been working for 52 hours since getting the case on Monday.

The 79-year-old Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting a Temple University employee in 2004 at his home near Philadelphia. He maintains it was consensual.

Cosby thanked fans and supporters as he left court Friday.
BERLIN (AP) - A left-leaning German newspaper is apologizing for a front-page headline on the death of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl that some considered distasteful.

The conservative Kohl, who spearheaded Germany's reunification in 1990, died Friday at age 87. On Saturday, the daily Tageszeitung's headline was "Blooming Landscapes," an allusion to Kohl's promise of an economically flourishing eastern Germany, over a picture of wreaths.

Chief editor Georg Loewisch said on the newspaper's website it had been trying to counter an "uncritical glorification" of powerful people when they die. The newspaper, he said, creates its front pages "with the principle, 'better cheeky and free than well-behaved.' In this case, it failed. And I am sorry for that."

A delegate signs a condolences book for former German Chancellor and party chairman Helmut Kohl during a regional party convention of the German Christian Democratic Party (CDU) in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 17, 2017. Kohl died on Friday, June 16, 2017 at the age of 87. (Maurizio Gambarini/AP via dpa)

A lawmaker with Kohl's party, Marco Wanderwitz, wrote on Twitter that the front page was "shameful, unworthy and small-minded."
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) - Authorities say a 4-year-old girl has been shot and killed by her 6-year-old sibling in their South Carolina home.

Spartanburg Police spokesman Maj. Art Littlejohn said in a statement that officers are investigating the Friday afternoon shooting. The statement says it appears to be accidental and charges likely won't be filed.

Authorities say one bullet hit Carley Mack and she died at the hospital about 45 minutes later.

Littlejohn did not say whether the 6-year-old who fired the gun was the girl's brother or sister or give any details about who owned the gun or how the child got it.
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) - A military official says at least five people are dead after an attack on a Malian army post in the country's volatile north.

Col. Diarran Kone, spokesman for Mali's army, says eight others were wounded in the attack in Bintagoungou early Saturday.

While there are no immediate claims of responsibility, the attack is similar to others by jihadists active in the region. A number of extremist groups are present in the West African nation.

The Malian military and U.N. peacekeepers are frequent targets of the Islamic extremists who once ruled northern Mali's towns. They were ousted in 2013 by a French-led military operation but continue to carry out attacks.
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A northwest Ohio village police chief fatally shot an armed man in the back from 70 yards (64 meters) away while the man sat beneath a tree talking to a deputy sheriff just 15 feet away who was trying to end the standoff, according to a federal wrongful death lawsuit by the man's family last week in Toledo

The lawsuit filed by 59-year-old John Anderson's ex-wife, son and daughter said Edon Police Chief Thomas Szymczak had no reason to kill Anderson last June at the man's home in Montpelier in rural Williams County.

The Williams County sheriff was in charge of the scene with deputies "in complete control of the situation" when Szymczak killed Anderson with an assault-style rifle, the lawsuit said.

"Szymczak shot Anderson in the back despite the fact there was no order to shoot," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit filed against the village and police chief alleges that Szymczak told authorities he shot Anderson because the deputies wouldn't.

A grand jury declined to indict Szymczak, The Blade has reported. The newspaper also has reported that Szymczak returned to work in January after a seven-month paid leave.

The Edon village solicitor has disputed the lawsuit's claims. Szymczak doesn't have a publicly listed telephone number. Neither The Blade nor The Associated Press could reach him for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Anderson was in poor health and receiving in-home medical care when, on the morning of June 16, 2016, he called the medical provider and said he was armed and "was done with his life." Company officials contacted the Williams County Sheriff's Office, which sent deputies to his home.

Anderson was sitting in a chair outside the home when two deputies arrived and initially took cover. Anderson refused to drop the rifle and then sat down beneath the tree and pointed the weapon at the ground as deputies had asked, the lawsuit said.

He became more agitated as other law enforcement officers arrived, including Szymczak, who had heard a radio call asking for additional officers. Edon is about 10 miles from Montpelier.

The lawsuit said Anderson told the deputy now standing in front of him unprotected: "I'm not going to hurt you, but I don't want anyone here."

Szymczak got out of his cruiser armed with an AR-15, turned down or turned off the volume on his communications headset and positioned himself in a field of weeds about 70 yards from Anderson, the lawsuit said. Seconds after Anderson's daughter arrived, a shot rang out and Anderson fell backward, mortally wounded. He was pronounced dead at a hospital having been shot in the heart.

Deputies learned that the .22-caliber assault-type rifle Anderson held wasn't functional.

The lawsuit seeks at least $150,000 in damages.

___

This story has been corrected to show the lawsuit was filed last week, not this week.

___

Information from: The Blade, http://www.toledoblade.com/
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's first visit to Camp David (all times local):

12:50 p.m.

President Donald Trump is spending Father's Day weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and their son and Barron Trump, board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 17, 2017, en route to Camp David in Maryland. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

It is Trump's first visit to the rustic hideaway that presidents before him have used as a place to relax and get away from Washington, or to conduct the people's business.

Trump has spent few weekends in Washington since he took office in January. So far, he has preferred spending weekends at his luxurious properties in Florida or New Jersey over the White House.

He flew by helicopter to Camp David on Saturday accompanied by his wife, Melania, their 11-year-old son, Barron, and the first lady's parents.

Trump is scheduled to return to the White House on Sunday.

___

3:45 a.m.

President Donald Trump is picking simple over swanky this weekend.

Nearly five months into his presidency, Trump is heading to Camp David for the first time. The government-owned retreat is located in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains.

A frequent weekend traveler, Trump has favored his palatial residences in Florida and New Jersey over the wooded hideaway used by many presidents.

Presidents have been coming to the refuge about 70 miles northwest of the White House for seven decades, and not always just for a rest.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill there in 1943 to review plans for the invasion of Normandy. Jimmy Carter used Camp David for peace talks between Egypt and Israel. George H.W. Bush's daughter Dorothy was married there.

FILE - In this March 20, 1959, file photo, a Marine captain stands guard at the entrance to the Aspen lodge at Camp David, near Thurmont, Md., as talks between President Dwight Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan on the Berlin situation get underway. Presidents have been coming to this refuge about 70 miles from the White House for seven decades, and not always just for a rest (AP Photo/Paul Vathis, File)

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and their son and Barron Trump, walk to Marine One across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 17, 2017, en route to Camp David in Maryland. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

FILE - In this April 22, 1961 file photo, President John F. Kennedy, left, and former President Dwight D. Eisenhower with their heads bowed as they walk along a path at Camp David in Thurmond, Md., as the two met to discuss the Bay of Pigs invasion. Presidents have been coming to this refuge about 70 miles from the White House for seven decades, and not always just for a rest (AP Photo/Paul Vathis, File)

FILE - In this May 14, 2015, file photo, President Barack Obama waves to members of the media after meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and delegations at Camp David, Md. President Donald Trump is picking simple over swanky this weekend. Nearly five months into his presidency, Trump is heading to Camp David, the government-owned retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, for the first time. A frequent weekend traveler, Trump has so far favored his palatial residences in Florida and New Jersey over the wooded hideaway used by many presidents for a break from Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

This photo provided by the White House shows, President George W. Bush talking to troops from Camp David, Maryland, on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 2008. President Donald Trump is picking simple over swanky this weekend. Nearly five months into his presidency, Trump is heading to Camp David, the government-owned retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, for the first time. Presidents have been coming to this refuge about 70 miles from the White House for seven decades, and not always just for a rest. (Eric Draper/The White House via AP)

FILE - This Sept, 6, 1978 photo provided by the White House shows the principals in the Middle East Summit, from left, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat, President Jimmy Carter, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, meeting for the first time at Camp David, Md. Presidents have been coming to this refuge about 70 miles from the White House for seven decades, and not always just for a rest (White House via AP)
Prosecutors have vowed to try Bill Cosby again, declaring the woman who accuses the comedian of drugging and molesting her at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004 is "entitled to a verdict."

A look at the charges against him, which remain active despite the mistrial that was declared Saturday after the jury deadlocked:

___

District Attorney Kevin Steele holds a news conference after a mistrial in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case in Norristown, Pa., Saturday, June 17, 2017. Cosby's trial ended without a verdict after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

WHAT IS COSBY ACCUSED OF?

Drugging and sexually violating a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Andrea Constand says Cosby gave her pills that made her paralyzed and unable to fight him off as he groped her breast and genitals. His lawyers said they were in a romantic relationship and what happened was consensual. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.

___

WHAT IS HE CHARGED WITH?

Three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault, each covering a different aspect of the alleged crime.

Count 1 alleges that Cosby didn't have consent when he penetrated Constand's genitals with his fingers.

Count 2 alleges she was unconscious or semi-conscious at the time and could not give consent.

Count 3 alleges all this happened after he gave her an intoxicant that substantially impaired her and stopped her from resisting.

___

HOW MUCH TIME COULD HE HAVE FACED?

Each of the three counts carries a standard sentence range of five to 10 years in prison.

But experts say that if he had been convicted, it's likely Cosby's attorneys would have been able to successfully argue the charges be combined for sentencing purposes, since they cover the same encounter and conduct.

Under state sentencing guidelines, a conviction would have put Cosby, 79, in prison at least until he was 84.

___

WHAT WAS THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO FOR COSBY?

Pennsylvania law allows sentencing judges to consider uncharged conduct. In Cosby's case, that could have involved the more than 60 other women who have accused him of assaults dating to the 1960s.

Duquesne University law professor Wes Oliver said that if Cosby had been convicted, those allegations could have compelled Judge Steven O'Neill to sentence him closer to 10 years.

___

WOULD HE HAVE HAD TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER?

Yes. If he had been convicted, prosecutors say Cosby would have had to register as a sex offender and face an assessment to determine whether he was a sexually violent predator.
A recap of what happened Saturday in the Bill Cosby sex assault case, which ended in a mistrial. Cosby is charged with drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home outside Philadelphia in 2004. Dozens of other women have accused Cosby, now 79, of molesting them decades ago, and 10 have lawsuits pending against him. Only one was allowed to testify in the Constand case. Cosby has denied all their claims.

THE MISTRIAL

Judge Steven O'Neill declared a mistrial after the jury of seven men and five women, picked 300 miles away in the Pittsburgh area and sequestered since the trial began June 5, announced they were hopelessly deadlocked after 52 hours of deliberations over six days. The jury got the case Monday, and first declared itself deadlocked Thursday on the three counts of aggravated indecent assault. But the judge sent them back to try to reach a unanimous verdict. Neither the judge nor attorneys said they were aware of how the jury split on Cosby's guilt or innocence. The charges against Cosby remain in place.

Bill Cosby exits the Montgomery County Courthouse after a mistrial in his sexual assault case in Norristown, Pa., Saturday, June 17, 2017. Cosby's trial ended without a verdict after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

___

A NEW TRIAL

District Attorney Kevin Steele said immediately after the mistrial that he would retry Cosby. He said Constand "is entitled to a verdict in this case and the citizens of Montgomery County, where this crime occurred, are entitled to a verdict in this case. And we will push forward." He said prosecutors felt good about the case, but "there's always tweaks."

___

THE COSBYS' RESPONSE

Cosby, who did not take the stand during his trial, did not comment outside court. Instead, a publicist read a blistering statement from his wife, Camille, who had been in court during one day of the trial but was not at the courthouse Saturday. In the statement, which Bill Cosby later tweeted, she attacked Judge O'Neill, describing him as "overtly arrogant" and accusing him of "collaborating with the district attorney." She described the prosecutor as "heinously and exploitively ambitious."

___

COSBY'S LAWYER

From defense attorney Brian McMonagle: "There were no winners here but like the song goes you don't always get what you want but if you try sometimes ... you get what you need. If the case is retried, know that I will once again put them to the test."

___

ANDREA CONSTAND

After the mistrial, Constand doled out hugs to her mother, prosecutors and some of the other women who say the TV star drugged and abused them. She did not comment publicly. But her lawyer, Dolores Troiani, said "she's a very spiritual person. She believes things happen for a reason."

"She will absolutely come back again," she said.

In a written statement, Troiani thanked prosecutors for raising awareness "that one of the hallmarks of drug-related sexual assaults is the effect the drug has on the victim's memory and ability to recall, and were nonetheless willing to present this evidence to the jury. We are confident that these proceedings have given a voice to the many victims who felt powerless and silenced."

___

THE OTHER ACCUSERS

Kelly Johnson was the only other accuser allowed to testify at Cosby's trial; the prosecution had wanted to put on 13. Johnson alleged that Cosby drugged and molested her at a Los Angeles hotel bungalow in 1996. Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Johnson and many other accusers, said she hoped more can testify at the next trial. Said Allred: "We can never underestimate the blinding power of celebrity, but justice will come."

Cindra Ladd, one of the 13 who could not take the stand, issued a statement thanking Constand for "her leadership and courage."

"Bill Cosby has already been exposed as a predator who hid behind his jovial mask for more than 50 years and no jury verdict will ever change that," she posted on Facebook. Ladd accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in 1969 in New York.

Cosby's lawyers have denied the charges.

___

This story has been corrected to show the jury consisted of seven men and five women, not seven women.
HYANNISPORT, Mass. (AP) - The Latest on a ferry crash in Massachusetts that left several people injured (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

Authorities say a total of 18 people were injured after a high-speed ferry struck a jetty in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, and began taking on water.

The ferry Iyanough hit the jetty and grounded on the rocks at the Hyannis Harbor entrance Friday night. The vessel serves a 26-mile (42-kilometer) route between Nantucket and Hyannis.

Hyannis acting Fire Chief Dean Melanson said Saturday that 15 people, of the 18 who were injured, were taken to the hospital. The other three people injured underwent evaluations that did not require them to be hospitalized.

Melanson says none of the injuries are life-threatening.

Steamship Authority general manager Wayne Lamson says it's not completely clear how the crash happened. Authorities are investigating.

___

1:15 p.m.

Fire officials have updated the number of people injured to 13 after a high-speed ferry struck a jetty in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, and began taking on water.

The ferry Iyanough hit the jetty and grounded on the rocks at the Hyannis Harbor entrance Friday night. The vessel serves a 26-mile (42-kilometer) route between Nantucket and Hyannis.

Hyannis Fire Capt. Bill Rex told The Boston Globe on Saturday that 56 passengers and crew members were removed from the boat. He said he had no reports of life-threatening injuries.

A Cape Code hospital spokeswoman said the injured had been treated and released by noon Saturday.

___

4:30 a.m.

The Coast Guard says at least six people were injured when a high-speed ferry struck a jetty in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, and began taking on water.

The ferry Iyanough hit the jetty and grounded on the rocks at the Hyannis Harbor entrance around 10 p.m. Friday. It serves a 26-mile route between Nantucket and Hyannis. There were 48 passengers, 6 crew members and 3 food service workers on board the vessel at the time of the mishap.

The Steamship Authority says bad weather, strong winds and choppy seas are believed to have contributed to the grounding of the Iyanough,

The Coast Guard says rescue crews worked into the night to transfer passengers and ferry crew.

___

1 a.m.

The Coast Guard says at least four people were injured after a high-speed ferry struck a jetty in Hyannisport and began taking on water.

The ferry Iyanough hit the jetty and grounded on the rocks at the Hyannis Harbor entrance around 10 p.m. Friday. It serves a 26-mile route between Nantucket and Hyannis.

The Coast Guard says rescue crews will work into the night to safely transfer passengers and ferry crew. They also will assess the ferry's damage.

The ferry is operated by the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, connecting the Massachusetts islands with the mainland. It can hold up to 400 people.
PROVO, Utah (AP) - About 800 members of Utah's GOP on Saturday picked a former state legislator as their preferred candidate to compete in a special election to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who is resigning at the end of the month.

Chaffetz's decision to step down left an enticing open seat that attracted 12 Republicans, including state lawmakers, political activists, lawyers and others to compete in what's considered one of the most conservative congressional districts in the country.

Chris Herrod, who won the vote of the nearly 800 GOP delegates at a convention in the city of Provo, will advance to a primary election in August, where he'll will face two candidates who gathered voter signatures in order to get on the ballot: John Curtis, the popular mayor of Provo, and Tanner Ainge, a consulting firm owner and son of Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge.

Former Utah lawmaker Chris Herrod speaks during a special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. Herrod won the vote of about 800 state Republican delegates in a race to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz in Congress, advancing to an August primary election. Herrod won the delegate vote at the Saturday convention after defeating state Sen. Deidre Henderson and nine other GOP candidates in five rounds of voting. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Herrod, a home loan officer in Provo, served in Utah's Legislature for five years beginning in 2007, unsuccessfully challenged Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch in 2012 and worked on Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign last year.

Herrod was one of the only candidates on Saturday to mention of an issue dominating Washington - the widening probe into Russia's election meddling and possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia.

Herrod discussed his experience teaching at universities in Ukraine in the 1990s and his familiarity with the former Soviet Union. Herrod, echoing comments he made in a debate the evening before, told the crowd that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "a chess player" who has out-maneuvered the Obama administration and U.S. media.

"We need to get over accusations of collusion and get to the real issues," Herrod said, a statement that was met with applause.

Herrod, speaking to reporters after his win, said he's no fan of Putin's but thinks the U.S. needs open lines of communications with Russia to tackle issues like terrorism and the war in Syria.

Herrod said that while he thinks the U.S. should investigate the Russian election meddling, he said the U.S. has tried to influence elections in other countries and there's no allegations that Russians tampered with U.S. ballots or voting. The investigations can continue but Republicans need to get to work, he said.

When asked about whether he thinks Trump obstructed justice by firing FBI director James Comey, who was leading the investigations, Herrod said he's seen no evidence of that and thinks it's telling that Comey didn't report that Trump had obstructed justice.

All GOP candidates but Tanner Ainge chose to vie for the votes of Utah delegates, giving speeches on Saturday where they pledged to be champions of conservatism if elected and spoke of their admiration for former GOP President Ronald Reagan and a desire to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law.

Despite a GOP-controlled Congress and White House, the 11 candidates spoke about a need for changes in Washington, from a revamped tax system to elected leaders who aren't beholden to special interests.

Chaffetz, considered popular in Utah's 3rd Congressional District, received almost no mention at Saturday's event, including comments about his surprise decision to leave office about six months after winning re-election, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. As chairman of the House Governmental Oversight Committee, Chaffetz was a determined investigator of the Obama administration and of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Only a handful of the candidates appeared to make any endorsement of Trump, who finished third in Utah's presidential primary last year. At the time, Trump acknowledged he was having a tough time in the GOP state, where many Mormons and conservatives said they couldn't support him because of his brash demeanor and comments about women and minorities.

The most ringing endorsement of Trump on Saturday came from candidate and political activist Debbie Aldrich, who said candidates had no business representing the district in Washington if they couldn't back the party's leader.

Though Herrod worked on Cruz's presidential campaign, he voted for Trump in the general election and appeared at one of his rallies.

One candidate, American Fork lawyer Damian Kidd, criticized the other candidates for what he saw as ostentatious campaign booths and freebies they used to woo delegates. He questioned how fiscally responsible the other candidates could be after spending on extravagant booths with large slick banners, a waffle bar, a lounge area with mood lighting and plants and campaign gear like shirts and water bottles.

The August primary election, where the GOP nominee will be finalized, will be a traditional election with ballots and voting machines run by the state elections office.

Utah Democrats held their own convention on Saturday, selecting physician Kathie Allen, who will not have to compete in a primary election.

___

Follow Michelle L. Price at https://twitter.com/michellelprice.

Republican state Sen. Deidre Henderson speaks during a 2017 special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017 in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Chris Herrod, a loan officer in Provo, speaks during a 2017 special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017 in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Delegates take a vote during a special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Provo Mayor John Curtis speaks during a special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Debbie Aldrich speaks during a special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

American Fork lawyer Damian Kidd speaks during a 2017 special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Stewart Peay, a Salt Lake City lawyer, speaks during a 2017 special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Orem state Rep. Brad Daw speaks during a 2017 special nominating convention Saturday, June 17, 2017 in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

State Sen. Margaret Dayton, a Republican from Orem, speaks during a 2017 special nominating convention Saturday, June 17, 2017 in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Paul Fife speaks during a 2017 special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Keith Kuder speaks during a 2017 special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Shayne Row speaks during a 2017 special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Former Utah lawmaker Chris Herrod, speaks with delegates before start of a 2017 special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017 in Provo, Utah. Herrod won the vote of about 800 state Republican delegates in a race to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz in Congress, advancing to an August primary election.Herrod won the delegate vote at a Saturday convention after defeating state Sen. Deidre Henderson and nine other GOP candidates in five rounds of voting. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Former Utah lawmaker Chris Herrod, speaks with delegates before start of a 2017 special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017 in Provo, Utah. Herrod won the vote of about 800 state Republican delegates in a race to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz in Congress, advancing to an August primary election.Herrod won the delegate vote at a Saturday convention after defeating state Sen. Deidre Henderson and nine other GOP candidates in five rounds of voting. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Former Utah lawmaker Chris Herrod speaks during a special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017 in Provo, Utah. Herrod won the vote of about 800 state Republican delegates in a race to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz in Congress, advancing to an August primary election. Herrod won the delegate vote at the Saturday convention after defeating state Sen. Deidre Henderson and nine other GOP candidates in five rounds of voting. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Delegates take a vote during a special convention Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Provo, Utah. About 1,000 Utah Republicans gathered Saturday at the special convention to cut down a field of 12 candidates vying to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and advance one candidate to an August primary election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
WETZLAR, Germany (AP) - Tyron Zeuge retained his WBA super middleweight title by unanimous decision over Paul Smith of England on Saturday.

All three judges awarded it 119-108 in favor of the unbeaten German, who had the better of every round bar one in what was an unspectacular bout.

Zeuge limited his attacks to short but effective bursts and hit back on the counter any time Smith advanced, which was limited.

The seventh round was indicative of the bout as a whole. Smith tried pushing forward but Zeuge stayed elusive and punctured the challenger's defense with blows that counted.

The eleventh was Smith's best as he rocked Zeuge with a huge right but it was too little, too late, as Zeuge resumed control, even knocking the challenger to the canvas before the final bell.

Zeuge, trained by former two-time world champion Juergen Braehmer, improved to 21-0-1 (11 KOs), while Smith dropped to 38-7 (22 KOs).
The Queen has said the country has been resolute in the face of adversity following recent tragedies in London and Manchester.

She said it was difficult to escape a very sombre mood, in a message released on her official birthday.

Accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge, the Queen visited west London on Friday after a deadly fire claimed the lives of at least 30 people at the Grenfell Tower.

A message from The Queen on Her Majesty's Official Birthday. https://t.co/vaKt5qj7IZ pic.twitter.com/Tv7t9aB3PV  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 17, 2017

She said: Today is traditionally a day of celebration. This year, however, it is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood.

In recent months, the country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies.

As a nation, we continue to reflect and pray for all those who have been directly affected by these events.

The Queen signs a book on condolence. (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

During recent visits in Manchester and London, I have been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need.

The monarch visited the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital following the Manchester Arena attack in which 22 people were killed following an Ariana Grande concert.

She added: Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity.

United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss.
The Queen has marked her official birthday with the pomp and pageantry of the famous Trooping the Colour ceremony  but also acknowledged the succession of terrible tragedies in recent weeks.

Under blue skies and brilliant summer sunshine the Queen watched the centuries-old military spectacle of might, splendour and precision marching on Horse Guards Parade, Henry VIIIs former jousting yard.

Soldiers ahead of the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade. (Jonathan Brady/PA)

The event is an important day in the Armed Forces calendar where the families and friends of the officers and soldiers on parade, proudly watch the ceremony.

But with the nation reeling from the Grenfell Tower block inferno that has so far claimed 30 lives and the recent terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, the Queen issued a message on her official birthday to recognise the feelings of many.

Ladies arrive for the Trooping the Colour ceremony. (Soldiers ahead of the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade. (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Before the Queen arrived the wives, girlfriends and other relatives of the men on the parade ground rose as one to observe a minutes silence for the victims of the fire.

The Queen's Birthday Flypast over Buckingham Palace (Cpl Tim Laurence/MoD/Crown Copyright/PA)

The Queen said in her message: Today is traditionally a day of celebration. This year, however, it is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood. In recent months, the country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies.

The Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Cambridge arrive. (Jonathan Brady/PA)

As a nation, we continue to reflect and pray for all those who have been directly affected by these events.

A cheer from the hundreds gathered in nearby St Jamess Park and The Mall had signalled the Queens carriage procession was approaching, with the monarch riding in an Ascot Landau with the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Queen makes her way down The Mall from Buckingham Palace. (Jonathan Brady/PA)

A few minutes earlier the Duchess of Cambridge, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry had travelled together in another carriage, while in a third was the Duke of York with his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and the Earl of Wessex.

Soldiers with a Standard ahead of the Trooping the Colour. (Jonathan Brady/PA)

The Prince of Wales, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Princess Royal, Colonel of the Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards, were on horseback.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh during Trooping the Colour (Jonathan Brady/PA)

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the Countess of Wessex did not attend as she had a private engagement.
Boss Aidy Boothroyd insists his England Under-21s can improve at Euro 2017.

The Young Lions play Group A leaders Slovakia on Monday knowing a win is vital to keep their qualification hopes alive following a 0-0 draw against Sweden.

Here's how last night's #U21EURO results have left the Group A table looking. Plenty to play for! #YoungLions pic.twitter.com/jTAk4X8c9o  England (@England) June 17, 2017

Jordan Pickfords penalty save from Linus Wahlqvist nine minutes from time in Poland on Friday earned a crucial point but Boothroyd knows they can get better.

He said: Im not satisfied because I want to win every game but when you get to this level you have to be realistic that you cant win every single game. Whats important is you keep focused and dont get beaten and make sure you qualify.

I thought it was a typical opening game. We were a bit nervy, opening the tournament, first game. No matter how good a player you are just to get settled in was important for us.

It was a fair result in the end and we can certainly play better than we did. Sweden gave us problems which we dealt with.

#YoungLions defender @CalumChambers95 pays tribute to @JPickford1 after his penalty save earns England a draw in #U21EURO opener with Sweden pic.twitter.com/2Hq0Vlt1Fo  England (@England) June 16, 2017

Tammy Abraham twice went close while Ben Chilwell, who conceded the late penalty, hit the bar with a deflected effort in the second half.

Pawel Cibicki hit the woodwork for Sweden who also trail group leaders Slovakia by two points after they beat Poland 2-1 in the late game on Friday.

England's Jordan Pickford saves a follow up shot from Sweden's Carlos Strandberg (not pictured) after he saved a penalty from Sweden's Linus Wahlqvist during the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Group A match at the Kolporter Arena, Kielce.

Boothroyd also responded to Sweden manager Hakan Ericsons claim the Young Lions were too direct at the Kolporter Arena.

He added: When you play against a team who sits as deep as they do thats where the space on the pitch is. Hes right, thats what we did to open it up and play through them.

What were good at is getting it off the lines and playing in pockets. (Lewis) Baker, (James) Ward-Prowse, (Jacob) Murphy are all very good at that but we couldnt find the room to do that.
Fifty-eight people are missing and presumed dead in the Grenfell Tower disaster, the officer in charge of the investigation has said.

Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy warned that the death toll could rise further as he formally identified a first victim as 23-year-old Mohammad Alhajali.

Earlier on Saturday Prime Minister Theresa May met victims of the blaze at Downing Street, amid criticism she had not seen them in the immediate wake of the tragedy.

Mr Cundy said: Sadly, at this time there are 58 people who we have been told were in the Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing, and therefore sadly, I have to assume that they are dead.

Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy updates the media near Grenfell Tower (Victoria Jones/PA)

He added: That number 58 may change. I really hope it wont, but it may increase. Our focus has been on those that we know were in Grenfell Tower. However, there may be other people who were in there on the night that others were not aware were there.

That is also an absolute priority for the investigation  to establish who they may be.

Protesters on Whitehall (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Mr Cundy also appealed to anyone who may have escaped from the building, but has not yet come forward, to make themselves known.

Of the 58, he said 30 were confirmed dead. 16 bodies have been recovered from the Tower and taken to a mortuary.

Mr Cundy said the police investigation into the blaze would look at the building and its refurbishment in 2016 and vowed to prosecute people if there is evidence.

Theresa May has faced protests in the aftermath of the fire (Jonathan Brady/PA)

He said: The investigation is a police investigation. We investigate criminal matters. The investigation will identify any criminal offence that has been committed. It will be wide ranging.

It will go to establish the answers of what happened in the fire and how it spread, it will look at the building itself, it will look at the refurbishment as well.

Our criminal investigation will identify any criminal offences that have been committed. Wherever we can, we will bring people to justice if there is evidence. It is completely and wholly inappropriate for me to talk about details of the investigation which may subsequently jeopardise any criminal proceedings.

Floral tributes left near the scene of the fire (Victoria Jones/PA)

Victims made clear their demands to the Prime Minister in a two and a half hour meeting in Number 10.

A man representing the group, who did not give his name, told reporters they would make a full statement in the community .

He said the group had spoken about their demands and what we expect.
The family of Syrian refugee Mohammad Alhajali, the first Grenfell Tower victim to be identified, have described him as a a very amazing and kind person.

The 23-year olds family said he had come to the UK with hopes for the future, and they will miss him dearly.

In a statement Mr Alhajalis family said: Mohammad was a very amazing and kind person. He gave love to everyone. He came to the UK because he had ambitions and aims for his life and for his family.

Floral tributes left near Grenfell Tower (Yui Mok/PA)

Our whole family will miss Mohammad dearly and he will never be forgotten. To God we belong and to him we return.

Mr Alhajalis older brother Omar  who was with him in the flat  survived the fire after they were separated on the way out.

Almost 65,000 people have signed a petition to bring his parents to the UK so they can attend Mr Alhajalis funeral.

The petition was set up by family friend Mirna Suleiman, 26, who had been ringing around numerous hospitals, rest centres and the casualty helpline for news of his fate before discovering that he had not made it out alive.

She chose to launch the campaign because, because as someone with Syrian family herself, she knew how difficult it was to obtain a visa for visits.

Ive tried to apply for a visa for my nan in Syria  appealed and appealed and got no response, she said.

The percentage of rejected visa applications for visits from Syria has soared after the countrys devastating civil war began in 2011.

However, the Home Office has indicated that it will allow Mr Alhajalis family to come to the UK on compassionate grounds.

The Change.org petition follows a crowdfunding effort to pay for Mr Alhajalis funeral.
British number one Johanna Konta booked a place in the final of the Aegon Open in Nottingham with a 6-2 7-5 win over Magdalena Rybarikova.

Top seed Konta, 26, maintained her record of having yet to drop a set in the tournament as she closed in on her first WTA title on home soil.

Playing in the semi-finals of the competition for the first time, Konta twice broke Rybarikova in the opening set.

After swapping breaks in the second, the Slovakian double-faulted in the 11th game to gift Konta the advantage and the Briton served out the match.

Konta will now take on Donna Vekic in Sundays final after the Croatian caused an upset by outlasting fifth seed Lucie Safarova 7-6 (7/5) 3-6 7-6 (7/4) in three tough sets.

(Joe Giddens/PA)

Russias Natalia Vikhlyantseva upset Ana Konjuh in straight sets at the Ricoh Open in s-Hertogenbosch to reach her first WTA final.

Vikhlyantseva will meet Estonias Anett Kontaveit in Sundays showpiece after beating fifth seed Konjuh 6-3 7-5.

Unseeded Vikhlyantseva, who had lost her previous six matches before this tournament, broke Konjuh in the fourth game of the opening set and hit back from 4-5 down in the second to win the last three games.

Kontaveit booked her place in the final by defeating Lesia Tsurenko 6-3 6-7 (0/7) 6-2.

World number 49 Kontaveit built a 4-1 lead in the opening set and although her errors were punished in a one-sided second-set tiebreak, she held the edge on the big points in the decider to triumph in two hours.
Justin Thomas equalled the major record with a 63 in the third round of the US Open at Erin Hills on Saturday.

He is the 29th player to achieve the feat, with Greg Norman and Vijay Singh having done it twice.

Here is the list:

Greg Norman shot a 63 at the Masters

Masters

Nick Price (1986)

Greg Norman (1996)

US Open

Johnny Miller (1973)

Jack Nicklaus had a round of 63 at the US Open 27 years ago (Don Morley/Empics)

Jack Nicklaus (1980)

Tom Weiskopf (1980)

Vijay Singh (2003)

Justin Thomas (2017)

The 8th player in history to shoot 9 under par in a Major (second youngest). pic.twitter.com/SJmYuv2kzT  DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 17, 2017

The Open

Mark Hayes (1977)

Isao Aoki (1980)

Greg Norman (1986)

Paul Broadhurst (1990)

Jodie Mudd (1991)

Nick Faldo (1993)

Payne Stewart (1993)

Rory McIlroy carded a 63 at The Open Championship in 2010 (Lynne Cameron/PA)

Rory McIlroy (2010)

Phil Mickelson (2016)

Henrik Stenson (2016)

US PGA Championship

Bruce Crampton (1975)

Raymond Floyd (1982)

Gary Player (1984)

Vijay Singh is one of two players to have hit 63 twice in a major (Neal Simpson/Empics)

Vijay Singh (1993)

Michael Bradley (1995)

Brad Faxon (1995)

Jose Maria Olazabal (2000)

Mark OMeara (2001)

Thomas Bjorn (2005)

Tiger Woods shone at the US PGA Championship in 2007 (Steve Parsons/PA)

Tiger Woods (2007)

Steve Stricker (2011)

Jason Dufner (2013)

Hiroshi Iwata (2015)

Robert Streb (2016)
MEXICO CITY, June 16 (Reuters) - Mexico is looking forward to its next round of offshore oil auctions on Monday with guarded optimism thanks to robust interest from oil majors for the shallow-water tenders.

On Monday, Mexico auctions 15 oil and gas blocks along the southern coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the next stage of the country's historic opening of the industry following a 2013-14 energy reform.

In December 2013 Congress changed the constitution to end a 75-year production and exploration monopoly enjoyed by state oil company Pemex in a bid to reverse years of declining output.

Among the companies that prequalified to compete are Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips, Eni SpA, Repsol SA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC Ltd) .

All told, 20 companies signed up to take part on an individual basis, with 16 consortia also on the list.

Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell said he was hopeful that at least 35 to 40 percent of the blocks would be won.

"The pleasing thing about this auction is the high number of consortia taking part, which is a sign there will be plenty of bids," he told Reuters on Friday. "There wouldn't be much point in forming a consortium and then not making an offer."

How many blocks were snapped up would depend on whether bidding focused on just a few areas, or many, he added.

The auction is the fifth since the energy reform, including one deep-water and two previous shallow-water tenders, yielding 39 contracts signed with forecast investment over the life of the contracts at $48.8 billion, according to energy ministry data.

Juan Carlos Zepeda, head of the oil regulator known as CNH which oversees the auction, also saw the number of equity tie-ups among oil companies as a positive sign, expressing optimism that "a bit more than the international benchmark of 30 percent" could be assigned.

The blocks up for auction are spread between the coastal waters of the Gulf states of Veracruz, Tabasco and Campeche, with an average size of 594 square kilometers.

If successful, the blocks could yield production of some 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) in five years, the CNH estimates.

Total crude oil production in Mexico now stands at 2.01 million bpd, down from a peak of 3.38 million bpd in 2004. (Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez and Dave Graham; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
By Julia Symmes Cobb

BOGOTA, June 16 (Reuters) - Colombia on Friday reached a deal with public school teachers to end a 37-day strike that has kept millions of children out of classes, amid criticism the government has failed to keep its promise to improve public education after a peace deal with Marxist rebels.

Union members participating in the nationwide walkout held near-daily marches, often blocking busy roads in the capital Bogota to demand more funding for school maintenance, supplies, student meals and salaries.

President Juan Manuel Santos says he is focused on combating inequality and improving education now that a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an end of more than 52 years of war, is under way.

But educators said improvements are nowhere to be seen and their salaries, some as low as 1.8 million pesos per month (about $610), are not adequate compensation for work that requires extensive and expensive higher education.

"The government's priority was always to reach an agreement that recognizes the work of teachers and the indispensable role of education in the development of the country and, at the same time, be responsible with public finances," Education Minister Yaneth Ghia told reporters.

The deal, among other things, will improve salaries through progressive bonus payments and allow bigger union involvement in how money is spent on education, she said.

The powerful Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode) union, which represents more than 350,000 teachers, agreed to the deal after meeting with Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas.

"The president said the money that went to the war would go to education but now there's no FARC, no guns and we don't see the funds," said high school teacher Jose Escobar, 36, earlier on Friday during a protest in Bogota's main square.

Places at his school, Colegio German Arciniegas in Bogota's poor Bosa neighborhood, are in such high demand that it has been impossible to implement the government's goal of full-day classes, Escobar said. Instead, 4,800 students in grades nine through 11 attend half-day, or six hours.

Friday's deal will push toward the aim of full-day study.

Santos has weathered a wave of strikes in recent weeks, reaching agreements to halt protests in the port city Buenaventura and a strike by public workers.

"If the government truly is working for peace, they need to start here," said Adriana Tunjo, a fifth-grade teacher in southern Bogota, who like other protesters decried problems which included electricity outages and sporadic provision of meals. (Additional reporting by Helen Murphy; Editing by Helen Murphy, Bill Trott and Diane Craft)
DUBAI, June 17 (Reuters) - State-owned Qatargas said on Saturday it had signed an agreement with Shell for the delivery of up to 1.1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year for five years.

The agreement will start in January 2019 and will be for the supply of LNG from Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited (4) (Qatargas 4), a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum which holds 70 percent and Shell with the remaining 30 percent.

The LNG will be delivered to either the Dragon LNG Terminal in Britain or the Gate LNG Terminal in the Netherlands, Qatargas said in a statement, which gave no value for the deal.

Qatar, the world's biggest exporter of LNG, faces competition from Australian and U.S. producers. Supply deals into Europe offer a valuable option as Asia's gas-consuming economies rein in new deals in light of a growing supply overhang.

The Shell agreement also comes as the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world continues to simmer.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar this month, accusing it of supporting terrorism, a charge which Doha denies.

Qatargas has said its LNG supply to the world's largest LNG importer Japan would not be affected by the economic, diplomatic and transport boycott. (Reporting by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Adrian Croft)
By Maher Chmaytelli

ERBIL, Iraq, June 17 (Reuters) - The Iraqi army and Sunni tribal fighters have dislodged Islamic State from the al-Waleed border crossing into Syria, an Iraqi military statement said on Saturday.

The capture of al-Waleed removes Islamic State fighters from the vicinity of a U.S. base located on the other side of the border, in Syrian territory.

Aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition and the Iraqi air force took part in the operation, the statement said.

Al-Waleed is close to Tanf, a strategic Syrian border crossing with Iraq on the Baghdad-Damascus highway, where U.S. forces have assisted Syrian rebels trying to recapture territory from Islamic State.

U.S. forces have been based at Tanf since last year, in effect preventing Iranian-backed forces supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from receiving heavy weaponry from Iran by using the main highway between Iraq and Syria.

The involvement of Iraqi Sunni tribal fighters in the operation to dislodge the militants from al-Waleed is another indication that Iran will not yet be able to use the highway.

Pro-Assad forces in Syria, mainly comprising Iraqi Shi'ite militias, last week reached the Iraqi border north-east of Tanf, potentially preventing the U.S.-backed rebels from taking more territory from Islamic State alongside the border area with Iraq.

In Mosul, where a U.S.-backed offensive against Islamic State on Saturday entered its ninth month, the militants have been squeezed into an enclave on the western bank of the Tigris river.

Islamic State also controls territory along the border with Syria and urban pockets west and south of Mosul. In Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, made up predominantly of Kurdish fighters, have seized territory to the north, east and west of Raqqa, Islamic State's Syrian bastion.

About 100,000 civilians remain trapped in harrowing conditions behind Islamic State lines in Mosul, with little food, water and medicine and limited access to hospitals, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.

Islamic State snipers are shooting at families trying to flee on foot or by boat across the Tigris River, as part of a tactic to keep civilians as human shields, it said.

Iraqi government forces regained eastern Mosul in January, then a month later began the offensive on the western side that includes the Old City, a dense maze of narrow alleyways where fighting is mainly done house by house.

The fall of Mosul would, in effect, mark the end of the Iraqi half of the "caliphate" that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared in a speech from an historic mosque in the Old City three years ago, covering parts of Iraq and Syria.

Moscow said on Friday its forces may have killed Baghdadi in an air strike in Syria last month, but Washington said it could not corroborate the death and Western and Iraqi officials were sceptical.

About 200,000 people were estimated to be trapped behind Islamic State lines in Mosul in May, but the number has declined as government forces have thrust further into the city.

About 800,000 people, more than a third of the pre-war population of the northern Iraqi city, have fled, seeking refuge with friends and relatives or in camps. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Andrew Bolton and Stephen Powell)
VIENNA, June 17 (Reuters) - Thomas Wieser, the EU official who runs preparations for Eurogroup meetings, hopes Greece will be able to tap international markets for money between autumn this year and spring 2018, he told ORF radio on Saturday.

Euro zone governments threw Greece another 11th-hour credit lifeline on Thursday worth $9.5 billion and sketched new detail on possible debt relief as the IMF finally offered to help out after two years of hesitation.

The 8.5 billion euros of loans from the euro zone's 18 other states lets Athens avoid defaulting on bailout repayments next month and recognises unpopular cuts and reforms the left-wing government has made.

Wieser said in an interview broadcast on Saturday it was up to the Greek government to work towards attracting money that did not come from other European taxpayers.

"It is my hope that it will happen from autumn 2017 or spring 2018 that foreign investors will lend their money to Greece," Wieser said.

He added he was certain that such debt would be bought with a risk mark-up and at short maturities. (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Adrian Croft)
By Lisa Barrington

BEIRUT, June 17 (Reuters) - The Syrian army said it would suspend combat operations in the southern city of Deraa for 48 hours from Saturday, as mediators announced two separate attempts to convene new peace talks next month.

The Syrian army general command said a ceasefire at noon (0900 GMT) was being implemented to support "reconciliation efforts", according to a statement carried by state news agency SANA.

The announcement came on the same day as the United Nations said it wanted to start a fresh round of peace talks between Syrian factions on July 10 in Geneva, and Moscow said it hoped to hold talks in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on July 4-5.

Since a resumption of peace negotiations last year, there have been multiple rounds brokered by the United Nations in Geneva between representatives of Syrian rebels and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, resulting in scant progress.

Another track of talks brokered by Russia - a key Assad ally - has also been happening in Astana, Kazakhstan, since January.

In an emailed statement, the office of United Nations special mediator for Syria Staffan de Mistura said he wished to convene a seventh round of Geneva talks in July and further rounds in August and September.

The United States welcomed the ceasefire announcement and called on the Syrian government to live up to its ceasefire commitments.

"We will judge this initiative by the results not the words," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. She urged the Syrian opposition groups to halt attacks to allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need.

PAUSE IN HOSTILITIES

In more than six years, the Syrian conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven more than 11 million from their homes.

In May, Iran, Russia and Turkey brokered a deal in Astana to create four "de-escalation" zones in Syria.

Violence levels have been vastly reduced in those proposed de-escalation areas, but fighting has continued in major frontline areas, including in Deraa city.

The Syrian army and Iran-backed militia forces have stepped up attacks against a rebel-held part of Deraa city in recent weeks, in a possible prelude to a large-scale campaign to gain full control.

De Mistura said this week a new round of talks would depend on the progress made in setting up the de-escalation zones.

The United States and Russia have been holding talks in Jordan on creating a separate de-escalation zone in southwestern Syria that would include Deraa province, on the border with Jordan, and Quneitra, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Jordan's government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said on Saturday he hoped all parties would abide by the ceasefire, which was important for those in need of humanitarian aid, Jordan's state news agency Petra reported.

Momani also said it was important that parties work through the Geneva peace process.

A war monitor said the level of violence in Deraa had fallen seven hours after Saturday's ceasefire was due to take effect, but it and rebels said there was some bombardment for the first couple of hours.

A rebel commander in Deraa told Reuters hostilities had not stopped three hours after the ceasefire was due to begin.

"We have not heard of any such talk and the regime is still attacking us with the same intensity," the commander said at 3:30 p.m. (1230 GMT).

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said there was a "cautious calm" by 7 p.m.

"There are breaches and we are distrustful of the regime's intentions in abiding by the ceasefire," Major Issam al Rayes, spokesman for the Southern Front grouping of the Free Syrian Army rebels, told Reuters.

"The regime's forces have stopped their military operations after big losses in equipment and men since the start of their campaign over a month ago ... after the failure of repeated attempts to advance," he said.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Beirut and Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; Additional reporting by Andrey Ostroukh in Moscow, Shadia Nasralla in Vienna and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Dale Hudson and James Dalgleish)
The list of area stores owned by national retailers fighting for solvency has grown longer, but Albemarle County officials and area business insiders say possible bankruptcies and closures likely wont hurt local sales tax revenue.

Theres no denying its a rough ride for bricks and mortar stores, especially for some department stores that once ruled the retail roost.

National sporting goods chain Gander Mountain declared bankruptcy earlier this year and the store in Albemarle is under liquidation sale. Meanwhile, Charlottesvilles Kmart is slated to close in July.

Several national retailers with area stores are fighting for survival although they remain open for business in the area, including Sears, J.C. Penney, Payless Shoes, J. Crew and Aeropostale.

Moodys Investor Service this month estimated that 22 retail chains have debt ratings of Caa or lower, meaning their stocks are a substantial risk and extremely speculative investments.

The majority of retailers remain fundamentally healthy, said Charlie OShea, Moodys lead retail analyst. But as select groups of retailers continue to deteriorate  in particular, department stores and specialty retailers  we believe the distressed ranks will keep growing.

County officials say their coffers are being filled by shoppers shifting spending from traditional stores to lifestyle and experience sites such as the Shops at Stonefield and 5th Street Station.

If there is a transition from brick and mortar to online sales, and everything indicates there is, its not necessarily going to mean less in sales tax revenue. It may not be as much of an issue, said Steven Allshouse, economic analysis and forecasting manager for Albemarle County.

Allshouse noted that sales tax revenue is only about 6 percent of the countys budget, far less than real estate or personal property taxes. He noted that some money from online purchases will come back to the county through use taxes on Amazon and other internet retailers who have shipping centers in Virginia.

But he said the post-recession shift to making purchases at multiple outlets in fashion-conscious shopping centers and increased spending at grocery stores have made up for the decline.

Demand for a product does not change because a store went out of business. People still have the same demand, they just utilize other resources, Allshouse said.

Timothy Hulbert, president of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he believes the newer centers are helping to bolster local sales tax income by keeping residents from going out of town to shop.

Before Stonefield and 5th Street Station, a lot of Charlottesville-area residents used to go to Short Pump and Richmond to go shopping, Hulbert said. When your residents go somewhere else to shop, its called leakage, and those centers have stopped some of the leakage of retail sales that we had.

Hulbert said he is uncertain what is causing traditional large retailers to suffer losses.

Thats a difficult question. A lot of people dont go to those places because there are now boutique locations in these shopping centers that offer a variety of outlets to get what you want instead of getting everything at one place, he said.

Not only has the leakage shrunk dramatically, but folks from the other side of the mountain are saying, lets go to Charlottesville, and its because of the newer centers, Hulbert said. When do we get to a point where retail growth in the area is no more? I dont think it will happen.

Allshouse agrees.

I dont see sales tax revenue as being under pressure, but I see it growing for the last five years. Looking forward from the revenue standpoint, Im quite optimistic, he said.

Virginia Department of Taxation figures back him up.

In 2016, Charlottesville and Albemarle County had their highest sales tax revenue and retail sales in a decade, according to the tax department. Total retail sales tax revenue in 2016 reached a combined $27.4 million in the city and county, the third-straight year that sales set records.

Using the state tax revenue figures, which were compiled based on the 1 percentage point of the state sales tax given back to localities, the local chamber estimated that Charlottesville and Albemarle retailers and restaurants made $2.74 billion in sales in 2016.

Sales and tax revenues were up 6.7 percent in Albemarle County in 2016 over 2015 and up 4.85 percent in Charlottesville for the same period, according to state figures.

Figures for the first three months of 2017 for the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area show the region is on track to meet or exceed last years revenues, the tax department figures show.

In addition to the city, the MSA includes Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson counties.

The state sales tax is levied on gross receipts from retail sales of tangible personal property and hotel and motel rooms. Nonprescription drugs and proprietary medicines have exemptions from state sales taxes.

In 2015, shopping centers in Charlottesville and Albemarle County were nearly full with occupancy rates of 95 percent or more, with the exception of a few locations. Local analysts at the time said new centers likely would bring in more business rather than rob existing tenants.

Increasingly, consumers are going to experiential shopping centers. A 2012 analysis estimated 5th Street Station could generate around $9 million a year in additional tax revenue for Albemarle, including $1 million in real estate taxes.

That hasnt escaped the countys planning department.

Theres experiential shopping where you go some place and get a shirt, but there is also a movie theater and a variety of experiences surrounding the store in a type of cluster, said Andrew Gast-Bray, the countys director of planning. These centers are getting more attention, and we are getting more sales tax revenues because of these experience centers.

Gast-Bray said it is likely that future shopping centers will look very little like the retail centers of the late 20th century and more like the business districts of the early 20th century, with stores, offices and residences stacked up in layers.

When you have proximity to something and experience to go with it, people tend to want to be there, Gast-Bray said. If you can live on the third floor and you come home from work and can walk down the stairs to the grocery store and maybe a restaurant rather than getting in your car and driving, you are likely to do just that.

Gast-Bray said new projects in the county might look more like the old downtowns.

We need to be thinking of the future we are creating for our citizens, he said. Sales tax revenue is part and parcel of the new lifestyles we are looking at catering to. If we can keep the purchases local, we keep the sales tax.
WASHINGTON  Heres how area members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending June 16.

House

Eligibility for health care tax credits. Voting 238 for and 184 against, the House on June 13 passed a bill (HR 2581) that would require persons applying for premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act to submit their Social Security numbers to document their citizenship or legal status. However, the bill rules out as verification the IRS-issued Individual Taxpayer Identification Number that those who lack Social Security numbers use to file federal tax returns. The bill would replace a two-step ACA verification process that allows a 90-day grace period so that when a person's documentation is uncertain, their coverage can begin immediately, with any erroneous tax credits to be recouped. Directed mainly at immigrants, the bill also would apply to the GOP's proposed American Health Care Act if that measure becomes law.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: Tom Garrett, R-5th; Dave Brat, R-7th.

Immediate health insurance for infants. Voting 193 for and 231 against, the House on June 13 defeated a Democratic bid to ensure immediate health care coverage under HR 2581 (above) for newborns and infants up to 12 months old whose legal status cannot be promptly established because of the time it takes to obtain a Social Security number for meeting the bills verification requirement.

A yes vote was to adopt the Democratic motion.

Voting no: Garrett, Brat.

Senate

Economic sanctions on Iran. Voting 98 for and two against, the Senate on June 15 passed a bill (S 722) that would impose U.S. economic sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that provide support to Irans ballistic-missile program, which is separate from its now-dormant nuclear-arms program. The bill also would sanction Irans Revolutionary Guard over its terrorist activities and the Mahan Air commercial airline that is thought to transport terrorists and weapons in the Middle East. The sanctions would consist of steps such as denying certain individuals entry to the U.S. and freezing violators assets in U.S.-based financial institutions.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the House.

Voting yes: Mark R. Warner (D); Tim Kaine (D).

Economic sanctions on Russia. Voting 97 for and two against, the Senate on June 14 amended S 722 (above) to require congressional review of attempts by any president to ease or remove U.S. economic sanctions on Russia. In addition, the amendment would place a range of new sanctions on the Russian economy while putting into law several Obama-era executive orders that penalize the Kremlin for its interventions in the U.S. and other countries. Both the new and existing penalties are responses, in part, to Russias cyber-warfare against U.S. elections, aggression in Ukraine and support of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The measure would apply to Russian economic sectors such as mining, metals, shipping and railways; address corruption and human rights abuses in Russia; impose financial penalties on non-Russian entities and individuals that provide the Kremlin with certain types of commercial support and penalize entities that supply weapons to the Syrian regime.

A yes vote was to expand U.S. economic sanctions on Russia.

Voting yes: Warner, Kaine.

Arms to Saudi Arabia. Voting 47 for and 53 against, the Senate on June 13 defeated a measure (SJ Res 42) that would block the administrations plan to sell Saudi Arabia $500 million in laser-guided bombs and related weaponry for its war against Iranian-backed forces in Yemen. The package is part of a proposed $110 billion U.S. weapons sale to the Saudis. Backers argue the transaction will help contain Irans expansion in the Middle East, while critics say it would further entangle America in Yemens civil war and humanitarian crisis.

A yes vote was to block the $500 million arms sale.

Voting yes: Kaine.

Voting no: Warner.
On Twitter recently, a letter to The Daily Progress from Aug. 26, 2016, headlined Garrett wrong on climate change, was recirculated.

The retweet brought up a salient question in light of the presidents recent decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement: Does [5th District Rep. Tom Garrett] still doubt scientific consensus that [climate change] is man-made?

During his campaign for Congress, Garrett acknowledged the reality that the earths temperature is rising, yet suggested that he needed to take a long, hard look at the science before taking action.

Fortunately for him, this information is readily available for his perusal. I would encourage the congressman to visit NASAs Global Climate Change site. There, he will find statements from American scientific societies and academies, U.S. governmental agencies, and intergovernmental bodies that have concluded that human activities are the primary cause of rises in global temperature.

In fact, 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree that human activities have caused trends in global warming over the past century.

There is plenty of credible scientific information available for Congressman Garrett to learn from, and I urge him to do so sooner rather than later. At a time when the U.S. president is rescinding our commitment to rest of the world to keep our planet from warming to dangerous levels, it is increasingly urgent for our elected officials in Congress know the facts in order to do their jobs and fight for the health and safety of our nation.

When it comes to the realities and dangers of climate change, I suggest Congressman Garrett take the advice he recently gave a constituents at a town hall and Google it!

Caroline Melton, Charlottesville

References:
New Delhi: For the second time in a week, the Competition Commission has dismissed allegations of unfair business practices made against Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm.

The complaint mainly pertained to the free services offered by the new telecom player and allegations that it indulged in predatory pricing. This is the second time that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has rejected a complaint against Reliance Jio.

On June 9, it had dismissed similar allegations made by telecom major Bharti Airtel. "The Commission is of the view that the introductory offers of OP-1 (Reliance Jio Infocomm) do not amount to any contravention of the provisions of the (Competition) Act," CCI said in its order dated June 15 and based its conclusions on the earlier ruling in the Bharti Airtel complaint.

To decide the case, the regulator considered 'provision of wireless telecommunication services to end users in each of the 22 circles in India' as the relevant market.

Two individuals filed the complaint against Reliance Jio as well as Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

Since the relevant markets for the two cases were same, CCI extensively cited the previous order in the current ruling. The market is characterised by the presence of several players resulting in sufficient choice to consumers who can

shift from one service provider to another and that too with ease, CCI noted.

"In a competitive market scenario, where there are already big players operating in the market, it would not be anti-competitive for an entrant to incentivise customers towards its own services by giving attractive offers and schemes," the regulator noted.

Quoting the previous order, the watchdog also said that such short-term business strategy of an entrant to penetrate the market and establish its identity cannot be considered to be anti-competitive in nature and as such, cannot be a subject matter of investigation under the Competition Act.

Finding no prima-facie evidence of competition norms violations, CCI also rejected the allegations against DoT, Trai and BSNL.
Chennai: Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal today sought to allay the fears of traders on implementation of the Goods and Services Tax.

He was participating in a conference organised by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India here. The issues raised by the textile and automobile industry would be discussed during the next round of GST Council scheduled to be held on July 18, he said.

On steps taken to provide GST in rural areas, he said GST Suvidha Providers would be set up in those areas which lack basic infrastructure. GST Suvidha Providers are set up to provide convenient mode to taxpayers and other stakeholders. The Suvidha Provider are selected by GST Network.
New Delhi: RBI Deputy Governor S S Mundra today ruled out coming out with next batch of loan defaulters against whom insolvency proceedings will be initiated.

The Internal Advisory Committee (IAC), comprising of a majority of its independent board members, secretariat is periodically coming out with communications, he said adding, the list of 12 defaulters would also be informed by them.

"Twelve cases are being referred. Banks are encouraged to resolve in six months' time other cases. So that being the case where is the question of quickly coming out with another list," he said.

The banking sector is saddled with non-performing assets (NPAs) of over Rs 8 lakh crore, of which Rs 6 lakh crore is with public sector banks (PSBs). Earlier this week, the RBI identified 12 accounts for insolvency proceedings with each of them having over Rs 5,000 crore of outstanding loans, accounting for 25 per cent of total NPAs of banks.

These 12 accounts would qualify for immediate reference under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the RBI said. The Reserve Bank had set up an Internal Advisory Committee (IAC) to advise it with regard to the cases that may

be considered for reference for resolution under the IBC.

The IAC arrived at an objective, non-discretionary criterion for referring accounts for resolution under the IBC. In particular, the IAC recommended for IBC reference of all accounts with fund and non-fund based outstanding amount

greater than Rs 5,000 crore, with 60 per cent or more classified as non-performing by banks as of March 31, 2016.
Mumbai: Bollywood celebrities are not new to trolls on social media, whether that's for being fat or an unusual choice of the movie they took part in.

Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar took to Twitter and shared a message for the people who troll the B-Town celebs.

He wrote, "My dear Twitter Troll....there is a new product in the market...it's called a LIFE... please get one!! offer is open till stocks last!!!"

My dear Twitter Troll....there is a new product in the market...it's called a LIFE... please get one!! offer is open till stocks last!!!  Karan Johar (@karanjohar) June 17, 2017

A few months back, the 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' director was trolled for his sexual orientation.

Karan Johar is known for his wit and self-deprecating humour, which was also evident in his autobiography 'The Unsuitable Boy.' The book reveals his coming of age and 'coming out'.

Recently, Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra was trolled for wearing a small dress while meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, people on social media started s**t-shaming 'Dangal' girl Fatima Sana Shaikh for dressing 'inappropriately' during the holy month of Ramzan.

Karan Johar will be next seen hosting the 18th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, in New York in July.
Rating:

Director: ARK Saravanan

Cast: Aadhi, Nikki Galrani, Ramadoss, Anandha Raj, Daniel Pope, Arunraja Kamaraj, Sangili Murugan, Kota Srinivasa Rao

Maragatha Naanayam comes as a whiff of fresh air at a time when horror comedies end up being a monotonous and tedious affair in Ktown. Kudos to debutant director ARK Saravanan for his quirky thinking and smart writing of the film, the story of which unfolds in three different timelines - 1100, 1992 and 2106. The fantasy parts especially make it an intriguing watch.

Senguttuvan (Aadhi) is in need of big money to clear his huge debts. He joins hands with a small time smuggler Ilango (Daniel) who introduces him to Nochikuppam Ramadoss (Ramadoss), a veteran in the field.

Not happy with the petty plunders, Senguttuvan is on the lookout for something big. Around the same time, a Chinese smuggler comes to the city eyeing to loot the precious Maragatha Naanayam belonging to a king of Irumporai, who is rumored to be a ghost now guarding the stone. And anyone who touches the gem would get killed and there are as many as 132 men who have died earlier laying their hands on it.

Since a lucrative Rs. 10 crores is offered for the deal, Senguttuvan and Ilango want to give a try. A swamiji (Kota Srinivasa Rao) gives them an idea by which they can take the Maragatha Naanayam. Hence, they seek the help of Ilangos uncle Chidambaram who lost his life while making an attempt to possess the gem. He accidentally enters the body of Ramadoss who dies of a sudden heart attack.

Chidambaram asks for three more dead bodies to accomplish the task successfully. Accordingly, he calls upon Mahendran (Nikki Galrani), Nesamani (Arunraja Kamaraj) and Tamil Ayya (Sangili Murugan), all of whom are victims of the Irumporai king. The rest is all about whether the duo gets the artifact, which is narrated in a hilarious manner.

The highlight is undoubtedly the quirkiness associated with Nikki Galranis Sanakya character. And with her body language, the actress has pulled it off with effortless ease. Aadhi, Daniel, Ramadoss, Anandraj do justice to their solid roles. Arunraja Kamaraj and Sangili Murugan are aptly cast.

The movie starts at a leisurely pace with the director taking long time to establish the characters and fluctuating genres. But once he enters the core plot, theres an uninterrupted laughter. When we think the brief romance stint between Aadhi and Nikki might turn cliched, a twist in the tale takes place. The pre-climax drags a bit and does not give the right vibes for an heist / adventure genre. Dibu Ninan Thomas background score goes well with the mood of the film.

Maragatha Naanayam is enjoyable for most part and is worth a watch.
Gallery in Walthamstow, called 'God's Own Junkyard', houses collection of four generations of neon work (Photo: AP)

On the flick of a flurry of switches, a studio on a gray industrial estate in East London lights up to reveal hundreds of bright neon artworks.

Owned by 43-year-old artist Marcus Bracey, the gallery in Walthamstow, called 'God's Own Junkyard', houses the collection of four generations of his family who have made, bought and displayed neon works.

The pieces are accompanied by kitsch memorabilia that Bracey has collected from film sets and car boot sales across Britain, leaving just enough room for a narrow winding aisle for visitors to navigate their way through the gallery.

"This is my neon emporium, my museum of light, my Aladdin's cave," Bracey told Reuters from the center of the high-ceilinged studio which runs up an electricity bill of over 700 pounds ($900) a week.

Some of Bracey's works have appeared in films, including "Mission Impossible" and "Eyes Wide Shut", or decorated department stores, namely London's Selfridges, while others have been bought by celebrities such as Kate Moss.

Bracey recently sold a large God Save the Queen neon sign in front of a heart-shaped British, Union Jack, flag for 58,000 pounds ($74,700) at auction to a buyer in Dubai.

A replica is on display at God's Own Junkyard, which Bracey opened with his father Chris in 2008 after running out of space at home to store the family's work.

The earliest pieces in the showroom, often used for film shoots, date back to the 1950s, when Marcus's grandfather left his job as a miner in Wales to join a lighting company and eventually make signs for carnivals across Britain.

"He left the dark and came into the light," Bracey said.

Numerous sex shop signs can also be found, pieces made in the 1980s by Marcus's father Chris who flooded London's seedy Soho sex shops with a swath of fluorescent neon signs in a bid to turn the area into a replica of Las Vegas.

Bracey's new works, which take around six weeks to make with neon moulded over 800 degree burners, now sit alongside those of his 17-year-old daughter Amber, a graffiti artist and next in line to take over the family business.

Bracey, however, isn't ready to step away from his neon wonderland just yet.

"The buzz, the feel, the happiness. To turn it on and see what it looks like," he said of the excitement he gets every time he flicks on those switches.
The Narendra Modi government is planning to privatise the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata. According to reports, of the 114 autonomous institutions reviewed by officials of the Niti Aayog and the Prime Ministers office  in the first phase of the review of 679 autonomous institutions  nearly a third have been listed for reduction, or reorganisation, or corporatisation. Reduction is euphemism for merging them with other bodies or winding them up completely.

We speak to educators, filmmakers and thinkers on the impact of such a decision.

Private schools dont encourage documentaries

Gurvinder Singh, director and alumnus of FTII

Specific details about privatisation arent out yet. Even the secretary of I&B ministry said she doesnt know anything about it. We will know of the consequences only once these details are out. Will this prove better for the institution? Would there be better equipment? What will be the selection process for the board of members and faculty? Currently, we are in the dark about this.

However, if the institute is privatised, it wont be able to sustain itself with the current fee structure. Its clear that most students getting out of private film schools are geared to get into either the Hindi film industry or regional film industry; although there are exceptions. But in FTII and SRFTI, students think of themselves as budding film artists who try to work as independent filmmakers both with fiction and non-fiction. By and large, privatised film schools do not encourage documentaries and thats a problem.

High fees could deter meritorious students

Tony DSouza, Director

The step to privatise Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata is a good step towards constructive development. Privatisation would mean in flow of more funds and better management. I dont mean to say that the management now is inefficient, but it will definitely help to streamline things. However, there is a catch, if after privatisation the course fee is increased, then that will deter many meritorious students to take admission, which could prove bad.

Corporatisation will uproot the tenets of these institutions

Rohin Raveendran Nair, filmmaker and FTII graduate

There are countless film institutes sprouting all over the country offering courses in filmmaking yet two names shine: Film and Television Institute of India and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute. It is in these two institutes one can find a beautiful microcosm of India, all hailing from such diametrically opposite class and cultural backgrounds. The low cost of tuition fees ensures that those from remote corners of the nation can also aspire to join these institutes of global repute. And, they know they are in safe hands when they look at the stalwarts who have been part of this institute. But corporatisation by its very nature will uproot these tenets of these institutions. Will such a move by the government ensure that the diversity is not affected or the fee structure is not tampered with?

Nurturing art is critical for any government

Arha Padman, Film Studies Professor

While it is convenient to argue that privatisation can lead to the institutions becoming more self-sufficient, it also makes it non-accessible for talented students from lower and middle-class households. This goes against the very core idea of why these institutes were set up in the first place. Nurturing art is a critical role for any government.

In principle, education should not be privatised

Anjum Rajabali, screenwriter

In principle, I believe, education should not be privatised. And, film training is a specialised education that requires state support it recurs high cost; be it equipment or other facilities. Film schools need constant upgrading and learning to enter the stage of world cinema. But, as a result of privatisation, the cost of studying in these institutions goes through the roof. Naturally, it will become a place only for the privileged few. Storytelling and art is our cultural ambassador, and we should be attracting more young and talented minds to these institutions especially those who might not have the resources to study here. Im very saddened by the announcement. Moreover, companies would not necessarily be the best judges of faculty, and students will end up becoming customers while institutions will end up becoming mere service providers. I also believe it is the teacher-student equation that needs to be protected.

Privatisation of film institutions isnt going to make any impact

Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, Filmmaker

At a time when our country is witnessing privatisation with vested interests of the ruling party, I dont think privatisation of film institutions is going to make any impact. Look around, you can see that our public institutions already lack freedom. They appoint their favourite people as head of the institution and ban movies that are not in their favour. This situation will only aggravate in the future. Corporates may try to make profit out of it, but vested political interests are more dangerous than that. Besides, I feel that it is high time our attitude towards education changes. Education, to some extent, is self-learning. You dont need to be an institute product to make a good movie, especially in this age of digital revolution; many have proved that.
New Delhi: The 39 people from Punjab currently trapped in Iraq's war-torn Mosul are presumed to be alive, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), as the Indian government has received no information to the contrary.

The Indians went missing in 2014, and the government on Friday said that everything possible was being done to ensure their release from the captivity of Islamic State militants and to ensure their safe return.

"The information we have so far is that they are alive because we have no other information to prove that they are not alive," said MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay.

"We are in touch with all countries that can help us," Baglay added, but was unwilling to say more on the subject, which he described as a sensitive one.

Iraqi and U.S. forces are engaged in a fierce battle to eliminate ISIS fighters as a US-backed offensive to recapture the city, which fell to the hands of the Islamic State two years ago, entered its ninth month on Friday.

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said over 100,000 civilians remain trapped in Mosul and Islamic State is using some of them as human shields.

The UN refugee agency representative in Iraq, Bruno Geddo was quoted, as saying in Geneva, Switzerland, that the ISIS or IS has been capturing civilians in battles outside of Mosul and forcing them into the Old City, which is under their control.

"We know that ISIS moved them with them as they left...locations where the fighting was going on," he said, using another acronym for IS, which is also known as Daesh or ISIL.

"These civilians are basically held as human shields in the Old City," he added.
Bengaluru: Close to 8,000 invitations have been handed out for the inauguration of Namma Metro Phase-1, which will be held at Vidhana Soudha at 6 pm on Saturday with President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurating it through video link. A whopping five lakh people are expected to benefit from this stretch, which began construction in 2007.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Union Surface Transport Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Governor Vajubhai Vala and other important union and state ministers and MLAs will be present for the flagging off.

The Ambassadors of France and Japan too have been invited, as they made a financial contribution to BMRCL Phase-1, said Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola. Japanese Ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu and Consulate General of Japan Kitagawa will attend the ceremony. Japan International Cooperation Agency lent Rs 3,000 crore for Phase 1. Representing France is Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler. Metro received Rs 1,500 crore from Agence Francaise de Development.

Japan extended 64,536 million Japanese Yen in concessional ODA loans over two tranches since 2006 for the development of Metro Rail. The cumulative Japanese loan amount stands at 306,809 million yen. The newly constructed 12 km segment of Metro Green Line would greatly help in mitigating the impact of mounting traffic in Bengaluru," said the Japanese Embassy in a press statement.

The first commercial ride from Nagasandra to Yelachenahalli will begin at 4 pm on Sunday.

BMRCL CPRO Vasanth Rao said, The last service will leave Kempegowda Metro Station at 11.25 pm in all directions. Regular services on all lines begin on June 19 at 5 am. The speed of trains will be slow initially as they are pilot trains. The frequency on the Purple Line varies from 4 to 20 minutes in peak and non-peak hours. The trains will run between 6 to 20 minutes on the Green Line based on the peak hours.

Strategically timed is the launch of new hi-tech BMTC buses, smart card and renovated foot over bridge at Kempegowda Bus Station on Saturday at 10 am, by Mr Siddaramaiah and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy.

Coming to the aid of Metro commuters along the Southern corridor are 100 buses with 13 new feeder bus routes, complementing the Green Line, including the latest Kempegowda to Yelachenahalli section.

We currently have 16 Metro feeder routes, making 1,224 trips on East to West corridor. We are now adding 13 more routes from Sunday along the North to South Corridor where the buses will make 1,918 trips per day. BMTC has taken feedback from public through the website, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter," said BMTC's chief traffic manager. Of the total 29 routes, some of the new feeders include Shantinagar to Vijayanagar Metro Station passing through Lalbagh West Gate, Nayandanahalli, Attiguppe and Girinagar. Another feeder begins at Gottigere and ends at Nayandanahalli passing Anjanapura, Yelachenahalli and PES College.On Sunday, Bengalureans will be stepping into Asia's biggest Metro station, that is, Kempegowda Interchnage and will also go through South India's first underground Metro network.
Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) acting president M K Stalin on Saturday met Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao and asked him to dissolve the Edappadi K Palanisamy-led government, which has been facing horse-trading allegations.

Stalin said that he decided to meet the Governor after the assembly did not let him to submit the CD (compact disc) as a proof that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLAs' support was bought by the Sasikala camp for the February trust vote.

"We have requested the Governor to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter. We have also asked him to dissolve this government and re-conduct fresh vote of confidence immediately," Stalin said.

Stalin said the Governor has assured to take immediate action.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly has been witnessing pandemonium scenes over the alleged sting operation conducted by an English news channel.

The video revealed that all the AIADMK MLAs were lured in by cash and gold by the rival Sasikala camp to support Palanisamy in the February trust vote conducted in Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Palanisamy won the trust vote held in the state assembly on the back of support offered by 122 AIADMK legislators.

South Madurai MLA Saravanan, who had defected to the OPS faction, admitted on camera that Sasikala camp offered him money between Rs 2 crore to 6 crore for his support to Chief Minister Palanisamy.
nfosys on Friday announced the appointment of Karmesh Vaswani as the global head for retail, CPG and logistics (RCL) and Nitesh Banga as the global head of manufacturing.

Bengaluru: IT bellwether Infosys on Friday announced a rejig in their management after Infosys president and head of Americas Sandeep Dadlani quit the company to pursue personal interests.

Sandeep has played a key role in the success of Infosys over his career and in our transformation journey these past three years. We wish him the best in the

journey ahead, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said.

Infosys on Friday announced the appointment of Karmesh Vaswani as the global head for retail, CPG and logistics (RCL) and Nitesh Banga as the global head of

manufacturing. The IT giant also announced the appointment of Inderpreet Sawhney as the group general counsel.

I congratulate Karmesh and Nitesh on their appointments as the global leaders for two of our key strategic industry segments. I have worked closely with them

over the last three years and have tremendous faith in their passion for client success and their ability, said Mr Sikka.
New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday said that the Opposition will declare its Presidential candidate if ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fails to announce its choice by June 20.

Yechury said, "There was no question of talking any further. So, now what we are saying is if they (government) do not tell us the name of their Presidential candidate by June 20, then we will appeal to other opposition parties that we should all meet on June 21 and declare our candidate. That is the only way in which we can go ahead."

He also said that there was no need for the BJP to call for a consensus on the Presidential candidate by just saying that India needs a president.

"What is required is how will be the President, on which the government did not come with any proposal," lamented Yechury.

He added that "as per current situation, India needs such a presidential figure whose secular credentials are impeccable and have the capacity to uphold the constitutional values of the Indian Republic".

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday met Yechury. However, Yechury termed the meeting as a 'PR exercise' since no names of suitable candidates were proposed by them.

"They did not come forward with any name. They said that they want our support. Support can be given to a particular individual. We want such a person who can uphold the Constitution. We would have certainly thought about such a person, but they did not suggest any name. So, there is nothing to think when they did not suggest any names," Yechury said.

Singh and Naidu also met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence to discuss matters related to next month's presidential elections.

Both of them have already spoken to Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Praful Patel and Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Satish Mishra.

Naidu on Thursday spoke to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu over the same.

The TDP chief said his party will stand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision in this regard.

President Pranab Mukherjee's term comes to an end on July 24. The Presidential election will be held on July 17.

The Election Commission said the last date of nomination is June 28 and the counting of votes will be taken up on July 20.

President Mukherjee will demit office on July 25.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday teared into the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters, stating that they were not listening to the court, even after it had passed an order citing the bandh was "illegal."

"The board members of the State have formed a committee assuring that peace will prevail in the hills as it will be their first priority to work on. Looking at the angry GJM supporters who went on rampage torching a railway station, a police outpost and vehicles after a police raid on party chief Bimal Gurung's house in Darjeeling shows that they aren't listening to the court, even after it had passed an order citing the bandh was illegal. I don't know where they are getting the support from," Mamata said at a press conference in Kolkata.

"You (GJM) enjoyed for five years. Now when the elections are nearing, why are you starting the violence again? Is it because you have lost all your credentials? I am ready to talk to them on this matter as we cannot support violation of the Constitution," Mamata added.

Earlier on Saturday, Morcha protestors resorted to fresh violence after the police raided and allegedly vandalised the residence of Assistant Gen Secretary of Morcha Binay Tamang on Friday night.

The angry protestors left one policeman injured and torched a police vehicle as Darjeeling continued to boil under indefinite strike for the sixth day in a row now.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation in West Bengal's Darjeeling by sending more troops to help restore normalcy as the state government has not yet submitted its report on the situation.

The GJM announced an indefinite strike from Monday encompassing Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Dooars protesting against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to make Bengali language compulsory in state-run schools.

The strike was called even after the Chief Minister assured that the new rule would not be imposed in the hill districts.

The protestors are also asking for a separate Gorkhaland, a long pending demand of the people of the hills.
New Delhi/Vijayawada: Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Friday, also from Telugu Desam Party, said that there was no need for a probe into the fly ban on fellow party MP Diwakar Reddy due to CCTV evidence, for his alleged unruly behaviour after he was denied entry on a flight.

"What are you going to probe? The CCTV cameras have it... There are no separate regulations for different classes of people. The safety regulations are the same for all classes including me," Raju told reporters.

"DGCA has issued a safety regulation that people are expected to report 45 minutes before. Notwithstanding anything, he (Reddy) has not done it. It is clear from the CCTV cameras. So that's it," the minister added.

Furthermore, all major domestic airlines have banned Telugu Desam Patry MP Diwakar Reddy from flights citing "unruly behaviour" after he was denied boarding for being late.

However, on Friday night, the MP and a 12-member family contingent flew out to Paris on an Emirates flight, via Dubai, on a personal 10-day trip.

Reddy allegedly created ruckus at Vizag airport yesterday after being denied boarding by IndiGo as he was late.

Earlier on Friday, Raju said he would get the entire incident "enquired into" and would ensure that "lawful outcomes" follow.

"I will get the entire incident at Vizag airport enquired into to find out the exact details and ensure that lawful outcomes follow," he said in a tweet.

Following Thursday's incident, all major airlines -- IndiGo, Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Vistara and AirAsia India -- have barred Reddy from taking their flights.

"(I have) nothing to say. I don't want to speak anything" Reddy told reporters at Hyderabad today, with folded hands, when asked if he was apologetic over his actions.

He is a Lok Sabha member from Anantapur. Reddy -- who had allegedly vandalised the Air India office at Gannavaram airport in Vijayawada last year after he missed his flight -- got into a verbal spat with the ground staff and threw a printer kept at the airline's counter after he was informed that boarding for his flight had closed.

He was finally accommodated on the same flight. The civil aviation minister also denied a media report that he had intervened to ensure Reddy was allowed to board the IndiGo flight and said there was "no such intervention".

To reporters' query on whether he helped Reddy, Raju said, "He (Reddy) came and told me that I have been waiting for one hour. I have been denied boarding. I said we have a third umpire called the CCTV cameras and we don't have to take anybody's words for it.

The CCTV camera showed what the situation was and I asked the airport director to verify from the CCTV cameras."

In a show of unity, all major domestic airlines have barred Reddy from taking their flights -- similar to action taken by the carriers after the incident involving Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad earlier this year.

Following the Gaikwad incident, the government framed draft rules for a national no-fly list for unruly passengers and proposed a flying ban on such persons that can range from three months to an indefinite period. The government is expected to finalise these rules shortly.

IndiGo, state-run Air India, SpiceJet and Jet Airways announced flying ban on Reddy last night itself while full- service carrier Vistara and two more budget airlines  GoAir and AirAsia India -- today barred him from their flights.

"After careful consideration of the various issues and ramifications of the actions of Reddy, GoAir has also taken a decision of not accepting any further bookings for the said passenger," the airline said in a statement.

An AirAsia India spokesperson said it has also barred Reddy from flying. AirAsia India in its statement said it supports the decision to impose a flying ban by the fellow domestic airlines.

"We will support the decision taken by the industry with regard to the recent incident involving an IndiGo staff," the AirAsia India spokesperson said in the statement.

"AirAsia India does not tolerate abusive or unruly behaviour by passengers that puts the safety of other guests and crew members on board at risk," the airline said.

The airline is fully committed to providing a safe and comfortable journey to guests, the statement added.

"In support of the fellow carriers, Vistara has also taken a decision to impose flying ban on J C Diwakar Reddy," a Vistara spokesperson said.

Television channels yesterday also showed CCTV visuals of him allegedly pushing an IndiGo employee.

"The staff politely informed him that boarding for flight 6E-608 is closed and offered to accommodate Mr Reddy in the subsequent flight. Mr Reddy expressed his annoyance and soon raged against the staff using aggressive and abusive behaviour," IndiGo said in a statement after the incident.

"Any untoward conduct which compromises the safety and security of our passengers and staff is a serious concern for us. Safety and security of passengers, crew and the aircraft are the top priority and it cannot be compromised," it added.
Bharatiya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh President Shiv Kumar Sharma 'Kakkaji' with farmers being arrested by the police during their 'Chakkajam' protest against Government's anti-farmers policies at Misrod in Bhopal on Friday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Alarm bells have begun ringing in the BJP with the farmers agitation spreading rapidly across the states. The farmers agitation which started in Madhya Pradesh has now spread across the BJP-ruled Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan.

The saffron top leaders are holding parleys with the Chief Ministers to assess the situation and to find a way out.

Shiv Kumar Sharma, the face of the ongoing farmers agitation in Madhya Pradesh and a former leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh has gone on record threatening to lie down in corpse pose across India to highlight demands on June 21, the Yoga Day.

With trouble brewing in the BJP states, the high command is worried as the farmers had voted for the party overwhelmingly in the last few Assembly elections and in 2014 general elections.

While the BJP is fretting over the possible loss of its newly found vote bank, the Centre was looking at the options to implement the Swaminathan Commission report, a promise made in the 2014 BJP election manifesto.

A senior BJP leader, on condition of anonymity, claimed that demontisation has had its impact on the agrarian sector.

He pointed out that the cash economy has been severely hit after the demonetisation and it has severely affected the rural economy.

He went on to add that the rural economy which comprises credit, procurement among others have been badly hit. A farmer needs cash for his daily survival and thats not happening.

The party which had been talking about empowering poor is now worried that if it loses its grip on rural India, the going for the general elections could get somewhat tough.

The BJP Chief Ministers have been asked by the party high command to approach the leading faces of the farmers agitation and address their grievances at the earliest.

In Haryana, a BJP-ruled state, the farmers who blocked the national highway on Friday have now threatened to march to Delhi in tractor trolleys if their demands for loan waiver and profitable prices were not met.

In Chhattisgarh the farmers showing solidarity with the agitating farmers in Madhya Pradesh demanded immediate implementation of the Swaminathan Commission. Farmers in Rajasthan have also joined the protests demanding loan waiver.
During the monsoon season, people are going to face the dual problem of dengue and Zika.

Hyderabad: The epidemiology wing of the states health department has issued a high alert in the state to check the spread of Aedes egypti mosquito which is responsible for dengue and Zika.

Friday has been declared a dry day across the state when households have been asked to empty water cans and other storage units at home, upturn and dry them completely, before refilling them with water.

This is meant to ensure that water stored at homes is not left stagnating. But the department is facing a challenge in its implementation as community participation is as enthusiastic as required for the programme to succeed.

Dr S. Prabhavthi, additional director. said, The spread of daytime mosquito is the biggest concern. Catching adult mosquitoes is not possible but we are trying to kill the larva and we are also using a lot of spraying methods to prevent the breeding grounds for mosquitoes to develop. This mosquito can fly only 400 metres in its lifetime. We can take these measures to control its birth and spread, but people must ensure that they do not allow water to collect inside their homes and also outside.

Dr S/ Krishna, senior pediatrician, said, The same preventive measures which are taken for dengue have to be taken for Zika also. The government must implement dry day effectively as this will go a long way in dealing with the problem.

Dry days ensure that there are no breeding grounds for the female mosquito and this works a long way in helping to control the spread of the disease.

This method has shown results but it can be successful only if there is maximum community participation, explained senior officers of health department.

Dr Ramesh Dasari, paediatrician, explained, During the monsoon season, people are going to face the dual problem of dengue and Zika. Both diseases are caused by the same mosquito hence there has to be a very strong surveillance program by the government.

The lower level staff who are assigned the task of spraying have to be totally committed and that there should be a follow-up system to check if they are carrying out their work as they should be.

A GHMC senior officer said, Sometimes they merely mark the homes stating that they have sprayed the medicines but whether they have actually done or not is not checked. They come after 11 am when most homes have no one and that leads to skipping of the homes. These problems at the ground level must be addressed. Lakeside areas and homes where there is maximum greenery must be randomly checked so that in case of a lapse it can be identified and worked upon.

Dos and Donts

*Once used, the drums and containers must be completely dried before a refill.

*DO NOT allow clean water to stagnate in pots and pot trays.

*Air-coolers which have been used in summers must be completely dried and packed up so that water does not accumulate in it.

*The water bowls for pets must be cleaned and scrubbed properly and also dried on a daily basis.
Chennai: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on Saturday cautioned all tiger states in India and their chief wildlife wardens to take steps and prevent circulation of tiger photos in Facebook and WhatsApp groups with their location.

A copy of the circular issued by Dr Vaibhav C. Mathur, assistant inspector general of forests, available with DC says NTCA has received information that pictures of tigers and their camera traps with locations of tiger reserves are shared widely on social media. Such information in the public domain has the potential to be used for committing wildlife crimes (read poaching), the letter said.

Official sources in the TN forest department said that there are no legal provisions to ban pictures of wild animals being posted on social media, but the objective is to refrain the public from sharing the information related to tigers and leopards highly vulnerable to poaching.

A lot of public money and effort goes into conserving big cats. To protect the tiger population of about 2,300, the country spends close to Rs 150 crore every year. India has seventy per cent of the world tiger population. In this context, there is a need to maintain secrecy on tiger habitats, opined conservation scientist Dr A. Kumaraguru, member, Sathyamanagalam Tiger Conservation Foundation.

In Tamil Nadu, tiger tourism is not encouraged, unlike the north Indian states and this regulation of wildlife pictures through social media is certainly a tough task for foresters. Wildlife filmmakers and naturalists do not disclose the location of tigers, as they are aware of the awaiting danger to wild cats. However, it is for the public to volunteer themselves and stop circulating wildlife photos. Further wildlife tourism in India attracts thousands of foreigners and they love to click pictures of elephants and tigers. And I wonder how to regulate them, Kumaraguru added.
Hyderabad: The state government will pitch for reduction in GST tax rates on granite and beedi industries in the next round of GST Council meeting to be held in New Delhi on Sunday.

IT minister K.T. Rama Rao will attend the meeting on behalf of finance minister Etala Rajender whose son is getting married the same day.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had recently written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, seeking tax reductions on granite and beedi industries and exemption for Mission Bhagiratha and irrigation project works.

The CM brought to the notice of Centre that there are nearly 2,000 granite industries in state that provide direct employment to 2 lakh and indirect employment to 5 lakh people. He expressed concern that granite industries will face the risk of closure due to higher tax rates, affecting the livelihood of lakhs of people.

The CM requested the Centre to bring granite and finished products under the 12 per cent GST slab, instead of the proposed 12 per cent slab on raw granite and 28 per cent tax on finished products.

The CM also cited massive infrastructure programmes like the Mission Bhagiratha drinking water project and other irrigation works taken up by the state government with huge investments that will be affected by the proposed GST rates, as costs are likely to increase substantially.

Considering that the irrigation and drinking water projects are for public welfare, the CM said that it would be appropriate to exempt or at least put these infrastructure projects in the lower GST slab of 5 per cent. Mr Rama Rao would raise all these issues again in the GST Council meeting being held on Sunday.
Hyderabad: The Telangana state Cabinet on Friday approved four Ordinances to bring amendments to existing laws.

The Cabinet which met at Pragathi Bhavan for four hours also took a major decision to scrap the existing three-tier zonal system and replacing it with the two-tier zonal system for government recruitments. For this, Article 371(D) needs to be amended, which requires Presidents assent. The Cabinet approved the resolution and referred it to the President for approval.

The Cabinet approved the Ordinance bringing an amendment to Record of Rights Act (RoR Act). With this amendment, there is a ban on registration of all kinds of government lands and cancellation of illegal registrations done for these lands.

The decision was taken in the wake of Miyapur land scam where jagir lands were registered to private individuals. The discretionary powers of sub-registrars in registration of lands were also scrapped. Also, a deadline of 15 days has been set and prescribed for getting the mutations done after the registration of properties.

The Cabinet also approved an Ordinance amending the Gaming Act that will now impose a ban on online gambling. The third Ordinance pertains to amending the PD Act to check sale of spurious seeds and fertilisers, adulteration of food items and fake educational certificates.

The fourth Ordinance was cleared to amend VAT Act, to enable it to be in force for six years after the rolling out of GST, to help the authorities resolve pending VAT disputes.

Briefing the media on the Cabinet decisions, Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari said, A committee headed by the Chief Secretary held discussions with all employees' associations earlier, where a consensus was evolved on scrapping existing zonal system. The Cabinet approved the same and referred it to the President for final approval.

The three-tier zonal system, namely state, zonal and multi-zonal system was adopted in 1974 as part of six-point formula in undivided AP to provide equal job opportunities for Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana regions.

However, after bifurcation, the TS government felt that there was no need to continue the old system and decided to introduce the two-tier system namely district-cadre and state-cadre system.

Referring to online gambling, Mr Srihari said, After formation of Telangana, the CM had ordered a crackdown on gambling clubs across the state. Now there is no gambling in the state. But the government received complaints that with no physical gambling clubs, people are shifting to online gambling.
Flying Officer K. Koushik with parents K. Lakshminara-yana, Saroja at the passing out parade at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal.

Hyderabad: Among the 120 cadets that graduated out of the Air Force Academy flying batch 2017, were two cadets from Telangana state, Flt Cdt Bendhi Rohan Reddy and Flt Cdt Kundarapu Koushik.

The common factor between them is they are first generation defence officers in their civilian families. Flt Cdt Koushik from the fighter flying branch hails from Jagtial in Karimnagar district.

My journey started when I was 10 years old. In December 2005, I sucessfully appeared for the All India Sainik Welfare School examination. I spent seven years at the school and later appeared for the National Defence Academy examination which I had cleared in the first attempt, said Flt Cdt Koushik.

Flt Cdt Rohan Reddy is a resident of Kacheguda in the city. I completed my schooling from the Sainik Welfare at Vizianagaram and subsequently joined the NDA. He was trained in the helicopter flight branch of the IAF.
Kolkata: Violent protests for statehood in the Darjeeling Hills took an ugly turn on Saturday with the police and supporters of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) engaged in violent clashes after the son of a Morcha MLA was arrested and a senior GJM leaders house allegedly vandalised Friday night.

While the GJM claimed that two of its supporters were killed in Darjeelings Singmari, an allegation denied by the police, the ADG police said that an officer had been stabbed by Morcha protesters and several personnel injured. A police vehicle was also set on fire by the protesters.

West Bengal Chief Minister went on the offensive on Saturday and slammed the GJM for the ongoing unrest. She claimed that the GJM had connections with terrorists and firearms were collected and distributed among party workers to spread unrest just before the (GTA) election.

Five years you (GJM) enjoyed, now when elections are coming you start violence because you have lost credentials... What is happening is a deep-rooted conspiracy. These arms were not collected in a day, they were collected over time, she said.

The agitation in Darjeeling was initially against the forced implementation of Bengali language in schools, but soon transformed into a renewed demand for a separate Gorkhaland.

In 2012, the GJM secured all the 45 seats at the GTA  some of them unopposed. Ms Banerjee, fresh from making inroads into the municipal politics in Darjeeling hills, has said that the elections to the GTA may be held anytime soon.

Bimal Gurungs GJM is an ally of the BJP in NDA.

Reacting to Morchas claim that two of their supporters were killed in police firing, additional director general of police (law and order) Anuj Sharma said, It was the Morchas who had fired. Several of our vehicles were set on fire, government property ransacked and as many as 35 police personnel were injured, including serious injury to Kiran Tamang, an India Reserve Battalion officer who was stabbed in the back with a traditional Gorkha knife.

Ms Banerjee backed the polices claims and said that GJM has fired and not the police.

Many of their (GJM) leaders have been chargesheeted in the Madan Tamang murder case. They are doing this vandalism to save themselves, she said.

GJM leaders, however, demanded a judicial probe into the death of their two supporters.

We want judicial probe in the death due to police firing. Police did not fire rubber bullets or water cannons. They opened fire using .303 bullets. Are we the enemies of India? Morcha spokesperson and assistant general secretary, Binay Tamang, said.

Violent clashes began in the morning, soon after the police raided the residence of Mr Tamang. Morcha supporters alleged that the police ransacked his house and started pelting stones and hurling petrol bombs at the police.
Kochi: The KSRTC will deploy 80 low-floor buses as Kochi Metro special feeder services from Monday to provide last-mile connectivity to the Metro commuters. The buses will operate based at Edapally and Aluva stations. From 5 a.m. to 10.30 p.m, 80 buses, both AC and non-AC, would conduct services to various destinations, a senior KSRTC official said. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting held by the KSRTC officials with Kochi Metro Rail Ltd authorities on June 13.

We expect a lot of joyriders from across the state to come and experience Metro travel along with their families in the initial few months. Hence, weve asked the KSRTC to operate during this period, especially based out of Aluva, Edapally and Kalamassery Metro stations, sources said. The routes will include Aluva-Angamaly, Aluva-Perumbavur, Aluva-North Paravur and Edapally- Fort Kochi/ Mattancherry (via Container Road) among others.

The KSRTC will also deploy an official at all the 11 Metro stations to provide information about the KSRTC bus services. Weve already appointed two special officers and a co-ordinator under the Ernakulam assistant transport officer to co-ordinate the bus services, the official said. The corporation has also set up a WhatsApp group KSRTC-KOCHI METRO FEEDER SERVICE including all employees entrusted with the feeder service. It will help in better deployment of services. For instance the nearest bus can be asked to come to a particular Metro station where more commuters are waiting for connecting service. Also buses ending services at various parts like Kaloor can be extended to the nearest Metro station, the official said.
KOCHI: Mobile phones and other electronic gadgets will not be allowed at the inaugural venue of the Kochi Metro on Saturday. The city police said that electronic keys of vehicles also will not be allowed at the venue. In a detailed note to the invitees, the city police said bags and water bottles are prohibited at the function. Asking all invitees to be seated one hour before the arrival of the prime minister, the police said everyone should carry the invitation letter and ID cards. Invitees will not be allowed to go out of the hall during the function.

Traffic will be regulated at Naval Base, Thevara, Pallimukku, Jose Junction, BTH Junction, Subhash Park, Menaka, High Court Junction, Kacheripady, Kaloor and Palarivattom areas. The police would start traffic regulation from Saturday early morning. Parking at both sides of the road in these stretches have been prohibited. Pedestrian movement has also been banned while street vendors would not be allotted to do any business on the side of the roads.

Barricades have been erected on both sides of the roads and people should not enter the road. The commuters should avoid using these roads and travel through byroads. The city police deployed policemen at all the buildings located at areas from where Mr Narendra Modi's convoy would pass on Saturday. DGP T.P. Senkumar chaired a meeting at Ernakulam Town Hall and briefed around 2500 police officials about the security arrangements. A rehearsal of the PMs convoy movement was also held on Friday involving 21 vehicles from Naval Base to Palarivattom.
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken (from left), Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Uttam Kumar Reddy, former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram and former chairperson, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights Shanta Sinha, at a seminar on Smt. Indira Gandhis battle against impoverishment of India, in Hyderabad on Saturday. (Photo: S. Surender Reddy)

Hyderabad: Former Union minister and AICC leader P. Chidambaram said that after Mahatma Gandhi, only the late Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi was recognised by everyone in the country. He said Indira Gandhi belonged to the nation and not to a religion, region or a caste.

He was talking at a seminar. Radicalising democracy: Indira Gandhis Battle against Impoverishment in India, conducted by the Indira Gandhi Centenary Celebrations committee under the leadership of TPCC president, N Uttam Kumar Reddy.

Mr Chidambaram said that Indira Gandhi linked the indispensability of justice and equality towards the weakest to build a democratic India. He said no one did as much for the welfare of the poor as she did.

He said Opposition parties criticised Indira Gandhi but never criticised her welfare programmes. He said that Indira Gandhi had the courage to admit that she had made a mistake by declaring Emergency.

Indira Gandhi was a historical leader and an iron-willed person; people will always remember her, he said. With the Green Revolution, Indira Gandhi ensured that the country became self-sufficient. She had saved the country and the people twice in wars and severe drought conditions.

Former chairperson of the National Commis-sion for Protection of Child Rights, Shanta Sinha said that Indira Gandhi had evolved a new and radical vision with the 10 point programme which included social control of banks, nationalisation of general insurance, state ceilings on urban property and income, curb on business monopolies and concentration of economic power, public distribution systems of food grains and the rapid implementation of land reforms. She showed how political will is not just an abstract notion but had to be concretised.
Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and former minister Marri Shashidhar Reddy on Saturday met Hyderabad police commissioner M. Mahender Reddy along with residents of Ambedkarnagar slum and demanded cheating cases be booked against ministers K.T. Rama Rao and Talasani Srinivas Yadav.

The two ministers have been cheating Ambedkarnagar residents by telling them that the interim order of the Supreme Court was not applicable to their colony and laid the foundation stone for 2BHK houses recently, Mr Reddy said. The interim order is clearly says that no further constructions shall be carried out in and around Hussainsagar lake, he said.

Mr Reddy said a large number of people vacated their houses after being misled by the ministers to pave way for the construction of 2BHK houses.

He said being the municipal minister, Mr Rama Rao was quite aware of the Supreme Court order yet he took up construction activity in Ambedkarnagar without obtaining permission from the SC.

He said though the SCs January 2014 order was very much in vogue, on the orders of the ministers, officials demolished the old houses on June 4 and the ministers laid the foundation stone the ministers on June 13.

Mr Shashidhar Reddy requested the police commissioner to book cases under relevant Sections of the IPC for cheating the people.
New Delhi: The crisis within the Aam Admi Party (AAP) deepened further on Saturday with senior leader Kumar Vishwas hitting out at its palace politics, even as posters came up outside its headquarters dubbing him a friend of the BJP and a traitor.

Mr Vishwas, who was recently appointed the partys Rajasthan affairs in-charge, made a pointed remark that he would ensure the workers under him adhered to the AAPs core principles and went back to its basics.

He briefly attended a farmers convention organised by the party at the Constitution Club here, where the body language of the leaders was reflective of the internal dissidence. We (AAP) did not come into being for these conspiracies and palace politics hatched by five-six people. We are for the causes based on which the party was born at the Ramlila Maidan. The party will fight the Rajasthan polls on its real principles, Mr Vishwas said.

A friend of the BJP, he is not a poet but a traitor. He attacks while in hiding and backstabs. Remove such a traitor, read the posters.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan is, perhaps, a well-meaning man. The deep blot of the Vyapam scandal notwithstanding, he is generally considered to be a good administrator. Reports suggest that he spends considerable time walking along the banks of the Narbada and praying at the many temples that dot its banks. It is also likely that he was genuinely upset at the fact that under his watch six farmers were gunned down in cold blood. His one-day upvaas for the restoration of peace and normalcy (which was purposeless since Section 144 remained clamped at Mandsaur when he broke his arduous fast) was, as per his supporters, a noble gesture. But, one basic question remains unanswered: Why was he not aware of the growing distress of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, and why did six tillers of the soil have to be shot dead by the police, for him, and his administration, to wake up to this looming crisis? The truth is that Shivraj Chouhan did not give the required attention to agriculture and to the needs of farmers. This was entirely in keeping with the signals he got from the apex leadership of the BJP, for whom the rampant agrarian distress across India remains an insignificant footnote in the larger utopian dream of bullet trains and smart cities.

If this is not the case, Prime Minister Modi would never have broken his promise, made publicly and put down in writing as part of the BJPs election manifesto, of giving farmers a minimum support price of cost plus 50 per cent. Among the plethora of largely unfulfilled promises the PM made during the elections, this was, arguably, the most important. After two successive drought years, it offered to farmers the possibility of a remunerative return for their produce, and the hope that the new government would, in general, be more concerned about their needs. But this was not to be. In a spectacular and cynical breach of faith, the BJP government told the Supreme Court in February 2015 that it will not raise the MSP. As the chief minister of a BJP ruled state, the message would have come loud and clear to Shivrajji. He would have understood that now that the BJP had won the elections of 2014 with a sweeping majority, the welfare of farmers could be placed on the back burner. As a result he may not have noticed that while agricultural production in MP was, indeed, growing at around 20 per cent, farmers were being compelled to dump their bumper crops of onions, tomatoes and potatoes as the state had neither made arrangements to procure the crops, nor done anything to ensure a reasonable price.

While understandably proud of his Krishi Karman awards, Shivraj Chouhan may not have been overly concerned about the fact that between November 2016 to February 2017, 287 farmers and farm labourers committed suicide in his state. In this indifference, he was but mirroring the approach of the BJP-NDA government at the Centre. Farmer suicides went up by 42 per cent between 2014 and 2015 (with 581 in MP alone in 2015), even while the Modi government was announcing the resolve to Make in India. In fact, if Chouhan saheb was so genuinely moved by the plight of farmers, as he now says he always was, he should have sat on a fast the moment the BJP government broke its poll promise to increase the MSP. That would have not have made his masters in the BJP happy, but it would have been a courageous gesture. He could have also considered abstaining from food for a few hours when the Central government decreed that no bonus should be given by state governments to farmers, and if state governments do give this bonus, they must bear the entire financial burden themselves, and accept the fact that no place would be provided for the extra procurement in the warehouses of the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

The decision to partially waive farm loans, or increase the subsidy on interest payable, are steps that are clearly too little, too late. Loan waivers may help in the short run, but they are just painkillers when what is needed is a strong doze of antibiotics in the form of policy measures. These measures must include a quantum jump in agricultural investments, through such steps like increased cold storages, warehousing, transportation, seeds and pesticides, irrigation coverage, marketing strategies and the elimination of exploitative middlemen. There are other deeply troubling questions. Why were pulses imported from Myanm-ar, Tanzania, Mozambi-que and Malawi, even when there was a substantial increase in production of tur dal in India? As a result of this decision, the price of lentils fell within the country from Rs 11,000 per quintal in December 2015, to below Rs 4,000 in December 2016. If this is true, why should responsibility not be fixed, and an inquiry be instituted on who benefitted?

What is truly amazing is that when leaders of Opposition parties wished to meet with the bereaved families of the killed farmers, BJP politicians and their friendly media outlets dubbed such visits as political tourism. Farmers are shot in cold blood by the police, and if the Opposition wants to visit Mandsaur to find out what happened and why, they are stopped from going, and their desire to do so is almost considered an anti-national act! It is conveniently forgotten that during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, even while the terrorists were on the rampage, a certain CM from Gujarat, against the advice of security agencies, rushed to Mumbai and made a speech on how incompetent the Manmohan Singh government was! That was not considered political tourism. Indeed, it was considered an act of patriotism. Talk of double standards! Given the seriousness of the agrarian crisis, what India needs is a new Mission Agriculture. What the farmers have got thus far is Mission Neglect.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and a host of former ministers and environmentalists lined up for the launch of Jairam Rameshs book, Indira Gandhi  A Life in Nature, at a small gathering last week. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was conspicuous by his absence at the programme which was held as part of Indira Gandhis birth centennial year. He was apparently scheduled to attend the book launch but failed to turn up. Those who attended said the programme was delayed and the guests were kept waiting for Mr Gandhi and even Mrs Gandhi appeared clueless about her sons whereabouts. The proceedings got under way only after the Congress president got a message from Mr Gandhi that he would not be coming as he was in Amritsar that day. This minor incident reflects the communication gap between the party president and vice-president. It is not surprising that the Congress rank and file feels frustrated with Mr Gandhis inaccessibility to party workers.

Till three years ago, politicians across the spectrum made it a point to host an iftar party during Ramzan. But these iftar parties have stopped after the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014. While the BJP has never been comfortable on such occasions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi never hosts an iftar and makes it a point to skip the one hosted by the President. He had once famously declined to wear a skull cap offered to him when he was Gujarat CM. Given this backdrop, everyone was taken aback when Gujarat governor O.P. Kohli, who is holding additional charge of Madhya Pradesh, hosted an iftar in Bhopal last week. This move was particularly bewildering because Mr Kohli is a senior BJP leader. People believe that Mr Kohli had possibly deferred to Bhopals composite culture when he decided to host an iftar in the city. The big question now is: Will Mr Kohli host a similar gathering in Gujarat, a state whose people are attuned to Mr Modis brand of politics?

As speculation about changes in the Congress state units gathers momentum, the rivalry between Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia is intensifying. Both leaders are keen to head the Madhya Pradesh Congress and have made strenuous efforts to establish their credentials for this post. Recently, when Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi came to Mandsaur to visit the families of farmers killed in the protests, he was accompanied by Kamal Nath and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh. Mr Nath had been prompt in issuing a press statement a day before, condemning the police firing.

Mr Scindia, who was abroad at that time, cut short his stay when he heard about the violence in his home state. He also attempted to visit Mandsaur, but was stopped by the police. Mr Scindia then followed it up with a satyagraha while Bhopal was plastered with posters proclaiming, Kisan ke samman mein, Scindia maidan mein. Clearly, the battle for MP is heating up in the Congress. There was a time when minister of state for commerce Nirmala Sitharaman was among the most recognised faces of the BJP. Before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, she was fielded regularly by the party to hit out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. Ms Sitharaman was therefore a natural choice for a ministerial berth in the Narendra Modi government.

Unlike her Cabinet colleague Smriti Irani, who has a knack for hitting the headlines often for the wrong reasons, Ms Sitharaman has virtually disappeared from the scene. She is barely seen or heard these days. It was also surprising that Ms Sitharaman was not among the frontline ministers who were called upon to present the governments achievements during its third anniversary celebrations. This has resulted in several conspiracy theories. Her detractors maintain this may be because the bosses are not happy with her handling of the commerce ministry. However, Ms Sitharaman was called in last week to attack former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit for his remarks about the Army Chief. But this failed to convince the BJP sceptics.
In the second installment of the trial into the Mumbai blast cases of March 1993, a special Tada (Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act) court on Friday convicted the gangster Abu Salem and five others while acquitting one of the accused. With this the curtain comes down on the trial of all those who could be arrested. Around 30 are still at large, including Dawood Ibrahim, by now designated an international terrorist, Tiger Memon, Chhota Shakeel and others, who are thought to be hiding in Pakistan or the Gulf. There were 189 accused in the Mumbai bomb blasts case.

Twelve locations were targeted on March 12, 1993. The death toll was 257 and more than 700 were injured. The trial of 123 of the accused was concluded in 2007, with 100 convictions and 23 acquittals. The six convicted on Friday and the lone accused set free were arrested subsequently. In all, 28 of the accused have been discharged from the case, 24 acquitted so far, and 106 convicted. This attests to the fairness of the trial. The Mumbai blasts were carried out to avenge the Babri mosque demolition by Hindutva fanatics on December 6, 1992. But citizens cannot take the law into their own hand. Mumbai Police cannot escape blame. It was tipped off by an approver who had taken training in Pakistan for the blasts, but didnt believe him, so unbelievable was the plot.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will no doubt be reflecting on aspects of President Trumps personality, political thinking, electoral well-springs and conduct of foreign affairs while preparing himself for his visit to Washington on June 25-26. He would have concluded that if Donald Trump is a disruptive president at home, he is equally unsettling in his external policies. A president who takes on the power centres at home, as Trump has done with the intelligence and security agencies, the mainstream media and elements of the judiciary, will not hesitate to be assertive with foreign powers. One cannot assume that in dealing with India he would put primacy on stronger understandings based on longer term shared interests. His bullying of NATO allies on May 25 at Brussels, his general belittling of the EU and censure of Germany on its NATO contributions and trade policies indicates his mindset. If traditional allies are being treated so insensitively, India cannot assume a more finely judged treatment of some of its concerns. A clearer understanding of Trumps world view, how he looks at the present and future challenges to U.S. power and interests, which countries can be US partners in meeting them and how much give and take can be there between his country and them would be important insights to gain during Modis visit.

Trumps combative posture on domestic affairs, linked to his rather insular, anti-globalisation electoral base, expresses itself externally in his unabashed self-centred, America First appr-oach. In foreign affairs, he is catering to the concerns of that stratum which has propelled him to power. The more he is contested within and is threatened by probes and investigations to thwart him personally and his policies, the more he has to secure his political base by promising to bring jobs back home, negotiate more forcefully with trading partners, oppose multilateral agreements, rely on bilateralism to extract the maximum advantage for the U.S., curb imports, address the trade deficit, and so on. Having championed free trade and globalisation since the collapse of the Soviet Union, America under Trump is on a course reversal with a protectionist agenda. At the G7 summit in Italy on May 27, the U.S. was persuaded after considerable effort by others to agree to the inclusion in the final communique a reference to fighting protectionism. Trump nonetheless resisted efforts to have him endorse the Paris Agreement, from which he anno-unced US withdrawal on June 1.

All this has implications for India. India-U.S. two-way trade in goods in 2016 amounted to about $67.7 billion and that in services was $47.2 billion, for a total economic engagement of $115 billion. The US goods and services trade deficit with India was a modest $30.8 billion in 2016 (compared to $347 billion with China, about half the total US trade deficit), but India was included in Trumps order in March to review in 90 days, country by country, product by product, the causes of the U.S trade deficit with a view to opening up markets abroad for more American goods and services. The USTR has threatened to use both WTO and bilateral mechanisms as well as U.S. laws to achieve this objective. Trump has publicly referred to a minor matter such as India restricting the import of Harley-Davidson motorbikes. Even under Obama, Indias trade, investment and IPR practices have been subject to scrutiny by the U.S. International Trade Commiss-ion at the behest of the U.S. Congress prodded by sections of the U.S. corporate sector. Indias domestic content requirements for solar energy production have been challenged; India has been listed as a Priority Watch country under Special 301. On H-IB visas, Trump is pursuing more stridently the restrictions India was grappling with under the the Obama administration. Trump and key members of his team are committed to HIB visa restrictions, an issue that will no doubt figure on Modis agenda in Washington.

One can expect more difficulties in negotiating a balanced Bilateral Investment Treaty with the U.S. under Trump. On Climate Change issues India had been subjected to intensive pressure by the Obama administration to work with it to conclude a climate accord in Paris. Trump citing India along with China as an excuse for walking out of the Paris compact and misrepresenting Indias position was remarkably self-serving and showed the poor quality of the briefings he gets.

Amongst the other complications facing India-U.S. relations under Trump is the absence of diplomatic guidance to him and his team both from the State Department where the South Asia Bureau is headless and the US embassy in New Delhi which remains without an ambassador. This will inevitably stall the numerous dialogues (almost 50 in all) that India and the U.S. have established in recent years on a wide range of subjects. With Trump radically changing his stance on China  from threatening a trade war with it, confronting it in the South China Sea and courting Taiwan to vaunting his personal relationship with president Xi, lauding the latters cooperative attitude on North Korea and backtracking on trade issues with China  Modi will need to assess the degree of U.S. commitment to the joint strategic vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions defined under Obama. The purpose of this was for India and the U.S. to work together to counter Chinese maritime challenges in both regions.

On the issue of radical Islam and terrorism, on which Trumps robustness suggested that he might be more receptive to Indias enduring problem with Pakistan, the outlook is unclear. The U.S. is retaining last yearss levels of its military and economic assistance to Pakistan. Its CENTCOM chiefs testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in March was soft on Pakistan and was negative on Indias bid to isolate it diplomatically for the risk it carried of igniting a nuclear conflict in the sub-continent. Trump has in the past spoken of his willingness to mediate between India and Pakistan. His trip to Saudi Arabia in May suggests that Trump, too, is willing to play geopolitics with radical Islam and terrorism if it suits U.S. strategy. We should not expect him to share our concerns about the China-Pakistan relationship. While Defence Secretary Mattis has acknowledged that the U.S. is not winning the war in Afghanistan, it is not clear what the U.S. intends to do about this. Perhaps Modi will get an insight into Trumps thinking. On Iran, Indian and U.S. are interests are not convergent, and this problem could become more acute for India under Trump who is bent on demonising Iran. In announcing Modis visit, Trumps press secretary struck the right note by stating that The President looks forward to discussing ways to strengthen ties between the United States and India and to advance our common priorities: fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and reforms, and expanding security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. While on paper this sounds good, the challenge will be to achieve all this with strategic and not transactional aims in mind. In view of Trumps personality and the way policy making is structured under him, much would be achieved if Modi succeeds in building a personal relationship with Trump, an exercise for which Modi has considerable talent. Not surprisingly, even on our side the objective of building a personal rapport with Trump is being stressed in background briefings.
THE Congress Working Committee (CWC) met in New Delhi on June 6, with its president Sonia Gandhi in the chair, to pave the way for elevation of the vice president  her son Rahul  to the presidency by October 15. On major issues like the long-simmering farmers unrest as on much else, its contribution to the debate has been a justified denunciation of the BJP government. But it has been calculatedly timid on sensitive issues like attacks on the Dalits and Muslims, and, most revealingly, on the outrages in Kashmir. The member selected to brief the media on the CWCs decision on June 6 was Ghulam Nabi Azad, a Kashmiri by birth, who kept away from Kashmir politics for decades till he sensed an opening to become chief minister. He proclaimed that Kashmir was a closed chapter after the Indira Gandhi-Sheikh Abdullah accord of 1975 which harmed Kashmir. This illustrates one of the two central defects in Sonia Gandhis leadership. One is her preference for personal loyalty over character and ability. The other is a wilful determination to emulate Indira Gandhi through autocratic policies and fostering dynastic succession.

Indira Gandhi split the Congress in 1969, won handsomely in the 1971 election and went on to instal her dictatorship in 1975. She split her faction of the Congress again in 1978 in order to reduce the party into a praetorian guard to combat the ruling Janata Party. In 1980, all levers of power at the Centre and in the states were kept in her hands, as they were in the hands of her son and successor Rajiv Gandhi from 1984 to 1989 following his landslide victory at the polls after her assassination. As Congress Prime Minister (1991-1996), P.V. Narasimha Rao kept Sonia Gandhi at a distance while ensuring the partys decline. It is to her credit that she took over the reins and revived it under her leadership to regain power for a decade. But the party itself withered thanks largely to her arrogance and reliance on favourites. No serious attempt was made to craft an appealing ideology or a programme which responded to the needs of the people.

Reliance on the son increased and he has shown no promise. He has not enunciated any credo, nor propounded any policy. Showmanship is his forte and arrogance a marked trait. He publicly insulted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by barging into a news conference by a party functionary to angrily denounce an official measure as nonsense. The Congress is unlikely to be revived by such a character nor by his mother judging by her recent form. It is now paying for its senior members abject, opportunistic and prolonged submission to a dynastic leadership for nearly half a century since 1971.

In her second tenure (1980-84), Indira Gandhi stole the BJPs clothes while its leaders were enjoying a swim in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak lake. Atal Behari Vajpayee cried on the shoulders of James M. Markham, the New York Times correspondent, in 1984: Mrs Gandhi is playing a very dangerous game. The long-term interests of the country are being sacrificed to short-term gains. But encouraging Hindu chauvinism is not going to pay. As the majority community, Hindus must be above parochial politics. Yet, this is precisely what L.K. Advani and he did to win power. Narendra Modi followed suit. The polity is poisoned by their brand of Hindutva. The BJP whips up the Hindu vote bank and does not care one bit for the Muslim vote. Rajiv and Sonia continued to play Indira Gandhis game while raising feeble cries once in a while for the minority vote.

The issue now is of greater moment. It concerns the very survival of Indias democracy and, what follows from it inexorably, its secular credo. That task is beyond Sonia or Rahul  or, for that matter, their courtiers, some of whom, like Karan Singh, are themselves communal. Another, Digvijay Singh, called for Afzal Gurus execution before the 2014 elections. Yet, all is not lost. The structure is intact. Its tradition is old. The country faces a challenge on three fronts  moral, intellectual and political. If it fails to meet them, a Second Republic will arise in the mould of Modi-Adityanath. The Congress can be revived only by an inspiring leadership, an appealing programme and infusion of new blood. In 1945, swept away by Labour, the Conservative Partys finest intellect R.A. Butler set about crafting a programme as appealing as Labours. The Conservatives returned to power. Democrats and secularists within the Congress and outside must not lose heart. India can be saved. It will not be saved by shoddy compromises, but by articulating a programme and policy which answers the needs of its poor.

By arrangement with Dawn
Ashley Tellis, who has over more than two decades provided much of the intellectual ballast that has shaped and underpinned the close India-U.S. relationship, says it is frustrating to watch American apathy and antipathy towards the liberal international order, and what it means for the India-U.S. relationship. Excerpts from an interview with S. Raghotham:

Q Ahead of past Modi visits to the U.S., there was much hype about the India-US relationship. Given the deafening silence ahead of the Modi-Trump summit, how do you expect this one will go?

It is impossible to predict how PM Modis meetings with President Trump will go. The President is sufficiently unconventional as to make prediction impossible, but by all accounts he has been gracious  even while being direct  with leaders that he likes. He has had good conversations with PM Modi already. Admittedly, they were not substantive, but this visit will give both leaders a chance to go beyond atmospherics. Both capitals are making efforts to make the visit productive and to show that even Trump values the partnership with India.

Q What do Trumps views or decisions on Americas grand strategy, its position in Asia, and issues like H1-B visas and the Paris climate deal tell you about his view of India?

President Trump obviously has a very different view of the United States in the world than his predecessors. Many decisions he has made so far have the potential to undermine important American interests  and Indias interests as well. But Trump, also unlike his predecessors, seems capable of undertaking sharp course reversals. Modi has an opportunity to take the measure of the man, articulate Indias interests, and describe the opportunities those interests provide for the U.S. I dont think PM Modi can change Trumps worldview. But he can help Trump to think of India as an opportunity rather than as a problem.

Q Trumps initial rhetoric against China but later change in tone and tenor after meeting Xi is disquieting for India?

Trumps U-turn on China is admittedly unsettling. But I see it primarily as a product of the urgency surrounding North Korea. Trump recognised that China could play an important role and he pivoted towards a partnership with Xi Jinping hoping he would be able to help limit the North Korean nuclear program. I am personally skeptical that Xi can deliver, and so are many senior officials in the administration. So when Xi fails to deliver  it is a matter of when, not if  Trump could well reverse himself and move back towards his originally hardline view of China. Irrespective of what Trump says or does now, nothing changes the objective reality that China and the U.S. are strategic competitors. Hopefully, an America First President will come around to affirming that sooner rather than later.



Q During Bush and Obama, America drove the agenda. Is Trump invested in the India relationship to do that? Or, will it be a sell me this pen test for Modi on India-U.S. ties?

I think Trump has an intuitive sense about Indias relevance. But unlike Presidents Bush and Obama, I do not think Trump views Indias significance in terms of a desirable global architecture  at least not yet. In fact, he seems deeply uncomfortable with any conception of international order. So, it will fall to PM Modi to make the case for Indias importance. Given Trumps world view, I would not emphasize Indias value for something like the international order but merely mutual bilateral benefits.



Q What American complaints remain over economic ties. Modi has opened up all sectors for FDI, improved ease of business. Why isnt it moving ahead?

Modi has opened Indian economy to foreign investment but he has done little to change Indias archaic trade policies. Indias still a considerably closed economy where trade is concerned. American grievances revolve around trade liberalisation.



Q Given that Trump sees himself as a deal maker and Modi, too, do you think these two really can strike a big deal? If yes, what would it be?

Both leaders are indeed deal-makers, but I do not think there are any big deals to be made right now. If the Indian defence procurement process had moved along briskly, Modi could have brought with him some eye-catching gifts. But between New Delhis uncertainty about the U.S. commitment to India right now  a justifiable anxiety  and Indias languid defence procurement process, there are few things that would galvanise both sides. India could make decisions on longstanding U.S. desires for market accessthe U.S. has clamoured for years to export poultry, almonds and the like to Indiabut even if Modi were to move on these, I would be hard pressed to label these big deals. What would matter to Trump is not gains in foreign policy but in the economic: enhanced market access in India, major Indian purchases of U.S. goods, Indian investments in the U.S., and the like. Iam sure Trump would welcome such gifts. Trump could make important offers of his own  the U.S. still has the capacity to put big things on the table in many areas  but we will have to wait and see.

Q There was, for a time, talk of a Strategic Partnership. Earli-er, India was reluctant, until Modi said lets overcome the hesitations of history. Now, the US seems uninterested. The defence relationship, for instance, is on autopilot now.

You are right that the defence relationship is on autopilot, but that is largely because the Trump administration is still not fully staffed, nor does it have an India policy yet. So it is too much to expect that Trump will have any views on the specifics of bilateral defense cooperation. I think Trump understands Indias importance generallythis visit provides an opportunity to reinforce his best instincts about India and to make them the dominant premises of his approach towards India. India should do what it can to consolidate the promise of the strategic partnership. The logic and the necessity for such a deep affiliation is enduring. It will obviously outlast Trump. Modi should do his best to protect the investment he and his predecessors have made with Washington while preparing to double down on that venture when he finds the conditions propitious.



Q We were talking India-U.S. partnership at a time when China was still a rising power. Given Chinas rapid rise in the last few years, do India and the US have time on their hands for what seems like a neverending courtship that simply doesnt translate into marriage?

No, we do not. Hence, it is utterly frustrating for me to watch a prime minister who gambled heavily on the U.S.  and rightly so in the circumstances  now having to think defensively about protecting his investments in the face of rising Chinese assertiveness and a troubling combination of American apathy and antipathy towards the liberal international order.
K.C. Tyagi, in the thick of things as far as forming a united Opposition against the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is concerned, spoke with Sreeparna Chakrabarty about presidential elections and farmers unrest

He is in the thick of things as far as forming a united Opposition against the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is concerned. A close aide of Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar, K.C. Tyagi has made use of his political contacts to bring together 17 Opposition on a common platform. The former Rajya Sabha member says that the coming presidential polls would be a test case for Opposition unity and might pave the way for a bigger consolidation ahead of the 2019 general elections.



What is the road ahead as far as a united Opposition is concerned?

Since the first joint meeting of Opposition parties called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on May 26, the chances of Opposition unity have become brighter. The presidential polls are a test case as far as Opposition unity is concerned. From here we might go ahead and form a large anti-Modi force to counter the ascendance of rightwing forces. Everybody agrees that we need to be together to stop the communal forces.



But there are already doubts over a joint Opposition presidential candidate, with many parties saying that they will have to rethink if the ruling partys candidate fulfils their regional criteria.



There is nothing like that. All this talk about a consensus candidate is an attempt by the BJP to try and break the Opposition ranks. The RSS-BJP has never come this close to occupying the Presidents office, why should they leave this opportunity. Look at the way they are talking to all parties individually. They are trying to divide us. If we are looking for a candidate together, then they should speak to us in the same voice. The fact that they are not serious is evident by how the ministers came over to meet without any names. This is non-serious action on the part of the government.



Has anybody spoken with your party from the government side?

No. Not yet. We are waiting. But our stand is that any candidate proposed by the ruling side needs to be secular. He or she has to be qualified enough to occupy the high constitutional position. Only impeccable secular credentials would satisfy us that the person concerned can be the President.

So already there is a rethink on the Opposition being together?



You have to understand that whatever happens, the coming together of all 17 parties has put pressure on the government. The recent incidents in Mandsaur the way the farmers have come together is all due to this momentum of the presidential polls. And it is due to these massive farmers protests that the government is now trying to break Opposition ranks. They are under pressure. Farmers are out on the streets everywhere. In fact, I just wish that the NDA does come out with a hardcore RSS presidential candidate, then the Opposition will unite further.



Are any back-channel talks on as far as presidential polls are concerned?



There are no talks at all. It is a non-serious attempt at building consensus. If they dont have names, then what are they going around meeting people for? They have instead asked for names from the Opposition, I heard.



Who are the Oppositions candidates?



Many names have been written about. Our sole criteria is that the person should be secular enough and have the respect and authority to occupy the high constitutional position.



Do you have any plans of scaling up the farmers agitation?



Of course. We are already working on that. This government has failed the agriculture sector miserably. They have not fulfilled the promises made in their election manifesto of 2014 of providing MSP plus 50 per cent cost of production. Instead, they have been shifting goalposts by saying they will double farm incomes by 2019. However, in this agitation, it is the farmers organisations which have to take the lead.
In the wake of recent terror attacks, people have questioned the role of tech companies in fighting terrorism online. Facebook wants to answer those questions head on. We agree with those who say that social media should not be a place where terrorists have a voice. We want to be very clear how seriously we take this  keeping our community safe on Facebook is critical to our mission, says Monika Bickert, Director of Global Policy Management, and Brian Fishman, Counterterrorism Policy Manager, on a Facebook blogpost.

Lets walk through some of Facebooks behind-the-scenes work, including how they use artificial intelligence to keep terrorist content off Facebook, something they have not talked about publicly before. The topic will also discuss the people who work on counterterrorism, some of whom have spent their entire careers combating terrorism, and the ways we collaborate with partners outside the company.

Our stance is simple: Theres no place on Facebook for terrorism. Facebook removes terrorists and posts that support terrorism whenever they become aware of them. When they receive reports of potential terrorism posts, they review those reports urgently and with scrutiny. And in the rare cases when they uncover evidence of imminent harm, they promptly inform the authorities. Although academic research finds that the radicalization of members of groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda primarily occurs offline, Facebook knows that the internet does play a role  and they dont want Facebook to be used for any terrorist activity whatsoever.

We believe technology, and Facebook, can be part of the solution. Weve been cautious, in part because we dont want to suggest there is any easy technical fix. It is an enormous challenge to keep people safe on a platform used by nearly 2 billion every month, posting and commenting in more than 80 languages in every corner of the globe. And there is much more for us to do. But we do want to share what we are working on and hear your feedback so we can do better, adds Bickert.

Artificial Intelligence

Facebook wants to find terrorist content immediately, before people in the community have seen it. Already, the majority of accounts they remove for terrorism, are found by them. But Facebook knows they can do better at using technology  and specifically artificial intelligence  to stop the spread of terrorist content on Facebook.

Although our use of AI against terrorism is fairly recent, its already changing the ways we keep potential terrorist propaganda and accounts off Facebook. We are currently focusing our most cutting edge techniques to combat terrorist content about ISIS, Al Qaeda and their affiliates, and we expect to expand to other terrorist organizations in due course. We are constantly updating our technical solutions, but here are some of our current efforts, said Bickert.

Image matching: When someone tries to upload a terrorist photo or video, Facebooks systems look for whether the image matches a known terrorism photo or video. This means that if they had previously removed a propaganda video from ISIS, they can work to prevent other accounts from uploading the same video to the site. In many cases, this means that terrorist content intended for upload to Facebook simply never reaches the platform.

Language understanding: Facebook has also recently started to experiment with using AI to understand text that might be advocating for terrorism. They are currently experimenting with analysing text that they have already removed for praising or supporting terrorist organizations such as ISIS and Al Qaeda so they can develop text-based signals that such content may be terrorist propaganda. That analysis goes into an algorithm that is in the early stages of learning how to detect similar posts. The machine learning algorithms work on a feedback loop and get better over time.

Removing terrorist clusters: We know from studies of terrorists that they tend to radicalise and operate in clusters. This offline trend is reflected online as well. So when we identify Pages, groups, posts or profiles as supporting terrorism, we also use algorithms to fan out to try to identify related material that may also support terrorism, said Bickert. Facebook uses signals like whether an account is friends with a high number of accounts that have been disabled for terrorism, or whether an account shares the same attributes as a disabled account.

Recidivism: Facebook has also gotten much faster at detecting new fake accounts created by repeat offenders. Through this work, they have been able to dramatically reduce the time period that terrorist recidivist accounts are on Facebook. This work is never finished because it is adversarial, and the terrorists are continuously evolving their methods too. Were constantly identifying new ways that terrorist actors try to circumvent our systems  and we update our tactics accordingly, said Bickert.

Cross-platform collaboration: Because Facebook does not want terrorists to have a place anywhere in the family of Facebook apps, they have begun work on systems to enable them to take action against terrorist accounts across all our platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram. Given the limited data some of their apps collect as part of their service, the ability to share data across the whole family is indispensable to their efforts to keep all the platforms safe.

Human Expertise

AI cant catch everything. Figuring out what supports terrorism and what does not isnt always straightforward, and algorithms are not yet as good as people when it comes to understanding this kind of context. A photo of an armed man waving an ISIS flag might be propaganda or recruiting material, but could be an image in a news story. Some of the most effective criticisms of brutal groups like ISIS utilize the groups own propaganda against it. To understand more nuanced cases, Facebook needs human expertise.

Bickert gives some more insights on how they do it from the backend.

Reports and reviews: Our community  thats the people on Facebook  helps us by reporting accounts or content that may violate our policies  including the small fraction that may be related to terrorism. Our Community Operations teams around the world  which we are growing by 3,000 people over the next year  work 24 hours a day and in dozens of languages to review these reports and determine the context. This can be incredibly difficult work, and we support these reviewers with onsite counseling and resiliency training.

Terrorism and safety specialists: In the past year weve also significantly grown our team of counterterrorism specialists. At Facebook, more than 150 people are exclusively or primarily focused on countering terrorism as their core responsibility. This includes academic experts on counterterrorism, former prosecutors, former law enforcement agents and analysts, and engineers. Within this specialist team alone, we speak nearly 30 languages.

Real-world threats: We increasingly use AI to identify and remove terrorist content, but computers are not very good at identifying what constitutes a credible threat that merits escalation to law enforcement. We also have a global team that responds within minutes to emergency requests from law enforcement.

Partnering with Others

Working to keep terrorism off Facebook isnt enough because terrorists can jump from platform to platform. Thats why partnerships with others  including other companies, civil society, researchers and governments  are so crucial.

Industry cooperation: In order to more quickly identify and slow the spread of terrorist content online, we joined with Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube six months ago to announce a shared industry database of hashes  unique digital fingerprints for photos and videos  for content produced by or in support of terrorist organizations. This collaboration has already proved fruitful, and we hope to add more partners in the future. We are grateful to our partner companies for helping keep Facebook a safe place.

Governments: Governments and inter-governmental agencies also have a key role to play in convening and providing expertise that is impossible for companies to develop independently. We have learned much through briefings from agencies in different countries about ISIS and Al Qaeda propaganda mechanisms. We have also participated in and benefited from efforts to support industry collaboration by organizations such as the EU Internet Forum, the Global Coalition Against Daesh, and the UK Home Office.

Encryption: We know that terrorists sometimes use encrypted messaging to communicate. Encryption technology has many legitimate uses  from protecting our online banking to keeping our photos safe. Its also essential for journalists, NGO workers, human rights campaigners and others who need to know their messages will remain secure. Because of the way end-to-end encryption works, we cant read the contents of individual encrypted messages  but we do provide the information we can in response to valid law enforcement requests, consistent with applicable law and our policies.

Counterspeech training: We also believe challenging extremist narratives online is a valuable part of the response to real world extremism. Counterspeech comes in many forms, but at its core these are efforts to prevent people from pursuing a hate-filled, violent life or convincing them to abandon such a life. But counterspeech is only effective if it comes from credible speakers. So weve partnered with NGOs and community groups to empower the voices that matter most.

Partner programs: We support several major counterspeech programs. For example, last year we worked with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue to launch the Online Civil Courage Initiative, a project that has engaged with more than 100 anti-hate and anti-extremism organizations across Europe. Weve also worked with Affinis Labs to host hackathons in places like Manila, Dhaka and Jakarta, where community leaders joined forces with tech entrepreneurs to develop innovative solutions to push back against extremism and hate online. And finally, the program weve supported with the widest global reach is a student competition organized through the P2P: Facebook Global Digital Challenge. In less than two years, P2P has reached more than 56 million people worldwide through more than 500 anti-hate and extremism campaigns created by more than 5,500 university students in 68 countries.

Our Commitment

Bickert adds that Facebook is committed to eradicate terrorism from their websites. We want Facebook to be a hostile place for terrorists. The challenge for online communities is the same as it is for real world communities  to get better at spotting the early signals before its too late. We are absolutely committed to keeping terrorism off our platform, and well continue to share more about this work as it develops in the future, concludes Bickert.

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The cheapest Android-powered smartphone from Nokia-Android series, launched earlier this week in India, has hit shelves in the country. The phone can now be purchased through offline retail stores across the country at a price of Rs 9,499.

It features a 5-inch display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, powered by MediaTek MTK 6737, coupled with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, with an option to expand up to 128GB via a microSD card. The front and rear camera have both 8MP sensors. Fuelled by a 2650mAh battery, the phone operates Android 7.0 Nougat. Nokia has also promised to release monthly security OS updates to the smartphones as soon as they are available for a safer Android ecosystem. The device will feature four coloursSilver White, Matte Black, Tempered Blue and Copper White.

The Nokia-branded Android smartphone was unveiled along with two other Android smartphonesNokia 6 and Nokia 5. The next Nokias Android-powered phone in the row to hit shelves in India is Nokia 5. The phone will be released on July 7, as announced by the company, and will be available at a price of Rs 12,899.

In terms of specifications, Nokia 5 features a 5.3-inch HD display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, runs on Qualcomms Snapdragon 430 processor and Adreno 505 GPU, coupled with 2GB RAM and have 16GB storage option, 13MP rear camera, and an 8MP front camera. It will be available in four colours  Matte Black, Silver, Tempered Blue, and Copper.

The Nokia 6 will be exclusively available on the Amazon India at a price of Rs 14,999 from July 14. The device features a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080) display, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC, coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, which can further be expanded via microSD card, a 16MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Pakistan military helping the Taliban in Afghanistan where were have our troops and those weapons could be used against the United States (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)

Washington: Two top lawmakers have accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism and urged the Trump administration to cut military aid to the country, saying the

US should make it more difficult for Islamabad to get its hands on American weapons.

During a Congressional hearing this week, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Ted Poe, alleged that Pakistan is engaged in terrorism and asserted that the US needs to cut its military assistance to it.

"We need to go on the record here, on this part of our government, to say that we're not going to be providing weapons to countries like Pakistan that we're afraid will shoot down our own people and afraid we know they're engaged

in terrorism," Rohrabacher said during a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade hearing on Foreign Military Sales.

"We know what they've done now. They still hold Dr. Afridi (who helped locate Osama bin Laden)...in a dungeon," he said.

"We should be facilitating our support and our weapons systems to countries like Egypt that are fighting this threat to Western civilisation, to all of civilisation. And we should make it more difficult not less difficult for countries like Pakistan to get their hands on American weapons," Rohrabacher asserted.

Congressman Ted Poe, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade, said that the US is having the issue with Pakistan whether "they're loyal or playing us for years on the issue of

aid" to Pakistan and sales to Pakistan.

"We were concerned about the Pakistanis scrambling F-16s that we made and sold to the Pakistanis so that they wouldn't shoot down Americans who were doing the job of taking out this terrorist. I personally think Pakistan plays the United States because they turn to China if we don't help them," Poe said.

"I understand all that. They have nuclear weapons and we want to have a relationship with them so that they don't look to China. I get all that. But are we doing anything different on sales to Pakistan to make sure those sales of whatever it is aren't used against us directly or used against us indirectly because of the military helping the Taliban in Afghanistan where were have our troops and those weapons could be used against the United States" he asked.

"Are we doing anything different to make sure that doesn't happen or are we still using the same formula," Poe questioned.

Tina Kaidanow, Acting Assistant Secretary of State, Political-Military Affairs, told lawmakers that with Pakistan the United States has a robust end use monitoring programme, to ensure that the items that it provides to them are used appropriately and within the boundaries of what the US has asked them to accomplish.

"We regard Pakistan as an important partner on counter-terrorism issues. They will be essential in bringing the Afghan Taliban to the table for peace talks. There are a number of things where we need their cooperation and their

assistance," Kaidanow said.

"We do want to help them on the counter-terrorism front. But on the other hand, again, we have very big concerns that we continuously front with them on support for Haqqani, on support for other things. This has been made clear to the

Pakistani government at the highest levels," the senior State Department official said.
Responding to a question, USIBC president said it is unlikely to be a strain in India-US ties. (File Photo)

Washington: The H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a thorny issue in the maiden meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the talks could yield a "win-win formula" for both the sides, a top American business advocacy group group today said.

"I believe the visit will yield a win-win formula for both countries. I am very optimistic that it will go very well when Prime Minister comes here, Mukesh Aghi, president of US India Business Council (USIBC) said.

Under the umbrella of US Chambers of Commerce, USIBC is the largest representative body of top American businesses having a footprint in India.

Prime Minister Modi will on June 26 hold talks with President Trump on a range of issues, including terrorism and India's concerns over possible changes in H1B visa rules, in their first bilateral meeting after the new administration took over in the US.

The bilateral talks appear to be no bed of roses as they come amidst thorny issues like US' plans to reduce the number of H-1B visa slots that are mainly used by Indian IT workers, and its withdrawal from the historic climate accord.

Closely involved in the preparations for Modi's US visit from June 25 as an industry representative, Aghi said the H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a major issue of discussion between the two leaders.

Responding to a question, he said it is unlikely to be a strain in India-US ties.

"I believe this (H-1B) will not be an issue which will cause any kind of strain in discussion. The US industry needs technical resources to become more efficient, more competitive. And at the same time, I think have a good supply from India, he said, adding that H1B visa issue is not just a US issue, it is an issue for the US business community.

"It is a supply and demand issue. And, the industry needs more technical resources and the supply is constrained there, he said.

"Our (USIBC) position is that we basically are supportive of H1B programme, and I don't believe that's the issue between the two leaders because you look at last year's number, the number has dropped by 35 per cent from Indian companies, for H1B, said the USIBC president.

Trump had made the alleged abuse and fraud in H-1B visa system a major election issue during his campaign.

Aghi said India-US ties is the most important strategic issue at this stage.

"I think all sides realise value of this partnership and both sides are working to make this deeper and much further than where it is now, he said.

"When I walk the corridors of the Hill, or down in the White House, what I essentially get is, this is very important relationship, and tell us what needs to be done to move the bar further up between the two countries, Aghi said.

Of the firm belief that the Indian economy will grow at a faster pace at least for the next 20 years, the USIBC president said this would create tremendous market opportunity for US companies.

"To gain market share, if you look at Uber or Amazon or Facebook or WhatsApp, their market dominance in India is growing, and it affects their stock up to the Chinese market also, he said.

Responding to a question, Aghi said Trumps 'America First' and Modi?s 'Make in India' policies are complimentary to each other.

"I believe they're complementary, because I see India buys more and more defence, which in turn creates more jobs. Indian airlines place more order by US manufacture of planes, place more jobs here, he argued.

If you move a lot of these manufacturing to India, it still creates more jobs. It is a complementary relationship.

So I think my perspective of this is, it needs more long-term capital investment for the infrastructure. And, there is a lot of cash, it's not earning that high interest of return, so India provides the opportunities, especially for large pension funds, he said.

Notably, Modi's US visit comes in the backdrop of Trump's announcement to withdraw the US from the historic Paris Climate Agreement signed by over 190 other countries. Trump had blamed India and China for the US withdrawal.
Miami: US President Donald Trump vowed Friday to overhaul Barack Obama's deal to restore ties with Cuba, promising to instead support the Cuban people against Raul Castro's government.

Trump flew to Miami's Little Havana, spiritual home of the Cuban-American community, to denounce his predecessor's "one-sided" settlement and pledge to work for Cuba's freedom.

In practical terms, Trump's review of the deal was limited. He will not break the diplomatic ties Obama worked so carefully to restore, nor does he plan to impose new trade sanctions.

But he did tighten rules for Americans traveling to Cuba, ban ties with a military-run tourism firm and reaffirm the existing US trade embargo which will be firmly enforced.

The Cuban government response was restrained. In a statement on state television it denounced the measures, but said Havana "reiterates its willingness to continue the respectful dialogue and cooperation."

"Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump said, to cheers at the Manuel Artime Theater.

That may have been overstating his case.

Trump's new measures mainly relate to stricter enforcement of existing laws that had begun to loosen as Obama sought a rapprochement. But he won roars of approval and cries of "Viva Cuba libre!" from the invited crowd of Cuban-Americans and Cuban exiles.

And in symbolism that will not be lost in Havana, his crowd included veterans of the ill-fated Brigade 2506, which in 1961 launched the failed US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion. "I am proud to be an American," said 75-year-old Modesto Castaner, who trained with the CIA in Guatemala before taking part in the failed bid to overthrow Fidel Castro's rule.

"Trump is keeping his promise. What Obama did was virtually all to the benefit of the Castros but in exchange for what?" The new measures prohibit financial transactions with Cuba's military-backed tourism conglomerate GAESA, which had hoped for a windfall from a new surge in American visitors.

Run by Castro's son-in-law Luis Rodriguez Lopez-Callejas, GAESA has joint ventures with several foreign firms that have driven a tourism boom, including the Marriott hotel chain. Even some who oppose the embargo gave Trump's measures a guarded welcome.

Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the anti-embargo Movimiento Democracia, that the changes do not fully reverse Obama's open-hand policy as Trump had suggested. And he welcomed the tightening of rules on dealing with military-run enterprises, which he described as "a mafia."

"A Cuban small businessman should not be obliged to buy from the only wholesaler that exists now, which is the state," he said. "Trump is adding teeth to Obama's previous policy, and he's talking about putting the human rights issue first."

Signing a new National Security Presidential Memorandum, Trump announced stricter application of the rules under which Americans can travel to Cuba.

American citizens will still be able to take commercial flights to Cuba, but once again only for 12 specific reasons ranging from journalism to educational activities. Cuban-Americans can still visit and send funds, limiting the impact in Florida, where many emigres settled and where many turned out last year to vote for Trump.

Miami's Cuban-American population has a reputation for die hard anti-communism, but in Little Havana, some even those who had fled oppression were philosophical about detente.

"Obama did the right thing," said 77-year-old Manuel Gonzales, who left the island in 2006. "The only person responsible for the embargo was Castro. We have to look forward, not back."

Others were not so forgiving. Marta Diaz, now 75, left Cuba in 1967 and time has done nothing to dull her anger towards the regime. She urged Trump to impose "harsh measures" until the Havana regime falls.

Boosting travel was a key aim of Obama's effort to restore ties with Cuba after a half-century chill, which culminated with a visit by the then-president in 2016.

Some 285,000 people visited the Caribbean country in 2016, up 74 percent over 2015, with Americans the third-biggest group after Canadians and Cuban expats.

"New restrictions on engagement with Cuban economy only pushes Cuba to China and Russia who will gladly make up the difference," argued former White House official Ben Rhodes, the architect of Obama's Cuba policy.

"Any limitations on travel hurt Cuban small business owners restaurants, shops, taxis that depend on travelers for revenue." Engage Cuba, a group lobbying for an end to the embargo, estimates that 10,000 US jobs in aviation and the cruise business already depend on Cuba.
London: An Indian-origin pharmacist who stole almost 5,000 pounds worth of prescription drugs and then sold them on the street has been jailed for one year by a UK court.

Niren Patel had appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of a position of trust, possession with intent to supply a Class B drug and five counts of possession to supply a Class C drug.

He was sentenced to a total of 12 months' imprisonment on Friday.

"Patel abused his position as a pharmacist by creating fraudulent orders for prescription drugs and then sold them on the street. The drugs he sold are highly addictive and dangerous when given to someone without a prescription," said Detective Constable Beverley McInerney, of the Met's Organised Crime Command.

The Metropolitan Police's Controlled Drug Liaison team began an investigation in August 2016 after Patel's employer, Day Lewis Pharmacy in Hornchurch, made a report of theft to the police.

Analysis of stock records and drugs purchased by Patel, who also worked at Hedgemans Pharmacy in Dagenham, revealed he had created fraudulent orders for almost 5,000-pounds worth of prescription medicine.

During questioning by police, the 38-year-old admitted he had sold the drugs, including Genotropin, a growth hormone used by bodybuilders, to a member of the public on the street.

Other drugs sold by Patel included the Class B restricted drug Dexamfetamine, which is used for weight loss and to improve academic performance, and Class C drugs such as Xanax, Zolpidem and Diazepam, which are sedatives used as "downers".
London: A leading gastroenterologist, academics and several professionals across different fields are among the various Indian-origin achievers in the UK named in the Queen's annual Birthday Honours' list released on Saturday.

Parveen June Kumar has been conferred the prestigious Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to medicine and medical education.

The 74-year-old Professor of Medicine and Education, Bart's and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary, University of London, is the co-editor and author of a revolutionary 1989 textbook, 'Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine', which is credited with improvements in the education of medical students, doctors and nurses in training both at home and abroad.

Among the Indian-origin Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), include Aisha Kulwant Gill, Professor of Criminology, University of Roehampton, for services to tackling forced marriage, honour crimes and violence against women.

"Her contribution to effecting social change is as a passionate advocate for women suffering gender based violence, as a grassroots campaigner, an expert adviser on policy interventions and as a highly respected academic," reads Gill's citation.

Shamit Saggar, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Essex, has also been conferred a CBE for services to social science and public policy.

The UK Cabinet Office said to mark the centenary year of the honours, this year's awards are the most diverse ever with 10 per cent of the successful candidates from black and minority ethnic (BAME) background, the highest ever.

In total 1,109 people have received honours, which are bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II to mark her official birthday celebrations in the second week of June.

Some of the high-profile recipients this year include ex-Beatle band member Sir Paul McCartney and Harry Potter author J K Rowling, who have been conferred the highest- ranking honour of Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour, which entitles them to add CH after their name.

Among the other Indian-origin professionals recognised this year include Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBEs) conferred upon are Sital Singh Dhillon, Head of Law and Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University, for services to higher education; Dr Kamaljit Kaur Hothi, Head of Colleague Volunteering and Group Fundraising, Lloyds Banking Group, for services to diversity in the banking sector.

Arvind Michael Kapur, Chairman, National Space Centre and Founder-Director, Signum Corporate Communications Ltd, for services to science, technology, business and enterprise; Chandrakant Kataria, Group Chief Executive, East Midlands Housing Group, for services to housing in the East Midlands; and Dr Nikesh Kotecha, CEO, Morningside Pharmaceuticals, for services to entrepreneurship, innovation in pharmaceutical services and philanthropy are among other Indian-origin professionals recognised for their contribution.

The other recipients of an OBE include Ramesh Dulichandbhai Mehta, President of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), for services to the NHS. "I am grateful for such a recognition and share the achievement with all my colleagues, friends and family members who have supported me for the years," said Dr Mehta, a prominent campaigner for Indian-origin doctors in the UK.

The others made OBE are Harinder Singh Pattar, headteacher, The Heathland School, London, for services to education; Nardeep Sharma, CEO, The Thrive Partnership Academy Trust, for services to education; Rakesh Sharma, Chief Executive, Ultra Electonics, for services to defence capability; Mahendra Pratap Singh Varma, for services to cardiology in Northern Ireland; and Sandeep Singh Virdee, founder-director, Darbar Arts Culture and Heritage Trust, for services to the promotion of Indian musical heritage in the UK.

This year's Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs) include an Indian as part of the overseas list. Annabel Mehta, president of non-governmental organisation Apnalaya, for services to the community and under-privileged in Mumbai.

The UK-based MBEs include Dr Pushpinder Chowdhry, for services to the Asian community in the UK; Vilasgauri Ratilal Dhanani, for voluntary and charitable services; Pamal Jeet Hayre, for public service; Surinder Singh Jandu, for services to community cohesion; Dr Nikita Kanani, for services to primary care.

The other MBEs include Dr Serbjit Kaur, for services to dentistry; Vikas Kumar, for services to the arts and culture; Pritpal Singh Nagi, for services to business and charity in Staffordshire; Nitin Palan, for services to interfaith relations; Anjna Morarji Patel, for services to the parking profession; Sazeda Patel, for services to the community in Blackburn; Dr Bharti Rajput, for services to podiatry and the economy in Dundee.

Tejinder Kumar Sharma, for services to Hindi Literature and to Community Cohesion in London; Dr Shobba Srivastava, for voluntary service to community cohesion in North East England; and Deepak Verma, for services to the arts, also receive an MBE.

The Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) completes the 2017 honours list with Bula Chakravarty-Agbo, for services to the arts; Uma Nalayini Fernandes, for voluntary service to community healthcare in Middlesex; Suraj Bhan Khandelwal, for services to business and the community in Leicester; Vinod Mathuradas Kotecha, for services to the Asian community; and Mohinder Singh Sangha, for services to the community in Leicester.

The UK's Honours and Appointments Secretariat receive around 10,000 enquiries from members of the public each year, resulting in around 3,000 nominations for the honours every year. In addition to nominations from the public, government departments ask schools, hospitals, local authorities and similar organisations for suggestions of potential candidates.

The Queen's official birthday celebrations will be marked by the traditional Trooping of the Colour parade near Buckingham Palace this weekend.
Israeli borderguards search a Palestinian man outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on June 16, 2017, following an attack (Photo: AFP)

Jerusalem: The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman outside Jerusalem's Old City, in what would be a first for the jihadists in Israel.

Three suspected Palestinian attackers were shot dead by security forces, Israeli police said Friday.

In an online statement, IS said jihadist fighters had targeted a "gathering of Jews", warning that "this attack will not be the last".

But Hamas, the militant Islamist group that runs the Gaza strip, rejected the claim, saying that the attackers had come from among its ranks and those of a leftist liberation movement.

The assault took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

"Female border policewoman injured critically in attack at Damascus gate," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement. "3 Arab terrorists shot by police units that responded at the scene."

Police said the three were killed. Policewoman Hadas Malka, a 23-year-old staff sergeant major, was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds.

Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevy identified the three attackers as Palestinians from the West Bank.

Israel's security services have reported IS-inspired attacks in the past and arrested those suspected of links to the jihadist group, but this is the first direct claim by IS on Israeli soil.

In its statement IS said the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims".

"Let the Jews watch for the demise of their state at the hands of the soldiers of the Caliphate," the statement said.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abou Zouhri said the IS claim was an attempt to "muddy the waters", adding that the attack was carried out by "two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas".

The killing was "a natural response to the crimes of the occupier," he said, echoing the language used by Hamas after other recent attacks in Israel.

- Ramadan activity -

Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan.

"During Ramadan there are large numbers of (Palestinian) youths who enter without permits, they take advantage of Ramadan to be in Jerusalem," Halevy told media at the scene of the attack.

The area around Damascus Gate was sealed off in the hours after the attack, with a few youths throwing fireworks at security forces.

A road leading to Damascus Gate full of stalls opened especially for Ramadan was closed off by police. A shopkeeper said this would normally be one of the busiest nights of the year.

Large numbers of heavily armed security forces were patrolling throughout the Old City, an AFP reporter said.

The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah, born in 1998, Adel Ankush, born in 1999, and Asama Atta, born in 1998.

All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in "popular terror activity," a Shin Bet statement read.

The names differ from those reported by IS, who said the attack was carried out by brothers called Abu al-Bara'a al-Maqdisi, Abu Hassan al-Maqdisi, and Abu Rabah al-Maqdisi.

Medics said four people besides the officer were wounded in the incident, two of them moderately and two lightly. Two of those wounded were Palestinians from east Jerusalem.

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 272 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.
Bangladeshi fire fighters and residents search for bodies after a landslide in Bandarban Bangladeshi fire fighters and residents search for bodies after a landslide in Bandarban (Photo: ANI)

Dhaka: The death toll following the recent incessant downpour and landslides in Bangladesh has raised to 156, as firefighters recovered four dead bodies from different areas of Rangamati.

The death toll in most affected Rangamati alone has risen to 114 after these newly-found bodies were recovered, reports the Dhaka Tribune.

The regular rescue operation in the Rangamati has been called off by the local district administration and now the firefighters will only conduct the rescue operation based on specific information.

Several people were killed in the hilly areas of Chittagong, Rangamati and Bandarban in Bangladesh following incessant downpour and landslides late Tuesday night. Scores of others were injured and many remained missing.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts saw over 300 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours till Tuesday morning. Chittagong alone experienced 222 mm of rain during the same period.

None of these areas has seen such rain in recent years, said Reaz Ahmed, Director General of the Disaster Management Department.

The district administrations opened a number of makeshift shelter homes for people evacuated and rescued from some 20 landslide spots.

The four army men died after being struck by a landslide from an adjacent hill while trying to clear a road in Rangamati's Manikchhari on Tuesday.

According to reports, the landslide pushed 15 army men down to around 30 feet, killing the four instantly.

At least 10 more army men were injured, five critically, in the Rangamati incident, according to an official statement.

Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have expressed their deep condolence over the death so many people, including the army members.

The incessant rainfall in the country has been caused by depression in the Bay of Bengal.
When the serial blasts rocked Mumbai in 1993, police and security agencies were baffled. But the Mumbai cops lived up to its reputation of being compared to Scotland Yard and cracked the case within no time.



Thanks to an abandoned Bajaj Chetak scooter and a Maruti Omni van that cops managed to link the blasts to the Memon family of Mahim and then to Karachi-based mafia don Dawood Ibrahim.



There was total confusion, we were worried, and whether more such blasts would take placewho could have done it? All questions and no answersbut we managed to crack the case, a senior official said.



What was more important that within 24 hours, Mumbai police had an idea of what exactly had happened, why and who wall are responsible.



The 12 March 1993 serial blasts came as a retaliation to the 6 December 1992 demolition of the Babri structure in Ayodhya, which was followed by riots across the country including two phases of communal riots in Mumbai. In fact, the 1992-93 riots have been probed by the Justice BN Srikrishna Commission.



When the blasts took place, Sharad Pawar was the Maharashtra chief minister, late Amarjit Singh Samra was the Mumbai police commissioner, MN Singh was Crime Branch-CID chief and Rakesh Maria was a deputy commissioner of police with the Traffic department and he became a member of the core investigating team.



How the case was cracked and cops reached the doorsteps of Tiger Memon was a classic case of investigations and chance.



During the night of 12 March, when police were doing rounds, they found a white Maruti Omni van abandoned near the Doordarshan Kendra at Worli. In fact, some of the Tiger men were in this vehicle and heading towards the BMC headquarters, but abandoned it when bus ripped off near the Century Mills. The car was full of AK-56s and grenades, a police official said. In the meanwhile, the RTO too was contacted to get details of the van and it was found to be registered in the name of Rubina Memon, wife of Suleiman Memon, who had been acquitted by the TADA court. Rubina is serving a life sentence and her ground that she was a housewife and not aware of who was using the car had been rejected.



A day later, a skin specialist reported about the abandoned scooter at the Naigaum Cross Lane near Dadar. The scooter, laden with RDX, had failed to explode and was defused by cops. Maria, when got all the keys from the Memon house, Al Husseini building at Mahim, and used in the scooter to unlock it and one of the keys fitted the slot.
Authorities imposed restrictions on the movement of people in many areas of Kashmir today as a precautionary measure in view of a strike called by the separatists to protest the killing of two civilians allegedly in security forces firing.



Restrictions were imposed in Srinagar, Kulgam and Pulwama districts, officials said.



They said restrictions on the movement of people have been imposed in five police station areas of Srinagar - the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.



The police station areas are Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, Safakadal and MR Gunj, the officials said.



They said curbs were imposed in entire Kulgam district as well as in Pulwama town in south Kashmir.



In the other sensitive places in south Kashmir, heavy deployment of security forces has been made to maintain law and order, the officials said.



The authorities have closed all educational institutions in Anantnag and Pulwama districts as a precautionary measure.



University of Kashmir has postponed all examinations scheduled to for today in view of the prevailing situation.



Meanwhile, normal life was affected elsewhere in Kashmir Valley due to the strike called by the separatists against the killing of civilians.



Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut, while public transport was off the roads.



While the separatists - chairmen of both factions of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and JKLF chief Yasin Malik, have called for a strike against the civilian killings, the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation had called for a shutdown against the implementation of the proposed Goods and Service Tax in the state.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena today performed a number of yoga asanas and joined thousands of yoga enthusiasts to celebrate the International Day of Yoga.



Messages from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj were displayed at the venue.



Sirisena performed a number of yoga asanas and encouraged yoga institutions in Sri Lanka to continue their good work in the event organised by the Indian Cultural Center here.



Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu highlighted the efforts led by Prime Minister Modi in the UN declaring June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. He said the world now recognises yoga, as a human treasure - a key to good health.



This event followed weeks of yoga activities across Sri Lanka, including the first-ever Yoga Road Show, a unique event that saw dozens of yoga instructors travel by bus to various locations across Sri Lanka, including Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Kataragama, Galle, Jaffna and Colombo to promote, popularise and teach yoga.



The journey connected thousands of minds, spreading the message of yoga for well-being, Sandhu said.
A group of Muhajirs have urged the Trump administration and US Congress to cut off military sales and aid to Pakistan, citing Islamabad's support to terrorism.



"The actions of Pakistani military establishment clearly shows that they are not a trustworthy ally of the US in the war against terrorism," the recently formed World Muhajir (refugee) Congress said in a memorandum to the Trump administration and US Congress.



"Deceiving the US administration and appeasing militant outfits like Haqqani network, Taliban Quetta Shura and Al Qaeda operatives is a policy towed by ISI," the memorandum said. There is no other option left for the US but to take unilateral military actions inside Pakistani territory to kill jihadist operatives, it argued.



"The US-led war on terror cannot be won without addressing the key issue of Pakistani Army being the sponsor of terrorism in the region," said the memorandum, copies of which were given to members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade during a Congressional hearing on Foreign Military Sales here on Thursday.



"World Muhajir Congress sincerely request Trump Administration and US Congress to cut off military sales/aid to Pakistan," it said.
The US and Japan launched a major search operation to find seven missing American sailors on Saturday after their navy destroyer collided with a container ship, crushing the side of the military vessel.



Planes, boats and helicopters scoured the seas off Japan's Pacific coast in a bid to find the crew who disappeared in the predawn accident, which also left the USS Fitzgerald's skipper injured. It was not clear where the missing sailors were when the collision happened.



Several other crew members were injured and had to be evacuated by air to hospital, including the guided missile destroyer's commanding officer Bryce Benson.



Aerial television footage showed one person lying on a stretcher and a rescuer being pulled up to a helicopter that was hovering above the Fitzgerald, part of its right side caved in.



"There are seven sailors unaccounted for; the ship and the Japanese Coast Guard continues to search for them," the Navy said.



The collision between the Fitzgerald and Philippine- flagged container ship ACX Crystal happened around 2:30 am (1730 GMT Friday) off the coast of the Izu peninsula, southwest of Tokyo. The area is a busy shipping channel that is a gateway to major container ports in Yokohama and Tokyo.



"The volume of ships is heavy in this area and there have been accidents before," coastguard official Yutaka Saito told Japan's public broadcaster NHK.



NHK said the massive 222-metre (730 foot) container ship made a sharp turn around the time of the accident, but its captain suggested otherwise.



"(We) were sailing in the same direction as the US destroyer was and then collided," he was quoted as saying by Jiji Press news agency.



Japan's coastguard, which is probing the incident, said it has sent a half dozen vessels, several aircraft and a team of specially-trained rescue personnel to the scene. They were later joined by the country's Self-Defence Forces.



"We're going all out in the search to find these missing people... but we still haven't found any clues about where they might be," a coastguard spokesman said, adding that the search may continue overnight.



The 154-metre Fitzgerald -- which was commissioned in 1995 and deployed in the Iraq war in 2003 -- is based in Yokosuka, operating in the Pacific and the Sea of Japan (East Sea).



The accident happened 56 nautical miles (104 kilometres) southwest of Yokosuka, the navy said.
Samir Gaikwad, an activist of right-wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha, who arrested in connection with the sensational murder of Communist leader Govind Pansare and charge sheeted, was on Saturday granted bail by the Kolhapur district sessions court.



Gaikwad was arrested by a team of Kolhapur Police and Special Investigation Team (SIT) on 16 September 2015. Gaikwad is associated with the Sanatan Sanstha since 1998  and his family too is associated with the Right-wing organisation. His wife stays in the Goa ashram of Sanatan Sanstha.



The court while granting him bail has asked him to surrender his passport, not to leave Maharashtra and attend police investigations, whenever needed. Comrade Pansare, 82, and his wife, Uma were attacked by two motor-cycle borne youths on February 16, 2015, near his home in Kolhapur, and he died four days later on February 20, 2015, at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai.



In fact, the death of Pansare, rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar and writer Prof MM Kalburgi has come as a shock across the country. Dr Dabholkar, the founder-president of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), was shot dead on June 20, 2013, by two unidentified gunmen near Omkareshwar temple in Pune. Kalburgi, 76, noted scholar and writer, had run-ins with right-wing Hindutva groups over the years, was shot dead on August 30, 2015, by an unidentified gunman at the former's residence in the Kalyan Nagar locality of Dharwad.



Meanwhile, reacting to the bail the families of Dr Dabholkar and Pansare had asked the government to appeal immediately in the Bombay High Court. His bail was rejected twice earlier by the Kolhapur Sessions Court and once by the Bombay High Court.



The police and government must appeal, said Dr Dabholkars son Hamid Dabholkar. The investigations are going on and hence he should not be released on bail and the government needs to act and appeal against the Kolhapur order, said Medha Pansare, the daughter-in-law of Pansare.






A group of Patels, including Hardik Patel and Patidaar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), have announced their intent to carry the corpse of Ketan Patel, the youth who is said to have died in police custody in Mehsana, to Gujarat governors house in Gandhinagar.



Patels have planned this 60-km long procession from Mehsana civil hospital to Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar for Sunday. According to PAAS, over 1000 cars and 2000 people on motorcycles would join the journey. Hardik, who has been barred entry into Mehsana district by the courts as part of his bail condition, is expected to join the procession on the Mehsana district border.



After reaching Raj Bhavan, Patels plan to leave the dead body of Ketan at the gates of Governor O P Kohlis official residence and plead their case. The Patel leaders, who have been raising the demand for CBI enquiry and even got their heads tonsured in protest in the past.



Ketan had died on June 3-4, 2017, allegedly due to the beating he received in police custody. The state, on seeing the trouble, ordered an enquiry by chief district judicial magistrate and lodged and FIR against three persons, including a constable, including murder charges, the family later refused to take charge of the Ketans dead body. They insisted on a CBI enquiry and refused to perform the last rites of his body, which has been lying in the morgue of Mehsana Civil Hospital for almost a fortnight.



The custodial death of Ketan assumed larger proportion due to custodial death and involvement of Patel leaders in the process. Patels, who have been fighting for quotas as well as seeking action against policemen responsible for the killing of almost a dozen Patel youth during the agitation, see Ketan's death as an extension of high-handedness against their community. The refusal of state government to accede to the request for a CBI probe appears to have become a prestige issue for both the sides.



Though the police and state administration is yet to give permission for the procession, the Patels seem adamant on their plan. The police say that it fears law and order problem and hence has desisted from giving permission. The police on its part are not taking chances and are gearing up to deploy large posse of police personnel to prevent any untoward incident.




Now, you may not have to travel too far for getting your passport as the government has come up with a plan to open passport centres within a radius of 50 km.



External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today announced the launch of 149 new Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK).



These will be in addition to 86 POPSKs announced by the Ministry of External Affairs in the first phase, an initiative undertaken jointly by the MEA and the Department of Post.



Since coming to power, the NDA government has also opened 16 PSKs, with a priority given to northeastern states, Swaraj said.





Thus, the NDA government opened altogether 251 PSKs and POPSKs since it came to power in May 2014, she said.



Prior to this, there were 77 PSKs in the country.



The minister said when she took charge in the ministry, she realised that "proximity" was the biggest hurdle in applying for passports.



"We have set up a target that no one has to travel more than a radius of 50 kms to get a passport," she said, adding her ministry and the DoP are working to map 810 head post offices and extend the ambit of the scheme.



She also said more POPSKs will be opened in third phase after the completion of mapping and checking the viability of the post offices.



Swaraj also launched a portal for the Know India Programme (KIP), an initiative by the ministry for the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) between the age group of 18 to 30 years. The aim of the KIP is to help PIO youths familiarise with their roots and contemporary India.



Launched in 2004, the scheme has 40 editions under which 1,293 PIO youths have visited India.

In 2016, the scheme was revamped to increase its duration from 21 to 25 days, with a 10-day visit to one or two states and preference given to PIOs from Girmitiya countries.



From 2016, six KIPs a year are being organised.



Vani Roa, joint-secretary (Overseas Indian Affairs) said through the portal, the interested participants can directly apply for the programme. Earlier, those interested in the programme had to send an email to India high commissions and embassies to apply for it.



Referring to Girmitiya countries, Swaraj said the Britishers took several Indians to their colonies, primarily in Africa and the Caribbean by signing an agreement.



However, in colloquial parlance, agreement became "grimit" as they could not pronounce the word agreement.



The countries where these Indians were taken under the "pretext of giving a good job" by signing such agreements became "girmitiya" countries.
Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President and legislator from Naranpura constituency in Ahmedabad is unlikely to contest the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat to be held by the end of this year.



This is being seen by many as a message from the party supremo that he is above state politics and that he would focus his energies on national politics and party's Mission 2019 to come back to power at the Centre. He may instead contest Parliamentary polls in 2019 and join Modis Cabinet as Number 2, as he was in Gujarat when Modi was state chief minister, a senior BJP member said. He even went on to extent of saying that if PM Modi decides to hang his boots in 2024 on attaining the age of 75 years, Shah may emerge as a strong successor then. Now it does not augur well for a leader of national stature to contest Assembly polls anymore. Moreover, he has his man Vijay Rupani in place and gets things done as per his wishes.



The 53-year-old Shah has been legislator since last five terms and represented Sarkhej constituency of Ahmedabad in the state Assembly between 1997 and 2012. In 2012, he shifted his constituency to Naranpura and won by a margin of over 30,000 votes.



There have also been rumours in the state capital that Shah may also decide to go to Upper House of the Parliament from the state, as Gujarat is likely to elect three members to Rajya Sabha soon after Presidential polls. While Union Minister Smriti Irani is set to corner one of the two seats BJP can win, the other seat may see Shah as the candidate. It would be the best thing to happen as it may upset the applecart of Congress, which is hoping to send its old hand Ahmed Patel on the third seat. Shahs presence can create a flutter and if he wins over Shankarsinh, the contest to RS polls could become interesting and have a major impact on state polls, another senior BJP leader said.



The move is also being seen as a message by BJP president that his trusted aide and current chief minister Vijay Rupani would continue to be firmly in the saddle during the elections. The party chief may have given us a target of winning 150 of 182 seats but he too knows that with Patels, Dalits, OBCs, farmers and even traders rising on several issues, it is better to stay a notch above state polity back home, BJP observer said.


Demanding loan waiver, farmers in the district staged protests today after a cultivator committed suicide allegedly on receiving a debt repayment notice from a bank.





The protesters in Berinag and Lohaghat came on roads and demanded that all loans taken by farmers in the region be waived off as their crops have been damaged first by draughts and then by rains.



Farmers alleged that the state government was having an indifferent attitude to their demands for loan waiver after their crops were damaged due to heavy rains and hailstorm last month.



"The farmers in the hill region of the state are not in a position to repay agricultural loans," Block Pramukh in Berinag block, Rekha Bhandari said.



Meanwhile, Pithoragarh district magistrate C Ravi Shankar said that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered after a farmer in a village near Thal town committed suicide yesterday allegedly due to bank notice on the loans he had taken from them.



The farmer, Surendra Singh, a resident of Purana Thal village of the district, was declared brought dead by doctors when he was brought to Thal hospital after he consumed some poisonous substances at his home near the village.



"We have found notice of bank beneath his bed, on a Rs 50,000 loan he had taken from Gramin Bank's Berinag branch some six months ago and could not repay due to damage to our crop in heavy rains and hails this year," said Manju, wife of the deceased farmer.



Shankar said Berinag SDM Vivek Prakash will conduct the inquiry to find if he had committed suicide due to bank loans and whether his crops have been covered under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima yojana or not.

While an official at Gramin bank confirmed notices being issued to farmers on payments of loans, Pithoragarh district magistrate said that the subject of incapability to repay loans will also be inquired.
India and South Korea this week moved fast to re-engage after a political turmoil in Seoul ended last month with Moon Jae-In being elected as the new President.



Moon's special envoy Dongchea Chung called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday  just two days after Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley met the new South Korean President himself in Seoul. The moves by New Delhi and Seoul to reach out to each other came just weeks after Moon was elected to the top office, ending the political turmoil over the impeachment of his predecessor Park Geun-Hye.



Modi told Dongchea that he was committed to work with Moon for further enhancement of the bilateral relationship between India and South Korea. He noted that Korea was an important development partner of India, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.



Prime Minister welcomed the deepening of bilateral partnership not only in trade and economic spheres but also in new areas like defence cooperation, official spokesperson of the MEA, Gopal Baglay, said.



Jaitley on Thursday conveyed to Moon in Seoul that the new South Korean President's efforts to improve ties between his country and its neighbours in Asia will benefit many. Jaitley underlined that such initiatives coincided with New Delhis Act East policy, he emphasised India's conviction that an internationally-minded South Korea is good for both Asia and for other nations, according to a press release issued here.



Moon already moved to mend Seoul's ties with China after the relations between the two came under stress over the deployment of US missile defence system in South Korea.



He also moved to improve ties between South Korea and Japan. He, however, stated that Seoul would continue to maintain close cooperation with the US, even South Korea would make more efforts to settle its dispute with North Korea and bring peace to Korean Peninsula.



Dongchea also had a meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday and discussed adding fresh momentum into the relations between India and South Korea, which was elevated to the status of the special strategic partnership during Prime Minister's visit to Seoul in may 2015.



Moon's Special Envoy and External Affairs Minister agreed to explore the possibility of holding the meetings of India South Korea joint commission in the coming months. They also agreed that the meeting between defence and foreign secretaries of India and their South Korean counterparts in 2+2 format should be held at an early date. The 2+2 dialogue format was agreed upon during Prime Minister's visit to Seoul when he and the then South Korean President had agreed to step up defence cooperation.



India and South Korea had last April signed an inter-governmental Memorandum of Understanding for Defence Industry Co-operation in Shipbuilding. The MoU would enable Hindustan Shipyards Limited to upgrade and modernise its facilities and execute naval shipbuilding projects in a timely and cost effective manner in collaboration with a shipyard in Korea.
In the rapidly changing environment, one factor which has not changed is the faith reposed in the armed forces by the entire nation, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday.



The statement of the President, who is the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces, assumes significance in the wake of recent criticism of armed forces by certain quarters in respect of the developments in the Kashmir valley including the incident when an army officer had tied a stone-pelter in a jeep to quell a mob and save his men.



Speaking at the Convocation Ceremony of the passing out Engineering Graduate Courses of College of Military Engineering in Pune, Mukherjee said: As you all are aware, knowledge is the emerging currency of the world in the present century. You should make full use of technical knowledge acquired by you at this prestigious institution of excellence of military engineering. You can be successful in all your endeavours only by being professionally competent and by keeping abreast with the latest developments.



The President further said the need of the hour is therefore to exploit the cutting-edge technologies which are best suited to meet the requirements. As engineers in uniform, the graduating officers would face greater challenges in view of the increasing complexities in the infrastructural requirements of the defence forces, especially in inhospitable terrain and on our mountainous borders, he said.



Recalling the yeomen service of the engineers, he said: The Indian Army engineers have traditionally left their mark on prestigious national projects be it oil pipeline at Siachen, prestigious naval bases and airfields in the north and northeast or roads cutting through the Himalayan ranges. I am sure that each and every one of you will also follow the footsteps of your illustrious predecessors and shall live up to the high standards expected of you.



In a splendid convocation ceremony at the Sarvatra Hall of the College of Military Engineering, Pune, five officers of Master of Technology, 35 officers of Engineer Officers Degree Engineering Course and 29 officers of Technical Entry Scheme Course were awarded degrees in Civil Engineering under the aegis of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Mukherjee graced the occasion as Chief Guest and presented the Scrolls and Awards to the officers. S C Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra, Lieutenant General DR Soni, VSM, Lieutenant General Suresh Sharma, AVSM, Dr M Jagadesh Kumar, Vice Chancellor, JNU were amongst other dignitaries attending the function.






In a bid to relieve ''stress' among the prisoners 'and keep them 'busy'', Uttar Pradesh government has decided to establish 'gaushalas' (cow farms) in the state jails.



State jail minister Jai Kumar said on Saturday that necessary instructions had been issued to the officials in this regard and the 'gaushalas' would soon start operating in the jails in the state.



Kumar said that the 'gaushalas' would not only keep the prisoners busy but would also relieve their stress. ''Prisoners are usually under great stress....they keep thinking about the cases against them and the dates on which they have to appear in the courts,'' he remarked.



''If they work at the gaushalas, they will not have much time for such thoughts,'' Kumar added.



The minister also said that the measure would also offer employment opportunities for the prisoners. ''Many of the inmates are very talented....the gaushalas will enable them to use their talent,'' he said.



He said that the products like 'gaumutra' (cow urine) and others from the 'gaushalas' would also be marketed. ''It will result in income generation for the jails and also for the prisoners,'' he said.



UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's love for the cows was well known. There is a 'gaushala' at the Gorakshpeeth Temple at Gorakhpur of which Adityanath is the chief.



Kumar said that International Yoga Day would also be celebrated across the jails in the state. ''The inmates of the jails will perform Yoga on that day under the guidance of a trained Yoga professional,'' he said.



The minister said that the jail superintendents had been asked to arrange for 'Yogacharyas' (yoga teacher) for the exercise.



''The idea is to inculcate pure thoughts within the prisoners...Yoga will go a long way in doing this,'' he added.






The BJP is to convey to the opposition and other parties the name of its choice of presidential candidate in the final round of talks with them next week, its leaders said. This will be after the PM and BJP brass finalises their choice or choices-- on the basis of consultations that has been going on with other parties including the opposition parties.



With the Congress and Left leaders saying they are upset that the Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Nadu did not come with a list of names before them in their first interaction opposition leaders on Friday, the BJP leaders said, "they would be informed when the name or a set of names is finalised by us."



Just as the Congress, when it was in power, never went with any list of names to the opposition parties for approval, the BJP could not be expected to do so, according to a Union minister. Nevertheless, the party had undertaken an exercise to know the mind of the opposition leaders, he said.



The Union Ministers, including Arun Jaitley who will be talking to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, will be briefing Prime Minister Narendra Modi early next week before the top BJP leaders sit down for the final call.



After their meetings with Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, NCP leader Sharad and Left leaders, Rajnath, and Venkaiah had spoken to BJP president Amit Shah.



At Friday's interaction, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi did not mince words in conveying to the two Union Ministers that she did not understand how the government could hope for a consensus without specific names.



To which, however, Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Rajnath Singh too said that the then government led by the Congress too didnt consult the Opposition or make efforts for consensus but went ahead to announce the candidature of Pratibha Patil in 2007.



Similarly, they said, the Congress had finalised the name of Pranab Mukherjee in 2012 as UPA's candidature after talking to its allies and not with the opposition. "The Congress elected Presidents of its choice when it was in power. The government of the day has always taken the decision," they said.



In contrast, Rajnath and Venkaiah apparently told the Congress chief and other leaders that the Vajpayee government had sought consensus on the candidature of A P J Abdul Kalam whose name was first proposed by Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and later supported by NCP chief Sharad Pawar.



Venkaiah said the Congress had serious reservations and didn't extend its support even after Kalam was formally named by the government. Later, the Congress filed one set of nomination papers for him, signed by Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh with 60 other proposers.



In 2007, Sonia Gandhi proposed the name of the then Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil, which was seconded by CPI leader A B Bardhan seconded it. No Opposition party was taken into confidence before finalising the name, according to the Union ministers.



In response, the Congress leaders said there was no point in holding talks with them without disclosing the name of its choice for presidential candidate. On the other hand, Venkaiah and Rajnath said their exercise was a "sincere" attempt to know the views of the opposition leaders.
In a major swoop, Indian security and intelligence agencies busted a fake telecommunication exchange at Latur in Marathwada region of Maharashtra  suspected to have been used by ISI, the Pakistani spy agency, to acquire sensitive military information.



During the operation spread over Friday and Saturday, the Latur police, Anti-Terrorism Squad of Maharashtra police and prosecution branch of Department of Telecommunication (DoT), conducted a series of raids and arrested two persons and seized equipment worth Rs 4.60 lakh.



The raids and investigations followed by the Military Intelligence based in Jammu & Kashmir provided inputs for a well-planned operation.



The two persons  aged 27 and 33  were arrested and a case was registered at Shivajinagar police station vide C.R. No 204/17 under sections of 4,20,25 Indian Telegraph Act, sections 3, 6 of Indian Wireless & Telegraph Act besides section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.



The two suspects were running the illegal telephone exchanges wherein international VOIP calls were routed through local mobile numbers. They used to convert a VOIP call from abroad into a voice illegally and transferring that voice to beneficiary and call receiver in India through an illegal international gateway.



It is learnt that this type of illegal VoIP exchanges were used by intelligence agency of the neighbouring country to acquire sensitive military information, ATS officials said in an obvious reference to Pakistan.



The loss to the exchequer form this racket is estimated to be over Rs 15 crore, officials said.



In the first raid at Prakashnagar, it was found that the suspect illegally running a fake telecommunication junction. A total 96 SIM cards, one computer, CPU, and 3 machines for call transforming (illegal international gateways) were seized in this raid. This was being run for the last six months



Thereafter, one shop was raided in the village Valandi, nearly 70 km away from the place of the first raid, and two illegal international gateways, 14 sim cards and other miscellaneous electronic material costing were seized.



In quick succession, a rented room of the second suspect was raided. It was found that he is also engaged in the illegal business of running a fake telecommunication junction/exchange. A total 64 SIM cards, one laptop, 2 unauthorised international gateway machines and other material were seized. He is running this illegal centre from last 5 months. He works also as mobile SIM card distributor. Investigations were still in progress.






In connection with the recent extortion call made from Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, the Vijayanagar police are continuing to interrogate Gunda alias Ravi.



Ravi is the prime accused in the case who not only made the extortion call from the prison to a businessmen demanding Rs 30,000, but also got his associates to assault the victim, vandalise his car and rob him of Rs 10,000.



Ravi has confessed to the police that he indeed made the extortion call. The police also learnt Ravi had made the call from a SIM card used by another inmate named Dinesh. Dinesh is an undertrial who was arrested by Byatrayanapura police for robbery.



According to Ravi, Dinesh got the SIM card and a smart phone smuggled into the jail for Rs 10,000 from his contact outside who activated SIMs using forged documents. Dinesh used to allow other inmates to make calls using his phone for a price per minute which would be anywhere from Rs 5,00 to 1,500 per call. While Dinesh makes money inside the jail this way, there are nearly a hundred of them with mobile phones inside doing the same business, sources privy to the investigation said.



Investigations revealed that Gunda Ravi had used the SIM to make extortion calls to two more persons but when the police approached them, they refused to file a complaint.



Jammers defunct



All 19 mobile phone (3G) jammers installed inside the prison in Parappana Agrahara are defunct since the annual maintenance contract (AMC) had expired a few months ago. However, as security a measure, prison authorities have installed a F1G security pole, a device to detect SIM cards and metal objects inside the prison.



The jammers have not been functioning for quite some time now and instead, we are using the F1G security pole for screening inmates in the prison, said H N Sathyanarayana Rao, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Prisons. We are not aware of any use of SIM cards inside the prison and the city police have not communicated to us about any such case, he added.






Members of United Bengaluru were shocked to see a tanker releasing effluents into the Talaghattapura lake and another truck dumping debris there.



Led by Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar, they took pictures of the trucks and lodged a complaint at the Talaghattapura police station.



As part of their drive to reclaim dying lakes of Bengaluru, the members of United Bengaluru visited Gubbalala, Talaghattapura and Sompura lakes, which are part of the Vrushabhavathi series of lakes in Bommanahalli and Rajarajeshwari Nagar zones of BBMP.



Encroachments had reduced the size of all the three lakes while the government agencies were callous and not ready to take responsibility for their protection and development. Sewage had choked Talaghattapura and Gubbalala lakes.



Further, a group of lake and urban experts, members of lake groups, elected representatives and government officials will inspect these lakes to assess the extent of deterioration, encroachment and dumping of domestic and industrial effluents.



They will submit their report to the government and other agencies. Bengaluru South MLA M Krishnappa, Yeshwantpur MLA S T Somashekar, corporators Arya Srinivas, Hanumanthaiah, N S Mukunda of Citizens Action Forum and Ashwin Mahesh were part of the team that visited these lakes.




Samir Gaikwad, an activist of right-wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha, who was arrested in connection with the sensational murder of communist leader Govind Pansare and a charge sheet filed, was on Saturday granted bail by the Kolhapur District Sessions Court.



Gaikwad was arrested by a team of Kolhapur Police and Special Investigation Team (SIT) on September 16, 2015. Gaikwad and his family are associated with the Sanatan Sanstha since 1998. His wife stays in the Goa ashram of Sanatan Sanstha.



The court, while granting bail, asked him to surrender his passport, not to leave Maharashtra and cooperate with the police investigation when needed. Comrade Pansare (82) and his wife Uma were attacked by two motorcycle-borne youths on February 16, 2015, near their home in Kolhapur, and he died four days later at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai.



The death of Pansare, rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and writer M M Kalburgi came as a shock across the country. Dabholkar, the founder-president of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), was shot dead on June 20, 2013, by two unidentified gunmen near Omkareshwar temple in Pune. Kalburgi (76), who had run-ins with right-wing Hindutva groups over the years, was shot dead on August 30, 2015, by unidentified gunman at his residence in Kalyan Nagar locality of Dharwad.


Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu explained the details of the costs involved. The cost of the project is Rs 13,845.01 crore. The government of India has released Rs 7,110.60 crore for Phase 1 out of Rs 8,762.69 crore and balance will be released as and when BMRCL requests for it, he said.



Noting that the exponential growth of Bengaluru had put a strain on the infrastructure in the city, the minister said the Centre had already approved Namma Metro Phase 2 to make sure that peoples demands for transportation are met. The additional network measuring 72 km would be added to the existing network at a total investment of Rs 26,405 crore, he said.







President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 11.3-km stretch of Namma Metros North-South on Saturday and stressed the need for better transportation to move people in the fast-growing country.Congratulating the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for overcoming all the challenges and completing the project, the president said, As we complete the first phase of the project, one can be satisfied that as in other places, the Metro in Bengaluru has proved to be a long term and viable solution to urban public transport, he said.


The victim was given first aid in Victoria Hospital and then rushed to St Johns Hospital where he is said to be out of danger but doctors said there was a possibility of permanent disability.



The patient was brought to emergency with a crush injury to the leg and showed no pulse, indicating serious vascular damage. He was given necessary initial treatment. As blood supply to the right leg was seriously compromised, it was opined that in an attempt to save the limb from amputation, he required urgent vascular surgery. Hence was transferred to Narayana Hrudayalaya as our vascular surgeon was unavailable, said Dr Sanjiv Lewin, associate medical superintendent at St Johns Hospital. A release from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd said, Alagappan, engineer from Johnson Escalator, the contractor for escalators, was injured in his right leg. Other than this person, there are no other persons injured.



BMRCL sources noted that since the problem was not with the escalator, the utilities in the Metro station do not pose any serious problem to commuters who will start riding the Metro from 4 pm on Sunday.





Minutes before President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Namma Metros Green Line on Saturday, a 30-year-old engineer was seriously injured while inspecting escalators in Chickpet Metro station.Alagappan, an engineer from Johnson Escalator, was conducting last-minute inspections in Chickpet station to ensure that the space left for additional escalators in future is covered properly before the line is thrown open to public on Sunday. The steel sheet that is supposed to cover the space for additional escalators slipped and came crashing down on Alagappans leg around 5.30 pm, BMRCL sources said.
Commuters excited by the opening of the entire Phase 1 of Namma Metro need to take the news with a pinch of salt as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation has also increased the fare by 10%.

While the fare for first station (Rs 10) has remained same, those who travel to second station have to shell out Rs 15 instead of Rs 13. The journey to the third station will cost Re 1 more than the earlier Rs 14. The rates reflect the governments move to not only hike the fare by 10% but also round it off.



Namma Metro rides (Rs 2.5/km) are dearer when compared with Delhi (83 paise/km) and Kolkata (92 paise/km), but cheaper than Mumbai and Chennai metro (both Rs 3.50/km). At the programme held to dedicate Phase 1 for the nation on Saturday, all the dignitaries, including President Pranab Mukherjee, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urged people to use public transport. However, the fares and the issues with last mile connectivity may as well push commuters to ride their bikes as usual.



One ticket to any corner

Commuters switching lines at Kempegowda Metro Station do not have to buy ticket again as the metro network allows seamless travel. One can buy a ticket from Mysore Road to Nagasandra and switch the train at Kempegowda Interchange.
Groups of militants appeared in south Kashmir on Saturday to offer gun salutes to their fallen comrades.



Eyewitnesses said at least five militants from both the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen attended the funeral of slain commander Junaid Mattoo in Khudwani village of Anantnag in south Kashmir and offered a gun salute with young men and women rejoicing as pro-freedom and anti-India slogans filled the air.



Mattoo was killed along with two associates in an encounter with security forces in Arwani village on Friday.

Such was the rush of the mourners that eight rounds of funeral prayers were held for Mattoo.



Similar reports were also received from Heff village in Shopian district where at least 10 militants attended the funeral of slain LeT militant Nasir Wani to offer a gun salute.



First, two militants appeared at the funeral which was attended by thousands of people. They touched the face of Nasir Wani and fired several shots in air. Later, more militants appeared to join the funeral prayers and gun salute, said an eyewitness.



With the graph of militancy going up significantly and the space for mainstream politics shrinking swiftly, militants parading themselves in front of the cameras of mediapersons has brought back memories of the early 90s when this used to be a common sight.



Weapons cant bring peace: CM

Alarmed over massive increase in the killings, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said neither guns nor the army can bring peace to the militancy-hit state.



Dialogue is the only way out on Kashmir as neither guns nor the army can bring peace to the troubled Valley. The only way to resolve the unrest is to engage in continued talks, she said while addressing the lawmakers in the state Assembly.



Mehboobas comment comes a day after six policemen, including a Station House Officer (SHO), were killed and their bodies mutilated by militants in south Kashmirs Anantnag district.



She said there have been serious efforts at denying talks. Last time when Sharad Yadav and others came, I even wrote a letter to them (Hurriyat), suggested them to open a window for talks, but they rejected it, she said. What can we do?



Responding to a debate on the situation on ground, the chief minister termed the ongoing crisis as an outcome of the denial of democracy.



It was the rigged election of 1987 that actually created the ongoing situation. (Hizbul chief) Syed Salahuddin and (JKLF chief) Yasin Malik are there and I think I need not take more names, she said.
In the rapidly changing environment, one factor which has not changed is the faith reposed in the armed forces by the entire nation, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday.



The statement of the President, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, assumes significance in the wake of recent criticism of armed forces by certain quarters in respect of the developments in the Valley, including the incident when an army officer had tied a stone-pelter to a jeep to quell a mob and save his men.



Speaking at the convocation ceremony of the College of Military Engineering in Pune, Mukherjee said: As you all are aware, knowledge is the emerging currency of the world in the present century. You should make full use of the technical knowledge acquired by you at this prestigious institution of excellence of military engineering. You can be successful in all your endeavors only by being professionally competent and by keeping abreast with the latest developments.



The President further said the need of the hour is therefore to exploit the cutting edge technologies which are best suited to meet the requirements.
In a major swoop, Indian security and intelligence agencies busted a fake telecommunication exchange at Latur in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.



The exchange is suspected to have been used by ISI, the Pakistani spy agency, to acquire sensitive military information.



During the operation spread over Friday and Saturday, the Latur police, Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra Police and prosecution branch of the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) conducted a series of raids, and arrested two persons and seized equipment worth Rs 4.60 lakh. The raids and investigations followed after the military intelligence based in Jammu and Kashmir provided inputs for a well-planned operation.



A case was registered against the two arrested persons  aged 27 and 33  at the Shivajinagar police station under Sections 4, 20 and 25 of the Indian Telegraph Act, Sections 3 and 6 of the Indian Wireless and Telegraph Act, besides Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.



The two were running the illegal telephone exchange where international VoIP calls were routed through local mobile numbers. They used to convert a VoIP call from abroad into a voice illegally, and transferred that voice to a beneficiary and call receiver in India through an illegal international gateway.



Modus operandi



It is learnt that this type of illegal VoIP exchanges were used by the intelligence agency of the neighbouring country to acquire sensitive military information, ATS officials said in an obvious reference to Pakistan.



According to officials, the racket caused a loss of over Rs 15 crore to the exchequer. In the first raid at Prakashnagar, it was found that one of the suspects was running a fake telecommunication junction. A total of 96 SIM cards, one computer and three machines for call transforming (illegal international gateways) were seized in this raid. This was being run for the past six months.



Later, one shop was raided in Valandi, nearly 70 km from the first location, and two illegal international gateways, 14 SIM cards and other miscellaneous electronic materials were seized.



In quick succession, a rented room of the second suspect was raided. Nearly 64 SIM cards, one laptop, two unauthorised international gateway machines and other materials were seized.



He has been running this illegal centre for the past five months, police said, adding that the suspect also worked as a SIM card distributor.


The higher education department has made it mandatory for vice-chancellors and registrars of state universities to teach for specified hours in a month.



A notification, issued recently, has stipulated that a vice-chancellor (VC) has to teach at least eight hours in a month. Registrar (Administration) and registrar (Evaluation) must teach at least 16 hours in a month. Until now there was no such rule.



A vice-chancellor serves as an executive and academic head. His/her responsibility is to administer the university and be accountable to the university council and the chancellor, under the norms.



The government often appoints officials, in particular KAS officers, as registrars. Rarely academicians are appointed. The proposed Karnataka State Universities Act clearly states that only officials should be appointed as registrars.



The notification (ED 333/18/1/2017) has said, It has been decided to utilise the teaching experience of senior professors who are in administrative posts. This is done for the good of students.



The department has also recalled how 2,000 years ago Nalanda, Takshashila, Vallabhi universities and later Banaras University, had attracted students and produced scholars. It is essential to continue the tradition. It is important to utilise the knowledge and expertise of senior professors for the good of students, it added.



Mandatory



It is mandatory that in a week, assistant professors have to teach for 16 hours and associate professors for 14 hours. There are examples of how VCs had made time to teach, the notification said. Enquiries made by DH with a cross-section of universities revealed that not many VCs and registrars have begun engaging students in classrooms.



However, the new norm has not gone down well with academicians. Kannada University VC Mallika Ghanti said there is no need for the government to remind professors to teach because that is their primary responsibility. Such instructions or suggestions should not come from a minister because he is not an education expert. Let subject experts speak about what VCs should do. Anyway, we have not received the notification.



She also said professors such as D M Nanjundappa and Rudraiah, when they were VCs, used to occasionally teach. She said even she regularly addresses students. So, there is no need for the government to issue such direction, she added. Similar views were expressed by former VCs M S Thimmappa and N R Shetty.



Thimmappa said the government has taken an unwise and impractical decision. If a VC begins teaching, then classrooms would turn into grievances cell. Bangalore University has no less than 600 constituent colleges. As a VC of this varsity, I used to work from 9 am to 9 pm. So much was the administrative workload. Occasionally I used to conduct classes, he said. He said security could also be an issue.



N R Shetty said the government must not dictate terms to VCs as to how they should manage varsities.



The role of a VC is different from that of a professor. The government selects the most experienced academician for a VCs post. After appointing the right person, it must not interfere, he said. However, Prof J Somashekar, Registrar, University of Mysore, said he has been regularly teaching in addition to attending to administrative work.
Japan has reiterated its keenness to take up the high-speed train project between Bengaluru and Chennai.



Japans Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu, who met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday, stated that Japan was keen to expand the high-speed rail network in India.



Hiramatsu was in Bengaluru to participate in the launch of the Green Line of Namma Metro. The ambassador discussed the progress and implementation of several projects in Bengaluru taken up utilising funds from financial institutions in Japan.



Japan uses the Shinkansen bullet train technology which is proposed to be utilised for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train.
The Torrie horses are coming.

Final touches are being put on the 20 life-sized statues that will commemorate the Breeders Cups first-ever running at the Del Mar Race Track and, in the next few weeks, will make their way to their perches throughout San Diego County, standing guard as an emblem of equine excellence until the two-day extravaganza in November has come and gone.

For more than 30 years, the Breeders Cup has crowned the ultimate champion of the sport of kings, with the victors of the cups top-tier races receiving trophies based on the famed Torrie horse statue that has for nearly two centuries resided at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Those trophies measure a mere 11 inches high. For the first time in the races history, life-sized copies of the Torrie horse have been made for this years cup, part of the campaign that San Diegos horse-racing community is rolling out to promote the seminal event, which is expected to draw as many as 100,000 visitors and generate more than $75 million.

The Art of the Horse campaign put 20 Torrie horse statues up for sponsorship. Those sponsors chose the location and the artist to paint their statue. Some of the Torrie horses will go up for auction after the Breeders Cup, others will remain with their owners.

We hope to make this a really special Breeders Cup so that they want to come back again and again, said Craig Dado of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, which is sponsoring one of the statues. So were doing everything we can do to do the extra stuff. The Art of the Horse is one part of that.

The 150-pound fiberglass replicas  87 inches tall, 87 inches long and 33 inches wide  were made in Chicago then brought to Del Mar last month, where they were picked up by their appointed artist. Once painted, the statues went to a Los Angeles warehouse to be sealed in a special coating that will protect them for generations to come.

Two of the statues will go up at the race track. Other locations include Cedros Avenue in Solana Beach, the Fairmont Grand Del Mar hotel in Carmel Valley, downtown San Diego, the Lodge at Torrey Pines, The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe and Birch Aquarium. Closer to the race track, statues will go up at Red Tractons and Pamplemousse Grille, and the Solana Beach Chamber of Commerce is placing one along the 101 corridor.

As Bing Bush, Jr., director of a committee promoting this years cup, was recruiting those sponsors, he decided to pony up the $15,000 with a few friends  Dan Sbicca, Kenny Baca and Jeffrey Stoke  and donate a statue to the City of Del Mar in perpetuity.

It felt to me like Del Mar, as the host community, should have one of the horses. It just felt like a good fit, a natural fit, for our community, said Bush, a local lawyer and horse owner. Weve never had anything on the scale of what were having here with the Breeders Cup. This is a truly national and international event. So were taking unprecedented actions for an unprecedented event.

The Del Mar City Council last week approved the statues temporary spot in Seagrove Park, at the end of 15th Street. Its design  dubbed Gold Coast by artist Cheryl Pelly, a dressage competitor and former Del Mar resident  is meant to evoke Del Mars coastline both at sunrise and sunset. On one side, its color goes from aluminum to 24-karat gold flake, representing the morning sun as it breaks through a cool, coastal fog. The gradation is reversed on the other side, representing the suns descent into the Pacific.

Three, and possibly four, more Torrie horses will make their home in downtown Del Mar. The LAuberge Del Mar hotel and Del Mar Plaza have each sponsored a statue, and the Del Mar Village Association has secured a sponsor for one at the intersection of Camino del Mar and 15th Street. A sponsor for another statue at the same intersection  in front of the Tasting Room  is still being sought.

The history of the Torrie horse reaches back to the late 1580s, when the sculptor Giovanni da Bologna (also referred to as Giambologna)  widely considered the second-greatest of his century, behind only Michelangelo  crafted a horse statue in solid bronze. Its style  ecorche depicts the horse as though it has no skin, capturing every sinew and muscle fiber in exacting detail.

Only four known copies were ever made. One of them was purchased by James Irskine, baronet of Torrie, around 1803 in London. By 1836, the statue had made its way to the Museum of Fine Arts at the University of Edinburgh, where it rests to this day.
Louth Contemporary Music Societys upcoming June 2017 SILENZIO contemporary music festival focuses on the work of one of the great composers of our time, Salvatore Sciarrino, making his first visit to Ireland.

Also featured are several international performers including Helene Fauchere, Carol Robinson, Quartetto Prometeo, Matteo Cesari, Valentina Coladonato and the outstanding vocal ensemble Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart.

SILENZIO also presents the result of an ongoing collaboration with the Swiss composer Jurg Frey: the world premiere of his I Listened to the Wind Again.

Jurg Frey's Listened to the Wind Again (World Premiere)

Friday 23 June | 8pm

The Oriel Centre at Dundalk Gaol

After a successful visit to Dundalk in June 2016, Jurg Frey returns to present a new work: Listened to the Wind Again, an LCMS commission funded by the Arts Council.

For the first time, the audience will be allowed to step inside the unique sound world of Frey as he moves between opera, song cycle and silence. Frey has developed his own language as a composer and sound artist with the creation of a number of long quiet sound pieces.

Tickets 10 available https://www.eventbrite.ie/

Let me die before I wake

Saturday 24 June | 1pm

An Tain Arts Centre | Basement Gallery

Paris-based US clarinettist Carol Robinson makes a welcome return to Dundalk with a programme that focuses on the works one of her teachers, the Italian minimalist Giacinto Scelsi, alongside Sciarrinos Let Me Die Before I Wake.

Tickets Free but attendees are asked to register http://antain.ie/

Sciarrinos Perfection

Saturday 24 June | 3pm

Dundalk Gaol, Dundalk

Sciarrino is one of the worlds most poetic and fascinating composers. His mesmerizing La Perfezione di Uno Spirito Sottile (The Perfection of One Slender Spirit) will be performed in the intimate setting of Dundalk Gaol. Widely acknowledged a masterpiece, this riveting piece is a 40-minute threnody for flute and voice performed by Matteo Cesari and Valentina Coladonato.

Tickets Free but attendees are asked to register https://www.eventbrite.ie/

Traditional Italian Songs of Work, War and Love

Saturday 24 June | 5pm

An Tain Arts Centre

Italian violinist Silvia Tarozzi and Italian cellist Deborah Walker perform repertoire from Malcolm Goldstein and Cassandra Miller along with their own unique take on traditional Italian songs.

Tickets Free but attendees are asked to register http://antain.ie/

Sciarrino in conversation with Paul Griffiths

Saturday 24 June | 7pm

Side Chapel of St. Nicholas Church of Ireland

Free event for tickets holders of the Madrigal concert.

Madrigals

Saturday 24 June 2017 | 8pm

St. Nicholas Church of Ireland

Neue Vocalsolisten

Quartetto Prometeo with Matteo Cesari

Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, the leading a cappella ensemble in Germany, offer a modern music feast with the Irish premiere of Salvatore Sciarrino's twelve Madrigali, inspired by Japanese haiku and commissioned by the Salzburg Festival.

Matteo Cesari will join the Quartetto Prometeo to perform a recent Sciarrino work, Trovare un equilibrio, e necessario? (Finding an Equilibrium  Is it Necessary?).

10 available here https://www.eventbrite.ie/

Free wine reception at the interval in the Wellington Hall.

Funded by the Arts Council and Create Louth, SILENZIO is also assisted by the friendly support of the Siemens Music Fund, Louth County Councils Community Disapora Fund, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and the Goethe Institute.
New homes go on sale at Maynard Park in Great Dunmow

Savvy house-hunters searching for an exceptional new home in a highly-desirable part of Essex can choose from a wonderful selection of new homes at Maynard Park, Taylor Wimpeys exciting new development in Great Dunmow!

The leading housebuilder has unveiled a stunning collection of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom homes at this eagerly-awaited development, which enjoys a peaceful edge-of-town location set against the backdrop of Essexs attractive rural landscape.

Anyone hoping to stake their claim at Maynard Park is being urged to make an appointment with the Sales Executive as soon as possible to stand a chance of snapping up their favourite plot.

Michael OLeary, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey, says: The wait is now over for aspiring homeowners who are hoping to secure their dream place in Great Dunmow, following the launch of our Maynard Park development.

Weve already received an incredible amount of interest regarding these beautiful new homes  so Id advise anyone thinking about making a move to Maynard Park to make an appointment with our Sales Executive to ensure they dont miss out!

Among the first homes for sale at Maynard Park are three and four-bedroom houses from 349,995 and 464,995 respectively.

Each of the new homes at Maynard Park will be completed to a high specification, including energy-efficient central heating, double glazing, fully fitted kitchens complete with integrated appliances, downlights to all bathrooms and half-height tiling.

To make moving to the development even easier and more affordable, Taylor Wimpey offers a range of helpful homebuyer incentives for first-time buyers and those with a property to sell, including Help to Buy. Full details are available from the Sales Executive.

Located off Ongar Road, Great Dunmow, in a fabulous edge-of-town location in rural Essex, Maynard Park is the perfect place to enjoy tranquil yet well-connected living in a high-quality new-build property.

Everything needed for day-to-day living is available in Great Dunmow, which boasts an eclectic choice of independent shops, including a wine merchant, a cheese shop, plus boutiques selling gifts, clothes, shoes, toys and furniture, as well as modern amenities such as a Tesco superstore and a leisure centre with swimming pool.

Meanwhile, the city of Chelmsford is 13 miles from home, where shopping centres and major chain stores are complemented by boutique shops, fashionable bars, traditional pubs and cafes, the Civic Theatre and the Comedy Club.

Families will appreciate a choice of schools with easy reach, including Dunmow St Marys Primary School, Great Dunmow Primary School and Helena Romanes School and Sixth Form Centre, all rated good in their most recent Ofsted inspections.

For commuters, Stansted Airport railway station offers direct services to London Liverpool Street and Birmingham New Street, while the development is also close to the M11 for London and Cambridge and the A120 for Colchester and the east coast. Stansted Airport is just over six miles away for international flights to destinations around the world.

To find out more about the beautiful new homes now on sale at Maynard Park, visit taylorwimpey.co.uk.
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To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020.
This is the first tourism development project with ideas and products implemented by the community. It also develops solutions on sustainable living for local people.

After eight months of implementation, on the coastal road in Tam Thanh commune, 111 coracles and old seafaring tools were turned into art pieces by artisans, painters and local people to mark the 111th founding anniversary of Tam Ky city.

Following are photos of the coracles:

Nguyen Minh Nam, vice chairman of Tam Ky City Peoples Committee, received a certificate of Vietnams record on the first and the greatest number of coracle painting collection in Vietnam.



Coracle painting collection in Tam Thanh commune, Tam Ky city, Quang Nam district







Paintings show local cultural values, contributing to diversifying tourism products







Paintings reflect the life, people and culture of Tam Thanh village




The event drew the participation of numerous Indonesian coal exporters and Vietnamese importers.

In the first four months of the year, Indonesia shipped more than 1.5 million tonnes of coal to Vietnam, he said, adding that the country will export at least 4.5 million tonnes of coal to its ASEAN peer.

The Indonesia Embassy in Vietnam will work to promote the connection between energy businesses from the two countries to ensure sufficient supply, he stressed.

Regarding the coal demand of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), a representative from the group said that coal-fired power accounts for 30 percent of the total electricity generated nationwide of 42,000 MW.

Before 2016, most thermo-electricity plants used domestic coals, however, the need for imported coals has shot up due to the development of thermo-electricity.

In 2016, the country bought 680,000 tonnes of coal from foreign countries, the figures expected to rise to 4.7 million tonnes in 2017, 11 million tonnes in 2020 and 19 million tonnes in 2025.

On the occasion, businesses from both countries exchanged experience and discussed measures to boost cooperation.

Two-way trade stood at USD5.5 billion in 2016 and both sides are targeting USD6 billion in 2017./.
In the run-up to the 2014 elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made extravagant promises of doubling farm incomes, generating large-scale employment and bringing back black money. The fate of poll promises is no secret in this country. However, the difference with this government is that it also promised a leader who actually delivers. Thus, the otherwise forgiving and forgetting citizenry, pumped up on the projection of a hyper-masculine, hyper-efficient leader, has assumed the burden of reminding the leader of his self-proclaimed agenda. This explains the quandary in which the BJP finds itself as it confronts the countrywide agrarian and livelihoods crises, even as its demonetisation histrionic appears to be unravelling at the seams.

The ten-day historic strike by farmers in Maharashtra and adjacent Madhya Pradesh (MP) caught the country in general and the BJP in particular by surprise. The hitherto unassertive, unorganised mass of farmers across the rural expanse transformed into a veritable political force overnight. The striking farmers have reaffirmed the need to implement the structural reforms proposed by the Swaminathan Commission, and to offset the immediate setback of reduced prices for farm produce following demonetisation and a bumper crop. The problem of a surplus crop in the affected region has come after two years of intense drought. Thus, this agitation has emerged from the relatively well-irrigated and prosperous Pune and Nashik divisions of Maharashtra, and Ujjain division of MP, and not the drought-prone and highly impoverished Marathwada and Vidarbha or Chambal and Bundelkhand respectively. Apart from the vagaries of nature, agriculture in India overall has been in deep crisis. Rising input costs and falling output prices, dwindling government support and increasing market instability, decreasing size of landholdings and falling productivity, have led to reduced farm incomes, making agriculture altogether unviable. Small and marginal farmers, tillers, landless agricultural labour and those living on the margins of the agrarian economy are the worst affected.
Businesses of all stripes rely on the popular WordPress open-source publishing platform for their website needs. And that popularity has attracted the attention of cybercriminals, making it a frequent target of attacks.

To help them fight back, SiteLock, a Scottsdale, Ariz. website security vendor, kicked off a private beta of its new SMART Database (SMART/DB) solution today. SMART/DB is a scanning tool that detects and automatically removes spam and malware from WordPress databases.

The company was formed in 2008, and as SiteLock president Neill Feather explains in this eSecurity Planet video, the company specializes in helping small and midsized businesses (SMBs) mount a defense against cyberattackers. In addition to providing easy-to-deploy web application firewall (WAF) and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) mitigation capabilities, the company is now enabling SMBs to strengthen their WordPress deployments.

As entrepreneurs quickly learn in the current cybersecurity landscape, operating a website today is risky business.

On average, websites face over 8,000 attacks per year from cybercriminals trying to steal valuable resources such as website bandwidth, traffic, and customer data. Popular, well recognized websites that utilize ecommerce or a large number of interactive features or plugins can be obvious targets for cyberattacks and are often reported in mainstream media, Feather said.

According to SiteLock data, websites using 10 to 20 plugins are two times more likely to be compromised than the average website, and websites linking to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts are 2.5 times more likely to be compromised than the average website.

Although its tempting for small businesses owners to think that they can fly under the radar of cybercriminals, the opposite is true.

In fact, 43 percent of all cyberattacks targeted small businesses in 2016, Feather informed. Given that the majority of small businesses manage or maintain their own websites, they typically arent aware of the time or resources required to ensure adequate protection against ever evolving security threats such as malware and other vulnerabilities.

Its important to understand that any website, regardless of number of features or amount of traffic, is constantly at risk, he added.

Apart from the sheer number of websites powered by WordPress28 percent of the internet according to WordPress contributor Automatticthe platforms extensible nature attracts its share of the wrong kind of attention.

As most WordPress websites include customer engagement features such as blog comments, blog contributors, and content aggregation, this emerging malware monitoring technology keeps comments and posts clean from spam, ensuring site content is search engine friendly and is most valuable for visitors, Feather said. SMART/DB also mitigates other database malware like malicious redirects and backdoors, ultimately keeping website visitors safe.

SiteLock is currently accepting sign-ups for its new SMART/DB beta here.




She made the remarks at a farewell reception hosted by Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh Peoples Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong in Ho Chi Minh city on June 15th.

The Ambassador, who is ending her working term in Vietnam, told that Israel will receive many delegations of Vietnamese businesses on tours of exchanging experience in various domains.

Phong appreciated the diplomats contributions to bolstering the relations between the two countries.

He noted that the bilateral relations are reaping positive results, especially after the visit to Vietnam by Israels President Reuven Ruvi Rivlin in late March this year.

He took the occasion to thank Israel for its support in training personnel and developing cow breeding in the citys Cu Chi suburban district./.
The job market in San Antonio and across Texas remains fundamentally strong. The states employment grew by 24,500 in May, adding momentum to a trend of a tighter labor market for 2017, especially in the higher-skilled sectors, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

When combined with earlier months, Mays 2.4 percent annualized job-growth rate increased the Federal Reserves forecast for all of 2017 in Texas to 2.6 percent this year. That would easily top the 1.2 percent growth rate last year and the states long-term average employment-growth rate of 2.1 percent, said Keith Phillips, the Dallas Feds senior economist in San Antonio.

Texas unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent in May from 5 percent in April.

The San Antonio area employment total rose by only 600 jobs in May, but that was enough to reduce the areas unemployment rate last month to 3.8 percent from 4 percent in April, a tighter labor market than the state as a whole.

The summer numbers last year for San Antonio also were odd and weak, but they were revised up later, Phillips said.

The area started the year slow, but positive. By the end of the year, it will be another good year of growth, he added, predicting a 2.5 to 3 percent net job gain for 2017. That is equal to about 25,000 to 30,000 more jobs than at the end of 2016.

Energy, construction and manufacturing job gains were the strongest statewide and locally in May.

Those sectors were weak last year because of low oil prices. But energy and manufacturing have turned the corner, Phillips said. Energy isnt booming, but it is improving. As long as oil prices are trading at about $45 and above, there will be continued growth in energy hiring, Phillips said.

Oil prices closed Friday at $44.74 a barrel.

The price is hanging right at the edge. Well have to watch that, Phillips said. New technologies in U.S. drilling processes are allowing oil wells to produce more oil and gas per well by allowing drilling in more directions. That reduces the break-even prices for energy production and adds confidence to domestic energy producers, Phillips explained.

Overall in Texas, the continuing declines in unemployment rates point to more challenges for employers for finding workers in the coming months, especially in high-skilled job categories, Phillips said.

Among large Texas cities, Austin has the lowest unemployment rate at 3.3 percent. Other large Texas cities have higher jobless rates than San Antonios 3.8 percent with Dallas at 3.9 percent, Fort Worth at 4.5 percent and Houston at 5.1 percent.

Energy drilling jobs are a small segment of the San Antonio-area job base, but construction employment is bigger. The energy-construction sector registered the strongest gain in the area in May with a 1,400 net job gain, a 32.8 percent annualized job-growth rate.

That is off the charts, Phillips said. Construction is a significant sector. It means there is more building going on, investments for the future.

Retail jobs continued to show weakness in San Antonio, however, down 1.8 percent so far this year.

Retailers are beginning to question demand at the stores. There is concern that people are buying more online. The general merchandise stores are doing well and growing, but the smaller specialty stores are weakening, Phillips said. Reduced spending by Mexican tourists because of uncertainties in U.S.-Mexico relations also may be a factor, he said.

Federal government hiring in San Antonio rose by 600 jobs in May. Thats a core industry, Phillips said, predicting that more government hiring will materialize with expected increases in military spending. That bodes well for San Antonio, he said.

Recent job-fair events show signs of a busy labor market in San Antonio. A long line of applicants formed for a job fair held by National Career Fairs.

I came because I believe it is better to meet a future employers face to face rather than going through an online experience. Anyone can look good on paper, but ultimately it comes down to how you interact with people, said job seeker Nicole Bernal.

Bernal, who has a masters degree, said she had been looking for two weeks for a job as an office administrator or in marketing.

I think theres a couple of places here that seem promising. It didnt hurt to come in, Bernal said.

San Antonio-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was recruiting at the job fair for bartenders, concierges, servers, line cooks and dishwashers. The movie-theater chain employs about 750 companywide, 11 at its corporate office.

Because we tend to hire from the younger crowd, we are constantly hiring. Employees leave because they are returning to school or moving. We need more employees in the summer. Were very seasonal, said Samantha Short, in charge of personnel development for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.

Mass Mutual Financial Group South Texas, based in Springfield, Massachusetts, employs about 50 people in San Antonio and was hiring for financial planners and advisers, said Recruiting Director Matthew Jones.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The company has a long history, 85 years, of San Antonio employment, and does not have problems finding qualified people for its positions, Jones said. In addition to job fairs, he said he also uses online employment sites to find applicants, including LinkedIn and InsuraSeek.

Ive had about 140 people (job candidates) come through the door since February, Jones said.

San Antonio-based Harland Clarke Holdings was looking to fill customer service representative positions at its call center that employs between 500 and 600 people, said Nina Sauceda, Harland Clarke talent acquisition recruiter.

Most of the call centers clients are the 11,000 banks nationally that use Harland Clarke services, Sauceda explained.

Sauceda said the company was looking for high school graduates, college graduates, stay-at-home moms and military veterans looking for careers. We seek people with retail and call center experience, she said. We have great training, in the classroom and on the job.

Another company holding job fairs this month is Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana. The health care insurer is adding 100 telesales people with insurance licenses to its San Antonio Direct Marketing Services office, which is expected to have 280 employees in July.

The company is expanding to meet the demand of this years Medicare open enrollment period from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.

One Humana job fair was held June 6 and another is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 29 at Humanas call center, 8119 Datapoint Drive.

Humana National Director of Operations Herbert Clack said San Antonio has had good success recruiting San Antonio workers.

Each year, the center has not only met but exceeded recruiting goals for new hires. As well, the success of the candidates has been superior as San Antonio is a market that has demonstrated high performance with new hires based on the number we retain as full-time employees, Clack said in an email.

dhendricks@express-news.net
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At least three Texas-based cannabis companies are preparing to battle the state Department of Public Safety over its awarding of provisional licenses to dispense medical marijuana.

Chad Sykes, founder of Indoor Harvest in Houston, said his company pioneered technology that has been embraced by MIT and Canada-based Canopy Growth Corp., the worlds largest legal cannabis company. Indoor Harvest, which partnered with Houston-based Vyripharm Biopharmaceuticals and Alamo CBD in San Antonio, should have been a shoe-in for a license, he said.

Instead, Indoor Harvest and other applicants were excluded thanks to scoring methods that werent disclosed and by DPS personnel who may know little about the science behind medical marijuana, Sykes said.

On May 28, members of the newly formed Medical Cannabis Association of Texas sent DPS a letter saying state leaders are making it overly difficult to get licenses  which they say goes against the intent of the enabling legislation  and requesting a hearing to make their case.

Your agencies notification that we were not awarded a conditional license is in effect a constructive denial that has the same effect on our business interest as a formal denial under the CUP (Compassionate Use Program) rules, the letter says, adding that the statute says the department shall issue or renew a license to operate as a dispensing organization to each applicant who satisfies the requirements.

The easiest way to get around anything is to limit access, Sykes said. The state is not allowing this to be a free market enterprise.

Indoor Harvest in April announced it was acquiring Alamo CBD and on June 5 released updated guidance with plans to pursue a facility in Colorado while leaving options open for an operation in Texas.

I have to go to Colorado now to actually get this technology off the ground, Sykes said.

Association leader Keith Oakley, a lobbyist and former Texas legislator, said the demand letter was a means of exhausting administrative remedies before taking DPS to court.

A couple of the members are pretty eager to go ahead and start meeting with their attorney just to try to get geared up, because they are not real optimistic at this point, Oakley said. I dont believe DPS can defend their selection process. I think it would be easier for them to defend that they had taken ping pong balls, numbered them, and drawn them out of a hat.

The Texas Compassionate Use Act, enacted in 2015, allows for low-THC (the compound that produces the marijuana high) cannabidiol, or CBD, to treat patients with intractable epilepsy.

The legislation required the DPS to license at least three dispensing organizations by Sept. 1, 2017.

On May 1, the DPS approved three companies for conditional licenses in the Central Texas area. Forty-three companies applied, and while the DPS initially estimated 12 companies would be needed to meet the needs of the states approximately 150,000 intractable epilepsy patients, the department ultimately decided to limit the licenses to the minimum required by the statute.

The decision to limit the number of licenses to three was based on an analysis of other states compassionateuse programs, the number of patients in Texas with intractable epilepsy, and statutory requirements, according to the DPS website. A decision to increase the number will be made if and when it is determined that more licenses are required in order to ensure reasonable statewide access.

DPS spokesman Tom Vinger in an email said that DPS had neither formally approved nor denied any companys applications and that any concerns or grievances will be addressed directly with the applicants.

According to the website, the state approved the three companies that scored the highest on their matrix  Consortium Texas, Compassionate Cultivation and Surterra Texas  and will now conduct on site inspections before issuing dispensing licenses. Should any of the applicants not pass the process, a provisional license will go to the next highest scoring applicant.

Alamo CBD, with a score of 76.96 was 16th on the list.

Sykes said the application package, filed by Alamo CBD, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to prepare and involved a team that included some of the top application writers in the country.

The stakes are huge. The value of getting a foothold in Texas, Oakley said, is easily in the millions of dollars.

Not counting Texas, 29 states, Washington, D.C., the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, and Canada have so far approved medical marijuana and eight plus the District of Columbia and have approved marijuana for adult recreational use. While Texas Compassionate Use Program is narrow compared to other states laws, a measure to expand medical marijuana use got significant lawmaker support and provided for emotional testimony from patients and their families.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Heather Fazio, the Marijuana Policy Projects political director in Texas, said during a recent cannabis investor forum in Austin that they were lobbying the state to expand its compassionate medical use program this year and hoped Texas would lessen fines for possession by 2019 and approve recreational use by 2021. None of the 12 marijuana bills expanding medical use or lowering the penalties for marijuana used passed the Texas Legislature this year and none are expected to come up during Gov. Greg Abbotts special session in July.

Tom Adams, managing director of investment research for Colorado-based BDS Analytics, told investors the legal North American cannabis market could amount to $23 billion over the next five years, which he said was conservative considering that the market when including the shadow economy was estimated at $56 billion.

While liberal licensing allows for explosive growth, Adams said, it also causes competition that can squeeze smaller operators out. Oregon, where recreational use is legal, has licensed the most stores, but thats pushed average per-store revenue far below what retailers are getting elsewhere.

On the other hand, licenses in tight states are essentially licenses to print money, Adams said. Because think about it. What industry is there in the world where the government will limit the number of competitors youve got? They are very rare opportunities.

Lang Coleman, a longtime military neuropsychologist who founded Alamo CBD, said his planned $20 million, 63,000-square-foot, pharmaceutical facility in Stockdale (the city of La Vernia protested his plans for a cannabis facility there) was embraced by the city and would have been the largest contributor to the Stockdale Independent School District tax base.

He said the Alamo CBD proposal offered up science that could dramatically scale up the amount of medicine that could be provided while lowering the cost.

Were definitely challenging all this stuff. In fact, almost certainly were going to sue DPS, he said, noting that Abbott has opposed legalizing marijuana. The issue is the governors office sabotaged this thing from the beginning  I thought Republicans were all about the free market, so you give out as many licenses as people are qualified for and then you let the market decide who wins and who loses.

lbrezosky@express-news.net
CellRight Technologies, a Universal City maker of bone and tissue grafts derived from human cadavers, has been in talks to be acquired by a publicly traded regenerative medical devices company based in the United Kingdom.

Tissue Regenix Groups pending deal for the privately held CellRight became public last month when a local CellRight shareholder sued to halt the deal alleging its founder had a conflict of interest.

The litigation was quickly resolved and discussions on a sale continue, according to a recent announcement from Tissue Regenix.

Calls to CellRight Chairman and CEO Jesus Hernandez, his lawyer Laura ODonnell and company lawyer Jeffrey Webb were not immediately returned on Friday.

Caitlin Pearson, a Tissue Regenix spokeswoman, said in an email she could not make any additional comments about the proposed transaction.

Tissue Regenix already has a local presence. It established its Tissue Regenix Wound Care Inc. subsidiary in San Antonio in 2012 to bring to the U.S. its DermaPure product  used in the treatment of chronic and acute wounds.

San Francisco-based market research and consulting company Grand View Research listed Tissue Regenix as among the key players in the tissue engineering market in a report last year. San Antonio-based Acelity LP Inc. also made the list, but that was before it sold its regenerative medicine company LifeCell Corp. to pharmaceutical giant Allergan for $2.9 billion. LifeCell uses technology to help the body restore or replace damaged cells and tissues.

CellRight was founded in 2012 and first developed a scaffold product for repairing bones, according to Xconomy, which reports on business, life sciences and technology news.

CellRight has a method of processing human bone  which comes from donated cadavers  so that it can be sterilized without it losing a type of protein thought to help in bone grafting, Xconomy reported last year.

Hernandez told Xconomy that if the scaffold is mixed with a patients stem cells, done by either soaking it in a patients blood or by removing cells from bone marrow, the proteins will help stimulate the cells, spurring bone growth.

Xconomy also noted how another CellRight product was used last year during a surgery to separate conjoined twins (who were from a set of triplets) to help repair their abdominal walls. The product is derived from human skin, which is put through a proprietary sterilization process called BioRinse.

CellRight was formed with the intention of eventually finding a buyer, according to a lawsuit filed last month by shareholder HugoCellR, a San Antonio partnership led by Hugo A. Gutierrez Jr. He serves on the board of Falcon International Bank, an institution with more than $1.1 billion in assets that his family owns. Falcon has two branches in San Antonio, according to the banks website.

HugoCellR alleged in its lawsuit that CellRight was only offered for sale to one buyer  Tissue Regenix  instead of being advertised to multiple prospective buyers. The suit was filed in Bexar County district court.

HugoCellR accused Hernandez of acting primarily in his own self interest. If the deal closed, the suit said, Hernandez would receive substantial pay, profits, stock options and other consideration that other shareholders would not receive.

Hernandez is pursuing the sale to Tissue Regenix as the best course for his own professional prestige and personal lifestyle, which are unrelated to the fair market value of the company, the suit said. Thus, Hernandez is personally and financially interested in both sides of the deal.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

State District Judge Cathleen Stryker issued a temporary restraining order halting any sale of CellRight on May 19. But less than two weeks after the suit was filed, the parties informed the court they had reached a settlement.

No details of the settlement were disclosed but HugoCellR now supports the sale.

Our client is on board with the deal, given the additional terms that were involved in the settlement, said Lamont Jefferson, a San Antonio attorney representing HugoCellR. Were waiting for the deal to happen, but were not in control of whether it happens.

If the deal goes through and we get what we were promised as a part of the settlement of the lawsuit, then our client will be happy, Jefferson added.

According to the lawsuit, the latest version of the Tissue Regenix purchase agreement must be closed by June 30.

Tissue Regenix reports its financial results in British pounds. Based on a current conversion rate, the company lost about $12.7 million on more than $1.8 million in revenue in the 11 months ended Dec. 31. That compares with a $12.1 million loss on about $1 million in revenue in the 12 months ended Jan. 31, 2016. The company has changed its reporting period.

pdanner@express-news.net

Twitter: @AlamoPD
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Hundreds were delayed from voting and others nearly turned away entirely during the presidential election because of confusion over current state voter ID laws, including in Bexar County, a new report from a voting rights advocacy group shows.

Its just one of numerous problems Texas voters  particularly minority groups  faced during the 2016 election cycle, according to a report by the Texas Civil Rights Project.

Unfortunately, throughout the state, voters faced numerous obstacles that complicated the process, said Beth Stevens, voting rights director at the Texas Civil Rights Project, which released the report Thursday. Through our Election Protection Coalition, we heard directly from thousands of voters about the barriers they faced in our electoral system.

The first-of-its-kind, Texas-based report on voter issues was limited in scope to more than 4,000 incidents that were logged. Of the 3,100 callers who specified their race, 52 percent of cases came from Latino or Hispanic voters and 20 percent from black or African-American voters. But Stevens said its safe to assume there are more Texans who experienced similar obstacles but didnt know how to report them.

Common sense says that there is whole subset of voters that didnt know who to call and just walked away, she said.

Of the 4,000 incidents that were tracked by a coalition of voting advocacy groups during the presidential election, most were issues related to polling place problems, voter registration status or voter ID requirements.

The report mentioned one specific case of voter intimidation in Bexar County, where at least one voter felt distressed by the presence of two uniformed San Antonio Police Department officers who were stationed at a polling location.

But when asked for comment, Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen disputed the callers inaccurate claim. Callanen said Bexar County sheriffs deputies  not SAPD officers  are sent to polling sites only in the case of a tense situation. Such situations could include campaign workers coming too close to the polling site and refusing to leave when asked by election officials, she added.

I read this report with a grain of salt, Callanen said.

TCRP Communications Director Zenen Jaimes Perez said the organization has trained researchers who go through a process that includes checking data in verifying claims made by callers. This means any claim that does not add up during the verification process is nixed, so hundreds of reported cases throughout the state were left out, Perez said.

In the case of the Bexar County voter intimidation claim, the report was looked into and verified if it was included in the final report. TCRP stands by that decision, he added.

The report also showed the number of provisional ballots  which are given to voters when their registration information is in doubt to still record their candidate preferences  went up statewide. While the number of provisional ballots went up from 1,254 in 2012 to 1,963 in 2016 in Bexar County, it still had the lowest number compared to the states other large counties.

Thats the positive I saw in this report, Callanen added.

More highlights from across the state:

Hundreds of callers reported that they were not on the voter rolls because of slight discrepancies in their names or addresses.

123 people during early voting and 186 on election day called to report confusion about voter identification requirements, often prompted by misleading information at polling locations or inaccurate information from poll workers.

About 57 percent of calls were related to polling location problems, most notably, polling sites being changed or eliminated. Most of the reports came from predominately black areas of Houston, the report showed.

Many voters reported wait times in excess of one hour, noting that there were too few poll workers to process voters or that multiple machines were either inoperable or not being utilized. This includes Bexar, Brazoria and Dallas counties.

There are some people who think that when they go (to vote) they should just be able to walk to the front of the line, Callanen said, adding long lines are typical toward the end of early voting.

The report comes nearly a year after a federal appeals court first ruled the states strict voter ID law passed in 2011 discriminated against minorities and the poor. That law would have required all voters to present a government-issued ID. Before that law, voters needed only to bring a voter registration card.

Supporters of the tougher ID law, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have said they are needed to prevent voter fraud. But critics argued such requirements disenfranchise poor and minority voters, who face difficulties obtaining IDs. More than 600,000 Texas voters lack a suitable ID under the law.

Even though the court ordered voters who did not have one of the forms of ID must still be allowed to vote, many polling sites during early voting included signs that said voter ID was required with no reference to allowable exceptions. Several polling sites in counties such as Bexar and Dallas had instances where misleading signs were posted in the first few days of the early voting period, according to the report.

The inaccurate signage and misinformation combined with apparent failures in poll worker training resulted in at least several cases where voters were almost wrongly turned away, the TCRPs report showed.

That coalition is led by the TCRP, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Texas Organizing Project Education Fund and Texas Common Cause.
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WASHINGTON  President Donald Trumps decision to keep in place, for now, an Obama-era immigration policy to protect undocumented children  while rescinding a similar policy on undocumented parents  triggered a flood of reaction Friday from both sides of the immigration debate but changed little for the millions of people living in the U.S. without permission.

In a memo late Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly announced that the administration would continue the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has provided work permits and two-year renewable reprieves from deportation to nearly 1 million young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. by their parents.

Kellys action added a note of formality to the administrations acquiescence thus far to a popular policy. But it provided no assurance of DACAs long-term future and whether it will survive Trumps campaign promise to end it.

It is unclear what will happen to DACA, said Ignacia Rodriguez of the National Immigration Law Center, among groups pressing Congress to protect the program.

Lorella Praeli of the American Civil Liberties Union added: The only thing that is certain in Trumps America is uncertainty, and no memorandum changes that.

At the same time, Kellys memo rescinded the never-enacted Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program, announced in 2014, which would have provided reprieves from deportations and enabled work permits for about 5 million immigrants who are in the country illegally.

A federal judge in Texas had blocked DAPA before it could be implemented, however, and it never took effect. A year ago, the Supreme Court was split 4-4 on the injunction, leaving in place an appellate court ruling upholding the Texas decision.

Kelly said he acted to end DAPA after consulting with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He issued his memo on the last day parties to the suit were to file comments to U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville on how they wanted the case to proceed, said Nina Perales of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Her group is representing three mothers in the Rio Grande Valley who are intervenors in the lawsuit.

It may be that the case simply ends here and does not go forward because there is nothing more to litigate, Perales said.

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, praised the administration for ending any prospect for DAPA going into effect.

Trump Keeps Promise  Withdraws DAPA Amnesty read the headline on his statement distributed to reporters.

Yesterdays action by the administration also acknowledges that granting de facto amnesty to millions of people who knowingly violated U.S. immigration laws is also bad public policy that harms the interests of the American people and encourages more illegal immigration, the statement read.

But he added that DACA was a similar example of an executive overreach that was based on the same flawed legal principle. Clearly, DACA raises the same legal questions that ultimately resulted in the termination of DAPA. This calls into question the legitimacy of DACA as well.

Likewise, Numbers USA, which presses for reducing immigration, observed that Trump had fulfilled part of a campaign promise by killing DAPA but added: The administration has yet to take action on the DACA Amnesty, and a DHS report last week showed that the Trump administration has issued thousands of new work permits to illegal aliens and renewed more than a 100,000 more since taking office.

Immigration activists welcomed the DACA reference in Kellys memo but asserted that the fight to preserve it is far from over.

Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of Americas Voice Education Fund, criticized what she referred to as headlines breathlessly announcing that DACA was saved.

In our opinion, they (administration officials) are using DACA as cover to try to distract reporters, she said in a conference call with news outlets. We look at everything they put out with a heavy dose of skepticism. We dont trust them.

Statements on Capitol Hill this week by Thomas Homan, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, triggered further wariness about the administrations motives.

If youre in this country illegally and you committed a crime by entering this country, you should be uncomfortable, Homan told the House appropriations panel. You should look over your shoulder, and you need to be worried.

Greisa Martinez Rosa of the advocacy group United We Dream cited numbers reflecting successes of DACA recipients: 62 percent got better-paying jobs, 90 percent got drivers licenses and 12 percent purchased homes.

We have seen Trump make clear statements about his position on DACA. We will continue to hold him to the fire, she said.

The announcement changed little for Homero Garza, 43, whos from Mexico and has lived in San Antonio for the past 15 years. Garza is in the U.S. without permission, but his children, ages 8 and 12, are U.S. citizens and would have made him eligible for DAPA. Garza hadnt heard about the announcement.

I dont put too much attention on the news, he said. Its too much. Every day, the same thing.

Because DAPA was enjoined before it could be implemented, Garza, who along with his wife had hoped to obtain work permits through the program, never even applied. His life has continued more or less unchanged since former President Barack Obamas 2014 announcement about DAPA. He owns a painting business and is a leader in his church.

Im just waiting for good news, he said. Just waiting and trusting in God.

blambrecht@express-news.net

jbuch@express-news.net
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All things considered, the recent election did not go well for the local fire union.

Of the nine City Council candidates endorsed by the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, six lost, including its choice for mayor. Now, with six new members and a new mayor, the radically changed council could alter the dynamics of a years-long conflict over a new labor contract  for better or worse.

Of the three main contenders for the mayors office, Mayor-elect Ron Nirenberg took the toughest stance on contract negotiations, chiding Mayor Ivy Taylor for giving in to the San Antonio Police Officers Association on a deal that would put the city $20 million over budget within five years. (The fire union endorsed Manuel Medina, who failed to make the mayoral runoff.)

Even the SAPOA deal apparently wasnt sweet enough for the fire union, which reached an impasse with the city in court-ordered mediation in April after refusing for years to come to the table. Both sides are now awaiting a decision by the 4th Court of Appeals on the constitutionality of an evergreen clause that would keep the current contract in place until 2024, the result of a lawsuit the city filed against both unions in 2014.

On Friday, Nirenberg acknowledged the contentious history but said he hopes to find a way forward.

The reality is, Im a friend of fiscal responsibility, but Im also a friend of public safety, the mayor-elect said. The police union contract that the mayor crafted was a challenge for both the officers and for the public because it failed to reach its primary objective (of) structural balance.

Nirenberg disliked Taylors cloistered approach to reaching a deal with the police union, which he voted against.

I remember being notified by text message that all of a sudden there was a deal, he said. Then I found out that it wasnt a deal struck by mediators; it was a deal struck by Ivy Taylor.

Nirenberg plans to conduct business differently.

First we establish what the councils priorities are, and then we stick to that, he said. We cant move the backstop without councils consent.

At this point, the priorities of the new council are mostly unknown. But at least two new members are coming to the dais with backgrounds uniquely relevant to the conflict.

Manny Pelaez, an attorney elected to replace Nirenberg in District 8, has worked as an arbitrator and a mediator in labor disputes for more than a decade. He was one of the three candidates endorsed by the fire union who won.

They asked for a fair shake and a promise that they would be heard, Pelaez said. I made that promise and am happy to hear them out.

I get paid to be a neutral, Pelaez continued, to look at all sides and make sure all sides walk out of there having been heard and gotten a fair shake. There is no labor negotiation that results in anything other than both parties walking out of the room a little unhappy.

Incoming District 6 Councilman Greg Brockhouse also insisted that he wouldnt automatically favor the union  despite having advised the police and fire unions on contract negotiations for the past three years before running for the council. (Unsurprisingly, the fire union endorsed Brockhouse in the election.)

Im elected to represent District 6, Brockhouse said. Im not elected to represent the police and fire unions.

Waging war on behalf of the unions, Brockhouse showed a proclivity to carpet-bomb the enemy: launching a campaign against the Vista Ridge water pipeline, for instance, to gain leverage in contract negotiations.

Already seen as harboring mayoral ambitions of his own, Brockhouse is now an advocate for restarting productive negotiations.

I think Ron (Nirenberg) would like to engage and get the conversation going on the fire contract to remove that animal from the agenda and button that up and move on, because he has so many items that he wants to accomplish, Brockhouse said.

Im a staunch supporter of our first responders, he added. But even I am at a standpoint of, look, weve got to talk. There is no justice in silence. There is no opportunity in silence.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
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If there has been one issue, above all others, that has defined Mayor-elect Ron Nirenbergs political career, it has been civic engagement.

He makes a habit of conducting Facebook Q&A sessions with voters, he entrusted two teenage students with the job of managing the volunteer effort for his 2013 council runoff, and he routinely preaches about the need for local residents to make their voices heard.

Along those lines, Nirenberg has advocated for the city to move its elections to November of even-numbered years as a way of pumping up voter turnout, which was around 13 percent in the June 10 runoff. He also has pushed for council term limits to go from four two-year terms to two four-year terms.

Both proposals would require amending the City Charter, and on Wednesday, four days after Nirenbergs runoff victory over Mayor Ivy Taylor, the Charter Review Commission listened as residents weighed in on these and other ideas.

The argument in favor of moving council elections is a simple one. By placing city races next to state and national contests on a November ballot, youll have a built-in turnout bump.

In Austin, municipal turnout had plummeted from 57 percent in 1971 to 7 percent in 2011, prompting the 2012 passage of a charter amendment moving city races to November. The results have been predictably dramatic, with a 40.4 percent turnout in 2014 and 64.6 percent last November.

Nirenberg introduced his proposal during an October 2015 speech at the first UTSA Civic Engagement Summit by calling it an easy step toward greater participation and more significant community input.

Ive gone back and forth on this issue over the past few years. I love the idea of increasing turnout and creating a simple, one-stop process for voters. But I worry that city races will get buried in all the hoopla over higher-profile contests and that nonpartisan municipal elections will rest uncomfortably on ballots otherwise filled with partisan races.

Elena Guajardo, a former District 7 council member, addressed the commission Wednesday and expressed skepticism about tampering with our election schedule, for the reasons I just mentioned.

She seemed more open to a proposal floated by MOVE San Antonio  moving municipal races to November of odd-numbered years  but said runoffs would be problematic because they would bump up against the holiday season.

If its into mid-December, Guajardo said, youre going to have a real obstacle of getting the (election) judges to come back for early voting and election day.

MOVE San Antonio made an imposing show of strength Wednesday, with 26 members in attendance and several speakers making the argument that November elections would be more convenient for college students (who are wrapping up their academic years in May and often out of town by the time municipal runoffs roll around in June).

The four-year term idea (particularly with staggered terms) makes a lot of sense because it would relieve council members of the pressure to wage permanent campaigns to hold on to their seats and allow them to focus more time on the job they were elected to do.

Nonetheless, the concept drew a thumbs-down from Bob Martin, president of the Homeowner Taxpayer Association of Bexar County, who invoked recently ousted District 2 Councilman Alan Warrick to make his point.

If terms are changed to four years, problems will surely arise, Martin said. For example, we just had a council member who was recently found passed out on a bench in front of City Hall. And with four-year terms, this individual could still be qualified to serve in office.

The commissioners considered putting a four-year-term amendment on the ballot two years ago but wound up tabling the concept because they were afraid it would sink their top priority: council pay.

This time around, it looks more likely to happen. The commission plans to submit amendment recommendations to the City Council by the beginning of August, to allow for a November special-election vote on proposed amendments.

Mike Gallagher, a commission member and outgoing District 10 councilman, said he opposes moving council elections to November but strongly supports four-year terms.

I want people with experience on council, Gallagher said. Right now, for every two years, you spend one of those years in campaign mode. This (proposal) would not only help having a more competent council, it would save the city a lot of money.

ggarcia@express-news.net

Twitter: @gilgamesh470
Ambassador Tran Van Khoa speaking at the event (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh)

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Tran Van Khoa emphasized that this is the first time a book about President Ho Chi Minh has been translated into Bengali and published for Bangladeshi readers.

This event has a great significance in introducing and honoring President Ho Chi Minh, helping Bangladeshi friends understand his life and work, as well as spreading President Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary ideas of peace, national independence, democracy and social progress to Bangladeshi friends, thereby, contributing to strengthening and further developing the traditional friendship between the two peoples.

The guests expressed their admiration and respect for President Ho Chi Minh, because he was not only a great leader of the people of Vietnam but also a great leader and culturalist of humanity, of the peoples in Asia, Africa and Latin America in the struggle against colonialism and imperialism.

For the Bangladeshi people, he passed on a revolutionary fire, resilient and indomitable spirit to Bangladeshi people in the struggle for national liberation of the country. Consequently, the guests and readers appreciated the publication of the book in Bengali and said that this was an opportunity for all classes of Bangladeshi people to directly read and feel the great thoughts and original values he left in the testament, as well as to better understand the country and people of Vietnam.

The translation and publication of this book are the result of close collaboration between the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh and the Nawab Salimullah Institute, a non-governmental organization of Bangladesh, established in 1987 with the goal of strengthening the solidarity and friendship between the people of Bangladesh and the peoples of other countries through cooperative activities in the fields of culture, tourism, trade and education.

The idea of translating the book was raised at a seminar on the relations of the two countries in 2015.

The process of translating and publishing the book has also received positive support from Vietnamese agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the World Publishing House and the Ho Chi Minh Museum, about copyright and original photographic materials of President Ho Chi Minh.

In the framework of cooperation between the Embassy and Nawab Salimullah Institute, the two sides will continue to co-organize many activities, such as organizing conferences and painting exhibitions honoring President Ho Chi Minh on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Bangladesh diplomatic relations, in 2018.

These meaningful activities are the friendship bridge to enhance understanding and further tighten the sentiments between the two peoples, while deepening the traditional relationship between the two countries.

Immediately after the launching ceremony, on the occasion of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Vietnamese Embassy held a customary and Muslim banquet with traditional Bangladeshi dishes to thank guests./.
Warrenton, VA (20186)

Today

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with thundershowers developing in the afternoon. Potential for heavy rainfall. High 72F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A steady rain in the evening. Showers continuing late. Low 57F. SSE winds shifting to W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Vietnamese students at the centre (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

Of the more than 500 students, 350 are Vietnamese students, the rest are from Myanmar and Nepal.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Mr. Alon Melchior, manager of the International Training Program of the centre, said it was a special program for students selected from Asia.

After 11 months studying and working, the students learned about Israels modern agriculture and other subjects. In addition to theoretical learning, they spent time working directly in the field to gain access to how to apply advanced technology and management methods in agriculture.

They have real opportunities to work and accumulate experience with high-tech agriculture and how to manage a modern agriculture.

The Ramat Negev Desert AgroResearch Center currently has about 70 training programs for students involved in agricultural issues such as post-harvest technology, genes, animal husbandry, and business management skills in agriculture.

According to Mr. Melchior, the centre is expected to receive about 300 new students for 2017-2018 training courses and many owners of farms have the demand to recruit young Vietnamese people to work.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Khuat Van Quyen, First Secretary of the Vietnamese Embassy to Israel, affirmed that Israel is a country of comparatively poor natural resources, but it has risen to become a startup country and a world leader in applying high-tech agriculture.

He hoped that the Vietnamese students would benefit their homeland when they return home with knowledge and practical experience learned in Israel.

Student Vu Ngoc Kim Ngan said that the purpose of the program is to help students have conditions to go to Israel to study hi-tech agriculture.

Meanwhile Nguyen Trong Tin from the faculty of Business Administration under Ho Chi Minh city University of Agriculture and Forestry, said that after the course, the important thing he had learnt was the start-up spirit of Israeli people and he wants to bring the knowledge he had learned to apply in Vietnam to contribute to the development of the country's agriculture.

The program has brought thousands of Vietnamese students to study and work in Israel since 2008.

After a time of studying and practising in Israel, the students have the opportunity to practice English, be trained in hi-tech agriculture while practising to work on farms to get a minimum wage of USD1,000/month after deducting spending for housing and tax.

There are four enrolment centres in Vietnam, including AICAT Arava, Ramat Negev, Sdot Negev and Agrostudies./.
This is the highest rank Vietnam has achieved so far.





The Global Innovation Index, annually co-published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), US-based Cornell University, and INSEAD business school, surveys 127 economies using 79 indicators to gauge innovative capabilities and measureable results.

Vietnam is ranked 9th in the Southeast Asia and Oceania region, one place higher than Thailand.

The survey said new Asian Tigers like Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are emerging and joining not only Asian high tech value chains but also other activities such as information and communication technology (ICT) offshoring.

Although Singapore is still uncontested as number 1 among the smaller or emerging Asian economies, countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand are catching up rapidly, the survey said.

Among them, Vietnam tops education expenditure in the region and does very well in ICT use, gross capital information and FDI net inflows, the survey said.

Additionally, Vietnam was assessed to be strong in a range of indicators, including knowledge and technology outputs; market sophistication, and expenditure on education.

The worlds five most innovative nations in the Global Innovation Index 2017 are Switzerland, Sweden, Netherlands, the US and the UK.

Innovation is now widely recognised as a central driver of economic growth and development. The Global Innovation Index aims to capture the multi-dimensional facets of innovation by providing a rich of database of detailed metrics for 127 economies, which represent 92.5 percent of the worlds population and 97.6 percent of global GDP./.

CPV/VNA
Priyanka Chopra thinks 'Baywatch' is the kind of film the world needs right now.

Priyanka Chopra

The 34-year-old actress had a great time making the "fun and silly" movie and she thinks something to lighten the mood is exactly what people ought to be watching during turbulent times.

She said: "I play a complete villain. It's so much fun to play a baddie in a comedy, because you can do the most ridiculous things and they work.

"It's such a fun, silly movie. I hope people will get a couple of laughs and enjoy themselves. The world needs a little bit of laughter right now."

While she had a lot of fun making the movie, Priyanka - who stars alongside Zac Efron and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in the film - admits filming could be quite hard as it was so hot in Florida.

She told HELLO! magazine: "It was actually a really hard movie to shoot because it was four months of 15-hour days in the Miami heat.

"I was amazed that Dwayne would be up and working out from five in the morning."

And Priyanka loved seeing the bond between her co-stars.

She said: "Zac and Dwayne have an incredible mutual love for each other and were always laughing."

After finding fame in Bollywood before landing a role in 'Quantico', the former Miss World has a huge following behind her, but 'Baywatch' is likely to bring her to an international audience for the first time.

She said: "This is my 51st movie but my first English language film."
Amazon, which has completed four years of operations in India, will continue investing in infrastructure and solutions to enhance consumer and seller experience. It has recently committed to invest around $ five billion. Amazon has been setting up fulfilment centres across the country for speedy delivery to consumers. It has 41 warehouses across 13 states."Last year, half the capital deployed was in infrastructure. This year too, we will continue to invest in infrastructure, innovation and technology," Amazon senior vice president and country manager (India) Amit Agarwal told a news agency.

Amazon, which has completed four years of operations in India, will continue investing in infrastructure and solutions to enhance consumer and seller experience. It has recently committed to invest around $ five billion. Amazon has been setting up fulfilment centres across the country for speedy delivery to consumers. It has 41 warehouses across 13 states.#

"Our new customer acquisition has also grown by 60 per cent year-on-year in 2016, driven by growth from tier II and III cities," he said.Seller base of the US-based e-commerce major has increased from 100 in 2013 to two lakh currently. The company is looking to overtake local rival, Flipkart. The report said that with Tiger Global-backed Flipkart's fund raise of $ 1.4 billion earlier in 2017, the competition is set to intensify with both companies likely to pump in money to strengthen operations and woo customers with offers.Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had highlighted the importance of the Indian market to Amazon's operations, according to the report. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Walmart has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Bonobos, Inc., one of the leading apparel brands built on the internet, for $310 million in cash. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close toward the end of the second quarter or the beginning of the third quarter of this fiscal year.

Following the closing, Andy Dunn, founder and CEO of Bonobos will report to Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart US e-commerce, and oversee the companys collection of digitally-native vertical brands. These are brands born online, and owned from design through distribution. The brands will be offered on Jet.com and possibly other Walmart brands in a variety of countries over time, and include Bonobos and recently-acquired ModCloth.

"We are seeing momentum in the business as we expand our value proposition with customers and its incredible to see how fast we are moving," said Lore. "Adding innovators like Dunn will continue to help us shape the future of Walmart, and the future of retail. I am thrilled to welcome Dunn and the entire Bonobos team. They have created an amazing product and customer experience, and that will not change. In fact, Dunn will be a great influence on the company, especially in leading our collection of exclusive brands offered online."

The announcement comes at a time of growth and innovation in e-commerce for Walmart. In its most recent quarter, Walmart saw 63 per cent growth in US e-commerce sales, the majority coming from organic growth in Walmart.com. Walmarts efforts in e-commerce are empowering customers with low prices, more choices and new levels of convenience.

"We began Bonobos ten years ago to give men a completely different product and shopping experience: better fitting, higher quality clothing, in new and imaginative ways. That will always remain our mission," Dunn said. "We are excited about applying all that we have learned to help shepherd in the next era of retail." (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Danish textile designer Kristine Mandsberg will showcase her works for the Spring/Summer 2018 edition of Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF) KIDS that will begin from August 9, 2017. Mandsberg will create an artwork for a limited edition set of t-shirts provided by Green Cotton. The three-day event will host talks on various topics and trend show.

As Northern Europes most progressive kids fashion and lifestyle fair, CIFF KIDS is forging the best universe for around 300 brands. Aimed to attract new visitors and customers and meet the needs and wants of the todays childrens industry scene, CIFF KIDS introduced the lifestyle & interior segment in August 2015. The lifestyle & interior segment has seen a successful growth since its launch, with the area becoming larger and housing more brands each season.

Mandsberg has worked with clients such as IKEA, WGSN, Ferm Living and HAY, to whom she has developed artworks and illustrations for textile collections, kids wear and interior products. Mandsberg attended Designschool Kolding from 2003-2006, where she studied textile design. Afterwhich she went to do her masters at The Royal College of Art in London, specialising in printed textile. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Grasim Industries Limited, a flagship company of Aditya Birla Group has earned the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified biobased product label for its products-Birla Viscose, Birla Modal & Birla Excel. The USDA certified product label displays a product's biobased content, which is the portion of a product that comes from a renewable source.

Utilising renewable, bio-based materials displaces the need for non-renewable petroleum based chemicals. Biobased products, through petroleum displacement, have played an increasingly important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate global climate change. Biobased products are cost-comparative, readily available, and perform as well as or better than their conventional counterparts.

"We applaud Grasim Industries Ltd for earning the USDA certified biobased product label," said Kate Lewis, USDA BioPreferred Program. "Products from Grasim Industries Ltd are contributing to an ever expanding marketplace that adds value to renewable agriculture commodities, creates jobs in rural communities, and decreases our reliance on petroleum."

Third-party verification for a product's biobased content is administered through the USDA BioPreferred Program. One of the goals of the BioPreferred Program is to increase the development, purchase and use of biobased products.

"The USDA biobased certification is another milestone reached in our sustainability journey and strengthening our belief that sustainability is at the core of our business strategy," managing director of Grasim Industries Ltd, Dilip Gaur, said.

"This certification reconfirms the natural origin of our products & will enhance the confidence of the value chain players in delivering biobased products," said chief marketing officer of Birla Cellulose Rajeev Gopal. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Uttar Pradesh government led by chief minister Yogi Adityanath has given approval for the development of private textile parks in the state. The draft for the UP Textile, Handicrafts and Sericulture Policy 2017 has been approved by the state government. The investors seeking to buy 50 acres and above land for textile parks will be exempted from stamp duty.

"Our aim is to attract FDIs and private investors to boost the textile industry in Uttar Pradesh. Those who are willing to invest in this sector will be given tax and other sops. The government has already made provisions for the same in its draft policy," chief minister told the media.

With aim to boost textile industry in the state, the officials will identify various locations for the development of textile parks on the expressways and national highways, including Lucknow-Kanpur, Kanpur-Allahabad, Chitrakoot-Jhansi-Lalitpur, Varanasi-Allahabad, Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Moradabad, Bareilly-Moradabad-Bijnore, Meerut-Nazibabad, Gorakhpur-Varanasi and Gorakhpur-Faizabad.

Further, the government will also waiver the interest on loans for purchase of land and construction of infrastructure such as staff quarters and hostels. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India




Vietnam pledged to cut down eight percent of greenhouse gas emission by 2030 compared with normal development.

The target will be 25 percent if Vietnam receives support from the international community.

To realise the climate change targets, Vietnam will need about USD30 billion from the State budget, international support and enterprises at home and abroad by 2020.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the agricultural sector accounts for 38.5 percent of the nations greenhouse gas emissions. Of which, rice cultivation makes up more than 50.5 percent.

The Paris Agreement aims to shift to green production and consumption models and promote renewable energies, MARD Deputy Minister Hoang Van Thang said.

Over the past 15 years, Vietnam has witnessed increasingly severe impacts of climate change, such as prolonged and widespread floods.

Agricultural production has suffered from direct impact to 32.2 percent of total agricultural land./.
It Happened Because Of Riteish Deshmukh

Riteish Deshmukh's new comedy film Bank Chor released this week and to wish him luck, Abhishek Bachchan revealed some secrets.

Abhishek Warns...

The handsome actor has warned people not to try the unplugged version of a song from Bank Chor called Tashreef.

The Actor Failed In The Challenge

Abhishek Bachchan also revealed that he failed in the challenge and he is very afraid of his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Riteish Is My Little Brother

He said, "Okay, I don't say this very often but he is my little brother.''

I Tried But Could Not Do It

''Riteish, I tried, I tried very hard but could not do it.''

I Don't Think Aishwarya Is Going To Be Happy With Me

''Broh, too many cups, don't think my wife is going to be too happy with me.''

You Are The Best One For It

''But I tried. I will leave it to you. This cups challenge is meant for you. You are the best one for it.''

All The Best

"Good luck, you gonna need it. So, guys Bank Chor coming out. My little brother Ritesh, Thapa and the entire team all the very best.''

The Big Warning!

''Good luck. WARNING!!! DO NOT DO NOT PICK ANY MORE CUPS.''
TKSS Replaced By Sunil's SNWT!

Apparently, the two hour special episode will be aired this Sunday (June 18) on Sony TV at two slots - one at 12 PM and other at 8 PM, replacing The Kapil Sharma Show!

Salman Praises Sunil

We had recently reported how the cast of Super Night With Tubelight and Salman Khan had fun shooting for the episode. In fact, Salman even praised Sunil by saying that he felt 'incompetent as an actor' looking at Sunil's timing and brilliance.

Why Sunil Is Back On Sony?

Sunil had even said that he was back on Sony TV just for Salman Khan. He was quoted by DNA as saying, "I came back to Sony only for a very special person, Salman Khan. It's a special show dedicated to his new film Tubelight."

Why Salman Was Not Invited On TKSS?

Everyone must be wondering why the makers choose to do the special episode instead of inviting Salman Khan on The Kapil Sharma Show!

Is Kapil Sharma Show In Trouble?

Apparently, the channel wants to check the ratings of both the shows to know whether Sunil and Ali's show works better than Kapil's show! This might put Kapil's show in trouble.

Krushna Abhishek

There were also reports that Sunil and Ali have joined hands with Krushna Abhishek for a new show. But, now there are reports that it is not Sunil, but Sudesh Lehri, who will join Krushna for the new show.

Sudesh

Along with Sudesh and Krushna, Ali Asgar, Dr Sanket Bhosle and Suganda Mishra will be seen in the new show.

Sudesh & Krushna

A source was quoted by a leading daily as saying, "The hit jodi of Krushna and Sudesh will recreate laughter ripples for the audience. The two will be seen in a never-seen-before avatar and will create comedy of errors for everyone."

Krushna

The source further added, "The team working on the show are working on the characters for both Sudesh and Krushna. Rest assured the two will be doing different."
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 16, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Snap, Inc. ("Snap" or the "Company") (NYSE: SNAP) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, and docketed under 17-cv-03679, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Snap securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Snap securities or otherwise acquired Snap securities: (1) pursuant and/or traceable to Snap's false and misleading Registration Statement and Prospectus, issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering on or about March 2, 2017 (the "IPO" or the "Offering"); and/or (2) on the open market between March 2, 2017 and May 15, 2017, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), you have until July 17, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

[Click here to join this class action]

Snap Inc. is a camera company that provides technology and social media services. The Company develops mobile camera application products and services that allow users to send and receive photos, drawings, text, and videos. Snap serves customers worldwide.

On or about March 3, 2017, the Company completed its IPO, issuing 200,000,000 shares and raising net proceeds of approximately $3.91 billion.

Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Snap's reported user growth was materially false and misleading; and (ii) as a result, Snap's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On May 10, 2017, post-market, Snap issued its first quarterly report as a public company, disclosing disappointing user growth at the Company's Snapchat messaging platform. For the quarter, Snap reported 166 million daily users, only 8 million more than in the previous period and only 44 million more than the same period in the prior year-Snapchat's slowest year-to-year growth rate in at least two years.

On this news, Snap's share price fell $4.93, or 21.45%, to close at $18.05 on May 11, 2017.

On May 16, 2017, Bloomberg reported that a former Snap employee, Anthony Pompliano, had filed a lawsuit against Snap, "claim[ing] he was fired after three weeks on the job for raising questions about allegedly false growth metrics [and] seeking whistleblower protection against retaliation by [the] company."

On this news, Snap's share price fell $0.02, or 0.1%, to close at $20.72 on May 16, 2017.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 16, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick" or the "Company") (NYSE: ABX) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, and docketed under 17-cv-03815, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Barrick securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Barrick securities between February 16, 2017 and April 24, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until June 19, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

[Click here to join this class action]

Barrick is a gold mining company that purportedly engages in exploration and mine development. The Company also produces and sells gold and copper.

The Company has a history of pipe ruptures and chemical spills at its Valedero mine in the San Juan Province of Argentina. On September 13, 2015, the Company identified a valve failure on a leach pad pipeline, resulting in a release of cyanide-bearing process solution into a nearby waterway. This resulted in a temporary court order restricting the addition of new cyanide to the mine's processing circuit. The restriction was subsequently lifted, however, on September 24, 2015. Then, on September 8, 2016 a pipe carrying process solution was damaged by a large block of ice that had rolled down a nearby slope, resulting in a temporary suspension of operations at the Veladero mine. Operations resumed on October 4, 2016.

On February 16, 2017, the Company held a conference call to discuss its 2016 fiscal year financial results. On the call, Defendant Palmes stated that "[a]t Veladero, 2016 was a very challenging year" do to the pipe-related damage, but that the Company "completed a series of remedial works to prevent such an incident from occurring again." On the same call, Defendant Palmes provided fiscal year 2017 Veladero production guidance, stating: "For 2017, we expect increased production of 770,000 ounces to 830,000 ounces at all-in sustaining cost of $840 per ounce to $940 per ounce."

On March 28, 2017, the Company's Veladero troubles reappeared, when a pipe carrying gold-bearing solution ruptured.

Surprisingly, in response to the rupture, the Company reaffirmed its fiscal year 2017 guidance. On March 30, 2017, the Company stated: "[a]t this time, we do not anticipate a material impact to Veladero's 2017 production guidance."

Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) that the pipes and safety systems at the Veladero mine were not robust enough to prevent gold-bearing solution spills; (ii) that, as a result, Argentinian authorities would restrict the addition of cyanide to the Veladero mine's heap leach facility and require remedial work; (iii) that these developments would impact (and were impacting) the production capacity of the Veladero mine; (iv) that as such, the Company's Veladero mine production guidance and total gold production guidance were overstated; and (v) as a result of the foregoing, Barrick's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On April 24, 2017, the truth about the Veladero mine began to emerge when the Company issued a press release announcing its first quarter 2017 financial results. Therein, the Company revised its full year guidance, stating that "[f]ull-year gold production is now expected to be 5.3-5.6 million ounces, down from our previous range of 5.6-5.9 million ounces." The Company further stated that "[a]pproximately two-thirds of this reduction is attributable to the anticipated sale of 50 percent of Veladero." The Company also provided Veladero-specific guidance, stating: "we now expect full-year production at Veladero of 630,000-730,000 ounces of gold, at a cost of sales of $740-$790 per ounce, and all-in sustaining costs of $890-$990 per ounce. . . . This compares to our original 2017 guidance of 770,000-830,000 ounces (100 percent basis), at a cost of sales of $750-$800 per ounce, and all-in sustaining costs of $840-$940 per ounce."

On this news, Barrick's share price fell $2.15, or 11.3%, to close at $16.89 on April 25, 2017.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/17 -- Editors Note: There are three photos associated with this press release.

Saputo Inc. ("Saputo" or "the Company") (TSX: SAP) is proud to announce that, on December 7, 2017, 300 of its employees from the Greater Montreal area took part in the first edition of the Company's new community engagement program: The Big Cook Up. On this signature day, Saputo transformed three of its cafeterias into community kitchens and prepared 7,000 meals for families in need.

Saputo wanted to rally employees around a unique initiative and provide an opportunity for them to take an active role in giving back. The idea of cooking for the community was a natural fit since producing quality foods unites its employees every day.

Dating back to the 80's, Saputo would organize memorable spaghetti dinner fundraisers benefitting community organizations. "We wanted to revive this tradition, but with a modern twist. We hope the families who will savour our delicious lasagnas will have as much fun eating together, as we did cooking together," said Ms. Sandy Vassiadis, Vice President, Communications and Corporate Responsibility at Saputo.

Community engagement is important to Saputo. In this regard, we strive to invest 1% of our pre-tax profits each year in community programs and organizations that promote a healthy lifestyle for people of all ages. To learn more, visit www.saputo.com.

View the video of the first edition of The Big Cook Up.

About Saputo

Saputo produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products of the utmost quality, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products and dairy ingredients. Saputo is one of the top ten dairy processors in the world, the largest cheese manufacturer and the leading fluid milk and cream processor in Canada, one of the top three dairy processors in Argentina, and among the top four in Australia. In the US, Saputo ranks among the top three cheese producers and is one of the largest producers of extended shelf-life and cultured dairy products. Our products are sold in several countries under well-known brand names such as Saputo, Alexis de Portneuf, Armstrong, COON, Cracker Barrel(i), Dairyland, DairyStar, Friendship Dairies, Frigo Cheese Heads, La Paulina, Milk2Go/Lait's Go, Neilson, Nutrilait, Scotsburn(i), Stella, Sungold, Treasure Cave and Woolwich Dairy. Saputo Inc. is a publicly traded company and its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "SAP".

(i)Trademark used under licence.

To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following links:

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The civil aviation ministrys proposed national no-fly list that came about because of unruly behaviour of Members of Parliament will not hit the politicians who shamelessly exhibit such behaviour repeatedly, say aviation sector experts.

The recent episode involving Telugu Desam party lawmaker JC Diwakar Reddy damaging airport property at the Visakhapatnman airport on Thursday morning because he was denied a boarding pass by IndiGo for arriving late has led to a slew of airlines banning him. But ironically, Reddy was able to take the same flight in spite of smashing a printer and creating a hullabaloo at the airport.

What is shocking is that all this took place while Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathy Raju, also from the TDP, was present in the airport and admitted Reddy was late. Reddy is a repeat offender and has done the same in the past.

The government framing a draft no-fly list and coming out with it makes India the first country in the world to do so, said D Sudhakar Reddy, founder of the Chennai-based Air Passengers Association of India (APAI). China had compiled a list but did not go through with the plan. Presently, only the United States has a list but it is only for terrorists and those persons considered to be a safety risk to the country, the flight and its passengers.

APAI was formed in 1989 by Sudhakar to take up issues with regulators on behalf of airline passengers. The association came into being when the Indian Airlines flight Sudhakar was to board was delayed by over 27 hours.

The government framing such a list will not impact the parliamentarians as they will close ranks with their colleagues, he said. Instead, he feels that the common people will be victims of the list, when it becomes a reality. When a flight is late and there is no one in the information counter to give details to the irated passengers and they shout and scream, the authorities can use it to target passengers under the no-fly list. Often, airlines dont provide no information and also meals or snacks as they are supposed to when a flight is delayed for long hours. When passengers are delayed and receive shabby treatment, they are bound to vent their anger by shouting. Or first time travellers could get excited in such circumstances  long delays, lack of information, etcand shout. In all such instances, the common man will be targeted under the no-fly ban, feels Sudhakar.

A few airlines spoke to Firstpost on condition of anonymity. They said that the list could serve both  the airline staff on board, on ground and also the passengers. It is not that passengers are always badly behaved, many times staff also behave rudely. This list can be a warning to both, they said.

The airlines did not want to comment on the ban affecting parliamentarians. Let us wait and see what the government will do in this matter, they said, exercising caution.

If the government can come out with a statement and ruling that privileges of parliamentarians can to be availed only within Parliament, it would ease the worries of many airlines and other sectors that have to make allowances for the MPs, said Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a former pilot and an air safety expert and former member of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council.

He says in the Ravindra Gaikwad incident, where the Shiv Sena MP beat up an Air India staffer with slippers in April this year, the MP was let off easily. He should have been jailed and that would have set up a fine example of punishment towards unruly behaviour. The government did not do anything of the sort. Now, the TDP MP has exhibited crass behaviour in the presence of the Civil Aviation minister. This case too will lose its steam in a matter of days, said Ranganathan.

Ranganathan said that MPs and the government take care of each other and that the staffer at IndiGo may be the fall guy. The statement in the TDP MP case will be that there is no evidence  there wont be any CCTV footage too  and that this is a drummed-up charge, he said.
Indian banks have initiated a big crackdown on bad loans armed with the Insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC). The attack on the non-performing assets (NPAs) began first in 2015 when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stipulated norms for early recognition of stressed assets in the banking sector. Subsequently, the RBI came with a March 2017 deadline for banks to clean-up their balance sheets by disclosing all the hidden NPAs. While this exercise pushed banks to account for a big chunk of impaired assets, the recovery of money still remained a major concern for the sector and the policymakers.

But, the passage of bankruptcy code came with the promise of a major change in banks NPA battle. Under this, if the majority lenders agree, banks can take companies to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) with a request for time bound resolution plan. If the resolution process fails within a maximum of 270 days, insolvency process is initiated against the concerned company. Under a mutually agreed framework between banks and other stakeholders in the firm, the proceeds from the liquidation process will be shared.

On 13 June, RBI said its internal committee has shortlisted 12 companies where banks can initiate insolvency proceedings. While the names of these firms have not been disclosed, reports (read here, here , here, here and here) have emerged naming possible candidates that would have found place in the RBI list. Firstpost has not independently verified the identity of these companies, but assuming the names appeared in the media reports are correct, we have done an analysis of their key financial parameters such as total debt and networth to get an idea of what is in store for banks if they indeed take these companies for liquidation.

Here goes the financial details of these 12 companies:

Essar Steel: The company's total income remained flat at Rs 14,380 crore in FY16 as compared to its earlier two years. However the company posted a net loss of Rs 5,800 crore in FY16 as against net profit of Rs 648 crore in FY15. As per its latest available annual report for 2015-2016, its total debt stood at Rs 29,488 crore while the company had a healthy total assets of Rs 62,700 crore. Its net worth were at Rs 8,617 crore as of 31 March 2016.

However, this piece in BloombergQuint says the company owes banks nearly Rs 45,000 crore and has been in talks to restructure its debt for some time now. In January, Prashant Ruia, chief executive officer of Essar Group told BloombergQuint that a restructuring deal was weeks away. This, however, has not fructified.

Lanco Infratech: The company had a debt of Rs 43,502 crore as of FY17 according to CapitalinePlus database. The company reported net loss for the sixth consecutive year from FY12 to FY17 amounting to Rs 8,280 crore. Company's total income almost halved from Rs 15,291 crore in FY13 to Rs 7,510 crore in FY17. It had negative net worth of Rs 2,074 crore for the fiscal ended 31 March 2017. Its total assets of Rs 45,065 crore is just a tad higher compared to its debt.

Recently while announcing its March-quarter results the company stated "At present the groups operating assets are not generating envisaged revenues on account of various factors beyond the control of the company, such as short supply of gas, partial procurement of power, pending tariff clarity and part payments from the customers, posing challenges for meeting the cash flow needs." The company's share price reported a fall of 16.1 percent in past three trading sessions following the RBI's announcement.

Bhushan Steel: Bhushan Steel, as on 31 March, 2016, owed total gross debt of Rs 42, 356 crore to a clutch of banks, primarily state-run lenders including State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB). The loan was declared NPA by banks in early 2016. As on 31 March, 2016, the company had a total net worth of just Rs 4,658 crore and total assets worth Rs 48,327 crore that includes its plants and real estate assets. The company posted a total income of Rs 13,778 crore and net loss of Rs 3,121 crore in fiscal 2017. Not surprisingly, the share price of the company crashed as much as 10 percent after RBI announced its decision to shortlist 12 big defaulters.

Bhushan Power and Steel: Bhushan Power & Steel is an unlisted firm whose account is in trouble for quite some time, says this report in Financial Express. The company owes banks around Rs 37,248.26 crore. This report in Economic Times says at least six meetings of joint lenders' forums have been called next week to finalise the resolution of loans aggregating nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore involving Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel, Alok Industries, Monnet Ispat, Jyoti Structures and Electrosteel Steels.

Alok Industries: The textile firm's total revenue fell from a high of Rs 24,620 crore in FY15 to Rs 8,988 crore in FY17. In the past two years it had recorded a total net loss of Rs 7,439 crore. Its gross debt stood at Rs 23,443 crore as of 31 March, 2017 while it had total assets of Rs 25,432 crore. Its net worth stood at Rs 1,703 crore. Shares of Alok Industries fell by 12.5 percent to Rs 2.67 after the RBI's announcement.

Monnet Ispat: Monnet Ispat's total income slumped from a high of Rs 3,307 crore in FY15 to Rs 1,275 crore in FY17. It logged a cumulative net loss of Rs 4,307 crore in the past three financial years. The company had a debt of over Rs 10,000 crore while its net worth turned negative to Rs 1,602 crore in FY17. Monnet's total assets stood at Rs 8,902 crore as of 31 March, 2017. In the past three trading sessions the company's shares were down by 10.7 percent to Rs 34.35.

Era Infra Engineering: The company has seen a gradual reduction in its total income. Its total income fell from a high of Rs 4,717 crore in FY13 to Rs 1,286 crore in FY17. It posted a combined net loss of Rs 3,706 crore in the past four financial years. Also, the firm's total gross debt stood at Rs 10,129 crore while its total assets were at Rs 8,377 crore. Like Lanco Infratech, this company also has a negative net worth of Rs 1,981 crore.

ABG Shipyard: ABG Shipyard's total revenue declined from a high of Rs 2,433 crore in FY12 to just Rs 38 crore in FY16. In three years up to FY16, the company logged in a total net loss of Rs 3,755 crore. It had a gross debt of Rs 8,742 crore while its total assets were less than its debt at Rs 5,926 crore. The company had a negative net worth of Rs 2,822 crore. Surprisingly, the company's share price remained flat in the past three trading sessions at Rs 10.50 even after RBI's NPA crackdown announcement.

Japyee Infratech: The company has seen its total revenue falling by 60 percent to Rs 1,164 crore in FY17 from Rs 2,897 crore in FY16. Its net loss widened from Rs 416 crore in FY16 to Rs 989 crore in FY17. The company had a total assets of Rs 14,871 crore while its gross debt was at Rs 8,606 crore. It had a net worth of Rs 5,921 crore as on 31 March, 2017. Jaypee's share price was marginally down after the RBI announcement as it fell by just 3.2 percent to Rs 11.55 on Friday.

Electrosteel Steel: The company has been consistently posting net losses in the past five financial years. Its combined net loss stood at Rs 3,457 crore between FY12 to FY17. However, its total revenue showed a tremendous rise from Rs 61 crore in FY12 to Rs 2,635 crore in FY17. According to the available data, its gross debt stood at Rs 7,505 crore while its total assets were lower than its debt at Rs 6,946 crore. The company had a negative net worth of Rs 568 crore. As per this Reuters report, a spokesman for Electrosteel said they had heard from their main lender that creditors wanted to initiate resolution of the unpaid loans through the National Company Law Tribunal. After the RBI's insolvency announcement, the company's shares declined by 14.5 percent to Rs 4.25 in three trading sessions.

Amtek Auto: The company's total revenue had a significant fall from a high of Rs 15,707 crore in FY14 to Rs 2,719 crore in FY17. Its net loss widened from Rs 1,699 crore in FY16 to Rs 3,253 crore in FY17. In the past three financial years, its total loss stood at Rs 5,673 crore. The company significantly reduced its debt from Rs 12,591 crore in FY16 to Rs 3,928 crore in FY17. Its total assets were at Rs 14,404 crore as on 31 March, 2017 while its net worth was at Rs 2,467 crore. Shares of Amtek Auto fell by 13 percent to Rs 29.30 on the bourses.

Jyoti Structures: Total revenue of Jyoti Structures nosedived from a high of Rs 3,666 crore in FY14 to Rs 916 crore in FY17. During the same period its net loss increased from Rs 9.37 crore to Rs 1,426 crore. Its total loss in past four financials years amounted to Rs 2,535 crore. The company had a gross debt of Rs 3,387 crore at the end of fiscal 2017, as against its total assets of Rs 1,885 crore. Interestingly, share price of Jyoti Structure showed a rise of 18.6 percent in the past three sessions to Rs 9.80.
Max Verstappen says he's looking forward to returning to Baku for next weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Baku in my opinion is quite a special street circuit," said the 19-year-old this week.

"Its really unique in terms of having quite wide sections, but also some of the tightest parts of track on the calendar," he explained.

"Sector 2 is tighter than parts of Monaco which has always been regarded as really narrow and challenging."

This year, Verstappen finished in fifth place in Monaco. He's hoping for a repeat of that sort of performance, rather than the engine failure that put him out in Canada.

Last year proved a frustrating race for the Dutch driver. He qualified in ninth place and clashed twice with Valtteri Bottas in the early part of the race.

He then suffered extreme tyre degradation and only came alive with a late switch to the medium compound. After all that drama, he ended up finishing the race just one place up on his grid position.

If nothing else, Verstappen is determined to enjoy the city itself this time around.

"When you drive up into the old town and past the castle it is fun and tricky but also amazing to watch as a spectator," he said

"That section of the track is my favourite. The straight is quick but seems to go on for a long time and gives you a chance to relax a bit."

Verstappen said that the facilities in Baku were excellent. However, he was wary that the nearby location of the team hotel would make them complacent about getting out and seeing the sights.

"The hotel is really nice and new, as well as being situated right next to the paddock. I didnt manage to get out and have a look around last year," he admitted.

"The old town is fun to drive so I think I should try and get up there one evening this year and see what else it has in store."



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Thomson Reuters and NSDL e-Governance, one of the pioneers of e-governance in the country, have agreed to offer an integrated Goods and Services Tax (GST) proposition for large and mid-sized corporations in India.

Based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on Friday, the duo claim that this solution will enable seamless calculation and filing of returns under the new tax regime. Additionally, Thomson Reuters and NSDL e-Gov have also agreed to collaborate to leverage Thomson Reuters Onesource Determination solution to provide value added services, including validation services, for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) segment.

The integrated proposition for large and mid-sized corporations would address two key areas for corporations under the GST regime -- efficient and accurate calculation of taxes across multiple platforms and the associated filings, returns and reconciliation mechanisms.

This offering will combine the Onesource Determination solution (which has been customized for GST) with NSDL e-Govs ASP compliance platform, which will be linked to NSDL e-Govs GSP solution.

Pradeep Lankapalli, Managing Director, Thomson Reuters South Asia said, Trusted technology provider will be critical to ensuring a smooth GST implementation. Thomson Reuters indirect tax platform integrated with the NSDL e-Govs solution provides an end-to-end offering combining the benefits of accurate determination of tax and seamless compliance into the GSTN.

Thomson Reuters offering will be an added service on NSDL e-Govs existing GST Suvidha Provider portal. NSDL e-Govs GSP platform is currently being updated as per the guidelines set by the GST. It is one among the 34 companies shortlisted by the Goods and Services Network (GSTN) for providing the GST interface in the first phase, which starts from December 2016.

Commenting on the collaboration, Gagan Rai, MD and CEO, NSDL e-Gov, said, this proposition will help tax payers by simplifying the tax return filing process.
Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor went live on Facebook to promote their upcoming adventure comedy Jagga Jasoos. The duo sat through the session, answering questions that their fans had. They filled everyone in on more details about the film, which has been creating a lot of buzz in the run up to its 14 July release. Kaif and Kapoor also discussed everything from Game of Thrones to nepotism.

Kapoor asked Kaif if she signed the film to use his stardom in her favour. Kaif quickly said that she signed the film because of the director Anurag Basu and the cinematic powerhouse he is. She said she will always be proud on being a part of Jagga Jasoos, no matter what the future holds.

Kaif will be playing a journalist in the film who helps a young detective (played by Ranbir) search for his father.

The actors also threw some light on the next song of the film called 'Jhumri Telaiya'. The song will have Kapoor and Kaif covering themselves with baskets as their clothes get burnt in a fire. From what the actors shared, it looks like the song will be another energetic, fun-filled number.

Apart from the film, the stars spoke about some pertinent issues, one of them being Bollywood's favourite subject right now  nepotism. Kapoor admitted that nepotism exists but both his father and grandfather worked extremely hard to be able to enjoy the kind of stardom they do, now. He added that no matter how easy it might be for a star kid to land a film, the choices that have to be made later can get the better of them. Therefore one has to use their wisdom and intelligence to be able to survive in Bollywood, no matter how easy they have it in the start.

Watch the video here:
The Kerala Chalachitra Academy has reached a milestone by successfully opening its 10th International Documentary and Short Film Festival Kerala (IDSFFK) in Thiruvananthapuram on 16 June 2017.

IDSFFK 2017: Kerala govt expresses support for banned films; vows to protect democratic dissent

It is the perfect opportunity for cinephiles to catch up on world cinema. Keeping aside the disappointment of the three Indian films (March March March, In the Shade of Fallen Chinar, The Unbearable Being of Lightness) being denied permission for screening, the IDSFFK still has a lot to offer.

Here is a list of must-watch films:

1984, When the Sun Didnt Rise/1984, Jin Din Suraj Ugya Nahi (India)

Director: Teenaa Kaur Pasricha

Teenaa Kaur captures on film, the harrowing experiences of women who survived the attack on the Sikh community in New Delhi, after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. By focusing on feminine experiences, this film has managed to give space to the most exploited and least heard voices, of the brave women who lost their husbands and sons in the tumult. The film partially funded by the Busan International Film Festivals Asian Network and Documentary Fund and Leipiz International Festival for Documentary and Animated Films Fellowship.

The Letters/Las Letras (Mexico)

Director: Pablo Chavarria

This abstract documentary film with almost no dialogues follows the life of a social activist and school teacher who was falsely convicted for the killing of four police officers in a Mexican province. His story is told through the many letters he sends his children and friends from prison. The makers of this film attempt to call out on the corrupt police officials who ruin very many lives and the careers of innocent Mexicans.

Velvet Revolution (Cameroon, India, Philippines, UK, Bangladesh, USA)

Director: Nupur Basu

This film, produced by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television, features six women journalists from five different countries. The common thread which binds them all is the challenges faced and risks they took reporting grave human rights violations in conflict areas. This film also brings into the open, gender-based discrimination faced by women journalists across the world. It was reviewed positively after screenings at many international venues including Amnesty International, International Secretariat, London, on 10 May 2017.

The Journey to Her/Avalilekkulla Dooram (India)

Director: Abhijit Pulparambath

Photographer-turned-filmmaker Abhijit Pulparambath presents a glimpse of the life as lived by the transgender community in Kerala. In this documentary, Surya and Harini, the well-known transgender activists, discuss the discrimination and the nature of problems faced in their lives caused by their gender identity.

3000 Nights (Palestine, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, United Arab Emirates)

Director: Mai Masri

The Palastenian documentary filmmaker Mai Misris 3000 Nights unfolds the tale of a female political prisoner in Israrels Ramla reformatory in the 1980s. The story follows a newly-wed woman who experiences motherhood in jail and fights to raise her child by herself in the prison. Like all her films, this drama focuses on the hopes and aspirations kept alive by all Palestinians to return to their imagined homeland. According to Mai Masri, this is what keeps them together amidst the life-threatening situations caused by political unrest. 3000 Nights was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015 and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.
The 10th edition of International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) was inaugurated at a solemn ceremony at Thiruvananthapuram on the evening of Friday, 16 June 2017. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan lighted a lamp to inaugurate the five-day-long festival organised by Kerala Chalachitra Academy, which will conclude on June 20.

The IDSFFK is being held amid a controversy following the decision of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting not to allow the screening of three films based on allegedly contentious themes, at the festival. The films are: The Unbearable Being of Lightness, by PN Ramachandra on the Rohith Vemula issue; In the Shade of Fallen Chinar, by NC Fazil and Shawn Sebastian on the Kashmir unrest; and March, March, March by Kathu Lukose on the JNU protests.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court has dismissed plea of directors of two films who approached the court to get the ban revoked. The court said the petitioners have no locus standi to file the case and only the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, which operates under Kerala Government  the organiser of the festival  could do so. Following this, the Kerala Government (which has announced support to the cause) also announced that it would implead in the case and would convey its opinion to the court.

Referring to the ban, the Kerala chief minister said the state government will continue to provide platforms to those who raise voices of dissent in a democratic way. We are committed to protect the secular and democratic ethos of India, Vijayan said. He asked filmmakers to make use of advances in technology to overcome restrictions on free speech. A ban is not end of the road for artistes. They can upload their works on platforms like YouTube and get viewers, Vijayan added. He also said the Kerala government was committed to ensure a level playing field to all groups in the film industry. The government has already appointed a three-member committee to study the problems of women in the film industry and their recommendations would be given due consideration and implemented, he said.

Other speakers at the inaugural function of the IDSFFK also echoed protests against the ban on films.

Kerala's minister of culture AK Balan, in his presidential address, said the Kerala government would implead in the case moved by the directors of banned films in Kerala High Court (to overturn the ban). The government has decided to join the case and convey its opinion, he said. Many of the acts of Government of India in the cultural realm point to fascist tendency which aims to stifle all opposing opinions, Balan further noted, adding: there is an undeclared emergency in the cultural arena. Meanwhile, a petition signed by 380 people  including filmmakers and eminent personalities from different fields  would be submitted to the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday, 17 June, to lift the ban.

Altogether 210 films, of which 77 are in the competition category, will be screened at the festival. The films  from across the globe  depict human predicaments in the contemporary world.

The speakers pointed out that short films and documentaries have become the preferred medium of the youth who want to express themselves on the situations in the world around them. Advances in technology have made it possible to shoot films on extremely low budgets. Now everyone can be a filmmaker, Balan said.

Kiran Karnik, who is well known for his contributions to the broadcasting and outsourcing industry said the purpose of short films is self expression and raising debates. Referring to the short films denied permission to be screened at Thiruvananthapuram, he said the ban will lead to more people seeing it and more discussions around it. He requested the Kerala government to give fellowships to short film makers every year and ensure that they are screened in theatres around the state at least once a week.

Sakhisona, directed by Prantik Basu, which won one of the three Tiger awards at the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam was screened as the opening movie at the festival. This was followed by Life Animated by Roger Ross Williams, which had been nominated for Academy Awards.

Some of the highlights at the festival are the films of Palestine filmmaker Mai Masri and Malayali director Vipin Vijay. Their films will be screened under the Filmmaker in Focus category.

Mai Masri made her entry into the field of film with her debut directorial, Under The Rubble. She is a Palestinian filmmaker who studied film at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University where she graduated with a BA degree. She founded Nour Productions in 1995 with her husband, filmmaker Jean Chamoun, and directed several documentaries that received over 60 international awards including the Trailblazer Award at Mipdoc Cannes (2011) and the Luchino Visconti Award in Italy (2004). Masri who has directed nine films till date, attained fame with her 3000 Nights.

The film 3000 Nights focuses on the life of a young newly-wed Palestinian bride, who was arrested and incarcerated in a top-security Israeli prison where she gives birth to a baby boy. Shot in a real prison in a cinema-verite style with handheld cameras, the film has a raw documentary edge that resonates with the reality it portrays. Premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, 3000 Nights was Jordans official entry for Oscars Best Foreign Film category that year. 33 Days, Beirut Diaries, Suspended Dreams, Children of Shatila, Frontiers of Dreams and Fears are her other movies.

The seven short films of Malayali filmmaker and scriptwriter Vipin Vijay have earned a place of their own. He received the Charles Wallace Arts Award for research at the British Film Institute, London, in 2003. Vipin is also the recipient of The Sanskriti Award (2007) for social and cultural achievement. His works are made under independent codes and defy any categorisation eluding all traditional genre definitions and merge experimental film, documentary, essay, fiction all into one. The Egotic World (2000) is his maiden cinematic venture. In addition to this, Palace of the Winds, Broken Glass, A Flowering, The Image Threads, Venomous Fold are some of his other films.
Hyderabad: Army chief Bipin Rawat on Saturday asked the armed forces to maintain high standards of integrity and not to lose the trust of the people of this country.

"Integrity is the foundation of our military profession. If doubted, we may lose the trust of our society. If the society doesn't trust its defence forces, it will be difficult for the nation to maintain its military and protect itself," he said.

The chief of army staff was addressing the Combined Graduation Parade at the Air Force academy at Dundigal on Saturday.

General Rawat reviewed the parade by 120 pilots and ground duty officers, including 25 women of the 199th batch at the Air Force academy.

He called upon the officers to be alert in view of growing external threats and law and order situation in certain states.

He advised them not to lose sight of the mission, which is defending the country.

"Technology has changed the way wars are fought. But globalisation has brought these technologies close not only to our adversaries but also to the non-state actors," he said.

General Rawat gave away awards to flying officers who excelled in training. Flying Officer K Koushik received the Presidents' plaque and also the chief of air staff sword of honour for standing first in overall merit in pilot course.

Flying officer Bhupindra Singh and Flying officer B Lasya Vadana were awarded the Presidents' plaque for being first in overall merit in navigation and ground duty branches respectively.

At the "Pipping" ceremony, the flight cadets were given their stripes and they were administered an oath by the commandant of the academy Air Marshall Amit Tiwari.

Another highlight of the parade was the breathtaking aerobatic display by Sarang, the helicopter aerobatic team of IAF, Suryakiran, Hawk aerobatic team, Chetak helicopter and PC 7 aircraft.
Hyderabad: Army chief General Bipin Rawat has said that security forces were doing a great job in bringing the Kashmir situation under control.

He said the Jammu and Kashmir situation should not be looked from the perspective of what was being projected and that the security forces were taking necessary action in the Valley.

General Rawat was in Hyderabad as the chief guest at the combined graduation parade, marking the completion of the pre-commissioning training of Indian Air Force flight cadets at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal.

"You should not look at the Jammu and Kashmir situation from the perspective of what is being projected. Let me tell you the security forces and all other agencies are doing a great job to bring the situation under control", he told reporters on the sidelines of the programme when asked about the prevailing unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Some parts of South Kashmir are indeed troublesome, but necessary actions are being taken to ensure that the situation there is fully brought under control. Therefore, I think there should not be any cause for worry for anyone", he said.

Asked if the situation is deteriorating in the Valley with each passing day, Rawat said, "Not really, we are there to make sure the situation is brought under control. Therefore, I think at the present juncture we have to continue with the task in the manner in which we are carrying on".

"The Indian armed forces belong to the people. We are the people's armed forces. Therefore, the Army is for the people. We have been called upon to do a particular task by the Government of India. Because they do feel that there is a requirement for the Army to be there. Therefore, we are there", he said.

The Army chief conferred the 'President's Commission' to 120 graduating trainees of various branches including 25 women trainees.
The Assam police recovered 14 heavy trucks in the state's Tinsukhia district this week, and claimed to have busted a racket whereby unscrupulous vehicle owners evade taxes by selling off their automobiles as scrap to avoid paying dues to the government.

This little-known trick was uncovered by a team of the Assam police, which hit upon 14 trucks hidden inside a godown.

"We received information that these trucks, which were used as dumpers in the coal fields owned by Coal India Limited, were being sold as scrap. We launched an operation on Thursday and found that the vehicles had not paid road tax for many years," Mugdhajyoti Mahanta, superintendent of police, Tinisukia district, told Firstpost.

"We have handed over the trucks to the transport department. They are authorised to levy taxes and penalties on the vehicles," he added.

Out of the 14 vehicles, eight were manufactured by Mercedes and six were Volvo dumpers.

Bhaskar Saikia, officer-in-charge of Makum police station, which conducted the raid, said that all vehicles belonged to a company named Amarnath Earth Mining Pvt Ltd, which had been working as a contractor in the coal fields. The company was reportedly winding up its Assam operations.

JK Bora, general manager of Coal India's North East chapter denied the company's involvement with the vehicles. "The vehicles do not belong to Coal India. The company which owned them is based out of Gurgaon. Their contract with Coal India Ltd was over."

A tax official based out of Guwahati narrated the reason behind sending the vehicles to the scrapyard, "When a vehicle for industrial purpose is transported to one state, its owner has to pay a number of taxes, including road taxes to that particular state government. After few years' operations in the state, when they wind up business, the tax liabilities of these vehicles are checked at check posts at the state border on their way out. But instead of paying this sum, many owners consider selling the equipment as scrap."

This revelation is being seen as a tip of the iceberg of a major road tax evasion scam, as there could be a many more such vehicles which are being sent to the scrapyard to evade taxes.

Pradip Bordoloi, enforcement inspector in the transport department, spoke to Firstpost about the seizure. "We have received documents regarding eight vehicles till now. We are yet to receive papers pertaining to the other six," he said.

The amount of unpaid road tax by the company may run into crores, officials said.

Sources in the transport department said that every seized vehicle would have had to pay approximately Rs 2 lakh as annual road tax to the transport department, which was not done. Apart from recovering unpaid road tax, the department is entitled to impose a hefty penalty on the owners for non-payment of road tax for years as per the rules.

"We are still going through the documents seized from the vehicles. We are sure that road tax against the vehicles has not been paid for many years now," the source said.

He also said that all of the seized documents regarding the vehicles have expired in validity, as the company did not renew it timely.
Puducherry: BJP in the union territory on Saturday charged the government with failing students in procuring seats for them in self-financing deemed universities for Post Graduate medical courses, under government quota.

BJP's local unit president V Saminathan told reporters in Pondicherry that every year that the government was proving its "inefficiency" in getting seats under the government quota for professional courses in keeping with the stipulation that 50 percent of the total seats should be earmarked for students under the quota.

Students in Puducherry faced difficulty this year and the intervention of Lt Governor Kiran Bedi in the admission issue has enabled the aspirants for PG courses to get the seats through a judicial remedy, he added.

He also scoffed at the initiative of the Congress government to amend the Union Territories Act 1963 to curtail the powers of the Lt Governor.

"When AINRC held reins of administration between 2011 and 2016, the then opposition Congress had asserted that only the Lt Governor was the authority in Union Territory and it (Congress) had also backed the then Lt Governor Virendra Kataria on the basis of its contention," he said.

Congress was however now contending that only the elected ministry was powerful and was seeking to amend the relevant legislation, he said, adding it was "politics of convenience."

The Puducherry Assembly had on Friday passed a resolution urging the Centre to bring amendments to the Government of Union Territories Act 1963 so that only the elected government in the Union Territory was vested with full powers on administrative matters so that it could look after the welfare of the people.
New Delhi: "I am a strict non-vegetarian and nobody told me what to eat or what not", Information and Broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Friday, stressing that food is a personal choice, amid a raging debate on beef ban in the country.

Without naming any channel, Naidu alleged that some of the news broadcasters are showing debates on the "non-existing beef ban". He said they are holding discussions on whether India is going to be converted into a vegetarian country.

"I am a strict non-vegetarian and nobody told me what to eat and what not to eat. There is so much misinformation. Food is a personal choice. Why is there a debate?" he asked while addressing 'Akashvani Annual Award Ceremony' in Delhi.

Referring to the Central Bureau of Investigation raids at homes and offices of NDTV promoter Prannoy Roy, the information and broadcasting minister said nobody can claim "immunity" just because he is a media person.

"What we want is that you just follow the rule", he said.

Naidu's comments come days after hundreds of journalists came together to protest against the CBI raids, saying the investigation against Roy in an alleged bank fraud was reminiscent of the attack on press freedom during the Emergency.

"The only time the media was gagged was during Emergency in 1975 when people were put into jails without any fault. What has happened now is nothing to do with freedom of speech. The government believes in total freedom of press and freedom of expression", Naidu said.

Referring to unrest in Kashmir and alleged anti-India slogans in educational institutions, Naidu said "certain forces" in India are engaged in anti-India propaganda in the garb of anti-government campaign which, he said, will not be allowed.

"Dissent is understandable" but disintegration is not "acceptable at all", Naidu said.

Meanwhile, speaking about the media scenario, particularly the news channels, Naidu said there is breaking news every now and then.

"What we want is not breaking news but constructive news. We don't want obstructive and destructive news. We want real news, news that is without views", he said.

Naidu said "information with confirmation" is power ammunition against social evils of the society.

He also pitched for encouraging regional languages and making children "more familiar" with their mother tongue rather than English.

However, Naidu asserted that he is "not against English" but feels that children are more comfortable in their mother tongue.
Chennai: Narcotic drugs worth Rs 71 crore were seized and 10 people arrested after a surprise check at at a manufacturing unit near in Chennai.

Acting on a tip-off that huge quantity of Methamphetamine, a narcotic drug was being manufactured at a facility in Red Hills in Chennai, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials undertook a surprise search at the unit.

During the search it came to light that the 10-member gang under the pretext of manufacturing detergent powder, was making "narcotic drugs", DRI said in a release on Saturday.

The gang including a Malaysian national, had installed an elaborate apparatus to process and "cook" Methamphetamine, in an isolated place inside the factory, it said.

The leader of the gang and nine other persons were arrested for the crime, the release said.

The seized drugs included 11 kg of Methamphetamine, 56 kg of Pseudoephedrine and 90 kg of heroin, together valued at about Rs. 71 crore, the release added.
Coimbatore, Chennai: Unidentified persons hurled a petrol bomb at the district CPM (Communist Party of India, Marxist) office in Coimbatore early Saturday, prompting condemnation from Opposition parties in the state.

Though nobody was injured in the incident, a car parked there was partially damaged, police said.

The CPM blamed 'hindutva' activists for the attack and claimed it was a "continuation" of the recent attempt to attack party general secretary Sitaram Yechury in Delhi.

CPM state secretary G Ramakrishnan strongly condemned the incident and said a four-wheeeler and a window suffered damage in the attack.

He said his party had actively worked towards ensuring communal harmony and unity in the past when communal violence broke out in Coimbatore.

"It is worrying that elements trying to disrupt communal harmony and unity in Coimbatore are on the rise of late," he said in a statement.

Ramakrishnan also recalled the recent attacks at the party's local offices in Kanyakumari district. He urged the state government to arrest those behind Saturday's incident.

The incident was a continuation of the attempt to manhandle Yechury recently by "intolerant activists," the party's Coimbatore District Secretary V Ramamurthy said.

"As the party was fighting against the communal forces and their deeds, the intolerant Hindutva activists, through such attacks, were trying to throttle the voice of CPI(M)," he told reporters.

DMK working president and Tamil Nadu Opposition Leader MK Stalin strongly condemned the attack on the Left party's office. He alleged "evil forces" were trying to resort to violence and affect law and order in the state and urged the state government to bring the culprits to the book.

"Opposing views should be countered by tolerance and opinions towards constructive politics," he said. CPI state secretary R Mutharasan and MDMK founder Vaiko also slammed the attack.
New Delhi: Attacking the BJP-led NDA government over the "deteriorating" situation in Kashmir, the Congress on Saturday demanded that the BJP tells the nation about the measures it has taken to ensure peace in the Valley.

The opposition party's latest attack on the BJP comes in the wake of the killing of six policemen and two civilians in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Friday.

Reiterating that the BJP has "failed miserably" the people of Jammu and Kashmir by its actions, the Congress insisted the Centre bring those stone-pelting youngsters misguided by militancy back into the mainstream.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, AICC spokesperson RPN Singh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having no time to sympathise with the policemen who sacrificed their lives for the nation in the terrorist attack at a time when he tweets about Myanmar plane crash and London attacks among others.

"Congress Party demands that BJP should tell the nation about five concrete steps that they have taken towards bringing peace and prosperity to improve the situation in Jammu and Kashmir," Singh said in a statement.

Singh also attacked the government for not holding any meeting to discuss the issue of security in Kashmir, alleging Modi, "part time" defence minister Arun Jaitley and home minister Rajnath Singh have no time to hold parleys to bring the situation under control.

"The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir  the head of the coalition government which is responsible for maintaining peace in the state  has held no such initiative. Why didn't these important meetings take place?" he asked.
Darjeeling: Police "picked up" a GJM MLA's son and raided the residence of another leader following an attempt by some party supporters to torch a PWD office in Bijanbari area here.

A raid at Binay Tamang's house was conducted on Friday night. Leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which is spearheading an agitation for a separate state, said Vikram Rai, son of GJM MLA Amar Rai, was "picked up" by the police. Vikram is the in-charge of the GJM's media cell.

Meanwhile, shops, hotels and other business establishments, barring pharmacies, remained closed on the third day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills.

The police are on high alert after Friday's violence and arson. Security forces are conducting route marches in various parts of the hills.

The indefinite bandh was called after the police on Thursday raided the premises of GJM chief Bimal Gurung. The GJM had called a shutdown of the offices of the state government and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, which its controls.

The Centre decided to put on hold the dispatch of additional paramilitary forces to Darjeeling since the state is yet to send a report on the ground situation.

The turmoil, which was set off by the state government's announcement on introduction of compulsory teaching of Bengali

language in schools, has begun impacting daily life in the hills with schools, markets and even bank ATMs shut.
Kokrajhar:The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) on Saturday supported the 'Gorkhaland' demand and blamed the West Bengal and the Union governments for the present crisis in Darjeeling hills.

"The outburst of tension in Darjeeling area is nothing but an unwarranted outcome of the autocratic rule of the Bengal government as well as the Centre's utter negligence to the problem," ABSU president Pramod Boro told reporters in Darjeeling.

He said the demand of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) was historically and constitutionally legitimate, correct and justified.

"As a member of the National Federation for New States (NFNS) we express our support and solidarity to the Gorkha people's movement for Gorkhaland," Boro said.

The ABSU leader, however, urged the GJM leadership to lead the movement through democratic, peaceful and non-violent means.

He also appealed to the Bengal administration to maintain peace in the area.

ABSU further urged the central government to immediately intervene in the matter and concede the demand of the Gorkhas for a separate Gorkhaland state so that permanent peace could prevail in the region.

"We demand immediate intervention of the Centre in this matter as it was a pre-poll commitment of the BJP and the party's central committee should also clarify its stand on the issue," he added.

Referring to ABSU's demand for a separate Bodoland state, Boro said if the central and the state governments failed to resolve their demand immediately, then they would be compelled to launch a series of agitation like indefinite blockades on the national highway and railway lines from September next.
Darjeeling: Singmari area in Darjeeling turned into a battleground on Saturday as GJM activists threw petrol bombs and stones at riot police, who in retaliation fired teargas shells and resorted to baton charge.

The incident, in which several people were injured, prompted the administration to deploy army troops in the area.

As the indefinite shutdown to demand a separate state entered its third day, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) activists took out a protest rally from the GJM headquarters in Singmari.

As prohibitory orders were in force in the area, the police told the protesters, who were carrying the tricolour and GJM flags, to return.

The slogan-shouting protesters did not relent and started throwing stones and bottles at the police. A vehicle was also set on fire.

The police fired teargas shells and baton-charged the agitators.

"We asked them to go back but they started throwing stones, bottles and petrol bombs. We had to resort to lathi charge," a senior police official said.

Some police personnel and GJM activists were injured in the clash, the police said.

A large contingent of police and paramilitary personnel was rushed to the spot under the command of the superintendent of police and other senior IPS officers.

Barring pharmacies, all others shops and hotels were closed in Darjeeling.

Reacting to Saturday's violence, tourism minister Gautam Deb said, "The government will not accept the GJM's hooliganism."

GJM leaders said Vikram Rai, son of GJM MLA Amar Rai, was 'picked up' by the police from Darjeeling.

Vikram is the in-charge of the GJM's media cell.

The police on Friday night raided the residence of senior GJM leader Binay Tamang, following which party activists tried to torch a PWD office in Bijanbari area in Darjeeling.
Darjeeling: An assistant commandant of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was killed when Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists clashed with security forces on Saturday.

The IRB second battalion assistant commandant Kiran Tamang was critically injured after being hit by a 'khukri' (sharp-edged weapon) during the clash, IRB sources said.

He was taken to the hospital where he died, they said.

GJM leader Binay Tamang claimed that two of his party workers were killed when the police opened fire at a procession.

ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma, however, denied the allegation and said the police did not open fire. "It was the GJM activists who opened fire," he said.

As the indefinite shutdown to demand a separate state entered its third day, GJM activists took out a protest rally from the GJM headquarters in Singmari.

As prohibitory orders were in force in the area, the police told the protesters, who were carrying the tricolour and GJM flags, to return.

The slogan-shouting protesters did not relent and started throwing stones and bottles at the police. A vehicle was also set on fire.

The police fired teargas shells and baton-charged the agitators.
Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP JC Diwakar Reddy, who was banned from flying by domestic airlines for creating a ruckus at Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday, has gone abroad for a vacation.

Diwakar Reddy's brother JC Prabhakar Reddy confirmed on Saturday that he along with his family members left the country on Friday night.

He, however, did not disclose the destination or the name of the international airline that Diwakar Reddy and his family members flew on.

Prabhakar Reddy, who is a member of Andhra Pradesh legislative Assembly and like his brother belongs to the TDP, claimed that the vacation was scheduled in advance and the foreign trip had nothing to do with the incident at Visakhapatnam airport or the ban by some domestic airlines.

Prabhakar Reddy said every year his brother goes abroad for vacation with his family members.

The Member of Parliament had shouted at IndiGo officials, tried to throw a printer on the floor and pushed a senior airline official after he was denied boarding pass for reporting late for his flight from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad.

The 73-year-old Lok Sabha member from Anantapur, however, later flew by the same flight as he had reportedly sought intervention of Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who was present at the airport.

Raju, who is also from TDP, denied helping the MP in boarding the flight. The minister also said there was no need for a probe as CCTV footage has a time stamp too.
Kota: Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot has said it is unfortunate that farmers are committing suicide in an agriculture-dominated country.

At a farmers' rally in Etawa town in Rajasthan's Kota district, he blamed the agricultural policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments at the Centre and in Rajasthan for the "worst" state of cultivators.

"Those who raise their voice are silenced with a gunshot," Pilot said, referring to the killing of five persons in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district during a farmers' agitation.

The condition at present is so bad that a farmer is committing suicide every 41 minutes, the Rajasthan Congress chief claimed.

The BJP government has given the slogan of "sabka saath, sabka vikas" but has done nothing for farmers and agricultural growth. Cultivators are ending their lives due to the bad state of the agriculture sector, Pilot said.

He alleged that the BJP government considers farmers just a vote bank.
Raipur: Farmers on Friday staged a 'chakka jam' (road blockade) in Raipur and in many parts of Chhattisgarh in support of their various demands, mainly Rs 2,100 minimum support price and Rs 300 bonus against per quintal of paddy.

The protest, which was held under the banner of Chhattisgarh Kisaan Mazdoor Mahasangh (CKMM), was by and large peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from any part of the state.

However, farmers were detained at a few places including Durg, Rajanandgaon and Rajim to avoid scuffle. They were later released unconditionally.

"As many as 31 various farmers and labourers organisations took part in the road blockade which was held in atleast 25 district headquarters for three hours (12 noon to 3 pm)," Sanket Thakur, convener member CKMM said.

In Raipur, the road blockade was held at Serikhedi on the outskirts of the city, where farmers from Raipur, Aranag, Nawagaon and Dharsinwa area took part, he said.

The ruling BJP government in Chhattisgarh had promised in its manifesto during 2013 assembly polls to provide Rs 2,100 MSP and Rs 300 bonus to farmers against procuring their each quintal of paddy but so far it has failed to do so, he said.

Besides, the demands also include to procure every single grain of paddy, waive crop loan, implement report of Swaminathan committee and others, he said.

Keeping in view the protest, police personnel were deployed in large number in the places where protest was proposed to be held across the state.

Meanwhile, the Congress has accused the BJP government of "ditching" farmers and sought to fulfil their demands.

"Both the Centre and the state government are silent over promises made to farmers in Chhattisgarh. Instead of paying heed to their demand the state government is trying to oppress them. Each and every demand of the farmers should be fulfilled," the Congress said in a statement.
Rohtak: More than 100 people were booked by the police on Friday for allegedly blocking national highway at various places during farmers protest in Haryana.

The farmers had gathered at various places in Haryana and blocked national highways as part of their nation-wide stir against the death of five cultivators in police firing in Madhya Pradesh and "failure" of the Centre to provide relief to the farming community.

Police said the Rohtak-Panipat national highway was blocked near the village of Gilhor Kalan, and 27 people had been booked in this connection, while 120 other people were also booked.

Rohtak-Jind highway was blocked by the protesters and 15 people had been booked in this connection, police added.

All the people had been booked under the National Highways Act and other relevant provisions of the law, police said.

Furthermore, police said that they managed to clear the highways after talking to the protesters.

Led by Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Gurnam Singh, farmers had also gathered near Mohra in Ambala in Haryana and blocked the highway there by parking their tractors.

Apart from Ambala, farmers also held protests at Rohtak, Sonepat, Hisar, Sirsa, Jind, Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri.

In view of the farmers' protest, the Haryana police had taken necessary steps to deal with the situation. Four companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had been deployed in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Sonepat and Jind.
Chennai: A Hindu outfit has moved the Madras High Court opposing a plea for the premature release of Al-Umma leader SA Basha, serving a life term in the 1998 Coimbatore serial terror bombing, which had killed 60 persons.

On the petition opposing the plea by Basha's daughter for the release of her father, a bench of justices Nooty Ramamohana Rao and SM Subramniam issued a notice to the counsel of terror convict Basha, seeking his reply in a week.

The petition opposing the plea for Basha's release was filed by advocate K Gopinath, also the general secretary of Hindu Munnetra Kazhagam.

Petitioner Gopinath argued that the habeas corpus plea made by Basha's daughter Mubeena was not maintainable and needed to be dismissed.

The advocate pointed out that 60 people were killed and over 300 injured in the serial bomb blasts, perpetrated by Basha in Coimbatore on 14 February, 1998.

The serial blasts had taken place ahead of BJP leader LK Advani's campaign meeting in Chennai.

The petitioner said a judicial panel headed by Justice PR Gopalakrishnan had probed the incidents and had confirmed that Al-Umma, a terrorist outfit, was responsible for the attacks and that the trial court had also found Basha to be the mastermind of the same.

Opposing the plea seeking a premature release of the Al-Umma founder, the petitioner said Basha was not a "freedom fighter" and there was no need to entertain the petition.

Basha was arrested in 1991 in connection with a murder case by Coimbatore city police and was remanded to judicial custody. The trial court awarded life imprisonment to him in the above case.

He was also arrested in connection with the 1998 serial bomb blasts cases. The sessions court had on 1 August, 2007, convicted him and sentenced him to a life imprisonment.

Basha's daughter, in her plea, has sought the benefit of Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for setting off the period of incarceration already served by her father in the 1991 murder case against the jail term served in the blast case.

She contended that the sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the previous conviction in which too her father had been given life term.

She also referred to a 1994 scheme of the Tamil Nadu government for the premature release of life convicts on humanitarian grounds after 20 years of actual imprisonment.

"My father is an aged prisoner and has completed 77 years of age," she submitted while seeking his release.
It's heartening to see that our political leaders, when not delaying aircraft or holding up traffic, have a list of priorities  things they believe will score them brownie points with the public.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath won this week's award for the height of nonsense, when he announced the Taj Mahal is not intrinsic to Indian culture and is more in the realm of gifts given to foreigners through the centuries.

This convoluted explanation of absolutely no relevance to governance is about as Hindutva as it can get; it's also another lumpy bead in the chain of "say something pointless or outrageous for publicity" rule, but the media will tamely give it by the barrel, a development that in recent times has reached ridiculous levels.

Who in Delhi will now want to lop off the Qutub Minar? And it isn't dangerous, because these leaders say something stupid to get applause but the media willingly accords them them space and airtime, and a non-issue gains traction. Perhaps all our ministers have "misadvisers" who keep coming up with nutty ideas and statements which they feel will appeal to the masses.

A close runner-up this week is Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who called for gaurakshaks to provide shelter and comfort to abandoned cows. He sees this as a more edifying option than lynching or beating up people who transport cows, dead or alive. And it is admittedly a more poignant thought than attacking a marble edifice. There is nothing wrong in being kind to animals, and if that is your thing, go for it. But in a country where 20 million children are orphans, several of them abandoned in every sense of the word, shouldn't they deserve more attention than the cows? That the girls among them are always at risk of being trafficked only adds to the horror.

And yet, one never comes across a story where anyone has stripped and beaten people engaged in human slavery and sexual exploitation. Child abandonment is a punishable offence under Section 317 of the Indian Penal Code, but it never becomes an issue. Neither the Nitish Kumar or Yogi Adityanath brand of leaders would consider this a subject for a speech to the vote bank, and more's the pity.

If Nitish had said he would simultaneously look into the matter of abandoned children and give this issue the same concern, it would have been laudable, especially considering Bihar has among the worst adoption statistics for deserted children.

Although NGOs dismiss the official figure of 12 million child labourers as merely a fragment of the actual 60 million kids who are being exploited in the country and denied basic rights, that's not really a vote grabbing issue. After all, small scale industries like fireworks manufacturing, carpet weaving, matchstick making, etc would implode if the children were not enslaved and made to work 15 hours a day for some gruel. But so long as our cows are comfortable, our consciences are squeaky clean.

Chew on this.
Lucknow: An illegal building owned by former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapati, who is currently in jail over gangrape charges, was demolished in the state capital on Saturday.

Many norms were flouted in the construction of the building, officials said.

The Allahabad High Court had earlier ordered the building's demolition but the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) dragged its feet out of fear of the once-powerful Minister. The LDA sprung into action after a recent rap by the court over the delay.

Three bulldozers of the LDA went to the multi-storeyed building at Saleh Nagar in Aashiana on Saturday around noon and brought it down. There was no protest from anyone in the locality over the demolition, an official told IANS.

Several armed police officers had accompanied the squad fearing that locals and Prajapati supporters might create a ruckus.

Prajapati was one of the most powerful ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav cabinet and is currently in jail over charges of a gangrape and intimidation of the survivor.

He is also being probed by the CBI over illegal mining charges.
New Delhi: Environment minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday that the government is committed to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030.

In a statement issued in New Delhi on the eve of "World Day to Combat Desertification", the minister said that India was focusing on sustainable land and resource management for livelihood generation at community level.

This, he said, would make local lands healthier and productive for providing a better homeland and a better future to its inhabitants.

According a ministry statement, Harsh Vardhan said that combating desertification and land degradation was one of the thrust areas of his ministry, and added that the Narendra Modi government "is committed to achieve land degradation neutrality by the year 2030".

He said that the Ahmedabad centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation, along with 19 partner institutes, had been monitoring desertification in the country, using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite data.

The minister also said that initiatives like the Soil Health Card Scheme had been launched by the government to help farmers improve productivity through judicious use of inputs.

According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the objective of land degradation neutrality is to maintain or even improve the amount of healthy and productive land resources over time and in line with national sustainable development priorities.
Srinagar:The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was on Saturday adjourned indefinitely without taking up the GST bill for discussion.

"During the meeting of the business advisory committee, it was unanimously decided that the proceedings of the Assembly be adjourned indefinitely and the GST bill be taken up only after the all-party panel (on GST) submits its report," Speaker Kavinder Gupta said.

A special session of the state legislature was summoned for discussing and passing the draft bill prepared by the government that would bring Jammu and Kashmir under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST) law.

The state government had earlier this week convened an all-party meeting to bring about a consensus on GST bill before taking it to the Assembly.

However, main opposition National Conference said it will oppose tooth and nail the bill in its present form.

The traders community of the state has also opposed extending the GST regime to Jammu and Kashmir.
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Saturday failed to pass the GST bill in a special one day session as the opposition MLAs accused the Mehbooba Mufti-led government of "blinding boys and girls by using pellet guns".

As soon as the assembly started to take up obituary references, Congress MLAs stood up on their seats demanding that the names of those killed in the unrest be included in the obituary references of the house.

The Congress MLAs said the PDP-BJP government was blinding boys and girls by using pellet guns and later distributing scooties and laptops among them.

As speaker Kulwinder Gupta tried to restore order in the house, National Conference MLA Devender Rana stood up and accused the speaker of destroying the credibility of the house by acting at the behest of New Delhi.

The NC and the Congress also protested outside the assembly against "innocent killings" in the Valley.

The protesting legislators carried placards saying "stop innocent killings", "stop state terrorism".

The government had convened the session to discuss the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation which needs a constitutional amendment by the legislature so that the new tax regime is adopted in the state.

Meanwhile, groups of traders, manufacturers and other businessmen staged a sit-in in the city's Lal Chowk area against the move.

Protesting traders, manufacturers and other businessmen later started a march towards the assembly to register their protest against the implementation of GST in the state.
New Delhi: The JNUSU on Friday registered a police complaint against some professors who allegedly heckled its members in Friday's academic council meeting at convention centre in JNU.

A police complaint registered by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union at Vasant Kunj North police station alleged that some professors manhandled and heckled some of their members.

Names of professors Atul Kumar Johri and Ashwani Kumar Mohapatra was also mentioned in the complaint.

However, Mohapatra, rejected the allegations as "baseless".

"It is unethical and illegal to video-record the AC meeting. The allegations of students are baseless. I tried to stop them from taking my pictures as they were taking it every time when I stood up to speak."

"The students were trying to obstruct the meeting. So we demanded the VC take disciplinary action against the students, or I will stay away from attending the meetings," he told PTI.

The 143rd academic council meeting was convened on Friday, after it was adjourned on 9 May, amid opposition from wide circles for holding the meeting during summer vacations.
Srinagar: Several armed militants on Saturday appeared at the funeral of Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Junaid Mattoo in south Kashmir's Kulgam district and offered a "gun salute" as tens of hundreds attended the funeral.

Mattoo was killed along with two of his associates in Arwani village of the district in a gunfight with the security forces on Friday.

He was buried in Khudwani village, where hundreds of mourners offered the slain LeT commander's funeral prayers.

Reports said before the burial of the commander four funeral prayers were offered by mourners, who came to the village from all areas around the village and even from other parts of south Kashmir.

The security forces avoided a face off with the people by allowing them to attend the funeral.

Mattoo, a notorious militant was LeT district commander and took part in a number of militant activities. He was involved in the killing of a police constable on Thursday in Kulgam's Bogund area and also in the killing of an assistant sub-inspector and a constable near a bus stand in Anantnag last year, police said.

Arms, ammunition, magazines and grenades were recovered from the site of the shootout on Friday.

When the security forces were cordoning off a house where the militants were holed up on Friday, locals started pelting stones at the security forces and clashed with them. Two locals were killed in firing.

In reprisal killings, LeT militants ambushed a police jeep and killed six policemen, including a Station House Officer, and disfigured their bodies on Friday evening.

Authorities have imposed restrictions in Srinagar and other sensitive places in the Valley on Saturday, while separatists have called for a protest shutdown against the killing of the LeT militants.
The Kashmir Valley saw a spate of violence on Friday as 14 people were killed in three separate incidents. The deceased include three militants, two civilians, eight policemen and one soldier.

Militants killed in Arwani area

The first incident took place in Arwani village located in south Kashmir's Kilgam district. The security forces  which included the army, the Kashmir police and the CRPF  had cornered Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants in a house in Malik Mohalla area. A fierce gunfight raged in which three militants were killed, including top LeT commander Junaid Matoo.

Matoo, 19, was among the 12 most wanted militants in the Kashmir Valley and was a new-age Kashmiri militant who joined the LeT instead of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

The bodies of the three militants were recovered by the forces. The other two militants were identified as Nasir Wani and Adil Mushtaq Mir. They also recovered arms, ammunition, magazines and grenades from the encounter site.

As they were cordoning off the area, youth gathered around the area and started pelting stones at the forces which led to clashes between the forces and the civilians. Clashes also erupted around the area in which the forces fired at the protesters.

Two civilians, 22-year-old Mohammad Ashraf Khar and 14-year-old Ahsan Dar, were killed in the firing.

As a result of the casualties, the separatists called for a protest shutdown and authorities imposed section 144 in south Kashmir.

Police party attacked in Achabal area

In what is believed to be a response to the Matoo's killing, terrorists attacked a police party in Achabal area of south Kashmir which is 20 km away from the site of the Arwani encounter. They first overpowered the policemen and then fatally shot them in their faces from close range. The incident took place when Feroz Ahmed, a 2010 batch sub-inspector, was on his way to Achabal police station after completing his duty in Anantnag.

The militants had laid an ambush on Anantnag-Achabal road near Kulgad village and fired at the police party. The police were not travelling in a bullet proof vehicle.

All the policemen, including Ahmed, died on the spot, senior police officials said. Army has been called out to undertake a combing operation in the area. The Hindu reports the number of the deceased policemen as eight.

Ahmed was quite popular in South Kashmir police division and had recently organised an iftar party. The other deceased officers include constables Sharik Ahmad and Tanveer Ahmad (Budgam district), Sheraz Ahmad (Achabal), Asif Ahmad and Sabzar Ahmed (Anantnag).

Soldier killed at the LoC

In a separate, unconnected incident, an Indian Army soldier was killed in firing by the Pakistan Army on the LoC in the state's Naushera sector. The firing took place on the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district.

Defence ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Manish Mehta said, "The Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked firing on Indian Army posts in Naushera sector around 5.15 am on Friday."

"The Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively," he said. "In the firing exchange Naik Bakhtawar Singh was grievously injured and succumbed to his injuries while being evacuated to the military hospital."

The incidents are unfortunately becoming more and more commonplace as skirmishes at the LoC are happening at an alarming frequency. Within the state itself too, it seems that the fear of death seems to have vanished among the people as is evidenced by the large number of protesters which show up every time militants are trapped by the police. And until major steps are taken to remedy the situation, it seems like the hilly territory will stay in a state of chaos.

With inputs from agencies
Kochi: Police on Saturday arrested Kerala Youth Congress workers who held a beef festival ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival in the city.

The festival took place near the Southern Naval Command's air terminal where Modi is expected to arrive and inaugurate Kerala's first metro line.

The Congress workers were arrested while they were cooking and serving beef.

Ever since the Centre launched new rules regarding cattle sale and slaughter, Kerala has witnessed numerous such protests. The state assembly also held a special session earlier in June to pass a resolution against it.
Bhopal: One more debt-ridden farmer allegedly committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh, taking the number of cultivator deaths in the state to 12.

The latest suicide was reported from Dhar district on Friday where a 40-year-old farmer, Jagdish Mori of Rampura village took the extreme step by consuming pesticide.

His family members claimed that Mori ended his life as he was disturbed because of mounting debts.

The victim had a bank loan on his farm land, which was registered in the name of his father, they claimed.

However, Dhar superintendent of police, Birendra Singh, said that he committed suicide because of a family dispute and the deceased has no land in his name.

He was a habitual drinker and on Friday had an altercation with his family members, the SP said adding the matter is under investigation.

Madhya Pradesh recently witnessed a big farmers' stir over loan waiver, farm produce prices and other demands. The death of five farmers in police firing in Mandsaur district on 6 June during the unrest had triggered a series of protests in various parts of the state.

Since 8 June, the state has witnessed a total of 12 farmer suicides. Earlier incidents were reported from Sehore, Hoshangabad, Raisen and Vidisha districts.
Khargone: A temple priest in Khargaone, Madhya Pradesh, was arrested by a team of officials led by Delhi-based Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) in connection with online trading of wild animal parts and preparing medicines from them.

The priest identified as Lokesh Jagirdar used to prepare drugs (traditional medicine) and talismans from animal parts by employing black magic methods and sold them globally through online modes, promising customers an increase in their vitality, a forest official said Saturday.

Jagirdar was arrested Friday and was produced in a local court which sent him to two days remand, assistant prosecution officer, Amrendra Kumar Tiwari said.

As per the preliminary probe, Jagirdar used to sell his products online in the US, Malaysia, Germany and Australia among others, Deputy Divisional forest officer, AK Solanki said.

The priest was arrested in a joint operation by WCCB, STF and forest officials, he said.

The team also seized a sizeable number of wildlife parts from his possession.

He was arrested under relevant sections of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the official added.
Srinagar: Under attack from the opposition for "shelving the promise of dialogue with the separatists", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday told the Assembly that there was "no other way but talks" for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

"Dialogue has always been part of our agenda and manifesto, whether it was in 2002 or today. Several wars have been fought but the issue has not been resolved. You cannot resolve issues with guns or armies.

"We have to unite to get this (resolving the issue) done. Our people are dying, life along the border is disturbed and poor people on both sides are dying," she said while taking part in a discussion on obituary references for notable leaders who passed away between the two sessions of the state Assembly.

The Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly met in Srinagar on Saturday for a special session on the implementation of GST in the state, but decided to adjourn the House indefinitely till an all-party panel, formed to look into the new tax regime, submitted its report.

Mehbooba said while India was surging ahead of its neighbouring countries due to democracy, the "strangulation of this very idea in Kashmir" had led to the deteriorating situation in the Valley over the years.

"It is democracy which has kept the nation alive and helped it move ahead of its neighbours. In our state, the main reason behind the bloodshed we are witnessing is that democracy was not allowed to take roots here. It was rejected and strangulated," she said.

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief said it was only in a democracy like India that people could put their divergent views out in the public domain.

"(Independent MLA) Engineer Rashid is talking big here and he can do it. We will not see this anywhere else. There is no tolerance for such things (in other countries)," she added.

Stressing on the need for dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, she said whatever happened in the past should not come in the way of efforts to resolve the issue "through talks".

"Those who used to talk about drowning the separatists in the Jhelum and killing all the militants when the then prime minister AB Vajpayee mooted a Ramzan ceasefire, are calling for a dialogue today. This means things are changing slowly," said the chief minister.

Responding to the allegation of "state terrorism" levelled by the opposition, the National Conference (NC) and the Congress, she said if it was true, 12-year-old kids would not be pelting stones near the encounter sites.

"Somebody was talking about state terrorism. There was a time when people used to run away from the encounter sites due to the fear of being used as human shields. Some people had even lost their lives in this manner (due to being used as human shields). That is state terrorism.

"If there was state terrorism today, then 12 and 14-year-olds would not pelt stones (at the security forces) at the encounter sites," Mehbooba said.

Highlighting the importance of dialogue in resolving issues, the chief minister, however, hinted at Pakistan not reciprocating the gestures of the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Former prime minister) Manmohan Singh wanted to visit his hometown in Pakistan but could not do so. Modi went to Pakistan, but then the Pathankot (terror attack) incident happened," she said.

Earlier, NC leader Mohammad Shafi Uri urged the government to stop the "state terrorism" and killing of innocents to pave a way for dialogue.

"I appeal to the central and state governments to open the doors for dialogue to put an end to the atmosphere of state terror as it cannot solve the issues. It only complicates them further," he said while initiating the proceedings on the obituary references in the Assembly.

Uri accused the Jammu and Kashmir government of "imposing state terrorism" and said words were not enough to condemn it.

He said the statements coming from the leaders of the central government indicated that they were trying to resolve the Kashmir issue through administrative measures, "which will have dangerous implications".

"I am surprised that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said a durable solution to the Kashmir problem would be found soon. How can he do that when the doors for dialogue have been closed. Look at the world history. Internal resistance movements have always been resolved by dialogue.

"Talks have been going on with the Nagas. They come from Burma (Myanmar), hold talks and go back. Democracy demands that the doors for dialogue should never be closed," he said.

Congress leader GM Saroori lashed out at the Centre and the state for the "incessant bloodletting" and deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The dance of death has entered the schools and colleges. Security forces personnel are getting killed. Pellet guns are being used on the students. You (the PDP-BJP government in the state) have no right to remain in power," he said.

Referring to the Centre's stand on triple talaq and beef ban, the Congress leader claimed that the PDP had "no dignity left" by continuing in the coalition government with the BJP.

"You have no dignity left by continuing in the government which is being run by the Bajrang Dal and RSS," he said.

The other leaders who spoke on the obituary references included Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, BJP leader Sat Sharma, CPI(M) MLA M Y Tarigami, Independent legislators Hakeem Mohammad Yasin and Sheikh Abdul Rashid.
New Delhi: The Congress on Friday said the Narendra Modi government's Smart Cities Mission has failed as the urban poor have been neglected under the scheme and almost 80 percent of the money is being utilised only for developing 2.7 percent of the dedicated area.

"Two years back, the government had started the Smart City Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme for urban development. They converted our (UPA's) JNNURM scheme to start AMRUT. This policy of theirs is anti urban-poor. It has nothing for the urban poor," said Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken.

"Under Smart Cities Mission, they have chosen 59 cities, in which Rs 1,31,000 crore of projects have been sanctioned. Out of this, Rs 1,05,000 crore projects, which is at least 80 percent, caters to only 2.7 percent of the whole area in those cities," he added.

Maken further said: "Even the cities have been chosen in an erroneous manner and it will cater to only the posh areas of the cities."

About the national capital, he said: "When they selected cities, they didn't choose North Delhi Municipal Corporation, East Delhi Municipal Corporation or South Delhi Municipal Corporation but areas under New Delhi Municipal Council, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu live. They have neglected those areas where the poor live."

Congress also said that the city-wise implementation status of Smart City Mission and AMRUT is not mentioned on the government's website.

"During UPA's time, under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), we built 12,39,000 houses in eight years, as against theirs (NDA's) 1,02,000 houses in three years," said Maken.
Kochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the first phase of Kochi Metro to the nation on Saturday.

Soon after his arrival at the Naval airport in Kochi from New Delhi, Modi drove to the Palarivattom station and took a ride from Palarivattom to Pathadippalam.

Kerala governor P Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu and 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan were among those who accompanied the prime minister in the train.

After cutting the ribbon at the Palarivattom station, Modi shook hands with the chief minister and Sreedharan before proceeding to board the metro train.

During the journey, Modi waved at the crowd as Sreedharan and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd managing director Elias George interacted with him.

Union urban development secretary Rajiv Gouba, Kerala chief secretary Nalini Netto and BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan also travelled with the prime minister.

After the train ride, the dignitaries left for the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at nearby Kaloor for the formal inaugural function.

Considered the fastest completed metro project in the country, Kochi Metro, the flagship transportation infrastructure project of Kerala, will start its regular operations from 19 June.

The estimated completed cost of the metro touched Rs 5,181.79 crore.

A long-cherished project of Keralites, the foundation of Kochi Metro was laid by then prime minister Manmohan Singh on 13 September 2012.

It will improve regional connectivity and reduce traffic congestion.
Marawi: Philippine troops pounded Islamist militants holding parts of southern Marawi city with air strikes and artillery on Saturday as more soldiers were deployed and the death toll rose to more than 300 after nearly a month of fighting.

Fires erupted and dark plumes of smoke rose from enclaves still occupied by the militants as the air force staged bombing runs to support ground troops struggling to dislodge the fighters from entrenched positions, AFP journalists at the scene said.

MG520 attack helicopters and FA50 fighter jets were used in the raids, while sustained bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard in the distance, indicating the intensity of the fighting.

Also on Saturday, 400 fresh troops were airlifted to Marawi from the central Philippines, ANC television said quoting military officials.

Television footage showed the soldiers bidding goodbye to their families before being flown to the conflict zone.

Hundreds of militants  supported by foreign fighters rampaged through Marawi, the largely Christian Philippines' most important Muslim city, on 23 May waving black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in the entire southern region of Mindanao to counter the attack, which he said was part of a plan by Islamic State to establish a base in the country.

Such a base could be crucial for Islamic State ambitions to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia, analysts say.

The military has said eight foreign fighters from Chechnya, Yemen, Malaysia and Indonesia were among the militants killed in the Marawi fighting.
President Pranab Mukherjee rejected mercy petitions in two more cases in the last week of May, bringing the total number of mercy pleas rejected by him to 30. This comes just weeks before Mukherjee's term as head of State ends.

The cases involved the 2012 rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Indore by three men, and the 2007 gangrape and murder of a techie in Pune by a taxi driver and his friend, The Times of India reported.

Babu alias Ketan, Jitendra alias Jitu and Devendra alias Sunny were found guilty in the 2012 Indore case, while Purushottam Dasharath Borate and Pradeep Yashvant Kokade were convicted in the 2007 Pune case.

These rejections come just months after the president in January commuted the death sentences of four convicts to life imprisonment, in the Bara massacre case. The convicts were Krishna Mochi, Nanhe Lal Mochi, Bir Kuer Paswan, and Dharmendra Singh alias Dharu Singh.

The official website of the president's secretariat says that there are no more mercy petitions pending before Mukherjee.

The 30 petitions rejected by Mukherjee include those of 2008 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, and those by Simon, Gnanaprakash, Madaiah and Bilavandran  associates of the notorious Indian brigand Veerappan.

The number of mercy petitions rejected by Mukherjee stand in sharp contrast to that of his recent predecessors. Pratibha Patil granted clemency to 34 convicts during her tenure while rejecting three pleas, including the assassins of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi  Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan.

APJ Abdul Kalam rejected one petition, left 14 pending and granted clemency in one case. He disposed of only two cases, rejecting the mercy petition of Dhananjoy Chatterjee, accused of raping and murdering a teenager.

The election for the next president will take place in July 2017.
Jaipur: Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot on Saturday condemned the killing of a man in Pratapgarh district allegedly by municipal employees for objecting to their clicking photographs of women defecating in the open.

Pilot said the incident was unfortunate and condemnable and demanded a high level inquiry in the matter and strict action against the responsible employees and officers.

He alleged that people are forced to construct toilets without releasing of funds for the purpose in the BJP-ruled state.

The Congress leader said the party had some time back exposed this with factual details.

55-year-old Zafar Khan was lynched by municipality employees in Pratapgarh on Friday when he tried to prevent them from taking photographs of women defecating in the open.
DUBAI Saudi border guards have opened fire on an Iranian fishing boat in the Gulf, killing a fisherman, Iran's Tasnim news agency said on Saturday, amid high tension between the two rival states."Two Iranian boats that were fishing in the waters of the Persian Gulf were pushed off their course by waves. There was shooting by Saudi border guards ... and one Iranian fisherman was killed," the semi-official agency quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying.

"We are pursuing this matter to determine if the Iranian boats had crossed the Saudi border or not, but the action of the Saudis does not comply with humanitarian and navigational principles," Majid Aqababai, director general of the ministry's border affairs, was quoted by Tasnim as saying.There was no immediate Saudi reaction. Iranian reports said the incident happened late on Friday.

Relations between the two countries are at their worst in years. Last week Riyadh, along with other Arab governments, severed ties with Qatar, citing its support of Iran as a reason.

Days later, suicide bombings and shootings in Tehran killed 17 people. Shi'ite Muslim Iran repeated accusations that Saudi Arabia funds Sunni Islamist militants, including Islamic State. Riyadh has denied involvement in the attacks.Iran and Saudi Arabia accuse each other of subverting regional security and support opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by Andrew Roche)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Lucknow: Massive security arrangements have been put in place in the Uttar Pradesh capital for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit beginning 20 June to participate in the third International Yoga Day celebrations.

Modi will lead a crowd of 50,000 to 55,000 in doing yoga on the International Yoga Day on 21 June at the Ramabai Ambedkar Ground in Lucknow.

Security has been beefed up following an alert by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of terror threats to the event.

Additional Director General (Lucknow zone) Abhay Kumar Prasad has been made in-charge of the Prime Minister's security during his stay in the state capital.

A total of 26 superintendents of police, 51 additional superintendents of police, 137 commanding officers, 224 inspectors, 992 sub-inspectors, 163 women sub-inspectors, 295 head constables, 3,700 constables, 480 women constables, 12 traffic inspectors, 157 sub-inspectors of the Traffic Department, 497 traffic constables, 10 central armed guard police and 25 companies of provincial armed constabulary (PAC) will be deployed for the Prime Minister's visit, an official said.

Two teams of ATS commandos would also be deployed for his security. The inner ring will remain the responsibility of the SPG.

A total of 400 CCTVs will be installed at the event venue along with drones to take care of the security.

The Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) and the command hospitals have been declared safe houses for the VVIP visit.

A 24-bedded disaster ward has been established at the King George Medical University (KGMU). The leave of all doctors has been cancelled for 20 and 21 June due to PM Modi's visit.

Modi will arrive in a special IAF plane at the Chowdhary Charan Singh airport in Amausi at around 3.50 pm on 20 June. He will then fly in a chopper to the new campus of the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) in Jankipuram and inaugurate it.

He will also spend some time at the new lab facilities there, an official said.

Modi would then drive to the Abdul Kalam Technical University and inaugurate the varsity's new building. He will dedicate to the nation a 400 KV Lucknow-Kanpur DC transmission line.

Modi will also hand over allotment letters of 20 houses under the prime minister's housing scheme to 20 beneficiaries.

He will attend a dinner hosted by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his Kalidas Marg residence and would retire for the night at Raj Bhawan.

After attending the Yoga Day celebrations the following day, he would leave for Delhi.
Srinagar: Authorities imposed restrictions in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley as the separatists have called for a protest shutdown on Saturday.

Srinagar District Magistrate Farooq Ahmad Lone said restrictions were imposed in the areas of Rainawari, Khanyar, Nowhatta, MR Gunj and Safa Kadal to maintain law and order.

Heavy contingents of police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were also deployed.

Train services between Baramulla and Banihal towns were suspended. Exams scheduled for Saturday were also postponed by Kashmir University.

Shops, public transport and educational institutions remained closed.

Top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, Junaid Mattoo and his associate were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Anantnag district.

Two civilian protesters, a 22-year old youth and a 14-year old boy, were killed in firing by the security forces where protesters tried to break the cordon around the gunfight site.

Over two dozen other protesters were injured in the protests.

The group of LeT militants had come in two vehicles to ambush the police party which also led to the killing of six policemen.
Simla: The BJP created history on Saturday, by winning maximum seats in a 34-member house of the Simla Municipal Corporation for the first time in three decades, but it still failed to get a simple majority of 18 members. Candidates supported by the BJP won 17 seats.

Arch-rival Congress, which ruled the civic body for 26 years till the last elections in May 2012, got 12 candidates elected.

Four independents and one CPM candidate were also elected.

Three independent candidates  Sharda Chauhan, Kusam Lata and Sanjay Parmar  announced their support to the Congress, taking the party's tally to 15, but still two short of BJP's 17 winners.

"We are going to take control of the Municipal Corporation with the support of one independent," a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader told IANS.

The fourth independent winner, Rakesh Kumar, is a BJP rebel and he's likely to extend support to the saffron party for getting a simple majority.

In 2012, the CPM won the posts of mayor and deputy mayor, who were elected directly unlike this time. It thus ruled the civic body with its three members in the 25-seat house  the majority of the councillors were from the BJP.
BEIRUT The Syrian army said it would suspend combat operations in the southern city of Deraa for 48 hours from Saturday, according to a statement carried by state news agency SANA.A war monitor said the level of violence had fallen three hours after the ceasefire was due to take effect, but rebels said the city was still being bombarded. The army general command said the ceasefire was due to take effect at 12 noon (0900 GMT) on Saturday and was being done to support "reconciliation efforts". The Syrian army and Iran-backed militia forces have escalated attacks against a rebel-held part of Deraa city in recent weeks, in a possible prelude to a large-scale campaign to wrest full control of the city.

But a rebel commander in Deraa told Reuters hostilities had not stopped. "We have not heard of any such talk and the regime is still attacking us with the same intensity," the commander said at 3:30 PM (1230 GMT).

The United States and Russia have been holding talks on creating a "de-escalation zone" in southwestern Syria which would include Deraa province, on the border with Jordan, and Quneitra, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Deraa city lies within an existing plan brokered by Iran, Russia and Turkey in the Kazakh capital, Astana, in May to create four de-escalation zones in Syria. Since May, violence levels have vastly reduced in some of those proposed de-escalation areas, but fighting has continued on major frontline areas including in Deraa city.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said there had been a decline in the pace of fighting and shelling in the city for the three hours since the ceasefire came into force. But the Britain-based monitor said some shells and air strikes had continued to hit parts of the city. "There are breaches and we are distrustful of the regime's intentions in abiding by the ceasefire," Major Issam al Rayes, spokesman for the Southern Front grouping of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels, told Reuters."The regimes forces have stopped their military operations after big losses in equipment and men since the start of their campaign over a month ago ... after the failure of repeated attempts to advance," Rayess said. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Beirut and Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; Editing by Stephen Powell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Howrah (West Bengal): Two local leaders of Trinamool Congress (TMC), who were also brothers, were shot dead separately in Howrah district, the police said on Saturday.

The gunmen killed Shahjahan near his house at Ghoraberia and his brother Sheikh Saleem at Mundeswari river ferry ghat almost at the same time on Friday.

Two persons including a woman were also injured when the assailants fired on Sheikh Saleem. They have been admitted to a hospital, police said.

Altogether 16 persons have been arrested in connection with the double murder since Friday and arms and ammunition were seized from their possession.

Senior TMC leaders Firhad Hakim, Mukul Roy and Sultan Ahmed visited the brothers' house on Saturday.
Saharanpur: Two persons have been booked under the updated Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act for allegedly slaughtering buffaloes in Uttar Pradesh's Deoband on Friday, the police said.

"Deoband police received a complaint last night that some people had slaughtered buffaloes following which they reached the spot and arrested Sannvar and Mustafa. Buffalo meat and instruments used for slaughtering were recovered from their possession," SSP (rural) Vidhya Sagar Mishra said.

A case under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act has been registered against the duo, he said.

According to a recent government order, the list of animals that cannot be bought or sold for slaughter through cattle markets includes cows, bulls, buffaloes, heifers, calves and camels.

The notification, passed on 23 May, requires owners to declare that cattle have not "been brought to market for sale for slaughter" and for market committees to verify that the buyer is an "agriculturist by seeing the relevant revenue document".
When 18-year-old Aranya Johar inaugurated the Lights! Population! Patriarchy! event (a celebration of Laadli's 12th anniversary) on 9 June 2017, everyone listened in rapt attention as she performed her powerful piece on gender.

Called Brown Girl's Guide to Gender, the spoken word performance has previously gone viral on YouTube and attracted the attention of media houses like the BBC, and even news outlets in Germany.

Before she got on stage at the Laadli event, I saw Aranya at the back of the room, sitting and chanting her poem like a mantra.Then, she took to the stage  her red lipstick and black painted nails making me wonder for a minute if that was a way of standing out from the crowd. The moment she stepped up to the microphone, however, I realised such aids were absolutely unnecessary  the youngest person in the room, Aranya already had all eyes on her.

She started off with her now iconic lines:

The first boy who held my hand,

told me boys don't want to hear about vaginas bleeding.

Younger me could smell the misogyny:

Vaginas were only meant to be fucked,

Breasts only meant to be sucked,

Mouths only meant to blow,

It's true my waist only meant to be compared to an hourglass

My voice only meant to quiver, "Uhh please... fast"

Yet I am silenced...

As she continued, I could see everyone  the audience, the distinguished panelists for the evening (which included famous screenplay writers, directors and personalities from the world of cinema) nodding along in agreement.

This must be the umpteenth performance Aranya is giving of her popular piece of poetry, Brown Girl's Guide to Gender, which first went up on the internet in March 2017. Since than, she has been lauded on national and international platforms (her poem got translated in German) and hailed as a feminist hero.

In a conversation with Firstpost after her performance, Aranya says she hadn't expected the enormity of it atall. After all, she had written the poem in under an hour. "But I listened to lots of Kendrick Lamar, J Cole before I wrote it," she says. "I am really inspired by how they rap about racial discrimination in such a powerful way. They talk about racial discrimination without actually blaming white people for their problems, which is very smart."

Aranya began writing Brown Girls Guide because she was "intrigued by the fact that women bonded over being harassed". "Like I would have these conversations with my friends about things like deadlines for coming home, and hemlines of clothes," she says. "I realised how these boundaries are an important part of defining feminism for us."

She often gesticulates wildly in the midst of her performance, and stops for dramatic pauses. "I love watching people react to those parts." she explains, when asked about the tactic. "The part where I moan, people tend to get so fidgety and avoid eye contact with me. Even though we know that women are objectified and sexualised to such an extent, the minute someone calls it out is the moment people get uncomfortable."

Aranya's tryst with slam poetry/spoken word began when she was 13: she lied about her age at the IT MIC event in Mumbai so that she could perform onstage. "(The event) was 18 and above only. I'd like to believe I fooled the organisers into thinking that I was old enough to perform over there," she recollects.

Since that first performance, she's found a lot of support within the slam poetry community in Mumbai.

Aranya says about the slam poetry culture in Mumbai: "All the performers are surprisingly very supportive. I mean there is competition, but the competition is really healthy. Because I was the youngest in many of these performances, all the other guys used to root for me. It's a great environment."

Coming back to what inspires her verses, Aranya says Philip Larkin is most definitely an influence. "I like that he didn't follow any rules in poetry. He had a very different, unique spin on things. (Even) if many poets would write about the same thing, his take would be completely different from the ordinary," she says.

And what of the feminist hero tag she's got, thanks to her powerful poetry? "Yes, I am a feminist," says Aranya. "But feminism is not the only thing I believe in. I want to talk about so much more in my poetry. I want to talk about mental health. I am really passionate about exploring the idea of mental health activism through poetry. "

So what does the future hold for the 18-year-old?

Aranya says there's lots of new poetry that she wants to release online, starting with a poem on what adults think about millennials. "I have also tried writing about love for the first time... love in a very contemporary context. This is because I have partnered up with an app," she explains.

Other than that, it's all the other things that peers her age are busy with  namely, starting college. Does she know what she'll be majouring in? "English Literature," says Aranya, "of course."
Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Saturday declined to comment on who is likely to be nominated as the next candidate for the Presidential election.

"We are discussing and considering various names among ourselves and all the NDA constituents," Shah said, keeping the party's cards close to his chest.

On the names  RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and agro-scientist MS Swaminathan  suggested by ally Shiv Sena, he assured all names would be considered and discussed before any final decision is taken.

"If you have any names in mind, please give it to me. We shall consider that too," he said jocularly, addressing a press conference in Mumbai.

Earlier, he gave a report card on the completion of three years of the NDA government led by Prime Minster Narendra Modi and its achievements in all sectors of the economy.

"Modiji is the most popular and most efficient prime minister of India since Independence. The BJP has achieved in just three years what could not be done in the past 50 years," Shah said.

Shah arrived in Mumbai on Friday, a much-anticipated three-day visit to Mumbai, the highlight of which will be a meeting with ally Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday morning.
Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Saturday said the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra would complete its full five-year in office.

Referring to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's recent comments that the BJP was prepared for mid-term polls, Shah attempted to clarify the situation which has irked the Sena.

"He did not mean thatWhat he intended is that if the situation warrants (a mid-term polls), then we are ready, we will contest and win the elections. However, I would like to inform you that we will complete the full five-year term here," Shah asserted.

Earlier, he gave a report card on the completion of three years of the NDA government led by Prime Minster Narendra Modi and its achievements in all sectors of the economy.

"Modiji is the most popular and efficient Prime Minister of India since Independence. The BJP has achieved in just three years what could not be done in the past 50 years," Shah said.

Shah arrived here on Friday, a much-anticipated three-day visit to Mumbai, the highlight of which will be a meeting with ally Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday morning.

At this meeting, he is expected to solicit and secure the Sena's support for the NDA candidate for President, which had in the past strayed on two occasions and supported UPA candidates, former President Pratibha Patil in 2007 and later the current President Pranab Mukherjee in 2012.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the BJP has submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court, stating that it won't implement the Swaminathan Committee report, which promises 50 percent profit to farmers.

Speaking at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s National Farmers' Conclave, the Chief Minister said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power promising to implement the report and now by denying it, "they're cheating farmers".

"No one knows about this. Every farmer should be told how they've been cheated. We want to take this affidavit to every farmers' house and this will be our first job," Kejriwal said.

He added that farmers were not asking for alms but only compensation for their work. "Everyone should take a vow that Swaminathan Committee report will be implemented. It's our responsibility to ensure that farmers get proper price for their produce."

The conclave, which began at 11 am on Saturday at the Constitution Club of India in Delhi, saw the participation of farmers' representatives from 20 states and top AAP leaders.

In the first half of the conclave, farmers' problems were discussed and in the second half, solutions were worked out.

Kejriwal said that the conclave came to the conclusion that cold storage markets should be set up for marketing and procurement of farm produce.

He also said that agro processing industries should be created near villages. "This will provide employment to youth in villages and they won't have to go to cities for jobs."

The Chief Minister said that a special session of Parliament should be convened for discussing the current farmers' crisis and added that it shouldn't be limited to a discussion only.

Senior party leaders Gopal Rai, Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas and others took part in the conclave.
Srinagar: The Opposition National Conference (NC) on Saturday condemned the attack on a police party in Achabal in which six police personnel including an officer were killed, saying it was an indication of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

Condemning the attack, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said, "I pay my humble tribute to them for their bravery, courage and sacrifice and stand in solidarity with their families. Their sacrifices must not go in vain".

A group of militants, believed to be from Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), ambushed a police party at Achabal in Anantnag district of South Kashmir on Friday, killing six policemen.

National Conference working president Omar Abdullah, in his message, said, "We all stand with the families of the slain policemen and our hearts go out to them. The brave sons of soil have offered the ultimate sacrifice for the state and their courage will be remembered for a long time to come".

They also expressed profound grief and sorrow over the civilian being killed in the Valley and extended their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, a party spokesman said.
Kochi: BJP Kerala unit president Kummanam Rajasekharan's ride with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of the Kochi Metro Saturday triggered a controversy, with a state minister alleging it was a "security breach."

In a Facebook post, Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran said the "security lapses" which occurred in the prime minister's official programme should be investigated.

He questioned the logic behind allowing Rajasekharan, who is not even a panchayat ward member, to travel with Modi.

Surendran said this happened when even local MLA PT Thomas was not allowed to share the stage with the prime minister for the inaugural function.

Rajasekharan was seen seated next to Governor P Sathasivam when Modi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu in their maiden ride.

Hitting back at Surendran, BJP state General Secretary K Surendran said it was the Prime Minister's Office which had included Rajasekharan in the journey.

"The PMO takes decision on matters like who will attend the prime minister's function and the state minister need not worry about his protection," he said.

The BJP leader said in a Facebook post that the Special Protection Group is there to provide security for the prime minister and the minister's intervention is not required.

Reacting to the issue, Rajasekharan said he was allowed to travel with the prime minister by the SPG and the state police.

"If Surendran had any objections, he should have taken up the matter with the chief minister as he was witness to everything," he said.
New Delhi: Posters appeared on Saturday outside the AAP office in New Delhi demanding the ouster of party leader Kumar Vishwas, terming him a "traitor" and BJP's "close friend".

Around two dozen posters were found on the wall outside the party office at 206, Rouse Avenue.

"BJP's close friend, traitor and not poet, one who attacks from behind, traitors like this should be thrown out of the party," the posters read.

The posters also thanked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Dilip Pandey for speaking the "truth" about Vishwas.

The posters with the AAP symbol and photos of senior party leaders, including Dilip Pandey and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, were later removed.
Mumbai: Union minister Ramdas Athawale, whose RPI-A is a constituent of the BJP-led NDA dispensation, told visiting BJP president Amit Shah on Friday that he would be happy if NCP chief Sharad Pawar becomes the next president, provided he joins the NDA first.

The social justice minister met Shah and shared his views on issues like the NDA's nominee for the upcoming presidential poll and the possibility of the mid-term elections in Maharashtra.

"I would be happy if NCP chief Sharad Pawar becomes the president, but he should join the NDA first," Athawale said in a statement. "I assured Shah that there is no chance of mid-term polls in Maharashtra. At this juncture, the Shiv Sena would not withdraw its support to the government. Many MLAs do not want snap polls," he stated.

Shah began his three-day Mumbai visit on Friday, during which he will also meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. Last month as well, Athawale had batted for Pawar as a nominee for the presidential polls.

However, Pawar, a veteran politician from Maharashtra, had said that he would not be contesting the polls. Earlier, Pawar's name was being discussed by the Opposition camp for the top constitutional post.

The speculation of early polls in Maharashtra resurfaced after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' statement on Wednesday that the BJP is ready to face mid-term elections.
Moscow: Russia said on Saturday that airstrikes carried out in June had killed about 180 Islamic State jihadists in Syria, including two field commanders.

"As a result of 6 June and 8 June aerial strikes on targets belonging to IS (Islamic State) fighters, IS field commanders Abu Omar al-Belgiki and Abu Yasin al-Masri were killed" in Deir Ezzor, a province held mostly by Islamic State forces, the defence ministry said in a statement carried by the Interfax news agency.

The ministry said that around 180 fighters were killed, and that 16 military vehicles were destroyed along with weapons stores.

It said the strikes took place after Russian forces using drones spotted preparations by Islamic State fighters to break through the defences of a garrison held by Syrian government forces in the city of Deir Ezzor.

The defence ministry did not make any mention of the possible death of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, after saying on Friday that it was seeking to verify whether he had been killed in a night raid in Syria in May.
Pan-Arab satellite network Al Jazeera said on Saturday the Twitter account for its main Arabic language channel had been suspended and that it was working to get it back.

"The account of al Jazeera on twitter @ajarabic is currently suspended due to what seems to be an organised campaign and we are doing the necessary work to get the service back," Al Jazeera said on another of its Twitter accounts for its breaking news service:

The @AJArabic Twitter account has been suspended. The network is working to address & restore its service. More soon https://t.co/9o3ihGGVjD pic.twitter.com/JFPK0VQx61  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 17, 2017

Al Jazeera is the flagship broadcaster for Qatar, which is in a stand-off with fellow Arab states which accuse it of ties to terrorism, in a row that is endangering stability in the region.

The network said on 8 June it was combating a large-scale cyber attack but that all its entities remained in operation.

The Twitter page for Al Jazeera Arabic shows that the account has been suspended.
By Alistair Smout and Kate Holton

| LONDON

LONDON A fire that engulfed a London tower block this week killed at least 58 people, police said on Saturday, as Prime Minister Theresa May admitted that the response from the authorities had not been good enough. With anger mounting over the government's handling of the blaze, May met residents from the Grenfell Tower and pledged to support the victims as protesters gathered to demonstrate in the streets around her residence for a second day. Weakened by a botched election gamble last week, May has been criticised for her muted response to the fire and had to be rushed away from a meeting with residents on Friday under heavy police guard as protesters shouted "Shame on you"."The response of the emergency services, National Health Service, and the community has been heroic," May said in a statement. "But, frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough."London Police Commander Stuart Cundy said the toll of 58 represented those who were missing and presumed dead from a fire which ripped through the 24-storey social housing block as residents slept in the early hours of Wednesday morning. "Sadly at this time, there are 58 people who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing and therefore sadly I have to assume that they are dead," he said. If the number is confirmed, it would make the Grenfell Tower blaze the deadliest in London since World War Two. The toll had previously been put at 30.While the blaze has prompted an outpouring of generosity, with many people donating provisions and clothes, it has also unleashed rage at the authorities as the charred tower was cast as a deadly symbol of a deeply divided society.On Friday angry protesters chanting "We want justice" stormed their way into the Kensington and Chelsea town hall to try to confront the leaders of the local council. Residents of the destroyed tower said May was far too slow to visit the stricken community, that the building had been unsafe and that officials have failed to give enough information and support to those who have lost relatives and their homes.

ANGER IN LONDON

On Saturday May spent over two hours meeting residents from the north Kensington area at her Downing Street residence and chaired a meeting on the government's response to the fire.She has promised to set up a public inquiry and pledged 5 million pounds ($6.39 million) of support, housing guarantees and help with access to bank accounts and cash. Those who lost their homes will be rehoused within three weeks, she said.One of her closest allies, Damian Green, defended May on Saturday, adding that a team would go to the area to answer questions from residents. "The Prime Minister is distraught about what has happened," said Green, who was appointed May's deputy in the wake of the general election. "We're all desperately sad, we're all angry, but of course none of us as angry as those who were directly affected. I absolutely get why they're angry," Green said.

May was asked repeatedly in an interview on Friday whether she had misread the public mood. While failing to answer, she said the focus was now on providing support to the victims.On Saturday more than 1,000 people gathered near May's Downing Street office to protest against her plan to form a government with the support of a socially conservative Northern Irish party. One banner showed a drawing of May with the words "Shame" and "Disgrace". "NOT A VIABLE PM"

After a turbulent three months which has seen Britain hit by three deadly Islamist militant attacks and now the tower blaze, Queen Elizabeth said the mood was deeply sombre but that the British people were resolute in the face of adversity.

Having visited residents of the tower on Friday with her grandson William, the queen also led a minute's silence in Buckingham Palace on Saturday. "It is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood," Elizabeth said in a message on her official birthday. "The country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies."Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity," Elizabeth said. "United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss."Such a direct message from the monarch is rare and indicates the extent of the turmoil in Britain. Opponents said May's handling of the fire had thrust her position further into doubt by showing a failure to feel the public mood and act decisively.Her failure to win a majority in an election she did not need to call had already sparked a tumultuous week and pitched Britain into its deepest political crisis since the Brexit referendum a year ago. Britain is now likely to go into arduous talks on Monday about its exit from the European Union with a weakened leader who is dependent on Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to get legislation passed. Matthew Parris, a columnist and former Conservative lawmaker, said May's response to the fire had shown a lack of judgment which made her unsuitable to be prime minister."Wallowing in the wash of a general election that stripped our prime minister of her authority on the very eve of EU negotiations, neither common sense nor the evidence suggest she can re-establish public confidence," Parris wrote in the Times. "This prime minister is not viable." (Additional reporting by Emily Roe; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Stephen Powell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Nicosia: With its flag lowered one final time, Australia has ended 53 years of helping to keep the peace on the ethnically divided Cyprus by pulling out its last three police officers serving with a United Nations peacekeeping force.

Some 1,600 Australian police officers have served in Cyprus since 1964 following the outbreak of violence between the island's Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Three Australians were killed in the line of duty in what was the country's first policing contribution to a peacekeeping mission.

A flag-lowering ceremony Friday brought together many officers who had served in Cyprus over the decades.

A 2015 rethink of Australia's overseas peacekeeping commitments called for the redeployment of personnel on missions closer to the country and to help combat the terrorism threat.
Ottawa: Canada's electronic eavesdropping agency warned on Friday that hackers and foreign states may try to sway its elections in 2019, after so-called hacktivists tried but failed to influence the 2015 ballot that brought Justin Trudeau's Liberals to power.

In a report, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) said hacktivists and cyber-criminals had leaked sensitive government documents, and attempted to smear candidates and spread disinformation and propaganda ahead of the 2015 vote.

These "low sophistication" attacks "did not impact the outcome of the election," the CSE concluded.

But it added that hacktivists are likely to try again when Canadians return to the polls in 2019.

"We judge that, almost certainly, multiple hacktivist groups will deploy cyber-capabilities in an attempt to influence the democratic process in 2019," the CSE said in the report, adding that these groups will adapt and increasingly adopt "more sophisticated" approaches.

The agency pointed to hacker group Anonymous, for example, leaking secret documents in 2015 on Canadian diplomatic missions and the size of Canada's spy network overseas to try to embarrass the incumbent Tories during the election campaign.

Nation-states have so far not targeted Canada's 150-year-old democracy, the CSE said.

But they may try in the next election, the agency said, depending on "how Canada's nation-state adversaries perceive Canada's foreign and domestic policies, and on the spectrum of policies espoused by Canadian federal candidates in 2019."

The report comes as US officials probe alleged Russian interference in last year's US presidential elections and after French President Emmanuel Macron's election campaign was subject to cyber-attacks.

Canadian officials avoided naming Russia or other antagonists.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said interference in elections has been "energetically discussed" at meetings of NATO and the G7 group of leading industrial powers.

"We are a member of the G7, we are a NATO country, we are an influential voice and a leader on the world stage and so therefore there is a significant interest in influencing the direction of Canadian elections," Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould told AFP.

"Regardless of who is behind these cyber-threats, it's important that we can protect ourselves," she said.

According to the CSE, 13 percent of countries holding national elections this year have had their democratic processes targeted, and the number and sophistication of the attacks are predicted to rise.

The agency analyzed dozens of incidents over the past decade that victimized almost 40 nations. It concluded that in almost 80 percent of the cases, state actors were behind attempts to influence the democratic process.

The rest mostly involved cyber-criminals stealing voter information.

The CSE report said political parties, politicians and the media in Canada faced the greatest vulnerability to cyber-threats and "influence operations."

The Canadian election system itself still relies on paper ballots.

The report noted that provincial and municipal elections could also be targeted.

"In particular, we know that certain nation-states have core interests that can be affected by Canadian policies related to natural resources, which are often made at the provincial/territorial level," said the report.

"Hacktivists may begin to view sub-national elections... as worthy targets."
By Adriana Barrera and Elida Moreno

| PANAMA CITY

PANAMA CITY China and Panama sped up efforts in recent weeks to establish diplomatic ties, urged on by business leaders in both nations who for years advocated cutting the relationship with Taiwan in favour of Beijing, officials said.Panama's embrace of China, which was months in the making and announced by President Juan Carlos Varela on Monday, was backed by Panama's business community, which has set its sights on attracting more investment from China."Panama is a focal point in the Americas that could attract that investment capacity," Jorge Quijano, head of the Panama Canal authority, told reporters on Thursday. "By not having diplomatic relations with them (China), somehow that didn't provide a platform for those investments in our country."About three percent of global trade goes through the canal and China is its second most important customer, after the United States. About one in every five ships that uses the transoceanic waterway is going to or coming from China.China stepped up its economic involvement in Central America in recent years in a bid to isolate Taiwan. Beijing found a partner in Varela, who comes from an entrepreneurial background in a nation where business and politics are closely entwined.Initial approaches started soon after Varela took office in July 2014, but a push for full ties was not seriously undertaken until a tacit diplomatic truce between Beijing and Taipei in place since 2008 fractured last year, two Panamanian officials close to the process said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Talks began in earnest a few months back and picked up pace four weeks ago as Panama sent a diplomatic team to China to "dot the i's and cross the t's," said one of the officials.

In the final stretch, businessmen from both countries pressed for a deal, said one of the officials and a senior local businessman, who also spoke on condition of anonymity."China was looking for partners in Panama and abroad to tell Panama that they were ready to move," said the official. "The Chinese operate a lot through their companies, it's people who do a lot of corporate diplomacy."China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday Panama had opted to do the "correct thing" by following the lead of other nations, describing it as "a historical inevitability."

"Recently, Panama's request was more and more urgent, and their desire was also more and more intense," he said, rejecting any suggestion there was a trade-off for the deal.Panama is one of Taiwan's oldest allies, but its government informed the island of the decision to cut ties only about two hours before it was announced, one of the officials said.Panama took pains to keep the conversations under wraps, with only about half a dozen people directly aware."It was something that the president and foreign minister started managing directly," said one of the officials, adding that Varela kept quiet even when Taiwanese officials, suspecting something was up, approached his government.

The offices of Varela, who a decade ago advocated for establishing diplomatic ties with China, and foreign minister Isabel de Saint Malo did not respond to a request for comment.Taiwan expressed sadness and anger over the sudden move, and its embassy in Panama on Wednesday lowered and folded the Taiwanese flag at a private rooftop ceremony.Taipei said it would evacuate its official staff and end cooperation and assistance, vowing not to compete with China in what it described as a "diplomatic money game".Panama and China said there were no investment commitments tied to the move, though they noted business should benefit.Announcing the decision, Varela said he had told his cabinet to start working on agreements on trade, tourism, agriculture, education and "all those areas that benefit our peoples." (Additional reporting by Enrique Andres Pretel in San Jose and Michael Martina in Beijing; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Dave Graham and Andrew Hay)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
San Diego: The Dalai Lama says modern education is falling short on its responsibility to teach compassion.

The 81-year-old Buddhist monk spoke on Friday to a crowd of about 25,000 at the University of California, San Diego, one day before he is scheduled to give a commencement speech to graduates.

Some Chinese student organizations objected to his visit. Chinese nationals make up roughly 12 percent of the student body.

UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K Khosla says he invited the Dalai Lama to speak because it was important graduates hear his message.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner says educational institutions should focus more on teaching the value of compassion, tolerance and forgiveness.

China considers the spiritual leader a separatist seeking Tibetan independence. The Dalai Lama says he seeks protection of Tibetan culture.
Washington: Two top lawmakers have accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism and urged the Trump administration to cut military aid to the country, saying the US should make it more difficult for Islamabad to get its hands on American weapons.

During a Congressional hearing this week, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Ted Poe, alleged that Pakistan is engaged in terrorism and asserted that the US needs to cut its military assistance to it.

"We need to go on the record here, on this part of our government, to say that we're not going to be providing weapons to countries like Pakistan that we're afraid will shoot down our own people and afraid we know they're engaged in terrorism", Rohrabacher said during a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade hearing on foreign military sales.

"We know what they've done now. They still hold Dr Afridi (who helped locate Osama bin Laden) in a dungeon", he said.

"We should be facilitating our support and our weapons systems to countries like Egypt that are fighting this threat to Western civilisation, to all of civilisation. And we should make it more difficult not less difficult for countries like Pakistan to get their hands on American weapons", Rohrabacher asserted.

Congressman Ted Poe, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade, said that the US is having the issue with Pakistan whether "they're loyal or playing us for years on the issue of aid" to Pakistan and sales to Pakistan.

"We were concerned about the Pakistanis scrambling F-16s that we made and sold to the Pakistanis so that they wouldn't shoot down Americans who were doing the job of taking out this terrorist. I personally think Pakistan plays the United States because they turn to China if we don't help them", Poe said.

"I understand all that. They have nuclear weapons and we want to have a relationship with them so that they don't look to China. I get all that. But are we doing anything different on sales to Pakistan to make sure those sales of whatever it is aren't used against us directly or used against us indirectly because of the military helping the Taliban in Afghanistan where were have our troops and those weapons could be used against the United States?", he asked.

"Are we doing anything different to make sure that doesn't happen or are we still using the same formula", Poe questioned.

Acting Assistant Secretary of State Political-Military Affairs Tina Kaidanow, told lawmakers that with Pakistan the United States has a robust end use monitoring programme, to ensure that the items that it provides to them are used appropriately and within the boundaries of what the US has asked them to accomplish.

"We regard Pakistan as an important partner on counter-terrorism issues. They will be essential in bringing the Afghan Taliban to the table for peace talks. There are a number of things where we need their cooperation and their assistance", Kaidanow said.

"We do want to help them on the counter-terrorism front. But on the other hand, again, we have very big concerns that we continuously front with them on support for Haqqani, on support for other things. This has been made clear to the Pakistani government at the highest levels", the senior State Department official said.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has lauded Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau's decision to increase the defence budget by 70 percent over the next decade and hailed the strong alliance between the two nations.

"President Donald J Trump spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to address various aspects of the strong bilateral relationship between their two countries," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between the two leaders.

"President Trump commended prime minister Trudeau for Canada's recent announcement that it will increase military spending by 70 percent over the next decade," the White House said.

During the phone call, Trump underscored the solid alliance that the US enjoys with Canada, it said.

Canada had announced plans to increase its defence budget early this month, by nearly three quarters over the next

decade, after coming under pressure from the US to boost military spending.

Trump also spoke with Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to discuss bilateral and regional issues.

"The two leaders affirmed the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Peru. They also discussed the terrible situation in Venezuela," the White House said.
Miami: President Donald Trump on Friday ordered tighter restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba and a clampdown on US business dealings with the Caribbean islands military, saying he was canceling former president Barack Obama's "terrible and misguided deal" with Havana.

Laying out his new Cuba policy in a speech in Miami, Trump signed a presidential directive rolling back parts of Obamas historic opening to the Communist-ruled country after a 2014 diplomatic breakthrough between the two former Cold War foes.

But Trump left in place many of Obamas changes, including the reopened US embassy in Havana, even as he sought to show he was making good on a campaign promise to take a tougher line against Cuba, especially over its human rights record.

"We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer," Trump told a cheering crowd in Miamis Cuban-American enclave of Little Havana, including Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who helped forge the new restrictions on Cuba.

"Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump declared as he made a full-throated assault on the government of Cuban president Raul Castro.

Cuba later denounced the move as a setback in US-Cuban relations, saying Trump had been badly advised and was resorting to "coercive methods of the past" that were doomed to fail. The government remained willing to engage in "respectful dialogue," it said in a statement.

Trumps revised approach calls for stricter enforcement of a longtime ban on Americans going to Cuba as tourists, and seeks to prevent US dollars from being used to fund what the Trump administration sees as a repressive military-dominated government.

But, facing pressure from US businesses and even some fellow Republicans to avoid turning back the clock completely in relations with Cuba, the president chose to leave intact some of his Democratic predecessor's steps toward normalisation.

The new policy bans most US business transactions with the Armed Forces Business Enterprises Group, a Cuban conglomerate involved in all sectors of the economy.

But it makes some exceptions, including for air and sea travel, according to US officials. This will essentially shield US airlines and cruise lines serving the island.

"We do not want US dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba," Trump said, pledging that US sanctions would not be lifted until Cuba frees political prisoners and holds free elections.

While the changes are far-reaching, they appear to be less sweeping than many US pro-engagement advocates had feared.

Trump based his partial reversal of Obamas Cuba measures largely on human rights grounds.

His critics, however, have questioned why his administration is now singling out Cuba for human rights abuses but downplaying the issue in other parts of the world, including Saudi Arabia, a close US ally Trump visited last month where political parties and protests are banned.

Trump, however, stopped short of breaking diplomatic relations restored in 2015 after more than five decades of hostilities. He also will not cut off recently resumed direct US-Cuba commercial flights or cruise-ship travel, though his more restrictive policy seems certain to dampen new economic ties overall.

The administration, according to one White House official, has no intention of disrupting existing business ventures such as one struck under Obama by Starwood Hotels Inc, which is owned by Marriott International Inc, to manage a historic Havana hotel.

Nor does Trump plan to reinstate limits that Obama lifted on the amount of the islands coveted rum and cigars that Americans can bring home for personal use.

Still, it will be the latest attempt by Trump to overturn parts of Obama's presidential legacy. He has already pulled the United States out of a major international climate treaty and is trying to scrap his predecessor's landmark healthcare program.

When Obama announced the detente in 2014, he said that decades of US efforts to achieve change in Cuba by isolating the island had failed and it was time to try a new approach.

Critics of the rapprochement said Obama was giving too much away without extracting concessions from the Cuban government. Castro's government has clearly stated it does not intend to change its one-party political system.

Trump aides say Obamas efforts amounted to "appeasement" and have done nothing to advance political freedoms in Cuba, while benefiting the Cuban government financially.

"It's hard to think of a policy that makes less sense than the prior administration's terrible and misguided deal with the Castro regime," Trump said in Miami.

International human rights groups say, however, that renewed US efforts to isolate the island could worsen the situation by empowering Cuban hard-liners.

The Cuban government, which has made clear it will not be pressured into reforms, had no immediate comment.

But ordinary Cubans said they were crestfallen to be returning to an era of frostier relations with the United States with potential economic fallout for them.

"It's like we are returning to the Cold War," said Cuban designer Idania del Rio, who joined a group of friends in a hotel in Old Havana to watch the speech in English on CNN.

Trump announced his new approach at the Manuel Artime Theater in the heart of the United States' largest Cuban-American and Cuban exile community, whose support aides believe helped him win Florida in the election.

The venue is named after a leader of the failed US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 against Fidel Castros revolutionary government.

I have trust in Trump to do the right thing when it comes to Cuba, said Jorge Saurez, 66, a retired physician in Little Havana.

Trumps vow to keep the broader decades-old US economic embargo on Cuba firmly in place drew criticism from some US farmers, especially growers of corn, soybeans, and rice. Obamas detente has already lifted exports and raised hopes for more gains, which they said were now in doubt.

Mexicos foreign ministry urged the United States and Cuba to resolve their differences "via dialogue."

But Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, whose Leftist government is Cuba's main regional ally, slammed Trump's tightening of restrictions as an "offence" against Latin America.

"His speech was aggressive and threatening, ... revealing his contempt and ignorance," President Nicolas Maduro said in a speech. "We reject Donald Trump's declarations against our brother Cuba. It is an offence against Latin America."

The biggest change in travel policy will be that Americans making educational people-to-people trips, one of the most popular authorised categories, can no longer go to the island on their own but only on group tours. Trump's aides said the aim was to close off a path for Americans seeking beach vacations in a country where US tourism is still officially banned.

US Senator Jeff Flake, one of the Republican Party's most vocal advocates for easing rules on US dealings with Cuba, called for a vote on legislation lifting restrictions on American travel there. But the Republican leadership in Congress has long blocked such a move, and it appears unlikely to budge.

Under Trumps order, the Treasury and Commerce departments will be given 30 days to begin writing new regulations, which will not take effect until they are complete.

In contentious deliberations leading up to the new policy, some aides argued that Trump, a former real estate magnate who won the presidency vowing to unleash US business, would have a hard time defending any moves that close off the Cuban market.

But other advisers have contended that it is important to make good on a campaign promise to Cuban-Americans.
Washington: President Donald Trump says that the imprisonment of an American college student in North Korea was a "truly terrible thing."

Otto Warmbier, who was serving a 15-year prison term in North Korea, was released and returned to the US on Tuesday as the Trump administration revealed a rare exchange with the reclusive country.

Warmbier fell into a coma while serving his sentence. He is now receiving treatment at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Speaking in Miami, Trump celebrated Warmbier's return to the US saying, "What's happened to him is a truly terrible thing but at least the ones who love him so much can now take

care of him and be with him."

The Trump administration issued repeated warnings to North Korea's government for its missile program.
Geneva: A fresh round of UN-sponsored Syria peace talks will begin on 10 July in Geneva, the UN envoy said Saturday, amid slim hopes for progress towards ending over six years of bloodshed.

Staffan de Mistura also said he intended to convene further talks in August and September.

De Mistura added meetings on constitutional and legal issues will continue alongside the formal sessions.

The last round of UN-sponsored peace talks finished on 19 May with De Mistura telling the UN Security Council that "important gaps remain between the parties on major issues," not least the fate of President Bashar al-Assad.

The opposition insists Assad must leave power as part of any peace deal but the government has rejected the demand.

The talks are aimed at ending a war that has killed more than 320,000 people since 2011 and laid waste to much of the country's infrastructure.

Following the last round De Mistura said time constraints had stymied progress on key topics, including a mooted new constitution and the organisation of elections.

At the last talks, De Mistura said the Geneva participants were not seeking to draft a new constitution, but rather "laying foundations for the time when the Syrians can do that."

Parallel negotiations have been held in the Kazakh capital Astana, where Turkey and Assad allies Russia and Iran agreed in May to establish four safe zones across Syria to ban flights and ensure aid drops.

But the plan has stalled amid disagreement over details such as which countries should send in forces to police the zones.

A new round of Astana talks had been scheduled for the coming days but has been postponed indefinitely.
Berlin: Germany threatened on Friday to retaliate against the United States if new sanctions on Russia being proposed by the US Senate end up penalising German firms.

The Senate bill, approved on Thursday by a margin of 98-2, includes new sanctions against Russia and Iran. Crucially, it foresees punitive measures against entities that provide material support to Russia in building energy export pipelines.

Berlin fears that could pave the way for fines against German and European firms involved in Nord Stream 2, a project to build a pipeline carrying Russian gas across the Baltic.

Among the European companies involved in the project are German oil and gas group Wintershall, German energy trading firm Uniper, Royal Dutch Shell, Austrias OMV and Frances Engie.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman described the Senate bill, which must be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Donald Trump before it becomes law, as "a peculiar move".

He said it was "strange" that sanctions intended to punish Russia for alleged interference in the US election could also trigger penalties against European companies.

"That must not happen," said the spokesman, Steffen Seibert.

In an interview with Reuters, German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said Berlin would have to think about counter-measures if Trump backed the plan.

"If he does, we'll have to consider what we are going to do against it," Zypries said.

The sharp response from Berlin comes at a time of deep strains in the transatlantic relationship due to shifts in US policy and a more confrontational rhetoric towards Europe under Trump.

The new US president has lambasted European partners for not contributing more to NATO, slammed Germany for running a large trade surplus with the United States and broken with allies on climate change with his decision to exit the landmark Paris agreement on combatting greenhouse gas emissions.

Ironically, the part of the Senate bill that targets Russia was introduced by some of the president's top critics, including Republican hawk John McCain.

They are intent on limiting Trump's ability to forge warmer ties with Russia, a key foreign policy pledge during his campaign for the presidency, but one he has been unable to deliver on amid investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the US election.

Dialogue breaks down

Under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, Washington and Europe coordinated closely as they ramped up sanctions against Moscow for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

But the dialogue has broken down under Trump, who considered easing sanctions against Russia when he first came into office, according to US officials.

"I regret that the joint approach of Europe and the United States on Russia and sanctions has been undermined and abandoned in this way," Zypries told Reuters.

France and the European Commission also urged the United States to coordinate with its partners on such matters.

"For several years, we have underlined to the United States the difficulties that extraterritorial legislation spark," a French foreign ministry spokesman told reporters.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, due to start pumping gas from Russia to Europe from 2019, has been dogged by controversy.

Eastern European and Baltic states fear it will make them hostage to Russian gas and undercut Ukraine by depriving it of transit fees for Russian gas supplies to Europe.

Nordic nations, meanwhile, have security concerns over the pipeline running through territorial waters, where Russia has bolstered its military presence in recent months.

Some EU diplomats fear the threat of new measures out of Washington may harden Germany's defence of Nord Stream and complicate already difficult talks among EU nations over whether to seek joint talks with Russia over the pipeline.

"This is not helpful now. It tends to stir up desires to protect our territorial space," one EU diplomat said.

The House of Representatives is expected to debate the Senate bill in the coming weeks but it is unclear whether it will come up for a final vote before lawmakers leave Washington at the end of July for their summer recess.
London: The United Arab Emirates has called for a "western mechanism" to make Qatar abide by any agreement to end its alleged support for terrorism.

UAE's foreign minister Anwar Gargash said its allies in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain did not trust Qatar. He was speaking in London during a visit intended to rally diplomatic support for the Qatar embargo, The Guardian reported on Saturday.

"This is about behavioural change," Gargash said. "If we get clear strategic signals that Qatar is going to change and it will stop funding violent Islamist militants that is the basis for a discussion, but we would need a monitoring system. We do not trust them. There is zero trust, but we need a monitoring system and we need our western friends to play a role in this," he said.

Gargash said the monitoring would aim to ensure Qatar was no longer funding extremism, harbouring extremists in Doha, or providing support to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Al Qaeda.

Qatar has denied supporting the groups.

Countries including France, United Kingdom, Kuwait and Turkey have been trying to act as mediators, but the anti-Qatar alliance has been wary of setting out its detailed demands, the daily reported.

Gargash identified 59 individuals walking free in Doha that had been identified as terrorists or financiers of terrorism, including 14 that are sanctioned by the US State Department and nine by the United Nations.

He said it was like entering a crime scene and finding Qatar's fingerprints in every room.

Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir showed no signs of backing down either, telling a press conference: "We have a list of grievances we shall give to Qataris fairly soon. It is about having a zero-tolerance policy."

On 5 June, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt broke diplomatic relations with Qatar and implemented a series of economic reprisals after claiming that Doha funded terrorist groups. Several other countries followed suit.
London: A leading gastroenterologist, academics and several professionals across different fields are among the various Indian-origin achievers in the UK named in the Queen's annual Birthday Honours' list released on Saturday.

Parveen June Kumar has been conferred the prestigious Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to medicine and medical education.

The 74-year-old Professor of Medicine and Education, Bart's and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary, University of London, is the co-editor and author of a revolutionary 1989 textbook, 'Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine', which is credited with improvements in the education of medical students, doctors and nurses in training both at home and abroad.

Among the Indian-origin Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), include Aisha Kulwant Gill, Professor of Criminology, University of Roehampton, for services to tackling forced marriage, honour crimes and violence against women.

"Her contribution to effecting social change is as a passionate advocate for women suffering gender-based violence, as a grassroots campaigner, an expert adviser on policy interventions and as a highly respected academic," reads Gill's citation.

Shamit Saggar, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Essex, has also been conferred a CBE for services to social science and public policy.

The UK Cabinet Office said to mark the centenary year of the honours, this year's awards are the most diverse ever with 10 percent of the successful candidates from black and minority ethnic (BAME) background, the highest ever. In total 1,109 people have received honours, which are bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II to mark her official birthday celebrations in the second week of June.

Some of the high-profile recipients this year include ex-Beatle band member Sir Paul McCartney and Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who have been conferred the highest-ranking honour of Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour, which entitles them to add CH after their name.

Among the other Indian-origin professionals recognised this year include Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBEs) conferred upon are Sital Singh Dhillon, Head of Law and Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University, for services to higher education; Dr Kamaljit Kaur Hothi, Head of Colleague Volunteering and Group Fundraising, Lloyds Banking Group, for services to diversity in the banking sector.

Arvind Michael Kapur, Chairman, National Space Centre and Founder-Director, Signum Corporate Communications Ltd, for services to science, technology, business and enterprise; Chandrakant Kataria, Group Chief Executive, East Midlands Housing Group, for services to housing in the East Midlands; and Dr Nikesh Kotecha, CEO, Morningside Pharmaceuticals, for services to entrepreneurship, innovation in pharmaceutical services and philanthropy are among other Indian-origin professionals recognised for their contribution.

The other recipients of an OBE include Ramesh Dulichandbhai Mehta, President of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), for services to the NHS.

"I am grateful for such a recognition and share the achievement with all my colleagues, friends and family members who have supported me for the years," said Dr Mehta, a prominent campaigner for Indian-origin doctors in the UK.

The others made OBE are Harinder Singh Pattar, headteacher, The Heathland School, London, for services to education; Nardeep Sharma, CEO, The Thrive Partnership Academy Trust, for services to education; Rakesh Sharma, Chief Executive, Ultra Electonics, for services to defence capability; Mahendra Pratap Singh Varma, for services to cardiology in Northern Ireland; and Sandeep Singh Virdee, founder-director, Darbar Arts Culture and Heritage Trust, for services to the promotion of Indian musical heritage in the UK.

This year's Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs) include an Indian as part of the overseas list  Annabel Mehta, president of non-governmental organisation Apnalaya, for services to the community and underprivileged in Mumbai.

The UK-based MBEs include Dr Pushpinder Chowdhry, for services to the Asian community in the UK; Vilasgauri Ratilal Dhanani, for voluntary and charitable services; Pamal Jeet Hayre, for public service; Surinder Singh Jandu, for services to community cohesion; Dr Nikita Kanani, for services to primary care.

The other MBEs include Dr Serbjit Kaur, for services to dentistry; Vikas Kumar, for services to the arts and culture; Pritpal Singh Nagi, for services to business and charity in Staffordshire; Nitin Palan, for services to interfaith relations; Anjna Morarji Patel, for services to the parking profession; Sazeda Patel, for services to the community in Blackburn; Dr Bharti Rajput, for services to podiatry and the economy in Dundee.

Tejinder Kumar Sharma, for services to Hindi Literature and to Community Cohesion in London; Dr Shobba Srivastava, for voluntary service to community cohesion in North East England; and Deepak Verma, for services to the arts, also receive an MBE.

The Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) completes the 2017 honours list with Bula Chakravarty-Agbo, for services to the arts; Uma Nalayini Fernandes, for voluntary service to community healthcare in Middlesex; Suraj Bhan Khandelwal, for services to business and the community in Leicester; Vinod Mathuradas Kotecha, for services to the Asian community; and Mohinder Singh Sangha, for services to the community in Leicester.

The UK's Honours and Appointments Secretariat receive around 10,000 enquiries from members of the public each year, resulting in around 3,000 nominations for the honours every year. In addition to nominations from the public, government departments ask schools, hospitals, local authorities and similar organisations for suggestions of potential candidates.

The Queen's official birthday celebrations will be marked by the traditional Trooping of the Colour Parade near Buckingham Palace this weekend.
By Alana Wise

| NEW YORK

NEW YORK U.S. President Donald Trump's rollback on his predecessor's liberalisation of travel to Cuba will all but eliminate a burgeoning market for independent tourism, forcing would-be visitors into organised trips, experts said.That policy change could be bad news for airlines that have been helped by demand from solo travellers and families who have booked seats for ad-hoc informal "cultural exchanges" that had passed muster under former President Barack Obama's loosened rules. "It's going to frustrate airlines who scheduled service on the premise that travel restrictions would eventually be removed," Robert Mann, analyst at R.W. Mann & Co, said. "It was an 'if you build it they will come' kind of a philosophy."Now, under directives announced by Trump on Friday, independent travel to Cuba from the United States will once again be forbidden, complicating the already tricky-to-navigate industry. The new policy will ban most U.S. business transactions with the Armed Forces Business Enterprises Group, a sprawling conglomerate involved in all sectors of the economy, including the hotel and hospitality industry, but make some exceptions, including air and sea travel. The president's directive will essentially shield U.S. airlines and cruise lines now serving the island but dim a potentially bright outlook for travel growth between the countries. While the industry at large is bracing for weakened demand following the policy shift, specialised travel agents could potentially see a windfall as travellers rush to book authorized organised trips to the island.

"You can't get through to our call line. We're receiving 10 times the emails we were this morning," Tom Popper, president of travel agency InsightCuba, which organises legal group tours of the tourism-restricted island, said on Friday.'JOB KILLING'

U.S. cruise operators and airlines could lose around $712 million in annual revenues if the Trump administration fully reinstates restrictions on travel, Washington lobby group Engage Cuba said in a recent report. (tmsnrt.rs/2rBfMTI)

While Trump's new policy avoids the worst-case scenario of cancelling all commercial flights or severing diplomatic relations, it will still be a blow to a tourism sector betting on Cuba as a new high-growth market. "If the goal is to help Cuban entrepreneurs, adding job-killing regulations on U.S. businesses and increasing government resources to investigate everyday Americans travelling to our island neighbour is not the answer," James Williams, president of Engage Cuba, said in a statement. Marriott International Inc (MAR.O) on Friday urged the White House to improve relations with post-Castro Cuba and recognise tourism as a strategic tool in the effort.Marriott, the world's biggest hotel chain, operates the Gaviota 5th Avenue Hotel, which is owned by the Cuban military.

The Treasury Department said on its website that travel-related commercial engagements established before new regulations from the Office of Foreign Assets Control will be permitted, which appears to exempt the Marriott venture.Airlines for America, an industry trade group, said airlines are reviewing the directive and "will continue to comply with all federal rules and regulations regarding travel to Cuba."Obama's initial opening prompted a dash to launch flights into Cuba in mid-2016. Some early entrants, including smaller carriers Frontier Airlines, Silver Airways and Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE.O), have pulled out.While larger U.S. carriers have pared back flights to smaller Cuban cities, American Airlines (AAL.O), Delta (DAL.N), United Continental (UAL.N), Southwest (LUV.N) and JetBlue (JBLU.O) have requested additional flight clearances on various routes to Havana. Cruise operator Carnival Corp (CCL.N) downplayed any impact from the change, saying it was "pleased" its ships could continue to sail to Cuba. (Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Christian Plumb, Jeffrey Benkoe and Lisa Shumaker)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Tehran: Iran's foreign ministry dismissed the recent US Senate move to impose new sanctions on Tehran over its missile programme, media reported.

Iran's defensive missile programme is legitimate, in full conformity with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, and no move can deprive Iran from its legitimate rights, Xinhua quoted foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying on Friday.

The allegations against Iran's military forces and the country's missile ability "are totally unjustified and illegal," he said.

UNSC Resolution 2231 calls upon Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons."

Approval of new bill imposing sanctions on Iran's non-nuclear activities at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee indicates their enmity and inborn hostilities against the Islamic republic, Qasemi was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

On Thursday, the US Senate voted for a legislation to impose non-nuclear sanctions on Iran for developing its missile programmes. They voted 98-2 in favour of the legislation.

In order for the new Senate bill to become law, it must still pass the US House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump. The bill, if ratified, will target the individuals and entities linked to Iran's missile activities.

"We announce that Iran's armed forces defend the country's security and interests and such measures will never make the slightest dent (in Iran's intent) to this end," Qasemi added.
Militants conducted 67 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in the past 24 hours, killing one and injuring three servicemen, the press service of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) headquarters has reported.

"The enemy intensified shelling in twilight. Militants used weapons prohibited by the Minsk Agreements in almost one third of shelling cases," ATO HQ said on its Facebook page.

In the Mariupol sector militants shelled the Ukrainian armed forces' positions near Bohdanivka using 120mm mortars, near Krasnohorivka using 82mm mortars, near Shyrokyne, Pavlopil, Chermalyk, Talakivka and Novotroitske using grenade launchers and small arms.

In the Donetsk sector militants used tanks, grenade launchers and small arms near Avdiyivka, various mortars near Verkhniotoretske, Novohordske, Luhanske and Troitske and grenade launchers near Pisky. An enemy sniper was observed near Opytne.

In the Luhansk sector militants shelled Novotoshkivske and Krymske using mortars, tanks, grenade launchers and small arms, Novooleksandrivka using mortars, infantry fighting vehicles' weapons and infantry weapons, Stanytsia Luhanska, Donets, Troitske, Novozvanivka and Zhovte using grenade launchers and small arms.
Palestinian militant factions denied on Saturday a claim by Islamic State that three Palestinian men who carried out a fatal shooting and stabbing attack in Jerusalem were members of the militant group.

Islamic State took responsibility for the attack on Friday, in which one Israeli police officer was killed and another wounded, according to the group's Amaq news agency.

Israeli security officials did not respond immediately to requests for comment on what the SITE intelligence monitoring group described as the first time Islamic State had claimed responsibility for an attack in Israeli-controlled territory, nor on the attackers' affiliation.

However, a senior official from Hamas, the Islamic group that rules the Gaza Strip, and the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said the three attackers, who were all shot dead at the scene, were their own members.

"The three hero martyrs who executed the Jerusalem operation have no connection to Daesh (Islamic State), they are affiliated with the PFLP and Hamas," Hamas' Izzat El-Reshiq wrote on Twitter.

The PFLP published a separate statement in which it identified two of the three attackers as members. "The media office of the PFLP armed wing mourns two of its hero comrades, two freed prisoners," it said.

Israeli police said on Friday all the assailants were from Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank. Two of the attackers, both from Ramallah, were between the ages of 18 and 19 and the third was a 30-year-old from Hebron, police spokeswoman Luba Simri said.

The assaults took place simultaneously in two areas near the Damascus gate of Jerusalem's walled old city.

Two Palestinians were shot dead after opening fire at and trying to stab a group of Israeli police officers at one scene, police said. At the other, a Palestinian fatally stabbed a border policewoman before being shot dead by police.

A wave of Palestinian street attacks began in October 2015 but has since slowed. Israel blames the violence on incitement by the Palestinian leadership.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, denies that and says assailants have acted out of desperation over Israeli occupation of land sought by Palestinians for a state.

United States-brokered peace talks between the sides broke down in 2014. Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War.
Beirut: The Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman outside Jerusalem's Old City.

The jihadist group, in an online statement, said three IS fighters had targeted "a gathering of Jews" in an operation on Friday during which the three attackers were killed by Israeli police.

The group warned that "this attack will not be the last".

The attack took place on Friday as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.

"Female border policewoman injured critically in attack at Damascus gate," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement.

"3 Arab terrorists shot by police units that responded at the scene." Police said the three were killed.

The policewoman was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevy identified the three attackers as Palestinians from the West Bank.

Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays. Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone consultation with the chief of police and public security minister, and decided to cancel the family visits, a police statement read.

Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said.

The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah and Asama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year.

All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in "popular terror activity," a Shin Bet statement read.

A fourth Palestinian, a Hebron resident who had been identified by Palestinian security as a perpetrator, was in fact a passerby who was wounded by gunshots and taken to hospital, Israeli police said.

Medics said four people besides the officer were wounded in the incident, two of them moderately and two lightly. Two of those wounded were Palestinians from east Jerusalem.
By Alistair Smout and Kate Holton

| LONDON

LONDON At least 58 people were likely killed in a fire which engulfed a London tower block earlier this week, police said on Saturday.If that death toll is confirmed, it would make the Grenfell Tower blaze the deadliest in London since World War Two."Sadly at this time, there are 58 people who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing and therefore sadly I have to assume that they are dead," Commander Stuart Cundy told reporters.Cundy added that the figure could change. Police had previously put the death toll at 30. "The figure of 30 that I gave yesterday is the number that I know, sadly, have, at least, died. So that 58 would include that 30," he said.Prime Minister Theresa May's government earlier sought to quell anger over the fire, pledging to support the victims of the blaze after protesters jeered her when she visited local residents.May was rushed away from a meeting with residents on Friday under heavy police guard as protesters shouted "Shame on you" and hundreds stormed a local town hall calling for justice.After a botched snap election that lost her party its majority in parliament, May is facing criticism for her response to the blaze which engulfed the 24-storey apartment block of social housing on Wednesday.Residents of the destroyed tower said May was far too slow to visit the stricken community, that the building had been unsafe and that officials have failed to give enough information and support to those who have lost relatives and their homes.Asked repeatedly whether she had misread the public mood, May did not answer directly but said the focus was on providing support to the victims."What I'm now absolutely focused on is ensuring that we get that support on the ground," May said in a BBC Newsnight interview.

"Government is making money available, we're ensuring that we're going to get to the bottom of what's happened, we will ensure that people are rehoused. But we need to make sure that that actually happens."May on Saturday chaired a meeting on the government's response to the fire. She also met victims of the fire in Downing Street.Alongside both police and fire investigations into the blaze, she has promised to set up a public inquiry.She also pledged 5 million pounds ($6.39 million) of support, housing guarantees and help with access to bank accounts and cash. Those who lost their homes will be rehoused within three weeks, she said.One of her closest allies, Damian Green, defended May on Saturday, adding that a team would go to the area to answer questions from residents. "The Prime Minister is distraught about what has happened," said Green, who was appointed May's deputy in the wake of the general election.

"We're all desperately sad, we're all angry, but of course none of us as angry as those who were directly affected. I absolutely get why they're angry," Green said.ANGER IN LONDON

While the blaze has prompted an outpouring of generosity, with many people donating provisions and clothes, it has also unleashed rage at the authorities as the charred tower was cast as a deadly symbol of a deeply divided society.Angry protesters chanting "We want justice" stormed their way into the Kensington and Chelsea town hall on Friday.After a turbulent three months which has seen Britain scarred by three deadly Islamist militant attacks and now the tower blaze, Queen Elizabeth said the mood was deeply sombre but that the British people were resolute in the face of adversity."It is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood," Elizabeth said in a message on her official birthday.

"The country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies."Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity," Elizabeth said. "United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss."Such a direct message from the monarch is rare and indicated the extent of the turmoil in Britain.Opponents said May's handling of the fire has thrust her position further into doubt by showing a failure to feel the public mood and act decisively."NOT A VIABLE PM"

After a tumultuous week that pitched Britain into its deepest political crisis since the Brexit referendum a year ago, May's future was already uncertain due to her failed gamble on a snap election. Britain is now likely to go into arduous talks on Monday about its exit from the European Union with a weakened leader who is dependent on a small Northern Irish party.Matthew Parris, a columnist and former Conservative lawmaker, said May's response to the fire had shown a lack of judgment which made her unsuitable to be prime minister."Wallowing in the wash of a general election that stripped our prime minister of her authority on the very eve of EU negotiations, neither common sense nor the evidence suggest she can re-establish public confidence," Parris wrote in the Times. "This prime minister is not viable." (Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Bolton)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
London: British prime minister Theresa May is to meet victims of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in her 10 Downing Street office on Saturday, officials said.

May, who has faced criticism of her response to the tragedy in which at least 30 people died, will meet victims, volunteers and community leaders, a Downing Street spokesman said.

"The prime minister is this morning chairing a cross-government meeting to ensure everything possible is being done to support those affected by the Grenfell tragedy," the spokesman said.

"Afterwards, she will meet a group of residents, victims, volunteers and community leaders in Number 10."

May was criticised for avoiding locals when she visited the charred shell of the 24-storey tower on Thursday and faced cries of "Shame on you" and "coward" when she returned on Friday.

Police officers held back booing crowds and broke up scuffles as her vehicle drove off from a local church, where she had met survivors, residents and volunteers.

In a television interview Friday, she sidestepped questions over whether she had misread the public mood.
Kathmandu: A meeting between Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and a key Madhesi party over the current crisis on Saturday failed to yield any results as the minority party insisted on amending the Constitution before the local body polls on 28 June.

Deuba had invited leaders of the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJP-N) to his residence in Budhanilkantha, 10 kms from Kathmandu, for informal consultation on the current crisis, according to sources close to the Prime Minister.

During the talks, the Prime Minister sought cooperation from the agitating Madhesi leaders for the smooth conduct of the second phase of elections.

"The people of the southern plains also want local level elections for the development of the region and it would help implement the constitution," the Prime Minister said.

Deuba also reiterated the government's stance that once the second phase of elections is held the Constitution would be amended to address the key demands of the agitating parties.

Madhesi leaders, however, told the Prime Minister that they will not take part in the second phase of elections until the Constitution is amended and urged government to fulfil their demands at the earliest.

The government has decided to defer the local body polls in the Province 2, the disputed Madhesi-stronghold, to 18 September.

The RJP-N will hold rallies in all district headquarters of the Terai region as part of its pre-announced protest programmes to disrupt the elections process.

Some Madhes-centric parties have opposed the elections until the Constitution is amended to accommodate their demands for more representation in parliament and redrawing of provincial boundaries.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution.
Police in Pakistan arrested businessman Saqlain Javed from his home on Wednesday for taking his pet lioness for a drive through the streets of the bustling port city of Karachi at night. The arrest came after a video showing the same went viral on social media, reported Reuters. He was later released on bail.

As per Hindustan Times, the police swung into action when people expressed concern for their safety after the lioness was spotted on a pick-up truck in the Karimabad area of Karachi. Sindh home minister Sohail Anwar Siyal also asked the police to take necessary action.

Javed has reportedly been charged with public harassment. The businessman is a local pet dealer in his 30s, according to The Khaleej Times, and is known as 'Saqlain Sher Wala' in his neighbourhood. The video clip that went viral has been viewed over 1 million times on Facebook.

The video posted on social media shows the carnivore reclining on the rear of a pick-up truck with one of its paws dangling over the edge, looking unperturbed by the crawling traffic on the street.

The video clip as uploaded on Youtube can be seen here:

As per Reuters, keeping wild cats as pets is not uncommon in Pakistan where wealthy businessmen have been known to operate private zoos and sometimes parade the animals for the public. Javed has a license to operate a private zoo and raise lion cubs, but it is prohibited to transport the animal on city streets.

"The man was driving around with his lion near a local market and it was a matter of endangering public life and property," senior police superintendent Muqadas Haider told Reuters.

According to India Today, Javed's lawyers argued he has a license for the pet which he received in 2007 and is a law abiding citizen. He was later given bail for Rs 20,000 under conditions from the court that he would keep his pet at home strictly.

"My only mistake was to keep the lion at the back of my vehicle in the open. In my house, there is a large enclosure for the lion. The social media blew the incident out of proportion, which is why I was arrested," Javed told The Express Tribune. He later admitted that the travelling permit for the lioness had expired earlier.
By Sarah Marsh and Nelson Acosta

| HAVANA

HAVANA Cubans watched television sets with dismay and anger on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump railed against their country in a speech from Miami that made many fear a return to an era of frostier U.S.-Cuban relations.Trump said in the speech widely broadcast in Cuba that he was cancelling former President Barack Obama's "terrible and misguided deal" with the Communist-run island that aimed to normalize ties after five decades of hostility."It's like we are returning to the Cold War," said Cuban designer Idania del Rio, who joined a group of friends in a hotel in Old Havana to watch the speech in English on CNN."He used rhetoric that President Obama had left behind so it definitely feels like an enormous setback in relations."In reality, Trump left much of the Obama-era opening in place and did not sever diplomatic ties but his bluster against Cuban's communist rulers and tightening of rules harked back to tougher times.Some of del Rio's friends were too disappointed to continue watching the speech until the end and left halfway.In the rest of Havana, Cubans at home watched the speech translated into Spanish on Venezuelan channel Telesur."Trump's words seem a bit ambiguous to me because he says he wants the best for the Cuban people while tightening the blockade," said Aurelio Seguera, who watched on an old boxset from a rocking chair in his ramshackle home in Central Havana.

The landmark 2014 detente sparked widespread euphoria in Cuba and raised hopes for an improvement in its ailing economy. Eased restrictions fuelled a boom U.S. tourist arrivals, especially in Havana, creating demand for more bed and breakfasts, restaurants, taxis and tour guides in the fledgling private sector. (tmsnrt.rs/2rBfMTI)But critics say the opening failed to improve rights. Trump justified his partial reversal of Obamas measures on those grounds, and some Cuban dissidents back his tougher stance, saying repression worsened after the detente. Cuban authorities have stepped up short-term detentions of activists, often confiscating their telephones and laptops, and have also come down with a heavy hand on self-employed Cubans who appear to be empowering themselves. "When the Obama administration stopped condemning human rights violations in Cuba, the regime here said 'look we can do this and nothing happens, so we can continue repressing more forcefully'," said Jose Daniel Ferrer, who leads the Patriotic Union of Cuba, the largest dissident group.

Ferrer said his group had 53 activists currently imprisoned due to their political views. Other dissidents agree repression has worsened but say rolling back the detente, which will hurt ordinary Cubans, is not the solution. "It will probably not have any benefit in terms of human rights," said Eliecer Avila, the leader of the opposition youth group Somos Mas. The Cuban government has withstood the U.S. trade embargo for more than a half century and will not make political concessions to the United States due to economic pressure, said Carlos Alzugaray, a retired Cuban diplomat. "I am concerned it will affect the private sector quite a bit and much more than the Cuban government," he said.

Without doubt it will impact those in tourism who have benefited from a threefold increase in U.S. visits in the last two years, although it remains unclear how much.The biggest change in travel policy will be that Americans making educational people-to-people trips, one of the most popular authorized categories, can no longer go to the island on their own but only in groups. Experts say travellers may simply use the "support for the Cuban people" category instead, depending on how broadly the authorities interpret that going forward."We are all really scared because we live from rent," said Maria Elena Reyes, 45, who rents rooms in her large house in a leafy suburb of Havana.The number of Americans booking her place this year had surpassed all her hopes, she said, but now that demand looked under threat. This new setback to the Cuban economy comes at a time when it is wrestling with falling oil shipments from crisis-stricken ally Venezuela and a decline in exports. "This is another blow for Cubans and it will hurt our pockets obviously," said Martha Garcia, 51. "With the United States, there is no tranquillity." (Additional reporting by Marc Frank in Havana and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Michael Perry, Frank Jack Daniel and Lisa Shumaker)

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Washington: A group of Muhajirs have urged the Trump administration and US Congress to cut off military sales and aid to Pakistan, citing Islamabad's support to

terrorism.

"The actions of Pakistani military establishment clearly shows that they are not a trustworthy ally of the US in the war against terrorism," the recently formed World Muhajir (refugee) Congress said in a memorandum to the Trump administration and US Congress.

"Deceiving the US administration and appeasing militant outfits like Haqqani network, Taliban Quetta Shura and Al-Qaeda operatives is a policy towed by ISI," the memorandum said.

There is no other option left for the US but to take unilateral military actions inside Pakistani territory to kill jihadist operatives, it argued.

"The US-led war on terror cannot be won without addressing the key issue of Pakistani Army being the sponsor of terrorism in the region," said the memorandum, copies of which were given to members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade during a Congressional hearing on Foreign Military Sales here on Thursday.

"World Muhajir Congress sincerely request Trump administration and US Congress to cut off military sales/aid to Pakistan," it said.
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's younger brother Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday hit out at the country's powerful military, saying unlike the military rulers who "usurped" power at gunpoint, his family respects the law.

Shehbaz, the 65-year-old Punjab chief minister, made the remarks while talking to media after appearing before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which grilled him for nearly four hours in connection with the high-profile Panamagate graft case against Sharifs.

"The prime minister of Pakistan appeared front of this JIT a day ago and a new leaf was turned in Pakistan's 70-year history. Today, I did the same," said Shehbaz, the fourth member of the Sharif family to appear before the JIT.

"We have proven that our family has respect for the law, unlike the military rulers who usurped power at gunpoint (in the past)," Shehbaz said, referring to several military Generals who in the past toppled elected governments.

Prime Minister Sharif was ousted by then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999. The army has ruled the country for much of its life since it gained independence 70 years ago.

Last month, the powerful army withdrew a controversial tweet that had rattled the Sharif government over a media leak about a rift between the two power centres over fighting militancy in the country.

It was taken as the army's defeat and an unprecedented criticism ensued on social media against the army, which enjoys considerable influence over policy decisions in Pakistan.

"This is not the first time that the Sharif family has been put to trial: people should not forget the time when our family's Ittefaq Foundries were taken from us by force," said Shehbaz.

He said between 1988 and 1990, his family's second trial took place during Benazir Bhutto's first government; and then again in 1993 and 1996, the Sharif family suffered losses worth billions due to conspiracies against it.

"But that was not all: in (former president) Musharraf's era, I was handcuffed and taken to prison. I have not talked about this before publicly as it was a matter of shame, but I am admitting it today because we are on trial once again," the Punjab chief minister said.

"This is the fifth time we are being put to trial, but just like the times before this, all [our opponent's] allegations will be proven false," he added.

He said he was asked to appear before the JIT as somebody "acquainted with the facts of the Panamagate scandal".

The Punjab chief minister said that even though he had severe back pain, he did not flee from the JIT's summons.

"I did not go away to London, never to return, like other politicians [have done in the past]," Sharif said, taking a dig at Musharraf who went abroad on the pretext of treatment for back pain and never came back to face cases.

"Whatever questions the JIT asked, I answered them to the best of my knowledge," he added.

Reiterating his brother's point that the JIT is not investigating a case about corruption within the government, Shehbaz said: "This is a case against our family; it is a means to destabilise out family, just like the attempts made by others in the past."

Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sharif was grilled by the JIT, set up by the Supreme Court last month to investigate the Sharif family about its properties in London.

It had questioned Sharif's sons  Hussain and Hasan  last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings. His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice.

Earlier, Shehbaz arrived at the JIT secretariat to appear before the JIT. He was accompanied by his son, Hamza Shahbaz, Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

The JIT alleged that the government was using its official machinery to hamper its investigation.

The Supreme Court had asked the government to respond to the allegations against the departments.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister House accused the JIT of tapping phones and monitoring witnesses, which it said was in violation of the law and the Constitution.

Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf Ali raised serious doubts over JITs performance, accusing it of spending too much time and energy on monitoring the media.

In a four-page response which he has submitted to the Supreme Court, Ashtar stated that the JIT application spanned more than 120 pages, containing news articles, screenshots of statements, tweets and messages gathered from social media.

"It appears that a lot of time and energy is being consumed in gathering this material. The JIT appears to have spent [too much] time watching talk shows, reading articles and monitoring tweets and messages on social media while arranging the same where necessary," according to the reply.

The AGP also informed the apex court about the replies submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Law Ministry, Intelligence Bureau and the Prime Ministers Secretariat over JITs allegations of non-cooperation and tampering of records.

"These institutions vehemently deny [all the] allegations [levelled by] the JIT," he said.
Washington: The US should take the leadership in elimination of child labour globally, Noble laureate Kailash Satyarthi appealed to American lawmakers and activists, asserting the world cannot be made safe and secure until security and education are provided to each child.

"A lot of work has been done (in elimination of child labour) by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other UN agencies, but much more is needed. And today, I appeal once again, for the leadership of this country (America). Not only to put an end to child labour in your country, but also to show your leadership as you have shown in the past, and you have proven in the past, Satyarthi said at the Capitol Hill.

Scores of Congressional aides and child rights activists gathered at the hearing room of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday afternoon to listen to the passionate appeal of the Indian noble laureate.

"Every refugee child is your child, America. You can lead by example to provide compassion, hope and inspiration to rest of the world," Satyarthi, 63, said.

"It's a great country. We have to make it greater. And that is possible only when you embrace all your children, and that does not mean your children are just American children. A child who is enslaved in India, or in Africa, or in any part of Latin America, is your child. A child who is about to be sold to a brothel, a refugee child in Turkey, a Syrian child who has to lose his parents and his family and his country, because of no reason, he said.

Though the international community is observing the World Day Against Child Labour, it is still a challenge, said Satyarthi, a childrens rights activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

"We cannot build the infrastructure of prosperity and happiness on the bricks and mortar, sweat and blood of children who are still enslaved. We cannot build a safe and secure world without answering the security and safety, protection and education for every child, he said.

He said the most powerful safeguard to protect the world from the growing menace of terrorism and insurgencies and extremism, fundamentalism in the name of religion, is "good quality education and secular education.

"That is needed. And child labour is the biggest impediment in education," he said.

Satyarthi recollected his first visit to the US Congress over two decades ago.

"And since then, I addressed many of the Congressmen hearings, the staff briefings, and so many other activities on the Capitol Hill. Things have changed since then, he said.

"It was the time when there was almost complete ignorance about the problem of child labour and the modern child slavery. It was the time when all the almost 260 million children were working, according to some studies, across the world. It was the time when 130 million children had attended schools in their primary classes. But things have changed. And the US has played a significant role in it. It was not possible without you, Satyarthi told the American audience who packed the hearing room.

America, he said, is the "beacon of hope".

"You are the beacon of the possible. You have emerged out of crisis. America - the very society was founded in the situation of crisis, and you have been able to prove that you have all the skills and all the DNA to lead the world, with some ideals, The ideals of liberty, freedom, human rights. The ideals of justice," he said.

"They were not just for yourself. You have led because your realm is the world - inside America and outside America. The respect for diversity is the hallmark of the democracy of this country," he added.

Satyarthi also met Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna.
Liberation of Ukraine from Russia's occupation is one of the top priorities for the United States, advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump on cybersecurity and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has said.

Trump will insist on this interest and will achieve it, he said in an interview with the Novoye Vremia magazine published on June 16.

He did not agree that the Trump administration is too gentle in its relations with Russia.

Giuliani said that the impression of gentleness towards Russia could be seen in some comments of Trump during his election campaign. However, he said that Trump after running the president post has started studying the essence of international relations more thoroughly. He took Syria as an example, which is the obvious ally of Russia. Trump ordered to bomb the Syrian military base, he said. It is clear that in his steps he prioritizes the interests of the United States over the interests of Russia, he said.
Vatican: Pope Francis has asked Germany to keep fighting for the Paris climate change deal and to 'tear down walls' that inhibit international cooperation, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, offering a stark contrast between her agenda and US policy.

US president Donald Trump announced this month that he would withdraw from the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change, drawing anger from world leaders.

"The Pope encouraged me to continue and fight for international agreements, including the Paris Agreement," Merkel told reporters after an unusually long, 40-minute private audience with him.

Merkel, who faces elections in September, said the Pope expressed his support for the agenda of the G20 major economies, who hold a summit in Hamburg next month.

"This (G20) agenda assumes that we are a part of a world in which we work together through multilateral cooperation," Merkel said of her discussion with the Pope.

"It is a world in which we want to tear down walls and not build them, and in which we all seek prosperity, wealth, honour and dignity for mankind."

Trump, who has promised to build a wall along the Mexican border, has shunned some multilateral cooperation.

The Vatican said that issues of common interest were discussed, including the need for the international community to focus on combating poverty, hunger, the global threat of terrorism, and climate change.
VATICAN CITY Pope Francis has asked Germany to keep fighting for the Paris climate change deal and to 'tear down walls' that inhibit international cooperation, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, offering a stark contrast between her agenda and U.S. policy. U.S. President Donald Trump announced this month that he would withdraw from the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change, drawing anger from world leaders. "The Pope encouraged me to continue and fight for international agreements, including the Paris agreement," Merkel told reporters after an unusually long, 40-minute private audience with him.

Merkel, who faces elections in September, said the Pope expressed his support for the agenda of the G20 major economies, who hold a summit in Hamburg next month.

"This (G20) agenda assumes that we are a part of a world in which we work together through multilateral cooperation," Merkel said of her discussion with the Pope."It is a world in which we want to tear down walls and not build them, and in which we all seek prosperity, wealth, honour and dignity for mankind."

Trump, who has promised to build a wall along the Mexican border, has shunned some multilateral cooperation.The Vatican said that issues of common interest were discussed, including the need for the international community to focus on combating poverty, hunger, the global threat of terrorism, and climate change. (Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Andrew Bolton)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Allison Lampert

| MONTREAL

MONTREAL Qatar's efforts to force its Gulf neighbours to reopen their airspace to its flights were left unresolved on Friday, two sources familiar with the matter said, after Saudi Arabia argued the closure was part of a bigger political rift that could not be fixed by the United Nation's aviation agency.Two days of technical talks involved transport ministers and aviation officials from several Gulf states and Egypt, along with senior officials from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialised agency of the UN that supports the development of global aviation.ICAO cannot impose rules on states, but regulators from its 191-member countries almost always adopt and enforce the standards it sets for international aviation.Qatar had asked the ICAO to intervene after its national carrier was denied access to its neighbours' airspace as part of economic sanctions. It was the first high-level gathering of countries involved in the Gulf crisis, but there were no direct talks between Qatar and its neighbours.While the air dispute might come up at a scheduled meeting of ICAO's governing council next week, no decision on the Gulf airspace dispute is imminent, one of the sources said.

"Nobody was expecting a resolution this week," the source added.Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.Neither Qatar's ambassador to Canada, who led his country's delegation for the talks, nor a member of the Saudi delegation could be reached for comment. ICAO had no immediate comment.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and Iran. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Friday in London that a list of grievances involving Qatar was being drawn up and would be presented soon.

In Montreal, Saudi Transport Minister Suleiman al-Hamdan had argued that the row is a bigger political issue than airspace rights and could not be resolved by ICAO, Reuters reported on Thursday.The Saudi delegation also accused Qatar of violating article 4 of the convention, which calls on members "not to use civil aviation for any purpose inconsistent with the aims" of the international agreement.Qatar has asked the ICAO to resolve the conflict, using a dispute resolution mechanism in the Chicago Convention, a 1944 treaty that created the agency and set basic rules for international aviation.Article 84 says that if two states cannot resolve a dispute related to the convention through negotiation, one can ask the council to settle it. (Reporting By Allison Lampert; Editing by Toni Reinhold and David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: President Donald Trump's decision to reverse some Obama-era Cuba policies landed with a thud among many congressional Republicans who say the new approach surrenders a potentially lucrative market for American goods and services to competitors.

While anti-Castro conservatives hailed Trump's partial roll-back of former president Barack Obama's detente, a number of other GOP lawmakers, particularly from farm states, criticised the change as misguided and isolationist. They urged him to ease barriers with Havana that will boost trade and create jobs in both countries.

Republican representative Rick Crawford, Arkansas, said Trump's shift is more than just a missed opportunity for rural America, which would benefit from greater access to Cuba's agricultural import market.

He said Trump's policy may put US national security at risk as strategic competitors move to fill the vacuum the uncoupling could create.

"Further US disengagement opens up opportunities for countries like Iran, Russia, North Korea and China to gain influence on an island 90 miles off our coast," Crawford said.

Republican senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, a frequent critic of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, said in a statement that any policy change "that diminishes the ability of Americans to travel freely to Cuba is not in the best interests of the United States or the Cuban people."

Flake has been among the most outspoken lawmakers opposed to rolling back Obama's outreach to Havana. He's warned that returning to a "get tough" policy hurts everyday Cubans whose livelihoods are increasingly rooted in travel and tourism.

In his statement, Flake called for the Senate's GOP leadership to allow a vote on his legislation that he said would eliminate "archaic restrictions" on travel to Cuba that "do not exist for travel by Americans to any other country in the world." Flake's bill has 54 co-sponsors, including nine Republicans.

Among them are senators John Boozman of Arkansas, Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Jerry Moran of Kansas.

During a speech yesterday in Miami, Trump portrayed his updated policy as the fulfilment of a campaign promise to reverse Obama's diplomatic rapprochement with Cuba after decades of estrangement.

Trump's approach is aimed at halting the flow of US cash to the country's military while maintaining diplomatic relations. US airlines and cruise ships would still be allowed to service the island.

Yet new moves will burden the US government with the complicated task of policing the US. travel to Cuba to make sure there are no transactions with the military-linked conglomerate that runs much of the Cuban economy.

By restricting individual US travel to Cuba, the new policy also risks cutting off a major source of income for Cuba's private business sector, which the policy is intended to support. Under the expected changes, the US will ban American financial transactions with the dozens of enterprises run by the military-linked corporation GAESA, which operates dozens of hotels, tour buses, restaurants and other facilities.

Among those with Trump as he announced the policy in Little Havana were Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, both Florida Republicans strongly opposed to Obama's outreach.

Republican representative of Minnesota, Tom Emmer, said Trump's new Cuba policy "will hurt the United States economically, making it harder for our nation's farmers to access new markets and cutting the knees out from under our travel and manufacturing industries." Emmer, who's been one of Trump's most enthusiastic backers on Capitol Hill, echoed Crawford's criticism, saying Trump's Cuba directive appears to be in violation of his promise to keep the American homeland safe.

Emmer, Crawford and five other House Republicans have warned that rolling back U.S. Cuba policy could threaten new bilateral agreements with Havana to combat human trafficking, illicit drugs and cyber crimes.

Moran said in a statement that "putting America first means exporting what we produce to countries across the globe." He said he remains focused on finding ways to "increase trade with Cuba rather than cut off relationships that have the potential to create new jobs, bring in revenue and boost our national economy."

Moran backs legislation to restore trade with Cuba in addition to supporting Flake's legislation. Republican senator of Arkansas, John Boozman, said Trump's policy moves the US backward.

"It would be more effective to continue an open line of communication and working relationship with a government in need of democratic assistance, instead of shutting them out," Boozman said. "Through this approach, we not only trade goods, but ideas."
Moscow: A Russian media group which angered some in the Kremlin by reporting on the business interests of people close to President Vladimir Putin was sold on Friday to the owner of a tabloid that is deferential to the Russian leader.

Businessman Grigory Berezkin's ESN group said in a statement it has acquired a 65 percent stake in the RBC media holding, plus debt, from Onexim Group, which is controlled by metals magnate Mikhail Prokhorov.

The completion of the deal marks the end of a seven-year period when RBC under the ownership of Prokhorov published hard-hitting investigations, including into the business affairs of Putin's inner circle.

It stood out from most of the mainstream media in Russia, which are either controlled by the state or state-run companies, or tend to steer clear of topics which could anger powerful officials.

In 2016, according to several people familiar with the Kremlin's thinking, some figures close to Putin grew angry with RBC's coverage. Around the same time, Russian law enforcement officers in ski masks raided the offices of Onexim.

Soon after, the media group's editor-in-chief left the country, and new senior managers were brought in from a state-run news agency. A large proportion of the group's journalists resigned, saying they anticipated restrictions on the topics on which they could report.

"Apparently the asset became toxic, and they (the owners) wanted to get rid of it," Elizaveta Osetinskaya, the former editor-in-chief, told Reuters on Friday.

The Kremlin has always denied having pressured RBC over its reporting or being involved in Prokhorov's decision to sell.

The deal has been under negotiation for weeks. Financial details have not been disclosed. Berezkin, the new owner, already owns the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid newspaper.

Its pages are usually dominated by crime stories and celebrity gossip. Critical reporting on the president or his senior allies is rare in the newspaper.

A spokeswoman for ESN group declined to comment on whether the new owner would change RBC's senior staff or editorial policy.

Osetinskaya, the former editor, said that after her departure last year, RBC had continued to report independently. She said when it gave prominent coverage to anti-Kremlin protests in March, she thought that might lead to problems for the group.

"Perhaps they did not restrain themselves sufficiently," she said of RBC's current management.
By Toru Hanai and Megumi Lim

| TOKYO

TOKYO Search and rescue efforts went on after dark for seven U.S. sailors missing after the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship more than three times its size off eastern Japan early on Saturday.The Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided missile destroyer, collided with the merchant vessel some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, the Navy said.Three aboard the destroyer had been medically evacuated to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, including the ship's commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, who was reported to be in stable condition, the Navy said. The other two were being treated for lacerations and bruises, while other injured were being assessed aboard the ship, it said.The USS Fitzgerald sailed into port on Saturday evening but search and rescue efforts by U.S. and Japanese aircraft and surface vessels were continuing for the seven missing sailors, the Navy said. Their names are being withheld until the families have been notified, it added.Benson took command of the Fitzgerald on May 13. He had previously commanded a minesweeper based in Sasebo in western Japan.UNCLEAR WHAT HAPPENED

It was unclear how the collision happened. "Once an investigation is complete then any legal issues can be addressed," a spokesman for the U.S. 7th Fleet said.The U.S. Navy said the collision happened at about 2:30 a.m. local time (1730 GMT), while the Japanese Coast Guard said it took place at 1:30 a.m. local time.

The Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline, causing "significant damage" and flooding to two berthing spaces and other areas of the ship, the Navy said.The flooding was later stabilised, but it was uncertain how long it would take to gain access to those spaces once the ship docked, to continue the search for the missing, it said.Back in Yokosuka, divers will inspect the damage and develop a plan for repairs, the Navy said.The ship was able to operate under its own power with limited propulsion, the Navy said. The Japanese Coast Guard said separately the Fitzgerald was towed back to Yokosuka by a tugboat at about 3 knots.

Part of an eight-ship squadron based in Yokosuka, the Fitzgerald had in February completed $21 million worth of upgrades and repairs.Japan's Nippon Yusen KK, which charters the container ship, ASX Crystal, said in a statement it would "cooperate fully" with the Coast Guard's investigation of the incident. At around 29,000 tons displacement, the ship dwarfs the 8,315-ton U.S. warship, and was carrying 1,080 containers from the port of Nagoya to Tokyo.None of the 20 crew members aboard the container ship, all Filipino, were injured, and the ship was not leaking oil, Nippon Yusen said. The ship arrived at Tokyo Bay around 5:00 p.m. (0800 GMT), sailing under its own power, the Coast Guard said.BUSY WATERWAYS

The waterways approaching Tokyo Bay are busy with commercial vessels sailing to and from Japans two biggest container ports in Tokyo and Yokohama. International maritime rules for collision avoidance do not define right of way for any one vessel, but provide common standards for signaling between ships, as well as regulations on posting lookouts.Japan's public broadcaster NHK showed aerial footage of the Fitzgerald, which had a large dent on its right, or starboard, side. Images broadcast by NHK showed it had been struck next to its Aegis radar arrays behind the vertical launch tubes.Such incidents are rare.In May, the U.S. Navy's USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel but both ships were able to operate under their own power.The 7th Fleet commander, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, thanked the Japanese Coast guard in a post on the fleet's Facebook page, adding: "We are committed to ensuring the safe return of the ship to port in Yokosuka." (Additional reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart in Washington; Tim Kelly, Linda Sieg, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Chang-Ran Kim and Elaine Lies in Tokyo, Raju Gopalakrishnan in Manila, Chizu Nomiyama in New York; Writing by Yara Bayoumy and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Adrian Croft)

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Ashgabat (Turkmenistan): Tightly-controlled Turkmenistan has pardoned more than 1,000 prisoners ahead of festivities marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, state media reported on Saturday.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov signed an amnesty order "for 1,029 convicts" in the ex-Soviet central Asian country  nearly twice as many as the 612 convicts released in last year's mass pardon  Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported.

The president called for those pardoned to "contribute to the large-scale work being carried out in the country and faithfully labour for the benefit of the Motherland," Neutral Turkmenistan reported.

Turkmenistan's penitentiary system is among the most closed in the world, although the country's foreign ministry claims that some foreign ambassadors were allowed to visit prisons in two cities last year.

Earlier this month rights watchdog Human Rights Watch called for the release of 18 men who received sentences of up to 25 years in the gas-rich country in February and warned they may have been tortured by Turkmen authorities.

The men were reportedly arrested due to their affiliation with schools associated with the Hizmet movement founded by US-based Muslim cleric and educator Fethullah Gulen, an arch-enemy of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Since a coup attempt in Turkey last July, Ankara has pressed other countries to close schools and universities linked to the preacher, who it has asked the United States to extradite.

Turkmenistan, whose people speak a Turkic language, closed most of its Gulen-affiliated schools in 2011.
Sydney: The University of Cambridge has refused a request by an Australian man to return important Aboriginal artifacts taken by British explorer Captain James Cook nearly 250 years ago.

Rodney Kelly is seeking the return of four spears from the universitys Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology on behalf of the Gweagal people, who traditionally inhabited southern parts of Sydney, Australia's largest city.

According the to the university, Cook took the spears following a violent first encounter between Aborigines and Europeans on the shores of Botany Bay in Sydney in 1770. He also took a shield, which is currently held by the British Museum and for which Kelly has also sought repatriation.

The artifacts are recognised as a significant symbol of first contact between the British and indigenous Australians and of Aboriginal resistance to colonisation. However, the University of Cambridge has rejected a request for their return lodged by Kelly.

"Removing parts of the Cook-Sandwich collection, which is of great historical, scientific and educational importance nationally and internationally, would cause considerable harm by depriving the collection of its integrity," a spokeswoman said in a statement to Reuters on Saturday.

The university said the request contained no clear proposal for housing and conserving the spears if they were to be returned, and added it was important that any request for change be made with "accredited representatives of the Gweagal people".

Kelly, who submitted a formal request for the repatriation of the spears in November 2016, claims to be a direct descendant of the Gweagal warrior Cooman, from whom he claims the spears and shield were taken.

However, a report prepared by the University of Cambridge has questioned Kellys ability to prove his descent - something disputed by the Sydney man.

"It makes me angry they are trying these tactics to discredit me and my history," Kelly told Reuters in an interview.

Cook's landing in Botany Bay on April 29, 1770 marked the first point of contact between the British and Aborigines and preceded the arrival of the first waves of colonists to Australia eight years later.

Two Aboriginal men holding spears tried to resist Cooks party landing and one was injured by British musket fire, the university says. The Gweagal then retreated and Cook and his crew entered their camp and took the spears and a shield.

According to Kelly, Cooman was the injured man in the historical account, a claim the university says is not well-supported.

Both the Australian Senate and state parliament of New South Wales voted last year to support the repatriation of the artifacts from the British Museum and the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Kelly said he would continue to fight for the artifacts' return.

"I want to do everything I can to bring those artifacts home for my people and every indigenous and non indigenous person in Australia," he said.
Istanbul: A US consulate in Turkey has alerted its citizens of heightened security in an Istanbul neighborhood because of a possible terror threat.

The statement released late Friday said the Turkish security presence was increased in the central district of Mecidiyekoy and cited a specific street. It said the consulate didn't have additional information on the specifics of the threat and asked American citizens to remain vigilant.

Turkey's foreign ministry issued a statement Saturday saying "US authorities made this statement based on normal precautions taken by our security forces rather than any concrete intelligence."

The US issues security messages and travel warnings throughout the world to inform its citizens of threats and protests. The US Embassy and consulates in Turkey issued at least 22 such messages this year.
Moscow: New US sanctions on Russia approved by the Senate will complicate the countries' relations, Russian president Vladimir Putin said in a TV interview Saturday.

"Of course this will make Russia-US relations more complex," Putin said in an excerpt from an interview due to air in full at 1700 GMT on Rossiya-1 television.

"I think it is harmful," the Kremlin strongman said, while adding that "it is premature to talk now about any response."

Nevertheless he warned that Russia would have to "adjust something" or "do something extra."

The president insisted that US sanctions would not lead Russia into a "deadlock or a collapse."

The interview was filmed directly after Putin's annual televised phone-in show on Thursday, at which he slammed fresh sanctions as coming "out of nowhere" and motivated by fear of Russia as a "serious competitor."

"Of course this is evidence of the continuing domestic political battle in the US, but it is completely out of nowhere," Putin told viewers.

"If it wasn't for Crimea, if it wasn't for other problems, they would think of other reasons to contain Russia."

The US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed tough sanctions on Russia over alleged election meddling. The measure has now gone to the House of Representatives.

Germany on Friday accused Washington of hurting European power companies through the new sanctions against Russia that target the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe.
Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, President of the World Crimean Tatar Congress, MP Refat Chubarov, is convinced that Crimea annexed by Russia will be returned to control of Ukraine. He said that persons who started living in the peninsula after its annexation are to leave Crimea.

"This will be the 'purification' of the peninsula All those who entered Crimea, despite the motives, after February 20, 2014 are to leave it at onceThese are at least 200,000 people, including military servicemen, Prosecutor General's Office, FSB [Russia's Federal Security Service] and Russian police," Chubarov said on Channel 5 TV late on Thursday.

He said that persons who betrayed Ukraine are to leave the peninsula too. He is convinced that they would leave Crimea deciding on their own.

He said that this displacement should not be forced.

"I would like to be clear. This is not that we, as Stalin, would throw hundreds of thousands people away," he said.

Chubarov said that Ukrainian authorities and local organizations in Crimea are now to prepare for the introduction of various measures that would make the moment of returning the peninsula very comfort.
Tokyo: Seven crew members are missing and at least three injured after a US Navy destroyer collided early on Saturday morning with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel south of Tokyo Bay in Japan, the US Navy said.

The Japanese Coast Guard said the US ship was experiencing some flooding but was not in danger of sinking, while the merchant vessel was able to sail under its own power.

The US Navy said in a statement the USS Fitzgerald collided with a merchant vessel at about 2.30 am local time (1730 GMT), some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, a rare incident on a busy waterway.

Three aboard the destroyer had been medically evacuated, including the ship's commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson, who was reportedly in stable condition after being airlifted to the US Naval hospital in Yokosuka, the Navy said.

The other two injured were transferred to the hospital for lacerations and bruises, while other injuries were being assessed, it said. The Fitzgerald and the Japanese Coast Guard were searching for seven missing sailors.

"The USS Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline," the Navy said in a statement.

It said the full extent of damage to the ship and injuries to its crew were still being determined. The Fitzgerald was operating under its own power, "although her propulsion is limited".

A spokesman for the US 7th fleet said the ship was heading back to Yokosuka under its own power at 3 knots.

It was unclear how the collision happened. "Once an investigation is complete then any legal issues can be addressed," the 7th fleet spokesman said.

The waterways approaching Tokyo Bay are busy with commercial vessels sailing to and from Japans two biggest container ports in Tokyo and Yokohama.

The USS Dewey and two Navy tugboats had been dispatched to provide assistance, the Navy said.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK showed aerial footage of the destroyer, which had a large dent in its right, or starboard, side. Images broadcast by NHK showed it had been struck next to its Aegis radar arrays behind its vertical launch tubes.

The images showed what appeared to be significant damage on the deck and to part of the radar. NHK also showed footage of the container vessel and said it was heading towards Tokyo under its own power.

The 7th fleet said the collision was with the Philippine-flagged merchant vessel ACX Crystal. At around 29,000 tons displacement it is about three times the size of the US warship.

Japan's Coast Guard said none of the 20 crew members aboard the merchant vessel were injured.

Such incidents are rare.

In May, the US Navy's USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel but both ships were able to operate under their own power.

The 7th fleet commander, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin thanked the Japanese Coast guard in a post on the fleet's Facebook page, adding: "We are committed to ensuring the safe return of the ship to port in Yokosuka."
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that new US sanctions on Russia will damage ties between the two countries.

Putin said Saturday that "it will of course complicate the Russian-American relationship," according to an interview reported Saturday by the TASS news agency. The Russian leader said it was too early to speak about a possible response.

The US Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve sanctions against Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election. The bill, which passed 97-2, targets Russian individuals accused of corruption and key sectors of the Russian economy.

Putin said that Russia would be forced to make changes because of the sanctions, but they wouldn't lead to a "collapse."

The penalties have been criticized by Austria and Germany for promoting US economic interests.
London: The Scotland Yard officer stabbed to death at the gates of the UK Parliament in a terror attack earlier this year has been honoured for his bravery.

Queen Elizabeth II awarded Keith Palmer with the prestigious George Medal, which is presented to someone who has been responsible in saving lives.

"His actions provided time for other officers to react and shoot and stop the assailant. Palmer's bravery and professionalism unquestionably saved lives. Palmer did his duty. In doing so he made the ultimate sacrifice," the police constable's citation reads.

The 38-year-old was on guard at the main gates of the Palace of Westminster, which houses the UK Parliament, on 22 March when Khalid Masood rammed a car into the side of the building before getting out and trying to gain entry into the House of Commons complex.

Palmer was fatally stabbed as he tried to prevent Masood from getting too far into the building.

His award on the Civilian Gallantry List as part of the Queen's annual Birthday Honours list released is for "confronting an armed terrorist to protect others and Parliament".

Gallantry awards have also been conferred upon Bernard Kenny, a 78-year-old man who went to the aid of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox last year.

Police officers  Craig Nicholls and Jonathan Wright  who arrested Cox's killer, Thomas Mair, have also been awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal.

This year's honours list is being hailed as the most diverse ever to mark the centenary of the awards.
Sony Pictures Virtual Reality has announced Spider-Man: Homecoming VR, multi-platform promotional VR experience. Guided by the helpful artificial intelligence unit built into the new Spider-Man suit, Spider-Man: Homecoming VR offers players the chance to suit up as Spider-Man, hone their web-shooting skills, and sling high above New York City in pursuit of the Vulture, said the company.

Spider-Man: Homecoming VR is developed by CreateVR, using Dell Precision workstations powered by Intel hardware technology and software tools to quickly create and render 360-degree, ultra-high-resolution graphics of New York.

The premium version of the superhero feature was best realized with the performance of the instruction architecture of the latest Intel Core processors for ultra-high-resolution content streaming content streaming, encoding and video playback, while Intel Graphics Performance Analyzers were used for better visual fidelity, higher-resolution and higher frame rates. In addition, Intel Threading Building Blocks helped developers leverage Intel multi-core performance and heterogeneous computing, said Intel.

Spider-Man: Homecoming VR will be available for free across all major VR platforms, including PlayStationVR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, starting June 30, ahead of movie release on July 7.

Jake Zim, Senior Vice President, Virtual Reality at Sony Pictures, said:

Spider-Man is the most beloved superhero in the world, so we knew Spider-Man: Homecoming VR had to be something special. Fans can wear the suit, fire the new web shooters  THWIP!  and swing through the air in a faceoff with The Vulture. Its every fans fantasy turned into virtual reality.

Doug Fisher, senior vice president and general manager of the Intel Software and Services Group, said:

This collaboration is a first for Intel and Sony Pictures Virtual Reality, starting a new era in Intel/Hollywood VR production partnerships using premium cinema content. Together with our silicon, the pervasive power of the Intel software ecosystem offers VR content and game developers the opportunity to create fully immersive experiences that bring the next evolution of compute to mainstream audiences. We are excited to be a part of this blockbuster partnership.
Experts in external policy, security and defense issues have approved the concept bill on the aspects of the state policy of restoring Ukraine's state sovereignty over temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions at a roundtable in the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), the press service of NSDC reported on Thursday.

According to Assistant NSDC Secretary Oleskandr Lytvynenko, the professional discussion was held and the concept was approved in general.

"Many proposals and remarks have been received, and most of them will be taken into account when shaping the final version of the bill that would be submitted to the Ukrainian president for sending it to parliament," he said.

The press service said that representatives of public agencies of Ukraine took part in the discussion.
California on Monday will announce plans to award $20 million in emergency grants to local health and Planned Parenthood clinics in anticipation of possible U.S. healthcare funding cuts, according to State Treasurer John Chiang's office.

California and more than a dozen other Democratic-leaning states are fighting against regulatory changes and policies coming from Republican President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress.

The grants are intended to buy time for state lawmakers to address potential shortfalls caused by federal attempts to undo the Affordable Health Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, and to eliminate funding for womens health and for contraception, the state said.

A California financing program will provide money for the grants, said Treasurer spokesman Marc Lifsher.

"The Community Clinic Lifeline Grant Program will help small or rural nonprofit clinics, including Planned Parenthood clinics, keep their doors open and provide critical services," according to an announcement the Treasurer's office posted on Friday.

Planned Parenthood, a national non-profit that provides contraception, health screenings and abortions, and the country's long-standing divide over abortion are at the heart of the state's move. Planned Parenthood representatives will join Chiang in unveiling the grant program, the announcement said.

Republicans generally oppose abortion. Recently, they approved a measure in Congress to allow states to block Planned Parenthood from receiving federal reproductive health funds. By law the funds cannot be used for abortions, but former Democratic President Barack Obama had ensured some money would go to Planned Parenthood clinics.

Actual federal funding reductions are still a while off.

In his recent proposed budget President Donald Trump called for slashing health and human services spending, and the Obamacare repeal the House of Representatives passed in April would eliminate federal funds for Planned Parenthood. But those moves do not have the force of law yet.

No other state appears to be developing a similar grant program.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
The largecap technology sector is expected to see a bump in its growth weighting when index provider FTSE Russell completes the annual refresh of its benchmarks next Friday, a move that could lift tech shares targetted in the rejig.

The increased significance of tech comes on the heels of an around twenty percent gain in the sector this year which led to a pullback over the last week.

FTSE Russell finalizes its annual refresh of its widely-followed indexes on June 23, a move that prompts fund managers to adjust their portfolios to reflect new weightings.

Largecap tech is expected to see a more than 3 percent weighting increase in Russell's growth index, a major benchmark for portfolio managers. After a brief classification as a partial value stock last year, Apple Inc is set to be once again classified as 100 percent growth.

Some managers may be uncomfortable about having such a heavy growth weighting in tech, but they will have little leeway if they are benchmarked to a universal index.

At the other end of the spectrum, largecap healthcare and consumer discretionary are expected to see the biggestweighting bumps in Russell's value category according to Jefferies, with increases of 2.6 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

"If you think of style, you think of whatever has worked in the year goes back to growth and whatever hasnt worked goes back to value," said Steve DeSanctis, equity strategist at Jefferies in New York. "Its not a fair assessment, but at the margin that is kind of the driver."

Investors looking to trade on volatility may find some relief on June 23 when Russell's refresh typically drives the largesttrading day of the year. Credit Suisse currently anticipates roughly $49 billion in share turnover for this year's rebalance.

FTSE Russell maintains some of the most widely followed benchmarks in the United States with $8.6 trillion in assets tracking or invested in products that follow its indexes, according to the firm.

On an individual basis, nearly 400 companies will be affected by the rebalance, according to Ivan Cajic, head of index research at ITG in New York.

"This year there are 10 additions and 2 deletions from the Russell 1000 so it is a much larger trade in the Russell 1000 space," said Cajic.

Unlike Standard & Poor's, which refreshes its indexes on a rolling basis, Russell's reconstitutes its indexes just once a year.

As the CBOE volatility index has languished below 20 since the U.S. Presidential election, investors will also welcome the boost in liquidity the rebalance provides.

"You might not necessarily have only indexers present in this years rebalance and the days leading up to it," Cajic said.

One widely-followed stock that will not be joining a Russell index yet is Snap Inc. Due to the company's unusual sharestructure, Russell is withholding a decision until after the rebalance until an analysis and comment period from the investment community is completed.

"We need to look at it because there is a potentially a trend for these types of offerings, particularly technology companies," said Mat Lystra, senior research analyst at FTSE Russell in Seattle.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; additional reporting by Megan Davies; Editing by Megan Davies and Andrew Hay)
A left-leaning German newspaper is apologizing for a front-page headline on the death of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl that some considered distasteful.

The conservative Kohl, who spearheaded Germany's reunification in 1990, died Friday at age 87. On Saturday, the daily Tageszeitung's headline was "Blooming Landscapes," an allusion to Kohl's promise of an economically flourishing eastern Germany, over a picture of wreaths.

Chief editor Georg Loewisch said on the newspaper's website it had been trying to counter an "uncritical glorification" of powerful people when they die. The newspaper, he said, creates its front pages "with the principle, 'better cheeky and free than well-behaved.' In this case, it failed. And I am sorry for that."

A lawmaker with Kohl's party, Marco Wanderwitz, wrote on Twitter that the front page was "shameful, unworthy and small-minded."
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John Kavulich, president of the U.S.Cuba Trade and Economic Council, on how President Trump plans to set stricter regulations on U.S. business dealings with Cuba and why its going to be more difficult for Americans to travel to the communist country.

The Trump administration plans to restrict U.S. companies from doing deals with the Armed Forces Business Enterprises Group, a conglomerate which is involved with all sectors of Cubas economy.

Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com

The role in the Cuban military in the Cuban economy is substantialIt is going to be difficult for U.S. companies to operate in Cuba without touching the Cuban military, but its possible, he told FOX Business Neil Cavuto.

There are 12 categories the Obama administration issued, which allowed Americans to travel to Cuba, from religious and educational trips to humanitarian travels. The Trump administration is going to call for stricter enforcement for the ban on Americans traveling to Cuba for vacation purposes, in an effort to keep U.S. dollars from funding the communist regime.

Kavulich explained how these tighter regulations are going to hurt airlines, but help cruise lines.

Trump administration is saying we are no longer going to allow certain categories people to people to go individually what that does is impact the airlines because the airlines gained because people just hopped on planes and went to Cuba for purposes other than what they are supposed to do. But it will benefit the cruise lines because cruise lines do well with group tours, he said.
Officials say actress Carrie Fisher died from sleep apnea and a combination of other factors, but they could not conclusively determine what caused her death.

Los Angeles coroner's officials said in a news release late Friday that Fisher had buildup of fat in the walls of her arteries. The release states that Fisher had taken multiple drugs prior to her death, but that investigators could not determine whether they contributed to her death in December.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for additional details about whether a full autopsy report and toxicology results were available.

Fisher suffered a medical emergency on an international flight on Dec. 23. Her mother, longtime movie star Debbie Reynolds, died the following day.
Camille Cosby, the wife of comedian and actor Bill Cosby, slammed prosecutors Saturday for bringing the sexual assault case to court. Her comments came after a jury failed to reach a unanimous decision the case and a mistrial was declared.

The actors wife of 53 years called District Attorney Kevin Steele heinously and exploitatively ambitious in a statement released after the court adjourned.

How do I describe the judge? Overtly arrogant, collaborating with the district attorney, said her statement, which also called the counsels for the accusers totally unethical.

How do I describe many, but not all, general media? Blatantly vicious entities that continually disseminated intentional omissions of truth for the primary purpose of greedily selling sensationalism at the expense of a human life, the statement continued.

Historically people have challenged injustices. I am grateful to any of the jurors who tenaciously fought to review the evidence which is the rightful way to make a sound decision. Ultimately that is a manifestation of justice based on facts, not lies.

Jurors deliberated more than 52 hours over six days before telling a judge they couldn't agree on whether "The Cosby Show" star drugged and molested Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The judge then declared a mistrial.

Prosecutors said they would retry Cosby, who remains charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault. He is free on $1 million bail.

Cosby's team declared victory and went on the attack.

"Mr. Cosby's power is back. It has been restored," said Andrew Wyatt, his spokesman.

Cosby himself didn't comment. He remained stoic as the judge declared a mistrial, while Constand doled out hugs to her mother, prosecutors and some of the other women who say the TV star drugged and abused them.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Protesters disrupted a New York City stage production of "Julius Caesar" Friday that featured a bloody assassination of a character that resembled President Trump.

One protester, identified as Rebel Media's Laura Loomer, stormed the stage and shouted, "Stop Leftist Violence."

Click here for a free subscription to Todd's newsletter - a must-read for patriots!

Another protester, identified as Jack Posobiec, rose to his feet and yelled, "The blood of Steve Scalise is on your hands" and "Goebbels would be proud."

Video of the incident was quickly posted on social media. It showed the crowd booing as an announcement was made that the show was briefly halted.

Loomer was arrested and Posobiec was escorted out of the Shakespeare in the Park theatre complex located in Central Park.

I interviewed Posobiec by phone at the Central Park Police Precinct - where he was waiting for his colleague to be processed on a criminal trespass charge.

"We were protesting what we saw was the normalization of violence," he told me. "I couldn't believe they were going on with the play in light of what happened with the attack on Congressman Scalise."

He said it was infuriating to watch the faux assassination of President Trump.

"This play was savage and brutal. He is stabbed multiple times, running around stage, crawling through blood," he told me. "It made my blood run cold seeing Americans cheering a depiction of their president being stabbed 100 times with 100 blades."

He said it turned his stomach.

"This Manhattan Central Park crowd was on their feet cheering - they were cheering as an actor dressed as the president was stabbed to death," he told me.

Not all conservatives are cheering the disruption.

"This is total, complete horse crap," conservative columnist Ben Shapiro wrote on Twitter. "She invaded a public performance to obstruct it. She has no right to the stage."

Click for more from ToddStarnes.com
Early voting ended Friday in Georgias special election House race, with more than 140,000 people casting ballots.

The race has attracted national attention. And by the turnout so far, Georgia residents seem to notice its high-level interest, considering news reports that show nearly 40,000 new voters who did not vote in the first primary in April have already casted their ballots.

In a district that has been safely conservative since 1979, top political analyst have declared the open-seat race a tossup. Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, a Republican, is neck in neck with the 30-year-old former congressional aide Jon Ossoff, a Democrat.

I think that it's accurate to say that Republicans are antsy about the race, Atlanta Journal Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein told Fox News on Saturday.

Election Day is Tuesday, with polls closing at 7 p.m. Handel and Ossoff advanced to the special election runoff, as the top-two vote-getters in the April primary. The contest has become the most expensive House race in history, with more than $40 million spent.

Feeling the pressure of the race, President Trump sent two Cabinet members to campaign for Handel in the conservative suburbs of Georgia.

Health Secretary Tom Price -- who left the Georgia House seat to join Trump's Cabinet -- urged voters to have a "crazy turnout" on Handel's behalf.

In his first campaign rally since leaving the 6th district, Price and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue hosted a get out the vote rally for Handel on Saturday morning.

"The leftists have gone and typecast and they've picked this young man -- charismatic, articulate -- and they've taught him a few Republican buzzwords," Perdue said about Ossoff. "They think he can fool you. It's not gonna happen."

But the young Democrat could pull off an victory. The RealClearPolitics.com polls average shows Ossoff at 49.5 percent with Handel trailing at 46.3 percent.

Poll after poll shows it could be basically a coin toss, Bluestein said. He's up by two, hes up by three, she's up by two or three in many of these polls. So it is coming down to the wire and today's event with ... Price and Sonny Purdue showed that Republicans are really trying to rally the base around Karen Handel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Fox News Sean Hannity on Friday night slammed news outlets like The New York Times and CNN as willing accomplices for the deep state that is intent on damaging President Trumps presidency by leaking, in many cases, misinformation to the American public.

The major news outlets, citing unnamed sources, have all gotten it wrong on this issue, Hannity said. They all, at this point with the American public, should have zero credibility.

The deep state, an alleged shadowy network of powerful entrenched federal and military interests, has increasingly become the focus of Republicans who accuse such forces of trying to undermine the new president. Though senior White House staff members dont use the exact label, the notion behind it has taken hold.

To Trumps critics, these assertions come off as paranoid fear of a non-existent shadow government and an effort to create a scapegoat for the White Houses struggles. But to Trumps supporters, this represents an overdue challenge to an elite ruling class concerned only with maintaining its own grasp on power.

Hannity said the public should take these smoking gun reports that appear to break every night with a grain of salt.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Thursday evening that Americans should "exercise caution" before believing anonymously sourced reports, an apparent reference to ongoing leaks surrounding the investigation into alleged connections between Russian officials and Trump's campaign.

"Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories any stories attributed to anonymous 'officials,'" Rosenstein said in a statement, "particularly when they do not identify the country  let alone the branch or agency of government  with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated."

Of course, the deep state exists. Theres a permanent state of massive bureaucracies that do whatever they want and set up deliberate leaks to attack the president, said Newt Gingrich, a Trump confidant, earlier. This is what the deep state does: They create a lie, spread a lie, fail to check the lie and then deny that they were behind the lie.

Hannity said the deep state hopes for as much collateral damage as possible.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
Trying to stave off a major upset ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, two of President Donald Trump's Cabinet officers returned to Atlanta's traditionally conservative suburbs and urged Republican voters to maintain the GOP's monopoly control in Washington.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, a former two-term Georgia governor, took sharp aim at Republican Karen Handel's opponent in Tuesday's runoff election, 30-year-old Democrat Jon Ossoff, who has raised more than $23 million from people around the country hoping for a victory that could turn the tide on Trump.

"This is a race for the heart and soul for America," Perdue told Handel supporters, casting Ossoff as a puppet of national Democrats and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

"The leftists have gone and typecast and they've picked this young man -- charismatic, articulate -- and they've taught him a few Republican buzzwords," Perdue said. "They think he can fool you. It's not gonna happen."

But it very well may, with polls showing a tossup in the 6th Congressional District, where Republicans usually coast.

Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker and former congressional aide, has aimed at the center, studiously avoiding even mentioning Trump's name. But he announced campaign events Saturday with civil rights icon John Lewis, the Atlanta congressman from the neighboring 5th district whose criticism of Trump recently drew a slew of presidential tweets.

The candidates' choices on the final weekend of campaigning reflect their expectations of a razor-thin margin that will turn as much on core partisans as on persuading moderates and independents.

The results will be seen as a measure of how voters feel about Republican leadership months into the Trump presidency. Trump barely won this well-educated, affluent district in November, despite previous Republican nominees here garnering more than 60 percent of the vote.

Health Secretary Tom Price, whose resignation to join Trump's Cabinet prompted this special election, urged voters to have a "crazy turnout" on Handel's behalf. He reminded his former constituents of the district's GOP pedigree, electing eventual Speaker Newt Gingrich and future U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson before sending Price to Washington for 12 years.

Handel made a similar appeal to honor the district's "legacy." She said voters "know me" from stints as secretary of state and commission chairman of Georgia's most populous county.

Handel and Ossoff insist their matchup  recognized as the most expensive House race in U.S. history because of money from outside the district  is not about or the dynamics on Capitol Hill.

But Perdue flatly disputed them as Handel looked on Saturday.

"This is a harbinger of national politics," Perdue said.

Democrats and liberal activists nationally are hoping to show they can flip the 24 GOP-held seats they would need to reclaim a House majority next November. They argue that Ossoff's near-win in the first round already bodes well for Democrats running in other suburban districts where Republicans don't start with such a fundamental advantage.

There are 23 GOP-held House districts around the country where Trump actually lost to Hillary Clinton in November.

Handel raised slightly more than $5 million, less than a quarter of Ossoff's total, but national political action and campaign committees aligned with both parties have spent big as well, enough to saturate local media with advertising.

Ossoff's television ads target swing voters and disaffected Republicans, promising an "independent voice" and lambasting "wasteful spending" by "both parties in Washington." But his day-to-day campaign operation has focused more on core slices of the Democratic coalition: young voters, nonwhites and women.

Ossoff also has sought to make health care a defining issue, even before Price's return to the district.

Ossoff says he would oppose the House Republican health care bill because it punishes many working-class households that gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act and would "gut" consumer protections for individuals with previous maladies in their medical history.

Handel says the Senate can make improvements, but she'd have voted for the House-passed version. She "rejects" the Congressional Budget Office estimate that 23 million Americans could lose coverage under the Republican plan, and she insists the bill protects those with pre-existing conditions.

The bill declares that insurers cannot deny coverage based on patient history  a point central to Handel's claims. But the proposal also would allow states to obtain waivers that would jettison existing prohibitions on charging more for patients based on their individual history and risk. Ossoff says removing that cost protection makes any guarantee of coverage "useless," because policies would become unaffordable, particularly given the Republicans' proposal to roll back premium subsidies that are a primary feature of the 2010 law.

Handel has reacted angrily to Ossoff's assertions, emotionally telling the story of her sister, who she describes as being born with a severe birth defect requiring considerable medical attention. "I would never do anything that would hurt my sister," she says.
Seven U.S. sailors are missing from the USS Fitzgerald after the ship collided with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel ACX Crystal while operating off the coast of Japan, Fox News confirmed.

The Fitzgerald's Commanding Officer is among the four sailors who were injured and flown off the ship.

The ship was under its own power but had limited propulsion, according to the U.S. Navy. The incident happened 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan.

The ship suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline. The collision resulted in some flooding.

Live footage shot from a helicopter Saturday morning by Japanese broadcaster NHK showed heavy damage to the mid-right side of the Navy ship, which appeared to be stationary in the water. People were standing on various parts of the deck.

The collision occured at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time on June 17.

There is no danger of the ship sinking, one official told Fox News.

The incident will be investigated.

Fitzgerald, a guided-missile destroyer, carries Tomahawk cruise missiles and missiles capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, part of the regions ballistic missile defense program.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Four Ohio women who followed in their father's footsteps and joined the Cleveland Police Department said their dads have always inspired them to join the force.

Officers Jennifer Dziuba, Victoria Hahn, Anglly Gavria and Carlee Seroka were among the 16 women who graduated from the Cleveland police academy this year, Fox 8 Cleveland reported. Their fathers, who are active police officers, had the honor to put badges on their daughter during the ceremony.

The four women have become "fast friends" since graduating the police academy. The fathers and daughters all bond over the similar life experiences they share.

"It''s a good bond to have and going through the experience of the police academy. It can't be broken," Dziuba told Fox 8.

10 MUST-HAVE FATHER'S DAY GIFTS WITH A TACTICAL TWIST

Dziuba said her father has always been her "support," adding that "anything that [she] need he's there for" her.

Her father, Lt. James Dziuba, also said the fathers share a similar bond, knowing that they are going through the same experience of having a child join the force.

"We all share the same experiences, same feelings of having our daughter follow in our footsteps. It just shows how far women have come along in our society that they can partake in what used to be a male-dominated profession," Lt. Dziuba said.

FLORIDA BASEBALL TEAM TO HAND OUT FREE PREGNANCY TESTS FOR FATHER'S DAY

Hahn said her father always knew she would also join the force.

"When I was growing up my dad has always said you're going to grow up to be a police officer," Hahn said. "It goes to show how my father raised me. He always [told me], 'You need to pursue your dreams. Do what's going to make you happy.'"

"She's a survivor. She's going to be fine," Sgt. Leslie Hahn said of his daughter.

Officer George Seroka's initial reaction to his daughter Carlee becoming a police officer was more "scared," he said.

"When your daughter tells you she's going to do it, I think it's a little different," he told Fox 8 Cleveland.

But when he placed the badge on his daughter, he was overwhelmed with emotions and proud of the woman she has become.

"When you put your badge on your daughter...until you walk that mile in my footsteps, I can't really explain it to you," Seroka said.

Gavria and her family moved from Colombia to the U.S. when she was 9 years old to pursue a better life. She said it was "hard" moving to America, going three years without seeing her father. She said she credits her father's work ethic in her decision to become a Cleveland police officer.

"Just to see all of them together brought back memories of when I was there too," he said. "To see my daughter right there, to have to moment to put the badge on her chest -- it was beautiful."

Click here for more from Fox 8 Cleveland.
Thats a lot of Guacamole dip.

Three California men are behind bars on grand theft avocado charges.

They are accused of selling $300,000 worth of avocados without authorization from a ripening facility where they worked, according to the Ventura County Sheriffs Department.

Joseph Valenzuela, 38, Carlos Chavez, 28, and Rahim Leblanc, 30, are being held on $250,000 bail each. They were arrested Wednesday.

The sheriffs guac cops began investigating the men in May after getting a tip that they were conducting unauthorized cash sales of avocados from a Mission Produce plant in the city of Oxnard.

"It looks like they were skimmed off the top and sold separately," Sgt. John Franchi of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department told NBC Los Angeles.

It was unclear whether the suspects have attorneys.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The hero Tennessee homeowner who deputies say helped nab two escaped inmates wanted in the killings of two prison guards says it was divine intervention that helped him.

I realized I had two ex-cons wanted for murder who had just shot at law enforcement who had nothing to lose and for some reason they surrendered and laid down on the concrete in my driveway, Patrick Hale, 35, of Christiana, said Friday. If that doesn't make you believe in Jesus Christ, I don't know what does.

Hale told a news conference that he heard Thursday that escapees Donnie Rowe, 43, and Ricky Dubose, 24, were in the area he got his guns ready.

I loaded every weapon I could in my house to be prepared in the event they needed to be used, he said, according to Fox 17 Nashville.

Moments later he saw them climb a barbed wire fence and approach his home in rural area in southern Tennessee.

I prayed like I had never prayed, he said.

He said he then called 911 and grabbed my sweet little daughter.

HERO HOMEOWNER HOLDS ESCAPED GEORGIA INMATES AT GUNPOINT UNTIL ARRESTS

He thought of running back in the house to hide in a panic room. Instead he decided to leave.

"We got in the car and backed up quick only to find the gentlemen had been running and got much closer to my house," Hale said, according to the Tennessean. "They began to take off their shirts and wave them at us as if to slow us down."

He thinks they may have thought his vehicle belonged to law enforcement.

Hale said the that while waiting for deputies to arrive the fugitives got up to get a drink of water faucet and then laid back down.

He said the deputies arrived in about three minutes.

I cannot tell you how grateful I was to see them arrive, Hale said.

He said he isnt sure he is a hero, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Hearing that you're a hero for just simply calling 911 and explaining what happened and just backing up even though we did have guns with us, we never had to use them and that to me is more than a God thing, Hale said.

The manhunt for Rowe and Dubose focused on Tennessee Thursday evening after the fugitives invaded a home in Shelbyville, held a man and his wife hostage for several hours and fled in their Jeep.

Their accused of killing two guards on a prsion transfer bus from Baldwin State Prison early Tuesday

"We've had an armed home invasion," the man told a 911 dispatcher after he freed himself . "It's the two people from Georgia, escapees. They're in a black Jeep Cherokee Trailblazer. We need help out here quick ... hurry!"

His wife can be heard sobbing as he tries to reassure her, saying: "It's all right. You've survived. You've survived. You did it. You did a good job. Come here and let me hold you."

Deputies spotted the Jeep on I-24 and chased it for 20 miles at high-speed, Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Bill Miller said.

Rutherford County Sheriff Michael Fitzhugh said the suspects fired shots, striking several cruisers, but his deputies weren't hit and didn't return fire.

The chase ended with a crash on the highway.

With deputies in hot pursuit, the suspects ran through trees to Hale's property.

They guns they had stolen from their guards were left behind in the wrecked Jeep.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Kurdish man who appears to have only minor convictions woke up to a knock on the door of his Tennessee home a week ago and was whisked away for deportation as part of a roundup of Iraqi nationals.

His wife said he could be killed if he's sent back to Iraq.

U.S. immigration officials have detained nearly 200 Iraqi nationals living in the U.S., but agency spokesman Thomas Byrd said they are targeting hardened criminals. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained Sarkaut Taro as part of an effort to send Iraqi nationals eligible for deportation back to Iraq under a deal with that country.

But Taro's family and attorney say he has only two convictions for minor crimes  both for selling alcohol to minors more than 10 years ago when he was still unfamiliar with U.S. laws. And his wife, Bayan, says his resume of films criticizing Iraq's occupation of Kurdistan and the Islamic State could make him a target if he's deported to Iraq.

Before the couple left Iraq in 2002 seeking asylum, pro-Saddam Hussein forces killed three of Sarkaut Taro's brothers, exiled his mother and burned their house, Bayan Taro said. A 2003 asylum hearing coincided with Saddam's fall from power, so a judge declined the request. Sarkaut Taro was issued an order of removal after his 2004 appeal, but immigration officials permitted the couple to remain in the country until things settled in Iraq, said Charla Haas, the Taros' attorney. They're still waiting for Iraq to be safe, Bayan Taro said.

The Iraq deal has led to arrests of 114 Iraqi nationals in Detroit last weekend, and 85 others elsewhere in past weeks, according to ICE. The arrests in Detroit, which focused on Chaldeans, sparked protests and a lawsuit by the ACLU. Immigrant advocates have viewed the arrests as part of a broader anti-immigrant push by the Trump administration.

ICE didn't comment directly on Sarkaut Taro's case or the number of Nashville detainees. Nashville immigration attorney Andrew Free said at least 12 people were arrested in about a week and a half, mostly members of the city's large Kurdish community.

Bayan Taro said she and her husband were in bed at 6 a.m. on June 9 when someone knocked at their kitchen door; she figured a neighbor needed something. Her 53-year-old husband answered in his pajamas, then called for her. Men in plain clothes had pulled up in unmarked cars, surrounded her husband and handcuffed him.

Bayan Taro said one man said they had some questions and that her husband would return in 10 minutes. An hour later, Sarkaut called his wife and said he was going to be deported.

"Since that day, I don't think there's any place safe in the world now," Bayan Taro said through an interpreter.

The agency's tactics have drawn scrutiny from local officials including Mayor Megan Barry, who asked ICE for the names and crimes of the Nashville detainees, noting "disturbing reports of members of our community being stopped, questioned, and even harassed."

In a letter to the agency, Barry cited a video where an ICE official questioned a Kurdish-American citizen "for no apparent reason" while wearing a "POLICE" vest. She said that can undermine local agencies' relationships with immigrant communities.

ICE defended the "police" vest as a recognizable law enforcement symbol, and said it doesn't release lists of people arrested for privacy reasons.

Charla Haas, the Taros' attorney, said she has reapplied for the couple to be granted asylum while Sarkaut remains detained in Louisiana.

Haas said Taro hasn't committed the type of offense ICE says it's targeting: homicide, rape, assault, kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking and other violent crimes. Haas and Bayan Taro say Sarkaut Taro did community service and took a class for his 2003 and 2004 convictions. Any fine was covered by the store manager, Bayan Taro said.

Still, ICE isn't offering broad exemptions, and said "all of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States," Byrd said.

Bayan Taro says she worked at the grocery store, Taco Bell and elsewhere to support her husband's dreams. From 2004 to 2006, the two went to Louisiana to work with the military as cultural advisers for those heading to Iraq. She now helps him with film projects.

Nashville's arts and Kurdish communities have rallied with waves of letters to immigration officials, describing him as a well-respected, selfless professional.

"Mr. Taro presents no threats to the U.S. security," wrote Kirmanj Gundi, a Tennessee State University professor. "But to the contrary, he contributes to the bright side of the diversity of this great nation. He is a decent and responsible person."
Police say a man has died and at least four people have been wounded in a shooting at a nightclub in Ohio's capital city.

Columbus police say the shooting occurred just after 12:30 a.m. Saturday at Delfin NightLife on the city's north side.

Police say 21-year-old Domineek Sharp was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say two people taken to hospitals are in critical condition while others who were wounded were driven to hospitals in private vehicles.

WCMH-TV reports that detectives say the shooting might be gang-related.

Police are asking witnesses who haven't been interviewed to contact the Columbus homicide unit.
A 75-year-old black inmate died after corrections officers used force while moving him to a psychiatric observation cell in a Florida jail, but no criminal charges were filed because the officers' actions were justified, according to internal documents from the jail and sheriff's office.

William Howard was found unresponsive at the Orange County jail in November, three days after being arrested and charged with aggravated battery, accused of stabbing his wife.

According to an autopsy report and a 20-page review by the sheriff's office, corrections officers performed a "take-down" while moving Howard to another cell for observation, causing a neck fracture and Howard's death.

Force was used when Howard would not cooperate with officers, jail spokeswoman Tracy Zampaglione told the Orlando Sentinel .

Several officers remain under internal investigation, and three nursing staff members were reprimanded, including one who was fired for not properly treating Howard afterward, according to internal jail documents.

The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office reviewed the use of force and didn't file criminal charges against the officers, according to a May 8 letter sent to the jail.

Howard's family questioned why force was needed.

"We're talking about a 75-year-old man," Howard's brother, Waverly Howard, said. "I mean, there's not a whole lot of strength there. He was in jail and wasn't armed."

Howard was booked into jail Nov. 16. Two days later, he began making incoherent statements and wandering around a common area in jail. He was placed on a suicide watch but wasn't injured after officers sprayed him with pepper spray and transferred him to another cell, according to the sheriff's office review.

Hours later, Howard was sprayed with pepper spray again and officers were instructed to "take him down" when jailers said he resisted attempts to move him, according to the sheriff's office.

Video recorded by one officer showed Howard tensing his body and yelling as officers tried to wrestle him to the floor, the Sentinel reported.

The sheriff's review determined one officer appeared to perform a leg sweep, causing Howard to fall head first to the floor. The video showed four officers carrying Howard, face-down and limp, to a new cell.

Once there, Howard was able to move and refused medical assistance, but he began complaining Nov. 19 of neck and back pain along with weakness and decreased sensation in his legs, according to the autopsy. Howard wasn't hospitalized until he was found unresponsive with no pulse, the review found. He died Nov. 20.

The blunt force left Howard with a fractured neck and spinal cord damage, which led to brain swelling, hemorrhages and death, the autopsy found.

An internal medical review found a registered nurse at the jail "took no action, performed no exam and documented nothing on this patient" after the attack despite concerns about Howard's well-being. The nurse was fired Jan. 6, and two other nurses received written reprimands for failing to follow through with Howard's care.

Howard's family said the officers' actions were "unnecessary and overly aggressive," and Howard died because his medical complaints were ignored, according to a statement from their lawyer, Howard Butler.

A document from the State Attorney's Office said the officers acted in "response to what they reasonably perceived to be physical resistance," and no criminal charges would be filed.

Howard's death was ruled a homicide. Homicides aren't considered criminal if a death is in self-defense or when an officer uses justified force.

Waverly Howard said his brother had never been aggressive, and his death meant the family would never understand why his wife was attacked, leaving her with multiple stab wounds.
More than 100 Islamic State militants launched a counterattack in Mosul on Wednesday, killing 11 Federal Police and four civilians in clashes that were still underway, Iraqi security officials said.

The wide-scale assault underscored the extremist group's resilience in the city despite months of heavy fighting with Iraqi forces backed by U.S. air power.

The militants first sneaked into the western Dandan neighborhood at dawn from the Tigris River and took over a mosque, where they used loudspeakers to announce the assault and shouted "God is greatest!" before it was bombed from the air, according to an army officer and a police officer.

Then the militants moved to the adjacent neighborhoods of Dawasa and Nabi Sheet, breaking into houses, clashing with security forces and seizing a Humvee and other weapons. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

IS boasted about the attack in a statement released online.

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have been battling the extremists in Mosul, the country's second largest city, since October. The militants are now largely confined to a few neighborhoods.
Taiwan said China has been pressuring the governments of five countries in the Middle East, Africa and South America to force the island to change the names of its unofficial representative offices.

The foreign ministry said that Beijing had pressured Nigeria, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Ecuador to remove "Republic of China"  Taiwan's formal name  or "Taiwan" from Taiwan's trade offices. None of the five is among Taiwan's 20 remaining official allies.

Antonio Chen, director general of the ministry's Department of West Asia and African Affairs, was quoted by the official Central News Agency on Wednesday as saying that Taiwan's office in Dubai, in the UAE, had already changed its name from the "Commercial Office of ROC (Taiwan)" to the "Commercial Office of Taipei."

Meanwhile, Taiwan has already recalled its representative to Nigeria and suspended its mission's work there after the Nigerian government said it "could not guarantee its safety," Chen was quoted as saying.

Still, Chen said Taiwan needed to keep as many of its overseas offices open as possible.

"Although we feel being belittled, we still have to maintain the offices out of the long-term interests of Taiwan's citizens," he said.

The moves suggest Beijing is increasing the pressure on Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its territory.

On Tuesday, Panama switched diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China, dealing a major success to China in its campaign to isolate the island and increase pressure on President Tsai Ing-wen to accede to Beijing's demand that she recognize Taiwan as part of Chinese territory.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters Thursday that the "One China" policy was fundamental and Beijing appreciates "these nations' way of handling issues with Taiwan."

With Panama's departure, speculation has grown that other Taiwanese allies will follow suit.

In addition to ratcheting up diplomatic pressure on Taiwan, China has cut off contacts with the island's government, discouraged travel there by Chinese tourists and blocked Taiwanese representatives from taking part in international gatherings such as the World Health Organization's annual assembly.
A top Afghan security official says he welcomes the U.S. government decision to send an additional 4,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Gen. Tariq Shah Bahrami, acting Afghan defense minister, said Saturday the decision was in consultation with the Afghan government. The mission for the new U.S. troops will be to train and advise Afghan security forces.

Meanwhile, Bahrami says army security forces recaptured Tora Bora in eastern Nangarhar province. He said at least 22 Islamic State group fighters were killed and 10 others were wounded in a clearance operation.

A major plan of the Islamic State group was to establish the Khorasan province but it has been foiled by security forces.
Seven American soldiers were wounded when an Afghan army solider opened fire at a military base in northern Afghanistan, US military officials said Saturday.

A spokesman for Resolute Support in Afghanistan said in a statement that all seven soldiers were medically evacuated and are being cared for.

The attack occurred at Camp Shaheen in Mazar-e Sharif around 2 p.m. local time.

Abdul Qahar Araam, spokesman for the 209th Army corps, said soldiers returned fired killing the attacker. One other Afghan soldier was wounded.

There were no U.S. fatalities.

A Taliban spokesman praised the attack, but did not claim responsibility.

Saturdays incident is the second insider attack in just one week.

On June 10, three U.S. soldiers were killed and one wounded when an Afghan army soldier opened fire in the Achin district in eastern Afghanistan. In that case the Taliban claimed responsibility, saying that a loyalist had infiltrated the Afghan army just to attack foreign forces.

Such insider attacks seem to be becoming more common in Afghanistan. In March, another Afghan soldier was killed after he opened fire on foreign forces at a base in Helmand province, wounding three U.S. soldiers.

Saturdays attack comes just days after reports surfaced that the White House will be sending an additional 4,000 soldiers to Afghanistan. Roughly 8,400 American soldiers are in Afghanistan now  most of them helping to train the Afghan security forces fighting the Taliban.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
Iraqi forces captured Saturday a border crossing point to Syria from the Islamic State group, increasing pressure on the extremists and getting closer to meeting up with Syrian troops and their allies who reached the border earlier this month for the first time in years.

Tribal forces and border police, supported by Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition aircraft, took part in the operation to take the al-Waleed crossing, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement.

Al-Waleed, in the far west of Iraq, fell to the Islamic State group in 2015, giving the militants full control of the Iraq-Syria border, which they vowed to erase as part of their ambition to build their caliphate.

Saturday's push by Iraqi troops came nearly three weeks after Iraq's paramilitary forces  mostly Shiite fighters with close ties to Iran referred to as the Popular Mobilization Forces  reached the Syrian border in northeastern Iraq.

In recent months the militants have been coming under increasing pressure in Iraq and Syria where they have lost vast parts of the land they declared as a caliphate in Syria and Iraq in June 2014.

U.S. troops and Syrian opposition fighters control the Tanf area on the other side from al-Waleed. Earlier this month, Iranian-sponsored pro-Syrian government forces outflanked U.S. advisers and rebels holding the Tanf border crossing to establish their own link to Iraq for the first time in years. The Iraqi side is still held by IS.

Syrian troops in the area are preparing to march on Islamic State positions to the north, in the Euphrates River Valley.

The push by Iraqi forces came as the Syrian military announced Saturday the cessation of all combat operations in the southern city of Daraa for 48 hours in support of national reconciliation efforts after days of violence in the area.

The announcement comes days after the contested city witnessed some of the worst fighting in months amid fears by opposition activists that the government will try to take Daraa, where the country's civil war began in 2011.

In a statement, the army's General Command said that all combat operations will stop as of Saturday 12 p.m. (0900 GMT) for 48 hours. A "de-escalation agreement" brokered by Iran, Russia and Turkey in May has brought hardly any relief to the city, activists said. The agreement covers four zones in Syria where the rebels are fighting pro-government forces.

The Syrian government cites national reconciliation efforts when a deal has been reached with local gunmen to give up fighting against the state in return for amnesty. Saturday's announcement came amid ongoing talk in neighboring Jordan to calm the situation in southern Syria.

A western diplomat said in Beirut this week that the U.S., Russia and Jordan were holding closed-door meetings in Amman to halt the fighting between rebels and the government in southern Syria.

The three nations are debating the boundaries of a cease-fire line between the government and rebels in what is hoped to be a comprehensive agreement that would delineate the control of border crossings with Jordan, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

In the northern city of Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the Islamic State group, a U.S.-backed Syrian force entered new neighborhoods east and west of the city adding that they were able to free dozens of civilians who were trapped in the fighting.

IS has been preventing civilians from leaving Raqqa in an apparent attempt to use them as human shields.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launched an offensive to capture Raqqa from the extremists on June 6, under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition. SDF fighters have captured at least three neighborhoods from IS since then.

The SDF said in a statement posted on social media Saturday that its fighters have now entered the western neighborhoods of Bareed, Hiteen and Qadissiya, as well as the eastern neighborhood of Bayatra.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks Syria's war, says airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition since June 6 have killed 117 civilians and wounded hundreds.

____

Szlanko reported from Irbil, Iraq.
HARRISONBURGThe road to becoming Virginias next governor started again on Friday for Republican nominee Ed Gillespie.

After narrowly defeating GOP upstart Corey Stewart by a little more than 4,500 votes in the state Republican Primary on Tuesday, Gillespie was busy on the campaign trail Friday with stops throughout the northern Shenandoah Valley.

During his first stop at Brothers Craft Brewing in Harrisonburg, Gillespie spoke of themes familiar to his bid. Our economic growth is stagnant. We are 39th in the nation and we should be first in the nation, he said.

Gillespie said his plan to cut state income taxes would lead to 53,000 private sector jobs and reduce the recent migration of people from the commonwealth. He said in the past three years, more people have left Virginia than have moved in.

The former aide to President George W. Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee also promised to sign legislation on school choice offered by Shenandoah Valley Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg.

Gillespie said he would run a campaign for governor that makes us all proud. And I will be a governor who makes us all proud.

If elected, he said, he would sign an executive order banning all gifts to him and his appointees.

While margin of victory over Stewart was surprisingly small, Gillespie said he is confident he can expand his base of support in November. He said moderate and conservative Republicans would support him and said independents and conservative Democrats would like his platform stressing job creation.

Speaking of which, he said Virginia must transform its economy to one that attracts manufacturing and encourages entrepreneurs in an effort to build its economic base and create employment opportunities for all Virginians.

Gillespie said he would work well with the Republican administration of President Donald Trump, but added that the commonwealth has too much of its identity and economy tied to Washington, D.C. and federal contracts.

We need to be less reliant on federal spending, he said.

During his appearance in Harrisonburg, Gillespie was critical of his Democratic opponent, Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who handily won his partys nomination over one-time Congressman Tom Perriello.

He said Northam wants to shut down energy production, and as a state senator, voted to increase state sales tax and other taxes. Gillespie said Northam also supports sanctuary cities and opposes school choice, describing the Democrat as an angry liberal.

Ofirah Yheskel, press secretary for the Northam campaign, repudiated that characterization and said Northam is a pramatic public servant with a record of accomplishment for Virginians of all backgrounds.

Unlike Mr. Gillespie, the lieutenant governor has been focused on what matters to Virginians: building the new Virginia economy and bringing in over 190,000 jobs into the commonwealth to date, Yheskel said. Ralph Northam will add to that jobs number and push the commonwealth further to expand the jobs of the future in alternative energy production.

Northams press secretary then struck what is expected to be a frequent Democratic-rung chord in the lead-up to November.

Gillespie can keep lobbying for Donald Trumps backwards agendahe just wont do it from the governors mansion, Yheskel said.

With polls showing President Trump with low approval ratings, Democrats are hoping they can tie Gillespie to the commander in chief.

As the general election campaign gets underway, however, it appears the two candidates are even in the polls. Harper Polling released an independent, post-primary poll on Friday showing Gillespie and Northam both with the support of 46 percent of Virginia voters.

Plans had called for Gillespie to be joined Friday by the rest of the Republican statewide ticket, but lieutenant governor nominee Jill Vogel and attorney general nominee John Adams were unavailable.
I HAVENT taken a drivers test in a while, so Im not sure what questions applicants must answer these days.

When I got my first license, the test was pretty simple. I had to identify a few signs, including stop, yield, railroad crossing and a few others, and figure out who had the right of way when four cars ended up at an intersection.

Then this feisty old gal named Edna Green made me drive her around town for a few blocks, making at least one right and one left turn to make sure I knew how to give my signals.

You had to use hand signals back then, straight out for left and 90-degrees for a right turn. Now, of course, the only time a driver sticks his hand out the window is to make an obscene gesture.

Obscene gestures werent covered in the manual back then, but because so many people use them these days, they must be in the book now.

In those days it was also illegal to pass another car without honking your horn. Absolute truth. I heard a state trooper ridicule a senior boy during a school assembly who insisted a horn wasnt necessary.

Oh, and if you passed a car in the night, you also were required to blink your lights in addition to blowing your horn. Yep, passing another car required multi-tasking in those days. Of course, the dimmer switch was on the floor so you had a free hand for the horn.

But back to the drivers test. In addition to recognizing road signs, applicants today should be tested as to whether they understand that houses and other buildings are not part of the public highway system.

Every day, it seems that some driver runs into a house, a storefront or an office building. Whats the deal here? Dont modern drivers know youre not supposed to ram a building?

Until a few years ago, I never heard of anyone driving into a building, but now motorists do it all the time. Are drivers so ignorant that they cant tell a house from a highway?

Of course, there is another possibility. Maybe GPS is directing drivers into buildings. Hey, dont laugh! Last week my GPS directed me onto a military base when I was supposed to be turning onto the interstate.

Applicants should also be tested on distance. I was always taught that you leave at least one car length per 10 mph between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Nowadays I look in the mirror and some dude going 70 is six feet off my back bumper.

Several times I have been tempted to install one of those old hay roll spears on the rear end of my car, one with a hydraulic lifts that pops it up when a car gets within 20 feet.

Then I would add blaring music, Jay and the Americans singing that old song, Come A Little Bit Closer. Finally I would slam on my brakes while the Supremes sing, Stop! In the Name of Love!

Yes, youre right. Im the meanest man I know.

It also appears that todays motorists arent tested on where to stop at intersections. You dont go past that white stripe because if you do, anyone turning right on red cant see cars coming from the left. It is called courtesy.

Tests should also have a question to make sure drivers know about the blind spots they enter when they creep up while passing cars and just hang there. Dont they understand that the driver on the right cant see them in his mirror? Those people drive me nuts, too.

Oh, and did they drop that Are you supposed to dim your lights when meeting another vehicle at night question? Apparently so, because nobody seems to remember to do that.

And you are required to come to a complete stop before turning right on red. I dont think drivers are tested on that either.

One final note: When I got a motorcycle endorsement on my license, I wondered if Edna Green, in her tight skirt, would climb on the back of my machine with me.

She just frowned and said, See that intersection up there? Drive up and turn around. If you make it back alive, youll pass.

I made it back alive.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe unveiled a new state historical marker Monday commemorating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Courts 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia, which struck down Virginias ban on interracial marriage and that of 15 other states.

But where the marker was dedicated that dayin front of the Patrick Henry Building next to Capitol Square in Richmondis not where the state Department of Historic Resources planned for it to be. Up until two weeks before the ceremony, the marker was supposed to be installed in Caroline County.

The couple at the center of the caseRichard Loving, who was white, and Mildred Jeter Loving, who was notwere both natives of Caroline County. They were arrested in their home in the community of Central Point on July 24, 1958 and held in the county jail in Bowling Green on charges of violating Virginias laws against interracial marriage.

Years later, they sought the help of lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, which led to the case being brought to the Supreme Court, because they wanted to return to Caroline but were barred from living there openly by a local judge.

They are Caroline people, said Floyd Thomas, a county supervisor and friend of the Lovings one surviving child, daughter Peggy Loving Fortune.

According to Thomas, Fortune, who lives in Bowling Green, was very disappointed that the marker was dedicated in Richmond and not in Caroline.

In his opening comments at Tuesdays Caroline Board of Supervisors meeting, Thomas described attending the ceremony in Richmond the previous day and wondering why Caroline had missed out on this opportunity for positive exposure.

He said he called Fortune, who he has known for 30 years, after returning home from the ceremony to ask what she knew about the change.

Fortune told him she had approved of the marker being located in Caroline, just north of the intersection of U.S. 301 and State Route 721, known as Sparta Road.

That is the location that [she] approved of and it provides more visibility than if it were actually at the Central Point location 10 miles away, Thomas said in a phone interview Thursday.

Fortune had also approved of the text of the marker, which had been changed over the past year. Originally, it described the couple as follows: Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a woman of African-American and Virginia Indian descent, married in June 1958 in Washington D.C.

THE ROOTS OF A DISPUTE

In her 1963 letter to then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy, which he passed onto the ACLU lawyers who eventually took on her case, Mildred Loving described the couple similarly: My husband is White. I am part Negro and part Indian.

But Fortunes son and the Lovings grandson, Mark Loving, objected to this characterization because later in her life, Mildred Loving described herself as 100 percent Rappahannock Indian and denied having African-American ancestry.

Julie Langan, Department of Historic Resources director and state historic preservation officer, was involved in the negotiations over the text of the marker.

[Mark Loving] wants the marker to say that [Mildred Loving] was 100 percent Native American, she said in a phone interview Wednesday. But there is conflicting documentation, so we werent going to say what she was, because we dont know. He vehemently objected.

In response to Mark Lovings concerns, the text was amended to describe the couple as simply interracial, as defined by Virginias 1924 Racial Integrity Act.

It would have been interracial in the eyes of the law if she were 100 percent Native American or black, Langham said.

According to Thomas, Fortune was happy with this description.

As is her prerogative, Peggy wanted her family identified as it was in the final text version and was happy with the proposed marker, he said in his board comments. She also told me that she, as the surviving child [of the Lovings], had all the authority for the family and none of her three children had been given the authority to represent her.

Mark Loving still had concerns. On May 23, he attended a meeting of the Caroline County supervisors to express his opposition to the marker.

My mom, she has decided to go with the revised version of the plaque, he said at the meeting. But Ill stand here tonight to say Im still against it. Im still against it.

He said he based his opposition on what he knew of his grandmother.

My whole point is that my grandmother raised me. I stayed with my grandmother for 17 years in Caroline, he said. It just dont sit right with me. It really dont.

He said he wanted the family to be able to put their own words on the marker.

[DHR] came to me with the first version, he said. We didnt agree with it at all, they reworded it, it was fine, but when I say, How about this, that and the other, it was such a problem. I told them, You know what, just forget about it, find someone else to make a plaque of. 

He said that was the last he heard about it until a reporter contacted him to ask for an interview in advance of the markers dedication June 12. So he reached out to Jeff Sili, his representative on the Caroline Board of Supervisors.

Sili said he has long known of Lovings aversion to the marker and he had made Caroline County Administrator Charles Culley aware of it. So when Langan called Culley to let him know about the dedication ceremony, Culley told her that there was opposition to it from the board.

He named Mr. Sili, Langan said.

Langan emailed Sili on May 25. She wrote that she knew Mark Loving was still dissatisfied with the text of the marker, but that having spent a year attempting to reach an agreement, she made the decision to defer to Peggy Loving Fortune on the matter and place the marker at her preferred location, the intersection of U.S. 301 and State Route 721.

She encouraged Sili to call her with concerns or questions. Sili wrote back that day, copying state Sen. Ryan McDougle and Dels. Buddy Fowler, Bobby Orrock and Margaret Ransone, all of whom represent Caroline.

The actions of everyone who sought to tell this story over the years, including those responsible for the state marker, have created a never-ending source of heartache for this family, Sili wrote in the email.

He wrote that DHR had given Fortune no alternative and that, according to her son, she was OK with 721, but did not pick it. He called DHRs interpretation of the story wrong and wrote that he thought the matter was being used by McAuliffe as a political tool.

Langan said that after this e-mail, she had an hour-long phone conversation with Sili.

It was a very sort of circular conversation, she said. He questioned my authority to place a marker in Caroline County and felt that I was being insensitive to the familys wishes. That the family did not want it. That Caroline County did not want it.

Langan said she tried to receive confirmation from Fortune that the objections were not coming from her but from her son, but did not hear back. She said she also attempted to contact Mark Loving but did not hear back from him either.

Meanwhile, Im running out of time, she said. We knew we wanted to dedicate the marker on the 50th anniversary. With very little time, it was decided that we needed to change the location. We did that because I was getting the sense that there wasnt local support for the marker.

Ive since come to realize that there were a couple of people who overstated the opposition, and maybe implied that they were speaking for the county when they were speaking just for themselves, she continued.

A FAMILY MATTER

In a phone interview, Sili said he has no personal opposition to the marker but was trying to respond to the wishes of his constituent, Mark Loving.

Mark was raised by his grandmother, Sili said. I looked at it from the perspective of, he lived with her. She imparted a lot of herself on him. At this point, Mark is the person thats been interfaced with. Im just trying to do right by Mark.

He said he considers this a family matter.

They should be central in this. And their feelings. Thats all Im concerned with, he said.

But for Thomas and for those who spoke at or attended the markers dedicationsome of whom are in legal interracial marriages today thanks to the decisionthe Lovings story has become something bigger. The decision in Loving v. Virginia was cited as precedent in Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court case that guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry.

This is not about representing a single constituent, Thomas said in his board comments. It is about two of Carolines own that changed the nation, whether they wanted to or not. Whether we agree or not. It is about Caroline County recognizing a historical event and paying tribute to its native son and daughter and their love for each other.

After Thomas presented his comments June 13, the board unanimously voted to erect a duplicate of the marker in Caroline, in the amount not to exceed $2,000. The original marker was funded by a federal transportation grant meant to create markers to those historically underrepresented by the marker program, such as women and blacks.

Thomas said Fortune suggested dedicating the new marker on July 24, the date the Lovings were arrested, and that she told him she will attend. He is working with DHR to attempt to have a new marker ready by that date.

That will make [Fortune] happy and thats what I care about, he said.

But the text of the marker remains in question.

Since we worked on the wording for a while, Id like to keep the wording the same and just change the title from Loving v. Virginia to Richard and Mildred Loving or something like that, Thomas said.

Sili said he wants to talk to Mark Loving about it.

Floyd Thomas is adamant the text is going to be the same. I would like to see what Mark wants, he said. Floyd said hes not the direct descendant. But hes the only one that DHR has communicated with. His mom just isnt communicating.
Eugene Raymond Ray Highfield, 86, of Fredericksburg peacefully passed away Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at his home. His final earthly days were spent in the company of his children, surrounded by their love as they cherished the love he had shown as a husband, father, grandfather and to his delight, as a great-grandfather.

Mr. Highfield was a retired Lt. Col. in the U.S. Air Force and later served as a contractor for the Department of Defense. He was preceded in death by his wife, Allyn Elaine Highfield. Ray and Allyn were married for 63 years before Allyns passing in 2015. Their marriage endured military moves, overseas assignments, career changes, the trials and joys of raising five children, and some rocky roads but was a deep bond that lasted through it all.

Survivors include his children, Greg Highfield (Merilyn) of Fredericksburg, Becky Minton (Ken) of Seneca, S.C., Carol Kieffer (Scott) of Fredericksburg, Gail Crooks (Rod) of Spotsylvania and Michael Highfield of Fredericksburg; 14 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and sister Virginia Highfield of Utah.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, June 19 at Fletchers Chapel United Methodist Church in King George. A private interment will be held at a later date.

Online guestbook at covenantfuneralservice.com.
Firefighters group didnt endorse House candidate

The Spotsylvania Career Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 3886, would like to convey that our organization had not surveyed, interviewed, endorsed, met with or spoken to any candidate in the Virginia House of Delegates 54th District race.

We are slightly disappointed that at least one candidate appeared to use photos of themselves with career firefighters to promote their campaign, but has not contacted us to understand our challenges or political concerns.

We appreciate any opportunity that we have to speak with political candidates and educate them on the issues our members face while serving the residents of Spotsylvania County. We look forward to meeting with candidates between now and the November elections.

The Spotsylvania Career Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 3886, strives to help improve the fire, rescue and emergency services provided to county residents, advocates for better working conditions and fair compensation, works for changes to meet current standards, and provides benevolent assistance to its members. The association is made up of full-time firefighters and medics working for, or retired from, Spotsylvania County.

Justin Langridge Spotsylvania

The writer is president of the Spotsylvania Career Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 3886.
Mendez studies the genomics of head and neck cancers, looking for vulnerabilities in the growth process of cancer cells. Even rapidly growing cancer cells need to stall their development at some points to make fixes, he said, and thats where hes looking for ways to stop cancer in its tracks.

In a car race, you want to go fast but even so you have to strategize on when to stop to change tires or do other necessary maintenance, Mendez explained.

Recent genomic studies have unveiled that loss of a gene called p53, a master regulator of cell growth, was the most frequently mutated gene in head and neck cancers and that this loss was associated with poor survival.

So far theres no way therapeutically to restore p53, but Mendez and his team have discovered a promising alternative that could potentially benefit a large proportion of patients with head and neck cancers and possibly other tumors with this genetic defect.

With seed funding from the Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium and Seattle Translational Tumor Research, Mendez paired up with Dr. Christopher Kemp of the Fred Hutch Human Biology and Public Health Sciences divisions and co-founder of Cure First, a nonprofit research organization; and Dr. Carla Grandori, president and scientific director of Cure First, to look at potential vulnerabilities that p53-deficient tumors have developed.

We reasoned that these tumors would depend on other partner genes that regulate cell division to repair DNA and maintain cell division, Mendez said. By targeting these partner genes, we figured that would render tumor cells incapable of repairing errors in their genetic code and cause uncoordinated cell division that would lead to cell death.

Like if a car loses the main brake pedal, the parking brake could be used instead to slow it down and avoid a crash.

The Fred Hutch researchers did a series of experiments to see what other genes served as that second brake. It turned out to be a gene called WEE1, which acts as a backup checkpoint as cells divide. The gene pauses cell division to give cells a chance to repair any DNA mistakes. Without it, cells divide with damaged DNA and then they cant survive.

After promising findings in preclinical models, Mendez opened a Phase 1 clinical trial using a drug that blocks WEE1. The results so far have been astonishing in the 11 patients treated, Mendez said.

What is more, they found that HPV-positive head and neck cancers were also sensitive to this treatment despite having a normal p53 protein. This is because the HPV proteins disable p53 to promote cancer growth. Thus, targeting WEE1 has the potential to treat not only p53 mutated tumors, but those in which p53 is inactivated by HPV.

This couldnt have been done without the support and collaborations available at the Hutch. It calls to the true spirit of ideas and doing things that individual labs cannot do on their own, Mendez said.

This initial success through the seed funding provided the green light for him to apply for NIH funding.

With the new funding, Mendez has expanded his team to include experts in DNA replication stress, cell cycle and HPV: Dr. Bruce Clurman, Fred Hutch executive vice president and deputy director; Dr. Denise Galloway, associate director of the Human Biology Division at Fred Hutch; and Dr. Julia Sidorova of the University of Washington. The team will explore the mechanisms by which targeting WEE1 kills tumors with p53 deficiency and look for ways to improve treatments for more patients.

He will also look for other partner genes that work with WEE1.

The hope is that targeting these partner genes in combination with WEE1 will lead to a more durable and effective response and lessen our reliance on toxic chemotherapy and radiation  the current standard of care for aggressive head and neck cancers.

 Molly McElroy
While the relative successes in these trials of certain immunotherapies compared to traditional chemotherapies led to FDA approvals in particular cancers, it is clear that only some patients are helped by these strategies. It is also clear that many cancers can eventually escape from a treatment that was once successful in controlling its growth.

The next steps: continue learning about cancer biology and use that knowledge to design better treatments. Throughout the forum, speaker after speaker said it is obvious that combination immunotherapy strategies will be needed to interfere in the numerous and dynamic mechanisms cancers use to avoid immune attack.

The entire field believes that combinations are the future, said Dr. Jill ODonnell-Tormey of the Cancer Research Institute, a New York-based nonprofit that funds research on cancer immunology. The question is, How are we going to get there?

It will take a smart approach, based on a deep understanding of tumor biology, to find the best combination treatments to keep more cancers in check for longer, speakers said. Researchers around the world, including at Fred Hutch, are now teasing apart the intricacies of cancer immunobiology to get at these answers. Biotech startups, like Fred Hutch spinoff Adaptive Therapeutics, whose CEO Chad Robins spoke at the forum, are bringing new tools for understanding the immune system to market to accelerate research.

3. New advances in genetically engineered T-cell therapy

Combination immunotherapies could include something as simple as giving a patient two different FDA-approved drugs, as in many ongoing trials, or as complex as combining multiple types of genetically engineered, cancer-fighting T cells in one high-tech punch.

Thats the premise of a new trial recently opened at Seattle Childrens Hospital for kids with advanced leukemia, said Dr. Mike Jensen, a pediatric immunotherapy researcher at Childrens and Fred Hutch.

Jensen and collaborators have previously tested a strategy in which patients disease-fighting T cells are genetically engineered to equip themselves with a molecule called a chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, that allows them to target cancer cells.

Their latest strategy is to combine CAR T-cell therapy, as the experimental treatment is known, with an infusion of another group of genetically engineered T cells. But instead of being engineered to target cancer cells, like CAR T cells, these cells are engineered to help keep the CAR T cells active: Specifically, they are programmed to carry, like a red flag, a version of the leukemia target that CAR T cells recognize. The idea is that the presence of these cells will keep the CAR T cells on alert for any leukemia cells that would otherwise be able to hide from the immune system and regroup.

Innovations in the lab to create next-generation designs of engineered T cells are proceeding at a far more rapid pace than is possible to translate into clinical trials, Jensen said. These laboratory breakthroughs, if successfully translated into the clinic, could help CAR T-cell therapy overcome some of the formidable defenses to immune attack found in solid tumors like brain cancer, he said.
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U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he walks to board Marine One departing from the White Houseen route to Miami to announce his Cuba policy, in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 16, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced new restrictions on U.S. leisure travel to Cuba and U.S. business with Cuban military. (Xinhua/Shen Ting)

WASHINGTON, June 16 -- After targeting his predecessor Barack Obama's legacies in global trade and climate change, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced plans to roll back parts of Obama-era's opening with Cuba.

Speaking at a rally at Miami's Little Havana, Florida, Trump announced new restrictions on Americans' travel to Cuba and U.S. business with Cuban military while keeping the restoration of normal U.S.-Cuban diplomatic ties untouched.

"It's hard to think of a policy that makes less sense than the prior administration's terrible and misguided deal," said Trump.

Under Trump's new directive, U.S. individuals and companies will be prohibited from doing commerce with Cuban businesses, including the Cuban tourism sector, owned by the Cuban military.

As to travel, Americans who travel to Cuba for non-academic educational purposes will be required to visit Cuba through tour groups, and the self-directed and individual travel, permitted by the Obama administration, will be prohibited.

Trump also reaffirmed U.S. statutory embargo of Cuba.

The Cuban government had no immediate comment.

"The previous administration's easing of restrictions on travel and trade do not help the Cuban people," said Trump, adding that effective immediately, he was canceling Obama's "completely one-sided deal" with Cuba.

However, according to a White Housestatement released during Trump's speech, the policy changes "will not take effect until those (U.S.) Departments have finalized their new regulations."

Despite his effort to roll back parts of Obama's Cuba policy, Trump left many of Obama's legacy intact, including remaining U.S. embassy in Cuba.

"Our embassy (in Cuba) remains open in the hope that our countries can forge a much stronger and better path," he said.

Calling the policy changes "moderate," Sebastian Arcos, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute, told Xinhua that Trump was making adjustments to, instead of cancelling Obama's Cuba policy, and the impact on U.S.-Cuba relationship was limited.

"I don't think things are going to change in a significant way," said Arcos. "The United Stateswill always react to what the Cuban government did. Trump is trying to adjust in a way that doesn't help the (Cuban) government that much."

While the policy changes aligned Trump with hawkish Cuban-American Republicans in the U.S. Congress, Trump soon met with opposition from his own party.

Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican lawmaker from Arizona, said in a statement that any policy change that diminishes the ability of Americans to travel freely to Cuba "is not in the best interests of the United States or the Cuban people."

Together with other 54 co-sponsors, Flake was introducing a bipartisan bill to allow Americans to travel to Cuba for tourism purposes.

In December 2014, in the most sweeping change in U.S.-Cuban relations in five decades, Obama announced plans to normalize ties with Cuba in a move that quickly sparked much controversy in the United States.

Since then, improvements have been made in U.S.-Cuban diplomatic, social and commercial ties, with the U.S. opening an embassy in Cuba, increasing flights to Cuba, and some U.S. businesses expanding into the island nation for the first time in five decades.

America severed ties with Cuba in 1961, shortly after Fidel Castro launched a revolution that toppled a U.S.-friendly government, and the two countries had been at loggerheads ever since.
One lane of Northwest Circle Boulevard was blocked briefly on Friday afternoon while police investigated a single-vehicle crash.

The accident occurred about 12:45 p.m. in the 1900 block of Circle when a 2002 Ford Mustang sedan jumped the curb and smacked into a tree in the front yard of a home, resulting in damage to both the tree and the drivers side of the vehicle.

No one was injured in the crash.

The driver told a reporter that he lost control while trying to avoid another vehicle that had pulled in front of him.

Jordan Reeves, 27, of Corvallis was cited for driving without a valid license and careless driving, according to Sgt. Ryan Eaton of the Corvallis Police Department.

The Corvallis Fire Department assisted at the scene.
I want to begin by sharing that this is my final column for the "Interfaith Voices" series. Next month I will conclude my time with Beit Am and relocate to Portland to begin serving a congregation there. I am grateful to Barbara Nixon of First United Methodist, the visionary and coordinator behind this project, and Mike McInally, who has graciously welcomed these contributions onto the pages of the Gazette-Times. It has been an honor to participate in this ongoing conversation.

I will miss Corvallis, for many reasons. One of the things I have appreciated most here is that, despite the relative homogeneity of our population, many people, including those in leadership, work to foster diversity of representation and input. It is of course a work in progress, but I count it as one of Corvallis strengths.

To sincerely commit to inclusivity, however, is no easy task. To do so, not in a token fashion but for the sake of genuinely welcoming and being influenced by a diversity of identity and expression, is to enlist in a demanding and even risky project. I consistently return to the teachings of Jewish philosopher and sage Martin Buber, who viewed the world through the primary orientation of encountering the other  whomever they may be  as You (or Thou) as opposed to It.

In encountering another as you, he or she becomes in our eyes a living and vital entity in and of him or herself. They are not there to meet my needs or confirm the world as I perceive it. Rather, their genuine presence asks me to imagine the world as they might perceive it. This is where risk comes in: to truly encounter the other, we must be willing to have our own perceptions challenged. We must be willing to realize that there are things about the world that we do not and perhaps cannot understand from where we sit. And then we must be willing to dwell amidst the discomfort of being true to who we are while making room for others to be true to who they are.

Often this meeting involves tension, where two narratives clash with each other. At that point, we can either double down, so to speak  asserting our own assumptions of the world more fervently and claiming that the others is an illusion, or we can take the next step in the long, slow, humbling and ultimately redemptive work of actual human encounter across lines often left uncrossed.

As I experience it, meeting each other in this way is an essential ingredient in serving as a vessel for Gods presence in this world. This is at the heart of Bubers teaching: that the Divine dwells in that space  the often risky and destabilizing space  in which we encounter another just as he or she is. The tendency we have to cling to our own narratives at the expense of others is understandable. But in doing so we perpetuate misunderstanding, if not conflict and even oppression. The instruction to find God in the space between us challenges us to suspend our presumptions and actually be shaped by our encounters in the world.

Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav taught: The end of knowledge is [the realization] that we do not know. Not certainty, but curiosity and humility are at the heart of this model of faith. If we hope truly to include and affirm others humanity, we must be willing to abandon some  and at times much  of what we presume to know.

In these days and years ahead, may we endeavor to know less, and have the courage to set aside our well-trodden narratives, thus making room for the Divine wellspring that flows from the midst of our meeting the other anew.
Two men charged with manslaughter and other crimes in the death of a Corvallis homeless man will be tried together, despite efforts by their attorneys to have their cases heard separately.

In a hearing Friday afternoon in Benton County Circuit Court, Judge Locke Williams denied motions filed by Mike Flinn, representing Roy Eric Edwards, and Clark Willes, representing Andre Ulysses Tucker, to sever their trials.

Edwards, 49, and Tucker, 48, are accused of individually beating the same man in separate incidents over a two-day span last fall because they mistakenly thought he had been masturbating near the camp of Edwards girlfriend. The victim, 50-year-old Stephen Eric Mathews, was found dead around 11 p.m. Sept. 10 in a wooded area near the BMX Track Park off Southeast Chapman Place. The two suspects were named co-defendants in a grand jury indictment.

Flinn, Edwards attorney, argued in his motion to sever that trying the cases together would violate his clients constitutional right against self-incrimination. Edwards may want to testify at trial to implicate Tucker, but in doing so could implicate himself, Flinn asserted.

Willes argued that if the two men are tried together, the state might be able to introduce statements by Edwards implicating Tucker without giving the defense an opportunity for cross-examination.

The prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney Amie Matusko, stated in a written response to Flinns motion that positional self-incrimination could be mitigated by limiting the states cross-examination.

Additionally, Matusko said severing the cases would require two eight-day trials that would rehash most of the same facts and would require the same witnesses and law enforcement officers to testify.

In court on Friday, Williams listened as Flinn, Edwards and Matusko presented oral arguments, occasionally cutting in to ask questions. In the end, the judge ruled that the defense attorneys had failed to meet the burden of proof required to support their motions for separate trials.

There must be no doubt, Williams said, that a joint trial would not be appropriate.

Manslaughter is the most serious charge in the case, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, but both men face additional counts as well.

Edwards is charged with felony second-degree assault, third-degree assault, conspiracy to commit a felony, first-degree burglary, two charges of witness tampering and one charge of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault.

Tucker faces misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree assault, harassment and second-degree disorderly conduct.

Both defendants are being held in the Benton County Jail.

The parties agreed to schedule a 12-day trial in the case, but no starting date was set on Friday.

The next court appearance for both defendants  a hearing to determine whether statements Edwards made to police about Tucker should be admissible as evidence  is set for 4:30 p.m. July 13.
The flow of love begins with the love of God for humanity. From there love extends to family, and then neighbor and finally nation. And what is the hoped-for result? That through the power of the Holy Spirit an indissoluble and unchanging unity will appear. All are invited to share a selection of readings from Baha'i texts and the discussion that follows. Information: 541-745-7916.

Youth Rec Night: First United Methodist Church in Corvallis will hold a Youth Recreation Night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in its community center.

The event is for young people entering grades 6 through 12 this fall. Parents must leave an emergency phone number in advance.

Celebration of pastor's ministry: Later this year, Pastor Bill Seagren of College United Methodist Church, 1123 Main St., Philomath, will move to the Czech Republic with his wife, Jenny.

The couple will work as missionaries. Seagren has been the church's pastor for 16 years, and Jenny Seagren has been a regular substitute teacher in Philomath for all those years.

Seagren's final Sunday at the church will be June 25. After the 9 a.m. service, a potluck celebration will be given to say thank-you to the Seagrens. All are welcome to attend.

The congregation's next pastor, the Rev. Michael Gregor, will lead his first service at 9 a.m. July 2.

Information: 541-929-2412.

Concert: Westwood Community Church, 23319 Greasy Creek Road near Philomath, will hold an outdoor concert at 6 p.m. June 25.

The Arena Family will perform a concert of Southern Gospel harmony. Those attending should bring lawn chairs or a blanket. A love offering will be taken. Information: 541-602-2175.

Music and arts camp: "Jonah and the Whale" will be the theme of a music and arts camp set for June 26 through 30 at First Christian Church in Albany.

The camp, offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday that week, is for children entering kindergarten through fifth grade for the 2017-18 school year. Fee is $5 per child and $10 for families with more than one child. Included with the fee is a T-shirt and lunch each day.

At 1 p.m. June 30, the children will perform a musical about Jonah and the whale that promises to be "a whale of a good time for everybody," said camp leader and First Christian Pastor Douglass Anne Cartwright.

Parents can fill out and submit registration forms at www.fccalbany.com and send the registration fee to First Christian Church, 432 Ferry St. SW, Albany, OR 97321.

For more information, contact Cartwright at 541-926-8606 or fccrevda@gmail.com.

5-Day Clubs: Child Evangelism Fellowship will start its free 5-Day Clubs the week of June 26.

The theme is "Around the World," offering games, Bible stories, missionary stories, songs and prizes for ages 4 to 13.

Clubs meeting June 26 through 30 will take place as follows: 10:30 a.m. to noon, Freedom Hill Church, 2470 E. Main St., Sweet Home; 1 to 2:30 p.m., Tangent Community Church, 32114 Tangent Drive; 3:30 to 5 p.m., Christopher Columbus Park, 2800 10th St., Lebanon; and in a private home in Sweet Home.

Further information is available at 541-258-7150.

Day camp: "Come Dive In with Us!" is set for July 10 through 14 at Grace Lutheran Church, 435 NW 21st St. in Corvallis.

This is a day camp for all children. Information: https://lutherwooddaycampcorv.wordpress.com.
Obituary on Helmut Kohl : Helmut Kohl - the chancellor of divided Germany and its unification

Bonn With the reunification, he become a historical heavyweight in world politics. Years later, a scandal surrounding donations causes him to break with his party, the CDU. Helmut Kohl died on Friday at the age of 87 in Ludwigshafen.

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Actually, the life of this long-lasting, powerful, and great politician can be told briefly: he was quite suddenly and powerfully there (early 80s), seven years later almost gone, then suddenly - and how! - back again (with the reunification), then (with the donation scandal) gone again - and now he is dead.



The life of Helmut Josef Michael Kohl began on 3 April 1930 in Ludwigshafen-Friesenheim, which he later interprets - often criticized, often misunderstood - as the "grace of the later birth". Kohl only wanted to say that he could not be guilty personally during the Nazi and war period. Although he was trained as a member of the Hitler Youth, he was not in battle.

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Kohl studied law and history, wrote a dissertation on political developments in the Palatinate, and set the foundation for his political career.

The powerful Kohl is born

Kohl, the political figure, was born when he joined the CDU in 1946, when he was 16 years old. This is followed by the usual political path, which one today is likely to forget. City Council and Young Union, Landtag and the State CDU. As early as 1966 he was a member of the Bundesvorstand of the Christian Democrats, three years later he was Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate.



The Palatine reforms. Then the country: regional reforms, university reforms, school reforms. The Catholic Kohl (who in his early years was already calling for condom dispensing machines) creates denominational schools. He presents himself as a teamplayer, surrounds himself with other young reformers, including the prominent Heiner Geissler. He had little interest in the State Cabinet (he refused an appointment as Minister of State before his election as the President), his ambition was exhausted with the entry into the Mainz Chancellery.



In the party this becomes quite clear: already two years after his election in Mainz he ran for the Federal Leadership of the CDU, but he lost to Rainer Barzel. Two years later, he was unstoppable: Kohl became the leader of the party and would remain in this position for a quarter of a century.

Kohl as a top candidate

The next move is already planned, but goes wrong: in 1976, Kohl ran as the top candidate for the Bundestag and recieved 48.6 percent, a sensational result, but Helmut Schmidt remains in office. Kohl takes up the challenge - and after a six-year long public humiliation from Schmidt. He moves from the government office in the province to the opposition in Bonn, because he is convinced: time is working for him.

A self-awareness, which later also manifests itself in the content of his policy. "I have not the slightest doubt that history works for us and not against us," he would say later, meaning the German reunification.

But this was not a popular though at the end of the seventies. The world is organized, the division is cemented, only Kohl's power base has not yet been expanded. So the leader gets to work. He reformed the federal CDU, made the Chancellor's election a leading force with Geissler at the top, a friend from his Mainz days. The Bonn headquarters on the B9, the Adenauerhaus - long ago knocked to the ground - comes right on tour. Kohl reports: "I am well off, being that I have been chronically underestimated for years."



This is especially true of his long-running critic Franz Josef Strauss. It is clear to Kohl: Those who are polarizing like Strauss can not get any majorities behind them. What also explains this fact is that this Palatine, unlike his Bavarian counterpart, brought himself up to the top, not by extinguishing problems, but by waiting for just the right moment.

On October 1, 1982, Helmut Kohl became Chancellor. His predecessor, Helmut Schmidt, gratefully congratulates him at the plenum in Bonn. Almost a gesture of submission. Kohl is on target - and has no plan. The election campaigner, who promised a "spiritual-moral turn", is already having a hard time with the practical turnaround.

His ministers tackle reforms and more reforms, but they do not get anywhere. No big tax reform, no big pension reforms. The road to power, it seems, was the goal. And after that there was not any more that could be done. So sure Kohl was so surprisingly "bumpy" (Richard von Weizsacker) in his domestic policy, Kohl was involved in two fundamental questions - the German reuninfication and the unification of Europe.



The people noticed it - and the party friends also noticed it. They were nervous and disappointed: Lothar Spath in Baden-Wurttemberg, Ernst Albrecht in Lower Saxony. Gerhard Stoltenberg, Kurt Biedenkopf and the others.

Kohl, the instinct politician

Six years after he took the position, Kohl stands before failure and the inner-party opponents feel like there are chances for them. Kohl, the tactician, who has meanwhile overpowered the whole party with a network of confidants and dependents, reacts and throws out the General, Giessler.



There is to be rest in the party and calm. The anti-Kohl revolt at the party congress in Bremen fails. Kohl is now indisputably the sole ruler, he is unmoved, he speaks of moving on, and says "the caravan advances".



Then comes the fall of the wall, almost overnight. There are no two months between the legendary revolution in Bremen and the opening of the wall.



Kohl, the instinct politician, who has divided his party millimeter-wise into friend and foe, acts differently (usually) on the foreign-political stage. He creates a network of trust that is unparalleled in those years. With the US presidents, with the French, even British, and even with Soviets. Party involvement does not matter. He meets with Francois Mitterrand in 1984 for the reconciliation gesture over the graves of Verdun, even with Margaret Thatcher, he is clear, even if the verdict of these countries is: "Twice we beat you, and now you are back."



From the chancellor of the reunification, who had almost already been defeated, to the chancellor of unity - and thus of historical greatness. With a sure sense of the unexpected Kohl takes the "cloak of history" opportunity and leads step-by-step to the actual German unity.



In meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev in the Caucasus (Gorbachev, whom he compared a few years earlier with Reichspropagandaminister Joseph Goebbels), with a ten-point plan. The relationship network, which held him in the party, also proves itself on a large scale. Kohl's supporter network from the party and the politics, which feels almost like a family, proves itself.

But unity has its price. A price Kohl is willing to pay. Europe wants to involve the new Germany more strongly: through more European unification. The Euro is born. Against the will of the majority of the population. Kohl knows this, but it does not disturb him. It is his conviction.



The consequences of the reunification overwhelm many people. While the chancellor is enthusiastic about "blooming landscapes", many citizens are complaining about the generous construction of East. Many things are too exuberant, in short: the sympathies for the chancellor of unity are disappearing, the reforms, which had been left, before the wall fell, still remain.

Kohl leaves - with consequences



1998 is the end. Gerhard Schroder wins the election. Kohl leaves, but with consequences. Shortly thereafter, the party scandal breaks and the results are ruthless. The chancellor and the party chair take in donations of more than two million marks, but remain silent on the donors. A clear violation of the law.



The Chancellor of Unity becomes the Chancellor of the Donations, who positions himself above the law. The party hardly holds it together. Wolfgang Schauble, the old party faithful, moves away from him and also his successor, whom he once called a "girl" into the cabinet: Angela Merkel. In a report in the FAZ just before Christmas 1999, she and her predecessor split up. Kohl loses more and more friends, and finally the honorary presidency of his party. A break that can only be cemented with difficulty during the last years, due to the parallel occasion of round birthdays.



Politics is like family. The word gets a new meaning. Kohl's wife, Hannelore, ends her life in 2001 in part do to her illness, but possible also due to political developments. Walter, one of Kohl's two sons, later concludes: "Without the donations affair, mother would not be dead." The father also alienates himself from his sons.



Kohl turns to his new wife, Maike, who does not belong to his cabinet with Juliane Weber and Eduard Ackermann, but whom he has known since the 1990s as a member of the Bonn Chancellery and they married in 2008.
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The drama between actress Tonto Dikeh and her baby's family continues. According to OAP Lara Olubo who refers to Churchill's mother as her 'Aunt', Churchill's mum sent a long message to actress, Tonto Dikeh, begging her to allow her son, Churchill, have access to their son, King. From the messages shared on IG, rather than respond respectfully to her son's Grandmother, she responded with abusive text messages.

Quote

Dear Mama/Papa king! I'm taking dis up publicly for pple 2know dat as a family we hv tried 2settle dis rift btwn u both!I wish nd pray someday soon all dis ld stop nd u both can come togeda as one 2raise OUR KING!Anike, I know wt d help of no one u wl raise King 2d best of ur ability, d Zenith bank acct ur ola opened 4ur son is accessible 2u, he can't lack anything.But i need u 2know u hv a SON darling! The bond btwn a father nd a SON is always very thick! Wt all what is goin on right now, even if we all forget about it, internet wld remind ur Son, pple wld bring all dis out sooner or later!Deep down inside ur heart u know ur hubby never raised his hands on u, u know how much u hv blocked all access 2reach u nd we are still trying to! Deep down inside ur heart u know dis Issue started wt u nd my "Aunt" bcos ur hubby bought a house for his mom!All the fabrications going round has been crafted to tarnish his image. Both of you never had any prior problems about infidelity and Domestic Violence like you mentioned during your interview.. The chronicles of all the problems started when u caused a scene for 2 hours straight breaking down all the electrical appliances and interiors in the newly finished house he acquired for his mom last December in the process of doing all dis, u attacked ur mom inaw physically which is a Taboo in YorubaLand; The house warming was fixed 4d next day and u ruined it 4my aunt who had flown all d way from UK to enjoy the comfort of her new house. The injuries u sustained while breaking appliances is d injury on ur leg. Ola left for Ghana to cool off with Dunlop slippers after u had destroyed all his personal effects. We all his family members saw dis nd blamed him that he had covered up too much bcos of ur image! Dont forget he has family and it is time that we come out and say something.Mom King, I wish u can allow us as a family to settle dis amicably, u know how many family meetings we've called nd u never showed up!I just wish nd pray u both can be one again, i wish u can gv us d audience to settle dis! I know u both are adult thou nd old enough to take decisions about ur lives!Hmmmmm! Anike!Wt all u hv done nd said to my "Aunt" we still forgave u bcos no one is perfect! When i saw dis msg u sent to her
Facebook bug causes great alarm among its Content Moderators: Personal details leaked News oi -Samden Sherpa Facebook's security flaw has potentially put the company content moderators at risk.

Well, a bug has now caused great alarm among Facebook's content moderators as a security glitch has now resulted in the identities and personal details of a number of its content moderators being leaked to suspected terrorist users on the social network.

According to Guardian, a bug in Facebook's software had caused the personal profiles of content moderators to be automatically pushed as notifications in the activity log of the Facebook groups, whose administrators had been removed for terms of service violations. So this error inadvertently allowed personal details of Facebook moderators to be viewed by the remaining admins of the group.

The publication cites that the security lapse has reportedly affected more than 1,000 workers across 22 departments at Facebook who used the company's moderation software to review and remove inappropriate content from the platform, including sexual material, hate speech and terrorist propaganda.

After the security glitch, around 40 of those workers affected were from a counter-terrorism unit in Dublin, Ireland, at Facebook's European headquarters. Moreover, six of those moderators were declared as "high priority" victims after Facebook concluded that their personal profiles were likely viewed by potential terrorists.

When questioned about the breach, Facebook did confirm the same to the publication and further stated that the social media giant did make technical changes to "better detect and prevent these types of issues from occurring."

"We care deeply about keeping everyone who works for Facebook safe," a spokesman told the Guardian. "As soon as we learned about the issue, we fixed it and began a thorough investigation to learn as much as possible about what happened."

Facebook has reportedly supplied the six "high priority" moderators with new home security systems, company transport, and is also providing counseling through its employee assistance program.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tipped to get an early release in August News oi -Chandrika You just have to wait for a couple of months to get your hands on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

Up until now, most of the rumors claimed that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 would launch during the IFA 2017, which is scheduled to start on September 1.

However, a new report by The Bell suggests that the phablet could get an early release, sometime in mid-August. The publication obtained this piece of information from industry sources in Korea. The launch date of the Galaxy Note 8 still remains a mystery as some rumors including the latest one believes that it will be launched exactly one year later its predecessor.

According to this new report, the South Korean company has opted for an early release to give a tough competition to the upcoming iPhone 8, which is also slated for a September launch. On the other hand, the launch of the iPhone 8 is said to get delayed due to some production related issues.

So if the iPhone 8 doesn't get released at that time and the Galaxy Note 8 does, the phablet would get an edge over the former.

It is also worth pointing out that both Apple and Samsung are trying to figure out a way to embed the fingerprint scanner underneath the display. Rumors have it, the iPhone maker has developed the technology but is facing problems in mass production.

As for Samsung, some reports have told us that the Galaxy Note 8 would arrive with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner just like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. However, if not in the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, we might get to embedded fingerprint sensor in next year's Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.

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Xiaomi Mi Note 3 might use the Snapdragon 836 SoC News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Xiaomi Mi Note 3 details hit the web.

The Xiaomi Mi Note 3, the upcoming flagship phablet from the Chinese manufacturer might be unveiled this fall. This adheres to the launch pattern that Xiaomi followed last year to launch the Mi Note 2.

With a few more months left for the launch of the Xiaomi Mi Note 3, it looks like the device will be unveiled with the soon to be announced Snapdragon 836 SoC. This information has been revealed on the Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo.

We recently saw that the Snapdragon 836 SoC will be launched as an incremental upgrade to the existing Snapdragon 835 SoC that is used by the flagship smartphones of this year.

Earlier, there were claims that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 that is slated to be launched in August at the IFA 2017 will be the first device to use the Snapdragon 836 SoC. These speculations could be true as the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 will be launched later this year after the Galaxy Note 8.

Talking about the Snapdragon 836 SoC, the processor will be an incremental upgrade to the existing SoC. As it is an incremental upgrade, we cannot expect it to bring about many improvements or changes. Among the few enhancements that we can expect is the ability to clock it to a higher speed.

For now, there are not many details about the Mi Note 3 that is believed to be launched in the coming months. A previous leak tips that the device might feature a curved display. The company hasn't revealed any information about this upcoming flagship phablet, while the Mi Mix 2 has been officially confirmed. We can expect to come across more details as the device's launch date is nearing.

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Overall, dont let the bhoot mislead you, nothing bhootiya about this story. Had the makers tried to push the envelope, the idea could have been outstanding for a bhootiya comedy.
Azerbaijani Spy Scandal Leaves Trail Of Dead Suspects

Ron Synovitz June 16, 2017

Within days of being swept up in a wave of arrests on espionage charges last month, at least four Azerbaijani soldiers and a retired military officer died in custody. The circumstances of their deaths are shrouded in secrecy.

Azerbaijan's government and military have refused to comment on the deaths, news of which emerged shortly after authorities in May announced the spy scandal.

Journalists who initially reported on the deaths have been warned by the Prosecutor-General's Office to stop. And most relatives of the dead soldiers are reluctant to speak to journalists, with some expressing fear about their own safety if they do.

The silence, Baku's poor human rights record, and the way Azerbaijan's military hastily buried the soldiers without letting relatives see their bodies, have fed rumors that the suspects were tortured to death while being interrogated.

Spying For Armenia

The spy scandal came to light on May 7 when a joint statement was issued by the State Security Service, the Prosecutor-General's Office, the Interior Ministry, and the Defense Ministry.

It said authorities had "opened a criminal case against a group of military personnel and civilians in Azerbaijan" on charges of "treason against the state."

The statement said members of the spy ring had worked for the intelligence services of archrival Armenia "at various times in the past" and "for their own interest."

It also said they provided "state secrets" to Armenia, which Azerbaijan has been locked in conflict with over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades. The two countries fought a bloody war in the 1990s over the breakaway region of Azerbaijan, which is populated mainly by ethnic Armenians and is now controlled by Armenian-backed separatists.

Secretive Arrests

Azerbaijan's authorities have not named any individuals accused in the spy case or specified how many suspects were arrested and charged.

But Ilham Ismayil, a former State Security Service officer, told RFE/RL that a total of 42 people were arrested in raids during May -- mostly in the Terter region.

Ismayil told RFE/RL that the spy scandal stemmed from an incident in late 2016 when a group of Armenian military officers allegedly were allowed to cross from Nagorno-Karabakh and travel behind Azerbaijan's front lines with the help of Azerbaijani officers.

He said some Armenian officers were given Azerbaijani military uniforms to wear and that they traveled to the center of Terter -- a city that was heavily damaged by Armenian forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh war in the early 1990s.

State Security Service chief Madat Guliyev said the roundup of spy-ring suspects was ordered by President Ilham Aliyev after investigators under Guliyev's command provided evidence to both the president and the Defense Ministry. Based on that evidence, the Defense Ministry took action.

Neither the State Security Service nor Azerbaijan's government has publicly disclosed the nature of the intelligence the suspects allegedly provided to Armenia.

And, so far, there have been no public court hearings for any of the suspects.

Suspicious Deaths

Yadigar Sadiqov, a politician from the opposition party Musavat, has suggested that the deaths in custody of so many suspects just days after their arrests is highly suspicious.

"We don't believe they died of natural causes," Sadiqov wrote in a May 20 opinion column for the Baku-based online newspaper Bastainfo.com.

Sadiqov also suggested many people in Azerbaijan assume the suspects were tortured to death, noting that "across social media, there are people saying the government was justified to torture and kill" them.

In each case, the suspects were detained in raids close to the contact line that separates Armenian-backed and Azerbaijani forces near Nagorno-Karabakh.

Within days, their dead bodies were returned to their home villages and buried by soldiers who did not allow relatives to see them.

Opposition media in Azerbaijan that have reported about the deaths and burials have been officially warned they would be prosecuted for revealing "state secrets" if they published any more information about the spy case that wasn't officially released by state institutions.

With the exception of a cousin of one dead soldier who spoke only on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution from authorities, relatives of the deceased suspects have refused to talk to RFE/RL or other media organizations.

Amnesty International confirms that it has received complaints from sources within Azerbaijan alleging that the soldiers were tortured to death.

But Levan Asatiani, Amnesty International's campaigner on the South Caucasus, says his organization cannot immediately confirm the torture claims because Azerbaijan has become a "closed country" that blocks the work of international human rights researchers.

"We have not been able to verify those reports regarding soldiers and torture in the military," Asatiani explained. "But Amnesty International generally has concerns about torture and ill treatment in Azerbaijan -- specifically in the penitentiary institutions and the detention facilities."

He said Azerbaijan has a well-documented history of using torture to induce false confessions from political prisoners who are lawyers, journalists, and opposition activists.

"You could say that the use of torture is a trend in Azerbaijan," Asatiani said.

Hasty Burials

Namized Safarov, a Baku-based human rights lawyer, told RFE/RL that a retired military officer named Saleh Qafarov was arrested on treason charges in early May at his village of Aydinqyshlaq in the Gabala region.

Safarov said Azerbaijani soldiers returned Qafarov's body four days later for burial in the village, but Qafarov's relatives never saw his remains and were not allowed to attend the burial.

Since then, Safarov said, Qafarov's family has faced "heavy harassment" from other villagers angered by the treason allegations. Qafarov's children have been expelled from school.

Imran Cabbarov, the head of the local government in Aydinqyshlaq, confirmed that Qafarov died in custody.

"He died and was buried," Cabbarov told RFE/RL. "Only law-enforcement bodies can talk about it. If he committed such a crime as treason, it would serve him right."

Bastainfo.com and the Berlin-based independent website Meydan TV reported similar circumstances when the bodies of other suspects in the spy case were returned to their villages.

Temkin Nizamioglu, a 24-year-old lieutenant from the Ordubad region near Azerbaijan's southern border with Iran, was one of at least three active military officers reportedly arrested in the case.

Nizamioglu was buried in his village of Darkend by Azerbaijani soldiers who returned his body.

"It's true that his body was brought to the village for burial, and according to the soldiers who brought him, he had heart problems and died in a hospital," the village's municipal chief, Raqib, said.

The body of officer Elcin Quliyev was delivered for burial in his town of Terter on May 18 shortly after he was arrested in the spy case.

A cousin of Quliyev, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Meydan TV that the soldiers who returned his body didn't give the family any details about the cause of his death.

"They just said they were investigating the issue and would inform us about the cause of his death when that investigation is finished," the cousin said.

Mehman Huseynov, a military officer from the village of Agkend in the Terter region, also died in custody within days of being arrested in the spy case.

Local residents refused to allow Huseynov to be buried in the village cemetery because of the treason accusations against him.

Meydan TV also reported that a 32-year-old soldier named Elcin Mirzaliyev was buried in his village of Shalig in the Ucar region, within days of being arrested in the case.

That report said Mirzaliyev died on May 25 and was returned to his village the next day by soldiers who buried him without allowing relatives to see his body or attend his burial.

The head of Shalig's municipality, Arif Ahmadov, confirmed that Mirzaliyev was buried but would not give any details about the cause of his death.

There have been anonymous claims on social media that other Azerbaijani soldiers have died in custody after being arrested for treason in the spy scandal.

RFE/RL could not confirm the veracity of those reports or attest to the reliability of the sources.

Written by RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz, with reporting from RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijani-spy- scandal-dead-suspects/28558844.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Frankenphone 2.0: MQ-9 communication innovation

By Senior Airman Christian Clausen, 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs / Published June 15, 2017

CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- In 2015, a former member of the 42nd Attack Squadron saw a need to improve communications from MQ-9 Reaper aircrew to ground forces, thus, Frankenphone was created.

He pieced together the invention, which aimed to improve communications clarity until a long term solution was procured, with scrap phone parts and headsets. While the device underwent many iterations of upgrades, it still needed additional work.

Capt. Gregory, the 42nd ATKS training flight commander, used his background as an electrical engineer major to construct a new and more reliable design.

"When I was in Initial Qualifications Training and anytime weapons had to be dropped, I had to step out of the seat while the instructors dropped the munitions," he said. "During that time I got to observe the frustration we still had even with this fix. There was no way to control the volume and the two pieces really didn't interface well, which meant sometimes, it was still hard to hear the joint terminal attack controllers."

Once he completed IQT, he focused on finding a way to improve Frankenphone and aimed to solve two key issues: durability and sound quality.

"Innovation by definition is not stagnant," he said. "You have to continue to discover something that should be better, come up with a way to make it better and then not be satisfied until it's as good as it can get."

In November 2016 he disassembled the device to find a mechanical connection between two electrical pieces: a microphone and an ear piece. He then set out to characterize the electrical signals to get them to interface correctly.

"Due to the nature of working in a secured area, I worked on the Frankenphone at home every day after work for a few hours over the span of a few weeks," Gregory said. "The end product is a soldered and shrink-wrapped survivable piece of equipment. Because it's a direct electrical connection, we were able to tune the audio and get rid of feedback and echoes."

He didn't consider time spent constructing the device as work. In fact, he referenced the late Army Gen. George Patton.

"Patton said 'you're always on parade,' which means, in the military, you should always portray a professional image, but I think it also means, to some extent, that you're always on duty," he said. "The opportunity to make life better and execute the mission a little easier, that's not work to me. It's my hobby making the Air Force better and making the mission less complicated."

After obtaining the proper clearances to install it, aircrews were using the Frankenphone in conjunction with the Audio Multi Level System in the cockpit the following month to execute overseas persistent attack and reconnaissance missions.

"Success in any military operation is being able to move, shoot and communicate," Gregory said. "I believe this has proven to hit all three by ensuring quality communication with the ground forces in order to move and employ weapons."

Once the cleared hot order from the JTAC is approved, the crew has a narrow window of time to employ the weapon under the right parameters, referred to as the weapons engagement zone.

"If we miss that, the bad guys get away or keep shooting at the good guys and we have to fly back around and try again which can take several minutes," he said. "Even missing the cleared hot order can mean the difference between a successful or unsuccessful engagement."

Over the past eight months, 42nd ATKS crews have been able to employ weapons free of communication failures in support of counter-terror operations.

Not only does this little black box enable unimpeded coordination, but it's also more cost effective than the previous edition. The old system cost about $700-$800, but this new one costs just $50 to manufacture. With a build time of under an hour, it's a simple yet highly-functional innovation to the MQ-9 fleet across the Air Force.

Gregory was able to attend a conference discussing the ever-evolving needs and changes to the MQ-9 community in 2017. With his work, Creech AFB leadership was able to express communication deficiencies. The result will have future cockpit designs incorporating built-in features inspired from the Frankenphone.

He admitted he improved the original design out of pure frustration dealing with faulty communication. As a result he made a substantial impact to the entire MQ-9 community.

"Every person has something about their job that irritates them because it's not efficient or they don't understand it," Gregory said. "I think it's important for others to look for opportunities to innovate where they can. This is a mindset and mentality that is important to all Airmen."

Gregory's attitude to create positive change was actually developed as a child when his father would challenge his complaints.

"In grade school things around the house would irritate me and he would ask me 'what do you plan to do?'" he said. "My dad wasn't telling me to fix it, but I did."

The Air Force prides itself on innovation through its Airmen especially during this time of regrowth where airpower is in even greater demand.

"As the commander, I'm proud of our Airmen and the ingenuity they use to solve complex problems," said Lt. Col. Ronnie, the 42nd ATKS commander. "The original Frankenphone was an invention that was born out of necessity and this redesigned version, complete with self-contained electronics and better sound quality, is simply the next evolutionary step. I'm most proud that the designs are available across our community which enables other squadrons to make use of the system too."

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UN Security Council Urges Peaceful Settlement in Yemen

By Margaret Besheer June 15, 2017

The U.N. Security Council Thursday urged the parties to the conflict in Yemen to work towards a peace settlement to prevent the country from slipping further into a humanitarian catastrophe.

In a lengthy statement agreed to by all 15 council members, it expressed deep concern about the recent outbreak of cholera and the growing possibility of famine.

"The Security Council emphasizes that the conflict in Yemen will only be resolved through the resumption of an inclusive political process, and calls upon all parties to the conflict to engage constructively and in good faith to overcome obstacles and find a peaceful solution," council president Ambassador Sacha Llorentty of Bolivia said in reading the statement.

Peace efforts stalled

A Saudi-led coalition supporting President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi began its war in Yemen in March 2015, battling Iranian backed Shiite Houthi rebels who hold the capital, Sana'a.

U.N. efforts to find a peace agreement have stalled, with the secretary-general's special envoy reporting to the council two weeks ago that the key parties are still not ready to embrace the concessions necessary to reaching a comprehensive settlement.

Hunger and disease

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis grows.

U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Jamie McGoldrick said Thursday that the number of suspected cholera cases has risen to more than 140,000 half of them children and nearly 1,000 deaths.

Less than half of the country's medical facilities are functioning, making even basic treatment scarce.

The country also has become the world's largest food insecurity crisis, with more than 20 million people struggling daily to get enough to eat. Nearly 7 million are on the brink of famine, as food prices surge due to the coalition imposed blockade of the country's main ports. Add to that the nearly 1 million civil servants who have not been paid in months, and the purchasing power of scores of families has been severely reduced.

U.N. officials have repeatedly made the point that Yemen's looming famine is entirely manmade.

"Yemen is not facing a drought, like other countries do," Auke Lootsma, the country director for the U.N. Development Program in Yemen told VOA. "Yemen is facing the direct consequences of a war that has also led to the situation of the current food insecurity."

Shortage of funds

In its statement, the Security Council stressed the importance of keeping all of Yemen's ports functioning as a critical lifeline for humanitarian support and other essential supplies.

The U.N. has appealed for $2.1 billion to assist Yemenis this year, but has received less than one-third of that amount, threatening its ability to continue feeding some 4 million people each month beyond September. After that, humanitarian coordinator McGoldrick says, the prospect of famine will be a reality.

"The situation is very dramatic," Lootsma added. "This war has to stop, because there is a direct link between the suffering that the Yemeni people are going through and the fact that this war continues to rage across the country."

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Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIS in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, June 16, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 35 strikes consisting of 84 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 29 strikes consisting of 39 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed three ISIS wellheads.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, six strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed five ISIS oil storage tanks, two vehicles and an ISS wellhead.

-- Near Raqqa, 20 strikes engaged 14 ISIS tactical units and a sniper and destroyed nine fighting positions, four vehicles, three mortar systems, two supply caches, two ISIS headquarters, a heavy machine gun and a home-made explosives factory.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 45 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Haditha, a strike destroyed a vehicle bomb.

-- Near Kisik, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed 10 fighting positions, four mortar systems, a tunnel entrance, a supply cache, and a vehicle; damaged four fighting positions; and suppressed four mortar teams.

-- Near Mosul, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed a fighting position and damaged a fighting position.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed a tactical vehicle.

June 14 Strike

Additionally, a June 14 strike was conducted in Iraq that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- Near Mosul, Iraq, a strike destroyed a fighting position, damaged 16 ISIS supply routes, and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

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10th Mountain Division to get first JLTVs

By David Vergun June 16, 2017

QUANTICO, Va. -- An infantry brigade combat team of the 10th Mountain Division will be the first unit to get the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, or JLTVs, around January 2019 once full-rate production kicks in, said Col. Shane Fullmer.

Fullmer, the joint program manager for the JLTV program, spoke at a JLTV demonstration and media roundtable here on June 14.

The brigade will receive 500 JLTVs on a one-for-one replacement of the unit's current fleet of Humvees, he said.

Officials said that a total of about 100 JLTVs are being provided this year by Oshkosh Defense, the maker of the vehicle, at a low-rate initial production of about 10 per month to the Army and Marine Corps for testing.

The full suite of testing includes command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; reliability qualification; and live-fire, according to a chart provided at the media roundtable.

The Army plans to purchase at least 50,000 JLTVs and the Marine Corps so far plans to buy about 5,500 for a total cost to both services of about $24 billion, with production extending over the course of 20 years, according to Army officials.

Andrew Rogers, program manager, Light Tactical Vehicles at PEO Land Systems Marine Corps, said the Marine Corps is re-evaluating its order and may order upwards of 10,000. The first JLTVs for the Marine Corps, he said, will go to a battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in late 2019.

FOUR VARIANTS

Fullmer said there are four variants of the JLTV that will be produced: general purpose, close-combat weapons carrier, heavy gun carrier and utility. Of those four variants, each comes in two door or four door options.

The two-seaters have an extended bed and are built to carry up to 5,100 pounds of supplies, he said. The four-seaters carry about 3,500 pounds, including four Soldiers seated and a fifth manning the weapons turret.

Weapons that can be carried in the JLTV include .50-caliber machine guns, Mk-19 grenade launchers and TOW missiles, he noted.

Requirements for the JLTV production included the ability to be airlifted by CH-47 or CH-53 helicopters and to have a similar footprint as the Humvee so they'd fit inside the decks of amphibious ships, Fullmer said.

DRIVING CHARACTERISTICS

Learning to drive the JLTV is a breeze, Fullmer said. The first item that a driver will notice is the floating suspension, which can be adjusted. So for example, if the vehicle is in a 30-degree incline, the driver can flatten out the suspension to level the vehicle.

Also, the operator has a display that shows the condition of the vehicle, including the engine, transmission and suspension.

The venerable Humvee had great maneuverability and payload but very little protection, particularly in the underbody, Fullmer said, while the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle had high protection levels but poor maneuverability, particularly in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan. JLTV has all the advantages of payload, protection and performance, he concluded.

David Diersen, vice president and general manager of Joint Programs for Oshkosh Defense, said the JLTV has one-third the weight and half the price tag of the MRAP, and the JLTV is about 70 percent faster than the MRAP and much more maneuverable.

Diersen added that the JLTV's Banks Engineering 866T Turbo diesel engine consumes diesel as well as JP8 and DF2 at fuel-efficient levels.

There have been discussions with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center as well as Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for future autonomous operations, he noted.

Finally, Diersen explained that Oshkosh was able to keep the cost per vehicle down because the company also builds civilian vehicles and therefore has an economy of scale advantage. "So you might see a JLTV rolling down the assembly line followed by a snowplow and garbage truck."

Fullmer said the JLTV was kept on schedule and within budget because of cooperation and close dialog between the Army, Marine Corps, Oshkosh and the requirements and acquisition communities.

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Beachmasters Group Two Owns the Beach

US Marine Corps News

By Lance Cpl. Ricardo Davila | June 16, 2017

Sailors from Beachmasters Group Two and Naval Cargo Handling Battalion One provided mission essential assets to more than 11,000 participants during Exercise Saber Strike 17, June 10, 2017.

The Sailors are aboard the USNS Sgt. William R. Button, which is part of the Maritime Prepositioning Force and supported during the exercise with in-stream and pier side offloads.

"First, we offloaded an Improved Navy Lighterage System and then put it together out in stream," said Petty Officer 1st Class Nefthali Perez, an equipment operator with Naval Cargo Handling Battalion One. "After that we started taking out gear from the hold, which involved tanks, roller, humvees and all sorts of equipment to support the Marines."

With the equipment needed by the inland warfighters on a ship in the middle of an ocean, the Navy had to find a solution.

That's where BMU-Two comes in and provides Naval Beach Party Teams for deployment in conjunction with the expeditionary forces to salvage beach and surf zones that facilitate the landing and movement of beach of troops with equipment and supplies.

To avoid confusion and be easily noticeable, BMU-Two wore yellow patches on their uniforms while conducting beach operations during the exercise.

The unit facilitated the movement of assets by delivering operators to the vehicles on the Maritime Prepositioning Ship by way of the Lighter, Amphibious, Resupply, Cargo, 5-ton (LARC-V). The LARC-V also delivered equipment to the shores of Ventspils, Latvia.

"Doing operations with the 'Button' has provided amazing training for our sailors with beach, crane, and port operations," said Navy Lt. Amy Kenny, the MPF officer for Naval Beach Group Two, Expeditionary Strike Group Two.

The sailors do not get many opportunities to get hands-on training with a full-scale Maritime Prepositioning Ship and have learned a lot from this exercise, while providing the Marine Corps with essential gear to complete the exercise successfully.

"We have done a lot for Saber Strike 17 this year," said Perez. "We have moved more than 17 INLS items, more than 100 administrative lifts, and approximately 1.4 billion pounds of gear that we offloaded and downloaded."

Sailors participate in this exercise to be prepared and ready to move at a moment's notice, ensuring that they will be able to adapt to any situation regardless of the cargos size.

"This year's exercise demonstrates our flexibility and responsiveness to deploy in support of a crisis or contingency as we integrate with our maritime prepositioning shipping," said Col. Matthew Puglisi, the Marine Corps task force commander of Saber Strike 17. "Conducting maritime prepositioning operations in support of the geographical commander's exercise priorities, allows us to prepare for future operations."

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Ten people killed in India-controlled Kashmir clashes

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:46PM

Separate clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir have left at least ten people dead as tensions continue in the region.

Authorities said on Friday that the deceased included five policemen, a soldier, two civilians and two suspected militants.

In one incident, suspected militants ambushed a police patrol in the town of Achhabal.

In the ambush, five police officers were killed, according to a top police officer who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.

The officer added that in a separate incident, soldiers and special forces, who had cordoned off Arwani village on a tip off that militants were hiding in it, opened fire on villagers who allegedly wanted to help the militants flee.

Two civilians, including a teenage boy, and two suspected militants were killed in the incident, he reported.

In a third incident, an Indian soldier was killed in cross border shooting.

Pakistani soldiers had allegedly fired shots at Indian posts in southern Naushera along the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir, killing the Indian soldier, according to an Indian Army spokesman.

Tensions are high in the Indian-administrated Kashmir region where the Muslim majority population stage regular protests against Indian rule and demand greater autonomy from New Delhi.

In order to maintain its grip on the region, New Delhi has deployed hundreds of thousands of troops to enforce a crackdown on dissent.

New Delhi's iron fist implementation and strict security measures have prompted an increased number of Kashmir Muslim youths to join resistance movements, according to officials.

The two rival nuclear countries of Pakistan and India both claim the entirety of Kashmir and have fought two wars over the region since their independence from Britain in 1947.

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'I am being investigated for firing FBI chief': Trump

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:26PM

US President Donald Trump has said that he is under investigation for obstruction of justice, confirming reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is overseeing a probe into the alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election.

"I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt," the president wrote in his tweet on Friday.

Trump did not make it clear whom his tweet was referring to. However, it is likely that he was tweeting about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, or Mueller who is examining whether the president obstructed justice by firing ex-FBI Director James Comey last month amid the ongoing Russia investigation.

Last month, Rosenstein wrote a memo to the president raising concerns over Comey's performance. However, Trump later asserted that he had already made the decision himself to fire Comey.

It was confirmed by the White House that Mueller was among the candidates who Trump interviewed to replace Comey. A day later, Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel.

In a tweet earlier Friday, Trump said nobody has been able to show any proof about his collusion with Moscow after months of investigations.

Trump wrote, "After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my 'collusion with the Russians,' nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!"

"This is a political fight and he's going to fight it," a White House official said regarding president's Friday's tweets.

In a series of tweets on Thursday, the president repeated his assertion that Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign is a "WITCH HUNT" based on the "phony" premise of possible collusion between Russia and a team of Trump campaign associates.

"They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," Trump wrote in his first tweet. "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA."

The president made a tweet about his defeated Democratic opponent complaining that the probe is unfair.

"Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?" he asked.

The shift toward probing Trump began days after Trump forced former FBI chief James Comey to quit last month. Comey was fired by the president on May 9 while he was overseeing the investigation into potential Russian interference into last year's election and potential collusion with the Trump presidential campaign.

Trump has vehemently denied any collusion between himself or any of his associates and Russia.

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Lebanon parliament approves new electoral law

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:15PM

Lebanon's parliament has given its approval to a new electoral law that paves the way for parliamentary elections in May next year, extending its term for 11 months.

The chamber approved the law by consensus after three hours of discussion on Friday, Lebanese media reported.

"The law that has been passed is the best possible," Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was quoted as saying at the session.

He said the law would save the country from "a crisis of fate."

Lebanon's political parties on Tuesday agreed to the law that will create a proportional representation system for parliament and decreases the number of electoral districts.

The law also extended the lawmakers' mandate for 11 months, avoiding a legislative vacuum when the parliament's current term ends on June 20.

On Wednesday, Lebanon's cabinet endorsed the new law. Information Minister Melhem Riachy told reporters that the elections now were likely to be held on May 6, 2018, adding that the chamber could extend its term until May 20.

The law ends a stalemate that has seen the ethnically-divided country not holding any legislative elections since 2009 with the lawmakers extending the parliament's four-year term twice in a move that ignited protests in Beirut.

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Qatar, US conduct joint naval exercises in Persian Gulf

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 4:35PM

The Qatari and US naval forces have concluded a three-day joint military exercise in the Persian Gulf in the wake of a recent move by a number of Arab countries to sever their diplomatic relations with Doha, and close their borders and airspace with the gas-rich kingdom.

The vessels, which took part in the drill off Qatar's east coast, included gunboats as well as coastguard and supply vessels. Four ships from the US Navy had participated in the joint exercise.

Two US Navy vessels arrived in Doha on Wednesday. The development came on the same day that the United States and Qatar have signed a deal for the purchase of F-15 fighter jets with an initial cost of 12 billion dollars.

The aircraft purchase was completed by Qatari Minister of Defense Khalid al-Attiyah and his US counterpart Jim Mattis in Washington DC.

The Pentagon said in a statement that the deal would "increase security cooperation and interoperability between the United States and Qatar."

Qatari Staff Commander Mohammed Desmal al-Kuwari said the joint naval exercise was requested by the US Navy "a few weeks back."

He added that military drills, involving Qatar and its allies, would continue.

"There are many allies asking for exercises within our waters. Many navies from our European allies are asking for exercises," Kuwari pointed out.

The senior Qatari military official further noted that his country's naval force and that of the United States carry out joint exercises off the Qatari coast nearly four times a year.

Kuwari highlighted that Qatar's navy was carrying out its duties "as normal" irrespective of the diplomatic row in the Persian Gulf region.

Qatar hosts the biggest US military base in the Middle East, with more than 11,000 troops deployed or assigned to al-Udeid airbase. More than 100 aircraft operate from there.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain all cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, after officially accusing it of "sponsoring terrorism."

The administration of Saudi-backed and resigned Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Libya, the Maldives, Djibouti, Senegal and the Comoros later joined the camp in ending diplomatic ties. Jordan downgraded its diplomatic ties as well.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry announced that the decisions to cut diplomatic ties were unjustified and based on false claims and assumptions.

"Qatar has been the target of a systematic incitement campaign that promoted outright lies, which indicates that there was a prior intent to harm the state," the statement said.

On June 9, Qatar strongly dismissed allegations of supporting terrorism after the Saudi regime and its allies blacklisted dozens of individuals and entities purportedly associated with Doha.

"The recent joint statement issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE regarding a 'terror finance watch list' once again reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact," the Qatari government said in a statement.

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(Xinhua) 11:19, June 17, 2017

GABORONE, June 16 -- Chinese medical equipment worth 100,000 U.S. dollars were donated Friday to Nyangabgwe Hospital in Francistown, some 430 km northeast of Botswana's capital Gaborone.

Orthopaedic consumables used in treating bone-fractured patients were donated by member of the 14th China Medical Team Dr. Huang Yixiong and Xiamen Double Commerce Medical Technology chief executive officer Lin Zhixiong.

"The charitable activity of these two Chinese citizens is a vivid display of solid friendship between China and Botswana," said Wang Bangfu, Political Counselor of Chinese Embassy at the handover ceremony.

"What makes this donation unique is that it is from private citizens instead of government or institutions. I believe that with our joint efforts, China and Botswana will certainly have a brighter future in health cooperation," he said.

Receiving the donated medical equipment, Deputy Permanent Secretary in Botswana's Ministry of Health and Wellness John Botsang said the cooperation between Botswana and the People's Republic of China goes back more than three decades.

"As this relationship gradually grew, not only did they (Chinese medical experts) provide specialist services but also contribute immensely in donating various items such as medical equipment, medical books and other items like televisions," said Botsang.

For over three decades, the Chinese government has been sending medical specialists to work in Botswana for a rotating period of two years.
Eritrea occupies disputed territory after Qataris exit, Djibouti files complaint

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 4:24PM

Djibouti has accused neighboring Eritrea of occupying a disputed territory along the two neighboring countries' borderline.

"Qatari peacekeepers withdrew on June 12 and 13. On the same day, there were Eritrean military movements on the mountain," Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said on Friday.

Qatari peacekeepers had been in control of the disputed mountainous border crossing between Eritrea and Djibouti.

"They [Eritreans] are now in full control of Dumeira Mountain and Dumeira Island. This is in breach of the United Nations Security Council resolution," he said.

The minister said Djibouti had lodged complaints with both the United Nations and the African Union, adding that its military forces were "on alert".

On the other side of the dispute, Nasredin Ali, a spokesman for Eritrea's biggest armed group, known as the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization, confirmed that Eritrean forces moved into the disputed region after the Qatari troops pulled out.

Qatari forces were deployed to the region after deadly clashes broke out between the Horn of Africa countries in 2008. The UN Security Council then requested both sides to withdraw from the area, before the neighbors accepted a Qatari request to mediate and deploy peacekeepers.

Qatari peacekeepers monitoring the disputed territory were summoned home days ago after Djibouti and Eritrea both joined the Saudi-led isolation of Qatar.

On June 5, the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced they were severing ties with Qatar.

In addition to them, Yemen, the eastern government of Libya, the Maldives, Mauritania, Senegal and Eritrea announced they were cutting ties with Qatar, as well.

Jordan and Djibouti also announced they were downgrading their diplomatic representation with Qatar.

These countries accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, which Doha strongly denies.

Qatar has slammed a blockade after the ties were cut as part of a "policy of domination and control" led by the Saudi "big brother".

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US-led strike kills 4 Syrian civilians in Daesh-held Raqqah

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 2:59PM

A so-called monitoring group says at least four civilians have lost their lives when the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group carried out an aerial attack in Syria's militant-held northern province of Raqqah.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday that the airstrike targeted Khalid ibn al-Walid school in al-Intifada neighborhood of the provincial capital city of Raqqah, shortly after midnight.

The monitoring group said the aerial assault left a man and three of his children dead.

The US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

The city of Raqqah, which lies on the northern bank of the Euphrates River, was overrun by Daesh terrorists in March 2013, and was proclaimed the center for most of the Takfiris' administrative and control tasks the next year.

The US-led coalition has repeatedly been accused of targeting and killing civilians. It has also been largely incapable of fulfilling its declared aim of destroying Daesh.

Separately, Syrian army soldiers, supported by Air Force Military aircraft, have launched a series of counter-terrorism operations against Daesh terrorists in and around the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr, inflicting heavy losses on the terrorists in terms of military equipment and personnel.

A correspondent for Syria's official news agency SANA reported that government troops repelled a Daesh offensive on Tal al-Borouk area late on Thursday, killing scores of the terrorists and destroying a number of their vehicles.

Syrian Air Force jets also carried out a string of strikes against Daesh positions in Hetlah and Marat villages in the eastern outskirts of Dayr al-Zawr. A large Daesh ammunition depot was destroyed in an attack in Marat.

Syria has been fighting different foreign-sponsored militant and terrorist groups since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated last August that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the crisis until then.

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Poland plans to double military spending

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 10:23AM

Poland plans to nearly double its military spending in an attempt to be able to defend itself "alone if necessary" against potential foreign invasion.

Under the plan, Warsaw is expected to raise its military spending to 2.5 percent of its GDP by 2030 and add a further 100,000 personnel to its armed forces.

It also plans to buy 70 multi-task helicopters, with deliveries starting next year. The government also said it would sign a $7.6-billion deal by the end of 2017 with a US firm to buy eight Patriot missile defense systems.

Poland also aims to buy two squadrons of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, which each costs at least $100 million.

The government claims the new military strategy will increase its ability to defend Poland against foreign aggression. Critics, however, describe the plan as "ambitious" and "absolutely unrealistic."

"Self-sufficiency? How? This is absolutely unrealistic," one government official told Reuters. "Do we really want to send a message to our NATO allies that we don't care about them?"

NATO has not publicly commented on Warsaw's change of track, but it seems to be wary.

"No one can stop any member country from shooting itself in the foot. The consequences of that will be apparent when something really collapses," Reuters quoted a NATO official as saying on condition of anonymity.

Waldemar Skrzypczak, a general who resigned as an adviser to the Defense Ministry earlier this year, said that Poland's major problem right now is "the lack of army modernization."

Two-thirds of Poland's military equipment still dates to the Soviet era. Its armed forces have also suffered from decades of under-investment.

Poland has also been criticized for taking its modern, German-made battle tanks away from its western border and sending them to Warsaw, closer to the border with Russia.

Critics say moving the tanks there requires equipping the base with the infrastructure and trained personnel to operate them, which experts say would take about two years.

In case of a sudden attack on the country, Poland would not be able to use them, the experts said.

Russia, which views the deployment of NATO forces near its borders as a threat, has strongly denied any plans to invade Poland or the Baltic countries. It has repeatedly slammed NATO's military buildup near its borders, saying such a move poses a threat to both regional and international peace.

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Maduro rebukes Pence for meddling in Venezuela's internal affairs

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 10:17AM

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has blasted US Vice President Mike Pence for questioning democracy in the South American state, calling his comments nauseating.

"I tell the Vice President of the United States to take your noses out of Venezuela," Maduro said in Caracas on Thursday, adding that "there will be no foreign, Yankee or imperialist intervention" in the country.

Venezuela has been the scene of anti-government protests for more than two months. Clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters have left over 70 people dead and 1,300 wounded. Two protesters, both aged 20, died on Thursday during demonstrations in separate regions of the country.

The unrest broke out after the Supreme Court stripped the opposition-controlled parliament of its powers. The decision was later revoked, but protesters continued to take to the streets across the country against the government of Maduro.

Commenting on the political crisis in Venezuela at a Thursday gathering of American leaders, Pence said "that once-rich nation's collapse into authoritarianism has pushed it into poverty and caused untold suffering for the Venezuelan people."

Reacting to the comments, Maduro said Pence "is a man who doesn't know where Venezuela is on the map but has an opinion on our homeland, on issues affecting Venezuela."

"For better or worse we look after ourselves," he stressed.

Maduro described Washington's meddling in Venezuela's internal affairs as nauseating and assured the nation that they were on the right path.

"What is coming in Venezuela is peace, democracy and elections," he said.

The Caracas government says the protests are incited by the Unites Stated to remove President Maduro from power and has accused the opposition of hiring armed gangs.

On Wednesday, it was revealed that the US is considering slapping sanctions against a new list of Venezuelan officials it considers responsible for aggravating the troubled nation's current crisis.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday his office is working with the US Treasury Department on compiling "a very robust list of individuals" it planned to sanction.

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Pentagon sending 4,000 more troops to Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:59AM

The United States will deploy about 4,000 additional troops, including hundreds of Special Operations forces, to Afghanistan, according to a Trump administration official.

The decision by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis could be announced as early as next week, the official said on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

American officials have said the US military needs a bigger role in Afghanistan to push the Taliban militant group back to the negotiating table. They have also called for authority to target Taliban leaders with airstrikes.

The proposal has yet to be approved by US President Donald Trump, but according to reports, Trump will signing off on the recommendation, which is the result of a broad review by the Pentagon, the State Department, intelligence community and other government agencies on the Afghan war.

The US currently has around 8,400 soldiers in Afghanistan with about another 5,000 troops from NATO allies.

NATO countries are also asked to send up to 5,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan.

The US-led occupying force officially announced to end its combat operations against the Taliban in the country at the end of 2014, and its current mission is to "train, advise, and assist" Afghan troops.

But General Raymond Thomas, commander of the US Special Operations Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last month that the new Trump administration could permit more direct engagement between US forces and the Taliban.

All wars come to an end

Mattis told a House Appropriations panel on Thursday he didn't foresee returning to the force levels of 2010-11, when then-President Barack Obama was trying to pressure the Taliban into peace talks.

"Reconciliation" with the Taliban remains the goal, Mattis said."We're not looking at a purely military strategy," he said.

"All wars come to an end. Our job is to end it as quickly as possible without losing the very mission that we've recognized, through several administrations, that was worth putting those young Americans on the line for," he said.

The United States -- under Republican George W. Bush's presidency -- and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington's so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban regime from power, but after more than one and-a-half-decade, the foreign troops are still deployed to the country.

Trump, who has spoken against the Afghan war, has dubbed the 2001 invasion and following occupation of Afghanistan as "Obama's war", but now his administration is sending thousands of more troops to the war-torn country, signaling a policy shift.

American political analyst E. Michael Jones recently told Press TV that oligarchs have taken control of Trump "and basically putting him at the service of the foreign policy that the people who voted for him wanted him to reject."

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Daesh seizes Afghanistan's Tora Bora: Afghan officials

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 4:23AM

The Daesh terrorist group has occupied Afghanistan's famous Tora Bora mountainous area, which is dotted with caves and tunnels, along the border with Pakistan, Afghan officials say.

Officials said on Thursday that Daesh militants had seized the cave and tunnel complexes in Tora Bora from the rival Taliban militant group after days of fighting.

"Those areas around Tora Bora were a Taliban stronghold, but now Daesh militants captured them during fighting," said the police commander in the area, Shah Wali.

The remote region, in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province, used to be the hideout of notorious Saudi al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in late 2001 before he fled to Pakistan, where he was killed years later.

"After Achin, Daesh was looking for a second stronghold and now they have it," Wali said, referring to the Achin district, which is located in the same southern Afghan province as Tora Bora.

Meanwhile, the Takfiri group has said it plans to extend the territory under its control in Afghanistan.

"We are in Tora Bora, but this is not the end," Abu Omar Khorasani, a Daesh commander, said as quoted by media, adding, "The plan is to take more territory from the government and the Taliban."

Daesh, which is mainly concentrated in Iraq and Syria, has been sustaining heavy losses in battles with national armies and allied forces in those countries in the past months.

The Takifiri group emerged in Afghanistan in early 2015 and has claimed responsibility for some deadly attacks in the country.

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Trump Appears To Confirm He's Under Investigation Over Comey Firing

RFE/RL June 16, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge in a post on Twitter that he is "being investigated" for firing FBI Director James Comey, adding the assertion that the probe is being conducted by the man who told him to fire Comey.

In a tweet on June 16, the president wrote: "I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt."

It was unclear whether Trump had received official notification that he was under investigation or was merely responding to media reports.

Citing unnamed sources, The Washington Post this week reported that special counsel Robert Mueller has widened his current investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S presidential election to include the possibility that Trump attempted to obstruct justice by firing Comey.

Mueller's initial investigation was probing the possibility that Trump surrogates colluded with the Russians to influence the election in order to boost Trump's chances against Democratic rival and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

As head of the FBI, Comey had been leading the investigation until he was fired by Trump on May 9.

Rosenstein's Role?

It also was not clear if the president was referring specifically to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is now overseeing the Russia investigations because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself, citing the fact that he had been a member of Trump's transition team and had had contacts with Russian officials.

Rosenstein submitted a widely circulated memo to the president last month raising concerns over Comey's performance that Trump cited in his letter dismissing Comey. Trump later asserted that he had already made the decision himself to fire Comey before Rosenstein's memo.

After Comey's firing, Rosenstein appointed Mueller to lead an independent investigation on matters involving Russia's alleged meddling and related matters.

The U.S. television network ABC, citing unnamed sources, reported that Rosenstein had informed Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand that he may have to recuse himself from the Russia investigations as well, because of his memo to Trump about Comey.

Trump has denied any involvement with the Russians during the campaign and has called media reports of collusion a "hoax" and a "phony story."

In another tweet on June 16, Trump wrote: "After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my 'collusion with the Russians,' nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!"

Comey Testimony

Concerns that Trump may have tried to obstruct justice are based partly on testimony from Comey before a Senate panel on June 8.

Comey testified that he believed his dismissal was an attempt to exert influence on the investigation into alleged Russian interference and possible collusion.

Comey has also said Trump asked him to drop an investigation into ties between Michael Flynn, who advised Trump during the campaign and briefly served as national security adviser after Trump's inauguration, and Russian officials.

In late May, Trump hired longtime legal adviser Marc Kasowitz to serve as his attorney in Russia-related matters.

On June 15, Vice President Mike Pence, who headed the Trump transition team, confirmed that he, too, had hired a private lawyer to represent his interests in the probe.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported on June 16 that the general counsel's office of Trump's transition team has ordered staff to preserve all materials relating to Russia or Ukraine, including any possible travel documents.

In a related matter, The Washington Post reported that Mueller is also looking into the finances and business dealings of presidential adviser Jared Kushner, citing officials familiar with the matter.

Kushner, a real estate entrepreneur who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, came under scrutiny after it was reported he met with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak and with a Russian banker during the transition period.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-trump-says-no- proof-collusion-with-russians/28558999.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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UAE Sees Qatar Row as 'Golden' Chance to Deal With 'Terror Sponsor'

Sputnik News

21:05 16.06.2017(updated 21:06 16.06.2017)

The decision of a number of Arab states to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar is a great opportunity to deal with the issue of Doha's alleged support for terrorism, United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Gargash described the blockade as a "harsh" measure, aimed at sending Doha a "wake-up call for behavioral change." The UAE official added that Cairo, Riyadh, Manama and Abu Dhabi were seeking to see Doha's commitment to change its policies.

"We have a golden opportunity to take away one of the main sponsors of extremist Islamist agendas in the region and that is really at the heart of it," Gargash was quoted as saying by The Financial Times newspaper.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt broke off diplomatic relations with Doha and stopped all communication with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs. Later, the Maldives, Mauritius, and Mauritania also announced the severance of diplomatic relations. Jordan and Djibouti reduced the level of their diplomatic missions in Qatar. Senegal, Niger and Chad announced the withdrawal of ambassadors.

On June 7, Gargash warned that the UAE may introduce economic sanctions against Qatar in case it did not change the course in support of terror.

 Sputnik

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Belgium to Prolong Air Force Participation in US-Led Anti-Terror Coalition

Sputnik News

07:14 16.06.2017(updated 07:23 16.06.2017)

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said that Belgium will extend participation of its F16 aircraft in the US-led coalition's mission to combat Daesh.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik)  Belgium will extend participation of its F16 aircraft in the US-led coalition's mission to combat the Islamic State (Daesh) terror organization in Syria and Iraq, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Thursday.

"F16 mission's prolongation in Syria. Our country is a loyal partner in the fight against the Islamic State. Important for our security!" Michel wrote on his Twitter account.

The government is now due to formally adopt the decision.

Local media specified that the Belgium's aircraft presently based in Jordan would continue to participate in anti-terror operations until the end of 2017, however, the number of the jets would be reduced by two to four.

The US-led coalition of 68 nations has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh in Syria and Iraq since 2014. The strikes in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.

Nations around the globe strive to counter the increasing terror threat via all available means, including the adoption of additional security measures and joining various international coalitions. Over the past two years, the globe has witnessed multiple terror attacks, including on such European cities as Paris, Brussels, Nice, Berlin, London and Stockholm, among others. The latest deadly attack, killing eight people, took place in the UK capital on June 3, when a van drove into a crowd on London Bridge and the Borough Market area, with three men getting out of the vehicle and stabbing people at random.

 Sputnik

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Trump Keeps Railing at Russia Probe; Kushner Deals Reportedly Draw Scrutiny

By Steve Herman June 16, 2017

President Donald Trump continued a campaign on Twitter on Friday against the investigations into possible links between his campaign and Russia.

Trump said he was "being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt."

It was unclear whether the president was referring to Special Counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

The latest social media outburst by the president on his personal Twitter account came after a Washington Post report that Mueller is looking into the financial transactions of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is a senior adviser to the president.

Mueller's investigation also includes the question of whether Trump tried to obstruct justice.

There is wide consensus that Trump is not doing himself any legal favors by repeatedly referring to it on Twitter.

"President Trump is hurting his own case every time he goes on [Twitter]," said a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont, on MSNBC.

The top Democrat on that committee, Dianne Feinstein of California, said, "The message the president is sending through his tweets is that he believes the rule of law doesn't apply to him and that anyone who thinks otherwise will be fired."

Feinstein added, "That's undemocratic on its face and a blatant violation of the president's oath of office."

She also echoed concern that the president will try to fire Mueller and Rosenstein.

The Democratic National Committee, in a statement Friday, said that Rosenstein, who has authority over Mueller, needs to recuse himself from the Russia investigation and that control of the investigation should not be given to another presidential appointee.

The Justice Department on Friday said any such of consideration of recusal was premature.

"As the deputy attorney general has said numerous times, if there comes a point when he needs to recuse, he will. However, nothing has changed," Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior told VOA.

Rosenstein on Thursday night issued an unusual and puzzling public warning about stories attributed to anonymous sources.

"Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous 'officials,' particularly when they do not identify the country  let alone the branch or agency of government  with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated," Rosenstein said in a short statement released by the Justice Department.

"Americans should be skeptical about anonymous allegations. The Department of Justice has a long-established policy to neither confirm nor deny such allegations."

It's unclear why Rosenstein issued the warning or whether anyone prompted him to do so.

Rosenstein wrote a memo last month noting concerns about Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation that the White House initially used to justify the removal of the FBI director.

In another sign the investigation is expanding, lawyers for the Trump transition team issued a memo Thursday instructing those who worked for the transition to preserve documents in anticipation that investigators will request those materials for the probe into Russian interference into last year's presidential election.

VOA's Masood Farivar contributed to this report.

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DoD Seeks to Stay Ahead of Cybersecurity Threats, Acting CIO Says

By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017  Staying ahead of the cybersecurity threat requires the Defense Department to hire the best people, partner with industry and practice good cyber hygiene, the DoD acting chief information officer said today.

John A. Zangardi delivered the keynote luncheon address at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's Defense Cyber Operations Symposium in Baltimore.

"We can't solve today's complex problems with yesterday's thinking or technologies," he said. "As all of you are well aware, IT innovation today more often comes from industry, and not government."

But technology alone will not solve the cybersecurity challenges, he said, noting that the issues require an exceptional workforce, a shared commitment throughout the department and collaboration with private industry.

The Defense Department tracks cyber habits across the agency through the DoD cyber scorecard, he said. Good cyber habits are critical in keeping the networks safe, he explained. "The foundation for a resilient cybersecurity posture is cyber hygiene," he said.

Seeking the Best in Cyber Excepted Service

For DoD to attract the best cybersecurity professionals, Zangardi told the symposium audience, Congress granted the department new authorities to hire cyber professionals under what is known as the Cyber Excepted Service, an enterprisewide approach for managing civilian cyber professionals across the department.

The Cyber Excepted Service will provide more flexibility in DoD hiring procedures, allowing DoD components to source candidates with more options and post jobs clearly identified as Cyber Excepted Service in a range of locations, he said.

"It will also leverage a market-based pay structure to deliver more targeted and competitive compensation packages for critical civilian personnel," he said, adding that he expects the department will issue the personnel policies for the Cyber Excepted Service in July or August.

Cyber Professionals of Tomorrow

Zangardi highlighted the importance of inspiring the next generation of cyber talent, through mentoring and by encouraging children's interest.

"The future will require the development of a well-rounded workforce that is proficient in the basics, and the basics to me are reading and writing and math -- literacy and mathematics," he said. "These are enablers for the next generation of cyber talent."

Building the cyber force of the future includes creating a strong work ethic, developing perseverance and helping children understand that failure is a part of learning, Zangardi said.

"As the department and other employers struggle to attract and retain talent, a larger pool of talent is crucial to our nation's future competitiveness and security," he added.

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Tennessee National Guard joins in statewide cyber security exercise

By Master Sgt. Robin Brown June 16, 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- This week, Soldiers and Airmen of the Tennessee National Guard are taking part in a statewide exercise focused on cyber threats. This is part of the annual joint Tennessee Maneuvers (TNMAN) exercise, working with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Tennessee State Guard, and various other state agencies taking place June and July.

"TNMAN exercises one of the three key focus areas of the National Guard - Domestic Operations," said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Brown, G3 Directorate of Military Support, Tennessee Army National Guard. "Interagency coordination during domestic operations is built on relationships, and the Tennessee National Guard works with our state partners throughout these exercises."

"We are fully invested in responding to disaster events," he added. "Outreach, training, and exercises are the best way to build key relationships with other agencies and for building mutual trust and understanding."

Last year exercised a scenario centered on the New Madrid fault erupting in Memphis. This year, the situation is a cyber attack targeting power grids across the state.

"The exercise was developed with TEMA, and is coupled with the Guard's response to extreme temperatures in the state as well as various civil unrest scenarios," said Brown.

Part of the "civil unrest" requires the Tennessee Army National Guard's 168th Military Police Battalion, out of Dyersburg, Tenn., to team up with the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) and state parks in Milan.

"The 1/230th Assault Helicopter Battalion, based in Nashville, Tenn., is also participating with the TDOC portion of the exercise, conducting flights of TDOC and state park personnel from Nashville to Milan, to replicate interagency movement," said Brown.

The National Guard has a smaller footprint in this year's exercise due to their largest unit, the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, previously scheduled training at Fort Hood, Texas.

"Last year was proof that the adaptive battle staff concept worked with multiple units participating," explained Brown. "This year, we had to scale it back due to the amount of resources needed to support the training event in Texas."

TNMAN is critical for interagency relationship building across the state.

"It enables our state partners and ourselves to better understand each other's capabilities and limitations, making us better equipped to handle real-world situations that occur within the state," Brown said. "We need to understand how the emergency response effort works at every level; to understand the language, planning factors and how we all operate."

"Our internal education of the domestic framework will speed our response and ultimately mitigate suffering for our fellow citizens in a time of crisis," he added. "These are excellent exercises to continue to train and refine the practices of the Tennessee National Guard. They build confidence in our members and competency in domestic response missions."

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What We Know About Daesh Terrorist Group Leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi

Sputnik News

15:51 16.06.2017(updated 15:52 16.06.2017)

The leader of the Daesh terrorist organization (outlawed in numerous countries) Ibrahim Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been killed in an airstrike conducted by Russian Aerospace Forces on May 28, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday, adding that it was verifying the information.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (born Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri), also known as Abu Dua, was born in 1971 in the city of Samarra in Iraq.

According to media reports, al-Baghdadi was brought up in a religious family. His relatives were famous preachers and specialists of the Arabic language, rhetoric and logic.

Al-Baghdadi received a PhD in Islamic law from the University of Baghdad.

During his time at the university, he became a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood (a terrorist organization, banned in Russia).

After the Western coalition invaded Iraq in 2003, al-Baghdadi joined the Iraqi insurgents. In 2004, he went to jail and spent around a year in the Bucca Camp, a US prison in Iraq. After his release, he participated in activities of various terrorist groups of Islamist militants.

In 2010, al-Baghdadi became the leader of the Daesh of Iraq (ISI), affiliated with al-Qaeda (both terrorist organizations banned in Russia), following the death of its head Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. In 2013, al-Baghdadi announced the merging of the ISI with the al-Nusra Front, another al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist organization, outlawed in Russia, which has been active in Syria since 2012. The Nusra Front denied claims of joining Daesh, which led to the splitting up of al-Qaeda and the forming of Daesh in its current image.

On June 29, 2014, al-Baghdadi was proclaimed the caliph of Daesh, a "caliphate" created on the territories Daesh managed to seize in Syria and Iraq.

In October 2014, the Iraqi Air Forces carried out a strike against a transport convoy of al-Baghdadi, reportedly injuring him. According to media reports, in December 2015, al-Baghdadi left Turkey where he was allegedly receiving treatment, and moved to the Libyan city of Sirte.

In November 2016, the Iraqi military claimed that al-Baghdadi fled from Mosul during the government forces' operation to re-capture the city, which has been controlled by terrorists since 2014.

In June 2016, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad said that al-Baghdadi was injured.

In December 2016, Fadhil Barwari, the commander of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, said that al-Baghdadi was hiding in an underground bunker in Mosul.

Reports of al-Baghdadi's death repeatedly appear in the world media. His death was reported in June and December 2016, April 2015 and November 2014. In April 2015, he was reported dead after an injury, and in October 2016, reports emerged that al-Baghdadi was poisoned. In January 2017, media reported that al-Baghdadi suffered heavy injuries in an airstrike.

 Sputnik

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Air Force Stands Up New Headquarters Space Directorate

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs / Published June 16, 2017

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson has approved the reorganization of the Air Force headquarters to establish a Deputy Chief of Staff for Space Operations, who will be a three-star Air Force general officer.

"This is the next step in our effort to integrate, normalize and elevate space operations in the Air Force," said Wilson. "The United States is dependent on space and our adversaries know it. We must organize and train forces to be able to prevail in any future conflict which could extend into space."

The new directorate will begin operating in early August. Over the next two months, the Air Force will work to stand up the Deputy Chief of Staff for Space Operations directorate  or "A-11"  by establishing an initial A-11 cadre, establishing operations and identifying the senior leaders who will lead the new staff.

"A new three-star deputy chief of staff for space  will increase decision making speed and help ensure freedom from attack and freedom to maneuver," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein. "The Air Force culture evolved to own the skies and is now best postured to lead space into this information age and prepare our people and systems to achieve space superiority so the warfighter has what's required to win."

The deputy chief of staff for space operations will be the advocate for space operations and requirements to meet the demands of a warfighting domain, according to Air Force officials. The directorate will also consolidate space functions from multiple parts of the Air Staff.

Air Force Secretary as Principal Defense Advisor on Space Reaffirmed

On June 9, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work reaffirmed the Secretary of the Air Force will continue to be the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on space over the next year, giving Air Force and DOD leadership time to revalidate the current approach. As the principal advisor, the Secretary of the Air Force has responsibilities to guide and advocate for space related programs across all services and defense agencies.

"While we are integrating and normalizing space on the Air Staff, we are also strengthening the integrated service staff supporting the Principal DOD Space Advisor role so that major issues are addressed, operations and acquisition is streamlined and every service is heard when it comes to space," said Wilson.



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China' s quantum satellite establishes photon entanglement over 1,200 km

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:12, June 16, 2017

HEFEI, June 16 -- A team of Chinese scientists have realized the satellite-based distribution of entangled photon pairs over 1,200 kilometers. The photon pairs were demonstrated to be still entangled after travelling long distances.

This satellite-based technology opens up bright prospects for both practical quantum communications and fundamental quantum optics experiments at distances previously inaccessible on the ground, said Pan Jianwei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The achievement was made based on the world' s first quantum satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), also dubbed Micius, launched by China on August 16, 2016, and was published as a cover article in the latest issue of academic journal Science.

This experiment was made through two satellite-to-ground downlinks with a total length varying from 1,600 to 2,400 kilometers. The obtained link efficiency is many times higher than that of the direct bidirectional transmission of the two photons through telecommunication fibers, said Pan, who is also the lead scientist of QUESS.

Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in quantum physics, which is so confounding that Albert Einstein described it as "spooky action at a distance" in 1948.

Scientists found that when two entangled particles are separated, one particle can somehow affect the action of the far-off twin instantly.

Scientists liken it to two pieces of paper that are distant from each other: if you write on one, the other immediately shows your writing.

The mystery of quantum entanglement has been puzzling scientists since it was detected.

Quantum physicists have a fundamental interest in distributing entangled particles over increasingly long distances and studying the behavior of entanglement under extreme conditions.

In theory, this bizarre connection can exist over any distance, but scientists want to see if there' s some physical limit. "If you want to explore new physics, you must push the limits," Pan said.

Previously, entanglement distribution had only been achieved at a distance up to 100 kilometers due to photon loss in optical fibers or terrestrial free space.

One way to improve the distribution lies in the protocol of quantum repeaters, whose practical usefulness, however, is hindered by the challenges of quantum storage and readout efficiency, Pan said.

Another approach is making use of satellite-based and space-based technologies, as a satellite can conveniently cover two distant locations on Earth. The main advantage of this approach is that most of the photons' transmission path is almost in a vacuum, with almost zero absorption and de-coherence, Pan said.

After feasibility studies, Chinese scientists developed and launched QUESS for the mission of entanglement distribution. Cooperating with QUESS are three ground stations: Delingha Observatory in Qinghai, Nanshan Observatory in Xinjiang and Gaomeigu Observatory in Yunan.

For instance, one photon of an entangled pair was beamed to Delingha and the other to Gaomeigu. The distance between the two ground stations is 1,203 kilometers. The distance between the orbiting satellite and the ground stations varies from 500 to 2,000 kilometers, said Pan.

Due to the fact that the entangled photons cannot be amplified as classical signals, new methods must be developed to reduce the link attenuation in the satellite-to-ground entanglement distribution. To optimize the link efficiency, Chinese scientists combined a narrow beam divergence with a high-bandwidth and a high-precision acquiring, pointing, and tracking (APT) technique.

An accurate transmission of photons between the "server" and the "receiver" is never easy, as the optic axis of the satellite must point precisely toward those of the telescopes in the ground stations, said Zhu Zhencai, QUESS chief designer.

What makes it much harder is that the satellite flying over the Earth at a speed of 8 kilometers per second can be continuously tracked by the ground station for just a few minutes.

"It is like tossing a coin from a plane at 100,000 meters above sea level exactly into the slot of a rotating piggy bank," said Wang Jianyu, QUESS project's chief commander.

The highly sensitive QUESS could make visible from the Earth a match being lit on the Moon, Wang added.

By developing an ultra-bright space-borne two-photon entanglement source and the high-precision APT technology, the team established entanglement between two single photons separated by 1,203 kilometers.

Compared with the previous methods of entanglement distribution by direct transmission of the same two-photon source -- using the best performance and most common commercial telecommunication fibers respectively -- the effective link efficiency of the satellite-based approach is 12 and 17 orders of magnitude higher, Pan said.

He said the distributed entangled photons are readily useful for entanglement-based quantum key distribution, which, so far, is the only way to establish secure keys between two distant locations on Earth without relying on trustful relay.

QUESS is also designed to establish "hack-proof" quantum communications by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground, as well as test quantum teleportation with a ground station in Ali, Tibet.

Pan revealed they also want to see if it' s possible to distribute entanglement between the Earth and the Moon in future.

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Russian Progress MS-06 Cargo Spacecraft Successfully Docks With ISS

Sputnik News

14:54 16.06.2017

Russia's Progress MS-06 cargo spacecraft, launched on June 14 with the help of a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket, has docked with the Zvezda module of the International Space Station's (ISS) Russian segment, a Sputnik correspondent reported Friday from the Mission Control Center in the Moscow region.

KOROLYOV (Sputnik)  The docking took place in an automatic mode.

The Progress resupply ship was launched on Wednesday. It is carrying fuel, water, food, compressed gases, medical and sanitary equipment, as well as nanosatellites to Russia's Zvezda service module.

The Progress MS-06 (NASA: Progress 67) is used by the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, to resupply the ISS.

 Sputnik

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China Launches First-Ever Cutting Edge X-Ray Telescope

Sputnik News

03:50 16.06.2017(updated 10:50 16.06.2017)

China has successfully launched their first-ever X-ray space telescope to study phenomena like black holes, gamma ray bursts and pulsar stars, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The 2.76-ton satellite was carried on the back of a Long March-4B rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. It will orbit about 340 miles above the Earth's surface, with an expected life span of four years.

The satellite is named the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), informally referred to as "Insight." It is equipped with three x-ray telescopes, making it the largest and most powerful Hard X-ray satellite ever launched, according to Xinhua.

"Hard" x-rays are x-rays in a high energy band, and emit from sources like magnetic fields, the interiors of pulsars (small stars with extremely powerful magnetic charges) and the formation of black holes.

"We are looking forward to discovering new activities of black holes and studying the state of neutron stars under extreme gravity and density conditions, and physical laws under extreme magnetic fields," lead scientist Zhang Shuangnan told Xinhua. "These studies are expected to bring new breakthroughs in physics."

Insight has been in development for 17 years, with the joint project between Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Tsinghua University (China's top engineering school) beginning in 2000. It was originally slated for a 2010 release, but was delayed until Wednesday morning.

The ambitious project is part of China's push to catch up to spaceflight leaders like Russia and the United States. X-ray telescopes are a significant accomplishment because they must be space-based, as Earth's atmosphere acts as a shell against x-ray astronomy.

"Insight is expected to push forward the development of space astronomy and improve space X-ray detection technology in China," Xinhua reported.

"It's very meaningful that they've launched their first astronomical satellite and this will pave the way for others," Andrew Fabian, theoretical astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge, told Science Mag. He says that the satellite will be useful in catching "transient x-rays," which flare up and then quickly fade away for poorly understood reasons.

 Sputnik

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Background Briefing on the President's Cuba Policy

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 15, 2017



James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

4:36 P.M. EDT

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us this afternoon. This is an off-camera, not-for-audio broadcast, background briefing on President Trump's Cuba policy with senior White House officials here in the briefing room. Some of you are joining us via conference call. Just as a reminder, this background briefing information is embargoed until 9:00 p.m. tonight.

Q A lot of this stuff is out already. Can you guys move that embargo? Is that negotiable?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It's not negotiable right now. It's 9:00 p.m. tonight. It's embargoed until 9:00 p.m. tonight.

During the campaign last year, President Trump received an endorsement from the Bay of Pigs Veterans Association, the first presidential endorsement this group has ever made, at their museum in Little Havana, Miami. The President has repeatedly said he was "honored and humbled" to have received that endorsement from these veterans, recognizing that they were fighting to restore liberty and justice for the people of Cuba.

The President vowed to reverse the Obama administration policies toward Cuba that have enriched the Cuban military regime and increased the repression on the island. It is a promise that President Trump made, and it's a promise that President Trump is keeping.

With this is a readjustment of the United States policy towards Cuba. And you will see that, going forward, the new policy under the Trump administration, will empower the Cuban people. To reiterate, the new policy going forward does not target the Cuban people, but it does target the repressive members of the Cuban military government.

To discuss this further, I'm going to introduce [senior administration officials]. We will take a few questions after their presentations. As background, you know they are going to be identified as senior White House officials.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks. And I'm going to be really quick and pretty bland here so we can get to your questions. But as my colleague mentioned, the President made a promise September 16, 2016, when he was speaking in Miami, about his commitment to overturn the Obama policy of appeasement toward Cuba. And, in doing so, he promised to restore some of the restrictions on Cuba until they provide religious and political freedom to their people.

In order to follow through on the promises the President made, he ordered a full review of U.S. policy toward Cuba in February, and of his team here internally. The National Security Council, led by General McMaster, engaged in a thorough interagency review process, including more than a dozen working-level meetings, multiple deputies meetings, and principal meetings. This interagency process included, among others -- there are additional agencies -- but those I think that are most impacted by the policy included the Treasury Department, the State Department, Commerce Department, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Transportation. So each of those agencies and secretaries were actively engaged in this policy formation.

Additionally, during this process, the President met with members of Congress who are experts on Cuba policy and have been leaders in formulating Cuba policy, from a legislative perspective, for years. These members also worked with us hand-in-glove in providing technical guidance and policy suggestions as we continued to formulate the policy and went through multiple drafts.

The President and other principals also met with members on both sides of the aisle in this process, and even, additionally, were sharing thoughts with those who have, I think, been advocates -- in particular, agricultural trade with Cuba.

The President has tasked his Cabinet to work together to find ways to improve what we consider President Obama's bad deal. And we're very excited about the result that the President will unveil tomorrow. And I think more details of that will be forthcoming.

I'll turn it over to my colleagues, and we'll take questions when finished.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks. Breaking habit of a lifetime, I'm going to be even briefer, because this is really the President's policy to announce. But I want to reiterate that this is very much a promise that he made, that he took seriously, that he kept. And the basic policy driver was his concern that the previous policy was enriching the Cuban military and the intelligence services that contribute so much to oppression on the island. And that's the opposite of what he wanted to achieve, which is to have the benefits of any economic commerce with the United States go to the Cuban people. So that would be our guiding principle.

I did want to note that there will not be a change to wet foot, dry foot current policy, and that very much the hope of the administration is that the Cuban regime will see this as an opportunity for them to implement the reforms that they paid lip service to a couple of years ago, but that have not in any way been implemented to the benefit of the Cuban people.

So that's pretty much my part, and so we can open it up to questions.

Q Any details on the actual -- the action he's going to take tomorrow?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sorry, I'm the lawyer, so I don't get the (inaudible) parts, I just get the nitty-gritty details.

Q What is the President actually going to implement?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: There's a few components of it. One part is, like my colleague was talking about, measures designed to restrict the flow of money to the oppressive elements of the Cuban regime -- the military, intelligence, and security services.

There are also measures to ensure that the statutory ban on tourism is strictly enforced, which will include ending the individual people-to-people travel. There are 12 categories of travel that are permitted still, but the one of the individual people-to-people travel was one that was at the highest risk of potential abuse of the statutory ban on tourism. And then there are several other components of the policy that you'll see tomorrow that relate to the supporting requirements ensuring that these regulations are enforced.

One key thing to note about the policy is that it directs the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to change their regulations on the topic. No changes go into effect until those regulations are promulgated.

Q So when will this go into effect?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The policy goes into effect tomorrow, but the policy directs the creation of new regulations, so the actual impact occurs when those regulations go into effect.

Q Things on travel and that sort of stuff doesn't change immediately?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: That's right. Not until the regulations go into effect.

Q Can you explain just -- let's start with the tourism, the ban on tourism which you guys will now be enforcing. What immediate impact will American travelers see on visits to Cuba from a tourism perspective? Sort of x, y, and z -- what really changes for somebody who wants to go to Havana, let's say?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Tourism is banned under the statute, was banned before. Tourism has never been allowed.

Q Obviously, commercial flights are still going to be in effect, still allowed, so -- I'm just trying to get at for like the average person who's trying to understand what this means for them.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It means that they'll have to follow the statutory requirements and the regulations about what kind of travel to Cuba is and is not allowed.

Q Is there still going to be self-certification?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yes. It would still allow the Treasury to issue the general licenses that it has issued. And individuals obviously still have to keep records of their financial transactions and their travel, which can be subject to audit by the Treasury Department, but that does not change.

Q To clarify, you're getting rid of the people-to-people category, though? That will no longer be --

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Individual people-to-people. So individuals can still go as parts of groups --

Q But you now have to do it as part of a group? You can't self-initiate?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: That's right.

Q Quickly, are you going to issue a replacement directive for the presidential directive that went into effect at the end of last year?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: That's what this is.

Q So we'll see that tomorrow.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Right.

Q What about cruise ships?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't think there's anything that specifically touches on cruise ships.

Q No changes to the commercial flights?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Again, there is a statutory ban on tourism. But if an individual follows the regulations to travel to Cuba, then they can travel, and -- whether they get there by air, boat, or any other means.

Q Does the Trump administration plan to have official diplomatic relations with the Castro regime?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't think that's changed by the policy.

Q Doesn't eliminating -- or changing the people-to-people requirement -- doesn't that somehow undermine supporting the private sector in Cuba? I mean, isn't that how a lot of Cuban people make their money, off the people-to-people exchanges and that sort of thing?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The other statutorily permitted categories of travel, including support for the Cuban people, are unchanged by the policy. But the requirement is that individuals who are going to Cuba actually engage in a full-time schedule of activities designed to enhance their interaction with the Cuban people and designed to get -- and consistent with the policy objectives of ensuring that the money goes to the Cuban people and not to the military intelligence services.

Q How is this going to restrict the flow of money to military intelligence and security services? And if you're not touching anything to do with airlines and cruise ships, does that mean that airlines and cruise companies are still transferring money to military-controlled entities, since they have to pay docking fees and landing fees?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, the way a policy is structured -- and you'll see tomorrow -- is that it directs Treasury and Commerce too provide the regulations to prohibit direct financial transactions with the military intelligence and security services.

There are several exceptions to that ban on direct financial transactions, one of which is for air and sea operations. Again, it restricts the flow of money to the military and intelligence and security services, but it does not completely -- there are several exceptions that you'll see on the policy for the kinds of travel that will still be allowed.

Q Say I met an Ohio electrical company owner who is looking to sell transformers to Cuba. Their electrical infrastructure is in shambles. Would that person's business with Cuba now be curtailed in any way?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Only if they want to sell to the military, intelligence or security services.

Q Can I follow up on that -- just a question about business more broadly? What's the President's message to businesses that have hoped to see Cuba as an expanding potential market? Is there a message here to American business?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Say that again, please.

Q What's the President's message more broadly to American business, particularly those businesses that had hoped to see an opening of the Cuban market? What do you tell those folks?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: We tell them that we also very much want to see that kind of expansion of commercial interaction with Cuba, and that's entirely up to Raul Castro and his regime. It's entirely up to Raul Castro to make that happen.

Q What would the Cuban regime need to do in order to make that happen?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: We're going to have a series of reforms that would make it considerably less difficult for whoever Raul's successor may be to continue to implement this kind of very repressive police state, which is being fueled by the companies owned by the military and the intelligence.

Q Are you going to roll out what those specific reforms you want to see, what boxes the Cuban regime would have to check in order to roll out more business --

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Absolutely.

Q When? We'll see that tonight, tomorrow?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Tomorrow.

Q On the individual travel restrictions, when will those go into effect? Say somebody has a flight scheduled next week. They were planning to do individual people-to-people travel. It's too late to get a group. Do they cancel their flight? How does that affect those people?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Again, none of the changes will go into effect until the regulations are issued. One of the things that the Treasury Department will cover in its regulations is how individuals who have started planning travel to Cuba but have not actually completed that travel, how they will be affected. That's something we're going to be working with them on. But that is something that will be spelled out by the Treasury Department.

Q Is there a timeline for making progress?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It requires within 30 days for them to initiate the process, but then the process takes as long as it takes.

Q Can you explain the administration's thinking on the big picture? Why this is sort of done in like almost a half-measure? Why not -- if you're so concerned about the human rights situation there, why not cut off formal diplomatic relations, revert the embassy back to an interest section, and reinstate wet foot, dry foot? Why not do that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think that's very much what we've been talking about, that we want this relationship to be one in which we can encourage the Cuban people through economic interaction, and that that process is -- hopefully has been started. You can't put the genie back in the bottle 100 percent. And so I think this is an effort to move what the President has called a very, very bad deal.

It's not that he's opposed to any deal with Cuba; he's opposed to a bad deal with Cuba. And to start the process of making it clear to the regime that there are very specific benchmarks that they're going to need to meet if they want to continue this kind of relationship.

Q Thank you. So just to be clear, the embassy will remain in the place that it is?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: There are not changes to that status.

Q Sorry, one other --

Q Ambassador?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: We don't have an ambassador.

Q And one other, will you re-designate Cuba the sponsor of terrorism?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: That's not in this memorandum.

Q Will the new policy address U.S. fugitives living in Cuba?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The new policy reiterates the importance of extraditing those fugitives and returning them to justice, and directs the Attorney General to submit a report on those efforts.

Q What about political prisoners? Is there anything that affects -- is the President going to call for that tomorrow, for releasing political prisoners from Cuban prisons, or anything within this that speaks to that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: All I'dsay is that absolutely, I think to my colleague's comment about -- someone asked the question how does it change. As soon as there are free and fair elections, and the political prisoners are freed, then they'll have direct change to the policy.

And regarding the question earlier on the private sector and wanting to continue to encourage engagement in the private sector, by all means, that's what this President's directive will do.

Our concern is that the loopholes the Obama administration have left and was not enforcing is that many of the transactions were benefiting the Cuban military, which is continuing to repress the people. So the directive that this will enforce will allow business-to-business engagement, but it will make sure that those profits and flow of money are not going to benefit the Cuban military.

Q I want to follow up on that. Because GAESA, the Cuban-military-owned intelligence company -- what percent -- like, how big are they when it comes to the Cuban economy? Like how large are they?

Q Is this restricted to GAESA or it this broader?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The prohibition on direct financial transactions is on Cuban military, intelligence and security service, and entities that they control, which, as I understand the situation, does include GAESA.

And in terms of what share they are of the Cuban economy -- I know they have a monopoly on various sectors of the economy.

Q So you're talking about -- you want to engage with the Cuban government if the regime becomes less repressive, but why is there a particular concern on human rights abuses in Cuba when this administration has been engaging with Saudi Arabia and lots of other regimes that don't have great human rights records? Why Cuba, in particular?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think the President has made clear that he will look toward repressive regimes in this hemisphere and believes that his comments stand from September 2016 when he said that the Cuba policy needs to change.

Q So we can expect this administration to be taking an aggressive stance based on human rights with other regimes?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think that this administration will continue to take aggressive stands. But I'm not commenting here on what his foreign policy will be toward other countries right now.

Q Just a final follow-up -- for people who, let's say, have a family member in Cuba -- you need to travel, you've got a family member dying -- what happens to those people? What kind of penalties go along with going outside of --

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Family travel is one of the other categories of travel that is already authorized under the regulations and will continue to be authorized.

Q How much help did Marco Rubio provide in shaping this policy? And who else did you consult in shaping it?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: As I mentioned before, we consulted many members of Congress. Certainly Senator Rubio has been very helpful to us in this process. But we've consulted those who are part of coalitions that, again, support agricultural exports to Cuba. We've also consulted some on a bipartisan basis. And I'll kind of leave it to them to offer what their level of assistance has been. I think you'll being seeing more of that come forward in the next day or two as those who have been helping us come forward to talk about their engagement. But Senator Rubio was certainly central to helping us with this policy.

Q I just had two questions. The first is if this is all going to impact -- the Obama administration lifted or enabled people to bring more souvenirs, rum, cigars, that kind of thing back. Is there's any impact on that policy specifically? And then secondly, if you could at all lay out some of the other exemptions in addition to cruise ports and airports because obviously the military controls huge swaths of the economy.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: There aren't any changes to the regulations on what items Americans can bring back from Cuba. The other exemptions -- you'll see the full list tomorrow, but they include transactions related to the operation of the U.S. embassy or the naval station at Guantanamo Bay, transactions related to promotion of Cuban democracy, of expanding access to telecommunications access, Internet access to the Cuban people. Again, you'll -- I don't have the full list in front of me, but you'll see that tomorrow.

Q How much money has flown from Cuban military and intelligence services through the channels that you're now going to block in recent years?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think we'd have to refer that to the Department of the Treasury.

Q Can you give (inaudible) intelligence cooperation that some say flourished under the Obama policy? And then on the Defense Ministry owning Old Havana -- are payments to those banned as well?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm not going to comment on intelligence operations in this context. I think that, again, if the Cuban government would like this kind of relationship to continue, the means to achieve that is firmly in their court.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And on the question about hotels owned by the armed forces of Cuba -- yes, the prohibition on direct transactions with the Cuban military would encompass that. One of the pieces of the policy is that the State Department would create a list of entities owned by the Cuban military, intelligence and security services so individuals can adjust their plans accordingly.

Again, the policy intent is to steer money away from the Cuban military and towards the Cuban people. So your individual who travels to Cuba and does not stay in one of those hotels would not be affected. But the individuals seeking to stay in military hotels -- that would not be allowed.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Some members of Congress pointed out that if Cubans continue to ship arms to North Korea and continue to fuel chaos in Venezuela, it's hard to see what the dividends are of that cooperation.

Q I was wondering, just to follow up on that, do you envisage any carve-outs for existing investments in Cuba? Say if I'm the CEO of Starwood, should I be worried about losing millions that I've already invested?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: That will be handled in the specifics of the regulations that the Treasury and the Commerce Department craft pursuant to the policy. However, one of the administration's intent has been to not disrupt the existing business that has occurred or, again, to the question about travelers, who have already booked their plans.

Q There may be exceptions?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The specifics will be handled in the regulations that Treasury and Commerce issue.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And actually, can I quick add something on that? On Whitehouse.gov we'll have sort of a landing page where it will link to all of the relevant agencies that have their individual reports on how this is going to affect their operations tomorrow -- because it's more than you would imagine.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: One last question right here.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It should be right with the speech.

Q Two quick questions. (Inaudible) -- what does that look like? And second, can you give us some examples of the benchmarks you are talking about that you want the government to meet?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: My colleague laid those out. It's free elections, releasing prisoners. You could get into things such as direct pay for Cuban workers.

Q Are they going to be really specific?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think they will be more general tomorrow, and then if this is a dialogue the Cuban Government wants to have, we can get into the specifics of what it would look like.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I was going to say I think releasing political prisoners and free and fair elections are pretty specific.

Q Can you answer the question on enforcement, please?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: On how it is more strictly adhering to the statutory ban on tourism? Again, the ending people-to-people, individual people-to-people travel is one way that is done. That is a category of travel that is particularly ripe for abuse. So directing the Treasury to change its regulations to ensure that anyone who goes to people-to-people travel does so as part of a group, is one way to ensure that the individuals who travel to Cuba to engage in a schedule of activities actually do so and aren't sitting on the beach.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Just a reminder. This background briefing is embargoed until 9:00 p.m. tonight. Thank you all very much for joining us.

END

5:02 P.M. EDT

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I'm canceling Obama's one-sided deal with Cuba: Trump

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 6:35PM

US President Donald Trump says he is canceling a "one-sided" US deal with Cuba by imposing travel and trade restrictions on the island nation, claiming that former President Barack Obama's approach on the country has allowed the Cuban government to benefit from increased tourism.

Speaking to Cuban-American exiles in Miami, Florida, on Friday, Trump ordered tighter restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba and a clampdown on US businessmen doing business with companies allegedly controlled by the Cuban military.

"Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba", Trump said in Miami's Little Havana on Friday. "Our policy will seek a much better deal for the Cuban people and the USA."

There will be no lifting of US sanctions against Cuba "until all political prisoners are free, freedom of expression and assembly are respected, all political parties are legalized, and free and internationally supervised elections are scheduled," Trump declared.

Trump called Raul Castro's government "brutal" and vowed to restore "freedom" to the island nation. "With God's help a free Cuba is what we will soon achieve," he said.

"It is best for America to have freedom in its hemisphere whether in Cuba or Venezuela," he added.

"We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer," Trump told the Cuban-American crowd, including Cuban-American Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who helped create the new restrictions on Cuba.

Meanwhile, the White House announced plans to reverse parts Obama's historic restoration of ties with the Latin American country after a 2014 diplomatic breakthrough between the two former Cold War foes.

However, the Trump administration left many of Obama's initiatives, including the reopened US embassy in Havana, in place.

The Trump administration had put the Cuba policy under review upon taking office earlier this year.

During last year's presidential campaign, Trump threatened to "terminate" deals that the Obama administration made with Cuba.

Obama worked to enact several changes to Cuban policy during his tenure in the White House. He re-established diplomatic relations with Havana in 2015 and loosened some restrictions on doing business in the country.

Obama also gave illegal immigrants from Cuba a path to legal status and opened travel to the island nation.

Despite Obama's effort to improve ties, the Republican-dominated Congress has refused to lift Washington's 57-year-old embargo against Havana, which makes it illegal for US corporations to do business with Cuba.

The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 and placed an official embargo against the country in 1962.

The two countries became ideological foes soon after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power and their ties remained hostile even after the end of the Cold War.

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Trump Revises Obama's Opening to Cuba but Leaves Much Untouched

By Peter Heinlein June 16, 2017

Saying he was "canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," President Donald Trump on Friday began undoing some parts of his predecessor's historic opening to the island nation.

The new measures included tighter restrictions on tourism travel and a prohibition of financial dealings with entities tied to Cuban military and intelligence services. Cuba's military conglomerate GAESA is estimated to control more than half the country's economy.

In a speech at Miami's Little Havana district, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio and other leading politicians of Cuban descent, Trump said he took steps toward fulfilling a campaign promise that helped him win last November's election in the battleground state of Florida, where the Cuban-American vote was instrumental in pushing him over the top.

"America has rejected the Cuban people's oppressors,'' he told a cheering crowd at the packed, sweltering Manuel Artime Theater, named after a leader of the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion. "I do believe that the end is in the very near future."

"We will enforce the ban on tourism. We will enforce the embargo. We will take concrete steps to ensure that investments flow directly to the people so they can open private businesses and begin to build their country's great, great future," Trump said.

Some policies remain

White House officials, however, said many of the changes that occurred under former President Barack Obama would remain in place.

According to senior administration officials, Americans will still be able to travel to Cuba under approved categories, but there will be stricter enforcement to ensure travelers fit those categories.

Americans will be permitted to bring back souvenir items such as rum and cigars. Commercial flights between the United States and Cuba will continue, and diplomatic relations will not be affected, though Trump will not name an ambassador to Havana.

Obama had halted the so-called "wet foot/dry foot" policy that had allowed Cubans who arrived on U.S. shores to apply for work permits that could eventually lead to citizenship  a move that will not be touched by Trump's rollback.

Policy pushback

Obama initiated the move to normalize relations with Cuba and ease a long-standing trade embargo in 2014. He argued it was time to adopt a policy of engagement with the Cuban people because the decades-old embargo of the communist nation had failed to bring change to the island.

In 2016, he traveled to Havana to meet President Raul Castro, but not his brother Fidel, who led the overthrow of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Bautista more than half a century earlier.

Several Obama-era officials derided the partial Trump rollback, arguing that more restrictive policies send the wrong signal to America's friends and adversaries alike.

"I think history shows that the surest path to progress is through engagement. We've seen it in Vietnam, across Europe in World War II, in Iran and Burma, where our people-to-people diplomacy paved the way for change on the ground," said Brett Bruen, who served as Obama's director of global engagement.

"Raul Castro and those in power in Havana are not going to loosen their grip on power because we tighten our grip on the island," Bruen told VOA. "It's only going to cut off paths to opportunity and strengthen the arguments they're making that the U.S. is not a partner for the Cuban people."

Support on human rights

While business interests have cautioned against any move that would weaken growing U.S.-Cuba trade ties, Republicans' reactions have been strongly supportive of Trump's moves. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce of California, in a statement sent to VOA, said the United States must stand with the Cuban people in their fight for basic freedoms.

"President Obama's new course with the Castros led to more brutality, more repression, and more political arrests in Cuba," Royce wrote. "The administration is right to sideline the Cuban military and make human rights and internet access top priorities."

Some Cuban-Americans praised the symbolism of Trump's rollback, if not the substance.

"The Castro regime has done nothing about human rights," said Mike Gonzalez, who as a youth in Cuba listened surreptitiously with his family to VOA shortwave radio broadcasts.

Gonzalez, now a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington, likened Trump's Little Havana appearance to President Ronald Reagan's famous Cold War speeches.

"The Brandenburg Gate speech by Reagan, where he said, 'Mr. [Mikhail] Gorbachev, tear down this wall,' in 1987, is being remembered this week because the 30th anniversary just passed, and many people are saying,'Yeah, I heard that in East Berlin, and that was powerful,' " Gonzalez said. "We don't have to be the world's policeman but we have to make clear to all tyrants that we are on the side of the people they oppress."

Administration officials said the changes would not go into effect immediately. The Treasury and Commerce departments will have 30 days to draft new regulations, and it will take an unspecified amount of time before implementation can take place. "It will take as long as it takes," said one official.

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(Xinhua) 14:43, June 17, 2017

HAVANA, June 16 -- The Cuban media on Friday called U.S. President Donald Trump's new foreign policy on Cuba "regrettable" and "archaic."

Trump on Friday laid out his new Cuba policy that tightens rules on Americans traveling to Cuba and bars U.S. individuals and companies from doing commerce with Cuban businesses owned by the Cuban military.

"Perhaps the most regrettable thing is that he (Trump) has returned to the archaic language and worn litanies of the most reactionary discourse against Cuba and, above all, that he aims to subdue Cuba with conditions, which for Cubans is almost tantamount to the use of force," said an article published on the daily Juventud Rebelde (Rebel Youth), Cuba's second largest newspaper.

Trump "cares little" about what the majority of U.S. citizens, or people around the world, think, it added, referring to polls showing most Americans favor improving ties with Cuba, as does the international community.

The Cuban News Agency said Trump took "a step backward" in ties with Cuba, by adopting a "unilateral" and "interventionist" stance.

"The new measures by the Trump administration are a step backward on the path toward normalizing bilateral ties, and are charged with old anti-Cuban rhetoric," said the agency.

While the policy changes aligned Trump with hawkish Cuban-American Republicans in the U.S. Congress, Trump met with opposition from his own party.

Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican lawmaker from Arizona, said in a statement that any policy change that diminishes the ability of Americans to travel freely to Cuba "is not in the best interests of the United Statesor the Cuban people."

In December 2014, in the most sweeping change in Cuba-U.S. relations in five decades, then U.S. President Barack Obamaannounced plans to normalize ties with Cuba in a move that quickly sparked much controversy in the United States.

Since then, improvements have been made in Cuba-U.S. diplomatic, social and commercial ties, with the United States opening an embassy in Cuba and increasing flights to the country. Some U.S. businesses began expanding into the island nation for the first time in five decades.
Senate's Iran Sanctions Bill Faces Differing Views in House

By Michael Lipin June 15, 2017

A newly passed Senate bill that would impose additional U.S. sanctions on Iran faces uncertain prospects for passage in the House, whose members are expressing differing views about its efficacy.

Hours after the Senate approved the Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act in a near-unanimous 98-2 vote Thursday, the House's majority Republican leaders had not said when they will act on it. The bill also would sanction Russia for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election, a charge Moscow denies.

The Senate bill would impose financial restrictions on people involved with Iran's ballistic missile development and with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Strong bipartisan support

The legislation won strong bipartisan support from majority Republicans and minority Democrats who see Iran's ballistic missile activity as destabilizing to the region, and who accuse the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of involvement in international terrorism.

Iranian leaders say their ballistic missile program is defensive in nature. They also say Iran is the victim of international terrorism rather than the perpetrator.

The Senate's proposed Iran sanctions got a mixed response from House members who spoke to VOA's Persian Service at a Washington event Wednesday night, before the bill won final Senate approval.

The lawmakers were attending a dinner held by the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), a U.S. research group that educates American policymakers who want to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance.

Republican Congressman Scott Perry said he wants to ensure the Senate's bill is strong.

"We have to look at it," Perry said. "My concern would be that (the sanctions) would be too weak, especially regarding Iran. That's really the focus; Russia is an afterthought. Somebody at some point is going to have to take some action if (the Iranians) keep heading in the direction that we suspect they will head."

Another Republican Congressman, Mark Meadows, said some House members have doubts about the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions in dealing with Iran.

"As you look at the sanctions, typically they are not as impactful as (those of) the European Union," Meadows said. "Typically, having the EU involved has a greater impact in the (Mideast) region. We're cognizant of that, but we're looking at all the options."

Democratic Congressman Juan Vargas had a more upbeat view of the House's prospects for adopting the Senate's measures against Iran's ballistic missile program and the IRGC.

"I certainly support those measures, and I think a lot of Democrats will too," he said. "The bill will have bipartisan support."

No administration position yet

The Trump administration has not expressed a position on the Iran sanctions proposed in the legislation, which President Donald Trump would have to sign before they become law. But his administration has imposed several sanctions on Iran in recent months to punish it for carrying out a January ballistic missile test and for committing alleged human rights abuses.

The White House also is reviewing whether to re-impose Iran sanctions that Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, lifted under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers.

Israel's criticism

In a speech at Wednesday's EMET event, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer sharpened his criticism of the 2015 deal, saying it has "paved Iran's path to a nuclear bomb" because it automatically lifts restrictions on Iranian nuclear activities after a number of years.

"So the clock is ticking, the sands are coming out of that glass, and time is literally on their side," Dermer said. "Iran won't need to sneak in or break in to the nuclear club, in a few years, they can just walk in."

The Obama administration said the 2015 deal blocks Iran's path to a bomb by forcing it to freeze activities or damage infrastructure needed to develop nuclear weapons.

Israel, which is widely believed to be nuclear-armed, sees an Iranian nuclear weapon as a threat to its existence because of repeated calls from Iranian leaders for the destruction of the Jewish state.

"Israel and the Trump administration must deal with the fallout (from the 2015 agreement), and we will deal with the fallout," Dermer said. "We will deal with it because we must. Deal or no deal, America and Israel must stop Iran's clear path to the bomb." The Israeli diplomat did not elaborate.

Iran says its nuclear program is designed for peaceful medical research and electricity generation.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Persian Service.

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Iranian, Chinese warships to hold joint military exercises

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Bandar Abbas, Hormuzgan Pro, June 16, IRNA -- Iranian and Chinese warships are to hold a joint military maneuver in the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman on June 18, 2017.

Commander of the First Naval Base Rear Admiral Amir Hossein Azad in a joint press conference with commander of Chinese visiting' fleet-150' in Bandar Abbas on Thursday evening said that the maneuver will be held in the east of the Hormuz Strait and north of the Indian Ocean.

He said that the military exercise aims to exchange naval experiences between the two countries.

The commander added that in fighting against the ominous phenomenon of piracy, defending trade fleets, and carrying out relief and rescue operations, the two navies have collaboration and exchange useful information.

Rear Admiral Shen Hao, Commander of China Navy Task Force Group 150 said holding the maneuver had already been planned and the successful execution of the program will help develop more friendship, promote interaction and strengthen confidence between the two navies of Iran and China.

He called Iran and China two ancient and civilized countries of Asia with a long history of friendship, adding that by exchanging high ranking delegations in recent years, cooperation between the two navies have entered into a new phase.

The Chinese flotilla, which docked in Bandar Abbas military wharf on Thursday, includes a heavy and a light destroyer, a logistic vessel, and a helicopter.

1391**1771

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FM Spox: Iran's missile defense legitimate not against UNSC Resolution 2231

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, June 16, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Friday that Iran's defense missile program is legitimate, in full conformity with the United Nations Security Council's Resolution 2231 and no move can deprive Iran of its legitimate rights.

Ratification of the new law imposing sanctions on Iran's non-nuclear activities at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee indicates their enmity which was not unlikely and proves continuation of their inborn hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Qasemi said.

He made the remarks while commenting on the latest anti-Iran move of the US Senate.

On June 15, the Senate voted for a legislation to impose non-nuclear sanctions on Iran for its defense missile programs. They voted 98-2 in favor of the legislation.

Bipartisan negotiations also led to the bill including expanded sanctions on Russia, in response to its intrusion into Ukraine, efforts to meddle in the 2016 election and its support for the Syrian regime.

Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky and Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, were only two 'no' votes.

"Based on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which is an international document, the US government has some commitments that should fulfill them completely and with good will," Qasemi said adding that domestic rules and regulations of each country are not the basis for their acts towards the JCPOA therefore, he stressed, "governments cannot shirk their legal obligations resorting to their own regulations."

He added that Iran is "closely monitoring all events related to this legislation at the US Congress and its probable endorsement by the US president." He noted that Iran's special committee in charge of the complete implementation of the JCPOA will adopt proper countermeasures to ensure the country's national interests".

Whatever have been said in the legislation about Iran's military forces and the country's missile ability "are totally unjustified and illegal.

"We announce that Iran's armed forces defend the country's security and interests with courage and such measures will never make the slightest dent to this end," he said.

"Once again we underline that Iran's defense missiles programs are legal and is not in contradiction with Resolution 2231 and no act can deprive the country of its legitimate rights," Qasemi said.

1430**1394

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Nothing can prevent Iran from pursuing defense right: Qassemi

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:21PM

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has defended the country's "completely legitimate" missile defense program, emphasizing that nothing can prevent the Islamic Republic from exercising its right to defense.

"Missile defense programs of the Islamic Republic of Iran are completely legitimate and are not even at odds with [the United Nations Security Council] Resolution 2231," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Friday in reaction to the US Senate's decision to impose new sanctions on Tehran.

"No measure will be able to deny the Islamic Republic of Iran from its legitimate defense right," he added.

The US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill imposing sanctions on Iran over its missile program among other things.

The legislation still must pass the Republican-led House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump to become law.

The Iranian spokesperson rejected as "completely unjustified and illegal" allegations leveled in the bill about the country's missile capabilities.

"The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will bravely defend the security and interests of their own country and such measures will not create the slightest disturbance in this path," Qassemi pointed out.

He noted that the US Senate's new move was not "unpredictable" due to the history of Washington's enmity toward the noble Iranian nation, adding it is in line with the US acts of hostility toward the Islamic Republic.

He urged the US administration to completely and sincerely fulfill its commitments under the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, including the United States.

Administrations are not authorized to shun their legal responsibilities by resorting to their internal regulations, the Iranian spokesman said.

"As the Islamic Republic of Iran has so far fulfilled its commitments precisely and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also repeatedly confirmed this, all the signatories to the JCPOA are duty-bound and obliged to meet their commitments completely," Qassemi added.

He emphasized that Iran closely examines the content and ratification process of the bill and said the Iranian committee tasked with monitoring the JCPOA implementation would resolutely adopt proportionate and reciprocal measures to fulfill the country's national interests.

Under the JCPOA signed in 2015 between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China - plus Germany, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

Resolution 2231 was adopted on July 20, 2015 to endorse the JCPOA.

Under the resolution, Iran is "called upon" not to undertake any activity related to missiles "designed to be capable of" delivering nuclear weapons. Iran says it is not involved in any such missile work and has no such warheads.

Washington has so far imposed two rounds of sanctions on Iran under the new US administration over the country's missile work.

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New US bans in breach of nuclear deal: Iran official

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:16AM

A senior Iranian official slams a new set of sanctions approved by the US Senate against Tehran as a breach of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1 states, vowing a proper response to the hostile move.

On Thursday, the US Senate voted overwhelmingly for a bill imposing sanctions on Iran over its missile program among other things.

To become law, the legislation would have to pass the Republican-led House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump.

Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, said the US Senate's move is "unquestionably in breach of both the spirit and the letter of the JCPOA," referring to the July 2015 deal officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Velayati said the Iranian committee tasked with monitoring the accord would certainly examine the congressional move and come up with a "decent" response.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to put limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related bans against the country.

Washington claims Iran's missile tests are in breach of Resolution 2231, which was adopted in July 2015 to endorse the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, including the US.

However, Tehran has repeatedly asserted that its missiles are not capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Velayati further said by imposing more sanctions against Iran, the US is trying to "cover up the repeated defeats it has suffered from Iran in Iraq and Syria."

So far, Washington has slapped two rounds of sanctions on Iran under the new US administration over the country's missile work.

The Senate's recent vote was "commended" by the pro-Tel Aviv American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which failed to sabotage the accord when it was in the making during the administration of the former US president Barack Obama.

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UN: Iraqi Civilians in West Mosul Held as Human Shields

By Lisa Schlein June 16, 2017

The United Nations refugee agency reports more than 100,000 Iraqis may still be held hostage by Islamic State militants in western Mosul. The UNHCR warns conditions in the old city are worsening for the civilians trapped there.

The Iraqi military offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State was launched on October 17. The battle got off to a good start as the militants were ousted rather quickly from their stronghold in the east. After claiming that part of the city, Iraqi forces embarked on a major push in February to recapture the more densely-populated western part, where the situation is more difficult.

The war there is being waged largely in the densely populated old city, which is a maze of narrow alleyways. Fighting is being conducted on foot and by going house to house.

The U.N. refugee agency representative in Iraq, Bruno Geddo, said the Iraqi military must take great care because the risks for the civilian population from both the fighting and IS are immense. He said the militants, whom he called ISIS, are using civilians in the old city as human shields.

"The civilian population is being taken, moved by fighters with them to be used as human shields," he said. "And ... ISIS snipers continue to aim at people trying to flee because there is this long-standing policy of executing people trying to leave the territory of the caliphate."

Geddo said food, water, fuel and electricity are scarce as people become increasingly poor.

The UNHCR reports 667,000 people are displaced by the war. Most are living in camps, but many prefer to stay with family and friends or live in damaged and abandoned buildings outside Mosul.

Geddo said the UNHCR opened its 13th camp two weeks ago to accommodate the growing numbers of people fleeing Mosul. He said his agency has assisted more than one-half-million people, providing essential items such as blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets, buckets and flat containers for liquids known as jerry cans.

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EU Calls For Transatlantic Coordination On Any New Russia Sanctions

RFE/RL June 16, 2017

The European Union has urged international partners to coordinate any new sanctions against Russia, a day after the U.S. Senate proposed additional measures against Moscow that drew a sharp rebuke from Germany and other allies.

A spokeswoman for the European Commission told the Reuters news agency on June 16 that it was "important for possible new measures to be coordinated between international partners to ensure their impact internationally and to maintain unity among partners on the sanctions."

The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on June 15 for new sanctions on key sectors of Russia's economy and cementing into law existing sanctions on Russia over its aggression in Ukraine and alleged meddling into the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

Russia denies acting to influence the U.S. election but the U.S. intelligence community in January issued an assessment affirming that Russian President Vladimir Putin "ordered an influence campaign" to benefit the candidacy of Donald Trump.

Germany and Austria strongly objected to a key provision in the Senate's legislation, saying it could hurt European businesses involved in a project to bring Russian natural-gas supplies to Europe.

The provision enables the United States to impose sanctions on European firms involved in financing Russian energy-export pipelines to Europe, including the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that is being built under the Baltic Sea to provide Russian gas to Germany.

The pipeline project was conceived by Russia and Germany as a way to avoid sending gas to Europe through an existing pipeline that runs through Ukraine, which has proved to be unreliable at times because of a long-running spat between Kyiv and Moscow over the cost of gas and other contract terms.

Addressing reporters in Berlin on June 16, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert described the U.S. move as "peculiar."

Seibert said it was "strange" that sanctions intended to punish Russia for meddling in the U.S. elections could also lead to penalties against European companies.

He added that Chancellor Angela Merkel shared the concerns raised by the German and Austrian foreign ministers who charged in a joint statement that the U.S. measure brings a "completely new, very negative dimension into European-American relations."

"Europe's energy supply is a matter for Europe, and not for the United States of America," the ministers, Sigmar Gabriel and Christian Kern, said on June 15.

With several major European companies involved in building the new Nord Stream pipeline, they said that "we can't accept the threat of illegal and extraterritorial sanctions against European companies" posed by the Senate bill.

Half of the cost of the new Nord Stream pipeline is being paid for by Russian gas giant Gazprom, while the other half is being shouldered by a European group including Royal Dutch Shell, an Anglo-Dutch enterprise, French provider Engie, OMV of Austria, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall.

The United States in the past has cautioned its European allies against building the Nord Stream 2 project, saying it would increase European dependence on Russian energy supplies, but it hasn't previously attempted to interfere with plans to move the project forward.

Natural Gas Ambitions?

The Austrian and German officials said one motive behind the Senate bill may be an attempt to help U.S. natural-gas suppliers at the expense of their Russian rivals. The United States recently started shipping liquefied natural gas to Poland and has ambitions to cultivate other European customers.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said it had an "extremely negative attitude" toward the proposed new U.S. sanctions and considers the discontent expressed by Germany and Austria "understandable."

Legislation passed by the Senate on June 15, which included tougher new sanctions against both Russia and Iran, aimed at punishing Russian President Vladimir Putin for his country's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and making Tehran pay a price for its "continued support of terrorism."

The bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives for approval before being sent to President Donald Trump for his signature.

By tying Iran and Russia together, Congress has made it more difficult for Trump to oppose the action as the president, who has been highly critical of Iran, would have to reject the tougher sanctions against Tehran if it rejected other parts of the legislation.

The vote came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a plea for patience from lawmakers in relation to Russia, saying the administration feared being "handcuffed" by the new measure.

The United States and European Union have imposed a series of sanctions on Russia over its armed takeover of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and its backing for separatists in a war that has killed more than 10,000 people in eastern Ukraine.

With reporting by AP, dpa, Reuters, and Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/germany-austria- object-provision-us-senate-russian- sanctions-bill-nord-stream-2- natural-gas-pipeline/28557924.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Russian airstrike may have killed IS leader in Syria, says Defense Ministry

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 20:05, June 16, 2017

MOSCOW, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A Russian airstrike may have killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northern Syria on May 28, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

It said in a statement that Russian Su-35 and Su-34 warplanes carried out a strike against a location in a Raqqa suburb, where IS leaders met, killing several high-ranking commanders, 30 middle-level field commanders and up to 300 militants.

"According to information, which is being checked through various channels, IS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was present at the meeting, was also killed," the statement said.

The U.S. side was notified in advance on the time and location of the Russian air force operation, it said.

Reports about the death of the IS chief have been circulating in some media for several days, but there has been no official confirmation of it.

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Russia: Airstrike may have killed Daesh leader

Iran Press TV0

Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:8AM

Russia's Defense Ministry says its airstrike may have killed Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the Syrian city of Raqqah.

In a statement released on Friday, the ministry said it was seeking confirmation that the Takfiri leader was killed in its airstrike in the Syrian city of Raqqah in May.

The airstrike, carried out on May 28, targeted a meeting of Daesh leaders including Baghdadi whose real name is Ibrahim al-Samarrai.

"According to the information which is now being checked via various channels, Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was eliminated by the airstrike, was also present at the meeting," it said.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the airstrike killed 330 Daesh members, including 30 top leaders, who had gathered to discuss withdrawal from Raqqah, the terrorist group's de facto capital.

It said the military began planning the attack after getting information that Daesh leaders were going to gather for a meeting, sending drones to monitor the area. It then dispatched a group of Su-34 bombers and Su-35 fighter jets which hit the gathering.

The ministry said that among other Takfiri militants killed in the raid were Daesh leaders Abu al-Khadji al-Mysri, Ibrahim al-Naef al-Khadj and Suleiman al-Shauah.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia does not have 100% confirmation that Baghdadi was killed in the airstrike.

Baghdadi has not been seen in public since proclaiming himself "caliph" in the Iraqi city of Mosul three years ago. His group has earned global notoriety for the most horrible crimes, including beheadings.

The Iraqi-born most-wanted man has been rumored wounded or killed a number of times in the past.

The Russian military said the US was informed in advance about the place and time of the strike. The US said it could not confirm the Russian report that Baghdadi may have been killed.

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Russia Says It May Have Killed IS Leader Baghdadi In Air Strike

RFE/RL June 16, 2017

The Russian Defense Ministry says the leader of the extremist group Islamic State (IS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, may have been killed in a Russian air strike in Syria late last month.

The ministry said on June 16 that it is checking information suggesting that Baghdadi was killed in an air strike on the southern outskirts of Raqqa early on May 28.

The U.S. Defense Department said it had no information confirming that Baghdadi had been killed in a Russian air strike.

"We have no information to corroborate those reports," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he did not have "100 percent confirmation," and the Kremlin declined to comment directly.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the strike killed about 330 people, including several senior IS figures.

It said the strike targeted a meeting at which IS members were discussing routes out of Raqqa, a main IS stronghold where the extremist group is under pressure from an offensive by U.S.-backed Syrian forces.

The attack was launched after Russian forces in Syria learned of the meeting ahead of time, the ministry said on Facebook.

"According to information that is now being checked via various channels, also present at the meeting was Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was eliminated as a result of the strike," it said.

The United States was informed in advance about the place and time of the strike, the Russian military said.

IS overran large parts of Syria and northern Iraq in 2014, terrorizing civilians and carrying out atrocities.

Its fighters now appear close to defeat in their main strongholds -- Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq.

Russia and the United States, which back opposing sides in the six-year-old war in Syria, are conducting separate air campaigns.

The U.S.-led coalition is targeting IS militants, while Western officials say Russian strikes have mainly targeted other opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Russia has given Assad crucial military and diplomatic aid throughout the war, which started with a government crackdown on protests in 2011 and has killed more than 400,000 people.

The most recent public video footage, from 2014, shows Baghdadi declaring his "caliphate" from the pulpit of Mosul's Grand al-Nuri mosque.

Baghdadi -- a 46-year-old Iraqi born Ibrahim al-Samarrai -- broke away from Al-Qaeda in 2013.

The director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cast doubt on the report Baghdadi may have been killed, telling the Reuters news agency that according to his information Baghdadi was in another part of Syria at the end of May.

"The information is that as of the end of last month Baghdadi was in Deir al-Zor, in the area between Deir al-Zor and Iraq, in Syrian territory," Reuters quoted Rami Abdulrahman as saying.

With reporting by RIA Novosti, TASS, Interfax, Reuters, and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-killed-al-baghdadi- islamic-state-syria/28558271.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ethiopia announced on Friday that its flagship Chinese-built Hawassa Industrial Park, designed and constructed according to environment-friendly principles, will be a model for other similar projects throughout the country.

The Hawassa Industrial Park, expected to be fully operational as of next week, is said to be the first Sustainable Textile and Apparel Industrial park in Africa with state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities.

The east African country further hopes that the Hawassa Industrial Park, once fully operational, would help its aspiration and commitment to build a green economy.

Designed, constructed and operated as a green industrial zone, the park applies cutting edge technology to treat and recycle about 90 percent of its water usage.

Local residents walk past the Hawassa Industrial Park in Hawassa, 275 kilometres south of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on July 13, 2016. (Photo/Xinhua)

Developing sustainable, world-class, specialized, export-driven and competitive industrial parks is the major target of Ethiopia's vision for economic development, according to Arkebe Oqubay, Special Adviser to the Ethiopian Prime Minister.

Oqubay told reporters on Friday that Ethiopia's rapid economic growth can only be sustained through the realization of a structural transformation, which requires creating a robust and competitive industrial base.

According to Oqubay, the Hawassa Industrial Park would be considered as a model for other industrial parks under construction in the east African country, in which efforts will be exerted to implement the Zero-Liquid Discharge (ZLD) technology to promote environmental protection.

A worker at the Hawassa Industrial Park in Hawassa, Ethiopia, on July 13, 2016. (Photo/Xinhua)

Built by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the Hawassa Industrial Park was completed in a record time of nine months, and was inaugurated on July 2016.

The Ethiopian government plans to construct 10 industrial parks across the country aiming to enhance job opportunities, earn revenue and promote technology transfer, said Sisay Gemechu, Ethiopia's Industrial Parks Development Corporation CEO.

After the Hawassa Industrial Park, the government has further embarked on the development of similar parks in Kombolcha, Mekele, Kilinto, Bole Lemmi II, Dire Dawa and Adama among others, of which Mekele and Kombolcha industrial parks will soon be inaugurated.

(Source: Xinhua)
A Step Closer to Victory: Russian Airstrike Reportedly Decapitates Daesh

Sputnik News

16:22 16.06.2017(updated 16:25 16.06.2017)

On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian aerospace forces' strike conducted on May 28 allegedly killed Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi south of Raqqa. The report is yet to be confirmed.

The Daesh leader may have been alongside other leaders of the extremist group and 330 terrorists killed in the airstrike.

The ministry said its Su-34 strike aircraft and Su-35 multirole fighter attacked a so-called Daesh military council south of Raqqa in northern Syria on May 28.

"According to information that is checked through various channels, Daesh leader Ibrahim Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed as a result of the strike, was also present at the meeting," the ministry said in a statement.

"As a result of the Su-35 and Su-34 airstrikes, high-ranking commanders of the terrorist groups who were part of the so-called IS military council, as well as about 30 mid-level field commanders and up to 300 militants of their personal security, have been killed," the statement read.

The Russian Defense Ministry obtained information about the upcoming "military council" in late-May. The meeting was planned to discuss an exit plan from the Daesh stronghold of Raqqa through the "southern corridor."

Later in the day, the US-led coalition said that it could not confirm the death of Baghdadi, but noted it would welcome the news if confirmed.

"There have been several past claims of this kind that have been proven false and we have seen no definitive proof that this report is true either," a coalition spokesperson told Sputnik. "However, the Coalition and the global community would welcome the news of al-Baghdadi's demise."

Al-Baghdadi appeared in the media for the first time in 2014 when he declared the creation of a caliphate in the Middle East. Since then, there have been several reports of his death, none of which were confirmed though. On Sunday, the Syrian state television reported that Baghdadi was presumably killed as a result of US strikes in Raqqa.

'Severe Blow' to Terrorists

The alleged death of al-Baghdadi could help facilitate the liberation of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Daesh, according to Russian Senator Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the Council of the Federation Committee on Defense and Security.

"Ultimately, this will help solve the task of freeing Raqqa," Ozerov told Sputnik.

His opinion was echoed by Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov, who noted that the death of the Daesh leader would speed up the defeat of the terrorists.

"The death of al-Baghdadi will be a severe blow to Daesh, if confirmed. The group is in full retreat. The death of its leader will prompt a military defeat," Pushkov wrote on Twitter.

'Panic' in the Daesh Ranks

Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy chairman of the Council of the Federation Committee on Foreign Affairs, suggested that Russia should take an advantage of the situation.

"This moment cannot be missed, there may be panic [within Daesh], which should be used," Dzhabarov told Sputnik.

The lawmaker added that "of course the war does not end with the killing of one leader, but it can make a significant contribution to the fight against terrorists."

President Putin Briefed on the Report

The Russian Defense Ministry regularly briefs President Vladimir Putin on military matters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Friday.

"The president, as commander-in-chief, naturally receives regular reports from our defense department on a regular basis," Peskov said.

"The goal of the operation is the fight against terrorism, helping the legitimate Syrian leadership in the fight against terrorism," Peskov said when asked if Russia's strike on the positions of terrorists could change the US' rhetoric that Russia was supposedly more interested in protecting President Bashar Assad rather than destroying Daesh.

The spokesperson also noted that Moscow and Washington lack cooperation in fighting terrorism.

"If we cooperated and interacted, I mean Russia and the United States, then this fight could be felt more effectively," he said.

'100 Percent Confirmation' Needed

Commenting on the report, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned against making hasty conclusions.

The minister underscored that the Russian military does not have 100 percent proof of the Daesh leader's elimination.

Of course, I have heard about these reports. So far, I have no 100 percent confirmation of this information yet," Lavrov said during a press conference in Moscow.

He noted that the possible elimination of Baghdadi shouldn't be overestimated.

"All examples of such actions on the destruction, 'beheading' of terrorist groups have always been presented with great enthusiasm, however, history shows that the fighting capacity of these structures [terror groups] were then restored," Lavrov added.

In an interview with Sputnik, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Andrei Klimov underscored that the death of the leader will weaken Daesh but it will not decide the fight against terrorism.

The lawmaker pointed out that Daesh's core is decentralized and its parts operate in other countries, including Syria, Libya and Southeast Asia.

"The reported death of Al-Baghdadi does not mean that it is time to stop combat actions [against terrorism]," Klimov said.

 Sputnik

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Raging Battle: Why 'Liberation of Raqqa Could Take Months'

Sputnik News

16:03 16.06.2017(updated 17:24 16.06.2017)

The representative of the Kurdish self-defense units (YPG), Nuri Mahmoud in an interview with Sputnik Turkey revealed the details of ongoing operation in Raqqa.

The YPG troops which are a part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are taking part in an ongoing operation to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa from Daesh.

Amid the violent battles, Mahmoud said that the current operation could last for at least several months.

"Currently the SDF troops have not yet reached the central quarters of Raqqa. The operation to liberate the city could last for more than one month because, just as we expected, Daesh is showing a strong resistance," Mahmoud said.

The terrorists have been preparing for this operation. They call Raqqa their de facto 'capital' and so they have dug out tunnels and trenches.

"They have laid many mines and traps all around the city and set up vehicles with explosives devices," the representative said.

However, Mahmoud still feels that the YPG troops and SDF forces will manage to liberate the city sooner or later.

"They have an extensive experience in conducting military operations against Daesh, so the offensive will not break," he said.

The representative also stressed that the operation in Raqqa not be compared with the ongoing one in Iraq's city of Mosul.

"Those who fight against Daesh in Raqqa are the forces that have earlier managed to win over Daesh. The war in Mosul is a technical war. Yes, there are significant forces in Mosul, but there is more active use of military equipment and technology over there," the representative said.

He further said that heavy weaponry that is being used in Mosul inflicts serious damage on Daesh and weakens its position.

However, the main forces that are fighting Daesh in Raqqa are the fighters that have previously managed to eradicate the terrorists in areas starting from Kobani all the way to Raqqa.

"The YPG troops have considerable strength, both from the point of view of their experience and reliability and also from a strategic point of view," Mahmud concluded.

The Russian Defense Ministry stated Friday that the Russian aerospace forces' strike conducted on May 28, allegedly killed Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi south of Raqqa. The Defense Ministry is still looking into this.

The Daesh leader may have been killed alongside other leaders of the jihadist group and 330 terrorists in a Russian Aerospace Forces strike late last month, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

 Sputnik

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UNICEF-backed projects for millions of children in Syria on verge of being 'cut off'

16 June 2017  Programmes supported by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to assist more than nine million children in Syria and neighbouring countries are on the verge of being cut off due to a critical funding shortage.

"This is the most severe funding gap UNICEF has had since we started responding to the Syria crisis, one of the largest humanitarian operations in the history of the organisation," said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a press release.

"Humanitarian needs continue to grow by the day inside Syria and in neighbouring countries, while pressure on generous host communities is seriously jeopardizing their ability to make ends meet," he added.

UNICEF appealed for $1.4 billion for its emergency operations in 2017 inside Syria and in neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. To date, UNICEF has received less than 25 per cent of its funding requirements.

In its seventh year and with no end in sight, the war in Syria has become the largest humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world since World War II. Inside Syria, nearly 6 million children are in need of assistance while more than 2.5 million live as refugees across Syria's borders. Neighbouring countries, already supporting large numbers of vulnerable people, have received 80 per cent of all refugees from Syria.

Without an injection of new funds, some critical and lifesaving activities supported by UNICEF are at a serious risk being cut off.

These include safe water and sanitation services for 1.2 million children living in camps, informal settlements and host communities; access to healthcare and essential nutrition treatments for almost 5.4 million children; cash assistance to families that helps keep nearly half a million children in school; and the distribution of clothes and blankets in winter months.

UNICEF calls for a number of immediate actions to put an end to the war in Syria, prioritize the protection of civilians and the rights of children, improve the delivery of services and infrastructure such as healthcare, education and water in refugee host countries; and provide much-needed financial support to organisations like UNICEF to continue lifesaving assistance.

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UN refugee agency urges sustained access as civilians flee Raqqa fighting

16 June 2017  As fighting in and around the Syrian city of Raqqa continues to take a toll on civilians and displaces thousands every day, the United Nations refugee agency has called for greater and sustained access to that it can reach those in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) overland access to more than 430,000 estimated to be in need across the larger Raqqa governorate remains either cut off or extremely difficult, resulting in need airlift supplies  a costly and complex undertaking.

"With partners we continue to explore all possible supply routes and are working with the authorities to secure greater access to those in need," Andrej Mahecic, a spokesperson for the UN agency said earlier this week.

However, the situation on the ground is complicated by the number of locations where those fleeing the fighting are taking shelter and the sheer number of new displacements. Last month alone, at least 100,000 people left their homes in search of safety.

Many have been displaced more than once, and tens of thousands are passing through camps or transit sites and quickly moving on to other areas or returning to their places of origin.

According to Mr. Mahecic, levels of humanitarian access vary for security and logistical reasons.

For example, UNCHR has been able to have regular access to the Mabrouka camp in Hassakeh, where approximately 1,700 people have taken shelter. But the situation is at the Ein Issa camp is much worse.

Located to the north of Raqqa City and housing about 9,000 people, Ein Issa is over five hours by road from UNHCR's office in Qamishli  where the agency's Raqqa response is coordinated from and where the supplies are brought in by air  and access remains extremely challenging.

Needs in other areas where significant numbers of those displaced are residing is being assed, noted the UNHCR spokesperson.

"In the coming days and weeks, UNHCR along with our partners will continue to provide help for those in need and to step up our response where access and security conditions allow," he added.

A conflict zone with mines and unexploded ordnance common

On top of access challenges, humanitarian agencies also have to contend with extremely hazardous conditions as a result of conflict and dangers such as mines and unexploded ordnance.

Resources are also badly-needed.

"Funding is not keeping up with needs on the ground," said the UNHCR spokesperson, noting that the agency urgently requires $37 million to continue to respond to fresh displacement.

The inter-agency Raqqa response plan which includes UNHCR and other UN agencies, also remains severely underfunded, having received only $29 million (less than 20 per cent) of the $153 million needed.

"It is vital to have access, resources and security to continue responding to this latest wave of displacement and suffering to hit already beleaguered and terrified civilians," underscored Mr. Mahecic.

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President Tsai thanks U.S. officials for support

ROC Central News Agency

2017/06/16 17:59:59

Taipei, June 16 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () on Friday expressed appreciation to U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, for their support of Taiwan.

President Tsai tweeted to say over the past few days, "we've seen U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Tillerson, speak in support of Taiwan Relations Act and Taiwan-U.S. relations."

Tillerson said at a U. S. House committee hearing that while the United States remains committed to its one-China policy, it fully intends to fulfill all commitments to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).

The TRA is a U.S. law promulgated in 1979 under which the United States is committed to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons.

President Tsai also expressed appreciation that a bill to encourage visits between the United States and Taiwan at all levels of government was passed unanimously by a U.S. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Thursday, the first step toward it becoming legislation.

The Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific passed the bill backed by Representatives Steve Chabots, Brad Sherman and Ed Royce chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The bill says that since the enactment of the TRA, ties between the United States and Taiwan have suffered from insufficient high-level communication due to the self-imposed restrictions the United States maintains on visits by high ranking officials to Taiwan.

The bill, which seeks to eliminate such restrictions, will now be sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee for approval.

The president said that "Taiwan appreciates continued support of friends in U.S., Japan and others," adding that Taiwan will continue to work together for peace and stability in region.

(By Sophia Yeh and Lilian Wu)

enditem/ AW/

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U.S. congressmen express concern over delay in arms sale to Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

2017/06/16 13:50:58

Washington, June 15 (CNA) Several members of the U.S. House of Representatives expressed concern Thursday over China's redoubled efforts to isolate Taiwan and the U.S. government's indecision on arms sales to Taiwan.

In a hearing on Taiwan-U.S. ties, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said it is more important than ever to reassure Taiwan of the U.S.'s commitment to the relationship, at a time when Taiwan is facing new challenges as a result of changes in cross-Taiwan Strait and global dynamics.

Royce pointed to the recent decision by Panama to break off decades of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, with inducements from Beijing, and Taiwan's exclusion from this year's World Health Assembly due to Beijing's obstruction.

On the arms sale issue, he said delays by successive U.S. administrations on arms sales notifications for Taiwan "have needlessly dragged out the arms sales process."

"I hope to see regular notifications in the future, and look forward to the announcement of new sales this year," Royce said.

The administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama reportedly had planned to approve an arms sales package of just over US$1 billion to Taiwan in late 2016 but did not do so.

Contrary to expectations that the administration of President Donald Trump would move the package forward quickly, the deal has been delayed to avoid angering China as the U.S. is seeking Beijing's help in dealing with the North Korea issue, according to U.S. media reports.

At Thursday's hearing, Rep. Brad Sherman said that although maintaining ties with China is important to the U.S. and it needs Beijing's help to solve certain problems, Taiwan should not become a bargaining chip in U.S.-China relations.

Meanwhile, Ted Yoho, chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, said that since 2008, arms sales have been delayed so that they can be bundled together and their timing can be manipulated.

The U.S. has not completed an arms sale to Taiwan since 2015, despite China's increasing global military ambitions, Yoho said.

"The arms sales process has become a political calculation designed to minimize friction with the PRC," he said. "Not only does this concede to Beijing a degree of influence over our arms sales process, it seems to contravene President Reagan's assurance that the PRC would not be consulted on arms sales to Taiwan."

Arguing that the geopolitical reality that held when the U.S. established its "one-China" policy has changed, Yoho proposed that Washington sign a fourth communique with Beijing to spell out clearly what the U.S. will do to contain China's clout.

However, Dan Blumenthal, a former senior director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia at the U.S. Department of Defense, expressed opposition to the idea of a fourth U.S.-China communique.

He said China should abide by the three existing communiques and that the U.S. has its own "one-China" policy to implement.

He urged the Trump administration to include Taiwan in its Asia Pacific strategy, particularly on the South China Sea issue.

On the question of whether Taiwan will be able to acquire F-35 fighter jets from the U.S., Blumenthal said a key issue is whether Taiwan can afford the aircraft's exorbitant costs, adding that many other options are available for U.S.-Taiwan security cooperation.

(By Rita Cheng and Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/pc

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Antsy Taiwan Waiting on Long-Rumored US Arms Sale Amid Tensions with Beijing

Sputnik News

22:10 16.06.2017(updated 22:18 16.06.2017)

The government of Taiwan has expressed their appreciation for American lawmakers who have called for expedited arms sales to the island nation as tensions between it and the mainland continue to escalate.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry and the Mainland Affairs Council have both expressed gratitude to American leaders who have been pushing for the arms deal. "Our President Tsai Ing-wen has many times called on the US side to supply appropriate arms for Taiwan in an effort to maintain cross-strait and regional stability," replied Chiu Chui-cheng, vice-chair of the Mainland Affairs Council, in a statement. "It is the obligation for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to maintain cross-strait and regional stability and we hope Beijing can seek to resolve our disputes through dialogue."

The legislator spearheading the expediting of the sale is Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce (R-CA), who chastised the White House for delaying arms sales to Taiwan. "I remain concerned about successive administrations" delays in arms sales notification for Taiwan, which have needlessly dragged out the arms sales process," said Royce on Thursday.

US officials told Reuters in March that President Donald Trump was orchestrating a major arms sale to Taiwan, including advanced rocket systems and anti-ship missiles. It may exceed the $1.8 billion deal former President Barack Obama inked with Taiwanese leadership in December 2015.

In total, the Obama administration sold $14 billion worth of weapons to the Taiwanese, compared to about $30 billion under the preceding Bush administration and about $18 billion under Bill Clinton.

But the White House itself has been tight-lipped about such a deal, with leaders offering assurances and supportive remarks but little in the way of concrete details. Both Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have expressed the American commitment to a defense relationship with Taiwan in recent weeks, but offered not much besides that.

Ted Yoho (R-FL), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, claimed that the arms deal was in the pipeline but many different sales were being bundled together, instead of numerous interspersed sales over a longer period of time.

"The arms sales process has become a political calculation designed to minimize friction with [China]," he said on Thursday. "Not only does this concede to Beijing a degree of influence over our arms sales process, it seems to contravene President Reagan's assurance that the PRC would not be consulted on arms sales to Taiwan."

Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Brad Sherman (D-CA) disagreed with the Republicans. "Taiwan will not be used as a bargaining chip with China," he said, warning that it could unduly harm the American relationship with Beijing.

With the relationship between Beijing and Taipei worse than it's been since the mid-90s, Taiwanese authorities seem eager to strengthen their defense network as well as their ties with Washington. Beijing sent a clear message earlier in June when the Central American nation of Panama announced that they would be recognizing the People's Republic of China, not the Republic of China (Taiwan), as the legitimate government of China. In December 2016, the African nation of Sao Tome and Principe did the same.

Under mainland policy, nations cannot maintain diplomatic relationships with both Chinas, as the PRC considers the ROC to be a rogue province and not an independent nation. Only a handful of smaller countries such as Burkina Faso and Guatemala have a formal diplomatic relationship with Taiwan as a result.

After several years of thaw, Beijing suspended talks in May after Taiwan elected Tsai Ing-Wen to the presidency, a pro-independence candidate who refuses to publicly claim that Taiwan and China are one nation, as previous administrations did to begin the talks in the early 1990s.

 Sputnik

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The mens ministry of Union Street Missionary Baptist Church will hold its monthly free breakfast at Union Street from 8 to 9:15 a.m. today.

FATHERS DAY SERVICES

Watson Level Missionary Baptist Church will have a Fathers Day service at 11 a.m. on Sunday with guest preacher elder Ella Pass of Bibleway Cathedral with lunch following at the Climax Ruritan Club building.

Blackwell Missionary Baptist Church, 4777 US 158, Yanceyville, North Carolina, will hold a Fathers Day program at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The associate minister of Camp Grove Baptist Church will deliver the 11 a.m. Fathers Day sermon at Liberty Hill Baptist Church.

FOUR SEASON TEA

White Oak Grove Baptist Church, 9012 Mellon Road, Sutherlin, will hold a Four Season Tea at 6 p.m. June 24 with music by The Williams Sisters and The Richardson Brothers.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLS

Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church will hold VBS from 6 to 8:15 p.m. Monday-Friday with theme Glow for Jesus-Let Your Light Shine with classes for all ages.

North New Hope Baptist Church, 123 Old Piney Forest Road, will hold VBS from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday with them Super God! Super Me!-Possibility, with classes provided for ages 3 thru adults.

Bible Way Cathedral, 215 Grant St., will hold VBS at 6 p.m. Wednesday-Friday for all ages. There will be free food, games and activities. For information, call (434) 793-9493.

Bluestone Missionary Baptist Church will hold VBS at 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday with theme Galactic Starveyors. For information, call (336) 939-7740.

Guildfield Missionary Baptist Church, 8657 Franklin Turnpike, Dry Fork, will hold VBS from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday-Wednesday with adult class, Gaining By Losing and Youth Class, Lets Talk. For information, call (434) 724-7431 and leave a message.

ANNIVERSARY

Loyal Baptist Church Fidelis Sunday school class will celebrate its 82nd anniversary at 3 p.m. June 25 with Telly D. Tucker, city of Danville Director of Economic Development, an accomplished musician and renown pianist for 28 years, who will give a piano concert.

TENT MEETING

The Danville & Martinsville Church of Christ will hold gospel lessons at 7 p.m. Monday-June 30 at Martins Flea Market site on U.S. 58. No collections taken. For information, call (434) 770-8412 or (276) 806-3641.

FOOD AND CLOTHING MINISTRY

Union Hall Baptist Church Food and Clothing Ministry, 6861 Strawberry Road, across from Union Hall Baptist Church, will be open from 9 a.m. to noon July 1 with food and clothing of all types. For questions, call (434) 724-4354 or (434) 250-8964.

HOMECOMING

Pleasant Chapel Baptist Church, Sutherlin, will hold homecoming service beginning at 11 a.m. June 25 with the Rev. Jonathan King delivering the message. Lunch will be served at 1:30 p.m. and the Rev. Robert Divens of Tarpleys Chapel Baptist Church will speak at the 3 p.m. service.

CAR WASH/BAKE/YARD SALE

The Apostolic Faith Temple youth group and the Rev. Christopher Saunders will hold a car wash/bake/yard sale at 9 a.m. June 24 at Advance Auto on Piney Forest Road. This is a fundraiser for the youth.

COMMUNITY BLOCK PARTY

Woodlawn Baptist Church, 2500 Westover Drive, will hold a community block party at Woodlawn Baptist Church to kick off VBS: Passport to Peru Monday-Thursday with dinner at 5:30 p.m. and VBS from 6 to 8 p.m. For information, call Kim Gatewood at (434) 250-6118 or email gatewood04@embarqmail.com

INSTALLATION SERVICE

Sunny Level Baptist Church will hold an installation service for pastor-elect the Rev. Ellsworth Walker at 3 p.m. June 25 with guests the Rev. Ronnie Walker and Riceville Baptist Church family of Java. Dinner will be served at 1:30 p.m.

YOUTH REVIVAL

Abdeel Temple, 609 Keen St., will hold youth revival Not Too Young to Serve God at 7 p.m. Monday-Friday with the Rev. Sherri Stokes-Reeves of Union Street Missionary Baptist Church. On June 24 there will be youth outing and on June 25 at 3 p.m. there will be a concert with Another Change and opening group Anthony D. Rogers and Family. For information, call (434) 489-1042 or (434) 489-3542.

MENS DAY SERVICE

New Ephesus Baptist Church, 375 Ephesus Church Road, Semora, North Carolina, will observe the annual mens day service beginning at 11 a.m. June 25 with the Rev. Willie O. Glenn, pastor of Zion Level Baptist Church, and male chorus singing.

REVIVAL SERVICE

Greater Brandon Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Alton will hold revival services at 7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday.

ANNIVERSARY/HOMECOMING/VBS

Mountain Grove Missionary Baptist Church will hold its 136th anniversary, homecoming Sunday and VBS from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday.
Upgraded versions of permanent residence ID cards - the Chinese green cards  are now being made available to offer better services to foreigners living and working in the country.

The new version of China's foreign permanent resident ID card. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

The new version came into operation on June 16, in municipalities and provinces such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Zhejiang.

The updated cards contain micro-chips which mean they can hold information which can be read by document reading machines, similar to China's domestic second-generation ID cards.

Foreigners can use this new permanent residence ID for day-to-day matters involving finance, education, medical treatment, accommodation, taxation, social security and transportation, according to a Chinanews' report.

"The implementation of this new policy aims to offer better support in attracting high-level foreign expats to live and establish a business in the city. Among the first five foreigners entitled to the green cards in Guangzhou, were two senior academics living and working in the country under China's Recruitment Program of Global Experts," said an official with the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou City.

Holders of the new permanent residence ID cards in Shanghai include winners of the city's Magnolia Award, special contributors recommended by the municipal government, business investors, and overseas Chinese experts involved in technological innovation.

The holders can now enjoy the same benefits as Chinese citizens.

Some airlines already allow foreigners to buy flight tickets with the new ID cards, while the railway authorities have announced they will soon upgrade ticket facilities at railway terminals to offer access to the cards, reports Shanghai Daily.
TORONTO, June 16, 2017 - Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. (the "Company" or "Cobalt 27") (TSX VENTURE: KBLT) is pleased to announce that it has priced its public offering (the "Offering") of 22,222,225 post-consolidated common shares ("Shares") at a price of $9.00 per Share (the "Offering Price"). The $200 million Offering will consist of 10,924,420 Shares being sold for gross cash proceeds of $98,319,780, and 11,297,805 Shares being issued to acquire 1,205.6 tonnes of physical cobalt for a total cost of $101,680,245. Cobalt 27 has filed its final long form prospectus dated June 16, 2017 (the "Prospectus") with the securities commissions in each of the provinces and territories of Canada, except Quebec, in connection with the Offering.The Offering is being made through a syndicate of underwriters led by Scotia Capital Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., and TD Securities Inc. (the "Lead Underwriters") and includes BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., GMP Securities L.P., Haywood Securities Inc., Cormark Securities Inc., Eight Capital, PI Financial Corp., Sprott Private Wealth Inc. and Numis Securities Inc., (collectively, with the Lead Underwriters, the "Underwriters"). The Company has entered into an underwriting agreement with the Underwriters for the Offering.The Company has granted to the Underwriters an over-allotment option, exercisable in whole or in part for a period of 30 days following the closing of the Offering, to purchase up to an additional 3,333,333 Shares at the Offering Price.The Company has provided notice to each of the vendors of physical cobalt that the Company will be acquiring the full amount of cobalt previously optioned. Pricing under each contract ("Cobalt Contracts") has been established, and in aggregate the Company will be acquiring 2,157.5 tonnes of physical cobalt consisting of 1,486.5 tonnes of premium-grade cobalt and 671.0 tonnes of standard-grade cobalt. A total of 951.9 tonnes of cobalt are being acquired for cash consideration, with the balance of 1,205.6 tonnes of cobalt being acquired for Shares. An aggregate of 11,297,805 Shares will be issued to and held by the vendors of cobalt, which will represent approximately 47% of the Company's total issued and outstanding Shares upon closing of the Offering and the Cobalt Contracts.The net proceeds realized from the Shares sold for cash will be used toward the acquisition of physical cobalt ($78,519,245), three years of expected general and administrative costs (expected to be approximately $2,000,000 per year), and a reserve to evaluate and acquire streams, royalties and direct interests in mineral properties containing cobalt.Both the Offering and the purchase of physical cobalt under the Cobalt Contracts are expected to close concurrently on or about June 23, 2017, subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. The TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") has conditionally approved the listing of the Shares being sold under the Offering. The Company's Shares will resume trading on the TSXV on closing of the Offering, on a post-consolidated basis. As a condition of undertaking the Offering, the Company's Shares will be consolidated on the basis of one new Share for every 20 shares previously outstanding immediately prior to closing. There will be a total of 23,881,394 Shares outstanding after closing of the Offering.The Offering is only made by the Prospectus. The Prospectus contains important information about the securities being offered. Potential investors should read the Prospectus prior to making an investment decision. A copy of the Prospectus is available under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. is a minerals company that offers pure-play exposure to cobalt, an integral element in key technologies of the electric vehicle and battery energy storage markets. The Company intends to acquire and hold physical cobalt, as well as manage and grow a cobalt-focused portfolio of streams, royalties and direct interests in mineral properties containing cobalt.ON BEHALF OF COBALT 27 CAPITAL CORP.Anthony MilewskiChairman, CEO & DirectorFor further information please visit Cobalt 27's website at www.co27.com.Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Forward-Looking Information: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond the Company's control. The forward-looking statements contained in this release include, but are not limited to, those in respect of the anticipated closing date of the Offering and the listing of the Company's Shares on the TSXV. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties underlying these forward-looking statements materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements could vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this release and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise it to reflect new events or circumstances. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release. This press release is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia) or any other jurisdiction outside Canada. This press release does not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction outside of Canada. The securities offered pursuant to the Prospectus have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to a U.S. person absent registration or pursuant to an available exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. There will be no public offering of securities in the United States.NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATESAnthony Milewski416.504.3978 Ext 226www.co27.com
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17

Trend:

Five soldiers of the Armenian armed forces were eliminated on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said June 17.

Armenia previously stated that three of its soldiers were killed on the contact line.

Today, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry has said two more Armenian soldiers died of serious injuries.

Moreover, a number of seriously wounded Armenian soldiers were taken to one of the local hospitals.

The Armenian side, being afraid of a fair discontent of the public, is concealing its losses, according to the Defense Ministry message.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17

Trend:

Six Armenian soldiers were eliminated as a result of resolute measures taken in response to the ongoing provocations of the Armenian armed forces, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement June 17.

Units of the Armenian army constantly commit provocations on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops in the territory of Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the statement.

The enemy continues to fire at positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and settlements along the front line using large-caliber weapons and artillery.

On June 15, the Azerbaijani army suffered losses while preventing another Armenian provocation. As a result of resolute retaliatory measures, six Armenian soldiers were killed and a number of soldiers were wounded on June 15-16.

Such actions of the enemy will be resolutely suppressed and the responsibility for the losses will fall on the military-political leadership of Armenia, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry has warned.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17

Trend:

By escalating the situation on the line of contact on the eve of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmens visit to Azerbaijan, Armenia pursues the goal of undermining the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict via substantive negotiations and maintaining the status quo, Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani foreign ministry, told Trend June 17.

Hajiyev was commenting the escalation of the situation on the line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops.

He said that the chronicle of events on the line of contact has evidently demonstrated since June 15 that the instigator of ceasefire violations and perpetration of provocations is Armenia.

According to the Azerbaijani defense ministry, the Armenian armed forces continue to violate ceasefire by using large-caliber weapons and commit provocations on the eve of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmens visit to Azerbaijan, he added. Thus, consistent mythic propaganda of Armenia on alleged violation of ceasefire by other party completely shatters.

The OSCE Minsk Groups co-chairmen must take into account that the escalation of the situation by Armenia followed their visit to the region, as well as to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, he said.

Hajiyev added that the main reason of ceasefire violation is the presence of Armenian armed forces in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The norms and principles of international law, the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, the statements of the OSCE Minsk Groups co-chairmen and the current proposals on the negotiating table demand withdrawal of Armenias troops from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, he said.

The Azerbaijani armed forces acting in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan amid Armenias aggression protect Azerbaijans territories and civilians especially those living along the line of contact, he added.

Hajiyev said that the responsibility for escalation of the situation entirely falls on Armenia.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
In many parts of Europe the new Polo is due to launch before the year is out, with a number of Euro 6 engines being used phase by phase. The range of power output options at the start of sales will extend from 48 kW / 65 PS to 110 kW / 150 PS. For the first time, the Polo will be available with a natural gas enginethe newly developed 1.0 TGI with an output of 66 kW / 90 PS.

Volkswagen unveiled the new sixth-generation Polo at an event in Berlin. With more than 14 million units sold to date, the Polo is one of the worlds most successful compact cars. The sixth generation has a fully new sportier exterior design, and is bigger than its predecessor in every dimension.

In addition, there will be a choice of four gasoline and two diesel engines, all equipped as standard with a start/stop system and regenerative braking mode. Both TDI models have an SCR catalytic converter. Every engine with a power output of 70 kW or above can be combined with a dual clutch gearbox (DSG).

ADAS and HMI. Volkswagen has integrated a new generation of assistance systems into the Polo. These are systems which were adapted from larger car classes and are being further democratized by their use in the Polo.

Front Assist/ City Emergency Braking / Pedestrian Monitoring. They include the Front Assist area monitoring system with City Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Monitoring. In the new Polo, it comes as standard in even the Trendline base version. Its automatic warning and braking functions contribute towards avoiding frontal collisions on highways, secondary roads and in the city. Another system that is already included in the Polo Trendline as standard: a speed limiter, which can limit the cars driving speed to a desired figure, e.g. to avoid going too fast in the city. The Tire Pressure Monitoring System is also always on board a new Polo.

ACC / Blind Spot Detection / Rear View. Volkswagen is offering the Polo with an optional Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system (up to 210 km/h/ 130 mph); with DSG it includes the Stop & Go function as well). Another option new in the Polo: Blind Spot Detection including Rear Traffic Alert. ACC is a smart cruise control based on radar, which automatically brakes and accelerates according to the traffic situation. The Blind Spot Detection lane change system gives a warning in the exterior mirror if vehicles are located in what is known as the blind spot during overtaking. Meanwhile, Rear Traffic Alert assists in reversing out of parking places, because it can detect vehicles in cross traffic behind the car. If it detects a hazard, the system warns the driver here too, and it even brakes if necessary.

Park Assist with maneuvering braking function. Another automated technology from a higher vehicle class is the Park Assist system; it automatically guides the car into nearly any conceivable parking space. This means that the Polo steers, and all the driver needs to do is brake and accelerate. The new maneuvering braking function assists in an extremely practical way, especially in the city. It is active during parking at speeds of up to 10 km/h, and it brakes automatically as soon as it detects obstacles such as a bollard.

The optional Keyless Access locking and engine starting system, which is also new, can be used to unlock and start up the Polo.

In addition, the Polo is the first Volkswagen and first Group model at all in which a new generation of the Active Info Display is available. The functionality and ease of use of the digital instruments are something completely new in this segment. At the same time, the Polo has been given the latest generation of infotainment systems with display diagonals ranging from 6.5 to 8.0 inches.

Automated Driving. Volkswagen wants to make cars even safer, more convenient and more comfortable by means of automated driving or semi-automated systems.

Intuitive Usability. Volkswagen focuses on cars that are intuitive to operate and feature new display and control concepts.

Connected Community. Volkswagen will interconnect humans, cars and their surroundings more intensively than ever in the future.

Smart Sustainability. Volkswagen is advancing the development of innovative high-volume models with sustainable drives.

The new Polo was developed based on the latest Volkswagen brand strategy with its four fields of innovation:
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

All interested parties can bid for available capacity of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in accordance with the rules set out in the guidelines approved by the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) of Greece, Albania and Italy, TAP Head of Communications Lisa Givert told Trend.

Earlier, CEO of Macedonian Energy Resources Skopje company Krste Miladinov told Trend that Macedonia is very interested in connecting with the TAP project.

Regarding the connection to TAP, a request was sent to TAP AG Greece, but no final response has been received so far, he added.

"TAP is developing a gas transportation infrastructure and will offer transportation services to gas shippers. TAP does not own or sell the gas it transports," said Givert. "The gas sales agreements for the gas that will be transported with TAPs initial capacity set up (10bcm/a) are entered into directly between the Shah Deniz Consortium and gas buyers in Europe."

She pointed out that TAP will conduct market tests every two years (the first latest by the start of commercial operations), to offer the expansion capacity (up to TAPs total capacity of 20 bcm/a).

"These market tests will be performed in accordance with the guidelines approved by the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) of Greece, Albania and Italy," said Givert. "All interested parties can bid for available capacity in accordance with the rules set out in these guidelines."

Givert noted that TAP will expand its capacity to accommodate validly submitted bids, if the market test results in both a technically feasible and economically viable outcome (in accordance with the TAP tariff methodology approved by the NRAs).

TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
MaCares has teamed up with The Fitness Center at Kernersville to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder from 9 a.m. to noon and 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. The center is at 861 Old Winston Road in Kernersville.

With June being PTSD Awareness Month, MaCares will have local veterans and their service dogs in the Faith Cares Service Dog Support Program, along with volunteers at the center, on hand to provide information about PTSD and about the MaCares initiatives.

The MaCares and Faith Cares Service Dog Support Program helps improve the quality of life of veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder and/or traumatic brain injury by removing the financial burden associated with their service dogs.

MaCares is asking community members to create and provide artwork and/or letters expressing their gratitude for a veterans service. Community members are encouraged to bring artwork and/or letters to the center Wednesday. The collected artwork and letters will be hand-delivered to hospitalized servicemen and women at the Veterans Medical Center and Home in North Carolina. Coloring pages of the Faith Cares service dogs can be downloaded at www.macares.org/kids-corner.

People who are unable to attend the awareness event can still participate by sending a drawing and/or a letter of thanks for a veteran. Email artwork and/or letter to weCare@maCares. org, or mail them to 1302 Pleasant Ridge Road, Greensboro, NC 27409 Attn: MaCares  2017 Honoring Veterans. The delivery deadline is June 28.

To learn more about MaCares events and giveback opportunities, or to make a monetary donation, visit www.macares.org.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 17

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in Berlin between the Central Bank of Turkmenistan and German Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation (SBFIC), the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news service said June 17.

The document is aimed at deepening the cooperation in strengthening of financial system and vocational training.

Cooperation with the Foundation started in 2012 when an SBFIC delegation paid its first visit to Turkmenistan.

Since its foundation in 1992, the SBFIC has supported financial institutions in various countries, as well as small and medium enterprises.
Forty-three years ago, I was based in Washington, D.C., covering 50 States for Abbott Laboratories, searching for qualified sales representatives.

One day, my wife, Gladys, informed me she wanted to move back home, near friends and relatives, because of my travel schedule. Six months later, we had purchased a home in High Point and moved in, not knowing if my company would approve this move.

Today, we are still on Orville Drive, and I have witnessed my neighborhood gradually change over the years. That change is mainly a shift in attitude about a sense of neighbor and neighborhood.

We have some good people who care about their property values. These residents know the difference between property appreciation and depreciation. Their home, like mine, is the biggest investment they will ever make, and they do everything to help maintain its value.

But rental houses have become more prevalent, bringing in folks who didnt seem to care about how our neighborhood looks.

Its not just the attitude of those living on the street. Those who visit or cut through the community dont care about the negative affect the trash they throw out of their windows or the loud noise they make has on a community.

Neighbors who walk past trash in front of their property, or across the street, contribute to the devaluation of all properties on the street. Some would call this laziness, but I see it as a lack of respect for neighbors and their responsibilities as homeowners.

A half-block from my home is the intersection of Alpine and Orville Drive. On one corner of this intersection is a 10-acre lake and on the other side a heavily wooded lot people use as a dumping site.

Over the years, terrible smells have come from this property because people dump dead animals on the lot. Someone once dumped a bag containing dead puppies there.

When I saw a neighbor dump yard waste on the lot, I told him it was illegal. He said he could do it because the lot didnt belong to anyone. I told him I was reporting him, which I did.

This is when I met Chip Vanderzee of the City of High Points Environmental Services Department, who believes strongly in clean communities. He spoke to the offender, who removed his trash from the lot.

I told Vanderzee about the problems there, and things started to change. He visited the community, talked with homeowners, sent out letters and let everyone know dumping on private property is illegal.

I decided to stop complaining and do what I could to help maintain property values in the community. So, I decided to pick up trash. Vanderzee supplied the gloves, orange bags and a grabber. I had my own lime green reflector vest that I use on walks. Picking up trash may sound like a big inconvenience, but it is not. I am getting exercise and experiencing the nasty side of people.

On my first day picking up trash, I got some strange remarks from people. One man stopped his car and asked, Mr. Chavis, what did you do to get community service? Another man took time to point out trash he thought I missed. Some people just point and laugh.

I have picked up trash that would turn your stomach. However, the 56 beer bottles and cans, as well as bottles of Wild Irish tell me someone going and coming on Alpine has open containers in the cars. I reported this to the police and hope they will take action.

One neighbor remarked, Doesnt help; they will keep doing it.

This neighbor never hears, sees, or reports anything, but complains about everything.

After Vanderzee looked into safety issues regarding the earth dam at the lake and brush growing up around the creek, along the street created by the dam, he turned me over to Rebecca Coplin, beautification supervisor for the city. It has been fun working with her, and together we have outfitted three neighborhood recruits: Donald Denny, Peter Maso, and Cynthia Williams.

A dirty community is the first indicator your neighborhood is on its way down. Other unlawful contributing factors include cars parked facing traffic; 18-wheelers parked in residential areas; cars parked on the street with expired stickers or no tags; abandoned vehicles; work trailers parked on the streets; businesses run out of homes that arent zoned as business; and drag racing.

These are just a few of the many violations folks sadly accept. If you are concerned about your propertys value, then pick up the phone and call the police, or you are part of the problem.

I understand the concern about abandoned houses in the city. But that problem that didnt happen overnight. Eventually, people become blind and accepting of their surroundings and lose hope of a better life. A little more time on the cause might help with the blight.

Wake up and notice the trash before its too late.

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect, Aldo Leopold said.
GREENSBORO  Principal Carole Ashby walked from classroom to classroom Monday, looking for her students and wondering where they could be.

Short answer: not at school. Just 14 percent of Southern Guilford Elementary students attended the last day of class.

We were all shocked and surprised, said Ashby, who had expected a few to be out, but not that many. She misses her students over the summer and it made her sad not to see them one last time.

Among Guilford County Schools elementary or middle schools that finished on Monday, the average school had about 54 percent of students attending, according to a News & Record analysis of attendance data. Thats down from about 78 percent attendance on the last day of school last year.

Last year, school ended on a Friday. This year, it was also supposed to end on a Friday. However, bad weather over the winter led the school to use up its makeup days during the school year, which left only one option when another was needed  tacking on a Monday.

High school students typically only have to come the last day if they have exams scheduled; attendance percentages at those schools stayed high.

Under North Carolina law, parents must send their children to class. Ten or more unexcused absences in a single year can trigger parent prosecution, but most children never rack up that many. Mostly, students do go to school. Attendance for the second Monday in May (picked for comparison to the second Monday in June) was about 93 percent for the district.

Ashby said she cant speak for all parents, but shes heard some say theyd already paid for vacations or day care. Last year, with school ending on a Friday, about 80 percent of her children showed up.

Oak Hill Elementary principal Weaver Walden said even with fewer-than-usual students, his school ended the year on a good note with a mix of review activities and celebrations. He seconded Ashbys theory.

I think a lot of our families had previous plans that they may or may not have been able to change, he said.

Michelle Stennette was with her children at the beach on Monday. She loves Alamance Elementary, but she wasnt worried theyd miss much education being gone on the last day.

Everything was already wrapped up and done, she said.

Standing at the ping-pong tables at LeBauer Park in Greensboro on Friday, she asked her sons friend, Joshua Johnson, what the day had been like. It was really fun, Joshua said, so hes glad he went.

Monday, we went to Ms. Littles room, watched a movie ... recess, part of another movie and then got picked up, he said.

Morehead Elementary parent Jennifer Anderson sent her twins Jackson and Gracie to their last day of first grade. She said she wanted them to get closure to the year with their teacher and classmates, plus she likes how they had to clean up the classroom a bit  that seemed like a good lesson. Its been nice, she said, to start the first week of summer with one last structured day.

While almost all the middle and elementary schools saw a decline in attendance for the last day of school, a few saw increases.

Kiser Middle School in Greensboro increased last-day attendance by almost 8 percentage points. They had nearly 85 percent of students showing up, according to district records.

Ashby believes daily attendance is crucial. She worries about any crack in the message that students need to come to school. And she doesnt want to see these low numbers again.

So shes getting strategic. Theres already an annual tradition of students parading around with musical instruments to celebrate at the end of the year. Now shes looking to add new activities to make the last day of school even more exciting  so exciting that no one will ever want to skip again.

Its a learning process for everyone, she said.
The presidents measured response to the Alexandria, Va., shooting of GOP congressmen was a relief. We hope he and his party members can sustain this tone in their comments, as they did when Gabby Giffords was shot in the head in Arizona some years ago.
Tehran, Iran, June 17

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

A prospective oil contract between Iran and Total will be signed before the end of the current administrations tenure, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, SHANA news agency reported June 17.

Less than two months remain for the incumbent administration. Hassan Rouhani, who was re-elected in May, will be inaugurated for a new term on August 6.

The contract will cover the development of Phase 11 of South Pars gas field, the minister said.

Total is seeking a 50 percent stake in a $4 billion project in the field, the French energy firm said in a regulatory filing in May detailing talks held with Iranian officials on several projects in 2016.

Total signed a preliminary deal for the South Pars project last year, becoming the first Western oil major to sign an energy agreement after the European Union and the United States eased sanctions as part of a pact to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.

If finalized, Total would operate the project with a 50.1 percent stake, China's CNPC would own 30 percent through one of its subsidiaries and Iran's Petropars would have 19.9 percent.

South Pars is part of a Persian Gulf reservoir that is one of the biggest gas fields in the world. But its development has been hobbled by years of Western sanctions imposed over what the West said was Tehran's bid for nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

The South Pars project is expected to have a production capacity of 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and the gas would be fed to the Iranian grid. It would require two offshore platforms and 30 wells.
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48
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

The Agriculture Support Service Company (ASSC), affiliated to Irans Agricultural Ministry, is considering the purchase of three consignment of 35,000 metric tons +-5% of granular triple super phosphate (GTSP) through one step international tender.

All of qualified and interested companies are invited to receive tender documents till June 20, 2017 while submitting their letters of introduction and along with remittance bill of 1.2 million rials ($37) to ASSC account 4001039704005791 with Central Bank of Iran (SHEBA No. IR250100004001039704005791) from the ASSC Purchasing Committee (9th Floor, No. 1, Fourth Alley, Gandhi St., Tehran, Iran) and submit their sealed and stamped envelopes containing offers latest on, July 22, 2017 to the ASSC Security Office located on 8th floor.

Meanwhile the meeting for the opening of envelops will be on Tuesday , July 25, 2017 at 14:00 p.m. with the presence of bidder's representatives in Purchasing Committee.

The ASSC would like to emphasize that the bid bond amount should be in cash or bank guarantee as follows:

151,000 euro (equal to 5.486 billion rials) for each consignment

Phone Number: +98 21 88776325.

Further information would be available at www.assc.ir.




Haiti - News : Zapping...





Words of sympathy of Moise

"I learned with sadness of the death of Dr. Jean Joseph Moliere, a great servant of the State. My sympathies to all his family," Jovenel Moise.



Youri Latortue in Vietnam

At the invitation of the President of the National Assembly of Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the President of the Senate Youri Latortue, at the head of a high-level delegation, is paying an official visit to Vietnam from Friday 17 until Thursday, June 22nd. Youri Latortue will also be accompanied by his wife. Note that this is the first time that a Senate delegation travels to Vietnam as part of the cooperation between the two countries.



Amending Budget voted with changes

On Friday in the Lower House, 94 deputies responded to the roll-call at the opening of the ratification session of the amending budget. However, after a session of several long hours, dotted with numerous speeches and motions, more than twenty dissatisfied deputies left the meeting before the vote. The budget was finally ratified after numerous amendments by 70 votes for, 1 against and 1 abstention. As part of the changes, the overall decommitment of 929 million Gourdes, including 175 million in the National Education envelope, to be reallocated in various envelopes including: + 70 million Gdes to UEH, +18 million Gdes to the Chamber of Deputies, +70 million Gdes to Health and other adjustments qualified as minors... The Budget will be transmitted to the Senate for possible ratification in the same terms...



The Minister of Tourism in Florida

Jessy Menos, Minister of Tourism, is participating in the Diaspora Tourism Investment Summit in Miami (June 16-17, 2017).



Women encouraged to seek office in the indirect elections

On the occasion of indirect elections https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-21246-icihaiti-cep-indirect-elections-process-under-way.html the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights and the CEP encourage women to run for positions through an awareness campaign.



Scanning of business names

This week, the Ministry of Trade and Industry launched the process of digitization of the business name registry to facilitate management and access to a database.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Iran and Switzerland held a second round of political talks in the Swiss city of Bern June 17, the Iranian Foreign Ministry reported.

Majid Takht Ravanchi, Irans deputy foreign minister, and Pascale Baeriswyl, state secretary at the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussed the progress in Tehran-Bern relations, achieved over the past year.

The two parties welcomed the progress in various fields, including the economic, political, scientific, educational and environmental cooperation over the past year, underlining the need for more efforts to broaden the ties and using new opportunities.

They also discussed fighting against terrorism as a global threat.

During the meeting, Takht Ravanchi underlined that Irans policy is based on cooperation for regional peace and stability and preventing escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

The first round of political talks was held between Takht Ravanchi and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter in Bern last June.
Published on 2017/06/17 | Source

Added episode 6 captures for the Korean drama "Queen for 7 Days" (2017)

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Directed by Lee Jung-seob

Written by Choi Jin-yeong

Network : KBS

With Park Min-young, Yeon Woo-jin, Lee Dong-gun, Jang Hyun-sung, Kang Shin-il, Son Eun-seo,...

20 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:00

Synopsis

A period drama about Queen Dangyeong who was on the throne for 7 days before she was disposed.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/05/31

More
Published on 2017/06/17 | Source

Added episodes 23 and captures for the Korean drama "Suspicious Partner" (2017)

Advertisement

Directed by Park Seon-ho-I

Written by Kwon Ki-yeong

Network : SBS

With Ji Chang-wook, Nam Ji-hyun, Choi Tae-joon, Kwon Nara, Lee Deok-hwa, Nam Gi-ae,...

Formerly known as "Watch out for this Woman" (  , i yeo-ja-leul jo-sim-ha-se-yo)

40 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:00

Synopsis

"Suspicious Partner" will be a romantic comedy in a judicial setting with a killer thrown into the mix. A Taekwondo practitioner turned judicial trainee turned murder suspect.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/05/10

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Published on 2017/06/17 | Source

Added the upcoming Korean documentary "All Live, Olive"'s page to HanCinema database

Advertisement

"All Live, Olive" (2016)

Directed by Ju Ro-mi, Kim Tae-il

Synopsis

Wizdan's family needs a pass to enter their own olive farm. Under Israeli occupation, Palestinian olive farmers are given only few days a year to plant, nurture and harvest olives. Hadsan, a 2nd generation refugee, cannot enter the areas occupied by Israel because he was imprisoned for participating in Intipada. With the expansion of Israeli settlements, economic conditions of Palestinians are getting worse. However, resistance movement against Israel continues in the daily lives of Palestinians.

Festival

22nd Seoul Human Right Festival 2017

Release date in Korea : 2017/07/13
Iranian Ambassador to London Hamid Baeedinejad said on Saturday that it is too soon to show reaction to the US senate anti-Iranian bill, IRNA reported.

He made the remarks in a message released on his Instagram page.

Whether the US senate bill will accommodate Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or not needs careful review, former Iranian nuclear negotiator said, adding that the officials and institutions in charge of monitoring the JCPOA have done or will do the required investigation to see whether the new US sanctions violate the nuclear deal or not.

The US senators have claimed that they have deleted those parts of the anti-Iranian bill which breaches the US obligations enshrined in the JCPOA, he added.

Baeedinejad said that the new sanctions should be approved by the US House of Representative and it should be also signed by the US president; therefore any official reaction should be postponed to future.

Since the new anti-Iranian senate bill targets both Tehran and Moscow, its veto by the US president is possible, he noted.

On June 15, the US Senate voted for a legislation to impose non-nuclear sanctions on Iran for its defense missile programs. They voted 98-2 in favor of the legislation.

Bipartisan negotiations also led to the bill, including expanded sanctions on Russia, in response to its intrusion into Ukraine, efforts to meddle in the 2016 election and its support for the Syrian regime.

Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky and Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, were the only two people who voted against the bill.
Tehran, Iran, June 17

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

A memorandum of understanding was signed between Iran and the United Nations for the third phase of the international program carbon sequestration in four Iranian provinces.

The MoU signed by Irans Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is expected to cover five regions in Yazd, North Khorasan, South Khorasan and Golestan Provinces, IRNA news agency reported June 17.

Carbon sequestration is a natural or artificial process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and held in solid or liquid form, as in plants or soil.

The carbon sequestration project in Iran started from a village in North Khorasan Province, and currently is being implemented in some 300 other villages, influencing the life of 120,000 inhabitants, UNs resident coordinator in Iran Gary Lewis said.

It is not a mere soil restoration plan, rather it can lead to a full development by engaging local communities through rural community development, he added.

The international carbon precipitation is not only aimed at fighting desertification, but the plan will lead to saving energy, soil erosion prevention, economic development, and boosting employment in Iran, Lewis further said.

The projects benefit in just one of Golestan Province villages after being piloted was about nearly $1.8 million, which is a significant figure, he added.
Meath County Council yesterday had 4.3m returned in full to its bank account, after it was the subject of an attempted cyber attack over last year's October bank holiday weekend.

The council had taken legal action in Hong Kong to have the monies transferred back into its name.

The council's chairman, Gerry O'Connor, said its systems had worked last October when the alarm was raised and this allowed the council "to get Interpol and the gardai to have the funds frozen".

The attack happened on the Friday of the bank holiday weekend and the funds had reached Hong Kong by the time the council was aware of it.

The council went to court there to get the monies returned.

"It is laborious dealing with inter-bank transfers and inter-country transfers and the money hit our account [yesterday]. It is a good news story," said Mr O'Connor.

The council has since upgraded its cyber-security system to make it more difficult for it to be targeted in the future.

"We were not the only ones targeted, there seems to be cyber criminals targeting State institutions and local government," said Mr O'Connor.

Security

"We have had an internal audit done and several [new] layers of security so this cannot happen again."

The council has also engaged IT consultants "so our systems are as robust as they can be".

He said cyber criminals operate in a changing world and "as soon as one threat is eliminated, another one is there".

The council confirmed that it incurred costs of 120,964 - of which 77,000 was legal costs, 23,000 VAT and 20,000 withholding tax - in its actions.

The council's budget this year is 104m "so if 4.3m had been lost, it would have affected services," Mr O'Connor added.

The council confirmed the cyber incident in a statement last December, when it said it was "the target of a serious, attempted cyber-enabled offence involving identity theft".

"The sophisticated attempt to steal 4.309m was detected before the transaction was completed," it added.

"The council's bank was alerted and the matter was reported to gardai, who provided assistance through the Financial Intelligence Unit in the National Economic Crime Bureau, and through Interpol."

Yesterday the council thanked the police and court authorities in Hong Kong, as well as gardai.
Alan Ellis has a history of violence and suffers from paranoia

A paranoid schizophrenic prisoner convicted of tying a 14-year-old boy to a radiator and torturing him with a cheese grater has had his prison term extended by eight months after being convicted of an assault on a prison officer.

Alan Ellis (24), who has a history of violence and suffers from paranoia and delusions, is currently serving a three-year sentence with one suspended for stabbing his treating psychiatrist with a makeshift weapon because he said "a demon got into my head and told me to do it".

Sources have expressed fears Ellis could kill someone if he is released from prison.

He is currently being housed in Mountjoy's C-Wing in the Challenging Behaviour Unit (CBU) for extremely difficult inmates.

Notoriety

Ellis is fed by prison officers wearing protective riot suits due to the threat he poses.

Sources say he is gaining increasing "notoriety" within the prison system for various offences and last year he stabbed inmate Paul Duffy in the head and eye with a shiv.

Ellis, from Rathmines Road Lower, Rathmines, Dublin, was escorted into Dublin District Court yesterday by two prison officers wearing full riot gear including helmets and protective clothing.

One hemmed Ellis, who was handcuffed throughout, into his bench with a riot shield.

Neil Cepeda, of the Mountjoy Prison Liaison Unit, told Judge Michael Walsh how, on July 7, 2016, Ellis was being escorted from his cell in the CBU to the showers by officers wearing protective clothing when he punched one in the face once his handcuffs were removed.

"It was an unprovoked attack," said Mr Cepeda, adding that it had been recorded on camera.

The prison officer was knocked backwards and suffered soft tissue damage. This was accepted by Ellis's solicitor Stephen O'Mahony.

"He is under 23-hour lockdown for his own safety and the safety of others and had psychiatric difficulties prior to sentencing," added Mr O'Mahony.

Judge Walsh gave Ellis an eight-month sentence to run consecutively with the one he is currently serving, which was due to expire on June 9, 2018.

In March this year, Ellis was sentenced for attacking his doctor, Ronan Mullaney, at Mountjoy Prison on October 23, 2014.

Dr Mullaney said Ellis felt his life was under threat from the prison staff and wondered aloud "if my doctors are involved too".

He then lunged at Dr Mullaney and tried to punch him. The doctor raised his hands in defence when he saw that Ellis was trying to push a sharply pointed object into his neck.

He fended off the attack as best as he could but Ellis still managed to puncture his neck beside his Adam's apple while repeatedly shouting "I'm going to f**king kill you" and Dr Mullaney described him as being "deranged".

Coaxed

In 2013, Ellis was sentenced to nine years with three suspended for false imprisonment after he tied a 14-year-old boy to a radiator, threw boiling water down his trousers and removed skin from his knees, knuckles and fingertips with a cheese grater.

He pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault causing harm to the teenager on March 12, 2012.

He coaxed the 14-year-old victim into an apartment, telling him he wanted to show him how to tie a particular knot.

Ellis then used a vacuum cleaner flex to tie him to a radiator before torturing him.
Protestors attend a rally outside Downing Street as police guard the gates; flowers are left for the victims of the blaze. Photo: Getty

British Prime Minister Theresa May was rushed away under heavy police guard yesterday as protesters shouted "shame on you" after she met residents who live near the destroyed Grenfell tower block in London where at least 30 people died in a fire.

Mrs May, already under pressure after a botched snap election, is facing widespread criticism for her response to the blaze. She has promised to set up a public inquiry and pledged 5m (5.7m) to help the victims. Separately, hundreds of protesters stormed the local town hall chanting: "We want justice."

Devastating

Mrs May has outlined a series of measures to help those left homeless by the fire, which engulfed the 24-storey apartment block on Wednesday.

An Irishman was among those killed in the tragedy, a London-based lawyer claimed.

Michael Kingston, a director of the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London, said that a Claddagh ring worn by one of the victims was used to identify the elderly Irish man.

"I was told that an elderly Irish gentleman was identified with the assistance of his Claddagh ring," Mr Kingston said.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "We have no confirmation that any Irish citizens are caught up in the incident but we stand ready to provide assistance."

Meanwhile, fury has grown in the local community at what people say is a slow response from authorities and a failure to inform families and friends about the fate of loved ones.

Media reports have said about 70 people are expected to have been killed, although police have not confirmed this.

Local residents also say they are angry that their safety concerns had been ignored and that people had been told to stay in their flats in the event of a fire.

Mrs May, who on Thursday met emergency services at the fire site but did not meet locals, visited residents, volunteers and community leaders at a nearby church yesterday and was rushed away afterwards by police as an angry crowd outside shouted "coward" and "you're not wanted".

A couple of miles away in west London, several hundred protesters stormed Kensington and Chelsea Council Town Hall.

The protesters barged their way through an automatic door and sought to gain entry to an upper floor. Police barred their way and scuffles broke out, a reporter said.

The protesters chanted "we want justice", "bring them out" and "shame on you".

The protesters were angered when no one from the council came out to address their concerns, reporters said. The local authority, which owns the tower block where families rented their homes, says it is doing all it can to support the victims and to help the relief operation.

It issued a statement before the protest to try to address the concerns of residents.

"We entirely support the calling of the public inquiry and will co-operate in whatever way we can with it so that local people have all the answers about what has happened," the council said.

While the deadly blaze at the Grenfell Tower in north Kensington has prompted an outpouring of generosity, it has also unleashed rage at the authorities as the charred tower was cast as a deadly symbol of a divided society.

The block, which housed some 600 people in about 120 apartments, is in a low-rent housing estate next to one of the most affluent areas of Britain.

There have been demands for answers as to how the blaze was able to engulf the building, trapping many on the upper floors.

Cladding

Exterior cladding that was added during a recent refurbishment might have played a part, local residents have said.

Earlier yesterday, Mrs May met victims privately at a central London hospital.

"I spoke with people who ran from the fire in only the clothes they were wearing," she said in a statement.

"They have been left with nothing - no bank cards, no money, no means of caring for their children or relatives. One woman told me she had escaped in only her top and underwear."

She has promised those left homeless would be rehoused locally within weeks, and the 5m fund would pay for emergency supplies, food, clothes and other costs.

However, even those within her own party said Mrs May should have faced locals herself.
A north-inner city community has threatened to cause major traffic chaos ahead of next month's U2 concert over protests against the area being "turned into a red light district".

Residents on Dublin's Dorset Street have repeatedly raised concerns about a number of premises in the area, which they say are being run as brothels.

Several complaints have been made to gardai in relation to the premises, but so far they are continuing to operate freely around the busy city centre street.

Now locals have threatened to cause severe traffic disruption on one of the city's busiest streets ahead of next month's U2 gig if their concerns are not acted upon.

Speaking to the Herald, Fianna Fail Dublin Central representative Brian Mohan said residents are "fed up" with the suspected brothels operating in their area.

Nothing

"This has been ongoing for a good while now, and gardai are aware of these businesses," said Mr Mohan.

"There's also concern about the welfare of the young girls working in these.

"We've been bringing this up with gardai for the last while but nothing has been done. In fairness, they know about the problem but their hands are tied to an extent. Locals are fed-up, with at least three premises in the area acting as brothels."

A small protest was held earlier this week outside one of the suspected brothels, but the residents have said they will "ramp up" their effort ahead of next month's U2 concert in Croke Park.

Dorset Street is one of the main routes through the city centre to the north Dublin stadium, where the concert is taking place on July 22.

"Next week there will be a protest again, and there's an agreement that if nothing is done then we'll be ramping it up for the U2 concert because gardai haven't done anything in years," said Mr Mohan.

"We'll be blocking off the road ahead of the U2 concert, which will cause a nightmare for the city and will finally bring the matter to the attention of the gardai."
Syria has declared a 48-hour cease-fire in the southwestern Daraa city, starting as of 12 noon local time (0900GMT) on Saturday, the Defense Ministry said, Anadolu reported.

In a statement published on its website, the Ministry said that the military operations against the opposition forces in Daraa would be halted for 48 hours.

Since June 3, the Syrian regime had been heavily attacking the city's opposition-held areas.

Guarantors Russia, Turkey and Iran had agreed on May 4 in the Kazakh capital, Astana, to establish "de-escalation zones" in war-torn Syria.

The zones would cover the city of Idlib and certain parts of Latakia, Homs, Aleppo and Hama as well as Damascus, Eastern Ghouta, Daraa and Quneitra.

Syria has been locked in civil war since March 2011. According to UN's spe-cial envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, around 400,000 people have died in the conflict while half the population has been driven from their homes.
Cubans said they were crestfallen to be returning to an era of frostier relations with the United States as the news spread that U.S. President Donald Trump was set to revert parts of the historic detente with Cuba, Reuters reported.

Trump will on Friday announce a plan to tighten rules on Americans traveling to Communist-run Cuba and significantly restrict U.S. firms from doing business with Cuban enterprises controlled by the military, White House officials said.

"It hurts to be going backwards. To roll back the engagement will only manage to isolate us from the world," said Havana resident Marta Deus, who will try to tune into Trump's speech in Miami, the heartland of Cuban exiles.

Deus recently set up an accountancy firm and courier service, to cater to a private sector that has flourished since a landmark agreement two and a half years ago between former U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro to normalize relations between the former Cold War foes.

"We need clients, business, we need the economy to move and by isolating Cuba, they will only manage to hurt many Cuban families and force companies to close," she said.

The 2014 deal sparked widespread euphoria in Cuba and raised hopes for an improvement in its ailing economy.

An increased arrival of U.S. tourists thanks to eased restrictions fueled a boom in tourism, especially in Havana, creating demand for more BnBs, restaurants, taxis and tour guides in the fledgling private sector.

But critics say the opening failed to improve rights on the island. Trump will justify his partial reversal of Obamas measures to a large extent on those grounds, the White House officials said, and some Cuban dissidents back his tougher stance, saying repression has worsened since the detente.

Cuban authorities have stepped up their detentions of activists, often confiscating their telephones and laptops, but they have also been coming down with a heavy hand on self- employed Cubans who appear to be empowering themselves.

"When the Obama administration stopped condemning human rights violations in Cuba, the regime here said 'look we can do this and nothing happens, so we can continue repressing more forcefully'," said Jose Daniel Ferrer, who leads the Patriotic Union of Cuba, the country's largest dissident group.

Ferrer said his group had 53 activists currently imprisoned due to their political views. Other dissidents agree repression has worsened but say rolling back the detente, which will hurt ordinary Cubans, is not the solution.

"It will probably not have any benefit in terms of human rights," said Eliecer Avila, the leader of the opposition youth group Somos Mas.

The Cuban government has withstood the U.S. trade embargo for more than a half century and will not make any political concessions to the United States due to economic pressure, said Carlos Alzugaray, a retired Cuban diplomat.

"I am concerned it will affect the private sector quite a bit and much more than the Cuban government," he said.

Without doubt it will impact those in the tourism industry that have benefited from a threefold increase in U.S. visits in the last two years, although it is unclear just how much.

"It's going to really hurt me because the majority of my clients are from the United States," said Enrique Montoto, 61, who rents rooms on U.S. online home-rental marketplace Airbnb, which expanded into Cuba in 2015.

"With things going to pot, I'll have to tighten my belt."

This new setback to the Cuban economy will come at a time when it is already wrestling with falling oil shipments from crisis-stricken ally Venezuela and a decline in exports.

"This is another blow for Cubans and it will hurt our pockets obviously," said Martha Garcia, 51. "With the United States, there is no tranquility."
Nearly 80 PA people have been charged for Jan. 6 riot. Three are dead.

news
A court in Istanbul issued an arrest warrant on Friday for former Istanbul police chief Huseyin Capkin and ex-governor of southwestern Denizli province Abdulkadir Demir over alleged links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), Anadolu reported.

The first hearing of the case will begin on Aug. 23.

Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court accepted the indictment submitted to the court by the Chief Public Prosecutors Office, which seeks three aggravated life sentences for 15 former government officials, including five governors, Demir and Capkin for suspected links to FETO.

Thirteen of the total suspects are in custody except for Capkin and Demir; the two had been released earlier but the court re-issued their arrest warrants.

Istanbul's former Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu is also among the suspects who have been accused of attempting to abolish the constitutional order, attempting to overturn the Turkish parliament and oust the current government.

The 309-page indictment also accuses the suspects of being members of an armed terrorist organization; prosecutors seek an additional five to 10-year jail terms on this charge.

It seeks seven-and-a-half years to 15-year jail terms for eight suspects, including Mutlu for allegedly financing terrorism.

Three suspects are also accused of using the ByLock messenger app -- an encrypted smartphone software that authorities suspect FETO members used to communicate with each other.

According to the Turkish government, FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkeys military base in Qatar causes strong concern among the Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkish foreign policy expert Timucin Mercanoglu told Trend.

Turkey is one of the most important countries in the region, and Saudi Arabia should understand that, he said.

Saudi Arabia fears the US and is suspicious of Turkey, according to the expert.

Sooner or later, the Kingdom authorities will have to make a choice between the US and Turkey in the region, said Mercanoglu.

He expressed confidence that the Turkish military base in Qatar is aimed at preserving stability in the region.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE announced about breaking their diplomatic relations with Qatar June 5, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East. Later, a number of other countries also announced about severing diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Commenting on this, Mercanoglu said he believes the US stands behind the Qatar crisis.

The US wants to establish full control over the Arab countries to take the sale of oil and gas to China into its own hands, he added.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
LEXINGTON  A man wanted in an April 15, 2016, double homicide has been arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Kareem Henderson was arrested Thursday in Chambersburg, Pa., according to a Davidson County Sheriff's Office news release. He was wanted for his involvement in the deaths of Kevin Michael Caldwell, of Mooresville, and Joseph Dominique Anderson, of Salisbury. The two were found shot to death around 5:30 a.m. in a Ford Crown Victoria in the 4000 block of U.S. 64 West.

Henderson is currently incarcerated in Pennsylvania awaiting extradition back to North Carolina.

A second suspect named in this investigation, David White, also has two warrants for homicide in the murders. He is currently serving a federal prison sentence for unrelated firearms assault charges. He is scheduled to be released in August 2020. Upon his release from federal custody, White will be transferred back to North Carolina.
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Learning Malayalm just became easy, thanks to the efforts of the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University offering a new app which helps in learning the language through games. Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University Vice-Chancellor K. Jayakumar told reporters that it was a varsity students idea.

From then on it was a joint initiative that the app was developed and today we have three games which will help anyone to learn our language. This is also hugely beneficial for those who have learning disability besides autistic children. This is freely downloadable also, said Jayakumar, a former chief secretary of the state.

Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University set up in 2012 conducts courses, including M.Phil and PhD programmes, in Malayalam only.

Jayakumar, the varsitys first Vice-Chancellor, said that work for the launch of a Malayalam e-dictionary, which will start with 1.30 lakh words, is fast nearing completion. We are planning to have the launch of the e-dictionary in August. Initially, we planned to bring it in a book form, but then decided against it because it has come to a stage that new and several old words are coming out and hence we felt that if its an online one, changes and modifications can be made quickly, said Jayakumar.

He said the arrangement with the University of Tubingen in Germany is going on well as professors from the varsity here go there to follow up the work that Hermann Gundert started when he was in Tellichery in Kannur district .

The German missionary, scholar and linguist lived in Kerala from 1838 till 1859, following which he returned to his country. He compiled a Malayalam grammar book Malayalabhaasha Vyakaranam in 1859 and authored several books in Malayalam.

Last time we managed to get the Malayalam manuscript of the work of Gundert and its now with us. We have got expression of interests from some Universities in London and Germany to establish a chair in Malayalam. We will take it up after due consultations, said Jayakumar.

Among the other initiatives that has commenced in the Malayalam University include creating a database of the pillars of Malayalam languages.

The new app in Malayalam can also be looked as a commercial product and if the demand is there, this could also be promoted by the tourism department, he added.

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Another farmer ended his life at Rampura village in Dhar district on Friday, taking the total number of agriculture-related suicides in Madhya Pradesh to twelve since the start of this month.

The victim, 40-year-old Jagdish Mori, consumed insecticide on Friday afternoon allegedly because he was unable to repay a loan taken against his fathers property. He died the same night in a Dhar hospital.

Relatives said Jagdish was under a lot of pressure to settle the debt.

However, police dismissed reports that the farmer had committed suicide due to loan repayment concerns. Jagdish could not have taken a loan because he had no land to call his own. He was an alcoholic who decided to kill himself after a dispute with his family, said Dhar superintendent of police Birendra Singh, adding that an investigation is on.

Violent farmer protests had rocked the Malwa region in the first week of June, putting the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government on the backfoot. The agitators were protesting against the low procurement rates being obtained for their produce and demanding loan waivers from the government.
Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who is looking forward to the release of his 500th film -- the Hollywood entertainer The Big Sick -- has said there were chances he would have missed being a part of the film at the eleventh hour.

Anupam Kher will be soon seen in Madhur Bhandarkars Indu Sarkar. (IANS)

This was an important film for me, and my work permit (for the US) had come a little late. I was almost going to go out of the film because my work permit had not come... I was in New York on a tourist visa, but it happened. And my faith in the kuchh bhi ho sakta hai (anything is possible) philosophy continues, Anupam told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

Directed by Michael Showalter, the film is based on the real life of Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani, who has co-written the movie with wife Emily V. Gordon.

The film delves on the culture clash and how Kumail dealt with the emotional tug-of-war between his traditional Muslim family and his heart. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and was received well.

Now The Big Sick is releasing in the US on June 23, and in India a week later. The fact that it is releasing in India is a great feeling, because however much you go abroad for whatever reason, you want it to be seen in India, said Anupam in the interview before he left for New York for the movies American premiere as well as for some other commitments.

In the film, which also features Kumail, apart from names like Ray Romano, Holly Hunter and Zoe Kazan (Elia Kazans granddaughter), Anupam plays a happy go lucky father to Kumail. Its an interesting role in a mainstream American film without any cliches, said the actor, who has been a part of international movies like Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, Silver Linings Playbook, The Mistress of Spices and The Headhunters Calling.

Apart from The Big Sick premiere, Anupam will be part of a panel for the International Day of Yoga on June 21. He is also excited that for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in New York next month, he is nominated for the Best Supporting Actor (Male) category for his performance in MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.

On the work front in the West, he also has a new detective series coming up, in which he plays father to stand up comedian Russell Peters. Anupam has also finished the second season of Sense8, while on the home turf he is excited about being a part of films like Indu Sarkar and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha.

Talking about how he has managed to continue getting meaty parts in his long career, Anupam said: If you keep working hard and youre honest, it will keep happening.

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The lives of both Subhas Chandra Bose and the Rani of Jhansi have long been the stuff of legend, so a book that includes both their names in its title has already won much of its battle for attention. Vera Hildebrands researched and documented account of Boses innovative move to recruit and mobilise Indian women into his Azad Hind Fauj, or the Indian National Army as it is more commonly known, gives us an unusual perspective on the involvement of women in our struggle for Independence. Most of us are aware that the Indian Womens Movement had its roots in the social reform movement of the mid-nineteenth century, that this early awakening in turn played a major part in the public presence of women both before and after Independence. The disillusionment of many women with the political struggles androcentric priorities and the ways in which this shaped the forms of their subsequent struggles has also been severally written about. Hildebrands book takes another route altogether, going backstage several decades after the Indian National Armys collapse. Using history, archival material, and first and third person accounts she chronicles the lives of those women who joined Bose in forming a regiment famously named after Indias iconic female freedom fighter. It is an interesting project, especially in a time when womens lives are being slowly assimilated into the larger canvas of global history and culture.

Hildebrand emphasizes what makes her study unique: Among the more improbable events of the Asia-Pacific theatre in World War II was the creation in Singapore in 1943 of a corps of female Indian combat soldiers, the Rani of Jhansi Regiment (RJR). Hildebrand traces the event to a number of catalyzing factors: the Gandhian wave sweeping the subcontinent; the use of force as against non-violence by dissidents (including women) in Bengal; the charismatic Subhas Chandra Bose and his liberal perspectives on gender issues; the growing power of Japanese forces, their defeat of the British in South-East Asia and the resultant capture of Indian prisoners of war; and a resurgent Indian nationalism which gave Bose the impetus needed to launch his struggle. Lakshmi Swaminathan Sahgal (1914-2012), the commander of the RJR, reportedly told Hildebrand that the regiment was thus named because Bose had been inspired by the Englishman who wrote after 1857 (disregarding postcolonial rephrasing, Hildebrand terms the events of 1857 a Mutiny) that if there had been a thousand women like the Rani, we could never have conquered India.

The Rani of Jhansi Regiment. Undated picture. (Courtesy HarperCollins)

Drawing attention to the near-myth proportions both Bose and the RJR have achieved, Hildebrand says she interviewed many of the Ranis and their family members and worked with archival resources to separate myth from historical fact: The facts are nearly as impressive as the myth, she writes. While real life encounters and narrations add a certain thrill to her story, the truth is that interviews so many decades down the line would inevitably be tinged with the persona the interviewee creates in remembering what had happened. The book is not exempt from the gambles of this tenuous distinction though Hildebrand balances it by reiterating the risks the women faced when they signed up for infantry combat duty probably becoming the first all-female infantry combat unit within an established army. The Ranis apparently admitted that while they were aware that they may be taken as POWs they had never considered that they may have been raped. Many of them spoke of fighting off unwanted attentions from superiors and peers in an age where sexual harassment was not even a theoretical concept. Social response towards their choice of career was by and large disapproving anyway and harassment would have been seen as a natural corollary, the way it is even in todays allegedly more liberal times.

Subhas Chandra Bose inspecting the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. Undated picture. (Courtesy HarperCollins)

Hildebrand situates Bose within the political framework of the freedom struggle and his membership of the Indian National Congress, detailing his differences with Gandhi, his fallout with his political peers, his assessment of the Indian scenario, and his conviction in the validity of something like the Azad Hind Fauj. As Bose evolved in stature he acquired the soubriquet Netaji, the way Nehru became Pandit Nehru, Gandhi the Mahatma and so on. An early rebel (he rejected his fathers wish that he join the ICS), a passionate man who frequently admitted his inability to control his sexual urges, and yet someone who guarded his Ranis from physical abuse and dishonor, Bose was a complex individual with a shrewd understanding of the need to cultivate a public persona. Hildebrand does not gloss over his several faults: his insensitive treatment of his longtime companion Emilie Schenkl, his fallacious belief that Hitler would support him, and even the alleged plan (it wasnt carried out) to manipulate a revolt in the British Indian Army by sacrificing a band of eighty Ranis on the battle front one by one under the eyes of the Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army. She also uncovers the simmering disquiet and the envy and hostility many of the more prominent Ranis faced within the RJR and outside.

Author Vera Hildebrand (Courtesy HarperCollins)

Hildebrands documentation of events in Southeast Asia before the arrival of Bose is informative and well structured. One is less sure of her simplistic othering  her faith in the liberating impact of the Diaspora on its women (several Ranis belonged to the subcontinental Diasporas), for Indian Diasporas have not been the most enlightened so far as women go.

Read more: Women at war: Vera Hildebrand on her book on The Rani of Jhansi Regiment

Nor can one agree with the somewhat cavalier dismissal of the general level of political commitment in Indian women whether within India or in the Diaspora, or see the two as mutually exclusive. It is doubtful whether the RJR would have taken shape without the contextual stimulus given by the ongoing freedom struggle in India and womens part in it.

Vrinda Nabar is an author, critic and a former Chair of English, Mumbai University.
Doga

The portmanteau word for dogs and yoga, doga combines the virtue of yoga along with dog cuddles! Now if that doesnt get you working, were pretty sure nothing will.

Beer yoga

Hear hear, for beer yoga is actually a thing! The style essentially includes practising various asanas with and around the beer bottle. Nobody likes passing on an icy cold beer after all!

Pole yoga

A unique and challenging yoga style, pole yoga is no joke and requires the body strength of a serious fitness enthusiast.

Voga

Trying to guess whats in vogue? Voga, the dynamic blend of yoga and voguing dance form. Exclusively focused on striking a pose, voga is elegant and energetic. Bonus points for playing Madonna in the background while you dance your way into mental peace.

Paddleboard yoga

Imagine being on a paddleboard, amidst the silent sea, practising some of the most calming asanas? Sounds challenging yet beautiful, right? Paddleboard yoga is becoming the new rage because of its empowering and exciting nature. Equally fascinating, it is taking over the world because of the sensational experience it offers.

From HT Brunch, June18, 2017

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Society, my profession, my family everyone is always trying to teach me to be the perfect woman. Hair in place, always in heels, perfectly coiffed and manicured, flat belly, clear skin and skinny thighs.

Yet I have always been quite the opposite  swimming in oceans, jumping in puddles, running around barefoot, dancing in the rain and eating everything in sight.

My family would sometimes say in exasperation when I had been out all day in the sun, looking like a little street kid, Youre such a rakharpatti (this may be a made up negative word for wanderer). Whose daughter are you?

Shenaz recommends having at least one breakfast in your hotel pool. (Toni Handoko)

I would get smacked for swimming out too deep in the ocean. My family was always concerned about my well-being, trying to protect me and groom me into being what society considers a classy woman.

When people asked me what my ambition was, I never thought of Bollywood or acting. I thought I was going to see the world, swim in it, dive into different cultures. I was going to taste life and all it had to offer. I was going to have adventures. That was my dream. And everything else, modelling, acting, hosting shows, etc., was the means to get to it.

Shenazs must-dos Meander through the Tegallalang Rice Terraces. Visit an outdoor spa. Get some intuitive body work, which combines deep tissue massage, reflexology, and acupressure. Spend time in the temples. Everywhere you look, there is a Balinese Hindu temple, and women are making offerings of rice and brightly-coloured flowers. EAT! Besides the delicious local food, Ubud has become the raw food capital of the world, with more vegetarian, vegan and raw food restaurants per square kilometre than New York or Los Angeles. Have breakfast in your hotel pool. Sign up for yoga and master your downward dog. Visit a healer  or Balian. Medicinal herbs and ancient teachings are used to treat patients who come to them for their physical and emotional well-being. Take a retreat. Ubud is the world capital of spiritual retreats, if you want to heal the wounds of love. Or simply get a detox. Re-invent yourself.

I started modelling and then got picked by MTV to go to Singapore, from where I hosted shows that aired all over Asia.My rakharpatti spirit was stronger than ever.I wanted to discover the world. Here I was, earning a good salary as a teenager and living away from home. The world was my oyster and I was going to discover it. So one weekend, I quietly packed a bag and jumped on a flight to Bali without telling anyone. I was about 19 years old.

The highlight of my trip was Ubud, which opened the gate to hundreds of solo miraculous adventures for me. I remember coming back from the trip feeling empowered. It was my coming of age story. Travelling solo made me who I am today.

I learned that I was responsible for myself. It made me believe in me. It taught me while its nice to rely on someone, its also nice to know that that someone is me.

Whenever lifes little problems arise, I remind myself of all my solo adventures starting in Ubud, Bali. And I am able to smile and face whatever situation arises, big or small.

Ubuds Sacred Monkey Forest is both a nature reserve and an ancient temple. A must-visit for every kind of traveller. (Shutterstock)

So Ubud, Bali, is very special to me. Thats why, when I decided to start documenting my travels for social media and get into the world of travel blogging, I decided to go back to Ubud. That small, mystical, spiritual village in Bali that the world now knew from Elizabeth Gilberts Eat, Pray, Love. Ubud had been all those three things to me before I even read the book. Ubud means medicine in Bahasa, and its air has magical healing powers. Even though it has become much more crowded and commercial since I visited as a teenager, Ubud once again did some magic and changed my life, opening up a whole new world for me, reminding me who I was and always wanted to be.

I hear royal families from across Indonesia sent their sickly members to Ubud to be cured. This tradition continues even today, with people from all over the world arriving in hope of healing.

I leave Ubud refreshed, healed and with a twinkle in my eye, just like I did when I visited as a teenager.

The writer is a former VJ whose love for travel and photography has taken her all around the world. Her Instagram posts are proof!

From HT Brunch, June 18, 2017

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Wildlife photographer and documentary filmmaker Jonathon Scott is a familiar face for people across the world. A believable achievement considering his co-host status on BBCs Big Cat Diary, a show that tracks the lions, cheetahs and leopards of the Masaai Mara, one of the greatest wildlife areas of the world, for 12 years.

Scott was in India to visit the Bandhavgarh Tiger Sanctuary recently and spoke to us about his home in Nairobi, Kenya and the life hes built there with his wife, Angela, also an award-winning wildlife photographer, in the last 40 years.

Scott walks with elephants in Masaai Mara. (Jonathan Scott)

Outdoors = Alive

His eyes sparkle as he describes the wait that goes into seeing just one movement from a lion that has been under observation since 5am. In a lions life, 20 out of 24 hours are inactive. But does that mean you can go back to your camp? No. If you do that, you might come back to see he has hunted a buffalo. And then you have missed your chance, he explains.

Ive always been more fascinated with things I cant communicate with. I think a lot of people look for something else to stimulate them.

Scott was brought up on a farm, making the outdoors his place of joy. Even at our house in Nairobi, the first thing I hear when I wake up is the sound of birds. I always remind people that our inspiration in life comes from nature, he says. I feel most alive when I am outdoors, watching wild animals, and being with my wife.

He isnt kidding about the inspiration nature provides. To him, its the most creative force in the world. Just yesterday, my wife was swimming in the hotel pool when a pigeon came to drink water. They were one foot apart from each other. For me looking, and for her watching, it was a beautiful miracle. We are constantly in awe of nature, he says. Life is about nurturing what makes you feel most alive, he believes. For me, its nature, its travel, watching animals, writing about them.

A leopard drinks water from a river. (Jonathan Scott)

If you miss Big Cat Diary (as youre bound to do after following the cats for over 12 years), Scotts autobiography, The Big Cat Man, is a great book to read. Published last year, the book is about his journey around the best natural habitats of the world. Its the latest among the 30 books hes written so far, to share his experiences in the wild.

I wrote my autobiography because Ive had an amazing life. I wanted to tell people that you can create whatever you want with your life, if you have the passion and the hard work to go forward, Scott explains. He also writes about animals because animals are what he loves the most in the world. Its not that Im not a peoples person, but I was never fascinated by them, he says. Ive always been more fascinated with things I cant communicate with. I think a lot of people look for something else to stimulate them. I think all the stimulation we need is being in the moment.

The purposeful tourist

A cheetah looking into Scotts camera. (Jonathan Scott)

Constantly travelling in wild places, Scott admits to a sense of shock whenever he returns to a big city. But his thoughts, as he drives into Nairobi, are more than personal. I am constantly worrying myself with the question: What relevance do lions and wild animals have in the lives of people, 60 per cent of who are living on less than USD 2 a day? he asks. Cities put people under so much pressure. They are so disconnected with nature, they dont realise how important it is.

Thats why hes such a fan of wildlife tourism, even though he agrees that human excursions into sanctuaries puts great pressure on the animals. It can be an intrusion, in a way, but the park fee charged to tourists helps maintain wildlife, he explains.

Scott feels most alive when he is outdoors, observing wildlife. (Jonathan Scott)

In India, he says, the wildlife sanctuaries are tiny, and surrounded by humanity. Our wilderness areas in Africa are also surrounded by humanity, but they are bigger. In India, the pressure on those areas is intense, he says.

But the discipline of wildlife tourism in India impresses him. The restriction on number of vehicles inside a wildlife area is impressive. I wish we could do that in Africa. Im concerned because the areas are small, and you need to protect the corridors to allow movement, he explains.

Four years ago, Scott visited India for the first time to safari through the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary. The mix of temples, lakes, palaces, the habitat, is what impressed us, he says. It is the place to go because there are tigers with cubs.

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From HT Brunch, June 18, 2017

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For years and years I have annoyed people in Mumbai by saying that the European food in Delhi is far superior. But, judging by my last three visits, I now have to concede that, at least in suburban Mumbai, there has been a huge resurgence of interesting Western cuisine.

Hemant Oberois new restaurant has a young vibe and hes added a Peruvian touch to many of his dishes.

Lets start with the biggie: Hemant Oberoi. You know Hemant, of course. Anybody with any interest in food does. He became the executive chef of the Mumbai Taj in 1986 (I think) and opened the Zodiac Grill, Wasabi, Souk, and many restaurants all over India, of which the most famous is probably Varq at the Taj Mansingh. Along the way, he rose to be the food supremo of Tajs luxury hotels, outlasted two managements, and ultimately fell out with the third.

Because he is a larger-than-life personality (with talent that is as intense as the best black truffles and an ego the size of the largest T-bone steak), Hemant has won many fans (the Mumbai social A-list, for instance) and, it has to be said, some enemies. Ive had an up-and-down critical relationship with him for over 30 years, though we have always been friends at a personal level. I felt (and he strongly disagreed) that, by the end of his time at the Taj, he had spread himself too thin and that too many of his proteges were mediocre chefs who rose to great heights only by clinging on to his coat tails.

I also felt that because Hemant travelled so much, he neglected many of his more established restaurants, leaving them to unworthy subordinates.

When the Zodiac Grill closed, I wrote that it was the right decision because the restaurant was past its sell-by date. Hemant was hurt and sent me a long and anguished mail about how I had insulted the thousands of people who worked at the Mumbai Taj. (I had also written that the hotel was no longer up to scratch; pretty much the consensus view today, but startling when I first said it.)

It is wrong to judge a hotel on the basis of a party but the cuisine at Trident BKC was truly exceptional. I was left gasping at the ambition and sophistication of it all.

Hemant retired from the Taj and seemed to have vanished. Then, I heard he had taken over an existing restaurant in Singapore, and turned it into a huge success under his name. Next, he opened a place in San Diego. Eventually, a couple of weeks ago, I got a text from Hemant: Hi Vir, I have opened a small restaurant in Mumbai just yesterday. Its a very low-key soft opening. Please do visit whenever you are in Mumbai.

When Hemant Oberoi calls, you dont say no. So, on my next trip to Mumbai, I dropped my bags off at the BKC Trident and rushed off to Hemants small restaurant, which is a few minutes away from the Trident.

Hemant Oberoi added a Peruvian touch to many of his dishes.

Of course, in the weeks since it had opened, all the old regulars had turned up (Sachin Tendulkar, Harsh Goenka, Karan Johar, Kishore Chhabria, Amitabh Bachchan and nearly every South Mumbai millionaire you can name), but Hemant had also managed to draw in the younger film crowd.

Though the new restaurant has a New York-style decor rather than the clubby feel of the original Zodiac, it is hard not to think back to the buzz and excitement that accompanied the opening of the Zodiac.

But there are important differences between the new place and the Zodiac Grill. The ambience is casual. The waiters are younger. And Hemant himself was behind the range on the night I went. The menu is hard to describe but it is essentially Hemant Oberois greatest hits: the Whitefish Carpaccio from Wasabi (plus the Black Cod Miso), the Cheese Souffle from Zodiac (and the Onion Croissants) and so on.

What makes it different though is that Hemant has added Peruvian touches to the flavours (Peru is Hemants current obsession).

I loved it all.

I was especially taken with the lamb, a classic French-style shank, given a twist with Peruvian chilli. The snails, the souffle, the duck liver and many other dishes were top notch. I went into the kitchen and discovered one reason for the difference in the style of food between the Zodiac and the new place. The team is young, fresh, multi-gender and less wedded to old concepts of food. His pastry chef, in particular, is someone to watch for in the future.

For anyone who has heard of the reputation of the great Hemant Oberoi and wants to know what it is based on, this restaurant is for you. This is a culinary master, at the height of his powers, cooking himself, without the backing of the massive Taj group, and running a far better restaurant than anything his old hotel can manage these days.

The night after my dinner at Hemants, I went to a special event that the BKC Trident hosted for Oberoi group regulars and American Express high-rollers.

It is hard to know where to slot Trident hotels. In theory, they are the basic five-star hotels while the Oberois are the deluxe hotels. Except that Biki Oberoi is not content with doing anything that is merely basic so, in effect, many of the Tridents (Gurgaon, Mumbai, Udaipur etc.) are just Oberoi hotels with slightly smaller rooms.

The dinner prepared by chef Siva was exceptional and the standout dish was the duck.

The BKC Trident, for example has the luxury levels of the top Oberoi hotels though yes, the rooms are a little smaller. For many years, it was run to a high standard of excellence by Visheshwar Raj Singh, who has now been replaced by David Mathews, formerly of the Gurgaon Oberoi. Along with outstanding chefs Ashish Bhasin and Vikas Vibhuti, among many others  this team produces what is among the best food in the Oberoi group.

It is wrong to judge a hotel on the basis of a party but the cuisine was truly exceptional: duck that had been aged so that all its meaty flavours came to the fore, pasta packed with truffle cream and surrounded by slices of fresh summer truffle, a dessert that matched chocolate with Roquefort cheese and more. I was left gasping at the ambition and sophistication of it all.

The principal chef for dinner at the Trident that day was Siva (Sivakumar Gopalkrishnan), who had once worked in Le Cirque in New York. I thought of him and his food when I went to the Mumbai Le Cirque. Sadly, the restaurant is located on the Club Floor of the Leela Palace in a room that has been the graveyard of good Italian restaurants, Fiorella and Stella, for instance.

The Mumbai Le Cirque is back on the map thanks to the efforts of Jimmy Writer and chef Lorenzo Severini.

I have always believed that if Le Cirque was on the ground floor of the Mumbai Leela, it would be full every night. Even so, I was surprised to see how well it was doing on a Thursday night. Much of this has to do with the front-of-the-house expertly managed by Jimmy Writer and a French-Italian sommelier.

But most of the credit goes to the outstanding Tuscan chef Lorenzo Severini.I tried many dishes, including a Crab Parmentier and a Tuscan seafood soup, and the food standards were up to global levels. Except for the Delhi Le Cirque (which figures, I guess), there is no restaurant in the capital doing Italian food with this much finesse.

My final terrific meal in Mumbai was at Stax. The Hyatt Regency, near the airport, has been a sort of stepchild, never getting the attention that the gleaming Grand Hyatt, which is only 10 minutes away, receives. But ever since the go-getting Hardip Marwah has taken over as general manager, the Regency has finally begun to register its presence.

One beneficiary has been Stax, the Italian restaurant. Because the Regency has a large coffee shop with a terrific buffet, there is not much reason to go to Stax and so, it has slid out of public memory.

But Hardip is determined to revive it. I went to a party (hosted with the Italian trade commission) to launch the new menu and was impressed by the quality of the food. Even the Italians were thrilled by the risottos made on mobile stations and the excellent seafood, including scallops wrapped with pancetta.

Stax was designed as a nightclub, I imagine, so it is a high concept, multi-storey restaurant. When you enter, you wonder if it is a spaceship and whether you might take off. But the funkiness adds something to the experience.

Compared to the Grand Hyatt, the Regency is a medium-budget operation (no expat chefs). But thanks to Hardip, who runs it like a grand hotel, that difference is well-concealed.

So, does suburban Mumbai have better European food than Delhi? Maybe; maybe not.

But it certainly beats the hell out of South Mumbai!

From HT Brunch, June 18, 2017

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

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Watches are not rocket science. Or are they? Watches are not rocket...

Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well, thats a shame, because with some watches, youll need one to understand how to tell the time. Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well,...
Protectionist measures by the US or other western governments had no impact on hiring by the Indian IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd, as it continued to operate well, said its new chairman N Chandrasekaran.

Nothing has changed on the ground. We continue to recruit people in every market, including the US, which contributes 65 per cent of our revenues, Chandrasekaran told shareholders at the companys 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bengaluru on Friday.

Asserting that the company complied with the laws of every country it operates, the IT majors former chief executive and Tata Sons group chairman said TCS was one of the top recruiters in its markets worldwide, including the US market.

Prior to Donald Trump becoming president in January this year, the outsourcing firm had reduced visa applications to the US by one-third.

We will be hiring about 10,000 people in the US, which is our largest market, this fiscal, reiterated Chandrasekaran.

Data excellence will be an important theme in the future and holds true for all the sectors beyond IT.

Global business environment is adopting digital and the world is transforming fast, pointed out Chandrasekaran.

New chief executive Rajesh Gopinathan said the company had hired 79,000 globally last fiscal, including 11,500 in foreign markets.

The future of technology is very bright and we have immense opportunities. We are working strong and hard to grow and scale new heights, added the chairman.

The company had also trained two lakh employees with six lakh competencies on the emerging digital technologies.

Operational agility, cloud and automation will be our his focus area in this fiscal 2017-18, noted Gopinathan.
Cool dads are more an exception than the rule. Lets please accept that, so that this article can progress.

It is Fathers Day on June 18, and its going to be quite awkward again. Most of those who will wish their fathers a happy day will get a faux-friendly shrug of the shoulders, maybe a smile, and certainly a surprised thank you accompanied by a tone that seems to say, Really? Me? OK, good!

Thank God for the indifference. Else, it could have started badly for me. I bought a pair of spectacles on a Fathers Day Super Mega Bumper Sale from a website that were delivered on the eve of the occasion to my house in a suburb of Chandigarh. I was not home. Papa received the package. He had already opened the package and wondered why Id bought them since I do not use spectacles. Now, imagine if he had remembered that it was his day. How would I have ever explained to him that Id bought these spectacles for myself, and because they were for only 59; certainly not because I wanted him to look like Woody Allen!

This brings me to the moot question of the day: Do fathers get less love? Say, less than what mothers get? And who is to blame for it?

Well go by our time-tested twin formula to lead to the point: Trust math, follow the West. A report on the BBC website says the amount of money people spend on Fathers Day goes up every year, but trails far behind Mothers Day. In the US, it says, the average expenditure on gifts per father is expected to be $135 this year, with the total expected to reach $15.5 billion. Thats almost Rs 1,000 billion. And this is less. By contrast, the average spending is $186 on Mothers Day presents this year in the US, for a total of $23.6 billion. Data for the UK is on similar lines.

That settles the first two questions. But, who is to blame for dads losing out to moms in terms of gifts and, thus obviously, love?

To create journalistic balance, the same BBC report quotes Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, who says that todays fathers have a more emotional relationship with their children than past generations, and it is a whole lot easier to buy presents for him, because his kids know him on a deeper level.

Lets be honest here. Those who actually know which colours their dads like, please raise your right hands. You guys are weird.

Heres my theory: The dads bring it upon themselves, because, for some reason, they try hard for their kids to idolise them or simply hate them.

In our social set-up, dads find it hard to get over their Provider Complex, wherein they behave like the hunter-gatherer who is always weighed down by the responsibility of feeding the offspring who have been birthed by a woman whom he loves or is supposed to love. Even the cool dads who do the dishes and take the kids to school and attend couple-kitties and do other such stuff, especially on Womens Day and Mothers Day, continue to suffer from that complex. Those TV ads showing Dad helping Mom in putting the clothes out to dry actually do little to change that. Working moms are champs, because working dads are the normal.

Now, before they start asking for as many gifts as moms get, let them also do what moms do. We are no longer in a jungle. Show your emotions, and let us show them to you. Else, whats the point of having a day for frowning men who smile occasionally to shrug and say, We dont do this gift thing anyway; give them to mummy! Fine, thats what well do then.

Also read | A sons guilt trip on Mothers Day

Writer tweets at @aarishc

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Sandeep Dikshit made a terrible mistake but hes also paid for it with an embarrassing public apology. He was wrong to equate the Army chief with a sadak ka gunda. This wasnt just an insult to Gen Rawat but, more importantly, to the office he holds. The institution of the Army chief  although not necessarily the incumbent  must be treated with respect even whilst criticising it. Dikshit breached this critical rule. It hardly matters whether he did so inadvertently or deliberately.

However, Dikshit has apologised, fully and unreservedly. If his offence was serious his apology is unequivocal and that is why it should bring the matter to an end. In a civilised society the offence must cease when an apology is delivered. That, after all, is a key rule of gentlemanly conduct.

However, Dikshit has raised a far wider and more important issue and even if it was not his explicit intention to do so I, today, am deliberately choosing to elaborate this more significant point. The Army  and that very definitely includes the Army chief  is not above criticism and must not be protected from legitimate and sincere critique.

In a democracy every institution of state must face criticism when its justified and deserved. If that includes the prime minister  and it most certainly does  how can it possibly exclude the Army and its chief? This point is not just self-evident and obvious but, I would add, incontestable. I know of no credible democracy where this is not the case.

During World War I and, perhaps, more significantly World War II, whilst Britains forces were suffering reverses, its army and generals were subjected to damaging but justified criticism. It was, in fact, a test of Britains commitment to democracy and the principle of free speech, even in the face of a rampaging Adolf Hitler.

But why go so far back in time? After the worst reverses in the 1962 India-China War, Atal Bihari Vajpayee demanded a special session of Parliament to which Nehru readily agreed and the performance of the Indian Army was sharply, if undeservedly, criticised. This wasnt just painful but also self-inflicted yet the debate was justified and, even if the criticism mistaken, no one disputed the right of the critics to make it.

Unfortunately, that seems like not just another era but almost another country. Today, as Lt Gen HS Panag, a former Northern Army Commander, has written: The army as an institution has been accorded a halo  that it can do nothing wrong and nobody should criticise it. This is the worst that could happen to an army. It prevents the army from undertaking reforms which are always necessary for the betterment of any organisation.

Not for a moment do I believe any Army officer  and that includes Gen Rawat would think differently. Our Army has nothing to hide and almost everything to be proud of. This is why it would welcome questioning, including criticism even when its sharp and hurtful. And I write that as an Army son who knows what hes talking about.

Finally, a word of advice to the untiring soldiers of social media who, at the first hint of criticism, valorously rise to the Armys defence: cool it or, preferably, shut up! You dont know what youre talking about nor do you understand how youre indefensible behaviour diminishes our Army. In fact, remember, the Army needs you like it needs a hole in the head.

The views expressed are personal

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The Congress has decided to boycott the state assemblys business advisory committee for next five years over the BJP alleged violation of constitutional norms while tabling the Lokayukta bill.

The Congress would not attend any meeting of the committee as the government tabled the Lokayukta and new transfer policy bills in the house on Thursday late night without listing it in days business agenda, Leader of the Opposition Indira Hridayesh said.

The opposition party alleged that the BJP government has broken constitutional norms and democratic principles.

They have subverted the parliamentary convention for taking up only those issues in house that had been already discussed in business advisory committee, Congress MLA Manoj Rawat said.

This convention is a followed right from parliament to state assemblies across the country but this government has betrayed the convention and constitution by tabling the two bills without prior information of the business advisory committee.

It was done by the government for its arrogance of massive majority in the house to subvert the voice of opposition in the house. The Leader of the Opposition has taken a decision and all Congress legislators are with her, said Rawat.

The Congress is claiming that boycott of the business advisory committee would expose the government in public and let the people know its blatant irresponsible conduct.

Meanwhile, chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has said he would persuade the Leader of the Opposition to rethink her decision to boycott the committee meetings.

The state government has not taken any unconstitutional step by tabling the two bills inside the house on Thursday night. There is provision in the norms for tabling extra bills even if not brought before the business advisory committee he said.
The Pithoragarh district administration on Saturday ordered a magisterial probe into the alleged suicide of a farmer the previous day.

Surendra Singh, a resident of Purana Thal village, had reportedly consumed poison after receiving a loan recovery notice from a bank. Though the farmer was rushed to a nearby hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.

A bank (recovery) notice was found beneath my husbands bed. He had taken a Rs 50,000-loan from a neighbourhood bank six months ago, but was unable to pay up due to losses caused by rains and hailstorms, said Manju, Singhs wife.

A team led by sub-divisional magistrate Vivek Prakash was formed to ascertain if the loan was the actual cause of the farmers suicide. It was also asked to check if the crops were covered under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

The suicide spurred protests in Berinag and Lohaghat towns on Saturday. Panchayat member Rekha Bhandari demanded that loans given to farmers be waived off in view of crop damage issues.
Just before the open flea market at the Palika Bazaar crossing and Block A of Connaught Place, if you walk through the small crowd, youll spot a foreigner sitting on a slightly raised platform. Ahead of him, is a spread of postcard sized photographs, placed in neat rows. And along with these, is a placard explaining what the man is up to!

Meet Kola  the man from Russia who is selling his photographs in Delhi to earn money, to be able to continue travelling in India .

My name Kola. Its long name Nikola and Indian name is Coca Cola, because people ask me whats my name and I say Kola, they say Coca Cola. I say yes, he says cheerfully. Im sorry but my English isnt good, he adds with a short laugh that makes him blush in embarrassment. With whatever little English he manages to speak, it can be understood that he has run out of money while on his exploration of the Indian subcontinent.

The playcard has his message written loud and clear. (Henna Rakheja/ HT Photo)

Its normal, no problem. I travel long time. I come back from Nepal. I sell photo for one week and make money. Next I visit Kashmir. I like Kashmir. Its top place in India, says the man who is a traveller at heart.

His thoughts on the sheer change in climate between his homeland (Russia) and Delhi? Its very hot, he says wiping sweat off his forehead, Thats why I go to Kashmir. Its not hot in Kashmir. I live in Siberia. Its too cold!

How much money has he made by selling his landscape photographs? Yesterday I made 1000. Today dont know Ill count when I go back to hostel. Hostel gives place to live. But I need money to eat and travel. I will manage, dont worry, he adds, on observing our concern.

I leave India June 22. My visa expire. So I want to go to Kashmir before that, he says.

Hope he makes it to Kashmir and back home to Russia safe!

Follow @htTweets for more

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The inaction of Delhi Police is forcing its constables recruited before 2006 to make a beeline before the Central Administrative Tribunal, to get their salary increased to make it on par with those who came into the force from 2006 onwards.

At the root of these mass litigations is a policy of the Delhi Police, which fixed the minimum entry pay for direct-recruit constables joining the force in or after 2006, up to Rs 1,900 more than the pay fixed for those recruited between 2000-06.

The decision affects about 4,000 constables, who are now forced to individually approach the tribunal to get their salaries corrected, said a source. If the salaries of all the 4,000 constables were to be fixed, it would have a yearly financial implication of about Rs 50 crore to the department, the source added.

The tribunal rules allow an association to approach it on behalf of all similarly placed workers, but as Delhi Police constables are not allowed to form an association or a union, they have not been able to do that.

Advocate Gyanant Kumar Singh, who has been successful in getting the salaries fixed for 47 constables from the tribunal, said that the indifference shown by Delhi Police towards its force working at the lowest level is forcing them to spend time, money and energy to get their rightful due.

Singh said he is now in the process of drafting the petition of about 50 more constables.

The constables have based their petition on a verdict by the tribunal last year, directing the Delhi Police to fix the salary of constable Babu Lal Mitharwal on par with those recruited after 2006. In compliance with the tribunals order, the Delhi Police, in September 2016, revised the salary of Mitharwal, making him earn more than his batchmates and even some seniors.

The denial of the benefit of minimum pay scale that had been granted to constable Babu Lal Mitharwal would be violative of the fundamental right to equality (under Article 14 of the Constitution) of applicants who are similarly placed, in so far as they were enlisted as constables before 2006, said a petition filed by one of the constables seeking similar relief.

Singh said that apart from clogging the justice delivery system, the authorities are acting in clear violation of various Supreme Court judgments by increasing the salary of only those constables who had approached the tribunal.

This is also in violation of several Supreme Court judgments holding that the department should not force employees to go for litigation to get their due, he said.

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Police on Saturday arrested a Delhi Police head constable for allegedly mowing down a 76-year-old woman, mother of a senior IAS officer, in Chanakyapuri on Thursday evening.

Chandra Bhan (43), who is posted in the security unit of Delhi Police was allegedly on his way to his residence in Humanyupur, when he hit Nirmal Devi, who had stepped out of her house for an evening walk around 6 pm. The grey WagonR hit her while taking a turn on Madhu Limaye Marg in Chanakyapuri.

Bhan allegedly fled the scene, leaving Devi bleeding profusely on the ground.

A few children who were playing in the area saw Devi bleeding and went to her house to inform her son, Arun Baroka, who is currently posted as joint secretary in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. He then rushed Devi to Primus Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries during treatment. He also made a PCR call and informed them about the accident.

A search for the car was started after a case was registered in the matter. Sources said that a woman who was around told investigators that the car that hit Devi was a grey WagonR. The police team then started searching for a damaged car in workshops in the area.

There was no CCTV footage available. So we started searching for the WagonR in workshops in the nearby areas. A team found the WagonR at a workshop in Pallika. It was damaged and had come to them on Friday. So we asked them to share the details of the owner and traced Bhan. When he was questioned, he confessed to the crime, a senior police officer said.

Bhan told the police that that the woman came in his way. He said he was not speeding but lost control over the vehicle when the woman came in his way. He said he got scared when he saw the woman bleeding and fled the spot. He has been arrested and a case of rash and negligent driving causing death has been registered against him, a police officer said.

A few days ago, a 24-year-old web designer died on his birthday after his scooter was hit by a speeding cab outside the Embassy of Hungary on Niti Marg.
The Delhi government is once again stepping up the heat on its bureaucracy.

Days after deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia demanded removal of the director of information and publicity (DIP) for not obeying his orders, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered initiation of proceedings against the public works department (PWD) head over dereliction of duty .

Apparently angry with PWD secretary Ashwini Kumars alleged lackadaisical attitude in completing desilting works ahead of monsoon, Kejriwal has written a stern letter to chief secretary MM Kutty, asking him to take action against Kumar and submit a report by Monday morning.

In the letter, accessed by HT, Kejriwal criticised the PWD chief for openly and brazenly violating his orders. The CM said he had received letters from the mayors of east and north Delhi municipal corporations, complaining about the poor condition of drains in their area.

Following this, the CM had directed the PWD secretary to personally visit the drains listed by the two corporations.

I had given specific instructions that PWD secretary should himself visit important drains to ensure their desilting. I am told that barring accompanying the PWD minister and some petition committee members, he has not visited any drain, Kejriwal wrote in his letter.

It is sad that he openly and brazenly violates the directions of the CM himself. He refuses to step out of his air-conditioned office even when the health of the entire population is at stake, he added.

The CM also directed Kutty to personally ensure that the PWD secretary visits all the drains listed by east and north Delhi mayors by this Sunday and ensure their desilting. Visits by juniors will not be accepted.

The CS should report on both the above points by 11 am on Monday, 19th June, Kejriwal wrote.

Kejriwals letter comes just days after the PWD had slapped a fine of Rs 28 lakh on the AAP for unauthorised occupation of a Rouse Avenue bungalow in DDU Marg, which was being used as the partys headquarters.

The party is liable to pay the penal rent/market rent for the period of unauthorised occupation. The due calculated upto 31.05.2017 amounts to Rs 27,73,802. The dues will further accrue up to the date the premise is finally vacated, PWDs notice to AAPs national secretary Pankaj Gupta read.

Earlier this week, Sisodia had written to lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, asking for the removal of DIP secretary Jayadev Sarangi. He said he did not understand the compulsions for not removing such an incompetent officer.

Sarangi was pulled up for not putting up hoardings related to vector-borne diseases and failing to arrange a Facebook Live event for Sisodia.

Inspection of drains

In a bid to expedite desilting works before the arrival of monsoon, members of the Petition Committee of the Delhi Assembly conducted surprise inspection of drains under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The committee headed by Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj found irregularities in works carried out by various agencies. Petition Committees joint inspection wid officers MCD & PWD where they blame each other.This is picture of drain thats 100% clean on papers, he tweeted.

Bhardwaj gave a second update saying, Every monsoon,MCD & PWD blame each other. Today we visited areas of South MCD. Monday is turn for East MCD, then North MCD on Tuesday.

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Jawaharlal Nehru University will offer a certificate course in Yoga Philosophy from the next academic session.

The course was approved by its academic council (AC) on Friday, a day ahead of the university starting a four-day event to mark the third International Yoga Day on June 21. JNU is organizing yoga workshops starting Saturday.

The one-year course will be of two semesters during which students will be taught about topics such as yoga in Bhagavad Gita, yoga for well being and yoga traditionpre-Patanjali and post-Patanjali.

The Certificate of Proficiency in Yoga Philosophy will be open to students of all age groups and there will be no minimum qualification required to apply for the course, said a top JNU official.

The course will be offered by the Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies.

Eight modules will be taught under the course. The yoga & ayurveda module will teach students about holistic health care. Under yoga in Bhagavad Gita, we will be teaching about gyaan yoga, bhakti yoga and karm yoga, Chintamani Mahapatra, JNU Rector said.

Another module on yoga for well being will teach students about how yoga can be used for the well being of individual, social and cosmic, he said.

The course has been in the past discussed in the AC but was sent back to the Sanskrit Centre with comments from other departments to improve it.

Meanwhile, the AC sent back a proposal of the School of Physical Sciences to start MSc in Mathematics after some centres said it should be circulated to all departments for feedback.

The proposal has been circulated to different centres for feedback after which a decision is taken. The proposal to start MSc Mathematics will be taken up in next AC after receiving the feedback, he said.

The AC also approved setting up of a Special Centre for Disaster Research.

Fridays council meeting saw a section of teachers and students accusing the administration and some faculty members of heckling them.

At the same time, the administration denied the allegations and accused the section of students and teachers of spreading misinformation on social media.

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For the fifth year running, Hublot is a sponsor and official timekeeper of the Bol dOr Mirabaud. This prestigious competition allows Hublot to demonstrate its attachment to its roots in Geneva and its love of sailing. Pitting skilled yachtsmen and women against each other, the winds, and themselves, the Bol dOr Mirabaud is a perfect reflection of the Hublot philosophy. As tradition dictates, the competitors will set sail from Port Noir in Geneva today at 10 a.m. They must then sail the 66.5 nautical miles  123 kilometres  journey from Port Noir to Bouveret and back again. No less than 100 volunteers and 20 boats from the Geneva Yacht Club will supervise over 500 single-hull and multihull sailing boats that are enrolled. Many international sailors will also be taking part in the event.



The thousands of spectators who always attend can watch the legendary start from the banks of Lake Geneva, where Hublot has created a pop-up store. For those who are sadly unable to attend, a live video and map showing the progress of the competitors is available on the website and the Bol dOr Mirabaud YouTube channel. Onboard cameras allow you to experience the competition as if you were there.

 Hublot

This wave of passion has also inspired Hublot to produce an exclusive timepiece that will only be produced in 79 editions  the Classic Fusion Chronograph Bol dOr Mirabaud 2017. Inspired by the marine universe, this chronograph made in Texalium and blue Ceramic perfectly suits this mythical trial of our region.

Sponsoring, timing, and an exclusive model: Hublot is committed to the Bol dOr Mirabaud on many levels. The third edition of the Classic Fusion Chronograph Bol Dor Mirabaud 2017 will be distributed to the winners of the Bol d'Or Challenge, the Bol de Vermeil and the ACVL-SRS Trophy.
If you have a dealer offering a brand new iPhone at half the price, do not fall for the trap. Delhi Polices Crime Branch has arrested four persons who allegedly cheated several unsuspecting buyers by selling them old stolen mobile phones that were passed them off as new after changing the motherboard and IMEI numbers.

The men not only fooled people but also Apple service centers as they succeeded in passing the stolen phones as genuine and got them exchanged for new phones under the warranty scheme. With the arrest the police have recovered 409 I phones, 18 I pads, 250 front displays of iPhones along with other accessories.

The police received an information about the men running an illegal Apple iPhone workshop at Mal Colony, Filmistan area in north Delhi and an Apple iPhone Store at Gaffar Market, Karol Bagh, where they allegedly refurbished old Apple iPhones.

According to the police, Muneer Khan, Anash Khan, Mohammad Hamza Khan and Mohammad Ibrahim imported motherboards of iPhones from China along with new valid IMEI numbers that they then embossed on plates of old phones. They then packaged those phones and sold them as new phone with attractive discounts online or at shops in Karol Bagh.

After receiving a stock of stolen phones, the men in the workshop used to burn the IMEI of those phones. They then procured motherboards of old mobile phones from China. Once they got the motherboards, they would emboss a valid IMEI number and package it nicely for sale. For some phones they used to approach the Apple iPhone service centers and complain of a defect in the device. With connivance of the staff at the center they would then exchange the stolen phones for new devices. They were not only fooling customers but also the company, joint commissioner of police, crime, Praveer Ranjan said.

The police official said the crime branch was monitoring certain inputs regarding change of IMEI of stolen mobile phone, when they were given a tip off about a gang running an illegal Apple iPhone workshop at Filmistan and a store at Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh. We conducted a raid at the workshop and found a number of new and old Apple iPhones, two laptops, computer spare parts and machine. We found Muneer Khan getting Apple iPhone assembled with the help of two boys and he was immediately nabbed. A bag with 12 different models of apple iPhones were recovered, DCP Crime, Bhisham Singh said.

During questioning, Muneer Khan revealed that he had purchased some mobile phones from China and some of them were stolen, the police said. He revealed that a laser machine was used to change IMEI of stolen mobile phones. While he stole some phones, others were replaced for new phones in connivance with staff of Apple iPhone service centers. After packing in new duplicate boxes with high quality accessories, they were selling these mobile phones in market as new ones without bill, Singh said.

HOW IT WORKED

The accused received stolen mobile phones from various sources. In their workshop, such phones were given the name of flight. After receiving the phones, the culprits used to throw the SIM tray and display was removed. At the second stage, the motherboard of phone containing inbuilt IMEI was removed and taken to China for destruction of evidence.

After the IMEI was burnt, they imported new motherboards and valid IMEI numbers from China.

The accused used Wechat App to obtain such IMEIs from China, which were under warranty and could be replaced from Apple Care Centers.

Once received the instrument was again assembled. The new SIM tray was then put and the new IMEI number was embossed using laser.

The arrested men told the police that they have a huge market in Hong Kong of old iPhones under warranty. These phones come to China, and from China the accused persons import these phones to India. Thereafter they get them replaced in connivance with Apple Store employees with new phones.

These new Apple iPhones are packed in duplicate boxes. Stickers, that are printed in their workshop showing new IMEI are pasted on the duplicate boxes. After complete packing these phones are sold online and at Gaffar market, Karol Bagh.

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Hospitals and polyclinics of the three Delhi municipal corporations have reported 34,039 cases of dog bites in the first five months of this year, according to a recent report. The figures till May 31 indicate that there are an average 225 cases of dog bites every day which is slightly higher than last years average of 223.

Despite crores allocated by the three municipalities to sterilise dogs, the cases of dog bites have remained unarrested over the years. In 2016, 81,491 cases of dog bites were reported by the three municipalities. A year before that, in 2015, the number was 78,681. During this period, the daily average also jumped from 215 to 233.

The actual figures, however, are expected to be even higher as these do not include the cases treated at private clinics or hospitals. Out of the 34,039 such cases reported so far in 2017, 21,979 have been in North MCD, 11,146 in East MCD and 893 in South MCD.

According to veterinary officials, controlling dog population through sterilisation is the only way out to reduce the dog bite cases. At the time of sterilising dogs, we give them anti-rabies shots as well, which helps in developing immunity against the disease, said Yoginder Singh Maan, spokesperson, North MCD.

A senior official from the veterinary department said that though there is no scientific evidence to prove that sterilisation controls dog bites, the canines become less ferocious after they are neutered. However, experts claim that the agencies have failed to take cognisance of other factors responsible for increasing dog bite cases.

Sonya Ghosh, founder of the Citizens for the Welfare and Protection of Animals, pointed out that the dog bite figures provided by the municipality do not specify the number of cases reported by pet dogs.

Pet dogs are also equally responsible for biting. A majority of pet dogs are not registered or immunised regularly and their biting can also lead to rabies. These dogs are tied in chains and kept in worst circumstances, which makes them aggressive. If the agencies keep a tap on such cases and punish their owners as per norms, then rest can learn a lesson, she said.

Ghosh said that illegal dog fights organised in various part of the city is another reason for increase in bite cases. Areas such as Jamia Nagar are notorious for these illegal dog fights. And despite bringing the issue in notice of authority nothing has happened, Ghosh said.

No dog census

Despite specific allocations for dog sterilisation programmes every year, the civic agencies have failed to produce a collective data of dog population in city.

Except for south MCD, which conducted a survey of stray dogs last year (1.89 lakh), north and east are still clueless about canine population in their areas. According to a conservative estimate, the numbers could be around 5.62 lakh.

A senior official from North Corporation said a dog census was not feasible due to financial constraints. There is no point of conducting dog census unless we cover both the reproduction cycles of female canines in a year. Also, the data for 2016 would be totally different from 2017. So if we want exact dog population, we need to engage staff throughout the year, which is financially impossible.

Lack of efforts

According to experts, neither the municipality nor the Delhi government agencies are seriously implementing the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001.

The rules hold the municipalities responsible for catching stray dogs (on their own or through NGOs) and sterilising them. It also defines the role of local bodies such as Delhi Society for Prevention of Cruelty against Animals in assisting the sterilisation programmes. But the agency is not doing anything, said Ghosh.

However, an official from DAPCA refused the claim.

Limited dog sterilisation centres

The three agencies have just 13 dog sterilisation centres  12 in South, one in North and none in East MCD.

To catch the dogs, they are mainly dependent on non-government organisations that charge Rs1,200 to Rs770 for sterilising the dogs. Also, the veterinary doctors barely participate in sterilisation programmes and rather sit at offices, said Sanjeev Kumar, an animal activist.

To this, MCD officials accept that there are certain grey areas which needed to work upon. We are in the process of developing eight more sterilisation centres such as Karampura, Rama Road, Mangolpuri etc. In east, project for developing centres at two community halls, said EDMC official.

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As Delhi University (DU) is set to release its cutoff list, finalising all admissions to the undergraduate programme, students would want to find out the quirky and interesting things about their colleges. Here are a couple of things weve put together for your.

Miranda House

The Mushroom Huts record a higher attendance than classes themselves, says Keziah Hangsing, a third-year BA (Hons) political science student, talking about the coffee centre just beside a mushroom shaped shed (boasting of the best frappe in DU). Mushroom is the most active point at Miranda House where students sit, chat, work, scream and do anything and everything. The huts are abuzz with student activity and are  in every sense  very happening, she says.

Think twice before you declare Mirandians the sole residents of their college hostel. Fun fact: The college is also known as the Cat Kingdom  and for good reason. The students and their feline counterparts co-exist harmoniously.

Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC)

Irfans place, a kiosk stationed near the boys hostel, is a hot spot. The menu boasts of diverse variations of the aloo bhujia. Multiple combos like bhujia patty, bhujia stuffed in omelette and bread are served, says Pulkit Chaudhary, a first-year BCom (Hons) student. That guy serves the most unorthodox of recipes and it actually tastes good, he adds.

For Tia Ozukum, another first-year BCom (Hons) student, the fact that SRCC offers only two UG courses viz BCom (Hons) and BA (Hons) Economics, is in fact a boon. Naturally, the students here are like-minded, especially in terms of career-orientation, he says.

Hindu College

If youre a political enthusiast, then Hindu College is the place to be. Shivani Shankar and Tanisha Dhariwal, both first-year BA (Hons) political science students, maintain that the students parliament serves as a training ground for aspiring politicians. There is intense political campaigning and actual contesting, says Shankar, who has witnessed audacious internal politics and acute polarisation between panels. However, implicit campaigning can at times be a bother. Some seniors approach us with a political agenda, feels Dhariwal. A few of them forge personal ties, only to exert their political influence later on, adds Shankar. Regardless, the experience is edifying.

Enough discussions on what this college has; lets shift our attention to what it doesnt have. PAM, abbreviation for Pizzas and More is a prominent student adda, which serves everything but - wait for it - pizzas. And yet, its more popular than the college canteen. PAM is love, declares Asra Siddiqui, another first-year BA (Hons) political science student. They serve the most exquisite hot dogs and spring rolls, apart from scrumptious burgers, she says.

St Stephens

At St Stephens, the prime hang out spots are the College Cafeteria and the Science Dhaba. Nimbu paani costs just Rs 8 for which we seldom receive change, so it actually costs Rs 10, says Jimmy Abraham, a first-year BA (Hons) economics student. But, hes not complaining as the pocket-friendly cafe makes survival in college easy. The Cafe Tree, located outside the Cafe, is another popular spot. It is often decorated to promote events organised by societies. The music society traditionally marches towards the tree through the college halls to promote their orientations, says Songayam Zimik, a third-year BA (Hons) English student.

The Science block is at a fair distance from the cafe and so the dhaba is essential for scientists looking to grab a quick bite in between classes, adds Abraham. The highlight, however, is the gazebo  a table surrounded by wooden stumps for seats. Unlike the Cafe, the dhaba is open till 10 pm, making it popular among resident scholars, says Samuel Davidson, a second-year BSc (Hons) mathematics student.

Ramjas College

DU is strictly a non-smoking zone, and the Sutta Lane is a shaded, cool area close to the college and is a great place to chill for smokers and non-smokers alike, says Recho Teron, a final-year MA English student. It is one of a kind spot and appeals to the students. Even more so as one seldom finds teachers here, he adds.

The author is an HT Campus Journalist, Batch of 2017
Just 63% in English? CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) Boards? Ab kyha hoga tumhara? Curiosity laced with generous doses of sympathy poured in from all quarters as I numbly stared at the computer screen looking at my Class 12 Board scores from Delhi Public School in Vasant Kunj. I had written a book in Class 11 titled Tiger Boys Dont Cry, a collection of short stories against animal abuse, had been the editor of the school magazine, columnist with an international pet care magazine. What had gone wrong?

Looks like her hi-fi English didnt pay off, was one comment. We told you! Improve your handwriting, was another one. My heart sank with every passing comment from friends, teachers, relatives, uncle and aunties of the colony and people who hadnt called me in years. Suddenly everyone developed a morbid interest in my life and the number of calls I received surpassed even the ones I got on my birthday! My future was doomed and the atmosphere at home definitely was as gloomy as a funeral house.

In the words of my classmate whose sentences in English sounded something like  I has been to market,I came on car ,I freezed and didnt knew where I will gets admission. Even he had scored a 79 and I couldnt look him in the eye for the longest while. I gave my paper for revaluation but, as expected, nothing happened.

I planned to pursue a bachelors in journalism and there was an entrance exam for the top five colleges in Delhi University (DU). However, they had a base criteria, 65% in English (Oh! The value of 2%)!

IIT,IAS,FRCS,MCH.I come from a family of super achievers with fancy degrees and, needless to say, great things were expected out of me. My self esteem was in tatters and I contemplated going abroad to an average journalism college to salvage the same.

However, instead of going into panic mode, I waited patiently and soon managed to get through to Gargi College. Then when the Jesus and Mary College second cut-offs were announced for political science honours I migrated to the latter. Not getting the desired course and college was a setback but I did not let that define me.

I worked on myself in the three years at JMC. I interned with TV channel CNBC under well known journalist Shereen Bhan, worked with HT City as an intern covering Page 3, continued to freelance as a writer, worked with local NGOs (It helps if you want to pursue your masters abroad), honed my skills as a speaker in the debating society in JMC and organised the college fest in my senior year. I used the three years to work on myself. I cleared another level of German from Max Mueller Bhavan. After graduation I did a masters in journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication,Delhi. A foundation course from the Indian Institute of Gem and Jewellery led to my own jewellery line.

Life has been pretty good, I have networked to seek work, which has led to Scoopwhoop videos, public service ads, ads for brands such as Nokia and Urban Clap, modelling for online clothing lines ,fashion shoots in national magazines such as Womens Era, Femina and Grihshobha. In fact, my first assignment was a shoot where I posed for my own jewellery line. They wanted certain pieces of jewellry for a shoot and chose me as the model.

I came to realise that in the larger scheme of things what matters is the effort one is willing to put into forging themselves.

So finally kya hua humara? I became the Jill of all trades, and master of some.

Long story short, I not only survived but thrived . You will too.

The author is a jewellery designer, model and writer.
Union minister of environment, forest and climate change Dr Harsh Vardhan and Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar urged people to plant two crore saplings within a year to protect the Aravallis.

They were speaking at an event to mark the World Day to Combat Desertification, at Bhondsi on Saturday.

The appeal by the two leaders follows a survey by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) which showed that 12 vegetation gaps have appeared in the Aravallis and pointed to its desertification.

Everyone should contribute to the environment and reduce carbon footprint. This will reduce global warming, which is a big concern globally, Dr Vardhan said.

Planting a sapling and taking care of it is not a huge responsibility at all, he added.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar emphasised on the need to create awareness about the Aravallis. He said that the Aravalli hills are under threat due to illegal mining, felling of trees and pressure from urbanisation. About 32% of the total land area in the country is affected by land degradation, which is a major concern, he said.

Read more: Aravallis could lose vegetation, become barren, says survey

The Aravalli range has a significant role in combating desertification as it is the oldest mountain fold in India and runs from Delhi to Rajasthan, Khattar said, adding that the plan is to revive the existing programmes and protect the forest area.

As many as 7,797 wardens and 7,800 volunteers will be deployed in forest areas to protect the Aravallis and spread awareness, Khattar said. Asked about the Mangarbani grove, he said that the area comes under protected zone and soon steps will be taken to protect it.

The state has less than 4% of forest cover and the government aims to increase this to 10% over the next three years.

However, environmental activists claim that isolated events, such as World Day to Combat Desertification, fail to address environmental issues. The government should keep all premission related to felling of trees, construction, real estate and change of land use, on hold till an order from Supreme Court clarifies the definition of forest areas in the state, said Chetan Agarwal, environmentalist.

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The Basai rail overbridge (ROB), built over the Rewari-Gurgaon-Delhi line as part of the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR), was finally inaugurated officially by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday.

The chief minister, who was in Gurgaon to inaugurate a university at Kankrola, inaugurated the ROB remotely from Kankrola. He also inaugurated a construction and demolition (C and D) waste treatment plant at Basai.

Travelling between Kherki Daula and Farrukhnagar will be easy now. Using the ROB will save us at least 30 minutes. It is a great development, said Rambir Singh of Narsinghpur, a commuter.

While the ROB had been ready for a while, it hadnt been officially inaugurated due to unavailability of the CM. Fed up with waiting for a formal launch, some commuters had already started using one side of the overbridge.

The 1.3-km ROB is part of the 18km Gurgaon portion of the NPR, also known as Dwarka Expressway. Of the 18km, the Haryana urban development authority (Huda) constructed 16.6km before handing over the project to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in October 2016.

The ROB, as part of the Dwarka Expressway, is connected to Pataudi, Farrukhnagar, Jhajjhar and Manesar. The traffic movement between these areas will get a boost now.

In his speech in Kankrola, the CM said, We hope the ROB brings relief to commuters and reduces travelling distance.

Huda administrator Yashpal Yadav said, The distance between New Palam Vihar and Kherki Daula is 9km, but in absence of the ROB, people took longer routes. The ROB has reduced distance and time taken to travel.

The ROB is also expected to help homebuyers of projects along the NPR as it would increase connectivity to their area.

In sectors 81 to 115 (between Kherki Daula and New Palam Vihar) several residential and commercial projects are coming up, but they have all been delayed due to poor infrastructure. The ROB has now raised the hopes of homebuyers like us. Now, we hope NPRs remaining portion too gets completed at earliest, said Prakhar Sahay, member, Dwarka Expressway Welfare Association.

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Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has returned Marlon Brandos best actor Oscar statuette to the US government as part of an investigation into the money laundering by a state-owned Malaysian investment fund.

DiCaprio received Brandos Oscar and other artefacts as his 38th birthday gift in 2012 from business associates at Red Granite Pictures, which also funded his film Wolf of Wall Street.

The 42-year-old actor has voluntarily handed over the Oscar statuette and other expensive gifts amid investigation into a $3.5-billion money-laundering scheme.

Authorities from the US Department of Justice suspect that Red Granite co-founder Riza Aziz may have helped his stepfather, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, embezzle $4.5 billion from a political development scheme, reported the Los Angeles Times.

The misappropriated funds were used to form the production company that funded the Martin Scorsese-directed movie, about a corrupt stockbroker.

The laundered money was used to fund a lavish lifestyle, including purchases of artwork and jewellery, the acquisition of luxury real estate and luxury yachts, the payment of gambling expenses, and the hiring of musicians and celebrities to attend parties.

The multi-million-dollar artworks in question include a Picasso painting, a photograph by Diane Arbus and a Jean- Michel Basquiat collage, which were supposedly gifted to DiCaprio by Jho Low, Red Granites purported financier.

The actor had accepted the art with the intention of auctioning off the pieces to raise money for his charitable foundation, his spokesperson said.

DiCaprio has already given the art and the Oscar to US authorities, the spokesperson added.

And though there are no plans at this time for DiCaprio to forfeit the money he received for his work on The Wolf of Wall Street, his spokesperson noted that the actor intends to offer the return of any gifts or donations under speculation with the aid and instruction of the government.

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Actor-filmmaker Elizabeth Banks, who condemned Steven Spielberg for lack of female leads in his movies, has apologised to the filmmaker.

Banks received flak on social media for the remarks, which she made when accepting Women in Films Excellence in Film Award on June 13, reports aceshowbiz.com.

I went to Indiana Jones and Jaws and every movie Steven Spielberg ever made, and by the way, hes never made a movie with a female lead, she said in her speech, before adding: Sorry, Steven. I dont mean to call your a** out but its true.

A post shared by Elizabeth Banks (@elizabethbanks) on Jun 15, 2017 at 2:42pm PDT

The quote went viral on Twitter, with many people pointing out that Banks seemed to forget that Spielberg directed 1985s iconic female-driven film The Color Purple.

On Thursday, the Pitch Perfect star and director issued a lengthy apology statement through an Instagram and Twitter post.

I messed up. When referring to Steven Spielberg at the Women in Film awards, I framed my comments about his films inaccurately. I want to be clear from the start that I take full responsibility for what I said and Im sorry, Banks wrote in the statement.

When I made the comments, I was thinking of recent films Steven directed, it was not my intention to dismiss the import of the iconic The Color Purple, she continued.

I made things worse by giving the impression that I was dismissing Shari Belafonte when she attempted to correct me. I spoke with Shari backstage and she was kind enough to forgive me. Those who have the privilege and honour of directing and producing films should be held to account for our mistakes, whether its about diversity or inaccurate statements. Im very sorry.

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With no water flowing in it, the half km long Yamuna Bridge at the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border, at Kairana, Shamli district, UP is uniting Hindus and Muslims in a common cause. Baba Giri, the mahant at the Shri Chinta Haran Mahadev Sanyaas Ashram on the river bank, says the Muslims arrange water tankers, so that pilgrims can at least get to do jal tilak on the banks of the Yamuna during important festivals such as Purnima.

Baba Giri is appalled by the loss of aquatic life, the stinking river bed, the lack of drinking water for animals or bathing water for pilgrims. He claims that every year on Dussehra at least one lakh pilgrims take a dip in the river, and the weekly mela attracts thousands of visitors from nearby villages. But with no water to bathe, the pilgrims are returning without the customary holy dip. The word is spreading that the Yamuna has dried at Kairana -- the pilgrims are dwindling and so are the offerings at the ashram.

Every year on Dussehra, one lakh pilgrims used to take a dip in the Yamuna at Kairana, says the mahant of an ashram here. But the river has dried. The Mallahs, who are Muslims, arrange for water tankers so that pilgrims can at least do a jal tilak on occasions such as Purnima. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

As the Yamuna is devoid of flowing water, the Mallahs are feeling the pinch in UP and Haryana. Known to be some of the best divers in the trade, their children made pocket money by diving for coins in the river that the Hindu pilgrims dropped during their holy dip. However, even this opportunity is shrinking, along with the shrinking Yamuna!

Baba Giri asks why there is no water in the Yamuna which used to flow round the year, even during the lean season. And why, suddenly, during the monsoon, so much water flows in the river that it completely destroys the areas habitation.

Baba Giris concerns are valid. After monitoring government efforts to clean the Yamuna for over two decades, the Supreme Court in April entrusted the task to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The bench expressed concern over the condition of Yamuna despite the efforts of the last 23 years.

Life by the Yamuna

Meanwhile, at the Yamuna bank in Kairana, Intezar Mallah is watching his prized cultivation of watermelons shrinking and dying by the day. Primarily Muslims, the Mallahs of UP and Haryana grow watermelons, cucumbers, bottle-gourd and muskmelon by the river bank. They do not own any land but take stretches of riverbank on lease from the panchayat for cultivation.

Intezar Mallah might lose his entire produce, which in a normal season would have fetched him Rs 25,000 per acre. Teary eyed, Mallah says he doesnt know how to repay the loan he had taken from the money lender to lease land on the river bank. With the Yamuna drying, Mallah has seen many from his community migrate from the bank of Yamuna to the Ganga in the hope of better cultivation.

The Mallahs lease land on the river bank from the Panchayat to grow watermelons, cucumber, bottle-gourd and muskmelon. But with the river drying, the Mallahs are in danger of losing their crops. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

For over 500 years, the Mallah communitys lives have revolved around rivers and the course of the river has decided their livelihood. When the rivers were flourishing waterways, the Mallahs did the work of traditional boatmen ferrying people. With waterway navigation shrinking, the Mallahs took to fishing, but as the fishing contracts were sold to the highest bidders by the government, the Mallahs were reduced to farming watermelons, cucumbers, bottle-gourd and muskmelon by the river bank. The watermelon and muskmelon grown at Yamuna banks are believed to have a unique flavour and are sold in the mandi as Yamuna kinare ke tarbuz.

The move to Ganga

Resident of Ramda village, Mustkeem Mallah says that migration from his village started in 2002, as the Yamuna started drying, and has peaked now. He says that 25 villages in UP and 20 in Haryana are completely dependent on the Yamuna: Inki rozi, aur beti, dono Yamuna pe nirbhar hai (Their daughters marriages and livelihood are dependent on the river). Mustkeem says that from Ramda village alone, 400 families have migrated to Bijnor, Asifabad, Shukratal (UP), and Laksar (Uttarakhand). Mustkeem claims that Yamuna at Kairana is purposely being dried to facilitate illegal sand mining and 20,000 Mallah households are affected by the drying of the Yamuna across states.

As HT traveled through the villages near the Yamuna in UPs Kairana block, locked homes were visible village after village.

Since the Yamuna started drying, many Mallahs have begun migrating to the banks of the Ganga for eight months to grow their crops there. They return home with the onset of the monsoons. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

Perhaps the biggest casualty of these locked homes are the children who migrate along with their families for cultivation from the banks of Yamuna to the banks of Ganga from December to July. In Asifabad, Meerut district, near the banks of the Ganga, children can be seen around the riverbank, assisting in farming. Living out of makeshift straw-thatched huts with plastic sheets on top and a few bare belongings, their day begins and ends in the vast riverbank. They dont go to school, as their families live on the riverbank for eight months. And they return to their native village for just four months, after selling the produce. Only to go back to the banks of Ganga for the next season in December.

The cost of migration

MD Shamshad who migrated along with his four children, from Ramda to Asifabad, says that 115 families from Ramda village have migrated to Asifabad alone. The distance is 150 km and he has managed to bring along his tractor.

Mallahs from the affected areas of Haryana and UP migrate to Bijnor, Asifabad, Shukratal (UP), and Laksar (Uttarakhand). Since Namami Ganga is getting a big push from the government, and the religious sanctity associated with the Ganga and the Allahabad Sangam, they claim that Ganga at least has some water.

On the Ganga bank, the Mallahs live in makeshift straw huts covered with plastic on the top. The cost of relocation eats into the profits earned from selling what they grow. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

Shamshad says migrating is the only option to feed their children. Since the Yamuna dried, the riverbank has become hot and the pre requisite for the cultivation is a cool riverbank. At home, we used to make Rs 25,000 per acre on a watermelon plantation, now the margins have shrunk considerably since we are staying away from home. Not only do we waste money in building our makeshift homes, and relocating, we also deprive our children of education. Which school will take them for eight and four months?

Vasid Khan started migrating to Asifabad from Karnal, Haryana, as the Yamuna started drying in Karnal from 2010. Khan says he was informed by relatives that the Ganga had water, and thats why he started coming to its banks. Every year, he spends Rs 30,000 to set up the makeshift home. With the onset of monsoons and overflow in the river, the makeshift hut gets washed away and he has to go back to his native village with his bare possessions, including the radio that keeps them entertained after sunset.

The periodic migration affects the education of the Mallah children. Which school will give them admission for with months and four months? Most end up working on the farms with their parents. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

Wheres all the water gone?

The Mahants and Mallahs say that if the Yamuna flows, it will take care of all their woes. Though so much money has been spent on rejuvenating the river, they have only seen the river shrink every year. Lucrative commercial contracts  from sand mining (legal and illegal), dams and hydro power projects, to building cleaning infrastructure such as Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), which underperform -- are killing the river, aquatic life and their livelihood, they say.

No one is really concerned about the river; they are only making money through it, says Baba Giri.

While mining, dams, hydro power projects are extracting life from the river, building bigger and bigger STP infrastructure seems to be the only solution that the successive Yamuna Action Plans have to clean and infuse life in the river. Yamuna Action Plans (YAP), a pollution abatement effort primarily in Haryana, UP and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi cost the exchequer dear. YAP 1 Rs 682 crores, YAP II Rs 624 crore, YAP III estimated at Rs 1656 crore. And there is more in store. The 2031 Sewage Master Plan for Delhi estimates Rs 19,500 crore to build sewage assets in the NCT alone. While launching schemes of YAP III, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti acknowledged that despite spending over Rs 1500 crore on Yamuna, the desired results could not be achieved.

Restricting the flow

Manoj Misra, of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, an NGO fighting for preservation of the Yamuna says that unless the critical issue of flow (aviralta) is addressed, no amount of money spent in creation of waste water treatment infrastructure is going to revive our rivers. Massive structures inhibiting flow, encroachments in the flood plains, loss of vegetation, huge extraction of sand and aquatic life, pollution from agriculture, industry and sewage are killing the river; however the only solution we have so far, is building STPs.

Misra saya that the Yamuna flows for 1,376 km, but after its first 180 odd km, it ceases to exist. Water in Delhi is not Yamuna, it is sewage water Yamuna dies 250 km before Delhi. At the Hathni Kund barrage, Haryana, all the water is diverted to the Western and Eastern Yamuna canal and 160 cusec is allowed to flow in the name of minimum ecological flow. Since 1993 we have been chasing the wrong objective of cleaning, whereas the core solution lies in the flow. If the flow is allowed, more than 70 per cent nirmalta will be automatically addressed says Misra.

Manu Bhatnagar, Principal Director, Natural Heritage Division, INTACH, avers that the Yamuna would benefit if more fresh water was left in it. A river needs both clean water and adequate flow to support its biodiversity, to recharge floodplains and aquifers.

River revival

The Mahants and Mallahs question is: why is the river not allowed to flow? They hint at a big construction lobby working hand in glove with the system, coming in the way of the rivers flow. Six barrages and 17 odd hydro power projects have been built on the river. And more are in the works. Water activist Bhim Singh Rawat says that the river is facing several threats due to the hydro and dam projects being pushed through despite the High Courts living Ganga Yamuna orders. The Uttarakhand High Court in March declared the Ganga and Yamuna as living entities, bestowing on them same legal rights as a person. Ministry of Water Resources is in hurry to build Renuka dam on Giri River (Yamunas tributary), Lakhwar dam on Yamuna River and Kishau dam on Tons river. The under-construction 120 MW hydro project at Vikas Nagar Dehradun is playing havoc with the river. Dakpathar Barrage in Dehradun on Yamuna, Asan Barrage on Asan river in Dehradun, Hathini Kund Barrage at Yamuna Nahar Haryana have turned the mighty river into a seasonal stream. Despite this, the UP government and the Centre are pushing for another barrage at Agra.

Down the drain? Massive structures inhibiting flow, encroachments in the flood plains, loss of vegetation, massive extraction of sand and aquatic life, pollution from agriculture, industry and sewage are choking the river. However, the only attempt at finding a solution has been to build STPs which have not been able to infuse life in the Yamuna Rs 682 crores was spent in the Yamuna Action Plan I launched in 1993 Rs 624 crore was spent in the Yamuna Action Plan II launched in 2004 Rs 1,656 crore is the estimated cost for the Yamuna Action Plan III launched in 2012

The dead fish at Kairana are testimony to the shrinking ecological inventory of the Yamuna, and the livelihoods dependent on her. Environmentalists say that when the water flow is stopped at barrages and hydro power projects, no real cost benefit analysis is ever done, as the environmental cost is never taken into consideration. Environmentalist Bharat Jhunjhunwalas economic assessment of Kotlibhel 1B hydropower project in Uttarakhnad points out how the project is a loss-making proposition. As per his analysis the benefits from generation of power, and employment were Rs 155.5 crore whereas the cost on environment, livelihood, health etc was Rs 798.7 crore. Since environmental cost cannot be monetized, it is negligible in the project reports of dams and hydro power projects. Fishermens lost income and aesthetic value is not accounted for.

The course ahead

Activists say that no one seems to be really questioning if so many projects are really needed. Himanshu Thakkar, of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, gives the example of Renuka Dam. Delhi does not need water from Renuka Dam, the Delhi government has said so in as many words but Renuka is supposed to be only for Delhi! The existing dams on Yamuna are anyway performing far from optimally.

Thakkar says while the whole emphasis has been on money, infrastructure, technology, no attempt has been made to address the governance of the sector or the institutions. No attempt has been made to achieve participatory, transparent, accountable governance. Do we know why untreated pollutants from industry and sewage flown into the river? Why STPs dont work.

For the record, 2008 data shows that out of the 512.4 MGD capacity of sewage treatment in and around Delhi, 383.62 MGD was actually being treated. And Delhi has perhaps the highest sewage treatment capacity compared to any other city of India.

Thakkar affirms that the failure of the highest judiciary also needs to be highlighted. The Supreme Court has been handling the Yamuna cleaning case for over 23 years, but the rivers state has only worsened in the period, the SC could achieve nothing. And finally it passed the case to NGT this April!

Amidst the blame game, the Mallahs are hoping that the flow in the Yamuna will be restored and they will be able to have a normal life and a future for their children. Mustkeem Mallah says out of 25,000 Mallahs in Shamli district, only one person has a job, four are graduates, 10 have passed high school, four post graduates and with 80 per cent of the Mallahs temporarily migrating for eight months because of the Yamuna drying, he is hoping that the river and their future will revive together, someday
The Aam Aadmi Partys top leadership is in a Catch-22 situation over Gujarat.

A bad performance in the upcoming assembly elections would dent its image nationally, but withdrawing from the race entirely would mean further erosion of its volunteer base in India and support from overseas, which began dwindling after the defeat in Punjab and Goa polls.

Unable to decide on how many seats to contest in Gujarat, the party leadership has referred the decision to its highest decision making body, the Political Affairs Committee, state in charge Gopal Rai said. The PAC will take the final call. No date has been fixed for the meeting.

Rai was among the party leaders who met national convener Arvind Kejriwal on June 7 to take a final decision. But the four-hour long meeting remained inconclusive.

There are sharp divisions in the party over whether to contest the election or not and if yes, how many seats to fight on. The differences remain after the meeting, a senior leader who was present at the meeting, said.

An internal report submitted by the state unit to Kejriwal says that it may not be a strong contender in more than a handful of seats, sources in AAP Gujarat told HT.

Read more: AAP set to shelve grand Gujarat poll plan, redraw national strategy

Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state  where the Bharatiya Janata Party has ruled since 1998  goes to the polls late this year. AAP had announced grand plans in 2016 to put up a fight in all 182 seats. It wanted to emerge as a national alternative to the BJP by 2019 by performing well in Gujarat but the plan itself was contingent upon a stellar performance in Punjab and winning seats in Goa. On both counts, AAP fell short and saw party volunteers leaving even in Delhi that the party has considered its citadel since it bagged 67 of the 70 assembly seats in 2015.

The central leadership does not want to be seen as losing in the state and is ready to give up on the Gujarat project to consolidate its position in Delhi and Punjab. A loss in Gujarat will lower the morale elsewhere. The big states for us next are Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, a senior leader said.

Sources said Kejriwal is keen on contesting seats where the party is strong. A top leader in the state, however, said, If you choose a few seats, how will we convince the volunteers on other seats who have been working equally hard?

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A number of opponents of the Egyptian-Saudi Red Sea island deal, which transfers sovereignty over the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, held small protests in some cities on Friday against the recently approved deal, according to various media reports.

In Cairo, two dozen protesters held a short march in downtown Cairo but were quickly dispersed by security forces and some participants were arrested, the Popular Socialist Coalition Political Party, which opposes the deal, said on its Facebook page.

On Wednesday, a majority of MPs in Egypt's 596-strong parliament approved the deal in a show of hands vote after three days of heated debate.

Following Friday prayers, a number of opponents of the deal, including former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, attempted to gather for a protest outside Mostafa Mahmoud Mosque in Mohandessin, Cairo, but were preemptively dispersed by security forces.

In Alexandria, police arrested eight individuals who attempted to hold a protest against the deal outside El-Kaed Ibrahim Mosque, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper. The paper added that two dozen supporters of the deal held a gathering outside the mosque to back the government, without incident.

Authorities shut down downtown Cairos Sadat metro station in Tahrir Square on Friday, citing security concerns.

The interior ministry had said on Friday morning that police would intensify presence on the streets to guard against illegal protests or any potential riots.

The government has maintained that the islands have always belonged to Saudi Arabia, and were only placed under Egypt's control because Riyadh asked Cairo to protect them in 1950.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told MPs that the government approved the deal only after a national committee, which has worked on the issue for six years, reached the conclusion that there was no legal foundation for Egypt's possession of the islands.

Anonymous calls for marches into Tahrir Square on Friday afternoon circulated on social media outlets in the past two days, following parliament's approval of the deal.

The rights campaign Freedom for the Brave said on Friday that at least 60 opponents of the deal were arrested in small protests or from homes in the last few days.

Prosecutors have ordered the release on bail of some of those arrested in recent days, while others still face investigation into illegal protesting.

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Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government over the ongoing farmers agitations in different parts of the country, while addressing farmers in the capital on Saturday.

Announcing an agitation by AAP to demand debt waivers and a white paper from the Centre on the farm crisis, Kejriwal said the government should hold a special session of Parliament on the issue. Neither the soldier nor the farmer is happy under the BJP, he said.

The BJP has stabbed farmers in the back by seeking their votes on the manifesto promise that they will implement the Swaminathan commission report. But later, submitting an affidavit in the Supreme Court, they said it is not feasible, Kejriwal said, addressing a convention of farmers from 20 states.

Beginning July 15, the party will organise agitations in 20 states culminating with a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on October 2.

People used to think the Congress government is for the rich so they voted the BJP to power. But both have the same character. They take votes from the farmers and money from the rich, Kejriwal said.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday expressed unhappiness over the behaviour of his TDPs parliamentarian JC Diwakar Reddy, who created a ruckus at the Visakhapatnam airport.

On a visit to Anantapur, the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Diwakar Reddy, Naidu, who is also the Telugu Desam Partys president, said his behaviour brought a bad name to the party.

According to TDP sources, Naidu, during a meeting with the TDP leaders of Anantapur district on Saturday, said leaders in public life should exercise restraint.

However, he did not say what action the party would to take against Diwakar Reddy, whose behaviour also caused embarrassment to civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, another a TDP MP.

Reddy had shouted at IndiGo officials, tried to throw a printer on the floor and pushed a senior airline official after he was denied a boarding pass for reporting late for his flight from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad.

The 73-year-old Lok Sabha member, however, later flew by the same flight as he had reportedly sought intervention of Raju, who was present at the airport. He told the minister that he had been at the airport for an hour but was denied boarding pass.

Raju denied helping the MP and clarified that he had only asked the airport director to look into the matter by examining CCTV footage.

The minister hinted that Reddy lied to him as the CCTV footage showed he arrived late.

IndiGo barred Reddy from flying on its flights. Other domestic airlines also banned him.

While the debate continued over his unruly behaviour, the MP left on a vacation abroad with his family. His brother JC Prabhakar Reddy confirmed that he left on Friday night. He, however, did not disclose the destination or the international airline he flew by.
Maintaining that the army has a very good human rights record, army chief General Bipin Rawat said on Saturday the incident of a Kashmiri man being used as a human shield against stone pelters was circumstances-based and could not be made a standard operating procedure to deal with such situations.

He said misinformation and disinformation was being spread among the people of Jammu and Kashmir, compelling the younger generation to pick up arms against the security forces.

Commenting on Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied the man to a jeep purportedly as a shield against stone pelters, Rawat said, Everything and every action that we take is considering the nature of task that we are expected to carry out under the circumstances.

But we are concerned about human rights and we make sure rights of people are not violated, he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

Rawat was in the city as the chief guest at the combined graduation parade, marking the completion of the pre-commissioning training of Indian Air Force flight cadets at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal.

When asked whether it (human shield incident) could be made a standard operating procedure (SOP), the Army chief said, No...it is not...What I am saying is it is not considered...I said it depends on the circumstances. It is circumstances-based. Each one takes action based on the circumstances, but the effort is to make sure that human rights violations are not there.

On handling the situation in Kashmir wherein some school children were also seen to be part of the mob hurling stones at the security forces, Rawat said the Army follows very stringent rules of engagement in the Valley.

They have been trained to handle such situations and when they find that there are children and women, who are coming in the front, they deal with them accordingly and harsh measures are never used. We are an Army which believes very strongly in human rights and we have a very good human rights record. We know how to deal with children and women under such circumstances, he said.

When asked about some cases of even locals and minors picking up arms and attacking the Army and security personnel, Rawat said, There is some misinformation and disinformation which is being spread among the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which is causing this trouble and possibly, I would say, compelling some of the younger generation to pick up arms.

But, I am quite confident that they will soon understand that any (such) thing that they are doing is not good for their own state and for the people, he said.

All that the armed forces and other security forces want is peace and tranquillity in the Valley, Rawat said, adding the security forces were doing a great job in bringing the Kashmir situation under control.

He said the Jammu and Kashmir situation should not be looked from the perspective of what was being projected and that the security forces were taking necessary action in the Valley.

You should not look at the Jammu and Kashmir situation from the perspective of what is being projected. Let me tell you the security forces and all other agencies are doing a great job to bring the situation under control, he said.

Some parts of South Kashmir are indeed troublesome, but necessary actions are being taken to ensure that the situation there is fully brought under control. Therefore, I think there should not be any cause for worry for anyone, he said.

We all are looking at bringing peace and tranquillity and I am quite sure that some of the young people, who should be having books and computers in their hands and preparing for exams for entering the IITs and IIMs, will soon be brought on the right side of the fence and they will themselves understand that they were not choosing the right path, the General said.

Rawat said he was quite confident that the situation would be brought under control.

On frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan, he said, Ceasefire violations take place with a purpose and we have to counter it.

When asked how Army viewed political comments against it, he said, Armed forces do their work and task. We do not care about other things.

Asked if the situation was deteriorating in the Valley with each passing day, Rawat said, ..well, not really. We are there to make sure the situation is brought under control. Therefore, I think at the present juncture we have to continue with the task in the manner in which we are carrying on.

The Indian armed forces belong to the people. We are the peoples armed forces. Therefore, the Army is for the people. We have been called upon to do a particular task by the Government of India. Because they do feel that there is a requirement for the Army to be there. Therefore, we are there, he said.

Earlier in his address after reviewing the parade, Rawat said the defence forces in India have an impeccable track record.

Today we command respect in all walks of life and that is because we have always successfully served the nation against external threats, internal disorders, during natural calamities or in rescue missions. Internationally also, we have been praised for our professionalism, courage and patience during deployments for United Nations-sponsored peace keeping missions in the most difficult and volatile places in the world, he said.

He said the defence forces are required to be always alert in view of the myriad external security challenges and law and order situation in a few states.

The advancement in globalisation and technology is changing the way wars are being fought. Moreover, these technologies are not only available to our adversaries, but also available to non-state actors too, he said.

Stating that integrity was the foundation of military profession, the Army chief said, Without it, we may lose the trust of the society. In case the society does not trust its defence forces, it will be difficult for the nation to maintain its military and protect itself. In this context, integrity includes honesty, truthfulness, reliability, impartiality, sincerity and courage.

The Army chief conferred the Presidents Commission to 120 graduating trainees of various branches, including 25 women trainees.
It was around 11 in the morning on Thursday when I reached the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) office at Singamari, about 2.5 km from Darjeeling. Hundreds of party supporters from nearby areas had gathered for a march to Patlaybas, about 3 km downhill which houses the office of GJM president Bimal Gurung.

The GJMs agitation had intensified over the past week, starting as a protest over alleged imposition of Bengali in schools and later scaled up to revive the old demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.

Violence had been raging in Bengals hills since June 8 and angry protesters were torching government buildings and vehicles across the picturesque region, a semi-autonomous administrative set-up called the Gorkha Territorial Council.

But there was no loss of lives. Till Thursday.

It was stones and bottles versus lathis, tear gas shells and guns in Darjeeling on Saturday. (Bikram Sashanker/HT )

As the protesters gathered, police set up barricades to stop them. Armed security personnel, including CRPF and RAF, were ready on the other side of the barricades.

The agitated GJM supporters were shouting pro-Gorkhaland slogans.

The clashes broke out soon after, as stones began raining down on the forces. Then there were bottles.

The police retaliated with tear gas shells, and when the crowd dispersed, they started wielding the sticks.

A tear gas shell landed near me. My eyes were stinging from the fumes. I was in a group of reporters, photographers and journalists covering the unrest.

But as the agitators were advancing menacingly, we knocked at the door of a nearby house, and even as a woman opened the gate, we barged in without even asking for her permission.

We went inside a room, put our phones on silent mode and kept quiet. We could hear the sounds of the the battle raging outside. We could also hear sounds of gunfire.

Soldiers patrol near a burning vehicle after clashes with supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in Darjeeling on Saturday. (AFP)

We later heard how the GJM supporters, who were in an advantageous spot, targeted security forces with missiles relentlessly from a higher level. The security personnel were forced to fall back, though they kept on firing tea gas shells.

The sight of forces retreating encouraged the agitators to torch a police vehicle parked near the Singamari outpost.

The situation soon went out of control and the forces retreated. I saw some women police personnel crying.

We could come out of the house only after army personnel reached the spot. The GJM claimed four supporters were killed in police firing.

Blood, it appears, is flowing again in the hills; which would have been otherwise buzzing with tourists savouring the serenity of one of Indias most popular hill stations.

(The writer is a photojournalist based in Siliguri)
The tiger population in Assam has increased noticeably from last census but Indias smallest and relatively lesser-known Orang National Park could displace heavyweight Kaziranga National Park as the reserve with the highest tiger density.

Kaziranga had highest tiger density (12.72 per 100 sq km) followed by Corbett in Uttarakhand (11) and Bandipur in Karnataka (10.28) in the 2014 census of the big cat population.

But the latest round of tiger estimation carried out in January to March 2017 could displace Kaziranga from the top slot.

The census has revealed Kaziranga has an estimated 102 tigers  the range is 96-117  within a core area of 484 sq km, one more than last time in 2014.

Preliminary reports say the 500 sq km Manas National Park and the 79 sq km Orang recorded the presence of 30 and 28 tigers, which is an increase of 16 and four tigers respectively over the last census.

Kaziranga had the highest tiger density (12.72 per 100 sq km) in India last time. The park should be able to maintain the record, Kazirangas field director Rohini Saikia told HT.

But Sunnydeo Choudhary, the field director of Orang, said the national park would be able to vie for the habitat with the worlds highest density of tigers.

Going by preliminary estimates, Orangs tiger density is 35.44 tigers per 100 sq km. Once that is confirmed by NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) and the Wildlife Institute of India, Orang will have a different kind of global distinction, he said.

Read more: Tiger translocation plan for Rajaji ready

Officials in Manas, which straddles India and Bhutan, said the tiger population estimated could be less than the actual number. One of the reasons is the tigers move in and out of Bhutan.

We believe the actual figure would be more, as tigers have a tendency of hiding their cubs that often escape camera traps, Manass field director HK Sarma said.

In Madhya Pradesh, the state forest department estimates rise of 5-7% in tiger population. According to additional principal chief conservator of forests, R P Singh, there has been an increase of about 7% in the tiger population in Madhya Pradesh compared to 2014, when the state had 300 tigers. The neighbouring Rajasthan known for beautiful tiger habitat could see 15-20% increase in numbers as a new reserve Mukundra Hills has been added to existing two --- Ranthambore and Sariska for the striped cats.

Uttarakhand forest officials also estimate the tiger numbers to increase but say the figure will be known only in the next fortnight.

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People at Kaithadove, a nondescript tribal village in northeast Bihar, are happy that they will no more have to lose sleep over fear of cattle theft. A Class 12 student from the village in Purnia district, 368 kms north east of Patna, has given them hope that a safety rope, designed by him, will soon protect their cattleheads from pilferage.

Jabal Tudu and Matal Hansda, two of the villagers whose cattleheads were stolen in the last two years, said they were keen to install the device. Cattle theft is rampant in the region and a safety device like this was much needed to check the menace, they said.

Rajesh Hansda, 17, who has designed the safety rope, is also optimistic that the device will keep the cattle thieves at bay.

I have seen my villagers suffer after their cattle were stolen. Two buffalos and three cows, belonging to my family were stolen on one night. Tears in the eyes of my father and uncle after the incident prompted me to design the cattle safety rope, said the Class 12 student of ML Arya College, Kasba, 11 kms north of Purnia.

READ| Cows to get Aadhaar-like tags with details of horn, tail: Govts proposal to SC

Son on Bisho Hansda, 45, and Sonamani Devi, 40, Rajesh Hansda said the safety rope, which needed a 12 volt battery to operate, had an insulated copper or aluminum wire, a relay (electrically operated switch) and a diode (a semiconductor device with two terminals allowing the flow of current in one direction only) fitted in it.

When the circuit is complete, it is linked to an alarm. As soon as the wire, used for tying a cattlehead, is cut or broken, it sets the alarm bell ringing, Rajesh Hansda said, adding that the device was not expensive. You only need to purchase the battery, he said.

The model of the safety rope was first displayed by him at a science exhibition in the district in 2014 when he was a high school student at Dhamdaha, 33 kms south west of Purnia, said Rajesh Hansda, while thanking his school teacher for helping him with the project.

READ| Mob lynches two suspected cow thieves in Assam

The device would not have taken shape had my high school teacher Santosh Kumar not guided me, he added.

The model was highly appreciated at the 5th National Level Exhibition and Project Competition 2015, organised under the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) award scheme by the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, at IIT-Delhi in December, 2015, he said.

Rajesh Hansda also got a chance to visit Japan on May 27 under an exchange programme along with 56 others whose models were selected at the competition. He returned from Japan on June 4.

READ| BSF finds tunnel in north Bengal used to smuggle cattle to Bangladesh

A report prepared by the Kishanganj office of Border Security Force (BSF) said about one lakh cattleheads were either smuggled to Bangladesh or sold to hundreds of slaughterhouses in Seemanchal, comprising Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria districts, every year. About 25,000 cattleheads were seized only in 2015 and most of them were stolen, the report added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttarakhand is looking at ancient Hindu religious texts to find a replacement for the ceremonial robe introduced by the British for college graduation ceremonies.

The black robe-and-cap attire has been a subject of debate since a long time with many denouncing it as a relic of Indias colonial past and has gained currency since the BJP-led government assumed power at the Centre in 2014.

Uttarakhands higher education minster Dhan Singh Rawat said the government was in touch with experts to find out the attire people wore during academic convocations in ancient India.

We are finding out about the dresses that were sported in Takshila, he told HT on Saturday, referring to one of the earliest known universities dating back to 1000 BCE. Takshila is situated in present-day Rawalpindi in Pakistan.

Moreover, in the Skanda Purana, there is a mention of an acharyakulam (school based on Vedic education) in Uttarakhand. It would be interesting to know what ceremonial dresses were in fashion in those times, he added. The Skanda Purana is one of the earliest Vedic religious texts.

He said the government will form a form a committee that would give suggestions on a suitable dress for convocations.

The state governments move came days after chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat refused to wear the ceremonial robe during the convocation of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Dehradun.

The CMs refusal had stunned dignitaries including Rawat, Union human resource development minister minister Prakash Jawedkar and governor KK Paul, who had donned the ceremonial dress.

In a series of tweets, the CM asked people to suggest whether the traditional pichoda (womens dress) and payjama-kurta, jacket and cap (mens dress) could be a substitute.

I also made it a point to not wear academical dress traditionally worn during convocation- i feel we need to have our own indic dress! (sic), Rawat tweeted on Saturday.

Though the education minister said the state will lead by example on the issue, Uttarakhand is not the first to implement such an idea.

Earlier this year, another BJP-ruled state Madhya Pradesh said it will introduce a Bhartiya Paridhan  Indian dress -- for convocations of universities of the state.

This week, students of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur also attended their graduation ceremony in ethnic Indian wear.

The debate over the convocation robe started in 2010 when former environment minister Jairam Ramesh shrugged off the dress in a convocation ceremony of IIFM in Bhopal, terming it as a barbaric colonial practice.

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Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said his party will continue its struggle for the farmers in Madhya Pradesh till their problems are resolved.

Scindia, who is the Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha, wrapped up his 72-hour Satyagraha in the Dhar district.

State government should not heave a sign of relief that the Congress Satyagraha in support of farmers demand is over now, he said addressing a gathering while ending his Satyagraha at Khalghat area.

This fight has not ended yet. The 72-hour Satyagraha begun from Bhopal will reach all the assembly constituencies of the state. Congress will keep the torch, which was lit by farmers in Mandsaur, burning, Scindia added.

He demanded that the officials responsible for killing five farmers at Mandsaur should be booked, tried and punished as soon as possible.

Scindia also demanded that over 300 farmers arrested during the cultivators protest be released immediately and Swaminathan Commissions report be implemented.

Senior Congress senior leader Kamal Nath said the situation has come to such a pass in the state that 10,000 industries have been closed.

10,000 industries have been shut down in the state during the 13-year BJP rule, the MP from Chhindwara said.

Nath, a former Union minister, also claimed that no industrialist wants to invest in MP.

MP Congress chief Arun Yadav said if Congress wins the next years MP assembly polls, the party will waive all the loans of the farmers.

Later, several Congressmen courted arrest and were released at the venue of the Satyagraha.

Meanwhile, Scindia reached Mandsaur on Saturday night to console the kin of the five farmers killed in police firing on June 6 and another cultivator who died in violence during the peasants stir.

After entering Mandsaur, Scindia along with former Mandsaur MP Meenakshi Natrajan straightaway went to the deceased farmer Ghanshyam Dhakads house at Badavan village.

Scindia told Dhakads kin that Congress and he stand with them.

Scindia said he wanted to meet them earlier and claimed that he wasnt allowed to enter the district.

Locals had alleged that Dhakad was beaten up by policemen.

Madhya Pradesh had witnessed a major farmers protest in the past fortnight.
For the second successive time this week miscreants struck at the dead of the night to vandalise and ablaze government properties around Darjeeling as the demand for a separate state continued to roil the hill station.

On Saturday around 1 am, suspected Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters set fire to Goke II gram panchayat office under Bijanbari block about 25 km away from Darjeeling. The first floor of the building was completely gutted.

The attack came after a relative quiet day in the hills.

Local Trinamool leaders told HT that on Friday night Morcha supporters set up roadblocks on two roads that connect Gok with Darjeeling.

On Saturday morning, GJM protesters have planned to take out a Dandi march on the lines of the one that Mahatma Gandhi undertook in 1930. The rallies are supposed to start from different points of Darjeeling and converge at the GJM office at Patlaybas that the police raided on Thursday.

Police are unlikely to allow the protest rallies because the situation is already tense.

Most GJM leaders are still in hiding to evade arrest.

On Saturday morning the hills remained completely shutdown, the third day of the indefinite bandh called by the GJM after the police raided their office on Thursday.

Read more: Darjeeling crisis: Centre refuses to send additional troops till Mamata govt sends report

Binay Tamang, assistant secretary of GJM said that on the intervening might of Friday-Saturday, police arrested Vikram Rai, who worked as the media executive of the semi-autonomous body Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). He is the son of Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai.

Tamang also accused the police of vandalizing his own house at Bloomfield near Darjeeling district police headquarters.

On Thursday night, miscreants had tried to destroy a number of establishments including a toy train station, an electricity supply office and even a health centre attached to state-owned Ramam hydel power station at Lodhama, 70 km away from Darjeeling.

Violent protesters also set fire to Ghayabari railway station of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a World Heritage item popularly known as the toy train, but local people managed to douse the fire, officials said. The station is 31 km from Siliguri.

Miscreants also set fire to a panchayat building in Mirik around 2 am on Friday. Incidentally, Trinamool won the civic polls in Mirik last month.

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Violent protests for statehood convulsed Darjeeling on Saturday as a security personnel was stabbed and local leaders claimed police firing killed two workers in clashes.

Local sources said Kiran Tamang, an India Reserve Battalion officer, was stabbed in the back with a traditional Gorkha knife as security forces struggled to contain thousands-strong mobs that torched police vehicles and ransacked government property, shouting anti-government slogans.

Five years you enjoyed, now when elections are coming you start violence because you have lost credibility, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata, hitting out at the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha that is leading the demonstrations. She denied all deaths in the clashes and said Tamang was critical.

CM @MamataOfficial says Asst Commander of IRB seriously injured & not killed (as reported earlier) in clash with GJM activists in Darjeeling  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 17, 2017

But GJM assistant secretary Binay Tamang alleged that two supporters were gunned down by the police . Additional director general of police (law and order) Anuj Sharma denied police had shot at protesters but local television footage showed forces firing bullets in the air.

We want judicial inquiry into the firing. Police did not fire rubber bullets or water cannons. They opened fire using .303 bullets. Are we the enemies of India? Tamang told reporters.

The elections to the autonomous Gorkha Territorial Administration  controlled by the GJM  are due before August.

Thousands of tourists have fled Darjeeling  known as the queen of the hills  since clashes broke out on June 8 between the GJM and the government forces. The hill parties  led by the BJP ally GJM -- have come together to press for a 100-year-old demand to separate Gorkhaland from the plains of West Bengal, a claim bitterly opposed by Banerjee.

These are the first reports of deaths in the protests as violence spirals in the hills following a police raid on the office of GJM chief Bimal Gurung, who is in hiding. Experts fear the bloodshed might lurch Darjeeling back to the unrest of the 80s, when hundreds of people died as the state government brutally suppressed the movement. An autonomous hill council with special administrative powers was set up as a compromise but is riddled with allegations of corruption and government stalling projects.

The government has signaled it wont bow down before the GJM but is facing an unprecedented crisis just weeks after the Trinamool Congress made history by registering its first victory in a hill municipality when it won Mirik.

Violence has spiralled in the hills after a police raid on the office of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung, who is in hiding. (Bikram Sashanker/HT photo)

On Saturday, scenes across Darjeeling and nearby Ghoom resembled a battlefield with charred buses, police vehicles and scores of stones and mangled bottles strewn across the road. There were bloodstains on the road on Lebong Cart Road opposite St Josephs College.

Police fired tear gas shells and caned GJM supporters who started throwing stones at them. A large number of women GJM workers also came out on the streets to protest. The GJM supporters had the advantage of knowledge of the local terrain and lanes through which moved and caught the security forces by surprise.

Morcha supporters are exploiting the locational advantage and attacking the police. It is unfortunate. We hope to resist the vandalism in the hills with the people, Darjeeling district Trinamool president Goutam Deb, who is also the tourism minister of the state, told the media.

Meanwhile, Bikram Rai, the GTA media cell employee and son of Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai, who was arrested from his residence last night, was released on Saturday.

In Kolkata, the state government called all the heads of the 17 development boards for the different hill communities and Terai and Dooars for a meeting this afternoon. The development boards were set up by the Mamata Banerjee government created between 2013 and 2017 but are battling graft charges.

GJM leaders have alleged that the prupose of setting up these boards was only to weaken the GJM in the hills and the Gorkhaland movement by dividing the hill communities.

(With ANI inputs)

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Adel Al-Jubeir said Friday that Saudi Arabia, Egypt and two other Arab states that broke ties with Doha would present a list of grievances against Qatar soon

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Friday that his country, Egypt and two other Arab states that broke ties with Doha were drawing up a list of "grievances," and would present them soon, warning that Qatar could not fund extremism and remain on good terms with neighboring states.

The minister, Adel al-Jubeir, told journalists in London that Qatar should respond to demands to halt its support for "extremism and terrorism" which, he said, were being made by the whole world and not just Gulf states.

Four Arab states - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt - severed diplomatic relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and Iran - charges that Doha has denied. The UAE has also decided to blacklist Qatari individuals and entities.

The political crisis in the Gulf prompted U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to announce on Friday that he was cancelling his planned trip next week to attend an Organization of American States meeting in Mexico to instead remain in Washington to work on reducing diplomatic strains.

Tillerson "will continue his efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region through in-person meetings and phone conversations with Gulf and regional leaders," the U.S. State Department said in a statement. It also said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan would attend the OAS meeting.

Jubeir said the list being compiled by the four Arab countries were not "demands," but "a list of grievances that need to be addressed and that the Qataris need to fix."

"We are working on those with our Bahraini, Emirati and Egyptian partners in order to compile this list and present it to the Qataris, and I think it will be done fairly soon."

Calling Doha an "ally" in the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jubeir said there was no intention of harming the Qatari people.

"Enough is enough, and our Qatari brothers cannot continue to fund extremism and terrorize and incite and use hostile media and interfere with the affairs of other countries and still remain in good standing," he said, adding he expected a positive response that would move the region to a "better place."

Jubeir did not detail what demands could be made.

But his comments echoed those of the UAE's ambassador to the United States, who said on Tuesday the list would broadly address three areas of support for terrorism, meddling in the internal affairs of the four Arab states and attacks through Qatari-owned media platforms.

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For Rahul Roy, an engineering student from Delhi, the last leg of a holiday in the Queen of the Hills, had been reduced to a frantic wait for a vehicle that could take him and his friends to Siliguri, the nearest town in the plains 80km away.

Life in the hill town has been hit by turbulence ever since Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) started agitating in support of a Gorkhaland state. And, this has thrown travel plans out of gear for not only tourists but local people as well. Since the situation appeared to be moving towards a stalemate, at least for the time being, thousands of tourists have been asked to leave Darjeeling and surrounding areas. Police and paramilitary forces are escorting them to safer zones.

However, those who could not be evacuated till Friday are in a fix. Neither these tourists nor the administration handling the situation know when all the visitors can safely make it to Siliguri. The uncertainly was escalated by Saturdays violence. Rahul and his friends reached Darjeeling six days ago. They have been desperately trying to move out ever since trouble started.

Read more | GJM has connections with underground insurgent groups, unrest in Darjeeling a deep-rooted conspiracy: Mamata Banerjee

We tried to leave immediately after the bandh was announced. We waited for vehicles for more than seven hours. Hundreds of tourists who were already in queues outside the traffic police office near motor stand could make it in a few buses arranged by the district administration. We were not so lucky, he said.

Talking to HT on Saturday, Rahul said, Till yesterday we had some hope of escaping because the administration was providing vehicles. But now the situation has got worse.

Rajen Sundas, the regional transport officer overseeing the evacuation, said: We could not send even a single bus or a single tourist to Siliguri on Saturday. Whereas, on Thursday and Friday, about 3,500 tourists were taken to Siliguri.

Requesting anonymity, a senior police officer said: We cannot take the risk of evacuating tourists in our vehicles because nobody can predict what will happen on the way. A government bus, too, was set on fire at Damaigaon near Paglajhora, Kurseong on Thursday.

Read more | I urge people to prepare for final battle for Gorkhaland: Bimal Gurung

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Industry chamber Assocham on Saturday demanded postponing GST implementation, saying that taxpayers will find it difficult to comply with the provisions of the new indirect tax regime as the IT network is not yet ready.

In a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Assocham said existing assessees have not yet migrated to the GSTN portal due to reasons like non-familiarity with IT tools as well as registration process.

It said that during the current phase of GST migration for existing assessees, the server was constantly under maintenance.

This raises huge question as to whether the IT infrastructure has been appropriately tested. It also raises questions as to whether this system can survive in the GST era when it had undergone maintenance during the second phase of migration when the traffic was restricted only to migration, Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

There are at present about 80 lakh excise, service tax and VAT assessees, of which 64.35 lakh have already migrated to the portal of GST Network -- the company readying the IT backbone for GST regime.

Migration window, which closed on June 15, will again open on June 25.

There were reports of traders complaining of glitches in the GSTN software for migration.

The industry chamber said that since the online return forms prepared by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) will be ready only by end-June, there would be no tie left for the dry run with the revised IT software.

This being the status of preparedness of the GSTN, the taxpayers would find it very difficult to comply with GST requirements from July 1, 2017... We believe that industry deserves some more time and assistance to get prepared for GST implementation, Assocham said.

The GST is scheduled to be rolled out from July 1 and tax rates have already been fixed for almost all goods and services.

The GST Council, chaired by Jaitley and comprising state finance ministers, will meet tomorrow to finalise rules on e- way bill and anti-profiteering provisions as well as review rates on certain items.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis grand gesture of demonetisation has proved to be one of the most disruptive experiments in recent economic history and it brought Indias cash-dependent economy to a standstill, according to a report published in a top US magazine today.

The report in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs magazine said demonetisation made little sense economically even as it proved enduringly popular.

This (demonetisation) has proved to be one of the most disruptive experiments in recent economic history, and one from which Modis administration now risks learning all the wrong lessons, wrote author James Crabtree.

A senior visiting research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy NUS in Singapore, Crabtree who is currently on sabbatical from his previous position at the Financial Times, has been highly critical of demonetisation policy.

So far Modis economic achievements are real, but his record on delivering growth-enhancing reforms, especially those that risk upsetting the public, is mixed, Crabtree wrote.

Although his grand gesture of demonetisation made little sense economically, it has proved enduringly popular, and it appears to have made only a minor dent in the GDP. As he approaches 2019, it is not hard to see the lesson that he might learn, he wrote.

The fact that demonetisation has been bad for short-term growth is no longer in doubt. Last week, India released GDP figures for the first quarter of 2017, the period when Modis demonetisation had its largest impact, he wrote.

The fact that demonetisation has been bad for short-term growth is no longer in doubt.

According to the report, hundreds of millions of Indians were forced to line up at cash machines and bank counters to replace their old 500-rupee and 1000-rupee notes which made up about nine-tenths of the value of all currency in circulation.

The crunch hit the poor particularly hard, and brought swaths of commercial activity in Indias cash-dependent economy, and especially in its large semi-legal gray market, to a standstill, Crabtree said.

Modi announced the biggest-ever demonetisation exercise India has ever seen on November 8.
Arambam Angabam Singh is willing to take a wide-angled view of history, and make allowances for lapses in memory, but only up to a point. An engineer by training, and a dedicated history buff for more than 10 years, he has been scouring the Manipuri countryside for relics of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima (1944), a turning point in World War II, fought between the British and the Japanese (along with Subhas Chandra Boses Indian National Army) in northeastern India. Singh now has a museum to build.

He and his team have found scores of rifles, artillery shells and grenades lobbed by the British at the Japanese and vice-versa. They have also found war witnesses such as Yangmaso Shishak, 80. But the biscuit-and-Bose stories of Shishak have been difficult to digest.

Yangmaso Shishak, then a student, was a witness to the Battle of Shangshak, 1944, in Ukhrul district, Manipur. But some of his stories are full of fancy. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

In 44, Shishak, then a student, had been a runner carrying letters from camp to camp for the British on top of a hill near Imphal. When the British retreated and the Japanese overran his village, he ran errands for them too. Iwaichi Fujiwara, one of the top Japanese intelligence officers, Shishak says, fed him biscuits. Shishak says he also stood next to Subhash Bose on a hill as Bose looked through the binoculars towards Imphal  crying.

Really?

Boses INA had reached Manipur, but not Bose, says Singh, steering the conversation with Shishak back to that part of the story where the old man stays on the side of facts. When the museum to commemorate the Battle of Imphal (see box) finally comes up, with sections on participating soldiers and war witnesses, not all of Shishaks accounts will be included.

Further background checks will have to be done when the museum  a civilian initiative awaiting some clearances from the central government and funds from Japans Nippon Foundation  comes up on Imphals Tiddim Road. We are, however, sitting with Shishak on top of a hill in Ukhrul district, outside Imphal. Tiddim Road is to its north-east.

Faultlines

Daytime in Ukhrul is straight out of a tourist brochure: men lounge outside roadside inns; women sell berries and chips from behind shop-counters; tractors turn slowly on rice fields. The Assam Rifles regiment, a paramilitary force born in the belly of the British Empire, still patrols the area, underlining the difference between night and day. At night there are more patrols, say locals. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is in place in Manipur since 1980.

(Second from right) Angabam Singh, co-founder of a foundation of history buffs in Manipur. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

But Ukhrul is Thuingaleng Muivah territory. A leader of one of the more powerful factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, Muivah is a Tangkhul Naga from Manipur. Meitis, Kukis and Nagas of Manipur have been locked in conflict for years. Angabam Singh, a Meiti, hopes when the museum comes up it will remind them of a time when they fought together, not each other.

Subedar Ninglam Tangkhul, 90, a Naga, fought in the Battle of Kohima. I was given 200 rounds of ammunition, a rifle and a water can. The British told us to fight, we fought. Years later when he battled Naga insurgents fighting for a separate nation, as part of the Indian army, he seemed to have applied the same rationale. Im a soldier. In a situation where Im likely to be killed, I will kill, says the retired Subedar. The north-easts ethnic conflicts intensified post World War II with various ethnic groups contesting joining the Indian nation.

Chaoba, the caretaker of the memorial Manipuris built in the memory of fallen Japanese soldiers at Red Hill on Tiddim Road. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Nagas, Kukis (people of the Hill) and Meitis (the Valley people), however, participated in the war in no small measure. At the INA memorial in Moirang, the gallery lists at least 20 of them. Some of them went on to have successful political careers: Moirembam Singh (latter-day Congressman and Manipur CM); Laiphrakpam Sanaba Singh, who later became a follower of Irabot Singh, one of the founder leaders of the Communist Party of India in Manipur; Hemam Nilamanisingh, who turned Congressman after being returning home after his release from a Burma jail. This is Indias forgotten war. Weve to revive the story, says Santosh Shekhar, Singhs counterpart in the Manipur Tourism Forum, joint partners of the museum initiative.

Shekhars father, a Malayali, landed in Imphal following his brother, an Armyman posted in the Northeast. His mother is Manipuri. All the worlds soldiers seemed to have converged here at some point, says Shekhar with a laugh. The Japanese lost around 30,000 soldiers here during World War II and they havent forgotten it, he adds. Shishaks Fujiwara, the main liaison man between Bose and the Japanese army top brass, even wrote a book after the war where he anointed himself Lawrence of Arabia of Southeast Asia.

World War II veteran 90 years old subedar AS Ninglam Tangkhul. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

In the Battle of Imphal, Manipuris fought on both sides. With the British and the Japanese. Henkholun Vaipei, a Kuki, 92, who joined up as a rifleman with the 3rd Assam Rifles of the British army, says he heard the Japanese appealing to Manipuris in their language to join them over loudspeakers; but he didnt do so. Desertion was an option he did not exercise, he says, as the times were confusing.

An ordinary soldier like Vaipei went to battle against the Japanese because he was asked to, without any stakes. At the end of it he had a character certificate. It said his character and his musketry were good. I went without water for days. I couldnt move my tongue. The war taught me to fight. And it taught me to stay alive, says Vaipei, now a farmer.

Side effects

The Manipuris dream of being an independent people (Manipur was conquered by the British in the 1890s and merged with India in 1949) with a new post-colonial destiny was virtually finished by the time World War II was over.

The monarchy had been humiliated into obedience, Manipuri generals hanged in the time of the British. Manipuri youth even today hardly know their history, says Sam Tonsingh (name changed on request), a retired scribe whose relative was one of the front-ranking leaders of the United National Liberation Front, one of Manipurs oldest insurgent groups. After accession to India, the history books that Manipuri children grew up reading were full of Rajputs, Aibaks, Tughlaqs and other stories about mainstream India.

The Japanese corner with photos of Japan officers, including Fujiwara, in the makeshift museum at Arambam Singhs home in Imphal. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Integration with India in Manipur, is, however, not a done deal. The conflict is still talked of behind closed rooms. Youngsters who point to the growing number of Audis or brightly-painted stand-alone restaurants on Imphal streets still give no straight answer to whether separatism is dead or alive. The Battle of Imphal, which Manipuris call the Japanese War, in such circumstances, seems a neutral terrain on which many Manipuris appear ready to build a new history of reconciliation  with its own divided ethnic groups and with mainland India.

There is no problem in being with India. I mean we dont think about it, says Singh while going on to add that anyone who is 70 plus now and was in the British army and then the Indian army, has fought in the Battle of Imphal. Air Marshal Arjan Singh [the only Indian Air Force officer promoted to a rank equal to a Field Marshal] flew Spitfires around our skies.

Japanese enthusiasm to remember the Battle of Imphal has also provided tourism professionals like Singh with opportunities. We were surprised by their interest  for the 70th anniversary day function, the Japanese ambassador was the first to confirm his participation, says Shekhar.

At least 15 Japanese (veterans, soldiers children, academics) visit Manipur every month to re-connect with their personal histories or individual quests. Singh and Rajeshwar Yumnam, his co-founder at 2nd World War Imphal Campaign Foundation, are the go-to guys for all sorts of war-related projects these days. Even bone collection!

Relic-hunting also has its funny moments. The first time the group came across a hand grenade was on top of a hill in 2014. We were terrified, says team member Jayanta Luwangcha, a swimmer and a telecom professional. We threw ourselves on the ground and threw stones at it. And waited. The outer part of these things are rusted but the TNT is still alive. We even had a stretcher ready. Collecting relics across the state also gave them an opportunity to understand that there could be multiple narratives about the war.

Japan love

The Battle of Imphal wrecked local economies and lives. Trees were burnt, bridges blasted, people died. The number of Manipuris who died in that battle is still unclear. For the British we were just a buffer state between them and Burma. There is not much documentation about us, says Shekhar.

In the 60s, Maibamlotpaching, a little village in Manipur, near the proposed museum site, decided to make history on its own terms. Or lets put it this way: its people just have a very big heart.

Henkholun Vaipei, a Kuki, joined up as a rifleman with the 3rd Assam Rifles during the Battle of Imphal. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Henkholun Vaipeis Burma Star. The Burma Star is a military campaign medal given the UK to its soldiers who served in the Second World War, especifically in the Burma Campaign from 1941 to 1945. The Battle of Imphal is considered tobe part of the Burma Campaign. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

The Japanese had been aggressors but had the British been any different? We had seen death at close quarters. There were bodies of Japanese soldiers everywhere and no one to take care of them. They were far from home... We decided to honour the dead. We cremated them and built a memorial, says Gourmohan, a local, who began the initiative. Veterans of the 33 Japanese Division returned to this village and erected the pillars. A Japanese professor teaching in Imphal paid for the fence.

Everyone loves a success story. Should nation-states not embrace, or at least acknowledge their failures and miss-steps, people who arent on the right side of the story, people with whom they go to battle? The price of forgetting ones own history has always been steep.

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Ranchi:

Principal of a government school in Jharkhands Pakur district was arrested on Saturday on charges of hurting religious sentiments by cooking beef at the institute, police said.

Her aide, one Birju Hansda, who ostensibly supplied the bovine meat to her at the school, too was arrested.

They were later sent to the jail after being produced to the chief judicial magistrates court.

The meat was sent to lab to ascertain whether it was cow, oxen or buffalo meat, said Pakur deputy commissioner Dilip Kumar Jha.

It was not mutton for sure, he added.

The action was taken against the principal Rosa Hansda based on complaints lodged by students on Friday.

She was accused of cooking the meat at the schools kitchen where mid-day meals for students are cooked.

After receiving complaints from students, the DC had sent a team of circle officer and cops to the school at Malpahadi, about 400 kilometer from capital Ranchi, to look into the allegation.

Prima facie, the team found students allegations to be true, the DC said.

Earlier this month, an FIR was lodged against Jamshedpur-based college professor Jeetrai Hansda for proposing to host a beef party in his Facebook post.

Jharkhand government had introduced the Prevention of Cow Slaughter Ordinance in 2005, which was later made an Act. It carries a penalty of Rs 5,000 and imprisonment of up to five years or both for offenders.

The states present Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government on April 7 imposed a ban on illegal abattoirs, a move seen as an effort to cut down on cow slaughter and beef trade.

Frequent protests by far-right Hindu groups demanding a complete ban on beef, coupled with raids conducted by cow vigilantes have caused unrest in several parts of the state, especially Dhanbad and Giridih.

The meat was not meant for the students. It was for her personal consumption, Pakur superintendent of police Shailendra Barnwal said.

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The bodies of three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants killed in an encounter with security forces were recovered from Arwani area of Bijbehara on Saturday.

LeT district commander Junaid Matoo, who made headlines by attacking a police van and killing three policemen last year, was among those slain. Acting on a tip-off, police and CRPF personnel had launched an operation to flush out militants from Makro Mohalla on Friday morning.

A shootout ensued, and several civilians were caught in the crossfire. Although they were rushed to the hospital, two succumbed to their injuries. The deceased were identified as Ehsan Ahmad, a teenager from Shamsipora village in Kulgam district, and 22-year-old Muhammad Ashraf.

Confirming the two deaths, DGP SP Vaid said: Security forces have no choice but to retaliate when militants fire at them. Whosoever comes near the encounter site can be hit by bullets.

Police also confirmed that the three Lashkar militants, including Matoo, were killed in the operation.

Matoo was involved in a number of anti-establishment activities in the Valley, including the killing of a police constable at Bogund in Kulgam district on June 15. He had also masterminded an attack on a party of security personnel at Mirbazar, which culminated in the death of police officer Mehmood.

Besides, the LeT commander  who carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head  was responsible for killing two policemen near Anantnag bus stand last year.

The other two militants  Nasir Wani and Adil Mushtaq Mir  were new to militancy, having joined the terror group last year. Police also recovered arms and ammunition, including AK rifles and grenades, from the site.

Brains behind retaliatory attack identified

In an apparent retaliation to the Arwani encounter, as many as 12 militants ambushed a police party on the outskirts of Anantnag district later on Friday  killing six policemen. The victims were travelling in a police jeep on the Anantnag-Achabal road when the incident occurred. Police have identified LeT district commander (Anantnag) Bashir Ahmad Wani as the brains behind the attack.

A reward of Rs 10 lakh has been announced for anybody providing information on Wani and his fellow-militants.

This was the second major attack to be carried out on a police party over the last two months. Militants had attacked a police party at Phambai in South Kashmir on May 28, killing five policemen and two bank guards.

Restrictions imposed in Kashmir

Meanwhile, authorities imposed restrictions in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir as separatists called for a shutdown on Saturday. Srinagar district magistrate Farooq Ahmad Lone said curfew was clamped in Rainawari, Khanyar, Nowhatta, MR Gunj and Safa Kadal areas to maintain law and order.

While trains running between Baramulla and Bannihal towns were halted, the Kashmir University postponed its examinations scheduled for Saturday. Commercial activities and public transport services were also suspended.

A clampdown on mobile Internet services is already in effect across the Valley, and cellphone services have been altogether scrapped in certain areas of South Kashmir.

New Hizbul video surfaces

A new video of Hizbul Mujahideens new operational commander, Yasin Yatoo, had surfaced just hours before the policemen were attacked in Anantnag. He lauded Kashmiri civilians for their sustained protests against the government, and warned of more attacks on security forces in the days to come.

In a reference to former outfit head Zakir Musa, Yatoo dismissed reports of differences between militant outfits as misinformation planted by Indian agencies.

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Under attack from the opposition for shelving the promise of dialogue with the separatists, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti told the Assembly on Saturday that there was no other way but talks for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Dialogue has always been part of our agenda and manifesto, whether it was in 2002 or today. Several wars have been fought but the issue has not been resolved. You cannot resolve issues with guns or armies.

We have to unite to get this (resolving the issue) done. Our people are dying, life along the border is disturbed and poor people on both sides are dying, she said while taking part in a discussion on obituary references for notable leaders who passed away between the two sessions of the state Assembly.

The Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly met in Srinagar on Saturday for a special session on the implementation of GST in the state, but decided to adjourn the House indefinitely till an all-party panel, formed to look into the new tax regime, submitted its report.

Mehbooba said while India was surging ahead of its neighbouring countries due to democracy, the strangulation of this very idea in Kashmir had led to the deteriorating situation in the Valley over the years.

It is democracy which has kept the nation alive and helped it move ahead of its neighbours. In our state, the main reason behind the bloodshed we are witnessing is that democracy was not allowed to take roots here. It was rejected and strangulated, she said.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief said it was only in a democracy like India that people could put their divergent views out in the public domain.

(Independent MLA) Engineer Rashid is talking big here and he can do it. We will not see this anywhere else. There is no tolerance for such things (in other countries), she added.

Stressing on the need for dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, she said whatever happened in the past should not come in the way of efforts to resolve the issue through talks.

Those who used to talk about drowning the separatists in the Jhelum and killing all the militants when the then prime minister A B Vajpayee mooted a Ramzan ceasefire, are calling for a dialogue today. This means, things are changing slowly, said the chief minister.

Responding to the allegation of state terrorism levelled by the opposition, the National Conference (NC) and the Congress, she said if it was true, 12-year-old kids would not be pelting stones near the encounter sites.

Somebody was talking about state terrorism. There was a time when people used to run away from the encounter sites due to the fear of being used as human shields. Some people had even lost their lives in this manner (due to being used as human shields). That is state terrorism.

If there was state terrorism today, then 12 and 14- year-olds would not pelt stones (at the security forces) at the encounter sites, Mehbooba said.

Highlighting the importance of dialogue in resolving issues, the chief minister, however, hinted at Pakistan not reciprocating the gestures of the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(Former prime minister) Manmohan Singh wanted to visit his hometown in Pakistan but could not do so. Modi went to Pakistan, but then the Pathankot (terror attack) incident happened, she said.

Earlier, NC leader Mohammad Shafi Uri urged the government to stop the state terrorism and killing of innocents to pave a way for dialogue.

I appeal to the central and state governments to open the doors for dialogue to put an end to the atmosphere of state terror as it cannot solve the issues. It only complicates them further, he said while initiating the proceedings on the obituary references in the Assembly.

Uri accused the Jammu and Kashmir government of imposing state terrorism and said words were not enough to condemn it.

He said the statements coming from the leaders of the central government indicated that they were trying to resolve the Kashmir issue through administrative measures, which will have dangerous implications.

I am surprised that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said a durable solution to the Kashmir problem would be found soon. How can he do that when the doors for dialogue have been closed. Look at the world history. Internal resistance movements have always been resolved by dialogue.

Talks have been going on with the Nagas. They come from Burma (Myanmar), hold talks and go back. Democracy demands that the doors for dialogue should never be closed, he said.

Congress leader G M Saroori lashed out at the Centre and the state for the incessant bloodletting and deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The dance of death has entered the schools and colleges. Security forces personnel are getting killed. Pellet guns are being used on the students. You (the PDP-BJP government in the state) have no right to remain in power, he said.

Referring to the Centres stand on triple talaq and beef ban, the Congress leader claimed that the PDP had no dignity left by continuing in the coalition government with the BJP.

You have no dignity left by continuing in the government which is being run by the Bajrang Dal and RSS, he said.

The other leaders who spoke on the obituary references included Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, BJP leader Sat Sharma, CPI(M) MLA M Y Tarigami, Independent legislators Hakeem Mohammad Yasin and Sheikh Abdul Rashid.
BJP Kerala unit president Kummanam Rajasekharans ride with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of the Kochi Metro on Saturday triggered a controversy, with a state minister alleging it was a security breach.

In a Facebook post, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the security lapses which occurred in the Prime Ministers official programme should be investigated.

He questioned the logic behind allowing Rajasekharan, who is not even a panchayat ward member, to travel with Modi.

Surendran said this happened when even local MLA P T Thomas was not allowed to share stage with the Prime Minister for the inaugural function.

Rajasekharan was seen seated next to Governor P Sathasivam when Modi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu in their maiden ride.

Hitting back at Surendran, BJP state General Secretary K Surendran said it was the Prime Ministers Office which had included Rajasekharan in the journey.

The PMO takes decision on matters like who will attend the Prime Ministers function and the state minister need not worry about his protection, he said.

The BJP leader said in a Facebook post that the Special Protection Group is there to provide security for the Prime Minister and the ministers intervention is not required.

Reacting to the issue, Rajasekharan said he was allowed to travel with the Prime Minister by the SPG and the state police.

If Surendran had any objections, he should have taken up the matter with the chief minister as he was witness to everything, he said.
Kerala Police on Saturday sought a lie detector and brain mapping test and a detailed medical check up of a 23-year-old woman who had last month told police that she cut off the genitals of a godman while resisting his rape attempt.

Police made this request at a local court in Thiruvananthapuram after the woman claimed the police were fabricating stories about the case. She maintained that she no longer had faith in the investigation and wished for a CBI probe in the case.

The development came as the court extended till July 1 the judicial remand of the 54-year-old man who claimed he was a saint.

The controversial case, which grabbed headlines, has undergone a few twists and turns since the incident took place on May 18.

The woman initially told police that Hari swami had been raping her since she was a minor and that he made sexual advances on the day she attacked him in retaliation. Her statement was also recorded at a local court that day. The swami told doctors that he himself had tried to sever his penis.

The incident reportedly took place at the womans house where the swami was a frequent visitor.

However, the first twist in the case came last month when the womans mother, in a letter to Kerala Police, said her daughter was not of sound mental health and that the swami had never harassed her.

Earlier this week, the accuseds legal counsel submitted a letter to the court which was written by the woman and claimed she did not attack the mans genitals and that the police had fabricated the story. She also said that the accused never misbehaved with her.
A board is tucked prominently in his Kochi office: Whatever to be done I do. But in reality I do not do anything, a line from the Yoga Vasista Ramanaya, is dear to his heart.

Metro Man E Sreedharan has revolutionised the way urban India commutes. He is a household name and speculation is rife that hes in race for President; but he refuses to be drawn into a discussion on this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will showcase his latest venture, Kochi Metro, on Saturday. He spoke to the Hindustan Times about the challenges before the country and his future plans. Excerpts:

Q: You helped change the concept of urban mass transport in the country. What are real challenges before the country in this sector?

A. The real challenge before the country is to reduce personal vehicles and promote public mass transport system. This is particularly needed in our cities. Unfortunately, sufficient attention is not being paid for improving the public transport system. Metro rail is best suited to our cities, if the population is more than 2 lakh. The pace at which metros are being introduced in our cities is deplorably low. Every year China is building 200 km-long metros in its cities but our rate is well below 20 kms. The central government will have to take a lead to introduce more metros and ensure that they are financially sustainable.

Q : For the post of President, your name is apparently doing the rounds. Did anyone contact you in this regard?

A. It seems to be the wish of some people. I cant comment on this.

Q. Konkan Railways to Kochi Metro, you were in the limelight for more than five decades. Did you see any change in the work culture?

A. I dont find any perceptible change. If at all, there is deterioration, except in the private sector. We have to change a lot.

Q. You were behind many metro projects. What was the most challenging project?

A. I love taking up challenges. I consider the underground line of Mumbai City, Airport to Colaba, the most challenging.

Q. What future you visualise for the country? Is it on right track?

A. No doubt the country is on the right track. But we need more speed. While the progress on the economic front is visible we need to transform our nation with good ethics and values.

Q. India boasts of one of the largest rail network. But it ails badly. Why?

A. Ours is the fourth largest network in the world. It is the lifeline of the nation but technologically we are far behind rest of the world. The work culture in the railways has to change a lot, from bureaucratic to a more friendly and efficient style.

Q. It is often said in Kerala that controversy is part of your life. Did you face any such while working for Kochi Metro?

A. Fortunately there have been no major controversies and the project has gone through smoothly. So we completed the first phase in record time. It was a good team work. I wont be there for the second phase of Kochi Metro. KMRL (Kerala Metro Rail Limited) is now competent enough to chug on. It is not time for any controversies.

Q You are turned 85 this month. Your future plans?

A. I have decided to slow down my pace a bit but I am available to the country whenever my services are required.

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On Friday, two dozen protesters held a short march in Downtown Cairo but were quickly dispersed by security forces with some were arrested

Egyptian authorities reopened Saturday Downtown Cairos Sadat metro station after a one-day closure attributed to security concerns, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.



On Friday, two dozen protesters held a short march in Downtown Cairo but were quickly dispersed by security forces with some arrested.



The protesters were condemning an Egyptian-Saudi Red Sea islands deal, recently approved by parliament, that transfers sovereignty over the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia.

Several small protests erupted in cities across the country, but security forces quickly dispersed them.



Sadat metro station is one of two main hubs where commuters can switch between the city's main metro lines.



Sadat metro station has frequently been closed "due to security reasons."



It was closed from August 2013 to June 2015  over 650 days  to prevent protests in Tahrir Square.

The reopening of the station in June 2015 was a relief to passengers who were forced to commute longer periods and pay extra fares.

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Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasads elder son, Tej Pratap, has just come back from Mathura, where he paid obeisance to Lord Krishna last week to wish away troubles in which his family finds itself in and to tame enemies.

On Saturday, it was the turn of Bihar deputy chief minister and Lalus younger son, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, to follow suit.

Tejashwi visited the famous, centuries-old Hariharnath and Gaurishankar temples in quick succession at Sonepur on the confluence of the Ganga and Gandak, during which he performed Rudrabhishek, spending close to three hours on the premises.

Priests said the deputy chief minister performed the Rudrabhishek using turmeric, bhasma, ashtagandha, scented oil, honey and ghee amid chanting of Vedic mantras to Lord Shiva, walking half a kilometre barefooted to reach the sanctum.

His father had earlier performed the same rituals, besides a Sudarshan Yajna to tame evil, offering 108 coconuts, 108 litres of cow milk and other ingredients needed for the rituals.

Since Saturn is not in a favourable position vis-a-vis Tejashwis rashi, offering prayers before the joint idol of Gauri and Shankar and performing Rudrabhishek as per the Hindu tradition is supposed to usher in peace and tame negative influences, one of the high priests informed HT.

The visits of the two brothers to temples come in the wake of allegations of amassing of property by Lalu Prasad and them and the cancellation of a petrol pump in Patna in the name of Tej Pratap over issues of misrepresentation, on Saturday.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi has claimed to have unearthed proofs of undeclared property in the name of the two brothers, including a mall on the outskirts of Patna and several other properties in the name of five of Lalu Prasads daughters, including the eldest, Misa Bharti, who now faces an income-tax probe.

Lalu Prasad himself is facing fodder scam charges, which were recently revived at the Supreme Courts bidding after the special CBI court, Ranchi challenged his bail and amalgamation of some cases of Dumka and Doranda treasuries.

Tejashwi was provoked by the presence of a strong media contingent to indulge in a fusillade against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, blaming the saffron party for raising allegations, which he said were purely baseless.

He said the cancellation of the petrol pump allotted in his brothers name by Bharat Petroleum, was done under a well planned BJP conspiracy, adding, it has no copyright on Hindu religion and sanskar (propriety).

Explaining away his visit to the Hariharnath temple, he said he had inherited spirituality from his family, the sole reason he had visited the temple for.

The worries, however, showed when he said that his father Lalu Prasad was being targeted by the BJP out of a political vendetta, fearing that his initiative to bring together the opposition, would push the BJP out of power in 2019.

The central government is leaving no stones unturned to demoralise and disturb Lalu Prasad out of political fear of being washed out in the next parliamentary elections, he alleged.
The perpetrators of the ambush in which six policemen were killed would face the law very soon, Jammu and Kashmir DGP S P Vaid said here on Saturday and announced a bounty of Rs 10 lakh for LeT commander Bashir Lashkari who is believed to have orchestrated the attack.

The militants fired at the policemen killed yesterday in an ambush in Achabal in Anantnag district by suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba militants, at close range, shattering their faces, the director general of police said.

As per my information, they have come closer and fired from a closer range and that is why there was shattering of the face, Vaid said when asked whether the bodies were mutilated by militants.

Speaking to reporters after paying floral tributes to the mortal remains of Constable Tasveer Ahmad, one of those killed, he said perpetrators would be brought to book.

Read more | What is going to happen to me the first night in my grave? Slain Kashmir cops Facebook post haunts Anantnag

They will face the law and very soon you will see the results.

Several high-ranking civil, police and security force officers, including Chief Secretary B B Vyas, and jawans paid tributes to the slain constable at DPL Srinagar. However, no politician was present there on the occasion.

The DGP said the attackers had been identified and would be tracked down very soon.

This unfortunate incident has been committed by the LeT group led by Bashir Lashkari and we will track him down and see that justice is done, he said.

He also announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for any information leading to the capture or killing of Lashkari.

Asked why the policemen were travelling in a non- bulletproof vehicle, the states top cop said, We are taking steps.

The DGP also described the killing of LeT commander Junaid Matto, who was killed in an encounter along with two other militants in Arwani yesterday, as a blow to the outfit.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Muneer Khan said the killing of six policemen was a setback for the force.

It is a setback for us, but we will overcome that, he said.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Saturday that security forces were doing a great job in bringing the Kashmir situation under control.

He said the Jammu and Kashmir situation should not be looked from the perspective of what was being projected and that the security forces were taking necessary action in the Valley.

General Rawat was in the city as the chief guest at the combined graduation parade, marking the completion of the pre-commissioning training of Indian Air Force flight cadets at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal.

You should not look at the Jammu and Kashmir situation from the perspective of what is being projected. Let me tell you the security forces and all other agencies are doing a great job to bring the situation under control, he told reporters on the sidelines of the programme when asked about the prevailing unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.

Some parts of South Kashmir are indeed troublesome, but necessary actions are being taken to ensure that the situation there is fully brought under control. Therefore, I think there should not be any cause for worry for anyone, he said.

Asked if the situation is deteriorating in the Valley with each passing day, Rawat said, ..well, not really. We are there to make sure the situation is brought under control. Therefore, I think at the present juncture we have to continue with the task in the manner in which we are carrying on.

The Indian armed forces belong to the people. We are the peoples armed forces. Therefore, the army is for the people. We have been called upon to do a particular task by the Government of India. Because they do feel that there is a requirement for the Army to be there. Therefore, we are there, he said.

The army chief conferred the Presidents Commission to 120 graduating trainees of various branches including 25 women trainees.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing if some Hurriyat leaders are seeking and getting money to recommend Kashmiri students for medical or engineering studies in Pakistan.

The probe is part of the federal anti-terror agencys larger investigation into funding of Kashmiri separatists from Pakistan to fuel unrest in the Valley.

We suspect that some of these separatists charge anything between Rs 25-Rs 30 lakh to recommend names of Kashmiri students for studying in Pakistan. For more than a decade now, Pakistan has reserved dozens of seats in its medical and engineering colleges for Kashmiri students, but they get admission only after a recommendation from Hurriyat leaders. We believe, in many cases, these recommendations come after money changes hands, said a senior NIA official. For years, there have been murmurs of sale of these seats but a formal probe is being initiated now.

The NIA believes the sale of seats is one of the many channels of funding for Kashmiri separatists from Pakistan.

Investigators say other channels of funding include cross-LoC trade between PoK and J&K, donations for charities and even legal banking channel.

Reacting to the charges, Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said they were allotted some seats to be recommended in the 1990s but then the party stopped recommending students. For a few seats, we would get over 500 applications, which made it very difficult for us to accommodate everybody. (Syed Ali) Geelani Sahab has completely stopped recommending people, Akbar said.

However, the Moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said it had been recommending people from Kashmir for courses in Pakistans colleges. The Mirwaiz said on an average, about 15-20 students are recommended for MBBS, 5-10 students for engineering and a few for other courses annually.

But he added that not everybody recommended by the Hurriyat got admission in Pakistan.

Earlier this month, the agency registered an FIR against unnamed Hurriyat leaders, leaders and associates of Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Dukhtaran-e-Millat for getting money from LeT patron Hafiz Mohammed Saeed through Hawala route to fund violence in the Valley. Following the FIR, the agency searched the homes and offices of separatist leaders and suspected Hawala agents. Questioning of some of the suspects is in progress.

(With inputs from Ashiq Hussain)

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PATNA

In a swift turn of events, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) on Saturday terminated the licence of Bihar health minister Tej Pratap Yadavs petrol pump and a Patna court, later in the day, stayed the execution of the state-owned oil companys order.

The oil firm had sent the licence termination order to M/s Lara Automobiles, represented by its proprietor Tej Pratap Yadav, after he failed to furnish a satisfactory explanation to the notice issued over the allocation of the property in Patna.

Later, a letter issued by Tej Prataps lawyer S D Yadav said, the sub-judge 11, Patna, vide an order dated 16.6.2017, has been pleased to grant ex parte temporary injunction restraining the defendant (BPCL) from causing obstruction to the plaintiff till he appears and files his say to application for temporary injunction, fixing 23.06.2017 as the next date in the aforesaid case.

On May 31, BPCL had issued notice to Tej Pratap, son of Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, seeking an explanation on the petrol pump licence. The oil company had sought an explanation as to how he acquired the licence and asked him to reply within 15 days.

The notice, signed by BPCL territory manager (retail), Patna, Manish Kumar, followed a complaint that Tej Pratap had acquired the petrol pump on Patnas busy Anisabad bypass road on the basis of wrong information furnished by him. The BPCL officials neither confirmed nor denied the action.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had earlier alleged that the petrol pump had been fraudulently allotted to Tej Pratap during the UPA 2 regime at the Centre. Modi had alleged that Tej Pratap did not have the stipulated 43 decimal of land for setting up the petrol pump at the time of applying for it.

He added that it was in 2012, when beer manufacturing baron Amit Katyal, managing director of the firm A K Infosystem Pvt Ltd, leased out around 136 decimal of land to Prasads younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav for setting up a petrol pump.

While Tej Pratap could not be contacted for his comments, his brother and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav termed the action as political vendetta.

I will not comment on the issue now, but will wait for a legal action to be taken on the people who are accusing us. This is all political vendetta. I would like to say that nothing of this sort can affect the party in any way. If the opposition thinks that they can say and do anything to break our spirit, then they are wrong, he told reporters.

BLURB

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had earlier alleged that the petrol pump had been fraudulently allotted to Tej Pratap during the UPA 2 regime at the Centre

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Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has cancelled the license of a petrol pump allotted to RJD chief Lalu Prasads son and Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav allegedly for violating some terms and conditions.

The RJD, however, claimed an interim injunction has been granted by a court here in the matter in favour of Tej Pratap Yadav.

BPCL had on May 29 issued a show cause notice to Tej Pratap Yadav on a complaint which had alleged that fake documents were furnished to the oil PSU to get the license. The oil PSU had sought Yadavs reply to its notice within 15 days.

BPCL had also warned that the pumps license would be cancelled if his reply was found unsatisfactory.

BPCL has now found the reply unconvincing and terminated the Dispensing Pump and Selling Licence (DPSL) agreement with Tej Pratap with effect from yesterday.

The explanation to the show cause notice in this regard given by you is neither convincing nor satisfactory as per our view, BPCL Territory Manager (Retail) Patna, Manish Kumar, said in his letter to Lara Automobiles represented by its proprietor Tej Pratap.

It has been decided to terminate the DPSL agreement dated February 27, 2017 entered between you and BPCL under reference with effect from June 16, 2017, the letter said.

The company has also asked Tej Pratap to hand over the operation of the dealership and the properties belonging to the corporation to the companys representatives on June 19.

RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha told PTI that a local court has granted an interim injunction restraining BPCL from taking action in this connection.

We believe its a case of political vendetta... It is time we should find out how many BJP leaders have petrol pumps in their name, he said.

Advocate S D Yadav, who appeared on behalf of Lara Automobiles in the court of sub-judge (XI), told PTI that the court yesterday issued an ex-parte temporary injunction till June 23.

Senior Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on May 5 had alleged that Tej Pratap Yadav was allotted a BPCL petrol pump near Beur here after he furnished fake documents.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the maiden run of the Kochi Metro on Saturday, and will also take a ride on one of the trains in the fastest-built Metro in the country.

The Prime Minister is expected to share the dais with the Metros main architect E Sreedharan, whose name is doing the rounds as a possible nominee for Indias next President.

Arriving in a special aircraft at the Kochi Naval Base, Modi will proceed to Palarivattom station to board the Metro to Pathadipplam and will return to Palarivattom. Then he will proceed to Kaloor international stadium, the venue of the inaugural ceremony.

The Kochi Metro is the first public transport system to reserve jobs for members of the third sex and it will be manned mainly by women from the Kudumbhasree Mission, a self-help group. Among 30-odd Metro drivers, seven are women.

The Metro has employed 23 transgenders in various departments based on their qualifications. Selected after a written test and interview, they were given three-month training. More workers from the community will be inducted after gauging their success, said Kerala Metro Rail Limited managing director Elias George.

Some the trangender workers employed by Kochi Metro. (HT Photo)

We are really excited. It will open a new window for us. With this, we hope other institutions and organisations open their doors for us, said Raga Ranjini, a post-graduate who will be manning a ticket counter in one of the stations.

She said the Metro will help them earn respect and change the living conditions of the third sex.

It is also the countys first fully integrated metro. With one ticket, a commuter can travel in feeder services along road and water.

Besides this, the Metro has installed solar panels atop all stations to tap green energy. Once fully operational, the Metros entire power demand will be met by these panels.

In the first phase, trains will operate for a distance of 13 km - Aluva to Palarivattom. There are 11 stations in the 13-km stretch that will be covered in 20 minutes. Later, it will be extended to Maharajas College.

Construction for the first phase began in 2012 after the Oommen Chandy government entrusted the work to the DMRC with Sreedharan as its principal advisor.

The project had its share of controversies too. Earlier, there was an attempt to inaugurate the project while the Prime Minister was out of the country. When it snowballed into a big issue, the Kerala government retracted.

The state government had protested a few days back when the guest list for the inaugural session was cut short by the PMO. Later, Sreedharan was included in the guest list on the dais. However, Sreedharan, popularly known as the Metro Man, downplayed the issue.

The Metro also threw a sumptuous treat for its 800-odd employees, mainly labourers from the north-eastern states who worked in the project for the last three years.

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Indias next President is likely to be a dyed-in-the-wool BJP leader, contrary to speculation that the ruling party might field a technocrat or some apolitical candidate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to discuss his preference with party leaders , but ruling party said the leadership is not inclined to repeat the 2002 experiment when it had to fielded an outsider, APJ Abdul Kalam, for the top post.

As consultation starts within the BJP and with the Opposition for the July 17 election, the ruling side wants a President who has strong BJP affiliation.

On Friday, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu drove to the residence of BJP patriarch LK Advani and also called on Murli Manohar Joshi.

Although the two members of the BJPs Margdarshak Mandal were seen as possible contenders, sources said that Fridays meetings with the two were to seek their views on the partys presidential candidate. Advani and Joshi had fallen out of favour with the party leadership earlier. They are unlikely to be considered for the post, said party sources. Finance minister Arun Jaitley is returning from abroad on Saturday and is expected to touch base with socialist parties over the next few days.

Kalam was a surprise candidate in 2002 for a greater consensus, but the changed scenario in 2017 gives the BJP more manoeuvring space to pick candidate from among its leaders.

India elects its President through a complex voting pattern involving all parliamentarians and members of legislative assemblies  each of them having a different vote value.

An MP has the highest vote value. Today, BJP has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha and government in more than a dozen states. NDAs total strength in Parliament is over 400 out of total 776. Such mandate is not to choose an outsider for the top post, a government leader told HT. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, too, is averse to a Kalam-type experiment.

This position rules out chances for the likes of agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan, whose name has been proposed by the National Democratic Alliance partner Shiv Sena, or the Metro-man, E Sreedharan.

The BJP is likely to announce the name of its candidate on June 22 and the nomination is expected the next day.

Sure of its victory, the BJP will also choose its candidate with an aim to break the new found unity in the Opposition. A divide in the camp can take the fizz out of campaign to bring anti-BJP forces under one umbrella. It will be a success for us, even if we manage to wean away one or two major parties from the Opposition camp, a Union minister told HT.
Sanatan Sanstha activist Samir Gaikwad, who was arrested in connection with the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare, was granted bail by the sessions court in Kolhapur on Saturday.

The court accepted Gaikwads bail application on the conditions that he will not enter Kolhapur district and remain present before the investigation agency every Sunday. The court also asked Gaikwad to surrender his passport.

The bail to Gaikwad came as a major jolt to the Special Investigation Team, which is probing the murder.

Leftist leader Pansare was shot dead by two unidentified persons in 2014 when he was returning home from his morning walk.

The SIT in its chargesheet accused Gaikwad as co-conspirator, who it said along with other Sanatan activists eliminated Pansare.

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The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has decided to keep Pakistan out of its mega international iftart party to be held at parliament house annexe in New Delhi on Monday.

National convener of the MRM Mohammad Afzal told HT the neighbouring country was not invited considering its negative attitude towards India.

The MRM, is the Muslim-wing of the RSS, the ideological fountainhead of the BJP. It was set up in2002 by the saffron organisation to reach out to the Muslims.

For the past two years it has been organising iftar, the first meal a Muslim takes after Roza (dawn-to-dusk fasting) during the month of Ramadan.

Pakistan was not invited even last year.

The purpose of the event is to promote communal and regional harmony, Afzal said.

Diplomats and representatives from more than 50 countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Indonesia, Malaysia and Tunisia, are invited for the event to be presided by Union home minister Rajnath Singh.

The invitees will be offered cow milk to break the fast, which is a rare occurrence at an iftar party. Muslims traditionally break their fast with dates and a glass of water.

But the MRM this year is serving cow milk to those observing Roza (fasting) at the iftar parties, it has been hosting across the country, to create awareness against cow slaughter.

Far-right Hindu groups have long opposed the slaughter of cows, which are considered Holy in Hinduism.

The BJP-led central government issued a notification on May 26 banning the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter.

In 2016, the MRM did not invite Pakistan to protest its high commissioner Abdul Basits remarks following the Pampore attack ostensibly by Pakistan-based Lashkar e Taiba that claimed the lives of eight army personnel.

We would like to see friendly relations between India and all its neighbours. Unfortunately, Pakistan has not been reciprocating Indias good gesture. They are directly behind the recent unrest in Kashmir. Inviting them to the iftaar would have gone against the spirit of the event, said Afzal.

Senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar, Manipur governor Najma Heptulla, Union minister of steel Choudhary Birender Singh, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari will attend the iftar among others.

We are inviting people from all religions. The aim is to promote unity, peace, brotherhood, inter-religious respect and understanding, MRMs joint convenor Shahid Akhtar said.

Last year diplomats from more than 50 countries attended the MRMs iftaar party.
The court set 22 July to issue its final verdict against the 31, and 36 other defendants in the same trial

Related Egypt court to hear testimony of medical examiners in trial for murder of top prosecutor Barakat

Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Saturday 31 defendants to death in a preliminary judgement on the 2015 assassination of the country's top prosecutor, Hisham Barakat.



The court set 22 July to issue its final verdict on the 31 as well as the rest of the defendants  36 others  in the trial.

In June 2015, Barakat was killed in a Cairo bomb attack that struck his convoy in the upscale eastern Cairo district of Heliopolis.



Sixty-seven people were charged in connection with the assassination, with the general prosecution accusing defendants  who it says are members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group  of conspiring with members of Gazas Hamas to kill the top prosecutor.



A militant group calling itself the Popular Resistance claimed responsibility for the bombing. A court in February 2017 designated the group a terrorist organisation.



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Telugu Desam Party MP J C Diwakar Reddy, who is in the eye of a storm over his alleged unruly behaviour with IndiGo Airlines staff at Visakhapatnam airport, left for Paris late Friday night on a holiday even as the civil aviation ministry ordered inquiry into the flight fracas.

Party sources said Reddy, along with his 12-member family contingent took a 9:50 pm Emirates Flight to Paris via Dubai. He would be touring different countries of Europe.

It is purely his personal trip and was booked well in advance. It has nothing to do with the Thursdays incident at Visakhapatnam, sources said.

Reddy allegedly shouted at Indigo staff and pushed employees before throwing a printer because he was denied boarding for arriving late on Thursday.

Full-service carrier Vistara and budget airlines -- GoAir and AirAsia India -- on Friday barred Reddy from their flights. Air India, SpiceJet and Jet Airways followed IndiGo on Thursday, which imposed the flying ban on him.

Reddy, who represents Anantapur constituency, has reportedly told his party leadership that there was no question of tendering any apology to the airlines staff, notwithstanding the ban by all the major airlines in the country on his domestic air travel.

Read more: In Gaikwad rerun, domestic airlines bar unruly TDP MP Diwakar Reddy

He conveyed the same to his colleague in Parliament C M Ramesh, who advised him to tender an apology to end the controversy.

Ramesh was deputed by party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to defuse the crisis.

The Anantapur MP, however, told the party leadership that since the civil aviation ministry had ordered an inquiry into the incident, he would disclose what had happened only during the probe. He also made it clear that he would fight for his rights by raising the issue in Parliament, sources added.

Reddys alleged misconduct came two months after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad sparked widespread criticism for assaulting an elderly Air India employee. Gaikwad apologized before Parliament after all airlines came together to ground him and pushed the government to draft a national no-fly list.

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A disc jockey (DJ) was killed allegedly in celebratory firing while his father and brother died in a road accident in Muzaffarnagar on their way to see him in a hospital.

Prince (28) was killed in firing late last night at a function to celebrate the birth of a child at Dudhaheri village, said SP City Sombir Singh.

According to police, the deceased, a Dalit, was seriously injured after two upper caste men allegedly opened fire during the ceremony. The accused duo were absconding.

Prince later died in a hospital.

Following the incident, the father and brother of Prince were killed in a road accident when they were on way to the hospital on a motorcycle to see him.

Police have registered a case under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of IPC and the SC/ST Act against the two absconding accused.
Separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday killed at least 11 people -- six police officers, a soldier, two civilians and two suspected militants -- authorities said, as violence in the troubled region spikes.

Suspected militants ambushed a police patrol in the town of Achhabal, killing five police personnel, a top police official said.

Militants have stepped up attacks in recent weeks on government forces patrolling the area as counter-insurgency operations intensify.

Achhabal ambush

Militants ambushed the police party on the outskirts of Anantnag district of south Kashmir, believed to be the hotbed of new-age militancy in the state. The policemen retaliated but could not break the trap laid for them.

The militants overpowered them, then fatally shot them in their faces from a close range and escaped with their weapons. A Station House Officer of Achhabal area was among the victims of the attack.

It is an unfortunate incident to have lost six men including sub inspector Feroz (Ahmed), a resident of Pulwama. Their contribution to the police service will be remembered, director general of police SP Vaid said.

Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack, police said, adding it seems they wanted to take revenge of the Arwani encounter in which their local commander Junaid Mattoo was believed to have died earlier in the day.

Arwani encounter site is located 20km from the place where the ambush took place.

Arwani encounter

Earlier, soldiers and a police special counter-insurgency force cordoned off Arwani on a tip off that armed militants were hiding in two homes, triggering a firefight.

Two civilians, including a teenage boy, were killed when security forces fired at hundreds of villagers who marched to the site of the shootout to help the militants escape, he added.

Villagers said soldiers blasted at least two houses with explosives.

As the fighting raged, thousands of people in the village and neighbouring areas ignored the government security lockdown and marched to Arwani in an attempt to help the trapped militants escape. The unrest spread as thousands of residents clashed with government forces, hurling stones and chanting: We want freedom and Go India, go back.

Two suspected militants were also killed in the shootout, an official said. News agency PTI reported on Friday night the body of a militant had been recovered from the debris in Arwani village.

It is believed that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, Junaid Mattoo, and his associate were the two militants gunned down in the operation.

Authorities suspended mobile internet services in Kashmir and cellphone service in some areas of southern Kashmir, fearing activists would mobilise anti-India protests in the region. Separatist leaders called for a general strike on Saturday to protest the killings.

LoC trouble

Separately on Friday, a soldier was killed when Pakistani soldiers fired at Indian posts in southern Naushera along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between the nuclear-armed rivals, an Indian Army spokesperson said.

The two armies have traded heavy fire along the de-facto border almost daily in recent weeks, killing civilians and soldiers on both sides while accusing each other of breaching a 2003 ceasefire agreement.

Kashmir has been divided between the arch rivals since the end of British colonial rule in 1947, but both claim the Himalayan territory in full.

India maintains roughly 500,000 soldiers in the territory and blames Pakistan for fomenting unrest. Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only provides diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle.
In a chronicle of his death foretold, Feroz Ahmed Dar wrote, Just imagine...yourself in your grave. Down there in that dark hole...Alone.

The 32-year-old Jammu and Kashmir police officer was buried Friday night in the familys ancestral graveyard in Dogripora village in Pulwama district with many from the village and his department bidding him a tearful farewell.

Dar and five other policemen were killed on Friday when suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants ambushed a police party in Anantnags Achabal area. The militants also tried to disfigure the faces of the policemen before walking away with their weapons.

As his family and friends prepared for the last journey, Dars words written on January 18, 2013, came back to haunt. Did you ever stop for a while and asked yourself, what is going to happen to me the first night in my grave? Think about the moment your body is being washed and prepared to your grave.

Think about the day people will be carrying you to your grave And your families crying ...think about the moment you are put in your grave, he had written on his Facebook wall.

Policeman shower flower petals on the coffin of Tasveer Ahamad during the wreath-laying ceremony on Saturday at the police headquarters in Srinagar. Ahamad was among the six policemen who were killed in a militant attack on Friday. (Waseem Andrabi/HT photo)

As Dogripora mourned its hero, his premonition of death echoed from his first night in the grave.

Villagers queued up outside Dars home to offer their condolences. His two daughters -- six-year-old Addah and two- year-old Simran -- watched bewildered, unable to understand the sudden rush of people at their house.

His wife Mubeena Akthar and aged parents wailed and beat their chests, trying to come to terms with the loss.

Nicknamed Dabang (daring) by his friends and a one-man army, Dar had wished earnestly for the situation in Kashmir to return to normal.

Oh God! when will be the day we see normal Kashmir, he had written on his Facebook page on March 8, 2013.

While family and his colleagues grieved, so did his batchmates.

Bus itna yaad rahe, ek saathi aur bhi tha... The refrain of the Bollywood song from the film LoC Kargil recalling the sacrifices of a soldier echoed their grief.

His batchmate Sunil Sharma posted Dars picture and recalled the lyrics of the song in memory of those martyred in war.

Many of his batchmates and colleagues recalled their association with Dar and said he was a god fearing man and a true Muslim who offered prayers five times a day.

The officer whom everybody loved and who could get the support and respect of everybody around will always be in our heart. This inhuman act will be punished and punished suitably. Condolences for all the men that we lost today, deputy inspector general of police (south Kashmir) Swayam Prakash Pani posted on his official Facebook page.

As the memories continue to build, and his family learns to live with the tragedy that has befallen them, Dars hope for a peaceful Kashmir lives on.
Kashmir: 6 policemen killed, faces disfigured in ambush in Anantnag, LeT claims attack

Terrorists on Friday ambushed a police party on the outskirts of Anantnag district of South Kashmir and killed six policemen, including a station house officer, of Achabal area. The attack took place when the police party was travelling in a jeep in the Achabal area, some 65 km from Srinagar. The militants ambushed the team at Kulgad village and fatally shot the policemen in their faces from close range, disfiguring them, and escaped with their weapons. All the six policemen, including station house officer, Feroz Ahmed, died on the spot.

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Rajasthan officials allegedly beat man to death after he objected to their photographing women defecating in public

A group of government officials allegedly lynched a 55-year-old Muslim man for trying to stop them from photographing women defecating in public in a Rajasthan town on Friday. Five municipal council officials  including the commissioner  allegedly kicked, punched and beat social worker Zafar Khan with a stick in Pratapgarh town, said a police complaint filed by his brother. The officials were out on a morning round in a slum to photograph people defecating in the open when Zafar objected, local residents said.

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Aadhaar-less bank accounts will be shut down after December 31

Bank accounts that are not linked to Aadhaar will be frozen and no new accounts can be opened without the 12-digit biometric identity number after December 31, according to new government rules. Aadhaar cards along with Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) or Form 60 for those outside the tax net will also be mandatory from now on for transactions above Rs 50,000. Those who dont have the documents will have to prove they have applied for them.

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Suspend Delhi govt but dont harass us every day: AAP on CBI action

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday criticised the Centre for what it called a raid by the CBI at deputy chief minister Manish Sisodias residence, saying it signalled the BJP-led governments resolve to not let the AAP regime in Delhi work. Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said Todays raid signals the resolve of the Centre to not let the AAP government work. The BJP wants to destroy the opposition. The intention is to take revenge through relentless harassment. So it will be better to suspend the government, Singh said. The CBI denied AAPs charge and said no search or raid was conducted at Sisodias residence.

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PM gives Rs 50K to Kota orphans who found almost Rs 1 lakh in demonetised notes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sanctioned Rs 50,000 for an orphan brother-sister duo in Kota who had found Rs 96,500 in demonetised bank notes months after the deadline to exchange such notes was over. Apart from the money sanctioned from the Prime Ministers Discretionary Fund (PMDF), Modi also got the two children, 17-year-old Sooraj Banjara and his nine-year-old sister Saloni, insured under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana (PMJJBY).

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Trump confirms he is under investigation, seeks to undermine justice department

US President Donald Trump publicly confirmed he is under investigation in connection with Russian meddling in the 2016 elections and alleged collusion by his campaign aides, as he sought to attack and undermine the justice department and officials responsible for it. Trump tweeted: I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.

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Helmut Kohl, chancellor who reunited Germany, dies at 87

Helmut Kohl, the physically imposing German chancellor whose reunification of a nation divided by the Cold War put Germany at the heart of a united Europe, has died at 87. Kohls Christian Democratic Union party posted on Twitter: We are in sorrow. #RIP #HelmutKohl. The daily newspaper Bild reported that Kohl died Friday at his home in Ludwigshafen. Over his 16 years at the countrys helm from 1982 to 1998  first for West Germany and then for all of a united Germany  Kohl combined a dogged pursuit of European unity with a keen instinct for history.

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Germany opens its first liberal mosque in Berlin; men-women, Shia-Sunni can pray together

Seyran Ates vision of a liberal mosque where all Muslims can pray together women and men, Sunni and Shia, straight and gay turned into reality Friday as dozens of people came together in Berlin to inaugurate a new house of prayer. Ates, a well-known womens right activist and lawyer, preached in front of the crowd which filled the mosque. A female imam from the United States, Ani Zonneveld, called for prayer as the faithful kneeled behind her in rows, all turned in the direction of Mecca.

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Madam President: Why Sushma Swaraj may be an ace in Narendra Modis deck of cards

There are very good political reasons for a contender to emerge from a shortlist of three accomplished women  Sushma Swaraj, Sumitra Mahajan and Draupadi Murmu. Of these there is no question that Swaraj would be the best candidate. Swaraj would win and restore an Abdul Kalam-like Peoples President reputation to the otherwise stodgy and formal office.

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BARMER: A two-member team from Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) on Friday reached Barmer to explore possible remnants of the mythical Saraswati.

The CGWB members, OP Pooniya and Ramkishan Yadav, visited villages where the river is believed to have once flowed. The team took samples of ground water and gathered information about the depth of ground water available in the region.

The team was surprised to find groundwater at 100 to 150 m at some villages in remote desert area. The villagers informed them that at some places, old tube wells and traditional water resources were recharged in the past five to ten years. It is subject to investigation that how water tables shifted upward automatically and from which water bodies are getting recharge, Pooniya said.

The Centre decided to dig wells in these areas following signs of existence of paleochannels of the Saraswati at five districts of western Rajasthan. The CGWB will dig 22 tube wells in Barmer and Jaisalmer districts to explore paleochannels of the river, Pooniya said, adding that they would soon submit a report.

The Saraswati finds mention in the Rig Veda and other ancient literature. It is believed to have disappeared some 4,000 years ago. Soon after coming to power in May 2014, the NDA government launched efforts to trace the mythical river considered holy by the Hindus. Haryana and Rajasthan are separately working to trace the rivers existence.

In July 2015, the Vasundhara Raje government constituted the Rajasthan River Basin and Water Resources Planning Authority to study the paleochannels of an inactive river, help revive the Saraswati and look into various issues connected with river basins, including intra-basin river water transfer. The authority is working in coordination with institutions such as ISRO, Central Ground Water Board, State Ground Water Board and National Institute of Hydrology.

Haryana started excavation in April. It has assigned the Haryana Saraswati Heritage Development Board with the responsibility to do field work. The board will work closely with UNESCO and Archaeological Survey of India among others.

Barmer MP Sonaram Choudhary had raised the matter in Parliament and demanded to fast-track exploration works. Two weeks ago, Baitu MLA Kailash Choudhary met central ministers in Delhi regarding the exploration work
JAIPUR: Confidential information of customers who booked flats in Noida, postpaid mobile customers, credit card holders and insurance policy subscribers were in possession of the gang that was running a fake call centre in Uttar Pradeshs Noida, police said.

Such was the gangs methodical approach that it had a detailed list of people who own luxury cars in the National Capital Region which covers the territorial jurisdictions of National Capital Territory of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The gang maintained a precise database of crores of people across India. We found personal information of 6 lakh people in just one Excel sheet from the laptops that we seized, Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Vikas Pathak told Hindustan Times.

Police, meanwhile, arrested the sixth accused - Sunil Kumar - on Saturday. Kumar, a Jaipur-based travel agent, sold database to the gang, police said. The gang came under the radar of the crime branch after a resident from Ashok Nagar was duped of more than 40 lakh. Five directors of the fake call centre  Indo Saphire Journeys Limited  were arrested on Friday.

The gang was duping the people since 2014 by promising people that their money will be doubled in the share market within a very short time. For this, the gang members used telecallers based at the fake call centre in Noida to gain the trust of potential targets by continuously calling them.

Some of the lists that the gang maintained include personal information of- people who had booked flats, insurance policy holders, credit card holders, customer of mobile companies along with email ids, Pathak said.

The gang had duped nearly 5,000 people of crores of rupees in 23 states in the last one year, according to the police.

Interrogation revealed hat several such fake call centres were being run by various rackets. We are in the process of detaining more people who may be involved in this scam. I is also being investigated that how the gang managed to get hold of such a huge database of personal information of people living in various cities, the DCP said.

Mohammed Ikram, the mastermind, has a Masters degree in history from Jamia Millia Islamia, police said. adding that he worked in different insurance and telecom companies. The accused used to run a few genuine businesses alongside the fake call centre. Personal information of 20 lakh people with postpaid mobile connections has also been recovered, Pathak said.

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The administration in Uttar Pradeshs Deoria has ordered a probe against an education department clerk who was allegedly caught on tape asking for a bribe of Rs 2 lakh to renew the contract of a computer operator.

The conversation between the two went viral on social media on Friday evening, prompting Deoria district magistrate Sujit Kumar to order the investigation.

On the basis of the audio which went viral on social media, the Basic Shiksha Adhikari has been asked to conduct a probe in this regard against clerk Alok Ranjan Mishra, Kumar said on Saturday.

In the conversation, the clerk can be heard asking Rs 2 lakh from the computer operator whose contract was to be renewed .

Apart from the administrations probe, police has also filed a case.

On the complaint filed by the block-level education officer, a case has been registered against the clerk under Prevention of Corruption Act, a police official from Deoria kotwali said.
The practice of open defecation along the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh is all set to stop as the government has special plans for it. By the time the Yogi Adityanath government completes 100 days in office on June 26, all the 1627 villages spreading in 25 districts along the river will become open defecation free (ODF).

One of the top assignments that the panchayati raj department had been given by the new government three months ago was to end open defecation along the bank of the Ganga by building household toilets in all the villages there. The authorities now claim they will meet the deadline.

Read more: Plea in NGT against BJP leader for polluting Saryu river

Ninety-seven percent villages falling in 19 of the 25 districts along the Ganga have already achieved the ODF status, additional chief secretary, panchayati raj, Chanchal Tiwari told HT.

The remaining 150 villages in the 6 districts, he added, would also join the club within 10 days or so.

Tiwari said meeting the target of declaring all 1627 villages ODF was a big challenge as there were a large number of villages along the Ganga in some districts.

Like Allahabad has more than 100 villages along the Ganga, he said.

Director, panchayati raj, Vijay Kiran Anand claimed there was a foolproof system involving geotagging to verify the officials information on toilet construction in a village under the centres rural sanitation mission.

Read more:Rajasthan officials photograph women defecating in public, lynch man who objected

We also see to it that people actually use household toilets once they are ready and functional, said Anand.

When the Modi government launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in October 2014, eradicating open defecation by villages and towns situated along the Ganga was one of the top priorities. Apart from UP, the Ganga also flows through Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

While the authorities may pat their own back for achieving the ODF status for the villages along the Ganga, UPs overall status with regard to the ODF is very poor. With only a little more than 48% individual household latrine (IHHL) coverage so far, UP ranks among the five lowest ranking states after Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, according to the information available on the mission website.

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The state government will spread the message of antyodaya (uplift of weaker sections) and ekatma manavad (integral humanism) propagated by BJP ideologue Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay to mark the leaders birth centenary celebrations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is monitoring the preparations for the celebrations at the national level.

As part of the celebrations in Uttar Pradesh, a specially-designed logo bearing the name of Pt Upadhyay will appear on all official communique of cabinet ministers and departments and on all government hoardings and banners at least for the next two-and-a-half months.

Fairs, exhibitions, contests like drawing, slogan and essay writing, debates and poem recitation as well as sport event will be organised till September 25  the birth anniversary of Pt Upadhyay  to highlight his principles.

A committee of ministers, headed by deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, is looking after the preparations and implementation of the initiative.

The district magistrates have been appointed as supervising officers and the chief development officers (CDOs) will be the nodal officers of these events.

The government has specified tasks for 16 departments including education, forest, civil aviation, tourism, technical education, energy and agriculture to make the event a success.

In a missive to additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, secretaries, divisional commissioners and DMs, the government has instructed the bureaucrats to accord top priority to the events.

The directive issued on June 7 says a programme will be organised at Nagla Chandrabhan village in Mathura, the birthplace of Pt Upadhyay. The village is being developed as a tourist attraction and the tourism department has been asked to provide all facilities to visitors.

A three-day mela and exhibitions will also be organised in districts and development blocks where cultural events and puppet shows will be showcased.

The government has asked higher education department to organise debates, seminars, symposiums and competitions on Antyodaya, Gramya Vikas Evam Ekatma Manavad.

While the secondary education department will host competitions for children and take out prabhat pheris, its library wing will name all its extension counters after the great leader and hold outreach programmes through its 75 government district libraries to propagate his principles.

The basic education department will undertake literacy campaigns in 70 districts of the state (excluding Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar, Auraiya, Ghaziabad and Hapur) while the forest department will undertake special plantation drives of decorative and fruit trees all over the state. The culture department will hold painting workshops and contests, dance and music festivals and provide platform to folk art and traditional art forms like puppetry.

The government has already named Agra airport after Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay and has decided to rename Mughalsarai railway station after him.

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The building leaned and required demolition because nine floors had been illegally added to its structure

Alexandrias 13-storey apartment building that tilted into another in Azarita district more than two weeks ago was completely demolished by Saturday with no casualties, Governor Mohammed Sultan announced, as reported by Al-Ahram Arabic website.

The governor hailed the engineering division of the North Military Region and the Faculty of Engineering at Alexandria University for their efforts, exerted during the past two weeks, to demolish the building, done manually and gradually from top to bottom.

After the building tilted two week ago it was evacuated, along with nearby buildings, with residents resettled in emergency housing.



Earlier, Sultan said that reports showed the sharp forward tilt was caused by additional floors added to the building, which had weakened the building's foundations.

The building, in the coastal city of Alexandria, was initially granted a four-storey license, but an additional nine floors were illegally added without permission, the governor said.

Alexandrias governor called on citizens not to deal with infringing real estate to prevent such crises that threaten lives, security and safety of the people.

He also called on members of the House of Representatives to amend laws and criminalise not only construction done illegally and without a permit, but also dealing with such property, either by sale or purchase.

Building collapses are commonplace in Egypt and are usually attributed to violations of building specifications, illegal extensions and lax oversight.

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This Fathers Day, Betsy Roddy will write two cards: one to her dad, and the other to her late great-grandmother, Sonora Smart Dodd.

The second card is a century-old family tradition honouring the mother of Fathers Day.

Sunday is the 107th Fathers Day celebrated in the US since Dodd created the holiday in 1910. As a result, she is the one responsible for those annual gifts that run the gamut from embarrassingly silly-looking neckties to kids finger paintings crafted with so much love by those tiny hands that they can bring a tear to the eye of even the most stoic father.

Its a tradition Dodd decided to start as she sat in a Spokane, Washington, church on Mothers Day 1909, listening to a sermon about - what else? - Mothers Day.

And it bugged her, Dodds gregarious 55-year-old great-granddaughter recalled with a laugh as she sat in her living room in Los Angeles. She thought, Well, why isnt there a Fathers Day?

(File) This June 16, 1999 photo shows the grave marker of Sonora Smart Dodd at Greenwood Memorial Terrace in Spokane, Wash. Dodd is known as the founder of the first celebration of Father's Day in 1910. Sonora Smart Dodd, lobbied local church and public officials for its creation. In the years that followed, Father's Day grew to become an international event and Dodd lived to see President Richard Nixon declare it an official US holiday in 1972. (AP)

Dodd and her five younger brothers, after all, had been raised by their father after their mother died in childbirth in 1898.

William Jackson Smart became a farmer after fighting in the Civil War. He not only held down both parental roles but did it with leadership and love, his daughter always said, and she believed he ought to get some credit.

So she worked tirelessly with the local clergy and got the YWCA on board, and they had their first Fathers Day in Spokane in 1910, said Roddy, displaying a copy of The River Press of Fort Benton, Montana, which reported on the event.

Although that story predicted the celebration would go nationwide by the next year, Fathers Day was slow to catch on. So much so that Dodd spent the next 62 years lobbying everyone from presidents to retailers for support.

Finally, in 1972, President Richard Nixon declared the third Sunday of June a federal holiday honouring dads. Dodd, who died at age 96 in 1978, had lived to see her dream come true.

In this June 12, 2017, photo, Betsy Roddy of Los Angeles holds a copy of the August 17, 1910, edition of The River Press of Fort Benton, Mont. The newspaper was one of the first to report on Father's Day, an event held for the first time in June of that year in Spokane, Wash., after Roddy's great-grandmother, Sonora Smart Dodd, lobbied local church and public officials for its creation. (AP)

A Renaissance woman, the mother of Fathers Day was a painter, poet and businesswoman, running a funeral home with her husband while raising the couples only son, a future father named Jack.

I take a great deal of pride in that renegade spirit that she clearly had, said Roddy, marketing director for a large Los Angeles company.

Dodds great-granddaughter inherited some of that spirit herself. Raised in Washington, DC, she earned a bachelors degree in English from Penn State before heading to Europe for several years of backpacking between studies at Viennas Webster University, where she earned a masters degree in international business.

Moving to Los Angeles nearly 30 years ago, she found her niche here in marketing and stayed, eventually moving into a Craftsman-style home on the citys west side, where she lives with her two dogs.

The only child of an only child and recently widowed after 24 years of marriage, Roddy never had children of her own. That not only leaves her with the title of Great-Granddaughter of Fathers Day but also assures she is the last direct descendant of the holidays creator.

This November 21, 2014, file photo shows the sign outside the home where Sonora Smart Dodd lived in Spokane, Wash., in the early 20th century. The sign commemorates Dodd as the person who conceived the idea of Father's Day in 1909, the so-called Mother of Father's Day. The Craftsman-style house is privately owned and occupied, but the marker telling the story of the local connection to the holiday's history can be seen in the front yard. (AP)

Although shes always been well aware of that legacy, shes never talked about it publicly until now.

She began to get more involved after MyHeritage.com, the company that helps people trace family histories, asked if she knew her familys story.

Learning that she did, MyHeritage dug up historical documents about Dodd that Roddy says even she and her mother, who lives in Florida, didnt know existed. They are considering eventually turning over some of their artifacts to a museum.

As a child, Roddy said, she loved her great-grandmother deeply, visited her every year and treasures the poems, books and notes she gave her, including one welcoming her to the world on the year she was born. She still keeps it, in pristine condition, in a small box in her home.

Still, as a child, Roddy says, she took Fathers Day largely for granted, concluding the elaborate celebration, including the special card for her great-grandmother, was just something her family did. Even as an adult, shes generally kept quiet about being the ultimate Fathers Day insider, leaving it to her mother to spread the word.

But no more.

Its time for me to pick up the baton and carry it proudly, she says with a smile. Im the last direct descendant. The legacy is here, which is an honour.

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Can Abu Salem, convicted for his involvement in the 1993 serial blasts, be awarded capital punishment?

A special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court on Friday held six men  Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Firoz Khan, Tahir Merchant, Karimullah Shaikh, Riyaz Siddique  guilty, and acquitted Abdul Qayyum Shaikh.

The prosecution is likely to seek death penalty for Dossa, Khan and Merchant, but they may not be able to do so for Salem owing to an extradition treaty between Portugal and India. In 2015, he escaped it in a murder case in the same special court of judge GA Sanap. Portugal authorities had allowed his extradition in 2005 only on condition that he will not be given capital punishment or be imprisoned for more than 25 years.

The judge had observed while convicting Salem for murdering builder Pradeep Jain that it is a very ticklish issue and as such warrants a very difficult and balancing exercise. The pride and prestige of our country is involved. Therefore, if any decision is taken contrary to the spirit of the Indian laws, and also contrary to the spirit of the solemn sovereign assurance given by the then Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and understood by the Supreme court of Justice, Portugal in its judgment dated 27/01/2005, then very serious repercussions could follow.

Salem and his wife were facing imprisonment for entering Portugal illegally and residing there. The builders murder was one of the eight cases for which Salem was extradited. The then special public prosecutor, Ujjwal Nikam, had sought capital punishment. But later, considering the provisions of section 34C of the Extradition Act in India, Nikam demanded a life sentence for Salem. According to section 34C, in the case of extradition from a country which does not have death penalty, if the offence is punishable with it, then in place of it, the accused is liable for imprisonment for life.

Salems advocate had then contended that according to the sovereign assurance given by the Centre, Salem could not have been convicted under the charge of section 120(B) (conspiracy) and cannot be given imprisonment for more than 25 years. The demand for capital punishment or life imprisonment is a violation of extradition order.

The court had taken into consideration the observation made by the Supreme Court of Justice, Portugal in its order date January 27, 2005. The order read as given that the government of Indian union cannot guarantee that such a sentence will not be applied by its (independent) courts, one can only request it to provide a guarantee that, should such a sentence be imposed, then in order to restrict it, it will resort to all legal measures available for pardon, reprieve, respite or remission of punishment or similar measure of punishment.

The court, however, convicted Salem for murder and sections under TADA to life imprisonment. While the treaty states that Salem cannot be imprisoned for more than 25 years, the court had observed that, the union of India in its domain particularly the executives in their wisdom and domain would be free to exercise its power and the matter of execution of the sentence by the court.

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Much before he delivered a consignment of arms and explosives at actor Sanjay Dutts house in the run-up to the March 12, 1993 serial blasts, Abdool Qayoom Ansari aka Abu Salem went by the name Abu Saaman in the D Company.

That was the reputation Ansari had earned for his driving skills, which ensured many of the gangs consignments of contraband (referred to as saaman) reach their destination in time. So he was the natural choice for the gang when it came to carrying the deadly consignment of hand grenades and assault rifles from Gujarat to Mumbai in January 1993. Ansari did not disappoint Anees Ibrahim, Dawoods younger brother and second-in-command in the gang and whom he revered as his master. The task was accomplished with precision and the consignment reached the garage at the Dutts Pali Hill home without raising any suspicion.

Retired assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Shankar Kamble, who was a key member of the Mumbai crime branch team that investigated the serial blasts case, clearly remembers that Ansari (Salem) never figured in the underworld criminal dossier, neither was he a suspect in the serial blasts, even a month after the police unravelled the diabolic plot.

It was in the height of the investigation in the third week of April 1993, the crime branch picked up some D Company members from Andheri for questioning. The source of some confiscated Kalashnikovs and hand grenades was still to be known though the police had a fair idea about how Kala Saboon (RDX) had found its way into the city.

One of the gangsters spilled the beans about key Dawood aide Baba Chouhan. Chouhans family ran a motor driving training school in Andheri, while he himself was involved in smuggling activity, Kamble recollects. Baba was swiftly picked up and subjected to questioning.

It was from Babas disclosure the police learnt about another facet of the terror plan--of random firing with assault rifles and lobbing of grenadeswhich never took off.

It became evident that a large consignment of arms and explosives had been carried into the city from Gujarat in a Maruti Omni van, which was registered in Gujarat. Special cavities were made in the doors and floor of the van to conceal the consignment that was initially offloaded at Dutts bungalow. The disclosure not only nailed Dutt, but the driver of the vehicle, Salem (and two more) in the terror plot.

What followed was the arrest of Dutt, Baba, Salim Hingora, Arif Kadawala and some other accused. However, Salem had, by then, escaped to Delhi, later his home town Azamgarh before he flew down to Dubai to join the DCompany fugitives. The van was never found.

Years after the blast, the police heard Chhota Shakeel referring someone as driver in his telephone interceptions. Later, it became evident that the driver was none but their wanted blast accused Qayoom who morphed into Abu Salem afterwards.

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Despite being directed by the state government to provide an interim loan of Rs10,000 to farmers, several district central cooperative banks (DCCB) have refused to disburse the loan. The banks said they dont have money left.According to them, they have demonetised currency of around Rs3,000 crore, which the Reserve Bank of India has refused to exchange.

Seven days ago, the state government had announced loan waiver for the 1.37 crore registered farmers in the state. It had decided to provide interim loan of Rs10,000 so they could begin sowing kharif crops. It has been three days since the government has issued the directives to the banks.

The Rs10,000 interim loan will be part of the loan-waiver package, and will be adjusted against the final loan waiver that is likely to be announced in the coming days. The government has identified 16 district banks for giving interim loans but all have refused to budge. Former state revenue minister and senior BJP MLA Eknath Khadse, who controls Jalgaon DCC bank, said they dont have money to give the interim amount to the farmers.

The DCC banks dont have any money left after demonetisation as their old currency is yet to be exchanged. Even if we assume DCC banks will have to give Rs 10,000 to only 50 lakh farmers, the amount go will into hundreds of crores, which is impossible to manage, considering liquidity issues. The DCC banks can give interim loans to the farmers only if government provides them money or RBI get them exchanged decommissioned notes, Khadse told HT. Sources at Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB), the apex body for all DCC Banks, confirmed that Rs 2,771.86 crore is lying with DCC banks in old notes.

State cooperation department officials confirmed that DCC banks have not started disbursing interim loans to the farmers. The state is trying to appoint DCC banks as representatives of nationalised or commercial banks. The nationalised and commercial banks will provide them liquidity, said a senior official..

State cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh was not available for comment while SS Sandhu, additional chief secretary, cooperation department didnt reply to our calls.

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Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah indicated the party will fight the 2019 Assembly polls in the state on its own, contesting each and every seat with its full strength.

Shahs statement came a day before his meeting with ally Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

At a press conference at Dadar, Shah went on to say he was confident the Devendra Fadnavis government would complete its five-year term and ruled out mid-term polls in Maharashtra.

Shah is on a three-day visit to Mumbai as a part of his countrywide tour to expand the party organisation ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Right now, we have decided to strengthen our party. The rest will be decided later. BJP will contest each and every seat with its full strength, said Shah, when he was asked about his partys efforts to win an absolute majority in the states 288-member house. BJP currently has 122 legislators in the state Assembly, 23 short of a clear majority.

Shah will meet Thackeray at his Bandra residence Matoshree on Sunday, to get the Senas support for the NDAs Presidential candidate (polls are on July 17).

But the BJP president avoided talking about the Sena and said he was not going reveal the allies andar ki baat.

The relations between the allies have been choppy, especially after the Mumbai civic polls. It is now an open secret the parties want to fight the next polls separately.

READ: BJP president Amit Shah kicks off Mission 2019 in Maharashtra

Sources told HT the Sena wanted Shah to discuss the BJPs names for the Presidential polls with them first, and then ask for support.

Shah also ducked questions on Sena suggesting agricultural economist M S Swaminathan for the President.

He simply said anyone can make suggestions, including the press.

On chief minister Devendra Fadnavis mid-term polls statement, Shah said it was taken out of context. He had said if there are midterm polls, we are ready...can we run away if there are elections tomorrow ? We will have to fight and win the elections if such a situation arises. But, let me tell you the Devendra Fadnavis government will last its full term of five years, said Shah.

The Fadnavis government came in for praise too, with the BJP president pointing out that it handled the farmers issue sensitively.

I am not here to review the performance of every minister but I can say the Maharashtra government has been doing good work, Shah said.

The agriculture growth in the state has increased in the tenure of this government from negative 8 to 20, which is commendable. The issue of farmers has also been handled sensitively, he said.

However, that is such a huge crater left behind by the earlier government that how much ever it gets filled, some work will always remain, the BJP president said

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Five persons from Bhandup in Mumbai suffered injuries after the car they were travelling in was hit by a dumper on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Friday night.

According to the police, the people had gone to Khopoli for some personal work in the afternoon. After finishing work, they were returning home around 10.30 pm when they met with the accident near Panvel.

A dumper, which was also coming towards Mumbai, was moving parallel to the car on lane number 2. However, all of a sudden, ithe dumper changed lanes, said a police officer from Panvel city police station.

On seeing the dumper in front of it, the car driver lost its control and ended up hitting it from the rear. All five people travelling in the car suffered injuries in the accident, he said.

A few residents of the area rushed the injured to MGM hospital in Kamothe. They are still under observation there.

The dumper, however, did not stop after the accident. We have registered a case against its driver. We are now trying to find it using CCTV cameras installed in the toll nakas, another police officer said.

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The air intelligence unit (AIU) of the Mumbai customs on Friday arrested four passengers who had flown in from Saudi Arabia for allegedly smuggling gold worth Rs 29 lakh.

The four  Mohammed Rehan, Mohammed Ishtiyak, Mohammed Israr and Fahrukh Islam  arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on in a flight from Jeddah, via Muscat. AIU officers found they were carrying gold bars weighing 927 grams.

Rehan had concealed 14 pieces of gold in his mouth, a fountain pen, a datoon (neem twig), the string of his pyjama, and the pocket of his kurta. Ishtiyak was carrying a piece of gold weighing 182 grams, which he had concealed using the strings of his pyjama, said an AIU official.

Israr and Fakhruk each had 341 grams of gold under their caps, the official added. Israr also had nine pieces of gold hidden under his belt. Preliminary investigations revealed that all four are residents of Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh.

In another case, in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, AIU officers intercepted a woman, Saika Gulam Husain Jat, who arrived from Dubai. She was found to be carrying 12,000 4GB micro-SD cards and 3,750 8GB micro-SD cards worth Rs 16 lakh. She had concealed them in three tin cans.
A 17-year-old Class 11 student, the son of a professor of Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself late on Friday night. His family stayed in the IIT-B campus.

The Powai police found a suicide note from the room. The boy has mentioned in the suicide note that he was under pressure owing to his studies and could not cope up with that. We have registered a case of accidental death and sent the body for a post-mortem, sadi ND Reddy, DCP, Zone X.

His parents also told the police that he had been depressed about his studies for the past few months. This is the third such suicide of a child of an IIT-B faculty reported on the campus in the last one year.

The professor and his family recently moved from Chennai to Mumbai, and the boy was not very happy with the new environment. His studies were also affected and he was depressed, said ND Reddy, DCP, Zone X.

In January this year, a 20-year-old student, the son of a faculty of IIT-B, stabbed himself to death after an altercation with his family members. In April last year, a 17-year-old daughter of a faculty had taken her life by jumping off a building in the campus.

Officials from IIT-B were unavailable for comments.

READ

19-year-old IIT student jumps off hostel balcony, cops say was under pressure

Man posts video on how to commit suicide, jumps from 19th floor of Mumbai hotel

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The steering committee of the farmers outfits has opposed the new conditions imposed by the Maharashtra government for giving an interim loan of Rs 10,000 to small and marginal farmers. Slamming the government, the committee has demanded immediate revision in the norms that make a farmer eligible for financial assistance.

The state government on Wednesday issued order to all district cooperative banks and private or nationalised banks directing them to give farmers a quick loan of Rs10,000 so they could begin sowing kharif crops.

This interim loan will be part of the loan waiver package, and will be adjusted against the final loan waiver that is likely to be announced in October.

Read: Farm loan waiver: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray warns of political earthquake

To prevent the waivers from being misused, the government has excluded farmers who have an alternate source of income, families that own four wheelers, apart from legislators, former legislators, civic body and government employees, employees in institutions affiliated to the government, taxpayers and teachers.

One condition that the farmers have strongly opposed is the cut off date of June 30, 2016 for loan waiver. This means that farmers who have taken loans after this date will not be eligible for the waiver benefit. Ajit Nawale, coordinator of the steering committee has termed the cut off date as injustice to farmers, who are in dire need of help, but will not be eligible, as they have taken loans after June 2016.

Read: 1,129 farmers in Maharashtra committed suicide from Jan to May, loan waiver wont help: Activists

While the government is in the process of forming a committee to decide upon the norms for waiving off loans of the farmers, imposing norms on its own, and that too such harsh ones, is an unjust act. We want this cut off date to be extended till March 31,2017,  Nawale said.

He has further objected to the four-wheeler condition, as it is a norm in rural areas to have the names of their joint family on the property card. Brothers who live separately still have their names on one property card. This condition will deprive the farmers, whose names are on the property cards of their joint family.

He also said that contesting elections or winning an election does not signify the wealth of a person, and thus, putting such a condition for farm loan waiver shows the governments apathy towards issues of the farmers.

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The sale of the spirits and beer in the state fell in the first two months since the Supreme Court banned liquor shops within 500 meters of state and national highways on March 31.

The sale of liquor and beer fell by 17.38% in April and May from the corresponding two-month period last year, according to the figures collated by the excise department. The drop was much less than many expected, considering that about 65% of establishments that sell alcohol were shut after the court passed the order. According to the excise departments figures, the sale of country liquor fell by 12.45%, foreign liquor by 18% and beer by 21.70%.

The excise departments figures are in bulk litres  a traditional unit to measure commodities. One bulk litre is 0.83 litres. The sale of country liquor fell from 5.47 crore bulk litres to 4.79 crore bulk litres; foreign liquor from 3.09 crore bulk litres to 2.53 crore bulk litres; and beer from 7.44 crore bulk litres to 5.83 crore bulk litres.

READ: Not even Google can find Maharashtras notification classifying state highways

Surprisingly, the state governments revenue from state excise duty on liquor for April and May went up by 11% to Rs 1,849 crore in April and May from Rs 1,665 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Officials in the excise department said this was because the consumption of alcohol was barely affected by the closures. Sales have risen considerably in outlets outside the 500-metre boundary. Besides that, the illegal sale of alcohol from houses, shops and vans near the outlets that were shut is in full swing. Some people who used to work for the closed establishments are reportedly engaged in the illegal sale of alcohol are they know the customers and are familiar with the government machinery, said an official, who did not wish to be named.

After the Supreme Courts order, 15,001 of 23,037 establishments selling alcohol  wine shops, country liquor shops, beer bars and beer shops  were shut down across the state from April 1.

The government was therefore expecting a revenue drop of more than 60%. It feared losses of up to Rs 7,000 crore from its estimated excise revenue of Rs 14,340 crore for 2017-18.

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Egypts High Administrative Court ruled on Saturday in a labour dispute dating back to 2014 that peaceful strikes over work grievances are not a punishable offense, even in the absence of a legislation regulating the action, Ahram Arabic website reported.

The court ruled to void administrative sanction against 17 employees at the post office in the Nile Delta governorate of Menoufiya, who struck from 23 to 27 February in 2014 over pay issues.

The court based its ruling on Article 15 of the constitution, which guarantees the right to strike and mandates that the legislature regulates strikes.

The judges faulted the legislature for not issuing regulations to organise the right to strike for civil servants.

The court added that the plaintiffs in the case used their legal right to strike to demand increases in allowances and bonuses.

This right was not abused by the employees. It was proven that the strike was partial, not total, and work at the office was [not disrupted], the court said, adding that there was no reason to subject the workers to disciplinary action.

The court urged the legislature to issue clear regulations for strike actions under the 2016 civil service law, which covers large sections of government employees, given that the current labour law guarantees the right to strike over work-related grievances.

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More than 10 years after his arrest in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, Abdul Qayyum Shaikh on Saturday broke his Ramzan fast at his house in Mahim for the first time. He was released on Saturday after a special court of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act acquitted him of all charges.

Shaikh now hopes for a better life. Though he said he didnt have any plans for the future, he may join his family business. Whatever happened to me was unfortunate, but now I hope for a better life. Ab job hi hoga achcha hi hoga (From now on, whatever happens will be good), Shaikh said.

Shaikh was born in October 1952. His father Abdul Karim was a famous Bollywood tailor. He only used to stitch clothes for Bollywood celebrities, Shaikh said. His father later switched to film making and under the banner of AK Movie Makers produced movies such as Mandir Masjid, Bade Ghar Ki Bahu and Ghar Ka Sach. Shaikh said the production house still exists. We will see what to do with it now.

Shaikh runs a construction business called Makrana Builders and has several business ventures in Dubai.

He allegedly left India 1991 and operated from there till his arrest in 2007.

He was known for his alleged proximity with underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim and was called his manager.

Shaikh was arrested on February 13, 2007 on conspiracy charges. He was alleged to have connived with underworld gangster Anees Ibrahim to send arms and ammunition to India by sea. The prosecution alleged that Shaikh had illegally sold a revolver to actor Sanjay Dutt when the latter visited Dubai in September 1992.

Shaikh was released from the jail on Saturday evening. His brother Qadir, who greeted him outside Arthur road prison, drove him home.

With everything behind me, all I want to do now is rest and be with my family for a few days, Shaikh said.

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The Chembur police have arrested a 68-year-old doctor for allegedly molesting a 24-year-old patient at a dispensary associated with the Lions Club when she went there for a check-up on June 14.

In her complaint to the police, the woman said the gynaecologist, Dr Subhash Sehgal, touched her inappropriately during the examination. She told her family about the incident and they told her to go to the police.

We have registered a case against the doctor based on the womans complaint. He has been arrested and an FIR registered. We are investigating, said Sandeep Dal, senior inspector at Chembur police station.

Dr Sehgal was produced in a metropolitan court, which remanded him in judicial custody.

In May, the Juhu police arrested a 29-year-old doctor at a government run hospital for allegedly recording a video of his colleague while she was changing her clothes and circulating them on chat groups.

READ

Mumbai doctor films woman colleague changing clothes, circulates video

Mumbai cops search for 71-yr-old man who spied on bathing daughter-in-law, molested her

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As schools around the city celebrated their students performance in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination, 130-odd night schools also had reason to cheer.

Seven of these schools saw all students  they work during the day and study at night  clearing the exams and scoring high.

Figures compiled by Masoom, a charity working with night schools, showed 3,085 students from night schools in Mumbai appeared for the SSC exams this year and 59% passed the examination. But it wasnt an easy ride for the night schools or their students, who had to find time to attend the school after a busy day at work. These schools also face a severe shortage of resources, have few teachers and see students dropping out in the middle of the year.

According to BB Chavan, deputy director of education (Mumbai region), two night schools in the city had to shut down because of low enrolment.

READ: Punes sanitation worker clears SSC exam trashing all norms

An activist who did not want to be named said the changing demography of the city is responsible for low enrolment in some schools. Night schools are concentrated in south Mumbai. But a majority of the slum population has shifted our of south Mumbai. But because to stringent government norms, its not easy for schools to shift, he said.

Chandrakant Mhatre, the principal of the New Era Night High School in Chembur, said the state is undermining the role night schools play, to reduce how much it spends on them. The state has drastically reduced teaching staff in night schools to balance teacher and student ratio. Many times, teachers and principals have to pay for the education of these students, as funds from the state dont reach on time, he said. Most of the night schools in the state are aided by the state government and the students are hardly charged anything for their education.

Last month, the state issued a government resolution (GR), prohibiting day-school teachers from teaching at night schools and instead, decided to employ surplus teachers for these schools.

The decision has not gone down well with many of 1,010 night school teachers in Mumbai who also teach during the day.

HOW THEY DID IT

Son, 10, helps blind woman take exams

Kiran Talwar, 31, is blind. She scored 79.60% in the SSC exams from the Maratha Mandir Night School, with help from her 10-year-old son. Kiran, a single mother, earns a living by selling food on the trains from Badlapur to Dadar. She said she lost vision in one eye after taking the wrong medicines for fever. After I lost my eyesight, my in-laws started demanding dowry. I filed for divorce, said Talwar who completed her SSC after a gap of 13 years. As I cant read and write, my son read out the notes. I listened to recordings from Masoom. I want to be a reporter.

I wanted to score above 90%

Preeti Moolya scored 91.80% in the SSC exams from the Gurunarayan night school in Santactuz.

As her father, who runs a sandwich stall, could not afford to send her to a regular school, she took admission at a night school. But she was determined to score high.

I wanted to secure above 90%. I want to become an engineer, said Preeti. She was very focused student and would participate in all school activities. In spite of her the financial issues, she never lost focus on studies, said Masoom, an NGO that helps night schools.

Failed Class 9, topped in Class 10

Aniket Vilas Udade scored 90.2% in the SSC exams. He studied in Sharda Night school in Vikhroli. But the success didnt come easy.

Aniket had failed Class 9. He then started working as a newspaper distributor. In that year, he realised the importance of education, he said. He joined a night school and worked after school hours.

I had aimed to come first in our school so I would get the scholarship, Aniket said. he wants to be an aeronautical engineer. Nobody in our house is educated to afford a good living. I want to support my family.

(With inputs from Bhakti Makwana)

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The Mumbai Universitys new on-screen assessment of answer papers is delaying results for students waiting to confirm admissions for second-year post-graduate programmes.

Students have not yet received the results of the last semester exams, which they need to be eligible to seek admissions in the second year.

The biggest problem is their first year Masters results are not expected for another four to six weeks. And then, their admissions will be confirmed. This will be around mid-August, which will leave students with less than six weeks to prepare for their next semester, said the principal of a suburban college.

READ: Teachers still waiting for Mumbai University nod to start digital assessment of papers

According to a new rule for post graduate admissions in MU, students must clear at least two of the four subjects in semesters one and two to be eligible for admissions to the second year. Earlier, students who cleared the first semester could apply for semester 3, with the condition they clear previous semesters before they apply for semester 4.

The MU has set a priority list for announcement of results through the on-screen system. The first preference is for BA, BCom and BSc, followed by unaided courses like BMM and BAF. Then come final year masters students and finally first year students.

While university officials insist the process has taken off well and results are expected soon, a meeting of vice chancellor Sanjay Deshmukh with MU examination heads showed less than 10% papers were assessed till last week. Results should be out soon, said Deepak Wasave, (in-charge) controller of examination, MU.

Colleges are working around the loophole by giving provisional admissions. We have made it clear that if students dont clear semester 2, admission will be cancelled, said Anju Kapoor, principal, UPG College, Vile Parle.

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A autorickshaw driver was killed while a mechanic was injured after they were hit by a tempo on Sion-Panvel Highway on Friday evening.

According to the police, Nitin Ambawle, 27, was driving his auto towards Kharghar from Belapur side. His auto broke down at Bharati Vidyapeeth.

Ambawles friend, who is also an auto driver, took a mechanic to the sport to get the auto repaired. The friends auto was also parked behind Ambawles vehicle. While the mechanic, Deepak Ghode, was examining Ambavles auto, a tempo which was going towards Panvel hit both the autos, said a police officer from Kharghar police station.

Both Ambawale and Ghode suffered severe injuries. They were taken to MGM hospital by some of their friends and local residents. However, Ambawle declared dead during treatment.

The tempo driver fled the spot leaving behind his vehicle. We have seized his vehicle and are now searching for him. We hope to arrest him soon, the officer said.

The police have handed over Ambawles body to his family after a post-motem. The postmortem reports are yet to come.

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Family members of the Jewar gang-rape, murder and robbery victims, along with Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Dhirendra Singh met the Noida police chief Love Kumar on Saturday afternoon to enquire about the progress in the case.

The police have been claiming that they are taking every possible measure to solve the case but no arrest has been made yet.

Victims of Jewar incident were getting worried about the lack of development in the case. I took them to meet the Senior Superintendent of Police in this regard. We also wanted to ask about any leads in the case and if there has been a significant breakthrough in the investigation. Unluckily, no arrest has been made till now, said Singh.

Kumar assured the affected party that the accused will be arrested soon and their best personnel are working the case. The SSP told us that the police want to arrest the correct gang behind such crimes. The police are expecting a positive result soon. Its a dangerous gang and it is difficult to track them because they dont even carry mobile phones, Singh said.

The Noida police have been working in coordination with their Haryana and Aligarh counterparts to get a lead in the case. Incidents such as Jewar rape have been reported near borders of other places in NCR as well and the police are combing such cases.

On May 25, around 1.30am, eight members of a family travelling in a car from Jewar to Bulandshahr were stopped on the Jewar-Bulandshahr Road by six men. The family was robbed of Rs50,000, valuables and when a male member tried to thwart the attempt, he was shot dead. Four women were also allegedly dragged to a nearby field and gang-raped.
The assistant inspector general (AIG), stamps, who was arrested by the Ghaziabad police in connection with two FIRs lodged against him, was suspended by the state administration. District officials confirmed the suspension after the district magistrate on June 15 had recommended it.

Rajesh Sharma, the suspended AIG, faces allegations of cheating, forgery and exploitation of private parties. He allegedly operated a parallel office from the Raj Nagar residence of one Ajay Kumar Garg, a retired deputy inspector general (stamps).

Sharma is also alleged to have used forged and fake documents that were prepared in the name of a senior district official. It is also alleged that he reduced the circle rates of a prominent mall for undue favours.

We have received information that the AIG has been suspended by the state officials, but we are yet to receive an official communication in this regard. Anyways, if a government servant remains in judicial custody for 48 hours and above, it attracts suspension, said Ministhy S, district magistrate, Ghaziabad.

A team of Ghaziabad officials also conducted a raid at Gargs residence on June 14. The police also seized computers and documents that were recovered during the raid.

Sharma on Friday was sent to judicial custody and lodged in Dasna jail after being produced before a Ghaziabad court on Friday. The court also rejected his bail plea.

The matter related to AIG Sharma is now with the highest authority. They may opt for conducting a departmental inquiry. We are awaiting directions, the DM said.

Sharmas office at the district headquarters has been locked since his arrest. He, however, maintained that he was framed in a conspiracy of builders and advocates. He had said that the final authority to change or revise the circle rates rests with the district magistrate, adding that he was targeted as he was probing cases of stamp duty evasion.

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To make most of the monsoon season, the district administration has formed a three-pronged strategy to recharge ground water levels and spruce up the green cover. The strategy involves additional plantation, rainwater harvesting units and revival of ponds.

The district magistrate (DM) on Saturday said the administration and other departments will plant 50,000 to 1 lakh trees at a vacant patch behind the Mahamaya Stadium complex. The patch was earlier covered with thick tree cover but sewage from a nearby drain destroyed thousands of trees around 2008-09.

This tree plantation will be apart from the annual target set by the state administration to the forest department. This is being done on the divisional commissioners directions. On the drain, the corporation officials said that they will clear the blockade that causes sewage overflow in the green area, said Ministhy S, Ghaziabad DM.

According to the 2015 Forest and tree resources report released by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), there has been a decline of 1 square kilometre (sq km) in the forest cover in Ghaziabad as compared to the previous 2013 FSI survey when it stood at 50 sq km.

Forest cover, as per the FSI survey, includes all land, more than one hectare in area, with a tree canopy density of more than 10 percent. Such land may not be statutorily notified as forest area.

Further, to aid the falling ground water level, district officials plan 20 rain water harvesting units within one month.

There will be special workshops on ways to increase the ground water level. We appeal to RWAs to come up and propose areas where rainwater harvesting units can be installed. They should get their units functional before the monsoon season, she added.

As per the 2011 ground water resource assessment, the district has four development blocks of Loni, Rajapur, Bhojpur and Murad Nagar. Apart from Murad Nagar, the other blocks have already moved to overexploited category.

We have directed to the sub divisional magistrates concerned to crack down on illegal water extraction units. Such units extracting and selling groundwater will be shut down. Apart from this, we plan to crack down on land mafias encroaching and selling land to poor people. We will ensure the victims are not harassed, the DM, said.

To safeguard the freed-up ponds, officials sought a group of five volunteers to ensure encroachers are kept at bay.

The administration has already given the responsibility to revive 100 ponds to different government departments and the work is to be done by June 30. Apart from the 100 ponds, the Ghaziabad municipal corporation is also entrusted the task of reviving 40 ponds in its jurisdiction.

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Sixteen people were injured after the vehicles in which they were travelling overturned in two separate road accidents on Saturday morning.

The injured people were shifted to the district hospital and their condition was said to be stable.

Police officials said the first accident took place around 6:15am, when a bus carrying 50 employees of a private company overturned near the Sector 57 intersection after it was hit by another bus coming from Khoda.

They said the employees had boarded the bus from the 12-22 intersection at 6am and were on way to their manufacturing unit in Sector 59.

On reaching the Sector 57 intersection, the bus driver jumped the signal and it was hit by a speeding bus.

The bus overturned and collided with a stationary truck. The incident caused grievous injuries to 13 employees. A police team from the Sector 57 police post rushed to the spot and injured were shifted to the district hospital.

The bus is owned by a private aggregator that ferries the employees of a company in Sector 59. After accident, the drivers of both the buses escaped from the spot. The buses were removed from the spot to avoid traffic snarls, said Dilip Singh Bisht, station house officer of Sector 58 police station.

In another accident, a mini truck overturned near the sector 16A flyover when the driver failed to negotiate a turn. Police officials said the truck was carrying the snacks of a reputed brand and was on way to Noida from New Delhi.

The speeding truck after crossing the flyover took a left turn towards Noida and hit a WagonR car and overturned. Three occupants of the truck -- Kishan Lal, Sharad Yadav and Suraj -- were injured.

The accident took place around 7am after which locals made a call to police control room and injured were shifted to the district hospital. The truck was removed with the help of crane from the road, said a senior police officer of sector 20 police station.

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UP Director General of Police (DGP) Sulkhan Singh has asked police officials in the district to empathise with crime victims and register their complaints without any hesitation.

Singh was speaking to the press after a meeting with senior police officials under Meerut range in the SSPs office in Surajpur, Greater Noida, on Friday.

Recently, the city police received flak from residents for their lack of empathy towards victims of carjacking, chain snatching, vehicle theft and robberies. Many complained that an FIR is yet to be lodged in their case.

I have come to know about various robberies and incidents of carjacking that have taken place in the region of late. The police should not hesitate in lodging an FIR based on the complaints of the victims. If they think that the complaint is dubious, they must conduct a speedy investigation and then decide whether to lodge an FIR, Singh said.

Singh said that the Station House Officer (SHO) of all police stations must be available on their mobile phones at any time. We understand that the police personnel are on field duty at times and it might not be possible for them to answer all phone calls. However, one can drop a text message on their number and the SHO concerned will get back to all distressed callers, Singh said.

Regarding cyber crime in Noida, Singh said that all efforts are being made by the police to ensure that victims voices are heard. There are two cyber stations for lodging cyber crime complaints, but victims can lodge a complaint at any police station in the district or even online. Complaints can be made online on the police website, Singh said.

The DGP also took a note of the rising incidents of liquor and drug smuggling in Knowledge Park area of Greater Noida. The police have made some arrests but there has not been any major bust or arrest.

SSP Love Kumar must take note of these cases (of drug and illicit liquor being smuggled into the district) and take strict action against the nexus, Singh said.

With regard to the realty sector, Singh said that the police should be cautious and register complaint only when a case pertains to fraud.

Breach of agreement between builder and buyers is not a criminal case and the police should not get involved in these issues. The victims should approach the civil court in cases wherein the buyer has not been able to complete the agreement in stipulated time. However, in cases where the builder has said that the plan has been approved or the land is legal and it has been found otherwise, the police must take action against them on charges of fraud, said Singh.

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The Russian defense ministry said on Saturday it had killed two Islamic State (IS) militants field commanders, named as Abu Omar al-Beljiki and Abu Yassin al-Masri, in air strikes near the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor, Interfax news agency reported.

The statement came a day after Russia said it may have killed IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an air strike last month. Washington said it could not corroborate Baghdadi's death and Western and Iraqi officials were skeptical.

The Russian defense ministry said on Saturday it killed around 180 militants and the two commanders al-Beljiki and al-Masri in air strikes close to Deir al-Zor on June 6 and June 8.

Hisham al-Hashimi, a Baghdad-based expert who advises several Middle East governments on IS affairs, said he was skeptical about Russia's claim on Saturday.

He said Abu Yasin al-Masri is the same person as Abu al-Haj al-Masri, who the Russians on Friday said they killed near Raqqa in May.

Al-Hashimi said the other IS leader, al-Beljiki, was unlikely to have been in Syria at the time of the attack.

"The Russians are trying to improve their record fighting Daesh as it was the Americans who have killed the top commanders of the group so far, like Abu Omar al-Shishani, Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani and Abu Ali al-Anbari," he said, using an Arabic acronym of IS.

"If (Russia's) announcements prove wrong, their credibility will be hurt," al-Hashimi said.

IS is close to defeat in the twin capitals of the group's territory, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, after nearly three years ruling over millions of people in a wide area in both countries.

A U.S.-led coalition is assisting Iraqi forces in the Mosul battle and supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes Arab and Kurdish militias, in Raqqa.

Having been forced into retreat across much of Syria, IS biggest remaining foothold in Syria is in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor.

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Is Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis' ambition to make Maharashtra transparent with the help of information technology getting unrealistic? If report submitted at the annual revenue conference held in the city is to be believed, administration is lagging behind to meet the expectations of top political and bureaucratic leadership to understand and implement government initiatives.

Chief secretary Manukumar Srivastav, who is credited with bringing about several changes through IT, expressed his displeasure in strong words on several occasions at the annual revenue conference, which was attended by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and revenue minister Chandrakant Patil. "Situation is not good. We will not be able to handle things in future if we continue to tackle issues with old, traditional ways," Srivastav said on one occasion.

Six revenue divisions in Maharashtra, comprising 36 districts, submitted their last years performance while Srivastav presented them before top revenue officials.But chief secretary was not happy with the performance of revenue officials. He was of the view that revenue department had to speed up for online 7/12 extracts (record of ownership of land), dispose quasi-judicial matters, e-district initiative and Right to Service. Srivastav even warned revenue officials of initiating disciplinary action if administration does not act fast and follow newly laid procedure.

Srivastav was upset as the ambitious drive of the government to update 7/12 extracts, is not being implemented speedily. He specifically was dissatisfied with performance in districts in Pune and Konkan revenue divisions.

Same was the case about another drive - chawdi wachan - under which all land record is being read out publicly at a particular spot in the village."Several districts have not done well in this respect. Deadline for special drive for chwadi wachan - is today. We have not even achieved 25 per cent target. This is disturbing," Srivastav said.

He drew attention of revenue officials to new regulation, which make revenue officials mandatory to dispose off land dispute case within a period of one year after they are filed. "The new regulation has come in April 2016 but number of pending cases is increasing.In many cases even primary work of data entry is not completed," Srivastav observed and advised revenue officials not to adjourn hearing of the case and dispose off the matter in maximum three hearings. "You may even loose your job if this particular work was brought under Right To Service," he said.

Chief secretary expressed strong displeasure over non-action on issuing of non-agriculture land certificate in the areas, where state government has given final approval to the development plan (DP). "As per government resolution, agriculture land seizes to be agriculture if it falls under the final development plan. We are supposed to take su-moto action in this regard. But we are simply raising queries", he said at one moment.

Srivastav said government has introduced 375 online service under the banner of "Aaple Sarkar" and 65 of them were directly related with revenue department. "We are still accepting offline applications." He said government has decided to stop any off line application for any service from August 1. "We must brand for digital Maharashtra where all the services and record is available on one platform," he said.

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The arrest of Punjab Police drug inspector Inderjit Singh has once again brought to the fore the clout that cat-turned-cops have been enjoying in the department.

The term cat is used for those who were originally militants or their sympathisers, but later became informers and helped the police hunt down militants.

Sources in the department said even Inderjit was a cat during the militancy era in Punjab and was inducted as a special police officer (SPO) in 1991 as an award for his assistance in eliminating dreaded terrorists. Later, he was inducted as a constable.

Inderjit was arrested on Monday after the special task force (STF) recovered 4-kg heroin, an AK-47 and other arms and ammunition besides Rs 16 lakh from his official quarters in Phagwara. He has confessed to having links with drug suppliers in Amritsar region.

Kapurthala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Sharma, who dismissed Inderjit from service on Friday, said the accused cops present rank was that of a head constable.

Inderjit became a head constable in 2000 and was then given an ad-hoc promotion as inspector. I am not sure how he got the rank of inspector, said the SSP.

Notably, its a common practice in Punjab Police to give ad-hoc promotions to cops, with the rider that they would withdraw salary of their original rank.

Rarest of rare promotions

In Inderjits case, sources told HT, he got the rank of inspector, which is a rarest of rare ad-hoc promotions for a head constable, who is usually promoted to the rank of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and later SI.

It was owing to his clout as a cat and proximity with senior police officials from the days of militancy that in 1995, Inderjit, a constable, managed to get the rank of an ASI on temporary basis and was even appointed the station house officer (SHO) at Goraya in Jalandhar district.

Since then, he has served only on key postings as an SHO or in the crime investigation agency (CIA) of the police.

However, the dismissed cop has told the STF in remand that he had served in the Indian Army for five years before joining the police.

History of treading wrong side of law

In Punjab Police, there is a long list of cats who when adjusted in khakhi made full use of their powers illegally.

It was in 1988 when a cat-turned-ASI, Daljit Singh, killed his seniors  SSP Sital Dass and SP (detective) Baldev Singh  in their office. Both were conducting a probe against Daljit, who was instrumental in killing key terrorists.

Gurmeet Singh Pinky, an inspector in Punjab Police, killed a Ludhiana man in 2001 and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006. He too had been a cat.

There are many who are still in the force and often remain in the news for one or the other wrong reason, said a senior cop.

Cat-turned-cops are ruthless when it comes to corruption or other immoral activities. Their assets are generally more than that of any director general of police (DGP)-rank officer, said a retired ADGP-rank officer, on the condition of anonymity.

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The concept of state agricultural universities was based on generating wholesome integrated knowledge, understanding and application of science in improving productivity and production of field crops, horticultural enterprises and livestock in respect of both quantity and quality. In Punjab, farming is quite diversified. Mixed farming incorporates field crops, fruits, vegetables and livestock.

With an objective to providing integrated solutions to problems faced by the farm sector, agricultural universities were set up in every state on land grant pattern of US universities. Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) was the second such university after the one at Pantnagar in Uttar Pradesh, which was inaugurated by then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962. PAU played a leading role in ushering in the Green Revolution, especially in Punjab, and contributed in making the nation food self-sufficient.

The university carved its place among the countrys leading institutions and has been recognised at the international level for its research output, quality of education and contribution in the development of the farm sector. In recent years, it has developed less-seeded kinnow, improved Bt cotton variety, high-yielding short-duration varieties of rice and the first zincated variety of wheat.

In 2006, PAU came under the political knife, and a veterinary and animal husbandry university (GADVASU) was carved out of it, maiming it by one-fourth. Ridiculously, even the fodder section was transferred to the new university on the plea that animals eat it. One wonders why then by the same argument wheat, rice, corn, vegetables and fruits production should have not been transferred to the medical university because humans eat these products! However, the financial position of the government permitting, there could have been no objection to setting up a new university separately, which could compete, supplement and complement the research at PAU. Yet, to take away its departments, and divide assets, infrastructure and budget hit the very vitals of this academic institution, negating the integrated concept of growth and development of the farm sector.

ANOTHER SURGICAL STRIKE?

Now, once again, it seems some person(s) with access extraordinary to Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh is/are planning another surgical strike on the PAU, mooting a proposal to carve a horticultural university out of this institution, which, if pursued, will render the PAU a non-entity. Research and education in horticulture crops will need most of the same department as for other field crops such as genetics, bio-chemistry, molecular biology, entomology, plant pathology, food technology, farm machinery, soil and water engineering, agricultural economics and marketing, agriculture business management, agricultural extension etc. How can these departments be divided without debilitating the agricultural institution beyond repair!

Stretching the same logic, should there be an independent vegetable university, fruit university, cereal crops university and pulse crops varsity? Though PAU as a premier institute catering to agricultural research and education in the state has been ranked number two by the Union ministry of human resources and development, the university itself needs strengthening financially rather than weakening through bifurcation.

BETTER, VIABLE OPTIONS

For impetus to horticulture in Punjab, there are better and viable options. The first is to strengthen the fruits and vegetables departments along with other related departments through additional funding and staff positions. A centre of excellence in horticulture crops can be created within the university, which would complement the research activities of the above departments by focussing on basic and strategic research in horticultural crops. No additional infrastructure will be required. For a fund- starved state this is a better option.

Another option is to strengthen specialised horticultural research in production areas. There is a northern belt where kinnow and vegetables are grown and the second is the south-western belt where mainly kinnow is grown. In these regions, PAU has its research farms that can serve as specialised centres of research. These should be research centres focusing on seed and nursery production of fruits and vegetables. The state government may provide additional land and funds for this purpose to the PAU.

Yet another and the most important viable option to strengthen horticulture research in the state is to expedite the setting up of the Postgraduate Institute of Horticultural Research and Education (PGIHRE) in Amritsar, which has been approved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The setting up of PGIHRE was announced by the Union finance minister in 2015. The institute is to be funded by the Centre and only land is to be provided by the state government.

For research, land at Attari (Amritsar) and Abohar have been marked. This institute requires 10 acres near Amritsar for an administrative complex and residences. PGIHRE has the provision of more than 200 scientific positions for horticultural research and education. Funds earmarked for the institute by ICAR are held up due to delay in land acquisition for building the campus near Amritsar.

This is the best option for the cash-strapped Punjab government. Under this option, long-term financial sustainability of the institute is also ensured.

The state government must not commit the blunder of acceding to vested interests to carve out a horticulture university out of one of the top-ranking agricultural universities of the country and weaken agricultural and horticultural research in the state.

It is hoped that the powers that be are listening.

(The writer is the chancellor of Central University, Bathinda, and a noted farm economist. Views expressed are personal)
Zirakpur police have arrested a 45-year-old conman Parminder Singh Toor, 45, on the charges of duping people impersonating as a Haryana minister. His six accomplices, who were responsible for creating the aura of a minister and gullible people who could be clients have also been arrested.

The police raided a Zirakpur resort on Friday and arrested the seven accused. From the spot, four .32 bore revolvers and Rs 4 lakh was recovered. Two cheques of Rs 10 lakh each were also recovered.

Toor, an undergraduate, of Naglan village district Fatehabad in Haryana, stayed at ATS Apartments in Derabassi. He used to move in a Range Rover with the six accomplices moving around in a Scorpio, complete with flashing lights, pilot flag and hooter siren. He claimed to be associated with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

SAS Nagar SSP Kuldeep Singh Chahal said "We have arrested the conman after getting a tip-off. He duped people by claiming to be well-connected. Investigation is on.

The other six accused are Bunty Saini resident of Shivpuri colony of Derabassi, Gurmeet Singh of Moga, Aad Sach of Fazilka, Balwinder Singh of Amritsar, Barinder Singh of Kaithal, Haryana and Balwinder Singh Jhudge of Payal in Ludhiana. All have been remanded to judicial custody.

Gurmeet Singh and Aad Sach used to identify the people who could be duped in the name of a job or getting work done from the government. Both would approach the person concerned and fix a rate ( commission) for getting the work done. To create the impression of a VIP, the six other accused behaved as if they were the security men of Toor.

Accused roamed in Rs 50-lakh Range Rover

Toor used to move in a Range Rover car that costs around Rs 50 lakh with the apparently VIP number DBZ-1. He was accompanied by his accomplices in Scorpio PB 65 AF (T) 2112. To create the impression of power, Scorpio was used as the Pilot car. Toor employed private personnel as security guards, who were armed with pistols and carried wireless set.

Zirakpur SHO Bhagwant Singh said, He used to dupe people on the pretext of giving jobs and getting government work done. All six accused have been booked under Sections 419 cheating by impersonation, 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act.

What was recovered during raid

 4 revolver of . 32 bore .He could not produce the licence

 Rs 4 lakh and some amount of foreign currency

 Scorpio car PB 65 AF (T) 2112 fitted with flashing lights, hooters and flag of pilot car

 42 Cartridges

Modus Operandi

Gurmeet Singh and Aad Sach used to identify the people who could be duped in the name of a job or getting work done from the government. Both would approach the person concerned and fix a rate ( commission) for getting the work done. To create the impression of a VIP, the six other accused behaved as if they were the security men of Toor.
A constable posted with the traffic police department in Moga was arrested after seizure of 250-gram heroin and AK-47 ammunition from his house at Kania Kalan village in Dharamkot subdivision, around 55km from here, late on Thursday night.

Surjit Singh was reinstated on November 19, 2016, after being acquitted in the infamous 2011 Mansa gun racket that saw busting of an interstate gang involved in selling weapons illegally.

Surjits arrest comes four days after the Punjab Polices special task force against drugs arrested crime investigating agency (CIA) inspector Inderjit Singh on recovery of 4-kg heroin and arms from his house in Phagwara.

During the joint raid at Surjits house, the Moga and Ludhiana Rural police recovered 250 grams of heroin, 62 cartridges of AK-47 and eight magazines of different arms, including one each of AK-47, Stein gun and 7.2 mm gun, three of self-loading rifle and two of a carbine.

Sub-inspector Nishan Singh, posted in Jagraon, had led the raid after a tip-off.

Sources said Surjit has links with drugs smugglers and more recoveries are expected.

Moga senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raj Jit Singh said the constable has been arrested and will be suspended from service.

We are investigating the matter and nothing else can be revealed at this stage, he said.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Arms Act at the Dharamkot police station. The Moga police have procured Surjits one-day remand from court.

Was reinstated last year

The Mansa police on April 15, 2011, busted an interstate gang with the arrest of 15 people, including police personnel and gun house owners, and recovery of a huge haul of small weapons that they used to sell illegally.

The 270 revolvers and pistols were inscribed with names and numbers of foreign manufacturers, while over 6,000 cartridges were suspected to be stolen from police armouries.

Surjit, who was then posted in the Moga police armoury, was dismissed after his name came up in the racket. He was later acquitted of stealing the cartridges and reinstated.
A prisoner, Deepak Kumar, fled from General Hospital, sector 6, Panchkula, on motorcycle after throwing chilli powder into policemens eyes on Saturday morning. The powder entered the air-conditioning system, because of which the hospital had to be evacuated for at least two hours.

Deepak, who is accused of robbery, was taken to the hospital from Ambala jail along with one more prisoner.

It is learnt that he were aided by their accomplices who had come to the hospital on motorcycles. The other prisoner is still in the hospital.

Watch CCTV camera footage procured from hospital below

DCP Ashok Kumar said that the incident took place when Deepak Kumar was being taken for MRI.

Accomplices threw chilli powder on policemen. Gunshots were fired. The policemen chased them and there was scuffle also. We are investigating the case, said the DCP.

Dr VK Bansal, chief medical officer, Panchkula, said that the emergency services would restart after 2 pm.
Punjab tourism minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday halted former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badals much-hyped amphibious bus project that was operational in the Harike lake in Tarn Taran district.

Sidhu, who visited Harike to review the Rs 10-crore project, said: The project is not financially viable. During the trial run, too, it damaged crops over hundreds of acres when water was released for it.

Sukhbir had introduced the amphibious bus (a vehicle that can run both on land and water) amid much fanfare to promote tourism at the Harike lake, at the Sutlej-Beas confluence. Inaugurated in December last year, it had been in choppy waters ever since.

The inauguration was postponed for months as the water level in the lake was not sufficient.

Then, after a short ride for Sukhbir on the day of inauguration, the bus was locked away.

Punjab tourism minister Navjot Singh Sidhu at Harike on Saturday. (HT Photo)

Its critics had also questioned the initial design, calling the bus a gharukka (an improvised vehicle used in rural areas).

The bus was later sent back to Goa, where it had been manufactured, in February and replaced with a new better-looking one, as promised by Sukhbir.

However, weed in the lake kept posing trouble.

Finally, the bus started running in the lake around 15 days back, but weed and low water level continued to affect its operations.

Wont allow Badals businesses to flourish

Calling the amphibious bus Badal da gharukka, Sidhu said: This project is halted from today. This will not work till Punjabs pride PRTC buses dont become profit-making.

The minister said the bus is struggling to attract visitors and is also a disturbance to birds in the Harike wetland sanctuary. He said the Punjab government will also conduct a probe into the entire project and its tendering.

Today at a time when the state roadways are running in losses, the (transport) businesses of Badals are flourishing, said the ministers. Nothing has happened in the past 10 years... The government worked for just one family.

The cabinet minister, who was accompanied by Khemkaran MLA Sukhpal Singh Bhullar, Patti MLA Harminder Singh Gill and other local leaders, said the Congress government will not allow businesses of Badals to flourish.

Sidhu also announced to convert Harike wetland into a tourism hub, without disturbing the bird sanctuary.
After taking the Indian box-office by storm, SS Rajamoulis magnum opus Baahubali 2 is gearing up for wide release in China, where it will be released via E Star Films, the company which also distributed Aamir Khans Dangal. In his latest interview Forbes magazine, Allen Liu, CEO of E Star Films confirmed that Baahubali 2 will hit the screens in China in September and that they are planning release on a very big scale. To come out in as many as 4000 screens, Liu also confirmed that the entire cast of the film will come to promote the film closer to its release date.

On Friday, the film completed its 50th day of theatrical run in India in over 1000 screens. Its the first Indian film to breach into the Rs 1500 crore club, crushing all records across the length and breadth of the globe. In Tamil Nadu, the film has officially joined the Rs 150 crore club, becoming the first film to achieve the rare feat, even surpassing superstar Rajinikanths Enthiran, which registered the record seven years ago. According to trusted trade pundits, it took second part in the Baahubali franchise 16 days to breach into the Rs 100 crore club in Tamil Nadu. In Kerala, the film minted around Rs 70 crore and is still behind the record set by Mohanlals Pulimurugan. Having broken the records of Bollywood biggies such as Sultan and Dangal to become the biggest Indian grosser, theres no record left to be broken by the film and its a moment of pride for every south Indian.

A story about two warring brothers battling for the ownership of an ancient kingdom, Prabhas and Rana Daggubati played the male protagonists. The features elaborate fight sequences and computer graphics including rampaging elephants and a bull stampede which have left both audiences and critics alike in awe. Shot in Telugu and Tamil, the film was dubbed into Hindi and Malayalam. Interestingly, all the four versions of the film did exceptionally good business at the ticket window.

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A casual suggestion made by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to former MP V Hanumantha Rao during a public meeting at Sangareddy in Telangana has rained a Rs 20-lakh bonanza on red chilli farmers from Khammam and Warangal.

Chilli farmers from the two districts have been suffering heavy losses due to lack of remunerative prices for their produce, a factor that spurred protests among agriculturists across Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra earlier this month.

The Rs 20-lakh relief was offered by former Sangareddy MLA T Jayaprakash Reddy alias Jagga Reddy, who auctioned his golden bracelet in the presence of mediapersons on Friday. Interestingly, the ornament was gifted to Reddy by Hanumantha Rao on Gandhis suggestion.

The bracelet, which weighs five tolas, was bagged by Patancheru realtor T Mahender Reddy. The actual cost of the ornament is Rs 1.5 lakh.

Gandhi, who was impressed by the crowd turnout at the Sangareddy meeting on June 1, complimented Reddy for turning the event into such a grand success. Then he asked Rao  who was seated beside him  how Reddy could be rewarded for this. The former MP responded by saying that he had nothing but his gold bracelet to give away.

In that case, why dont you give it to Reddy as a token of appreciation? Gandhi quipped.

The Congress vice-president probably had no idea how seriously his words would be taken. Rao called a press meet the following day and gifted his bracelet to Reddy. I am the most loyal Congressman and a trusted lieutenant of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. So, when Rahul asked me to gift my bracelet to Reddy, I couldnt say no, he said.

Instead of keeping the gift, the former MLA chose to auction it at the Hyderabad Press Club on Friday. The proceeds of the auction will be distributed among red chilli farmers in Khammam and Warangal. Rahul interacted with some of these farmers, and was pained to know that they had been booked in criminal cases and brought to the court in handcuffs. He said the Congress party would extend all possible help to the farmers. Inspired by his gesture, I decided to distribute Rs 20 lakh among affected farmers, Reddy said.

A programme will be held under the auspices of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee to distribute the money among farmers. Reddy said it was yet to be ascertained how many farmers would benefit from the money, and how much each beneficiary will get.

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A US judge has declared a mistrial in Bill Cosbys sexual assault case, after the jury deadlocked following more than 50 hours of deliberations over whether to convict the fallen TV star.

Cosby spokesperson says Bill Cosby's "power is back" after mistrial, tells Gloria Allred to "go back to law school" https://t.co/M4pXEtSZ5h pic.twitter.com/po9TnCj7TZ  ABC News (@ABC) June 17, 2017

The move amounts to a victory of sorts for the 79-year-old pioneering black actor, who had faced spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault against 44-year-old Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby arrives for the sixth day of jury deliberations in Cosby's sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse. (AFP)

It is also a blow to the dozens of women who have said they were sexually assaulted by Cosby. Several accusers were in court all week awaiting a verdict and wearing buttons that read We Stand in Truth.

Cosby has said any sexual activity was consensual. He still faces at least four civil lawsuits from at least 10 accusers.

Cosbys starring role as beloved dad Heathcliff Huxtable in The Cosby Show made him a household name, bolstering a reputation built on years of family-friendly standup comedy routines.

His popularity also made him an in-demand product endorser, and he appeared in commercials for Jell-O, Coca-Cola , Ford and others.

He co-starred in the 1960s espionage show I Spy, the first black performer to star in a weekly American TV dramatic series.

Bill Cosby arrives at the Montgomery County Courthouse during his sexual assault trial. (AP)

Cosby said in a radio interview before the trial that he hoped to resume his performing career after the Constand case was resolved.

The jury appeared unable to agree on which version of the night in question to believe: Constands or Cosbys. They spent days asking to have testimony read back, including Constands testimony at trial as well as the first report she made to police in 2005.

They also reviewed statements Cosby made about the incident under oath during Constands civil lawsuit in 2005 and 2006.

Cosby chose not to testify at trial.

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Saudi border guards have opened fire on an Iranian fishing boat in the Gulf, killing a fisherman, Iran's Tasnim news agency said on Saturday, amid high tension between the two rival states.

"Two Iranian boats that were fishing in the waters of the Persian Gulf were pushed off their course by waves. There was shooting by Saudi border guards ... and one Iranian fisherman was killed," the semi-official agency quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying.

"We are pursuing this matter to determine if the Iranian boats had crossed the Saudi border or not, but the action of the Saudis does not comply with humanitarian and navigational principles," Majid Aqababai, director general of the ministry's border affairs, was quoted by Tasnim as saying.

There was no immediate Saudi reaction. Iranian reports said the incident happened late on Friday.

Relations between the two countries are at their worst in years. Last week Riyadh, along with other Arab governments, severed ties with Qatar, citing its support of Iran as a reason.

Iran and Saudi Arabia accuse each other of subverting regional security and support opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

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The H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a thorny issue in the maiden meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the talks could yield a win-win formula for both the sides, a top American business advocacy group today said.

I believe the visit will yield a win-win formula for both countries. I am very optimistic that it will go very well when Prime Minister comes here, said Mukesh Aghi, president of US India Business Council (USIBC).

Under the umbrella of US Chambers of Commerce, USIBC is the largest representative body of top American businesses having a footprint in India.

Last month, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order for tightening the rules of the H-1B visa programme, the most sought-after by Indian IT firms and professionals, to stop visa abuses.

On June 26, Modi will hold talks with Trump on a range of issues, including terrorism and Indias concerns over possible changes in H1B visa rules, in their first bilateral meeting after the new administration took over in the US.

The bilateral talks appear to be no bed of roses as they come amid thorny issues like the US plans to reduce the number of H-1B visa slots that are mainly used by Indian IT workers, and its withdrawal from the historic climate accord.

Closely involved in the preparations for Modis US visit from June 25 as an industry representative, Aghi said the H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a major issue of discussion between the two leaders.

Responding to a question, he said it is unlikely to be a strain in India-US ties.

I believe this (H-1B) will not be an issue which will cause any kind of strain in discussion. The US industry needs technical resources to become more efficient, more competitive. And at the same time, I think have a good supply from India, he said, adding that H1B visa issue is not just a US issue, it is an issue for the US business community.

It is a supply and demand issue. And, the industry needs more technical resources and the supply is constrained there, he said.

Our (USIBC) position is that we basically are supportive of H1B programme, and I dont believe thats the issue between the two leaders because you look at last years number, the number has dropped by 35% from Indian companies, for H1B, said the USIBC president.

Trump had made the alleged abuse and fraud in H-1B visa system a major election issue during his campaign.

Aghi said India-US ties is the most important strategic issue at this stage.

I think all sides realise value of this partnership and both sides are working to make this deeper and much further than where it is now, he said.

When I walk the corridors of the Hill, or down in the White House, what I essentially get is, this is very important relationship, and tell us what needs to be done to move the bar further up between the two countries, Aghi said.

Of the firm belief that the Indian economy will grow at a faster pace at least for the next 20 years, the USIBC president said this would create tremendous market opportunity for US companies.

To gain market share, if you look at Uber or Amazon or Facebook or WhatsApp, their market dominance in India is growing, and it affects their stock up to the Chinese market also, he said.

Responding to a question, Aghi said Trumps America First and Modis Make in India policies are complimentary to each other.

I believe theyre complementary, because I see India buys more and more defence, which in turn creates more jobs. Indian airlines place more order by US manufacture of planes, place more jobs here, he argued.

If you move a lot of these manufacturing to India, it still creates more jobs. It is a complementary relationship. So I think my perspective of this is, it needs more long-term capital investment for the infrastructure. And, there is a lot of cash, its not earning that high interest of return, so India provides the opportunities, especially for large pension funds, he said.

Notably, Modis US visit comes in the backdrop of Trumps announcement to withdraw the US from the historic Paris Climate Agreement signed by over 190 other countries. Trump had blamed India and China for the US withdrawal.
Hundreds of yoga enthusiasts gathered on Saturday at the historic National Mall here to observe the third International Yoga Day by flexing their bodies in various postures.

What has happened in the last three years is quite phenomenal that this movement of pushing forward and achieving recognition of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga, Ambassador of India to the US Navtej Sarna told people.

The day has actually brought this ancient discipline, philosophy and practice from India into the hearts and lives of people in every corner of the globe.

So, what you will see during this week is this day being celebrated in similar gatherings in every country in the world, Sarna said, adding it is a very moving sight to see so many people in the heart of Washington early on a Saturday morning coming to celebrate yoga, and ready to perform this wonderful session.

This is not a political or economic movement, he said.

This is something which is only for the benefit of all humanity at both an individual level and a macro level because ultimately all societies in all countries are made up of human beings.

If we have each human being who has a balanced view on life, who has achieved a kind of equilibrium inside and outside, I think ultimately will go and affect how nations govern and are governed and how they relate to each other, Sarna said.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, in a citation, sent his best wishes for a joyous observance of the third International Yoga Day organised by the Indian Embassy here in association with the Friends of Yoga.

Virginia Governor Chris Van Hollen sent his citation on the occasion in recognition of the spiritual value that yoga and meditation offer, and with appreciation and gratitude for the organising committees outstanding efforts to encourage, peace, harmony and consciousness.

Extending warm greetings to all who are gathered on the occasion, Senator Mark Warner, in his message, said the event provides an opportunity to celebrate one of the many important traditions of the Indian culture, yoga.

The appeal of this ancient, holistic tradition crosses cultural boundaries and increases international understanding and friendship. I hope all of the attendees enjoy taking part in todays activities, said Warner, a Ranking Member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus.

Warner said he remains very optimistic about Indo-US relationship, and continues to believe that they can make great strides together.

As two of the worlds largest democracies, and with the incredible Indian-American population that contributes so much to our culture, commerce and community in this country, it is critical for us to continue to deepen and broaden the existing framework of partnership and friendship.

In the last Congress, we were able to expand the US- India relationship on several fronts, including hosting Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi for a joint session. During this session, the prime minister described the many ties that bind India and the US together, as well as the significant contributions the Indian-American community has made to this country, he said.

The overwhelmingly positive response to his visit demonstrates the strength of the relationship between the US and India, Warner added.
Donald Trumps tweets antagonize, insult and drive headlines around the world. Now, theyre on display at a tongue-in-cheek presidential Twitter library a stones throw from his New York home.

Comedy Centrals The Daily Show hosted by Trevor Noah, emboldened by soaring ratings since Trump took office, put together the one weekend only, free of charge pop-up exhibition to lampoon the president and make visitors think.

From Friday until Sunday, members of the public are invited to stroll through The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library, soak up some of his most notorious tweets, and fire off one or two of their own from a golden toilet.

He is a damn fine Twitterer, South African comedian Noah told reporters.

Never before has a president been so transparent, and at the same time so opaque.

Guests view an exhibit at The Daily Show-produced 'Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library in New York City. (AFP Photo)

Many Americans may already feel saturated by coverage of the presidents tweets, which have seen him attack Barack Obama, political rivals, Londons mayor and wade in on celebrities love lives.

But the exhibition seeks to squeeze out every ounce of nuance from Trumps love for the 140-character medium, his preferred way to communicate with supporters, bypassing traditional media and even his own White House spokespeople.

Guests view a video exhibit at The Daily Show-produced 'Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library,' June 16, 2017 in New York City. (AFP Photo)

The concept is a play on the US tradition of every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt establishing a post-tenure memorial library, housing documents of values from their administrations.

Its also another vehicle for comedians to poke fun at a presidency that has boosted comedy show ratings and invigorated careers, Noahs included.

Tweets are displayed at The Daily Show-produced 'Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library,' June 16, 2017 in New York City. (AFP Photo)

Theres a screen with Trumps Twitter feed, which will emit a siren when he tweets, and gaudy faux gold frames -- art museum style -- encasing some of his most famous missives.

Theres a map of the world flagging up country-specific tweets, data crunched to reveal that Obama was his most often attacked Twitter foe and his tweets propagating the myth that Americas first black president was born in Kenya.There are also interactive exhibits.

A monitor displays Twitter statistics at The Daily Show-produced 'Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library,' June 16, 2017 in New York City. (AFP Photo)

But is it too much?

I think people will find a way to cathartically laugh at the stress we all feel, says Hasan Minhaj, a Daily Show correspondent.

The exhibition opens amid debate about whether Trumps tweets should be included under the Presidential Records Act.

An item on display at The Daily Show-produced 'Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library,' June 16, 2017 in New York City. (AFP Photo)

Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley has introduced the so-called COVFEFE Act, a reference to Trumps most famous typo yet, when last month he mysteriously tweeted from his personal account: Despite the constant negative press covfefe.

We must ensure that these statements are documented and preserved for future reference, Quigley said Monday.

Tweets are powerful, and the president must be held accountable for every post.
An Indian-origin pharmacist who stole almost 5,000 pounds worth of prescription drugs and then sold them on the street has been jailed for one year by a UK court.

Niren Patel had appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of a position of trust, possession with intent to supply a Class B drug and five counts of possession to supply a Class C drug.

He was sentenced to a total of 12 months imprisonment on Friday.

Patel abused his position as a pharmacist by creating fraudulent orders for prescription drugs and then sold them on the street. The drugs he sold are highly addictive and dangerous when given to someone without a prescription, said Detective Constable Beverley McInerney, of the Mets Organised Crime Command.

The Metropolitan Polices Controlled Drug Liaison team began an investigation in August 2016 after Patels employer, Day Lewis Pharmacy in Hornchurch, made a report of theft to the police.

Analysis of stock records and drugs purchased by Patel, who also worked at Hedgemans Pharmacy in Dagenham, revealed he had created fraudulent orders for almost 5,000-pounds worth of prescription medicine.

During questioning by police, the 38-year-old admitted he had sold the drugs, including Genotropin, a growth hormone used by bodybuilders, to a member of the public on the street.

Other drugs sold by Patel included the Class B restricted drug Dexamfetamine, which is used for weight loss and to improve academic performance, and Class C drugs such as Xanax, Zolpidem and Diazepam, which are sedatives used as downers.
Prime Minister Theresa May came in for trenchant criticism from angry victims of Grenfell Tower tragedy for allegedly being cold as a fish to it, but Queen Elizabeth II was hailed for reflecting the national mood on Saturday, her official birthday.

On television and on the streets near the Grenfell Tower, May faced criticism and worse for meeting officials instead of victims. Her aides, however, insisted that she was as horrified as anyone by the tragedy, in which police say 58 people are presumed dead, including the 30 already confirmed deaths.

The queen, who met victims and volunteers on Friday at the site of the blaze, celebrates two birthdays each year  her actual birthday on April 21 and her official birthday, usually on the second Saturday in June.

She said in her message on Saturday: Today is traditionally a day of celebration. This year, however, it is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood. In recent months, the country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies.

During recent visits in Manchester and London, I have been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need.

Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity. United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss, she added.

Metropolitan police commander Stuart Cundy said the death toll may increase and that the significant recovery operation is likely to take weeks. As soon as we can, we will locate and recover loved ones, he said.

Meanwhile, May, stung by criticism, was scheduled to meet victims, volunteers and community leaders in Downing Street on Saturday afternoon, even as angry protests continued at the site and elsewhere in London.

May announced a 5 million package to help the victims, and promised to re-house most of them in the Kensington and Chelsea borough. A series of inquiries have been ordered into incident, as well as review of fire safety measures in similar multi-storey blocks in London and elsewhere.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs younger brother Shehbaz Sharif hit out at the countrys powerful military on Saturday, saying unlike the military rulers who usurped power at gunpoint, his family respects the law.

Shehbaz, the 65-year-old Punjab chief minister, made the remarks while talking to media after appearing before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which grilled him in connection with the high-profile Panamagate graft case against Sharifs.

The prime minister of Pakistan appeared front of this JIT a day ago and a new leaf was turned in Pakistans 70-year history. Today, I did the same, said Shehbaz, the fourth member of the Sharif family to appear before the JIT.

We have proven that our family has respect for the law, unlike the military rulers who usurped power at gunpoint (in the past), Shehbaz said, referring to several military Generals who in the past toppled elected governments.

Prime Minister Sharif was ousted by then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999. The army has ruled the country for much of its life since it gained independence 70 years ago.

Last month, the powerful army withdrew a controversial tweet that had rattled the Sharif government over a media leak about a rift between the two power centres over fighting militancy in the country.

It was taken as the armys defeat and an unprecedented criticism was ensued on social media against the army, which enjoys considerable influence over policy decisions in Pakistan.

This is not the first time that the Sharif family has been put to trial: people should not forget the time when our familys Ittefaq Foundries were taken from us by force, said Shehbaz.

He said between 1988 and 1990, his familys second trial took place during Benazir Bhuttos first government; and then again in 1993 and 1996, the Sharif family suffered losses worth billions due to conspiracies against it.

But that was not all: in (former president) Musharrafs era, I was handcuffed and taken to prison. I have not talked about this before publicly as it was a matter of shame, but I am admitting it today because we are on trial once again, the Punjab chief minister said.

This is the fifth time we are being put to trial, but just like the times before this, all [our opponents] allegations will be proven false, he added.

He said he was asked to appear before the JIT as somebody acquainted with the facts of the Panamagate scandal.

The Punjab chief minister said that even though he had severe back pain, he did not flee from the JITs summons.

I did not go away to London, never to return, like other politicians [have done in the past], Sharif said.

Whatever questions the JIT asked, I answered them to the best of my knowledge, he added.

Reiterating his brothers point that the JIT is not investigating a case about corruption within the government, Shehbaz said: This is a case against our family; it is a means to destabilise out family, just like the attempts made by others in the past.

Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sharif was grilled by the JIT, set up by the Supreme Court last month to investigate the Sharif family about its properties in London.

It had questioned Sharifs sons - Hussain and Hasan - last month over the familys alleged improper business dealings. His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice.

Earlier, Shehbaz arrived at the JIT secretariat to appear before the JIT. He was accompanied by his son, Hamza Shahbaz, Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

The JIT alleged that the government was using its official machinery to hamper its investigation.

The Supreme Court had asked the government to respond to the allegations against the departments.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister House accused the JIT of tapping phones and monitoring witnesses, which it said was in violation of the law and the Constitution.

Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf Ali raised serious doubts over JITs performance, accusing it of spending too much time and energy on monitoring the media.

In a four-page response which he has submitted in the Supreme Court, Ashtar stated that the JIT application spanned more than 120 pages, containing news articles, screenshots of statements, tweets and messages gathered from social media.

It appears that a lot of time and energy is being consumed in gathering this material. The JIT appears to have spent [too much] time watching talk shows, reading articles and monitoring tweets and messages on social media while arranging the same where necessary, according to the reply.

The AGP also informed the apex court about the replies submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Law Ministry, Intelligence Bureau and the Prime Ministers Secretariat over JITs allegations of non-cooperation and tampering of records.

These institutions vehemently deny [all the] allegations [levelled by] the JIT, he said.
An Israeli policewoman was stabbed and killed in an attack outside Jerusalems Old City and security forces shot dead three suspected Palestinian assailants, police said.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the fatal stabbing in a statement. If true, it would mark the first direct IS action against Israel and the group warned on its affiliate news agency it will not be the last.

Let the Jews expect the demise of their entity at the hands of the Caliphate soldiers, it said, calling the attack revenge for Gods religion and for the violated sanctities of Muslims.

However, Hamas and the Peoples Front for the Liberation of Palestine said the three Palestinians shot dead in Jerusalem after the fatal stabbing of the Israeli policewoman belonged to local Islamist and leftist movements, rejecting the claim by the IS.

Israeli police said no connection had been found between the three Palestinians who carried out the fatal attack and any organisation.

It was a local cell. At this stage no indication has been found it was directed by terrorist organisations nor has any connection to any organisation been found, police spokeswoman Luba Simri said.

A member of the Israeli security forces outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on June 16, 2017 following an attack. An Israeli policewoman was stabbed and killed in the attack, police said, with security forces shooting dead three Palestinian assailants. (AFP)

The attack took place on Friday as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramzan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islams third-holiest site.

Female border policewoman injured critically in attack at Damascus gate, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement. 3 Arab terrorists shot by police units that responded at the scene. Police said the three were killed.

The policewoman was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevy identified the three attackers as Palestinians from the West Bank.

The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah and Asama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year. All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in popular terror activity, a Shin Bet statement read.

Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramzan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays.

During Ramadan there are large numbers of (Palestinian) youths who enter without permits, they take advantage of Ramadan to be in Jerusalem, Halevy told media at the scene of the attack.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone consultation with the chief of police and public security minister, and decided to cancel the family visits, a police statement read.

Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said.

The area around Damascus Gate was sealed off in the hours after the attack, with a few youths throwing fireworks at security forces. A road leading to Damascus Gate full of stalls opened especially for Ramzan was closed off by police, and a shopkeeper said this would normally be one of the busiest nights of the year.

Inside the Old City shops were open but the atmosphere was subdued and numbers of people much lower than normal.

Large numbers of heavily armed security forces were patrolling throughout the Old City, an AFP reporter said.

The Islamist movement Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip condemned the shooting of the Palestinians as a crime by the occupation. A spokesman for the movement, Hazem Qassem, said the attack was proof that the Palestinian people are leading a revolution against the enemy.

He also said the attack proved the Palestinian Authoritys policy of security coordination with Israel was wrong, calling it a national crime.

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 272 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. The Old City in annexed east Jerusalem is one of the focal points of the wave of violence.
Queen Elizabeth II, in a message released on her official birthday on Saturday, said the UK has been resolute in the face of adversity following recent tragedies in London and Manchester.

But she said it was difficult to escape a very sombre national mood.

In her traditional birthday message, the 91-year-old monarch made a reference to the succession of terrible tragedies, a day after she paid a visit to people affected by the Grenfell Tower blaze in west London that has claimed at least 30 lives.

She said during her recent visits to Manchester  the site of a suicide bombing last month  and London  which suffered two terror attacks this year  she has been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need.

United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss, she said.

The queen and her husband Prince Philip also observed a minute of silence to honour the victims of Grenfell Tower tragedy, before the start of the annual Trooping the Colour procession that marks her official birthday.

Meanwhile, public fury over the blaze is mounting as exhausted firefighters continue their grim search for victims of the inferno.

Residents and neighbours are demanding answers for how the blaze spread so quickly amid reports that contractors installed a cheaper, less flame-resistant type of exterior panelling in a renovation of Grenfell Tower that ended in May 2016.

Around 70 people are missing, according to Britains Press Association, and identification of the victims is proving very difficult. British health authorities say that 19 patients, 10 of whom remain in critical condition, are still being treated at four London hospitals.

Rescue personnel have had difficulty reaching the top floors of the charred, 24-story tower. Officials warn that no further survivors are likely to be found.

Hundreds have been left homeless by the blaze, putting more pressure on officials in a city already plagued by a chronic housing shortage.

The government has promised a full public inquiry, but that has done little to a sense of frustration at the lack of information about how the fire moved so quickly to engulf the building.
The diplomatic crisis pitting Saudi Arabia against Qatar has put Syrian rebels in a difficult position, analysts say, after rivalries between Gulf backers had already weakened the opposition.

Both Sunni-ruled monarchies sided with the protesters in March 2011, when the war started with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations.

They continued supporting the mostly Sunni rebels when unrest spiralled into conflict between the armed opposition and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the countrys Alawite Shia minority and is backed by Saudi Arabias arch-rival Iran.

But six years later, the rebellion has been plagued by rivalries between Riyadh and Doha, as well as weakened by Russias military intervention in support of Assads forces.

Moscows support for regime forces led to a series of setbacks for the rebels, including their landmark loss in December of second city Aleppo.

Last week, Saudi Arabia and allies, including the United Arab Emirates, severed or reduced diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations the emirate supports extremism, claims Doha has denied.

The current rupture puts the Syrian opposition in a very awkward position politically, as nobody wants to have to take sides publicly nor can afford to alienate either side, said Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Centre.

A rebel official in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus said he hoped the crisis between Doha and Riyadh was just a temporary storm.

Sensitive issue

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have supported the revolution of the Syrian people and shown solidarity throughout years of tragedy, the rebel official said.

In a sign of the embarrassment the crisis is causing, several rebel groups approached by AFP refused to comment, saying it was a sensitive issue.

But Sayigh said the latest flare-up in relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia will have a limited impact on the Syrian conflict.

It probably wont have a major financial impact, nor a military one since the US and Turkey have stepped up their support for factions that previously were close to Qatar or to Saudi Arabia, Sayigh said.

Riyadh reduced its funding sharply starting from the summer of 2015 after it launched its intervention in Yemen earlier in the year, he said.

Six years into the war, Syrias fractured rebellion controls just around 10% of the war-torn country, with backing from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and the United States.

Pro-Doha rebels including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group are present in the north of the country.

In Eastern Ghouta, pro-Doha opposition groups exist alongside the pro-Riyadh Jaish al-Islam rebel alliance.

Rebels in the south, meanwhile, are trained by Amman and Washington.

Another influential player is Syrias former Al-Qaeda affiliate, which now leads the Tahrir al-Sham group and which some analysts and Syrian factions say has links with Qatar, although Doha has denied this.

Tensions in Eastern Ghouta?

Qatar led most mediation efforts to obtain the release of hostages held by the group formerly known as Al-Nusra Front.

In Eastern Ghouta, even before the Gulf crisis, factions supported by Qatar on one side and Saudi Arabia on the other had already clashed, killing hundreds of fighters.

Raphael Lefevre, a researcher at the University of Oxford, said the latest Saudi-Qatari crisis could well spark further tensions between rival groups in the rebel enclave.

In 2013 and 2014, Qatar and Saudi Arabia competed for influence within exiled opposition bodies, each by supporting different factions and leaders, something which largely contributed to paralysing and fragmenting the Syrian opposition, he said.

But the consequences of the latest spat could be much bloodier, especially as the two countries support rival rebel factions in areas already marked by a great degree of opposition infighting and regime violence such as the Eastern Ghouta, Lefevre said.

Syria expert Thomas Pierret however said local dynamics rather than external patrons determine alliances in Eastern Ghouta.

He said Ahrar al-Sham risked suffering financially from a reorientation of Qatari politics, even if it continues to enjoy support from Turkey, which has intervened as a mediator in the Gulf dispute.

Syrias exiled political opposition is also fractured. The High Negotiations Committee is based in Riyadh, while the National Coalition work out of Istanbul.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was set to name a former Lebanese culture minister as new U.N. envoy to Libya, ending an unusually contentious four-month search that followed U.S. rejection of his first suggestion.

Guterres on Friday officially put forward Ghassan Salame, a professor of International Relations and Conflict Resolution at Sciences-Po in Paris, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Saturday. Diplomats said objections were unlikely and the U.N. Security Council will greenlight the appointment on Tuesday.

The council must agree by consensus on the appointment of special envoys. Traditionally, the U.N. chief informally discusses candidates with the 15-member body to ensure agreement before officially proposing a name.

The search for a successor to Martin Kobler, a German diplomat who has served as the U.N. representative in Libya since November 2015, began in February when Guterres proposed former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad for the job.

The United States rejected Fayyad because of his nationality. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said the United Nations had been "unfairly biased in favor of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel."

"In practice ... if (countries) have a significant objection then they usually make it clear before the secretary-general has made the proposal," said a senior council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. "So it was very unusual that the United States blocked the Palestinian candidate very late in the day."

Guterres described the U.S. rejection as "a loss for the Libyan peace process and for the Libyan people."

Following that objection, Russia and other council members then rejected a British candidate and an American candidate, said diplomats. Kobler's posting was briefly extended until the end of June.

"Over 20 people were approached and either ruled themselves out  i.e. they weren't available  or they were ruled out ... by one of the Security Council members," the senior council diplomat said.

Libya slid into turmoil after Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow in 2011, with rival governments and armed alliances competing for power. A U.N.-backed government in Tripoli has struggled to impose its authority and has been rejected by factions in the east. The U.N. envoy to Libya has been trying to broker peace.

The political chaos and security vacuum has allowed Islamist militant groups to gain a foothold and human traffickers to thrive. Libya is the most common departure point for migrants trying to reach Europe by sea.

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Russia said Saturday that airstrikes carried out this month had killed about 180 Islamic State jihadists in Syria, including two field commanders.

As a result of June 6 and 8 aerial strikes on targets belonging to IS fighters, IS field commanders Abu Omar al-Belgiki and Abu Yasin al-Masri were killed in Deir Ezzor, a province held mostly by IS forces, the defence ministry said in a statement carried by the Interfax news agency.

The ministry said that around 180 fighters were killed, and that 16 military vehicles were destroyed along with weapons stores.

It said the strikes took place after Russian forces using drones spotted preparations by IS fighters to break through the defences of a garrison held by Syrian government forces in the city of Deir Ezzor.

The defence ministry did not make any mention of the possible death of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, after saying Friday that it was seeking to verify whether he had been killed in a night raid in Syria last month.
Two top lawmakers have accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism and urged the Trump administration to cut military aid to the country, saying the US should make it more difficult for Islamabad to get its hands on American weapons.

During a Congressional hearing this week, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Ted Poe, alleged that Pakistan is engaged in terrorism and asserted that the US needs to cut its military assistance to it.

We need to go on the record here, on this part of our government, to say that were not going to be providing weapons to countries like Pakistan that were afraid will shoot down our own people and afraid we know theyre engaged in terrorism, Rohrabacher said during a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade hearing on Foreign Military Sales.

We know what theyve done now. They still hold Dr. Afridi (who helped locate Osama bin Laden)...in a dungeon, he said.

We should be facilitating our support and our weapons systems to countries like Egypt that are fighting this threat to Western civilisation, to all of civilisation. And we should make it more difficult not less difficult for countries like Pakistan to get their hands on American weapons, Rohrabacher asserted.

Congressman Ted Poe, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade, said that the US is having the issue with Pakistan whether theyre loyal or playing us for years on the issue of aid to Pakistan and sales to Pakistan.

We were concerned about the Pakistanis scrambling F-16s that we made and sold to the Pakistanis so that they wouldnt shoot down Americans who were doing the job of taking out this terrorist. I personally think Pakistan plays the United States because they turn to China if we dont help them, Poe said.

I understand all that. They have nuclear weapons and we want to have a relationship with them so that they dont look to China. I get all that. But are we doing anything different on sales to Pakistan to make sure those sales of whatever it is arent used against us directly or used against us indirectly because of the military helping the Taliban in Afghanistan where were have our troops and those weapons could be used against the United States? he asked.

Are we doing anything different to make sure that doesnt happen or are we still using the same formula, Poe questioned.

Tina Kaidanow, Acting Assistant Secretary of State, Political-Military Affairs, told lawmakers that with Pakistan the United States has a robust end use monitoring programme, to ensure that the items that it provides to them are used appropriately and within the boundaries of what the US has asked them to accomplish.

We regard Pakistan as an important partner on counter- terrorism issues. They will be essential in bringing the Afghan Taliban to the table for peace talks. There are a number of things where we need their cooperation and their assistance, Kaidanow said.

We do want to help them on the counter-terrorism front. But on the other hand, again, we have very big concerns that we continuously front with them on support for Haqqani, on support for other things. This has been made clear to the Pakistani government at the highest levels, the senior State Department official said.
A UN human rights investigator called on North Korea on Friday to explain why an American student was in a coma when he was returned home after more than a year in detention there.

Otto Warmbier, 22, has a severe brain injury and is in a state of unresponsive wakefulness, his Ohio doctors said on Thursday. His family said he had been in a coma since March 2016, shortly after he was sentenced to 15 years hard labour in North Korea.

While I welcome the news of Mr Warmbiers release, I am very concerned about his condition, and the authorities have to provide a clear explanation about what made him slip into a coma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), said in a statement issued in Geneva.

Ojea Quintana, speaking by telephone, later told Reuters: There seems to be a disproportionate relation between the act or crime that Otto Warmbier is accused of and the penalty imposed on him from a human right points of view. There is a serious concern in this respect.

Warmbier was arrested for trying to steal an item bearing a propaganda slogan, North Korean media reported. On Thursday, North Korea said that it had released him on humanitarian grounds.

The University of Virginia students father, Fred Warmbier, said his son had been brutalised and terrorised by the North Korean government. He said the family did not believe North Koreas story that his son had fallen into a coma after contracting botulism and being given a sleeping pill.

Ojea Quintana called on North Korea to clarify the causes and circumstances of Otto Warmbiers release.

His ordeal could have been prevented had he not been denied basic entitlements when he was arrested, such as access to consular officers and representation by an independent legal counsel of his choosing, added Ojea Quintana, a lawyer and veteran UN rights expert.
Seven Navy sailors were missing and at least two, including the captain, were injured after a US destroyer collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan before dawn Saturday, the US Navy and Japanese coast guard reported.

Footage from the Japanese TV network NHK showed heavy damage to the mid-right side of the USS Fitzgerald and a person in a stretcher being lifted to a helicopter.

The first, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was taken to the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka and was in stable condition, the US 7th Fleet said in a statement. It said another injured person was being evacuated but gave no further details on the crews injuries. Others hurt in the crash were being evaluated, it said.

The Fitzgerald had limited propulsion after suffering damage on the starboard side below the water line and a US defense official said there was flooding in three compartments. It wasnt clear yet what caused the nighttime collision between the destroyer and the container ship four times its size. Most of the more than 200 sailors would have been asleep in their berthings, some of which were reportedly flooded.

The damage of the right side of the USS Fitzgerald is seen off Shimoda, Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, after the Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship. (AP Photo)

The Navy, Japanese maritime defense vessels and the coast guard were working to stabilize the destroyer as it headed to shore, said Navy chief Adm. John Richardson.

The Navy said that the collision occurred 56 nautical miles (103 kilometers) southwest of Yokosuka, which is home to the 7th Fleet. Footage showed the damaged ship moving slowly in calm seas, flanked by a tugboat.

Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the sailors, said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet.

The Japan coast guard said it received an emergency call from a Philippine-registered container ship ACX Crystal around 2:20 a.m. (1720 GMT Friday) that it had collided with the Fitzgerald southwest of Yokusuka, Japan.

Relatives of crew members were awaiting news of their loved ones.

Of course were nervous and scared and just praying, Rita Schrimsher said by telephone from Athens, Alabama.

Her grandson Jackson Schrimsher is a 23-year-old sailor aboard the Fitzgerald. She said she last communicated with him via Facebook messenger on Wednesday.

Takeshi Aikawa of the Japan coast guard said that so far no damage or injuries were reported on the container ship, he said. NHK reported that the merchant ship had scratches on the left side of its bow.

The Philippine ship is 29,060 tons and is 222 meters (730 feet) long, the coast guard said.

The fleet said the USS Dewey, medical assistance, Navy tugs and naval aircraft were dispatched. The Japan coast guard dispatched five patrol ships and an aircraft carrying medics to the site for search and rescue operations.

The Navys Pacific Fleet said the extent of damage to the Fitzgerald was being determined and the incident was under investigation.
We still dont know what the mysterious 4:44 marketing strategy is yet, maybe a Tidal film as the trailer suggested or maybe its Jay Zs next album, but whatever it is it appears well know in a matter of weeks. On Friday, new banners/flyers started popping up in Hollywood teasing a release date of June 30th.

In addition to the 6.30.17 date, Jay Zs name is also now appearing on the news posters, leaving fans wondering if maybe his 13th studio album is dropping at the end of the month after all?

For what its worth, Hov was just recently spotted in Jamaica, where he reportedly shot a music video with reggae legends Junior Reid and Damian Marley, as well as record with Damian and Sister Nancy. Meanwhile, ATL producer Zaytoven has also been teasing us of working with Hov in the recent months as well.

Check out the new flyer via HipHopDX (below) and keep it locked as well continue to update you with information as we receive it on what 4:44 really is.

[Via]

Jay Z
On Friday, a judge found Jeronimo Yanez, the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop last year, not guilty of second-degree manslaughter. He also was acquitted & found not guilty of two counts of intentional discharge of firearm that endangers safety, ultimately meaning hes walking away scotch free now. The jury of 12, which included two black people, had to sort through the competing narratives lasting 5 days of deliberation.

Mr. Castiles death became world wide news last Summer almost immediately after his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, streamed the aftermath live on Facebook. From that moment, the case hinged largely on conflicting accounts of what Mr. Castile was doing before he was shot. Officer Yanez claimed that he believed Mr. Castile was grabbing a gun. Meanwhile, Ms. Reynolds testified in court, that Mr. Castile had been trying to cooperate and reach for only his drivers license.

Following the verdict, Castiles mother called her sons death a murder and tied the verdict to what she described as systemic racism in Minnesota.

The system continues to fail black people, and it will continue to fail you all, Valerie Castile said. My son loved this city and this city killed my son. And the murderer gets away. Are you kidding me right now

Check out the post-verdict interviews (below) and sound off in the comments.

Philando Castile
WASHINGTON - In 2014, an Exxon Mobil supervisor in western Canada emailed an executive at corporate headquarters asking how to estimate the financial hit the company's oil sands holdings might take from tighter climate change rules.

Specifically, the employee asked whether he should use figures that Exxon Mobil had earlier presented to investors, projecting regulatory costs of about $80 per ton to emit carbon dioxide in developed countries by 2040. Instead, the New York Attorney General's Office alleges, the company instructed the employee to use a carbon cost of less than $4 a ton in valuing the Alberta oil reserves - making the project appear more financially resilient than it was.

What allegedly happened in those oil fields in Canada is part of a narrative being developed by New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, appears to have used a carbon price far lower than the one it publicized to investors in calculating whether its projects would be profitable.

The email exchange, made public in a court filing earlier this month, is among recent developments that have added momentum to what initially appeared a novel and perhaps improbable fraud investigation into whether Exxon Mobil deceived investors about the risks that climate change regulation posed to its business as governments around the world seek to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. After early wins, Exxon Mobil, headquartered in Irving, has suffered a series of setbacks, including a ruling that moved its lawsuit trying to block the investigation from a friendlier venue in Fort Worth to federal court in New York. In its own court filing last week, Exxon Mobil, which declined comment for this story, dismissed the attorney general's email discovery as insignificant, characterized its inclusion in Schneiderman's filing as "graymail" and accused the New York AG of conducting a "witch hunt" to bolster his "transparent political ambitions."

Whether Schneiderman's investigation ultimately leads to a successful prosecution remains to be seen, legal experts say. But, nearly two years after Exxon Mobil disclosed that it was subpoenaed by the New York attorney general, the case has grown into a multistate investigation involving at least two state attorneys general and revealing, among other things, that the former CEO Rex Tillerson, now secretary of state, used a secondary Exxon Mobil email account under the pseudonym "Wayne Tracker" to communicate about sensitive matters, including climate change.

"We're in the first act of a multi-act play," said David Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown University. "I think the AG is going to be able to probe pretty deeply on this, so it's not surprising to me Exxon is pulling out every argument and every resource it can tap."

Scientists have reported a connection between greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and climate change for decades. And for nearly as long, Exxon Mobil and other oil companies cast doubt on the research through public relations campaigns and supporting politicians who were also skeptical.

More Information Timeline 2015 Nov. - The New York attorney general issues a subpoena to Exxon Mobil for documents and records related to climate change. 2016 March - A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general announces plans to investigate climate change denial. Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands also say they will join New York in investigating Exxon Mobil. April - Exxon Mobil sues the U.S. Virgin Islands' attorney general in Texas federal court, claiming its investigation constitutes an abuse of government power. The oil company would later sue the Massachusetts and New York attorneys general. May - Republicans on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee send letters to state attorneys general and activist groups, warning their actions may "amount to an abuse of prosecutorial discretion." June - U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker withdraws his subpoena to Exxon Mobil, citing concerns about the cost of bringing a case against the oil giant. Sept. - Exxon Mobil is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for potentially failing to properly report to investors the risks of climate change to its business. 2017 March - A Texas federal judge sends Exxon Mobil's lawsuit to New York court, citing jurisdictional concerns. But in his order, he questioned whether the investigation was intended to "squelch public discourse by a private company that may not toe the same line as these two attorneys general." June - New York attorney general files a memorandum in the New York Supreme Court accusing Exxon Mobil of using a lower carbon price than it publicly describes to its investors in determining the risks climate change regulation to its business. See More Collapse

In 2015, the web publication Inside Climate News reported how Exxon Mobil had itself studied climate change in the 1980s, raising suspicions that the oil and gas industry, like the tobacco industry, knew about the dangers of its product, but hid them. Within two months of the story, Exxon Mobil was under subpoena by Schneiderman, followed in 2016 by the U.S. Virgin Islands and Massachusetts.

Led by attorney Ted Wells, who represented Phillip Morris in the landmark Big Tobacco settlement, Exxon Mobil chalked up some victories early on. After the company sued in federal court in Fort Worth last year to block multiple state subpoenas, U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker and the law firm representing him agreed to drop out.

But hopes for a quick resolution within Exxon Mobil's legal department were dashed in March when U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade, in Fort Worth, reversed an earlier order allowing the company's attorneys to depose Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and moved the lawsuit to New York.

Meanwhile, investigators at the New York Attorney General's Office scoured Exxon Mobil documents. They noted emails between executives debating how to estimate the costs of future carbon rules in greenlighting oil and gas projects.

In one 2011 email made public this month, Tom Eizember, a former planning manager at Exxon Mobil headquarters, urged the company to reconcile its use of one carbon price in the annual economic forecast, called the Outlook for Energy, and another lower price for project planning.

"Rex has seemed happy with the difference previously - appeared to feel it provides a 'conservative' basis," Eizember wrote, referring to Tillerson.

But Eizember went on to explain that it was "conservative" only in cases where Exxon Mobil claimed tax credits for emissions reductions, not on projects that "increase emissions," where a low carbon price could make them seem more profitable than they were.

The latest disclosures follow a shareholder vote in Dallas last month in which more than 60 percent of Exxon Mobil's investors urged executives to produce an annual report explaining how the company is managing climate change risk. Similar votes had been staged for years without success. But after the Paris climate agreement and worsening evidence of climate change, Exxon Mobil's assurances that it was dealing with the situation are losing credibility with investors, said Andrew Logan, director of oil and gas at Ceres, a nonprofit representing over 130 institutional investors on sustainability issues.

"Their argument was we're doing this already, let us be," he said. "But as the AG's filing makes clear, there's a disconnect between what the company says it's doing and what it actually seems to be doing."

Investigators in New York got a surprise earlier this year while examining a trove of emails from Exxon Mobil executives. They noted emails from an unfamiliar address, "wayne.tracker@exxonmobil.com." After inquiring, they learned it was a secondary account used by Tillerson, whose middle name is Wayne.

Only the account was technically assigned to another employee within Exxon Mobil's email system. When the New York AG subpoenaed emails from executives in 2015, the company blocked the system that automatically deletes emails after a certain period from removing the executives' messages. Since the Wayne Tracker account was not assigned to Tillerson, however, those emails were not protected, leading to "months of automatic destruction of relevant correspondence," according to court filings.

Exxon Mobil's lawyers explained the error as a simple mistake and argued many emails would turn up in other accounts. But at least one of those attorneys, Michele Hirshman, acknowledged in questioning last month that she had known about the secondary account in early 2016, a year before the attorney general's office discovered it.

"I do not believe that Exxon Mobil was under any obligation to notify your office of that," she testified. The incident has infuriated Exxon Mobil's critics, who wonder what might have been contained in those emails and whether what the company calls an accident was an act of concealment, said Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law, an advocacy group in Washington.

"As the result of the records not being produced when they should have, several months of what is likely highly relevant documentary evidence was destroyed," he said.

The recent back and forth between Exxon Mobil and Schneiderman comes as the federal court in New York considers whether to force the company to comply with another subpoena filed last month by the New York attorney general demanding executives produce documents explaining how they calculated the cost of greenhouse gas emissions in every investment decision they made over the 12 years.

Getting that record could be critical to proving the New York attorney general's claims that Exxon Mobil uses different carbon prices to suit its needs, and in many case does not appear to factor in carbon costs at all in deciding whether to proceed on oil and gas projects that can cost billions of dollars.

Exxon Mobil's attorneys are fighting the subpoena, arguing creating such a record "will likely number in the millions of pages and dollars." Meanwhile, some legal specialists question whether Schneiderman's probe into the company is more crusade than legal case.

Last year Merritt Fox, a professor at Columbia University, published an op-ed in the National Law Journal calling the probe an "abuse" of "extraordinary powers," which, if successful, "could be used to bully corporations into any kind of desired reform under the guise of a securities investigation." But so far, Scheiderman shows no sign of backing down. In 2015, he won a settlement in a similar case against coal giant Peabody Energy, forcing the company to better disclose the financial risk of climate change in securities filings.

"The real question is, 'Is Schneiderman in this for the long haul, or is it just political theatrics?' " Vladeck said. "I think it's the former, not the latter, though there have been some political theatrics with news conferences."
Philippine troops pounded Islamist militants holding parts of southern Marawi city with air strikes and artillery Saturday as more soldiers were deployed and the death toll rose to more than 300 after nearly a month of fighting.



Fires erupted and dark plumes of smoke rose from enclaves still occupied by the militants as the air force staged bombing runs to support ground troops struggling to dislodge the fighters from entrenched positions, AFP journalists at the scene said.



MG520 attack helicopters and FA50 fighter jets were used in the raids, while sustained bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard in the distance, indicating the intensity of the fighting.



Also on Saturday, 400 fresh troops were airlifted to Marawi from the central Philippines, ANC television said quoting military officials.



Television footage showed the soldiers bidding goodbye to their families before being flown to the conflict zone.



Hundreds of militants -- supported by foreign fighters -- rampaged through Marawi, the largely Christian Philippines' most important Muslim city, on May 23 waving black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group.



President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in the entire southern region of Mindanao to counter the attack, which he said was part of a plan by IS to establish a base in the country.



Such a base could be crucial for IS' ambitions to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia, analysts say.



The military has said eight foreign fighters from Chechnya, Yemen, Malaysia and Indonesia were among the militants killed in the Marawi fighting.

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fOUNDERS delivering pitches to investors usually occupy the low dais at Houston's TMCx startup incubator, a 3-year-old outgrowth of the Texas Medical Center that houses new health technology companies.

But on one recent evening, investors were the ones making the pitch. Their target: other investors.

TMCx and the local accelerator Station Houston are trying to persuade wealthy people looking for investments to take a chance on the region's startups as they try to spur innovation and to develop a Silicon Valley-like scene.

"We need you to join us in investing in these companies," said SnapStream Media founder Rakesh Agrawal, who himself has made small seed investments in dozens of young businesses. Building a strong startup culture, he said, is a "group sport."

Recent studies have shown that key missing ingredients in Houston's entrepreneurial ecosystem are early-stage funding for startups and later on venture capital to help businesses grow long-term. It's a problem that's common outside tech hubs like Austin, Boston and Silicon Valley.

For Houston, Agrawal and others working to build a startup scene say the solution is redirecting some to the wealth that abounds here. The goal: persuade people with money to put it to work locally.

An audience of well-groomed businesspeople munching on catered hors d'oeuvres listened raptly as successful early-stage investors made the case for putting money into local startups. It was the first in what will become a series of programs on how to invest in very early-stage companies.

A report issued this month by Ed Egan, director of the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Rice University, found that startups coming through existing incubators and accelerators in Houston raise venture capital at substantially lower rates than successful institutions in Silicon Valley. Part of the problem is, wealthy people in Houston interested in tech deals are perfectly capable of finding them on the East and West coasts. Marty Goossen, market manager for JPMorgan Private Bank in Houston, said his clients are used to taking risks - wherever it seems the rewards are largest.

"I have clients who take risk in the tech industry, but it doesn't necessarily need to be locally," Goossen said. "We know that the tech industry is based out of places like Palo Alto, Boston, and increasingly Austin. And why? Because that's where the thinkers are, that's where the innovators are, that's where the opportunities seem to be presenting themselves more frequently."

The people trying to make a startup scene happen in Houston are hoping to change that perception - both by showcasing promising companies and by telling the story of investors who have made money by funding them.

At TMCx's most recent Demo Day last week, the incubator's member companies made five-minute pitches to more than 650 attendees and 2,300 people who watched via livestream - more than double the numbers from their last event in November.

Anthony DeToto, senior vice president at the wealth management firm Sentinel Trust, where he oversees about $3.5 billion on behalf of 36 families, was among those at the Demo Day.

Listening to the pitches, DeToto said he could see his clients getting interested in local tech companies as the city builds momentum behind the sector.

"What's interesting to me is the mayor's office, the county, the Greater Houston Partnership are all working together now," DeToto said. "This is in our backyard. We can't ignore it."

Accenture released a report several weeks ago that outlined what the city, the business community and local academic institutions ought to do to nurture young tech businesses.

The investor education series, meanwhile, is aimed at showing local wealthy people why and how to get involved - and how to avoid mistakes. A panel of experienced hands discussed what makes a promising company and which red flags to avoid.

The remedy for failed investments, the speakers on the dais said, is more investments - only about a third will ever deliver significant returns. And success comes with experience.

Larry Lawson, who made millions by both starting and investing in medical device companies, rehearsed a long list of successful deals. His secret?

"My gut instinct leads me as much as anything else," he told the audience at TMCx's investor evening. "If I have a gut instinct about a company and how many lives it may save, I latch on to that first, and then I look at the details."

Station and TMCx are planning to help well-heeled Houstonians participate in deals alongside more experienced investors, so they can learn the ropes and perhaps join a group like the Houston Angel Network down the line. And as much as Houston's civic leaders make the case that investing locally is good for Houston, that's not the main selling point.

"There's a lot more money being made in life science investments than people realize," Agrawal said. "The moneymaking is crucial. This is not for peace and free love."
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For Fortune magazine in 1999, Jack Welch, then General Electric's chief executive, wasn't just the country's best executive, or the manager of the year, but nothing less than the best manager of the 20th century, "far and away the most influential manager of his generation."

Welch himself was more circumspect. "My success will be determined by how well my successor grows it in the next 20 years," he said that year.

Eighteen years later, with last week's announcement that Welch's handpicked successor, Jeff Immelt, would step down as GE's CEO, the verdict would appear to be in.

"Given how horrendous the stock performance has been for so many years, the most amazing thing is why the board didn't act sooner" to replace Immelt, said Charles Elson, a professor and director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

Scott Davis, a Barclays managing director, said on CNBC that Immelt's tenure was "an unmitigated disaster for shareholders."

Welch brought much-needed energy and charisma to the chief executive's job and streamlined GE's bloated bureaucracy. Had he stayed on through the financial crisis, perhaps he would have recaptured the growth that eluded Immelt.

But hardly anyone considers Welch, now 81, a management role model anymore, and the conglomerate model he championed at GE - that with strict discipline, you could successfully manage any business as long as your market share was first or second - has been thoroughly discredited, at least in the U.S.

No wonder, given the performance of the company's stock over the past 10 years. GE shares dropped 25 percent during that period, in contrast with a 59 percent rise for the S&P 500. The rival industrial conglomerate Honeywell's stock has more than doubled, and Danaher's has tripled. United Technologies gained 67 percent. But Immelt remained one of the country's highest-paid executives: $21.3 million in 2016, $33 million in 2015, and $37 million in 2014. Even without a formal severance package, Immelt, 61, will get an additional $211 million when he retires, Fortune estimates.

"I'm a long-term GE shareholder," Elson said. "The bottom line is, I did poorly and he did very well."

Speaking of his tenure at GE, Immelt pointed to the increased strength of the company's industrial businesses, their competitiveness and large market shares.

"I'll say that will stand the test of time," he said Monday in an interview. "Let other people make their own judgments."

Immelt's defenders have pointed out that he had to contend with the collapse of the tech bubble, the Sept. 11 attacks and the financial crisis, all circumstances beyond his control. But so did the chief executives of every other major company.

"About the best that can be said is that he enabled GE to survive through a difficult time," said Bruce Greenwald, professor of finance at Columbia. "But he never really understood how to create value through growth."

And he inherited "a highly inflated stock price," Greenwald said, thanks to Welch's aura and lofty expectations that probably no one could have met.

As Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at the New York University Stern School of Business, put it, "It's always tough to follow a legend."

Suffice to say that Immelt won't be writing a book like Welch's national best seller, "Jack: Straight From the Gut," to celebrate his tenure at GE. But ultimately, it may be the much-lauded Welch whose reputation emerges more tarnished.

"Jeff Immelt brought his best every day for 16 years," Welch said in a statement. His office said he was not available to comment about his own legacy.

Immelt tacitly repudiated the Welch model himself, moving to dismantle parts of the GE empire by getting rid of NBCUniversal and the once-too-big-to-fail GE Capital. The problem, many critics said, is that he didn't do so nearly fast enough.

"I don't think Jack Welch was ever as good as he was made out to be," said Damodaran, who has spent years trying to value GE. During Welch's tenure, "he benefited from the growth of financial services in the American economy and the growth of GE Capital," Damodaran added. "That's what made it untouchable for so long."

That strategy backfired in 2008, years after Welch had left, with the arrival of the financial crisis.

"It turned out GE had no competitive advantage in financial services," Damodaran said. "If anything, their risk controls were even worse" than those at other large financial institutions. Warren Buffett had to come to the rescue with a $3 billion infusion.

In a statement, a General Electric spokeswoman said, "Today, GE is a more focused industrial company with strong growth opportunities in the long term."

GE shares rallied last week on news of Immelt's departure, largely on hopes that his successor - John Flannery, a company veteran - will embrace that logic. He promised a "comprehensive review" of all GE businesses to be carried out "with speed, urgency and no constraints."
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Houstonians have enjoyed more direct access to Cuba this past year with trade delegations, nonstop flights and "people-to-people" educational trips. But on Friday, President Donald Trump announced new policies to tighten such travel and trade capabilities.

"Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump said during a speech in Miami.

The implications in Houston could mean fewer travelers on United Airlines' nonstop flight from Bush Intercontinental Airport to Havana. It could also mean a modest drop in exports from the Port of Houston, said Mark Jones, political scientist at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

But ultimately, the U.S. will maintain its embassy in Cuba, and U.S. citizens and companies can still travel to and trade with Cuba, albeit in a narrowed capacity, said Felix Chevalier, a local lawyer representing clients with Cuban interests.

"It could have been worse," he said. "The devil will be in the details of the regulatory revisions."

That doesn't console businesses wanting a foothold in the untapped market.

"This is a huge setback," said Laura Murillo, president and CEO of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Having participated in Mayor Sylvester Turner's business delegation to Cuba earlier this year, Murillo said she saw tremendous business opportunities for Houstonians in Cuba.

The city's proximity to the island nation, shared languages and cultural ties, and Cuba's willingness to open its doors to local entrepreneurs in a variety of industries placed Houston in the best position to maximize relations with Cuba, Murillo said.

That opportunity, she said, is now upended.

"Houstonians, for the most part, want to do business with whoever wants to do business with them," she said.

Many businesses will be monitoring the situation. United Airlines, for instance, said it is reviewing the policy changes.

Airlines will be affected by the requirement that travel for non-academic educational purposes be limited to group travel. The self-directed individual travel allowed by President Barack Obama's administration will be prohibited. Cuban-Americans will still be able to visit family in Cuba and send remittances.

Trump's policy prohibiting financial transactions with companies controlled by Cuba's military could complicate some exports. Jones said the export of food products, construction materials and IT materials were somewhat opened by Obama's administration.

Construction materials and IT materials are more likely to be affected because those items are usually sent to organizations tightly linked with the Cuban military, Jones said.

Trump emphasized in his speech that these new policies are designed to help the Cuban people. He said the U.S. will not lift sanctions on the Cuban regime until political prisoners are released, freedom of assembly and expression are respected, political parties are legalized, and free and internationally supervised elections are scheduled.

"My action today bypasses the military and the government to help the Cuban people themselves form businesses and pursue much better lives," Trump said.

Trump's logic is that exporting to companies not linked to the Cuban military provides private entities with a competitive advantage, Jones said.

Jorge Ferragut, executive director of Casa Cuba, a Houston-based social organization with strong sentiments in opposition to the Cuban government, appreciated Trump's acknowledgment of many of its citizens' plight on the island.

"At the very least, this is moral support for the Cuban people," he said.

While it may not have been Obama's intent to financially support the Castro regime, Ferragut said, the ex-president's deal ultimately may have legitimized the militarized state due to the way business licenses have been administered. Much of the money flowing into Cuba from the U.S. was managed by the same Cuban government that has been imprisoning dissidents, he said.

Sen. Ted Cruz expressed similar sentiments.

"America should not be subsidizing the machinery of this communist government which has been exporting terror throughout Latin America for decades," he said. "Instead, we should be using American policy to encourage genuine democratic reforms and leadership in Cuba. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the administration to protect and enhance freedom for the Cuban people."

Others, however, cited the benefits of free travel.

"Americans should be able to travel to any country they want," said Mike Weingart, Houston-based president of the southwest chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents.

Weingart was in Washington last week with other travel agents to lobby for legislation that would get rid of the travel ban.

The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act would repeal all provisions of law relating to U.S. residents' travel to Cuba in their entirety, saying simply that "the president may not prohibit or otherwise regulate, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by United States citizens or legal residents," according to a news release.

Jones, however, said this legislation is unlikely to be successful. Opening access to Cuba is widely supported in America, but it's not passionately supported. Opposition to normalized relations, however, has very loud supporters.

"It's not a coincidence that Trump gave this speech in the epicenter of anti-Castro sentiment," Jones said.

He added that Trump isn't restoring the so-called "wet foot, dry foot" policy that allowed Cubans to stay legally in the U.S. if they made it to the American border. Obama repealed that policy earlier this year.

Because of Trump's position on immigration, Jones said the president could get backlash for restoring this policy.

"He's making a symbolic gesture to Cuban-Americans," Jones said, "but he's not going as far as he could, which would be restoring the wet foot, dry foot policy."

Ferragut said it will take more than the policies announced Friday to truly help Cubans escape the abuse of the Castro regime.

"President Trump won't be able to fix this," he said.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and its partners have approved a $4.4 billion project to develop one of the largest recent oil finds off Guyana, the companies said Friday.

It's one of only a handful of major deep-water projects to move forward while oil prices languish below $50 a barrel. Wood Mackenzie, an energy research firm, believes the Liza field contains enough oil to break even at $46 a barrel in Brent, the international benchmark.
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Amazon bet big on grocery delivery with an offer to acquire Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion in cash, a merger that could steer the cutthroat supermarket industry further into the online marketplace and heighten price competition in a low-margin business.

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant announced Friday that it will pay $42 a share for the Austin-based chain that built its brand on organic and natural products. It will be Amazon's first acquisition of a chain of storefronts. The sale is expected to close later this year amid rising competition among grocers across the U.S.

Amazon is expected to press Whole Foods' network of 460 stores, including 10 around Houston, into double-duty. Each would also serve as a warehouse for fresh food and other staples that could be ordered online and quickly delivered to local customers.

"They're not buying stores, they're buying mini distribution facilities," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said.

More Information By the numbers 460 Whole Foods stores in the U.S., Canada and Britain 0.1 Percentage of food and beverage sales made online in 2015 $42 per share, or $13.7 billion - what Amazon will pay to acquire its first grocery chain See More Collapse

The combination of Amazon and Whole Foods, which has stores across the country and in Canada and Britain, has the potential to transform a retail sector that has remained largely tethered to brick-and-mortar locations as e-commerce sales pressure other parts of the industry.

The deal offered a substantial premium on Whole Foods' stock price, which rose 29 percent on the day. The company, sometimes criticized for its pricier goods, has been challenged in recent years to boost sales and retain shoppers as more traditional grocers expand their organic and natural offerings in response to consumer demand.

"Whole Foods does have a nickname. Even to loyal customers, the nickname is Whole Paycheck. Amazon will address that directly," said Larry Light, CEO of Florida-based marketing consulting firm Arcature. "I'd be scared if I was a competitor."

Big effect locally

Analysts anticipate Amazon's financial strength could enable Whole Foods to compete more fiercely on cost, potentially boosting foot traffic at its brick-and-mortar stores while expanding its customer base among the click-and-order crowd.

"That combination is very compelling and formidable," said Mickey Chadha, vice president at Moody's Investors Service. "You get a pretty big ripple effect across the industry."

The merger could have particular ramifications for Houston's hotly competitive grocery market, which continues to attract major grocers looking to cash in on the region's population growth and density. Kroger, H-E-B, Walmart and others have expanded and renovated stores in recent years to offer more fresh products and lower prices, and each is testing services such as curbside pickup of online orders.

Ed Wulfe, CEO and founder of commercial real estate firm Wulfe & Co., said he expects the pace of change to accelerate throughout the area as competitors invest more heavily in e-commerce and work harder to differentiate their chains as Amazon unfurls its plans.

"It is a giant game-changer," he said. "(Amazon) is such an innovative and imaginative merchandiser, and it's going to bring that same marketing experience to Whole Foods."

Whole Foods will remain headquartered in Austin pending approval of the deal.

A spokeswoman said it will have no immediate impact on the company's expansion plans, which include adding more than 20 stores this year while relocating or closing some others.

Whole Foods has far fewer stores in the Houston area than most other chains, but it operates in some of the city's most sought-after neighborhoods inside the Loop and in the fast-growing suburbs. Stores in Midtown and Independence Heights are under construction.

Analyst Pachter said the company has stores in densely populated areas throughout the country, which could eliminate the challenge of transporting perishable goods over a long distance.

He estimated the majority of U.S. households are within 10 miles of a Whole Foods Market, enabling Amazon to deliver goods with speed and efficiency.

Removing barriers

Amazon has for years dabbled in groceries with limited success. It offers AmazonFresh, a grocery delivery service, to Amazon Prime members in a limited number of markets. It's also piloting a grocery store concept for its employees called Amazon Go.

"It's one of the few remaining categories of retail that Amazon hasn't been very good at," Pachter said.

With the Whole Foods acquisition, Pachter said, Amazon could offer AmazonFresh to virtually all Amazon Prime members, who might be more inclined to try a delivery service fulfilled at a familiar, local store.

"Any impediment to a consumer trying AmazonFresh has been removed," he said.

The deal comes at a fraught moment for the U.S. grocery industry, which faces pressure from new players and price-conscious consumers seeking fresher and higher-quality goods for less money.

Aldi, a German discount chain with a substantial national footprint, announced earlier this week a massive expansion plan as Lidl, another German discounter, prepared to open its first U.S. stores on the East Coast.

In Houston alone, Aldi plans to add as many as 17 locations throughout the region and to invest $34 million in store renovations here by the end of 2018. Lidl is reportedly eyeing locations in Pearland, League City and elsewhere.

Chadha expects the increased competition to further consolidate the industry by pushing out smaller players without the financial strength to compete on price with lower profit margins.

"You have a huge amount of pricing pressure all across the board," he said. "The independent and the regional players are probably going to be the most squeezed because they don't have a lot of flexibility."

The expansion of online grocery delivery could further complicate the pricing battle, as it has in other retail sectors such as apparel and electronics. To date, the grocery industry's foray into e-commerce has mainly involved curbside pickup and third-party delivery services such as Instacart, which recently expanded in the Houston market.

Online sales have grown more slowly in the grocery business than in other retail sectors. The U.S. Census Bureau released e-commerce penetration data for the first time in June, finding that only 0.1 percent of food and beverage sales were made online in 2015, the most recent year with available data.

Wake-up call

Amazon's forays into grocery delivery have included online purchase and in-store pickup.

"None of those have gotten the kind of traction you would expect from such an enormous category like grocery," said Richard Kestenbaum, a partner at Triangle Capital. "Part of that is that no one has found the right formula yet."

That will include a mixture of an online portal and physical stores, Kestenbaum said.

"I think this acquisition will wake up the existing grocers that they're late," he said.

At Walmart, the country's largest grocer with about 56 percent of the company's $357 billion revenue last year coming from groceries., e-commerce sales shot up 63 percent in the first quarter, compared to the same period in 2016. To boost e-commerce, a spokesman said, Walmart plans to add product pickup spots in 1,000 stores by the end of the year, up from 670 in the first quarter.

Still, Walmart stock fell 5 percent following news of the Amazon-Whole Foods deal.

H-E-B also offers its own online delivery service shipping products to 46 states and offers curbside pickup at 17 Houston stores, a company spokesperson said.

A Kroger spokesperson said that company's focus on customers enables them "to compete and win in an ever-evolving landscape."

Other major grocery stocks fell sharply Friday. Kroger's stock plunged 11.4 percent, Costco was down 5.9 percent, Walmart 5 percent and Sprouts 6 percent.

Meanwhile, Amazon shares closed at $987.71, up 2.4 percent for the day.

The Whole Foods concept sprouted in 1978 as a small natural vegetarian foods store in Austin. Through a succession of acquisitions, the store donned its current name and spread throughout Texas then to California by the late 1980s, acquiring similarly themed natural stores as it went.

Whole Foods opened its 100th store in 1999, and its holdings now include the largest grocery in Manhattan. In a report last month, real estate services firm JLL said Whole Foods claimed the second-largest share of grocer growth in the U.S. in 2016, after Aldi.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article misstated the percentage increase of Amazon's stock price Friday. It rose 2.4 percent.
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Let's start with that "if you could ask anyone to dinner" game.

I'd seat Walter Hopps first and surround him with all the artists he loved. The table would be impossibly large and round - Hopps was equitable that way.

Legendary before he arrived in Houston in 1982 to help Dominique de Menil create her museum, Hopps helped shape the trajectory of avant-garde American art in the second half of the 20th century. During his 20s, as a co-founder of the adventurous Ferus Gallery in his hometown of Los Angeles, he introduced a pantheon of now iconic artists - including Andy Warhol - before representing them was profitable. Then he shook up institutions such as the Pasadena Art Museum in California and D.C.'s Corcoran Gallery of Art as a curator and director the likes of which haven't been seen again.

His influence still resonates.

Although Hopps died in 2005, folks who had never heard of him could sense his iconoclastic taste last year, when Menil associate curator Clare Elliott pulled some surprises from the museum's upstairs treasure rooms for "Holy Barbarians: Beat Culture on the West Coast."

The show featured the wild California friends Hopps championed during the McCarthy era, including John Altoon, Wallace Berman, Bruce Conner, Jay DeFeo, George Herms and Edward Kienholz, his partner at Ferus.

Kienholz's amusing sculpture "Walter Hopps Hopps Hopps" stood front and center in Elliott's show, defusing the highly charged, political tone of the weird, initially controversial works.

Keniholz assembled "Walter Hopps Hopps Hopps" from a now vintage Bardahl motor-oil-man signboard, filling it with private jokes, including strange compartments on the back that suggest Hopps' thoughts and innards.

I love that piece.

So I was delighted to see it again on the cover of Hopps' recently published memoir, "The Dream Colony: A Life in Art" (312 pages; Bloomsbury, $30).

The book's belated timing mirrors Hopps' reputation: He was chronically late. (In 1970, his staff at the Corcoran Gallery went so far as to create buttons that read, "Walter Hopps will be here in 20 minutes.")

Editor Deborah Treisman and interviewer Anne Doran began collaborating with Hopps several years before he died to compile the book. They used a technique they had established during the 1990s when all three worked for the literary journal Grand Street.

But he died before they were finished, and it shows.

Treisman, now the New Yorker's fiction editor, keeps Hopps' voice so unfiltered, dangling prepositions and all, that readers might imagine they're sharing a few drinks with him at a bar. That's a good thing.

The book begins smoothly, with absorbing family stories and a colorful recounting of Hopps' youth.

His paternal grandfather built a citrus plantation in Mexico before the revolution. His parents, socially conscious Los Angeles doctors, expected him to follow their path. Rheumatic fever kept Hopps homebound for a chunk of his youth, however, and during that time he discovered a more thrilling, subversive world in art and jazz.

His father encouraged his interest in photography, but before Hopps was old enough to drive, he was also sneaking out to jazz clubs with a fake driver's license and making his way to galleries as far away as San Francisco.

Los Angeles' gallery scene was conservative then: Most people considered paintings by Rene Magritte and Pablo Picasso too "communistic" to display. Hopps was equally smitten by Miles Davis and Marcel Duchamp. He'd listen to or look at anything.

He also stole away to study. He precociously introduced himself to the wealthy and childless art collectors Walter and Louise Arensberg, who became important mentors. They opened their library to him and jump-started his lifetime of major art-world connections.

Kienholz made "Walter Hopps Hopps Hopps" in 1959, the gallery days.The repetitive title refers partly to the formality of Hopps' full name - Walter Wain Hopps III. Kienholz, a rugged guy from the Northwest, found it funny.

But Hopps was also literally jumping around a lot, between multiple projects and jobs. He promoted jazz concerts, worked at night in a psych ward, had a day job in a lab, took and taught classes - much of it to keep the gallery afloat. He and his first wife lived in the back of the gallery, often with the likes of Dave Brubeck crashed out on their couch. Hopps sometimes took drugs to keep going, and ended up struggling with addiction for more than a decade.

Hopps describes his Kienholz portrait in great detail in the book.

"Actually, it wasn't just a portrait of me," he says. "Ed was thinking in general about the kinds of things that art dealers and curators can get themselves into - how these characters are mediators, even hustlers, who enter into the lives of artists and affect the work, for better or for worse."

Veteran Houston artists say it was always for the better with Hopps.

"There was no one like him," Michael Galbreth told me. "He meant so much to us."

Hopps knew the real stories behind a lot of art legends - because he'd been there. He was an astute and master storyteller who veered off on long tangents but always managed to circle back to his point. "The Dream Colony" reads like that, which makes some of the book no easier to untangle than a dream.

Though Treisman wrangles a chronological order from 23 chapters, Hopps didn't think that way. Moments of his life tumble over each other, so readers are left with an intriguing portrait of the teller but a somewhat abstract view of the valuable art history embedded there. A "selected chronology" at the back helps to unravel the timeline.

The Houston chapter comes last and seems the least complete, a shortcoming Treisman acknowledges in her foreword.

Thankfully for us, pretty much any Houston-scene veteran still loves to talk about him.

Mythically devoted to artists, Hopps was respectful and encouraging regardless of where they stood in the pecking order. He frequently ate lunch with a close-knit group that included Lucas Johnson and Virgil Grotfeldt, both now deceased, and Art Guys Jack Massing and Galbreth - often at Cosmo's, a Heights cafe that was dependable but never hip.

"He didn't differentiate with all the fame (stuff)," Galbreth said. "It was not like he was giving all these people major shows. Artists live on the deep edge of survival, and he was just interested and thoughtful."

Hopps did acquire works for the Menil, and he intended to start a series of solo shows featuring local artists. He got only one done, in 2000, that launched Sharon Kopriva's career.

"I just got lucky," she said.

She wafted in out of present tense talking about him, as if she still felt his presence: "He looks at art from the inside-out.  He was brilliant, and a great listener. Sometimes people ask a question and want a one-sentence answer. Not Walter  His clock may have started at 3 in the afternoon and stopped at 5 a.m., but that was only a problem for people who worked for him. Never for artists who got calls at 1 a.m."

Graphic designer Don Quaintance, who worked with Hopps for 25 years, recalled him as a consummate night owl, too.

"We would often start working after dinner in his office in the back of one of the gray Menil bungalows," he said. "Walter was terribly superstitious: Never ride in a red car, never put a hat on a bed. He was also plagued by a form of OCD. The work sessions would always start with sharpening to a precise point a jar full of No. 2 yellow pencils."

Talk about Hopps tends to focus on his eccentricities, and how he "cursed a blue streak and could be a brutal boss," Quaintance added, "but that take, which also comes across strongly in his memoir, tends to overshadow his incredible lucidity and his grasp of every aspect of art history. He was on a mission to educate every listener."

Even near the end of his life, after a brain aneurysm slowed him down, Hopps could remember every work of art he'd seen, where he'd first seen it and the artist's intent.

Hopps loved wild company but was himself sophisticated and gentlemanly. Even reserved. He knew everyone who "mattered" internationally - "who would fund projects and lend artworks," said Patricia Covo Johnson, Lucas Johnson's widow and the Chronicle's former, long-time art critic.

He was also opinionated and knowledgeable "to where you listened," she added. "A criticism from Walter was something you took to heart."

Galbreth and his art partner Massing would drop everything when Hopps called, as he often did, and said simply, "This is Walter. I'm coming over."

They kept Diet Cokes in the fridge for him.

"He wasn't supposed to smoke, but he'd just kind of sneak away, come to our house, sit down at the dining table and talk. See what we were working on," Galbreth said.

He loved Hopps' devilish sense of humor, and that Hopps wasn't above the task of judging a logo contest the Art Guys staged to create their brand.

That was a stunt "so asinine it was perfect," Galbreth said. "So much of what we did was just playing with people. But nothing shocked him. I mean, how are you going to shock Walter after Warhol?"

Hopps himself could shock people, too. He smoked in the museum - godawful herbal cigarettes nobody ever dared to call him on.

Not even Menil facilities manager Steve McConathy. That sounds especially outrageous now, when visitors can't even talk there on their cellphones or take pictures.

McConathy, who was among the other early Menil hires, came to the museum as an electrical contractor who knew nothing about art. Hopps tested him once, calling him into a small, dark gallery to see Duchamp's famous urinal - a landmark work of "found art."

"This is a sculpture. What do you think about that?" Hopps asked him.

McConathy replied, "Well, Walter, you'd better put it on a taller pedestal because somebody coming back here could use it."

A day later, it was on a taller pedestal.

"The Dream Colony" ends with a crowded group portrait by Houston photographer George Hixson, taken in 2001 at Kienholz's Heights studio the night before the Menil honored Hopps by naming an award for him.

Everybody who meant something to Hopps came to town. Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper and James Rosenquist are in the picture alongside Lucas Johnson, Grotfeldt, Galbreth, Massing, Kopriva, James and many others.

That image hints, oh so enticingly, at how much more Hopps might have shared in his book, especially about art in Houston, if he'd lived longer.
Barbecue. Barbeque. Bar-B-Q. Bar-B-Que. BBQ. Bar-B-Cue.

There's no shortage of different spellings for our favorite smoked-meat cuisine. This is particularly perplexing for a writer - I will occasionally visit a barbecue joint with different spellings on the sign outside and the menu inside (Bar-B-Q versus Bar-B-Que, for instance). My general rule is to go with what's printed on the menu.

The conventional spelling is of course "barbecue," with no dashes or abbreviations and a "c" instead of a "q" for the third-to-last letter. Google's search engine confirms this - using its "Ngram Viewer" that tracks the use of words in print since 1800, "barbecue" is by far the most prevalent.

Like many things associated with barbecue, the origin (etymology) of the word is disputed. Its first use in English is from a book published in 1699 by the British explorer William Dampier. In "New Voyage Round the World," Dampier describes a "Borbecu" during his Caribbean travels, which in this context was a framework of sticks used as a raised sleeping platform. Spanish explorers arriving to the same area also referred to a "barbacoa" - a raised platform of sticks upon which meat was placed and a fire built beneath to cook the meat.

The French, never to be outdone by the English, also claim ownership of the word by pointing to a derivation of the phrase barbe a queue, translated as "from beard to tail," referring to the technique of cooking every part of the animal from "nose to tail." This theory has mostly been debunked, however.

In the United States, one of the earliest official references is in a dictionary from 1803 that defines barbecue as a "hog dressed whole." This refers to the "whole hog" cooking traditions of the Southeast, in which a whole pig is butchered and splayed and then cooked over wood coals in a pit dug into the ground.

Certainly in the U.S., the original usage of the word barbecue referred to this whole-hog style of direct-heat cooking.

It was sometime later that the direct-heat-over-hot-coals style transformed into our contemporary definition of barbecue, in which smoke and indirect-heat are used to cook and flavor meat. This evolution most likely traces back to Central Texas in the mid-1800s, when Czech and German immigrants brought techniques that used smoking as a way to preserve meat and fish in the days before refrigeration.

Australians, of course, love to "throw a shrimp on the barbie" and embrace barbecue as a direct-heat cooking method.

And the British still cling to the direct-heat philosophy, using the word "barbecue" interchangeably with the word "grilling." They fire up the backyard grill to "have a barbecue," eliciting groans from their American cousins.

As for the different spellings of "barbecue" that started to fragment in the early 1900s, food writer Robert Moss offers a fascinating theory that it originated with the rise of newspaper advertising. According to Moss, shorter derivations such as "BBQ" started to show up about the same time classified advertising became popular. By using "BBQ" instead of "barbecue," enterprising pitmasters could save a few cents every time the ad was published.

Nowadays, barbecue joints aren't limited in the number of characters they use because of classified ads, but more likely by the 140-character limit of Twitter. The exact spellings are now as diverse as the various barbecue styles found here. Houston pitmasters usually stick to the full "barbecue" spelling (Pinkerton's Barbecue) or the shorter version (CorkScrew BBQ), although a few holdovers like Pizzitola's Bar-B-Cue and Lenox Bar-B-Q still use the older spellings.
The southeast Texas health system that reported on Thursday the first cases of the Zika virus in Harris County in 2017, six then-pregnant women, has backed off the claim.

Legacy Community Health, the network of clinics where the women had their blood drawn, announced Friday that an in-depth review since conducted only determined that the expectant mothers were infected with a virus from the family that includes not just Zika but West Nile, dengue and yellow fever, among others.

"We can only confirm the individuals were exposed to a flavivirus, which can include Zika as well as other viruses," Dr. Ann Barnes, Legacy's chief medical officer, said in a statement. "The laboratory results do not provide a conclusive diagnosis that the women became infected specifically with Zika virus. Legacy regrets the error."

All of the women delivered their babies, none with the abnormally small head that characterizes the worst form of Zika when the virus is passed on by the mother. The women, who contracted the mosquito-borne virus south of the border, were tested because of their risky travel histories, not because they were experiencing Zika symptoms.

Legacy officials did not respond to follow-up inquiries Friday.

A Houston health department spokesman said the mistake involved a misinterpretation of the results the Centers for Disease Control sent Legacy in late May. Flaviviruses can be hard to differentiate because, structurally, they look very similar.

Both the Houston and Harris County health departments contacted Legacy on Thursday to look closer at the test results because the report of new cases conflicted with their Zika records.

RELATED: Texas women unaware of Zika basics

Legacy's report had heightened concern about the coming Zika season in the U.S. Gulf Coast, which experts believes appears less threatening than last year's. Zika activity is down in most of South America, the Caribbean and Central America, the areas that imported most of the U.S. cases last year.

But Houston Zika expert Dr. Peter Hotez suggested Friday that Legacy's six cases may still have been Zika.

"The flaviviruses circulating most commonly from November to spring in Mexico and Central America are dengue fever and Zika," said Hotez, founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. "I'd suspect dengue first because its numbers are the highest, but if they were infected with it, they'd likely be sick. That they weren't suggests Zika."

Zika, which has spread to more than 80 countries since emerging as a global threat a decade ago, has been linked to microcephaly, in which the infected mother's baby is born with an abnormally small head and brain. The condition can result in developmental delays, intellectual disability and hearing, vision and feeding problems.
Monday marks 152 years of freedom in Texas.

While Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, it wasn't until June 19, 1865 that slaves were freed in this state. Texas was the last to liberate its people, and it all happened in Galveston.

(In the gallery above, see Texans who were formerly enslaved as they looked in the 1930s, decades after Juneteenth. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program made this possible, when it commissioned writers to document their narratives.)

The order granting slaves their freedom was issued by Union Gen. Gordon Granger on the island. Historians still dispute whether Granger announced the order while standing on the balcony of Ashton Villa or in a notice posted to his headquarters at The Strand and 22nd Street.

RE-OPENING: Emancipation Park was never dead. But now it has been reborn.

Gen. Granger's General Orders No. 3. reads, in part:

"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere."

(Story continues below.)

The momentous day is especially significant because at one point, one-third of Texas' population was enslaved, roughly 183,000 individuals. Slave-owners across the nation had transferred slaves to Texas, since they though it was a sanctuary. According to a historian, 125,000 slaves were transported to this state to avoid the federal decree.

RANKING: How Houston's parks rank against other cities

While Monday signals 152 years of Texas' free population, Juneteenth wasn't considered a holiday until 1979. While it was celebrated in the time just following the initial Texas proclamation, its popularity declined during World War II through the Civil Rights Era. The holiday saw a revival in the 1970s, when it spread throughout the South.

It's now recognized annually as the conclusion to one of this state's most shameful eras.

This year's local Juneteenth celebration will be particularly memorable for Houstonians, since the city's Emancipation Park, 3018 Emancipation Ave., is sporting a new look. The sacred Third Ward parcel of land is a property purchased by a group of former slaves and their descendants. Recently, it underwent a $33.6 million comprehensive remodel that debuted over the weekend.
Related Azerbaijan destroys Armenia air defence system in disputed region

Officials in the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh say four of their soldiers have been killed in fighting with Azerbaijan.



Nagorno-Karabakh is officially part of Azerbaijan, but since a separatist war ended in 1994 it has been under the control of forces that claim to be local ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan claims the forces include regular Armenian military. Efforts to negotiate a settlement have failed, and frequent clashes have continued.



Three of the men were killed Friday and a fourth Saturday morning, according to Nagorno-Karabakh's Defense Ministry. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed Friday.



Both sides blamed each other for the violence.

The fighting is some of the deadliest since April 2016, when about 75 soldiers were killed on both sides.

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GALVESTON  Izola Ethel Fedford Collins, a musician and educator who wrote a published history of Juneteenth, died this week at Jennie Sealy Hospital in Galveston of heart failure. She was 87.

Collins, known for teaching music to generations of Galveston children, got the idea for her book after stumbling upon her grandfather's meticulously detailed journals, said her daughter, June Pulliam of Galveston.

As a child, Collins watched her grandfather, Ralph Albert Scull, write in his journal every night. After completing his journal entry, Scull would pray

Scull arrived in Galveston in 1865 and his eyewitness accounts of life on Galveston Island formed the basis of his granddaughter's book, "Island of Color: Where Juneteenth Started."

The title refers to June 19, 1865, the date when a Union Army general read an order enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation, issued two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln but unknown to Texas slaves until the Civil War ended.

"She discovered there was a gold mine in there," Pulliam said

Scull had recorded detailed sections of his journals about schools, churches and politics. Collins began working on the book in 1995 and completed it in 2000, doing research in Galveston and Houston libraries and interviewing survivors of the 1900 storm, said Valencia Arceneaux, one of Collins' closest friends.

Collins also dabbled in poetry, publishing two books of verse: "Divine Light Never Goes Away" and "I Know That's Right."

Born in Galveston on Oct. 26, 1929, to a family of educators, Collins graduated from the segregated Central High School at 14 and from Prairie View A&M University at 18. She obtained her master's degree in music from Northwestern University in Illinois.

She was a gifted musician, playing trumpet with an all-girl jazz band that toured the East Coast while attending Prairie View.

After returning to Galveston, she married Roy Lester Collins Jr., on Dec. 26, 1952. She taught music, leading bands and choirs in several public schools and at her church, Reedy Chapel AME, while giving piano lessons on the side.

Music infused her life and that of her family. "Music was always there," Pulliam said. She remembered that on many evenings the house was filled with the sound of jamming musicians who had stopped by for a visit.

"Music was a fun thing in our house," she said. "It was very common that there would be impromptu dance sessions."

Collins was founding director of the Galveston Heritage Chorale and a member of the Galveston Arts Commission.

The year before she died, Collins wrote a symphony, "Galveston Survives," for the Galveston Symphony Orchestra; she directed it during a public performance at The Grand 1894 Opera House.

Collins was elected to the Galveston school board in 1984 and remained on the board for nine years, completing her final year as board president.

She was teacher of the year in 1987, and in 2006 the Galveston Historical Foundation gave Collins the Steel Oleander Award, recognizing women who have made exceptional contributions to Galveston.

In 2011, then-Houston Mayor Annise Parker presented Collins with a proclamation making June 19, 2011, "Izola Ethel Fedford Collins Day" in Houston.

In addition to Pulliam, Collins is survived by a daughter, Cheryl Prayton, 51, of Fort Worth; a son, Roy Collins III, 60, of Hartford, Conn.; and seven grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband.

A wake was held Friday morning at Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church in Galveston. Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday June 17 at Moody Memorial Methodist Church, 2803 53rd St, Galveston. Fittingly, she will be remembered on the day that Galveston marks Juneteenth and the end of slavery in the U.S. with a parade and other events.
A Houston man killed himself and his wife in a murder-suicide Friday afternoon at a home in northeast Houston, according to the Houston Police Department.

Police received a call around 3:50 p.m. that a woman had been shot in the 6200 block of Gaston, according to HPD.
Shelia Muldrow sat in her usual courtroom pew. Her son had another criminal hearing. In the coming hours, she did not know what to expect.

The mother had feared for her 23-year-old since his teenage years. His bipolar disorder and drug use sent him into manic, aggressive fits. He became unrecognizable at times. Life could feel like a nightmare. But she loved him, fiercely.

Periodically over the past 18 months, Shelia had pushed aside her information security job to drive from her home in northwest Harris County to the court in Fort Bend. She wished desperately for someone to help her son manage his illness - even though he did not see the need for it himself.

Now his case neared an end. If the judge sent him to prison, he would not die on the street. He would be safe. He would get medicine. It was not ideal, but was it the best solution for which to hope?

Then she heard it, the sound of fists hitting metal, coming from the holding cell off the courtroom. Clang. Clang. Clang. Shelia, 55, suspected it was her son, Warren. It was. He pounded on the window, asking for his lawyer, he later said. His mother could do nothing but wait. She stared ahead.

Michael Ciaglo/Staff

'Worst place to be'

Parents in Texas know Shelia's desperation. She is far from the first with nowhere to turn except the criminal justice system for help with a mentally ill child.

Texas in recent years ranked 49th in per capita mental health spending. While strapped systems exist for people thought to be a danger to themselves or to others, limited options are in place to help them remain stable in the periods in between.

If parents do not want a volatile child with mental illness at home or on the streets, advocates note that scant affordable options exist where that person might live, receive treatment and find stability. Often, as happened with Warren, they move to group homes, get kicked out and land in jail, a place not intended to treat mental health - an irony not lost on Glenn Urbach, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Houston.

"Every day there are people going to jail who committed crimes because they're on the street," Urbach said. "It's the worst place to be for the mentally ill, and it's the best treatment facility for millions of Texans."

The system makes criminals of those ravaged by illness. Still, Shelia hoped it could help Warren. Otherwise, what else was left?

Cycle of jails, hospitals

So far, it had been a grueling process of failed attempts.

Shelia had seen Warren's outlook change little since his arrest Nov. 16, 2015, at a group home on a terroristic threat charge.

He thrice dialed 911 and slurred profane threats at police that morning, days after the Paris Bataclan theater terrorist attack. Rather than take Warren to a hospital, Fort Bend deputies ushered him to jail.

News of his arrest struck Shelia as yet another issue to face. Her son had committed crimes before. She knew the embarrassment of telling others he sat in a lock-up.

She wanted the cycle of jail and emergency room visits to stop, a desire she held as she sat again in that pew.

"He still hasn't had any treatment," she said, waiting for proceedings to start.

Shelia always pushed for the result of Warren's crime to be treatment. But each idea they tried failed to help her jailed son.

First, Warren went on probation, with mental health conditions. He flunked. Law enforcement took him to a hospital. He allegedly struck someone. Houston police booked him into jail. A judge dismissed his case, and he returned to the streets until Fort Bend took him back.

Fort Bend transferred him next to Austin State Hospital, but not for long. The aging facility, pressed for space, sent him back after 24 days.

Warren finally tried a probation substance abuse program in prison. He went in and out of the psychiatric wing there. Winter holidays passed. They kicked him out Jan. 31.

It seemed that Warren had quickly exhausted every possibility. Nothing obvious remained to try. The court set another hearing.

"I don't know what options are left," the judge said in February.

His attorney returned in April with tenuous ideas.

"I'd like something a little more definitive," the judge said.

Warren stabilized some in those months, becoming more like the child she remembered, Shelia conceded. She thanked the medicine for that.

Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office Major Thomas Goodfellow called the jail's mental health offerings, including group therapy and tablets with self-help applications, among the "most progressive, cutting edge and dedicated" in the state. "Inmates with mental health issues are definitely a priority," he wrote in a statement. But to Shelia's knowledge, no one had succeeded in helping Warren further along.

Warren's bipolar disorder influenced his behavior. Did that mean he was doomed never to get help?

Still 'very manic'

And so Shelia returned one last time, on May 31, to the 240th district court.

Here, Warren's case was one of many. Attorneys swung in and out. Judge Chad Bridges, drinking from a mug, squared away other issues.

Warren's public defender, Overzenia Ojuri, who specializes in mental health, greeted Shelia then disappeared. She convened with the county's behavioral health services director, Connie Almeida, in a private room.

Almeida had recently evaluated Warren. She found him stable enough to continue with court proceedings but, after recent reports, requested more time to evaluate him.

"He continues to be very manic," she told Judge Bridges.

Shelia didn't want to keep waiting. She expected Warren didn't either.

The banging began. Warren entered the courtroom 90 minutes later. Tired of sitting in jail, he decided his own fate: he wanted to enter a guilty plea.

He would get what he wished if no one saw evidence that he was not mentally fit.

Warren wore another inmate's oversized glasses. He stood tall and thin but muscular. A tattoo of his name stood out on his forehead.

His father shut his eyes. No one knew how this would go.

Judge Bridges accepted the plea. He sentenced him to two years in prison, the minimum for his felony charge. With 376 days credit for time served, Warren would likely soon be out on parole.

A charmer, Warren said in an interview the next day that he expected to find a girl with whom to live. Though he never received his high school diploma - he drove his car off the road and spiralled out of control before graduation - he doesn't believe returning to school after his release from jail or prison made sense. He figured he could be a tattoo artist.

He liked his medicine, which made him calm. And he recognized his illness. But he did not want therapy or help, even from his mother.

In court, the judge encouraged Warren to do all he could not to end up back in shackles.

"That's up to you," he told Warren.

It remains to be seen whether the young man will walk out of jail any better off than when he started.

Warren's parole likely will include mental health care. If it does, and if he remains in Fort Bend, the local mental health authority, called Texana, will facilitate that. Its wait list to aid parolees such as Warren was recently 10 people long.

Texana, however, cannot force him or anyone else to show up for the programming, said Shena Timberlake, Texana's director of behavioral health services. Officials hope a judge's encouragement is enough. Texana uses their best techniques to encourage participation.

"Sometimes we're successful and sometimes we're not," Timberlake said. "It doesn't always happen immediately."

This reality can be harsh to face. Timberlake has seen first-hand how vicious the cycle can look for those who don't get the prescribed help.

Older and cheaper medications used by most jails wear off quickly, Timberlake noted. Symptoms of illness that take over can prevent someone from understanding they need help. They become vulnerable again to landing behind bars. Or worse.

A mother's trust

After Warren's hearing, his attorney and the county behavioral health services director, Almeida, said they would try to help ease the transition. Funded services available paled in comparison to other states, Almeida acknowledged - but were improving. She had to trust enough existed to help Warren recover.

Shelia walked out of the courtroom one final time.

It was hard to expect Warren's life would change. But Shelia chose optimism. She wished that this might yet be Warren's chance at treatment, though she lamented he had to be convicted of a crime to get it.

She was his mother. In the man others saw as unruly, unsympathetic and unlikable, she saw her son.

She had to hope.
WASHINGTON - The dream goes on - for now.

Despite campaign pledges to the contrary, the Trump administration signaled Friday that it is keeping in place Obama-era protections for so-called "Dreamers" - immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

But the news came in a Homeland Security memo announcing that the administration is revoking similar protections for certain legal residents and immigrants in the country illegally who have U.S.-born children. That Obama policy, known as DAPA, has been tied up in court since 2015 when a federal judge blocked it in response to a suit brought by Texas and 25 other states. It never went into effect.

The formal announcement actually came late Thursday, the same day that parties in the Texas suit challenging the program faced a court deadline in Brownsville to resolve the case. Instead, Homeland Security Department indicated on its website that "there is no credible path forward" for the federal government in court.

The administration said it was not ready to end former President Barack Obama's 2012 policy known as DACA, for Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals. A memorandum by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said the DACA program "will remain in effect."

'Living in the shadows'

The program has granted temporary work permits and reprieves from deportation to nearly 800,000 people living in the U.S. illegally. A fact sheet accompanying the policy said "no work permits will be terminated prior to their current expiration dates."

But administration officials and immigrant rights activists made clear that President Donald Trump has not made a final decision about the long-term fate of the program.

"It is unclear what will happen with DACA in the future," said Ignacia Rodriguez, an immigration advocate for the National Immigration Law Center.

During his presidential campaign, Trump called both programs "illegal executive amnesties" that circumvented Congress. He vowed to end them immediately. But as president, he has acknowledged that he would have trouble taking action against people who were brought into the country as children.

In April, White House press secretary Sean Spicer explained Trump's reluctance by saying that he "has a heart."

Nevertheless, immigrant rights activists said that Trump's aggressive new deportation policies continue apace, including against people with no criminal records. Many also decried the decision to revoke DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents), saying it extinguishes the hopes of more than 4 million parents of American citizens and green card holders.

"Their situation is not ameliorated at all," said Nina Perales of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, which represents three undocumented women from the Rio Grande Valley in the DAPA case. "They lead quiet lives, but they're living in the shadows, taking care of their children, trying to get by as best they can with no relief on the horizon."

'Unlawful edict'

Trump's decision won praise from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led a coalition of 26 state attorneys general that sued the Obama administration in 2015 to block the order. Calling it "an unlawful edict," Paxton said Friday that "Texas handed President Obama his biggest court defeat of all" after the U.S. Supreme Court halted DAPA's implementation last June.

The high court justices deadlocked 4-4 on a challenge to the DAPA ruling in Texas, leaving the ruling in place from U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who said Obama had overstepped his authority.

The Trump administration announcement came on the fifth anniversary of Obama's order creating the DACA program. It also came exactly two years after Trump opened his presidential campaign, making derogatory remarks about Mexican immigrants.

Taking aim at another Obama initiative, Trump was in Miami on Friday to announce that he was rolling back much of the prior administration's overtures to the Communist nation of Cuba.

Both moves scored points with the conservative base that elected Trump, particularly the immigration initiative.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, posted on Twitter: "The restoration of our republican form of government advances. Next up, end lawless Dreamer amnesty for illegal alien children and adults."

Immigration rights activists said that in the face of Trump's campaign promises, Dreamers and their families still have cause for worry, particularly as Trump ratchets up immigration enforcement and pursues a wall along the southwestern border.

"While the Trump administration has left the DACA program in place for now, their enforcement actions and policy decisions continue to create fear and anxiety in immigrant communities," said U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. "Their announcement to keep DACA, while revoking DAPA and deporting family members is deceitful and is another effort to keep immigrant families uncomfortable about their place in America."

'The undesirables'

Others expressed hope, noting that if Trump wanted to summarily revoke the DACA program, there would be little to stop him except the political risk of offending Americans who are sympathetic to the plight of illegal immigrants.

"The only thing that is sure in Trump's America is uncertainty," said Lorella Praeli, director of immigration for the American Civil Liberties Union. "Action speaks louder than words."

With an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally, some 1.6 million of them in Texas, activists on both sides of the debate worry that the Dreamers could become the next front in a fierce political battle.

"It is a sad day when political powers still use Dreamers as pawns to continue to spread the narrative of the good immigrant versus the undesirables," said Houston activist Cesar Espinosa, executive director of Immigrant Families and Students in the Struggle. "We hope that we can continue to advocate for family unity, and eventually we reform our broken immigration system."

Bobby Cervantes contributed to this report.
DALLAS - To understand why teen pregnancy rates are so high in Texas, meet Jessica Chester. When Chester was in high school in Garland, she decided to attend the University of Texas-Dallas. She wanted to become a doctor.

"I was top of the class," she said. "I had a GPA of 4.5, a full-tuition scholarship to UTD. I was not the stereotypical girl someone would look at and say, 'Oh she's going to get pregnant and drop out of school.'"

But right before her senior year of high school, Chester, then 17, missed her period. She bought a pregnancy test and told her mom to wait outside the bathroom door.

"I saw both lines came up," Chester said. "I had tears and I remember just opening the door and she was standing there with her arms out and she just wrapped me up and hugged me. I just cried and she told me it's going to be OK."

Chester's mother had also been a teen mom, and so had her grandmother.

In Texas each year, about 35,000 young women get pregnant before they turn 20.

Traditionally, the two variables most commonly associated with high teen birth rates are education and poverty, but a new study, co-authored by Dr. Julie DeCesare, shows that there's more at play.

"We controlled for poverty as a variable, and we found these 10 centers where their teen birth rates were much higher than would be predicted," she said.

DeCesare, whose research appears in the June issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, said several of those clusters were in Texas. The Dallas and San Antonio areas, for example, had teen pregnancy rates 50 percent and 40 percent above the national average, respectively.

No 'supports in place'

Research shows teens everywhere are having sex. Gwen Daverth, CEO of the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said the high numbers in Texas reflect policy, not promiscuity.

"What we see is there are not supports in place," Daverth said. "We're not connecting high-risk youth with contraception services. And we're not supporting youth in making decisions to be abstinent. We're just saying that is an approach we want to take as a state - whereas other states have put in more progressive policies."

Daverth said California invested in comprehensive sex education and access to contraception. There, the teenage birth rate dropped by 74 percent from 1991 to 2015. The teen birth rate in Texas also fell, but only by 56 percent.

In South Carolina, young women on Medicaid who have babies are offered the opportunity to get a long-acting form of birth control right after they give birth. They're also trying that approach in parts of North Carolina. And Colorado subsidizes the cost of long-acting birth control. There, both abortions and teen birth rates are dropping faster than the national average.

Texas makes it hard for teenagers to get reproductive health care, Daverth says.

In Texas, if a 17-year-old mom wants prescription birth control, in most cases she needs her parents' permission.

Access to contraception

After Skylar was born, Chester wasn't given contraception counseling and still wasn't sure where to go for help. Three months later, she was pregnant again. She and her then-boyfriend and now-husband, Marcus Chester, hadn't realized she could get pregnant so soon after having a baby. She was a full-time student at UT-Dallas at that point, double-majoring in molecular biology and business administration. But the education Chester never got, she said, was sex ed.

"In hindsight," she said, "it's like, 'Dude, what were you all thinking? I came in 17, pregnant - why weren't you all lining up the chart and showing me (my) options?'"

Chester's high school, like the majority of schools in Texas, teaches abstinence-only or doesn't offer any sex education at all, though more districts do seem to be adopting "abstinence plus," which still encourages abstinence but also includes information on other pregnancy prevention methods and sexually transmitted diseases.

Nicole Hudgens, with the socially conservative Texas Values public policy group, supports abstinence-only education and said there are plenty of options for young moms who become pregnant.

"There are so many places like crisis pregnancy centers that are able to help these girls that are in need," Hudgens said.

Crisis pregnancy centers provide counseling and support for pregnant teens but don't offer abortions or contraception.

Studies show access to contraception is key to reducing the teen pregnancy rate. And according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, teen pregnancies in Texas cost the state $1.1 billion each year.

"One of the things we know is that 60 percent of teen parents will not graduate from high school, and only 2 percent will go on to graduate from college," Daverth said.

Jessica Chester did graduate from college. Her mom helped her through it and she did end up taking out loans for day care, but she got a degree and now has a job doing community outreach and family planning for a Dallas hospital.

"I have a lot of support with my mother alone," Chester said. "I had the example in front of me of (getting pregnant young) doesn't have to derail your plans, it doesn't have to stop you from getting an education and a career."
President Donald Trump's new Cuba policy, unveiled on Friday to a wildly cheering Cuban American crowd in Miami, will make it harder for most Americans to travel and do business in Cuba at a time when we should be building on predecessor Barack Obama's historic opening to the island.

Fortunately, the changes are only a partial reversal of the Obama initiative. Perhaps that is because they are less about real policy than they are paying off a political debt to Cuban American voters whose support gave Trump a narrow victory over Hillary Clinton in the key battleground state of Florida.

It's worth noting that now most Americans will have to jump through bureaucratic hoops again to go to Cuba. Those barriers were largely eliminated by Obama, but Cuban Americans will still be able to travel freely back and forth and send unlimited money to relatives.

We won't know how extensive the hoops are until the government publishes the new standards.

Not all the news is bad: U.S. commercial flights and cruise travel will continue and the U.S. embassy in Havana will remain open, meaning diplomatic relations will continue.

As for business, Trump has created a significant barrier by prohibiting commerce with the Cuban military, which has companies that control much of the island's socialist economy.

Our view is that the only thing this will accomplish is hurting U.S. businesses eager to tap into the long-forbidden market of 12 million people.

Why do we say that? Because after almost 55 years under a U.S. trade embargo aimed at destroying them, Cuban leaders have learned how to adjust and survive.

For them, Trump's policy is just another variation of a long attempt to use trade, or the lack thereof, to bring the communist-led government to its knees.

Obama chose a different, better path of acknowledging that the embargo had failed, that Cuba would determine its own future, and it was time for the U.S to exert its influence in a more intelligent way, which is to say through its people, not politics.

Trump, as he is wont to do, classlessly blasted Obama several times, telling the cheering crowd, "It's hard to think of a policy that makes less sense than the prior administrations's terrible deal with the Castro regime."

We would just make this point: Our policy toward Cuba has been a disaster from the beginning and served only to harden the resolve of Cuban leaders Fidel Castro and brother Raul to maintain independence from the U.S. and chart their own path.

If Obama tried to change that, it was probably because he realized that the long-held notion that the Cuban government will succumb to U.S. economic or political pressure in any way is a fantasy.

Maybe one day Trump will understand, too. Maybe he already does. We can only hope.
"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer."

With those words, General Gordon Granger rang the chimes of freedom in Galveston on June 19, 1865 - a day that has been celebrated since as Juneteenth.

Former slaves in Houston, led by Rev. John Henry "Jack" Yates, saw it fit to use their newfound wages to buy a piece of land where they could commemorate Juneteenth every year. So, in 1872, Emancipation Park was founded.

Our city celebrates its rededication Saturday. More than $33 million in public and private dollars were spent to rebuild a dilapidated park and community center. You would think that a historic site so rooted in the celebration of American values like freedom and liberty would not need to be saved from disrepair. But it is a sad fact that the city of Houston has often treated this park with anything but respect.

Street names surrounding the park were spitefully renamed after a Confederate solider in 1892. Jim Crow laws drew a bright line around the 11.7 acres of parkland. Freeways cut a scar across the Third Ward neighborhood. Funds were poured into Hermann and Memorial and Buffalo Bayou parks while our city's oldest slice of green space went ignored.

But now, with the reopening of Emancipation Park, Houston joins a national movement that's working to scrape away the historic detritus of a cause dedicated to slavery and, once again, consecrate a corner of our city for the celebration of freedom. This isn't mere metaphor. The name of Dick Dowling, a Confederate soldier, has rightfully been removed from the street bordering Emancipation Park and replaced with a new, more appropriate name - Emancipation Avenue.

The work cannot stop here. Houston must continue to promote and celebrate our own history of liberation. This means preserving the historic streets and buildings of Freedman's Town.

This means City Hall, management districts and tax increment reinvestment zones developing the open lots around Emancipation Park and establishing a streetscape worthy of the historic site.

This means erecting statues that commemorate Houston's historic defenders of liberty. Think of Jack Yates. Think of Mayor Thomas Scanlan, who integrated city government after the Civil War. Think of Barbara Jordan, who broke racial barriers in U.S. politics. Think of Rev. Bill Lawson, an icon of the civil rights movement whose dedication to peace remains a model for our city.

But for now, think of the fact that here, in the heart of Houston, we've preserved a park that was built by former slaves to celebrate their newfound freedom. Even now, 145 years later, we're working to ensure that Houstonians will always have a place to celebrate Juneteenth and ring the chimes of freedom.
(Thumbs up) There's still time to get dad that pair of socks for Father's Day. Instead, we'd recommend a family reading of Chronicle reporter Olivia P. Tallet's narrative, "Out of Time." It's available on HoustonChronicle.com and is the story of a devoted father who, despite adhering to orders from ICE, faces deportation this month. President Trump originally said he was after "bad hombres." Juan Rodriguez is not one of them, but this parent of a recent Cristo Rey graduate has been caught in newly interpreted standards that crack down on him and potentially millions of law-abiding immigrants. Rather than tearing Rodriguez away from his family and forcing others into the shadows, it's time to develop an immigration system that is fair, equitable and functional.

(Thumbs up) Proving the adage that all stories are local, two other Houston dads were instrumental in a massive deal that went down Friday. They fathered Jeff Bezos and John Mackey, the leading figures in the proposed merger of Whole Foods into Amazon. Miguel Bezos worked in the Houston oil industry when his son attended River Oaks Elementary, and Bill Mackey was a Memorial resident and accountant when his son went to Spring Branch schools.

(Thumbs up) If the granddaddy of Texas political consultants Allen Blakemore were advising Robert Johnson, the newly elected judge would be sending out invitations for a fundraiser. Suddenly some of the slickest lawyers in Texas want Johnson's ear. The first-term judge won - if you can call it that - a lottery sending to his court the criminal matter of State v. Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. As he presides over the case against our attorney general, we wish Judge Johnson good luck. But it doesn't matter. Whatever he does is going to be appealed.

(Thumbs up) When you alert the media, you get results. A day after Chronicle reporter James Pinkerton wrote that the DPS was going to cut back office hours at already maddening driver's license centers, it riled up state Sen. John Whitmire. He got the governor's office on Line One and the still-too-brief schedule was restored. Shouldn't offices like this be open when the bulk of customers don't need to take off from school or jobs?

(Thumbs twiddled) If you're reading this in a high-rise, this quote's for you: " if you're woken up in the middle of the night with an alarm system going off and a voice saying you need to evacuate, that's not the time to start learning the layout of your building." That comes from Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena. He held a press conference in the wake of a tragic London fire that killed at least 30 and injured many others. His message was "be prepared, have a plan." Pena, as you will read in an editorial in this spot tomorrow, needs his own plan after a damning audit about HFD was released this week.

(Thumbs twiddled) Donald Trump's Department of Justice this week gave approval to a massive merger between Houston-based Baker Hughes and General Electric's oil and gas division. The new company becomes the second-largest energy services company in the world, trailing only Schlumberger. The new Baker Hughes will have dual headquarters in Houston and London with CEO Lorenzo Simonelli stationed in the UK. We can only hope this doesn't end up like the Continental-United merger that cost Houston jobs, cachet and left us without a stellar corporate citizen. We would ask the president, however, is this kind of a deal how you truly make America great again?

(Thumbs down) In our weekly installment, "Politicians: The hypocrites among us," consider Monday's move by Gov. Greg Abbott. He signed a $217 billion (with a "b") two-year budget. But as part of the process, the guv vetoed $4 million the Legislature included to fight crime in Houston. Less than a month earlier, Abbott held a press conference in Houston touting his focus on fighting gang crime in our city. The crime, it appears to us, is the governor picking the pocket of crimefighters. Or is this political retribution? Crime Stoppers, which would have received the grant, was recently run by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

(Thumbs down) Apologies for piling on to Greg Abbott but his idea of overturning tree ordinances in 50 different cities is preposterous. That's one of his goals for the upcoming legislative special session. In Abbott's world, The Woodlands could become The Flatlands. Again, this smacks of retribution. The city of Austin demanded that pre-governor Abbott replant trees after a protected pecan on his property died. "It's socialistic, is what it is," Abbott said at the time. We say let local governments - not the state - determine what is right for green space.
A smuggling attempt of five Qurans was foiled today at Cairo International Airport

The Customs Authority at Cairo International Airport has foiled a smuggling attempt of a collection of five Ottoman era Qurans, found in three parcels arriving from Ethiopia.

Ahmed Al-Rawi, head of the Antiquities Units at Egyptian Ports, explained that the parcels were seized in the cargo village at Cairo International Airport earlier today. When the archaeological committee of the Cairo Antiquities Units inspected the packages they verified their authenticity.

Hamdi Hamam, director general of the Antiquities Unit at Cairo International Airport, explained that the parcels include five Qurans from the Ottoman era written in large Naskh handwriting (a style of cursive calligraphy) on old paper and covered with leather.

He pointed out that some of the seized Quran were not organised according to the Quran's normal index but were a grouping of the Quran's verses.

Hamam said that the five seized Qurans are in a very bad state of conservation and are in dire need of restoration work.

Six handles of old swords carved in animals bones were also found in the parcels, as well as a water container made of animal leather.

El-Rawi said all the artefacts are now being held as investigations continue.

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Start with guns

Regarding "Gunman turns ballfield into a battlefield" (Page A1, Thursday), the shooting on the ball field in Virginia should teach us the same lesson we should have learned by now, all over again.

America has a gun problem. There are too many guns; they are too easy to get, and there is much too much firepower available. Criminals and lunatics can just get their hands on guns with ease and misuse them with ease also. We know how to solve this problem.

There is no reason for people to own military weapons of war, to not ban the sales of armor-piercing bullets, to allow the sale of guns on the internet and at gun shows without a background check, to not limit the size of magazines in pistols, or to not limit the number of gun purchases over a given time period.

These are all basic things that can be done without interfering with homeowners' rights to defend themselves with a firearm or hunters' rights to hunt with a rifle or shotgun.

These shootings are just going to go on and on until we face up to the problem. It's guns, and it just takes political will power to solve it.

Robert L. Fischer, Houston

Essential right

Regarding "Political shots" letter (Page A16, Friday), it never ceases to amaze me how an inanimate object gets blamed for so many acts carried out by deranged individuals.

The letter-writer makes the assertion that we need to "go back to the original meaning of the Second Amendment." Is he talking about going to a place in time when the real meaning of the Second Amendment was misinterpreted and bastardized to suit the political thoughts of the time, that the citizens of the United States cannot be trusted to have too much freedom? How does putting law-abiding citizens in a position of not being able to protect themselves do the nation any good?

The writer and like-minded people love to use their First Amendment right of free speech even though they use it to try and steal away a right they don't think anyone deserves.

The thought process that thinks taking away a tool used for protection and recreation won't be replaced by some other weapon or tool is embarrassing infantile, but it is good left-wing theology!

James Connealy, Baytown
Earlier this month, President Trump announced America's withdrawal from the Paris agreement on climate change. It's important to examine why he was right.

First, this agreement was a global treaty that President Obama refused to send to the U.S. Senate for "advice and consent" as required under the Constitution. This circumvention of the Constitution was a hallmark of the Obama administration and invites a new administration to reverse these actions. Failure to properly vet the agreement through the Senate as a treaty severely limits any ability to enforce the terms.

Second, the goal of the Paris agreement was to reduce carbon emissions across the globe, but expressly allows China and other larger polluters to grow carbon emissions for over a decade. America has slashed its carbon emissions in recent years, thanks to new technology driven largely by economics, not mandates. The Paris agreement committed America to steep reductions, while allowing polluting nations to increase emissions levels through 2030. Poor air quality in cities like Beijing is proof that other nations lag far behind the U.S. on cleaning up coal plants and factories.

Supporters of the agreement argue it was technically nonbinding. Yet legal experts concluded that the U.S. would be open to legal challenges for failure to act. The result of arbitrary hurdles under the Paris agreement would be a U.S. economy held hostage to rising energy prices and a competitive disadvantage at home against other nations on the global stage.

The Paris agreement was written to secure buy-in from all nations. This translates into heavy polluters being allowed to maintain the status quo while pushing America to keep regulating, putting our nation at a distinct economic disadvantage. The pressure is not evenly distributed across the globe, with China and India adding coal-fired capacity well into the future. President Trump said, "The agreement doesn't eliminate coal jobs, it just transfers those jobs out of America and the United States and ships them to foreign countries."

America is already developing energy that reduces our carbon footprint. Clean-burning natural gas - much of it from Texas - is a significant part of our nation's electric grid. That's good for our state and the environment. Texas also leads the nation in wind power. During certain periods we have more wind energy than we can use. That's clean energy that creates jobs here in Texas. We are also increasing our use of rooftop solar and just south of Houston; a nuclear plant also powers our region.

In the district I am blessed to represent, a unique coal plant is fitted with equipment to capture most of the carbon produced before it enters the air. That carbon is then pressurized underground at old oil fields to help increase energy production. It's a win-win we hope to replicate across the country. Our region continues to lead on energy development.

Subsequent to President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris agreement, numerous corporations, states and cities have stated plans to adopt standards on their own. That is a welcome counter to a heavy-handed federal mandate entered into unilaterally. Those who wish to set lower emissions standards are free to do so. They are better-equipped to make decisions for their stakeholders that don't tie the hands of others that cannot afford to do so.

By developing smart policies that tap into business ingenuity and technological advancements, we can improve air quality and strengthen our economy without the Paris agreement. President Trump's "put America first" priority is a welcome change from the Obama administration's far-left agenda to stifle our economy through a lack of global leadership and overreaching regulations on our energy sector.

Olson, a Republican representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives, is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and vice chairman of the Energy Subcommittee.

Send letters to the editor: Viewpoints c/o Houston Chronicle, P.O. Box 4260, Houston, Texas 77210 or viewpoints@chron.com.

We welcome and encourage letters and emails from readers. Letters must include name, address and telephone numbers for verification purposes only. All letters are subject to editing.
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Canadas 150th birthday has prompted much looking back at our history. And one of the things Canadians have long been proud about is our status as the final stop on the Underground Railroad, a safe refuge for American slaves fleeing bondage.

This is true, and we should be proud. But lets not be too proud  after all, the colonies that became Canada also had slavery for more than two centuries, ending only 30 years before U.S. President Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

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When Britain took over New France, about 7 per cent of the colony was enslaved, or around 4,000 out of a population of 60,000. Two-thirds were indigenous slaves, known as Panis, and the other third African, who cost twice as much and were a status symbol. The British did not set them free.

We dont know about what happened before the Underground Railroad, which is that indigenous and black Canadians endured slavery. Afua Cooper, historian

Unlike our American cousins, Canada did not itself end its slavery  in fact, in 1777 slaves began fleeing Canada for Vermont, which had just abolished slavery. It took Britain to finally outlaw the practice across their entire empire in 1834.

You may not have known this because, well, social media isnt the only place where we curate our lives, humble-bragging our best moments and hiding our shames.

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Thats how our history gets written, too.

Historian Afua Cooper at an opening of a black history exhibition at Black Creek Pioneer Village in 2003. (Photo: Getty)

When you had Confederation in 1867, and a new narrative of the country was being written, [slavery] was one of the narratives that was forgotten, explains historian Afua Cooper, author of The Hanging of Angelique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montreal.

The Underground Railroad is pushed to the forefront. Its a triumphant story. It makes the Americans look bad and weve always had this posturing with regards to the Americans. But we dont know about what happened before the Underground Railroad, which is that indigenous and black Canadians endured slavery, and that is the main page of the history before 1867.

Slavery was the dominant condition of life for black people in this country for well over 200 years, she adds. So we have been enslaved for longer than we have been free.

A watercolour of an overseer watching his slaves work. (Wikimedia Commons)

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Historian George Tombs wrote Canadas Forgotten Slaves: Two Centuries of Bondage, the English translation of Marcel Trudels pioneering 1960 book on slavery in New France LEsclavage au Canada Francais. He agrees with Coopers critique of their self-serving peers, adding that Trudel was pretty well blacklisted by the Quebec nationalist establishment after publishing his book, because they were trying place the blame for slavery on the British.

One of the key values that we are told Canadians promote nowadays is the diversity of the population, but the fact that the institution of slavery has been ignored for hundreds of years, minimized as much as possible and never taught in schools, means that somehow we are failing to uphold the value of diversity, Tombs says.

Slavery was the dominant condition of life for black people in this country for well over 200 years. So we have been enslaved for longer than we have been free. Afua Cooper, historian

How many slaves were there all told?

I have a PhD in history and I dont know. I would say it was many, many more thousands than the 4,000 Marcel Trudeau describes in his book, Tombs says, noting that number is just for New France, and does not include Nova Scotia, P.E.I. or Upper Canada.

He says people like former PQ Minister of Culture and historian Denis Vaugeois have argued these werent really slaves, they were more like servants and they were treated like members of the family. But while smaller-scale than other slave states, Canadian slavery was also brutal with beatings, rapes, dogs hunting down escapees when they fled their masters, and even executions.

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Its totally bizarre to me that this has never been taught, Tombs says.

Illustration of Olivier LeJeune from "The Kids Book of Black Canadian History," written by Rosemary Sadlier and illustrated by Wang Qijun (Kids Can Press Ltd., 2003, Wang Qijun)

The first documented black slave arrived in Quebec city in 1628, just twenty years after the founding of New France. The boy, from Madagascar, was given the name Olivier Le Jeune. He was sold by a British commander to a French clerk.

He was about six-years-old.

He died in slavery, explains Cooper.

Though present from Olivier onward, slavery was officially illegal in French colonies until 1685 when King Louis XIVs Code Noir allowed slavery for economic purposes, a policy extended to New France in 1689 in response to colonist complaints about a lack of servants.

By the end of the 17th century, enslaved people were being brought in by soldiers, government officials, and merchants who bought them in the New England colonies, Louisiana, the Carolinas and the West Indies.

A slave auction in America. (Photo: Getty)

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This was because, as the Canadian Museum of History reports, despite colonial officials oft-reiterated yearning to have African slaves imported to the colony, no slave ship ever reached the St. Lawrence valley.

There had been a history of First Nations enslaving prisoners of war prior to colonialism, however they were often exchanged as part of alliance-making or to replace their own war dead. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights reports that unlike Aboriginal peoples, Europeans saw enslaved people less as human beings and more as property that could be bought and sold. Just as importantly, Europeans viewed slavery in racial terms, with Aboriginals and Africans serving and white people ruling as masters.

This was cemented in 1709 when the French king Louis XIV expanded slavery to full proprietorship in New France, meaning that any child born to a slave woman were also slaves that belonged to the master who could keep them, give them as gifts or sell them.

The Canadian Museum of History notes that earlier explorers like Jacques Cartier kidnapped indigenous people and brought them back to Europe, however the French colonists only began using indigenous slaves in the 1670s. Those numbers increased dramatically after 1709.

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Arguably Canadas most well-known slave is Marie-Joseph Angelique, who was hanged in 1734 for allegedly burning down most of what is now known as Old Montreal.

Born in Portugal, she was sold several times before winding up owned by a rich widow. Following an escape attempt with her white indentured servant lover, Angeliques owners house caught fire, a conflagration that eventually spread to 46 buildings.

It is unclear if Angelique actually set the blaze, as her confession followed brutal torture. Nonetheless, she was paraded through town before being killed by an enslaved hangman and then burned on a pyre, as a warning to other slaves.

Angelique has since become a powerful symbol of black Canadian resistance, the focus of paintings, plays and poems as well Coopers book, which uses her story to reveal the broader, horrifying truth about Canadas past.

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If you had money, you owned slaves, Cooper says. Thats how banal it was.

Slave ownership was found at every level of colonial Canadian society, whether French or English. George Tombs, historian

The current-day downplaying of Canadian slavery becomes difficult to explain once you look at the numbers. While much less than in America or the Caribbean due to the lack of large-scale agriculture, slaves still represented a sizable percentage of the colonial population.

And while slavery started with the French, the only real difference after the Brits took over in 1760 was that the numbers of indigenous slaves declined, while black slavery increased, as was already the case in Nova Scotia.

Influential colonists owned slaves  Upper Canada administrator Peter Russell, McGill University founder James McGill, Father Louis Payet, the priest of Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieus and Reverend John Stuart, the first minister of the Church of England in Upper Canada  and ordinary people did, too.

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"Slave ownership was found at every level of colonial Canadian society, whether French or English, working on farms, in bakery shops, working in leather tanning, slave orderlies working in hospitals, working for merchants, working in the fur trade as slave canoe paddlers for Scottish and French Canadian fur traders crisscrossing the country," says Tombs.

Slavery buy and sell ads from the Upper Canada Gazette and Niagara Herald (Archives of Ontario)

Yep, even the initial economic reason for Canadas founding is marred by slavery.

We all know how important the fur trade was for the building of Canada and bringing Canada together, says Tombs, but how much do we know about the aboriginal slaves bought and sold as part of the fur trade? Not much.

The next influx of slaves came in the wake of the 1776 American revolution. Many slaves escaped bondage to fight on the British side, and these black loyalists were allowed to move to Canada as free people (though they would face broken promises from the government, as well as discrimination and violence from the colonists).

The Matthew Elliott homestead, built in 1784, had 60 slaves living in huts behind this house (Photo: Parks Canada / Fort Malden NHS)

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White loyalists moved north, too, and they brought an estimated 2,000 slaves with them to Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, says Cooper.

One loyalist from Virginia, Matthew Elliot, became Canadas largest slaveholder with 60 people enslaved on his property.

The Imperial Statute of 1790 made it official that new settlers could bring their slaves to Upper Canada. While it did also decree that children of slaves would be free at the age of 25, the life expectancy of a slave at that time was 20 to 25.

However, abolition efforts began in 1793 thanks to the efforts of then-Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. At the time, the National Post reports there were an estimated 500 slaves among 14,000 colonists, with another 200 to 300 slaves in Detroit, which was part of Upper Canada until 1796.

But Simcoe failed.

His Act to Limit Slavery only managed to ban the importation of new slaves. Thanks to lobbying by slave-owning politicians like Toronto founding father William Jarvis, the slaves already here remained in bondage and, in fact, the right to own human beings was reaffirmed.

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The provincial legislatures of Upper Canada and Lower Canada didnt really want to disturb slave owners that much. George Tombs, historian

A citizens petition by Joseph Papineau was a similar attempt in Lower Canada to preserve slavery, but no measures were passed, though a judge named James Monk did manage to use a legal technicality to stop escaped slaves from being forcibly returned to their masters.

Eventually, Tombs says, the institution of slavery was allowed to expire by itself because the provincial legislatures of Upper Canada and Lower Canada didnt really want to disturb slave owners that much. The thing that I found very striking about the parliamentary debates, such as they were, was ... how very little they thought to uphold principals of liberty and justice for the slave population.

Democracy has been for some and not for all, he adds, and it still is in many ways. The very privileged role that white Canadians have enjoyed is still maintained in the world today.

A painting named "The Underground Railroad" by Charles T. Webber (Photo: Getty)

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Though the Underground Railroad began bringing escaped slaves in 1815, it didnt really take off until well after Canadian slavery came to a close in 1833 when Britain banned it across the empire.

And its not like white supremacy went away along with slavery.

Indigenous people were pushed onto reserves and forbidden to leave without a government-issued Indian Pass until the early 1940s, and not allowed to vote until 1960. Their children were taken away to residential schools and/or given to white families for decades after that.

Slavery was the context in which current race relations were created. Afua Cooper, historian

Black Canadians, meanwhile, faced race riots and segregation well into the 20th century  segregated schools arrived right along with the Underground Railroad and last one only closed in 1983  and are still fighting discrimination today.

We are dealing with some of the legacies, says Cooper. I would submit that within the western psyche, black people are still seen as property, black people are still seen as inferior. Thats why we can have young black teenage men being shot in the back by police and murdered and cops are exonerated. The utter carelessness with which we treat black lives  the whole Black Lives Matter movement comes from that realization  that disdain comes from history.

Slavery was the context in which current race relations was created, which is black inferiority and white superiority, she concludes.

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So it was abolished, but did we abolish attitudes?

CORRECTION: June 18, 2017 - An earlier version of this article stated that 15 per cent of the 60,000 inhabitants of New France were enslaved when Britain took over. The percentage is closer to 7 per cent, or around 1/15 of the population.

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Serena Taylor-Wright

My father died of cancer two years ago. He was just 48. Doctors found large abscesses on the brain and when they investigated further, they discovered he had grade three cancer of the oesophagus. The doctors told us the abscesses were most likely caused by the cancer spreading to his brain.

Although they managed to successfully remove the brain abscesses, the operation caused his personality to completely change, which was absolutely indescribable to see happen before my eyes.

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Before his illness, he ran his own comedy business. So as you can imagine, he was a very loud, joyful character and always making people laugh.

When he returned home from hospital, he was fragile, emotional and extremely quiet. I'd come home from school and help him learn something new, as the majority of his memory was lost.

This was very challenging - my dad was my hero, and to see him change so dramatically was devastating.

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We were told he had six months but he was with us for two years and two months. Even though his cancer was terminal, I want people to know there is hope, and it's important to make the most of the time left with loved ones.

It's heart-breaking to know that he'll never see me go to university, walk me down the aisle, or meet his grandchildren. I've always been so close to both of my parents. We used to call ourselves 'The Three Musketeers'.

Without the support of my mother I don't know how I would have coped - I feel privileged to have had that. I want other people going through this to know that they are not alone and there is support out there.

Even though he was only 48 when he died, he lived life to the fullest and I'm so overwhelmingly proud to be able to call him my father.

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It's my third Father's Day without dad. Father's Day was always important to me but when you see someone you love suffer so greatly, it becomes something a lot more meaningful and sentimental.

If you have a father still with you, make as much effort as you can with them this Father's Day and every day because you don't know what might be around the corner.

To me, Father's Day isn't just about thinking of a gift that will make your dad happy or going to visit him if you haven't seen him for a while, it's about honouring all the dads who have fought their hardest to be the best and most supportive man in their child's life.

That's exactly what my father was to me.
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Emma Knight, 32, of Washington Street, west Hull, received an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, must have six months of treatment for drug-dependency, and up to 15 days rehabilitation, for two offences of possessing a kitchen knife in Prospect Street, city centre. Knight, who was carrying the knives in her socks, must pay 85 costs and a 115 surcharge.

Viktors Umrasko, 30, of HMP Leeds, was jailed for 18 weeks for assaulting a prison custody officer at HMP Hull. He must pay a 115 surcharge.

Kerry Stephenson, 46, of Skidby Grove, north Hull, was fined 120, and must have up to ten days rehabilitation, for putting a person in fear of violence by using threatening words or behaviour. She must pay 40 costs and an 85 surcharge.

Liam Bunce, 27, of Beech Avenue, Willerby, was fined 220 for fishing without a licence at Beverley Beck. He must pay 127 costs and a 30 surcharge.

Eve Lindstrom, 31, of West Ella Road, West Ella, was fined 120, was banned from driving for 30 months, and must have up to 20 days rehabilitation, for drink-driving. She must pay 85 costs and an 85 surcharge.

David Pudsey, 55, of Hotham Road, Cranswick, was discharged conditionally for two years for assault by beating. He must pay a 20 surcharge.

Mitchell Sadler, 22, of Moorhouse Road, west Hull, was fined 300, and was banned from driving for 20 months, for drink-driving. He must pay 85 costs and a 30 surcharge.

Lauren Ferne, 22, of Church Mount, North Newbald, was fined 150, and must have up to ten days rehabilitation, for assault by beating. She must pay an 85 surcharge.
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A disgraced former councillor has been jailed for more than two years after being found guilty of indecently assaulting three girls.

Arthur Hodgson, 70, former Conservative member for South East Holderness at East Riding Council, arrived at court waving at photographers and protesting his innocence.

But he left in a prison van with his reputation "in ruins" after being convicted by a Hull Crown Court jury of three historic child sex offences spanning 20 years.

He was found not guilty of six other sex offences.

Hodgson, who was also a member of Humberside Fire Authority, and Keyingham Parish Council, was described by one victim as "domineering and intimidating".

Jailing him for 27 months, Judge David Tremberg told him: "The court has seen and heard not one hint of acceptance, contrition, insight or remorse. In my judgement, no sentence other than immediate custody is appropriate to deal with matters of this seriousness."

The most serious offence involved Hodgson pinning his victim down with her hands above her head and one foot over hers to "keep her still" while he assaulted her.

That was committed against a girl aged 11 or 12 and had come "under the guise of a children's game".

After describing what Hodgson had done to another girl, the judge said: "There was no room for misinterpretation of that. This was a humiliating and deeply upsetting experience for her."

Another victim was assaulted after Hodgson had gone round on the pretext of fixing a computer. "Why should anybody think you could not be trusted?" the judge asked, rhetorically.

The court heard the victims had suffered emotional and psychological problems that had accompanied at least one into adulthood. They spoke of feeling "shame", anxiety and loss of confidence, as well as experiencing flashbacks.

"The legacy of what you have done to these victims lives on," the judge said.

He said Hodgson had caused "enduring substantial emotional distress".

Hodgson, of Church Lane, Keyingham, must register as a sex offender for ten years.

The offences predated Hodgson's election to East Riding Council in 2011.

The judge told him: "You are highly respected within the local community, or at least you have been, and your reputation is in ruins."
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A friend of missing Renata Antczak has expressed her shock and sadness after police announced the Hull mum's disappearance is now being treated as a potential murder inquiry.

The mum-of-two has not been seen since April 25, with a huge police appeal to find her. She was last seen dropping her 11-year-old daughter off at Broadacre Primary School at 8.45am.

On Friday, detectives confirmed they were treating her disappearance as a potential murder, with teams seen searching scrubland between Kesteven Way and Bude Road - close to Renata's home.

Officers have also spent at least a couple of weeks at Renatas house in Beamsley Way in Kingswood, with forensic teams and sniffer dogs sifting through the property.

One of the mum-of-two's friends, Joanna Fratczak, got to know Renata as she runs a citizen's advice service for Polish people in Hull.

She said: "I feel terrible on hearing this latest news. I have been crying almost every day since she disappeared.

"She and her husband were really well known in the Polish community in Hull and everyone thought they were the perfect couple.

"It has been a very difficult time for me and all her friends. It must be awful for her family. I have spoken to her oldest daughter since and she is devastated and is having a difficult time."

While Ms Fratczak admits Renata was feeling down before she disappeared she does not believe she would leave her children.

She said: "When I spoke to her before she disappeared, she was not feeling very well and was a bit depressed.

"I was helping her but when she disappeared I didn't know for a few days.

"I was surprised she went missing because she was a loving mum who wouldn't just leave her children.

"She was hoping to return to Poland but would not leave until her younger daughter had finished her education. Her children are very important to her."

Neighbours admitted they are saddened by the latest development.

One man told the Mail: It is not really a shock as we were kind of expecting it would come to this but it is really sad.

I never thought anything like this would happen. It will be really sad if she is not found safe and well. She was a really nice person.

Another neighbour also said it is awful to find out Renatas disappearance is a potential murder inquiry.

He said: There was 24-hour surveillance round here for a while and police went through their property with a fine tooth comb.

What has happened is both surreal and awful."

(Image: Peter Harbour)

Police held an urgent press conference on Friday morning in relation to Renatas disappearance, two weeks after releasing the last known image of her outside Broadacre.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now

Speaking to the media at Priory Road police station, Detective Superintendent Grainne Casey said: "It's been 52 days since Renata went missing and we have got no confirmed sightings of her since then.

"We are treating this enquiry as a potential murder. Our primary goal is to still to find Renata alive and well, however the investigation at this stage raises significant concerns that some harm may have come to her."

Those living on Dulverton Close in Kingswood witnessed officers searching nearby grassland.

One neighbour said: I have seen the police turn up here over the last couple of days and there have been a couple of vans parked up opposite.

I was wondering what was going on but I heard the news about the potential murder inquiry.

It is terrible to think what has happened. If the missing woman isnt alive then I hope they at least find her body so her children can have some closure.

Police have arrested and charged her husband, Majid Mustafa, 47, over her disappearance, along with another man, Robert Lipinski, 45.

Mr Mustafa and Mr Lipinski have been jointly charged with conspiring to cause GBH with intent to a man and conspiracy to administer a noxious substances to Renata Antczak. They will both appear at Hull Crown Court on Monday. Lipinski has also been charged with conspiracy to administer a noxious substance to his wife.
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The end of the bottomless prosecco deals could soon be upon us.

One of the country's most popular Italian chains have been rapped by advertising authorities for "encouraging binge drinking".

Prezzo, which has branches in St Stephens and in Beverley, have launched a campaign enticing people to their restaurants by offering unlimited glasses of prosecco.

A number of promotional deals have been sent out to customers in the hopes unlimited sparkling fizz will bring more punters to their tables.

However, the Advertising Standards Agency has now stepped in and warned Prezzo of what they are promoting to their customers.

A complaint was made to the authority which concluded the advert was in breach of advertising rules as it encourages excessive consumption of alcohol.

The restaurant chain has been warned not to use the advert which featured several overflowing glasses of prosecco again.

Colin Shevills, director of Balance, the North East Alcohol Office, said bottomless prosecco deals encourage binge drinking, especially among women.

Their growing social acceptability is concerning," he said to the Mail's sister site, Chronicle Live.

Were seeing a phenomenon mainly targeted at women with a rise in prosecco as the female drink of choice.

But what these bottomless promotions arent mentioning are the very real harms of drinking, which is particularly worrying when were seeing increases in alcohol consumption amongst the female population.

A typical bottle of prosecco contains more than eight units and a strength of around 11%abv, weaker than an average bottle of wine is stronger with percentages ranging from 12 to 14%.

However, health chief Dr George Rae has said the difference is not significant and drinking prosecco should be approached with moderation.

If you are getting the incentive to drink a bottle, two bottles of prosecco, that would undoubtedly be something that, if you were doing it regularly, would be detrimental to your health.

I dont think any doctor is going to say, if theyre arent any contraindications, that you cant have a drink and enjoy yourself  in moderation some alcohol, especially red wine, can even be good for your health.

But we are finding in a lot of patients who will say I only drink at the weekend, and when we ask what they drink at the weekend, its maybe 25-30 units. If you are drinking that amount at the weekend on a regular basis, you are likely to end up with a health problem.
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The Queen has named eight people from Hull and East Yorkshire on her Birthdays Honours list.

She was awarded medals to local residents for their services to sport, charity, education and more, highlighting some of the heroes in the local community.

As well as recognising the finest folk in our region Her Majesty has also handed awards to Paul McCartney, PC Keith Palmer and Delia Smith to name just a few of more than 1,000 people recognised.

One of Hulls most recognisable entertainers, Johnny Pat, who performed for more than 50 years in Johnny Pat and the Aces, has been recognised for his charity and fundraising work in the region with a British Empire Medal (BEM).

Four people from Hull and East Yorkshire have been named on the Queens list for their services to education.

John Buttrick, the former Director and Honorary President of Hull Childrens University has received an MBE for his services to children in Hull.

Mark Richard Stockdale, a volunteer at Hull Childrens University has also been honoured and received a BEM for services to education.

Ruth Marie Truelove was also awarded a BEM for service to education for her work as a reading assistant and governor at Stepney Primary School, Hull, and as a volunteer for the National Literacy Trust.

Francis Gordon Askew received an MBE for service to education for his work as a Literacy and Phonics Adviser at the Gordon Askew Department for Education.

Derek Groves, from Beverley, a physical education specialist at HM Prison Hull, has been awarded and MBE for services to the prison service and to Paralympic sport.

Dawn McCarthy-Simpson, from Brough, the director of the Producers Alliance for TV and Cinema has been given an MBE for services to exports.

Pauline Anne Sykes, of Goole, has been honoured with a BEM for her services to the local community in Rawcliffe, East Yorkshire.
Congressman Richie Neal meets with Fire Director Stephen Meranti and Mayor Richard Alcombright on Friday to announce a a $452,900 grant for firefighting equipment.

Congressman Neal Delivers $750K in Grants to North Adams



Meranti said the grant will allow the department to buy 73 breathing apparatus and seven intervention packs.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  U.S. Rep. Richard Neal presented the North Adams Fire Department with a $452,900 Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters Grant and a $300,000 EPA Brownfields communitywide assessment grant.



The city was the last stop on Neal's Berkshire County tour, after Great Barrington and Williamstown, where he discussed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants of $300,000 and $200,000 for those communities.



The Assistance to Firefighters grant will be used to purchase 73 breathing apparatus and seven intervention packs.



"Congratulations to the staff and the mayor," the Springfield Democrat said. "These grants are a very important part of local safety and first responders."



Fire Director Stephen Meranti said the city would not be able to purchase this equipment, which benefits communities throughout North County, without the grant.



"I believe our firefighters are our biggest asset and this provides them safety equipment that allows them to do their job," he said. "It allows them to enter a burning building or a toxic environment and focus on rescue."



Meranti added that all of the department's larger purchases come through this grant.



Mayor Richard Alcombright said the kind of equipment that the grant will be used to purchase was a huge help during the recent fire at Sullivan School. Several fires were set inside the vacant building, forcing firefighters to work in dark and smoky conditions to find and contain them.



"They would not have been able to approach the building without the equipment. The building was completely filled with smoke and the proof is in the pudding," he said. "These guys do a wonderful job and ... I hope in the future the city continues to have a full-time fully trained department."



Neal added that many of the old mills found in North Adams and throughout New England are often abandoned and more vulnerable to fires because of oil and other contaminants.



He said the $300,000 EPA grant hopefully will access some of this contamination and attract developers, and help alleviate a fire hazard.


State Rep. Gailanne Cariddi had represented North County since 2010. Cariddi at the opening of the latest Rail Trail extension last month. Addressing library advocates in January. Aboard the Berkshire Scenic Rail in 2014. Cutting the ribbon at the new Hoosac Valley High School track in 2013. Having breakfast with Plunkett students last fall. At the opening of the MCLA science center with colleagues Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Smitty Pignatelli and former state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing. Cariddi survived serious injuries after falling through the floor of the Cariddi Mill two years ago. With Downing and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito at a Community Compact signing in 2015. At the inauguration of MCLA President James Birge this spring. Honoring her uncle Joe Cariddi, a World War II veteran, in 2011. At a rally for the former North Adams Regional Hospital last year. PreviousNext

Representative Gailanne Cariddi Dies at 63



Cariddi with supporters after being sworn in at the State House in 2011. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  State Rep. Gailanne M. Cariddi died early Saturday morning at Massachusetts General Hospital.



Cariddi, 63, had represented the 1st Berkshire District since 2010. Prior to that, she had served as a city councilor, including as City Council president, for more than 20 years.



According to Mayor Richard Alcombright, Cariddi died peacefully after a brief illness.



"I had the honor and pleasure of working with Gail over the past 18 years both on the North Adams City Council and most recently in her role as our representative," he said. "Gail certainly loved politics but her desire to serve people far outweighed any political ambitions. Gail was a true public servant in every sense." Former Mayor John Barrett III, who'd been in office during Cariddi's entire term as councilor, said he was saddened at the news. "She was one of the nicest people I'd ever met in political life," he said. "She was top shelf when she was on the City Council." Cariddi easily won her election to the House in 2010, the first new state representative in 24 years and the first woman to occupy the seat. She succeeded longtime representative Daniel Bosley and had focused on natural resources, tourism and economic development for her largely rural district.

She was re-elected unopposed last November to her fourth term. At the time of her death, she was chairman of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

Her good friend Marie Harpin was still trying to absorb that Cariddi was gone. She was out of town when she got the call that her longtime council colleague had died at about 4 a.m. "I just can't believe it," she said when reached later Saturday night. "I'm crushed." Cariddi had been private about her illness and was sure she was going to come out of it, Harpin said. "She was a fighter." Along with losing a friend, Harpin, who also had worked in Cariddi's North Adams office, said, the region had lost its "best cheerleader today." "She did what she could for all the people in the district ... no matter what it was, she was out there fighting for the area," Harpin said. "She cared about helping, she cared about her community and the people in it. That's who she was."

The North Adams native was also a longtime board member of Northern Berkshire Community Television and featured local news of interest regularly on her shows, the latest being "Something You Should Know."



She was instrumental in moving forward the bike and pedestrian paths in North County as an active member for many years with the Berkshire Bike Path Council. She also served on the North Adams Public Library building committee, had been involved in numerous other local initiatives and was a frequent attendee and participant at local events and volunteer efforts. She also was a longtime member of the North Adams Democratic City Committee.



She was presented the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Committee's Peacemaker Award in 2008. Cariddi last year hosted a roundtable on economic development at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash.



Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo called her a "champion for small business" and recalled his visits to her district "fondly."



"I'm deeply saddened by the passing of Representative Cariddi. She was one of the warmest and most gracious people I've had the pleasure of working with," he said in a statement. "Gail had a gift for bringing her colleagues together through her kindness and intellect. Whether advocating for heightened access to health care, the environment or higher education, Gail has left North Adams and the Commonwealth a better place. She will be greatly missed." The North Adams native was also a longtime board member of Northern Berkshire Community Television and featured local news of interest regularly on her shows, the latest being "Something You Should Know."She was instrumental in moving forward the bike and pedestrian paths in North County as an active member for many years with the Berkshire Bike Path Council. She also served on the North Adams Public Library building committee, had been involved in numerous other local initiatives and was a frequent attendee and participant at local events and volunteer efforts. She also was a longtime member of the North Adams Democratic City Committee.She was presented the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Committee's Peacemaker Award in 2008. Cariddi last year hosted a roundtable on economic development at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash.Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo called her a "champion for small business" and recalled his visits to her district "fondly.""I'm deeply saddened by the passing of Representative Cariddi. She was one of the warmest and most gracious people I've had the pleasure of working with," he said in a statement. "Gail had a gift for bringing her colleagues together through her kindness and intellect. Whether advocating for heightened access to health care, the environment or higher education, Gail has left North Adams and the Commonwealth a better place. She will be greatly missed."

Barrett described Cariddi as a hard-working, detailed-oriented public servant, someone, he said, willing to take on projects that weren't "too sexy," like working her way through the city's often outdated ordinances. When bike path concepts came up, Barrett said, she was the one he turned to. "I knew I needed someone who would go through the details. I don't think the bike trail would have gotten as far as it did without her help," he said. The longtime mayor thought Cariddi might succeed him in the corner office but, he said, "she was really a legislator at heart." "I encouraged her to run when Dan Bosley vacated the seat ... I told her 'your time has now come,'" Barrett said. And she proved by serving her district and city, and earning a joint committee chairmanship after only three terms. "When she faced her greatest medical challenge, she was very private, and she never complained, never said 'woe is me.' She was taking care of her constituents," he said. "She was a remarkable lady and left her mark in a very positive way." Cariddi had been ill over the past year and apparently took a turn for the worse over the past week or so. She'd also suffered a serious fall nearly two years that laid her up for several months. "We served together for 21 years," said former Councilor Alan Marden, who switched off with Cariddi over the years as council president. "Nobody worked harder than Gail. ... "She kind of adopted the city statutes as her personal responsibility ... she took charge of bringing them up to date. She was great public servant." Cariddi attended local schools and graduated from Bentley College with a degree in business management. She was financial manager of her family's business in wholesale toy distribution, Cariddi Sales Co., for more than 30 years and hosted the Northern Berkshire Santa Funds toy pickups. Cariddi attended local schools and graduated from Bentley College with a degree in business management. She was financial manager of her family's business in wholesale toy distribution, Cariddi Sales Co., for more than 30 years and hosted the Northern Berkshire Santa Funds toy pickups.

State Rep. Paul Mark was a legislative classmate of Cariddi after they both won election in 2010. They attended each other's campaign events, learned the ropes in a legislative academy and worked on legislation and on committees together. "She was very kind and very quiet in a distinguished way," Mark said on Saturday. "She was never looking for credit, never looking for the spotlight. She did it because it was the right thing to do." Not only were the two classmates, but they worked closely together on a number of issues and on the agricultural committee. With redistricting in 2012, Cariddi took over representing some of Mark's former district and the two worked closely on that transition.

Cariddi with supporter after winning the House primary in 2010. On her right is longtime friend and former councilor Marie Harpin, who also worked in Cariddi's North Adams office. "She was a wonderful woman. It is a loss for the whole region," Mark said. State Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli said while some in the State House lost a colleague, he lost a friend of 34 years. The Cariddi family had been supporters of his father's campaigns and the two had a friendship throughout. Back when he was county commissioner, they would have dinner once a week. "I am deeply saddened today," Pignatelli said. "Others lost a colleague, I lost a friend." It was just two weeks ago when Pignatelli, Mark and Cariddi had lunch together and on Saturday, Pignatelli was replaying the scene of them laughing and having a good time over and over again in his mind. "She was a good soul. She was genuine, real, tough but also empathetic," he said. Meanwhile, Cariddi was a mentor for state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier. Cariddi was one year ahead of the Pittsfield Democrat and helped her adjust to the work of a legislator. "When I think of Gail, I think of the hardest working legislator I know," Farley-Bouvier said. Farley-Bouvier recalled how Cariddi had a collage of road signs of each town in her district. It was her way of saying that if you were in that office, you'd be talking about the 1st berkshire District. Farley-Bouvier said that was always her first question when it came to any piece of legislation, "how will this help the people in the first district?" On a personal level, Farley-Bouvier said Cariddi was nothing but kind to everybody. "She was just always kind. I never heard her say anything but kindness," Farley-Bouvier said. Cariddi's death came as a shock to her local colleagues and friends.

"Kind, honest and humble aren't words that are associated with public leaders often enough. Gail Cariddi was those words personified," wrote former state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing on his Facebook page. "I'm a better person because Gail Cariddi was my friend. Thinking of her family and countless friends on this sad, sad day."




iciHaiti - Environment : Launch of a reforestation campaign in the Grand'Anse





This Saturday, June 17, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) inform that as part of the celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought around the theme "Citizens, let's join our efforts to protect the Environment" commemorative activities will be carried out in the Department of Grand'Anse.



Pierre Simon Georges, the Minister of the Environment and Nathanael Hishamunda, the FAO Representative in Haiti, will visit Grand'Anse for the launch of a reforestation campaign at the level of various communes of the Department, within the framework of the project "Action against desertification in the Grand'Anse", funded by the European Union.



Agroforestry seedling planting, anti-desertification awareness campaigns and a green march of schoolchildren, young scouts and local associations will also be organized.



The MDE, FAO and the European Union reiterate their commitments to combat desertification in Haiti, particularly after Hurricane Matthew, which further weakened the country's agroforestry system.



IH/ iciHaiti


















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Your boss doesnt care if you finish your novel. Your partner would rather not hear about the memoir youve been threatening to write. Feeling discouraged? It may be time to escape the creativity-quashing grind and reconnect with your muse in a lovely locale.

Whether you like lakes in Americas Midwest or Icelandic hot springs, theres a writers retreat for you. Here are half a dozen programs where you can spend quality time with your journal or get started on the next bestseller:

For the Nordic-lit set

Iceland has a rich literary tradition that encompasses 13th-century sagas, the in-vogue Nordic noir and a Nobel prize-winner (Halldor Laxness, 1902-1998). So many books are released in the run-up to Christmas that they call it the Jolabokaflod or Christmas Book Flood.

That literary bent, along with the spectacular scenery, makes the country an appealing setting for the Iceland Writers Retreat. Writers at any level are welcome to this one week annual retreat. Included are excursions such as a literary twist on the Golden Circle tour, which features the Great Geysir and the famous Gullfoss waterfall, as well as a visit to Iceland's ancient seat of learning, Skalholt.

The twist: youll see these sites in the company of writers such as Hilton Als, Alice Hoffman and Gwendoline Riley. Youre in a workshop with them or sitting next to them at lunch or on a tour with them going to see geysers, so you have an opportunity to interact, says Eliza Reid, who founded IWR with Erica Jacobs Green. Reid also happens to be Icelands first lady, and her enthusiasm for the country and its literary life is both winning and good public relations.

Anyone can sign up for the IWR, and everyone does, Reid says. Our participants really run the gamut from professional writers to people who write cookbooks to people who just keep a diary.

Cost and duration: Approximately 2,500 for four nights. Applications for April next year open in July. Visit: icelandwritersretreat.com

For foodies

If youre equally serious about food and writing, a cookNscribble retreat might be the secret ingredient you've been seeking. Molly ONeill  cookbook author and former New York Times reporter and food columnist  created cookNscribble for writers who didn't have access to the kind of training she had early in her career. (Promoting community is a common theme of writers retreats.)

ONeill began with online courses and added an intensive food-writers residency in Upstate New York, her home base. She also puts together several in-person retreats a year in culinary meccas such as La Pitchoune, the French summer home of Julia Child, one of ONeills mentors. For this fall, cookNscribble has organised a retreat in a super-cool unknown part of Tuscany in a castle repurposed as a food learning centre, she says.

Why go? Youre in a beautiful place, people are pretty darn motivated, and people get work done, says ONeill. And lives change. Thats pretty cool. And you will eat well.

Cost and duration: around 2,800 for seven nights. Visit: onebigtable.com/cooknscribble/

For culture connoisseurs

If tapas and flamenco are more your thing, the Summer in Granada retreat, sponsored by Cambridge Writers Workshop n the US, promises a warm cultural bath: Let the old city stimulate your writing with its winding streets, Moorish history, and evocative landscapes, the website says.

Summer in Granada is part of a series of retreats created by writers Rita Banerjee and Diana Norma Szokolyai. They describe their retreat model as a kind of roving salon, with previous sessions in Paris and at a chateau in Picardy, among its envy-inducing locations. All of these places have a very alive and electric culture, a culture that exists on the streets, in the imagination, says Banerjee .

This summer, participating writers will enjoy an experiential tour alongside workshops and writing sessions. Fiction writer Tim Horvath will teach a writing from the senses class that includes a visit to a museum of smells, a visit to a chocolatier and a tapas tour. No matter how intellectual writing gets, you always want to draw in the senses and immerse the reader, he says. (Did we mention chocolate?)

Cost and duration: around 2,300 for four nights. Some scholarships available. Deadline for applying for August stay is 20 June. Visit: cambridgewritersworkshop.org/

For runners

If you'd rather burn calories, Writers Who Run could be your cup of tea. Founder and director Christie Wright Wild has two passions: running and writing. Days at her retreat in the mountains of North Carolina begin with a 7am trail run, a challenge for those normally still fumbling for the coffee pot at that hour. Wild says: It wakes up the mind, wakes up the body and its a good cure for writers block.

Post-run, participants take two two-hour workshops on the craft and the business of writing with instructors such as fantasy novelist Alex Lidell and Social media Jedi Kristen Lamb. Evenings are for socialising  simple things like smores, journal-making, a dip in the pool, Wild says. The final day involves a 10K race through the woods along a course marked with inspirational signs about writing and running.

Cost and duration: around 1,200 for four nights. Kicks off Monday. Visit: writerswhorun.com

For women only

Men need not apply for Storyknife Writers Retreat, a program in Homer, Alaska, founded by mystery-novel powerhouse Dana Stabenow. For her, Storyknife is a way to repay a creative debt. Early in her career, she attended Hedgebrook Farm, a women-only writing retreat on Whidbey Island in Washington State.

Why women-only? Its still true that women are underrepresented in publishing, Stabenow says. Its different when youre just concentrating on women writers. Theres more of a focus. Its a total removal from their ordinary, everyday life.

Stabenows Storyknife, which is nonprofit, has raised money for three cabins so far, with a main house and three more cabins planned; This year 65 people applied for four slots, one of which will be taken by a yet-to-be-published writer. Stabenow expects to host four writers again in 2018.

Cost and duration: Free (includes small stipend to offset transport costs); one month. Visit: storyknife.org

A generative retreat

If cranking out fresh pages is your top priority, try a generative retreat. At the Interlochen Writers Retreat in Michigan, participants pick their genre - memoir, personal essay, novel, short story or poetry - and spend four days generating material under the tutelage of established writers.

About 45 percent of participants are returning students; three-quarters are female, most from the Midwest, many in the 45-64 age range. (Many writers retreats skew towards women.)

Katey Schultz, Interlochens artistic director and author of the story collection Flashes of War, attributes the high return rate to an atmosphere thats supportive but not coddling. Students dont arrive with manuscripts in hand only to get destroyed in cutthroat MFA fashion, she says. Youre there to make and create and feel the energy.

Youre writing all week, says Mary Kay Zuravleff, a Washington-based novelist who teaches at the Interlochen Writers Retreat. Every time you meet your class, theres a writing prompt. Every craft lecture, theres a writing prompt.

Interlochen attracts a mixture of experience levels. Whether your novel is just a twinkle in your eye or youre on your second draft, says Zuravleff, come on in.

Cost and duration: 400 (lodging not included); four or five nights. Visit: college.interlochen.org/adult-classes/writers-retreat

Practicalities and caveats

A retreat can be great for networking but it is not where pro writers go to hobnob with peers, agents and publishers. It isnt a high-wattage artists colony like Bread Loaf or Yaddo. Except for the cost, which can be alarmingly high, most retreats work on an egalitarian, all-are-welcome model that is too rare in literary life. Lodging, some meals and excursions are usually but not always included. Expect to pay for your own transportation. The more glamorous the destination, the higher the cost of travel. Also, keep in mind: retreats fill up, and registration closes at different times of year for different programs; if youve missed this years windows, theres always next year.

 Washington Post
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Carrie Fisher's death was triggered by sleep apnoea and various other factors but an exact cause could not be determined, a coroner has said.

Her daughter Billie Lourd said she ultimately died of drug addiction and mental illness after the coroner on Friday said the Star Wars actress had taken multiple drugs before her death.

The sleep disorder and a build-up of fatty tissue in her arteries were among the issues recorded as factors.

The Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner added that multiple drug intake was how the injury occurred but said that its significance could not be determined.

In a statement to People magazine, Lourd said: My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases.

Fisher, 60, was taken ill on a flight to Los Angeles from London, where she was filming for British sitcom Catastrophe, in December.

The actress had long spoken about her battles with drug addiction and mental illness, becoming a particularly prominent voice for those who are bipolar.

The coroner recorded her death as undetermined and also noted she had atherosclerotic heart disease, where the heart's arteries harden and narrow.

No more information was released by the coroner, nor were questions answered about whether a full postmortem examination report and toxicology results were available.

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A spokesman said a further statement would be released next week.

Sleep apnoea is a common condition in which a person stops breathing in their sleep.

There are two types of the disorder: obstructive, where the throat's walls relax and narrow during sleep, and central, where the brain fails to prompt the body to breathe.

Both conditions can increase this risk of strokes and heart attacks.

Fisher, who found fame playing Princess Leia in Star Wars, died in hospital on 27 December. Her movie star mother Debbie Reynolds died the following day.

The pair were laid to rest together in a cemetery in Hollywood Hills.
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Bill Cosby has spoken to crowds outside the courthouse in Pennsylvania where the actor and comedian is currently on trial accused of sexual assault.

Appearing outside court, Cosby said: I just want to wish all of the fathers a happy father's day, and I want to thank the jury for their long days, and their honest work.

I also want to thank the supporters who've been here, and please to the supporters, stay calm, do not argue with people, just keep up the great support.

The jury is currently deliberating after announcing a deadlock.

It has been deliberating for more than 50 hours, and has been through much of the evidence from the trial over the past few days.

The New York Times reports that a major issue appears to be the question of whether the full jury can embrace the credibility of Andrea Constand - the woman who accused Cosby of drugging and molesting her.

The 79-year-old TV star's lawyer has complained that jurors have been seeking a replay of the entire trial.

Judge Steven O'Neill twice refused defence requests for a mistrial, declaring that jurors could talk as long as they wanted over the allegations - which Cosby denies.

On 15 June, the panel listened again to what Cosby had to say about his use of Quaaludes, a now-banned party drug.

 Bill Cosby appears in court

Cosby testified in a 2006 deposition that he got seven prescriptions for the powerful sedative in the 1970s for the purpose of giving them to women before sex.

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But he said he no longer had the sedative  a highly popular party drug in the 1970s that was banned in the U.S. in 1982  when he met Constand in 2002 at Temple University.

Cosby's lawyer said he and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual moment of intimacy.

If the panel can't break the deadlock, the judge could declare a hung jury and a mistrial. In that case, prosecutors would get four months to decide whether they want to retry Cosby or drop the charges.

Cosby's lawyers maintain that he is innocent until proven guilty.
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When Ivanka Trump announced in March she would take a job at the White House advising her father, labour-rights advocate Li Qiang had found his highest-profile target yet.

By homing in on factories that supply Ivanka Trump-branded products, the founder of New York-based China Labour Watch thought the daughter of newly elected President Donald Trump could become a potent illustration of the problems facing Chinese workers like those employed by one of her suppliers - whom he said are often overworked, underpaid and unprotected.

Lis group had begun to look for possible Ivanka Trump suppliers the previous June when her father was campaigning for the presidency. By the time Ivanka Trump made her announcement, Lis group had spoken to more than 100 workers around China to identify Huajian Group, which supplied Ivanka Trump shoes under licence to Marc Fisher Footwear.

In March, Li sent investigators to what he said turned out to be one of the worst facilities among more than 600 his group has probed, with some employees working 18 hours, six days a week, for about a dollar an hour. Management also fined workers for being late or calling in sick, Li said.

He wrote to Ivanka Trump personally in April, urging her to take action in a letter sent to the White House. A month later, Li lost contact with the three investigators. They had been held by police, the first time in the groups 17 years that its activists had faced criminal detention.

I feel a bit lost, said Li, 45. Its hard to understand why the Chinese government wanted to lock them up.

Labour Conditions

Though the Huajian factory in the southeastern province of Jiangxi makes shoes for other well-known companies, Li said he focused on Ivanka Trumps brand because he believes her actions could force changes in labour conditions in China and pave the way for other brands to seek improvements. Li said he is not seeking responses from Huajian or Marc Fisher about his findings as he wants Ms Trump to take responsibility".

From a 500-square-foot office near Herald Square, Li seeks out labour abuses in the country he fled two decades ago. He sends contractors, activists and sometimes volunteers to get production-line jobs, where they interview workers, take pictures and videos. Lis group has documented child labour, inadequate safety training, excessive overtime, poor living conditions, fines for tardiness and late wages.

Having an independent party to investigate factory conditions is invaluable, said Aaron Halegua, a consultant on labour issues and research fellow at New York Universitys School of Law. Otherwise, theres often no way to corroborate or challenge the claims that brands make about their supply chain.

The group has had major successes. Violations at Apple supplier Pegatron led the tech giant to work with the manufacturer to improve factory conditions. Samsung Electronics Co. reviewed some of its Chinese factories after abuses at suppliers were exposed.

Exposing Abuses

In China Labour Watchs latest case, Huajian denied that employees were underpaid or forced to work excessive hours. Western media have been misled by China Labor Watch, which has undertaken illegal actions in China to gain twisted information, in order to profit, the company said in a statement.

Li said his group does not seek to profit from any of its probes, including the Ivanka Trump-related investigations.

Our goal was to use the information to expose labour abuses at the factory, Li said. Huajian has twisted the fact and tried to hide the truth of the breaches.

Shanya Perera, spokeswoman for Marc Fisher, declined to comment. Abigail Klem, the Ivanka Trump brand president, has said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg News that its licenced products havent been produced at the factory since March, and that licensees are required to operate within strict social compliance regulations". A spokeswoman for Ivanka Trump didnt respond to requests for comment.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

Her Responsibility

To avoid conflicts of interest, Ivanka Trump stepped away from overseeing her brand after she started advising her father.

Li said she must address the matter nonetheless. He said he wrote to her again on 6 June, enclosing a flash drive of data and images from the Chinese factory and urging her to help secure the release of the three investigators. He has received no response from her so far.

She has the responsibility to put things right, he said.

Li has been a labour advocate since the 1990s. The son of construction workers from Sichuan province, he saw his parents treated unfairly by their company, including a refusal to pay his mothers hospital bills. The 18-year-old studied law even as he worked as a carpenter.

Recommended Concerns grow for missing activists probing Ivanka Trump shoe factory

When the Communist Party started to reform state-owned enterprises in the late 1990s to improve productivity, many unprofitable factories were closed and millions lost their jobs. Li helped some workers recover wages and wrote letters to leaders, including then-President Jiang Zemin in protest. He also was an intermediary to foreign reporters.

Fleeing China

His activities caught the attention of police, and to avoid arrest, he fled to Guangdong province. Cities in the southern region were fast becoming manufacturing bases for the worlds clothes, toys and consumer goods.

He found even worse abuses there: Fifteen-hour workdays, no welfare benefits and firings were common, he said. So he started investigating undercover - applying for jobs at factories and reporting their practices to foreign media.

When local authorities began questioning relatives, he fled China using a fake passport. He said he entered the US legally in 2000 with a valid visa.

China Labour Watch - whose formal staff now consists of Li, one other full-time worker and interns - relies on government grants, sponsors and private donations. The nonprofit has received on average about $250,000 annually in funding over the past five years, according to its tax returns.

Li has built up a network on Chinese social media of thousands of workers who can track down the factories that make goods for particular Western brands. Partners in China often hand out flyers to workers to educate them about labour rights. Some of those employees become Lis eyes and ears.

Approaching Brands

Li, a father of two toddlers, targets companies big enough to get media attention that could force improvements at their suppliers. Sometimes, he resolves issues by simply contacting the brands. He examines about 30 factories a year, and sends investigators into about 10 to 15. In some cases, he writes a public report, especially if the brand refuses to respond, he said.

The case of Ivanka Trumps brand is different. With his investigators  Hua Haifeng, Su Heng and Li Zhao  in custody after being accused of illegally using eavesdropping equipment, he has concentrated on trying to get them released. He has suspended all investigative projects out of fear that other workers may be put in danger.

The US State Department has called for the release of the trio, and White House spokesman Sean Spicer said this month that the US would exert the proper diplomatic pressure".

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. 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Chinas foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the case was an internal matter".

Li said the wife of one of the detained activists is also facing pressure from Chinese authorities. On Thursday, he released a blog post in which she says authorities tried to persuade her to cut ties with her husband and describes the emotional stress of being closely monitored by police. The wife confirmed she wrote the post, which is now blocked with a message that says it violates rules".

Li said that if he had known his workers might be arrested, he would have planned differently. Still, Li said he will continue fighting for workers rights until he finds someone with a sense of mission who can take over his role. He gets as many as 100 requests a month for help.

Until I find a person with the same kind of passion, I will have to soldier on, because for many workers, its a matter of survival, he said.

Bloomberg
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Sweden has pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 in an ambitious move to tackle climate change.

The Scandinavian country's parliament voted 254 to 41 to adopt the Climate Act, with all parties supporting the move except the far-right Swedish Democrats.

The new bill comes after US President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that the US will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, created to strengthen the global response to climate change.

"All countries need to actively demonstrate how they are taking responsibility on climate change," said Isabella Lovin, Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate in Sweden.

Today's decision shows that Sweden will continue to be a leading country in global efforts to achieve the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement.

Reaching net-zero carbon emissions will demand at least an 85 per cent cut in domestic greenhouse gas emissions from Swedens 1990 levels. Remaining emissions will be offset through strategies such as tree-planting.

The move means Sweden has committed to a goal that is five years more ambitious than previously agreed under the Paris Agreement.

The Swedish government will now be required to present a climate report during its annual budget bill.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Every four years, a climate policy action plan will also be produced to outline how it will achieve its climate goals.

The first climate report will be presented in the second half of 2018, and the first action plan will be presented in 2019. Intermediate targets have also been set for 2030 and 2040.
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A documentary featuring an artist who died in the Grenfell Tower fire will not be aired by the BBC.

Khadija Sayes exquisite photography, a series of images exploring the spirituality of Gambian people, is currently exhibited in Venice as part of the Diaspora Pavilion, an exhibition taking place during the Venice Biennale.

The 24-year-old artist had been filmed as part of the documentary Venice Biennale: Sink or Swim, due to air on Saturday evening on BBC2.

A spokesperson for the Corporation told The Independent: Our deepest sympathies are with Khadijas family and friends and all of those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

We have made the decision to postpone the programme and further information about the transmission will be made available in due course.

The London-born artist had been invited to showcase her photography at a number of galleries just days before the fire that took her life. Nicola Green, a former mentor, told The Guardian that Ms Sayes dreams were actually beginning to manifest.

She added: Khadijas story is inspirational, it needs to be told.

Ms Saye and her mother, Mary Mendy, were in her flat on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower when the fire started. Ms Mendy remains missing.

The missing people from Grenfell Tower Show all 23 1 /23 The missing people from Grenfell Tower The missing people from Grenfell Tower Jeremiah, son of Zainab Dean The missing people from Grenfell Tower Zainab Dean The missing people from Grenfell Tower Malek Belkadi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Tamzin Belkadi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Rania Ibrham The missing people from Grenfell Tower Jessica Urbano The missing people from Grenfell Tower Yasin el-Wahabi and Nurhada el-Wahabi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Ali Yawar Jafari The missing people from Grenfell Tower Anthony Disson The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mohamed 'Saber' Neda The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mariem Elgwahry The missing people from Grenfell Tower Hesham Rahman The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mohamednur 'Mo' Tuccu The missing people from Grenfell Tower Hamid Kani The missing people from Grenfell Tower Mary Mendy The missing people from Grenfell Tower Sheila Smith The missing people from Grenfell Tower Khadija Saye The missing people from Grenfell Tower Berikti Habtom (L) was still missing according to her sister Arsiema Alula (R) The missing people from Grenfell Tower Ligaya Moore The missing people from Grenfell Tower Dennis Murphy The missing people from Grenfell Tower Nadia Choucair The missing people from Grenfell Tower Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi The missing people from Grenfell Tower Sakineh Afraseiabi and Fatima Afraseiabi

Ms Green said that Ms Saye used her Facebook account at approximately 3am that morning.

She was saying she was unable to get out of the flat, that the smoke was so thick, Miss Green said. She was saying she just cant get out and: Please pray for me. Theres a fire in my council block. I cant leave the flat. Please pray for me and my mum."

Family friend and Tottenham MP David Lammy also paid tribute to Ms Saye on Twitter.

May you rest in peace Khadija Saye, he said. God bless your beautiful soul. My heart breaks today. I mourn the tragic loss of a wonderful young woman.

At least 30 people have been confirmed dead in the fire, 12 remain in a critical condition and it is likely the death toll will increase, Londons Metropolitan Police said.
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MP David Lammy broke down in tears during a television interview talking about the loss of his friend who died in the Grenfell fire.

Mr Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham, became emotional as he recalled his friend Khadija Saye, a 24-year-old woman who is presumed to have died in the blaze which engulfed the tower, where she lived with her mother.

My friend who lost her life was a talented artist, but she was a young, black woman making her way in this country and she absolutely had no power, or locus, or agency. She had not yet achieved that in her life.

Shed done amazing things: gone to university, the best in her life. But shes died with her mother on the 22nd floor of a building. And it breaks my heart that thats happening in Britain in 2017. Breaks my heart.

This is a tale of two cities. This is what Dickens was writing about in the century before last, and its still here in 2017.

Mr Lammy, a barrister by profession who grew up on a council estate and became the first black Briton to go to Harvard University, said the tragedy was about more than the fire itself.

Speaking on Channel 4, he said: For your middle-class viewers, this is about whether the welfare state is just schools and hospitals or whether its about having a safety net. I get quite emotional as I say that.

We need to live in a society where we care for the poorest and the vulnerable. And that means housing. It means somewhere decent to live. It was a noble idea that we built and its falling apart around our eyes. Thats what its about.

And if its taken this tragedy to bring that reality home to people, who are lucky enough to live in very different circumstances, then thank God.

Its about the welfare state. Do we believe in a safety net or not?

The council owned block was built in the 1970s during the skyrise era when the solution to the housing crisis in cities was considered to be building upwards. Some of the 120 flats were sold off from the 1980s as part of Margaret Thatchers right to buy policy, leaving a mixture of council tenants, private tenants and owner occupiers in the building  the exact mix of which is not known.

A mixture of one and two bedroom flats, some of the two bedroom flats on the Lancaster West estate in North Kensington were being rented out for more than 2,200 a month. While Kensington has been named the wealthiest borough in the country, the fire has thrown into focus the stark divide between the rich and the poor who live side by side in very different conditions.

Mr Lammy, who represents a deprived constituency and has regularly spoken out on the need for more social housing and genuinely affordable homes in the capital, said: You cant contract out everything to the private sector; the private sector do some wonderful things, but they have for-profit motives, they cut corners. If you havent got the officers to check on the enforcement of buildings, dont expect it to be done.

Recommended Thousands demand inquest instead of public inquiry into Grenfell fire

Amid growing anger, it has emerged there were no sprinklers in the flats despite the recommendations of a coroner following a 2009 tower block fire in Southwark which killed six people, including three children.

Mr Lammy said there were many issues around fire safety that need to be addressed following the fire at the building which was owned by Kensington and Chelsea council but managed by KCTMO.

Where are the fire extinguishers on every corridor? Where are the hoses? Are the fire doors really working? Where are the sprinklers? If you want to build these buildings, then let them at least be as good as the luxury penthouse buildings that are also being built," Mr Lammy said.

But these buildings arent, is the question. So you either demolish them and house people in a different way, or you absolutely refurbish them to the best quality that we can do.

Mr Lammy branded the fire "corporate manslaughter" and called for those ultimately found responsible to be brought to book.

A public inquiry has been announced by Theresa May, but there is a growing clamour for an inquest instead amid fears a goverment-led inquiry could be a "whitewash".

Anger over the fire and the wider social issues of inequality and the housing market threatened to boil over on the streets of London tonight, as angry protesters took to the streets in Kensington before marching on Downing Street and institutions including the BBC to demand justice for the hundreds who are feared to have perished in the fire.
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Fifty-eight people are still missing after the Grenfell Tower fire and are presumed dead, police say.

Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said the figure included the previous death toll of 30.

He told reporters on Saturday: The current number of fatalities is at least 30. The figure of 58 are those that are missing and I have to assume are dead.

It might be that some of those are safe and well, but for whatever reason have not wished to let us know.

The figure of 30 which I gave yesterday is the number that I know, sadly, have at least died.

That 58 would include that 30.

The figure of 58 is based on what we have been told as to who was in there on the night.

The bodies of 16 people have been recovered from the building and taken to a mortuary, he added, while the figure of 58 may rise.

Police and firefighters have now reached the top of the tower in their search.

Commander Cundy said the police investigation into the fire will take weeks, it may take longer than that.

He said police will release images and video from inside the tower tomorrow, pending the approval of Grenfell families.

In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Show all 51 1 /51 In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police have released images from inside the tower where at least 58 people have died Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by polices what appears to be a stationary bicycle sitting among the ashes In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by police shows the remnants of a burnt-out bathroom In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Picture showing the lifts on an unknown floor Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency crews outside the front entrance to the tower Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Fire crews inspecting flats in the burnt out tower London Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Grenfell Tower is seen in the distance PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A drone flies near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire 'Theresa May Stay Away' message written on the messages of support at Latymer Community Church for those affected by the fire Ray Tang/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire An aerial view of the area surrounding Grenfall tower Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Donated shoes sit in the Westway Sports Centre near to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of support for those affected by the massive fire in Grenfell Tower are displayed on a well near the tower in London AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A local resident stands on her balcony by the gutted Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of condolence are left at a relief centre close to the scene of the fire that broke out at Grenfell Tower, EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A police officer stands by a security cordon outside Latimer Road station Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firemen examine the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London on a huge ladder AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A search dog is led through the rubble of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comforts a local resident (name not given) at St Clement's Church in west London where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hugs councillor Mushtaq Lasharie as he arrives at St Clement's Church in Latimer Road, where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meeting staff and volunteers at St Clementis Church in Latimer Road David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firefighters with a dog walk around the base of the Grenfell Tower REUTERS/Peter Nicholls In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emotions run high as people attend a candle lit vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Debris hangs from the blackened exterior of Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman speaks to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman holds a missing person posters near the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Sadiq Khan speaking with a resident James Gourley/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Ken Livingstone walks near the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is confronted by Kai Ramos, 7, near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to a woman outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers distribute aid near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People gather to observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People light candles as they observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man distributes food from the back of a van near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A firefighter is cheered near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A T-shirt with a written message from the London Fire Brigade hangs from a fence near The Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A young girl on her way to lay flowers near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire The remains of residential tower block Grenfell Tower are seen from Dixon House a nearby tower block Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers prepare supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block which was destroyed in a fire REUTERS/Neil Hall In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers move a car to make space for a lorry picking up supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People distribute boxes of food near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower bloc REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman touches a missing poster for 12-year-old Jessica Urbano on a tribute wall after laying flowers on the side of Latymer Community Church next to the fire-gutted Grenfell Tower AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man looks at messages written on a wall near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Candles and messages of condolence near where the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry a stretcher towards Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency services at Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry out a body from Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Rick Findler/PA Wire

The first victim of the disaster has been formally identified as 23-year-old Mohammed Alhajali, Commander Cundy added.

His family said in a statement released by police: Mohammed was a very amazing and kind person. He gave love to everyone. He came to the UK because he had ambitions and aims for his life and for his family.

Our whole family will miss Mohammed dearly and he will never be forgotten. To God we belong and to him we return.

Mohammed Alhajali, one of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire (Metropolitan Police)

Later on Saturday Theresa May admitted the support for families in the immediate aftermath of the fire was not good enough.

The Prime Minister said there had been huge frustrations on the ground as people struggled to find information.

She added: The response of the emergency services, NHS and the community has been heroic.

But, frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough.

It came after she met victims of the blaze at Downing Street, amid criticism she had not seen them in the immediate wake of the disaster.

Responding to concerns about the speed at which the identities of the dead are being released, Commander Cundy added: I absolutely understand the frustration of why figures haven't been released earlier.

The reason for that  at one point, in terms of our casualty bureau, there were 400 people who were reported missing from Grenfell Tower.

We have worked tirelessly over the last four days to truly understand those that we know were there on the night.

The process of identifying those killed when the 24-storey building went up in flames is likely to be filled with complications and take considerable time.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A man has been jailed after he admitted to posting pictures of a Grenfell Tower victim on social media.

Omega Mwaikambo plead guilty to two offences contrary to section 127 of the Communications Act, Scotland Yard said.

The 43-year-old was sentenced to three months at Westminster Magistrates' Court, the force added.

Mwaikambo was arrested after images were posted online of what appeared to be a partially-covered body following the fatal blaze in North Kensington, west London.

At least 30 people are known to have died as fire ripped through the 24-storey building in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The body of the man in the photographs is yet to be formally identified but one man told BBC News he believed the photo showed his brother, Mohammed, who was confirmed dead.

"This morning we saw a picture of his dead body on social media, and the police didn't know anything about this. This picture shouldn't have been released on social media. The police are saying they couldn't tell us anything until they have more information," he said.

In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Show all 51 1 /51 In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police have released images from inside the tower where at least 58 people have died Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by polices what appears to be a stationary bicycle sitting among the ashes In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by police shows the remnants of a burnt-out bathroom In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Picture showing the lifts on an unknown floor Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency crews outside the front entrance to the tower Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Fire crews inspecting flats in the burnt out tower London Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Grenfell Tower is seen in the distance PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A drone flies near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire 'Theresa May Stay Away' message written on the messages of support at Latymer Community Church for those affected by the fire Ray Tang/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire An aerial view of the area surrounding Grenfall tower Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Donated shoes sit in the Westway Sports Centre near to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of support for those affected by the massive fire in Grenfell Tower are displayed on a well near the tower in London AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A local resident stands on her balcony by the gutted Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of condolence are left at a relief centre close to the scene of the fire that broke out at Grenfell Tower, EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A police officer stands by a security cordon outside Latimer Road station Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firemen examine the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London on a huge ladder AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A search dog is led through the rubble of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comforts a local resident (name not given) at St Clement's Church in west London where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hugs councillor Mushtaq Lasharie as he arrives at St Clement's Church in Latimer Road, where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meeting staff and volunteers at St Clementis Church in Latimer Road David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firefighters with a dog walk around the base of the Grenfell Tower REUTERS/Peter Nicholls In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emotions run high as people attend a candle lit vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Debris hangs from the blackened exterior of Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman speaks to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman holds a missing person posters near the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Sadiq Khan speaking with a resident James Gourley/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Ken Livingstone walks near the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is confronted by Kai Ramos, 7, near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to a woman outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers distribute aid near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People gather to observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People light candles as they observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man distributes food from the back of a van near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A firefighter is cheered near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A T-shirt with a written message from the London Fire Brigade hangs from a fence near The Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A young girl on her way to lay flowers near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire The remains of residential tower block Grenfell Tower are seen from Dixon House a nearby tower block Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers prepare supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block which was destroyed in a fire REUTERS/Neil Hall In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers move a car to make space for a lorry picking up supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People distribute boxes of food near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower bloc REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman touches a missing poster for 12-year-old Jessica Urbano on a tribute wall after laying flowers on the side of Latymer Community Church next to the fire-gutted Grenfell Tower AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man looks at messages written on a wall near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Candles and messages of condolence near where the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry a stretcher towards Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency services at Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry out a body from Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Rick Findler/PA Wire

It comes as the community continue to demand answers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea as dozens of people remain missing.

The death toll is expected to rise as investigators trawl through the wreckage in the search for other victims in the towers 120 flats.

Police said more than 70 residents remain unaccounted for and Londons fire commissioner Dany Cotton said it was impossible to say how many victims had died in the blaze.
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Communities Secretary Sajid Javid struggled to answer questions about whether the Government will retrofit apartment blocks with sprinklers as he faced accusations that ministers have been too slow to respond to the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Mr Javid admitted the Government did not currently know how many tower blocks across the UK were fitted with dangerous cladding, which is banned in the US and Germany.

The minister told BBC Breakfast that his department would do everything we possibly can to reassure those living in similar blocks.

But he appeared to avoid presenter Charlie Stayts question about fitting sprinklers, insisting he would have to listen to fire investigators first before taking action.

People are saying retrofitting of sprinklers, which could possibly have stopped the fire initially, should be brought into place now, Mr Stayt told the minister. We dont have to wait for an inquiry, what harm could it do?

Mr Javid conceded that people did not want to wait months and years for a report.

But he insisted that an emergency review of similar buildings is starting right away.

He said, however, the fire investigation has to inform that action, thats what should be driving the Governments response.

When pressed by Mr Stayt on whether he was prepared to reassure people that retrofitting would be carried out regardless, the minister said: Im saying, this may not be just about sprinklers. We will do whatever it takes but we have to listen first to the investigators.

Grenfell tower fire Show all 42 1 /42 Grenfell tower fire Grenfell tower fire Local residents watch as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire Getty Images Grenfell tower fire London Fire Brigade said there has been a number of fatalities from the blaze Rex Features Grenfell tower fire The fire was first reported in the early hours of Wednesday and continued into the morning Rex Features Grenfell tower fire A local resident sees the fire over the rooftops @Ebajgora Grenfell tower fire A firefighter reacts at the scene of the blaze Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Residents watch as the blaze continues Getty Images Grenfell tower fire More than 200 firefighters have been fighting the blaze PA Grenfell tower fire London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared the fire a major incident Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block of flats Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A woman runs to assist paramedics working at the fire at the Grenfell Tower Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London in the early hours of Wednesday morning Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the 24-storey building in West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Ambulances are stationed nearby Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Paramedics arrive with oxygen Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Emergency services believe it will take some time to establish the cause of the fire Grenfell tower fire Tens of people have been taken to five different hospitals across London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man comforts a boy after the tower block was severely damaged Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground nearby Reuters Grenfell tower fire Firefighters are stationed at the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke engulfs Grenfell tower Rex Features Grenfell tower fire Lots of people donating water, food and clothing to St Clement's church for the residents of Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Samuel Osborne Grenfell tower fire A man speaks to a fire fighter after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze. Residents in the tower were evacuated and a number of people were treated for a range of injuries EPA Grenfell tower fire A resident of Grenfell Tower is trapped as smoke billows from the window after a fire engulfed the building Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Members of the emergency services work at the scene of a huge blaze which engulfed Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in Latimer Road Getty Images Grenfell tower fire According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters are working to put out the blaze EPA Grenfell tower fire Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire The burnt facade of Grenfell Tower, the night after the fire in Latimer Road, West London REUTERS/Neil Hall Grenfell tower fire Local residents gather at a community centre near Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A resident in a nearby building watches smoke rise from Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London AP Grenfell tower fire Police and rescue services operate near the fire at Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire A man stands amid debris on the A40 after a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London REUTERS/Toby Melville Grenfell tower fire A view of the empty A40 highway after it was closed in both directions, due to the proximity of the fire at Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road EPA Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Bodies are removed from the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Rick Findler/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire Provisions on tables at the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Grenfell tower fire Beds are laid out in the Westway Sports Centre close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Jack Hardy/PA Wire Grenfell tower fire A pile of donated clothes, sleeping bags and water lie next to a police cordon near the burning the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Signs asking for donations are seen outside the Notting Hill methodist Chruch Getty Images Grenfell tower fire Smoke rises from the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Grenfell tower fire A man is rescued by fire fighters after a huge fire engulfed the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty

Mr Javid said he was particularly concerned to ensure that everyone that needs to be rehoused is given quality temporary accommodation, that their new houses are local and that everyone affected is looked after.

The minister said he would spend the day talking to people directly affected by the tragedy, after Theresa May was criticised for failing to do so.

Emergency inspections will be carried out at 4,000 tower blocks across the UK, Mr Javid confirmed. We need to be led by the experts, he said.

Nick Paget-Brown, the leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, which is responsible for the tower, said sprinklers were not fitted during the refurbishment of the block because residents did not want the prolonged disruption it would have caused.
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Two men are in hospital after 16 people were discovered in the back of a lorry in Sussex in exceptionally hot conditions.

The people, believed to be migrants from countries including Iraq, Syria and Iran, caught the attention of motorists at 9.20am by waving from the lorry on the A22 in East Grinstead.

The driver came to a halt at a bus stop after motorists flagged him down.

A total of 13 men, two women and a child were found in the vehicle. Two men were taken to hospital suffering from dehydration.

The remaining people were taken to the nearby Trinity Methodist Church and provided with water and medical assistance.

The people were found on one of the hottest days of the year in the UK so far, with temperatures reaching 29C.

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Sgt William Keating-Jones, of the Crawley Neighbourhood Response Team, said: Our priority was for the welfare of the occupants who were in the back of the lorry. The vehicle was exceptionally hot and it was important we reacted quickly.

This was a great multi-agency response to a potentially life-threatening situation, with emergency services, immigration officials, volunteers and even local residents all pulling together.

The 63-year-old driver, of no fixed address, was arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and remains in police custody.

The incident is being led by the Home Office, which said the migrants will be processed in line with immigration rules.
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More than 40,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Home Office to award emergency visas to the parents of a Syrian refugee who was killed in the Grenfell Tower fire.

Mohammed Alhajalis mother and father have applied for permission to visit the UK so they can pay their respects and be reunited with his brother Omar, who survived the devastating fire.

The brothers came to Britain to seek a better life after escaping from their home city of Daraa, the birthplace of the Syrian revolution. They were granted asylum in the UK.

Civil engineering student Mohammed, 23, perished as he was besieged by billowing smoke. He was trying to follow Omar, 25, down the stairs of the burning North Kensington building.

In a last text to his older brother after the two were separated, he wrote: The smoke is getting in, the smoke is getting in, we are going to die, we are going to die.

Before succumbing to the smoke, he was said to have asked friends to tell his family in Damascus he loved them.

He had not seen his family for five years and was forced to limit communication to avoid putting them in danger amid a crackdown against the opposition by Bashar Assads regime, according to a family friend who launched the petition.

Mohammeds parents have applied for an emergency visa so they can attend his funeral and visit the his brother Omar.

Mirna Ayoubi, a friend who launched the petition, said: We need to get their voices heard to the Home Office so that we can persuade an acceptance of the visa.

She added that she began the appeal on behalf of Omar, a business student who was treated for smoke inhalation at Kings Cross hospital.

 Brother of Grenfell fire victim: Residents flagging dangerous conditions were repeatedly ignored

More than 40,000 people had signed the petition by Saturday afternoon.

A Home Office spokesman said: We have established processes in place, which allow us to consider visa applications outside the Immigration Rules on compassionate grounds.

We are in contact with Mr Alhajalis family and will offer any assistance we can to help them obtain the necessary travel documents they will require in these terribly sad circumstances.

Mohammed was the first of the victims to be identified following the Grenfell Tower fire.

In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Show all 51 1 /51 In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police have released images from inside the tower where at least 58 people have died Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by polices what appears to be a stationary bicycle sitting among the ashes In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by police shows the remnants of a burnt-out bathroom In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Picture showing the lifts on an unknown floor Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency crews outside the front entrance to the tower Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Fire crews inspecting flats in the burnt out tower London Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Grenfell Tower is seen in the distance PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A drone flies near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire 'Theresa May Stay Away' message written on the messages of support at Latymer Community Church for those affected by the fire Ray Tang/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire An aerial view of the area surrounding Grenfall tower Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Donated shoes sit in the Westway Sports Centre near to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of support for those affected by the massive fire in Grenfell Tower are displayed on a well near the tower in London AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A local resident stands on her balcony by the gutted Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of condolence are left at a relief centre close to the scene of the fire that broke out at Grenfell Tower, EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A police officer stands by a security cordon outside Latimer Road station Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firemen examine the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London on a huge ladder AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A search dog is led through the rubble of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comforts a local resident (name not given) at St Clement's Church in west London where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hugs councillor Mushtaq Lasharie as he arrives at St Clement's Church in Latimer Road, where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meeting staff and volunteers at St Clementis Church in Latimer Road David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firefighters with a dog walk around the base of the Grenfell Tower REUTERS/Peter Nicholls In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emotions run high as people attend a candle lit vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Debris hangs from the blackened exterior of Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman speaks to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman holds a missing person posters near the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Sadiq Khan speaking with a resident James Gourley/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Ken Livingstone walks near the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is confronted by Kai Ramos, 7, near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to a woman outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers distribute aid near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People gather to observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People light candles as they observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man distributes food from the back of a van near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A firefighter is cheered near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A T-shirt with a written message from the London Fire Brigade hangs from a fence near The Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A young girl on her way to lay flowers near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire The remains of residential tower block Grenfell Tower are seen from Dixon House a nearby tower block Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers prepare supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block which was destroyed in a fire REUTERS/Neil Hall In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers move a car to make space for a lorry picking up supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People distribute boxes of food near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower bloc REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman touches a missing poster for 12-year-old Jessica Urbano on a tribute wall after laying flowers on the side of Latymer Community Church next to the fire-gutted Grenfell Tower AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man looks at messages written on a wall near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Candles and messages of condolence near where the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry a stretcher towards Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency services at Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry out a body from Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Rick Findler/PA Wire

A friend said the brothers lived on the 14th floor of the 24-storey building.

Abdulaziz Almashi described the University of the West London student as kind, charitable and full of passion for his family.

He added: He survived Assad, he survived the war, only to be killed in a tower block in London.

Omar has said residents concerns about fire safety at Grenfell Tower were repeatedly ignored by the buildings managers.
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Jeremy Corbyn has written an open letter to the Prime Minister, calling on her to ensure that the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire will be wide enough to ensure that fire safety standards are improved for all tower blocks.

In his letter, the Labour leader calls for the public inquiry to ensure all necessary lessons are learned.

It says: [The inquiry] must be empowered to consider all the steps that were, or were not, taken leading up to and contributing to this most terrible incident.

It must also identify the urgent steps that need to be taken in relation to fire safety standards for other buildings of this nature.

Theresa May has announced a 5m fund for survivors of the fire, but protests have taken place on the streets around Grenfell Tower and past Downing Street over her handling of the response. On her first visit to the area on Thursday, she did not meet any local people affected by the tragedy. Yesterday, when she visited a church that is serving as a relief centre, protesters gathered outside. In the evening, crowds marched past Downing Street chanting: May must go.

Mr Corbyn said the inquiry must be empowered to make recommendations for the avoidance of any similar future disaster  and in so doing, to consider recommendations arising from previous similar fire-related deaths.

The inquiry into the Grenfell fire will almost certainly not be completed and published for several years. The inquest into the 2009 fire at Lakanal House in Camberwell, South London, in which six people died, took four years.

An interim report by the London Fire Brigade will not be released until a full inquest into those who have died  thought to be as high as 70  has been completed, a process which could take years.

A spokesperson for the force told The Guardian: The report will not be in the public domain until that inquest is complete. There is no timeframe for when the inquest will be, but certainly not in the short term.

Her claim appeared to contradict Secretary of State for Communities Sajid Javid, who said that the interim findings of fire officers investigations will be made available to local councils as they carry out emergency inspections of more than 4,000 tower blocks across the UK.

The public inquiry announced by Mrs May could take place before, or instead of, any inquests. More than 50,000 people have signed a petition calling for an inquest to be held instead of a public inquiry, amid concerns it could potentially be a whitewash as it will be Government-led.

A separate criminal investigation into the blaze has also been launched by the Metropolitan Police.
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Theresa Mays announcement of a judge-led public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster has been questioned by some residents and lawyers.

Among them was Sophie Khan, a solicitor who represented victims of a deadly 2009 tower block fire in Camberwell.

She said victims families should instead demand an inquest to avoid a whitewash.

Thousands of people have also signed petitions calling for an inquest instead of an inquiry. But other lawyers have argued an inquiry would be more likely to satisfy demand for a wide-ranging investigation into the deadly blaze.

Recommended Thousands demand inquest instead of public inquiry into Grenfell fire

Here, we look at the difference between the two:

What is an inquest?

An inquest is an independent investigation carried out by a coroner in the event of an unnatural death to establish how, where, and why a person or people died. They are held in public and culminate in the coroner recording a conclusion about the cause of death, such as unlawful killing or accident.

They are not about apportioning blame: inquests establish what happened and who should be held responsible remains a matter for criminal and civil courts.

The scope of most inquests is limited, but they can have a wider frame of reference if Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights is invoked. Article 2 inquests are held when public bodies or their agents have failed to protect the deceased against a human threat or other risk.

An inquest into the deaths in the Grenfell Tower fire would likely fall into this category. The coroner would be almost certain to summon a jury to return a verdict due to the involvement of public bodies.

 Grenfell Tower Fire: Theresa May leaves church to chants of 'coward'

How is it different to an inquiry?

A public inquiry is a legal investigation conducted by a judge appointed by the Government. The terms of reference of an inquiry are also set by the Government, although individuals and organisations involved are usually consulted.

Inquiries are typically broader in scope than inquests and can therefore take much longer to complete. They often take years to grind to a conclusion, with costs stretching into the millions.

Victims and other interested groups are classed as core participants in inquiries and can be represented by lawyers who can ask questions of witnesses.

In inquests, victims families can ask questions themselves or through lawyers, but witnesses are not required to answer any questions that may incriminate them.

Unlike an inquest, an inquiry can apportion blame.

Demonstrators hold up banners during a march in Westminster following the fire that destroyed the Grenfell Tower block (Reuters)

Why are people calling for an inquest?

Opponents of a public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster fear Ms Mays decision to call a public inquiry was a deliberate attempt to avoid close scrutiny of the various public bodies involved in the running and maintenance of Grenfell Tower.

Ms Khan, speaking on the BBCs Newsnight, suggested an inquest would mean the Government lose control of proceedings as they cannot appoint a chair or define the terms of the investigation.

She said: The juries will come out with narrative verdicts which may be very difficult for the Government to hear.

Recommended Read the full list of demands from Grenfell survivors

A petition signed by more than 16,000 claims the Grenfell Tower blaze requires an inquest which is truly independent from government, not set up and controlled by government.

It cited a 2010 paper in the British Journal of Political Science that argued the political decision to appoint inquiries into public crises is strongly influenced by short-term blame avoidance considerations, media salience and government popularity.

There are also concerns about the length of time an inquiry would take.

 London fire: Flames engulf Grenfell Tower in Kensington

But some lawyers have argued an inquiry would be more effective at getting answers about the deadly blaze.

Human rights barrister Adam Wagner tweeted: I think Theresa May made right call in calling a public inquiry. Better suited to the kind of wide ranging investigation needed here.

He said the terms of reference set by the Government could be challenged, adding that an inquest that conducted a wide-ranging investigation of wider systemic issues could take as long as an inquiry.

Recommended Grenfell Tower fire investigation may not be published for years

Another human rights lawyer, Simon McKay, said the an inquiry was likely to be led by a more senior judge than an inquest.

Could both an inquest and an inquiry take place?

Ms Khan had suggested an inquiry would preclude an inquest from taking place. She said: You can't have both, you can only have one or the other.

But the two are not mutually exclusive. Mr McKay said the inquests were likely to simply be adjourned until after the inquiry has been completed.

Two inquires and two inquests were held into the Hillsborough disaster, for example.

What could happen as a result?

An inquest is a fact-finding exercise and the coroners conclusion has no bearing on criminal or civil liability. But a coroner can make recommendations in the hope of preventing future deaths.

After an 11-week inquest in 2013 into the deaths of six people killed at Lakanal House in Camberwell, coroner Frances Kirkham made a series of recommendations about building regulations and clarification of the stay put fire policy  although they have yet to be acted upon by ministers.

In that inquest, the jurys narrative verdict pointed to the culpability of Southwark Council and exposed the role of external cladding in the rapid spread of fire.

Multiple private and public organisations will be probed by the inquiry, with the question as to how the fire was able to engulf the entire tower so quickly at the forefront of peoples minds. The chair will then file a written report making a series of recommendations.

But neither the inquiry nor any inquest will take place until a police investigation into any criminal responsibility for the Grenfell Tower blaze has been completed.
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A teacher has been suspended following accusations that they digitally removed references to Donald Trump in their school's yearbook photos.

Wall Township High School in New Jersey is investigating the alleged censorship, which the superintendent of schools said represents a "possible violation of First Amendment rights."

"This allegation is being taken very seriously and a thorough investigation of what happened is being vigorously pursued," the superintendent, Cheryl Dyer, said in a statement.

Student Grant Berardo said he had decided to wear a TRUMP: Make America Great Again T-shirt for his yearbook photo, only to find it had been removed when the yearbook.

"He was disappointed," his father told CNN. "This was the first election he was interested in."

A Donald Trump logo was removed from Wyatt Dobrovich-Fagos vest, and a quote from the US president was also removed from his sister Montanas class president photo.

She had submitted the following: "I like thinking big. If you are going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big."

The teacher, who has not been named, has been suspended without pay, Ms Dyer said.

She added: "There is nothing in our student dress code that would prevent a student from expressing his or her political views and support for a candidate for political office via appropriate clothing. Rather, I applaud students for becoming involved in politics and for participation in our democratic society."

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

"The high school administration was not aware of and does not condone any censorship of political views on the part of our students. This includes statements that they might make or clothing with references to candidates for public office that they might wear."

The school dress code prohibits references to illegal activity such as the use of drugs, alcohol or weapons. There is no such prohibition related to political statements however.

"Allegations referenced above are disturbing, and any inappropriate challenge to these principles will be rectified as swiftly and thoroughly as possible. The actions of the staff involved will be addressed as soon as the investigation is concluded."
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The US ambassador to Qatar has stepped down after posting critical tweets about Donald Trump's administration after he fired FBI Director James Comey.

Dana Shell Smith announced the move a week after several Gulf states cut diplomatic ties with the monarchy in Doha, citing concerns over their financial ties to Islamist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, The Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Libya, and Bahrain won praise from Mr Trump for coordinating the anti-Qatari effort.

The President claimed foreign leaders had singled the country out for funding "radical ideology", prompting criticism over his failure to address similar allegations levelled at his Saudi allies.

Ms Smith, a long-standing member of the US foreign service, has not indicated whether the ongoing crisis or the Trump administration played any part in her move, which the US State Department insists is "part of the normal rotation of career diplomats throughout the world.

However when Mr Comey was fired on 9 May she tweeted: "Increasingly difficult to wake up overseas to news from home, knowing I will spend today explaining our democracy and institutions.

"Diplomats explain & defend our political system.Can be tough when partisan acrimony so high, but there is still no greater country. #USA."

Ms Smith - who was appointed as the head diplomat in Doha by former President Barack Obama three years ago - has since tweeted that "Qatar is a strong partner in combating terrorist financing", contradicting the US President's public claims that the country is a funder of terrorism at a very high level.

Egypt has long thought Qatars support of Islamist groups Muslim Brotherhood was dangerous for their country.

Saudi Arabia also re-ignited tensions over Dohas alleged support for Iran, which they claim could act to destabilise the region.

Last week Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked that the nations in the anti-Qatari effort ease the blockade against Qatar and requested that Doha be responsive to its neighbours' concerns over terror financing.

In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP

However, just hours later Mr Trump applauded the coalition and raised the possibility that the cutting of ties was due to his urging that Middle East countries more effectively address financing terrorists during his Riyadh trip.

Ms Smith re-tweeted Mr Tillersons comments but not the Presidents tweets.

The US agreed to sell Qatar $12bn (9.4bn)-worth of fighter jets just days after President Trump accused the country of being a sponsor of terrorism.

The deal was signed off by the US Defence Ministry and reportedly included 36 F-15 combat aircraft.

Two days before she left her job Ms Smith retweeted a post by Meshal Hamad al-Thani, Qatar's ambassador to the US, which said the deal would create 60,000 new jobs in 42 states.

The Pentagon claimed the sale would increase security cooperation between the US and Qatar.

Qatar remains the home of some 10,000 American troops at a major US military base. So far, the dispute between Doha and nations led by Saudi Arabia has yet to shake that partnership, though cracks are showing in the responses from the US administration.
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A request to Trump campaign officials to preserve certain documents has revealed the scope of the ongoing investigation into the team's potential ties to Russia.

An email sent to workers on Donald Trump's presidential campaign instructed them to preserve all documents related to the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and campaign officials like former campaign manager Paul Manafort, advisers Carter Page, Rick Gates and Roger Stone, and former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

The documents should be preserved pursuant to several pending investigations into potential attempts by Russia interests to influence the 2016 election, according to the email obtained by Politico.

Recommended Trump confirms he is being investigated for obstruction of justice

Officials in the House, Senate, and Justice Department are all conducting investigations into Russian meddling in the US election  and the Trump campaigns possible involvement. A special prosecutor was recently announced to oversee the investigation.

The email reveals the scope of investigations, which have also been reported to include adviser Jared Kushner and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The directive was sent by attorney Kory Langhofer, who represented the Trump campaign in the 2016 election.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

All five campaign officials named in the email have faced scrutiny for their dealing with Russia. Mr Flynn was removed from his position as national security adviser this year, when it was revealed that he had misrepresented his conversations with Russian officials to Vice President Mike Pence and others.

Mr Manafort, meanwhile, is under investigation by the FBI for his ties to two Russian oligarchs  ties which Mr Gates also maintained. Mr Page has given pro-Russia speeches, and met with the Russian ambassador at last years Republican National Convention. And Roger Stone, Mr Trumps longtime adviser, appears to have had inside knowledge of Wikileaks document releases.

Mr Page, Mr Stone, Mr Manafort, and Mr Flynn have all been asked to turn over records of their dealings with Russia to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Only Mr Manafort and Mr Page are said to have complied.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, has maintained complete innocence in the Russia probe, calling the investigation into his possible ties the biggest witch hunt in American history.

The President is not a direct subject of the investigation, according to former FBI Director James Comey. But he has reportedly become the subject of an obstruction of justice probe over his dealings with Mr Comey, and his statements on the investigation.

Mr Trump, Mr Pence, and Mr Trumps lawyer have all hired outside counsel to represent them in the investigation.
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The White House has been briefed on the seven American sailors who are missing and unaccounted for after the Navy destroyer they were stationed on collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan.

"Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families. Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance," Donald Trump tweeted.

The USS Fitzgerald, a guided missile destroyer, took on water after the collision, but was able to be tugged back to the shore. Search crews are looking for the missing sailors in the waters where the contact occurred, and damaged parts of the ship will also be searched once the ship is safely docked, officials say. The ship was 56 nautical miles southeast of the Japanese port city of Yokosuka.

Recommended US warship starts to sink off coast of Japan

Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the Sailors, Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said in a statement. We thank our Japanese partners for their assistance.

At least one of the sailors on board the ship were injured during the collision. He was sent to the hospital and is reportedly in a stable condition.

The damage occurred on the starboard side of the vessel, both above and below the waterline.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the Sailors, Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said in a statement. We thank our Japanese partners for their assistance, Admiral John Richardson, the US chief of naval operations, said in a statement.

Soon after the collision, the US Navy established a crisis response team and made phone numbers available to family.

Navy Region Japan and the shore enterprise are 100% committed to providing support to these families during this difficult time, Rear Admiral Greg Fenton, the commander in charge of US Naval forces in Japan, said in a statement.
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Seven sailors are missing and three injured after a US Navy destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship south of Tokyo Bay in Japan, the US Navy said.

The Japanese Coast Guard said the destroyer was experiencing some flooding but was not in danger of sinking, while the merchant vessel was able to sail under its own power.

The USS Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided missile destroyer, collided with the merchant vessel in the early hours of Saturday morning, some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, a rare incident on a busy waterway, the US Navy said.

Three aboard the destroyer were medically evacuated, including the ship's commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, who was reportedly in stable condition after being airlifted to the US Naval Hospital on the Yokosuka base, the Navy said.

The other two injured were transferred to the hospital to treat lacerations and bruises, it said. The Fitzgerald, the Japanese Coast Guard and Maritime Self-Defence Force were searching for the seven missing sailors.

Benson took command of the Fitzgerald on 13 May. He had previously commanded a minesweeper based in Sasebo in western Japan.

It was unclear how the collision happened. "Once an investigation is complete then any legal issues can be addressed," the 7th Fleet spokesman said.

"The USS Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline," the Navy said in a statement.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The full extent of damage to the ship and injuries to its crew were still being determined, it said, adding that the Fitzgerald was operating under its own power, "although her propulsion is limited". The ship, part of an eight-ship squadron based in Yokosuka, had in February completed $21 million (16m) worth of upgrades and repairs.

A spokesperson for the US 7th Fleet said the ship was heading back to Yokosuka under its own power at three knots.

Japan's Nippon Yusen KK, which charters the container ship, ASX Crystal, said in a statement it would "cooperate fully" with the Coast Guard's investigation of the incident. At around 29,000 tons displacement, the ship is about three times the size of the US warship, and was carrying 1,080 containers from the port of Nagoya to Tokyo.

None of the 20 crew members aboard, all Filipino, were injured, and the ship is not leaking oil, Nippon Yusen said. The ship was due to arrive at Tokyo Bay around 4:30 p.m. (0730 GMT), the Coast Guard said.

The waterways approaching Tokyo Bay are busy with commercial vessels sailing to and from Japan's two biggest container ports in Tokyo and Yokohama.

International maritime rules for collision avoidance do not define right of way for any one vessel, but provide common standards for signalling between ships, as well as regulations on posting lookouts.

The USS Dewey and two Navy tugboats had been dispatched to provide assistance to the damaged destroyer, the Navy said.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK showed aerial footage of the ship, which had a large dent in its right, or starboard, side. Images broadcast by NHK showed it had been struck next to its Aegis radar arrays behind its vertical launch tubes.

The images showed what appeared to be significant damage on the deck and to part of the radar. NHK also showed footage of the container vessel and said it was heading towards Tokyo under its own power.

Such incidents are rare.

In May, the U.S. Navy's USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel but both ships were able to operate under their own power.

The 7th Fleet commander, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, thanked the Japanese Coast guard in a post on the fleet's Facebook page, adding: "We are committed to ensuring the safe return of the ship to port in Yokosuka."

Reuters
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One is a female bullfighter. Another is an acclaimed mathematician who likes to dress like the Mad Hatter. Half are women, many are minorities and most are not career politicians.

These are the candidates of En Marche! (Onward), the party created a little more than a year ago by newly elected President Emmanuel Macron. It is now poised to sweep tomorrows final round of parliamentary elections and fundamentally recast French political life. Macron, 39, France's youngest head of state since Napoleon Bonaparte, has promised a revolution, and Europes third-largest economy may be about to get one.

Macron rose from relative obscurity to score a landslide victory in the presidential election in May, becoming the first winning candidate in decades to come from neither the traditional centre-right nor centre-left parties. But now, something even more momentous is happening: Macron is leading a total overhaul of an ossified political system.

In a scenario that would have been unimaginable scarcely a year ago, the centrist, pro-European party of the new president is slated to win an absolute majority in parliament. En Marche! is projected to win at least 400 of 577 total seats, according to polls.

France is no stranger to electoral landslides: Francois Mitterrand scored one for the Socialists in 1981; Jacques Chirac did the same for the centre-right Les Republicains in 2002. But not in modern French history has an independent candidate with relatively little political experience so quickly assembled such a strong mandate to govern.

What is extraordinary is the speed with which its happened, said Sudhir Hazareesingh, a professor of French politics at Oxford University. Whats also extraordinary is that both traditional parties are being swept away.

The centre-right Les Republicains, the party of former presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, is likely to win between 85 and 125 seats, polls suggest. The Socialists, once a bedrock of French and European politics, are unlikely to top 40 seats.

There is an asterisk to Macrons success: Abstention was at a record high in the first round of voting, suggesting that many French citizens were not inspired to vote for anyone.

Macron  who has always been careful to position himself above partisanship, even as a former economy minister in a Socialist administration  has tapped into the anti-elitism that is a core theme of populist politicians, Mr Hazareesingh noted.

During the election campaign, extremist candidates such as Marine Le Pen on the far right and Jean-Luc Melenchon on the far-left drew support by promising to throw out the existing political elite.

Although Mr Macron, as an outspoken advocate of the European Union and of certain market reforms, is not exactly a populist, he effectively used elements of that anti-system pitch during the campaign, Mr Hazareesingh said.

Behind his success was always the idea that he was going to renew not just the presidency, but also the political elite on the whole. And when you look at the parliamentary candidates hes chosen, it is a spectacular renewal.

The legislative candidates in Macrons movement come from a diversity of backgrounds. In a country where powerful politicians often hold onto their districts for decades, the new party has distinguished itself by fielding relative political novices.

Gender parity has been a goal for Macron, and half of those on his partys ticket are women. It is notable that many of his movements candidates have African and Middle Eastern immigrant backgrounds. In Frances previous parliament, only 12 of the 577 deputies came from those groups.

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Djamila Haddad, 50, is an example of the fresh faces competing for Macrons party.

Ms Haddad arrived from Algeria as an infant in 1963. Years ago, she served on her regional council in Aube, in east-central France, as a member of the Socialist Party. But she became disillusioned because the party never implemented any of its promised reforms, she said.

She was inspired by Macrons candidacy, she said, because of his promises for political renewal. She was most struck by his pledges to recover the grandeur of France and to moralize public life  in other words, to hold public servants more accountable and restore public trust in government.

The details of some of Macrons proposals remain vague, but the party has campaigned on a blend of social liberalism and fiscal responsibility. Its platform includes a slew of controversial labour reforms designed to jump-start the countrys stagnant economy.

Ms Haddad began volunteering for Mr Macron during the presidential campaign. She eventually put her name forward as a potential parliamentary deputy. Several weeks later, she was interviewed by Mr Macrons representatives and was added to the ballot.

The party brings a certain freshness, she said. Finally, there are younger candidates. Finally, there are more women. And finally, there are new ideas in a staid, stolid system. Thats renewal.

Others are more skeptical about the sea change underway in French politics, expressing concern that the country is moving toward a virtual one-party state with little room for serious opposition. And they note that Mr Macron will have tremendous control over his new lawmakers.

The new members of parliament have been chosen personally by the president, said Patrick Weil, a leading French constitutional scholar, noting that En Marches candidates would never have been on the ticket without the endorsement of Macron. Donald Trump never chose any Republican members of the House.

In the French news media, commentators have noted that the initials of Mr Macrons party are the same as his, suggesting that he is the essence of the party.

We know that En Marche! has been very, very centred on Macron, and I think thats going to be reinforced by the fact that most of these people are political novices, said Hugo Drochon, a French historian and political analyst at Cambridge University.

It will likely just mean that they will apply Macrons programme [entirely] as opposed to the compromises that typically go with the left-right politics. The line is going to be coming very much from the top down, rather than from any kind of compromise, he said.

For Ms Haddad, however, this is a gamble necessary for remaking Frances economy and image.

Macron was like a third kind of political character, she said. He came out of the water and positioned himself outside the system.

We could not find that freshness in the existing parties as they stood, so we had to find it in a new terrain.

 Washington Post
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Israeli authorities have said they have found no evidence of Isis involvement in attacks by three Palestinians that killed an Israeli policewoman, despite the groups claim of responsibility.

Palestinian militant factions also denied Isis was involved in the attacks in Jerusalem on Friday, in which a second Israeli police officer was wounded.

Isiss claim of responsibility was reported by the groups Amaq news agency on Friday.

Police spokeswoman Luba Simri said the Israeli military had so far found no connection between the three assailants and any armed group.

It was a local cell. At this stage no indication has been found it was directed by terrorist organisations nor has any connection to any organisation been found, Ms Simri said.

The Site intelligence monitoring group said it was the first time Isis had claimed responsibility for an attack inside Israeli-controlled territory.

However, a senior official from Hamas, the Islamic group that rules the Gaza Strip, and the Peoples Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said the three attackers, who were all shot dead at the scene, were their own members.

The three hero martyrs who executed the Jerusalem operation have no connection to Daesh (Isis), they are affiliated with the PFLP and Hamas, Hamas' Izzat El-Reshiq wrote on Twitter.

In a separate statement, the PFLP identified two of the three attackers as its members. The media office of the PFLP armed wing mourns two of its hero comrades, two freed prisoners, it said.

Israeli police said on Friday all the assailants were from the occupied West Bank. Two of them, both from the area of Ramallah, were aged between 18 and 19 and the third was a 30-year-old from Hebron, Ms Simri said.

The assaults took place simultaneously in two areas near the Damascus gate of Jerusalems walled old city.

Two Palestinians were shot dead after opening fire at and trying to stab a group of Israeli police officers, police said. In the second incident, a Palestinian fatally stabbed a border policewoman before being shot dead by police.

A wave of Palestinian street attacks began in October 2015 but has since slowed. Thirty-eight Israelis, two American tourists and a British student have been killed in stabbings, shootings and car-rammings, many of which took place in the vicinity of the Old Citys Damascus gate.

At least 252 Palestinians and one Jordanian citizen have been killed since the violence began. Israel says at least 170 of those killed were carrying out attacks. Others died during clashes and protests.

Israel blames the violence on incitement by the Palestinian leadership.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, denies that and says assailants have acted out of desperation over Israeli occupation of land sought by Palestinians for a state.

US-brokered peace talks between the sides broke down in 2014. Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War.

Reuters
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Im perched on the retaining wall of a narrow vineyard in Ribeira Sacra, sipping a glass of local red wine made from mencia. Joined by winemaker Pedro Rodriguez of the Guimaro vineyard, we peer over the ledge into the canyon, perhaps hundreds of metres down, to the thin ribbon of river below. I toss a rock. It disappears.

We stroll through his vines, careful with our footing. Rodriguez explains hes in the process of attaining organic certification. We practise farming like they did in the past, he says. Hes not kidding  the first people to make wine here were the Romans. Two thousand years ago, the Roman army worked this same site. They built the stone terrace Rodriguez has rehabilitated  as well as others  to grow grapes and make wine.

Galicia's Roman vineyards Show all 12 1 /12 Galicia's Roman vineyards Galicia's Roman vineyards Roman goldmine Las Medulas Lauren Mowery Galicia's Roman vineyards Winemakers are slowly returning to this area of Galicia Guimaro Galicia's Roman vineyards The Guimaro winery uses terraces that were first planted by the Romans Guimaro Galicia's Roman vineyards Checking on the grapes at Val de Sil Lauren Mowery Galicia's Roman vineyards Graps have to be cultivated by hand Guimaro Galicia's Roman vineyards The dramatic landscape makes work tricky Guimaro Galicia's Roman vineyards The Romans carved terraces down the steep banks of the rivers Sil and Mino Guimaro Galicia's Roman vineyards The vineyards were abandoned in the Dark Ages Guimaro Galicia's Roman vineyards Then churches started to replant them Guimaro Galicia's Roman vineyards Now, boutique wineries are opening up Guimaro Galicia's Roman vineyards Guimaro's reds use local grapes to great effect Guimaro Galicia's Roman vineyards Few tourists make it out here Guimaro

Rainy and green, Galicia was incorporated into the Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus, around 29-19BC. To slake the thirst of troops forging the largest gold mine of the era  Las Medulas in nearby Bierzo  they created their own industry. In this mountainous zone there was no flat land; instead, they carved cascading terraces in surrounding canyons and down the steep riverbanks of the Sil and Mino to plant vines.

The vineyards were abandoned during the Dark Ages, but in the centuries to come, monks moved into the valley and replanted. Land passed from church to civilians, but after plant disease was followed by the Spanish Civil War, their owners abandoned both the vineyards and the countryside. Galicia is full of ghost towns.

To see the region is to understand why they left. While Ribeira Sacra has one of the most breathtaking landscapes in Europe  think of the Mosel Valley in Germany  its beauty belies the treacherous work required to tend its fruit.

Working manually on an incline is backbreaking and dangerous. Many sites are remote and barely accessible to small vehicles, let alone tractor equipment that could mechanise planting and picking. Myriad roads remain unpaved, combining hairpin turns with steep angles. These improbably difficult conditions can yield only tiny quantities of wine. Not large fortunes.

All work is done by hand on the treacherous terraces (Guimaro)

Yet over the past two decades, the Roman vineyards have been making a comeback.

Fernando Gonzalez Riveiro, who owns the Adega Algueira vineyard, spent nearly 30 years buying up fragmented abandanados (what locals call the abandoned vineyards) to quilt together enough land worth farming.

People talk about handmade wine, but for most, thats a marketing term, he says. We have to work by hand  theres no other option. For example, in the white-winemaking region of Rueda in Castile and Leon, producers can plant thousands of verdejo vines in a day. For us, three. A former banker, he admitted the numbers dont make sense, but he is guided by passion, not money. Passion is like a windscreen wiper  it doesnt eliminate the storm, he says. It allows you to move forward.

Like Guimaro, Algueira produces fresh, perfumed reds from mencia, the valleys predominant, most promising grape. They can be pinot noir-like in their delicacy, occasionally sanguine and iron-like, but eminently singular. From the unique circumstances of its cooler climate and soil, Ribeira Sacra reds renounce the richer, riper expressions of Spains warmer, southerly climes to produce lighter, elegant, more restrained styles.

Following the Sil river east, I reach the neighbouring, less dramatic landscape of Valdeorras. The name means golden valley, a moniker likely attributed to the importance of its precious ancient metal mines. Today, the region mainly trades in wine. The grape that drives this revitalised industry is a white one, godello  another variety that was nearly lost when people abandoned the countryside.

The Roman vineyards were abandoned in the Dark Ages (Guimaro)

Wine geeks tracking the next it grape offering high quality for low prices find godello fits their bill. The finest wines made from this compare to French chardonnay. They can be rich, round, and similarly textured; yet Valdeorras remains a secret. Its remote location has protected it from mass tourism. Not even Spaniards have alighted on the bucolic villages lining the 80-mile stretch of river.

In the hills above the river sits another vineyard, Adega Valdesil. A visit provides important historical context to understanding Valdeorras. Sixth-generation owner-winemaker Borja Prada shows me the thick, gnarled trunks of his great-grandfathers 1887 godello vines. Propped up with rocks and string, they take on an anthropomorphic quality. Though they barely produce enough fruit to bottle, he keeps them as a living legacy, hoping to one day put Valdeorras on the world map.

As the wine world grows increasingly homogeneous, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras fulfil the promise of heritage wines that express a unique time and place. Thats why winemakers have returned  and oenophiles are right behind them.

Travel essentials

Getting there

Ryanair flies direct from Stansted to Santiago de Compostela  expect to pay around 130 return during the summer. From there, its easiest to rent a car for the 90-minute drive to Ourense. Use this small city as a base for exploring the surrounding landscapes and vineyards of Ribeira Sacra and its Canon do Sil (Sil River Canyon). O Barco de Valdeorras and Las Medulas are a 90-minute drive east from Ourense.

Staying there

A converted monastery overlooking the Canon do Sil, Parador de Santo Estevo is the best option in Ribeira Sacra. Doubles from 90, room only.

Pazo do Castro is the best option in Valdeorras. Another restored historic hotel, rooms are a touch spartan, but antiques provide authentic charm. Doubles from 65, room only.

More information

Adega Algueira

Guimaro

Valdesil

Galicia Tourism

Winery visits and tastings are by appointment
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Afghans know the impact colour can have on life, says Abdul Waheed, a 21-year-old clerk at the Afghan Parliament and resident of one of the thousands of mud-brown houses that blanket the mountains surrounding Kabul. Or, rather, the houses that were mud-brown  Waheeds home, and the others behind him, are now painted in joyful pinks, blues and whites, as part of a new initiative to brighten Afghanistans capital.

Recommended Indonesian village gets a rainbow makeover

It isnt easy to climb up to the houses located on the mountain tops. Theres no road; theres barely even a path, and every step is a gamble. Open sewage flows down the rocky slopes; you have to find firm ground with every step upwards. Yet small children and older men and women who have been living in these hills for ages navigate easily as they carry water back to their houses for daily use.

Residents opted for a bright palette that didnt remind them of bloodshed (Ruchi Kumar)

Despite extreme adversity, the Afghan affinity for colour has always been visible in the form of small decorations, colourful doors and hand-painted flower pots outside nearly every mud house. Now, the Kabul city administration has taken this aesthetic and run with it, launching a project to paint the exteriors of nearly 2,000 houses on the western-facing hills of Kabul.

After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Kabul grew fast. Migrant workers and their families moved to the capital to make a decent living, the post-conflict economy mushrooming and bolstered by foreign aid. Refugees returned after years of war, and new homes were erected across the city. Those with fewer resources built their homes on the slopes of the mountains that fence the city, often without necessary city permits. Occupied by the poorest of the poor, a more resilient form of shanty town, theyre a stark contrast with the fifth fastest-growing city in the world.

Though its being executed by the Kabul Municipal Authority, the plan is the brainchild of the Capital Regional Independent Development Authority, set up by President Ashraf Ghani himself. As well as the painted houses, it will see infrastructure improvements including electricity, water resources and paved streets.

But the project, which launched last month, goes beyond providing basic services, as the colour-popping houses make clear. So far, several hundred homes in the neighbourhood of Asmayee Road are sporting bright paint jobs, transforming the previously brown landscape. The blue and pink shades were chosen by the residents themselves  other colours (including yellow, orange and red) were on offer, but residents refused shades that reminded them of bloodshed.

The roads are steep and treacherous in the mountain settlements, but the project aims to improve services (Ruchi Kumar)

The palette was put together by the city authorities not just to represent peace, but also to improve mental health.

Dr Rohullah Amin, a Kabul-based psychologist, thinks the project has a lot of potential. For years, Kabul had sunk under depression and tragedy, and as a result, the colours associated with the people also represented tragedy, he tells The Independent. Its down to the citys recent turbulent history, he says, that even the locals clothing has developed into an unspoken diktat of grey for men and black for women.

This has created an environment of colours that praise tragedy, affecting how people perceive their surroundings and thereby affecting their attitude towards each other, he says. But with the use of bright colours, we can manipulate their perceptions and improve how they treat each other, too. Of course there will still be bloodshed and poverty, but being in a pleasing, calming environment will change the way they respond to the situation. In a place like Kabul, where there is so much insecurity, how the citizens perceive their surroundings really matters.

The project has gone so well already that a second phase of painting  this time covering 4,000 houses  is already under discussion. The aim is to transform the city within a year, says spokesperson to the Kabul Municipal Office, Jalil Sultani. The idea was to create a peace and welfare programme that connects with people of Kabul who have suffered so much in the recent years.

Similar projects have been implemented around the world with notable success in changing not only the exteriors of the city but also the vibe. There was a significant uptick in mental health among the young of Santa Marta, one of Rio de Janeiros favelas, when a similar campaign was launched. Another village  Kampung Pelangi in Indonesia  has become an Instagram sensation with its transformation into a Rainbow Village. And Port-au-Prince painted houses in Jalousie, a shanty town, to improve morale and spruce up the neighbourhood in the wake of the 2010 earthquake.

Not that Kabul is playing copycat  neither Sultani or Waheed had heard of the projects in Brazil or Indonesia, they told The Independent. And they dont want to transform Kabul into an Instagram draw, they say; this project is purely for the mental health of the residents. Bright colours play a very important role in the art, culture and architecture of Afghanistan, says Sultani.

And the residents agree. Standing outside his home  we met him walking through the houses  Waheed says that in just a few weeks, the painted houses have brought a sense of beauty and calm to an otherwise conflict-prone area. In our culture, we have often used colours effectively to improve the mental wellness of our people, he says. Kabul is already a very historic city with lots of old art and architecture. This initiative will help enhance its beauty, and change its reputation of a war zone.

Dr Amin agrees. Peoples psychological state influences their choice of colours, he says  and the fact that people are choosing pink and white, colours strongly associated with the feminine, really makes me happy. Today, despite its recent tragedies, Kabul is looking a little brighter.
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There have been so many miscalculations on the path to Brexit, mostly in the UK but also on the Continent, that to suggest that the inconclusive general election result has brought more clarity to the outcome might seem almost perverse. But here goes.

The negotiations have yet to begin but it is clear that Brexit will happen. Both major parties supported it at the election and the two main parties favouring a reversal of the referendum result, the SNP and the Lib Dems, lost ground. But two other things are also clear.

One is that the option of walking away without a deal will be strongly and vigorously opposed by the business establishment  and the power of business to shape policy will be much greater than before. The other is that the Government will adopt some form of collegiate approach to the negotiations, with greater input from Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as from finance.

 Theresa May says Brexit timetable still on track

There is something else, something that should have been evident before the election but now is screamingly so. It is that there has to be some sort of interim deal, because there simply isnt time to do a conclusive one.

I think the best way to look at this is to see what is happening now as part of a 20 or 30-year process of gradual disengagement from Europe, which was happening anyway and now needs to continue in the least disruptive way.

Was happening anyway? Well, yes. If you look at the pattern of British exports, the share taken by Europe has been falling steadily since the early 2000s. In 2002 the EU took 55 per cent of our exports; now its about 44 per cent, and on present trends it will fall to 40 per cent by 2020.

This is not an argument for Brexit. The share may be falling but it is still massively important. Nevertheless, it reflects a reality that our trade links with Europe are weakening, not because of any political intent but simply because of economics. Other markets are growing faster.

That is the background against which a deal can be struck  I think will be struck. The interim deal will change as little as possible. There is an off-the-shelf solution in the European Economic Area, the Norway relationship. We leave the EU, as required by the referendum, but follow most of its rules and pitch into its coffers.

It is not ideal, as Norway acknowledges, and there is one big sticking point: freedom of movement of people. But you could envisage a modified version of that, with some restriction of movement for jobs, being saleable to both sides.

If it isnt, there is the Swiss model. For Switzerland is a member of the European Free Trade Association but not of the EEA. But that is cumbersome, because there would have to be lots of bilateral agreements, and in any case does not solve the freedom of movement issue.

 Theresa May should admit result is a rejection of hard Brexit, says EU negotiator

The UK position is that neither of these off-the-shelf solutions is appropriate and it is easy to see why. Quite aside from the immigration issue, signing up to these would mean that we could not sign up free trade deals with the rest of the world  and that is where the growth is. But the events of the past week have shifted the ground towards finding an acceptable short-term solution, even if it is a sub-optimal one for both sides.

Now think longer term. Assume we are members of a slightly modified EEA. We use the next few years to refocus our trading links towards the rest of the world. It is happening anyway; it just happens a bit faster. Then, because EEA membership was always a transitional arrangement, we renegotiate it to enable us to have free trade deals with the US, which is already our largest export market, though smaller than the EU as a whole.

That might make us unpopular with Europe, but frankly we are not very popular anyway.

Of course, what really matters here is not so much what we want but Europe wants. Common sense suggests that an interim deal would make sense for Europe as well as the UK. A little less arrogance on our part  and given the mess of the past week I dont think we have much cause to be arrogant  would lead to a more acceptable deal for all. Then the longer-term future of the relationship will be determined by economics and not by politics. I am biased, of course, but to me that makes much more sense.
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As a Londoner born and bred I am angry, upset and disgusted by the tragic event at Grenfell Tower this week.

I grew up in a council block in Gospel Oak. It was a seven-storey estate that was spread across a five mile radius. I often wondered growing up why my estate would reek of urine or dog mess. There was no security, which made it the perfect spot for drug dealers or criminals to stray.

My family and I, along with other residents, were not fazed by this  we got on and made it our community hub and made sure we looked out for each other. Thats a tradition which has made working class Londoners strive and come together regardless of background, race, sexuality or religion.

In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Show all 51 1 /51 In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police have released images from inside the tower where at least 58 people have died Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by polices what appears to be a stationary bicycle sitting among the ashes In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by police shows the remnants of a burnt-out bathroom In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Picture showing the lifts on an unknown floor Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency crews outside the front entrance to the tower Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Fire crews inspecting flats in the burnt out tower London Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Grenfell Tower is seen in the distance PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A drone flies near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire 'Theresa May Stay Away' message written on the messages of support at Latymer Community Church for those affected by the fire Ray Tang/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire An aerial view of the area surrounding Grenfall tower Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Donated shoes sit in the Westway Sports Centre near to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of support for those affected by the massive fire in Grenfell Tower are displayed on a well near the tower in London AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A local resident stands on her balcony by the gutted Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of condolence are left at a relief centre close to the scene of the fire that broke out at Grenfell Tower, EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A police officer stands by a security cordon outside Latimer Road station Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firemen examine the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London on a huge ladder AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A search dog is led through the rubble of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comforts a local resident (name not given) at St Clement's Church in west London where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hugs councillor Mushtaq Lasharie as he arrives at St Clement's Church in Latimer Road, where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meeting staff and volunteers at St Clementis Church in Latimer Road David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firefighters with a dog walk around the base of the Grenfell Tower REUTERS/Peter Nicholls In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emotions run high as people attend a candle lit vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Debris hangs from the blackened exterior of Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman speaks to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman holds a missing person posters near the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Sadiq Khan speaking with a resident James Gourley/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Ken Livingstone walks near the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is confronted by Kai Ramos, 7, near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to a woman outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers distribute aid near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People gather to observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People light candles as they observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man distributes food from the back of a van near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A firefighter is cheered near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A T-shirt with a written message from the London Fire Brigade hangs from a fence near The Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A young girl on her way to lay flowers near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire The remains of residential tower block Grenfell Tower are seen from Dixon House a nearby tower block Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers prepare supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block which was destroyed in a fire REUTERS/Neil Hall In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers move a car to make space for a lorry picking up supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People distribute boxes of food near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower bloc REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman touches a missing poster for 12-year-old Jessica Urbano on a tribute wall after laying flowers on the side of Latymer Community Church next to the fire-gutted Grenfell Tower AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man looks at messages written on a wall near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Candles and messages of condolence near where the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry a stretcher towards Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency services at Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry out a body from Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Rick Findler/PA Wire

The council eventually did remedial works on our block, placed more security on site and installed double glazing. In terms of building renovations, I dont remember my mum being told what materials were used or being given any assurances about their safety  they were just installed. It seems that has been the case for many years for people living in council estates and social housing. Decisions are made by executives in closed environments, which would have a significant effect on the lives of those living in these properties.

Communicating with and listening to the concerns of locals could have made a significant difference for those who lived in Grenfell Tower. There were hundreds of families, hard-working families, hard-working Londoners, who trusted their local authority to live in peace and safety. They were let down badly and neglected due to errors and sheer ignorance. Why were there no working fire alarms in the building, as was reported? Why was a sprinkler system not installed in the building, even after recommendations to do so were made? These are basic errors that were addressed  but no one seemed to listen.

There is speculation about the materials used, including the cladding  but regardless of what has been mentioned or speculated, we cannot ignore the organisations and people who were in direct contact with tenants. The residents trusted those in charge with their lives and those responsible let them down. The lack of communication from the council and landlord was poor. This just highlights the inadequate protocols in place.

We often talk about helping those at war or what it would be like to be in Syria or Iraq. For Grenfell residents, this was their war  their war of survival. This happened at the Governments front door, not thousands of miles away. Those who survived will have to live with the scars of what they saw and experienced. I found it immensely difficult to watch the rolling news updates and distressing eye witness accounts  I cant imagine the pain of having to see the horror that occurred with my own eyes.

 Hundreds attend candlelit vigil for Grenfell Tower victims

There is a bigger picture at play here, which has been obvious to many for quite some time, but is only just dawning on some  the rise of gentrification and the continual class divide. As new builds pop up around London, the tower blocks and estates that sit next to them remain dilapidated. The way residents and the local community have been treated is wrong  and theres much discourse as to whether their social class and economic status contributed to this. They were prevented from putting their views across and having a voice. Theresa May has offered a 5m fund  but is that really enough or sufficient to cover emergency supplies, legal aid and the rehousing of so many people?

Grenfell is situated in one of the most lucrative and desirable parts of London, between Westfield and leafy Holland Park. Yet residents were not able to have significant basic facilities such as sprinklers or working lifts. There was a desire to make the front of the block attractive and desirable to fit in with local surroundings  but in the midst of making the block look more attractive for the local area, corners were allegedly cut on safety. Residents were treated like second-class citizens.

Where do we go from here? We, as a society, must ensure that this does not happen again and regardless of class or status make it a first priority to check that people are protected in their own homes. For too long those in social housing and council estates have been neglected and ignored by the government  but I put this to those who cannot grasp the enormity of this neglect: that could have been your mum, dad, sister, brother, child or friend in that building. That is something we must not forget.

Edward Adoo is a broadcaster, writer and DJ on BBC Three Counties, Radio London and 6 Music
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It has been a little over eight weeks since Theresa May announced the snap general election. At the time there was talk of a landslide Tory majority of over 100 seats.

But as we all know, it was not to be. If a week is a long time in politics, then eight weeks is an eternity.

On top of the humiliation of failing to secure a majority, Mays personal approval rating has plummeted drastically. When she stood on the steps of Downing Street and spoke directly to the just about managing, May enjoyed a favourability rating higher than Tony Blair when he first took office. According to YouGov, Mays approval rating now languishes at minus 34 per cent, almost as low as Jeremy Corbyns abysmal pre-campaign rating. This means that public confidence in her has fallen by over 40 per cent since she called the election.

So what went wrong?

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When speaking to voters, her robotic manner combined with the overly controlled, secretive nature of her campaign came up frequently. Going into the campaign I thought May was quite a competent leader, and certainly the best of a bad bunch in terms of someone who could manage the complexities of Brexit, says writer Jack Lahart. But she made some really questionable choices and appeared far too stage-managed.

Almost all of the voters who I spoke to were turned off by Mays failure to attend the party leaders debate or debate Corbyn one-on-one. I was certain I would vote for May, but the way she hid from the public and took us for fools meant I decided against it, says Jordon Lee.

Another recurring theme is the perceived arrogance of the Conservative Party. Calling an unnecessary election on the eve of Brexit negotiations was seen by many as putting party interest before the rest of the country. While flying high in the polls, the Tories published a deeply unpopular, uncosted manifesto. Backlash to their proposed changes to social care led to the infamous U-turn on the dementia tax. And this is where everything started to unravel.

Up until this point, the Tory campaign had revolved around three things: Brexit, Strong and Stable and May herself. Such was the focus on Mays popularity, that it was virtually impossible to find the word Conservatives on any of the partys branding. She made it presidential.

But the manifesto U-turn changed two things. Firstly, it forced many voters to look at the Torys uncaring manifesto for the first time and question the narrative of May as a strong and stable leader. Secondly, it shattered any notion that May is in some way different or more compassionate than the Tory leaders who preceeded her.

 Michael Portillo: Theresa May did not use her humanity when visiting Grenfell Tower

This misstep allowed Corbyn to permanently shift the focus of the election towards public services and austerity. Even late attempts to capitalise on security fears following the recent terror attacks ended with Mays record as Home Secretary being dragged through the mud.

Like a candidate on The Apprentice tasked with creating a new brand of toothpaste, May spent the rest of the campaign desperately throwing out soundbites hoping that something would stick. Evidently, not many of them did.

After failing to win a majority, Mays popularity has continued to plummet. This has been driven by the fact that 48 per cent of voters surveyed by YouGov oppose any kind of deal with the DUP.

May has also faced criticism for her half-hearted cabinet reshuffle. I liked Theresa May, but now I want her to resign. Says Thorrun Govind, a community pharmacist who has previously voted Conservative. I cant believe she's kept Hunt as health secretary  the cuts to pharmacies that he has overseen show a basic misunderstanding of the health service.

But surely it couldnt get any worse?

This week May caused more outrage after choosing not to meet victims of the Grenfell Tower fire when she visited the site. Defence Secretary Tobias Ellwood cited safety concerns, yet Jeremy Corbyn was seen embracing victims and today the Queen has visited. In a photograph that will likely become an enduring symbol of the cold, heartless image that the many have of her, May stands alone surrounded by police.

When discussing the rise and fall of May, its important to acknowledge that perhaps she never deserved the high approval ratings she once had. Her demise was probably inevitable. Yet she is now seen as a politician who abandons her principles for short-term gain. This label will be hard to shake, as there are few narratives that the public find more believable than that of a crooked politician.

Facing a group of Conservative backbenchers earlier this week, she said: I got us into this mess, Im going to get us out of it. Yet it seems inconceivable that shell lead her party into another election. In the Tory Party, once youre seen as a loser, your days are numbered. Like a white tablecloth covered in red wine, Mays premiership has been permenantly stained by defeat.
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Donald Trump is rolling back the opening to Cuba that his predecessor, Barack Obama, began, and we should ask a couple of questions. If the purpose is to hasten change on the island, is this going to be helpful? Second, what are the motivations behind this semi-reversal? To please his base, or to deliver a sly gift to Vladimir Putin and snub his own Republicans on Capitol Hill?

The declared intention of American policy has been consistent: to force the Castro regime to move towards democracy and to restore the human rights of the Cuban people. Obama took the view that the 50-year-old effort to isolate and impoverish had been a dismal failure that had only ensured more pain for regular Cubans. The smarter way was to engage with Cuba.

Human rights organisations agree. The previous administration was right to reject a policy that hurt ordinary Cubans and did nothing to advance human rights, said Daniel Wilkinson, managing director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch in Washington, DC. The fact that Obamas approach hasnt led to political reform in Cuba after just a few years isnt reason to return to a policy that proved a costly failure over many decades.

The admonitions to Trump to leave well alone came from other quarters too. Corporate America, which sees opportunities on the island, urged him to desist and so, of course, did many Democrats. Equally alarmed are those Cuban-Americans who are a generation apart from the old guard of Cuban exiles, mostly in Miami, for whom the embargo is an anachronism.

The presidential aircraft carrying Barack Obama flies over a neighbourhood in Havana (Reuters)

Its why CubaOne, a group of young Cubans in the US dedicated to widening contacts with the island, wrote to Trump trying to pre-empt his announcement. As a presidential candidate, you said that you would pursue a better deal with Cuba, the letter said. To the majority of Americans and our Cuban-American community, a better deal means advancing US interests and improving the quality of life of the Cuban people, not returning to Cold War policies.

Trump ignored all this and travelled to Miami on Friday to outline the changes he was making. Some things will remain the same  the US embassy that Obama re-opened in Havana stays as do the dispensations for American cruise ships and planes to serve the island. It will still be possible for Cuban-Americans to send as much money as they want to their families.

But the old restrictions on tourist visits by Americans are returning. Under the Obama rules, all you needed to do was tick a box saying you had some additional purpose to visit the island  family connections, educational exchange or what-have-you  and you were free to go as a solo visitor, just as with any other holiday destination. The box-ticking was meaningless; no one policed it. Now all that will be forbidden again. Unless they are part of some organised tour, Americans will again risk being accused of breaking the law. The embargo, for tourists, is back.

The biggest chill cast on Americas barely-born Cuba tourist trade, however, will be a new prohibition on any American entity or individual doing business with GAESA, a conglomerate controlled by the Cuban military that accounts for roughly 80 per cent of the islands tourist economy. It owns most of its major hotels not to mention tour buses and restaurants. If this is fully enforced, it will wreak havoc on the nascent US-Cuba travel scene. There is Airbnb in Cuba. But, as you can imagine, choice is limited.

So why? Yes, Trump is following through on what he said he would do on the campaign trail and his base will applaud it. Indeed, he might have gone further than he has. He is acting after being lobbied personally by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and House member Mario Diaz-Balart, long a loud voice for the Cuban exile community in Washington. At a meeting with Trump in May, they pressed him on the GAESA interdiction as the most effective way of following through. And they told him to ignore contrary advice from the professional diplomatic class.

What youve committed to do on Cuba, what you want to do on Cuba, is never going to come from career staff. Its going to have to come from the top down. Youre going to have to tell them what to do, Rubio recalled urging him, in an interview for Politico. The career service people, in the State Department and Treasury and in other places, are not in favour of changing this policy.

But then there is the Kremlin. By retreating from Cuba, Trump risks creating fresh space for Russia to reassert itself there. Just last month Russia resumed oil shipments to Cuba after a hiatus of over a decade  its saviour in the interim has been Venezuela. As Venezuela falls apart at the seams, Cuba needs someone else to stop it collapsing too. If not America, then Russia. Putin recently forgave 90 per cent of Cubas debts to his country. There are reports that Russia is in talks about opening a military base on the island again. You get the picture.

In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP

It is a danger that was highlighted by Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont who was closely associated with Obamas 2014 opening to Cuba. Writing in The Hill, he said the roll-back that he saw coming from Trump, would not only harm US businesses and the Cuban people, it would leave a gaping vacuum just 90 miles offshore, for our adversaries to fill. He went on: The Cold War is long over and Cuba is no longer a threat to the United States. But Cuba, a former Soviet satellite, remains within arms reach of President Putin.

This happens against the background of the Trump-Russia maelstrom in Washington. If there were ever any doubts that it had already made it impossible for this administration to carry out any plans it may have had to go easy on Putin they were laid to rest this week when the US Senate passed draft legislation that would make it impossible for the White House to ease any of the sanctions imposed by Obama for the seizing of Crimea and the incursions into eastern Ukraine. It also introduces additional sanctions in response to Russias meddling in the US election last year. It passed overwhelmingly with all but two of Trumps own Republican senators voting for it.

The purpose of the Senate action, clearly, is to box Trump in on Russia and prevent him from extending it any gifts. Yet with his new Cuba policy he may be doing just that. Was that his purpose? Maybe that would involve him connecting more dots than he can manage.
Driving along the coastal route heading south on the Iveragh Peninsula, white posters - intermittently attached to telegraph poles at the side of the road - catch the motorist's eye.

'Yes to cycle way, No to CPO', they proclaim, betraying the unease at which Kerry County Council's plans have been met by some.

Former Environment Minister Alan Kelly announced the plans to develop the 27km Glenbeigh to Renard South Kerry Greenway, along the old Great Southern & Western railway line in 2014, ringfencing 4m for the project.

Because of resistance from a small number of farmers and landowners, who were concerned about land severance and the potential interference from people using the route, Kerry County Council failed to acquire the land through agreement and has gone down the CPO route.

Expand Close The Kells Viaduct on the Ring of Kerry where the Dublin to Cahersiveen train passed by Dingle Bay. The last train to cross the bridge was in 1960. The route is one of the proposed 'greenway routes' for walkers and cyclists. / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Kells Viaduct on the Ring of Kerry where the Dublin to Cahersiveen train passed by Dingle Bay. The last train to cross the bridge was in 1960. The route is one of the proposed 'greenway routes' for walkers and cyclists.

Currently an environmental impact study (EIS) is being prepared because of the sensitive nature of the landscape and the project's scale, to be submitted to An Bord Pleanala.

The final route design, from an engineering perspective, has been determined but ecological appraisals are now being completed on this.

Director of Operations with the local authority, Charlie O'Sullivan, said realistically, it will probably be a further six to eight weeks before the EIS is submitted.

He said the council made the decision to go with CPOs about 18 months ago, primarily because it was impossible to get agreement from over 170 landowners along the 27km route.

"Our first priority was to try to get consensus or agreement but that's impossible when you're dealing with such a large number and, unfortunately, we did come across difficulties with a small number of landowners - around 10pc," Mr O'Sullivan said.

"Some of those wouldn't be hardline objectors but it's like any major road project, a CPO is the only way to secure the land without delaying the scheme."

Expand Close Morgan Lyne pictured on the old dissused railway line which runs through his land along the proposed new cycle greenway route at Kells, County Kerry. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Morgan Lyne pictured on the old dissused railway line which runs through his land along the proposed new cycle greenway route at Kells, County Kerry.

The complexities of designing the route, assessing its impact and acquiring the land are offset by what is a dire need for economic stimulation for the south Kerry region.

"When you look at the other regional towns like Kenmare and Killorglin that have seen population growth between 2006 and 2011, Cahersiveen experienced a population decline of 9.7pc.

"Trying to attract industry and job creation to peripheral areas is extremely challenging and tourism is our biggest industry. South Kerry isn't stimulating any great job creation like Killarney or Dingle and even Tralee because a lot of the tourists are passing through but not staying.

"Greenways tend to attract visitors that cycle the route and stay in the area while they're doing it," Mr O'Sullivan added.

Kells farmer, Morgan Lyne is in favour of the cycle way that traverses his land at three separate locations but insists the council's use of CPOs has soured goodwill towards the project.

It is now feared these could be challenged legally, which will further delay the greenway.

Mr Lyne understands its importance and with a teenage daughter joining the workforce in a few short years, he'd love if there was something to keep her in the area.

"This is the first greenway they needed a CPO for and the council told us in February 2015 the reason they were going for a CPO was because the money had to be spent and the greenway built by 2016.

"We're now into the middle of 2017 and the CPO, in my estimation, has put the deadline further out.

"If they had negotiated with the farmers, they would have got agreement a lot sooner," he said.

"In some places it's coming very close to dwelling houses and farmyards and these people do have an issue and were giving alternative routes, but the council was not accepting them," he added.

Kerry County Council's use of CPOs has done nothing to quell the fears of landowners in other parts of the country.

In May, Tourism Minister Shane Ross announced a public consultation process on the future development of greenways, inviting submissions from interested parties, who have until July 14 to make submissions.

The minister said he had been "inundated with requests for funding for greenways", due to their success.

He also announced further funding of 4.5m for the Galway to Dublin Greenway to progress elements of it in Kildare and Meath, and 1.6m to complete the work on the Waterford Greenway.

However the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) has accused Mr Ross and Minister of State, Patrick O'Donovan, of reneging on their commitment to comprehensively consult with landowners in delivering cycle routes, in light of the news that up to 170 Kerry landowners could be subject to a CPO.

ICSA Galway representative, Adrian Kelly, says all landowners are looking for is to be consulted on the route selection and not be "backed into a corner" when presented with a fait accompli.

He said the issues in Kerry had intensified concerns of landowners in Connemara and East Galway that Galway County Council would resort to similar measures.

"A CPO was on the table from the very start and we don't accept that any farmer should be subject to one because I believe every farmer has the right to farm his land, regardless of how many are involved, and that right should not be taken away from them," Mr Kelly told the Farming Independent.

"The landowners in Kerry have put forward an alternative route which would get around this but the council won't work with them and are saying, 'we're going this route and that's it'.

"There is the compromise route out there and we've had this in Galway East and Galway West, which would make everyone happy."

Mr Kelly said no one should be put into a situation where they're stressed out or worried because their right to farm their land was being "attacked".

He said the routes for the National Cycle Network should not be confined to "greenway" only and local authorities should be open to off-road and segregated on-road elements.

"There are several options but the minister is focusing on greenways only," he added.
Management at an adjacent primary school said hotel rooms would overlook its playground

A UNIT of investment group Tetrarch Capital has been asked by Dublin City Council to provide more information about its plan for an eight-storey, 393-bedroom aparthotel in the city centre that would be part of a wider 65m development.

The project would involve the demolition of the well-known Ned's Pub on Townsend Street and a block of 100-year-old council flats.

The council's conservation officer has told the Tetrarch unit, Brigante Investments, that it must show how the proposed structures will impact the site and the "historic fabric of the area", and also to justify the need to demolish existing structures.

The company also plans to build 21 apartments on the site, which would be handed over to the council for its use, as well as a retail unit.

A number of buildings on the large site would be torn down.

Management at an adjacent primary school have objected to the plans.

Management said the developer had not contacted the school prior to submitting its proposals for the site.

The school's management added that the application did not address how hotel traffic would impact the school, how and if noise measurements would be taken, and that some of the planned hotel rooms would overlook the school's playground.

The council's deputy planning officer said that while the existing buildings at the site are not protected, they are "of character" but in serious disrepair.

"It could be argued that the scheme, by redeveloping these brownfield lands and providing set-backs and public spaces throughout, engages with the street more and will provide some much needed vibrancy and footfall to this prominent location," the officer noted.

The officer added that the planned hotel is "considered acceptable".

Tetrarch, whose chief executive is Michael McElligott, owns a number of prime hotel assets in Ireland including the five-star Marker Hotel in Dublin, Mount Juliet in Co Kilkenny, as well as the Citywest Hotel in the capital.
A US firm controlled by billionaire US investor Charles Brandes has continued its stake-building in Bulmers-maker C&C.

It's the third time in a matter of weeks that it has increased its holding in the Irish company.

The latest move comes just days after C&C's biggest shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, increased its holding to 18pc.

Brandes Investment Partners now owns more than 10pc of C&C, giving it a stake that's now worth more than 100m. Filings with the stock exchange show that the US investment firm has increased its stake from just over 9pc to 10.14pc. It now owns more than 31.4m shares in the drinks-maker.

Shares in the company, whose brands also include Tennent's, were trading at about 3.28 yesterday, giving C&C a market capitalisation of just under 1bn.

C&C's shares have declined from 3.57 a month ago, and from 4.05 in the middle of January.

The latest share acquisition by San Diego-headquartered Brandes, notified to the Stock Exchange this week, confirms its position as the drinks company's second largest investor.

This week, fellow C&C shareholder Fidelity, notified the market that it cut its stake in the Irish firm from 6.9pc to 5.76pc.

Brandes Investment Partners has its European HQ in Dublin and describes itself as a value investor.

Last week, the Tennessee-headquartered Southeastern Asset Management raised its stake in C&C to 18pc from just over 17pc.

Southeastern Asset Management's founder and chief executive, Otis Mason Hawkins, is named as the person controlling the stake.

Mason Hawkins has also been dubbed a value investor and his firm has $20.1bn of assets under management, with just $1bn on that in European equities.

That means that $205m ( 183.4m), or 20pc of Southeastern's total European equity holdings are in just one company - C&C.

C&C's operating profit was unchanged at 95m last year.
Accumulated losses at the publisher of the 'Irish Daily Mail' fell to 50.79m last year.

The company, Associated Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd, also publishes the 'Irish Mail on Sunday' and the latest accounts show accumulated losses reduced after the company recorded pre-tax profits of 2m in the 12 months to October 2 last.

That pre-tax profit was up marginally on the 1.97m recorded in 2015.

Revenues increased slightly, from 17.33m to 17.35m, the accounts show.

UK-owned Associated Newspapers has invested heavily into its Irish expansion over the years with accumulated losses of 50.79m on October 2 last.

The firm had shareholder funds totalling 13.1m as a result of other reserves of 51.64m and 12.25m in called up share capital.

The Irish firm's UK parent, Associated Newspapers Ltd, has deep pockets with shareholder funds totalling 305.4m at the end of September 2015.

Outlining the principal risks and uncertainties facing the Irish business, the financial accounts stated that "the company is conscious of the need for continued financial support from its parent undertaking in order to continue as a going concern".

They added: "The company's principal source of income is its service contracts with Associated Newspapers Ltd."

Staff numbers fell last year from 142 to 137 and staff costs reduced from 10.8m to 10.4m. Four directors, Eric Bailey, Paul Henderson, Brian Wright and Kevin Beatty served on the board during the year, and directors' pay totalled 603,000.
The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland says that even before the Grenfell Tower fire in London, there had been "major concerns" over fire safety in multi-unit dwellings in Ireland, particularly those built between 2000 and 2008.

One fire-proofing expert believes that as much as 70pc of multi-unit dwellings built in that period are deficient, with fire barriers either not properly installed or not installed at all.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy had a "frank discussion" with Dublin's Chief Fire Officer yesterday to discuss fire safety and life safety issues in light of the London tragedy and will meet with other chief fire officers across the country.

Mr Murphy requested that the management board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) convene and assess the readiness of the fire authorities to respond to emergencies. Each local authority has been requested, as a matter of urgency, to review their multi-storey social housing units to ensure all early warning systems are fully functional and in place.

Dublin City Council has confirmed that 11 fire safety notices relating to fire safety deficiencies were served to owners or occupiers of seven premises in the city so far this year.

The Grenfell Tower blaze has claimed 30 lives so far.

The US has banned the external cladding which acted "like a chimney" and accelerated the spread of the fire.

DCC has confirmed it has installed "an external insulation facade system on a small number of properties" but emphasised that the system used was "non-combustible".

It also outlined that it does not build higher than six storeys.

Meanwhile, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland warned that a similar disaster could happen here in Ireland.

Chartered building surveyor Kevin Hollingsworth has remediated 29 developments throughout the country for fire safety issues over the last four years.

"This is because a significant proportion of the buildings constructed during the Celtic Tiger era may not be in compliance with building regulations in force at the time of construction," director general of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland Aine Myler said.

"Two months ago, the society called on the Government to commission a high-level study into these properties."

According to Ms Myler, a study could identify high risk residential buildings, particularly multi-storey developments which should be considered for inspection.
Fianna Fail has accused Fine Gael of being responsible for an "explosion of rent" as well as the construction of "unsafe fire traps" across the country.

In a memo issued to TDs last night, the party predicted that Ireland is facing into another housing bubble.

The document, written by the party's housing spokesperson Barry Cowen, promises to turn 260,000 vacant properties into homes under a Fianna Fail government.

The party also wants to introduce a VAT reduction on residential construction for a period of three years and to impose greater sanctions on those who hoard land.

The document, seen by the Irish Independent, blames Fine Gael for the country's fire traps. "Fine Gael has allowed an explosion in rents which, coupled with completely inadequate inspection and regulation, has created unsafe fire traps in the rental sector around the country. This needs to be tackled immediately."
European Competition chief Margarethe Vestager is set to hit Google with a fine potentially greater than 1bn for alleged market anti-competitive practices in what will be the latest slap-down of a US tech giant by the EU.

The European Commission's decision will come after a seven-year investigation into the search engine triggered by scores of complaints from both US and European rivals.

In April 2015, the EU competition authority accused Google of distorting internet search results to favour its own shopping service, harming both rivals and consumers.

Google made three unsuccessful attempts to settle the case with the previous European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia in a bid to stave off a possible fine and a finding of wrongdoing. Current Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, however, has shown no willingness to settle with Google.

A decision, and fine, had been expected in August, but the 'Financial Times' reported that Google is braced for a fine of potentially more than 1bn within weeks.

The EU has a long tradition of issuing major rulings just before officials quit Brussels for their summer break.

Google has always said it rejects the charges, claiming regulators ignored competition from online retailers Amazon and eBay when they made their initial assessment.

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The EU's claims that Google Shopping results harm competition "are wrong as a matter of fact, law, and economics," general counsel Kent Walker wrote in a blog post last year.

Fines for companies found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules can reach 10pc of their global turnover, which in Google's case could be about $9bn of its 2016 turnover.

Margrethe Vestager is famously not afraid to levy big fines. Her 13bn tax ruling against Apple and Ireland caused a global stir - even if that decision is being appealed.

A record fine for Google, which employs as many as 6,000 in Ireland, will also reignite tensions with the US. The EU has slapped major fines on Apple, Facebook, Intel and Microsoft in recent years, provoking claims of an anti-American bias.

However, last July the Commission ordered almost 3bn in fines for European truck makers Daimler, DAF, Iveco, MAN and Volvo/Renault for colluding to fix prices and dodge the costs of stricter pollution rules. (Additional reporting Reuters/Bloomberg)
Signage for 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) is displayed at the site of a project in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The US Justice Department has taken legal action to recover an additional half a billion dollars in assets stolen from an investment fund established by Malaysia's prime minister, bringing the total claims to more than $1.7bn (1.5bn).

The assets include a Picasso painting given to actor Leonardo DiCaprio and the rights to two Hollywood films, the department said.

The filing in US District Court in Los Angeles was the Justice Department's latest step in a long-running case over an alleged conspiracy to launder money misappropriated from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund, known as 1MDB, which was set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 to promote economic development.

In the complaints, which are all civil actions, the Justice Department alleged that more than $4.5bn was taken from 1MDB by high-level fund officials and their associates.

"We simply will not allow the United States to be a place where corrupt individuals can expect to hide assets and lavishly spend money that should be used for the benefit of citizens of other nations," Kenneth Blanco, acting assistant attorney general, said on Thursday.

1MDB said yesterday that it is not a party to the civil lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice and had never been contacted in relation to the case.

Najib has denied taking money from 1MDB or any other entity for personal gain, after it was reported that investigators traced nearly $700m to bank accounts that were allegedly in his name.

In response to the latest lawsuit, a spokesman for Najib said the lawsuits raised concerns about "the unnecessary and gratuitous naming of certain matters and individuals that are only relevant to domestic political manipulation and interference".

"This suggests a motivation that goes beyond the objective of seizing assets," Najib's press secretary, Tengku Sariffuddin, said in a statement, adding that unproven allegations should not be taken as fact.

Malaysia attorney general's office said Malaysian authorities had discovered no crime committed by anyone at the fund. The latest lawsuit comes as Najib prepares for a elections, which sources say he hopes to call in the second half of the year to cement his position following a purge of dissenters within his party.

He has dismissed calls from opponents and activists to step down and make way for a full inquiry into the scandal. An investigation by Malaysia's top attorney found no wrongdoing by Najib.

US authorities, in civil complaints, have accused Malaysian financier Jho Low of laundering more than $400m stolen from 1MDB through an account in the United States, where he lavished his associates, including DiCaprio, with money to gamble and luxury goods.

US authorities have not charged Low with any crime.

Authorities said that in 2014, Low used $3.2m diverted from a 1MDB bond sale to buy a Picasso painting for DiCaprio. "Dear Leonardo DiCaprio, Happy belated Birthday! This gift is for you," a friend of Low's wrote in a note.

DiCaprio has not been accused of any crime.

A spokesman for DiCaprio said the actor had recently begun proceedings to transfer ownership of the Picasso to the US government.

The spokesman said that DiCaprio in July 2016 had "initiated the return" of gifts he had received from financiers connected to the 1MDB case after authorities made allegations against people involved in financing the 2013 film 'The Wolf of Wall Street', which starred DiCaprio.

It is one of three Hollywood films that the Justice Department says were funded with tens of millions of dollars stolen from 1MDB by Jho Low.

The spokesman said that DiCaprio had accepted the gifts to raise funds in an auction for his environmental foundation.

The three films were produced by Red Granite, which was founded by Najib's stepson, Riza Aziz. The other two films are 'Dumb and Dumber To', a 2014 comedy starring Jim Carrey, and the 2015 film 'Daddy's Home' starring Will Ferrell.

The Justice Department's filing on Thursday seeks the rights to those films, after moving last year to seize rights to 'The Wolf of Wall Street'.

Red Granite said in a statement it was in discussions with the Justice Department "aimed at resolving these civil cases and is fully co-operating."

DiCaprio's spokesman also said that the actor had returned an Oscar won by actor Marlon Brando that was given to him by Red Granite "to thank him for his work on The Wolf of Wall Street".

DiCaprio's charitable foundation last October said that any gifts or donations made to the actor or his ventures would be returned if they were found to have come from 1MDB.

The Justice Department filing on Thursday also alleged that Low also used $9.2m diverted from 1MDB bond sales to buy a collage made by New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat that was also given to DiCaprio.

DiCaprio and Low signed a note in March 2014 absolving the star of "any liability whatsoever resulting directly or indirectly from these art-work", according to the filings.

Low, in an emailed statement sent via a representative, said the Justice Department (DOJ) continued its "inappropriate efforts" to seize assets.

"This week's activity from the DOJ is a further example of global overreach in pursuit of a deeply flawed case," Low said.

Rasky Partners, a public relations firm that emailed his statement, could not be immediately reached by phone.

Other purchases with the misappropriated funds included a yacht and jewellery worth $200m purchased from various companies around the world. Nearly $30m of those funds was used to buy jewellery for Najib's wife, according to the US Justice Department filing.

An aide to the prime minister's wife, Rosmah Mansor, did not respond to requests for comment.

Fraud allegations against 1MDB go back to 2009, the Justice Department said, and the fund is subject to money-laundering investigations in at least six countries, including Switzerland and Singapore. (Reuters)
'Due to the unhappy working environment and the effect on her health, she said she was left with no alternative but to lodge a formal grievance in the matter ranging from complaints of a bullying nature and issues regarding the safety of the work environment' (stock photo)

An office manager who was wrongly portrayed as "an employee from hell" by her employer has been awarded just under 160,000 for her unfair dismissal.

This is one of the Workplace Relations Commission's highest awards to date, awarding 159,705 for the office manager's sacking in July of last year.

The woman had provided unstinting loyalty to her employer - a small, family-run drugs company - for over 30 years.

However, her work-life went downhill after her boss died and his wife took an active role in the running of the business.

Adjudication officer in the case, Michael Hayes, said that "it is simply not credible that the complainant turned into the employee from hell as submitted by the respondent having given 30 years of unimpeachable service".

No parties are named in the ruling and the woman has been given the award under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, which penalises employers who unfairly dismiss employees.

In her complaint, the woman said that she helped the widow of her late boss in running the business, "but despite her best efforts she found her working relationship with the now major shareholder difficult".

Due to the unhappy working environment and the effect on her health, she said she was left with no alternative but to lodge a formal grievance in the matter ranging from complaints of a bullying nature and issues regarding the safety of the work environment. As a direct result, the woman was dismissed from her employment by letter on July 11, 2016.

In response, the woman's employer claimed she was not penalised under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act but rather as a consequence of a breakdown in the relationship between her and the principal employer.
The scene outside the Swiss apartment where the wife of Enniscorthy man Harry Ringwood (inset) was found stabbed to death. Mr Ringwood has admitted to Swiss police to killing her.

AN Irish man has been jailed for the murder of his wife, who he stabbed more than 60 times to stop her finding out about a probe into child sex offences.

Harry Ringwood (50) was sentenced to life in prison by a Swiss court after pleading guilty to the murder, the Sun reports.

Mr Ringwood stabbed his wife, Galina Shevechenko, at their apartment in the Swiss village of Lutry on March 23, 2015. The trial heard that Ms Shevechenko was on her way to the local police station, having been asked to attend an interview.

She was unaware that her husband was being investigated for child sex offences at the time and did not know what the interview would entail.

Mr Ringwood, who is originally from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, emailed the police, posing as his wife and said she could not attend the interview. He then asked her not to go, but she insisted.

Mr Ringwood then pulled a knife on Ms Shevechenko and stabbed her in the back. The court heard that Ms Shevechenko pleaded with her husband to stop, but that he continued to stab her 30 times.

He then got a longer knife and continued to stab her, saying: I wanted to make sure she was dead.

Mr Ringwood then ran a bath and took an overdose, but was soon discovered by a maintenance worker who noticed the flooding in the apartment.

He described the murder as a desperate way to stop his wife from leaving him.

He told the court: I didnt want her to leave me. She wouldnt have put up with the shame of learning about this. I dont know if she would have returned home.

She didnt deserve what I did. In my own strange, bizarre way I loved her and she was the person who loved me most. I have no excuse.

Mr Ringwood had a 2009 conviction for downloading indecent images of children. He was being investigated for posing as a 13- year-old boy on Facebook to obtain nude pictures of young girls at the time of the murder.

Mr Ringwood was a PR executive at at Philip Morris and was fired once his bosses discovered his conviction.

Judge Anne Catherine Page said of the murder: A more selfish motive could not exist.
Up to 20 people are staying at a Dublin premises which has been described in the High Court as a potential fire danger and a risk to the general public as well as those living there.

The people have been staying at the 24 Mountjoy Square property, which incorporates the premises known as 24 Charles Lane, over which a fire safety notice was issued last August.

On Thursday, lawyers for Anne O'Dwyer of Duff & Phelps, who was appointed receiver over the property in March, launched proceedings aimed at securing vacant possession of the property. It was claimed the fire safety notice has not been complied with.

The action is against the owner, Christopher Singh and TWI Textile Machinery and Fabric Company Ltd, which partially occupies and operates from the premises.

It is claimed Mr Singh, of Lisnacree, Castleknock Road, Castleknock, Dublin 15, is a director and the sole shareholder of the company.

The matter came before Mr Justice Paul Gilligan yesterday and he was informed by Nevan Powell, for the receiver, that an inspection carried out on the building earlier that day had revealed that eight people, four adults and four children, were living in an upstairs bedsit.

In addition, up to 12 people had been staying in the basement of the premises, which the court was told may be offered as accommodation on Airbnb.

His client has been unable to get possession of the building and seeks an injunction against the owner and the company requiring them to cease trespassing on the property.

Vincent P Martin, for Mr Singh, told the court steps are being taken so the building is fire safety complaint.

A fire safety expert had been hired by Mr Singh to take steps so that the building complies with all fire safety regulations.

Some measures have already been carried out, counsel said, adding that he believed that all required measures could be completed within seven days.

Karen Denning, for Dublin City Council, said while her client was not party to the receiver's proceedings and was there to assist the court, the fire safety notice had been in place for some time and had not been complied with.

While the council was not seeking orders from the court, it was her client's view the building should be evacuated, counsel added.

Mr Justice Gilligan said the court "could not stand idly by" given that a fire safety notice has been breached.
'In Greek Drama, Mr O'Dea said that the question on Aristophanes's 'The Frogs', about life and politics in Athens at that time, required intensive research into the background of the play rather than focusing on its plot' (stock photo)

A reasonable paper, with a sufficiently wide range of questions to ensure pupils would be pleased, said teacher Jim O'Dea of the Leaving Certificate higher level Classical Studies paper.

Mr O'Dea, of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), and Rathdown School, Glenageary, Co Dublin, said questions on Alexander the Great were along expected lines. However, two of the four questions in 'Life and thought in the Late Roman Republic' "were quite difficult, especially the question on Sertorius".

In Greek Drama, Mr O'Dea said that the question on Aristophanes's 'The Frogs', about life and politics in Athens at that time, required intensive research into the background of the play rather than focusing on its plot.

"It would be very difficult for second level pupils to answer this question. The only consolation is that 'The Frogs' is the least popular of the Greek plays," he said.

Mr O'Dea described questions in the Ancient Epic section, as" nice", while in 'Writers of the Augustan Age', he said they were "manageable" and, in Greek Art and Architecture, "along expected lines".

Ordinary level candidates had a paper that was "quite uneven in parts", but there was "a sufficient number of reasonable questions to counterbalance the difficult questions," he said.

At Junior Cert, the higher level paper was "reasonable for the most part", although pupils could have been "unlucky enough to have done those topics where more detail was required". "Ordinary level candidates would have been happy," he said.

Mr O'Dea had no quibble with the Junior Cert Latin papers. He added: "Leaving Cert candidates were reasonably happy after last year's nightmare."
Rote learning lots of sentences on different topics in the hope they would be of use in the written expression questions would not have worked for candidates sitting the Leaving Certificate higher level German Paper yesterday, according to teacher Fiona Healy.

She said students were "expected to react to topics instantly and write a response using the German they have acquired over five to six years".

Orla Ni Shuilleabhain, a teacher at the Institute of Education, Dublin, agreed there was no scope for students to give back any prepared material on themes that included what they would do if they had to leave their smartphone at home.

Overall, Ms Healy, of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and a teacher at St Joseph's Secondary School, Ballybunion, Co Kerry, regarded the paper as "fair and manageable."

The first reading comprehension was about a bank robbery and Ms Healy said that, while sometimes the title gives no clue to the topic of the text, she felt the single word title, Bankraub, "summed up nicely what the text was about".

She said her students found the second reading comprehension, about street children in Germany, difficult from the point of view of vocabulary, and because they felt there wasn't enough information to give detailed answers to some questions.

"However, it was manageable as the text was well-structured and many students would have covered the vocabulary around social problems in class," she said. Students also found the news items in the aural challenging, she said.

On the other hand, Ms Healy said her students felt they could answer all the questions in the grammar section. She regarded the grammar tasks as "straightforward, when compared with other years".

Ms Healy described the ordinary level as "fair", although she said students found the literary text "quite difficult" and also felt the aural was "challenging", as "they often do at this level".

In the Junior Cert, Ms Healy said that, overall, both the higher and ordinary papers reflected previous years' papers and "held no real surprises".

She said that students at both levels "found the paper fine and felt they were able to attempt most of the questions".
Pictured - Mark Fitzpatrick, (Family Carer Advocate. Founder of Our Childrens Health), Lorraine Dempsey ( Family Carer, Founder and Chair Special Needs Parents Association), Liam OSullivan (Care Alliance Ireland), Jack Renton, aged 12, from Galway, who presented a selection of his own family photography, David Dunne (St. Michaels House) Paul Sherwood

Lorraine Dempsey has been a mother and carer for 13 years, but when she first gave birth to her daughter Rianna she believed she had "brought her home to die"

Nowadays, Rianna lives with cerebal palsy and severe mental disabilities, resulting in Lorraine having to constantly care for her daughter.

However, Lorraine explained to Independent.ie that from the moment that she was born, Rianna had complications, and she knew that her and her husband's lives would be changed dramatically.

She was born into trouble, Lorraine said. She had lost a lot of blood at birth. We knew instantly we were in trouble.

She wasnt able to breathe by herself, she had a lot of complications as an infant. We didnt think she was going to make it to 13 and half years

We knew from birth we werent going to have the happy baby shower or anything. We knew the path we were on. We brought her home to die

Now 13 years later, Rianna is now able to attend a special needs school, which Lorraine explains gives her the needed time to do necessary things during the day, but a large period of her time is still dedicated towards caring for her daughter.

The average day starts at 6:40," Lorraine explains. "She needs full help washing and dressing herself. Your typical dressing could take 15 to 20 minutes, and thats just getting out of bed at the morning

She requires care you wouldnt normally be giving to a regular 13 year old girl, but thats just the way the life is.

A lot of care is needed due to Riannas physical condition, but her mental disability also affects the way in which she able to communicate with others.

The family recently secured funding to obtain a hi-tech Grid 3 assisted communication tablet, which Lorraine says will hopefully better help her communicate with others outside her family.

It can be difficult for people who dont know her to understand her. Sometimes you can have a conversation, pick up a few words to hold a conversation because we know her

Certain type of seizures though can interfere with her speech though, or when shes very ill her speech goes very unclear even for us."

Speaking duirng National Carers Week, seven days dedicated to acknolwedging the work of Ireland's 360,000 carers, Lorraine believes she has lost a sense of identity through the amount of work carers are required to do with little recognition.

She gave up a career in nursing due to the workload involved in caring for her daughter. 13 years after her birth, she says shed still find it impossible to return to the workforce.

I had no option but to give up a career to care for my daughter. There was no question of going back to work. Shes a teenager now, but all I can do is voluntary work

I dont think I can go to an employer who would only let me do X,Y,Z or if the school rang, whatever it is that youre expected to do and drop everything. 

Thats the role of being a carer. Thats always there in the back of your head, that loss to your personal self and identity.

I dont even know what to fill in for my occupation because I am not a housewife or a homemaker. I am so much more than that.

For Lorraine, National Carers Week is about recognising the hard work and contribution carers.

She says that she would prefer people to thank her, and reach out as a neighbour, rather than speaking through what she describes as useless platitudes.

Too often when we talk about carers its about aspiration and saintly figures, Lorraine says.

I am not blessed. This is our normal life in which I have no option to be a carer and a parent. I dont want adulation. I want to be valued and respected for the role. 

Lorraine is now asking member of the public to reach out to carers in their community to help them with the smallest of things, as opposed to simply praising them or wishing them well.

Knock on your neighbours door. See if you can do anything at a practical level. If the grass is two feet high, offer to mow the grass. They might simply not be able to do it.

The week is being run in conjunction of a number of groups such as the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, MS and Ireland and the Special Needs Parents Association; a charity set up by Lorraine to provide support and information for parents in a similar position to her own.

For Lorraine, she insists that work is being done throughout the country to make lives easier and more accessible for those like herself and her daughter, although more can be done.

There are a lot of levels here and Carers Week will shine a light on that to make the lives of carers better, which will make the lives of the people we care for better also.

If there is anything that can be done during Carers Week, just be neighbourly.
A baby was born on an Irish naval vessel last night, after her mother and over 700 other migrants were rescued from a series of vessels off the Libyan coast.

Defence Force medics delivered the baby on board the Irish ship LE Eithne, having rescued 703 migrants attempting to sail to Europe.

Both the mother and child are said to be healthy and well.

The Irish vessel arrived at the scene yesterday afternoon, where they rescued migrants from five inflatable boats, before mounting a large-scale operation to along side NGO boats, rescue ten platforms in distress, and taking a transfer of rescued people from NGO boats.

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The migrants will now sail to a designated Port of Safety in Catania, Sicily, where it is estimated that they will be handed over to the Italian Authorities tomorrow morning.

The Irish Defence Forces first deployed the ship, LE Eithne, to the Mediterranean on May 23, 2017 as part of the Governments response to the migrant crisis.

Since the ship was originally deployed to tackle the first wave of the crisis in 2015, it has rescued over 15,000 migrants.
The new cross-city Luas line has been tested for the first time this morning, with two trams travelling 5.9km from St Stephens Green to Boombridge, Cabra.

The trams will travel at walking speed and stop at each new platform, where they will undergo a series of measurement tests.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross launched todays test and said that the project is on course to be fully operational by December.

Speaking at todays launch, he said: Luas Cross City has been a priority project for the Government and is on target to be completed and fully operational by the end of this year.

The project will be a very welcome addition to the public transport network in Dublin, enhancing the overall capacity available which will encourage more people onto public transport and help in alleviating congestion in the city, as the level of economic activity continues to grow.

He acknowledged that the construction period had proved challenging for the city, but said every effort had been made to minimise disruption to local traders.

Earlier this week Minister Ross chaired the final meeting of the Luas Cross City Project Group comprising business representatives, the National Transport Authority (NTA), Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), Dublin Bus and an Garda Siochana.

The group was established at the beginning of the project to monitor progress and to ensure that the city remained open for business throughout the construction period.

CEO of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) Michael Nolan said: This project is the biggest infrastructure project in Dublin for years.

However, it will not just benefit the city centre as the route also reinstates a transport corridor in the northwest of the city centre along the former Broadstone railway cutting and provides additional access to Phibsborough and Cabra.

Construction of the new line commenced in 2013 and has cost an estimated 386 million. It will create a link between the existing green and red lines, comprising of 13 new stops.

According to the project website, it will take approximately 21 minutes to travel from St Stephens Green to Cabra.
Deadly Asian hornet wasps have been spotted in Ireland, a pest control expert has claimed.

It was claimed last weekend by a pest control expert from Co. Westmeath that the Asian hornet had been spotted along border between Co. Donegal and Co. Derry.

Kieran Lambert, owner of Lamberts Pest Control in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, spoke to Independent.ie about the potential damage Asian hornets could do.

He said: The problem is the damage they do to the honey bee, they will seek out and kill them.

The honey bee is already in decline so every effort is being made to try and protect it.

However, the Irish Pest Control Association (IPCA) have since confirmed that the insect in question was more than likely a horntail wasp.

Suspected reports of Asian hornet in Ireland are most often of the native Greater horntail wasp, IPCA General Secretary Helena Bracken said.

The European hornet is not known to be present in Ireland but it is a species that may also arrive. If you see a big stinger it is not an Asian hornet.

The IPCA have made an identification guide for the Asian hornet available, and is still urging anybody who may spot one to report their sightings to the National Biodiversity Data Centre with a photograph if possible, so that it can be verified by the expert.

At least six people have reportedly died in France from anaphylactic shock after being stung by the hornets, they are also known to wipe out bee colonies.

They are recognisable by their long stinger and distinctive yellow tips.
A panther has reportedly been spotted roaming in Ireland, police have warned.

The PSNI said it had been contacted about "a large black cat, possibly a panther" spotted in Newry, Co Down.

On the PSNI's Newry and Mourne Facebook page, it said: "On June 16, 2017 at 11am Police received a report of what has been described as a large black cat, possibly a panther, sighted in the Moneymore Road area of Newry!

"If you do see an animal matching this description can you contact Police immediately and reference serial number 381 16/06/17. DO NOT APPROACH!"
Transport Minister Shane Ross has toasted today's good weather with a cold can of beer.

The Minister was speaking at the first test of the new cross-city Luas line today, when construction workers presented him with a can of Dutch Gold beer.

Dublin North West TD Noel Rock shared a picture of Minister Ross on Twitter.

He joked: "It is a day for it to be fair. Bag of cans on the tram."

It is a day for it to be fair. Bag of cans on the tram. pic.twitter.com/FiCL46S1VV  Noel Rock (@NoelRock) June 17, 2017

The photo also raised some pressing questions from others regarding the new Luas lines policy on cans:
The vase was originally valued at 800-1,200

A Chinese vase originally valued at 800-1,200 has sold at auction for 740,000, in what is believed to be the highest ever sale for an art object in Ireland.

The Qing Period Blue and White Double Gourd Vase went under the hammer at Sheppards Auction House in Durrow, Co. Laois today.

Despite being given a guide price of no more than 1,200, one man from Paris splurged 740,000 to take the 18th century piece home.

Speaking to Independent.ie, Phillip Sheppard of Sheppards Auction House spoke about the incredible sale.

He said: "Sometimes at these sales you get whats called a sleeper, and this was such a sleeper.

While it doesnt happen every day, its not unheard of Were quite pleased.

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The auction house says that the sale is the highest price ever achieved at auction in Ireland for an art object.

The previous record was broken in November 2013 when a Chinese imperial seal sold at auction for 630,000.
Leo Varadkar is facing his first major crisis as Taoiseach after Fianna Fail threatened to withdraw support for the Government over what it described as "stroke politics".

Fianna Fail is adamant that Maire Whelan's controversial appointment to the Court of Appeal this week "stinks to the high heavens" and amounts to a clear example of cronyism.

Senior figures close to party leader Micheal Martin last night told the Irish Independent that the move represents a clear breach of the Confidence and Supply Arrangement that is keeping the Government afloat.

But Mr Varadkar moved to defend the decision taken at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, insisting that the former attorney general has an "outstanding legal mind".

As the row over Ms Whelan's appointment threatens the stability of the Government, it emerged:

Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald was aware that three other judges had expressed an interest in the post.

Fine Gael and Independent ministers lashed out at the Tanaiste for keeping the Cabinet "in the dark".

The Independent Alliance said it wanted a review into Ms Whelan's appointment.

There is growing speculation within political circles that Ms Whelan may decide to step aside as a result of the controversy.

While there is consensus that Ms Whelan's appointment was completely legal, even senior Fine Gael figures admitted it had painted the Government in a damaging light.

The Department of Justice dodged questions on the controversy last night, insisting that the process of promoting judges is protected by a confidentiality clause enshrined in law.

But in a statement, Mr Varadkar indicated the Government was to forge ahead with the appointment, which could be finalised within two weeks.

"I am satisfied that the correct procedures were followed," Mr Varadkar said.

"Under Article 13.9 of the Constitution the Government and only the Government can appoint judges. The Tanaiste recommended Maire Whelan to Cabinet as the stand-out person for the vacancy."

The Taoiseach said he reviewed the Confidence and Supply Arrangement and he did not believe there had been any breach.

But Fianna Fail figures pointed out that the arrangement states there should be no "surprises" between the two parties.

"This was a surprise even to members of Cabinet", said one senior figure.

Publicly, front bench Fianna Fail were scathing of the move.The party's jobs spokesman Niall Collins said the appointment "stinks to the high heavens" and called on Ms Whelan not to accept the role while questions remain unanswered.

Justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan told RTE's 'Today with Sean O'Rourke' programme the nomination should be withdrawn.

"It is now a significant political issue and if we can't find answers to the questions raised, then the nomination must be revoked," he said.

Last night, Independent Alliance Ministers Shane Ross and Finian McGrath said they wanted the process behind the appointment reviewed.

Mr McGrath clarified that the proposed review means "implementing in full the bill on judicial appointments quickly to prevent these problems (reoccurring)". He said he had "total confidence" in Ms Whelan.

Mr Ross claims he was the only minister to voice concern at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, chaired by Enda Kenny. Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin suggested the appointment was part of a deal that involved Stepaside garda station being reopened in Mr Ross's constituency. However, Mr Ross has denied any link between the two events.
Arlene Foster has challenged Sinn Fein to meet the June 29 deadline to restore a power-sharing government in the North.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader was speaking after her first meeting with the new Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, at Government Buildings in Dublin.

Mrs Foster said she thought it was "very realistic" that a deal can be reached on power-sharing in Northern Ireland by the end of this month.

"The issues that have to be dealt with have been talked about now for quite a period of time," she said.

Mrs Foster said the meeting with Mr Varadkar was useful and pleasant.

"We know each other and we understand each other," she said.

The pair got to know each other when they were each responsible for tourism policy as ministers.

"I want us to have a good working relationship so that from his jurisdiction and my jurisdiction we can work together for the good of all our people," she added.

Mrs Foster pointed out that the Belfast government had been out of office since January. Since then there had been Assembly elections in March, followed by a series of negotiations, and then the British general election on June 8, which was again followed by talks on the DUP supporting the Conservative minority government in London.

"So I think it is very much doable to have a deal by the end of this month," she concluded.

But the DUP leader insisted it was now down to Sinn Fein whether an agreement is done.

"It takes two to tango and we're ready to dance," she said.

"We will go into speak with Sinn Fein again on Monday morning because devolution works and works for everybody in Northern Ireland," she said emphatically.

The British government has set a deadline of June 29 for an agreement on power-sharing. Failing that it must consider the introduction of direct rule from Westminster, or the more unlikely option of new Assembly elections for the North.

The DUP, under Mrs Foster, is close to striking a deal with the Conservatives that would allow a beleaguered Theresa May to form a minority government in London. In Dublin, Mrs Foster brushed aside Sinn Fein assertions that DUP support for the British Government compromises the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

"There is an irony to being lectured about our role in terms of the national government of the United Kingdom when Sinn Fein wants to be in government here in the Republic of Ireland. What would happen then?" she asked.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams also led a party delegation including its leader in the North, Michelle O'Neill, for a first meeting on Northern Ireland with the new Taoiseach.

Mr Adams said he was pushing the Taoiseach to raise the prospects with London of a border poll within five years on the future of the North and prospective Irish re-unification.

On Brexit, Mrs Foster said the DUP wanted to see "a sensible Brexit and one that works for everybody."

Talks with Mrs May would continue into next week.
A man in his 70s has been arrested by gardai investigating the shooting of a farmer, in which he was injured and his dog died.

The incident is connected to a land dispute.

Farmer John Hayes (65) said the bullet - which fatally wounded his loyal border collie sheepdog Lassie - missed his head "by inches".

Mr Hayes claimed the shot grazed the his shoulder as he went to cut grass on his family's nine acres of farmland at Kildimo, Co Limerick.

Gardai arrested a man after the shooting, which occurred around 10.45am yesterday.

"I was going up to my farm to cut and manure my field, and then this lad wouldn't allow me up to the field.

"He pulled a gun out of the back of his van and fired a shot at me," Mr Hayes added.

"It shot in through the window of my tractor and killed my dog inside."

Mr Hayes was taken by ambulance from the scene to University Hospital Limerick, and treated for a minor gunshot wound.

Dead

"It was one shot...from a single barrel shotgun. I didn't get a chance to dive back.

"He just pulled the trigger. He was only a maximum 10 yards away.

"He told me I wasn't going up (the land)."

Mr Hayes said he retreated from the scene in his tractor as his dog lay dead at his side.

"I backed off out of the way... It was enough to have the dog lost.

"I have her [Lassie] about eight years. She'd have done anything for me.

"She was my friend only, no one else's. She'd work for no one else, only me. She'd always go out with me in the tractor.

"The dog was invaluable, a thousand euro wouldn't buy her. Her grandfathers on each side won the English National."

Mr Hayes claimed the shooting was linked to local land dispute.

"It's going on for the past 10 years. I'm sick of it," he said.

Mr Hayes said he has been farming the area all his life.

"It was my mother Maura's and my father Jeremiah's land, but they have since passed on. My father died when I was only two."

His family - who were on holiday in Portugal - were due to fly back after Mr Hayes was discharged from hospital.

"I don't know how I'm feeling, maybe the nightmare of it will all come back to me later tonight," he said.

Armed gardai responded to the scene, and shortly after they intercepted a man in his 70s, a short distance away, in Patrickswell.

"We have one person arrested for questioning.

"He was arrested under the Offences Against the State Act and he's being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act," a spokesman said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Newcastle West garda station.
The overhead cables on the M50 Northbound toll bridge were cut yesterday evening, forcing the motorway to be shut down for a time and reportedly causing over 100,000 worth of damage.

A man cut a number of wires on the bridge at around 9.30pm, shutting down the tag-readers and allowing motorists to pass through "toll free."

A video was posted on social media of the wires being cut.

The M50 was closed for a time as Garda negotiators communicated with the man.

After a short period of time he left the gantry and was arrested by Gardai, who took him to Blanchardstown Garda Station and detained him under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

A source told Independent.ie that the damage done would cause a "huge loss of revenue".

"The value of damage to the cameras on the gantry and loss of revenue is huge, estimated to be over 100k," a source said.

The toll company e-flow said they did not want to comment on the matter presently.

A man is due to appear in court later today in connection with the incident.
Ryanair is facing yet more claims by customers that it is deliberately splitting up passengers who refuse to pay for reserved seats.

Under its current seating policy, the airline randomly allocates seats unless passengers pay from 2 to 11 to reserve them.

Hundreds of passengers have reacted to our recent story and Facebook post on the issue, however, with many claiming to have been split from travel companions and family members after choosing not to pay for seat selection.

This, they say, despite free seats being available beside each other.

"Two weeks ago we were travelling to UK for my aunt's funeral and we were all split up," wrote Anna Roche, who said she was travelling with a group, on Facebook.

"Plenty of seats together when booking and checking in but they wanted to be paid!! We ended up all in middle seats all over the plane. My mam and others wouldn't be frequent flyers and had to sit completely alone. It's a disgrace!!!"

@Ryanair as you can see, the 5th row is all available but you have selected a random seat to place one of our party, why?? pic.twitter.com/JdneZxNR4l  fay stubbs (@judith_chalmers) June 11, 2017

"It cost me 18 to get the vacant seat beside my husband this week," said another poster, Noleen Leahy. "On both flights we were seated 11 rows apart."

"It blatantly happened to me and my partner recently when travelling with our baby for the first time," wrote Tracey Kenny on Facebook.

"I checked in the morning it opened up for check-in online! There was definitely two seats together at that stage."

As well as our readers, droves of angry customers have contacted The Irish Times, Telegraph and other media outlets to vent their frustration in recent weeks.

Many have also shared their experiences on social media, with some posting screenshots of their seat allocations.

For its part, Ryanair says there has been no change in its seating policy since the introduction of allocated seating in 2014. "Customers who do not wish to purchase a seat are randomly allocated a seat, free of charge."

"Given that we have a 95pc load factor and are carrying more customers  our May traffic alone rose by 11pc to 11.8m customers, for example  there are now less seats to allocate randomly."

Customers can pay from 2 to 11 to reserve seats up to 60 days ahead of flying, it points out, advising customers who wish to sit together to do just that.

@Ryanair why is it that my husband and I can't be allocated seats next to one another? There are plenty available! #CustomerServiceFail pic.twitter.com/Pizl8Zwhkx  Kristine Rose-Beers (@iamkristinesr) June 13, 2017

"Adults travelling with children are required to purchase one allocated seat (priced at just 4) and up to four children on the same booking will be given free allocated seats," it adds.

A small number of our commenters came to the airline's defense.

"You know how these airlines work, so why complain about it constantly?" asked Francesca Curran on our Facebook page.

"Never happened to me," posted Marek Maslowiec. "If you check-in in advance, their system automatically allocates two seats together if booked in the same reservation and they're available. Stop spreading panic."

Several readers contrasted their experience with Aer Lingus, which says it gives passengers "the opportunity to choose a seat at every availability".

It offers paid seat selection, but guests can also choose standard seats for free from 30 hours before the flight time when they check-in online or via its app.

"For those who do not select their seat in advance, we attempt where possible to seat small groups together who share the same booking," it says.

"Ryanair make as much money as possible in any way possible," another commenter, Nicola Monaghan, wrote on Facebook. "But we all know that, so suck it up and pay for a damn seat if it bothers you so much - or else fly with someone else!"

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John Downing Opinion New British prime minister Rishi Sunaks succession proves an important milestone in British political inclusivity

There is an old saying in British politics that goes: The right looks for converts while the left seeks out traitors. It comes to mind when one reflects upon the election of Rishi Sunak as the UKs first non-white prime minister in a party traditionally seen as most opposed to mass immigration and the dilution of national identity via multiculturalism.
No laws were broken in the nomination by the Cabinet of former attorney general Maire Whelan to the Court of Appeal.

The Constitution is explicit that the Government has the prerogative to nominate who it likes for appointment to the courts by the President.

While this may be the case, the manner in which Ms Whelan was selected was deeply flawed from the point of view of transparency and fairness.

Ms Whelan is an eminent senior counsel and after serving as the State's chief legal officer for six years no one can say she is not qualified for a position on the bench. The problem is she was selected in an opaque manner for a job she never formally applied for while the names of at least three sitting judges, all of whom expressed an interest in the vacancy, appear not to have been brought to the Cabinet for consideration.

Legally speaking, there was nothing wrong with this. But how it was executed smacks of a political stroke and leaves the Government open to accusations of cronyism.

It is telling that four days after the nomination was announced, there are still unanswered questions surrounding the circumstances which led to then justice minister Frances Fitzgerald (inset) bringing Ms Whelan's name to Cabinet. The Tanaiste's spokesman refused to deal with questions yesterday.

The Courts and Court Officers Act 1995 established a clear path through which sitting attorney generals can apply for judicial office.

After the vacancy on the Court of Appeal was advertised in January, it was open to Ms Whelan to apply via the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board (JAAB). Since 1995 this body, comprising judges, lawyers and a small number of people from a non-legal background, has advised the Government on the suitability of candidates. Ms Whelan sat on the JAAB by virtue of being the attorney general.

Under the Act, a sitting attorney general can apply for judicial office via the JAAB once they withdraw from any deliberations concerning themselves.

However, Ms Whelan did not apply for the job. It can only be assumed she was not interested in it at the time.

A number of lawyers did put their names forward though. None were deemed suitable by the JAAB.

Informed sources said this was mainly because the JAAB formed the view that it would be appropriate for candidates to have trial experience. Essentially they decided it would be best for the Government to promote an existing judge.

Sitting judges cannot apply for promotion via the JAAB. In recent years the convention has been for them to write to the attorney general to indicate they wish to be promoted and at least three High Court judges are believed to have done so.

There was no legal obligation on the attorney general to bring their names to the attention of the then justice minister.

However, sources have told the Irish Independent that Ms Whelan did advise Ms Fitzgerald of their interest.

Ms Fitzgerald's spokesman would not say what consideration the Tanaiste gave to those names.

The Department of Justice also refused to say if other ministers were informed the judges had expressed interest in the position, citing Cabinet confidentiality.
A photographic exhibition casting light on Dundalk's hidden histories opens in The Basement Gallery, An Tain Arts Centre, on Thursday June 15.

'Hidden Dundalk' is a collection of photographs that detail the strange and wonderful gothic architecture around town by local photographers Neil Waters and Inga Kazokaite, who unwittingly started this project over three years ago while out walking the dog.

Neil comments: 'What started out as a fun way to spend a Sunday, turned into a fine collection of photos which became an exhibition. We feel very proud to have it displayed in Dundalk's primary arts location, the An Tain Arts Centre.

'Like most major towns and cities decorated with carvings and emblems from an unexplained past, Dundalk has plenty of evidence of this bygone era,' he explains. 'There has been lots of otherworld mythologies in Ireland; Tir na Nog, The Celts, The Druids, Newgrange, Monks, Anglo-Normans, Templar Knights, Kings and Queens, Peerage Bloodlinesall steeped in symbolism. This exhibition attempts to document these secretive symbols through a collection of photographs that highlights the black magic that surrounds us all.'

'These images are hidden in plain sight,' he continues. 'Like the old magicians' trick, the slight of hand, these symbols leave us guessing how we never spotted them before, how they are somehow blind to us and how we have fallen for taking them as token gestures from an old, defunct generation. Go to any major city and you'll it heavily decorated in cherubs, strange symbols and many occult references. Why? Who commissioned such dark secrets to reign over us? You'll have walked past these coded messages for years now, not even noticing their existence, never mind their relevance or significance.'

"This exhibition for me is an experiment and experience,' says Inga, whose love of photography was passed down to her through her grandfather, who was an established photographer in Eastern Europe in the 1960's. 'It's a beginning of something new. The exhibition is like a photograph: it has to tell a story visually so we've tried to incorporate two things - a photograph and the story behind it. We worked hard for the last three years and we are delighted to be able to publish this locally.'.

With an increased interest in rapidly-changing global events, the artists are aware that symbols play a very important role in the very fabric of life. Neil says 'We feel it's important to raise awareness of Dundalk's past as we head inexorably towards a brave new world. Many people are unaware of the existence of these symbols and architecture so consider them to bear no significance. But, clearly, an occult agenda is manifesting itself in great force right in front of our eyes, fuelled by symbols. In this exhibition, we are not attempting to decipher or decode these symbols, we are simply illustrating their existence. This is art, that's all.'

He feels that Basement Gallery, once a jail and torture chamber has many of its own secrets, is a very appropriate venue for the exhibition . 'It is the natural habitat for an exhibition like this and we sincerely thank Paul Hayes, manager of An Tain, for engaging us and commissioning us as part of their emerging artists program".

The exhibition opens on Thursday June 15 and runs until Saturday July 8th July. Admission is free and the Basement Gallery will be open Tuesday-Saturday from 10am to 4pm.
Sam Claflin as Philip and Iain Glen as Kendal in My Cousin Rachel

Suspicion is a poison that can take effect without warning, turning the most level-headed men into irrational fools.

Daphne du Maurier explored this human frailty to delicious effect in her 1951 novel My Cousin Rachel, which was adapted into a big-screen battle of the sexes the following year starring Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton.

More than 60 years later, director Roger Michell revives the gloriously ambiguous thriller, abetted by a powerhouse performance from Rachel Weisz as the titular (anti) heroine, who may have murdered her trusting husband with handmade herbal tea.

Reputation certainly precedes Rachel, and Michell's screenplay spends the best part of 30 minutes teasing her as a scheming seductress before she makes her entrance.

Weisz never tips the wink either way and one of the film's lip-smacking delights is trying to glimpse evidence of guilt - if it exists - behind the facade of the grieving widow.

The erotic charge in scenes with co-star Sam Claflin is palpable and there are some lovely exchanges like when they take tea together and butter oozes from one of his sandwiches.

'You'd better lick your fingers,' she smiles.

Orphan Philip (Claflin) is raised by his older cousin Ambrose on a sprawling estate nestled handsomely on the Cornish coast.

It's a pastoral idyll dominated by men - 'The only women allowed in the house were the dogs,' observes Philip in voiceover - apart from infrequent visits from pretty neighbour Louise (Holliday Grainger), daughter of Philip's godfather, Kendall (Iain Glen).

When Ambrose falls gravely ill, the doctor recommends a trip abroad to recuperate in the balmier climes of Florence.

Philip is promoted to man of the house in Ambrose's enforced absence.

Out of the blue, the new master receives a troubling letter from Ambrose, which reveals that he has married a woman called Rachel (Weisz), who has become his 'torment'.

Further letters suggest that Rachel is poisoning him - 'She has done for me at last' - and when Ambrose passes away, Philip vows revenge.

Soon after, Rachel arrives at the estate and Philip resolves to prove her guilt and unmask a swarthy male companion (Pierfrancesco Favino) as her lover.

However, Rachel isn't the scheming harpy Philip imagined and he gradually succumbs to her radiant beauty.

Filmed on location in Cornwall, My Cousin Rachel is a handsome adaptation of du Maurier's text that retains an air of tantalising mystery till the final frame.

Claflin is no match for Weisz on screen, making it all the more believable that his painfully naive whelp would stumble into her web, if she is indeed the spider to his fly.

Director Michell shoots several key scenes by candlelight, concealing emotions in the flickers of a flame that leave us in the dark, desperate for answers, as much as poor Philip.
A cannabis growhouse with an estimated 70,000 worth of 'mature' plants was discovered in North Louth after an intelligence-led operation involving gardai from national units and officers from three different divisions led to four arrests in Dundalk, Nenagh and Castlebar.

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the Special Crime Task Force and local drugs units carried out a number of searches on Friday evening, including one at Rassan, Hackballscross, during which a house was searched under warrant and a 36-year-old man was arrested.

Three other men, aged 29, 38 and 45, were arrested in Tipperary and Mayo. The man arrested in north Louth was charged in connection with the discovery on Saturday and is expected before Dundalk District Court in the coming weeks.
Nick McGinley with some of the participants at the Channel4 auditions held in the Town Hall

Dundalk-born casting director Nick McGinley says he's delighted with the young talent he's unearthed as he searches for child actors to fulfil roles in a new Channel 4 series that is currently shooting.

Nick, a former student at Bay Estate National School, was in the Town Hall in Dundalk at the weekend, and continues his search this week in the Redeemer Centre and in Muirhevnamor, for three kids for Channel 4 drama series called The Virtues from WARP Films.

Written by Jack Thorne (The Scouting Book for Boys, Skins) and to be directed by Shane Meadows (This is England '90/'88/'86, A Room for Romeo Brass), the four part series is currently in production in Sheffield and stars Stephen Graham, the English film and television actor who is best known for his roles as Tommy in the film Snatch and Andrew 'Combo' Gascoigne in This Is England.

Graham plays an alcoholic from Liverpool, who, as his relationship collapses, travels to Ireland to find his sister, from whom he was separated when he was younger.

Some of the scenes are set in Dundalk and Nick is looking for two children - a girl aged eight to ten and a boy aged ten to 12 to play the sister's kids, as well as a nine-year-old boy to play a younger Graham in flashback sequences.

Nick told the Argus he was very happy with the talent he saw in Dundalk. He said: 'I was looking for young people with wee personalities, fully formed, and ready to chat.

'I think all children can act - it's only the adults who are self conscious. Once the kids are having fun, that's the main thing'.

Audition slots were allocated so people didn't have to wait around too long and the children and parents spent some time talking to Mick before doing an improvised scene, close to what will be in the TV series.

They were filmed and Nick will send the ones he thinks are best to the director and producers, who will have the final say. Already, there are more than 20 children who have caught Nick's eye and he says that decisions will be made 'imminently' about

It is expected that the children's roles will be cast in the next few days, with kids expected to be available for filming in Sheffield between the end of this month and August.

A family member will travel with them to act as chaperone. And it is expected that some external scenes will be filmed in Dundalk and featured in the TV drama. There is no date as yet as to when it will be shown on TV, but it is expected to be aired some time in 2018.

And despite all the excitement at the weekend, Nick was back in his old Alma Mater, Scoil Mhuire na nGael continuing to unearth young talent there!
A voluntary and community group made up of people from both sides of the border to campaign against Brexit has won a major European award for their work highlighting the impact Brexit would have on life in Ireland.

The Border Communities Against Brexit (BCAB) won the European Parliament Citizen's Prize, along with the Foroige organisation, after being nominated by Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy and his fellow party MEPs Martina Anderson, Lynn Boylan and Liadh Ni Riada and independent MEPs Nessa Childers and Marian Harkin.

The Border Communities Against Brexit group has provided a platform for disparate groups from both sides of the border, including the business and farming sector, to come together to ensure there is no return to the border following Britain's exit from the EU.

The group's spokesperson, Jonesboro' businessman, Declan Fearon, said the team was delighted to have won the award, but, as both the EU and Britain gear up for formal negotiations to begin at the end of this month, he said they were determined to remain focused on ensuring that Irish voices from the border area continue to be heard.

BCAB was set up less than a year ago and has generated headlines in Ireland and the EU for staging their 'return of the customs posts' protests around the border, including at Killeen. But it is the opportunity to speak to key EU decision makers and negotiators that has been a highlight for Mr Fearon.

He said: 'We wanted our voice to be as loud as possible and over the last 12 months, we have been intensely listened to by EU negotiators and advisers about the issues we have raised, including the fact that the British government has unilaterally decided to walk away from not only the EU, but also from the Good Friday Agreement. We have also met with the Irish government several times and spoken about border-specific issues'.

Mr Carthy said: 'The award is a fantastic endorsement of the great work carried out by BCAB and the communities it represents. They have played a key role in opposing British Tory determination to drag the North of Ireland out of the EU against the democratically expressed wishes of the people there. They have been instrumental in bringing together the key sectors that will be negatively impacted by any Brexit induced hardening of the Irish border - businesses, workers, farmers and civic society.

'That they have now been awarded the EU Citizen's Prize is an important recognition of the hard work and dedication of Border Communities Against Brexit in defending democracy and the interests of Irish border communities.

MEP Mairead McGuinness also congratulated BCAB. They will be awarded the 2017 European Citizen's Prize in October during a ceremony at the European Parliament, Brussels.
A young African woman arrested for stealing 10 worth of make-up from Penneys in Dundalk is 'not entitled to claim asylum' in Ireland because she landed in Holland first, a judge has said.

The woman, who calls herself Rosie Peterson and who is, she told Gardai, 25 with no fixed abode, was before Dundalk District Court last week charged with theft and not having proper documents. She had previously been remanded in custody for Gardai to establish her identity for sure, and Judge John Coughlan was previously told that Interpol were assisting Irish officers with their efforts.

Last week, Sgt. Fintain McGroder said Gardai are still trying to find out who she is, as she had also given them another name - Sarah Imaragbe. The sergeant said the defendant 'doesn't have status here' though Gardai are aware she has applied for asylum and believe she is from South Africa.

He said Gardai needed more time to establish her exact identity and fingerprints have been taken.

Solicitor Paula Tiernan said these matters had been heard previously in Drogheda but Judge Coughlan wanted to know 'how did she get into Ireland?' He said: 'Ask her now, how did she come to Ireland?'

The judge added: 'She is not entitled to apply for asylum in Ireland if she landed somewhere else in the EU first. I want to know everything there is to know. She is not entitled to asylum here.

'She better start talking, I want to know who she is as well'.

After a short adjournment, Ms Tiernan said her client had told her she had arrived to Ireland from Holland and the defendant has been in contact with authorities here. Peterson is from Nigeria, Ms Tiernan said, and her father has sent her birth certificate to Ireland and she is waiting for that to arrive in the post.

In addition, the solicitor said, the woman had been in custody for a number of days last month when the case was first listed and then she had been given bail. Ms Tiernan said Peterson wants to plead guilty, but Judge Coughlan said: 'We know nothing about her'.

The solicitor argued that the defendant has sought asylum in Ireland and is currently being housed in Galway. She has been given an identity card, but, the judge said: 'That is not worth the plastic it's written on'.

Judge Coughlan adjourned the case to July 26, with the defendant remanded on continuing bail, for her identity to be established by Gardai.
A man who admitted a series of driving offences, including being behind the wheel while disqualified, has been told he has to come up with more than 800 in compensation in a week or he's going to prison.

Michael Ward, (35), Headford House, Ardee Road, Dunleer, was before Judge John Coughlan at Dundalk District Court last week.

He pleaded guilty to 18 offences including having no insurance, hit and run and four dangerous driving offences - at the Blackrock Road, the Inner Relief Road, the Square, Blackrock and the Xerox junction on October 20 2015.

Barrister Ronan O'Carroll explained that his client had previously pleaded guilty to the 'substantive charge' of drink driving which arose from the same incident, and had been given a jail sentence for that. These summonses 'arrived afterwards' and while Ward accepts he may get a custodial sentence, he has not picked up any warrants and has turned up in court as part of his bail.

Mr O'Carroll asked that the matter be adjourned for a month 'so a full plea in mitigation can be offered about his difficulties and the efforts he is making to address them as there are no documents about that in court today'.

But Judge Coughlan noted that Ward had been summonsed for driving while disqualified and driving with no insurance. Mr O'Carroll said his client had received a four month sentence for drink driving, in addition to a five month sentence. In total, the defendant had served seven and a half months.

The judge said no compensation had yet been paid. Gardai said the amount due was 832 which includes the victim's witness expenses and insurance excess.

Mr O'Carroll said Ward is not working and is getting social welfare. The judge said: 'This happened two years ago and he's not done anything since that. I want people compensated and I will give him a week.

'And if he doesn't pay it, I will extend his sentence because this has been going on for two years. I want the compensation paid as well as witness expenses and I want it all paid by next week'.

Mr O'Carroll said it would be difficult for the defendant to get the money in time, and the defendant also tried to say this, but Judge Coughlan said: 'You have a load of friends - go around and collect otherwise you are going inside'.
Some of the group of parents and pupils at the Save Our School campaign at Scoil Naisiunta Bhrighde in Faughart

A large group of parents and pupils at the Save Our School campaign at Scoil Naisiunta Bhrighde in Faughart

Parents who attended the protest outside Scoil Naisiunta Bhrighde in Faughart say they are 'days away from the nuclear option' of removing their children permanently from the school.

Around 200 people, including parents and members of the community, protested outside the North Louth school last Tuesday night after concerned mums and dads escalated an ongoing protest over management and standards.

Parents' spokesperson, and former member of the board of management, Eoghan Jones, told the Argus that the organisers were very pleased with the turnout for the protest 'which included not only parents, but grandparents, former students, aunts, uncles etc' and showed 'the great community spirit there is in Faughart and how the school is at the centre of the community'.

He said concerned parents are 'not focused on apportioning blame' and 'want to make sure our school flourishes', but, Mr Jones added, 'this is not happening' and pointed to the fact that enrolment has plummeted to 53 students at present, though there is a maximum capacity for 120 and 'neighbouring schools are bursting at the seams'.

He said: 'We were very pleased with the turnout at the protest and it is great to see the school has a fantastic level of support in the community - it's very encouraging'.

Mr Jones said there had been 'no updates from authorities' to parents about any possible resolution to the issues raised, not only by parents, but also by a Department of Education inspector's report released in March.

The report says the school's mission statement to 'provide education of the highest quality for all pupils in a happy and healthy environment' is not being realised and 'the oversight role of the Board of Management is not being discharged satisfactorily'.

And while the inspector found the quality of the teaching at the school was 'satisfactory overall', there was a 'significant variation . . . from outstanding to poor'.

In response to the evaluation, the Board said they were 'working to develop an action plan to address the concerns and implement recommendations and once that has been finalised, it will be shared with the whole school community'.

Mr Jones said: 'We believe that the authorities' approach is to let the school year run down to the end of June and these issues will somehow go away over the summer.

'But at the moment, it looks like we are about seven days away from the nuclear option as we have less and less faith (in authorities) with each day that passes, as every parent has a 'plan B' for their child come September and, if the issues remain come September, I believe the vast majority of kids will leave'.
The Fianna Fail leader has described the housing situation across the country as being without doubt, the biggest social crisis of our generation.

I recently visited Brother Kevin Crowley at the Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin and he gave me figures that illustrate how much worse the problem is getting. For example in 2003 they would have fed 4,700 children from emergency accommodation, with that figure almost doubling to 8,400 last year, said Deputy Martin.

Likewise in Cork City and County our party clinics are full of people who are desperate to get accommodation and to have some kind of a secure future.

Asked what the solution to the problem was, Deputy Martin said that it was clear in the first instance that not enough council houses were being built.

I think over the last number of years there was only an average of two or three being built in Cork county. Even in the worst times in 2007-2010 we were building about 290-300 per year in the county. Its simply not happening at a level that makes a difference, he said.

Secondly, we need to incentivise landlords who have housing stock and who are not renting it out. We pushed for full tax relief on that last year and housing minister Simon Coveney said he would go to Minister Noonan on that very issue, but progress has been all too slow.

There is no doubt in my mind that certain properties are being pulled from the market, Im talking about small type landlords with maybe an additional house or two who are asking themselves is it worth it.

Deputy Martin said he felt the cost of building in the private sector was also an issue that needed to be addressed, saying he felt the Help To Buy scheme was the wrong way to go as it merely served to inflate the price of housing.

There is a strong argument to be made for a reduction in VAT, which would be significant in terms of creating a margin for builders and while there has also been movement on building levies by some local authorities, there could be more done to keep costs down and encourage more activity, said Deputy Martin.

There is also the question of do we put a levy on hoarded land, something that needs to be seriously looked at in the next budget. There is too much land being hoarded by people waiting for the price to go up again. The stick approach has to be adopted to getting this land released.

Deputy Martin said that while there was a solution to the problem, there was a lack of urgency at the highest level, with too many decision makers too far removed from the situation.

They do not know what its like to be faced with the nightmare of trying to find a home for your family. Meanwhile, there are houses that have been empty for years and the State is paying out 130 million to house people in emergency accommodation. Having vacant houses and sites is unacceptable, he said.

I think that some local authorities are shy of rolling up their sleeves and getting the job done. We would have preferred that a housing Tzar or dedicated agency was appointed to grab this issue by the scruff of the neck and get things done. Housing is without doubt, the biggest social crisis of our generation.

Michael Martin on...

Brexit:

"Brexit is bad for Ireland, it's bad for Britain and it's bad for Europe.

A lot of people try to sugarcoat it and say look at the positives. We may get some inward financial services and we may win something in education and research but by and large this is a very serious issue, particularly for the regions and rural Ireland".

The threat of terrorist attacks:

"It could happen anywhere and I think there is a sense in Ireland that we are a bit too complacent about it.

Remember, these people become extreme because others are talking to them and those who talk to them say it's the 'way of life,' and 'we must attack the way of life of the westerners'.

So we have to be very clear, focussed and resourced in relation to it. The key is intelligence and countering extremism within communities".

Enda Kenny:

"He is a decent politician and I got on well with him personally. I think he was very energetic, it was clear that he loved politics, loved the job and engaged with it.

One of the most important things in a democracy is for people to put themselves forward for public service and I think he more than did that.

That said, I didn't get a sense of an overall vision from him in terms of the Ireland he wanted. I think he did miss some opportunities for example infrastructure and he missed the boat on housing and health. I don't think he saw those coming although he was warned."

On the resurgence of Fianna Fail:

"We have just begun the first phase of recovery and the party is getting stronger at grassroots level.

We have a good new generation of county councillors in Cork in addition as those who have held their seats and Michael Moynihan and Aindrias Moynihan winning two out of three seats in Cork North West was a boost for the party."

Fianna Fail remains committed to the restoration of town councils, which were abolished under sweeping local government reforms introduced in 2014 by the then environment Minister Phil Hogan.

Micheal Martin said it was his belief that while municipal councils did have some impact, local government structures had "suffered significantly" following the demise of town councils.

"Town councils were a democratically elected forum of people who had great civic pride and wanted to better and advance their towns. Mallow was a classic example of that. They were closer to the ground, gave ordinary people an opportunity to get involved in public policy and public service and were a great proving ground for young politicians. What was wrong with that?

He described their abolition as a "cynical move" by the then Minister.

"Phil Hogan wanted to pretend he was cutting costs all over the place and he got rid or perhaps the least costly part of the democratic system. He then had a big headline saying thousands of cllrs are being axed. For a one-day headline, he undermined politics at a very local level," said Deputy Martin.

"We often hear about the rise of the far right and the undermining of parliamentary democracy. But if you don't value public representatives at grass roots level and keep on undermining them then you know what, some day you will wake up and say 'what happened to our democracy?'"
It was the humming sound of a wind turbine at 750 metres which certainly stood out to the hundreds of people who turned up at the information meetings both at Gneeveguilla and Ballydesmond.

While Kerry County Council has refused planning to Silverbirch Renewables Ltd for 14 wind turbines which have a height of 150 metres, and which would have extended across 15 individual landholdings, the Sliabh Luachra Awareness Group are not resting on their laurels as they are of the view that an appeal will be launched to An Bord Pleanala.

At the information evening in Ballydesmond, Fred O'Sullivan's stall garnered a lot of attention. He had a detailed presentation on the sheer size of the turbines. To clearly show the mammoth height of the turbines, he had outlined how the Cathedral in Killarney is 80.30 metres in height but the proposed turbines are 60 metres higher than this again. To bring it closer to home, a two storey house is far less than 20 metres in height.

"All night people kept looking at the slides and they kept asking to see the slide about the Cathedral in Killarney as everyone knows the sheer height of that. Then to see it on a graph with the proposed turbines next to it really brings the picture home of the scale of these turbines," Fred told The Corkman.

He also had a map of where each turbine would go and they were dotted less than 1km from people's homes.

"If a turbine is in the southside of a house then there would very likely be flicker as the sun rises in the east and it sets in the west," he said.

"For the entire night we played the humming sound of a turbine at 750 metres and you could clearly see for people it was annoying - but that was our entire point to show everyone just what it is like to be a near a turbine. It is worth pointing out that the proposed turbines are to be placed 500 metres from people's homes, so the sound would without question be worse," he said.

He felt the information evenings went exceptionally well as people could move around from information stall to information stall and ask questions.

"It was great to have such visual effects such as the humming sound and the flicker as well as lot of environmental information on barn owls who are across Ballydesmond and Gneeveguilla. Bird Watch Ireland puts rings on the young owls to track them and this has been going on in this region for years. We need to protect the environment which we are living in," said Fred.

He said the format of the night worked very well as people could move around the room and ask questions at the relevant information stalls whether it was the impact on their home, to environmetal and visual concerns.

Shaun O'Rourke of the Sliabh Luachra Awareness Group said: "We sent out 1,000 letters to every home in both Ballydesmond and Gneeveguilla and some residents particularly those in Lisheen had absolutely no idea that planning had been sought for turbines of 150 metres high. People need to know what exactly what is going on and that is why we held the information evening on both nights."

Worryingly, he said that it has recently come to his attention that a council meeting was held where it was asked was 500 metres the minimum set back of a turbine from a home.

"I was told that there is no minimum distance set back in the Kerry County Development Plan. The 500 metres is null and void and that would mean that a turbine measuring 150 metres in height could be plonked right outside your front door is completely and totally alarming," he said.

Guidelines are up in the air

There is no provision made in the Kerry County Development Plan for a minimum distance of the erection of "monstrous" turbines from family homes.

This has been described as "ludicrous" and "damaging to families" by a father of five who is one of more than 50 objectors who recently won their first battle against Silverbirch Renewables Ltd from erecting 14 "monstrous" turbines across Ballydesmond and Gneeveguilla.

Shaun O'Rourke of the Sliabh Luachra Awareness Group said the recently held Killarney Municipal District meeting left councillors horrified to learn that there is no minumum distance of the erection of huge wind turbines in the CDP (County Development Plan).

In fact, the original 2006 Energy Development Guidelines, which relate to noise and shadow flicker still apply. The 2006 development guidelines also don't set a minimum distance between turbines and homes.

This is a major bone of contention for home-owners not just in the Sliabh Luachra region but across the country.

At the municipal meeting in Kerry, councillors said they were "astonished" that 150 metre high turbines were being located 500 metres from residents doors. However, they are demanding that large turbines, compared to the height of Dublin's Spire, should be a minumum distance of 10 times their height, or at least 1.2km from family homes. Telecommunication masts are governed by a 1km rule but there isn't any provision in the CDP on wind turbines.

Mr O'Rourke said: "The 500 metres is null and void and that would mean that a turbine measuring 150m could be plonked right outside your front door and this is completely and totally alarming." The community in Sliabh Luachra are calling for a minimum 2km distance.

He said: "These turbines are of a monsterous size. People in both Ballydesmond and Gneeveguilla need to urgently realise that their lives could be changed for the worse."

His own home is 500 metres from one of the proposed turbines.

Separately, Deputy Brendan Griffin (FG) in a Dail question asked Minister Simon Coveney, (Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government) when guidelines governing wind turbines will be produced. In a lengthy written reply, Minister Coveney stated he has been liaising closely with Denis Naughten, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment on the review of the 2006 Energy Development Guidelines, and both of them intend to provide a "detailed update to the Government" within the next few weeks.

He also stated that while the proposals for revisions to the 2006 guidelines will be available shortly they will not come into effect until early 2018. "In the meantime the current 2006 guidelines remain in force," stated Minister Coveney.
Prior to the 2016 general election the Fianna Fail leader accused the government of the day of making a "complete mess" when it came to healthcare, a situation that he feels is getting worse under the current administration.

"The cumulative impact of the neglect and the false promises that were made before the election are now having an effect in terms of waiting times and ever-increasing waiting lists. In Cork hospitals, they have soared beyond any level of acceptability," said Deputy Martin.

He said that as part of the confidence and supply agreement Fianna Fail has called for a reactivated Treatment Purchase Fund to address the problem.

"We had established that in 2002 and it had brought the waiting list for most elective operations down to three or four months. We pressed the government on this and while there was a bit of resistance, they did put 15 million into it but operations have still not started. I put it to Leo Varadkar that this foot dragging is just not good enough," said Deputy Martin.

However, he did welcome the commitment that the funding would be increased to 50 million next year.

"That will get results, particularly in terms of commissioning and procuring operations from private hospitals or the public system, like it did in the past. It also forensically goes to each public hospital in terms of how they are dealing with waiting lists," said Deputy Martin.

"This can work, it worked before and would reduce the waiting lists significantly for people who are dependent on the public system for access to healthcare."

Deputy Martin went on to say the outpatient side of the system had "gone through the roof", citing the recent publicity surrounding the issue of scoliosis in children as an example. "There is no excuse for children to be waiting for so long for scoliosis treatment. I don't get this lack of urgency when it comes to children. We should move might and mane to prevent this kind of thing suffering and make sure that operations are done in a timely manner so that long-term complications do not arise," he said.

Deputy Martin said the same "lack of urgency and conviction" was also evident across the issue of mental health.

"We have had two serious meetings with Enda Kenny and Helen McEntee about this and I have put Leo Varadkar on notice that there has not been delivery in relation to the mental health side of the confidence and supply agreement. We have been told that 35 million will be made available next year, but we have heard that kind of thing before," he said.

"There is only a year gone with the present government, so we will have to give it time. That said, we are impatient with the overall lack of progress on healthcare."

IN his recent discussions with the new Fine Gael leader, Micheal Martin said he told Leo Varadkar "there had been too much stalling" when it came to progressing major infrastructural projects such as the M20 Cork-Limerick motorway.

"In fairness to Michael Moynihan, he has been on my back about this and I do accept that it is about access to money. However, we are anxious to see the M20 and projects like the Macroom Bypass get going. The Mallow bypass should also happen as well," said Deputy Martin.

However, he did warn that there was no quick fix in relation to the M20.

"What's needed is a slow release of capital over a period of time, because this will not happen tomorrow. There is the planning process, CPOs and other things that have to happen, so there is a long journey yet before we see a Cork-Limerick motorway. Michael Noonan did throw 1 million at the project, but that won't go very far," he said.

Deputy Martin said the M20 was "key to unlocking the potential for inward investment" not just in Cork and Limerick but also across the east of the country as far as Galway.

"When you look at the figures Dublin got 50% of all IDA site visits last year, with Cork getting just 49 out of the total number of 636. For a county of Cork's size, that's just not good enough. We do need a strong capital, but the biggest story we are witnessing is huge development in the east of the country," he said.

"The only way you can seriously get a more balanced development in the country is if you have an alternative pole that can attract investment and that alternative pole is the Cork/Limerick/Galway route with connections to the east and the Waterford side."

He said the most fundamental way of recognising this was to fully commit to the Cork -Galway motorway.

"It would dramatically change the towns of north Cork economically and bring significant benefits right into wise and also right into Kerry and west Limerick. It would also change mindsets over time about how we plan for these regions in the future," said Deputy Martin.

THE Fianna Fail leader said his party was committed to a restoring the Leader initiative back to its original status as part of its commitment to revitalising rural Ireland.

"Michael Moynihan recently brought a deputation to us from the Duhallow Leader group and they gave us a very negative view of how bureaucratic the scheme had become and how substantial monies are not being drawn down," said Micheal Martin.

"We think the last Fine Gael/Labour government destroyed Leader by subsuming it into the County Council administration infrastructure. In my opinion that was a political move by Phil Hogan and his team so that Fine Gael TD's could get credit for spending," said Deputy Martin.

"But allied to that, they reduced funding to Leader. Cork County Council for example lost about 40 million, which was huge and I am surprised there was not more of an uproar in rural Ireland about this as the scheme was responsible for a lot of good projects."

He further pointed out that this missing 40 million would have also helped leverage additional funding from local authorities and agencies such as Pobal.

"Then you get even more projects completed. Instead the ongoing demise of rural Ireland continues."

Deputy Martin said that government officials seemed "paralysed with indecision" in relation to another key issue affecting rural Ireland - the roll out of the broadband network.

"There seems to be a suggestion that there may be some kind of legal issue with the tendering process. I don't know about that, but I do know the current situation is not good enough because broadband should be a huge enabler for business in rural Ireland," he said.

"For existing business to stay in rural Ireland they need this today, not in five or six years time. And for new businesses starting up they need to be clear they have this facility. Broadband is essential to attract inward investment, but it has been put on the long finger each time."

Deputy Martin said another issue facing rural Ireland was "the reality of many services moving to urban areas."

He used post offices as an example, saying that Fianna Fail's Timmy Dooley had been touring the country on the issue attracting huge crowds of disgruntled residents attending public meetings.

"But it's not just post offices, the government has done enough to protect rural Ireland on several fronts. Take the equine industry. We export 80% of our horses to the UK and yet there has been no proactive engagement with that industry in relation to the issue of Brexit. In fact, the industry hardly gets a mention in the rural plan," said Deputy Martin.

He said there was also a case for greater incentives to encourage the development of micro-industries and businesses across rural Ireland: "In addition there is a case for greater government intervention in terms of town and village renewal projects and taking a look at the issue of decentralisation once again. If you have a government agency in a particular area it gives that region an anchor for future growth."

"North Cork is a great example of a place that has great potential as a region to live and work in, providing the proper services are put in place."
Termonfeckin based writer and blogger Nicola Cassidy has just signed a publishing deal with a UK digital publisher to publish her novel set in 19th century Drogheda and Co. Meath.

The historical fiction novel called December Girl will be published this October and was inspired by true events, originally published in the Drogheda's local media in the 1880s.

Speaking about the deal, Nicola, who blogs at www.LadyNicci.com said it was a dream come true and something she had been working towards her whole life.

"I always wanted to write a novel and have it published," she said. "Even as a little girl, it was my dream. To finally sign on the dotted line of a contract is a bit surreal."

December Girl tells the story of Molly Thomas, who is evicted from her home at Dowth in Co Meath at the end of the 19th century over a land dispute. In the story, Molly flees to London where she has a baby who is later abducted by a childless woman.

"The characters and the story are fictional, but the eviction really did take place and I drew on that as my original inspiration. I first read about it in an academic thesis by Gareth Yore in a book I borrowed from Drogheda Library and later managed to meet up with Gareth and walk the land where the true story took place. This was invaluable in my research and setting the scene throughout the book."

Nicola says the setting of the Boyne Valley plays a big role in the novel too. "There's something about the landscape and the history. What drew those people who built the passage tombs at Newgrange and Dowth to here? What if their spirit still lives on? That's what I wanted to explore in the novel."

Growing up in Tullyallen, Nicola says Townley Hall and later Dowth Hall also lent themselves to the story. "In December Girl, there is a fictional stately home called Brabazon House, and I drew on Townley Hall and Dowth Hall as a backdrop for that. I would love to see the story as a screenplay in the future. Who knows; our own Downton Abbey in the Boyne Valley!"

The book will be published by Bombshell Books, a new imprint for the successful crime publishers Bloodhound Books and available on Kindle and in selected book shops. Launches are planned for both Dublin and Drogheda.
For those interested in agriculture, or simply how the simple spud works, then a trip to the acclaimed Meade Potato Company later this year is recommended.

You can take a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of the humble spud at Meade Potato Co.'s farm in the heart of Ireland's potato growing region in Lobinstown on September 29th.

Follow the spud's journey from the field to the pack house; you'll learn what makes an 'A' grade spud, how it is packed, as well as enlightening facts on potato varieties, environmentally responsible potato production, etc. To cap off this celebration of all things spud, enjoy a Bangers & Mash Goes Global dinner at the farm featuring deluxe local sausages from the Whole Hogg and the star of the show, the spud, in all its worldwide guises.

From Irish colcannon and potato cakes to the French Potatoes Dauphinoise to Swedish Hasselback to Indian Curried Potatoes, they'll dress up the spud to showcase its amazing versatility and why it has earned its place as a staple of the Irish dinner plate.

Cost: 10, children go free. Phone: 046 905 3198. Email: info@meadepotato.com. Website: http://www.meadepotato.com.
A Mad Hatters Tea Party to beat any is planned for this Saturday, June 17th, at St Peter's Church of Ireland hall.

It's all for the Warrior Princess, Hannah Donnelly who is presently a patient in Temple Street Hospital.

The event, which runs from 10.30am to 2.30pm, will see a range of events on and the aim is to raise as much as possible for the cause.

Hannah was born with a rare genetic condition called Apert Syndrome in 2001 but she has defied all the odds. Despite undergoing a number of treatments, in excess of 40 operations and skin graphs, she has amazed everyone with her wonderful determination.

She is well known for her Christmas toy appeal and has been a regular visitor to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.

On her last spinal check up an MRI showed a piece of bone cutting into her spinal cord and she had to undergo more surgery. She suffered complications after it and now faces a slow journey back to her best.

A former civic award winner and a National Child of Courage, as well as a karate black belt, she remains in hospital at present.
When I first met Alan Bonner in October 2015, it was to present him with an award for becoming the fastest ever rider from the Republic around the Isle of Man TT course - lapping the 37.75-mile circuit at an astounding 127.09mph.

That day in Drogheda's Westcourt Hotel, however, Alan was in a bad way. He had broken his back and suffered other serious injuries in a high-speed crash at the Ulster Grand Prix a few weeks before.

Wearing a special spinal brace, he moved gingerly, was clearly in pain and looked almost frail, although he didn't seem concerned about his own condition and happily chatted with the other award winners.

I'd met motorcycle road racers before and knew all about their remarkable courage, but I couldn't help thinking that Alan's racing career was over, that the massive physical and mental challenges he faced would be too great to overcome.

How wrong I was.

He spoke only vaguely at the time about his hopes of racing again, but such was his reputation in the sport, sponsors came forward in the subsequent weeks and months.

He got back on the bike eventually and in 2016 marked his return to Irish road racing by finishing second quickest in superbike practice at Skerries, ending the race itself in fourth place. It was a triumph over adversity.

The bravery of this quiet, unassuming man just to get back on a racing bike - let alone perform at the highest level against some of the top riders on the planet - defied belief.

I never had the privilege of watching Alan Bonner compete - or indeed Derek Brien from Bellewstown who perished at the TT Races six years ago - but there's no doubt that road racers are a special breed of sportsman.

They put their lives on the line every time they go out and compete, and for them that's part of the thrill of racing. Tragically for Alan and for his family and friends, the sport he loved so dearly cost him his life.
Stunning creativity and a warm welcome were in store for the thousands of visitors who flocked to Ardee for the bi-annual national flower festival organised by AOIFA, the Association of Irish Floral Artists, at the weekend.

Two beautiful venues - St Mary's Church of Ireland and the Church of the Nativity of Our Lady - were transformed by the colour and imagination of more than 60 displays of the work of the members of some of Ireland's best floral art clubs who produced magical creations on this year's theme, Celtic Way.

Enthusiasts from all over Ireland made the trip to Ardee on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy not only the very best work done in floral art in Ireland this year, but also to browse the trade stands and get refreshments at the Ardee Parish Centre.

In addition, there was an exhibition of paintings on the theme of floral art in Ardee Library, which was organised by Padraig Lynch, opened on June 6 and featured the works of Brian Kieran, Oonagh Phillips, Lillian Regan, Carmel Callan, Kathy Barry and Thomas Ryan RHA.

In addition, at the parish centre, the beautiful works by art students from Ardee Community School adorned the walls, with musical interludes throughout the weekend from Ardee Concert Band.

RTE presenter Mary Kennedy performed the official opening on Friday evening, with a camera crew from Nationwide filming at the festival for a show that will air at a later date.

Getting the event together was a mammoth task for AOIFA president, and member of the Ardee club, Candy Holten, along with the committee which included local women Josie Callan, Olive Martin, Veronica McMahon and Theresa Synnott. The main sponsors of the event were Louth County Council, ABP Food Group and Ardee Credit Union, along with dozens of smaller donations from the local business community for the fund-raising raffle.

Ms Holten praised the community for the way that businesses and voluntary groups came together to support the event being held in Ardee and said she was very grateful to not only Canon Peter Murphy PP, Rector Ian Jameson and Canon Joyce Moore for allowing them to use the churches, but also to all the floral artists who volunteer to take part in the festival, which this year helped raise thousands of euro for the Irish Association for Cancer Research, an organisation that represents cancer researchers on the island of Ireland.
A detailed proposal on what land opportunities are available in the Ardee area is needed before a meeting with the IDA.

That's the view of Cllr Dolores Minogue who says the town must have a 'profile' before it can attract IDA backed business.

Speaking at the recent council meeting in Ardee, she confirmed that she had invited the IDA to a meeting in the town, but they responded to say that they don't meet individual municipal districts.

'I then met with Minister Damien English and he said we needed to profile the town and give that to the IDA,' she explained.

That would involve listing the land bank areas, local amenities, broadband, and other attractions for industry.

She was speaking in support of a motion by Cllr Tom Cunningham which called on the IDA to come to a meeting to update members 'on their plans to attract new industries to Ardee.'

He said border counties don't fare well when it comes to these issues and a message that 'Ardee is open for business' needed to be sent out. Cllr Pearse McGeough said it was one of the most significant motions ever put to the council. 'Ardee has been bypassed and the impact of Brexit is going to be catastrophic on the whole 32 counties,' he stated.

Cllr Colm Markey said Ardee was closer to Dublin Airport than St Stephen's Green. 'We are a great location and we need to sell that to them. We should be prepared to go to them if we can't get them here.'

Cllr Jim Tenanty said there had been meetings in the 90s with the IDA and as Cllr Minogue had said, they would need a plan going forward.

He said there was a small amount of land at Lee Jeans but if they could earmark land for IDA projects it would be beneficial.

Meetings administrator Alan Sherry said a motion had been passed at the municipal meeting in Drogheda, also seeking a meeting with the IDA, and they responded to say they don't meet municipals.
Two local students studying in Dublin City University have been offered a place on the prestigious Bennett Hospitality Internship Programme in the United States.

Niamh Devlin from Togher and Brian McCarthy, a native of Collon, flew out to Charleston, South Carolina last week to begin a summer internship with the Bennett Hospitality group.

The Bennett Hospitality internship programme is a collaborative initiative, initially devised by Mike Bennett, founder of Bennett Hospitality and Trustee of the DCU Educational Trust, in 2009.

Mr Bennett, an entrepreneur who grew his business from a bicycle and moped rental company in 1977 to an organisation running sixteen hotels and eight restaurants today, created the programme to provide students with insights into the skills required to run a successful business.

Interns learn the ropes of the hotel industry by rotating through a variety of departments, including marketing and sales, finance and human resources. Participants also get to grips with the day-to-day essentials of running a hotel while working at the front desk and alongside the housekeeping and maintenance teams.

Speaking about the internship, Brian McCarthy, a final year Business Studies student in DCU said, "This internship is a great opportunity to gain international business experience and to learn from an incredible entrepreneur like Mike Bennett. I hope this experience will broaden my horizons, create some lifelong memories and be a starting point for a career in the hospitality industry."

Business Studies student Niamh Devlin added, "I am looking forward to experiencing a new culture and living in a unique city like Charleston whilst also meeting new people and gaining valuable skills and experience for my future career."

Two other students from DCU will join Niamh and Brian for the duration of the internship. Previous interns have used the opportunity to go on to work in companies as diverse as Google, Allianz Insurance, Aramark and SQS Group.
To mark the 219th anniversary of the Battle of Vinegar Hill, the National 1798 Rebellion Centre are hosting 'The Longest Day', a memorial ceremony remembering all those who died during the 1798 Rebellion.

This annual event is aptly entitled 'The Longest Day' as June 21, the day of the battle is indeed the longest day from both an astronomical perspective, and for those 30,000 men, women, and children from all sides who took part in the battle.

This year's ceremony takes place on Wednesday June 21, begining at 7:20pm at the bottom of Vinegar Hill Lane where Enniscorthy Historical Re-enactment Pikemen and Redcoats will assemble and march to the top Vinegar Hill. All are most welcome to join in and march along with the EHRS particularly those from overseas whose ancestors fought in the Rebellion.

At 7:30pm representatives from the different religious communities and councils will gather for a blessing which will be followed by poetry recital, including a newly written piece by local poet John J Kelly for the occasion, and a wreath laying ceremony. Following the commemoration on Vinegar Hill all are invited to Enniscorthy Castle for light refreshments.

Hundreds of spectators are expected to be present at this commemorative event, which remembers a defining moment in our nation's history, and provides an opportunity to come together as a community to remember those who lost their lives, in an inclusive and appropriate way.

For more information please contact the National 1798 Rebellion Centre on 053 92 37596

Calling the people of Enniscorthy and beyond to Vinegar Hill on June 21 to honour all those who made us who we are today.
Local people with memories of the halcyon days and nights of dancing to showbands are being sought to retell their tales as part of a new publication due out later this year.

From The Candy Store to the Galtymore will chronicle this unique time in rural and urban Ireland through the stories of the young men and women who religiously went to their local Ballroom of Romance each weekend.

The book will be co-edited by PJ Cunningham and Dr Joe Kearney who are seeking memorable stories from that golden era which saw the beginnings of thousands of romances.

'What we want are the stories of romance, of chance meetings or tales that are funny and maybe even mischievous,' said PJ. 'All human life gathered for the weekly dances in what was a cultural shift away from the more formal ceilis which held sway up until then.

'The showband dances were modern and slightly more brash occasions than the country had been used to but, if anything, the number of stories of love and loss, rows and ructions, fun and games grew in the new environment.

'We are seeking particular stories rather than people just remembering the night that Joe Dolan, Brendan Bowyer or Dickie Rock played their local hall.

'Ideally there should be a bit of tension or drama, humour, love or loss involved in what people send in to us.

'With 200 or 300 bands traversing the country every weekend, and dancehalls sprouting up all over the place, everyone has a favourite story from that era.'

Co-author Dr Kearney remembers the influence that showbands had on his own youth working in London.

'In the 60, many of us spent our time in poor accommodation in Cricklewood, Kilburn, Manchester or Liverpool,' said Joe.'

Readers are invited to submit stories for inclusion in From The Candy Store to the Galtymore to ballpointpress1@gmail.com before June 30.
Just under two weeks after Leo Varadkar was elected leader of Fine Gael, Fingal TD Alan Farrell, said Mr Varadkar's election gives Fine Gael a 'new opportunity' to reinvigorate the party.

Deputy Farrell, who openly declared his support for the Castleknock man to be leader of the party and the next Taoiseach, told the Fingal Independent 'I am obviously very pleased, not just for Leo, but from a party's perspective as it gives us a new opportunity to reinvigorate the party and take us forward for the next couple of years in order to try and get the best results in terms of Governmental output and making sure we deliver on not just the Programme for Government but on some of the ideas Leo came up with during his campaign.'

He said the idea of easing the country's debt burden target and releasing capital funding can create so many more opportunities and more finances can be put into infrastructural projects, whether that be large scale housing projects, roads, transport or schools.

'While it is important that we pay down our debt we have accrued, it is also important that we keep up with the infrastructural demands of the country,' he said.

'The idea from Leo's perspective and from mine is that if we relax the debt burden ever so slightly, it frees up capital which we can then invest in both transport and social projects for the purposes of making sure we remain competitive.'

He said one of the biggest issues of people coming to Ireland for investment purposes is getting to and from where they need to go and sourcing accommodation.

'Clearly these are two projects which could be dealt with efficiently if we relax the debt burden,' he said.

Having been elected to Fingal County Council on the same day as Leo Varadkar in 2004, he says Leo, whom is his 'friend and colleague' brings a particular style to the table.

'In terms of his communications skills, which, while are not unique, they are refreshing in the current environment. He tends to speak his mind and doesn't necessarily take cues from those around him. He tends to make his own mind up and I suppose that in itself is a departure from what we are used to.'

He said he has never seen Mr Varadkar 'flounder' and is well able for debates and facing off against others.

'He has never fallen on challenging questions which I think is a significant attribute for any leader to have,' said Deputy Farrell.

He praised Mr Varadkar's for bringing back free GP care for under 6s and the over 70s and most significantly, adding 5 to State pensions, carers allowances, disability allowances, jobseekers allowances etc to the tune of 200 million.

'In last year's Budget we had a requirement to increase the State pension. We had proposed a 5% increase which then turned into 5. But Leo didn't just stick to that proposal. He enlarged it to cover all those on State payments.'

'I know it's a modest increase but it is a significant thing to do at the end of what was a pretty crippling recession,' said Deputy Farrell.

Mr Varadkar also brought back the discretionary medical cards to 50,000 people within a number of months.

He said in terms of the campaign for leadership, it was one of the most exhilarating experiences he has been involved in in his political career so far.

'It was one of those barnstorming, hair-on-the-back of the neck events where Leo and Simon Coveney were a bit sparkly, as Simon described it, but it was also really exhilarating from the supporters and membership perspective because it showed the best of us in terms of what we were putting forward.

He said both Leo and Simon bring attributes to the party that make him want to be a member of the party even more.

'While only one of them could win, they are both there and bring significant presence within the parliamentary party.

'I made the choice of Leo on the basis of my relationship with him over the past 13 years and I am very proud he won out on the day,' said Deputy Farrell.
A Fenit poet has won a prestigious prize in a national poetry contest run by Trocaire.

Lorraine Carey was a finalist in this year's all-Ireland poetry competition organised by Trocaire and Poetry Ireland, on the theme of 'Before the Storm'.

Lorraine's debut poetry collection 'From Doll House Windows' was launched at Listowel Writers' Week, making 2017 a breakthrough year for this emerging poet.

2017 is the third year Lorraine attended the annual awards ceremony, this time to collect her own prize.

Literary talent clearly runs in the family, because in 2015 and 2016, Lorraine's daughter Elise Carey-McGibney was a finalist in the Junior Primary School category of the competition, the first time when she was only eight-years-old.

The competition judges praised Lorraine's prize-winning poem, 'Signs', which they said used rich, vivid language to explore the natural world as it prepares for a storm.

The poem will now be included in a collection of poems that will be published by Trocaire.
It was possibly the worst weather that the event had ever seen, but this did not dampen the spirits of those hardy few who came out on Sunday morning to take part in the 2017 edition of the Donal Walsh Spa 6km Run/Walk Challenge.

Now in its fourth year, the day, which was organised by Spa National School to honour the memory of their former pupil, Donal, saw over 400 people descend on the school, where the message of 'LiveLife' shone brightly through the grey clouds.

The looped walk was officially started on the day by Donal's parents, Fionbarr and Elma, who watched in delight as runners and walkers young and old set off into the bracing wind for an enjoyable days out.

"We wanted to honour Donal's memory today and so the commitee worked to create an event where people would come together for a few hours, have fun and 'live life' just as Donal had urged us all to do," said school principal, Peter Lenihan.

For those who did not fancy togging out in the wind and the rain, there was plenty more to keep them occupied, with a fabulous farmers market, science experiments and live music performances from Tralee's Seamus Harty.

"We are absolutely delighted to be back here in Spa N.S again, a place where Donal had so many happy days. Everyone had a really, wonderful day, and Donal would have absolutely loved it," said Elma Walsh, speaking on the day.
First hand accounts of the deprivation, death and disease suffered by the people of Kerry in the Great Famine electrify what is one of the first great histories of the period in the Kingdom.

From the first infant deaths signalling the start of the cataclysm in Kerry through the unremitting horror of the disease and starvation to the ghostly landscape left in its wake, The Great Famine in Tralee and North Kerry by Bryan MacMahon presents readers with a remarkable overview of the Irish holocaust as experienced here.

It's the product of years of painstaking research of firsthand documents that left the Ballyheigue-native historian haunted by the ghosts of the period. "It got under my skin to a great degree and I felt a kind of responsibility, almost a debt of honour, to the people of North Kerry to get their stories across."

We might think we know the score - a million dead, a million emigrated, etc - but it's a subject the Irish have yet to fully deal with, Bryan said.

20 per cent of the Kerry population was wiped out. "But it was particularly bad in the coastal region from Kerry Head to the Cashen, particularly Causeway where over 50 per cent of the population was lost. Ballinclogher, Lixnaw, was one of the worst hit too, losing 58 per cent of its people - at least going by the crude statistics."

"Despite the magnitude of the disaster, Kerry still lacks a single, outstanding monument to the Famine," Bryan said.

The Great Famine will be launched by Jimmy Deenihan at O'Mahony's Bookshop in Tralee on Thursday June 22 next at 5.30pm.
The nephew of JFK and son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver has been appointed as the chairholder of the UNESCO chair at IT Tralee.

This week UNESCO and ITT announced that Dr Timothy Shriver - who is the chairman of Special Olympics International - will become chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Inclusive Physical Eduction, Sport Fitness and Recreation at the Tralee College.

The UNESCO chair programme was set up in 1992 in a bid to help the international eduction and cultural body achieve their aims by advancing research, training and programme development by building university networks and encouraging inter-university cooperation.

UNESCO awarded the chair to IT Tralee in 2013 in recognition of work done and on the promise of further work to do in the area of inclusion of people with disabilities. It has a global remit.

Dr Shriver said he was honoured to take on the role in IT Tralee.

"Special Olympics has always had a great relationship with the Institute, and indeed UNESCO. This appointment gives us the opportunity to join our efforts to build a world that accepts and provides for diversity as a norm," he said.

"This year is a very important one for UNESCO. In July they will convene government ministers from around the world, along with senior officials of sport, in Kazan, Russia to seek commitments for the establishment of a comprehensive vision of inclusive access for all in physical education, physical activity and sport. As chairholder, I fully support this agenda. Our chair in Tralee, together with Special Olympics International and all other partners of the chair, will be at the forefront of supporting inclusive access to health and wellbeing, communities, education, economy and society aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030,"he said.
An average of one woman a week is travelling from Kerry to the UK for an abortion according to new figures released by the UK Department of Health.

The UK DoH 2016 abortion statistics show that last year 49 women who provided Kerry addresses underwent privately funded abortion procedures in a UK hospital.

The overall number of women from the Republic who had abortions in Britain fell slightly to 3,265 last year.

This is a drop from 3,451 women and girls who gave Irish addresses at UK clinics in 2015.

The statistics - which were released on Tuesday morning - also show that 240 Irish women aged under 19 had an abortion in the UK in 2016.

Of these 56 were aged 17 or 18 and ten were aged under 16.

Single women accounted for 1,337 of the Irish cases. Almost half of the abortions - 1,597 of all cases - involved women who were married or in civil partnerships

The number of Kerry women travelling to the UK was in line with the average for predominantly rural Irish counties.

The Kerry For Choice Group - who are campaigning for a repeal of the Eighth Amendment to Ireland's constitution, which recognises the right to life of the unborn - questioned the accuracy of the figures.

"These figures only include those who provided their Irish address. We suspect the real number of Irish women seeking abortions is much higher as many women use the UK address of family or friends. Some women access abortion services in countries other than England or Wales," said the group in a statement.

Kerry for Choice also claimed that many other Irish women "resort" to using abortion pills which they purchase online.

The purchase and use of these medications is illegal in the Republic, although no woman has ever been prosecuted.

Kerry for Choice are planning to hold a rally in Tralee Town Square this Saturday afternoon, June 17.
Sligo has been chosen for the Irish Premiere of Halal Daddy, the hotly anticipated new culture clash comedy starring Colm Meaney and Sarah Bolger.

Sligo native Conor McDermottroe co-wrote and directed, along with Adam and Paul writer Mark O'Halloran.

The screening will take place in the Omniplex Wine Street on Tuesday 27th June, supported by the Western Development Commission and Element Pictures Distribution.

Shot on location in Sligo town and county in 2016, Halal Daddy is a comedy about a halal meat factory in the west of Ireland, and a young man's attempts to escape his domineering father and regain the affection of his sweetheart.

"Halal Daddy is a film rooted in Sligo," said Conor.

"In the late 1990's I remember coming home for a couple of days and having a pint in the local pub. Some guys that I knew were in there celebrating. One of them lifted a pint of Guinness.

"I asked him what they were so happy about. He said the local meat exporters were going to re-open. He turned to me and said, 'We're going halal'.

"I looked in this guy's face and I knew he hadn't a clue what halal was! He was holding on to his job and was happy regardless," he said.

Starring Nikesh Patel (London Has Fallen, Indian Summers) as the proverbial fish out of water Raghdan, Halal Daddy stars Colm Meaney as the protagonist's suspicious in-law.

Art Malik (True Lies, Sex and The City 2) plays his controlling father, and Sarah Bolger (In America, The Spiderwick Chronicles) stars as his feisty girlfriend.

The cast is joined by actress/comedian Deirdre O'Kane (Noble, Intermission), while screenwriter Mark O'Halloran also plays Omar in the film.

Conor McDermottroe will attend the premiere alongside stars of the movie Nikesh Patel and Art Malik.

It's a Florin Film, Benrae Florin Films and Deadpan Pictures production, supported by the Irish Film Board and Eurimages.

In cinemas 30th June, 15A.
Sligo County Councillor Keith Henry has been informed that the average emergency response time for ambulance calls to the South Sligo area is nineteen minutes.

For non emergency cases the time can increase significantly. The Ballymote Fianna Fail Councillor put down a question at the recent meeting of the HSE West Health Forum in Galway seeking the response time and what measures were being made to improve it.

"Ambulance crews do absolutely fantastic work often in very difficult situations but having adequate deployment bases that can reduce response times is very important. When one looks at the map of ambulance bases within our region there's big gap in the South Sligo area" Cllr Henry said.

"For the purposes of the National Ambulance Service County Sligo forms part of the North Western area along with Leitrim and so our closest base within that region is Sligo town.

"While there is a base in Boyle which would be closer to many parts of South Sligo it is part of the Western Area and therefore the crew that may be posted there could be covering calls in any other part of that region which includes Mayo, Galway and Roscommon. Crews in Sligo are just as likely to be called to provide support in other areas of the North West. So in these instances because we have no base in South Sligo, response times can increase at pressure points" he explained as to the reason for his question.

Henry, the Vice Chair of the Health Forum Committee has been lobbying the HSE and National Ambulance Service to do something about the lack of a base in the South Sligo areas.

"I've spoken with the Chief Ambulance Officer from the National Ambulance Service to discuss ways of improving response times.

"The new Primary Care Centre in Ballymote is intended to have a dynamic deployment point which will help in the aim to have all resources in a region deployed across that region as a fleet in a bid to improve response times. This being better than what currently happens which is having several crews in Sligo due to no staff or equipment facilities being available anywhere else in the county."

"Tubbercurry is also being examined as a possible location for a dynamic deployment centre in the future. We always read or hear of the cases where people have to wait maybe an hour or more for an ambulance and dynamic deployment points should help reduce this.

"It's good news for the general South Sligo area as we never know when we may need the service but certainly anything that can be done to reduce the time for emergency calls will be greatly welcomed" Cllr Henry concluded.
A Judge has ordered the return of two tractors which Gardai had seized in Ballymote to a County Fermanagh agricultural contractor.

A Judge has ordered the return of two tractors which Gardai had seized in Ballymote to a County Fermanagh agricultural contractor, the Sligo Champion reports.

However, Judge Kevin Kilrane told the contractor, Charles Mavitty of Rosscarn, Culkey, Enniskillen that he had "definite views of your involvement in all of this and they are not good ones."

The Judge went on to praise the investigating Garda, Detective Garda Eugene O'Sullivan from the Stolen Motor Vehicle Investigation Unit attached to the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation at Harcourt Square in Dublin.

Judge Kilrane congratulated Det Garda O'Sullivan whom he said had "pursued this matter in the most diligent manner. It was so tricky from the word go here."

Before Sligo District Court last Thursday was an application brought by Mr Mavitty under the Police Property Act seeking the return of two New Holland tractors.

Det Garda O'Sullivan told the court that on August 11th 2016 a search was conducted at the home of Noel Muldoon at Cluid, Ballymote by the Criminal Assets Bureau and other Gardai.

Mr Muldoon was asked about one particular tractor and he stated that it belonged to a Charles Mavitty from Enniskillen.

Ms Laura Spellman, solicitor (for Mavitty) said he operated an agri-business and had a number of machinery, the majority of which was under finance.

He had negotiated the sale of one of the New Holland tractors and the lease of the other to Noel Muldoon senior.

Witness said there were 27 other tractors on the property as well.

One of the New Holland tractors had a Leitrim registration plate and Mr Muldoon said he owned it. The log book was in the name of an Anthony Rogan who told witness subsequently that he had got a call from Mr Muldoon asking him if he woudl do him a favour and register a tractor for him in his name.

Mr Rogan picked up the tractor in a layby along with 300 and went on to register it in his name. A Leitrim plate was allocated to it, 06 LM 3160.

There was also a finance alert on the tractor by a UK lender but this was subsequently discharged.

The tractor originated in Northern Ireland and was registered to Mavitty and the finance was in his name. He defaulted on the finance, witness told Judge Kilrane.

Mavitty had bought it second hand from a dealer in Northern Ireland.

Garda O'Sullivan said it was his opinion that Mavitty was the owner of the Leitrim registered tractor and he had no problem in it going to him.

Both Mr Muldoon or Mr Rogan were not in court, said witness.

"I'm satisfied that there was a false claim on it by Mr Muldoon," said Det Garda O'Sullivan who had earlier stated there had been an in-depth investigation into the matter.

Regarding a second New Holland tractor bearing a registration Y638jaw, witness said there was also a finance alert on this from Lombard North Central but this had also been paid.

Det Garda O'Sullivan said his interest in this tractor was the loader attached which had its identification marks removed.

Witness explained that on January 6th 2016 a New Holland tractor was stolen from Ballinamore, County Leitrim with a loader attached.

Det Garda O'Sullivan said he was satisfied the loader in Mr Muldoon's yard was the one which was stolen.

Mr Mavitty told witness that he had bought the loader from a man called Maguire about 2k from Emyvale.

Det Garda O'Sullivan said he had gone there but was now satisfied he had been led on a wild goose chase by Mr Mavitty.

Ms Spellman stressed that the applicatiion before the court was in respect of the two tractors.

Mavitty told the court that he had negotiated the sale of the Leitrim registered tractor to Anthony Rogan who got it on terms.

However, the sale never happened. Mr Rogan went to look for finance but he had obviously been turned down said Mr Mavitty.

In reply to Judge Kilrane, Mr Mavitty agreed that Mr Rogan took possession of the tractor without paying for it. He knew Mr Rogan through work.

The Judge enquired about the outstanding finance on it and Mr Mavitty replied that he wanted to raise the money from its sale to pay the amounts outstanding on the tractors off. He had got settlement figures.

Mr Mavitty agreed that both tractors "ended up in Mr Muldoon's yard", the second one for hire.

"He is in the farming business," said Mr Mavitty.

Judge Kilrane ordered the return of the tractors to Mr Mavitty.
The level of Wicklow families in receipt of Family Income Support (FIS) is approximately the same this year as it was last year despite the national unemployment rate dropping for the past three years.

TD Pat Casey, Fianna Fail's spokesperson on housing and urban renewal, said that 'simply being in employment does not mean that people and families will have a decent quality of life.'

At present 1,478 Wicklow families are in receipt of the payment.

He questioned claims from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation that the jobs market is booming and that a 'deep recovery' is taking hold and described it as a 'simplistic and ignorant narrative'.

'Minister Mitchell O'Connor can claim that she is leading a jobs bonanza for the Irish economy all she likes, but the fact is: more and more people are working in low income jobs that require the State to top up their family incomes through the Family Income Support scheme. Is this the type of economy that Minister Mitchell O'Connor and Fine Gael are happy to preside over; people working full time jobs but still relying on support from the State to keep a roof over their heads or put food on their tables? Why has the number of families in receipt of a FIS payment not decreased if there is a booming jobs market?' Deputy Casey said.

He outlined that 'decent, well-paid jobs' are required so that families do not have to rely on FIS or other supports. 'The first step must be to publish the heads of bill of the proposed piece of legislation to deal with precarious work and ending Zero Hours Contracts in order to meet the commitment contained in the Confidence and Supply Agreement with Fianna Fail,' he said.
The search under way at the Glenmacnass waterfall

A hearse near the site of the first discovery at the side of the Military Road near Enniskerry

A fourth and fifth lot of human remains were found yesterday in the Wicklow mountains as gardai and the defence forces continue to search for body parts.

The operation began on Saturday night when walkers discovered the torso of a white man in his mid-to-late 20s to the side of Military Road, Enniskerry.

After an appeal for information, a tip led gardai to Glenmacnass Waterfall, closer to Laragh, and Lough Brea Lower where further discoveries were made. Another discovery was made three kilometres north of Glenmacnass.

Superintendent Pat Ward of Bray Garda Station said that the search area was expanded to a radius of 30 kilometres. This may expand further depending on what happens over the next day or so.

They believe that the body parts were thrown from a moving vehicle travelling from Glencree to Glenmacnass.

Gardai have yet to establish the man's identity or cause of death. They believe he died violently at some time in the previous 10 days.

Supt Ward said that they do not know what is behind the death at this stage. 'It could be anything from personal grudge to criminal activity,' he said.

Gardai, the army and the civil defence have all been involved in the extensive search which has included divers, boats, foot patrol and a cadaver dog.

Supt Ward said that they are still missing 'significant parts' of the deceased man, parts, he said, which would be important for identification.

He said that they have been checking a number of missing persons, however there is no match with the database as of yet. Samples of DNA will also be taken from the remains.

The hope, according to Supt Ward, is that someone will come forward in the belief that this may be their family member or loved one.

The scenes of the discoveries are being preserved for Garda forensic examinations.

The original discovery was made by day-trippers at approximately 7.45 p.m. on Saturday night near the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. They immediately contacted gardai. Supt Ward said that their car had been broken into and they were searching the undergrowth for their belongings when they came across the torso.

A local doctor attended the scene and confirmed that the remains were those of a human.

Deputy State pathologist Michael Curtis attended the scene. The remains were removed by Murphy's funeral directors the following morning and brought to the Mater Hospital where a post-mortem examination was carried out.

The deceased man does not correspond to the identity of any person reported missing. Gardai are urging anyone concerned about their loved ones to make contact.

They have ruled out any possibility that this could have been convicted rapist James Nolan, whose body parts have been found in several locations in Ireland since his disappearance in 2011.

Supt Ward said that the search is expected to continue for at least the next number of days.

Investigating Gardai are appealing for any person who may have seen anything suspicious in the area or who may have information in relation to this investigation to contact Bray Garda Station at 01 6665300.
An oral hearing regarding proposed works at the Vartry water treatment plant in Roundwood is under way at the Glenview Hotel.

The hearing started on Monday and is expected to proceed into today (Wednesday).

The decision has been appealed by a number of groups in the Ashford area on the basis that Irish Water were not required to undertake an Environmental Impact Statement as part of their planning permission.

Social Democrat Cllr. Jennifer Whitmore will be speaking at the Oral Hearing, following her submission to ABP on this case. Cllr. Whitmore has a background in fisheries management and environmental law. Whitmore, speaking from the Oral Hearing, said: I am very glad that the Oral Hearing has been held. It is proving to be a very useful exercise, where all parties can outline their concerns, and put forward their own arguments It is giving the public an opportunity to hear first hand what is being proposed. And its value is certainly demonstrated by the fact that there is standing room only for the first two days of the hearing,' she said.

She said that she an EIS should be undertaken. She said that there is very little information on the quality or quantity of fish stocks in the Vartry.

'It is my belief that there is a compromise to be had. I have no issue with the treatment plant being built. It is the operation of the plant, and the intended reduction in flow to the Vartry, that concerns me. I believe that a significant river monitoring programme should be established while the plant is being built. The information from this programme should be used to estimate the impact of water reduction to the Vartry and that any decisions to change the flow into the river be based upon this solid, scientific evidence.' The planned upgrade to the water treatment plant was granted planning permission in November 2016.

Irish Water said in a statement that in the past two years they have met with residents, stakeholders and elected representatives to discuss the need for the project. 'Treated water from Vartry provides drinking water for one of the most densely populated areas in the country, providing water for 200,000 people from Roundwood, through Wicklow and up to south Dublin. For example between Wicklow Town and Greystones, there is no alternative water supply available for residents and businesses. Without the upgrade to the Vartry Water Treatment Plant, Irish Water would need to restrict or cease allowing new connections for homes and businesses, or increases in water usage for businesses in the region to protect existing customers and maintain the current level of service,' said the body in a statement.

The Vartry Water Supply Scheme is currently on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Remedial Action List (RAL) which identifies supplies that are in urgent need of improvement.

The Vartry Water Treatment Plant presently has inadequate treatment against trihalomethanes or THMs. Irish Water has put in place the first national THM plan and has prioritised a programme of investment to address all inadequacies in drinking water parameters including THMs.

Irish Water project manager Geoff O'Sullivan said that they have committed to a number of significant measures to protect the ecology of the River Vartry.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge look out from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade on June 17, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge look on from the balcony during the annual Trooping The Colour parade

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge look on from the balcony during the annual Trooping The Colour parade at the Mall on June 17, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge look out from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade on June 17, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge look out from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade on June 17, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Prince George of Cambridge looks on from the balcony ahead of the annual Trooping The Colour parade at the Mall on June 17, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Prince George and Princess Charlotte stole the attention away from their granny Queen Elizabeth during a celebration of her 91st birthday, as the pair appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to mark the occasion.

The royal siblings joined their mum and dad, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, their great grandparents Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth, and their uncle Harry to watch the annual Royal Air Force 'Trooping for Colour' flypast from the balcony on Saturday.

Prince George, whose dad Prince William is an air rescue pilot, initially seemed unimpressed by the gathering, holding his head in his hands in boredom, but his excitement soon became apparent as the planes began flying over head.

The three-year-old and his sister Princess Charlotte (2) could not contain their excitement, bouncing up and down on their toes as the aircrafts flew past for the London crowds gathered at the Palace.

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The siblings' mum, the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton wore a pink Alexander McQueen dress to the event, while the Queen turned out in a blue Stewart Parvin outfit.

The celebration was also attended by the wider royal family including Prince George and Princess Charlotte's granddad Prince Charles and Camilla as well as Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice of York.

Expand Close Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge look out from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade on June 17, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge look out from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade on June 17, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Earlier in the afternoon, the Queen paid tribute to the victims of the recent Manchester and London terrorist attacks, as well as those who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower tragedy this week. A minute's silence was held as a mark of respect.

The RAF celebration in honour of the Queen's birthday comes two months after the monarch turned 91 on April 21.

Expand Close Members of the British Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, fly in formation past The Shard skyscraper, as they perform a fly-past above Buckingham Place during the Queen's Birthday Parade, 'Trooping the Colour' / Facebook

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Whatsapp Members of the British Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, fly in formation past The Shard skyscraper, as they perform a fly-past above Buckingham Place during the Queen's Birthday Parade, 'Trooping the Colour'
Brooklyn Beckham, Romeo Beckham and Cruz Beckham volunteered to help victims of the horror blaze

Brooklyn Beckham and his brothers have volunteered at a church in London to help the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

The model and photographer and his siblings Romeo and Cruz are helping Pastor Derrick Wilson sort through donations at Westbourne Park Baptist Church for the victims of Wednesday's tower block blaze.

Expand Close Brooklyn Beckham, Romeo Beckham and Cruz Beckham volunteered to help victims of the horror blaze / Facebook

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"Victoria Beckham sent her children up," the clergyman says. "They were here yesterday."

Meanwhile, a source told Mail Online, ''The Beckham boys all were volunteering at a local church after school yesterday and today, helping sort through donations... This was done privately as local kids, upset by the tragedy in their neighbourhood and wanting to help out."

At least 30 residents of the tower block were killed in the tragedy.

Adele, Lily Allen, and Rita Ora have all visited the site of the blaze to comfort families, while actor Tom Hardy has launched a JustGiving page to raise money for the victims and Simon Cowell has assembled stars to record a charity single to benefit the victims.

Expand Close At least 30 residents of the tower block were killed in the tragedy with dozens still missing / Facebook

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The music mogul says, "We will record it hopefully and finish it Sunday, latest Monday. We already started to get a lot of people calling in saying, 'Of course we would love to do it'. I do genuinely believe this will make a difference.

"I'm hoping... it pricks a few people's consciousness and then other people decide to do something else, because I think we can do more in addition to just the record. That's my plan."

The charity single will be a cover version of famed American duo Simon and Garfunkel's 1970 hit Bridge Over Troubled Water which Simon selected personally after considering several options.
Cristiano Ronaldo appears determined to quit Spain as he believes he is being singled out for unfair treatment by the tax authorities.

The Portugal captain enjoyed a remarkable career in England and surpassed all expectations following his 80 million move to Real Madrid.

Ronaldo scored his 600th career goal in this years Champions League final  and thats just the first of many astounding numbers.

Press Association Sport understands the 32-year-old is outraged after prosecutors accused him of defrauding the authorities of 14.7 million euros (12.8 million).

Earlier this week Ronaldos agency Gestifute released a statement which said: There is no tax evasion scheme There has never been any hiding nor any intention to hide anything.

On Thursday Ronaldo, who signed a new five-year contract in November, posted a picture of himself with his fingers to his lips on Instagram with the caption Sometimes the best answer its to be quiet.

His tactics are not dissimilar to those of Barcelonas Lionel Messi who took a similar stance in threatening to quit Spain in 2014, also claiming he had been singled out for special treatment, when he was accused of concealing 4.1 million euros (3.5 million) from the authorities.

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Ronaldo is still only 32 and after bagging 51 goals last season appears to have a lot still left in him.

The recent claims coming out of the Ronaldo camp will have put some clubs on red alert  but there are some other numbers theyll need to consider besides the Portugueses stats.

His Real contract is understood to have a buyout clause of 1 billion euros (874 million) and, in May, Forbes calculated his pre-tax salary as being close to 45 million a year.

Those are figures to give even the worlds richest clubs reason to pause.
Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the architect of German reunification, died yesterday, 'Bild' newspaper reported. He was 87.

Bild said Mr Kohl died in the morning in his home in Ludwigshafen, in western Germany.

"We mourn," Mr Kohl's Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) tweeted with a picture of the former chancellor.

Germany's longest serving post-war chancellor from 1982 to 1998, Mr Kohl was a driving force behind the introduction of the euro currency, convincing sceptical Germans to give up their cherished deutsche mark.

An imposing figure who formed a close relationship with French president Francois Mitterrand in pushing for closer European integration, Mr Kohl had been frail and wheelchair-bound since suffering a bad fall in 2008.

At home, he is celebrated above all as the father of German reunification, which he achieved after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall despite resistance from partners such as then British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

He won voters in communist East Germany by promising them "flourishing landscapes".

Shortly after leaving office, Mr Kohl's reputation was tarnished by a financing scandal in his centre-right party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), now led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Mr Kohl mentored Ms Merkel early in her career, appointing her to her first ministerial post.

Until his death, Mr Kohl refused to identify the donors, saying he had given them his word.

Once viewed as a provincial bumbler, Mr Kohl combined an understanding of the worries of ordinary Germans with a hunger for power, getting elected four times.

"Voters do not like Kohl, but they trust him," Rita Suessmuth, a former speaker of parliament, once said.
Russia claimed yesterday it killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike targeting a meeting of Isil leaders just outside the group's de facto capital in Syria.

The Russian Defence Ministry said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian strike in late May along with other senior group commanders.

Previous reports of al-Baghdadi being killed turned out not to be true. The Isil leader last released an audio on November 3, urging followers to keep up the fight for Mosul as they defend the city against a major offensive.

The spokesman for the US-led anti-Isil coalition could not confirm the Russian claim.

The report of al-Baghdadi's death comes as Isil suffers major setbacks in which it has lost wide areas of territory and both of its strongholds - Mosul in Iraq and Syria's Raqqa. Both are under attack by various groups fighting under the cover of airstrikes by the US-led coalition.

US officials and Syrian activists say many commanders have fled Mosul and Raqqa in recent months for Mayadeen, a remote town in the heart of Syria's Isil-controlled Euphrates River valley near the Iraqi border.

The claim of al-Baghdadi's possible demise comes nearly three years to the day after he declared himself the leader of an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria. If confirmed, it would mark a major military success for Russia, which has conducted a military campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad since September 2015.

The Defence Ministry said the air raid on May 28 also killed about 30 mid-level militant leaders and about 300 other fighters that it said were gathered to discuss the group's withdrawal from Raqqa. The US is offering a $25m (22.3m) reward for information leading to his death or capture.

Alexei Pushkov, the head of the committee for information policies at the upper house of the Russian parliament, tweeted that "if confirmed, al-Baghdadi's death will be a powerful blow to Isil."
The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald launches a missile during a March training exercise to improve operational partnership between US and Japanese forces (US Navy/AP)

US and Japanese rescuers are searching for seven American sailors who went missing after their Navy destroyer collided with a container ship four times its size off the coast of Japan.

The USS Fitzgerald has returned to its home port in Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo following the collision with the Philippine-flagged container ship.

Officials are now questioning the freighter's crew at Tokyo's Oi wharf over the cause of the night-time crash.

After helping stabilise the USS Fitzgerald, the destroyer USS Dewey joined other American and Japanese vessels and aircraft in the search for the missing sailors.

At least three other Navy sailors were injured in the incident.

Family members are frantically seeking news, appealing via social media for sailors aboard the ship to get in touch.

The US 7th Fleet said in a statement that the crash damaged two berthing spaces, a machinery room and the radio room.

Most of the more than 200 sailors aboard would have been asleep in their berths at the time of the pre-dawn crash.

Water is being pumped out of flooded areas and it is unclear how long it would take to get into the crushed mid-right side of the ship once it is at the pier in Yokosuka.

Vice Admiral Joseph P Aucoin, the commander of the 7th Fleet, said: "This has been a difficult day.

"I am humbled by the bravery and tenacity of the Fitzgerald crew. Now that the ship is in Yokosuka, I ask that you help the families by maintaining their privacy as we continue the search for our shipmates."

The USS Fitzgerald's captain, Commander Bryce Benson, was airlifted to the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka after the collision and is in stable condition with a head injury, the Navy said.

Two other crew members suffered cuts and bruises and were evacuated. It is unclear how many others may have been hurt.

The Navy said that the collision occurred 56 nautical miles south-west of Yokosuka, home to the 7th Fleet.

Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said: "Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the sailors."

The Japanese coast guard said it received an emergency call from the container ship, the ACX Crystal, reporting the collision at around 6.20pm BST on Friday.

It was questioning crew members of the ACX Crystal, which is operated by the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen KK, and is treating the incident as a case of possible professional negligence, said Masayuki Obara, a regional coast guard official.

US president Donald Trump said on Twitter: "Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families.

"Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance."

The ACX Crystal weighs 29,060 tonnes and is 730ft long, the coast guard said, much larger than the 8,315-ton Navy destroyer.

The container ship's left bow was dented and scraped, but it did not appear to have sustained any major structural damage.

Nippon Yusen said all of the ACX Crystal's 20-member Filipino crew members are safe.

Conditions were clear at the time of the collision, though Yutaka Saito of the coast guard said the area is particularly busy with sea traffic.

The names of the missing sailors are being withheld pending notification of their families. US Navy personnel set up support and counselling services to help families as they sought updates on crew members.
Society, movies or peers: Who is to blame for crimes by jilted lovers, stalkers? | News Brake Ep 41
Donald Trump has appeared to confirm he is under investigation for obstruction of justice, claiming he is being probed for firing FBI director James Comey by the man who told him to do it.

It was not clear whether the president was basing his tweet on direct knowledge, or on reports this week that special counsel Robert Mueller is examining whether he obstructed justice by firing Mr Comey last month amid the Russia investigation.

Mr Mueller was appointed as special counsel to investigate Moscow's involvement in the presidential election last year and possible collusion by Trump campaign associates with the Russians, but there has been no indication that Mr Mueller told the president to fire Mr Comey.

Mr Trump tweeted: "I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt."

In another tweet, Mr Trump said: "After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my 'collusion with the Russians,' nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!"

Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein submitted a widely circulated memo to the president last month raising concerns over Mr Comey's performance, but Mr Trump later said he had already made the decision to fire Mr Comey.

The White House confirmed Mr Mueller was among the candidates the president interviewed to replace Mr Comey.

A day later, Mr Rosenstein appointed Mr Mueller, who was at the helm of the FBI during the September 11 attacks, as special counsel. The tweets were the latest in a week of angry social media responses from the president over a report by the 'Washington Post' that Mr Mueller was looking into whether Mr Trump obstructed justice.

In a series of statements on Twitter on Thursday, Mr Trump repeated his claim that the investigation is based on the "phony" premise of possible collusion between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

The president complained the probe is unfair and wondered why his defeated Democratic opponent was not getting the same scrutiny. "Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?" he asked.

"They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice."

Mr Trump yesterday announced the partial reversal of Barack Obama's Cuba policy, reimposing restrictions on travel and business in a move he said would "empower the Cuban people and hold the regime accountable". Mr Trump campaigned on a pledge to roll back Mr Obama's historic reform, which supporters said nudged Cuba towards political change by removing the "US threat" as an excuse for the status quo.
A sign promoting The Public Theatre's production of Julius Caesar in New York's Central Park (AP)

A 24-year-old activist who stormed the stage during a controversial New York production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar featuring a Donald Trump-like dictator has been arrested.

Laura Loomer allegedly shouted: "Do you want Trump to be assassinated?" from the stage during the production in Central Park by the city's Public Theatre.

She was arrested and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

Loomer was released but asked to appear in court to respond to the charges at a later date.

The conservative activist said on social media that she is not apologetic about interrupting the production.

Delta and Bank of America have both pulled their sponsorship of the version of the play by Public Theatre, which is known for its edgy, modern productions.

Though Public's version of William Shakespeare's classic play is unchanged from its 400-year-old original, the production portrays Caesar with a gold bath and a Slavic wife. The business-suit wearing Caesar is later stabbed to death on stage.
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Hollywood lost one of its precious gems today. The man with cinematic brilliance who directed some of the finest films including Rocky and the first three original Karate Kid films - John Avildsen, left us for his heavenly abode. After suffering from pancreatic cancer, the filmmaker passed away at 81.

dga.org

His son Anthony Avildsen released a statement to the press describing him as an extraordinary man who was super talented and very stubborn, which was like a double-edged quality about him. He came from a humble background and even worked in the Army. He is survived by three sons, Jonathan, Ashley and Anthony, and a daughter Bridget.

Sylvester Stallone who rose to fame only after the Rocky series says that he owes everything to the late John Avildsen. He took to Instagram to pay a tribute to the director by sharing a throwback picture with him.

The great director John G. Avildsen Who won the Oscar for directing Rocky! R. I. P. I'm sure you will soon be directing Hits in Heaven- Thank you , Sly A post shared by Sly Stallone (@officialslystallone) on Jun 16, 2017 at 8:00pm PDT

He captioned it as, The great director John G. Avildsen Who won the Oscar for directing Rocky! R. I. P. Im sure you will soon be directing Hits in Heaven- Thank you , Sly.

kickstarter

Stallone released an official statement which reads, I owe just about everything to John Avildsen. His directing, his passion, his toughness and his heart  a great heart  is what made Rocky the film it became. He changed my life and I will be forever indebted to him. Nobody could have done it better than my friend John Avildsen. I will miss him.

we are moving stories

It was because of John Avildsens direction that Sylvesters career took a soaring leap. He wasnt just a director he was also Stallones mentor.

totalrocky.in

Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed in four 'Rocky' movies, took to twitter and wrote, "Your filmmaking legacy remains. #BeLove."

'The Karate Kid' actor, Ralph Macchio, also paid tribute to the great director and tweeted, "RIP to my friend and KK director John G Avildsen. He brought inspirational stories to us all and had a guiding hand in changing my life."

cineplex

Avildsen won an Academy Award for directing 'Rocky'. He received another Oscar nomination in 1983 for directing the documentary short Traveling Hopefully.

Also known for helming films like W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, Neighbors, Lean on Me and '8 Seconds', Avildsens life was shown in a documentary film called John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs, that premiered this year at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Cases of animal abuse around the world are in plenty right now. While there are always bad things going on in the world, there are some good people who make bad things right. Like the ones who create prostetics for animals who are disabled to give them a second chance in life. Here are some photos that show animals using prosthetics and aiding devices to better their everyday lives:

1. A flamingo, which had its leg amputated, is pictured with its new prosthesis.

Reuters

The Chilean flamingo in at Sorocaba Zoo in Sorocaba, Brazil was given a specially-made prosthesis after a fracture in the left leg resulted in the bottom portion of the leg needing to be amputated to prevent an infection.

2. An 8-month-old cat walks with the help of a prosthetic two-wheel device.

Reuters

The cat's rear legs lost the abilty to walk after falling from the ninth to fifth floor of a building. The cat, is at a veterinary hospital in Chongqing municipality.

its since undergone four major surgeries which included removing parts of its organs, local media reported.

3. A dog runs fitted with two front prosthetic legs at Milagros Caninos rescue shelter in Mexico City.

Reuters

Members of a drug gang in the Mexican state of Zacatecas chopped off the paws of this dog named Pay de Limon (Lemon Pay). This was to practise cutting fingers off kidnapped people, according to Milagros Caninos founder Patricia Ruiz. Fresnillo residents found Limon in a dumpster bleeding and legless. After administering first aid procedures, they managed to take him to Milagros Caninos, an association that rehabilitates dogs that have suffered extreme abuse. The prosthetic limbs were made at OrthoPets in Denver, U.S., after the shelter was able to raise over $6,000.

4. A 48-year-old female elephant walks on her newly attached prosthetic leg.

Reuters

The elephant, Motala's front left leg was maimed after she stepped on a landmine at the Myanmar-Thai border 10 years ago. She is recuperating at the Elephant Hospital in Lampang province, north of Bangkok.

5. A disabled dog walks with a prosthetic wheelchair in Russia.

Reuters

The Public Association for Animal Protection "EGIDA" organized an event to match homeless dogs and cats to prospective new owners in Minsk. where the dog, called Christmas came and stood watching his fellow dogs at the event in the Belarusian capital.

6. An injured turtle tries out new hind wheels to move.

Reuters

Tzvika, an injured female turtle, walks with the aid of her newly attached wheels at the Wildlife Hospital in the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv. About two months ago, Tzvika was run over by a lawn mower and suffered severe damage to her shell and a spinal injury that affected her ability to use her rear limbs. The wheels, attached by veterinarians at the Safari, elevate the turtle to keep the shell from being worn down and enable her to walk.

7. A horse fitted with an artificial leg enjoys a meal in Mumbai.

Reuters

This Indian horse nicknamed "Macho",Doctors amputated the horse's front right leg and gave him a plaster of Paris prosthetic earlier this month after an animal welfare group found him on a highway bleeding from a leg wound.

8. Injured sea turtle swims with an artificial fin

Reuters

Hofesh, an injured male green sea turtle, swims in a pool after an artificial fin was attached to his back at the Israel Sea. Turtle Rescue Center, in Michmoret north of Tel Aviv. The turtle was brought to the centre some four years ago missing both limbs on the left-hand-side of his body, but on Wednesday the artificial fin, designed by an industrial design student, Shlomi Gez, was attached to Hofesh's back, offering him stability and a more permanent solution to his disability. Hofesh will not be released back into the wild as he cannot survive if something were to happen to the fin.

9. A Terrier showing off the newly attached uni-wheel.

Reuters

A Yorkshire Terrier named Hope stands with her uni-wheel attached to a doggie vest in Longmont, Colorado. Hope is missing one limb and is able to walk with the wheel attachment. Picture taken April 21, 2013.

10. Mix-breed dog running with prosthetic limbs

Reuters

Naki'o, a mixed-breed dog with four prosthetic devices, goes for a run in Colorado Springs. Naki'o lost all four feet to frostbite when he was abandoned as a puppy in a foreclosed home. Picture was taken on April 12, 2013.

11. A 4-year-old dog runs with wheels in place of front paws.

Reuters

Hoppa, a four-year-old mixed breed dog born without front legs. Hoppa uses a prosthetic device to walk outside in the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv. The device was invented especially for Hoppa by an animal-loving art student, who hopes his wheeling device will improve the lives of pets born with abnormalities or with amputated limbs.

12. A bottlenose dolphin being helped by a trainer attaching an artificial fin.

Reuters

A keeper holds an artificial tail fluke attached to female bottlenose dolphin "Fuji", estimated to be 37-years-old. Aquarium in Motobu town on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Fuji lost 75 percent of her tail fluke due to an unknown disease in 2002. The dolphin can swim and jump using the artificial tail fluke, which is believed to be the world's first artificial fin for a dolphin, and was developed by veterinarians and Japan's largest tire maker Bridgestone Co., an aquarium official said.
After state governments intervention and massive outpour of outrage by Keralites, Prime Ministers Office (PMO) has now agreed to include the name of Metro Man E. Sreedharan in the list of guests who will share the dais with PM Narendra Modi while he inaugurates Kochi Metro.

Earlier, his name was removed from the list which has drawn a lot of ire in Kerala. Yesterday, Sreedharan himself had played it down and said that he isnt disappointed and security of the PM is important.

PTI/KochiMetroFacebook

Dont make it into a controversy. Security of PM is important, must follow what security agency says. I am not disappointed, Sreedharan was quoted by ANI.

The Kerala government had written to PMO urging it to reconsider the decision and include Sreedharan among the guests. Sreedharan is the principal adviser to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which completed the project in four years.

E Sreedharan is considered a hero in the southern state and seen as a shining example of efficient service to the nation. He was a key character in the building of stellar infrastructure projects across India including the Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro Rail. He was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his services to the nation.

His influence on these stellar projects can be adjudged by a simple comparison. With him on helm, Delhi Metro had a record of before time delivery and high standards and since his removal, none of its projects have ever been delivered on time fully.

The news of Sreedharans name not among the guests has drawn a lot of flak in Kerala, but the list also didnt have names like the leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala and local legislator P T Thomas.

AP

The state government had reportedly sent names of 17 people who it wanted to share the dais with PM Modi. Some names included Sreedharan, Chennithala, Thomas and Chief Secretary Nailin Netto, among others.
While the transport system of Mumbai is most efficient, the traffic can make a person grow old by the time they reach home. The world will agree that Mumbais transport system gives ten times the additional stress to the commuters than necessary.

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis seems to have taken a note of the situation (Finally!) where one day either private cab services like Uber and Ola strike, and another day it is the Kaali Peelis that decide to give Mumbaikars a hard time.

BCCL

It has now been declared by the CM, that Maharashtra government is in the process of developing an app for summoning the black and yellow taxis. CM said this in response to the Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Council recently. It has been widely debated that the private taxi aggregators have not only been a competition for the normal cab drivers but also affected their livelihood greatly.

BCCL

The State Transport Minister Diwakar Raote responded to the Oppositions questions and said that the government has brought an ordinance of City Taxi Service Control Rules and that suggestions of 6,000 people have taken into account on the issue, after which they have concluded to begin the app service, expected to begin in the next three to four months.

BCCL

The private cabs are much preferred because of the level of comfort it offers. Addressing this issue, the government of Maharashtra is contemplating to provide AC services to customers who choose to travel in black and yellow taxis.

The taxi drivers who have bought a new car to begin their services might be able to get AC in their vehicle in order to bring them at par with Ola and Uber.
MPs should be automatically upgraded to business class by airlines in case there are seats available, members of the parliamentary consultative committee on civil aviation have demanded.

bccl/representational image

Committee members told civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju that an upgrade, if available, should be the norm for all airlines including private ones.

reuters/representational image

The suggestion was put forward at a meeting that also saw MPs complain that the food menu offered by airlines was repetitive. Airlines should be asked to regularly review the food served so as to alter the menu.

Also Read: Another Gaikwad! TDP MP Pushes, Shoves & Abuses Indigo Staff. Gets Barred By All Airlines

The demand for an upgrade comes at a time when MPs have been in the news for unruly behaviour with airline staff. TDP MP Diwakar Reddy was accused of roughing up IndiGo staff after being denied a boarding pass on Thursday.

reuters/representational image

Some months ago, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulted an Air India staffer claiming that his business class ticket from Pune to Delhi was not honoured.

Also Read: Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad Slaps Air India Crew Member Because He Didn't Get A Business Class Seat
A new era of transportation has arrive in the city of Mumbai. One can almost hear the faint cry of Mumbais original taxi, waiting to be summoned by a tired Mumbaikar on a warm evening, but the sound of the uber-cool cabs covers it up.

The legendary black-and-yellow cabs, locally known as the Kaali Peeli have been around for more than one hundred years in Mumbai. While we can still see the roads swarmed with these, the pride of the Kaali-Peeli has now been reduced to a lot of once-upon-a-time stories. They ruled the roads, lanes and bylanes of Mumbai once but are being replaced rather steadily by an unhindered surge of private cabs. But of course, as Amitabh Bachchan put in a film called Cheeni Kum, saying cab is not as much fun as saying taxi is.

This sentiment is still positively shared by lakhs of Mumbaikars who have moved to the newer, cleaner, and colourless versions of public transportation.

Pride of the past

BCCL : PREMIER PADMINI

Back in the 1960s, Premier Padminis were the queens of the streets. Even stars like Mammooty and Rajinikanth owned them. These were much-loved and seen in numerous films and heard about in the stories told by our parents. However, about four years ago, Premier Padmini died a slow, gradual death when a resolution that was issued by the government of Maharashtra reduced the age limit of Padminis qualified for Mumbai roads had to be no older than 20 years, the previous limit being 25.

Shattered dreams

BCCL : THOUSANDS DEPEND FOR LIVELIHOOD

At one point in time, there were as many as 63,000 taxis running across the city. Back in 1997, the number of cabs was 63,000 when the government began to issue the Public Services Vehicle Authorisation badges which are mandatory for every taxi or auto driver to private taxi fleets. About 90,000 taxi drivers had them, but it meant that not many could now enter the profession of driving a taxi in Mumbai.

In order to get the badge, one has to be a domiciled citizen, which was not possible for a lot of migrants that came to the city of dreams, chasing theirs. That time, almost all cabs were Premier Padminis.

The city continued functioning the way it did, albeit with a few hiccups when about a decade and a half later, cab aggregators began entering Indian markets. It was a little tough in the beginning for the people to trust something that electronically called a transportation  with the click of a button. For the older generation, it felt like magic as they struggled to adapt to the new system, while the young crowd eased itself into the system of Ola, Uber and Meru.

Commuters and cabbies

BCCL : STRIKES HAVE CAUSED COMMUTERS TO MOVE TO PRIVATE CABS

When the commuters are asked about their opinion about the decline of the local cabs, they are quite vocal in saying that the taxis brought it upon themselves. One can almost call the commuters fair when they say that when a worn out traveller stands amidst a chaotic street in terrible weather, the last thing expected is a rude denial by more than a dozen taxi drivers to drop them off. Those who have lived in Mumbai know the attitude problem of the Kaali-Peeli drivers  they can be more merciless than the Lannisters  This is what I had once heard a college going kid say. But it is true. They are capable of leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere but not give you a ride but swagger off in their empty taxis only because they do not feel like it. And then there are the strikes that call upon the wrath of every citizen of the city and an oath to move forever to the cooler app-drawn cabs.

Livelihood of the old

BCCL : MANY SENIOR CITIZENS DEPEND ON THIS FOR LIVELIHOOD

Criticism aside, there still remain almost a lakh livelihoods depending on this profession. A. L. Quadros, Leader of Mumbai Taximens Union leader says that there still are senior citizens and widows who own cabs who depend on this as a profession. Having spent as many as 55 years in the profession of driving taxis, Quadros feels that the people might be opting for private cabs, but nobody will work as hard as a Kaali-Peeli driver.

These drivers work more than 15 hours a day and have no other source of livelihood. Most of them are migrants. The government takes decisions that it deems fit but there are no backup plans for the families of those dependent on this occupation. There are no pension schemes given either for them to fall back on, he said.

Move back, or move on

BCCL : TAXIS REMAIN AN IMPORTANT PART OF COMMUTING IN MUMBAI

According to sources, the number of taxis might have reduced from more than 60,000 to around 38,000 and with more or less 20,000 cabs running regularly on the streets.

Nobody wants to join this occupation, and those who were here have moved to private cab driving, Quadros informed us. We also learned from him that there may now be around 70,000 drivers across the city left.

Since 2008, there have been no new badges issued for the taxi drivers, he told us.

One might argue that moving to working for private cab aggregators is a great financial opportunity for the drivers, this collective decision of theirs is killing the legacy of taxis that Mumbai has always been recognised by.

Quadros thinks implantation of the Maharashtra City Taxi Scheme by the government might help to get back the drivers who moved to the other side come back to the side of sentiment and nostalgia. The Taxi Unions plan to file a writ petition with the Bombay High Court to look into the matter of helping taxi drivers.

We also plan to get ACs fitted into the new models of taxis that are manufactured and with much more comfort and advanced app system. About 90% of cabs will be fitted with ACs and given the best facilities commuters require, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated one of the biggest and most awaited infrastructure projects in the southern state of Kerala.

The 13-kilometer-long Kochi Metro, which was built at a cost of Rs5,181 crore will have a total of 22 stations, with 11 stations in the first phase, running from Palarivattom to Aluva. Read more

1. Hotels Run Out Of Food, Ask Guests To Leave As Unrest Intensifies In Darjeeling

With hotels running out of food stock, they have started asking tourists to leave Darjeeling. Till Wednesday, the same hoteliers had stood by tourists and asked them to stay back despite the shut-down call by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

The hoteliers weren't worried as markets were open and transport was unaffected. But things have changed drastically after Thursday's announcement of an indefinite shutdown in the Hills. Read more

2. He Was Banned By Domestic Airlines, So He Took An International One. TDP MP Flies To Europe For Vacation

He was banned from the domestic flights, so he took an international one. TDP MP J C Diwakar Reddy, who has been banned by all domestic airlines from flying over his alleged unruly behaviour at the Visakhapatnam airport, flew to Europe last night as part of his annual family vacation.

According to J C Prabhakar Reddy, brother of the Anantapur MP, the tour was planned well in advance. Read more

3. Six Policemen Killed, Faces Disfigured In Anantnag, Lashkar Calls It Revenge For Junaid Mattoo

In a dastardly inhuman act of violence, the Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists in Kashmir valley have killed six policemen and disfigured their faces beyond recognition in Anantnag.

The cops, from the Achabal police station were on barricade duty at Thajiwara in Achabal following inputs of terrorist movement in the area when their vehicle came under attack. Read more

4. As Violence Continues In Kashmir, Army Chief Assures That Situation Will Be Controlled Soon

With the killing of Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Junaid Mattoo, and an increase in attacks on security forces Kashmir valley is tense once again.

But the Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has exuded confidence that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir would be brought under control soon and said there was no cause for worry. Read more

5. Illegal VoIP Telephone Exchanges With Suspected ISI Link Busted In Maharashtra's Latur, Two Held

Yet another suspected case of Pakistani intelligence agencies using illegal telephone exchanges routing telephone calls via a computer network to access sensitive military information have been busted in Latur district of Maharashtra.

Two persons, Shankar Biradar (33) and Ravi Sabde (27), have been arrested in this connection. Read more
As many as 900 refugee migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya by their coast guard. The migrants, who were sailing in five different boats were rescued seven miles off the coast of Sabratha.

REUTERS

Out of the 900, 98 of them were women and 25 were children who were headed to Western Libya. Libyan Navy Spokesperson Ayoub Quassem informed that the coast guards patrol the nearby coast of Zawiya city on Friday. This was reported by the Xinhuaa news agency.

Quasim has also informed that the refugee migrants are of Arab as well as African origins, including three from Libya. The rubber boats had been perforated and submerged, and there also was a wooden boat which was large enough but had no engine.

The rescue operation lasted as long as seven hours.

REUTERS

The smugglers and illegal dealers have been taking advantage of this refugee crisis, adding to the chaos and insecurity. They have been sending refugees towards European countries through the Mediterranean sea which has caused several deaths of migrants due to drowning.

Sabratha is located 75 km west of the capital city of Tripoli and happens to be one of the busiest illegal immigration departure spots in the country of Libya.

REUTERS

International Organisation for Migration has informed on Friday that in the year of 2017 so far more than 9,000 migrants have been rescued in Libyan waters alone. The coast guards of Italy have also announced of more than 1,000 migrants were rescued on Thursday who were travelling in nine wooden boats off the coast of Libya.
Gang-raped and paraded naked in public 14 years ago, Mukhtar Mai attended the Los Angeles premiere of Thumbprint., an Opera based on her life story. I was very emotional when I first started watching it and began reliving the incident in my mind, Mai, 37, told AFP.

AFP

Thumbprint first opened in New York in 2014 but this was Mai's first time to see it live on stage. In 2002, Mai was sentenced by a local council of tribal elders to be gang raped and publicly humiliated as punishment for her brother's perceived insult to a rival family.

The opera by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz, looks back at Mais 2002 rape, and her decision to defy her attackers and take them to court, reports AFP.

Instead of committing suicide, Mai chose to fight for justice and endure the stigma and shame after the traumatic incident and her story inspired millions. She went on to become an international advocate for women's rights and founded a charity that sponsors a women's shelter and a girl's school in her hometown of Meerwala.

AFP

According to AFP, the story onstage ends when Mais rapists have been sentenced to death, in reality, her attackers walk free.

I want to make it known that if anything happens to me or my children and family members, the Pakistani government is responsible," she told AFP

Mai who received a standing ovation after the play wondered if it'd be ever shown in Pakistan, But, she said, I would like it to be shown everywhere.
Governor Ayodele Fayose, the Social Media Governor, on Friday in Ado Ekiti has said he is going to become the next president of Nigeria.

The governor boasted that he had the attributes to wrestle power from the Pres. Buhari-led APC in 2019.

He also boasted that former governors Segun Oni and Kayode Fayemi would fail if they contest the 2018 governorship election in the state. According to him, neither of the two performed to an admirable level that Ekiti people would give them a second chance like he was given.

The governor spoke at a meeting with political office holders at the Governments House, Ado Ekiti, where he also inspected Osoko Political Institute Centre. He said, Just because Ayo Fayose has won a second term to become governor of Ekiti, some people also think they can come back now, but I want to tell them that it is not possible.

I am the man wholeheartedly loved by Ekiti people because of the many developmental projects that have brought great infrastructural and developmental advancement to Ekiti. If you go around Ekiti, you will see my handiwork dotting every nook and cranny of the state. .

This is why I am the man who every Ekiti people will follow in 2018. Fayose said he had the penchant for taking powers from people having defeated two former governors (Niyi Adebayo and Fayemi) in governorship elections.

I have penchant for taking powers; that one in Buharis hand. I will take it. Im going straight to that villa. Im the next president. I want to be the next president of Nigeria. My own wont be this change that has brought nothing, we are going to represent the people well and tell them the truth.

Source: Yabaleftonline
Miss Asaigbo 2016, and an Accounting student of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Ugwu Joy, is currently rotting in jail. SunNews reports.

Joy was remanded by a Yaba Magistrate court for alleged involvement in N7.5million fraud.

Police investigations revealed that Ugwu Joy had been an alleged serial scammer, duping innocent Nigerians through a visa racket and ponzi scheme.

She landed in police net after series of complaints from some of her alleged victims.

As a beauty queen of a pageant involving the core five South East states, Ugwu was seen as a symbol of the Igbo nation before her arrest, and was expected to model the defining character of the people- enterprise, industry and moral character.

And indeed, a little into her tenure, Ugwu Joy, the reigning Miss Asaigbo 2016, showed signs she meant business to live up to the billing.

SunNewsonline reports that the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Accounting student, who has been a lone wolf fending for herself since she lost her parents as a child, set up a foundation to care for the vulnerable and needy kids.

Speaking during an earlier interview, Joy Ogwu, the last in the family of three and native of Eha-Amufu in Isi-uzo Local Government area of Enugu State, said:

I had lots of things that motivated me to go for the Miss Asaigbo pageant. First, to me, pageants are fun, sparkles, glitter and shine, also to gain more self confidence, make new friends and enjoy the prestige of wearing the crown in my community. But most importantly, my motivation comes from using the platform to gain more awareness for my foundation, Feed the Poor and Orphan Initiative. Knowing firsthand how it feels growing up without parents, the passion for that kept me motivated and strong throughout the competition. My role model was my mum, though I was three-years-old when she passed on. The little memory and the stories I heard of her still make me smile when I remember them. She was a strong woman and made sure we didnt go hungry kid, or stop schooling when my dad died, shes and will always be my role model. Many pageant winners are focused on the girl child programmes already, my main focus now is not just the girl child, but every homeless, helpless and hungry kid on the street. They need to be shown love and I hope to be the gap between them and the rich that want to help, but dont know how to go about it.

As part of her humanitarian service, Joy recently visited the Enugu prisons where she celebrated her birthday, lavishing goodies on the inmates. According to her, she had decided to do more in her campaign to prevent youths from taking to crime.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has promised to invest in some microfinance banks across the country and build their capacity to provide housing finance to aspiring homeowners.

According to the CBN, the initiative, which falls under the My Own Home campaign of the Federal Government, is aimed at addressing the housing needs of people who cannot be on mortgage but wish to build their houses in stages.

A Deputy Director at the CBN and Head, Project Administration Team of the National Housing Fund Programme, Mr. Adedeji Adesemoye, said the initiative was in partnership with the Frankfurt School of Management and AFC Consultants International, Germany.

The organisations are expected to build the capacity of the microfinance banks before they can access funding from the CBN.

Adesemoye said the programme, also known as Housing Microfinance, was the third component of the $300m borrowed from the World Bank in 2013, part of which was used to establish the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company.

According to him, nine microfinance banks have been chosen across the six geopolitical zones of the country for the scheme.

Adesemoye stated, Housing microfinance is closer to our traditional sense of incremental construction. Not everyone has money to finance mortgage but under the microfinance scheme, a homeowner can stretch his building plan in such a way that he takes different tranches of loan as he builds.

Out of the nine banks that have been chosen, one, LAPO Microfinance Bank, has a technical assistance, so it will be financed; but the remaining eight will get technical assistance known as technical agreement cooperation, with us in which we will be able to develop their capacity.

He added that the initiative was for everyone, and that the CBN aimed to educate the younger generation on the need to start the process of owning homes early.

We need to educate our people that owning a home with a mixture of equity and debt is not a negative thing; having a home that you will live in the next 50 years does not require you to spend all you have, Adesemoye stated.

He added that the programme would allow the system to have a larger financial pool for housing construction that would open up the economy and provide jobs.

The objective is to catalyse the growth of the housing sector through de-risking the housing finance value chain and improving access to finance, he said.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
Workers in Nasarawa state have expressed their anger after being owed many months of unpaid salaries by breaking their fast with water.

Civil servants in Nasarawa State on Friday said that non-payment of their salaries had forced them to break their ongoing Ramadan fast with only water.

In interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Keffi, the workers called on the government to pay them their three-months outstanding salaries and other entitlements to save their families from hardship.

NAN reports that the workers began an indefinite strike on May 12 to press home their demand for payment of salary arrears, and regular promotion of workers, among others things.

A teacher, Garba Audu, said: I am a teacher with the state Ministry of Education. For more than three months, we have not been paid our salaries, and this has caused untold hardship for us and our family members.

To have money to buy foodstuff to break Ramadan fast is a problem. Most of us break our fast with water due to the non-payment of our salaries.

He appealed to the state government to meet the workers demands.

Another worker, Samson Dauda, of the Ministry of Works and Housing, said, To meet my basic needs and those of my family members is a challenge. For over three months now, we have not been paid. This is not fair.

Hajiya Maryam Sani, who works with the state Ministry of Agriculture, told NAN, Most of us are breaking our Ramadan fast with water, which is not supposed to be; appealing to the government to meet the workers demands to alleviate their suffering.

NAN reports that Mr. A. Adeka, who was recently removed as the chairman of the workers union, announced the suspension of the strike on May 26, saying that the government had begun meeting the workers demands.

However, on May 27, Mr. Bala Umar, who replaced Adeka, told the workers not to resume work, saying that the government had yet to meet their demands.

The state governor, Tanko Al-Makura, on May 29, said that the workers were not on strike as far as he was concerned; warning that any worker who would not resume work, would be taking a risk.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) has arrested a Nigerian identified as Taiwo Quadri allegedly defrauded a Canada-based company, Allan Dodds, of over $20,906, this was confirmed by a witness of the EFCC who told an Ikeja Division of the Lagos State High Court on Friday.

Mr. Quadri allegedly conspired to defraud the company alongside one Oladeji Ramoni and Modupe Adekunle, both of who are still at large.

The witness, Otefison Emmanuel, a bank worker, said his institution received a letter in September, 2013, from the EFCC requesting for all the Western Union transactions documents carried out by Mr. Quadri.

They also requested for the statements of account document and the account opening document of the suspect.

He approached the Dopemu, Lagos branch of Fidelity bank at several intervals to receive monies sent to him from Allan Dodds, a firm in Ontario, Canada and each time he approaches the bank, I give him a form to fill, which includes the state and country he is expecting the money from.

As at the time of this transaction, the western union control number which is usually 10 digits is given to the customer to come with to the bank to claim the money. In that form, he supplied the 6 of the 10 digits and after which I gave him another form to input the remaining 4 digits which is for control purpose.

Mr. Taiwo was paid cash and in the United states dollars, said Mr. Emmanuel.

Mr. Taiwo, alongside Mr. Ramoni and Ms. Adekunle are facing a 33-count charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence and obtaining goods by false pretence.

The EFCC said their actions went contrary to sections 8(a), 1(3), 1(1) (a) and (b) of the advance fee fraud and other fraud related offences Act No. 14 of 2006.

The judge adjourned the matter to September 28 for continuation of trial.

Source: ( Premium Times )
Evans wife has finally reacted to the news of his arrest and enormous wealth.. She put a call through to Vanguards Crime Editor, Emma Nnadozie, and she narrated all that is to know about Evans.

Though she claims she never knew Evans was this rich, she suspected that he was living a secret live, but then, Evans usually threatens to beat her whenever she asks him to unlock his phone.

She also spoke about the N20m Evans sent to her, she claims that the money was for House rent and to buy furniture..

Read Below the report, and narration.. Courtesy Vanguard Newspaper.

The call was a surprise. And in the words of our Crime Editor, Emma Nnadozie it was shocking but revealing and even pathetic.

The caller had said hold on for Evans wife. The female voice quickly pleaded to Mr. Nnadozie to call her back as she did not have enough credit.

Nnadozie returned the call from Ghana and the caller told her story. Excerpts:

My name is Uchenna Precious Onwuamadike, the wife of the Chikwudubem Onwuamadike who you call Evans.

I am 31 years old. I got married to Evans at the age of 17 at Oraifite, Anambra state in 2004. He met me while I was coming back from lesson as a student of All Saints Secondary School, Oraifite and I was in class 6 going to take my West African Examination.

After we met, I agreed to go with him because of my poor background. He told me his father married three wives when he was six years old and threw his mother out of his house. He said that one of the wives influenced his father to drive them out of his house also and they were forced to stay with outsiders.

Evans was taken to his grandmother who trained him. He told me his father accused the mother of being adulterous before driving her out of his house. Our marriage is blessed with five children. Our first issue is 12 years plus and her name us Udochukwu.

After we got married, he said I should stay with his mother in his village at Akanmiri, Umudim, Nnewi to teach me how to be a good housewife. I was there for three years before he took me to Lagos.

We were living at Satellite town in 2006 and after one year, he relocated us back to the village because he could not pay house rent. While in the village, he normally came to see us. We spent three years in the village and relocated to Ghana.

On our way to Ghana, we passed through Lagos and stayed at Benny Hotels in Festac where we spent two days before travelling to Ghana. He spent a month with us in Ghana before coming back to Lagos.

I was pregnant with our fourth child in 2010 when he left for Nigeria to come back in two months time.

After I gave birth, he came back four months later and was able to clear the accumulated bills we kept for him because I borrowed money from friends to clear hospital bill. When he came back, he complained bitterly that things were rough for him in Nigeria and that customs seized his goods. I was not aware that he was into kidnapping and all the criminal acts he is being associated with now.

All I know about his business is that he was into haulage, buying engine and spare parts for trucks and imports exhaust pipes. That was what he told me.

The reason he kept me in Ghana was because he said our children should get quality education. I have spent six years here and after I stopped hearing from him, I called and complained bitterly but he said I should stay for some time.

I then called his friend, Okechukwu, who now lives in China. He told me that he has not been seeing him and that he spends most of his time with a girlfriend in Festac. When I called him to complain, he was angry with me and warned that I should stop listening to gossip.

He said that If I should return, I should go to his younger brothers house in Lagos until he is ready to get accommodation for us. The brother was formally living in Lagos but he is in Brazil now.

So, when it was impossible to pay my childrens school fees, I packed my bags and baggage and came back to Lagos with our children. We stayed at his brothers house at Agric, close to Trade Fair until he took us to a house in Magodo where he claimed he owed rent pending the completion of his own house there.

We have spent just one year in that house in Magodo. I have no idea of the type of business he was into but he told me that his friends overseas used to buy phones and jewelries for him.

While in Lagos, i was idle and I pressured him to find something for me to do and he promised to do that.

Several times, I asked him to take me to his office but he said they move from place to place to offload goods in haulage business and share profits. I cant remember having any visitor in our house.

It is only the agent called Sunny that helped us to pack into our house that I know. At times, artisans come to do one repair or the other, thats all. I dont know any of his friends and if we were invited to parties, he would not allow us to attend. He told me that he has no friends and that he hates associating with people.

I was always indoors because he warned me to beware of Lagos women that they are wayward. I was staying indoors and it was only when I was sick that he took me to a hospital in Ikeja. I always have BP and it makes weak.

We went back to Ghana on the 6th of this month and he promised to join us in no distant time.

On the 9th, I called him to know when he would be coming and even the youngest of our children was crying, begging him to come as soon as possible and he promised to come. In the afternoon, I called but he was not picking.

I called again, there was noise in the background and the line was switched off. I then called the driver that took us to the motor pack when we were going to Ghana and he told me that there was a problem, that police came and arrested Oga and that they came with a fair complexioned lady.

When I heard all the allegations against him, I called his brother in Ghana, his mother, father and other relations but I could not get them. I then called their last born, a student at Oko Polytechnic but he said he had not spoken with him for long. I was confused until I opened Niger news and Vanguard Websites. That was how I got the shocking news about my husband.

I collapsed and later called my kids to inform them what I just read about their father. Since then, I have not eaten, I am still in shock. Our children could not believe what they were reading about their father.

They are saying that he cannot do all the things they said he did. In fact, while we were in Nigeria, he had never slept outside our house.

My children were crying when they saw his bloody eyes and swollen face. Our condition was worsened when I saw my picture with him and our children on the face book.

I dont know where they got it. I have not been receiving money from him, I have never seen his money.

The only thing I know is that there was a time he bought an expensive watch in Dubai and I wanted to know why he bought it when he could not open any business for me. He kept on teasing me, claiming it came from a friend.

It was only when we wanted to travel to South Africa last year Christmas where we spent two years that he gave me N200, 000 for the trip.

I have never seen him as a rich man. While with him, we made sure we had all we wanted to eat and thats all. I cant remember seeing any sign of affluence in him. He is not a proud man and he has been wearing one sandal and slippers for long now. He does not go for parties.

In fact, I have never suspected him as a criminal. If I have been seeing any strange things, I would have suspected him.

We have three cars, one Hilux, one grand Cherokee and an SUV. The N20m they said he sent to me through transfer was given to one Hausa man to pay into an account in Ghana to be used in paying our rent and furnish the house in Ghana.

I know he banks with GTB only. Their staff used to visit us in the house. I am not aware that he has five girlfriends and I have never suspected him because he did not keep late nights.

It was shocking to hear about his girlfriends. He did not answer calls in my presence. I uses to see his phones being charged but he normally switched them off.

I always asked him why use pin code to lock his phones and that he lived a secret life but he threatened to beat me if ever I touched any of his phones. I didnt even know the security pin.

He would leave the house sometimes in the evenings with his phones and would come back between 8pm and 9pm. Most of the things I read about him are strange to me. As his wife, I should have seen the signs but I have not. He has cancer and does not drink alcohol nor smoke anything.

I have never seen gun in our house. I dont know where they got those frightening guns. He has never told me he has another house at Igando.

Any time he went out, he always called to ask after the children and reassure me that he would be back soon. I am suspecting that whatever happened to him must have come from his fathers second wife. I dont know what he did to him when he was young but he told the story.

He said that after their mother was driven out of the house, he was with his brothers playing outside one day when the second wife called him to pick a bucket and collect water for her. He was four years then, he picked the bucket, collected water and when he came back, she removed her dress and she was wearing only a bag made from animal skin on her waist.

She brought seven small stones from the bag, gave to Evans and ordered him to pour the stones into the bucket to know if the gravel would rise (sail) on top of the water or not. Evans said he did as she directed but the only thing the woman did was to take the bucket back and ordered him to go back and play with his brothers.

He said he told his father later but he said he was telling lies. I feel very bad because I did not know if he was doing all these or not. Even if he was into all these, why did he not stop because of me and his children?

All the time when we pray, he used to promise God that he would tell Him his story later in life. Here reads psalm 23 a lot. Even his phone, he sets alarm for 12 noon to read psalm 23. He took part in our daily prayers in the morning, evening and night. He used to lead us in prayers. We attend Anglican Church.

He has never given them money to show off. We used to give N5000 or N10,000 and the highest we have given so far was N50,000 when we baptised one of our children. I am appealing to the powers that be to spare his life (crying), as I speak now, I am kneeling down with my children, crying and begging for forgiveness.

Have mercy on us. He did not know what he was doing. He did not know what came over him. I am ready to come back to Nigeria and plead on his behalf. What I am reading in the news is shocking. Though, I have not heard that he killed anybody but all those he injured or took their money should please forgive him because me and my children. They should kindly forgive him, he will repent. God knows I will not be alive and see my husband doing bad thing and keep quiet. All his wealth should be sold off and given to his victims.

Evans is a good man. He takes care of all his relations including the children of the second wife we are suspecting did this to him. He has just two houses in Ghana but I have never seen them.

I saw the house on his phone. Since I have been living with him, he has never injured anybody or beat me. He has milk of human kindness in his heart. He has not been harsh or wicked to anybody.

He always advised us to be prayerful I (starts crying again) and complains bitterly any time I failed to pray.

His neighbours also know him as a kind and generous man. Members of my family are worse hit by this ugly development.

They said some people brought newspaper publications to show them about their in-law and they have been wondering if he actually did all that because he has been good to all of them.

I am from a very good, God-fearing family and if any of us had suspected this in him, they would have forced me out of his house for long. I am ready to come back and testify on his behalf. I will also like to see the Governor of Lagos state and explain the whole thing to him.

They said he is rich but I have only N13, 000 in my Diamond bank account. He does not give me money.

He told me he will be paying N40, 000 into my account every month but after two months, he stopped, claiming that he was penniless.
Nigerias Twitter has been set on fire with a #FreeEvans movement, as some people are demanding the release of the billionaire Kidnap kingpin Chukwudubem Onwuamadike alias Evans, their argument being that hes not as corrupt as most Nigerian politicians in power.

He struck his victims when they least expected and demanded billions are ransom, leaving his victims relatives to battle with the pain of raising money to secure their freedom.

Not a few rich businessmen in Lagos, Edo, Anambra relocated for fear of being abducted by Evans & his gang. To escape from his dragnet, others fortified themselves with armed security operatives.

For this same Evans,some Nigerians on Twitter have asked that he should be freed because after all, Senate president Bukola Saraki was freed.

The #FreeEvans trend caused an outrage though. Read all the tweets below:
The criminal activities of the infamous kidnap kingpin, Chukwudi Onuamadike (aka Evans), continue to come up,in his latest statement he explained how he and his gang once hijacked a bullion van and took N200m from it.

Evans, who was apprehended in one of his mansions in Magodo Estate, Lagos, last Saturday, said the bullion van robbery, which was carried out on the Aba-Port-Harcourt Road in Abia State, was one of three of such.

He told journalists on Friday, In 2007, I travelled to South Africa to deal in drugs and returned to Lagos the following year after a customer, who did not want to pay for a drug I supplied him, shot me on the shoulder.

With the little money I had from my trip to Africa, I came back to Nigeria and a friend of mine, Kingsley, introduced me to one of his gang members known as Too-Much-Money in Abia State.

Too-Much-Money got me involved in the bullion van robbery. We hijacked a tipper we found on the Aba-Port Harcourt Road to intercept the bullion van.

We forced the driver and his police escort to open the van. We got N80m from the van and I was given N1.8m as my share.

Another operation was in Enugu where I met a gang leader called ND. We adopted the same tactic to attack another bullion van containing N200m. When we wanted to share the proceeds, ND collected our guns and gave us N200, 000 each.

According to the suspect, the third robbery operation was on Umuahia Road where he and some new gang members attacked another bullion van. He said he used the N7m share he got from the operation to stock his shop in Lagos.

Meanwhile, the police have discovered two houses owned by Evans in Accra, Ghana.

A top detective involved in the recovery of the property told Saturday PUNCH that the value of the two buildings in Ghana had yet to be ascertained.

Apart from those two mansions in Accra and Magodo, Lagos respectively, the suspect still has more properties that we have yet to discover. We will ensure that all the properties are unearthed, the source added.

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Moshood Jimoh, had yet to reply to a text message sent to him on the development.

It would be recalled that the 36-year-old was arrested alongside six of his gang members  Nwosu Chukwuma (aka Sudo), 42; Suoyo Paul (aka Nwana), 42; Felix Chinemerem, 36; Chukwuemeka Bosah, 28; Uchechukwu Amadi and Ogechi Amadi.

While he was paraded at the Lagos State Police Commands headquarters in Ikeja, he confessed to have collected millions of dollars in ransoms.

But his latest confession showed that he had participated in bullion van robberies in Abia and Enugu states.

The native of Nnewi North Local Government Area, Anambra State, explained how he linked up with several gangs and rose to become a kingpin.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
A 22-year-old woman was fatally stabbed during a fight in the French Quarter early Thursday, and investigators later obtained a warrant to arrest her cousin in the slaying.

Brittany Seymour was stabbed to death during a loud argument that began in the 200 block of Decatur Street about 1:15 a.m. and then escalated into a fight in the 300 block. Onlookers had broken up the scuffle when Seymour realized she had been cut, authorities said.

Seymour died at a hospital. Later, police spokesman Beau Tidwell said officers had obtained a warrant to jail Dannisha Green  described as Seymours cousin  in the killing.

Seymours mother, Kimi Seymour, said Brittany had bumped into her cousin while out celebrating her recent birthday at the House of Blues with her sister and a friend. Kimi Seymour said that to the best of her knowledge, her daughter and Green then began arguing over Seymours ex-boyfriend  a topic that has long been a sore point between the two  and that led to the fatal fight.

Brittany Seymour had attended New Orleans Easts St. Marys Academy and hoped to become a nurse when she became at least the 89th homicide victim reported in New Orleans this year.

There have been seven killings reported in the city this month, one of which had resulted in an arrest as of Thursday evening.
Police searching for human remains inside the burnt-out shell of the Grenfell Tower said they believe that at least 58 missing people have died, a figure that includes 30 fatalities so far confirmed.

Sixteen bodies have been removed from the blackened 24-storey apartment block, and the first victim was formally identified as Mohammed Alhajali, a 23-year-old Syrian refugee.

Queen Elizabeth II said the disaster had cast a sombre pall over Britain, but insisted the country was showing resolve in the face of adversity.

However, public anger has swollen over the disaster, with furious residents heckling May and storming the local authority headquarters on Friday.

They demanded justice for the victims and claimed Wednesdays fatal blaze was due to negligence, with many citing the cladding that was put on the 1974 concrete tower during a recent refit.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
For seven years, suspected dare-devil kidnapper, Chukwudemeje George Onwamadike aka Evans, escaped police dragnet. His escape during his daring kidnapping runs had conferred on him supernatural invincibility of sort. His reign, however, came to an end last Saturday, after a police special squad led by Abba Kyari, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), arrested him at his No 3, Fred Shoboyede Street, Magodo, Lagos home, after a fierce gun battle which lasted several hours.

An abduction carried out by his gang on February 14 this year had paved way for his demystification. On that day, which coincidentally was celebrated all over the world as St. Valentines Day otherwise known as lovers day, a pharmacist and the owner of Maydon Pharmaceutical Company, Ilupeju, Lagos, Mr. Donatus Dunu, was abducted by Evans gang.

Dunu had barely left his office in the evening when he was blocked by a vehicle. Before he knew it, Evans gun-wielding men had stepped out of the vehicle and bundled the pharmacist into their vehicle and sped off to No 21, Prophet Asaye Close, New Igando, a Lagos suburb where he was kept for three months.

Evans subsequently demanded the payment of a sum of one million euros as ransom. Despite efforts to make Evans see reason and reduce the money, he would have none of it, even after a sum of N100 million had been paid to him. It was either the money was paid or Dunu paid with his life.

While looking for the money, Dunus wife, who is also a director of the company, staff members organized prayers for the safe return of their boss. One of the workers said: We did not only pray but engaged in fasting too. Who will not pray and fast if his or her boss was in such condition? It was really traumatic for us.

Unknown to Dunus wife and his workers, the person who gave the information leading to Dunus abduction was one of the staff members of the company, identified as Emeka, who was employed about five years ago.

At the gangs den in New Igando, where Dunu was kept, he had given up hope on the possibility of regaining his freedom. But he had a big break in the early hours of Friday, May 12, 2017, while his captors were deep in sleep. Despite losing his weight, Dunu managed to wriggle out of the leg-cuff he was held with. He was only wearing a pair of short and white singlet. A perimeter fence with broken bottles was to become a major obstacle to his escape, but the victim used his bare hand to manoeuvre the shattered bottles and climbed his way to freedom.

It was learnt that when he landed into an adjoining building, he was mistaken for a fleeing robber or cultist. Security guards raised the alarm which attracted neighbours to the scene and it was providence that saved him from being lynched by a mob.

One of the security guards who asked not to be named said: I just came to my duty post that day when I started hearing the shout of thief! Thief! I came out and saw this fair-complexioned man running towards me. I stopped him near that mini- tanker (he pointed at a decrepit stationary tanker). He was wearing only his boxer with his white singlet placed on his shoulder. There was fear in his eyes and he looked sick and traumatised. His body was blood-stained and there were injuries on his legs probably because he had been cuffed on his legs for a long time.

Some people were unwilling to listen to him and they wanted to take him away. I said no, they should leave him here and instead call the elders of the community. I took him to the front of that Foursquare Church and told him to sit at the entrance of the church. I then asked how much the kidnappers were demanding from him and how much he had paid and he said they were demanding N500m and he had paid about N100m. I was shocked. We then took him to the Igando Divisional Police Station. Later that afternoon, the operatives of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) returned with him to the street, but he was so tired and sick; he did not even come out of the vehicle. They broke into the compound but the kidnappers had escaped. So many things were discovered in the compound, including guns, a white bus and a power bike. I had never seen any power bike on this street before then.

Abductors den

Number 21 Prophet Asaye Close, where Dunu was kept, is at the end of a close facing the entrance to the street. The compound has only a single bungalow. The compound is covered with interlocking stones. It is a study in irony. Carved on the gate is the sentence Jesus is Alive. There is a doorbell on the left side of the gate. Observing the building closely, it is easy to see why the kidnappers settled for it. It is a single bungalow, so no noisy neighbour or neighbours to snoop into their business. It has coconut trees at the back, but there were no high rise buildings from where anybody could monitor what they were doing.

Asked about the activities in the compound, our source said: They (abductors) kept to themselves. The guy there, whenever he was driving in from outside, the gate would have been opened before he got to the gate. In addition, loud music was always wafting from the bungalow. This always muffled every noise coming from there. This happened mostly in the day time. In the night, of course, the generating set would take over. So, we (neighbours) could never have known what went on there.

With the escape of Dunu, he was able to make useful statements to the police about his kidnap. The next day, May 13, SARS operatives in four patrol vans stormed Franzaki Street, Bucknor Estate, off Isheri Osun Road. It was the rented home of one of the workers of Maydon Pharmaceutical, identified as Emeka, a pharmacist. He is from Oguta, Imo State, and in his late 30s or early 40s; he has a wife and a child, according to the residents, who were rattled by the early morning raid.

Emeka was whisked away from his house by the police. Since then, the residents said he has not returned.

It was on the basis of this breakthrough that the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, four days after Emekas arrest on May 16 declared a certain faceless Evans wanted. He said: We are encouraging Nigerians to blow the whistle on this kidnapper. Whoever blows the whistle will get N30 million rewards as stated by the Inspector General of PoliceEvans has been on the wanted list of the Police in Anambra, Edo and Lagos states for years. The suspects arrested have given us valuable information, which the command is working on to ensure that he is apprehended by all means.

Operatives of the Inspector General of Polices anti-kidnapping team went into action and with the aid of high tech equipment, they were able to track key members of the kidnap syndicate, rounded them up and then set the stage for the final arrest of Evans. This came last Saturday when Evans was demystified by the police.

Mood at the victims firm

At the headquarters of Maydon Pharmaceutical Company Limited at 15 Wilmer Street, Ilupeju, Lagos, the atmosphere was subdued. The workers discussed in low tone. There were several innuendoes about a certain Emeka from Oguta. Both Mr. Donatus Dunu, the chairman of the company, and his wife, the managing director, were not on seat.

However, one of the male workers said they had been warned not to discuss their boss harrowing experience with pressmen and that it was only the boss or his wife that can speak on the matter. Pressed further, he described his boss escape as miraculous. When shown the picture of the compound where Dunu was kept with the inscription Jesus is alive, he exclaimed indeed, Jesus is alive!
The Nigerian Mission in South Africa on Friday has said it had intervened into the issues surrounding the alleged quit order given to Nigerians by two communities in that country.

This was disclosed by the Nigerias Acting High Commissioner in South Africa, Ambassador Martin Cobham, ,on telephone from Pretoria that the mission was on top of the situation.

The Nigeria Union in South Africa had accused two communities in that country of ordering Nigerians residing within their territories to vacate.

Nigerias Acting High Commissioner in South Africa said that he had engaged in processes to nip in the bud whatever crisis or situation that could affect the welfare of Nigerians living in South Africa.

I engaged the union leader who has given me the graphic details of what happened.

In view of that I have engaged with the authorities here to bring in the community, the police and the Nigerians living there for a meeting so as to prevent any mayhem.

On Monday I am going to dispatch our officials to the Northern Cape Province to engage in a meeting with the local police and the community for a tripartite meeting, he said.

The High Commissioner said that he would also meet with the authority to ensure that instruction was given to the police not to allow any outbreak of violence.

All we are trying to ensure is to nip in the bud any breakdown of law and order or anything that could lead to violence.

So we in the embassy are on top of the situation. And I am engaging the union leader and my office is equally engaging the South African Foreign Ministry on the issue.

So I believe with this measure we will be able to contain all these excesses, he said.

The President of the union, Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, had alleged that the Kuruman community in Northern Cape Province also gave Nigerians till Friday, June 16 to leave.

Anyene also said that the Klaafontein community, Extension 5, Johannesburg, directed landlords not to renew the rent of Nigerians in the community.

He said that the grievance of the South Africans was that Nigerians were responsible for some social vices such as illicit drug trade and prostitution.

Source: ( PM News )
The Nigerian army on Saturday confirmed the arrest of a suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Aliyu Ahmed, alias Aliko.

The army spokesman, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman said in the statement said that Aliko was arrested on Friday by troops of 33 Brigade following a tip off in Yuga village in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State, where he has been in hiding.

The Army also said that it intercepted four child traffickers and 19 under aged children in Yobe.

He was found to be in possession of one single barrel gun and one Dane gun.

During preliminary interrogation, he confessed that he actively participated in several Boko Haram terrorists attacks and also owned an AK-47 Rifle which lost during one of the attacks they carried out in 2016.

His interrogation continued, Usman said.

He said the four traffickers, who were arrested by of troops of Bravo Company, 120 Battalion at Katarko, were conveying the 19 children from Potiskum to Garin Tuwo, Bungai and Buni Yadi in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe and Galarabala in Biu Local Government Area of Borno.

Both the suspected traffickers and their victims have been moved to the Brigade Headquarters for transfer to National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, the army spokesman said.

Source: (NAN )
Popular Yoruba movie/ music marketer, Gbenga Adewusi, has come under fire for promoting a new DVD titled Moji Olaiya Canada to Grave on Instagram.

Mr. Adewusi, who is also the CEO of Bayowa Films Production, has also been hit with backlash from his over 20,000 Instagram followers after he posted the picture of the DVD cover on his Instagram handle with the caption: Moji Olaiya Canada To Grave! Movie Clips with Tears of Sorrow. Femi Adebayo, Ronke Oshodi Oke, Muyiwa Ademola and others in Pains.

The post has sparked a heated debate on Instagram as many find it disrespectful to the dead. The online debate prompted Mr. Adewusi who is popularly called Bayowa to make his Instagram page private.

Defending his action, he said the movie was not for sale but only meant for his companys website. Many doubted his excuse because it contradicted the promotional caption on the post.

This has led to talks that he is only trying to make money from the late actress untimely death. Moji passed away on May 17 after suffering a cardiac arrest in Canada. She had only been delivered of a baby girl two months earlier. She was buried on June 7.

:

Source: PremiumTimes
According to the latest reports concerning the aide of former President Goodluck Jonathan, he diverted Amnesty funds totaling N35.2m into their companies accounts have been revealed.

A prosecution witness identified as Ayogu Nnamdi, who is witnessing in the trial of Henry Ugbolue, an aide to Kingsley Kuku (former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta) on Thursday, June 15, 2017 told Justice M. M. Kolo of the FCT High Court Wuse, Abuja that the accounts of Great & Gamaliel Alliance Limited received a turnover of about N35.2 million in two months.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had on April 20, 2016 arraigned Ugbolue and Lawrence Pepple, both former aides to Kuku on two separate charges bordering on criminal conspiracy, false declaration of assets and fraudulent acquisition of property to the tune of N55 million.

Kuku (a fugitive) and Ugbolue were alleged to have conspired and awarded contracts running into millions to companies in which they had interests.

It was alleged that Ugbolue was the sole signatory of Great & Gamaliel Alliance Limited, the company which provided integrated management of communications and stakeholders engagement chain for the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta.

On his part, Pepple was the director and sole signatory for KER Global Wave Limited, which was awarded a contract to provide Reintegration Support Services by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta under the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

Testifying, Nnamdi, a compliance officer at the United Bank for Africa, UBA, who testified as PW1, told the court that, a sum of N35, 206,564.89 was paid to the account of Great & Gamaliel Alliance Limited between March 4 and May 15, 2014 through the Office of Special Adviser to President on Niger Delta.

Counsel to EFCC, Faruk Abdullah, sought to tender account opening documents, statement of account and mandate card in evidence, but the admissibility of the documents was objected to by Ugbolues counsel, G. E. Ezeuko, SAN, on the grounds that the documents were originals of public documents adding that, only certified true copies of public documents are admissible.

Ezeuko argued that, one of the account statements has no certificate of identification and the one with certificate of identification did not comply with Section 84 (4) of the Evidence Act.

He also noted that one of the account statements was not in the proof of evidence given to him.

Responding, Abdallah argued that, we concede that the documents are originals of public document. However, contrary to the submission of the defendants counsel, the original of a public document is admissible as its a primary document itself. The Supreme Court had settled this when it held that, such document is the best form of document.

Abdallah added that, Its only when you intend to tender a secondary evidence of a public document that it must be certified.

Justice Kolo deferred ruling on the admissibility of the documents. He, however, admitted the documents, in the interim, as exhibits D & E adding that, in the event the documents were found inadmissible everything relating to it would be expunged from the court record.

The judge, thereafter, adjourned to September 20, 2017 for continuation of trial.

Source: ( PM News )
Innocent children numbering more than 15 have been rescued by men of the Nigerian army from four child traffickers in Yobe state.

Troops of Bravo Company, 120 Battalion, 27 Task Force Brigade, Nigerian Army today Friday 16th June 2017 afternoon, while on routine patrol intercepted 4 child traffickers at Katarko.

The suspects were intercepted while conveying 19 under aged children from Potiskum to Garin Tuwo, Bungai and Buni Yadi in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State and Galarabala in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State.

Both the suspected traffickers and their victims have been moved to the Brigade Headquarters for transfer to National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

You are please requested to disseminate this information and photographs to the public through your medium.

Thank you for your kind cooperation.

Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman

Director Army Public Relations
A Kenyan family is griped with shock and joy as their dead and buried son, Vincent Oguyi returns home to them. Oyugi, who lives in a rented house in the outskirts of Narok Town, was believed to have died in an accident last August.

It was believed that he was inside a pick-up delivering vegetables to a local market when the vehicle veered off the road and killed three people working on a nearby farm.

According to Daily Nation, the news of his death sparked off funeral arrangements, which resulted into the collection and burial of a body thought to be Oyugis on Sunday, December 4, 2016.

His mother explained that an autopsy and identification of the body was done at the Narok County Hospital before they were granted permission to take it for burial.

She further added that, no DNA tests were done because of the damage done to the remains.

She said: The body was in bad shape and we were convinced that it belonged to my son, so we proceeded to make burial arrangements, upon which we buried him on 4th December last year.

But on Tuesday, January 3, the man who was presumed dead walked into his family compound in, Masaba South Sub-County, Kisii County.

He explained that he had jumped out of the vehicle before it veered off the road. He said: It is true I was in the vehicle but I jumped out shortly before it rolled, I got a scratch but walked away shocked and did not come back to the scene.

He added that he had all the while been at his residence in Narok and was not aware that his family was looking for him.
Tokunbo Idowu who is the self-acclaimed queen of the Boss Nation has showered praises on herself as she releases lovely pictures on social media. The beauty of Tboss has continued to make her marketable to top commercial brands across Nigeria.

She has boldly shared some alluring photos on herself as she showered encomium on herself.
Irans reacted by blaming the USA, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Some say that Tehrans domestic and regional policies contributed to the incident, citing it as a classic case of Iranian regime blowback.

The conventional wisdom suggests that Iran would remain immune to ISIS as a global terrorist threat. Given Irans majority Shia population and the fact that ISIS is a deeply anti-Shia cult informed by an extremist Sunni neo-Wahhabism, it has been widely assumed that Iranian recruits to ISIS would be difficult to find. writes Nader Hashemi, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver in his article for Newsweek.

He writes that that Iranian Kurds were behind the ISIS attack in Tehran, and adds, Marginalized, angry and alienated populations exposed to salafi ideology are susceptible to ISIS recruitment.

Sunnis comprise about eight percent of Irans population, representing Arab, Baluchi, Turkmen and Kurdish minorities. Unemployment and discrimination plague them, and they live on Irans periphery.

Its been reported that a small number from these groups have joined ISIS as a result of similar socio-economic factors that pushes ISIS recruitment elsewhere. According to Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, the distinguished Iranian journalist, border towns and villages and tribes along Irans east, west and southern borders are poor and vulnerable to extremism, and this produces social conditions where young unemployed men can be wooed and recruited.

Hashemi writes, ISIS has a genocidal view toward Shia Muslims. Partly because of this, Iran and its proxies are fighting ISIS on various battlefields across the Middle East. At the same time, Irans sectarian foreign policy has indirectly contributed to the rise ISIS.

Tehrans support for the Shia majority has marginalized the Sunni people, and indirectly added to the appeal of ISIS.

The advent of the war in Syria was also a contributing factor, as ISIS didnt exist in 2011, when the Arab Spring protests reached Syria. Protests were mostly peaceful, slogans were chanted that confronted the 41-year rule of the House of Assad. However, the protests were met with state-sanctioned repression that escalated into crimes against humanity. The conflict that followed turned into the worst refugee crisis of the 21st century and resulted in the killing nearly half a million people.

The Assad regime  backed by Iran (and Russia)  bears the lions share of responsibility for this state of affairs. It is from the killing fields of Syria that the ISIS variant of salafi-jihadism arose and expanded, writes Hashemi.

Iran claims that by supporting Assad it is fighting ISIS and Al Qaeda. But, from the beginning of the conflict Iran backed the Assad regime, and the problem of ISIS didnt exist in the early months of the Syrian uprising.

Irans critical role in Syria has significantly contributed to the spread of sectarianism across the Middle East: ISIS has been a key beneficiary of this. Now the blowback has come to Tehran, writes Hashemi, who adds, ISIS is fundamentally the product of political authoritarianism in the Sunni Arab world. Its theological home is in Saudi Arabia. The legacy of political tyranny in the Arab world, buttressed by the consequences of the US invasion of Iraq, created social conditions that allowed this extremist cult not only to emerge but also to proliferate. Irans role in this equation has been generally unrecognized.

Iran indirectly contributed to the expansion of ISIS with its domestic policies of discrimination against ethnic/religious minorities and its sectarian foreign policy in Iraq and Syria. Iran is feeling the repercussions of its own behavior.
Security will be tight at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin tonight with 50,000 people set to attend a Robbie Williams gig.

People are being reminded that backpacks or large handbags will not be allowed into the venue.
A crewman on a tanker berthed in the Port of Cork has been airlifted to hospital with a suspected broken leg after an accident on board the vessel, writes Eoin English.

The casualty was winched from the bow of the Norwegian-flagged oil and chemical tanker, Bergstraum, which was berthed at the Tivoli docks east of Cork city around 7pm this evening by the crew of the Waterford-based Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 117.

The crewman is understood to have suffered the leg injury when either a cable or rope snapped as he worked on board, striking one of his legs.

Members of Cork City Fire Brigade and Crosshaven Coast Guard attended the scene. But the fire service was unable to remove the casualty from the vessel safely.

He was in an inaccessible area of the ship and it is understood that issues linked to the load-bearing rating capacity of ground alongside the ship prevented a specific fire tender with hoisting equipment from getting close enough to the bow of the vessel to execute the extraction safely.

A decision was made instead to task Rescue 117 to airlift the man from where he was being treated on board.

The crew of the helicopter manoeuvred the aircraft around on-deck obstacles, including a tall mast on the bow, and hovered for several minutes just feet from the deck before winching the man on board the aircraft.

SAR over Blackrock. pic.twitter.com/JebQuR7iVW  Save Marina Park (@MarinaParkCork) June 17, 2017

Because Cork University Hospital does not have a helicopter landing pad, they flew the casualty to a designated landing site at Bishopstown GAA club grounds from where he was transferred by ambulance to Cork University Hospital where he is now being treated.
A US destroyer has arrived back in its home port after colliding with a container ship four times its size, leaving seven sailors missing.

The USS Fitzgerald, flanked by two tug boats and other support vessels, was listing to its right as it slowly approached Yokosuka Naval Base, south of Tokyo.

Crew members from the destroyer USS Dewey had helped stabilise the damaged destroyer after it collided with a container ship off the coast of Japan, leaving at least three sailors injured, in addition to the seven missing.

Family members were frantically seeking news, appealing via social media for calls from sailors aboard the ship as it slowly made its way to its home base.

Rescuers were searching for seven sailors who were thought to have been thrown into the sea or possibly trapped inside damaged sections of the destroyer, said Japanese coastguard spokesman Yoshihito Nakamura.

No one on the container ship was reported injured.

Footage from the Japanese TV network NHK showed navy crew members working to pump water from flooded sections of the crushed mid-right side of the USS Fitzgerald.

The ship's captain, Commander Bryce Benson, was airlifted to the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka and was in a stable condition with a head injury, the US navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement.

Two other crew members suffered cuts and bruises and were evacuated, it said.

The Fitzgerald had limited propulsion and a US defence official said there was flooding in three compartments.

Most of the more than 200 sailors aboard would have been asleep in their berths, some of which were reportedly flooded.

The navy said that the collision occurred 56 nautical miles south-west of Yokosuka, home to the 7th Fleet.

"Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the sailors," said Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet.

An investigation was under way to determine what caused the night-time collision between the destroyer and the container ship.

Conditions at the time were clear, though Yutaka Saito of the coastguard said the area is particularly busy with sea traffic.

The Japanese coastguard said it received an emergency call from the Philippine-registered container ship ACX Crystal at around 2.20am that it had collided with the Fitzgerald.

The damage of Philippine-registered container ship ACX Crystal is seen off Izu Oshima, Japan, after it had collided with the USS Fitzgerald southwest of Yokusuka, Japan. Pic: AP

Relatives of crew members were awaiting news of their loved ones.

"Just heard the sweetest voice and saw a wonderful face. He's okay. Thank you all for the prayers," tweeted Rita Schrimsher of Athens, Alabama, after speaking with her 23-year-old grandson, Jackson Schrimsher, via Facetime.

"It could have been worse, so we're grateful," she said.

The Philippine ship is 29,060 tons and is 222 metres long, the coastguard said, much larger than the 8,315-ton naval destroyer.

Aerial television news footage showed its bow on the left side was dented and scraped, but it did not appear to have suffered any major structural damage.

AP
Earlier this week, Central Bank figures showed a near 9% annualised fall in bank lending to SMEs in the first three months of the year, marking the 22nd consecutive quarter of downward movement. That was followed, yesterday, by Ismes latest quarterly bank watch survey  for the second quarter  showing a significant rise in SME loan refusals and a marked decline in the number of formal applications.

Over half of SMEs surveyed said banks are making it more difficult to access finance, despite actual credit demand rising amongst smaller enterprises.
No purchase price has been disclosed, but completion of the deal is expected during the final quarter of the year. SK Biotek is aiming to become a leading global contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO); a company which develops and makes treatments for other firms.

It is buying Bristol-Myers Squibbs active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) manufacturing facility in Swords, Co Dublin, with the 350 employees at the plant transferring to the company.
Marie McKeogh sued the airline and was awarded 1,800 compensation in the small claims section of the district court, which had ruled that the restrictions of the Montreal Convention did not apply to her loss.

Ryanair appealed the decision to the Circuit Civil Court on the basis that the convention, which restricted compensation for such loss to just 1,400.02, did apply.

Mr Justice Raymond Groarke heard that when Ms McKeogh and her partner, James ORourke, turned up at Budapest airport for the return leg of their holiday journey, their cabin bags were taken from them.

Judge Groarke was told it had been explained to the couple that since they did not have a priority boarding ticket, their bags would have to be stowed in the hold of the aircraft and they each were given a receipt of an identifying bag tag. Staff told them that overhead lockers were firstly restricted to priority boarders and, when full, non-priority passengers had to pass up their carry-on cabin bags to go in the hold.

Ms McKeogh, of The Village, Abbey Glen, Raheny, Dublin, said she had not removed her jewellery box from her bag before handing it over because she knew it would be in the care of the airline and she trusted them.

She said after retrieving her carry-on bag from the carousel at Dublin Airport, she did not immediately inspect it but later found that pieces of personal jewellery, including earrings, a ring and a necklace to the value of about 2,000 had been stolen.

She told Peter Lennon, solicitor for Ryanair, the airline staff had not told her to remove her valuables from her bag before handing it over at the gate at Budapest airport:

It didnt trigger with me that somebody might steal my jewellery. I wasnt panicking. I think it is Ryanairs responsibility to look after their customers property.

Mr ORourke, a solicitor, said it was he who had entered into the contract of conveyance with Ryanair. Their hand luggage had been taken to one side but he had not been told what was going to happen to it.

Mr Lennon said it was a condition of the contract that if they werent purchasers of priority boarding passes, their carry-on bags could be taken from them and carried as free baggage in the hold and retrieved at the carousel.

Judge Groarke was told Ryanair carries 120m passengers a year and this happens every day.

Judge Groarke was satisfied the travellers were not warned or reminded to take valuables from their carry-on luggage before transfer to the hold. He said Ryanair, in its instructions to staff, told them to remind travellers to remove items of value when their cabin luggage is taken off them.

He said the Montreal Convention did apply and awarded Ms McKeogh compensation of 1,400:02.
Vicarstown councillor Bob Ryans remark was just one of several comments made by angry Cork county councillors at a special meeting on the Mackinnon reports proposals to dramatically extend the city boundary. The meeting took place in County Hall yesterday, at the request of the Mayor of Cork, Seamus McGrath, who said he had grave concerns about the proposals.

County council chief executive Tim Lucey said the county council did not accept the report. He also said his local authority wouldnt be a sustainable entity going forward, unless adequate compensation was paid by the city council.

Ballincollig councillor Daithi ODonnabhain said the report was an extreme piece of arrogance and he was shocked there was no public consultation.

This is nothing short of a money grab and a land grab, he said. Patrick Street is effectively derelict above ground level and Grand Parade virtually derelict. Some premises there have been vacant for more than eight years.

Bantry councillor Pat Murphy said the McKinnon report was poorly researched and would create a two-tier Cork: The peripheral rural areas will be eating off crumbs coming from the metropolitan area. There are people in the county very angry about this, who will not take it lying down.

If we surrender any part [of the county], its goodbye to Cork County Council, said Ballincollig councillor Derry Canty. We should shred the report.

Fermoy councillor Frank OFlynn said the land grab would devastate rural areas and he proposed an urgent meeting be sought with the reports authors and Local Government Minister Eoghan Murphy.

Mr Ryan said the boundary extension would divide parishes.

Its obvious these people [report authors] have no idea of how rural Ireland operates, he said.

Ballyvourney councillor Gobnait Moynihan said the only reason the city council wanted rural Killumney was because it contained the cash-cow ratepayer, EMC.

Skibbereen councillor Joe Carroll said lip-service was being paid to rural regeneration, but that the report was a kick in the teeth to it.

It will sound the death-knell of towns and villages in West Cork, said Mr Carroll. Theyre going to take anywhere thats worth anything. Theyre only taking what they want. If the Amgen site was on the other side of Midleton, theyd have taken Midleton.

Having a vastly expanded city, 35km from east to west, made no sense to Carrigtwohill councillor Anthony Barry, especially as it contains agricultural hinterland.

I cant see how the city can take on this and then still focus on the development of the city centre, he said.
The conference, in Dublin, also heard that the State needs to directly provide apartments to tackle the crisis.

Lorcan Sirr, a lecturer in housing and urban economics, at Dublin Institute of Technology, issued his warning at the TASC-FEPS annual conference in Croke Park. The conference is focused on the relationship between economic inequality and the housing crisis

Fewer permanent jobs, and a greater reliance on contract work, coupled with traditional attitudes to mortgage risk in a socio-economic system designed around home ownership, is about to cause a perfect storm in the Irish housing system, he said.

We are now seeing the rise of a class of workers who earn too much for state subsidies, but will struggle to ever own their own home. These people  who typically earn between 36,000 and 60,000 per year  are stuck in the middle.

The fact that Irish households are increasingly smaller, and there are growing levels of marital separation, means that there are less resources to buy homes individually or with family help. By 2020, in the region of 60% of households in Dublin will be comprised of one or two people.

Mr Sirr added: Without state intervention to create affordability and a reappraisal of mortgage risk, access to housing through the private rental sector, traditional home ownership, and the local authorities will worsen.

Former Dublin lord mayor, Cllr Andrew Montague, echoed those sentiments, telling 100 delegates that the State needs to build apartments to provide homes for single and younger people, where demand is greatest in the housing market.

The latest census shows that about two-thirds of homes needed in Ireland are for single people, or couples without children, so apartments in our towns and cities are required to meet this demand. But building apartments is a major challenge, with projects often taking years to complete.

Cllr Montague said that an additional inhibiting factor in building apartments is that there is political resistance to student accommodation, and housing for single people, from many existing home-owners, and the latter vote in large numbers.

What is needed is a state response to the problem. We need to see the creation of a semi-state company to build high-quality apartments to rent in the right locations in our towns and cities.

He said that the increased supply would reduce market rents and the profits could be ploughed back into new housing development.
Anthony Kenneally, of 27 Meadow Avenue, The Mea-dows, Hollyhill, Cork, was at the gig on July 12, 2014.

At Cork Circuit Court, he claimed a security officer from defendant company AOS Security Management approached him at an interval in the middle of the performance and asked him to come to the welcome area, where he asked him if he had a ticket.

The security officer scanned his ticket and found it to be valid.

The accounts of what happened next diverge.

The plaintiff said the officer said to him you must have found that ticket, or words to that effect.

The defence denied that such a comment was made and alleged that the plaintiff began to get a bit loud and demanded the gardai be brought into it.

Garda Donal Daly said that, shortly after this, it became less about validity of the ticket and more about Mr Kenneallys behaviour under the Public Order Act.

The plaintiffs barrister, Daniel Cronin, said: There is manifest inconsistency.

Anyone might get exercised if they were taken out halfway through an event and taken out to an area near the security area for no reasonable reason.

Kieran Hughes, defence barrister, said the plaintiff was not removed by the security officer.

Judge ODonohoe said one thing certain was that the plaintiff was in possession of a valid ticket, scanned at 8.01pm, but there is a mystery about who scanned it.

He noted that it would be unusual for a person to be asked at an interval to show their ticket.

What the court cannot understand was how it escalated to such an event that the guards were called, the judge said.

Garda Daly said the plaintiff was getting agitated, almost taking up a fighting stance with a security man, saying: These fuckers are saying I have no ticket.

Judge ODonohoe will give his decision on Wednesday.
Limerick councillor Stephen Keary, who is the father-in-law of junior minister Patrick ODonovan, has defended comments in which he suggested welfare recipients from Eastern Europe see Ireland as easy pickings.

Mr Keary, who is due to be elected Limericks mayor as part of a voting pact his party holds with Fianna Fail, said immigrants are the reason behind a substantial rise in numbers on social housing lists and hospital waiting lists in recent years.

We are known as the home for the handouts. They see us as easy pickings, said Mr Keary.

People have come here from Eastern Europe for the handouts. It has become a huge problem.

Labour councillor Elena Secas has called on Mr Varadkar to condemn the remarks by his party colleague, as she claimed they were unacceptable and an insult to all immigrant communities in Ireland.

I am asking Taoiseach Varadkar to urgently investigate this matter and take appropriate action in response, said Ms Secas.

She said she believes Mr Keary is unfit to become mayor of Limerick because the person who holds this office should be inclusive and representative of the entire community.

I strongly condemn these racist comments and believe that all immigrant communities in Limerick and across Ireland are owed an apology, said Ms Secas.

A spokesman for Mr Varadkar said the Taoiseach had been briefed on the matter

Solidarity councillor Cian Prendiville has also called on Fianna Fail to pull its support for the long-serving member.

Mr Prendiville accused the councillor of embarking on a bargain basement Donald Trump-style rant.

He accused Mr Keary of trying to scapegoat immigrants.

Its precisely the type of dog whistle divide and rule politics that people like Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen have tried to use to whip up racism and division, said Mr Prendiville.

It seems Fine Gaels most reactionary wing have been emboldened by the coronation of their leader Leo Varadkar, and recent attacks on those on social welfare.

However, Mr Keary continued to defend his comments yesterday, stating: I stand over everything I said.

When a person from another country comes into our country without work, and who has never worked before, they do it for the social welfare benefit and all the trimmings which go with it.

They are nothing more than social welfare tourists who are improving their status and getting more money than they would in other jurisdictions.

Mr Keary said he still expects both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to support his nomination as mayor on June 26.
The Leo Varadkar has been appointed as the Ireland's first gay Prime Minister and on this the Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a phone call congratulated him and even invited him to visit India.

PM Modi even tweeted on Twitter where he wrote 'Spoke to Ireland's new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on phone to congratulate him and reaffirm our commitment to stronger India-Ireland ties'

Leo Varadkar on Twitter wrote 'Spoke to Indian PM @narendramodi today. Agreed to support Eu/India free trade agreement, co-operate on education, & invited me to visit'

He is 38-year old and was formally elected Taoiseach - Prime Minister of Ireland- at a confirmation ceremony in the Dail in Dublin after he won the Fine Gael party leadership earlier this month.

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PM Modi tweets on demise of former German Chancellor Kohl

President Pranab Mukherjee to inaugurate the Green Line of Namma Metro in Bengaluru today
Describing the fire that has claimed dozens of lives as a continuing tragedy, Mr Murphy said that one of his first priorities has been to take immediate action to ensure life safety for all citizens living in flats and apartments here in Ireland.

Mr Murphy said he has met with Dublins chief fire officer to discuss fire safety in light of the tragedy, and has requested the management board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management to convene and assess the readiness of the fire authorities to respond to such emergencies.
Naval Service flagship LE Eithne, which left her base at Haulbowline Island on May 23, was called into action at 8am when her 73-strong crew under Commander Brian FitzGerald, received a call from the Italian authorities to help 135 migrants who were packed into a dinghy 83km north-west of the Libyan coast.

After helping them the situation became so desperate in the area that the flagship was told to co-ordinate rescue efforts for three volunteer ships which were attending 10 other migrant rescue incidents.
Just three days into his leadership, Leo Varadkar has found himself at loggerheads with his Independent Alliance partners after Mr Ross, the Transport Minister, called for a review of the appointment.

However, a number of Fine Gael backbenchers hit out at Mr Ross, claiming that he was simply looking for headlines and should have raised any concerns at Tuesdays Cabinet meeting, before he voted in favour of the appointment and not days later.

Adding to the controversy yesterday was chaos among government advisers and spokespeople, many of whom passed on responsibility by claiming it was no longer their job to respond since many ministers are now in different positions than they were when they attended Cabinet last week.

It is understood that while only one name, that of Maire Whelan, was brought to Cabinet, the names of three other judges who expressed interest in the position were passed on to the Department of Justice by the then attorney general.

However, it could not be confirmed last night whether or not then justice minister Frances Fitzgerald received these names.

It comes as Fianna Fail warn that the appointment is a breach of the confidence and supply agreement, which now could threaten the already shaky government. Opposition parties have demanded the Government revoke Ms Whelans appointment and begin the process again.

Mr Varadkar yesterday broke his silence on the controversy by insisting correct procedures were followed.

The Taoiseach maintained that the Government followed proper procedures and added that Ms Whelan was highly qualified to serve as a judge in the court.

The issue which is attracting comment, however, is solely a matter of procedure. I am satisfied that the correct procedures were followed, Mr Varadkar said.

Under Article 13.2 of the Constitution, the government and only the government can appoint judges. The tanaiste recommended Maire Whelan to Cabinet as the stand-out person for the vacancy.

Mr Varadkar also insisted he would fully respect the confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fail.

Calling for a review of the appointment, Mr Ross has said he was not questioning Ms Whelan but the process of her appointment.

Mr Ross insisted there was no link between the reopening of Stepaside garda station and the appointment.

One Fine Gael backbench TD said: Its a bit rich of Shane Ross. There is Cabinet collective responsibility which he doesnt seem to have got used to yet. If he is looking for headlines he should look elsewhere.

Another party member said: The time and place to raise concerns was when the decision was being made.

News: 6
In addition, new faux craft beers, cannily labelled to cloud the fact they also originate in the industrial sector, are taking up space on the shelves alongside the real thing, further muddying the waters.

In other words, the big brewers have noticed the discerning Irish drinkers rapidly growing interest in good craft beers and, while The Menu reckons the obvious answer would be to raise the standards of their own products, they are instead fighting back which is why he urges all to give fulsome support to Indie Beer Week (June 23-July 2).

Craft breweries throughout the 32 counties are inviting their local communities to join in a celebration of genuine Irish beer and brewing with all manner of wonderful eating and drinking opportunities and fun events (including a Metalman scavenger hunt around Waterford City).

In fact, wherever you look, local brewers will be working with other local food producers, crafts workers, artists and musicians to offer a community-based experience.

(Calendar of events: www.indiebeerweek.ie).

CORK ALE TRAIL

On the subject of beer, the Cork Ale Trail is a splendid local initiative by some of the original stars of the citys craft beer scene (including Abbots Ale House, Bierhaus, The Friary, Bradleys Specialist Off-Licence & Foodstore & Franciscan Well Brew Pub) to develop a community for local imbibers with a loyalty card reward scheme and a new sponsoring craft brewer each month from around the country.

www.facebook.com/CorkAleTrail

MASTER OF THEIR CRAFT

The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology in DIT, Cathal Brugha Street have launched Irelands first Masters in Gastronomy and Food Studies, commencing this September and of equal interest to industry professionals, food enthusiasts and graduates seeking careers in tourism, media, government agencies, NGOs and the Agri-Food industry.

www.dit.ie

WESTPORT FOOD

The family-friendly Westport Food Festival (23-25 June 2017) in lovely Mayo offers workshops (for kids as well), tours and chef demos and a market crammed with food and beverage stalls.

Events include a Fast Food Race, in which children compete over an obstacle course while balancing plates of food and the very splendid black tie Midsummer Banquet includes wine pairings from an old Menu fave, Cabots of Westport.

www.westportfoodfestival.ie

MIDSUMMER SUPPER

Transplanted chef Bob Cairns, on foot of the success of his inaugural Glensallagh Gardens pop-up, near Ballydehob, in West Cork, returns, this time with a Midsummer Supper, five courses featuring exquisite West Cork produce, much of it grown by Bob himself and supplemented by some of the areas finest producers, served up in a gorgeous venue.

www.eventbrite.ie/Glensallagh-Gardens-Midsummer-Supper

Bia Sastas Critics dinner returns with another chance for diners to operate as food critics on the night, this time at lovely Longueville House (June 22), for a drinks reception followed by tasting menu.

www.biasasta.ie

TODAYS SPECIAL

The Menu is delighted to herald Cork-based baker Irena Tammiks Norse Rye, and her sourdough rye bread made from nothing other than stone ground organic whole grain rye flour, water and Himalayan salt, the only ingredients required to make real bread.

Though traditional rye sourdough may present as a dense little block, the class of weapon youd bring to a faction fight, tasting is a different matter and Irenas version, a home recipe from her native Estonia, has such a lovely moist, chewy crumb structure and earthy rye notes shot through with tangy sour undertones, that it all makes for delightful eating, especially fine with Silver Darlings pickled herrings and sour cream.

www.facebook.com/NorseRye

Email details of Irish food events/produce/news to themenu@examiner.ie
Attractions such as a visit to the Blue Lagoon (half day) are included. The flight leaves Dublin early on October 27 and returns late the following Monday.

Details on www.sunway.ie

Cowboy country

At the crossroads of America, Kansas and Oklahoma are steeped in history from before the Civil War. Platinum Travel in Dublin offers 14- night fly drive packages with prices starting from 1,499.

The company will offer suggested itineraries but can tailor-make packages on demand.

www.platinumtravel.ie or 01 853 5000.

Emirates deals

Up to June 20 the Emirates sale continues with savings out of Dublin to Dubai. For rugby fans, the airline offers 459 to take in the Dubai Sevens in December.

Other fares are Johannesburg from 589, Phuket from 709 and Perth from 999.

www.emirates.com/ie

US destinations

American Holidays has a series of packages to US destinations next year, including a two-centre stay in Orlando and Clearwater for 10 nights.

Prices start at 1,199 and include entry to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and transportation in Universal Orlando Resort plus car rental for five days.

www.americanholidays.com or 01 673 3804.

Family to Greece

An all-inclusive family deal to the Greek island of Corfu is on offer from the Travel Broker. Priced from 3,009 for two adults and one child, it includes flights from Dublin and a week-long stay in the four-star Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel.

www.itaa.ie/2017/05/29/corfu-august
The former Top Gear presenter managed to climb out of the wreck before it burst into flames, and was then flown by air ambulance to a hospital in St Gallen.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Hammond said: Yes, its true, Ive binned it, again. The net result being, Im here in a hospital in Switzerland.
On February 2, around 4.45pm, just as the day began to darken, police officers approached four young men outside a recording studio in the Rose des Vents, an agglomeration of chalky cites, or public-housing projects, that covers a remote expanse of the north-east Paris suburb Aulnay-sous-Bois.

The police asked to see one mans identity papers. Within minutes, another was on his stomach. The officers put handcuffs on the 21-year-old, whose family, of Congolese origin, lived nearby. When they arrived at the station, staff members noticed that he was in a lot of pain.

He was rushed to a hospital, where an examination revealed a 10cm tear in his rectum. It had been caused by a police baton.

Nine days later, 3,000 people gathered in the muddy yard in front of the courthouse that serves the 93  the department to the north and east of Paris that includes Aulnay.

Most of the protesters were in their 20s, first- or second-generation French, their parents or grandparents having arrived from Morocco or Mali or Algeria in the 1960s and 70s.

Among them was Mehdi Bouteghmes, a 28-year-old city councillor in the neighbouring suburb La Courneuve. When news of the incident first spread on social media, where the campaign for the presidential election was also heating up, Mr Bouteghmes took to Facebook.

Mehdi Bouteghmes

In my vision of the Republic, the election campaign should come to a halt, he wrote.

All the candidates should focus on and make a priority of resolving the problem of the role of the police in this country.

Then he posted the opening lines of What Is the Third Estate?, a tract published by the Abbe Sieyes in January 1789, that took up the cause of the common classes: We have three questions before us. One  What is the Third Estate? EVERYTHING. Two  What has it been until now in the political order? NOTHING. Three  What is it asking for? TO BE SOMETHING.

The election campaign did not stop; instead Mr Bouteghmes found himself here, surrounded by the citizens he represented. A handful of gendarmes loitered on a steel walkway that ran above the complex, peering down at the crowd.

A dozen young men hoisted themselves onto a parapet, fists raised. Were finished with this savagery, one shouted into a microphone.

With this violence thats been going on for 30 years. Today, you can kill an African, rape an African. Some of you experience daily humiliations. Its a myth, the country of the rights of man. Do you feel like the country respects you?

The crowd yelled back: No! The protesters began to sing The Marseillaise. Someone set off a mortar that burst red into the sky with a pop like gunfire, close enough to shed ash on the crowd.

A humming sound floated up from behind. Everyone turned to watch a group of kids rush up the steps of the walkway toward the gendarmes, hurling stones at their riot shields until the officers charged, forcing them back down.

A truck belonging to the radio station RTL went up in flames. Police reinforcements arrived and set off tear gas, pushing the crowd out of the courtyard, into the surrounding streets, and down into the metro station.

The next morning, newspapers ran pictures of streets filled with fumes and burning cars. Far-right activists took to Twitter to denounce the protesters as savage anarchists.

Support goes out to police confronting those who take advantage of an unfortunate accident to attack the police and spit on France, tweeted Marion Marechal-Le Pen, niece of the president of the National Front.

I became separated from Mr Bouteghmes in the chaos, and he messaged me later to make sure I got out all right. What happened was predictable, he said.

The speeches werent clear, werent calming. We need only to be able to communicate in order to make things just a little bit better. But I dont know if its possible anymore.

Mr Bouteghmes had gone to the protest with several friends with whom he recently started a new local political party, which they called the Elan Populaire Courneuvien.

A dog in a slum in La Courneuve, north of Paris, which was largely apathetic towards a presidential campaign where even if Marine Le Pen won, some felt, well, things couldnt get much worse

They had wanted to assert their ability to improve life in their community, even if their ideas tended towards the prosaic and technocratic: Making governance more transparent as a way to draw in more local residents; offering incentives to businesses relocating to the banlieues to hire locally rather than bring in commuters; and striking deals with vendors to give food that remained unsold at the end of the day to needy residents.

Such preoccupations seemed almost quixotic as explosive demonstrations continued throughout the next few weeks, with more than 50 incidents in 30 towns around the country.

Soon after the protest, Mr Bouteghmes wrote an op-ed on Bondy Blog, a news site that covers the suburbs, in which he argued that organisations in the banlieues should unite behind a single message.

That the protests should be qualified as riots is one thing... That they should be emptied of their meaning is another. We are responsible for our own weaknesses... our silence, our inability to organise in order to act on the things that unify us.

He was tired of the sense of futility that reigned in the banlieues, the squabbles that prevented his peers from effectively confronting a politically stagnant system.

Privately, he was even less sanguine. On Facebook, he sent out a call: Is unity even possible?

The campaign season in France this spring revolved around the meaning of Frenchness, a perennial question given new urgency by a refugee crisis, terrorist attacks that resulted in the highest number of deaths on French soil since the 1940s, the year-and-a-half-long state of emergency that followed and a generalised economic anxiety.

Every week seemed to bring a new polemic about mass immigration (in reality, France granted refugee status to only 26,000 people who applied in 2016, and the total immigrant population has increased only slightly in the last 10 years) or the role of Frances Muslims (estimated at less than 6% of the population, half of whom are largely secular) in formulating an Islam compatible with the French Republic or the importance of affirming French culture, whatever that might be.

In one way or another, politicians were often talking about the banlieues, which served as a kind of bogeyman, a stand-in for the social currents unsettling France.

Mr Bouteghmes, himself a product of these forces and a consummate proponent of French Republicanism, was, like many of the people he represents, an object of much of this discussion if seldom an equal partner in it.

La Courneuves mayor for nearly two decades was Gilles Poux, a stalwart of the French Communist Party, the labour-oriented segment of the left that once enjoyed broad popularity but whose membership had declined everywhere except in the Paris banlieues.

The party took over La Courneuve in the 1950s when the town still had factories producing metalwork and boilers. To Mr Bouteghmes, there was a disconnect between the way things were run and the needs of the people who now lived there. He began to think about running for office. He was 23 and studying philosophy at the Sorbonne. Two years later, he was on the ballot.

The mayor encouraged Mr Bouteghmes and his friends to run on his ticket; he needed to join forces with young men of their background to win a majority in a town that has more than 100 nationalities.

Once elected, though, they felt constrained by a decades-old political machine. In the fall of 2015, Mr Poux shut down the Samaritain Roma camp in La Courneuve that was home to 300 people; he stated that what was needed was a national, not a local, solution.

An employment forum in the banlieues organised by the Youth Information Point at the Town Hall

For months, Mr Bouteghmes had helped organise protests to keep it open, and as it became clear the Roma would not prevail, he worked with local NGOs to help find temporary squats. He felt that he could no longer share a political identity with the mayor, and he and three others split off to form the Elan Populaire Courneuvien, on the theory that as a bloc they could wield some power. Eventually, one of them might even run against the mayor.

The problems facing the suburbs, Mr Bouteghmes asserted, could not be addressed without taking on the larger national malaise.

For me, today, being named Mehdi Bouteghmes, my father was born in a French colony, my mother was born in a French protectorate, if I want to question the political methods, practices, Republican institutions, people will say Im an Islamist, he told me. Its not normal.

At 18 he joined the Young Muslims of France, a community youth group, and during a phase in college read extensively in Islamic philosophy and theology. Islam was part of his identity, but now, 10 years later, he was certain this would be used against him if he decided to enter national politics.

Theyll attack me, twist positions I may have taken before, activities I might have been involved in in the past, he said.

Reading Kant and Machiavelli helped Mr Bouteghmes look beyond what could be a closed circuit in the banlieues.

France is philosophy, he told me. It was only through understanding the founding principles of French Republicanism, and 200-year-old ideas that were in crisis in modern, multicultural France, that he could see they needed to be adjusted.

During the run-up to the election, Emmanuel Macron, the 39-year-old former economy minister, then the frontrunner and now the president, declared there was no such thing as a French culture but rather culture in France, which is diverse.

French President Emmanuel Macron

His remark provoked a delirious backlash. Francois Fillon belittled Mr Macron for daring to deny Proust, Descartes, Chateaubriand, and Moliere, as well as the educators who teach our children to speak the language of France, rather than that of the streets.

If theres no French culture, Mr Fillon concluded, then why is there France?

More than elsewhere in France, apathy toward the presidential election was potent in the banlieues. Even if Marine Le Pen won, some Courneuviens said, well, things couldnt get much worse.

The ambivalence that many residents of La Courneuve exhibited towards the presidential campaign was reciprocated. Most of the candidates on the left made some effort to meet with organisations and businesses in the suburbs, but the candidates on the right mostly didnt bother.

Fighting inertia, Mr Bouteghmes and the Elan Populaire Courneuvien decided to organise a grand debat for the banlieues, five days ahead of the first round of voting. They invited each candidate to send a representative to La Courneuve, a request most of the left-leaning ones and all of the right-leaning ones ignored.

On a chilly Tuesday evening, in a meeting room on the ground floor of an Escheresque 1970s-era cite, Mr Bouteghmes was setting up a sound system. By 7pm, when the debate was to begin, only four people had shown up. The debaters were mostly from marginal parties on the eclectic French left that everyone knew would never win. But Mr Macron had sent his representative for the 93, Alexandre Aidara, a polished man of Senegalese origin.

Dozens of people trickled in, and by 8.30pm it was clear they had come to have their say with Mr Aidara, who delivered Mr Macrons ideas in clean bullet points: For each person hired from the banlieues, a company would be relieved of certain taxes; companies that discriminated would be subjected to a public naming and shaming campaign; and so on.

An activist named Salima Yenbou was there, representing Jean Lassalle, the eccentric founder of something called the Resist! party. She grew up in Aulnay-sous-Bois, where the supposed police assault took place in February, and had a broad view of the traps laid by the banlieue question in French civic life.

We talk about the residents in a condescending manner: Insertion, integration, security, antiracism, equality of opportunity, said Ms Yenbou. No one wants to come right out and say that here in France, one of our values, the second value of the country, equality, is in tatters.

Mr Bouteghmes was pleased with the way the debate had gone  more than one shouting match erupted  but he knew it wouldnt necessarily get more Courneuviens out to vote. And he understood why. In the end, they knew that none of the candidates would offer them much.

Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen came in first and second, respectively, and, two weeks later, on the Saturday before the final run-off, the neighbourhood association that Mr Bouteghmes works for organised a Fete de la Cite, a kind of spring block party for families in La Courneuve.

It was raining on that early May afternoon, and when I arrived, Mr Bouteghmes was soaked, his hair dripping and his T-shirt weighted down with water, but he was smiling.

Children were performing acrobatics on uneven bars with the help of a coach and jumping around with an inflatable sumo wrestler, pausing to eat skewers of strawberry- and banana-shaped marshmallows.

These children, many of them first-generation French-born, were playing in a small park between several cite towers. The symbolism was almost too stark: The towers blocked the view of Paris  they couldnt see it, and it couldnt see them.

For Mr Bouteghmes, a Le Pen presidency would have endangered the entire Republican system, limiting his capacity to work for reforms that would bring Courneuviens inside French institutions.

When Mr Macron won 66% of the vote, he was relieved: Not because he was optimistic about Mr Macron  the percentage of blank ballots in the banlieues was high  but because it meant at least that his work could continue.

At various points, he thought he might be wasting his time; he could have joined Mr Macrons movement when a recruiter sought him out, or the Green Party. But he kept coming back to the original idea of the Elan Populaire Courneuvien.

For him, French history explained what was happening.

We had the revolution, then we had the Terror, then the return of the Republic, and then the empire, said Mr Bouteghmes.

And a lot of movements have been born that way, all of which started with the Enlightenment. But there was a lot of stumbling. After that was the generation of Kant, who provided a message, then Hegel, Marx, and then a lot happened in France post-Marx and post-Communism.

Mr Bouteghmes planted himself squarely within the history that much of the country saw as an impassable chasm between themselves and him.

Marx allowed something to happen, added Mr Bouteghmes. But it took 100 years. So maybe it will take 100 years for us to have a place here.

Elisabeth Zerofsky is a freelance writer living in Paris. Adapted from an article that originally appeared in The New York Times Magazine
Where is she? That was the question asked by several tired and agitated members of the Cabinet in Aras an Uachtarain shortly before midnight of Mary Mitchell OConnor.

Moments after receiving their seals of office from President Michael D Higgins, the rest of them gathered in the State Dining Room to hold their customary first Cabinet meeting.

In addition to the newly appointed ministers, the new Attorney General Seamus Wolfe, and top civil servants, an official photographer and RTE cameraman were also present to record the moment for posterity.

Ministers took their seats amid some initial confusion as to how many seats were required, given the unfortunate absence of Katherine Zappone.

Were missing one, Mary is not here, said one.

The minutes dragged on uncomfortably while officials were dispatched to find the absent minister, but given the late hour and long day, ministers were not amused.

OConnors displeasure at demotion earlier in the day had been evident and it is now established that accommodating her as a super junior minister led to over an hours delay in proceedings in the Dail.

While initially a spin job was launched to play down her fury, the truth was quickly established.

Yeah, raised hell, and was telling anyone and everyone of her unhappiness, said one minister to me.

Back in the Aras later that night, Ms Mitchell OConnor eventually made it into the room for the pictures and for the footage which will be rolled out for Reeling in the Years.

She was in the loo, was the story but other ministers werent buying it.

She pulled another strop, the minister said.

Mr Varadkar is only three days in the job, but already questions are being asked about his capacity to lead.

People are asking where is the stamp of authority on his Cabinet?

Why did he not just do the difficult thing and make the changes to the Cabinet that many of his own supporters were demanding?

Instead, by refusing to be ruthless, he was left in the position of having to create an additional super-junior position to accommodate Ms Mitchell OConnor, a move which has ignited controversy.

Yesterday, Fianna Fail said it will not support legislation to create a third super junior role for Mary Mitchell OConnor. It was confirmed by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe that legislation will be required if she is to take the increased salary for the super junior role.

Both Fianna Fail and Labour said they would not support such a move. A Fianna Fail source said this was not a personal attack on Ms OConnor but they could not support the appointment of a third super junior minister.

The legislation provides for an extra 16,288-a-year allowance in addition to the minister of state salary of 124,439.

Ministers Paul Kehoe and Finian McGrath are currently super juniors and Joe McHugh sits at Cabinet as chief whip.

To facilitate Ms Mitchell OConnor, the Dail would have to pass legislation to create the position for a third super junior because existing legislation says the Taoiseach can appoint a maximum of two super junior ministers who can sit at the Cabinet table.

Piling pressure on the Government, Labour leader Brendan Howlin said on Twitter that the Government should not even be considering legislation. No support for such a move, and it wont pass Dail Eireann.

In a follow-up statement, he added: Is he suggesting that one super junior minister will be paid less than the others, creating a second tier of such positions? Or does he really propose to prioritise legislation to give extra pay increases to ministers at a time when there are plenty of other issues that should be prioritised?

None of this is personal to Ms Mitchell OConnor, but it is personal about Mr Varadkars intentions as leader.

For weeks, we had heard that under his leadership things would change.

Three days into his tenure, Varadkar is now fighting two major crises.

One was only partly of his making, that of the ex-attorney generals plum role. That was more a matter for yesterdays man Enda Kenny and Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald, who pulled the stroke, yet Mr Varadkar will be the one to answer the questions on it.

But this controversy over Mary Mitchell OConnor was entirely his making.

He did not need to keep her at Cabinet and, given how much fuss she created on Wednesday, many within her own party said she proved the point as to why she was not fit to remain as a senior minister.

By failing to sack anyone in his first reshuffle, Mr Varadkar has opened himself up to accusations that he is not willing to make the tough calls and be ruthless when required.

Such anger among TDs was evident within minutes of the Cabinet being announced in the Dail.

Varadkars underwhelming Cabinet reshuffle drew the ire of TDs within his own party, particularly the decision to keep Fitzgerald as Tanaiste.

It is a shocking decision. All the signs were that she was on the way out, now she is being promoted. It is a bad start, said one prominent Varadkar supporter.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin claimed the incoming taoiseach had abused the use of super junior ministers by now appointing four to sit at Cabinet.

The positions were being used by the new taoiseach to help resolve internal party matters, it was claimed.

For all his failings, Enda Kenny proved on countless occasions that he could be ruthless in dispatching with the services of people, even key allies, if it was politically expedient. Just ask Lucinda Creighton, Alan Shatter, and Martin Callinan.

Bertie Ahern, the man who wanted to be loved by everyone, showed he could be decisive when he got rid of Michael Smith from his Cabinet in 2004.

Albert Reynolds clear-out in 1992, when he axed no fewer than eight ministers, has lingered long in the memory as the feeling is that he exposed himself to too much internal rancour from disgruntled exiles. He was gone from the taoiseachs office two years later.

We have been told more radical changes at junior ministerial level are likely from Mr Varadkar come Tuesday, but already questions are being asked about his strength as leader.

It is early days and Mr Varadkar does deserve the benefit of the doubt and we will allow him to get through Tuesday before full judgement can be reached on his ministerial selection.

But if what we have seen so far is a sign of anything, then with some legitimacy we can ask, what was the rush to dump Mr Kenny then?

If the main reason to put us through a leadership race at a cost of 400,000 was to see very limited change at ministerial level, then it is a disappointing outcome from a man who has promised so much for so long.

It is a question of leadership.
I will be attending a meeting this Saturday that I never believed would be necessary in a civilised, 'modern' country.

In the last decade health care in Ireland for those who cannot afford private insurance has deteriorated to such a degree we worry whether this country really wants us dead.

Where the health service cannot sustain either A&E's or surgeries, or care in the community that allows 'living' in all its fullness.

Where every sick and disabled person depending on state services have to fight, grovel, protest, and basically demean themselves to stay alive.

This is a country which can galvanise hundreds of thousands onto the streets over water charges, abortion and Gay marriage Rights but CANNOT stir the population over HEALTH RIGHTS.

There is inertia, depression, a sense of futility in protesting Health Rights. Why do we allow Health rights violations? It is a mystery.

This is a country where children do not get swift treatment for scoliosis and must suffer extreme pain with breathing problems due to a collapsing spine.

This is a country where older people are referred to as 'bed blockers', (in irritation) denied dignity ad respect but are rather seen as threats to the hospital system.

This is a country where an older person who had a stroke, was brilliantly rehabilitated and left Donnybrook rehab WALKING yet on return to the community received no physiotherapy and is now using a wheelchair.

This is a country where disabled children and adults are given second hand useless wheelchairs; as a cheap option.

Wheelchairs they need to live and live fully simply not up to the job, restrictive, agony, breaking down, arguably dangerous. I know this - I was given one and had a four year battle with the HSE for an appropriate wheelchair that met my need as a person with a Rare Neuro-muscular degenerative disease. For those 4 years I was 'living' in hell, as was my twin with the same disease.

We are still living in a medical/HSE caused hell, because other services we need are denied.

This is a country where I was given incontinent pad underwear rather than a Personal Assistant (PA) to help me to the toilet.

Where there is another woman helped into incontinent underwear at 8am and must stay (unchanged-wet and soiled) all day until nightfall when a carer comes to put her to bed. This is now standard community care practice. Condoned, facilitated, organised by public health nurses.

This is a country where adults needing hip replacements, in dire pain and disability, can wait 3 years for surgery.

Where those needing heart procedures must live on a death tightrope before being called.

Where scans are delayed because there are no weekend radiologist's on duty to do them.

Or more seriously people must wait years for.

Where children needing medical assessments psychology, psychiatry, speech and language, autism assessments, all languish in a poverty of living no rich person does.

This is a country where there is a three year waiting list to see a neurologist. (there are more neurologists per capita in Mongolia than there are in Ireland) meanwhile living 'dangerously' undiagnosed, untreated, uncared for.

This is a country where patients, like myself and twin sister with a Rare disease cannot get care in Ireland yet are REFUSED overseas care because of a consultants arrogant decision that because there's no cure , there's no point.

(NB: It was two centres of excellence in the UK who diagnosed our disease - Irish medics ignored us and disbelieved).

This is a country that CANNOT diagnose, treat, or care for many rare diseases.

This is a country where community physiotherapy offers only four sessions per 6 months and these comprise giving paper print-outs of exercises to do, when 'hands on' physiotherapy is required for muscle spasm and severe pain. I could go on.

Those who can afford insurance have simply no idea how the other half lives.

A walk through the Blackrock clinic, the Beacon Hospital and St Vincent's private, then through our public hospitals will enlighten those ignorant of the widening gulf of medical care in Ireland very quickly.

The general population, neither ill or disabled or old, can not envisage how life is a real struggle when health services are just not there. They fully believe there IS a public service equal to private health care.

No matter the rhetoric from Finian McGrath or Simon Harris about improvements, extra money, people are screaming in abject misery and not being heard.

I hear all this from my disabled friends, from rare disease patients, from older sick people. I hear and I am appalled.

I will be attending the 'Still Waiting' health campaign at Wynns' Hotel, Dublin this Sat 17th June at 2pm.

We cannot stay away. We cannot morally, ethically, 'do nothing'.

Complicity in State Health Care neglect and non-provision is cruelty. Ignoring, turning a blind eye to sick, disabled, old, suffering people, is a Human Rights violation.

Health care IS a Human Right but in Ireland we citizens have NO constitutional RIGHT to health care. NONE. Is this why successive Governments have simply not provided for the poor , uninsured Irish citizen?

I am standing up for Human Rights to Health Care. A two tiered system is, frankly, nothing more than a quiet, back room, euthanasia policy for the poor, uninsured person reliant on state care. We must protest.

To do nothing is NOT an option.

Dr Margaret Kennedy

Wicklow

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The Rev. William Barber, the N.C. NAACP president, has been banned from entering the N.C. Legislative Building following his arrest during a protest there on May 30.

The ban also applies to 31 other protesters arrested that day during a health care sit-in after they refused to clear the hallways outside legislative leaders office. The ban was a condition of the protesters release from jail, set by Wake County magistrate Jeffrey L. Godwin as he charged them with second-degree trespassing.

General Assembly Police Chief Martin Brock said Friday that his agency didnt ask the magistrate to set those conditions, but he said he plans to make the request for future arrests of protesters.

I intend to instruct the officer to ask, especially if the person has been arrested before, Brock said.

Asked why the bans are needed, Brock said, If someone has been arrested two or three times, would it be reasonable to expect that they would be arrested again? That would be my observation.

Geeta Kapur, an attorney for Barber and the NAACP, says the ban is unconstitutional. She points to the provision in the state constitution that says the people have a right to assemble together ... to instruct their representatives, and to apply to the General Assembly for redress of grievances.
DEBORAH CROMBIE British series tops the list. Brian McGilloway's Lucy Black books are fabulous and have now shot to the top of my to-read pile! Nothing gives me more pleasure than to discover a new series--and as you can probably guess, a new (to me, at least!)series tops the list. Brian McGilloway'sbooks are fabulous and have now shot to the top of my to-read pile!









Here's what Lee Childs has to say about the books: Brian McGilloway blends timeless values with ripped-from-the-headlines issues to produce some of the very best crime fiction being written today. Lee Child, #1New York Times bestselling author





You can't beat a recommendation from Lee Childs, and I can certainly second it. Also, I'm fascinated by writing that gives us a window into the complex political and emotional landscape of Northern Ireland (something that as an American I find really challenging) and Brian McGilloway's BAD BLOOD ticks all the boxes.





Here's Brian to tell us more.









BRIAN MCGILLOWAY: Bad Blood is the fourth Lucy Black novel Ive written and my ninth in total since Borderlands appeared ten years ago, in April 2007. With each book, Ive tried to reflect something of the real world events that surround the crimes and cases, which first Devlin and now Lucy Black investigate. In the writing of Bad Blood, one event loomed large  the Brexit vote over Britains membership of the European Union  and the way in which the debate around it, at times, seemed to normalise extremist views. Many of the tabloid papers here focused on Immigration and published viewpoints and language that was, without doubt, inflammatory. It was against that backdrop that the book developed: a book about hatred and the ways in which people attempt to legitimise it and become complicit in the violence it encourages.





The seeds of the book were planted in July 2014, when a slogan, which read Romans Out, was spray painted on a wall in a housing estate in Belfast. It was aimed at Roma families and marked the second such targeting of refugees in the city, after a concerted campaign in 2009 saw almost 100 Romanians having to leave their homes and flee the country.





What made the slogan, and associated events, most interesting to me was how the old sectarian divisions between Protestants and Catholics, Unionists and Nationalists, seemed to have mutated, how a new enemy had been identified. These attacks were primarily carried out in housing estates and were blamed on right-wing groups tied to paramilitaries. They were, put simply, exercises in the ethnic cleansing of a community.





It was clear that some in the communities in question felt that outsiders moving into the area were diluting their sense of identity. Already feeling left behind by the Peace Process and the failure to see manifested the promised prosperity peace would bring, and betrayed by their politicians who were in Government with old enemies, such individuals were easy targets for extremists to exploit their discontent. And it wasnt just happening in Northern Ireland.





Though the causes of such discontent varied from one country to another, it was a pattern being replicated across the UK with the rise of UKIP and the dawn of Brexit. Whether Brexit was symptom or cause, there could be no denying that the debate around it does seem to have lead to a rise in hate crime: indeed in the two weeks following the vote, recorded hate crimes in the UK rose by 46%, with over 3,000 incidents reported to the police.





The targeting of the discontented, and the use of inflammatory rhetoric to engage them was further evidenced in the rise in support for, among others, the National Front in France and, arguably, in the 2016 US election. There was a reason why people felt left behind, disempowered, unheard. That was what I wanted to explore in this book.





Of course, it goes without saying that Northern Ireland has an added history of those who would use religion as a way to further enflame discontent. Various events over the past few years here have lead to a widening of the gulf between those who, for example, support gay marriage, and those who see such a thing as antithetical to their religious beliefs. All it takes is someone with a bit of authority to stir that up, to pour petrol on already smouldering embers rather than pouring oil on troubled waters. Northern Irish history is not short on people hiding hatred behind a white collar or a national flag.





All of these things collide in Bad Blood.





DEBS: Here's more about BAD BLOOD : A young man is found in a riverside park, his head bashed in with a rock. The only clue to his identity is an admission stamp for the local gay club.



DS Lucy Black is called in to investigate. As Lucy delves into the community, tensions begin to rise as the man's death draws the attention of the local Gay Rights group to a hate-speech Pastor who, days earlier, had advocated the stoning of gay people and who refuses to retract his statement.



Things become further complicated with the emergence of a far right group targeting immigrants in a local working class estate. As their attacks escalate, Lucy and her boss, Tom Fleming, must also deal with the building power struggle between an old paramilitary commander and his deputy that threatens to further enflame an already volatile situation.



Hatred and complicity abound in the days leading up to the Brexit vote in McGilloway's new Lucy Black thriller. Compelling and current, Bad Blood is an expertly crafted and acutely observed page-turner, delivering the punch that readers of LITTLE GIRL LOST have grown to expect.





Brian McGilloway was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. After studying English at Queens University, Belfast, he took up a teaching position in St Columbs College in Derry, where he was Head of English. He is the author of the New York Timesbestselling Lucy Black series, all to be published by Witness. Brian lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife and their four children.





DEBS: Brian will be checking in today to chat with us from Northern Ireland! So stop in and say "hi", and tell us, REDs and readers, how do you feel about current events being mirrored in crime fiction?








The Canadian Senate [official website] on Friday approved Bill C-16 [materials], adding gender identity and gender expression to the list of federally prohibited grounds for discrimination under Canadas Human Rights Act. In an official statement [press release] from the Justice Department of Canada [official website] the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Jody Wilson-Raybould, said:

The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that everyone can live according to their gender identity and express their gender as they choose. It will protect people from discrimination, hate propaganda and hate crimes. Once it receives Royal Assent, the legislation will add the grounds of gender identity and gender expression to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code. Gender identity and gender expression would become prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the updates to the Criminal Code would protect trans and gender diverse Canadians who are targeted because of their gender identity or expression from hate propaganda. These changes would also require a court to treat the commission of an offence that is motivated by hate based on gender identity or expression as an aggravating factor for sentencing purposes.

C-16 was introduced in its current form in May after the Senate took seven months [CTVNews report] to study and debate the language and provisions of the bill. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised [Twitter post] the bills passage in Tweet stating, Great news: Bill C-16 has passed the Senate  making it illegal to discriminate based on gender identity or expression. #LoveisLove.

Many human rights organizations have called on countries throughout the world to address violence against women and LGBTQI individuals. Earlier in June Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, presented a report [JURIST report] to the UN Human Rights Council [official website] calling for governments to do more to reduce violence against women and LGBTQI individuals. In May Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] on the violence against gay and bisexual men in Chechnya. In March UNICEF called [JURIST report] on the protection of women and children on the Mediterranean route. Also in March a UN rights expert called [JURIST report] on Australia to combat violence against women. In November another UN rights expert called [JURIST report] for the end of violence and discrimination against LGBTI individuals.
A bipartisan group of state attorneys general from Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Texas on Thursday announced joint investigations [press release] into the marketing and sales practices of the manufacturers of opioid painkillers. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey [official website] stated: The opioid epidemic is a public health crisis that is claiming lives in our state and across the country, and we want to assure our residents that we are doing all that we can to combat it. In Massachusetts the crisis claims more than five lives a day. The coalition of attorneys have not released the identities of the specific targets of the investigation at this point, but have begun issuing subpoenas for documents and gathering testimonial evidence. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan [official website] stated [press release]: I want to know whether drug companies, seeking higher profits, have recklessly and unlawfully pushed addictive opioids. Madigan has experience going after opioid manufacturers. In 2016 she filed suit [Complaint, PDF] against Insys Therapeutics [corporate website] for deceptively marketing an addictive opioid in an attempt to increase profits. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton [official website] added [press release]: This is a public safety and public health issue. Opioid painkiller abuse and related overdoses are devastating families here in Texas and throughout the country,

This development follows Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWines [official website] decision [NPR interview, transcript] to file suit [JURIST report] late last month against five drug manufacturers for misrepresenting the risks of opioids. The crisis has risen to the level of a national epidemic in recent years, in turn eliciting a variety of responses from different authorities across the nation. In March President Donald Trump [official profile] signed an executive order [JURIST report] establishing a task force to combat the opioid crisis. This would not be the first time that opioid drug manufacturers have found themselves in trouble with the law. In July 2007 the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia [official website] sentenced [NYT report] three former executives of the Purdue Frederick Company [corporate website], manufacturer of painkiller OxyContin [FDA materials], to three years of probation and 400 hours of community service in drug treatment programs. The three executives, including former president Michael Friedman, former chief in-house counsel Howard Udell, and former medical director Paul Goldenheim, all pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in May 2007 to a misdemeanor offense of misbranding a drug. Prosecutors had alleged that the company and executives were aware in 1995 that doctors were concerned about the drugs high addiction risk, but its sales representatives continued to misrepresent OxyContins effects to physicians. Purdue Frederick agreed to pay $634.5 million in fines for its role in misleading the public. OxyContin, which is a Schedule II controlled substance [DOJ backgrounder], has become increasingly abused because its time-release mechanism can be easily disrupted for illicit use.
#KBO Landers starter Kim Kwang-hyun wins top KBO pitching award After making a successful return from a two-year stint in the majors, SSG Landers starter Kim Kwang-hyun was named the winner of South Korea's top professional pitching award on Fr...
WEST POINT  TC Ranch of Franklin was one of three first-place winners in the Nebraska Cattlemen Foundations 18th-annual Retail Value Steer Challenge.

Winners were recognized June 7 at the NC Foundation lunch during Nebraska Cattlemens mid-year meeting in West Point.

The challenge is the foundations primary fundraiser for educational programs for youths and adults, scholarships, research and infrastructure projects, history preservation, and support for cattle judging teams at Nebraska colleges.

A steer owned by TC Ranch placed first in the contests average daily gain category.

Darr Feedlot near Cozad handled the challenges administration and feeding of the steers entered.
KEARNEY  People and groups in six categories who make the community a healthier place through leadership, education and assistance were honored Friday.

For the eighth consecutive year, CHI Health Good Samaritan presented six Healthy Community Awards at a Friday luncheon in the hospitals board room.

The awards coincide with the Community Olympics, which began in Kearney in 1996, the same year the Olympics were held in Atlanta. "This tradition grew to 30-40 teams and 1,000 participants by 2013," Good Sam CEO and President Michael Schnieders said as he welcomed guests. This years Community Olympics will be held Friday through June 25.

Nominations for the healthy community awards come from the public. Winners were determined by a committee that included Peg Abels from the University of Nebraska at Kearney; Tricia Danburg, UNK Alumni Association; Scott Hayden, park and recreation director for the city of Kearney; Jan Rodehorst, Kearney RV Park; Kelly Bartling, assistant vice chancellor for communications and community relations at UNK; Marsha Wilkerson, BD Construction, and Anna Fryda and Anissa Paitz of Good Sams marketing and communications department.

The six honorees, and a bit of what they said as they accepted their awards, were:

Partnership Award: City of Kearney, for partnering with Good Samaritan to put on the Community Olympics. "Partnering allows you to go beyond what you think is possible," Hayden said.

Advocacy Award: The Central Nebraska LOSS Team, accepted by Renae Zimmer, co-founder of the team, which supports people whose relatives or friends have committed suicide, or who may be at risk of suicide. "We are excited to bring a LOSS model to central Nebraska," she said.

Education Award: Kay Glidden, who teaches Kearney Public Schools teachers how to cope with behavioral issues in the classroom. "Its an honor to help teachers learn to help students with mental trauma," she said.

Recreation Award: Marta Moorman, professor of recreation at UNK. "When I got my job at UNK in 2001, I learned how easy it was to jump on the bandwagon here. There are so many things going on," she said.

Prevention Award: Pleasanton School, for opening its state-of-the-art fitness center to village citizens for just $20 per person per year. "Were improving health for the whole community," Ric Westland, school principal, said.

Leadership Award: Paul and Kimberly Rahe for their "Rahes of Hope," a seven-year campaign to fight cancer that has raised $62,420. The couple met 15 years ago when each served on the United Way of Kearney board. "We thank you, but we are taken aback because so many people do what we do," Paul said.
Scores of dairy farm workers and activists marching in Montpelier, Vt., on Saturday June, 17, 2017. They were marching to the main Ben & Jerry's factory in the Vermont town of Waterbury to protest what they feel are slow negotiations to reach a deal on their "Milk with Dignity" program that would ensure fair wages and living conditions. Ben & Jerry's spokesman Sean Greenwood says the company is committed to reaching a deal with workers. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring)
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In college, I once marched for the plight of Tibetans. Forty of us marched in Hyde Park, London; after an hour, half retreated to the nearest pub to discuss global injustices. Recently, over a million, including five penguins, marched for science. There were no penguins at our march for Tibetans but our goal, though naive and unrealistic, was clear  we wanted Tibetan independence from Chinese rule. The goals of March for Science, a worldwide endeavor with marches as far south as Antarctica, were numerous and ambiguous.

If you attended the science march expecting to hear about the theory of ether, the nuances of the Special Theory of Relativity, or Galileos brush with the papacy, youd be disappointed. While it was not clear what the march was about, it was patently evident what the march was not about. The march was not about scientific inquiry or an embracement of the scientific process. The marchers were not protesting their right to think freely without persecution.

Many marchers were protesting their right to the public purse particularly, as President Trump has threatened to slash the budgets of government agencies more mercilessly than parents slash the pocket money of an itinerant teenager. It was like Galileo protesting outside the Vatican, not so that he can experiment in peace, but that the Pope fund his activities.

How did scientists transform from demanding more freedom to demanding more funding? Science, particularly biomedical sciences, has changed, and is now an expensive enterprise with considerable oversight. It is no longer possible for curious clergymen with time on their hand to dabble in science. Science, like art, has become a profession. To be funded is to be free  with some restrictions. The scientist, once stubbornly curious, now curiously adheres to stubborn protocols.

When I think of scientists, I picture Archimedes running naked in the street shouting Eureka. Scientists no longer run naked in the streets. But the change in science begs a more primal question  what does science even mean these days?

The march organizers, @ScienceMarchDC, presumably to entice marchers, tweeted colonization, racism, immigration, native rights, sexism, ableism, queer-, trans-, intersex phobia, & econ justice are scientific issues. But do these, undoubtedly important, social issues belong to science particularly, as conspicuous by their absence from this tweet are physics, biochemistry, zoology, geology (i.e., science)?

The science march seemed less about science and more about social injustice, and a lingering disbelief in a constituency that Mr. Trump, not Mrs. Clinton, is the president.

The fervor for the march suggests unprecedented scientific thinking in our society. However, the truth may be different. In enlightened circles, God is dead, but faith is alive and kicking. New faiths are on the rise  faith in our ability to perfect man, faith in methods to engineer society and, above all, faith in technocracy.

The new science is a science for the people and of the people, but not by the people  few understand the language of technocrats. Still, science has been democratized. Science no longer is commissioned just to discover the mysteries of the multiverse, but to build a safer and fairer society. If philosophy begins where science ends, science now begins where religion ends. Science has taken over King Solomon and Raja Vikramaditya. The motto is not govern justly, but govern scientifically. We would now need data, not moral intuitions, to tell us that the Tibetans have faced injustice.

The new sciences need public funding. But Mr. Trump, to cut taxes and regulations to spur economic growth, has proposed substantial funding cuts for government scientific agencies. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will get a haircut  a $1.2 billion cut, which its former director, Thomas Frieden, warned could lead to widespread deaths.

During the Ebola epidemic, the CDC played a more important role than the World Health Organization in containing the epidemic. But the CDC can lose its way by doing too much. The agency, under the capacious umbrella of prevention, has taken more than just infectious diseases on its plate, including issues such as workplace health, food safety, smoking, and obesity, and has published Preventing Chronic Disease. If theres an outbreak of a rogue virus, and statistically speaking this is a certainty, the fate of our species may depend on the CDC. Yes, Ive watched Outbreak.

Why doesnt the CDC stick to its most important mission  dealing with infectious diseases? Why the mission creep? A barber seldom says, you dont need a haircut. A government agency never says, we have enough funding, thank you. For an agency, more work and more mission means more funding.

Similarly, Mr. Trumps proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health of $5 billion could be counterproductive. Publicly funded science drives private innovation and innovation drives growth. But, in so far as science is publicly funded, taxes are the mother of science, and people generate taxes, and many taxpayers are increasingly dubious of a science thats increasingly politicized. Apocalyptic warnings of the dangers of defunding science will further tune out the proletariat from a class many believe are self-righteous and self-serving.

Science is at its weakest when scientists are most certain, and the science is settled. Sciences biggest draw is that it embraces errors, eccentrics, and misfits. There is a discipline often applied in healthcare known as Implementation Science or the science of getting doctors to obey rules, which sounds like training some doctors to become a modern-day Moses to preach 10,000 Commandments (MACRA) to other doctors.

If science replaces religion, itll suffer the same fate as religion  people eventually lose faith in dogmatism. The challenge for scientists, a challenge singularly ignored in the March for Science, is in restoring in science its twin beauty of curiosity and skepticism. Instead of proclaiming science is settled, you idiots, scientists might celebrate the unsettling of settled science. We can have a unique Independence Day to celebrate emancipation from old facts and laud the scientific method which freed us, rather than vilify the original error.

Science is in gravest danger from believers, not skeptics. Science has been hijacked by Puritans and needs rescuing by heretics. Science faces a crisis of purpose, a crisis of identity, a crisis of excessive dogmatism, not a crisis of funding.

Saurabh Jha is a radiologist and can be reached on Twitter @RogueRad. This article originally appeared in the Health Care Blog.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Sunny. High near 35F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mostly clear skies. Low 18F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
When someone develops dementia, gets in an accident or struggles with a disability, the role of caregiver often falls to a family member. (Gaertringen/Pixabay)
By Park Hyong-ki, Nam Hyun-woo





Danny Alexander / Yonhap

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island  The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) could invite a Korean to take one of its positions as a vice president in the future, given Korea's level of contribution to the development bank, said Danny Alexander, AIIB's vice president and corporate strategy officer.



"If there is a board recommendation and all of our members agree, the AIIB can see a Korean vice president in the future," Alexander told The Korea Times on the sidelines of the AIIB forum here.



The China-led multinational development bank has five vice presidents, each with distinctive responsibilities. The AIIB has 80 members. Korea has a 4.06 percent stake in the bank, with a 3.73 percent voting right.



Hong Kyttack, former chairman of the Korea Development Bank (KDB), was appointed as the AIIB's vice president and chief risk officer last year.



But Hong stepped down amid a scandal at KDB and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). KDB is the main creditor of DSME. He was pinpointed for mismanagement of the shipbuilder when he was the policy bank's chief executive.



Alexander dismissed concerns that China can steer infrastructure projects in regions where it will be able to extend its economic influence.



The Bank of Korea recently issued a report citing such a concern given that the AIIB is led by China, whose influence in Asia is rising, and as more economies increase exports to China, making them reliant on the world's second largest economy. China has a 32.33 percent stake in the AIIB.



Alexander said that he was aware of such concern, which rose before the establishment of the AIIB.













However, this is no longer an issue as the bank is governed by all of its members.



"The way this bank is run is much like the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development through collectiveness where no one country can shape or influence the bank's decisions by itself," he said.







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By Park Hyong-ki, Nam Hyun-woo

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island  The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is seeking to become a platform where governments, investors and companies can accelerate infrastructure financing and development.



Under its investment principle of "lean, green and clean," the multinational development bank wants to offer the best chance not only for Asia's developing and underdeveloped economies to improve their standards of living but also for investors to see positive returns.



"We are the most friendly co-financier in the market," said Pang Yee Ean, director-general of the AIIB's investment operations at the forum here. "If we are involved, we will not allow nationalization of your (invested) assets."



He added that the AIIB platform will enable investors to diversify their financing sources, and thoroughly manage geopolitical risks.



Developing countries in Asia such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar have held sessions, seeking to attract investors to their projects.



Tran Viet Ha, deputy director general of Vietnam's Ministry of Transport, said that working with the AIIB has enabled the country to use other financing than issuing sovereign debts and funds provided by donor countries.




John Park has added his name to the already stacked list of male artists headed for a comeback this June. The K-pop artist released his comeback track DND (Do Not Disturb) June 14 which showcased his vocal skills and the depth of his artistry.

According to All Kpop, when John Park released the first teaser of "Do Not Disturb" on youtube, it has received positive feedback from the fans. "The deep voiced king is back," one fan said. "I can't wait for the full album," another fan said. The feedback was generally good as most fans expressed excitement about John Park's extraordinary vocals and distinctive timbre.

In an interview with Soompi, John Park said that DND which he composed himself and produced in collaboration with Mamas Gun lead vocalist Andy Platts, is a song that is intended to depict a feeling of relaxation when one pushes back worries like homework and problems behind. "I hope that when people hear this song, they'll be able to take a moment and relax as they live their busy lives," he said.

John Park is relying on strong anticipation to propel his comeback to the top of the charts amid some strong competition this month. G-Dragon's solo comeback achieved a certified all-kill in real time charts almost as soon as his album "Kwon Ji Yong" released last June 8. Hwang Chi Yeol has already sold 100,000 units of his album on pre-orders alone while Eddy Kim and Lee Seuk Hoon will also be making their most anticipated comebacks this month.

Aside from the solo acts, John Park would also have to compete with K-pop idol groups like NCT127, DAY6, FTIsland, Taell of Block B, among others. Still, the artist remains confident in his new music to go head to head with the rest of the pack, Kpop Map reported.

Unlike other acts, however, John Park's comeback will just be made up of one song. "John Park will be returning with a single album, composed of just one track. He will also be promoting the album through broadcasts," his label announced recently. His single "Thought of You" was released way back in July 2016 so it will be interesting to see how much the artist has evolved in his long hiatus.
The manager of Californias electricity grid agreed Friday to conduct a study of clean energy alternatives to replacing an existing natural gas facility in Ventura County with a new, more efficient fossil fuel plant.

In a five-page filing with state regulators, the California Independent System Operator asked for a deadline of Aug. 16 to complete the project. The California Energy Commission had initially given the system operator until July 19, if it chose to do the review of alternatives to the proposed Puente natural gas project.

Commissioners have scheduled a hearing for June 28.

The system operators decision to study the alternatives follows hundreds of filings over the last week from residents near the power plant site, many urging the energy commission to reject any plan to build a new natural gas plant in the already heavily industrialized community.

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A similar review is underway by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which is deciding whether to spend $2.2 billion to renovate existing power plants in the L.A. basin or use clean energy to meet demand. That study is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

The studies mean that a handful of proposed fossil fuel plants could get scrapped in favor of renewable energy.

A Los Angeles Times investigation earlier this year found that power plants are closing prematurely in the state because of a glut of electricity. Yet regulators continue to approve more natural gas plants.

Members of the electricity grid operators board of governors decided in May to propose a study of clean alternatives to the proposed Puente natural gas plant.

California has mandated that 50% of its electricity must come from clean energy sources such as solar and wind power by 2030. Senate Leader Kevin de Leon has proposed legislation to move to 100% clean energy by 2045.

Critics of the proposed natural gas projects argue that adding more fossil fuel facilities doesnt make sense when solar, wind and energy storage have become viable alternatives to plants that emit greenhouse gases.

ivan.penn@latimes.com

For more energy news, follow Ivan Penn on Twitter: @ivanlpenn
A passenger is bloodied as he is dragged from his seat in April after refusing to give it up to crew members on a United Airlines flight.

Later that same month, a family flying home from a Hawaiian vacation is booted from a Delta Air Lines flight after a dispute over seating for an infant.

In May, Violence erupted at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida after Spirit Airlines canceled several flights because of a labor dispute with pilots.

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All three scenes have become content for viral videos, viewed by millions of people worldwide. But despite such ugly incidents involving the nations airlines, their stock prices have continued to rise.

Shares of American, Delta and United have each climbed by at least 5% this year while Southwest Airlines has climbed 20%. A New York Stock Exchange index of airline stocks, Arca Airline Index, has jumped nearly 150% over the last 10 years.

While airlines suffer short-term reputation damage by such incidents, experts say the industry has become so consolidated after a series of mergers and acquisitions that it would be difficult to get travelers to abandoned their favorite airline.

Business travelers, the most lucrative customers from the airlines perspective, tend to stick with airlines that offer the most flights from their home airport and on which the traveler probably has lots of frequent-flier miles, said Philip A. Baggaley, managing director at Standard & Poors Global.

Jan K. Brueckner, a UC Irvine economics professor, added that the U.S. economy remains strong and people dont have any choice besides the airlines if they need to get to a faraway place.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
For years, the airline industry has experimented with different ways to load passengers onto planes in an effort to save time and money.

Carriers have tried seating passengers starting at the front of the cabin, and at the back. Theyve tried allowing passengers in window seats to board first, then middle, then aisle.

Now Southwest Airlines is testing a way to save time at the end of a flight, by unloading passengers simultaneously from the front and back of a plane.

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The Dallas-based carrier began June 1 to test using two doors to unload passengers at Sacramento International Airport and San Jose International Airport. Some of the passengers have been exiting into jetways while the travelers exiting from the back of the plane take a staircase to the tarmac.

The test period will help the carrier determine when to use dual door deplaning and to identify whether or not this process can be expanded to more airports across the network, Southwest spokeswoman Casey Dunn said.

Dual-door operations have been used periodically by Southwest in the past in other airports, including Sacramento, San Jose, Burbank and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and have proven successful in improving both on time performance as well as the customer experience, Dunn said.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

ALSO

What Trumps Cuba policy means for travelers

American Airlines nixes plan to squeeze legroom on new 737 planes

Complaints against airlines jump 70% after Uniteds passenger-dragging incident
Offseason cantaloupes, Wal-Mart executives say, taste like a piece of wood.

Which is why the retail giant set out to create a designer melon that tastes as sweet and flavorful in winter as it does in summer. The Sweet Spark, as it is called, has been in the works for two years and is up to 40% sweeter than the winter fare currently sold at Wal-Mart, Bloomberg originally reported.

We sell 10 times as many cantaloupes in the summer than during the fall and winter, said Molly Blakeman, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. When we looked closer, it was easy to identify why cantaloupe sales dropped off: They werent as good in the wintertime as they were in the summertime. This was our way of fixing that.

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The companys rollout of its new cantaloupe comes as it braces for competition from German grocers Lidl, which opened its first U.S. stores Thursday, and Aldi, which is investing $3.4 billion to open 900 locations by 2022. Both are known for offering sweeping discounts on groceries  potentially bad news for Wal-Mart, which has long relied on its formidable buying power to offer lower prices than its competitors.

It also comes as online retail giant Amazon.com Inc.  which has aggressively been grabbing market share away from Wal-Mart  moves to buy upscale grocery chain Whole Foods Market Inc.

Wal-Mart partnered with Bayer  the German corporate giant that is in talks to buy Monsanto Co.  to develop the new cantaloupe seed. The retailer tested 20 types of seeds and spent six months evaluating their fruit before coming up with the winning combination, Blakeman said.

Wal-Mart employees rated the fruit on attributes such as taste, texture and aroma. (People who tried it were very fanatical about it, Blakeman said.) Employees also voted on the fruits name, which was whittled down from a list of 150 submissions. The Sweet Spark is not genetically modified.

Wal-Marts approach  to create an entirely new variety of fruit that fits its needs  is increasingly popular in the United States as grocers, faced with increasing competition and ever-growing demand for novelty produce, look for new ways to stand out, said Courtney Weber, a berry breeder and horticulture professor at Cornell University.

The goal is to have something that is special in some way, Weber said. From a plant breeders standpoint, our goal is to provide improved varieties of fruit  which can mean improving color, flavor, yield or disease resistance.

Japan, where white strawberries have become the ultimate luxury item, is at the forefront of specialty-bred fruits, Weber said. The practice has also begun to take hold in Europe, where fruit makers increasingly sell certain varieties only to certain supermarkets. And in the United States, programs such as Wal-Marts could ultimately help usher in a new wave of improved fruits and vegetables, said Susan Brown, director of Cornells Fruit and Vegetable Genomics Initiative.

Often the problem now is that if we have a new variety of fruit, its very hard to convince retailers to try something new, Brown said. When a company like Wal-Mart partners with breeders and growers, they know exactly what the market is for the new fruit, which actually helps everybody  consumers, producers and breeders.

Creating its own breed of cantaloupe  and potentially enlisting a number of growers to produce it  made particular sense for Wal-Mart because of the retailers size, breeders said. The company has more than 4,600 stores across the country.

(In 2011, cantaloupes contaminated with listeria, some of which were sold at Wal-Mart, killed 33 people. Wal-Mart later reached a settlement with 23 families for an undisclosed amount.)

The problem that Wal-Mart has is volume, Weber said. Theyre such a big company, and they need so much to fill their shelves, that their only real option if they want to have uniformity and to be able to have it everywhere is to do it this way. Its unlikely one company could grow enough cantaloupes for Wal-Mart.

Cantaloupes, he added, were probably an obvious starting point because they are relatively resilient and sturdy. A more delicate fruit, such as berries, would have required special care and handling, adding to their cost. The thicker skin on cantaloupe means it can be shipped and stored relatively easily, without fear of compromising quality.

The Sweet Spark is grown in Guatemala and Costa Rica. It is sold in 200 U.S. stores, with an expansion planned for later this year.

The company in recent years has expanded its lineup of organic fruits and vegetables to appeal to health-conscious customers. It has also forged exclusive partnerships to sell products such as Oreo Os cereal and Jelly Donut Oreos. Blakeman says the companys next goal is to develop a more flavorful tomato.

Doug McMillon, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., told reporters this month: If you try to frame what were doing, its pretty simple: Were trying to win customers. Were working on cost and price. Were working on assortment.

Bhattarai writes for the Washington Post.
Politics and Shakespeare. The sounds of Ojai. How design and inequity played out in a London fire. Im Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, with the weeks top culture stories:

So vile a thing?

Gregg Henry, center left, portrays a President Trump-like Julius Caesar in the Public Theaters Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar. (Joan Marcus / Associated Press)

The New York production of Shakespeares Julius Caesar with a Donald Trump-like Caesar being assassinated ignited a media firestorm this week. Delta and Bank of America withdrew their support. The National Endowment for the Arts quickly issued a statement that it didnt fund the work. And Twitter, as Twitter is wont to do, went full Chicken Little. Los Angeles Times

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Director Oskar Eustis says the staging is an anxiety nightmare parable about our current state, and thats why it looks the way it looks. New York Times

Writer Rebecca Mead defends the work, saying it does not celebrate the manner of Caesars death but rather warns against it. New Yorker

But perhaps the most pointed response comes from Ron Janoff, of the New York Classical Club, who says that Trump is less Caesar and more Oedipus. Never mess with a classicist. New York Times

Portrait of the caesar as a young man

Shadow puppets of Caesar, left, and King Nicomedes share an intimate moment in the Lou Harrison opera Young Caesar, with its message about enjoying life rather than making war. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Since too much Caesar is never enough, Times contributor John Rockwell takes a look at the history of Lou Harrisons opera Young Caesar, performed this week at Disney Hall. The opera was a boundary breaker, he writes, complete with a love affair between the teenage Julius Caesar, as an emissary from Rome, and Nicomedes, the king of distant Bithynia. ... It even had a gay orgy, depicted with puppets. Los Angeles Times

Times classical music critic Mark Swed reviews the production, directed by Yuval Sharon. He writes: Sharon, in conjunction with his opera company, the Industry, mounted a fanciful, visually stunning, endearingly mercurial, marginally risque, momentarily over-the-top and ultimately touching production. Los Angeles Times

Ojai outing

Vijay Iyer on a Rhodes electric piano at the 2017 Ojai Music Festivals opening night. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Pianist Vijay Iyer, who is curating this years Ojai Music Festival, has given the classical music fest a jazzier sound. But Times jazz critic Chris Barton says its best to resist the temptation to sum it up as Ojai goes jazz. His music and the festival at large was much harder to pin down and gratefully struck a considerable blow against the genre labels that Iyer and so many artists before him have vigorously resisted, he writes. Los Angeles Times

Mark Swed concurs  writing that codification only gets in the way. He adds: Iyer could be heard in dialogue not only with jazz or Indian musicians but also with Mozart and Stravinsky. Los Angeles Times

In a separate review, Swed looks at Iyers kickoff performance. Los Angeles Times

Essential Tonys wrap-up

Producer Stacey Mindich, at the microphone, and the cast of Dear Evan Hansen accept the award for best musical at the conclusion of the 2017 Tony Awards. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images)

Times theater critic Charles McNulty says this years Tony Awards spread the love around. In a ceremony that was defiantly clubbish, he writes, the Tonys accepted the reality of a post-Hamilton hangover and took pride in a Broadway year in which fine work was accomplished even if not many people watching across the country could tell you much about what was being feted.

Still, some winners were bigger than others, with Dear Evan Hansen receiving the trophy for best musical, while the shows star, L.A. native Ben Platt, won for lead actor. Los Angeles Times

The Times Steven Zeitchik also reported on the show, which included an orchestra that tried to play off Bette Midler. (Shut that crap off, was her response.) Los Angeles Times

And the Times Daryl H. Miller looks at the short but distinguished career of the 23-year-old Platt, who attended Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City. Los Angeles Times

At the theater

This week, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts opened Alexi Kayes The Pride, a drama about a complex love triangle that bounces back and forth between 1958 and 2008. The Times Deborah Vankin sat down with actor Neal Bledsoe to talk about acting, the plays political context and his favorite L.A. haunts. Los Angeles Times

In his review, The Times Daryl H. Miller reports that The Pride can be heavy-handed, but there are some fine performances, not to mention the plays overall exhortation to live authentically and never let anyone cause you to regress. Los Angeles Times

Plus, Charles McNulty took in British dramatist Nick Paynes Constellations at the Geffen Playhouse, a romantic comedy about astrophysicists that delves into the nature of time and reality. The Rashomon-style storytelling may strike some as vexing, writes McNulty, but what sets the work apart is its emotional accessibility. Los Angeles Times

At Home at LACMA

Artist Daniel Joseph Martinez with his scale reproduction of Unabomber Ted Kaczynskis cabin in the exhibition Home  So Different, So Appealing at LACMA. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles / Latin America series of exhibitions officially kicks off this fall. But an early outlier debuted at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art this week, and it has set the bar high for the rest of the series. Home  So Different, So Appealing looks at the ways in which artists all over the continent use the domestic to explore socio-political issues. (This includes a scale replica of the Unabomber cabin painted in Martha Stewart colors.) I report on how the show rethinks ideas about how Latino and Latin American artists are presented. Los Angeles Times

Devastating fire

The remains of Londons Grenfell Tower as seen from a neighboring tower block. (Carl Court / Getty Images)

A devastating fire in an apartment tower in London has raised issues of inequity in public housing and design in one of the worlds richest cities. As of Friday, at least 30 people were known to have died in the fire, which may have begun in a faulty refrigerator and turned into an inferno, according to some theories, when the buildings exterior cladding ignited. Los Angeles Times

The cladding was reportedly added to Grenfell Tower to improve its appearance for the benefit of wealthy residents living nearby. The Independent

Artist Khadija Saye, who currently has work on display at the Venice Biennale, perished in the Grenfell blaze. Channel 4, The Independent

Aluminum composite panels were also at the heart of a fiery skyscraper fire in Dubai last year. At the time, Ian Volner asked if U.S. buildings were at risk. New York

Building super-tall

All of this makes it a good week in which to explore the arms race of super-tall architecture in New York City. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne paid a visit to architect Rafael Vinolys new 92-story Manhattan condo tower. It is concentrated wealth rendered in Spartan terms, he writes, a Sol LeWitt sculpture holding stacked condos for billionaires. But, hey, the picture windows are amazing. Los Angeles Times

Must-see: Deconstructing blackface

In his installation Until, Until, Until... at Susan Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, L.A. artist Edgar Arceneaux tackles a controversial 80s performance by Ben Vereen that involved blackface. (I wrote about the genesis of this piece in 2015.) Contributing reviewer Sharon Mizota says the works beauty and power lie in the ways in which it implicates the viewer  in its ability not only to excavate the traumas and travesties of blackface, but to locate them in the fears and desires of the audience, us. Los Angeles Times

A poignant quartet

From left, choreographer Flora Wiegmann, artist Susan Silton and pianist Vicki Ray. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)

In 1941, French composer Olivier Messiaen debuted a piece of chamber music in a Nazi POW camp, where he was being held as a prisoner. Now Los Angeles artist Susan Silton is organizing an experimental production of Quartet for the End of Time that will feature all women. Los Angeles Times

In other news

The Pittsburgh Pirates play the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards earlier this month. (Rob Carr / Getty Images)

 How Camden Yards helped establish a cliche in ballpark design  featuring some very colorful descriptions of stadium architecture by critic Mark Lamster. 99% Invisible

 How the construction of mosques in Turkey  many in the imperial Ottoman style  reflects Tayyip Erdogans political ambitions. New York Times Magazine

 Sahra Sulaiman writes about why the new street furniture in Boyle Heights is out of tune with the streets it resides on. StreetsBlog LA

 Shakespeare and language, as seen from the perspective of cognitive science. This is geekily fascinating. Nautilus

 Kelsey Grammer will appear in Candide as part of the Los Angeles Operas 2017-18 season. Los Angeles Times

 How to fake an orgasm on stage  and other things to be learned from an intimacy choreographer. New York Times

 Mulling over the future of the L.A. Philharmonic. New York Times

 The J. Paul Getty Museum has acquired a rare 16th century Parmigianino. Los Angeles Times

 Plus, the Getty will be returning a 1st century sculpture of Zeus to Italy. Los Angeles Times

 The Metropolitan Museum has named a new director, Daniel Weiss  who comes from the museums financial side. New York Times

 Some deliciously essential reading: novelist Zadie Smith on the paintings of British-Ghanaian artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. New Yorker

 Oaklands Museum of Capitalism is pure capitalist critique. Citylab

Last but not least

Shakespeare is basically Quentin Tarantino with a thesaurus. Trevor Noah on the Julius Caesar controversy. The Daily Show

Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter 

carolina.miranda@latimes.com

@cmonstah

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Malcolm McDowell was performing at Londons prestigious Royal Court Theatre in a modern-day dress version of Shakespeares comedy Twelfth Night nearly 50 years ago.

While appearing in the hot-ticket production, McDowell received a call that would forever change his career. It was to read for noted film and theater director Lindsay Anderson (This Sporting Life) for the film If  for the role of Mick Travis, the rebellious upperclassman who leads a revolution at his staid public school.

During their meeting, they discussed Twelfth Night.

It was crazy, but not a great production, recalled McDowell recently. We just wore different clothes, but all the young actors of that period that were on their way up were in it. It was fun to do.

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Anderson, however, wasnt impressed, telling the young actor that the production sounded pretentious.

He kept going on ribbing everybody at the Royal Court, said McDowell, 74, who in turn started to make fun of the theater in hopes that it would help him get the role. Then theres a lull in the conversation and he said, Of course, you do realize Im a director at the Royal Court. I said, I suppose Im not going to get this part then, am I? He goes, Not necessarily.

Not only did he get the part, McDowell became an overnight star epitomizing the anger and rebelliousness of the youth of that era. Charismatic and dangerous, McDowell brought a James Cagney bravado and swagger to his performance. Three years later, he starred in one of cinemas most iconic roles as the amoral, bowler hat wearing Alex, the leader of the Droogs, in Stanley Kubricks A Clockwork Orange.

Though many of McDowells peers have faded away, McDowell is a busy working actor. Hes about to go into his fourth season of Amazons award-winning comedy series, Mozart in the Jungle. He plays Thomas, a womanizing veteran conductor of a New York symphony forced to give up the baton when Gloria (Bernadette Peters), the president of the orchestra, hires Rodrigo (Gael Garcia Bernal), a handsome and eccentric young conductor.

To be pushed upstairs because hes reached a certain age is shameful, said McDowell. Im getting back because Im sleeping with Gloria, who is the one who shoved me upstairs. Thats an interesting take.

Its doubtful that anyone would try to push McDowell upstairs because of his age. Despite a shock of white hair and glasses, McDowell is a bundle of energy during a recent interview at a West Hollywood hotel. His youngest of five children, 8-year-old Seamus, had accompanied his father down from their Ojai home and was eagerly awaiting the chance to go shopping for T-shirts. (His oldest son, Charlie, with ex-wife Mary Steenburgen, is a director (The One I Love,  The Discovery).

Hes always had this incredible mind and drive and charisma, said Mike Kaplan, who met McDowell when he was a marketing executive on Clockwork Orange. Kaplan directed the actor in the film version of Never Apologize, McDowells one-man show about his friendship with Anderson.

English actor Malcolm McDowell (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

McDowells skills are not limited to the screen. In person, hes a great storyteller and does marvelous impressions of everyone from John Gielgud to Laurence Olivier, with whom he worked in The Collection, the 1976 television adaptation of Harold Pinters drama that also starred Alan Bates and Helen Mirren.

McDowell and Bates came out of a different school of acting from Olivier.

Alan and I were considered when we did this thing to be the new wave in acting  much more gritty, realistic performances, he noted. We got to rehearsal and Im playing a character who is basically Oliviers rent boy  his lover whom hes paying. The whole point of the play is hes supposed to be deeply in the closet. We come to the first read of the play with a hundred people watching and Olivier reads and he does it as if hes in high heels swinging a handbag. Alan and I were like We have nowhere to go. Theres no play.

Every morning, they would approach director Michael Apted if he had asked Olivier to tone down his performance. Eventually, we were looking through the door at the rehearsal and saw Michael Apted whispering to Olivier. We could only see the back of his head and heard him say, But dear boy, I always start big and then bring it in. Of course, that was his method.

In Mozart in the Jungle, McDowells discovered that he and Bernal are of like minds when it comes to acting.

Even though hes from Mexico and a different culture  actually I think he was trained in London  when we do scenes together he works very similar [to me], said McDowell. We throw stuff out and improvise and then come back to the script. Hes very at ease doing that, which I love to do if I can find somebody that can do it with me.

Comparing two of his most famous directors, McDowell said that Anderson was more in control, more stylized than Kubrick. He said you are a very Brechtian actor, McDowell said of Anderson. It means that you will do something in a certain style and that youll let the audience know that this is a performance in a piece, but they will believe you anyway.

Kubrick gave him free reign. When I asked him very early on, have you got any ideas about this, he looked at me incredulously and said, Gee, mate, thats why I hired you. I was like What? Stanley, look at the call sheet. It says here S. Kubrick, director. How about a bit of direction? He just went, Youre getting it.

Though McDowell and Anderson were close friends until the filmmakers death in 1994, his friendship with Kubrick ended at the completion of Clockwork Orange.

I could not understand, he reflected But then, I was a young, naive actor and I thought we were friends. I gave him everything I had in my soul practically and so I thought my God, wed touch something about each other. I have a feeling I got to know him a bit too well or something.

calendar@latimes.com
At the Thursday morning fruit and vegetable market at Saint Marceau, a suburb of the historic French city of Orleans, Dr. Stephanie Rist stood under a clutch of colorful balloons talking to locals about their problems.

Just a couple of weeks ago, few would have known who she was. But now, Rist, a rheumatologist at the citys public hospital, is en route to becoming their most powerful ally.

This 43-year-old medic is one of President Emmanuel Macrons amateur army of would-be lawmakers seeking a place in the countrys lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly.

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Just three days to the second-round vote on Sunday, Rist was upbeat; justifiably so given the polls predicting a landslide for Macrons fledgling centrist party La Republique En Marche, or LREM. Political analysts predict it is on track to win an absolute majority of well over 400 in the 577-seat house. Pollsters Opinionway say the figure for LREM and its centrist partner party MoDem could be as high as 470 seats, crushing all opposition.

The one damper is the estimated 53% of voters not expected to bother to turn out, which would be a historically high level.

Of all the candidates LREM fielded in the two-round vote, half are women and half drawn from civil society having never held any elected public office. Their average age is 46.

Rist is typical of the young, professional, middle-class novices surfing the wave of optimism that has followed Macrons election last month.

Until last year, when Macron set up his En Marche! (Onward!) movement, she had never felt strongly enough to join a political party or support local or national candidates on the stump.

The daughter of a chef and a secretary, Rist excelled at school, and enjoyed helping out in the bar of her fathers Paris bistro during vacations.

I was useless as a cook so I couldnt be in the kitchen, she said.

After completing her medical internship at Orleans hospital, southwest of Paris, Rist finished her studies at the celebrated Necker Childrens Hospital in the French capital. To pay her way she took various temporary hospital jobs.

I worked in all positions in the hospital, from secretary, to health assistant to nurse. It seemed important not only to earn money while I was studying but to find out how the hospital worked at every level, she said.

Clutching her medical qualification, Rist returned to Orleans on the Loire River to work at the citys main public hospital.

In 2016, when Macron set up his En Marche! movement, he launched a nationwide consultative process involving experts and ordinary supporters across the country to draw up the basis of a new political program.

Rist was immediately sucked into Macrons peoples movement, run on a shoestring, funded by public donations, staffed by volunteers and with little real expectation at that time of becoming more than a well-meaning lobbying group.

When Macron won the presidential vote in May and began looking for people to support him in Parliament, Rist applied to become a candidate.

I may have no political experience but I have real experience of whats going on in society. The vote shows people want those who are not the same old experienced politicians. We have new vision, we want to make politics different, she said.

In the Loire Valley, where Romans, Attila the Hun and the English marauded through history, and whose most famous resident was Joan of Arc, Rists constituency includes part of the city, as well as peri-urban and agriculture-dependent areas around it. Local problems are those hitting most of rural France: unemployment, a crisis in health and social provision, dwindling public transportation services, unreliable cellphone coverage and a lack of high-speed Internet.

Out electioneering, the mother of three says voters are glad to see new faces and not the same old politicians seeking reelection.

Theres real enthusiasm and a sense of hope. Its the idea that we are building something new with their participation that is really exciting We are going forward together, she said.

Not all are happy with the prospect of a Macron electoral landslide, however, as witnessed by low turnout in the first round vote; more than half the electorate appears not to have bought into the new presidents renewal program.

Many voters feel orphaned by the destruction of the traditional right and left parties. While the center-right Republicans are expected to form the biggest group in Parliament after LREM, the Socialist Party is facing a wipeout.

Laurent Joffrin, the director of the left-leaning Liberation newspaper, wrote that Frances left were like the last of the Mohicans.

Gilles Finchelstein, director of the socialist think-tank the Jean-Jaures Foundation, told the right-leaning Le Figaro newspaper: The Socialist Party is in danger of extinction. It had a leader, an organization, a strategy  the union of the left, an ideology  rupture with capitalism. None of that exists anymore.

The PS [Socialist Party] is very clearly dead, former member of Parliament Jean-Marie Le Guen said after the first-round vote June 11 when it became clear the party would struggle to gain 30 seats.

Sitting in a Paris bar discussing politics with friends this month, Philippe, a retired company executive who did not want to give his full name, said he would vote on Sunday even though there doesnt seem to be much point.

Ive the impression LREM could field a chimpanzee as a candidate supported by Emmanuel Macron as it says on the election posters, and they would win, he said.

Rivals have accused inexperienced LREM candidates of being too scared to take part in public debates.

I dont even know if the LREM candidates are capable of defending Macrons program, Eric Coquerel, a candidate for the hard left France Insoumise (Unbowed France) party told journalists this month.

Political scientist Dominique Reynie, a professor at the respected Sciences-Po university in Paris and director of the progressive think-tank Fondapol, said probably about 70% of the National Assembly would be new faces after Sundays vote, compared with around 20% in most general elections.

He warned that Macron was becoming the first hyper president accumulating a level of power that might be considered worrying.

He will face opposition. If not in Parliament then the opposition will be outside, Reynie said, suggesting voters who did not feel represented by LREM could well take to the streets in protest.

Back in Saint Marceau on a sunny market day, there are no clouds on Stephanie Rists horizon. She won 44.67% of the first-round vote, well ahead of her nearest Republican rival, who polled 18.44%.

Rist is almost certain to take up a seat in the National Assembly after Sundays second-round vote. Her role, she says, will be to represent local interests and concerns and to make health policy but also to be realistic and manage expectations.

I feel an enormous responsibility. I have to listen to people who tell me their problems but I also have to explain what can and what cannot be done. I have to explain that we cannot solve all their problems, she says.

Before putting her name forward as one of Macrons new recruits, she consulted her husband, who runs a small tech company, and children, ages 16, 14 and 10. She says they fully support her.

My children understand that I may not be around for them, but even now Im at the hospital long hours, so we have quality rather than quantity time.

She said she intends to find time to see patients at the Orleans hospital half a day every week to keep my feet on the ground.

Its really a dream and Im so excited. But politics is not a career. I wont be doing this all my life. When Ive done what I have to do, Ill go back to my old job or find a new one, she said.

Bruno Jeanbart, a director at pollsters Opinionway told the Anglo-American Press Assn. in Paris that if LREM won more than 400 seats on Sunday it would be a majority rarely seen since the end of World War II.

Winning a crushing majority with an army of mostly independent political amateurs, however, does not guarantee things will go Macrons way once they take up their seats.

En Marche! has drawn from a very large spectrum of candidates, from both the left and right, and it remains to be seen if they can stay united when voting on things like labor reform or taxing Frances wealthiest earners, Jerome Fourquet, the director of opinion pollsters Ifop said.

The biggest challenges are yet to come.

Willsher is a special correspondent.
Photographer Alessio Remenzi has been covering conflict in the Middle East since the Arab Spring and was among the first photographers smuggled into Syria to cover the civil war. Most recently he has been covering the battle for Mosul, Iraq. He was previously interviewed by The Times in 2012. He recently discussed covering the fighting in Iraq.

How did you decide to cover the conflict in Iraq?

I decided to cover the Mosul offensive for several reasons. The first is certainly that the so-called Islamic State [ISIS]  its expansion, its growth, its fall  in the future will tell the story of these years. It is, unfortunately, the dominant theme of our time. Another reason that led me to Iraq is the sense of limits that this war provokes on our work. I mean, the war against Islamic State is a particularly dangerous war, their weapons are car bombs, suicide bombers, it is a dirty war made up of unexpected attacks. On one side there is an army, on the other there are thousands of men who know that the war is lost, thousands of men ready for martyrdom, which do not distinguish between civilians and enemy army. These factors also affect the coverage of a war zone. For me, it is also important to document the war of Mosul because I covered the offensive of Sirte, the Libyan capital of the Islamic State, which was the first of three self-proclaimed capitals to fall. It is important on one hand to compare these wars, on the other collecting material of the release of all three capitals that somehow have redesigned and are reshaping the balance of an entire part of the world.

Youve mentioned previously that being on a battlefield is like walking in a modern archaic era. When man is exposed to such events, he gets straight back to his animal origins. Have your feelings changed about documenting this and how you approach it?

I think this is increasingly true, especially in a war like this one. The Mosul war is an urban war, a war characterized by booby traps, snipers, car bombs. A grinding urban warfare that, most probably, will become fiercer in the coming weeks.

An Islamic State fighter captured in Sirte, Libya, is violently dragged and threatened by pro-government soldiers minutes before he was shot dead on Dec. 5, 2016. (ALESSIO ROMENZI /)

Several months ago I lived a dramatically iconic situation in Libya: The day before the end of the war in Sirte, I got access to the front line. During the weeks journalists' access was very limited, and the reason was that the Libyan soldiers have not taken prisoners, they killed all the ISIS fighters they captured. The day before the end of the war, a group of Libyan soldiers dragged out of the rubble a young ISIS fighter, his face was hollowed by hunger and he was disarmed. They did not notice my presence and I could document the moment in which they shot this guy. After a few minutes his body was lying on the ground. That moment  that shot  represented for me a bit the idea of barbarism, violence brought to its primordial and animal roots, a violence in which there are no more rules or ethics to be respected. There is only blind rage and blood. The Mosul war has the same characteristics, amplified. When you realize that a car bomb is approaching, your fear and the horror in the eyes of the soldiers who are with you are no longer human and rational. Everything suddenly becomes animal.

What is it like working inside of Iraq? How does it compare to Syria and other places you have covered in the region?

I can compare two wars I have covered in the last year. In Libya, in Sirte, there were only a dozen reporters and photographers; the media coverage has been low for the whole duration of the conflict. This gave me the chance to deepen several shades of that war: everyday life in the field hospitals, I shared life with the soldiers for weeks, I shared with them a mattress on the ground and the little food that reached the front line. I had time to see for weeks the long empty days, the endless waiting of the soldiers, images and feelings different from the collective imagination about war. I think that in the work of the photographer, especially the war photographer, this is very important: Loneliness and time create concentration and awareness, and also give you the opportunity to ask yourself specific questions on what you have in front of you.

From this point of view, the war in Mosul is very different. It is a mainstream war. At the beginning of the offensive, in November, the number of journalists present in Mosul was impressive. Today in western Mosul there is a media center that brings journalists to the front line, showing them the symbolic places of the battle. This emphasizes how communication is important today in Iraq. In Mosul there is a real army, an army who has a clear hierarchy and a clear chain of command. In Sirte, in Libya, there were dozens of militias, with one common goal  to liberate the city from ISIS control  but divided by the idea of the future of the country. In Syria, the situation was similar.

You said in 2012 that "focusing on the situation at hand helped you to manage your fear. Has that strategy changed over the years?

No, it hasnt changed at all.

When I live in dangerous situations, I value every detail around me: every sound, the tone of the voices, the moods of the people around me. I remind myself that the fear must help me to decide my movements and my choices. Especially in wars like this, where it is impossible to predict the act of a suicide bomber or a car bomb coming in your direction, where danger can come even in moments of apparent calm, you must always remain aware, vigilant. Anything can happen in the front line. It's a war.

Soldiers walk past an Islamic State fighter killed during a house to house advance in west Mosul, Iraq. (ALESSIO ROMENZI /)

But I also believe that each of us carry within himself at least one image that he has chosen not to take because it would be too dangerous. This work is also made of images seen, lived and not taken.

What would you like to cover over the next few years?

I would like to focus on how the war against terrorism will affect everyday life. I believe that big changes are already evident in the war zones where we work. And I think that a photographer is also a storyteller. And since these times require us to think about the potential and the limits of the photographic medium, I'd like to extend this reasoning to the limits that this type of terrorism brings to our lives and our work.
A mumps outbreak in Los Angeles County this year has infected 42 people, most of whom live on the Westside, health officials said this week.

There have been several mumps outbreaks nationwide in recent years, including some that are ongoing in parts of Texas, Arkansas and Washington state. Last year there were 5,833 cases of mumps nationwide, the highest number in a decade, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of May, there had been 3,176 cases nationwide this year, according to the CDC.

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Most people who contract mumps have no symptoms, or have flu-like symptoms along with swelling of their salivary glands, which is characteristic of the disease. But in rare cases, mumps can cause deafness or brain swelling that can be life-threatening.

Dr. Franklin Pratt, medical director of the immunization program at the countys Department of Public Health, said that some of those infected in the outbreak had been vaccinated. Many outbreaks in other parts of the country, which often hit college campuses especially hard, also have included people whod been inoculated against the virus.

Children get the first dose of the MMR vaccine  which protects against mumps, measles and rubella  between 12 and 15 months of age and the second dose between ages 4 and 6. The introduction of the vaccine in 1967 has reduced mumps cases by more than 99%, according to federal health officials.

Public health officials are unsure what has caused the recent outbreaks. Theories include that the vaccinations immunity wanes over time or that the current circulating strains of mumps are particularly strong, Pratt said.

Across the country, were seeing mumps kind of get strength again, Pratt said, adding that L.A. County typically sees about 13 cases per year.

This is clearly a blip, he said.

Most of the local cases have been among gay or bisexual men, although some women have been infected as well, Pratt said. Public health workers have determined that most transmissions occurred at bars, theaters and nightclubs. Those infected often seem to share a social network, he said.

The L.A. County outbreak, Pratt said, isnt related to one at Chapman University in Orange during the spring in which more than a dozen people were infected.

Mumps can be transmitted through kissing, sharing drinks and utensils, or touching surfaces that have also been touched by someone whos infected with the virus.

Pratt advised that people remember to wash their hands and avoid sharing drinks. If someone is sick, he or she should avoid contact with other people as much as possible. And if the symptoms line up with mumps, they should see a doctor immediately.

We appreciate that you have to live your life, but do your best to limit contact with other folks until youre past your infectious period, Pratt said. Getting the diagnosis is important for both advising that patient what they need to do, and also doing our very best to limit the spread.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla

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When Redgi Woods, 30, moved into a spacious loft in a Fashion District warehouse in July, he could not believe his luck. The high ceiling and lighting appealed to him, and he used the space to host parties and meet with clients for his fashion design projects.

I saw other people living here, I saw other artists, he said, sitting at a table in his loft, now crowded with moving boxes.

Photographers are great for me to have, models are great for me to have, Woods said, and when theyre all a door knock away it doesnt get better, it doesnt get easier, it doesnt become more beautiful.

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Redgi Woods is among the tenants ordered to vacate 931 E. Pico Blvd., which was cited by the city for illegal residential use. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

But the dream of living and working in the same place is coming to a bumpy end for the tenants of 931 E. Pico Blvd., who have been ordered by Los Angeles officials to vacate the four-story warehouse by June 28. The order to vacate has been extended twice, with the previous deadline June 22.

The structure was cited in August for illegal residential use. The lock-out order, announced in April, comes almost seven months after the city attorneys office sued the property owner, alleging fire code violations in the wake of Oaklands Ghost Ship fire.

Two weeks ago, about 10 of the tenants attended a City Council committee meeting, asserting that the property owner, Morad Ben Neman, was refusing to pay relocation assistance and pleading for help from the city.

On Wednesday, the City Council unanimously voted to approve nearly $400,000 in relocation funds, invoking a rule that allows the council to vote on an item the same day its put on the agenda. Councilman Jose Huizar had requested that funds be identified to assist the Pico residents, along with those at 1518 S. Paloma St., who also have been ordered to vacate due to illegal residential use. Both properties have the same owner.

Todays vote was critical in preventing residents caught in legal proceedings at no fault of their own from becoming homeless, Huizar said in a written statement. This is exactly what we should be utilizing these type of funds for.

The deadly Ghost Ship blaze in Oaklands Fruitvale neighborhood broke out Dec. 2 in a warehouse that had been converted into artists residences and a performance space, killing 36 people. The fire prompted many cities, including Los Angeles, to step up enforcement of building codes and crack down on illegally converted warehouses.

The Pico building was singled out by Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer, who on Dec. 5 filed a criminal complaint alleging unpermitted residential use, inaccessible fire escapes and an inadequate fire alarm system. A subsequent inspection found that new electrical circuits had been installed without permits.

Security guards appointed by the landlord also threatened and intimidated residents, the city attorney said.

Robert Mardis, a tenant, said that a guard once yelled at him: He gotta gun, he gotta gun when he was outside the building.

Tenants have been ordered by L.A. officials to vacate the four-story warehouse by June 28. Some residents sued the owner for failing to make safety improvements. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Now, tenants of the Pico building are suing the owner for failing to make fire and safety improvements. On March 7  the same day the tenants filed their suit  a court ordered a receiver to take control of the property.

We sought a receiver from the court who would  not only assure that the needed upgrades were accomplished to comply with fire code, but also to protect the tenants who otherwise had no one to stand up for them, Feuer said.

The property owner, he said, has appealed the receivers appointment.

The lawsuit  filed by about 80 current and former tenants against Neman  includes allegations of uninhabitable living conditions, vandalism of tenants property and intimidation of tenants who filed complaints to city agencies.

You had no safety, you had no heat, you had no permits, said Harold Greenberg, who represents the tenants. And when you block off the exit to the roof and when you block off the exit to the outside, youre going to trap people, and thats what happened at Oakland.

Not only am I in fear of being homeless, I have lost all the means to actually have a business, Pico building tenant Teresa Flowers told city officials. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

An attorney representing Neman in the tenants lawsuit declined to immediately comment. Bradley Brunon, Nemans lawyer in the citys criminal complaint, declined to discuss the case, saying that at this point things are up in the air.

The tenants accuse Neman of constructing the units for use as apartments  pointing to kitchens that were installed before they moved in. Many turned their lofts into galleries, rented out the space for dinner parties and hosted photo shoots. Celebrity sightings were common.

The lofts appealed to Mark Stout, 62, a commercial fashion photographer who moved in after spotting an ad on Craigslist, which he said advertised the space as work-live.

Theres coolness about things here in a rough, falling apart kind of way, and thats how an artist looks at it, he said.

Still, tenants had complaints.

Stout, who said he was evicted from the building and now lives in a motor home, said his photography clients would get stuck in the freight elevator and that he could see the unit above him through gaps in the wooden floor.

Matt Natoli, right, with his roommate Parker Francis at his Pico Boulevard loft. Many tenants had turned their lofts into galleries or hosted photo shoots and events. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

In December, a notice was posted in the warehouse instructing residents to comply with a court order prohibiting filming and gatherings with more than 10 guests. Tenants said this constricted business and their ability to generate an income.

That pretty much cut off my dinner parties, said D.J. Park, a 30-year-old chef, explaining that he switched from holding events twice a week to three times a month.

When Park moved into the property in November, he built a 15-seat countertop bar and installed new flooring. He prepared products to sell in his shop in Koreatown and provided off-site catering for film and television productions.

He said he paid $4,900 monthly in rent but that to justify that, I felt I was generating income from multiple businesses. That changed, he said, after the court order.

Pico building tenant Robert Mardis inside an empty loft. Security guards appointed by the landlord threatened residents, the city attorney said. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Teresa Flowers moved into the Pico building more than two years ago and decorated the hallway entrance with albumen prints  photographs made with egg whites that she said can sell for up to $4,500.

Not only am I in fear of being homeless, I have lost all the means to actually have a business, Flowers said at the council meeting two weeks ago.

Their situation reflects a larger reality: There are few affordable live-work spaces for artists downtown.

The Santa Fe Art Colony, which offers subsidized housing, was established about 30 years ago with a $1.2-million Community Redevelopment Agency loan.

Sylvia Tidwell, head of its tenants association, said that rent for many of the 80 residents will rise from $981 to a range of $1,350 to $1,750 when the financing agreement expires Oct. 1. Another live-work space, Art Share L.A., offers 30 subsidized units in the Arts District with rents ranging from $700 to $900 a month.

Eric Cacioppo left his Pico Boulevard loft and moved into a home with his girlfriend. He laments that the area has abandoned the artists who made downtown what it is. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

The need is definitely there, and we saw that with so many people being displaced after the Ghost Ship fire, said Cheyanne Sauter, Art Share L.A.s executive director.

Its a situation that the Pico warehouse tenants understand.

Eric Cacioppo, 35, decided to leave his loft and move into a two-bedroom house with his girlfriend.

The bigger issue that I have, said Cacioppo, is downtown as a whole abandoning the core people that made downtown what it is  and thats artists that cant work down here.

Tenants of the Pico building are suing the owner for failing to make fire and safety improvements. They also appealed to the city to help them relocate. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

leila.miller@latimes.com

Twitter:@leilamillersays

UPDATES:

6:15 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about when tenants must vacate the building.

June 21, 4:10 p.m: This article was updated with information that the City Council voted to approve relocation funds.

This article was originally published on June 16 at 7:55 p.m.
Odd though it may seem, Los Angeles is too lucky for its own good.

Sure, the city has its share of problems, as does any metropolis. But it remains a destination for people from around the world, many of them young, skilled and creative. They move here for culture, commerce, climate  or all three.

Thats a situation many cities can only envy, but success comes at a cost. In the case of Los Angeles, our attractiveness has created a housing affordability crisis with no end in sight, transforming the city in ways big and small.

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On the main shopping strip in Highland Park, where many signs are still in Spanish, a former dress shop became a groovy coffee shop two years ago  with avocado toast on the menu, of course. The customers, mostly young and white, are as self-consciously hip as the ones I used to see in Silver Lake 15 years ago.

In Boyle Heights, longtime residents have raged against the rise of art galleries, arguing that locals are being forced out, threatening the identity of the working-class Latino neighborhood.

The dark side of L.A.s popularity

Gentrification is neither all good nor all bad, but more people in Los Angeles are falling behind rather than getting ahead, with wages flat or in decline as rents go crazy.

Highland Parks hip new music scene. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A book by Richard Florida, The New Urban Crisis, prominently features Los Angeles as a prime example of the dark side of success  severe housing shortages, deepening segregation, inequality and the decline of the middle class. In the book, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metro area leads all other major hubs, including New York City, on what he calls the urban crisis index.

More than 400,000 households in the city of Los Angeles, and a total of 900,000 in L.A. County, have what the census bureau calls precarious housing situations. That means the dwelling is substandard, or that families are doubled up, or that they spend more than half their income on housing.

Then, of course, weve got 58,000 homeless people.

When I wrote about the intersection of high rent and homelessness two weeks ago, I referred to a mother and son living in their car. I then heard from a woman who said she could identify. She lives in her car and parks it at a hospital, where she gets dialysis treatments three times a week.

She was middle class. Now shes on the street

I was middle class up until very recently, said the woman, in her 50s, whose name Im withholding because she doesnt want the hospital to know she lives in the parking lot.

I paid her a visit. She said her work as a legal secretary dried up after she got sick, so she moved in with a friend who later died. The landlord raised the rent, and she moved into her car, with no family to call on and a disability check as her only income. Shes on a waiting list for a kidney transplant, and her hope is that shell one day get a new kidney, go back to work, and be able to afford an apartment again. As it is, the median price for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,995, and she cant come close to that.

When I last wrote on this topic, I heard from people who claimed they had all the answers. But for every proposed solution, theres a counter-argument and a reality too complicated for easy fixes.

Los Angeles alone cant solve a regional or national housing crisis, said professor Jerry Nickelsburg of the UCLA Anderson Forecast, nor can it stem the tide of people who want to live here.

People moving into California are better-educated and have higher incomes than those who are moving out, he said, and thats having a direct effect on rising rents.

Calls for rent control are met with cries that such controls are unfair to landlords and drive up costs for other renters.

Why we cant keep up with housing demands

Developers argue that eliminating red tape and simplifying environmental requirements would speed construction, and prices would drop as supply increases. Critics counter that new luxury units will far outnumber less-expensive apartments.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is pushing a plan for a linkage fee on new construction, requiring developers to kick into a fund for affordable housing. He claims that the idea  in use now in San Diego, San Francisco and Oakland  would raise $100 million a year and be leveraged to create $400 million in housing annually. But the development community is apoplectic, saying the proposal would slow construction and lead to higher prices.

A committee of the City Council  a body thats beholden, some argue, to the money and clout of the real estate industry  has delayed action.

Garcetti told me hes confident the measure will pass.

The devil is going to be in the details, he said.

Garcetti has a lot on the line, because the fee is a central piece of his plan to address the housing crisis. Another key is completion of a general plan that would allow greater housing density in areas where it makes sense, such as near transit corridors.

Peter Dreier, a professor at Occidental College, helped design a linkage fee for the city of Boston, when he worked there many years ago. Everyone in Boston said it would kill the golden goose of prosperity, but we ignored them, said Dreier, and Boston continued to prosper.

Dreier said Los Angeles needs to build more affordable housing, but also has to preserve whats left of a dwindling number of affordable homes. Theyre being lost partly because when tenants move out of units built prior to 1978, the landlord can raise rents to any level. A bill that would give cities more power to cap rent increases has Garcettis support, but its been stalled in Sacramento under heavy pressure from landlords.

Pedestrians walk past a homeless encampment along 39th Street underneath the 110 Freeway. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

In some cases, landlords have a legitimate beef. I visited Loretta and Henry Selinger, who own seven midsize apartment buildings in the Mar Vista area, with a total of 97 units. Some of their longtime tenants are paying as little as $900 a month, despite healthy incomes, for units that could rent for twice that much. The Selingers cant raise the rent more than 3% to 5% a year, even when they invest thousands for building improvements and seismic safety upgrades.

Were not crying poverty, said Loretta, but the Selingers think its unfair to require them to charge far less than they could get in a free market.

An agenda for fixing L.A.

So what to do?

In Floridas book, which Garcetti recommended to me, the fixes include some of what Los Angeles has done or is doing. Build more transit, which creates more jobs and connects more people to paychecks and housing. Build denser housing near transportation hubs. Build more affordable rental housing, as the linkage fee would make possible. And address the other end of the challenge  flat or declining wages in the service industry  by increasing the minimum wage for people whose work supports the robust economy that draws so many people to L.A.

Florida also calls for eliminating restrictive zoning and building codes to make way for higher-density projects. He recommends taking billions in federal subsidies for mortgage deductions that go to some of the wealthiest people in the country, and kicking it into housing or housing assistance. Why not tax property on its usefulness, argues Florida, with lower taxes on property that serves a great public need such as affordable housing? And why arent tech giants, at the center of the new economy of winners and losers, doing more to support their own service employees or joining the search for broader fixes?

Donald Trump said he was going to rebuild cities, but his budget proposals seem to have a different objective in mind, and would cost cities millions in housing funds. All the more reason for cities to figure out what they can do on their own, or in conjunction with officials from other cities and the state.

If the L.A. City Council doesnt want to support a linkage fee, fine. But in that case, it damn well better come up with something else.

Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopez

More from Steve Lopez:

Customers battle Whole Foods to save a newsstand, and a way of life

Dying malls offer a chance to build something better  and address how our lives are changing

L.A.'s crisis: High rents, low pay, homelessness rising and $2,000 doesnt buy much
Airline complaints: In the June 15 Business section, a photo caption with an article about an increase in airline complaints misidentified two American Airlines planes as being from United Airlines.

Birding festival: In the June 11 special Travel section on road trips, a listing for the Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival in Sierra Vista, Ariz., included an incorrect phone number. The correct number is (520) 266-0149.

If you believe that we have made an error, or you have questions about The Times journalistic standards and practices, you may contact Deirdre Edgar, readers representative, by email at readers.representative@latimes.com, by phone at (877) 554-4000, by fax at (213) 237-3535 or by mail at 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. The readers representative office is online at latimes.com/readersrep.
Authorities are looking for a woman who they say abducted her three children from their fathers San Fernando home, and may have taken them to Mexico.

A Los Angeles Police Department news release describes Crystal Juarez, 28, as 5 feet 6 and 180 pounds with a tattoo on her neck that says Humphrey Park.

Police say Juarez took the children from her ex-husbands home in the 7400 block of Kester Avenue on Thursday around 4 p.m. He has full custody of the children, while Juarez was allowed to visit on weekends, police said.

According to the departments news release:

Gabriel Vargas, 10, is 4 feet tall and 80 pounds. He was wearing a black shirt and black shorts.

Ruby Vargas, 7, is 3 feet 6 and 60 pounds. She was wearing a blue shirt, jeans and Spiderman shoes.

The youngest, Lily Vargas, is 6 years old, 3 feet 4 and weighs 50 pounds. She was wearing a white shirt, zebra print pants and pink shoes.

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[Juarez] has family in Tijuana, Mexico and may have taken the children there, the statement said.

Anyone with information should call the LAPD Van Nuys Division Detective Desk at (818) 374-0040.

Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.
A San Diego woman was sentenced Friday to a year and nine months in prison for lying to the FBI about her and her husbands whereabouts the day his secret gay lover was murdered on the side of a Baja California highway.

Prosecutors said Taylor Marie Langston, 21, was within a hairs breadth of being charged as a co-conspirator in the murder of Jake Merendino, but in the end the evidence just wasnt there. She pleaded guilty to an obstruction of justice charge, while her husband, David Enrique Meza, went to trial and was convicted last month of murder.

Investigators say evidence points to Langstons presence in Mexico in the early morning of May 2, 2015, when Merendino was killed. But while Mezas phone tracked his movement within the country, putting him at the scene of the crime, Langstons exact locations that day remain a mystery.

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The one place the couple were not: at their friend Joes house in Tijuana. The alibi the couple had cooked up, that they were merely in Mexico visiting a friend, was a lie that cost the FBI 19 days in its investigation into the slaying, prosecutors said.

Langstons involvement in or knowledge of the killing  described Friday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller as a brutal murder of extreme barbarity  is unknown.

Langstons defense attorney, Donald Levine, said the young woman was the victim of manipulation and lies just as Merendino was, and that her relationship with Meza was fraught with emotional and physical abuse.

Meza met Langston when she was 16 years old and the two began dating. Meza, who was five years older, was leading the double life of a porn actor and prostitute, picking up gay men on escort websites. Thats where in 2013 he met Merendino, a wealthy Texas man who fell in love with the gigolo and began showering him with gifts. The relationship between the men grew seemingly serious  although Merendino knew nothing of Mezas then-girlfriend in San Diego.

Langston knew Meza was spending a lot of time with Merendino, but she was told that his name was George and that he was a client of Mezas who was dying of cancer. She was told the fancy gifts and cash were the proceeds from Mezas accounting work  another fabrication.

After a couple of years, Merendino bought a condominium in a new complex near Rosarito Beach in Mexico, with the understanding Meza would be moving in with him. Langston by that time was pregnant.

Thats when Meza, prosecutors said, put his plan into action  which would leave him the sole beneficiary of Merendinos condo and $3-million estate.

After leaving Merendino at a hotel in Rosarito, the day after escrow closed on the condo, Meza lured him to a highway around 2 a.m. Merendinos body was found about an hour later, his throat slashed and 24 stab wounds to his torso. His body was dragged and dumped over a small cliff.

Meza and Langston were captured on border cameras entering the U.S. later that morning in separate vehicles, with Meza wearing different clothing than before.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Robert Ciaffa pointed to Langstons benefit to the death, and noted several text messages between her and Meza that indicated she was prepared for Merendino to die soon and a financial windfall to come their way.

Langstons attorney said she lied about their whereabouts that day because she was scared of Meza and under his control.

Prosecutors contended there was little evidence of prolonged domestic violence. There was one incident in 2014 when Chula Vista police were called to the couples home, and Meza later was convicted of battery.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Davis writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune
There will be no Medicaid-for-all option in Nevada.

Gov. Brian Sandoval waited until the last day he could  Friday  to veto a measure that would have offered a state-sponsored health insurance option to all residents regardless of income. If he hadnt signed it or vetoed it by midnight, it would have become law.

Had the Republican governor signed it, however, Nevada would have become the first state to attempt a Medicaid-for-all approach to health insurance. It also would have placed Nevada among the ranks of states including California that are looking for ways to solidify health insurance options for populations that will be risk if Congress and President Trump gut the Affordable Care Act.

In his three-page veto message released Friday night, Sandoval praised the sponsor of the bill for creativity in attempting to design a healthcare option for the states 2.9 million people, but he ultimately reasoned that there were too many unanswered questions about how the program would work.

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He wrote that the legislation was an undeveloped remedy to an undefined problem  and that it didnt get proper scrutiny before it was passed in a short time frame.

The bill was short  just four pages  and its sponsor, Democratic Assemblyman Mike Sprinkle, acknowledged that it would require a lot of work if it had become law. Thats why, Sprinkle said, he put an implementation date of January 2019 within the bills text.

In a statement, he expressed disappointment by the governors veto.

Healthcare is a right, not a privilege or a product. With this veto, Governor Sandoval has actively decided to veto a right that all Nevadans should have, Sprinkle said. I wont give up on the fight to secure access to quality and affordable healthcare for every Nevadan  I will bring this legislation back next session.

The measure proposed selling a Medicaid-style insurance option on the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange. Called the Nevada Care Plan, it would have been sold alongside private insurance options. It would have operated within Medicaid, but it wouldnt be Medicaid  the latter has strict qualifications targeting low-income families.

There were worries among providers  including the Nevada Hospital Assn.  about the Nevada Care Plan reimbursing them at lower rates than the private insurance plans pay. There were also concerns  also mentioned by the governor  of the plan disrupting the current marketplace.

The legislation also faced a significant hurdle in that there would be no way for the Nevada Care Plan to be sold on the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange. The plan would also have needed permission from the federal government for consumers to use federal income tax credits to purchase it.

Sprinkle had said part of his reason for proposing the legislation was related to the uncertainty in Washington about the fate of Obamacare, which congressional Republicans and Trump have sought to repeal.

The House of Representatives successfully passed a bill to replace Obamacare, but Senate Republicans are crafting their own plan to do away with President Obamas signature achievement.

One of the chief worries for states like Nevada centers on what will happen to people who obtained health coverage under the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare. Medicaid is a federal-state program that helps pay for healthcare for needy, elderly, blind and otherwise disabled people and for low-income families with children.

Sandoval was one of the few Republican governors to accept Obamacares Medicaid expansion, and Sprinkle thought his bill might have a chance to get the governors signature given Sandovals vocal opposition to congressional moves to repeal Medicaid expansion.

In his message, the governor said the proposal  dubbed Sprinklecare  does not end the conversation about potential coverage gaps or possible solutions, including Medicaid-like solutions.

Nevada has about 600,000 people using Medicaid and the Medicaid expansion. About 11% of Nevada residents remain without any healthcare coverage.

Given the possibility that changes in federal law may put Nevadas expanded Medicaid population at risk of losing their coverage, the ability for individuals to purchase Medicaid-like plans is something that should be considered in depth, Sandoval wrote. If done correctly, the proposals in AB374 could provide a necessary safety net for those who may no longer have access to traditional Medicaid.

Sandoval is term-limited and cannot seek reelection in 2018.

david.montero@latimes.com

Twitter: @davemontero

ALSO

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Michelle Carter found guilty in Massachusetts texting suicide case

A day of rumors over deportation policy highlights divisions within the Trump administration

UPDATES:

10:30 a.m.: This article was updated with a statement from Nevada Assemblyman Mike Sprinkle.

This article was originally published at 3 a.m.
Experts cant predict earthquakes, but they can warn you that theyre coming. For a dozen years, West Coast scientists working with the United States Geological Survey have been developing an earthquake early warning system  called ShakeAlert  that could provide anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes of warning not only about the shaking thats imminent but also about its intensity.

Thats enough time to stop a train in its tracks, let an elevator open at the nearest floor or warn your dentist to pull the drill out of your mouth. But just as a pilot program for the system is ramping up, President Trumps budget would eliminate $10 million in federal funding for it and end the U.S. Geological Surveys involvement in it. That would be a colossal mistake. Pulling federal money and federal scientific support would not just slow the ShakeAlert project, it would likely kill it altogether.

The system received $10 million in state funding this year; in addition, the federal government has put in $23 million over the past three fiscal years. The system needs the continued federal funding to finish building out an already extensive network of ground sensors as well as seismic stations to transmit the information from the sensors. Even more crucial is money for the annual maintenance and upgrade of the systems software and hardware and for researchers and other staff who will work on it when it is fully operational throughout the state.

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In addition, ShakeAlert, which will operate across California, Washington, and Oregon, depends on the U.S. Geological Survey to coordinate the scientific efforts across those states and to authorize issuing the warning alerts to citizens.

Early warning systems detect the seismic waves rippling outward from the rupture in the earth, calculate the maximum intensity of the expected shaking and send alerts to electronic devices  smart phones, public address systems, computers, televisions  faster than the seismic waves can travel through the ground. The farther you are from the epicenter, the more time you have between the alert and the shaking. But even a few seconds is enough time to find a place to, literally, duck and cover.

Los Angeles City Hall is already connected to the system, as is the fire station at Universal City. Of course there havent been any major quakes recently in this area. But researchers in San Francisco got eight seconds of warning when a magnitude 6.0 quake hit Napa in 2014. More institutions here are expected to join the pilot program if funding stays in place. The city of Los Angeles has aggressively supported the system. It invested $5 million to set up a network of 125 seismic stations in southern California that have sensors and transmitters. The challenging part  for all of California and the rest of the West Coast  is putting in place the technology to send out the warnings to masses of people at once and extremely quickly. Its doable. Japan has a system in place.

The system has bipartisan support among members of Congress from California. They should work hard to add federal funding to a warning system that could save lives and crucial infrastructure during a catastrophic earthquake.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
We saw it during Barack Obamas presidency: Inciting invective on the right was impeding the work of the party in the White House and even causing deranged men with guns to act violently, according to some Times letter writers. When Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in 2011, many readers were quick to blame right-wing pundits before it became widely known that the gunman was a deeply paranoid man whose conspiracy theories betrayed no political bias.

Now, with Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of Congress, its the presidents conservative supporters writing to condemn the left  including what they consider the liberal media  after a man who expressed violently anti-GOP views shot House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and two others in Alexandria, Va., on Wednesday.

Here are some of the more accusatory letters weve received this week.

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Don Ruh of Yucaipa encourages journalists to be more responsible:

The attempted assassin who claimed Republicans were worse than terrorists and needed to be eradicated, among other vile comments, then tried to kill Republican members of Congress, was a little off.

Is there enough water in drought-stricken California to wash the blood off your hands?  Murray Levine, Encino

A little? Really?

You may not realize this, as your ideology and that of most of the media is so ingrained as to be blinding, but you and other liberal news organizations have been stoking hatred for this president and Republicans in general, feeding the deranged mind set of radicals like the slain Alexandria shooter James T. Hodgkinson.

Take credit where credit is due. You are complicit in the spewing of such hatred for anyone who disagrees with your leftist views. Please be more responsible in the future; you owe it to your country.

Encino resident Murray Levine says the media have blood on their hands:

The media keep presenting Trump as a vile, nefarious villain. Comedian Kathy Griffin lifts up a mock severed head of our president. A New York theatrical group portrays Shakespeares Julius Caesar, who is brutally assassinated, as Trump.

No wonder idiots out there think literally taking pot shots at Republicans is fair game.

A similar thing happened when the New York Times reported that President Ford was soft on environmental concerns and influenced Lynette Squeaky Fromme, believing the coastal redwoods were in danger because of automobile exhaust, to attempt an assassination of Ford in Sacramento.

Is there enough water in drought-stricken California to wash the blood off your hands?

Santa Monica resident Paul Gulino blames the other sides rhetoric:

The hatefulness that characterizes our political discourse is regrettable, but the perpetuation of false equivalence will not help the situation.

The Times June 15 report Its been building and building notes that, in the wake of Wednesdays shooting, words of reconciliation were quickly drowned out by partisans grasping for tactical advantage. It goes on to cite examples on the right, quoting a radio host, a commentator and the presidents son.

It also says this: On the Democratic side, some more virulent partisans openly celebrated the critical wounding of Rep. Steve Scalise. Who are these virulent partisans? What did they say?

I hope one day journalists will be unafraid to point out the simple fact that the violent rhetoric and incitement that characterize political speech today are products of the right, not both sides. We must first recognize the truth if we are to successfully address this problem.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: Twice recently, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is not a regular member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, interrupted Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), a well trained prosecutor and former attorney general of California, as she questioned the witness. (Jeff Sessions said Kamala Harris questioning made him nervous, June 13)

On Tuesday, Harris doggedly asked Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions if he had read a policy he cited allegedly exempting him from answering questions about his conversations with President Trump. Harris, under a strict time constraint, tried to keep the dissembling Sessions on subject, but McCain interrupted her.

Harris has been called hysterical. Educated, successful and assertive women have faced this same accusation for ages.

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Ellen Lubic, Thousand Oaks

..

To the editor: Harris was again admonished for her rudeness. In response, Harris sent out emails to supporters with the slogan, Courage not courtesy.

With so much incivility in politics, Harris should know there is nothing courageous about discourtesy.

Jim Blumel, Santa Clarita

..

To the editor: The Senate Intelligence Committee dropped the ball and made legal errors that any of its lawyer members should have caught. It failed to ask the clearly unprivileged and allowable questions Sessions could not refuse to answer under the guise of protecting the presidents right to assert executive privilege.

Privilege covers only the content of the communication and not whether a communication on a given topic occurred. If Sessions had been asked yes or no whether he had a discussion with the president on a specified topic and he answered yes, then the committee could have asked the White House whether it was invoking executive privilege on those conversations.

Sessions surely knew he could not refuse to answer topic-identifying questions. The committees legal ineptness let him off the hook.

Les Weinstein, Los Angeles

The writer is an attorney.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: Calls for civility in the wake of the shooting in Alexandria, Va., are beside the point. The deranged will always be with us. What is more to the point is to deny the deranged the means of carrying out their mayhem. (A shooting in Alexandria brings gun violence directly to those best situated to act, editorial, June 14)

It would be inappropriate to describe the Republican healthcare bill and their devious and dishonest way of avoiding scrutiny in anything but the most uncivil terms. Giving President Trump the courtesy of civility would obfuscate the true nature of his contempt for democracy.

Now is not the time for timidity in our discourse.

Charles Berezin, Los Angeles

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To the editor: While gun violence is a legitimate concern, the serious issue here is hatred  hatred fueled by politicians and, yes, media coverage that accentuates the extremes.

The slain gunman could have just as easily tossed a bomb over the park fence. In that event, The Times would have had to discuss hatred and how the media perpetrate it instead of its tired anti-gun rhetoric.

Mike Post, Winnetka

..

To the editor: House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) rightly said about the victims, These were our sisters and brothers in the line of fire.

Yet on the same day as the shooting in Virginia, four people were shot dead in San Francisco.They were also our sisters and brothers, yet they were treated as simply more casualties caused by the availability of guns in our country.

The National Rifle Assn. is currently pushing two bills to legalize silencers and push down state concealed carry laws to the lowest common denominator. Perhaps it is time for the American people, in the face of this unfolding daily horror, to call on the Republican Congress to distance itself from the NRA.

Alfred Sils, Woodland Hills

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: With suits and not togas, crafty stage masters often hail Caesar to hold a mirror up to the politics of the present. (Shakespeare isnt tasteful enough for Delta and Bank of America? Thats rich, Opinion, June 14)

The controversy over a New York production of Julius Caesar, in a which an actor dressed like President Trump plays the title character, brings to mind Queen Elizabeth Is beloved but rebellious earl of Essex, whose supporters hoped to stir anti-queen sentiment by paying Shakespeares company to re-boot Richard II.

To quote Shakespeare, He loves no plays ... he hears no music. Seldom he smiles.... Such men as he be never at hearts ease whiles they behold a greater than themselves, and therefore are they very dangerous.

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Outrageous! Treasonous! But wait, this quote Caesar himself speaks. And so the irony in the play, in Central Park and in the White House runs thick.

Trump nation should not be afraid of goose quills. Besides, Shakespeare might actually help the intolerant Trump govern effectively. Instead of bestriding the narrow world like a Colossus, he should listen to Portia of Merchant of Venice fame: Mercy becomes the throned monarch better than his crown ... and earthly power doth then show likest Gods when mercy seasons justice.

Both the president and Caesar are power-hungry braggarts with an unhealthy need for flattery.  Tom Bauer, Morro Bay

The real reason that Julius Caesar troubles Trump nation is that the play cuts too close to the bone  that beneath imperial Trumps democratic suit buttons is a Caesarian toga.

Matthew D. Mailander, Palm Desert

..

To the editor: Virginia Hefferman accuses the corporations that pulled their sponsorship from the New York Public Theater of aiming to keep journalists, scholars and intellectuals in line by treating their work not as art but as a branding opportunity. She doesnt buy Delta Air Lines reasoning that the production crossed the line on the standards of good taste.

Artists need to take responsibility for how their art is perceived. This includes acknowledging that sometimes the consequence may be loss of funding. No one has squelched the artists free expression.

Corporations must act in the best interest of their shareholders. Obviously enough people were offended by this art that both Delta and Bank of America felt they needed to pull their financial support. This is not about defunding the arts or limiting free speech.

Jenene Schafenacker, Dana Point

..

To the editor: Omar Paxson, my theater arts professor at Occidental College, preached that Shakespeare should only be presented in Elizabethan costumes or the dress of the period in which the play is set. I am more open to modern-dress productions.

Julius Caesar is not the main character in the play that bears his name, but if he is to be portrayed as a Trump-like figure, there is certainly logic behind the concept. Both the president and Caesar are power-hungry braggarts with an unhealthy need for flattery.

The backers withdrawing their support because of the assassination should know that Julius Caesar becomes a saintly martyr. The populace turns against the conspirators because of his generosity. In his will he has left each Roman citizen money and land, a gesture Trump would never be guilty of.

Tom Bauer, Morro Bay

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Trumps latest tweet in media war is a literal show of mock pugilism By Laura King President Trump on Sunday circulated a doctored video clip on Twitter that showed him physically attacking a crudely rendered stand-in for CNN, a post that drew rebukes from critics as an incitement to violence, but prompted renewed expressions of support from backers. In doing so, Trump also ignored pleas to stop tweeting or at least take a more presidential tone -- from lawmakers in his own party -- after he took his war against news media to new heights last week with a coarse post on the appearance and intellect of cable television host Mika Brzezinski. On Saturday he also posted several anti-media messages as Americans began their Fourth of July celebration. Sundays tweet, which used an edited version of a years-old promotional video for professional wrestling, showed Trump, clad in a business suit and tie, administering a choreographed beat-down to a figure whose face was obscured by CNNs logo. #FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017 CNN, which has been a particular target of the president since the network was forced to retract a story relating to an element of the sprawling investigation into possible collusion with Russia by the Trump campaign, quickly condemned the tweet. It is a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters, the network said in statement. It also tweeted a recent assertion by White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders that Trump had never engaged in such incitement. "The President in no way form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence. If anything, quite the contrary." - @SHSanders45 6/29/17  CNN Communications (@CNNPR) July 2, 2017 As is often the case, the presidents surrogates were left scrambling to explain or justify an inflammatory Twitter outburst. Homeland security advisor Thomas Bossert, who was shown the clip while appearing on ABCs This Week, watched it stone-faced and then declared: No one would perceive that as a threat. I hope they dont. The night before, Trump had used a celebration of veterans at Washingtons Kennedy Center to again denounce the news media. The president, who had briefly broken a weekend golf getaway to appear at the rally, pounded away at the theme that he is being treated unfairly. The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, he told the raucous crowd. But Im president, and theyre not. Facebook

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Increasing number of states reject request for personal information on voters from Trump commission By Colleen Shalby (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press) A growing number of states have rejected a request for personal information about voters from a presidential commission on vote fraud led by Kansas controversial Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Kobach, the vice chairman of the commission, sent letters to each state and Washington, D.C., asking for voters personal information. The request asked for names, addresses, voting history and the last four digits of voters Social Security numbers. The commission was set up to look into voter fraud after President Trump alleged that he lost the popular vote in 2016 only because millions of people voted illegally -- a claim that numerous states election officials from both parties and outside experts have dismissed as groundless. As of Friday afternoon, at least 13 states had outright rejected the request from the Presidential Advisory Committee on Election Integrity. Officials in several other states either said they would not supply all the information or needed more information before making a decision. Some officials did not mince words in their nos. They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi is a great State to launch from, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann wrote in a statement. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement that strongly criticized Kobach that he would continue to defend the rights of all eligible voters to cast their ballots free from discrimination, intimidation or unnecessary roadblocks. Secretary Padilla's response to the Election Commission's request for personal data of CA voters: pic.twitter.com/UdUt55HSim  CA SOS Vote (@CASOSvote) June 29, 2017 As a Kansas official, Kobach has been a leading backer of immigration restrictions and of measures to put new requirements on who is allowed to vote. His opponents note that he was fined last week for misleading a federal court in a voting rights case. Democratic elected officials in several states criticized the commission, itself, not just the information request. The president created his election commission based on the false notion that voter fraud is a widespread issue  it is not, Kentucky Secretary of State Allison Grimes wrote. "I do not intend to release Kentuckians' sensitive personal data to the fed. gov't."  Sec. Grimes



Statement on Pres. Commission request: pic.twitter.com/9Js05x99eF  Alison L. Grimes (@KySecofState) June 30, 2017 In an odd contradiction, Kobach said that Kansas, like some other states, will partially reject at least one aspect of the request. In Kansas, the Social Security number is not publicly available.  Every state receives the same letter, but were not asking for it if its not publicly available, he told the Kansas City Star. The states that have fully rejected the request include California, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Mississippi and Minnesota. Others, including Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Missouri, Kansas, Utah and Texas will turn over some of the requested information. Vermont has requested an affidavit from the commission. And Wisconsin has suggested that the commission could purchase the publicly available information, just as political campaigns do. Officials in Washington state said they were reviewing the request. Facebook

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Look at possible conflicts of interest in Trump teams OneWest Bank probes, 2 Democrats urge By Jim Puzzanghera Protesters gather outside a OneWest Bank in Pasadena in 2014. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times) Two House Democrats want Congress to look into possible conflicts of interest in the Trump administrations handling of investigations into Pasadenas OneWest Bank  a bank formerly headed by now-Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Al Green (D-Texas) said Friday that there was room for considerable doubt as to the impartiality and the adequacy of this administrations investigations into OneWest and a subsidiary, Financial Freedom. Mnuchin was the banks chairman from 2009 to 2015. President Trump has nominated Joseph Otting, the former chief executive of OneWest, to be comptroller of the currency, a key bank regulator who is part of the Treasury Department. And Brian Brooks, who was OneWests vice chairman, reportedly will be tapped to be deputy Treasury secretary. Read More Facebook

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Healthcare issue delivers nothing but pain for Nevadas embattled Sen. Dean Heller By David Montero Dean Heller is Stephanie Diaz-Gonzalezs problem now. Shes never met Nevadas Republican senator and hadnt had much time to familiarize herself. How could she? The 25-year-old is holding down a full-time job and ra+ising a 7-year-old son, who keeps her busy with soccer games, math homework and those too-often terrifying moments when he cant breathe. When President Trump was elected and congressional Republicans moved on their top priority to dismantle Obamacare, Diaz-Gonzalez got to know Heller a whole lot better. Given his back-and-forth on the issue, she came to distrust him. I dont know if I could vote for him or support him, the Democrat said. He seems very contradictory. Which is why Heller is also Karen Steelmons problem. Steelmon, a 48-year-old Republican who grew up in northern Nevada, isnt happy with the lawmaker, who is considered the most vulnerable GOP senator in the country when he comes up for reelection next year. Obamacare has always been an abomination to Steelmon, an ardent supporter of repeal. To her, deeply held principles are at stake. Heller has never acted in favor of what I would consider conservative, constitutional principles as a general rule, said Steelmon, who would like to see the incumbent taken out in a GOP primary. And on the very few times he has, its always come as a surprise. This is Hellers dilemma. Read More Facebook

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Trump will meet face-to-face with Putin in Germany next week By Brian Bennett (Alexei Nikolsky / Associated Press) President Trump has governed five months under a cloud of questions about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, yet the two men will meet next week for the first time, on the sidelines of the G20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, Germany. White House officials on Thursday confirmed plans for the private meeting but said no decisions had been made about the topics Trump will raise. So its unclear whether the men will discuss Russias election-year cyberattacks that are the focus of criminal and congressional investigations. Our relationship with Russia is not different from any other country in terms of us communicating with them, really, what our concerns are, where we see problems in the relationship but also opportunities, said Trumps national security advisor, H.R. McMaster. McMaster said he expected the two men to have a broad, wide-ranging discussion about problems in the relationship but also about where the U.S. and Russia have common interests. Theres no specific agenda, McMaster said. Its really going to be whatever the president wants to talk about, he added. The White House has refused to say whether Trump would sign legislation with new sanctions on Russia for meddling in the elections by hacking, including into some states voting systems, and by spreading false news stories. But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated the existing restrictions against Russia were sufficient. Weve got plenty of those as well, Mnuchin said. Trump will also meet with the leaders of China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Singapore and other countries during the summit of 20 major world economies. Trumps director of the White House National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, said the meeting would fall short of a typical bilateral discussion between the American president and the head of another country, but would be more than whats known in diplomacy-speak as a pull aside  a quick, informal get-together on the edge of a conference. Trumps scheduled meeting with Putin in Hamburg places added significance on his stop in Poland next Wednesday. In Warsaw, McMaster said, Trump intends to bolster U.S. relationships with Poland and other central European and Baltic states that were once in Moscows orbit under the Soviet Union, but now rely on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the U.S. to counter pressure from Russia. Trumps meetings there seem designed to strengthen his hand with Putin. McMaster called Poland a front-line NATO nation with regards to the eastern flank, noting that it sent troops to fight alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan and Iraq and has exceeded its pledge on NATO defense spending. As a candidate and president, Trump has criticized other NATO countries that have not yet met those pledges for military spending equal to at least 2% of the size of their respective economies. Facebook

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Travel ban seen a win by at least one conservative; Breitbart focuses on upcoming votes in Congress By Kurtis Lee After it stalled for several months in federal courts, a portion of President Trumps travel ban is set to take effect Thursday evening and will bar individuals from six majority-Muslim countries. Some in conservative media are viewing it as a much-needed political victory for Trump. Here are some of Thursdays headlines: Two wins for Trump (Washington Times) Trump has seen setbacks in his fledgling administration  probes into possible collusion with Russia, infighting among his party over a healthcare overhaul, federal courts halting his travel ban. But now, the president gets a W. The Supreme Courts decision to allow portions of President Trumps travel ban to proceed is a much-needed victory for the administration, Cal Thompson writes. In doing so the unanimous court affirmed  at least temporarily, pending a full hearing on the case in the fall  a presidents constitutional authority to determine whether people seeking admittance to the U.S. pose a threat to our safety and security. Thompson also highlights the Supreme Court decision this week that churches have the same right as other charitable groups to seek state money for new playground surfaces and other non-religious needs. Thompson called the ruling in the case, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia Inc. v. Comer, a victory for religious institutions and Trump, who at times has touched on the issue of religious freedom. Breitbart prods GOP leaders to pass pro-American immigration reforms (Breitbart) For Trump, Breitbart hasnt always delivered the most approving headlines for his administration  particularly on immigration. Some right-wing bloggers and pundits dont think Trump has done enough on immigration, a key pillar of his campaign platform. This piece turns the attention to members of Congress, where two bills  focused primarily on detaining people in the country illegally  could come up for a vote . The GOP-run House is expected to vote for two modest immigration-reform bills as soon as this week, but pro-American reformers are using the two votes to build loud and energetic public pressure for major reform legislation, notes the right-wing website. Trump attacks Psycho Joe Scarborough, Crazy Mika Brzezinski in Twitter tear (Fox News) At first, they were friends; now, perhaps, enemies?

Trump used Twitter early Thursday to jab Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who the president in past has said he admires. The tweets have drawn the ire of Republicans. Heres what the president wrote: I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017 ...to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017 And the response? pic.twitter.com/8YhzcCUwM1  Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) June 29, 2017 Facebook

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Trump plans to nominate Brendan Carr to fill final FCC seat and provide crucial vote on net neutrality rules By Jim Puzzanghera President Trump intends to nominate Brendan Carr, a former aide to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, to fill the final open seat at the agency and provide a crucial vote on the future of tough net neutrality rules. Carr, the FCCs general counsel, would fill a Republican slot on the commission and would be expected to support Pais push to roll back the regulations for online traffic. Carrs intended nomination was announced by the White House on Wednesday night. It comes after Trump nominated Jessica Rosenworcel, a former FCC commissioner, on June 14 to fill a Democratic seat. If the Senate confirms both nominees, as expected, the FCC would have its full complement of five commissioners and a 3-2 Republican majority. Read More Facebook

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Gorsuch is already pushing Supreme Court to the right on religion, guns and gays By David Savage Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) When Judge Neil M. Gorsuch went before the Senate in March as President Trumps first nominee to the Supreme Court, he sought to assure senators he would be independent and above the political fray. There is no such thing as a Republican judge or Democratic judge, he said more than once. We just have judges. But in just his first few weeks on the high court, Justice Gorsuch has shown himself to be a confident conservative activist, urging his colleagues to move the law to the right on religion, gun rights, gay rights and campaign funding. He dissented along with Justice Clarence Thomas when the court rejected a gun-rights challenge to Californias law that strictly regulates who may carry a concealed weapon. The 2nd Amendments core purpose, they said, shows the right to bear arms extends to public carry. He wrote a dissent, joined by Thomas and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., when the court struck down part of an Arkansas law that gave opposite sex-couples, but not same-sex couples, the right to have both spouses listed on a childs birth certificate. The court said it had already decided that same-sex couples deserve fully equal rights under state law. And when Trumps travel ban came before the court this week, Gorsuch dissented from the majoritys middle-ground approach, which allowed the ban to take effect except for foreign travelers who had a relationship with this country, such as a close relative or a student enrolled in a university. Read More Facebook

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When he meets South Koreas president, Trump will be asking for trade concessions and help confronting North Korea By Brian Bennett (Nicholas Kamm / AFP Photo) President Trump plans to pressure South Korean President Moon Jae-in to make trade concessions when they meet Friday, while at the same time seeking closer cooperation against North Koreas accelerating nuclear program. Both aims, outlined Wednesday by a senior administration official, could make for some difficult discussions, especially since the newly elected Moon campaigned for a softer approach to the government in Pyongyang. Moon, who arrived Wednesday in Washington, began his four-day visit by laying a wreath at a memorial at Marine Corps Base Quantico in northern Virginia to the U.S. Marines who died during the Korean War in the battle at Chosin Reservoir. Trump will host Moon and his wife, Kim Joon-suk, for dinner at the White House on Thursday before the two leaders meet one-on-one in the Oval Office on Friday morning. Having criticized the two countries trade agreement when he was running for president, Trump will argue for a more balanced trade relationship, the administration official said in a background briefing. In particular, Trump will cite the large amount of Chinese steel that is sometimes processed in South Korea before being sold cheaply in the U.S. market. The two leaders will have a friendly, frank discussion about the trade imbalance between South Korea and the United States, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Seouls trade surplus is shrinking, the official added, but there is still a large gap. The visit will mark the first time the two leaders have met since the liberal Moon took office last month after the ouster of President Park Geun-hye, a scandal-tarred conservative who had taken a hard line against North Korea. Trump and Moon share precisely the same goal, the Trump aide said -- the complete dismantlement of North Koreas nuclear program. But the approach of the two leaders is starkly different. Trump has called for maximum pressure against North Korea, seeking additional economic sanctions and demanding that China, North Koreas main ally and patron, do more to shut off assistance to Pyongyang. Moon has risen through the ranks of his countrys politics advocating for closer ties between the Koreas, which technically are still at war. Already he has taken steps to delay the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, known as THAAD, an anti-missile system intended to counter any North Korean strikes. The anti-missile system is a divisive issue in South Korea; it prompted protests last weekend at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. China has objected to installation of the powerful radar defense as well, but the White House believes the U.S. system will ultimately be fully operative. The delay should not be equated as a reversal of the decision to deploy THAAD, the official said, and suggested that the topic would not be central to the two presidents discussions. As important as anything [will be] building a rapport and getting to know each other, the official said. Facebook

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Senate Republicans aim for new healthcare bill by Friday, but skeptics remain By Lisa Mascaro (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Senate Republicans reconvened behind closed doors Wednesday trying to break the impasse on their healthcare overhaul but emerged with no apparent strategy for resolving differences by an end-of-week deadline. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky vowed to try again for a vote after the Fourth of July recess, despite having abruptly delayed action this week. Senators were aiming for a revised bill by Friday, the Republican whip, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, told reporters, so it could be assessed by the Congressional Budget Office during the break. But senators remained skeptical after the lengthy lunchtime huddle that appeared to run long on ideas but short on consensus. I think its going to be very difficult, said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). McConnell surprised senators by delaying this weeks expected votes once it became clear he did not have a majority for passage  or possibly to even open the debate. As many as 10 Republican senators now publicly oppose the bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, and leaders are scrambling to win them over with an estimated $200 billion in savings from the bill that can be applied to their particular states needs. But even with that fund of resources, it is not clear McConnell will be able to satisfactorily improve the legislation, which now threatens to cut 22 million Americans off health insurance. He can only afford to lose two Republican votes in the face of Democratic opposition. Its going to be very difficult to get me to a yes... have to make us an offer we cant refuse, Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said on a telephone town hall late Tuesday, according to journalist Jon Ralston, who monitored the call. Fresh polling Wednesday showed paltry support for the Republican approach to overhauling the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, which has enjoyed a surge in popularity now that Republicans are closer than ever to repealing it. A USA Today poll put approval of the Senate GOP bill at 12%. Republicans, though, are under enormous pressure from their most conservative supporters  and big dollar donors, including the powerful Koch network  to deliver on their promised to end Obamacare. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, suggested that President Trump convene all 100 senators  much the way then-President Obama did during his first days in office for a session at Blair House  to see how they might be able to work together to improve, rather than repeal, the Affordable Care Act. Id make my friends on the Republican side and President Trump an offer: Lets turn over a new leaf. Lets start over, said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). President Trump, I challenge you to invite us  all 100 of us, Republican and Democrat  to Blair House to discuss a new bipartisan way forward on healthcare in front of all the American people. No such invitation, however, seemed forthcoming. Trump dismissed Schumers proposal  he just doesnt seem like a serious person, the president said  and instead promised his own big surprise on healthcare. Healthcare is working along very well, Trump told reporters at the White House. We could have a big surprise, with a great healthcare package. Asked what he meant by a big surprise, Trump simply repeated: A great, great surprise. The Republican bill, like its counterpart passed by House Republicans, does not fully gut Obamacare, but rescinds the new taxes imposed on high-income individuals and healthcare companies to pay for expanding coverage through Medicaid and subsidies for private insurance on the ACA marketplace. Senators said the private talks Wednesday focused mainly on changes to the Obamacare marketplace that could bring down the cost of insurance premiums. One idea from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to allow insurers to offer policies that do not meet the Obamacare benchmarks for what insurance needs to cover met with mixed reaction, senators said. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, warned that such changes would alter the risk pool, keeping insurance costs high. You end up with policies that, for example, dont cover maternity, Cassidy said. Do you want a policy that doesnt have maternity, which would be principally appealing to young men, when obviously typically men have had a role in that pregnancy? Other senators were floating new ideas, but McConnell gave no indication whether those proposals would be included in the final revised product. Michael A. Memoli contributed to this report. Facebook

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No new laptop bans, but air travelers to the U.S. will face tighter screening all over the globe By Joseph Tanfani Homeland Security officials said Wednesday they will order stricter passenger screening and other new security measures for all flights entering the United States but will not bar laptop computers in carry-on luggage as airlines and passenger groups had feared. The new order will cover about 2,000 flights a day from 280 airports in 105 countries, a move that could make international flying even more onerous just as the busy summer travel season starts. Security officials would not detail the new measures but said passengers headed to the United States will face more intensive screening at airports, and probably more security dogs. They gave no date for when the new procedures will start. If carriers dont implement the measures effectively, Homeland Security still may ban laptops, e-readers and other electronic devices larger than cell phones from cargo holds as well as passenger cabins. The decision follows intelligence, reportedly gathered from Islamic State in Syria by Israeli spy services, suggesting a lethal new threat from bombs that could be concealed in digital devices and that could evade detection by airport screening devices. In March, U.S. and British authorities banned laptops in cabins on flights from eight Muslim-majority countries in North Africa and the Middle East, saying terrorists were seeking innovative methods to bring down commercial jetliners. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly told a security conference in Washington on Wednesday that the new security measures will be both seen and unseen and will be phased in over time. He said they will include tougher screening, particularly of electronic devices, plus new technology and procedures to protect planes from so--called insider attacks by airline employees. It is time that we raise the global baseline of aviation security, Kelly said. We cannot play international whack-a-mole with every new threat. He said terrorists still see commercial aircraft as the crown jewel target for attacks, and that intelligence has shown renewed interest by terrorists to attack airlines. Kelly told a House committee several weeks ago that the department was considering extending the laptop ban to 71 more airports overseas. But Kelly ultimately decided to tighten screening across the board, instead of focusing on laptops or chasing after each item that might be used to bring down a jetliner, senior Homeland Security officials said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to brief reporters, said Kelly worked with airlines to find ways to improve screening without unduly inconveniencing passengers. Intensive doesnt always mean slower, said one official. In some cases, airlines have been doing these things at international airports for some time. The officials said more security dogs, which sniff for explosives, may be used. And they said airlines and airports may institute pre-check programs like those approved by the Transportation Security Administration for use in U.S. airports. The officials said restrictions on the first 10 airports will be lifted once airlines in those countries satisfy the new security protocols, officials said. Airport authorities in the eight countries affected by that ban  Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates  have been told about the new security measures and will put them in place so the ban is lifted, the officials said. In recent weeks, Kelly and his aides have huddled with their counterparts overseas, as well as with representatives of major airlines, to discuss whether to expand the ban around the globe. Airlines protested that a laptop ban would inconvenience passengers and not remove the threat. Aviation experts and European security officials warned that putting laptops in cargo holds would pose other dangers because the lithium batteries could start fires. In 1988, a bomb hidden in a radio cassette player exploded aboard a Pan Am jet flying over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 passengers and crew. The plot was blamed on then-Libyan strongman Moammar Kadafi. In 2010, powerful bombs hidden in printer ink cartridges were found aboard two cargo jets headed from Yemen to Chicago. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula later claimed responsibility for the plot. Facebook

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Its crunch time for McConnell after Senate GOP is forced to delay vote on healthcare bill By Lisa Mascaro ( (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)) The abrupt decision Tuesday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to temporarily shelve a vote on the Republican Obamacare overhaul gives him a few extra weeks to build support for a revised bill before it risks becoming hopelessly stalled by the opposition. The seasoned GOP leader will be aided by what amounts to a $200-billion piggy bank to push Republican holdouts into line. Thats the bills extra cost savings, compared with the House version, that McConnell can tap to provide perks to individual senators, from more opioid assistance to expanded tax-free health savings accounts. A similar strategy  delay and enticements  worked well in the House, where Republicans last month passed their healthcare bill on the third try. But prolonging the debate also gives Democrats and other critics time to mobilize, and ensures that senators will be exposed to an onslaught of opposition as they head home for the weeklong holiday break to defend a bill that has estimated would leave tens of millions of Americans without insurance. After the delay was announced, President Trump hosted a White House gathering of all GOP senators. But rather than rally them around the bill with the power of the presidential bully pulpit, he struck a surprisingly detached tone. This will be great if we get it done, Trump told senators in the East Room. And if we dont get it done, its just going to be something that were not going to like. And thats OK. Read More Facebook

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As vote looms, concerns over Medicaid cuts rise from some in conservative media By Kurtis Lee Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press ) The vote  for now  is delayed. As President Trump has urged Senate Republicans to pass a bill that would overhaul the Affordable Care Act, some, including Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada and Rob Portman of Ohio, have expressed concerns over cuts to Medicaid. Both represent states that, under Obamacare, expanded Medicaid coverage to low-income adults. The current Senate healthcare bill would deliver deep cuts to Medicaid, leaving millions uninsured. While Trump awaits a vote in the coming weeks  originally scheduled for this week, but pushed back until after the July 4 recess  its on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to gather enough support from within his GOP caucus to secure the bills passage. Some in the conservative media are questioning the current bill. Here is an overview of todays headlines on this and other issues: Republicans have a Medicaid problem (Weekly Standard) The Republican healthcare bill would cut Medicaid spending by $772 billion over the next decade. Chris Deaton writes that Republicans aim to offset the consequences of these Medicaid changes by offering tax credits for private insurance to people under the poverty line. In this piece, Deaton raises the question of whether low-income earners would be better off with Medicaid coverage or obtaining insurance through a GOP tax credit? He answers by noting, Its long been a contention of conservative thinkers that healthcare outcomes improve with private insurance rather than Medicaid. Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chairman, registers as foreign agent (Associated Press) Hes among those facing scrutiny in an FBI investigation into Russian meddling in last years election. Now, Paul Manafort, who at one time served as Trumps campaign chairman, has registered with the Department of Justice as a foreign agent. In a filing with the department, Manafort notes that his consulting firm received nearly $17 million between 2012 and 2014 from a Ukrainian political party with links to Russia, according to the Associated Press. Last spring, former national security advisor Michael T. Flynn, who resigned from his position in February after misleading administration officials about contacts with Russians, also registered as a foreign agent, for consulting work he did for a Turkish businessman. A Democratic road to recovery (American Spectator) The party is attempting a reboot. After Hillary Clintons 2016 loss and defeats in several special elections this year, Democrats are in search of a new face for the party. Even so, liberals are in lock-step in their opposition to Trump. This piece offers Democrats some advice  from the right  on how to recover. Leftists: You have been lied to and taken advantage of. When you eventually come out of this haze you are in, you will realize that it was done not by the president, but by the snake oil salesmen and charlatans, who took advantage of your sickness and weakness, simply for money and power, writes Judah Friedman. Ask yourselves this: What is the Democratic Party, right now, without this rage, and hate, with which it is fueling your addictions? The answer is nothing. Facebook

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Sarah Palin sues the New York Times for tying her PAC ad to mass shooting By Associated Press Former vice presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is accusing the New York Times of defamation over an editorial that linked one of her political action committee ads to the mass shooting that severely wounded then-Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. In the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court Tuesday, Palins lawyers say the Times violated the law and its own policies when it accused her of inciting the 2011 attack that killed six people. The lawsuit refers to a June editorial in the Times on the recent shooting of Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise. The editorial later was corrected. Palin is seeking damages to be determined by a jury. A spokeswoman for the Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha, says the company hasnt seen the lawsuit but will defend against any claim vigorously. Facebook

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Trump succeeds where Obama failed  spawning a new wave of liberal activism By Mark Z. Barabak Amanda Litman and Ross Morales Rocketto launched the Democratic activist group Run For Something, which encourages people under 35 to seek elected office. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) The night Hillary Clinton lost the White House, Amanda Litman cried so hard she threw up. In Atlanta, as the returns rolled in, Traci Feit Love faced a question from her anguished 8-year-old daughter: Now what do we do? Across the country, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Rita Bosworth wondered the same thing. The three never met, never spoke, never communicated in any fashion. But in the days and weeks that followed, they became common threads in a sprawling patchwork: the angry and politically aggrieved who  with no help from politicians, political parties or any formal campaign structure  have joined to fight President Trump and his policies. Read More Facebook

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Trump on healthcare bill: If we dont get it done ... thats OK By Associated Press (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump said that if the healthcare bill fails to pass in the Senate, he wont like it  but thats OK. Trump spoke Tuesday at a gathering of Senate Republicans after their leaders delayed a vote on their healthcare bill until at least next month. Trump said, This will be great if we get it done and if we dont get it done its going to be something that were not going to like and thats OK and I can understand that. He added, I think we have a chance to do something very, very important for the public, very, very important for the people of our country. Facebook

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Watch live: Press briefing with Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and Energy Secretary Rick Perry Facebook

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Senate GOP leaders abruptly delay vote on healthcare bill until after July 4th recess By Lisa Mascaro Facing resistance from their own party, Senate Republican leaders said Tuesday they would postpone a vote on their healthcare bill until after the July 4th recess. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to provide more time to make changes to the bill to try to convince reluctant GOP senators to vote for the measure. Were going to press on,' McConnell said, adding he remains optimistic. Were continuing to talk. Since the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would leave 22 million more Americans without insurance after 10 years, several Republicans senators had said they would not even support allowing the bill to be brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Meanwhile, President Trump invited all GOP senators to the White House for a meeting Tuesday afternoon. But Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a moderate who has expressed serious doubts about the bill, questioned whether revisions would make a difference. I have so many fundamental problems with the bill, that have been confirmed by the CBO report, that its difficult to see how any tinkering is going to satisfy my fundamental and deep concerns about the bill,' Collins said on CNN. McConnell is struggling to appease two factions in his party. Centrists like Collins want to lessen the impact of proposed cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives want to go further in repealing benefits provided under Obamacare. Senate leaders hope to continue talks this week, with an eye toward moving quickly when Congress returns after the holiday. McConnell plans to wait for the CBO to review any changes and reissue a score. He can only afford to lose two Republicans given the partys 52-seat majority in the Senate. Theres more work that needs to be done, its pretty obvious, said Republican Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho as he was leaving a Senate lunch with Vice President Mike Pence. Pence ignored reporters questions about the decision. If more work needs to be done, you shouldnt try to light the fire. But the delay in a vote will give Democrats and other opponents of the repeal bill more time to mobilize, particularly as Republicans return to their home districts during the holiday. We know the fight is not over,' said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York. Facebook

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Trump administration warns of Syrian chemical attack, but with damaged credibility By Noah Bierman The Trump administration Monday night sent the kind of dire warning -- of the Syrian regimes apparent preparation for another chemical weapons attack, and a threat of U.S. retaliation -- that requires credibility to have a receptive national and foreign audience. Yet the initial bafflement about the warning among U.S. defense officials, and the simultaneous distraction of President Trumps unrelated tweets, seemed to undercut the seriousness of the moment. More broadly, the episode is testing the damage Trump has done to his and his administrations trustworthiness by his assaults on the intelligence community as well as other perceived enemies. Trump has spent months attacking the credibility of the intelligence community, at one point comparing their tactics to Nazis and repeatedly calling its findings of Russian meddling in the election a hoax and witch hunt, even as foreign policy experts cautioned that he was diminishing the reputation of a community he would need in times of crisis to rally public support. At a moment of crisis when U.S. decisions and actions rest upon information coming from the intelligence community, [Trump] may have diminished the credibility of that information in the eyes of the public and the eyes of the international community, said Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Assn. Kimball called the White House statement unusual and said such messages would normally be sent through private diplomatic channels. He added that the public allegation should be followed by a formal presentation of the evidence to the United Nations Security Council, to build international support against suspected Syrian violations of the chemical weapons ban. The four-line statement on Syria from the White House Press Secretary came just after 9:44 p.m. EDT Monday. The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children, the statement read. The activities are similar to preparations the regime made before its April 4, 2017 chemical weapons attack. If Syrian President Bashar Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price, it concluded, citing a U.S. missile strike after the previous chemical attack to reinforce the new threat. A Pentagon spokesman confirmed Tuesday that preparations for a chemical attack were observed at the same base in Syria from which its military launched a sarin nerve gas attack that killed 86 people, including children, in April. We have observed activities at Shayrat Air Base that suggest possible intent by the Syrian regime to use chemical weapons again, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway said in a statement. These activities are similar to what we observed prior to the regime chemical weapons attack against Khan Sheikhoun in April. But some senior U.S. defense and intelligence officials reached late Monday and early Tuesday were caught off guard by the White House statement. Some knew, some didnt, said a U.S. official who sought anonymity to discuss the intelligence matter. The official described the release of the nighttime statement as ungraceful, but said the assessment that Syria was preparing for an attack is sound. Such official statements are typically distributed widely across an administration for internal vetting before theyre publicly released. The White House said the relevant agencies were informed before the statement was published. Yet Trump lent further confusion about the urgency of the matter and his own level of concern by sending out a tweet about domestic politics only minutes later. He cited a Fox news report about the FBIs Russia investigation, writing as he often does about the probe, Witch Hunt! From @FoxNews "Bombshell: In 2016, Obama dismissed idea that anyone could rig an American election." Check out his statement - Witch Hunt!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017 Indeed, Trump continued through the next morning to demonstrate his frustration with the Russia investigation and what he calls the American medias fake news with posts on his Twitter feed. Many tweets quoted supportive conservative commentators and Fox News reports. Trump was eager to go after CNN, one of his top media targets, after it retracted a Russia-related story and three journalists involved resigned. So they caught Fake News CNN cold, but what about NBC, CBS & ABC? What about the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost? They are all Fake News!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2017 Trumps willingness to mix politics and his administrations ominous red line to Syria opened him up to criticism that he was trying to divert attention from other unfavorable news Monday. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had found that the Republican plan to replace Obamacare would strip 22 million people of health insurance coverage over the next decade. The Syria statement also prompted a sharp backlash from the Kremlin, which is Assads military ally in his nations civil war. Russian officials denied there is evidence of an imminent chemical attack and called the White House threat unacceptable. The tensions have heightened as Trump is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week at the G20 Summit of industrialized nations in Germany. Mondays statement may be seen as a warning not just to Syria but to Russia, which is widely seen as enabling Assads harsh tactics by bolstering his military as he has tried to retain power. Facebook

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Kremlin calls White House warning to Syria unacceptable, denies any Assad chemical attack in the works By Sabra Ayres The Kremlin is calling unacceptable a White House warning to Syrias government that it would pay a heavy price if it carries out another poison gas attack against its own people. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, also declared Tuesday that there is no indication that a chemical weapons strike is in the works. The White House said late Monday night that activity had been detected similar to that preceding a nerve gas attack on April 4 that killed dozens of civilians, including children, in rebel-held Idlib province. President Trump responded by launching nearly 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian military airfield that U.S. officials said was used for the chemical attack. It was the first U.S. attack on Syrian forces in the six-year civil war. Russia continues to deny that Assads forces carried out the April 4 gas attack and Peskov criticized the White House for saying there were signs of preparation for another such strike. Peskov said the Kremlin does not think it is possible to lay the blame on the Syrian armed forces for the April strike on the village of Khan Sheikhoun, which the U.S. and its allies said involved sarin, a banned nerve agent. Despite all the demands from the Russian side, an impartial international inquiry into a previous tragedy using chemical agents has not been carried out, the spokesman told Russian news agencies. Peskov criticized the White House warning to Assad, saying such threats to Syrias legitimate leaders are unacceptable. Read More Facebook

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Senate healthcare overhaul hits trouble as Republicans hesitant to proceed to vote By Lisa Mascaro The Senate Republican healthcare bill ran into serious trouble late Monday when key GOP senators indicated they may block the Obamacare overhaul from proceeding to a vote this week. Political turmoil has been building over the bill for days. But GOP tension burst open after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that 22 million more Americans would lose insurance coverage under the plan and that out-of-pocket costs for many of those buying policies on the Affordable Care Act marketplace would rise. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hoped to start procedural votes by Wednesday, and President Trump called key senators over the weekend as support splintered. Its the same political dynamic that stalled the House Republican bill last month, as conservative and centrist factions wrestle for dominance. Conservatives want a more complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which they hope will lower premium costs, while centrists are trying to avoid leaving millions of Americans without health coverage. Senate bill doesnt fix ACA problems for rural Maine, tweeted Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). I will vote no on mtp, she said, referring to the motion to proceed to the bill. Conservative Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is also working to change the bill so that he can vote yes on the procedural motion. We are not there yet, Lees spokesman said. Senators have bristled at what they viewed as McConnells secretive and rushed process, and several other senators said they wanted more time before voting. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was among those Republicans who shared concerns in weekend calls with Trump. We continue to make progress, Cruz told reporters Monday, as Democrats, who oppose the bill, planned an almost-all-night protest session. Cruz is part of the gang of four conservatives -- including Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky -- who have said they cannot vote for the bill as is. Among the changes being pursued is one provision that would allow insurers to offer cheaper policies that do not meet ACAs requirements and another to let consumers sock more money into health savings accounts We can get there and Im hopeful we will get there, Cruz said. However, he declined to say whether he would agree to Wednesdays procedural vote. Also hesitant to proceed was Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, who has strongly criticized undoing Obamacares Medicaid expansion that has enabled about 200,000 people to gain coverage in his state. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, for example, wanted changes to help residents in her geographically far-flung state where healthcare costs are particularly high. Some senators, though, dismissed the budget analysis and said keeping the ACA would be worse. Its clear the CBO cannot predict the purchasing patterns for millions of Americans, said Georgia Sen. David Perdue, a Trump ally, in a statement. This bureaucratic analysis will do nothing to prevent Obamacare from failing. Others are weighing their votes. Republican Sen. Bob Corker, whose office is receiving thousands of daily calls, spent part of Monday on the phone with health officials in Tennessee as he assesses the fallout in his state of 22 million more people in the country without healthcare. I kind of figured it was going to be a pretty big number, said Corker, who remains undecided. Theres a lot of incoming. CBO says 22 million people lose insurance; Medicaid cuts hurt most vulnerable Americans; access to healthcare in rural areas threatened. 2/3  Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) June 26, 2017 Facebook

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Supreme Court puts off decision in three pending cases about borders and immigration By David Savage ((Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Amid its flurry of decisions Monday about Trumps travel ban and cases involving religious liberties and guns, the Supreme Court put off final rulings on three pending cases involving immigration and the U.S. border. In Hernandez vs. Mesa, the court in an unsigned opinion told the U.S. appeals court in New Orleans to take a second look at a border shooting case. The parents of a 15-year-old Mexican boy sued a U.S. border patrol agent who shot and killed the teenager when he was standing a few feet from the border on the Mexican side. The 5th Circuit had thrown out the parents suit. The facts alleged in the complaint depict a disturbing incident resulting in a heartbreaking loss of life, the court said in sending the case back for a further hearing. The court said it would rehear in the fall a Los Angeles case involving whether immigrants awaiting deportation can be jailed indefinitely, or instead have a right to a bond hearing after six months. The courts action suggests the eight justices were evenly split in Jennings vs. Rodriguez. The court also said it will rehear the case of Sessions vs. Dimaya to decide whether non-citizens can be deported for an offense like breaking into an empty home because it may be deemed a crime of violence. Facebook

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Refugee advocates says even partial reinstatement of travel ban will cause hardship By Laura King Immigration and refugee advocates expressed disappointment Monday with the Supreme Courts partial reinstatement of President Trumps travel ban, saying even limited implementation could cause hardship to refugees and others seeking to travel to the United States from six affected Muslim-majority countries. However, organizations taking part in the months-long legal fight against the revised travel ban expressed hopes that the high court ultimately will reject the restrictions after arguments are heard in October. And they welcomed what they described as an implicit rebuke of the White Houses assertion that Trump has unfettered powers to exclude arrivals based on purported national security concerns. The initial rollout of the ban, days after Trump took office in January, caused pandemonium at airports across the United States and overseas as tens of thousands of visa-holders arriving from seven affected countries were turned away without warning or detained. After courts blocked that order, Trump issued a revised travel ban that took Iraq off the list. A replay of Januarys travel chaos was unlikely Monday because the courts action will allow visa-holders with bona fide ties to people or entities in the U.S. to enter, meaning students, employees and family members can still get in. But refugee advocates said the courts limited ruling, which the administration can move to implement on Thursday, could leave many would-be arrivals in limbo pending the finalizing of new vetting procedures. The administration had originally said a three-month travel ban was needed in part to review the checks to which would-be entrants are subjected. David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, said the partial reinstatement of the ban particularly threatens vulnerable people waiting to come to the U.S., including those with urgent medical conditions. We urge the administration to begin its long-delayed review of the vetting process and restart a program which changes lives for the better, said Miliband. The National Immigration Law Center, one of the groups that challenged the ban, said that as of this week, approximately 50,500 refugees from the six affected countries had been approved for travel and resettlement in the United States  all having already undergone intensive checks. The Middle East Studies Assn., one the groups contesting the ban in the lower courts, said many students and academics were ensnared by the original order. Even though Mondays court move should allow entry to those studying or working at American academic institutions, many from the affected countries remained wary of leaving and then attempting to re-enter the United States, the group said. Iran  along with Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya  is one of the affected countries, and Southern California is home to a large Iranian American community that was hit hard by the original ban. Some advocates said even with Mondays limited action, there has already been a chilling effect on movement. Todays Supreme Court decision immediately places the status of many Americans families into question again, said Shayan Modarres, legal counsel for the National Iranian American Council. The group said that visas issued to Iranian passport-holders had fallen by nearly half since the legal battle over the ban began, and that obtaining a U.S. visa was becoming so onerous that many would not even try to get one. The Trump administrations new idea is to make it so hard on Iranians and Muslims to get a visa that visa officers will have the unrestricted discretion to reject visa applications, Modarres said. He added that grounds for rejection could be social media postings critical of Trump or not being able to produce airline boarding passes that could have been issued and used more than a decade ago. Advocacy groups reiterated their position  which was argued in a number of the lower court cases that propelled the issue to the high court  that the travel restrictions run counter to core American traditions and values. Mark Hetfield, president of the refugee resettlement agency HIAS, said the group considered the courts move an affirmation that the president does not have unfettered, unchecked authority to bar refugees from the U.S. without evidence to justify such action. But he added that the executive orders partial resurrection would once again cause irreparable damage to refugees, immigrants, and Americas reputation as a welcoming country. The initial ban prompted large nationwide protests, and advocates suggested they would again seek to marshal popular opposition to the restrictions. When the first order went into effect, tens of thousands of Americans showed the world that this is not who we are and not what we want, said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, another of the groups involved in the legal challenge. We will never give up defending the rights of those who are affected by this discriminatory executive order. Facebook

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Trump says Supreme Court action on travel ban gives him important tool By Michael A. Memoli .@POTUS statement says SCOTUS action allows him to "use an important tool for protecting our Nation's homeland." Will admin press further? pic.twitter.com/gxBJO5aYYZ  Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) June 26, 2017 President Trump celebrated the Supreme Courts decision Monday to allow a curtailed version of his travel ban to take effect, calling it a clear victory for our national security. In an official White House statement, the president said he was particularly gratified that at least part of the ruling was 9-0; three conservative justices said they would have let the presidents revised executive order take effect completely. My number one responsibility as Commander in Chief is to keep the American people safe. Todays ruling allows me to use an important tool for protecting our Nations homeland, he said. The White House has long maintained that the president was acting within his authority in seeking to temporarily restrict travel to the United States. They most often point to a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that states a president can suspend or limit entry of individuals whenever the president finds that the entry ... would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. Facebook

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Rival Senate factions push competing agendas as healthcare bill hangs in balance By Laura King Heading into a week of intense jockeying and arm-twisting over the Senates polarizing healthcare plan, the rift appeared to widen Sunday between moderates who consider the measure too punitive and conservatives who want to see the sweeping bill toughened up before agreeing to back it. President Trump, who made the repeal of his predecessors signature Affordable Care Act a campaign centerpiece, expressed optimism about chances for Senate passage, but declared again that he wanted to see a plan with heart  suggesting he might undercut Republican efforts to bring recalcitrant conservatives on board. With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) seeking to push ahead with a vote this week, the bills prospects hung in the balance. Five GOP senators have said publicly they oppose the measure as written; the defection of only three Republicans would be enough to sink it. Read More Facebook

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Analysis: Atop 2017 losses, a sobering challenge for Democrats aiming at Trump next year By Cathleen Decker Republican Karen Handel, winner of last weeks special House election in Georgia. ( (Bob Andres / Atlanta Journal-Constitution)) Democrats have hoped that President Trumps deep unpopularity would propel them to gains in next years midterm election as they fight to take control of the House and improve their position in the Senate. But last years contests and this years special elections suggest a complication: Trump is so distinctive a politician that its hard to persuade voters that other Republican candidates are carbon copies of the president. Trumps outsized persona makes even those Republicans who share his views seem more moderate, an important attribute to swing voters. That presents a problem for the party out of power. Midterm elections traditionally serve as referendums on the president, but voters complicated views of Trump may give Republicans more running room than his popularity figures suggest. The votes cast by individual Republican incumbents may be more important to their survival than any linkage with the president. Read More Facebook

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Conservatives at Koch summit outline changes to Senate healthcare bill to win their support By Lisa Mascaro Tim Phillips, who heads Americans for Prosperity, the largest of the Koch networks advocacy groups, speaks to the media at the White House in Washington on March 8. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) Conservatives floated two amendments for toughening up the Senates Obamacare overhaul this weekend at the influential Koch networks confab of wealthy donors, as Republicans seek ways to win over detractors and tip enough GOP votes for passage. That the Koch network quickly panned the Senate bill is no surprise. The organization of deep-pocketed conservative advocacy groups similarly rejected the House GOP bill this spring until party leaders tacked on tough amendments to appease right-leaning Republicans. Weve been disappointed that movements not been more dramatic toward a full repeal or a broader rollback of this onerous law Obamacare, said Tim Phillips, who heads Americans for Prosperity, the largest of the Koch networks advocacy groups. But we are not walking away, he said. We worked to make the House bill better and it did get better. Were doing the same thing on the Senate front. One key lawmaker attending the weekend summit at the luxurious Broadmoor Hotel, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and a chief negotiator on the House bill, outlined two key changes to the bill that he said could likely win enough conservative support for passage. One amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) would allow companies that offer insurance policies on the Obamacare marketplace to also offer plans that do not meet the ACAs strict requirements. Such a change would in essence allow insurers to offer cheaper, though skimpier, policies that may help achieve the GOPs goal of lowering premiums for consumers. Another amendment would broaden the ability of those who buy insurance on the marketplace to sock away more money in tax-free Health Savings Accounts to help them pay for their premiums. Cruz is one of four Senate conservatives who have said they would not support the bill unless changes are made, positioning them for negotiations in the days ahead. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) needs to win back some of their votes to pass the bill with his slim 52-seat Republican majority. One of the conservatives, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), was among those feted Saturday night at a reception with Charles Koch, the billionaire industrialist who funds the conservative network. Koch told those gathered for an outdoor cocktail reception on a breezy Colorado Springs evening about how far his team has come over the years at promoting what is a libertarian-leaning conservative agenda. Now when I look at where we are, at the size and effectiveness of this network, Im blown away, he told donors. Koch met Friday with Vice President Mike Pence. But the politics in the Senate remain difficult as McConnell continues to negotiate behind closed doors and rushes the bill to a vote expected this week. On Sunday, one key centrist, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, doubted a swift resolution. Its hard for me to see the bill passing this week, she said on ABCs This Week. Another crucial vote, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who had offered his own proposal, also criticized the rush. I frankly would like a few more days to consider this, Cassidy said on CBSs Face the Nation. But Republicans are anxious to resolve the healthcare debate, which has created a logjam in their legislative agenda. Meadows also told reporters if the Senate passes the bill this week, the House could quickly follow with a weekend session -- ahead of a Fourth of July bill signing by the president. Facebook

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Schiff: Obama should have acted on Russian interference, but Trump shouldnt complain By Laura King A top House Democrat says President Obama should have reacted more forcefully upon learning of Russian election-meddling, but also asserted that it was illogical for President Trump to levy such criticism against his predecessor. I think the [Obama] administration needed to call out Russia earlier, needed to act to deter and punish Russia earlier, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), said in an interview aired Sunday on CNNs State of the Union. Failure to do so, he said, had been a very serious mistake. But Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Trumps criticism of Obama made little sense in light of the current presidents own inaction in the face of decisive U.S. intelligence conclusions about Kremlin efforts to tip the 2016 race to Trump. Trump, Schiff said, is in no position to complain here in light of the fact that as a candidate, he openly urged the Russians to hack Clintons emails. To criticize Obama is now a bit like someone knowingly receiving stolen property blaming the police for not stopping the theft, said Schiff, a former prosecutor. On Saturday, Trump issued a statement on Twitter referencing a Washington Post report a day earlier detailing the previous administrations wrestling with how, when and whether to make public the degree of Russian interference. Since the Obama Administration was told way before the 2016 Election that the Russians were meddling, why no action? Focus on them, not T! the president tweeted. The Post report said Obama was worried about the appearance of improperly using mounting intelligence reports about Russian activities to aid Clintons candidacy. The subject was particularly inflammatory because at that point in the race, Trump had complained repeatedly about the rigged political process and even suggested he might not respect the election outcome. Facebook

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Trump says hes optimistic about Senate approval of GOP healthcare measure By Laura King President Trump says he believes that backers of a sweeping GOP healthcare measure are going to get there and pass the measure despite the refusal of five Republican senators to endorse the bill as written. Healthcare is a very, very tough thing to get, but I think were going to get it, Trump said on Fox and Friends in an interview aired Sunday that he had touted beforehand on Twitter. We dont have too much of a choice because the alternative is the dead carcass of Obamacare, the president said, referring to the Affordable Care Act, his predecessors signature piece of legislation. Opinion polls have indicated low public support for the version of the healthcare bill passed earlier by the House of Representatives. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), wants to bring the Senate version, unveiled days ago, to a vote this week. In addition to the five Republican senators who have publicly aired their opposition, several others have declined to explicitly endorse the bill, which would overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and set the stage for massive tax breaks that would primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans. With a 52-seat Republican advantage in the 100-member chamber, only three GOP defections would be sufficient to derail the measure, since Vice President Mike Pence could cast a tie-breaking vote. Facebook

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Pro-Trump group launches new attack ad against special counsel Robert Mueller By Lisa Mascaro A Southern California group backing President Trump is out with a new ad attacking special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, criticizing the investigation into the Trump campaigns possible cooperation with Russian interference in the 2016 election. The ad, called Witch Hunt, features conservative favorite Tomi Lahren reflecting Trumps own language to complain about the probe. The more than $400,000 ad buy is expected to start running Sunday. Only in Washington could a rigged game like this be called independent, Lahren says, using air quotes in the ad to emphasize her point. She is now a senior advisor to Great America Alliance, which backs Trump. The ads chief complaint echoes Trumps criticism that Muellers team has ties to Democrats, because some of the lawyers have given campaign contributions to the party. Trump has also complained of the relationship between fired FBI Director James B. Comey and Mueller, who was once his boss. Mueller is a registered Republican. Among the members of the legal team he is assembling for the Russia probe -- which is also looking into whether the president obstructed the federal investigation by firing Comey -- four have donated to Democrats. One who gave the maximum donation to Trump rival Hillary Clinton also donated to Republicans. Both Republicans and Democrats have praised Muellers credentials and ability to handle the Russia probe as an independent investigation. The group, which ran a similar attack against Comey ahead of his testimony earlier this month on Capitol Hill, has emerged as a key pro-Trump organization. Facebook

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Koch brothers political network says Senate GOP healthcare bill is insufficiently conservative By Associated Press ( (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)) Chief lieutenants in the Koch brothers political network lashed out at the Senate Republican healthcare bill on Saturday, becoming a powerful outside critic as GOP leaders try to rally support for their plan among rank-and-file Republicans. This Senate bill needs to get better, said Tim Phillips, who leads Americans For Prosperity, the Koch networks political arm. It has to get better. Phillips called the Senates plans for Medicaid a slight nip and tuck over President Obamas healthcare law, a modest change he described as immoral. The comments came on the first day of a three-day private donor retreat at a luxury resort in the Rocky Mountains. Invitations were extended only to donors who promise to give at least $100,000 each year to the various groups backed by the Koch brothers Freedom Partners  a network of education, policy and political entities that aim to promote small government. No outside group has been move aggressive over the years-long push to repeal Obamas healthcare law than the Kochs, which vowed on Saturday to spend another 10 years fighting to change the healthcare system if necessary. The Koch network has often displayed a willingness to take on Republicans  including President Trump  when their policies arent deemed conservative enough. Read More Facebook

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Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions wants to get tough on crime. These people think hes got it all wrong By Jaweed Kaleem Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions has vowed to crack down on crime by sending more criminals to prison for longer periods of time. Every one of our citizens, no matter who they are or where they live, has the right to be safe in their homes and communities from the scourge of criminal gangs, rapists, carjackers and drug dealers, Sessions said in an address to law enforcement officials in Memphis, Tenn., last month. In his view, imprisoning more criminals would make families safer, and fewer people would break the law if there were more severe punishments for crimes such as drug offenses. In a recent memo to federal prosecutors, Sessions instructed them to pursue the harshest punishments legally allowed, a reversal of an Obama-era move giving federal lawyers more leeway to reserve such prosecutions for repeat offenders and people who had committed the worst of crimes. Department of Justice officials hope the changes at the federal level  where a sliver of crimes across the country is prosecuted  will trickle down to a similar approach to crime in states. Read More Facebook

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Vice President Mike Pence stops in for an unscheduled chat with billionaire Charles Koch By Lisa Mascaro Vice President Mike Pence popped in for a visit this weekend with Charles Koch, the billionaire GOP donor hosting his semi-annual confab of like-minded business leaders assessing their priorities for the White House and Congress. The meeting was not listed on Pences official schedule for the day. President Trump never much enjoyed backing from Koch s sprawling, secretive, political enterprise, which has emerged as a libertarian-leaning power center, sometimes overshadowing the traditional Republican Party apparatus with its high-dollar donors and vast operations. Kochs group did not endorse the GOP presidential nominee. But the network has always had close ties with Pence. The vice president had previously attended the exclusive gathering of donors, held this weekend at the luxurious Broadmoor hotel. And his top staff was plucked from a key Koch organization, Freedom Partners. Pence and Koch and their top aides spoke for nearly an hour late Friday, according to a Koch spokesman. They discussed tax reform, the GOPs healthcare overhaul and other heavy legislative lifts that have run into resistance in the Republican-controlled Congress. The aide described the talks as casual. Pence was in the area making other stops, including at the Air Force Academy and an evening fundraiser for GOP Sen. Cory Gardner. Even without investing in Trump, the Koch network has made impressive strides in advancing its agenda this year. Congress swiftly rolled back more than a dozen regulations, including some intended to protect the environment, that Koch-backed groups complained were too rigorous and invasive in industry operations. The Koch network groups, including Freedom Partners, a free market-oriented, chamber of commerce-type organization, is pushing the Trump administration and Congress to pass tax reform and overhaul healthcare. Both those efforts have stalled in Congress amid Republican infighting, but the Koch groups is able to put their army of resources  money, staff and volunteers in the states  to pressure lawmakers to act. Facebook

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Kris Kobach fined for misleading court and refusing to produce previously exposed Trump memo By Colleen Shalby (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press) Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has been fined $1,000 for misleading a federal court in an effort to keep two documents private. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit last year against Kobach arguing that his states proof of citizenship law violates the National Voter Registration Act. ACLU lawyers asked Kobach to produce two documents they said pertained to the case. One of those documents was a draft of a proposed amendment to the National Voter Registration Act. The second was a document that had been photographed and widely shared in late November after Kobach met with then-President-elect Donald Trump. The power of a zoom lens exposed certain details of his proposal to Trump to deport potential terrorists. In a 24-page ruling made public Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge James OHara wrote that Kobach did not accurately represent the contents of the documents when he argued against producing them. Defendant refused to produce these documents, asserting that they are beyond the scope of reopened discovery, do not seek relevant information, and are protected by the attorney-client, deliberative-process, and executive privileges, the judge wrote. The court took Kobach at his word, OHara wrote, but upon review of the documents  produced under a court order  found that they did relate to the voting rights case. The judge wrote that while the court could not say that Kobach flat-out lied, the defendants statements can be construed as wordplay meant to present a materially inaccurate picture of the documents. For now, the documents will remain classified, as Kobach designated them. But, OHara wrote, that status could change. Trump tapped Kobach last month to serve as vice chairman of a presidential commission that would oversee a voter fraud investigation. Facebook

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Number of refugees admitted to U.S. drops by almost half By Tracy Wilkinson (Patrick T. Fallon / For the Los Angeles Times) The number of refugees admitted to the United States was cut by nearly half in the first three months of the Trump administration compared with the final three months of the Obama presidency, reflecting the new presidents skepticism toward immigration. Government statistics released Friday showed that more than 25,000 refugees were permitted to enter and reside in the United States at the end of the Obama administration. In the initial months under President Trump, the number fell to 13,000. The statistics were released by the Department of Homeland Security, based on information supplied by the State Department. Countries of origin were largely unchanged. In both periods, two-thirds of the arrivals came from five countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Myanmar. Refugees from two of those countries  Syria and Somalia  would have been banned under Trumps executive order against entries from certain Muslim-majority nations, but federal courts have blocked the order. Trumps original order covered Iraqis as well, but he omitted Iraq from his revised order. The data suggest that the Obama administration, as it was about to turn over power to Trump, significantly stepped up the number of refugees admitted. Arrivals in its final three months reflected an 86% year-over-year increase compared to the same period the previous year. In Trumps first three months, arrivals were 12% lower than for the same period in the previous year. Trump has sought to limit the number of refugees to 50,000 this year. But adverse rulings in the courts could work against him. The United States already has one of the lowest quotas of refugee admissions among major receiving countries. Nations closer to conflict zones such as Syria have taken in millions of refugees. More people have been displaced from their home nations, because of violence and poverty, than at any time since World War II. Facebook

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Trump nominates former Dodgers co-owner Jamie McCourt as ambassador to Belgium By Lauren Rosenblatt Trump nominated Jamie McCourt, former co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as ambassador to Belgium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) President Trump nominated Jamie McCourt, former co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to be the ambassador to Belgium on Thursday night. McCourt, who co-owned the Dodgers with her husband, Frank, until their messy 2011 divorce, has donated money to several Republican organizations, including funds for Trumps campaign and his transition to the White House. McCourt was among many business leaders who signed their support for Trump early on in his campaign, praising his plan for economic development and growth. In the months leading up to Trumps victory, McCourt gave more than $400,000 to the Trump victory fund, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. She signed a letter in October 2016 with 100 other business executives and CEOs championing Trumps plan and criticizing opponent Hillary Clinton for having thrown in the towel on strong economic growth. McCourt was listed as a 2016 State Victory Finance Chair for Trumps campaign in July, according to a report from the GOP. Robert Wood Johnson, chairman and CEO of the New York Jets and Trumps nominee for ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was also on the list as Trump Victory vice chair. After Trump won the election, McCourt continued to financially support his transition to office. In December, she helped host a fundraiser breakfast for the incoming president where tickets sold for $5,000 a piece. Prior to her support for Trump, McCourt also donated to the campaigns of several other Republican presidential candidates, including John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina, although in much smaller amounts. In the past, she has also supported former President Obama, contributing to his campaign and victory funds in 2011 and donating $50,000 to the inauguration in 2009. She donated about $2,000 to Hillary Clinton for her presidential campaign in 2007, according to the FEC. McCourts ex-husband said his former wife had political aspirations of her own, with an end goal of ending up in the White House, according to a March 2010 Los Angeles Times article. Her high-profile divorce gathered a lot of public attention and ended in dispute over finances and assets. McCourt has founded and directed entrepreneurial enterprises in Los Angeles and Boston throughout her career as a entrepreneur and attorney. Her investment firm, Jamie Enterprises, invests in real estate and technology start-ups. She has degrees from Georgetown University, the University of Maryland School of Law and from MIT/ Sloan School of Management. The Senate must confirm McCourts nomination for ambassador. Facebook

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Nevada Sen. Heller -- a key swing vote -- says he opposes Senate healthcare bill By David Lauter (Andrew Harnik / AP) Nevada Sen. Dean Heller said Friday that he planned to vote against the Republican healthcare bill, a potentially key defection. Although the White House and Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have said they plan further negotiations over the bill, its going to be very difficult to get me to a yes, Heller said at a news conference in Nevada with Gov. Brian Sandoval (R). The bill unveiled Thursday by McConnell is simply not the answer, he said. In this form, I will not support it. Given the unified Democratic opposition to the bill, McConnell can afford to lose only two Senate Republicans, so Hellers announcement is significant. A no vote by Heller would not seal the fate of the bill, however. Heller is widely viewed as the most vulnerable Republican senator up for reelection in 2018 -- the only one running in a state that Hillary Clinton carried last year -- and Republican leaders have been hoping to avoid having to count on his vote. Heller cited several reasons for opposing the bill, but the chief one was its deep reductions in federal support for Medicaid. This bill will mean a loss of coverage for millions of Americans and many Nevadans, he said. Nevada, under Sandoval, has used its authority under the Affordable Care Act to expand Medicaid, which has given health coverage to more than 210,000 additional state residents, Sandoval said. These are folks who are worth fighting for, he added. The cutbacks the Senate bill, which would end Medicaid expansion, would cost the state $120 million a year by 2022, with the cost rising sharply after that the governor said. Thats a cost that the state cannot sustain. Heller also cited the bills impact on treatment for opioid addiction and the likelihood that the plan would fail to reduce premiums. There isnt anything in this piece of legislation that will lower your premiums, he said, contradicting one of the main arguments that supporters of the bill have made. Hellers announcement increases the pressure on McConnell to find ways of persuading several other reluctant senators to support the bill. Four conservatives, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, said Thursday they were opposed to the bill in its current form because it does not go far enough to roll back the Affordable Care Act. Several more centrist senators, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, have voiced concerns similar to Hellers about the depth of the bills Medicaid cutbacks and its impact on opioid treatment. Collins and Portman have both said they want to review the analysis of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office before making up their minds. The budget office has said it will release that assessment early next week. Facebook

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Trump signs VA reform bill to make it easier to discipline and fire employees By Lauren Rosenblatt President Trump signed into law Friday a bill that will ease restrictions on the discipline and termination of employees from the troubled veterans affairs department. The Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 is designed to speed up the process to discipline an employee for misconduct and put more decision-making power in the hands of Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin. The act is in response to the 2014 VA scandals involving long wait times for medical care and attempts by VA employees to cover up the delays. Trump, who promised to improve healthcare for veterans during his campaign, said the bill was one of the largest reforms to the VA in its history and is essential to making sure our veterans are treated with respect. The bill passed the House with bipartisan support June 13 and the Senate on June 6. Although the bill is widely supported by veterans advocacy groups, civil servant unions condemn the legislation as a way to get around long-standing protections for government employees and whistle-blowers. The reform, Shulkin said, will not be used as a tool for mass firings, but rather a way to raise morale throughout the department and attract new employees. Slow, steady, incremental change isnt what this organization needs, Shulkin said. Right now, I believe this is progress. Facebook

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Mexico pushes back against Trumps tweet calling it the second deadliest country in the world By Kate Linthicum Mexicos Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray speaks during a news conference in Cancun, Mexico, on June 19. (PEDRO PARDO/AFP/Getty Images) After President Trump incorrectly tweeted that Mexico is the second deadliest country in the world after Syria, the Mexican government responded quickly. No, Mexico isnt the second deadliest place on the globe, said a tersely worded statement issued by Mexicos secretary of foreign relations, pointing to a host of other Latin American countries that have higher per capita murder rates. And while homicides have been rising in Mexico in recent years, rising violence in Mexico is inextricably linked to demand for drugs in the United States, the statement said. Illicit drug trade is indeed the most important cause of violence in Mexico and drug trafficking is costing thousands of lives both in Mexico and the U.S., the foreign ministry said Thursday. However, as has been repeatedly stated by the U.S. government itself, drug trafficking is a shared problem that will end only by addressing its root causes: high demand for drugs in the U.S. and supply from Mexico and other countries. In order to be effective, we must be able to move beyond finger-pointing, the statement said. The Mexican government issued the response after Trump tweeted a reference to a controversial recent study that ranked Mexico as the worlds second most-dangerous conflict zone after Syria. Trump misrepresented the study in his tweet, saying Mexico was just ranked the second deadliest country in the world. He also neglected the considerable debate about the studys accuracy. The annual Armed Conflict Survey, released this year by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, has been called into question by the Mexican government and others who say it wrongly points to the existence of an armed conflict in Mexico. The existence of criminal groups is not sufficient criteria to speak of a non-international armed conflict, said a joint statement issued by Mexicos secretaries of governance and foreign relations in May, adding that drug-war violence is part of a bigger regional problem. Although Mexicos homicide rate has soared  the first two months of 2017 were the most violent since the government started releasing such statistics in 1997  other countries are experiencing higher homicide rates. In January, Mexico had a homicide rate of 20 deaths per 100,000 people, according to a Times analysis of Mexican crime statistics. By comparison, El Salvadors homicide rate was 81 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016, according to InSight Crime, a think tank that studies organized crime in Latin America. Venezuela had a homicide rate of 59 deaths per 100,000 people. Trump ended his tweet with a frequent campaign mantra: We will BUILD THE WALL! Mexico was just ranked the second deadliest country in the world, after only Syria. Drug trade is largely the cause. We will BUILD THE WALL!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2017 Facebook

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Supreme Court says final decisions of term will come on Monday By David Savage The Supreme Court is shown at sunset on Feb. 13, 2016. (Jon Elswick / Associated Press) (Jon Elswick / Associated Press) The Supreme Court announced it will hand down its final rulings for this term on Monday. But that does not mean the justices will actually decide the six cases that remain, which include three significant disputes involving immigration and the U.S. borders. Heres a look at the notable decisions so far. On Nov. 30, with one seat on the court still vacant, the eight justices heard arguments in a Los Angeles case on whether noncitizens who face possible deportation can be held in jail indefinitely or instead have a right to a bond hearing after six months. The case, Jennings vs. Rodriguez, has taken on added importance in the Trump era, but the long delay may signal that the justices are split 4-4. If so, the court may announce Monday that the case will be reheard in the fall, leaving it to new Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to cast the tie-breaking vote. Also still pending, since January, is a California case that will decide whether a crime such as breaking into an empty home qualifies as a crime of violence, triggering automatic deportation, even for an immigrant who is a longtime legal resident. A ruling in Sessions vs. Dimaya could affect thousands of deportations The third case, pending since February, is a closely watched border shooting. At issue in Hernandez vs. Mesa is whether a U.S. agent can be sued for fatally shooting a 15-year-old who was standing on the Mexican side of the border. On Friday, the justices gave a second chance to a Korean restaurant owner from Memphis who faces deportation for selling Ecstasy pills. Based on his lawyers advice, he pleaded guilty to the drug charge, having been assured it would not trigger his deportation. The lawyer was wrong. By a 6-2 vote in Lee vs. United States, the court said the Korean man may withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial. But for his attorneys incompetence, he would not have accepted a plea, said Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.. Dissenting were Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.. The justices, including Gorsuch, are likely to rule in a significant case on religion and funding for church schools. In Trinity Lutheran vs.Comer, the justices will decide whether states may exclude church schools from receiving public funds. Also still pending, but on a different track, is the Trump administrations appeal over his blocked foreign travel ban. The court may act on that appeal at any time. Facebook

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Trump backs L.A. Olympic bid in meeting with IOC officials By Michael A. Memoli The opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times) President Trump pledged his full support for the Los Angeles bid to host a future Summer Olympics, the White House said Friday after an Oval Office meeting with the head of the International Olympic Committee. Trump met Thursday with IOC President Thomas Bach and three U.S. members of the IOC -- Larry Probst, Anita DeFrantz and Angela Ruggiero. A White House official called it a very constructive conversation in which Trump backed a potential third Summer Games in Los Angeles. With only L.A. and Paris bidding to host the 2024 games, the IOC is moving to reward both cities, giving one hosting duties in 2024 and the other in 2028. The United States hasnt hosted a Summer Olympics since the Centennial games in Atlanta in 1996. Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he discussed the citys Olympic bid during a post-election conversation with Trump last November and that the then-president elect pledged his backing. Facebook

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Trump says he tweeted about tapes to influence Comeys account of their private conversations By Michael A. Memoli .@POTUS on why he wanted former FBI Dir. James Comey to believe there were tapes of their conversations pic.twitter.com/pCuibM5Z6k  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) June 23, 2017 President Trump called it bothersome that the special counsel now overseeing the Russia probe was good friends with fired FBI Director James B. Comey, and said he hinted at having tapes of his private conversations  apparently falsely  to try to influence Comeys eventual testimony. The president made his remarks during an interview that aired Friday morning on Fox & Friends, but was recorded on Thursday just hours after he tweeted that he did not, in fact, have tapes. Trump said that floating the possibility they did exist might have forced Comey to tell what actually took place at the events. When he found out that, I, you know, that there may be tapes out there, whether its governmental tapes or anything else, and who knows, I think his story may have changed, Trump said. My story didnt change. My story was always a straight story. Foxs Ainsley Earhardt followed up: So it was a smart way to make sure he stayed honest in those hearings? It wasnt very stupid, I can tell you that, Trump answered. Many disagree, including Republicans. Comey testified that Trumps tweet is what prompted him to as
A Glendale resident and theater professor will be honored with a Book Award in August for her monograph detailing the relationship of community and the arts in 1970s New York.

Hillary Miller, who teaches at California State University Northridge, and her book Drop Dead: Performance in Crisis, 1970s New York earned the 2017 John W. Frick Book Award from the American Theatre and Drama Society.

The book investigates how grassroots responses by the New York theater arts community during the fiscal crisis of the 1970s led to the inextricable link between the arts and the identity of a city.

Millers inquiry was motivated by what she said is a lack of coverage of New Yorks downtown theater scene during what was an important period for the city.

I took a New York history class and we spent so much time looking at the fiscal crisis from 1974-75 and its implications, Miller said. Then Id go to theater classes and we werent really discussing that.

The books title is a reference to a famous New York Daily News headline, Ford to City: Drop Dead, after President Gerald Ford told New York Citys then mayor and governor that there was nothing the federal government could do to aid the citys severe money shortage.

Miller said the ephemeral nature of theater meant researching communities that may no longer exist and there was a lot of trial and error involved. She said it was a mix of extensive interviews and archival work, in some cases, sifting through municipal financial documents from New Yorks financial crisis.

I usually started at a big archive, somewhere like the New York Public Library and then basically try to pick up the threads and find key people, Miller said.

Miller added that some of the most exciting interviews for her were with people who had worked in Harlem and Coney Island in the 70s and tried to get different theater movements and community art movements started.

She said they loved the idea of being able to revisit the turbulent time despite the difficulties.

I remember one afternoon going to a small community organization  it was like a local district organization in Coney Island  and there was a guy who had been there for decades and he just talked for hours about the kind of community theater that he recalled on the boardwalk and in buildings that have since been torn down, Miller said.

The books subject matter is also relevant to current discussions about nixing funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and other arts funds, she said, and that the question of how art can represent a community is still missing from the national discourse.

What I was trying to set out with the book is that the arts are literally inside our civic fabric, Miller said. You cant say that they are something separate that we decide to fund or not.

One example Miller has from her own life is from her two years as a Glendale resident. She said she has seen a lot of movement to create a distinct arts ecosystem in the city that doesnt just try to mimic Los Angeles.

Miller attended Sundays CicLAvia event and said she saw city officials asking residents what type of public art matters to them.

Having an arts commission out there on the street next to the Metro is saying, we are a civic organization just like the Metro, Miller said.

Miller will receive the John W. Frick Book Award at a conference in Las Vegas, Nev. on Aug. 5.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
A tranquil light gradually enveloped the Ganges River at the crack of dawn. Devout Hindus lined up at Assi Ghat, the most popular of the 84 sets of steps leading down to the river that is holy for Hindus, and conducted a yoga session on a red carpet. Observers lined the steps and watched the proceedings with cups of tea.

Yet barely half a mile from the spruced up steps, rickshaw-puller Babloo Pandey, 41, relieved himself along one bank of the river.

He was not alone. Many shanties in Varanasi, one of Indias most sacred sites but long known as one of its dirtiest, do not have private toilets, and scores of people resort to open defecation every morning.

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The scene illustrates the challenges facing a 3-year-old Clean India initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to polish and modernize a country known for sprawling slums and inadequate sanitation.

In November 2014, photos of Modi wielding a spade at Assi Ghat to jump-start the initiative went viral. Modi, who represents Varanasi in Indias Parliament, has said the Ganges should be revered as ones own mother and allotted $3 billion over five years for cleanup along the 1,570-mile length of the river.

But locals say that while the tourist-filled ghats have been spruced up, the city and river remain as filthy as ever.

A washerman works at a ghat on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, India, in February 2017. (Sanjay Kanojia / AFP/Getty Images)

While more workers collect trash from the steps and new public toilets have been installed, residents say the measures are inadequate. Pandey said the nearest public toilet in his area opens at 6:30 a.m., half an hour before he starts work.

Even when I go to the public toilet, it is crowded and takes too long, he said. Many times it does not even have water.

In the narrow alleys of the city, pigs and buffaloes wallow in slimy muck. Many residents keep buffaloes to supply the citys thriving trade in sweets and milk products, but a lack of space means the livestock defecate and urinate in the open. Bikes and rickshaws pass, attempting to dodge the thick puddles, and pedestrians step carefully to avoid piles of manure.

Avinash Kumar, senior officer of the Clean India mission in Varanasi, said the initiative had made progress, installing 3,000 trash cans, introducing nighttime street sweeping and starting a garbage disposal plant. Two sewage disposal projects are also in the works, which would meet the needs of the city of more than 1.2 million people through 2035, he said.

Experts are skeptical. Shatrudh Prakash, an opposition politician, said the city needs to double the capacity of its sewer system and renovate it to eliminate the threat of sewage and water lines mixing.

Even a bit of drizzle results in waterlogging and the streets are clogged with sewage water, Prakash said. There are more than 1,000 lines where drinking water and sewage mix with each other. Garbage trucks carrying debris run uncovered. The problems are countless.

Most of Varanasis sewage is pumped into the Ganges, which originates in the Himalayas and runs across four states and through more than 100 towns and cities before reaching the Bay of Bengal.

Experts estimate that more than 792 million gallons of untreated sewage from these towns is pumped into the river every day, making it the sixth-most polluted river on the planet  with fecal bacteria counts many hundreds of times above what is considered safe to bathe in.

The river also takes in the ashes and remains of those whose last rites are performed on its banks, in the belief it will absolve ones sins.

Chintamani Seth, who lives along the banks of the Ganges, said that decades ago he used to take dips in the holy river and drink from it. Now a persistent smell emanates from the water, and stepping into it feels like you have stepped in human excreta, he said.

Modi signed a partnership agreement with Japan, aimed at acquiring Japanese technology in water, waste, sewer and transport management that he said would turn Varanasi into Kyoto. Yet residents said there has been little sign of any Japanese-inspired changes.

In Varanasi, purity and filth continue to coexist. One recent afternoon, as a boatman took his customers for a ride along the Ganges, a few visitors undressed in preparation for a dip while locals washed their clothes almost an arms length away and a man bathed his buffaloes.

The boatman joined his hands in prayer, seeking blessings from the river. He then plunged his right hand into the water and took a sip.

People say the Ganges is polluted, he said. But it does not affect our faith. The reason I am healthy is because I drink water from the Ganges.

Parth M.N. is a special correspondent.

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On the streets around the charred Grenfell Tower, Prime Minister Theresa Mays name is being uttered in angry tones with rising frequency.

She didnt speak to anyone when she came here.

Shes supposed to be our leader.

Coward.

Those are just some of the words local residents have said during often-emotional debates in the shadow of the 24-story burned tower that now looms ominously over the neighborhood.

Police said Saturday that at least 58 people have either been confirmed dead, or are missing and presumed to have perished, after the public housing apartment complex was consumed by the raging blaze in the early hours of Wednesday. The death toll could still rise.

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May, who was reelected prime minister just last week in an election that saw her Conservative Party majority in Parliament wiped out, has been accused of dramatically  perhaps even catastrophically  misjudging the public mood when she visited the site of the devastation Wednesday afternoon. She chose to speak only to emergency crews at the scene before being swiftly whisked away.

Comparisons have been made to George W. Bushs Katrina moment, when the president was photographed staring down at New Orleans from a plane window, instead of interacting with distraught residents on the ground.

By contrast, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose Labor Party made huge gains in the election on a platform of representing the many, not the few, mingled with residents, listened to their anger and concerns and promised to get answers for the bereaved and homeless.

Mays actions left a bitter taste in many mouths, and by the time she returned Thursday to visit the injured in hospital as well as volunteers at a makeshift collection center in a nearby church, there was palpable anger among the crowd. People booed and heckled her departing vehicle, shouting, Shame on you.

The differing responses from the two most high-profile political leaders in the country in many ways reflects the forces that undermined Mays majority during the election earlier this month in which she sought  and failed  to make the debate all about her strong leadership and ability to navigate the country through upcoming negotiations to leave the European Union.

Corbyn meanwhile talked little of that departure, known as Brexit, and instead made the election about the electorate feeling beaten down and disenfranchised after years of Conservative Party austerity cuts that have affected welfare services, the National Health Service, education provisions and local council budgets.

Although the Labor Party gained 56 fewer seats overall compared to the Conservatives, it won 40% of the vote share and hailed the results a victory.

There have been brief moments in recent days where the grief and anger have boiled over into physical confrontation. Ahead of a vigil Friday night, crowds marched through the streets chanting: What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now, while holding banners reading Tenants die when landlords dont listen and Tories have blood on their hands.

The remains of Grenfell Tower on June 17. (Kirsty Wigglesworth / Associated Press)

I think after this tragic event, people want to be heard and are using this to express their overwhelming emotions at all these cuts, said Micky Mesic, 57, who lives in a neighboring residential block on the Lancaster West estate and watched in horror as people burned. I believe its going to be a turning point. Everyone has a bad experience about repairs, but when [they are] asking for rent, theyre very prompt. They have to look after the people that live in these buildings.

The blackened residential tower that housed low-income residents is visible from multiple vantage points: the subway platform, the corner store, the public phone booth, all of which are now plastered with Missing posters. And the demand for answers is mounting rapidly as people question how a tragedy of this scale could have happened in one of the richest boroughs in London, which is one of the most prosperous cities in the world.

People are just angry now; where are the leaders? said Sabu Hussain, 25, who lives near the tower. We want to know what are the changes taking place from today to stop this happening in any other building. We need changes in this country. Everybody is sick and tired. This is real.

A public inquiry and police investigation have been launched, but the speed with which the building caught fire has already led experts to believe the exterior cladding may have been the cause. It was installed during a recent multimillion-dollar refurbishment, and reports in the British media say a cheaper, non-fire-resistant material was used  about $2.56 cheaper per square yard  and banned in the United States and Germany. The total savings was estimated to be around $6,400.

We want to know what are the changes taking place from today to stop this happening in any other building.  Sabu Hussain, 25, who lives near the tower.

Residents of the tower had repeatedly raised concerns about fire safety, and even ominously warned in a November 2016 post on the Grenfell Action Group residents website that the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization, which manages the block on behalf of the council, were playing with fire.

[We] believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the post reads. But their pleas fell on deaf ears because, many believe, the inhabitants were low-income.

Its about profits, power and greed, said Londoner Simon Higgins, 40, who mingled with the crowds on Friday evening airing his views about the governments failings and disregard for average, working-class people. Its been that way for a long time and I think its about time that things changed. If this is not done properly, and quickly, it will kick off big time. Well have more riots.

In the wake of the London Bridge terrorist attack earlier this month, where three men drove a van into pedestrians and then knifed pub and restaurant-goers in Borough Market killing eight and injuring dozens, Corbyn managed to successfully turn the discourse into a debate about security and cuts to public services, spotlighting a decision May made while home secretary to reduce police numbers by 20,000.

In the days after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Corbyn successfully captured the publics outrage once again and made May look out of touch.

If you cut local authority expenditure then the price is paid somehow, he was quoted as saying.

Protesters gather in Whitehall, London, to protest the Conservative government June 17 after the fire at Grenfell Tower. (Jonathan Brady / Associated Press)

Although there is no implication that the fire department was understaffed or ill-equipped in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Grenfell Tower fire has also sparked questions about cuts to London fire departments under then-London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is now the foreign secretary.

Under his tenure, 10 fire stations were shuttered and 552 firefighter jobs were cut.

May looked rattled during a tough BBC TV interview Friday night in which she was asked repeatedly whether she misjudged the public mood and failed to act quickly enough to support victims. She had earlier announced a $6.4-million fund to help victims.

Something terrible has happened, she said, but stopped short of admitting any government wrongdoing.

On Saturday, as 1,000 protesters gathered outside the gates leading to 10 Downing Street to voice their anger at Mays leadership and she met privately with victims within the prime ministers residence, her office issued a statement suggesting they realize this is not a tragedy that can be alleviated with words alone.

Frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough, Mays statement said. The fire at Grenfell Tower was an unimaginable tragedy for the community, and for our country. My government will do whatever it takes to help those affected, get justice and keep our people safe.

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7 reported missing after U.S. Navy ship collides with merchant ship off Japan

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UPDATES:

3:55 p.m.: This article was updated to add Prime Minister Theresa Mays announcement of a $6.4-million fund to help victims of the fire.

This article was originally published at 3:20 p.m.
Seven U.S. sailors are missing after a guided-missile destroyer collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan, according to U.S. officials.

The Fitzgerald sustained significant damage in the predawn hours of Saturday local time and the ships commander, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, has been evacuated via helicopter.

Benson was transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka and is reportedly in stable condition. Two sailors also were taken to the Yokosuka facility with bruises and lacerations.

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Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the sailors, said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, in a statement. We thank our Japanese partners for their assistance.

The Navy, along with the Japanese Coast Guard, is searching for the seven at sea. The Dewey, another guided missile-destroyer, and two Navy tugs have been dispatched to provide assistance.

The USS Fitzgerald is under her own power, although her propulsion is limited, the Navy said in a statement.

The collision occurred about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, roughly 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka. The 7th Fleet was providing updates on its Facebook page.

In a statement, Adm. John Richardson, chief of Naval Operations, said Japans navy, maritime self-defense force and coast guard were in the area to ensure that the sailors on USS Fitzgerald have the resources they need to stabilize their ship.

As more information is learned, we will be sure to share to it with the Fitzgerald families and when appropriate the public. Thank you for your well wishes and messages of concern. All of our thoughts and prayers are with the Fitzgerald crew and their families.

william.hennigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @wjhenn

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UPDATES:

7:50 p.m.: This story was updated throughout with staff reporting.

This story was originally published at 5:30 p.m.
The bodies of seven missing U.S. sailors have been found aboard the guided-missile destroyer that collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan, the Navy said late Saturday.

Search and rescue crews gained access to the spaces that were damaged during the collision, and the bodies were found below the water line in the flooded berthing compartments, the Navy said.

The families are being notified and being provided the support they need during this difficult time. The names of the sailors will be released after all notifications are made, the Navy said in a statement.

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The Navy, along with the Japanese Coast Guard, had been searching for the seven at sea. The Dewey, another guided missile-destroyer, and two Navy tugs had been dispatched to provide assistance.

The Fitzgerald sustained significant damage and began taking on water after a collision with the Philippine-flagged merchant vessel ACX Crystal at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time Saturday while operating about 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan.

Three sailors required medical evacuation, including the ships commander, Cmdr. Bryce Benson. The sailors are under observation at the U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka and have been in stable condition.

It remains unclear how the collision occurred, but the Navy said the damage affected the Fitzgeralds forward starboard side above and below the water line, causing significant damage and flooding to two berthing spaces, a machinery space, and the radio room. The ship arrived in Yokosuka and was inspected by divers.

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Heres a snapshot look at Trumps new guidelines on Cuba

UPDATES:

7:50 p.m.: This article was updated with the confirmation that the sailors bodies had been found, and with staff reporting.

This article was originally published at 12:05 p.m.
Palestinian militants launched an attack with guns and knives near Jerusalems Old City on Friday, killing a border policewoman and wounding three other people in the first attack within Israel or the West Bank claimed by the militant group Islamic State.

Hours after the attack, the group announced that soldiers of the caliphate had launched the blessed operation  on a gathering of Jews, and vowed additional attacks.

Almost immediately, Hamas rejected the Islamic State claim and said one of the attackers belonged to Hamas, and two others to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, both domestic Palestinian groups.

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The three hero martyrs who executed the Jerusalem operation have no connection to Daesh [Islamic State], they are affiliated with the PFLP and Hamas, a Hamas official, Izzat El-Reshiq, wrote on Twitter.

The Israeli military also challenged Islamic States claim. On Saturday, an Israeli officer said the army believes the attackers were a local organization without links to Islamic State or Hamas.

Hearing reports on a police radio of gunfire at an East Jerusalem holy site several blocks away from the Old City, a group of Israeli border police near the Old Citys Damascus Gate was preparing to respond when an assailant began stabbing Staff Sgt. Maj. Hadas Malka, 23, repeatedly, authorities said. The officer was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Three other people were shot and injured at the scene of the gunfire, several blocks away.

Israeli police said they killed three Palestinians involved in the attack. The attackers were identified by Israeli security services as residents of the West Bank, at least two of them teenagers from a village near the city of Ramallah.

Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, denounced the attack. Such terrorist attacks must be clearly condemned by all, he said in a statement.

Israeli security services have occasionally announced arrests of small cells said to be affiliated with Islamic State, and the army has tracked the groups forces on the Syrian and Egyptian border, but the organization has thus far not claimed a deadly attack against Israelis from the West Bank.

Earlier this year, Islamic State claimed that it had launched a rocket attack from Egypts Sinai Peninsula into Israel. In 2016, a truck-ramming attack that killed four soldiers at a Jerusalem tourist site could have had links to the group, Israeli authorities said, but Islamic State did not claim responsibility.

Israeli intelligence officers have said they believe that the group has been focusing their main efforts on attacking Arab states in the region, but cautioned that a successful attack on Israelis would add to the organizations prestige in the Arab world.

Kobi Michael, a former official at Israels Strategic Affairs Ministry, said he was dubious of the Islamic State claim. He said it was unlikely that the group had a developed a sufficiently extensive underground in the West Bank  in light of counter-terror efforts by Israel and the Palestinian Authority security forces  to carry out such such an attack.

Since late 2015, Israel has been grappling with occasional fatal stabbing attacks by individuals on soldiers and civilians. Many of the stabbing attacks have targeted border police deployed at the Damascus Gate. But the attack Friday evening suggested that the three suspects were operating as a team and had planned the attack.

In response to the attack, Israeli security services said that they were canceling entry permits for West Bank Palestinians to visit relatives inside Israel during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Mitnick is a special correspondent.

@joshmitnick

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UPDATES:

6:25 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from the Israeli military; Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process; and Kobi Michael, a former official at Israels Strategic Affairs Ministry.

This article was originally published at 12:25 a.m.
Jun 16, 2017, 6:56pm ET

Feds began investigating FCA diesel emissions in 2015

By January 2016, the EPA began to voice frustration with FCA\'s \"unacceptably slow pace\" in attempting to explain high real-world NOx emissions.

Federal regulators apparently launched an investigation into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles diesel emissions just months after Volkswagen's TDI scandal first came to light.

Emails obtained by Jalopnik and Reuters via Freedom of Information Act requests suggest the Environmental Protection Agency reached out to FCA as early as November 2015. The agency had recently launched a screening program to determine if real-world emissions tests of vehicles from various automakers showed higher levels of nitrogen oxides than records based on static lab tests originally used for compliance certification.

"I am very concerned about the unacceptably slow pace of the efforts to understand the high NOx emissions we have observed," the EPA's director of vehicle compliance, Byron Bunker, wrote in a January 2016 e-mail to FCA North America's emissions compliance head, Vaughn Burns.

Bunker was direct in stating that some of FCA's diesel vehicles appeared to integrate auxiliary emissions control devices (AECD) that "to me ... violate EPA's defeat device regulations."

FCA's then-new head of vehicle safety and regulatory compliance, Michael Dahl, soon issued a separate email to the EPA calling for the agency to "reserve conclusions" until both sides can develop a "mutual understanding of the complex technical facts." The EPA appears to have taken a cautious approach at first, completing more testing and maintaining correspondence with FCA before ultimately pushing it into public view via a notice of violation in January 2017.

Both sides are now reportedly engaged in settlement negotiations, potentially exposing FCA to significant fines for more than 100,000 diesel vehicles sold in the US market.
Jun 16, 2017, 3:08pm ET

Porsche 911 GT2 RS to deliver 700 horsepower?

The company has not yet confirmed output specs, but all sources appear to agree that it will offer at least 640 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque.

Porsche's upcoming 2018 911 GT2 RS could be even more powerful than first reported.

The company has not yet confirmed official output specifications, but initial reports pointed to "more than 640 horsepower" and 553 pound-feet of torque. An Automobile Magazine story now suggests the GT2 RS' twin turbocharged 3.8-liter flat six actually produces 700 ponies.

Responding to an inquiry from Jalopnik, Porsche framed all figures as "speculation" pending an official announcement. Journalists so far have only had a chance to drive pre-production prototypes.

In any case, the engine produces enough power to get from zero to 62 mph in less than three seconds. Automobile suggests the coupe tops out at 212 mph. In contrast, the GT3 hits 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and continues accelerating up to 197 mph.

The new GT2 RS is not expected to arrive in showrooms for another few months, potentially after making a formal public appearance in Frankfurt or Geneva.
TROPHIES

Lower Saucon Township Police Officer Chris Leidy has received the Nathan Ogden Award from the Northampton County Chiefs of Police Association, recognizing his excellence in investigative work. Leidy became the township's first full-time detective in 2005. Since then he pursued several investigations, including a grand jury probe that led to the conviction of a man who invaded a home and terrorized a family. Another investigation led to the extradition of suspects from Florida who were convicted of armed robbery. Leidy also was instrumental in forming the township's K-9 program. The Ogden award is named a Colonial-era deputy sheriff killed in the line of duty in Northampton County.

Neil Deshmukh, 14-year-old Moravian Academy student, has developed a cellphone app that allows people in developing countries to detect detect plant diseases and human skin diseases. Deshmukh got the idea while staying with his grandparents in India, after seeing how an undetected plant disease can devastate entire crops. His app, called SCIN, allows people without constant internet access to download it and use it offline. His invention won a second place award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles, which drew entries from more than 1,700 students from 70-plus countries. Parkland High School student Farid Shahid also competed in the fair, demonstrating a windmill blade design that generates 111 percent more power than conventional industry blades.

TURKEYS

Speeders on Christian Springs Road in Lower Nazareth Township are making life miserable and dangerous for residents. The rural two-lane road has become a busy connector for people in new housing developments. Many drivers are traveling at more than twice the 25 mph limit, homeowners say, making daily trips to the mailbox a hazardous ritual. Parents have reacted by keeping their kids in cars while waiting for school buses and not letting them ride bicycles in the road. One resident said drivers have taken out his mailbox, a cherry tree and a utility pole on or near his property. Residents are calling on Colonial Regional Police to beef up patrols and issue tickets.

School administrators and faculty advisers are always on alert for inappropriate language or photos that might end up in high school yearbooks, but the superintendent of the Wall Township, N.J., School District ordered a reprint of the yearbook for another reason -- the editing of a photo to remove a Donald Trump campaign message from a student's T-shirt. The censoring wasn't done by students, according to Superintendent Cheryl Dyer, but responsibility for the act fell to yearbook advisor Susan Parsons, who was suspended indefinitely as officials continue their investigation. The student's "TRUMP Make America Great Again" T-shirt didn't violate the school's dress code, Dyer said, which allows students to express political views on appropriate clothing.
Don't be alarmed if you regularly see Pennsylvania State Police outside the Upper Mount Bethel Township municipal building.

State police and township leaders have reached a deal that will establish an office for troopers at the municipal building at 387 Ye Olde Highway.

State police recently signed off on an agreement to have 24-hour, seven-day-a-week access to the office. Township officials approved their part of the agreement in December.

Residents who need assistance should not expect there to be troopers at the municipal building at any given time and should still call 911 for emergencies, officials said.

Township Supervisors' Chairman John Bermingham said the idea of a local office came after he spoke to state police Sgt. Joseph Sparich about residents' concerns regarding long police response times.

State police cover the township and other parts of Northampton County out of the Belfast barracks in Plainfield Township. That's about a half-hour drive to some parts of Upper Mount Bethel.

"The hope for giving them office space is that response times may be quicker," Bermingham said.

The township has relied on state police coverage since it disbanded its own police force in 1996.

State police at Belfast are responsible for covering several municipalities both full-time and part-time in the county. They also cover a section of Interstate 78, Route 33 from Monroe County to Interstate 78, and several bridges over the Delaware River.

Sparich said troopers regularly patrol the township but often must return to the barracks to file reports and make phone calls.

"It gives us the opportunity to stay in the patrol zone while doing paperwork," Sparich said of the office space. "It could potentially result in better response times."

Sparich thanked Bermingham and the other township supervisors for working with troopers.

"We appreciate the cooperative effort with the municipal authorities," Sparich said.

Bermingham said state police have had keys to the municipal building for about a week and he is glad to see troopers already have been regularly using their new space.

John Best is a freelance writer. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.
58,272.

That is the number of U.S. service members missing in action or killed in the Vietnam War. That is the number of names enscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will be on display at the Plainfield Township Community Park at 6101 Kesslersville Road through the weekend, until 8 a.m. Monday.

The traveling wall is a 3/5 scale version of the national monument in Washington, D.C., dedicated in 1982. The traveling wall is almost 300 feet long and 6 feet tall in the center.

Wilson Borough resident Don Johnson and wife Donna attended a ceremony Friday night at the wall. Johnson served in Vietnam from December 1968 to June 1969.

Several of Johnson's friends have their names etched on the stone wall. Five months into Johnson's tour, four of his fellow squad members were killed during a battle.

On May 13, 1969, one more died from an exploding mortar round that also wounded Johnson. The next day, with Johnson recovering away from the action, his squad was hit hard, he said.

The shrapnel that hit his face ended up being a lucky break, Johnson said. All but two of his squad members died on May 14, 1969.

"There weren't enough able-bodied men to retrieve the dead right away," Johnson said. "The dead lay out there for two weeks before we could get back there. By that time, you couldn't tell who was who."

Johnson and his wife have traveled many times to Washington to see the memorial wall. The traveling replica provides an opportunity for people around the country who cannot get to the nation's capital to see the names of those who died and to honor them, he said.

There are several traveling walls that tour the country. The wall in Plainfield Township was built in 2004 and has visited 172 communities around the U.S. since then, according to the wall's manager Doc Russo.

The wall's travels are organized by the Florida-based nonprofit group Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard. Russo said they get over 300 requests each year for the wall but can only get around to about 18 events each year. There is a fee required that covers the costs of traveling and setting up the wall, Russo said.

Humble Hearts for Hope Inc., Warriors Watch Riders and the Eastern Pennsylvania Girls Scouts helped organize getting the wall and raising money to bring it to Plainfield Township.

A candlelight vigil and wreath-laying at the wall will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, but guests are welcome to visit around-the-clock until the wall is disassembled Monday morning at 8.

John Best is a freelance writer. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.
A 30-year-old woman told the district court she had tried to smuggle drugs into the local prison as her nephew, who was serving a sentence, had been threatened with being sliced up if she did not comply.

At last weeks sitting of the district court in Portlaoise, Linsey Cullen (30), with an address at 275 Dolphin House, Rialto, Dublin, was charged with bringing drugs into the Midlands Prison, on May 19 this year.

Garda Hunt gave evidence that when she charged and cautioned the accused, the accused made no reply.

Inspector Eamonn Curley gave evidence that on May 19,, the accused was searched at the Midlands Prison and found to have concealed a package containing white tablets.

Defence, Mr Barry Fitzgerald said his client had suffered a stroke in 2008 which affected her cognitive abilities and left her a vulnerable person.

Her nephew was serving a prison sentence and he was under pressure to get the tablets brought it, as he was told he would be sliced up if he didnt.

Mr Fitzgerald said the accused, a mother of five with no previous convictions, was not proud of her actions.

The accused was convicted and fined 200 by Judge Catherine Staines.
A Chinese ceramic vase with a guide price of 800-1,200 has sold at auction in Laois for an astonishing 740,000.

The Qing Period Blue and White Double Gourd vase was offered for sale by a Dublin seller at Sheppard's in Durrow this morning.

Sheppard's Irish Auction House say the vase was sold to a Parisienne buyer. The 18th century 23cm-tall vase has scroll handles and bears a six character mark of Emperor Quian Long.

Philip Sheppard told the Leinster Express that he and his team were "absolutely delighted" with the sale which is a record. He said the seller will get great surprise. "I'd say he might get a heart attack when I tell him," Philip said jokingly.

Mr Sheppard said the price is the highest ever paid for an art object at a public auction in Ireland. It breaks the previous record also set by the auction house for what became known as the 'Durrow Dragon' which was a .match box size piece of Chinese jade. It sold in November 2013 for 530,000.

Mr Sheppard put the price down to a mixture of demand for the specific vase and the health of the Chinese art market, which he said was now the biggest market for art sales in the world.

He told the Leinster Express that items such as the record-breaking vase made their way into Irish country houses in the 18th and 19th century when the country was ruled by Britain.

Mr Sheppard said today's auction was very busy with buyers from across the world. Some 40 nationalities were represented with one man coming from Tokyo to buy.

But such international presence is now the norm, said Mr Sheppard. He said buyers regularly travel from around the world to Durrow and the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland has visited the auction house on a number of occasions.

In March 2010, Durrow's handled the sale of a collection of Chinese porcelain that had been inherited by a Carlow family. A 12-inch-high blue-and-white porcelain vase, it was estimated at about 100. Bidding opened at 50. The vase eventually sold for 110,000.

In 2013, an Offaly man came to Sheppard's with a plastic shopping bag full of items left to him by his late mother which contained 17 pieces of Chinese jade. They were sold individually and made a total of 110,300.

Six months ago a pair of vases were sold for more than 300,000.
As part of the Northern Periphery and Arctic Interreg project, SECURE, Leitrim County Council is working with a number of communities to promote EU Energy Week in June 2017. Leitrim County Council, LEO Leitrim and a Sustainable Energy Community group in Mohill are hosting an energy awareness afternoon on Friday, June 23.

The event will be a combination of energy related exhibitors and some speakers in the area of energy efficiency for the home and business. We are aiming to have a number of exhibitors including SEAI, Environment section of LCC, Mohill Credit Union, Irish Savers LED Lighting, LH Heating, Western Forestry Co-op, Warmer Homes Scheme, Teagasc, Connaught Gold and others. The event is being promoted through local media including newspaper, radio, posters & fliers as well as social media.

The focus of the event is to promote and create an understanding of the topic of energy awareness to local businesses and homeowners in Mohill and surrounding areas, ultimately the aim is to encourage more businesses and homeowners to come together as part of the Sustainable Energy Communities initiative in the area and to feed into Better Energy Communities.

In addition in Manorhamilton next Wednesday evening June 21, from 7-9pm, Niall Kiernan of Global Green will give an Energy Briefing for Small business in Manorhub. Topics for this session will include: Electricity/Tarrif Analysis, Procurement, Energy Performance Indicators, Lighting, Heating/Ventilation, Continuous Improvement, Energy Efficiency Grant Aid, this event is open to all businesses in Manorhamilton and surrounding areas. Please feel free to book a place through our website. www.localenterprise.ie/leitrim

For further information on either of these events please contact the office on 071 9650420.
There was disappointment yesterday, Friday when a Leitrim pub failed to sell at auction.

McKeon's pub in Keshcarrigan went under the hammer but the Leitrim Observer understands had only one bid which was well below the asking price of 200,000.

On the instructions of Mr. Keiran McKeon this property went to by Auction on Friday, in the Bush Hotel in Carrick on Shannon with REA Brady of Carrick-on-Shannon.

The large property has seating for over one hundred, but you would not need 100 people to feel comfortable in it. You would be completely content having a quiet chat and a joke with a couple of friends at the bar or in a quiet corner by the old fireplace.

The property oozes character, is in excellent condition and is well equipped. Along with the Bar and Lounge covering an area of c.203 sq. meters (c.2183 sq. ft) there is a substantial residence with an additional floor area of c. 187 sq. meters (c.2012 sq. ft.). This has four bedrooms, a modern kitchen and living area and an additional space for the further expansion of bedrooms or living space.

The property has been in the McKeon family since 1968. Established by Mr. Ben McKeon and then to Mr. Kieran McKeon (the current owner) it has always been in good hands.

This substantial property offers a lot of opportunity for further expansion of the business within its own footprint. The addition of a restaurant or food offering could easily be accommodated. Also given the substantial residential foot print, Guest House or B & B accommodation could be an option.

This property was listed with a guide price of 200,000.
June 2017: The General Election has returned an entirely predictable result. It is the Liberalsyet againwho emerged as the dominant force.

Prime Minister Nick Clegg, seemingly secure in office for a second term, has now entered the familiar round of coalition negotiations with the third partyLabour. The oddly popular socialist maverick Jeremy Corbyn, no natural soul mate of the PMs, leads a party with 85 seats. The leading radical left Liberal, deputy leader Yvette Cooper, is leading the coalition negotiations with Corbyn, with defence and welfare policy expected to be the biggest sticking points. But no one doubts that in the end a deal will be done as it has been done so many times before over the last century. Speaking on Question Time, the long-serving Liberal MP for Kirkaldy, Gordon Brown, son of the Manse and self-appointed heir of Scottish Gladstonian Liberal moralism, has taken up his traditional role, growling that the impending Liberal-led coalition must have a moral compass.

***

The Liberals have long been regarded as the natural party of government in the UK, indeed one of the most successful election-winning movements anywhere in the world. But it could have been very different: there have been moments when Liberal dominance seemed under threat. Back in the 1920s, division had nearly destroyed the party. There had even been an unsettling moment in the election of 1924 when it seemed possible that more Labour members would be returned than Liberals. An article in the Spectator that year, subsequently widely mocked, had even been entitledabsurdly as it now seemsThe strange death of Liberal England. But the crisis passed. After Stanley Baldwins Tory government presided over mass unemployment, the Liberals, once again under the leadership of the aging warrior David Lloyd George won the 1931 General Election in a landslide. The Liberal response to the Great Depression dished Labour in the phrase of the time by implementing a national system of health and unemployment insurance and by vast public works schemes all set out in a best-selling pamphlet called We Can Conquer Unemployment. Contrary to many predictions at the time rising class politics did not destroy the Liberal coalition as its non-conformist tradition was fused with socialist ideas and a commitment to full employment and trade union rights that kept a majority of the labour movement inside the Liberal tent.

In the run-up to the 1935 General Election, the first to be conducted under the Single Transferable Vote in multi-member constituencies, the Liberals were bolstered by Labour defectionsincluding their former leader Ramsay Macdonald. The coalition government formed that year was dominated by Liberals but had the support of a faction of Tories known as the National Conservatives.

In 1940, a wartime coalition government was formed with the Liberals once again the dominant force. The Prime Minister Winston Churchill had sat as a Liberal MP since 1904, although his famous feud with Lloyd George and increasing discontent with what he saw as the creeping socialistic tendencies of his party meant he had remained on the back benches through the most of the 30s.

After a brief period of Tory government in the early 50s, another long Liberal ascendency under Hugh Gaitskill (Prime Minister 1955-1963) and Roy Jenkins (Prime Minister 1963-1974) transformed Britain: negotiating entry into the Common Market, presiding over decolonization, reforming divorce and abortion law and driving a massive expansion of Higher Education. A new multicultural society was emerging, leaving the opposition Conservative Party divided between unreconstructed reactionaries and modernisers, some of whom later split to form the niche Free Market Party to campaign for a smaller state. In the wake of their third successive election defeat in 1970, the leading Tory Lord Hailsham wrote a famous book called Must Conservatism Lose?

The answer, it turned out, was no. Commonwealth immigration, a more militant labour movement and a new radical youth movement, all drove a polarization of politics that soon generated the greatest postwar threat to Liberal electoral dominance. In 1972, driven in part by the Jenkins governments attempts to rein in the power of Trade Unions, the so-called gang of four (Tony Benn, Michael Foot, Peter Shore and Barbara Castle) defected to form a new Socialist Party. The Tories, now led by charismatic Enoch Powell, gained the largest number of seats in the 1974 election and led a minority government that was soon beset by strikes that shutdown the railways and the power stations, and by race riots in the cities. New Left intellectuals gravitated towards the new Socialist Party, which took a leading role in extra-parliamentary protest in a way that the old Labour Party, still with its roots in working-class communities in the North West and central belt of Scotland never did.

Yet despite frequent predictions of their decline, the Liberals endured and prospered, topping the polls in elections in the 1980s under Michael Heseltine and 2000s under Tony Blair. The secret of the Liberals success has been their ability to appeal with optimism to a sense of fair play and social justice. Unencumbered by a historic attachment to a particular interest group, willing to use state power pragmatically, polls have consistently shown the Liberals to be the party most Britons trust with the economy and are most likely to regard as on their side. Over the years, pundits have had fun mocking the vacuity of the Liberals famous campaign slogans: Liberals Will Get Things Done (Jenkins in 1966), For the Many Not the Few (Heseltine in 1987) or Forward Not Back (Blair in 2001). But they worked. The Conservative tradition in British politics has always been strong, but the Tories won only four General Elections since 1926: in 1950, when they were led by the moderate Anthony Eden, in the crisis of 1974, led by Powell, in 1992 when mild-mannered Douglas Hurd won the most unlikely victory against Heseltines by-then fractious Liberal party, and, most recently, William Hagues minority government from 2001-2004.

Liberals have had the knack of presenting themselves as non-dogmatic yet radical when it comes to tackling social injustice; and as both patriotic and internationalist. The partys most notable political tactic has been to steal its opponents clothes. The Gaitskill government borrowed the Labour policy of nationalizing gas, coal and electricity. Heseltine even co-opted some of the egalitarian language and willingness to use targeted state intervention pioneered by the Socialist Partywhich ended up merging with Labour in 1985. To the frustration of the Randian libertarians in the short-lived Free Market Party, Liberals have always been comfortable talking about deregulation and de-centralisation even while simultaneously increasing spending.

Snipers from the Left and the Right accuse the Liberals of being complacent establishment centrists. And it is true that Liberals have remained on the shifting middle ground of British politics, casting their rivals to left and right as ideologues. Unlike their rivals they have sensed the sweet spot of British public opiniona desire for everyone to have a fair chance in life, for government to be present but not controlling, for Britain to be open to the world yet proud of its distinctiveness. Yet at the same time the secret of the success of British liberalism has been its radicalism not its complacency: to embrace socially progressive causes, to take on vested interests whether they be over-mighty trade unions or over-mighty banks. The iconic brown and cream poster from the 1931 election with a scowling Lloyd George said it all: Hell get things done in time of need!

Those moments when the party was in crisis in 1916, when it nearly split over the Lloyd George coalition, when Labour came agonizingly close to becoming the second party in 1924: how different the country might have been had it not retained its faith in the Liberals as the natural party of government

* Dr Adam Smith is an active Liberal Democrat member based in St Albans and a professional historian
There is a clear irony in this car-crash. Prejudice against Tims supposed prejudices appears to have led to his resignation. Since he neither expressed such prejudices, nor, if he had them, allowed them to influence in the slightest his work as Liberal Democrat MP and Leader, what he has experienced is itself prejudice, an attack on his freedom of thought.

It seems a disgrace that he should have been confronted by senior party figures and asked to resign, apparently because of the supposed views which he has not expressed. It was unfair, and the more so since the delegation to him was apparently of unelected peers accountable to nobody, overriding the wishes of members who had elected him.

To the watching world it looks as if he has been forced out on the basis of aspects of his Christian faith. So, whether from an internal or external viewpoint, our party grandees seem to have acted from prejudice, rather than supporting the leader over the media voices which have tormented him with persistent, intrusive but irrelevant questioning.

Our party image is thus smeared. This has been a spectacular own goal, at the very time when the British governing party is unable to command a Parliamentary majority to enforce its will, and the main Opposition has, despite its many gains, failed to achieve power. Our party is now distracting itself with navel-gazing when we have the best chance in years of influencing government action over the Brexit negotiations, the failing economy, and all the other ills being endured by the country.

Party seniors have let down the ordinary members, many of whom were attracted to join the party under Tims leadership. Tim was elected in an electoral contest, and members should have been given a chance to vote for him as leader again.

Perhaps this can still occur. Members could write to him and ask him to reconsider his resignation, and to stand in the leadership election which is now to take place.

This should not take place without fair assessment of Tims two years as leader. They have been years of growth, both in terms of party membership and local electoral success. And from the moment of the Referendum result on June 24 last year, Tim has led our party in a powerful campaign to protect Britains place in Europe. As the other two parties gave way in the Parliamentary debates last winter, the Liberal Democrats stood firm, their positive identity more strongly established in the public mind than for years past.

After Article 50 was invoked, Remainers began to accept that Brexit must happen, but the Lib Dem campaign led by Tim stayed clear and consistent, highlighting the importance of remaining in the EU internal market as well as offering a final democratic vote on the deal. Tim was firm and strong in leadership, with tireless personal campaigning all over the country and compelling speeches. Only the Election campaigns focus on the dramatic contrast of the two main party leaders which short-changed smaller parties limited our progress.

Tim has raised the Liberal Democrat party from the dereliction and despair of the post-Coalition Election of 2015 to significance and importance once again. It is astonishing to think that leading lights in the party, unlike ordinary members, seem not to recognise his achievement. I believe party members should now face down the nay-sayers, assure Tim of massive support, and ask him to be prepared to take up the burden of leadership again. We can again then assure the country that we are still in the main, as Tim is, liberal to our finger-tips.

* Katharine Pindar is a long-standing member of the Lib Dems and an activist in the West Cumbrian constituency of Copeland and Workington.
A DOZEN submissions regarding allegations at the University of Limerick have been received under a new independent review.

Dr Richard Thorn, the former president of Sligo Institute of Technology, who is leading the review, said they will continue to accept submissions for the rest of this week, and urged people to make submissions as soon as possible.

The review - following two earlier reports commissioned by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) which cost nearly 80,000 - will examine governance, human resources, and financial practices, following a series of allegations of misconduct at UL, which the HEA said is continuing to damage the reputation of the third-level sector.

The University of Limerick was asked to provide a very, very large range of materials from 2006 on, the majority of which has been submitted and that has been very helpful, Dr Thorn told the Limerick Leader.

He said he has not made a decision yet on whether he will need to interview Professor Don Barry, former president of UL, as part of their inquiry, but has indicated that he wishes to speak with John Field, the director of finance in UL.

Dr Thorn said while all the material submitted is being collated, there is currently in the region of a dozen submissions from individual people, including those who made protected disclosures and others who signed confidential severance packages.

He said he and his small team will spend the month of June examining all documentation associated with the investigation and identifying issues he might wish to consider further, in line with the terms of reference.

There are any number of sides to this story, and my job is to triangulate from a research sense all the submissions and documentation, and other information not in the public eye, as well as Workplace Relation Commission hearings. This is very much a look at a full range of information, he said.

UL also provided assurances to Dr Thorn that those who had signed confidential severance agreements were free to come forward with legal impunity.

It is the universitys understanding that the confidentiality clauses do not prevent individuals from speaking out and does not interfere with employees rights, read a statement from UL.

Dr Thorn said;UL's assurances have helped to a certain extent, but I am aware some people are still nervous in coming forward, so the question of confidentiality and UL's position on it is a work in progress.

The review will also examine a number of severance payments made by UL to some staff members, totalling over 800,000, some of which had not received written prior approval from the Department of Education and Skills.

Dr Thorn is being assisted by two staff members of the HEA, who have been assigned to the investigation to provide administrative support, and are gathering a range of documentation that we believe is relevant to the investigation.

The report is due to be published by the end of September, with a first draft due by the end of July or early August.

Meanwhile, the new president of UL said he is sympathetic to two whistleblowers at UL who remain suspended for two years with pay, at a cost of 120,000 to the State.

However, Dr Desmond Fitzgerald said that he does not plan to lift the suspension of the two women in the finance department until the findings of a new review into a series of allegations of misconduct at UL are published.

I am sympathetic to them and when this review is over, I will pursue it [their employment status]. However, I am bound to see the review completed and not-prejudge its outcome, Dr Fitzgerald told the Limerick Leader.

The women had raised concerns regarding expense claims they were asked to process, and later rejected severance packages of nearly 60,000 each.

UL denied that the staff were offered confidential severance agreements on the basis of highlighting financial mismanagement, and said they were subject to a number of workplace disputes.

Both have been replaced by agency staff in the interim, with deputy Sean Fleming, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), expressing alarm that four staff continue to be paid to do the work of two people.

Among those who have made submissions is Leona OCallaghan, a former employee in ULs finance department, who brought her concerns to the PAC in 2012.

Submissions are being accepted digitally via ulreview@hea.ie
BETTER late than never was the response of former soldier Tadhg Quinn when told that medals of recognition would be awarded to the 150 or so men who fought at the Battle of Jadotville in the Congo in September 1961.

The decision to award the medals was one of Enda Kennys last acts as Taoiseach on Tuesday.

This fully recognises their bravery and courage during the unique circumstances of the Siege of Jadotville, Mr Kenny said.

I am pleased, said Mr Quinn, from Abbeyfeale who is one of about 40 men still living of the soldiers of A Company 35th Infantry Battalion. But he added: That should have been done 55 years ago.

He was particularly pleased for the families of the men who have since died. But he remains adamant that what he and his comrades endured when they returned to Ireland from their tour of UN peacekeeping duty in the Congo was absolutely brutal

The way we were treated was absolutely scandalous, he said. They were ignored, taunted, scorned and some were even set upon, according to Mr Quinn.

There was more blood spilled than during the fighting. If you were called a coward there was only one way to sort that out.

It came from the very top down. But it was nothing to what Comdt Quinlan put up with. He was totally ignored. Mr Quinn said. Worse, however, was that there was, Mr Quinn believes, a sustained attempt at cover up.

We should never have been there in the first place, Mr Quinn said.

And they were sent out without adequate ammunition, equipment or food. After four days of siege, during which up to 300 of the attacking rebel forces were killed but with no Irish casualties, the Irish soldiers, under the command of Comdt Pat Quinlan, handed in their weapons.

There was no option, Mr Quinn said. They were out of water, food and ammunition and it was done to save lives.

But for decades, until the film The Siege of Jadotville was released last year, the real truth about the events of September 1961 was not known.

The film, Mr Quinn said, really threw the cat among the pigeons.

He is planning to collect his medal, but is sceptical about when that will be. I could be a lot older, he said.

The Siege of Jadotville is burned into the memory of so many Irish people who followed the events through the newspapers of the time, Paul Kehoe, government chief whip and the minister with responsibility for defence, said on Tuesday.

One of the first decisions which I made on my appointment to Office was to honour the men of A Company by presenting a Unit Citation in recognition of their collective actions at the Siege.

"The decision taken today to also honour these men with a medal is an exceptional step which builds upon last years ceremony and gives full recognition to their performance at the Siege.
A YOUNG man who gardai allege was the getaway driver following an attempted armed robbery at a credit union in County Limerick earlier this year has been refused bail.

Gerard Kelly, aged 25, who has an address at High Street, Caherconlish is charged with attempted robbery relating to an incident at St Ailbes Credit Union in the village on March 24, last.

Opposing a bail application under the provisions of Section 2 of the Bail Act, Garda Barry Manton said it will be alleged that two armed and masked men entered the premises at around 3.20pm while the defendant remained outside in a wine-coloured Ford Focus car.

Limerick District Court was told members of staff at the credit union were threatened by the raiders and that firearms were pointed at them and money demanded.

However, the staff members did not cooperate with the culprits and no money was handed over.

It is alleged the men then left the premises before fleeing in the Ford Focus which was allegedly driven to and from the premises by Mr Kelly.

Garda Manton said it is the Prosecution case that following the incident the defendant drove the car to a derelict farmhouse in Meanus where it was set on fire.

The defendant, he said, was apprehended while walking on the main Limerick to Bruff road a short time after the alarm was raised.

The car, which was subsequently discovered, has neen technically examined and CCTV footage has been obtained as part of the garda investigation which is continuing.

Neither of the men who entered the credit union premises have been apprehended to date.

As part of the garda investigation, statements have also been taken from a number of wiitnesses including the staff members who were working at the credit union on the day.

Judge Marian OLeary was told investigating gardai have concerns Mr Kelly will not stand appear in court if released and that he will intimidate potential witnesses in the case as he lives close to where the offence allegedly happened.

The defendant did not give evidence during the hearing and having considered the garda objection, Judge OLeary said she was refusing bail.

The matter was adjourned to June 20, next.
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A MAN accused of injuring his neighbour with a legally held shotgun and killing his dog in County Limerick has been granted bail.

The long running dispute is over the use of a right of way to farm lands in Kildimo.

Ted ODonoghue, 72, with an address at Kilmoreen, Kildimo, appeared at Limerick District Court this Saturday morning, charged with assaulting John Hayes, causing him harm under Section Three of the Non-Fatal Offences Against The Person Act.

At a special court sitting, Judge Marie Keane was told the defendant made no reply when he was cautioned.

Mr ODonoghue was arrested in Barnakyle, Patrickswell at 1.10pm on Friday after the incident and charged on Friday night at Newcastle West garda station.

Opposing a bail application, Gardai said it would be alleged the serious offence was connected to a long standing dispute over land.

It is alleged Mr ODonoghue, who was granted legal aid, discharged a single shotgun blast at the injured man, sparking a major investigation.

The court heard that Mr ODonoghue allegedly fired a shot from a legally held single barrel shotgun, injuring Mr Hayes, 65, in the shoulder.

The court heard that the firearm allegedly used by Mr ODonoghue was recovered by gardai in his van in Barnakyle, Patrickswell, on the day in question.

The long running dispute, which it was later estimated has gone on over seven or eight years, is to do with access to farmland at Ballycasey, Kildimo, the court heard.

Further more serious charges are anticipated, Garda Jason Mitchell told the court, detailing that Mr O'Donoghue was known to the injured party.

The injured party stated the accused fired a shot at him, injuring him and killing his dog, Garda Mitchell told the court.

Gardai expressed a fear that witnesses in the case could be interfered with and that the accused did not seem to comprehend the seriousness of his actions.

While it is an unfortunate scenario, land rights have well been played out in rural Ireland in the courts and will continue to do so, Inspector Alan Cullen, Newcastle West, told the court.

This matter should never have troubled the district court, it should be in civil court, he added.

Mr ODonoghues brother William offered to provide surety for the accused and told the court that the dispute had been going on for seven or eight years.

It would flare up, he said. It happens inside the farm, he added.

The court heard that Mr ODonoghue  who will turn 73 later this month and lives alone  had seen his health deteriorate in recent years.

Judge Keane said it was a very serious matter and the court heard that there was a history of dispute between neighbours that had become seriously entrenched.

However, given Mr ODonoghues willingness to provide surety for his brother, manage his farm and monitor his activities, she said she was prepared to grant bail under strict conditions that if breached at any time, would see the accused immediately arrested.

Mr ODonoghue, who lives a mile from the accused, said he would ensure his brother met all the conditions of bail, including chaperoning him to Mass.

Bail was granted under Mr ODonoghues own bond of 250, an independent cash surety of 5,000 and conditions that he was not to go to the farm at Ballycasey for any reason, that his brother Mr William ODonoghue would assume full responsibility for the day to day management and husbandry of the accuseds farm and that he sign on daily at Newcastle West garda station.

Mr ODonoghue was, the judge said, to have absolutely no contact whatsoever with witnesses and adjoining land owners and stay away from public places where the community of Kildimo congregate, such as Mass.

She said: Mr ODonoghue, if you see your neighbours, you block them out, dont even look at them.

She said the accused must obey a curfew of 10pm-8am.

Mr ODonoghue was remanded in custody with consent to bail to appear at Limerick District Court on Tuesday, June 20.
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Twenty five firefighters rushed to a school that was engulfed in flames.

Plumes of smoke could be seen across the area with nearby houses evacuated as the fire took hold.

Locals took to social media to express their sadness as they watched 90 years of history go up in flames.

One local wrote: "This is disgusting so many happy years with myself and my kids."

While another said: "The fire was very close to residential housing, this could of ended in tragedy, people including a baby could of died, thankfully the fire service arrived in time to deal with the fire, next time someone might not be so lucky.

"This could of turned out very differently."

The fire happened on Friday, June 16, at North Border School in Harworth.

It comes a year after another derelict school building was completely destroyed in Bircotes after a blaze was started in the early hours in July last year.
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Specialist food companies from near and far, snack bars and live cookery demonstrations from top local chefs and producers combine to make the Lincolnshire Show a place of food and drink heaven.

You can look forward to Lincolnshire producers showcasing the very best of what they do, with national and international specialities on offer.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner is available whatever you fancy  a hot meal, a picnic from the Co op shop or a quick bite on the run.

Boston-based Did Someone Say CAKE? is making its debut appearance to showcase its lovingly homemade gooey traybakes and slices. Katie Jones, who set up the online cake store at the beginning of the year, will host her stand in the Select Lincolnshire section of the Food Court.

Katie said: Ive been busy baking my speciality bakes, including brownies, rocky road and millionaires shortbread, which are all prepared from scratch in my own kitchen.

Visitors can also look forward to Cote Hill Cheeses range of home-produced soft cheese  the only one of its kind to be made in Lincolnshire. It is a particularly special year for the award-winning company as it celebrates its 25th year.

Other Lincolnshire favourites exhibiting in the Food Court include Pipers crisps, The Naked Marshmallow Co, Lincolnshire Brewing Company, Lincolnshire Poacher, Boston Sausage, Myers Bakery and Red Hill Farm Free Range Pork.

Elsewhere, look out for The Cocktail Pickers Club, who make ready-made cocktails with locally-sourced fruit juices and Rolys Fudge, who are based on Steep Hill in Lincoln.

This year also welcomes a new food event.

Steven Bennett, otherwise known as The Lincolnshire Chef, is staging the first pop-up restaurant at the show.

Steven has exclusively devised a menu that embraces all things Lincolnshire, and will be serving a breakfast and brunch throughout the morning, and then a Lincolnshire Show-inspired afternoon tea, Lincolnshire cheese and charcuterie boards, and a selection of alcoholic and soft drinks.

Always popular, The Lincolnshire Kitchen will once again offer a full programme of demonstrations. Heres what you can look forward to:

WEDNESDAY

8am The Lincolnshire Chef  pop-up restaurant

9.30am Jane Tomlinson, Redhill Farm Free Range Pork

10.20am Steven Bennett  The Lincolnshire Chef

11.10am Dan Gill, Browns Pie Shop

Noon Rachel Green

12.50pm Jack and Harry Reeves, Uncle Henrys

2.30pm Steven Bennett  The Lincolnshire Chef

3.20pm Dan Gill, Browns Pie Shop

THURSDAY

9.30am Eva Humphries, Nutritional Therapist

10.20am Jack and Harry Reeves, Uncle Henrys

Noon Rachel Green

12.50pm Ross Davenport, Cote Hill Cheese

1.40pm Jane Tomlinson, Redhill Farm Free Range Pork

2.30pm Dan Gill, Browns Pie Shop

4.10pm Ross Davenport, Cote Hill Cheese

The 133rd Lincolnshire Show returns to the Lincolnshire Showground on June 21 and 22. Advanced tickets are 19 for adults, children are 6 and under5s go free. Family tickets, admitting two adults and up to three children are priced at 40. Car parking is free on both days.
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Three people from Lincolnshire have been recognised for their work within the community after being awarded BEMs in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Husband and wife Noel and Josephine Harris from Lincoln have been awarded for their services to charity and the community in the city.

For the last 40 years, the 74-year-olds have been members of the Lincoln and District Branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

They continuously raise money through organisation social evenings, meals out and day trips for the members enabling a better quality of life to otherwise housebound people.

They are always willing to talk to people if they are in need over the phone, offering moral support.

For 10 years, at least eight times a year they organise and host dinners to raise money for various charities.

Each fundraiser makes about 400 - so in a year 3,200.

The money they make supports charities locally and worldwide.

As well as charity work, they work tirelessly to help their church.

For the last 20 years, they have planned and attended, on an annual basis, mission trips to Lourdes, Rome and Assisi.

As well as these larger tasks, they use the money for general up-keeping of the church, such as new cutlery, vacuums and other small but necessary items.

In a statement, it said: "Their vision, hard work and compassion for others are truly commendable and inspiring to everyone they encounter."

Another person who was named in the Honours list is Sleaford woman Marjorie Atkinson.

The 73-year-old has been commended for her services to the community in Great Hale in Lincolnshire.

For the last 35 years, she has organised the Great Hale Bingo Club, which is held weekly at the village hall and regularly provides refreshments.

For at least 20 years, she has been running the Monday luncheon club, which provides people with social contact and comfort and a three course meal for 3.50.

She has organised the fortnightly Whist Drive, and once a year makes all the members a free lunch.

She presides over the weekly cooking at Chatty Cafe, which is held every Thursday morning at the village hall.

For 15 years, she has also been involved with the Classic Car Club, organising events which include a yearly visit to a Leonard Cheshire Home for the disabled at Easter.

She also provides festive meals at the village hall at Christmas, spreading good cheer among those who would otherwise spend the day in isolation.

She fundraises tirelessly at an annual event in the village hall and raises funds for local hospice, St Barnabas, organising all the tables, catering and raffle prizes. Each event raises between 
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A man was arrested for behaving aggressively towards officers after his ill friend was arrested and locked in a police van.

Richard Culff was in a pub when he heard his friend Andrew Taylor had been arrested and placed in the back of police van outside.

The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to using abusive language to officers when he appeared at Boston Magistrates Court.

The court heard Culff, of Godsey Crescent, Market Deeping, tried to reason with officers and told them he was concerned for his friend, who has Huntingtons disease.

His solicitor Sully Baig-Culshaws, said: He (Culff) went to the van to see if Taylor was ok and was unaware of what the circumstances were as to why his friend had been arrested.

He protested Taylors arrest and should have walked away. He accepts he was vocal and confrontational and also abusive.

He regrets his actions and is of good character.

Taylor, of Godsey Lane, pleaded guilty to using abusive and threatening behaviour at an earlier hearing.

Culff was given a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay 85 costs and a victim surcharge of 25.
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A Lincolnshire vet has issued warnings to dog owners after a nurse rescued a dog from a hot car.

Elwood Briggs and Turner in Kirton, near Boston, said one of its nurses had to intervene after spotting a dog in car outside a local supermarket. The car temperature was allegedly 26C.

It posted warnings to residents on its Facebook page saying: "Please, please, please do not leave your dog in the car. Not only can they be stolen, they can overheat very quickly.

"Tonight one of our nurses had to intervene when she spotted a distressed dog alone in a car outside of a supermarket.

"The temperature in her car and presumably at least that of the dog's car was 26C and this was at 8pm with no direct sunshine.

"Every year we continue to see easily preventable cases of heatstroke in animals. Please be sensible and keep your pets safe."
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Three men have been in court charged with alleged burglary and assault in which they left a mother and daughter with serious injuries.

Items stolen included cannabis bushes, television, karaoke machine, Xbox, laptop, a purse and credits cards.

The three men appeared in Boston Magistrates' Court on Wednesday June 14 in relation to the burglary and assault at a secluded farmhouse at Amber Hill near Boston in November 2015.

Mark Sheridan, 44, of Clough Road, Thornhill, Paul Anthony Sorsby, 41, of Roughwood Road, Wingfield and Mark Ward, 43, of Town Lane, Wingfield, all Rotherham, entered no pleas to the allegations.

All three face allegations that they committed aggravated burglary at both the house and a barn in the Boston area while in possession of a claw hammer on November 28 2015 and that they entered the two buildings and stole various items between October 28 and November 20 in the same year.

Sorsby and Ward also face allegations that they caused grievous bodily harm to a woman and actual bodily harm to her daughter at the same location.

All three were sent for trial at Lincoln Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on July 12. They were allowed conditional bail.
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Sex workers are often a stigmatised group.

Even though prostitution is often called the world's oldest profession, a large amount of the sex trade is still in the shadows of our society and many assume all its workers are being exploited in some way, or forced into a situation they do not want to be in.

But that's not always the case. To coincide with the launch of the 'National Ugly Mugs' scheme Lincolnshire to keep sex workers safe from abusive clients, Jane, a sex worker in Grantham has written of her experience - and what she has to say might just surprise you....

Contrary to popular belief, not all sex workers are on drugs, doing it out of need or force.

For a large majority of independent workers this is a personal lifestyle choice- one that I made over 10 years ago.

I am happily married, have 2 lovely grown-up daughters and I run a successful business alongside my sex work.

Not all our clients are 'dirty minded men'

There is a great deal of stereotyping applied to the clientele that we see too. This is not just the remit of dirty-minded men but one where a very trusted, discrete and caring relationship is built between sex worker and client - usually professional men and women- and their reasons for visiting such a worker are varied.

I am fortunate to have met many lovely people and the bad incidences are few and far between, with the majority of clients being respectful, needing the boundaries that are placed by the worker.

These boundaries are in place as much for them as they are for the worker - for example rules around safe and protected sexual contact, as well as the personal choices of the services any worker offers.

Unfortunately, there are always those who will push limits and exhibit unwelcome and sometimes frightening behaviour towards sex workers. This can be from trying to remove a condom to achieve unprotected sex without consent, verbal abuse, nuisance calls and at the worst violence. I myself was recently robbed at the end of a booking, being assaulted as he made his escape.

We're so often misunderstood

Independent sex work is often viewed as a criminal activity (although it's legal in the UK) and the work is often frowned upon by the general public.

There is a vast amount of abuse and misunderstanding and as a result, sex workers are very isolated and often have no one to turn to for help or advice when such incidents take place.

There is often little worker-to-worker contact so spreading the word about potential bad clients is difficult.

Most events go unreported as there is a very real sense that because of the line of work, things like theft, assault and sexual assault will be taken less seriously and are less significant than if they happened to anyone else.

This is wrong and is an attitude that needs to change. No-one who has been on the receiving end of such activity should feel that violent or threatening behaviour needs to be tolerated. IT SIMPLY DOES NOT.

I am lucky to have the support of a loving husband who embraces the work I do, sees the value and importance of the service I provide to my clients, and the professionalism to which I adhere.

Why the National Ugly Mugs scheme is a brilliant idea...

I recently discovered NUM and as an experienced sex worker, I can't overstate the importance of the support that they provide in this very closed world -and it is long overdue.

The system of reporting is thorough, checked and immediate.

The methods by which they are alerting sex workers to potential dangers are efficient and are easy to access by workers on the street as well as those working from home or a hotel.

The service is free, confidential and highly accessible.

I seriously recommend all sex workers who haven't signed up yet to do so. The more of us that use the service, the safer our working environment will be for everyone."

What the officials have the say

Hayley Child, anti-sexual violence and abuse strategy coordinator at Lincolnshire County Council, said there were 117 female and 85 male sex workers in Lincolnshire listed on one website.

She said: "In Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire there have been incidents of sex workers being robbed at knifepoint and raped and very recently in Lincolnshire we have had a sex worker who's been robbed and attacked, but there's no borders for sex workers or their clients.

"There's a big difference between someone consenting to an activity and not consenting - one is a business transaction and the other is rape.

"The problem is that sex workers are a hidden community and its very hard for the police to communicate with workers, and there's still a lot of distrust, so NUM is a postive.

"It's important for the public to know that selling sex is legal. It's only when it's on the streets that it's illegal."

Lincolnshire Police and the county council have pledged their support for the National Ugly Mugs scheme locally, which is also backed by the National Police Chiefs Council and the Home Office, and has resulted in the convictions of almost 30 serial offenders nationally that police would not otherwise have known about.

Daryl Pearce, public protection officer at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "NUMs is particularly important and innovative in making sure people working in the sex industry are kept safe and supported and encouraged to report crime.

"This group of people are historically hard to reach, and this project reflects the key priorities that all organisations involved in reducing sexual violence in Lincolnshire, have agreed."

Bill Skelly, Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable, said: "I am delighted to be able to support the work of the National Ugly Mugs charity and the efforts which they go to in order to reduce the serious harm posed to sex workers and the wider public from serial sexual predators."

Alex Feis-Bryce, Chief Executive of NUM, said: "We are delighted that Lincolnshire Police and Lincolnshire County Council have pledged their support. It shows that crimes against sex workers will be taken very seriously and Lincolnshire Police will do their utmost to bring these dangerous offenders to justice."

Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones said: "This project is crucial in helping to keep everyone in our communities safe by assisting the authorities in locating and arresting sexual predators.

"It also plays an important role in keeping some of the most vulnerable members of society safe from harm."
Jun 17, 2017, 10 AM

A new design for the international reply coupon will be introduced later this year. Nguyen Du of Vietnam created the design. The new design replaces the Doha model, which will expire Dec. 31, 2017.

By Michael Baadke

The international reply coupon is undergoing a makeover, and the new design has been revealed by the Universal Postal Union.

The coupons can be purchased in many international post offices and sent to another country as a courtesy for a correspondent to redeem for airmail letter postage. The design changes every four years.

The design of the new coupon by graphic artist Nguyen Du of Vietnam shows a pair of hands and a dove against an Arctic backdrop to represent sustainable development in the postal sector, according to the UPU, an organization that serves as the primary forum for cooperation between postal administrations worldwide.

The design also shows a yellow stamp frame that represents the future of the Post, the UPU added.

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Ten countries participated in the competition to design the new IRC, which was open to all UPU member countries.

The competition was held Oct. 7, 2016, during the UPU congress in Istanbul, Turkey, and the new IRC is therefore described as the Istanbul model.

The new design will be placed into use this year, and coupons printed with the design will be valid through Dec. 31, 2021.

The new design replaces the Doha model, named for the 25th UPU congress held in Doha, Qatar, in 2012. The Doha model IRC, which will expire Dec. 31, 2017, shows cupped hands catching a stream of water, to celebrate the theme of Water for Life.

International reply coupons have not been sold in United States post offices since early in 2013. At the present time, collectors in the United States can purchase IRCs from Canada Post by contacting Philatelic Customer Service, Canada Post Place, Box 90022, 2701 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8, Canada; or calling 1-800-565-4362.

The current price for the IRC from Canada Post, in Canadian dollars, is $7.50. The new Istanbul model design is unlikely to become available until later this year, or early in 2018.

International reply coupons issued from 1907 through 2009 are listed and valued in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers.
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Mayra Valdes is looking to gain a stability that may never come.

The Richmond mother of three was one of more than 200,000 California residents whose future remained in limbo Friday after the Trump administration said it would keep in place federal protections for certain immigrants who entered the U.S. as children, but would not guarantee their fate as it continues to study the program known as DACA.

It makes me feel really unstable, Valdes, who is 26 and works as an immigration counselor for Catholic Charities of the East Bay, said as she kept up with the latest news affecting the so-called Dreamers.

She said she has had trouble sleeping this year, worrying about how she would provide for her children if the program for people without immigration status is dropped and her work permit is stripped away.

DACA gave me hope, said Valdes, who for years was denied jobs because she lacked legal status and work authorization. I cant imagine how it would be to go back to that feeling.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, started in 2012 by former President Barack Obama, gave people like Valdes a work permit and shielded them from deportation, singling them out as unique because they had been raised in the country from a young age. But President Trump attacked the initiative during his campaign.

Advocates and politicians who favor progressive immigration policies initially reacted with joy after the administration, in a memo released late Thursday, said DACA would remain in effect. The memo  which rescinded a similar program called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA  seemed to signal a long-term reprieve for the Dreamers.

An accompanying document published by the Department of Homeland Security said DACA recipients will continue to be eligible for protection, and that no work permits will be terminated prior to their current expiration dates.

Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, said Friday on Twitter: After months of fear, #DACA has been saved. Theyre Americans in every sense except for a piece of paper.

But Homeland Security officials pushed back on these reactions, stating that the memos should not be interpreted as bearing any relevance on the long-term future of that program. DACA is still under review by the Trump administration, said Jenny Burke, an agency spokeswoman.

With regard to DACA, the president has remarked on the need to handle the issue with compassion and with heart, she said. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly recognizes that Congress is the only entity that can provide a long-term solution to this issue, she said.

The confusion over the announcement was symbolic of the precarious nature of DACA under Trump. Though he appeared inclined to scrap the program during his campaign, he has said as president that he is not after the Dreamers and that they shouldnt be very worried.

By officially dropping DAPA, another Obama-era program that attempted to expand protection from deportation to certain undocumented parents of American citizens, the Trump administration appeared to be placating its base  while avoiding a political storm led by immigration advocates, some analysts said. DAPA was never implemented after being tied up in the courts.

Trump is caught in a political catch-22, said Pratheepan Gulasekaram, a professor and immigration expert at Santa Clara University School of Law. Revoking DACA and setting all those DACA recipients up for deportation is not popular and would be litigated.

But Kevin Johnson, dean of the UC Davis School of Law, said uncertainty over the program would continue.

I do not think we have seen the end of the saga on the future of the original DACA, he said. The Trump administration does not seem to be in a rush to end it. Still, depending on the future political winds, the president could return to DACA and eliminate it. Nothing appears certain about DACAs future at this time.

During his announcement of the program five years ago, Obama said DACA was intended as a temporary stopgap measure that could help lift the shadow of deportation for some people. But Obama was clear in saying that the protection was not a permanent fix and urged congressional action.

Since then, more than 750,000 people have qualified for DACA, with California leading the way, but more comprehensive immigration reform has failed to materialize.

Ive always lived with uncertainty and been in a perpetual state of anxiety, said Denia Perez, a 27-year-old law student at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and a DACA recipient. Some days are better than others. Ive learned to try to channel my energy to work for comprehensive, long-term solutions.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for more restrictive immigration policies, said she doubted Trump would allow DACA to continue indefinitely because that would institutionalize a program that he agreed was improper. One option, Vaughan noted, would be for the president to take the issue up in Congress as part of a broader immigration overhaul.

This solution probably would involve legalization (for some people) after he is able to restore meaningful interior enforcement and improve border security, she said.

For Valdes and other DACA recipients, the focus moving forward is to fight for the programs survival.

DACA being taken away is not an option, she said. What are we going to do to keep this program alive?

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz
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The rededication of Houston's Emancipation Park on Saturday drew hundreds to honor the 145-year history of a gathering place founded by formerly enslaved people that remains a community landmark.

Jacqueline Bostic, the great-granddaughter of the park's co-founder, the Rev. Jack Yates, spoke at the multigenerational celebration. She said the park that received a $33.6 million makeover symbolizes the spirit of community empowerment.

The property was purchased in 1872 with $800 donated by black leaders and residents. The land was named Emancipation Park to commemorate Juneteenth, when a Union Army general on June 19, 1865 read an order enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation, issued two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln but unknown to Texas slaves until after the Civil War ended.

(Listen to a snippet of Bostic's speech here. Story continues below)

"These men led the community in sacrifice, cooperation and empowered the community to purchase and develop the first known community park in the state of Texas  did you hear me?  and the first known community park in the city of Houston. You ought to be proud of it," Bostic declared. "We didn't get here without standing on someone else's shoulders. "Because for those who were enslaved, those who survived and those who were freed, those who accepted the challenge and the responsibility of being loving, caring, kind human beings... they provided leadership, guidance and community empowerment."

Mayor Sylvester Turner noted that the investment in the park came from Greater Third Ward tax dollars and federal money as well as gifts from community benefactors. He offered a decidedly native Houstonian explanation of how Emancipation Park represents the migration, growth and development of this city.

"People started off in Galveston, came down the Gulf Freeway, stopped off in Freedman's Town  Fourth Ward  transferred over to Third Ward, the Tre, then migrated to Fifth Ward  the Nickel  didn't stay there, but went to Acreage Home, the 4-4, then spread out to Fort Bend," Turner said.

PRESERVING THE MEMORY: Portraits of Texans freed from slavery

The mayor also commented on concerns about whether public improvements will encourage or accelerate gentrification.

"In communities that have been underserved and under-resourced for decades, I think we can give them the very best and then work hard to make sure that we do not force people out," the mayor said. "We have to make sure that people who have been living here for years and years can continue to live here for years and years and continue to enjoy the very best that this city has to offer."

State Rep. Garnet Coleman pointed out that the vision and action for the grand contemporary revitalization of Emancipation Park began 25 years ago. He said the project included $2.5 million in state funding. Generations of his family have lived in Third Ward for more than 100 years.

"It is a very proud day for all of us and it's a proud day for black people," he said. "I also want to thank the steadfast people in this community who don't give up and we make sure things happen... and that we get to enjoy the benefits of the change."

The park upgrades have spurred a new economic corridor on a street once named after a Confederate Army commander, Dowling, and renamed Emancipation Avenue this year. The park is located at Elgin and Emancipation, just east of the Southwest Freeway.

The community asset includes a new recreation center, a modern pool and a renovated community center. Children enjoyed new playground equipment. Performers entertained on a new outdoor staging area behind a building to be used as a cultural center. Saturday's activities became a community festival with food trucks and other vendors.

Jerry Richardson, a jewelry artist and painter who has moved from Third Ward to Pearland, said the renewed Emancipation Park will energize the area.

"It's beautiful. It's nice. This is a great place for local artists to display, do business and have camaraderie with other artists," the 44-year-old said. "It will bring people back to the community and to get interested in the community again."

But Koswa Williams, a 35-year-old baker who moved to Third Ward a year ago, said the improvements are showing up along with the new residents of higher-end, multi-story townhouses.

"I think it's awesome. It's beautiful out here, but who are we making it nice for? Gentrification is pushing out our elders," she said.

During the rededication program, Theola Petteway also pointed out that the redevelopment work began decades ago.

She serves as executive director of the OST/Almeda Corridors Redevelopment Authority, a local government corporation that administers the project and finance planning for Houston's Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 7. The TIRZ works to encourage investment and stimulate development in key corridors and adjacent neighborhoods.

"No one individual made this happen ever," she said. "It's those people that do all the little-bitty pieces."

There are were brief remarks from the park's lead architect, Phil Freelon, and former State Rep. Al Edwards. Both received special honors from U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, whose congressional district includes the park.

Edwards sponsored and shepherded a bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday; Freelon was recognized for leading the design team of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.

The Emancipation Park Conservancy, founded last year, will oversee the park and provide financial support into the future.

The celebration continues all weekend, punctuated with the unveiling of the Emancipation Park sign on Monday morning  the Juneteenth holiday.
Back in 2016, the New York Daily News released an article about Sasha Obama's new job on Martha's Vineyard, where she was doing things like cashiering, bussing table and manning the take-out window at a restaurant.

However, one tiny detail seemed to slip completely under the radar until Ashley C. Ford, features writer at Refinery29, pointed it out. Sasha Obama's real name is Natasha.

NEW HOME: Obamas buy Washington house Ivanka Trump's DC neighborhood

According to the NY Daily News article, Sasha had been going by her full name while working her summer job and Twitter had no clue.

Of course when the Internet found out the truth they did what they always do, and flipped out.

"My entire life is a lie. Sasha Obama's real name is Natasha," said one user.

Another person commented, "Wow. Was the entire 8 years a lie!?!?"

Still others were less surprised about the recent ordeal.

One person shared a GIF of Leonardo DiCaprio shrugging and said, "The replies of people being 'shook.' I can't front, I was shook too... when I learned years ago."

"I found out a few years back but was really like WHAT," said someone else.

No matter when they found out, the general consensus was surprise the moment people realized the truth.

Sasha (a.k.a Natasha) Obama isn't the only person in the public eye who doesn't go by his or her real name.

Take a look through the slideshow above to find out the other real names of well-known people.
Thousands of Syrian refugees are returning home for a visit during Ramadan, after Turkey temporarily opened two border crossings with its war-torn neighbor for the Muslim holy month.

Turkey has taken in 3 million Syrian refugees who arrived by way of legal and illegal crossings since the start of the civil war six years ago.

The border crossings were shut in 2015 to prevent a spillover of the war.

This week 21-year-old Ismail Hadidi Jafar was waiting to cross into Syria from the Oncupinar gate in the province of Kilis to visit his parents in Aleppo. He left two years ago.

"I have a young sibling whom I've never met," Jafar told The Associated Press, preparing to cross over.

As the crowds swelled, hundreds of refugees stood in the scorching sun to be processed by police and migration officials. Turkey's official Anadolu news agency said that since June 1 when the crossing in Hatay province opened, 30,000 Syrians visited their homes.

Last summer, the government sent tanks and troops along with Syrian opposition forces to clear its border and a swath of northern Syria from the Islamic State group  and also to counter the spread of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters there.

Turkey's involvement in the Syrian conflict is increasing. The Turkish government views Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units, known as YPG, as a terrorist organization and an extension of Kurdish militants who have been waging a three-decade-long insurgency against Turkey.

Mohammed Izzo, 28, who also hails from Aleppo province in northern Syria, said he's been longing to see his family.

"The area we were in was under Daesh control," he said using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. "I didn't go visit after Daesh left so I'm going now."

Izzo said he will come back to Turkey after Eid al-Fitr, the celebration of breaking the fast at the end of Ramadan, which commemorates the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad.
Employees of the Liberty Whataburger, which was destroyed by fire on May 31, may continue to be paid their average salary by working at one of several pre-approved non-profits in the Liberty area, according to Whataburger officials.

Construction of a new restaurant is expected to take five months. During that time, employees can volunteer at the non-profits and Whataburger will continue their paychecks, said William Tamminga, president of BurgerWorks Texas LLC, owner of the Liberty Whataburger.
TOKYO - The search for seven U.S. sailors missing off the coast of Japan continued into a second day Sunday, with U.S. and Japanese forces conducting air-and-sea patrols after a Navy destroyer collided with a much-larger container ship.

At the same time, civilian and military investigators tried to figure out how the nighttime collision between two vessels - both with advanced navigation systems - could have occurred.

"This has been a difficult day," Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, the commander of the Seventh Fleet, said as the badly damaged USS Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer, limped back into its home port at Yokosuka Naval Base, south of Tokyo, after emergency efforts at sea to control flooding.

Family members of the missing were waiting on the pier with Aucoin when it arrived, guided by two tug boats. The Seventh Fleet had set up an information center for the families, and had chaplains and a counselor on site.

The Fitzgerald collided with the Philippine-flagged Crystal, nearly four times its size, in a busy shipping lane south of Tokyo at 2:30 a.m. local time Saturday. The weather was clear with a swell of about six feet at the time.

Three of the Fitzgerald's crew, including the destroyer's commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, were evacuated from the damaged vessel and are being treated at the U.S. naval hospital at Yokosuka, the home of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet.

Benson was reported to be in stable condition, while the other two were treated for lacerations and bruises.

All three were awake and being kept under observation in hospital, the Seventh Fleet said in a statement.

The Fitzgerald, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer commissioned in 1995, is part of the Yokosuka-based group that includes the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, but it was operating independently of the carrier when the collision occurred, according to Cmdr. Ron Flanders, public affairs officer for US Naval Forces Japan.

When its crew is at full strength, the Fitzgerald usually has more than 250 personnel aboard and can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots.

The operators of the merchant ship, ACX Crystal, reported all of the 20-member Filipino crew were safe.

The Crystal, which was fully loaded with cargo, is bound for Tokyo, according to a website that tracks maritime traffic. It is operated by Nippon Yusen K.K., a Japanese shipping company, and was on its way from Nagoya port at the time of the collision.

"We are collaborating with the ship owner and fully cooperating with the investigation by the coast guard," Nippon Yusen said in a statement.

All 20 Filipino crew members aboard the ship are safe and it has set up a task force to deal with the accident, the company said, according to the Kyodo News Agency.

Photos showed the container ship with minor damage to its bow, while the Fitzgerald appeared to have extensive damage midship on its right, or starboard, side, just below its bridge.

The destroyer was listing slightly, with water visibly being pumped, as it was towed into harbor.

Divers were waiting to inspect it below the waterline, where there had also been significant damage.

The collision had caused flooding in two berthing spaces, a machinery space and the radio room, the Seventh Fleet said.

"Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families," President Donald Trump wrote in a Twitter message Saturday. "Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance."

The USS Dewey, another Navy destroyer, was helping with the search and rescue operations, along with three Japanese naval ships and two Japanese coastguard vessels.

An American P-8 Poseidon aircraft was joined overhead by Japanese helicopters and an Orion aircraft.

There are extensive international guidelines for accident avoidance at sea known as the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, or Colregs.

The rules require that ships must have a watch posted at all times and follow a number of collision-avoidance steps when crossing paths with or overtaking other vessels.

- - -

The Washington Post's Thomas Gibbons-Neff in Washington contributed to this report.
Serbia is not known for its gay-friendly policies.

More than half of the country's residents consider homosexuality a "sickness," and 48 percent said they'd try to find their son or daughter a "cure" if they came out. Nearly three-quarters of the country's openly gay residents say they've faced discrimination and violence because of their sexual orientation.

In 2009, Serbian Orthodox Bishop Amfilohije Radovic compared Pride parades to "Sodom and Gomorrah." A year later, a lawmaker described homosexuality as an "illness, perversion, deviance and aberration, and a social problem which caused a confrontation between the representatives of a healthy, heterosexual Serbia."

This week though, the country's president, Aleksander Vucic, made a historic decision: naming Ana Brnabic prime minister. If her cabinet is approved next week, she will become a double first: the country's first female and openly gay head of government.

"I will run the government with dedication and responsibility and I will do my job honestly and with love," Brnabic told state Tanjug news agency, adding that she will focus on goals "bigger and more important than all of us individually."

If approved, Brnabic will join a handful of other openly gay leaders in Europe. Earlier this month, Ireland selected Leo Varadkar, the openly gay son of an Indian immigrant, to head their governing party. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel is also out of the closet. And Iceland, ever ahead of the curve, elected their first openly gay prime minister in 2009.

Brnabic attended school in Britain and has a background in business and marketing. Before being named minister of public administration and local government last year, she worked for several U.S. companies in Serbia on wind power.

Since joining the government, she has been celebrated as a beacon for Serbia's gay community. Though the government passed a deeply controversial anti-discrimination measure in 2009, LGBT people routinely face discrimination, harassment and violence. In interviews, one man recalled how people on the street threw stones at him and shouted "fagot." Another woman said a man attacked her with a knife because she was wearing a shirt with a rainbow flag.

A 2010 survey found that 14 percent of Serbians believe hat violence and beatings are legitimate ways to respond to homosexuality. Belgrade's Pride parade is regularly suspended over "security concerns." In 2010, the procession of about 1,000 participants faced off against a mob of 6,000, who throw bombs and bottles at police.

Brnabic is aware of this history. But last year, she told the Associated Press that she doesn't want her identity to define her. "Hopefully this will blow over in three or four days, and then I won't be known as the gay minister," she said.

The subject may be difficult to avoid. The decision has infuriated the country's Orthodox church, along with its ultranationalists. The Dveri group, a conservative political party in the minority, blasted the decision as one made under Western pressure. "Is it possible that the ruling majority has no other candidate for the prime minister-designate but the one imposed by the West, which dictates all the moves by this government?" the party asked, according to the Associated Press.

Nationalist official Dragan Markovic-Palma, who previously said that he wouldn't approve anyone for the job who didn't have at least two children, told news agency Beta simply, "Ana Brnabic is not my prime minister."

President Vucic's selection of Brnabic is seen by many as a nod toward broader equality, and an effort to nudge his country closer toward the West. Vucic has committed to pushing for membership in the European Union as soon as 2020. Brnabic's appointment may also help Vucic maintain power, even out of office.

In theory, Serbia's prime minister is more powerful than its largely ceremonial president. But Brnabic has little political experience and no real base of power, limiting her ability to achieve change. "I do not believe that Brnabic will lead or have an impact on foreign policy," Boban Stojanovic, a political scientist at the University of Belgrade, told the Guardian. "This will remain the exclusive domain of President Vucic."
Prominent evangelist Franklin Graham says he finds it "very disturbing" that immigration authorities have arrested many Iraqi Christians for possible deportation. President Donald Trump promised earlier this year he would prioritize persecuted Christians, but many international religious freedom advocates say deporting these Christians back to Iraq could put them in serious danger.

Graham, who has been supportive of Trump and his travel ban, urged the president to have someone investigate the cases where dozens of Iraqi nationals were swept up in immigration raids in Michigan and Tennessee.

The arrests came after a deal the United States made with Iraq, which sought to be removed from Trump's proposed travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and agreed to accept deported Iraqis. Immigration authorities said all of the Iraqi nationals who were arrested had criminal convictions.

"I understand a policy of deporting people who are here illegally and have broken the law," Graham wrote on Facebook on Friday. "I don't know all of the details, but I would encourage our president to give great consideration to the threat to lives of Christians in countries like Iraq."

A spokesman for Graham said he is traveling and unable to comment further.

Graham, son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, is president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse. Though he didn't formally endorse Trump during the campaign, he read from Scripture at the inauguration and said after the Trump's win that "God's hand intervened" in the election.

Last month, Graham joined several other religious leaders to watch Trump announce an executive order on religious freedom, saying the president gave him and other evangelical leaders a tour of his private quarters in the White House. Vice President Mike Pence headlined Graham's recent World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians to highlight the plight of Christians around the world.

With 5.7 million fans on Facebook, Graham has regularly praised the president and his policies, including the proposed travel ban.

"Taking action to secure our borders had to start somewhere," Graham wrote. "Is it perfect? Maybe not, but it is a first step. . . . I believe the best way to help is to reach out and help these people in their own countries."

Graham is also known for making other controversial remarks about Islam, LGBT issues and climate change. After men reportedly shouted "this is for Allah," during recent attacks in London, Graham wrote, "The threat of Islam is dangerous."

After Trump pulled out of the Paris climate agreement, Graham wrote, "God gave us the earth to use, and we are called to be good stewards of it and use it wisely."

Other evangelical leaders have spoken out, including the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's policy arm Russell Moore and Lynne Hybels, co-founder of Chicago-area megachurch Willow Creek.

---

Let's also make sure we don't deport Iraqi Christians, to be slaughtered back in the Middle East.

- Russell Moore (@drmoore) June 16, 2017

---

I just signed this petition to stop deportation of Iraqi Christians. Please add your voice!

- lynne hybels (@lynnehybels) June 15, 2017

---

Many immigrants fear for their safety if they are sent back to Iraq, Jeremy Courtney, an American Christian who is living in Iraq, wrote for The Washington Post. Many Christians were killed under Saddam Hussein's regime and continued to be targeted after the U.S. invasion in 2003, as well as in the years since the Islamic State has come onto the scene.

Last year, Congress voted unanimously to recognize the killings of Christians in the Middle East as a genocide.

"On a practical level, this is mind-boggling," Nina Shea, an international human-rights lawyer who runs the Center for Religious Freedom at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, told Religion News Service. "In a situation of genocide you don't deport anybody. We didn't even deport Gitmo detainees to places where they would be killed."

The ACLU on Thursday filed a lawsuit in an attempt to halt possible deportations.

"We are hoping that the courts will recognize the extreme danger that deportation to Iraq would pose for these individuals," Kary Moss, executive director for the ACLU of Michigan, wrote in a statement. "Our immigration policy shouldn't amount to a death sentence for anyone."

The issue reflects how evangelicals, many of whom voted for Trump and still support him, are getting some of the things they want but are frustrated by the administration's direction in other areas. The biggest win, many of them say, is his successful Supreme Court nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch, seen as key to upholding the conservative end of the bench. He has largely met their expectations on abortion policies so far.

But evangelicals have felt let down in other areas. They wanted Trump to issue an executive order on religious freedom that would include allowing people to decline to provide services if it goes against their religious beliefs. Instead, he signed an executive order many observers saw as disappointing. Evangelicals also urged the president to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he has decided against for now.
MIAMI - President Donald Trump, denouncing what he called his predecessor's "terrible and misguided" opening to Cuba, outlined a new policy Friday that seeks to curb commercial dealings with the government in Havana and to limit the newfound freedom of U.S. citizens to travel to the island.

"Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump told an enthusiastic audience, heavily weighted with members of South Florida's Cuban American community who opposed former president Barack Obama's normalization of relations with the communist government of President Raul Castro.

Away from the tribulations of Washington, where he is bombarded with questions about investigations of his administration and regularly tweets his outrage, Trump appeared buoyed by the change of subject and adulation from a crowd that chanted his name.

Speaking in a packed theater in the heart of Miami's Little Havana, he ticked off a litany of past and present examples of Cuban government repression, and said that Obama's easing of restrictions on travel and trade had not helped the Cuban people.

"Those days are over," Trump said. "Now, we hold the cards."

The details of Trump's new policy remain unwritten. In a presidential directive he signed at the end of his speech, he ordered the Treasury and Commerce departments to draw up new regulations to replace elements of Obama's policy changes. White House officials said that actual changes remain months away.

U.S. business leaders and a number of lawmakers - Democratic and Republican - immediately criticized the proposed reversals. In a statement issued by his office, Rep. Eric "Rick" Crawford, R-Ark., whose state seeks increased access to the island's $2 billion agricultural imports market, called Trump's approach "failed, outdated, and isolationist."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Trump's reversals would "limit the possibility for positive change on the island and risk ceding growth opportunities to other countries that, frankly, may not share America's interest in a free and democratic Cuba that respects human rights."

But others, particularly Cuban-American members of Congress, hailed the new measures. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said the Obama opening "only emboldened an oppressive dictatorship to tighten its stranglehold over its citizens" and had "led to greater repression, more arrests of political dissidents, less freedom and diminishing economic opportunity for its citizens."

Trump was introduced at Little Havana's packed Manuel Artime Theater in brief speeches by Vice President Pence, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, R, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., both of whom flew to Miami aboard Air Force One and were thanked in Trump's speech for their policy input.

"I want to express our deep gratitude to a man that's really become a friend of mine," Trump said of Rubio, who ran against him in last year's GOP presidential primary race. "He's one tough competitor."

The president's remarks were laden with anti-Castro rhetoric, much of it harking back to the Cold War, and with promises not to ease pressure on Cuba until it liberates all political prisoners and holds free, democratic elections.

Those are standards Trump has not set for other repressive governments, such as Saudi Arabia, with which his administration has moved to improve relations. "We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer," said Trump, who has sought and claimed improved relations with communist governments in China and Vietnam.

He indirectly addressed those contradictions by saying that "we all accept that all nations have the right to chart their own paths, and I'm certainly a very big believer in that. So we will respect Cuban sovereignty, but we will never turn our backs on the Cuban people."

On Friday evening, Cuba's government issued a statement that struck a measured, relatively conciliatory tone, characterizing Trump's moves as a "setback" in relations between the two countries.

The statement said Cuba remained willing to continue "respectful dialogue on topics of mutual concern," but said the United States government was "in no position to be giving lectures" on human rights issues, criticizing American racial discrimination and U.S. military interventions abroad.

Cuba said it would not accede to Trump's demands for sweeping change.

"Any strategy aimed at changing Cuba's political, economic and social systems, whether through pressure or coercion, or employing more subtle methods, will be doomed to failure," the statement said. The statement did not attack Trump personally, saying the president had been "poorly advised" by Cuban-American "extremists."

In Havana, as word began to trickle out that the new American president had "canceled" some of the widely popular Obama measures that brought more U.S. visitors to the island, the responses appeared overwhelmingly negative, at least in an unscientific poll of a dozen or so residents, small business owners and employees in Old Havana.

Some of the reactions were profane and unfit to be published. But a kind of collective groan went out across the neighborhood, as one of the city's busiest tourist areas feared it would take a direct hit if fewer Americans arrived.

"We're the ones who are going to lose," said Anni Perez, a 21-year-old waitress at an upscale, privately owned cafe with sidewalk tables and a new espresso machine.

Trump only vaguely referred to actual policy changes, saying that "we do not want U.S. dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba" and that his administration would "strictly enforce the law."

In a fact sheet and briefings by White House officials, the administration said the new policy would prohibit any commercial transactions with Cuba's economically powerful military, whose involvements include controlling a major portion of the tourism sector. U.S. citizens would be barred from staying in military-owned hotels, although they are free to stay in private homes or nonmilitary-owned lodgings.

Tourist travel has been prohibited for decades, but Americans were long allowed to travel in groups, licensed by the Treasury Department, for specific purposes such as education, religion, professional conferences and sports. Under the Obama changes, individual Americans could "self-declare" their compliance with the Treasury regulations and travel alone. A new category of "people to people" exchanges provided a loophole under which many Americans have visited Cuba over the past two years.

Under Trump's proposed changes, the "people to people" category will revert to group-only travel. Although the regulations have yet to be written, senior White House officials, who were authorized to brief reporters on the condition of anonymity, said that other categories of authorized travel will remain open to individuals. The new regulations are also expected to call for stricter enforcement of Treasury's role in auditing whether Americans are doing what they say they are doing in Cuba.

But much of the Obama policy will remain the same, including maintaining the diplomatic relations established between the two governments, the ability to use American credit cards in Cuba, U.S. airline flights and cruises to the island, and commercial ventures in areas such as communications that do not include the military.

Although Trump called on Cuba to "return . . . fugitives from American justice," he did not announce any measures to address the handful of American fugitives who in most cases have resided in Cuba for decades. Again speaking in generalities, he said, "We will keep in place the safeguards to prevent Cubans from risking their lives to unlawful travel to the United States," an apparent reference to Obama's elimination of the "wet-foot, dry-foot" immigration policy that had made Cubans reaching this country automatically eligible for permanent residence and early citizenship.

Before the closing days of his presidential campaign, Trump vacillated on what he thought about Cuba. In the 1990s, he called the late Fidel Castro a "killer" and a "criminal." But in a 2015 interview, he said the Obama thaw was "fine."

"The concept of opening with Cuba - 50 years is enough," he said, although "we should have made a stronger deal."

But Trump's views appeared to harden as the election drew near. In a Miami speech last September, he said that his administration would "stand with the Cuban people in their fight against communist oppression," and that change under his administration would come "right away."

"Last year, I promised to be . . . a voice for the freedom of the Cuban people," he said in Friday's speech. "You heard that pledge . . . and here I am," he said.

"I guess it worked, right?" Trump said of his remarks in September 2016. "Boy. Florida, as a whole, and this community that supported us, like - by tremendous margins."

As word of Trump's proposals began to emerge this week, Benjamin Rhodes, a former senior Obama official who negotiated much of the thaw with Cuba, said it was important to focus on what would "not change," including diplomatic relations, bilateral cooperation in areas such as narcotics trafficking and immigration, the elimination of the wet-foot, dry-foot policy, and some if not all of the travel expansion.

But Trump's changes, he said, would harm Cuba's growing private sector. In addition, he said, they could lead to a strategic problem, as Russia and China have moved to expand their military and economic cooperation with Cuba.

Cuba is about to receive its first major Russian oil shipment this century, and Moscow has pledged a $2 billion investment in the Cuban railroad. China is selling computers to the island, and Brazil has funded a state-of-the-art port in the Cuban city of Mariel.

In Latin America, which long opposed U.S. isolation of Cuba, Obama's opening was "the most popular thing the United States has done in a generation," Rhodes said.

A statement Friday from the Foreign Ministry in Mexico, where Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan is expected to attend a meeting of the Organization of American States next week, reiterated that country's "friendship and solidarity with the Cuban people and its readiness to continue working with the Cuban government."

- - -

DeYoung reported from Washington. The Post's Nick Miroff in Havana contributed to this report.

- - -

Video: President Donald Trump signed an executive order laying out a new policy on Cuba, on June 16 in Miami. Here's what it means.

URL: http://wapo.st/2rENJTD

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One day after a 10-month-old boy was killed in his father's arms in a hail of gunfire in southwest Houston, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo offered a fiery vow to find the three men responsible for Wednesday's slaying.

"We're not going to put up with this," Acevedo said at a Thursday morning press conference. "Gangsters killing a 10-month-old boy being held by his father, that's outrageous. And I promise you we are going to come after these people."

Then Thursday evening  more than 24 hours after the slaying  Acevedo and a slew of detectives swarmed the scene again, even as police questioned two men detained in the area.

The chief announced new plans to target the city's most crime-ridden complexes with long-term operations, and promised safety to any witnesses willing to come forward.

"I've been a cop 31 years, and there's certain lines you don't cross," he told reporters outside the scene of the crime at Nob Hill Apartments on North Braeswood. "You don't kill a child in front of their parent."

Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 for information leading an arrest.

Police believe three men in their 20s are responsible for gunfire that killed 10-month-old Messiah Marshall.

The tragedy unfolded Wednesday around 1:30 p.m., when the boy's father  whom police have not publicly identified  was out walking with his son.

The trio approached the father and child and began firing multiple rounds "indiscriminately," according to police.

The father fled across the Nob Hill parking lot, trying to shield his son. But at least one bullet hit the baby, who died at a nearby Valero gas station.

Afterward a GoFundMe campaign sprang up online to raise money for Messiah's funeral costs.

"It is with the heaviest of hearts that we mourn unexpected and sudden passing of Baby Messiah Justice Marshall," the web page reads.

"A beautiful soul was lost. He brought joy and laughter to all." In just over 24 hours, the campaign brought in more than $4,500.

RELATED: Police chief vows justice for baby

But as of Thursday morning, police still lacked a detailed description of the suspects. One was wearing a red hat and shorts during the shooting, Acevedo said. Another was wearing a white T-shirt.

"You got our attention," the chief said, directly addressing the suspects. "And we're going to start paying very close attention to your [apartment] complex. We're going to turn that place around."

But he cautioned community members against taking matters into their own hands.

"Retaliation is just going to lead to more bloodshed," he said. "Let us bring these people to justice so they can rot in prison, as far as I'm concerned."

He urged anybody who witnessed the gunfire to contact law enforcement instead.

"There's no doubt that there are people right now who know who these suspects were," Acevedo said. "And there's no doubt in my mind that we're going to bring justice to this little boy."

At least two people were arrested and questioned as a result of the increased police focus on the area, but Acevedo said it's not yet clear whether the pair was involved in the slaying. A police spokesman emphasized late Thursday afternoon that their detention may be unrelated.

Even as police prowled the community Thursday evening, locals seemed unfazed. Some came outside to witness the hubbub, but others went about their day as normal.

"Relatively speaking, it's safe," said Ann Estle, who's lived in the Meyerland area her whole life. "But you don't have to go far for that not to be the case."

The 59-year-old pointed down the street to the site of a stabbing last year, but said she still feels safe outside at night.

"When you look at the data, this isn't one of our worst complexes," Acevedo said later. But he added that there were already special operations underway in the area at the time of the shooting.

"Ever since I've been walking around, it's been safe," said 16-year-old Zaria Scales as she strolled down the street in front of an armed security guard mid-afternoon. "But you never know."

RELATED: HPD is changing up its tactics

On Thursday night, Nob Hill held a 7 p.m. meeting to discuss security concerns. Although media were barred from the event, Acevedo addressed the packed room, a move reinforcing his interest in zeroing in on gun crime.

Since becoming the city's top cop, Acevedo has taken several major steps to retool his department to combat the problem, including ordering investigators to respond to non-fatal shootings immediately.

He created a citywide tactical unit to target the most dangerous offenders throughout Houston, announced plans to create another investigative unit specifically devoted to overnight shootings, and prioritized ballistics testing to try to get investigative leads to detectives more quickly.

Throughout the evening, officers patrolled the area, hoping to send a message to both the residents and the killers.

"We know that people saw things here, we want to reassure them. We want to reassure witnesses that we're going to protect them," Acevedo said before the meeting. "And we want to reassure the suspects that we are not going to rest until we catch them."

Brooke Lewis and St. John Barned-Smith contributed to this report.
Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI) has called on the EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier and the Irish Government to ensure Ireland is made a special case in the forthcoming Brexit talks following confirmation that negotiations with the European Commission will begin on Monday.

Britains exit from the European Union will have a huge impact on logistics operators, and this will be felt most acutely in Ireland which has the only land border with the UK and uses the country as a land bridge to Europe.

Aidan Flynn, FTA Irelands General Manager, said: Ireland is in a unique position because of its geographical position, its trading relationship with the UK and the Good Friday agreement. A hard border between the two countries would spell disaster for many businesses that currently cross the border regularly  sometimes many times in a single day. It is crucial that this special relationship with the UK is acknowledged in the negotiations and that measures are put in place to ensure the continued free movement of goods and services across the border.

Our members need clarity and we are therefore urging negotiators on both sides to ensure that the unique situation on the island of Ireland is discussed early on in the negotiations as foreseen by the European Council.

FTA Ireland has published a Brexit Position Paper, which contains three priorities and 10 recommendations for all involved in the negotiations. The priorities are:

* No hard border with Northern Ireland and no barriers to trade with the UK

* Seamless transport links between Ireland and the UK

* Seamless transition to the post Brexit era



FTA Ireland has been a lone voice calling on the Irish Government to appoint a Minister for Brexit and is delighted that the new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has appointed Simon Coveney as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Brexit.

Mr Flynn said: This is an encouraging appointment and FTA Ireland looks forward to meeting the new Minister as a matter of urgency to outline the concerns of our members and of the transport and logistics sector. Unfortunately, the election result in the UK and the reliance of the Conservative Party on the support of the DUP in Northern Ireland are not positive signs that the new administration will have the longevity required to see the negotiations through.

The two-year countdown started on 29 March. If a deal is not in the pipeline by October 2018, allowing time for it to be ratified by the EU27, it is likely that no extension would be granted and the UK would automatically become a Third Country in March 2019. So while there is now a lot of talk about a soft Brexit it is far from certain. It is vital that Ireland and the entire supply chain is prepared for the consequences of the UK leaving the single market and quite possibly the Customs Union. The ball is very firmly in the UK court in terms of the type of Brexit it wants!
An Afghan solider opened fire on US troops today at a military base in Balkh province and wounded seven American soldiers. Todays insider attack, also known as green-on-blue attack, is the second of its kind in the last week, and the third reported so far this year.

Resolute Support, NATOs command in Afghanistan, confirmed that seven US troops were wounded and evacuated for treatment. One Afghan soldier was killed and another was wounded.

UPDATE: Seven U.S. service members wounded, evacuated for treatment. Insider attack Camp Shaheen, Mazar-e Sharif under investigation //t.co/WXujMMXA3U  Resolute Support (@ResoluteSupport) June 17, 2017

The Taliban claimed credit for the attack in a statement released on its website, Voice of Jihad. According to the Taliban, Masood from Paktia province was working inside Shaheen Corps with the Afghan commandos.

This latest insider attack took place at the Afghan National Armys 209th Shaheen Corps Headquarters in Mazar-i-Sharif in Balkh province. The 209th Shaheen Corps Headquarters was the scene of a deadly assault just two months ago, when 10 Taliban fighters fought their way into the base and slaughtered more than 140 Afghan soldiers before being gunned down. The Taliban said it infiltrated the Afghan National Army to carry out that attack. Afghanistans Minister of Defense and the Army chief of staff resigned, and four Army corps commanders were fired in the wake of the assault.

Taliban views insider attacks as a key tactic to defeat US

In the past, the Taliban has infiltrated Afghan security forces to carry out such strikes or convinced soldiers or policemen to turn their weapons on coalition personnel. In 2012, Mullah Omar, the founder and first emir of the Taliban, announced that he created the Call and Guidance, Luring and Integration department with branches  now operational all over the country, to encourage defections and strikes on coalition forces.

Since Omars announcement, the Taliban has said that insider operations are a key part of its military strategy when announcing the commencement of its annual spring offensive.

These operations will involve conventional attacks, guerrilla warfare, complex martyrdom attacks, insider attacks, and use of IEDs to achieve their objectives, the Taliban said in its statement on Operation Mansouri, the 2017 offensive.

Insider attacks on the rise

Todays insider attack is the third recorded by FDDs Long War Journal so far this year. Many go unreported as they may not cause casualties. It is is also the second of its kind in the past week.

The first incident this year, on March 19 at a base in Helmand province, resulted in three US troops being wounded. The culprit, an Afghan National Army officer from the 215th Maiwand Corps, was killed. The Taliban did not claim credit for the shooting, but did acknowledge it. Zabihullah Mujahid, an official Taliban spokesman described the Afghan solider as an Afghan with a sense of patriotism.

These incidents have decreased from 44 in 2012 to just two in 2016 and three more so far this year. This is due to a dramatic decrease in coalition forces after the end of the surge in 2012 as well as improved security measures. [For in-depth information, see Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data.]

The insider attacks have ramped up as the Trump administration considers sending an additional 4,000 soldiers to Afghanistan in an effort to halt the Talibans gains over the past several years. The bulk of these forces are expected to partner with Afghan soldiers in the field in an attempt to improve their combat effectiveness.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Fared Saal (right) pictured with Denis Cuspert. Image from Die Welt.

In July 2014, a gruesome video showing the corpses of fighters loyal to Bashar al Assads regime was released online. The footage was recorded at the Shaer gas field in Homs, where the Islamic States jihadists have long battled Assads loyalists. The so-called caliphates men were seen gloating over the bodies, even as puppies pawed at the legs of one of the dead men.

A jihadist seen in that video, Fared Saal, has acted as an Islamic State facilitator, recruiter, and fighter, according to the US Treasury Department. He also holds a leadership position in an ISIS battalion.

And Saal, who was designated by the US and UN as a terrorist yesterday, has operated a network that shuttled recruits through Turkey.

Saal, a 28-year-old German-Algerian, is also known as Abu Luqmaan Al Almani. He first joined the jihad in Syria several years ago, relocating from Germany to the northern part of the war-torn country.

According to Treasury, he has been a member of the Islamic State since at least 2014. Saal recruited potential ISIS members and facilitated their travel to Syria by providing them with specific contacts to reach out to once they arrived at the airport in Istanbul.

The contacts Saal provided to the caliphates new believers would then help facilitate the recruits onward travel to the Turkish/Syrian border. In Dec. 2014, Saal facilitated the travel of two Austrian minors from Austria to Syria, but they were stopped and detained while in transit. He has also served as a point of contact for ISIS fighters seeking specialized training.

Turkey has been a key facilitation hub for the jihadists throughout much of the Syrian War. Although Turkish authorities have arrested foreign fighters and facilitators at times, there is no question that the Islamic State and its jihadist rivals have benefited from the permissive environment. Some senior al Qaeda leaders even operate openly in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey.

The Islamic State was initially reticent to claim responsibility for attacks inside Turkey, including even large-scale operations it was suspected of planning, such as the suicide bombings and shootings at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul in June 2016.

That changed, however, after the Turkish government launched Operation Euphrates Shield last year. The Turks and allied Syrian insurgents seized much ground from Abu Bakr al Baghdadis nascent state in northern Syria. This prompted Baghdadi to unleash on the Turkish government in an audio message released on Nov. 2, 2016. Baghdadi blasted apostate Turkey for showing its true face by striking inside the lands of the caliphate. Baghdadi called on his loyalists to bring Turkey into their conflict, while also fighting those Turkish soldiers who have come to them in the Levant. He likened infidel Turkish soldiers to dogs.

The Islamic State quickly claimed responsibility for a car bombing in southeastern Turkey, which it may not have carried out. During the early hours of New Years Day, an Islamic State fighter massacred partygoers at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul.

Demonstrating the complex nature of the war, however, Saal took advantage of the lax security in Istanbul  at least for a time.

Writing in the CTC Sentinel, Guido Steinberg has previously provided key details about Saals early career in Syria. According to Steinberg, he was originally a member of Junud al-Sham, a predominately Chechen jihadist group. Along with his close associate Denis Cuspert, Saal convinced most of the Germans in Junud al-Sham to defect to the Islamic State. They joined the self-declared caliphate in Latakia province, under the command of the notorious Abu Ayman al-Iraqi, leaving the area for elsewhere in Syria sometime in late 2013 or early 2014.

In its designation announcement, Treasury also mentioned Saals relationship with Cuspert, saying they both appeared in the July 2014 video produced at Shaer gas field.

Indeed, a man believed to be Cuspert is seen hitting one of the corpses with his shoe. Based on the bodies seen in the footage, at least dozens of Assads fighters were killed at Shaer during the battle. It is possible that the number of casualties was much higher. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Islamic States jihadists killed upwards of 270 people, including fighters and workers at the gas field. The two sides have repeatedly clashed at Shaer in the years since.

The State Department designated Cuspert as a terrorist in Feb. 2015. [See FDDs Long War Journal report, State Department designates German rapper turned Islamic State operative.]

And now Cusperts longtime comrade has been designated as well.

We are targeting a dangerous individual responsible for providing support to ISIS in a variety of ways, including serving as a facilitator, recruiter, and fighter for this deadly terrorist organization, John E. Smith, the director of Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), said of Saal. This action was taken concurrently with new UN sanctions and demonstrates the United States resolve to work hand-in-hand with our international partners to further restrict terrorists access to the international financial system.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
The Islamic State and Hamas have both claimed responsibility for a terror attack carried out by three young men in Jerusalem earlier today. Hadas Malka, a 23-year-old Israeli Border Police officer (seen above), was stabbed to death and others were wounded.

It is the first time that the so-called caliphate has claimed an operation inside Israel. But the Islamic States statements were quickly disputed online by Hamas.

Citing a security source, Amaq News Agency first reported that those who executed the stabbing operations in Jerusalem are Islamic State soldiers. Amaq is one of the Islamic States main propaganda outfits.

Abu Bakr al Baghdadis organization followed up with a second claim, identifying the trio of terrorists who carried out the assault as Abul-Bara al-Maqdisi, Abul-Hassan al-Maqdisi and Abu Riyah al-Maqdisi. These lions of the caliphate stormed into gatherings of the filthy Jews. The group then threatened: By the permission of Allah, this attack will not be the last one, and let the Jews await the demolishing of their entity by the hands of the Khilafah soldiers.

However, Izzat Risheq, a senior Hamas official, claimed on Twitter that Baghdadis men are lying. The three martyrs have nothing to do with the Islamic State, Risheq stated. Instead, he said, they were dispatched by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Hamas.

Hamas released a statement (seen on the right) on its Arabic-language website that is attributed to its spokesman, Sami Abou Zouhri, who reiterated Risheqs claim. Two of the terrorists were from PFLP and the third from Hamas, according to the statement. Hamas accuses the Islamic State of attempting to confuse the media.

Earlier, Hamas praised the attacks on Twitter but stopped short of claiming responsibility. The group said that it mourned the martyrs who carried out the attack Friday evening near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. The attack is renewed proof that the Palestinian people continue their revolution in the face of the occupier. Hamas added that the occupation is the true face of terrorism and extremism against the people, who exercise the right to resistance.

Independent reporting confirms that three young terrorists conducted the attacks. According to The Times of Israel, Shin Bet has identified them as Adel Ankush, 18, from the West Bank village of Deir Abu-Mashal near Ramallah, Braa Salah, 19, from the same village, and Asama Ahmed, 19, from the nearby village of Tsatfa Ata. The report adds: All three had previously been arrested for terror-related activities.

If this identification is confirmed, then the attackers are not transplants, but instead residents of the West Bank. The Islamic State has worked to build support in the West Bank and Gaza, winning the loyalty of some local jihadists. But Hamas has much deeper roots in the area.

The Times of Israel explained that two of the three, armed with a knife and a homemade gun, first attacked a group of officers. Malka was part of the force called in to offer their fellow Israelis support. The third terrorist then repeatedly stabbed her. She later succumbed to her wounds.

Although the Islamic States Wilayah Sinai has launched missiles into Israel (and its predecessor, Ansar Jerusalem, conducted some cross-border raids), the Islamic State itself had never claimed responsibility for an attack carried out inside Israel. Of course, Hamas and other groups have compiled a thick dossier in this regard.

Earlier this month, Abu Bakr al Baghdadis men executed their first raid in Tehran, Iran. In that case, there is little to no doubt concerning their culpability. Hamas, which has received significant assistance from Iran, denounced the operation in Tehran.

Social media accounts affiliated with both the Islamic State and Hamas have disseminated images of the three young men responsible for the attacks in Jerusalem. The photos below come from Hamas accounts or other Palestinian media.

Photos of the terrorists responsible for the Jerusalem attacks:

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Yesterday, photos emerged on social media of Qassem Soleimani, the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, on a pilgrimage during a holy period in Ramadan to the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, Iraq. Soleimani was photographed next to his deputy Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, the operations commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), which was enshrined into a legal and separate military corps last year, thus technically making Muhandis a government official.

The US has designated both Soleimani and Muhandis as terrorists. A United Nations travel ban applies to the Iranian general until 2020.

Earlier this week, Iranian media posted photos of Soleimani in Syria allegedly by the border area with Iraq. He was photographed next to Afghan Fatemiyoun Division forces. Late last month, Soleimani was spotted with Iraqi militias in northwestern Iraq close to the Syrian border, according to the media.

Answering directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Soleimani is in charge of Tehrans Iraq and Syria portfolios.

Soleimani has signaled his plan of intimidating the US in southeastern Syria. In the past month, the US military has struck pro-regime forces including Iranian-backed militias three times and has downed an Iranian Shahed-129 drone inside the US deconfliction zone of At Tanf. On Wednesday, the spokesman of the Iraqi Harakat al Nujaba  which answers to Soleimani  threatened the US over potential military action against its forces. In the case of any foolishness, we will target Americas interests anywhere in the region, he said, then accusing the US of conspiring to disrupt operations by the Iraqi and Syrian border. The militia this week announced deployment to the southeastern Syrian front and plans to advance toward the Albukamal-Qaim border crossing further to the north. Harakat al Nujabas threat follows Lebanese Hezbollahs vague threat last week over the US crossing red lines in Syria, which was issued a day following the June 6 US airstrike against pro-regime forces.

Soleimani is overseeing sensitive operations to gain territory in the Iraq and Syria border area as the Islamic State crumbles and links Iranian-backed militias, thus securing a supply route between Iraq and Syria. Iran used the land route to supply the Assad regime between 2011 and late 2012, when Syrian rebels shut it down. Iran afterwards turned to aerial supply to transfer weapons and material to the Levant. In Iraq, the PMF last month reached the border with Syria in the northwestern countryside and is moving southward toward the Albukamal-Qaim border crossing. The PMF reached the border town of Baaj this week, and commanders told The Guardian they are exploring pathways to create a supply line from there to the town of Deir Ezzor in Syria. Meanwhile, pro-regime forces in Syria have launched offensives in southern and central Syria. They seek to reach the besieged Deir Ezzor, capture a border crossing into Iraq and deny territory to both the US and US-backed forces.

If they are able to secure a viable border crossing between Iraq and Syria  and that is a big if at this time  it would complement Irans air bridge to Syria. Although achieving and holding a supply route faces significant obstacles, such as potential US-backed advancement into Deir Ezzor and an area laden with hostile insurgents.

Amir Toumaj is a independent analyst and contributor to FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Shabaab, al Qaedas branch in East Africa, has published a series of photos from last weeks raid on a military camp in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia.

The photos detail both the attack and the destruction left on the Puntland military camp, which does not appear to have been well fortified. The jihadist group claimed last week that it killed more than 60 soldiers, however, Puntland authorities have put that number closer to 30.

The latter appears to be closer to the actual number, as very few bodies are shown in the photo set. Shabaab has often confirmed high casualty numbers in similar raids by showcasing dead bodies strewn across overran bases.

Shabaab did confirm that its forces overran the camp and took several weapons and vehicles as spoils. The camp, which was located in Af Urur in the Galgala mountains, appears to have been destroyed by the jihadists.

The Galgala mountains have long been a stronghold of Shabaab, which has carried out a number of high profile attacks there. Most recently, on April 23, Shabaab fighters killed eight troops and wounded several more in a complex IED attack. Shabaab is thought to have about 300 fighters operating in the Galgala mountains.

The Islamic State also has a presence in Galgala. An estimated 20 fighters loyal to Abdiqadir Mumin broke off from Shabaab and swore allegiance to Islamic State emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in October 2015. Several months later, Mumin was featured in a video that promoted the first camp of the Caliphate in Somalia. A defected member of Mumins forces reportedly placed the number of Islamic State-loyal fighters in Galgala at 70.

Shabaab has been resurgent in Somalia since losing ground to a combined African Union and Somali offensive in 2011. The jihadist group has slowly but methodically retaken several towns and villages that it lost in both central and southern Somalia. Last weeks deadly assault in Puntland also shows that the jihadist group remains a threat in northern Somalia as well.

Select photos released by Shabaab:

Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
The US State Department announced the terrorist designations of three Islamic State operatives on June 15. The designations underscore the global nature of the self-declared caliphates threat, as two of the men have been responsible for a number of plots in Europe and India. The third has repeatedly attempted to convince his fellow Bahrainis to join the groups cause.

One of the jihadists, Oussama Ahmad Atar (pictured on the right), was a leading coordinator for both the assault on Paris in Nov. 2015, as well as the follow-on attacks in Brussels in Mar. 2016. It has long been known that the two plots involved common personnel, but Foggy Bottoms announcement confirms important details.

Atar, Belgian-Moroccan national also known as Abou Ahmed, is described as a senior leader of ISISs external operations efforts, who has established a network to carry out attacks in Europe. He was allegedly responsible for recruiting, training, and sending at least some of the individuals to Paris to launch the November 2015 terrorist operation.

According to State, Atar also recruited and mentored two of the bombers involved in the March 2016 Brussels attacks.

Those two bombers were Atars cousins  Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui, brothers who blew themselves up at the Zaventem airport and the Maalbeek metro station, respectively.

Atar is a veteran of al Qaeda in Iraq, the predecessor to the current Islamic State. Some accounts place him in Iraq or Syria as early as 2001, before the US-led war against Saddam Husseins regime.

Atar was detained in Iraq sometime in 2004 or 2005 (publicly-available reports offer conflicting dates), convicted of illegally entering the country via Syria, and sentenced to a decade in prison. At the time, Bashar al Assads regime hosted a major facilitation network for foreign fighters seeking to join the jihad against the Americans in Iraq. This pipeline would later blow back on Assad, leading to the creation of the Islamic State, Al Nusrah Front and other jihadist groups opposed to the regime.

In 2010, Atars family began agitating for his release, claiming he had cancer. His case was picked up by Amnesty International, which published a two-page document describing Atar as a [p]risoner in need of urgent medical care. Amnesty called on Iraqi authorities to provide full and immediate access to the medical care that he needs, because he had reportedly lost a great amount of weight, was very ill and in need of an urgent operation.

Amnestys brief biography of Atar noted that he had been held in the prisons at Abu Ghraib, Camp Bucca, and Camp Cropper. He was held at Al-Rusafa prison at the time of Amnestys notice in Sept. 2010. These same facilities once held many of the figures who would go on to become terror kingpins, including the so-called caliph, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

Andre Jacob, who served as a senior counterterrorism official in the Belgian government, interviewed Atar while he was in custody in Iraq. Later, after Atar had become notorious for his role in facilitating attacks in Europe, Jacob told CNN that Atar was someone who wanted to almost apologize. He was understanding that he made mistakes and he should have never gone to Iraq but he didnt see any exit, Jacob claimed, portraying Atar as someone who was simply caught up in events beyond his control.

Our conclusionwas that this person could potentially be recuperated but it was just a suggestion, Jacob explained to CNN, adding that the Americans didnt agree.

Jacob came to his conclusion despite Atars highly suspicious wounds. Atar and others were traveling in a car when they were detained at a checkpoint in Ramadi en route to a local hospital, according to CNN. Jacob said that Atar explained his injuries were the result of experimenting with grenades but insisted he was not taking part in military training.

One is left to wonder why Atar would be experimenting with grenades if he wasnt preparing for combat. Jacob also conceded that others linked to terror were in the car with Atar, and Atar admittedly had contacts with jihadists. Atar and his comrades were also found to be in possession of weapons.

Iraqi officials concluded that Atar was a member of al Qaeda in Iraqs network. Apart from the evidence which was in the Iraqi (files) which led to his indictment, there were other authorities that had information about him, not only the Iraqi government, that shows he was very involved with the Al Qaeda organization and that was proven by other parties, Jawad Al-Hindawi, the Iraqi Ambassador to Belgium, said.

Al-Hindawi also identified Atar as a member of Al Fatah, which CNN described as an alleged terrorist network operating out of Syria under the pretext of offering Iraqis humanitarian aid. This may be a reference to Fatah al-Islam, an al Qaeda-linked group with a complicated history. It is also possibly a reference to a predecessor to the group, which was formally launched after Atars imprisonment. Fatah al-Islam apparently had a relationship with Syrian intelligence, but Assads forces ended up clashing with the jihadists. The organizations leader was also reportedly a close ally of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the founder of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Despite the dossier compiled by Iraqi and American officials, Atar was freed from custody in Iraq a few years before his sentence was completed.

Atars tumor, which was supposedly a grave concern in 2010, proved to be illusory. He returned to Belgium, but later disappeared and joined Baghdadis self-declared caliphate. After he became infamous as an Islamic State operative, Iraqi officials blamed Belgium and others for calling for his release.

Highlighting the security challenges that European officials now face, Atar is believed to have snuck back into Belgium as late as 2016. Politico, which obtained a copy of his arrest warrant, first reported that Belgian authorities narrowly missed him last summer. Security officials cited sources in Brussels Molenbeek neighborhood, which has a significant extremist presence, as saying that Atar had returned. According to Politico, authorities found a laptop with audio recordings addressed to Abou Ahmed (Atar) and which discussed how to build explosives. The computer provided a key link between Atar and his aforementioned cousins.

Besides his cousins, Atar recruited other family members and acquaintances for his network, using social media to bolster these ties from abroad. Two jihadists with familial ties were connected to another plot in Belgium. It is not surprising that Atar would rely on people he knows to enhance his efficacy as a terrorist planner. Other Islamic State external operatives have also relied on their personal rolodexes to increase the terror networks reach as well.

French authorities discovered Atars links to the Nov. 2015 Paris attacks. Le Monde first reported that he is suspected of recruiting two Iraqi suicide bombers who detonated their explosives at Stade de France.

The operations in Paris and Brussels highlight the degree to which European counterterrorism officials have been overwhelmed at times, as known threats participated in both. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a key figure linking both plots, was even featured in the Islamic States Dabiq magazine months before he and his comrades assaulted Europe. Several of the Paris terrorists also participated in grisly executions in Iraq and Syria before being deployed in the West.

Two others designated by State Department

In addition to Atar, State added Mohammad Shafi Armar and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali to the US governments list of designated terrorists.

Mohammad Shafi Armar (seen on the right) is described as a leader and head recruiter for the Islamic State in India. He has cultivated a group of dozens of ISIS sympathizers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps, Foggy Bottom explains. Last year, press reports mistakenly indicated that Armar had been killed in an airstrike.

Writing in The Indian Express, Praveen Swami explains that Armars older brother, Sultan Abdul Kadir Armar, was a founding member of Indian Mujahideen (IM). Sultan Armar was reportedly killed while fighting for the Islamic State in Kobane, Syria in 2015. The IM itself was designated by the State Department in Sept. 2011. At the time, State noted that the IM had close ties to several jihadist groups allied with al Qaeda, including Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) and Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI). [See FDDs Long War Journal report: US State Department adds Indian Mujahideen to list of terror groups.]

Over time, as has happened with other jihadist groups linked to al Qaedas network, some of the IMs members gravitated to the Islamic State. One of them is the newly-designated Mohammad Shafi Armar, who has been tied to a number of plots in India. After his older brother was killed, the junior Armar became head of Ansar-ut Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind (AuT), which aligned itself with the self-declared caliphate.

Like other Islamic State external operatives, Armar has made use of social media applications to communicate with his followers abroad. According to the Deccan Chronicle, Indian authorities discovered that Armar has been using Facebook, WhatsApp, Trillion, Skype, Surespot, Twitter, Nimbuzz and Telegram to coordinate his plots.

Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali is also described as a senior member of ISIS by State. Binali left his native Bahrain in 2014 and has since appeared in multiple ISIS propaganda videos calling on Bahrainis, specifically members of Bahrains security forces, to join ISIS. Binali is reportedly a former officer in Bahrains Ministry of Interior, making his pleas especially dangerous.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
US Forces-Afghanistan announced yesterday that Jawed Khan, a senior director of media production for the Islamic States Wilayah Khorasan (ISIS-K), was killed in an airstrike in Achin, Nangarhar Province on June 3.

His death will disrupt the ISIS-K network, degrade their recruitment process and hinder their attempts to conduct international operations, Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US Forces-Afghanistan, said in a statement.

The US military describes Khan as an experienced media production director and skilled propagandist who served as a senior commander in Wilayah Khorasan (or Khorasan province).

This strike also destroyed a major ISIS-K media production hub and disrupts their connections to ISIS main in Syria, the US military said.

This isnt the first time that the US has pointed to connections between the Islamic States main organization and its province in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

We do see a connection, Gen. Nicholson said in December. The groups first leader, Hafiz Saeed Khan, went through the application process set up by the so-called caliphate for establishing new branches. Nicholson added that the Islamic State has provided support to its men in the Khorasan in the form of advice, publicity, and some financial support.

Achin has witnessed intense fighting over the past several months. In April, the US dropped the MOAB, the GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast (also known as the mother of all bombs) in Achin. Afghan officials initially said that the explosion caused 36 Islamic State casualties, but subsequently increased their estimate to 94 killed, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). The Islamic State has claimed that there were no casualties from the bombing.

Also in April, three American service members were killed during counterterrorism raids in Nangarhar.

US Forces-Afghanistan says there were no civilian casualties associated with the strike that killed Khan on June 3.

Wilayah Khorasan has lost its first two emirs since the US launched a specific counterterrorism mission against the group last year.

Hafiz Saeed Khan was a former commander in the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e Taliban, or TTP) who announced his allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in late 2014. Khan was killed in a US airstrike in the Achin district in July 2016.

Khans successor, Abdul Hasib, was killed during a raid in Nangarhar on Apr. 27. Hasib had directed the Mar. 8 assault on the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in Kabul.

Despite losing ground in Nangarhar, Wilayah Khorasan continues to fight US-led forces, as well as its jihadist rivals in the Taliban. The group is also still able to launch large-scale attacks in Kabul and elsewhere. Some of its most deadly bombings have deliberately targeted Shiite civilians in the Afghan capital.

[For more on the Islamic States Wilayah Khorasan, see FDDs Long War Journal reports: 2 American service members killed fighting Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan and Islamic State continues to target Shiite civilians in Kabul.]

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Demonetisation X-rayed

by H.K. Dua

The following is an Introduction to a new book, Demonetisation : The Jury is Still Out, edited by the author who has sent this for publication in Mainstream. The book, now under print, is likely to be out in the next few days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like Indira Gandhi much before him, has a flair for making surprising and dramatic moves to shake the country out of the mundane and the routine. Way back in 1975, Indira Gandhi shocked the nation by clamping Emergency on the country, violating the Constitution, usurping the powers of Parliament, the Judiciary and the Executive, and suspending the fundamental rights of the people including the right to life and freedom of expression.

The move that Narendra Modi had taken recourse to on the evening of November 8, 2016, was equally drastic. He called his colleagues, ordered tea and snacks for them, made them feel comfortable and himself rushed out of the Cabinet Room to make a broadcast to the nation. The countrymen, like his Ministers closeted in the Cabinet Room, were stunned by what they heard from him. The Prime Minister had simply declared that from then onwards, the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in their kitty were no longer the legal tender. The sudden announcement by the Prime Minister had the impact of an edict for the people all over the countrythe rich or the poor, the young or old, housewives or office-goersthe people in every home or hamlet. The Prime Ministers announcement made the people wonder whether they were living in their own country where they had only recently been promised Achche Din.

In one blunt stroke, a sort of surgical strike with no ifs and buts involved, Prime Minister Modi had pushed a great democracy like India into the company of such nations as the erstwhile Soviet Union when its economy and political structure were collapsing, North Korea, the junta-ruled-Myanmar, Nigeria, Ghana, Iraq, and Zimbabwe. Not one democratic country has ever opted for demonetisation as a cure for its economy.

Scores of reputed economists across the country, such as Amartya Sen, Kaushik Basu, and Dr Manmohan Singh, wondered why Narendra Modi had made a decision that no democratic country had dared to take, particularly when Indias economy was growing at about seven per centone of the highest in the world.

Most banks and markets were closed for the night. The people in the cities and small towns rushed to the ATMs, but soon, they ran out of low-value cash that they could use to buy veggies and milk. Long queues began forming in front of banks and ATMs in the early hours; people wanted to draw whatever little cash they could get to buy their daily needs. In the long queues, anxiety, uncertainty, shock, and anger reigned. Why did he do this to us? We had voted for him, not for this, was the kind of comment heard in the long queues as the full impact of the most vital decision Modi had taken in the middle of his five-year term began to unravel. Modi had set out four major objectives for his decision for which he personally took responsibilityto tackle black money, corruption, counterfeit currency, and terrorism. He admitted the decision would cause hardship and pain to the people, but said it was necessary for tackling black money hoarded by those who were thriving, sitting as they were on their huge stocks.

In the long queues, there were doubts, some murmurs of protests, sharing of daily experiences but, luckily, not much violence. Somehow the poor began believing that the Prime Minister had hit hard at the black-money hoarders, corruption, and terrorists. And that he was working for the poor with courage and conviction.

The ruling party MPs and MLAsunsure of the public mood for a few dayswere hesitant in going to their constituencies to take the Prime Ministers message and explain the decision, but those who suffered in the long queues chose to bear the pain for the nations sake. Many econo-mists and Opposition leaders, the rank and file, were critical and were certain that none of the four objectives Modi had spelt out would be achieved.

In the long queues, broadly, there were two kinds of people. Those with their savings at home in Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations and those who wanted to draw some rationed cash from the banks or ATMs. Often, they didnt have enough cash to dispense  not even the promised Rs 2000 or Rs 4500. Those, who had come to draw their own money from their own accounts, felt like beggars! Those, who came to deposit their mothers or grandmothers piggy bank savings in higher denominations, felt like criminals for holding on to some illicit cash, even if the grandmother had been saving it in bits for an emergency, for unforeseen family needs, and had not crossed the limit of the Rs 2.5 lakh announced by the government.

Months later, the evil of black money doesnt seem to have been eradicated. No property developer has been hauled up by the authorities; money-based politics is still as rampant as corruption. There is no let-up in terrorist attempts to unsettle India either.

When the desired results were not achieved, the government smartly shifted its focus to creating a digital economy in place of the cash economy. It is, however, easier said than done! No country in the world has been able to abolish cash from the economy. In a country like India with a large chunk of population unable toaccess the internet and the gaping digital divide that exists, it will take a long time to replace cash with plastic money.

With less cash in the market, already local barters are becoming a daily practice in the villages and small towns. Worse, the village Mahajan, who for centuries had exploited the poor, has come back in business in the countryside. The inspectorate is becoming dominant again, with greater powers to harass the honest citizen. The rich, the bold, the mighty, and the resourceful can even now get away with impunity. The nexus between an over-smart inspector, traders, and property brokers is visible once again.

Demonetisation is not free from the law of diminishing returns, which seems to have already set in. The drive for digitisation of the economy may suffer because the digital divide will remain acute for some decades, given the reach and quality of our education system.

The worse damage demonetisation has done is to the job market, particularly in the informal sectorfrom Mayapuri in Delhi to Tirpur in the deep south, thousands of workers lost jobs as also in Ludhiana, Ghaziabad and Kanpur. In small-scale industries and in the grain mandis, in the absence of work, labourers had to leave for their villages, which in any case didnt have employment to offer.

As of now, the government has not come out with figures of how many people lost their jobs as a result of demonetisation and how many have come back to the workplace. Moreover, there are no figures available about how much black money was deposited by the people in the stipulated 50-day period for depositing the old currency.

Prime Minister Modis decision to go in for a desperate remedy of pulling out 86 per cent of cash from the hands of the people was bound to set off a fierce debate over the pluses and minuses of demonetisation.The debate was not confined to the long queues but also raged at roadside dhabas, in the drawing rooms, in the bazaars, and in the posh shopping malls. It also became the subject of animated discussions among the economists, political scientists, and the India-watchers all over the world.

Palimpsest decided to join the debate through this volumeshining a light on all sides of the issues involved. This book contains serious articlesfor and againstaided by the pers-pective gained after the dust had somewhat settled.

The case for demonetisation has been sought to be demolished by Prof Arun Kumar, the noted economist who has written two books on black money. There are essays by Prof Zoya Hasan, the political scientist who sees demo-netisation as a weapon Narendra Modi has used to achieve his political aims. Sitaram Yechury of the CPI-M is as severely critical of demonetisation in his piece as he was in the Rajya Sabha. They all believe that Narendra Modi has not achieved what he wanted to by what he thought would be a historic triumph for the national economy. Manish Tewari of the Congress party quotes chapter and verse to contend that demonetisation violates the Constitution.

The case for demonetisation has been made by Anil Bokil, chairman of ArthaKranti, a Pune-based pro-RSS economic think-tank. He has been campaigning for a long time for demoneti-sation, even when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. His schemehe calls it remonetistionsomewhat resembles the announcement the Prime Minister made on November 8, 2016. Anil Bokil is backed by noted economist, Bibek Debroy, and the Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu.

Sunanda K. Datta-Ray, in his delectable essay, captures the flavour of the debate as of a Kolkata adda, where the most vital issues evoke arguments mixed with passions. Economic commentator N. Chandra Mohan tries to prove how flawed was Narendra Modis decision on economic grounds.

The jury is still out on whether such a widespread disruption affecting 1.3 billion people was at all necessary, with so little gain for the country!

H.K. Dua, a former editor, media adviser to the Prime Minister, ambassador and MP, is currently an advisor to the Observer Research Foundation.
MARTINSVILLE  In the mood for something different for lunch, but dont have time to try a new restaurant? Theres an alternative cooking at the New College Institute. For several Thursdays this summer, food trucks and vendors are setting up in NCIs parking lot near the plaza. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., people have a chance to try out different options.

This is not a fundraiser, said Stacy Peters, the colleges coordinator of corporate and community events. The New College Foundations purpose of Food Truck Thursdays is to bring awareness to NCI, to provide something new and fun for the community and to promote the use of the plaza at New College.

Peters emphasized it's not a fundraiser because that's typically what the New College Foundation does. While the operation itself is held at NCI, the New College Foundation actually approved it. What's the difference? The foundation was set up 11 years ago as a nonprofit group designed to help support NCI, through private fundraising and projects.

These summer Food Truck Thursdays don't happen every week. Right now, they're scheduled for June 22, July 13, July 27, Aug. 10 and Aug. 24.

When the idea first came about, Peters contacted the Health Department, who provided a list of licensed mobile food units in the area. Peters reached out to the food vendors, as well as a couple of craftsmen, and invited them to set up shop at NCI.

So far, its been around five each week, Peters said. We expect more for the future events since school is out for the summer and the vendors will have summer help.

For some, serving a delightful delicacy is a dream come true, both as a mobile unit and a brick-and-mortar eatery.

Its a lifelong dream to own The Wreath Loft and Cafe, said Deborah Adkins-Foley. I have always loved serving delicious food and seeing the joy a great meal can bring others.

At NCI, Adkins-Foley serves chicken salad croissants, salads, homemade cakes and cookies.

People continue to come back for more because we offer a quality product that is totally worth the price, Adkins-Foley said. We take pride in the products we offer and we only serve items we would want to purchase ourselves.

While the Wreath Loft and Cafe prides itself with offering healthy options for the Martinsville-Henry County community, other vendors offer southern comfort foods.

At NCI, the foods I offer are fish, shrimp, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, fries [and] drinks, said Joseph Ray of H and R Foods.

A relative introduced Ray into the food industry. As a husband and father of five boys, its an entrepreneurial way to make a living and support his family.

Starting H and R Foods was tough and although Im not out of the fire yet, I have breathing room, Ray said. Owning my own business is great. It gives me something to hand down to my kids and/or branch off of to build an empire.

While Ray said owning his business is harder than he initially imagined, its worth it when he sees repeat customers enjoying his food.

Its the taste, Ray said. We have other perks like competitive pricing and excellent customer service.

Joe Hylton said that he assumes two factors are why people keep coming back to his truck, Hylton Wood Cook Grilling: The food taste and quality.

Specializing in chicken and barbecue, as well as offering beef brisket plates with cole slaw, macaroni salad or green beans, the business initially came about after Hylton discovered a love for cooking.

I started cooking for family events and everyday life, Hylton said.

As both a father and grandfather, the former industrial technology teacher said that the business was another endeavor in self-employment that I enjoy.

No matter a persons reason for owning a small business or serving delicious meals, theyre all at NCI for the same purpose: to offer a variety of cuisine to the Martinsville-Henry County community in one central location.

The community seems to really enjoy Food Truck Thursdays, Peters said. The reaction from social media and face to face conversations at the event has been very positive and well received. I believe it is because it offers something different to enjoy outside. And who doesnt love good food?

The event has attracted people that work uptown, community groups and others, Peters said, noting that some of the food vendors have had so much success that theyve sold out of their products prior to the end of the event.

However, theres more than just food available at Food Truck Thursdays. There are games and music, as well as specialty vendors like Paparazzi Jewelry.

Even though the next event is quickly approaching, theres still time for area vendors to set up shop at NCI.

Food Truck Thursdays is an open invite to all of the mobile units and food locations in the area. The more the merrier, Peters said. The only requirement is that you must act as a legal business in the state of Virginia and [be] up to date on your health certifications.

Food Truck Thursdays take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the New College Institute, located at 191 Fayette Street. Upcoming dates are June 22, July 13 and 27 and August 10 and 24.
A foggy Boston Harbor is set to welcome more than 55 Tall Ships Saturday morning for the city's first Grand Parade of Sail in 17 years. Vessels racing from around the world joined ships sailing in from local and regional ports as part of the large-scale event.

Crowds of onlookers gathered along Boston's waterfront, from Castle Island in South Boston to Charlestown. The Tall Ships were originally scheduled to sail by South Boston around 9 a.m., but were delayed by two hours due to intense fog around the harbor.

Spectators hailed from around New England, including a group of teachers from Rutland Intermediate School in Vermont. The seven female teachers said they boarded a bus at 3:45 a.m. to "get away" and watch the Parade of Sail on Castle Island.

Screening checkpoints with security workers, state police and K9 units were stationed around popular viewing areas. Due to the complex nature of geography, large crowds and foreign ships, the harbor-side parade on Saturday was labeled as one of the most high-risk security events in the country by a federal assessment.

Saturday's Parade kicks off a six-day Tall Ships festival in the city, which is expected to draw millions of visitors to the city as well as $100 million into the Boston economy. Restaurants and other hospitality businesses, like popular seafood spot Sullivan's on Castle Island, were already receiving customers early Saturday morning.
In July 2015, Rachelle Bond was talking like her daughter Bella was still alive, and wrote down Bella's name as part of an application for a state financial assistance program that could have provided her with up to $4,000.

Weeks earlier, Bella's body had washed up on Deer Island, wrapped in blankets and inside a trash bag. Authorities launched a nationwide search for her identity, calling her "Baby Doe."

As the search continued, Bond walked into an office to speak with a case manager for the state's Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program.

On Friday, Keith Williams, the case manager, took the stand in the Bella Bond murder trial in Suffolk Superior Court.

Michael Patrick McCarthy, Rachelle's ex-boyfriend, has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge.

Rachelle Bond has pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and larceny of benefits. She testified that she made a mistake in not going to police, but added that she was afraid McCarthy could hurt her if she did.

McCarthy's attorney, Jonathan Shapiro, called Williams as a defense witness.

Williams said he had a 40-minute conversation with Bond in July 2015.

"She spoke very lovingly [about Bella] and with a big smile and I talked about my grandchildren," Williams recalled.

Rachelle said "friends" were taking care of Bella, he testified.

During the meeting, she filled out an application for RAFT benefits and put down both her name and Bella's name.

Her application was later rejected because Rachelle's income was deemed adequate. RAFT benefits are provided in the case of an "extreme emergency," such as a family member's sickness affecting a person's ability to pay rent, according to Williams.

According to the state's website, "The RAFT Program is a homelessness prevention program funded by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). RAFT provides short-term financial assistance to low-income families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless."

Rachelle Bond was in fact already receiving assistance. Days earlier, on July 13, 2015, Bond filed for recertification of a subsidy, and listed her name and Bella's name.

Susan Nohl, deputy director at the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, took the stand as a witness for the defense before Williams.

She testified about the subsidy, a rental voucher program, that Rachelle Bond received. To be eligible for a two bedroom unit, as Bond had at 115 Maxwell Street, there would need to be another family household member, according to Nohl.

When Shapiro cross-examined Rachelle Bond on June 5, Bella's mother admitted that she had lied about where Bella was so that she could keep her Maxwell Street apartment.

She didn't want to reduce her home to a smaller size, she said.
SPRINGFIELD - Geoff Diehl thinks it's time for Elizabeth Warren to go.

Diehl, who is a Republican State Representative for the 7th Plymouth District, attended a meet-and-greet event at The Boulevard Restaurant in Springfield Friday night where he announced to attendees that he was considering a run for U.S. Senate next year.

Diehl said Friday he wants to unseat Elizabeth Warren, who he accused of being hypocritical and ineffective.

Diehl characterized Warren as a "grand stander," describing her as a do-nothing politician who had enriched herself with book deals while passing little effective legislation.

Diehl noted that Warren had published two books during her stint in the U.S. Senate--"A Fighting Chance" in 2014 and "This Fight is Our Fight" in 2017--while passing only one bill.

Diehl's politics are considerably to the right of Warren. The Representative explained in an interview with The Republican that he largely supports the initiatives that President Donald Trump has introduced since entering the White House.

Warren has been very vocal about her criticism of Trump, recently calling on constituents to "fight back" against the new President, who she alleged is preparing to give a "knock out blow" to the American middle class.

Diehl, meanwhile, said he thinks Trump's policies are largely a positive thing for Americans.

"I think he's been delivering on everything he promised," Diehl said. "Whether it's been getting us out of bad trade deals, and tightening our borders so that we have more control over who is coming in," Diehl said.

Warren has also offered a softer stance on immigration and has supported the concept of Sanctuary Cities, which Diehl was openly critical of Friday.

"You have people who are here illegally with criminal backgrounds that are a public safety risk to the citizens of that town or surrounding communities," Diehl said, also commenting he felt illegal immigrants could be an economic drain on communities as well.

Diehl ultimately made it clear Friday that he wants to offer an alternative to Warren's politics as well as her way of doing things.

"She has made it virtually impossible for anybody in D.C. to work with her on anything," Diehl said. "She is purely looking to run for President in 2020, and I don't think people in Massachusetts appreciate someone who already uses their state as a springboard for higher office, while neglecting them for the last five plus years," he said.
Shortly after a mistrial was declared in the sexual assault case against comedian Bill Cosby, his wife of 53 years, Camille Cosby, lashed out on Saturday at the courts and media.

Prosecutors have already stated they will retry the case, and Judge Steve T. O'Neill indicated he would try to schedule a new trial within 120 days.

Cosby maintained he had a consensual sexual relationship with Andrea Constand, who claimed the TV icon drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Camille Cosby made no reference to her husband's admitted philandering or giving quaaludes to women. Instead, she targeted the prosecutor, O'Neill and some members of the media in a statement read by a publicist outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Penn.

"How do I describe the District Attorney? Heinously and exploitively ambitious.

How do I describe the judge? Overtly and arrogantly collaborating with the District Attorney.

How do I describe the counsels for the accusers? Totally unethical.

How do I describe many, but not all, general media? Blatantly vicious entities that continually disseminated intentional omissions of truths for the primary purpose of greedily selling sensationalism at the expense of a human life.

Historically, people have challenged injustices.

I am grateful to any of the jurors who tenaciously fought to review the evidence; which is the rightful way to make a sound decision....ultimately, that is a manifestation of justice, based on facts, not lies.

As a very special friend once stated, "truth can be subdued, but not destroyed."

Moreover, I express humongous gratitude to counselors Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa for their hard work. Mr. McMonagle for his passionate and powerful articulations of truths; Ms. Agrusa for her thorough research to bolster Counsel McMonagle; to Mr. Andrew Wyatt for his unequivocal skills in public relations; to our team, who worked diligently and intelligently; to our staffs for their continuous commitment to our family and me....and to our children, grandchildren, and other family who loves us...and to our dear friends and supporters, who never gave up on us, despite it all."
WALLINGFORD, CONN. -- A 24-year-old Connecticut woman has been charged with assault, DWI and other offenses after reportedly hitting two pedestrians and six vehicles outside of a Rick Ross concert late Friday, police have announced.

Shelby Coughlin, of Milford, Conn., allegedly struck a pedestrian outside of the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford around 11:30 p.m., police told the Hartford Courant.

She then reportedly hit another person who was attempting to stop her vehicle, as well as six cars in the parking lot while fleeing the scene at "high rate of speed," according to the newspaper.

Wallingford police officers, who were working security detail for the concert, brought Coughlin's vehicle to a stop after running alongside it and breaking a window, the Courant reported.

Police said Coughlin resisted arrest, biting an officer and damaging a police cruiser. She was held on $5,000 bail, according to the newspaper.

The two pedestrians, police officer and one other person were transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
SPRINGFIELD - Citing a lack of medical records, a judge has granted a two-month delay in the case of two sisters charged with pummeling a woman outside a Springfield bar last year.

During a hearing Monday, Judge Mark Pasquariello gave both sides more time to prepare for trial and scheduled the next hearing for Aug. 2.

The sisters -- Danielle Martin, 21, of Springfield, and Jessica Martin, 27, of Ludlow -- pleaded not guilty on Sept. 28 to assault and battery with serious bodily injury. Each is free on $500 bail.

They allegedly kicked and punched a 25-year-old woman outside Rory Fitzgerald's bar on Page Boulevard on Sept. 21, leaving her unconscious on the sidewalk.

No trial date has been set, but the cases were joined earlier this year at the request of Assistant District Attorney Colleen Monroe.

The victim allegedly suffered a concussion, a prosecutor said during the sisters' arraignment in Springfield District Court.

But attempts to obtain the victim's medical records have so far been unsuccessful, according to notes in the case file. Responding to a prosecutor's request in November, Baystate Wing Hospital said "a thorough search of our system ... determined that this patient has never been seen" at the hospital, according to court records.

As of Friday, the case file offered no explanation for the delay in obtaining records or any indication when the records are expected to arrive.

The defense has also asked for additional time for a private investigator to interview witnesses at the bar during the alleged assault, records show.

Defense lawyer Thomas Bessette has challenged the alleged victim's account, saying she started the fight with Danielle Martin, but was too drunk to defend herself. She eventually passed out, falling "flat on her face on the pavement," Bessette said.

"Her injuries were self-inflicted," Bessette added.

Attorney Scott Skolnick said Jessica Martin did not participate in the fight. She was sitting in her car and preparing to drive away when the woman dragged her from the vehicle, Skolnick said.

The alleged victim, meanwhile, claimed the sisters were "looking for her" on the night of the assault because she was friends with Jessica Martin's ex-boyfriend. She was diagnosed with a concussion and has no memory of the fight, she wrote.

"I was told that both girls fought me and Jessica kicked me in the face ... all over nothing," she added.
Gailanne M. Cariddi, a 63-year-old state representative from North Adams, died at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston Saturday following a brief illness, local news outlets and state officials have reported.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who announced Cariddi's death on Facebook, called her "one of the warmest and most gracious people" he had worked with.

"Gail had a gift for bringing her colleagues together through her kindness and intellect. Whether advocating for heightened access to health care, the environment or higher education, Gail has left North Adams and the Commonwealth a better place," he said in a statement. "She will be greatly missed."

I'm deeply saddened by the passing of Representative Cariddi. She was one of the warmest and most gracious people I've... Posted by House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo on Saturday, June 17, 2017

State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, of Pittsfield, also mourned the death of her Democratic colleague.

"We lost a friend and colleague today. A family lost a sister," she posted on Facebook. "North Berkshire lost a fierce, but somehow always, always kind advocate."

Congressman Richard Neal, D-Springfield, contended that "Northern Berkshire County lost a pillar of the community, a strong advocate for its citizens and a dear friend to all, Gail Cariddi."

Today, Northern Berkshire County lost a pillar of the community, a strong advocate for its citizens and a dear friend to all, Gail Cariddi. pic.twitter.com/GhIA18pflj  Rep. Richard Neal (@RepRichardNeal) June 17, 2017

North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright told the Berkshire Eagle that Cariddi's death was "a shock to all of us" and said it was a "very sad day" for his city and the 1st Berkshire District.

"Gail certainly loved politics, but her desire to serve people far outweighed any political ambitions," he reportedly said in a statement. "Gail was a true public servant in every sense. Everyone knew Gail, and she knew everyone. Her work and her passion were to simply help people as evidenced by her many, many years in public life. Gail truly made a positive difference in the lives of all she came into contact with."

Cariddi, who was sworn into her fourth term earlier this year, represented the Berkshire County towns of Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, Hancock, Lanesborough, New Ashford and Williamstown, as well as the city of North Adams.

Prior to her election to the state legislature in 2010, she served on the North Adams City Council.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
When I wrote my first article on billionaire bunkers years ago, I never would have imagined how quickly our world was changing. Our lives are in a constant state of flux, the political situation aside, our earth is rapidly changing. Between the increase of bizarre weather patterns hitting the earth, and recent major volcanic activity, now more than ever our focus is on our planets future.

In the early 1980s spiritual visionaries and futurists provided clues to our changing planet. Often dismissed as crazy prophets, their thoughts for a new world were quickly ignored and laughed at. Gordon-Michael Scallion was a futurist, teacher of consciousness studies and metaphysics and a spiritual visionary. In the 80s he had a spiritual awakening that helped him create very detailed maps of future world, all stemming from a cataclysmic pole shift. The result, while not based on science, nonetheless provides a vivid picture of an Earth ravaged by flooding.

Jim Dobson

Full Story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2017/06/10/the-shocking-doomsday-maps-of-the-world-and-the-billionaire-escape-plans/#294e21674047
Jeff Bezos is soliciting your Next Big Idea.

On Thursday, the Amazon CEO posted a "request for ideas"  a call to action of sorts  on Twitter. He asked the general public (or at least his 222,000 followers) to drop him a line if they know of any short-term problems that need addressing.

Chris Weller

Full Story: http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-request-for-ideas-2017-6?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_content=10ThingsSAI&pt=385758&ct=Sailthru_BI_Newsletters&mt=8&utm_campaign=Post%20Blast%20%28sai%29:%2010%20things%20in%20tech%20you%20need%20to%20know%20today&utm_term=10%20Things%20In%20Tech%20You%20Need%20To%20Know%20-%20Engaged%2C%20Active%2C%20Passive%2C%20Disengaged
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"Accurate detection of inflamed joints is essential both to guide treatment decisions and to assess treatment efficacy in patients with JIA," said lead author Professor Gerd Horneff, from the Asklepios Children's Clinic, Sankt Augustin, Germany. "FOI may be used in clinical practice to accurately identify joint inflammation earlier and with greater confidence. It should be particularly useful in identifying those children with clinically non-apparent joint inflammation of the hands and/or wrists who need to start on anti-rheumatic drug treatment," he said.In this study, out of 37 patients with polyarticular JIA, 24 were started on methotrexate and 13 on a biologic for the first time (11 on etanercept, 1 on adalimumab and tocilizumab respectively).Clinical examination showed an effective response to these treatments with the percentage of affected joints in the hand and fingers reducing from 23.6% at baseline to 16.4% and 9.0% at week 12 and 24 respectively.Measurements of disease activity also showed an effective response with a significant reduction in the mean Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score from 17.7 at baseline to 12.2 at week 12 and 7.2 at week 24. The percentage of patients achieving JIA American College of Rheumatology 30 / 50 / 70 / 100 response rates at week 24 were 85% / 73% / 50% / 27% respectively.Using ultrasound at baseline, week 12, and week 24, 19.4%, 16.1%, and 11.5% of the wrist or finger joints showed an effusion (fluid in the joint), 18.8%, 12.7%, and 9.6% showed thickening of the joint lining and, with the Power Doppler function, 6.9%, 1.8%, and 5% of the joints showed excessive blood flow (hyperperfusion), which are all signs of inflammation. Overall, any sign of arthritis was detected by US / PD in 24.5%, 19.2%, and 17% of joints at baseline, week 12 and week 24 respectively.FOI images are interpreted in three phases: an early phase (phase 1) where the flow of dye into the blood vessels can indicate a higher perfusion, an intermediate phase (phase 2) where the dye stays longer in a pathological than a normal vessel, and a late phase (phase 3) where dye remaining in the tissues demonstrates more vessel formation due to chronic inflammation.Among this patient population, FOI showed a signal enhancement suggesting active inflammation in at least one phase in 38.7%, 29.2%, and 27.6% of the joints at baseline, week 12 and week 24 respectively.Summarising the data across all 3 time points, the highest number of signals suggesting active inflammation were detected by FOI with 32% of joints (especially in phase 2), compared to 20.7% with US / PD and 17.5% by clinical examination. A high number of joints (21.1%) had FOI signals suggesting inflammation, but were clinically inactive. 20.1% of joints with FOI signals did not show any effusion, synovial thickening or hyperperfusion on US/PD."The ability of FOI to detect inflammation in joints not detected by clinical examination or US / PD will be helpful in guiding treatment decisions based on determining the number of affected joints. Also, being able to discriminate between painful but uninflamed joints and those with inflammation will avoid unnecessary treatment with conventional DMARDs or biologics in the former," Professor Horneff concluded.JIA is a chronic debilitating disease of childhood and adolescence characterised by arthritis persisting for at least 6 weeks with onset before the age of 16 years. The polyarticular form involves more than four joints within the first 6 months.The incidence of polyarticular JIA varies worldwide with a vast difference in reported cases between different global regions as well as within individual countries. The incidence of JIA ranges from 0.83 per 100,000 children in Japan to 23 per 100,000 in Norway, with low rates in Asian populations and relatively higher frequencies in those of European descent, with an overall trend that this rate is increasing.3Source: Eurekalert
It seems like Travis Kalanick has officially given up on his highly successful startup Uber and the CEO has taken a leave of absence for the company for an unspecified period of time. Uber, in more than one way, is the quintessential Silicon Valley Startup story. The company has been the perfect example of how a small startup can become a market leader if done right. However, it can be said that things are not being done right at Uber. The ride-hailing company has been involved in numerous legal battles for their own malpractice and work culture that may just cause the company to implode.

 Pexels

Uber has disrupted the traditional idea of public transport and in an ingenious way, took over the world. They kickstarted the ride-hailing app phenomenon and will be remembered as the key innovator when it comes to travel app tech. However, with what is currently going on at the company, Ubers tale will be more cautionary than boastful in the years to come.

 Reuters

Amidst all the conundrums Uber is currently facing, chief executive Travis Kalanick is in the middle of all of it. He has taken an indefinite leave of absence in order to grieve after the tragic death of his mother. However, many speculate that Kalanick is also stepping away from the plethora of scandals that surround the company.

 Reuters

Many believe Kalanick allowed a certain work culture (often referred to as Bro culture) to thrive that led to the firing of 20 employees on the grounds of misconduct and misbehaviour. There are many accusations of a prevalent problem of sexual harassment and other dubious tactics such as stealing data from Google. The company has also been accused of tracking their customers even when they are done with their ride, which is a direct violation of privacy and basic rights. Uber may have done a great job at confronting the toxic leadership present in their company, but it has scathed many lives and tarnished the companys image.

We dont like to talk about peoples personal lives but sometimes when the two get entwined, it can be hard to ignore. Kalanick dates violist, Gabi Holzworth and before they called it quits, Holzwarth came forward and detailed the sexism she witnessed at Uber. She even detailed that she witnessed Kalanick take several Uber executives to an escort-karaoke bar in South Korea.

It seems like Kalanicks life has been heading downhill for a while, and it culminated when a dashcam video caught him losing his cool in an argument. He argues with an Uber driver on Super Bowl Sunday and the driver questioned Kalanick about low fares. Eventually, Kalanich was forced to issue an apology for his misconduct.

The company has been involved in a never-ending shower of bad news and it seems like they arent out of it completely. There has been no shortage of scandals afflicting the company in recent months, and only they can help themselves now.
Apple and Samsung have both been working hard to embed a fingerprint reader onto the screen. Both companies have faced issues in mass producing a screen that can scan a fingerprint, however, a new video surfaced, showing somebody may have already beaten them to the punch.

A video popped up on a Chinese social media website and it shows that Vivo may release a phone that has a fingerprint scanner inside the screen. According to the poster of the video, he claims that the smartphone is all set to launch in the next few months. Apples iPhone 8 and the Galaxy Note 8 were expected to have the same feature but recent reports suggest that may not be a possibility. Pan, a researcher and the original poster of the video, claims that the feature will not make it to the Note 8 at all.

 Weibo

In the video, one can clearly see that the smartphone is unlocked by placing the finger in a specific spot on the screen. The specific spot on the screen looks like a dedicated area where a user can place their fingers on the fingerprint scanner. As soon as it is authenticated, the screen disappears.

 Weibo

Vivo as a brand has been aggressively advertising and has been selling smartphones in high numbers in countries like India, Philippines and Indonesia. The Chinese company has become the fifth largest smartphone manufacturer and is now looking to innovate their products with exclusive features. Seem like this new fingerprint scanning technology might just be it.

Source: Android Authority
We express our grief at the passing of the former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Helmut Kohl.

Helmut Kohl was a leader with a sense of historical responsibility who brought to pass the historic endeavour of the peaceful reunification of Germany.

He was one of the most emblematic figures of postwar Europe and one of the main architects and visionaries of European integration, who worked from his position to consolidate peace and democracy in Europe.

We express our sincere condolences to his family and to the German people.
Lufthansa announced plans to station five Airbus A380 widebody airliners at its Munich hub in the summer of next year. By deploying the world's largest passenger aircraft, Lufthansa will not only substantially boost its capacity on long-haul routes to and from Munich, but will also establish a new premium service for passengers using Munich Airport.

Munich Airport's CEO Dr. Michael Kerkloh welcomed Lufthansa's decision, calling it a "future-defining move". He added: "This is a big day for Munich's competitiveness in the aviation industry. This now firmly anchors our status as one of the major hubs in Europe."

For Michael Kerkloh, the plans to station the gigantic Airbus is a logical consequence of the joint efforts of the airport and airline in recent years to build up the Munich hub. "We are now reaping the rewards of the very successful partnership of Lufthansa and Munich Airport in the joint operation of Terminal 2 and the new satellite facility. The fact that Terminal 2 was honored as the world's best terminal in this year's World Airport Awards, hosted by the Skytrax Institute in London, shows that it is above all the passengers who benefit from our close cooperation. With the previously announced decision to station 15 Airbus A350 long-haul aircraft and the additional five Airbus A380s, Lufthansa has now ensured that the state of Bavaria will have even better links to the global air transportation networks in the future."
The first stunning vessel of Crystal River Cruises, the Worlds Most Luxurious River Cruise Line, has earned top recognition from one of the most distinguished authorities on luxury lifestyle. According to Robb Report, Crystal Mozart is among the Best of the Best travel experiences available to discerning travelers, in a spotlight piece that highlights the return of slow travel.

Crystal Mozart debuted for Crystal River Cruises in summer 2016, marking an entirely new standard of luxury on the rivers of Europe and in the river cruising industry overall. The elegant vessel is appointed with the plush amenities, butler service, Michelin-level culinary options, and unsurpassed crew-to-guest ratio for which Crystal has been celebrated for more than 27 years.

Robb Reports annual Best of the Best guide highlights the worlds finest new automobiles, yachts, hotels, watches, wines and much more, including exclusive travel experiences. The complete guide is published in the magazines June 2017 issue, available now.

It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by the team at Robb Report, as like Crystal, the publications standard of luxury exceeds the rest, says Crystal CEO and president, Edie Rodriguez. Crystal Mozart marks the beginning of a new era in river cruising as the Queen of Europes Rivers and the new standard bearer of true luxury in the industry.

River cruising has always represented a relaxed, elegant manner of travel, boasting numerous opportunities to disconnect and immerse oneself in new cultures. With the launch of Crystal Mozart, Crystal River Cruises focuses on elegance and seamless luxury on board, and exclusive, inclusive experiences ashore that suit virtually every type of traveler. With dozens of complementary options that explore various facets of each destination, as well as optional expanded shore-side options, guests can enjoy the exact European river voyage of their dreams.
UPPER THUMB  Under proposed legislation that was introduced this week in Lansing, Michigan would generate 50 percent of its electricity from clean, renewable sources by 2035.

Proponents say the package of bills would reduce energy costs, create jobs and build upon recently enacted energy laws.

However, about 2,000 Huron County residents recently said enough is enough to wind development in a recent referendum.

Huron County has more wind turbines than any county in Michigan.

Weve got all this going with green energy and nobody else is really involved in it, said State Rep. Edward J. Canfield.

He told the Tribune he could tell that people are concerned about the issue, which Canfield considers to be a local one.

Canfield said he does support green energy and that local turbines support farming incomes.

But I also believe that voters have the right to make their choice as well, he said.

He said he would not support the proposed legislation unless there are significant improvements in green energy production.

Im very supportive of green energy, Canfield said. I want us to have clean energy, but I also want us to be smart about it.

State Sen. Phil Pavlov, a St. Clair Republican who represents Huron, St. Clair and Sanilac counties and parts of Macomb County, said he would not support the legislation if it makes it past the House Energy Committee.

I dont see any action in either chamber on that proposal, he told the Tribune.

Its pretty common for democrats to drive higher mandated percentages on renewables, Pavlov said. Its consistent with what they typically do.

State Sen. Rebekah Warren, an Ann Arbor Democrat, introduced part of the bill package that also increases the energy efficiency standard to 2 percent energy savings per year, beginning in 2022.

Our legislation that increases the renewable energy standard to 50 percent by 2035 will spur innovation in Michigans clean energy industry and create good jobs for Michiganders, she stated in a press release.

Expanding renewable energy will boost Michigans green energy sector and make our state a national leader within this emerging industry, Warren added.

Energy laws enacted in April increased the renewable energy standard to 15 percent by 2021 and maintained the current energy efficiency standard of 1 percent, which sunsets in 2021.

Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil spews dangerous pollutants into our air and water, and this legislation will improve the health of Michigan families, children and seniors, stated Rep. Jon Hoadley, a Kalamazoo Democrat, in the release.

Accelerating the transition away from dirty fossil fuels to clean energy will protect the health of Michiganders, reduce asthma and lung disease and ultimately save lives, he added.

Warren and Hoadley are introducing bills that would increase the renewable energy standard. Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood, a Taylor Democrat, and Rep. Donna Lasinski, a Democrat form Scio Township, will introduce bills that would increase the energy efficiency standard.

The cheapest electricity is the electricity we dont use, and boosting investment in energy efficiency will rein in rising electricity costs while reducing pollution, stated Lasinski in the press release. The current energy efficiency standards have saved ratepayers more than $5 billion since 2009, which is why we should double down on reducing energy waste to save ratepayers money while making Michigan a leader in designing and manufacturing energy-efficient appliances that fuel our economy.

Reducing pollution in our air and water supports our tourism industry, which drives Michigans economy and attracts visitors from across the globe to our amazing beaches, lakes and rivers, Hopgood said. Expanding clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency is good for our economy and will help protect our precious Great Lakes, which are part of our culture, our way of life and our economy. Thats why this legislation is so important, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bold package.

Rep. Gary Glenn, a Republican from Larkin Township, chairs the House Energy Committee.

He recently conducted a town hall meeting in Caro, where he stated he was opposed to the mandate enacted in April, and would like to repeal it.

Gov. Rick Snyders goal is 40 percent renewable energy, Glenn said in May.

He said 2019 to 2020 could be a golden window of opportunity on all these issues.

Michigan will have a new governor and a different senate, he said.

Were going to use the next two years as a bully pulpit to beat the drum for freedom of choice at the local level for competition in the marketplace, whatever it takes to bring prices down, Glenn told the crowd, most of whom were opposed to expanding wind development in the Thumb.
ICCA has published country and city rankings by estimated total number of participants to international association meetings in 2016. Vienna ranked at top according to the total number of participants whereas Paris ranked number 1 according to the total number of meetings. In country ranking, USA ranked number 1 both according to the number of participants and number of meetings organized.

Seoul, which is only tenth in the ranking by number of meetings with 137 meetings in 2016), is second with almost 105,000 participants. Barcelona, like in in the ranking by number of meetings in 2016, ranks third with close to 100,000 participants, closely followed by Copenhagen, which is fourteenth in the ranking by number of meetings. This means Seoul and Copenhagen host relatively large meetings. Like in the number of meetings ranking, London is fifth. Paris, number one in the ranking by number of meetings, ranks seventh in this list.

Table 1: Top 10 city ranking by estimated total number of participants to all meetings organised in 2016, including number of meetings organised in 2016

Rank City # Participants # Meetings Rank by # Meetings 1 Vienna 119,887 186 2 2 Seoul 104,780 137 10 3 Barcelona 99,468 181 3 4 Copenhagen 99,359 115 14 5 London 91,756 153 5 6 Amsterdam 77,644 144 7 7 Paris 75,710 196 1 8 Rome 68,612 96 20 9 Beijing 65,947 113 15 10 Singapore 61,294 151 6

The top three countries by estimated total number of participants is the same as the ranking by number of meetings: USA is first with over 400,000 participants in 2016, Germany is second with over 280,000 participants and the United Kingdom is third with almost 230,000 participants. Italy is two places higher in this ranking and takes fourth place and like the ranking by number of meetings, Spain is fifth.

Table 2: Top 10 country ranking by estimated total number of participants to all meetings organised in 2016, including number of meetings organised in 2016

Rank Country # Participants # Meetings Rank by # Meetings 1 U.S.A. 401,332 934 1 2 Germany 280,108 689 2 3 United Kingdom 228,642 582 3 4 Italy 219,041 468 6 5 Spain 217,724 533 5 6 Japan 205,537 410 7 7 France 176,660 545 4 8 China-P.R. 167,114 410 7 9 Republic of Korea 160,681 267 13 10 Netherlands 156,039 368 9

ICCAs annual country and city rankings by number of meetings were published on 8 May 2017. ICCA captured 12,212 rotating international association meetings taking place in 2016, which is a record for ICCAs annual snapshot of immediate past years meetings data, and 136 additional meetings compared to 2015. To be included, association meetings must be held on a regular basis, have at least 50 delegates, and rotate between at least three countries.

Many more, but smaller meetings

This was another decade of great success for the sector as ICCA identifies more than double the number of association meetings in a decade: from just under 6,000 in 2006 to over 12,000 in 2016.

This means that the trend of exponential growth, as identified in ICCAs advocacy report A modern history of international association meetings: 1963-2013, published at ICCAs 50-year anniversary in 2013 (available on www.icca50.com), continues to apply: The number of association meetings continues to double every decade.

International association meetings are quickly growing in number, but are generally getting smaller. The estimated total number of participants to all meetings in ICCAs Association Database was approximately 4 million in 2006 and 5 million in 2016, so while the total number of meetings grew with 100% in a decade, the total number of participants grew only 25%. The average number of participants to an international association meeting decreased from 672 in 2006 to 404 in 2016.

More extensive rankings by participant numbers, as well as the worldwide and regional rankings by number of meetings are included in ICCAs public abstract of its 2016 Statistics Report, which can be downloaded from ICCAs Knowledge Hub.

ICCA CEO Martin Sirk commented: We cant stress this point strongly enough: ICCAs rankings are a snapshot of a moment in time of a database designed for sales and marketing purposes, for a very specific segment of the market, a segment moreover where decisions are made three to six years in advance. Any destination wishing to accurately present its true performance in the international meetings field needs to complement the ICCA statistics and rankings with its own robust measurement of all meetings business won for the future and hosted in the past year. With our ICCA Destination Comparison Tool, ICCA members can also extract data on meetings that are especially important for their destination, for example if theyre primarily interested in meetings of more than 1,000 delegates, or which are related to a particularly important segment of the association market, such as medical sciences  we expect to see many ICCA members communicating their rankings in these specific type of meetings, and not just relying on their position in our overall rankings.
Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go.

Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune...
Gen. Jack Keane, former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, called the United States' 16-year-long involvement in Afghanistan a "disgrace" and said some 10,000 to 20,000 additional troops were needed to win the war.

Keane spoke with Fox News on Friday as reports surfaced the Pentagon will send roughly 4,000 additional American forces to fight a reinvigorated Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has not made an announcement on increasing troop levels in Afghanistan, but a Trump administration official told the Associated Press such an announcement could come as early as next week.

Keane said the 4,000 figure is "only speculation at this point" and not enough to defeat the Taliban and boost the Afghan Army's military might.

"There's no doubt the 4,000 will be helpful," he said. "But the real question is: Will it change the momentum of the war to our favor? My judgment is it's likely not to."

The administration official told the AP that the bulk of the additional troops will train and advise Afghan forces, while a smaller number would assist in counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban and the Islamic State.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, told Fox News early Friday that no final determination has been made about sending additional troops.

"No decisions have been made," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said.

If a few thousands troops are sent, they will be used in the same way the U.S. military is fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria, officials told Fox News.

Obama had set a cap a year ago of 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, after slowing the pace of what he hoped would be a U.S. withdrawal.

"When we took the 100,000 plus troops out of Afghanistan -- just left 8,000 -- we took all the support that the Afghan Army had," including "attack helicopters and anti-IED intelligence, communications and logistics," said Keane. "We have to put that back if they're going to be effective."

Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week that the U.S. and its allies "are not winning" in Afghanistan.

During tough questioning from Sen. John McCain, the committee chairman, Mattis said, "We are not winning in Afghanistan right now" and promised "we will correct this as soon as possible."

"We want a strategy, and I don't think that's a hell of a lot to ask," McCain said.

Keane also stressed it was critical to destroy Taliban safe havens in Pakistan, where he said the Pakistani military provides the network with intelligence on U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

"The Pakistani military is assisting them. That has to stop," he said. "Those sanctuaries have to go away and the United States has to insist on it, or the war will just be protracted."

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is disappointed to hear of President Trumps plan to reverse key elements of the trading relationship between the US and Cuba, as outlined by President Obama in 2014 and by his visit last year.

The Cuban people are directly benefiting from increased business and leisure travel to Havana. Travel brings income to the people who work in our industry. President Trumps statements indicate that the Cuban people, rather than the government will be hit by this policy change. said David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC.

Airlines, cruise lines and hotel groups have all made significant investments and plans to create jobs and to grow the industry in Cuba, based on clear direction from the previous administration. Our sector needs consistency from governments and stability of policy. This is a clear and unwelcome reversal.

Cuba is already a very popular tourist destination, currently being the second most visited Caribbean island. Canadians and Europeans have steadily increased their numbers, with direct flights into various beach locations on the island. Visitor exports, which is money spent by foreign travellers in the country, totalled US$2.8 billion in 2016. This is 19.2% of total exports - significantly above the global average of 6.6%. Our sector contributed almost $9 billion to the Cuban economy last year  or just under 10% of the countrys GDP - and we supported almost 500,000 jobs, which is about one in eleven of all jobs.

There is latent demand from the US for people to visit Cuba to explore its history and culture, and it would be a retrograde step to revert once again to Americans traveling in groups. Over the last months the uptake in travel from the US to Cuba has not been as high as expected, primarily as hotel capacity has not kept up with the demand, leading to some of the US airlines cutting back capacity to the island. President Trumps announcement will put further pressure on the airlines, Scowsill continued.

Scowsill concluded: There is plenty more scope to grow the travel sector in Cuba. The country is not reliant on the US market for further tourism growth, but it is American businesses and leisure consumers that will suffer from this proposed move.

US citizens have been traveling as individuals rather than on group tours. Rolling back this policy and allowing US citizens to only enter the country on organised tours, means that less tourism dollars will find their way to the Cuban people. Tourism is a force for good, it bridges gaps between cultures and empowers local people by creating jobs and income streams. We would urge the Trump administration to support the Cuban people.
VisitBritain announced new figures that show a record April for the number of overseas visits to the UK and spend.

According to the figures, 3.7 million visits were made to the UK in April this year, up 19% compared to the same month last year and the highest April since records began. Overseas visitors spent a record 2 billion in April, 20% up on the same month last year.

Todays figures come on the back of a record first-quarter for inbound visits to the UK and spend.

VisitBritain Director Patricia Yates said, Tourism is one of Britains most valuable export industries and it is very encouraging to see this continued growth as we head into the peak summer season and beyond. We continue to drive home the message of value and welcome globally, particularly in our high spending markets China and the US and the valuable European market.

Todays figures bring the number of inbound visits to the UK for January to April this year to a record 11.8 million, 11% up on the same period in 2016 with visitors spending 6.2 billion, up 14% and also setting a new record.

Growth this year has been led from long-haul regions including North America with more than one million visits from January to April, up 16% compared to the same period last year.

There were a record 8.3 million visits from the EU from January to April this year, up 7% on 2016.

Strong growth has also been seen in holiday visits with a record 4.4 million visits from January to April this year, up 26% on the same period in 2016.

Latest flight booking data from ForwardKeys shows that bookings for international arrivals to the UK during the summer are currently tracking 12% ahead of the same period last year.

Tourism is worth 127 billion annually to the UK economy, creating jobs and boosting economic growth across its nations and regions.
The Toyotas were the cars to beat when the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series stormed into Michigan for the June race a year ago.

Toyota had already won seven races heading into the Michigan International Speedway's FireKeepers 400 in 2016. A year later, Toyotas enter Sunday's race with two victories, both from Furniture Row Racing standout Martin Truex Jr. in his No. 78 Camry.

But David Wilson, the president of Toyota Racing Development, said he is confident the Toyota team is headed in the right direction. Toyota unveiled its new 2018 Camry back in January in the International Auto Show in Detroit, and a month later, the new Toyota race car hit the track at Daytona. The new body has only been competing for four months, and Wilson said he likes what he has seen, explaining that the wins will come.

"We haven't won as many races as we are accustomed to but we have led a lot of laps. We have led more laps than Ford or Chevy and have won more stages," Wilson said. "We just haven't closed like we have needed to. We have had some bizarre things happens with late-race cautions. Last week (at Pocono), Kyle Busch led 100 of 160 laps and he got caught up in some strategy at the end of the race and it didn't translate to a victory.

"We have a lot of speed. We have sat on the last two poles. We qualified 1-4 at Dover and 1-3 at Pocono. Usually, when that happens, the wins start falling. We are really happy with the introduction of the new body which ultimately is where the character of this '18 Camry is demonstrated. It has proven to be quite fast. It would be great to put a W on the board at Michigan."

The green flag will drop on Sunday's race at 3 p.m. Toyota will start four drivers in the top nine, including Truex, who will start second alongside polesitter Kyle Larson.

Toyotas have won five times at Michigan dating back to 2009, with its most recent win coming with Matt Kenseth in the August Pure Michigan 400 in 2015. It is Toyota's lone win in the past 10 races at the MIS two-mile superspeedway.

"It's the backyard of a lot of our automotive culture," Wilson said. "Of course, it's known for its domestics, but Toyota also has a significant presence here. We have a big engineering operation not too far from where we race. We have a lot of great memories here. It's where Toyota won its first national NASCAR race back in 2004 with our Tundra. We always enjoy coming here."

A win Sunday also would enable Toyota to drive off with the Heritage Trophy, which was created by former track president Roger Curtis and is awarded to the winning manufacturer. MIS is the only track on the NASCAR circuit that offers a trophy to the winning manufacturer.

"When we won (in 2015), we took it from there and shipped it to California where it sat in our corporate headquarters lobby for a little bit," Wilson said. "It was then sent out to TRD and sat in our lobby for a little bit. And then we shipped it to Detroit for the International Auto Show in January and we displayed it proudly in our booth. It's a fun little tradition that Roger Curtis started a few years ago."
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - LaTarro Traylor has lived in Grand Rapids since she was 1 years old.

But the community relations coordinator for Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. (DGRI) says she did not know how much history the downtown area held for black residents until she worked on a self-guiding walking tour for GR Walks, a smartphone app.

"I know this town like the back of my hand," said Traylor, a graduate of Creston High School, Aquinas College and the Cooley Law School.

"I now consider myself a much more cultured resident," said Traylor, who estimates she spent 60 hours of research at the Grand Rapids Public Library's archives, the city's archives and Fountain Street Church's archives.

Narrated by 2nd Ward City Commissioner Joe Jones, the 11-point Black History Tour starts in Lyon Square, where "General"John Scott arrived in 1834 after walking 160 miles from Detroit with a group of laborers to build canals in the Grand River that powered the furniture industry.

From Lyons Square, the tour winds through the downtown area for about two miles, including theaters where blacks were banished to the balconies; Comstock's Row, where freed slaves were offered housing after the Civil War; and points of interest featuring civil rights leader Helen Claytor and the city's first black mayor, Lyman Parks.

The tour was released by DGRI this week to coincide with the observance of Juneteenth Independence Day, the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery in the United States recognized annually on Monday, June 19.

Former City Historian Gordon Olson, Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives Executive Director George Bayard, Women's Lifestyle Magazine Publisher Victoria Upton and local blues historian Kim Rush also were involved in creating the tour.

A group of community leaders plan to gather at 11 a.m. on Monday at Lyons Square to walk the route together. Traylor said she expect up to 20 persons to participate in the walk.

The tour is available anytime for free on GR Walks, a free smartphone app that also offers self-guided tours along the Grand River, the story of beer in Grand Rapids and the Heritage Hill and Roosevelt Park neighborhoods.

Click here to download the GR Walks app, the Black History Tour of Downtown Grand Rapids and other tours.
EAST LANSING, MI - The city of East Lansing has received more than 1,200 critical emails, some "vicious and disturbing," following news of a federal lawsuit that made national headlines in May.

The suit originates from Charlotte farmer Steve Tennes' claims that his farm, Country Mill Farms, was unconstitutionally ousted from selling produce at East Lansing farmer's markets by city officials.

The original motion, filed May 26, states city officials took steps to specifically preclude County Mill Farms from the markets after Tennes made his conservative views on marriage public on Facebook.

City Clerk Marie Wicks said the city has received mostly insult and profanity-filled emails from around the country. She described some of the messages as disturbing, eye-opening and vicious.

Wicks said she has not seen emails of this nature and volume during her career in East Lansing city government.

The city has not been served any documents regarding the lawsuit as of the afternoon of June 16, Wicks said.

Here are a few of those emails sent to the city of East Lansing, given to the Jackson Citizen Patriot/MLive.com by Wicks.

The messages are unedited and may be offensive.

"So you will not let a farmer sell his food in your city because he is a Christian. Well here is an idea, lets blockade your city and prevent food and water from getting in, and preventing the people from getting out. When the people start going hungry we will point at you liberals and say you are the reason they are going hungry. Why are you liberals such an intolerant bunch of idiots, and why do you think you can force your beliefs on us."

"...What a piece of s--- you are Mr. Gay mayor trying to ruin a family with children who are sticking to their Christian beliefs!!! I live in Boston Massachusetts and the Christians here would never put up with your liberal agenda bulls---!!! Have the damn wedding in your own back yard Mr gay mayor!!! Grow a spine you coward!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!! YOU SCREW BALL LIBERALS ARE ALL DONE!!!! American people have had it with you and yours.. can't wait to see what you will do when your son comes home and kisses his boyfriend at the supper table..Lol remember.. God works in funny ways!!!"

"Mr. Meadows, Take a large ear of corn with the stalk on and shove it up your a--."

"SHAME ON YOU! DIRTY IGNORANT f------ c----! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO PERSECUTE PEOPLE FOR REFUSING TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO HOLD A HUGE EVENT ON THEIR PRIVATE PROPERTY?!? HOST THE DAM GAY WEDDING AT YOUR HOUSE. Its not like he refused to host the event at a venue that is intended to host events. It's his private f------ property. Again, you are a C----"

"What a bunch of dumb a-- yankees! Honest law abiding folks there in East Lansing don't have a chance in a city run by a pack of liberals. But hey, as I recall President Trump carried the state in spite of the likes of the East Lansing City, so just get over it.

With any luck the judge will stick it to the City of East Lansing and the Tennes will walk away with a bundle of money so they don't have to come to your crummy little farmers market to sell blueberries.

It is really too bad that Mr. Tannes is not a Syrian Muslim or an illegal Mexican.......if he was, his family would be welcome with open arms!

Down here in east Texas we just don't put up with crap like that [well maybe over in Austin, but the folks there are just a bunch of displaced yankees who came south to get out of the snow."

"The spiritual heirs of Uncle Joe Stalin and the Hitler's Brownshirts are alive and well in East Lansing."
ANN ARBOR, MI - Fritz Pyen felt at a loss for words when asked to describe his father's work as journalist for nearly 40 years, including decades with The Ann Arbor News.

He remembers his father, Chong Wha Pyen, interviewing Muhammad Ali, writing about the Dalai Lama and taking hot air balloon rides at county fairs.

Chong Wha Pyen died June 4. He was 76 years old.

Growing up in Seoul, South Korea, Pyen attended Seoul National University. After immigrating to the United States in 1967, he received a graduate degree in journalism from Syracuse University.

He began his reporting career at the Ypsilanti Press as a staff writer in 1969, the same year he moved to Michigan. After leaving the Press in 1977, Pyen worked as a staff reporter for The Ann Arbor News for 31 years. According to old Ann Arbor News issues, Pyen continued to write for Korean publications while employed at the News.

"Chong was a dear man. He was a pleasure to work with, and a very hardworking reporter," said Rick Fitzgerald, a former Ann Arbor News reporter and editor who now works for the University of Michigan.

Fitzgerald recalled a time when Pyen took time out of his schedule to help him go to South Korea as a part of a Rotary Club exchange. While Fitzgerald didn't end up going due to scheduling conflicts, he said Pyen's giving and tenacious spirit extended outside of the passion he put into work.

"He was just an incredibly gracious person," Fitzgerald said.

During his tenure, Pyen penned stories on crime, race relations and government affairs in Washtenaw County. He also was the author of a series called, "The New Immigrants" in 1977, which followed the lives of immigrants as they settled into Washtenaw County.

He retired in 2008 and moved to Atlanta.

During his 39-year career, Pyen was honored with several awards from organizations like The Associated Press, United Press International and the National News Association. He also was a founding member of the Korean American Journalists Association.

He served as a spokesman for the Center for Pan-Asian Community Services of Atlanta and was a Methodist elder at Methodist churches in Detroit and Atlanta.

Services for Pyen were held June 10 at Lee's Funeral Home in Norcross, Georgia.
ANN ARBOR, MI - More than 900 small rubber ducks floated Friday, June 16, down the Huron River at Island Park during the first Rubber Duck Dash, hosted by the national Kidney Foundation of Michigan.

Each duck cost $5, according to Special Event Coordinator Christina Church, and all of the roughly $30,000 from the derby and from the Ann Arbor Kidney walk last September will support the foundation. It will go toward an emergency fund, kids camp, prevention programs, enhanced fitness for elderly people and disease management programs.

Those responsible for the first four ducks down the river received $500 Meijer gift cards, one month of swim lessons with Gold Fish Swimming School, Zap Zone passes and a family membership to the Toledo Zoo.

"We were just trying to introduce a new event to the community," Church said. "Keep an eye out for next year's event."
BAY CITY, MI -- The Bay Area Community Writing Center will open in September thanks to Saginaw Valley State University and a $16,500 grant.

Saginaw Valley State University received the grant from the Community Initiative Fund and the Youth Advisory Endowment Fund at the Bay Area Community Foundation. The funds cover two years of support for student tutors from SVSU's Writing Center.

An open house for the Bay Area Community Writing Center is planned for Sept. 19. Once open, the Writing Center hours are from 4 to 8 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of each month at the Alice and Jack Wirt Public Library, 500 Center Ave. Workshops as well as individual tutoring sessions for members of the Bay County community are to be offered.

The Bay Area Community Writing Center joins the Saginaw Community Writing Center, hosted at the Butman-Fish Library in Saginaw, which began in September 2015.

For more information about the Bay Area Community Writing Center, contact the SVSU Writing Center at (989) 964-2829.
DETROIT - A 10-year-old girl is undergoing emergency surgery after being attacked by a dog on Detroit's east side, according to Detroit police.

The girl is listed in very critical condition and was transported to St. John Hospital, Officer Jennifer Moreno said.

The attack happened approximately 1:15 p.m. Saturday, June 17, in the 10700 block of Beaconsfield Street, Moreno said. The girl was in a backyard when the dog exited a house and attacked.

Moreno added that the girl's 55-year-old aunt attempted to stop the dog, but was then attacked as well, suffering wounds to her leg.

The girl's aunt is also undergoing emergency surgery, Moreno said.

Detroit police's investigations unit will release updates on the pair's condition when they are available.
DETROIT - Hadeer Siba, who grew up in the U.S., according to relatives, was one of 114 Chaldean immigrants from Iraq facing deportation after widespread Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests that took place in Metro Detroit on June 11.

If he gets put on a plane to Baghdad, the 46-year-old from Sterling Heights, will find himself in a country so foreign to him that it might as well be Mars, family members said.

He can't speak Arabic, the primary language in Iraq, and his family also believes the Virgin Mary tattooed on his arm will get him murdered by Muslim extremist groups like ISIS that have been targeting Chaldeans in recent years.

"Seeing him arrested was terrifying," said Nora Issak, Siba's niece.

"He came here when he was 5 years old. He has no connections there. We don't know how we'll contact him. We don't even know how he'll get around."

Siba's story is not unique, with ICE ramping up efforts to reduce a backlog of immigrants who have been ordered removed, but remain in the U.S.

The recent wave arrests was sparked by a March agreement with the Iraqi government in which the war-torn Middle Eastern nation agreed to take back Iraqi nationals subject to removal from the U.S., according to ICE.

Khalid Walls, a spokesperson for ICE's Detroit office, said agents are primarily targeting those with criminal convictions, which can effectively revoke a green card.

A criminal past

Siba is no angel.

He was scheduled to face trial on June 22 trial in Macomb County for intimidating a witness, according to circuit court records. Siba was accused in 2015 of threatening a woman who was a witness in an arson case.

Before that, Macomb County Circuit Court records show he pleaded guilty to a marijuana possession charge in August 2016, and pleaded no contest to a drug use charge in August 2014.

Family members acknowledged that he was also arrested in New Mexico on a drug charge 15 to 20 years ago. Court records show he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in July 2002 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison in New Mexico.

He also pleaded guilty in 2005 to a federal bank fraud charge related to the theft of checks from the U.S. Post Office and was ordered to pay $1.1 million in restitution, court records show.

Most recently, Siba served a seven-month probation term that ended in April for lying to a law enforcement officer, according to state corrections records.

Correction: An earlier version of this story indicated Siba spent those seven months behind bars. He was in fact free on probation.

Siba's relatives argue that he's served his time for his nonviolent criminal history, and that even if he should spend more time behind bars, he doesn't deserve to be sent off to face violence in an unfamiliar country.

They also claim he waived his deportation hearing year ago, expecting to be protected by a previous U.S. policy of not sending Chaldeans back to Iraq because of the dangers they'd face.

"When immigration picked him up 10 years ago, he served his time in prison but they held him for 9 months instead the (stated) 3 months," Issak said.

"He was told that if he did not sign a waiver to be deported, he would not leave jail."

She said Siba signed the deportation waiver under advice that he had no reason to worry.

A federal immigration judge ordered Siba removed in October 2013, according to ICE.

"They told him that he would not be deported because Iraq was unsafe," Issak said. "He has always reported to his immigration officer on time (ever since)."

But in March, around the same time Iraq was removed from President Donald Trump's travel ban list, Iraq agreed to start taking back immigrants ordered removed from the U.S.

Seeking asylum, again

Now, multiple activist groups are turning to federal court to try and prevent the deportations.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday.

"Until recently, Petitioners were living peaceably in the community, reporting regularly to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and complying with their other conditions of release," the ACLU argues in the court complaint. "This changed suddenly on June 11, 2017, when, with no warning, ICE began arresting and detaining Petitioners on the grounds that Iraq has now agreed to take them back. ICE then transferred most of them to a detention center in Youngstown, Ohio, far from their families and their retained counsel... U.S. law prohibits the removal of individuals to countries where they would face a likelihood of persecution or torture."

And the group By Any Means Necessary was planning its own lawsuit aiming to label this round of deportations unconstitutional.

Shanta Driver, lead attorney for the group, said the group will seek an injunction to halt the new deportation policy in the same way a handful of federal judges struck down the president's travel ban.

"These are constitutional issues dealing with people's due process rights," she said.

"I think they should be given a fair trial and a hearing instead of being sent away with nothing."

She said previous protections promised to those arrested last weekend affected they way they defended themselves in legal proceedings.

"The people being picked up now relied on the contract they made years ago with ICE that said 'you're not going to be deported. Don't worry about bringing legal proceedings forward,'" Driver said.

"So these people did nothing. And now, they're facing deportation and we're in this mad rush to file their paperwork... ICE knows the people that they're picking up. There is no question about it. For 25 years, they have not sent people back to Iraq."

A sense of betrayal

For Doaa Ali Aldilaimi, the deportation of her father could mean them losing him for good.

Abidoon Aldilaimi is 68 years old, uses a breathing machine to treat sleep apnea and has a stent in his heart.

He can barely walk now, she said, but in his past, according to ICE, he served 15 years in prison for aggravated assault and was ordered removed from the U.S. in March 2006.

His daughter claims the assault occurred when he witnessed his son being jumped by a group of men and went after the attackers.

She fears that although he's long since served his time, he could die in jail, or on a flight to Iraq.

"He's an old man who is very sick," Doaa said.

"He has medical needs and usually has doctors and nurses come to him. What do they want from an old guy? An old guy isn't going to hurt anyone."

ICE argues that the arrests and deportation efforts are meant to protect Americans from criminal aliens.

"The operation in this region was specifically conducted to address the very real public safety threat represented by the criminal aliens arrested," said Rebecca Adducci, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Detroit, in a statement.

"The vast majority of those arrested in the Detroit metropolitan area have very serious felony convictions, multiple felony convictions in many cases. I applaud the efforts of the law enforcement personnel who, day in and day out, put their lives on the line to protect this community."















PORT SHELDON TOWNSHIP, MI -- The Ottawa County Parks director says he's "committed to determining what went wrong" after a partial deck collapse at a county park caused several minor injuries.

Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Director John Scholtz issued a brief statement on the department's Facebook page late Friday, June 16.

"Ottawa County Parks is deeply saddened over the deck failure at the Weaver House last evening," he wrote. "Ottawa County wishes those who were injured a speedy recovery."

Scholtz went on to say that county officials are committed to finding the cause off the collapse and "making sure nothing like this can happen again."

Part of the deck on the side of the Weaver House -- a vintage 1901 structure renovated by the county several years ago -- collapsed about 7:10 p.m. Thursday and injured 14 people. Only two people were transported to the hospital, however, and police said those injuries were not believed serious.

The deck gave way as North Ottawa Community Hospital hosted an event to celebrate donors for an emergency room expansion. About 25-30 people were on the deck at the time.

A structural engineer is expected to examine the deck to try to determine what caused the failure.

Ottawa County Parks is deeply saddened over the deck failure at the Weaver House last evening. Ottawa County wishes... Posted by Ottawa County Parks and Recreation on Friday, June 16, 2017

North Ottawa Community Hospital leaders also issued a statement.

"We were extremely fortunate to have a number of physicians, nurses and personnel trained in emergency response present at the event and local emergency medical response teams were there almost immediately," said Shelleye Yaklin, NOCH President & CEO.
CHICAGO -- Furniture-maker izzy+ has gone through some leadership changes since founder Chuck Saylor retired in 2014.

Kevin Kuske, former general manager of Steelcase's Turnstone brand, was brought in as Saylor's successor.

He left in August after two years on the job to become president of Grand Rapids-based Genesis Seating, Davidson Plyforms and Grand River Polishing, a division of Leggett and Platt, and a major supplier of the office furniture industry.

Since then, the company has assembled a trio of executives to oversee the Spring Lake company. The team is made up of Jeff Vredevoogd, vice president of sales and marketing; Scott Carpenter, vice president of operations and Krista Hurst, vice president of finance and administration.

All report to Tom Rizzi, chief operating officer of JSJ Corp., parent company of izzy+. The Grand Haven manufacturer supplies the automotive and furniture industries.

Vredevoogd compares the new leadership trinity to a three-legged stool.

"We're putting the customer in the middle and three legs to support it," said Vredevoogd, giving an interview this week in the company's 11th floor showroom in Merchandise Mart during NeoCon.

Carpenter is a former vice president of global supply chain management at Grand Haven-based GHSP, an auto supplier and a division of JSJ. Hurst was previously a controller at izzy+.

Vredevoogd is a 34-year veteran of the office furniture industry. His background includes 21 years at Steelcase in various sales and marketing roles, and the last 12 years at Herman Miller, where he held a number of positions, including leading the education team. He came on board in January, the last to join the izzy+ leadership team.

"I think it's a sign that he we are placing more focus on people across the business," said Vredevoogd, of the new structure.

The firm has 135 people between its Spring Lake headquarters and seating factory in Middlebury, Ind. Products are sold through 75 sale representatives across the country, who hawk izzy+ furniture along with other products from other companies.

The business is growing, Vredevoogd said.

During the three-day trade show that wrapped up June 14, izzy+ unveiled Eli, a new height adjustable table comes in different shapes including a trapezoid top and a six top height. The latter is intended for use as a school conference table or a maker space.

"What has been a sweet spot for us has been the education space, but we are starting to see more applications out there," said Vredevoogd. "It feels like there is more in store."
The week saw several key developments in auto ranging from spiraling discounts by desperate companies and their dealers, to new launches in the premium segments of bikes and flashy cars.

Here is the complete list of key developments of the week to bring you up to speed:

*Girish Wagh becomes head of CV Tata Motors

One of Tata Motors oldest employees, Girish Wagh was appointed the head of the commercial vehicles unit less than ten days after one of the companys seniormost executives Ravi Pisharody resigned.

Wagh, who was the man behind two crucial projects of Tata Motors  Ace and Nano  had been moved to the head of product line of medium and heavy commercial vehicles as part of the companys internal restructuring recently.

*GST-led discounts

In the run-up to the proposed implementation of goods and services tax (GST) from July 1, several cars, SUV and two-wheeler makers announced a price cut which were a result of the benefits arising out of the new tax.

While Bajaj Auto and Royal Enfield joined the bandwagon created by Mercedes-Benz and BMW, other manufacturers and their dealers joined this week by slashing prices by up to Rs 1 lakh on products priced under Rs 10 lakh.

*Latest from the Mercedes stable

Continuing with its furious pace of launches, Mercedes-Benz, the countrys largest luxury car manufacturer, introduced two new models in India. The Pune-headquartered company launched the AMG G 63 Edition 463 and the AMG GLS 63, priced at Rs 2.17 crore and Rs 1.57 crore, respectively.

The new G 63 is equipped with a supercharged 5.5-litre V8-engine developing 420 kW @ 5500 rpm and a maximum torque of 760 Nm @ 5000 rpm. The G 63 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds, and has an (electronically limited) top speed of 210 km/h. The GLS 63 AMG has a 5.5-litre V8 BITURBO engine, which develops a peak output of 430 kW and maximum torque of 760 Nm.

*New launches from Triumph and Ducati

Iconic British motorcycle brand Triumph launched the Street Triple S priced at Rs 8.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Powered by the same 800cc which powers the Daytona, the Street Triple S delivers peak power of 113bhp.

Italys famed motorcycle brand Ducati introduced two new products in the market - Multistrada 950 and Monster 797  priced at Rs 12.6 lakh and Rs 7.77 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The Monster 797 is the most affordable Ducati in India.

*Piaggio launches Porter 700

Italian two-and-four wheeler company Piaggio launched the Porter 700, a four-wheel mini truck, at Rs 3.40 lakh. The payload capacity of the vehicle is 700-kg with a cargo deck of 30 sq ft.

The Porter 700 generates peak power of 14.75 hp and torque of 40nm. It has a ground clearance of 218 mm. This vehicle is the upgraded version of the Porter 600 which Piaggio has been selling for the last few years.
manufacturer of Titanium alloys in India.

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The Centre today said it will ensure that steel products are not imported in the guise of utensils or finished products.

"We are keeping an eye on that (import of steel in guise of finished products). We will not allow such kind of practice even in trade," Union Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh told reporters after addressing a meeting of the National Steel Consumers' Council here.

Stating that India has been successful in reducing import of steel by 37 per cent during 2016-17, Singh said the reduction of imported steel was mostly from China.

This had happened because of India's anti-dumping measures and also due to withdrawal of the Minimum Import Price (MIP), he said.

"But, one thing which I want to make clear is, can we talk of anti-dumping duty? There is still some steel products, in the guise of utensils or in the guise of finished products, those can... find way to our country," Singh said.

Stating that the steel sector has been growing at a steady Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 7 per cent, he said the country's steel export registered a 102 per cent growth from 4.08 MT in 2015-16 to 8.20 MT in 2016-17.

However, India's per capita steel consumption remained at only 64 kg, which needs to be increased to 160 kg as the country is planning to produce 300 million tons of steel by 2030-31 rpt 2030-31, the Union Minister said.

"We are going to increase the country's steel consumption rate in a big way. As the Centre has earmarked Rs 4 lakh crore for the infrastructure sector, the steel sector should take advantage of it to enhance the consumption rate," Singh said adding, the Railways alone have plans to spend Rs 1.32 lakh crore in its expansion.

Of the Rs 4 lakh crore earmarked for infrastructure sector, the steel sector can easily get 10 per cent of its share, which is estimated to be Rs 40,000 crore.

"We can make maximum use of steel in different infrastructure projects like rail, road, bridge, urban and rural housing, toilets under Swachha Bharat scheme etc," he said.

In August, the Steel Ministry will organise a 15-day long exhibition in different parts of the country along with all stakeholders including integrated steel plants and dealers, to showcase their products so that people use more steel.

The Minister, however, stressed on the production of high-end steel, which he termed as the future of steel industry.

"We have to convert crude steel and semi-finished steel products to high-end steel products. This value addition and diversification will give us better margin and increase our competitiveness," Singh said.

Once the country produces high-ended and better steel, the demand for Indian steel will increase in Vietnam, Cambodia and other African countries, he said adding, the Indian steel sector has evolved as the third largest steel producer in the world and is poised to become the second largest producer putting Indian steel prominently on the global industry map.

On the raw materials for steel industries, the Minister said "85 per cent of coking coal is now imported, which adds to the price of steel making. Coal India Limited and Bharat Coking Coal Limited have agreed to set up 12 new coking coal washeries by 2019-20. This will fulfil the demand of coking coal," he said.

Asked about employment provided by the steel sector in the last three years, the Union Minister said the steel sector was passing through a bad phase for the last two years, but the situation has improved in the last 6-8 months.

Replying to a question on Odisha, Singh said the state is blessed with valuable minerals.

"When planning to produce 300 MT of steel by 2030-31, we expect Odisha's Kalinga Nagar to become a steel hub and produce 20 per cent of the total steel manufactured in India," he said.
Earnings expectations continue to be very lofty and my sense that we might be overestimating to some extent, Prashasta Seth, CEO at IIFL Asset Management Ltd, said in an exclusive interview with Kshitij Anand of Moneycontrol.

If earnings do not come in even by December, then people will obviously become more and more concerned about the valuations because valuations are not cheap any longer, he said.

Q: There is no stopping to this market or there is no stopping to this bull run which probably started around December 2016 when it hit a low of 7900. Although, the momentum has slowed down a bit, what are your views on the market for this calendar year or maybe beyond that?

A: I kind of look at it more as what is happening globally and we see that markets across the globe are doing well. There is a lot of liquidity which continues to chase markets all across the globe driven by low yields in the fixed income market. That is what is happening in India as well.

What you are seeing now is more liquidity coming into the market, people moving from fixed income to equity and probably still looking to increase their allocation to equities from real estate etc.

There are a lot of flows which are getting routed towards the market and that is what driving the rally. In India, the other positive aspect that is fuelling the rally is the macroeconomic fundamentals which are improving.

I think earnings continue to be the missing link. The earnings are unlikely to improve by next quarter but people are expecting earnings to turn up in the second half of this year. And, that is what market is hoping for.

Improvement in macroeconomic fundamentals should translate into earnings growth. In the shorter run, I think it is the liquidity that is driving the market. In the longer run, it is the hope of an earnings turnaround which is fuelling investment into equity markets for a period of 3-5 years view.

Q: Are there risks which can derail the current bull market?

A: Earnings expectations continue to be very lofty and my sense that we might be overestimating to some extent, the kind of earnings revival that might take place. That is where the risk is.

If earnings do not come in even by December, then people will obviously become more and more concerned about the valuations because valuations are not cheap any longer. They are fairly expensive.

From here on, earnings need to kick up. If that does not happen, even for the next 3-6 months, that is where the big risk will come in terms of returns.

Q: Many investors fear to enter the market at current levels and probably might want to wait out for corrections. What is your advice to investors?

A: My view would be that the numbers that people are talking about are fairly optimistic for FY18 and FY19. I think there is a possibility that some of these numbers might not be achieved. So, that risk obviously remains.

However, what we have seen in the last few years is that markets have not looked at the numbers at all. In the last two years, earnings were not that great but markets have continued to do well.

If people continue to have the visibility that things will improve after GST you see some things improving then I think people will still ignore it.

However even after October or December numbers dont come in, then I think there could be a bit of a challenge. By December quarter if things dont move as planned or as anticipated there could be some pullback or there could be some profit booking.

Q: Now that market is at a record high, many investors fear to enter at this point in time. What is your advice to them?

A: Investors should take investment decisions as per their asset allocation. I would not be overly aggressive in terms of going into equities at this point in time and be extremely overweight.

However, an individual investor has to look into his asset allocation before taking a call. The valuations are a bit stretched, but macroeconomic environment is very conducive for equities.

It hasnt translated into earnings as yet but there is a chance that over the course of the next one or two years this will translate into earnings.

Q) What will define next 5 years? Some experts are already advising that disruptions would be the defining factors in various sectors and some of it has already started happening which have put a model of existing companies in a fix? Ex  Telecom, automation in IT.

A: I am not that clear in terms of what is going to define it, but my sense is that in the next five years I would look at more in terms of how India as a country grows and what kind of improvement you see in the per capita income.

In my mind, it is more of a story on how things play out in India, whether we are able to achieve 3-5 year kind of an economic growth environment in which we grow above 7-8 percent. If that happens that will be good for the country and that would be good for the economy.

Q: What I was trying to get at is you are seeing some reception in telecom and IT. Are there more sectors which you think could be impacted up by the same and companies might have to rethink the model that they are working on?

A: There is another one sector where we are seeing some pain and that is pharmaceuticals. Those are the three sectors where you have already seen a disruption in the business model.

And telecom, I do not know if there is a disruption in the business model or the fact that there is one player who has come in with excess capacity and has taken down the entire sector.

I do not see telecom being at a stage in which there is a change in the business model, but sectors like IT and pharmaceuticals are obviously at a stage in which you are looking for a bit of a change in the business model.

Q: Any top three or five sectors which you think could emerge as a dark horse in the next 2-3 years?

A: I do not know about the dark horse, but my sense is financials will continue to do well. India is still an unleveraged economy and they have put the continued increase in leverage in the economy and if the economy picks up you might see more private sector Capex as well. Other domestic consumption sectors like auto, etc. should also do well.

In terms of a dark horse, IT has been beaten down very aggressively on concerns on the structural chain, but valuations have now become very cheap. I do not see that IT will have a structural issue in which companies will collapse or they will not be able to remodel themselves.

If you ask me from a valuation perspective and where things are trading, IT is looking interesting, but others are still in a phase in which you could see domestic driven sectors doing well.

Q: GST is now closer to reality and do you think it will lead to the disruption in the near-term, but beneficial for larger companies so largecaps now, compared to companies which fall under the mid or the smallcap space? And the way the rally is structured now, GST is focused, is it too early?

A: My sense would be that yes, we do expect GST to cause disruption in this quarter and that is where I think we might not see another great quarter in terms of results for companies because of inventory write-downs and so on and so forth.

But, because of this formalisation of the economy would definitely benefit companies which are listed in some sense. I will not say that it will benefit large-cap companies more than midcap or smallcap companies because in some of the sectors which are informal in nature like plywood, for example, the companies that are the biggest players are still small and midcap in nature.

Market leaders in some of these categories and organised sectors will definitely gain from unorganised sector. It will have a net positive impact on listed space as opposed to the unorganised space.

Q: The next is, what is your call on the mid and smallcap space? The valuations have indeed touched roof and if somebody who wants to invest in the broader market, what would you advise?

A: We are slightly cautious on the midcap and largecap space. This is because as you also mentioned, the valuations there have become really expensive and on a whole also the markets have become fairly expensive.

Till the point earnings start to come back, it is better to be in my mind largecaps than in midcaps or in smallcaps. Midcaps and smallcaps have outperformed largecaps by a big margin in the last 2-3 years. And there are companies trading at 40-50 times earnings in the midcap space.

Now some of these things according to me are fairly unsustainable. So, our humble submission to our investors is that the largecaps where valuations are a bit more reasonable than what it is in the midcap and smallcap and stick to good quality companies.

If let us say for whatever reason earnings does not come in, you still have some cushion on the quality and the fact that some of these companies can grow in a relative tough environment as well.

Q: One hypothetical question. If a client comes to you with let us say, Rs 10 lakh for the purpose of investment to achieve his crorepati dream, what would be your advice? Some analysts are already quoting a print of let us say 1 lakh on the Sensex by 2024.

A: I do not know on some of those things, so what we are actually telling investors, again I will talk about it from an asset allocation perspective. It depends on what the asset allocation is for an individual investor.

And what we are advising investors is to be cognisant of how much they want to be in equity in the longer term. So, if it is an aggressive investor, you might go up to 40-45 percent in equities or maybe even 50 percent in equity. If you are a conservative investor, you would be 10-20 percent in equities.

So, that is a call that what we are telling investors that you decide on what you want to be in equities and depending on your asset allocation, you do that. It could vary between 20 and 60 percent depending on the risk profile of individual investors.

Q: And that is in fixed income or any other asset class?

A: Yes, that would be in fixed income. That is what we are telling. You have a different type of opportunities on the fixed income side. What you are telling investors is to benefit from them.

Q: Tell us more about your IIFL Special Opportunities Fund which I believe has already garnered a commitment of approximately USD 250 million.

A: What we are trying to do is to give investors access to the IPO market through this fund. What has happened in the last few years is that even though the IPO markets have done really well, investors have not been able to benefit from it because of the fact that either IPOs have been very heavily oversubscribed or after the leverage cost, your cost per share comes out to be very high.

So, what we are looking to give investors is a higher allocation and at a price which is lower than IPO price and much lower than the leverage cost would be.

The second thing that we are looking to do is to invest at the time of the IPO as well. There, what the value proposition is that if you take a look at the IPO market or the IPOs, 50 percent is allocated to the institutional category, 15 percent goes to the non-retail category which is the high net worth individual (HNI) category and 35 percent go to the retail category.
Equity benchmarks closed lower last week after a tight trading range. The market appeared to get tired after hitting a lifetime high of 9,709 on Nifty on June 6, especially owing to lack of cues on the domestic as well as global front. The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 0.66 percent at 31,056.40 and the 50-share NSE Nifty lost 0.83 percent to 9,588.05 in the week gone by.

The majority of events - likely double digit earnings growth, hope of early NPA resolution, normal monsoon expectations, faster clearance to GST - seem to have already been discounted. Continued flow of money from FIIs as well as DIIs supported the market to mark a 17 percent rally since the beginning of the current calendar year. On the global front as well, the Federal Reserve's rate hike was not unexpected by the market.

Over the last one year, domestic mutual funds have net bought over Rs 70,000 crore of Indian equities, while foreign funds have net bought around Rs 60,000 crore of shares.

As the market is currently highly valued, it needs a firm trigger to surpass its recent record high, otherwise there could be directionless trade in the weeks ahead. Hence, all eyes are on GST implementation (expected to effective from July 1) and monsoon progress. June quarter earnings, which will begin next month, will also be closely watched.

"Strong inflows into mutual funds have led to the view that valuations can stay rich as long as the inflows continue," Abhay Laijawala, Head of Research, Deutsche Equities told Moneycontrol. Valuations are very rich at 19 times, and market is expecting earnings growth to be around 20 percent. If there is a resumption of earnings downgrade because of whatever reason, including GST (Goods and Services Tax), valuations will look far richer than what they are.

Everyone is convinced that India is a long-term growth story, but as GST implementation date is approaching fast and experts expect it to hit corporate earnings for one or two quarters, there has been a cautious approach towards trading in market.

The Nifty held its immediate support level of 9580 in the passing week, which will be closely watched in the week ahead. The next support level could be 9500.

After two weeks of consolidation, the market may see some rebound initially in the coming week, but is overall expected to be rangebound owing to the lack of a trigger and especially ahead of June F&O expiry due on June 29.

"Rangebound movement is likely to continue, given combined open interest on Nifty 9,600 strike at around 1.1 crore shares along with maximum open interest at 9,500 puts and 9,700 calls," Amar Ambani of IIFL Private Wealth said.

Vijay Singhania, Founder-Director of Trade Smart Online, advised investors to remain cautious at current levels. "A drop below 9,500 would be an opportunity to go short on the IT and pharma stocks while a break above 9,700 should be used to go long on the financials," he said.

Singhania further said another factor to watch out going ahead would be that the deadline of implementation of SEBI-enhanced supervision is also approaching, in which clients margin funding has been regulated and in no case it will go beyond T+2+5 days. The start date is July 1, 2017.

Here are 8 factors to watch out for in the week ahead:-

GST

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, will meet on June 18 to approve the draft pending rules pertaining to advance ruling, appeals and revision, assessment and audit, as well as e-way bill.

The Council will also take stock of the preparedness of the new tax system that promises to stitch together a common national market.

Other pending issues that stand before the Council are finalising the rules and framework of anti-profiteering body, fixing service tax for lottery and reviewing rates of some goods and services, as requested by various industry associations.

The Council may meet once more before the rollout of the new indirect system from July 1.

Monsoon

So far, weather forecast agencies are of the view that the monsoon is expected to be normal. They expect it to be better in July and August, though it has not been up to the mark in June so far.

Recently, Met department raised its forecast of seasonal rainfall to 98 percent of long term average from the earlier forecast in April of 96 percent of long term average.

If it comes true, then it will definitely boost economic growth and help several dependent industries (directly or indirectly) to show better earnings growth, experts said.

NPA meeting

The Prime Minister's Office has called a meeting of senior officials of the ministries of finance and corporate affairs on June 19, to review the progress in resolution of non-performing assets (NPAs) after recent action taken by the Reserve Bank of India on stressed assets.

The banking sector is saddled with bad loans of over Rs 8 lakh crore, of which Rs 6 lakh crore is on the books of public sector banks.

On June 13, the Internal Advisory Committee constituted by RBI identified 12 accounts for insolvency proceedings with each of them having over Rs 5,000 crore of outstanding loans, accounting for 25 percent of total NPAs of banks. These accounts would qualify for immediate reference under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), RBI said.

During the week, sources told CNBC-TV18 that the Reserve Bank of India sent bankers the list of 12 stressed accounts that they must resolve through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The 12 accounts are Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power, Alok Industries, Electrosteel Steels, JP Infra, Lanco Infratech, Monnet Ispat, Jyoti Structures, ABG Shipyard, Amtek Auto and Era Infra.

Sources further said Monnet Ispat & Energy (which has debt of about Rs 12,000 crore) and Essar Steel (Rs 40,000 crore) received Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code notice.

IPO

The primary market is expected to be in focus as a couple of initial public offerings will be opened for subscription next week.

"We expect that this on-going fund raising through primary and secondary markets to gain momentum and is unlikely affect overall market liquidity and valuations," Singhania said.

In the coming week, the 3.51 crore shares IPO of Central Depository Services (CDSL) will open for subscription on June 19, with a price band of Rs 145-149 per share. The issue will close on June 21.

GTPL Hathway will also launch its IPO, comprising of fresh issue of aggregating up to Rs 300 crore and an offer for sale of up to 1.8 crore shares, on June 21. It has fixed price band at Rs 167-170 per share for the issue that will close on June 23.

Ahmedabad-headquartered Eris Lifesciences' Rs 1,741.1 crore public issue will close on June 20. The price band of the issue is Rs 600-603 per share.

Technical Outlook

Experts feel a 9,580 level could be immediate support for the Nifty and the next would be 9,500. According to them, it could trade in the range of 9,500-9,700 levels.

Singhania said Nifty 9500 Call and 9700 Put strikes continue to remain the highest open interest strikes. Both the strikes added fresh short positions, which indicate a floor and ceiling price for the index in the coming week, he added.

"All other momentum indicators have now started declining but the downside seems to be protected by a strong level of 9540 where only a close below could bring more downside pressure over short term. On the flip side, 9650 will be the strong resistance for the coming week above which bulls should remain in control over the bears and would attract more upside," Abnish Kumar Sudhanshu, Director & Research Head, Amrapali Aadya Trading & Investments said.

Stocks in focus

On Monday, Monnet Ispat may react negatively as sources told CNBC-TV18 that the company received Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code notice. Essar Steel also received the notice in 2016, sources added.

Dr Reddy's Labs will also be in focus as the USFDA issued Form 483 with 1 observation to Srikakulam plant.

Dredging Corporation may be in action on Monday as sources told CNBC Awaaz that Draft cabinet note floated to sell 100 percent government equity in 5 companies, including HLL Life Care and Dredging Corporation.

Asian Paints may open higher on Monday as the company entered share purchase agreement with Ansa Coatings International for divesting entire stake in Lewis Berger.

Kotak Mahindra Bank may also be in action as the Competition Commission has given its approval for the bank to buy British partner Old Mutual's 26 percent stake in its life insurance arm for Rs 1,293 crore.

Corporate Action

ICICI Bank will trade ex-bonus (one bonus equity share for every 10 shares held) from June 20.

On June 22, the face value of Arcotech will split from Rs 10 to Rs 2 while Godrej Consumer Products will adjust for bonus issue (in the proportion of one share for every share held).

Kitex Garments will also start trading ex-bonus on June 22 (two bonus shares for every five shares held).

Atlas Cycle and recently listed PSP Projects will declare their March quarter earnings on June 19 while JK Cement will consider fundraising plan on June 23.

Can Fin Homes and Shailja Commercial Trade Frenzy will consider sub-division of shares on June 23.

Among others, Torrent Pharma, ICICI Bank, Havells India, PC Jeweller, GHCL, UPL, Hindustan Unilever, Goa Carbon, Shriram City, Bank of Baroda and Welspun Corp will trade ex-dividend during the week.

Global cues

The non-monetary policy meeting of the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB) will be held in Frankfurt on June 21 while the general council meeting of the ECB will be held in Frankfurt on June 22.

FOMC member William Dudley and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will speak on June 19 while Stanley Fischer, Eric Rosengren and Robert Kaplan will speak on June 20.

Japan's monetary policy minutes and US home sales data for May will be announced on June 21.

The data on Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI); Europe's Manufacturing, Markit Composite & Services PMI; US' Manufacturing & Services PMI for June is expected to be released on June 23.

United States' new home sales data for May will also be announced on June 23.
The Central government has approved a start-up incubation centre for Mangaluru to provide basic facilities for people intending to set up self-employment units, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The Centre would start functioning within four months with an investment of Rs 1.18 crore, she said.

Facilities would be provided to 60 start-up companies at the centre in the initial phase, the Minister of state for for Commerce and Industry said after inspecting the site identified for the centre here last evening.

The start-up companies could function here for a specified term and required facilities would be provided in the second floor of the corporation sub office.

Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nitte University, National lnstitute of Technology, Karnataka (NIT-K) and the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) would extend assistance to the centre, she said.

The minister directed Dakshina Kannada district Deputy Commissioner K G Jagadeesh to provide technical assistance, separate cabins, power, 4G internet facility, 3D printers, cafeteria and other facilities required by the companies.

The start-up companies could function at the incubation centre for a week or a month during which they would get the opportunity to hold consultations with intending customers about the marketing of their products, she had said.

Nalin Kumar Kateel MP, Shobha Karandlaje MP and city mayor Kavita Sanil, were present during the inspection.
business Hold Bharat Forge, may test Rs 1400: Ashwani Gujral Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com is of the view that one may hold Bharat Forge.
business Prefer Whirlpool, Hitachi Homes, LIC Housing Finance: Ashwani Gujral Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com is of the view that one may prefer Whirlpool, Hitachi Homes, LIC Housing Finance and Bajaj Finance.
Abu Salem

A special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court on Friday held gangster Abu Salem guilty of being one of the main conspirators of the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts. The TADA court convicted him for transporting weapons from Gujarat to Mumbai in the build-up to the blasts that killed 257 people and left 713 injured.

Salem is already serving a life-sentence in relation to various other cases.

Early life

Abu Salem was born in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. He worked as a mechanic there before working as a taxi driver in Delhi.

Salem then moved to Mumbai and changed several jobs before settling as a real estate broker in the suburb of Andheri. In 1988, a case was lodged against him for assaulting a colleague.

The D-Company

By now, Salem had started partnering and working with people who were closely associated with gangster Dawood Ibrahim's 'D-Company'. He made his way into the gang and transported weapons and cash for them between 1989 and 1993. During one such assignment, he had transported weapons to Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt just before the 1993 blasts. He had earned the nickname "Abu Samaan" for his efficiency in doing that job.

1993 blasts and the aftermath

After the 1993 bomb blasts, Salem fled to Dubai to evade the police. He rose to prominence after he started recruiting young men from his home state to carry out shootings in Mumbai against D-gang's rivals.

During this time, he was entrusted with Dawood Ibrahim's movie deals. He also extorted money from movie producers. Salem came to spotlight again in 1997 over the killing of Bollywood producer Gulshan Kumar.

By 1998, Salem parted ways with the gang after he was sidelined due to internal fights, including rivalry with key Dawood gang member Chhota Shakeel.

Salem continued to plot and carry out kidnappings. His men have allegedly targeted various Bollywood personalities such as Aamir Khan, Ashutosh Gowariker, Rakesh Roshan and Manmohan Shetty.

He fled to Portugal and lived in Lisbon before he was arrested by the Portuguese police in 2002 after an Interpol tip off.

In 2004, he was extradited from Portugal on the assurance by the Indian government that a death penalty will not be handed out to him in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case.

He has been convicted in over 50 cases till date.
Education

Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu.

Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu.

Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events:

International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu.

EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu.

Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale  an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s  will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets  June Homecoming: Participant  $18 per person; Sustainer  $25 per person; Benefactor  $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler  Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events:

SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available  for information call 610-275-1960

Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above)

SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m.

Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.  4 p.m.  computers are available during those hours.

Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863.

Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376.

Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com.

The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes:

Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at

other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020.

CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313.

The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events:

Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m.

Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30.

Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301.

For Kids & Families

The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443.

Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950.

Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required.

The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950.

Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus.

Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage.

Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun.

Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train.

Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world!

Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class.

Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org.

Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583.

Community Events at the Ambler Y:

-YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register.

Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org.

Health

Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot.

The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information.

Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245.

Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net.

Spring Aquatic Programs  UDHS Pool:

-Summer is just around the corner  Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required.

 Shallow Water Aerobics  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR.

 Adult Swim Instructions  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR

-Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21.

-Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday  Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m.

-Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons.

-Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates.

Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994.

SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com.

Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org.

Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs:

FITNESS CLASSES

Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month.

Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30  9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000.

Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30  7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047.

New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.  12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30  4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931.

Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325.

Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes.

Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com.

Librarytalk

Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744

www.upperdublinlibrary.org

APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS:

Storytimes: Please register in the library.

o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m.

o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m.

o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m.

o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6.

APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS:

North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee

APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS:

NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org.

One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register  contact info above.

Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744.

o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register.

Meetings:

Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m.

Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m.

Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org.

For children and teens at Blue Bell:

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.

* May 14  Despicable Me

* June 11  Alpha and Omega

* Special Events

* April  watch for date of spring/Easter events

* April 14 at 4:30 p.m.  Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children.

* April 14 at 7 p.m.  Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided.

* April 16 at 1 p.m.  Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King.

* April 16 at 1:30 p.m.  Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes?

* April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button.

* April 30 through May 3  Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults.

* May  sign up for Science in the Summer

* June  sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children

* June  sign up for Summer Reading, all ages

For adults at Blue Bell:

* Daytime Book Discussion Group  fourth Tuesday, Jan  April at 1:30 p.m.

* April 26  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Night-time Book Discussion Group  third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

o April 19  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges

o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked?

*Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs

* Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class.

* Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class.

* Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m.

* Giant Book Sale, April 29  May 3

o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults!

o Held during library hours.

o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m.

o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join.

* Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series

o May 11 at 1 p.m.  Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society

* Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room.

* Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read.

* Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome.

* Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome.

*Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older.

* Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours

* Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours

* Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday!

Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library.

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* For adults:

* Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn.

* Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net

* Special Events:

* April 14 at 1:30 p.m.  Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.

* April 19 at 7 p.m.  Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m.

* April 21 at 7 p.m.  Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades.

*May 2 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

*May 10  Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*May 12 at 1:30p.m.  Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.

*May 17  Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*June 13 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

Meetings and Lectures

The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833.

The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200.

The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/.

LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings.

Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org.

Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org)

-Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them.

The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter.

For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps.

Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin.

Special Events

The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County.

The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065.

Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members.

Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex.

The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com.

The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348.

The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org.

Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163.

The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu.

The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com.

The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net.

Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages.

13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries.

Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family.

The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler.

JPRN  Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them  Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike.

Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies.

Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately.

Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways.

Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table.

Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp  Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall:

-Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store.

Music and Theater

The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220.

Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html.

Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free.

The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org

Religious News

The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276.

Reunions

St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net.

Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572.

Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779.

Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net

Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net

The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411.

Support

New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149.

PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931.

The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296.

Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656.

Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group  every other Wednesday, 7  8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support  second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner  Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers  Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information.

CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7  8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich,
A pair of young Mooresville sisters, born joined at the head, are apparently recovering well from surgery to separate them.

The operation on twins Erin and Abby Delaney, 10 months old, was performed June 6 at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. The girls were born conjoined at the top of their heads, a condition called craniopagus, the least common type of conjoined twins, the hospital said in news release Thursday night.

A medical team led by neurosurgeon Gregory Heuer, MD, PhD, and plastic surgeon Jesse Taylor, MD, performed the separation, which lasted about 11 hours.

Separating conjoined twins is a very complex surgery followed by a long and complicated recovery, but we are very hopeful for a positive outcome, said Taylor. Erin and Abby are now recovering in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit under close monitoring by our expert teams, he added.

THE SEPARATION SURGERY

In its news release, the hospital said:

The surgery and reconstruction climaxed months of comprehensive planning and preparation by a large team from many areas of the hospital. It is the 23rd time that surgeons at CHOP have separated a pair of conjoined twins, the first craniopagus pair.

During the separation surgery, our team first meticulously separated the infants shared blood vessels and dura, the tough protective membrane surrounding both brains, then moved on to separate the sagittal sinus, the most difficult portion of the operation, said Heuer. Finally, we divided our team into two halves, one for each of the girls, and finished the reconstruction portion of the surgery.

On the morning of surgery, a team of anesthesiologists led by Alison Reed Perate, MD, and Matthew Pearsall, MD, managed the surgical preparation for the tightly orchestrated, complex procedure, and then continued to monitor the twins vital signs and administer their anesthesia throughout the operation. The two sets of monitors and equipment in the room were marked with green or purple tape, one color for each of the girls.

Parents Heather and Riley Delaney first learned that Heather was carrying conjoined twins about 11 weeks into her pregnancy, early in 2016. At this point it was too soon to tell whether the twins would be candidates for separation surgery, but on their specialists recommendation, the family made their initial contact with the Center for Fetal Diagnosis & Treatment at CHOP.

After their ultrasound at week 19 of Heathers pregnancy, the family traveled to Philadelphia for evaluation at CHOP, including prenatal imaging: high-resolution fetal ultrasound, fetal MRI and a fetal echocardiogram.

After a succession of visits with a multidisciplinary team of CHOP specialists and clinicians, Heather returned home, but traveled back to CHOP every two weeks for prenatal appointments. At 26 weeks, the medical team recommended that Heather stay in Philadelphia for the remainder of her pregnancy. She came to CHOPs Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit (SDU), a dedicated facility where mothers carrying fetuses prenatally diagnosed with birth defects receive state-of-the-art care.

10 WEEKS PREMATURE

Abby and Erin were born by C-section on July 24, 2016, 10 weeks premature, each weighing 2 pounds and 1 ounce. They received care in the hospitals Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit (N/IICU) for their first seven months, where physical, occupational and speech therapy teams developed innovative treatments and exercises for the infants, still connected at their heads. Surgeons and physicians formulated a comprehensive plan for their full separation. In February of this year, Erin and Abby left the N/IICU for another unit at CHOP where they stayed while awaiting their full separation.

For the first time in their lives, Erin and Abby now lie side by side, in separate beds. As the separated infants recover from their surgery, they will be closely followed in the coming months by their surgeons, nutritionists, developmental pediatricians, and other specialists to ensure that they receive the best clinical care to enable them to thrive and grow. They will also likely undergo one or more additional surgeries.

Sometime later this year, Heather and Riley look forward to bringing Erin and Abby home for the first time. When we go home, its going to be a big party, says Heather. Welcome home, baby shower, first birthday.

The hospital said the Rileys are not issuing any additional public statements at this time.
A respected state research cooperative will release on Monday a report on the effects of hydraulic fracturing on communities in Texas.

The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas, a conglomerate of Texas research scientists across disciplines, has spent two years reviewing the impacts of shale oil and gas development on earthquakes, wildlife, air quality, water, transportation and area residents.
Doctors are warning parents about the deadly issue called "dry drowning," in which a child can appear fine after swimming only to have trouble breathing hours, even a day later.

Here are the warning signs you should be aware of if your child has recently had a near-drowning experience, or inhaled a large amount of water:
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Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes []
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An Ohio woman has been walking across America for nearly nine years, bringing attention to homelessness and veterans.

Kim Denmark walks 10 miles a day

Denmark says she's helped get 600 families off the streets

Entire walk across America funded through donations

Kim Denmark said an epiphany led her on the journey.



I left my business, my home, my cars, said Denmark. It was that profound, this impact on my life about homeless people.



While walking 10 miles a day, she said shes helped get 600 families and 1200 individuals off the streets and into homes by connecting them to agencies and officials who can help.



I found out after interviewing these people that they were on drugs, heroin, crack cocaine, meth but they were good people. They werent always that way. They started somewhere," said Denmark. "The ones that donated and gave their life to this country are now sick. And we must not forget about them."



Now, 16 states, 29 pairs of shoes, and four flags later, shes walking through Polk County. Next, shes headed to Orlando, then Tallahassee and up to Tennessee, and eventually out west.



Polk has been very good to me," Denmark said. "Very nice to me. Very cordial to me. Very receptive."



She said people have donated everything from hotel nights to meals to shoes and cash. Her entire walk across the country is funded through donations, along with money shes saved up over time.



But her mission is greater than walking and bringing awareness to homeless veterans and their need for help. She said she plans to finish crossing the United States in three years, and then do even more.



My ultimate goal is to one day have my own shelter. Many shelters across the country, Denmark explained.



Through faith, prayer, and the support of others, she believes it will all happen, one step at a time.


In recent years, millions of middle- and working-class Americans have moved from job to job, some staying with one company for shorter stints or shifting careers midstream.

The Affordable Care Act has enabled many of those workers to get transitional coverage that provides a bridge to the next phase of their lives  a stopgap to get health insurance if they leave a job, are laid off, start a business or retire early.

If the Republican replacement plan approved by the House becomes law, changing jobs or careers could become much more difficult.

Across the nation, Americans in their 50s and early 60s, still too young to qualify for Medicare, could be hit hard by soaring insurance costs, especially people now eligible for generous subsidies through the existing federal health care law.

This news scares Fern Warnat, 59. She has gotten insurance on the federal marketplace a couple of times in the last few years. When she and her husband moved from New York to Boca Raton, Florida, she bought a policy for a few months to tide her over until she got coverage from a new job. A year later, she needed to buy insurance again when she found herself unemployed. The policy was expensive  around $800 a month.

It wasnt easy, but it was available, she said.

Now she worries what would happen under the Republican plan if she left her job at a home health company that provides insurance.

I need something to be there, she said. Im going to be 60 years old. All my conditions pre-exist.

Since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, companies have become less worried about people who want to leave but feel locked into their jobs because of health insurance, said Julie Stone, who works with corporations at Willis Towers Watson, a benefits consultant. The law removed one of the barriers to leaving your job, she said.

Fewer employers now offer health insurance for their retirees, she said. The other alternative is COBRA, the federal law that requires companies to allow workers to remain on their employers plan if they pay the full monthly premiums, which are often extremely expensive and out of reach for many people. The coverage generally lasts no more than a year and a half. Cobra, officially the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, was a Band-Aid on a broken market, Stone said.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in an analysis last month that states covering one-sixth of the population would take waivers that allowed insurers to charge people with pre-existing conditions more. It predicted that such consumers would be unable to purchase comprehensive coverage with premiums close to those under current law and might not be able to purchase coverage at all.

The budget office did note that the House bill would potentially lead to lower prices, especially for younger and healthier people. In most markets, the low premiums would attract a sufficient number of relatively healthy people to stabilize the market.

But the budget office also warned that markets in states that allowed insurers to charge higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions  whether high blood pressure, a one-time visit to a specialist or cancer  could become unstable. Some places are already experiencing a dearth of insurers. More companies could exit as they struggled to make money in highly uncertain conditions.

Millions of people could also wind up with little choice but to buy cheap plans that provided minimal coverage in states that opted out of requiring insurers to cover maternity care, mental health and addiction treatment or rehabilitation services, among other services required under the Affordable Care Act. Consumers who could not afford high premiums would wind up with enormous out-of-pocket medical expenses.

The individual market has always been characterized by heavy churn, and insurers struggle to meet the needs of these short-timers, particularly the young and healthy, for whom coverage can be expensive. Its a huge challenge, even independent of the ACA, said John Graves, a health policy expert at Vanderbilt University.

Insurers say they have had a hard time accurately estimating the medical costs of the changing pool of customers who need relatively short-term coverage and pricing their plans high enough to cover those costs. Aetna, one of the large national insurers that has decided to leave the market, said about half of its customers were new, and it blamed high churn as one reason the company lost money.

Older people with potentially the most expensive conditions account for almost 30 percent of those who enrolled for insurance on the exchanges this year.

David Clark wanted to retire from his job at Sams Club at 62, three years before he would qualify for Medicare. He and his wife, Phyllis, who now live in Delray Beach, Florida, were not in good health. He has a heart ailment, and she has diabetes. Before passage of the Affordable Care Act, he said, he would have had to keep working.

We wouldnt have been able to buy insurance at any price, he said.

But he was able to retire and get coverage on one of the marketplaces. This has been three of the greatest years of our life, said David Clark, who spends much of his time mentoring college students. When he needed triple bypass surgery at 64, he was covered.

Many people are keenly aware that the existing marketplaces provide a safety net, even if it is far from ideal.

Dr. Marie Valleroy was able to stop working because she could afford to buy insurance on the federal exchange for four years until she was old enough to get Medicare. She has multiple sclerosis, and her symptoms were making it harder for her to see patients in Portland, Oregon. It was time for me to retire, truthfully, she said. Her medications cost upward of $5,000 a month.

And the law made it possible for Bobby Evans, now 35, to move to New Orleans two years ago to be with his girlfriend, now his wife. Because he was working part time until he could find a permanent position, he bought a policy through the state marketplace.

He and his wife have talked about opening their own consulting firm, but the plan is being delayed, he said, depending on what happens with the federal law providing individual insurance. Health care is a big-time barrier for a lot of peoples professional growth, Evans said.
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A civil lawsuit filed earlier this week in San Jacinto County accuses the four county commissioners of colluding against County Judge John Lovett over office space.

The already-rancorous relationship between Lovett and Commissioners Laddie McAnally, Donny Marrs, Thomas Bonds and Mark Nettuno really soured in February 2017 after the director of the county's probation department asked commissioners court for more space to accommodate an increase in staff.

In a 4-1 vote at the February meeting, the commissioners okayed the probation department's request, authorizing a wall to be built to divide one of the two offices used by the county judge's staff. However, the wall was not immediately built because the motion "had executable defects due to lack of specificity," the lawsuit claims.

The next day, the judge's part-time court coordinator resigned. Lovett said his departure was the result of his office space being taken away from him, making his working conditions intolerable.

During the March 17 commissioners court meeting, attorney Laura Prigmore addressed the court and asked commissioners to more carefully weigh their actions in the future as it led to the resignation of the court coordinator, who had 30 years of experience.

"We will all live with the consequences of these decisions," she said.

Lovett attempted to restart the discussion with commissioners at the March 14 regular meeting but it was canceled for lack of a quorum. Simply put, three of the commissioners -- McAnally, Marrs and Bonds -- failed to show up for the meeting. Immediately thereafter, Lovett placed the discussion item on the March 17 agenda.

"At this meeting, over the objections of [Lovett], the [commissioners] voted four to one to construct the wall across the judge's office, but with greater clarity," the lawsuit states.

On March 28, while Lovett was out of town attending judicial training, the wall was constructed without his knowledge.

The lawsuit contends that the commissioners' actions are "politically motivated" and an effort to harm the judge's ability to perform his duties.

"The wall is of shoddy construction and does not have any insulation or soundproofing. Persons in the offices on either side of the wall can hear everything that is being said in the other office," the lawsuit explains. "This lack of privacy is intolerable to the administrative and judicial duties of the county judge and is also intolerable to the community supervision department due to the sensitive nature of the discussions with offenders being supervised."

Lovett believes filing the lawsuit was his only option.

"The law is on my side. My office has not functioned properly since that wall was built," he said. "I think what they are doing goes against the letter and spirit of the law and the best interests of the people in the county. If they do the right thing and remove the wall and restore my office, then this thing could be settled before it goes to the judge."

JUDGE CLAIMS HOME WAS DESTROYED BY ARSON

On May 16, while Lovett was in Beaumont attending the North and East Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association meeting, he learned that his home in Shepherd was destroyed by fire.

"I've been remodeling the main house for a year and had been living in a double-wide trailer on the property. The trailer was next to a 20-by-20 cabin. Both of those went down," he said, referring to the cabin and the trailer.

The main house was spared but all of Lovett's possessions in the home were in ashes by the time the fire was extinguished. His son's Boy Scout records and medals, and all of their clothing were destroyed.

"All of the clothes I had with me were what I had left, plus some things I had at the cleaners. I don't think this was an accident. I am convinced it was arson," Lovett said. "There was an attempt to light it on fire the week before. When I came home one night, there was an oily residue on the steps and entrance to the house."

He didn't immediately suspect someone was attempting to burn his home in the first event until after the May 16 fire. Lovett said the state fire marshal's office was called to investigate but no ruling has been made as to the cause of the fire.

"It's so burnt they can't tell the origins of the fire. They can't tell if there were any accelerants and they have no leads," the judge said. "But I have no doubt it was arson. Whoever did it took the entrance gate off the hinge and set it aside."

Lovett is taking steps now to ensure that anyone who steps foot on his property now will be captured on surveillance cameras.

"If they come back, they might be surprised," he said.

Lovett is not accusing the commissioners of any responsibility for the fire but says a heated political climate is to blame.

"There are a lot of people in our country whipped up over politics and it's happening in San Jacinto County, too," he said. "People put President Trump in on the message that he was going to drain the swamp. I am not trying to drain the swamp. I am simply trying to make life better in San Jacinto County."

All four commissioners were called for comment. The Advocate received no responses from Commissioners Nettuno, Marrs and McAnally and Commissioner Bond declined to comment.
On Wednesday, Houston and Harris County officials hosted an open house for residents wishing to learn more about proposed amendments to the city of Houston's Major Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan. The plan proposes widening and realigning area roads and would affect nearly 250 property owners locally.

The city's plan aims to address long-term mobility concerns within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, which stretches throughout Harris County into some parts of Tomball.

Below are descriptions of MTFP amendment requests affecting the Tomball and Cypress areas.

Cypresswood Drive

Per the city's Planning & Development department proposal, this would "delete major thoroughfare Cypresswood Drive from Grant Road to N. Eldridge Pkwy."

Brown, Lutheran School and Fred Petrich roads

Proposes reclassifying the roads as a major collector from the Houston ETJ line to Kobs Road as well as increasing existing right of way. Major Collectors are public streets that accumulate traffic from local streets.

Kobs Road from FM 2920

Categorizes Kobs Road as a major collector from FM 2920 to the proposed Brown Road major collector.

Lutheran Church Road from FM 2920

Proposes reclassifying Lutheran Church Road as a major collector from FM 2920 to proposed the Brown Road major collector as well as increasing the existing right of way, drawing 10 feet from property owners on both sides of the road.

Telge Road

Proposes categorizing Telge Road as a major collector from FM 2920 to proposed an unnamed east-west road.

Unnamed Road from Tomball Cemetery Road to Kobs Road

Proposed east-west road from Tomball Cemetery and Kobs road as a minor collector-streets that accumulate traffic from local streets for distribution into a major roadway.

Tomball Cemetery Road from FM 2920 to Brown Road

Proposes reclassifying Tomball Cemetery Road as a major collector from Brown Road to the Houston ETJ line and increases the existing right of way.

Holderrieth Road

A realignment along Holderrieth between Mason Road to future Cypress Hill Road is proposed.

Kitzman Road

There are several proposed amendments involving Kitzman Road including reclassifying Kitzman from a minor collector and expanding the right of way from Grant Road to Barker Cypress Road and Barker Cypress Road to Telge Road.

Also proposed is an unnamed east-west road from Kitzman Road to Barker Cypress Road (categorizing it as a minor collector) and another from Kitzman Road to Cypress Rosehill Road (also a minor collector). An unnamed north-south road would be categorized as a minor collector between Kitzman Road and the future Boudreaux Road.

Stuebner Airline Road

Reclassification as a major collector is proposed from FM 2920 to Hufsmith Kuykendahl Road as well as expanding the right of way.

"We have two amendments in the Tomball and Cypress area this year," Houston transportation planner, Kevin McNally said.

According to McNally, the city sends notifications to residents who live along current or proposed streets and roads when the city explores such amendments. He said 185 notifications were sent to those who will be directly impacted by the Brown Road collector network. He said 59 notifications were sent to property owners who will be directly impacted by the Holderrieth Road project.

At Wednesday's meeting, some area residents expressed concern over property values and a disruption to what they feel are quiet, isolated communities.

"I'm concerned about having to disclose it for a future sale," Cindy Duehwing, a former real estate agent, said. "They might not want to buy a property that's about to be bisected."

Duehwing-like others-argues that if the city plan were to be approved as is, even those looking to sell their homes might have to disappoint interested buyers with news that an area known for its bucolic feel will have roads running through it in 10 years.

"I understand how people might feel we've made up our mind," Loyd Smith, Harris County manager of transportation and planning, said, "but we're here for a public process. We want that input."

Smith said the MTFP aims to get ahead of road projects in anticipation of development. He said the timeline for area projects varies as some may be a decade away while others may be done in segments within five years.

Written comments may be submitted online until July 7.

The City of Houston Planning Commission hosts a public hearing at 2:30 p.m. July 20, at the City Hall Annex Chambers for additional comments on the proposed amendments which may be approved by Houston City Council in fall.

More information on the amendment requests can be found on the city's website: http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/transportation/17_MTFPRequests.html.
He wore pink women's clothing, silly rain boots, a big floppy hat to shade him from the sun and a sign that read: "I stole over 30K from my boss and lied about it. I'm happy to be here."

Seventeen year-old Mark Anthony Doyle has learned a lesson that his boss, Brent Franklin, hopes he never forgets: Stealing doesn't make you look cool.

Franklin, who owns Precision Construction & Investments, hired Doyle as a subcontractor about a year ago, giving him summer work and odd jobs and in the process becoming a mentor to him. The teen, who was saving up for a truck, even moved into Franklin's home over the summer so he could get to work faster.

TEEN THIEF FESSES UP: Gets an earful

(Story continues below.)

When Franklin left to go to Costa Rica he saw the teen taking photos of himself in Franklin's Rolex on Snapchat. When he got back to his home he found the watch's bezel was broken and there was sand in it. Doyle had taken it to the beach. When confronted, Doyle moved out but took credit cards, tools and the watch with him.

"He took stolen property and got on Snapchat blasting it to all his friends trying to look cool," Franklin told Chron.com. "I want him to see he doesn't look cool in my eyes."

Instead of calling the police and pressing charges, Franklin called the teen's parents. After having lunch together, the three of them agreed the teen would stand on the corner of FM 242 and Interstate 45 in The Woodlands for two days with the sign and wearing women's clothing as punishment.

"I don't think jail is a good solution for a young teen. I believe everyone deserves a second chance," Franklin said. "He's just a hard worker and he's always done right and busted his butt and never complained. He had a big screw up and I didn't want to see him do it again.

Franklin put the experience out on Facebook Live and the video is well on its way to becoming viral. While many people praise Franklin and the boy's parents for the creative punishment, others say it's wrong to shame a teen this way on social media.

"I just want him to know that everyone out here is going to see him. That people are watching now," he said. "We've all made dumb mistakes... I believe if you catch it soon enough you can fix this."

Chron.com has reached out to Doyle and his parents and will be updating the story with their comments.
Shenandoah City Council members got their feet wet during last week's workshop meeting with two agenda items involving water use. Large agenda items included the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District and funding for Water Plant 4, as well as the operation of unregulated hotels within residential areas.

The Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District board proposed a water rate hike of 3.5 cents per 1,000 gallons to make up a budget shortfall, which the water district says was brought on by legal expenses from an ongoing lawsuit with the City of Conroe.

Shenandoah City Administrator Greg Smith said the proposed rate would make it 11 cents per 1,000 gallons used, which would equal a 46.7 percent increase. This, coupled with the rate increase approved in January, Smith said, means the Lone Star GCD has proposed a rate increase of roughly 83 percent over the past 12-14 months.

"My opinion: They are playing on the public perception of the Conroe lawsuit against Lone Star, and that is the primary reason that they're [proposing] this rate increase," Smith said. "They might need a small rate increase, because the pumpage is going down because of the 30 percent reduction, but I certainly do not see the need for an 83 percent rate increase."

Council members agreed to draft a resolution opposing the rate increase.

Another long-running agenda item has been how to fund Shenandoah's newest water plant, Water Plant 4. Council members debated paying for the plant with the city's water/sewer enterprise fund, the municipal development district fund, the general city fund or borrowing money.

The water plant is estimated to cost roughly $1.75 million, but the city's water/sewer enterprise fund has $1.8 million, as of June 8. Depleting almost all the funds gained concern from council members, who worry that there will not be funds available in case of an emergency.

Councilman Byron Bevers made a motion to request MDD to fund the project, but Mayor Ritch Wheeler, as an acting member of the MDD, said he would not approve the district taking 100 percent of the cost.

"With water and sewer (reserve), I'm OK with spending some of that money," Wheeler said. "MDD has a lot of stuff on the table right now, important stuff, and I don't think MDD should just be a slush fund "

Councilman Ted Fletcher said MDD should not concern itself with low budget projects like a $1.75 million water plant, but instead look to the future needs of development for east of Interstate 45.

"I'm certain we can ask for a partial amount, but I believe MDD funding it 100 percent is in the best interest of the city," Bevers said. "Low water rates do attract commercial businesses, and commercial growth is part of the equation."

The motion to request MDD to fund 100 percent of Water Plant 4 passed 3-2, with Raymaker, Bevers and Councilman Michael McLeod voting for the motion and Fletcher and Councilman Charlie Bradt voting against.

Council members also discussed an agenda item introduced by McLeod about unregulated hotels in residential areas - specifically rental situations like those offered on Airbnb. While McLeod acknowledged Airbnb is not a major issue in Shenandoah yet, he asked the floor be opened for discussion or legal counsel moving forward.

Wheeler seemed to be in favor of services like Airbnb be used in "moderation."

"I can tell you as someone who has used Airbnb regularly, I have a hard time telling someone what they can do with their own personal house," Wheeler said. "I'm not interested in someone having an empty house they rent out every single night, but having said that, the occasional Airbnb hosting, I have a hard time getting too far into that."

Bevers asked whether there had been any problems arise from short-term rentals, other than the potential for a slight loss in hotel tax. Smith said he had not heard of any problems from the Shenandoah Police Department or any other entities.

"It's more of wanting to get ahead of it, because more and more people are using it," McLeod said. "And also thinking about it as a council: Do we care, do the hotels care that people are using unregulated, untaxed service in our area?'"

McLeod asked to address the issue again with facts and figures on how other Texas cities are handling short-term rental services, and whether to allow it, regulate it or prohibit it within the city of Shenandoah.

If Shenandoah pushes forward with restrictions on unregulated hotels, it will be following suit of its neighbor, The Woodlands Development Standards Committee, which finalized its standards on short-term rentals in April. Short-term rentals are described as those 30 days or less, and homeowners are required to apply for a home business permit through the DSC.
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In Montgomery County, new ways to advance and obtain one's education are consistently growing -- from accelerated learning courses in public schools to charter schools and home-schooling. But one size doesn't fit all, and it is up to the students and their families to choose which method works for them.

For 15-year-old Sasha Libby, getting her high school diploma online through Texas Virtual Academy was not only a way for her to continue her education, but to pursue her passions and escape an adverse social environment.

While many young girls gaze upon magazines and television screens in excitement, Sasha recalls a fascination and respect for fame and all its facets. She would listen to radio advertisements for scouting agencies, excitedly telling her mom she wanted to be famous.

SHOWING BULLIES WHO'S BOSS: Teen uses social media to take back her life

After the family moved to Conroe from California when Sasha was around 5 years old, tragedy struck when her father was diagnosed with cancer and passed away shortly after. The family stayed in Conroe after his death, building a life in a cul de sac of a small community, while Sasha attended public school.

It was not until last year that Sasha got her first opportunity to pursue her passion when she earned a spot in the top 10 for Miss Teen Houston 2016. From there, she "dove face first" into the modeling industry, working with designers, networking, walking in runway shows and participating in a variety of photo shoots.

But during Sasha's eighth-grade year at junior high school in Conroe, she became a victim of bullying by classmates. She described instances of one classmate threatening to "cut [her] face" and of 25 classmates attempting to fight her during lunch.

Sasha's mother, Jennifer Libby, remembered witnessing her daughter's grades rapidly decline; once a straight-A student, Sasha started receiving Ds. Conversations with school officials about Sasha's bullies left Jennifer feeling unsatisfied, so the concerned mother began efforts to find alternative schooling.

"I've been told it (bullying) is a normal occurrence, apparently, that happens at that age group at school.  But to me, she is my only child," Jennifer said. "I already lost my husband; she is my whole world, so for a lot of safety reasons [I withdrew her from public school]."

The Libbys needed to find schooling that was flexible for Sasha's budding modeling career. When they discovered Texas Virtual Academy, an online charter school, Jennifer said her daughter "flourished." TXVA is a national network of schools for sixth- to 12th-graders, connecting them with Texas-certified teachers and extensive courses.

Sasha said while the system is convenient and simple, potential TXVA students should be self-motivated. The social aspect of public schooling is still obtainable with TXVA, she said, as local TXVA students connect to meet for coffee and study sessions.

"It's (online-schooling) just a great concept overall, and a lot of people are probably scared of leaving their friends at school and being home-schooled," Sasha said. "It's a big change, and I understand. ... But it's a good change in the long run."

Now an incoming sophomore with TXVA, Sasha continues her online studies, taking AP courses and enrolling in her first college-level courses. During casting calls, Sasha can be found with a laptop perched on her lap, working on homework assignments while waiting to hear her name called.

As a Wound Care Nurse at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital and working with Medcare Pediatric Group in Montgomery, Jennifer still manages to regularly drive her daughter to Houston for modeling.

When she is not studying or modeling, Sasha enjoys traveling, baking with her grandmother, shopping, going to local sporting events, drinking copious amounts of coffee and hanging out with her friends. In the future, if she had to pick between modeling or her education, Sasha believes she can have both.

"There would always be the option of online college, and I would do that and get a degree to back up modeling," Sasha said. "Modeling doesn't last forever - there's always the next pretty girl - you have to have acting or something else. But education does last forever."

For more information about Texas Virtual Academy, visit txva.k12.com.
WASHINGTON - The Democratic establishment is on the verge of having its best one-week performance in a very long time.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam captured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination Tuesday with the full force of the Old Dominion's party machine behind him, winning by a larger-than-expected margin of almost 12 percentage points over a one-term congressman who ran as an insurgent in the mold of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

On Tuesday outside Atlanta, Democrats have a very real chance to win a special election for a House seat that has been safely in Republican hands since 1978, using first-time candidate Jon Ossoff, 30, who has assiduously stuck to an offend-no-voter strategy drawn up by leading party operatives in Washington.

If Ossoff can pull off this victory in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, it will deliver a much-needed positive jolt to the party apparatus. For weeks, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has been under siege for focusing heavily on this seat in the Atlanta suburbs while paying far less attention to three other special elections in districts that are more rural, less educated and went for President Donald Trump by large margins in last year's election.

An Ossoff win, just a week after Northam's convincing primary victory, would signal that the Democratic establishment is still alive and kicking.

In a memo last week, Dan Sena, the DCCC's executive director, went back and forth between tamping down expectations of victory and going to great lengths to take credit for the win if it happens. Sena explained that the previous occupant of the 6th District seat, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, won his past six elections by an average of 33 percentage points.

And yet Republican Karen Handel, a perennial candidate with close alliances to the Price family, cannot break above the mid- to high 40s in head-to-head polling vs. Ossoff.

"The DCCC has spent more than $6 million to fundamentally transform a traditionally Republican electorate, turn out low-propensity voters, channel the unprecedented grass roots energy, and communicate with swing voters," Sena wrote of an effort that has included more than $5 million on TV ads.

An Ossoff victory - far from a sure thing - would also signal that the GOP, despite controlling all of Washington, remains more beset by ideological divisions and personality disputes than the Democratic Party. Neither party appears particularly unified, but Democrats have been bracing for anti-establishment candidates' knocking off party veterans in the same manner that Republicans have endured in recent years.

After all, in Virginia, Northam was the gubernatorial candidate who was supposed be sweating out a tight race against former congressman Tom Perriello for the Democratic nomination, as Republican Ed Gillespie prepped himself for the general election, his primary win seemingly a formality. Instead, Gillespie barely hung on against Trump backer Corey Stewart, who positioned himself as an anti-establishment candidate willing to say controversial things. Gillespie had much greater financial support and the backing of almost every prominent Virginia Republican.

The narrowness of his victory sent shock waves through Republican operatives in Washington.

In the Senate, where Democrats are defending three times as many seats as Republicans are next year, Republicans were supposed to be looking to make big gains over their current 52-to-48 edge. Instead, Stewart's unlikely surge recalled other primary battles this decade when Republicans chose the more ideologically confrontational candidates - only to lose what could have been easy victories in the general election.

This would be an amazing turnaround for establishment Democrats, who have spent the past year under rhetorical assault from some of their liberal activists and facing open mockery from Trump and Republicans over their 2016 performance.

Last July, just days before the start of the Democratic National Convention to formally nominate Hillary Clinton, hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee staff suggested that some senior aides favored Clinton over Sanders during the primary. The episode prompted the Democratic National Committee chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., to resign.

Clinton then lost in stunning fashion to Trump in November, as Democrats in the House and Senate fell far short of expected gains after they ran their campaigns hitched almost entirely to Clinton's messaging, which focused heavily on negative ads about Trump's personal behavior.

For Sanders' supporters, the results prompted a lot of we-told-you-so commentary, suggesting that Clinton's approach had lacked a robust economic agenda that appealed to liberals and to working-class voters in former manufacturing hubs. Those anti-Trump activists have bemoaned the DCCC's decisions this spring to not invest heavily in special elections in Kansas, Montana and South Carolina, but to focus on the Georgia race, instead.

Republicans begin to fret about holding on to Tom Price's Georgia seat

If Ossoff does not break through, the failure will be seen by the Sanders wing as a brutal defeat for the party establishment, further fanning the flames of the internal war over decision-making.

That's what makes the Georgia special election so important: It is being used as the case study for the Democratic establishment's 2018 focus.

Never having run a race before, Ossoff is not the ideal candidate. He has adopted a neutral, almost post-partisan tone in what he says on the campaign trail, aware that the suburban district split almost evenly in last year's presidential race.

"National security should not be about political party. It should be about the interests of the country," he said at a debate this month.

Other Democratic candidates in special elections have been more fiery and closer aligned with Sanders. But they were in districts that were part of the Democratic past, not its future, according to party insiders, so they did not get the same level of attention.

This Georgia congressional seat is one of three dozen districts held by Republicans that either Clinton won or Trump won by less than four percentage points, making them the focus of the 2018 campaign to win the 24 seats the Democrats need to secure the House majority.

Democrats from the establishment wing are not guaranteeing victory here, but they see it as a real chance and a potential validation of their strategy after nearly a year of being knocked back on their heels.

"What should have been an easy Republican hold has become the most high-profile and expensive congressional election in history," Sena wrote.
The political divide between rural and urban America is more cultural than it is economic, rooted in rural residents' deep misgivings about the nation's rapidly changing demographics, their sense that Christianity is under siege and their perception that the federal government caters most to the needs of people in big cities, according to a wide-ranging poll that examines cultural attitudes across the United States.

The Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey of nearly 1,700 Americans - including more than 1,000 adults living in rural areas and small towns - finds deep-seated kinship in rural America, coupled with a stark sense of estrangement from people who live in urban areas. Nearly 7 in 10 rural residents say their values differ from those of people who live in big cities, including about 4 in 10 who say their values are "very different."

That divide is felt more extensively in rural America than in cities: About half of urban residents say their values differ from rural people, with less than 20 percent of urbanites saying rural values are "very different."

Alongside a strong rural social identity, the survey shows that disagreements between rural and urban America ultimately center on fairness: Who wins and loses in the new American economy, who deserves the most help in society and whether the federal government shows preferential treatment to certain types of people. President Donald Trump's contentious, anti-immigrant rhetoric, for example, touched on many of the frustrations felt most acutely by rural Americans.

The Post-Kaiser survey focused on rural and small-town areas that are home to nearly one-quarter of the U.S. population. These range from counties that fall outside metropolitan areas such as Brunswick, Virginia (population 16,243), to counties near population centers with up to 250,000 residents such as Augusta, Virginia (population 74,997), close to Charlottesville and the University of Virginia. Urban residents live in counties that are part of major cities with populations of at least 1 million, while suburban counties include all those in between.

The results highlight the growing political divisions between rural and urban Americans. While urban counties favored Hillary Clinton by 32 percentage points in the 2016 election, rural and small-town voters backed Trump by a 26-point margin, significantly wider than GOP nominee Mitt Romney's 16 points four years earlier.

But popular explanations of the rural-urban divide appear to overstate the influence of declining economic outcomes in driving rural America's support for Trump. The survey responses, along with follow-up interviews and focus groups in rural Ohio, bring into view a portrait of a split that is tied more to social identity than to economic experience.

"Being from a rural area, everyone looks out for each other," said Ryan Lawson, who grew up in northern Wisconsin. "People, in my experience, in cities are not as compassionate toward their neighbor as people in rural parts."

- - -

In the poll, rural Americans express widespread concerns about the lack of jobs in their communities. Two-thirds of rural residents rate local job opportunities as fair or poor, compared with about half of urban residents. Nearly 6 in 10 rural residents say they would encourage young people in their community to leave for more opportunity elsewhere.

Rural areas have experienced a weak recovery from the Great Recession, with the total number of jobs down 128,000 from pre-recession levels. Suburban and urban counties have each gained about 3 million jobs, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The rural unemployment rate is only slightly higher than in cities, 5.3 percent vs. 4.8 percent. But rural areas have been affected by a shrinking workforce as people have left towns or stopped looking for work, while the workforce has grown in suburbs and cities.

Still, when asked about their personal situations, rural residents described financial experiences that largely mirror those of urban respondents. The share of people who report experiencing severe economic hardship is roughly equal in urban and rural America: About 1 in 5 say there was a time in the past year when they couldn't pay their bills. Similarly, about 1 in 5 in both areas say they rely on the federal government at least a fair amount to get by.

The poverty rate is similar in both areas, 16 percent in cities and 17 percent in rural areas, according to analysis of Census Bureau data.

"There are signs everywhere saying 'now hiring, now hiring,' " said Crystal Schafer, of Linesville, Pennsylvania, who voted for Trump, when asked how her local economy is doing. "Granted, it might pay $8.59 an hour, but the jobs are there."

Rural Americans express far more concern about jobs in their communities, but the poll finds that those concerns have little connection to support for Trump, a frequent theory to explain his rise in 2016. Economic troubles also show little relation to the feeling that urban residents have different values.

Rural voters who lament their community's job prospects report supporting Trump by 14 percentage points more than Clinton, but Trump's support was about twice that margin - 30 points - among voters who say their community's job opportunities are excellent or good. Trump also earned about the same level of support from those who say they don't worry about paying their bills as those who couldn't pay their bills at some point in the past year.

Most rural residents say they think key elements of Trump's economic agenda would help their local economy. Large majorities of rural residents say infrastructure investments, better trade deals, a crackdown on undocumented immigrant workers, lower business taxes and deregulation are "very" or "somewhat" important to boosting jobs in their communities.

"I have a hopeful optimism that he'll be successful in bringing back that strong American foundation, and part of that is a strong economy. And when you have a strong economy, that produces jobs and then more jobs in a never-ending circle," said Matthew Wendt, a corrections officer and retired Marine from Ashtabula, Ohio.

- - -

The largest fissures between Americans living in large cities and those in less-dense areas are rooted in misgivings about the country's changing demographics and resentment about perceived biases in federal assistance, according to the poll.

Rural residents are nearly three times as likely (42 percent) as people in cities (16 percent) to say that immigrants are a burden on the country.

"They're not paying taxes like Americans are. They're getting stuff handed to them," said Larry E. Redding, a retired canning factory employee in Arendtsville, Pennsylvania. "Free rent, and they're driving better vehicles than I'm driving and everything else."

The poll reveals that perceptions about abuse of government benefits often go hand in hand with views about race.

When asked which is more common - that government help tends to go to irresponsible people who do not deserve it or that it doesn't reach people in need - rural Americans are more likely than others to say they think people are abusing the system. And across all areas, those who believe irresponsible people get undeserved government benefits are more likely than others to think that racial minorities receive unfair privileges.

In response to this poll question - "Which of these do you think is the bigger problem in this country: blacks and Hispanics losing out because of preferences for whites, or whites losing out because of preferences for blacks and Hispanics?" - rural whites are 14 points less likely than urban whites to say they are more concerned about blacks and Hispanics losing out.

Rural Americans also are broadly skeptical that the federal government is fair or effective at improving people's economic situations. More than 60 percent say federal efforts to improve living standards either make things worse or have little impact. And those views appear to feed the rural-urban divide: A 56 percent majority of rural residents says the federal government does more to help people living in and around large cities, while 37 percent feel they treat both urban and rural areas equally.

"The culture and the type of people you see, they're different" in big cities, said Bethany Hanna, a homemaker in Saint Albans, West Virginia, who said she visits urban areas on missions with her church. "It tends to be the type of people who are getting more assistance. . . . And the way you hear people talking, the viewpoints that they have on certain matters, it leans toward a pretty liberal opinion. Some of it's an entitlement thing. They say 'that's not fair,' or 'I deserve this,' that kind of thing."

That sense of division is closely connected to the belief among rural Americans that Christian values are under siege. Nearly 6 in 10 people in rural areas say Christian values are under attack, compared with just over half of suburbanites and fewer than half of urbanites. When personal politics is taken into account, the divide among rural residents is even larger: 78 percent of rural Republicans say Christian values are under attack, while 45 percent of rural Democrats do.

- - -

Still, the poll results show that rural America is far from a monolith. Views about immigrants, for example, are more closely tied to respondents' party affiliations than to where they lived.

Joseph Cloward, 27, a high school teacher in the border town of Roma, Texas, said he voted for Clinton because he "was really inspired by her message of goodness and trying to help people who really need it." He said he's sad about the way immigrants are treated.

"I feel like many of the people who are most upset don't actually know any immigrants personally. They're just talking about them based on what their idea is," he said. "I wish I could just bring people here and have them meet good people who are coming across looking for a better life, escaping violence."

Rural Americans overall have mixed views on whether Trump respects them, with 50 percent saying he does and 48 percent saying he doesn't, a finding that goes against a common theory that Trump won by providing a relatable alternative to political elites. And while 54 percent of rural Americans approve of Trump's job performance, 40 percent disapprove. Equal shares of rural Americans - 30 percent - strongly disapprove and strongly approve.

There also are significant divisions in small-town America between whites and minorities. One in 5 rural Americans are nonwhite, according to census data. In short, the sense of shared identity that connects many rural Americans - which factors into rural America's sense of fairness and estrangement - is less intense among rural minorities than among rural whites. While 78 percent of white rural residents say other rural residents share their values, that falls to 64 percent among Hispanics and to 55 percent of black residents.

Still, the vast majority of rural Americans judge their communities favorably as a place where people look out for each other, which in follow-up interviews was cited a point of pride and distinction they say they cannot find in large urban centers. "It ain't nothing like living inside a city," said Clyde Hampton, 72, of Vienna, Georgia. "I'll say this: Rural areas are a place where you can depend on your neighbor next door. And the town is so small everybody knows something; if something happens on this side of town and an hour later it's all over the whole town."
Don't believe the critics: The future of advertising technology is bright. Companies spent over $500 billion spent globally on advertising in 2016, and there's a wealth of ad tech companies uncovering innovative ways to reach modern consumers.

Here are six ad tech companies to look out for in 2017. Although advertising trends tend to be short-lived, each of these companies understands the need to evolve and meet the needs of today's publishers and consumers alike.

1. Perion

Perion understands the challenges of capturing consumers microscopic attention spans by emphasizing bold advertising solutions -- particularly on mobile, where the majority of its campaigns are focused.

The company acquired Undertone in late 2015 and has since worked with major brands like Microsoft and social powerhouse Cycle.

Related: 8 Reasons a Powerful Personal Brand Will Make You Successful

2. AppNexus

Already a major name in the ad tech space, AppNexus boasts as many as 9.3 billion impressions transacted daily and represents over 500 clients. Combining machine learning with endless arrays of data, the company emphasizes consistent updates and ongoing flexibility for ad publishers.

But given its current dominance within the industry, whats AppNexus doing to build buzz?

Well, the companys recent announcement to team up with fellow ad tech players to tackle Google and Facebook head-on is certainly making waves. After all, anything that spells greater competition in the world of ad tech is a plus given that those two titans are responsible for one-fifth of ad revenue. All eyes will be on AppNexus crusade in the near future as the company looks to loosen Googles and Facebooks stranglehold on todays ad dollars.

3. MediaMath

Another name involved in AppNexus consortium, MediaMath takes an unconventional approach to advertising. Its focus is on creating a conversation, not being the loudest voice in the room.

According to MediaMath, publishers face two core challenges: making the most of each impression and using audience data to maximize sales. Through the companys omnichannel platform and machine learning, MediaMath helps advertisers and publishers deliver relevant ads to their respective audiences.

Specifically, the companys predictive audiences feature aggregates anonymized data from audiences to help marketers understand their most valuable customers. This ultimately provides advertisers a more comprehensive overview of their audiences, which is necessary to make meaningful conversations with their customers.

Related: How to Start a Business With (Almost) No Money

4. LiveRamp

LiveRamps mission is to deliver relevant and personalized ads to consumers with an emphasis on security. As there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for publishers leveraging ad tech, person-level data is at the core of LiveRamps platform to help meet the needs of consumers on a human level.

Currently, LiveRamp is touting the concept of a united identifier, or single cookie, which could follow consumers across devices. As the product is not yet ready, though, the public will have to wait and see whether or not such an identifier becomes a reality.

5. AdRoll

Speaking of cookies and following customers from Point A to Point B, AdRolls AdRolls retargeting solution has access to over 500 ad exchanges, including Facebook and Google. That strategy has helped major clients such as Clinique cite a 8.5x ROI and 265 percent increase in sales thanks to AdRolls platform.

Beyond retargeting, AdRoll also offers advertisers with prospecting solutions based on consumer behavior on-site. Through this information, advertisers can understand new potential audiences to pursue based on the actions of existing customers. AdRoll notes that its platform has a reach of over 1.2 digital profiles, which allows for prospecting on just about any vertical -- not just Facebooks Lookalike Audiences or Googles Similar Audiences.

Related: 5 Habits of the Wealthy That Helped Them Get Rich

6. StartApp

As mobile ad spending skyrockets, publishers and advertisers alike are on the hunt for fresh ways to reach consumers on the go. StartApp works on the development side with publishers to produce killer mobile ads with in-depth analytics.

Working to be an ad tech pioneer through VR and 360-degree ads, StartApp claims its native advertisements fit seamlessly into any app. Through smart targeting, StartApp also has a keen understanding of user experience.

As advertisers continue to fight for the precious attention of consumers, the future of ad tech is fascinating. From new mobile engagement options for publishers to smaller companies taking on big names such as Facebook and Google, this year is poised to be a massive one.

Related:



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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In his first regular City Council meeting as the new mayor on Thursday, Ron Nirenberg will ask his colleagues, including six new council members, to endorse the Paris climate accord  an early signal of his progressive focus.

We will be moving forward on a climate action plan, and I have some thoughts and things in motion to make sure its funded, Nirenberg said in a wide-ranging interview about his vision and priorities. I hope that as a community we will all agree that being driven by science and data is a good thing.

Outgoing Mayor Ivy Taylor refused to endorse the Paris agreement during the runoff campaign, likely worried that signing onto a movement by U.S. cities and companies pushing back against President Donald Trumps plan to leave the accord would hurt her with conservative voters.

RELATED: Throwback photos show new S.A. Mayor Ron Nirenberg in his bodybuilding

Nirenberg is poised to usher in an era at City Hall that looks to the future while harkening back to the days of mayoral administrations of Julian Castro and Phil Hardberger. Both were seen as big-picture mayors, while Taylor reveled in being a back-to-basics official.

Early on, Nirenberg plans to tackle major issues and initiatives, such as creating a comprehensive 21st-century transportation plan that may eventually include an election for rail transit, reforming ethics at City Hall, ensuring that all San Antonians are fairly represented, and pushing for better jobs.

In one move as a councilman, he opposed a water-bottling plant in San Antonio because it wasnt a job creator but a profit generator.

His broader vision is rooted in the community-driven planning efforts of SA2020, a major Castro initiative, and the SA Tomorrow comprehensive planning efforts he helped lead under Taylor, who was often criticized, especially early in her term, for not adequately articulating a vision for San Antonio.

Big picture, I want to help San Antonio become a resilient and sustainable city, Nirenberg said. We are in the middle of one of the highest-growth corridors in the country, and how policy-making accommodates that growth, knowing that its going to happen one way or another, is going to be the key to maintaining or strengthening quality of life, enhancing or maintaining cost of living, and just about every function that the public expects from a modern city.

Castro said that a mayor first has to have an idea for the direction he wants to go, and then mold it through a civic process.

Ron has a strong vision for the city. Now he needs to sharpen that vision with broad citizen input and then pursue it boldly, said Castro, who endorsed Nirenberg in the election. He'll be ready to act, instead of just plan.

Buy-in from council, residents

Nirenberg will be at the helm when international figures arrive next year in San Antonio, the only Texas city with a world-heritage site, for the yearlong celebrations of its 300th anniversary. He said he wants to do more than just talk about San Antonio being an international city.

Theres a great quote by Ghandi that says, I want the doors of my house to be open so the cultural winds of the world will blow through it. San Antonio was founded at the confluence of riverways, it has existed at the crossroads of railroads and of highways and is truly an international city, he said. We cant just talk about it and party like its 2018. We also have to do it in economic development, we have to do it in our sister-city relationships, we have to do it in the way we build business.

But before he begins diving into the depths of policy, Nirenberg said he plans to huddle with the new City Council. He quickly acknowledges that theres too much to do for any single person and that individual council members should take on things theyre passionate about.

Nirenberg plans to meet with his colleagues individually to discuss the agendas for their districts and determine how the mayor's office can help. Such a strategy, political strategist Christian Archer has said, helps create buy-in for a mayor's agenda.

City Manager Sheryl Sculley, who has worked with nearly 50 council members over the last decade, said she is looking forward to working with the new council.

"I'm excited to be a part of an ambitious team, and I look forward with working with him on their priorities," she said.

RELATED: Mayor-elect is fit to lead. Like, really fit

The mayor-elect said he wants to ensure council members are on the same page as they move forward on his multifaceted agenda. Nirenberg notes that he doesnt expect agreement from everyone all the time, but its important for him to have the council rowing in the same direction.

From a values perspective, everything well be doing from my desk will be built on equity and sustainability  fairness for all members of our community and sustainability, that responsibility we have to future generations, he said. From a policy-making standpoint, transportation, public safety, creating jobs, ethics and governance.

Planning for the future is something that has long informed Nirenbergs policy decisions. With a son headed into fourth grade, Nirenberg says he approaches his governance every day through the prism of its impact on his sons generation, and those who would come later.

That goes for civic engagement, for economic sustainability, for the environment, for culture and heritage, and more. Nirenberg is also prioritizing a housing plan that ensures local investment in revitalizing neighborhoods in a way that doesnt tax longtime homeowners out of their communities.

He cant get buy-in without laying out an agenda, and time will tell whether his proposals will win the support of the public and its representatives.

I think its always helpful to have a vision because it gives people an idea of where youre headed, said Eddie Aldrete, a banker steeped in local politics who served as Taylors finance chair in her re-election bid. The challenges or obstacles sometimes arise in how you plan to get there.

A modern transportation plan

Nirenberg said he plans to push early and hard for a comprehensive, multimodal transit plan.

Transportation is a key factor in many of the quality of life and environmental issues affecting the growing city. After power plants and industrial facilities, vehicle tailpipes are the largest source of smog-forming emissions in the metro area, according to state environmental data.

The plan will likely include everything from highways to bike lanes and include the citys greenway trails as alternative modes of transportation. And it will include eventually going to the voters on a rail plan.

We have notoriously done nothing for modern transportation in San Antonio, and the excuse has always been, Well, we said no, he said.

The last time San Antonio voted  in the 2000 rail election  the world was a very different place, he said. About two-thirds of the local voters who cast ballots rejected a plan that called for more than 70 miles of light rail and would have been funded with a perpetual tax. But Nirenberg said voter turnout was lackluster, and had 70 percent of the voting public gone to the polls, it would have been a different outcome.

"I don't know for sure, but I will tell you that the sentiment out on the street and in the neighborhoods has totally changed," he said.

"Right now, in modern cities in the United States and around the world, rail is a real option for transport," he said. "And again, to re-emphasize so that nobody gets freaked out, it must be a voter-approved plan. We don't move forward unless we have the public with us. And that's a great safety valve for having honest discussions about transportation."

San Antonio cannot act alone on regional transportation projects. Most transportation planning is done through the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, an entity designated by federal law that allocates upwards of $200 million in federal and state transportation money to roads and other projects.

RELATED: No love lost between mayor and mayor-elect

Besides San Antonio, its members include the Texas Department of Transportation, VIA Metropolitan Transit, Comal, Guadalupe and Bexar counties and coalitions representing the dozens of cities across the three-county area.

As Nirenberg begins to move forward with crafting a strategy for a plan, which would ultimately have to go to voters before any funds or right of way in San Antonio is used for rail, Nirenberg says the process cant proceed cavalierly or without great thought.

We have to do it with public support, he said.

Castro noted that in order for Nirenberg to do something significant on transportation, hell have to identify a source of funding.

Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff said that while he agrees with Nirenberg on a lot of things, the two will split over rail.

Were going to part ways on the rail piece. Its not that I dont believe in rail, he said. But we havent reached our threshold for pain yet.

Wolff said hed be supportive of a rail-reuse project, pointing to a Northwest Side Union Pacific line that will soon become obsolete. His father, County Judge Nelson Wolff, is the main proponent of converting the line to passenger rail.

Meanwhile, Nirenberg has supported efforts by Councilman Rey Saldana to supplement funding for VIA Metropolitan Transit, which would allow the agency to increase the frequency on key bus routes across the city. The measure could be done relatively quickly (the only remaining member of council who opposed Saldanas efforts is District 3 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales).

And he will push quickly for a plan from Sculley on the seemingly simple directive to ensure that every road within San Antonios jurisdiction has adequate lane striping.

Rebuilding government trust

Another key element in Nirenbergs vision is an issue that hes bird-dogged since he became a councilman in 2013, defeating an establishment candidate who had some ethical missteps. The mayor-elect has proposed sweeping ethics reform, some of which would require amending the City Charter.

More recently, he has also suggested that the city move its municipal elections to November to improve voter turnout. There is no single magic bullet to fix the things that are wrong with government, but as close as it gets  for Nirenberg, anyway  is more civic engagement.

The ethics code, which outlines the boundaries for elected and appointed officials, city employees, and those who do business with the city, needs more teeth, Nirenberg said. And the Ethics Review Board, which reviews ethics complaints, has little power to punish. At most, it can issue a small fine. But since its inception, the council-appointed board has largely issued letters of rebuke or admonition when finding someone guilty.

Annalisa Peace, a local environmental activist, said shes pleased with Nirenbergs push for ethics reform. Over the past few years, she said, its seemed like lobbyists have had undue influence at City Hall. She expects change under Nirenberg.

Nirenberg has called for an independent ethics auditor, someone who is beholden to neither the council nor city staff. Wolff, who ran and won the District 9 City Council seat in 2005 in part because two councilmen had been indicted and convicted on bribery charges, offered advice on ethics reform.

You cant half-ass ethics, but you cant legislate ethics. Either youve got them or you dont, he said. But if youre gonna go down that road, make it have teeth.

Nirenbergs push for reform goes directly toward addressing the publics lost confidence in its government. He wants to boost civic engagement and rebuild trust in government.

We also have to ensure that when the public does engage, whether its at Zoning Commission or a neighborhood association meeting, or its simply visiting the clerk or municipal court, that their experience is one that exemplifies that the city government is there to serve, that theyre being listened to, he said.

Some of his ideas will likely help rebuild that relationship between government and the public it serves, and some will surely receive pushback.

A few years ago, on an annual SA-TO-DC lobbying trip, Aldrete told Nirenberg about an idea hed had to create an independent group tasked with providing nonpartisan and disinterested information on major local issues to the public and the City Council.

It would be similar to the Congressional Budget Office and the states Legislative Research Council, both Aldrete and Nirenberg said. The mayor-elect ultimately wrote a white paper on the idea and shared it with a few people but shelved the proposal.

Now, hes planning to dust it off and circulate it again.

Among other reform ideas, the mayor-elect is advocating for a shift in the dates of municipal elections, something hes been talking about since at least October 2015.

He suggests moving the May municipal elections, which have lackluster turnouts  around 10 to 15 percent, depending on who and whats on the ballot  to November, to coincide with state and federal elections. The change would require an amendment to the City Charter, approved by voters, but the proposal has some people seriously concerned.

Nirenbergs chief argument for it centers on voter turnout. Austin moved its elections to November a few years ago and voter turnout skyrocketed from 10.7 percent to 40.4 percent. Last November, Austins turnout was almost 65 percent.

More engagement, in my opinion, is never a bad thing. More participation is always good, he said. I think the call to unify elections, to make it easier for people to keep up with elections in a nonpartisan way, for me, makes a whole lot of sense.

But opponents argue that such a shift would make it more difficult for candidates to deliver their messages to voters because of the sheer volume of political races, and campaigning would be more expensive. They worry that there would be an uninformed electorate casting ballots, and partisanship could play a role in nonpartisan city elections.

Those worries, though, assume that partisanship isnt already playing a role in council races.

Nirenberg said moving elections to November would also require an overhaul of local campaign finance regulations, which are extremely restrictive.

He also wants to push for a change to term limits. San Antonio used to have some of the most restrictive limits in the country, but in his final term, Hardberger successfully led an effort to relax them. The city went from having a limit of two two-year terms to four two-year terms.

But that puts council members in a near-perpetual state of campaigning. Keeping the same total number of potential years at eight, Nirenberg suggests moving to two four-year terms to ensure the policy making is about policy and not politics.

Staff Writer Brendan Gibbons contributed to this report.

jbaugh@express-news.net

Twitter: @jbaugh
A possible domestic dispute ended in a shooting that sent one man to the hospital Saturday morning on the Northeast Side.

Bexar County Sheriff's Office responded to the 7200 block of Glen Bay for a "shooting in progress" about 3:30 a.m., according to a news release.
Even President Donald Trumps desire to beef up the nations military will not make the specter of more base closings disappear.

Trumps fiscal 2018 defense budget proposal includes a request for authorization to begin another Base Realignment and Closure round in 2021.

With the proposal, Trump is following in the footsteps of President Barack Obama, whose repeated attempts to win approval for another base closure round were rejected on Capitol Hill.

Perhaps Trump will have better luck with the Republican-controlled Congress, but base closures are poisonous to lawmakers, whose priority is often protecting federal spending in their districts  even when it is wasteful.

San Antonio officials well know the potential pain and benefits of another BRAC round. The city lost two bases, Kelly AFB and Brooks AFB, and gained the San Antonio Military Medical Center in previous BRACs.

Arguing against smarter defense spending is a cynical enterprise. National security concerns and efficient spending are more important than juicing local economies with federal spending.

In all, five rounds of base closings have been conducted since Congress approved the process, which sets up a commission to study and recommend base closings and realignments. The recommendations are then sent to Congress for an up-or-down vote.

The first round was done in 1988 and the last was approved in 2005.

Larger-than-projected upfront expenses for the 2005 round gave BRAC foes ammunition for opposing future rounds, although the process still produced cost savings that allow the Pentagon to invest in readiness and other crucial areas.

Pentagon officials say the military has 20 percent excess infrastructure capacity and closing the unneeded facilities would save $2 billion a year to direct to other purposes.

Critics question those estimates and cite large upfront costs as a reason not to do another round.

And some skeptics have argued that if Trump succeeds in his plan to increase the size of the military, less excess infrastructure may be the result.

A 2012 General Accounting Office report found that one-time implementation costs grew from $21 billion originally estimated by the BRAC Commission in 2005 to about $35.1 billion, an increase of about $14 billion, or 67 percent, largely due to increased construction costs.

Still, the report found that even with lower annual savings than projected, the closures produced about $3.8 billion in annual cost reductions.

The first four BRAC rounds cost only a combined $25 billion for implementation, the GAO found. While the low-hanging fruit may be gone, the savings remain significant.

Pentagon officials told reporters last month that the previous BRACs have produced $12 billion a year in savings, the Washington Post reported.

Along with concerns about another base closure round, some members of Congress are less than impressed with Trumps proposed defense budget, which doesnt add the muscle to the military that the president promised in his campaign.

Trump proposed a $639 billion defense budget for 2018. The proposal is $52 billion more than the defense budget cap established by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

But Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said, This funding level represents a mere 3 percent increase over President Obamas budget projection for the coming fiscal year.

McCain and other Republicans told the media they might be willing to consider another BRAC. Undoubtedly, the idea will meet with strong resistance.

Local communities feel real pain from base closings, although the long-term damage is open to debate.

San Antonio has made some pretty good lemonade from base-closing lemons, particularly at Brooks, which was known as Brooks City Base until a name change in January.

With Congress in the hands of Republicans, Trump has a solid chance of getting Congress to take the painful but fiscally prudent step of launching a sixth BRAC.

Lawmakers should bite the bullet and grant the Trump administrations request for a new BRAC.

bwdavidson75@gmail.com.
Two of President Donald Trumps top priorities are to boost investment in our countrys infrastructure and to do more to keep Americans safe.

The nexus of these priorities is our nations 911 system.

Just like many of our roads and bridges, Americas 911 system is showing its age. Its capabilities are stretched to the limit as it answers more than 10,000 emergency calls each day in Texas alone.

In Dallas, recent events showed just how fragile our 911 system is.

In March, a spate of ghost calls  repetitive calls and hang-ups  debilitated parts of Dallas 911, making it harder for legitimate calls to get through.

An infant died while his baby sitter tried to reach 911 during that incident.

Last October, 911 centers in at least 12 states, including Texas, were overwhelmed by what is believed to have been the largest-ever cyberattack on the countrys emergency-response system.

Bexar County is fortunate to be served by a brand-new emergency operations center, with state-of-the-art technology. But at a time when Americans are using smartphones, broadband and nifty apps to send staggering amounts of data, texts, photos and videos, most 911 systems in Texas and across the nation are still using last-generation, voice-centric technology, with the exception of some centers now capable of receiving text messages.

Telecom companies are moving to Internet Protocol-based networks, and the federal governments FirstNet authority is developing a wireless broadband network for public safety field responders. But our 911 centers are becoming the weakest link in the chain, without any national commitment or process in place to modernize them.

This month, from June 3 to 8, hundreds of 911 professionals and policy leaders from across the country gathered in San Antonio to share knowledge and plot strategy for the vital improvements needed in Americas 911 systems.

Our message is simple: It is time for policymakers at all levels to come together and accelerate the rollout of Next Generation 911 technology nationwide.

With NG911 systems, callers will be able to send text messages and transmit photos, videos and other forms of data to 911 centers, and call takers will be able to better coordinate responses. For example, a caller could send streaming video from a crime scene or personal medical data about a deadly allergy  all of which would improve the 911 centers ability to assist.

The handling of 911 calls will be much more efficient as well. In a NG911 system, 911 professionals will have the ability to transfer calls and associated data to other jurisdictions in the event of disasters, service outages or misrouted calls. More than just call centers, next generation facilities will become integrated operations centers. NG911 also would more effectively withstand cyberattacks, share data with field responders, and locate wireless callers.

However, the nationwide transition to NG911 is proving difficult for several reasons.

Inadequate, fragmented leadership and policy: Because 911 systems are operated by local, county, regional or state authorities, a nationwide deployment of NG911 depends on educating, motivating and coordinating thousands of leaders at all levels. The federal government can and should be involved because public safety threats routinely cross state boundaries, and all Americans expect high-performing 911 services, no matter where they happen to live, work or travel.

Inadequate funding: The traditional revenue stream for 911  state and local fees on landline phone service  has shrunk as more than half of U.S. households have gone wireless-only. Making matters worse, states often redirect the 911 fees they do collect to other purposes. Nearly $250 million was siphoned away in 2014, according to the Federal Communications Commission. (Fortunately, Texas was not among the offenders.)

At the federal level, since 2001, Congress has supported the needs of emergency field responders by appropriating more than $7 billion for the development of advanced radio networks and services  which I applaud.

During the same period, Congress has provided $158 million for various NG911 pilot projects, which was welcome support but an average of just $3 million per state spread over 15 years.

A better strategy would be to provide predictable, adequate funding for NG911 from a mix of state and federal sources for both capital and operating expenditures, allowing for strong day-to-day performance and continuous long-term improvement.

The good news is that the technology and standards to make NG911 a reality are available today.

Leaders in public safety, industry and government have been working for years on the details of the transition and have set an aggressive goal of full nationwide deployment by the end of 2020.

While Bexar County and other parts of Texas are making progress toward NG911, getting there will require greater commitment and leadership from Congress, the Trump administration and all levels of government. But getting there will bring our emergency infrastructure into the 21st century, strengthen our collective security, and provide better emergency service to more than 650,000 callers every day.

Brian Fontes is CEO of the National Emergency Number Association (www.NENA.org ), the nations only nonprofit professional organization solely focused on 911 policy, technology, operations and education issues.
Our Texas legislators, particularly those in the Senate, should be ashamed for allowing to languish in committee important bills concerning issues adversely affecting over a million of the states residents.

Having begun with an indictment, let me add a caveat. Most state lawmakers throughout the U.S. work long, hard hours for little pay. Many laws  some good, some bad  are enacted because of this hard work, and the good ones often prove to be of great benefit to our nations citizens.

Texas legislators are no different. I applaud them for the beneficial fruits of their hard work, when theres such fruit to bear.

So why, then, am I taking them to task?

I focus on two Senate bills, SB 90, introduced by Sen. Bob Hall, R-Rockwell, and SB 266, introduced by Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin. Both bills stalled in the Senates Transportation Committee, awaiting action that, as the session drew to an end, never took place.

Both bills dealt with whats known as the Driver Responsibility Program pursuant to the Transportation Code, under which the Department of Public Safety enforces the collection of surcharges assessed against certain criminal defendants, specifically, those convicted of drunken driving, driving without insurance and driving without a license.

SB 90 would have abolished the program, and SB 266 would have retained it but cut the surcharges in half. These administrative fees, by the way, some of which amount to $2,000 a year for three years for defendants, are in addition to the fines, court costs and probation fees they are ordered to pay by the courts.

According to Watson, the program generated about $120 million in revenue last year. Thats a lot of money but less than half of the revenues anticipated. DPS kept 1 percent of that amount to run the program; almost half of the remaining 99 percent went to trauma centers in Texas and the other half to the general state budget.

In an article published in the Austin American-Statesman on April 6, Watson, referring to the program as hated and pretty much universally despised, claimed that people get into a spiral.

They lose their licenses (when defendants get behind in paying the surcharges) and then cant pay the surcharges because theyve lost their job due to not being able to drive, he said.

According to the bill analysis for SB 90, more than 1.2 million people have had their licenses suspended for failure to pay their assessments. This often causes people who want to work to be unable to do so, and people who currently have jobs to not be able to keep them.

Under enforcement of the program, individuals get enmeshed in a vicious cycle of debt and poverty from which they cant escape.

To add to the problem, according to the bill analysis, driving safety, an intended benefit of the program, hasnt improved. Drivers with DWI convictions are hit the hardest by the surcharges, yet since 2003, the year the surcharges began, DWI-related crashes resulting in a fatality have increased by 4.25 percent.

To be sure, half of the surcharges collected so far have been used for a worthy cause  the funding of trauma centers. But does that justify the misery and poverty caused to so many of our residents? Although theyve run afoul of the law, they are plunged deeper into debt, and then their families suffer due to the providers loss of his or her job.

The public, too, must suffer the consequences, for it is called on to pick up the additional tab for food stamps and other subsidy programs, due to a familys loss of income.

Granted, in starting the program, our Legislature found a source to fund trauma centers. But is that a good reason to maintain a program that in the eyes of many has proven ineffective and a burden to those who can ill afford it? Instead, let the centers funding be spread among all of us, not just among the unfortunates who are forced deeper into despair.

The surcharge program has failed us. Its time to do away with it.

I say again, shame on you, our legislative representatives, for not admitting that a law you enacted has proven to be a terrible mistake. By doing nothing, you compound the mistake and forsake your responsibility to your constituents.

Rudy Apodaca, a former chief judge of the New Mexico Court of Appeals, is an Austin attorney/writer.
American politics is now, in large part, a fight about whether or not Donald Trump will be impeached.

No one is saying it explicitly, but these are the stakes in the Russia controversy and its spinoffs and in the 2018 midterms. If Democrats take the House with anything like a comfortable majority, they will be hard-pressed to resist their bases drive to give Trump a mark of dishonor shared only by Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.

Presidents have been hated by the other side before, but rarely with this sort of intensity and immediacy. With the exception of Abraham Lincoln (seven Southern states seceded before he took office), it usually takes time for critics to work up a good, unbridled loathing. Herbert Hoover had to preside over the beginning of the Great Depression. Richard Nixon had to bomb Cambodia and get embroiled in Watergate. Donald Trump just had to show up.

The lefts anti-Trump rhetoric has been catastrophist from the beginning. The initial travel ban represented a constitutional crisis. So did the firing of acting Attorney General Sally Yates. And so, of course, did the cashiering of FBI Director James Comey.

Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, once frequently mentioned as a potential Democratic Supreme Court pick, wrote a piece a couple of weeks ago titled Trump Must Be Impeached. Must doesnt allow for wiggle room. Tribe maintains that impeachable offenses could theoretically have been charged from the outset of this presidency.

Left-wing New York Times columnist Charles Blow writes about the critical and increasingly urgent question for many: Will Trump be impeached  or indicted  and when? The anticipation has produced a throbbing anxiety. There is so much emotional investment in Trumps removal that I fear that it blinds people to the fact that it is a long shot and, in any case, a long way off. Yes, impeachment might have to wait till early 2019. Who has the patience?

It may be that Democrats dont take the House, or even if they do, they pull up short on impeachment. A House impeachment vote would almost certainly only be a symbolic gesture. The chances of getting the two-thirds of the Senate necessary to remove Trump from office are close to nil, unless theres an offense that collapses his support among Republican senators.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has been cautious, saying that impeachment has to be a factual, not an emotional, project. But it may be that impeachment becomes de facto Democratic orthodoxy whether the partys leadership likes it or not. The grass-roots group MoveOn.org has already called for it (and before Comeys testimony).

What would Democrats impeach Trump for? This is a question of mere details. They will surely find a case somewhere amidst the feverish allegations of obstruction of justice, abuse of power and violations of the emoluments clause.

Theres always a danger of overreaching. Democrats in Wisconsin ended up pushing swing voters toward Gov. Scott Walker with their all-out resistance and attempted recall. Republicans paid a price impeaching Bill Clinton in the 1990s, even if they still won the presidency two years later.

Until further notice, though, any point scored against Trump in the Russia controversy or any political gain by the Democrats has to be considered another step toward impeachment. The White House needs to realize the gravity of the situation, and so should the president.

Trumps boast that he would be willing to contradict James Comey under oath is, if sincere, incredibly reckless. This isnt like playing cat-and-mouse games with reporters in his days as a celebrity businessman, or jousting with Rosie ODonnell in the media. Any misstep  any contestable claim or outright falsehood  can and will be used against him in an impeachment proceeding.

Perhaps we ultimately wont get there, because cooler heads will prevail. But who, having watched American politics over the past 18 months, has any confidence in that happening?

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
Filing criminal charges against drug-addicted pregnant women is no way to tackle the serious health problems that will be suffered by their babies.

State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, proposed a bill last session that would have charged women who gave birth to babies exposed to illegal drugs in the womb with a Class A misdemeanor. Fortunately, Perrys legislation did not get far.

There are much better ways of dealing with the problem than making women fearful of incarceration if they seek help. Establishing a supportive environment where drug-using moms feel comfortable seeking help is a more effective approach.

The number of cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome  the problems experienced by babies born to addicted women  increased 75 percent in Texas between 2010 and 2015, state health records show. A closer examination of statistics indicates Bexar County has the dubious distinction of having 25 percent of the NAS cases in the state.

Bexar County is fortunate to have some great programs aimed at reducing the stats. One of them is the Bexar County Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Collaborative. The group includes academic researchers, major hospital systems, a state health agency and Child Protective Services representatives, a family law attorney and women who have experienced the birth of a child with NAS, Express-News staff writer Brittney Martin reports.

The local group is working to identify the best way to address the problem and the steps that must be taken to bring down the number.

This summer, the group plans to launch a website that will direct women to available resources. It will also be setting up a blog page to allow the moms who are part of the collaborative to communicate with mothers who are going through what they have experienced.

San Antonio also has the Restoration Center operated by the Center for Health Care Services, which provides a variety of services, including help with substance abuse. The Restoration Center also offers the Mommies Program, which provides services for drug-addicted pregnant women.

Developed in 2007 with a five-year federal grant, the success of the Mommies Program prompted University Health System to contract with the Center for Health Care Services to continue it after the funding ran out.

The highly successful program has become a model and is being replicated across the state. It would be beneficial if other communities launched their own version of the Bexar County collaborative and investigated ways to address the problems that result when drug-addicted moms give birth.

Babies suffering from NAS face a multitude of health problems. The symptoms include irritability, a high-pitched inconsolable cry, fever, feeding difficulties and poor weight gain, vomiting and diarrhea, skin breakdown, sleep issues, a potential for seizures and in rare cases even death, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The focus on reducing the number of addict babies born in Texas and Bexar County needs to remain on the infants.

Outreach to drug-addicted pregnant women and helping them turn their lives around will yield better results than mothers living in the shadows with their babies because they fear criminal charges if they seek help.
The latest in the world of oxymorons is ... Senate Intelligence Committee.

Enough said.

Fred Machado

Americans first

Re: Comey unleashed; Ex-FBI director offers a blunt assessment of a president whose actions unnerved him, front page, June 9:

Shame on you! Youve gotten so lazy that all you do on your front page is reprint articles from the two most liberal papers in the country. The black T design on the front page of this edition was a poor attempt to give importance to anything critical of the president. Whatever happened to reporting the facts and letting the readers interpret the news?

Try to think about what is good for the country, even if you hate the president. There are so many serious issues facing our country, and Congress seems to spend all its time investigating one thing or another. Lets try to be Americans first and liberals or conservatives second.

Gloria Cabrera Lomas

Texas facts, please

For all you opponents of the withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, I have a question: What does the accord do for Texas? If you cant factually answer that question, you have no business judging the withdrawal.

Fred Martin, Fair Oaks Ranch

Boy king a bully

Re: Quitting Paris expected to have a muted effect, Business, June 3:

I was surprised when our boy king pulled the U.S. out of the Paris agreement. I thought his caretakers wouldnt let him do it. But now its apparent that the world, and even U.S. business, will ignore his petty, careless ramblings. Its easy to imagine a future administration that wants to re-engage in an activist role on climate, the article stated.

I am really no longer concerned about the Paris accord business, but Im thoroughly disgusted with his embarrassing bullying of the London mayor, who was struggling with terrorism. I believe the boy kings behavior  his bullying, treating people like servants, demanding submission  reveals a sour character trait that simply does not fit one who belongs in the pantheon of White House residents.

Bobby Riley

More Trump bias

Re: Before America First, front page, June 6:

This article is proof of the sad political ignorance of the Express-News. In capital letters, your front page article ignorantly accuses President Donald Trump of apparently changing the reasons for our participation in World War II. That is a no-no of which your paper is constantly guilty.

Compounding this is fake information. Gross. You know, there is a place in the newspaper for opinion, especially political, and you should know that. Shame on you.

Robert B. Tanguy, retired U.S. Air Force

Selective outrage

Re: NSA leak suspect isnt towns favorite daughter, front page, June 8:

OK, Republicans, you need to get your stuff together. You are just fine with that president of yours gleefully sharing highly classified information with the Russians in the Oval Office with Russian journalists present. You are fine with the incalculable loss of U.S. status among our allies.

But you want to destroy a 25-year-old woman form Kingsville who leaked a classified intel report to an online publication.

Keep supporting that man-baby president of yours; what could possibly go wrong?

Jason Chapel, Spring Branch

Signs of meddling

I believe President Donald Trump is guilty of reaching out to Russia to interfere with the election, especially pertaining to Hillary Clintons emails. Most Americans witnessed this on television and other media, and it was also witnessed by the rest of the world (which includes Russia). We saw Mr. Trump verbalize a lot of untruths in the media, while firing anyone who was a threat to him and his cronies. That included the FBI director, who chose to follow the correct action, refusing to follow what he felt was an unlawful order by Mr. Trump to let the Michael Flynn investigation go.

Alejandro H. Garza Jr.

Abbott contradicts

Regarding annexation legislation, how does Gov. Greg Abbott reconcile demanding complete control over cities rights by the state and at the same time vehemently rejecting any control over states rights by the federal government?

Vicki Seifert, Fredericksburg

Choice of residence

Re: This ARC resident happy to be there, Susan Sabino, Another View, June 9:

Thanks for publishing Ms. Sabinos commentary regarding the Army Residence Community. I qualified for both ARC and Air Force Village, but chose neither about five years ago. My reason was that they were not proximate to an area of town we had known and lived in for 40 years.

Joining Ms. Sabino, I have a suggestion for those who are dissatisfied with their choice of ARC  leave.

Retired Army Col. J.S. Douglas

Committed to ARC

Re: Former banker leading revolt of military retirees, Gilbert Garcia, May 26:

I was taken aback to see a man of high character, integrity and a veteran of our military disparaged in this commentary. My husband and I know Jim Solomon professionally and personally. His commitment to the Army Residence Community and its residents is deeply ingrained within his being.

After serving on the board, Col. Solomon was asked to become its chairman, a strictly volunteer position. When I asked Jim about payment, he replied his payment was cookies and hugs from the residents.

While I understand that, as with most organizations, there are concerns, folks should be aware of Col. Solomons honorable and ethical values with which he approaches every aspect of his life.

As military retirees ourselves, its my hope that concerns at the ARC will be resolved in a noble manner befitting the veterans whove chosen this beautiful facility to be their final PCS (permanent change of station).

Connie Sharon
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Long before that fateful day in March 1836, and long before Mexican troops renamed it El Alamo after their company and sequestered its buildings and walls, Mission San Antonio de Valero served as a place of worship for the indigenous population of the region.

There, mission friars followed centuries of traditions of educating, protecting and defending their flock. As crown-appointed protectors, friars provided legal counsel and representation in civil matters.

A document from the holdings of the Spanish Collection at the Texas General Land Office offers a window into the various legal representations afforded by the friars on behalf of the indigenous peoples of Mission Valero.

As the Villa of San Fernando de Bexar grew, individual factions vied for the survival of their vested interests, especially in regard to land ownership. Although this document does not delve into the root of their discords, evidence supports that a long-standing conflict existed over special privileges from the crown.

More Information The treaty was signed by: Fr. Benito Fernandez de Santa Ana Antonio Rodriguez y Mederos (on his behalf and that of Manuel Deniz) Joseph Montes de Oca Antonio Santos (on his behalf and that of Francisco Hernandez) Juan Delgado (Martin Lorenz and Francisco Joseph de Arocha signed on second page) See More Collapse

The islenos (Canary Islanders), who had arrived in the 1730s and founded the town, claimed the title of original settlers for themselves, regardless of the fact that other families living near the presidio, friars and indigenous peoples had already made the San Antonio area their home. Their economic situation notwithstanding, first settlers controlled posts at town councils and access to land, pasture and water, which often endowed them with high social status within the community. As such, colonists vied for viceregal dispensations of farmland and indigenous labor, both of which were essential to the survival of both mission and town. By the early 1740s, the residents encroachment of Mission Valeros lands had led to bickering between the governing body of the town, the friars and the captains of the presidio.

This document, penned by Francisco Joseph de Arocha, the royal notary, outlines some of the main grievances voiced by town residents and by the Mission Valero friars.

According to Arocha, the members of the Ayuntamiento (municipal council) had pursued three issues:

the presidio captains buy the corn harvested by the town residents;

the friars allow the Indians to work the farm lands;

the Indians (and with them, Mission Valero) be relocated elsewhere to prevent further damage to the residents plowed fields, which they blamed on the Indians unfenced farm animals.

In his response, the president of the Franciscan friars, Friar Benito Fernandez de Santa Anna, noted that the Indians enjoyed the protection of various causes, reasons, privileges and laws that safeguarded them from forced employ by the townspeople and that the Royal Tribunal in Mexico City had ruled against moving the mission.

On Aug. 14, 1745, as the future site of the Battle of the Alamo was still under construction, the parties agreed to reconcile their differences. Despite the advantages each side stood to gain if they pressed their cases to the viceroy, the representatives from each faction gathered to agree on the future of San Antonio. In ceding to each others demands through their own spontaneous will, the friars of Mission Valero and the town council of San Fernando sought to form a better union.

For their part, the friars renounced their claims to the lands on which the town had been built. In return, the council agreed to create a buffer zone between them and the mission, and established the home of Juan Banul as the boundary of the town. The only exception allowed in the treaty would be the construction of a church or any public building that would not impede the work of the mission. More importantly, to prevent any further discord between the town and the mission, both groups surveyed the land, established clear boundaries between them and promised to respect any prior and future ruling from the viceroys.

As the town continued to grow in both importance and size, and as the population at the Mission began to falter, the treaty gave way to the towns demand for vacant land. In the 1760s, residents of the town began to settle the Potrero area (horse pasture) between the Mission and San Fernando. Eventually, the secularization of Mission Valero in 1793 helped to ease some of the pressure from the population growth.

Despite the short life of the treaty, during those middle years of growth and settlement of San Antonio de Bexar, the residents of both San Fernando and Mission Valero enjoyed a period of relative peace, union and conformity.

Dr. Jose Adrian Barragan is the former GLO Spanish Translator, Curator of Latin Americana at the Bancroft Library, University of California - Berkeley. James Harkins is director of public services for archives and records at the Texas General Land Office, and Patrick Walsh is a researcher at the GLO.

COMING SUNDAY: Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna  the man and the general.
MILLIONS of Zimbabweans will go hungry as the country faces a severe grain shortage.

A poor rainfall season and hoarding of maize by farmers demanding payment in United States dollars have exacerbated an already dire situation.

Information at hand indicates that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the custodian of the countrys grain reserves, was last Friday forced to indefinitely suspend grain allocations to millers for unclear reasons.

But players in the market told NewsDay that they have it on good authority that the countrys grain stocks are running out and government could be forced to raise grain producer prices to persuade farmers to deliver their grain to GMB depots.

Some farmers in the country have been hoarding grain, while others are selling it on the black market for US dollars.

Zimbabwes maize producer price went up by 50% to $75 000 per tonne and government said it would be paying 30% in US dollars and the rest in local currency.

Farmers immediately demanded a 50% US dollar payment for their grain.

Players in the grain industry yesterday told NewsDay that GMB slashed maize allocations to millers from 100% to 75% in February, and further cut them to 50% last month.

We have gone for more than six weeks without an allocation. We are getting supplies every four weeks, a miller, who preferred not to be named, said.

We used to apply and get allocations each month, then submit returns around mid-month. We started getting 75% three months ago, then last month, it went down to 50%. On Friday last week, we had made payments and waited for allocations, but everything just stopped.

They didnt give us any reasons, but we are told by people at GMB that they want to increase the maize producer price in order to attract deliveries because the $75 000 is now very low. We are also told stocks are running out and its obviously true and thats why they allowed us to import freely, the miller said.

Major millers have since confirmed that GMB abruptly suspended allocations on Friday without giving any reasons.

Things were normal and I can confirm the allocations were just stopped and we dont really know why. I wouldnt want to lie, but we can only speculate, a top executive with one of the countrys major millers said yesterday.

The question for us major millers is that we move huge volumes and our shareholders will be worried about this scenario, where you import maize in US dollars and then you dont know if you are allowed to sell in US dollars to recover your money without having to then go to the black market and risk huge exchange rate losses. It would be better if they allowed us to go on the auction like what oil expressers are doing, added another senior official with a top milling firm.

Farmers said maize production in the just-ended season was largely below average across the country.

As a result, government swiftly moved in to mitigate hunger by opening the borders for registered millers to import maize using free funds.

Recently, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe indicated that private players in the industry had been given the greenlight by government to import 400 000 tonnes of maize worth US$100 million this year using free funds.

Use of free funds is expected to see maize and maize meal prices skyrocketing given that some players have no access to affordable foreign currency on the government auction platform.

There are now fears that a majority of Zimbabweans, who earn below the poverty datum line of $120 000 for a family of six, might not be able to afford the staple mealie-meal.

World Food Programme reports have suggested that 5,4 million Zimbabweans in urban and rural areas face food insecurity this year.

As farmers hoard grain, government has resorted to using police and the army to stop grain side marketing, with all impounded maize sent to GMB silos.

Zimbabwe requires 2,2 million tonnes of maize annually, 1,8 million of which are for human consumption and the balance for stockfeeds.

Efforts to get an official comment from GMB were fruitless, and it had not responded to NewsDays questions at the time of going to print.

I was in a meeting and I saw your questions just now. Let me get back to you, GMB spokesperson Joseph Katete said.

Later, his mobile phone was unreachable.

Attempts to get an official comment from Lands and Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka and his deputy Vangelis Haritatos were also fruitless.

Since the turn of the new millennium, Zimbabwe has endured one economic crisis or another, the apex of which was a 500 billion percent inflation in December of 2008, according to World Bank data, which destroyed savings and rendered the local currency useless.

Another and equally devastating consequence was the closure of a record 5 600 firms between 2011 and 2013, which left 55 000 employees jobless. Around 10 firms were plunging into bankruptcy weekly, shading off an average of 300 formal jobs, according to reports from that time.

The dollarisation period of between 2009 and 2013 stabilised the economy somewhat, and the job letting eased because of currency stability and because consumer demand improved as well.

However, the return of the Zimdollar in 2019 has brought back familiar failings to the fore again and problems that confront the southern African country today stem from governments decision to prematurely return the local currency before meeting several benchmarks, such as building three months import cover and improving exports.

Today, the same conditions that prevailed during the job bloodbath era have returned, and firms have been pushed to the brink.

Prices are rocketing daily, inflation has been rioting lately and the exchange rate crisis has spiralled out of control, eroding workers earnings at a frightening rate.

Exchange rate volatilities have become the biggest threat to consumers survival.

In the past five months, the value of earnings has fallen by about 40% and in addition, workers after receiving their Zimbabwe dollar salaries, have to buy United States dollars from the black market to fund their daily requirements such as transport, fuel, some groceries, rentals, school fees, among others.

 NewsDay

Breaking News via Email
As Lambert pointed out via e-mail:

Theres so much bad history thats been normalized we become numb, and this is an impressive parade of horribles.

By George Washington. Originally published at his website

The New York Times characterizes special prosecutor Robert Mueller as being independent and fair:

Robert S. Mueller III managed in a dozen years as F.B.I. director to stay above the partisan fray, carefully cultivating a rare reputation for independence and fairness.

Lets fact-check the Times 

Anthrax Frame-Up

Mueller presided over the incredibly flawed anthrax investigation.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office says the FBIs investigation was flawed and inaccurate. The investigation was so bogus that a senator called for an independent review and assessment of how the FBI handled its investigation in the anthrax case.

The head of the FBIs anthrax investigation says the whole thing was a sham. He says that the FBI higher-ups greatly obstructed and impeded the investigation, that there were politically motivated communication embargos from FBI Headquarters.

Moreover, the anthrax investigation head said that the FBI framed scientist Bruce Ivins. On July 6, 2006, the FBIs anthrax investigation FBI Plaintiff provided a whistleblower report of mismanagement to the FBIs Deputy Director pursuant to Title 5, United States Code, Section 2303, which noted:

(j) the FBIs fingering of Bruce Ivins as the anthrax mailer; and, (k) the FBIs subsequent efforts to railroad the prosecution of Ivins in the face of daunting exculpatory evidence. Following the announcement of its circumstantial case against Ivins, Defendants DOJ and FBI crafted an elaborate perception management campaign to bolster their assertion of Ivins guilt. These efforts included press conferences and highly selective evidentiary presentations which were replete with material omissions.





In other words, Mueller presided over the attempt to frame an innocent man (and see this).

Unsure About Assassination of U.S. Citizens Living On U.S. Soil

Rather than saying of course not!, Mueller said that he wasnt sure whether Obama had the right to assassinate Americans living on American soil.

Constitutional expert Jonathan Turley commented at the time:

One would hope that the FBI Director would have a handle on a few details guiding his responsibilities, including whether he can kill citizens without a charge or court order. *** He appeared unclear whether he had the power under the Obama Kill Doctrine or, in the very least, was unwilling to discuss that power. For civil libertarians, the answer should be easy: Of course, I do not have that power under the Constitution.

Spying on Americans

Mueller participated in one of the greatest expansions of mass surveillance in human history. As we noted in 2013:

NBC News reports: NBC News has learned that under the post-9/11 Patriot Act, the government has been collecting records on every phone call made in the U.S. On March 2011, FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee: We put in place technological improvements relating to the capabilities of a database to pull together past emails and future ones as they come in so that it does not require an individualized search. Remember, the FBI  unlike the CIA  deals with internal matters within the borders of the United States. On May 1st of this year, former FBI agent Tim Clemente told CNNs Erin Burnett that all present and past phone calls were recorded: BURNETT: Tim, is there any way, obviously, there is a voice mail they can try to get the phone companies to give that up at this point. Its not a voice mail. Its just a conversation. Theres no way they actually can find out what happened, right, unless she tells them? CLEMENTE: No, there is a way. We certainly have ways in national security investigations to find out exactly what was said in that conversation. Its not necessarily something that the FBI is going to want to present in court, but it may help lead the ainvestigation and/or lead to questioning of her. We certainly can find that out. BURNETT: So they can actually get that? People are saying, look, that is incredible. CLEMENTE: No, welcome to America. All of that stuff is being captured as we speak whether we know it or like it or not. The next day, Clemente again appeared on CNN, this time with host Carol Costello, and she asked him about those remarks. He reiterated what he said the night before but added expressly that all digital communications in the past are recorded and stored: NSA whistleblowers say that this means that the NSA collects word for word all of our communications.

FBI special agent  and a 2002 Time Person of the Year  Colleen Rowley writes:

Muellers FBI was also severely criticized by Department of Justice Inspector Generals finding the FBI overstepped the lhttp://www.washingtonsblog.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=68066&action=editaw improperly serving hundreds of thousands of national security letters to obtain private (and irrelevant) metadata on citizens, and for infiltrating nonviolent anti-war groups under the guise of investigating terrorism.

Torture

FBI special agent Colleen Rowley points out:

Mueller was even okay with the CIA conducting torture programs after his own agents warned against participation. Agents were simply instructed not to document such torture, and any war crimes files were made to disappear. Not only did collect it all surveillance and torture programs continue, but Muellers (and then Comeys) FBI later worked to prosecute NSA and CIA whistleblowers who revealed these illegalities.

Iraq War

Rowley notes:

When you had the lead-up to the Iraq War  Mueller and, of course, the CIA and all the other directors, saluted smartly and went along with what Bush wanted, which was to gin up the intelligence to make a pretext for the Iraq War. For instance, in the case of the FBI, they actually had a receipt, and other documentary proof, that one of the hijackers, Mohamed Atta, had not been in Prague, as Dick Cheney was alleging. And yet those directors more or less kept quiet. That included  CIA, FBI, Mueller, and it included also the deputy attorney general at the time, James Comey.

Post 9/11 Round-Up

FBI special agent Rowley also notes:

Beyond ignoring politicized intelligence, Mueller bent to other political pressures. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Mueller directed the post 9/11 round-up of about 1,000 immigrants who mostly happened to be in the wrong place (the New York City area) at the wrong time. FBI Headquarters encouraged more and more detentions for what seemed to be essentially P.R. purposes. Field offices were required to report daily the number of detentions in order to supply grist for FBI press releases about FBI progress in fighting terrorism. Consequently, some of the detainees were brutalized and jailed for up to a year despite the fact that none turned out to be terrorists.

9/11 Cover Up

Rowley points out:

The FBI and all the other officials claimed that there were no clues, that they had no warning [about 9/11] etc., and that was not the case. There had been all kinds of memos and intelligence coming in. I actually had a chance to meet Director Mueller personally the night before I testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee  [he was] trying to get us on his side, on the FBI side, so that we wouldnt say anything terribly embarrassing. 

But overwhelming evidence shows that 9/11 was foreseeable. Indeed, Al Qaeda crashing planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was itself foreseeable. Even the chair of the 9/11 Commission said that the attack was preventable.

Rowley also said says:

TIME Magazine would probably have not called my own disclosures a bombshell memo to the Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry in May 2002 if it had not been for Muellers having so misled everyone after 9/11.



In addition, Rowley says that the FBI sent Soviet-style minders to her interviews with the Joint Intelligence Committee investigation of 9/11, to make sure that she didnt say anything the FBI didnt like. The chairs of both the 9/11 Commission and the Official Congressional Inquiry into 9/11 confirmedthat government minders obstructed the investigation into 9/11 by intimidating witnesses (and see this).

Muellers FBI also obstructed the 9/11 investigation in many other ways. For example, an FBI informant hosted and rented a room to two hijackers in 2000. Specifically, investigators for the Congressional Joint Inquiry discovered that an FBI informant had hosted and even rented a room to two hijackers in 2000 and that, when the Inquiry sought to interview the informant, the FBI refused outright, and then hid him in an unknown location. And see this.

And Kristen Breitweiser  one of the four 9/11 widows instrumental in forcing the government to form the 9/11 Commission to investigate the 2001 attacks  points out:

Mueller and other FBI officials had purposely tried to keep any incriminating information specifically surrounding the Saudis out of the Inquirys investigative hands. To repeat, there was a concerted effort by the FBI and the Bush Administration to keep incriminating Saudi evidence out of the Inquirys investigation. And for the exception of the 29 full pages, they succeeded in their effort.

Conclusion

Rather than being above the fray, Mueller is an authoritarian and water-carrier for the status quo and the powers-that-be.

As Coleen Rowley puts it:
Giant condor returns to thank man who saved him after he fell from his mothers nest Inhabitat (furzy). You must watch the video.

Animation shows huge crack growing in Antarcticas Larsen C ice shelf  snap off in days to weeks Business Insider (Kevin C) :-(

Solar And Wind Revolution Happening Much Faster Than Expected OilPrice

Google Said to Be Facing Record E.U. Fine by End of August New York Times

Fetuses May Respond to Faces While in the Womb Scientific American (Robert M)

Girlfriend whose texts urged suicide guilty of manslaughter Boston Herald (Chuck L)

China?

How Anbang Could Clog Chinas Financial Plumbing Wall Street Journal (Richard Smith)

Journalist shield law could soon become reality in Canada Toronto Star (furzy). Long overdue. Would allow me to move there if there were any way for ancient moi to get permanent residence.

The office of the European Public Prosecutor promises a new era has dawned in the EU for fighting financial crime New Europe. Micael: Sounds great but all depends on what is criminalized. Doesnt look like they are focusing on anything systemic. Does VAT have effect of paralyze the economy like the banks in 2008?

Grenfell Tower Inferno Aftermath

UK Election Aftermath

The sooner Theresa May goes the better The Times (Richard Smith)

Brexit

Do click through to read the entire tweetstorm (hat tip Richard Smith). An informative overview of negotiations: This is from direct experience as 1st/2nd Sec Development in UKREP negotiating for the UK in EU Council working groups. 2/  Steve Bullock (@GuitarMoog) June 16, 2017 May Is Living the Weak, Unstable Brexit Nightmare She Warned Of Bloomberg

Jeremy Corbyn confirmed for Glastonbury 2017 NME. Dan K:

The article is just details on the festival, but has embedded a fairly serious (if not especially challenging) interview with Corbyn, recorded some days prior to the election. 12:00   and so, the message Im trying to put forward is of inter-generational support and solidarity for each other. And so I dont think we should compartmentalize politics, and say older people over here, lets talk about social care, younger people here, lets talk about education; lets talk about the totality of our society.

Melenchon: The opposition force is us Europe1 (UserFriendly)

Varoufakis explains why economics is not science failed evolution

PRESIDENT PUTINS HOMILY ON ATHEISM, POLITICS, AND PROPERTY John Helmer

Imperial Collapse Watch

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Trump Transition

Mattis: No Enemy Has Done More Harm Than Congress Daily Beast (reslic)

Five American Pastimes, Six Dark Ironies: Reflections on Alexandria Counterpunch (resilc). Key section:

Shooter, please. Forget the unproven assertions of collusion with Russia and ask yourself just what democracy it was exactly that Donald Trump wrecked? The Big Money-managed United States is a damn near openly plutocratic oligarchy where the wealthy Few get what they want again and again regardless of majority working class sentiment.

SCOTUS Reconsidering Gun Case in Wake of Alexandria Shooting Law News. Help me. The fact that important people in the hood get shot makes a difference? Where have they been since guns kill more people than car accidents?

How Hillary Clinton May Find Her Way to Jail Sputnik (UserFriendy). She will never go to jail, but this is too much fun not to run.

To Win in 2018, Democrats Need to Go on the Offensive in the Voting Wars Washington Monthly. Resilc: Cant beat nuthin with no game.

Powder-Filled Letters With Threatening Notes Shut Down Georgia Republicans Neighborhood Free Beacon. UserFriendy: The note is a bit cheeky. Its not like Ossoff is any better.

Kill Me Now

A surprising number of American adults think chocolate milk comes from brown cows Business Insider (David L)

Amazon bets on Whole Foods to deliver basketful of economies Financial Times. Whole Foods is a high end niche vendor. Grocery stores are fragmented with fabulously low margins, 1-2%. Customers are price sensitive and to the extend they will pay for delivery, they want the stuff in a couple of hours, which is not a turn-around time that lends itself to anything other than local vans and on foot. I dont see any opportunity to optimize that. Nor is Whole Foods a platform to compete with general grocers. Bezos might make Whole Foods better and maybe will eat into the share of Sprouts (a chain that has been undercutting Whole Foods on price), Trader Joes, and Costco (which also appeals to affluent customers) but I dont see general grocers as an attractive business for Amazon, nor do I see Whole Foods as a great entry point. The enthusiasm for this deal reminds me of the enthusiasm for private equity getting into rental housing. There were some (the ones who got in early and bought cheap) who did really well, but the industry convinced itself that there were magical economies of scale and tech efficiencies which for the most part were not there to be had.

CenturyLink Is Accused of Running a Wells Fargo-Like Scheme Bloomberg

Yemen War Threatens Crucial Oil Chokepoint OilPrice

Big Oil Firms Are Exploring a New Frontier in Shale: Profits Wall Street Journal

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. Tracie H: Great Horned Owl in a Eucalyptus tree.

For months, readers have overwhelmingly been sending bird pictures. I wonder what that says about the zeitgeist.

h2 style=font-size: 14.3px !important; color: #333; font-weight: normal !important;>See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
A new exhibition of oil paintings by Deirdre Dunne titled, Shades of Irish Light will open on July 1st at the Tipperary Excel Gallery.

Now situated near Kilbeheny, Mitchelstown, Deirdre Dunne is an Irish born artist who obtained her honours degrees in Fine Art and Painting at the Crawford College of Art in Cork. Since her studies, she has cycled through Asia, Europe the Middle East and Central America, as well as working as a tour guide in Australia and Africa.

Throughout these experiences she has been continuously sketching and painting images from each of the countries she has passed through including her native Ireland.

My subject matter varies throughout my paintings. What attracts me to a certain subject is the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. I use intense colours and contrasts to achieve a strong impact on the viewer. From winter sunshine to stormy skies, I try to capture the moment in nature where everything is highlighted, explained Deirdre. Deirdres preferred medium is oil on canvas, and she works on a red ochre background to create rich tonal contrasts. Her studio is situated in Kilbeheny near the Galtee Mountains and she teaches art to both children and adults.
General Petr Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee visited Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand, on 14-17 June 2017. During his stay, the Chairman met with Secretary of Defence, Ms Helene Quilter; the Minister of Defence, the Honourable Mark Mitchell; Chief of Defence of the New Zealand Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Tim Keating; Commander of Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Base Auckland, Air Commodore Darryn Webb; the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, Deputy Chief of the Army, Brigadier Christopher Parsons; and Special Operations Component Commander, Colonel Rob Gillard. General Pavel also attended a Defence meeting chaired by Lieutenant General Keating and delivered a speech at the New Zealand Institute for International Affairs at Victoria University.

Arriving in Wellington, General Pavel was greeted with a traditional Welcome Ceremony, a Powhiri, and Honour Guard at the Pukeahu National War Memorial. While at the War Memorial, the Chairman paid his respects and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. It is a privilege to be able to pay my respects and honour those men and women who have lost their lives serving their country, said General Pavel.

Discussions with Ms Helene Quilter and the Hon. Mark Mitchell centered on New Zealand and NATOs increased dialogue and cooperation, the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan to train, advise and assist the Afghan Security Forces and institutions, as well as regional and global threats and challenges. The Chairman thanked New Zealand for its enduring engagement in Afghanistan and the need to continue to work together to counter terrorism. Geography and distance no longer protect us. By ensuring our regional security and working together on common threats and challenges we can increase global peace and security, remarked General Pavel.

Attending a Defence meeting with Lieutenant General Keating, General Pavel was briefed on the current Operations and Missions the New Zealand Armed Forces are undertaking and their view on national, regional and global security challenges. He thanked Lt Gen Keating for New Zealands continued commitment to NATO-led Operations, Missions and Activities as both Generals agreed to look for further ways to enhance military-to-military cooperation which is of benefit to both NATO and New Zealand. New Zealand may not have a large defence force but it consistently contributes what it can to defend our shared values of democracy and protect rule of law. Your contribution is always highly regarded and valued by the Alliance, stressed the Chairman.

Meeting with the Air Component Commander of the RNZAF Base, Group Captain Tim Walshe, the General was briefed on the the Air Bases' capabilities and activities and visited a P-3K2 Airbourne Surveillance Plane. Visiting the SAS base at Papakura, the Chairman met Colonel Rob Gillard, Special Operations Component Commander. He received a briefing on their training capabilities and activities, and toured the recently completed multi-purpose training camp. Commenting on these visits, the General noted, I am continually impressed with how the New Zealand Armed Forces are committed to ensuring their capabilities are of a high quality, make the best use of their resources, and maintain interoperability with all partners to provide real added value.

Speaking with academics and government representatives at the New Zealand Institute for International Affairs, the Chairman highlighted the main challenges facing the Alliance, its current adaptation and its continued unity and solidarity in the face of threats from both state and non-state actors. The representatives in turn shared with the General their perspectives on regional and world affairs.
(Natural News) The fairness  and tightness  of Googles grip on the internet search world, as well as its subsequent effects on other online entities who want their website to pop up when a searcher is googling, has been an ongoing conversation on both sides of the Atlantic. According to Morningstaronline.co.uk, the use of the ubiquitous search engine is used in 70 percent of all U.S. online searches, but in the U.K., its an even higher 90 percent.

In 2013, as reported by The New York Times, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) unanimously determined that Google had not violated antitrust or anticompetition statues through the use of algorithms that drive the search results. The FTC deliberated for about two years before absolving Google from any charges, though the panel admitted they faced a struggle in proving malicious intent. One wonders if there was pushback from Googles friends at the CIA. This FTC decision to absolve the company, as told by The Independent, was made at a times when the European Union (EU) antitrust regulators had already been investigating Google for three years on similar charges. In late summer of 2017, the EU plans to announce their verdict. If pronounced guilty, there are adjusted estimates of a $9 billion EU fine, but the money would most likely be a slap on the wrist for Google, now wrapped under the banner of their parent company, Alphabet. Venturebest.com reports Alphabets 2nd quarter 2016 earnings as $21.5 billion in revenues and $8.42 earning per share.

Over the years, Google has made three attempts to settle the EU antitrust case and avoid any hint of wrong doing. They were negotiating with a previous European Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia. From Googles perspective, a wrench got thrown into the works when Mr. Almunia was replaced with Ms. Margrethe Vestager, who is not so easily won over. Wired reports that Ms. Vestagers first big test will be her antitrust case against Google. Vestager sees the landscape of fair competition being intruded on by technology, and its nudging swarm of algorithmically filtered data. She stated her views very clearly:

 I know what I need. I dont want people to tell me what I need.

If Google is found to be at fault, it is not known what, if any, other remedies might be put in place to help restore fair competition. As reported by Tnooz.com, Expedia is just one of the companies who has filed a complaint with the European Commission. Expedia has also teamed with Trip Advisor, Kayak, Microsoft and others to form Fair Search, a U.S. anti-Google lobbying group who is also operating in the U.K. Fair Search describes itself as having two essential principles; transparency and innovation. They believe that consumers  not search engines should choose winners in the marketplace.

In 2016, author and research psychologist Robert Epstein, from the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology in Vista, California, penned an highly regarded paper describing the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME). In it, he declared that Googles algorithm nudges have a significant impact on many of the most important decisions people make in their lives, not just voting for presidents. Because this is done almost invisibly, it is especially dangerous.

Why not say no to manipulation, and yes to independent thinking? Its time to start searching with Goodgopher.com.



Sources include:

MorningStarOnline.co.uk

NewYorkTimes.com

Independent.co.uk

VentureBeat.com

Wired.co.uk

Tnooz.com

FairSearch.org

Pnas.org

Aibrt.org
The Balkan lynx, Europe's rarest cat, is scrambling for survival. With less than 50 known surviving cats in the mountains of the Western Balkans, the species gets closer and closer to extinction with each passing year.

But they're not gone just yet. According to a report from New Scientist, researchers in Macedonia were able to snap a photo of a wild Balkan lynx kitten, the first newborn that's been spotted in about 10 years. The picture - posted on EuroNatur's Facebook - was taken in a second location, the Mavrovo National Park on the border of Macedonia and Albania, suggesting that this is the site of another healthy reproducing population.

The team of researchers from EuroNatur and Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) attached a GPS collar on a Balkan lynx female named Maya back in February, which eventually led them to this cub. Maya was reportedly nearby when the team discovered the little one.

"It is a great thing to be able to see this baby lynx, hale and hearty," MES team member Panajot Chorovski, who photographed the cub, told EarthTouch News.

John Durrus Linnell of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research stressed that the cub sighting is a positive sign for the species, proving that the dwindling population is still reproducing.

"When this project started almost 10 years ago there was no real proof that the population even existed," Linnell explained. "Since then, the team have collected hundreds of camera trap pictures of lynx in both Macedonia and Albania, including evidence of reproduction."

Despite the positive reception to its birth, this kitten is already facing remarkable challenges. According to EuroNatur's Mareike Brix, only 25 percent of all Balkan lynx kittens are able to reach adulthood.

Threats to their lives include habitat loss, illegal hunting and farmers who kill them in revenge for attacking their farm or domestic animals. Disease, malnourishment and road accidents are also potential dangers to the kitten's life. Overhunting of the species' prey like rabbits, roe deer and chamois indirectly affects their odds of survival as well.

Experts believe its important to focus protection efforts on Mavrovo National Park, which is now the only place known to host reproducing Balkan lynxes. After all, this area is not only home to these beautiful cats, but also bears, wolves and other wildlife.

"There is a long way to go before the future of these landscapes and their biodiversity are secure," Linnell said. "But images like these remind us that as long as there is life, there is hope - and that is what keeps conservationists' motivation up."
A 37-year-old man was shot and killed Friday night in an officer-involved shooting in Antioch.

The shooting involved an Antioch police officer and occurred around 11:30 p.m. near the 2300 block of Manzanita Way.

The man shot and killed was an Antioch resident, police said. The officer was not injured during the incident.

It remains unclear what led to the shooting.

The Antioch Police Department and the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office are investigating the shooting.

No other information on the shooting was immediately available.
It's about to get hot, hot, hot!

A potentially record-shattering heat wave has started enveloping the Southwest United States and is threatening to bring temperatures of more than 120 degrees to parts of Arizona and California next week. Strong high pressure building over Western states is behind the onslaught.

Officials warned of excessive heat throughout the 450-mile length of California's Central Valley. Almost the entire Golden State is predicted to simmer above normal temperatures.

In the Bay Area, temperatures are expected to hover around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coast will be much cooler.



The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for all of Northern California. Solano County will be under a heat warning. It will be in effect from 11 a.m. Saturday through 11 p.m. Monday.

Young children, elderly people, pregnant women, people with disabilities and animals are especially vulnerable to the heat.

Forecasters say prolonged heat will make snow melt faster in the Sierra Nevada, where massive winter storms coated towering peaks after years of drought. Waterways could flood, with vacationers warned to be cautious near water and avoid camping close to streams.

Camp counselor Sabrina Chu, 17, said she and others in San Francisco were having kids drink lots of water while playing outdoors. The city was expected to have a high of 82 Sunday, well above the normal upper 60s.

"Compared to other places in California, the Bay has pretty consistent weather, so this is unusually hot for the area," Chu said.

In Pleasanton, this weekend marks the start of the Alameda County Fair, and the threat of triple-digit temperatures doesn't seem to be scaring people away.

Even so, officials are urging people to be prepared.

"Drink plenty of water," said Angel Moore with the fair. "Make sure you wear your sunscreen, wear loose fitting clothing."

Fire and medical teams will also be scattered throughout the event as well as five misting stations.

"We're expecting a lot of heat related emergencies," said Alameda County Fire Department Division Chief Eric Moore. "We're well prepared to deal with heat-related injuries."

Here are some tips on how to stay cool:
The Bay Area is always buzzing. Every month is packed with celebrations, events, and concerts for locals to flock to. These happenings seem to be in greater abundance during the summer, offering endless choices on how to spend a day in the sun. If looking to explore some of the different events, here are the top festivals and fairs to check out this summer across the Bay.

San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival



Taking place in theatres across the Bay Area, this festival is the largest of its kind. The San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival has been running since 1977 and draws crowds upwards of 60,000 people. The annual event screens films from every genre, allowing viewers to expand their movie wheelhouse. Tickets are on sale now and showings will run from June 15 to 25.

Alameda County Fair



If you're craving kettle corn and family fun, head to the Alameda County Fair. Beginning June 16, this summer staple will provide carnival rides, concerts, and fried confections. Some guests who will be performing as well will include the Plain White Ts and Sugar Ray. Tickets can be purchased now on their website. Deals are also available until the fair's closing day, July 9.



63rd Annual North Beach Festival



On June 17, North Beach will begin to host the 63rd annual festival. Attendees will be able to roam through a maze of art booths, all while getting a tan. This is a free event that will take place both Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Phono Del Sol Music and Food Festival



Many festival goers are accustom to spending hundreds of dollar for a ticket, but admission to Phono Del Sol starts at only $29. This single-day event in Potrero Del Sol Park makes for a great summer day. Taking place on June 17, headliners include the alternative bands Thee Oh Sees and The Coathangers. Along with other local artists, attendees will also be able to hit up food trucks between sets. Make sure to pack your sunscreen and tie up your man bun for this one.

ID10T Music Festival + Comica Conival



Suitably situated in Silicon Valley, this two day affair has a lot going on. Bands like Weezer and Crystal Castles will take the stage, alongside DJs Zeds Dead and Madeon. If the musical line up wasnt enough, the weekend will also be packed with comedians and panels. Created and hosted by Nerdist inventor, Chris Hardwick, this festival is a must. ID10T Fest will be held June 24-25. Tickets are still available.

Fillmore Jazz Festival



The 33rd Fillmore Jazz Festival will be held on July 1-2. Located in San Francisco, this free event is an all-day affair. Packed with over 100,000 visitors, guests will have to opportunity to enjoy a spread of art, food, crafts, and booze. Of course, this will all be accompanied by Jazz music. This festival is a great way to spend your Fourth of July weekend.

Outside Lands



Outside Lands, one of the most anticipated music festivals in the Bay Area, will take place August 11-13. Known in the past to host big name bands like Radiohead, this year will not be different. Attendees will witness performances by the Gorillaz, Metallica, and The Who during the three day affair. Single-day and weekend passes are available for purchase.

Oakland Art + Soul Festival



Sneaking in at the end of the summer is the Oakland Art + Soul Festival. On August 19th and 20th, the streets of Oakland will be taken over by dancers and musicians that the whole family will enjoy. Many of the performers last year were Bay Area natives, giving locals a true sense of pride for their community. Tickets can be bought at the gate during the event.
South Bay homeless advocates call it "The Wall."

Caltrans and San Jose have started a project to fence off what was one of the area's largest homeless encampments with a barrier workers say can't be cut or climbed.

Hundreds of people previously lived off Macredes Court under an Interstate 280 overpass even after the city conducted sweeps to remove them.

Homeless people who have lived in the area have been warned by crews the fence being installed cannot be penetrated.

Homeless advocates, including non-profit In Their Shoes, said they are sympathetic to the neighborhood concerns acknowledging there were incidents of violence and drug use. But they also call the fence The Wall, saying to them it symbolizes an attitude.

Advocates also said The Wall strategy just pushes homeless into neighborhoods.

Some residents said they are worried homeless people may now move into their areas. Caltrans is expected to section off a large area around the old encampment site, but no one knows how effective it will be until The Wall is up.
It's being called a major rollback in United States policy toward Cuba.

President Donald Trump on Friday shifted from President Barack Obama's policies with the communist country.

"Effective immediately I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump said Friday.

Bay Area Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, said it puts the relations back decades.

The change will make it harder to travel to and do business with Cuba. Though it is not a complete reversal of Obama's policy, Lee said the change will hurt both countries.

"It doesn't make any sense," Lee said. "Why would you go back to a policy that has failed for 55 years?"

Lee is disappointed the president followed through with a campaign promise and rolled back policies she has fought hard for as a member of the Congressional Cuba Working Group.

"Given whatever difficulties we have and they have, we should be able to work it out through normal diplomatic dialogue and trade relations," Lee said.

Trump said his policy is designed to isolate the Cuban Castro regime.

"We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer," Trump said.

Tourists will still be able to travel to Cuba, but it will be harder and restricted compared to the Obama policies. Americans will be prohibited from spending money at businesses or hotels owned by the Cuban military, which are common in the country.

Lee said it will hurt American jobs created through eased restrictions and private Cuban businesses.

"We're pushing back, but we need the public to push back," Lee said. "As we say, 'stay woke,' this is a time to be vigilant, stay woke, and have your members of Congress sign onto our bills."

But Florida Senator Marco Rubio, applauding the changes, tweeted: "If Cuban people are hurt it will be because the Castro government doesn't allow them to own their own business, not because of the new policy."

The policies are not expected to take effect for three months, and could take longer. Lee said she will be working on legislation to block it, which may be difficult in a Republican-led Congress.
A South Bay firefighter is celebrating a win Friday after a jury found the San Jose Fire Department retaliated against her after she claimed she was passed over for promotions because she's a woman.

"It's overwhelming for someone to say we heard you," SJFD Battalion Chief Patricia Tapia said.

Tapia burst into tears when the jury announced its verdict, saying the fire department did retaliate against her.

"It's the leadership that needs to be held accountable for the way they treat the employees of the fire department," Tapia said.

Tapia said she applied for 10 promotions in the last five years and has been denied each time.

In 2012, Tapia and her colleague Debra Ward settled a discrimination lawsuit, but said following the case they were both punished for speaking up.

"Maybe it has changed something," Ward said. "Maybe they'll think twice before doing it again."

On Friday, the jury did not find that the city or fire department had discriminated or retaliated against Ward, who is now retired. She calls the verdict a dissapointment.

"We strive to make this a safe workplace for everyone," San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle said.

Doyle stopped short of saying the culture at the fire department needed to change, but did say "education, awareness and a little more sensitivity" will be looked at.

Those are things Ward and Tapia are hoping to see more of.

"I'll keep raising my hand and opening my mouth in doing whatever it takes and make sure others follow behind me," Tapia said. "It's important."

Tapia won about $800,000 in damages. Ward's lawyer said they will consider an appeal.
New Zealand music sensation Lorde has released her new album, "Melodrama," and Bay Area fans will be happy to know, annouced tour dates for the area. The pop sensation set high expectations after her 2013 debut with "Pure Heroine." Her previous song Royals from the album earned the young artist two Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

Lorde has been teasing singles from her new album since early March of this year. The first song to be released was Green Light. In an interview on Rookie Magazines podcast, the talented vocalist revealed that she was inspired after seeing another female powerhouse in the music business perform: Florence + the Machine.

"Melodrama" still has remnants of her first album, but the pop sensation has ascended into new territory with the assistance of co-writer and producer Jack Antonoff.

While this name may sound unfamiliar to some, Antonoff was a key member of the bands Fun. and Bleachers. Songs that came out of these musical groups include We Are Young and I Wanna Get Better. Although he had success in the creation of the bands, Antonoff decided to turn to more behind the scenes work. The New York Times summarized Antonoffs career and highlighted his work with artists like Lorde, Taylor Swift, and Sara Bareilles.

With such a collaboration, the album has already been deemed one of the best of 2017.

Now that Lorde has emerged from her four-year hibernation, fans also have the opportunity to see the New Zealand pop queen in person. After announcing her world tour, it has been revealed that Lorde will be in the Bay Area next March at the Oracle Arena in Oakland and the Golden1 Center in Sacramento.

Presale for these tickets will start June 20 and officially be released June 23.

If unable to wait that long to see Lorde, followers can also catch her at this years Outside Lands on August 13. She will also be in the company of Antonoffs band Bleachers as well. Both single-day and three-day tickets for this event are available now on Outside Lands website.

Find more information about Lordes tour here.
At least one person died in what East Palo Alto police have described as a "major vehicle collision" on Friday afternoon.

Police reported the collision at University Avenue and Kavanaugh Drive on Twitter at 3:10 p.m. The person who died was a 49-year-old man and three other people were injured, according to police.

University Avenue in that area has been closed in both directions and police did not say when they expect the roadway to reopen.

Further information about the collision was not immediately available.
A Davis woman has been sentenced to five years of probation for breaking windows and leaving bacon at a mosque near Sacramento.

The Sacramento Bee reports that 30-year-old Lauren Kirk-Coehlo was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty in April. The graduate of UC Berkeley had been jailed since her arrest in mid-February.

She admitted vandalizing the Davis Islamic Center in January, destroying six windows and two bicycles.

Kirk-Coehlo had faced up to six years in prison after also admitting to a hate-crime allegation.

Officials say she put bacon strips on door handles. Muslims are prohibited from eating pork products.

Kirk-Coehlo also will undergo counseling and must stay off the internet and away from the mosque.

She formerly worked for Google and as a legal intern for the Sacramento County prosecutors.
The Pennsylvania jury that deadlocked on the fate of Bill Cosby mirrored the split in the court of public opinion.

The mistrial declared Saturday underscored a wider struggle to reconcile the disconnect between prosecutors' depiction of Cosby as a sexual predator and his long run as one of our most beloved entertainers.

The 12 Pennsylvanians, unlike the rest of the country, sifted through evidence and testimony as they considered over 52 hours whether Cosby drugged and assaulted then-Temple University employee Andrea Constand in his home outside Philadelphia in 2004.

The public could only judge Cosby via media reports  including the unproven allegations of dozens of other women, whose accounts, stretching back to the 1960s, largely echo Constand's.

Steadfast Cosby supporters can point to juror division as evidence of a prosecution case that was far from open-and-shut. But theres little doubt, reasonable or otherwise, that the trial helped seal the new image of "America's Dad" as, at best, a philanderer.

There's no doubt he had sexual contact with Constand (Cosby contends it was consensual).

There's no doubt Cosby handed Constand pills (Benadryl, he says).

There's no doubt he said under oath, during a deposition, that he bought Quaaludes to give to women he wanted to bed.

There seems little doubt all this will be rehashed with prosecutors vowing to retry Cosby.

The unsettling details of the case stand at odds with the previous popular perception of a man who rose to fame mining the humor of relatability with family friendly stories of growing up in a hardscrabble section of Philly.

Cosby forged a special connection with children, dispensing laughs and wisdom from a cartoon junkyard in 1970s Saturday morning staple "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," and even in commercials for Jell-O.

He reached his pinnacle in the 1980s with "The Cosby Show," playing the sometimes goofy, but reliably loving patriarch of a model, yet very human family. The NBC show became a ratings hit and sitcom classic that some believe helped pave the way for the election of the first African-American president a generation after its debut.

By now, Cosby should have been taking an extended victory lap  transitioning into life as "America's Granddad," while practicing the storytelling-driven standup style he turned into an art form.

Instead, at 79 and with faltering eyesight, his legacy appears destined to be viewed through tarnished lenses. In 2015, as accusations against Cosby mounted, Gallup put his unfavorable rating at 62 percent, compared to four percent 18 years earlier.

Bill Cosby left the Montgomery County Courthouse Saturday with his legal fate still in limbo. The same could be said for what remains of his once-stellar reputation.
President Donald Trump confirmed Friday he is under federal investigation and appeared to single out a senior Justice Department official for criticism, underscoring his growing frustration with the persistent focus on Russia's involvement in the 2016 election and possibly his campaign.

"I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt," the president wrote.

The morning missive appeared to refer to Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general. Last month, Rosenstein sent a memo to Trump raising concerns over FBI Director James Comey  concerns the White House then cited as a central reason for Comey's firing.

Days after Comey was abruptly ousted, Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Mueller also has expansive powers to investigate any matters that develop from his initial investigation.

It was unclear whether the president's comment confirming he was under investigation was based on direct knowledge or media reports by NBC News and others that Mueller is examining whether the president obstructed justice by firing Comey. Still, the snowballing investigation has deeply angered Trump, who denies he has any nefarious ties to Russia. He's increasingly focused his anger at both Rosenstein and Mueller, according to advisers and confidants, viewing the two as part of a biased effort to undermine his presidency.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she was "increasingly concerned" that Trump will fire both Mueller and Rosenstein.

"The message the president is sending through his tweets is that he believes the rule of law doesn't apply to him and that anyone who thinks otherwise will be fired," Feinstein said. "That's undemocratic on its face and a blatant violation of the president's oath of office."

Rosenstein took over the Russia probe soon after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. But Rosenstein, too, may ultimately have to hand off oversight of the probe given his own role in Comey's firing.

Earlier this month, Rosenstein told The Associated Press that "if anything that I did winds up being relevant to his investigation then, as Director Mueller and I discussed, if there's a need from me to recuse, I will."

Trump's tweets come after the top lawyer for his transition team warned the organization's officials to preserve all records and other materials related to the Russia probe. An official of Trump's transition confirmed the lawyer's internal order, which was sent Thursday.

The transition official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss post-election decisions publicly.

The order by the general counsel for the transition team casts a wide net on documents that could shed light on ties between Trump's presidential campaign and representatives of Russia's government. The order also covers separate inquiries into several key Trump associates including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, campaign adviser Paul Manafort, foreign policy aide Carter Page and outside adviser Roger Stone.

The White House has directed questions for details to outside legal counsel, which has not responded.

Vice President Mike Pence has also hired a private lawyer to represent his interests in the expanding probe. Pence headed the Trump transition until Inauguration Day.

The transition official said the organization has also separately asked the General Services Administration to preserve records from the Trump transition that were transferred to its facilities after the inauguration. The transition, a nonprofit structurally separate from the Trump campaign, continues to operate with a small staff.

The memo sent Thursday asks for records related to foreign travel, contacts with Russian "officials, agents or nationals" and background investigations into the top Trump associates now targeted by Mueller's probe. The memo asks for preservation of electronic communications and data, telephone logs, audio recordings, videos, calendars and other items.

Friday's tweets are the latest in a week of angry social media responses by the president after a report by The Washington Post, NBC News and others that Mueller was looking into whether Trump obstructed justice.

"Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?" he asked at one point.

"They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," Trump wrote in his first tweet. "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA."

__

Associated Press writers Stephen Braun and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
On the day that President Donald Trump rolled back several new policy stances toward the island of Cuba, people from both sides of the political aisle are reacting to the changes.

The reversal of policy changes enacted by former President Barack Obama were touted by President Trump as an inspiration for those citizens of that nation to embrace new political and economic freedoms.

Open yourselves to political and economic freedoms, President Trump said. We will work for the day when a new generation of leaders brings this long reign of suffering to an end.

The new policies enacted by the president restrict individuals travelling to Cuba, and they seek to keep money out of the hands of the Cuban military.

Some Cuban-Americans are in support of the changes, and Elias Sanchez, who left Cuba 50 years ago, is one of them.

Obama made a very bad deal, he said. I support President Trump 100 percent. I know people over there that are suffering, and they are repressed all the time.

The moves cancel many of the changes that the former president enacted when he was in office, and one of his foremost political allies spoke out against the moves on Friday.

What President Trump is trying to do is to satisfy an extremely small percentage of Cuban-Americans who will never accept a new relationship with Cuba, Senator Dick Durbin said.

Under the new restrictions, Americans travelling to Cuba cannot stay in hotels connected to the Cuban military.
Two children, ages 7 and 13, were shot Friday afternoon on a playground at an elementary school on Chicago's South Side during an end of the year picnic, authorities said.

The shooting occurred at Warren Elementary School in the 9200 block of South Jeffery Avenue, police said. The girls' injuries are not life-threatening, fire officials said. Three juveniles were in custody Thursday night, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, but no charges had been filed.

Former students of the school tried to gain access to the end of year picnic about 1:30 p.m., Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said. School security knew who the former students were and refused to let them in. The former students then went to the corner of 92nd and Chapel where they "loitered," Johnson said. A black vehicle, later determined to be stolen, pulled up and someone inside started shooting at them, he said.

[[429021203, C]]

The individuals being shot at then ran back into the picnic area drawing that fire to the folks that were in there enjoying the picnic, Johnson said.

A 7-year-old girl was shot in the thigh, and a 13-year-old girl was shot in the hand, according to Chicago Fire officials. Both were transferred to Comer Children's Hospital. The girls were unintended targets, police said.

We stand here now looking at a 7-year-old and a [13]-year-old being shot at an end of the year school picnicits just ridiculous, he said. It angers me that these little children can not grow up in a neighborhood and not think that gunfire is the normbecause its not normalits not OK.

Tyrone Wright, 7-year-old JayLa Wright's father, said he felt in shock when he got the call and had tears in his eyes.

Emerson Hart is the father of the 13-year-old daughter Dakayla was shot in the hand. He said he drove nearly two hours from Michigan City, Indiana, when his ex-wife called him with the news.

Shes a good girl, always had good grades, she do what she can to help people, he said of his eighth-grade daughter. This is my worst nightmare, this is why I didnt want them in Chicago."

The funny thing is, I knew this would happen to me, he said. I had a feeling from the time they moved herethat this would happen.

Hart stood outside the hospital with his older daughter, 18-year-old Daytonna, and smoked a cigarette as he fingered through the plastic picture frames in his wallet for a photo of his wounded, youngest child.

This is a terrible Fathers Day weekend for me cause now my child has to live with being shotand shes never gonna forget, Hart said.

Both father and daughter voiced outrage at those responsible for shooting into a crowded school playground.

If yall wanna kill each other, go ahead, just dont do it where theres kids at, Daytonna said.

If it was up to beI would take the banand ban all guns, Emerson said.



At least two persons of interest from the black car the shooting was alleged to have come from were being questioned, Johnson said.

This just goes to show you again, that the violence in this city is just completely unacceptable, the superintendent said. Its mind-boggling to me how leaders in this city choose to ignore certain things.

Johnson blamed the lack of accountability on elected officials but said a recent piece of legislation aiming to hold repeat gun offenders accountable was an appreciated step in the right direction. That bill now sits on Gov. Bruce Rauner's desk.

It cant just be CPD and the mayor carrying this flag, it takes all of us, we have to come together as a city to prevent this violence, he said. It takes the police department and elected officials, the clergy, community members.

Johnson noted that the neighborhood was not normally "prone to gun violence in that nature," but the problem is city-wide.

We have too many illegal guns and too many people willing to pick them up, he said. And then we get them into the judicial system and we just spit em right back outto do the same thingwould you stop doing it if it were you? No, theres no consequence.

Until we close that loophole well continue to see this cycle of violence, he added.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel visited with the victims' family members at Comer Children's Hospital where the girls were receiving treatment.

There is no person in Chicago who is not disgusted by that incident, Emanuel told reporters outside the hospital. I say this as a father of three children: this is a parents worst nightmare."

Emanuel said he was heading to the school to talk to the principal and staff.

I just want to emphasize, that despite this incident, the schools are the very safest place the children can be, Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool told reporters.

The last two days of school will include increased police presence and if Warren students could not be released to a parent or guardian, Claypool said, a police would escort them home in a squad car.

Johnson said police want to speak with the former students who were shot at but they had not yet been found.
Since 1843, Stanley Black & Decker has called Connecticut, specifically New Britain, home, and company officials say they have no plans to move elsewhere.

The company employs 1,600 people in Connecticut and 54,000 globally, with multiple locations in the state across six cities and towns.

"We are known as the Hardware City because of Stanley Tools," said New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart.

To kick off next year's 175th anniversary, the world's largest tools and storage company hosted a benefit event Friday night. They raised more than $600,000 dollars for Connecticut Public Television.

"Stanley Black & Decker has an incredible history of giving back to the state, giving back to the community," said Stewart.

"This company is a national treasure, but obviously a Connecticut icon," said US Senator Richard Blumenthal, who also attended Friday night's gala.

Stanley Black & Decker is a treasure a rival state is attempting to lure away as part of a larger trip to grab Connecticut companies.

"It does happen on an occasional basis where we'll get a phone call from a governor from another state who will want to come and visit us," said Stanley Black & Decker Senior Vice President and CFO Donald Allan.

The most recent call came this week from Florida Governor Rick Scott, who hoped to meet with the company this Monday to make the pitch for moving to the Sunshine state. Allan says the company declined.

"I think [Florida is] trying to do the right thing for their state. However, we want to make sure we do the right thing for the State of Connecticut," said Allan.

From GE to Aetna to the budget, lately news in the state has been grim, but Allan says it's far from hopeless.

"I think this situation can be solved, but I think government and businesses have to work together to do that," said Allan.

Several Connecticut leaders, including US Senator Richard Blumenthal and US Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty say the nutmeg state has something Florida can't compete with: the people.

"The skilled people who work for this company are not going to Florida. They're not going anywhere else," said Blumenthal.

"We have the tradition, we have the people, we have the schools, and we have that commitment and fantastic communities to live in. I put myself against Florida any day of the week," said Esty.

Friday night's gala celebrated the history of the fruitful relationship between Stanley Black & Decker and Connecticut, as well as its future.

"We have no plans to go anywhere," said Allan.

"It's an honor to be here tonight to celebrate their 175th anniversary, and we hope for 175 more years," said Mayor Stewart.
A 13-year-old boy is being called a hero for rushing inside a burning home in Waterbury on Friday night.

The call came in to the Waterbury Fire Department at 6:05 p.m. and firefighters responded to the home at 121 Central Ave.

Michael Tineo said he was playing outside when he noticed flames coming from the home.

About 10 people, including children and pregnant women, were inside the multi-family home at the time of the fire and Tineo ran inside the house to help.

"It was smoky but the thing I thought about was whats going to happen to my family and my little baby sister, my cousins?" Tineo told NBC Connecticut

The fire started at the rear of the two-story, two unit wood frame building. The fire spread to a three-story, three unit building next door.

All the people inside got out safely and received help from the Red Cross.

Two firefighters were taken to St. Mary's Hospital for evaluation but were released shortly after, the fire chief said.

The fire marshal's office is investigating.


A Yale University history professor said he hopes President Donald Trumps policy change to restrict the flow of American dollars into Cuba will make it more difficult for the Castro dynasty to stay in power.

Well I was born in Cuba, and I left when I was 11 years old without my parents, Professor Carlos Eire said.

That was in the early 1960s. Later reunited with his mom, Eire has not been back to Cuba since. He was unable to attend his fathers funeral.

I cant go back because Im an official enemy of the state, he explained. And all my books are banned in Cuba, even my scholarly books that have nothing to do with Cuba.

Eire has long opposed any tourists visiting Cuba because the Castro regime remains in control.

The foreigners who visit have access to all sorts of thing that are off limits to Cubans and they have freedom and rights denied to Cubans, Eire said.

In December 2014, when President Obama was preparing to ease restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba, Eire wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post saying, As a Cuba exile, I feel betrayed.

He didnt care how long Cuba remains enslaved, Eire said of the former president. He just wanted to change his police to fit all his foreign policy.

In Miami Friday, Trump announced a reversal in his predecessors approach to Cuba that includes limiting American trade and travel.

American has rejected the Cuban people's oppressors, they are rejected, officially today, rejected," Trump said in front of a crowd of Cuban-Americans.

Both of Connecticuts Democratic senators expressed concern with the announcement from the president on U.S.-Cuba relations.

Trumps new policies break the campaign promises he made to boost American jobs and business, Senator Chris Murphy said. Connecticut businesses are eager to do more business with Cuba, but now our president has made that harder. More than 50 years of embargo and isolation failed to bring about any meaningful change in Cuba or help the Cuban people. Rather than doubling down on the failed policies of the past, President Trump should build on the new course that President Obama set and recognize that diplomacy and people-to-people ties are the best way to bring democracy and prosperity to the people of Cuba.

Senator Richard Blumenthal said he wants to see how the policy change plays out, but said he hoped Cuban human rights and relations with the U.S. could improve through more trade, visits and contacts.

According to Eire, the past two years of U.S. engagement and increased American travel has not made life better for Cubans because the money flowing in ends up in the pockets of the military that runs the country.

The Obama normalization circus as I like to call it is a little blip that didnt make any difference so to speak, Eire told NBC Connecticut. This reversal remains to be seen what happens.
Online retail giant Amazon announced plans Friday to buy Austin-based grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.7 billion.

Both companies have a significant presence in Texas, making the Lone Star State a good place to test synergy, according to one marketing expert.

"I think we will be a bell-weather for what will happen around the country," said Ed Fox, marketing professor at the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business.

"However they're going to use Whole Foods in their portfolio, you're going to see it here in Dallas," Cox said.

Shopper Earlene Garvey had a carload of groceries Friday from Whole Foods but said nothing is easier than having groceries delivered from Amazon's service AmazonFresh.

"I don't have to leave the house and they pick the produce very well," Garvey said.

Combining the two companies will give Whole Foods not just a cash infusion but access to Amazon's massive distribution system.

Seattle-based Amazon.com has been tiptoeing into the grocery business, but on Friday it took a big leap saying it will buy Austin-based Whole Foods Market. The Dallas Morning News' Maria Halkias talks about what that means for the Texas-based grocer's customers.

Whole Foods and Amazon both have significant warehouses in Texas.

Business owner Igor Motkin is one person not happy about the merger.

"They (Amazon) always try to offer the best price, which is good for the customer, but not good for the brand," Motkin said.

He sells hunting gear online and says Amazon pushes businesses to slash prices, so he's not making enough money to grow his company.

"If you can't make a good margin you can't reinvest to make a better product," Motkin said.

Amazon's philosophy has been hard on many of its retail competitors, who have closed their doors in part because of online competition.

Now Amazon will take on grocers like Wal-Mart and Kroger.
Victims of a fatal bank robbery in eastern Oklahoma are suing over the shooter's improper prison release.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday on behalf of Randy Peterson, who was president of the Bank of Eufaula when fatally shot in the January 2016 robbery. Others who filed the suit include employee Betty Howell, who was shot but survived, and members of their families.

The shooter, Cedric Norris, had twice been released from Texas prisons despite having a 60-year sentence to serve in Oklahoma for robbery convictions in Tulsa and Creek counties. Police fatally shot Norris after the bank robbery.

The lawsuit accuses the counties and the Corrections Department of failing to ensure Norris carried out his prison sentences.

Creek County District Attorney Max Cook has said that miscommunication between Texas and Oklahoma resulted in Norris' release.

"Apparently there was a breakdown in communication, I guess, whether it was Texas' fault or Oklahoma's fault," Cook said.

Norris was first released from Texas Department of Criminal Justice custody after a two-year term for a 2007 burglary conviction. Three weeks earlier, he received sentences totaling 60 years in Oklahoma.

He was released from custody in Texas for a second time in 2012 after he served another robbery sentence.

The lawsuit says the Eufaula bank robbery occurred because the Oklahoma Department of Corrections didn't take action to ensure Norris' return from Texas.

Department spokesman Mark Myers declined The Associated Press' request for comment Friday, citing the pending litigation.
A senior cockapoo in South Dallas, known as Pierre, has found a new home in Collin County.

NBC 5 first reported on Pierre last month. His owner, Miss Wells, was looking to find him a new family because of her deteriorating health.

A local rescue, Dallas DogRRR, took on the task of helping her do just that.

On Friday, Pierre came home to his new forever family in McKinney.

Dolores Walton said she first saw Pierre on the news.

"It struck a chord with me, because I had a dog that looked just like Pierre. I lost him last October. I had him for 18 years," said Walton.

Walton said she's looking forward to having Pierre as her companion and being able to be his caretaker.

Miss Wells plans to meet Walton in the coming weeks, so she can still visit with Pierre from time to time.


His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, gave a public address at the University of California, San Diego, Friday morning, ahead of his speech at the all-campus commencement Saturday.

The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, spoke to hundreds of people, filling the seats and stands on RIMAC Field at UC San Diego.

The lecture, "Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World," focused on love and kindness among humanity.

"We have to work together and share each others problems as one human family," the Dalai Lama said.

He jokingly added that all problems were created by men, not women.

The 14th Dalai Lama jokingly said that all problems in the world were created by men and "females never create problems". He was speaking at a public address Friday morning at UC San Diego, ahead of his speech during all-campus commencement Saturday.

He also touched on the subject of mental health and the importance of education on the issue, calling on universities like UC San Diego to focus on it as well. He addressed the need for compassion among people regardless of their religious beliefs.

The emphasis of we, we, we, creates the concept of they, they, they," and that is what leads to distance and violence in the world, he told the audience.

"'They' deserve our love and kindness," he said, adding that if we give compassion to all individuals, "today's enemy, next time becomes a best friend."

Following his speech, the Dalai Lama sat down with San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, and journalist Ann Curry to answer questions.

The sold-out event was open to the public.



The Dalai Lama last visited UC San Diego in 2012.

Following the announcement of his visit in 2017, the Chinese Student and Scholar Association (CSSA) denounced the university's decision to have the Dalai Lama speak at the commencement ceremony.

China and the Dalai Lama have a politically tense relationship, which is reflected in the response from UC San Diego's international student population.


California's wet winter  hailed for busting the state's drought  had a debilitating effect on Los Angeles County beaches by driving up ocean bacteria levels during the rainy period, ruining what had been improving water quality during the dry summer, according to a report released this week by an environmental group.

According to Heal the Bay's annual Beach Report Card, about 93 percent of Los Angeles County beaches received "A" grades during the high-traffic summer season from April to October of 2016, up 4 percent from the previous year. But with winter rains sending billions of gallons of polluted runoff into the ocean during the winter months of November 2016 to March 2017, nearly half of the county's 85 beaches earned an "F."

"We want people catching waves, not bugs, when they head to the beach," said Sarah Sikich, vice president of Heal the Bay. "The reassuring news is that if you swim at an open-ocean beach in the summer away from storm drains and creek mouths you statistically have very little risk of getting ill."

Two Los Angeles County beaches landed on Heal the Bay's "Beach Bummers" list of heavily polluted ocean water  the Santa Monica Pier placing sixth and Mother's Beach in Marina del Rey ranked ninth. Orange County also had two beaches on the "bummer" list, with the San Clemente Pier placing second and Monarch Beach in Dana Point ranked 10th.

The most polluted beach in the state, according to the Beach Bummers list, was Clam Beach County Park in Humboldt County.

In contrast, 14 beaches in Orange County earned spots on Heal the Bay's "Honor Roll" for clean water. Seven locations in Laguna Beach landed on the Honor Roll, along with four in Newport Beach, two in Dana Point and one in San Clemente. In Los Angeles County, two beaches in Malibu were listed on the Honor Roll, along with Bluff Cove in Palos Verdes Estates and Portuguese Bend Cove in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Statewide, 96 percent of the 416 monitored beaches earned overall grades of A or B, a slight improvement over last year, according to Heal the Bay.
Twenty three reputed members and associates of a motorcycle gang face federal racketeering charges in a string of crimes ranging from murder, kidnapping, assault and firearms possession, prosecutors said Friday.



The arrests targeted the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, including some its most senior leaders in raids across Southern California, Hawaii and Nevada.



"Today, the rule of law dealt a serious blow to the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, a so-called 'brotherhood' responsible for drug addiction, death and mayhem in multiple locations, including California, Arizona, Hawaii, Oregon and Nevada," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco in a news release. "Today's coordinated takedown of this biker organization's leadership is a victory for all of us who respect and love our country, and a testament to the bravery and dedication of federal, state and local law enforcement men and women who to keep our communities safe."



Agents described the Vagos OMG as a "transnational gang" with chapters in at least seven countries, on four continents. The gang has about 75 chapters in the U.S.



The indictment charges Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez on murder charges in the Sept. 23, 2011 killing of a member of the rival Hells Angels gang at the Nugget Hotel and Casino in Sparks, Nevada.
The nation's oldest U.S. senator looks like she's sticking around.

California's Dianne Feinstein turns 84 on Thursday and is displaying signs that she's headed for a re-election campaign, not a retirement party.

While the Democrat has been coy when asked about seeking a fifth full term next year, her political committee, unambiguously titled Feinstein for Senate 2018, raised more than $650,000 in the first three months of this year in a cue she is looking ahead.

Feinstein plays a marquee role for Democrats on Capitol Hill, where she has queried Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former FBI Director James Comey about their interactions with President Donald Trump, amid probes tied to Russian influence and the 2016 presidential campaign.

On Friday, she warned that Trump might attempt to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible obstruction of justice. "The message the president is sending through his tweets is that he believes the rule of law doesn't apply to him," she said.

She's the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, which is investigating the circumstances behind Trump's dismissal of Comey. She also sits on the Intelligence Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into Russia's election meddling and whether there was any collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign.

With another term in Washington, Feinstein could be in the Senate into her 90s.

Questions about her age circulated in 2012, when at 78 she was easily re-elected over token Republican opposition. She had a pacemaker installed in January, and a voter survey earlier this year suggested her support could be dinged by her advancing years.

But even in youth-obsessed California, where about four in 10 people are under 30, Feinstein's age didn't concern Los Angeles screenwriter Marie Stone, providing the senator remains in good health. Stone said she likes the balance between Feinstein's long experience and the baby-boom pedigree of Sen. Kamala Harris, the state's junior senator who is a comparatively youthful 52.

"As long as she's standing up and defending California's rights, that's what's important," said Stone, a Democrat.

Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's political committee recently wrote a $1,000 check to Feinstein's campaign. "I've encouraged her" to run, he said in an email.

A former San Francisco mayor, Feinstein has long been among California's most popular political figures, and she would be a strong favorite to keep the seat in a state where Democrats hold every statewide office and control both chambers of the Legislature by hefty margins.

But her centrist credentials and lack of enthusiasm for universal health care have made the grande dame of state Democrats a target within the party's restless liberal wing.

She's had protesters outside her home, and has been criticized by some for appearing too temperate in remarks about Trump's White House.

After Trump fired Comey, her initial statement said, "The next FBI director must be strong and independent and will receive a fair hearing in the Judiciary Committee." Within a day, she changed course and was questioning if Comey was fired to stifle the FBI's Russia investigation.

The break between the party's establishment and liberal branches played out during last year's Democratic presidential primary. And at a state Democratic convention this year, liberals inspired by Bernie Sanders nearly captured the party's top job.

"The split is obviously between the new breed and the old guard. It's not likely to heal if Dianne Feinstein runs for re-election," said Michael Thaller, who heads the state party's Progressive Caucus.

For many liberals, "it's time to get some new blood in there  some new, more progressive blood," he added.

Feinstein is quick to defend her record, and she has deep credentials on issues that drive the left-leaning state electorate, including environmental protection and reproductive rights.

Her role on Senate committees has given her an important perch in a state that is at the center of the so-called Trump resistance  Hillary Clinton carried California by over 4 million votes in the general election.

She's a regular on the Sunday TV political circuit and has made frequent use of Twitter. "Release the tapes, Mr. President! What are you afraid of?" she tweeted on June 11, referring to the possibility that the president's conversations with Comey were recorded at the White House. She has called Trump's decision to withdraw from a global climate agreement "shameful, disastrous."

Veteran Democratic consultant Roger Salazar noted Feinstein was back on the job shortly after the pacemaker procedure. "That's the signal of somebody who isn't going off into the sunset," he said.

Feinstein's political roots go back to the Vietnam era, long before millions of younger voters were born. Over half of new voter registrations through October were millennials  younger people who tend to be more liberal than older Californians.

Computer consultant Manuel Moreno said her age shouldn't be a concern. The 67-year-old Los Angeles Democrat doesn't always agree with Feinstein  he said she drifts "to the right of my political views."

But Moreno credited her with sharp questioning of Sessions and Comey in Senate hearings.

"I wasn't disappointed," he said.
Surveillance video captured the moment when a Sarasota, Florida, homeowner fought off would-be robbers, one of which can be seen carrying a shot-gun, with a machete Thursday morning.

Police responded to a call at 4:45 a.m. about a man with a shotgun showing up at a home. The homeowner had disarmed the suspect and was holding him by the time police arrived.

The homeowner told police two other robbers escaped. The two suspects and two others were eventually found at a nearby gas station.

Suspect Alen Beltran-Vasquez is charged with two counts of armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Ronier Jauregi-Lorente and Angel Cabrera-Basulto are charged with two counts each of armed robbery. Jorge Valido-Leyva and Roberto Selcedo-Balanza are each charged with two counts of principal armed robbery.

All five men are being held at the Sarasota County Jail without bond and the investigation is ongoing.
An 18-year-old was killed and another man was hospitalized after a shooting in Miami's Overtown on Friday night.



Miami Police and rescue crews rushed to 16th Street and Northwest 4th Avenue around 10 p.m., where two men were found suffering from gunshot wounds.

"We do know that multiple shots were heard being fired," said Miami Police spokesperson Kenia Fallat. "We don't know how many shooters there were."

The victims were attending a wake when the shooting broke out. Miami Fire Rescue rushed both men to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center.

The 18-year-old was shot in the head and transported in critical condition. He died shortly after arriving at the hospital. The second victim suffered a gunshot injury to his thigh and is expected to survive.

"We need information of persons that perhaps saw something," Fallat said. "We don't know how many gunman. But we are speaking to people, so it's imperative if someone caught a glimpse of what the shooter looked like to immediately call us with information."

Authorities urge anyone with information regarding the incident to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Police have arrested an 89-year-old man in Brickell after allegedly being in possession of child pornography.

According to police, Ignacio Calvo, an orthopedic surgeon, was accessing a file sharing network to view and share child pornography since September 2015.

Police said the videos depicted children under the age of 14 engaged in various sexual acts.

Police went to Calvos home on Friday to execute a search warrant and was eventually arrested. Police found at least ten videos depicting child pornography on the computer.

Calvo is being charged with ten counts of possession of child pornography and one count of transmitting child pornography.
What to Know A Pro-Trump protester was arrested onstage at The Public Theater's production of "Julius Caesar" in Central Park on Friday night

The production has faced a backlash over the on-stage killing of a Trump-like dictator

The Public has long protected its role as incubator of provocative and challenging works, and has continued to defend the production

A supporter of President Trump jumped onstage during a performance of "Julius Caesar" in Central Park before she was arrested, police said.

The play, put on by The Public Theater, portrays a dictator, with the intention of imitating Donald Trump, in a business suit with a long tie who gets knifed to death onstage. The production has drawn criticism from the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., and other conservatives.

The protester took to the stage of the Delacorte Theater around 8:30 p.m. Friday and interrupted the show for about ten minutes, police said.

Video posted to Twitter by pro-Trump activist Jack Posobiec appears to show the event unfold. He captioned the video: "BREAKING: Julius Ceasar [sic] Gets SHUTDOWN."

"Stop the normalization of political violence against the right  this is unacceptable," the woman shouted onstage. "You cannot promote this kind of violence against Donald Trump."

She is eventually drowned out by an announcer calling for security and a chorus of boos from the audience.

"Shame on the New York City Public Theater for doing this," she shouted.

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/875884114280423428

Moments later, a man holding the camera in the video posted by Posobiec  it may be Posobiec himself  starts shouting at the audience.

"You are all Goebbels, you are all Nazis like Joseph Goebbels," the man said as he pointed at the audience. "You are inciting terrorists."

Goebbels was a minister of propaganda in Nazi Germany.

"The blood of Steve Scalise is on your hands," the man shouted as he is taken away by security.

Congressman Scalise, House Majority Whip, was among several people injured in a shooting in Virginia earlier this week. The shooter, who was shot and killed by police, had a social media page filled with criticism of Republicans and the Trump administration.

The protester onstage appears to be pro-Trump activist Laura Loomer, who posted what appeared to be a first-person video of the incident to her Periscope account. She and Posobiec have contributed to The Rebel Media, a right-wing website.

The hashtag #FreeLaura was trending on Twitter Friday night.

The woman onstage was eventually placed under arrest. Police said shell be charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing.

No injuries were reported.

A performance of the classic Shakespeare play went on as planned in Central Park on Monday night despite uproar over the stabbing of the Trump look-alike.

The decision to inject a Trump look-alike into the leading role in Julius Caesar is a provocative one. Jummy Olabanji reports.

Delta Air Lines and Bank of America have pulled their sponsorship of the Public's version of the play, but in a statement Monday the theater said it stands behind the production. It noted its staging has "provoked heated discussion" but "such discussion is exactly the goal of our civically-engaged theater; this discourse is the basis of a healthy democracy."

Other defenders included Scott Stringer, the New York City comptroller, who wrote letters to the heads of Delta and Bank of America, arguing that dropping their support "sends the wrong message." He writes: "Art matters. The First Amendment matters. Expression matters." He enclosed copies of the play with the letters.

"I hope you enjoy it  it is a classic, in any age," he wrote.
Mariska Hargitay, who plays the tough, dogged lead on "Law & Order: SVU," testified on behalf of real-life rape survivors Friday in front of a task force on sexual violence in the Capitol.

Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation has led a national campaign to pass legislation ending backlogs in processing rape kits.

She teared up while concluding her remarks, thanking the members of Congress from both parties she was speaking to for their attention on behalf of survivors across the country.

"The numbers don't lie. Testing all kids solves crimes and saves lives," she said. "A survivor's legislative district should not determine the outcome of their case or their right to information."

Advocates say thousands of kits containing DNA evidence sit untested in labs across the country, and only eight states today have laws requiring testing on current or backlogged kits, meaning that testing can be left up to the discretion of individuals.

"Although we have seen progress, there is much more work to be done," Hargitay said.

She is also in Washington for the premiere of an HBO documentary she produced on the subject called "I Am Evidence."

Learn more about the Joyful Heart Foundation's efforts at endthebacklog.com.

"Law & Order: SVU" star
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Day five of deliberations in Bill Cosbys sexual assault trial, and the mood outside the courthouse turned sober as spectators wondered what could be taking the jury so long to reach a verdict.

Its like groundhog day. You wake up every day and its the same thing, said Dennis McAndrews, former prosecutor and local Montgomery County attorney who has been attending the trial daily.

The mood is very serious, bordering on testy.

The biggest question centered on the definition of reasonable doubt. The jury asked the judge for a read-back of testimony provided last week by accuser Andrea Constands mother, sparking the outrage of Cosbys defense team.

"What weve got now is jurors trying to overcome other jurors by having a recap of the entire testimony," defense lawyer Brian McMonagle said while demanding a mistrial.

The jury remained obstinate, asking for additional testimony about Cosby giving quaaludes to women in exchange for sex in the 1970s. They also asked for Constands testimony on phone records showing she stayed in contact with Cosby following their encounter.

These two questions seemed to indicate a third question: Why is consent so difficult to define?

Sexual assault cases I always found to be particularly difficult," McAndrews said. Not only because of the emotion involved but also because, for the jury to convict, youre not only asking them to find him guilty of a crime, youre asking the jury to decide that the individual has a kind of perversion.

Sexual assault survivors who spoke outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, maintained that the distinction between yes and no is much more clear.

Consent is a freely given yes, said Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment (PAVE) founder Angela Rose, adding that Cosbys defense has been playing a game of victim blaming and shaming.

Let us not forget regardless of the outcome today, this case is a huge step forward for survivors of sexual assault, added PAVE activist Delaney Henderson.

Cosbys defense team has based their arguments on the idea that Constands relationship with the comedian was romantic in nature and, therefore, their encounters were consensual.

But nearly 50 percent of rapes were perpetrated by an attacker known to the victim, including friends, relatives and partners, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Further, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network reports that approximately 60 percent of rapes are never reported to the police. Even in attacks that are reported, there is only a 16 percent chance an alleged attacker will go to prison.

Constands case represents a conundrum for victims of sexual assault: When to speak up if a crime, or perceived crime, has occurred.

Ever since I was a little girl I was told it was my responsibility to determine when and how to have sex and to really fear the interaction because of the whole notion that boys will be boys, said Elicia Gonzales, a Philadelphia-based activist.

When you place so much responsibility on the person who is coming out as having been raped, then it diminishes that persons chance and ability to come forward because they feel ashamed.

Gonzales was date raped as a teen, but she didnt think to label it that until she became an adult. In her youth, she wanted to kiss the popular boy at a party. He wanted more. Rather than resist, she went along with it to avoid being rude or hurting his feelings. It was a tacit agreement Gonzales regretted until a friend expressed how sorry she was after hearing the story.

I can relate to feeling ashamed and embarrassed, like I did something wrong, she said. I didnt want people asking Why did you let him do that to you?'

Part of the problem, she said, was the consistent self-blaming and self-critique that is already experienced when someone is assaulted, Gonzales said. It makes it completely impossible to come forward when youre bombarded with messages that.
A wounded U.S Marine veteran, distinguished with a Purple Heart, was one of the newest officers to join the ranks of the Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD), Friday.

Christopher Lawrence, 30, originally from Milwaukee, is a decorated combat veteran who overcame severe war injuries and a rejected admission into another police department before finally graduating at the top of his class from the Southwestern Community College Police Academy on June 10.

In 2007, Lawrence served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. As he crossed a bridge to the mainland, insurgents watched from a distance and detonated an IED placed beneath it.

Chula Vista police said he suffered life-threatening injuries in the explosion, badly damaging his arms and legs. His comrades said the blast tossed him into the air as high as a palm tree.

The Challenged Athletes Foundation Operation Rebound celebrates Chris Lawrence, who graduates 6/17 from the police academy as a CVPD Officer pic.twitter.com/q63PrqiGAq  Chula Vista Police (@ChulaVistaPD) June 14, 2017

In the U.S., doctors initially worked to save both his legs, but said he'd always need to use a walker.

In 2008, Lawrence made the decision to have one leg replaced with a prosthetic, in the hope of prolonging his military career.



After dozens of surgeries, Lawrence was told he would never walk again without assistance or have normal use of his arm, according to Chula Vista police. But he never stopped working to rehabilitate himself.

Lawrence honorably retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2010. In the end, his decision to remove one leg actually helped secure his career in police work.



Despite a few rejections in the application process to different police agencies, Lawrence decided to enroll in the Southwestern Police Academy to prove that he could physically do the job, said Chula Vista police. Word of his courage, physical ability and personal character spread, and soon multiple agencies competed to hire him.

"I have never met a more abled-body person in my life, said Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy said of Laurence, The power of his attitude and character and the strength in his heart easily overcome the physical challenges. His life and the challenges he has overcome are an inspiration to others."

On Friday Laurence was sworn in with his academy classmate, Stephanie Campolo, as the two became the newest Chula Vista Police Officers.

He's the first to admit his childhood didn't resemble that of a boy scout. Lawrence grew up living in and out of various foster homes in Milwaukee's inner city. But he believes his back story will help him succeed and connect with different people.



"I could understand what some people are going through and they could maybe appreciate what I've gone through, and we can connect on another level," said Lawrence. "You needed someone to look past the story, exactly, to look past the injuries, to say the injuries don't really hold me back," explained Lawrence.

"I couldn't be more proud to have Christopher become part of the Chula Vista Police Department family," said Chief Kennedy.

In addition to the Purple Heart, Lawrence has received multiple military awards, including the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon (Iraq), Iraq Campaign Medal with one campaign star, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
Blockbuster motion pictures have been tapping into the superhero world, bringing to life many childhood inspirations and dreams inspired by the stories and characters in comic books.

These characters got their start in print in newspapers, magazines, and comic books, and the Library of Congress is ready to celebrate those creations and inviting the public to join in.

Library of Awesome is a pop-up exhibit at the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C., and represents the history and breadth of comic and graphic novels throughout history. From Famous Funnies No. 1 (1934) to Wonder Woman No. 600 and many in between, a selection of nearly 100 items from the Library of Congress collection offer a glimpse into the real world impact of these imaginary people.

Megan Halsband, reference librarian with the Library of Congress Serial and Government Publications Division, said the recent surge in popularity of Wonder Woman in the latest film gave her a focus for the main part of the display.

I wanted to highlight some of the female characters that have been published across comic book history, Halsband said. A lot of the materials I selected for this exhibit were a lot of the big guns. The things that people really want to see that we dont pull out that often.

Original comic book material, original comic art, and select manuscript material were chosen from the main collection of nearly 140,000 pieces for the exhibit. Halsband said it was the largest comic book exhibit ever put on by the Library of Congress.

The display contains many No. 1 issues, issues that mark the first appearance of a character or a representative comic of an important story or monumental occasion. While Marvel and DC have the mass popularity, the exhibit is broken down into different categories to encompass the wide range of comic books that have appeared over the years.

The science fiction comics display includes Planet Comics from 1946, Doctor Who No. 1, and Star Trek comics in addition to some horror and fantasy comics. The childrens comic display has original art from LuLu (1942), Donald Duck (1956), and Pogo (1957) as well as one piece that is near and dear to Halsbands heart.

I pulled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, because that is what I read as a kid, and it is one of my favorite comics, she said. It is my childhood, and it went (in the childrens comic display). Thats the touchstone for me. Im hoping that everyone that comes will have that moment of oh, that is what I like to read.

A series of events are schedule for June 16 and 17 beyond just the exhibit. On Friday, the display will be open until 3 p.m. on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building in room LJ113.

On Saturday, the display will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but in the Young Readers Center, staff will host activities from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., including drawing comic books, creating props, and assembling costumes. Visitors will also be able to explore comic books, graphic novels and other Young Readers Center collections and get superhero and sci-fi-themed photos taken.

Library of Congress staff members will also be holding a panel discussion at 11 a.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to talk about the collection, conservation and preservation of the material, and how people might visit the Library of Congress to use the collections for their own research.

We hope people are going to be really excited about it and want to come back to the Library and see what else we have, Halsband said. Im just really excited to be able to show off what I work with on a daily basis. I feel pretty lucky.

The Library of Congress announced they are collecting and archiving webcomics, reflecting the importance of the popular format for creators and readers. The Webcomics Web Archive will focus on comics created specifically for the web and supplement the Librarys extensive holdings in comic books, graphic novels and original comic art.
A Virginia man is being held without bond, one of several people accused of taking part in a violent altercation outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington during a visit last month by Turkey's president.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo ordered 45-year-old Sinan Narin of McLean, Virginia, held Friday. He's charged with aggravated and simple assault.

DeMeo noted a prosecutor's concern the alleged attack took place in daylight despite a heavy law enforcement presence. Defense attorney Susan Borecki questioned facial recognition software used to identify Narin, but Demeo noted the resemblance of the person she saw in the courtroom to the person in the video of the May 16 confrontation.

Police issued arrest warrants Thursday for a dozen Turkish security agents and two Canadians also accused of attacking protesters.
Eighty-four Great Danes have been rescued from a suspected puppy mill in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, by police who issued search and seizure and arrest warrants on the undisclosed property Friday morning with the help of The Humane Society of the United States.

Wolfeboro police initially arrived at the property on May 9 after receiving animal neglect allegations, police said. Officers found the 84 dogs living in squalid conditions with limited access to food or water, according to authorities.

The canines were surrounded in feces and several had swollen eyelids. There was heavy odor of ammonia, feces and raw chicken, authorities said.

The HSUS safely transported the animals to a temporary, undisclosed emergency animal shelter.

"Its astonishing that such cruelty can occur and Im so relieved that these animals are now safe and in the hands of people who will provide proper care for them. We anticipate caring for them for several months," said Lindsay Hamrick, New Hampshire state director for The HSUS who was on the scene.

Wolfeboro Police Chief Dean Rondeau said in a news release that he had never seen such horrible conditions in his more than two decades of law enforcement.

"Words cannot describe the absolute abhorrent conditions these animals were living in. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to The Humane Society of the United States, Conway Area Humane Society and Pope Memorial SPCA, whose expert opinion and counsel was well-received, as well as the other local organizations who assisted at the scene, Chief Rondeau said.

The dogs will be thoroughly examined by a team of veterinarians and receive the necessary care, The HSUS said.
Questions remain after 15 people were injured when a high-speed ferry struck a jetty in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, and began taking on water on Friday night.

The ferry Iyanough hit the jetty and grounded on the rocks at the Hyannis Harbor entrance around 10 p.m. Friday. It serves a 26-mile route between Nantucket and Hyannis. There were 48 passengers, 6 crew members and 3 food service workers on board the vessel at the time of the mishap.

Bad weather, strong winds and choppy seas are believed to have contributed to the grounding of the Iyanough, the authority said in a statement.

Dean Melanson, Hyannis Fire Department's acting chief, said that "they reported to us that, on the outside, it was 4-foot seas."

That level of swells should have been manageable, in Melanson's opinion.

"This is New England," he said. "Four- to 5-foot swells are not uncommon around here. I think most of the mariners will tell you that's not a huge deal."

The U.S. Coast Guard said rescue crews worked into the night to transfer passengers and ferry crew.

Passengers on board said they were shocked when the crash occurred.

"I didn't know what to do so all of a sudden I grabbed a life vest and I started to give them to some people, and there were people outside who fell over and injured their heads real bad. They were bleeding and there was just chaos at that point," said passenger Kane Barton. "Then everyone started to calm down when we realized we were safely on the rocks."

Coast Guard officials assessed the ferry's damage on Saturday. It's estimated that the vessel will take two to three weeks to fix. In the meantime, a different ferry is making the necessary runs on a somewhat disrupted schedule.

On Saturday night, it was transported to Fairhaven Shipyard in Fairhaven to begin undergoing repairs.

The ferry is operated by the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamship Authority, connecting the Massachusetts islands with the mainland. It can hold up to 400 people.

"Our concerns, first and foremost, are the safety and well-being of our passengers, and we deeply appreciate the efforts of all who guided them safely to shore," said Wayne Lamson, general manager of the Nantucket Steamship Authority.

Queries about whether or not the ferry should have been operating in Friday night's rough waters have arisen in the wake of the crash.

It's ultimately the captain's decision, and Lamson dismissed those questioning the choice to make that last trip Friday night.

"Should they have been out there? I would think so. That is, we didn't have any issue with that," Lamson said.

There are always two licensed officers on each ferry trip - a captain and a pilot.

Coast Guard Lt. Commander Matt Baker said that "they'll ask the captain how he assessed the weather conditions and, based on his response, it's something we will obviously take a look at."

Baker added that the crew, master, and mate of the ferry will all be interviewed. "We'll look at the electronic navigation system of the vessel - we can download data from that," he said.

Roberta Weisbrod, the executive director of Worldwide Ferry Safety Association, has been studying data on ferry crashes over the 17 years and, from her research, she said that "roughly 80 percent - give or take - is human error."

She called Friday night's conditions serious but not dangerous and said that, at this time, she thinks the crash was probably due to "either pilot error or mechanical failure."

Passengers holding tickets for the high-speed ferry will be accommodated on board the authority's traditional ferries for travel to and from Nantucket.
A 2-year-old boy who was struck and badly injured by a vehicle in Manchester, New Hampshire on Saturday morning, is still in critical condition, according to local police.

The toddler was initially unresponsive when brought to Elliot Hospital in Manchester. He was later transported to a Boston-area hospital for further treatment.

Manchester police said in a statement that, around 9:12 a.m., a woman driving a 2016 Chrysler Town & Country minivan was backing out of a residential garage when it collided with the child.

Neither the child nor the driver's identities have been released at this time.

The accident, which took place on Dwight Street, is currently under investigation by the Manchester Police Traffic Unit Collision Reconstruction and Analysis Team.
A woman who was seriously injured in a boating accident in New Hampshire this past weekend died Thursday evening, according to New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol.

An autopsy on the victim, 29-year-old Meghan Rodriguez of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, has been scheduled while the incident remains under investigation by the Marine Patrol Bureau.

The accident occurred on Lake Monomonac in Rindge around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 11.

Rodriguez was a passenger on a 2016 Kawasaki personal watercraft. One of the two other passengers aboard the boat, Joseph Ocasio of Winchendon, Massachusetts, was operating the vehicle.

On return from their tubing outing, Rodriguez, who was riding on a Jet Ski attached to the boat, fell from the boat and became entangled in tubes towline. Rodriguez was found floating in the lake unconscious.

Authorities were notified of the accident around 5:30 p.m. shortly after the incident occurred. Rodriguez was administered CPR and transported to a local hospital.

She was later airlifted to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medial where she was placed into the intensive care unit and died a few days later.


Sprowston Churches Together launch Filling Station Sprowston Churches Together launch Filling Station

Local churches in Sprowston are working together to run a new monthly Filling Station based at the Sprowston Manor Marriott Hotel, in order to serve the expanding population from new housing developments in the area.
An 18-year-old DeWitt man made a comment to a friend about "stabbing people the day before Clinton County Sheriffs deputies found the bodies of his parents Tuesday morning, according to an arrest affidavit released Friday.

Further, Gavin Vaughn William Glasz told the friend my mom and dad need to be with my grandpa  off this earth, according to the affidavit.

Glasz made an initial appearance Friday in Clinton County District Court on two counts of felony first-degree murder in the deaths of Brian Paul Glasz, 51, and Michelle Renee Glasz, 54.

He was appointed a public defender and will be back in court Friday, June 23, for a preliminary hearing. Gavin Glasz remains in the Scott County Jail on a $1 million cash-only bond.

Clinton County deputies were dispatched around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to the Glasz home in the 3700 block of U.S. 30 in rural DeWitt for a welfare check after Brian Glasz had failed to arrive at work.

According to the arrest affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint:

Deputies entered the house through an unlocked window after trying unsuccessfully to call the Glaszes on their cellphones and knocking on the door.

While deputies were on scene, Gavin Glasz was outside and came around the corner of the house. While talking to him, deputies noticed that Gavin Glasz had what appeared to be fresh wounds on the knuckles of his hands. He said he was injured when he was punching a punching bag.

He also had a laceration on his right little finger that required stitches. He told deputies that he cut his hand on barbed wire while out for a run.

Gavin Glasz, who was taken into custody on an unrelated warrant, told deputies that he had not seen his mother for four days and last saw his father on the weekend. Deputies who searched him found more than $800 in cash in his pocket that appeared to have blood on it.

Inside the home, deputies saw what looked like a body wrapped in blankets or comforters. They discovered Brian Glasz, whose throat appeared to be cut. The body was found in the laundry room on the main level of the house.

Michelle Glasz also had been wrapped in blankets and was found in a room in the basement. She was cold to the touch and had blood on her.

A man told deputies that he went to the house at 7 a.m. Tuesday to pick up a load of corn to take to ADM. The man said he saw Gavin Glasz in an outbuilding that sits behind the house and Brian Glaszs truck was inside the building, the man said.

The man further said that he asked Gavin Glasz where his father was and that he replied that he had gotten a ride to work.

Gavin Glasz told deputies he had gone to get food from a fast food restaurant on Monday night and had not been to house for several days.

Deputies searched the house and found a fast food receipt, as well as clothing and footwear belonging to him that had what appeared to be blood on them. Bloody items were found in the kitchen sink, washing machine and other areas.

They also found a blood footprint in the laundry room near Brian Glaszs body that were similar to a pair of shoes found in an upstairs bathroom. An empty shoe box for the same type and size of the shoes was found in Gavin Glasz bedroom.

A review of surveillance video on the property shows him leaving and entering a rear door of the home several times Tuesday morning. He later is seen wearing different clothes.

It appeared in the video that Gavin Glasz had dark-colored stains on his light-colored sweatpants. During a search of the house, a pair of light-colored sweatpants with apparent blood stains on the front pant legs was found outside his bedroom in the basement.

The Iowa State Medical Examiner determined Brian Glaszs cause of death was from multiple sharp force injuries and strangulation. He also had a blunt force trauma to the head.

Michelle Glaszs cause of death was strangulation and multiple sharp force injuries.

No 911 calls were made from the home before deputies arrived on scene, according to the affidavit.

On May 28, Gavin Glasz was charged with operating while intoxicated after a traffic stop in the 1300 block of Camanche Avenue in Clinton. He has a pretrial conference June 28 in that case.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI: Indian banks are caught in a mess best described by J Paul Getty: If you owe the bank $100 thats your problem. If you owe $100 million, thats the banks problem. Banks are struggling with Rs 10 lakh crore NPAs, and it seems, every step to stem the slide is adding more knots.

On Tuesday, though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) moved swiftly identifying top 12 large borrowers accounting for a quarter of the total bad loans in the system, experts say, these efforts too may get mired in procedural issues.

The entire ecosystem including insolvency professionals, tribunals, banking, legal professionals and investors is still building capacity and capabilities. Given the strict timelines under the Code, it will take considerable efforts from all stakeholders to reach desirable solutions, pointed out Ashish Chhawchharia, Partner - Restructuring Services, Grant Thornton Advisory Pvt Ltd.

As for banks, they are staring at an action-packed week starting Monday, with the countrys largest lender SBI calling peers to take stock of the situation.

Under the norms specified by RBI, banks have 30 days from the day of receiving the list to take the cases to the NCLT and the tribunal has to admit the case within 14 days. RBIs Internal Advisory Committee (IAC), which identified the 12 accounts, has assured that cases will be given priority by the NCLT.

Currently, under the bankruptcy law, banks have filed 18 cases that are at various stages, but resolution or liquidation plans have not been finalised in even one case yet. Sources said banks will knock the NCLT by next month in an attempt to unlock the debt load piled on behalf of industries like Essar Steel Ltd, Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd, Monnet Ispat & Energy and others.

In the past, RBI had identified the top 50 defaulters, some of who will likely include Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power, Lanco, Videocon, Jaypee Group, Essar, ABG Shipyard, Punj Lloyd etc. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too mentioned several times that the problem of bad loans wasnt systemic, but limited to 30-50 accounts.

The IAC was formed after the government amended the Banking Regulation Act through an ordinance to give the central bank more powers in the resolution of stressed loans, which are currently at 17 per cent of total advances. The IAC chose these cases using a common criterion, where the total bank exposure exceeded Rs 5,000 crore, and about 60 per cent of loans have been classified as NPA as of March 2016.

RBI working on paper on co-origination of loans

RBI is working on a paper on co-origination of loans, which can become an important way of catering to the micro, small and medium enterprises, RBI deputy governor S S Mundra said at an Assocham event held in New Delhi on Friday.

There had been consultation and discussion with the banking industry because it is something where essentially banking and non-banking lenders have to come together. So those consultations were already on, and it is a paper in the making. Not that a final view has been taken, said Mundra while inaugurating Assocham Bankers-Borrowers Business Meeting.

MUMBAI: Indian banks are caught in a mess best described by J Paul Getty: If you owe the bank $100 thats your problem. If you owe $100 million, thats the banks problem. Banks are struggling with Rs 10 lakh crore NPAs, and it seems, every step to stem the slide is adding more knots. On Tuesday, though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) moved swiftly identifying top 12 large borrowers accounting for a quarter of the total bad loans in the system, experts say, these efforts too may get mired in procedural issues. The entire ecosystem including insolvency professionals, tribunals, banking, legal professionals and investors is still building capacity and capabilities. Given the strict timelines under the Code, it will take considerable efforts from all stakeholders to reach desirable solutions, pointed out Ashish Chhawchharia, Partner - Restructuring Services, Grant Thornton Advisory Pvt Ltd. As for banks, they are staring at an action-packed week starting Monday, with the countrys largest lender SBI calling peers to take stock of the situation. Under the norms specified by RBI, banks have 30 days from the day of receiving the list to take the cases to the NCLT and the tribunal has to admit the case within 14 days. RBIs Internal Advisory Committee (IAC), which identified the 12 accounts, has assured that cases will be given priority by the NCLT. Currently, under the bankruptcy law, banks have filed 18 cases that are at various stages, but resolution or liquidation plans have not been finalised in even one case yet. Sources said banks will knock the NCLT by next month in an attempt to unlock the debt load piled on behalf of industries like Essar Steel Ltd, Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd, Monnet Ispat & Energy and others. In the past, RBI had identified the top 50 defaulters, some of who will likely include Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power, Lanco, Videocon, Jaypee Group, Essar, ABG Shipyard, Punj Lloyd etc. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too mentioned several times that the problem of bad loans wasnt systemic, but limited to 30-50 accounts. The IAC was formed after the government amended the Banking Regulation Act through an ordinance to give the central bank more powers in the resolution of stressed loans, which are currently at 17 per cent of total advances. The IAC chose these cases using a common criterion, where the total bank exposure exceeded Rs 5,000 crore, and about 60 per cent of loans have been classified as NPA as of March 2016. RBI working on paper on co-origination of loans RBI is working on a paper on co-origination of loans, which can become an important way of catering to the micro, small and medium enterprises, RBI deputy governor S S Mundra said at an Assocham event held in New Delhi on Friday. There had been consultation and discussion with the banking industry because it is something where essentially banking and non-banking lenders have to come together. So those consultations were already on, and it is a paper in the making. Not that a final view has been taken, said Mundra while inaugurating Assocham Bankers-Borrowers Business Meeting.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: A day after a delegation of private doctors met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah requesting him not to pass the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2017, in its present form, around 8,000 of their counterparts went on a strike protesting against the Bill, on Friday. The chief minister had not assured the doctors anything concrete on Thursday.

The doctors, from various districts in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, took out the rally  Bengaluru Chalo  from the city railway station to the Freedom Park. Because of the strike, medical services were hit in parts of the state. However, the doctors claimed that the strike did not affect patients in Bengaluru.

When the 30-member committee, headed by Justice Vikramjit Sen, announced its recommendations in April, public health activists went up in arms against the government as it proposed to include government hospitals. They wanted the two sectors to be regulated under different laws.

Dr Nagendra Swamy, member of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, contended that it was unconstitutional for the government to fix prices for medical procedures.

A private clinic, a small hospital or a big hospital should be free to fix the price they want based on the skilled services they provide. When no other sector is regulated in terms of price, why is the healthcare sector singled out? he said.

He also said the patients charter, envisaged in the Bill, should be no more than a set of guidelines and not legally binding. It can be misused. Tomorrow, anyone whos not happy with the doctor will start seeking the doctors imprisonment.

The doctors also have a problem with the setting up of a district grievance redressal committee as per the Bill. When there are so many fora such as Karnataka Medical Council, State Human Rights Commission, civil and criminal courts, why should they have another one? This is superfluous, Swamy said.

However, Karnataka Janarogya Chaluvali Convenor Akhila Vasan felt that the doctors fears were unfounded. There will be classification for each hospital and clinic. Prices will be fixed based on that. And the committee that fixes the prices will have doctors from the private sector. The committee will have sub-committees that wont fix prices arbitrarily, Vasan said.

As proposed in the Bill, a committee will be set up to fix price services and facilities like beds, operation theatre procedures, intensive care, ventilation, implants and consultation. It will have members from both private and government sectors.

Among city hospitals, Vikram Hospital was one whose doctors and staff participated in the protest. We, keeping in view the requirement and to avoid inconvenience to patient care, emergency, walk-in and in-patient services, have been maintaining the above services with skeletal staff, a statement from the hospital said.

Penalty of `25,000 up to `5 lakh and imprisonment from six months up to three years, if found overcharging, has been proposed for doctors and hospital managements.

BENGALURU: A day after a delegation of private doctors met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah requesting him not to pass the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2017, in its present form, around 8,000 of their counterparts went on a strike protesting against the Bill, on Friday. The chief minister had not assured the doctors anything concrete on Thursday. The doctors, from various districts in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, took out the rally  Bengaluru Chalo  from the city railway station to the Freedom Park. Because of the strike, medical services were hit in parts of the state. However, the doctors claimed that the strike did not affect patients in Bengaluru. When the 30-member committee, headed by Justice Vikramjit Sen, announced its recommendations in April, public health activists went up in arms against the government as it proposed to include government hospitals. They wanted the two sectors to be regulated under different laws. Dr Nagendra Swamy, member of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, contended that it was unconstitutional for the government to fix prices for medical procedures. A private clinic, a small hospital or a big hospital should be free to fix the price they want based on the skilled services they provide. When no other sector is regulated in terms of price, why is the healthcare sector singled out? he said. He also said the patients charter, envisaged in the Bill, should be no more than a set of guidelines and not legally binding. It can be misused. Tomorrow, anyone whos not happy with the doctor will start seeking the doctors imprisonment. The doctors also have a problem with the setting up of a district grievance redressal committee as per the Bill. When there are so many fora such as Karnataka Medical Council, State Human Rights Commission, civil and criminal courts, why should they have another one? This is superfluous, Swamy said. However, Karnataka Janarogya Chaluvali Convenor Akhila Vasan felt that the doctors fears were unfounded. There will be classification for each hospital and clinic. Prices will be fixed based on that. And the committee that fixes the prices will have doctors from the private sector. The committee will have sub-committees that wont fix prices arbitrarily, Vasan said. As proposed in the Bill, a committee will be set up to fix price services and facilities like beds, operation theatre procedures, intensive care, ventilation, implants and consultation. It will have members from both private and government sectors. Among city hospitals, Vikram Hospital was one whose doctors and staff participated in the protest. We, keeping in view the requirement and to avoid inconvenience to patient care, emergency, walk-in and in-patient services, have been maintaining the above services with skeletal staff, a statement from the hospital said. Penalty of `25,000 up to `5 lakh and imprisonment from six months up to three years, if found overcharging, has been proposed for doctors and hospital managements.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the new section of the Bengaluru Namma Metros phase-1 this evening, a huge step that will redress the transportation woes of the city, and ensure fast connectivity between different parts of the city.

The President inaugurated the North-South Corridor as well as dedicated the entire Phase-I to the nation.

With the commissioning of the full 42.3-km stretch, the number of Metro users is expected to rise from 1.9 lakh to nearly 5 lakh. With traffic on roads routinely moving at snails pace, the fast-moving metro will be welcome relief.

Traffic in the city moves at a speed of 10 kmph or less sometimes. Metro trains will run at an average speed of 35 kmph and can touch a maximum of 75 kmph.

The full stretch of phase -1 of the Metro now covers the existing East-West corridor and the new North-South corridor.

Though the new corridor from Mantri Square Sampige Road to Yelachenahalli extends to only 10.5-km, it would link North, South, East and West Bengaluru by interconnecting all the stretches at the Kempe Gowda Interchange Metro station.

The North-South stretch will begin commercial operations at 4 pm on Sunday from the two ends of the corridor, Nagasandra as well as Yelachenahalli. It will have 9 elevated stations

The fares on Namma Metro will also be increased by 10 to 12 per cent on the Purple Line between Mysore Road and Baiyappanahalli and the Green Line between Nagasandra and Mantri Square Sampige Road, which are presently operational. A detailed fare chart for all stations will be released late on Saturday.

Eleven years after the project was approved by the Union Cabinet, commissioning of the entire phase-1 is set to become a reality today after numerous deadlines lapsed. The final cost of the project is Rs 13,865 crore. The first stretch of the Metro from M G Road to Baiyappanahalli was launched on October 20, 2011.

Earlier in the day, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George visited the Vidhana Soudha to inspect the arrangements for the evening function. It is a matter of great pride not only for Bengalureans but for everyone in Karnataka that the President will dedicate the entire project to the nation today.

BENGALURU: President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the new section of the Bengaluru Namma Metros phase-1 this evening, a huge step that will redress the transportation woes of the city, and ensure fast connectivity between different parts of the city. The President inaugurated the North-South Corridor as well as dedicated the entire Phase-I to the nation. With the commissioning of the full 42.3-km stretch, the number of Metro users is expected to rise from 1.9 lakh to nearly 5 lakh. With traffic on roads routinely moving at snails pace, the fast-moving metro will be welcome relief. Traffic in the city moves at a speed of 10 kmph or less sometimes. Metro trains will run at an average speed of 35 kmph and can touch a maximum of 75 kmph. The full stretch of phase -1 of the Metro now covers the existing East-West corridor and the new North-South corridor. Though the new corridor from Mantri Square Sampige Road to Yelachenahalli extends to only 10.5-km, it would link North, South, East and West Bengaluru by interconnecting all the stretches at the Kempe Gowda Interchange Metro station. The North-South stretch will begin commercial operations at 4 pm on Sunday from the two ends of the corridor, Nagasandra as well as Yelachenahalli. It will have 9 elevated stations The fares on Namma Metro will also be increased by 10 to 12 per cent on the Purple Line between Mysore Road and Baiyappanahalli and the Green Line between Nagasandra and Mantri Square Sampige Road, which are presently operational. A detailed fare chart for all stations will be released late on Saturday. Eleven years after the project was approved by the Union Cabinet, commissioning of the entire phase-1 is set to become a reality today after numerous deadlines lapsed. The final cost of the project is Rs 13,865 crore. The first stretch of the Metro from M G Road to Baiyappanahalli was launched on October 20, 2011. Earlier in the day, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George visited the Vidhana Soudha to inspect the arrangements for the evening function. It is a matter of great pride not only for Bengalureans but for everyone in Karnataka that the President will dedicate the entire project to the nation today.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The principal of Pachaiyappas College was assaulted by students while checking their identity cards on Friday. Students threw a tender coconut at him and went on to wreck his car as well.

Every day the professor of our college stands at the entrance and checks the students ID cards, said Head of the Zoology Department D N Shettu. Around noon the students came to college, while principal S Kaliraj (53) was checking the students ID cards. Suddenly a group of students opposed being checked. There are 10 policemen who have already been already deployed in the college.

When the students began throwing stones, some of them targeted police personnel too. The students threw a tender coconut on the principals head. He was injured and his ear started bleeding and so he was rushed to a hospital nearby.

There after, stone pelting continued inside the college and the windshield of the principals car was broken. Consequently, security was beefed up on the college campus. Based on the principals complaint, the Kilpauk Police secured 16 students for enquiry. In addition to this, students of Pachaiyappas also celebrated their first day of college. Three groups of students walked from three different roads blocking the roads via Tailors Road and Poonamallee Road. They walked about 300 m from the college with flowers in their hands.

Every year students complete their vacation and offer prayers in front of the statutes of Anna and Pachaiyappa Mudaliyar located on the college campus, said chemistry lab assistant Vadivelu who has been working at the college for more than 20 years.

Meanwhile, at Kandasamy Naidu College students celebrated their first day on Friday morning by breaking the college windows. Based on the principals complaint, third-year BA student M Dilip (19) and M Ramesh (21) who has completed his course, were arrested.

CHENNAI: The principal of Pachaiyappas College was assaulted by students while checking their identity cards on Friday. Students threw a tender coconut at him and went on to wreck his car as well. Every day the professor of our college stands at the entrance and checks the students ID cards, said Head of the Zoology Department D N Shettu. Around noon the students came to college, while principal S Kaliraj (53) was checking the students ID cards. Suddenly a group of students opposed being checked. There are 10 policemen who have already been already deployed in the college. When the students began throwing stones, some of them targeted police personnel too. The students threw a tender coconut on the principals head. He was injured and his ear started bleeding and so he was rushed to a hospital nearby. There after, stone pelting continued inside the college and the windshield of the principals car was broken. Consequently, security was beefed up on the college campus. Based on the principals complaint, the Kilpauk Police secured 16 students for enquiry. In addition to this, students of Pachaiyappas also celebrated their first day of college. Three groups of students walked from three different roads blocking the roads via Tailors Road and Poonamallee Road. They walked about 300 m from the college with flowers in their hands. Every year students complete their vacation and offer prayers in front of the statutes of Anna and Pachaiyappa Mudaliyar located on the college campus, said chemistry lab assistant Vadivelu who has been working at the college for more than 20 years. Meanwhile, at Kandasamy Naidu College students celebrated their first day on Friday morning by breaking the college windows. Based on the principals complaint, third-year BA student M Dilip (19) and M Ramesh (21) who has completed his course, were arrested.
Aditya Shrikrishna By

Express News Service

Film: Bank Chor

Director: Bumpy

Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, Rhea Chakraborty

The bank in Bank Chor is called Bank of Indians. Theres a tired attempt at a joke with recorded phone messages. Some broad ones about people from Delhi and UP migrating to Mumbai for a living. The Mumbai Police arrive in style, doing unspeakable things to the Vada Pav in their hands. Somewhere in there is an extremely offensive joke about PT Usha. The laughs dont come easy. Mostly they dont come at all. Riteish Deshmukh tries. Baba Sehgal tries. You die a little.

Baba Sehgal plays himself as one of the hostages. He breaks into his songs a couple of times and those are truly the moments you chuckle. Not because they are great but because they are good breakaways from this excuse for a comedy film. A comedy film that also has a political nexus subplot. Who asked? I wondered if the film will become a slasher fest in the second half with the journalist character played by Rhea Chakraborty picking up a hatchet and going on a killing spree. Beginning with Vivek Oberoi who is named Amjad Khan for the purpose of a single attempt at humour. Riteish Deshmukh is named Champak for the sake of a couple of jokes.

Instead, Bank Chor morphs into something else in the second half. It becomes a serious film. About some hard drive. Some cash. Some politician-real estate mogul partnership. You stop caring because you become numb. Thats when you realize that the real hostages are the ones watching Bank Chor. As the film inches towards its climax, one by one they die. Some die in an instant. For some, its a slow death. But nobody dies painlessly. Calling Bank Chor uneven would be its biggest compliment. It is like a chameleon. You dont know what it is going to become next. Is Bank Chor directed by Abbas-Mustan? And then the film ends, you notice the name of the director. It is Bumpy. You are dead.

Film: Bank Chor Director: Bumpy Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, Rhea Chakraborty The bank in Bank Chor is called Bank of Indians. Theres a tired attempt at a joke with recorded phone messages. Some broad ones about people from Delhi and UP migrating to Mumbai for a living. The Mumbai Police arrive in style, doing unspeakable things to the Vada Pav in their hands. Somewhere in there is an extremely offensive joke about PT Usha. The laughs dont come easy. Mostly they dont come at all. Riteish Deshmukh tries. Baba Sehgal tries. You die a little. Baba Sehgal plays himself as one of the hostages. He breaks into his songs a couple of times and those are truly the moments you chuckle. Not because they are great but because they are good breakaways from this excuse for a comedy film. A comedy film that also has a political nexus subplot. Who asked? I wondered if the film will become a slasher fest in the second half with the journalist character played by Rhea Chakraborty picking up a hatchet and going on a killing spree. Beginning with Vivek Oberoi who is named Amjad Khan for the purpose of a single attempt at humour. Riteish Deshmukh is named Champak for the sake of a couple of jokes. Instead, Bank Chor morphs into something else in the second half. It becomes a serious film. About some hard drive. Some cash. Some politician-real estate mogul partnership. You stop caring because you become numb. Thats when you realize that the real hostages are the ones watching Bank Chor. As the film inches towards its climax, one by one they die. Some die in an instant. For some, its a slow death. But nobody dies painlessly. Calling Bank Chor uneven would be its biggest compliment. It is like a chameleon. You dont know what it is going to become next. Is Bank Chor directed by Abbas-Mustan? And then the film ends, you notice the name of the director. It is Bumpy. You are dead.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: There are no love stories to be told, no happy endings and no redeeming features in author Lisa Hilton's psychological thriller trilogy. She rather uses graphic sex to explore the uninhibited desires of Judith Rashleigh, her woman protagonist in the series.



"Sex in my book is quite different and people might find that unromantic. I think a lot of writing about sex relies on extravagant comparison -- on metaphors and euphemism -- but I didn't want to write like that," Hilton told IANS in an interview.



The 42-year-old author was in India to promote her latest book "Domina", the second of the erotic trilogy published by Bloomsbury India. "Maestra", the first book, was released last year and has sold more than a million copies worldwide.



"My character is a member of the Tinder generation. So when I was writing the sex scenes, I had a look at what words people use. And I wanted to use modern language to describe modern situations that young people find themselves in," Hilton, an English graduate from Oxford University, added.



Hilton's Judith is an unapologetic, sexually-uninhibited, self-made woman who loves to break rules and create her own. For Hilton, she is "a bad girl who gets away with it".



The London-based author said her protagonist is a reflection of the "broader change in the position of women" in the world in the last 50 years. She said independence of today's women becomes evident when one compares what they are doing now to the way they were seen socially, politically and economically 50 years ago.



She feels women characters are fitting better into today's literary works. "We are not satisfied with one dimension of women's characters any more. I think there is a woman-driven book market which is seeing more interesting, complex and even ambiguous female characters," quipped Hilton, who has eight other books to her credit.



But like most authors, the journey of her manuscript to a full-fledged book was not a cake walk. She recalled how her manuscript was rejected by several publishers.



"Nobody wanted the script of 'Maestra'. My agent thought it was disgusting. I offered it to my regular publisher for no money, as a present, and he still didn't want it. But truly, I couldn't give this book away. I even thought of self-publishing it at one point because I couldn't get anyone to buy it. So I was very lucky that I eventually found a publisher," Hilton recalled.



As "Maestra" became successful, she was hailed as the new E.L. James and her book as the new "Fifty Shades of Grey". But she finds the comparison unjustified.



"'Fifty Shades of Grey' is a love story for grown-ups, where a virgin woman falls in love with a powerful man. What does that have to do with my story, I really don't know! I would like to warn people that this is not 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. If you love that book then do not buy this book," she said.



Both "Maestra" and "Domina" have garnered film deals and will be soon be turned into Hollywood flicks. Elaborating on her new book "Domina", Hilton said it is a "mix of genres" and has got "all the universal themes -- murders, guns, mafia, exotic European travel and sex".



On her expectations from Indian readers, Hilton said that she finds India to be a much more open and liberal-minded place, unlike the perception in Britain that it is very conservative. She hoped the book would gain readership in the country.



NEW DELHI: There are no love stories to be told, no happy endings and no redeeming features in author Lisa Hilton's psychological thriller trilogy. She rather uses graphic sex to explore the uninhibited desires of Judith Rashleigh, her woman protagonist in the series. "Sex in my book is quite different and people might find that unromantic. I think a lot of writing about sex relies on extravagant comparison -- on metaphors and euphemism -- but I didn't want to write like that," Hilton told IANS in an interview. The 42-year-old author was in India to promote her latest book "Domina", the second of the erotic trilogy published by Bloomsbury India. "Maestra", the first book, was released last year and has sold more than a million copies worldwide. "My character is a member of the Tinder generation. So when I was writing the sex scenes, I had a look at what words people use. And I wanted to use modern language to describe modern situations that young people find themselves in," Hilton, an English graduate from Oxford University, added. Hilton's Judith is an unapologetic, sexually-uninhibited, self-made woman who loves to break rules and create her own. For Hilton, she is "a bad girl who gets away with it". The London-based author said her protagonist is a reflection of the "broader change in the position of women" in the world in the last 50 years. She said independence of today's women becomes evident when one compares what they are doing now to the way they were seen socially, politically and economically 50 years ago. She feels women characters are fitting better into today's literary works. "We are not satisfied with one dimension of women's characters any more. I think there is a woman-driven book market which is seeing more interesting, complex and even ambiguous female characters," quipped Hilton, who has eight other books to her credit. But like most authors, the journey of her manuscript to a full-fledged book was not a cake walk. She recalled how her manuscript was rejected by several publishers. "Nobody wanted the script of 'Maestra'. My agent thought it was disgusting. I offered it to my regular publisher for no money, as a present, and he still didn't want it. But truly, I couldn't give this book away. I even thought of self-publishing it at one point because I couldn't get anyone to buy it. So I was very lucky that I eventually found a publisher," Hilton recalled. As "Maestra" became successful, she was hailed as the new E.L. James and her book as the new "Fifty Shades of Grey". But she finds the comparison unjustified. "'Fifty Shades of Grey' is a love story for grown-ups, where a virgin woman falls in love with a powerful man. What does that have to do with my story, I really don't know! I would like to warn people that this is not 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. If you love that book then do not buy this book," she said. Both "Maestra" and "Domina" have garnered film deals and will be soon be turned into Hollywood flicks. Elaborating on her new book "Domina", Hilton said it is a "mix of genres" and has got "all the universal themes -- murders, guns, mafia, exotic European travel and sex". On her expectations from Indian readers, Hilton said that she finds India to be a much more open and liberal-minded place, unlike the perception in Britain that it is very conservative. She hoped the book would gain readership in the country.
The world is heading for a new multi-polar order.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trumps meeting will be watched keenly. Trumps electoral triumph has injected huge uncertainties in the geo-political scenario. Trump rallied against Islamic terrorism in his election rallies. He spoke of stopping Muslim immigration to the US. He called Pakistan the most dangerous country. He spoke of an outreach to Russia. Security experts in India were enthused by all these articulations. Trump was talking in clear black and white terms.

That is not how things panned out after he assumed office. The deep state in Washington torpedoed his outreach to Russia and the courts blocked his ban on Muslim immigration and visas. India has been hard-hit with curbs on H1B visas.

In a surprising volte face, Trump visted Saudi Arabia, from where the bulk of the 9/11 attackers came from. Saudi Arabia and Gulf states had bankrolled the rise of a virulent new form of Wahhabism. Any attempt to contain global terrorism implied curbs on Saudi funding of terror. After 9/11, the US had completely curtailed its oil dependence on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. It shifted its oil supplies to come entirely from its own hemisphereCanada, Mexico and Venezuela. The US is now exporting oil. Only China, India, Japan and Southeast Asia are dependent on Saudi Arabian and Gulf oil. Unfortunately, their ability to influence outcomes in the Middle East is woefully limited.

In Saudi Arabia, Trump held a conclave of 35 Sunni heads of states and designated Iran as the primary source of terror. He concluded deals worth $350 billion with Saudi Arabia, with $150 billion for weapons. Iran has been aiding the Hezbollah and Hamas, and threatening Israel. It has been vying for influence in Iraq, Syria and Yemen through Shia militias/local regimes.

However, Iran was never seen as a source of global terrorism, the way Saudi Arabia was . The ISIS, Al Qaida and most jihadi organisations receive funds directly and indirectly from Saudi Arabia and Gulf sheikhdoms. Wahhabi mosques have been used as the primary incitory platforms. Trump seemed intent upon promoting a vicious Shia-Sunni faultline war in the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia leading the Sunni charge against the

Shias of Iran.

What is of great concern for India is Pakistans role in this faultline war. Pakistans former Army chief, General Raheel Sharif, has been appointed the Generalissimo of the Coalition of Sunni states to lead the charge of Sunnis for the final Karbala war to exterminate the Shias. The CIA has drawn up elaborate plans for a covert war to destabilise the government in Tehran. As earlier in Afghanistan, the Saudi Mukhabarat would be expected to pour billions of dollars into this covert war. Michael DAndrea has been made incharge of this covert war by the CIA. He had led the hunt for Osama bin Laden and is a formidable expert in covert operations. The plan is to incite ethnic minorities and Baluchi Sunnis in Iran to revolt.

Indias headache stems from the fact that Pakistan has again rented out its territory for the CIAs jihad against Iran. The Iranian Army chief had warned Pakistan to restrain terror groups in its territory. Iranian forces have since opened mortar fire on Pakistan. The problem for India is that once Pakistan makes itself the bridgehead for destabilising Afghanistan or Iran, the Americans will put inordinate levels of pressure on India to stop retaliation against Pakistan for its terrorist depredations and to settle the J&K issue. This American pressure had prevented India from retaliating after 26/11. Pakistan is playing with fire as it seeks to destabilise Iran.

The blowback could be far worse than what it got from Afghanistan.

Pakistan has sold its territory to China for the CPEC. It cannot sell its territory to the US for a covert war against Iran. Pakistan could invite unintended consequences as harried neighbours close ranks to fight this rabid state. Chinas $57 billion investment could be seriously jeopardised if Pakistans conflicts with Iran and India escalate. Once again, policy in Washington seems to be driven by short-sighted tactical agendas for dealing with Iran. China is a serious long-term competitor for the US. The US has made it easier for China to acquire military technology from Russia. In the next decade, the Chinese will have six aircraft carriers and 100 submarines.

The Pentagons focus is now on Iran (just as it was earlier on Iraq). How Russia and China react to the US moves in Iran could unleash large-scale conflict in the region. That could disrupt oil supplies to Asia and push up its prices. Russia and China may not be willing to stand by and see Iran being taken down. The conflict could singe Pakistan and severely impact Asia.

In such a scenario, India would do well to focus on its own national interests. We are not obliged to participate in any wars to destabilise Iran. We want to safeguard our citizens and towards that end, if Pakistan has to be chastised militarily, so be it.

Maj. Gen. (Retd) G D Bakshi

War veteran and strategic analyst

gagandeep.bakshi@yahoo.com

The world is heading for a new multi-polar order.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trumps meeting will be watched keenly. Trumps electoral triumph has injected huge uncertainties in the geo-political scenario. Trump rallied against Islamic terrorism in his election rallies. He spoke of stopping Muslim immigration to the US. He called Pakistan the most dangerous country. He spoke of an outreach to Russia. Security experts in India were enthused by all these articulations. Trump was talking in clear black and white terms. That is not how things panned out after he assumed office. The deep state in Washington torpedoed his outreach to Russia and the courts blocked his ban on Muslim immigration and visas. India has been hard-hit with curbs on H1B visas. In a surprising volte face, Trump visted Saudi Arabia, from where the bulk of the 9/11 attackers came from. Saudi Arabia and Gulf states had bankrolled the rise of a virulent new form of Wahhabism. Any attempt to contain global terrorism implied curbs on Saudi funding of terror. After 9/11, the US had completely curtailed its oil dependence on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. It shifted its oil supplies to come entirely from its own hemisphereCanada, Mexico and Venezuela. The US is now exporting oil. Only China, India, Japan and Southeast Asia are dependent on Saudi Arabian and Gulf oil. Unfortunately, their ability to influence outcomes in the Middle East is woefully limited. In Saudi Arabia, Trump held a conclave of 35 Sunni heads of states and designated Iran as the primary source of terror. He concluded deals worth $350 billion with Saudi Arabia, with $150 billion for weapons. Iran has been aiding the Hezbollah and Hamas, and threatening Israel. It has been vying for influence in Iraq, Syria and Yemen through Shia militias/local regimes. However, Iran was never seen as a source of global terrorism, the way Saudi Arabia was . The ISIS, Al Qaida and most jihadi organisations receive funds directly and indirectly from Saudi Arabia and Gulf sheikhdoms. Wahhabi mosques have been used as the primary incitory platforms. Trump seemed intent upon promoting a vicious Shia-Sunni faultline war in the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia leading the Sunni charge against the Shias of Iran. What is of great concern for India is Pakistans role in this faultline war. Pakistans former Army chief, General Raheel Sharif, has been appointed the Generalissimo of the Coalition of Sunni states to lead the charge of Sunnis for the final Karbala war to exterminate the Shias. The CIA has drawn up elaborate plans for a covert war to destabilise the government in Tehran. As earlier in Afghanistan, the Saudi Mukhabarat would be expected to pour billions of dollars into this covert war. Michael DAndrea has been made incharge of this covert war by the CIA. He had led the hunt for Osama bin Laden and is a formidable expert in covert operations. The plan is to incite ethnic minorities and Baluchi Sunnis in Iran to revolt. Indias headache stems from the fact that Pakistan has again rented out its territory for the CIAs jihad against Iran. The Iranian Army chief had warned Pakistan to restrain terror groups in its territory. Iranian forces have since opened mortar fire on Pakistan. The problem for India is that once Pakistan makes itself the bridgehead for destabilising Afghanistan or Iran, the Americans will put inordinate levels of pressure on India to stop retaliation against Pakistan for its terrorist depredations and to settle the J&K issue. This American pressure had prevented India from retaliating after 26/11. Pakistan is playing with fire as it seeks to destabilise Iran. The blowback could be far worse than what it got from Afghanistan. Pakistan has sold its territory to China for the CPEC. It cannot sell its territory to the US for a covert war against Iran. Pakistan could invite unintended consequences as harried neighbours close ranks to fight this rabid state. Chinas $57 billion investment could be seriously jeopardised if Pakistans conflicts with Iran and India escalate. Once again, policy in Washington seems to be driven by short-sighted tactical agendas for dealing with Iran. China is a serious long-term competitor for the US. The US has made it easier for China to acquire military technology from Russia. In the next decade, the Chinese will have six aircraft carriers and 100 submarines. The Pentagons focus is now on Iran (just as it was earlier on Iraq). How Russia and China react to the US moves in Iran could unleash large-scale conflict in the region. That could disrupt oil supplies to Asia and push up its prices. Russia and China may not be willing to stand by and see Iran being taken down. The conflict could singe Pakistan and severely impact Asia. In such a scenario, India would do well to focus on its own national interests. We are not obliged to participate in any wars to destabilise Iran. We want to safeguard our citizens and towards that end, if Pakistan has to be chastised militarily, so be it. Maj. Gen. (Retd) G D Bakshi War veteran and strategic analyst gagandeep.bakshi@yahoo.com
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Farmers in Haryana and Rajasthan blocked highways in Haryana and Rajasthan as part of a nation-wide protest against the death of five farmers at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh allegedly in police firing.

A group of 62 farmers unions had announced that it will block traffic for three hours on all national highways across the country on Friday.

In Haryana, major highways of the state, including National Highway 1 (Delhi to Amritsar), were blocked for around three hours by farmer associations and Opposition parties as they demanded loan waiver and other relief measures for farmers.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) members assembled in Ambala and blocked NH-1 near Mohra by parking their tractors there. Haryana BKU president Gurnam Singh Charuni, however, asked the protestors not to resort to violence and give way to ambulances and fire brigades. The national highway from Rohtak to Panipat was also blocked at Ghollor village in Rohtak district.

Though the NH-1 protest remained peaceful, a few youths were detained in Narnaund town of Hisar due to a minor clash while blocking a road. Around 10 companies of police were deployed to handle the situation while traffic was diverted.

In Panipat, Indian National Lok Dal workers burnt the effigy of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In Karnal, INLD workers led by former agriculture minister Jaswinder Sandhu took out a protest march towards the mini secretariat. In Kurukshetra Congress workers assembled at the mini secretariat for Kisan Panchayat.

In Rajasthan, cultivators blocked Ganganagar-Hanumangarh highway for three hours from 12 noon in support of the demands of wavier of all farming loans, profitable minimum selling price (MSP) for all crops among others. Former CPI (M) MLA Pawan Duggal claimed that a large number of farmers had taken part in the blockade. Police have also made necessary arrangements on the highway in the wake of protest. Apart from this, Kisan Mahapanchayat will hold demonstrations in villages in Rajasthan, national president of Mahapanchayat Rampal Jat said.

(With inputs from PTI)

CHANDIGARH: Farmers in Haryana and Rajasthan blocked highways in Haryana and Rajasthan as part of a nation-wide protest against the death of five farmers at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh allegedly in police firing. A group of 62 farmers unions had announced that it will block traffic for three hours on all national highways across the country on Friday. In Haryana, major highways of the state, including National Highway 1 (Delhi to Amritsar), were blocked for around three hours by farmer associations and Opposition parties as they demanded loan waiver and other relief measures for farmers. Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) members assembled in Ambala and blocked NH-1 near Mohra by parking their tractors there. Haryana BKU president Gurnam Singh Charuni, however, asked the protestors not to resort to violence and give way to ambulances and fire brigades. The national highway from Rohtak to Panipat was also blocked at Ghollor village in Rohtak district. Though the NH-1 protest remained peaceful, a few youths were detained in Narnaund town of Hisar due to a minor clash while blocking a road. Around 10 companies of police were deployed to handle the situation while traffic was diverted. In Panipat, Indian National Lok Dal workers burnt the effigy of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In Karnal, INLD workers led by former agriculture minister Jaswinder Sandhu took out a protest march towards the mini secretariat. In Kurukshetra Congress workers assembled at the mini secretariat for Kisan Panchayat. In Rajasthan, cultivators blocked Ganganagar-Hanumangarh highway for three hours from 12 noon in support of the demands of wavier of all farming loans, profitable minimum selling price (MSP) for all crops among others. Former CPI (M) MLA Pawan Duggal claimed that a large number of farmers had taken part in the blockade. Police have also made necessary arrangements on the highway in the wake of protest. Apart from this, Kisan Mahapanchayat will hold demonstrations in villages in Rajasthan, national president of Mahapanchayat Rampal Jat said. (With inputs from PTI)
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: Six policemen including a Station House Inspector (SHO) were killed in Lashkar-e-Toiba militants ambush at Achabal area in south Kashmirs Anantnag district on Friday while a top Lashkar militant along with his two associates are feared dead in an encounter in Arwani.

The militants also disfigured the faces of the cops slain in the attack before walking away with their weapons, police said.

A sub-inspector, identified as Pulwama-resident Feroz, a driver and four other policemen, who were on a routine round in their jeep, died in the attack, said J&K DGP S P Vaid.

Terror outfit Lashker-e-Taiba spokesman Dr Abdullah Ghaznavi claimed responsibility of the attack.

The attack came hours after the outfits top commander Junaid Matoo along with two of his associates was trapped in a house and engaged security personnel in gunfight during search operation in Arwani area of Anantnag district.

The outfit wanted to take revenge for the Arwani encounter in which Mattoo, is believed to have died, said a police officer.

As security personnel were laying siege, the locals, mostly youth took to roads and pelted stones on the security personnel, who retaliated by firing tear smoke shells, pellets and live ammunition on the protestors.

File photo of Sub-Inspector Feroz Dar who was killed at Achabal in Anantnag district of South Kashmir after terrorists ambushed a police party on Friday. | PTI

Six persons were injured in security forces action. Of the six, two were hit by bullets and two by pellets.

The injured were shifted to nearby hospital, where doctors declared 22-year-old youth Mohammad Ashraf Khar as brought dead. He had sustained bullet injuries in chest.

After the civilians killing, more youth took to roads, staged protest demonstrations and pelted stones on the security personnel, who responded by firing tear smoke shells and bullets to disperse the protestors. A teenager who was hit by bullet succumbed to injuries.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a policeman was killed and another injured in militant attack while a civilian died in security forces firing in Srinagar on Thursday evening.

The separatist leaders have called for shutdown on Saturday against two civilian killings in security forces firing.

SRINAGAR: Six policemen including a Station House Inspector (SHO) were killed in Lashkar-e-Toiba militants ambush at Achabal area in south Kashmirs Anantnag district on Friday while a top Lashkar militant along with his two associates are feared dead in an encounter in Arwani. The militants also disfigured the faces of the cops slain in the attack before walking away with their weapons, police said. A sub-inspector, identified as Pulwama-resident Feroz, a driver and four other policemen, who were on a routine round in their jeep, died in the attack, said J&K DGP S P Vaid. Terror outfit Lashker-e-Taiba spokesman Dr Abdullah Ghaznavi claimed responsibility of the attack. The attack came hours after the outfits top commander Junaid Matoo along with two of his associates was trapped in a house and engaged security personnel in gunfight during search operation in Arwani area of Anantnag district. The outfit wanted to take revenge for the Arwani encounter in which Mattoo, is believed to have died, said a police officer. As security personnel were laying siege, the locals, mostly youth took to roads and pelted stones on the security personnel, who retaliated by firing tear smoke shells, pellets and live ammunition on the protestors. File photo of Sub-Inspector Feroz Dar who was killed at Achabal in Anantnag district of South Kashmir after terrorists ambushed a police party on Friday. | PTISix persons were injured in security forces action. Of the six, two were hit by bullets and two by pellets. The injured were shifted to nearby hospital, where doctors declared 22-year-old youth Mohammad Ashraf Khar as brought dead. He had sustained bullet injuries in chest. After the civilians killing, more youth took to roads, staged protest demonstrations and pelted stones on the security personnel, who responded by firing tear smoke shells and bullets to disperse the protestors. A teenager who was hit by bullet succumbed to injuries. Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a policeman was killed and another injured in militant attack while a civilian died in security forces firing in Srinagar on Thursday evening. The separatist leaders have called for shutdown on Saturday against two civilian killings in security forces firing.
By PTI

HYDERABAD: In his speech to the graduating cadets of the Indian Air Force today, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat acknowledged that even schoolchildren and women are throwing stones at the Indian security forces in Jammu & Kashmir. But at the same time, he said the current unrest was limited to some pockets of Kashmir.

"However, some southern parts of the state are indeed troublesome," said the chief of army staff.



IN PICS: Combined graduation parade at IAF Academy

The Army chief assured that the armed forces are well-equipped to deal with the current violence in Kashmir in which schoolchildren and women have been seen to join stone-pelters.

"When we find that there are children and women, we deal with them accordingly, said Gen. Rawat. We know how to deal with them and we do have a good human rights record."

Claiming that the army is doing a great job in the state, he said, "We are a peoples armed force.

He said the youth of Kashmir were being misinformed which is forcing them to pick up arms. "There is some disinformation being spread among the people, which is compelling the youth to pick up arms," said Gen Rawat said. "I am confident that they will soon understand that what they are doing is not good for their state.

The passing out parade of the Air Force Academy at Dundigal on the outskirts of Hyderabad, marked the commissioning of 199 flight cadets, including 22 women, into the Indian Air Force as flying officers and ground duty officers.

HYDERABAD: In his speech to the graduating cadets of the Indian Air Force today, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat acknowledged that even schoolchildren and women are throwing stones at the Indian security forces in Jammu & Kashmir. But at the same time, he said the current unrest was limited to some pockets of Kashmir. "However, some southern parts of the state are indeed troublesome," said the chief of army staff.IN PICS: Combined graduation parade at IAF Academy The Army chief assured that the armed forces are well-equipped to deal with the current violence in Kashmir in which schoolchildren and women have been seen to join stone-pelters. "When we find that there are children and women, we deal with them accordingly, said Gen. Rawat. We know how to deal with them and we do have a good human rights record." Claiming that the army is doing a great job in the state, he said, "We are a peoples armed force. He said the youth of Kashmir were being misinformed which is forcing them to pick up arms. "There is some disinformation being spread among the people, which is compelling the youth to pick up arms," said Gen Rawat said. "I am confident that they will soon understand that what they are doing is not good for their state. The passing out parade of the Air Force Academy at Dundigal on the outskirts of Hyderabad, marked the commissioning of 199 flight cadets, including 22 women, into the Indian Air Force as flying officers and ground duty officers.
MASON CITY | A man who served 20 years in prison and is now a Bible teacher and evangelist will visit Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mason City next weekend.

The title of Wyatt Allen's presentation is "The Least of the Least: From Crime to Christ."

The complete schedule for the two-day event is as follows:

 Friday, June 23 -- 7 p.m., "He Must Increase."

 Saturday, June 24 -- 9:30 a.m. Sabbath School, "Bible Memorization"; 11 a.m., "The Least of the Least" (lunch served); 5 p.m., "Greatest of the Great" (snack served); 7 p.m., "I Must Decrease."

Allen also plans to visit the Cerro Gordo County Jail while he's in Mason City.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is located at 815 N. Kentucky Ave.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: With increasing incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir, the Army apprehends that violence levels will rise in the coming days starting with last Friday of holy month of Ramzaan on June 23. Army expects that the militants will go all out after Eid on June 26 upping the ante on July 8 in an effort to observe the first death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideeen commander Burhan Wani last year. Wani was killed by security forces last year leading to violent protests for more than five months.

In view of the first anniversary of killing of Wani, Army has deployed additional 3,000 soldiers along the National Highway-44 in Kashmir valley to prevent attacks on convoys of security forces.

In order to prevent any terror strike, the additional three battalions (one battalion has 1,000 soldiers) will also fan out the interior areas along the Highway passing through restive South Kashmir to deter militants from dominating the interior roads and hamlets for launching attacks on security forces.

Sources claim that security forces are taking these measures in the backdrop of more than 280 militants, hiding in parts of Kashmir valley, waiting to escalate violence in the Kashmir valley after Eid.

Moreover, security forces maintained that the Pakistan-backed militants this year have a shortened window to infiltrate into Kashmir from across the Line of Control (LOC) unlike last year, as poor snowfall in the higher reaches enabled the terrorists to sneak in last year from January onwards but this year the ingress routes remained snow bound till mid May.

We have specific inputs that nearly 250 militants now waiting in the launch pads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(POK) across the LOC can get in only till September end as the snow will again block the infiltration routes in North Kashmir, said an officer.

In a bid to strengthen counter-infiltration grid, additional battalion is already deployed along the LOC in infiltration prone North Kashmir besides three battalions in the hinterland.



NEW DELHI: With increasing incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir, the Army apprehends that violence levels will rise in the coming days starting with last Friday of holy month of Ramzaan on June 23. Army expects that the militants will go all out after Eid on June 26 upping the ante on July 8 in an effort to observe the first death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideeen commander Burhan Wani last year. Wani was killed by security forces last year leading to violent protests for more than five months. In view of the first anniversary of killing of Wani, Army has deployed additional 3,000 soldiers along the National Highway-44 in Kashmir valley to prevent attacks on convoys of security forces. In order to prevent any terror strike, the additional three battalions (one battalion has 1,000 soldiers) will also fan out the interior areas along the Highway passing through restive South Kashmir to deter militants from dominating the interior roads and hamlets for launching attacks on security forces. Sources claim that security forces are taking these measures in the backdrop of more than 280 militants, hiding in parts of Kashmir valley, waiting to escalate violence in the Kashmir valley after Eid. Moreover, security forces maintained that the Pakistan-backed militants this year have a shortened window to infiltrate into Kashmir from across the Line of Control (LOC) unlike last year, as poor snowfall in the higher reaches enabled the terrorists to sneak in last year from January onwards but this year the ingress routes remained snow bound till mid May. We have specific inputs that nearly 250 militants now waiting in the launch pads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(POK) across the LOC can get in only till September end as the snow will again block the infiltration routes in North Kashmir, said an officer. In a bid to strengthen counter-infiltration grid, additional battalion is already deployed along the LOC in infiltration prone North Kashmir besides three battalions in the hinterland.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: The doors of Abu Kaifs house in Sanjarpur have not opened since Thursday. Abu Kaif is the younger brother of gangster Abu Salem who was convicted in the 1993 Mumabi blast case by a TADA court in Mumbai on Friday.

He and his family live in the ancestral house in Saraimeer town in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, not welcoming any attention. Anticipating the TADA court order. the family confined itself to the house, snapping all communication even with their immediate neighbours. As soon as news of the verdict came in, media crews started thronging the place but the family were in no mood for interviews.

However, Saraimeer in general welcomed the TADA courts verdict. They feel strongly about Azamgarh hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. This is the birthplace of Abu Salem. And Sanjarpur is where Indian Mujahideen terrorists Atif Amin and Mohammad Sajid, slain in the 2008 Batla House encounter in Delhi, came from.

Azamgarh is not only known for being the native place of the likes of Salem. This place has also produced the likes of Kaifi Azmi and Shabana Azmi, says Santosh Kumar, an advocate.

He added that Fridays verdict should be cautionary signal to the youth of Azamgarh about what the glamour of Mumbais underworld can lead to. Sanjarpur resident Mirza Ali Beg said the verdict would certainly be a lesson to the youth of the district but the entire community should not be seen with suspicion.

The people of Sanjarpur last saw Salem when he was taken there by the Mumbai police in February 2011 to attend the last rites of his aunt Shakira Ali. He was kept in a local jail overnight and was flown back to Mumbai the next morning. Before that, Salem was brought to his native place in 2007 when his mother died.

Abu Salem's father Abdul Kayyum was an advocate in Azamgarh. He died in a road accident when Salem was just a kid. That left the family in penury and Salem had to work at a motorcycle repair workshop to make ends meet. He got a driver's job and went to Delhi and entered the world of petty crime. He came in contact with Anis Ibrahim, younger brother of Dawood Ibrahim, which drew him inexorably to Mumbai.

LUCKNOW: The doors of Abu Kaifs house in Sanjarpur have not opened since Thursday. Abu Kaif is the younger brother of gangster Abu Salem who was convicted in the 1993 Mumabi blast case by a TADA court in Mumbai on Friday. He and his family live in the ancestral house in Saraimeer town in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, not welcoming any attention. Anticipating the TADA court order. the family confined itself to the house, snapping all communication even with their immediate neighbours. As soon as news of the verdict came in, media crews started thronging the place but the family were in no mood for interviews. However, Saraimeer in general welcomed the TADA courts verdict. They feel strongly about Azamgarh hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. This is the birthplace of Abu Salem. And Sanjarpur is where Indian Mujahideen terrorists Atif Amin and Mohammad Sajid, slain in the 2008 Batla House encounter in Delhi, came from. Azamgarh is not only known for being the native place of the likes of Salem. This place has also produced the likes of Kaifi Azmi and Shabana Azmi, says Santosh Kumar, an advocate. He added that Fridays verdict should be cautionary signal to the youth of Azamgarh about what the glamour of Mumbais underworld can lead to. Sanjarpur resident Mirza Ali Beg said the verdict would certainly be a lesson to the youth of the district but the entire community should not be seen with suspicion. The people of Sanjarpur last saw Salem when he was taken there by the Mumbai police in February 2011 to attend the last rites of his aunt Shakira Ali. He was kept in a local jail overnight and was flown back to Mumbai the next morning. Before that, Salem was brought to his native place in 2007 when his mother died. Abu Salem's father Abdul Kayyum was an advocate in Azamgarh. He died in a road accident when Salem was just a kid. That left the family in penury and Salem had to work at a motorcycle repair workshop to make ends meet. He got a driver's job and went to Delhi and entered the world of petty crime. He came in contact with Anis Ibrahim, younger brother of Dawood Ibrahim, which drew him inexorably to Mumbai.
By Online Desk

As the indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling entered its third day, heres a look at all the events of today from the burning hill city of West Bengal.

1. Widespread clashes claim first civilian casualty

There was widespread violence in Darjeeling, with both police confirming there were civilian fatalities. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader Binay Tamang said two of his party workers were killed when police opened fire at a GJM procession.

However, additional director-general (law and order) Anuj Sharma said it was the GJM activists who opened fire. One person was killed in the violence, he confirmed.

This was the first death since violent protests returned to Darjeeling on June 8, after a gap of a few years.

2. Paramilitary officer injured in clashes

An assistant commandant of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was seriously injured when Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists clashed with security forces in Darjeeling. Assistant commandant Kiran Tamang of IRB's second battalion was stabbed with a khukri (sharp-edged weapon) during the clash, IRB sources said.

Earlier reports said Tamang had been killed but chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata that he was critically injured and is in hospital.

3. Darjeeling turns into battleground

The Singmari area in Darjeeling turned into a battleground as GJM activists threw petrol bombs and stones at riot police, who in retaliation fired teargas shells and resorted to baton charge.

The incident, in which several people were injured, prompted the administration to deploy army troops in the area.

4. Mamata alleges deep-rooted conspiracy

Mamata Banerjee condemned the vandalism by GJM supporters and alleged a "deep-rooted conspiracy" against her regime. "So much of arms and ammunition couldn't have come in a single day. There is an international border and a state border. They are violating the Constitution. They are throwing bombs. They are stockpiling illegal arms and bombs," she said.

5. GJM MLAs son picked up from his residence

Police picked up Vikram Rai, son of GJM MLA Amar Rai, from his residence following an attempt by some party supporters to torch a PWD office in Bijanbari area. The police also raided Binay Tamang's house last night.

6. GJM rules out talks with Bengal government

The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) today ruled out any discussion with West Bengal government but said it is "comfortable" in holding talks with the BJP-led government at the Centre. The BJP is an ally of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and party MP S S Ahluwalia had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Darjeeling with its help. "We are not ready for talks with West Bengal government. Mamata Banerjee has insulted us, she has called us terrorists," GJM leader Binay Tamang said.

(With Inputs from PTI)

As the indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling entered its third day, heres a look at all the events of today from the burning hill city of West Bengal. 1. Widespread clashes claim first civilian casualty There was widespread violence in Darjeeling, with both police confirming there were civilian fatalities. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader Binay Tamang said two of his party workers were killed when police opened fire at a GJM procession. However, additional director-general (law and order) Anuj Sharma said it was the GJM activists who opened fire. One person was killed in the violence, he confirmed. This was the first death since violent protests returned to Darjeeling on June 8, after a gap of a few years. 2. Paramilitary officer injured in clashes An assistant commandant of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was seriously injured when Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists clashed with security forces in Darjeeling. Assistant commandant Kiran Tamang of IRB's second battalion was stabbed with a khukri (sharp-edged weapon) during the clash, IRB sources said. Earlier reports said Tamang had been killed but chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata that he was critically injured and is in hospital. 3. Darjeeling turns into battleground The Singmari area in Darjeeling turned into a battleground as GJM activists threw petrol bombs and stones at riot police, who in retaliation fired teargas shells and resorted to baton charge. The incident, in which several people were injured, prompted the administration to deploy army troops in the area. 4. Mamata alleges deep-rooted conspiracy Mamata Banerjee condemned the vandalism by GJM supporters and alleged a "deep-rooted conspiracy" against her regime. "So much of arms and ammunition couldn't have come in a single day. There is an international border and a state border. They are violating the Constitution. They are throwing bombs. They are stockpiling illegal arms and bombs," she said. 5. GJM MLAs son picked up from his residence Police picked up Vikram Rai, son of GJM MLA Amar Rai, from his residence following an attempt by some party supporters to torch a PWD office in Bijanbari area. The police also raided Binay Tamang's house last night. 6. GJM rules out talks with Bengal government The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) today ruled out any discussion with West Bengal government but said it is "comfortable" in holding talks with the BJP-led government at the Centre. The BJP is an ally of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and party MP S S Ahluwalia had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Darjeeling with its help. "We are not ready for talks with West Bengal government. Mamata Banerjee has insulted us, she has called us terrorists," GJM leader Binay Tamang said. (With Inputs from PTI)
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected mercy petitions of the convicts in two more cases who were awarded capital punishment.

With the latest count, President Mukherjee has so far rejected 30 mercy petitions in his term which is going to complete on July 24.

According to reports, the latest petitions were rejected by the President in the last week of May.

Both the convicts were awarded capital punishment in rape and murder cases. One of the cases was of a four-year-old girl from Indore who was raped and murdered by three men in 2012. While in the other case, a Pune-based techie was gang-raped and killed by her taxi driver and his friend in 2007.

Babu alias Ketan, Jitendra alias Jitu and Devendra alias Sunny were found guilty in the 2012 Indore case, while Purushottam Dasharath Borate and Pradeep Yashvant Kokade were convicted in the 2007 Pune case.

The 30 petitions rejected by the President include those of 2008 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, and those by Simon, Gnanaprakash, Madaiah and Bilavandran  associates of the notorious Indian brigand Veerappan.

A President can grant pardon, and suspend, remit or commute a sentence of death under Article 72 of the Indian Constitution on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

Different Presidents have dealt with mercy petitions differently. R Venkataraman (1987-1992) rejected a maximum number of 44 mercy petitions in his tenure. APJ Abdul Kalam decided on only two of the two dozen mercy petitions forwarded to him. His predecessor, K R Narayanan did not decide on a single mercy petition during his 1997-2002 tenure. Mukherjees predecessor Pratibha Patil had accepted the mercy pleas of 30 death row convicts.

NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected mercy petitions of the convicts in two more cases who were awarded capital punishment. With the latest count, President Mukherjee has so far rejected 30 mercy petitions in his term which is going to complete on July 24. According to reports, the latest petitions were rejected by the President in the last week of May. Both the convicts were awarded capital punishment in rape and murder cases. One of the cases was of a four-year-old girl from Indore who was raped and murdered by three men in 2012. While in the other case, a Pune-based techie was gang-raped and killed by her taxi driver and his friend in 2007. Babu alias Ketan, Jitendra alias Jitu and Devendra alias Sunny were found guilty in the 2012 Indore case, while Purushottam Dasharath Borate and Pradeep Yashvant Kokade were convicted in the 2007 Pune case. The 30 petitions rejected by the President include those of 2008 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, and those by Simon, Gnanaprakash, Madaiah and Bilavandran  associates of the notorious Indian brigand Veerappan. A President can grant pardon, and suspend, remit or commute a sentence of death under Article 72 of the Indian Constitution on the advice of the Council of Ministers. Different Presidents have dealt with mercy petitions differently. R Venkataraman (1987-1992) rejected a maximum number of 44 mercy petitions in his tenure. APJ Abdul Kalam decided on only two of the two dozen mercy petitions forwarded to him. His predecessor, K R Narayanan did not decide on a single mercy petition during his 1997-2002 tenure. Mukherjees predecessor Pratibha Patil had accepted the mercy pleas of 30 death row convicts.
By PTI

MUZAFFARNAGAR: In a tragic incident, a disc jockey (DJ) was killed allegedly in celebratory firing while his father and brother died in a road accident here on their way to see him in a hospital.

Prince (28) was killed in firing late last night at a function to celebrate the birth of a child at Dudhaheri village, said SP City Sombir Singh.

According to police, the deceased, a Dalit, was seriously injured after two upper caste men allegedly opened fire during the ceremony. The accused duo were absconding.

Prince later died in a hospital.

Following the incident, the father and brother of Prince were killed in a road accident when they were on way to the hospital on a motorcycle to see him.

Police have registered a case under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of IPC and the SC/ST Act against the two absconding accused.

MUZAFFARNAGAR: In a tragic incident, a disc jockey (DJ) was killed allegedly in celebratory firing while his father and brother died in a road accident here on their way to see him in a hospital. Prince (28) was killed in firing late last night at a function to celebrate the birth of a child at Dudhaheri village, said SP City Sombir Singh. According to police, the deceased, a Dalit, was seriously injured after two upper caste men allegedly opened fire during the ceremony. The accused duo were absconding. Prince later died in a hospital. Following the incident, the father and brother of Prince were killed in a road accident when they were on way to the hospital on a motorcycle to see him. Police have registered a case under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of IPC and the SC/ST Act against the two absconding accused.
Anurag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: Two more farmers allegedly committed suicide in Dhar and Narsinghpur districts of Madhya Pradesh over the last 24 hours, taking the total number of farmer suicides over last six days to 10.

While a 40-year-old farmer Jagdish Mori ended life by consuming pesticide in Ramapura village of Dhar district, a 50-year-old farmer identified as Imrat Patel also committed suicide in a similar manner in Chandlaun village of Narsinghpur district.

While in Jagdishs case his kin alleged that he ended life under pressure of repaying a loan, the superintendent of police of Dhar district Virendra Singh claimed that since Jagdish had no land, there was no possibility of him having taken loan.

It appeared that he committed suicide due to family reasons. Investigations are on in the matter, added SP Dhar. In the other case, Imrat Patel allegedly ended life over a long-pending dispute pertaining to registry of a plot with one Halku Patel.

While farmer suicides go on unabated, Congress ended its 72-hour Satyagraha launched for farmers rights in Khalghat town of Dhar district (250 km from Bhopal) on Saturday.

A united Congress leadership, including senior national leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kamal Nath and Kantillal Bhuria, besides state leaders Arun Yadav, Ajay Singh Rahul and Suresh Pachauri were present on the stage packed with Congress leaders.

The programme also doubled up as a grand conclave of farmers from West MP (which witnessed series of violence during recent farmers stir).

With the number of Congress leaders and farmers who courted arrests running into thousands, the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) announced their arrest from the stage and also subsequently informed that they were being released as there was no jail nearby where such big gathering could be housed after arrest.

Upbeat with the farmers' response to the Satyagraha spearheaded by Scindia in Bhopal, the Congress leaders fired salvos at both, the central government and the MP government.

Former union minister and Chhindwara MP Kamal Nath blamed the policy of unchecked import of agricultural commodities in the country ruining the life of farmers in MP and other states. While terming the MP government as deaf and dumb, he said maximum exodus of farmers is taking place from MP.

He also maintained that the peaceful protest would continue across MP till the government doesnt waive off farm loans and raise the MSP for agricultural produce in proportion to rise in input costs.

The state Congress chief Arun Yadav promised that after the Congress government came to power in MP in 2018, the farm loans would be waived off. Sources in the Congress told the New Indian Express that after the programme, Scindia left for Mandsaur to meet the kin of the the five farmers killed in police firing.

BHOPAL: Two more farmers allegedly committed suicide in Dhar and Narsinghpur districts of Madhya Pradesh over the last 24 hours, taking the total number of farmer suicides over last six days to 10. While a 40-year-old farmer Jagdish Mori ended life by consuming pesticide in Ramapura village of Dhar district, a 50-year-old farmer identified as Imrat Patel also committed suicide in a similar manner in Chandlaun village of Narsinghpur district. While in Jagdishs case his kin alleged that he ended life under pressure of repaying a loan, the superintendent of police of Dhar district Virendra Singh claimed that since Jagdish had no land, there was no possibility of him having taken loan. It appeared that he committed suicide due to family reasons. Investigations are on in the matter, added SP Dhar. In the other case, Imrat Patel allegedly ended life over a long-pending dispute pertaining to registry of a plot with one Halku Patel. While farmer suicides go on unabated, Congress ended its 72-hour Satyagraha launched for farmers rights in Khalghat town of Dhar district (250 km from Bhopal) on Saturday. A united Congress leadership, including senior national leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kamal Nath and Kantillal Bhuria, besides state leaders Arun Yadav, Ajay Singh Rahul and Suresh Pachauri were present on the stage packed with Congress leaders. The programme also doubled up as a grand conclave of farmers from West MP (which witnessed series of violence during recent farmers stir). With the number of Congress leaders and farmers who courted arrests running into thousands, the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) announced their arrest from the stage and also subsequently informed that they were being released as there was no jail nearby where such big gathering could be housed after arrest. Upbeat with the farmers' response to the Satyagraha spearheaded by Scindia in Bhopal, the Congress leaders fired salvos at both, the central government and the MP government. Former union minister and Chhindwara MP Kamal Nath blamed the policy of unchecked import of agricultural commodities in the country ruining the life of farmers in MP and other states. While terming the MP government as deaf and dumb, he said maximum exodus of farmers is taking place from MP. He also maintained that the peaceful protest would continue across MP till the government doesnt waive off farm loans and raise the MSP for agricultural produce in proportion to rise in input costs. The state Congress chief Arun Yadav promised that after the Congress government came to power in MP in 2018, the farm loans would be waived off. Sources in the Congress told the New Indian Express that after the programme, Scindia left for Mandsaur to meet the kin of the the five farmers killed in police firing.
Dr Shyam Ashtekar By

The 10 day farmers strike in Maharashtra ended with the Fadnavis government promising a summary loan waiver for all farmers (but conditions apply). Barely two years from the next Lok Sabha elections, the NDA is facing its biggest challenge with farm distress and indebtedness in several states. The unrest was simmering but was made acute due to two successive years of drought. Even after the bumper crops of 2017, farmers suffered great difficulties in selling their produce across mandis and government procurement centers.

The BJP had, without much homework, promised 50 per cent profit over the Cost of Production (COP). Subsequently, in response to a PIL, the Centre itself submitted its inability to do so stating this would cause market distortions. Meanwhile, the Centre had throttled markets imposing domestic stock limits with import-export manipulations for lowering consumer prices. The demonetisation further hit the markets. The NDA then started talking of doubling farm incomes by 2022, again with no credible homework.

There is an ongoing PIL filed in 2014 in the SC about farmer suicides asking for relief. The court widened its scope to look for policy correctives from the Centre, RBI and states. Farm losses and indebtedness are caused by central laws and manipulations but the states have to bear the economic and political burden. Not much has changed between the UPA and NDA though the latter started work on micro irrigation, crop insurance and interest waiver for crop loans etc. That higher production does not mean higher incomes for farmers has to dawn on the BJP think tank.

The 50 per cent profit on COP is a brainchild of the Swaminathan committee in 2006. Swaminathan is a great technocrat and deserves a Bharat Ratna for his contribution to the Green Revolution. Yet the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and 50 per cent profit are no panacea because most states dont have the funds or mechanisms to purchase and store the various farm produce. (The FCI only looks after wheat and rice and is ridden with huge leakages and mismanagement.) MSPs are often lower than COP due to state manipulation and variation.

Distortion of crop patterns due to market perceptions is another fallout. Punjab farmers are now asking for a loan waiver of `80,000 crore despite state purchase of wheat and rice for years. The experience of the erstwhile monopoly procurement of cotton in Maharashtra is a story of exploitation of farmers and continued loss to the exchequer and it had to be scrapped. Taking various crops like tur, oilseeds and cotton in Maharashtra, this formula may imply raising nearly `1.5 lakh crore for the state purchases. The state budget has already huge burdens of salaries due to the 7th Pay Commission, losses due to GST and partial prohibition, not to mention a loan of `4 lakh crore. There will be little left for any capital expenditure.

The Swaminathan report has good points but the overall scheme was gradually built around the food security policy of the UPA and MSP-based state procurement, thus asking for more state intervention. However, the MSP covers barely 10 per cent of farm produce in India; the rest have to bank on markets. The committee talked of land-use policy and said no to sale of fertile lands. Despite plummeting average land holding in many states, it talked of land to the landless even as farming itself was becoming a cause of distress. The report proposed a national agricultural market network for farm produce and review of ESMA (Essential Commodities and Services Act) and APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) acts. No wonder the UPA didnt act on it. The NDA did some of these things to improve productivity and supply and make it easy for consumers and industries, but the farmer incomes are secondary.

Farm exploitation is a legal arrangement. The old ESMA comes in handy for manipulating domestic stocks and trading; it has sapped three generations of farmers. Other laws like ceiling on land holding and transfer, land use, cow slaughter ban and cattle trade restrictions and many more in the Constitutions Schedule IX have exploited the farm sector for industry and consumers since 1947. The NDA is turning a blind eye to these socialistic exploitative laws. The resulting chronic bleeding of Bharat has caused widespread farmer indebtedness.

The spreading farmer unrest raises an important question for farmer associations, NDA and the Indian macroeconomic policy. Are we asking for a greater statisation of the farm sector through the Swaminanthan solutions like state purchase or a genuine liberal farm policy? The only voice for liberating the farm sector is the Shetkari Sanghatana led by the late Sharad Joshi who coined the now famous India:Bharat divide. The Sanghatana has asked for Karjamukti (freedom from indebtedness through trade freedom, rather than waivers). India liberalised other economic sectors in 1991-92 but the farm sector faces various restrictions and socialist disadvantages.

So the Sanghatna asks for scrapping of anti-farmer laws, freedom of enterprise and free markets, technology choices like GM crops, infrastructure investments from public and private sector for power, irrigation, seeds, warehouses, processing, transport, marketing and above all restoration of property rights (abrogated by various laws in the Constitutions Schedule IX). The administration of land matters needs to be overhauled so that properties can be easily titled, valued, sold or bought or converted into equity. This will encourage new business models for farmers for market competitive production. Our average land holding has receded to a hectare. We need an economic and democratic shifting of willing families from farms to other economic choices. The NDA has frittered the 2014 mandate for a confused socialist farm policy when they could have started a liberal era.

Dr Shyam Ashtekar

Member of Shetkari Sanghatana, Maharashtra

Email: ashtekar.shyam@gmail.com

The 10 day farmers strike in Maharashtra ended with the Fadnavis government promising a summary loan waiver for all farmers (but conditions apply). Barely two years from the next Lok Sabha elections, the NDA is facing its biggest challenge with farm distress and indebtedness in several states. The unrest was simmering but was made acute due to two successive years of drought. Even after the bumper crops of 2017, farmers suffered great difficulties in selling their produce across mandis and government procurement centers. The BJP had, without much homework, promised 50 per cent profit over the Cost of Production (COP). Subsequently, in response to a PIL, the Centre itself submitted its inability to do so stating this would cause market distortions. Meanwhile, the Centre had throttled markets imposing domestic stock limits with import-export manipulations for lowering consumer prices. The demonetisation further hit the markets. The NDA then started talking of doubling farm incomes by 2022, again with no credible homework. There is an ongoing PIL filed in 2014 in the SC about farmer suicides asking for relief. The court widened its scope to look for policy correctives from the Centre, RBI and states. Farm losses and indebtedness are caused by central laws and manipulations but the states have to bear the economic and political burden. Not much has changed between the UPA and NDA though the latter started work on micro irrigation, crop insurance and interest waiver for crop loans etc. That higher production does not mean higher incomes for farmers has to dawn on the BJP think tank. The 50 per cent profit on COP is a brainchild of the Swaminathan committee in 2006. Swaminathan is a great technocrat and deserves a Bharat Ratna for his contribution to the Green Revolution. Yet the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and 50 per cent profit are no panacea because most states dont have the funds or mechanisms to purchase and store the various farm produce. (The FCI only looks after wheat and rice and is ridden with huge leakages and mismanagement.) MSPs are often lower than COP due to state manipulation and variation. Distortion of crop patterns due to market perceptions is another fallout. Punjab farmers are now asking for a loan waiver of `80,000 crore despite state purchase of wheat and rice for years. The experience of the erstwhile monopoly procurement of cotton in Maharashtra is a story of exploitation of farmers and continued loss to the exchequer and it had to be scrapped. Taking various crops like tur, oilseeds and cotton in Maharashtra, this formula may imply raising nearly `1.5 lakh crore for the state purchases. The state budget has already huge burdens of salaries due to the 7th Pay Commission, losses due to GST and partial prohibition, not to mention a loan of `4 lakh crore. There will be little left for any capital expenditure. The Swaminathan report has good points but the overall scheme was gradually built around the food security policy of the UPA and MSP-based state procurement, thus asking for more state intervention. However, the MSP covers barely 10 per cent of farm produce in India; the rest have to bank on markets. The committee talked of land-use policy and said no to sale of fertile lands. Despite plummeting average land holding in many states, it talked of land to the landless even as farming itself was becoming a cause of distress. The report proposed a national agricultural market network for farm produce and review of ESMA (Essential Commodities and Services Act) and APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) acts. No wonder the UPA didnt act on it. The NDA did some of these things to improve productivity and supply and make it easy for consumers and industries, but the farmer incomes are secondary. Farm exploitation is a legal arrangement. The old ESMA comes in handy for manipulating domestic stocks and trading; it has sapped three generations of farmers. Other laws like ceiling on land holding and transfer, land use, cow slaughter ban and cattle trade restrictions and many more in the Constitutions Schedule IX have exploited the farm sector for industry and consumers since 1947. The NDA is turning a blind eye to these socialistic exploitative laws. The resulting chronic bleeding of Bharat has caused widespread farmer indebtedness. The spreading farmer unrest raises an important question for farmer associations, NDA and the Indian macroeconomic policy. Are we asking for a greater statisation of the farm sector through the Swaminanthan solutions like state purchase or a genuine liberal farm policy? The only voice for liberating the farm sector is the Shetkari Sanghatana led by the late Sharad Joshi who coined the now famous India:Bharat divide. The Sanghatana has asked for Karjamukti (freedom from indebtedness through trade freedom, rather than waivers). India liberalised other economic sectors in 1991-92 but the farm sector faces various restrictions and socialist disadvantages. So the Sanghatna asks for scrapping of anti-farmer laws, freedom of enterprise and free markets, technology choices like GM crops, infrastructure investments from public and private sector for power, irrigation, seeds, warehouses, processing, transport, marketing and above all restoration of property rights (abrogated by various laws in the Constitutions Schedule IX). The administration of land matters needs to be overhauled so that properties can be easily titled, valued, sold or bought or converted into equity. This will encourage new business models for farmers for market competitive production. Our average land holding has receded to a hectare. We need an economic and democratic shifting of willing families from farms to other economic choices. The NDA has frittered the 2014 mandate for a confused socialist farm policy when they could have started a liberal era. Dr Shyam Ashtekar Member of Shetkari Sanghatana, Maharashtra Email: ashtekar.shyam@gmail.com
Arunkumar Huralimath By

Express News Service

KARWAR: Family members of Bhatkal-born Mohammad Shafi Armar, who has been declared as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United State of America for having ties with the Islamic State (IS), have said that if he is guilty, the law would take its course. Shafi has not been in contact with his family for over a decade.

The US State Treasury Department has stated that Armar is playing a key role in IS operations targeting India.

Armars brother Sultan Abdul Kadir Armar and Yasin Bhatkal are some of the founding members of the Indian Mujahideen (IM). After internal disputes and following the arrest of Yasin, Sultan moved to Kobane in Syria with his younger brother Mohammad Shafi.

Sultan is feared to have been killed in a battle in 2015 and Shafi emerged as a key figure on the jihadi landscape.

Both brothers grew up in Bhatkal with neo-fundamentalist religious leanings. After completion of secondary school education, Shafi was sent to Nadwat-ul-Ullema seminary in Lucknow like his brother Sultan. According to the NIA, both fled to Karachi in 2008 following the arrests of IM members.

Later they got involved in ISIS activities. Shafi was also known as Anjaan Bhai or unknown brother as mentioned in US Treasury Departments statement.

After all these developments, his family had left hopes on Shafi. About three years ago, his father died and his mother is now aged. His younger brother is working in a private company in Bhatkal.

Here in Bhatkal, his family members are not interested to discuss about him and also about the US declaring him a global terrorist.

Shafis younger brother Safwan Armar told Express, Shafi went to Dubai in 2006 and was in contact with us over telephone for two years. Later he never contacted any of the family members. We do not have any kind of contact with him since a decade.

KARWAR: Family members of Bhatkal-born Mohammad Shafi Armar, who has been declared as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United State of America for having ties with the Islamic State (IS), have said that if he is guilty, the law would take its course. Shafi has not been in contact with his family for over a decade. The US State Treasury Department has stated that Armar is playing a key role in IS operations targeting India. Armars brother Sultan Abdul Kadir Armar and Yasin Bhatkal are some of the founding members of the Indian Mujahideen (IM). After internal disputes and following the arrest of Yasin, Sultan moved to Kobane in Syria with his younger brother Mohammad Shafi. Sultan is feared to have been killed in a battle in 2015 and Shafi emerged as a key figure on the jihadi landscape. Both brothers grew up in Bhatkal with neo-fundamentalist religious leanings. After completion of secondary school education, Shafi was sent to Nadwat-ul-Ullema seminary in Lucknow like his brother Sultan. According to the NIA, both fled to Karachi in 2008 following the arrests of IM members. Later they got involved in ISIS activities. Shafi was also known as Anjaan Bhai or unknown brother as mentioned in US Treasury Departments statement. After all these developments, his family had left hopes on Shafi. About three years ago, his father died and his mother is now aged. His younger brother is working in a private company in Bhatkal. Here in Bhatkal, his family members are not interested to discuss about him and also about the US declaring him a global terrorist. Shafis younger brother Safwan Armar told Express, Shafi went to Dubai in 2006 and was in contact with us over telephone for two years. Later he never contacted any of the family members. We do not have any kind of contact with him since a decade.
By Express News Service

HUBBALLI: Union minister of State for petroleum and natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, on Saturday welcomed the Mukhya Mantri Anila Bhagya scheme, to be launched soon by the Karnataka government and rubbished rumours of a conflict between the Centre and the State on the issue.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Dharmendra Pradhan appreciated the State's move and said there was no confusion or conflict between the two governments.

The Central scheme is for those listed under the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011, while the State will provide gas connections for those left out of the list. According to information, Karnataka has 36 lakh beneficiaries under SECC and around 6 lakh beneficiaries have got a gas connection till date. The remaining 30 lakh beneficiaries will get it at the earliest, and we will spend Rs 2,00 crore for this, he said.

Meanwhile, food and civil supplies minister U T Khader said they would be spending Rs 2,940 on each beneficiary to provide a cylinder, regulator, rubber tube as well as an LPG stove free of cost.

The State has targeted to reach out to over 21 lakh households and the State programme was expected to kick off in a couple of months.

Speaking on Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) terminating Bihar health minister Tej Pratap Yadav's petrol pump license, Dharmendra Pradhan said, It is not a political move, the dealer might have obtained the license by providing false information. The officials of BPCL might have noticed it later and investigated the allegations. They have found out that rules were violated by the dealer and the corporation terminated the license.



HUBBALLI: Union minister of State for petroleum and natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, on Saturday welcomed the Mukhya Mantri Anila Bhagya scheme, to be launched soon by the Karnataka government and rubbished rumours of a conflict between the Centre and the State on the issue. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Dharmendra Pradhan appreciated the State's move and said there was no confusion or conflict between the two governments. The Central scheme is for those listed under the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011, while the State will provide gas connections for those left out of the list. According to information, Karnataka has 36 lakh beneficiaries under SECC and around 6 lakh beneficiaries have got a gas connection till date. The remaining 30 lakh beneficiaries will get it at the earliest, and we will spend Rs 2,00 crore for this, he said. Meanwhile, food and civil supplies minister U T Khader said they would be spending Rs 2,940 on each beneficiary to provide a cylinder, regulator, rubber tube as well as an LPG stove free of cost. The State has targeted to reach out to over 21 lakh households and the State programme was expected to kick off in a couple of months. Speaking on Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) terminating Bihar health minister Tej Pratap Yadav's petrol pump license, Dharmendra Pradhan said, It is not a political move, the dealer might have obtained the license by providing false information. The officials of BPCL might have noticed it later and investigated the allegations. They have found out that rules were violated by the dealer and the corporation terminated the license.
Ratan K Pani By

Express News Service

BARGARH: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took aim at his counterpart in Odisha, saying Naveen Patnaik had to go if any progress were to come to the state.

He was addressing a mass gathering at the Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas event organised here on Saturday to highlight achievements of three years of the Modi-led NDA government rule at the Centre.

The event turned out to be more of an oust Naveen campaign for the BJP as Chouhan called upon the gathering to throw away BJD to help Odisha join the development unleashed by Modi.

Prior to his arrival, the police made preventive arrests of more than 200 political activists of BJD, Congress and AAP including Bargarh MLA Debesh Acharya, Bargarh Municipality Chairman Prashanta Behera, former Congress MLAs Nihar Mahanand and Sadhu Charan Nepak.

Once a rival of Modi, Chouhan was even a contender for the Prime Ministers choice in the BJP in the run up to the 2014 election. But on Saturday, he called the Prime Minister an avatar of Lord Krishna and even went so far as to claim that the globe does not move without consulting Modi, who had raised India to an envious position.

Even China is apprehensive of India after two surgical strikes, he claimed while addressing the crowd

Rattling out the statistic of funds doled out by the Centre to the State, the Madhya Pradesh CM said while other states were flourishing with the funds, Odisha was lagging far behind. He went on to recall the policy paralysis during the UPA regime and the silence of the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over various issues, even after three years of Modi rule.

Skirting the contentious issue of farmers being shot dead by police in his state, Chouhan chose to speak about development in Madhya Pradesh and said it could be possible in Odisha too, provided that people of the State elect a BJP government.

BARGARH: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took aim at his counterpart in Odisha, saying Naveen Patnaik had to go if any progress were to come to the state. He was addressing a mass gathering at the Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas event organised here on Saturday to highlight achievements of three years of the Modi-led NDA government rule at the Centre. The event turned out to be more of an oust Naveen campaign for the BJP as Chouhan called upon the gathering to throw away BJD to help Odisha join the development unleashed by Modi. Prior to his arrival, the police made preventive arrests of more than 200 political activists of BJD, Congress and AAP including Bargarh MLA Debesh Acharya, Bargarh Municipality Chairman Prashanta Behera, former Congress MLAs Nihar Mahanand and Sadhu Charan Nepak. Once a rival of Modi, Chouhan was even a contender for the Prime Ministers choice in the BJP in the run up to the 2014 election. But on Saturday, he called the Prime Minister an avatar of Lord Krishna and even went so far as to claim that the globe does not move without consulting Modi, who had raised India to an envious position. Even China is apprehensive of India after two surgical strikes, he claimed while addressing the crowd Rattling out the statistic of funds doled out by the Centre to the State, the Madhya Pradesh CM said while other states were flourishing with the funds, Odisha was lagging far behind. He went on to recall the policy paralysis during the UPA regime and the silence of the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over various issues, even after three years of Modi rule. Skirting the contentious issue of farmers being shot dead by police in his state, Chouhan chose to speak about development in Madhya Pradesh and said it could be possible in Odisha too, provided that people of the State elect a BJP government.
By AFP

HAVANA: Cuba's government on Friday criticized Donald Trump's "hostile rhetoric" in announcing new restrictions on US ties to the island nation, but reiterated Havana's willingness to hold "respectful dialogue" with Washington.

"The government of Cuba denounces the new measures toughening the embargo" imposed since 1962, according to a statement read on state television.

However, Havana "reiterates its willingness to continue the respectful dialogue and cooperation" that have taken place with Washington since 2015 when the drive for restored ties began under then president Barack Obama.

Earlier Friday, Trump vowed to overhaul Obama's policies.

Although the policy changes announced were limited, Trump tightened rules for Americans traveling to Cuba, banned ties with a military-run tourism firm and reaffirmed the existing US trade embargo.

Havana decried the "hostile rhetoric that recalls the time of open confrontation," and "return to the coercive methods of the past."

Cuba regretted "a reversal in relations between the two countries," the statement said.

"Any strategy to change the political, economic and social system in Cuba, whether through pressure... or through more subtle methods, will be doomed to failure," Raul Castro's government said.

HAVANA: Cuba's government on Friday criticized Donald Trump's "hostile rhetoric" in announcing new restrictions on US ties to the island nation, but reiterated Havana's willingness to hold "respectful dialogue" with Washington. "The government of Cuba denounces the new measures toughening the embargo" imposed since 1962, according to a statement read on state television. However, Havana "reiterates its willingness to continue the respectful dialogue and cooperation" that have taken place with Washington since 2015 when the drive for restored ties began under then president Barack Obama. Earlier Friday, Trump vowed to overhaul Obama's policies. Although the policy changes announced were limited, Trump tightened rules for Americans traveling to Cuba, banned ties with a military-run tourism firm and reaffirmed the existing US trade embargo. Havana decried the "hostile rhetoric that recalls the time of open confrontation," and "return to the coercive methods of the past." Cuba regretted "a reversal in relations between the two countries," the statement said. "Any strategy to change the political, economic and social system in Cuba, whether through pressure... or through more subtle methods, will be doomed to failure," Raul Castro's government said.
By AFP

GAZA CITY: Hamas today said the three Palestinians shot dead in Jerusalem after the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman belonged to local Islamist and leftist movements, rejecting an earlier claim by the Islamic State group. "The claim by the Islamic State group is an attempt to muddy the waters," said Sami Abou Zouhri, spokesman for the Islamist movement which runs the Gaza strip.

The attack was carried out by "two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas", he said.

The Islamic State, in an online statement, today said three IS fighters had targeted "a gathering of Jews" in an operation yesterday during which the three attackers were killed by Israeli police.

The group warned that "this attack will not be the last." During the attack, the police officer was killed and others were wounded, according to IS.

It took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.

The policewoman was stabbed and critically injured and later died in hospital of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major. Israeli police said the three Palestinian assailants were killed.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

This was the first time that the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Israel, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist organisations.

In its statement IS said the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims." "Let the Jews watch for the demise of their state at the hands of the soldiers of the Caliphate," the statement added.

GAZA CITY: Hamas today said the three Palestinians shot dead in Jerusalem after the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman belonged to local Islamist and leftist movements, rejecting an earlier claim by the Islamic State group. "The claim by the Islamic State group is an attempt to muddy the waters," said Sami Abou Zouhri, spokesman for the Islamist movement which runs the Gaza strip. The attack was carried out by "two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas", he said. The Islamic State, in an online statement, today said three IS fighters had targeted "a gathering of Jews" in an operation yesterday during which the three attackers were killed by Israeli police. The group warned that "this attack will not be the last." During the attack, the police officer was killed and others were wounded, according to IS. It took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site. The policewoman was stabbed and critically injured and later died in hospital of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major. Israeli police said the three Palestinian assailants were killed. According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot. This was the first time that the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Israel, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist organisations. In its statement IS said the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims." "Let the Jews watch for the demise of their state at the hands of the soldiers of the Caliphate," the statement added.
By PTI

JERUSALEM: An Israeli policewoman was stabbed and killed in an attack outside Jerusalem's Old City on Friday and security forces shot dead three suspected Palestinian assailants, police said.

The attack took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.

"Female border policewoman injured critically in attack at Damascus gate," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement. "3 Arab terrorists shot by police units that responded at the scene."

Police said the three were killed.

The policewoman was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevy identified the three attackers as Palestinians from the West Bank.

Ramadan activity

Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays.

"During Ramadan there are large numbers of (Palestinian) youths who enter without permits, they take advantage of Ramadan to be in Jerusalem," Halevy told media at the scene of the attack.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone consultation with the chief of police and public security minister, and decided to cancel the family visits, a police statement read.

Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said.

The area around Damascus Gate was sealed off in the hours after the attack, with a few youths throwing fireworks at security forces.

A road leading to Damascus Gate full of stalls opened especially for Ramadan was closed off by police, and a shopkeeper said this would normally be one of the busiest nights of the year.

Inside the Old City shops were open but the atmosphere was subdued and numbers of people much lower than normal.

Large numbers of heavily armed security forces were patrolling throughout the Old City, an AFP reporter said.

'Popular terror activity'

The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah and Asama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year.

All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in "popular terror activity," a Shin Bet statement read.

A fourth Palestinian, a Hebron resident who had been identified by Palestinian security as a perpetrator, was in fact a passerby who was wounded by gunshots and taken to hospital, Israeli police said.

Medics said four people besides the officer were wounded in the incident, two of them moderately and two lightly. Two of those wounded were Palestinians from east Jerusalem.

The Islamist movement Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip condemned the shooting of the Palestinians as a "crime by the occupation."

A spokesman for the movement, Hazem Qassem, said the attack was "proof that the Palestinian people are leading a revolution against the enemy."

He also said the attack proved the Palestinian Authority's policy of security coordination with Israel was wrong, calling it "a national crime".

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 272 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

The Old City in annexed east Jerusalem is one of the focal points of the wave of violence.

JERUSALEM: An Israeli policewoman was stabbed and killed in an attack outside Jerusalem's Old City on Friday and security forces shot dead three suspected Palestinian assailants, police said. The attack took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site. "Female border policewoman injured critically in attack at Damascus gate," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement. "3 Arab terrorists shot by police units that responded at the scene." Police said the three were killed. The policewoman was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major. According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot. Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevy identified the three attackers as Palestinians from the West Bank. Ramadan activity Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays. "During Ramadan there are large numbers of (Palestinian) youths who enter without permits, they take advantage of Ramadan to be in Jerusalem," Halevy told media at the scene of the attack. Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone consultation with the chief of police and public security minister, and decided to cancel the family visits, a police statement read. Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said. The area around Damascus Gate was sealed off in the hours after the attack, with a few youths throwing fireworks at security forces. A road leading to Damascus Gate full of stalls opened especially for Ramadan was closed off by police, and a shopkeeper said this would normally be one of the busiest nights of the year. Inside the Old City shops were open but the atmosphere was subdued and numbers of people much lower than normal. Large numbers of heavily armed security forces were patrolling throughout the Old City, an AFP reporter said. 'Popular terror activity' The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah and Asama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year. All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in "popular terror activity," a Shin Bet statement read. A fourth Palestinian, a Hebron resident who had been identified by Palestinian security as a perpetrator, was in fact a passerby who was wounded by gunshots and taken to hospital, Israeli police said. Medics said four people besides the officer were wounded in the incident, two of them moderately and two lightly. Two of those wounded were Palestinians from east Jerusalem. The Islamist movement Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip condemned the shooting of the Palestinians as a "crime by the occupation." A spokesman for the movement, Hazem Qassem, said the attack was "proof that the Palestinian people are leading a revolution against the enemy." He also said the attack proved the Palestinian Authority's policy of security coordination with Israel was wrong, calling it "a national crime". A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 272 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP tally. Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. The Old City in annexed east Jerusalem is one of the focal points of the wave of violence.
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today said that it has opened another crossing point on the border with Afghanistan to facilitate Afghan transit trade.

The decision came close on the heels of a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of SCO summit in Astana.

Foreign office said in a statement that Pakistan opened Kharlachi crossing with Afghanistan in Kurram tribal district "with effect from today". "The decision reflects Pakistan's continued efforts for facilitating Afghan transit and trade through Pakistan," it said.

It also clarified that this is not a pedestrians crossing, but is meant for facilitation of trade and transit vehicles.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today said that it has opened another crossing point on the border with Afghanistan to facilitate Afghan transit trade. The decision came close on the heels of a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of SCO summit in Astana. Foreign office said in a statement that Pakistan opened Kharlachi crossing with Afghanistan in Kurram tribal district "with effect from today". "The decision reflects Pakistan's continued efforts for facilitating Afghan transit and trade through Pakistan," it said. It also clarified that this is not a pedestrians crossing, but is meant for facilitation of trade and transit vehicles.
By ANI

ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister House in Pakistan has accused the Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing into the offshore properties of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family of phone tapping and monitoring of witnesses  a violation of the law and the Constitution.

The reliance and reference to technical analysis is indeed an admission by the JIT of phone tapping and monitoring of witnesses, a violation of the law and the Constitution, the Dawn quoted the PM House, as saying, in its rejoinder to the JIT application in which it had accused some government institutions of creating impediments in its work and tampering with relevant documents.



The PM Houses rejection of allegations is part of Attorney General (AG)Ashtar Ausafs four-page rejoinder to the JIT application, submitted to the Supreme Court on Friday.



In the rejoinder it denied allegations that it tutored witnesses and persons who were being summoned by the JIT.

In its application, the JIT had alleged that witnesses were being tutored at the behest of the Sharif family and confidential letters were being leaked by misusing the PM House.



The PM House rebuking the claim said, if needed, the persons being named were willing to file rejoinders.



Similarly, it denied that the PM House had leaked summons issued by the JIT and said the summons might have been leaked by the team itself. Nevertheless, it said, such summons were a matter of public knowledge and their leak did not in any manner hamper investigations as alleged.

The AGs reply also contained the rejoinder of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) which denied hacking the Facebook account of a JIT member, Bilal Rasool, or his family members or any other member of the team.

Likewise, the Law Ministry also rejected allegations levelled by the JIT against it and said that the letter of mutual legal assistance was issued in a record three-day time.

Similarly, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the Federal Board of Revenue and Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) have also denied allegations of obstruction of justice.

ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister House in Pakistan has accused the Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing into the offshore properties of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family of phone tapping and monitoring of witnesses  a violation of the law and the Constitution. The reliance and reference to technical analysis is indeed an admission by the JIT of phone tapping and monitoring of witnesses, a violation of the law and the Constitution, the Dawn quoted the PM House, as saying, in its rejoinder to the JIT application in which it had accused some government institutions of creating impediments in its work and tampering with relevant documents. The PM Houses rejection of allegations is part of Attorney General (AG)Ashtar Ausafs four-page rejoinder to the JIT application, submitted to the Supreme Court on Friday. In the rejoinder it denied allegations that it tutored witnesses and persons who were being summoned by the JIT. In its application, the JIT had alleged that witnesses were being tutored at the behest of the Sharif family and confidential letters were being leaked by misusing the PM House. The PM House rebuking the claim said, if needed, the persons being named were willing to file rejoinders. Similarly, it denied that the PM House had leaked summons issued by the JIT and said the summons might have been leaked by the team itself. Nevertheless, it said, such summons were a matter of public knowledge and their leak did not in any manner hamper investigations as alleged. The AGs reply also contained the rejoinder of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) which denied hacking the Facebook account of a JIT member, Bilal Rasool, or his family members or any other member of the team. Likewise, the Law Ministry also rejected allegations levelled by the JIT against it and said that the letter of mutual legal assistance was issued in a record three-day time. Similarly, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the Federal Board of Revenue and Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) have also denied allegations of obstruction of justice.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has lauded Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau's decision to increase the defence budget by 70 per cent over the next decade and hailed the strong alliance between the two nations.

"President Donald J Trump spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to address various aspects of the strong bilateral relationship between their two countries," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between the two leaders.

"President Trump commended Prime Minister Trudeau for Canada's recent announcement that it will increase military spending by 70 per cent over the next decade," the White House said.

During the phone call, Trump underscored the solid alliance that the US enjoys with Canada, it said. Canada had announced plans to increase its defence budget early this month, by nearly three quarters over the next decade, after coming under pressure from the US to boost military spending.

Trump also spoke with Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to discuss bilateral and regional issues. "The two leaders affirmed the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Peru. They also discussed the terrible situation in Venezuela," the White House said.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has lauded Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau's decision to increase the defence budget by 70 per cent over the next decade and hailed the strong alliance between the two nations. "President Donald J Trump spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to address various aspects of the strong bilateral relationship between their two countries," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between the two leaders. "President Trump commended Prime Minister Trudeau for Canada's recent announcement that it will increase military spending by 70 per cent over the next decade," the White House said. During the phone call, Trump underscored the solid alliance that the US enjoys with Canada, it said. Canada had announced plans to increase its defence budget early this month, by nearly three quarters over the next decade, after coming under pressure from the US to boost military spending. Trump also spoke with Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to discuss bilateral and regional issues. "The two leaders affirmed the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Peru. They also discussed the terrible situation in Venezuela," the White House said.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump today vowed to roll back his predecessor Barack Obama's signature Cuba policy, saying it was "one-sided" and his administration will seek a "much better" deal for the Cuban people and America.

"Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba. I am announcing today a new policy just as I promised during the campaign. And I will be signing that contract right at that table in just a moment," Trump told a cheering crowd of Cuban Americans in Miami, Florida.

"Our policy will seek a much better deal for the Cuban people and for the United States of America. We do not want US dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba. Our new policy begins with strictly enforcing US law," he said.

Trump said he will not lift sanctions on Cuba unless it releases all political prisoners and respects freedoms.



WATCH VIDEO: Trump orders clampdown on Cuba travel and trade

"We will not lift sanctions on the Cuban regime until all political prisoners are freed, freedoms of assembly and expression are respected, all political parties are legalised and free and internationally supervised elections are scheduled elections," Trump said.

"We will very strongly restrict American dollars flowing to the military, security, and intelligence services that are the core of the Castro regime. They will be restricted. We will enforce the ban on tourism. We will enforce the embargo," he said.

"We will take concrete steps to ensure that investments flow directly to the people so they can open private businesses and begin to build their country's great, great future, a country of great potential," he said amidst a loud applause from the audience.

Trump said his actions bypassed the military and the government to help the Cuban people form businesses and pursue much better lives.

"We will keep in place the safeguards to prevent Cubans from risking their lives to unlawful travel to the United States. They are in such danger the way they have to come to this country. And we are going to be safeguarding those people," he said.

Trump said his administration will expose the crimes of the Castro regime and stand with the Cuban people in their struggle for freedom.

"Because we know it is best for America to have freedom in our hemisphere, whether in Cuba or Venezuela, and to have a future where the people of each country can live out their own dreams," he said.

He alleged that for nearly six decades, the Cuban people had suffered under the Communist domination.

To this day, Cuba is ruled by the same people who killed tens of thousands of their own citizens, who sought to spread their repressive and failed ideology throughout our hemisphere and who once tried to host enemy nuclear weapons 90 miles from our shores, he charged.

"The Castro regime has shipped arms to North Korea and fueled chaos in Venezuela. While imprisoning innocents, it has harbored cop killers, hijackers and terrorists. It has supported human trafficking, forced labor and exploitation all around the globe," he said.

"This is the simple truth of the Castro regime. My administration will not hide from it, excuse it or glamorise it. And we will never, ever be blind to it. We know what's going on and we remember what happened," he said.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump today vowed to roll back his predecessor Barack Obama's signature Cuba policy, saying it was "one-sided" and his administration will seek a "much better" deal for the Cuban people and America. "Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba. I am announcing today a new policy just as I promised during the campaign. And I will be signing that contract right at that table in just a moment," Trump told a cheering crowd of Cuban Americans in Miami, Florida. "Our policy will seek a much better deal for the Cuban people and for the United States of America. We do not want US dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba. Our new policy begins with strictly enforcing US law," he said. Trump said he will not lift sanctions on Cuba unless it releases all political prisoners and respects freedoms.WATCH VIDEO: Trump orders clampdown on Cuba travel and trade window.__ventunoplayer = window.__ventunoplayer||[];window.__ventunoplayer.push({video_key: 'OTUxNzkwfHw4fHw2fHwxLDIsMQ==', holder_id: 'vt-video-player', player_type: 'vp', width:'100%', ratio:'4:3'});"We will not lift sanctions on the Cuban regime until all political prisoners are freed, freedoms of assembly and expression are respected, all political parties are legalised and free and internationally supervised elections are scheduled elections," Trump said. "We will very strongly restrict American dollars flowing to the military, security, and intelligence services that are the core of the Castro regime. They will be restricted. We will enforce the ban on tourism. We will enforce the embargo," he said. "We will take concrete steps to ensure that investments flow directly to the people so they can open private businesses and begin to build their country's great, great future, a country of great potential," he said amidst a loud applause from the audience. Trump said his actions bypassed the military and the government to help the Cuban people form businesses and pursue much better lives. "We will keep in place the safeguards to prevent Cubans from risking their lives to unlawful travel to the United States. They are in such danger the way they have to come to this country. And we are going to be safeguarding those people," he said. Trump said his administration will expose the crimes of the Castro regime and stand with the Cuban people in their struggle for freedom. "Because we know it is best for America to have freedom in our hemisphere, whether in Cuba or Venezuela, and to have a future where the people of each country can live out their own dreams," he said. He alleged that for nearly six decades, the Cuban people had suffered under the Communist domination. To this day, Cuba is ruled by the same people who killed tens of thousands of their own citizens, who sought to spread their repressive and failed ideology throughout our hemisphere and who once tried to host enemy nuclear weapons 90 miles from our shores, he charged. "The Castro regime has shipped arms to North Korea and fueled chaos in Venezuela. While imprisoning innocents, it has harbored cop killers, hijackers and terrorists. It has supported human trafficking, forced labor and exploitation all around the globe," he said. "This is the simple truth of the Castro regime. My administration will not hide from it, excuse it or glamorise it. And we will never, ever be blind to it. We know what's going on and we remember what happened," he said.
Championship game berths on the line for Island football teams

The stakes dont get much higher for the Portsmouth, Middletown and Rogers high school football teams this weekend.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. Morning high of 49F with temps falling to near 35. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy during the evening followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 28F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Life is full of emotional highs and lows, ranging from enjoying an activity with a loved one and savoring a delicious meal to feeling hurt by a negative interaction with a co-worker or that recent scuffle with a family member. But when we let emotions from one event carry on to the next, such spillover can color our impressions and behavior in those new situations - sometimes for the worse.

Researchers at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are discovering what happens in the brain when such emotional spillover occurs and, for the first time, are able to pinpoint areas directly responsible. Their findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a technique that produces a magnetic field that can temporarily "knock out" or inhibit activity in specific parts of the brain, the team discovered that when the lateral prefrontal area of the brain (a region known for executive function) was inhibited by the stimulation, participants showed more emotional spillover. In the experiment, they measured this by collecting people's ratings and first impressions of neutral faces they saw immediately after faces that were smiling (prompting positive emotions) or fearful (prompting negative emotions).

The findings, supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, are part of larger efforts to understand the complexity of the brain and what types of mental training or activities can best improve emotional reactions known to promote higher levels of well-being. TMS therapy is approved for depression by the FDA, and this work may shed light on why stimulating parts of the prefrontal cortex is successful in improving the ability to regulate negative emotions.

"It was interesting because participants saw the emotional faces very briefly," says Regina Lapate, Center for Healthy Minds collaborator and current postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, who led the work. "And when asked afterward, they didn't think that they had been influenced by it in their ratings. Having their prefrontal cortex disrupted generated spillover onto their unrelated events that followed. Emotional spillover can happen without us being aware of it."

The team discovered that when the lateral prefrontal cortex was intact (when the brain was not inhibited by TMS), the person did not show spillover when viewing subsequent neutral faces. And when the opposite occurred - when the lateral prefrontal cortex was inhibited by TMS, emotional spillover occurred more frequently and with greater intensity. Three days later outside of the laboratory, participants still showed that emotional bias when asked to rate the same neutral faces, suggesting that the negative emotional spillover they first showed in the laboratory produced long-lasting, biased first impressions.

"If your first impression of someone is formed when you're experiencing emotional spillover from a previous context, that negative impression may stick," Lapate adds.

In addition, research on mindfulness meditation has been suggested to improve emotion regulation and connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and more emotion-centered areas of the brain such as the amygdala. If scientists know that there's a causal relationship between these areas of the brain, they can more accurately tailor interventions to target these areas and improve well-being.

"We are excited about this experiment because it demonstrates the causal role of the prefrontal cortex in regulating emotional behavior," says Richard Davidson, William and James Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry who worked on the study and directs the Center for Healthy Minds. "It invites the possibility that strategies that promote prefrontal engagement may have beneficial consequences for emotion regulation."

Next on Lapate's agenda is to test whether the reverse works - can TMS stimulation that increases neural firing in the prefrontal cortex lead to a decrease in negative emotional spillover? At the University of California, Berkeley, she'll continue exploring that question as well as how the lateral prefrontal cortex as a whole changes the neural coding for positive and negative information.

Meanwhile, the team at UW-Madison will further examine how contemplative practices may change emotional spillover and target these areas as measured by neural activity recorded in a brain scanner.
A new study at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) and the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech has found a connection between common household chemicals and birth defects.

Known as quaternary ammonium compounds or "quats," the chemicals are often used as disinfectants and preservatives in household and personal products such as cleaners, laundry detergent, fabric softener, shampoo and conditioner, and eye drops. The research demonstrated a link between quats and neural tube birth defects in both mice and rats.

"These chemicals are regularly used in the home, hospital, public spaces, and swimming pools," said Terry Hrubec, associate professor of anatomy at the VCOM-Virginia campus and research assistant professor in the veterinary college's Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology. "Most people are exposed on a regular basis."

Hrubec investigated the effect of two commonly used quats: alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride. These are often listed on ingredient lists as ADBAC and DDAC, respectively, and are valued for their antimicrobial and antistatic properties, as well as their ability to lower surface tension. Hrubec found that exposure to these chemicals resulted in neural tube birth defects -- the same birth defect as spina bifida and anencephaly in humans.

"Birth defects were seen when both males and females were exposed, as well as when only one parent was exposed," said Hrubec, who is first author on the study and holds both a doctor of veterinary medicine degree and Ph.D. from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. "The fact that birth defects could be seen when only the father was exposed means that we need to expand our scope of prenatal care to include the father."

Hrubec found that mice and rats did not even need to be dosed with the chemicals to see the effect. Her research shows that simply using quat-based cleaners in the same room as the mice was enough to cause birth defects. "We also observed increased birth defects in rodents for two generations after stopping exposure," Hrubec added.

An earlier study in Hrubec's laboratory found that these chemicals led to reproductive declines in mice. Follow-up research found that quats were decreasing sperm counts in males and ovulation in females. The research raises the possibility of quats contributing to human infertility, which has been on the rise in recent decades.

"We are asked all of the time, 'You see your results in mice. How do you know that it's toxic in humans?'" Hrubec said. "Our research on mice and rats shows that these chemicals affect the embryonic development of these animals. Since rodent research is the gold standard in the biomedical sciences, this raises a big red flag that these chemicals may be toxic to humans as well."

Quaternary ammonium compounds were introduced in the 1950s and 1960s before the standardization of toxicity studies. Chemical manufacturers conducted some toxicity studies on the compounds during this period, but they were never published. Today, the chemicals are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Hrubec noted that an epidemiological study could determine whether people who have a high rate of exposure, such as healthcare workers or restaurant servers, have a more difficult time becoming pregnant or have a greater likelihood of having children with neural tube birth defects, but no such study has been conducted to date.
Amazon.com Inc said on Friday it would buy grocer Whole Foods Market Inc for $13.7 billion in a move that gives the online retailer a physical network of stores to distribute fresh food and other goods to millennials and wealthy consumers.



Amazon, which is known for squeezing suppliers and has been experimenting with its own outlets, will take over a natural and organic grocer pioneer brimming with 456 stores and high-end shoppers but struggling to rein in prices and integrate technology.



The deal sent shockwaves across the food distribution market and beyond. Shares of grocer Kroger Co swooned 11 percent, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc fell 5 percent, signalling fears that Amazon could cut prices and broaden Whole Foods' product mix, turning it into a much broader retailer.[]



Amazon's shares were up 3 percent at $993.40, adding more than $14 billion to its market capitalisation.



"Supermarkets will now have to contend with not only with each other and non-traditional grocers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp, but with a retailer like Amazon which has the financial capacity to price aggressively," said Mickey Chadha, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's Investors Service.



"We expect this transaction to further accelerate the consolidation within the supermarket space."



Amazon has agreed to pay $42 per share in cash for Whole Foods, a 27 percent premium on the Austin, Texas-based grocer's closing share price on Thursday. Whole Foods shares were trading just above that level on Friday, as investors saw a negligible regulatory risk to the deal closing.



A person familiar with Amazon's strategy said the company believed customers wanted a combination of online and real-world buying options.



Amazon has been looking at stores that could allow the traditional in-store purchase, online ordering with an on-site pickup, and home delivery, using the store's warehouse as a distribution point.



Still, Amazon is playing catch-up in the grocery business. Wal-Mart Stores Inc already offers in-store pickup. Amazon announced a similar service called AmazonFresh Pickup at two locations. Amazon also has dealt with technology problems at a prototype store inside its corporate office in Seattle, called Amazon Go, where sensors and tech-savvy cameras detect what shoppers pull off the shelves and charge their Amazon accounts when they leave, people familiar with the matter said. That has delayed opening the store to the general public, they added.



And while some analysts expected Amazon to bring vast buying power to Whole Foods, Amazon's heft in the food market is far smaller than in other areas, and high demand for organic products gives farmers unusual bargaining power.



Whole Foods has posted seven straight quarterly sales declines at established stores and had overhauled its board of directors in the face of pressure from activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC.



"I think that this takes all of the pressure off Whole Foods and gives Whole Foods the opportunity to revitalise that business and, of course, it seems the criticism from all of these activist investors," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail in New York.



The deal is for $13.4 billion in cash and the remainder in debt.



The acquisition price implies a trailing 12-month price-to-earnings multiple for Whole Foods of 31 times, versus a 14.4 average for the S&P 500 Food Retail Index.



Amazon and Whole Foods expect to close the deal during the second half of 2017.



The grocer will continue to operate stores under the Whole Foods Market brand and John Mackey will remain as its chief executive officer, the companies said. Whole Foods' headquarters will still be in Austin.



EYES ON GROCERY SHOPPERS



Amazon started in Seattle in 1994 by former hedge fund manager Jeff Bezos, has grown into the world's biggest diversified online retailer, with a market capitalisation of nearly $500 billion.



It has expanded from a bookseller into a merchant of nearly all consumer products, as well as producing videos.



Both Amazon and Whole Foods cater to younger consumers including so-called millennials as well as those who are financially well off.



"Amazon could bring technology to all Whole Foods locations or it could absorb Whole Foods into Amazon Fresh. Either way, it's good for consumers like myself," said Di Wu, a New York resident in her early 30s who is a member of Amazon's Prime fast-shipping service and also shops at Whole Foods at least twice a week.



"Amazon is known to drive down prices and make the shopping experience more efficient," Wu said.



Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of America Corp advised Amazon on the Whole Foods deal and provided bridge financing, while Evercore Partners Inc advised Whole Foods.


The bodies of top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Junaid Mattoo and two other militants were recovered from the debris at Arwani village encounter site in south Kashmir on Saturday morning.Mattoo, along with two militants identified as Nasir Wani and Adil Mushtaq Mir, were trapped by security forces in the Kulgam district village on Friday.Hailing from Khudwani village of Kulgam, 24-year-old Mattoo joined militancy in June 2015. He had a meteoric rise within the Lashkar group and was appointed commander for South Kashmir after he gunned down two policemen in broad daylight at Anantnag bus stand in June last year.While Mir hailed from Frasbal area of Pampore, Wani was from Heff Shremal of Shopian district. Both had joined militancy after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy Burhan Wani last year.Police had laid a cordon around a house in Malik Mohalla in Arwani village at 8 am on Friday following an intelligence tip-off about the presence of three militants. The first engagement with terrorists took place at 10 am after which additional forces were rushed to the spot.By late afternoon, firing had stopped but two houses had caught fire during the encounter. After the fire tenders doused the raging flames, police and other security forces, which were already embattled by stone pelters, began a search operation in the rubble.The security forces were also fired upon from the crowd that was indulging in stone pelting, police said, adding that the Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were desperate to save Mattoo.The serach operation was also hampered after six policemen, including an officer Feroz Ahmed Dar were gunned down at Achabal area, 20 km south of the encounter site. This act was a revenge by Lashkar-e-Taiba for killing of Mattoo and two others, PTI reported.During Fridays encounter, two civilians were also killed. Mohammad Ashraf Khar, 34, was killed in the crossfire between the forces and the militants. Khar, a resident of Kharpora Arwani area, was rushed to the district hospital at Bijbehara where he was declared brought dead, police said.Ahsan Mushtaq, 15, was also killed after he was hit by bullets near the site of the encounter, the police said. Separatists have called for a Valley shutdown on Saturday to protest against the civilian deaths.(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Results of the most state and national education boards are out and students are now making a beeline to choose a college of their choice.



Delhi University, however, has put a spanner in the works and postponed their first cut-off list to June 23.



Although the university had announced that it would release six cut-off lists, dates of only five have been announced so far. More cut-off lists would be announced depending on the vacancy.



After the first cut-off list is announced on June 23 evening, admissions would begin from the next day, a release from the office of the Delhi University registrar said. The dates for release of subsequent cut-off lists are July 1, July 7, July 13 and July 18.



But for students who dont want to spend do not want to wait so long to choose a college to take admission or want a second option to be safe, there are other colleges in the country.



Here is a list of colleges that have released their cutoff lists where students can now take admission:








An officer of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was critical after being stabbed with a traditional Nepali kukri on Saturday morning as the Hills witnessed fresh clashes between security personnel and protesters demanding a separate Gorkhaland.The GJM said two of its supporters had died in police firing, but there was no immediate confirmation available.Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Kiran Tamang, an IRB second battalion assistant commandant, was critical after being attacked by GJM supporters. She had earlier said the officer was killed, but after receiving updated information clarified that he was critical.Banerjees Trinamool Congress is locked in a fierce battle for the Hills with the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha which wants a separate state of Gorkhaland.As the indefinite bandh called by the Morcha entered the sixth day, GJM supporters, their faces covered, wreaked havoc in Singamari area, setting a police outpost on fire. They clashed with paramilitary forces during which several policemen, GJM supporters and journalists were injured, forcing the Army to step in.Army personnel were seen asking GJM supporters to maintain law and order. They cautioned the local residents to stay indoors.The clashes erupted when GJM supporters, mainly women, were barred from marching towards the GJMs Patlebas office, which was recently raided by the police.Tensions were fuelled when GJM leader Vinay Tamang, a close aide of party chief Bimal Gurung, claimed that two Morcha supporters had died in police firing. Tamang demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the deaths.West Bengal ADG (Law and Order) Anuj Sharma, however, refuted the charges, saying the police did not fire at GJM supporters. There was no firing from our side. We will investigate how the two people were killed  if at all  as alleged by the GJM, Sharma said.The clashes erupted on a day when Vikram Rai, GJM media manager and son of Darjeeling MLA Amar Rai, was arrested from his residence."We are shocked and stunned to inform you all that Vikram Rai - a local journalist, was arrested last night. Rai was associated with various media houses based in Kolkata and was also a stringer for a television channel. If local journalists are not safe in Darjeeling, who is," Tamang said in statement. "There is a virtual emergency imposed in Darjeeling region," he added.Police had also reportedly raided Tamangs residence and seized some documents.The ongoing agitation in the Hills has crippled tourism. According to a railway official, the toy-train services of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has been suspended in view of the strike for the safety of passengers and staffs.The GJM announced an indefinite general strike from Monday in the Hills encompassing Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Dooars (foothills of the Himalayas covering stretches of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar district) protesting against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to make Bengali language compulsory in state-run schools.The strike was called even as the Chief Minister assured that the new rule would not be imposed in the hill districts.
Mathura: Minister of culture and tourism Mahesh Sharma on Saturday launched the National Mission on Cultural Mapping of India in the city. Under the mission, the government will hold a talent hunt for artists of various genres and give them a platform to showcase their talent on the national stage.



Officials said that artists can register themselves on the cultural mapping portal, after which they will be given a unique ID. Their development as an artist and their work will then be tracked and promoted by the ministry. The government is targeting those artists whose genres are not very well known and they never got a stage for their work.



There have been generations of artists who were bunkars (weavers) Prajapati (potters) shilpkar (sculptor) who have not got their due. Through this move we are going to give them a chance to rise to the national level. It is above caste and religion, Sharma said, adding that the launch also mark the centenary celebrations of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay.



Speaking at the launch, secretary culture NK Sinha said, There is no particular definition for an artist. This is to provide all those who think they are artists a platform to showcase their talent."



Once the artists are identified, competitions will be held and the winners will be given cash prizes. The government will also provide them other security benefits like insurance.



The project is worth Rs 470 crore. As of now, close to a crore people have got themselves registered. After registration, the artist will be provided with the stage to showcase their talent as artists. This move intends to bring all cultural activity under one umbrella.



The ministry will hold talent hunt competitions with various rounds from block level to National level. A panel of renowned artists would be called in to judge the work. A rating system for artists will also be introduced. It is expected to cover 6.40 lakh villages over the span of three years.



"We would also be looking at establishing Braj Sahitya Academy. The central government had given funds to the previous state government for the development of tourism and culture in Mathura. But the funds have not been utilized, said Sharma.



Now, there is an efficient state and central government that will make sure Mathura becomes an important tourist and culture spot," he said.



The MLA from Mathura Shrikanth Sharma was present too, and said art was inherent in Braj and part of their life, "Even if we are out grazing our cows there is song on our lips and bansuri too. Our festivals like Holi are about song and art."



Sharma, however, distanced himself from CM Yogi Adityanath's remarks on Taj Mahal. "He said it, not me. So please ask him," Sharma said. Adityanath was reported to have said that Taj Mahal was not the symbol of Indian culture.
Telegu Desam Party (TDP) MP Diwakar Reddy left for France on Friday night, hours after he was banned by domestic airlines for creating a ruckus Vishakapatnam airport a day earlier.The TDP lawmaker boarded an Emirates flight from Hyderabad.According to J C Prabhakar Reddy, brother of the Anantapur MP, the tour was planned well in advance. It is something the family does every year."He and his family left for vacation last night. I was also supposed to go along with them. But I could not go due to personal work. What is wrong in his foreign tour? He got his visa long ago. It was not planned yesterday," Prabhakar, a TDP MLA from Anantapur told PTI on Saturday.Though the exact duration of the vacation is not exactly known, a TDP leader said it may last seven to 10 days. Domestic airlines stood firm against the MP after he hurled abuses at IndiGo airline staff at the Vishakapatnam airport. Reddy's outburst came after he wasn't allowed to board his flight because he was too late."In support of the fellow carriers Vistara has also taken a decision to impose a flying ban on Mr. JC Diwakar Reddy," Vistara spokesperson said.While IndiGo had finally accommodated the TDP leader, later it decided to ban him from taking its flights.State-run Air India, as well as budget carrier SpiceJet and full-service Jet Airways soon, followed suit by barring him from their flights.Reacting to the incident, Civil Aviation Minister Gajapathi Raju, who is also from the TDP, said: I will get the entire incident at Vizag Airport enquired into to find out the exact details and ensure that lawful outcomes follow.Earlier this year, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was temporarily banned by airlines from flying after he assaulted an Air India staffer, triggering a major controversy.Following this, the Centre released its draft rules for a national no-fly list for unruly passengers and proposed a ban on flying from three months up to an indefinite period. The government is expected to finalise these rules shortly.Reddy was scheduled to fly on IndiGo flight 6E-608, which departs from Visakhapatnam at 8.10 AM, to Hyderabad. But he reached just 28 minutes before the scheduled departure, according to the airline.As per norms laid out by the aviation regulator, airlines close check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure.
Posters calling senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas a traitor appeared outside the party's ITO office in the national capital on Saturday.The posters called Vishwas a BJP ally and demanded his ouster from the party. They also thanked senior AAP leader Dilip Pandey for exposing Vishwas.Pandey had earlier this week questioned Vishwas for taking on Congress leaders, while being soft on Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje."Brother, you launch fervent attacks on the Congress but (you) say that you will not attack Vasundhara (Raje). Why?" Pandey had tweeted, referring to Vishwass criticism of Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit for his purported comments on Army Chief General Bipin Rawat.The AAP has been going through a troubled period of infighting since former minister Kapil Mishra rebelled against Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, alleging widespread corruption.Earlier, AAP's Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan had dubbed Vishwas an "RSS-BJP agent" and accused him of "plotting a coup in AAP", following which Vishwas had threatened to quit the party if no action was taken against the former. The party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) later suspended Khan.In a move to placate him, the party also made Vishwas in-charge of Rajasthan which goes to the polls next year.
Hyderabad: Maintaining that the Army has a very good human rights record, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said the incident of a Kashmiri man being used as a human shield against stone pelters was circumstances-based and could not be made a standard operating procedure to deal with such situations.



He said "misinformation and disinformation" was being spread among the people of Jammu and Kashmir, compelling the younger generation to pick up arms against the security forces.



Commenting on Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied the man to a jeep purportedly as a shield against stone pelters, Rawat said, "Everything and every action that we take is considering the nature of task that we are expected to carry out under the circumstances."



"But we are concerned about human rights and we make sure rights of people are not violated," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.



Rawat was in the city as the chief guest at the combined graduation parade, marking the completion of the pre-commissioning training of Indian Air Force flight cadets at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal.



When asked whether it (human shield incident) could be made a standard operating procedure (SOP), the Army chief said, "No... it is not...What I am saying is it is not considered...I said it depends on the circumstances. It is circumstances-based. Each one takes action based on the circumstances, but the effort is to make sure that human rights violations are not there."



On handling the situation in Kashmir wherein some school children were also seen to be part of the mob hurling stones at the security forces, Rawat said the Army follows very stringent rules of engagement in the Valley.



"They have been trained to handle such situations and when they find that there are children and women, who are coming in the front, they deal with them accordingly and harsh measures are never used. We are an Army which believes very strongly in human rights and we have a very good human rights record. We know how to deal with children and women under such circumstances," he said.



When asked about some cases of even locals and minors picking up arms and attacking the Army and security personnel, Rawat said, "There is some misinformation and isinformation which is being spread amongst the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which is causing this trouble and possibly, I would say, compelling some of the younger generation to pick up arms."



"But, I am quite confident that they will soon understand that any (such) thing that they are doing is not good for their own state and for the people," he said.



All that the armed forces and other security forces want is peace and tranquillity in the Valley, Rawat said, adding the security forces were doing a great job in bringing the Kashmir situation under control.



He said the Jammu and Kashmir situation should not be looked from the perspective of what was being projected and that the security forces were taking necessary action in the Valley.



"You should not look at the Jammu and Kashmir situation from the perspective of what is being projected. Let me tell you the security forces and all other agencies are doing a great job to bring the situation under control," he said.



"Some parts of South Kashmir are indeed troublesome, but necessary actions are being taken to ensure that the situation there is fully brought under control. Therefore, I think there should not be any cause for worry for anyone," he said.



"We all are looking at bringing peace and tranquility and I am quite sure that some of the young people, who should be having books and computers in their hands and preparing for exams for entering the IITs and IIMs, will soon be brought on the right side of the fence and they will themselves understand that they were not choosing the right path," the General said.



Rawat said he was quite confident that the situation would be brought under control.



On frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan, he said, "Ceasefire violations take place with a purpose and we have to counter it."



When asked how Army viewed 'political' comments against it, he said, "Armed forces do their work and task. We do not care about other things."



Asked if the situation was deteriorating in the Valley with each passing day, Rawat said, "Well, not really. We are there to make sure the situation is brought under control. Therefore, I think at the present juncture we have to continue with the task in the manner in which we are carrying on."



"The Indian armed forces belong to the people. We are the people's armed forces. Therefore, the Army is for the people. We have been called upon to do a particular task by the Government of India. Because they do feel that there is a requirement for the Army to be there. Therefore, we are there," he said.
New Delhi: Three High Courts are set to get 11 new judges in less than a week with the government clearing the appointments to ease the pending vacancies to some extent.



Sources in the Law Ministry confirmed to CNN-News18 that 11 names have been cleared for appointments to the Madras, Chhattisgarh and Punjab & Haryana High Courts.



While six names have been cleared for the Madras High Court, Chhattisgarh High Court will get three new judges. The Punjab & Haryana High Court will get two. The appointments will receive presidential assent soon and their warrants of appointments will be issued within a week, sources said.



The Madras High Court has an approved strength of 76 judges, out of which 26 positions are vacant. Six names that have been cleared by the government are the ones that had been reiterated by the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar.



These six names were proposed by the collegium earlier but the government had sent them back, seeking some clarification. When the names were reiterated, the government approved them. This batch of six names had been pending for nearly 18 months.



Around two dozen names in two separate lists are also pending before the Supreme Court collegium.



In the Chhattisgarh High Court, the approved strength is 26 judges and half the chairs are vacant. Three will now be filled with the government accepting the recommendations made by the collegium.



In the Punjab and Haryana High Court, 39 judges positions are vacant against an approved strength of 85. Two names cleared by the government are judicial officers who are being promoted to higher judiciary.



As on June 1, 24 High Courts across the country are 419 judges short out of an approved strength of 1,079  a shortfall of almost 39%.



The appointment of judges will get a substantial push if the government approves a list of 29 names for appointment as judges in the Allahabad High Court, where 76 of the 160 judges positions are vacant. The proposed list contains the names of 20 lawyers and nine others from the judicial services. Of these, 19 are reiteration of the names sent by the collegium in the past.



The government had wanted the collegium to reconsider some of the names recommended for appointment out of a list of 44. The collegium subsequently sent back 20 names, including 19 names already recommended. This batch is currently under consideration.



On Thursday, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad described expeditious judicial appointments as one of achievements of the Narendra Modi government.
Kolkata: Gau Seva Parivar  an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) - has approached the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to implement the use of cow dung cakes in funeral pyres instead of firewood at government crematoriums.



They claimed that cow dung cake emits less pollutants as compare to logs.



It also take less time to burn as compare to log because of less moisture. In cow dung cake the moisture is less than 5% but in firewood it is nearly 20%, said GSP pracharak Lalit Agarwal.



The organization has already given a demonstration at Neemtala crematorium in front of KMC officials and they got a very good response.



They convinced the KMC officials that nearly 250 Kg of cow dung is required for cremation and equal amount (250 Kg) of logs for the same purpose  so better to use cow dung cake. They were surprised to see our demonstration because cow dung is economical as compare to logs, he said.



We are happy that the KMC officials have appreciated our move. Now we are waiting for their permission so that we can start this eco-friendly initiative at the earliest. There are many benefits of using cow dung cake because it is economical, eco-friendly, emits less population, it will save deforestation and good for departed soul, Agarwal said.



Cow dung has a spiritual significance because earlier (especially in villages) floor used to be smeared with it (cow dung) before placing a body, he said.



Once they will get the permission  the Gau Seva Parivar  have decided to purchase cow dung making machines for the easy availability of cakes for cremation. They have already roped in several gaushalas across the state to procure cow dung for the production of cakes in large numbers.



We are thankful to Gau Mata for giving us so many product starting from medicines, drink to positive energy. Instead of doing politics we should work together for the dignity of cow, Agarwal said.



Speaking to News18, Jishnu Basu, RSSs General Secretary in South Bengal, said, They are doing some remarkable work based on cow products. Ideally instead of cutting trees for firewood, it is always advisable to use cow dung cakes for crematorium. It will save lots if trees and will contribute in reducing global warming.


New Delhi: A five-year-olds description of her ordeal through a Barbie doll has found judicial credence with the Delhi High Court confirming the jail term of a man for sexually assaulting her. The court said the girl by referring to the private parts of the doll conveyed the information as to what had happened with her.



It noted from the case file that the girl while telling to her doll the ordeal of sexual assault was hesitant to answer embarrassing, derogatory, dirty and vulgar questions posed by the defence counsel.



The innovative way of giving a doll to the child to play with, adopted by the trial court judge, yielded results as the high court held that the sentence awarded to the 23-year-old man was based upon a proper appreciation of the evidence and it deserves no intervention.



Justice S P Garg, while dismissing the appeal filed by the convict, said the five-year-old girl had rightly conveyed the details to the trial court by describing to the doll what all was done to her by the man. The court said merely because no nail marks were found on the private parts of the child, it cannot be inferred that no such incident had taken place and her mother did not permit her internal medical examination to protect her honour.



The crucial evidence regarding nail marks on the private parts could not be gathered. It, however, does not dilute the oral testimony of the victim whereby by referring to the private parts of the doll in her hand she conveyed the information as to what had happened to her. There was no occasion for the appellant (man) to take the child on the allurement of handing over a Rs 10 note to her brother, it said.



The incident dates back to July 2014 when the girl was going to school with her 10-year-old brother and accused Hunny gave Rs 10 to the boy and asked him to bring something from a shop and kidnapped the girl. The man took her to Narela in north-west Delhi and sexually assaulted her after disrobing and slapping her. He then left the child near her house.



A woman neighbour found the child crying and wandering on streets without her skirt and took her home.

Initially, the minor, who was in a state of shock, did not disclose anything to her family, she later told her mother about the incident. The incident left such an impact on the childs mind that she became quiet and refused to talk or stay alone even with her father, Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav had noted in his order convicting the man for the offence under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.



The accused was arrested with the help of a CCTV footage of the area from where the child was kidnapped.



To make the child comfortable at the time of recording her testimony in the court, the sessions judge gave a Barbie doll to the girl which kept her engaged.



While taking to the judge, the minor started putting her hand in the lower apparel of the doll. This prompted the judge to ask the child if this is what the man had done to her and the girl replied in affirmative.



At the time of recording of the evidence of child this court had the challenge to record her evidence.

This court took the assistance of a Barbie doll in making the child depose in the matter about the nuances of the sexual assault which took placed with her, the trial court had noted.



The man had challenged the trial courts order convicting and sentencing him for the offence, saying it held him guilty on the sole testimony of the child who was unable to respond to the questions put to her. The high court, however, said the child was hesitant to answer embarrassing questions which were derogatory.



She has given answers to other questions. Nevertheless, she had categorically pointed out as to what the appellant had done with her by referring it to the doll in her hand. She had conveyed as to what was done by the appellant with her.



Nothing more can be expected from a child aged around five years considering her limited understanding. Her testimony cannot be discarded merely because she in specific words did not tell that nails were scratched on her vagina by the appellant after putting off her underwear, it said.



The bench said it was a serious crime and it could understand the trauma of the kid who suffered sexual assault and was defiled at such a small age.
Large-scale European patient survey found that 94% of severe allergic asthma patients were unable to fully control their disease



These new data underscore the disconnect between self-perceived control and clinical reality; a potentially limiting factor in patients seeking support to better control their condition



Helping patients recognize the possibilities of living a life with properly controlled asthma is central to a major new global patient engagement program being launched by Novartis, called Billion Breaths

Basel, 17th June, 2017 - Novartis announced the results of a new survey of 904 severe asthma patients, presented today for the first time at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) Congress[1]. Data from the 'Still Fighting for Breath' survey demonstrate that, despite the widespread availability of oral and inhaled treatments, asthma still places a huge burden on the personal and professional lives of those living with the disease in Europe.

The new survey revealed that high levels of uncontrolled disease still exist amongst adults and children with severe asthma. Asthma attacks (also known as exacerbations) were reported to be extremely common. Nearly three quarters (74%) of patients surveyed experienced an attack serious enough to have required treatment from a healthcare professional in the emergency room, ambulance or at home. Furthermore, almost a third (32%) of patients experienced three or more exacerbations during this time period. While a majority of patients (54%) experiencing an exacerbation physically recovered after treatment within 24 hours, these patients often remained psychologically affected for a prolonged period of time after the exacerbation, with almost a fifth of them (19%) reporting effects persisting over a week[1].

Importantly, this new research found a significant discrepancy between "perceived" versus "real life" asthma control. Specifically, nearly half (46%) of the patients surveyed had self-estimated themselves as being "controlled", which is a marked contrast to the 6% of patients that were actually deemed as "controlled" according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) clinical guidelines. This discrepancy may be a limiting factor in patients seeking support to control their condition.

"The results from this new survey are important as the data demonstrate that too many patients in Europe are living with the daily burden of uncontrolled severe asthma. As such, this patient population may be significantly under-served", said Professor Antonella Muraro, one of the authors of the survey. "More needs to be done and the first step is to bridge the gap between the perceptions of 'good' control vs reality, among people with asthma. We need to focus greater efforts on empowering and educating those living with asthma to fight for better outcomes and to help them achieve a life unrestricted by their condition."

In addition to revealing the high levels of uncontrolled disease, the survey also underscored the disruptive impact that living with severe asthma has on the lives of patients. Nearly nine out of ten patients reported that their condition impacted their daily living (88%) and 84% reported that it impacted physical activities, with almost all patients (97%) reporting it disturbed their sleep. Significantly, half of the patients surveyed believe their professional lives are negatively impacted by their condition.

In response to the survey findings Novartis is launching a new patient engagement program, entitled Billion Breaths. The program will encourage people to set activity goals and provide advice and support to help them achieve a life less restricted by asthma [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kniyOgnpQr4].

About the asthma impact study in Europe

The study enrolled 904 adult patients (>=18 years) and children (6-17 years old) suffering from severe persistent asthma. It spanned several countries, including the United Kingdom (n=190), Germany (n=170), France (n=170, Italy (n=116), Spain (n=115) and Portugal (n=30).

Data were collected through an online survey between July 12 and October 31 2016. Data for adolescent and pediatric patients were obtained through caregivers. Collection and analysis of all data was completed by GFK Health on behalf of Novartis.

The severe asthmatic patients in this survey were diagnosed by respiratory physicians (38%), general practitioners (33%), allergists (23%) and pediatricians (5%). On average, adults were diagnosed with the disease 15 years ago, adolescents seven years old and pediatrics three years ago. According to the patients' understanding 49% considered themselves to have non-allergic asthma (no additional tests were performed).

About asthma

Asthma is a global health problem[2] affecting an estimated 300 million people worldwide[3]. It is a common long-term condition that can cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and breathlessness.

There is no cure for asthma and treatment focuses on symptom relief[3]. Asthma symptoms can either gradually or suddenly become worse. This is commonly referred to as an "asthma attack" or "exacerbation". Severe exacerbations may require hospital treatment and can be life- threatening[4]. However, when appropriate treatment is instituted, asthma can be controlled without symptoms.

There are many different types of asthma. Severe asthma is a specific form of asthma that requires specialist care and support. It affects approximately 5% of people with the condition. A patient with severe asthma may have breathing difficulties and is also at risk of serious exacerbations[5].

Approximately 87% of severe asthma patients have taken oral corticosteroids (OCS), for a reported average period of 20 days in the last six months[1]. The updated 2017 GINA guidelines for asthma management state that patients should be provided with written guidance on when/how to commence OCS treatment, typically a short course (40mg/day for 5-7 days), and should also be advised of the potential side effects that may occur when taking OCS[2].

Disclaimer

This press release contains expressed or implied forward-looking statements, including statements that can be identified by terminology such as "potentially," "launched," "may," "focus," "launching," "encourage," or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Group regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such statements. These expectations could be affected by, among other things, risks and factors referred to in the Risk Factors section of Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update it in the future.

About Novartis

Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas. In 2016, the Group achieved net sales of USD 48.5 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 118,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com

References

[1] Katsaounou P, Conde L G, Kroegel C et al. The challenges of living with severe asthma in Europe. Abstract #858 presented at EACCI Congress 2017

[2] Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention (2017). http://ginasthma.org/2017-gina-report-global-strategy-for-asthma-management-and-prevention/ [Accessed March 2017]

[3] World Health Organization. Global surveillance, prevention and control of chronic respiratory diseases: a comprehensive approach, 2007. http://www.who.int/gard/publications/GARD%20Book%202007.pdf. [Accessed April 2017]

[4] NHS Choices - Asthma. http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Asthma/Pages/Introduction.aspx. [Accessed April 2017]

[5] Asthma UK, Severe asthma and difficult to control asthma. https://www.asthma.org.uk/advice/understanding-asthma/types/severe-asthma/ [Accessed March 2017]

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New Delhi: The two senior-most leaders in the Margadarshak Mandal of the BJP have left it to the party to take a call and finalise candidate for the Presidential Elections.



Both, L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, did not propose any names for the top constitutional post for which elections are due next month. Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Venkaih Naidu had met both, Mr Advani and Dr Joshi, separately on Friday afternoon and sought their views before finalising NDA's nominee for President's posts.



"It was merely a courtesy call over a cup of tea. No names were discussed or proposed," said a BJP leader, who is a part of the consultation process.



The two senior-most BJP leaders, Joshi and Advani, coming from the RSS stock, were seen as the contenders for the President's post. The Supreme Court-ordered charge sheet last month against the two in the Babri Masjid demolition case was, however, seen as a stumbling block in their way to get party nomination or even larger support outside BJP.



A senior party leader, aware of developments on talks within and outside NDA, says the three-member panel appointed by the BJP is currently in the process of gauging if the Opposition is "determined to go for a contest or it is open to the idea of a consensus candidate".



There is a view in the BJP and the RSS that in the current situation the party can afford to have a candidate with a firm ideological imprint. Unlike in 2002, when the party was not sure of numbers and had to nominate Dr Kalam as it's nominee.

The top party leaders - the parliamentary board in all likelihood - is expected to meet anytime next week to take a final call on the candidate.



The Opposition parties will then be communicated to of NDA's decision with ruling dispensation seeking support for its candidate.



"This may happen anytime after the International Yoga day for which Prime Minister is travelling to Lucknow on May 21," says a BJP leader.



The NDA candidate is likely to file nominations next Friday, a day before Prime Minister leaves for the United States.
New Delhi: Lobbing the ball back into the state government's court, the Centre feels its hands are tied in initiating tripartite talks to end the current impasse in the Darjeeling hills, till the West Bengal government gives it's formal consent to begin any dialogue.



Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the situation.



West Bengal government has also clarified to the Centre that no executive order, making Bangla as a compulsory language in primary and secondary level, has been issued. Thus, any clarification in this regard is not required.



The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) has been insisting on a government order to clear the air on three language controversy, which triggered protests in Nepali-speaking sub-divisions of West Bengal. The anti-Bengla agitation has now metamorphosed into a separate statehood movement, with GJM going back to its pre-2012 position.



Back then, the Morcha temporarily abandoned the demand for a separate state to settle for an autonomous administrative unit.



Earlier this week, Darjeeling MP and Minister of State for Agriculture SS Ahluwalia had written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, asking the Centre examine the long-standing demands of the Gorkha and other communities from North Bengal. BJP in its 2014 manifesto for General Elections had made a similar reference to the issue.



However, West Bengal Chief Minister has indicated to the Centre that talks can not begin until the violence ends, and the bandh is called off.



Singh spoke to Home Secretary and sought detailed report of the situation as violence escalated on Friday.



An officer of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was critical after being stabbed with a traditional Nepali kukri on Saturday morning after fresh clashes between security personnel and protesters demanding a separate Gorkhaland.



The GJM said two of its supporters had died in police firing, but there was no immediate confirmation available.
The Delhi unit of the BJP on Friday hit out at the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, accusing them of indulging in politics over the CBI inquiry at Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's premises.The CBI on Friday visited the premises of Sisodia to seek clarifications in connection with a preliminary enquiry against him related to alleged irregularities in the AAP's 'Talk to AK' campaign.Reacting to the development, the AAP attacked the Centre for what it called a "raid" by the CBI at Sisodia's residence, saying it signalled the BJP-led government's "resolve" to not let the AAP regime in Delhi work.However, the CBI denied AAP's charge and said no "search or raid" was conducted at Sisodia's residence, which they said they "visited" earlier today in relation to a case.The Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said it will be better if instead of "playing politics" over the probe Manish Sisodia cooperates in the inquiry process."He should either prove his government's innocence or be ready to face the legal consequences," he added.
Chennai: Led by the DMK, the Tamil Nadu's opposition parties met Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on Saturday and sought dismissal of the AIADMK's K Palaniswami government, alleging it won the February 18 trust vote by horse-trading.



DMK working president M K Stalin also sought a CBI probe into the issue based on a 'sting' operation by a private TV channel, besides the Enforcement Directorate joining the investigation.



"The trust vote was won (by the Palaniswami government) only due to horse-trading. So that voting should be cancelled and this government should be dismissed immediately," Stalin, also the leader of opposition in the state assembly, told reporters.



These demands have been raised with the governor and he has "assured" us to look into the legal aspects of the matter, Stalin added.



Stalin said he had earlier demanded secret ballot for the February 18 trust vote which was not heeded to.



"This government is running on a trust vote won by horse-trading. This sting operation has proved that," he said, referring to the O Panneerselvam camp member and Madurai (South) MLA S S Saravanan reportedly making claims in this regard.



The legislator has, however, denied it was his voice in the TV video footage on alleged horse-trading though he had admitted that it was him in the video.



"It is me in the video, but the voice is not mine," Saravanan had said.



The matter related to purported claims by Saravanan in the TV 'sting' operation about alleged pay-offs to ruling party MLAs ahead of the trust vote that was won by incumbent chief minister K Palaniswami.



Stalin, accompanied by Congress Legislature Party Leader K R Ramasamy and Indian Union Muslim League MLA KAM Mohammed Abubakker, said the opposition parties will discuss the future course of action if the governor did not act on their demands.


Kolkata: Vikram Rai, the media manager of the Gorkhaland Janmukti Morcha, was arrested from his home in Darjeeling early on Saturday, the sixth day of an indefinite strike called by the GJM to press for its Gorkhaland demand.



A police team landed at the residence of Vikram Rai, the son of Darjeeling MLA Amar Rai, and arrested him around 1am.



Speaking to News18.com, Amar Rai alleged the police were trying to frame hi son. They raided my sons residence in an undemocratic manner. He was framed by the police and picked up in front of his wife and young children early in the morning. We condemn this act. He is not a criminal, but the police treated him like one. They also ransacked his house.



On what grounds did they arrest my son? This is an attempt to suppress the voice of people who are demanding a separate state. Is it a crime to raise our demand? he said, adding that he will take the matter to court.



In a separate development, police also raided the house of Vinay Tamang, a close aide of GJM chief Bimal Gurung, and seized some documents.



The womens wing of the GJM took out rallies and protested against the police action, asking people to join the Gorkhaland movement.



Meanwhile, Gurung went underground as police started a massive operation against GJM activists for damaging government properties.



The GJM had announced an indefinite general strike from Monday in the hills encompassing Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Dooars (foothills of the Himalayas covering stretches of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar district) protesting against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to make Bengali language compulsory in state-run schools.








Kochi: Police on Saturday arrested Kerala Youth Congress workers who held a beef festival ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival in the coastal city.



The festival took place near the Southern Naval Command's air terminal where Modi was expected to arrive and inaugurate the state's first metro line.



As Youth Congress workers were arrested while they were cooking and serving beef.



Ever since the Centre launched new rules regarding cattle sale and slaughter, Kerala has witnessed numerous such protests and even the state assembly held a special session earlier this month to pass a resolution against it.


: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that violence in Darjeeling was a "deep-rooted conspiracy", blaming some insurgency groups in the North Eastern states for helping Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in their demand for a separate Gorkhaland.Addressing a press conference at state secretariat Nabanna, the chief minister said, "I was told that GJM is getting help from the underground insurgency groups of the North Eastern states.""Our police department are working on this information and I cannot disclose much as this is a sensitive matter," she said, questioning "where the GJM was getting illegal arms and money from?"GJM supporters were seen holding the national flag while agitating in Darjeeling on Saturday."They (GJM) is linked with some terror groups in the North East. I would like to request insurgency groups not to extend any support to them. They are also getting help from other countries. I will not comment on this matter as the concerned agencies are looking into it," Mamata said.She said, "I saw them holding our national flag while agitating in the Hills. This is illegal and against Indian Constitution. We cannot support the violation of the Constitution. They enjoyed for five years and now when the elections are coming they start violence because you have lost credentials.""They are threatening and forcing journalists to publish anti-government news. It is a deep-rooted conspiracy, and I would like to ask the central government to make them (ally GJM) understand. I refuse to believe that these arms were not collected in a day. I have information that they collected it over time," she said.GJM supporters confront policemen during a peaceful protest in Darjeeling on Saturday.When asked if the government will entertain talks, if GJM calls off its strike, Mamata said, "We are ready for talks, but not under the current situation."Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah hit out at the West Bengal CM, saying "she sees conspiracy in everything".When asked about Ahluwalia backing the agitation and whether BJP supported it, Shah said,"It is true that we are in favour of small states. Once we decide something about it, we will announce it." He, however, did not say if the party wanted a separate state of Gorkhaland carved out of West Bengal.On Saturday, an officer of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was critically injured after he was stabbed with a traditional Nepali kukri as the Hills witnessed fresh clashes between security personnel and protesters. Thirty-five security personnel were also injured.The GJM said two of its supporters had died in police firing, but there was no immediate confirmation available.On June 22, there will be an all-party meeting on Darjeeling unrest in Siliguri. The meeting will be chaired by senior officials and party leaders.Mamata will not be a part of the meeting as she may visit The Hague, Netherlands, to attend the UN Public Service Day on an invitation by the United Nations.Kiran Tamang, an IRB second battalion assistant commandant, was stabbed by GJM supporters, the police alleged.She addressed the media after meeting the representatives of 16 development boards  formed for the indigenous communities of the Hills.
"We (AAP) did not come into being for these conspiracies and palace politics hatched by five-six people. We are for the causes based on which the party was born at the Ramlila Maidan. The party will fight the Rajasthan polls on its real principles," Vishwas told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas hit out at what he called "palace politics" in the AAP, even as the protesters held placards with "friend of the BJP" and "traitor" written over them.Recently appointed as party's Rajasthan affairs in-charge, Kumar, made a pointed remark that he would ensure the workers under him adhered to the AAP's "core principles" and went back to its "basics".He briefly attended a farmers' convention organised by the party at the Constitution Club, where the body language of the leaders was reflective of the internal dissidence.Kumar had earlier held a "coterie" around Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal 'responsible" for the party's poor showing in the recent elections. Kumar had also distanced himself from party's official line of 'manipulation" of the electronic machine.Drawing on characters from the Ramayana, the poet-turned-politician said that during every churning, "demons" did show up.Meanwhile, posters terming Vishwas as a "friend of the BJP" and a "betrayer" who should be "thrown out" of the party came up outside the AAP headquarters in central Delhi."A friend of the BJP, he is not a poet but a traitor. He attacks while in hiding and backstabs. Remove such a traitor," read the posters, which also "thanked" former AAP Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey for "exposing" Vishwas.Pandey had recently accused Vishwas of being "silent" on the "transgressions" of the BJP.However, the party distanced itself from the posters. "A few suspended workers are trying to divide the party leadership by putting up such posters," AAP's social media in-charge Ankit Lal wrote on Twitter.(With inputs PTI)
OnePlus is all set to launch the OnePlus 5 on 20th June 2017 globally and two days later it will also be launched in Mumbai at 2:00 PM. Everyone has been waiting for this year's flagship killer by OnePlus. But, what about the OnePlus 3T which still is the best value for money smartphone money can buy? From what we know so far about the OnePlus 5, we get you what's the difference and similarities that you can expect between the OnePlus 5 and the OnePlus 3T.The biggest change on the OnePlus 5 will be the design of the smartphone as compared to the OnePlus 3T. The OnePlus 5 will be the company's slimmest phone till date. When OnePlus teased the image of the phone on Twitter, it clearly showed that OnePlus 5 is much curvier and rounded than the OnePlus 3T. The phone will also be slightly taller than the OnePlus 3T. But colour options on the OnePlus 5 are expected to be the same as OnePlus 3T.OnePlus 3 launched with the then flagship processor from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 820. Then in a mid-cycle twist OnePlus launched the 3T with Qualcomm's flagship processor again which was the Snapdragon 821. The OnePlus 5 will come with this year's flagship SoC, which is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. What's different is that OnePlus 5 will come with 8GB RAM variant alongside the 6GB RAM one. We can't help but wonder what will users do with so much firepower?Despite the slimmer design, OnePlus 5 might just get a similar battery spec to the OnePlus 3T, which was 3300 mAh. Of course, you'll be getting DASH charging on the OnePlus 5 with the same claim of a days' power in 30 minutes. This we all know is faster than Dominos claim to deliver your pizza.This is one of the major difference in the OnePlus 5 vs the OnePlus 3T. As we saw on posted image by OnePlus on Twitter, this year's flagship killer will sport a dual-camera setup, unlike a single lens that we saw on OnePlus 3T. This clearly shows that dual-cameras are a thing that manufacturers are considering in making their flagship smartphones in the year 2017. It is also expected that the camera on the OnePlus 5 will have that bokeh effect capability that we have seen on phones like iPhone 7 Plus, Honor 8, Huawei P9.OnePlus 5 might just get a similar HD display that was there on the OnePlus 3T. We all know how OnePlus keeps the price affordable on their phones. OnePlus 3T also never got a 2K display and we don't expect one on the OnePlus 5 either. What can be different is the aspect ratio of the display on the OnePlus 5. Just like how Samsung and LG have done, you never know, they might just surprise you with an 18:9 display. Again it all boils down to the cost of the device, and we think that an 18:9 display is unlikely on the OnePlus 5.The rumour mill also suggests that OnePlus 5 will also be the most expensive phone by the company to launch in India. The OnePlus 5 will be sold exclusively on Amazon and the expected price for the 6GB RAM/ 64GB Storage version is Rs 32,999 and the 8GB RAM / 128GB Storage version will be sold at Rs 37,999. This can make one wonder that OnePlus 3T is still a better deal, as it's still a very potent and relevant phone in 2017. What we would like OnePlus to do to make people consider the OnePlus 5 is to price it exactly the same as the OnePlus 3T. Then we have something to cheer about on this phone.What do you think? Will you buy the OnePlus 5 or still go ahead with the OnePlus 3T? Tell us in the comments section below. Also, watch this space for the review of the OnePlus 5 on June 22.
Mazar-i-Sharif: Seven American troops were wounded on Sunday in an insider attack by an Afghan soldier at a military base, as the US appears set to boost its troop presence in the country.



The shootout at Camp Shaheen near northern Mazar-i-Sharif city is the second green-on-blue attack

where Afghan soldiers turn their weapons on international forces assisting them reported this week.



It comes as Washington is expected to announce an increase in the US military deployment in the country to bolster Afghan forces who are struggling to contain the Talibans nationwide offensive.



"Seven US service members wounded, evacuated for treatment," US-led NATO forces said in a brief statement on Twitter. "Insider attack Camp Shaheen, Mazar-e Sharif under investigation."



The military coalition had earlier said that one Afghan soldier had been killed and another wounded in the incident. The Taliban in a statement did not say if they were directly behind the attack, only crediting a "patriotic Afghan soldier" for the assault.



The latest attack comes just a week after an Afghan commando killed three American troops and wounded another in eastern Nangarhar province, in an insider attack that was claimed by the Taliban.



Camp Shaheen is the headquarters of the Afghan army's 209th Corps where around 150 Afghan soldiers and policemen were killed in April when it was stormed by Taliban fighters dressed in military uniforms and armed with suicide vests.



Green-on-blue attacks have been a major problem during NATO's long years fighting alongside Afghan forces. Western officials say most insider attacks stem from personal grudges and cultural misunderstandings rather than insurgent plots.



Analysts say such attacks are expected to increase this year as US troops engage with the Afghan military to double the size of its special forces, considered to be effective in the fight against insurgents.



The latest insider attack comes at a time of intensified violence and when the United States is actively considering sending more troops to Afghanistan.
Brasilia/Sao Paulo: Brazilian President Michel Temer denied allegations made by a billionaire businessman in a magazine interview published on Saturday that he led a corruption scheme in which politicians squeezed high-profile executives for bribes, and vowed to sue the businessman.



In a statement, Temer's office said he will take "all appropriate actions" against billionaire Joesley Batista, who told Epoca magazine that the 77-year-old politician has run a bribe-for-favours scheme at the government since 2010.



In his first interview since striking a leniency agreement with Brazilian prosecutors, Batista told Epoca that Temer asked for money several times in recent years as he led a group of senior politicians regularly demanding kickbacks in exchange for political favours.



"Temer is the leader of a lower house criminal organization," Epoca quoted Batista as saying. "Those who are not under arrest are in the government. They're very dangerous."



Temer's lawyers said in the statement released by his office that they will file civil and criminal lawsuits against Batista as early as Monday. Press representatives for Batista and his family's investment holding company, J&F Investimentos SA, were not immediately available for comment.



The coming week already promises to be a tense one for Temer and Batista, one of Brazil's richest businessmen. The Supreme Court is to discuss the validity of Batista's plea deal, and Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot could file charges against the president for corruption accusations that Batista made in May.



Temer, in his statement on Saturday, rebuffed Batista's allegations in the Epoca interview that, saying that the billionaire repeatedly sought Temer's help for his personal benefit but was denied.



Temer also attacked terms of the leniency deal that allowed Batista to escape prosecution, saying in the statement that the terms made the billionaire "Brazil's most successful criminal ever." The statement said Batista's testimonies "puts the blame of his crimes on others, while protecting his real partners." The statement did not identify anyone.



THREAT OF OUSTER



Last week, Temer escaped the threat of ouster as president after Brazil's top electoral court dismissed a case over alleged illegal campaign funding for the 2014 election - in which he ran on the same ticket of former President Dilma Rousseff.



Rousseff was impeached last year on accusation she oversaw the doctoring of budget accounts.



J&F agreed to pay a record-setting 10.3 billion-real ($3.1 billion) leniency fine, after Joesley Batista and his brother Wesley admitted to bribing almost 1,900 politicians in recent years. J&F-controlled JBS SA, the world's No. 1 meatpacker, is being investigated for alleged insider trading ahead of the announcement of the Batista family's leniency deal.



Batista denied having ordered insider trades at JBS, according to the Epoca interview, adding that he believed they were all made in line with the law.



He said J&F will sell "as many assets as necessary" to quash concerns about the group's solvency. J&F diversified from meatpacking in recent years, expanding into fashion, home cleaning, banking and pulpmaking with the help of state loans, prosecutors said.


"President Donald J Trump spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to address various aspects of the strong bilateral relationship between their two countries," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between the two leaders.

"The two leaders affirmed the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Peru. They also discussed the terrible situation in Venezuela," the White House said.

: US President Donald Trump has lauded Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau's decision to increase the defence budget by 70 percent over the next decade and hailed the strong alliance between the two nations."President Trump commended Prime Minister Trudeau for Canada's recent announcement that it will increase military spending by 70 percent over the next decade," the White House said.During the phone call, Trump underscored the solid alliance that the US enjoys with Canada, it said.Canada had announced plans to increase its defence budget early this month, by nearly three quarters over the next decade, after coming under pressure from the US to boost military spending.Trump also spoke with Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to discuss bilateral and regional issues.
Beirut: The Islamic State group on Friday claimed responsibility for the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman outside Jerusalem's Old City.



It was reported to be the first time the Islamic State group has claimed an attack in Israel.



The jihadist group, in an online statement, said three IS fighters had targeted "a gathering of Jews" in an operation on Friday during which the three attackers were killed by Israeli police.



The group warned that "this attack will not be the last."



During the attack, the police officer was killed and others were wounded, according to IS.



However, Hamas on Friday said the three Palestinians shot dead in Jerusalem after the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman belonged to local Islamist and leftist movements, rejecting an earlier claim by the Islamic State group.



"The claim by the Islamic State group is an attempt to muddy the waters," said Sami Abou Zouhri, spokesman for the Islamist movement which runs the Gaza strip.



The attack was carried out by "two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas", he said.



The attack took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.



The policewoman was stabbed and critically injured and later died in hospital of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.



Israeli police said the three Palestinian assailants were killed.



According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.



This was the first time that the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Israel, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist organisations.



In its statement IS said the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims."



"Let the Jews watch for the demise of their state at the hands of the soldiers of the Caliphate," the statement added.



Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays.



Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone consultation with the chief of police and public security minister, and decided to cancel the family visits, a police statement read.



Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said.



The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah and Asama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year.



All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in "popular terror activity," a Shin Bet statement read.



A fourth Palestinian, a Hebron resident who had been identified by Palestinian security as a perpetrator, was in fact a passerby who was wounded by gunshots and taken to hospital, Israeli police said.




Seoul: A scandal-hit law professor bowed out of the running to become South Korea's justice minister on Saturday over his controversial views on women and admissions of drink driving and other transgressions.



Ahn Kyong-Hwan withdrew his candidacy in the wake of a public outcry centred on his 2016 book "What is Man?" and past behaviour including the revelation that he had once forged a marriage registration with an ex-girlfriend without her knowledge.



The move is widely seen as a serious blow to South Korea's new President Moon Jae-In's efforts to reform state prosecution authorities under the command of the justice ministry, who have a checkered history of corruption and abuse of power.



Ahn's nomination sparked a storm of controversy immediately after it was announced last Sunday, with concern focusing on his confessions in a newspaper column three years ago that he had repeatedly driven drunk and had cheated in a tax return.



Ahn, a former head of the state human rights watchdog, also came under fire for his views on the role of women, outlined in his book, which featured musings such as "female company is essential for drinking".



"Women can live selling their bodies rather than begging. There are men in abundance who are willing to pay for sex," he said in the book.



His nomination sparked a public outcry.



"A man with such a distorted attitude toward the opposite sex is a high government official? Shame on the whole country," one person wrote on a news website.



Ahn, 69, held a press conference on Friday to express his contrition over the the false marriage registration, which was later nullified by a court.



"I committed a terrible wrongdoing when I was in my mid 20s. Since then I've been living in repentance, regretting my wrong behaviour," he said.



But he insisted that his writings had been taken out of context and said he had no intention to "insult women" and saying he wanted to give men "a chance to reflect on themselves by revealing my own nature and desire".



The presidential Blue House issued a statement Saturday expressing "regret" that Ahn had stepped down, adding "we respect his decision".
Miami: Pressing "pause" on a historic detente, President Donald Trump thrust the US and Cuba back on a path toward open hostility Friday with a blistering denunciation of the island's communist government. He clamped down on some commerce and travel but left intact many new avenues President Barack Obama had opened.



The Cuban government responded Friday evening by rejecting what it called Trump's "hostile rhetoric." Still, Cuba said it is willing to continue "respectful dialogue" with on topics of mutual interest.



Even as Trump predicted a quick end to President Raul Castro's regime, he challenged Cuba to negotiate better agreements for Americans, Cubans and those whose identities lie somewhere in between. Diplomatic relations, restored only two years ago, will remain intact. But, in a shift from Obama's approach, Trump said trade and other penalties would stay in place until a long list of prerequisites was met.



"America has rejected the Cuban people's oppressors," Trump said in Miami's Little Havana, the cradle of Cuban-American resistance to Castro's government. "Officially, today, they are rejected."



Declaring Obama's pact with Castro a "completely one-sided deal," Trump said he was cancelling it. In practice, however, many recent changes to boost ties to Cuba will stay as they are. Trump cast that as a sign the US still wanted to engage with Cuba in hopes of forging "a much stronger and better path."



In a statement released Friday evening on government-run websites and television, Cuban President Raul Castro's administration said Trump's speech was "loaded with hostile rhetoric that recalls the times of open confrontation."



The lengthy statement went on to strike a conciliatory tone, saying Cuba wants to continue negotiations with the U.S. on a variety of subjects. "The last two years have shown that the two countries can cooperate and coexist in a civilised way," it said.



Embassies in Havana and Washington will remain open. US airlines and cruise ships will still be allowed to serve the island 90 miles south of Florida. The "wet foot, dry foot" policy, which once let most Cuban migrants stay if they made it to US soil but was terminated under Obama, will remain terminated. Remittances from people in America to Cubans won't be cut off.



But individual "people-to-people" trips by Americans to Cuba, allowed by Obama for the first time in decades, will again be prohibited. And the U.S. government will police other trips to ensure travellers are pursuing a "full-time schedule of educational exchange activities."



The changes won't go into effect until new documents laying out details are issued. Once implemented Trump's policy is expected to curtail U.S. travel by creating a maze of rules for Americans to obey. The policy bans most financial transactions with a yet-unreleased list of entities associated with Cuba's military and state security, including a conglomerate that dominates much of Cuba's economy, such as many hotels, state-run restaurants and tour buses.



Surrounded by Florida Republican officials, the president was unabashed about the political overtones of his election victory and Friday's announcement:



"You went out and you voted, and here I am, like I promised."



Cheered by Cuba hardliners in both parties, Trump's new policy is broadly opposed by U.S. businesses eager to invest in Cuba.



The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, typically supportive of GOP presidents, predicted the changes would limit prospects for "positive change on the island," while Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said Trump's policy was "misguided" and will hurt the U.S. economically.



Trump's declaration in a crowded, sweltering auditorium was a direct rebuke to Obama, for whom the diplomatic opening with Cuba was a central accomplishment of his presidency.



Yet it also exposed the shortcomings of Obama's approach.



Unable to persuade Congress to lift the decades-old trade embargo, Obama had used his power to adjust the rules that implement the embargo to expand built-in loopholes. Obama and his aides argued that commerce and travel between the countries, which has blossomed since he relaxed the rules, would make his policy irreversible.



Ben Rhodes, the former deputy national security adviser who negotiated Obama's opening with the Cubans, said it was disappointing Trump was halting the momentum that had built but added that it could have been worse.



"This is a limitation on what we did, not a reversal of what we did," Rhodes said in an interview.



For Cubans, the shift risks stifling a nascent middle class that has started to rise as Americans have flocked to the island on airlines, patronising thousands of private bed-and-breakfasts.



"When he's cutting back on travel, he's hurting us, the Cuban entrepreneurs," said Camilo Diaz, a 44-year-old waiter in a restaurant in Havana. "We're the ones who are hurt."



Granma, the official organ of Cuba's Communist Party, described Trump's declarations in real-time blog coverage Friday as "a return to imperialist rhetoric and unilateral demands." Cuba's government may not formally respond to Trump's speech until a speech Monday by its foreign minister.



The Castro government is certain to reject Trump's list of demands, which includes releasing political prisoners, halting what the U.S. says is an abuse of dissidents and greater freedom of expression. Refusing to negotiate domestic reforms in exchange for US concessions is perhaps the most fundamental plank of Cuba's policy toward the U.S.



Cuba functioned as a virtual U.S. colony for much of the 20th century, and even reform-minded Cubans are highly sensitive to perceived U.S. infringements on national sovereignty. Trump, on the other hand, described his move as an effort to bring about a "free Cuba" after more than half a century of communism.



"I do believe that end is in the very near future," he said.



Cuba's 1470-word statement Friday night labelled Trump a hypocrite for calling on Cuba to improve human rights, saying the US government "is threatening more limits on healthcare that would leave 23 million people without insurance ... and marginalises immigrants and refugees, particularly those from Islamic countries."



The statement reiterates Cuba's commitment to "the necessary changes that we're making now as part of the updating of our socio-economic model," but says "they will continue being decided in a sovereign way by the Cuban people."



The US severed ties with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel Castro's revolution and spent decades trying to either overthrow the government or isolate the island, including by toughening an economic embargo first imposed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.



Obama announced in December 2014 that he and Castro were restoring ties. Less than a year later, the US Embassy in Havana re-opened, and Obama paid a historic visit to Havana in 2016.
A Minnesota police officer was acquitted on Friday in the slaying of a black motorist he shot five times during a traffic stop last year, an incident that drew national attention after the victim's girlfriend live-streamed the bloody aftermath on social media.St. Anthony Police Department officer Jeronimo Yanez, who testified that he feared for his life when he fatally shot Philando Castile last July, was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter.The jury of seven men and five women, 10 of whom were white and two of whom were black, sided with the officer after deliberating for more than 25 hours spanning five days, acquitting Yanez on all charges.The shooting death of Castile, 32, in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights triggered local protests and fueled debate across the United States over the appropriate use of force by law enforcement against minorities.Friday's verdict drew an angry reaction from Castile's mother."I'm mad as hell right now," Valerie Castile told reporters after the verdict. "My first-born son died. ... Just because he was a police officer, does that makes it OK?"She said the verdict shows "the system continues to fail black people."Yanez, the son of a Mexican immigrant, testified during the trial in Ramsey County District Court that he feared for his life after Castile began reaching for a firearm that Castile had disclosed he had in his possession.Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the state capitol in St. Paul on Friday evening, and a series of speakers demanded justice for minorities in the American judicial system and stronger accountability measures for police. Many people waved signs and chanted in unison "stand up, fight back" and "if we don't get no justice, they don't get no peace."Jeronimo Yanez testified that he feared for his life when he fatally shot Philando Castile last July.After the rally, police said roughly 2,000 people marched peacefully down streets in St. Paul, at times blocking traffic at intersections and then on Interstate 94, a major highway. Marchers also blocked commuter trains at one point and chanted "Yanez Guilty."An attorney for Yanez, Earl Gray, praised the verdict."Justice was done," Gray told Reuters by telephone. "We're very happy. Yanez was innocent. He was just doing his job."Shortly after the verdict, the City of St. Anthony said Yanez would not return to active duty and that it was negotiating a "voluntary separation agreement" with him.CASTILE "WAS COMPLIANT"The video footage of the aftermath of the shooting taken by Castile's girlfriend, which went viral, had shaped many public perceptions of the fatal shooting before the trial.The video begins with the girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, in the passenger seat as Castile, covered in blood, sits in the driver's seat and a patrolman points his gun into the vehicle."He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket," Reynolds says. "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm."Castile was shot with Reynolds and her 4-year-old daughter in the car. The video showed blood oozing through Castile's shirt as he appeared to lose consciousness."Fuck!" a voice is heard screaming. "I told him not to reach for it."Prosecutors said Yanez was not justified in firing his gun, saying that Castile was courteous and non-threatening.John Choi, the Ramsey County prosecutor assigned to the case, told reporters following the verdict that Castile "did nothing that justified the taking of his life.""He was compliant," Choi said.After the shooting, then-President Barack Obama described as tragedies the deaths of Castile and of 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana - the second black man slain during an altercation with police in two days."All of us as Americans should be troubled by these shootings, because these are not isolated incidents," Obama said at the time. "They're symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system."
A terrific public school experience

Our son recently graduated from the Governors STEM Academy where he attended class at CVCC every morning for math, science and technology before returning to his base high school. When he graduated from E.C Glass High School on June 11, he did so with 42 college credits he earned through the STEM program during his junior and senior years. He will attend Virginia Tech in the fall to pursue a degree in math and engineering.

We would like to thank Susan Cash (director), the staff and the excellent teachers at the STEM Academy for providing our son with the opportunity to experience hands-on learning, critical thinking, and the rigor of college courses. Our son joined a cohort of high school juniors and seniors from five participating school districts who also were interested in pursuing careers in engineering and biotechnology.

We would also like to thank Areva for providing our son with a 60-hour internship during the second semester of his senior year. The internship experience with Areva confirmed our sons interest in pursuing a career in engineering. There are many local business leaders, companies, and educators, who generously support the STEM program financially, with their time, and through internships. These contributions ultimately provide our students with a competitive edge and post secondary education opportunities.

We would also like to thank the Lynchburg City School Board, former Superintendent Scott Brabrand and the Lynchburg City Council for their contribution in providing this opportunity for our hard-working high school students who are interested in pursuing careers in math, science and technology.

DAVE and YVONNE MCMAHON

Lynchburg

The kindness of strangers

My mother and I would like to thank the young man who paid for our lunch at the T-Room off Timberlake on June 13.

We didnt know he had done this until we were ready to pay for our bill. We would also like to thank our waitress who explained we didnt need to leave a tip since he had also done this.

These acts of kindness were appreciated.

CINDY ORKIN and VERNA BROOKS

Lynchburg
Model of Excellence

The award is being given to her by Karib Nation at the Silver Spring Civic Center, downtown Silver Spring, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

A veritable whos whos was awarded, over the years, at the event among them designer Claudia Pegus and model Soowan Bramble.

De Peza began modelling at 15 with the House of Jacqui. She said to Newsday: From a young age, I always really liked modelling. After the Miss Universe pageant that is when I really decided to do it. She said Fitzwilliam had been an inspiration for so many people including herself. Ever since I was a little girl I would tell my mom I want to get into modelling. She said she was at her hairdresser and someone there said to her, You look like a model.

You should get into modelling. That is when she signed up with the House of Jacqui, who at the time had a Port of Spain branch. The Belmont resident has done a number of projects, being the face of ad campaigns for major telecommunications companies and other major brands De Peza is currently employed part-time as a fashion sketch model/ demonstrator at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) and is also working on developing her own braiding and waxing business called More Style. She is also a final year student reading for a BSc in Psychology at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTATT).

Karib Nation, she said, sent her a Facebook message in March, informing her of the event and the award. So this presents for De Peza the step that she requires to internationalise her modelling career.

I want to really expand and get out there...as a person I want to develop. I probably want to see myself on an international stage modelling for a couple of international designers, she said of where she ultimately hopes to see herself.

For De Peza, modelling is not her final career choice. I dont see it as a career in Trinidad.

I dont know if it is my background or upbringing. My father [Randolph De Peza] would always push us academically.

It was always go to school and get an education...so when I started modelling, at the age of 15, I was not taking it seriously.

I was in form three or four so it was just a hobby back then. But I have gotten older and grown in the fashion industry. Many people, she said, began to take notice of her after she entered the 2012 local leg of the Miss Universe pageant. She was then the first runner-up.

I am hoping through this award I would be able to network and meet some people. I hope to one day do New York Fashion Week, she said.
Remembrance concert at Trinity Cathedral

Remembrance is an opus comprising seven movements and is based upon Biblical texts associated with the promise of grace and comfort for those who mourn. An Introduction to Remembrance, takes place at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port of Spain on June 22 and 23 at 7pm and features excerpts from the seven movements.

The composition is inspired by three distinct musical sounds: the Brahms Requiem: Ein Deutches Requiem; the vibrant and rhythmic clash of the steelpan; and the stickfighting kalinda chant mooma mooma, your son in the grave already, said a media release.

Along with the orchestra, the performance will include an ensemble from the National Steel Symphony Orchestra, locally-acclaimed vocalists baritone Krisson Joseph and soprano Natalia Dopwell, along with a choir of students from The University of Trinidad and Tobagos (UTT ) Academy for the Performing Arts and the Bravura Arts Ensemble. This hour-long event is not ticketed and is free to the public.

This musical work for chorus, soloists, orchestra and steelpan ensemble was composed by Dr Roger Henry, music director of the National Philharmonic Orchestra.

Henry is a conductor, educator and composer currently serving as associate professor of Music at the Academy for the Performing Arts at The University of Trinidad and Tobago.

The concert is in keeping with the goals of the National Philharmonic Orchestra to expand the repertoire of local compositions and to bring delightful performances to the public that generate interest and appreciation for music.

This event is hosted at the Cathedral through the courtesy of the Rev Father Carl Williams, Interim Rector.

For more info: 271- 2894.
TIME TO ROB GOD

The suspect, who is from East Dry River in Port of Spain, was among four detained between Thursday morning and yesterday for the attack on the well-respected priest. They are expected to face charges of armed robbery, robbery with violence, breaking and entering and false imprisonment.

On Thursday, officers led by Senior Superintendent Radcliffe Boxhill and ASP Ajith Persad and including Sgt Anthony Williams, Sgt Grant, and PCs Mayers, Fernando, Persad, Sookwah and Dianne Taylor, went to Rudolph Charles Link Road in Laventille at 4 am, where they detained a 27-year-old suspect.

He was taken to the Port of Spain CID where he was interviewed by ASP Persad and later gave a confession statement telling police how the robbery was planned. The officers, given key information by the suspect, went to Laventille and Gonzales where they detained three men including a Laventille Road, Laventille man aged 31; a 19-year-old from Laventille Road, East Dry River and an 18-year-old from Jubilee Street, Gonzales in Belmont.

Police recovered a Longines wrist watch which was among items stolen from Fr Harvey. The priest who expressed interest in meeting the four suspects will get his opportunity when he attends an ID parade today. Yesterday, ACP (Crime) Irwin Hackshaw, who co-ordinated the exercises which led to the arrests, commended Snr Supt Boxhill and ASP Persad.

When contacted yesterday, Fr Harvey said he was not aware four people were detained but added he was contacted by police and asked to attend an identification parade. Told that the robbery was planned on the belief that money from the collection would still be in the presbytery, Fr Harvey said, No church leaves money in a presbytery or on the premises. On Monday at 5 am, Fr Harvey was at the churchs dormitory when he was accosted by three men, one armed with a gun, who ordered him into his living quarters and robbed him of $1,000, a watch and a cell phone. They threatened to kidnap the priest, asking him if Archbishop Joseph Harris would pay $50,000 ransom, to which Harvey told them he did not think so. Fr Harvey was later hog-tied and gagged.

Fr Harvey later freed himself and alerted police.
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BuzzFeed calls it "one of the most disturbing geopolitical trends of our time": Russian security services or mafia groups assassinating the country's enemies in the UK and British police refusing to do anything about it. According to a two-year investigation by the news site, US intelligence has linked 14 deaths in Britain dating back to the early 2000s to Russia, suspecting the 14 individuals were assassinated. In all casesdespite US intelligence sharing its informationBritish police ruled out foul play. Current and former intelligence officials in the US and UK say the reason police are ignoring the suspected assassinations is a combination of fear of retaliation, a desire to keep Russian money flowing to British banks and properties, and general incompetence.

Some of the details of the suspected assassinations seem straight out of an old pulp novel. Take Scot Young, a well-connected fixer for the super-rich. His millions disappeared in a Russian property deal and he told police he was being hunted by Russian hitmen. When he was impaled on a fence after falling from his penthouse, he was the ninth person in his group of friends and associates to die. Police declared his death a suicide without even dusting for prints. BuzzFeed calls Young part of a "ring of death on British soil," and now there's fear among American officials that ring will expand across the Atlantic. "The Kremlin has aggressively stepped up its efforts to eliminate and silence its enemies abroad, a high-ranking US intelligence official says. Read the full story here. (Read more Longform stories.)
"I feel like they did me real dirty," Katrina Bookman tells the New York Daily News. Last August, Bookman was on top of the world when a slot machine at Resorts World Casino in New York informed her she had won nearly $43 million. According to CNN, it would have been the largest slots jackpot in US historyand on a penny slot machine, no less. But when Bookman tried to collect her winnings, she was escorted out of the casino and told to come back the next day for a "decision," Courthouse News reports. When she returned, the casino offered her a free steak dinner and $2.25the balance left on the machine. On Wednesday, Bookman sued the casino.

A Resorts World spokesperson says the slot machine was having an "obvious malfunction," and the New York State Gambling Commission says the machine bore a disclaimer reading, "Malfunctions void all pays and plays," the BBC reports. Bookman's lawyer, Alan Ripka, calls those explanations "ridiculous." The lawsuit claims the "bells, noises, and lights" on the machine all indicated Bookman had won the jackpot, and she even took a selfie with the machine bearing the message "printing cash ticket $42,949,672.76." "You can't claim a machine is broken because you want it to be broken," Ripka tells CNN. Bookman, who is claiming "mental anguish," may need help from Lady Luck: An 87-year-old woman was denied a $42 million payout by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2011 in a similar case of an allegedly malfunctioning slot machine. (Were slot machines to blame for this man's death?)
A UK man is behind bars for three months after posting pictures of a victim of London's Grenfell Tower fire on Facebook. Omega Mwaikambo, 43, lives in the area and was making tea for firefighters, per his lawyer, when he came across an unattended body in a body bag. The victim is believed to have jumped to his death from the apartment building. He shared one video and two pictures of the body bag, then five pictures of the victim's face and body after he opened the bag, the Telegraph reports. The images have since been taken offline. He pleaded guilty to two counts of sending by a public communications network an offending, indecent, or obscene matter.

"Even the fact of the death would not have been known to the family" at the time the images were posted, said the prosecutor in the case. The victim has still not been identified. Mwaikambo's lawyer said the man "was shocked by the fact the body was there and felt a sense of shock that the body was there unattended" and took the photos to "show how the victim was being treated" after he tried and failed to get someone to come attend to the body. "Does anyone know this body laying outside my flat for more than two hours?" read the caption on his Thursday post, per the Mirror. Still, his lawyer acknowledged it was an "error in judgment" for him to have posted the images. (Read more Grenfell stories.)
Kati Dimoff, a photographer in Portland, Oregon, buys old cameras and develops the rolls of film she finds inside as a bit of a hobby, KATU reports. But one exciting recent find set off a local mystery: shots of Mount St. Helens' 1980 volcanic eruption. On Instagram, Dimoff says she found the disintegrating roll of film inside a camera for sale at Goodwill. She shared the developed prints with the Oregonian in hopes of finding out who took them.

When a friend shared the story with him on Facebook, Mel Purvis tells the Oregonian he "almost fell out of my chair." One of Dimoff's prints showed him posing with his wife, son, and grandmother 37 years ago. He believes the photos were taken with a camera belonging to his grandmother, who was visiting them in Eugene from her home in St. Helens. Purvis says his grandmother died in 1981, and he has no idea how her cameraand photosended up at a Goodwill in Portland. Dimoff got in touch with Purvis and is sending him the prints and camera. (Read more Mount St. Helens stories.)
Investigators say two children were shot at a Chicago playground during a school picnic when someone in a car opened fire on nearby teenagers, the AP reports. Chicago police say a 7-year-old girl was shot in the leg and a 13-year-old girl was shot in the hand outside Warren Elementary School on Friday. Police spokesperson Frank Giancamilli says the injuries aren't considered life threatening. Chicago's police superintendent Eddie Johnson says the shooting happened around 1:30pm, shortly after school officials ordered some former students to leave the picnic on the city's South Side.

Johnson says the former students were on a street corner when someone fired at them, and when they ran toward the playground, the girls were shot. Johnson says police have recovered a vehicle and are questioning "persons of interest." (Read more Chicago stories.)
Carrie Fisher died from sleep apnea and a combination of other factors, but investigators were not able to pinpoint an exact cause, the AP reports. Among the factors that contributed to Fisher's death was buildup of fatty tissue in the walls of her arteries, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said in a news release late Friday. The release says the Star Wars actress showed signs of having taken multiple drugs, but investigators could not determine whether they contributed to her death in December. Her manner of death would be listed as undetermined, the agency said. Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person's breathing pauses during sleep. The pauses may be brief or last several minutes, per the NIH. Fisher, 60, suffered a medical emergency on an international flight on Dec. 23 and died Dec. 27.

Her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, died the following day. Fishers only child, Billie Lourd, tells People, "My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases." Todd Fisher tells AP the family did not want a coroner's investigation of his sister's death. "There's nothing about this that is enlightening," he says, continuing, "From my perspective that there's certainly no news that Carrie did drugs." He noted that his sister wrote extensively about her drug use. Fisher admitted smoking pot at 13, used LSD by 21 and was diagnosed as bipolar at 24. She was treated with electroshock therapy and medication. Fisher's urn was apparently a giant Prozac pill. (Read more Carrie Fisher stories.)
Ending an argument we're sure has happened at least once on a slow afternoon in a bar somewhere, a court will finally decide whether stand-up paddleboarding is closer to surfing or canoeing. The New York Times reports the Court of Arbitration for Sport has been asked to settle a dispute between the International Surfing Association and International Canoe Federation, both of which are fighting for control of the increasingly popular sport of stand-up paddleboarding, or SUP. The battle for control of SUP has become more urgent as the Olympics is considering adding it to future games.

The ISA argues SUP is performed on a board, like surfing; it also claims it's been holding SUP competitions for years, Deadspin reports. The ICF counters that SUP uses a paddle. "Propulsion using a paddle is basically canoeing," the ICF secretary general says. "Standing up or sitting down is irrelevant." But the ISA claims the ICF is trying to jump on the bandwagon. "We have a track record of doing this," Reuters quotes the ISA president as saying. "At the ICF now there is an interest of how they can be part of the popularity of the sport." The ISA calls itself "the historical rightful custodian" of SUP, and the ICF claims its opponent has rejected all offers of compromise. No date has been set for the court's decision. (Read more paddleboarding stories.)
The wife of a famous LA hairstylist allegedly plotted his murder with her lover, the Los Angeles Times reports. Monica Sementilli, 45, was charged with capital murder on Friday, along with boyfriend Robert Baker, 55, for the slaying of her husband, Fabio Sementilli. LA police say the pair planned the killing to collect $1.6 million in life insurance. Fabio Sementilli, 45, a hair products exec for Coty and a celebrity hairdresser, was stabbed to death on his patio in upscale Woodland Hills on Jan. 23. He was "brutally murdered," LAPD chief detective Justin Eisenberg tells KTLA. Sementilli's daughter found him in a pool of blood with stab wounds to his neck and upper torso. Cops initially suspected a home invasion and robbery gone bad.

Two men were seen jogging to the house shortly before the murder and then drove away in Sementilli's red Porsche. Surveillance video showed two men ditching the car about five miles away. DNA at the scene matched Baker's and an unknown person, who has not been identified, and whom police are searching for, says homicide Capt. William Hayes. Monica Sementilli wasn't present for the attack but "orchestrated things," Hayes adds. She and Baker, who met at a gym, were having an affair for a year and a half before they allegedly hatched the plot. Both are eligible for the death penalty. Baker's DNA was on file because of a 1993 conviction for a sexual offense with a minor for which he's a registered sex offender. (After 20 years, father reveals location of son's remains.)
"This is violence against Donald Trump." It's not a line written by William Shakespeare, but it's one that was uttered during Friday night's production of Julius Caesar in New York's Central Park. The Public Theater's reimagining of the play has been the subject of controversy over its choice to have a President Trump lookalike (Gregg Henry) play the title characterand ultimately be stabbed to death by a group of women and minorities. After that fatal scene, two protesters brought the show to a halt for what Artistic Director Oskar Eustis says was "less than a minute" in a statement. Laura Loomer, 24, rushed the stage and cried out the former line, along with, "Stop the normalization of political violence against the right."

The New York Times reports she calls herself "a right-wing investigative journalist and activist" and has connections to James O'Keefe. A man the Times frames as her "collaborator," Jack Posobiec, went with a WWII reference, calling out, "You are all Goebbels." The pair were removed by security to applause. Loomer was ultimately charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct after refusing orders to back away from the theater. Posobiec explained their motivation to Fox News, first echoing Loomer, "We were protesting what we saw was the normalization of violence. I couldn't believe they were going on with the play in light of what happened with the attack on Congressman Scalise." A tweet from the Public Theater described the two as "paid protesters." (Read more William Shakespeare stories.)
US and Japanese vessels and aircraft are searching for seven American sailors who are missing after their Navy destroyer collided before dawn with a container ship four times its size off the coast of Japan. The USS Fitzgerald was back at its home port in Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo by sunset Saturday, following the crash at 2:20am local time. The USS Fitzgerald's captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was airlifted early Saturday to the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka and was in stable condition with a head injury; two other crew members suffered cuts and bruises and were evacuated, reports the AP. The US 7th Fleet said in a statement that the crash damaged two berthing spaces, a machinery room, and the radio room, and CNN says its statement suggests the missing could be in the ship's crushed mid-right side.

"It remains uncertain how long it will take to gain access to the spaces once the ship is pier side ... to methodically continue the search for the missing," the statement said. Most of the more than 200 sailors aboard would have been asleep in their berths at the time of the pre-dawn crash. The Navy said that the collision occurred 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, home to the 7th Fleet. The ACX Crystal weighs 29,060 tons, making it much larger than the 8,315-ton Navy destroyer. The container ship's left bow was dented and scraped, but it did not appear to have sustained any major structural damage. The Philippine-flagged container ship was berthed at Tokyo's Oi wharf, where officials began questioning crew members about the cause of the crash and are treating the incident as a case of possible professional negligence. (Read more Navy stories.)
The Vatican is looking to develop a new doctrine that calls for excommunicating Catholics for mafia association and corruption, the AP reports. That's the decision reached this week after the Vatican hosted its first-ever conference on fighting corruption and organized crime. The meeting gathered 50 prosecutors, bishops, victims, and UN officials for a day of talks.

In a statement Saturday, the Vatican said the need had come to develop a new legal doctrine for the Catholic Church about "excommunication for corruption and mafia association." Pope Francis has long railed against corruption, writing a short book about it as archbishop. And during a 2014 visit to one of Italy's mafia strongholds, Francis told mobsters they were excommunicated. But actually developing a doctrine around the concept would mark a new step for the Vatican. (Read more Catholic Church stories.)
Bill Cosby's trial on sexual assault charges has ended without a verdict after jurors failed to break a deadlock, the AP reports. Jurors deliberated more than 52 hours over six days before telling a judge they couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether The Cosby Show star drugged and molested Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The judge then declared a mistrial for the 79-year-old comedian.

Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault. His lawyer says Cosby and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual sexual encounter. Dozens of women have come forward to say he had drugged and assaulted them. This was the only case to result in criminal charges against Cosby. Prosecutors get four months to decide whether they want to retry Cosby or drop the charges. (Read more Bill Cosby stories.)
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New Delhi:

Television actor Mohsin Khan, who is seen playing the role of Kartik in 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai', came across a rather unpleasant incident lately after he was held by the cops in Mumbai. The incident took place on Thursday night.



According to the media reports, the actor was stopped by cops for allegedly jumping a red light and was fined. But the trouble didn't end here. Reportedly, Mohsin had an argument with the police office after which he was taken to the Bandra police station.



The actor even went live on Instagram during the incident. He even took to micro-blogging site Twitter and alleged that the cops were asking for bribe of Rs 200.



Mohsin also claimed the he was innocent and didn't jump any light. Khan wrote, aThey stop us for jumping the signal and asked for a bribe. Thats when i went live guys.a

They stop us for jumping the signal and asked for a bribe. Thats when i went live guys. a Mohsin Khan (@momo_mohsin) June 15, 2017



Another one of his tweets read, awas asked for a bribe for signal jumping. I knew i did not jump but would rather pay d fine.Went live for all to see d guy who was behind ita.

was asked for a bribe for signal jumping.I knew i did not jump but would rather pay d fine.Went live for all to see d guy who was behind it https://t.co/6jrZfUaX5U a Mohsin Khan (@momo_mohsin) June 16, 2017



There were reports that post the incident, Mohsin was made to spend the night behind the bars, however, the actor vehemently rubbished the reports.



Mohsin has become a household name with Star Plus' popular show 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai' and enjoys a huge popularity. Soon after he tookt he matter on social media, his fans reacting on the incident and lauded him for standing against the wrong.
New Delhi:

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday lodged a complaint with police over the controversial posters that were pasted outside the party's headquarters dubbing Kumar Vishwas a friend of the BJP and a traitor. The party called it a 'conspiracy'.

The AAP crisis deepened further on Saturday with its leader Kumar Vishwas hitting out at its palace politics, even as the posters came up outside its headquarters.

Vishwas, who was recently appointed the partys Rajasthan affairs in-charge, made a pointed remark that he would ensure the workers under him adhered to the Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) core principles and went back to its basics.



He briefly attended a farmers convention organised by the party at the Constitution Club here, where the body language of the leaders was reflective of the internal dissidence.



We (AAP) did not come into being for these conspiracies and palace politics hatched by five-six people. We are for the causes based on which the party was born at the Ramlila Maidan. The party will fight the Rajasthan polls on its real principles, Vishwas told reporters on the sidelines of the event.



Earlier, he had held a coterie around Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal responsible for the partys recent poll debacles, while distancing himself from the official party line of manipulation of electronic voting machines

Drawing on characters from the Ramayana, the poet-turned-politician said that during every churning, demons did show up.



Meanwhile, posters terming Vishwas as a friend of the BJP and a betrayer who should be thrown out of the party came up outside the AAP headquarters in central Delhi.

ALSO READ | Poster outside AAP office targets Kumar Vishwas, says the poet is 'traitor and friend of BJP'



A friend of the BJP, he is not a poet but a traitor. He attacks while in hiding and backstabs. Remove such a traitor, read the posters, which also thanked former AAP Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey for exposing Vishwas.



Pandey had recently accused Vishwas of being silent on the transgressions of the BJP. However, the party distanced itself from the posters.

ALSO READ | Arvind Kejriwal attends iftar with suspended AAP member Amanatullah, snubs Kumar Vishwas



A few suspended workers are trying to divide the party leadership by putting up such posters, AAPs social media in-charge Ankit Lal wrote on Twitter.

(With inputs from PTI)

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New Delhi:

The internal conflict inside Aam Aadmi Party once again came to the fore with pasting of posters against party leader Kumar Vishwas in front of the party office in New Delhi.

Some anonymous people pasted poster on the walls of AAP office which demanded expulsion of Kumar Vishwas from the party. The poster read that Vishwas is a friend of BJP and instead of being a poet, he is a traitor. The poster also demanded explusion of Kumar Vishwas from the party.

The poster came at a time when party leader Dilip Pandey had accused Kumar Vishwas of working in interest of BJP just few days back.

The poster also thanked Dilip Pandey for exposing Kumar Vishwas. Dilip Pandey had on Monday questioned Vishwas on twitter by saying that he attacks congressmen but why is he silent against Vasundhra in Rajasthan.

Also read: Arvind Kejriwal attends iftar with suspended AAP member Amanatullah, snubs Kumar Vishwas

Also read: AAP's fresh crisis: Kejriwal's aide Dilip Pandey attacks Kumar Vishwas for being soft on BJP, gets slammed by Kapil Mishra



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New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday claimed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it would not implement the M S Swaminathan Commission report and added that by doing so, it had backstabbed the farmers.

Hitting out at the BJP-led central government, he said while it favoured waiving the loans of corporates, it was reluctant to do so when it came to the farmers.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief also demanded a special session of Parliament to discuss the farmers issues.

The farmers are in a deep crisis. It is extremely distressing that they are being fired at and forced to dump their produce on the streets.

What kind of development is this? When the farmers protest peacefully, they face bullets, he said while addressing a national convention of his party on farmers.

AAPs state convenors and in-charges were present on the occasion. Farmer leaders Rampal Jat (Rajasthan), Satnam Singh and Gurnam Singh (Punjab) and Raghunath Patil (Maharashtra) also attended the event.

The convention comes at a time when the party is looking to strengthen its base in rural India.

The BJP won elections by promising to implement the Swaminathan Commission report, but it has now backstabbed the farmers.

I have learnt that the government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it does not want to implement the report, claimed Kejriwal.

He said the Congress was defeated in the last Lok Sabha election as the party had resorted to tactics similar to those of the BJP-led government.

Today, neither the soldiers nor the farmers are happy. The BJP came to power riding on the slogan of jai jawan jai kisan, but it has let down both. Every farmer should be made aware of this, said the AAP leader.

He also demanded an FIR against the police personnel who opened fire at the farmers at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh.

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Chandigarh:

The central government has declined permission to a Sikh delegation to visit Pakistan on the occasion of death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, an official of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said on Saturday.



The Centre has declined permission due to security reasons, SGPC secretary Harcharan Singh told PTI over the phone.



He, however, said that the Centre had told the SGPC that if anyone wants to visit Pakistan then the Sikh religious body should give an undertaking that he or she is going on its own risk.



We are yet to decide on it (whether to send the delegation), he said.



A 251-member Sikh delegation is scheduled to go to Pakistan from June 21 to 29. The SGPC, the Sikh religious body, is facilitating the trip.



Another delegation, which was to visit Pakistan last month for the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev, was also denied visas due to the alleged lack of clearance from the Centre.

Suggested read: Pakistan welcomes Russias intention to mediate in resolving issues with India: Nafees Zakaria

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New Delhi:

The Gorkhaland protests in Darjeeling on Saturday turned violent as first death was reported in the hill town. According to Indian Reserve Battalion sources, an Assistant Commander of the IRB was killed in clash with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha activists in Darjeeling.

The indefinite shutdown called by Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) continued on Saturday fuelling fresh violence in Darjeeling. The picturesque hill station was teeming with tourists just a few days ago but the suddenturmoil and indefinite bandh seemed to have dealt a body blow to tourism, one of the two main industries in the hills.

Here are the live updates:

#6:30 PM: ABSU blames Bengal and central govts for Darjeeling crisis

All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) supported the Gorkhaland demand and blamed the West Bengal and the Union governments for the present crisis in Darjeeling hills. The outburst of tension in Darjeeling area is nothing but an unwarranted outcome of the autocratic rule of the Bengal government as well as the Centres utter negligence to the problem, ABSU president Pramod Boro told reporters.

He said the demand of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) was historically and constitutionally legitimate, correct and justified. As a member of the National Federation for New States (NFNS) we express our support and solidarity to the Gorkha peoples movement for Gorkhaland, Boro said. The ABSU leader, however, urged the GJM leadership to lead the movement through democratic, peaceful and non-violent means.

He also appealed to the Bengal administration to maintain peace in the area. ABSU further urged the central government to immediately intervene in the matter and concede the demand of the Gorkhas for a separate Gorkhaland state so that permanent peace could prevail in the region. We demand immediate intervention of the Centre in this matter as it was a pre-poll commitment of the BJP and the partys central committee should also clarify its stand on the issue, he added.

#6:00 PM: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader Binay Tamang claimed that two of his party workers were killed when the police opened fire at a GJM procession. ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma, however, denied the allegation and said the police did not open fire. It was the GJM activists who opened fire, he said. One person was killed in the violence, he said. Many others suffered injuries during the protests. This was the first death since violent protests returned to Darjeeling on June 8, after a gap of a few years. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata that Assistant Commandant of the IRBs 2nd Battalion Kiran Tamang was critically injured in the violence. He has been admitted to a hospital, she said. Earlier, IRB sources said Tamang had been killed in the clash.

#5:30 PM: West Bengal CM says IRB personnel is seriously injured but not dead in clashes with Gorkhaland activists

#4:14 PM: Mahesh Gurung, a GJM supporter who was critically injured succumbed to injuries: Binay Tamang, Asst General Secy, GJM

#3:25 PM: Police illegally entering supporters houses&torturing them,2 of them killed by police; will strengthen our movement now: GJM Chief

#2:50 PM: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee addresses media:

-It is sad that they (protesters) killed one of our Asst. Commanders TN Tamang with a "khukri"

-What is happening is a deep-rooted conspiracy. These arms were not collected in a day, they were collected over time

-Where did they get illegal arms & money from? Ready to talk to them, we cannot support violation of the Constitution



-5 years you enjoyed, now when elections are coming you start violence because you have lost credentials



-They aren't listening to the court also. Court passed order saying bandh is illegal. Dont know from where they get support



#2:15 PM



An Assistant Commander of the Indian Reserve Battalion killed in clash with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha activists in Darjeeling: IRB sources

#1:00 PM

Security forces use rubber bullets as protests demanding separate state of Gorkhaland continue in West Bengal's #Darjeeling pic.twitter.com/5emeglJF0d  ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2017

#12:50 PM

#Darjeeling: 1 policeman injured and a police vehicle burnt by protesters as GJM's protests over 'Gorkhaland' continue. pic.twitter.com/6oZEstZODP  ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2017

#11:50 AM

#Darjeeling: Police use tear gas during GJM's protest against the raid at residence of Assistant Gen Secy of GJM & on #Gorkhaland issue pic.twitter.com/pBvRWW99Hn  ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2017

#Darjeeling: 'Naari Morcha' of GJM protests against the raid at residence of GJM Assistant Gen Secy Binay Tamang and on #Gorkhaland issue pic.twitter.com/JU8h5zbt7W  ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2017

#7:30 AM

#Darjeeling: Indefinite strike called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha enters into sixth day #Gorkhaland pic.twitter.com/Jvfbbqp8cF  ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2017

ALSO READ | West Bengal: Shutdown called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha continues in Darjeeling; many tourists stranded

After this tension prevailed in the hills and hardly any tourist is visible on the deserted roads, including the one leading to the mall. Several tourists who had come to enjoy the scenic beauty of the 'Queen of Hill Stations' were finding it difficult to get down safely to the plains.

ALSO READ | Darjeeling Police recovers arms, arrows from GJM office; outfit calls indefinite strike

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New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called up West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday and discussed with her the situation prevailing with ongoing violence in Darjeeling.

During the telephonic conversation, the chief minister briefed the Union home minister about the steps taken by the state government to maintain law and order and restore normalcy in the hill district, official sources said.

Singh asked Banerjee to take all possible steps so that peace is restored in the picturesque hill station where people are protesting against "imposition" of Bengali in schools by making the language mandatory.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which is in power in the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, has started an agitation demanding a separate state -- Gorkhaland.

Read more: Demand of Gorkhaland turns Darjeeling into battleground

On the boil for the past 10 days over a separate state demand, Darjeeling on Saturday witnessed widespread clashes between GJM activists and the police in which one person was killed and 35 security personnel were injured, including an India Reserve Battalion (IRB) officer seriously.

In Kolkata, Chief Minister Banerjee said, "What is happening today is a deep-rooted conspiracy. So many bombs and arms cannot be gathered in a day."

"I am ready to sacrifice my life, but I will not allow Bengal to be divided", she told reporters.

She claimed the GJM has connections with insurgent groups in the Northeast and some foreign countries. She, however, did not name any insurgent group or foreign country.

"There is a terrorist brain behind this hooliganism. We have got clues that they have connections with underground insurgent groups in the Northeast. There are some other countries also helping", Banerjee said.

Read more: Gorkhaland stir live: IRB personnel injured not dead

Army contingents were deployed to control the situation and they staged flag marches in several areas of the violence-hit hill district, where the indefinite shutdown to press for a separate Gorkhaland entered the third day.

The home ministry had on Friday put on hold sending additional paramilitary personnel to Darjeeling as no report on the ground situation had come from the West Bengal government.

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Darjeeling/Kolkata:

On the boil for the past 10 days over a separate state demand, Darjeeling on Saturday witnessed widespread clashes between GJM activists and the police in which one person was killed and 35 security personnel were injured, including an IRB officer seriously.



Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) workers hurled petrol bombs, stones and bottles at the police at several places which led the security forces to lob teargas shells and resort to baton-charge to disperse the mobs, a police official said.



Army contingents were deployed to control the situation and they staged flag marches in several areas of the violence-hit hill district, including Darjeeling and Kurseong, where the indefinite shutdown to press for a separate Gorkhaland entered the third day.



Singmari in Darjeeling turned into a battleground as GJM activists threw petrol bombs and stones at the anti-riot police personnel, who fired teargas shells and lathi-charged the agitators.



The incident, in which several people were injured, prompted the administration to deploy the Army.



An Army official said six columns (around 250 personnel) continued to deployed in the district and the situation in Kalimpong was tense.



Besides Singmari, clashes also took place at Lebongcart Road, Chowkbazar and Ghum, where the countrys highest railway station is located.

Read | Darjeeling's Gorkhaland stir live: IRB personnel seriously injured not dead, says WB CM Banerjee; 2 GJM supporters killed



West Bengal ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma said in Kolkata that one person was killed at Singmari and around 35 policemen were injured, 19 of them seriously. This was the first death since violent protests returned to Darjeeling on June 8, after a gap of a few years.



The GJM, however, claimed that two party supporters were killed in police firing.Two of our comrades were killed in police firing. They are martyrs of the Gorkhaland movement. The people of the hills will not stop until and unless Gorkhaland is achieved, GJM chief Bimal Gurung said in a statement from an undisclosed location.



The final battle is on. Either we get our right or die fighting for it, he said.Gurungs claim was dismissed by ADG Sharma. The police did not open fire. Not a single bullet was fired, It was the GJM which was firing at us, he said.



Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata that India Rerserve Battalions Assistant Commandant Kiran Tamang was critically injured in the violence.



Tamang, who belongs to IRSs 2nd Battalion, has been shifted to a private nursing home in Siliguri, the police said. Earlier, IRB sources said Tamang was killed in the clash.



Amidst the continuing violence, Home Minister Rajnath Singh telephoned the chief minister and discussed the situation prevailing there.



During the conversation, Banerjee briefed the home minister about the steps being taken by the state government to maintain law and order and bring back normalcy in the hill district, official sources said.



Singh asked the CM to take all possible steps to restore peace in the hill station.What is happening today is a deep-rooted conspiracy. So many bombs and arms cannot be gathered in a day, Banerjee told reporters, adding, I am ready to sacrifice my life, but I will not allow Bengal to be divided.



She said that the GJM has connections with insurgent groups in the Northeast and some foreign countries. She, however, did not name any insurgent group or foreign country.There is a terrorist brain behind this hooliganism. We have got clues that they have connections with underground insurgent groups in the Northeast. There are some other countries also helping, Banerjee said.



The police said seven GJM supporters were arrested for their alleged involvement in the violence.



Giving details of the Singmari incident, a senior police officer said prohibitory orders were in force in the area and the police told the protesters, who were carrying the tricolour and GJM flags, to return.



The slogan-shouting protesters did not relent and started throwing petrol bombs, stones and bottles at the police, he said. A number of police vehicles were set on fire, he said.



We asked them to go back, but they started throwing stones, bottles and petrol bombs. We had to resort to lathi-charge, the official said.



ADG Sharma told PTI, We are waiting for the postmortem report, but it seems that the man died of gunshot wound.



We are trying to identify the person, but going by the preliminary investigation it seems that he is a local, he said.



Law will take its own course. We will arrest anybody found violating law and order in the hills. The police will be tough. he said.



Barring pharmacies, all others shops and hotels were closed in Darjeeling, one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the country. The protests had started against imposition of Bengali language in schools.



Meanwhile, GJM leaders claimed that Vikram Rai, son of GJM MLA Amar Rai, was picked up by the police from Darjeeling.



Vikram is the in-charge of the GJMs media cell. The police last night raided the residence of senior GJM leader Binay Tamang, following which party activists tried to torch a PWD office in Bijanbari area in the hill town.

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Chennai:

DMK-led Tamil Nadu's opposition parties urged Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to 'nullify' the February 18 trust vote and launched attack on the state government on Saturday over the alleged horse-trading of AIADMK MLAs.

The opposition parties, in a meeting with the governor, also urged him to dismiss the government and order a fresh floor test.

With the issue triggering a storm in the state assembly, the DMK, Congress and IUML sought a probe by the CBI and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to "unearth the money trail and offences under the prevention of corruption act."

Led by DMK working president M K Stalin, the opposition parties met Rao at the Raj Bhavan here and presented a memorandum highlighting their demands.

"The trust vote was won (by the Palaniswami government) only due to horse-trading. So, that voting should be cancelled and this government should be dismissed immediately", Stalin, also the leader of opposition in the state assembly, later told reporters.

These demands have been raised with the governor and he has "assured" us to look into the legal aspects of the matter, Stalin said.

Read more: Confident that rival factions of AIADMK will re-unite: TN minister

The opposition move comes amid its failed bid to raise in the state assembly the issue of a TV 'sting' operation where O Panneerselvam camp MLA S S Saravanan is purportedly shown making claims of horse-trading of his party legislators ahead of the crucial February 18 trust vote that was won by incumbent Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

The opposition has been denied permission by Speaker P Dhanapal to raise the matter for three consecutive days. The DMK members including Stalin were evicted en masse on Wednesday while the party staged a walkout on the next two days on being denied permission.

In a memorandum submitted to the governor on Saturday, Stalin recalled the chain of events preceding the trust vote, such as the revolt of former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam against party chief V K Sasikala and her conviction in a disproportionate assets case.

He said AIADMK MLAs were later taken to a seaside resort at Koovathur near here and "detained illegally" prior to the trust vote and later brought to the assembly for voting.

DMK, as a "responsible opposition party" had demanded then that the speaker should either order for a secret ballot or adjourn proceedings for a week to make sure that the MLAs cast their "votes in a cordial atmosphere with free will and consent", he said.

But none of the demands were heeded to, he said.

"The very basic features of the floor test in the Housest and defeated mercilessly and recklessly. The speaker failed to conduct a real lawful test in the House and in the pandemonium which followed, the speaker declared that the motion of confidence moved by the newly appointed chief minister has been passed and he has won the vote of confidence", he said.

The DMK had then itself urged the governor to nullify the floor test, he said, recalling it had also moved the Madras High Court challenging the validity of the trust vote.

On the TV 'sting' operation about alleged horse-trading of AIADMK MLAs ahead of the trust vote, Stalin said Madurai South MLA S S Saravanan belonging to AIAADMK Puratchi Thalaivi Amma had made claims in this regard.

The legislator has, however, denied it was his voice in the TV video footage on the alleged horse-trading though he had admitted he was there in the video.

"It is me in the video, but the voice is not mine", Saravanan had said.

Read more: Stalin, DMK MLAs detained after eviction from Tamil Nadu Assembly

Stalin further said in the memorandum that "we state, therefore, that the video recordings of the sting operation constitutes material evidence which has a significant bearing on the validity of the proceedings of the vote of confidence."

The "sting operation" was "important evidence" regarding the circumstances in which the confidence vote was held, he said.

Despite their repeated pleas in the first three days of the ongoing assembly session, the speaker had refused to take up the matter for discussion, he said.

The video-footage of the 'sting' operation "reveal that the vote of confidence was vitiated by inducements and bribery of the AIADMK MLAs", he alleged.

Allegations of AIADMK MLAs having taken illegal gratification to cast votes then "is now corroborated by the material that has come to light through independent media sources", he said.

"These actions of inducement, bribery and illegal gratification, if proved true, throw our entire democratic system in peril and also require investigation for offences under Prevention of Corruption Act, Income Tax Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act", Stalin said.

The governor should, therefore, "order for a fresh vote of confidence" and direct an impartial investigation by the CBI into the offences of Prevention of Corruption Act", he said.

The governor should also direct an investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or ED "to unearth the money trail and to investigate the offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act", Stalin added.

Stalin, accompanied by Congress Legislature Party Leader K R Ramasamy and Indian Union Muslim League MLA KAM Mohammed Abubakker, said the opposition parties will discuss the future course of action if the governor did not act on their demands.

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Kota (Rajasthan):

Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot has said it is unfortunate that farmers are committing suicide in an agriculture-dominated country. At a farmers rally in Etawa town in Kota district, he blamed the agricultural policies of the BJP governments at the Centre and in Rajasthan for the worst state of cultivators.



Those who raise their voice are silenced with a gunshot, he said, apparently referring to the killing of five persons in Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur district during a farmers agitation.



The condition at present is so bad that a farmer is committing suicide every 41 minutes, the Rajasthan Congress chief claimed.



The BJP government has given the slogan of sabka saath, sabka vikas but has done nothing for farmers and agricultural growth. Cultivators are ending their lives due to the bad state of the agriculture sector, Pilot said.

ALSO READ | Modi Govt extends interest subsidy on short-term crop loans to farmers; prompt repayers to get loan at 4%



He alleged that the BJP government considers farmers just a vote bank.

ALSO READ | Madhya Pradesh: Two more farmers commit suicide in Balaghat, Barwani districts; seven in one week

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New Delhi:

Terrorists on Saturday attacked SICOP complex at Bijbehara town in south Kashmirs Anantnag district where CRPF and Army troop are stationed.



A gunshot was heard near a CRPF camp on Saturday morning, triggering panic in the area, a police official said. No casualties have been reported so far. However, the area was cordoned off soon after the attack.

He said it was not an attack on the camp, but a bullet fired somewhere. There was no report of any casualty.

J&K-Terrorists attack Complex in Bijbehara where CRPF & Army troops are stationed.No casualties/injuries.Area cordoned off(visuals deferred) pic.twitter.com/o40CadBZhN  ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2017

Earlier, two civilians were killed and a militant was gunned down during an encounter between security forces and Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in Anantnag district of south Kashmir on Friday.

The encounter broke out at 10 AM at Arwani village in Bijbehara, 51 km from Srinagar, in which 10 other civilians were injured, while three terrorists were trapped inside a house.

ALSO READ: J&K: 2 civilians, 1 LeT terrorist killed in Anantnag

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Kochi Metro on Saturday. While the rail network holds abundance of salient features, but what can be seen as soul-stirring step is the employment of LGBT community as a part of its operations.

Kochi Metro has successfully become the country's first organisation to appoint transgenders as per the state governments transgender policy; 23 are expected to be on duty for the inaugural run.

It will be employing the largest number of women as compared to any other metro with a workforce that comprising of 80% women.

Read metro: Modi inaugurates Kochi Metro today, travels to Pathadippalam station

Kudumbasree, a women's empowerment-oriented self-help project of the Kerala government, will be coordinating customer relations, crowd management, housekeeping and catering services.

Costing Rs 6,000 crore, this metro service will cover 13 km from Palarivatom to Aluva. Kochi Metro project has been constructed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and will be operated by the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL). The total route length of the metro is 26 km with 22 stations planned, but in the first phase the metro will run 13 km and cover 11 stations.

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New Delhi:

Banned outfit Revolutionary Peoples Front (RPF) on Saturday claimed responsibility for June 15 attack, which killed an Assam Rifles jawan and injured three others in Ukhrul district.



The outfit issued a statement saying they used Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast at Kashung village in Ukhrul district.



One jawan was killed and three others were injured when Assam Rifles personnel were ambushed by militants on June 15 at Kashung village in Manipur.



The ultras had carried out an IED blast at the village, killing one and injuring three Assam Rifles jawans, according to police.

With inputs from PTI.

ALSO READ | Manipur: Three UTLA militants arrested in Jiribam district

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Dharamsala:

The police on Friday said that a student of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Kangra, was arrested for allegedly hacking the college website and tampering with mark sheets.

The student, a native of Muzzafarpur in Bihar, was arrested on charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and different sections of the IT Act, said Surinder Kumar, the deputy superintendent of police, Kangra.

The director of NIFT had reported to the police that someone hacked the official website of the institute and uploaded the result.

The college administration also found that several mark-sheets had been tampered with, Superintendent of Police, Dharamsala, S Gandhi said.

On this complaint a case was registered under various sections, including the IT act, Gandhi said.

During probe it was found that the accused, a student of fashion designing semester VIII, hacked the NIFTs official website and increased marks in his own mark-sheet and also of other students, the SP said.

This (the changes) were also found in his laptop history, Gandhi added.

Also read: Student arrested for Facebook post against Azam Khan gets bail

Also read: Indian-origin student arrested in US for intimidation



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New Delhi:

Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday inspects the guard of honour at the passing out parade held at Air Force Academy in Telangana. Army chief said that parts of South Kashmir are troublesome and necessary actions being taken to ensure situation there is soon brought under control.

Speaking on the situation in Kashmir right now, General Bipin Rawat said that we care about human life and make sure human rights are not violated.

On the children pelting stones in J&K, General Bipin Rawat said that we are trained to handle such situations. We believe very strongly in human rights.

Some misinformation is being spread among people of J&K and possibly compelling some of the younger generations to pick up arms, said General Bipin Rawat.

Also read: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat attends passing out parade at Indian Military Academy

Also read: Army Chief Bipin Rawat says India ready for two-and-a-half front war as he refers to Pak, China and internal security threats



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Kochi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said knowledge should not be limited to literacy and that the real goal was to bring in social and economic changes.



Inaugurating the month-long Reading Month celebration of P N Panicker Foundation here, he said foundation of good knowledge will be followed by a super structure of a better society.



The real goal should be for bringing in social and economic growth, he said. Stressing the need for digital literacy, Modi said, I am happy to see that the foundation is now focusing on digital literacy and this is the need of the hour. I see big hope in such committed social movements. Such a move can make a big difference.



He also wanted the youngsters to take a pledge for reading and also encourage others, adding a well read generation would help India grow.



There can be no joy greater than reading and no friend greater than knowledge, he said.



The youngsters have the capacity to make a better society and nation, and together we can once again make India a land of wisdom and knowledge, the Prime Minister said.



He also appealed to people to give a book instead of bouquet while greeting. Lauding Keralas achievements in the field of education and literacy, Modi said the southern state has been a torch bearer and inspiration to the country in this regard.



Kerala is the first in the country to become cent per cent literate state. The state also has the distinction of being the first to attain 100 per cent primary education, he said.

Read | PM Modi dedicates Kochi Metro to nation in presence of Sreedharan, says it will contribute to economic growth of Kerala

Took part in the launch of the Reading Day-Reading Month celebrations, organised by the PN Panicker foundation. https://t.co/q59w1GumI0 pic.twitter.com/w9zl3kC3Da  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 17, 2017

Highlighted the need for a strong movement of reading & having more libraries. This can ignite socio-economic changes across our society.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 17, 2017

Modi also recalled the contributions of citizens, social organisations and religious leaders in the states achievements in education.

Keralas success in education could not have been achieved by governments alone. Citizens and social organisations have played an active role, he said.



Reading and knowledge should not be limited to expectations of work. We should develop the habit of social responsibility, service to the nation and humanity, he said.



It is said that a literate woman can educate two families, but I say two generations. Kerala has set an example worth emulating in this regard, he said.



P N Panicker was the driving spirit behind the library network in Kerala through Kerala Grandhasala Sangham (Library Association) with 47 rural libraries in 1945.

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New Delhi:

The hours long wait has finally come to an end as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the commercial services of the Kochi Metro on Saturday at 11 am.

The inaugural ceremony of Kerala's first Metro service has been taking place at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium. Kerala's first metro service is also known as India's first integrated multi-mode transport system.

Latest media report suggests that the Prime minister has already reached Palarivattam station and after cutting the ribbon entered station and boarded Metro as its first passenger.

As per previous schedule he will travel to Pathadippalam station and return to Palarivattam again in 15 minutes. Sreedharan and VIPs including Union minister Venkaiah Naidu travelling with PM Modi.

Also read: Modi govt clears Bill to deal with crisis in banks, insurers



Prime Minister along with CM Vijayan, Governor Sathasivam and Venkaiah Naidu talked to officials onboard first train.

The Kochi Metro is the first public transport system which will reserve jobs for members of the third sex and will be manned mainly by women a self-help group.

PM Modi would also inaugurate the 'nationwide P N Panicker memorial reading day celebrations' at a function to be held at St Theresa's College in Kochi on June 17.

Also read: Demonetisation: PM Modis grand gesture proved to be one of most disruptive experiments

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New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday denied being in the race for presidential polls and termed it rumour. Though government and opposition have not declared their candidates for the poll to elect the President of India, several names, including Sushmas, have been doing rounds as frontrunners.



These are rumours. I am an external affairs minister and you are asking me something which is an internal matter, she said when asked by reporters whether she was being considered as a candidate in the presidential poll.



The presidential election is scheduled to be held on July 17, while the counting of votes would take place on July 20.

ALSO READ | President polls: PM should reach out to opposition parties on presidential poll, says Digvijaya



As per the schedule, June 28 is the last day for nominations, while a candidate can withdraw from the electoral battle till July 1.

ALSO READ | RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat good choice for President, will make India a 'Hindu Rashtra': Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut



(With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi:

A 55-year-old man, Zaffar Hussein in Rajasthans Pratapgarh was lynched by Municipality employees on Friday when he tried to stop them from taking pictures of his wife and daughter defecating in the open.

The incident took place around 6:30 am on Friday when wife and daughter of Zaffar had gone for latrine (to relieve themselves) near Bagwasa Kachi basti area. A car of municipal officials came and started taking their pictures and abusing them.

Zaffar, who was also a member of CPI (ML) and activist then reached the spot and tried to stop them from taking pictures for which municipal officials started beating him. A municipality worker then hit Zafars head with a stone while the commissioner sitting in the car kept shouting- beat himkill him, HT quoted his daughter as saying.

After hearing about the attack, Husseins elder brother Noor Mohammad reached the spot and rushed him to hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Suggested Read: Gau Rakshak Sadhvi equates Alwar lynching case accused with Bhagat Singh

Noor Mohammad has also filed an FIR against Kamal Harijan, Ritesh Harijan, Manish Harijan, Nagar Parishad commissioner Ashok Jain and others. The police have registered a case of murder.

Pratapgarh superintendent of police Shivraj Meena said, We are getting the matter investigated and a case has been registered against the four named accused in the FIR.

Meanwhile, The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation has issued a statement stating that activist Zafar Hussein was lynched to death in Rajasthan for resisting photography and demanded that Jain and others named in the FIR lodged in Zafars murder case should be arrested and given speedy punishment.

The CPI (ML) has further appealed to all the forces struggling against mob lynching, for womens rights and dignity, and for sanitation workers rights, to unite in the struggle for justice for Zafar.

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Estimados amigos,

Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia.

Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro.

Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras.

There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.

You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.

No soy alguien que sabe, sino alguien que busca.

Only Gold is money. Everything else is debt.

Las grandes almas tienen voluntades; las debiles tan solo deseos.

Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada.

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.
New Delhi:

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday inspected the guard of honour at the passing out parade held at Air Force Academy, Dundigal.

General Rawat gave away awards to flying officers excelled in training. Flying Officer K Koushik received Presidents plaque and also the chief of air staff sword of honour for standing first in overall merit in pilot course.

During the event, he conferred the 'President's Commission' on behalf of the President of India to 120 graduating trainees of various branches.

#WATCH Aerobatic display by IAF's Sarang helicopters at Air Force Academy, Dundigal (Telangana) pic.twitter.com/TP5EJvCecR a ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2017

The ceremony also included the presentation of 'Wings and Brevets' to Flight Cadets, who successfully completed the Flying and Navigation training respectively.

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New Delhi:

Twitter is buzzing with news alerts from India and rest of the world. Here are the latest updates from the micro-blogging site in one scroll:

#9:54 PM

Big match tomorrow, India will definitely win. All the luck to them: Irfan Pathan on Ind Vs Pak final tomorrow Champions Trophy 2017

#9:02 PM

Meghalaya: Four people killed after landslide in Ri Bhoi's Tharia village, rescue and restoration operation continue.- ANI

#8:58 PM

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh speaks to Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, over Darjeeling law and order situation- ANI

#8:07 PM

58 people missing presumed dead in London Tower Fire

#7:47 PM

Five Mali soldiers killed in military camp attack- AFP

#7:18 PM

Afghan soldier opens fire on US troops, three wounded- AFP

#7:15 PM

I am sure in next 15 years more than a dozen Indian cities will have their metro projects ready :President Pranab Mukherjee at Bengaluru- ANI



#6:27 PM

Indian soldiers in J-K cheer for Indian cricket team ahead of match with Pak in finals of Champions Trophy 2017- ANI

#5:30 PM

The team in better mindset will perform well on the final day, says Virat Kohli- ANI

#5:24 PM

Yoga should not remain confined to June 21 only, it should become a permanent thing in our life: Baba Ramdev in Ahmedabad

#4:10 PM

Mahesh Gurung, a GJM supporter who was critically injured succumbed to injuries: Binay Tamang, Asst General Secy, GJM Darjeeling Unrest

#3:58 PM

India-Pak will continue to play at international tournaments but neither India will play in Pak nor Pak will play in India: Amit Shah

#3:50 PM

This is the beginning of a new era by a small state. We want to encourage the spirit of sports among youth: Anurag Thakur

#3:09 PM

Kolhapur Court grants bail to Samir Gaikwad, accused in Govind Pansare murder case



#2:12 PM

UP: People in Varanasi hold a special prayer for India's victory over Pakistan in Champions Trophy finals #CT17 #IndVsPak

#2:11 PM

GJM supporters started firing at police, set police vehicles on fire, 1 GJM supporter died due to firing by GJM supporters: ADG Law&Order - ANI

#1:54 PM

Security forces use rubber bullets as protests demanding separate state of Gorkhaland continue in West Bengal's #Darjeeling - ANI

#1:51 PM

Mamta Banerjee holds high level meeting with membrs of Darjeeling dev boards,ADG Law&Order,DG Bengal Police,Chief Secy&Home Secy #Darjeeling- ANI

#1:24 PM

Hoshiarpur: Mortal remains of soldier Bakhtawar Singh who lost his life in ceasefire violation by Pak in J&K's Naushera, reaches his home - ANI

#1:09 PM

#Darjeeling: 1 policeman injured and a police vehicle burnt by protesters as GJM's protests over 'Gorkhaland' continue. - ANI

#1:07 PM

I appeal to people to give a book instead of bouquet as a greeting. Such a move can make a big difference: PM Modi #Kerala - ANI

#1:04 PM

Union Minister Arun Jaitley to leave for 4-day visit to Russia on 20 June. He'll meet Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu (File Pics) - ANI

#1:04 PM

PN Panicker was driving spirit behind library network in Kerala. He did this through Kerala Grandhasala Sangham with 47 rural libraries: PM - ANI

#1:00 PM

There can be no joy greater than reading &no strength greater than knowledge. Kerala had been an inspiration to whole nation in literacy: PM - ANI

#12:58 PM

Killing of 6 policemen by terrorists in Achabal(J&K) is a cowardice act. Condolences to bereaved families.Salute to martyrs: Arun Jaitley - ANI

#12:55 PM

DMK working president MK Stalin to meet Tamil Nadu Guv Vidyasagar Rao on 'Cash for vote' MLA Sting, later today - ANI

#12:42 PM

Kerala: PM Modi at launch of PN Panicker National Reading Day- Reading Month Celebrations in St.Teresa's College in Kochi - ANI

#12:36 PM

Indonesia Open Superseries 2017: Indian shuttler HS Prannoy loses in semi-final against Japan's K Sakai by 21-17, 26-28, 18-21 - ANI

#12:35 PM

Mumbai-Body of a Govt Rly Police ASI found on railway track b/w Dadar & Parel. Prima facie it seems like accident bt Police is investigating - ANI

#12:32 PM

Security agencies have taken cognizance. They will accordingly deal with the changing strategies of terrorists : MoS PMO Jitendra Singh - ANI

12:28 PM

A Delhi Court extnds judicial custody of Lt Col RS Moni &middleman Gaurav Kohli over case of racket that facilitated favorable Army postings - ANI

#12:24 PM

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan presents a hand carved wooden model of #KochiMetro car to PM Narendra Modi - ANI

#12:17 PM

Nearly 1000 women and 23 transgenders are being selected to work in #KochiMetro rail system: PM Modi in Kochi - ANI

#12:14 PM

Coaches reflect Make in India vision. They have been built by Alstom near Chennai, & have Indian component of around 70%: PM #KochiMetro - ANI

#12:07 PM

Officials of Lucknow Development Authority demolish illegal construction raised by Gayatri Prajapati in Ashiyana's Saleh Nagar - ANI

#12:04 PM

Members of Assembly wanted resolution to be brought that elected govt should be centered.No resolution against any individual: Puducherry CM - ANI

#11:57 AM

Its 50-50 joint venture of Kerala Govt & GoI. GoI released 2032.91 cr to #KochiMetro;Request Kochi Metro Rail Ltd to expedite work: V.Naidu - ANI

#11:36 AM

#Darjeeling: Police use tear gas during GJM's protest against the raid at residence of Assistant Gen Secy of GJM & on #Gorkhaland issue - ANI

#11:20 AM

#Darjeeling: 'Naari Morcha' of GJM protests against the raid at residence of GJM Assistant Gen Secy Binay Tamang and on #Gorkhaland issue - ANI

#11:14 AM

Rajasthan Chief Secy OP Meena asks depts to identify employees who hv reached age of 50/completed 15yrs in service,asks thm to prove utility - ANI

#11:11 AM

J&K: No injuries or casualties reported in attack on complex in Bijbehara, where Army and CRPF troops are stationed. Area cordoned off. - ANI

#11:07 AM

Kerala: PM Narendra Modi inaugurates #KochiMetro. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, V Naidu and E Sreedharan present - ANI

#10:56 AM

US Navy says flooding stabilized on USS Fitzgerald after collision; 2nd Navy ship assisting; search continues for 7 sailors - AP

#10:55 AM

BPCL terminates petrol pump license allotted to Bihar Minister Tej Pratap Yadav. BPCL refuses to comment further on the issue: Sources - ANI

#10:48 AM

We are trained to handle such situations. We believe very strongly in human rights: Army chief on question of children pelting stones in J&K - ANI

#10:47 AM

J&K: Wreath laying ceremony of constable Tasveer Ahmed, one of the 6 Policemen who lost their lives in terrorist attack yesterday.- ANI

#10:43 AM

#NationalConference leaders hold dharna outside J-K Assembly to protest use of #PelletGuns on students. - ANI

#10:42 AM

J&K: Terrorists attack SICOP Complex in Bijbehara where CRPF & Army troops are stationed. More details awaited. - ANI

#10:33 AM

We care about human life and make sure human rights are not violated: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on situation in #Kashmir - ANI

#10:32 AM

Parts of South Kashmir are troublesome. Necessary actions being taken to ensure situation there is soon brought under control: Army Chief - ANI

#10:29 AM

Kerala: PM Narendra Modi arrives at Kochi's INS Garuda Naval Air Station, will inaugurate #KochiMetro later today. - ANI

#10:20 AM

Hoshiarpur (Punjab): Family of slain soldier Bakhtawar Singh mourns his death, he lost life in ceasefire violation by Pak in J&K's Naushera - ANI

#10:16 AM

Perpetrated by LeT led by Bashir Lashkari. Will track him down & make sure justice is done: SP Vaid,J&K DGP on yday's attack on Police party - ANI

#10:05 AM

Gujarat CM flagged off Aastha Special Tourist Train from Sabarmati railway station on occasion of centenary celebration of Sabarmati Ashram - ANI

#9:52 AM

6 members of Shia Waqf Board removed from their positions by Uttar Pradesh government. - ANI

#9:45 AM

Punjab: Rain lashes parts of Amritsar, bringing respite for residents from scorching heat - ANI

#9:17 AM

Madhya Pradesh: 40-year-old farmer Jagdish Mori commits suicide in Dhar by consuming poison allegedly due to being under debt. - ANI

#9:07 AM

Rajasthan: Activist Zafar Hussein lynched to death in Pratapgarh for objecting photography of women defecating in open. - ANI

#8:42 AM

Telangana: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat inspects the guard of honour at the passing out parade held at Air Force Academy, Dundigal - ANI

#8:15 AM

Rajasthan: 60 people including 13 children fall ill after eating food at a ceremony in Bharatpur's Sarsaina village. 53 admitted to hospital - ANI

#8:05 AM

Bijbehara Encounter (J&K): Total three terrorists killed and three weapons recovered. - ANI

#7:51 AM

#Darjeeling: Indefinite strike called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha enters into sixth day #Gorkhaland - ANI

#7:46 AM

Maharashtra: ATS, Police & DoT officials seized property amounting to Rs 4,60,000 & arrested 2 accused in 2 raids conducted in Latur y'day- ANI

#7:36 AM

US Navy says 2 crew, including captain, evacuated from destroyer after night collision off Japan; 7 sailors missing. (AP) - ANI

#7:34 AM

Bijbehara Encounter: Security forces recovered dead bodies of terrorists Junaid Mattu & Nisar Ahmed. 2 AK 47, 6 magazines recovered - ANI

#7:27 AM

Police raided and allegedly vandalised the residence of Assistant Gen Secretary of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Binay Tamang, last night - ANI

#7:23 AM

Police arrested Vikram Rai, the media manager of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in #Darjeeling, last night - ANI

#7:16 AM

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate #KochiMetro today #Kerala - ANI

#7:12 AM

Director of 'Rocky' and 'Karate Kid', John G Avildsen passed away, aged 81 - AP

#7:06 AM

Delhi: Rain lashes parts of the Capital - ANI

#6:12 AM

Coroner says actress Carrie Fisher died of sleep apnea and other undetermined factors. - AP

#6:05 AM

Hamas rejects IS claim of fatal stabbing of Israeli policewoman - AFP

#5:45 AM

Cuba rejects Trump's 'hostile rhetoric,' says willing to continue 'respectful dialogue' with US. - AP

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Tokyo:

Seven crew on a US destroyer were missing and their commander injured on Saturday after their Navy destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship off the coast of Japan, with the badly damaged US vessel partially flooded.



Two others were hurt along with the USS Fitzgeralds commanding officer Bryce Benson, the military said in a statement.



Two sailors, in addition to the commanding officer, have been medically evacuated from USS Fitzgerald to US Naval Hospital Yokosuka for lacerations and bruises, it added.



There are seven sailors unaccounted for; the ship and the Japanese Coast Guard continues to search for them.



The collision between the US guided missile destroyer and the ACX Crystal took place off the coast of the Izu peninsula southwest of Tokyo, at about 2:30 am (local time), the US Navy and Japans coastguard said.

ALSO READ: Japan develops swimming robots to probe damage at nuclear plant after 2011 tsunami



We are currently searching for the missing individuals, a coastguard spokesman said, adding that they were acting on details supplied by the US military.



Aerial television footage showed an apparent victim on a stretcher and a Japanese rescuer being pulled up to a helicopter hovering over the huge destroyer.



The coastguard has sent five vessels, two planes and a team of specially trained rescue personnel to the area, the spokesman said. The 154-metre Fitzgerald is based in Yokosuka on the Izu peninsula and operates in the Pacific and the Sea of Japan (East Sea).



In a statement released on Twitter, US chief of naval operations Admiral John Richardson said: As more information is learned we will be sure to share it with the Fitzgerald families and when appropriate the public.



All of our thoughts and concerns are with the Fitzgerald crew and their families. Video by Japans public broadcaster NHK showed heavy damage to the right side of the Fitzgerald just ahead of the control tower, and that the ship had taken on water.



An orange hose was visible on the ships deck, with many crew members seen checking the damage. NHK said the destroyer, piloted by two tugboats, was sailing to Yokosuka.



The USS Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline. The collision resulted in some flooding, the Navy said.



A US defence official told AFP that sailors are de-watering flooded areas of the ship. The Fitzgerald was still under its own power although her propulsion was limited, the Navy said.



The footage meanwhile showed relatively light damage on the port bow of the ACX Crystal. Twenty crew members were aboard the container and no one was injured, another Japanese coastguard spokesman said, adding that the vessel was separately sailing back to a Tokyo port.

ALSO READ: India overtakes Japan to emerge as 2nd largest stainless steel producer in world

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Washington:

Chipping away at Barack Obama's legacy, US President Donald Trump cancelled his predecessor's "one-sided" Cuba deal and put the two Cold War-era rivals on collision course again by vowing to not allow dollars to prop up Raul Castro's "military monopoly".

Obama had announced in December 2014 that he and Castro were restoring ties and less than a year later, the US Embassy in Havana was re-opened with the then US president making a historic visit to the Communist country in 2016.

Reversing the policy of pursuing a historic detente,Trump said, "Effective immediately, I am cancelling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba. I am announcing today a new policy just as I promised during the campaign."

"Our policy will seek a much better deal for the Cuban people and for the United States of America. We do not want US dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba. Our new policy begins with strictly enforcing US law," he told a cheering crowd in Miami's Little Havana, the spiritual home of the Cuban-American community.

In Havana, Cuba's government criticised the new restrictions on ties with the US that were announced by Trump,but reiterated its willingness to hold a "respectful dialogue"with Washington.

Trump's speech, which came as the president signed a directive outlining his posture toward Cuba, is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to chip away at Obama's legacy, of which the Cuba policy of starting a historic detente was a major part.

Obama had pushed for expanding commerce and travel between the two countries. However, Trump, in a complete reversal, asserted that he will not lift sanctions on Cuba unless it releases all political prisoners and respects freedoms.

"We will not lift sanctions on the Cuban regime until all political prisoners are freed, freedoms of assembly and expression are respected, all political parties are legalised and free and internationally supervised elections are scheduled elections," Trump said.

"We will very strongly restrict American dollars flowing to the military, security, and intelligence services that are the core of the Castro regime. They will be restricted. We will enforce the ban on tourism. We will enforce the embargo,"the US president said.

Trump asserted that the US will take concrete steps to ensure that investments flow directly to the people so they can open private businesses and begin to build their country's"great, great future, a country of great potential."

Trump said his actions bypassed the military and the government to help the Cuban people form businesses and pursue much better lives. "We will keep in place the safeguards to prevent Cubans from risking their lives to unlawful travel to the United States. They are in such danger the way they have to come to this country. And we are going to be safeguarding thosepeople," he said.

Trump said his administration will expose the crimes of the Castro regime and stand with the Cuban people in their struggle for freedom.

"Because we know it is best for America to have freedom in our hemisphere, whether in Cuba or Venezuela, and to have a future where the people of each country can live out their own dreams," he said. He alleged that for nearly six decades, the Cuban people had suffered under the Communist domination.

To this day, Cuba is ruled by the same people who killed tens of thousands of their own citizens, who sought to spread their repressive and failed ideology throughout our hemisphere and who once tried to host enemy nuclear weapons 90 miles from our shores, Trump said.

"The Castro regime has shipped arms to North Korea and fuelled chaos in Venezuela. While imprisoning innocents, it has harboured cop killers, hijackers and terrorists. It has supported human trafficking, forced labour and exploitation all around the globe," Trump alleged.

"This is the simple truth of the Castro regime. My administration will not hide from it, excuse it or glamour ileitis. And we will never, ever be blind to it. We know what's going on and we remember what happened," he said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Washington:

In the maiden meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a thorny issue and the talks could yield a "win-win formula" for both the sides, a top American business advocacy group said on Saturday.

"I believe the visit will yield a win-win formula for both countries. I am very optimistic that it will go very well when Prime Minister comes here, Mukesh Aghi, president of US India Business Council (USIBC) told PTI.

Under the umbrella of US Chambers of Commerce, USIBC is the largest representative body of top American businesses having a footprint in India.

Prime Minister Modi will on June 26 hold talks with President Trump on a range of issues, including terrorism and India's concerns over possible changes in H-1B visa rules, in their first bilateral meeting after the new administration took over in the US.

Read more: Kochi Metro will contribute to Kerala's economic growth: PM Modi

The bilateral talks appear to be no bed of roses as they come amidst thorny issues like US' plans to reduce the number of H-1B visa slots that are mainly used by Indian IT workers, and its withdrawal from the historic climate accord.

Closely involved in the preparations for Modi's US visit from June 25 as an industry representative, Aghi said the H-1B visa programme is unlikely to be a major issue of discussion between the two leaders.

Responding to a question, he said it is unlikely to be a strain in India-US ties.

"I believe this (H-1B) will not be an issue which will cause any kind of strain in discussion. The US industry needs technical resources to become more efficient, more competitive. And at the same time, I think have a good supply from India, he said, adding that H1B visa issue is not just a US issue, it is an issue for the US business community.

"It is a supply and demand issue. And, the industry needs more technical resources and the supply is constrained there, he said.

"Our (USIBC) position is that we basically are supportive of H1B programme, and I don't believe that's the issue between the two leaders because you look at last year's number, the number has dropped by 35 per cent from Indian companies, for H-1B, said the USIBC president.

Trump had made the alleged abuse and fraud in H-1B visa system a major election issue during his campaign. Aghi said India-US ties is the most important strategic issue at this stage.

"I think all sides realise value of this partnership and both sides are working to make this deeper and much further than where it is now, he said.

"When I walk the corridors of the Hill, or down in the White House, what I essentially get is, this is very important relationship, and tell us what needs to be done to move the bar further up between the two countries, Aghi said.

Of the firm belief that the Indian economy will grow at a faster pace at least for the next 20 years, the USIBC president said this would create tremendous market opportunity for US companies.

"To gain market share, if you look at Uber or Amazon or Facebook or WhatsApp, their market dominance in India is growing, and it affects their stock up to the Chinese market also, he said.

Responding to a question, Aghi said Trump's 'America First' and Modi's 'Make in India' policies are complimentary to each other.

Read more: PM Modi condoles death of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl

"I believe they're complementary, because I see India buys more and more defence, which in turn creates more jobs. Indian airlines place more order by US manufacture of planes, place more jobs here, he argued.

If you move a lot of these manufacturing to India, it still creates more jobs. It is a complementary relationship. So I think my perspective of this is, it needs more long-term capital investment for the infrastructure. And, there is a lot of cash, it's not earning that high interest of return, so India provides the opportunities, especially for large pension funds, he said.

Notably, Modi's US visit comes in the backdrop of Trump's announcement to withdraw the US from the historic Paris Climate Agreement signed by over 190 other countries. Trump had blamed India and China for the US withdrawal.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New York:

The New York Times sued the FBI, seeking a courts help in getting the agency to turn over documents created by fired FBI Director James Comey after his conversations with President Donald Trump.

The Manhattan federal court lawsuit was filed a day after CNN sued the Justice Department in Washington, seeking the same information.

Both actions seek documents Mr. Comey told the Senate he created earlier this year immediately after meetings and conversations with the President.

Mr. Comey said he typed notes describing the conversations because he was worried Mr. Trump "might lie" later about them. He testified that he leaked information about the notes through a friend to the Times to increase pressure for the appointment of a special prosecutor after he concluded Mr. Trumps administration "defamed" him and the FBI after his May 9 firing.

Also Read: US Navy destroyer collides with merchant ship off the coast of Japan



Former FBI head Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel a day after a report stemming from the notes was published.

Mr. Comey said the notes contain his recollections that the President asked for his loyalty when they met for a January dinner and then urged him during a private meeting in the Oval Office two weeks later to drop an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Mr. Trump has disputed both claims, saying flatly that he never asked Mr. Comey to drop the Flynn probe.

The Times and CNN both said in their lawsuits that the FBI has not turned over documents and has failed to properly respond to their Freedom of Information Act requests. They asked judges to order the FBI to produce the records.

Also Read: Trump to announce his Cuba policy today

The Associated Press also filed a FOIA request for the documents but has not received any documents and has not sued.




































Karachi:

A 16-year-old Hindu girls alleged abduction and forced conversion in Pakistan has created an uproar among the countrys minority community.



The parents of Ravita Meghwar claim she had been abducted by the Syed community of Wanharo village near Nagarparkar in the southeast Sindh province on June 6.



They have filed a kidnapping and forced conversion report with the police, claiming that Nawaz Ali Shah, 37, kidnapped their daughter and forcibly converted and married her.



The girl, who is now named Gulnaz, however, met with journalists in Umerkot yesterday and informed them of her consent in embracing Islam and marriage. I was married in the presence of Pir Muhammad Ayub Jan Farooqui in Samarro town in Umerkot district, she said.



Demanding protection for herself and her husband, the girl said that she had not been kidnapped but had eloped with Shah. However, the Hindu community, along with the girls family, has insisted that she was kidnapped and forced to convert.



Her father Satram Das Meghwar alleged that influential members of the Syed community had kidnapped his daughter after giving sleeping pills to the family. He alleged that despite frequent appeals, Thar police did not take any actions to trace the girl till she was forced to convert, the report said.

ALSO READ | Putin didn't make any offer to mediate in resolving Indo-Pak issues: MEA



Ravitas brother-in-law Lajpat Meghwadh, who married her elder sister on April 29 this year said, My wife is barely 18 years old. How can her younger sister be an adult?



Interestingly, the marriage register has mentioned Shahs year of birth as 1980, and national identity card number on the marriage certificate, but Ravitas age has been written as approximately 18 and her NIC number not mentioned. Similarly, the certificate of conversion to Islam also does not mention her date of birth and NIC (National Identity Card) number, listing her age as approximately 18.



However, her primary school certificate shows that Ravita is only 16-year-old as she was born on July 14, 2001. The PML-N member of national assembly from Thar and chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, has expressed his concern over the alleged abduction and the subsequent conversion of Ravita.



A Hindu girl below 18 years of age cannot be converted according to the Hindu Marriage Act, he was quoted as saying by the report. Terming the abduction of the girl an attempt to vitiate the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere of Thar, activists from various communities and political parties have demanded the early recovery of the girl and her production before a court of law, the report added.



Scores of people have questioned the validity of the marriage certificate issued by the cleric and condemned the incident on social media, demanding a probe into the incident.



Earlier, an FIR was registered on the girls request at the Dano Dhandal police station against four persons ? Syed Nawaz Ali Shah, Syed Noor Ali Shah, Mohammad Nohrio Junejo and Sher Ali Junejo.



The latest case of alleged forced conversion and marriage of a Hindu underage girl comes at a time when apparently the government has swept the forced conversion bill, officially known as the Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities) Bill, under the carpet.



The bill was passed unanimously in November last year in the Sindh Assembly following numerous complaints that people, especially children, belonging to non-Muslim communities, were being forced to convert to Islam.



However, many religious parties took to the streets against the proposed law and announced a movement against it if the government did not retract it.

ALSO READ | Pakistan welcomes Russias intention to mediate in resolving issues with India: Nafees Zakaria

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A state commission voted this morning to adopt a controversial policy allowing police to perform familial DNA searches in certain criminal cases.

The 9-2 vote by the state Commission on Forensic Science lets cops investigating cases that pose a public safety threatincluding murders, rapes, and arsonsto broaden DNA database searches to include close, rather than exact DNA matches. The technique is intended to show investigators close family members of the person whose DNA they havea father or a son, sayin order to guide the investigation. Much of the state's database consists of samples obtained from people convicted of crimes, including offenses such as trespassing.

The governor-appointed commission's approval came with the strong backing of New York City prosecutors, as well as the father of murdered Howard Beach jogger Karina Vetrano. Phil Vetrano became a vocal supporter of familial testing when the DNA retrieved from his daughter's body failed to produce a match and the trail in the search for the killer seemed to go cold. The technique ultimately wasn't used, and family members of the suspect who was arrested in the case seem not to have criminal records, meaning the technique wouldn't have helped find him.

Still, Phil Vetrano continues to support the policy. He hailed its passage today, writing on GoFundMe, "Praise God, yes it's official. Karina's policy ( it's not a law ) has just passed the NYS DCJS in a 9-2 vote[...]Many families will benefit and many criminals will suffer. I thank all of you for your support. I was told back in November that I was waisting my time, I was told to forget it , that it would never happen. Well fuck them now..."

The support was not universal, though. Ahead of the vote, science Commissioner Marvin Schechter accused his colleagues in a letter of violating the state Open Meetings Law by meeting individually and in groups of two and three to come up with the policy, after a public hearing. He criticized the panel further for omitting a provision specifying that familial testing only be done when all other leads had been exhausted, which he said would limit abuse. Gina Bianchi, a lawyer for the Division of Criminal Justice, wrote in response that because the commission's DNA Subcommittee is comprised of seven members, four or more would have had to meet to break the meeting law.

Defense attorneys and civil liberties advocates also vociferously denounced the policy. One advocate noted that low-income people of color are disproportionately targeted for low-level enforcement, and said that the new searches would cast new suspicion on those same people through false positives and family ties, making familial testing a sort of "genetic stop-and-frisk." Following the vote, lawyers with the Legal Aid Society said that familial testing should be the subject of legislative debate, not implemented by an unelected panel.

"This whole body was created for scientific oversight of labs, which is in theory a good thing," said Allison Lewis, an attorney with Legal Aid's DNA Unit. "They shouldn't be in charge of passing policy that has effects on civil liberties and people's basic genetic privacy."

The state's existing policy requires that district attorney's offices and police apply jointly for DNA database searches, that their applications be reviewed by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, and that they report the outcome of the investigation to the state agency. The new policy calls for more stringent requirements on familial DNA searches. Under the regulations, familial search requests must be approved by the state police, the Division of Criminal Justice Services [DCJS], the local district attorney's office, and the local law enforcement agency, and the search results must be evaluated by the state police forensics center before being provided to the requesting police department.

These protections don't do enough to keep police from misusing the lists of names generated by the new genetic searches, Lewis argued.

"This first level of doing familial searching is a genetic look. And then the information of the relatives is handed over to law enforcement, and then there's absolutely no guidance as to what they can and can't do," she said. She continued, "It's this really invasive sort of secret government surveillance, that we may not even see, to the point where they could knock on your door, knock on your neighbor's door, reveal that actually you fathered the boy downstairs, reveal all sorts of private things about the structure of your family."

DCJS spokeswoman Janine Kava stressed that the method was the subject of a public hearing in February, and that the circumstances where it can be used under the new policy are narrowly defined. She also emphasized that the policy requires that law enforcement agencies be trained on how to handle search results. The training is supposed to include an explanation of the state law that makes it a felony to disclose DNA records outside of specific court mechanisms.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters today that the department has already identified about a dozen cases that it wants to use familial testing for.

"We think it has been a great day for justice this morning," he said. "We are able to go back and take those new leads on cases that are open and we are still working."

The department's press office declined to explain how it plans to handle the records.

Eleven states already allow familial DNA searches, and they have been used to solve cold-case rapes and murders. Lewis acknowledged that the technology has helped convict people of "very serious, horrendous crimes. But what about the thousands of other people who've been now investigated and looked at and suspected and followed?"

The new policy, Kava said in an emailed statement, "will provide law enforcement with a proven scientific tool to help investigate and solve serious crimes, obtain justice for victims and exonerate the innocent without compromising individual protections."

The rules will soon go up for public comment, and Kava expects them to go into effect early this fall.

With Emma Whitford
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RIDGEFIELDA Fathers Day barbecue will raise funds for Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, a statewide nonprofit that supported a refugee familys move to Ridgefield earlier this year.

The fundraiser, called Ridgefield Rises for Refugees, will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Tigers Den. Each ticket will include live music, food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Opinion

Democrats stem Republican tide

There is as yet no clarity about the exact wins and losses for each side in the United States mid-term elections, where the whole of the lower house of the Congress, the House of Representatives, is re-elected, and one-third of the upper house or the Senate, and dozen or more state governorships. It looks like that the Republicans will have an edge in the House of Representatives, and the majority in the Senate could remain with the Democrats. But there is enough and more clarity about the major trends in these elections. The Democrats were not routed as was expected because of high inflation and the tottering economy.


Founder of premium boutique dedicated to newborns and toddlers

returns to his Canadian roots after a 10-year growth in the UAE and Oman

MONTREAL, June 14, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - DBbabies, a luxury boutique offering essentials exclusively dedicated to newborns and little ones, officially opens the doors of its first location in Canada. Situated at Promenades St-Bruno, the 1800 square-foot boutique is the eighth location in a network that was co-founded by Montreal native, Danny B. Haddad. Renowned throughout the UAE and Oman for its high-end products from award-winning brands, the company has built an unmatched reputation on its friendly, personalized and exceptional customer service.

"We typically see companies and brands expanding from North America to the UAE, not the other way around," says Danny B. Haddad, co-founder of DBbabies. "I feel bullish about Canada. Coming home and investing in Canada has been a long time dream, and we are overwhelmed by the support DBbabies has received to date. Making this move was risky, but being a part of a family like Cadillac Fairview proves that there is value to our concept and offer."

DBbabies was brought to life in 2007, after its cofounders noticed a lack in premium newborn gift options and unique products in Dubai. Combining that with convenient services such as free gift wrapping, delivery options and personalized gifting solutions allowed the concept to quickly take off and grow considerably over the last 10 years.

"The concept of a store like ours in a Quebec shopping mall is unique and brings a new outlook to the family shopping experience," says Haddad. "Families look to shopping malls as a convenient way to accomplish all of their shopping needs. Although the environment of Canadian malls has evolved over the years, there was still a missing element: the lack of high-end specialized stores like DBbabies."

"I've watched DBbabies grow over the years. We are holding on preciously to the brand's values and vision, and are confident that Quebecers will be pleased with the quality of our offer and welcoming feel of our boutiques." added co-founder, Jenny Haddad. "Luxury is not necessarily a matter of price; it is in the design and quality of the final product."

The boutique, here in Quebec, offers a wide selection of products, ranging from high-end strollers and stroller accessories to trendy bags, pouches and travelers. In addition to baby gear, the store offers top of the line highchairs and kitchenware, sleeping and feeding accessories, as well as teethers and soothers. Blankets and bedding, bath products and towels, and even vegan, natural and organic detergents and care products are also available.

The brand has proudly developed close ties with some of the leading manufacturers of parent, baby and toddler products from Canada and around the world, including Aleva Naturals, Noodle & Boo, AppleCheeks, Phil and Ted's, Bugaboo, Stokke & Skip Hop.

DBbabies provides a unique in-store embroidery service, that can be done on many of the store's items, to create the perfect personalized gift by writing a name, special note or chic monogram, in English or in French. Gift baskets created by the DBbabies team come in 3 different sizes, which are made up of pairings of in store items that can be personalized and embroidered.

As part of its expansion in Canada, the company plans to open a second store in the coming months at Carrefour Laval.

www.dbbabies.ca

SOURCE DBbabies

For further information: Sarah Cope-Corbeil / Marie-Emmanuelle Khoury, Torchia Communications, 514 288-8290 Ext. 222 / 214, [email protected] / [email protected]
Opera on the Avalon will increase access and expand audiences in Newfoundland and Labrador

ST. JOHN'S, June 17, 2017 /CNW/ - Nick Whalen, Member of Parliament (St. John's East), today announced funding of $239,000 for Opera on the Avalon through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund. Mr. Whalen made this announcement on behalf of the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage.

The funding will enable Opera on the Avalon to purchase specialized equipment that will give new audiences the opportunity to experience opera. The group plans to offer inclusive, multidisciplinary performances that are accessible to audiences in rural areas, Indigenous people, youth, minority-language communities, new arrivals and people with disabilities.

Quotes

"We know that investing in arts in culture helps in developing strong communities. This is why the Government of Canada is pleased to support Opera on the Avalon as it continues to reach out to communities and draw new audiences to the art of opera. By supporting culture, we are providing opportunities for Canadians to experience art in all its forms."

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"By telling our stories in a unique way, Opera on the Avalon lends its vitality to the cultural fabric of Newfoundland and Labrador, and indeed of Atlantic Canada. I am delighted that our support will give even more people the opportunity to experience opera in the beautiful rural locations throughout our region."

Nick Whalen, Member of Parliament (St. John's East)

"The generous support from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund will assist Opera on the Avalon in implementing innovative projects with a focus on strengthening our artistic vitality, enhancing our audience experience, and increasing our civic impact through community connections. This funding will also promote greater inclusion by increasing access for those with physical and cognitive disabilities, as we work towards our goal of making art accessible to every Newfoundlander and Labradorian."

Cheryl Hickman, General and Artistic Director, Opera on the Avalon

Quick Facts

Since its debut in 2009, Opera on the Avalon has presented professional operatic performances in Newfoundland and Labrador, featuring artists from Canada and around the world.

In addition to productions, concerts and recitals, Opera on the Avalon undertakes education and outreach programs and events for groups such as at-risk youth, Indigenous people and new Canadians.

The company presented the opera Ours in 2016, based on the history of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel that took place on July 1, 1916. Funding of $425,000 was provided through Canadian Heritage's Major Events and Celebration Program (World Wars).

With the support from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, Opera on the Avalon will purchase portable equipment, including a projector, monitors, microphones and sound equipment, as well as equipment for travelling such as a trailer, utility trunk and road cases.

The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund program seeks to improve physical conditions for artistic creativity and arts presentation or exhibition. It is also designed to increase access for Canadians to performing, visual and media arts, and to museum collections and heritage displays.

Associated Links

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

For further information: (media only): Pierre-Olivier Herbert, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, 819-997-7788; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.pch.gc.ca


The wife of the notorious kidnapper, Uchenna Precious has made a startling revelation about the dreaded kidnapper who collected ransom in millions of dollars.



Kidnap kingpin Chikwudubem Onwuamadike and wife Uchenna Precious

Uchenna Precious Onwuamadike, wife of arrested kidnap kingpin Chikwudubem Onwuamadike, also known as Evans has revealed that her husbad is a prayerful man who loves to read the bible.

According to the woman, her husband who is a notorious kidnapper reads Psalm 23 a lot and is a prayerful person. She revealed further that he has cancer and neither drinks nor smoke.

In an interview with Vanguard, Precious said her husbands mobile phone has a reminder set to 12 noon for him to read that part of the Bible.

She said Evans led their daily prayers and has never given money to show off.

Evans wife begged the authorities for forgiveness, saying that: He did not know what he was doing.





He reads psalm 23 a lot. Even his phone, he sets alarm for 12 noon to read psalm 23. He took part in our daily prayers in the morning, evening and night. He used to lead us in prayers. We attend Anglican Church. He has never given them money to show off, she said.





We used to give N5000 or N10,000 and the highest we have given so far was N50,000 when we baptised one of our children. I am appealing to the powers that be to spare his life (crying), as I speak now, I am kneeling down with my children, crying and begging for forgiveness. Have mercy on us.





He did not know what came over him. I am ready to come back to Nigeria and plead on his behalf. What I am reading in the news is shocking. Though, I have not heard that he killed anybody but all those he injured or took their money should please forgive him because me and my children.





They should kindly forgive him, he will repent. God knows I will not be alive and see my husband doing bad thing and keep quiet.

Precious who described her husband as a good man, said all his wealth should be sold and shared among his victims.

All his wealth should be sold off and given to his victims. Evans is a good man. He takes care of all his relations including the children of the second wife we are suspecting did this to him. He has just two houses in Ghana but I have never seen them, she said.

I saw the house on his phone. Since I have been living with him, he has never injured anybody or beat me. He has milk of human kindness in his heart. He has not been harsh or wicked to anybody.





He always advised us to be prayerful I (starts crying again) and complains bitterly any time I failed to pray. His neighbours also know him as a kind and generous man.





He has cancer and does not drink alcohol nor smoke anything. I have never seen gun in our house. I dont know where they got those frightening guns.





He has never told me he has another house at Igando. Any time he went out, he always called to ask after the children and reassure me that he would be back soon."
The new Prime Minister of Lesotho, Mr. Thomas Thabane, on Friday took the oath of office as the head of a coalition government, two days after the murder of his estranged wife.Thabanes All Basotho Convention (ABC) party won snap elections on June 3, but failed to get an outright majority, leading it to negotiate joint rule with the Alliance of Democrats (AD), Basotho National Party (BNP) and Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL).But his inauguration was marred by the murder of his estranged wife Lipolelo, 58, who was gunned down on Wednesday night in a village near the capital Maseru.Thabanes new coalition government comes into office with the hope of ending the political uncertainty of party splits and fragile coalitions that have long dogged the mountain kingdom.He said it was disturbing that Lesotho was increasingly becoming notorious for its failed governments and that it was time to change.I sincerely hope that political reforms will bring stability in Lesotho and ensure that Lesotho governments last for a normal five-year term, he said in his inaugural speech.The new alliance replaces the government of Pakalitha Mosisili, a seven-party coalition plagued by infighting and corruption.Mosisilis government was toppled in March and elections triggered after opposition parties called a vote of no-confidence which he lost.At the ceremony, which was held inside a stadium in Maseru, Thabane thanked his predecessor for facilitating the smooth transfer of power and said the two would remain friends forever.Thabane, 78, previously served as premier of this nation of two million people after the 2012 elections but was forced to flee to South Africa following an attempted military coup two years later.In his speech, Africa Review reports that Thabane commented for the first time on the killing of his estranged wife.I am mourning her death and (the) senseless killing of people like this is one of many challenges that I am faced with as a new prime minister, he said.The gunning down of Thabanes wife just two days before he took office created a sense of confusion in the tiny poverty-stricken country which is completely surrounded by South Africa.Police confirmed Wednesdays killing of Mrs. Lipolelo Thabane, an incident which has raised the fears of another wave of political violence in the southern African mountain kingdom.Police spokesperson Clifford Molefe said Lipolelo was traveling home with a friend when both women where shot by an unknown assailant in the town of Masana, just outside the capital, Maseru.Molefe said Lipolelo died on the scene while her friend was taken to a nearby hospital. Molefe said the motive of the shooting was unknown and that investigations were ongoing.Lesotho, which has been on a political knife-edge since an attempted coup in 2014, held elections last week, the third in five years, after then-prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili lost a no-confidence vote in March.Thabanes All Basotho Convention won 48 parliamentary seats, compared with 30 won by Mosisilis Democratic Congress.Thabane and Lipolelo had been living separately since 2012 after Thabane filed for a divorce which had yet to be granted by the courts.Thabanes office was unreachable for comment.However there are indication that the Lipolelo is an estranged wife of the Prime Minister, who was either trying to stage a come back or make claims on her husband.There had been no love lost between her and her husbands current wife.These facts were reflected on social media reports which have gone viral in less than 24 hours after her death.Mpatsi reports that that news had it that Mme Lipolelo Thabane was a threat to first-lady benefits hence her killing. heart breaking.Public Eye said the Lesotho Estranged wife of PM Thabane, Lipolelo Thabane, sought legal remedy to stop his traditional wife from accessing money.Public Eye Lesotho also in a tweet quoted the woman as saying:  I love my husband & yearn our mutual restoration of conjugal rights, consortium, marital rights & privileges.Mathe V.K. Ntsekhe said: Lets be clear on one thing: Mme Lipolelo Thabane had her reasons & right to want to claim benefits of being a first lady!Chriselda Lewis tweeted that Lipolelo Thabanes killing comes on the eve of her estranged husband Tom Tabanes inauguration.Suntosh Pillay Tragic and shameful! Lipolelo Thabane has been shot dead on the eve of her husband Toms inauguration as Prime Minister ofSource: Africa Review with Agency report
Petrol Price: FG Rules Out Total Deregulation

The Federal Government on Thursday announced that it had ruled out the total deregulation of the downstream oil and gas sector so as not to raise the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol.It noted that any attempt to enforce a total deregulation of the sector would lead to an increase in the prices of petroleum products, adding that it was aware of the severe consequence that this would have on Nigerians.Speaking at the 2017 African Modular Refinery Discussion organised in Abuja by the Modular Refineries Association of Nigeria, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, noted that despite calls for the complete deregulation of the downstream oil sector, the government would not do so but would continue to moderate activities in the industry.He said, There are those who are saying we need to deregulate fully. Why are they saying that? It is because if we do not deregulate, it is not cost-effective for those who are producing PMS to sell. At the same time, if you deregulate completely, prices of everything will go up.So there are those complications, meaning we got to moderate all those things. Government has to come in to a certain extent and this is what is currently going on to try and balance things up. Because we cannot have just overnight another massive deregulation. If you do that, the consequences will be very dire for the economy.Osinbajo also blamed the governments involvement in the refineries for the failure and near collapse of the facilities in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt.According to him, in the new modular refineries initiative, oil producing communities will be made to acquire stakes in refineries that are set up in their localities, while the federal and state governments will have some stake, as well as private investors.He said the government was committed to creating an enabling environment for private sector participation and investments in modular refineries, adding that it was aware of the challenges and complications posed by the non-deregulation of the sector.Speaking further on the poor performance Nigerias three refineries, Osinbajo said the Federal Government had also ruled out building and managing refineries, adding that it would only create the atmosphere for private players.He stated, Government cannot just go and be setting up refineries. If government sets up refineries and uses its people to run it, it wont work. We have good examples in all the refineries that we have seen. If you look at the refineries we have today, Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, the primary reason they are not working today is that they are government-run.Government cannot do business. Government business is to create the enabling environment for business. And then, government will put some investment into it. Government should not be in the business of setting up refineries all over the place. That is just a waste of time and resources.The acting President added that the nation must exploit the massive petroleum resources that it had and explained that this prompted the Federal Governments decision to establish modular refineries across the Niger Delta in particular.He stated that in ensuring increased community participation, citizens from the Niger Delta must ensure that they participated adequately in the process.Osinbajo added, They are entitled not because they live in the Niger Delta, but they are entitled to it because they also have the brains, the resources to be able to make it happen and this is what I have seen from my engagement with people in the Niger Delta.They themselves are bringing in the investors; they themselves are talking to private investors locally and internationally, and they are bringing them here.
World Bank to Assist Nigeria Strengthen Fiscal Sustainability Plan

The World Bank Group is set to assist state governments improve their fiscal sustainability by strengthening and consolidating the Fiscal Sustainability Plan.The development was confirmed by a statement issued on Friday by the Director of Information in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Salisu Dambatta.The FSP was introduced by the Federal Government in 2016 as part of the measures to tackle the 2015-2016 fiscal crisis that followed the decline in revenue and budget cuts leading to two financial bailouts for the States by the Federal Government.The plan is also an instrument for reforming the whole gamut of the Public Sector Financial Management system spanning the three tiers of government.The 22-point FSP was acceded to by the State Governments in 2016 to implement fundamental reforms by taking measures including installing a regime of fiscal transparency and accountability, improving Internally Generated Revenue, the taming of unnecessary recurrent expenditure and strengthening adherence to debt management guidelines by the states.The proposed intervention by the World Bank, according to the statement would involve financing capacity building and providing technical support for officials in the 36 states of the federation.This would be achieved by equipping them with the requisite knowledge and skills to effectively manage the comprehensive implementation of the components of the FSP on a sustainable basis.The statement reads in part, The objective was to ensure that the States were put on the path that would lead them out of the situation in which they have to be bailed out or fail to meet their financial obligations for the wellbeing of the citizenry.The capacity building programme would also include imparting skills that would contribute in the successful implementation of the Open Government Partnership commitments with the view to boosting the fiscal transparency and accountability component of the FSP.
on Tuesday

The lawmakers from the United Party for National Development (UPND) skipped Lungu's address claiming he was not the legitimate winner of the 2016 election.

Parliament Speaker Patrick Matibini announced the suspension of the 48 lawmakers since they are yet to recognize Lungu as the head of state.

"I challenge you to resign on moral grounds if you do not recognize that there is a legitimately elected government," Matibini said in parliament. "I have, in exercise of my powers, decided to suspend the 48 members of parliament from service for a period of 30 days with effect from today."

Matibini said that the lawmakers would not be paid or have access to the parliament building or lodgings during their suspension.

The leader of UPND, Hakainde Hichilema, who also has refused to recognize Lungu as president with claims that the Presidential election was rigged to favour the President, was arrested in April alongside five others for allegedly failing to give way to President Edgar Lungu's motorcade.

Hichilema and the five are currently facing treason charges and are being detained at a maximum prison jail in Kabwe.

The Zambian parliamentsuspended 48 opposition lawmakers for boycotting Zambia's president, Edgar Lungus address at the official opening of the assembly in March
Troops of 1 Division Nigerian Army have arrested a notorious and wanted leader of an armed banditry, Sani Ibrahim, alias Burtu, in Kadun...

Troops of 1 Division Nigerian Army have arrested a notorious and wanted leader of an armed banditry, Sani Ibrahim, alias Burtu, in Kaduna.

In a statement by Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, Director of Army Public Relations, who confirmed the arrest on Thursday, he said the suspect was picked up when the troops cordoned armed bandits camp at Rijana forest, due to the disturbing resurgence of armed banditry and kidnappings along Abuja-Kaduna road.

According to Usman, Ibrahim has been on the wanted list of the security agencies in Kaduna State for a long time. He said one motorcycle and 25 goats were recovered from the camp. Similarly, troops mounted ambush along Zamfara State border with Kebbi State in which they neutralized 3 armed bandits and recovered 134 cows and 13 sheep.
Wife of Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, aka Evans, Uchenna, has appealed to Nigerians to forgive her husband and her fami...

Wife of Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, aka Evans, Uchenna, has appealed to Nigerians to forgive her husband and her family for all the atrocities he committed. In an interview with Vanguard, Uchenna said she was not aware that he was into crime. She said thought he was into haulage, buying engine and spare parts for trucks and imports exhaust pipes.

She has asked that all his properties be sold and the money returned to all his victims.





"My name is Uchenna Precious Onwuamadike, the wife of the Chikwudubem Onwuamadike who you call Evans. I am 31 years old. I got married to Evans at the age of 17 at Oraifite, Anambra state in 2004. He met me while I was coming back from lesson as a student of All Saints Secondary School, Oraifite and I was in class 6 going to take my West African Examination.





After we met, I agreed to go with him because of my poor background. He told me his father married three wives when he was six years old and threw his mother out of his house. He said that one of the wives influenced his father to drive them out of his house also and they were forced to stay with outsiders. Evans was taken to his grandmother who trained him.





He told me his father accused the mother of being adulterous before driving her out of his house. Our marriage is blessed with five children. Our first issue is 12 years plus and her name us Udochukwu. After we got married, he said I should stay with his mother in his village at Akanmiri, Umudim, Nnewi to teach me how to be a good housewife. I was there for three years before he took me to Lagos.

We were living at Satellite town in 2006 and after one year, he relocated us back to the village because he could not pay house rent. While in the village, he normally came to see us. We spent three years in the village and relocated to Ghana. On our way to Ghana, we passed through Lagos and stayed at Benny Hotels in Festac where we spent two days before travelling to Ghana. He spent a month with us in Ghana before coming back to Lagos.

I was pregnant with our fourth child in 2010 when he left for Nigeria to come back in two months time. After I gave birth, he came back four months later and was able to clear the accumulated bills we kept for him because I borrowed money from friends to clear hospital bill. When he came back, he complained bitterly that things were rough for him in Nigeria and that customs seized his goods. I was not aware that he was into kidnapping and all the criminal acts he is being associated with now.

All I know about his business is that he was into haulage, buying engine and spare parts for trucks and imports exhaust pipes. That was what he told me. The reason he kept me in Ghana was because he said our children should get quality education. I have spent six years here and after I stopped hearing from him, I called and complained bitterly but he said I should stay for some time. I then called his friend, Okechukwu, who now lives in China. He told me that he has not been seeing him and that he spends most of his time with a girlfriend in Festac. When I called him to complain, he was angry with me and warned that I should stop listening to gossip. He said that If I should return, I should go to his younger brothers house in Lagos until he is ready to get accommodation for us.

The brother was formally living in Lagos but he is in Brazil now. So, when it was impossible to pay my childrens school fees, I packed my bags and baggage and came back to Lagos with our children. We stayed at his brothers house at Agric, close to Trade Fair until he took us to a house in Magodo where he claimed he owed rent pending the completion of his own house there.

We have spent just one year in that house in Magodo. I have no idea of the type of business he was into but he told me that his friends overseas used to buy phones and jewelries for him.

While in Lagos, i was idle and I pressured him to find something for me to do and he promised to do that. Several times, I asked him to take me to his office but he said they move from place to place to offload goods in haulage business and share profits. I cant remember having any visitor in our house. It is only the agent called Sunny that helped us to pack into our house that I know. At times, artisans come to do one repair or the other, thats all. I dont know any of his friends and if we were invited to parties, he would not allow us to attend. He told me that he has no friends and that he hates associating with people.

I was always indoors because he warned me to beware of Lagos women that they are wayward. I was staying indoors and it was only when I was sick that he took me to a hospital in Ikeja. I always have BP and it makes weak.

We went back to Ghana on the 6th of this month and he promised to join us in no distant time. On the 9th, I called him to know when he would be coming and even the youngest of our children was crying, begging him to come as soon as possible and he promised to come. In the afternoon, I called but he was not picking. I called again, there was noise in the background and the line was switched off. I then called the driver that took us to the motor pack when we were going to Ghana and he told me that there was a problem, that police came and arrested Oga and that they came with a fair complexioned lady. When I heard all the allegations against him, I called his brother in Ghana, his mother, father and other relations but I could not get them. I then called their last born, a student at Oko Polytechnic but he said he had not spoken with him for long. I was confused until I opened Niger news and Vanguard Websites. That was how I got the shocking news about my husband. I collapsed and later called my kids to inform them what I just read about their father.

Since then, I have not eaten, I am still in shock. Our children could not believe what they were reading about their father. They are saying that he cannot do all the things they said he did. In fact, while we were in Nigeria, he had never slept outside our house. My children were crying when they saw his bloody eyes and swollen face. Our condition was worsened when I saw my picture with him and our children on the face book. I dont know where they got it. I have not been receiving money from him, I have never seen his money. The only thing I know is that there was a time he bought an expensive watch in Dubai and I wanted to know why he bought it when he could not open any business for me. He kept on teasing me, claiming it came from a friend.

It was only when we wanted to travel to South Africa last year Christmas where we spent two years that he gave me N200, 000 for the trip. I have never seen him as a rich man. While with him, we made sure we had all we wanted to eat and thats all. I cant remember seeing any sign of affluence in him. He is not a proud man and he has been wearing one sandal and slippers for long now. He does not go for parties. In fact, I have never suspected him as a criminal. If I have been seeing any strange things, I would have suspected him. We have three cars, one Hilux, one grand Cherokee and an SUV.

The N20m they said he sent to me through transfer was given to one Hausa man to pay into an account in Ghana to be used in paying our rent and furnish the house in Ghana. I know he banks with GTB only. Their staff used to visit us in the house. I am not aware that he has five girlfriends and I have never suspected him because he did not keep late nights. It was shocking to hear about his girlfriends. He did not answer calls in my presence. I used to see his phones being charged but he normally switched them off. I always asked him why use pin code to lock his phones and that he lived a secret life but he threatened to beat me if ever I touched any of his phones. I didnt even know the security pin.

He would leave the house sometimes in the evenings with his phones and would come back between 8pm and 9pm. Most of the things I read about him are strange to me. As his wife, I should have seen the signs but I have not. He has cancer and does not drink alcohol nor smoke anything. I have never seen gun in our house. I dont know where they got those frightening guns. He has never told me he has another house at Igando. Any time he went out, he always called to ask after the children and reassure me that he would be back soon.

I am suspecting that whatever happened to him must have come from his fathers second wife. I dont know what he did to him when he was young but he told the story. He said that after their mother was driven out of the house, he was with his brothers playing outside one day when the second wife called him to pick a bucket and collect water for her. He was four years then, he picked the bucket, collected water and when he came back, she removed her dress and she was wearing only a bag made from animal skin on her waist.

She brought seven small stones from the bag, gave to Evans and ordered him to pour the stones into the bucket to know if the gravel would rise (sail) on top of the water or not. Evans said he did as she directed but the only thing the woman did was to take the bucket back and ordered him to go back and play with his brothers. He said he told his father later but he said he was telling lies. I feel very bad because I did not know if he was doing all these or not. Even if he was into all these, why did he not stop because of me and his children? All the time when we pray, he used to promise God that he would tell Him his story later in life. Here reads psalm 23 a lot.

Even his phone, he sets alarm for 12 noon to read psalm 23. He took part in our daily prayers in the morning, evening and night. He used to lead us in prayers. We attend Anglican Church. He has never given them money to show off. We used to give N5000 or N10,000 and the highest we have given so far was N50,000 when we baptised one of our children. I am appealing to the powers that be to spare his life (crying), as I speak now, I am kneeling down with my children, crying and begging for forgiveness. Have mercy on us. He did not know what he was doing. He did not know what came over him.

I am ready to come back to Nigeria and plead on his behalf. What I am reading in the news is shocking. Though, I have not heard that he killed anybody but all those he injured or took their money should please forgive him because me and my children. They should kindly forgive him, he will repent. God knows I will not be alive and see my husband doing bad thing and keep quiet. All his wealth should be sold off and given to his victims"




Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari will soon return from his medical leave overseas.Bello made this statement when he led eminent people of the country to pray for the quick recovery of President Buhari, who is on medical vacation in London.The governor at the prayer said the President would soon return to the country to continue the good work of redirecting the course of the country.The prayer which was held during the jumat prayer observed at the Government House mosque, Lokoja, was attended by a former governor of Kano state, Senator Kabiru Gaya. Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.The governor said, President Muhammadu Buhari is the man the world see when they look at Nigeria. He is Africas number one anti-corruption crusader whose integrity has helped rebound the nations global respectability.We are gathered here today to pray for the full recovery of Mr. President for him to return to the country and continue his good work of refixing Nigeria. May Allah grant him good health and our nation, greatness.
Antonio Contes future at Chelsea has become an uncertain, after it emerged that the club is not happy with their manager, over the text message he sent to Diego Costa.No firm decision has yet been made, but according to reports in England, senior figures at Stamford Bridge are angry with Conte telling their first-choice striker by text message that he is not wanted.They have reportedly discussed the astonishing possibility of sacking the Italian.If that happens, it would be a shocking decision by the Stamford Bridge outfit, although owner Roman Abramovich fired Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti after successful spells at the club. Even Chelseas only Champions League win was not enough to keep Roberto Di Matteo in the job.The club sees Contes handling of Costa and his apparent unhappiness with the club hierarchy over transfers this summer as a serious error of judgment.Abramovich has made it clear in the past, particularly in the case of Mourinho, that no manager is bigger than the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo could break the world transfer record again this summer.The 32-year-old reportedly wants to leave Real Madrid, after being accused of tax fraud.Should he eventually depart the Santiago Bernabeu, Ronaldo would definitely smash the transfer record set by Paul Pogba last year.His 80million switch from Manchester United in 2009 was a record at the time and has since been trumped by Pogba and Madrid team-mate, Gareth Bale.In 2015, Ronaldos agent Jorge Mendes claimed he has a 1billion release clause with Real  around 875million.Paris Saint-Germain, United and some Chinese Super League clubs are believed to be monitoring his situation.
The Federal Government says it is gladdened by the accolades showered on Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UN Population Fund (UNFPA), for his exemplary work and impact on the global community.The Nigerias Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande, stated this while delivering the tribute by the Federal Government at the valedictory night for Osotimehin in New York.Bande expressed Nigerias gratitude at the outpouring of encomium for the late UNFPA chief who died on June 4 in his home in New York at the age of 68 years.Nigeria joins the rest of the grieving world in mourning but also celebrating the life of an illustrious citizen, as a Government and people.This gathering today barely whispered that he is a Nigerian. We take no offence. We take pride in the fact that we produced him.His commitment on global health issues has been attested to by all through the testimonies that you gave.So today, we are proud to give him to the world. In Nigeria, Prof. Osotimehin was a distinguished teacher and professional public servant, the Nigerias Permanent Representative said.The Nigerian envoy noted the exceptional legacy of Osotimehin at the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital.He said the deceased sustained the pride of the College as the primary and principal parent institution for post graduate training in medicine in West Africa and by extension, in Africa.According to him, the stewardship of the former Nigerias Minister of Health at the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, was also distinguished by hard work and excellence.That was what we really knew him for and it was those qualities that he brought to bear and that made him attracted to the world system.Nigeria is gladdened by the statements by all about celebrating him and continuing the work he did, which did not die with him.And we can only affirm that with the same commitment, we will carry on the work that has been done by him, as Government of Nigeria.I want to thank all of you for rallying around us and the family during this loss of a great and distinguished Nigerian, loving family man, politician, public servant and public health professional.Ms Amina Mohammed, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, who frequently betrayed emotion throughout the valedictory, described Osotimehin as a big brother and a friend.Mohammed, who said she was still shocked at his death, recalled how the late UNFPA boss welcomed and supported her to quickly found her feet at the UN in 2013.Osotimehin, who was the most senior African Under-Secretary-General and served as Chair of the UN Senior Africans Group until his death, was also honoured by the Group of African States at the UN.The group, in a tribute by Amb. Ignace Lufuta, the Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, expressed its condolences to the Government and the people of Nigeria.He will be remembered by the African Group as a statesman and worthy son of Africa who in particular engaged and prevailed with African leadership on important issues as it affects the continent and its people.The Executive Director of UNICEF, Dr Anthony Lake; Executive Director of UNAIDS, Dr Michel Sidibe; and Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Conflicts, Adama Dieng also paid special tribute to their late colleague.Others who honoured the night of tribute included the Permanent Representatives of countries at the UN, family, friends and members of the Nigerian community.
A former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has declared that he has freedom of spe...

A former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has declared that he has freedom of speech and can utter anything he likes.





He said this in an interview over his backing of the ultimatum by Arewa youths that Igbos should leave the North on or before October 1, 2017.

Abdullahi, who is the spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum, insists Nigeria has been divided for a long time and that his comment did not just cause that.

The country had already been polarised. It is already polarised. Well, maybe it added another dimension to the polarisation but the country had been polarised. As far as I am concerned, the country has been polarised for a long time.

Am I too important not to be arrested if I have committed an offence? If I have committed a crime; of course, why not? It is also an opinion; some people may wish me dead. Is that not so? There might be some people who want me arrested.

I thought that all countries have legal systems that qualify offences and depending on the gravity of the offence, measures are taken against offenders and so on.

If I have committed an offence, I expect that somebody would have drawn my attention to it, but I dont think anybody has drawn my attention to an offence that I have committed. All I have done is to express my freedom of speech and this is guaranteed in the country as far as I know.

The Igbo said they want to leave Nigeria. They have been saying this for a long time. They have wanted to leave Nigeria since 1967, when we had the civil war and they have not stopped asking to leave Nigeria.

So this time, the youths must have seen that they needed help to leave Nigeria and it is a good thing if they can mobilise themselves back from every part of Nigeria, including the North of course, to go back home and really concentrate on building the Biafra state they have been dreaming about. And we will support them; I will support them in that direction.
Former senior special assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has stated that Northern leaders are solidly behind the coa...

Former senior special assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has stated that Northern leaders are solidly behind the coalition of Arewa youths that asked Igbos in the region to leave within three months.









Reno recalled that an Igbo man who named his dog Buhari last year was quickly arrested but that youths who threatened Igbos were walking free.

In a video he posted on Facebook on Friday, Reno wondered why none of those who made the Kaduna Declaration has been arrested more than a week after the pronouncement.

He said Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was quick to arrest journalists and others, including Audu Maikori, but had not deemed it fit to round up those fanning embers of unity in Nigeria.

He further stated that Northern Nigeria needed the Igbos even more than the Igbos needed them.

Omokri made references to some countries where similar quit notices were effected and what became of their economies.

Recall that Omokri, earlier in the week, described spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Anglo Abdulahi as a liar from the pit of hell for saying resources from the North was used to develop the South East and Western part of Nigeria.





Watch the video on the quit notice saga below




For seven years, dare-devil kidnapper, Chukwudemeje George Onwamadike aka Evans, escaped the police dragnet and justice. His reign, how...

For seven years, dare-devil kidnapper, Chukwudemeje George Onwamadike aka Evans, escaped the police dragnet and justice.

His reign, however, came to an end last Saturday, after a police special squad led by Abba Kyari, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), arrested him at his No 3, Fred Shoboyede Street, Magodo, Lagos home, after a fierce gun battle which lasted several hours.

Details of the last abduction carried out by his gang on February 14 this year that paved way for his demystification and subsequent arrest has emerged.





Read below as narrated by TheNationonline:

On that day, which coincidentally was celebrated all over the world as St. Valentines Day otherwise known as lovers day, a pharmacist and the owner of Maydon Pharmaceutical Company, Ilupeju, Lagos, Mr. Donatus Dunu, was abducted by Evans gang.

Dunu had barely left his office in the evening when he was blocked by a vehicle. Before he knew it, Evans gun-wielding men had stepped out of the vehicle and bundled the pharmacist into their vehicle and sped off to No 21, Prophet Asaye Close, New Igando, a Lagos suburb where he was kept for three months.

Evans subsequently demanded the payment of a sum of one million euros as ransom. Despite efforts to make Evans see reason and reduce the money, he would have none of it, even after a sum of N100 million had been paid to him. It was either the money was paid or Dunu paid with his life.

While looking for the money, Dunus wife, who is also a director of the company, staff members organized prayers for the safe return of their boss. One of the workers said:

We did not only pray but engaged in fasting too. Who will not pray and fast if his or her boss was in such condition? It was really traumatic for us.

Unknown to Dunus wife and his workers, the person who gave the information leading to Dunus abduction was one of the staff members of the company, identified as Emeka, who was employed about five years ago.





At the gangs den in New Igando, where Dunu was kept, he had given up hope on the possibility of regaining his freedom.





But he had a big break in the early hours of Friday, May 12, 2017, while his captors were deep in sleep. Despite losing his weight, Dunu managed to wriggle out of the leg-cuff he was held with. He was only wearing a pair of short and white singlet. A perimeter fence with broken bottles was to become a major obstacle to his escape, but the victim used his bare hand to manoeuvre the shattered bottles and climbed his way to freedom.

It was learnt that when he landed into an adjoining building, he was mistaken for a fleeing robber or cultist. Security guards raised the alarm which attracted neighbours to the scene and it was providence that saved him from being lynched by a mob.





One of the security guards who asked not to be named said:

I just came to my duty post that day when I started hearing the shout of thief! Thief! I came out and saw this fair-complexioned man running towards me. I stopped him near that mini- tanker (he pointed at a decrepit stationary tanker).

He was wearing only his boxer with his white singlet placed on his shoulder. There was fear in his eyes and he looked sick and traumatised. His body was blood-stained and there were injuries on his legs probably because he had been cuffed on his legs for a long time.

Some people were unwilling to listen to him and they wanted to take him away. I said no, they should leave him here and instead call the elders of the community.

I took him to the front of that Foursquare Church and told him to sit at the entrance of the church. I then asked how much the kidnappers were demanding from him and how much he had paid and he said they were demanding N500m and he had paid about N100m. I was shocked.

We then took him to the Igando Divisional Police Station. Later that afternoon, the operatives of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) returned with him to the street, but he was so tired and sick; he did not even come out of the vehicle. They broke into the compound but the kidnappers had escaped. So many things were discovered in the compound, including guns, a white bus and a power bike. I had never seen any power bike on this street before then.

Home of the alleged kidnappers informant Abductors den





Number 21 Prophet Asaye Close, where Dunu was kept, is at the end of a close facing the entrance to the street. The compound has only a single bungalow. The compound is covered with interlocking stones. It is a study in irony.





Carved on the gate is the sentence Jesus is Alive. There is a doorbell on the left side of the gate. Observing the building closely, it is easy to see why the kidnappers settled for it.

It is a single bungalow, so no noisy neighbour or neighbours to snoop into their business. It has coconut trees at the back, but there were no high rise buildings from where anybody could monitor what they were doing.





Asked about the activities in the compound, our source said:





They (abductors) kept to themselves. The guy there, whenever he was driving in from outside, the gate would have been opened before he got to the gate. In addition, loud music was always wafting from the bungalow. This always muffled every noise coming from there. This happened mostly in the day time. In the night, of course, the generating set would take over. So, we (neighbours) could never have known what went on there.

With the escape of Dunu, he was able to make useful statements to the police about his kidnap. The next day, May 13, SARS operatives in four patrol vans stormed Franzaki Street, Bucknor Estate, off Isheri Osun Road.

It was the rented home of one of the workers of Maydon Pharmaceutical, identified as Emeka, a pharmacist. He is from Oguta, Imo State, and in his late 30s or early 40s; he has a wife and a child, according to the residents, who were rattled by the early morning raid.

Emeka was whisked away from his house by the police. Since then, the residents said he has not returned.

It was on the basis of this breakthrough that the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, four days after Emekas arrest on May 16 declared a certain faceless Evans wanted. He said:

We are encouraging Nigerians to blow the whistle on this kidnapper. Whoever blows the whistle will get N30 million rewards as stated by the Inspector General of PoliceEvans has been on the wanted list of the Police in Anambra, Edo and Lagos states for years. The suspects arrested have given us valuable information, which the command is working on to ensure that he is apprehended by all means.

Operatives of the Inspector General of Polices anti-kidnapping team went into action and with the aid of high tech equipment, they were able to track key members of the kidnap syndicate, rounded them up and then set the stage for the final arrest of Evans. This came last Saturday when Evans was demystified by the police.





At the headquarters of Maydon Pharmaceutical Company Limited at 15 Wilmer Street, Ilupeju, Lagos, the atmosphere was subdued. The workers discussed in low tone. There were several innuendoes about a certain Emeka from Oguta. Both Mr. Donatus Dunu, the chairman of the company, and his wife, the managing director, were not on seat.





However, one of the male workers said they had been warned not to discuss their boss harrowing experience with pressmen and that it was only the boss or his wife that can speak on the matter.
The Kaduna State government has described as false an audio message being circulated on the social media in Igbo language that some Igbos...

The Kaduna State government has described as false an audio message being circulated on the social media in Igbo language that some Igbos travelling to the east from the Northern part of the country were ambushed and killed in Kaduna State. Addressing a press conference in Kaduna Friday, the senior special assistant to the governor on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aryan said some dark forces were bent on sowing and creating panic in our communities but vowed that the Kaduna state government would not allow them have their ways.Aruwan, who was flanked by the president General of the Igbo community in Kaduna, Barrister Chris Nnoli as well as the leaders of Igbo community in Zaria and Kafanchan assured that the Igbo community and every other Nigerian that chose to make Kaduna their home is safe. The statement reads: The attention of Kaduna State Government has been drawn to an inciting picture and audio message stating, that some Igbos relocating to Eastern Nigeria were ambushed and killed in Kaduna State.According to the audio being circulated in Igbo language, the Igbos in question were ambushed in a luxurious bus conveying them to Eastern Nigeria. The man behind the mischievous narrative, who also claimed to be at the scene, went further to lie, that the attackers slaughtered Igbos, including women and children and that their corpses were burnt along with the luxury bus.The so-called eyewitness then appealed to all Igbos residing in Kaduna and rest of the North to relocate to their states of origin. And to also avoid travelling enmass considering mass killings that awaits in the North.It is clear that some dark forces are bent on sowing and creating panic in our communities.As you can see, we are here with the leadership of the Igbo community in Kaduna State. The story is entirely false and mischievous. The Igbo community in Kaduna is safe, like all our communities. Nobody is being attacked and nobody is relocating in fear. The Kaduna State Government, under the leadership of Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, will continue to uphold and defend the right of every resident of the state to live in peace. Our state is a safe place for all that choose to call it home.The government vigorously condemns the use of social media for purposes of incitement, falsehood and to cause distress to citizens he said.In his remarks, the President General of the Igbo community in the State, Barrister Nnoli debunked the report of the alleged killing, saying there were no such report at the disposal of Igbo leaders in the State.
Striking workers of Nasarawa State Government on Friday said that non-payment of their salaries had made them to break Ramadan fast with ...

Striking workers of Nasarawa State Government on Friday said that non-payment of their salaries had made them to break Ramadan fast with only water.In interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Keffi, the workers called on the government to pay them their three months salary arrears and other entitlements to save their families from hardship.NAN reports that the workers began an indefinite strike on May 12 to press home their demand for payment of salary arrears, and regular promotion of workers, among others things.A teacher, Alhaji Garba Audu, said: I am a teacher with the state Ministry of Education.For more than three months, we have not been paid our salaries, and this has caused untold hardship for us and our family members.To have money to buy foodstuff to break Ramadan fast is a problem; most of us break our fast with water due to the non-payment of our salaries.Fasting has a lot of blessings from Allah, and every Muslim is expected to partake in it; hence, the need for the state government to pay workers salaries.He appealed to the state government to meet the workers demands to end the strike and restore industrial harmony.Another worker, Mr Samson Dauda of the Ministry of Works and Housing, said that the strike had also negatively affected all sectors of the state economy.To meet my basic needs and those of my family members is a challenge. For over three months now, we have not been paid. This is not fair, he said.Hajiya Maryam Sani, who works with the state Ministry of Agriculture, told NAN: Most of us are breaking our Ramadan fast with water, which is not supposed to be, she said.She also appealed to the government to meet the workers demands to alleviate their suffering.Some other workers, who pleaded anonymity, accused the state government of neglecting its civil servants.They said that no nation could achieve speedy development without the contributions of its workforce.They urged the government to meet their demands.NAN reports that Mr A. Adeka, who was recently removed as the Chairman of the workers union, announced the suspension of the strike on May 26, saying that the government had begun meeting the workers demands.However, on May 27, Mr Bala Umar, who replaced Adeka, told the workers not to resume work, saying that the government had yet to meet the demands.The state Gov. Tanko Al-Makura, on May 29, said that the workers were not on strike as far as he was concerned.He warned that any worker who would not resume work, would be taking a risk.
The Federal Government is set to recruit 300,000 youths in the second batch of its N-Power social intervention and job creation programm...

The Federal Government is set to recruit 300,000 youths in the second batch of its N-Power social intervention and job creation programme.The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this on Friday in Isanlu-Isin community near Omu-Aran town in Kwara State. Mohammed said that the Federal Government would reopen the N-POWER portal by next week to commence the process for the recruitment.He enjoined the youths to take advantage of the recruitment exercise by completing the application process on line, adding than 200,000 people benefitted from the first batch of the programme. The minister said that no fewer than 27,000 people had benefited from the Conditional Cash Transfer programme, while government had given 7,000 interest free loans to market men and women across the country. The minister said the home grown school feeding programme of government had covered over 1.2 million pupils and the Kwara State would be on the team of the social intervention programme in September.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the minister was in Isanlu-Isin to explore ways to develop the road leading to Owu Water Fall, located near to the community. The Water Fall, which is 120 metres above sea level is credited to be the highest and most spectacular natural water fall in West Africa and a significant symbol of nature.The minister recalled that he had visited the Owu water fall in February, where he advocated Public-Private-Partnership for its development. He said he was glad to hear that efforts had been made as far back as 2009 to develop the road leading to the fall. Mohammed urged the community leader to make available to him documents relating to the contract to enable him move for quick execution of the project.It has been revealed to me that the contract for the construction of the road had been advertised and bided for and the Bureau of Public Procurement had issued a No Objection Certificate. If we get those documents, we can see how we can revive the contract The fall is one of the tallest in Africa and it is just lying there fallow.If we can get the road done, it will attract tourists and revive the economy of the surrounding communities, the minister said. The traditional ruler of Isanlu-Osin, Oba Solomon Oloyede thanked the minister for the visit and expressed the support of his people for the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. He commended the government for its efforts at restoring peace and security to the nation as well as the successes recorded in its anti corruption fight. The monarch urged the government to do its best in fixing the road linking the community to the Owu Water Fall.Earlier in an address, the President of Isanlu-Osin Development Association, Mr Emmanuel Oladele said that the contract for the construction of the road to the fall was captured in 2009 budget. He appealed to the Minister to use his good offices for government to revisit the contract in its 2018 budget.
Cristiano Ronaldos agent, Jorge Mendes, held talks with Paris Saint-Germain, before this years Champions League final, it has been revealed.According to reports, Mendes met PSG president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, in Cardiff before the match on June 3.Ronaldo went on to score twice, as Real Madrid defeated Juventus 4-1, to retain their trophy.With the Portugal forward now insistent on leaving the La Liga club, it is believed that PSG are in front of the queue to sign him. Ronaldo has told Madrid he will leave Spain for good, if he is convicted of tax fraud this summer.Mendes held a two-hour meeting with Qatari businessman Al-Khelaifi at the citys Hilton Hotel. It is understood that the super agent told Al-Khelaifi, that problems were imminent with Ronaldo in Spain and that the PSG chief asked to be kept informed of developments.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has admonished those beating drums of war through hate speeches and divisive st...

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has admonished those beating drums of war through hate speeches and divisive statements to desist in the interest of the nations unity and safety.The minister gave the advise on Saturday at the Lai Mohammed 10th Annual Ramadan Lecture held in his country home, Oro, Kwara.Lai Mohammed expressed concerns over the rate of inflammatory statements capable of causing division and war in the country in recent times.He urged Nigerians to disregard those who were engaged in hate speeches as well as their purveyors.In the last couple of months, we have witnessed the increase inflammatory and hate speeches.Hate speeches have been responsible for wars. Rwandan genocide where more than 800,000 people were killed was started by hate speeches.Like people say, wars are not really started by bullets, they are started by words of mouth.Nigeria is too big and God has a purpose for making us one and we shall remain united.There will be differences, but like the Yoruba says, Ori bibe ko ni ogun ori fifo (beheading is not antidote to headache).We have been living together peacefully and we will continue to live together, because we have a lot to gain by being united.If there is war today, none of us will escape whether you are young or old whether you are Yoruba, Igbo of Hausa , he said.The Minister recounted a story he said Acting President Yemi Osinbajo narrated on the dire consequences of the Rwanda war on two judges from that country.The Acting President told us a story that in 1982, he was a young lecturer in the University of Lagos and two Supreme Court Judges came visiting from Rwanda.He said ten years later, in 1992, he went to work in Rwanda and on the street with a bowl in hand looking for food were the Supreme Court Judges that he saw in Lagos.This shows that when there is war, the young, the old, the rich and the poor, we are all victims, he said.The Minister stressed that Nigerians must work together, understand their differences and must never pray for war.Mohammed thanked those who attended the lecture noting that their presence was key to its success.He said the Ramadan lecture, the tenth in the series, was unique because its attendance cuts across religions and denomination.The Minister explained that the presence of Christian faithfuls at the event was an indication that Nigerians, irrespective of their religious leaning, could work and live together.The Special Guest of honour at the event, Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun said he was impressed with the turn out of people in their diversity at the event.The governor urged Muslim faithfuls to remain pious in the remaining days of Ramadan and pray for the unity of the country.Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara commended the Minister for organising the annual lecture.The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Information, Mahmud Ajeigbe said it was a great feat for the minister to have sustained the Ramadan lecture for 10 years.Earlier, the Guest Speaker, Sheikh Ibrahim Gidado from Lagos preached on piety especially during the Ramadan period.He charged the gathering on the need for people to have the fear of God in all their dealings and to be compassionate and show love to the less privileged.He also called for the support of Nigerians for the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as their prayers for the Presidents quick recovery.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chief Imam of Oro, Mohammed Sanusi led other clerics at the event on prayers for the country, the President and his cabinet as well as the minister and his members of families.The lecture was attended by traditional rulers from Kwara, including Oloro of Oro, Oba Abdulrauf Oyelaran, Clerics, Muslim and Christian faithfuls, politicians, students and people from other walks of life
It was a night of glowing tributes, fond memories and outpouring of emotion as the whole UN family and the world at large gathered on Friday at a valedictory for Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin.Osotimehin, the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund, died on June 4 in his home in New York at the age of 68.The valedictory night was attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his Deputy, Amina Mohammed, President of the General Assembly Peter Thomson, Heads of UN agencies, and Permanent Representatives, among others.Guterres, in his remarks, said, The news of Dr. Babatundes sudden death last week devastated our UN family; today we mourn this heartbreaking loss and we remember his inspiring life.Babatunde was completely devoted to the cause of women and girls  especially those who are most marginalised.He was driven by the conviction that every single family on earth should be free to decide on the timing and spacing of their children.That no one would suffer from harmful traditional practices; that there would be no more female genital mutilation; no more prenatal sex selection; no more child brides and no more maternal deaths.According to him, Osotimehin worked day and night to achieve this just future, recalling an instance of the dedication of his former colleague.When he was appointed Executive Director of UNFPA, he was due to start at the beginning of 2011. January 1 was a Saturday.So his staff suggested that they put out a press release saying he would be in the office as of January 3. But he completely dismissed the idea.He was ready to start on January 1. And he did go into the office that day and stayed through the holiday weekend.Babatunde embodied that ethic of service throughout his term  working every day to help people who were suffering.Guterres affirmed that Osotimehin continually made UNFPA an even more effective organisation that stood as a respected international authority on sexual and reproductive rights.His loss is felt most deeply by his family and by the staff of UNFPA. But his passing is also a loss for the world.The name Babatunde means father comes back. Though he is now gone, I have no doubt this father will come back every time we speak out  as he did  for women and girls.Babatunde will be with us every time we champion the rights of individuals and families of all kinds. He will live in our hearts as long as we carry on his fight for justice  for a better world for all people.Let us honour his memory with the actions Babatunde would have wanted us to take  actions for the sake of others and especially women and girls, Guterres said.Thomson, in his tribute delivered by Amb. Dessima Williams, Special Adviser to President of the General Assembly, said Osotimehin impacted millions of people around the world.As a professor, he cultivated the next generation of top-class doctors; as the Minister of Health, he served Nigeria with dedication; and as the Executive Director of UNFPA, he was a steadfast champion of the rights of all.Every person he knew, he respected. Everyone he did not know, he fought for their rights. Thus was that human being we have just lost.Here at the United Nations, we will never forget how fearlessly, how forcefully, and how tirelessly he fought for the dignity of women and girls all around the world.The Acting Executive Director of UNFPA, Dr Natalia Kanem, in her tribute, described Osotimehin as a super-doctor, a mentor and a teacher who taught all those who worked with him to persevere and to persist even on the face of adversity.According to her, he championed the defence of the rights against harmful practices and dignity of the adolescent girls and told them to champion the same.So Prof., we thank you for inspiring us, for guiding us, for teaching us. Were missing you already. We miss your counsel, we miss your humour and your profound love for humanity.Kanem pledged that the UNFPA would continue to carry forward the torch lit by Osotimehins vision and example in his determination to be the voice for the most vulnerable all over the world.
(Pixabay | Stock Photo)

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By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

TRENTON  Democratic lawmakers this week unveiled a school funding proposal that would affect most New Jersey districts' state aid for the upcoming school year.

The plan, billed as a potential first step to solving the state's school funding problems, has its winners, losers and plenty of school districts that wouldn't see much of a difference either way.

Here are the Democratic plan's 20 biggest winners for the upcoming school year based on the percentage a district's state aid would change compared to Gov. Chris Christie's budget proposal.

The plan would need Christie's approval before taking effect.

Note: The list does not include non-operating school districts that send all students to other districts and receive little state aid.

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Biggest winners

The proposal is aimed at helping districts most underfunded by the state. Some of those districts experienced major enrollment growth during Christie's tenure but received little increase in state aid.

Part of the rise in state funding would come from a proposed $100 million in new K-12 spending. The rest would come from $46 million reallocated from other districts.

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Fair Lawn color guard (Steve Hockstein | NJ.com file photo)

20. Fair Lawn Public Schools | 17.7% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $3.42 million

Democratic proposal: $4.03 million

Potential increase: $604,671

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19. Wallington Public Schools | 17.9% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $3.11 million

Democratic proposal: $3.67 million

Potential increase: $556,427

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18. North Caldwell Public Schools | 18% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $241,172

Democratic proposal: $284,587

Potential increase: $43,415

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16 (tie). Monroe Township School District | 18.1% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $2.83 million

Democratic proposal: $3.35 million

Potential increase: $512,770

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16 (tie). Fairview Public Schools | 18.1% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $7.48 million

Democratic proposal: $8.84 million

Potential increase: $1.36 million

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15. Red Bank Borough Public Schools | 18.8% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $3.06 million

Democratic proposal: $3.63 million

Potential increase: $573,868

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14. Bound Brook School District | 21.1% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $8.21 million

Democratic proposal: $9.94 million

Potential increase: $1.73 million

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13. Ridgefield Park Public Schools | 22.5% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $4.96 million

Democratic proposal: $6.08 million

Potential increase: $1.12 million

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12. North Arlington School District | 22.8% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $1.82 million

Democratic proposal: $2.23 million

Potential increase: $415,120

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11. West Orange Public Schools | 23.9% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $7.05 million

Democratic proposal: $8.73 million

Potential increase: $1.68 million

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(Star-Ledger file photo)

10. North Brunswick Township Public Schools | 26% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $11.86 million

Democratic proposal: $14.95 million

Potential increase: $3.09 million

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9. Woodland Park School District | 27.1% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $854,297

Democratic proposal: $1.09 million

Potential increase: $231,673

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8. Robbinsville School District | 28.3% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $2.49 million

Democratic proposal: $3.2 million

Potential increase: $706,354

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7. Hasbrouck Heights School District | 29.8% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $1.17 million

Democratic proposal: $1.52 million

Potential increase: $349,850

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6. Atlantic City Public Schools | 32% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $18.92 million

Democratic proposal: $24.98 million

Potential increase: $6.06 million

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(Jersey Journal file photo)

5. Atlantic County Vocational School District | 37.5% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $3.7 million

Democratic proposal: $5.09 million

Potential increase: $1.39 million

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4. Little Ferry Public Schools | 48.8% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $1.5 million

Democratic proposal: $2.2 million

Potential increase: $726,824

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3. Elmwood Park Public Schools | 57.7% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $3.13 million

Democratic proposal: $4.93 million

Potential increase: $1.8 million

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2. River Edge Public Schools | 61.1% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $486,938

Democratic proposal: $784,473

Potential increase: $297,535

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1. Chesterfield Township School District | 106.9% increase

Christie's budget proposal: $419,983

Democratic proposal: $869,070

Potential increase: $449,087

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Which districts would gain the most dollars?

Another way to consider winners and losers is the most money gained or lost if the proposal is approved. Here are the districts that would see the largest increase in state dollars.

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Elizabeth's Academy of Finance | Marisa Iati for NJ.com)

Biggest dollar winners:

1. Elizabeth Public Schools

Potential increase: $7.5 million, up 2 percent from $366.6 million

2. Newark Public Schools

Potential increase: $7.5 million, up 1 percent from $743.4 million

3. Atlantic City Public Schools

Potential increase: $6 million, up 32 percent from $25 million

4. Paterson Public Schools

Potential increase: $4.8 million, up 1.2 percent from $401.4 million

5. Clifton Public Schools

Potential increase: $3.9 million, up 14.6 percent from $26.6 million

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6. New Brunswick Public Schools

Potential increase: $3.3 million, up 2.7 percent from $123.9 million

7. Bayonne Public Schools

Potential increase: $3.2 million, up 6 percent from $54 million

8. North Brunswick Township School District

Potential increase: $3 million, up 26 percent from 11.9 million

9. Bridgeton Public Schools

Potential increase: $2.5 million, up 3.1 percent from $80.6 million

10. Plainfield Public School District

Potential increase: $2.5 million, up 2 percent from $124.3 million

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Read more about N.J. schools

These 30 towns have the highest school tax bills in N.J.

The 51 N.J. high schools with the best SAT scores

These are N.J.'s top 25 high schools, U.S. News says

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Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MAPLEWOOD -- A student, who says she received backlash from teachers after a dance she choreographed was performed at a school function, is arguing it only garnered criticism because it struck a chord of racial tension in the community.

The dance, which was performed at Columbia High School's Special Dance event earlier this month, was choreographed to the Nina Simone song, "Strange Fruit," about slavery and the lynching of African Americans. Over the music played statements about black experiences.

The reaction to dance prompted the student, Kendi Whitaker, to address the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education Thursday.

In a video of her speech posted on social media, Whitaker can be seen telling the board that she has since spoken to the teachers that she said felt uncomfortable and threatened during the performance.

"The voice overs that were added to the song spoke on police brutality and the discomfort that black people feel every single day," Whitaker can be seen telling the Board.

"The only people who should be able to say they felt any type of pain from this piece are black people and that's because we have to sit and relive and listen to what our ancestors had to go through as well as what our brothers and sisters go through on a daily basis. Unfortunately my heart is unable to ache for these teachers who are complaining about the discomfort they felt for four minutes..."

Whitaker said those who complained included mostly white, and one black, faculty members.

After a VillageGreen news report unearthed the controversy Friday, Whitaker's supporters took to social media to speak out on her behalf.

"This dance made teachers at the high school I attended uncomfortable and the student that choreographed the dance had to put them in their place and did it so eloquently," one person wrote on Facebook.

"Art is controversial, it can shake and shape a community! C'mon CHS. I am proud to say I graduated from there," another said.

In a statement to NJ Advance Media Friday, district Superintendent John Ramos said the school will continue to support the Special Dance program, and its director, dance teacher Kandice N. Point-Du-Jour.

"Art is often intentionally challenging. This particular piece spoke to the plight of being black in America over time. The performance was well done -- it was instructive, emotionally jolting, and beautifully performed," Ramos said in the statement.

"It undoubtedly provoked different emotional reactions for audience members, some of which may have been intense. The piece was part of a larger program featuring multiple dances and dancers who had worked hard all year in their efforts to prepare for this culminating performance."

We salute CHS senior Kendi Whitaker for her forceful and truthful comments before the SOMA Board of Education regarding the reaction of some teachers to the Special Dance Company's recent performance. ALL of the students, who voiced their truths last night, should be commended for their courage and conviction. We have some amazing young people in our public schools who are leading by example. Posted by SOMA Black Parents Workshop on Friday, June 16, 2017

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at

. Follow her on Twitter

. Find

.
WILMINGTON, Delaware -- A Delaware high school grad has been sentenced to 60 days in jail in connection with a 2016 crash that left a New Jersey teen dead, according to delawareonline.

John Kirsch was driving a pickup truck that collided with a tractor trailer in Middletown, Delaware, on the evening of March 11.

Tyler Brown, 17, of Woolwich Township, New Jersey, was a passenger in the pickup and died a short time later at a hospital. Both teens were students at Salesianum School, a Catholic high school in Delaware.

A third passenger, Kelly Muschiatti, suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash.

Kirsch, 19, was originally indicted on charges of second-degree vehicular homicide, as well as being under the age of 21 and operating a vehicle after consuming alcohol and possession/consumption of alcohol by a minor.

He was found not guilty on the vehicular homicide charge in February, but guilty on the other charges.

He must also serve four months of home confinement, pay restitution and perform community service, delawareonline reported.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
A 20-year-old man was injured in a shooting just before midnight Thursday in Jersey City, the same night six handguns were recovered by police, authorities said.

The Atlantic Avenue resident was shot at Bergen and Lexington avenues, and was found a block away at Bramhall and Bergen avenues. He was transported to Jersey City Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries, but was uncooperative with police, Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said.

A van seen fleeing the area was located by police at Clark and Bennett streets, where police recovered two loaded handguns -- a .32 caliber and a .357 caliber, Morrill added.

The investigation is ongoing.

Earlier in the night, Wilfredo LaLuz, 35, of Oak Street, and Jose LaLuz, 35, of Madison Street, were both charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, receiving stolen property and certain persons not to have weapons. Wilfredo LaLuz was additionally charged with possession of drugs.

Both Wilfredo LaLuz and Jose LaLuz were arrested by officers patrolling the area of Salem-Lafeyette Court around 10:30 p.m. after officers found a loaded .45 caliber stuffed in wheel well of a car. Police also found a loaded .38 caliber revolver in Wilfredo's vehicle and close to 100 rounds of ammunition. The revolver was found to be stolen out of North Carolina, Morrill said.

Officers also arrested a 16-year-old boy from North Carolina after he was found to have stashed an air pistol in the bushes around 10 p.m., Morrill said. He was charged with possession of an imitation firearm.

Around 7 p.m. that night, officers responding to a shots fired incident on Wade Street found a loaded 9mm handgun behind a building on Wade Street. There were no injuries and the investigation is ongoing, Morrill added.
LEBANON TWP. - Firefighters battled a two-alarm fire at a house off Musconetcong River Road on Friday night.

Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns, III, said on Saturday fire investigators from the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office Arson Task Force, the Lebanon Township Police Department and the New Jersey State Fire Marshal's Office are investigating the fire.

"The structure sustained significant damage throughout the residence," Kearns said. "The fire does not appear to be suspicious and the cause remains officially undetermined at this time."

Kearns said the investigation is ongoing and additional information will be released as it becomes available.

A Hampton firefighter suffered from smoke inhalation and was hospitalized, Kearns said. "Our prayers go out for his quick recovery," he said.

The Lebanon Township Police Department responded to a 9-1-1 call for a residential fire at approximately 9 p.m. Friday, Kearns said.

There were flames reported to be visible on the exterior of the building, according to those at the scene. Firefighters stretched a waterline 650 feet from the road to the house, served by two engines, while the East Tanker Taskforce was activated to supply water.

A portable pond was set up on Musconetcong River Road where a third engine pumped water to a second engine at the bottom of the driveway, which sent it up to the engine stationed outside the house.

Tankers refilled at a hydrant in Hampton just of Route 31. Clinton First Aid and Rescue Squad set up a rehabilitation center for firefighters, who were still on the scene after midnight.

"The structure involved was a significant distance from the main roadway which presented extremely difficult physical conditions for the firefighters on scene," Kearns said. "I commend the volunteers for their quick response to this fire and thanking them for their sacrifice and unwavering service to the citizens of Hunterdon County."

The following agencies also responded to the scene: Califon Fire Department, Clinton Fire Department, High Bridge Fire Department, Glen Gardner Fire Department, Lebanon Borough Fire Department, Oldwick Fire Department, Annandale Fire Department, Quakertown Fire Department, East Whitehouse Fire Department, Readington Fire Department, Three Bridges Fire Department, Fairmount Fire Department, Washington Township Fire Department in Warren County, Hampton Rescue Squad, Clinton Rescue Squad EMS-2, Hunterdon Medical Center paramedics, High Bridge Police Department and the Tewksbury Fire Department.

Farimount Fire Company in Morris County also responded, as did the state's Fire Marshalls Office and Hunterdon County Fire and EMS Coordinators.

There were several other fire departments that were called up to cover for those involved fighting the fire.
PISCATAWAY -- Authorities are investigating a Friday night shooting in the township, police said.

The shooting occurred on 1700 block of West 3rd Street in Piscataway at 7:04 p.m., Piscataway police Lt. Anthony Crisafulli said Saturday morning.

Police had half-a-block taped off in the residential neighborhood for more than four hours Friday evening and appeared to focus their investigation around a detached one-car garage.

Crisafulli referred all questions on additional details to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, which is handling the investigation.

Calls to prosecutor's office spokesman, James O'Neill, were not immediately returned Saturday.

NJ Advance Media reporter Luke Nozicka contributed to this report.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at 732-372-2078 or at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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BELMAR-- New Jerseyans are accustomed to deer turning up just about anywhere these days -- along major highways, in suburban back yards, dodging traffic in the downtowns of the state's largest cities. Last year, a doe jumped through an unlocked window at a Bergen County middle school.

Even the waters of the Atlantic are not immune to their presence.

On Friday afternoon, Tyson Trish, a former photojournalist for the Record of Woodland Park, was at the beach with his wife, Gina -- who recently won the Democratic primary for the 24th District Assembly seat -- and their children. Around 2 p.m., they suddenly noticed a deer trying to steady itself in the rough surf nearby and Trish grabbed his camera.

"At first we thought it was a seal in the waves and then as it got closer we could see it was a deer," said Trish, who now teaches at Blair Academy in Blairstown. "It was struggling quite a bit and barely made it ashore. The lifeguards were watching very closely."

Although not widely known for it, deer can swim -- even in the ocean. In 2012, one was seen paddling for about a mile in the waters off West Haven, Ct.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
By Chris Franklin | For NJ.com

This story is one for the books. Wall Township High School's Class of 2017 will likely remember its yearbook forever, after a student's photo was intentionally manipulated to cover up a Donald Trump shirt.

The controversy made national headlines, the yearbook advisor was suspended indefinitely and the school offered to reprint the books for the entire class. Trump also thanked the students for fighting back against the alleged censorship.

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It's not the first time a yearbook has been altered and it likely won't be the last.

"I do not believe that it is possible to create a yearbook of 248 pages, thousands of pictures, names, and lines of text and have it be error free," Wall Superintendent Cheryl Dyer said in a letter to parents. "I also think that reasonable people recognize that, but when the error pertains to them, they are rightfully upset."

Here are 13 other yearbook controversies high schools probably wish were forgotten over time.

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A photo published in the Princeton High School yearbook. Photo by Jamaica Ponder, Multi Magazine

Student suspended for N-word photo

A Princeton High School student was suspended after a couple of her pictures that appeared in the yearbook were deemed to be offensive. Jamaica Ponder said in one of the photos, students were standing in front of a picture in her home that said "N******rich" in the background. Ponder, who is black, said that the picture was art and that the district was retaliating against her because of her blog that chronicles the racial incidents that happened in her school district.

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Blackout of student kissing boyfriend

In 2007, the Newark City School District ordered staff members to alter a picture that was in a yearbook. The school district originally ordered that markers be used to black out a picture of Andre Jackson, who was an 18-year-old student, and his boyfriend kissing. The district later backtracked on its stance and offered unedited yearbooks and an apology.

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Chris Franklin | For NJ.com

"Whores" & "hoes" in yearbook

In 1997, the School District of Philadelphia had to reissue yearbooks for West Philadelphia High School after some of the female students were referred to as whores and hoes. The students also added references to gangs. According to a Philadelphia Inquirer article from that year, quotes such as "My name stayed in somebody's mouth whether good or bad but the hoes that talked bad they were just mad cause all their men I had, appeared in the yearbook.

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Elijah Soba

Back-to-back Hitler and Anne Frank quotes

In May 2017, a student at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Oklahoma selected a quote from Adolf Hitler to run next to her photo. The quote read "If you want to shine like the sun, first you have to burn like it." The quote appeared right below the photo of another student who selected an Anne Frank quote. The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, who runs Bishop McGuinness, disciplined the student who included the Hitler quote.

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Low-cut clothing and tattoo removals

A Utah school took steps to change the appearance of girls who appeared in a 2014 yearbook. Wasatch High School in Heber City changed the clothing and removed visible tattoos on some female students, saying the students violated the dress code. The school said tank tops, low-cut tops and inappropriate slogans were not allowed. The school did admit that the policy was not enforced on all the students' photos.

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Pablo Martinez Monsivais

'Beheading' the president

Brainerd High School in Minnesota had to deal with a controversial issue involving a student and her thoughts on President Donald Trump. In the 2017 yearbook, there was a page dedicated to the current president in which students were asked to share their thoughts. One student, who is a sophomore, said "I would like to behead him. I do not like him." The Brainerd Public School district apologized for the quote and were going to investigate why the page was created.

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Jamie

Dressing as a Nazi

In Germantown, Tenn., a photo taken during a class project was used in the yearbook. The problem? Two Houston Middle School students were dressed in Nazi clothes and even wore a hat with a swastika. The school apologized for the photo making its way into the yearbook.

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Provided by Marie Slim

"The Black Girl"

In 2005, the Waxahachie High School in Texas labeled Shadoyia Jones, an African-American student who attended the school, as Black Girl in a National Honor Society picture. According to news reports at the time, no one at the yearbook staff knew her name. The school exchanged the yearbooks.

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Omitted because of orientation

In 2010, a Mississippi girl, who is a lesbian, was omitted from a yearbook because she was wearing a tuxedo. The Wesson Attendance Center officials did not include the picture of Ceara Sturgis in the yearbook, stating that prior legal cases allowed them the opportunity not to include the photograph.

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Provided by Sumeet Jain

Black Student Union name changes

In 2008, Charter Oaks High School created replacement name stickers to put into student's yearbooks after students who were members of the school's Black Student Union had their names replaced with ones such as Crisphy Nanos and Tay Tay Shaniqua.

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Provided by Reddit user love_a_good_ood

Student 'slimmed down'

In 2015, a high school student at an all-girls school said that her picture was altered to make her look slimmer. The student posted side-by-side photos of herself, stating that the photos had been retouched after they were taken. The school district later said the photography company altered the images without notifying them.

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Provided by Nan Palmero

Smiling can be 'inappropriate'

A 15-year old was excluded from a yearbook after her smiling photo was deemed inappropriate by a Texas high school. James Madison High School in San Antonio omitted Charlie Patton's picture. School officials stated that the picture of her open-mouth smile was inappropriate.

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A Supreme joke almost backfired

Some yearbook items can come back to haunt people later. In the 1985 Georgetown Prep yearbook, Supreme Court Judge Neil Gorsuch listed he was part of the Fascism Forever Club. Some of his classmates said that the club did not exist. Gorsuch was later confirmed to the Supreme Court.

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Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Officials have reportedly backtracked on hiring a family loyalist of President Trump -- who planned his son Eric's wedding -- for a top post at the federal housing department's New York and New Jersey office.

Lynne Patton, who worked as an event planner for President Trump's family, was slated to start July 5 as regional administrator of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Region II, which oversees federal housing programs in both states, according to the New York Daily News.

Patton has worked as senior adviser and director of public engagement at HUD under the Trump Administration, the New York Times reported.

But the selection of Patton, who has no prior experience in housing policy before joining HUD, sparked criticism and accusations of political patronage.

A spokesman for HUD appeared to walk back the selection Friday, according to the Daily News, which first reported the appointment.

"The position is vacant," department spokesman Jereon Brown told the newspaper. "There's been no official announcement.

Reporting by The Daily News also raised questions about Patton's resume. Her LinkedIn online profile lists her as attending Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut and Yale University, according to the newspaper.

A school spokesman said Patton only attended two semesters of law school. For her part, Patton responded on Twitter, noting she listed "N/A" next to the degree section and did not lie about finishing her legal studies.

Or conversely "When did you finish law school" but you know you never did, you could answer N/A because it doesn't apply to you  #NeverLied pic.twitter.com/n63eZj4A4v   Lynne Patton (@LynnePatton) June 16, 2017

Armstrong Williams, a longtime aide to onetime Republican presidential primary candidate turned HUD secretary Dr. Ben Carson, defended Patton as "a very honest person," the Times said.

Patton also recently worked as an executive for the Eric Trump Foundation, which is reportedly being probed by Democratic New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman after Forbes reported on the charity's financial dealings.

The previous HUD regional administrator for New Jersey and New York was Holly Leicht, who worked for New York City's Housing Preservation and Development department.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)  Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland. For those who lost everything to disaster, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. The Lee County medical examiner says two men in their 70s even took their own lives a day apart after viewing their losses. Experts say suicides climb after disasters and more funding for mental health should be provided as climate change makes storms and fires more frequent and devastating.
DENVER  Anticipation spiked when Des Moines was announced as an All-America City, and the speaker made a reference to how many Iowa communities were finalists this year.

Representatives of Council Bluffs  and, presumably, Ames, Dubuque and Davenport  waited with bated breath as several other cities were named for the award, which generally recognizes 10 communities across the country out of a finalist pool of two or three times as many.

Then the announcements reached the 10th city: Delray Beach, Florida, which had the distinction of making a pirate-themed presentation a day earlier. Disappointment began to settle in across much of the crowd, with 17 communities not making the selection. Then hope was restored: We do have a few more awards to give.

Council Bluffs was named an All-America City on the 13th presentation, out of a total of 15, with Dubuque joining immediately after its selection. Each announcement included a short description of why the city was picked. For Council Bluffs, the first two reasons seemed generic, but the third offered a clue:

Lucky 13, said announcer Ron Loveridge, former mayor of Riverside, California, and a National Civic League board member. This community came together to improve student success. This community aligned programs to help families succeed. This community supported students and families by addressing the internet opportunity gap. The All-America City of Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Smiles. Applause. Cheers. A quick celebration on stage marked Council Bluffs evolution of the community over a decade, the tireless efforts of civic leaders and the rank-and-file teachers, social workers, parents and children who put in countless hours toward the goal of having more children  especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds  be literate by the end of third grade.

This is a wonderful recognition of a tremendous amount of work that has happened in the community over the past five years, said Pete Tulipana, president and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation.

Council Bluffs was first a finalist for the All-America City Award, dubbed the Nobel prize for constructive citizenship by George H. Gallup, in 2012, when the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading launched a national push to grow its efforts to have children reading at grade level by the end of third grade, when lessons start to pivot from learning to read to using reading to learn other subjects.

Martha Bruckner, the outgoing superintendent of the Council Bluffs Community School District, described the award as a symbol of the growth in the past decade. She said people use to talk about Council Bluffs using a different tone, and that civic pride has grown  and should grow further yet with this accolade.

I really do care about this community, and I have learned to love it, Bruckner said, adding that the award is an external validation of everything going right in Council Bluffs.

Mayor Matt Walsh said the highlighting of the BLink Wi-Fi project, which is expanding across the city to bring free outdoor wireless internet to community members, shows a collaborative project among City Hall, the school district, Iowa West and Google, which provided the funding for the initiative.

Its rewarding to receive national recognition for efforts toward getting Council Bluffs children ready and able to read by third grade, Walsh said.

The Iowa West Foundation plans to celebrate the award, Tulipana said, adding that it shows what the community can accomplish through collaboration.

We really can strive together to be a city that is recognized across the country, Tulipana said.

The outcome for the city follows a disappointing result last year, when the city was a finalist but  as in 2012  failed to win the award. Now that its been named an All-America City, though, Council Bluffs can always count itself among those ranks, which include Omaha and several communities across Iowa.

The award recognizes the top communities in the country. Its administered by the National Civic League and reflects residents, governments, businesses and nonprofits coming together to work on challenges  in this years case, working toward promoting grade-level literacy by the end of third grade.

An award luncheon was held Friday at the Westin Hotel at the Denver International Airport. Ralph Smith, managing director for the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, described the campaigns efforts as helping communities to support parents as they raise their children.

What we all have to do is to acknowledge that these parents know, care for and love their kids more than the rest of us. If we understand that, our job, our role, is to help parents envision bold goals for their own children.

Smith said communities must then work to support parents as they work to attain those goals and then find opportunities to mark progress and celebrate success. The campaign, he said, serves the same function for those communities as they strive to promote grade-level literacy for young children.

We are here to mark progress, and certainly to celebrate a whole lot of success, Smith said.

More than 500 communities have been recognized nationally since 1949 as All-America Cities. The league said the award reinvigorates a communitys sense of civic pride.

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading focuses on school attendance, readiness and summer learning  three areas where Council Bluffs has invested resources, whether its staff time for school officials, charitable dollars through the Iowa West Foundation, collaborations with area businesses and nonprofits or launching the Raise Me to Read initiative in coordination with Iowa West and the United Way of the Midlands.

Winning an All-America City Award represented the culmination of efforts for Bruckner, who was also recognized individually at a luncheon by the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading at the conference.

Bruckner advocated for the campaign in the early days in Council Bluffs, using it to help bring together a network of partners, many of whom were represented in Denver at the All-America City Conference. Bruckner will now step down from her role leading the Council Bluffs schools, and she will start a new role in the metropolitan area working to connect and build partnerships across the greater community.

Asked about how it felt to win the award at the end of her tenure in the Council Bluffs schools, reflecting the growth the district  which once featured Iowas lowest graduation rate  has made under her watch, Bruckner said she had two items on her bucket list as superintendent: Winning the All-America City Award and successfully lobbying the Iowa Legislature to extend a sales tax earmarked for school infrastructure.

So 50 percent, Bruckner concluded, before quickly acknowledging her real mood standing in the foyer of the Westin Hotel: This is really exciting.

In a presentation Thursday afternoon, Bruckner described how Council Bluffs joined the campaign in 2012 to build on the progress it was making to boost graduation rates and overall achievement in the school district.

Many community members had grown indifferent to a poor reputation for both the school district and the community at large, Bruckner said. There was almost a sense of, it is what it is, a catchphrase that does nothing to crease hopes or dreams.

In the years since, with the campaign and other efforts in the community, progress has been made, and Bruckner said the new push for Raise Me to Read aims to take the next step. The campaign itself pushed its members to pivot from moving the needle to closing the gap in the upcoming years.

Nancy Schultz, director of Raise Me to Read, said a number of new initiatives and events are in store for the Council Bluffs community, and the larger area of Pottawattamie County and the Omaha metro, hoping to build on the momentum of the All-America City designation.

That momentum, though, cant be taken for granted  and, indeed, it was in doubt for a few minutes during the awards presentation.

We were very concerned because we were getting down to the end, Schultz said. Weve made a lot of progress. We feel, as community members, weve got a long ways to go, too.

Echoing Bruckner, Schultz added: It adds to that pride in the community weve been trying to build.

Council Bluffs is part of whats going right across Iowa when it comes to the push for grade-level literacy, said Becky Miles-Polka, the Campaign for Grade-Level Readings lead consultant for Iowa.

I am just so proud of Council Bluffs, Miles-Polka said, noting that the campaigns schools in Iowa cover well over half the low-income students in the state from birth to age 8. Well done, Council Bluffs.
I was wounded in action on Nov. 8, 1918, chasing Hans out of beautiful France. Take it from me, we were hot on his trail when I got mine, Harvey Jesse Taylor McGuire, an officer serving with 370th U.S. Infantry regiment, Company F, in France, wrote home to his parents in Des Moines.

One of three sons of Mr. and Mrs. A.O. McGuire, Jesse  as most people called him  gave a detailed account of the battle that sent him to an American Red Cross Hospital somewhere in France. The Bystander newspaper acquired a copy of his letter from his family and published it on Dec. 20.

It had been raining for about six days when the Americans came upon a small village where German soldiers waited for them. Approaching the town over a crest of a hill, Jesse and his fellow soldiers faced the Germans machine guns.

We kept right on after him, Jesse wrote. The enemys guns opened up and began belching out fire and brimstone. But nothing stopped the Americans.

Jesse complained that because he was a senior sergeant he was called to be with the captain at the rear. He wrote that he would much rather have been leading his men. But Jesses position at the rear didnt make the battle any safer for him.

As the men moved forward they encountered snipers, who made things miserable. Taking cover behind a hill, Jesse spotted his brother, First Sergeant James L. McGuire, who had been wounded. Jimmie had been hit three times by bullets; it was the third that incapacitated him. As Jesse made his way with his brother to a first aid station, he was hit. He made it to the station, was tagged, treated and sent to a Red Cross hospital in an ambulance.

There he met nurses doing wonderful work for the Red Cross. These nurses should be given medals of honor for their work over here, he wrote. He asked his mother to give freely to the organization back home in Iowa.

Jesse ended his letter with a poem titled My People:

I pray for strength to struggle on

From morning until night,

Through seas of blood if it need be,

That you, my people, shall be free.

Both Jesse and James survived their wounds and returned to Des Moines. James was active in the American Legion, serving in various officer positions.

In the spring of 1919 Jesse spoke before the Iowa State Senate. Both brothers were regular speakers at events honoring the service of Iowans during the war.
GREAT FALLS  A Montana sheriff has been charged with misdemeanor partner or family member assault while attending the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association annual convention in Helena.

Helena Police arrested Cascade County Sheriff Bob Edwards on Thursday after his girlfriend reported he pushed her into a television stand in their hotel room.

Cascade County Undersheriff John Stevens held a news conference Friday to say the arrest will not impact law enforcement in the county.

Stevens said Edwards was released Thursday night and returned to Great Falls. He said Edwards was expected to issue a statement in the coming week.

Edwards is a 19-year veteran of the sheriff's office and has been sheriff since December 2010.

County commissioner Joe Briggs said that because Edwards is an elected official, commissioners have no authority to discipline him.
At 1:04 a.m., hours, officer responded to the 2800 block of Montana for a report of an alarm. At the conclusion of the investigation, a 24 year old male was cited and released for misdemeanor possession of drugs and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. A second 52-year-old male was cited and released for misdemeanor possession of dangerous drugs.

At 1:39 a.m., hours, an officer responded to the detention center for a report of a 23-year- old male who had a confirmed warrant for his arrest.

At 10:36 a.m., hours, an officer responded to the 800 block of Saddle Drive for a report of a fraud. The case is active.

At 10:37 a.m., hours, an officer responded to the 300 block of Euclid for a report of a theft. The case is active.

At 11:08 a.m., hours, an officer responded to the 2200 block of 11th for a report of a possible theft. At the conclusion of the investigation, a 25-year-old female was placed under arrest for a warrant. The officer investigated the theft and determined that there was no theft.

At 11:21 a.m., an officer responded to the 1800 block of Joslyn for a report of a theft. The case is active.

At 12:59 p.m., an officer responded to the 300 block of Euclid for a report of a trespass to and a theft from a motor vehicle. The case is active.

At 1:25 p.m., an officer responded to the 3100 block of Montana for a report of a theft. At the conclusion of the investigation, a 42-year-old male was cited and released for theft.

At 1:16 p.m., an officer responded to the 500 block of Logan for a report of a male threatening and swearing at individuals. At the conclusion of the investigation, a 43-year-old male was cited and released for disorderly conduct.

At 2 p.m., officer responded to the 800 block of Oregon for a report of found drug paraphernalia. The case is active.

At 3:35 p.m., officer spoke with a complainant concerning a forged check. The case is active.

At 2:51 p.m., an officer responded to the 800 block of Abbey for a report of a theft. There is suspect information and the case is active.

At 5:25 p.m., an officer responded to the 2300 block of Colonial for a report of a physical altercation. At the conclusion of the investigation, a 48-year-old male was placed under arrest for 1st offense partner family member assault.

At 6:19 p.m., an officer responded to the 600 block of Montana for a report of a theft. There is suspect information and the case is active.

At 7:07 p.m., an officer responded to the 1000 block of 10th for a report of a male trespassing in a yard. At the conclusion of the investigation, a 37-year-old male was placed under arrest for two confirmed warrants out of Justice Court.

At 9:36 p.m., an officer responded to the 2300 block of Colonial for a report of an intoxicated juvenile. At the conclusion of the investigation, a juvenile was cited for underage possession of alcohol and released to a guardian.

At 9:33 p.m., an officer responded to the 800 block of Troy Court for a report of a family disturbance. The Officer met with all parties involved and the case is inactive.

At 11:41 p.m., an officer responded to the 900 block of Oregon for a report of a physical altercation. The suspect fled prior to officer arrival. The case is active.

At 11:30 p.m., an officer responded to the 500 block of Logan for a report of a theft. There is suspect information and the case is active.

***

As of Friday morning, the county jail held 82 inmates (72 for felonies and 10 for misdemeanors). In total, the county has 119 inmates at various detention facilities. In addition, there are 94 clients serviced by the 24/7 sobriety program. Of these, 42 are PBT (Personal Breath Test), 34 are SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor bracelet), 4 are out of county, 3 are pre-trial, 2 are GPS (Global Positioning System bracelet), and 9 are on house arrest.
The smell of freshly cooked flapjacks wafted across Cody Park early Friday morning as the North Platte Jaycees hosted its annual Flapjack Feed during Nebraskaland Days.

The line was continuous throughout the morning with about 250 people having gone through by 8:45 a.m.

We expect to serve about 500 people today, said Amy Taft, vice president of the local Jaycees.

Jaycees is the Junior Chamber of Commerce International, she said, and what we are is a group of young, active citizens who want to empower each other and other young citizens to make a change in not only our community, but the world.

Taft said the organization is an international organization that has chapters all over the world.

Typically this is a fundraiser for the Jaycees, but this year we decided to give back to our world, Taft said. Were teaming up with Perkins Restaurant, who gives us our batter every year for no charge.

She said Perkins has been donating the batter for the flapjacks for 20 years.

This year were helping Perkins out, Taft said. They have an organization called Give Kids the World Village. Its a village where they house families of terminally ill children.

Perkins sends the children to an amusement park and the village houses the children and their families as they enjoy the experience, Taft said.

Our proceeds from today are going toward that organization, Taft said.

The sailors from the USS Nebraska help with the pancake feed.

They come every year and have a good time, Taft said. They put those aprons on and flip flapjacks, along with the rodeo queens.

This year, Taft said, the Lincoln County Sheriffs Department helped as well.
HAMMOND  A woman charged with conspiring in an alleged shakedown scheme at the Calumet Township trustee's office is asking a judge to dismiss corruption charges against her.

A lawyer for Ethel Shelton, one-time secretary to former township trustee Mary Elgin, argues the government's public corruption case is an unconstitutionally vague attack on Lake County's political campaign fundraising practices.

Shelton and Alex Wheeler, a former manager in the trustee's office, are awaiting trial in September on federal conspiracy and fraud charges.

The government alleges Elgin intimidated her employees into contributing to her re-election and Shelton assisted by collecting money for Elgin's fundraisers and keeping a list of employees who did or didn't contribute.

Chicago attorney Andrea E. Gambino, who represents Shelton, argues Shelton was engaged in a protected political activity because she never coerced nor offered employees benefits in exchange for the campaign contributions employees provided.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen has yet to rule on the matter.
MICHIGAN CITY  Kalvon Hawkins waited more than five years for an arrest in the killing of his 17-year-old daughter then broke down in tears after learning the end result would be one year behind bars.

Hawkins on Friday vowed to challenge a plea agreement the LaPorte County prosecutor entered into with 22-year-old Charles Gerron, who was originally charged with murder.

The plea submitted Thursday in LaPorte Superior Court 1 calls for an eight-year sentence on Class C felony criminal recklessness.

The first 12 months would be served in the LaPorte County Jail.

Five years on work release would be next followed by two years on probation.

"I'm going to have somebody look into this," said Hawkins, who did not indicate how he plans to go forward.

"I'm not going to release what I am going to do because if I tell what I'm going to do, then they'll be aware of what I am going to do. That would be stupid on my part," Hawkins said.

Demanding his daughter's July 24, 2011, shooting death be solved, Hawkins held picket signs outside the Michigan City police station and protested on Facebook. A month later, on Dec. 21, 2016, Gerron was taken into custody

Hodges-Hawkins died from a gunshot after two separate disturbances broke out during a friend's 16th birthday party attended by more than 100 people at Memorial Park on the city's east side, police said.

Hodges-Hawkins had just graduated from Michigan City High School and was planning on going to college, her father said.

LaPorte County Prosecutor John Espar said there were developments after Gerron's arrest that weakened the case against him and forced his office to enter into a plea agreement with the defendant prior to the start of what was going to be his trial Monday.

Espar also said all of the circumstances that affected the case were explained to the victim's family.

"All of the deputies who participated in the handling of the case involving the death of NaKeisha understand the feelings expressed by the Hawkins family and empathize with the tremendous loss they have suffered," Espar said.

Espar, though, would not reveal specifically what had a negative impact on the evidence because there's still not been a conviction.

Judge Michael Bergerson took the plea under advisement and is scheduled to sentence Gerron on July 13 if he accepts the terms.

Defense attorney Scott King said his client is not accused of having anything to do with the girl's death under the downgraded charge, just firing a gun in public in a manner that could cause serious bodily injury.

King said no gun was ever recovered and there's no proof the shot his client fired hit the victim.

He also said Gerron never intended to shoot the woman, who was off in the distance.

"It's a tragedy. I just can't imagine the grief of the family of the victim, but our contention throughout is it wasn't in any way shape or form an act to cause harm let alone death to anybody," King said.
LAPORTE  An Illinois man allegedly had a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit when he crashed his semitrailer into a guard rail along the Indiana Toll Road, according to a news release from state police.

Dominik Bielawski-Siwiec, 42, of Mount Prospect, Illinois, reportedly crashed his green Volvo semi into a guard rail at about 2:30 a.m. Friday in a construction zone along the toll road in LaPorte. The crash resulted in the semi blocking all westbound traffic, according to police.

While speaking to the driver, State Trooper Brett Adair suspected the driver had been drinking alcohol and was impaired, police said.

After completing the investigation, the driver was arrested on charges of operating while intoxicated and transported to the LaPorte County Jail. At jail, Bielawski-Siwiec tested over three times the legal limit with a blood alcohol level of .25, police said. The legal limit is .08.

Full and empty containers of alcohol were found inside the semi, which is against federal rules.

Bielawski-Siwiec was also charged with operating while intoxicated-endangerment.

Charges will be presented to the LaPorte County prosecutors office, police said.
CROWN POINT  A wedding that combined history and today took place Friday evening on the steps of the Old Lake County Courthouse in front of scores of friends and relatives as well as those attending the annual food and arts festival on the square.

Jon Reed and Danielle Litavec, of Valparaiso, swapped I-dos in a ceremony celebrating the days when Crown Point was the marriage mill of the Midwest. According to Sue Reed, president and CEO of the Crossroads Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the festival, 175,000 couples tied the knot in the courthouse between 1915 and 1940 because of the lenient laws.

Reed said the law required only that the bride be at least 18, which Litavec said she was, and for the couple to be sober, which they said they were. Let the ceremony begin. It was preformed for the 10th time in the last 13 years by City Court Judge Kent Jeffirs, who said one of his own ancestors about three generations back was among the 175,000 to visit the original marriage mill.

For the happy couple, both 33, it was the culmination of a courtship that began almost three years ago on Match.com. Reed said the relationship almost didnt start because Litavec had written in her online profile she wasnt interested in dating someone with children, and he had a 2-year-old daughter.

After messaging back and forth for three weeks, Reed finally asked Litavec to go out with him. She said she couldnt because she already had plans to meet with friends on the appointed date. Not to be discouraged, Reed asked if he could just join her group and see where things went from there. Three weeks later they took a trip to Tennessee together, and, on Friday, they went all the way to the altar.

After deciding to get married, Litavec said a friend sent her the link to the chamber of commerce site to apply to be the couple to re-enact the marriage mill moment at the festival.

We already had a vacation planned, and we were intrigued by the history and the famous people who had done it there, she said referring to people like The Sheik Rudolph Valentino and boxer Muhammed Ali.

We thought it would be more unique than a standard wedding, and it was an awesome opportunity to be a part of history, Reed said.

They didnt have to go far for a wedding photographer. Reed works as an elevator mechanic but also has a photography business. Litavec is a counselor for the Crown Point schools and said several of the students were at the ceremony.

Both admitted to some pre-wedding nerves, but, as the 6 p.m. time for the wedding came and went, Reed said he was more nervous about everything falling into place. After only a slight delay, the wedding went off without a hitch with Reeds daughter Alexa, now 5, serving as flower girl.

It was perfect, the new Mrs. Reed said afterward.

Quick and painless, Reed said of the 15-minute ceremony.

After pictures and toasts in the courthouse, the wedding party headed to Safe House Bar and Grill to celebrate the happy couple. For those with a different appetite, plenty of other dining opportunities were available on the square, from elephant ears to Asian cuisine and sweet corn. Even The Sheik would have loved to have a shake.
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In Queens, a landlord is accused of trying to scare undocumented immigrants to move away. NY1's Ruschell Boone filed the following report.

Homeland security tipline posters in the lobby of a building on 168th Street, and at other Zara Realty Properties in this heavily immigrant community, are not very welcoming for some of the residents.

Elena Tul Pacheco, who lives at a Zara building on Parsons Boulevard, says the landlord is trying to get rid of tenants who are undocumented immigrants.

"He wants me out," she said.

An undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, Pacheco has been living in her rent stabilized apartment for 20 years.

She says Zara took over the building about three years ago, and that's when problems began, like requesting her Social Security number, something she cannot provide.

"It's too much stress for me," she said.

Pacheco also accuses the landlord of unjustly jacking up rents and fees, to drive tenants away.

Once a rent-stabilized apartment is vacated, the landlord has a freer hand to change more for it.

Several tenant advocacy groups are fighting Zara.

"What we are seeing here is a systematic pattern that we have noticed right across not just this building, but several of the buildings owned by this landlord where we have done work," said Carlos Ortiz, a tenant organizer with Catholic Migration Services.

Zara Realty ownes and manages more than three dozen properties in Jamaica.

Lawyers at Queens Legal Services say they represent hundreds of tenants making accusations against the company.

"We have seen DHS signs. We have seen signs that imply that there is terrorist activity in the building. We have seen signs that say that if you see something suspicious, please contact ICE," said Lino Diaz, an attorney with Queens Legal Services. "We believe that those posters are meant to intimidate."

Zara denies that. Through a statement. the company says it was founded by Guyanese immigrants and that suggestions of bias by professional advocates are preposterous.

The company added, "The posters were given to us by law enforcement, which requested they be posted. Our tenancy applications, and apartment renewals and means of tenant identification, are based upon standard guidelines of the New York Rent Stabilization Law."

But tenants like Pacheco say the result is that they now live in fear.
New Yorkers with outstanding summonses received a fresh start Saturday.

The Manhattan district attorney's office hosted its third "clean slate" warrant forgiveness event.

"I don't want someone coming banging at my door at night or something, saying, 'You got a warrant. You hopped the train. You are under arrest.' Something like that," Harlem resident Isaac Fagan said. "So it is just better to handle these things now before they get any bigger."

Early risers lined up at the Beth Gospel Assembly Church in East Harlem for a chance at a fresh start.

Dozens of New Yorkers from the five boroughs with low-level offenses, like littering or disorderly conduct, were able to go before a judge and possibly have their summons dismissed without fear of arrest.

"This is a great thing for the community, I think," one man said. "It's an easy way to get up and get out and clear their background, I guess."

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said there are currently about three million outstanding warrants in the city.

The event was meant to clear that backlog of summonses and focus on more serious crimes.

Organizers said the event also offered special resources for the homeless, many of whom have open warrants and were bussed in from the Wards Island shelter.

It is often difficult to reach these individuals because they do not have physical or email addresses.

For many who took part Saturday, the process took less than an hour, and they said having the warrants cleared was a weight off their shoulders.

"Vindicated, so I feel like this is really no big deal  not that I would do it anymore, because I quit drinking and smoking some seven years ago," participant Moses Baez said.

Organizers said the response to the "clean slate" event was so positive that they are already coordinating another one in the near-future.
The trump administration is poised to install a close family confidante as head of a major federal housing office here in New York. NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report.

Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.

Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.

On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.

That didn't stop criticism from officials here.

"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."

Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.

She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.

"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.

"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."

There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.

Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.

NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.

Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.

Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.

On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.

That didn't stop criticism from officials here.

"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."

Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.

She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.

"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.

"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."

There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.

Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.

NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.

Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.

Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.

On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.

That didn't stop criticism from officials here.

"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."

Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.

She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.

"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.

"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."

There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.

Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.

NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.

Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.

Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.

On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.

That didn't stop criticism from officials here.

"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."

Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.

She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.

"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.

"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."

There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.

Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.

NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.

Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.

Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.

On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.

That didn't stop criticism from officials here.

"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."

Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.

She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.

"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.

"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."

There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.

Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.

NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.

Her resume includes planning Eric Trump's wedding and speaking at the Republican National Convention. Now, Lynne Patton is slated to become the top New York official at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, responsible for billions of dollars in funding for affordable housing programs in New York.

Sources tell NY1 staffers were informed this week that Patton would be taking over as the regional administrator.

On Friday, a spokesman for the federal housing department would not confirm Patton's selection, saying no one has officially been appointed.

That didn't stop criticism from officials here.

"It's troubling," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. "The only experience that she has is she is a wedding planner."

Velazquez and others point to Patton's LinkedIn page. She lists Quinnipiac University Law School. But she was only there for seven months and never got a degree.

She helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, but that's now the subject of a review by the state attorney general.

"She is not qualified. She doesn't have the experience," Velazquez said.

"Like many things in the Trump universe, we are dealing with things we have never seen here before," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Folks in that role historically have had a substantial background in government or in housing, etc."

There may be nowhere where this appointment is more important than at the New York City Housing Authority. The federal government provides the vast majority of its budget. Some interpret the Patton appointment as another snub to the residents of the city's sprawling public housing system.

Housing Secretary Ben Carson was in New York this week but did not visit any developments, even after he has received multiple invitations to do so. Instead, he went to the stock exchange and to a Brooklyn church.

NY1 is told the church, run by the influential pastor A.R. Bernard, helped pay the tab for his trip. The church put him up in a hotel in Manhattan.
Americas War On Drugs confronts the hypocrisy of U.S. drug policy.

The History channel will be debuting its miniseries Americas War On Drugs on Sunday and in anticipation of its release a clip centered around the creation of crack cocaine and Richard Donnell Freeway Rick Ross has dropped.

READ: Oakland Offers Drug War Reparations Through New Marijuana Equity Program

The eight-minute long clip begins in Los Angeles, California, 1983 when Ross is introduced to drug trafficker Oscar Danilo Blandon. By now, Ross has become a major drug dealer in Los Angeles but is having a hard time finding enough cocaine to keep his dealings afloat. Blandon helps him with this problem by giving him large quantities of high-quality cocaine with an additional discount.

My profit margin skyrocketed, Ross says. The video then transitions into Ross discovering crack cocaine and realizing he can profit even more by making the drug himself. We went from making $300 a day, next thing we know, were making $3 million a day [selling crack]the rest is history, Ross says.

READ: Jay Z Calls Racist, Violent War On Drugs An Epic Fail In New Video

Little does Ross know that Blandon, his supplier, is not only a former Nicaraguan official but a part of the CIA-backed Contra war to take down Nicaraguas Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government. The clip then further shows the relationship between CIA workers and Contra groups and workers, with former DEA Senior Official Phil Jordan recalling multiple cases where he arrested CIA contract workers that had cocaine, only for the charges against them to have been dismissed.

The clip also highlights how the spread of crack cocaine resulted in the destruction of black communities across the country, as the drug contributed to the mass incarceration of black people in America along with a number of other problems that are still present today.

Check out the clip below.

https://www.facebook.com/GetHistoryNow/videos/644827879055682/
Pour a pint and raise a glass. Beer is coming back to the zoo.

The Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquariums popular Brew at the Zoo will return for a fourth year, on July 15. The special event allows visitors ages 21 and older to drink at the zoo after hours, from 8 to 11 p.m.

Tickets for Brew at the Zoo are $55 for zoo members and $65 for nonmembers. Admission includes unlimited samples of beer and wine, a souvenir tasting glass, live music, games and animal encounters.

VIP tickets are already sold out, but general admission tickets are still available on the zoos website, omahazoo.com.
A 44-year-old man has died after being shot early Saturday on the front porch of a residence at 2530 Hartman Ave. in Omaha, authorities said.

At 12:55 a.m., Omaha police responded to a radio call of shots detected by ShotSpotter in the area. Upon arrival, officers found the victim, Virjillo Gurrero-Quiros, with an apparent gunshot wound.

He was transported in critical condition to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he later died.

Omaha Police Sgt. Antwone Finch said at the scene that the man was possibly shot from across the street, which was lined with parked cars.

Police also were investigating two other early morning shootings:

 At 2:48 a.m. a shooting was reported on the 42nd Street exit of Interstate 80. Police were called to the Hampton Inn at 1401 S. 72nd St., where Wesley Waltermire, 56, told officers that he was traveling east on I-80 and exited at 42nd when a red vehicle pulled alongside his and the driver yelled at him, pointed a handgun and fired one shot. Waltermires front passenger side window was shot out. He had a small mark on his arm but declined medical attention.

 At 3 a.m., officers were summoned to Immanuel Medical Center to check on a shooting victim. Shyleah Archie, 20, suffered a gunshot wound that was not life-threatening, police said. Archie said the incident occurred near Nathan Hale Middle School, about 60th and Whitmore Streets, but authorities said she was not cooperating with officers.

Anyone with information on the shootings is urged to contact the Omaha Police homicide unit at 444-5656 or Crime Stoppers at 444-STOP, omahacrimestoppers.org or on the P3 Tips mobile app.
BLOOMINGTON  U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin visited Bloomington High School on Friday to explain how Twin City schools, already strapped for cash from inadequate state funding, would be hurt further by a Republican-led bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The GOP health care proposal includes a $834 billion cut to Medicaid over the next decade. President Donald Trumps health care budget would cut an additional $600 billion from Medicaid.

Illinois schools currently receive $144 million in Medicaid funding each year. Our schools use the money to provide vision and dental screening to low-income kids and services for students with disabilities, said Durbin, D-Ill., at a news conference in the BHS library.

McLean County Unit 5 and Bloomington District 87 collectively receive about $500,000 in Medicaid funding to partially reimburse those in-school services for hundreds of students.

Schools are required to provide services to students with special needs under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly said the district receives $300,000 each year from Medicaid for services like school nurses, counseling, occupational and physical therapy and specialized equipment.

If those dollars were to go away, the services obviously dont, said Reilly. "We're already spending in deficit because of the lack of payments from the state. We can do that because we built an appropriate fund balance, but everything they throw on top of it continues to whittle it down and it will eventually dry up."

Unit 5 Superintendent Mark Daniel said the Normal-based district receives about $225,000 in reimbursements from Medicaid for special services.

Were talking about our students who are the most vulnerable. These are medically fragile students. Without these support systems, they dont attend school, said Daniel.

If the Medicaid funds were cut, Daniel said the district would have to look internally for additional funding.

Some organization has to meet the needs of these students, he said. If we wont serve them, who will?

Besides being federally required, Reilly said the services are absolutely needed.

Because of the lack of services today in our community due to reduced resources, were becoming more of a mental health service provider and were not getting more money to do that. Those needs wont go away, said Reilly.

Durbin said he is open to bipartisan discussion to improve healthcare reform before the Republican proposal moves further.

This (Affordable Care Act) law is very important, but not perfect, and we can do a lot to make it better, he said.

Durbin added that the shooting of GOP House Whip Steve Scalise and his recovery from several surgeries has drawn both parties closer together and has had a "psychological" impact.

"Yesterday we had a bipartisan gathering and I'm sitting with these Republican senators and I said, 'Isn't this the right moment for us to open the doors and sit down together on healthcare reform?' I hope next week we'll see that," he said.
LATHAM  It was a day early, but Teresa Barnes was able to provide one final Fathers Day gift for her father and grandfather.

On a solemn Saturday morning at Lake Bank Cemetery just southwest of Latham, Barnes and nearly 50 relatives of Edgar Marvin Call had the chance to witness the funeral with military rites he did not receive when he passed 41 years ago.

My dad passed away about 3 years ago ... but he would talk quite often about my grandfather and how he wanted a proper military funeral, and my dad wanted to find a way to do that for him, Barnes said. He fought for this country and deserves that.

Second of all, this is like the last Fathers Day gift Ill be able to give my dad.

Barnes grandfather, Edgar Marvin Call, served as a private in the Army during World War I, receiving a Purple Heart and an honorable discharge after having his finger shot off during combat. After living in Alabama and Arkansas, Call and his family settled in the Latham area.

When Call died in 1976, Barnes said the family was told military funerals were only available for those who were buried in a national cemetery. With the closest of those being in either Springfield or Danville, the family decided to have Call buried instead at the nearby Lake Bank Cemetery.

The family spent decades wondering how to give Call his proper military rites, a ceremony that includes the folding and presenting of the American flag to the next of kin, a rifle volley salute and the playing of taps.

Barnes said she did not know the best way to go about it until she met someone at her job in Clinton who knew how to set up a military funeral.

That woman is Viola Lighthall, a member of American Legion Post 1133 Kenney Hallsville. After she spoke with Barnes, Lighthall said she would be honored to set in motion Saturdays ceremony.

You cannot tell a Purple Heart winner that they cannot be buried where they want to, Lighthall said. When I was in basic training, they told that if we serve one day in active duty, and were honorably discharged, then we would get a military funeral.

Dozens of family members traveled from across the country to attend the ceremony, from Kansas to Houston, where Calls only living child, Jack, has lived since retiring from the Warrensburg-Latham School District.

Jack Call, who started his 900-mile drive from Houston to Latham on Thursday, said he does not remember his father talking much about his time in the war. As he saw the steady flow of cars and relatives head into the cemetery, Jack Call said it meant a lot see how many family members arrived at the cemetery to pay final respects for his father.

Im sure he would appreciate seeing this all done, Call said.

Along with the military rites, family members took turns reminiscing on stories about Edgar Marvin Call.

He was the sweetest grandfather you could have asked for, said Carol Mitchell. He always wanted this, and now he can rest.

The ceremony lasted only a few minutes, but the shared sentiment on Saturday was one of closure.

Were righting a wrong made 41 year ago, Lighthall said. He should have had this a long time ago.
Mike Brundieck read by flashlight and hunkered down in his basement where the air was a little cooler.

He and thousands of others remained without power Saturday evening, 24 hours after a strong storm  and two confirmed tornadoes in the Bellevue area  tore through the Omaha area.

Its annoying, he said. (But) its a fact of life. Youve got to deal with it.

The Omaha Public Power District said it expected to have power restored to most customers by Monday evening, though about 1,500 people may not have power until Wednesday. OPPD officials said Saturday night that they couldnt yet pinpoint where the customers live who will be last to get power.

This wasnt a typical summer storm.

Fridays blast tore off roofs, punched holes in homes, downed hundreds of power poles and high-voltage structures and ripped down several miles of utility lines. The storm damaged two schools  one in Bellevue and one in Papillion  and caused significant damage to homes and facilities at Offutt Air Force Base.

At the peak of the outages, roughly 76,000 customers were without power, a count that ranks as the fourth-biggest outage in at least four decades, according to OPPD. No serious injuries were reported.

As of 4 p.m. Sunday, about 17,800 customers remained without power, with about 11,500 in Sarpy County, 3,900 in Douglas County and 1,500 in Cass County.

We are asking customers to be patient, OPPD spokeswoman Paula Lukowski said. There is just a lot of damage.

OPPD called in crews from other parts of the Nebraska and outside the state to help restore power.

Gov. Pete Ricketts, first lady Susanne Shore and Bryan Tuma, assistant director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, toured the state Saturday in a National Guard helicopter.

We saw grain silos that had collapsed, Ricketts said during a press conference Saturday evening at the Plattsmouth Municipal Airport. We saw garages that were collapsed. Houses and barns where trees had collapsed on. A lot of power lines down; some of those big massive power lines had collapsed  several of them in a row.  You could see debris strew across the fields.

Saturdays trip started in the Panhandle city of Bayard, where a tornado tore through the town on Monday, and ended on the eastern side of the state in Plattsmouth, which was hit by damaging winds Friday.

A severe weather pattern that began Monday impacted most of the state, and NEMA has been assessing damage reports from local emergency managers, the Governors Office said.

Fridays storm that moved through the area between 7 and 9 p.m. brought winds of more than 80 mph and drenching rain. The Weather Service had unofficial reports of winds more than 100 mph near Fremont and in Omaha near 173rd and F Streets.

Hailstones as big as softballs were reported in Madison County; tornadoes were reported in several areas, and hundreds in Scribner and other Dodge County towns lost power.

Cathy Zapotocny, a National Weather Service meteorologist near Valley, said a 110 mph wind gust was reported several miles northwest of Fremont, with 75 to 80 mph gusts at Hooper.

Hoskins residents reported multiple funnel clouds and extensive tree damage. Unconfirmed tornado sightings also came from 8 miles north of Meadow Grove, near Pierce and east of Madison.

The Elkhorn Rural Public Power District headquarters in Battle Creek saw its roof extensively damaged. Winds also destroyed a grain bin northeast of Hoskins and blew roofs off several buildings throughout northeast Nebraska.

More than 50 homes in Plattsmouth sustained what Mayor Paul Lambert described as significant damage.

The Buccaneer Bay community along the Platte River northwest of Plattsmouth also was badly damaged. The area was difficult to get to because downed power lines and tree branches made the primary route in impassible, officials said.

Louisville had a great deal of tree damage, but it had been mostly cleared up by late Saturday. Several rural farmsteads have collapsed roofs, according to Cass County emergency management.

Omaha metro-area residents spent Saturday assessing damage and starting to clean up. Sarpy County appeared to take the brunt of the tree and structural damage.

The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes in the Bellevue area. An EF 1 tornado with estimated peak winds of up to 110 mph developed just west of Offutt Air Force Base and moved east-southeast across the base property. The second tornado, an EF 2 with winds of up to 135 mph, likely developed in the Two Springs subdivision in Bellevue, moving east-southeast affecting Pipers Glen, then Hyda Hills and Normandy Hills.

Numerous homes in the Hyda Hills neighborhood near 23rd Avenue and Platteview Road have holes in their sides. Several other homes lost roofs. Debris was scattered around the neighborhood Saturday, including soaked insulation in the streets.

Sue Despines of Bellevue stood in her driveway, shocked at the damage. Despines, who lives with her husband, Tim, and other relatives, said they had nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Your whole life is gone, she said.

Hers was one of three homes in a row on South 20th Street that were heavily damaged.

Her neighbors, Dave and Debbie Rickers, were in Arizona. Their security system alerted them that there was window breakage at their home, so they called their son-in-law John Wolken to check the house.

We werent expecting this, Wolken said.

Wolken, who lives in Papillion, said the family was fortunate his in-laws were not home when the storm hit.

Bellevue Police Chief Mark Elbert said from the photos hes seen and the reports hes heard, at least four homes in Hyda Hills were a total loss. They look like theyre completely demolished.

Another Bellevue neighborhood with significant damage was Two Springs. Some homes there werent in livable condition, the chief said, and he assigned extra patrols to guard against looting.

K.C. Ramsell, 24, and her fiance, Brandon Simmons, 25, had driven to Bellevue from their new home in Texas on Thursday. Their wedding shower was supposed to take place Saturday at Two Springs Elementary. Ramsells maid of honor is a PE teacher there, and the school is right behind the house of her parents, Carroll and Tim Ramsell.

Mother Nature had other ideas. Fridays storm ripped a hole in the school roof, and it dropped pieces of a neighbors roof in her parents living room, leaving a gaping hole in the home.

The wedding bands and other supplies for the Sept. 15 wedding survived in the basement, and a friend of the family offered Hoogeveen Chiropractic Wellness Center on Fort Crook Road as an alternative site for the shower.

We are throwing it together, K.C. Ramsell said. It will be special either way, just having everyone here. It will be a good distraction from everything going on.

Chris and Leslie Le of Bellevue worked Saturday in their backyard, clearing debris. The storm smashed into their home near 31st Street and Spring Boulevard, ripping off the roof and second-story walls.

Leslie, who is pregnant and due in December, was home with their sons, Johann, 4, and Sebastian, 3, and her brother, Angel Dominguez, when the storm struck. They took shelter in the basement. She said her brother hurt his arm when he slipped in the home, but everyone is otherwise OK.

We are blessed. I feel blessed, she said.

Their neighbor Mike Trunick helped the family pick up the mess. Another neighbor, Dan Murphy, said that in comparison, his home sustained minor damage: some siding and the garage door ripped away.

Thank God they went to the basement, he said of the Le family.

The great news out of this is the amount of neighbors helping neighbors and the amount of families weve seen helping families, said Bellevue Mayor Rita Sanders.

She said Nebraska Highway 370 appeared to be the dividing line for the storm. Sanders described life north of Highway 370 as perfectly fine ... and not even touched. She said south of Highway 370 there was a strip that really got hammered.

Ryan Mayberry, a storm manager with OPPD, said the storm packed a double whammy. He said typical summer storms damage only power poles and lines that feed electricity from substations to customers.

This storm damaged high voltage structures and lines that carry electricity from the power plant to the substations, he said.

He said OPPD is faced with repairing damage at about 2,000 locations throughout its service area. After a typical summer storm, crews make repairs at about 500 locations.

Crews have to first remove damaged poles and lines, then drill new holes, place new poles and use pulleys to string fresh line, he said.

Crew members sometimes have to climb poles that are more than five stories high to make repairs, work which is particularly hard in backyards and other tights spaces, he said.
Amendment notification

In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 of the Constitution and clause (5) of article 148 of the Constitution and after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General in relation to persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the President hereby makes the following rules to amend the Central Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016.

Date of effect

These rules may be called the Central Civil Services (Revised Pay) (Amendment) Rules, 2017. They shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of January, 2016.

In the Central Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016,-

(a) in rule 3, in clause (v), for the figures "2006", the figures "2016" shall be substituted ;

(b) in rule 12, for the words "the date of notification of these rules.", the following shall be substituted, namely:-

"1st January, 2016 and the same shall apply to the pay of officers coming on deputation to posts in the Central Government which are not covered under the Central Staffing Scheme.";

(c) in the Schedule,-

(i) for PART A, the following PART shall be substituted, namely

Part A Pay Matrix

Pay Matrix

Ministry of Defence

PART C, after serial number 47 and the entries relating thereto, the following shall be inserted, namely;
With a twist: The internet cant stop reacting to Maggi noodles with Raspberry ice-cream

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New IT rules will make sure no unlawful content is posted online: Minister

Attack on free speech? Know why rights group criticised India for banning internet 20 times in 2017

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, June 17: In a strongly-worded report, released on Thursday, the advocacy group, Human Rights Watch, has criticised India for banning internet services 20 times in 2017.

In the report, India: 20 Internet Shutdowns in 2017, the HRW said Indian authorities should cease arbitrary restrictions of the country's internet and telecommunications networks.

While the Centre and the states contended that these shutdowns are needed to prevent violence fueled by rumors circulated on social media or mobile messaging applications, the HRW insisted that protecting free expression online serves public interest.

"State governments have imposed 20 internet shutdowns so far in 2017, including by four states in June. Shutdowns in response to campaigns on social media and mobile mass messaging applications spreading false and even incendiary information have frequently been disproportionate.

The authorities have failed to follow legal procedures, undermined stated objectives of preventing rumours or panic, and ordered unnecessary shutdowns such as to prevent cheating in examinations," stated the report.

"Indian authorities' concerns over the misuse of the internet and social media should not be the default option to prevent social unrest," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director.

"The lack of transparency and failure to explain these shutdowns only further the perception that they are meant to suppress non-violent reporting and criticism of the government."

The HRW reiterated that international human rights law protects the right of people to freely seek, receive, and provide information and ideas through all media, including the internet.

Security-related restrictions must be law-based and a necessary and proportionate response to a specific security concern.

Recent internet shutdowns in India include:

. On June 5, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Maharashtra state suspended mobile internet services in Nashik district for a few hours after protests by farmers turned violent.

. On June 6, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh suspended internet services in six districts following farmers' protests for higher rates for their produce.

. On June 7, the People's Democratic Party-led government in Jammu and Kashmir state suspended mobile internet services in the Kashmir valley after the killing of a civilian by security forces. This was the fifth time the state government had suspended the mobile internet or broadband services in 2017 in a questionable attempt to prevent rumors from fueling violent clashes between government forces and street protesters.

. On June 8, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh state shut down internet services for two days in Saharanpur district after authorities arrested a Dalit leader following violent clashes between Dalits and members of a dominant caste. The government had also temporarily shut down mobile internet services in the district two weeks earlier.

The report added that since 2012, 79 internet shutdowns have been reported across 14 states in India. The numbers have steadily risen, from 2 in 2012 to 31 in 2016. According to the Software Freedom Law Centre, which tracks internet shutdowns in India, a majority of the shutdowns targeted mobile internet services.

"The Indian government has been promoting the idea of a Digital India where people increasingly access goods and services online, but which simply cannot afford blanket restrictions," Ganguly said.

"A modern India that wants technology for development cannot at the same time be haphazardly invoking national security to deny people access to essential information and services."

Read the full report here

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 11:11 [IST]
UP BJP chief to workers: Have tea with Dalits, make them understand votes are cast on nationalism, not caste

Bhim Army to launch campaign for Dalits' mass conversion to Buddhism

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Bhim Army, the new group engaged in giving Dalit politics a more aggressive face, says it is considering a mass campaign for conversions to Buddhism. So far, around 180 Dalit families converted to Buddhism after caste violence in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh in May 2017.

Last year, over 300 Dalits converted to Buddhism in Gujarat after seven of their caste were flogged for skinning a dead cow.

Dalits, ranked lowest on the Hindu caste hierarchy, first started converting to Buddhism as a political gesture in 1956. This was the year B.R. Ambedkar, a Dalit icon, embraced Buddhism contending that this was the only way to escape caste oppression.

The community has continued to use initiation into Buddhism as a gesture of protest. Every time the Dalit movement peaked, the number of conversions rose. After 1956, the number of neo-Buddhists -- or fresh converts to Buddhism -- grew again in the 1980s and 1990s because of the rise of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a major Dalit-centric political party.

Today, around 87 per cent of Buddhists in India are neo-converts; the rest belong to traditional Buddhist communities, mostly in the north-east of India and other Himalayan regions.

However, there has been a decline in the growth rate of Buddhists in recent years. The number of Buddhists grew by 6.13 per cent in 2001-11 and Hindus, 16.76 per cent. But in the previous decade, this trend had been the reverse: Buddhists (24.53 per cent) and Hindus (20.35 per cent).

This decline was most noticeable in states such as Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh -- known for their neo-Buddhist movements.

Maharashtra, which accounts for 77 per cent of all Buddhists in the country, has also seen the growth rate in the community sliding from 15.83 per cent in 1991-2001 to 11.85 per cent in 2001-11.

What could be the reason for this slowdown? It could be because conversion is primarily used as a political tool by Dalits and this means fluctuations in numbers depending on factors that affect the community.

New converts to Buddhism are returning to Hinduism or reporting themselves as Hindus in government surveys. Both these scenarios underscore the complexities that mark the neo-Buddhist movement in India.

Maharashtra, which has around 90 per cent of India's neo-Buddhists, saw their numbers grow by 11.85 per cent between 2001 and 2011, from 5.8 million to 6.5 million.

"The consistent influence of social reformers, including Jyotiba Phule and Dr Ambedkar, has ensured that people here are more aware and secure enough to leave their Hindu identity," said Sandeep Upre, the president of Satyashodhak OBC Parishad, an organisation that conducts deeksha (initiation rites) programmes in Maharashtra.

Karnataka, on the other hand, registered a decline of 75 per cent even in the total number of Buddhists between 2001 and 2011. This was a sharp reversal from the upsurge of 439 per cent the state saw in 1991-2001. The earlier growth was in response to a strong political movement in 1990s which saw the BSP winning its first assembly seat in south India.

"The sway of the BSP has dissipated over the years, which explains the decline to some extent. Another reason is the denial of caste certificates to neo-Buddhists by the state government. This excludes them from reservations in education and jobs," said Mavalli Shankar, the state secretary of Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, an activist organisation based in Bangalore.

In 1990, an amendment was made in the Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1936 bringing neo-Buddhists into the category of Scheduled Castes. However, Karnataka has not issued an official order reflecting the change.

To maintain the reservation advantage, some converts still maintain their Hindu caste certificate and report themselves as Hindus in government surveys while practicing Buddhism.

The enumeration in Census may not be accurate, said Shiv Shankar Das, a former researcher with the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, who studied the neo-Buddhist movement in Uttar Pradesh. "Often the surveyor doesn't even ask about religion once he hears a Hindu-sounding name. In other cases, recent converts may not be as assertive with their changed identity," he added.

Dalits in Saharanpur, hit by caste violence in May 2017, have complained that Hindu outfits treated them as their own until the assembly elections which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) come to power in the state.

"The BJP, RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and Bajrang Dal are always seeking support based on the Hindu identity. When people reject Hinduism by embracing Buddhism, they also refuse to be part of their socio-political ambitions," said Nawab Satpal Tanwar, a leader of Bhim Army, which has been accused of inciting violence in Saharanpur.

In Uttar Pradesh too, the population of new converts to Buddhism declined by 29.64 per cent between 2001 and 2011.

There are differences between Ambedkarites on how to take the movement further. Bhim Army and its president, Chandrashekhar, take great pride in reinforcing their caste identity. "Dr Ambedkar's message was annihilation of the caste, not its celebration. Such political associations with caste weaken the neo-Buddhist movement instead of strengthening it," said Das.

Das pointed out that Uttar Pradesh has not been able to achieve what Maharashtra has in terms of assertiveness. "There was en masse conversion in 1956 and hence the state had a good strength of neo-Buddhists from the very beginning. They don't look up to any political party because they are themselves a force," he adds.

Ambedkar's interest in Buddhism went back to 1908, when he first read about Buddha's life and reached its zenith in 1935 when he declared, "Although I have been born a Hindu, I will not die a Hindu." His essay, "The Annihilation of Caste", stated that the greatest barrier to the advancement of the untouchables was Hinduism itself.

His stance was seen as a response to Gandhi's who stressed the removal of untouchability, not caste system itself.

But does conversion change how Dalits are treated by casteist elements? "If neighbours continue to treat us according to our caste, it's their ignorance. We cease to be a Hindu and that act is a redemption enough for us," said Upre.

IANS

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 14:13 [IST]
Now Modi can track Indians holding Swiss Bank accounts

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Switzerland on Friday ratified automatic exchange of financial account information with India. This is a move that marks the end of the banking secrecy in Switzerland which has for long been regarded as a haven for black money.

This move means that India can automatically access transactions made by Indians in Swiss banks after September 2019 and information of accounts held by Indians residing in Switzerland for 2018 and the subsequent years.

The decision comes after hectic parleys between India and Switzerland for the introduction of AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information) on tax matters under the guidance of G20, OECD and other global organisations.

The Swiss Federal Council, which is the top governing body of the European nation, said the proposal to introduce AEOI with India and others was "met with widespread approval from the interested parties who voiced their opinions in the consultations".

"In concrete terms, the AEOI will be activated with each individual state or territory by means of a specific federal decree within the framework of this dispatch," it added. Friday's decision is not subject to any referendum -- which implies there should be no further procedural delay in its implementation.

The exchange of information will be carried out based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, which is in turn based on the international standard for the exchange of information developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The federal council said it will prepare a situation report before the first exchange of data, which is planned for autumn 2019. "In the process, it will be checked whether the state sand territories concerned effectively meet the requirements under the standard, especially those concerning confidentiality and data security.

In the past, India has taken several steps to sort out the issue of black money. These steps have included policy-level undertakings, enforcement of ground-level action, introduction of stringent legislative and administrative structures and usage of information technology.

In 2015, the government enacted a new law - 'The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015' to specifically address the menace of black money in foreign accounts.

OneIndia News
Morbi Bridge is not the only Incident - Quality of Bridges, roads and Highways in BJPs government!

Three down in three days: Congress loses yet another MLA to BJP in Gujarat

BJP allies in Goa raise objections to cattle trade law, CM to write to centre

India

oi-Anusha

The BJP's coalition partners in Goa have raised objection to centre's new cattle trade law. Goa government will now write to the centre appraising it of objections raised and seek review of the law that bans sale of cattle for slaughter.

BJP's coalition partner Goa forward party has raised objections and held talks with Manohar Parrikar who has promised to write to the centre about the same. "State government will object to certain aspects and suggest certain corrections to the notification on Prevention of Cruelty Towards Animal Act," said Goa Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai.

Speaking to the media Sardesai said that Goa had a prominent beef eating population and their food habits should not be controlled. He reiterated that concerned union minister has also spoken to the chief minister asked him to write about the objections to the notification.

"Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has already made a statement that government is ready to tweak the rule to rule out any apprehension in the minds of the people. We as Goa Forward party are giving note to the CM," he said.

Sardesai added that he was against the notification. "My personal stand is that it will cause penury amongst farmers and hit the hospitality industry which is the backbone of our economy. Now since Government is going to write to the centre on our stand with regards to the rule, I urge Goans not to worry," he added.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 16:21 [IST]
BPCL terminates Tej Pratap Yadav's petrol pump license

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The BPCL has terminated the petrol pump license allotted to Tej Pratap Yadav, Bihar minister and son of Lalu Prasad Yadav. The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd had served a show cause to Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav seeking his reply on a petrol pump allotted to him. The notice was served in March.

The notice from BPCL was delivered to Yadav, who is minister for Health, Minor Water Resources, Environment and Forest in Grand Alliance government of Nitish Kumar on May 29 last.

The show cause gave 15 days time to Yadav to submit his reply. The notice signed by BPCL Territory Manager (Retail), Patna, Manish Kumar followed a complaint that Yadav had acquired the petrol pump at the busy Anisabad bypass road here on the basis of "wrong" information furnished by him.

Yadav had applied for the petrol pump in 2012 and the retail outlet was commissioned to M/S Lara Automobiles represented by him as its proprietor on February 27 this year.

According to the complainant Yadav had falsely declared in his application that he has land in his name for the retail allotment whereas the real owner of the said land is M/S A K Infosystems "who had never given land on lease to you (Tej Pratap)."

"On the date of submission of the application for the retail outlet (12.1.2012) you were neither the shareholder nor the director of the said M/s A K Infosystem which never entered into any lease with you (Tej Pratap)," the complaint said.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 11:55 [IST]
Darjeeling unrest: 1 cop stabbed, GJM claims 2 protesters dead

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

A police officer was seriously injured after being stabbed by protesters during fresh clashes that erupted in Darjeeling. Two Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters were was also allegedly killed in firing as violence rocked the hill town on Saturday morning. The Army and para military forces have started to patrol the area. By 1.30 pm, security forces managed to establish some degree of control on the situation.

This was the first death reported since the protests broke out. The identity of the man killed is yet to be ascertained. The incident took place in front of the St Josephs Colleges on the outskirts of the town. The body has been taken to the Army hospital. The Army and para military forces have started to patrol the area. By 1.30 pm, security forces managed to establish some degree of control on the situation.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee clarified that the officer stabbed during protests is not dead, but seriously injured.

In a presser, Mamata asked the GJM the source of money to buy arms and ammunitions. 'Where did they get illegal arms and money from?'. She expressed willingness for talks saying the government cannot support violation of the Constitution.

Later, she asked the GJM as to why the protest had erupted now. For five years you enjoyed and when elections are coming up, you start violence. This is because you have lost your credentials, she also said.

Continuing her tirade against the protest, she alleged a deep rooted conspiracy behind the protest. 'These arms were not collected in a day, they were collected over time,' she said.

She also held a high-level meeting with members of Darjeeling development boards, ADG Law & Order, DG Bengal Police,Chief Secretary and Home Secretary to take stock of the current situation in Kolkata.

Meanwhile, Darjeeling remained tense as the indefinite bandh called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha entered the sixth day on Saturday. As the protest of the GJM supporters intensified, security forces used rubber bullets to quell the mob.

During early afternoon reports poured in about GJM supporters hurling stones and bottles at police personnel. Afterwards, police resorted to lathicharge to control the mob.

On late Friday night, police arrested Vikram Rai, media manager of the GJM in Darjeeling, reported ANI. Police also raided and allegedly vandalised the residence of assistant general secretary of the GJM, Binay Tamang, on Friday night.

During the daytime on Friday, Darjeeling witnessed violent protests and arson by the supporters of the GJM against the raids carried out at the residence of GJM chief, Bimal Gurung, by the police.

The GJM supporters in the early morning hours on Friday torched a panchayat office at Mirik, a hydroelectric supply office at Lodhama in Darjeeling and a health centre in Rimbik-Lodhama. Because of the closure of hotels and non-availability of transportation tourists suffered a lot.

Local administration arranged bus services so that stranded tourists could get to neighbouring Siliguri.

The North Frontier Rail stated on Friday that train services in Darjeeling have been suspended until further notice. The toy-train services of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has been suspended in view of the strike for the safety of passengers, staffs and the property of the DHR.

The GJM announced an indefinite general strike from Monday in the hills encompassing Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Dooars (foothills of the Himalayas covering stretches of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar district) protesting against the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to make Bengali language compulsory in state-run schools.

The strike was called even as the CM assured that the new rule would not be imposed in the hill districts. Now, the protesters are also asking for a separate Gorkhaland, a long pending demand of the people of the hills.

In Kolkata, CM Banerjee blamed intelligence failure for the fresh unrest in the hills.

OneIndia News
Mamata Banerjee on 3-day visit to Darjeeling to attend swearing-in ceremony of GTA members

Darjeeling violence: 36 cops have been injured, claims ADG

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

As the protests and violence continue to escalate in Darjeeling, Additional Director General of police (operations) of the region said that 36 policemen were injured in the violence on Saturday.

He said the police have used non-lethal ammunition and tear gas shells to contain the situation.

"36 policemen injured today, out of which 20 in hospital, 5 received gunshot injuries & 2 injured by sharp weapon," he told news agency ANI.

The police fired non-lethal ammunition & tear gas shells ;looking into situation to mk necessary security arrangements: ADG Ops #Darjeeling pic.twitter.com/CYpdyDXnoS  ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2017

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has spoken to Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee over the law and order situation in the hill region.

Earlier reports were that a police officer was seriously injured after being stabbed by protesters during fresh clashes that erupted in Darjeeling.

Two Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters were also allegedly killed in firing as violence rocked the hill town on Saturday morning. The Army and para military forces have started to patrol the area. By 1.30 pm, security forces managed to establish some degree of control on the situation.

This was the first death reported since the protests broke out. The identity of the man killed is yet to be ascertained. The incident took place in front of the St Josephs Colleges on the outskirts of the town. The body has been taken to the Army hospital.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 21:05 [IST]
Global terrorist Shafi Armar read newspapers and reported atrocities against Indian Muslims

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Today he has been declared a global terrorist. A few years, Shafi Armar back, Armar then with the Indian Mujahideen was tasked with reading newspapers and reporting atrocities against Muslims.

Shafi who now heads the Ansar ut-Tawhid, the Indian recruiting wing of the ISIS broke away with the Indian Mujahideen a couple of years back. Shafi was in Dubai when the founder of the IM, Riyaz Bhatkal got in touch with him.

Riyaz assigned him the job of a media manager. While in Dubai, his job was to source Indian news and find out if there were atrocities being committed against Muslims.

Shafi would then pass on all the details to Riyaz based on which the IM would set their strategy and propaganda. After breaking away with the IM, he joined his brother Sultan Armar and began recruiting for the ISIS.

Shafi alive and in Afghanistan:

The latest update given by an Intelligence Bureau official was that Armar is in Afghanistan. The ISIS has set up the Afghan Khorasan and is looking to recruit scores of Indias. The outfit has already managed to rope in at least 2 dozens persons from Kerala. He was presumed deed a few years back. However his trail was found when the NIA conducted a country wide raid to bust ISIS modules.

Who is Shafi Armar, the Karnataka born global ISIS terrorist

Chief recruiter:

He became the chief recruiter in India after his brother Sultan Armar died in March 2015. The state department also listed his numerous aliases, including Anjan Bhai, Chote Maula and Yousouf al-Hindi.

"He has cultivated a group of dozens of ISIS sympathisers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps," said a statement from the state department.

Shafi Armar is the second among the three children of a family that hails from the coastal town of Bhatkal in Karnataka. His elder brother Sultan Armar is said to have taken him along with him and together they had joined the Indian Mujahideen.

Joining the IM:

Hailing from the same place, both Shafi and Sultan were taken into the IM by Riyaz Bhatkal. While Sultan was active in IM operations, Shafi was more of a second in command for the operations undertaken by his brother.

Shafi does not have any record of taking part in terrorist activities in the real sense. His activities were online and he was in charge of the media operations. A lot of literature concerning the ISIS posted on the Ansar site were said to be the handiwork of Shafi. When for the first time, Riyaz Bhatkal had roped in the Armar brothers, they were called to Pakistan. At Pakistan it was decided that the Armar brothers would go to Oman set up a base and then focus on Indian recruitments.

Breaking away from the IM:

An argument broke out over certain issues relating to Iqbal, the elder brother of Riyaz Bhatkal. The Armar brothers found that a sum of Rs 60 crore given to the Bhatkal brothers to carry out terror activities was misappropriated and not being put to the right use.

Further the Armar brothers also raised objections about Iqbal being involved in an illicit affair. They felt that this was anti Islam and objected to the same. A fight broke out and the Armar brothers decided to split. These incidents have been narrated to the police by Yasin Bhatkal who is presently in jail.

The Armar brothers then spoke with Yasin who was in India and told him about their intentions of breaking up with the IM. They said that they would want to shift loyalties to either the Al-Qaeda or the ISIS which had real concern about the religious cause.

The journey into ISIS:

After breaking away from the IM, the Armar brothers decided to join the Al-Qaeda. However at that point in time, the ISIS was growing fast and they felt that this outfit was a better bet. Also the fading prospects of the Al-Qaeda was another reason for them to consider the ISIS.

Both the brothers then went up online and began posting literature for the ISIS. They managed to get the attention of the top rung of the ISIS and one fine day as the Global Islamic Council was announced the Armar brothers became the choice for the ISIS. The Ansar-ul-Tawhid was floated and while Sultan decided that he wanted to battle along with the ISIS, Shafi decided to carry out activities online.

The Indian ISIS module:

Shafi's name cropped up in Indian investigations for the first time when a module in Rajasthan was busted in 2014. Shafi's name had cropped up briefly and the NIA felt that it was he who had carried out these recruitments.

When the module at Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh was busted in 2015, Shafi's name cropped up prominently. The members of the module headed by Irfan Khan said that he was in touch with Shafi and it is together that they planned a series of attacks in India.

The intention was to launch the first dedicated module in India for the ISIS. All these days the ISIS has only been recruiting out of India, but by setting up a dedicated module, they felt that they could boost up the recruitment drive.

According to Shafi, the module would provide the right platform for those youth who believed in the ISIS ideology but did not wish to travel to either Iraq or Syria.

IntelligenceBureau officials feel that Shafi has taken the mantle from his brother Sultan who was killed last month in a combat at Kobane in Syria.

Over the past year his name has cropped up several times. Several modules of the ISIS have been busted. All the members of the module have said that they were being recruited and handled by Yusuf al-Hindi, an alias that Shafi Armar uses.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 14:08 [IST]
In "Wonder Woman," the full theme music for the superhero doesn't kick in until this scene on a World War I battlefield. Warner Bros. Pictures President of Music Paul Broucek said that was by design.
HRD ministry offers 32 Navodaya schools at Rs 600 crore, TN says 'no, thank you'

India

oi-Anusha

The Tamil Nadu government has said no to centre's proposal of setting up 32 Navodaya schools in the state. Considering that Hindi is compulsory in Navodaya schools, Tamil Nadu government told the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that centre's Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya would not fit in with the State's education policy especially the language policy. Tamil Nadu counsel simply held that there were enough schools to provide education to children from poor families and there was no need to set up union government-run schools.

A total of Rs 600 crore was to be spent on setting up Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya run by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. While 600 Navodaya schools have been set up across the country, not a single JNV is established in Tamil Nadu. The state has MHRD-run Kendriya Vidyalaya for central government employees' children but no Navodaya that chooses talented children in rural areas and provides them with quality education, without regard to their families' socio-economic conditions.

During a hearing on a petition seeking establishment of Navodaya schools in Tamil Nadu, the state opposed the same and said that Navodaya schools did not comply with language policy in education in Tamil Nadu. "JNV model schools would not fit in with the State's education policy where two languages, prominently English and Tamil or optional languages are being taught as language subjects. Moreover, the State has adequate schools, including both government and private to provide education to downtrodden children and others. So it does not need JNV schools," state counsel said.

JNV schools follow a three-language-formula. Students have to compulsorily study a regional language, English and Hindi. Educators are of the belief that the move to set up Navodaya schools is an attempt by the union government to impose Hindi. Hindi is a compulsory language in Navodaya schools. While the petition was filed by an individual, it was learnt during arguments on Wednesday that the centre intended to spend Rs 600 crore to build Navodaya schools in Tamil Nadu but the government has been stonewalling it. The hearing in the case has been adjourned to June 20.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 15:01 [IST]
India a cancer to humanity says terrorist group Lashkar-e-Tayiba

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

India is a cancer to humanity and a human rights violator, terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Tayiba has said in a statement. The statement released by spokesperson of the terror outfit, Dr Abdullah Ghaznavi also criticised the Indian media for spreading baseless propaganda.

The statement was released after the Indian security forces gunned down Junaid Mattoo on Friday, a top operative of the outfit.

Full statement:

"Mahmood Shah, Chief Lashkar-e-Taiba, has paid their tribute to Lashkar Commander, Junaid Mattoo, Azad Malick, Muhammad Ashraf, and Naseer Ahmed Sheikh, Ihsan dar in Kulgam's village Arwani and said that these sacrifices will not go in vain.

The pure and honorable blood of Martyrs shall prove to be the death for India. Mahmood Shah appreciated the mothers, sisters, old and young who came up against Indian forces and in solidarity with their Mujahideen brothers. No power on earth can be proven as fatal to the Mujahideen, the support of our brothers and sisters and the divine help of Allah SWT is what keeps us standing firm in our ranks against a brutal enemy.

The relentless firing of Indian forces on innocent is enough for the world to witness the barbarism of India. India is a cancer to the humanity, love, peace and harmony in the region. Imposing such inhumane acts on innocents is evident to the reality that India is a strict human-rights violator.

Meanwhile, Indian Media continues its relentless baseless propaganda, misguiding its nation and depriving them of the rights to see through the reality of their ruthless army.

Beware that the fire started by themselves shall soon reach the bricks and stones of India. We shall soon witness India burning to ashes.

Ramadan, the month of blessings, has entered into its final stages, the last Ashra. I request everyone to avail from these days and do their best in their Ibadah, their prayers and their Duas to win the mercy from Allah SWT.

Be cautious of the odd numbers of the nights, sit in Etikaf and seek Allah's forgiveness. Allah's beloved Angel, Jibreel, said a dua, in a Hadith, for the forgiveness of the one who avails from Ramadan while our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah SWT be upon him) said 'Amen' to his prayers.

Love each other, set aside the differences whatsoever, help, take care of, and feed the families of Martyrs. Keep the youth in your prayers who left everything to join the ranks of Mujahideen to win our freedom. May Allah, The Savior, be with us!"

- Dr. Abdullah Ghaznavi

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 5:25 [IST]
India set to expose Pakistan's paper war on terror

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

An Indian delegation led by Enforcement Directorate chief, Karnal Singh will tell an international forum on terror financing that Pakistan's war on terror is on paper. The Financial Action Task Force will be briefed by Singh and his delegation at Valencia in Spain, the same day that India takes on Pakistan in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in UK.

There has been nothing but paper activity when it comes to cracking down on groups such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and its financial wing, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the Indian delegation would say.

India has learnt on the basis of intelligence inputs that Pakistan has seized just 69 accounts of the Jammat in the past 15 years. Pakistan has however claimed larger action, but that is just on paper the delegation would say.

Further India would point out that the leaders of these outfits continue to operate freely, collect funds and donations. While Pakistan states on paper that action has been initiated or taken, the reality is that these are claims made on paper, India would also say.

Armed with a plethora of evidence and documents, India would place before the forum proof of Pakistan's terror financing and how action has not been initiated. India has through its own and international sources collected ample intelligence suggesting that the Pakistan establishment has been funding terror related activities.

OneIndia News
Mubin did it in Coimbatore: Why do Islamist terrorists shave their body before a suicide mission

Lashkar's Junaid Mattoo killed with 2 terrorists by Indian Armed Forces

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Three terrorists including the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's Junaid Mattoo were killed in an encounter on Friday. While there was confirmation of two terrorists being killed, the latest update from Kashmir states in total three bodies have been recovered.

The forces have also recovered three weapons from the encounter spot. The terrorists were engaged in an encounter Kulgam, Jammu and kashmir. The terrorists were killed in an operation undertaken by the Indian Army, SoG and CRPF.

A joint team of Army, J-K police and CRPF cordoned off Arwani village on specific intelligence about presence of Lashkar militants in the area on Friday morning. The forces had to deal with some stone pelters as well.

Junaid Mattoo was involved in a day light attack on a police van in which three policemen including an officer was killed last year. Mattoo's involvement is also suspected in the killing of a policeman in Kulgam area of South Kashmir on Thursday afternoon.

Mattoo a Lashkar-e-Tayiba militant was active since the two years in the Valley. He carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head. Intelligence sources said that search operation is still ongoing but have been hampered by stone-pelters who are targeting the security forces from different sides.

Police said that Junaid Mattoo is the third top militant who has been killed after Burhan Wani since last year. Buran Wani's close aid Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was the second militant who was killed in an encounter on May 27 last month.

Mattoo had joined the Lashkar at the age of 18. He was part of the 12 most wanted list released by the Army recently.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 8:13 [IST]
Municipality alone knows why bridge work handed to firm repairing watches, says former dy CM

Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram celebrates its centenary

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Sabarmati Ashram founded by 'Father of the .nation' Mahatma Gandhi is celebrating its centenary on Saturday.

Sabarmati Ashram Trust invited, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson and former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi lived in the ashram, situated on the banks of Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad along with his wife Kasturba from 1917 and 1930.

As per the official website of the Ashram, this historic place was home to Mahatma Gandhi from 1917 until 1930 and served as one of the main centres of the freedom struggle. Mahatma Gandhi launched the famous Dandi march from the ashram on March 12, 1930.

Mahatma Gandhi statue at the ashram A girl paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. PTI file Photo The museum President Pranab Mukharjee along with Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandiben Patel and Governor O P Kholi visited Sabarmati Ashram. PTI file Photo Somnath Chhatralaya This large building of approximately 100 rooms was used as a community living quarters. The students of the Ashram school, participants of Swadeshi and Constructive Work Training Programmes stayed here and observed Ashram rules including those of common kitchen. Courtesy: Gandhiashramsabarmati.org Vinoba-Mira Kutir Gandhi hailed Vinoba Bhave as the model Satyagrahi for his total commitment to truth. He stayed here from 1918 to 1921. Later, he led Bhoodan Andolan a revolutionary movement for land donation in India. Madeleine Slade, a British Admiral's daughter, was devoted to Gandhi's ideology which she learnt form Romain Rolland's book. Gandhi called her Mira. She helped in Ashram activities. She also stayed here from 1925 to 1933. Courtesy:gandhiashramsabarmati.org Dressed up as Mahatma Gandhi A man dressed up as Mahatma Gandhi talking with children during Gandhi Jayanti celebrations at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Sunday. PTI file Photo

(With agency inputs)

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 18:00 [IST]
Orphaned children could not exchange old notes: This is what Modi did for them

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

In a kind gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the rescue of two orphaned children who were unable to unable to exchange demonetised currency found at their parents home.

Modi not just wrote an emotional letter to the children, but also sanctioned Rs 50,000 for an orphan brother-sister duo in Kota, Rajasthan, who had found Rs 96,500 in demonetised bank notes months after the deadline to exchange such notes was over.

The children are living in a shelter home. The children, 17-year-old Sooraj Banjara and his nine-year-old sister Saloni had lost their father sometime back. They were living with their mother. Unfortunately for them, their mother was murdered.

The mother had left behind 96,500 for them. By the time they found the currency which had been demonetised by then, it was too late for them to exchange it.

The children who were with the Kota Child Welfare Committee were taken to their parents' home where the money had been found. They tried to exchange the demonetised currency, but the RBI could not accept the same due to the deadline.

The children then decided to write to the Prime Minister in which they explained their difficulty. This was all the money they had and it had been rendered useless due to demonetisation.

In the letter written by the children on March 25, they said that the notes found at the home of their parents had turned into paper. They sought help directly from the PM as this concerned their livelihood.

PM Modi who was moved by the letter offered a helping hand to the children. Apart from sanctioning Rs 50,000 Prime Minister's Discretionary Fund (PMDF), Modi also got the two children insured under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana (PMJJBY).

Modi also made sure that Rs 1,710, the insurance premium was released in advance for a period of five years.

In his letter to the children, Modi wrote, "I sympathise with you after getting to know about your current state. The sanctioned amount and insurance may not be sufficient to solve your problems. However I am sure that such assistance would reduce your problems a little bit at least," PM Modi also wrote.

OneIndia News
Pilots fall asleep while flying at 37,000 Ft as desperate air traffic controllers try to wake them up

MPs want VVIP treatment on airlines, seek auto upgrade, better food

India

oi-Anusha

A house committee of MPs has recommended that parliamentarians be given preference in private airlines. Apart from an auto upgrade to business class and better menu onboard, parliamentarians are also seeking personal briefing by customs officials on what they can carry duty-free from foreign tours.

The recommendations were made by the panel during a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju. The House panel headed by Karnataka BJP MP Suresh Angadi suggested that private airlines give first preference to parliamentarians just like Air India does and offer front row seats as that MPs can leave the aircraft early.

Sources from the MP's office confirmed the recommendations made but maintained that the report was not for public consumption. "Some recommendations have been made to make air travel easy for parliamentarians. MPs are in a rush and need to be faster and the recommendation is only aimed at that," the source added.

Recommendations have been made by the consultative committee on Civil Aviation to direct airlines including private ones to automatically upgrade an MP's ticket to business class in case there are seats available. The committee has also asked for Airlines to regularly review the food served so as to alter the menu and avoid repetition.

The news of the recommendation to offer VVIP treatment to MPs comes at a time when parliamentarians like Shiv Sena's Ravindra Gaikwad and TDP's Diwakar Reddy have been caught redhanded misbehaving with airlines officials.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 11:16 [IST]
Next President of India: RSS doesn't contest polls, Naidu tells Yechury

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The RSS does not contest elections was the one line reply that Venkaiah Naidu gave the CPI(M) when asked about a candidate for the next President of India. Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Rajnath Singh met with CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury on Friday to hold discussions on the presidential candidate.

During the discussions, Yechury asked Naidu and Singh about the candidature of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. To this the answer was, "RSS does not contest elections."

The BJP delegation informed opposition leaders that they would come up with a name by next week. Once they finalise a name, they would get back to the opposition for another round of discussions.

Electoral College: Here is how the next President of India will be elected

BJP insiders tell OneIndia that they are looking for a consensus candidate. The BJP is confident of winning the elections to be held on July 17 by itself and hence is not opting for a consensus candidate. The candidate would be a BJP person itself the source also said.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 12:08 [IST]
The joy of our lives: Sushma Swaraj's husband warm birthday wishes for late leader

Remembering Sushma Swaraj on her death anniversary: Facts about Iron Lady of India

Next President of India: Not in race says Sushma

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has rubbished the 'rumours' that she is in the race for the next President of India.

Some sections of the media had earlier reported that Swaraj had become the lead contender for the next President of India.

"These are rumours. I am the External Affairs Minister and you are asking me something which is an internal matter," IANS quoted Swaraj as saying.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA's candidate for the upcoming presidential elections would be announced on June 20, said reports.

[Electoral College: Here is how the next President of India will be elected]

The government formally began its outreach on Friday with the opposition on the presidential election with Union ministers Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The two-member team later met CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat and Brinda Karat to seek the party's support.

While at first the RSS was in favour of choosing Murli Manohar Joshi, the name was dropped due to the ongoing Babri Masjid case before a Lucknow court.

The BJP wants to complete the process before Prime Minister leaves for the United States of America on June 25.

OneIndia News
Petrol bomb hurled at CPM office in Coimbatore

India

oi-Anusha

Miscreants hurled petrol bomb at CPM office in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore on Saturday morning. While no injuries or casualties were reported in the incident, no reports of damage to property emerged.

Miscreants hurled the petrol bomb on the wee hours of Saturday. Workers initially confused the petrol bomb with a grenade which led to tension in the vicinity. The trend of hurling petrol bombs, vandalising officers seems to be catching up from Kerala that has seen a spate of political violence.

A petrol bomb was hurled at CPM office in Coimbatore just a week after BJP office in Chennai received a suspicious parcel along with a threat letter. The parcel is said to have contained gunpowder and other materials. Two days before this incident, a petrol bomb was hurled at BJP's office in Thiruvananthapuram.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 11:28 [IST]
District Administration seal and take possession of GJM party office in Darjeeling

Gorkhaland agitation: Gurung says he is ready for dialogue with Mamata Banerjee

Police illegally enter house, torturing supporters, says GJM chief Bimal Gurung

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Gorkhaland Janamukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung on Saturday levelled charges against the police for killing two of his supporters.

After Saturday's fresh round of violence, Gurung told ANI that police illegally entering party supporters houses and torturing them which left two people dead.

A police officer was also allegedly stabbed to death by protesters during fresh clashes today.

He further said that the GJM will strengthen the movement.

Police illegally entering supporters houses&torturing them,2 of them killed by police;will strengthen our movement now:GJM Chief #Darjeeling pic.twitter.com/PkjF3aOPn7  ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2017

Since the beginning of the Gorkhaland movement, Gurung has been vocal against the police action against his supporters. Earlier, he had said that police worked like TMC cadres and even if all CRPF personnel of country were sent to Darjeeling the fight would not stop.

He had warned that agitation in Darjeeling hills would not stop until and unless a separate 'Gorkhaland' is achieved and warned the ruling party TMC not to play with fire.

OneIndia News
Rajasthan govt asks department heads to identify inefficient employees

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The Rajasthan government servants, who have reached the age of 50 and completed 15 years in service, have been asked to prove their 'utility', ANI reports.

Chief Secretary OP Meena on Saturday in an order has asked departments to identify employees or officials who have lost their "utility" required for public welfare jobs. He has directed all departmental heads to complete the process within three months and apprise the department of personnel.

According to reports, identified employees may be removed from their jobs with three months of notice or on payment of three months' salary and allowances.

The state government's order comes a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged bureaucrats and officials to change their mindset and style of working on Civil Services Day in New Delhi. In his speech, he said, "With changing times, a need may arise that we may have to change our working style. From regulator, we need to be an enabling entity."

(With agency inputs)

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 15:08 [IST]
Rajinikanth set to make political debut on his birthday?

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Chennai, June 17: If reports are to be believed, fans and supporters of veteran Tamil actor Rajinikanth have to wait till December before he makes an official announcement of his entry into politics.

The actor will turn 67 on December 12 and that is when he is likely to make the big announcement, according to a report by The Hindu.

Before the final announcement, Rajinikanth is likely to discuss his political future in a concrete manner when he meets his fans in August, said reports.

Currently, the actor is busy shooting his next flick, Kaala, in Mumbai. The speculation regarding Rajinikanth's entry into politics grew to a great height after the actor asked his fans to "get ready for war when it comes to them," when he met them in Chennai last month.

This is not for the first time when rumours surrounding Rajinikanth's entry into politics are doing the rounds. Earlier also reports suggested his entry into politics, but the actor decided to stay away from it.

Now, his close-friends indicated that this time Rajinikanth is definitely going to join politics. However, it is not clear if he will join an already established party or form his own political outfit.

"He has some great plans. It does look like he is serious this time," said a person who has worked with him in one of his recent films.

So, till December 12, we have to keep our fingers crossed.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 9:44 [IST]
Why is the DMK continuing to oppose the imposition of Hindi? - 50 years of struggle and the truth!

Stalin meets Governor; seeks fresh Vote of Confidence in Tamil Nadu

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

DMK working president MK Stalin and six leaders from other parties on Saturday met Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao to raise the issue of cash for vote issue.

Stalin presented a DVD of sting operation done by a private TV channel to the Governor and requested him to take a quick action on the issue.

The copy of the Representation submitted to the Governor said:

"In view of the shocking revelations, which if proved to be true would kill the spirit behind seeking vote of confidence, shake the entire edifice of the democracy and demolish the faith Tamil Nadu has in the democratic institutions like the Legislative Assembly, we request Hon'ble Governor to immediately intervene and

I. Order for a fresh Vote of Confidence;

II. Direct an impartial investigation by CBI into the offences of Prevention Corruption Act 1988; and

III. Direct an investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or the Enforcement Directorate to unearth the money trail and to investigate the offenses under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Only such an effective intervention, at the earliest, by Hon'ble Governor will save democracy from being in the hands of a Government whose Chief Minister has been elected under dubious circumstances and won the constitutionally mandated vote of confidence by dishonest means."

Since the beginning of the session, Stalin has been alleging that the Speaker of House denied him permission to raise the issue of bribing of MLAs. As a mark of protest, DMK leaders staged walkout from the assembly.

He had told media that the DMK was going to raise the issue in the Madras High Court. Earlier, he had sought an appointment with the Governor, who was out of town.
The day Darjeeling turned into a battlefield

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Darjeeling, June 17, 2017: The otherwise peaceful Darjeeling in West Bengal was transformed into a battlefield with security forces and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters locking horns on Saturday.

The army later brought the situation under control.

GJM claimed that 3 of their supporters died in "police firing." Many security personnel were also injured with IRB Assistant Commandant Kiran Tamang's condition critical.

Incidentally the GJM is on an agitation path in the Darjeeling Hills in West Bengal since Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had suggested a three language formulae for the State. Though a bill to this effect has not been tabled in the West Bengal Assembly, the GJM cried of language imposition in the Hills.

With the CM clarifying that in Bengali language would be optional in the Hills, the GJM gave a Gorkhaland demand twist to the language agitation. Incidentally the GJM and other hill parties have been demanding a separate state "Gorkhaland" to be carved out of Bengal.

The agitation since June 5 has taken up different forms including indefinite office bandh including Centre, State, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration- an autonomous administrative arrangement for the Hills) and the 4 Hill Municipalities; indefinite general bandhs; sit in demonstrations and rallies. At present the Hills are under the grip of an indefinite general strike.

On Saturday situation got out of hand when security forces were trapped in between three rallies. State Security forces along with central police forces were deployed at Singamari and barricades were put up. Three rallies came in from Lebong, Patleybash and the Chowk Bazar.

At around 11. 30 am amidst the slogan shouting, things suddenly turned violent with clashes ensuing. While GJM supporters rained bricks, stones and bottles and slingshots, the security forces retaliated with baton charging and tear gas shelling. Security forces were clearly outnumbered and were forced to retreat.

Many journalists were trapped in between the security forces and the GJM supporters and had to take refuge in the house of the locals. Police vehicles were torched as the security forces retreated. The Singamari town police outpost was vandalised and the police vehicles torched.

Many security personnel were injured. IRB Assistant Commandant Kiran Tamang suffered grievous injuries from a sharp weapon believed to be a Khukuri. He was rushed to Siliguri for treatment. The GJM supporters had the clear advantage of the topography they were familiar with.

With the situation going out of hand, the army was called in. The army managed to diffuse the situation and took control of the area. Using the public address system the army personnel asked local residents not to come out on the streets.

Similar situation prevailed at Ghoom, around 8 km from Darjeeling town where Morcha supporters had taken to the streets. Here too security forces were outnumbered and were forced to retreat with stones, bottles and bricks thrown by GJM supporters. Later however the army came in and drove the GJM supporters back taking control of the area.

Binay Tamang, GJM Assistant Secretary claimed that three GJM supporters were killed in police firing. "Bimal Sashanker of Gok Bustee; Sunil Rai of Kainjaley and Mahesh Gurung of Relling died from police firing. We demand a judicial enquiry" demanded Tamang. The GJM has called a 12 hour long Dooars bandh on Sunday.

CM Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Saturday had stated that she had no problems to sit with the Morcha for talks provided they lifted the indefinite bandh.

Reacting to this, Tamang stated, "We will not sit with Bengal and Mamata Banerjee for talks. We will only sit with the Centre and we demand Centre's immediate intervention."

Anuj Sharma, ADG (Law and Order,) West Bengal, refuting allegations stated, "There was no firing from the side of security forces. On the other hand there was firing from the GJM side. We have more than 35 security personnel who were injured on Saturday."

[Darjeeling unrest: GJM claims 2 protesters dead, 1 cop stabbed]

Some GJM supporters were also rounded up in connection with the attack on security forces on Saturday evening.

Bimal Gurung in a video clip from an undisclosed location appealed to the Hill people to stand up strongly against police excess. Dubbing it the final battle for Gorkhaland he asked all to come out in support.

While an inspection bungalow was torched in Bijanbari on Friday night, a WBSEB vehicle was torched in Gorubathan on Saturday afternoon.

In the wee hours of Saturday GTA media cell executive Vikram Rai was picked up by the police from his residence in Darjeeling. He was however released later during the day. Police also raided the house of GJM Assistant Secretary Binay Tamang located at Dali, 3 km from Darjeeling town. Family members alleged that as Tamang was not in the house, security forces vandalised the house before leaving.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, June 18, 2017, 1:04 [IST]
Should Kashmir be given to Pakistan: Row erupts after this question appears in MP civil service exam

From hijab to Kashmir, Zawahiri was Al-Qaeda's voice for everything anti-India

We care about human life, make sure human rights are not violated: Army Chief

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

At a time when the turmoil in Kashmir is escalating with regular incidents of attack on security forces by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, the Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday reiterated that the army care about human life.

Rawat added that the army makes sure that human rights are not violated during counter-insurgency programmes.

"We care about human life and make sure human rights are not violated. We believe very strongly in human rights," Rawat said when asked about the volatile situation in the Valley.

Regarding rise in pelting of stones by the youth of Kashmir, the army chief said that the force was trained to handle such situations.

Rawat added that parts of South Kashmir are troublesome. "Necessary actions being taken to ensure situation there is soon brought under control."

Rawat apprised the media about the current situation in the Valley after he inspected the guard of honour at the Passing Out Parade ceremony held at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal, Telangana, to mark the completion of pre-commissioning training of the Flight Cadets belonging to various branches.

During the event, he conferred the ' President's Commission' on behalf of the President of India to 120 graduating trainees of various branches.

The ceremony also included the presentation of ' Wings and Brevets' to Flight Cadets, who successfully completed the Flying and Navigation training respectively.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 12:22 [IST]
What is Flipkart Gridlock Hackathon? Win Free Gift Vouchers* Participate Now!

India

oi-Madhuri

If you have the wit to take on Flipkart's challenge and solve the traffic tension in Bangalore with a canny beaming idea then it is your bumper ticket to win Rs. 2,00,000 worth Gift Voucher from Flipkart. 10 years before Flipkart born from a fresh innovative idea and changed the way India shops and ever since it is trying to make people's lives easier. Now it is looking to thrive on Bangalore traffic congestion and it is looking forward to breaking the thickening wall through Gridlock Hackathon.

Hackathon is a design springlike event where the computer programmers and others experts collaborate intensively on software projects to create usable yet effective projects that will help the company or a concept in multiple ways. It seems Flipkart's 10th-anniversary celebrations are dedicated to hometown Bangalore and it has taken the initiative to ease the traveling within the city.

Participants have to register their entry for Hackathon and then they can continue the process where a PPT of maximum 8 slides. (1 slide on context/scope, 1 slide on problem description, 2-3 slides on analysis/research on why a problem exists and 2-3 slides on proposed solution and as the last slide it has to be 1 slide linking all supporting documents including code repositories and instructions on how to execute the code) has to be uploaded. Participants may either upload a zip file/folder of the PPT or they can upload the PPT to a google drive and share the link with them. Then the top entries will be shortlisted based on the judging criteria and shortlisted entrants will have to do a demo in front of the jury for 10 minutes and then the winners will be decided. The contest will open from June 7 to June 20. Hurry & Register Now.

The winners will get Flipkart Gift Voucher 200,000 as a 1st Prize, Flipkart Gift Voucher 100,000 on 2nd Prize and 3rd Prize will be Flipkart Gift Voucher of 50,000. Submit your entries to Gridlock Hackathon now and remember, your idea may be small but it may connect the dots of a solution which in turn may going to ease the traffic forever. Innovate and take the initiative to something big. Go to 'Oneindia Coupons' for more and be notified.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 12:00 [IST]
Al-Jazeera's Twitter account back after suspension

International

oi-PTI

Doha, Jun 17: The Arabic-language account of Al-Jazeera has been restored on Twitter after being suspended due to what the network called "an organised campaign", BBC reported.

Earlier, Qatar-based broadcaster's Twitter account for its main Arabic-language channel had been suspended, in the latest "conspiracy" to hit the station.

The suspension came at a time of diplomatic crisis in the Gulf after Qatar was cut off by neighboring countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Yasser Abuhilalah, managing director of Al-Jazeera Arabic, confirmed the suspension on social media.

"The main Al-Jazeera Twitter account has been suspended, and work is ongoing to solve the problem," Abuhilalah tweeted.

"Other secondary accounts remain active. Disruption (by others) will not stop because the truth terrifies them. We'll be back." In another tweet, he said that no other "channel in the world... faces the same amount of conspiracy". Other Twitter accounts belonging to the channel were still working and one claimed that the suspension was due to "what seems to be an organised campaign".

Al-Jazeera said it been combatting a large-scale cyber attack in since the beginning of June. The television channel has long been a target for criticism by other Middle East countries, with Al-Jazeera banned on several occasions. There has been speculation that closure of Al-Jazeera could help end the diplomatic crisis which erupted last month between Qatar and its neighbours in the Gulf over its alleged support of extremists.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 16:46 [IST]
EU likely to slap Google with record-breaking fine

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

London, June 17: Search engine giant Google is likely to face a record-breaking fine from Brussels of nearly $1.1 billion for manipulating its search engine results to favour its new shopping service. EU officials are expected to announce in the coming weeks whether the tech giant has been guilty of abusing its market dominance.

"In July last year, the commission had reiterated its belief that the search giant had abused its dominant position by systematically favoring its comparison shopping service in its search result pages," the report said.

Google's competitors, Paris and Berlin-based senior politicians as well have been encouraging the European commission's competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager to take a tough action against Google.

"A financial sanction for abuse of a monopoly position is capped at a maximum of 10 per cent of the total revenues of the company involved," the report noted.

In the case of Google's parent company Alphabet, the sanction was $90 billion last year which is calculated as up to 30 per cent of Google's shopping revenues multiplied by the number of years of the anti-competitive behaviour.

Google will be required to propose how it intends to build its shopping business in future and if it fails to agree on a deal with the commission in set time period, the company could be fined up to 5 per cent of average daily turnover for each day of delay.

Another investigation considers if Google has unfairly banned competitors from websites that used its search bar and adverts.

It is also being examined how Google pays and limits mobile phone providers who use its Android software and Play app store.

"The decision from the regulator would, however, open the way for shopping comparison competitors or customers to file damages claims against Google," the report added.

In the past, Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon raising claims that Brussels is waging war against Silicon Valley, however, the European regulators have denied such claims.

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Story first published: Saturday, June 17, 2017, 13:37 [IST]
DigiLocker users can now store Ayushman Bharat health records: Here's how to do it

India is officially at war against Kashmiri youth, allege J&K activists at UN

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Geneva, June 17: The struggles and sufferings of local people, especially youth of Kashmir, were discussed at length at an event hosted by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday.

The discussion saw participation by members of a Kashmiri delegation under the umbrella of the Youth Forum for Kashmir. During the event, the role of Delhi came under scanner as the Kashmiri delegation alleged the Indian government of using "brute force" to quell the voices of the youth in the Valley.

"India is officially at war against an entire generation in Kashmir," Ahmed Quraishi, member of Kashmir delegation and executive director of the YFK said.

"The world's largest movement today for civil and political rights, including the right to self-determination, is underway now in Kashmir. Young men and women are leading it. India hopes to stop the movement by crippling the younger generation through torture and murder," he added.

Quraishi spoke at an event titled, "Youth in Conflict and Right to Education", which saw participation of several diplomats and representatives of international rights organisations.

The discussion was presided by Sardar Amjad Yousef Khan, executive director of Kashmir Institute for International Relations.

The others who spoke at the event included Altaf Hussain Wani, leader of Kashmir delegation to the 35th session of UNHRC and senior APHC freedom leader Hassan Banna, to name a few.

The role of female students in Kashmir in leading the "freedom movement" was also highlighted by the Kashmiri activists. "Instead of welcoming peaceful protests by women, world's largest democracy responded to unarmed women using brute force," Quraishi said.

Banna alleged that schools and universities were the "biggest victims of India's assault on young men and women of Kashmir."

"The Amnesty International has researched this issue and concluded that New Delhi is targeting Kashmir's younger generation under an undeclared policy," Banna added.

"Like other parts of the world Kashmiri youth undoubtedly are very talented," Banna said. "Unfortunately, the space they need to grow and work is being squeezed and narrowed. You know, the young boys and girls of today's digital world are great admirers of social media but Kashmiri youth is deprived of all these facilities as the internet is being suspended in Kashmir day in and day out by the Indian government," he added.

"The civilian casualty rate during the World War Two was five percent, but in Kashmir it has reached up to eighty percent," Wani said.

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A Columbus man appeared in court Wednesday following a barricaded stand-off with deputies that ended with his arrest on domestic abuse charges.

Jared Thurber, 29, is facing single counts of felony strangulation, operating a motor vehicle without consent, misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct, all as domestic abuse charges.

It is being alleged that Mr. Thurber choked his ex-girlfriend, with his arm around her, to the point of  roughly 30 seconds  where she believed she was going to die, said Assistant District Attorney Clifford Burdon during Thurbers bond hearing in Columbia County Circuit Court. To say this was a serious allegation would be minimizing how serious it is.

Although Thurber does not have a criminal record, Burdon described him as entering the criminal justice system head-first, requesting he be held on $10,000 cash bond.

Thurber was arrested at 7:45 a.m. Monday, according to a press release issued by Columbia County Sheriff Dennis Richards.

Columbia County deputies were first alerted at just after 11 p.m. Sunday, responding to a report of a domestic disturbance at an apartment in Columbus. Upon arrival, the deputies reported meeting a 40-year old woman who said that during an argument Thurber had choked her and then pushed her to the ground, but had left after the incident, taking the rental car she had been driving.

The next morning deputies were called again, responding with Columbus police. Outside the apartment officers found the same woman as well as Thurber. As officers approached, Thurber fled to the apartment where he reportedly barricaded himself inside. The woman was reportedly armed with a knife, which she dropped when ordered to by officers.

After talking with officers Thurber surrendered and was taken into custody.

The woman told officers that she had left the apartment following a physical incident with Thurber, but came back Sunday night to pick up some things. She was under the impression that Thurber would not be around at the time, she said, and as she was taking her things out the front door, Thurber tackled her and put her in a choke hold.

When she looked for her keys, she said, she realized Thurber had taken them and would not give them back, driving away with her car, leading to her calling the authorities.

The woman was arrested on a charge of domestic disorderly conduct and domestic-related use of a dangerous weapon, according to Richards announcement, though no charges have been filed by the Columbia County District Attorneys Office.

Simply because he is facing serious allegations does not make him a flight risk, said defense attorney Ryan Frank in court on Wednesday. As Mr. Burdon pointed out, Mr. Thurber has absolutely no criminal history. His only encounter with the criminal justice system period was an OWI-first from a couple years ago.

Frank pointed out that Thurber has been living in Wisconsin for the past four years and in Columbus for over a year, suggesting that any requirements of ensuring his return to court and protecting public safety would be covered in a court order of no contact between Thurber and his ex-girlfriend.

Without something more, I dont think that the states concerns are well-founded, said Frank. This is, unfortunately, a rather run-of-the-mill domestic case, though of the felony variety, and Mr. Thurber vehemently contests all the allegations.

Judge Alan White ordered Thurber to be held on a $500 cash bond, scheduling him to appear next in court for a June 29 preliminary hearing. If convicted, Thurber faces up to 13 years in prison.
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Retired Sauk County Highway Commissioner Steve Muchow says allegations against him that sparked an investigation are unfounded.

I admit to no wrongdoing, Muchow said in a phone interview Thursday. And thats all I have to say about it.

In April, the county secured a private accountant and outside legal counsel to investigate employee complaints against Muchow. Legal bills show Madison attorney Lori Lubinsky traveled to Baraboo on April 26 and conducted the bulk of her work that day.

The next day, Muchow submitted a handwritten letter notifying the county that he intended to retire within six weeks. County officials overseeing the matter then decided to drop the probe, and Lubinsky did not complete her work.

Muchow, who was with the county for 26 years, said its merely a coincidence that he submitted his retirement notice the day after an out-of-county attorney traveled to Baraboo to investigate him.

I had decided to retire before I knew anything about the investigation, he said.

Muchow said he was on vacation while the inquiry was taking place in April and had been feeling ill. Upon his return, he said he met with a benefit specialist to discuss retirement options, and then decided to call it quits.

Sauk County Administrative Coordinator Alene Kleczek said in an email Friday that allegations against Muchow included yelling at employees, personal use of county equipment and materials, changes to the job that the employees time was billed to, and cost overages on the construction of the truck storage building.

No one promised him the probe would end if he retired, Muchow said, adding that he never spoke with investigators.

Kleczek Bolin, who initiated the inquiry after receiving complaints from employees, said she had a conversation with Muchow the day he gave notice of his retirement. She said she never encouraged him to retire, or promised that the investigation would go away if he did so.

It was his decision, Kleczek Bolin said. He brought up the fact that he wanted to retire.

She said it was the outside attorney, Lubinsky, who recommended that the county end the probe due to Muchows retirement. Lubinsky has not returned a phone call or email seeking comment.

With the investigation incomplete, Muchow retired in good standing with the county. Its not clear how much he has since been paid, or if he received any benefit payouts. Sauk County Controller Kerry Beghin did not respond to an email Friday seeking information.

Kleczek Bolin said she told Sauk County Highway Committee Chair Tim Meister about the ongoing probe, who asked that she complete the investigation before informing other committee members.

More than six weeks after his retirement stopped the inquiry, highway committee members had not been informed of the matter. The full county board learned about it earlier this month through an anonymous letter, which also alleged that Kleczek Bolin sough to keep the investigation under wraps.

Kleczek Bolin denied that, saying she takes complaints against the county seriously. That is a baseless allegation, Kleczek Bolin said.

She said its not necessary to continue an investigation once an employee has retired, because that person can no longer be disciplined.

But a Milwaukee labor attorney says that, in cases like this, continuing the inquiry may be in the public interest.

A resignation or retirement may resolve the employment side of the ledger, but there remains the citizens and taxpayers interest in knowing what actually occurred, Jeff Hynes said.

Termination of Muchow would have required a two-thirds vote by the county board, because he is an appointed official. Hynes said such proceedings can lead to heated exchanges and threats to air dirty laundry, which is why the parties often pursue other options.

Although the outside attorneys work ended when Muchow resigned, the county continues to investigate two related matters in-house, including the time card issues and cost overages on a storage building. That inquiry is being handled by Interim Highway Commissioner Darin Carignan, who previously worked under Muchow as an office manager.

Complete details of the allegations against Muchow remain unclear. The county has not fully responded to a May 19 public records request filed by the Baraboo News Republic.

On Thursday, the county released some documents, including redacted legal bills and Muchows resignation notice. The release of other records related to the investigation still is under review, officials said.
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Starting in 2018, when a federal employee anywhere in the U.S.  or stationed around the globe  donates a slice of a paycheck to a nonprofit, the internal wheels that send that contribution through will be spinning here in Madison.

Two Madison organizations  the nonprofit Give Back Foundation and family-owned Total Administrative Services Corp., better known as TASC  have won a five-year, $58 million contract to service the U.S. Governments Combined Federal Campaign (CFC).

To deal with the project, TASC is adding at least 120 customer service and information technology jobs, with about 80 of them in Wisconsin, TASC CEO Dan Rashke said.

Our plan is to hire all the people here in Madison that are going to be the ongoing service people, he said.

Formalized on-the-job giving took root in some federal agencies in the 1950s or earlier. The Combined Federal Campaign was created, in initial forms, in the 1960s.

Through the program, about 4 million federal workers  from postal carrier to park ranger, U.S. attorney to president  and members of the military can donate to any of a long list of nonprofits, much like the United Way campaign operates.

More than 500,000 employees currently participate in the program. And it will expand this year, thanks to an order signed by former President Barack Obama, to include 2 million federal retirees, as well, for a total of 6 million potential donors.

Its the worlds largest employee giving program, said Jeanan Yasiri Moe, chairman of the board of the Give Back Foundation and director of strategic communications for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

The main reason the Madison organizations are handling the program is: They were hired to make it paperless.

When federal employees and retirees sign up this fall to contribute from their 2018 pay or pension checks or through separate donations, it will be the first time they can do so online, Yasiri Moe said.

Under terms of the contract between the Give Back Foundation and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Give Back oversees the program and TASC creates the software and logistics, markets the campaign and handles its operation.

Family-run business

TASC, 2302 international Lane, is a family-owned company that administers benefit programs for businesses nationwide.

Its roots date to 1975, when Rashkes father, Don Rashke, founded the Insurance Center Agency in Stevens Point as an insurance and estate-planning company.

In 1985, the company began selling cafeteria benefit plan programs, moving to Madison two years later.

By 1996, the benefit plans were split off to form Total Administrative Services Corp. and had taken center stage. The insurance business was closed and TASC built new headquarters offices near the Dane County Regional Airport, its current location.

Today, TASC says it is the largest privately owned, third-party administrator of employee benefit programs, handling the services for more than 65,000 family farmers and business owners nationwide  and now, the federal government, too.

The contract is TASCs first with the federal government and is huge for the company, he said. It really demonstrates TASCs capabilities.

TASC has more than 850 full-time and part-time employees, with 357 of them in Dane County and the rest working remotely. When the additional employees are all on board, probably by the end of 2017, total employment will be around 1,000, including about 400 in the Madison area, said Bruce Stein, public relations director.

The company had $103 million in revenue in 2016 and occupies two adjacent buildings and leases part of a third building.

Yasiri Moe said she is confident TASC is up to the task.

Giving back from Oprah

The Give Back Foundation is the newest element.

It was established by Stephen Paletta, of Greenwich, Connecticut, who won Oprahs Big Give, a reality show produced by Oprah Winfrey, in 2008. Paletta  a civil engineer, inventor and entrepreneur  won the $1 million prize, with the condition that he give away at least $500,000.

In 2011, he announced the Give Back Foundation had been formed to make it simple for people to contribute to charities. TASC officials were about to build their own system but when they got wind of the foundation, talks ensued. In 2014, TASC bought the online system Paletta had created for companies to offer workplace giving and Paletta joined TASC as an employee. Give Backs operation was moved to Madison.

Under the federal contract  which runs from 2016 to 2021  current and retired federal employees will go online to designate how much they want to contribute and where they want the money to go. TASC will parse out the funding and transmit it and will handle customer service calls from the nonprofit organizations and from CFC contributors.

Nearly 12,000 nonprofits have signed up as potential recipients, so far.

Converting a decades-old, paper-based system of donations that was handled at more than 100 locations into a single online hub was a big undertaking for TASC, Rashke said.

Another new feature: Participants will be able to track volunteer time. The idea of that is to empower and encourage that employee, whos already a civil servant ... to be able to contribute to their community, Rashke said.

Give Backs Yasiri Moe said she thinks the system TASC has set up for the federal giving campaign can be expanded to other companies, governments and organizations.

We hope that by virtue of the success of the Combined Federal Campaign, others will recognize the opportunity to give their employees a seamless, technological platform to engage in giving, she said.

I truly believe this new model/platform that we are creating for the CFC and their individual philanthropists is the equivalent of democratizing workplace philanthropy, Yasiri Moe said.
Madisons skyline is getting a slight remake.

The four towers at the east end of the skyline will soon be reduced to three, creating a gap to those accustomed to the view, like losing a tooth in the citys broad smile.

One of the exhaust stacks at Madison Gas & Electric Co.s Blount Street power plant, 717 E. Main St., on the Near East Side, is being torn down. The stack on the western end, built in 1922, is no longer needed since the power plant, which dates back to 1902, had its fuel source switched from coal to natural gas in 2011. The stack also is deteriorating, the utility said.

Preliminary work began in May, erecting a scaffolding that rings the tower and will run its entire height: 244 feet. Plastic enclosures will be installed at the top and bottom to encase the dust and debris, MGE spokesman Steve Schultz said.

The contractors, Robinson Brothers, of Waunakee, will then knock down the tower, from the top down, using jackhammers or similar equipment, Schultz said.

The scaffolding is expected to be complete by the end of June; demolition is expected to start in July and wont be completed until October, he said.

Asked why MGE chose not to use explosives and blow up the structure from within, Schultz said safety and the environment were high priorities.

Its a lengthy process but its the safest way to do it, from talking with the contractors and engineers, he said.

Crews will be on the job from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and it may be noisy, Schultz said. But he said because of the enclosure, there wont be any clouds of dust or scattering debris.

Because the Blount Street power plant is in a historic district and on the National Registry of Historic Places, the Madison Landmarks Commission had to agree to the demolition, as did the state Public Service Commission.

In an application to the Landmarks Commission in June 2016, MGE said the stack, built 95 years ago, was designed to last 40 years. While it was in service, hot exhaust gases kept moisture from being absorbed into the masonry structure but since it became obsolete in 2011, the changing weather cycles have caused damage.

MGE spent $130,000 to deal with loose paint and asbestos in 2014, the application said.

In 2015, a large, vertical crack was found on the south side of the stack, and in 2016 a steel reinforcement band broke off the stack.

Calling it an obsolete and decaying structure, MGE said it has blocked access to the courtyard at the Blount Street plant for fear of falling materials and the utility is concerned that there is a risk of a catastrophic unplanned collapse of the stack.

Safe demolition of the tower is in the best interest of the public, MGE said.

Cost of the project: $2 million, Schultz said.

A second exhaust stack also is no longer used but Schultz said there are no plans at this time to remove any other stacks. The second one houses communications equipment for MGE employees, he said.

Adjacent to the stacks is a metal-framed building extension that houses a peregrine falcon nest near the top. Schultz said the work will not disrupt the falcon pair or their four chicks that hatched in May.

But the view of Madison will be slightly altered.

It really is kind of an iconic piece of Madison and the skyline, Schultz said.
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin has vetoed a City Council measure to create a council chief of staff position, but council President Marsha Rummel is confident of a veto override.

The spat over the council chief of staff is the latest exchange between Soglin and the council over the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.

Soglin, in his veto letter sent to the council and City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl, said the new position is one more incremental step in changing the structure and function of city government, without a plan.

Since 2010, the City Council budget has increased 153 percent while the rest of city government has increased by 25 percent, Soglin said. The classification and pay range of this position are not appropriate.

The council approved the position on June 6. The chief of staff would oversee the councils staff, as well as work on strategy and be support for City Council members. The position would be for a five-year term and have an annual salary of $94,365 to $127,391.

Rummel responded with a strong statement Friday afternoon, saying she has placed a reconsideration of the mayors veto on Tuesdays council agenda and that I am confident the council will override the veto.

The mayor states that he is concerned about equity and combating poverty but the message he sends with his veto shows he prefers weak legislative partners, she said. His action shows that he is more interested in retaining the power of the executive branch than strengthening the capacity of the council to jointly address the fundamental challenges facing our city.

We need to move forward on our shared goals of providing effective and representative government, a healthy and safe city with strong neighborhoods, with a focus on racial equity and social justice to improve the life chances of all city residents, she continued. We see ourselves as equal partners in the governance of the city.

The council plans to move forward with the position and will be announcing the job soon, Rummel said in the statement, which was endorsed by council vice president Samba Baldeh.

Rummel also challenged Soglins assertions, saying the councils adopted budget from 2010 to 2016 did not increase by 153 percent as the mayor states in his veto message, she said.

In 2010, the councils adopted budget was $376,321 and the 2016 adopted budget was $554,998, a change of 47.5 percent, she said. In 2014 and 2015, the mayors office exceeded the adopted budget for those years, while the council was under budget, she said.

The dispute comes as the mayor and council members are offering competing proposals for a special initiative to examine the citys governance structure.
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Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Neurovascular Devices sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingStryker CorporationJohnson & JohnsonMedtronicTerumoPenumbraMicroport Scientific CorporationAbbott VascularW. L. Gore & AssociatesTo Receive a Sample Copy of Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Market Report 2017@Geographically, this report split Asia-Pacific into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD) , market share and growth rate of Neurovascular Devices for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), includingChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanIndiaSoutheast AsiaAustraliaOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoAneurysm Coiling & Embolization Devices Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting SystemsSupport Devices, Neurothrombectomy DevicesOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume (K Units), market share and growth rate of Neurovascular Devices for each application, includingHospitals, Clinics, Ambulatory Surgical UnitsBuy a Copy of Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Market Report 2017 for single user price of $ 4000@Key Chapters1 Neurovascular Devices Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Neurovascular Devices1.2 Classification of Neurovascular Devices by Product Category1.2.1 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Types (2012-2022)1.2.2 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Aneurysm Coiling & Embolization Devices Cerebral Balloon Angioplasty & Stenting Systems1.2.4 Support Devices1.2.5 Neurothrombectomy Devices2 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application2.1 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Sales Volume and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices (Volume) by Application2.4 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices (Volume and Value) by Region2.4.1 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4.2 Asia-Pacific Neurovascular Devices Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3 China Neurovascular Devices (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 China Neurovascular Devices Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 China Neurovascular Devices Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 China Neurovascular Devices Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 China Neurovascular Devices Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 China Neurovascular Devices Sales Volume and Market Share by Type3.3 China Neurovascular Devices Sales Volume and Market Share by Application4 Japan Neurovascular Devices (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 Japan Neurovascular Devices Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 Japan Neurovascular Devices Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 Japan Neurovascular Devices Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.3 Japan Neurovascular Devices Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)4.2 Japan Neurovascular Devices Sales Volume and Market Share by Type4.3 Japan Neurovascular Devices Sales Volume and Market Share by ApplicationTo View Full Report @Who we areResearch Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights. The research encompasses information gathered and examined by subject-matter experts, laying down growth opportunities and developmental strategies for enterprises.Reach at us:Flat No.10, Wing C,S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1,Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
Global Rinse the Needle Market: Industry Research and Forecast Analysis 2017

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This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringBecton Dickinson and CompanyOwen Mumford LimitedMedexel Co., LtdTerumoHTL-Strefa S.A.Ypsomed AGUnomedical a/sOASIS Medical, IncAlcon Laboratories IncorporatedTwobiens Co.,LtdParker Dayton Technology Suzhou Co., Ltd.Light Medical Products Co., Ltd.Tonghua Dongbao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.To Receive a Sample Copy of Global Rinse the Needle Market Survey Report @By types, the market can be split intoOne-off TypeMany Times TypeBy Application, the market can be split intoHospitalDental ClinicOtherBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaBuy a Copy of Global Rinse the Needle Market Survey Report for single user price of $ 3500@Key Chapters1 Industry Overview of Rinse the Needle1.1 Definition and Specifications of Rinse the Needle1.1.1 Definition of Rinse the Needle1.1.2 Specifications of Rinse the Needle1.2 Classification of Rinse the Needle1.2.1 One-off Type1.2.2 Many Times Type1.3 Applications of Rinse the Needle1.3.1 Hospital1.3.2 Dental Clinic1.3.3 Other1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Rinse the Needle2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Rinse the Needle2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Rinse the Needle2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Rinse the Needle3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Rinse the Needle3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Rinse the Needle Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Rinse the Needle Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Rinse the Needle Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Rinse the Needle Major Manufacturers in 20164 Global Rinse the Needle Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Rinse the Needle Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Rinse the Needle Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Rinse the Needle Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2016 Rinse the Needle Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis4.4.1 2012-2017E Global Rinse the Needle Sales Price4.4.2 2016 Rinse the Needle Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment)To View Full Report @Who we areResearch Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights. The research encompasses information gathered and examined by subject-matter experts, laying down growth opportunities and developmental strategies for enterprises.Reach at us:Flat No.10, Wing C,S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1,Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
Ryan Treves swoops his arm across his body and shapes his hands into talons, mimicking the movements of the great grey owl he spotted on an early winter morning in Middleton last year.

Among the 17-year-old birders seemingly endless birding memories, this one stands out.

It was a huge, majestic grey force of nature, with big yellow eyes, Treves said, his face lighting up with excitement at the recollection. It belongs in the tundra, he said, not in Dane County.

The owl dove past him  so close that he could feel the wind  and latched on to two sparrows, one in each talon. One escaped; the other was not so lucky  it was decapitated.

It looked at me, and I couldnt even take pictures I was so ... I was shaking, he said. I was speechless. Im still trying to wrap my head around it. But I could go on and on.

For Treves, its moments like these that help explain why he started the Wisconsin Young Birders Club, an organization for birders between the ages of 10 and 18 that encourages their interest in ornithology, nature and conservation.

He started the club at 15 as a sophomore at Memorial High School. As a teenage birder, Treves felt distinctly alone, and wanted to find more people with his same passion.

The first young birders club in the state was launched several years ago, but petered out quickly due to lack of time for management.

The current Young Birders Club, now in its second year, has about 26 active members. It is incorporated into the Young Birders Network, a portal of the bird identification site eBird. The network connects 39 young birders clubs in 30 states.

In May, the state Young Birders Club participated in the Great Wisconsin Birdathon, an annual event that raises money for bird protection in the state. Treves and three other birders in the club raised $1,226.

Treves passion for birding started when he was five years old, tagging along with his mother on a trip to Kampala, Uganda, where there are more than five hundred different species of birds. He said it was almost impossible not to get into birds there.

Back in Madison, Treves kept his eyes peeled to the sky, learning about the birds in his own backyard. He pored over National Geographics Birds of North America field guide, and eventually found his way to the Madison Audubon Society. His parents would drive him to local field trips, and lift him up to scopes to see the birds he started to know by heart.

Since then, Treves has identified 1,628 different species of birds, and has spotted birds in Kenya, Tanzania, Chile, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, India and Sweden.

Now, as Treves is approaching his senior year of high school, he is assessing the future of the club.

A new generation of birders

A few years ago, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology surveyed more than 250 members to identify the needs of its members as well as those of other birders in the area.

Six in 10 respondents were older than 55, only 16 percent were 40 or under, and only 4 percent were under 25. In a 2013 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service report on birding in the United States, 6 percent of those between ages 16 and 24 identified as birders, loosely defined as people who have closely observed birds at least once.

For the birding community, those numbers are concerning, said Kim Kreitinger, former president and current membership chairwoman of the society.

We need engagement with the younger community to keep the organization alive, she said. Without an influx of younger members, we face the risk of obsolescence.

Matt Reetz, executive director of the Madison Audubon Society, says that its not hard to get young people excited about nature if youre able to get them outside in the first place. He calls birding the real-world Pokemon-Go for a generation of young people that may prefer smart phones over a pair of binoculars and a guide book.

For Reetz, encouraging young birders means more than keeping a hobby alive; it has major implications for the future of ornithology and conservation. He refers to birds as literally, a canary in a coalmine.

They tell us if something is wrong that can affect us, our quality of life, our economy, Reetz says. Preserving birds is a great way to ensure we protect our natural resources in a broader sense. Our concerns on bird conservation are really a way to gauge the broader questions.

Treves incorporates these conversations into club outings as often as a possible. While leading other members at events, hell point out, say, a henslow sparrow, a small bird with dark strokes on its feathers.

Ill say, henslow sparrows require this very specific habitat thats declining in the Midwest, for this reason, and this is what we can do to make sure we have (the sparrow) around in the future, rather than just counting up lists of birds were seeing, he said.

Young birders in the wild

Club members will meet at excursions a few times a year, grabbing a pair of binoculars and heading out into nature for several hours. Because the levels of experience vary, Treves encourages questions from fellow birders. Whether tracking a cranes location using telemetry, learning how to band a bird or simply enjoying the site of a scarlet tanager, the birders are invited to build rapport over a common interest.

I love seeing the pure vitality and unbridled passion for birds and the outdoors, he said. I feel its my duty to connect that passion at a young age, so in their twenties they can apply it and do something with it.

The events are often joined by an adult, veteran birder, to give the members a better idea of what a career or future in ornithology might look like, Treves said.

Having a more experienced birder gives the outings an extra educational component, without tarnishing the fresh dynamic of a youthful environment, said 15-year-old member Luke Hahn.

[The club] has trips in a group setting with experienced birders, but also having some of the young birders there brings down the age level, and I feel a little more comfortable around them, Hahn says.

Because quite a few of the clubs members are accustomed to birding in environments in which they are the youngest birder, engaging with other young birders can be a uniquely pleasant experience, according to Elsa Moritz, a 12-year-old member.

You go to a lot of birding events and mostly its just adults and older people, but when youre going with people you can relate to more  I like that a lot, she said.

Moritz has also noted that different members bring different skills to the table. While she, as an intern at the Open Door Bird Sanctuary, has more knowledge on birds of prey, other members may specialize in bird calls or bird identification, she said.

Moritz has embraced the nerdy nature of her birding proclivity, but for other birders, sharing their passion has not been so easy. Treves said that he kept his affinity for bird watching relatively quiet until this past year. Michael Gray, a 14-year-old with a particular interest in bird songs, avoids sharing his interest with friends.

You cant really have other people see what you see about everything, Gray said. It probably seems silly to some people, just looking at birds. But everybody in the club shares that enthusiasm.

Building a community

Treves said that 95 percent of the clubs maintenance involves outreach and social media. He makes a point of setting aside time every day to keep the members connected or to network with adult birders, whether through the clubs website, which he developed, or through Facebook and email.

The role of social media is huge, he said. Ill sometimes put an ad out on Facebook, targeting the age range and different interest levels. Ill reach out to news organizations, high schools, local nature clubs.

Hell often tailor events to specific birders in the club or encourage members to attend events that match their personal interests and skill levels. For younger birders, hell build a relationship with their parents, who will often chaperone events.

The culmination is at the events, when I get to see what that work has created, Treves said.

When the young birder grows up

Treves is starting to consider what the club will look like down the road, when he can no longer manage it. He will soon be a young birder no more.

Thats something I find really important, that when I leave it not just fall apart, he said.

He is in conversation with Michael John Jaeger, the president of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, about how to best keep the club going. In the meantime, he has his eyes toward his own future. Interested in biochemistry and pathology, he plans to apply to various out-of-state universities and is interning at a simian immunodeficiency virus lab over the summer.

I have a lot of roots here, but being able to see the world a little bit with my traveling has opened my eyes and kindled a need to expand my horizons and meet people from places where theyve never heard of Wisconsin, people who dont know how to tell a cardinal from a chickadee, he said. I think thats really important.
Aspirin Market is Expected to Gain Popularity Worldwide

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In this report, the United States Aspirin market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report splits the United States market into seven regions:The WestSouthwestThe Middle AtlanticNew EnglandThe SouthThe Midwestwith sales (volume), revenue (value), market share and growth rate of Aspirin in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast).Ask for sample copy of this report @United States Aspirin market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Aspirin sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingBayerNovacapShandong Xinhua PharmaceuticalNanjing Pharmaceutical FactoryJilin PharmaceuticalZhongnan PharmaceuticalJiuming PharmaceuticalWuhan Hongxin Kang Fine ChemicalHebei Jiheng (Group) PharmaceuticalRequest discount for this report @On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue, product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoMedical Grade API AspirinType IIOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Aspirin for each application, includingPainFeverInflammationHeart Attacks and StrokesCancer PreventionOther UsesTable of Contents:1 Aspirin Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Aspirin1.2 Classification of Aspirin by Product Category1.2.1 United States Aspirin Market Size (Sales Volume) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 United States Aspirin Market Size (Sales Volume) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Medical Grade API Aspirin1.2.2 Type II1.3 United States Aspirin Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 United States Aspirin Market Size (Consumption) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Pain1.3.3 Fever1.3.4 Inflammation1.3.5 Heart Attacks and Strokes1.3.6 Cancer Prevention1.3.7 Other Uses1.4 United States Aspirin Market by Region1.4.1 United States Aspirin Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 The West Aspirin Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Southwest Aspirin Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 The Middle Atlantic Aspirin Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 New England Aspirin Status and Prospect (2012-2022)2 United States Aspirin Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1 United States Aspirin Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 United States Aspirin Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.3 United States Aspirin Average Price by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.4 United States Aspirin Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 United States Aspirin Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 United States Aspirin Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Players/Suppliers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion in United States MarketView this report @Who we are:Research Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights.Reach at us:Address: Flat No.10, Wing C, S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1, Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
Universal Orlando recently unveiled a brand-new logo for Universal Studios Florida. The updated logo looks very similar to the new Universal Orlando Resort logo and reflects the company's ever-evolving brand. The new logo will be rolled out in phases over time; for this reason, Guests visiting the resort or reading material about the park while this transition is taking place will see both the updated and legacy (former) versions of Universal Studio Floridas logo as the old one gets phased out.
The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation has committed $8 million to help build a premier Heart and Vascular Center on the campus of MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland.

Recently named one of the nations 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics, the three-year expansion coming to the medical center in Midland is slated to begin in fall 2017.

We are pleased to support this project that will impact so many people in this community receiving heart care now and in the future, said Mike Whiting, president of The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation. Our namesakes (Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow) knew that the people of Midland and residents of rural communities benefit with access to quality care. We appreciate being able to carry on their vision by supporting this project that will offer world-class clinical care in a patient and family-friendly environment.

Over the years, The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation has been a significant supporter of MidMichigan Health. Grace A. Dow provided the initial gift of land to build MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland. Other donations have supported the expansion and development of the Medical Centers campus in Midland, acquiring Gamma Knife technology and the establishment of the Margaret Ann Riecker Institute for Nursing Excellence at MidMichigan Health, among many others.

We are simply elated to not only receive the financial support from The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, but also their continued commitment, guidance and passion to offer nothing less than the best for those we serve needing health care, said Diane Postler-Slattery, president and CEO, MidMichigan Health. Patients and their families expect, demand and deserve excellent delivery of care and The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation continues to help ensure that.

The new 160,000-square-foot building, to be located at the corner of Sugnet Road and Orchard Drive, will consolidate Midlands off-campus cardiology offices along with the non-invasive cardiovascular testing and interventional surgical heart and vascular services. An added expansion to the building will incorporate MidMichigan Medical Center-Midlands full-service diagnostic and support areas, including lab and imaging. MidMichigan is also collaborating with Michigan Medicine, the health care division of the University of Michigan, on the development of the remaining space in the new building.
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Students and staff said farewell to two Midland elementary schools with ceremony, public tours and typical end-of-year activities.

Carpenter Street Elementary School and Eastlawn Elementary School  two of the oldest buildings in the Midland Public Schools district  held their final classes Thursday. The student bodies of the two schools will be combined this fall at the new Central Park Elementary School.

Perhaps because of the innovative adventures that await them at the new school that will use STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) to teach all subjects, sadness mixed with excitement for students leaving the old buildings.

Eastlawn is a great school and I love it, student Danny Wontorcik said at the recent farewell assembly at the schools gym, which was filled with students, staff and alumni.

Some adults were quite sentimental about the building.

Eastlawn will always be near and dear to my heart, said Kristi Price-Mitchell, who told the assembly that her father worked at the school for 33 years. Im very proud that I am and always will be an Eastlawn Eagle.

She urged students to spread kindness and also gave them a message of hope.

This is just the beginning, not the end.

Two adults who are both alumni and MPS staff members shared their unique story. Brett Seamster and Jillian Struble  two-thirds of a set of triplets  grew up attending the school.

There were amazing educators and staff at this school that changed our lives forever, Struble said. We could not have been more blessed to come full circle.

Struble said she taught for a couple of years in North Carolina before Brett called up and told her of an opening at Eastlawn. She was hired and now has come home.

The farewell ceremony also included rousing band music from Midland High School students, the song For Good (performed by Struble and Rachel Atiemo-Obeng with piano accompaniment by Jim Hohmeyer), tributes by former students now in high school and remarks by Principal Shannon Blasy, who will be one of two co-principals at Central Park.

These hallways and classrooms since 1945 have been filled with laughter and learning, Blasy said. All good things must come to an end.  Eastlawn will always be in our memories, it will always be in our hearts.

Carpenter chose a somewhat different approach for its farewell. Having had a 90th birthday assembly for the building in January, school officials chose to host an after-hours reception with old-fashioned refreshments, tables where visitors could share memories, tours and a display of old scrapbooks and other memorabilia in the media center, said Principal Jeff Lauer.

The principal cited a recent International Baccalaureate assessment of the school that confirmed staff and student feelings about the sense of community we have  Its like a big family.

The kids, the parents, the staff all together.

Among the attendees at Carpenters farewell reception were alumni whose ties to the school went back to the 1930s, he added.

At the schools annual Field Day this week, taking a break from a rousing kickball game, Lauer said students are no doubt excited about their new adventures and in weeks like this, the air conditioning in the new building.

Well-kept scrapbooks still on hand in the media center dated back to 1930, revealing that Carpenters Parent and Teachers Association held its first meeting on Nov. 12 of that year. A clipping noted, It was organized by Mrs. Patenge of Bay City. Tea was served by the teachers.

An Oct. 5, 1949, Midland Daily News article reported that the opening PTA meeting of that year drew a record crowd of 200 to hear a talk by then-Superintendent Ernest R. Britton.

By the mid-1950s, parents were hearing talks about the impact of television on their kids, and K-12 enrollment districtwide was reported to be 6,532.

Also in the media center, a few notable facts about the school had been posted, such as an estimate that enrollment at Carpenter was about 150 when it opened in 1927; the spring talent show celebrated its 70th anniversary this year; and a fact about a mysterious time capsule buried somewhere on the property in 1992: Its location is still UNKNOWN!

Deanna Jewell, an administrative assistant who has worked at the school for more than 20 years, said the school is surrounded by a great neighborhood. While she will be moving on to Central Park, she acknowledged, Im going to miss the old building.

Whats in store for the old buildings?

Opened in 1945, Eastlawn is now destined for demolition. Classrooms on the lowest floor were often moved to a higher floor due to spring flooding, and multi-story elementary schools are no longer favored due to security and other issues.

The leaking lower floor and energy inefficiencies are major issues, MPS Superintendent Michael Sharrow said.

As renovations at existing buildings are higher priorities, demolition of Eastlawn is not scheduled until 2018. A public auction at which members of the public can buy pieces of the building will likely be held next winter, the superintendent said.

As for Carpenter, the 90-year-old building will be repurposed. A portion will become headquarters for the districts burgeoning robotics teams, including groups from the high schools, middle schools and elementary schools.

There are plans to convert the gym into a test competition arena for them as well as some other area teams, Sharrow said.

Other possible uses for the rest of the building are still being explored, he added.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department.

Wednesday, June 14

11:49 a.m.  Police reported a suspicious situation in the 700 block of Jefferson Avenue.

12:39 a.m.  A suspicious situation was reported in the 4000 block of Wellness Drive.

12:56 p.m.  Police responded to a civil complaint in the 2800 block of Rodd Street.

1:19 p.m.  A be-on-the-lookout was issued at East Larkin and Townsend streets.

2:16 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a City of Midland location for a man walking in traffic. The 21-year-old Homer Township man denied walking in traffic. While the man was being observed by the deputy, no traffic violations were observed.

2:19 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Mills Township residence at the request of the City of Midland Police. The deputy left a business card with a note asking that a subject call a MCPD officer regarding a vehicle.

2:39 p.m.  A civil complaint was reported in the 1700 block of Wildwood Street.

3:33 p.m.  A retail fraud was reported in the 900 block of Joe Mann Boulevard.

4:40 p.m.  Police responded to a suspicious situation at Wildwood and Evergreen streets.

5:39 p.m.  There was a report of a vehicle driving recklessly in an area in Warren Township. The deputy searched the area and was unable to locate the vehicle.

7:02 p.m.  Police responded to a suspicious situation in the 6500 block of Eastman Avenue.

7:10 p.m.  An animal complaint was reported in the 5100 block of Sturgeon Creek Parkway.

7:59 p.m.  Police made a warrant arrest at 4000 Wellness Drive for resisting and obstructing and violation of the controlled substance act-prescription pills.

8:34 p.m.  A retail fraud was reported in the 900 block of Joe Mann Boulevard.

8:47 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Lee Township residence regarding the complainants 13-year-old daughter messaging an unknown older male on the internet through an app. Nothing illegal had occurred, just conversing. The dangers of talking to strangers was discussed with the daughter.

8:48 p.m.  Police responded to private property damage report in the 3700 block of James Savage Road.

9:33 p.m.  A deputy stopped a 40-year-old man for defective equipment in Greendale Township. The man was severely dehydrated and was requesting EMS to be evaluated. The male was eventually transported to the MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland Emergency Department.

10:23 p.m.  A suspicious situation was reported in the 2700 block of Bay City Road.

10:36 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to Homer Township for a young male riding in the roadway. The deputy was unable to locate the subject.

11:24 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a Larkin Township residence regarding a verbal argument between a 24-year-old Midland Township woman and her 20-year-old brother and 48-year-old mother.

Tuesday, June 13

11:08 p.m.  Police responded to a report of domestic violence on Columbine Drive.
SPRINGFIELD  A statewide task force considering changes in how Illinois tracks sex offenders reached consensus this week on some key points, but agreement on reforms to several politically sensitive measures that could make it easier for offenders to start over after a conviction will require more deliberation.

The Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registration Task Force was formed in 2016 to review how sex offenders are placed on the public registry, current research of sex offenders and how the registration process impacts those convicted of sex crimes.

The task force of more than two dozen members includes representatives from the criminal justice system, and advocates for victims and offenders. The group has held several meetings in an effort to compile recommendations for state lawmakers on potential changes to the existing registration system that puts offenders on a public registry for a term of 10 years or life.

During a teleconference this week, members looked for common ground on four major policy issues. By the end of the four-hour session, it was clear that wide gaps remain on how the law could be restructured to address challenges facing almost 30,000 registered sex offenders in Illinois and the agencies that monitor them.

The majority of members agreed that assessments should be used to determine an individual's risk to re-offend. The assessment could be used to determine how long a person should remain on the registry. A new system could add 5, 10 and 15 year increments to the registry based on risk, with high-risk defendants still earning a registration for life.

As a member of the task force, McLean County State's Attorney Jason Chambers opposes the view of some members that the public registry does more harm than good and should be eliminated.

"You don't need a study to tell you the registry is helpful," said Chambers, citing the need to keep track of those who may look for more victims, including children, if left unmonitored.

Greg Sullivan, executive director of the Illinois Sheriff's Association, questioned how the state would fund new offender assessments.

"Where is the funding going to come from? I hope we won't take it from what we already need," said Sullivan, adding the state is already behind in funding the cost of the registry.

Illinois has an obligation to pay for the assessments that could have a significant impact on an individual's future, said task force member Lynne Johnson.

"We're saying this is the linchpin of what the state is going to do to you," said Johnson.

The panel also agreed that more resources should be provided to the Sex Offender Management Board for a director trained in sex offender assessment and treatment.

John Maki, director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, urged members to craft changes that are likely to be approved by lawmakers.

"We need to look at what gets us to a better place" with reform efforts, Maki told the group.

Following the meeting, Chambers said he supports revisions to the registry to more accurately reflect a person's risk to the community. The so-called Romeo and Juliet offenses that involve sex between a young adult and a teen "should be labeled differently" than the current "sexual predator" label, said Chambers.

He expects heated discussion on possible changes to the law that allows the state to put sex offenders back on the registry if they are charged with any new criminal offense  not just those relating to sex. Some crimes, such as stalking and residential burglary, could be sexually motivated and should be seriously considered for a return to the registry, said Chambers.

Also, expert testimony provided to the task force on recidivism rates for sex offenders should be recognized in future talks on the varying risk posed by offenders, said Chambers.

"There's significant data that shows there are different levels of risk. My ultimate goal is to make sure we are utilizing the right amount of resources for each level," said Chambers.

The task force plans to schedule another meeting this summer to review the remaining proposals and set a public hearing in September. A final report with recommendations is due Jan. 1, 2018.
SPRINGFIELD  Illinois has seen some notable moments over the years: The world's first skyscraper was built in Chicago 1885, and Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery.

But here's a new record no one is proud of: the Land of Lincoln has the lowest credit rating of any state in recent memory, and the Illinois business community is getting scared.

Many say the state's massive spending and pension debt, fueled by a political paralysis that has seen no state budget in 2-plus years, is hurting economic development. Lawmakers are preparing to return to Springfield next week after Gov. Bruce Rauner last week called for a special 10-day session, citing tough, urgent choices ahead. It opens Wednesday.

The Illinois Manufacturers' Association (IMA) says Illinois hasn't paid its bills for years, and a climate of uncertainty is scaring off business growth with long-term worries over just what kind of massive reckoning  in terms of tax hikes and budget cuts  will be needed to finally put matters right.

Business leaders warn job creation already is seriously behind levels achieved in neighboring states.

While no state has rebuilt its manufacturing base since before the Great Recession began in 2007, Illinois has clearly been a loss leader in the Midwest jobs department. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from January 2010, the depth of the recession, to January 2017, Illinois has regained just 14,000 manufacturing jobs. Michigan has recaptured 150,800; Wisconsin, 44,500; Indiana, 88,300; Missouri, 19,000; and Ohio, 79,100.

But Illinois has actually lost manufacturing jobs since 2015, according to the bureau, having dropped 15,600.

Every state is getting these new jobs but us,said Mark Denzler, IMA vice president and chief operating officer.

Denzler said companies won't invest where they fear the future: Companies need to know what is coming down the road where they do business, and we don't have that certainty at all. Unfortunately, Illinois continues to be the laughing stock of the nation.

As for Central Illinois business owners and leaders, the attitude ranges from resignation to intense frustration.

Kyle Ham, chief executive officer of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council, said attracting businesses to locate in McLean County has been made more difficult as the impasse has continued.

It definitely affects our ability to recruit, said Ham. It puts us on a national stage where business owners see we're not functioning as a state.

Daniel Heckman, general manager of Decatur-based Heckman Healthcare, a supplier of medical equipment for home use, said slow Medicaid reimbursement has become a way of life, which makes for a tough business prognosis when combined with cuts in what federal programs will pay for.

And a lot of states have cash flow crises in the Medicaid program, said Heckman. But with Illinois, it's a chronic condition; our state budget problems go on year after year. My company is just diversified enough that we feel that we can still hang on in there.

Moody's Investors Service, one of the key rating agencies, recently downgraded the state's debt to Baa3 status, a notch above junk bond status.

My records go back to 1970, and this is the lowest we have had a state rated in that time frame, said Moody's spokesman David Jacobson, adding no one is sure what will happen if Illinois' credit rating gets flushed further down the toilet into junk bond status, a place no state has gone before. States cannot legally declare bankruptcy.

Some investment firms that hold municipal debt have language in their covenants that says they cannot invest in debt that is not investment grade, Jacobson added.

Political dysfunction and brinkmanship in Springfield, principally between Republican Gov. Rauner and the Democratic-controlled legislature and especially House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago, has seen no budget emerge for two years. Debts, pension debts and annual deficits pile up as citizens flee the state: The U.S. Census Bureau reports that more than 37,000 people moved out of Illinois in 2016, the biggest loss in the nation.

They are leaving behind a state debt burden so high it already works out at $12,000 for every Illinois citizen. The stack of previous unpaid bills stands at more than $14 billion, the current account deficit totals $6 billion  all dwarfed by a crushing unfunded public sector pension liability estimated at $130 billion.

Some business leaders have taken the bull by the horns and, while continuing to complain loudly about the budget mess, have also proposed solutions. The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago spent months coming up with a detailed 40-page report that analyzed the problems and proposed a fiscal fix.

Basically, to end the current catastrophe, economists concluded Illinois needs $2 billion in annual budget cuts and $8 billion in annual revenue hikes every year between 2018 and 2022. That will eliminate the structural budget deficit, pay off the unpaid bills and establish a reserve fund, said Jay Henderson, chairman of the Civic Committee's tax policy task force.

Henderson said it's tough medicine, but business understands radical intervention is needed to save the patient while there is still time.

Rauner, Madigan and other leaders in Springfield have been shown the report, but it doesn't seem to have moved the needle much.

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said the speaker knows that business is being harmed, but it's Rauner's intransigence that is stopping any budget progress.

He's regularly sabotaged anything that's been attempted so far, said Brown. He's continued to sabotage any effort at compromise day in and day out.

Rauner never directly addressed the report from the Civic Committee, but continues to hammer at message that Democrats have not passed a "truly" balanced budget in decades when Madigan has ruled the House.

Rauner continues to push for a series of pro-business reforms that include term limits, legislative redistricting, a property tax freeze, a new school funding formula and workers' compensation reform.

The true solution to fixing our budget is to raise revenue by expanding our tax base and growing our economy  not by raising taxes and driving more jobs and families out of our state," the governor said in his annual budget address in February.

 Herald & Review reporter Tom Lisi contributed to this story.
Stora Enso Announces Startups Selected for its Accelerator Programme The Accelerator Programme invited startups from all over the world to pitch their business idea, especially within the areas of smart factories, supply chain track and trace, and customer experience  or any other compelling idea with a clear connection to the renewable materials industry. June 15, 2017 (Press Release) - Stora Enso has chosen six startups to join its Accelerator Programme, a joint startup initiative organised by Stora Enso, Aalto University Developing Entrepreneurship (Aalto ENT) and Vertical Accelerator. The Accelerator Programme combines an executive education programme with a startup accelerator, in collaboration with dedicated partners from Vertical and Aalto ENT. The programme invited startups from all over the world to pitch their business idea, especially within the areas of smart factories, supply chain track and trace, and customer experience  or any other compelling idea with a clear connection to the renewable materials industry. The winning teams were selected from a pool of over 120 applicants following an intensive application round, including final pitching to the Stora Enso Group Leadership Team. The proposals ranged from big data and analytics to IoT, supply chain optimization, safety and many other ideas that could potentially support the transformation of Stora Enso's business. The startups invited to join the Accelerator Programme are: Sulapac (sulapac.com)

Top Data Science (topdatascience.com)

Collective Crunch (collectivecrunch.com)

Tra Kronor (trakronor.com)

LOOP by Circology (loop-hub.co.uk)

Drvr (drvr.co) The final decisions were based on the startups' capacity to bring diverse out-of-the-box thinking and the fit of their business idea. The Accelerator Programme combines management development with cooperation and partnership with startups. From Stora Enso, 18 participants will join the programme which consists of executive education as well as working side-by-side with the startups supporting them to develop their business. The chosen startups will have dedicated resources from Stora Enso, participate in a globally renowned 4-month Vertical accelerator programme and get a 4-month free co-working space in one of Europe's biggest startup hubs, Maria 0-1 located in Helsinki. The Accelerator Programme is a great way to build and strengthen the competencies and capabilities needed to continue Stora Enso's transformation journey. Not only we will gain new knowledge, but it is also an opportunity to learn about the entrepreneurial mindset and way of working. We are looking for cross-fertilisation between Stora Enso and the startups, and we hope that the companies joining the programme will become potentially long-term partners, says Karl-Henrik Sundstrom, CEO of Stora Enso. About The Accelerator Programme The Accelerator Programme is designed to identify startups bringing disruptive innovations in digitalisation, IoT, big data, analytics, supply chain, AI, VR, robotics, or in any other part of the chain that can help to speed up our transformation as the world-leading renewable materials company. In order to get there faster we have invited six innovative, fast-moving startups to advance our understanding about new technologies and market trends. All the selected startups act in an area of strategic importance to Stora Enso. The startups, in turn, will have the opportunity to develop their business by working side-by-side with Stora Enso employees and participate in an external accelerator programme. The startups we have selected to collaborate with could be our partners or suppliers of tomorrow. www.storaenso.com/about/accelerator Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper on global markets. To learn more, please visit: www.storaenso.com SOURCE: Stora Enso
Apple is holding their first ever Apple Pay 'Lose your Wallet' event in San Francisco and specifically in the Marina District and Hayes Valley next weekend. Hayes Valley is a neighborhood in the Western Addition district of San Francisco, California. It is located between the historical districts of Alamo Square and the Civic Center. Victorian, Queen Anne, and Edwardian townhouses are mixed with high-end boutiques, restaurants, and public housing complexes. The Marina District neighborhood sits on the site of the 1915 PanamaPacific International Exposition, staged after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to celebrate the reemergence of the city. Aside from the Palace of Fine Arts, all other buildings were demolished to make the current neighborhood.

A lot of tourists in town next weekend will be able to participate in this unique Apple Pay event that could be duplicated in other cities in the future should next week's event end up being a smash hit. I'm sure local Apple fans will make that happen. See the list of merchants that will be participating in the Apple Pay event below.













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We officially met most of the members of our Cruise Lady group this morning  some are still on their way  for a tour that took us up to the spectacular Benedictine monastery of Montserrat  a particular focus of Catalonian pride and even Catalonian nationalism, as well as a place associated by some with the Arthurian legend of the Holy Grail  and then over to the seaside town of Sitges, famous for its beaches, its restaurants, and its rather bohemian culture. My wife and I had an excellent seafood and paella lunch there with our longtime friend Louis Midgley, who is on the tour with us. (Between me and Professor Midgley, there probably hasnt been more mean-spirited malice in Spain since the death of Generalissimo Francisco Franco in 1975.)

There are also three current or former professors of geology along on this group  two from BYU (including Bart Kowallis, whom I first met when we were freshmen in Hinckley Hall) and one retired from the University of Wisconsin. I already overheard some interesting geological discussion between them on this tour, and look forward to hearing more. (Of course, since several critics have informed me repeatedly that Im a young-Earth creationist who believes our planet to be only 6,000 years old, insisting on it repeatedly over my [no doubt mistaken] denials, this could be quite an ordeal.)

I thought it rather funny for a Mormon group to descend from Montserrat for a rather extended drive through wine country, during which we received an extensive explanation of wine and wine-making, to a town that is well-known as one of the most gay-friendly in the world; that faces onto beaches where considerably less clothing is required than, say, BYU expects swimmers to wear; and that was the birthplace in 1814 of local icon Facundo Bacardi Masso, the creator of Bacardi Rum and the founder of the largest privately held, family-owned producer of alcoholic spirits in the world, of whom we also learned a fair amount.

It was, actually, a very nice tour, and our Polish-born guide, Eva, who has taken a number of Cruise Lady groups around Barcelona in the past, was quite good.

Posted from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Being a regular reader (of news and stuff of social media, no books ha!), I happened to visit Quora. It is one of the best sites to pass your time on while grasping on some mind-blowing tales of history, politics and almost every topic under the sun.

So yesterday somebody asked me a question: What are the places in Bihar which are worth traveling and to be learned about?

Being from Bihar, this appeared to me as a great opportunity to repel some of the prejudices that are formed in the minds of the people regarding Bihar and its tourism. So here is the answer that I wrote on Quora:

If you are travelling to Bihar, I am sure you would visit the Ruins of Nalanda University (above). Most definitely you have it in your 'to visit' list. But if you take my opinion, then before going to this place you should go here:

This is Veer Kunwar Singhs Memorial in Jagdishpur, Ara. Here you would see the inspirational story of an 80-year old man fighting against the mighty British for his land and his people. You would see the true Bihari spirit of fighting against suppression.

Again, with your preconceived mind, you would want to visit this famous Jain pilgrimage center commonly known as the Jal Mandir of Pawapuri. And surely you should visit it as most people would tell you about it.

But I am going to ask you to visit a place which most people would not tell you about.



This is the ancestral house of Jaya Prakash Narayan, or JP as he was famously known. This is located in the village of Sitab Diyara in Saran district. The house is now being converted into a Museum. Here you would come to know about a man who challenged the supreme authority that Indira Gandhi was at the time of Emergency in the '70s. The man who inspired students to join his movement and who threw Mrs. Gandhi out of power. It is places such as these that would inspire you to fight against all odds in your life.

Now moving further, people would also suggest you to visit various places in Patna like the Buddha Smriti Park, Gol Ghar, Bihar Museum etc. No doubt that you should visit these places but again, I have an advice for you. Before you visit them, you should go to the Tomb of Sher Shah Suri located in the city of Sasaram.

I think you would be interested to know about the man who, with his small kingdom and a small army, defeated Humayun and the Mughal army and sat on the throne of Delhi. Yes! This again is a place which introduces you to another fighting spirit.



There are many more places which are immensely interesting and full of tales of inspiration like this.

The next destination of yours should be the city of Munger. Currently the Yoga capital of the East, this city has witnessed history like no other. From being the Midlands of the Aryans to being the capital of Mir Qasims Riyasat to being the gun factory of the East, this city has seen it all. Surrounded by a lot of temples and even more by the tales of history, this is one of the tourists delight.

Now take a right turn from Munger to Gaya. When you are in Gaya, first of all you should visit Thishiuen-Tsang Memorial Hall.



This is the Tomb of Huan Tseng, the Chinese traveler who came to India. He was so impressed by the standard of education (Nalanda University) and ruling that when he got back to China, he wrote an entire book about it. You would definitely want to know more about him. And what better place than his own tomb!

And finally, after seeing all this, you must be tired. So, to find that inner peace of mind and solace, make sure that you reach the Mahabodhi Temple. Are you impressed? Well. you should be. Bihar is not just what you see through your TV or social media spectacles; it is much more, rather totally beyond that image.

But thats not all. It was just Central and South Bihar. There is entire North thats left to discuss. But we shall do that some other day.

For now, pack your bags, get your stuff ready and come visit this historic land of inspirations.
Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi, while talking to reporters in Patna on Tuesday, tore into Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying the Janata Dal  U leader was keeping mum over rising cases of rape in Bihar and was hoping things will blow over in a few days so he did not have to respond.

"The Chief Minister is not taking cases of rape seriously in Bihar. In fact, he and his party leaders are doing their best to disprove the allegations of rape by blaming the victims instead of their tormentors," the former Deputy Chief Minister said.

Giving example of the highly-publicized rape case in East Champaran district, Modi said that all evidences pointed to the rape of the under-age girl but the government, using false medical reports, tried to disprove the charges to protect the reputation of the Nitish administration.

"The victim in the case was raped and her female part mutilated by a wood stump and a pistol on June 13 but she was not made to undergo medical test until June 22. This was intentional. Not only that, the police took ten days to record her statement," he said adding the nurses of the hospital told the member of the National Women's Commission Sushma Sahu that the girl indeed was raped but in spite of that, government officials tried to suppress the evidences.

Modi also took Kumar to task for abandoning his Janata Durbar saying the weekly meeting was the only platform for many people to express their grievances before the Chief Minister and by doing away with it, he had done gross injustice to rural people.

As reported before, Kumar did away with the practice of holding Janata Durbar at his residence each Monday after passing the new Public Grievance Redressal Act of Bihar earlier this month.
Iranian FM Zarif to Secretary Tillerson: U.S. Better Save Own Regime

06/17/17

Source: Tehran Times

TEHRAN - Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday hit back at the United States for rhetoric of regime change in Iran, calling on Washington's officials to worry about saving their own regime instead of talking about changing the Iranian political system which enjoys a strong backing by its people.



Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

"U.S. officials should worry more about saving their own regime than changing Iran's, where 75% of people just voted," Zarif tweeted.



The response by Zarif came a day after a hearing during which U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was asked by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) whether the United States supports regime change inside Iran. He replied in the affirmative, saying Washington's foreign policy toward Iran is driven by relying on "elements inside of Iran" to bring about "peaceful transition of that government."



Tillerson added, "Our Iranian policy is under development. It's not yet been delivered to the president...."



The U.S. official also referred to Iran's nuclear program, saying Washington's policy toward Tehran is to contain its ability to develop nuclear weapons.



This is while Tillerson himself has previously acknowledged that Tehran is in full compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement, which was signed between Iran and six world powers. The International Atomic Energy Agency has also confirmed Iran's commitment to its undertakings.

'Tillerson's remarks are interventionist and unacceptable'

Also on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi called Tillerson's remarks "interventionist, in gross violation of the compelling rules of international law, unacceptable and strongly condemned."



"Since the 1950s, the United States tried to meddle in Iranian affairs by different strategies such as coup d'etat, regime change, and military intervention." Qassemi said, referring to U.S. involvement in the 1953 coup in Iran, dubbed Operation AJAX by the CIA.



These efforts have all failed, Qassemi said, adding that the new U.S. government was "confused" and could be "easily manipulated by wrong information."





Read related article by Shargh daily



In a separate tweet on Thursday, Zarif said, "Before reverting to unlawful & delusional regime-change policy towards Iran, [the] U.S. Administration should study and learn from history."



On Thursday, the U.S. Department of State declassified a long-awaited "retrospective" volume of government documents on the 1953 coup in Iran, including records describing planning and implementation of the covert operation.



For decades, neither the U.S. nor the British governments would acknowledge their part in the ouster of Iran's then-prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddeq.



"This is going to be an important source for anyone interested in the tortured relationship between Washington and Tehran," said Malcolm Byrne, who runs the National Security Archive's Iran-U.S. Relations Project. "But the fact that it has taken over six decades to declassify and release these records about such a pivotal historical event is mind-boggling."



Related Article by Steven Aftergood, Federation of American Scientists:

The CIA Coup Against Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosadeq: Iran 1953 Covert History Quietly Released



Day of the CIA orchestrated coup (August 19, 1953) in Tehran

The Department of State yesterday released a long-suppressed volume of historical records documenting the role of the United States in the 1953 coup against the Iranian government of Mohammad Mosadeq.

"This retrospective volume focuses on the evolution of U.S. thinking on Iran as well as the U.S. Government covert operation that resulted in Mosadeq's overthrow on August 19, 1953," the Preface says. See Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS), 1952-1954, Iran, 1951-1954.

"This volume includes National Security Council and Presidential materials that document the U.S. decision to proceed with the operation against Mosadeq, and the operational files within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that document the implementation of the operation, codenamed TPAJAX." (read more)
Dr Manteaw Yaw, a member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee, has said the lack of effective inter agency collaboration and coordination in the execution of private and public businesses by institutions of state continues to have a great impact on the nation.



He said besides the economic loses that come with the inability to coordinate effectively, the situation most of the time presented challenges especially with projects that were either in the acquisition of lands for projects, environment impact assessment and even the dissemination of relevant information to affected individuals or communities.



Dr Manteaw Yaw said this during a stakeholders forum on petroleum sector governance in Takoradi in the Western Region.



It was held under the theme: 10 years of commercial Oil Discovery in Ghana-progress made, lessons learnt and outlook.



He said in order to make any significant progress in the petroleum sector, there is the need for all agencies concerned to work together in propelling the socio-economic development of the country.



The stakeholders forum discussed issues on improving livelihoods and protecting the environment of oil impacted communities, enhancing community participation, public hearing and monitoring of environmental management plans, the need for a comprehensive compensation package for affected communities.



Mr Solomon Ampofo Kusi, Officer in Charge of Natural Resources Governance at the Friends of the Nation, said the discovery of oil in 2007 came with many expectations which are yet to be met especially in the six coastal districts.



He said though four priority areas have been selected, there is the need for government to make clear investment plans as to how such revenues are going to be utilized for maximum benefit.



Mr Kusi said there is the need for agencies concerned to make available environmental management plans to the public for proper scrutiny and the passage of the Marine Pollution Bill to protect the countrys coastline.

Source: GNA









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Family members of the late captain Maxwell Adam Mahama, who was a victim of a mob action, in Diaso in the Central region, believe Rev. Owusu Bempah lied about his divine interpretation over their sons murder.



The leader and founder of the Glorious Word Ministry International claimed the soldiers death was an act of God since He was using it to punish the family of former president John Mahama over his sins ahead of the 2016 elections.



The 32-year-old military commander was lynched at Denkyera-Boase during an early morning jogging by locals who suspected he was an armed robber after sighting a sidearm on him. Twenty-five persons have since been arrested over the nefarious act with seven standing trial for murder.



Speaking at a press conference Saturday at Burma Camp in Accra, the family spokesperson Zakari Ahmed said Rev. Owusu Bempah must go and sleep where he slept again and seek clarification from God.



Your prophecy is a big lie, Ahmed said.



God never revealed to him. We feel what has happened can happen to anybodys son. Nana Kwaku Bonsam [a fetish priest], we believe people like him will go to heaven. He even called to wish us well and not even Bempah. If Owusu Bempah will go on air and say that about Mahama [then] is a big lie and he should stop it he only wants to seek attention and must stop it, Ahmed stressed.



Captain Mahama will be buried Friday, June 9, 2017 at the Military Cemetery.

Source: Starrfm









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An auto mechanic who was contracted by the Mahama administration to repair state-owned vehicles acquired 10 of such state vehicles: four (4) Toyota Land Cruisers, four (4) brand new Pickups, one (1) Toyota SUV and a VW Passat, at abnormally low prices, the National Operations Commander of the Vehicle Retrieval Task Force, Daasebre Kwabena Ahenkorah, has revealed.



According to Mr Ahenkorah, two SUVs have been retrieved from the mechanic, Mr Asem Emmanuel, at Olebu-Ablekuma, a suburb of Accra.



He said Mr Asem Emmanuel had diverted several state vehicles that were sent to him for repairs into his own garages.



Mr Ahenkorah, who is also the Assistant Divisional Officer at Kotoka International Airport, told Accra-based Kasapa FMs Fiifi Banson on Thursday 15 June in an interview that Asem Emmanuel had been changing the registration numbers of the state cars before diverting them into his two garages.



He said the mechanic admitted buying state vehicles at very low prices from elements of the previous administration.



Receipts covering the purchase of the said vehicles showed that the four brand new Double Cabin Pickups were bought at a total sum of GH18,000 while each of the four Toyota Land Cruisers was bought at GH2,000 totalling GH8,000.



Mr Ahenkorah said it is only the Toyota V8 that was sold to Mr Asem Emmanuel at GH30,000.

Source: Classfmonline









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Although everything in Ghana is highly politicised, the countrys judiciary has been insulated from the politicisation, Chief Justice-designate, Sophia Akuffo, has asserted Im not saying everything is political but everything is politicised excessively in this country, she said, adding Im an example that it [the judiciary] is not [politicised].



She said considering the fact that she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ghana by former President John Rawlings and now nominated as Chief Justice by President Nana Akufo-Addo, there is clearly no politicisation of the judiciary.



I was appointed by a former president Jerry John Rawlings and I have now been nominated by President Akuffo Addo and these are from different ends of the political spectrum and so, if just that, obviously not, she said at her vetting Friday.



However, she admitted almost everything in the country have been politicised, saying but unfortunately, this is just personal, everything is politicised. and it is one of the things we all need to be working against, she told the Appointments Committee members.



Notwithstanding, she said there is the need to relook at the appointment processes for transparency and integrity purposes in order to avoid what she termed external influences of the judiciary.



One of the quality indices of quality justice is independence and integrity. To shield the judiciary further from external influences, maybe we need to take a second look, at even the appointment process. Im not here, ready to make any recommendations but we do need to, at the very least, we need some sort of procedural guidelines as to what the process is.



That at least helps with transparency, she explained. Judiciary and influences Justice Akuffo argued that the judicial process required to be insulated not only from political influences but from all forms of influences. She said there are a number of mechanisms to ensure the judiciary is insulated from all forms of external influences, noting Part of it has to do with even enforcing the code of conduct of judges because that is grounded in judicial the assurance of judicial independence and integrity.



Justice Sophia Akuffo, who is the second most senior of the Supreme Court judges, was nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to replace Justice Georgina Theodora Wood who retired as Chief Justice of Ghana on June 8, 2017.



Her nomination was in line with Article 144(1)(2) which require the selection of a Chief Justice to be done by the President in consultation with the Council of State but subjected to the approval of parliament.



Though her vetting was initially scheduled for June 19, the current vacuum created by the exit of Mrs Wood necessitated the process to be pushed to Friday, June 16, 2017.

Source: 3news









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The Chief Justice nominee, Sophia Akuffo, declined to give any substantial comments on the Montie Three case. which she presided over, during her vetting on Friday.



Justice Akuffo simply said she was uncomfortable justifying a judgment she delivered.



The Montie Three; Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase, were sentenced to jail for four months after they were found to be in contempt of the Supreme Court in July of 2016, when they threatened the lives of Supreme Court Justices during a live radio programme.



The three were subsequently pardoned after serving only a month, by Former President Mahama, who exercised his constitutional prerogative of mercy, following petitions presented to him mostly by members of his government and party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).



As part of her judgement, the four directors of Network Broadcasting Limited (Owners of Radio Gold and Montie FM), were roped into the contempt charge, and ordered to pay a fine of GHc30,000. Harry Zakuor, owner of Zeze media, which owns Montie FMs frequency was also to pay a separate fine of GHc30,000.



Responding to a question on the idea of contempt protecting the integrity of the court, Justice Akuffo said, she was not comfortable about being called upon to justify a judgment that we have delivered, but in general terms, concerning the scope of the exercising of the contempt power or labeling something to be contemptuous, I believe that each case will dictate the outcome.



The question, from the Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga, sought to understand why the contempt charge was extended to the owners of Montie FM.



Justice Akuffo, during her judgment at the time, said the owners were careless in their submissions to the court, as they appeared to have little or no interest in what transpired on their radio station.



She expressed the hope that, every media owner will henceforth take a keen interest in what is churned out on their frequencies.



GIBA suit against NMC



Also of note was the question relating to the declaration as constitutional, the law requiring media owners to seek content approval from the National Media Commission (NMC) before publication.



In a unanimous decision in November 2016, a seven-member panel, led by Justice Akuffo, held that certain regulations in the NMC (Content Standards) Regulations 2015 (L.I. 2224) amounted to censorship and contravened Article 162 Clause (4) of the 1992 Constitution.



Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) had dragged the NMC and the Attorney-General to court over aspects of the regulation.



GIBA claimed that the regulations were an affront to freedom of speech and the rights and freedoms granted to the media under Article 162 of the 1992 Constitution.



Justice Akuffo, explaining some aspects of the panels reasoning, said they considered aspects of the NMCs regulations to be too broad and only asked them to return to the court with specifics.



The balance is that, in the matter against the media commission, regulations were being made which were over-broad without specificity and carried all kinds of sanctions, therefore, what we were calling on the commission to do was to go back to the drawing board.

Source: citifmonline.com









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The magistrate sitting at the Accra Central District Court seven on Thursday prevented journalists covering the trial of the two suspects in the murder of the former Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North.



The Magistrate Ms Arit Nsemoh is reported to have yelled at the newsmen No journalist is allowed in my court.



Ms Nsemoh also asked newsmen standing at the entrance of the court to leave the premises.



The two suspects are being held for the murder J. B. Danquah Adu.



Meanwhile Deputy Superintendent of Police George Amega told the court that the prosecution is waiting for the Attorney- Generals advice.



Mr Amega however denied the assertions of Daniel Asiedu aka sexy Dondon, the 1st accused that they have been prevented from seeing their lawyers, Asiedu had contended that they have not been able to speak to their lawyers.



The court adjourned the matter to June 29.



Asiedu and his accomplice Vincent Bosso aka junior Agogo are being held for abetment to murder whilst Asiedu is also being held for murder.

Source: GNA









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The outer wall on the right wing of the Kumasi Central Prisons on Thursday night collapsed damaging a Tata bus, parked close to it.



Assistant Superintendent of Prisons (ASP) Richard Bukari, the Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prison Service, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that, there were no casualties.



This has brought to the fore the urgent need to carry out repairs on the prison built about 116 years ago.



ASP Bukari said the collapse of the wall, was presenting serious security challenges and needed to be fixed quickly.



He indicated that people could now have access to the main prison yard and that was why any delay in re-erecting the fence could be unhelpful.



He, however, gave the assurance that adequate security measures had been put in place to prevent any breaches.



ASP Bukari complained about cracks that had developed on the walls of the male prison housing about 1,700 prisoners and expressed the fear that the structure could fall down without warning.



He said there was the need to renovate the entire prison facility.

Source: GNA









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Mrs Dzifa Attivor, a former Minister of Transport has called on the media to use their networks to promote Ghanas resources to attract more investors and generate interest in the countrys endowments.



The focus on our natural resources will not only sell our performance to the outside world, but will also promote our resources, culture and traditions globally.



Mrs Attivor made this call during a three-day orientation course for selected media personnel who would be trained to work at the newly established Volta One(V1 TV) station at Ho, Volta Regional Capital.



The V1 TV, the first in the Region and situated at the Heart of the Volta Regional Capital would initially begin transmission with programmes such as; Morning Dew, Genesis, Documentary, News Trail, Church without walls, the Journal and Friday Mosque.



It is training personnel who had already been auditioned to take up responsible positions at the network to promote the Volta Region, Ghana, Africa and the world at large.



Mrs Attivor, who is the Founder of the network gave the assurance that the performance of the station would go beyond the confines of the region to become one of the best Television stations in the country and Africa.



All over the world, the international media have placed premium on projecting Ghana and Africa for that matter in a negative form, but I can assure you that our station will promote all the good things about the Volta Region, our country and Africa.



The former Minister said there were a lot of positives about the Volta region that were yet to be covered and gave the assurance that her outfit would do so towards the promotion of growth and development.



Dr Kuku Biney, Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom Satellite network advised the media personnel to promote all positive aspects of Ghanaians to allay the fears of investors and visitors who had doubts about the capabilities of Ghana and Ghanaians.



We must promote positivity in everythingand should have the power to learn and earn, train and gain among other things.



Mr Rocky Wilson, Founder and Director of Broadcom Network Limited called for teamwork and good leadership for them to achieve their goals in broadcasting.



He urged them to be honest and passionate to their work for the founders to achieve their aim of establishing the station.

Source: GNA









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The controversy that erupted when Afriwave Telecom Ghana Limited was awarded a 10-year contract to build and operate an Interconnect Clearing House contract (ICH) seem to be resurfacing as industry players are calling on the National Communication Authority to with immediate effect, review the contract and if possible abrogate since it is a needless enterprise.



Apart from the flat rate of GH4.52m which NCA pays to Afriwave monthly, they are also paid some rates depending on the traffic flow which will sum up to about GH8m every month



Ironically, Afriwave paid a paltry GH4m for the 10-year license. How can I issue a license to you at a fee and then turn around to pay you huge sums of money every month without me the regulator benefiting? It does not happen anywhere in this world a communications analyst who pleaded anonymity told the ABC News yesterday.



Relying on a July 31, 2015 letter written by then Deputy Minister of Finance, Casiel Ato Forson, where the Ministry issued a stern warning and directed the NCA to refrain from awarding any contract for revenue monitoring, the source said the contract must be abrogated immediately and then investigated.



The letter, among others cited the Financial Administration Act which reserves the responsibility of revenue monitoring to the Finance Ministry.



On why he was calling for an investigation into the award of the contract, the source claimed that the taxpayer is paying so much to Afriwave just because of the interest of Seth Tekper, former Finance Minister and Dr Omane Boamah, former Communications Minister. They never got on well.



He further alleged that while Seth Tekper was promoting Subah Infosolutions, Dr. Omane Boamah was also promoting Afriwave so these gentlemen must be invited to explain their roles in the award of the contract especially to Afriwave



The contract is a complete rip-off looking at the money involved, the source added.



According to the contract, a copy of which is possession of the ABC News Afriwave will be paid GH3.52million (GH3,521,864.70) monthly for report on traffic volumes and revenue,  GH 600,000 monthly for anti-fraud testing based on performed activity and GH400,000.monthly Geo-Location services based on performed activity.



Afriwave will also be paid GH0.50 per every sim card replacement. So it means that if you lost your sim card and you went to the telco to replace it for you, Afriwave will collect 50 pesewas. For what, I do not know



What NCA did was completely illegal because Parliament stated categorically in the amended Electronic Communication Act 2016, that an Interconnect Clearing House will not provide tax revenue assurance, and shall not be responsible to account for tax revenue to government.



Revenue assurance is a form of audit that verifies directly from the telecom companies the volume of traffic and compare it with the taxes the companies pay.



It would be recalled that the controversy over the award of a monopoly licence to Afriwave took an amazing twist, with a revelation that the NCA purported evaluation report which scored Afriwave high marks was unsigned.



The report, which was in possession of then Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, during Joy Fms News File programme, appeared to have no signatories of the members of the Application Evaluation Panel headed by Albert E. Enninful, deepening the suspicion that the bid process was cooked for Afriwave.



Policy think-tank IMANI Ghana had indicated that the processes leading to the award of the licence to Afriwave were riddled with fraud.



According to IMANI, the Application Evaluation Panel that looked into the capabilities of five companies that had put in bids to manage the ICH platform rigged the process in favour of Afriwave.



The companies which put in bids were Afriwave, Subah Infosolutions, Prodigy International Limited, TCMS-GVG Consortium Limited and Channel IT Ghana Limited.



This whole process was rigged to guarantee a perverted outcome that can be seen from the remarks of the panel in various parts of the report, IMANI claimed, adding, The Panel manipulated its own scoring scheme to ensure that Afriwave came on top, regardless of the actual results; and they did so with brazenness that is almost farcical.



But the NCA in a rebuttal said there were some transpositional errors that led to some of the bidders scoring high marks during the assessment process but it was later corrected.The call for investigations into the award of the contract to Afriwave comes on the heels of media reports that some former officials of the NCA, including Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, former Board Chairman; one Alhaji Osman, former Deputy National Security Coordinator, and others allegedly withdrew $4 million from the accounts of the NCA and have failed to account for it.



They had contracted an Israeli company, NSO Group Technology Limited, to supply listening equipment at the cost of $6 million, to enable National Security monitor conversations of persons suspected to be engaged in terror activities. A local agent, Infraloks Development Limited, was also charging $2 million to facilitate the transaction, bringing the total sum to $8 million.



But only $1 million was paid into the accounts of the Israeli company while the remaining $3 million was lodged into the accounts of one George Oppong, representing the local agents, Infraloks Development Limited. That money was allegedly shared among the officials.



Meanwhile, another source tells this paper that the Director of Regulatory Administration of the NCA, Kofi Datsa, who played a key role in the award of the contract is said to be sitting on tenterhooks as the Economic and organized Crime Office is set to delve into the matter.



The source also hinted that the monthly payments to Afriwave have been halted but was not willing to give further and better particulars

Source: atinkaonline.com/ghanawen









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General Secretary for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has responded to the host of Peace FMs flagship programme 'Kokrokoo', Kwami Sefa Kayi for condemning him [Asiedu] on his comment over the lynching of the late Major Mahama.



The NDC General Secretary, popularly called General Mosquito has said that the horrifying murder happened "under the direct supervision of President Akufo-Addo".



He stressed that ever since the Mahama administration handed over a "peaceful Ghana" to President Nana Akufo-Addo, the country has "known no peace".



From the beating up of a serving police officer at the Flagstaff House to the beating up of a Regional Security Co-ordinator, the disruption of a court process, the burning of toll booths, and the molestation of civil servants, the lawless culture of impunity has now reached the doorstep of the Ghana Armed Forces . . . The State has watched and sponsored its goon squads to unleash wanton mayhem on innocent Ghanaians . . . This is highly unacceptable Mr. President," he stated emphatically.



Mr. Sefa Kayi described the comments as very "insensitive, shameful and irresponsible" and further questioned General Mosquito whether he would have sought to score political points with the issue if the deceased happened to his child.



But responding to Kwami Sefa Kayi on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, the NDC Chief Scribe enquired to know if something is wrong with the host of 'Kokrokoo' for attacking him on his radio station.



He wondered if Kwami Sefa Kayi was expecting him [Asiedu Nketiah] to praise President Akufo-Addo for the death of Major Maxwell Mahama.



Many Ghanaians have not insulted me the way Kwami Sefa Kayi and John Boadu did. I didnt take their insults serious because I realised that they just wanted to do politics with the issue. Whats wrong with him? Was he expecting me to praise the government for the murder of Major Mahama? he quizzed.



He insisted that his comment was in order as it was due to the current poor handling of security situation in the country that has resulted in the impunity being exhibited by some pro-government groups.



Maybe Sefa Kayi wanted me to praise the government and also praise all those who killed Major Mahama because he was my son. Was that what he wanted me to say? President Kufuor, President Mahama and Mrs. Georgina Wood have all condemned the impunity in the country; didnt Kwami Sefa Kayi hear them? Or is it because it came from me which is why he insulted me? he inquired.



 . . the government is responsible for our security and if they dont handle it well, we will blame them and we dont care if they will insult us or not. No press man can protect the government on national security lapses. The government is for all of us and we pay taxes. If he doesnt know how serious the menace is in the country, he should sit in his radio station and say whatever he likes, he replied.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com





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General Secretary for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Asiedu Nketiah says apart from host of Peace FMs 'Kokrokoo' program, Kwami Sefa Kayi and Acting General Secretary for the ruling NPP, John Boadu, many Ghanaians have hailed him for speaking their minds to the Akufo-Addo government over the death of Major Adam Mahama.



According to him, he still stands by his earlier comment that President Akufo-Addo should be blamed for the death of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama and so report making waves on social media that he has apologised to President Akufo-Addo is never true.



Speaking to the issue on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, General Mosquito as affectionately called averred he does not know where that report is coming from.



Because of this, I have issued a statement that I still stand by what I said that Akufo-Addo should be blamed for the death of Major Mahama. I am saying that when a government allows vigilante groups to vandalise state properties and attack state officials without condemnation to the extent that some NPP bigwigs came out to support the action of Delta Force in Kumasi, then we should blame Akufo-Addo if people take the law into their hands by killing Major Mahama, he insisted.



He bemoaned that if Akufo-Addos government cannot control the impunities in the country, the situation might get out of hands in future as these kinds of political vigilante groups bred Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria and similar thing contributed to the Rwanda genocide.



In view of this, I added that the government must protect its citizens and if the government cannot protect us, it is better the President steps down for another government to take over, he maintained.



He however alleged that the fake apology letter purported to have come from him was written by the ruling NPP sympathizers who are uncomfortable with the truth he told the government.



It would have been embarrassing for me to apologise for speaking the truth. The reports I have received show that many people appreciate and support what I said. Some people dont have the boldness to speak the truth and so they appreciate what I said including some of the young soldiers, he asserted.



He therefore maintained that it is not true that I have apologised for my earlier comment on the murder of Major Mahama.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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Scores of Ghanaians in the United Kingdom and Ireland gathered at Westminster to demonstrate against the government of President Akufo-Addo.



The president was due to address a town hall meeting before the demonstrators hit the streets with placards protesting against lawlessness in Ghana and alleged corruption among others. Mr. President we need a safe Ghana, Mr. President Stop the lawlessness by your vigilantes, Mr. President Gross incompetence! were some of the inscriptions on the placards.



Speaking to Starr News, some of the disgruntled protestors said they are peeved over the corrupt leadership of Akufo-Addo and are demonstrating over it. Reports say the demonstrators caused gridlock at main roads such as Milbank, Victoria street, George Street, and Broad Sanctuary.



The government is yet to respond to the demonstrators.





Source: starrfmonline.com









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The state might have lost close to GHc50 billion from 2008 to 2014 through misappropriation of funds at various state agencies, Financial Analyst, Sydney Casely Hayford has estimated.



Mr. Casely Hayford made the statement while commenting on the Supreme Courts judgement on Pressure Group, Occupy Ghanas suit filed against the Auditor General.



Mr. Casely Hayford, who is also a convener for Occupy Ghana , indicated that a mid time calculation starting from 2008 to 2014 estimated that about 45 to 50 billion cedis had been taken by individuals. The Supreme Court on Wednesday, ordered the Auditor General to, with immediate effect, begin surcharging persons found to have misappropriated monies belonging to the state.



The courts order followed a suit filed by Occupy Ghana in June 2016, seeking an order directing the Auditor-General to issue disallowances and surcharges to and in respect of all persons and entities found in relevant, successive reports to have engaged in misappropriation of state funds.



Occupy Ghana had explained that it sued the Auditor General for refusing to surcharge persons who are said to have misappropriated state funds to the tune of over GHc40 billion.



Speaking on Citi FMs News Analysis Programme, The Big Issue, Mr. Casely Hayford indicated that everybody believed to have committed an infraction sizeable enough will be prosecuted.since the case is such an important part in the development of anti-corruption .



The significant point is that so many people have benefited from the laxity in the system and taken what is not theirs at the expense of national development and it is important that we haul these people before courts and really test the system, Casely Hayford added.



He however admitted that there will be challenges in prosecuting corrupt officials since the Auditor General does not have the human resources and the logistical resources to be able to get things done. The Attorney General who is the main prosecutor now has to find the persons and the bodies to assist in getting these things through the court rapidly and the judicial system itself is going to be challenged to do that effectively.



A number of corruption scandals which involved public officials and private companies benefiting from state monies for less or no work done have been recorded in the country in the last few years .



Some of these scandals include the monies lost to Subah Info Solutions deal, the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA, the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and the GHc3.6 million bus branding saga.

Source: Citifmonline.com









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London Police have announced they are launching an investigation into the shocking and devastating Grenfell Tower disaster, hinting that criminal offences may have contributed to the apartment block blaze that has so far racked up an official death toll of 30, a number that is expected to rise.

The blaze, which consumed the entire 24-storey block of flats, is being looked into by investigators to determine what exactly caused it, and whether or not criminal misconduct contributed to the severity of it.

Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy asserted that their investigation will establish the facts and provide answers, as they look into what criminal offences may have been committed. Cundy stopped short of suggesting what crimes exactly they were looking into, but he did assert that there was nothing to suggest the fire was started deliberately.

The official death toll from the blaze currently sits at 30, up from 17 overnight, as firefighters continue the extremely difficult process of recovering bodies from within the tower. British press is reporting that as many as 70 people are still missing and unaccounted for in the tower. 24 people remain in hospital, with 12 of those people in critical condition.

British Labour MP David Lammy called for arrests to be made over what he labelled corporate manslaughter, lambasting Britains public housing crisis which he says has left towers like Grenfell in appalling condition.

They havent got easy fire escapes, theyve got no sprinklers, its totally, totally unacceptable in Britain that this is allowed to happen and people lose their lives in this way. People should be held to account.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote an incensed letter to British Prime Minister Theresa May, warning her that community reaction to the fire is becoming increasingly angry due to poor political response.

May was accosted by furious protesters earlier today as she attended the nearby Kensington Town Hall. As many as 500 gathered at the building, forcing May to run to her car under police guard as she left the building, with echoes of coward being hurled in her direction.

The gathered crowd chanted shame on you and May must go as frustrations continue to mount over the Tory PMs lack of action and perceived lack of empathy in the wake of the disaster.

Unbelievable  Theresa May runs to car over chants of coward. pic.twitter.com/lMCFYFb41D  George Newton (@GeorgeNewton1) June 16, 2017

WATCH: Grenfell Tower protesters chant Theresa May must go! We need justice and a new government. pic.twitter.com/4YuREe5MDr  Scott Nelson (@SocialistVoice) June 16, 2017

One incensed man on the streets demanded to know why May hasnt even done as much as ask for a minutes silence from the British people to mark those who died in the disaster.

May was criticised for not meeting with the victims and those displaced by the fire, with the offical line from her office claiming it was due to safety concerns. However, as many have pointed out, 91-year-old Queen Elizabeth II managed to visit with some of the people affected overnight.

Tobias Ellwood said that Theresa May didnt meet victims because of safety concerns but today a 91 year old Queen Elizabeth is braving it.  Rupert Myers (@RupertMyers) June 16, 2017

London Polices investigation remains on-going, as fire crews continue the grim and slow task of identifying and recovering bodies from inside the tower.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald.

Photo: Carl Court/Getty.
Aussie comedian and TV host Wil Anderson has been arrested while disembarking from a plane in Wagga Wagga.

#BREAKING: Comedian Wil Anderson has been arrested and is right now in custody at Wagga Wagga Police Station. #9News pic.twitter.com/fRoaXBdqar  Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) June 17, 2017

According to 9 NEWS, police were called to Wagga Wagga Airport to deal with a disruptive passenger on a flight from Sydney.

From Police re Wil Anderson at Wagga. @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/hA1Ih3MgXj  Jason Morrison (@JasonMorrisonAU) June 17, 2017

Anderson was taken into police custody at around 4pm, but has since been released.

Wil Anderson tweeted earlier about qantas being shit helping him. Hes now been arrested for playing up on the flight and tweet is gone  Mea Culpa (@_YeahNo_) June 17, 2017

Wil Anderson says it was all a misunderstanding no charges laid. About to get on with the show. @9NewsRiverina @9NewsSyd  Grace Fitzgibbon (@gracefitz8) June 17, 2017

Good thing, too, as he was on his way to a sold-out show at the Civic Theatre tonight as part of his Critically Wil tour. If anyones going well be expecting a full report of any bad flight behaviour-related jokes he whips up tonight.

Source: 9NEWS.

Image: Don Arnold / Getty.
NORRISTOWN - They have deliberated for 52 hours and asked a dozen questions, but the jury in the Bill Cosby case has not yet reached a verdict.

Cosby went to trial June 5 on accusations that he drugged and sexually assaulted former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. The jury began deliberating on Monday.

And they'll be back at it again on Saturday.

It looked like they were deadlocked earlier when the jury came into the courtroom and told the judge that they could not reach a unanimous verdict on the three aggravated indecent assault charges Cosby is facing.

Judge Steven T. O'Neill sent them back to deliberate further, and they came back numerous times, asking to hear various parts of the testimony from trial.

Defense attorney Brian McMonagle asked four times for a mistrial, which O'Neill denied, saying he will let the jurors deliberate as long as they are able.

And McMonagle renewed that plea for a mistrial again just before 9 p.m. as the jury asked to hear another bit of testimony from trial - their 13th question so far.

"They're tired, they're weary," McMonagle said, adding he feels it is getting to the point where some jurors may feel compelled to issue a verdict they don't necessarily agree with.

But O'Neill fired back, "Nobody knows where it is. That's why I'm wondering why anybody is making a motion for a mistrial when they are deliberating."

The jury could be leaning in Cosby's favor as easily as they could be weighing toward the prosecution, the judge said.

But McMonagle said this is a sexual assault case and it's not complicated. He provided some case law for the judge to review as part of his motion for a mistrial, a motion that Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steel said he is not joining.

For this final question, the tired-faced jury asked again to hear the testimony of Stewart Parsons, Constand's brother-in-law and a Toronto police officer. When he heard about Constand's allegations against Cosby in 2005, he was the one who recommended she call the police.

He also drove her to Montgomery County for her first in-person interview with detectives here.

The jury will return to its deliberations Saturday.
There have been conflicting reports of an active shooter situation on the campus of Harford Community College in Bel Air, Md.

Harford Community College's sent out a Twitter alert Saturday afternoon that there was an "active shooter situation at HSC field." The tweet warned people to "SHELTER IN PLACE. AVOID AREA."

However, the Harford County Sheriff's Office tweeted out that they had no confirmation of active shooter or shots fired at at the community college. They still warned to avoid the area.

Continue to follow PennLive as this story develops.

HCC ALERT! Active shooter situation at HSC fields. SHELTER IN PLACE. AVOID AREA. Updates available when we receive more information.  HarfordCC (@HarfordCC) June 17, 2017
NORRISTOWN - A small, but vocal, crowd stood outside in the driving rain, cheering and chanting.

"Free Bill!" they shouted.

Someone they adore -- but others abhor - was leaving the courthouse. Despite their cheers and celebration, though, there is no resolution yet in the Bill Cosby case.

The jury in Cosby's trial could not reach a verdict after 52 hours of deliberations, which started Monday night, resulting in the jury twice saying they were deadlocked.

Judge Steven T. O'Neill this morning granted the defense's motion for a mistrial.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said he is disappointed the jury was not able to come to a unanimous verdict, but he's happy Andrea Constand got to face her accuser.

And he will try this case again.

"We will reevaluate and review our case. We will take a hard look at everything involved and retry it," Steele said. "Our plan is to move this case forward as soon as possible."

Cosby was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

He went to trial on June 5, and the jury went into deliberations Monday night. After 52 hours of deliberations and more than a dozen questions to review testimony, they said they were deadlocked twice, resulting in the mistrial.

As O'Neill declared a mistrial, he thanked the jury for their hard work, and he told them they should not feel badly because their deliberations did not reach a verdict.

Getting slightly emotional, O'Neill told the jurors, brought in from Allegheny County, that he is proud of their hard work and he will "forever hold you dear in my heart" for being away from their families for two weeks to do their part for the justice system.

The Cosby investigation was closed back in 2005, but reopened a decade later after a judge authorized the release of Cosby's testimony under deposition in a civil suit Constand filed against the entertainer. Part of that deposition was entered into evidence at this trial with Cosby admitting to giving Constand pills, as well as admitting to giving Quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with in the 1970s.

Constand's testimony was also key to the prosecution as she detailed their 16-month friendship that preceded the incident at Cosby's home. She said Cosby gave her three pills, calling them "friends" to help her relax. Those pills left her incapacitated, and she said she woke up, unable to move, and found Cosby sexually assaulting her.

Prosecutors also called Constand's mother, Gianna Constand, who confronted Cosby on the phone. In that phone call, he admitted to sexual contact with her daughter, and later, offered to pay for her to attend graduate school.

And Kelly Johnson, another accuser, told jurors Cosby did the same to her in the 1990s.

Defense attorney Brian McMonagle, however, argued these were all false accusations against Cosby and that Cosby and Constand had a romantic relationship.

When asked about criticism from some that Cosby's race played a role, Steele said that is not a factor at all.

"This case is about a drug-facilitated sexual assault. It doesn't matter what you look like or who you are," Steele said. "Our job is to follow the evidence where it takes us. We have done that."

And Steele would not comment on a statement released by Cosby's wife, Camille. In that statement, Camille Cosby said:

"How do I describe the district attorney? Heinously and exploitively ambitious. How do I describe the judge? Overtly arrogant, collaborating with the district attorney. How do I describe the counsels for the accusers? Totally unethical..."

But Steele said Constand deserves a verdict. He added that she is a positive person, and she has been that way through the entire process. And even through the lengthy deliberations, she remained that way, and often lifted prosecutors' spirits when they needed it most.

And, voice breaking slightly toward the end of his press conference, Steele said, "For me this job is about going into court and fighting fights that need to be fought. I'm a career prosecutor. This is my job. This is where I want to be."
WILLIAMSPORT - A man who showed up at Jersey Shore Hospital on Thursday claiming he did not know his identity finds himself in jail Friday night.

Michael R. Gebhart, 54, knew who he was all the time, Sgt. Brian Fioretti of the Tiadaghton Valley Regional Police Department said after arraigning him Friday on a charge of making false reports to law enforcement. "It was all a hoax," Fioretti said.

Fioretti said when he went to the hospital room the man greeted him with "I'm glad you're here," and asked if he knew who he was.

The man claimed he woke up on the deck of a hunting cabin in the Pine Creek area north of Jersey Shore, walked to Route 44, flagged down a SUV and asked the occupants if they knew who he was, the arrest affidavit states.

He asked about a hospital so he was driven to the Thomas Street interchange of Route 220 in Jersey Shore and was advised to go to a nearby convenience store for directions, Fioretti said.

The man asked the store clerk if she knew who he was and she replied that she didn't, the affidavit states. A customer drove him to the hospital, police said.

Believing the man was telling the truth about not knowing who he was, Fioretti said he offered to help, took the keys he found in Gebhart's pocket and searched the hospital parking lot hoping to find his vehicle.

He also went to an adjacent vacant building to find signs that he might have been sleeping there, he said.

From circulating a picture he took of the man in the hospital, Fioretti said he learned a police department in eastern Lycoming County was looking for Gebhart, who had not been seen for five or six weeks.

Gerhart's brother John flew in from Texas and when he arrived at the hospital about 3:30 p.m. Thursday he identified his brother, the charge states.

But, Gebhart claimed he did not know his brother, Fioretti said.

John Gebhart told the officer the family at one time belonged to a hunting camp in the Cammal area and it was possible his brother had been living there, the affidavit states.

Another police agency put Fioretti in contact with the wife of the president of hunting camp, who he said told him that Gebhart had been staying there the past two months but would leave when members were coming.

Gebhart had been told at 7:30 a.m. Thursday he had to leave because a family had signed up for a weekend stay, Fioretti said. Gebhart drove off in his pickup truck, the officer said he was told.

The hunting camp member who told Gebhart he had to leave reported his memory was fine, the officer said.

Gebhart's truck subsequently was found parked in the Pine Creek Rails to Trails lot in Jersey Shore, Fioretti said.

It is believed he walked from there to the convenience store and was driven to the hospital, he said.

Gebhart, who's address on the charge is an apartment in Muncy, was committed to the Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail as a potential flight risk.

None of this would have happened and Gebhart would have received help had he had gone to police, told them he lost his job and had no place to stay, Fioretti said.
Lise-Lotte Lublin, 50, said Saturday's verdict was a disappointment. She said Cosby drugged her when she was a 23-year old model in Las Vegas. She has been helping other victims of sexual assault in Nevada. Read more

Lise-Lotte Lublin cried when she heard Bill Cosby won't be going to jail.

The middle-school teacher, 50, who came forward 25 years after she alleges Cosby drugged and seduced her, said

the announcement Saturday that Cosby's jury had deadlocked and couldn't decide sexual assault charges against him is the very reason victims like her don't report their assailants.

"This is a serial rapist and considering that two women testified and a judge testified, and the jury deadlocked  what does a victim have to say or do to be believed?

"This is why people don't come forward," she added. "For victims of rape, it is an emotional trauma and the victim is victimized over and over again because they have a relationship with that person."

Cosby has not specifically responded in detail to many of the claims from Lublin and other accusers, but he and his lawyers have insisted he has never had sex with a woman without her consent.

In an emotional phone interview from her Las Vegas home, Lublin said she reported Cosby to Nevada police in 2014, becoming one of 60 accusers who said they were sexually assaulted by Cosby. With her was lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents 33 of those women.

"If you think about it, there are 60 of us (accusing Cosby) and not one of us has any protection from the law to prosecute him for his actions," said Lublin, a mother of two children. "There are still people out there ignorant and saying they shouldn't put a blind man in jail."

No charges were brought against Cosby in Lublin's case because the state had a four-year statute of limitations in sexual-assault cases  a limitation she and her husband have since worked relentlessly to successfully change.

Lublin spoke Saturday of how Cosby groomed her and broke her trust  and how she has been able to cope by helping other victims of sexual assault.

She said she was a 23-year-old model  a 5-foot-9 inch woman of Swedish/African American descent  whose agent arranged for her to meet the comedian, an "icon" who wanted to help her with her acting skills.

One night in 1989, she said Cosby gave her two drinks in his Elvis suite at the Las Vegas Hilton. She said she lost consciousness and woke up the next day in her own home, unaware of how she got there.

Two years after the alleged assault, Lublin said she and her mother had dinner with Cosby.

"The predator creates a relationship that's difficult just to cut the ties," she said. "They groom and seduce the family, and he did.

"Everyone says, 'Why didn't you come forward?' Because that is the nature of the crime  it does not create all the evidence. You are shamed and tricked that you did something wrong. If you look at the grooming technique of a predator  that's what they do, they turn it all around that you did something wrong."

She and her husband, Benjamin Lublin, 40, worked tirelessly to get the statute changed. In March 2015, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill that raised the criminal statute of limitations for sexual assaults from four years to 20 years.

The couple also worked for a legal change to protect children of sexual assault, a law that took effect last month. It is retroactive, meaning any adult who was a victim of child sexual assault can now take their perpetrator to court.

Lublin said if she could confront Cosby, "I want to ask him," Why did you do this to me?' she said through tears. "Why did you treat me and call me as if I were your daughter, and then drug me and do something that is really bad? I gave you my trust. I gave you a part of me as a family member, and saying you were like a father to me.

"This is horrific that people are still questioning when a rape victim comes forward, and questioning them whether they have been raped. It does not matter if it happened yesterday or 20 years ago, it still is rape."

Aside from a retrial, she said, "What I would like to happen is he owes so many people an apology, remorse, some sort of sign that he regrets what he did. I want some sign of humanity that he is unhappy with his choices.

"It's hugely disappointing and sad that the rape community and rape concept is still not understood by a lot of people." Lublin said.

"Honestly, when does the justice system support the victim who has been assaulted? You have to get blood types when assaulted, explain to a bunch of people you don't know what happened, save the same articles of clothing.

"You have to get so versed in forensic science to save everything to deal with what just happened to you because that is the only thing they will believe."
The contract-ratification vote at 6 p.m. Monday coincides with some schools' graduations, but union president Jerry Jordan said it was unavoidable under the time constraints. Read more

City teachers, who have gone five years without a raise, would get one if they ratify the tentative agreement before them Monday  but it could cost some of them their jobs if new money from the city and state is not forthcoming.

The pact will cost the Philadelphia School District $395 million  $245 million more than it has budgeted for  with no clear path to pay for it. A source close to the talks said it could eventually force district layoffs without additional revenues.

The deal between the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and school system would give almost 12,000 teachers, counselors, nurses, secretaries, aides, and other school workers salary increases over the life of the three-year contract, which would also restore "steps," or pay for years of experience, and compensation for advanced degrees.

Educators would begin paying for their health insurance  most currently do not contribute toward the cost of benefits  and would abdicate the right to choose from among open jobs based on seniority.

Details were revealed Saturday to PFT members.

The deal does not make members whole for the years of increases they missed out on during the four-year contract stalemate, a likely pressure point for some who have lost out on tens of thousands of dollars, but PFT president Jerry Jordan said it was a fair contract that acknowledges both teachers' needs and the district's fiscal reality.

"It goes a ways to recognize the sacrifices that our members have made," Jordan said. "I believe that most members are realistic and don't expect" retroactive pay for every year they worked without a contract, he said.

Instead of giving members straight, across-the-board raises, the pact would give teachers a combination of one-time payments, percentage bumps in salary, and, for teachers who have not maxed out on years of experience, movement on the step system that the PFT fought hard to preserve.

"We said, 'How do you get some money into people's pockets every year?' That's why we decided to go with the lump-sum payments rather than a raise," which would have quickly used up most of the available money, Jordan said.

Teachers keep their current insurance, but they would begin to shoulder some of its cost. Beginning in September, members would pay 1.25 percent of their base salary for health coverage. That would rise to 1.5 percent of base salary in 2019. Those with spouses eligible for employer-paid health care who take PFT health insurance would pay a surcharge.

The contract would restore compensation for advanced degrees. When the district froze salaries five years ago, it also ceased paying not just step increases but also more to those who earned master's and doctoral degrees.

Brand-new teachers with no advanced degrees are now paid $45,360. By the end of the new contract, they would make $46,267. Teachers at the top of the pay scale now max out at $90,051; that would rise to $91,852.

Salary was a major sticking point, but work rules were nearly as thorny. The district wanted the PFT to agree to universal "site selection"  a system that allows principals and school communities to hire the teachers they want without considering seniority. The union conceded that point, though seniority will still count in the event of layoffs and recalls.

The deal does preserve the right of teachers to make decisions about how they spend their prep time, Jordan said.

"That is something the district wanted to really have total control over," Jordan said.

The school system also wanted to remove language requiring it to staff every school with at least one counselor, but the PFT squashed that provision. The union held on to a section that requires the district to provide water fountains in schools, and added language that would mandate citywide training in restorative justice, a well-regarded violence-prevention program that exists in some schools.

School district leaders wanted to lengthen the school day; the PFT successfully fought against that.

Not in the deal are bonuses for teachers who work in hard-to-staff schools and subject areas such as science, foreign language, and special education. The district had campaigned for those, but Jordan held firm. He said that with limited fiscal resources, the money was better spent spread among all members.

It is a starkly different package from the district's initial contract proposal, which would have cut salaries, ended steps and pay for advanced degrees, and eliminated the PFT's Health and Welfare Fund, among other things. And the price tag is hundreds of millions more than the district offered in the fall, when $150 million was put on the table.

How the school system will foot the bill for the new contract is not clear. The School Reform Commission has no revenue-raising ability and depends largely on city and state money to operate.

The city has already given more than $400 million in new money  "way beyond the level that we should have," Council President Darrell L. Clarke said  to the district in recent years. Clarke said Harrisburg will have to step up to help fund the deal because the city is close to tapped out.

"We have our limits," he said. "We can't continue to tax the local population."

Still, Clarke said the contract was fair and gave necessary financial reward to educators who have gone too long without a deal, and that the funding piece would be worked out "in a different theater."

City Councilwoman Helen Gym said the price tag was significant, but important.

"This will require the city and state to deliver on their promises to Philadelphia," said Gym.

PFT members are scheduled to meet at the Liacouras Center at 6 p.m. Monday for a contract ratification vote. That date coincides with some schools' graduations, but Jordan said it was unavoidable.

"We are literally right under the wire," he said. "If we don't have the meeting as quickly as possible, then summer break comes, and our members will be dispersed all over the country."

The contract would be effective through 2020.
Back in November, Darcel Rideout was not in a good place. The chemical warfare specialist and weapons marksmanship instructor with the Pennsylvania National Guard had been struggling with depression ever since she gave birth to her son in 2014, and was now having thoughts of suicide and homicide.

A new clinic had opened on the University of Pennsylvania campus, and a private organization, Military One Source, thought the facility might help her out.

"I called the clinic, had a screening over the phone, and they made an appointment with me the very next day," said Rideout, 27, of Philadelphia. "I was really worried about exposing myself to strangers  that's what comes with military training."

Six months later, Rideout is on the advisory board of the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic, at 3535 Market St., one of five mental-health centers of its kind in the country created to fill in the gaps in existing services. Seven other clinics are expected to open by the end of 2017, said Anthony Guido, a spokesman for the association.

The clinics are free for both veterans and their family members. They focus on serving people who aren't eligible for Veterans Administration services, mainly certain National Guard veterans.

They also accept those who have been dishonorably discharged, said Philadelphia clinic director Leah Blain. She said that they now serve about 200 clients, including children.

The VA, she said, cannot serve family members independently, although it offers some couples counseling. At the Cohen clinic, things aren't so limited.

"The idea is to be able to integrate the family into veteran care  if someone comes home with PTSD, it impacts the whole family," Blain said. "We recognize that being family to a military member comes with unique stressors."

Although Rideout now feels that she is "in a sane place," she recognizes that it's an ongoing fight to recognize triggers and stressors that could send her spiraling. She hopes to use her story to encourage others to come forward and get help, particularly those who have been turned away elsewhere.

"A lot of the military are not supportive of people who are depressed or who have mental illnesses and disorders," she said. "The commanders don't always know the signs of mental illness or disorders, and so those behaviors can be overlooked for such a long time."

Behavioral-health issues for service members have been on the rise for the last several decades, Blain said. The VA and the Department of Defense have expanded services for illnesses such as depression and PTSD, and both advocacy and civilian groups have made strides on reducing the stigma in seeking help for mental illness.

But there is still "a ton of work to do," Blain said. According to the VA, in 2014, an average of 20 veterans died from suicide each day  18 percent of all deaths from suicide among U.S. adults  and six of the 20 were users of VA services.

Service members face unique barriers in that their mental-health issues are open to their employers, so they are concerned about promotions or having their duties limited if they seek help for mental issues, Blain said.

Even after active duty ends, there are still worries about career implications such as limiting security clearance.

"In the military, the chain of command has access to their medical records because they need to be fit for the duties they have to perform," Blain said. "So the mind-set is different. It's not a private matter like in the civilian world."

Pete Freudenberger is an Army veteran who serves as outreach coordinator at the Cohen clinic, and who worked at Bucks County Veterans Center and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. He says one of the challenges of his job has been trying to reach out to post-9/11 veterans who have not been to the VA or thought they had a negative experience there. They are working with military hiring fairs as well as universities.

He said it's particularly important for veterans to work with people who understand their challenges. Military families move frequently. Children are separated from parents for long periods of time, and spouses sometimes feel like single parents.

And that's all before the military member comes home. Sometimes that's when the real struggle starts.

"You're transitioning back into civilian life where you have no job, no money, and you haven't been paying bills for years and suddenly you have to budget," Freudenberger said. "You've been having all your meals prepared for you and suddenly you have to figure out how to cook and feed yourself."

The clinic is starting to offer group therapy, and is thinking about adding telehealth options to reach more veterans in rural areas, Blain said.

Rideout is trying to get other veterans involved and into the clinic.

"We're taught to be the strongest people in the world and we're taught to push our mental health aside and maintain our physical health," she said. "We're not trained to be mentally fit."
Korean War vet Donald Bustard reads a letter on the grave of a war buddy whose death 66 years ago has haunted Bustard all these years. Read more

Donald Bustard carefully lowers himself onto a tombstone next to the grave of his friend Joe. He opens a folded note of things he has wanted to tell him for 66 years, and begins to read.

"First of all, I must talk about your horrendous death. At least it was swift and you didn't suffer," says Bustard, 87, who served in the Korean War with Joe, who was accidentally killed by a fellow soldier while deployed.

"But the cause was so stupid and never should have happened. That incredibly stupid GI who entered the guardhouse, emptying his rifle.  The lone bullet in the chamber fired, ricocheted off the floor, killing you as you were taking a nap after your shift on guard duty."

The tears start. His feelings are all over the place.

There's grief for Joe, who died 10 days shy of his 21st birthday. Anger at how the death was handled by military brass. Relief to finally speak his piece to Joe, with whom he served as a private in the U.S. Army's 1092nd Engineer Battalion, Combat.

There's a well-known saying about returning military veterans  "All gave some; some gave all." Bustard gave some; Joe gave all. Bustard has been haunted by the difference for more than six decades.

He met Joe in January 1951 as their battalion sailed to South Korea, where they would be stationed in Pusan. They were gawky young men, thousands of miles from everything familiar, scared witless. They bonded quickly over their shared roots  Bustard was from Germantown, Joe from South Philly  and spoke about their homes and families as Joe taught Bustard how to play chess.

"He was the sweetest, most cheerful guy," Bustard said. "Having him there made me feel less alone."

Their brief, important friendship ended when Joe was accidentally shot in that guardhouse. Bustard nearly collapsed when he heard the news. He spent 24 hours in his bunk, sobbing.

"It was one of the most traumatic moments of my life," Bustard says. "We were never told what happened to the guy who killed Joe. They got him out of there. We didn't see what happened to Joe' s body, either."

After the war, Bustard was too shattered to search for Joe's family and offer condolences. But he has never stopped thinking about Joe.

Three weeks ago, Bustard contacted me to ask a favor. Would I help him find Joe's family? Perhaps they could lead him to Joe's grave, where Bustard could say the goodbye he had been denied 66 years ago.

The request seemed impossible: Bustard couldn't recall Joe's last name, except that it was Italian. Nor did he know Joe's birth or death dates.

But a few hours digging through military records yielded promise: A Philly soldier with the Italian surname of Ferzetti who had suffered a non-military fatality in Pusan, South Korea, on March 14, 1951. He was a member of Bustard's battalion and died within the precise time frame Bustard described.

I tracked down one of Ferzetti's siblings. He is 83, kind and gracious. He was too modest to allow me to use his own first name in this column, and he was skeptical of a family connection to Bustard: His brother's first name had been Nick, not Joe. And he didn't recall Nick ever playing chess.

Hmmm. Maybe Bustard had confused his war buddy's first name for another soldier  maybe not. Maybe the buddy had learned to play chess while deployed  or maybe not.

More clear-cut, though, would be details of the death

"Can you tell me how Nick died?" I asked Ferzetti's brother.

"They told us that he was killed in a guardhouse when another soldier's gun went off," he answered.

"That's exactly how Mr. Bustard says Joe died," I told him.

He let out a breath.

"Oh, my," he said quietly. "That certainly sounds like it was Nick."

And then he started talking about his brother.

He had been one of nine children  two sisters and seven brothers (six of whom served in the military). With his siblings, he had helped to support the family after their father died young. He was witty, smart, and quick.

"I was closest to him, even though he was seven years older than me," says the man of Ferzetti, who is buried alongside family at Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon. "I was devastated when he got killed. I still carry his photo in my wallet. And I still have the last letter he wrote to me. He said 'I'm scared as s and I might not be coming back.'"

Fifteen years ago, members of Ferzetti's family  there are five surviving siblings and scads of nieces and nephews  were upset when his name was not among those to be etched into the Philadelphia Korean War Memorial. Somber and beautiful, it's located on Penn's Landing and includes 10 granite-clad columns and monoliths recognizing casualties of the conflict.

"They told us you had to be killed in action to have your name on there," says the brother. "That didn't sit right with us."

It didn't sit right with Bill Kelly, either. He's president of the memorial, located on Penn's Landing, and says Ferzetti's name deserves to be on the monument.

"As far as we're concerned, if you died in theater, you should be honored," said a puzzled Kelly, whom I called to ask about protocols for inclusion. He promised to add Ferzetti's name to the columns as soon as possible. "I'm so sorry the family was told otherwise."

Bustard hopes to visit the memorial once Ferzetti's name is etched there. But first, he wants to pay respect to him at Holy Cross Cemetery.

"I don't know why I remembered his name as Joe," he'd told me as we walked to Ferzetti's gravesite. "After 66 years, you lose some details, I guess."

He was certain, though, that Ferzetti was the young man who had taught him chess, made him laugh during daily meals, and assuaged his fears so long ago. Any doubt vanished when he saw Ferzetti's picture.

Earlier in the week, I had shown him grainy, Xeroxed news photos of several Philly soldiers, including Ferzetti, who had died in the Korean War. I wanted to see if Bustard would pick out the man he had known as Joe.

"That's him!" he said, pointing to Ferzetti, excitedly. "I remember that smile!"

And now here he is, on a brilliant, breezy Friday afternoon, his gnarled hands gently placing a floral arrangement of red and white carnations  designed to resemble a chessboard  atop Ferzetti's grave marker. In a bag, he has brought the Korean War Service Medal he received upon discharge from the Army in December 1951.

"Nick," he says, using Ferzetti's real name at last, "I've been praying all the time for the protection of my family. And for quite a spell I have felt that you have been my guardian angel."

He asks Ferzetti to remain close, and ends with the farewell he's held inside for 66 years.

"For now, Nick, so long and goodbye," he says, his voice catching in his throat, "until we have that heavenly meal together again."
A Minnesota police officer was acquitted of manslaughter Friday in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, a motorist whose girlfriend streamed the aftermath live on Facebook.

Jeronimo Yanez was also cleared of two lesser charges in the July 2016 traffic stop in a St. Paul suburb. Jurors deliberated for about 29 hours over five days before reaching the verdict in the death of Castile, who was shot just seconds after informing Yanez that he was carrying a gun.

Yanez testified that Castile was pulling his gun out of his pocket despite his commands not to do so. The defense also argued Castile was high on marijuana and said that affected his actions.

Castile had a permit for the weapon, and prosecutors questioned whether Yanez ever saw it. They argued that the officer overreacted and that Castile was not a threat, the Associated Press reports.
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Donald Trump is so mentally unstable that he is screaming about conspiracies at his television.

The AP has a very disturbing account of Trumps behavior,Trump advisers and confidants describe the president as increasingly angry over the investigation, yelling at television sets in the White House carrying coverage and insisting he is the target of a conspiracy to discredit  and potentially end  his presidency. Some of his ire is aimed at Rosenstein and investigative special counsel Robert Mueller, both of whom the president believes are biased against him, associates say.

Trump is out of control rage tweeting, and now he is yelling at his television about imaginary conspiracies that are out to get him. After the use of a cabinet meeting to try to boost Trump out of his depression, it is clear that this administration will never remove Trump from office no matter how crazy he gets.

The stories about Trumps unstable behavior are virtually a daily occurrence, which makes one curious about the behavior that the American people dont hear about. Donald Trump never demonstrated stable characteristics as a private citizen, so it is no shock that he would crack up under the stress of the most important job in the world. A belief that there are conspiracies that are out to get you is a symptom of paranoia.

Trump appears to be mentally unwell, and his hold on reality is slipping away more by the day.
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Prosecutors quickly announced that they would retry Bill Cosby after his sexual assault trial was declared a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury.

CBS News reported:

The judge in Bill Cosbys sexual assault trial declared a mistrial after jurors said they were deadlocked after five days of deliberations.

The jury informed Judge Steven T. ONeill it was deadlocked on all counts in a note Saturday morning. ONeill asked jurors if they were hopeless[ly] deadlocked, and each stood and agreed they were.

..

The Montgomery County District Attorneys office said it will immediately retry the case. Cosby remains free on bail.

The mistrial is not good news, but at best it represents justice delayed, not justice denied for the many victims of Cosbys decades of rape and sexual assault. The mistrial demonstrates that in the American justice system it is money that matters most. Cosby like many other rich celebrity defendants was able to muddy the waters and create enough doubt in the jurors to deadlock the jury.

As NBCs Ron Allen reported:

Bill Cosby remains out on bail. There is still a possibility for justice for Cosbys more than 60 victims, but the combination of celebrity, money, and a justice system that is rigged in many ways against victims of rape and sexual assault will be difficult to overcome.
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Senate Democrats are considering shutting down all business in the Senate next week to bring into the open the secret Republican health care bill.

Teddy Davis of CNN reported:

Senate Dems are weighing whether to bring the chamber's business to a halt next week in an effort to pry open deliberations on health care.  Teddy Davis (@TeddyDavisCNN) June 17, 2017

Democrats need to shut down the Senate next week. They cant wait until Mitch McConnell throws this bill on to the Senate floor to react. Democrats need to be proactive and make Republicans pay for drafting a health care bill in secret. When one-sixth of the economy and the health and welfare of millions of Americans is on the line, Democrats need to be taking all measures te deliver information to the public.

Senate Majority Leader McConnnel wants a vote on the bill before the 4th of July recess. If Democrats shut down the Senate next week, it will be impossible for him to meet the deadline. Republicans need to know that there will be consequences for their actions, and the first step in directly sending that message is for Democrats to shut down the Senate next week.
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Cutting past the political circus that dominates Washington, D.C., Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff said on Saturday that the highly anticipated special election contest in GA-06 should be about improving daily life for Georgians.

In an interview on AM Joy, Ossoff said no issue is more central to that than health care, where people in his district are worried about Republican efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

Video:

Jon Ossoff says voters from both parties in his district want no part of the GOP health care plan pic.twitter.com/PvTAHFlj5u  Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) June 17, 2017

The Georgia Democrat said:

Across the political spectrum, folks are concerned about this bill that has just passed the House, particularly women and particularly those with pre-existing conditions  more than 300,000 Georgians with pre-existing conditions in the sixth district alone. You know, folks are concerned about losing access to health care. What they want to see is a bipartisan effort to improve the laws on the books, to make health care and health insurance more affordable, to improve access, to improve the quality of care. But what they are getting out of Congress right now is deeply concerning.

In this deeply polarized political climate, Ossoff appears to be tapping into the bipartisan consensus that the GOP health care plan is disastrous and will hurt millions of Americans. As Joy Reid pointed out, most people in Ossoffs district chose health care as their top issue.

The Georgia Democrats commitment to the issues, instead of diving head first into the political gutter, has largely been successful so far as a handful of polls in recent weeks show him with a small, steady lead over his Republican opponent, Karen Handel.

In a district that Donald Trump carried in 2016 and Republicans have held for decades, this should strike fear into the hearts of the GOP as the 2018 midterm campaign is just around the corner.

With days until voters in Georgias sixth district head to the polls, Ossoff is making the smart move by focusing not just on the corruption that continues to consume the White House, but the disastrous Republican policy agenda that will bury the middle class.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell turned down an offer to meet with more than 15 patient advocacy groups to keep the details of his healthcare bill a secret from people with preexisting conditions.

The LA Times reported, This week, a group of more than 15 patients groups  including the American Heart Assn., the March of Dimes, the American Lung Assn. and the American Diabetes Assn.  asked McConnells office to meet with them next week, proposing anytime between Friday and June 22. A representative from McConnells office told them staff schedules were too busy, according to representatives of several of the organizations.

The reason why McConnell and his didnt want to meet with these groups is that they cant afford to let people know what is in their healthcare bill. This legislation is likely to be awful for people with preexisting conditions, so the Senate Majority is not going to sit down and tell these groups that many of the people they are advocating for and represent are going to lose their coverage or they will need to spend more money for less care.

The next time Sen. McConnell or any member of his Senate majority starts rattling on about patient-centered care remember that McConnell refused to meet with the patients that he is supposedly empowering and protecting. Mitch McConnell has been the tool of the right wing billionaires and corporations for his entire political career, but it takes a special level of callousness to refuse to sit down with representatives of people who stand to lose their health care, because of a secret bill you are writing.

Even by Mitch McConnells standards, this is a new low.
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Conspiracy theorist and loyal Donald Trump supporter Newt Gingrich is now admitting that the Russia scandal will likely result in people in Trumps circle  maybe even Trump himself  going to jail.

The comment came  where else?  on Fox News during an interview with Sean Hannity late Friday and Gingrich told the right-wing hack that theyre going to get somebody.

Gingrich continued: I dont think theyre going to get the president, but theyre going to get somebody, and theyre going to get him for something. And theyre probably going to go to jail.

Despite the fact that the investigators, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller, are planning to follow the growing amount of evidence that shows possible presidential obstruction of justice and questionable ties between Trumps team and Russia, Gingrich offered the ludicrous conspiracy theory that the FBI will only throw people in prison because they are desperate to nail somebody.

This is like watching an old-fashioned Western movie. This is an Indian hunting party, the former Speaker of House and failed presidential candidate said. Theyre out looking for a couple scalps, and theyre not going to go home until they get some.

This comment comes after Gingrich made eye-popping comments earlier in the week in which he accused Mueller of being part of a deep state effort to bring down Trump.

The poorly-spelled tweet:

Muelleris now clearly the ti[p of the deep state spear aimed at destroying or at a minimum undermining and crippling the Trump presidency.  Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) June 15, 2017

Its clear that Gingrich, along with many other Republican allies of the president, is becoming unhinged as this investigation worsens for Trump. Instead of blaming the president or searching for the truth, they are sowing seeds of conspiracy and focusing their attacks on credible people running a serious investigation.

Though his reasoning his off by a mile, he is probably correct: The Russia/obstruction of justice scandal is getting worse for this White House by the day, and jail time is becoming increasingly likely.
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Trumps tweets about witch hunts arent only reflections of presidential paranoia. They are part of a deeper strategy to discredit the man investigating him for obstruction of justice.

The Hill reported, President Trumps legal team is zeroing-in on the relationship between former FBI directors Robert Mueller and James Comey to argue that their long professional partnership represents a conflict of interest that compromises Muellers integrity as special counsel. The effort to make the case about a conflict of interest around Muellers investigative body comes amid reports that Mueller is looking into whether Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice for allegedly asking Comey to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump later fired Comey.

When a defense team looks to impune the motives of the investigation, it is sure sign of a legal fight where the evidence is not on their side. By trying to discredit the investigator, the President is attempting to minimize the damage caused by his own statements.

Trump and his White House have already used the attack the investigator trick after they fired James Comey. One of the reasons why the President is in such legal hot water today is because he tried to smear the credibility and character of the former FBI Director.

One suspects that his lawyers are going down this path, because it is what the President wants, and it is also one of the few viable strategies open to them. With physical evidence of Trumps statements in the form of memos, this is more than a he said versus he said case.

Trump is trying to discredit the special counsel because he still wants to fire Mueller.

If the President cant fire the investigator, he is going to taint the motives of the investigation.

At the end of the day, it all adds up to create the impression of a guilty president who is trying to hold on to power.
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In an extraordinary piece in the New York Times, its revealed that President Trump views Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein less as executors of law than as salaried staff. Which explains a lot.

While he has left open the possibility of dismissing Mr. Mueller and began considering it shortly after the special counsel was appointed last month, the presidents anger has been largely trained on Mr. Sessions and Mr. Rosenstein, whom he views less as executors of law than as salaried staff, the Times reads.

Although Rosenstein testified to his independence, the paper tells us, Mr. Trump has a different view of the chain of command, aides said, but he also knows that he cannot afford to fire Mr. Rosenstein without prompting a massive backlash on Capitol Hill, even among Republicans. But the deputy attorney general, who would have to sign off on Mr. Muellers firing, has become a favorite target for Mr. Trump in conversations with advisers and friends.

The investigations conducted by the Department of Justice are separate from the White House. There is no reason why President Trump should be speaking to the investigators, let alone considering firing them for investigating him or the people around him. They are not his staff. The President is not a King.

If Trump does fire Rosenstein so that he can get rid of Mueller or Rosenstein has to recuse himself since he is a witness to the Presidents possible obstruction of justice, that would leave Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand in charge and this may be Trumps goal, since she doesnt have experience as a prosecutor and is a certain kind of Republican. New York Magazine pointed out, During the Bush years, Brand first worked under White House counsel Alberto Gonzales (where she may have learned a thing or two about politicizing law enforcement), and then in the Justice Departments Office of Legal Policy.

President Trump accused the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein of being part of a conspiracy against him. The President raged on twitter, I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt But it was Trump himself who bragged on TV to Lester Holt that he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation.

Legal expert Andy Wright, former White House Associate Counsel to President Barack Obama, explained that by tweeting as he was, Trump was flunking the investigation. What Trump needs to do is stop talking, stop tweeting, and let his lawyers handle his defense.

Viewed through the lens of Trumps belief of the presidency being above the law and the DOJ being his staff, his behavior makes sense. It is this fundamental lack of understanding, however, which renders Trump unfit for the presidency with or without obstruction of justice or collusion with Russia.

It is Trumps fundamental failure to grasp the necessity of the Justice Department working independently of the President that eggs him on to continue publicly behaving in ways that only draw more attention to the need to investigate him.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

A few showers in the morning, then becoming windy with thundershowers in the afternoon. High 77F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low 64F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.
MINNEAPOLIS  The third man accused of participating in a May 7 shooting on North Broadway has been arrested near the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Abdirahman Abdulkadir Abdullahi, 25, was taken into custody Thursday by U.S. Marshals; a warrant had been issued for his arrest following the shooting.

Abdullahi and his co-defendants, Kaisar Faisal Nur, 29, and Abdulkadir Omar Abukar, 26, all face one count each of second-degree attempted murder, aid and abet; dangerous weapons-drive by shooting, aid and abet; and second-degree assault, aid and abet. All are felonies.

Nur and Abukar remain in custody locally in lieu of $1 million unconditional bond, $500,000 conditional.

Abdullahi will be transported, likely today, to join them at the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.

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The first calls came in at 12:54 p.m. the day of the shooting, sending officers to the area of 12th Street Northwest and Broadway; one of the callers was the 36-year-old victim.

The man said he'd learned in the last few days that three males in a black Impala were looking for him  and wanted to kill him, said Capt. John Sherwin. A friend had told him that late May 6, the vehicle with three men inside was in the parking lot of the victim's apartment complex, three spaces away from the victim's wife's car.

According to the complaint, Abukar had called the victim a "snitch" in the past, saying the man would be dead by the summer.

About 12:45 p.m. May 7, the victim was driving on Broadway Avenue when he saw a black Impala "speed up behind him on Broadway," Sherwin said, with three men inside. The three had their hoods pulled up over their heads.

The victim took several evasive measures to lose the Impala, the report says, including running a red light. The suspects' vehicle eventually pulled up beside the victim's car at the stop sign on 12th Street and Broadway, where the front and rear passengers fired shots at him, the man said.

Witnesses reported seeing a man "hanging out the passenger window of a black vehicle with a handgun," the reports say, adding that the men were "hooded up."

The victim was able to identify one of the shooters as a one-eyed male named Kaisar, and the driver was a man known as "Blanco," the court document says; police knew Blanco to be an alias for Abdullahi. He's also known on the street as "Benny," reports say.

The man identified the front passenger as "She Devil," known to law enforcement as Abukar, the document continues.

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Additional officers and investigators were called in to help with the investigation, Sherwin said. One knew of a YouTube rap video involving the suspects named by the victim, who later watched the video and made a positive identification of all three.

The man said Nur was in the back seat behind the driver, and pointed a gun out the window at him. Various witnesses allege the driver and front seat passenger also fired shots, the reports say.

About four hours later, an officer spotted the Impala on 55th Street Northwest and followed it until a marked squad car could arrive and conduct a traffic stop, the report says.

The vehicle was stopped in the parking lot of Newt's North, 5231 E. Frontage Road; the four men in the car were taken into custody for questioning, including Nur and Abukar. No weapons were found.

The victim's car was hit by three rounds, the report says: twice on the front passenger side and once on the rear passenger side. At least four shell casings were found on the ground near North Broadway and 12th Street Northwest, Sherwin said.

The shooting is apparently related to two shootings in April. In the first of those incidents, 16 shots were fired at a man as he sat in his vehicle in a northeast Rochester cul-de-sac; the gunman was behind a tree in a nearby yard.

Two nights later, that victim's brother was outside an apartment building with a friend, smoking a cigarette, when he was approached by two or three men, at least one of whom had a handgun. The two men "took off running," the report says, and were fired on.

No injuries were reported in either shooting.
Rochester businessman David Hewitt is hoping to move a piece of the city's history downtown.

He wants to move the former Log Cabin Grill from Marion Road to the corner of Fourth Street and First Avenue Southwest, at least for now. The goal is to create a historical exhibit and ice-cream concession for summer months.

Hewitt is known for being involved with a variety of Rochester businesses, including Mama Meg's homemade ice cream sandwiches, which would be sold in the exhibit.

The plan, however, hit a snag when he discovered his proposal apparently falls outside of existing permits. The movable structure may not be temporary enough, but a regular building permit may have restrictions that make the plan unworkable.

Randy Johnson, director of Rochester's Building Safety Department, said Friday too many questions exists to determine whether Hewitt's plans would fit traditional permits or require alternate permission.

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"I'm not exactly sure how we would deal with this," he said, noting staff has heard multiple options but not reviewed a specific proposal.

Rochester City Council President Randy Staver will be looking for some answers during Monday's City Council meeting at 7 p.m. in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 4th St. SE.

Staver put the issue on the agenda to determine whether the council would support the plan.

"it was a compelling idea and seems to have some urgency," he said, noting the council meeting will ensure representatives from different city departments are available to voice any concerns.

He said he wants to find out if there is a way to move forward with the project and potentially work on new guidelines at the same time.

"We need to find some ways to support some innovative ideas that might come forward," he said.

If the council gives the project a nod, it will likely also be a topic for discussion during the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday in room 104 of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE, since the building is listed as a potential city landmark .

HPC Chairwoman Christine Schultze said she quickly read Hewitt's proposal after it was included in the council agenda and sees a potential for supporting it.

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"I think it may be the best option for the building," she said, noting it would bring a piece of the city's history to a more visible location.

The diner, which was part of a motel operation that offered cabins, was reportedly built by the the owners in the 1940s, where it operated until recent years. The owner, Helen Mitchell, died in April, and Hewitt said her children had been considering the fate of the diner before giving their permission to move it.

Hewitt said his goal is to make the cafe part of the city's downtown culture, even if it moves from year to year or eventually lands in a more permanent position.

"I think it ties direct within where we are trying to head with unique destinations downtown," he said.

He said he's secured the parking lot near the former C4 Creative Salon for at least two years, if he can get things rolling this summer.

The initial goal was to open by July 1, but Hewitt acknowledged that won't be possible. With plans to operate through the end of September, he said getting approval to move forward by July 1 could still make the venture feasible if operations start by the end of July.

If it's not possible this summer, he said he would take the winter to adjust plans, even if that means finding an alternate location.

"There's always going to be spaces it could reside at downtown," he said.
ST. PAUL  A Minnesota police officer was cleared Friday in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, a black motorist whose death captured national attention when his girlfriend streamed the grim aftermath on Facebook.

Castile's family stormed out of the courtroom after the verdict was read, and the city of St. Anthony swiftly announced plans to dismiss Officer Jeronimo Yanez, despite his acquittal. Yanez was charged with manslaughter in the death of Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria worker, during a July 6 traffic stop that turned deadly seconds after Castile alerted the officer that he was carrying a gun. Castile had a permit for the weapon.

"The fact in this matter is that my son was murdered, and I'll continue to say murdered, because where in this planet (can you) tell the truth, and you be honest, and you still be murdered by the police of Minnesota," his mother, Valerie Castile, said, referring to the fact that her son was shot after he volunteered to Yanez, "Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me."

"He didn't deserve to die the way he did," Philando Castile's sister, Allysza, said, through tears. "I will never have faith in the system."

Thousands of people gathered Friday evening at the nearby state Capitol to protest the verdict, and began a march that organizers said was headed for the St. Paul Cathedral. The mixed-race crowd, including many people with children, carried signs that read "Unite for Philando" and "Corrupt systems only corrupt."

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The protest was peaceful as darkness fell, but a smaller group splintered off and walked down an entrance ramp to block Interstate 94, quickly snarling traffic and leading to the freeway's shutdown in both directions. A police line confronted marchers down the highway, but after a standoff of more than 90 minutes, the group dwindled and appeared to largely clear the interstate without police using force.

Jurors deliberated for about 29 hours over five days before reaching the verdict. Prosecutors argued that Yanez had overreacted and that Castile, a school cafeteria worker, was not a threat. Yanez, who is Latino, testified that Castile was pulling his gun out of his pocket despite his commands not to do so. The defense also argued Castile was high on marijuana and said that affected his actions.

Yanez stared ahead with no reaction as the verdict was read. Afterward, one of his attorneys, Tom Kelly, said the defense was "satisfied" and "felt all along his conduct was justified."

"However that doesn't take away from the tragedy of the event," Kelly added.

City officials in St. Anthony said they would offer Yanez a "voluntary separation" because they had concluded "the public will be best served" if he is no longer an officer there.

Prosecutor John Choi, who made the decision to charge Yanez, said he knows the acquittal is painful for many people, but that the verdict "must be respected."

"I don't doubt that Officer Yanez is a decent person, but he made a horrible mistake from our perspective, and that's what this case was about," Choi said. "I know that if he could, he would take back what he did, and we all wish, and he would too, that this never happened."

Castile's shooting was among a string of killings of blacks by police around the U.S. The livestreaming of its aftermath by Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was in the car with her then-4-year-old daughter, attracted even more attention. Castile's family claimed he was profiled because of his race, and the shooting renewed concerns about how police officers interact with minorities.

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Gov. Mark Dayton offered his condolences to Castile's family after the verdict, calling his death "a terrible tragedy" in a statement that made no mention of Yanez. Dayton, a Democrat, drew criticism in the days after the shooting for suggesting that Castile might not have been shot if he was white.

The evidence included squad car video, but its wide view didn't capture exactly what happened inside the car  leaving jurors to essentially decide whether they believed Yanez when he said Castile had his hand on the gun. Prosecutors questioned whether Yanez had even seen it, and witnesses testified that it was in a pocket of Castile's shorts when paramedics pulled him from the car.

Juror Dennis Ploussard said the jury was split 10-2 early this week in favor of acquittal. They spent a lot of time dissecting the "culpable negligence" requirement for conviction, and the last two holdouts eventually agreed Friday on acquittal. He declined to say whether he thought Yanez acted appropriately, but said the jury sympathizes with the Castile family.

"We struggled with it. I struggled with it. It was very, very hard," Ploussard said, adding that he thought the jury delivered the right verdict.

He would not identify the two early holdouts, but said they were not the jury's only two black members. The rest of the jurors were white. None was Latino.

Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines suggested around four years would have been more likely. Yanez was also cleared of lesser counts related to endangering Castile's girlfriend and her daughter for firing his gun into the car near them.

Yanez testified that he stopped Castile in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights because he thought he looked like one of two men who had robbed a nearby convenience store a few days earlier. Castile's car had a faulty brake light, giving the 29-year-old officer reason to pull him over, several experts testified.

The squad car video shows Yanez approaching Castile's car and asking for a driver's license and proof of insurance. Castile appears to give something to Yanez through the driver's side window. Castile then informs the officer he's carrying a weapon, but before he finishes his sentence, Yanez has his hand on his own gun and is pulling it out of the holster. There is shouting, and Yanez screams, "Don't pull it out!" before he fires seven shots into the car, five of which hit Castile. Prosecutors say Castile's last words were: "I wasn't reaching for it."

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After shooting Castile, Yanez is heard on the squad car video telling a supervisor that he didn't know where Castile's gun was, then that he told Castile to get his hand off it. Yanez testified that he meant that he didn't see the gun at first, then saw it in Castile's "right thigh area." He said Castile ignored his commands to stop pulling it out of his pocket. Yanez's voice choked with emotion as he talked of being "scared to death" and thinking of his wife and baby daughter in the split-second before he fired.

Prosecutors argued that Yanez could have taken lesser steps, such as asking to see Castile's hands or asking where the gun was.

Reynolds testified that she began recording the shooting's aftermath because she feared for her life and wanted to make sure the truth was known. Defense attorneys pointed to inconsistencies in several of her statements.
The Manhattan Contrarian asks a good question:

[W]hat is the possible obstruction of justice here? That Trump asked Comey to go easy on Michael Flynn? Lets take the worst possible case: suppose that Trump directly ordered Comey as follows: I order you to drop the investigation of Flynn right now and to transfer everyone working on it to other tasks. Can that possibly be an obstruction of justice, given that the prosecutorial discretion function of the government belongs to the President?

The traditional independence of the FBI is, I take it, the basis for claiming that interfering with an investigation can constitute obstruction, even though the president has the constitutional power, and duty, to direct the Department of Justice.

Those arguing that direct exercise by the President of the executives prosecutorial discretion function can theoretically constitute obstruction of justice uniformly cite supposed rules or protocols of the Justice Department that set up a kind of a wall to insulate the prosecutorial function from political influence. Theres certainly nothing in the Constitution about this, nor in the laws that I can find, nor even in regulations adopted via the Administrative Procedure Act. Looking around to try to find the basis for this extra-constitutional principle, I find this February 17 article by Jane Chong at Lawfare. Chong traces the current protocol for Justice Department independence from presidential interference to a 2009 memo written by then AG Eric Holder. Hey, current AG Sessions hasnt officially revoked the memo yet! And so now a memo of the prior AG is to be the basis for a criminal investigation of the President of the United States?

The Contrarian points out that if blocking a criminal prosecution by DOJ constitutes obstruction of justice, President Obama should have been in the dock:

So, if exercising the prosecutorial discretion function to fail to prosecute an obvious crime for blatantly political purposes can be obstruction of justice, can there be any more clear-cut example of same than Eric Holders dropping of the prosecution of New Black Panther Party members for their voter intimidation scheme in 2008 in Philadelphia? From Fox News, June 30, 2010: J. Christian Adams, now an attorney in Virginia and a conservative blogger for Pajamas Media, says he and the other Justice Department lawyers working on the case were ordered to dismiss it. I mean we were told, Drop the charges against the New Black Panther Party.' Did Holder take orders from President Obama in deciding to drop that prosecution? The Justice Department stonewalled production of emails between Justice and high-level Obama political appointees in the White House. So we will never know the answer to the question. But in any event, the matter was treated as a political issue  and appropriately so. I never saw anyone suggest that Holder  let alone Obama  could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice for declining to charge, no matter how blatant the crime and no matter how political and self-serving and baseless the decision not to charge.

The Contrarian finds an analogy to the present situation in the politically-motivated indictment of Governor Rick Perry for exercising his constitutional veto power in a manner the Democrats didnt like:

In 2014, the Travis County, Texas (thats the county where Austin is located) prosecutor charged Perry with the crime of misuse of government funds for [exercising his power under the Texas constitution to veto an appropriation of money by the legislature to the office of an official with whom he had clashed.]

***

From Volokhs summary of the Texas court opinion (mostly a quote of the opinion itself): The [Texas] Constitution does not purport to impose any restriction on the [governors] veto power based on the reason for the veto, and it does not purport to allow any other substantive limitations to be placed on the use of a veto. Therefore, The Legislature cannot directly or indirectly limit the governors veto power. No law passed by the Legislature can constitutionally make the mere act of vetoing legislation a crime. And other state courts were right to say that courts may not examine the motives behind a veto or second-guess the validity of a veto. Hard to see how that same logic does not apply to a prospective prosecution of Trump for exercising the prosecutorial discretion function to decline to prosecute, or the general executive function of firing people. Meanwhile the madness continues. Am I the only one in the country who thinks that the President is entitled to have a Justice Department and an FBI who work for him and are not engaged in a constant guerrilla war to undermine the duly elected executive and his administration?

No, youre not. I even think the president is entitled to a Department of Justice and an FBI that work loyally for him.
To increase the number of Democratic voters in his state, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe gave the right to vote to 206,000 convicted felons. He did so by executive order in 2016.

The order encompassed violent felons and those who had not paid court costs or made restitution to their victims. It also restored the voting rights of 132 sex offenders still in custody and to several convicted killers in other states. In addition to regaining access to the voting booth, the convicted felons also gained the right to serve on juries.

The Supreme Court of Virginia struck down McAuliffes blanket order. The governor is now in the process of granting voting rights to felons through case-by-case determinations.

In the meantime, the Loudoun County Commonwealth Attorney Jim Plowman sought the list of felons who were to receive the benefits of McAuliffes order. For a year, McAuliffe resisted. He had no legal basis for doing so. He simply desired secrecy so as to avoid further embarrassment.

Finally, after Plowman sued the governor, he agreed to turn over the list. In an understatement, Plowman said: It seems a bit unreasonable that you have to actually file a lawsuit to get something that people should have everyday access to.

Plowman is right. If democracy dies in darkness, then Terry McAuliffe is making his small contribution to its demise.
Last July, police officer Jeronimo Yanez stopped a vehicle that was being driven by Philando Castile, with Castiles girlfriend and her daughter as passengers. The officer and Castile had an exchange in which Castile said he had a gun. Yanez later testified that he ordered Castile not to reach for the gun, but Castile disobeyed that order and grabbed for it in the front pocket of his shorts. Yanez, who testified that he was in fear for his life, then shot Castile fatally. The case drew worldwide attention, mostly because Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, livestreamed the immediate aftermath of the shooting on Facebook.

It later developed that Castile had a carry permit, but also was high on marijuana (as was Reynolds), which would have made his possession at the time of the incident illegal.

Local authorities charged the officer, Jeronimo Yanez, with second degree manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm. The case came to trial in Ramsey County this month. Upon its conclusion, the jury deliberated for five days. It returned a not guilty verdict this afternoon.

Following the verdict, one of the jurors said that the initial vote had been 10-2 for acquittal, but it it took five days for the two holdouts to go along with the other ten. There were two African-Americans on the jury, neither of whom was one of the two holdouts.

The acquittal of Yanez doesnt seem surprising. The charge of second-degree manslaughter doesnt seem quite apt for what happened:

A person who causes the death of another (1) by the persons culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another

Here, Yanez said that he acted in self-defense. He could have been wrong in believing that Castile was going for his gun, but it is not hard to see why the jury didnt find that he consciously [took] chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another. Basically, if he acted in good faith, he was innocent.

Castiles death was tragic, but there was one outrageous aspect of the case: Governor Mark Daytons instant reaction to the shooting. I wrote about it at the American Experiment web site:

Governor Mark Dayton taught a master class yesterday in how not to respond to a tragedy. It started with the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by a St. Anthony police officer Wednesday evening. The event drew world-wide publicity. Almost everyone is treating the shooting as unjustified, which may well be the case. But so far, we have not heard from the police officer, who has been identified as Jeronimo Yanez. Nevertheless, Governor Dayton wasted not an hour before leaping to conclusions. He said, publicly: Would this have happened if the driver were white, if the passengers were white? I dont think it would have. What basis did Dayton have to say that? None. Why assume, having no knowledge of why the officer acted as he did, that this incident has anything to do with race? For what its worth, police officers shoot more whites than blacks. Dayton continued: So Im forced to confront, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront, this kind of racism exists and that its incumbent upon all of us to vow that were going to do whatever we can to see that it doesnt happen, doesnt continue to happen. Racism? Really? At the time he spoke, I dont believe Dayton even knew who the officer was, let alone whether he is a racist. Is there any reason for a governor to jump into a volatile situation like this and start spouting incendiary opinions? I cant imagine how Dayton can think this is appropriate.

***

If Dayton isnt deliberately trying to stir up racial discord, he is doing a pretty good imitation of such an effort.

Dayton blundered further by immediately requesting a federal investigation:

Less than 24 hours after Castiles death, Dayton contacted the White House to request that the U.S. Department of Justice begin an immediate independent federal investigation into this matter. Here, Dayton needlessly and inappropriately abdicated his own responsibility, and the states, to investigate and deal with the circumstances surrounding Yanezs shooting of Castile.

Governor Dayton has not yet reacted publicly to the acquittal of Yanez. If he were a more perceptive man, he would be deeply embarrassed by his ill-advised rush to judgment. But Dayton is the kind of leftist politician who never seems to have second thoughts.
Arise and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time. Winston Churchill

Proclaim Liberty throughout All the land unto All the Inhabitants Thereof. Inscription on the Liberty Bell
It doesnt matter what industry youre part ofall of us are susceptible to power outages at any given time. Whether at an airport, in Las Vegas, or in a voting booth, the loss of power, no matter how temporary, is a major inconvenience.

Not only do operations come to a drastic halt when the power goes out unexpectedly, but equipment can also be severely damaged if there are no power protection systems in place. We saw this recently in Tupelo, Mississippi, where the Daily Journals press equipment was ruined due to a power outage. Not only did the paper lose its equipment, but it had to pay a hefty sum to replace it, and the distribution schedule got off track.

The Daily Journal is just one example of many that showcases the need for power protection systems, such as uninterruptable power supplies (UPS). As if to further prove the benefits of these solutions, a power protection system in Belmont, MA actually prevented a massive fire from breaking out during a power outage.

Belmont Light Director Jim Palmer has stated that the massive power outage that took place in Belmont on Monday was caused by an explosion. However, he also pointed out that the power protection in place worked as designed and prevented substantial damage to the transformer. If the transformer had been damaged, a massive fire would have broken out in the town.

According to Belmont Light, the company was able to restore power to about half of its customers within two hours. Spokesman Aidan Leary wrote in a statement, By 7 p.m., power had been restored to another 500 customers. They resolved the issue for the remaining 500 customers in the southeast corner of Belmont along the border with Cambridge by 10 p.m. There were intermittent outages throughout town as the hot weather caused demand to spike and the system was stretched to its capacity.

Belmont Light was able to get power restored so quickly because quite a few businesses and homes had UPS and backup generators in place to lessen the impact of power outages. That, and the company didnt have to worry about a huge fire blazing through town. If Belmont hadnt had power protection in place, theres no saying how much damage that fire would have caused.

Is your company safe from the destructive potential of power outages and surges?

Edited by Maurice Nagle
Nigerian migrant workers contributed $18.956 billion as remittances in 2016, representing 5.2 per cent growth in nine years, a United Nations agency has said.

The report, titled Sending Money Home: Contributing to the SDGs, One Family at a Time, was published on Wednesday.

According to the report, global migrant workers sent back to their home countries $445 billion in 2016, a contribution that lifted millions out of poverty.

Figures from the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development said by sending money home, about 200 million migrants have supported some 800 million family members globally.

Women make up about half of all remittance senders, and it is believed that this trend can help advance gender equality and womens empowerment through financial independence and better employment opportunities.

The report noted that remittance flows have grown over the last decade at an average rate of 4.2 per cent annually, from $296 billion in 2007 to $445 billion in 2016.

The report said the top 10 sending countries, led by the U. S., Saudi Arabia and Russia, account for almost half of annual flows, adding that up to 80 per cent of remittances are received by 23 countries, led by China, India , the Philippines, Mexico and Pakistan.

Giving details of the remittance transfer method, cash-to-cash remains the most common form, while mobile phone networks, internet- based tools and digital money in various forms present a potentially transformative force for sending and receiving money, the report said.

It, however, explained that the most important objective going forward should be to leverage the potential development impact on the receiving side by providing families who are beneficiaries with better opportunities to use their money productively for growth and sustainable development.

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A senior lecturer at the Lagos Business School, Doyin Salami, on Friday said Nigeria would need to think away from government for the nation to innovate out of recession.

Mr. Salami, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said the nation would need to provide suitable environment for the private sector to be the driver of investment.

The economist, who pointed out that Nigeria must promote the role of the private sector to achieve this, said this at a roundtable organised by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE.

According to Mr. Salami, in addition to creating jobs for the unemployed, the government also must look into ways it would take consumers and other corporate businesses out of pressure.

The don specifically said that, although there would be challenges in terms of sustaining the idea, the government needs to review the minimum wage to free consumers from economic pressures.

Consumers are under pressure, he lamented.

Similarly, Mr. Salami explained that the handling of the budget is also crucial to the nations growth after moving out of recession, stating that how the budget is funded is fundamental to growth.

According to him, competitiveness is key to sustained and sustainable growth and the executive orders issued by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo would engender competitiveness.

Mr. Salami, however, said the fact Nigeria would come out of recession is no more interesting a development as all economic indices currently show, but the nation must put measures in place to ensure sustained and sustainable growth after coming out of recession.

If it doesnt reflect in Q2 (second quarter), the number will reflect in Q3 (third quarter), he said of the nations status in terms of moving out of recession, adding that the nation must however set itself on a growth path that is sustained, sustainable and inclusive.

On her part, a panellist, Ngozi Adebiyi, noted that to innovate, Nigeria would need to build the human capacity of Nigerians.

Mrs. Adebiyi, Chief Executive Officer of OutsideHR, explained that the system would need to teach people out to innovate through entrepreneurship.

The Managing Director, Okomu Oil Palm Company, Graham Hefer, noted that Nigerian youth can also tap into opportunities in the agricultural sector.

According to him, they may not necessarily innovate but look into what is being done successfully in other African countries in Agricultural revolution and replicate same in Nigeria.

On his part, Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC, said beyond innovation, it is critical to also look into the value of the innovation.

Mr. Sogunle explained that many business initiatives may not add value to the nations economy, adding that the value chain of such business must be carefully studied to facilitate growth.

On her part, a representative of the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nike Akande, urged the government to ease the business environment for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

The roundtable event, supported by Bloomberg, held at the Exchange House in Lagos.

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Nigerians should show more interest in the affairs and operation of the Nigeria LNG in view of the companys positive impact on the countrys economy, its general manager, external relations, Kudo Eresia-Eke, has said.

Mr. Eresia-Eke, who said this during a visit to the corporate headquarters of PREMIUM TIMES in Abuja on Wednesday, said the contributions of the NLNG to the Nigerian economy, in terms of payments of dividends and taxes, were too significant to ignore.

NLNG represents the biggest business flying Nigerias flag, he noted during his interaction with the Publisher/CEO of the newspaper, Dapo Olorunyomi, and other top management staff, including Editor-in-chief, Musikilu Mojeed, and Head of Human Resources/Administration, Fred Adetiba.

Mr. Eresia-Eke said he was in PREMIUM TIMES on a familiarisation visit, and commended the newspaper for its professionalism, particularly its pace-setting capacity in online journalism in Nigeria.

In terms of value for money, the NLNG accounts for 50 per cent of the countrys company tax revenues. More than 70 per cent of its proceeds go to Nigeria. It pays the kind of tax that can bail out the country in difficult times. If I were a Nigerian, I will certainly be more interested in knowing more about this company.

Why has it been so successful? Why has it not gone the way of others, particularly as it is managed 100 per cent by Nigerians? What kind of species of Nigerians do they have on it management? What are they doing differently?

The NLNG, a six-train production capacity wholly-owned Nigerian company, exported its first LNG cargo in October 9, 1999. In January 2014, the company reached a landmark milestone with the export of its 3000th cargo.

As at December 2016, the compnay recorded over N95 billion in revenue from about $16.6 billion capital investment, and paid $15.7 billion as dividend to the federal government.

We also buy gas that ordinarily would have been flared. Before NLNG came, Nigeria was flaring an average of 65-70 per cent. Because the NLNG has been buying the flares, gas flaring has reduced to less than 20 per cent at the moment, he said.

We have continued to increase the volume of cooking gas we brought in. We are ready to increase more. We started from 150,000 metric tons, MT. We increased to 250,000 MT. Now, we are supplying about 350 MT, he said.

Bill to amend NLNG Act

Mr. Eresia-Eke described moves by the National Assembly to amend the NLNG Act of 2004, as a threat to the survival of the company and Nigerias corporate interest.

On May 4, 2017, a Bill for an Act to amend the NLNG (Fiscal Incentives, Guarantees and Assurances) Act, Cap N87, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 sponsored by Leo Ogor (PDP) Delta State passed third reading in the House of Representatives.

The Bill seeks to amend the law to ensure the NLNG pays three per cent of its total annual budget to the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC Fund, in line with the provisions of section 14(1) and (2)b of the NDDC Act, 2000.

The Act focuses on fiscal incentives, guarantees and assurances granted to NLNG, including the conferment of pioneer status on the company, exempting it from certain taxes, customs duties and other levies.

The pioneer status granted the NLNG at its inception has been a source of controversy among a section of Nigerians in recent times, which describes it as a drain pipe for government resources.

The status is always granted investors as an incentive for venturing into difficult business terrains for an initial period of five years, subject to renewal for another three years prior to its termination.

The NLNG operated under that status for over 10 years under and enjoyed huge tax holidays granted by the federal government.

But, the proposed amendment seeks to ensure that pioneer status granted the NLNG was terminated at the first anniversary date after the first five years when the cumulated average sales price of LNG reached $3 per million BTU.

Mr. Eresia-Eke accused the National Assembly of trying to unilaterally amend the NLNG Act, saying it was not a good decision for Nigeria, as it would derail the plan to inject fresh investment of $25 billion into the sector.

$25 billion is almost equivalent to Nigerias foreign reserve. With the proposed amendment, changing the goal post and the rules, investors are not likely to be forthcoming with that investment, and Nigeria would have missed out on the benefits.

The company, Mr. Eresia-Eke said, was not consulted in the amendment process, apart from an invitation to a public hearing, where it was given five minutes to make its presentation.

The national interest is not taken into consideration in this amendment. It appears the National Assembly is not listening to the same message about protecting investments in Nigeria, he said.

In his response, Mr. Olorunyomi thanked Mr. Eresia-Eke for his visit, and said his recognition of PREMIUM TIMES for its professionalism and unique style of journalism was most encouraging.

Mr. Olorunyomi told his guest that apart from its primary role of news reporting, PREMIUM TIMES also invested in technology and knowledge development, with specialization in media training, investigations and data journalism.

He said in the last three years, the newspaper trained about 200-300 journalists from other media houses in the country, urging Mr. Eresia-Eke to consider taking advantage of the expertise the platform offers to highlight NLNGs community engagements in health, education and arts.

He said PREMIUM TIMES would be delighted to collaborate with the NLNG, particularly in the areas of professional skills and training for journalists in oil and gas industry related issues, which he described as another area of the newspapers strength.

Beyond the NNPC, and probably the National Bureau of Statistics, we have the most data in that area (oil and gas). We will appreciate your intervention, by considering us to come and take up some of your products and turn them into some new kind of value and models for the public, Mr. Olorunyomi

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Hinting at its resolve to carry on without its majority shareholder, Mubadala Development Company Limited, Etisalat Nigeria management said on Friday its immediate focus was to reach a final resolution on the debt impasse with a consortium of banks next week.

On Thursday, PREMIUM TIMES reported exclusively that Mubadala, United Arab Emirates, UAE, firm had pulled out its investment in the telemobile firm and headed out of the country.

Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi Government-owned investment and development company, controls about 70 per cent of the equity holding in Etisalat Nigeria along with Etisalat UAE mobile.

Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS), promoted by-one time Chairman, United Bank for Africa, UBA, Hakeem Bello-Osagie, controls the remaining 30 per cent.

Although Etisalat in its reaction through a statement by its Vice President, Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, Ibrahim Dikko, did not deny the report, it said it was premature to accept the exit of Hamadala as the conclusive option, as negotiations were still ongoing.

Whilst it is premature at this stage of the ongoing discussions to affirm that this is the conclusive option, Etisalat Nigeria considers it pertinent to state that parties to the negotiation are considering a number of options and discussions are at an advanced stage regarding the syndicated loan agreement with the banks, Mr. Dikko said in the statement.

Mr. Dikko, who sounded optimistic about prospects of reaching a final resolution of the protracted loans repayment crisis with a consortium of banks, said it would be presumptuous and in bad faith to predict the outcome of the negotiations.

We are considering a number of options and are not taking anything off the table at this time. Parties are keen to ensure that the ongoing discussions and eventual outcome do not affect the day to day operations of the business whether now or after the announcement of our agreement.

All parties have continually demonstrated an interest in the continued operations of Etisalat as a business as it remains the backbone of millions of small business owners; multinationals, government and indeed Nigerian subscribers in general, Mr. Dikko said.

A consortium of banks, led by Access Bank PLC, has mounted pressure on Etisalat since 2016, to recover a $1.72 billion (about N541.8 billion) loan facility the company obtained in 2015.

The loan, which involved a foreign-backed guaranty bond, was for the mobile telephone operator to finance a major network rehabilitation and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria.

Unable to meet its debt servicing obligations agreed since 2016, the consortium, prodded by their foreign partners, threaten to take over the company and its assets across the country.

But, the intervention of the telecom sector regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and its financial sector counterpart, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, succeeded in persuading the banks to rethink their threat and give Etisalat a chance to renegotiate the loans repayment schedule.

Although the negotiations have been on with the banks since last March, those familiar with the crisis told PREMIUM TIMES, the decision by Mubadala to withdraw its investment followed certain findings about the activities of one of the directors it was not comfortable with.

A source close to the company, who requested that his name should not revealed, as he was authorised to speak in his official capacity on the issue, said while the loan was structured in Naira terms, the director had committed Etisalat to repay in dollars at a time the value of the Nigerian currency had plunged to its bottom.

Although the Abu Dhabi firm had agreed to be part of the negotiation to bail-out Etisalat, it was not clear why it decided to pull out of the deal and withdraw its investment from the Nigerian telecom operator, reputed to be the fourth largest, in terms of subscriber base.

NCC spokesperson, Tony Ojobo, said the telecoms sector regulator would not be able to make any official statement on the development till next week, as it was yet to receive any formal information on the exit of Mubadala from Etisalat.

As you know, the issue is about operating licenses, which had terms and conditions attached. It involves two regulatory authorities, the NCC and CBN. Until all the parties involved have met and a decision taken, not statement will be issued. The statement will be based on the outcome of the meeting of all the parties involved, Mr. Ojobo said.

Access Banks spokesperson, Abdul Imoyo, did not respond to calls from PREMIUM TIMES. He did not also send a reply to a text message on the issue.

Repeated telephone calls to Mubadalas Abu Dhabi headquarters were not responded to. A response was still being awaited on an email sent enquiry about the development on Friday.

Etisalat, which commenced business in Nigeria in 2009, acquired the unified access license, including a mobile license and spectrum in the GSM 1800 and 900 MHZ bands from the NCC in January 2007.

The company is rated by the NCC as Nigerias fourth largest telecoms operator, with about 21 million subscribers or about 12.9 per cent of the telecom market share as at January 2017.

MTN takes the lead with 60 million, or 40 per cent market share; Globacom, 37million, or 24.6 per cent; and Airtel 34.6 million, or 22.8 per cent.

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Controversial Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, is currently trending on Instagram. The tattoo-loving actress posted a video of herself playing the role of her estranged husband as she attended a fathers day celebration in her sons school in Abuja on Friday.

In the video and pictures, the mother-of-one can be seen transformed into a man with beards and spotting a traditional male kaftan as she accompanies her son to school.

Olakunle Churchill and Tonto met two and a half years ago at Escape Nightclub in Lagos during his brothers birthday party. Tonto got pregnant six months after they met, and they later married.

In February, the Nollywood star confirmed there were cracks in her 17-month-old marriage.

She revealed she had moved out of the house with her son.

See the comments and video below.

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In this revealing interview, the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Ado Doguwa, tells PREMIUM TIMES Nasir Ayitogo of the successes and achievements of the current House. He also speaks on what the lawmakers learnt from the budget padding scandal, and blames the media for the unfavourable perception Nigerians have of the National Assembly.

Excerpts:

PT: Two years on, would you say the House has positively impacted the lives of the people?

Doguwa: I think in relation to the duties of the National Assembly and what the constitution spells out for us to do, I can without any fear of contradiction tell you Yes. This is because by the constitutional platform of what we call the National Assembly we have what we call our traditional responsibilities; one is to represent our people, second to make laws, third to oversight laws that we make vis-a-vis maybe Appropriation Act like the budget, and fourthly is budgeting.

Budgeting itself is also a lawmaking process. We consider budgeting a special thing because it is a special bill, which we call the Money Bill. In relation to the constitutionally prescribed responsibility of the National Assembly, obviously we have done well.

In terms of legislation, I can confidently tell you this is one House that can be quite unprecedented because I have been in the National Assembly for quite long, as far back as 1992 and I want to tell you that the 8th Assembly has been most proactive in terms of lawmaking. I can tell you that in the last two years we have been able to pass over 200 Bills into different level of legislation and as it is now we have also been able to get the concurrence of the Senate and passed to the executive arm for consent over 89 Bills. Amongst these bills there are a lot of them that are very sensitive, not only to the society or to the people but to the economy itself. We have been very sensitive also to the plight of its people. We passed the North East Development commission Bill. It is a bill that no one can avoid because it is a bill that was promulgated in response to the plight of the people of the north-east.

We are not just making laws at random. We are making laws that have direct impact on the people, the economy and the security of our people and also have direct bearing on the social and economic plight of our people like in the case of the North East.

Recently, the Senate passed the Petroleum Industry Bill. The bill had passed too many challenges and with the Senate passing it, then obviously, the House of Representatives will commence process to see how to concur and allow the passage of that bill.

I want to say without any fear of contradiction, the 8th House of Representatives and by extension the 8th National Assembly has done so well in legislation and law making.

Secondly, even though we started very badly in our relationship with the executive arm of government, we have been able to manage the bad beginning. We have been able to stabilise now. At least we have a House that has very good records in terms of its relationship with the executive and that will also help us in trying to discharge our duties of representation.

The intent of establishing the legislature and separation of power is all about perfecting the system. It is about one over-sighting the other.

The next one is Appropriation. If you look at what happened in 2016, there was an unprecedented crisis in the budget but at the end of the day, because of the good working relationship between us, we have been able to sort all these things out.

This House has stood out different from other dispensations of the House of Representatives. I also want to believe that we have succeeded not only in promulgating number of laws but we have succeeded in our legislative agenda. We have a legislative agenda and the key aspect is to promote the anti-graft war, which is one of the policies of the government of Muhammadu Buhari. We have succeeded in bringing some legislative framework that will support the government in achieving its fight against corruption.

We have also engaged several other legislative institutions beyond Nigeria because there is what we call the parliamentary relationship. We have succeeded in building a very robust relationship with other legislative institutions outside Nigeria and even beyond the shores of Africa and I want to tell you we will continue to sustain this.

Now that we have completed two years, we have a lot to count on our hands as our own achievements like Ive mentioned. Despite that, we may likely have some challenges and these are challenges that are basically human. For instance, we always face these challenge from our people as regards the transparency of our budgetary process; how much we use to fund the National Assembly and how much we earn as individual legislators. We are still trying to see how we can address all this because in a situation whereby an institution like the National Assembly becomes an endangered specie, then we must have to stand to that challenge and respond to the expectations of the people and we have started doing that.

In the recent budgetary process of 2017, for the first time in the history of Nigerias legislature we have offered the budgetary process into what we call a public session. It was the first time that this institution has created a platform where we decided to conceive to the members of the public. We invited the press and civil society organisations and other professionals to come and engage the budget of Nigeria by way of a public hearing. There was never a time before when the budgetary process was subjected to a public hearing. There may be some few deficiencies in the process but at least we have set the ball rolling and well continue with the process.

One other thing I want to let Nigerians know is, despite the hullabaloos and outcry, right from 2003 to date, virtually all the budgets of the National Assembly have consistently remained two per cent of the total national budget. So, 98 per cent of our budget goes elsewhere. What the National Assembly takes as part of the national budget sometimes is less than two per cent, but people are still making a lot of stories out of it. Ive mentioned some of our successes and I want to say there are some our challenges that we are yet to come out of. The image of the National Assembly is still in the limbo which I believe members of the press should do a lot to help us educate the people more in order to get out of this unfortunate perception of the National Assembly by the people. The National Assembly should be allowed to do its work without any distraction just like the executive arm of government does its own programs without any interruption, just like the judiciary too.

PT: The budget crisis thrown up by the allegations by Abdulmumuni Jibrin was a protracted one, did it have any backlash or repercussion on the activities or performance of the House?

Doguwa: I must be sincere with you, obviously there was a slight problem. The problem was that at a point, the institution of the House of Representatives was subjected to an undue public disrepute. Before we were able to let people know that the crisis, claims and agitations made by Abdulmumuni Jibrin were also baseless, it took us time and it was like the whole House was put to a mess. To that extent I can say yes. But otherwise at the end of the day, we were able to come out of that crisis even stronger. I dont want to speak much on that matter because it has become history. But the fact remains that there was a problem and our reputation was in question. I want to believe that Nigerians can now stand by the fact that yes, what we did was merely our own constitutional responsibility. I think even in that case, the press overheated it unnecessarily and that was why it was bad to that extent.

PT: Some say the punishment meted on him was rather harsh. Arent you considering forgiving and recalling him? If not, why?

Doguwa: You are speaking with me as an individual. Unfortunately, this question you are raising is a question that should be answered by the institution itself. Not even the Speaker can singlehandedly answer this question. There was a judgement through the resolution of the House. If the House feel they want to reconsider and forgive him, then myself as an individual will have no objection. What I know is that he has been suspended and that suspension is still on. Whether it is much or not, that was the decision of the House, not my personal decision.

PT: You were mentioned in that allegation of padding the budget, what could have led him (Abdulmumuni Jibrin) to do that considering that all of you were working together to make the document (budget) a perfect and implementable one for the country?

Doguwa: This is a question for Jibrin to answer. I cant answer this question. All I know is that there were allegations, counter allegations and mixed allegations. At a point, all these allegations became a mirage, allegations that could not be substantiated. At the end of the day, those of us that were mentioned became heroes. I dont think its an issue for me to continue to bedevil on. If there is any other thing you need to know as regards to why he decided to go that far, I think it is a question for him to answer.

PT: You are from the same state with Abdulmumuni Jibrin. What is your relationship with him now?

Doguwa: I dont have any relationship with him. Even in the past the only thing is that we are members of the House of Representatives from the same state and his local government was carved out of mine. He is somebody I dont know very closely.

PT: Would I be right to say going by crisis the House took extra caution in considering the 2017 Budget to avoid entering the same trap?

Doguwa: Absolutely right. There are lessons in every situation. A wise man should take lessons from experience. The House took lessons from the unfortunate experience we had in 2016. We have taken precautions, one of such is, for the first time the National Assembly had passed a budget with the details at the same time. In those days, the reverse was the case. So many things were taken for granted even though it was done under every righteousness believing that all is well and nothing could backfire. But coming from the background of that unfortunate experience, this House has taken into cognisance all those potholes. We feel we have come up with a better document that you can call an Appropriation Act. Of course, we took a lot of lessons from that but these are lessons I believe are for good and not for bad.

PT: What it the level of executive compliance to the resolutions passed by the House? Are you satisfied?

Doguwa: Resolutions are merely legislative pronouncements by the parliament and even though they carry some weight, it is not compelling on the executive to abide by. Resolution are mere desires collectively from the parliament for the executive arm of government to either comply or otherwise. Resolutions are not laws. When a law is made it is binding head to toe for the executive arm to abide by because every member of the executive arm of government has taken an oath and in that oath, he is committing himself to protect the laws of the land. But I think we, as members of the House of Representatives and by extension the leadership, are not quite encouraged by the level of compliance of government to some of the resolutions that we have reached. Most of the resolutions we have taken are those that border on the sensitivity, plight and desires of the people we represent but unfortunately you find out in most cases that some of these resolutions are taken for granted.

PT: Assess the performance of the standing and special committees two years after. Is there any plan to reorganise them?

Doguwa: Reconstitution of standing committees or appointment and removal of committee chairman are sole responsibilities of the Speaker. It is spelt out in our rules that it is only the speaker that can constitute, review, amend, appoint or remove the committee leadership. The only clause that is there is that the rule says in consultations with other principal officers and consultation doesnt mean he has to seek for our consent. Im not aware of any intention from the side of the speaker so far to review or remove any committee leadership.

PT: You have listened to the demand by Nigerians that you should make your budget open. However, these same Nigerians are crying foul that you upped your allocation. Is the increase in your budget justifiable, especially in this period the country is in economic recession?

Doguwa: I have said something like this in the past that whether you like it or not, the National Assembly is not operating in isolation. We are also operating in the light of the realities in the economy. If the economy is in trouble you expect every other component of the economy to operate in tandem with the challenges. For instance, if in the past a legislative training was organized at a cost of N10,000, you wont expect that same person to use that same amount considering the forex to embark on the same journey now. Some of these things we have done to increase our budget to a very insignificant amount of less than N20 billion is sincerely made to address some of these realities because some of the things we do are also affected by the economic realities. I think it is a justifiable thing because all other budgetary provisions including the service wide votes that the executive arm of government enjoys have been reviewed. Even the budget of the judiciary has also been jacked up. For as long as there is justification for the judiciary to have additional money for their judicial management and as long as there could also be an increase for the executive arm of government, I do not see any reason why you should ask any questions whether ours is justifiable or not. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. We are the only arm of government that deals directly with the people, we undertake so many informal responsibilities that takes a lot from us but Nigerians never understand.

How many times do you have access to the minister on the street or how many times do you think a minister could go home and attend to his people talk less of a member of the judiciary going home to attend to his people? They dont go home to help their people on medical cases. We are the only arm of government that have successfully made ourselves available and vulnerable to the sensitivity of the Nigerian people. We are more prone and exposed to the plight of our people and that is the more reason why you should always believe that whatever comes to the National Assembly in whatsoever way is something that goes back to the people of the country because every one of us represents a section of Nigeria.

PT: While one cannot confirm what is obtained in other climes, some however say it is time for the Nigeria legislative bodies to have an arrangement where their allocations are also subjected to some scrutiny before it is passed just like it scrutinises allocations to other arms of government. What do you think?

Doguwa: I think they are getting it wrong, the only arm of government in a democracy that is bestowed with the responsibility of keeping the trust of the people is the legislature, all other people are not elected, and we keep the trust of our people because we operate under their mandate. With exception of the president and the vice president, any other member of the executive arm is appointed and therefore he is not answerable to his people. But a member of the parliament anywhere in the world is directly answerable to the electorates and that is why this formula can never be reversed. You can never ask someone to oversight the other except if he has the ultimate mandate of the electorates. We enjoy the mandate of our people and the 170 million Nigerians are the owners of the countrys resources. You cannot just invite the executive arm of government or a minister to do otherwise. It is unreasonable. So, it is something that is unimaginable. Dont even propagate that because it is unreasonable. The secret is not because we are better Nigerians or more intelligent. The simple secret is that we keep the trust of the people because all of us in the legislature are elected. The constitution has provided for that and nobody cannot reverse this tradition. It is not only practiced in Nigeria but globally.

PT: One thing that is still bothering many Nigerians is the refusal by members of NASS to disclose how much exactly they earn. There have been reports that you lawmakers take some illegal allowances, far beyond what the RMAFC approved for you. Why have people refused to come clean on this?

Doguwa: People will continue to talk about that so long as members of the press continue to make it an issue. The press is an agenda setter. If the press decides to set an agenda for the people, they will discuss just that agenda. The problem of the National Assembly still lies in the hands of the Nigerian press because the press have refused to tell them what they should expect from us and to know what they ought to know about the National Assembly. As long as you keep the ball rolling in this matter, then Nigerians will continue to talk bad about us. But the fact remains that no member of the National Assembly defines for himself what he earns as a salary just like the president doesnt decide his salaries and allowances.

These are figures that are being allocated by an institution of government that is established by law.

If you want to know my salary, today as a member of the House of Representatives, I earn less than N600,000 monthly. And if you go down to the local government level, a councillor earns up to N500,000, sometimes I earn N400,000. I dont even know how they arrive at that conclusion. I want to tell you today that no member is sure of what his salary will be tomorrow. Its like our salaries are not stable. I can remember cases when members got N350,000 basic when we started in this 8th Assembly. There is nothing to hide about it. Can you tell me how much the president earns or how much a governor earns or how much a governor runs as his security votes? These are some of the very vital questions that you need to know but because the press have decided to focus their envy and blackmail on the National Assembly and that is why Nigerians have continuously focused on the legislature alone. This is a challenge to the press. As long as you are ready to reverse this unfortunate perception, then Nigeria will continue to move in this manner. I dont think Nigerians are our problem, our problem is the Nigerian press which have projected the National Assembly in this unfortunate light. The press have continuously placed the National Assembly at a disadvantaged position.

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One of the 38 Nigerian soldiers sacked by the army in 2016 was a decorated anti-Boko Haram warrior, who once helped thwart a planned attack on the Aso Rock presidential villa, PREMIUM TIMES can report.

Mohammed Suleiman, a former colonel, infiltrated the terrorist groups ranks and helped in arresting some of its key members, his official record says.

He was later fired without a query or an indictment.

In his letter of appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari, in June 2016, Mr. Suleiman asked for justice.

Your Excellency Sir, I want to state that I was not in any way involved in the stated issues, he wrote. I have not committed any offence as I was not invited to any board of inquiry for investigation nor charged or court martialled for any offence. I hereby appeal for my case to be reconsidered on the basis of wrongful retirement.

He sent the letter two weeks after being advised by the Department of Military Secretary to go for his compulsory retirement letter that abruptly ended his career in the Nigerian Army.

He was one of 38 officers forced out of service at the time. A June 9, 2016 letter to the affected officers hinged their compulsory retirement on provisions of Paragraph 09.02c (4) of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers 2012 (Revised).

The referenced section shows the officers were laid off on disciplinary grounds i.e. serious offence(s).

Emphasising service exigencies and that the military must remain apolitical and professional at all times, Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, on June 10, 2016 released a statement, disclosing what could have constituted the serious offences which warranted the 38 officers to be compulsorily retired.

It should be recalled that not too long ago some officers were investigated for being partisan during the 2015 general elections, the statement said.

Similarly, the investigation by the Presidential Committee investigating Defence Contracts revealed a lot. Some officers have already been arraigned in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Usman said.

However, PREMIUM TIMES investigation revealed most of the affected officers were neither queried nor indicted by any panel before they were compulsorily dismissed, thereby, raising question of arbitrariness.

Our investigation showed only a few of the affected officers were queried, tried and indicted. Mr. Suleiman was neither accused of partisanship nor arms procurement fraud.

Even before Boko Haram gained international notoriety for extreme violence, Nigeria, starting in 2009, had relied on officers like Mr. Suleiman in dealing with the sect, his service record shows.

When terrorists were covertly building base in Bauchi, he was responsible for discovering, penetrating and profiling the group. In 2009, he led the joint army/police team that cleared and arrested 377 terrorists with scores killed with no casualty to own troops.

He would then go on to initiate the creation of a Civilian Joint Task Force and control their activities in Borno State, before collaborating with the formation in the 3 Division to have Civilian JTF in Adamawa State.

His record revealed there was a suspected attempt by Boko Haram to attack the Aso Rock Villa, but Mr. Suleiman discovered and penetrated the cell tasked to carry out that terror action.

Subsequently, the key planner of the planned attack said to be a police sergeant, identified as Babagana, was arrested.

Mr. Suleiman was also key to the arrest of and appropriate provision of information on the first successfully prosecuted Boko Haram pioneer spokesman, Umar Sanda Kodunga, who is about completing his 3 year jail term.

Chads arrest and execution of Bana Fannaye, who was helping Boko Haram with arms supply, counted much to his credit and was said to be one of the successful operations that followed intelligence shared with neighbouring countries.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Mr. Suleimans deployments for assignments outside the country were repeatedly cancelled as he was key to Nigerias counter-terrorism operations in the North East.

For instance, he was deployed to the United Nations Mission in Darfur as Deputy Chief of Operations and then to the Nigerian Embassy in Washington as Deputy Defence Adviser in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

But on both occasions, the deployments were cancelled because of his North East involvement. In another case, he was recalled from Command and Staff College, Jaji, as directing staff, to help track a globally and United States declared wanted terrorist, Adam Kambar.

In 2012, Mr. Suleiman made the list of national honourees, becoming a Member of the Federal Republic, MFR, in recognition his participation in several peacekeeping and internal security operations.

His efforts nonetheless, he was forced out of service without a query or indictment for any offence.

Aside operational risks and several ambushes leading to gunshot on my left leg, I escaped 3 assassination attempts (one in Bauchi and twice in Maiduguri and several improvised explosive device attacks, including 2 being suicides.

In the last six years, I was mainly assigned tasks and restricted to duties on counter-terrorism and Boko Haram operations, making me a high value and well sought target by terrorists, he told Mr. Buhari in his June 23 letter, seeking redress.

Nigerian armed forces law affords officers who feel wrongly dismissed the window to appeal for redress by petitioning the president through the Chief of Defence Staff within 30 days.

Out of the 38 dismissed officers, only 22, amongst them Mr. Suleiman, explored this window. PREMIUM TIMES confirmed their appeals were delivered to the president in July last year.

Barely one year after, they are still waiting for justice, or at least a response from the Commander-in-Chief. One of them, Ojebo Baba-Ochankpa, died while awaiting justice on January 31, 2017.

While conveying the appeal to Mr. Buhari, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olonisakin, vaguely mentioned disciplinary ground as being responsible for Mr. Suleimans dismissal.

The defence chief did not say what the officers offence was. But Mr. Suleiman told the President he had never been accused of any wrongdoing.

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A Nigerian identified as Taiwo Quadri allegedly defrauded a Canada-based company, Allan Dodds, of over $20,906, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission witness, told an Ikeja Division of the Lagos State High Court on Friday.

Mr. Quadri allegedly conspired to defraud the company alongside one Oladeji Ramoni and Modupe Adekunle, both of who are still at large.

The witness, Otefison Emmanuel, a bank worker, said his institution received a letter in September, 2013, from the EFCC requesting for all the Western Union transactions documents carried out by Mr. Quadri.

They also requested for the statements of account document and the account opening document of the suspect.

He approached the Dopemu, Lagos branch of Fidelity bank at several intervals to receive monies sent to him from Allan Dodds, a firm in Ontario, Canada and each time he approaches the bank, I give him a form to fill, which includes the state and country he is expecting the money from.

As at the time of this transaction, the western union control number which is usually 10 digits is given to the customer to come with to the bank to claim the money. In that form, he supplied the 6 of the 10 digits and after which I gave him another form to input the remaining 4 digits which is for control purpose.

Mr. Taiwo was paid cash and in the United states dollars, said Mr. Emmanuel.

Mr. Taiwo, alongside Mr. Ramoni and Ms. Adekunle are facing a 33-count charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence and obtaining goods by false pretence.

The EFCC said their actions went contrary to sections 8(a), 1(3), 1(1) (a) and (b) of the advance fee fraud and other fraud related offences Act No. 14 of 2006.

The judge adjourned the matter to September 28 for continuation of trial.

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The United States on Friday in Abuja signed 469 million dollars (about N147.5 billion) Country Operation Plan (COP) to support HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes in Nigeria.

The COP was signed by the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador-at-Large, Deborah Birx, and Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Sani Aliyu.

The ceremony was witnessed by the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, who said Nigerian is working with the embassy and others are committed to changing Nigerian history for better.

Birx said the COP was an annual programme plan for U.S. Government investments in the Nigeria National HIV/AIDS Response through the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

U.S. Government commitment to the Nigeria COP 2017 is approximately 469 million dollars including centrally funded initiatives, to support HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes in the country.

Since its inception in Nigeria in 2004, PEPFAR has disbursed more than 4.3 billion dollars in support of the Nigeria HIV/AIDS, she said.

She said the present U.S. Administration was committed to the issue of HIV/AIDS and also committed to the people and Nigerian government who she said was doing something big at the moment.

The envoy said the authorities in Nigeria had been working to ensure that all Nigerians can thrive free of HIV/AIDS and be free of the disease.

She said COP signing was important because it would help to give more understanding on how to control the pandemic by the year 2020.

Birx said the U.S. was also committed to ensuring that the HIV/AIDS was put under control in Nigeria by the year 2020.

As a partner and the American people to the government and the people of Nigeria, our commitment is to really control this pandemic.

I think Nigeria can go from the lowest number in West and Central Africa to the leadership position that it should be, she said.

The director-general of NACA expressed appreciation for the help rendered by the U.S. government in fighting HIV/AIDS in the country.

We are just about crossing the first million persons on treatment most of which is driven by U.S. government that has put more than 700,000 on treatment.

U.S. is also committed to putting an addition 260,000 people on treatment that means that the U.S. government is keeping alive hundreds of thousands of Nigerians.

We are grateful for that, we are also appreciative of the confidence repose on us, Mr. Aliyu said.

According to him, the Nigerian government will work closely with the U.S. government to continue to advocate for greater resources.

We know our responsibility as government and we will make sure that we deliver on it, the director-general said. (NAN)

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The Federal Polytechnic, Bida in Niger State says arrangements have been concluded to introduce degree programmes in the institution.

The Chairman of the Governing Board, Mohammed Yahaya, a professor made this known when he led members of the board on a visit to the Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, in Bida on Saturday.

The polytechnic began operation in 1977 following the decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to move the Federal College of Technology, Kano, to Bida with J. W. Brooks, a Canadian, appointed on Sept. 5, 1977 as its first Principal.

The Bida College of Technology, as it was called then, commenced its first academic session in April 1978 with 211 students and a staff strength of 11 senior and 33 junior staff members.

The board chairman said all the relevant agencies of government had approved the undergraduate programmes.

Mr. Yahaya, a professor, who described the polytechnic as one of the best in the country, said the new board had resolved to take it to greater heights.

While assuring the Etsu Nupe of the councils readiness to work with the host community, he pledged to improve on the achievements of the institution.

He thanked the host community for the cordial relationship it had established with the institution since its inception.

The Etsu Nupe and Chairman, Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, Mr. Abubakar, urged the board to live up to its billing and promised to sustain the support of the council toward the growth of the school.

The Federal Government had in May inaugurated new governing boards for its tertiary institutions.

(NAN)

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Ayogu Nnamdi, a prosecution witness in the trial of Henry Ugbolue, an aide to Kingsley Kuku (former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta) on Thursday told Justice M. M. Kolo of the FCT High Court Wuse, Abuja that the accounts of Great & Gamaliel Alliance Limited received a turnover of about N35.2million in two months.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had on April 20, 2016 arraigned Messrs. Ugbolue and Lawrence Pepple, both former aides to Mr. Kuku on two separate charges of criminal conspiracy, false declaration of assets and fraudulent acquisition of property to the tune of N55million.

Mr. Kuku (a fugitive) and Mr. Ugbolue were alleged to have conspired among themselves and awarded contracts running into millions to companies in which they had interests.

It was alleged that Mr. Ugbolue was the sole signatory of Great & Gamaliel Alliance Limited, the company which provided integrated management of communications and stakeholders engagement chain for the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta.

On his part, Mr. Pepple was the director and sole signatory for KER Global Wave Limited, which was awarded a contract to provide Reintegration Support Services by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta under the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

Testifying, Mr. Nnamdi, a compliance officer at the United Bank for Africa, UBA, who testified as PW1, told the court that, a sum of N35, 206,564.89 was paid to the account of Great & Gamaliel Alliance Limited between March 4 and May 15, 2014 through the Office of Special Adviser to President on Niger Delta.

Counsel to EFCC, Faruk Abdullah, sought to tender account opening documents, statement of account and mandate card in evidence, but the admissibility of the documents was objected to by Mr. Ugbolues counsel, G. E. Ezeuko, SAN, on the grounds that the documents were originals of public documents adding that, only certified true copies of public documents are admissible.

Mr. Ezeuko argued that, one of the account statements has no certificate of identification and the one with certificate of identification did not comply with Section 84 (4) of the Evidence Act.

He also noted that one of the account statements was not in the proof of evidence given to him.

Responding, Mr. Abdallah argued that, we concede that the documents are originals of public document. However, contrary to the submission of the defendants counsel, the original of a public document is admissible as its a primary document itself.

The Supreme Court had settled this when it held that, such document is the best form of document.

Mr. Abdallah added that, Its only when you intend to tender a secondary evidence of a public document that it must be certified

Justice Kolo deferred ruling on the admissibility of the documents. He, however, admitted the documents, in the interim, as exhibits D & E adding that, in the event the documents were found inadmissible everything relating to it would be expunged from the court record.

The judge, thereafter, adjourned to September 20, 2017 for continuation of trial.

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No fewer than 290,000 applications hit the N-Power job portal on Friday, just three days after the portal was opened, a presidential aide said.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation, Afolabi Imoukhuede, gave the information during an interactive session with the first batch of the schemes beneficiaries in Edo at the Urhokpota Hall, Benin City.

According to him, 200,000 graduates are already participating in the scheme while the next batch of 300,000 will be engaged from the new applicants.

The recruitment portal opened on Wednesday and 290,000 applications have entered as at this morning.

The next recruitment will be very competitive.

If we do validation of data and any applicant fails at the point of recruitment he or she has lost the chance, he said.

He expressed displeasure with the wave of wrong data fed into the portal by graduate applicants and said such problems were discouraging.

Mr. Imoukhuede told the volunteers that while the scheme was making efforts to assist them to validate their entries it would not do same for the next batch of recruits.

The Federal Government is spending N6 billion on stipends to current beneficiaries every month and the amount is not a childs play.

It is a lifeline to lift you out of unemployment and out of poverty.

This is a serious business to reduce unemployment and you have to maximize this chance, he advised the youth.

The SSA advised applicants to file their applications by themselves and ensure that the information asked for in the application is correct and verifiable.

He acknowledged the challenges encountered by volunteers in the scheme which were largely caused by them and called on the new applicants to ensure that they did not make same mistakes.

Mr. Imoukhuede also said that many of the applicants residing in the rural areas stood better chance of being recruited as emphasis would be on residence of the applicants to curb rural-urban migration.

We do not encourage state re-deployment because the scheme is unlike the National Youth Service Corps.

Anyone who is not ready to do volunteer job in his state of domicile should not bother to apply, he added.

The presidential aide announced that deployment of the non-graduate applicants successful from the screening of applications received in 2016 would be done in batches from July/August 2017.

(NAN)

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The Nigerian mission in South Africa on Friday said it had waded into issues surrounding the alleged quit order given to Nigerians by two communities in that country.

Martin Cobham, Nigerias Acting High Commissioner in South Africa, told the News Agency of Nigeria on telephone from Pretoria that the mission was on top of the situation.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Nigeria Union in South Africa had accused two communities in that country of ordering Nigerians residing within their territories to vacate.

Nigerias Acting High Commissioner in South Africa said that he had engaged in processes to nip in the bud whatever crisis or situation that could affect the welfare of Nigerians living in South Africa.

I engaged the union leader who has given me the graphic details of what happened.

In view of that I have engaged with the authorities here to bring in the community, the police and the Nigerians living there for a meeting so as to prevent any mayhem.

On Monday, I am going to dispatch our officials to the Northern Cape Province to engage in a meeting with the local police and the community for a tripartite meeting, he said.

The High Commissioner said that he would also meet with the authority to ensure that instruction was given to the police not to allow any outbreak of violence.

All we are trying to ensure is to nip in the bud any breakdown of law and order or anything that could lead to violence.

So, we in the embassy are on top of the situation. And I am engaging the union leader and my office is equally engaging the South African Foreign Ministry on the issue.

So, I believe with this measure we will be able to contain all these excesses, he said.

The President of the union, Ikechukwu Anyene, had alleged that the Kuruman community in Northern Cape Province also gave Nigerians till Friday, June 16 to leave.

Mr. Anyene also said that the Klaafontein community, Extension 5, Johannesburg, directed landlords not to renew the rent of Nigerians in the community.

He said that the grievance of the South Africans was that Nigerians were responsible for some social vices such as illicit drug trade and prostitution.

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The alumni association of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, has called on well-meaning Nigerians to support the #FundLautech initiative put in place to rescue the troubled institution.

Bayo Adeyinka, a former president of the institutions Students Union and one of the facilitators of the initiative, made the appeal while speaking with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday.

Mr. Adeyinka, who explained that the intervention effort has yielded results, called on alumni of the institution and other Nigerians to support the cause.

He, however, told PREMIUM TIMES that the MTN Foundation and other companies have showed interest in the initiative.

Earlier in the week, the alumni association met with parents of students of the institution to deliberate on the best means of supporting the troubled university.

At the meeting, held in Ogbomoso, some of the stakeholders suggested that the governors of Oyo and Osun states, the joint-owners of the school, should be met again.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that many of the parents, however, kicked against the idea, saying none of the governors would honour the letter because letters had already been sent to them in the past without response.

But it was later suggested that stakeholders should still consider meeting the two governors, it was gathered.

While speaking to our correspondent on Saturday, Mr. Adeyinka explained that the balance in the account is N1,309,700.00, five days after the launch of the initiative.

On Tuesday, two days after the initiative was launched, he had told PREMIUM TIMES that the balance stood at around N1.2 million naira.

When asked about the poor reaction to the initiative, which seeks to raise N1 billion in 90 days, he said the team would work harder to canvass more support from Nigerians.

Yes, I think its slow, he said of the intervention effort so far, stating that, We need to publicise it and get more people to know about it.

I just finished an interview session on a radio station this morning. We are also trying to get all alumni to key into the initiative.

MTN Foundation has requested for a formal proposal. We will send that next week. We can only try and believe that the goal will be met, he told PREMIUM TIMES.

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Justice Kudirat Akano of the Osun High Court sitting in Osogbo on Friday granted bail to Ademola Ademiluyi and five other suspects arrested in connection with the March 8 Ile-Ife crisis which claimed 46 lives.

Mr. Ademiluyi, the Alapoje of Apoje, as well as Taiwo Fakuajo, Akeem Eluwole, Bamidele Elurisanmi, Jimoh Sakiru and Daniel Olanrewaju were granted bail in the sum of N5 million each with two sureties.

She said one of the sureties must be a monarch or civil servant on Grade Level 14 and resident in the state.

The judge added that the other surety must be a blood relation of the accused.

She also said: The main objective or function of bail is to ensure the presence of the accused persons in court during trial.

Bail to an accused during trial, particularly for a capital offence, is based on grace.

Ordinarily, granting bail rests solely on the discretion of the court, especially on the discretion of the judge.

 I hereby adjourn the case till July 13 for further trial.

Two witnesses had earlier testified at the commencement of trial on Wednesday.

They included Mallami Nasri, Abubarka Mutari and a police investigator in the Monitoring Unit of the Inspector General of Police, Akinlabi Ogundile.

During Fridays proceedings, Mr. Ogundile, who was led in evidence by prosecuting counsel, Simon Lough, said more than 100 houses and shops were burnt during the crisis.

I sighted 100 houses and shops burnt during the clash.

I saw 13 burnt vehicles and six motorcycles while myself and my team also saw 46 dead people.

We took the bodies of the 46 to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile Ife, he said.

Mr. Akinlabi also told the court that some incriminating materials were recovered from the accused persons.

He said a green wheel barrow, three axes, a knife, saw machine and four motorcycles were recovered from the suspects.

The photographs of the 46 corpses presented by Akinlabi were, however, rejected by the judge.

Mr. Akano said the photographs were rejected because they lacked serial numbers.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the accused were arraigned on April 28 on a 14-count charge to which they pleaded not guilty.

The defence counsel, Muritala Olawoyin, had applied for the bail of the suspects on liberal terms.

But Mr. Akano rejected the oral application for bail, directing the defence counsel to provide a formal bail application for all the accused persons.

She ordered the accused persons to be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case till June 14, 15 and 16.

(NAN)

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WASHINGTON, June 16, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) applauded Florida Governor Rick Scott for signing into law Senate Bill 90 (SB 90), "Renewable Energy Source Devices," which extends a property tax exemption for renewable energy installations, including solar, wind, and geothermal, on both commercial and residential properties. The legislation implements the Amendment 4 ballot initiative passed by Florida voters in the statewide primary last August, with 73 percent voting for approval, well above the 60 percent needed to adopt an amendment of the state constitution. Gov. Scott's signature follows unanimous approval of SB 90 in both chambers of the Florida legislature. The legislation goes into effect July 1, 2017.

"We thank Governor Scott for signing this bill to carry out the desire of Florida voters to see more renewable energy in the Sunshine State," said Maria Robinson, associate director of energy policy and analysis for AEE. "By signing the bill to implement Amendment 4, the Governor has removed a critical barrier to growth, allowing for more residential and commercial customers to choose advanced energy options like solar power, and spurring growth of advanced energy companies and jobs in Florida."

"Florida has tremendous solar resources and this legislation will only enhance investment across the state," said Colin Meehan, Director of Regulatory and Public Affairs at First Solar, a leading global provider of advanced PV solar systems. "Utility-scale solar is increasingly competitive and this legislation will help us continue to do business in Florida bringing reliable, affordable, clean energy to Floridians."



First Solar, the largest U.S.-based solar panel manufacturer, is supplying photovoltaic modules to Coronal Group for use in three solar plants being built on U.S. military installations in the Florida Panhandle. Elgin Air Force Base, Holly Naval Base and Saufley Naval Base will soon be home to solar energy plants with total generating capacity of 120 megawatts (MW).

"We applaud Florida Governor Rick Scott and lawmakers from both chambers for enacting the Amendment 4 implementing legislation. Solar is a massively growing industry that is creating jobs all across the Sunshine State. Governor Scott's signature today ensures that the state remains a business-friendly environment, and that solar has the opportunity to reach its economic potential," said Tom Carlson, Regulatory & Legislative Affairs Manager at EDF Renewable Energy.



EDF Renewable Energy is one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America, with over 9 gigawatts (GW) of wind, solar, bioenergy, and storage developed.

Florida's renewable energy sector is part of a vibrant $6.2 billion advanced energy industry in the state, bigger than the $4.2 billion generated by agricultural exports, according to AEE's 2015 Advanced Energy in Florida market report. Also, Florida's advanced energy industry is a major statewide employer per AEE's 2016 employment report: At 140,000 workers, advanced energy in Florida supports nearly twice as many jobs as agriculture, more than real estate, and equal to schools, colleges, and training institutions. Employers expected to add more than 5,000 jobs by the end of last year, a growth rate of 4%.

Background on SB 90

This legislation implements Amendment 4, which exempts tangible personal property tax on solar or other renewable energy source devices installed on commercial and industrial property. Ultimately, 80 percent of the assessed value of a renewable energy source device, which is considered tangible personal property and is installed on real property on or after January 1, 2018, will be exempt from ad valorem taxation. SB 90 reflects an extension of the existing tax abatement for solar and renewable energy devices on residential property. The tax incentives would begin in 2018 and extend for 20 years. Although the House and Senate versions of the implementing legislation were very different at the start of session, each side was able to iron out their differences in order to finalize the legislation that was signed by the Governor. The House passed an amended version of SB 90, 119-0, on May 3. On May 4, the Senate concurred with the amended version and passed the legislation 33-0.

The Amendment 4 ballot initiative was offered in the 2016 legislative session by Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg), along with Representatives Ray Rodrigues (R-Fort Myers) and Lori Berman (D-Boynton Beach). It was passed by the Florida legislature in March of that year.

In 2015, advanced energy jobs in Florida, including solar energy, reached 140,000 workers, more than twice as many as in agriculture and more than in real estate, with advanced energy jobs expected to grow 4 percent this year. A report by Navigant Research for AEE valued the Florida advanced energy market at $6.2 billion in revenue in 2014.

About Advanced Energy Economy

Advanced Energy Economy is a national association of businesses that are making the energy we use secure, clean, and affordable. Advanced energy encompasses a broad range of products and services that constitute the best available technologies for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. AEE's mission is to transform public policy to enable rapid growth of advanced energy businesses. AEE and its State and Regional Partner organizations are active in 27 states across the country, representing more than 1,000 companies and organizations in the advanced energy industry. Visit AEE online at www.aee.net.

See this statement online here.

Media Contact

Monique Hanis, 202-391-0884, [email protected]

SOURCE Advanced Energy Economy

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SAN DIEGO, June 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Weaver, LLP is investigating potential violations of federal and state securities laws by FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: FLT) and certain of its officers.

A class action lawsuit was filed against FleetCor over alleged securities laws violations. The complaint was brought on behalf of all purchasers of FleetCor securities from February 5, 2016 through May 2, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"). If you have held shares continuously before February 5, 2016, you may have standing to hold FleetCor harmless from the damage the officers and directors may have caused by making them personally responsible. You may also be able to assist in reforming the Company's corporate governance to prevent future wrongdoing.

The Complaint filed alleges that defendants during the Class Period made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that FleetCor owes its earnings and growth to overcharging customers, disseminating misleading marketing materials, and engaging in predatory sales practices. The lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

If you are a FleetCor shareholder, have held shares continuously before February 5, 2016 , and are interested in learning more about the investigation or your legal rights and remedies, please contact lead analyst Jim Baker ([email protected]) at 619-814-4471. If you email, please include your phone number.

About Johnson & Weaver, LLP:

Johnson & Weaver, LLP is a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm with offices in California, New York, and Georgia. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://www.johnsonandweaver.com. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Contact:

Johnson & Weaver, LLP

Jim Baker, 619-814-4471

[email protected]

SOURCE Johnson & Weaver, LLP

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During the morning activities, Congresswoman Pelosi joined volunteers as they planted flowers, new shrubs and a tree, in addition to helping maintain the grounds of the Nation's AIDS Memorial. The event also marked a significant milestone for the National AIDS Memorial as it has surpassed 200,000 hours given by community volunteers to create and maintain the 10-acre living memorial.

For the past thirty years, Congresswoman Pelosi has worked courageously to advance the issue of HIV/AIDS, supporting major funding, research and programs that have been critically important to the advancements and improvement of the quality of life for those living with the disease. In 1996 she successfully spearheaded the passage of legislation that was signed by President Bill Clinton designating San Francisco's AIDS Memorial Grove, as a National Memorial.

"Thirty years ago our community was ravaged by AIDS and with the leadership of Congresswoman Pelosi we came together here in this grove to heal and remember our lost friends and loved ones," said John Cunningham, Executive Director, National AIDS Memorial. "Her courage to stand-up and fight for our community paved the way for this memorial. Without her leadership this memorial would not be possible. We are forever grateful for her tireless spirit, love and willingness to fight for our cause."

Congresswoman Pelosi has faithfully commemorated her milestone years in Congress by volunteering at the Grove. She has volunteered on many other occasions over the years, often bringing her family and grandchildren to be a regular part of the Grove's Community Volunteer Workdays.

"The National AIDS Memorial is not just a place for where we come and remember those we've lost, it is a place where people from around the country, around the world, can come together to remember their lives, to hope and continue working tirelessly until we find a cure," said Congresswoman Pelosi. "This sacred ground honors all who have been touched by HIV/AIDS but more importantly, it forever keeps their spirit, their love and their stories with us and so future generations never forget. This grove inspires us to keep fighting in their memory and for what's right."

Since the first Workday in 1991, nearly 40,000 volunteers have participated in more than 300 Community Volunteer Workdays, donating more than 200,000 volunteer hours and planting more than 10,000 trees, plants and shrubs. For more information visit www.aidsmemorial.org, follow on Facebook @NationalAIDSMemorial or @AIDS_Memorial on Twitter. Click HERE for photos and video from the event.

Media Contact: Espe Greenwood, 619-993-1673

SOURCE National AIDS Memorial Grove

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Agartala, June 12 : In an interesting development, a Congress MLA in Tripura has urged the Union Home Ministry to provide security to a BJP leader claiming his life is "under threat", official and party sources said here on Monday.

A police official said Congress legislator Ratan Lal Nath has written to the Union Home Ministry requesting that central para-military forces be asked to provide security to BJP's national "Prabhari" (observer) Sunil Deodhar.

The official on condition of anonymity said the Union Home Ministry has sought the Tripura government's views on the issue.

The Congress MLA confirmed that he has written to the Union Home Ministry in this regard.

"I have learnt that some smugglers and anti-social (elements) have chalked out a plan to kill (Sunil) Deodhar. Hence, I have written this letter to the MHA," he said.

Deodhar, who hails from Maharashtra, is the BJP's national "Prabhari" in Tripura and has been spearheading various agitations on behalf of his party against the ruling Left Front.

BJP's spokesman Mrinal Kanti Deb refused to comment on the issue.

The Congress recently served a showcause notice to Nath for "anti-party activities" and meeting BJP leaders, including party President Amit Shah and state BJP chief Biplab Kumar Deb.

"We have recently served a showcause notice to (Ratan Lal) Nath," Tripura state Congress President Birajit Sinha told IANS.

"(Ratan Lal) Nath during a debate on demonetisation in the state assembly talked in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has also not attended any party (Congress) programme during the past two years," added Birajit Sinha, a sitting Congress MLA and former minister.

Ratan Lal Nath, 71 told IANS: "I have received the show-cause notice of the state Congress President." But he declined to make any comment on the issue.

The Congress legislator has been elected five times to the state assembly since 1993 and was also the opposition leader for many years.

In the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress won 10 seats in the 60-member state assembly.

Six Congress MLAs, led by Sudip Roy Barman, resigned from the party last year. They have joined the Trinamool Congress in protest against the Congress' electoral alliance with the Left parties in the West Bengal assembly elections.

Another Congress legislator Jitendra Sarkar resigned from the Tripura assembly and rejoined the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), reducing the Congress' strength in the state assembly to three.

Sarkar joined the BJP on Sunday.

With these political developments, the Congress' strength in the Tripura assembly has gone down from 10 to three - the lowest ever - in the House.

The ruling Left Front has 51 legislators after it won the by-poll last year. The CPI-M alone has 50 members.
New Delhi, June 14 : The ruling and the opposition parties on Wednesday got going on the presidential election with the three-member BJP committee poised to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday in a bid to evolve a consensus on the nominee.

On the other side, opposition leaders held preliminary discussions on the issue but decided to meet again for detailed parleys after government makes public its choice of candidate.

The BJP core committee met on Wednesday morning in the presence of party President Amit Shah, where senior ministers Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu, who form part of the three-member group were also present. Later, Singh and Naidu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the strategy.

Later it was disclosed that the three-member team, which includes Arun Jaitley, will meet Sonia Gandhi probably with the name the ruling side would like to field as part of efforts to build a consensus. It was not clear whether Jaitley, who is currently in South Korea, will be back in the capital in time for the meeting.

The team will later meet CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury. Naidu spoke to BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra and NCP leader Praful Patel over phone. He was told that the two parties will firm up their stand only after the BJP panel meets them formally.

Among the names doing the rounds as possible NDA candidate are Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik. There is talk in the BJP circles that the RSS could pitch for another veteran Murli Manohar Joshi. A surprise could be in the form of Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu, a tribal from Odisha.

With an edge in the electoral college, the BJP is said to be of the opinion that it should have its own candidate who has an ideological background since it is the party in power. Naidu indicated as much on Tuesday when he said that opposition should keep in mind the spirit of democracy that the BJP has the mandate of the people.

Meanwhile, BJP's oldest ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday yet again made it clear that its "first choice" for NDA's presidential candidate is RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut said: "Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat is the most deserving person to be the President of India. Will they (BJP) speak to us regarding this? If you think he is not the deserving candidate, tell us why he is not the suitable candidate.

"You give us another name, but for us Mohan Bhagwat saheb is the first choice for NDA's presidential candidate."

The Sena has been demanding that RSS chief should be nominated as the NDA's presidentail candidate, even though Bhagwat has said that he is not in the race.

The Sena has not voted with the BJP in the last two presidential elections. A candidate from Maharashtra like Naik or Bhagwat or even Mahajan, a Marathi who represents Indore in Madhya Pradesh, could ensure its support to the NDA candidate. Likewise, the candidature of Murmu could bring Odisha's ruling BJD to the government side in the presidential election though the two parties are bitter rivals in the state.

Leaders of nine opposition parties, who form a sub-group, met in parliament house in the chamber of the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, who told reporters later that no names were discussed in their meeting.

"It was a preliminary meeting. No nitty gritty nor names were discussed. All parties are totally united," he said.

Azad said even as the opposition leaders were meeting, it has been disclosed that the three-member team constituted by BJP to hold discussion with opposition parties for a consensus will meet opposition leaders including Gandhi.

"No finalisation of name is possible," he said adding the sub group of the opposition parties will meet in the next few days and discuss in detail by when the government would have also discussed with the opposition parties its choice.

Azad said the future discussion among the opposition parties will depend on the candidate the ruling side choose and the party he belongs to.

"Then only we can have substantial discussions," he said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad told the media that they would "remove" BJP.

Among those who attended the meeting in Azad's chamber were Yechury, Sharad Yadav, (JD-U), Patel, Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Mishra, Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), Derek O'Brien (Trinamool Congress), and R.S. Bharti (DMK).
New Delhi, June 15 : Print will no longer be the dominant media as it is being replaced by the digital medium that is rapidly becoming the arbiter of public discourse, says a well known US media educator who has taken up a teaching assignment in India.

Tom Goldstein, former Dean of the Columbia School of Journalism who is set to become the Founding Dean of the Jindal School of Journalism and Communication, believes that "print will never occupy the dominant position" which it enjoyed until recently, and marked out digital media for its "malleability" and cheapness over the old medium for the decline of print worldwide.

However, Goldstein, a reporter himself for quite a number of years, refuses to endorse the growing perception about the falling standards in journalism, insisting that "journalism has improved markedly" over the last generation, and has, contrary to popular perception, "become more professionalised".

"Of course, there are still notable ethical lapses among journalists, but I believe they are significantly fewer now than 50 years ago. Journalists certainly have a greater awareness now of what is right and appropriate," the former reporter who has written for Newsday, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and New York Times told IANS in an e-mail interview.

He is also not unaware of the different intellectual climate which he will have to contend with in India and admits to the need to acquaint himself with the "social, historical and political milieu" of the country and to learn the "special nature of the Indian setting".

"I have great ambitions for the journalism school, but I do not want to over-promise. I hope that the graduates will be clear thinkers with a deep understanding of history and public affairs, and that they will become leaders of journalism in India -- and internationally," he added.

On local US politics and Trump's rise, the former member of the Pulitzer Prize Board blamed the media for not seeing it coming and ignoring the electorate.

"I think the simplest explanation is that people were ready for a change, and Trump provided that. I think many in the media did not give enough importance to the restlessness of the electorate," he said.

He rubbished the notion of American media swearing strictly by either of the two principal political parties saying that the partisanship in American media is exaggerated.

"With the exception of Fox and MSNBC, most in the American media strive for non-partisanship. And you must remember that cable news channels like Fox draw small audiences. Sometimes we attribute far more influence to these channels than they actually have," he explained.

Despite having over 20 years of experience as a teacher and dean, Goldstein confesses his inability to generalise what a good reporter is like, but pointed out a few common traits anyway.

"Some of the best reporters are insatiably curious, hard-working and stubborn individuals who possess an innate sense of social justice," he said.
Shimla, June 15 : Ten pilgrims from Punjab were killed when a private bus they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district on Thursday, police said.

All of them were from Amritsar.

"Fifty five people, including 23 women and eight children, were injured in the accident. They have been admitted to hospitals in Dehra and Tanda towns," Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Gandhi told IANS.

More than 80 pilgrims were on their way to the popular Hindu shrine Jwalamukhi when their bus met with an accident near Dhaliara town, some 65 km from district headquarter Dharamsala.

The pilgrims, mostly traders, earlier paid obeisance at the Chintpurni temple in the hill state.

Eyewitnesses said the bus was overcrowded and the driver probably lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a steep gradient.

The administration had a tough time extracting the victims from the bus, though locals started rescue work before the authorities could reach the spot.

Wailing relatives mourned the loss of lives of their loved ones. "Shiv Kumar was travelling with his family. He died in the accident while his family members received grievous injuries," said a relative of Kumar.

Overloaded buses, trucks and tractor-trailers carrying passengers from Punjab is a common sight in Himachal Pradesh, especially during religious festivals.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Governor Acharya Devvrat expressed grief over the accident.

In May last year, a bus accident had occurred near the site of Thursday's accident in which seven people, all from Amritsar, had died. They were going home after paying obeisance at the Jwalamukhi temple.

Police officials blame buses belonging to the neighbouring state, driven recklessly by untrained men and largely belonging to private operators, for most of the fatal accidents.
New Delhi, June 15 : Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu will meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday in a bid to evolve consensus on the presidential candidate even as opposition parties are said to be keen on a fight in the July 17 election.

Singh and Naidu, who are part of the three-member team constituted by BJP President Amit Shah for discussion with political parties on the presidential candidate, are set to meet Gandhi at her residence on Friday morning, sources said.

This will be followed by a meeting with CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury later in the day. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also part of the team is away in South Korea. He is scheduled to return only on Saturday morning.

The BJP has given no indication so far on who its candidate is but there is speculation around the names of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The name of BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi is also not ruled out in BJP circles since he is said to have the backing of RSS.

It remains to be seen whether the BJP team will put forward any name to Gandhi and other opposition leaders it would be meeting or talking to in the coming days, or whether the team would merely seek the support for a BJP candidate.

Sources in the opposition parties say that they are waiting for the government side to come out with the name of its nominee before they can finalise their strategy. Opposition leaders say that the choice of BJP candidate, even according to insiders, is known "only to (Prime Minister) Modi and God", to stress the point that it was Modi who was calling the shots on the issue.

They feel that the government was only engaged in an exercise of consensus building for the sake of formality and, in fact, may not be keen on a consensus candidate.

They point to Naidu's statement a couple of days ago that the government has the mandate and the opposition should keep this in mind when talking about a presidential candidate.

At the meeting of opposition parties on Wednesday, there were suggestions mainly from Left parties that they should put up a fight by fielding a candidate because it is an "ideological battle" with BJP. They feel the BJP might be keen on having someone with ideological moorings in the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Should there be a fight, the Left parties are reportedly keen on fielding Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former Governor of West Bengal.

As part of BJP's outreach, Shah is likely to meet Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai in seeking the party's support for the NDA nominee. The Sena, which has been having a cold war with BJP, has not voted with the NDA in the last two presidential elections.

The Sena has been pitching for RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat for the top constitutional post and has also sought to know from the BJP why he (Bhagwat) is not acceptable. Bhagwat on his part has ruled himself out, saying he was not in the race.

Meanwhile, disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday yet again backed party veteran L.K. Advani as the most deserving candidate for the post of President, saying he was physically fit and has the ability to "understand the complexity of the Constitution".

In a series of tweets, Sinha said: "What Advaniji has, is the ability to understand the complexity of the Constitution and to take the right decision when needed without getting influenced by anyone, in the larger interest of the nation."

Sinha also said that Advani, who is 89, is "physically fit" for the post and no one has come out against his candidature.

"No one is able to speak anything, be it from within or outside d party...no voice coming out against Advani's candidature.

"Advaniji is much more healthy and energetic than any of the young leaders. He has kept himself maintained so that he can take responsibility of the country," Sinha said.

Sinha has been sidelined in the party after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country. He was also not inducted into Modi's council of ministers though he has claimed of long association with the BJP, since the time when the party had two members in the Lok Sabha.

His proximity to Advani is said to be one of the reasons for being sidelined in the BJP.
Ranchi, June 16 : The opposition parties have termed the encounter between police and Maoist guerrillas in Giridih earlier this month in which one person was killed as "fake" and demanded a judicial probe.

Lal Baske, a villager, was killed in a gun battle with the security forces in Pirtand jungle of Giridih district on June 9.

Former Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Executive President Hemant Soren, who met Baske's family members, said the "encounter was fake".

"Jharkhand government is getting innocent tribals living in jungles killed in the name of Maoists. We demand a judicial probe or CBI inquiry into the encounter. The family members should be given Rs 25 lakh as compensation," he told reporters.

Police described the killed villager as a hardcore Maoist guerrilla.

After Baske's death, his family members and villagers raised the issue of fake encounter.

Even banned Maoist group, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), has in a statement denied that Baske was a member of the group as termed by police.

He was running a tea shop on Parasnath hill. According to family members, Baske had on the day of the shootout gone to the jungle to collect wood.

The Congress party has termed the "innocent" villager's killing as unfortunate.

"Jharkhand was created for the welfare of people living in this region, particularly the tribal people. Now, innocent tribal people are being killed in the name of anti-Maoist operation. We demand a judicial probe into the encounter by a sitting judge of the High Court," Jharkhand Congress General Secretary Alok Dubey told IANS.
Kolkata, June 16 : Amid continuing unrest, sporadic violence and demonstrations in the north Bengal hills, a delegation of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha lawmakers on Friday met West Bengal Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi to inform him about the situation in the region.

Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court, citing its 2013 judgement terming bandhs/shutdowns as illegal, ordered the state government to submit an interim report within two weeks on the damage of public property in the recent act of violence.

"Three of our MLAs - Amar Singh Rai, Sarita Rai and Rohit Sharma - went to meet the governor today (Friday) to inform him about the present situation in the hills and the demand of the local people," GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told IANS.

"I am not completely aware of the conversation between them as I am in Delhi. The Governor should be made aware of people's suffering in the hills and the state government's extreme measures to curb any form of movement in the region," he said.

After Thursday's massive clash between police and the GJM activists following a raid at the Party chief Bimal Gurung's house, the Darjeeling hills continued to be tense with rallies and counter rallies, both by the Morcha activists and state ruling party throughout Friday.

Early on Friday morning, the GJM supporters torched a panchayat office at Mirik, a hydro electric supply office at Lodhama in Darjeeling and a health centre in Rimbik-Lodhama.

Accusing police of high handedness and oppression, the women wing of GJM took out a rally in Darjeeling town in the afternoon.

The activists carrying Indian national flag were seen shouting slogans in demand of the separate state of Gorkhaland. However, they were stopped mid way by police and central forces.

Countering the GJM rally, the Trinamool Congress members took out a protest rally in Darjeeling district's Mirik sub-division, a party stronghold after its victory in the recent municipal elections.

Blaming the GJM for continuous violence and arson in the hills, the participants in the rally demanded the removal of Gurung.

Slogans like "Bimal Gurung Dur Haato" (Bimal Gurung Go away) were shouted from the gathering.

Taking a swipe at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, BJP's National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya accused the state government of not keeping the promises made during the formation of Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) in the hills.

Meanwhile, the activists of the Gorkha National Liberation Front, a Trinamool Congress ally in the last state assembly election, and Jana Andolan Party (JAP) hit the streets supporting the GJM-sponsored indefinite shutdown in the hills.

"The state government's policy is alienating them more and more from the people in the hills. This is not a good sign," JAP chief Harka Bahadur Chettri said, and urged the state government to start a discussion with the local parties in the hills.

"It seems that there is a clash of ego between the state government and GJM. there should be meetings and discussions in the hills to sort out the situation. No political solution can be achieved through police action," he added.

In the hills, hotels mostly remained shut throughout the day.

A long queue could be seen at the bus station as tourists and hotel workers prepared to leave the hills. Local administration arranged bus services so that stranded tourists could get to Siliguri.

Many tourists including those who came from abroad, complained about not getting proper food or transport to go to the plains.

"We have been waiting for a long time to come here in Darjeeling. We were very excited. But when we actually reached here, there is no trains, no tea, no rope way because of the shutdown," said American tourist Adam.
Washington, June 17 : US President Donald Trump announced that he was reversing crucial pieces of what he called a "terrible and misguided deal" with Cuba and will reinstate travel and commercial restrictions eased by the previous administration, the media reported.

During a speech on Friday night in Miami's Little Havana, the epicentre of a Cuban exile community that supported him in the election, Trump said he was keeping a campaign promise to roll back the policy of engagement started by former President Barack Obama in 2014, which he said had empowered the communist government in Cuba and enriched the country's repressive military, reports The New York Times.

"We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer...Effective immediately, I am cancelling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump said at the Manuel Artime Theatre.

After the speech, he signed a six-page directive that ordered new travel and commercial restrictions while leaving in place some key Obama-era measures that eased sanctions.

As part of the new policy, Americans will no longer be able to plan their own private trips to Cuba, and those who go as part of authorised educational tours will be subjected to strict new rules and audits to ensure that they are not going just as tourists.

American companies and citizens will also be barred from doing business with any firm controlled by the Cuban military or its intelligence or security services, walling off crucial parts of the economy, including much of the tourist sector, from American access.

Embassies in Washington and Havana will stay open and cruises and direct flights between the Washington and Havana will be protected under an exception from the prohibition on transactions with military-controlled entities.

The President also directed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to convene a task force on expanding internet access on the island and reiterate the USs' opposition to efforts in the UNs to lift the Cuban embargo until more is done to honour human rights, reports CNN.

"To the Cuban government, I say, put an end to the abuse of dissidents, release the political prisoners, stop jailing innocent people, open yourselves to political and economic freedoms, return the fugitives from American justice," Trump said.

In response, the Cuban government late Friday said that any attempt to change the political system on the island would be destined to fail.

"Any strategy aimed at changing the political, economic and social system in Cuba, whether it seeks to achieve it through pressures and impositions, or by employing more subtle methods, will be doomed to failure," Efe news quoted President Raul Castro as saying in a statement.

While he acknowledged that changes in Cuba were necessary, pointing to the ongoing process of modernising and developing the island's economic and socialist model, he insisted that Cubans would decide its own fate independent of foreign influence.

"We will assume any risk and remain firm and secure in building a sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable nation," he added.

The statement added that Trump was "poorly advised" to favour the political interests of an "extremist minority" of Cuban-Americans living in Florida, who, because of "petty motivations, will not give up on their ambition of punishing Cuba and its people".

The Cuban leader added that "the US is not in a position to give us lessons", voicing "serious concerns" on the "numerous cases of murders, brutality and police abuses, the exploitation of child labour, racial discrimination and restrictions on healthcare services."
San Francisco, June 17 : Tech giant Microsoft has unveiled the Modern Keyboard that features a hidden fingerprint sensor located between the Alt and Ctrl keys to make the typing hassle-free.

It has also unveiled a Modern Mouse at $50 with nearly invisible buttons and a metal scroll wheel, a report in Engadget said on Friday.

The Modern Keyboard, priced at $130, is in line with Microsoft's next generation of Windows 10 input devices that match the latest Surface models in design and finish.

According to Microsoft, the new model of keyboard has "Chiclet"-style keys and aluminum frame that's heavy and "virtually indestructible".

The keyboard works either wired or through Bluetooth with and uses a rechargeable battery and is compatible with Windows 8-10, Windows 10 Phone, Android and macOS.

Microsoft has not announced when the products will be available in the market but product pages and YouTube videos suggest that they will be "coming soon".
London, June 17 : Accused of manipulating its search engine results to favour its new shopping service, search engine Google may face a record-breaking fine from Brussels of nearly $1.1 billion, media reported on Friday.

According to a report in the Guardian, EU officials are expected to announce in the coming weeks that the tech giant has been guilty of abusing its market dominance.

"In July last year, the commission had reiterated its belief that the search giant had abused its dominant position by systematically favouring its comparison shopping service in its search result pages," the report said.

Paris and Berlin-based senior politicians and Google's competitors, have been encouraging the European commission's competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager to take a tough action against the search engine.

"A financial sanction for abuse of a monopoly position is capped at a maximum of 10 per cent of the total revenues of the company involved," the report noted.

In the case of Google's parent company Alphabet, the sanction was $90 billion last year which is calculated as up to 30 per cent of Google's shopping revenues multiplied by the number of years of the anti-competitive behaviour.

Google will be required to propose how it intends to build its shopping business in future and if it fails to agree a deal with the commission in set time period, the company could be fined up to 5 per cent of average daily turnover for each day of delay.

Another investigation considers if Google has unfairly banned competitors from websites that used its search bar and adverts.

It is also being examined how Google pays and limits mobile phone providers who use its Android software and Play app store.

"The decision from the regulator would, however, open the way for shopping comparison competitors or customers to file damages claims against Google," the report added.

European regulators have in past investigated Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon raising claims that Brussels is waging war against Silicon Valley, but the the claim has been denied by the commission.
New Delhi : Around 180 Dalit families converted to Buddhism after caste violence in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh in May 2017. Bhim Army, the new group that seeks to give Dalit politics a more aggressive face, says it is considering a mass campaign for conversions to Buddhism.

Last year, over 300 Dalits converted to Buddhism in Gujarat after seven of their caste were flogged for skinning a dead cow.

Dalits, ranked lowest on the Hindu caste hierarchy, first started converting to Buddhism as a political gesture in 1956. This was the year B.R. Ambedkar, a Dalit icon, embraced Buddhism contending that this was the only way to escape caste oppression.

The community has continued to use initiation into Buddhism as a gesture of protest. Every time the Dalit movement peaked, the number of conversions rose. After 1956, the number of neo-Buddhists -- or fresh converts to Buddhism -- grew again in the 1980s and 1990s because of the rise of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a major Dalit-centric political party.

Today, around 87 per cent of Buddhists in India are neo-converts; the rest belong to traditional Buddhist communities, mostly in the north-east of India and other Himalayan regions.

However, there has been a decline in the growth rate of Buddhists in recent years. The number of Buddhists grew by 6.13 per cent in 2001-11 and Hindus, 16.76 per cent. But in the previous decade, this trend had been the reverse: Buddhists (24.53 per cent) and Hindus (20.35 per cent).

This decline was most noticeable in states such as Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh -- known for their neo-Buddhist movements.

Maharashtra, which accounts for 77 per cent of all Buddhists in the country, has also seen the growth rate in the community sliding from 15.83 per cent in 1991-2001 to 11.85 per cent in 2001-11.

What could be the reason for this slowdown? It could be because conversion is primarily used as a political tool by Dalits and this means fluctuations in numbers depending on factors that affect the community.

New converts to Buddhism are returning to Hinduism or reporting themselves as Hindus in government surveys. Both these scenarios underscore the complexities that mark the neo-Buddhist movement in India.

Maharashtra, which has around 90 per cent of India's neo-Buddhists, saw their numbers grow by 11.85 per cent between 2001 and 2011, from 5.8 million to 6.5 million.

"The consistent influence of social reformers, including Jyotiba Phule and Dr Ambedkar, has ensured that people here are more aware and secure enough to leave their Hindu identity," said Sandeep Upre, the president of Satyashodhak OBC Parishad, an organisation that conducts deeksha (initiation rites) programmes in Maharashtra.

Karnataka, on the other hand, registered a decline of 75 per cent even in the total number of Buddhists between 2001 and 2011. This was a sharp reversal from the upsurge of 439 per cent the state saw in 1991-2001. The earlier growth was in response to a strong political movement in 1990s which saw the BSP winning its first assembly seat in south India.

"The sway of the BSP has dissipated over the years, which explains the decline to some extent. Another reason is the denial of caste certificates to neo-Buddhists by the state government. This excludes them from reservations in education and jobs," said Mavalli Shankar, the state secretary of Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, an activist organisation based in Bangalore.

In 1990, an amendment was made in the Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1936 bringing neo-Buddhists into the category of Scheduled Castes. However, Karnataka has not issued an official order reflecting the change.

To maintain the reservation advantage, some converts still maintain their Hindu caste certificate and report themselves as Hindus in government surveys while practising Buddhism.

Enumeration in Census may not be accurate, said Shiv Shankar Das, a former researcher with the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, who studied the neo-Buddhist movement in Uttar Pradesh. "Often the surveyor doesn't even ask about religion once he hears a Hindu-sounding name. In other cases, recent converts may not be as assertive with their changed identity," he added.

Dalits in Saharanpur, hit by caste violence in May 2017, have complained that Hindu outfits treated them as their own until the assembly elections which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) come to power in the state.

"The BJP, RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and Bajrang Dal are always seeking support based on the Hindu identity. When people reject Hinduism by embracing Buddhism, they also refuse to be part of their socio-political ambitions," said Nawab Satpal Tanwar, a leader of Bhim Army, which has been accused of inciting violence in Saharanpur.

In Uttar Pradesh too, the population of new converts to Buddhism declined by 29.64 per cent between 2001 and 2011.

There are differences between Ambedkarites on how to take the movement further. Bhim Army and its president, Chandrashekhar, take great pride in reinforcing their caste identity. "Dr Ambedkar's message was annihilation of the caste, not its celebration. Such political associations with caste weaken the neo-Buddhist movement instead of strengthening it," said Das.

Das pointed out that Uttar Pradesh has not been able to achieve what Maharashtra has in terms of assertiveness. "There was en masse conversion in 1956 and hence the state had a good strength of neo-Buddhists from the very beginning. They don't look up to any political party because they are themselves a force," he adds.

Ambedkar's interest in Buddhism went back to 1908, when he first read about Buddha's life and reached its zenith in 1935 when he declared, "Although I have been born a Hindu, I will not die a Hindu." His essay, "The Annihilation of Caste", stated that the greatest barrier to the advancement of the untouchables was Hinduism itself.

His stance was seen as a response to Gandhi's who stressed the removal of untouchability, not caste system itself.

But does conversion change how Dalits are treated by casteist elements? "If neighbours continue to treat us according to our caste, it's their ignorance. We cease to be a Hindu and that act is a redemption enough for us," said Upre.

(In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, non-profit, public interest journalism platform. Manu Moudgil is a freelance journalist. The views expressed are those of IndiaSpend. Feedback at respond@indiaspend.org)

Latest updates on Gandhi Jayanti 2019
Washington, June 17 : If Mikhail Gorbachev lost the Cold War for the Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin is winning version 2.0 for Russia.

Putin has been ruling the air waves in America for months with Russia on the minds of pundits, politicians and press since US spooks accused his spies of helping Donald Trump win the presidency defying all prophets.

Days after a combative interview with former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, a four-hour-long documentary by Hollywood filmmaker Oliver Stone tracing his rise from a KGB agent filled the week.

Some leftist critics were quick to attack Oliver Stone, the director of "Snowden," a film about the American whistleblower who exposed widespread global snooping by the US National Security Agency (NSA), as "Putin's lapdog."

Others dismissed his fairly balanced film that took two years in making with 20 hours of interviews, as a "wildly irresponsible love letter" to the Russian President.

But with lawmakers, leakers, newsmakers all scrambling over each other to keep the Russia pot boiling, Putin needs no lap dogs to achieve what Barack Obama's spooks accused him of doing during the 2016 presidential election.

As Stone points out, there is pretty thin evidence that Putin ordered "an influence campaign" to "harm" Trump's rival Hillary Clinton's "electability and potential presidency".

But if Russia's chief "goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process", as attributed to "17 intelligence agencies," then the spectacle of the "Deep State" going after a duly elected President, is giving Putin what he wanted on a platter.

The "unanimous judgement" of 17 agencies is also a myth. The report was largely the handiwork of CIA led by Obama appointee John Brennan. The FBI and the NSA bought into his report only after some cajoling with "moderate confidence".

If something did influence the outcome of the 2016 election, besides Clinton's poorly-run campaign, it was clearly the fired FBI Director James Comey.

He first labelled Clinton "extremely careless" in handling the nation's secrets and yet let her go scot free. Then just 11 days before the election, he reopened the FBI probe into her email scandal only to drop it nine days later.

Comey also admitted during his much-hyped testimony before a senate panel that he relabelled the FBI "investigation" into the scandal as a "matter" using the Clinton campaign formulation at the behest of the then attorney general Loretta Lynch.

Then using this as a pretext, Comey "usurped" the authority of the Justice Department, as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein noted in his memo to Trump recommending Comey's firing, to rule against Clinton's prosecution.

A bitter Comey also admitted that it was he who leaked the story of Trump "hoping" Comey would "let go" the fired NSA Michael Flynn to prompt the appointment of a special prosecutor to probe the Russia affair.

No wonder the POTUS is livid. Calling it "the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history", Trump let off steam with a series of tweets.

"After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my 'collusion' with the Russians, nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!" Trump lamented.

Hours later he again set the chatterati aflutter complaining, "I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt."

The left liberal media was quick to seize the "gotcha" moment with the "failing New York Times", as Trump calls the Manhattan daily, suggesting that he had "acknowledged for the first time that he is under investigation".

Trump also "seemed to accuse" Rosenstein of leading the "witch hunt", surmised CNN, the "Crooked News Network".

Amid frenzied speculation that he was about to fire the special counsel or Rosenstein or both, a seemingly unconcerned Trump set out to celebrate the second anniversary of the launch of his incredible presidential run with a vow to "Make America Great Again".

But in Moscow, Putin taunted Comey, accusing him of acting like a "civil activist" instead of "a security service director" as he offered the fired cop political asylum like Edward Snowden if he feared prosecution.

He, however, did not say whether he would also award Comey the title of "Hero of the Russian Federation" for knowingly or unknowingly helping him make Russia great again!

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
New Delhi : For a party known for its hubris, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) decision to consult the opposition for a consensus on the presidential candidate has come as a pleasant surprise.

However, it is possible that its majority in the electoral college has enabled the party to display a show of magnanimity.

At the same time, the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Venkaiah Naidu, has reminded the opposition parties that although the consultations will take place in the "true spirit of a democracy", they must remember that "the mandate of the people is for the government."

Naidu is one of the three chosen by the BJP to interact with the opposition. The other two are Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

However, the chances of a consensus candidate being chosen will brighten only if the BJP refuses to abide by the wish reportedly conveyed by its mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that the party must utilise the advantage of a majority in the electoral college to choose a person who is a Hindutva ideologue.

Considering that the RSS has succeeded in planting saffron aficionados in a fairly large number of "autonomous" institutions, including the Indian Council of Historical Research and the Indian Council of Social Science Research, it is unlikely to be hesitant about having a man of its choice in Rashtrapati Bhavan -- the best prize of all.

Perhaps reading its mind, the Shiv Sena had suggested RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's name as the next President. The Maharashtrian party may have also wanted to test the BJP's sincerity to the cause of Hindutva, for it has said that Bhagwat will be a good choice to turn India into a Hindu rashtra (nation).

However, after Bhagwat himself turned down the proposal, the Sena has opted for M.S. Swaminathan, known as the father of India's "green revolution" in agriculture. The name of E. Sreedharan, the engineer who built the world-class Delhi Metro, has also been mentioned. Needless to say, both are eminently suitable for the high office if only because of their distance from politics.

There might have been a faint chance of a compromise between the BJP and the "secular" parties if L.K. Advani's name was put forward. However, the BJP's margdarshak (visionary) has not been a favourite of the RSS ever since he praised Mohammed Ali Jinnah during a visit to Pakistan. Indeed, he had to leave the party president's post soon afterwards.

More recently, however, his involvement in the Babri Masjid demolition case as a "conspirator" has effectively ruled out his chances. Similarly, Murli Manohar Joshi, who is known to be close to the RSS, has also lost the opportunity for making it to the big house on top of the Raisina Hill because of the Babri Masjid case.

Cynics have said that the reopening of the case against them by the Central Bureau of Investigation was meant by the powers that be to keep them out of reckoning, for neither of them is believed to enjoy Narendra Modi's trust.

However, another person, who was not delighted with Modi's elevation in the BJP before the general election, viz. Sushma Swaraj, has come to the forefront. She has several plus points. One is her humanitarian acts as the external affairs minister where her help is required by, among others, by stranded NRIs and ailing Pakistanis. The other, and more important, is that she is believed to enjoy the backing of the RSS.

Among the other front-runners are Draupadi Murmu, the governor of Jharkhand, and Sumitra Mahajan, the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The choice of Murmu, a tribal, will enable the BJP to reach out to one of the most neglected communities in the country, about whom the now virtually forgotten but undoubtedly their foremost leader, Jaipal Singh Munda (1903-1970), told the Constituent Assembly that "the whole history of my people is one of continuous exploitation and dispossession by the non-aboriginals of India".

It is clear that none of the BJP's opponents will oppose her choice for obvious reasons. But whether Murmu herself will be interested is unclear, for the President's post can be the end of the road where a political career is concerned. Being 59 years old, a relatively young age for a politician, she may be unwilling to put a full stop to any further advancement in politics. Rumours have it, therefore, that she is keener on a cabinet berth at the Centre.

A consensus is also possible on Mahajan, for she has shown herself to be temperamentally calm. But this may be the very reason why the RSS is said to be against her.

In less fraught times, it may have been possible to evolve a consensus on the former Lok Sabha Speaker, Meira Kumar, who, as a Dalit and with a distinguished lineage -- she is Jagjivan Ram's daughter -- may have had claims similar to Murmu's for being selected for the highest constitutional position in the land.

But her Congress background ruins her chances straightaway in view of the BJP's avowed intention of making India Congress-mukt (free). Moreover, the RSS would have been appalled to find a Congress person once again becoming the President.

If the Congress is an untouchable for the saffron lobby, so are the Muslims, which is why the Vice President Hamid Ansari did not have a chance. And there is no one like A.P.J. Abdul Kalam around, who was a nationalist despite being a Muslim, as Minister for Culture Mahesh Sharma said.

The Left parties have been pushing for Gopal Krishna Gandhi, a grandson of the "chatur bania" (clever trader) as BJP president Amit Shah descried Mahatma Gandhi.

But for all his credentials -- a former governor and diplomat and related to the Mahatma and C. Rajagopalachari -- his palpable secularism is a black mark where the Modi dispensation is concerned.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)
Lucknow, June 17 : Massive security arrangements have been put in place in the Uttar Pradesh capital for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit beginning June 20 to participate in the third International Yoga Day celebrations.

Modi will lead a crowd of 50,000 to 55,000 in doing yoga on the International Yoga Day on June 21 at the Ramabai Ambedkar Ground here.

Security has been beefed up following an alert by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of terror threats to the event.

ADG (Lucknow zone) Abhay Kumar Prasad has been made in-charge of the Prime Minister's security during his stay in the state capital.

A total of 26 Superintendents of Police, 51 Additional Superintendents of Police, 137 Commanding Officers, 224 Inspectors, 992 Sub-Inspectors, 163 Women Sub-Inspectors, 295 Head Constables, 3,700 Constables, 480 Women Constables, 12 Traffic Inspectors, 157 Sub-Inspectors of the Traffic Department, 497 Traffic Constables, 10 Central Armed Guard Police and 25 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) will be deployed for the Prime Minister's visit, an official said.

Two teams of ATS Commandos would also be deployed for his security. The inner ring will remain the responsibility of the SPG.

A total of 400 CCTVs will be installed at the event venue along with drones to take care of the security.

The Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) and the Command hospitals have been declared safe houses for the VVIP visit.

A 24-bedded disaster ward has been established at the King George Medical University (KGMU). The leave of all doctors has been cancelled for June 20 and 21 due to Modi's visit.

Modi will arrive in a special IAF plane at the Chowdhary Charan Singh airport in Amausi at around 3.50 p.m. on June 20. He will then fly in a chopper to the new campus of the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) in Jankipuram and inaugurate it.

He will also spend some time at the new lab facilities there, an official said.

Modi would then drive to the Abdul Kalam Technical University and inaugurate the varsity's new building. He will dedicate to the nation a 400 KV Lucknow-Kanpur DC transmission line.

Modi will also hand over allotment letters of 20 houses under the Prime Minister's housing scheme to 20 beneficiaries.

He will attend a dinner hosted by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his 5, Kalidas Marg residence and would retire for the night at the Raj Bhawan.

After attending the Yoga Day celebrations the following day, he would leave for Delhi.
New Delhi, June 17 : Take your fitness style quotient one notch higher this International Yoga Day with Bollywood actor, style icon and fitness enthusiast Malaika Arora as she decodes the perfect yoga wear for the style conscious fitness freaks.

An endorser of Yoga and well known for reinventing her fitness regime with Aerial Yoga and other forms, Malaika has recently been announced as part of Reebok's 'Fashionably Fit' family.

Here are her top picks for the International Yoga day that is celebrated on June 21.

* Black is back in vogue: For the actress, black can never go wrong if you are ready for yoga sessions.

* Style-up with graphics and stripes: Stretch, bend and flip with tights that infuse comfort and style. In addition to giving flexibility, the tights also enhance the experience of your Yoga session, making it ideal for any body type. Opt for the graphic prints and stripes to stay in your fashionable best.

* Be spotted with the right accessories: If you are a fitness diva yourself and believes in posing before or after your regime, do not forget to wear the accessory like slim fit bomber jacket, that blends leather and nylon to give a contemporary look, and is ideal for both indoor and outdoor sessions.
Seoul, June 17 : The President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said on Saturday that the organisation is keeping the door open for the US and Japan, two of the world's leading economies who are not yet part of the body.

Jin Liqun made the remark when asked about the two countries' notable absence at a press conference following the end of the second AIIB annual meeting in South Korea's Jeju island, reports Efe news.

"I am pleased to announce that we already have 80 members in the AIIB. This demonstrates confidence in the governance and management of the institution," said Jin, alluding to the decision to include Argentina, Madagascar and Tonga as new member states.

"This also indicates the commitment of all members to work together, to improve living conditions of their citizens and to maintain sustainable economic growth while facing environmental challenges," he added.

The new members are awaiting the completion of the entry process which includes the deposit of their first instalment of capital with the bank.

The Jeju meeting was attended by 77 current member states of the AIIB and about 2,000 entrepreneurs from around the world.

It included a dozen seminars where different areas of investment were discussed.

Other AIIB members include the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Italy and South Korea, and its second annual meeting was held primarily on the theme of sustainable infrastructure.

The Jeju meeting sought to set the course for AIIB, a body established in 2014 at the behest of Beijing and considered an alternative to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which are dominated by the US and the Asian Development Bank controlled by Japan.
Darjeeling, June 17 : An Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) officer was on Saturday critically injured in a clash with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters in the northern West Bengal hills.

Kiran Tamang, Assistant Commander of IRB, was later brought to Siliguri for treatment, Mrinal Ghosh, Commandant IRB Second battalion, said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, commenting on the incident, said in Kolkata: "As per the reports we got, Kiran Tamang is critically injured. He is not dead."

Earlier she had said the Assistant Commander was dead.

Meanwhile, the GJM claimed two of its supporters were killed and five critically injured in police firing.

"As of now two persons were killed and five are critically injured. We are searching for our men and women," GJM assistant general secretary Binay Tamang said.

Police have denied firing at the protesters.

"Police did not fire. GJM set fire to our vehicles. We are looking into the incident," ADG law and order Anuj Sharma.

The GJM sponsored indefinite shutdown in the northern Bengal hills, which entered the sixth day on Saturday, saw fresh violence and protests after GJM's Tamang alleged his house had been raided and vandalised by police.
New Delhi, June 17 : Posters appeared on Saturday outside the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office here demanding the ouster of party leader Kumar Vishwas, terming him a "traitor" and BJP's "close friend".

Posters were found on the walls of the party office at 206, Rouse Avenue and nearby buildings.

"BJP's close friend, traitor and not poet, one who attacks from behind, traitors like this should be thrown out of the party," the posters read.

Asked about the posters, Vishwas said "when God and party workers are giving answers", there is no need for him to respond. The AAP leader, however, did not elaborate.

On Saturday afternoon, the AAP filed a police complaint stating that some people have tried to defame Vishwas and misused another party leader Dilip Pandey's name with the intention of creating a rift in the party.

The posters also thanked Pandey for speaking the "truth" about Vishwas.

Pandey had taken a dig at Vishwas on Wednesday and tweeted: "Brother, you abuse Congress a lot, but say that you won't speak against Vasundhara in Rajasthan? Why like this?"

Pandey was referring to Vishwas' statement on June 10 that he won't attack Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje personally during the campaign for the upcoming assembly elections.

Vishwas, who is the Rajasthan in-charge of AAP, while addressing his party workers on June 10 also said that any in-charge or observer would not stay in any hotel or farmhouse during the campaigning and instead put up at a party worker's house or the party office.

Later on Thursday, AAP Treasurer Deepak Bajpai tweeted the photo of a room in a five star hotel and wrote: "Party is looking for a person who stayed in a room with a beach view at five star hotel JW Marriott during Goa election campaign."

Bajpai then retweeted the photo and added: "Stop the pretence. Stop defaming party workers. If you have little shame, answer first."

Though Bajpai was unavailable for comment, a party leader confirmed to IANS that it was indeed Vishwas who stayed at a five star hotel during the campaigning for the Goa Assembly polls.

"Many of the party leaders stayed in a dormitory arranged by the party or at party workers' houses, but it was only Kumar Vishwas who stayed at a five star hotel," the party leader told IANS.

The posters with the AAP symbol and photos of senior party leaders, including Pandey and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, were later removed.
Ranchi, June 17 : Maoist guerrillas beheaded a person in Jharkhand's Giridih district alleging he was a police informer, police said on Saturday.

According to police, Maoist guerrillas abducted Vijay Barnawal, who was earlier an active member of a Maoist group, on Friday.

Barnawal, a resident of Bhelwaghati in Giridih district, was abducted when he had gone to neighbouring Bihar for some work.

His decapitated body was found in Sijuwa village of Bihar's Jamui district.

Both Giridih and Jamui are bordering districts of Jharkhand and Bihar.

Police recognised Barnawal's identity from his Aadhaar card, as the ultras slit his head.

His family members were called and they identified the body, which was brought to Giridih from Jamui.

He was in the past arrested on charges of being an active member of a Maoist group.

Barnawal, who remained in Giridih district jail for three years, worked as a stone trader after his release.

Maoist guerrillas left behind a pamphlet, terming him a police informer.
Kabul, June 17 : An Afghan soldier attacked foreign troops at a military base in the north of the country on Saturday, officials said.

An unspecified number of US soldiers were injured in the attack that took place at a base in the Dehdadi district of Balkh province, located some 540 km to the northwest of Kabul, a Defence ministry spokesman told Efe news.

"A soldier opened fire on foreign troops inside Camp Shaheen. We only have reports of injured foreign troops," said Muhammad Radmanish, the ministry's spokesman.

A spokesman for the US military command, based in Kabul, dismissed reports that American soldiers had been killed.
New Delhi, June 17 : The BJP on Saturday accused the AAP government in Delhi of "new gimmicks" to mislead the people and alleged that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has wasted crores of taxpayers money on false advertisements.

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Manoj Tiwari said: "The falsehood of the Kejriwal government is being exposed gradually. Kejriwal was till a few days ago making tall claims about his government's achievements but after the loss in civic polls he is now playing new gimmicks to mislead the people."

Taking a dig at Kejriwal, Tiwari said the Chief Minister himself admitted to shortage of medicines after inspecting the hospitals.

"Today (Saturday) he also found deficiency in the services of the anganwadi," Tiwari said.

He also said the Kejriwal government claimed about providing free medicines and best anganwadi service in the country through advertisements in various newspapers.

"People want to know from Kejriwal that when he has himself admitted about irregularities in the hospitals and anganwadi services then why has he wasted crores on false advertisements?" he asked.

Tiwari's remarks came after the Chief Minister on Saturday paid a surprise visit to several anganwadi centres in Delhi. Earlier on Friday, he made a surprise visit to the hospitals in Delhi.

Slamming Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia over his recommendation to remove Director of Information and Publicity Jaidev Sarangi, Tiwari said, "When the CBI was investigating the 'Talk to AK' matter, Sisodia's recommendation to remove the DIP for not obeying his arbitrary orders shows his egotism."

Tiwari, who represents the northeast constituency of Delhi in Lok Sabha, said that Sisodia had not recommended Sarangi's removal for denying the Facebook live programme.

"But the real cause of removal was his refusal to issue advertisements with jugglery of data of board examination results," he alleged.
New Delhi, June 17 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the BJP has submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court, stating that it won't implement the Swaminathan Committee report, which promises 50 per cent profit to farmers.

Speaking at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s National Farmers' Conclave, the Chief Minister said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power promising to implement the report and now by denying it, "they're cheating farmers".

"No one knows about this. Every farmer should be told how they've been cheated. We want to take this affidavit to every farmers' house and this will be our first job," Kejriwal said.

He added that farmers were not asking for alms but only compensation for their work. "Everyone should take a vow that Swaminathan Committee report will be implemented. It's our responsibility to ensure that farmers get proper price for their produce."

The conclave, which began at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Constitution Club of India here, saw the participation of farmers' representatives from 20 states and top AAP leaders.

In the first half of the conclave, farmers' problems were discussed and in the second half, solutions were worked out.

Kejriwal said that the conclave came to the conclusion that cold storage markets should be set up for marketing and procurement of farm produce.

He also said that agro processing industries should be created near villages. "This will provide employment to youth in villages and they won't have to go to cities for jobs."

The Chief Minister said that a special session of Parliament should be convened for discussing the current farmers' crisis and added that it shouldn't be limited to a discussion only.

Senior party leaders Gopal Rai, Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas and others took part in the conclave.
Kabul, June 18 : An Afghan soldier opened fire on foreign troops at a military base in northern Afghanistan, leaving at least seven US troops injured.

The attack on Saturday took place at the Afghan National Army's 209th Corps headquarters in the province of Balkh, located some 540 km to the northwest of Kabul.

A spokesperson for the NATO defense mission in Afghanistan confirmed that the incident took place at Camp Shaheen in the capital of Balkh province Mazar-e-Sharif, Efe news reported.

The spokesperson confirmed that there were no deaths among members of the NATO mission or US troops, adding that an Afghan soldier (presumably the assailant) had been killed and another one injured.

He said that an investigation was ongoing into the circumstances of the attack.

A spokesman for the 209th Corps, Abdul Qahar Aram, previously said that an Afghan soldier had opened fire on foreign forces stationed in that base.

Muhammad Radmanish, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said that the attacker was shot dead by foreign forces, and stressed that an investigation into the incident had been opened.

The Taliban insurgency had targeted the same base late in April, killing 135 people and injuring another 64.
Cairo, June 18 : The Syrian army announced a unilateral ceasefire in the city of Daraa in order to support national reconciliation efforts, the media reported.

According to a brief statement published by state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency, the cessation of hostilities began at 12.00 p.m. (local time) on Saturday.

The ceasefire comes as part of the Syrian army's support to the "efforts of national reconciliation", according to the report.

Although Daraa is within the four de-escalation zones agreed between Russia and Turkey, the Syrian regime has continued to attack this city, which is partially-controlled by rebel forces, EFe news reported.

Daraa is where the Syrian protests against President Bashar al-Assad first erupted in March 2011, later escalating into a fully-fledged civil war that is still ongoing.

This comes as the UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistrua, announced that the seventh round of Geneva talks will take place on July 9.

Mistura said that the talks will rely on the progress made in the de-escalation zones' deal, which was internationally backed and went into effect last May.
We are proud to announce that our own Fletcher Dal Handley, Jr. was invited to become a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America. There are only 4 Plaintiffs lawyers in Oklahoma that have been selected making Fletcher one of the few.

The Litigation Counsel of America (LCA) is a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers.

Fellowship in the LCA is highly selective and by invitation only. Fellows are selected based upon excellence and accomplishment in litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels and superior ethical reputation.

The LCA represents the best in law among its membership.

The number of Fellowships has been kept at an exclusive limit, allowing qualifications, diversity, and inclusion to align effectively, with recognition of excellence in litigation across all segments of the bar.

Fellows are generally at the partner or shareholder level or are independent practitioners with recognized experience and accomplishment. In addition, the LCA is dedicated to promoting superior advocacy, professionalism and ethical standards among its Fellows

Fletcher Dal Handley, Jr., is a civil justice attorney with The Handley Law Center in Oklahoma. His practice is focused on Personal Injury Law and complex family law. He also practices as both a civil and family law mediator.
Grantham University will award Business Leadership Certificate program scholarships to Karen Yepez-Maza and Brandi Casey, both of Kansas City, during a GED graduation ceremony at 11 a.m. on June 17 at the New Bethel Church, 745 Walker Ave., Kansas City, Kan. The event is open to the public.

Made Men, a Kansas City organization whose mission is to empower individuals and communities to succeed through education, training and connections to sustainable resources, will honor men and women who earned their GEDs, including Yepez-Maza and Casey.

We are so proud to partner with Made Men to provide scholarship opportunities to Kansas Citians like Karen and Brandi, said Grantham University President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Andrews. I congratulate them on their hard work and look forward to seeing their success as they continue their education at Grantham.

Yepez-Maza was born in the United States and raised in Mexico, returning to Kansas City at age 17. She earned her GED through Made Men in June 2016 with top scores and plans to pursue a Certificate in Business Management.

I was very surprised and pleased [to receive the Grantham scholarship], Yepez-Maza said. I know hard work does not go unseen, and this was great proof.

Casey earned her GED in January 2017 and will pursue the Certificate in Business Leadership to develop her home daycare.

Im ready to learn the skills I need to take my business to the next level, she said.

Most Made Men graduates are from the Kansas City area, although there are some who have traveled from as far as Columbia, Mo. and Omaha, Neb. to participate.

It is my life mission to help others and serve my community, Nelson Gabriel, Made Men president and chief executive officer, said. [The Made Men graduates] have worked hard to get where they are, and we are proud to be a stepping stone to their destiny.

Boubacar Vilane, Grantham University Chair of Foundations Program, will be the keynote speaker at the event, with Rae Daniel of KSHB Channel 41 News serving as emcee. Several elected officials and dignitaries are expected to attend, including Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and Wyandotte County, Kan. District Attorney Mark Dupree. Doors open for the ceremony at 10:45 a.m.

About Grantham University: Grantham University was founded in 1951 by Donald Grantham, a World War II veteran with a vision to make education achievable for military service members and veterans. Over the past 66 years, Granthams commitment to serving those who serve with affordable, accessible higher education has evolved into a culture of service that extends to all adult learners, as well as to those in need. The Universitys ability to help students achieve their dreams through education is enabled by its unique approach and devotion to comprehensive student support, and its continuous advancement in line with changing technologies.

Continuously accredited since 1961 by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), Grantham University has earned a distinguished record as a respected and accredited distance learning university. The 100 percent online university offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate certificates and degree programs, and serves a global student population of more than 17,000 annually.
Liberty University graduate Becky Barker (second from left) on set with the actors of her WWI short film, 'We are the Dead.'

For recent Liberty University graduate Becky Barker, it wasnt enough to trudge through World War I trenches deep in the pages of history books  she was so captivated by the stories that she brought them to life on film in the forests surrounding Lynchburg.

I fell in love with this area of history because of the many untold stories I discovered, she said. World War I is not as thoroughly studied as the wars that came later. This is mostly because although it was a war of previously unheard of catastrophic size, World War II eclipsed it only 20 years later. WWI also fascinated me because, unlike WWII, the good and bad sides of the conflict are not nearly so black and white.

As a student in Libertys Department of History, Barker took advantage of the universitys cross-disciplinary program and added a minor in cinematic arts. When she discovered that she loved filmmaking, she added a cinematic arts major, and thats when she embarked on a project to bring the First World War to life. Her short film, We are the Dead, focuses on a young soldier who must overcome fear before his first battlefield attack and an almost certain death.

The point of the story is that although the Great War is often thought of in terms of the millions lost, every one of those numbers had a name, a family, hopes, fears, and dreams, Barker said. My goal was to take the First World War and distill it down to a micro level, a personal level, and show the humanity in what is often characterized as an inhuman war.

Barkers dedication to uncovering historys forgotten stories led to multiple accolades. She was awarded Libertys History Student of the Year in April 2016. The following semester, Barker was given the Zaki Gordon Award for Excellence in Screenwriting for We Are the Dead, her thesis film.

Barker is also member of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society, and presented research at a number of conferences. To cap off her education, Barker was selected as one of this years Gilder Lehrman History Scholar Award recipients, a prestigious honor given to 15-16 college juniors or seniors from across the country who demonstrate academic excellence in American history.

I was absolutely floored to be selected as a finalist, let alone a winner of this award, Barker said. The award came with a paid trip to New York City, which she went on last week. To be able to represent Liberty University in New York City as one of (the) winners selected from across the country is a great honor. It says a lot about the wonderful professors and teachers I have had here at Liberty.

In addition to staple attractions like Times Square, the Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Wall Street, Yankee Stadium, and the Brooklyn Bridge, Barker was given a VIP historical experience. She visited the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Historical Society Museum, heard lectures from leading scholars of American history, and viewed historic artifacts from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, including the original handwritten letter from Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant asking for a ceasefire so he could surrender, an original print of Paul Reveres drawing of the Boston Massacre, a lock of President James Madisons hair, and an original handwritten copy of the Thirteenth Amendment as well as a print of the Emancipation Proclamation, both signed by Abraham Lincoln.

The trip was amazing, Barker said. I had never been to New York City before, so it was wonderful to see many of the sights. The opportunity to experience and explore one of the most historic cities in the world, which also happens to be a media center, was the perfect way to celebrate graduating with both a history degree and a cinematic arts degree. I cannot thank my parents, professors, and Gilder Lehrman enough for making this possible.

Now that she has graduated, Barker is entering We are the Dead in film festivals. She also has completed a feature-length script about the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of American pilots who flew for France during WWI before the United States formally entered the war. (Her history capstone project also focused on the Lafayette Escadrille.) Barker plans to pursue a career as a screenwriter, writing adaptations of historically based stories.

Historical documentary filmmaking is now offered as concentration under the B.S. in History. Learn more about Libertys cinematic arts and history programs on their respective web pages.

About Liberty University

Liberty University, founded in 1971, is the largest private, nonprofit university in the nation, the largest university in Virginia, and the largest Christian university in the world. Located near the Blue Ridge Mountains on more than 7,000 acres in Lynchburg, Va., Liberty offers more than 550 unique programs of study from the associate to the doctoral level. More than 250 programs are offered online. Libertys mission is to train Champions for Christ with the values, knowledge, and skills essential for impacting tomorrows world.
Ashley Morton as Blanche in Carol Support Group Providing LGBTQ video artists such as Allison Tate the tools and support to create new works is extremely gratifying and culturally important.

Saturday, June 17, 2017, marks the world premiere of the short comedy Carol Support Group, a loving homage to Todd Hayness Oscar-nominated feature starring Cate Blanchett. The film is about a support group for people addicted to the movie Carol. The counseling session descends into mayhem, as superfan Blanche embodies lead character Carol Aird and lures her fellow addicts to temptation.

Directed by Allison Tate, Carol Support Group premieres at San Francisco's Castro Theatre at 1:15 p.m. in the popular shorts package Fun in Girl Shorts. It will screen two additional times the following weekend, June 24 and 25. Frameline Film Festival is the largest and longest-running LGBT film festival in the world.

The original movie, Carol (2015), was nominated for six Academy Awards. Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, it was directed by Todd Haynes from a screenplay by Phyllis Nagy, based on the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith.

Carol Support Group was funded by the Here TV Incubator program. The Here TV Incubator program helps emerging LGBTQ video artists bring their passion pieces to life, in their own unfettered voice. Here TV provides the resources, production experience, mentoring, marketing and the largest global LGBTQ premium distribution platform to make sure these entertaining, culturally important stories are told and heard. We believe in supporting a developing LBGTQ video art renaissance.

"Providing LGBTQ video artists such as Allison Tate the tools and support to create new works is extremely gratifying and culturally important.  John Mongiardo, Managing Director, Here TV

Interview opportunities

Writer-director Allison Tate, producer Wendy Jo Carlton, and star Ashley Morton

Recent coverage in WIRED

Downloadable EPK

http://www.carolsupportgroup.com

@caroladdicts Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr

Here Media is the largest and most influential LGBT media company in the world. Reaching more users per months than any other LGBT media brand, Here Media holds a unique position among digital media companies. Its premium video service  HereTV  has a branded presence on all leading streaming and cable platforms. Our new OTT service launched in 2017 with hundreds of award-winning LGBT films. Download it for iPhone, Android, Apple TV, or Roku, or watch online.

Forward-Looking Statement

In addition to the historical information contained herein, this press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the company to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
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BJP had promised to bring funds from Centre, make Delhi garbage-free but did nothing. It won't win more than 20 seats in MCD polls: Kejriwal.

AAP always fulfils its promises. BJP's intentions are dishonest, it issues 'Vachan Patra' and then does nothing for five years: Kejriwal.

MCD polls: AAP will ensure timely payment of salaries to civic body employees, end 'inspector raj' and open sealed shops, says Kejriwal.

AAP promises to provide permanent solution to parking problem in Delhi, repair roads and improve MCD schools and hospitals: Kejriwal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates swanky Terminal-2 of the Kempegowda International Airport.
The crash occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time, and Japan's coast guard was reportedly on the scene to assist conducting medical evacuations. So far, at least three sailors are said to have been evacuated.

The

"As more information is learned, we will be sure to share to it with the Fitzgerald families and when appropriate the public," read a statement from Adm. John Richardson. "All of our thoughts and prayers are with the Fitzgerald crew and their families."

The Fitzgerald had recently made a port call to the US Navy's Subic Bay base in the Philippines and conducted patrols in the South China Sea.

The Fitzgerald maintains constant contact with Japan as it is forward-based in Yokosuka.
Cosby stands charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault after he was accused of giving drugs to and molesting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home outside Philadelphia back in 2004. Constand first filed a civil claim against Cosby in 2005. In total, Cosby has been accused of sexual misconduct by nearly 60 women.

Despite 52 hours of deliberation, jurors in the Cosby trial told Judge Steven O'Neill on Saturday that they were "hopelessly deadlocked" and could not reach a unanimous verdict. O'Neill then declared a mistrial.

What is a mistrial?

A mistrial is a trial that has not reached its normal conclusion, has no legal consequences, and is considered invalid. Though numerous factors can result in a mistrial, including lack of jurisdiction and incorrect jury selection, a hung jury  a jury that's unable to unanimously come to a verdict  is the most common reason.

The unanimous verdict has long been considered a "defining feature" of jury trials, according to Jeffrey Abramson in "We, the Jury," dating back more than 600 years in England. Such was the case in the US until 1972, when the Supreme Court ruled in Apodaca v. Oregon that a state jury could convict a defendant by a less-than-unanimous margin, though a federal jury must still agree unanimously.

Today, however, all states but Louisiana and Oregon require a unanimous verdict for criminal trials. That includes Pennsylvania.

What happens in the event of a mistrial?

When a mistrial is declared, it is up to the government to decide whether it wants to drop the prosecution or attempt a retrial.

Gloria Allred, who represents a number of Cosby accusers, said after the mistrial was declared that "We can never underestimate the blinding power of celebrity." One of Allred's clients, Kelly Johnson, appeared as a witness for the prosecution in Cosby's trial.

"
Before an enthusiastic anti-Castro crowd in Miami, Trump signed a directive that restricted Americans' ability to travel to the island, prohibited financial dealings with the Cuban military, and laid out several stipulations on which future US-Cuban negotiations would be based.

One of the four goals of Trump's police change is to "Further the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and those of the Cuban people," according to a fact sheet distributed by the White House.

"[Russia] has already started trying to make up the gap in petroleum imports to Cuba that have fallen off dramatically with the chaos in Venezuela," retired Army Brig. Gen. David L. McGinnis, a member of the Consensus for American Security at the American Security Project, said on an Atlantic Council conference call this week.

Russia has also recently forgiven billions in Cuban government debt and won a bid to build a railroad on the island.

"They're in a market for products from both Russia and China, and both of those countries have the resources to provide the loans to allow them to purchase their weapons and equipment," McGinnis said.

These are not new concerns.

In 2010, nine retired generals wrote to then-House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Howard Berman to say that Cuba did not pose a threat to the US and to call for the travel ban to be lifted.

For its part, Havana has not fully embraced Russia (or China, which is Cuba's largest trading partner and the largest holder of its foreign debt).

According to McGinnis, that is likely because of the Cuban government "wanting to have a balanced foreign policy to the best extent they can, hoping that we will step forward and do the right thing."

This isn't a return to the Cold War, but the Cuban mood may quickly change if avenues for engagement with the US appear to be closed.
SHE-Y by Menaye is a beauty product which is made out of Ghanaian shea butter with a range of other fragrances namely; Olive, Praline and Black Orchid. The Black Orchid has even been nominated as a finalist for the Attracta beauty awards, one of the worlds leading beauty awards shows.

Speaking to press after the launch, Menaye said the brand was inspired by her childhood memories which involve using shea butter both for her body and even the food she ate.

I carried Shea butter with me around the world as it was a product used in my home in Ghana since childhood as a cure for every ailment, she said about the beauty brand which was launched in 2016 I spent nearly two years in the lab developing the SHE-Y Body Cream before it was released

The beauty product has received critical acclaim from beauty magazines and skin experts

The result is a velvety texture super-boost of hydration to ultimately maintain flawless and ageless skin, she further revealed.

She also emphasised on the brands Corporate Social Responsibility which states that for every product you buy from SHE-Y by Menaye, part of the proceeds are used to cater for the children who live at the Menaye School of Hope in the Central Region
Zara is a Diploma in Education student at the University of Ghana and a resident of Akuafo Hall.

Musah is said to have visited Zara and found her in the company of another man in her room.

Angered by what he saw, Musah confronted Zaras guest.

A heated confrontation ensued between the two gentlemen and according to multiple accounts, Zara backed her guest.

Feeling jealous and unable to control himself, Musah stormed out of the room, returned with a broken ceramics and stabbed Zara in the neck.

He was arrested by some students on campus and handed him over to the Legon police.

The victim is currently receiving treatment after she became unconscious from the stab.

Musah and Zara had arranged to get married after Ramadan according to Radio University, a radio station owned by the University of Ghana.
The deceased is yet to be identified but his body was sent to the Regional Hospital morgue after a joint team of Fire Service and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) visited the scene of the flood in an area called GOIL town.

READ MORE: Part of Kumasi Central prison destroyed by heavy downpour

The NADMO boss, Divine Bossman, said the team was on an assessment tour of the affected areas in the municipality.

The rains which lasted about two hours is said to have flooded major streets in the municipality.

Storm drains around Mawuli estate and Ho Technical University, Bankoe, Anlokordzi, CK Road and other adjoining areas were all affected, Accra-based Citi FM reported.

Commuters on the Ho-Aflao road had a difficult time crossing the bridge near the Ho Polyclinic while residents were left stranded at both ends after sections of the road were disconnected by the waters, according to the report.

More rains expected

Meteorological experts have warned of more rains this year.

The Assistant Meteorologist at the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Frederick Otu Larbi, said forecasts indicate an amount of rainfall above average

Expect more rainfall coming in in the morning for those of us in the south.
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Hohoe MP, Bernice Adiku Heloo, said she did well, saying she is very hopeful Justice Sophia tenure will see more development.

That was a five-hour grilling and I must say she did very well. She has been able to tell us all the plans that she has for her staff, for her administration, for students, and for the general legal practice in Ghana. So we are very hopeful that her tenure will see more development and progress in the judiciary," she told Accra-based Class FM.

Private legal practitioner, Mr Kofi Bentil, said the Chief Justice was impressive, adding that the president made a good choice in nominating her.

The Chief Justice showed a lot of stamina and it was good, Mr Bentil to Joy FM. I come away very impressed with the CJ and think the President made a good choice.

A member of the National Democratic Congress legal team, Victor Kojoga Adawudu, praised her for demonstrating "competence" at the vetting.

"She showed that she knows her job or the office she is going to and that she is ready to do the job," he said.

Economist Joe Jackson praised Justice Akuffo's legal prowess adding that she is fit for the job.
The comments also come on the back of the lynching of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region after he was mistaken for a thief.

Mob justice is a misnomer and its definitely not justice Many times mob justice is based on a misunderstanding of [legal] processes. It could be because they didnt understand why the person was freed or the perception that what is the point of reporting to the police or going to court about this matter or waiting for the judicial outcome because it will take too long, she said on Friday at her vetting.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the Region, ASP Yussif Tanko, said the beleaguered MCE has the mandate of the assembly and the President to work as the MCE.

His comments come after Thursdays violent clash in the area after some rowdy youth who are opposed to her stormed the municipal office to cause trouble.

The police fired tear gas and rubber bullet to disperse the handful of crowd who had gathered at the municipal assembly to prevent the MCE from accessing her office.

The youth, who are members of the governing New Patriotic Party, have vowed to resist Mrs Seidu because she is alien in the community.

They claim she is not a registered voter in Savelugu although she hails from there and has a family house there.

Speaking to Accra-based Okay FM Friday, ASP Tanko said: In law, she has right to go (to the municipal office) to work as the MCE for the Assembly.

We deployed tear gas and rubber bullets before we could contain the situation. As I speak to you, we have deployed police and military to the area to ensure that public workers at the assembly carry out with their duty.

The woman is the MCE. Anytime she wants to go to the office to work, the police shall escort her to the office so as to ensure her security.

Anyone who has made up his or her mind to prevent her from workingthe police will not tolerate the use of force, lawlessness and harassment.

The police is yet to effect any arrest.
In the letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, three Republican governors and four Democratic governors called for bipartisan efforts to reform the healthcare system.

"While we certainly agree that reforms need to be made to our nations health care system, as Governors from both sides of the political aisle, we feel that true and lasting reforms are best approached by finding common ground in a bipartisan fashion," the letter said.

The governors also admonished the House GOP version of the American Health Care Act for creating more problems in the healthcare system than it solves.

"It calls into question coverage for the vulnerable and fails to provide the necessary resources to ensure that no one is left out, while shifting significant costs to the states," said the letter. "Medicaid provisions included in this bill are particularly problematic. Instead, we recommend Congress address factors we can all agree need fixing."

All three states took advantage of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, which the House bill would phase out.

Here's the full letter and signees:

Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer:

We have watched with great interest the recent debate and House passage of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act. While we certainly agree that reforms need to be made to our nations health care system, as Governors from both sides of the political aisle, we feel that true and lasting reforms are best approached by finding common ground in a bipartisan fashion.

To that end, we remain hopeful that there is an opportunity to craft solutions to these challenges that can find support across party lines, delivering improvements to result in a system that is available and affordable for every American.

We believe that, first and foremost, Congress should focus on improving our nations private health insurance system. Improvements should be based on a set of guiding principles, included below, which include controlling costs and stabilizing the market, that will positively impact the coverage and care of millions of Americans, including many who are dealing with mental illness, chronic health problems, and drug addiction.

Unfortunately, H.R. 1628, as passed by the House, does not meet these challenges. It calls into question coverage for the vulnerable and fails to provide the necessary resources to ensure that no one is left out, while shifting significant costs to the states. Medicaid provisions included in this bill are particularly problematic. Instead, we recommend Congress address factors we can all agree need fixing.

We stand ready to work with you and your colleagues to develop a proposal that is fiscally sound and provides quality, affordable coverage for our most vulnerable citizens.

Sincerely,
 His schedule includes exercise, family time, and lots of travel.

Mark Zuckerberg has a lot on his plate.

The 33-year-old runs Facebook, the social-media giant with a market cap of $547 billion.

While the tech CEO dedicates a ton of time to the company, he still makes the time to exercise, travel extensively, and spend time with his family.

Here's a look at a typical day for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg:

After waking up at 8 a.m., the Facebook founder immediately checks Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp on his phone, he told Jerry Seinfeld in a Facebook Live Q&A.

Sources: ,

Once he's gotten his morning updates, it's time to work out. Zuckerberg exercises about three times a week.

Source:

Sometimes he brings his dog, Beast, along. The tech CEO says running with his pet has the "added bonus of being hilarious" because it's "basically like seeing a mop run."

Sources: ,

Beast is a Hungarian sheepdog with an impressive coat.

Source:

Once he's gotten his exercise in, Zuckerberg's not too picky about what he eats for breakfast. He'll usually just dig into whatever he's feeling that day. He doesn't like to waste time on small decisions.

Source:

That's also why he wears the same thing almost every day. Zuckerberg's "work uniform" consists of jeans, sneakers, and a gray T-shirt. When asked about his wardrobe in 2014, he told an audience: "I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community."

Sources: ,

His Palo Alto home is tricked out with a "custom-made artificially intelligent assistant," according to CNBC.

Source:

Zuckerberg puts in 50 to 60 hours a week at Facebook, but he thinks about the social-media platform constantly. "I spend most of my time thinking about how to connect the world and serve our community better, but a lot of that time isn't in our office or meeting with people or doing what you'd call real work," he told CNN.

Source:

The Verge reported that Zuckerberg has some help managing his own social-media channels. A squad of 12 employees helps him eliminate inappropriate comments and post updates on his Facebook page.

Sources:

When he's not working, Zuckerberg spends some time expanding his mind. He's learning Mandarin Chinese. He also tries to tackle as many books as he can  in 2015, he challenged himself to read a new book every two weeks.

Source: , ,

Zuckerberg's daily schedule tends to vary more on his frequent travels.

He's met all sort of big names, including world leaders such as Pope Francis.

... former US President Barack Obama...

... and celebrities like his personal friend Vin Diesel.

Whether he's traveling or working, Zuckerberg also spends time with his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, and his daughters, Max and August.

Source: , ,

Every night before going to bed, the Facebook CEO tucks his children in with a traditional Jewish prayer, the "Mi Shebeirach."
Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf  one of the largest such shelves in the southern continent  began developing the crack in 2010. That rift lengthened and widened over the years, but has grown most rapidly since 2016. In early June, new satellite images showed the rift had split, turned north, and begun moving toward the Southern Ocean.

Now Adrian Luckman of Swansea University in the UK, who is closely monitoring Larsen C with his colleagues, has released a new animation of the rift's rapid growth.

"Waiting for the final [jump]!" Luckman said in a tweet about the video on June 16.

The images reveal how the rift "jumps" as it slices through bands of weak ice, slows when it hits denser ice, and speeds up again when it encounters more weak ice. In the animation, the ocean is shown in emerald green (top right), the Larsen C ice shelf is the light blue patch, and the glacier behind it is white.

It's impossible to say precisely when the rift will snap the ice off, but Dan McGrath, a scientist with the US Geological Survey, thinks it won't be long.

"I would expect it to occur quite rapidly, within days or weeks," McGrath, who researches Larsen C, told Reuters on June 1. The ice block makes up about 10% of Larsen C's total area.

According to Luckman and his Swansea colleague Martin O'Leary, the crack lengthened 11 miles from May 25 to May 31. They also noted that the rift only has to extend through 8 more miles of ice for it to birth a colossal iceberg.

"The rift tip appears also to have turned significantly towards the ice front, indicating that the time of calving is probably very close," wrote Luckman and O'Leary, who collaborate on the Impact of Melt on Ice Shelf Dynamics and Stability project, also known as Project MIDAS. "There appears to be very little to prevent the iceberg from breaking away completely."

More recent satellite data, released on June 6 and June 12, suggests the rift has shown "no significant change ... since May 31", according to Project MIDAS Twitter account (which is run by O'Leary). He added that new satellite data wouldn't arrive in until Sunday, June 18.

When the iceberg does shed, it will not significantly raise sea levels, since it's already sitting in the ocean. But Luckman and O'Leary said that without the soon-to-calve iceberg, the rest of Larsen C "will be less stable than it was prior to the rift".

Put another way: There's a slim chance that the entire Larsen C ice shelf, and an ancient glacier behind it, could later disintegrate and fall into the sea.

The chaos wouldn't be unprecedented in recorded history. In 2002, a neighboring ice shelf called Larsen B collapsed and broke up in the Southern Ocean. If Larsen C and its accompanying glacier collapse, sea levels might rise by up to four inches.
"In expanding so quickly, we failed to prioritize the people that helped get us here," Uber said in the email. "Ultimately, the measure of our success is the satisfaction of our riders, drivers, and employees  and we realize that we have fallen short."

The email was sent to Uber customers in several of its markets who hadn't taken rides recently, according a person familiar with the situation.

The move is likely a bid to win back riders after a tumultuous first half of 2017.

The year kicked off with more than 200,000 customers deleting their account in reaction to the #DeleteUber movement. After a former employee wrote a blog post detailing the sexual harassment and gender bias she allegedly experienced at the company, Uber launched an investigation into its workplace. Later, company CEO Travis Kalanick was caught on video arguing with an Uber driver over pay.

On Tuesday, the crises came to a head when former US Attorney General Eric Holder and his firm released the results of their investigation  a set of 47 wide-ranging recommendations meant to overhaul the company's culture. On the same day, Kalanick, announced plans to take and indefinite leave of absence from the company.
The on-air personality who is set to marry her boo, Olumide Aderinokun in August introduced her great sense of humour when describing how she met her soon to be husband.

He's a property developer and we dated for three years before getting engaged.

"He saw me sitting alone while waiting to meet with someone who never showed up, so he sent a waitress over to ask if I wanted anything to eat.

"I declined because I was there to work and I just wanted to have my meeting.

"The waitress cheekily suggested I should accept his offer, so I ended up getting takeaway and giving him my business card.

"He gave me a call and the rest is history (by the way, when he tells this story, he says I was staring at him - I wasn't!)", she said.

Concerning her choice of fashion for her wedding, Coker who admitted that she is a tomboy says she will like something simple but classy.

For her it is all about making a statement for the once in a life time occasion.

Im a tomboy by nature but I don't think that style will feature in my wedding because I won't be able to wear my sneakers!

"It's the only day you get to be a princess; the only time you will have that excuse, so I'm going to enjoy it.

"I like embellishment, but for my wedding, I want something clean and easy-on-the-eye that stills makes a statement; a dress that is classy and elegant."

Finally, she had this to say concerning her "The Future Is Her" project:

I started The Future Is Her towards the end of 2016. The idea behind it, is to use my platform to help talented, young women in Nigeria go up the career ladder.

"Fame is great, money is great, but there is no point to it all, if you're not making an impact in people's lives."

Who better to be offering such great opportunity to her female counterparts?
However, his wife has had enough of this and finally speaks out on the issue.

Commenting on a post by Cool FM OAP, Daddy Freeze, a lady who identified herself as Precious Evans with Instagram handle, Precious2985, denied any knowledge of her husband's criminal activities.

She went on to make her case, stating that she had married Evans at the age of 17 and lived in his village for three years before he brought her to Lagos and told her that he had a shop in Ladipo where he dealt in importation and truck businesses, which she naturally assumed was the source of their wealth.

She claimed ignorance in all of Evans schemes, saying that she was a full housewife and only picked their kids from school and goes to the market to buy food stuff, outside of which she remains at home.

Read her post below:

As earlier reported, Chukwudi Dumeme Onuamadike aka Evans was arrested by the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and men of the Lagos State Police Command led by ACP Abba Kyari, at his mansion in the Magodo Phase II GRA said to be worth over N300 million.

ALSO READ: Photos of Magodo mansions owned by kidnap kingpin, Evans
The accused was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on a charge of drug trafficking.

He pleaded guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, consequently reviewed the facts of the case before the court, and tendered the narcotic substance in evidence.

He urged the court to convict the accused based on evidences adduced.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Ibrahim Buba found the accused guilty of the offence.

Buba, however, taking into consideration the age of the accused, ordered that he be remanded at a rehabilitation Centre for three months, and also remanded at the NDLEA custody for one month, for counselling.

The convict was said to have committed the offence on April 14 at the premises of the Kirikiri Prisons in Apapa, Lagos.

The prosecutor said that the convict had thrown a wrap of cannabis sativa, alias Hemp, weighing 3.3kg, into the prison compound, for the benefit of one Taofeek, a detainee.

He said that the convict was consequently arrested and charged.

According to Aernan, the offence contravenes the provisions of Section 11(c) of the NDLEA Act, Laws of the Federation, 2004.
In an interview with Vanguard, Precious also disclosed that her husband is suffering from cancer, which is why, according to her, he neither drinks nor smoke.

"He did not know what he was doing," Precious said.

"He reads psalm 23 a lot. Even his phone, he sets alarm for 12 noon to read psalm 23. He took part in our daily prayers in the morning, evening and night. He used to lead us in prayers. We attend Anglican Church. He has never given them money to show off, she said.

"We used to give N5000 or N10,000 and the highest we have given so far was N50,000 when we baptised one of our children. I am appealing to the powers that be to spare his life (crying), as I speak now, I am kneeling down with my children, crying and begging for forgiveness. Have mercy on us.

"He did not know what came over him. I am ready to come back to Nigeria and plead on his behalf. What I am reading in the news is shocking. Though, I have not heard that he killed anybody but all those he injured or took their money should please forgive him because me and my children.

"They should kindly forgive him, he will repent. God knows I will not be alive and see my husband doing bad thing and keep quiet."

ALSO READ: How Evans lived in grand style during his reign of terror (Video)

She added that all her husband's wealth should be sold and shared among his victims.

"All his wealth should be sold off and given to his victims. Evans is a good man. He takes care of all his relations including the children of the second wife we are suspecting did this to him. He has just two houses in Ghana but I have never seen them," she said.

"I saw the house on his phone. Since I have been living with him, he has never injured anybody or beat me. He has milk of human kindness in his heart. He has not been harsh or wicked to anybody.

"He always advised us to be prayerful I (starts crying again) and complains bitterly any time I failed to pray. His neighbours also know him as a kind and generous man.

"He has cancer and does not drink alcohol nor smoke anything. I have never seen gun in our house. I dont know where they got those frightening guns.

"He has never told me he has another house at Igando. Any time he went out, he always called to ask after the children and reassure me that he would be back soon."
Dr Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, performed the exercise on Friday in Abuja.

The agencies, which included the World Bank, UNIDO, UNDP, DFID, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, would help to solve the challenges confronting the sector to take its place of pride.

He said that the inauguration was also conducted to spell out their responsibilities to avoid duplication and unnecessary competitions

He said this would ensure that the agencies understood areas to assist the ministry in aligning with its mandates.

He said that the Department for International Development (DFID) would assist the ministry in financing cost of advisory and technical teams.

He said that Ford Foundation would finance the ministrys strategic communication, environmental and social justice activities

He noted that Medecin San Frontiers would undertake a pilot clean up in Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM) communities affected by lead poison from the gold processing activities.

He, however, said that OSIWA would review the legal and regulatory obstacles in the sector, financing the ministry strategic communication activities, among others.

On UNIDO, he said it would assist the country to develop the Minamata Convention Initial Assessment and a National Action Plan on Mercury used in ASM gold mining as stipulated in the Convention.

The minister said that UNDP would assist the ministry to implement the African Mining Vision (AMV) and the framework for revenue collection, to address revenue leakages.

He said that the World Bank would focus on strengthening the Federal Government in its role to establish a strong foundation for mining sector development as sector regulator and facilitator.

He said that the African Development Bank (AFDB) would support the quest to develop the ministrys energy minerals.

According to him, the ministry is working in collaboration with other relevant ministries such as Works, Power, Housing and Transport to provide the infrastructure which is key to the development of the mining sector.

He said that Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Water Resources would align the sectors work on agro- minerals, particularly phosphate, land use and water rights permit to minimise delays as well as protect the environment.

The Ministry of Finance and CBN would support the establishment of investment support facilities for the mining industry as provided in the Mining Act as well as enable the industry to scale up its activities.

Mr Jean Bakole, UNIDO Representative to ECOWA and Regional Director, Nigeria Regional Office, said the role of donor agency to the government or ministry included policy dialogue and advisory role.

According to Bakole, UNIDO is partnering with Nigeria in the process of formalising a new country programme.

He added that mining had been identified as one of the key areas it would partner with for the next four years.

The four-year programme of UNIDO is to build capacity, promote technology transfer, the best techniques and environmental practices.

Others include formalisation of ASM, promotion of sustainable artisanal gold value chain and implementation of article seven of the Minamata Convention, he said.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.

He reaffirmed UNIDOs commitment to work closely with the ministry, to implement its mandate and other stakeholders at the state and federal levels as well as with all partners engaged in the sector.
Jibrin, who represents Kiru/Bebeji Kano federal constituency was pronounced expelled at a press briefing on Thursday, June 15 for allegedly involving in anti-party activities.

The Bebeji chairman, Sani Ranka, who made the announcement, accused Jibrin of 'promoting divisive tendencies' in the party

However, a statement issued on Saturday, June 17, by the Kano APC described Jibrin as a "strong", and "essential" member of the party.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the APC chapter, Bashir Yahaya Karaye, said a party official breached protocols to give "wrong information" to Nigerians.

The party vowed to sanction its members behind the pronouncement.

The statement said, "We have received with absolute disappointment rumour of expulsion of Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa, a strong pillar of our party, the APC in Kano and Nigeria as a whole.

"The unfounded report was said to have originated from a member of the party who clearly abused the partys protocols in disseminating that wrong information to the public.

"The party wishes to state that neither the leader of the party in Kano, His Excellency, the executive Governor of Kano, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje nor the state chairman and state executive committee were consulted or endorsed such mischievous act.

"The party is appealing to the public to disregard that mischief as it sets out to penalize all the members involved in this dispiriting embarrassment and unnecessary confusion among members and in the media.

"APC does not and will never tolerate impersonation, abuse of office and wanton vindictiveness by a member who had no authority to make such grave pronouncement, especially at the time we are building a united force to deliver on our promises for the people of Nigeria.

"We wish to emphasize that Hon. Jibrin is an essential member of the APC, and his contributions and representations of our interests have never gone unrecognized."

ALSO READ: Jibrin slams Reps over N3.6b car purchase

On September 28, 2016, Jibrin was suspended from the House of Representatives after he accused Speaker Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers of the chamber of budget padding.
Speaking at a sensitization tour of local government areas in the state, Uba described himself as the most qualified APC aspirant in the race.

"Anambra state needs someone like me who has the resources and connection to turn things around and bring federal presence, employment and infrastructure to the state," Uba told a large gathering of party faithful and other inhabitants preparatory to the APC primaries.

He assured the party excos of his maximum support and assistance that will enable them carry out their various duties which he has proven by donating 24 vehicles for all the local governments, zonal party chairmen, donation of bags of rice and financial resources to party faithful.

At the Onitsha North local government, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon Linda Ikpeazu, urged indigenes to give maximum support to Senator Uba who she described as a go-getter and generous who used his contact and resources to attract employment to many Anambrarians during the Obasanjo administration.

At Ogidi, Idemili North Local government area and Ojoto Idemili South local government area, Senator Andy promised the huge gathering of party faithful and admirers that his administration will be all inclusive devoid of discrimination and marginalization for the benefit of all.

At Anaocha local government area, one of the numerous admirers of Senator Uba, Elder Paschaline Ebube offered prayers for victory of senator Uba and also delivered a gift to him.

The local governments visited include, Anambra West, Anambra East, Oyi and Anaocha local government areas.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said there would be no resumption until the demands of its members are met.

The schools reopened on the 5th of June after a 5-month strike over the non-payment of salary arrears. But now, even after the non-academic staff have resumed, the academic staff haven't.

Following the date fix by the government, the Joint Action Committee (JAC), a coalition of worker's unions, held an emergency meeting, after which it issued a communique on June 1.

In the communique, signed by its leader, Comrade Sunday Boluromi, JAC, read:

JAC empathises with students, who have been at home for a long period. They should be reminded that JACs struggle is to save the soul of our education in the state.

And we hope that, at the end of this painful strike, tertiary institutions owned by Kogi State would be better positioned to turn out qualified graduates.

JAC is disappointed with government for its decision to prematurely retire some of our members. This is an outright violation of the extant Law of 65-year retirement age for staff of tertiary institutions.

Consequent upon the heartfelt intervention of our Governing Councils, JAC graciously constricted its 31-point request to five irreducible demands. This action is geared towards suspension of the ongoing strike.

We want salaries of all members, whether they are cleared or not, to be paid without further delay. The government must step up actions to provide the needs of each tertiary institution as submitted by their Governing Councils.

Government must also honour the joint resolution reached by its representatives and JAC on March 24, 2017, which include reversal of the new tax rates and refund of January 2017 excess tax to tertiary institutions.

Our last demand is that, government must give definite date for the refund of excess tax collected from staff of Kogi State University and Kogi State College of Education. These are the conditions for peace and resolution of the crisis.

About the disengaged workers;

The Government released a list of pardon list of workers it earlier disengaged. But JAC is still not impressed. He says it was wrong to sack them despite the fact that the management of the schools gave convincing reasons to keep them. T

The KSU chapter of ASUU, in a statement titled: Between facts and fictions, said it would resist the governments intimidation to coerce workers into resumption.

Its chairman, Dr Gbenga Aina, said government did not show concern towards ending the strike, adding that there was no assurance of payment of workers salaries.

Some interesting numbers.

The Government said 95% of workers' salaries have been paid. Dr Gbenga Aina on the other hand, says thats a lie.

Gbenga Aina said:

From available records, 275 workers, which represent 53.19 per cent of the 517 academic staff, are still being owed salary arrears ranging from three to 12 months. This figure is made up of tenure, sabbatical, contract staff studying overseas and 2015 employees.

Only 46.81 per cent of academic employees have received salaries up to March 2017. The promise by the government to pay N50 million monthly to offset Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) owed was reneged on last December.
Djibouti has accused Eritrea of occupying territory following the departure of the Qatari troops, threatening the revival of a long-standing, sometimes violent dispute.

AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat called for "calm, restraint" and said the body would send a "fact-finding mission to the Djibouti-Eritrea border."

The Qatari pullout comes as the Gulf emirate is locked in a bitter dispute with Saudi Arabia and its allies over alleged ties to Islamist extremists, a charge it denies.

Both Djibouti and Eritrea have good relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and have taken their side in the Gulf row.

Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Thursday accused Eritrea of "moving its forces" into the Doumeira region where Qatari peacekeepers had been stationed since 2010 as a buffer between the two nations' armies.

"Djibouti is a peaceful country and we have prioritised diplomatic solutions, but if Eritrea insists in seeking military solutions, Djibouti is ready for that," Youssouf said in a press conference broadcast on local television.

Eritrea has not yet responded to the allegations.

Djibouti is a strategic ally of world powers, hosting French and US military bases with a Chinese one under construction, while Eritrea is widely regarded as a pariah state.

Djibouti's large port is also a conduit for imports to and exports from Ethiopia, Eritrea's bitter enemy.
Reached Thursday, the deal averted another summer of Greek crisis by clearing the way for seven billion euros of debt repayments due in July.

Payment of the latest tranche of Greece's 86-billion euro ($97-billion) bailout, agreed in 2015, had been held up for months by a row over its needs for debt relief which has pitted bailout-weary Germany against the IMF.

But some analysts reacted lukewarmly to the deal. They objected that it relies on optimistic financial projections and fails to provide longer-term reassurance to markets about Greece's debt and the health of its economy.

"Creditors will need to make more realistic forecasts and grant the debt relief that this implies is needed to convince financial markets that Greek debt is sustainable and allow it to finance itself," said Jennifer McKeown, economist with Capital Economics.

Looming over the deal is the question of Athens' debt, which stands at a staggering 180 percent of annual output after three bailouts.

But with only a few months before the legislative elections in Germany, Berlin ruled out making any further commitments to debt relief.

'Grexit' averted, nothing won

The "Grexit danger has been reduced again," but "Tsipras won nothing", business think tank Iove director Nikos Vettas told AFP.

Now it is up to the Greeks to pull the country out of its slump, added Vettas.

Greek media outlets spent Friday puzzling over the question of whether the glass is "half empty or half full", said Panayotis Petrakis, economy professor at the University of Athens.

"The agreement is positive and makes it possible to more toward the future," he said.

But he added that the budgetary objectives through 2060 drawn up by eurozone finance ministers point to a "miraculous future".

"There will be a lot to do", in order to maintain commitments while many questions remain about the country's debt and future growth, added Petrakis.

France had at one stage pushed for linking debt relief to growth of the economy, along with larger loans.

But IMF chief Lagarde has said Greece's debt is not sustainable and that the country would require significant debt relief from Europe before the fund could approve a new loan programme.

A longstanding supporter of debt relief for Greece, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the deal Friday, but said he expected to revive some of France's past proposals soon.

"It was important to have this agreement at this stage to get the necessary financing to support Greece with the reforms that it has put in place which were difficult reforms," Macron said.

"We will need to return to the subject of Greece in the coming months and inevitably some of the proposals that France has made will come back," he added.

The European Central Bank Friday welcomed the deal, saying it was an initial step towards ensuring sustainability of the country's debt.

'Flying lessons for a pig'

But former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was quick to offer some sharp criticism Friday, calling the agreement tantamount to "offering flying lessons to a pig".

He termed the deal as "added austerity that will further push Greeks into dispair" blaming a current recovery plan for a surge in unemployment and poverty.
He urged members to adopt it "without delay."

The G5 -- comprised by Mali, Niger, Chad, Mauritania and Burkina Faso -- agreed in March to form a 5,000-strong anti-jihadist force, but sought Security Council authorization before activating it. The force would collaborate with the UN peacekeeping force in Mali known as MINUSMA.

Keita said adoption of the resolution would "send a strong and unequivocal signal from the international community to terrorist groups and traffickers of all types."

But a French-introduced resolution to provide political and financial support to such a force has been resisted by the United States, which says the resolution is too vague and believes a simple statement, rather than a resolution, would suffice.

As the leading financial contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, Washington also wants to tighten overall spending.

Diop, the Malian minister, also urged the UN to provide "adequate" material, staffing and financing for MINUSMA.

Jihadists gaining strength

The mandate of the UN mission, with its 12,000 blue-helmeted troops, will expire at the end of this month unless the UN renews it. The force has been coming under ever more frequent and deadly attack from jihadists in the region.

Mahamat Saleh Annadif, who heads the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, urged member countries to shore up MINUSMA's resources, saying it needs armored vehicles and at least 10 more helicopters.

He warned that "terrorists" are gaining strength and extending their reach in the region, notably in central Mali.

He said he was ready to sign a partnership agreement with the G5 Sahel force.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the mandates of MINUSMA and the G5 force are "completely complementary."

He told reporters that talks on the French resolution were moving ahead and that "a strong majority of the council is in favor of our text."

In the latest signs of regional instability, two civilians were shot dead on Friday while working in fields in central Mali by armed men on motorbikes.
"Female border policewoman injured critically in attack at Damascus gate," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement. "3 Arab terrorists shot by police units that responded at the scene."

Police said the three were killed.

The policewoman was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevy identified the three attackers as Palestinians from the West Bank.

Ramadan activity

Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan.

"During Ramadan there are large numbers of (Palestinian) youths who enter without permits, they take advantage of Ramadan to be in Jerusalem," Halevy told media at the scene of the attack.

The area around Damascus Gate was sealed off in the hours after the attack, with a few youths throwing fireworks at security forces.

A road leading to Damascus Gate full of stalls opened especially for Ramadan was closed off by police, and a shopkeeper said this would normally be one of the busiest nights of the year.

Inside the Old City shops were open but the atmosphere was subdued and numbers of people much lower than normal.

Large numbers of heavily armed security forces were patrolling throughout the Old City, an AFP reporter said.

The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah, born in 1998, Adel Ankush, born in 1999, and Asama Atta, born in 1998.

All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in "popular terror activity," a Shin Bet statement read.

A fourth Palestinian, a Hebron resident who had been identified by Palestinian security as a perpetrator, was in fact a passerby who was wounded by gunshots and taken to hospital for care, Israeli police said.

Medics said four people besides the officer were wounded in the incident, two of them moderately and two lightly. Two of those wounded were Palestinians from east Jerusalem.

The Islamist movement Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip condemned the shooting of the perpetrators as a "crime by the occupation."

A spokesman for the movement, Hazem Qassem, said the attack was "proof that the Palestinian people are leading a revolution against the enemy."

He also said the attack proved the Palestinian Authority's policy of security coordination with Israel was wrong, calling it "a national crime".

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 272 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.
"I was very emotional when I first started watching it and began reliving the incident in my mind," Mai, 37, told AFP on Friday, after attending the Los Angeles premiere of "Thumbprint."

"But then as the opera progressed, it became easier to watch and I felt more courage," she said in Urdu, speaking through a translator.

The opera, by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz, recounts Mai's 2002 rape and her decision to defy her attackers and take them to court -- an unusual move in male-dominated Pakistan, where a woman who suffers such a crime often commits suicide rather than endure the stigma and shame associated with it.

"Thumbprint" first opened in New York in 2014 but Mai had never seen the opera. She traveled this week from her home in the remote Pakistani village of Meerwala to attend the West Coast premiere.

While the story onstage ends when Mai's rapists have been sentenced to death, in reality her attackers walk free -- seemingly going about their daily life with total impunity after their sentences were overturned on appeal.

The men had raped Mai -- with the approval of the village council -- as a punishment after her 12-year-old brother was falsely accused of having an illicit relationship with a woman from the dominant clan in the village.

"My rapists live across from my house and I try not to cross paths with them," said Mai, who used compensation money from her case to start several schools and a women's shelter in her village. "When I walk past, they taunt me and make catcalls."

In an added strange twist to her story, the children of her rapists attend her school, and the daughters of some of the village elders who ordered her rape have sought refuge at her shelter.

"Even though some members of my own family were outraged, I told them I could not turn away the kids as the school is here to serve everyone in the community," she said.

Mai, who married in 2009 and has three children, acknowledged that her story had empowered women in her village and beyond, giving them courage to stand for their rights.

But she said she held little hope that the legal system in her country would ever render her justice.

"All four of the men who raped me and the two village elders who ordered the rape are free," she said. "And they will only learn that what they did is a crime if they are punished."

Daily threats

She said she had grown tired of being the woman everyone points to because of her ordeal, in contrast to her rapists who are unconcerned and will likely never pay for their crime.

"I am the one who is always interviewed and put forward in this case," she sighed. "Why doesn't anyone confront them, why doesn't anyone point them out in the street and say, 'These are the people who committed horrific acts against Mukhtar Mai?'"

She said she receives threatening messages daily on her telephone, Facebook page or in person and is now afraid for the safety of her children.

"I have reported nearly 35 such threatening calls and incidents and only one person was arrested, but even he was let out on bail," she said. "I want to make it known that if anything happens to me or my children and family members, the Pakistani government is responsible."

As for the opera inspired by her story, she doubts it could ever be shown in Pakistan, where it would certainly hit a nerve.

But, she said, "I would like it to be shown everywhere."
JBS chairman Joesley Batista caused a major political uproar last month when he handed to authorities, in connection with a wide-reaching corruption scandal, an audio recording in which Temer appeared to condone the payment of hush money to a former lawmaker now in prison.

"It's the country's largest and most dangerous criminal organization. And the president is its leader," Batista said in an in-depth interview with the Epoca weekly published Saturday.

"Those who aren't in prison today are in the Planalto presidential palace. They are very dangerous people. I didn't have the courage to confront them."

Batista's remarks were made in his first interview since he clinched a plea bargain deal with authorities as the nationwide anti-graft operation codenamed "Car Wash" began targeting his business dealings.

Batista agreed to cooperate in exchange for avoiding a conviction.

The business tycoon's explosive revelations could prove fatal for Temer, after the Supreme Court set in motion corruption and graft probes targeting the president, increasing calls for him to step down.

Among the claims, Batista says tens of millions of dollars were paid to various political parties, including Temer's center-right Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB).

Temer, 76, denies the allegations and has insisted he will remain in office.

"As soon as I met Temer, he started asking me for money to finance his campaigns. He isn't very modest when it comes to talking about money," Batista said.

"He saw me as a CEO who could finance his campaigns and organize some monkey business that would lead to graft."

Temer's office blasted Batista's latest comments as a "bunch of lies," saying the president would file a lawsuit against the meatpacking entrepreneur as early as Monday.

"Joesley is one of Brazil's most notorious and successful criminals," it said in a statement.

"In the interview, he says the president always asked him for something... But the president never had this beggar-like behavior. On the contrary, it was Joesley who tried to get the government to solve his problems."

Batista, who was forced into exile after the scandal broke out, returned to Brazil a week ago and, in a deposition with federal police Friday, repeated his accusations.
The recent decision by several countries to cut ties with Qatar was trampling on the rights of citizens from the entire region, he said.

"This siege and these measures have led to what is called collective punishment," Marri told reporters in Geneva in Arabic through a translator, calling on the international community to intervene.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced earlier this month the suspension of all ties to Qatar. They accused it of state support for extremist groups and denounced its political proximity to Shiite Iran.

Qatar denies the allegations.

Among other measures, the four states gave all Qatari citizens 14 days to leave their countries and ordered home their own citizens living in Qatar.

This had led to "gross violations of human rights", Marri said, pointing out that every Qatari family had at least one member living in other countries in the region.

These measures "are harsher than the Berlin Wall that separated families", he added.

His committee had so far received 1,064 complaints for a vast range of rights violations, from both Qataris and citizens of the other countries involved, he said.

He pointed to new laws issued by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE threatening between five and 15 years in prison for any of their citizens "who shows sympathy to the state of Qatar".

In one case, he said, a Qatari woman was ordered to leave the UAE where she lived with her husband and infant. When she arrived at the airport however, she was told she could not take her baby, who had Emirati citizenship, with her.

Thousands of students studying abroad had also been affected, he said. He cited the case of one woman from Qatar who was in her last year studying at a university in UAE who had been forced to leave.

"She has lost four years of study," he said.

Merri said his committee was urging Saudi Arabia and its allies to lift their sanctions, and was calling on the international community to pressure them to do so.

He called on UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, who has already expressed alarm at the measures, to send a delegation to Qatar to see the impact of the sanctions firsthand.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is trying to broker a solution, landed in Jeddah for talks with King Salman in the holy city of Mecca, a day after meeting his Kuwaiti counterpart.

The emir of Kuwait, which did not cut ties with Qatar, has also been trying to mediate in the row.

Among the punitive measures imposed on Doha, Gulf states gave Qataris 14 days to get out and ordered home their own citizens living in Qatar.

They also banned Qatar Airways from their airspace while Saudi Arabia also closed its land border through which much of Qatar's food supply crossed.

Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, chairman of Qatar's national human rights committee, said the measures amounted to "collective punishment" and cited one case of a mother being separated from her baby.

This had led to "gross violations of human rights", Marri told reporters in Geneva, speaking in Arabic through a translator, pointing out that every Qatari family had at least one member living in other countries in the region.

These measures "are harsher than the Berlin Wall that separated families", he added.

Last week, US President Donald Trump expressed support for the Saudi-led allegations against Qatar, charging it had "historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level".

Pentagon and State Department officials have since scrambled to reassure the emirate, which hosts the largest US airbase in the Middle East and the command headquarters for operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

Joint military drills

The US and Qatari navies on Friday ended a three-day joint exercise involving nine vessels off Qatar's east coast including gun boats as well as coastguard and supply ships.

Among the tests carried out were air defence and surface missile simulation drills, according to a senior Qatari naval officer.

The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf but is also keen to maintain its improving ties with regional power Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, Turkey is eager to maintain workable relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia's foe.

Cavusoglu visited Doha on Wednesday where he called for dialogue after meeting Qatar's emir and foreign minister ahead of his Saudi stop.

"Although the kingdom is a party in this crisis, we know that King Salman is a party in resolving it," Cavusoglu said earlier.

"We want to hear the views of Saudi Arabia regarding possible solutions and will share with them our views in a transparent way... We pay a great attention to our relations with them," he said.

As diplomatic efforts continued, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a three-way call with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and the Qatar emir.

They underlined the need to "urgently lower tension" in the Gulf, Turkish presidential sources said.

Erdogan on Tuesday described the decision by Gulf states to cut political and economic ties with Qatar as "inhumane and un-Islamic".
PETERSBURG (AP)  The owner of a poultry business operating in the heart of central Illinois' corn and soybean country says he hopes future farmers will also consider specialty farming.

The State Journal-Register reports that Petersburg Poultry Processing owner Cavan Sullivan sells the assets of pheasants, chickens and turkeys. His operation is surrounded by corn, soybean and wheat crops.

Illinois' poultry industry is tiny compared to livestock and grain. U.S. Agriculture Department figures show Illinois egg production totaled 1.5 billion in 2016, compared to 13.6 billion in top-producer Iowa.

Sullivan said he grew the family wholesale business out of his own FFA high school project, and it put him through college.

Sullivan gave tours this week to students of the National FFA Organization before the annual Illinois FFA State Convention in Springfield.

"I was in FFA, and I want to encourage people to do small-time agriculture," Sullivan said. "We want to show these FFA students your project can actually turn into a business. You can do something different than, 'All right, I'm going to do corn and soybeans, now I'm a farmer.'"

He told the students he faced some challenges starting out, including bankers who were reluctant to approve loans for a pheasant farm.

"They'd tell me, 'If it was a combine, you'd be fine,'" said Sullivan. "It was a business model they'd never seen."

Mendota High School FFA adviser Matt Meyer said he tries to expose members to a variety of agricultural careers.

"Everyone tended to pigeonhole us, or typecast us, as the traditional 'cows, sows and plows,'" Meyer said of the organization. "Anytime we can show other aspects of the industry, I think that's important."
BETTENDORF  Most people can talk generally about their thoughts on the American Dream, but Luis Ricardo Fraga, co-director of the Institute for Latino Studies and professor at the University of Notre Dame, took it apart and explained it from a Latino perspective in a presentation Friday.

Mr. Fraga's speech, "Latinos in the New Millennium," was part of the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Multicultural Speaker Series. He focused on the American Dream and changing demographics in the United States. He also brought up the question of what kind of legacy members of this generation want to leave their children.

In defining the American Dream, Mr. Fraga said there are two dimensions of it.

"One dimension is hard work and sacrifice lead to opportunity," he said. "And the second dimension is those opportunities, if you take advantage of them appropriately, will lead to respect, security and providing for your family."

Many times during his speech, Mr. Fraga mentioned data from a national survey of Latinos that he completed with five other political scientists in 2006. The results of this survey showed the views of the Latino community to be "as American as it gets," according to Mr. Fraga.

He said the survey showed most Latino immigrants to the United States came here for better economic opportunities and became citizens to obtain voting rights and legal, political and civil rights. These ideals, along with high hopes for their children's futures, are all very American, said Mr. Fraga.

"Latinos should fit in with the traditional understandings of America and the American Dream, and the aspirations and expectations that are there," he said.

However, there is a distinct difference between the American Dream and what Mr. Fraga jokingly called the "Americano Dream."

"The tradition in our country is you immigrate here, you leave your home country values and traditions and you become American," he said. "Latinos are saying, 'What if we're able to have it all?'"

Data collected in the national survey showed that most Latinos highly value both adopting American culture and maintaining their own through native language and traditions.

"The two co-exist," Mr. Fraga said. "They're not in competition."

Bringing the two cultures together, according to Mr. Fraga, creates "added value, added understanding and added richness."

With the American population shifting and the gap between the Latino and Caucasian demographics closing, Mr. Fraga pointed out the value of bringing Latino voices into the conversation about the country's future.

"Might it be the case that communities of historical disadvantage (like the Latino community) be the source of the betterment of American democracy?" he said. "Might they bring challenges to traditional institutions and actually help those institutions and leaders grow?"

Mr. Fraga suggested that it's communities of disadvantage that help America "live up to its better principles of liberty, justice and equality."

He urged the about 50 people attending the event to do what they can to help improve their communities, because local changes eventually will lead to national ones.

"Let's hope that we can leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren that they deserve, rather than that they simply inherit," Mr. Fraga said.

Lee Vasquez, executive director of the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said he enjoyed Mr. Fraga's speech and was interested in the data he provided about how each generation in the Latino community thinks.

"I was not only impressed, but enlightened just by the data he had and the different statistics of everything going on in the country," Mr. Vasquez said.

Mr. Fraga was the final speaker in the series. The Hispanic Chamber's next year of events will kick off with a Latina Leadership Panel on June 24, according to Mr. Vasquez.

The panel is part of the Empowering Latina Leadership Alliance initiative, designed to help Latina business owners.

For more information about upcoming events, visit gqchcc.com.
DAVENPORT -- Retirement won't detour veteran Jewish leaders from pursuing their social-justice paths.

Rabbi Henry Jay Karp, and his wife, Cantor Gail Karp, will be honored at an open house retirement celebration from 2 to 5 p.m. June 25 at Temple Emanuel Social Hall, 1115 Mississippi Ave., Davenport. Light refreshments will be served. Reservations are encouraged but not required. Contact the temple at 563-326-4419 or office@qctemple.org.

"Tikkun olam" is a Hebrew term used in Judaism for social justice issues, Rabbi Karp said.

"The term literally means 'repairing the world,'" he said.

When God first created the world, he created it in perfect balance, Rabbi Karp said. "But the world has gotten out of balance."

Our role as Gods partners is to repair the world and work toward restoring the balance, Rabbi Karp said.

"From the Jewish perspective, that is social justice," he said. "I take my perspective from my faith, and I take it very seriously. I believe this is what God expects of me and believe this is one of the things that gives my life purpose and meaning.

Rabbi Karp also will receive an Outstanding Community Service Award at Metropolitan Community Church QC, 2930 Locust St., Davenport, at the 11 a.m. service June 25.

Serving as Temple Emanue's rabbi is what brought and kept Rabbi Karp in the Quad-Cities, he said.

Rabbi Karp will become "rabbi emeritus," when he retires and said he can be a "presence" at the temple but not as Temple Emanuels rabbi."

Instead of retirement gifts, he and his wife ask well wishers to donate to local charities they helped form. Rabbi Karp asked for contributions to "In From the Cold, which serves the homeless. Cantor Karp requested donations for Genesis Health Services Foundation's Community Programs Scholarship Fund for Children with Disabilities, which she founded in 1989 to provide financial help for summer programs for children with special needs.

Cantor Karp broke boundaries that prohibited women cantors when she received a cantorial ordination from the HUC Jewish Institute of Religion, Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York City. She became the fourth female Jewish cantor in the world in 1978.

She served as Temple Emanuel's cantor from 1987 to 2016 and has received many accolades and honors, such as Religious Leader of the Year by the Davenport Jaycees and the Barbara Douglass Award for Community Service in the Quad-Cities in 1990.

She recently co-founded a local chapter of The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, which works to "build bridges and fight hate, negative stereotyping and prejudice; changing the world one Muslim and one Jewish woman at a time."

Rabbi Karp recalled Boy Scout camping trips when he learned a rule to always leave a campsite cleaner than they had found it.

"That has stayed with me, and it not only applies to camping, but it applies to life," he said. We should look at ourselves as if our life is an extended camping trip on this campsite we call 'earth.'"

"I may not be able to eliminate hate from the world, but while I am alive I am obligated to work for the elimination of hatred in the world," he said "You are obligated to do what you can for as long as you can to contribute toward the solution."

Rabbi Henry J. Karp

Birth date: Nov. 22, 1949.

Family: Wife, Gail Karp; daughters, Shira Karp, of Louisville, Ky., and Helene Karp, Minneapolis; son, Joshua Karp, who has autism and lives in a group home in Iowa City.

Hometown: New York City.

Education: New York City, high school; bachelor of arts degree from Herbert H. Lehman College of the City University of New York; Hebrew Union College  Jewish Institute of Religion; ordained in 1975 in New York.

Hobbies and activities: Film lover with an extensive DVD collection.

One thing I feel strongly about: "Social justice."

Cantor Gail Karp

Birth date: 1955.

Family: See Rabbi Karp's list.

Hometown: Southfield, Mich.

Education: Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion; Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York City, where she was ordained as the fourth female Jewish Cantor in the world in 1978 and subsequently received a master's degree in voice performance and musicology from University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in 1980.

Experience: Full time Rock Island Arsenal employee.

Favorite Scripture: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And, if not now, when?" from Rabbi Hillel

Hobbies and activities: "Researching emerging trends and technology on the internet."

One thing I feel strongly about: "All people are treated with dignity and respect.

I wish I knew how to: Squeeze more hours into each day.
Kochi, June 17 (IBNS) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the much-awaited Kochi Metro and took a ride of it along with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, reports said.

After arriving at the INS Garuda Naval Air Station in the morning, Modi headed to the Palarivattom station, where he cut a commemorative ribbon before boarding a metro train.

The official Twitter account of the Prime Minister's Office called the Kochi Metro "futuristic infrastructure that will contribute to India's growth".

During the metro ride, Modi was accompanied by, among others, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan, architect of several metro networks in India.

The Kochi metro project is the first metro in the country which connects rail, road and water transport facilities. it is the fastest metro project in India.

.A 13.4 km (8.3 mi) section of the line from Aluva to Palarivattom has been opened to public by the Prime Minister of India. A second 5 km (3.1 mi) section from Palarivattom up to Maharaja's College will be made operational by August 2017

Reports said Kochi metro also includes the technology for driverless trains and is hoping to implement this in the near future.
The late Kay Fellows, a writer friend, who wrote for the Review, an Erie weekly newspaper, sent us a copy of a story, The Enigma of the Headless Hunter, from the December 1935 issue of True Detective Mysteries.

The magazine article was written by the late Leslie C. Swanson, Moline, as told to him by A.E. Byam. Swanson was a local historian, writer and publisher who conferred with this writer for a column on his book about calliopes. Last week's column was based heavily on his 1935 written account, as is part two of the story, which follows.

Bert Kempster, a duck hunter, discovered the body of a headless man on Nov. 12, 1932, in the dense woods of the Rock River Valley in Whiteside County.

Kempster rushed to the nearby farmhouse of Tom Foskitt after he stumbled on the body. He called Sheriff P.A. Whitney in Morrison. The sheriff asked Deputy A.E. Byam to join the search for the head. The head was found by a dog and a member of a search party.

The dead man was identified at the morgue as William A. Robinson, 27, of Rock Falls. He had been missing since October when he went on a hunting trip with Earl Decker also of Rock Falls. Decker and Robinson had served together in the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet, according to Swanson's account. The sheriff decided to interview Decker.

He was over here and we were planning to go on a hunting trip, Decker told the sheriff, according to the magazine article. Decker said Robinson didnt show up as planned.

Then Decker told a convoluted story about a gang of hijackers who were coming, "to pick up a load

of booze," Swanson wrote. That sounded reasonable to Deputy Byam, who said that the crime was executed in true gangster style.

According to Swanson's account, "Decker explained that he had not informed anyone of the hijacking episode before as he was hoping for Bills eventual return and hoped to spare him another possible term in the penitentiary.

The sheriff testified at a coroners jury, according to the True Detective Mysteries article, "Well, the first real clue we uncovered in this case was when we learned that an old automobile had been seen parked on October 22, at a blind corner in a lonely lane some several hundred feet directly south of where the body was found."

The car belonged to both Decker and Robinson. Tom Foskitt, the farmer whose land is about half a mile from where the body had been found, said that he and his brother-in-law, Carol Ekstrom, Moline, helped a man they believed was Decker push the car out of the mud on Oct. 23.

Decker said the car was there because he lost his way going to visit Indian John Kuhn, who had been a person of interest in the case.

Appearing before Judge L.E. Telleen in circuit court at a preliminary hearing, Decker was a nervous wreck, Deputy Byam said in Swanson's account. (Judge Telleen lived long enough for me to know him as we both lived in Cambridge. He was nice but stern.)

Decker was unable to stand before the judge. He had to be propped up. He answered the judges questions with I dont care, Swanson wrote.

Weeks later, Decker regained some composure and pleaded not guilty.

The blow which felled Robinson," Swanson quoted Assistant State's Attorney Jacob Cantlin as saying at trial, "was the work of a left-handed man, who clubbed him on the side of the head, Decker is known to be left-handed.

Another clue was that Robinsons shoes were found with his socks tucked into them, which was a habit of Deckers.

The fact that the body was not buried after the murder was attributed to an owl by Kempster, according to Swanson's article. He said there was an owl in the area where the body was found. Kempster described the owl as having a high-pitched and cracked voice" that "set up cries of alarm: which may have scared Decker as he was preparing to bury the body."

The motive for the murder was never figured out.
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You Are Bidding On the Full Purchase Price for 20 Acres in Northern California! County Road Frontage. Electric. Views. Mountain and Valley Views for Miles. Parcel: This auction is for legal description: Lot 631 Moon Valley Ranch Unit No. 4. This is a 20 ACRE +/- parcel of land in Lassen County, California. This land is about 11 miles southwest of Madeline, California approximately 5 miles west of Highway 395. The property is located near Whitinger Mountain. The lot is very quiet and peaceful. Th...

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(This house is being liquidated to the highest bidder.) Located Near Cameron University! - Walking Distance *Near Fort Still Army Base *Near Comanche Nation Casino super easy rehab for retail or long term rental! About Lawton, OKAugust 6, 1901, the day the town of Lawton was founded. That was the time when the last of the Indian lands in the Oklahoma Territory, the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation, was opened by the federal government for settlement. Rather than land runs used in other parts of...

Price: $ 8,877 Zip/Postal Code: 76101 Property Address: po box 51 Seller State of Residence: TX City: Lawton State/Province: Oklahoma Property Type: House Number of Bedrooms: 2 Number of Bathrooms: 1 Sale Type: Foreclosed Homes Setting: Urban, City Year Built: 1954 For Sale by: Owner Location: 761**, Fort Worth, Texas

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Srinagar, June 17 (IBNS) : The bodies of Junaid Matoo, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) district commander, and two other militants who were killed in an encounter with security forces, were recovered from Bijbehara in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday, media reports said.

Three weapons, including AK 47 guns, and six magazines were also recovered from their possession.

Matoo, who carried a bounty of Rs. ten lakh on his head, made headlines by attacking a police van and killing three policemen last year and was involved in several attacks on security forces.

He, along with his aides- Nasir Wani and Adil Mushtaq Mir- was killed on Friday during a flush out operation carried out jointly by the army, CRPF and the Special Operation Group. .

The two other slain militants are Nasir Wani and Adil Mushtaq Mir.

Two civilians, including a teenager also died after they were caught in the cross-fire between militants and security forces.

They have been identified as 14-year-old Ehsan Ahmad from Shamsipora village in Kulgam district, and 22-year-old Muhammad Ashraf.



Image:YouTube grab of India Today
Teresa Giudice denied a new report this week that claims she's cheating on imprisoned husband Joe Giudice.

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The 45-year-old "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star's lawyer told E! News Teresa has been faithful to Joe as he serves his prison sentence.

"It's salacious, it's juicy, it's great gossip and it's simply not true," attorney James Leonard, Jr., said of the rumors, in an interview published Wednesday.

"The truth is Teresa is in love with her husband. She's busy caring for her four daughters, her father who now lives with her, and she's working on her new book, Standing Strong, which comes out this fall," he added.

Us Weekly reported Wednesday that Teresa has "embarked on a romance" with a New Jersey businessman and "hasn't visited Joe in prison" for months.

Teresa's co-star Kim DePaola supported the claim.

"They've been pretty cozy I'm going to say in the last five months," DePaola told the magazine. "I think Teresa has every right to go out and find somebody else. She should leave Joe."

Teresa and Joe were both sentenced to prison in 2014 for fraud, but were allowed to serve separately due to their four children.

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Teresa completed her sentence in December 2015, while Joe began his in March 2016.

"I can't wait to him to come home and he can't wait to come home, so obviously we're doing something right," the star told E! News in October ahead of her 17th wedding anniversary.
The body of an Army jawan who was killed in Pakistani firing in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, was cremated with full military honours at his native village Hoshiarpur, Punjab, on Saturday.

Naik Bakhtawar Singh was killed when Pakistan violated the ceasefire by firing on forward posts along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The mortal remains of Singh, who was attached with 8 Sikh Light Infantry regiment, was brought to Hajipur in Mukerian sub division, 65 km from Hoshiarpur.

His body, draped in Indian national flag, was brought to his village where local MLAs and government officials paid tribute to the slain soldier.

His elder son Sukhwinder Singh lit the pyre.

A contingent of Army jawans reversed their fire arms and fired in the air as a mark of respect to the departed soul.

Several people from surrounding villages participated in the funeral.

Avinash Rai Khanna, vice chairman, Indian Red Cross Society and vice president BJP Santosh Chaudhary, former MP, MLA Rajnish Kumar Babbi, SDM Mukerian Komal Mittal and many others paid floral tributes to Naik Bakhtawar Singh.

Singh is survived by his wife Jasbir Kaur, a daughter, two sons and elderly parents.

Meanwhile, the family of Singh criticised the government over its inaction in ending ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

We are proud of our son who lost his life for our nation, but we are sad too. He has two small kids, said Singhs father.

This has happened because of the laziness of the government. It is Pakistan who keeps violating the ceasefire and we just retaliate, he added.

He further requested the government to provide some means of earning to Singhs wife to support the family.

With inputs and photograph from ANI
An activist Zafar Khan was lynched in Rajasthan for resisting photography and videography of women defecating in open on Friday, prompting other activists to demand tough action against the accused.

They said the deceased lost his life for a social cause.

Municipality employees in Pratpargh town on Saturday beat the middle-aged Khan to death when he allegedly tried to stop them from scaring women defecating in the open and taking their photographs.

The incident happened near Bagwasa Kachi Basti area at around 6.30 am where few women had gone to attend nature's call.

The municipality employees of Pratapgarh town municipality tried scaring away women and took photographs of women defecating in the open.

It was then that Khan intervened and tried stopping municipality employees from taking pictures.

In retaliation, municipality employees kicked, punched and beat Khan with a stick, which led to his death, according to the first information report lodged by Khan's elder brother Noor Mohammed.

Noor has lodged a complaint against Kamal Harijan, Ritesh Harijan, Manish Harijan, Nagar Parishad commissioner Ashok Jain and others following police have registered a case of murder, Pratapgarh Kotwali police said.

Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police, Shivraj Meena said, We are getting the matter investigated and a case has been registered against four named accused in the FIR.

Police has been deployed considering the matter sensitive and to maintain law and order.

Its really unfortunate. Its an administrative duty to prevent ladies from going out for defecating in open. This is an obscene thing. Zafar just wanted to protect the dignity of women. This is a deliberate murder. I demand a very rigorous punishment, woman activist Ruby Mukherjee said.

Another activist Nirmala Samant demanded that the society and police must take stringent action on this matter.

This was against the modesty of women. Zafar lost his life for a social cause. The society and the police must take a note of this, Samant said.

Earlier in the day, a statement by the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninists Pratapgarh district committee stated that, on June 16, Khan was kicked, punched and beaten to death by municipal council employees at the instigation of Nagar Parishad commissioner Ashok Jain, who ordered to take photographs and videos of women from the Bagwasa Kachi village when they were going to defecate in the open.

Khan himself had submitted a memorandum to the Nagar Parishad few days ago, protesting against the campaign of public shaming and bullying of women for defecating in the open, the statement added.

In the memorandum, he had demanded community toilets and repairing of the non-functional public latrines constructed under the Swacch Bharat campaign. He had also unsuccessfully sought to submit the memorandum to the district magistrate who had refused to accept it, it said.

The CPI-ML demanded that Jain and others named in the FIR lodged in Khans murder case should be arrested and given speedy punishment.

We demand that the central government and all state government officially declare public shaming and lynch mob tactics in the guise of Swacch Bharat campaign to be illegal and punish officials promoting the use of such tactics, the statement said.

The statement further said, The drive to end open defecation cannot proceed on the basis of inflicting indignities on the poor and helpless people who have no access to private or public toilets. The present strategy of Open Defecation-Free villages campaign is giving rise to corruption, fake claims and public humiliation of deprived people. The governments must reverse this draconian strategy and unleash a positive campaign popularising toilet use, with a focus on construction of toilets, assured availability of water, and proper arrangements for toilet-cleaning.

All over the country, sanitation workers are fighting for their dignity and rights against oppressive and inhuman working conditions. It is highly unfortunate that the Rajasthan government, which denies sanitation workers their due rights, used them as fodder in the public shaming and lynching campaign on the pretext of Swacch Bharat, the statement added.

The CPI-ML has further appealed to all the forces struggling against mob lynching, for womens rights and dignity, and for sanitation workers rights, to unite in the struggle for justice for Zafar.

With inputs from ANI

Image for representation only. Photograph: Ahmad Masood/Reuters
Darjeeling, June 17 (IBNS) : One Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJM) was killed and eight policemen, including a high ranking officer, were injured during a clash in Darljeeling's Singmari area on Saturday as life remained disrupted on the sixth day of the indefinite shutdown in the restive hills.

Police said the trouble started after GJM supporters started firing at police and set police vehicles on fire.

One GJM supporter died due to firing by GJM supporters, police claimed.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Indian Reserve Battalion's 2nd Battalion assistant commandant Kiran Tamang was seriously injured during the clashes and his condition is critical.

GJM supporters blocked the Siliguri-Kursoung via Pankhabari road and took out processions from different points.

After the rallies met at Singmari, police tried to stop the GJM supporters, which led to the clashes.

GJM protesters pelted stones and hurled bottles at security personnel, who in turn fired tear gas shells and baton-charging the mob.


Darjeeling, June 17 (IBNS): The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leaders claimed that two of their supporters were killed on Saturday as police opened fire on them.

The deceased have been identified by the GJM as Bimal Shankar and Sunil Rai.

Indefinite strike has hit normal life in Darjeeling for the past six days.

GJM supporters on Saturday morning held four rallies in Darjeeling hills.

Strike supporters engaged in a clash with police force at Singmari and Lebong areas.

GJM activists torched several police vehicles.

Several policeman and strikers were injured in the clash.

ADG (law & order) of WBP, Anuj Sharma, told IBNS: "One Morcha supporters was killed during the clash. But police did not open fire on protesters today. We are investigating how the agitator was killed."

"GJM attacked police today at several areas. They threw bricks, stones, glass bottles, crude bombs and petrol bombs aiming at police force. We also have reports that they fired bullets aiming at security personnel," Sharma said.

A senior police official told IBNS, "One assistant commandant of Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), Kiran Tamang, was stabbed with a sharp weapon during GJM's attack at Singmari police outpost and he is being currently under treatment in a Siliguri hospital.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said police did not fire a single round on Saturday.

CM Mamata Banerjee said, "This is a terrorist movement. We have information that Darjeeling attackers have connections with NE terror groups. Few other countries are also influencing and indulging the insurgency. Police did not fired a single round bullet today."
Patna, June 17 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): Two girls enrolled in LKG and UKG were stripped by school authorities in Bihar after they failed to pay school fees, local media reported on Saturday.

The horrible incident took place at a private school, BR Academy, in Begusarai district of Bihar on Thursday but was reported to the police only on Saturday.

Reports said victims father had gone to school on Thursday to pick up his daughter when their school teacher insisted on paying money for the school uniforms.

They didnt relent even after I promised to pay money the very next day and sent daughters home semi-naked after taking off their clothes. I had no option in taking them home in that condition, victims father told the media today.

The police have arrested the teacher as well the principal. The arrested school officials were later sent to jail.

Bihar education minister Ashok Chaudhary has condemned the incident and promised severe action against the accused persons.

thebiharpost.com


Guwahati, June 17 (IBNS): At least five people, including a couple, were killed and two others went missing in a massive landslides in Meghalayaas Umiam area on Saturday morning.

Nine persons were injured in the landslide incident.

They were immediately rushed to hospital.

The incident took place at Tharia village under Umiam police station triggered by heavy rains in past couple of days.



A top official of Meghalaya police said five bodies have been recovered, who were trapped by mud following landslides.

Among the deceased, three were identified as Loba Mahanta, Babi Mahanta (both hailing from Assams Baska district and newly married couple) and Shanti Lama.



More people are suspected to be trapped under mud.





A top police official said two persons named Kristina Lama and Rina Lama (mother and daughter) are still missing.



Rescue team of Meghalaya State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Home Guards and police with the help of local villagers, are engaged to rescue the missing persons.



On the other hand, nine persons named Sing Lama, Yam Kumar, Umesh Sharma, Seena Sharma, Lata Lama, Bunti Lama, Amita Dairy, Chandan Padmini were injured in the massive landslides.



Among them six were admitted at Shillong based civil hospital, while two were rushed to ganesh Das hospital and rest one admitted at NEIGRIHMS hospital, the police official said.



Meanwhile, Meghalaya government has ordered a magisterial inquiry to be headed by Kum D Phawa, MCS (ADM of Ri-Bhoi district) to probe the incident.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)


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New York, June 17(Just Earth News): As part of his five-day visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the top United Nations peacekeeping official visited the vast country's troubled Kasai region and expressed "deep concern" about the ongoing violence there.

According to a note issued in New York by a UN Spokesman, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, expressed deep concern about persistent violence and serious human rights abuses in the Kasai.

He also stressed the importance of prosecuting all perpetrators of crimes and promised the full support of the United Nations so that the perpetrators of the murder of Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan could be brought to justice.

On Wednesday, he travelled to Kananga, the capital of Kasai province, to express the UN's solidarity with the people of the region and discuss ongoing efforts to strengthen the local presence of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission, known as MONUSCO.

On Friday, he met with President Joseph Kabila, in the capital, Kinshasa. Throughout his visit, Lacroix reaffirmed the UN's commitment to support the full implementation of the 31 December Agreement and the efforts of MONUSCO to help create a peaceful environment conducive to the holding of free, fair and inclusive elections by the end of the year.

In Goma, Lacroix exchanged views with the Governor of North Kivu, Julien Paluku, on how the UN Mission can best help address security challenges and inter-communal tensions in the province.

Photo MONUSCO/Biliaminou Alao

Source: www.justearthnews.com
New York, June 17(Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres has lauded the vision and tenacity of the former Chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl, who died on Friday at the age of 87.

A statement issued by the Secretary-General's Spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said Guterres learned with great sadness of Kohl's passing.

Noting that Kohl was Germany's longest-serving chancellor, the statement said that he played an instrumental role in the peaceful reunification of his country, within a year of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and helped set a course for the historic process of Europe's political and economic integration.

On Friday's Europe is a product of his vision and his tenacity, in the face of enormous obstacles, said the statement, which extended the UN Secretary-General's condolences to Kohl's family and to the Government and people of Germany.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Source: www.justearthnews.com
VIRGINIA BEACH  State Attorney General Mark R. Herring and GOP challenger John Adams leveled spirited attacks over social issues and the role of the office Saturday in the first debate of the November election.

They offered opposite views on abortion, gay rights, religious liberties and actions by the Trump administration on the environment and immigration in a face-off before members of the Virginia State Bar during its annual meeting, held at the Sheraton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel.

Herring, a former state senator from Loudoun County, is seeking re-election after becoming Virginias first Democratic attorney general since 1994. Adams, a white-collar defense lawyer from Chesterfield County, got the GOP nomination after state Del. Robert B. Bell, R-Albemarle, withdrew from the primary.

Herring said Adams, who is opposed to gay marriage and abortion rights, would be the attorney general for the Republican caucus if elected. Adams said Herring has applied his own personal views to the law rather than the intent of the legislature and the people.

Both have been on the attack in fundraising emails, but Saturdays debate allowed Adams the first chance face-to-face.

I decided to get into the arena for the first time because of what I believe is the extreme politicization of the Attorney Generals Office, he said. The way to get the politics out of the Attorney Generals Office is to get the politicians out of the Attorney Generals Office.

I will always put the interests of the commonwealth of Virginia ahead of my own political or personal preferences.

If Washington exceeds its constitutional authority, ... I will fight back, Adams said.

Herring said his love for helping people and righting wrongs makes attorney general the best job. He highlighted his record on public safety, working with law enforcement to fight opioid addiction, pushing for testing of evidence in untested sexual assault cases, and in fighting Medicaid fraud.

Voters will have a stark choice, Herring said. And theres some interesting things in Johns background but he doesnt talk that much about the work that hes done more recently. He has been part of a powerful Richmond law firm for the last seven years, and he and his team brag about how they specialize in shielding people who are involved in kickbacks, pyramid schemes, embezzlement, money laundering, tax fraud, bribery, obstruction of justice. Its astounding.

Herring said Adams protects the kind of people prosecutors work hard to bring to justice. Its like hes trying to be the anti-attorney general.

Adams, a former federal prosecutor, is on a leave of absence from law firm McGuireWoods, where he is chair of the government investigations and white-collar litigation department.

The firm and its consulting arm are one of the most powerful political entities in the state, representing corporations like Dominion Energy and high-profile players such as Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City; former Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones; and Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the businessman who testified that he tried to bribe then-Gov. Bob McDonnell.

McGuireWoods Chairman Richard Cullen is now representing Vice President Mike Pence amid a special counsel investigation involving Russia. Cullen, who completed Jim Gilmores term as attorney general, and who has a house in Virginia Beach, attended Saturdays debate.

Adams defended his work.

Im a lawyer and I have clients and I am proud to do what I do on behalf of my clients, he said. Everyone deserves adequate representation.

Abortion and birth control

Herring said Adams views on abortion are comparable to those of former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the 2013 GOP nominee for governor.

He would ban abortion in all cases. He would even limit access to birth control, Herring said.

Herring also referenced Adams work on behalf of Hobby Lobby. The retailer won a 5-4 decision in 2014 at the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that requiring family-owned companies to pay for contraception for employees violated religious freedom.

Do you know what those cases were about? Limiting access to birth control, Herring said. He fought at the Supreme Court twice for that.

Adams said his position had nothing to do with birth control, but instead religious freedom.

I have zero interest in limiting womens access to birth control. None. Its not an issue I think about. Its not an issue I care about, Adams said.

What I do care about is not allowing the government to force people  the Little Sisters of the Poor  to take actions that violate their religious faith. And I will stand up for the liberty of our fellow citizens to exercise their religious faith.

When Herring later repeated his attack, Adams grew lively and repeated that his concern was religious freedom.

There he goes again, Adams said, referring to himself in third person: John does not care about womens access to birth control and limiting it.

Gay rights

Herring gained national attention when he took office in January 2014 for refusing to support Virginias voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court later made the right to gay marriage the law of the land.

Adams has attacked Herring for not upholding the state law.

On Saturday, he noted that Herring had voted as a state senator for the amendment banning gay marriage  which Virginia voters approved in 2006  and later changed his mind.

What bothered me has nothing to do with the gay marriage decision, whatever you think about it, Adams said. What bothered me was that the attorney general for a state that had passed a constitutional amendment would not just refuse to defend the law ... but that he would actually join the other side and attack his clients position.

Herring said Adams would roll back rights and risk putting Virginia into economic uncertainty comparable to North Carolina after that state approved controversial measures on gay rights and use of bathrooms.

You got into this race because of what I did on marriage equality, Herring told him. You want to roll it back. Thats why you got into this race in the first place.

Herring said the attorney general should stand up for LGBT rights.

And you know what? Its also right on the law. Every single court we were in, we won. Even a conservative Supreme Court agreed we did the right thing.

Trumps travel ban

Herring has been among state attorneys general who fought both of the Trump administrations proposed temporary travel bans from certain Muslim-majority countries. The constitutionality of the revised proposal now rests with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The initial ban caused Virginians to be detained at airports, and Herring and other officials traveled to Washington Dulles International Airport for a news conference.

When peoples rights and Virginians are harmed, weve got to stand up, Herring said.

Adams disagreed and said it wasnt Herrings job to go to Dulles in the midst of a very tense and emotional situation and get in front of a bunch of microphones and feed those flames.

Adams sided with Trump on the need for a temporary travel ban.

I am deeply concerned about a case where we now have courts second-guessing the commander in chief on questions related to national security, he said. He is charged with keeping America safe, and theres a lot going on in the world right now that has people unsettled.

A person who disagrees with the policy should challenge it through the political process, he said. The court rulings stopping the ban from taking effect should be troubling to us, he added.

Gun rights

Adams and Herring disagree on stricter background checks at gun shows.

In late 2015, Herring took action to limit people from other states from carrying concealed weapons in Virginia if their states permit requirements didnt match Virginias. The move was controversial, and a deal between Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and legislative Republicans overturned it.

Adams brought that up Saturday.

Even his own governor overruled him by legislation with the Republicans within a few months, Adams said.

Herring called for a return to Virginias previous policy of only allowing one handgun purchase a month. (McDonnell signed a repeal of the law in 2012.) Herring said Adams views were out of line with those of the public.

I realize its not my job to close the gun show loophole, Adams said. Its the job of the Virginia legislature, and what they need is proper legal advice.

As a lawyer, he said, he would defend whatever decision the legislature took.

The debate moderator was Barbara Hamm Lee, host of Another View, a radio show on WHRO in Hampton Roads.
New York, June 17(Just Earth News): The United Nations envoy on Middle East peace has condemned yesterday's shooting and stabbing attack by Palestinian assailants near Jerusalem's Old City that killed an Israeli Border Police Officer and wounded at least four others including civilians.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured, said the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov in a statement.

Emphasizing that such terrorist acts must be clearly condemned by all, Mladenov said: I am appalled that once again some find it appropriate to justify such attacks as 'heroic.' They are unacceptable and seek to drag everyone into a new cycle of violence.

(file) UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Source: www.justearthnews.com
On primary night, central Virginia delivered bad news to the states Republicans. Turnout in the Democratic race exceeded turnout in the Republican race in Henrico and Chesterfield. Henrico has turned blue in statewide elections; Chesterfield may be headed in the same direction.

Democratic turnout statewide swamped Republican turnout. Both parties likely will unite behind their tickets, but the trends favor the Democrats. The GOP is not what it was when Virginia earned a reputation as being the most Republican state in the once Solid (Democratic) South.

C.T. Woody built a legendary career as a Richmond homicide detective. He became sheriff after the office fell into disrepute. Woody was one of the first to draw attention to the problems that occur when jails house the mentally ill. His hiring of relatives drew unflattering coverage but Richmonders appreciated the good he had done. He pushed for a new jail and led the transition from an outdated facility to a more appropriate one. On Tuesday, he lost his bid for renomination in Richmonds Democratic primary. Antionette Irving, a retired major in Henricos sheriffs department, defeated Woodys bid for a fourth term. Woody likely tried to stay too long. His time had come.

Woodys observations regarding mental illness and jails have become accepted wisdom. He made his mark, and Richmond thanks him.

Irvings background in Henrico ought to please Richmonders as well. Henrico Sheriff Mike Wade has shown enlightened leadership, particularly regarding substance abuse. The point is that compassion and law enforcement can coexist. They are not mutually exclusive. The Times-Dispatch congratulates Irving on her victory.

Thomas Jeffersons gravestone at Monticello identifies him as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the father of the University of Virginia. If Jefferson were composing his own epitaph today, he might add foodie. Jefferson appreciated fine dining (perhaps too much) and cultivated the grape. He may have practiced sustainable agriculture before the practice became a trend. It is fitting indeed that this spring Alice Waters won the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership. The founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Waters has been a pioneer in sustainable, local food. She not only serves sophisticated dishes to gourmets but she also has introduced healthy meals to schoolchildren. She deserves a tip of the toque.

W.E. Singleton had a passion for jazz, which he shared with the community. A decorated veteran, he build a successful career in the development and management of shopping centers, apartments and various properties. His wealth financed generous donations. His $2 million grant to VCUs Jazz Studies Program made the school one of the leading institutions devoted to the art form. He also was a driving force behind the Richmond Jazz Festival.

He enjoyed sharing memories of favorite performers. He heard in person artists most hear only through recordings. His last communication with us recalled sets he attended with Nat Hentoff at New Yorks legendary clubs. He stood in the artistic vanguard.

On June 11, Singleton died at 83. Tonight we listen to John Coltranes A Love Supreme.
Kabul, June 17 (IBNS) : At least 20 insurgents were killed during the airstrikes conducted by the Afghan and US forces in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, state-run Khaama Press said quoting officials..

The airstrikes were carried out late on Thursday in the vicinity of Marjah district of the Helmand.

According to the officials, the airstrikes were carried out on Talibans hideouts in Wakil Wazir roundabout.

In the meantime, the provincial government in a statement said additional forces have been deployed to Marjah district in a bid to further step up counter-terrorism operations against the militant groups.

Helmand is among the volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgents are actively operating in its various districts and often carry out insurgency activities.
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Washington, June 17 (IBNS): US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan will travel on Monday, June 19 to Cancun, Mexico to represent the United States at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States meeting, officials said.

The Secretary of State will continue his efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region through in-person meetings and phone conversations with Gulf and regional leaders.

"Since Gulf countries announced economic and diplomatic measures against Qatar, the Secretary has made more than a dozen phone calls and participated in several in-person meetings. The Secretary will continue these efforts," US Department of State said in a statement.



Image:Wikimedia Commons
Washington, June 17 (IBNS): The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defence have announced that the inaugural U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue (D&SD) will be held in Washington, D.C. June 21.

"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will host Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Gen. Fang Fenghui, Chief of the People's Liberation Army's Joint Staff Department, along with members of the U.S. delegation and their Chinese colleagues for the D&SD," read an official statement.



This new, high-level framework for negotiations was launched by President Donald J. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mar-a-Lago Apr 7, to expand areas of cooperation while narrowing differences on key diplomatic and security issues.

IMage: Donald Trump Facebook page
Washington/Tokyo, June 17 (IBNS) : Seven Navy sailors were missing and the captain and at least two others were injured after a U.S. destroyer collied with a container ship collided off the coast of Japan on Saturday early morning, the U.S. Navy said.

"USS Fitzerald (DDG 62) was involved in a collision with a merchant vessel June 17 about 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka,Japan," the US Navy posted on its twitter page.

According to media reports, rescuers were searching for the missing sailors who were thought to have been thrown into the sea or possibly trapped inside damaged sections of the destroyer.

The reports quoted Japanese coast guard spokesman Yoshihito Nakamura as saying that none of the crew of the container ship was reported injured.

Footage from the Japanese TV network NHK showed Navy crew members working to pump water from flooded sections of the mid-right side of the USS Fitzgerald. The Navy's 7th Fleet said flooding was stabilized and sailors from the USS Dewey came aboard to assist in damage control.

The ship's captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was airlifted to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka and was in stable condition, the 7th Fleet said in a statement.

Two other crew suffered cuts and bruises and were evacuated, it said.

It was unclear how many others may have been hurt.
This dynamic helped Gov. Laura Kelly win reelection in Kansas

Gov. Laura Kelly won a second term in a historic win in the Kansas governor's race. Her performance in Johnson County helped deliver a narrow victory.


DTI-CITEM Executive Director Clayton Tugonon (leftmost) and DTI Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado (rightmost) introduces the winners of the 2017 Katha Awards for Food at IFEX Philippines. Katha Awards for Food spotlights innovative, export competitive products at IFEX Philippines By DTI-CITEM

May 20, 2017 PASAY CITY  The 11th edition of the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines, through the 2017 Katha Awards for Food, once again pays homage to newly developed Philippine food products and applications yesterday at the World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM) and Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC). The awards aim to strengthen the reputation of the Philippines as a go-to destination for globally competitive Asian food and ingredients by recognizing companies that explore new galleries of flavors, original brand ideas, unique food fusions, and creative packaging methods. The competition is open to all Philippine-based food manufacturers and suppliers participating in IFEX Philippines 2017. The winners are hailed from six different product categories: Food Ingredients, Marine and Meat Products, Snack Foods, Beverages, Processed Fruits and Vegetables, and Confectionery and Biscuits and Pastry. The company with the most creative booth exhibition is also recognized. Katha Awards for Food was judged by SM Supermarket Senior Vice President for Marketing Millie Dizon, ZOMATO Philippines Country Manager Anton Ojeda, Philippines Airlines Manager for Food Planning and Standards Division Maria Criselda Abantao Rayos, and Food Packaging and Labeling Expert Abner Villahermosa. They chose the winners according to Market Demand, 25%; Packaging Design and Innovation, 35% and; Product Innovation, 40%. Here are the category winners of the 2017 Katha Awards for Food: Food Ingredients: FIERY LABUYO BARBEQUE MARINADE of Mama Sitas Instilling innovation while keeping its century-old culinary tradition, Mama Sitas has newly concocted to perfection the Fiery Labuyo Barbeque Marinade for lovers of spicy food fusions. Bold and fiery, the native labuyo chili pepper offers a truly unforgettable barbeque experience without the monosodium glutamate (MSG) and other preservatives. Marine and Meat Products: FISH SAUSAGES of Fisherfarms, Inc. Fisher Farms All Natural Fish Sausages are free from artificial ingredients and chemical preservatives. Made from 100% fish meat, they provide around 10% of the recommended daily allowance of protein, contain Omega-3, and have 0 trans fats. Free from gluten, casein, nitrites, and MSG, Fisher Farms All Natural Fish Sausages are perfect for health-conscious gourmets and sausage aficionados. Snack Foods: KALE CHIPS of Take Root Food Corner Imagine a completely guilt-free, vegan chip that combines the taste of tangy sour cream with freshly cut chives! Take Root Food Corners Kale Chips is made with all-natural and organic ingredients. No oil, dairy, sugar or any preservatives. Made from nutritionally dense leafy greens available, these addicting kale chips are never baked or friend, but dried at low temperatures to preserve its essential nutrients and enzymes. Beverages: TURMERIC TEA WITH CALAMANSI of Muy Bien Turmeric Ginger Lemongrass is a sweetened tea drink made by the Negros Occidental-based Muy Bien Ventures Co. Inc. from the natural and organic extracts of turmeric, ginger, lemon grass and calamansi. Turmeric comes from the root of Cucuma longa plant. Called in the Philippines as "Luyang Dilaw," turmeric has a tough brown skin and deep orange flesh. Curcumin, the main active ingredient in turmeric, has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect and a very strong antioxidant. Processed Fruits and Vegetable: PUSO NG SAGING of KAPFER AND RIVERA UNITED INC . Also known as Ginataang Puso ng Saging, this ready-to-eat Philippine dish satisfies the cravings for a hearty and savory meal  perfectly served on a hot cup of rice or as an appetizer paired with toasted bread and melted cheese on top. Puso ng Saging is high in fiber and rich in taste, while completely being pork and chicken free. Confectionery, Biscuits and Pastry: 85% NATULE CHOCOLATE DARK of MALAGOS AGRI-VENTURES CORP. Developed to cater the taste of the high-standard Japanese market, the 85% Natule Chocolate Dark is an all-organic treat lets you experience the true essence of cacao, enriched with the subtle sweet aroma of coconut nectar. The product was made under Malagos Chocolates single-origin chocolate production or what they call the tree to bar process, which involves the planting, harvesting, fermenting, solar drying, roasting, and processing of the cacao beans into fine-flavored chocolates. Best Booth: Fisherfarms, Inc. As a pioneer in aquaculture products processing, Fisherfarms, Inc. stages this years IFEX Philippines with a bright and modern scenography, highlighting the interesting insights on the Philippines seafood products, as well conducting on-site cooking and food sampling activities. Fisher Farms, Inc, has one of the countrys widest range of premium quality fresh, frozen, value-added, and completely processed seafood products to clientele and institutions such as supermarkets, groceries, fast food chains, restaurants, distributors, and hotels all over the world. The Philippine seafood innovator is currently present in key markets such as USA, Canada, Middle East, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe.
Dear Editor,

I found the piece titled Teens should ditch follow your dream advice publishe in last Sundays paper quite interesting.

The matter reminds me of an exchange of opinions - a while back, between the Editor of the S.O. newspaper and a judge of the court regarding the shortness of a sentence given to a criminal. The editor was not too happy with the sentence-me too- so the judge answered him this way. Mr editor I am not a journalist and you are not a judge.

I would say the same thing to Ms McQueen: I am not a financial advisor and you are not a job counsellor.

I am going down the line refuting (mostly) or agreeing (hardly) on the points covered by her.

Firstly the title. Teens have ( who had not?) dreams and are passionate about something. Geniuses and successful men all over have proved this fact at galore. It would be more appropriate to say: Teens should follow their dreams and be passionate about it.

Logically and her poor choice of statistically sampling is somehow erroneous. We all know that most of the mistakes (or success) are done when we were young and inexperienced.

You are blaming them for something they have had very little control of their choices at that age. Unfortunately the young follow the (well intentioned) advise of friends and relatives as to what career they should choose.

Choosing a career is one of the most serious undertaking when we are young. If in doubt, the best choice is to look for the advise of an experienced job counsellor. She mentioned that in her book she talked to career counsellors and they admitted their default advise. Apparently she talked to inexpert career counsellors who give a bad reputation to the profession.

My advise at this point Ms McQueen is to have a very serious hard look at the book written by Dr. B. Haldane: How to Make a Habit of Success. Unfortunately not too many career counsellors know about the existence of this brilliant book.

In fact all the Fortune 500 corporations follow the expert advise of the inventor of the career counselling. By the same token most of the young people in the U.S.A., Canada and the U.K. strictly adhere to the guidelines explained in the book when they plan to choose a career.

Why interview babies who dont know why career life is all about.? At that age every girl wants to be an actress and every boy wants to make a lot of money. Too much TV and glamorous, magazines. True.

You touched education and its cost. Fine. Let me define education for you. Education is simple the acquisition of information and an indication of that ability to make such acquisition You said they come out with a degree that they dont know what it means.

Yes they do: they mean money for them. If that is what they are after. The transition you refer to the university degree to an industry, that is a total different story all together. That is called job hunting In fact my book : Job Hunting; Sharpening Your Competitive Skills deals exactly how to go about effecting that transition.

Now here is a point we must agree:  now going to university does not mean you will get a job. If that would be true, we would not have poverty per se. To be honest with ourselves. Getting a job is not that hard IF you know how to go about it.

And in this high tech life such help is available. If you have an education it gives you an edge. If you have quality education your chances are better. By that I mean high quality teachers. Poor and leaderless countries like Samoa cant afford that luxury.

If you think you are college material and have some money (your own or borrowed) you can get any degree you WANT. And here is the crucial mistakes those kids make when they pursue degrees that they WANT.

Wanting to get a degree and BEING QUALIFIED to get that particular degree is as different like day and night.

Being qualified means that your skills-talent and abilities matches with great accuracy the skills needed to perform that particular job. And how do you find out what your skills are? Simple. Use SIMS (System to Identify Motivated Skills); and where do you find out what skills are needed for such and such jib? Consult the database called O*NET-Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

Today there are more than 30,000 different occupations or careers in the United States. By the same token there are 4.5 million job vacancies. And why those vacancies are not filled? Simple. Because people looking for a job dont have the skills needed to handle those jobs.

But the jobs are there, waiting for qualified applicants to fill them. The advise; get a degree for which you have the qualifications not the one you want.

If you fill vacancies for the simple fact that those vacancies have to be filled you (the country0 suffer the consequences. Unfortunately that is a fact in Samoa. Being hired by a panel is like being operated by the midwife. If this aberration is not corrected expect inefficiency, corruption, under performance, thievery, mismanagement, etc.

Here is a point that I have to strongly disagree with McQueen and her friend Edwards. They say: The problem with passions and dreams can change as people go thru life. Is that so.

My dreams and passions have not change a bit since I was a child. You might not get your dreams to be real, but does not mean your dreams are going in smoke. No ladies, the dreams are still there, perhaps unfulfilled. Dreams are like good soldiers and good teachers; they never die, only they fade away.

There is nothing to be disastrous about following your dreams and what you are passionate about. Did your dream was about going after money?- financial advisor. Successful people are those who follow their dreams and passion. Period. Nothing wrong with that.

What is wrong is when they choose a career or occupation they dont find out for sure what they are good at, and only you can find out that if you follow the right career path. And only the experts can guide you in that direction.

The main reason why so many people (80 %) are unhappy in their jobs is because they chose the career they wanted, to realize later that they made the wrong choice. Only a small percentage (20%) have chosen the right job; meaning those jobs they are qualified for. Waste of life? Of course.

Colleges and universities, even high schools, here and everywhere (like in the U.S.) should have what would be called a JOB COUNSELLING CENTER to scientifically guide potential careers seekers in the right path. I would pay special attention to those who are shooting for a dream job. Hard to do it? Not at all.

That mission should squarely rest on the shoulders of the Minister of Education. Everywhere. By the same reasoning the ministry of CIL and I.L.O. should train unemployed youth using the most modern method of job finding.

In fact that book by yours truly can be found now at all the libraries in town, that method is seven times more effective than the traditional methods used here and in most countries. Two ex presidents of the U.S.S. praised that method.

Also the P.S.C. should eliminate once and for all the use of the so-called panel to choose critical positions in the government. They should hire professional interviewers to choose scientifically who is the best quailified person to take up jobs like C.E.O.s and A.C.E.O.s.

By complying with the above statements the country will march forward. Why? Because we need people in the government who love people and satisfy their basic needs read the Village Voice to realize the state of poor living of the most vulnerable portion of our population. Ministers and CEOs dealing with these humanitarian acts sit comfortable in their offices without bothering to serve the people who pay their salaries.

We need new blood, people with revolutionary ideas, initiative, imagination, ready to solve the deep problems facing the country. Look at our agriculture. Farmers barely feeding themselves with agricultural techniques used at the time of Christ. Claiming for jobs to supplement their meagre earning from their plantation. What MAF-SACEP got to show for 5 years of research? The Fugalei maketi is still selling the old suspects (taro, banana, bread fruit, etc.) where are the oranges, apples, lettuce, fruit and vegetables? Big supermarkets are stocked with junk food from wall to wall. No wonder obesity and the NCD are kings among our poverty ridden country.

By not doing so a trail of unemployed people will populate the streets, not knowing what to do with their time. And more likely they choose the easy and risky path of crime, thievery and prostitution to survive. Poverty is the common denominator. And think that some so-called leader assure us that there is no poverty in Samoa. Holly Toledo! Mama mia!.

Education is vital,(but not necessarily so, to succeed in life). But it helps a lot. Provided you look for a career, after you find out what you are good at. By bypassing this critical requirement, you ended up choosing the career you want. Maxim Gorky condensed this thought very nicely, he said;  If your job is a pleasure life is a joy; if your job is a duty, life is slavery. Are there billionaires without an education ? Of course they are. Henry Ford was, so is Bill Gates. These two people , as an example, knew what they were good at and followed their dream, and they were or is passionate at what they did or do.

To finish this piece. Dreams never die, neither change with age. They may go unfulfilled, yes, but they are there, waiting for the right opportunity. Being passionate about something in life is a good indication of your desire to succeed. Remember this and remember well: dreams and being passionate about something in life are key factor to succeed at anything you pursue, anytime and anywhere.. No shortcut will do it. Easy to say it, but not impossible. Go fulfil your dreams, and never give up.

Orlando Huaman

Malololelei
Bluesky Samoa has presented the Unit Trust of Samoa (U.T.O.S) with a dividend of $1million.

The presentation was made during a joint U.T.O.S-Bluesky press conference yesterday.

Bluesky Samoa Country Manager, Alex Abraham, presented the dividend to U.T.O.S for its 25per cent shareholding in Bluesky Samoa Ltd.

The Chief Executive Officer of U.T.O.S (Management) Ltd, Sau Justina Sau Lam, was happy to receive the dividend.

The money is equivalent to a 12.6per cent return on U.T.O.Ss investment in Bluesky Samoa Ltd.

U.T.O.S has received a total of $5.9 million dividends from its investment in Bluesky since 2011, including the $1 million dividend received this morning.

The Unitholders of U.T.O.S have been enjoying the returns of its Bluesky investment as reflected in the value of their unit investment.

The $1 million dividend income translates to a two sene per unit increase in the value of the unit on 20th April 2017 when the Board of Bluesky Samoa made the decision to pay a dividend to its shareholders.

Also announced during the press conference was a 9 sene per unit dividend distribution to Unitholders of U.T.O.S.

The dividend distribution for Unitholders was declared during the U.T.O.S (Management) Company Board of Directors meeting on 14 June 2017.

The distribution is equivalent to 9per cent of a Tala invested in the Fund.

The total amount expected to be paid to Unitholders from this distribution is $3.9 million.

The dividend from Bluesky Samoa contributes directly to and is included in this amount.

A total of 1,928 Unitholders are entitled to this dividend and they will be able to take out or reinvest their share commencing from Monday, 17th July 2017. Unitholders are able to check their investment balance and dividend amount online commencing from 17th July 2017.

Both U.T.O.S C.E.O Sa'u and Bluesky Country Manager, Mr. Abraham encouraged all those who have not invested in U.T.O.S to make an investment now and subscribe to services offered by Bluesky to reap future benefits from Bluesky.

Unitholders will not only benefit from low cost rates offered by Bluesky, but their money will be returned back to them through dividends to U.T.O.S.
The lawyer representing the Associate Minister of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Peseta Vaifou Tevaga, in a lawsuit against former business associates has written to the Samoa Observer to ask for a correction.

The lawsuit involves Peseta suing Laauli Leuatea Polataivao, Apulu Lance Polu and Martin Schwalger.

Leuluaialii Olinda Woodroffes letter is published verbatim below:

Dear Keni and Savea,

As you know I am a great supporter of the Samoa Observer and firm believer in the right of the public to know what is going on.

Your reporter Joyetter Luamanu has misquoted two issues relating to the above case. I seek your kind assistance in doing something about it, as I spoke to Joyetter before I left Samoa to correct her misreporting but thus far I have not seen any correction.

In her initial report of the above case, she reported that I personally spoke to her and told her, as she reported in your 7th June publication stating the following: Lawyer Leuluai alii told Samoa Observer the preliminary calculation has the lawsuit at $3milliontala, however, it may increase as the Court deems.

This report is false, and I called her on the same evening that the report was released and told her to correct it. At Court the next day I also told her to correct her errors, but this has not been done.

I never spoke personally to Joyetter in Court.

I never told her that Peseta is seeking $3million. There is no quantum stated in our court documents. There is a reasons (sic) for this. That is, the case is a precedent case raising new issues for Samoa and the quantum sought can be later calculated in Court, taking all the issues that are now being brought to light as the hearing progresses.

Thus it is unwise for a senior experienced lawyer to pre-empt the clients case by putting a quantum to it, at this stage. Your reporter said, that I was talking to someone else, and she got her phone out, and recorded what I was saying, without my permission.

As you both know, this is unacceptable breach of privacy. She should have asked me. Furthermore, to quote me in the paper, saying that I spoke to her, is false.

What concerns me, is the misquoting of the quantum that Peseta is seeking and attributing this to me. I have legitimate concerns about pre-empting my clients case at this point of time. Your help in correcting this, is greatly appreciated.

I appreciate the work that you do and the positive contribution that you make to Samoa. I do my best also. I am not just suing people for money. Promoting Honesty and Transparency in Samoa is important to lives of all people.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Kind regards,

Olinda Woodroffe

Partner

RESPONSE FROM THE EDITOR: Thank you for your letter Leuluaialii. I want to wholeheartedly apologise for Joyetter Luamanus error. We take our role of informing the public very seriously but sometimes our reporters become too eager and occasionally get carried away. We are truly, truly sorry Leuluaialii. Having said that, we want to make a correction that Pesetas lawsuit is not for $3million. The amount is yet to be determined. We wish all the parties in this Court hearing the best. May the truth and nothing but truth win  and in your case Leuluaialii, whatever quantum amount your client is seeking.

God bless!
The Police have identified the woman found at Mulinuu on Monday morning as Afioga Tiro.

She was a mental health patient who had been allowed back to her family prior to her disappearance.

This was confirmed by Acting Assistant Commissioner, Salaa Moananu Sale, yesterday during the Polices weekly conference with the media.

According to Salaa, Afioga Tiro is 57-years-old from the villages of Faga Savaii and Faleasiu.

She is married and with children.

From our investigation, weve found that the woman had mental issues, said Salaa.

According to reports from the family of the woman, she had been at the Mental Health Unit at Motootua for three to four weeks.

However on Thursday last week, doctors at the hospital allowed the woman to go back to her family at Falesiu.

On Sunday, she disappeared.

The family couldnt find her. She had been missing until the news broke out about the body of woman found at sea at Mulinuu.

Salaa said the Police received the call on Monday morning.

Police responded to the call and when they got there the woman was dead and was naked.

Salaa went on to say her body was taken to the hospital for doctors to do their work.

We received the doctors report yesterday and it says that the cause of death was drowning, he told the media.

At the moment we are waiting for the Coroner to respond whether they are satisfied with the doctors report or they want to conduct a post mortem.

Last Monday, a man who spotted the woman floating on the water at Mulinuu told the Samoa Observer he was shocked.

I couldnt believe what I saw, he said.

He said the woman looked like she had been dead for at least a few hours when her body was found.

I was walking on the seawall heading to the Court house at Mulinuu when I saw a body floating on the sea, he said.

When I went to take a I took a closer, I saw it was the body of a female.

When the Police brought her body up, she had mucus coming out of her mouth. She was all naked.

She had a tattoo on her right arm but I couldnt see clearly because the Police immediately wrapped up her body.

The eyewitness said he could not believe what he saw and up until now, he still has nightmares thinking about it.
Faleula Primary School opened the doors to a new computer lab and a bathroom facility yesterday.

This was made possible through the work of Faleulas own Sala Siaosi Lutu and through generous funds from the company he works for; Sleepwell N.Z. Limited, Auckland.

The celebration followed a request from village of Faleula for Sala and the management of Sleepwell for a computer lab and bathroom facilities.

Principal Selau Maulolo Futi is not only thankful but she is extremely excited as this has been achieved in her last year as Principal at Faleula Primary School.

The Sleepwell New Zealand Limited had funded everything while Sala Siaosi worked together with the men of the village on building everything that you have seen today, Mrs. Futi said.

I believe this whole project cost more than $20,000 and we are very grateful and blessed to have everything done well.

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Afamasaga Rico Tupai, acknowledged the Sleepwell NZ Limited on behalf of the government.

He spoke about the importance of technological developments for the new generation.

I would like to acknowledge Sala Siaosi Lutu and the Sleepwell New Zealand Limited, said Afamasaga.

The government may not have been involved in this initiative that were opening up today but this is what the government is prioritizing; to help in the improvement and developing everything for the betterment of our students.

The usage of computers for communication and services of the internet, this is one of the issues that the government has prioritized.

As we all know, the importance of the internet is for you to find out information that you need for school and its useful for teachers as well, if they wish to research more on topics and information that they want to teach you with.

This is one of the technological developments that our government is looking at to improve and work on, not only for the betterment of our future but also to enhance the quality of our education system for our students and anyone for that matter.

He advised the students with words You should be wise when it comes to good things and be foolish when it comes to bad things.

I will still continue to cooperate with the Minister of Sports, Education and Culture as well as your Member of Parliament, in getting more computers to fill out your computer lab.
A representative from the Embasssy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Wellington, Wera Hack, was in the country for official duties and yesterday, she visited the children survivors of violence and sexual abuse cared for at the Campus of Hope.

The purpose of the visit was to officially hand over to S.V.S.G bunk beds for a project funded by the Germany Embassy in Wellington.

The financial assistance from the Germany Embassy would not have been possible without the referral of an application for the small scale project, from Pauline Marsden, a German living in Apia with her family,. At a total cost of $26,000, the funds enabled S.V.S.G to supply bunk beds including mattresses to cater for the increasing number of children cared for at the shelters.

Following the hand-over, Ms. Hack spent time with the children.

Seeing her sitting there among the children, connecting with them at their level, was special.

And S.V.S.G is grateful for the addition to its family of supporters, as Ms. Hack had pledged to continue to look out for funding opportunities to help the children at the Campus.

S.V.S.G President Siliniu Lina Chang was at the Campus to acknowledge the support from the Germany Embassy.

Thank you to the Embassy and the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Wellington, H.E Gerhard Thiedemann, through Ms. Wera Hack, for the grant to refurnish the childrens beddings. To Pauline Marsden, thank you for pointing out this funding opportunity to SVSG, now we have additional beds for the children.
Take risks because nothing can substitute experience.

So says Iosua Vaotuua of Tuanai and Afega, reflecting on his plan to go overseas to seek a better future.

Speaking to the Village Voice team, Iosua is a carpenter but most of the time, he spends his days at the plantation because theres barely any carpentry work for him.

The 37-year-old said hes working on his paperwork so he can go overseas to find a job.

Theres nothing wrong here in Samoa, I just need a job but I think theres a huge decrease in the number of jobs in our country, he tells Village Voice.

Our employment system takes a whole lot of time before a vacancy opens up or become available.

Im a carpenter but most of the times I cant even find work to do using my skills but even if there was, once Im done, then I have to wait for a long time until another opportunity to work opens up.

What Ive noticed is, theres not that many opportunities to work anymore and thats why I want to go overseas.

I dont care what job I find there as long as I find something useful to work for and earn money.

Lucky for Iosua, hes still a single man and he can go about his plan to travel because he doesnt have a family of his own to worry about.

I dont know if this plan is a right one but thats why, now is the perfect time to take a risk.

I havent been out of Samoa before but hopefully theres a light at the end of the tunnel right?

And even if it doesnt turn out okay, then all I can say is, well atleast Ive tried it.

Life is not just about making the right decisions; its also about taking risks even if you dont know whats going to come out of it.
Mailo Peteru is not a happy man.

The 42-year-old was grumpy when the Village Voice came across him yesterday.

The source of his frustration is people who dump rubbish near his house.

This is a crime, he said.

I dont know what people think of us living here. This has always been the problem and Ive had enough of it.

Its not just my family affected, there are about six to seven families opposite this rubbish and we cant take it anymore.

Its not like we dont monitor this area.

The pile of rubbish he is complaining about stinks. Whats more, it is full of plastics and other objects harmful to the environment.

Were already set up a committee to look after this area every evening.

But we seriously dont know when and what time people come and throw rubbish here.

I guess its midnight time but I still cant believe it because we do have curfews around 11.

The father said its a serious issue for most of the families around their area.

It pollutes our environment and significantly reduces the cleanliness of Samoa.

As long as this rubbish is here, our community and our areas look dirty and uncared for. Its unpleasant to live nearby.

The single man said the smell is unbearable.

For me I dont work but I do have a plantation right here, he said

But I hardly come out to tend to it because of the situation. I guess you can smell it too

There are kitchen sinks, diapers, underwear, plastic stuff, power tools, bait fridges. You name it, Ive seen it.

I think people think Out of sight, out of mind.

I dont have kids but I have my nephews and small nieces who walk to school. It could cause health issues.

Mailo is disgusted by peoples total disregard for others.

This rubbish will eventually end up in the sea and it will stay in the sea killing the fish we end up eating.

We try to remove as much as we possibly can but it is hard work as you can see. There is so much rubbish.

He went on to say that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment should do something about the issue.

I know theres a Ministry that is responsible for this kind of issue.

On behalf of our village and especially families around this area we want your help. We want and deserve a clean and safe environment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over his war in Ukraine.
Is there a chance that the tons of nuclear waste at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) could finally get moved to another location?

Prompted by a lawsuit filed by an advocacy group, confidential negotiations are under way that may be exploring just that possibility.

The plants majority owner, Southern California Edison, is meeting with representatives of East County-based Citizens Oversight after the two sides asked the judge presiding over the case to give them time to work out a potential settlement. According to the stipulation, the two sides must report back to the judge by July 14.

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Neither side is talking to reporters but the discussions provide an opportune time to review the details of how and why so much spent fuel ended up within sight of the Pacific Ocean in the first place and when and where it could be shipped.

How much nuclear waste is at the plant?

SONGS officials say there are 1,609 metric tons, which equals 3.55 million pounds.

Is that a lot?

It represents about 2 percent of the total amount of the spent fuel from all of the nations nuclear power plants, according to the most recent figures from the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group.

SONGS accounts for about half the amount of nuclear waste that has accumulated at plants in California.

The plant is operated by Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric has a 20 percent stake in the project.

What exactly is spent fuel?

Inside a nuclear reactor, enriched uranium sustains a series of controlled nuclear reactions that unleash quantities of energy that is converted to steam that drives turbines that generate electricity.

After about four to six years, nuclear fuel loses its efficiency and is considered spent.

But the spent fuel is still thermally hot and emits a great deal of radiation  enough to kill someone within minutes if that person is not adequately shielded  and remains radioactive for thousands of years because of the long half-lives of some of its radio-isotopes.

To keep the fuel cool, nuclear plant operators transfer the waste to what is called wet storage, where it is placed in a metal rack in a deep pool of water, typically for at least five years.

After the fuel has been cooled it may be transferred to a dry storage system.

SONGS hasnt produced electricity since January 2012 and there are 8.4 million people within a 50-mile radius of the plant. So why does its spent fuel stay on site?

Because, to put it bluntly, the federal government has dropped the ball. Under the Waste Policy Act, passed by Congress in 1982, the U.S. Department of Energy was given responsibility for the long-term storage of nuclear waste.

In order to pay for the transfer of waste from various sites across the country, a Nuclear Waste Fund was established. Ratepayers from areas powered by nuclear plants paid fees of about 15 to 20 cents per month on their utility bills. The money built up over the years and is now worthat least $35.8 billion.

The government had promised to start accepting spent fuel in 1998 but the feds failed to come up with a permanent site to put the nations waste. As a result, a 2014 court ruling ordered DOE to stop collecting the fees from electricity customers.

As for the waste at SONGS, the California Coastal Commission in October 2015 approved a 20-year permit for Edison to expand a storage system that will eventually see all the plants waste stored in heavy, dry casks.

Why not send spent fuel to Yucca Mountain?

That was the original plan.

The government spent anywhere between $9 billion and $15 billion to build the repository that would store the fuel deep underground in the Nevada desert, about 100 miles from Las Vegas.

From the moment Yucca Mountain was first discussed on Capitol Hill back in the 1980s, lawmakers in Nevada fought against it. Nonetheless, the Department of Energy recommended opening Yucca and in 2002 the site was approved by then-President George W. Bush.

But the Obama administration cut funding for Yucca Mountain, delighting Nevadas Harry Reid, who became the Senate Majority Leader after the 2008 elections.

Now, however, there are indications that Yucca is back on the table.

The Trump administration has called for spending $120 million on storage projects that include reviving Yucca Mountain.

On April 27, the IHS Energy Daily, a trade publication, reported that a longtime contractor at Yucca sent out a memo saying the contractor anticipates having to supply 350 engineers for a potential re-start of the site.

But resurrecting Yucca Mountain figures to be a time-consuming process.

Rep. John Shimkus, R-Illinois, has put together a draft bill in the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at clearing the way to bring Yucca back.

But after taking a tour of SONGS earlier this year, when reporters asked Shimkus how long people will have to wait before spent fuel gets shipped out of San Onofre, he said, Just say a long time  a lot longer than you really hope, Ill be honest with you.

If Yucca Mountain came back online, is it big enough to handle all the nations nuclear waste?

Yes and no.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the repository was designed to hold 70,000 metric tons of nuclear waste with 63,000 metric tons reserved for commercial waste. The total amount of waste from nuclear plants across the country has reached 78,590 and the industry adds about 2,200 tons each year. So in that respect, Yucca by itself would not be big enough to house all the nations spent fuel.

But the Nuclear Energy Institute says the 70,000-ton limit is not a design constraint but a restriction that was legislatively imposed. Originally, Congress envisioned the construction of not one (Yucca Mountain) but two national repositories and wanted to make sure the nations nuclear waste would be equitably distributed between them.

NEI officials say Yucca Mountain could safely accommodate four to nine times the 70,000 figure.

Arent there other places where it can be sent?

Under what is called consolidated interim storage, sites would be built in relatively isolated locations  provided they have consent from local communities  where multiple nuclear plants could send their waste.

Two sites have been discussed.

One is in a sparsely populated area in West Texas, operated by a company called Waste Control Specialists. The facility stores low-level radioactive waste and the company wants to dramatically expand the site, which has a 14,000-acre footprint.

But two months ago the company in charge of the project put its application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on hold due to financial problems.

Waste Control Specialists executives had earlier discussed constructing the facility by 2019 but suspending the NRCs review of the application will almost certainly delay the project, if it ever gets built.

The other possible site is in eastern New Mexico and it would be a big one  proposed to hold about 120,000 metric tons of waste. Representatives of the project appeared at the most recent San Onofre engagement panel and said the plan has the support of local governments.

One persons waste is another persons most valuable possession, said John Heaton, chairman of the New Mexico group, called the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance.

The contingent said if the project is approved, it could go online in as soon as five years  a quick turnaround when it comes to the slow pace associated with the bureaucracy and construction time associated with nuclear projects.

Theres a third site on the radar screen as well.

Former San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre has lobbied for moving SONGS waste to the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona, located about 50 miles from Phoenix.

Aguirre says its a logical place because SONGS operator, Southern California Edison, is a part-owner at Palo Verde, with a 15.8 percent stake.

But last summer, a public affairs officer at the NRC told the Union-Tribune the Arizona facility uses a different storage design than SONGS and an evaluation would need to be made to see if that can be resolved.

Aguirre is the lead attorney for Citizens Oversight in the groups legal fight challenging the controversial 2015 ruling by the Coastal Commission.

Who does the waste belong to  the federal government or Southern California Edison?

The spent fuel is the responsibility of Southern California Edison but according to the details of the Waste Policy Act, the waste eventually will be handed over to the U.S. Department of Energy. The agency takes title at the gate when the fuel leaves the site and owns it from that point on.

Do other nuclear power plants store their waste on-site like SONGS does?

Yes, since the federal government has not come up with a site to deposit spent fuel.

Does SONGS have the most spent fuel on site of any other plant in the country?

Not the most, but its in the top 10.

Every three years the U.S. government issues a report to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on radioactive waste management. In its most recent report in September 2014, the government listed the inventory of spent fuel at each of 74 sites across the country.

According to from the report, San Onofre had 1,656 metric tons of spent fuel, which would place it in seventh place:

Lets say the federal government magically found a place to deposit nuclear waste. Would SONGS waste be the first on the list?

Thats a good question. There appears to be a lack of clarity when it comes to determining which spent fuel from which site goes to the front of the line.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has what is called an Acceptance Priority Ranking that essentially gives the nod to the oldest fuel that has been discharged from a particular location. Its called the oldest fuel first principle.

But David Victor, the chairman of the Community Engagement Panel at SONGS said in an email that there is no hard and fast rule  in fact, no clear rules on ordering of shipments.

The Nuclear Energy Institute said theres a provision in DOEs contracts with reactor owners that allows the department  if it chooses  to ignore the priority ranking to expedite removal of fuel from plants that are shut down.

SONGS is one of 14 sites in shutdown mode.

Given that SONGS has a relatively large amount of spent fuel hugging the Pacific Ocean and is located in such a densely-populated area with a history of seismic activity, locals insist SONGS waste should get priority.

Stranded fuel that is near people and environmental hazards must have the priority for being moved, said Marni Magda, the Sierra Club representative on the SONGS Community Engagement Panel.

The Union-Tribune emailed DOEs public affairs officer twice, requesting a brief interview about the oldest fuel first policy but was told there were no officials available.

Where, exactly, is the spent fuel at SONGS?

At San Onofre, the rods in wet storage are placed in a concrete structure 40 feet deep that is lined with steel and filled with water.

Edison plans to take the fuel assemblies currently in wet storage and move them into 73 dry storage canisters. The transfer process has not yet started but is scheduled to be completed by 2019.

There are already 50 canisters of spent fuel that are stored on site  33 contain waste from Units 2 and 3 and 17 canisters store spent fuel from Unit 1.

The nuclear industry loves long, awkward acronyms and the 50 canisters of used fuel sit horizontally on a site called an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI).

The ISFSI site sits atop portions of what used to be Unit 1. The 73 canisters that Edison plans to transfer from wet to dry storage will go into vertical casks on a site now under construction, just in front of the ISFSI location, behind a seawall 28 feet high.

Construction is underway at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station for a storage site that will house spent nuclear fuel canisters in 2019. In the foreground is the storage site for 50 canisters that have already been placed on site. Photo from May 9, 2017. ((Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) )

Activists have long warned of the casks leaking, and have worried SONGS is vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, a Fukushima-type tsunami or a terrorist strike but Edison officials insist the site is safe.

If it could be moved immediately, can it?

Some of the waste at SONGS could be shipped out tomorrow, theoretically. But a lot of it will have to wait.

Edison officials say about half of the 33 canisters from Units 2 and 3 can be shipped out today and all of them will be cleared and licensed by the NRC to move by 2020.

Of the 73 canisters scheduled to get transferred from wet storage to dry casks, Edison estimates that 68 of the 73 canisters would be ready to be moved as early as 2020. Of the remaining five, two will be eligible in 2022, two in 2023 and one in 2028.

The 17 canisters of Unit 1 waste have to sit longer, though.

Unit 1 shut down in 1992 and Edison officials say the reactors fuel rods were made of stainless steel, the technology of the time. The fuel needs to cool for 38 years before transportation. The fuel pellets sit inside the stainless steel rods.

Two canisters of Unit 1 waste will be eligible to be transported in 2018 and the remainder will be ready through 2030.

If a site existed, how would SONGS waste be moved?

Most likely, by rail. When loaded, the casks at San Onofre weigh up to 50 tons and the Nuclear Energy Institute said they may be too big to fit on trucks.

Who would move the spent fuel?

The Department of Energy would be responsible for transport and would most likely contract with a private firm with experience in moving nuclear waste. Last year, the president of an international company that specializes in nuclear transportation delivered a presentation at a SONGS community panel.

I can move that stuff, said Jack Edlow, the president of Edlow International. Its not that difficult.

Will there come a day when there will be no trace of the nuclear plant at San Onofre?

Edison officials have set a target date of end of 2032 to remove nearly every remnant of the plant. The property would then return to the U.S. Navy, which owns the land.

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rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski
On the wall near the front door of Johnathon Stones home in Pacific Beach, theres a hand-painted sign that reads: Team Stone, Estab. 2006. Its the nickname that Stone and his wife, Sarah, used to describe the unity they shared  first with each other and, later, their four young children.

Team Stone remains a rock-solid force, even though it recently lost an important player. In November, 29-year-old Sarah Stone died after a yearlong cancer battle. Now, Johnathon  a Navy chief petty officer stationed at Coronado  is leading the team as a widowed single dad.

On Sunday, the five remaining members of Team Stone are planning a backyard barbecue to celebrate Fathers Day. Twins Allison and Alyssa, who turn 10 later this month, and 7-year-old Madelynn say theyve made homemade cards to surprise their dad, who also cares for their disabled 4-year-old brother, Jackson.

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The Stone girls say they love their dad because hes brave, kind, not too strict, really good at grilling steaks and sometimes super silly. When no other adults are around, hell break into singing Let It Go from Disneys Frozen. And when theyre missing their mom, he listens.

1 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone, now a single dad, with his children, from left, Allison, 9, twin sister Alyssa, adopted son Jackson, 4, and Madelynn, 7, while on the backyard hammock, which was his wifes happy place, at their Pacific Beach home. Stones wife and mother of the children Sarah Stone died of cancer last November. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 20 A family portrait of Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone with his wife Sarah, who died of cancer on November 1, 2016, and daughters Alyssa, Alison, and Madelynn. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone, a single father of four, pauses while talking about dealing with the death of his wife Sarah while at his home in Pacific Beach. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone looks at his twin daughters Allison, 9, left, and Alyssa. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone talks to his daughter Madelynn, 7. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone talks to his daughter Madelynn, 7. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 20 Allison Stone, 9, twin sister Alyssa, center, friend Faylen Hines, 9, lower right, and Madelynn Stone, 7, jump on a trampoline in their backyard. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone holds his adopted special needs son Jackson, 4, while the backyard of his Pacific Beach home. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 20 Allison Stone, 9, right, shows her friend Faylen Hines, 9, family portraits of her, and her family, which includes her mother Sarah Stone, who died of cancer on November 1, 2016. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone with his wife Sarah Stone, who died of cancer on November 1, 2016. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone holds his adopted son Jackson, 4, as his daughter Alyssa, 9, opens a can of tomato sauce while they prepare a spaghetti dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone holds his adopted son Jackson, 4, while opening a can of tomato sauce as he prepares a spaghetti dinner for his family with his daughter Alyssa, 9. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 20 Alyssa Stone, 9, looks in the refrigerator as Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone cooks spaghetti for his family. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 20 With a picture of him and his wife Sarah Stone, who died of cancer on November 1, 2016, on the wall next to him, Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone puts his special needs son Jackson, 4, that he and his wife adopted, into a chair as he and his children get ready to eat dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 20 Alyssa Stone, 9, lets the family cat in, as Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone Jackson, 4, right, daughter Madelynn, 7, center left, Allison, 9, head of table, and friend Faylen Hines, 9, eat dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone, his adopted son Jackson, 4, right, daughter Madelynn, 7, left, Allison, 9, head of table, twin sister Alyssa, next to her father, and friend Faylen Hines, 9, eat dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 17 / 20 Allison Stone, 9, daughter of Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone, eats spaghetti as she, her siblings, and father eat dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 18 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone looks toward his adopted son Jackson, 4, as he, his daughter Madelynn, 7, left, Allison, 9, second from left, and friend Faylen Hines, 9, eat dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 19 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone looks toward his adopted son Jackson, 4, as he , daughter Alyssa, 9, and the rest of his family eat dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 20 / 20 Navy Chief Petty Officer Johnathon Stone talks to his daughter Alyssa, 9, center, and her friend Faylen Hines, 9, as they and the rest of Stones family eat dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

I used to snuggle with my mom and I miss that, Allison said. When Im really sad, we go and jump on the trampoline and he picks me up and spins me around.

Stone said he and his children are doing well, under the circumstances. Hes getting better every day at cooking, thanks to Youtube videos, and the twins are a big help getting everyone dressed and their hair combed each morning. There are hard times, he said, but they try to find the good in every day.

We have our daily struggles, but we plow through them together, said Stone, 31. Everythings a learning experience, but I love being here for them and being their No. 1. I appreciate the time we have together because I know how important it is to live.

Having a large, stable family was a priority for Johnny and Sarah Stone, who met in elementary school in the rural Central Illinois town of Clinton. Both of their parents have been happily married for more than 30 years. So when they fell in love in high school  she was a freshman, he was a junior  they vowed it would be for life.

Two years later, when he finished Naval training in Pensacola, Fla., he proposed. They married in June 2006 and five months later loaded up their car and headed west to San Diego, where he had received his first orders. It was beautiful here, but there was also some culture shock. Locals didnt wave hello like people in the Midwest, and the roads were confusing. Until Navy housing was available, the couple could only afford a small apartment in Imperial Beach where they slept on an air mattress.

But it didnt matter. We had each other and were so happy and rich with love, Stone recalled.

A couple months after they arrived, the Stones learned they were expecting twins, who arrived in June 2007, three months ahead of schedule. After 10 weeks in incubators the girls came home, to a three-bedroom in a Navy housing complex. Two years later, Madelynn was born.

The Stones wanted a fourth child, but Sarah had a blood-clotting issue that would make carrying another child difficult. She grew up with three younger siblings who her parents adopted from foster care. So in 2012, the Stones started taking classes with the Angels Foster Family Network in San Diego.

Thats where they met Jeff Wiemann, a fellow foster parent who went on to become Angels executive director. He said Team Stone, as they were known to the other parents in the organization, were admired by everyone.

They were an example to follow and inspired us through their story of service to our community and the country, Wiemann said.

On the day they earned their fostering certification in April 2013, the Stones got a call that an infant boy needed a foster home. Hed been surrendered by a homeless couple who were addicted to methamphetamine. Because of the mothers drug use during pregnancy, Jackson was born with a condition known as severe global development delay. Hes on the autism spectrum and he cannot speak.

The boys mother was never able to kick her addiction and reclaim her son. Instead, she died of an overdose on the streets. In 2015, the county asked the Stones if they would like to adopt the boy. Just before Jacksons second birthday, he officially joined Team Stone.

Stone said he always considered himself a hands-on dad, but then he was assigned sea duty aboard the USS Essex. Stone wasnt sure he could leave his large family, especially Jackson who needed three to four hours of therapy appointments every weekday. But because his income and insurance supported the family, he went to sea in August 2015. When he returned five months later, he barely recognized his wife, who had kept her increasingly poor health a secret to avoid worrying him.

At first, they thought Sarah had gall bladder problems. But scans and, later, surgery on Christmas Eve 2015 revealed a rare and advanced case of appendix cancer that quickly spread to her bones and other organs.

By June 2016, her health had deteriorated rapidly and she was in constant pain. That was when she secretly wrote her husband a passdown  a list a instructions to be read after she was gone. She hid the letter in a nightstand and only told him about it months later, on her deathbed at a local hospital.

Her passdown letter, complete with her detailed funeral wishes, encouraged her husband to keep moving forward in life; to find love and marry again; to continue doing community service; and to be patient with their children. She shared many of those same thoughts with him when she was hospitalized for the last time on Oct. 30. Two days later, she died in her husbands arms.

Stone said losing his wife was devastating, but as a man of faith, he knew she had gone to Heaven and was grateful she was no longer suffering. It was only when he was driving home to tell the children she was gone that he realized he was suddenly a single parent.

I was scared out of my mind, he said. I remember thinking  no way! Im going to fail.

But he didnt. With the support of family, friends, co-workers and the The Village  his name for the neighbors in his P.B. cul-de-sac  Team Stone has survived and thrived.

Wiemann said Sarahs death was heartbreaking, but Team Stone seems to be weathering the loss well. Just as before, the whole family takes part in community service programs, like fundraisers for Angels Foster Family Network and delivering Girl Scout cookies to cancer patients at Moores Cancer Center, where Sarah was treated.

While the loss of Sarah was tragic, it has made Team Stone even stronger and more resilient as they work to honor her memory by embracing the joy in life and volunteering in our community, Wiemann said.

The Navy has assigned Stone shore duty for four years, so hes able to be home with the children every night. He rises every morning at 4 a.m. to get to work early at Naval Air Station North Island, where he leads an 80-member aviation squadron support team. A nanny gets the children up and off to school each day  the three girls attend Kate Sessions Elementary and Jackson attends a special-education preschool. Stone gets home from work every day in time to meet the girls at their bus stop after school.

In good Navy fashion, the familys lives are on a schedule. School, then homework, then dinner, baths and an early bedtime for all. Theres always time for play, like a family hop on the backyard trampoline or a swing in the family-size hammock, which Stone said was his wifes happy place.

From the time Sarah got sick, the Stones kept family and friends informed with videos they posted on Facebook. He still carries on that tradition and his video diaries are a mix of positive affirmations and confessions about his parenting challenges.

Recently he began writing a book about Team Stone, which he said will chronicle what he calls his wicked hard journey but it will have a life-affirming message.

If you focus on all the bad stuff happening, you miss all the good, he said. Im glad this happened to us. We were strong enough to handle it.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
After a year of working without a contract, Escondido Union School District teachers reached an agreement with administrators on a pay raise and salary stipends for advanced education.

The agreement will provide teachers with a 2 percent salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2016, and a 0.25 percent increase retroactive to January 1, 2017, district spokeswoman Susana Villegas said.

Starting July 1, teachers with masters degrees will receive a stipend of $1,500 per year, and those with doctorates will earn an additional $1,500 per year.

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The teachers had been working without a contract since July. In March the union declared impasse with the district and in May teachers held a rally at Del Dios Middle School to protest stalled negotiations.

The Escondido Elementary Educators Association, however, eventually reached an agreement with the district through mediation. The San Diego County Office of Education must approve the contract, and the school board will ratify it in July.

In other news, the district announced new principals at two of its elementary campuses.

Stephanie Rosson will take over as principal of Central School, replacing outgoing principal Libby Campbell. Rosson currently works as coordinator of language acquisition for the Escondido Union School District and previously served as dean of students at Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts in Vista, according to her professional biography. Earlier in her career she taught kindergarten through fourth grade in dual language immersion programs across the county.

Rosson holds bachelors degree in communication and masters degree in education from the University of Southern California, and a doctorate of education in organizational leadership from the University of La Verne.

Lisa Pitard, an assistant principal of Hidden Valley, will take over as principal at Rose Elementary, replacing Lizeth Lopez.

Pitard has worked for the district for 20 years, and has served as assistant principal at Felicita, Mission, Rincon, Bear Valley, and Hidden Valley schools, her biography stated. Before that she worked as a fourth grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary.

She holds a bachelors degreen from Cal State Northridge and a teaching credential and masters in education from National University.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
As Trump administration officials continue to debate changes to Americas strategy in Afghanistan, concerns are mounting over battlefield gains by the Taliban insurgency, the rise of an Islamic State terrorist offshoot there and a rickety government in Kabul thats increasingly unpopular in the countryside.

In short, theres growing wonder about whether the U.S. will ever achieve true victory in a war that has stretched into its 16th year.

On Friday, Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White tamped down reports that Defense Secretary James Mattis would announce in mid-July his bid to deploy nearly 4,000 more troops to the embattled nation. That figure would resemble calls by the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson, for an additional 3,000 to 5,000 military personnel.

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Such a hike would raise the number of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan to more than 17,000 troops, plus about 25,000 civilian contractors. At the peak of fighting in 2011, the United States alone deployed more than 100,000 service members to Afghanistan.

Although President Donald Trump has delegated to Mattis broad powers to chart future operations in that war-ravaged nation, White insisted that the former Marine generals final plan will reflect extensive consultations with other federal agencies, NATO allies and a Kabul government helmed by technocrat Ashraf Ghani.

Grumbling on Capitol Hill reflects escalating anxieties nationwide about an apparent stalemate between Kabul and anti-government forces that now rule over a third of the Afghan population, according to the Pentagons Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

I want to hear President Trump tell the American people and Congress, Heres what Im sending these guys over for, said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, a strong ally of the president during the 2016 election and a former Marine Corps officer who served two of his three combat tours in Afghanistan.

Is there an end in sight? I guess thats the question for our military leaders, Mattis and President Trump. Whats the end state? Whats your end goal and how do we get there? Dont just put more people in, Hunter added.

Experts on Afghanistan largely mirrored both Hunters concerns about the war and his call for a strategy that fully links the American-led NATO military, diplomatic, law-enforcement, intelligence and military efforts.

Joseph Collins, a retired Army colonel and now director of the Center for Complex Operations at National Defense University in Washington, D.C., said the potential boost from 4,000 troops will have the biggest effect if theyre embedded at the brigade level with Afghan security forces.

You can do the strategy and tactics in your planning, but on the ground youve got to have influence inside the units. And the best way to do that is to pair our troops with theirs, said Collins, who ran stability operations at the Pentagon from 2001-04.

Collins believes the Afghan security forces are making slow but steady progress, and that it will take between two and three fighting seasons before the Taliban and ISIS are defeated on the battlefield.

He also said the growth of the Afghan air force will allow it to better challenge insurgent formations on the ground.

Im still optimistic  and I was even before the reports came out about the 4,000 troops going there, Collins said. The Taliban have gained territory, but they control none of Afghanistans cities. The government, for all of its trouble, has been holding together.

One of the globes top specialists on democracy and development aid programs in Afghanistan, University of Pittsburgh professor Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, frets more about the stability of the Kabul government.

Lets be honest here about what Afghanistan is facing. Ghanis National Unity government is facing a tremendous crisis, not just from Taliban and ISIS attacks but also in the eyes of their own people, said Murtazashvili, whose books on Afghanistan include last years Informal Order and the State about village governance and state-building. Her research included spending two years studying 30 villages across six provinces there.

Theres a major legitimacy crisis right now and Im not sure how long this government is going to stick together, she added.

Murtazashvili pointed to a long list of terrorist attacks inside Afghanistan during the past three weeks, including the May 31 suicide truck bombing that killed more than 400 people and injured 100 in Kabul as well as the blast that rocked the Hazara Shiites landmark Al-Zahra mosque in the capital on Thursday.

ISIS took responsibility for the mosque bombing, which reportedly killed at least six worshipers. The Haqqani Network, which is linked to the Taliban and al-Qaeda, carried out the truck attack.

These attacks are showing major divisions in groups inside and outside Kabul, Murtazashvili said. Theyre asking questions about how capable this government is in protecting its own citizens. Add to these attacks the decades of poor governance and corruption, you have a lot of Afghans wondering if it can get them through the next several years.

Murtazashvili urges Pentagon planners to ensure that any troop increase comes with strings attached. She advocates a loya jirga  a grand assembly from all segments of Afghanistans ethnic communities  to reach a political consensus on the future of the country.

That should be followed by long-term political and electoral reforms designed to eradicate corruption and vote-rigging while curtailing the power of Ghanis unpopular central government in Kabul, she said.

Previous rounds of NATO troop deployments and infusions of Western aid have only acted like a Band-Aid on a gushing stab wound, delaying the internal changes that Afghans must make for themselves, she said.

This isnt an issue of military skill, Murtazashvili said. If you dont have soldiers willing to fight for a government that they believe in, then forget about it.

Of the 98 groups designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department, 20 operate in the region straddling Afghanistan and Pakistan. Thats the highest concentration in the world.

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cprine@sduniontribune.com
He might live in the nations capital, but James Zumwalt really has two homes  one in San Diego County and the other in Japan.

This native of El Cajon and the nephew of deceased Navy legend Adm. Elmo Zumwalt  he called him Uncle Bud  returned to San Diego this week to greet a contingent of 200 recently commissioned officers from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as they toured military bases here.

His strategy: Help them build relationships with their peers in the United States so their bonds will last a lifetime, further extending an alliance that has served both Japan and the United States well for 72 years. These countries have gone from being arch enemies during World War II to supreme partners on trade, defense and other issues.

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We have common values, said Zumwalt, the U.S. ambassador to Senegal and Guinea- Bissau before retiring from the State Department in January to take the helm of the Sasakawa USA nonprofit based in Washington, D.C.

Were both democracies. We both want to see an open international trading system. We believe in the rule of law. Because of those shared values, were natural partners in a lot of ways, he added.

Launched in mid-2015 by Sasakawa, the Japanese Embassy and the National Association of Japan-America Societies, the Japan U.S. Military Program  JUMP for short  brings the two nations military personnel together for Padres games, a visit to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and, like on Friday, the Beer and Sake Festival celebration at Harrahs Resort Southern California in Valley Center.

JUMP has hosted similar events in Washington, D.C.; Pensacola, Florida; Los Angeles; Seattle; and New Orleans.

All these young officers will have the experience of coming to San Diego and seeing that America is a pretty nice place, Zumwalt said. That has a benefit down the road when theyre off on a destroyer somewhere exercising with us.

Although Zumwalt ended his 36-year State Department career in West Africa, he spent half of this time as a Foreign Service Officer focusing on Japanese issues.

His stints included directing policy for Japan and South Korea as the deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asian Affairs. As the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, he coordinated American support to the Japanese government.

Now back in the United States, he directs programs designed to educate everyone from Capitol Hill and White House staffers in both parties to the general public. It costs about $5 million annually to run Sasakawa, but the $280,000 to fund the JUMP initiative comes from the Japanese government.

Zumwalt said the San Diego leg of the JUMP tour has remained so popular with both Japanese and American sailors because this region has many veterans who had deployed to Japan and returned home with a firm commitment to the strategic partnership with Tokyo.

Our goal is that they then remain active and talk to their friends that what were doing with Japan is so important, said Zumwalt, the son of a Marine veteran of World War II.

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cprine@sduniontribune.com
The Dalai Lamas speech Friday at UC San Diego dwelled on a familiar topic, one hes addressed many times: compassion.

On the way, though, there were some unfamiliar geo-political detours. The Nobel laureate touched on the Paris climate accords, Tibets prospects under Chinas Xi Jinping, even a novel strategy for easing tension between Russia and NATO.

Have NATO headquarters shift to Moscow, the 81-year-old Buddhist monk suggested. I think millions of Russian minds will change.

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Change appeared to be on the Dalai Lamas mind, as he repeatedly stressed the need to abandon violence, anger and hatred, and instead approach people of all creeds and nations with respect.

In order to create a peaceful century, he told 25,000 people gathered on the campus RIMAC field, this century must be a century of dialogue.

Fridays talk was a curtain-raiser, preceding the Dalai Lamas commencement speech at UC San Diego on Saturday. This is the second visit to the campus by Tibetan Buddhisms spiritual leader, who returned after 2012 presentations here, San Diego State University and the University of San Diego.

Seeds for the current visit were planted last summer, when 20 UC San Diego students visited the Dalai Lamas compound in Dharamsala, India.

This is all about the students, said the universitys chancellor, Pradeep Khosla. He loved the students.

Khosla issued a formal invitation in October while traveling in India. On Thursday, he and Mayor Kevin Faulconer met the Dalai Lamas entourage when it arrived at San Diego International Airport.

Tickets for both local speeches vanished within hours of UC San Diego offering them, but not everyone is celebrating this visit. Seven men picketed the event in a Free Speech Zone established adjacent to  but out of sight of  RIMAC field.

The protesters were Tibetan Buddhists who worship the deity Dorje Shugden. The Dalai Lamas followers, they maintain, have burned Shugden texts and vandalized statues that are sacred to this sect.

He should practice what he preaches, said one of the protesters, Sonam Lama. He is destroying Tibetan unity.

Lama also charged the Dalai Lama with diverting money from Tibetans who follow Shugden.

Its an absolute misuse of millions of dollars, and nobody talks about this, he said. He demonizes people who disagree with him.

Roughly 40 supporters countered by rallying beneath a banner that read, Long live his holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, and a poster displaying his photo and a message: Love is the Answer.

His critics, the Dalai Lama said, havent met him or heard his message. I think most of them do not know me, he said. They have only the official version.

1 / 45 The Dalai Lama waves after he walked on stage for his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 45 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama talks to members of the media at a press conference before delivering a public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 45 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in a moment of humor, swirls his fingers on the head of Ken Stone, contributing editor at the Times of San Diego, one the journalists in attendance during a press conference the Dalai Lama held before delivering his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 45 The Dalai Lama laughs after touching the head of Ken Stone, a contributing editor for the Times of San Diego, after he entered a room for a press conference. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 45 The Dalai Lama looks up as military jets fly over as he is introduced before his public address. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 45 The Dalai Lama bows at the end of his public address at UC San Diego. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 45 Spectators watch and listen as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama delivers his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 45 The Dalai Lama waves to the crowd at the end of his public address at UC San Diego. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 45 Spectators on patio balconies of nearby buildings watch and listen as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama delivers his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 45 The Dalai Lama stands up and flips his robe over his shoulder at the end of his public address. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 45 People start to stand as they applaud at the end of the Dalai Lamas public address. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 45 Khen Rinpoche, a Buddhist monk originally from Tibet and now living in Washington state, laughs at something funny the Dalai Lama said. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 45 The Dalai Lama speaks during his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 45 Spectators watch and listen as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama delivers his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 45 The Dalai Lama speaks during his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 45 A woman listens as the Dalai Lama speaks during his public address. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 17 / 45 People fan themselves as the Dalai Lama speaks during his public address. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 18 / 45 The Dalai Lama speaks during his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 19 / 45 A man uses an umbrella for shade as he listens to the Dalai Lama speaks during his public address. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 20 / 45 Two women sit in the grass as they listen to the Dalai Lama speaks during his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 21 / 45 Thousands of people listen as the Dalai Lama speaks during his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 22 / 45 People sit in bleachers as they listen to the Dalai Lama speak during his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 23 / 45 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama enjoys a light moment with Ann Curry, former NBC journalist, who introduced His Holiness during a press conference before he delivered a public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 24 / 45 The Dalai Lama speaks as he makes his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 25 / 45 A young woman shades herself with a fan as she listens to the Dalai Lama speak during his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 26 / 45 The Dalai Lama speaks during his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 27 / 45 The Dalai Lama bows as he is introduced before his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 28 / 45 The Dalai Lama speaks to members of the media after a press conference. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 29 / 45 The Dalai Lama greets members of the media after a press conference. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 30 / 45 The Dalai Lama speaks during a press conference. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 31 / 45 The Dalai Lama speaks during a press conference prior to his public address, titled Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in our World. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 32 / 45 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama arrives at a press conference before delivering a public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 33 / 45 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama talks to members of the media at a press conference before delivering a public address,"Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 34 / 45 Spectators watch and listen as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama delivers his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 35 / 45 Spectators watch and listen as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama delivers his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 36 / 45 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama talks to members of the media at a press conference before delivering a public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 37 / 45 A small group of Dorje Shugden Tibetan Buddhists protest the Dalai Lama, who opposes the form of Buddhism they follow. The group protested during his speech, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 38 / 45 Members of the Tibetan Association of Northern California, supporters of the Dalai Lama, wave Tibetan flags, hold signs, and sing during his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 39 / 45 Spectators watch and listen as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama delivers his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 40 / 45 Members of the media and the public watch and listen as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama delivers his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. | Photo by Howard Lipin/San Diego Union-Tribune/Mandatory Credit: HOWARD LIPIN SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE/ZUMA PRESS (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 41 / 45 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama enjoys a light moment with his English language interpreter during a press conference before he delivered a public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 42 / 45 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama talks to members of the media at a press conference before delivering a public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 43 / 45 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama puts two fingers above his head in response to a question during a press conference, that some protestors have called him a demon. After the press conference, he delivered a public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 44 / 45 Members of the Tibetan Association of Northern California, supporters of the Dalai Lama, wave flags, hold signs, and sing during his public address, Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune) 45 / 45 Spectators watch and listen as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama delivers his public address,"Embracing the Beauty of Diversity in Our World, at RIMAC Field on the campus of UC San Diego, Friday. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Beijing has labeled him a separatist, inciting Tibet to secede from China. While the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 in the aftermath of an abortive attempt to oust Chinese authorities and troops, the monk noted he no longer advocates Tibetan independence.

We are fully committed to not seeking separation, as early as 1974, he said during a news conference before his speech.

While urging change  China, the Dalai Lama said, needs a compassionate revolution  he insisted there are hopeful signs for better conditions in Tibet under Chinas current leader, Xi Jinping.

Somehow, there is some kind of movement, a social revolution toward compassion, the Dalai Lama said.

He also cited climate change as a major challenge, expressing dismay over the Trump administrations decision this month to back out of the Paris climate accord.

I always consider the United States the leading nation on Earth, he said. I am quite sad.

His public address, though, was as sunny as the skies on what was a warm, summery morning.

I tell people that the very purpose of life is happiness, he said, standing on a sun-drenched stage beneath an umbrella held by an aide. Everybody wants a happy life. That is our right.

In the 21st century, he noted, the links between all 7 billion human beings has become clear. He listed several global issues that demand attention: economic disparity, climate change, violence.

These problems, he noted, are increasing as organized religions are seeing their influence as teachers of morality decrease.

Now, the Dalai Lama said, education should take full responsibility for teaching basic human values. That is, compassion.

He added that means respecting people of all religions  as well as nonbelievers (They are also our human brothers and sisters) and those who are seen as our enemies (They deserve our love, our kindness).

After his speech, the Dalai Lama fielded questions from audience members. What should a 93-year-old grandmother tell her grandchildren about the state of the world? How can veterans recover from the trauma of combat? Is there a way to rise above angry political partisanship?

Again and again, the Dalai Lama returned to his message that all people are connected, deserving of respect, worthy of love and compassion. He closed by urging the audience to enlist in movements to create a better world.

Please think more seriously, he said. The future depends on our action.

His message seemed to find a receptive audience.

It just touched my heart, said Shelby OShea, a Buddhist from San Diego who wore a shirt with the image of Ganesh, the Hindu deity.

I see todays event as a Dalai Lama concert, said Scott Chatfield, a local music promoter. Im in awe of his humorous, buoyant wisdom, and he uses the silence between his words like a great musician does.

Before the talk, visitors queued up at coffee and food stands, and browsed a selection of Dalai Lama collectibles in a temporary UC San Diego bookstore erected on the field.

I hate to buy things, said Bev Harju, a Bay Park resident who converted to Buddhism after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Eyeing a batch of $4.99 keychains adorned with the Dalai Lamas sayings, she overcame her qualms. Sometimes its good to have a remembrance of important things.

ALSO:

For UC San Diego, the Dalai Lamas visit has global impact  for better or worse

Coming to a university near you: the Dalai Lama and a commencement controversy

Faith and reason: the Dalai Lama at UC San Diego

UPDATES:

5:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from the Dalai Lama event.

This article was originally published at 2:20 p.m.
Qayyum said that he wanted to start a business after his acquittal.

By Vidya : Abdul Qayyum Sheikh, who was acquitted of all the charges by the special TADA court in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, today said that he will stay in India and that it is his homeland.

Qayyum walked free after Judge G A Sanap of special TADA court said that the prosecution has been unable to prove any of the charges against him. Qayyum's brother Kadeer paid several visits to the lawyers office to ascertain the cause behind the delay in acquital.

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The jail authorities said that the delay was due to a pending case in Hyderabad against him.

"All pending cases against each of the accused has to be checked and only then can the person be let out of the jail," said the officer.

Kadeer, though claimed that it was a false case registered against Qayyum in Hyderabad since the authorities there wanted to keep him inside when he got acquitted in an old case. Kadeer, however, was apprehensive as he feared his brother being imprisoned in another case even before his release.

"There are many innocent people like me inside the jail. They should be released," said Qayyum after he was released.

When asked about his long term plan, Qayyum said that he wanted to do business in India. "I will stay in India, this is my country. Will stay here and do business," said Qayyum.

Sources said that Qayyum was married thrice. While one of his wives is in London, the other is in Dubai and not much is known about his children and the third wife.

Qayyum was the lone accused among seven others who were acquitted by the special TADA court on Friday. He had been in jail for the last 10 years over allegations of his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

--- ENDS ---
As members of the Alsidnawi family celebrated their first year in the U.S., they invited two people who have helped them adjust to America to experience an Iftar  the meal eaten by Muslims at the end of each day of fasting during Ramadan.

Their guests, Doris Bittar and her husband John Rauch, are organizers who helped put together a special English-tutoring program for newly arrived Syrian refugees like the Alsidnawis called Teach and Learn Literacy. While Alsidnawi family members have made progress in learning English and getting settled in El Cajon, they still have a long way to go. Their biggest challenge is dealing with the absence of their only son and eldest child, Ahmad, 24, who became separated from the family after they fled Syria and so was not able to immigrate with them to the U.S.



For the record: The spellings of the Alsidnawis last name, Ahmad Alsidnawis first name and the first name of Merfat Salas have been corrected.

We like the people weve met. They are kind, Merfat Salas, the mother, said through a translator. Without Ahmad, without him, every day is sad here.

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When Bittar and Rauch arrived for dinner form their home in North Park, the women greeted each other with kisses on the cheek. The family bustled back and forth between the kitchen and the living room, placing an array of traditional Syrian dishes on a long, folding table. Salas lifted a bowl to reveal maqlubi, a dish of rice, meat and eggplant shaped into a dome.

On a wall above one of the familys couches, Ramadan Kareem was written in Arabic script with silver tinsel  Have a generous Ramadan.

During the holiday, Muslims are not supposed to eat or drink anything from sun-up to sundown. The month-long celebration follows the Islamic calendar, so its timing shifts year to year. When it falls in the summer, fasting during the long daylight hours can be especially challenging.

When the call to eat (which would have echoed from mosques back in their hometown of Damascus) began to play on a cellphone, the family passed a plate of dates around the table, a traditional way to start the meal.

Salas, 39, began to tell Bittar about the familys home back in Syria. Her daughters Huda, 19, and Tasnim, 15, chimed in. The faces of all three glowed as they remembered life before the war erupted, life when they lived in a place known as the land of jasmine because of the scents that waft through the city in the morning.

Salas pulled up a video of their old neighborhood on her phone to show Bittar, but her eyes welled with tears as the images shifted to bombed-out vestiges of what life used to be.

The conversation quickly turned to Ahmad, with family members asking Bittar about options for bringing him here. They are hoping to ask Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, for help. Bittar is also looking into ways for Ahmad to come on a student visa.

This is a family with a lot of integrity, Bittar said. They would be great citizens. Ahmad would be another great citizen. They would rather work than get welfare. Theyre working so hard.

The father, Khaled Alsidnawi, 48, works part-time at a Burger King and attends classes to learn English and study computers. He worked as a barber for 30 years in Syria, he said. He doesnt yet know enough English to take the test to get a barbers license in the U.S., but Bittar hopes her tutoring program will help him study for it.

The Alsidnawis fled Syria in 2012 by car to Beirut after a bomb exploded the hair salon that Khaled Alsidnawi had run for years.

Ahmad had been on a bus that was stopped by police when he was on his way to his university the week before. The police held him for about five hours, and the family worried that he might be targeted by the regime now that he had been detained once.

The Alsidnawis spent the night packing their car. At about 6 a.m., wary that police might try to take Ahmad from them, they piled in, with Ahmad lying down in the back seat and his three sisters sitting on top of him to hide him.

We were very scared because the police any second might take us, Huda recalled.

From Beirut, the family flew to Egypt, where they settled in a house in Alexandria.

After about seven months, Ahmad went to Turkey to try to finish his college education and help the family. He hoped to graduate with a degree in electrical engineering.

After he had been there for a month, travel between Turkey and Egypt was blocked because of the growing crisis in Syria, and Ahmad couldnt come back. Unable to afford the costs of going to school, he took a job as an electrician.

In June of 2016, the rest of the family boarded a plane for the U.S., hoping that they would be able to bring Ahmad over after they arrived.

Well go to U.S. That will help to see you. That was a very happy thing for us, Tasnim said. They told us when we got here that he couldnt come. It is very hard for us.

Tasnim said she has had dreams in which she sees her brother getting off of an airplane and runs to hug him. She wakes up in tears.

When we talk to him and say, We will see you, he says, We wont, Tasnim said.

Because of the time differences and Ahmads work schedule, Salas talks to him about once a week, she said. The daughters join in when they can.

I think he doesnt have hope, Huda said of her brother. Here in America, its not easy. Not anyone can come here.

She described her brother as quiet and organized. He motivates her to succeed, she said.

Huda, in addition to missing her brother, also misses her husband, a Syrian man she met in the refugee camp in Egypt. She hopes to sponsor a visa for him after she receives her green card.

As the dinner wound down, Salas brought out a heaping platter of atayef asafiri, a pancake-like pastry filled with creamy cheeses.

They sipped hot tea and reflected on what has changed in their lives since they arrived during Ramadan a year ago.

We feel much safer than we did in Egypt or Syria, Salas said. We were scared for a few days when we came here, but then we relaxed.

Ramadan ends June 24.

Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence

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With the primary election a year away, a race is shaping up between three North County political veterans to replace longtime county Supervisor Bill Horn.

Two Republicans and a Democrat with a combined 45 years of elected office experience have declared their candidacy, setting up voters for a contest between politicians with deep roots in the region and a solid knowledge of its topography.

San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond and Oceanside Councilman Jerry Kern, the Republicans, announced their campaigns early this year, while Oceanside Councilwoman Esther Sanchez, the Democrat, joined the race in late May. The two candidates with the most votes in the June 2018 primary will advance to the November general election unless one of them receives more than 50 percent of the vote to win the seat outright.

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Horn has represented the district since 1995 and will be forced out of office by term limits next year. Supervisor Ron Roberts also will be termed out, but three of current members will remain on the board.

The district includes northern San Diego County including Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista and San Marcos, as well as well as stretches of the rural eastern backcountry. Its a fast-growing region and land use policy and public safety will likely become major issues on the campaign trail. A subtext of the campaign is the already strained relationship between Sanchez and Kern on the Oceanside council.

The GOP has a sizable voter registration advantage in the district, with 38 percent of the electorate. Democrats have 30.4 percent while another 25.9 percent do not belong to a political party. County offices are officially nonpartisan, though party politics typically play a role in campaigns.

Jim Desmond

Though its early in the race, Desmond has claimed significant endorsements. Among them: District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Sheriff Bill Gore, Supervisors Greg Cox and Dianne Jacob and Ron Roberts. About a dozen other office holders from from across the region are also on board.

Desmond said having these people in his corner might be his best advantage over the other candidates.

I think that by having those relationships built, I will be able to hit the ground running compared to my competitors, he said.

A San Marcos council member since 2004, Desmond has been mayor since 2006. As a board member for the San Diego Association of Governments and the San Diego International Airport Board, he said he has experience representing the interests of an area beyond San Marcos borders.

Ive developed a lot of regional relationships and a sort of trust with other leaders throughout the county, he said.

He said he plans to focus on cutting traffic congestion, improving the condition of roads, and increasing the affordable housing stock. Though he now mostly deals with suburban and urban San Marcos, Desmond says he will make sure the backcountrys needs, particularly for fire protection and law enforcement, will be well tended to.

They pay taxes and they deserve services, he said. But they oftentimes dont get the attention that other parts of the country get, he said.

Desmond said hes been focused on infrastructure maintenance funding, managing employee pension obligation, refinancing general obligation bonds, and reducing property taxes in San Marcos.

You want to leave a legacy of a strong foundation for the next generation, he said.

Born in Illinois, Desmond came to the San Diego area in 1977 with the Navy. He earned his pilots license while still enlisted, and was a flight instructor after he left the military and attended San Diego State University. He currently flies Boeing 757s and 767s for Delta Air Lines, his employer since 1986.

Jerry Kern

Kern wants to make sure North Countys constituents have a bigger voice in the supervisors chambers.

Theyre all saying the same thing  theres nobody speaking for them in the county, he said. They dont feel that theyre getting their fair share of county services. Theyre sending money down there but they arent getting services in return.

Horn said hes done a lot while in office.

Those candidates should save the campaign rhetoric for each other, he said. Im proud of my 22-year track record in North County.

More than anything, Kern said, the districts residents want more sheriffs deputies, particularly in communities in the backcountry where they are the sole source of police protection, he said.

He also wants to make policies that will allow constituents to get through some bureaucratic processes, like permit applications, faster.

Bureaucrats dont get in trouble for saying no, or putting up roadblocks, he said.

He said hed like to give county staff more leeway to give constituents advice on applications rather than reject them for relatively minor flaws.

At one time, Kerns political career seemed to be on the brink because of a recall effort. In 2009, a campaign by a coalition of residents and public-safety employees sought Kerns ouster, arguing that he supported the interest of developers more than his constituents. Kern held onto his seat by a nearly 2 to 1 margin.

Kern said his experience on the Oceanside council has prepared him better than Desmond. Oceanside is a full-service city that has its own police and fire departments and provides all municipal services directly to constituents. San Marcos is a contract city that has agreements with the sheriff department and others to provide crucial services.

And he said he can be more effective in office than Sanchez because he works better with others. Its a matter of their different personalities, he said.

Heres the biggest difference between Councilwoman Sanchez and myself: I have the ability to deal with other people where she does not. I have the ability to deal with people, talk with people, he said.

Kern was born and raised in San Bernardino and moved to Oceanside in the 1970s when he was in the Air Force and was stationed at Camp Pendleton to work on a tactical radar system. He went to San Diego State University and became a teacher before starting a charter school in Oceanside.

Esther Sanchez

Sanchez was elected to the Oceanside City Council in 2000. She most recently was re-elected to another four-year term in November, finishing first in a seven-candidate race where the top two were elected.

She grew up in Oceanside and attended public schools there before going to Brown University for an undergraduate degree, and to UC Hastings for law school. She later served in the private sector as well as a public defender. She now has a law office in Oceanside.

I have a better background and record, she said. I , of course, have been a council member the longest, and Im a populist.

And, despite what Kern might say, she said she has a reputation as a team player.

The truth is, I get along so well with the community that I get the largest vote of any city council member, and I go across the entire city, she said. And I am able to work both with the staff and the neighborhood to get things done and make things happen.

She doesnt stick to one political philosophy, but approaches things from an issue point of view, she said.

Sanchez said she has worked on improving pay for Oceanside police officers to encourage cops to stay with the city longer, and build a more experienced force.

Oceanside has 210 sworn police officers and is budgeted for 225 positions.

Sanchez said shed have a better rapport with North County cities than Horn, which she said will allow for a more regional approach to address problems like homelessness and health services.

Sanchez said Kern has tried to steer Oceanside toward some questionable policies but enough other council members agreed to head in more prudent directions.

In 2012 Kern said the city should consider outsourcing library operations as a way to reduce payroll and pension costs while increasing overall efficiency. His proposal was blocked by three other council members.

And in 2009 he supported changing Oceanside from a general law city that has to follow state policies on awarding contracts, city election schedules and and council salaries, to a charter city that can set its own rules on these issues.

Sanchez said the proposed change in governance was anti-labor and she questioned the track record of the company Kern wanted to run the libraries.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
A marijuana delivery driver was robbed outside his La Mesa home Friday afternoon  after he had made all of his deliveries.

He was still sitting in his car when a man walked up to him, threatened him with a knife and stole his backpack. It contained small personal items and toiletries, police said.

The victim, in his 20s, called La Mesa police about 6 p.m. to report the holdup outside of his home on Hayes Street, near Randlett Drive. He said he was getting home from his job delivering medical marijuana to customers, police Lt. Vince Brown said.

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The robber, a white man possibly in his mid-20s, wore a bandanna across his face. He had orange hair, possibly a wig, and was about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds.

He left in a white Chrysler with a getaway driver who wore a ski mask, Brown said.

A San Diego police helicopter crew circled to look for the Chrysler and officers stopped a similar car across town, Brown said. Officers found no evidence from the robbery in the car and released the man.
Given Californias immense housing crisis, one of the most mystifying local stories in a long time is the cool reception that Los Angeles developer Jennifer Litwak got from San Diego housing officials and a local nonprofit when she proposed to build shipping container apartments and 3D-printed urban cabins for as little as $150,000 per unit. Given that affordable housing units cost the city an average of $350,000, Litwaks proposal to buy or lease land in San Diego and launch a Housing Innovation Learning Laboratory should have won her a City Hall reception. Instead, she found indifference.

Which brings us to San Diego County Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Ron Roberts. Their proposal to use a Litwak-style approach to build at least 1,000 homes for as little as $100,000 each in a new $25 million program is expected to be taken up by supervisors at their meeting Tuesday. Supervisors Greg Cox, Kristin Gaspar and Bill Horn should back the proposal as well and encourage the county to follow the lead of Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. His citys Housing Innovation Laboratory has come up with inexpensive, shrewdly designed compact units.

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As UC Berkeley professor Carol Galante memorably said at an affordable-housing summit last year, Its break-glass time here in California. We have got to be bold about the ideas to fix this problem. Until far more leaders figure this out, the Golden State is certain to remain ground zero for grinding poverty in America.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
The end of fidget spinners  at least 35 tons of them  is nigh.

The internet whirled with reactions Friday with news out of Germany, where authorities said they would crush and destroy 35 metric tons (39 U.S. tons) of the small gyrating gadgets that arrived in shipments at Frankfurt airport in the month of May alone.

Let that sink in: 35 tons of fidget spinners, destroyed out of existence.

The condemned toys arrived at Frankfurt airport in several shipments from China, the Associated Press reported. Authorities said they tested the toys and found that small parts could fall off and pose a choking hazard for children.

As word got out, the internet split. Some people called the action tyranny while others cheered it on. To some, Germany became an example to the world.

With occasional exceptions, Americas youth long ago said goodbye to the yo-yo and the Rubiks cube. But 2017 became the year of the fidget spinner thanks, in part, to a patent that expired in 2005.

As of June, Amazon still listed fidget spinners as the top-selling toys on its online store. And in recent months, YouTube has become flooded with videos of people showing off their spinning skills and tricks.

To parents and teachers (and some employers) who know too well the hypnotic power of the latest must-have toy, the fidget spinner has become a source of annoyance. Some schools in the U.S. have even banned them.

On the internet, people either swear by them or they despise them.

Statistics blog FiveThirtyEight predicts the toys are on their way out of popularity. Google searches reportedly reached their peak between March 14 and June 12, which is a sign that theres less and less people researching them or looking to buy them.

Maybe its the best news dads can get for Fathers Day.

Fidget spinners  love them? Hate them? Dont understand them? Share your thoughts.

Have some thoughts to share?

Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet.

Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez

Read The Conversation on Flipboard.
Ramona West End Fire Safe Council has received a grant to remove dead and dying trees in the Ramona Community Planning Area within 100 feet of a home and/or 30 feet of an access road.

Property owners are asked to contribute 20 percent for the tree removal. Funding will cover a limited number of trees, so all requests may not be fulfilled. Any applications not fulfilled will be retained to provide justification for requesting future funding.

To receive this grant, the property must comply with state and local fire codes (PRC 4291 and County of San Diego Ordinance No. 10147).

Trees that are removed will be treated according to best management practices.

To apply, request and complete an application. To request an application and for more information, contact Kristi Mansolf at kmansolf@gmail.com and/or 760-445-8545.

Persons who completed an application in the past and were told the application would be kept for future consideration may contact Mansolf to say they are still interested in participating in the program.
Senior Walk a keeper

Oh my goodness  this is a KEEPER!

The seniors, elementary students, and teachers and staff LOVED seeing how theyd grown. Yes, tears were shed, but what a wonderful way to do it. Please continue this tradition.

Lynda Kubinak

Ramona

Seniors resort to peddling drugs

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has classified Oxycodone an opiate, a Schedule II narcotic. Oxycodone pills are taken orally to help relieve moderate to chronic intense pain in patients. It is highly addictive and its potential for abuse is great. This drug is designed for slow release over a 12-hour period. But if several pills are taken at once, it induces a euphoric high within 10 minutes.

A mid-level drug dealer from Sacramento, Ajellon Dedeaux (now incarcerated), has found ample customers for his products. The difficult part was finding a steady supply of legal drugs, like prescription opiates, he is quoted as saying. Dedeaux bought his supply from eager Social Security retirees, who can make $20 per pill on the black market. He described it as highly lucrative and easy money. Once seniors find they can make about $3,600 a month, they quickly become hooked, not by the drug per se, but by the fast cash flow they can receive.

People, especially in rural communities, see nothing wrong in selling or sharing prescription medications. Its now a culturally accepted thing, said Sharon Walsh, director of the University of Kentucky Center for Drug and Alcohol Research.

Captain Jeff Orr, president of the Ohio Task Force Commanders Association, said Seniors are unfazed about being sentenced to jail. If we get information about sellers, were following up on it, but are they going to prison for it? No! Judges and juries are reluctant to sentence senior citizens to prison because theyre afraid of the bad publicity associated with that.

Another social side effect of opiate use is the growing trend of grandchildren moving in with their grandparents because the parents are strung out on drugs, or in a drug treatment facility or in prison.

Nationwide more than 2.6 million people were rearing grandchildren in 2015, reported the AARP Bulletin newspaper. This epidemic is overwhelming many families and child welfare systems, said Jaia Peterson Lent of a Washington-based advocacy group co-founded by AARP. Retired Americans have had their golden years tarnished by having to rear kids all over again. These grandparents never realized the predicament they would be in.

Everyone thinks theres a magic pill for whatever ails them. Physicians play an integral part in the prescription drug business by buying pharmaceutical drugs pitched to them by salespeople and then prescribing them to their patients.

Peter Quercia

Ramona

Congress must impeach Trump

As a young midshipmen at the US. Naval Academy we all followed an honor code that was straightforward: I will not lie or steal nor tolerate anyone who does. Military officers understand that the very lives of others in combat depend on adherence to this exacting standard. No matter the personal cost, an adherence to telling the truth in all cases was paramount for the good of the nation.

Is not this basic concept even more important for a nations president and commander-in- chief? Do not our very freedoms depend on basic honesty from all in government? A nation of citizens that tolerates deliberate lying and deceit has a dim future.

True and great leaders lead by example, set high standards, and demand that those standards be met by themselves and others. No honest leader puts self-interest, party loyalty, or anything else above the truth.

It is abundantly clear that this current president is unfit for office and routinely lies to the American people. President Trump has broken faith with the nation that elected him.

Congress must impeach this corrupt president to restore Americas honor. America will only be great again when its elected leaders will not lie or steal nor tolerate anyone in government who does.

George Eastwood

Ramona

Something to think about

In California and in many other states, children are legally responsible for their parents debts  regardless of how your parents treated you or provided for you. If you were conceived by rape, but your fathers parentage is established, and he has legal or health issues  those expenses can become your responsibility. This law is not often enforced, but things change and it is on the books.

If your parents have pre-existing conditions, but otherwise sacrificed and attempted to give everything to their children, the financial burden for their underfunded health and retirement issues are now yours. And that could be a big bite with no Social Security or Medicare.

If you have a child, and then another, and the first or the second becomes disabled, those medical expenses are now yours. And eventually your other child may be made to assume financial responsibility for your debts. And maybe that child will have to forgo having children of their own.

Are you proud of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, despite the difficulties you had with your dysfunctional parent? Are you ready to pay your parents bills? Look up the law.

Stop this take on children before it happens, and protect the safety network of our society. There is a reason these debt laws are in place  someone plans on benefiting from them. Like corporations.

Janine Moniot

Ramona
SAN DIEGO - Sheriffs deputies investigating a domestic disputein Imperial Beach took into custody a 23-year-old man being soughtin a murder case in Logan Heights, San Diego police saidSunday.

Jose Alonzo Pina was turned over to San Diego police last night,SDPD homicide Lt. Mike Hurley said.

Pina was wanted in connection with the death of Jose ConcepcionCardona, who was fatally shot Dec. 21 in the 2800 block of ClayAvenue, Hurley said.

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Cardona was arguing with two men in an alley when one of thempulled a gun and fired at least one shot, authorities said. Cardonadied at the scene, Lt. Kevin Rooney said.

Police searched for two suspects who left the area in ateal-colored, late- 1980s minivan. One suspect, Jose Alfredo Pina,was arrested Dec. 22 at his job, police said.

It was unclear if the suspects are related.

Pina, who was booked into the Central Jail on suspicion ofmurder, remained in custody on a parole hold, pending arraignmenton Wednesday at the San Diego Courthouse, a jail clerk said.
San Diego Countys valleys and foothills areas will be under a heat advisory from 11 a.m. on Monday to 9 p.m. on Wednesday as a massive high pressure system settles over the southwestern United States.

The National Weather Service says temperatures could hit 92-98 degrees in some spots on Monday, and 96-102 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The hottest spots are expected to include Escondido, El Cajon and Santee, the weather service said.

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Temperatures will be even higher in San Diegos desert areas, possibly reaching the 116-118 degree range in Borrego Springs.

San Diegos coastal areas will be in the 70s, and possibly low 80s, due to an intermittent sea breeze.

Twitter: @grobbins

gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com
Few hours before TADA court was set to sentence the seven accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, the Mumbai Police received a bomb blast threat.

By Saurabh Vaktania: Few hours before the Terrorism and Disruptive Activity (TADA) court was set to sentence the seven accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts on Friday, the Mumbai Police control room received a bomb threat.

The caller said that a person named Manoj, will be triggering off series of bombs in the city and hung up.

As soon as the call was cut, the police and crime branch officials launched a search operation to nab the caller and the suspected terrorist.

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The caller also shared the phone number and address of the alleged bomber Manoj, mentioning that he hails from Uttar Pradesh and is a multiple felon.

Within few hours, the police identified the caller Aditya Nagar alias Abhimanyu, a 27-year-old resident of Jawahar Nagar.

After interrogation, it was revealed that Aditya had called to punish his friend Manoj, who owed him money from a drinking session.

Aditya is believed to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the call.

The accused has been handed over to the local police for further questioning.

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Neither farmers nor soldiers have been happy since the BJP came to power at the Centre, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said. He alleged that the government had flown Vijay Mallya "out to London in the middle of the night," while farmers killed themselves over debt.

By Shalini Lobo: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said neither 'the kisan' (farmers) nor jawans have been happy since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP government was formed in 2014.

Kejriwal is also the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Farmers have been "betrayed" by the Modi government, and Indians have to stand and fight with them, Kejriwal said. His remarks come at a time when several states have witnessed protests by farmers.

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"It's sad that farmers have taken to the roads and...have been attacked. Where is the development in our land, if farmers are boycotting their own produce and throwing them on roads?" he asked.

Voters chose the BJP out of hope - thinking the Congress was the party of the elite - but they now realise both parties are the same, the Delhi CM said. He pointed out that neither the Congress nor the BJP had implemented the Swaminathan Commission's report.

"Every citizen should take a vow to make sure the Swaminathan Commission (report) is implemented," he added.

While commenting on the plight of the nation's farmers, Kejriwal also referred to absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who was recently granted bail till December 4 by a UK court.

"Farmers are forced to commit suicide over...(debt)...and those who owe the country 9,000 crores, the government flies them out to London in the middle of the night," he said.

ALSO READ | Agra farmers threaten indefinite fast at UP CM residence if potato MSP not raised

ALSO READ | Delhi: Farmers mahapanchayat to hold yoga on highway protest on 21st June

ALSO WATCH | Farmers across country continue to commit suicides due to unpaid loans

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The Aam Aadmi Party top leadership is reportedly angry at Kumar Vishwas over his insinuation that leaders squandered party funds by staying at 5-star hotels during official visits.

Vishwas drew a strong backlash from a section of the party after the meeting with party volunteers in Rajasthan, where he asked them not to stay in fivestar hotels and farmhouses.

By Mail Today Bureau: Daggers are drawn in the Aam Aadmi Party as Kumar Vishwas' statements at a recent party meeting, with representatives from Rajasthan, continue to rankle a section of the top leadership.

In telling tweets on Thursday, newly appointed national treasurer Deepak Bajpai took on Vishwas for 'alleging' that party leaders squandered funds by staying in five-star hotels and farmhouses during the Punjab and Goa elections.

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On Tuesday, former Delhi unit convenor Dilip Pandey too lashed out at Vishwas asking him why is he easy on Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje while openly abusing Congress.

Vishwas drew a strong backlash from a section of the party after the meeting with party volunteers in Rajasthan, where he asked them not to stay in fivestar hotels and farmhouses. Responding to Vishwas' statements, in a series of tweets, Bajpai, said, "By the way, the party is looking for a leader who, duringhis campaign in Goa, stayed in a room with a view in 5-star hotel JW Marriott."

While it is known that Vishwas usually stays in five-star hotels during his tours, his aides defended him saying that he does not use party funds for his stay. Vishwas aide and ousted minister Kapil Mishra, said, "My reading from the situation is that Kumar Vishwas has very few days left in the party. He will be thrown out of the party very soon and in a very humiliating manner."

Mishra said, "Kejriwal is sending out clear signals down that Kumar Vishwas is a nobody in the party."

Also read: EC EVM Challenge: AAP calls exercise a sham after NCP, CPI(M) do not take part

Also read: Kapil Mishra assaulted inside Delhi Assembly by AAP MLAs; on Kejriwal's order, alleges ex-minister

Also read: To address unavailability of drugs in Delhi hospitals, AAP govt to strengthen procurement of medicines

Also watch: AAP's proposal for 80% Delhi quota in DU colleges: Should admissions be on merit?

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DARLINGTON, S.C. -- The first uncertified deputy hired by Darlington County Sheriff Tony Chavis, elected in November, has graduated the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.

Treyvon Sellers, a current member of the South Carolina National Guard and most recently a Darlington County corrections officer, completed his training June 16, according to a release issued by the department.

"I am truly proud of Deputy Sellers' accomplishments, and I am thankful for the support his family gave him during his 12 weeks of training," said Chavis. "I look forward to seeing this young man grow as he continues to serve his community."

Sellers is assigned to the patrol division under the command of Lt. Mike Hall and will start field training June 19.
The Samiti has demanded justice from Dy. CM Keshav Prasad Maurya and warned that if their demands are not met by 15th July, the farmers will start an indefinite fast at the Chief Minister's residence.

By Siraj Qureshi: After facing stiff opposition from farmers all over the country, the BJP is now being challenged in Uttar Pradesh too, where the party has already promised loan waivers to the farmers. In the Khandoli block of Agra, the farmers of village Bagal Ghoonsa held a maha panchayat which was attended by hundreds of farmers from nearby villages.

In a resolution passed in the maha panchayat, the farmers demanded at least Rs 1100 minimum support price for potatoes, raising it from Rs. 487 per quintal. A memorandum was also presented to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, addressed to the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in which the farmers demanded that the banks extend them loan facility on the basis of the potato stored in the cold storages.

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On this occasion, UP Congress president and MP Raj Babbar targeted the BJP government in UP and said that the government is not even giving the cost price of the crops the farmers were raising. The number of educated unemployed youths is rising fast. PM Modi had promised to generate two crore job opportunities every year, but instead, the young generation is struggling to save its current jobs as companies are laying off workers. He said that the unemployment rate in India has risen from 3 percent during the UPA tenure, to over 5 percent under Modi govt.

Babbar said that the farmers are committing suicides and the state and central governments are in deep sleep. The farmers raising vegetables are not even getting the cost price of their produce. The schemes started by the UPA government for farmer welfare, are being rebranded by the Modi government as BJP's schemes.

Giving an extensive account of the plight faced by farmers during demonetization, Babbar said that the farmers were left with no choice during demonetization and they sold their produce for a pittance in order to gain even a fraction of what they had spent on raising the produce.

Tomatoes and other easily spoiled vegetables were even given away for free by farmers while some bartered the vegetables for foodgrain and other daily needs items. Calling demonetization a complete failure, in the presence of Etmadpur BJP MLA Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, Babbar blamed Modi for bringing the entire country's economic progress to a standstill. Babbar announced from the dais that the Congress was with the farmers who had been deceived by the BJP.

Rashtriya Lok Dal State President Anil Chowdhary told India Today that there is a need to give a befitting reply to the BJP, which is silent on the plight of the farmers all over India.

Answering Babbar's charges, BJP MLA Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan said that he has written a letter to the Prime Minister for the setting up of potato processing units in this region and was hopeful that some action will be taken very soon on this demand.

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Called by the Aloo Kisan Vikas Samiti, the Maha Panchayat attracted a huge crowd of farmers. On this occasion, the State President of the Samiti Vijendra Singh told India Today that the cold storage owners are exploiting the potato farmers and the governments are silent on this.

The Samiti has demanded justice from Dy. Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and warned that if their demands are not met by 15th July, the farmers will start an indefinite fast at the Chief Minister's residence.

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Twitter on Saturday appeared to have suspended the main Arabic Twitter account of Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based broadcaster. The account was back up after around an hour.

Al Jazeera said its main Arabic Twitter account was suspended as part of an 'organised campaign' (Reuters photo)

By India Today Web Desk: In a fresh twist to the Middle East stand-off that has seen prominent Gulf countries diplomatically corner Qatar, the pan-Arabic media network Al Jazeera's main Arabic Twitter account was briefly suspended on Saturday.

The Doha-based group, which is believed to be partly responsible for the current diplomatic tussle between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, said on its English Twitter account, "The @AJArabic Twitter account has been suspended. The network is working to address & restore its service."

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Another of Al Jazeera's Arabic Twitter accounts that is used for breaking news posted a Tweet that translated to, 'The @AJArabic account has been turned off because of what appears to be an organized campaign, and the work is being required to return it to the service'.

A check by IndiaToday.in found that while the @AJArabic Twitter account did return a 'this account has been suspended' page on Twitter earlier on Saturday, the account seemed to have been restored by around 2.30 pm (Indian time).

Click here to Enlarge The @AJArabic account was back up on Saturday afternoon

The media network confirmed the same, posting an update on its Al Jazeera English Twitter account that read, "The @AJArabic Twitter account has been restored." The group offered no explanation about the suspension.

There was no immediate word from Twitter on whether the account suspension was intentional and about why the suspension was revoked barely after barely an hour.

QATAR CRISIS

Al Jazeera has seemingly been at the centre of the current Middle East crisis, which was sparked after Saudi Arabia and its allies, including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.

The countries accused Qatar of supporting terrorists and sectarian groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

The Gulf nations also blamed Qatar for spreading radical messages through its media, a reference to the Doha-based Al Jazeera, whose offices in Saudi Arabia were shut down following the June 5 decision to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Al Jazeera, which was similarly indirectly accused of spreading propaganda during the previous Middle East diplomatic standoff in 2014, has maintained that it is an independent media organisation.

Notably, a few days after the Gulf nations decided to cut diplomatic contacts with Qatar, Al Jazeera post a message on social media saying that its website and online accounts were under a cyberattack but said that all its entities were operational.

ALSO READ | Qatar vs Saudi Arabia: Story of Middle East tensions, information warfare

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ALSO READ | Iran sends planes of food to Qatar amid concerns of shortages

ALSO WATCH | Yemen joins list of nations that have cut ties with Qatar

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To give you an idea as to the scale of North Lincolnshire Armed Forces Day, last year's event attracted around 3,000 people.And with plenty of activities in store, organisers are hoping for an even bigger turnout this year.

The event, which is in its eighth year, has been organised for people in North Lincolnshire to celebrate and honour our Armed Forces of the past, present and future.

It will take place on Sunday (June 18) at Birch Park in Bottesford and the action kicks off from 9am.

The event was previously held at Scunthorpe's Quibell Park in 2010 and moved to the Messingham Showground in 2011, before moving to Glanford Park in 2013.

Lisa Murphy, vice-chairman of the North Lincolnshire Armed Forces Day committee, said there will be plenty of activities this year.

"The location is great. We will have an indoor craft hall, arena acts and a Dakota flyover at about 1pm.

"There will also be an outside bar. We are hoping to get about 5,000 visitors this year.

"It is honouring the veterans and the forces," Mrs Murphy said. The event will be open until 6pm and a parade will take place at 10am. The popular Chelsea Pensioners will be around the ground, so say hello and have a chat to them.

The Air, Army and Sea Cadets will also be at the event.

Mrs Murphy said there will be on-site VIP and disabled parking on the day and an off-site car park will be made available for the public to use.

The North Lincs Veterans' Community Hub has funded a free bus which, although will also be available to all members of the public, is designed to make it easy for veterans to attend this year's North Lincolnshire Armed Forces Day.

The bus timetable can be viewed on the Scunthorpe Telegraph website by searching for the free bus service in operation for Armed Forces Day.

Organisers need people to turn up on the day.

"For us to run next year, we need people in the gate. We need everyone to come along and support the day," Mrs Murphy said.

Exhibitors in the craft hall include Scunthorpe Army Cadets, Scunthorpe Sea Cadets, Scunthorpe Air Cadets, A & C Photography and Go Outdoors.

Around the ground attractions include RAF Waddington Pipes & Drums Band, children's rides, military stalls and exhibits, Star Wars characters and a shooting range.

Admission on the day will be 3 for adults, 50p for children and veterans and uniforms go free.

Dogs are welcome.

Anyone interested in getting in touch about stalls should call Wilf Foster on 01724 720841.

The Armed Forces Day flag was raised in Scunthorpe's Central Park on Monday (June 12) to mark the start of Armed Forces Week.

Before the flag raising, there was a parade through the park.

The short ceremony was led by the Mayor of North Lincolnshire, Councillor Peter Clark, who said a few words before a prayer was read out.

The flag was then raised.
As well, cruises between the US and Cuba are protected with an exemption from the new prohibition on financial transactions with Cuban military-controlled entities, provided these commercial arrangements are in place before the new regulations are issued.

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it plans to publish regulatory amendments in the coming months. The announced changes won't take effect until those new regulations are issued.

On Friday, companies big and smallfrom Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to Pearl Seas Cruises, Lindblad Expeditions and the newly approved for Cuba sailings Victory Cruise Linesexpressed their pleasure at being able to continue service to the island.

All, along with Carnival Corp. & plcwhich already on Thursday had announced Trump's policy changes would allow its sailings to continueoperate group excursions that comply with the 12 approved forms of travel to Cuba.

As to whether larger ships may be challenged in being able to secure enough tour capacity ashore for everyone to participate in sanctioned group programs, a Carnival Corp. spokeswoman told Seatrade Cruise News the company doesn't see any issue.

Its first Cuba cruises with Fathom involved large tour groups, 'so it is helpful to have this prior experience and a strong relationship with our tour company,' the spokeswoman said. 'Once we have the opportunity to study the new policy in detail, we will have a better view of how best to move forward.

'The good news is that we will have the opportunity to continue our cruises to Cuba.'

Royal Caribbean said there is no impact on its Cuba cruises. 'Our guests are already enjoying curated people-to-people experiences under the approved categories of travel,' the company said in a statement, adding that it will continue to review the policy changes and any updated regulations during the implementation periodwhich may take several months.

'Cruises to Cuba have been very popular with our guests and we look forward to continue sailing to this destination,' Royal Caribbean said.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings likewise stated all of its voyages and shore excursionswith Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruisesare in full compliance with the OFAC regulations, 'and we will work with the administration to comply with any changes to those and any other regulations that will result from its decision.

'We are also pleased that education travel and travel that supports the Cuban people will continue,' NCLH said. 'We were very concerned about any potential changes, given how popular Cuba itineraries have proven to be with our guests, and we view this as a win for the cruise industry, our valued guests and travel partners.'

Across its three brands, 70,000 Cuba-booked passengers 'would have been very disappointed if they were unable to experience this spectacular destination,' NCLH said.

'We are delighted our guests will continue to have the opportunity to experience the wonderful culture and incredible history of Cuba along with the warmth and friendliness of the Cuban people through OFAC-compliant shore excursions that support private businesses and the Cuban people, an opportunity that was restricted for over 50 years.'

Small ship line Pearl Seas Cruises said it's pleased to offer Cuba cultural exchanges and to continue its program of 'meaningful engagement with the people of Cuba under an approved form of travel. We will review the revised policy and approach our future sailings to Cuba to satisfy the new requirements,' the company added.

Lindblad Expeditions also believes its educational Cuba program can go forward unchanged.

'All arrangements have already been confirmed for our second season in Cuba, which begins Dec. 6, 2017, and continues through March 2018 aboard the 46-guest Harmony V. We look forward to introducing our guests to Cubas cultural heritage and natural wonders on our people-to-people land and sea program,' Lindblad said.

The newest operator approved for Cuba service, Victory Cruise Lines, is 'excited about the opportunity the revised approach has created as we are basically doing everything already that is required,' president and ceo Bruce Nierenberg said.

'We are all-inclusive so we have total control over the tours ashore, their content, the way they are managed, the personal involvement of our tour leaders and all related issues of participation,' he said.

'We see this approach as the best way to protect our passengers, our tour operators and the wishes of our government, and ensure we can bring economic benefit to the Cuban people through our visits.'

According to Nierenberg, a company like Victory can spread the economic benefit not just to Havana, where other lines' bigger ships go, but 'to all the five corners of the country.

'Its a win-win for the US and Cuba,' he said.
Alia Bhatt is all the shine you need in your life today.

By Shivani Chhabra: There are enough reasons for us to adore Alia Bhatt, be it her phenomenal acting skills or the way she carries herself like a total diva--we just can't get enough of her.

The Highway actress has time and again demonstrated how to blend comfort and style like a pro, and she seems to be surpassing her own standards with every appearance she makes.

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Alia showed up at director Imtiaz Ali's birthday bash, and stole the show at the star-studded party in her bright attire. The actor continued her legacy of adorning the most comfortable-yet-spiffy attires that are absolutely relatable, and left us mesmerised with her sense of style again.

Photo: Yogen Shah

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra's outfit is proof that she refuses to compromise on her comfort

The gorgeous diva was spotted in a distressed, blue jeans teamed with a strappy, white top with a plunging neckline--because she can look hot even in the most casual outfits. She teamed up the outfit with a pair of white, embellished pumps that were just the right shoes for the chic look; Alia seldom goes wrong with her shoe choices any way.

Photo: Yogen Shah

Alia was dressed to a T, but it was the vibrant cape that got us swooning over her look. The stunning actor had thrown over a sunny-yellow cape, which was quite brilliant in itself with dainty, blue, abstract print over it--perfect for a summer evening party.

Photo: Yogen Shah Photo: Yogen Shah

Also Read: You've got to stop wearing clothes like these, Neha Dhupia

Alia looked boho in her satin cape by Masaba that was teamed so well that it looked custom-made for the casual attire. The fashion-genius that Alia is, she added more pop to her impressive attire in the form of her Stella McCartney peach, messenger bag.

Photo: Yogen Shah

Keeping her makeup minimal and hairdo simple, Alia was her usual charming self, and looked radiant as ever.

--- ENDS ---
Big B is on a nostalgia trip on Instagram as well as on his blog.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan took a stroll down the memory lane and remembered the time he shot with Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, whom he calls the 'most humble and down to earth' person.

Amitabh shared a photograph of himself along with DiCaprio from the premiere of the 2013 film The Great Gatsby on his blog and wrote: "'The Great Gatsby' premiere at Cannes and with the star Leonardo DiCaprio at the red carpet and then on stage. Me giving introduction speech in Hindi. 100 years of Indian Cinema. He is the most humble and down to earth co-star."

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The 74-year-old also added that DiCaprio was 'caring and considerate through out the making of the film.'

The Piku star also shared some anecdotes from a film festival held in Russia, where his son and actor Abhishek Bachchan signed his first autograph.

"An afternoon in Tashkent, Russia during the festival of films. Raj Kapoor ji, Shashi ji were also there as were the family. Shweta (his daughter) and Abhishek barely seen along with (wife) Jaya. Abhishek actually signed his first autograph at this event," he wrote.

On the acting front, Amitabh is prepping for Thugs Of Hindostan which also stars superstar Aamir Khan. He will also be seen playing a 102-year-old man in an upcoming film 102 Not Out along with veteran actor Rishi Kapoor.

ALSO READ | Amitabh Bachchan remembers Vinod Khanna: No one walked the way he did

ALSO READ | Amitabh Bachchan unhappy with Sonam Kapoor's textiquette

ALSO WATCH | Amitabh-Abhishek angry with Aishwarya's intimate ADHM scenes, skip watching the film

--- ENDS ---
Nuclear weapons march: Womens March to Ban the Bomb, in support of U.N. negotiations on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Demonstrators will meet at 11:30 a.m. at El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com. In San Francisco, marchers are planning to meet at noon at U.N. Plaza. For information: bln.sf.ca@gmail.com. In San Jose, marchers will meet at 11:30 a.m. at Winchester and Stevens Creek. For information: http://bit.ly/2s6WWpz.

Anti-Trump discussion: Hosted by the Freedom Socialist Party, a conversation on countering racism and fascism. The event begins at 2 p.m. A $3-to-$5 donation is requested at the door. The event is at New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk St., San Francisco. For information: (415) 864-1278 or www.socialism.com.

Nuclear weapons film: A screening and discussion of The Nuclear Requiem, on the challenges of controlling nuclear weapons. The free, two-hour event starts at 3:30 p.m. at the Los Altos Public Librarys Orchard Room, 13 S. San Antonio Road. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com.

Monday

Town hall: Hosted by Rep. Jared Huffman at 4:30 p.m. at the Petaluma Veterans Memorial Hall, 1094 Petaluma Blvd. South in Petaluma.

Wednesday

Refugees event: A briefing, Helping Refugees Today: What We Need to Know, What We Need to Do, by immigration and refugee resettlement professionals. 6:30-8 p.m. at St. Marks Lutheran Church, 1111 OFarrell St., San Francisco. Information: http://gracecathedral.org/refugees.

Thursday

Coal film: A free screening of From the Ashes, a National Geographic documentary about coal, followed by a discussion on the environment and climate. 7 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. For information: www.nocoalinoakland.info.

June 24

Climate change: Hosted by the Older Womens League of California, a discussion and postcard writing to elected representatives to push for climate change support. 10 a.m.-noon at the Northern Police Station Community Room, 1125 Fillmore St., S.F. For information: info@owlsf.org.
Firefighters battled a stubborn blaze at a warehouse near Candlestick Point in San Francisco for nearly three and a half hours on Friday before bringing it under control, officials said.

More than 120 firefighters and 40 apparatuses were sent to the scene to keep the fire from spreading, according to Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department.
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Mayra Valdes is looking to gain a stability that may never come.

The Richmond mother of three was one of more than 200,000 California residents whose future remained in limbo Friday after the Trump administration said it would keep in place federal protections for certain immigrants who entered the U.S. as children, but would not guarantee their fate as it continues to study the program known as DACA.

It makes me feel really unstable, Valdes, who is 26 and works as an immigration counselor for Catholic Charities of the East Bay, said as she kept up with the latest news affecting the so-called Dreamers.

She said she has had trouble sleeping this year, worrying about how she would provide for her children if the program for people without immigration status is dropped and her work permit is stripped away.

DACA gave me hope, said Valdes, who for years was denied jobs because she lacked legal status and work authorization. I cant imagine how it would be to go back to that feeling.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, started in 2012 by former President Barack Obama, gave people like Valdes a work permit and shielded them from deportation, singling them out as unique because they had been raised in the country from a young age. But President Trump attacked the initiative during his campaign.

Advocates and politicians who favor progressive immigration policies initially reacted with joy after the administration, in a memo released late Thursday, said DACA would remain in effect. The memo  which rescinded a similar program called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA  seemed to signal a long-term reprieve for the Dreamers.

An accompanying document published by the Department of Homeland Security said DACA recipients will continue to be eligible for protection, and that no work permits will be terminated prior to their current expiration dates.

Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, said Friday on Twitter: After months of fear, #DACA has been saved. Theyre Americans in every sense except for a piece of paper.

But Homeland Security officials pushed back on these reactions, stating that the memos should not be interpreted as bearing any relevance on the long-term future of that program. DACA is still under review by the Trump administration, said Jenny Burke, an agency spokeswoman.

With regard to DACA, the president has remarked on the need to handle the issue with compassion and with heart, she said. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly recognizes that Congress is the only entity that can provide a long-term solution to this issue, she said.

The confusion over the announcement was symbolic of the precarious nature of DACA under Trump. Though he appeared inclined to scrap the program during his campaign, he has said as president that he is not after the Dreamers and that they shouldnt be very worried.

By officially dropping DAPA, another Obama-era program that attempted to expand protection from deportation to certain undocumented parents of American citizens, the Trump administration appeared to be placating its base  while avoiding a political storm led by immigration advocates, some analysts said. DAPA was never implemented after being tied up in the courts.

Trump is caught in a political catch-22, said Pratheepan Gulasekaram, a professor and immigration expert at Santa Clara University School of Law. Revoking DACA and setting all those DACA recipients up for deportation is not popular and would be litigated.

But Kevin Johnson, dean of the UC Davis School of Law, said uncertainty over the program would continue.

I do not think we have seen the end of the saga on the future of the original DACA, he said. The Trump administration does not seem to be in a rush to end it. Still, depending on the future political winds, the president could return to DACA and eliminate it. Nothing appears certain about DACAs future at this time.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

During his announcement of the program five years ago, Obama said DACA was intended as a temporary stopgap measure that could help lift the shadow of deportation for some people. But Obama was clear in saying that the protection was not a permanent fix and urged congressional action.

Since then, more than 750,000 people have qualified for DACA, with California leading the way, but more comprehensive immigration reform has failed to materialize.

Ive always lived with uncertainty and been in a perpetual state of anxiety, said Denia Perez, a 27-year-old law student at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and a DACA recipient. Some days are better than others. Ive learned to try to channel my energy to work for comprehensive, long-term solutions.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for more restrictive immigration policies, said she doubted Trump would allow DACA to continue indefinitely because that would institutionalize a program that he agreed was improper. One option, Vaughan noted, would be for the president to take the issue up in Congress as part of a broader immigration overhaul.

This solution probably would involve legalization (for some people) after he is able to restore meaningful interior enforcement and improve border security, she said.

For Valdes and other DACA recipients, the focus moving forward is to fight for the programs survival.

DACA being taken away is not an option, she said. What are we going to do to keep this program alive?

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz
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A fire that displaced more than 50 people in Santa Rosa was started by two children playing with lighters, officials said Friday.

The fire was reported at 2:42 p.m. on Aston Avenue near Hendley Street and caused extensive damage to several units in a six-unit building, fire officials said. Power was also cut to a neighboring building.
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San Franciscos KQED, the operator of public TV and radio stations, saw its online radio stream knocked out for more than 12 hours starting late Thursday and its email accounts rendered inaccessible in an apparent hacking attack.

According to several employees, KQED was attacked by ransomware, malicious software that infects a system, encrypts data and makes files or systems unusable until a ransom is paid. The employees asked that their names not be used because they had been instructed not to speak about the attack.

Handwritten signs tacked to the walls of the radio station instructed employees to stay off their computers and email.

Ransomware attacks have struck hotels, businesses and public utilities by capitalizing on weak network security. Once one computer is infected with malware, hackers can break into other devices on the network. It was not immediately clear how the ransomware got into KQEDs network.

The FBI is investigating the hack, employees said. Several agents were spotted at the station early Friday.

Angel investor Jason Calacanis, who was invited to the radio station to talk about his new book Friday, tweeted about running into agents there: Showed up @KQED for interview about my book & was told the FBI is here  all their systems were hacked!

The FBI on Friday would not discuss whether there was an investigation.

Once it became clear that something was wrong, KQED took immediate measures to shut down the network and minimize the impact, Brenda Tucker, the stations executive director of communications, wrote in an email.

Several shows had to find ways to work around the problem. Forum, a radio show that solicits questions from listeners, set up a temporary email address to receive comments and inquiries.

KQED observed suspicious activity late Thursday afternoon on several computers on the IT network, Tucker wrote. Our broadcast operations, TV and radio, were not affected and we have been on the air without interruption. We had an outage on the radio live stream from Thursday evening to 9:30 this morning. This was the only issue that has affected our services to the public.

It was not immediately clear how much money the hackers asked for or whether KQED paid a ransom to restore operations. The FBI does not recommend paying ransom, because doing so may fund further illicit activity. Instead, it encourages companies to update their software and regularly back up data.

One common way such malicious software spreads is when an employee opens a link or attachment containing a program on a computer whose security software has not been updated. The program then spreads across a corporate network. Bringing a network down allows systems to be cleaned and security software updated while stopping the spread.

Once theyre inside, they can get to pretty much everything, said Jake Williams, founder of cybersecurity firm Rendition InfoSec. Networks have a hard crunchy outside but a soft, soggy inside.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Last month, a ransomware attack struck tens of thousands of machines in nearly 100 countries by exploiting computers running on outdated software. Microsoft has since released patches for the malware, known as WannaCry.

But, Williams said, already similar attacks capitalizing on similar security holes are circulating.

Williams could not speculate on what kind of ransomware attack may have hit KQED, given the limited details, but said in some cases, malware can trick a computer into believing it is a human administrator, thereby granting it access to the entire system, including some back-up files.

In those cases, organizations may have to rebuild systems from scratch to get everything back online and avoid paying a costly ransom, he said.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Kevin Fagan contributed to this report.

Marissa Lang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mlang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Marissa_Jae
Attorneys for one of the two men charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in Oaklands Ghost Ship fire denied on Friday claims from prosecutors that their client blocked an exit stairwell at the warehouse and turned the structure into a death trap.

Lawyers for Max Harris, 27, dismissed the accusations as an attempt to make him a fall guy for the fire that killed 36 people and added that Harris actually tried to save lives as soon as the fire broke out during a music event on Dec. 2.

Harris and co-defendant Derick Almena, 47, the master tenant of the Ghost Ship, were expected to enter formal pleas at the Alameda County Superior Court before Judge Stuart Hing on Friday, but the hearing was postponed until July 7.

Its important for people to understand Max Harris never ran. Max Harris tried to save lives that night. Max Harris was present when the fire broke out. He was the first to try to put it out with a fire extinguisher, defense attorney Curtis Briggs, who started representing Harris a week ago, said at a news conference in San Francisco.

Briggs went on to say that on the night of the fire, Harris also broke a fence so that first responders and firefighters could enter the building to put out the inferno.

Theyre completely wrong, Briggs said of the Alameda County district attorneys office, whose report concluded that Harris had blocked one of the two stairwells of the Ghost Ship to prepare the warehouse for the party.

Briggs also emphasized that Harris did not promote the unpermitted electronic music event, nor did he collect money at the door the night of the blaze.

Harris aunt and three friends, including one who lived at the Ghost Ship until March 2016, spoke to Harris character.

If you talk even briefly with Max, you will find him to be a kind, caring, compassionate young man. I ask the public to please keep an open mind, said Laura Lind, Harris aunt, dressed in all black. She added that Harris has a gentle soul with a very tender heart.

Alexa Dunham, who lived at the Ghost Ship for one year with Harris, said Harris was just another tenant and never had any responsibilities, despite claims that he was Almenas right-hand man.

Max was always the peacekeeper, Dunham said.

Tony Serra, Almenas attorney, said outside the courtroom in Oakland that his client would plead not guilty on July 7 and will request that his bail be lowered from $1.08 million.

His defense will be focused on third party culpability, calling attention to PG&E, the Fire Department and the building inspectors.

Our client has been made a scapegoat and a shield, from our perspective, of the responsible parties of this case, Serra said.

Briggs said his plan for defending Harris is to illustrate Harris character and to call on authorities to hold responsible the warehouse owner, Chor Ng.

Shes a slumlord and what slumlords do is they allow deficient conditions (to) exist so they can profit, Briggs said.

At a news conference June 5, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley said both Harris and Almena knowingly created the fire trap.

Investigators have not identified the cause of the fire, but said the warehouse was full of highly flammable materials, including tapestries on the walls.

The buildings lone power source came from a neighboring auto-repair shop and was shared through a tangle of electrical wires that snaked through the building.

The district attorneys office would not say whether additional arrests would be made and declined to comment on the case Friday.

Lind, and two friends, including Dunham, sat in the courtroom, fidgeting and anxiously waiting to catch a glimpse of Harris. His eyes briefly peeked over a glass partition, glancing over to the gallery.

Attorneys for the family of Michela Gregory, one of the victims of the blaze, sat in the courtroom gallery watching intently.

Almenas wife was not present.

Both men are being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on $1,080,000 bond each.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
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The Monterey County Fairgrounds kicked off a three-day, 50th anniversary celebration of the Monterey International Pop Festival, which introduced the masses to the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding in 1967.

Now, five decades later, a few thousand festivalgoers wandered the fairgrounds Friday, many too young to have been there for the original event, decked in tie-dye, bell bottoms and flower crowns.

I was a huge Beatles nerd growing up and really a fan of the 60s in general, said 24-year-old Chadwick Jones of Seattle, sporting a bandanna, shades and jean jacket appropriate for the occasion. I read up a lot about the Summer of Love and learned about Monterey Pop through that, so I just thought it would be cool to be part of history.

The first days lineup included Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires and headliner Leon Bridges  who performed covers of original Monterey Pop acts  as well as Regina Spektor, Father John Misty and Monterey Pop 67 performer Eric Burdon, who played in the early evening with his band, the Animals.

For Lou Adler, 83, the original co-producer of Monterey Pop who also helped revive the event this weekend, it was almost like stepping back in time.

Its an emotional thing because immediately it starts memories flowing, Adler said during the first few hours of the festival. I thought a lot about the people that were here then and are unfortunately not now.

Indeed, Adler believes this years event  five decades later at the exact same site, on the exact same dates  is a time of reflection for the hippies of yore and the new generation being introduced to its first Monterey Pop experience.

Were going through some rough times  so its needed, Adler said. Theyre looking for something different than what is being fed to them. And as corny as it is, theyre looking for music and love.

Mariecar Mendoza is The San Francisco Chronicle arts content editor. Email: mmendoza@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SFMarMendoza Instagram: @sfchronicle_scene

Take a trip with The Chronicle team during Monterey Pop at www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment.

To learn more about the Summer of Love, go to www.sfchronicle.com/summer-of-love.

To purchase The Chronicles commemorative Summer of Love magazine, go to https://sfchronicle.myshopify.com.
By Press Trust of India: Karachi, Jun 16 (PTI) A 16-year-old Hindu girls alleged abduction and forced conversion in Pakistan has created an uproar among the countrys minority community.

The parents of Ravita Meghwar claim she had been abducted by the Syed community of Wanharo village near Nagarparkar in the southeast Sindh province on June 6.

They have filed a kidnapping and forced conversion report with the police, claiming that Nawaz Ali Shah, 37, kidnapped their daughter and forcibly converted and married her.

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The girl, who is now named Gulnaz, however, met with journalists in Umerkot yesterday and informed them of her consent in embracing Islam and marriage.

"I was married in the presence of Pir Muhammad Ayub Jan Farooqui in Samarro town in Umerkot district," she said.

Demanding protection for herself and her husband, the girl said that she had not been kidnapped but had eloped with Shah.

However, the Hindu community, along with the girls family, has insisted that she was kidnapped and forced to convert.

Her father Satram Das Meghwar alleged that influential members of the Syed community had kidnapped his daughter after giving sleeping pills to the family.

He alleged that despite frequent appeals, Thar police did not take any actions to trace the girl till she was forced to convert, the report said.

Ravitas brother-in-law Lajpat Meghwadh, who married her elder sister on April 29 this year said, "My wife is barely 18 years old. How can her younger sister be an adult?".

Interestingly, the marriage register has mentioned Shahs year of birth as 1980, and national identity card number on the marriage certificate, but Ravitas age has been written as "approximately 18" and her NIC number not mentioned. Similarly, the certificate of conversion to Islam also does not mention her date of birth and NIC (National Identity Card) number, listing her age as "approximately 18".

However, her primary school certificate shows that Ravita is only 16-year-old as she was born on July 14, 2001.

The PML-N member of national assembly from Thar and chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, has expressed his concern over the alleged abduction and the subsequent conversion of Ravita.

"A Hindu girl below 18 years of age cannot be converted according to the Hindu Marriage Act," he was quoted as saying by the report.

Terming the abduction of the girl an attempt to vitiate the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere of Thar, activists from various communities and political parties have demanded the early recovery of the girl and her production before a court of law, the report added.

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Scores of people have questioned the validity of the marriage certificate issued by the cleric and condemned the incident on social media, demanding a probe into the incident.

Earlier, an FIR was registered on the girls request at the Dano Dhandal police station against four persons ? Syed Nawaz Ali Shah, Syed Noor Ali Shah, Mohammad Nohrio Junejo and Sher Ali Junejo.

The latest case of alleged forced conversion and marriage of a Hindu underage girl comes at a time when apparently the government has swept the forced conversion bill, officially known as the Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities) Bill, under the carpet.

The bill was passed unanimously in November last year in the Sindh Assembly following numerous complaints that people, especially children, belonging to non-Muslim communities, were being forced to convert to Islam.

However, many religious parties took to the streets against the proposed law and announced a movement against it if the government did not retract it. PTI CORR/CPS AKJ MRJ

--- ENDS ---
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan famously removed solar panels from the White House roof, capping a misguided energy policy that severely slashed investment in renewable energy. Thirty-one years later, President Trump has committed a more consequential mistake by rejecting the Paris climate accord. But the story of how solar energy survived and thrived after Reagan holds an encouraging lesson for us.

After Reagan, states such as California stepped up and invested heavily in solar research, development and market incentives. Despite being slowed by a reduction in federal support, the progress over time was dramatic. Since Reagans election, the price of solar panels has fallen by 99 percent. Last year, solar energy was the single largest source of new electricity generation added to our nations electric grid, contributing about 40 percent of the total. Solar energy provides jobs for 260,000 people in America, compared to just 65,000 by the coal mining industry. Wind energy, which followed a similar trajectory, now employs more than 100,000 U.S. workers.

Bold leadership to combat climate change in the United States will not come from Washington, D.C., but from a combination of state and local efforts. But for these efforts to succeed, one falsehood must be debunked immediately.

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry recently signaled that the Trump administration may soon seek to undo all state and local renewable energy policies across the country on grounds that clean technologies such as wind and solar power pose a threat to grid reliability and, therefore, jeopardize national security.

While a convenient myth for the fossil-fuel industry, this is nonsense. To begin with, in the interest of national security, the military itself has become a national leader in adopting renewable energy. The U.S. Navy, for example, is quickly moving toward its goal of using 50 percent renewable energy by 2020.

In California, which has installed more clean energy than any other state, there have been no threats to the reliability of the electric grid caused by renewables. Instead, the three biggest threats to our grid over the last 20 years came from market manipulation (Enron et al, during the 2001 energy crisis), a nuclear plant failure (San Onofre, 2012) and the largest natural gas leak in history (Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, 2015). Rather than create these emergencies, renewable energy was part of the solution and continued to operate reliably and prevented these events from becoming worse.

Almost two-thirds of the new electric generation capacity added to the grid in the United States over the last two years has come from wind and solar. From a reliability perspective, this is a positive development. In August 2011, when a heat wave in Texas shut down 20 natural gas plants, it was wind power that kept the electric grid operator from having to black out areas of the state. In Iowa, wind power now provides 37 percent of the states electricity with no reduction in reliability.

What happens when the wind doesnt blow, or the sun doesnt shine? To answer that question, one needs to examine the many countries that have more renewable energy than we do. Wind and solar contribute a share 2.5 times larger in Germanys electricity mix (18.2 percent in 2016) than they do in the United States (6.9 percent). Germany produced 82 percent of its electricity from renewables for a period of several days in May. Denmark gets 100 percent of its electricity from renewables on many days of the year. Yet both nations have electric grids that are 10 times more reliable than Americas. Germany and Denmark average 23 and 24 minutes of customer outages per year respectively, while the United States averages 240 minutes per year.

These electric grids share several features that create stability. They have a diverse mix of renewables  onshore wind, offshore wind, photovoltaic and solar thermal power, geothermal power, hydropower and energy storage, mainly in the form of water pumped behind a dam. The European grid is a regional grid, and the sun is almost always shining, or the wind blowing, or water flowing, somewhere in Europe. Countries like Germany and Denmark also pay a lot of attention to weather forecasting, so that they can accurately predict and plan for how much solar and wind power they will generate. And they have electrified more of their economy than we have, including much of the rail network.

These are the defining qualities of the clean electric grid of the future. Clean energy is good both for the grid and the bottom line. Thats why the private sector here at home is now helping make it happen. Google, Walmart, General Motors, Facebook and Apple have all committed to using 100 percent renewable energy.

If the Trump administration does indeed seek to roll back state and local renewable energy policies on grounds that it jeopardizes the electric grid, then it would constitute yet another historic mistake. Rather than representing a threat to our electric grid, renewable energy is its future.

David Hochschild is a commissioner with the California Energy Commission, the states primary energy policy and planning agency. David Olsen is a member of the California Independent System Operator Board of Governors, which runs the states electric grid. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.
There are several monsters in ITVs mystery Loch Ness, making its U.S. premiere on Acorn TV on Monday, June 19, but they are all human.

The six-part miniseries, created and written by Stephen Brady (Vera), is set in the towns around the famous Scottish lake, where tourism is a major enterprise and Nessie is a constant, albeit unseen, presence.

One night, some high school students pull an elaborate prank on the beach, creating a fake monster body with animal parts. The kids are appropriately reprimanded, including Evie (Shona McHugh), daughter of local detective Annie Redford (Laura Fraser).

At the time, Annie is working with out-of-town cop Lauren Quigley (Siobhan Finneran), investigating the death of a local man whose body is found at the base of a mountain. When a human heart is discovered among the animal parts on the beach, Evies involvement in the prank temporarily sidelines her mother from the increasingly complicated investigation.

If the eventual resolution of the cases  plural, because there are other deaths  is legitimately surprising, its in part because Brady has cast suspicion on so many people in the village that they may as well all be named McGuffin. Is it the widowed doctor who threw the gay music teacher out of his house? Is it the murderer who has turned his life around after having been released from prison years before? Could it be the ex-murderers onetime cohort? Why is the single mother keeping her bedridden son sedated all the time? Time after time, Brady nudges us to put two and two together before taking gleeful pleasure in dispelling our suspicions.

In truth, the mystery is somewhat overplotted and there are scattered moments when we wouldnt fully believe certain character decisions, but were already too hooked on wanting to know who is responsible for the deaths of a music teacher, a socially awkward high school kid, and two of his classmates, not to mention a man anchored to the floor of the loch with a curling stone.

The eventual solution is monstrous.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV

Loch Ness: Mystery miniseries, premiering Monday, June 19, on the subscription service Acorn TV, at www.acorn.tv.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Infielder Trevor Plouffe was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday morning in a trade that will save the As money and could net the franchise a prospect.

Sources told The Chronicle that the As agreed to pay $2-plus million of the more than $3 million remaining on the salary of Plouffe, who was designated for assignment this week after batting just .214 in 58 games.
An influx of Boston terriers and Tibetan Spaniels have arrived at the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter after being rescued from a private residence in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Authorities confiscated the 34 dogs on Thursday from a Scotts Valley home after a concerned citizen contacted the shelter. Officers had received previous complaints of dogs being bred at the same address.
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Three men were arrested on suspicion of grand theft of avocados, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office announced Friday.

The men are suspected of stealing the fruit from their employer, Mission Produce in Ventura County, for resale purposes. In total, the company estimates that the suspects pilfered more than $300,000 worth of avocados.

"Everybody loves avocados," Ventura County Sgt. John Franchi told the LA Times, adding, "We take these kinds of thefts seriously."

Officials began investigating the suspects in May, when the company's president, Steve Barnard, was tipped off to potential thefts via customers and surveillance footage, the Times reported.

On Wednesday, authorities arrested Joseph Valenzuela, 38, of Santa Paula; Carlos Chavez, 28, of Oxnard; and Rahim Leblanc, 30, also of Oxnard, on suspicion of grand theft. While officials have yet to determine how many pounds of the fatty fruit were stolen, they suspect that the illegal sales had been ongoing for several months.

Detectives are investigating the possibility that the suspects sold avocados to "unknowing customers, who thought they were paying Mission Produce for the fruit," authorities said in a press release.

Barnard told the Times that Mission Produce, one of the largest avocado distributors in the world, sells a box of avocados for $50. He suspects the men were selling them far below market price  at $20 to $30 a box.

Avocado prices have skyrocketed in recent months as a diminished avocado crop in California and Mexico failed to meet the increased demand worldwide.

Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
Downtown Pleasanton was a zoo Friday afternoon, as about 150 steers and 60 riders on horseback marched down Main Street. The roadside rodeo, though a spectacle in itself, was just a warm-up for festivities to come.

On Friday, the Alameda County Fair kicked off its Opening Day celebration by giving Pleasanton residents a taste of the city's Old West heritage. The cattle drive snaked through the center of town, cheered on by a crowd of generally eager spectators, before culminating at the fairgrounds.
A man set his underpants on fire in a Modesto Walgreens Saturday, prompting a storewide evacuation.

45-year-old Andrew Cheadle reportedly told Modesto police that he had an accident, and when he could not remove his underwear, he attempted to use a lighter to burn them off, according to the Modesto Bee.

Cheadle then tossed the burning underwear in a toilet, extinguishing the fire and generating enough smoke to fill the bathroom. The Walgreens, at Standiford Avenue and Carver Road, was evacuated shortly thereafter, at about 9:20 a.m.

The suspect exited the store after admitting to employees that he had started the fire. Police found and arrested him in a nearby neighborhood, but not but not on suspicion of the pants fire. According to the Bee, Cheadle had two felony warrants issued from Sacramento.

Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
Taking a dig at the Bihar CM, Sushil Modi said that Nitish lacks courage to take action against Lalu's sons despite proof of both amassing illegally acquired properties.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: BJP has urged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to sack Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad's elder son and Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav on charges of acquiring 'benami' properties to the tune of crores.

Soon after Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) revoked the petrol pump license issued to Tej Pratap in 2011 on charges of acquiring the same by submitted forged documents, BJP leader Sushil Modi hit out at Nitish Kimar.

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Taking a dig at the Bihar CM, Modi said that Nitish lacks courage to take action against Lalu's sons from his cabinet despite proof of both amassing illegally acquired properties.

"Nitish has spoken vociferously against black money and benami property in the past. Why is he not able to muster courage to take action against Tej Pratap and Tejaswi? It is evident that in order to save his government, he is shifting the onus on the Centre to act on Lalu's sons," said senior BJP leader Modi.

According to Modi, an upcoming mall in Patna, belonging to Lalu's family was being built in violation of environmental laws. The BJP leader alleged how Lalu acquired several plots belonging to the MLA Cooperative Society in violation of by-laws.

He further slammed Nitish for turning a blind eye to the 'soil scam' involving Tej Pratap Yadav where he misused his position as the environment minister and sold the soil excavated from the mall site. It was sold at Rs 90 lakh to the Patna zoo without any tender.

"Despite several cases of corruption being brought in public domain involving Lalu and both his minister sons, Nitish is unable to take action against them. Lalu's sons have withheld several details of the properties they own. Nitish should take an action and get a FIR registered against Tej Pratap and Tejaswi for corruption," demanded Sushil Modi.

ALSO READ | Benami land deal: Income Tax Department attaches properties of Lalu Prasad Yadav's children

Sushil Modi responds to Shatrughan's audacity and the cheek remark, says chor ki daadhi mein tinka

ALSO WATCH | BPCL terminates licence of Tej Pratap Yadav's petrol pump

--- ENDS ---
Daleyza Avila-Hernandez walked into a Stockton dentist office Monday to have two teeth capped and two teeth removed. She died later that day, reports CBS, and family members of the 3-year-old are seeking answers.

While her daughter was undergoing the procedure at the Children's Dental Surgery Center in Stockton, Araveli Avila told Fox40 that she saw an ambulance pull into the lot. A nurse reportedly told Avila that Daleyza's heart had stopped.
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Lucie Watts sat on the sand of Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica Saturday, catching her breath beside her bright green surfboard.

The London resident had a flight out of the Bay Area that night at 7:30, but before she left, she said, she had to try surfing just once.

Watts joined scores of surfers who came to the beach for International Surfing Day, a celebration sponsored by the Surfrider Foundation that included a beach cleanup and a paddle-out with surfers both new and experienced.

Its tough; its really tiring, said Watts, 33, of her first attempt to paddle out into the ocean. I feel like I need more upper body strength. Its quite intense.

Not far from where Watts rested, Sid Naik threw bottle caps, candy wrappers, plastic bottles and other trash he had picked up from the beach into plastic bags.

The 17-year-old San Jose resident first became interested in beach cleanups through a school project and he plans to participate in a number of them during his summer break from the University Preparatory Academy, a charter school, he said.

Among the hundreds of cigarette butts that Naik picked up, he said, he also found plenty of half full beer bottles and one surfboard, broken in half.

If we stop the plastics from entering the ocean at this level, its really important because we can save lives, Naik said.

He picked up an abandoned tiny blue toy race car, washed it off and placed it on the bench nearby. His consolation prize for the day, he said.

Nearby, children dug holes with pink and blue shovels, skipped rocks into the water and played paddle ball with their family members. For many, it was just another beach day.

But for Watts, the day was somewhat of a triumph. She was able to get up on her knees as the water rippled underneath her board. Watts was determined, she said, and wasnt going to leave until she was able to stand up on the board.

I was just trying to rest to catch up, she said as her wet hair dripped onto the board.

Watts difficulty getting up on her board isnt uncommon for a beginner, especially in Northern California, where beach and weather conditions dont make it easy to learn how to surf, said Max Ernst, the board chairman for the Surfrider Foundations San Francisco chapter.

Last year, the celebration was held at Ocean Beach, notorious for its strong waves and currents, but this year the venue was shifted because Linda Mar is a good place for beginners to dab their toes in the water, Ernst added.

There were hoards of beginners in yellow jerseys, wading in the shallow water while more experienced surfers in black wetsuits ventured out farther.

Dedication to the sport is key in Northern California.

Surfing in (Northern California) is like training. (Surfing elsewhere), I never get cold. Wind is never that strong. I never get tired. If you can surf here, you can surf anywhere, said Jeff Young, a volunteer with the Surfrider Foundation.

For many surfers, calm, sunny weather and unruly waves  the opposite of whats commonly found at Northern California beaches  are crucial for surfing, Young said.

In Southern California, theres tons of babes and you hang out, Young said. Here, you cant even plan a beach day.

But Saturdays surfing event was an attempt to put aside all the factors that play into a perfect surf day, and instead was focused on spending time in the water with your friends, Young added.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
As the law school dean at UC Berkeley from 1992 to 2000, Herma Hill Kay was the first woman to lead any of the nations elite legal academies.

Beyond that  as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a friend for nearly a half century, put it  law teacher and scholar nonpareil, Herma has spearheaded countless endeavors to shape the legal academy and the legal profession to serve all the people law exists (or should exist) to serve, and to make law genuinely protective of womens capacity to chart their own lifes course.

Ms. Kay died in her sleep June 10 at age 82. She taught Berkeley law classes for nearly 57 years after becoming the schools second-ever female law professor in 1960. At the time of her appointment, only 14 women had previously gained tenure at U.S. law schools, and they were the subject of a book she had nearly completed at the time of her death.

Ms. Kays mentoring of women law students and young faculty opened the door to legal careers that simply did not exist before she and other women of her generation began to imagine them, law Professor Eleanor Swift said in a 2016 law review article.

One of those she mentored, as both a student and a teacher, described Ms. Kay as wonderful and somewhat terrifying.

She set tremendously high standards for her students, said Catherine Albiston, who Ms. Kay hired as a research assistant in the 1990s and is now a Berkeley law professor. We succeeded because Herma told us we could do this, at a time when there were not many women in law school.

She also worked to change the law, particularly in family relations.

As a member of Gov. Pat Browns Commission on the Family, Ms. Kay helped to draft Californias pioneering 1969 law establishing no-fault divorce, allowing couples to end their marriage voluntarily without having to prove that one spouse or the other had committed adultery or another culpable action. She then took a leading role in drafting a model no-fault law that was eventually adopted in some form by every other state, the last being New York in 2010.

She literally transformed the legal landscape of American family life, said Melissa Murray, the interim law dean at Berkeley.

The no-fault law was never undertaken to achieve equality between men and women, Ms. Kay told an interviewer in 2008. It was undertaken to try to get the blackmail out of divorce, and I think it has accomplished that.

With co-authors who included future Justice Ginsburg, Ms. Kay also produced a 1974 text on Sex Discrimination in the Law, the first published law book on the subject. The two had met at a conference on Women and the Law in 1971, and Ginsburg, in a 2015 tribute, said Ms. Kay had remained my wise, brave and cherished friend.

Born in South Carolina, Ms. Kay said her career path was influenced by a sixth-grade teacher, who told her after a classroom debate on the Civil War, If you were my daughter, Id send you to law school.

She attended Southern Methodist University and the University of Chicago Law School, where she edited the law review and graduated in 1959. After serving as a law clerk to California Supreme Court Justice Roger Traynor, she began her teaching career at Berkeleys Boalt Hall.

As the schools dean in the 1990s, she established the Center for Clinical Education, which helped students learn legal skills outside the classroom while providing legal aid for the needy.

Her insight was that Boalt was not going to survive as a top 10 school if it did not develop a clinical program, said Swift, who was the schools associate dean from 1998 to 2000. She was hiring a cadre of clinical professors ... and creating clinics that would serve the public interest, eventually including clinics on environmental law, legal issues in technology, and the death penalty.

When Gov. Pete Wilson led UC regents to ban race-based admissions in 1995, and California voters took the same step for all state and local government programs in 1996, Ms. Kay launched programs to try to maintain campus diversity without considering students race.

Swift said Ms. Kay and the schools admissions director began scouring the country for talented students of all backgrounds, and were able to attract a substantial minority enrollment without affirmative action.

Ms. Kay also served as chair of UC Berkeleys Academic Senate and as president of the American Academy of Law Schools, which in 2015 honored her for Lifetime Service to Legal Education and the Law, the first woman to receive the award.

She was also a pilot and an accomplished gardener.

Her husband, Carroll Brodsky, died in 2014. She is survived by three sons, Michael, John and Tom, and by four grandchildren.

A memorial service is being planned. The university said contributions to funds in Ms. Kays honor can be arranged by contacting alumni@law.berkeley.edu.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Davy Andrews is so adept at technology that hes become the de facto IT troubleshooter in his office. But theres one bit of tech he wont touch: self-driving cars.

I wouldnt want to be the first to jump into something with that kind of risk, said Andrews, 33, an administrative assistant at a New York investment firm. I would have to see enough evidence that it is safer, considerably safer. From where we are right now, its hard to imagine getting to that point.

Autonomous autos are advancing so rapidly that companies like Uber and Alphabets Waymo are beginning to offer robot rides to everyday consumers. But it turns out that the traveling public may not be ready. A recent survey by the AAA auto club found that more than three-quarters of Americans are afraid to ride in a self-driving car. And its not just Baby Boomers growing increasingly fearful of giving up the wheel to a computer, a J.D. Power study shows  its almost every generation.

One of the greatest deterrents to progress in this field is consumer acceptance, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in an interview this month at a department-sponsored conference in Detroit. If theres public concern about safety, security and privacy, we will be limited in our ability to help advance this technology.

Most commuters dont have access to a self-driving car, so Chao has called on tech companies to step up and explain how they work. She and other regulators advocate autonomy as a way to reduce the hundreds of horrific collisions that happen every day in regular automobiles. Among those that end up being fatal, 94 percent are caused by human error, according to federal authorities.

People will only become comfortable with driverless cars after they ride in them, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said last week. The largest U.S. automaker is testing 180 self-driving Chevrolet Bolts and ultimately plans to put them in ride-hailing fleets, though it wont say when.

You can talk about it, but until you experience it, self-driving cars are hard to comprehend, Barra told reporters at the GM factory that is building the Bolts north of Detroit. Once youre in the vehicle and you see the technology, you understand how it works.

A Michigan test facility for autonomous autos is looking at opening its proving grounds to the public to promote acceptance of driverless technology, said John Maddox, president of the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti.

What were considering in Michigan is the second Sunday or the fourth Sunday of every month, we would invite the public in and let them actually experience this technology, Maddox told a panel of lawmakers last week. Driving it and experiencing it is worth a thousand words and pictures.

The opportunity for autonomy to make a meaningful impact on public safety is immense. Last year, 40,200 people died in motor vehicle accidents on U.S. roads, the National Safety Council estimates. That was up 6 percent from the year before.

Forty thousand people a year is unacceptable, Alex Epstein, the councils senior director of digital strategy, said during a panel discussion at the TU-Automotive technology conference in Detroit last week. Its a jumbo jet going down every couple days.

Dangerous as it may be to operate cars themselves, many drivers are anxious about autonomous technology because they associate it with the fragility of electronic devices. Laptops crash and calls drop with nagging regularity. The consequence of a computerized car crash is much greater.

While it might be convenient to have a car drive for you, driving is a very high-stakes pursuit, said Andrews, who has no interest in letting a robot take the wheel of his Volvo. When things go wrong, its not the same as a normal computer error.

Another culprit killing consumer confidence has been automakers over-hyping the capabilities of todays driver-assist technologies. Thats led some drivers to drop their hands from the wheel even with systems built to require constant attention of the traffic environment, as was the case with the fatal crash last year of a driver in a Tesla operating in the semi-autonomous Autopilot mode.

Respondents to J.D. Powers survey made mention of the Tesla crash and recognized that vehicles with autonomous features can still get into accidents, said Kristin Kolodge, executive director of J.D. Powers driver-interaction research.

When youre not in control and the vehicle is in control, now youre in this dark space where you wonder What actually happens if the technology fails? she said. This fear of failure is the major reason consumers are wary.

Regulators investigated the Tesla crash and cleared the companys Autopilot system of fault in January. And the company hasnt been the only one to come under scrutiny  Daimler AG last year pulled Mercedes-Benz ads that consumer groups complained had wrongly suggested its E-Class sedan with driver-assist features was fully autonomous.

The television spot showed the driver removing his hands from the wheel, even though the automakers Drive Pilot system requires resuming control every 30 seconds.

The fastest way to make sure the public does not accept these technologies is to over-promise and then have some horrific crash because the consumer believed the capability was higher than it actually was, Epstein said.

Another impediment to consumer acceptance may arise from semi-autonomous features, which should inspire confidence and instead feel unnatural and annoying, said Lukas Kuhn, chief technology officer at Tourmaline Labs, a San Diego company that analyzes driving behavior for insurance and ride-sharing companies.

Driver-assist features like adaptive cruise control, which adjusts speed to the flow of traffic and lane keeping that steers a car back into the lines, can feel intrusive rather than intuitive.

In order to make the user buy into the feature, we have to make it feel more natural, Kuhn said. If I can drive this car way better than the machine, why should I take my hands off the wheel?

Keith Naughton is a Bloomberg writer. Email: knaughton3@bloomberg.net
State clamps down on leaks from gas pipelines, June 16, Business, C5

In some editions, the article incorrectly described the potency of methane. It is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping atmospheric heat.
PARIS  Ping! Tweet! Ring! Swoosh! Every command from a mobile phone that European Union holidaymakers or business people made Thursday must have felt like deliverance.

That was the first day when there were officially no more extra fees for using an EU handset in another EU country, the dreaded roaming charges that could add hundreds of euros to a vacation bill.

It was about time! We should have done it from the beginning because there are only benefits, said Malika Schreiber, a teacher from Frankfurt who was chaperoning 45 pupils under the Eiffel Tower during a school trip.

Depending on the number of wayward kids calling her, her bill could sometimes swell by $111. Not anymore.

Now I am happy that everyone can reach me every day, Schreiber said.

The 28-country EU should be a seamless area for mobile phone use as of now, following years of negotiations to cut often excessive costs to use a handset outside the home country.

Visitors with mobile network plans from non-EU countries would still face roaming charges. And there are reports that some mobile operators will try to make some money back by raising the base costs of text messages or calls.

But the elimination of extra roaming charges, which had long been used by EU critics to show the bloc was not really a union, is a small victory for the EUs executive.

With the roam like at home program in place, Alexandra Ahlberg, 21, can navigate the Champs Elysees much like she could the Avenyn boulevard in her Swedish home town Gothenburg, at no excessive cost.

You can use for directions, you can search for restaurants, shops and where they are located, she said on the famous Parisian boulevard. Before, the only option was to use a map. Now you use your phone, which is great.

European leaders were rushing to hail their accomplishment of an EU working hard for its citizens.

We have added yet another important building block to the edifice of our single market, to our existence as Europeans, said European Parliament President Antonio Tajani.

Some noted, however, that there is still much work to do to ensure a seamless digital network across the EU, with some noting that access to mobile and broadband services can be uneven from one region to the next.

The next essential step must be a framework that ensures investment in digital infrastructure, said BusinessEurope Director General Markus Beyrer.

Oleg Cetinic and Raf Casert are Associated Press writers.
The chief deputy prosecutor took charge of the Contra Costa County District Attorneys office Friday, two days after its head man, Mark Peterson, resigned in a plea deal that spared him jail time on charges of misusing campaign funds and perjury.

Doug MacMaster, who was second in command when the scandal broke out, told employees that he will hold down the job until the Board of Supervisors appoints a permanent replacement.

Our county administrator anticipates the selection process will take two or three months, but this is a very rough estimate regarding largely uncharted territory, MacMaster wrote in a memorandum Friday.

The decision on succession followed legal protocol in a case Petersons defense attorney called a Shakespearean tragedy.

The district attorney was serving his second term in office and was seeking a third term when state prosecutors revealed last week that they were in the midst of a criminal investigation related to his campaign funds. Investigators served a search warrant at his office, and an affidavit showed they were seeking personal email, bank records, calendars and personal electronic devices that might contain evidence that Peterson engaged in perjury, embezzlement, fraud or grand theft.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra eventually filed 13 felony charges against Peterson in connection with his admitted use of $66,000 in campaign funds for personal expenditures.

State prosecutors agreed to drop 12 of the charges Wednesday in exchange for Petersons resignation and his agreement to plead no contest to one count of perjury for making false statements on state campaign disclosure forms.

It marked a sad end to a long and illustrious public service career which spanned more than three decades, MacMaster wrote in his memo announcing he would be assuming the duties of his long-time boss.

Peterson must perform 250 hours of community service and serve three years of probation, according to the plea bargain. He is barred from practicing law and cannot run for public office during those years.

Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @pfimrite
Amit Shah said no one considered the PM the PM in the Manmohan Singh government, but that things were different in the Narendra Modi administration. On the Shiv Sena's proposals for the Presidential nomination, Shah said his party was open to all suggestions.

By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: BJP President Amit Shah today said that in the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, no one considered Manmohan Singh as the PM, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi had now restored the "pride" associated with the post.

"In (the) earlier government, every minister thought of themselves as the PM," Shah said.

His comments came at a press conference in Mumbai, where he earlier met with members of the Maharashtra BJP unit's core committee. He's on a 3-day tour of Mumbai ahead of the Presidential polls.

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On the Shiv Sena's proposals for the Presidential nomination, Shah said his party was open to all suggestions.

The Sena on Friday said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was its first choice for the post. However, it tweaked its stand a little, proposing eminent agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan's name - if someone objected to Bhagwat's candidature.

'BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT THE CREATION OF A TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT'

The BJP chief listed some of the achievements of the Modi government, saying that One Rank One Pension (OROP) was implemented within a year, and that last September's surgical strikes demonstrated India's strength to fight back.

The biggest achievement was the creation of a transparent government, he said.

On demonetisation, Shah said the Congress had allowed the use of benami properties, and that the Modi government had successfully implemented 'note bandi,' an attack on black money.

Ahead of tomorrow's Champions Trophy final between India and Pakistan, Shah said the two nations will continue to play in international tournaments, but neither will play on the other's soil.

(With inputs from ANI)

ALSO READ | Presidential election 2017: Amit Shah begins three-day Mumbai tour, to meet Uddhav Thackeray

ALSO READ | PM Modi flags off Kerala's first metro in Kochi

ALSO READ | Inaugurating Kochi Metro, Narendra Modi says 1000 women, 23 transgenders selected as employees

ALSO WATCH | Amit Shah defends chatur baniya remark on Mahatma Gandhi, flays Congress' Randeep Surjewala

--- ENDS ---
It took months of quiet diplomacy, a change in U.S. presidents and an American diplomats extraordinary, secret visit to Pyongyang to bring Otto Warmbier home.

U.S. special envoy Joseph Yun was a household name to almost no one before Warmbiers return to Ohio on Tuesday, yet he joins an exceedingly short list of U.S. officials to set foot in North Korea in recent years. The last such visit is believed to have been in November 2014, when former National Intelligence Director James Clapper brought home two other jailed Americans.

New details that have emerged about Yuns brief visit to the North Korean capital illustrate the deep level of estrangement between the U.S. and North Korea, two countries that dont have diplomatic relations and have technically been in a state of war for more than half a century, despite the armistice that ended the Korean War.

When Yun finally laid eyes on the comatose Warmbier in a North Korean hospital, it was the first time the U.S. could verify his condition in person since his sentencing more than a year earlier, the State Department said.

For Yun, a longtime Asia hand who joined the foreign service in 1985, the trip was the culmination of a series of delicate and rare conversations between the U.S. and North Korean officials that transpired since President Trump took office. They started in Norway  a nation playing the role of neutral third party  and moved to New York, where North Korean diplomats are accredited at the United Nations.

Warmbier, 22, spent almost a year and a half in captivity after being arrested in January 2016. The North accused the University of Virginia student of entering the country under the guise of a tourist and plotting against the nations unity with the tacit connivance of the U.S. government.

Paraded before the media a month later in Pyongyang, he tearfully apologized for attempting to steal a political banner from a staff-only section of his hotel. The Swedes, who represent U.S. interests in North Korea, managed to visit him in March 2016, a few weeks before he was sentenced to 15 years hard labor.

The quiet diplomacy, as the State Department put it, came at a time of North Korean missile tests and increasing U.S. pressure on Kim Jong Uns totalitarian government. In February, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson briefed Trump on the Americans held in North Korea. Trump directed him to do everything possible to secure their release, officials said.

Then in May, Yun met in the Norwegian capital of Oslo with senior officials from North Koreas Foreign Ministry. The North Koreans agreed to let Swedish diplomats visit the U.S. detainees, including Warmbier. Shortly after the Swedish visits, the North reached out to the U.S. with an urgent request to meet in person.

Yun met with the North Korean ambassador to the U.N. in New York on June 6 and was told of Warmbiers medical status. Over the next days, officials said, Tillerson and Trump discussed the case. Tillerson then dispatched Yun to North Korea. Its unclear if Yun knew as he departed if hed be allowed to bring Warmbier home.

Josh Lederman and Matthew Pennington are Associated Press writers.
NORRISTOWN, Pa.  Bill Cosby, the comedian and actor once known as Americas Dad for his TV role as paternal Dr. Cliff Huxtable, avoided a conviction on Fathers Day weekend as a jury deadlocked on charges he drugged and molested a woman more than a decade ago.

Prosecutors found themselves back to square one Saturday when the judge declared a mistrial after more than 52 hours of deliberations over six days.

Excoriated by the defense for charging Cosby in the first place, District Attorney Kevin Steele pledged to put him on trial a second time, saying accuser Andrea Constand supported the decision.

She has shown such courage through this, and we are in awe of what she has done, Steele said. Shes entitled to a verdict in this case.

Cosbys team declared victory, however temporary. By sowing doubt among one or more jurors, Cosbys lawyers managed to overcome two years of unrelentingly bad publicity for their client after the public release of his damaging testimony about drugs and sex, as well as a barrage of accusations from 60 women who came forward to accuse him of sexual assault.

Constand told jurors Cosby gave her pills that made her woozy and then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay paralyzed on a couch, unable to tell him to stop. The 2004 encounter at Cosbys suburban Philadelphia estate was the only one to result in criminal charges.

Constand is ready to go to trial again, said her lawyer, Dolores Troiani.

Shes a very spiritual woman. She believes things happen for a purpose, and I think the purpose is ... it should encourage other women to come forward and have their day in court.

The jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on any of the three counts against the comedian, ending the trial without a verdict.

Cosbys team immediately went on the attack. The entertainers wife of 53 years, Camille, slammed prosecutors for bringing the case to court, calling Steele heinously and exploitively ambitious in a statement released after the trial. She also criticized the judge, the accusers lawyers and the media.

How do I describe the judge? Overtly arrogant, collaborating with the district attorney, said her statement, which was tweeted by her husband and read by an associate of the public relations firm representing Cosby.

Cosby himself didnt comment, remaining stoic as the judge declared a mistrial.

It wasnt immediately known how many jurors wanted to convict and how many wanted to acquit. None of the jurors commented after the trial ended.

Maryclaire Dale and Michael R. Sisak are Associated Press writers.
By Press Trust of India: Bhubaneswar, Jun 17 (PTI) BJP today said it would undertake a silent protest across Odisha tomorrow against egg attacks on several union ministers during their visits to the state recently.

Besides protesting the egg attack allegedly by BJD activists on the vehicle of Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram in Kendrapara on June 14, the party activists would also seek proper probe in the gang rape and killing of a widow in Dhenkanal district recently. Announcing the programme at a press meet here, BJP Odisha units Vice President Samir Mohanty said the silent protest would be held in areas under all the municipalities, Notified Area Councils (NACs) and Zilla Parishad Zones of the state. "The decision to hold silent protest in a peaceful manner was taken to counter violent methods being adopted by the ruling BJD in the state," Mohanty said, referring to the egg attack on Orams vehicle during his Kendrapara visit. The party activists would also protest the egg attack earlier on Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singhs vehicle in Bhubaneswar, he said. Stating that violence has no place in a democratic set-up, the BJP leader said the frequent attacks on central ministers by "BJD goons with the cooperation of police" had posed a serious a threat to the democracy. Alleging that investigation into the dalit womans gang rape and killing in Kankadahada area of Dhenkanal was conducted in a shoddy manner, Mohanty said some more people were involved in the June-12 incident, but they were not booked by the police. Claiming that ruling BJD is shaken by the surge of BJP in the state, he said in a desperate attempt to regain its grip over the people the regional party was now resorting to violence against political opponents. PTI SKN PR PS

--- ENDS ---

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A group of doctors challenging Californias right-to-die law for terminally ill patients can try to prove that the law treats some vulnerable patients unfairly by stripping them of legal protections, a judge ruled Friday.

Attorney General Xavier Becerras office sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the doctors could not show that they or their patients would be harmed by the law, because all of its provisions are voluntary. But Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottolia said the physicians, backed by the Life Legal Defense Foundation, had presented arguments that, if substantiated, could show the law is unconstitutional.
This year, nearly 17 lakh students from Bihar appeared for matriculate (class 10) board examination.

By India Today Web Desk: The Bihar School Education Board (BSEB) is all set to declare the matriculate or class 10 board results on Tuesday, June 20.

Once the Bihar Class 10 results will be declared, all the candidates can check the same at biharboard.ac.in

Here's what BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said:

"We are working out the modalities. Things are in an advanced stage," BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said in recent HT report.

How to check Bihar Class 10 board results:

Go to the official website, biharboard.ac.in

Click on relevant link

Enter you roll number and other required details in prescribed format

Click to submit

Results will be displayed on the computer screen

Download the Class 10 results and take print out of the same for future reference.

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After Ruby Rai, this year also, Bihar board came under the topper scam fiasco.

Bihar Class 12 toppers scam:

This year, Ganesh Kumar from Ram Nandan Singh Jagdeep Narayan Higher Secondary School in Samastipur secured the first position in Arts stream with 82.60 per cent.

(Read: Bihar Board 41-year-old topper Ganesh arrested for fraud, possessed fake name and has two kids)

The 24-year-old Ganesh Kumar scored 65 out of 70 in music practicals.

While speaking to Rohit Kumar Singh, India Today, Ganesh said, "I don't know much about music. I just attended a couple of music classes in the last two years that I spent in college before appearing for the intermediate exam." He further added, "I never thought I would become a topper in Bihar Board. I was a satisfactory student but never thought that I would top the exams."

Verification of toppers:

Leaving no stone unturned, the board has also planned to conduct verification of top 10 performers to prevent any chance of forgery.

The Bihar board conducted the Class 10 examination in the month of May.

Total number of Bihar Board Class 10 students:

It is said that nearly 17 lakh students from Bihar appeared for matriculate (class 10) board examination this year.

Important note: Unlike Class 12, in matriculation (class 10), there is just one topper.

About BSEB:

The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is established for holding and conducting an examination at the end of the Secondary School stage, for prescribing course of studies for such examination and for carrying out such other objects and duties as may be considered necessary for the purpose as stated in the act, rules and regulations of the board.

Read: Bihar Board Class 12 Intermediate Results 2017: Toppers from each stream

For more updates, follow India Today Education or you can write to us at education.intoday@gmail.com

--- ENDS ---
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

BART police are asking for the public's help to find a 17-year-old girl from Lafayette who went missing in San Francisco Thursday night as she was on her to way to catch BART.

Ashlyn Spellman had reportedly been working at a Shakespeare summer camp as a volunteer. On Thursday afternoon, at about 3:45 p.m., two coordinators from the summer camp dropped her off at the North Berkeley BART station, BART officials said.

BART police were able to obtain surveillance video of her entering the BART station.

BART police also learned that Spellman then took BART to San Francisco, where she met with a friend. The friend told investigators that at about 8:30 p.m. Spellman left and said she was heading to Oakland on BART and she has not been seen or heard from ever since.

Spellman does not have a cellphone or a debit card in her possession, according to BART officials.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact (510) 464-7000 or Detective C. Lahanas at (510) 464-7047.
A person was rescued this afternoon from a cliff at Baker Beach in San Francisco, fire officials said on Twitter.

The rescue was first reported 2:36 p.m. near Battery Crosby.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) The CBI today registered a case of murder to probe the mysterious death of IAS officer Anurag Tiwari whose body was found on a pavement in upmarket Hazratganj area of Lucknow on May 17.

According to the rules, the CBI re-registers an FIR which is registered by the state police keeping content and accused same.

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The agency can, however, differ in conclusion with the state police in its final report.

Tiwari, a 2007-batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, was found dead on May 17, his birthday, under mysterious circumstances near a guest house, where he was staying, in the high-security Hazratganj area of Lucknow.

He was posted as commissioner in the department of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs in Bengaluru.

36-year-old Tiwaris family had alleged foul play.

"My son was very honest. Corrupt officers did not like him. They must have somehow got him murdered," Tiwaris father B N Tiwari had alleged in Bahraich, his native place.

Post-mortem report had indicated that Tiwari had died of asphyxia but police had said that an SIT team probing the case was awaiting the test reports of his viscera, blood samples and heart to find the exact cause of the death.

The agency has taken over the case by re-registering the case of murder against unidentified persons. PTI ABS KIS

--- ENDS ---
By Mayuresh Ganapatye: On the backdrop of BJP national president Amit Shah's visit to Mumbai, AAP leader Preeti Menon showed a report card of corrupt BJP MLAs and MPs. According to her, 24 BJP leaders are involved in different scams. Preeti Menon this time produced some new links which claimed that Ashish Shelar is linked with companies which have got connection with NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal.

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"A company called Sarveshwar Logistics Private Limited conducted no business but amassed properties with loans and share application money. Sarveshwar Logistics Private Limited has Ashish Shelar and Mahesh Baldi as directors. Baldi is also a director and shareholder in a company called Fantasy Commosale Pvt Ltd. Mahesh Baldi is also is a shareholder and director in Discovery Buildcon Pvt Ltd which owns shares in Fantasy Commasole Pvt Ltd. Discovery Buildicon has been investigated for transferring money to Chhagan Bhujbal's companies, "alleges Menon.

Today in a press conference, AAP leader Menon accused Maharashtra CM of shielding his leaders and giving them clean chit. She questioned Fadnavis why there was no action taken against BJP Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar for money laundering. Last year in July, AAP had exposed Shelar's involvement in shell companies of Kolkata Module.

Ashish Shelar refuted all allegations against him, " I have already cleared everything last year with proofs and papers. Have no role in any of the companies. Have produced the letter of resignations also," said Ashish Shelar.

In this matter, competent authorities like EOW, ACB have not registered case against Ashish Shelar citing reasons of jurisdiction thus Menon had written emails to Home Ministry, CBI and ED to look into the allegations against Ashish Shelar. Menon through media also requested Amit Shah for appointment to show him the report card of his Maharashtra leader's corruption.

--- ENDS ---
During the brief conversation, Banerjee apprised Singh about the measures taken by the state government to contain the violence.

By India Today Web Desk: While Darjeeling continues to simmer with violence, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to take stock of the situation.

During the brief conversation, Banerjee apprised Singh about the measures taken by the state government to contain the violence.

Singh asked Banerjee to take all measures to restore peace in the region where locals are protesting against the imposition of Bengali in schools.

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The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which is in power in the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, has started an agitation demanding a separate state - Gorkhaland.

TOP DEVELOPMENTS Army has been deployed in Darjeeling to assist civil authority. The region has been on the boil for the past 10 days over the demand for a separate state. Six columns continue to be deployed in the region. Earlier today, GJM activists and the police in which one person was killed and 35 security personnel were injured, including an India Reserve Battalion (IRB) officer seriously. In Kolkata, Chief Minister Banerjee said, "What is happening today is a deep-rooted conspiracy. So many bombs and arms cannot be gathered in a day." "I am ready to sacrifice my life, but I will not allow Bengal to be divided," she added. Bannerjee claimed the GJM has connections with insurgent groups in the Northeast and some foreign countries. She, however, did not name any insurgent group or foreign country. Army contingents were deployed to control the situation and they staged flag marches in several areas of the violence-hit hill district, where the indefinite shutdown to press for a separate Gorkhaland entered the third day. The home ministry had yesterday put on hold sending additional paramilitary personnel to Darjeeling as no report on the ground situation had come from the West Bengal government. The GJM has claimed that four of its supporters were killed after police opened fire on them. However, the police have refuted GJM's claims. The violence intensified after the police allegedly raided the The GJM-sponsored indefinite shutdown is showing no signs of ending after the police allegedly raided and Trinamool Congress cadres allegedly vandalised the residence of GJM assistant general secretary Binay Tamang late on Friday night. In fresh clashes that erupted today morning, the protesters pelted the security personnel with stones and threw bottles at them, who retaliated by firing teargas shells.

ALSO READ:

Simmering Darjeeling: How municipality politics recast Gorkhaland stir afresh

Darjeeling protests turn violent; 3 GJM supporters killed in firing claims party, cop critical

Bimal Gurung: Gorkhaland dreamer and the man behind Darjeeling's hot summer

ALSO WATCH THE VIDEO:

--- ENDS ---
The exercise is in wake of an adverse report of BJP's central observers after the MCD polls. They not only found office bearers inexperienced and under-performing, but also pointed out financial irregularities.

By Rakesh Ranjan: The Delhi BJP has begun a hunt for new faces in the state unit - a move aimed to improve the functioning of the party and redrawing its future strategy.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari has sought a list of 50 BJP leaders, including former office bearers and those sidelined in the party, in recent times.

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Two Delhi BJP leaders have been asked to prepare the list that will be verified by South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri. Subsequently, Tiwari will hold a meeting with selected workers and leaders, which sources said, might be included in the Delhi BJP team of office bearers. A decision in this regard was taken on Friday.

It was decided that a state office bearer and another leader will prepare the list of former state and district office bearers who will attend the meeting. Tiwari has instructed the meeting to be convened before June 25.

WHY THE DELHI BJP RESHUFFLE?

Sources said the exercise indicated a possible reshuffle in the Delhi BJP in wake of an adverse report of BJP's central observers after the MCD polls. The central observers not only found office bearers inexperienced and under-performing, but also pointed out financial irregularities.

"The Delhi BJP wants to utilise all its resources and experience of its senior leaders in a constructive way. This will strengthen the organisation ahead of the next Assembly election. A list of around 50 former office bearers will be prepared and they will meet Tiwari before the end of next week," said a party leader.

According to a party insider, a number of BJP leaders who were sidelined in the present team, have years of experience in organisational skills and had performed when responsibilities were given to them in previous teams.

"Leaders who held positions in the state unit or as district presidents and general secretaries will be called for the meeting," he said. To avoid over-crowding and turn it into a fruitful exercise, it has been decided that the past record of the leaders will be considered. A proper scrutiny will be done, a leader said.

Also read: Presidential election 2017: How BJP, Congress have picked candidates

Also read: BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha bats for 'pitamah' LK Advani as India's next president

Also read: Rahul to visit grandmother in Italy, BJP calls it a 'picnic'

--- ENDS ---
If you wish to inspect the front lines of the conflict between Donald Trump and California, head for San Diego.

Yes, so far the Golden States fight against the president has taken place in the courts and in cyberspace. And, sure, challenging The Donalds legitimacy is not a mere local pastime but an all-consuming statewide prizefight. But as a matter of geography, culture and economy, the California-Trump war feels more intimate and higher-stakes in greater San Diego.

What makes Trumps wild swings land as punches in San Diego? Because the city is more deeply tied to the United States than Californias other big regions. Los Angeles and the Bay Area define themselves as global mega-regions that deviate from national norms. But San Diego is unapologetically American  Americas Finest City being its most durable slogan. And because San Diego is the nations biggest border city and home to one of the worlds heaviest concentrations of military power, many San Diegans represent America not just as civic commitment but as professional duty.

But San Diego practices an open-hearted brand of Americanness that doesnt mesh well with Trumpian isolationism. The population of active military and veterans leavens its patriotism with hard-won wisdom about the world. And San Diego institutions have built ever-closer ties to Mexico, encouraging cross-border commutes, contemplating a cross-border Olympic bid, and constructing an airport terminal that spans the border with Tijuanas airport.

And so Trumps obsession with border security is a threat to San Diegos daily routine. The presidents increased deportations have inspired fear among immigrants in the city, and his blasts against cities that dont use police to enforce immigration laws (San Diego among them) have inspired a poisonous backlash against federal law enforcement.

Further inflaming tensions, the Trump administration has made San Diego the host of the contest to design the presidents promised border wall. Sometime this month, contestant firms are expected to build samples of their border wall designs in the Otay Mesa neighborhood, which could touch off enormous protests.

Trumps bigoted smear of refugees as security threats doesnt go down well in the region, long a California leader in welcoming refugees. San Diego County has taken in roughly half of all the Syrian refugees who have settled in California.

Trumps antitrade policies are a challenge for the border regions economy and his attempts to restrict travel are seen as a danger to the huge tourism industry, which attracts more than 34 million visitors a year. His campaign against environmental regulation and proposed cuts to health and science funding threaten San Diegos many top research institutes (studying everything from climate change to Alzheimers disease) and its life science companies.

The litigious Trump should stay out of San Diego courts. He made few friends in the regions legal community last year with his racist attacks on U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, a San Diegan who is a highly respected member of the legal community there, for decisions in litigation against Trump University. Curiel is now assigned to a potentially precedent-setting case challenging the Trump administrations deportation of a 23-year-old man who appeared to be legally in the United States.

For all of Trumps provocations, opposing a president doesnt come all that naturally to San Diego, a military town accustomed to saluting the flag and superior officers. Trump also has nodded in San Diegos direction by proposing big increases in defense spending that could be a boon to the military and the areas many defense-related businesses.

And San Diegos middle-of-the-road politics  the countys voters are closely split between Democrats and Republicans  makes dealing with Trump trickier than it is in Californias other, monolithically Democratic coastal cities.

So Trump poses a quandary for San Diegos popular mayor, Kevin Faulconer, a Republican considered a possible contender for governor next year. Faulconer is not a Trump supporter, in word or deed  he backs comprehensive immigration reform, speaks Spanish, promotes cross-border trade, and touts his citys Climate Action Plan. But his ambitions will require him to win the support of the small but powerful Republican base of voters who still mostly support Trump. Faulconer and other local Republicans, especially Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista (San Diego County), have had to walk a fine line between respecting a president of their party and criticizing Trumps many affronts to decency and common sense.

The California-Trump war is still young. Its possible that the president and his self-destructive tendencies will make it easier for San Diego to unite and oppose him with full force. But if the president hangs in and gains traction on his border, immigration, trade and budget policies, while delivering more money to the regions defense industry, then steel yourself, San Diego, for very bitter fights in your very beautiful city.

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zocalo Public Square. Twitter: @Joemmathews. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation claims that desilting has been successfully carried out across Delhi, but a reality check by Mail Today paints a grim, grime and filthy picture.

By Arpan Rai: Monsoon will remain a nightmare for residents of Delhi, owing to the grime and dirt of drains left out in the open. While the East Delhi Municipal Corporation officials claim desilting has been successfully carried out across Delhi, a reality check by Mail Today reveals the horror enveloping streets of east Delhi.

"There are 221 drains in Delhi where desilting has been carried out. Workers have covered almost every drain. After waiting for 2-3 days for the muck to dry out, we have transferred it from streets to landfills," said a EDMC official.

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According to a senior official, EDMC has been desilting the city since October, keeping the low-lying topography of Delhi that leads to overflowing of drains during the monsoon. The official added that March saw intensive desilting. "Ideally the process of desilting comes to an end before the monsoon arrives - around second week of June," he told Mail Today.

Residents near Maujpur claim they have been living a nightmare everyday owing to traffic-choked roads and filthy plots, meant for construction of metro station. They have given up on corporation officials.

Mamta Arora, a resident of the locality, blamed the unmanned traffic. Sanjay Yadav, a resident of BJP MLA Om Prakash Sharma's constituency, Vishwas Nagar echoed severe health issues that bother his fellow residents.

Meanwhile, for residents near the drain flowing in Seelapur, which looks far from desilted, the machine brought for desilting broke down within an hour of its operation on Friday. Mail Today found that the picture is similar in Mayur Vihar extension as well, with one resident recalling the day when he narrowly escaped an accident due to the filth on streets.

Also read: Health ministry's surgical strike at Delhi market reveals dark side of medicine hub

Also read: Delhi adopts three-pronged strategy to fight 3-fold increase in dengue cases

--- ENDS ---
PARIS  U.S. President Trump tweets five times a day and regularly gives extended interviews. Since Emmanuel Macron became president of France last month, voters have barely heard from him.

Macron has had one short conversation with a newspaper, left tweeting to his communications team and avoided direct contact with the traditional media. The glimpses the French public has had of its new leader have largely been confined to set-piece events with foreign dignitaries, tightly controlled speeches and made-for-Facebook video clips.

Pollsters say the approach is set to give him a majority in the National Assembly Sunday. The question is whether it will keep voters on his side once he gets down to running the country.

Rarity will be difficult to maintain in the age of social media, said Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, a communications consultant and professor at the Sciences Po institute in Paris. It has worked very well during this very particular period. The risk is that it wont work for governing. Macron himself has proved one thing  the electorate is very volatile.

While the styles of the U.S. and French presidents are as different as their ages, their politics and their backgrounds, both have scorned conventional wisdom on political communication after victorious campaigns that were widely dismissed at the outset.

In Macrons case, the strategy hinges on rationing his public appearances to add weight to his words on the rare occasions that he does speak.

A recent survey by OpinionWay projected that approach will see the presidents party win a majority of at least 300 in the 577-seat legislature after the runoff vote this weekend.

But his ways have alienated one group that his predecessors worked hard to keep on side: the French media.

Within hours of his inauguration, Macrons team raised hackles by trying to cherry-pick the journalists who would accompany him on a visit to troops in Mali. The labor ministry has launched a legal investigation into a leak. And last week Justice Minister Francois Bayrou tried to bully news organizations into ignoring his possible misuse of European Parliament funds.

Does the new executive have a problem with the press? Liberation, Agence France-Presse, BFM TV and dozens of other media asked in an opinion piece Tuesday that listed a variety of run-ins with the government. When it comes to freedom of information, they opt to apply pressure, take legal action and question motives.

The new presidents strategy is based on techniques devised by Jacques Pilhan, a Communist poker player and communication guru who worked for Francois Mitterrand, the Socialist who dominated French politics in the 1980s and was nicknamed The Sphinx for his long periods of public silence.

Helene Fouquet and Mark Deen are Bloomberg News writers.
1 Syrian children: The U.N. childrens agency warned Friday that a critical funding shortfall is threatening aid to 9 million Syrian children, both in their country and among the refugees in neighboring states. UNICEF said the $220 million budget gap to its Syria relief programs is the worst it has faced since the start of the conflict, in 2011. It appealed for $1.4 billion in 2017 to provide relief and education to children orphaned, displaced, wounded or otherwise affected by the Syria war.

2 Missing sailors: Seven Navy sailors are missing and two were injured  including the captain  after a U.S. destroyer collided Saturday morning with a Philippine-registered container ship 56 nautical miles off the coast of Yokusuka in southwest Japan, the countrys coast guard reported. TV footage showed heavy damage to the mid-right side of the Fitzgerald. A U.S. defense official said there is flooding in three compartments. Yokusuka is home to the 7th Fleet. Adm. John Richardson, chief of Naval Operations at Yokosuka, said Navy, Japanese maritime defense vessels and the Japanese coast guard are working to stabilize the badly damaged ship.
IMVEPI, Uganda  Bakita Juma doesnt like to think about her dead parents because it makes her cry. The slender teenager would rather focus on the woman whom aid officials recently chose to raise her and her siblings on a small piece of earth in what has become the worlds largest refugee settlement.

Bakita says she likes her new mother. As for her two younger siblings, it is impossible to tell.

One of the consequences of South Sudans civil war has been the thousands of children fleeing without parents or guardians, without documentation, often with nothing but treasured possessions like a saucepan or a chicken. It is a humbling sight, even for veteran aid workers who have seen it all.

The children, referred to as unaccompanied minors, pose serious challenges for aid workers who quickly have to figure out what to do with them when they cross the border. Even when the children show maturity far beyond their years, they still need the care of foster parents.

We have foster banks where we identify potential foster parents and we train them on their roles and responsibilities, on childrens rights, said Richard Talagwa, a child protection specialist with World Vision in Uganda.

He said they aim to match children with foster parents who have good character and speak the same language, because when people are from the same tribe they will always ensure that they take care of their children who come from the same community.

Over 10,500 children have arrived with strangers or relatives who are not their parents and now live in the Bidi Bidi and Imvepi refugee settlements in northern Uganda, according to World Vision, which has put more than 3,000 of them into foster care. The rest have been reunited with family, Talagwa said.

The 15-year-old Bakita and her foster mother, 40-year-old Anyeji Doki, are both ethnic Bari, a minority group in South Sudan with high numbers sheltering in Uganda. Both escaped clashes between government forces and rebels, and share a history of loss and separation that is all too common among refugees.

Bakitas father was killed at the start of the conflict in December 2013, when fighting erupted between rival members of the presidential guard in the capital, Juba. After her mother was killed in 2016, the children went to live with the family of her uncle. But the children were separated from the family during violence in March, and they fled south to Uganda with strangers they met on the way.

Bakita and her siblings Juan and Luka reached a refugee reception center after crossing the border and were discouraged by the long line waiting for a hot meal. Bakita spotted Anyeji and asked her to help.

I got this mother. This mother is single, shes alone. I asked her, Please, you go and help us because there in the place of food they are not allowing us. So this woman started to help us, Bakita said. I like this Mama. Its better than staying alone.

Anyeji was separated from her own children last year amid fighting in Juba and has no idea whether they are dead or alive. She has since heard that her husband was shot and killed in Juba earlier this year.

Rodney Muhumuza is an Associated Press writer.
Things recently took an unfortunate turn on the sets of the show Dil Se Dil Tak.

Sidharth Shukla in a still from the show. Picture courtesy: YouTube

By India Today Web Desk: Recently actors of shows Dil Se Dil Tak and Swabhimaan were shooting for a special episode when a fire broke out on the sets.

Actors Sidharth Shukla and Ankitta Sharma even suffered injuries, but not from the fire. The actors were supposed to shoot for a sequence where a fire actually breaks out in the narrative of the show. Both Sidharth and Ankitta were supposed to fall into a ditch, and according to the script were later to be helped by their reel partners.

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However, things took an unfortunate turn when during the fall sequence both Sidharth and Ankitta fell and injured their leg and elbow.

Ankitta even shared a video about the same on social media site Instagram.

Have a look:

A reel sequence that lead to some real injuries.. #FireSequenceGotMeLike ??? A post shared by Ankitta Sharma (@iamankittasharma) on Jun 16, 2017 at 9:04pm PDT

Get well soon, guys.

Also read: Exclusive: Jasmin Bhasin admits she is not as courageous as her character Teni in Dil Se Dil Tak

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: (EDS: Updating with additional details)

Chennai, Jun 17 (PTI) DMK-led Tamil Nadus opposition parties stepped up its attack on the state government today over the alleged horse-trading of AIADMK MLAs and urged Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to nullify the February 18 trust vote.

The opposition parties, in a meeting with the governor, also urged him to dismiss the government and order a fresh floor test.

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With the issue triggering a storm in the state assembly, the DMK, Congress and IUML sought a probe by the CBI and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to "unearth the money trail and offences under the prevention of corruption act."

Led by DMK working president M K Stalin, the opposition parties met Rao at the Raj Bhavan here and presented a memorandum highlighting their demands.

"The trust vote was won (by the Palaniswami government) only due to horse-trading. So, that voting should be cancelled and this government should be dismissed immediately," Stalin, also the leader of opposition in the state assembly, later told reporters.

These demands have been raised with the governor and he has "assured" us to look into the legal aspects of the matter, Stalin said.

The opposition move comes amid its failed bid to raise in the state assembly the issue of a TV sting operation where O Panneerselvam camp MLA S S Saravanan is purportedly shown making claims of horse-trading of his party legislators ahead of the crucial February 18 trust vote that was won by incumbent Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

The opposition has been denied permission by Speaker P Dhanapal to raise the matter for three consecutive days.

The DMK members including Stalin were evicted en masse on Wednesday while the party staged a walkout on the next two days on being denied permission.

In a memorandum submitted to the governor today, Stalin recalled the chain of events preceding the trust vote, such as the revolt of former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam against party chief V K Sasikala and her conviction in a disproportionate assets case.

He said AIADMK MLAs were later taken to a seaside resort at Koovathur near here and "detained illegally" prior to the trust vote and later brought to the assembly for voting.

DMK, as a "responsible opposition party" had demanded then that the speaker should either order for a secret ballot or adjourn proceedings for a week to make sure that the MLAs cast their "votes in a cordial atmosphere with free will and consent," he said.

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But none of the demands were heeded to, he said.

"The very basic features of the floor test in the House stand defeated mercilessly and recklessly. The speaker failed to conduct a real lawful test in the House and in the pandemonium which followed, the speaker declared that the motion of confidence moved by the newly appointed chief minister has been passed and he has won the vote of confidence," he said.

The DMK had then itself urged the governor to nullify the floor test, he said, recalling it had also moved the Madras High Court challenging the validity of the trust vote.

On the TV sting operation about alleged horse-trading of AIADMK MLAs ahead of the trust vote, Stalin said Madurai South MLA SS Saravanan belonging to AIAADMK Puratchi Thalaivi Amma had made claims in this regard.

The legislator has, however, denied it was his voice in the TV video footage on the alleged horse-trading though he had admitted he was there in the video.

"It is me in the video, but the voice is not mine," Saravanan had said.

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Stalin further said in the memorandum that "we state, therefore, that the video recordings of the sting operation constitutes material evidence which has a significant bearing on the validity of the proceedings of the vote of confidence."

The "sting operation" was "important evidence" regarding the circumstances in which the confidence vote was held, he said.

Despite their repeated pleas in the first three days of the ongoing assembly session, the speaker had refused to take up the matter for discussion, he said.

The video-footage of the sting operation "reveal that the vote of confidence was vitiated by inducements and bribery of the AIADMK MLAs," he alleged.

Allegations of AIADMK MLAs having taken illegal gratification to cast votes then "is now corroborated by the material that has come to light through independent media sources," he said.

"These actions of inducement, bribery and illegal gratification, if proved true, throw our entire democratic system in peril and also require investigation for offences under Prevention of Corruption Act, Income Tax Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act," Stalin said.

The governor should, therefore, "order for a fresh vote of confidence" and direct an impartial investigation by the CBI into the offences of Prevention of Corruption Act," he said.

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The governor should also direct an investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or ED "to unearth the money trail and to investigate the offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act," Stalin added.

Stalin, accompanied by Congress Legislature Party Leader K R Ramasamy and Indian Union Muslim League MLA KAM Mohammed Abubakker, said the opposition parties will discuss the future course of action if the governor did not act on their demands. PTI SA BN RAX

--- ENDS ---
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The landscape of Staten Island is constantly shifting, from the development of St. George to new businesses and housing on the South Shore.

Local community boards give residents an opportunity to offer input in the decision-making process for many of these long-term projects.

Community Board meetings are open to the public and a great way to learn more about what's going on in your neighborhood and how you can get involved.

If you have something you would like to speak out about, all you need to do is sign up -- before the meeting is called to order -- to speak in the public session.

The following meetings are scheduled for the week of June 19 to June 23.

COMMUNITY BOARD 1

Arlington - Castleton Corners - Clifton - Concord - Elm Park - Fort Wadsworth - Graniteville - Grymes Hill - Livingston - Mariners Harbor - New Brighton - Port Richmond - Randall Manor - Rosebank - St. George - Shore Acres - Silver Lake - Stapleton - Sunnyside - Tompkinsville - West Brighton - Westerleigh

The Mariners Harbor/Port Richmond Area Committee will meet on Tuesday, June 20, at 7:00 p.m. at 250 Park Avenue.

The Community Board does not meet in July or August unless a time sensitive application is submitted.

The board office is located at 1 Edgewater Plaza, Suite 217, Stapleton. The office phone number is 718-981-6900. The board chairman is Nicholas Siclari; the district manager is Joseph Carroll.

COMMUNITY BOARD 2

Arrochar - Bloomfield - Bulls Heads - Chelsea - Dongan Hills - Egbertville - Emerson Hill - Grant City - Grasmere - High Rock - Lighthouse Hill - Midland Beach - New Dorp - New Springville - Oakwood - Ocean Breeze - Old Town - Richmond - South Beach - Todt Hill - Travis

There will be a Full Board Meeting on Tuesday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m.

There are no other meetings scheduled for the board until resuming in September.

All committee and full board meetings are in the board office, which is located in the Lou Caravone Community Service Building on the campus of Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center and Home, 460 Brielle Ave., Sea View. The office phone number is 718-317-3235. The chairman of the CB 2 board is Dana T. Magee; the district manager is Debra A. Derrico.

COMMUNITY BOARD 3

Annadale - Arden Heights - Bay Terrace - Charleston - Eltingville - Great Kills - Greenridge - Huguenot - New Dorp - Oakwood - Pleasant Plains - Prince's Bay - Richmond Valley - Richmond - Rossville - Tottenville - Woodrow

There are no meetings scheduled for Community Board 3 for the week of June 19.

All committee meetings take place at the Community Board 3 office located on the second floor of 1243 Woodrow Road. All general board meetings take place at the Woodrow Methodist Church Hall located at 1075 Woodrow Road, 10309. The office phone number is 718-356-7900. The CB 3 board chairman is Frank Morano; the district manager is Charlene Wagner.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A reputed member of the Genovese organized crime family from Staten Island, who was among 46 alleged wise guys arrested and charged with racketeering and other crimes, has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of conducting an illegal gambling business.

Manhattan federal prosecutors announced the arrests and charges against Alex Conigliaro, 56, and his co-defendants in August of last year.

The defendants, federal officials said then, were alleged leaders, members and associates of the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese, Bonanno and Philadelphia Organized Crime Families of La Cosa Nostra ("LCN"). They allegedly operated in various East Coast locations, from Massachusetts to Florida.

Conigliaro was accused of trying to extort a victim in February 2012.

The man was working as a bookmaker and had accounts with a co-defendant John (Tugboat) Tognino, who worked under Conigliaro, alleged authorities.

Conigliaro had suspected the victim was allowing professional bettors to place wagers, and as a result, Conigliaro was on the hook for about $400,000 to the winning bettors, federal officials alleged.

A Genovese capo summoned the man to a Bronx restaurant. There, Conigliaro, the capo, and another alleged mobster confronted the man in a small room in the basement, threatening and intimidating him, alleged authorities.

Conigliraro ultimately refused to pay the money he owed, officials said.

In pleading guilty to conducting an illegal gambling business, Conigliaro admitted to supervising and financing an illegal bookmaking and sports-betting operation between 2011 and 2014, court records show.

The business involved at least five people, remained in continuous operation for more than 30 days and pulled in $2,000 in a single day, said court papers.

Conigliaro will be sentenced Oct. 26 in Manhattan federal court.

The sentencing range is eight to 14 months behind bars, according to court papers; however, the judge is not bound to it.

In view of the reduced charges and Conigliaro's compliance with his bail conditions, a judge recently authorized the removal of the defendant's electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and lifted a curfew against him, court records said.

Conigliaro previously beat extortion and illegal gambling charges in an unrelated case.

In 2004, a Manhattan federal court jury acquitted him of running an illegal gambling business with the help of five others, which raked in gross revenues of $2,000 in a single day, Advance records show.

Conigliaro's lawyer in the current case could not immediately be reached for comment.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Children, especially a 7-year-old girl who has been raped by a stranger in her bedroom, process and discuss such events much differently than adults, a prosecutor told jurors Friday.

So, it was to be expected that the victim initially only told her mother a bad man had been in her room in her Port Richmond home, Assistant District Attorney Victoria Levin said in her closing argument at Daniel Nieto's rape trial.

And it was to be expected that the little girl, upset, confused and even ashamed over being sexually attacked, began revealing more details in bits and pieces as her mother and medical professionals questioned her over the next few days, said Levin.

Despite the defense's assertions to the contrary, the girl and her mom had no reason to lie about what happened early on the morning of Aug. 6, 2015, because there was undeniable evidence, Levin said.

Nieto's jacket was found in the girl's bedroom, and, even more importantly, his T-shirt was discovered in her bed sheets, she said.

"That shirt is the glass slipper he left behind in (the victim's) room," said Levin in her 90-minute closing argument. "It fits one person -- him."

Prosecutors allege a drunken Nieto, then 32, walked into the victim's Port Richmond home through an unlocked rear door at around 2:30 a.m. He went into the little girl's bedroom, told her in Spanish to be quiet, then forcibly held her down and raped her, prosecutors allege.

The defense contends Nieto, who lived in New Jersey, intended to crash for the night in an abandoned house next door, and entered the girl's home "by mistake" after a day of drinking and smoking pot.

He quickly realized his error, left the house and did not sexually attack the victim, contend defense lawyers Gillian Kress and Christina Paliogiannis.

Moreover, the defense maintains that there is no forensic evidence, such as DNA or fingerprints, linking Nieto to a sexual attack.

Nieto is charged with rape, criminal sexual act (formerly classified as sodomy), sexual abuse and other crimes.

In her closing argument earlier on Friday, Kress maintained that prosecutors were relying on sympathy for the victim, rather than solid evidence, to make their case.

Levin, who is prosecuting the case along with Assistant District Attorney Tuesday Muller-Mondi, acknowledged there were some inconsistencies in the girl's story - such as whether the defendant told her to remove her clothes or he took them off himself.

But she said the core of the girl's account remained the same: That Nieto had inappropriately touched her private parts and her mouth.

"It doesn't take a long time to do a large amount of damage, and it didn't that night," said Levin. "This was not a mistake. ... The way she discloses what happened is how a 7-year-old or a 9-year-old might. She makes disclosures when she's asked the right questions in the right way."

The girl testified at trial that a man entered and told her to remove her clothes. She said she did so because he was an adult and children are supposed to listen to adults.

The girl said Nieto then molested her.

Asked how that felt, she replied, "Weird."

When asked how far the man penetrated her, the girl said, "A little bit."

She held her thumb and forefinger about an inch or two apart to demonstrate.

Afterward, she said the man left her room.

Under cross-examination, the girl had at times seemed confused.

She looked often at Levin before responding, and, at one point, said she had read a book before going into her parents' room and telling them about the man.

Kress said the girl's trial testimony did not jibe with prior interviews she gave prosecutors.

Of special importance, she said, was the fact the girl was medically examined within 24 hours of incident.

The exam revealed no sign of injury or vaginal penetration, and the physician assistant's case notes said the girl denied having had her private parts violated.

But Levin said the girl didn't reveal she was sexually molested to her mother until after that examination.

She reminded jurors that a sexual-assault nurse examiner expert testified that injuries in sexual attacks, even in children, are rare. So, it wasn't surprising the girl wasn't hurt, she said.

While there was no physical corroboration of the attack, there were the victim's words, as well as the defendant's, said Levin.

Nieto, she said, admitted to cops to being on an extended drinking and pot-smoking bender. He was uninhibited, she contended, and had sex on his mind.

"He's bolder,'' she said. "He's empowered. He does what he wants. He wants to have sex. And he has sex with (the victim), a 7-year-old girl," and he knows that."

Levin said Nieto displayed selective memory when cops interrogated him. He recalled everything else that happened that day, except for what took place inside the victim's home, she said.

Then, detectives confronted him with the finding of his jacket and T-shirt in the girl's bedroom and a pair of men's underwear discovered on the other side of the fence at the rear of the victim's home, said Levin.

"Maybe I took my clothes off because I thought I was home," the prosecutor quoted him as saying.

"The defendant, he took advantage of (the victim) and her vulnerability," said Levin. "(She) is credible, and she is worthy of belief."

The trial resumes Monday in state Supreme Court, St. George.

Justice William E. Garnett will charge jurors on the law, after which, they'll begin deliberations.

Would you like to comment on this report? Visit the comment section to add your voice to the conversation.
The DMK today submitted a CD to Governor C Vidyasagar Rao claiming that it contained evidence of horse-trading during the February 18 trust vote.

By India Today Web Desk: Led by the DMK, the Tamil Nadu's opposition parties met governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao today and sought dismissal of the AIADMK's K Palaniswami government, alleging it won the February 18 trust vote by horse-trading.

DMK's Working President MK Stalin also handed over a compact disc to Governor C Vidyasagar Rao and claimed it contained evidence of foul play during the February 18 trust vote, which saw E Palaniswami confirm his appointment as Tamil Nadu's chief minister.

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There was pandemonium in the Tamil Nadu Assembly during that vote, which followed a chaotic couple of weeks that saw former CM O Panneerselvam rebel against AIADMK chief VK Sasikala (after she was made legislature party leader), and the Supreme Court convict Sasikala in a disproportionate assets case.

The CD contains a video of two MLAs talking about Kuvathur, where AIADMK MLAs loyal to Sasikala stayed at a resort in the days leading up to the trust vote.

Stalin went to the Governor after Assembly Speaker Dhanapal declined to accept the video as evidence.

The DMK deputy chief today asked Governor Rao to order a CBI probe into the matter, and for another trust vote, Puthiya Thalaimurai reported.

He said his party had told the governor that horse-trading had been involved in the trust vote, and asked for a secret ballot to be held, the channel said.

(Inputs from Pramod Madhav)

Also read:

BJP govt destroying nation's unity by imposing Hindi on non-speakers, says MK Stalin

Tamil Nadu bandh: Anti-social elements may instigate violence, says DMK's Stalin

WATCH | Stalin gives Tamil Nadu Governor Rao CD, says it has evidence of foul play in February trust vote

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Economically productive youth are at the highest risk of sustaining injuries due to road accidents, a study has claimed.

Around 1.25 million people die every year on the worlds roads. According to data available with the WHO, only 47 countries follow good practice on one of the main speed management measures, namely implementing an urban speed limit of 50 kmph or less, says the George Institute for Global Health India.

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The Institute said it conducted a study of 2,200 people this year, in three hospitals in north India, with one of its collaborators from PGI, Chandigarh, highlighting the health, social and economic burden of road injuries.

"It was revealed that 10 per cent of people die post- discharge (from hospital) and that more than a third of the families experienced financial distress due to injuries.

"It is the young economically productive age group that is at the highest risk, and it is estimated that the total cost incurred due to road injuries is three per cent of Indias GDP, which is more than our entire health budget," the study claimed.

The Institute in association with World Health Organisation yesterday organised a workshop on road safety and injury which aimed at providing an overview of regional burden of road traffic injuries.

Experts from the Institute, the WHO, senior officials from the traffic police, officials from the Ministry of Road Transport, deliberated on various aspects of road safety and injuries from both Indian, as well as a global perspective, the Institute today said.

Patanjali Dev Nayar, Regional Adviser ? Disability, Injury prevention and Rehabilitation, WHO-SEARO, presented the core data on road traffic injuries for the South-East Asian region and highlighted the fact that "vulnerable groups such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists make up 47 per cent of road traffic deaths in the region".

Five key risk factors -- over speeding, drunk-driving, riding two-wheelers without helmets, driving four-wheelers without seat-belts and not using child restraints in four- wheelers -- were discussed.

"If the situation doesnt improve and necessary interventions and actions are not taken, the road injury deaths are predicted to rise from ninth biggest killers in 2015 to seventh biggest in 2030," the Institute said. PTI KND IKA

--- ENDS ---
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The queen of body goals, Malaika Arora, shares her yoga wardrobe secrets ahead of International Yoga Day on June 21.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Take your fitness style quotient one notch higher this International Yoga Day with Bollywood actor, style icon and fitness enthusiast Malaika Arora as she decodes the perfect yoga wear for the style conscious fitness freaks.

An endorser of Yoga and well known for reinventing her fitness regime with Aerial Yoga and other forms, Malaika has recently been announced as part of Reebok's Fashionably Fit family.

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Here are her top picks for the International Yoga day that is celebrated on June 21.

Black is back in vogue: For the actress, black can never go wrong if you are ready for yoga sessions.

Style-up with graphics and stripes: Stretch, bend and flip with tights that infuse comfort and style. In addition to giving flexibility, the tights also enhance the experience of your Yoga session, making it ideal for any body type. Opt for the graphic prints and stripes to stay in your fashionable best.

Be spotted with the right accessories: If you are a fitness diva yourself and believes in posing before or after your regime, do not forget to wear the accessory like slim fit bomber jacket, that blends leather and nylon to give a contemporary look, and is ideal for both indoor and outdoor sessions.

ALSO READ | Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora are finally divorced

ALSO SEE | Sara Ali Khan-Malaika Arora train together, raise the temperature in gym

ALSO WATCH | Ranbir-Katrina to Brangelina: 2016, the year of celebrity splits

--- ENDS ---
"I'm proud and still too emotional from all of this," Brnabic said during her visit to southern Serbia on Friday. "It's a great honor to serve this country. I wish to thank, once again, the president for the given trust."
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Owners of commercial and residential strata properties are preparing for a wave of sales under the December 2016 strata law reform legislation.

Under the scheme, with 75 per cent of owners agreeing, the building can be sold. For developers and owners of older style strata dwellings, the collective sale can provide a windfall. For some residences this can be vastly more than what they could generate through an individual sale.

Artist impression of 15-19 Cottonwood Crescent in Macquarie Park

Owners of commercial sites, usually offices in the city, can reap the benefits of high demand from developers looking for older properties to redevelop into hotels, apartments or new offices.

The director of capital transactions at Savills, Tim Grosman, said where older properties had been left to dwindle, the strata owners could achieve good results by joining forces. He said that owners of car park spaces in the city were also looking at the changes for potential sales.
Most people so described in Australia would be thought of as members of the Greens, or the old Australian Democrats, or as among the nuttier type of nuisance Senate independents. In office, Corbyn has consistently disappointed his colleagues but, even more annoyingly, was unable to be bypassed, ignored or undercut by their own, ever more clever, appreciation of the public temper and public mind. Malcolm Turnbull became leader because the public admired him more than Tony Abbott, even if his colleagues didn't. Credit:Andrew Meares When, finally, they had had enough, and an overwhelming vote of the parliamentary party was able to force a fresh ballot for the leadership, the party's national leadership needed to intervene even to get Corbyn a place on the ballot paper. To get on, one needed the support of a certain number of elected members. He didn't have it. The leadership decided that a deposed leader could run without it. But that was about the only favour he got. There were moves against stacking. One needed to have been a member of the party for at least six months (which is to say, for about three months before the ballot was conducted) to be eligible to vote. Union members got no automatic vote but needed to pay their 25 sub like everyone else. Union chieftains had only one vote, the same as any other members. It was clear Corbyn continued to enjoy significant grassroots support even after the party's great and good patiently explained to them that he was a joke, an embarrassment and someone incapable of gaining or exercising power. It was a first-past-the-post ballot, so all but one of his rivals withdrew so they would not divide the opposition to him. Corbyn campaigned hard but did not pander to his colleagues or his critics. When the leadership election was over, he had won with a slightly higher proportion of votes than he achieved the first time.

Labour was caught on the hop by May's calling of an election years earlier than she needed to. Labour had not really sorted out its Brexit position, nor the sort of economic policies that could survive shrieks from the London financial establishment. A membership endorsement could give Turnbull authority, legitimacy and self-confidence. The party's machinery had failed to lock in behind Corbyn after his re-election, and many were disloyally telling anyone who listened that, after the inevitable debacle, Labour would need to split and be remade, mostly to get the old left out. Corbyn formed his own campaigning teams, not least from among volunteers for Sanders in the US primaries. They knew social media and grassroots doorknocking. His stunning success  even if it fell significantly short of victory  was particularly because of his power to enthuse younger voters both to support Labour and to get out and vote. Corbyn is said to have received the support of 62 per cent of the under-40 vote  a great platform for a future victory if Labour can maintain its rage.     

Here in Australia, Bill Shorten leads the Labor Party, and thus the opposition, by a somewhat less straightforward system of engaging party members. It's a system imposed by Kevin Rudd after the destabilising days of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments, caused in part by Shorten's treachery. A plebiscite of party members after the last election saw Shorten lose to Anthony Albanese, but that counted for only 50 per cent of the process. The other half came from an election from his party colleagues, most of whom were heavily leant on by the union chieftains who control party preselections. Shorten was enough ahead of the caucus vote to overcome his deficit in the popular vote. Shorten is, of course, himself a former union chieftain and numbers man. His authority turns on that power, rather than on popularity with members. In this sense, he is the opposite of Corbyn, who is apart from and opposed to the party's own centres of power. He is, as well, in almost every respect, different in style, personality, ideas and ideals from Corbyn. If he can use mechanical rhetoric to evoke a long link back to worker struggle, he is never less convincing than when he gets out the onion, puts a fake tremor of emotion into his voice, or pretends he actually believes in anything. But if the Shorten-Corbyn analogy is far from clear, imagine what could happen if the Australian Liberal Party resolved its leadership questions by a ballot of members rather than by caucus vote. Imagine, for example, the situation if Turnbull was not constantly looking behind, but had at least some chance to prove himself by gaining, holding and using popular support. Turnbull always enjoyed more support in the broader electorate than in his own party, or own caucus. Indeed, his steadily declining popularity is a result of disappointment in his caution and failure to follow his own instincts.

Right now, perhaps, Turnbull would not necessarily win an election for the leadership by party members. The broad-based Liberal Party, like the ALP, has become hollowed out by years of factional warfare, a reduced role in policymaking for party sub-branches and members, and the takeover of the party by suits, pollsters and "professionals". It is not purely by accident that the elected representatives of the federal Liberal Party lean to being conservative on economic and moral issues, even if, in recent times, the more moderate and liberal side of an umbrella party has won some state-level battles. But it could well be that even the prospect of having national leadership ballots among members could stimulate more joining, more activity by middle-of-the-road folk, and, perhaps, more open debate about the qualities, either in a leader or in the party, that were likely to have it win and hold on to power. That's quite apart from the fact that Turnbull has already shown, in his original preselection, he has the capacity to enthuse people to join and vote for him (or, put another way, will manipulate party rules shamelessly and ruthlessly in pursuit of his ambitions). The fact he might be at more advantage than a conservative rival might suggest that neither his rivals, nor the established party, would support any change in the form of leadership election. But it is interesting to reflect that his open enemies  such as Tony Abbott  still pretend the reason they are impelled to oppose him is they believe they, not he, represent the feeling within the party, and the electorate, and the policies likely to continue to produce right-of-centre governments. If that were true, they should like nothing more than membership contests. It is hard to see a Theresa May being liberated, and "able to be herself", by having her party leadership confirmed by a ballot among her party faithful. I would be surprised, however, if Boris Johnson could defeat her in a membership ballot. Here in Australia, Turnbull would probably be a more successful leader, provided he was governing with a conventionally chosen cabinet, if he were more focused on what voters want and need, and less focused on appeasing his own backbench.
Not long after I turned 17, I entered the family business. My old man, Harry, was the editor of The Sun (now the Herald Sun), so I applied for a cadetship at Melbourne's other morning newspaper, The Age.

As it happened, the editor of The Age, Graham Perkin, had a son, too. His name was Steve and he was drawn by the same pull, applying for a cadetship at The Herald, The Sun's stablemate and then this town's afternoon newspaper.

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis Credit:Jim Pavlidis

Not surprisingly, the coincidence prompted suspicion in the newsrooms that Steve and I were the recipients of a kind of quid pro quo nepotism when we were hired, though I was totally oblivious to this.

Years later a senior editor confided that if my surname had helped get me in the front door, he and others had resolved that being Harry's son would be a minus, not a plus, once I was inside.
It's hard to believe how long it is taking to narrow the economic disparity between men and women.

The gender pay gap  the difference between women's and men's average full-time earnings  has hardly shifted in two decades. And last week an Australian Institute of Company Directors report revealed the percentage of women appointed to the boards of our top 200 companies declined during the past six months. Women still only account for one in four board directors in those big firms.

But an unsung group of change agents has been revealed: men with daughters.

Harvard University researchers Paul Gompers and Sophie Wang investigated hiring patterns in the hard-nosed, male-dominated world of venture capital and found a striking correlation. The firms whose partners had more daughters hired significantly more women. And they also made more money. Firms with improved gender diversity, induced by parenting more daughters, delivered better performance and higher profits.
Alcohol makers have rejected an offer by a senior federal health bureaucrat for the industry to put forward experts to join a panel reviewing Australia's controversial safe drinking guidelines.

The offer was made by Anne Kelso, chief executive of the National Health and Medical Research Council, which is overseeing the five-yearly review into what level of alcohol intake is deemed safe.

Australia has some of the strictest guidelines in the world on levels of safe drinking. Credit:iStock

The process was quietly kicked off in October but was quickly mired in controversy after Fairfax Media revealed the review panel included two members with direct associations with Christian-linked temperance organisations that campaign for "alcohol-free social interaction".

At two standard drinks a day, Australia has one of the strictest standards in the world for alcohol consumption deemed unharmful.
The multi-billion dollar transfer of taxpayer money from Catholic schools to public schools under the government's "Gonski 2.0" funding model has been exposed in secret data given to the Senate crossbench ahead of a crucial vote this week.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham says universities have been receiving "rivers of gold" from the taxpayer over recent years Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The Department of Education data shows the country's public schools would receive a $4 billion windfall over the next decade if the Turnbull government's school funding changes pass while Catholic schools would be $4.6 billion worse off than under the current legislation.

The leaked modelling examines how public, Catholic and private schools around the country would be affected by the Senate's decision to block or support the new funding model.
Carrie Fisher died from sleep apnoea and a combination of other factors, but investigators were not able to pinpoint an exact cause, coroner's officials said.

Among the factors that contributed to Fisher's death was buildup of fatty tissue in the walls of her arteries, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said in a news release late Friday. The release states that the Star Wars actor showed signs of having taken multiple drugs, but investigators could not determine whether they contributed to her death in December.

Her manner of death is listed as undetermined.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for additional details about whether a full autopsy report and toxicology results were available.
Dale Clarke, 16, has never left Sydney's south west, but he and four other special needs students are now packing their bags for a trip to Cambodia to teach orphaned primary school students about Australia.

Dale, who suffers from anxiety disorder, transferred to the specific purpose Campbell House School from the local mainstream school two years ago, and says the opportunities now open to him are "just breathtaking".

Setting off for Cambodia in July are students and staff from Campbell House School: (clockwise from left) Mark Hankin, principal Marisa Pjanic, Kendall Neighbour, Rhianna Milburn, Christine Walker, Dale Clarke, Alex Williams and Isabella Donnachie. Credit:Wolter Peeters

"I've never left this area because of my anxiety but I knew that if I didn't travel I wouldn't leave at all, and I didn't want to live my life that way," Dale said.

"I didn't know how to go about it and this is a good step for me."
By Press Trust of India: area

Darjeeling, June 17 (PTI) Singmari area in Darjeeling turned into a battleground today as GJM activists threw petrol bombs and stones at riot police, who in retaliation fired teargas shells and resorted to baton charge.

The incident, in which several people were injured, prompted the administration to deploy army troops in the area.

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As the indefinite shutdown to demand a separate state entered its third day, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha activists took out a protest rally from the GJM headquarters in Singmari.

As prohibitory orders were in force in the area, the police told the protesters, who were carrying the tricolour and GJM flags, to return.

The slogan-shouting protesters did not relent and started throwing stones and bottles at the police. A vehicle was also set on fire.

The police fired teargas shells and baton-charged the agitators.

"We asked them to go back but they started throwing stones, bottles and petrol bombs. We had to resort to lathi charge," a senior police official said.

Some police personnel and GJM activists were injured in the clash, the police said.

A large contingent of police and paramilitary personnel was rushed to the spot under the command of the superintendent of police and other senior IPS officers.

Barring pharmacies, all others shops and hotels were closed in Darjeeling.

Reacting to todays violence, Tourism Minister Gautam Deb said, "The government will not accept the GJMs hooliganism."

GJM leaders said Vikram Rai, son of GJM MLA Amar Rai, was picked up by the police from Darjeeling.

Vikram is the in-charge of the GJMs media cell.

The police last night raided the residence of senior GJM leader Binay Tamang, following which party activists tried to torch a PWD office in Bijanbari area here. PTI PNT SUN MM GVS

--- ENDS ---
The pattern, at least for murder, seems to be universal. Wherever in the world you are, Sunday is a really bad day. A study published in 1979 in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that "suicide was more common on Mondays; homicide on Saturdays and Sundays". And the pattern, at least for murder, seems to be universal. Wherever in the world you are, Sunday is a really bad day to pick a fight. Scottish folk with heart troubles are more likely to die on a Monday, but this also could be from drinking too much on the weekend. Credit:Getty Images Australian stats are a bit patchy in this area, with the most recent report in the area coming out of the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), covering the years 2008 to 2010.

The authors found that during that period there were 98 murders that occurred on Sundays, and 92 on Saturdays. Once again, Tuesdays seems to be days off for most killers, with only 53 people being croaked. Robberies also peaked on Sundays, except in Chicago where the bad guys dont care what day it is. (A 2016 AIC report into murders in Australian prisons, it should be noted, found a markedly different pattern, with Mondays topping the list, and Wednesdays pretty bad, too.) A 2011 Italian study supports the general pattern, with author Dr Davide Sisti of the Institute of Biomathematics, in Urbino, finding that "Homicides also peaked on Sundays and Mondays and were at their highest at night-time". A cultural trend as unchanged as the Rolling Stones is the days of the week you are most likely to die, crash your car or be robbed. Credit:Getty Images

And a 2004 study into Russian stats found, again, murders peaked on Sundays, with the authors primly speculating that this was "presumably as a result of drinking on Friday and Saturday nights". Stepping away from murder, it turns out that the day of the week can have a profound effect on a wide range of activities, including crime, stock market trading, surgical operations, and even academic success. A 2000 study found that thefts (stealing when the owner is not around) in Minnesota were lowest on weekends, while robberies (nicking stuff when the owner is around and with the threat of or actual violence) peaked on Sundays. A 2017 analysis of street robberies in Chicago, however, found that the bad guys couldn't give a toss about the day of the week: they were all equal opportunity felons. But the day of the week can have a surprisingly strong influence on health and wellbeing  particularly if you have the misfortune to be admitted to an English hospital with a fractured hip. A study in the journal BMC Medicine published in March this year looked at the rates at which patients dropped dead within 30 days of having a hip operation.

The authors found that the chance of dying in this period rose by almost 10 per cent if the operation took place on a Sunday. Even scarier, the chance rose by more than 50 per cent if the post-op patient was discharged on a Sunday. On the other hand, Scottish folk with dodgy tickers are much more likely to keel over on a Monday, according to a study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The authors cautiously suggested the anomaly could be tied to either drinking too much on the weekend  or not drinking enough and triggering fatal withdrawal symptoms. It should be noted, however, that people living in the United Kingdom do appear to be influenced by the day of the week to an almost supernatural degree. As early as 1978, a study in the BMJ noted that far more babies were born on Tuesdays than on weekends  and that very few indeed were born on public holidays, especially Christmas. The day of the week effect on stock markets continues to be widely researched and analysed. Most of the work focuses on figuring out why in some countries, the USA for instance, the slowest day of the week is Mondays, while some others, such as Japan and Australia, typically hit the trading doldrums on Tuesdays. But if stock market variations can be broadly understood in terms of, say, time zone differences and the influence of weekend news reports, the influence of days of the week in some other fields appears utterly mystifying.
As many people struggle to secure housing in Sydney's expensive rental market, developers are building high-end "boarding houses" with rents as high as $500 per week by exploiting planning laws designed to help low-income earners find homes.

It comes amid a surge in the construction of boarding houses around Sydney, while councils say they are powerless to ensure the housing is actually affordable.

A 40-room boarding house in Avoca Street, Randwick, where rooms are currently advertised as "furnished designer studio" for lease for $500 per week, Credit:Darbs Darby (Andrew Darby)

"It's dividing the community," Randwick mayor Noel D'Souza said. "Developers are building these and the rents are not reflecting affordable housing."

In Randwick, more than 500 boarding house rooms have been built since the State Environmental Planning Policy for Affordable Rental Housing was implemented in July 2009.
A truck driver will face a Sydney court after he allegedly forced a car into a concrete barrier during a road rage incident on the M4 motorway.

Police say the driver of a Honda Jazz was not injured but his car was heavily damaged following the incident at Greystanes in Sydney's west on Friday afternoon.

It's alleged the the truck and trailer was travelling parallel to the Honda when the truck driver leaned out of the window and threw an object that fractured the car's windscreen.

The truck then changed lanes in front of the Honda and its trailer collided with the car which was forced into a centre concrete diving barrier, police allege.

The truck continued west on the M4 but police have since spoken to a 33-year-old Auburn man over the incident.
A "small, quiet country town" was the centre of a major police operation on Friday, after a man barricaded himself inside house.

An emergency was declared in Toogoolawah, about 30 kilometres from Kilcoy, with residential streets in lockdown and armed police arriving on scene.

A man was taken into custody after a tense stand-off with police which lasted for 6 hours. Credit:Matt Hewitt (Supplied)

It all started about 9.15am when police were called to Bellambi Street to speak to a man over an alleged violent robbery in Ipswich earlier that day.

However, the man barricaded himself inside the house, so police called negotiators in and declared an emergency situation.
Bet you didn't know that bees have hairy eyes. You read right; hairy eyes. Invisible to the naked human eye, there are hundreds of hairs sprouting from the multi-lensed eyes of bees. They grow from between the hexagonal tiles that make up the convex surface of the eye. Each hair tapers at the tip like a human eyelash.

But just because we can't see bee eye hair doesn't mean it is a detail to be overlooked in the new $4.6 million Bug Lab exhibition which opens at Melbourne Museum on June 23. Melbourne is the first stop on an international tour for the Wellington-designed and made exhibition.

The clever orchid mantis is a master of deception and mimicry. Credit:Joel Checkley

Pitched as being "designed by bugs for humans", the exhibition shows off the genius traits that often overlooked insects and spiders perform every day. From mind control, to swarm intelligence and precision flight.

Created by New Zealand's national museum Te Papa Tongarewa and Weta Workshop, the group behind the sets, costumes, weapons and creatures for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Bug Lab is big on getting the smallest of details right.
Karen Ristevski's brother-in-law has been filmed walking in bushland at the Mount Macedon Regional Park where her body was found eight months after she disappeared.

In a new twist to the case, Vasko Ristevski was spotted in bushland about 60 kilometres from the Ristevski's family home in Avondale Heights while Channel Nine's A Current Affair team was filming a story this week ahead of the one-year anniversary of her disappearance on June 29.

Footage shows Ms Ristevski's brother-in-law appear from a behind a tree as he walks through the bush and heads back towards his truck parked just metres away from the site where the 47-year-old mother's body was found on February 20, buried between two giant logs.

The TV news crew were with former homicide detective Charlie Bezzina when they saw Vasko Ristevski, the brother of Ms Ristevski's husband Borce.
A police car has collided with another vehicle as it drove through an intersection near Caversham in Perth's north east.

Police said officers from Central Metro Response were driving east on Reid Highway around 9:30pm on Friday night with lights and sirens as they approached the Lord Street traffic lights.

The crash happened on Friday night. Credit:Rohan Thompson

Police said the officers slowed to check for traffic before driving into the intersection, which had a green light for vehicles driving south on Lord Street.

A vehicle in the right hand lane closest to the police vehicle slowed down to allow the patrol car through, but a Suburu Impreza in the right hand lane continued on.
Beijing: The bike-sharing boom reached Australia last week, as rows of 'free' yellow bicycles appeared on Melbourne's streets. Sydney is next, with hundreds of red bikes due in July.

Singapore's Obike was the first to market in Melbourne. Reddy Go, a Sydney venture backed by China's Bluegogo, is racing to catch up.

Beijing commuters have opted for share bikes to beat jammed buses, tight security at subway stations and traffic. Credit:Sanghee Liu

But if the experience in China is any guide, this narrow colour palette could only be the beginning.

The streets of Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen are a rainbow of yellow, blue, teal, green, orange, red and more, as up to 20 rival bike sharing start-ups vie for the attention of China's eco-conscious youth.
Aldi Rizal would throw tantrums and hurt himself in order to get his cigarettes. Credit:Getty Images "He would eat three chicken legs at one meal, three bowls of bakso (meatball soup) at once, one tin of condensed milk in the morning and one at night. If I said to eat less, he would throw tantrums and threaten to go back to smoking. So I just let him eat what he wanted. His weight got out of control then." When Aldi started school, kids made fun of his huge lunch box. He began to cut down on the size of his meals and his weight is now under control. Aldi Rizal, with his mother Diana, quit smoking when he was four. He is holding up a YouTube video of his younger smoking self. Credit:Jewel Topsfield The infamous "Indonesian smoking baby" YouTube videos raised international awareness about the alarmingly high child smoking rate in Indonesia: 20 per cent of Indonesians aged 13 to 15 smoke according to the 2014 Global Youth Tobacco Survey.

But now health experts are alarmed that a controversial bill before parliament aimed at increasing cigarette production will roll back regulations discouraging smoking in Indonesia. Aldi Rizal with his mother Diana. Credit:Jewel Topsfield My parents know I smoke, they don't mind. My parents only ask for one thing, I don't inhale glue. I smoke, but I am not addicted to it. It's just like candy. I can stop anytime. 13-year-old Sandi Saputra Indonesia and three other tobacco-producing countries have also appealed against Australia's world-first cigarette plain packaging laws to the World Trade Organisation, arguing they created an illegal trade barrier. The final ruling is expected next month but a leaked draft reportedly found in Australia's favour.

Sandi Saputra, a 13 year old smoker from Palembang. Credit:Amilia Rosa Aldi's internet notoriety meant that Diana was pilloried for being a bad mother. She blames herself, in part, for Aldi smoking at such a young age because she craved cigarettes while pregnant, whereas with her other children her cravings had been for sour fruits and green mangoes. But Diana also tells us of her struggle to get Aldi to quit in the middle of a fishing village where smoking is ubiquitous and villagers would give him money to buy cigarettes because he was "cute and funny". Idris, the former head of Bone-Bone, a village in Sulawesi that banned smoking. Credit:Amilia Rosa "The first thing I did was confiscate the cigarettes and he would throw a tantrum. He started banging his head, he stabbed himself in the knee with a knife," she says.

"He woke at 3am and started demanding cigarettes." Diana says she tried every method available to make him quit including hot ointment on cigarette tips and taking Aldi to an isolated river house. "He said: 'If you don't give me a cigarette I will jump'. I thought, like other kids, it was just an empty threat. He jumped." She shows us the scar on his head. "There was blood everywhere. After that I caved in. If he wanted cigarettes he got cigarettes." It was not until a local journalist reported the case to Dr Seto that Aldi received two months of therapy in Jakarta and managed to quit. Like many a reformed smoker, Aldi now warns of the difficulties of quitting.

He wants to be a doctor and tells his dad to stub out his cigarettes: "I quit and you didn't," he tells him. "If we smoke, we will ruin our lives," he says. "Nerves and brain, all will be ruined. Throat, teeth " On the main road of Aldi's village of Teluk Kemang, an enormous billboard blocks the sky advertising Sampoerna  the leading tobacco company in Indonesia and part of Philip Morris International. "Size is important," the slogan says. Increasing restrictions in countries such as Australia means Indonesia  where public smoking and cigarette advertising are largely unregulated  is one of the final frontiers for Big Tobacco. Point-of-sale advertising here is startling after coming from Australia where cigarettes are banned from even being displayed in shops.

In Indonesia TV screens above rows of cigarettes in mini-marts have commercials on endless replay. Cigarette ads ranked fifth in television advertising spending in 2016. "We [Australia] banned tobacco advertising 25 years ago but in Indonesia it's rampant," says Mike Daube, a professor of health policy at Curtin University. "Any controls are notional where kids are heavily exposed to cigarette adverts that make smoking seem cool and glamorous." A 2015 survey found 85 per cent of schools in five cities in Indonesia  including the capital of Jakarta  were surrounded by cigarette ads. Daube does not mince his words. "I think Indonesia is a public health nightmare," he says. "It's just desperately depressing. When you look at the magnitude of the problem it is quite catastrophic. Even with conservative estimates we are looking at 200,000 deaths a year caused by smoking."

Cigarettes are also among the cheapest in the world here. A pack of Marlboro  one of the most expensive brands  will set you back just 25,000 rupiah (about $2.50). Single sticks, known as loosies, are sold at roadside stalls for the equivalent of a few cents. Thirteen-year-old Sandi Saputra works nights at a nasi goreng (fried rice) stall in Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra, and attends school by day. He earns the equivalent of $2.50 a night, most of which he gives to his parents, but has a bit of leftover pocket money to spend on loosies. "I started smoking when I was in first grade, seven years old, because everybody was smoking, all my friends," he says. "My parents know I smoke, they don't mind. My parents only ask for one thing, I don't inhale glue. I smoke, but I am not addicted to it. It's just like candy. I can stop anytime." While smoking is decreasing globally, it is increasing here. Indonesia already has the highest male smoking rate in the world  67 per cent according to the 2011 Global Adult Tobacco Survey  although for cultural reasons the female smoking rate is much lower.

About one-third of the population of 250 million smokes, compared with 12 per cent of Australians. In 2014 Indonesia began mandating that 40 per cent of cigarette packets must be covered with the sort of graphic pictorial health warnings  cancerous mouths and tracheotomy holes  familiar to Australian smokers. It was a rare victory for anti-smoking activists in a country where health reforms pose a dilemma because the tobacco industry is a significant part of the economy. Indonesia is the fifth-largest tobacco leaf producer in the world and Sampoerna its largest taxpayer. It is one of only a few nations not a signatory to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which stipulates that government policies be protected from the vested interests of the tobacco industry.

The 2016 Tobacco Industry Interference Index found Indonesia had the highest level of tobacco industry participation and interference in government policy in the ASEAN region. "There is currently a pro-tobacco bill in Parliament for debate which serves to protect tobacco farmers rather than public health," it says. The bill seeks to triple cigarette production to 524 billion by 2020. "If passed, this bill has the potential to roll back the few achievements in tobacco control such as the pictorial health warnings currently applied on cigarette packs." This has raised alarm bells within Indonesia's health ministry.

"The problem now is that many of our children are smoking," says director for health promotion Dedi Kuswenda. He says the health ministry would like to see the warnings enlarged to cover 75 per cent of packs and then move to plain packaging. "In Australia more people are not smoking now. But it is as if we [Indonesia] are becoming a cigarette sale area. At the end of the day it is about increasing profit when we need to be healthy." But Syarif Abdullah Alkadrie, one of the parliamentarians debating the proposed new law, says the bill is about protecting tobacco farmers. He says 50 per cent of Indonesia's tobacco is imported and lawmakers want this restricted to 20 per cent. "We must look at this issue from both sides," he says. "A lot of people earn their living from tobacco."

The Indonesian government has made no secret of its irritation with Australia over the plain packaging laws. A final ruling on the WTO appeal, expected next month, is predicted to uphold Australia's argument that the rules don't violate trade laws because they qualify as a legitimate public health measure. But it will come at a sensitive time. Australia and Indonesia are negotiating a free trade deal  slated to be concluded by the end of the year  and Indonesia is already angry about dumping duties slapped on its A4 paper exports. Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita "joked" to his Australian counterpart, Steven Ciobo, that he would consider requiring Australian wine sold in Indonesia to pass halal certification and use plain packaging in retaliation.

"I deliver it in a light way though, and it was just an expression of my resentment," he was quoted as saying in The Jakarta Post. Smoking has long been a vexed issue in Indonesia. A 2009 fatwa prohibiting smoking in public places or by pregnant women and children was the most controversial ever issued by Indonesia's highest Islamic clerical body. "So far we have always been able to come to the same conclusion, with no dissenting opinion except for once, when we issued a fatwa on smoking," Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma'ruf Amin told Fairfax Media earlier this year. "We argued for two days and could not come to a solid conclusion. Some agreed to smoking and some did not." The local variant of cigarettes  Kretek  are a source of national pride. A mixture of tobacco and cloves, they lend the streets of Indonesia a distinctive sweet smell.

Aditia Purnomo and Muhammad Nur Azami are members of the smokers' rights group Komunitas Kretek. Both were activists  Azami a "green" warrior" and Aditia involved in the labour movement  who happened to smoke and became angry about regulations they felt discriminated against smokers. "So we decided to fight back against the government," Aditia says. "It [smoking] is a human right." Aditia says the first major anti-smoking campaign was by Hitler's Nazis, who wanted to protect the health of the Aryan master race. He believes it hypocritical of the government to regulate smoking while reaping tax benefits from its revenue: "If health is a priority, just say smoking is illegal." In the past, Aditia says, people believed Kretek could be used as medicine to treat flu or coughing because they contained cloves. He still believes they have some benefits, but acknowledges there are also side effects.

Azami's black T-shirt is emblazoned with the slogan "Kretek are not cigarettes". He says the anti-tobacco movement serves the interests of the health industry that produces nicotine patches and electronic cigarettes. "It's not fair only tobacco products have pictorial warnings. What about junk food, KFC, McDonalds, children driving motorbikes?" The June edition of global trade magazine Tobacco Reporter carries a story, "Trouble in Paradise", which notes that Indonesia's tobacco industry is facing new challenges. It points out the nation's two largest cities  Jakarta and Surabaya  have moved to make indoor places smoke-free. Notwithstanding that "Indonesia's tobacco control efforts are half-hearted and the government's attitude towards the sector remains ambivalent", Tobacco Reporter says, the country is slowly moving to a more restrictive environment. "It is only a matter of time before the country's tobacco industry will be operating in the same conditions that have long been common in other parts of the world."

Perhaps the remarkable story of Bone-Bone, a tiny village in South Sulawesi with a population of 800, provides a glimpse into this future. In 2000, former hamlet head Idris, who ran a small warung (roadside stall), noticed villagers were spending big chunks of their incomes on cigarettes. "They were just wasting their money," he tells us. Idris approached village leaders to discuss how to stop smoking. The first step was an initially unpopular proposal that the village warungs stop selling cigarettes. Within six months all eight had signed up. Smoking was then banned in public places. No smoking signs were posted everywhere with horrible pictures of blackened lungs. "One kid went home crying. He said he didn't want his dad's lungs to turn black like in the pictures."
"This is a tale of two cities."

An emotional British politician has invoked Charles Dickens while describing the injustices of this week's Grenfell Tower fire in London, imploring Britain to care for its poor.

Labour MP David Lammy, who spent his childhood playing in a housing estate in Tottenham, in northern London, says he is heartbroken.

"This is what Dickens was writing about in the century before the last, and it's still here in 2017. It's the face of the poorest and the most vulnerable," Mr Lammy told Britain's Channel 4, his voice cracking.
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Upgrading with changes in headline, intro)

Panaji, Jun 17 (PTI) The BJP-led Goa government will be urging the Centre to make some changes in the notification banning sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets in view of the "apprehensions" it has left in the minds of local people.

Goa Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai today said he had taken up the issue with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who had agreed to write to the Centre about the states views on the matter.

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He said the notification had created apprehensions in the minds of Goans that the government wanted to turn all into vegetarians.

"I have discussed the issue with the Chief Minister and he said he will write to the Centre," Sardesai, leader of the Goa Forward Party, a partner in the ruling coalition in the coastal state, said.

"The state government is going to raise certain objections and suggest some corrections to the notification on the Prevention of Cruelty Towards Animal Act. A significant section of the people in Goa eat beef and there are doubts in their minds that need to be cleared," he said.

A Central minister had also spoken to Parrikar and asked him to write about the objections to the notification, Sardesai said.

The Centre recently banned the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter. The Environment Ministry notified the stringent Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Sardesai said, "Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has already made a statement that the government is ready to tweak the rules to remove apprehensions in the minds of the people. We, as Goa Forward party, are giving a note to the CM."

The minister said Goa does not actually come under the ambit of these rules since it practically has no animal market.

"We do not have a yard where animals are sold. But since there are inter-state ramifications, there is an effect on Goa," he said.

The cattle for slaughter is brought to Goa mostly from neighbouring Karnataka.

Sardesai said it (notification) would impoverish the farmers and affect the hospitality industry, which is the backbone of Goa.

"Since the government is going to write to the Centre on our stand with regard to the rule, I assure every section of the Goan society that they need not worry," he added.

On the suggestions to be made to the Centre for modification of the rule, he said the Goa government might give some specific points.

"The notification talks of milk and draft animal. When draft animals become old, you have to kill them. They have spoken about all sorts of animals, including chicken and goats, which means people will have to turn vegetarian," he said. PTI RPS NP NM SRY

--- ENDS ---

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The official response to the London tower fire catastrophe "was not good enough", Theresa May admitted on Saturday night as the death toll exceeded that of Britain's worst fires since the Second World War.

In a significant admission of failure in getting to grips with the scale of the disaster, in which at least 58 people are now feared dead - more than in the Bradford stadium blaze, which killed 56 in 1985, the Prime Minister said: "Frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough," she said.

"I have heard the concerns and I have ordered immediate action across the board to help victims' relatives and the survivors."

The Prime Minister, who has come in for widespread criticism for her response to the crisis, spoke after meeting victims of the disaster at No 10 for two and a half hours.
People watch from a balcony as people walk during a demonstration following the fire at Grenfell Towers. Credit:AP Residents of the destroyed tower said May was far too slow to visit the stricken community, that the building had been unsafe and that officials have failed to give enough information and support to those who have lost relatives and their homes. Asked repeatedly whether she had misread the public mood, May did not answer directly but said the focus was on providing support to the victims. "What I'm now absolutely focused on is ensuring that we get that support on the ground," May said in a BBC Newsnight interview. "Government is making money available, we're ensuring that we're going to get to the bottom of what's happened, we will ensure that people are rehoused. But we need to make sure that that actually happens."

May on Saturday chaired a meeting on the government's response to the fire. She also met victims of the fire in Downing Street. Alongside both police and fire investigations into the blaze, she has promised to set up a public inquiry. She also pledged 5 million ($8.4 million) of support, housing guarantees and help with access to bank accounts and cash. Those who lost their homes will be rehoused within three weeks, she said. One of her closest allies, Damian Green, defended May on Saturday, adding that a team would go to the area to answer questions from residents. "The Prime Minister is distraught about what has happened," said Green, who was appointed May's deputy in the wake of the general election.

"We're all desperately sad, we're all angry, but of course none of us as angry as those who were directly affected. I absolutely get why they're angry," Green said. While the blaze has prompted an outpouring of generosity, with many people donating provisions and clothes, it has also unleashed rage at the authorities as the charred tower was cast as a deadly symbol of a deeply divided society. Angry protesters chanting "We want justice" stormed their way into the Kensington and Chelsea town hall on Friday. After a turbulent three months which has seen Britain scarred by three deadly Islamist militant attacks and now the tower blaze, Queen Elizabeth said the mood was deeply sombre but that the British people were resolute in the face of adversity. "It is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood," Elizabeth said in a message on her official birthday.

"The country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies. "Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity," Elizabeth said. "United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss." Such a direct message from the monarch is rare and indicated the extent of the turmoil in Britain. Opponents said May's handling of the fire has thrust her position further into doubt by showing a failure to feel the public mood and act decisively. After a tumultuous week that pitched Britain into its deepest political crisis since the Brexit referendum a year ago, May's future was already uncertain due to her failed gamble on a snap election.

Britain is now likely to go into arduous talks on Monday about its exit from the European Union with a weakened leader who is dependent on a small Northern Irish party. Matthew Parris, a columnist and former Conservative lawmaker, said May's response to the fire had shown a lack of judgment which made her unsuitable to be prime minister. "Wallowing in the wash of a general election that stripped our prime minister of her authority on the very eve of EU negotiations, neither common sense nor the evidence suggest she can re-establish public confidence," Parris wrote in the Times. Loading "This prime minister is not viable."
Seven US Navy sailors are missing off the coast of Japan after an Aegis guided missile destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, collided with a container ship early on Saturday, causing significant damage and flooding.

Three sailors, including the destroyer's commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson, were evacuated from the damaged vessel and are being treated at the US naval hospital at Yokosuka, the home of the US Navy's Seventh Fleet.

Commander Benson was reported to be in stable condition in the hospital, while the other two were still having their injuries assessed. The Seventh Fleet had set up an information centre for families of sailors serving on the ship.

The cause of the collision was not yet clear.
Beijing: Frustration with being continually late because he couldn't find a carpark convinced Donald Tang, 33, that Sydney needed to embrace Asia's digital bike-sharing boom.

The University of Technology, Sydney graduate says there are some places, like Darling Harbour, where city workers can't even catch a train or bus to the office.

Donald Tang founder of bike sharing new Sydney start-up ReddyGo. Credit:Steven Siewert

Mr Tang's start-up, Reddy Go, will place red bicycles wth GPS tracking at train stations around the Sydney CBD in July.

The bikes are located and unlocked with a smartphone app, and will cost $1.99 for 30-minutes. They come with a helmet, and can be left wherever it is legal to do so.
GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- A delegation from Sint Maartens Collective Preventive Services (CPS), a department in the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, recently attended the 9th Summit of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) in Washington DC at the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The two-day June 6-7 summit took place under the theme: First Food: The Essential Role of Breastfeeding.

Dr. Virginia Asin, CPS Head gave a presentation about Breastfeeding Promotion and Practices on Sint Maarten. CPS Nurse Ivanca Woodley, also attended the summit and was co-presenter.

I am very proud that our program got the attention of ABM, but I am more proud of the fact that the work done by our staff with limited resources, both human and financial, received such high recognition.

At the sum, it we expanded our knowledge with attending professionals who offered support and technical assistance for the future upgrading and improvement in our Breastfeeding program and practices.

With this summit behind us, CPS has intensified the already strong relationship with the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) through Dr. Julie Taylor who is the current President of ABM, but also the Associate Dean for Academics and Student Affairs at AUC.

It was a huge honour for us to be invited to make a presentation at such a prestigious event in front of an illustrious group of experts in the field of breastfeeding, Dr. Virginia Asin said on Friday.

The First Annual Summit, held in June 2009, marked the 25th anniversary of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, a milestone event led by the late C. Everett Koop, MD in 1984.

Now in its Ninth year, the Summit will continue to monitor and address the unmet health needs of underserved mothers and their vulnerable children associated with low rates of breastfeeding, and to work proactively toward reducing barriers to breastfeeding.

The goal of the summit was to bring high-level visibility in order to generate timely evidence-based programs for an enhanced national breastfeeding agenda.

Each year's Summit serves as a benchmark to assess annual progress in breastfeeding practice nationwide. In the past ABM have been pleased to feature each Surgeon General as well as leaders from other Federal agencies, key Senators, Congressmen, Governors, Mayors, the World Bank, and nonprofits nationwide.

Key thought leaders in health and public health and medicine participating in the conference included high-level representatives from major Federal agencies as well as hands-on grass roots administrators from important programs throughout the United States and leaders from academic institutions, industry, nonprofits, and public agencies.

The Summit was again presented by the publication, Breastfeeding Medicine. Founded in 1995, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is an international, multi-specialty, physician organization with more than 700 members dedicated to the promotion, protection, and support of breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding Medicine, as its official peer-reviewed journal, will publish the Summit proceedings and policy recommendations coming out of the summit.
GREAT BAY(DCOMM):--- Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), announces that there will be a temporary interruption in the traffic flow on part of the A.J.C. Brouwers Monday evening. This closure was initially scheduled for June 14, but due to rainfall that evening, the works had to be postponed and rescheduled.

The road closure will be Monday evening, June 19 from 9.00pm to 5.00am.

Motorists are advised to be observant of a detour and directional signs during the aforementioned hours. Motorists heading to Cole Bay/Simpson Bay from Philipsburg/Cul de Sac will have to use the Arlett Peters Road (old Cake House Road) or the Alexis Arnell Boulevard (Link 1 Phase 2).

All motorized traffic coming from the Cole Bay area to Philipsburg/Cul de Sac must use the Alexis Arnell Boulevard.

The aforementioned closure is related to the painting of road markings on the A.J.C. Brouwers road from the Round-a-bout Cay Hill intersection to the Arlette Peters Road.

The aforementioned works will be carried out by Soualiga Infrastructure.

Ministry VROMI apologizes for any inconveniences this may cause.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau hosted a welcome luncheon for Rashana Jones, the 2016 Barbados Junior Minister of Tourism and her mom at the Ocean Lounge restaurant at Holland House.

Ms. Jones was placed third at the 2016 Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Tourism Youth Congress and won a ticket for 2 a LIAT to any Caribbean destination. She chose St. Maarten as her destination. She was also hosted by St. Maarten's Junior Minister for 2017 Kiara Meyers.

Rashana and her mom were presented with gift bags courtesy of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau.
UPDATE  Socrata Welcomes Matt Miszewski as Senior VP of Sales

SEATTLE, WA  (Marketwired)  06/16/17  , the leading data-as-a-service platform for government organizations, welcomes Matt Miszewski as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Sales.

As Socrata aggressively expands our cloud solution portfolio across a wide variety of public and employee-facing government data-driven programs, we are pleased to add Matts deep expertise as a public sector technology leader to our executive team, said Kevin Merritt, Socrata Founder and CEO. In addition to serving the needs of governments as the leader of public sector focused solutions providers for a decade, Matt spent more than four years as a public servant  as State CIO  directly working to modernize and streamline the technology infrastructure in his state.

Miszewski has led winning sales, marketing, and business teams for a decade. Miszewski holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School and a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from Marquette University. In his most recent role as SVP of Global Sales and Marketing for Digital Realty Trust, he reestablished market dominance and tripled shareholder value. Miszewski helped build the Global Public Sector Business Unit, establish the global account management program, expand into federal, state and local markets, and design the go-to-market strategy while SVP of Enterprise Sales & Public Sector at Salesforce. As General Manager of Microsofts Worldwide Government practice he led a team serving central, local, and regional governments in 13 global regions driving double digit growth. Miszewski served for over four years as the state of Wisconsins Chief Information Officer under Governor James Jim Doyle, where he established the first statewide Service Oriented Architecture, which significantly increased the agility of the states technology infrastructure while saving more than $200M for Wisconsin taxpayers and enabling services such as the Wisconsin Justice Information Sharing system.

I was searching for a way to put decades of revenue and technology experience to work for a larger mission, driving a technology vision that is positioned to solve important and challenging problems for people serving society, said Matt Miszewski, Socrata SVP of Sales. With its advanced data-as-a-service platform and a strong and experienced leadership team, I am thrilled to be helping Socratas government clients resolve some of societys biggest and most intractable problems.

Socrata is the market leader in making existing government data discoverable, usable, and actionable for government workers and the people they serve. Socrata provides a data-as-a-service platform and cloud applications exclusively for city, county, state, and federal government organizations. Socrata delivers unprecedented, data-driven innovation and cost-savings by bringing together disparate systems and leveraging the cloud to dramatically enhance the effectiveness of government programs, to improve quality of life for residents, positively impact local economies, and achieve excellence in government operations. Socrata solutions are designed and developed to meet strict government standards and is the first company of its size to achieve Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Authority to Operate. The technology is optimized on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Public Sector cloud and delivered using the exclusive .
A local court in Kolhapur granted bail to Sanatan Sanstha activist Samir Gaikwad, prime accused in the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare.

By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: Sanatan Sanstha activist Samir Gaikwad, prime accused in the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare, was today granted bail by a local court in Kolhapur.

Senior Communist leader and rationalist Govind Pansare was shot dead by unidentified men on February 16, 2015 when he was out for morning walk with his wife.

The bail has been granted on the conditions that Gaikwad will not enter Kolhapur and be present before the Special Investigations Team (SIT) every Sunday from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm.

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Gaikwad has been asked not to leave Maharashtra and surrender his passport. He has also been asked not to threaten or influence witnesses.

The state government had formed a SIT to probe the high profile murder case. In September 2015, Gaikwad was arrested from Sangli as a prime suspect in the case by the SIT of Maharashtra Police.

"We welcome the court's decision of granting bail to Samir. He has been behind bars for two years only on the grounds of suspicion. The investigating team had no evidence against him and hence he has been granted bail. We now want the trial to start at the earliest so that Samir can walk out clean," said Abhay Vartak, spokesperson of the Sanatan Sanstha.

Meanwhile, the Pansare family has expressed displeasure over the bail and urged the state government to immediately appeal against the bail in the High Court. "The state government should waste no time in appealing against the bail in the High Court," said Megha Pansare, daughter-in-law of the late communist leader.

ALSO READ | Pansare murder: Police custody of accused extended by 2 days

ALSO WATCH | Senior CPI leader Govind Pansare succumbs to his injuries in Mumbai

--- ENDS ---
Opener brings an early escape for Notre Dame men's basketball

It's a big season of expectations for a veteran Notre Dame team - first up, a second chance at Radford in home opener
A Hindu family in Sindh, Pakistan has filed a police complaint alleging that their underage daughter was married off to a Muslim man after being forcibly converted to Islam. The girl and her husband, on the other hand, have said the marriage and her conversion to Islam was wilful.

By Hamza Ameer: In what could be yet another instance of a Hindu girl being forcibly converted to Islam, a Hindu family in Pakistan has alleged that their daughter was forcibly married after being kidnapped and made to change her religion.

The family has claimed that Ravita Meghwadh, an underage girl, was forcibly converted to Islam and was married off in Tharparkar in Pakistan's Sindh province.

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Notably, Hindus in Pakistan, a religious minority, have often alleged that they suffer at the hands of extremists who often forcibly convert Hindu girls to Islam.

Interestingly, Ravita and her husband, Syed Nawaz Ali Shah, have filed a petition at the Singh High Court requesting protection and saying that Ravita's conversion to Islam and her marriage to Shah was wilful.

Ravita converted to Islam at a Khanqah in Umerkot district and changed her name to Gulnaz. Her family has denied this version of events and is accusing Nawaz and his family of kidnapping Ravita.

According to a report in the Pakistani daily The Express Tribune, Ravita's father claims that his daughter is underage. "She was abducted from home and was forcefully married to a man who is double her age," Satram alias Satio Meghwadh, the girl's father, was reported to have said.

Lajpat Meghwadh, who is married to Ravita's older sister, too made a similar claim. "My wife is barely 18-years-old. How can her younger sister be an adult?" Lajpat reportedly said.

Meanwhile, a Dawn report says that the girl's marriage certificate says she is "approximately" 18 years old. Dawn also accessed Ravita's birth certificate, according to which she was born on July 14, 2001, putting her age at 16.

Both the Pakistani media reports said that Ravita's father has filed a police complaint in the matter, naming Syed Nawaz Ali Shah and three others, but no arrests have yet been made.

ALSO READ | Landmark Pakistan Hindu Marriage Bill becomes law: All you need to know

ALSO READ | Another case of forced conversion in Pakistan, this time married Hindu girl forcibly remarried by jirga

ALSO WATCH | Zakir Naik's ISIS link nailed: From conversion to Jihad factory

--- ENDS ---
Albert L. Ortega | Getty Images

Before there was Michael Keaton and Christian Bale, there was Adam West, the man who donned Batman's cape and mask and prowled the street of Gotham City in the late '60s, doing battle with fearsome villains and impossibly hokey special effects.

West sadly died of leukemia at the age of 88 last week.
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Updating with additional quotes)

Hyderabad, Jun 17 (PTI) Maintaining that the Army has a very good human rights record, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat today said the incident of a Kashmiri man being used as a human shield against stone pelters was circumstances-based and could not be made a standard operating procedure to deal with such situations.

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He said "misinformation and disinformation" was being spread among the people of Jammu and Kashmir, compelling the younger generation to pick up arms against the security forces.

Commenting on Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied the man to a jeep purportedly as a shield against stone pelters, Rawat said, "Everything and every action that we take is considering the nature of task that we are expected to carry out under the circumstances."

"But we are concerned about human rights and we make sure rights of people are not violated," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

Rawat was in the city as the chief guest at the combined graduation parade, marking the completion of the pre-commissioning training of Indian Air Force flight cadets at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal.

When asked whether it (human shield incident) could be made a standard operating procedure (SOP), the Army chief said, "No...it is not...What I am saying is it is not considered...I said it depends on the circumstances. It is circumstances-based. Each one takes action based on the circumstances, but the effort is to make sure that human rights violations are not there."

On handling the situation in Kashmir wherein some school children were also seen to be part of the mob hurling stones at the security forces, Rawat said the Army follows very stringent rules of engagement in the Valley.

"They have been trained to handle such situations and when they find that there are children and women, who are coming in the front, they deal with them accordingly and harsh measures are never used. We are an Army which believes very strongly in human rights and we have a very good human rights record. We know how to deal with children and women under such circumstances," he said.

When asked about some cases of even locals and minors picking up arms and attacking the Army and security personnel, Rawat said, "There is some misinformation and disinformation which is being spread amongst the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which is causing this trouble and possibly, I would say, compelling some of the younger generation to pick up arms."

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"But, I am quite confident that they will soon understand that any (such) thing that they are doing is not good for their own state and for the people," he said.

All that the armed forces and other security forces want is peace and tranquillity in the Valley, Rawat said, adding the security forces were doing a great job in bringing the Kashmir situation under control.

He said the Jammu and Kashmir situation should not be looked from the perspective of what was being projected and that the security forces were taking necessary action in the Valley.

"You should not look at the Jammu and Kashmir situation from the perspective of what is being projected. Let me tell you the security forces and all other agencies are doing a great job to bring the situation under control," he said.

"Some parts of South Kashmir are indeed troublesome, but necessary actions are being taken to ensure that the situation there is fully brought under control. Therefore, I think there should not be any cause for worry for anyone," he said.

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"We all are looking at bringing peace and tranquillity and I am quite sure that some of the young people, who should be having books and computers in their hands and preparing for exams for entering the IITs and IIMs, will soon be brought on the right side of the fence and they will themselves understand that they were not choosing the right path," the General said.

Rawat said he was quite confident that the situation would be brought under control.

On frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan, he said, "Ceasefire violations take place with a purpose and we have to counter it."

When asked how Army viewed political comments against it, he said, "Armed forces do their work and task. We do not care about other things."

Asked if the situation was deteriorating in the Valley with each passing day, Rawat said, "..well, not really. We are there to make sure the situation is brought under control. Therefore, I think at the present juncture we have to continue with the task in the manner in which we are carrying on."

"The Indian armed forces belong to the people. We are the peoples armed forces. Therefore, the Army is for the people. We have been called upon to do a particular task by the Government of India. Because they do feel that there is a requirement for the Army to be there. Therefore, we are there," he said.

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Earlier in his address after reviewing the parade, Rawat said the defence forces in India have an impeccable track record.

"Today we command respect in all walks of life and that is because we have always successfully served the nation against external threats, internal disorders, during natural calamities or in rescue missions. Internationally also, we have been praised for our professionalism, courage and patience during deployments for United Nations-sponsored peace keeping missions in the most difficult and volatile places in the world," he said.

He said the defence forces are required to be always alert in view of the myriad external security challenges and law and order situation in a few states.

"The advancement in globalisation and technology is changing the way wars are being fought. Moreover, these technologies are not only available to our adversaries, but also available to non-state actors too," he said.

Stating that integrity was the foundation of military profession, the Army chief said, "Without it, we may lose the trust of the society. In case the society does not trust its defence forces, it will be difficult for the nation to maintain its military and protect itself. In this context, integrity includes honesty, truthfulness, reliability, impartiality, sincerity and courage."

The Army chief conferred the Presidents Commission to 120 graduating trainees of various branches, including 25 women trainees. PTI VVK RS ARS NM NP SRY

--- ENDS ---
F urious viewers slammed Theresa May over an inhuman TV interview about the Grenfell Tower disaster which left at least 30 people dead.

Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis grilled the Prime Minister over what she had done for the victims of the devastating inferno at a west London tower block.

Mrs May appeared visibly uncomfortable as she struggled to answer the question just a day after she was criticised for failing to meet with victims at the scene of the tragedy.

Ms Maitlis accused Mrs May of misreading the public mood surrounding the blaze.

She said: You misread the public mood on this one. You misread the anger that people feel about this.

Visibly uncomfortable: The Prime Minister failed to answer questions on the disaster (BBC ) / BBC

'They shouted coward at you this afternoon.

Appearing to brush over the question, the Prime Minister: What I have done since this incident took place is, first of all yesterday, ensure that public services had the support that they needed in order to be able to do the job they were doing in the immediate aftermath.

Ms Maitlis replied: That's three days on, Prime Minister, this is Friday evening. They needed those things in place on Wednesday.

Protesters gather outside Downing Street as they demand justice for the Grenfell Tower residents. / Getty Images

Appearing to avoid the question further, she responded: What I have done today is ensured that we are, as a government, putting that funding in place for people in the area.

Pressed again on whether she had failed to understand the anger felt by the public, she said: This was a terrible tragedy that took place. People have lost their lives and others have lost everything, all their possessions, their home and everything.

What we are doing is putting in place the support that will help them.

A heavy police presence at the rally in Westminster. / Getty Images

But it is a terrible tragedy. I have heard horrifying stories from the fire brigade, from police and from victims themselves who were in that tower but also from other local residents, some of whom of course have not been able to go back to their homes either.

What Im now absolutely focused on is ensuring that we get that support on the ground.

Government is making money available, we are ensuring we are going to get to the bottom of what happened, we will ensure that people are rehoused, but we need to make sure that that actually happens.

Theresa May leaving the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. / PA

She added that a public inquiry into the fire would take place as soon as possible and claimed the government had acted on previous warnings raised about the safety of tower blocks in the capital.

Enraged members of the public took to social media to share their outrage surrounding the comments.

One Twitter user wrote: Still amazed at that #Newsnight interview with May. If *this* can't make her engage like a person then nothing can.

Barry Hearth added: I thought that was a hologram we saw on Newsnight masquerading as the PM.

Another viewer wrote: How can someone be so inhuman and uncaring? Theresa May is a write off now more than ever.

A woman is held up as she collapses during a visit to a church by PM Theresa May. / REUTERS

While Dave Branwood added: Theresa May awful again on Newsnight. If she was in the Wizard of Oz she would be "The Tin Woman" without a heart, never mind The Iron Lady.

The disastrous interview came just hours after crowds at St Clements Church, close to the scene, jeered shame on you during the Prime Ministers visit.

Police protect the entourage carrying PM Theresa May from an angry crowd as she leaves Kensington. / REUTERS

As Mrs May left, an angry crowd targeted her with cries of coward.

One woman, who was crying, said the Prime Minister failed to speak to anyone outside the meeting, which lasted just under than hour.

Police officers held back the angry demonstrators and broke up a scuffle between members of the crowd as Mrs May's car drove off.

Theresa May is shouted at by crowds as she leaves church

The PM faced initial criticism after failing to meet victims during a visit of the base of the tower site following the blaze, which broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

On Friday she visited survivors at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, spending nearly an hour speaking to patients and staff. She then headed to the church in north Kensington.

After her visits, Downing Street announced 5 million of funding will be spent on emergency supplies, food and clothing for the victims.

Protesters stormed the streets of West London on Friday evening demanding justice for the blaze.
A British music supergroup are set to release a charity single to raise funds for those affected by the Grenfell Tower blaze on Monday, Simon Cowell has revealed.

The Syco boss and X Factor judge announced that stars including former 1D hunk Liam Payne, London grime star Stormzy and X Factor winner Louisa Johnson will cover Simon and Garfunkels Bridge Over Troubled Water to raise money for those affected by the fire which ravaged a tower block in west London.

He told the Sun: We only started 24 hours ago and already we are getting calls coming in, mainly from Brits.

A lot of artists  people like Stormzy, Skepta, Emily Sande and the London Community Gospel Choir want to be involved.

Inside Grenfell Tower 1 /17 Inside Grenfell Tower Water is sprayed on Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building PA Fire service personnel inside Grenfell Tower in west London PA A view inside the Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building PA Sniffer dogs were sent inside to the tower today PA Fire service personnel inside Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building PA Part of the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building PA A view inside the Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building PA

London Grammar, The Who, Pixie Lott and James Arthur are also committed to perform, according to the Sun.

Mr Cowell said he hoped more people would join the line-up ahead of recording on Sunday.

The music mogul, who manages the likes of Little Mix and Ella Henderson, spoke of his heartbreak after driving past the scene of the fire which left at least 30 people dead and 10 more fighting for life in hospital.

Grenfell Tower tribute messages - In pictures 1 /18 Grenfell Tower tribute messages - In pictures Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Jonathan Mitchell Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower PA Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Jonathan Mitchell Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Jonathan Mitchell Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower AP Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Jonathan Mitchell Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Jonathan Mitchell Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower PA Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower PA Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Jonathan Mitchell Tributes left close to Grenfell Tower Jonathan Mitchell

He told the newspaper: It was very shocking, first to see how close it was and second, to look at the other ones still standing and think, it could be them next.

You sit there and watch the news and go back and think, what the f*** do you do?

"I thought this was the best thing because its quick and Ive done it before.

Back in 2010, Cowell produced a charity single version of REMs Everybody Hurts to raise money for victims off the Haiti earthquake, featuring Mariah Carey and Rod Stewart.

Stars including Adele, Rita Ora and Lily Allen have shown their support in the aftermath of the tragic fire that tore through the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in the early hours of Wednesday.

While Adele was pictured attending Wednesday nights vigil in Kensington, Ora spent the day helping to sort clothes donations in her childhood neighbourhood.

"This is my neighbourhood I can't believe this is happening," she wrote on Twitter. "My prayers are with everybody involved my heart is beating so fast. I used to play in that block - I want to do all I can do to help.
A t least 58 people are now presumed dead following the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower, police said as the search to recover bodies continues.

In the latest update on Saturday, Commander Stuart Cundy said officers have now established there were 58 people known to have been in the tower at the time of the disaster and who are still missing.

Police have so far recovered 16 bodies and the first victim has been formally identified as 23-year-old Mohammed Alhajali.

All 24 floors of the high rise building has now been searched. The recovery operation was paused on Friday over fears for the safety of emergency workers in the building but is now set to resume.

Stuart Cundy speaking to media as the destroyed Grenfell Tower looms in the background. / PA

Mr Cundy said: "Sadly, at this time there are 58 people who we have been told were in the Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing, and therefore sadly, I have to assume that they are dead.

"That number 58 may change. I really hope it won't, but it may increase.

"Our focus has been on those that we know were in Grenfell Tower. However, there may be other people who were in there on the night that others were not aware were there.

Grenfell Tower: The search continues after the inferno / PA

"That is also an absolute priority for the investigation - to establish who they may be," he added.

Of the 58, he said 30 were confirmed dead.

Mr Cundy appealed to anyone who may have escaped from the building, but has not yet come forward, to make themselves known.

Notting Hill Grenfell Tower Fire - In pictures 1 /49 Notting Hill Grenfell Tower Fire - In pictures A blaze rages through Grenfell Tower block in Notting Hill Jeremy Selwyn Aerial view of the fire at Grenfell Tower, Notting Hill Jason Hawkes Jeremy Selwyn Aerial view of the fire at Grenfell Tower, Notting Hill Jason Hawkes Jeremy Selwyn A firefighter investigates a floor after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower PA Exhausted firefighter rest on steps of houses after ours of tackling the blaze Alex Lentati Jeremy Selwyn Residents wave frantically at a window during the blaze Nigel Howard Emergency personnel operate during the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 27-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA A police officer helps to evacuate a local resident from close to the scene of a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London Reuters Debris and ash surrounding Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate, Latimer road Jeremy Selwyn A fleet of ambulances at the scene ready to deal with the injured AFP/Getty Images A firefighter rests during the battle against the blaze at Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn Firefighters prepare to enter the building to tackle the flames EPA Nigel Howard Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Flames engulf the tower block in Notting Hill AFP/Getty Images This shocking image shows flames engulfing the 27 storey tower Jeremy Selwyn Police and Emergency services at the scene of a major fire in Notting Hill after a block of flats Grenfell Tower is engulfed in flames Nigel Howard A person peers out of a window from the building on fire in London AP Firefighters react as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower AFP/Getty Images Smoke rises from the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Alex Lentati Aw omen react followign the blaze at Grenfell Tower Alex Lentati Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Jeremy Selwyn A water jet douses the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block seen through a fence in North Kensington EPA Young children wear protective face masks near the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Two men hug within the security cordon as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire AFP/Getty Images A man (circled) looks from a window as smoke pours from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower PA Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Alex Lentati Firefighters on the scene at Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road early this morning Alex Lentati A view of debris from the Grenfell Tower fire covering a football pitch EPA Aerial view of the closed of Westway follwing a the fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate, Latimer Road. Jeremy Selwyn Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images A local resident is carried to receive some medical aid at a community centre close to a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower PA

More than 6,000 calls were made to the police casualty bureau as well as to forces across the country in the wake of the disaster.

Speaking about the criminal probe which has been launched, Mr Cundy pledged anyone who has committed an offence would be brought to justice.

He said the police investigation into the blaze would look at the building and its refurbishment in 2016 and vowed to prosecute people "if there is evidence".

Killed in the blaze: The first victim to be identified was Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali / PA

He said: "The investigation is a police investigation. We investigate criminal matters. The investigation will identify any criminal offence that has been committed. It will be wide ranging.

"It will go to establish the answers of what happened in the fire and how it spread, it will look at the building itself, it will look at the refurbishment as well.

In the wake of the disaster. / Alex Lentati

"Our criminal investigation will identify any criminal offences that have been committed. Wherever we can, we will bring people to justice if there is evidence. It is completely and wholly inappropriate for me to talk about details of the investigation which may subsequently jeopardise any criminal proceedings."

The fire ripped through the tower block, on the Lancaster West Estate in north Kensington, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Witnesses reported seeing people screaming and jumping from the building in the terror.

Fury over the Grenfell Tower blaze came to a head on Friday with two separate protests erupting across the capital.

A crowd of furious protesters stormed Kensington town hall demanding answers from the local authority before marching to the base of the tower.

Kensington Town Hall Grenfell Tower protest: People chant "Shame on you!"

In a separate rally at Whitehall, more than a thousand people marched to Downing Street in anger at the Governments response to the disaster.

Theresa May met with survivors of the tragedy in hospital and on Saturday welcomed residents to Downing Street.

Family liaison officers are working with 52 families, and as soon as victims are identified, their loved ones will be told, Mr Cundy added in the update on Saturday.

Grenfell Tower Firefighters - In pictures 1 /32 Grenfell Tower Firefighters - In pictures A firefighter pours water over his head after battling a huge fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Firefighters spray water after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west Londo PA A firefighter investigates a floor after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters rest as they take a break in battling a massive fire that raged in a high-rise apartment building in London AP A firefighter close at the scene after a fire engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Alex Lentati The moment a resident is carried out of the Grenfell Tower block by fire bridgae and riot police carrying shield Sky News Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Alex Lentati Emergency services gather close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters rest as they take a break in battling a massive fire that raged in a high-rise apartment building in London AP Firefighters wait to start their shift after a massive fire raged in a 27-floor high-rise apartment building in London AP Firefighters stand amid debris in a childrens playground near a tower block severly damaged by a serious fire, in north Kensington, West London REUTERS Emergency services gather close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters react as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower AFP/Getty Images Emergency personnel operate during the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 27-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA A firefighter rests during the ballte against the blaze at Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn Emergency services close to the scene after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London Nigel Howard A London Fire Brigade worker moves air tanks close to the scene of a fire that engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Firefighters spray water after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Fire crews rest as they take part in the operation to put out a fire in a high rise apartment block in London AP A firemen reacts after battling a huge fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Residents were trapped "screaming for their lives" as flames raged through a 27-storey tower block in Notting Hill Alex Lentati Emergency services spray water towards a fire that engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA

The police commander said at the scene: "At this point in time we have 16 people who have been recovered to the mortuary.

"I absolutely understand the frustration of why figures haven't been released earlier. The reason for that - at one point, in terms of our casualty bureau, there were 400 people who were reported missing from Grenfell Tower.

"Grenfell Tower itself is 120 flats. We have worked tirelessly over the last four days to truly understand those that we know were there on the night."

He added: "I understand - I really do understand - the frustration of so many about not knowing the scale of the tragedy that is unfolding behind us.

"I have said it before, you have my absolute assurance that as soon as I can possibly tell you something that I know to be accurate, I will tell you."

Mr Cundy said: "The investigation will be exhaustive. My intention is that it will help provide answers.

"If, as we investigate, we identify issues that are a risk to public safety, we will not be waiting until the end of the investigation before we provide that information to the appropriate authorities.

"If there are any safety issues that we and experts that we will be using identify, we will share that immediately."
T he heartbroken brother of a woman missing alongside her young son following the Grenfell Tower blaze has joined friends at a tribute in her memory.

Zainab Dean was in her 14th floor flat with her two-year-old son Jeremiah when the fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

She was described as a "beautiful, loving lady" by friends, who carried flowers and wore t-shirts featuring her picture as they walked along Bramley Road in west London.

The group sang songs including Amazing Grace as they walked towards a spot where candles have been lit and messages left on heart-shaped paper.

When they were in sight of the remains of the tower, some pointed and shouted "we shall overcome" before breaking into song again.

Zainab Dean, one of those missing in the fire.

Francis Dean, Ms Dean's brother, was too upset to speak. Members of the UK's Sierra Leone community travelled from Manchester and Birmingham to take part, a friend, Isha Thomas, said.

She said Ms Dean had been on the phone to her brother from the 14th floor flat in which she was living with Jeremiah as the fire raged.

Friends of Ms Dean, who is originally from Sierra Leone. / PA

She said she believed Ms Dean was following advice not to leave the building, adding: "She was on the phone to her brother until four in the morning."

She added: "We are just devastated. I just want them (authorities) to answer. We need answers, we need to know what happened."

Ms Thomas, who knows Ms Dean through the City of Light evangelical ministry in Brentford, said the family have been checking hospitals but have heard nothing.

She said: "I'm hopeful, I have to be hopeful."

On Saturday Prime Minister Theresa May met with some of the residents of the tower in Downing Street.

Protests erupted across the capital on Friday night in response to the council and Government's response to the tragedy.
H eartbreaking images show the moment devastated mourners united by candlelight in memory of at least 30 people killed in the Grenfell Tower blaze.

Poignant photos showed hundreds of people gathered outside the Latymer Christian Church, just yards from the gutted block of flats, to pay tribute to entire families wiped out by the fire in west London.

Two young boys were pictured cross-legged as they looked at cards and flowers laid close to the scene of the inferno which ripped through the 24-storey building in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Many wept openly as a sea of candles softly illuminated the road outside the community centre which housed hundreds of homeless residents in the days after the blaze.

Emotional scenes: Mourners light candles close to Grenfell Tower / PA

Generous volunteers rallied around to offer clothing, food and water to those whose home were ravaged by fire and those desperately searching for friends and relatives.

The hundreds gathered on Bramley Road joined in with renditions of Bob Marley's Three Little Birds, as well as Amazing Grace, during the short service.

Then the crowd were asked to raise candles or torches in the air as they observed two minutes of silence for the dead.

Heatbroken: Many wept at the vigil / PA

So far, police have confirmed 30 people have died in the tragedy but warned the death toll is expected to rise.

Some 70 people are still believed to be missing while 19 are injured in hospitals across the capital.

Ten of those injured are said to be in a critical condition.

Heartbreaking moment: Two young boys look at flowers and cards / PA

Brenda Mercer, 64, who organised the vigil, has been instrumental in helping the relief effort from the Latymer centre.

The 64-year-old said: "Last night I came to the wall to lay some flowers and I was overwhelmed because of how people were actually supporting each other, hugging each other.

Second vigil in Notting Hill for Grenfell Tower tragedy 1 /13 Second vigil in Notting Hill for Grenfell Tower tragedy Emotions run high as people attend a candle lit vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images People light candles as they observe a vigil outside Notting hill Methodist Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London AFP/Getty Images People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images Friends hug each other at a vigil to those killed, dead and missing and also to the emergency services and volunteers after the Grenfell Tower block fire Nigel Howard A woman lays flowers at a vigil to those killed, dead and missing and also to the emergency services and volunteers after the Grenfell Tower block fire Nigel Howard People arrive for a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Towe Getty Images A small child tapes flowers to railings at a vigil to those killed, dead and missing and also to the emergency services and volunteers after the Grenfell Tower block fire Nigel Howard A woman leaves flowers as people arrive for a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images Reverend Mike Long leads a vigil to those killed, dead and missing and also to the emergency services and volunteers after the Grenfell Tower block fire Nigel Howard

"There were only around a dozen people there and I thought, 'I need to do something on a bigger scale', so I went home and organised this."

Two further vigils were held in Notting Hill in the wake of the incident.

People gather for vigil in Notting Hill in wake of Grenfell tragedy 1 /12 People gather for vigil in Notting Hill in wake of Grenfell tragedy Moving: A woman sobs as she and a child hold candles. Getty Images Young: A boy lights candles outside Notting Hill Methodist Church. PA Tragedy: People of all ages came together for the service. PA Shaken: The community was left reeling following the blaze. PA Tribute: People sang Amazing Grace together. Getty Images Candles: People young and old lit candles after the blaze which tore through the 24-storey block. Getty Images Comfort: Prayers were said and candles lit. Getty Images Aftermath: The Rev Mike Long invited those present to light candles. Getty Images Community: People at the vigil on Wednesday evening. Getty Images

Furious crowds stormed Kensington Town Hall on Friday night demanding justice.

Other hurled insults including coward at Prime Minister Theresa May and called for her to resign as she visited nearby St Clements Church.

In a statement released alongside her Birthday Honours List the Queen hailed UK residents for showing resolve in the wake of the tragedy and terror attacks at Westminster, London Bridge and in Manchester.

She said: Today is traditionally a day of celebration.

"This year, however, it is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood.

During recent visits in Manchester and London, I have been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need."
T he Queen today led the nation in silence and sombre celebrations for her official birthday parade.

She stood to attention with the Duke of Edinburgh at her side observing a minute's silence for victims of Grenfell Tower disaster before the Trooping the Colour spectacle.

The traditional celebrations came as The Queen, ahead of the event, issued a statement saying the UK has been "resolute in the face of adversity" following recent tragedies in London and Manchester.

Afterwards Her Majesty, 91 and Prince Philip, 96, travelled down The Mall from Buckingham Palace in a royal procession with a sovereign's escort of Household Division.

At the end of the colourful spectacle The Royal Family showed itself in all its generations on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Birthday parade: The Queen and Prince Phillip greet well-wishers / REUTERS

Her Majesty's great granddaughter Princess Charlotte  held in her mother the Duchess of Cambridge's arms  joined her older brother Prince George to watch the RAF flight past and Red Arrows.

Pretty in pink Charlotte, 2, seemed to enjoy the celebrations much more than last year when she was overcome by the noise.

George, 4 in July, was animated too, pointing and waving as the aircraft flew over the palace.

A Spitfire and Hurricane, made famous in the Battle of Britain, and also modern jets while the Red Arrows were among the 29 aircraft taking part in the RAF display.

Throughout the flypast Prince William pointed out the planes to his son.

Sunny day: Crowds gather on the Mall for Trooping the Colour / Getty Images

Huge crowds amassed in the Mall to catch a glimpse of the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family on the balcony.

Earlier many thousands had lined the streets to take part in the Queen's official birthday celebrations

Before the fly past the Queen attended the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, which included 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and more than 400 military musicians.

Huge crowds: Royal fans lined the streets / AP

There was a 21 Gun salute by the King's Troop Artillery to mark the Queen's official birthday in Hyde Park.

Trooping the Colour has been the focus of the monarchs birthday celebrations since the mid-1700s.

Police stepped up patrols surrounding the event following terror attacks in London and Manchester.

Snipers had been positioned on nearby roof tops and plain clothes officers will mingle among the crowds to bolster the uniformed police presence.

The traditional celebrations came as The Queen, ahead of the event, issued a statement saying the UK has been "resolute in the face of adversity".

Annual event: The Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge / Getty Images

She said: "Today is traditionally a day of celebration. This year, however, it is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood."

The Head of State released her statement on her official birthday, the day after she visited the survivors and heroes of the Grenfell Tower tragedy accompanied by Prince William.

"In recent months, the country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies," Her Majesty said.

Royal colonel: The Duke of Cambridge / EPA

"As a nation, we continue to reflect and pray for all those who have been directly affected by these events.

"During recent visits in Manchester and London, I have been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need."

The monarch visited the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital following the Manchester Arena attack in which 22 people were killed following an Ariana Grande concert.

She added: "Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity.

Floral print: Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie / PA

"United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss."

Trooping the Colour is an annual event that is part of the Queens official birthday celebrations.

It begins with an impressive pageantry parade which includes her personal troops, the Household Division and Horse Guards.

The Queen rides in a carriage before inspecting the troops and taking a salute from the officers and men on parade.

The Queen has two birthdays - her actual birthday in April and an official birthday marked every summer by the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

Royal event: Guardsmen take part in Trooping the Colour on Horseguards Parade / REUTERS

Today the Queen leaves Buckingham Palace accompanied by a Sovereigns escort from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

She then takes a Royal salute from officers and inspect the troops before the Regimental Colour, flag, is carried down the ranks.

Trooping the Colour 1 /13 Trooping the Colour Waves Prince Philip waves to crowds as he and the Queen travel to Horse Guards Parade for Trooping the Colour AFP/Getty Images Trooping the Colour Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh leaving Buckingham Palace in central London to view the Trooping the Colour ceremony Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Carriage The Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Cambridge travel in a carriage to Horseguards Parade with Prince Harry REUTERS/Toby Melville Spectators Crowds stand in the Mall complete with balloons and flags REUTERS/Toby Melville Crowds Crowds stand in the Mall for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony REUTERS/Toby Melville Union flags Flags adorn the Mall to honour Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday REUTERS/Toby Melville Guardsmen Guardsmen prepare on Horse Guards Parade REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Marching band The band entertains the crowds before the royal procession make its way down The Mall Steve Parsons/PA Wire Top hats Officials prepare on Horse Guards Parade for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Mini guardsman A young boy dressed in a Guardsman outfit before the royal procession makes its way down The Mall from Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour Yui Mok/PA Wire

After Foot Guards, the Household Cavalry, The Kings Troop and Royal Horse Artillery troop past, the Queen will head back to Buckingham Palace to the balcony for the Royal Air Force fly-past.

The tradition for monarchs to have two birthdays was started by George II back in 1748.

George was born in November and it was felt that it was too cold to host an annual birthday parade at that time.

It was decided that his birthday festivities would be combined with a military parade known as the Trooping the Colour, which was held in spring.

The Queen held a one minute silence for the victim's of the Grenfell fire disaster / REUTERS

Subsequent monarchs helpfully had birthdays at more convenient times of the year, but the Queens father, King George VI, reintroduced the tradition which she has continued.

The Queen has taken the salute every year since her coronation in 1953, apart from in 1955 when there was a national rail strike.

The Prime Minister normally attends Trooping the Colour but Theresa May, who has faced criticism over her handling of the Grenfell Tower fire, was not seen at the event.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister is this morning chairing a cross-Government meeting to ensure everything possible is being done to support those affected by the Grenfell tragedy.

"Afterwards, she will meet a group of residents, victims, volunteers and community leaders in No 10. The PM has sent her best wishes to HM Queen on the event of her birthday."

From her vantage point on a dias the Queen, with Philip beside her, watched the precision marching of the Guardsmen.

Four of the five Foot Guards regiments of the Household Division - the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Irish Guards - were on parade, but away from their ceremonial duties they are also fighting soldiers.

In total 1,600 soldiers and 244 horses from the Household Division were on parade during the ceremony and only a few weeks ago some of the servicemen were on the streets of London, supporting the Met Police on Operation Temperer in the wake of the terrorist attack in Manchester.

The Colour being paraded on Horse Guards this year was the flag of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards.

It was first trooped in slow then in quick time past the monarch with the Guardsmen in their bearskins and scarlet tunics marching with precision movements.

In the blistering temperatures a number of soldiers fainted in the heat, with around three men taken from the parade ground after being overcome by the sweltering conditions.
By Press Trust of India: process: MEA

New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) India today made it clear that it has never put any pressure on Nepal or the embattled Madhesi groups, adding that it wants an "inclusive" Constitution.

It also rejected the notion that it interfered in the process of constitutional amendments in the Himalayan nation.

MEA spokesperson Gopal Bagley said India wants an inclusive Constitution by taking people of different segments on board.

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Responding to a question on whether the Indian embassy in Kathmandu pressed the Madhesi parties to go for elections after putting constitutional amendments on hold, Baglay said the embassy was in touch with all political segments.

"Indias position is very clear. It has never been to pressure or to be prescriptive," he said.

"We support the aspiration to have an inclusive political order, an inclusive Constitution and consultations to arrive at such provisions which satisfy everyone, every party, every political segment...every view is taken on board," he said.

Ties between India and Nepal have come under strain over the adoption of the Constitution by Nepal, which India suggested was not "inclusive".

The Nepal government has tabled the new Constitution amendment bill in Parliament to address the demands of the agitating Madhesi parties ahead of the local elections.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution which they felt marginalised the Terai community. PTI PR SRY

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By Press Trust of India: Kathmandu, Jun 17 (PTI) An Indian man was killed and 20 people were injured today when a passenger bus crashed due to alleged overspeeding in Nepals western Banke district.

Niluji Adhikary, 35, a resident of Kolkata, died on the spot in Rapti Sunari Rural Municipality-9, about 500 kms west of Kathmandu, Himalayan Times reported.

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The bus, heading towards Surkhet from Butwal, turned turtle at Dhakeri area in the wee hours, Deputy Superintendent of Police Suresh Kafle said.

All the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital.

Most of the passengers were Indian labourers who travel to Nepal on a daily basis for work, police said.

The driver of the bus has been arrested for suspected overspeeding. PTI CPS

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Gov. Pete Ricketts visited Bayard and other communities across Nebraska Saturday to survey storm damage and speak with local leaders following a sustained severe weather pattern that impacted communities from border to border in Nebraska. Ricketts visited Bayard Saturday afternoon and his visits will conclude in Plattsmouth.

Two tornadoes wreaked havoc in, near Bayard; classified as EF-1, EF-2 SCOTTSBLUFF  The National Weather Service in Cheyenne has classified a tornado that caused large-scale damages in Bayard as an EF-1 tornado.

An unsettled weather pattern has impacted most of Nebraska since June 12 and the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency has been assessing damage reports from local emergency managers. A State Disaster Declaration for the continuing severe weather events that began on June 12 has been submitted, according to a press release from Ricketts office.

The State Emergency Operations Center at NEMA is partially activated. State agency staff continue to work with local emergency managers on assessing damage.

Nebraska agencies, including NEMA, the Nebraska State Patrol, the Nebraska Department of Roads, and the Nebraska National Guard, as well as the American Red Cross and others have supported relief efforts and are monitoring the situation in a number of communities throughout the state. At this time, officials ask people to avoid affected areas as emergency responders and local utilities continue to work in response to the latest round to storms, mostly affecting eastern Nebraska Friday afternoon and evening.

The following updated information was received from local emergency management in the affected counties:

Douglas County

Douglas County Emergency Management Agency Paul Johnson reported that Douglas County had no significant damage although there was a lot of tree damage, with branches and green debris in the streets. His biggest concern for the Omaha Metro will be getting power restored because of high temperatures and humidity. As of 4:35 p.m., OPPD reported it had 7,600 customers without power. In addition, power was out at the Papio Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Gage County

Norris Public Power reported 2,000 people without power in Gage and Lancaster Counties as of 6 a.m., and by 1:30 p.m. the number was reduced to fewer than 1,200 customers without power. A severe storm moved through Gage County from Clatonia to Beatrice to Wymore, according to Tim Stutzman, Gage County emergency manager.

Affected areas experienced high winds, heavy rains, some hail and possibly tornadic activity that yet to be confirmed, he said. There are some damaged houses and vehicles due to fallen limb or trees. There are a few houses with shingle damage from winds. Power is mostly restored to Beatrice except for a few isolated streets at this time. In Clatonia, a mobile home had roof damage and the inhabitants are with the family. All of Clatonia was without power due to a down power pole west of town on Highway 41. Wymore has tree damage and Big Indian reservoir there were some RV trailers toppled and some with tree damage.

Region 5-6-Dodge and Washington Counties

Emergency Management Director Bill Pook reported most power was restored in Arlington. There were people 76 without power. The streets have been cleared. In Dodge County, 900 customers were still without power affecting the towns of Nickerson, Winslow and Hooper. Lack of power may affect a lift station/lagoon in Nickerson. A back-up generator was not available. Debris has been removed from streets.

Sarpy County

Several highways were closed because of downed power lines and trees. Nearly 14,300 OPPD customers are without power are in Sarpy County as of 4:30 p.m.

There were no reports of injuries or fatalities in Sarpy County. The National Weather and the Sarpy County Emergency Management Agency are doing site visits to the area with heavy structural damage including Hyda Hills and Normandy.

Disaster declarations are being considered by Bellevue and Papillion. Sarpy County EMA will be putting a declaration together for the county. Dispatch advised the 911 trunk lines have been restored to the Sarpy Communications Center

Wayne County

One or possibly two tornadoes impacted southwestern Wayne County and the Village of Hoskins. The tornadoes caused substantial tree damage, power line damage, and damage to some out buildings and grain bins. An emergency operations center was activated in Hoskins for a few hours Friday evening. Wayne County Emergency Management will continue to monitor the recovery progress.
SCOTTSBLUFF  Scottsbluff High School was named the Outstanding High School Program for Career and Technical Education in Nebraska at the 43rd Annual Nebraska Career and Education Conference.

The annual Nebraska Excellence in Career Education Awards and Nebraska Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) Advisors of the Year Awards were presented on June 7-8 in Kearney. The Nebraska Career Education Conference was attended by approximately 600 Nebraska Career Education teachers, school counselors, administrators, and CTE advocates. The awards were co-sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Education and the Nebraska Career Education and Innovation Foundation (NCEIF).

The Excellence in Career Education Awards recognize outstanding Nebraska Career Education programs and outstanding partnerships with businesses and individuals. Recipients were nominated by Nebraska career educators from across the state.

Criteria for the Outstanding High School Program Award includes:

 Instructional programs aligned to the Nebraska Career Education Model

 Programs that demonstrate quality areas such as:

 Student achievement in both career and academic arenas

 Innovative instruction based on a state model program of study

 Leadership and personal development through career technical student organizations

 Effective implementation of career guidance and work-based learning

 Alignment to Nebraskas workforce needs and economic priorities

 Community engagement

In addition to the high school award, Bluffs Middle School teacher and FCCLA sponsor Anne Schmall received the Family and Consumer Science Teacher of the Year award as well as the Association for Career and Technical Education Service Award.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has asked India to make its submission in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case by September 13, the Ministry of External Affairs has said.

By Press Trust of India: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has asked India to make its submission in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case by September 13, the Ministry of External Affairs has said and debunked Pakistan's claim that its request seeking more time in the case had been rejected.

Pakistan has been asked by the court to complete its submission by December 13 this year, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

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Asked about Pakistan's claim that India's request for more time in the case has been rejected by the ICJ, Baglay said that it was not true as India had sought four months and had got that with the court fixing the deadline in September.

Earlier, Pakistan's Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali was quoted by Dawn News as saying that India had asked the ICJ to offer it time till December to file pleadings in the Jadhav case, however, "the court has dismissed their request".

"India had adopted the stance that the matter was one of life and death, but Pakistan had stated that the ICJ is not a court of appeals. The ICJ is supposed to conclude whether or not Jadhav can receive consular access, for which a time period of two to three months is more than enough to file a response", he said.

WHAT DID MEA SPOKESPERSON SAY

Baglay said the timelines had been decided in the June 8 meeting ICJ President Ronny Abraham had with agents of the two countries.

Asked if the hearing in the case would begin after the submissions of the two countries, Baglay said that the court would decide if it needed more submissions and then take a call on the future course of action.

In a hearing of the case on May 18, a 10-member bench of the ICJ restrained Pakistan from executing 46-year-old Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer who has been awarded death sentence by a Pakistan army court for alleged "involvement in espionage and terrorist activities in Pakistan".

India moved the ICJ against the death sentence on May 8, terming the charges against Jadhav "concocted" and his trial "farcical".

Also read | Pakistan Senate to debate Kulbhushan Jadhav case on Jamaat-i-Islami's motion

Also read | Pakistan implicated Jadhav to check India's influence: Sindh-based group to ICJ

ALSO WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: Srinagar, Jun 17 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was today adjourned indefinitely without taking up the GST bill for discussion.

"During the meeting of the business advisory committee, it was unanimously decided that the proceedings of the Assembly be adjourned indefinitely and the GST bill be taken up only after the all-party panel (on GST) submits its report," Speaker Kavinder Gupta said.

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A special session of the state legislature was summoned for discussing and passing the draft bill prepared by the government that would bring Jammu and Kashmir under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST) law.

The state government had earlier this week convened an all-party meeting to bring about a consensus on GST bill before taking it to the Assembly.

However, main opposition National Conference said it will oppose tooth and nail the bill in its present form.

The traders community of the state has also opposed extending the GST regime to Jammu and Kashmir. PTI MIJ SRY

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo.  A Columbia, Ill., woman has been found not guilty of manslaughter in a crash that killed a Springfield couple in July 2015.

Prosecutors charged Antonia Reiss, 37, after her car, traveling at 96 mph, hit the couple's car in Springfield.

The Greene County prosecutor said in a news release Friday that a doctor testified Reiss was bipolar and in a manic state during the crash, which killed C.L. Lewis, 72, and Barbara Lewis, 69.

Judge Calvin Holden ruled that Reiss' behavior wasn't reckless. Holden also denied prosecutors' request to find Reiss guilty of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, saying he also didn't find Reiss to be criminally negligent.

Reiss' attorney said she had no alcohol or illegal drugs in her system at the time of the crash.
By Press Trust of India: Srinagar, Jun 17 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir government today termed GST as a "good tax reform" but said it will not push for its implementation till the time there is complete consensus on the issue. "Government is willing to introduce GST in the state with ample safeguards as this tax reform will be beneficial for the state economy and traders.

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"With proper safeguards, GST will not endanger the special status of Jammu and Kashmir granted to it by the Constitution of India under Article 370," public works minister Naeem Akhtar said in a statement. He said inputs are welcome from all stakeholders so that the government can work towards resolving those concerns besides strengthening the reform so that it becomes a people friendly tax reform and there is a consensus in the state regarding the same. Reiterating that the constitutional amendment regarding GST does not apply to J&K suo-moto, the minster said, "GST is a good tax reform which will be taken up for implementation only after arriving at consensus through broad-based consultation process."

He said Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had called an all party meeting ahead of the special session of legislature to take the viewpoint of the peoples representatives and seek their suggestions regarding implementation of GST in the State. An all party panel has been constituted to take suggestions, viewpoint and inputs from all stakeholders so that interests of the consumers can be protected, the minister said adding ?government will not push for GST implementation in JK till the time there is complete consensus on the issue?.

Akhtar said there would be "effective consultation" process which will surely help the government to come up with an overall "better and consumer friendly" GST. PTI MIJ TA MR

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A successful failure: that is how K.V. Vijayendra Prasad, best known as the writer behind such hit films as Magadheera, Eega and Baahubali, describes his professional life before he took up screenwriting 30 years ago. Today, at the age of 75, he is one of the most sought-after writers in the country, with industries from Kollywood to Bollywood seeking his creative services. Hindi TV also wants Prasad's recipe for success, and Star Plus has hired him to write a 65-episode fantasy epic series, Aarambh.

"Movies are very fast-paced," says Prasad about the difference between writing for small- and big-screen. "So much of the story gets left out because of time constraints. With TV, you have the opportunity to explore characters and situations in more depth." For Aarambh, Prasad has taken inspiration from the Mahabharata, and created two different civilisations to develop a "clash of ideologies and lifestyles". Referring to Aarambh as an Indian Game of Thrones, he says the series has no hero, and instead focuses on several characters.

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Cinema, however, remains his obsession. Aside from Baahubali 2, another of Prasad's stories will hit the big screen this year, Vijay 61, releasing in October. Prasad has also directed a film himself, Srivalli, a trilingual sci-fi drama about the workings of the mind. He also has another period film in development (starring Raghava Lawrence), not to mention his script for Manikarnika (with Kangana Ranaut as Rani Laxmibai), for which filming will soon begin. But Prasad doesn't want to talk about his busy work life, which sees him shuttling from Hyderabad to Mumbai and Chennai. He is eager to pay tribute to his writing gurus, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. "I learned by watching their movies," he says. "Whenever I start writing a film, I religiously watch Sholay once, just to warm myself up, just like [how other] people go to Siddhivinayak temple or Sai Baba's temple." It's one of the few films he can watch in a single sitting, he says, adding: "I have a weakness. The moment I start watching a film, I become sleepy."

Prasad himself doesn't write; instead, he has assistants take down his narration. The best ideas, he says, come during his morning walk. One idea that is recurrent in some of his biggest films is reincarnation. A firm believer in the concept, he calls it an effective means "to grip the audience". Curiously, however, for someone who routinely refers to the Mahabharata for character sketches, Prasad hasn't read the epic in its entirety. "Whatever I know from anecdotes and from movies stays in my mind," he says. But he just might end up having to read it, if his son, S.S. Rajamouli, makes an adaptation, as he has said he will. "God willing," says Prasad, "I'll be a part of it."

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Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) and younger brother of Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif has appeared before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in connection with the Panama leaks case today (Saturday).

The minister arrived at the Federal Judicial Academy along with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar while he was also accompanied by his son Hamza Shehbaz and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

Before leaving for the academy, Shehbaz Sharif said that he has always ensured the supremacy of the Constitution and law while he also pledged to cooperate with JIT.

Read more: Two JIT officials to leave for Doha for Qatari letter probe

Islamabad police, under the command of Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Sajid Kiani, have ensured foolproof security arrangements by deploying at least 2500 security officials of police, traffic police, Special Branch, FC and Rangers at various rooftops around Federal Judicial Academy to avoid any untoward incident.

The roads heading to the academy have been blocked by placing barbed wires to refrain entry of irrelevant persons in the area, the higher police official said.

Earlier on June 16, PM Nawaz appeared before JIT for the first time and confidently recorded his answers over 11 questions regarding Panama Papers case.

Speaking to the media after a three-hour long JIT proceeding, PM Nawaz said that he has accounted for every penny. I have presented myself, government and family before JIT for trial.

Also read: My family has presented itself for accountability: PM Nawaz

The prime minister said never before in the history of the country, three generations of a family were held accountable the way his family is being done. He said the present process of accountability has been extended to period beyond his birth.

He said that his personal businesses have nothing to do with the national treasure as these allegations are on a personal level, adding that the opponents will be unsuccessful no matter how many conspiracies they hatch against him or his family.
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday was interrogated for nearly four hours by a joint investigation team probing the Sharif family in the Panama Papers case.

Shahbaz, who made his maiden appearance before the JIT was accompanied by Interior Minister Chauhdry Nisar, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his son, Hamza Shehbaz.

A new chapter of history has been written today after a chief minister of a province and a sitting prime minister appeared before an investigation committee in the country, he told reporters outside the Federal Judicial Academy following the interrogation.

This is proof that Sharif family respects the law and judiciary.

The Punjab chief minister said he did not make any excuses to escape the investigation for accountability since it was not the first time that his family was being tried.

Taking a dig at former president Gen (retd) Parvez Musharraf who had fled the country before his trial was to take place, Shehbaz said, I have been suffering from backbone pain, people know that, but I didnt make any excuses and didnt go to London for treatment like others.

Earlier, our Ittefaq Foundries were snatched away from us that our father had established after working hard for many decades, he said, adding that this was the fifth time his family faced the trial.

Before his arrival at the academy, Shehbaz chaired a meeting at Punjab House to discuss the impending visit to the probing committee.

Read more: CM Shehbaz appears before Panama JIT

Almost a similar security arrangement was in place around the vicinity of FJA building that was provided when PM Nawaz Sharif appeared before the JIT on June 15.

Islamabad Traffic Police devised a special traffic plan for the day and three major connecting roads in the area leading to the FJA are closed for traffic. The ITP have created several alternative routes and diversion points for traffic in the area.

Around 2,500 personnel of Punjab Police, FC, and Rangers were deputed in the area.

Earlier, the Punjab government had clarified that Shehbaz had not been summoned rather he has been called to assist the JIT on June 17 for his acquaintance with details of Hudabiya Paper Mill case.

Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information and Culture Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan denied media reports of JIT summoning Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif on June 17 and said the chief minister has been called up by the JIT. He said Shehbaz was called to provide details of the Hudabiya Paper Mill case to a six-member JIT, headed by Federal Investigation Agencys Additional Director General Wajid Zia.

He said only accused or co-accused could be summoned whereas anybody with the knowledge that could help the investigation move forward can only be called before the JIT for assistance.
The Turkish foreign minister has arrived in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to defuse a growing diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf region, as Qatar accuses its neighbors, particularly Riyadh, of imposing a crippling "siege" on the emirate.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's plane landed in the western Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday ahead of a meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in the holy city of Mecca in a bid to broker a solution to the unprecedented crisis.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates severed ties with Qatar in early June, officially accusing Doha of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region, which Doha strongly denies. In their apparent bid to secure US support and that of Israel, they further suspended all land, air and sea traffic with Qatar, expelled its diplomats and ordered Qatari citizens to leave their countries.

Cavusoglu's visit to Saudi Arabia came a day after he met with his Kuwaiti counterpart to find a solution to the crisis. Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, whose country did not sever ties with Doha, has also been engaged in shuttle diplomacy to help mediate between the two opposing sides, but so far all to no avail.

Ahead of his Saudi trip, Cavusoglu also paid a visit to Doha on Wednesday, when he called for dialogue after meeting with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

To further pressure Qatar, Saudi Arabia has totally closed its land border with its tiny neighbor, through which much of Qatar's food supply crossed. Iran and Turkey are now providing Qatar's required food supplies. The Persian Gulf Arab states further gave Qataris two weeks to leave their countries and ordered home their own citizens living in Qatar.

The punitive measures against Qatar have drawn condemnation from rights groups, including Amnesty International. On June 10 and 13, the UK-based prominent rights group slammed the Saudi measures against Qatar, saying the diplomatic dispute has been toying with thousands of lives.

'Saudi siege harsher than Berlin Wall'

Meanwhile, Qatar's National Human Rights Committee Chairman Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri said at a press conference in the Swiss city of Geneva that the so-called punitive measures amounted to "collective punishment," citing one case of a mother being separated from her baby.

Describing the measure as "harsher than the Berlin Wall" in separating members of families, he further said the siege had led to "gross violations of human rights."

The coordinated move against Qatar is spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, which often manages to have its vassal states fall into line. Saudi Arabia itself is known as the main sponsor of the violent Wahhabi terrorists it has accused Qatar of supporting. Some analysts believe the Saudi anger is rather because Qatar acts more independently of Riyadh, including partially in its relations with Iran.
Commander of the First Naval Base Rear Admiral Amir Hossein Azad in a joint press conference with commander of Chinese visiting fleet-150 in Bandar Abbas on Thursday evening said that the maneuver will be held in the east of the Hormuz Strait and north of the Indian Ocean. He said that the military exercise aims to exchange naval experiences between the two countries.

The commander added that in fighting against the ominous phenomenon of piracy, defending trade fleets, and carrying out relief and rescue operations, the two navies have collaboration and exchange useful information.

Rear Admiral Shen Hao, Commander of China Navy Task Force Group 150 said holding the maneuver had already been planned and the successful execution of the program will help develop more friendship, promote interaction and strengthen confidence between the two navies of Iran and China.

He called Iran and China two ancient and civilized countries of Asia with a long history of friendship, adding that by exchanging high ranking delegations in recent years, cooperation between the two navies have entered into a new phase.

The Chinese flotilla, which docked in Bandar Abbas military wharf on Thursday, includes a heavy and a light destroyer, a logistic vessel, and a helicopter.
One of the six policemen killed in Anantnag was Feroz Ahmed Dar, who Facebook post has evoked emotional outbursts in the Valley.

Jammu and Kashmir police officer Feroz Ahmed Dar, who was killed yesterday in encounter with militants in Anantnag. (Phot: PTI)

By Press Trust of India: In a chronicle of his death foretold, Feroz Ahmed Dar wrote, "Just imagine... yourself in your grave. Down there in that dark hole... Alone."

The 32-year-old Jammu and Kashmir police officer was buried last night in the family's ancestral graveyard in Dogripora village in Pulwama district with many from the village and his department bidding him a tearful adieu.

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Dar and five other policemen were killed yesterday in a gruesome ambush in Achabal in Anantnag district by suspected LeT militants who tried to disfigure their faces before walking away with their weapons.

As his family and friends prepared for his last journey, his words written on January 18, 2013 came back to haunt. "Did you ever stop for a while and asked yourself, what is going to happen to me the first night in my grave? Think about the moment your body is being washed and prepared to your grave.

"Think about the day people will be carrying you to your grave and your families crying ...think about the moment you are put in your grave," he had written on his Facebook wall.

MOURNING IN VALLEY

As Dogripora mourned its hero, his premonition of death echoed from his "first night" in the grave. The village, which shares its border with Budgam as wellas Shopian districts, was awash with tears as it were.

Villagers queued up outside Dar's home to offer their condolences. His two daughters -- six-year-old Addah and two-year-old Simran - watched bewildered, unable to understand the sudden rush of people at their house.

His wife Mubeena Akthar and aged parents wailed and beat their chests, trying to come to terms with the devastating loss.

Nicknamed Dabang (daring) by his friends and a "one man army", Dar had wished earnestly for the situation in the Kashmir Valley to return to normal.

FACEBOOK POST

"Oh God! When will be the day we see normal Kashmir," he had written on his Facebook page on March 8, 2013.

"Bus itna yaad rahe, ek saathi aur bhi tha..." was the refrain of the Bollywood song from the film "LoC Kargil" recalling the sacrifices of a soldier echoed their grief.

His batchmate Sunil Sharma posted Dar's picture and recalled the lyrics of the song in memory of those martyred in war.

Many of his batchmates and colleagues recalled their association with Dar and said he was a god fearing man and a true Muslim who offered prayers five times a day.

"The officer whom everybody loved and who could get the support and respect of everybody around will always be in our heart. This inhuman act will be punished and punished suitably. Condolences for all the men that we lost today," Deputy Inspector General of Police (South Kashmir) Swayam Prakash Pani posted on his official Facebook page.

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As the memories continue to build, and his family learns to live with the tragedy that has befallen them, Dar's hope for a peaceful Kashmir lives on.

ALSO READ |

Section 144 imposed in south Kashmir after LeT commander Junaid Mattoo's death in encounter

Militants kill 6 policemen in Kashmir's Anantnag, LeT claims responsibility

ALSO WATCH | How jawans battle with militants, stone pelters

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Emirates gets green light for more daily frequencies View(s):

Emirates has been given approval by the Sri Lankan government to increase frequencies between Dubai and Colombo to seven per day from a current five. The new flights will be effective from July 28 on a temporary operating permit basis on condition that Sri Lankan Airlines will be allowed a second, daily flight to Dubai, official sources revealed.

This decision has been taken after a lengthy discussion at a recent Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) meeting. The increased frequency provides air passengers with greater flexibility in their travel plans, allowing them to explore exciting areas in Sri Lanka and connect to other flights on Emirates extensive global network, a senior official who attended the CCEM meeting recently, said. CCEM has also decided to allow flydubai, Dubais budget carrier, to reduce its flights to Mattala Airport to four per week from seven based on the same condition attached to allowing Emirates more flights.The committee was of the view that reducing the number of flights to four per week to Mattala airport is better rather than completely terminating the service. (Bandula)
Fishing in troubled waters View(s):

Remember the quote water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. This became a reality when Sri Lanka faced a peculiar situation recently in which the western and central areas had never-ending rain and heavy flooding, while the north faced an acute shortage of water for drinking and agriculture. Remember the quote water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. This became a reality when Sri Lanka faced a peculiar situation recently in which the western and central areas had never-ending rain and heavy flooding, while the north faced an acute shortage of water for drinking and agriculture.

These thoughts crossed my mind when the issue of fish was raised at a recent Colombo discussion on economic growth in an environmentally sustainable manner.

On one side while there is overfishing closer to Sri Lankas coastline, on the other hand there is abundant fishing resources in the countrys exclusive economic zone of over 500,000 square km, a coastline stretching to around 1,700 km and inland water bodies. Over the years, governments and international agencies have acknowledged that this enormous resource for fish farming has not been exploited in a sustainable way because, among other things, most of the marine fishing is focusing on coastal areas and not the deep sea. As per inland fishing, changing policies by changing governments ensure politics plays a bigger role than rational, sound and pragmatic policies for the fisheries sector.

As I sat down to write this piece on the cloudy morning of Friday, sounds of scratching and scraping could be heard from the kitchen and before I ventured to check it out, Kussi Amma Seras booming voice cut across my thoughts, Apoi, Mahattaya balannako, maalu hari ganang ne dang. Lankava vattey watura, habai maalu ganang, she says, as if reading my mind!

She had been reading the morning newspaper while scraping coconut and came across a story on rising fish prices. Api podi kaaley, kochchara wavey maalu alluwada, she said, sighing.

KAS is spot on  there is fish here, fish there, everywhere a fish, fish (just like Old Mcdonald had a farm with a cluck, cluck here and a cluck, cluck there everywhere a cluck, cluck). Yes, surrounded by seas and despite an abundance of rivers, streams and tanks (wew) inland, good fish is pricey and out of reach of the average, middle to low income Sri Lankan.

Nevertheless a little fish gets on the plate of every Sri Lankan from the cheap Salaya to the costly Seer, depending on the individuals purse.

Fish is a valuable source of protein and other nutrients and is probably the cheapest protein source on the planet but yet, in Sri Lankas case, we cannot get it right  expanding fisheries to increase production. The subject of fisheries continues to dog governments over the years, some treating it seriously and others not. If in the late 1970s (when Festus Perera was Fisheries Minister) Fisheries was considered as important as Finance, Economic Affairs or Industry, today its a different ball-game. Imagine Ravi Karunanayake, Mangala Samaraweera or for that matter Malik Samarawickrema being asked to handle the subject of fisheries? They would flip!

Not that the current Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, who is an influential politician, is a lesser mortal in the Cabinet. But consider this: How often has the media focused on Amaraweeras role and development of fisheries as against his political role as General Secretary of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance?

No less a person than President Maithripala Sirisena considers the subject of fisheries, not as important as other key portfolios. He was reported to have said at a public meeting before the recent, pre-Cabinet reshuffle that Amaraweera would be given a better ministry other than the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to serve the people in a better way.

Even at the Colombo discussion referred to earlier in this commentary, journalists looked bored when a few questions (and just a few questions) were raised on the topic of fisheries and the need for a better policy.

For the intellectual, fish is anything but interesting. That applies to the media too and there lies the reason why Fisheries is unlikely to make it big in the countrys economic spectrum and corridors of power. A good fish story wont make the front page of a national newspaper. A fishy story about a corrupt tender or official, makes more interesting reading, journalists will tell you.

Fisheries can be a life-saver to a countrys economy as proven by many countries with either sound policies on fisheries management or essentially just survival like the Maldives for instance where fisheries and tourism are the only two vibrant industrial sectors.

Consider these statistics (in 2014): China was the worlds largest seafood exporter with a revenue of US$14.1 billion followed by Norway $8.8 billion (population 9 million), Vietnam $5.8 billion, the US $5.1 billion, India $4.6 billion, Canada $4.2 billion, Chile $4 billion (18 million people), Sweden $3.7 billion (9.9 million people), the Netherlands $3.13 billion (17 million people) and Indonesia $3.11 billion. Some are island nations like Sri Lanka, others are not. Quite a few have smaller populations but with good policies on fisheries have not only made good in exports but are also able to feed their people on this readily and easily available source of protein.

As an aside, Vietnam whose modern development paradigm came after Sri Lankas 1977 growth path is a shining example of development. That countrys export earnings in 2016 were $175.94 billion against an import cost of $173.26 billion giving it a healthy + $2.68 billion balance. What is Sri Lankas trade balance scenario? Exports brought in $10 billion while imports cost nearly double that at $19.4 billion, with a deficit of nearly $10 billion. A proper fisheries management policy framework would very well reduce the deficit or even wipe it out completely. Sri Lankas fisheries export earning was $161 million in 2016 against $247 million in the earlier year compared to tiny Maldives (less than half a million people with a sizable population of foreign workers) which reported fish export revenues of $190 million in 2015.

Although there is an abundance of fish inland and at sea, fish is more costly (at least at the top end) than chicken or beef. The cheapest, Salaya which sold at Rs. 30 per kg in 1990 now costs more than Rs. 225 per kg in the open market, while prawns cost Rs. 44 and over Rs. 1,000 (then and now) and Seer Rs. 100 and now Rs. 1,300. In the supermarkets, it would cost more than that.

Seas, lagoons, inland tanks, reservoirs and all-year sun. Sri Lanka is blessed with sun, rain and everything that nature offers to run a thriving economy with plenty of food not only to feed the people but also export. So where have we gone wrong?

Remember the proverb: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Likewise, bring fisheries to the top of the agenda; transform it into a ministry as important or even more than finance or foreign affairs. Lift its importance so that fish stories will dominate the media rather than fishy ones. Elevate the status and standards of fishermen; improve their living conditions. Transform fishing to become a now thing in the new generation apart from being a livelihood. Fishing in troubled waters? Not if Sri Lanka has the right politician, the right civil society and the right policies. And like that Simon & Garfunkel favourite, Bridge over Troubled Waters, connecting the dots to bridge the gap between a proper national policy and local and export demand is the way forward.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and government officers today undertook a one-day inspection of anganwadi centres across the city.

The move came days after "irregularities" were found at some of the anganwadi centres in east Delhis Krishna Nagar and Gandhi Nagar.

Sisodia said officers have been directed to submit inspection reports at the earliest and the government would act accordingly.

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Kejriwal, flanked by Sisodia, inspected two anganwadi centres in east Delhis Shakurpur and checked food being served to children there.

During his inspection, Kejriwal checked attendance registers and kitchens. Around 800 officers participated in the inspection.

The deputy chief minister directed officers to mention phone numbers of parents of children enrolled with anganwadi centres.

After the visit, Kejriwal said that one-day inspection was carried out after the government found irregularities at some of the centres.

"We came to know that there are some anganwadi centres which are only on paper. There are few anganwadi centres which are doing good work, but there is a need for improvement at some anganwadi centres," Kejriwal told reporters here.

Earlier this month, the deputy chief minister had ordered to terminate the services of six officials of three anganwadi centres in east Delhi after he found "gross irregularities" during an inspection.

Sisodia had found that fake attendance records of children were being maintained at three anganwadi centres.

He had appealed to the public to come forward and report any such irregularity at the anganwadi centres to the government. PTI BUN IKA

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High level probe into Central Expressway Phase III tender By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

In a dramatic turn of events, a high level investigation will get underway into the Central Expressway Phase III tender on the directions of the Prime Minister following concerns expressed by the Japanese government.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe intervened and instructed the Road Development Authority (RDA) to investigate as to how the highest bidder of the recently concluded Central Expressway Phase III tender was accepted as technically competent whilst there were accusations of the facts being otherwise, official sources said.

Japanese authorities have informed the Prime Minster that Fujita Corporation, the lowest bidder is a prominent civil works contractor which is technically and financially capable of constructing the expressway.

The Cabinet Appointed Negotiation Committee had invited Taisei Corporation, one of the two selected bidders for negotiations without considering the other bidder Fujita Corporation which was rejected by a tender evaluation committee.

This decision was made on the grounds of a condition stipulated in the tender that the successful bidder having to have successfully concluded a contract which is over US$ 650 million in value.

It is common practice in the world that the large projects are divided among many companies. Hence there are not so many large value road projects in the world.

Taisei Corporation which quoted the highest price claimed to have completed such a project in Algeria, according to documents submitted to the tender evaluation committee.

However, supporting documents and information disseminated in local and overseas media recently, revealed that this claim cannot be substantiated and the bidder should be technically disqualified.

Taisei did not submit their completion certificate for the project as part of their November 23, 2016 bid submission which is a major deviation and should result in an immediate non responsive bid as per clause 6.4 Instruction to bidders.

The PMs intervention not only corrects the tender process and instills the spirit of good governance but also will save the country more than Rs. 12 billion since the bidder to whom the RDA was proposing to award the contract had a price difference of over Rs.12 billion than his competitor.

The project is based on a yen loan equivalent of US$1 billion from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation for the tender exclusively for Japanese / Sri Lankan Companies (Prime/Sub Contractors).

The funding for the project is exclusively being arranged by the Japanese government. Japans involvement was intended to rebuild strong bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Japan and also to rebalance geopolitical influence in the region which is presently seen as Chinese dominance in the island, a senior RDA official said.
Losing Ceylon for a few pennies more? Nay! By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

The report on the blending of teas in Sri Lanka has left committee members with a lack of consensus on the issue as a result of which no new policy has been formulated for the blending, packaging and re-export of orthodox teas from a country unique to Ceylon Tea.

It was clear from the outset of the committees deliberations that there are both risks and opportunities associated with a further liberalisation of the existing policy, making it difficult to arrive at a consensus, the report by a high-level committee to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management on the Policy on the Import of Tea for Blending, Packaging and Re-export stated at the outset.

Sri Lanka holds onto an enviable advantage in the production of its orthodox teas which has been able to withstand competing teas of Kenyan and Indian origin with a quality unique to its location and processing methods.

As a result the report states that Ceylon Tea branded orthodox teas fetch high prices in the global market and Sri Lanka is also the manufacturer of the largest amount of such teas.

In order to help Sri Lankan exporters to compete effectively in the global market, the import of CTC teas for blending and re-export has been permitted for the past several years. In 2015, for example, 2.3 million kg of CTCs were imported, to be re-exported after blending with 3.6 million kg of Ceylon tea. These teas are then labelled A blend of Ceylon and other-origin teas, packed in Sri Lanka.

The report points out that despite the freedom to import CTC teas for blending purposes, such blended teas account for only six million kg annually (approximately 2 per cent of exports) and do not attract a significantly higher FOB value.

On the other hand, Sri Lankas value-added tea industry (that comprises 36 per cent of exports), which is the envy of the other major tea exporting countries, is strongly reliant on the global reputation of the Ceylon origin.

A few exporters who emphasise the Ceylon origin have created brands that are able regularly to achieve FOB averages in excess of Rs.1,500 /kg for quantities in excess of 5 million kg/year, indicating both substantial value addition and the potential of value addition for the industry at large. The average FOB value of value-added tea, however, was only Rs. 700 /kg, the report states.

During the deliberations on formulating a policy for the blending of orthodox teas in Sri Lanka, the committee looked at both aspects of the debate for and against as this has created a division between manufacturers and exporters.

The committee was established following numerous requests made to the Minister of Plantation Industries and the Sri Lanka Tea Board by the Tea Exporters Association, and specific requests by buyers Ahmad and Tetley to allow the import of orthodox teas from other origins to be blended with Sri Lankan orthodox teas within the Board of Investment (BOI) zone thereby not allowing it to enter the local market.

But the committee has stated in its report that this was not a feasible option because of the very large investments needed amounting to around Rs.1-to-5 billion.

These multinationals would therefore have a significant unfair advantage over their local competitors, in addition to which their use of the wording Teas of multiple origins packed in Sri Lanka would allow them to derive false value from a Ceylon origin while diluting its value to local exporters, the report said.

Blending  a money spinner

Blending of orthodox teas has sent multinationals like Lipton, Ahmad, Twinnings and Tetley to earn substantial profits in other offshore plants.

Further it is believed that with the steady increase in the labour costs, unmatchable with markets like Kenya and India has led to a drop in the quality standards and due to which exporters want the government to allow for the import of teas to offset the situation.

The report states that exporters want the government to ensure free trade by removing barriers to exports and without any interference from the manufacturers. Exporters argue that they should not be shackled because of the parochial interests of the manufacturers.

A growth of the blending industry could help offset the countrys increasing cost of production, the report states in its case for blending.

One of the possibilities of improving efficiency through blending would be by exerting pressure on the local tea industry to be more competitive by importing cheaper orthodox teas of comparable quality to Ceylon Teas, the report stated.

Holding the exporters captive to purchasing solely Ceylon Tea and not teas of other origins would ensure that Sri Lanka would stand to lose when these companies move offshore as a result of which both capital and capacity would be shifted out of the country.

Further claims by manufacturers that the Ceylon Tea holds special focus is believed to be changing today as the committee has noted that people today buy products not because of where it comes from but how much value the brand contains.

Losing status

The danger of losing the Ceylon Tea premium label is feared in the global market should the consumer consider the blended teas packed in Sri Lanka as the Ceylon tag.

The committee has found out that this position is underlined by the fact that brands such as Ahmad and Twinnings (in addition to many other brands) use Ceylon in their labelling even for teas blended with those from other origins such as India, or perhaps with no Ceylon tea content at all.

Additionally, several unauthorised and misleading uses of the Ceylon origin (in forms such as Ceylon Plus, Ceylon Gold) and even the Lion Logo are commonplace, demonstrating the value placed on Ceylon as an origin of quality tea. It is therefore clear that the Ceylon brand carries substantial value, and allowing its dilution with teas of other origins will only jeopardise the reputation won by the brand over the past 150 years, the report notes.

Another concern is that the orthodox teas imported for blending could enter the local market and be eventually re-exported as Ceylon Tea.

In this respect, the committee states that these types of malpractices could result in consumers ceasing to place a premium on Ceylon tea to the detriment of the industry.

Importers of Sri Lankan Teas purchase the majority of the bulk teas or value added to order who are said to squeeze exporters to minimise their margins and maximise their credit.

As a result the FOB price of value added tea is as low as Rs.700 per kg creating pressure to blend with other origins to reduce cost but wanting to retain the Ceylon branding is mainly a requirement from the importers.

Exporters on the other hand make higher margins and therefore the challenge of the industry is for exporters to strive to become genuine value-adders, appealing directly to their consumers, capitalizing on the advantage the Ceylon origin gives them.

Due to the countrys unique positioning, Sri Lankas proximity to the equator ensures a year round supply of tea without a winter season as in India and China. As a result the country is able to produce premium and consistent quality orthodox black tea with the ability to garner a premium over other origins.

It is this issue that would be detrimental to Sri Lanka if it should agree to a policy on blending of orthodox teas from other origins as it will devalue the Pure Ceylon Tea in the eyes of the consumer.

In response to the issue of being held captive against the import of orthodox teas of other origins; authorities note however, that despite permission given to import CTC teas for blending only one exporter is currently engaged in this operation.

In this context the committee maintained that the Ceylon origin needs to be safeguarded and allowing Indian and Vietnamese orthodox teas to enter Sri Lanka could mean endorsing these origins to enter the markets hard won by the country.

So due to a lack of consensus the Ceylon Tea tag will be safeguarded and orthodox teas set to retain their premium value in the global market from its largest manufacturer, Sri Lanka that will continue to adhere to the strict code of ethics on blending with only CTCs allowed to be imported. Orthodox teas will not, as a policy under the present government, be allowed to be blended with orthodox teas of other origins for re-export.

Tea exporters cry blue murder Tea exporters have raised strong objections against the government decision not to approve blending of teas in Sri Lanka even exclusively within the Board of Investment (BOI) zone. The Tea Exporters Association on Thursday issued a statement to highlight the consequences of not liberalising tea imports to the countrys economy. It was noted that in the 14 years period from 1981  1995 where orthodox tea was allowed to be imported without restriction for value addition and re-exports, there was no adverse effect on local tea producers. The authorities should have considered allowing certain selected orthodox tea grades under the same scheme for value addition and re-export until a long term decision on liberalization of tea import is taken. A scheme can be designed to make sure that tea importation will not affect the demand for local tea, the release said. They noted that with tea production on the decline the growth of tea exports would be restricted by the limited availability of tea in Sri Lanka, exporters stated. Loss of export opportunities is costing the industry around 75 million kg per year amounting to around US$375 million annually but which could be covered in the supply side by liberalizing tea imports by increasing the quantity for export. With Sri Lanka losing its market share due to the decline in tea production and high price of Ceylon tea, most competitor nations like India, Kenya and Vietnam would capture it. In addition, the constraints in tea production have increased the cost of production as a result of which the prices at the Colombo auctions were much higher than other auctions. The Sri Lankan tea brands that exclusively market the Pure Ceylon Tea concept account for less than 10 per cent of the countrys annual tea export volume and their growth in terms of volume remains static, it was noted. The exporters pointed out that these brands are unable to drive the tea industry to achieve the expected growth due to comparatively low volumes. The world market share of single origin tea is insignificant and it is unlikely that this share would increase.
Pottery showroom at Koularagama Co-op site View(s):

A collective of determined women from the Koularagama Industrial Co-operative Society from the same village near the Udawalawe National Park, achieved another milestone and a well-deserved boost with the opening of their very own sales showroom alongside their workshop.

This group of skilled and hard-working artisans who create some exquisite pottery and ceramic products drawing inspiration from their surroundings for their designs, are not only reshaping a small community through their craft, but beginning to capture the hearts of both locals and tourists with their unique creations, a media release issued on their behalf said.

The small division of Koularagama lies in the Monaragala district, a low per capita income generating area in the country. Founded in 2004, the co-operative came together to build the local economy through developing skills and generating income for its largely female members. Under the leadership of the co-ops current Chairperson, Sriyani Subasinghe, the collective produces many unique handmade craft pottery and ceramic-ware inspired by the flora and the fauna of the surrounding area. Among the many one-of-a-kind items are unique pieces of craft tableware, home decor and accessories that are delighting souvenir hunters and collectors. While they build a community through their entrepreneurship, they are also helping the continuation Sri Lankan traditional crafts.

Koulara Ceramics, as they are styled, has the new showroom located about 10 km from the Udawalawe National Park. The forests that adjoin the village are where they draw their inspiration from for their unique designs. Koulara Ceramics make creative use of impressions left on the ground by the fauna of the area  from leopards, deer, birds, peacocks, elephants and other wildlife in the area. The potters make replicas of the animals paw prints left in the mud to create distinctive artifacts that showcase their imaginative, rustic artisanship. The products on display at the showroom included tableware, trays, jugs, vases, ashtrays, figurines of animals, decorative necklaces and a vast range of items turned out of pottery and ceramic. They are hoping that the visitors to the national park will come by their outlet to take home their work as souvenirs.

At the opening event, which was attended by several supporters of the cooperative including its design trainers, Ms. Subasinghe said When we commenced producing pottery products in 2004, we had about 140 active members. However, we faced many challenges that interrupted our endeavours over the years. This year however, we were able to rebuild the society and continue our journey with the help of our trainers and various organizations that supported us, and the opening of this production and showroom facilities are an important milestone.

The collective now markets its unique products through some selected outlets Colombo including Barefoot, Sooriya Village and the Good Market. Their business is evolving as they look to improve their market and product range and designs further. Progressing from their largely ornamental range they hope to develop products that will include homeware and tableware lines that are practical and useable. For more details about Koulara pottery and ceramic-ware, call 071 319 0861, e-mail info.koulara@gmail.com or catch them at the Good Market on Saturdays.
Rajagiriya flyover construction expedited to ease heavy traffic congestion View(s):

Construction of the Rajagiriya flyover is to be expedited with the aim of finishing it in double quick time to ease the heavy traffic congestion at the Rajagiriya junction along Sri Jayawardenapura Mawatha.

National Policy and Economic Development Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva who paid an inspection visit to the construction area on Tuesday has directed the construction company officials to complete the work by December this year.

Construction work of the flyover was launched last year by the Road Development Authority (RDA) under the directions of Higher Education and Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella as a solution to heavy vehicular congestion.

The project was initially scheduled to be completed in December next year but is being expedited to tackle the heavy traffic which has become a severe headache for motorists and daily commuters. The Government of Spain is funding the project and Centunion S. A.of Spain has been entrusted with the task of designing and supplying of the super structure as the main contractor.

Access Engineering PLC is the project sub contractor handling the substructure, onsite fabrication, installation and formation of the steel superstructure, Highways Ministry sources said. The estimated cost will come down to Rs. 4.5 billion from the earlier estimate of Rs.4.7 billion as a result of expediting the project, Deputy Minister Dr.de Silva said.

Over 50 per cent of the construction work of 363 metre flyover with four traffic lanes with a width of 3.5 metres each has already been completed, ministry sources said.

Over 75,000 vehicles including passenger transport buses ply daily through Rajagiriya creating heavy vehicular traffic towards Battaramulla, Parliament Road, Kalapaluwawa, Borella, and Nugegoda. (Bandula)
Swiss help sought to ferret out black money By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

Sri Lanka is planning to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Switzerland in a major step towards tackling black money stashed in Swiss banks by Sri Lankan nationals and used for criminal activity.

The proposed cooperation will include Swiss authorities providing information on Sri Lankans stashing illegal funds, official sources said.

This week, the Cabinet gave approval to an MoU between Switzerland and Sri Lanka on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. The object of this agreement is to facilitate the provision and obtaining, by Sri Lanka of assistance in criminal matters including financial crimes, a senior Justice Ministry official told Business Times. Preliminary discussions on the matter are believed to have been held with Swiss authorities.

The MoU will enable Sri Lanka to gain Swiss cooperation for the location and identification of witnesses or suspects, the service of documents, the examination of witnesses, obtaining evidence, documents or other articles, the execution of requests for search and seizure, the effecting of a temporary transfer of a person in custody to appear as a witness and the enforcement of orders for the payment of fines or for the forfeiture of freezing of property.

The Justice Ministry official said the government looks forward to cooperation with Switzerland on the issue of the exchange of tax information since black money is the main corruption issue which needs to be tackled.

A massive global pressure has resulted in Switzerland taking a softer line on their secrecy clauses enjoyed by the banks. Several information requests made by Sri Lanka on details about its countrymen who had accounts in Swiss banks are still unheeded.

This MoU, however, does not indicate anything on exchange of information based on pending requests from Sri Lanka, he said.

The MoU also covers cooperation in transfer of sentenced persons and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters that would help in combating terrorism, transnational organised crimes and corruption including money laundering and confiscation of black money, he disclosed.

Ninety-two Sri Lankan citizens hold a total of US$58.3 million in 129 Swiss bank accounts, according to data released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and leaked by an HSBC whistleblower two years ago.

The Government is also still trying to find money deposited in overseas banks by persons with high political connections and members of the Rajapaksa family during previous Rajapaksa regime.

In a media statement issued on November 13, 2015 , the then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said accountholders at Swiss banks are invited to deposit their money through the banking system in Sri Lanka, promising a return of 2- 3 per cent interest. The minister was quoted as saying that no questions will be asked from those who bring deposits into the country and further steps would be taken to ensure those deposits are legally safe in future.
A committed consistent and predictable economic programme imperative View(s):

Last Sundays column that discussed the economic consequences of the recent natural disasters underscored three crucial imperatives. These were: the need to prevent or mitigate these occurrences, developing a more robust economy that would be resilient to withstand such disasters and the adoption of a certain consistent and committed economic programme.

Agreement on economic policy

The lack of an agreed economic programme has been the foremost reason for the governments inability to achieve rapid economic growth. The governments preoccupation with the flood relief and reconstruction should not distract it from the urgent need to adopt and implement an agreed pragmatic economic programme. Such an announcement of the governments policy commitment has been long delayed and cannot be postponed any further.

Robust economy

A robust economy is vital to withstand natural calamities in a more resilient manner. And to have a strong economy the government must pursue coherent, pragmatic and certain economic policies that address the much needed implementation of reforms. The preoccupation with floods should not divert the governments attention from the urgent need to address the much needed implementation of reforms. However there are no signs so far of the government formulating and implementing an agreed economic programme for the next two years of its regime. In fact the natural disasters appear to be another reason for the governments distraction from coming to a consensus on economic policies.

Reasons for inertia

What are the reasons for the governments inability to develop an agreed economic programme? Is it that the government does not realise the need to announce a clear and certain economic program? Is it a sheer lack of understanding of the importance of such an agreement to spur economic growth? Is it the inability to arrive at a consensus among the constituent parties of the government? Perhaps it is all these factors and the political milieu of the country.

Political culture

The political milieu and culture, the composition of parliament, the constituent elements of the government and an electorate that is quite oblivious of economic realities and needed policies for economic development are fundamental reasons for the lack of political leadership in economic affairs. Political gain rather than economic development concerns guide priorities in policies.

Economic statement

In November 2015 the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made a statement on economic policy in parliament. It was a clear concise statement of the governments economic policy. Many expected a more detailed economic strategy to be unfolded soon after. However Budget 2016 a few days later did not follow the economic principles enunciated by the PM, even though the Finance Minister himself was from the Prime Ministers party. The confusing budget proposals, withdrawal of several fiscal measures and ad hoc policies added uncertainty and confusion to economic policies.

Ever since then the policies pursued, changes in response to opposition and contradictory statements, have robbed the country of a clear economic policy. This lack of an agreed policy has resulted in an erosion of investor confidence that is clearly seen in the declining trend in foreign direct investment. Domestic investment too has been disincentivised by this uncertainty in government policy.

Agreement on economic policy

One of the key factors for this lack of commitment to an agreed economic policy is the government consisting of two parties that have divergent views on the economy. This makes it difficult to forge a common policy. Therefore the survival strategy of the unity government has been inaction in forging a common economic programme. This has perhaps been successful in the coalition not disintegrating into its parts, but it has been economically disastrous.

Many ministers and members of parliament do not have even an elementary understanding of economic affairs. Their interests are to enjoy perks, acquire wealth and gain political popularity. This is hardly a fertile ground in which to come to an agreed economic programme. They would oppose rather than support an economic reform agenda.

Furthermore, most parliamentarians are not aware of the seriousness of the countrys economic problems. They are even more ignorant of the needed policy directions to solve the economic crisis. The large majority of government members are not only ignorant of economic issues; they are possessed by way out, obsolete and impractical policies.

Obsolete policies

For instance they are of the view that the Sri Lankan economy could progress by banning imports, by import substitution policies and increasing tariffs. They believe that the government should expand into industrial and other business enterprises. The fact that state owned enterprises are making huge losses is of no concern. They do not understand the economy is weak owing to the financial burdens created by losses of state owned enterprises. They are therefore opposed to the sale of state owned enterprises. They do not recognise the need for fiscal discipline and think that governments have inexhaustible financial resources. This political milieu is hardly conducive for the adoption of pragmatic economic policies.

Pragmatic policies

Many legislators are still possessed by obsolete ideological positions that account for the countrys inability to pursue pragmatic policies. In contrast, former communist counties like China and Vietnam, and our neighbours, India and Bangladesh, are pursuing policies that are attracting foreign investment, expanding exports and are growing at some of the highest rates of economic growth. The fact that Sri Lankan investors and skilled personnel are moving to these countries is clear evidence that they have got it right and we have got it wrong.

Conclusion

In 2015 when the unity government was formed the big boast of the new government was that the two main parties have united for the first time to carry the country forward. Half way in its term of office this unity has proved to be a drag in adopting and implementing economic policies. The government has failed to make its economic policies clear and certain. It also lacks a capacity to undertake essential economic reforms.

The unity government has delayed far too long in developing an agreed economic policy and announcing it. Consequently the countrys economic performance has been far below expectations and potential. Foreign direct investments that were expected to flow with the change of regime did not materialise. In fact FDI has declined in the last two years. This has been an important constraint to higher growth.

An agreed economic agenda must be formulated, announced and effectively implemented. The recent natural disasters should not detract the government from this urgent imperative.
Constitutional reforms stagnating like garbage View(s):

It is a typical incongruity of these times that constitutional reforms promising protection of civil liberties are discussed in tight-lipped seriousness in Colombo even while the police seem unable to arrest the hate mongering leader of the Bodu Bala Sena, Galaboda Gnanasara despite two arrest warrants being issued by the courts.

Business establishments of the Muslim community are subjected to one arson attack after another in a carefully targeted strategy. Meanwhile the leadership of the unity alliance holds forth in stern pronouncements on hate speech, exhorting the police to do their job properly.

Hallucinatory wanderings of apreposterous nightmare

In that most peculiar of ironies, Sri Lankans are also promised more law to tackle the problem of unrestrained hate speech while the law already on the statute books is not being properly implemented, as would be evident to a wide-eyed child.

All these comprise the sum of hallucinatory wanderings of a preposterous nightmare. In what sense can complicated constitutional rights be presented for discussion with any measure of credibility when the miserable basics of a Rule of Law system are not evidenced in the first place? This question well reflects the predicament in which this country finds itself today.

There are more contrasts at play. Affording a right of legal counsel to a suspect upon being detained by the police appears to be anathema to some. They gasp and they stutter as if the vilest of suggestions was being made. One embarrassment upon another follows the drafting sequence of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, culminating most recently in the red-faced withdrawal of the latest Bill. This unacceptably vested police officers with the discretion to prevent or allow the right to legal counsel depending on if it would prejudice the investigation.

Silly and cursory safeguards are not sufficient

The same question is applicable to the fiasco of a legally flawed draft CounterTerrorism policy framework. This was permitted to be drafted in secret for well over a year in a hushed and tightly screened process without significant protest from any source. Disquietingly this included those who would have screamed literally from the rooftops in Geneva and New York if such a dastardly proposal had emerged from the Rajapaksa Presidency. That point bears repeating. The ready propensity to churn out papers and engage in a plethora of conferences on the comforting albeit illusionary topic of transitional justice in Colombo was starkly absent here. And therein the hypocrisy of the process is thoroughly exposed.

Suffice it to be said that the main distinction between counter terror law and the criminal justice law is that the first caters for extraordinary situations even while not abandoning fundamental civil liberties. The second deals with the ordinary process of bringing criminal offenders to book with well defined safeguards against abuse. But the extraordinary cannot be allowed to become the ordinary through bad law reform. Slapping a silly and cursory provision exhorting that a counterterror law is not meant to be used other than for combating terror, as the draft CTA attempts to do, will not suffice. That flowery injunction will merely be a disregarded footnote in the abuse of power by law enforcement agencies. That profound danger can only be prevented by narrowly and tightly drawn offences. But what we have on the table as draft counter-terror legislation illustrates the very opposite of that caution.

Sri Lankans do not need to be taught the perils of superimposing emergency law on ordinary law. Our entire unhappy history bears testimony to that fact. Emergency law had de facto replaced the normal law of the land for decades, starting from the first southern insurrection in the seventies, leading through to a brutal ethnic war in the North and East and swallowing up also a second catastrophic wave of disappearances and killings in the South in the eighties. This column has repeatedly made the point that ordinary people of all ethnicities are the first victims of the abuse of emergency law. Its impact is not limited to one race or one community. That point remains true then as it does now.

Restoring the Rule of law at a mundane level

Moreover it beggars belief that a counter-terror draft which gives enormous powers to the police can be presented when the lack of public respect in the institution of the police has fallen to an extreme low. Just this week, enraged villagers in Nanu-Oya protesting over the death of a child by a speeding driver of a tipper who then sought shelter in the police station, compelled a senior police officer to write an affirmation on a sheet of paper that the police will take action according to law and prosecute the responsible individual. What absurdity is this? It is at such a mundane level that the Rule of Law must be restored.

The questions are simple. Could not these embarrassments of a thwarted CCP amendment and a grossly problematic CTA have been prevented in the first place by more farsighted strategy or in the minimum, by adherence to accepted legal norms? Who exactly is driving such subverted law reform policies? Why is it that at the very mention of contemplated law reform, the more sensible among us cannot but flinch, uncertain of what monstrosity may now be inflicted on the people?

Certainly the reluctance to allow full blooded rights to the unfortunate denizens of this land is a peculiarity of this country. Across the Palk Strait, India allowed the right to life to its citizens at the very dawn of independence and the drafting of a new Constitution. This has, by and large stood the rigorous test of time and served the people well. Here, in contrast, the inventiveness with which rights have been denied by the political and legal elite is something to marvel at. As a matter of established history, resistance to framing the law in a way that actually protects the vulnerable has certainly stemmed not only from the political establishment.

Unpalatable realities of garbage in more ways than one

This same dysfunction is present today in all its distressing features. This is why discussions on constitutional reforms are perceived by citizens as an isolated, cosmetic and political exercise in which they play no part. Indeed, as garbage piles up on their doorsteps, victims affected by natural disasters complain of no redress and parliamentarians are seen as increasing their luxuries while the people languish in misery, the Constitution has become of pitiable, negligible value. Its value stagnates, almost like garbage itself.

This perception is unfortunate. Yet it is increasingly becoming an unpalatable truth.
Garbage pekoe at two tea estates in Nuwara Eliya district View(s):

Small parts of what were once lush tea plantations in the Nuwara Eliya District  that earned a worldwide reputation for its high grown quality tea  may now become garbage dumps.

Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake has proposed four hectares from tea estates managed by two private firms be taken over for use as garbage dumps in the Nuwara Eliya District.One such dump at Hatton is to be from tea estates managed by the Watawala Plantations PLC and the other from a Nanu Oya estate managed by the Kelani Valley Plantations.

Minister Dissanayake has said that garbage is not handled properly in Nuwara Eliya District and has posed many health hazards. It is also threatening the environment of the areas in the district which is a popular attraction of both foreign and domestic tourists.

At their weekly meeting last Tuesday, Ministers discussed Minister Dissanayakes proposal but deferred any decision on it. This is notwithstanding an official announcement that the proposal has been approved, a senior minister said yesterday.

Mr. Dissanayake has said a number of discussions were held by him with regional plantation companies. He has said that since waste management comes within the purview of the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government, his Ministry has had joint discussions with that ministry also.

He has recommended that the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government should invite Expression of Interest (EOI) from the institutions that are implementing the waste management programmes. Minister Dissanayake has also recommended a similar programme in the Badulla District.

The new proposal comes amidst the pile up of garbage along roads in the Colombo city, Kotte and Mount Lavinia areas.

It was only last Tuesday that the Government gave approval for an allocation of Rs. 100 million from the Treasury to the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government for the disposal of garbage accumulated in certain areas due to heavy rains and the resultant floods.

Selfie girls cause train havoc

Taking selfies with their smart phones has led to the deaths of a number of Sri Lankans. The latest episodes occurred when two brothers chose the railway track. An approaching train brought them death.Railway authorities have become alert to the threat, so much so a guard in a train figured in a hilarious encounter. This was on a train from Colombo to Polgahawela.

He noticed two young girls taking selfies from the entry/exit door of the train. The guard noticed that they alighted at the Kelaniya Railway Station. The guard, waving a red flag, got down from the train and walked towards the two girls. Alas, the train pulled up and was soon speeding towards the next station.

The guard, without pursuing the girls, chased the train. He was not successful. The train had reached two more stations when the engine driver received a message that he had left behind the guard. So the train had to reverse all the way to Kelaniya to pick up the guard.

Defence complex only for defence

There will be no other state institutions housed in the new Defence Headquarters Complex that is now under construction at Akuregoda, about two kilometres from the Parliament complex, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided.

The Cabinet took this decision after a Committee recommended that it would be inappropriate to house other Government offices at the defence complex.

New Delhi land for Vihara and cultural centre

The Government has sought the help of the India Government to obtain suitable land in New Delhi for two different projects.

One is the setting up of a Stupa and a Sri Lanka Buddhist Vihara in New Delhi. The other is the establishment of a Sri Lanka Cultural Centre.

The new moves come as the Government has decided to assist in the setting up of a Sinhala Language Teaching Cell at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in India.

Ten new Majors General

Ten Brigadiers have been promoted to the rank of Majors General by Army Headquarters.

Five of them whose promotions take effect from March 30 are Brigadiers H.R.N. Fernando, A.L.S.K. Perera, M.M.S. Perera, G.I.L. Waduge and A. A. Kodippily.

The remaining five are Brigadier G.V. Ravipriya (from April 2), G.J.A.W. Galagamage (April 16), D.A.R. Ranawaka (April 22), D.M.S. Dissanayake (May 19) and A.M.R. Dharmasiri (June 6).

Mangalas first official visit

The first official visit for new Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera was to South Korea to attend the meeting of the board of directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

He left on Wednesday. The meeting of the bank, an initiative of China, is taking place in the South Korean capital Seoul.

Surprise garbage collector

Pilgrims who were in Mihintale for the Poson Poya were surprised to see a familiar figure heading a group who were cleaning up garbage  plastic bottles, used food packets and similar items.It turned out that it was former minister Mervyn Silva.

Chola chair for PC official

A top Provincial Council official has developed a penchant for carved chairs.

After using two different ones, both ornately carved, the official has now ordered a third one.

That new chair, yet to be delivered by the furniture dealer, has more intricate carvings and is a replica of a type that was used by Kings of the Chola kingdom.

Spat over ministry secretaries

Two of the newly appointed ministry secretaries, among those named after their predecessors retired, are unable to take their new postings so far.Official sources say the ministers in charge of those portfolios have sought changes on the grounds that the two are not compatible.

Malwana mystery land for police academy, judicial training centre

A Justice Ministry proposal to take over more than 16 acres of land in Malwana to set up a Police Academy and a Judicial Training Centre is now being examined by the Government.

If accepted, the move may see a situation where little compensation would have to be paid to the alleged owners. This is on the grounds that the building on the property worth more than Rs. 207 million, on a valuation by the Government Valuer, has reportedly been constructed without the approval of the local authority of the area.

An auction of the land and property was fixed for March 29. In fact the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) placed advertisements in the media for this purpose. However, Additional District Judge Nilpuli Lankapura held that there was no legal provision to dispose of any property or production until a court case is completed. Later, the Attorney General sought the revocation of the auction and the Court considering the application, withdrew the initial order for public auction.

Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has now proposed that four acres of land from this property be given to the Judicial Training Centre and the remaining portion to the Ministry of Law and Order, under whom the Police Department is assigned.

The land and a house under construction allegedly belonged to former Minister Basil Rajapaksa. He has, however, denied ownership and a court case is now under way at the Pugoda Magistrates Court.
Ravi moves to cleanse our diplomessy View(s):

If the news flowing along the grapevine is correct-and the ear-splitting silence from the Foreign Ministry seems to suggest it is  then the new Foreign Minister deserves much more than a pat on the back. In fact a few hallelujahs would certainly not be out of place for the cleansing process he envisages was much overdue. That is if the countrys diplomatic service is ever to come within striking distance of what it was in its early days.

Even if it cannot achieve the reputation acquired not only within but without our shores during the years when highly professional, competent and intelligent officers (too many to mention though some deserve to be named) dedicated to their profession rather than self served with aplomb, it can be resurrected to fit some more meaningful purpose.

To do that, however, it is necessary to scrub the service of those who grovel, resort to political manipulation, use of influence and throat- cutting. It is publicly-known that these are methods used by some career officers and political appointees with much on their minds and little in their heads. This has been nurtured into a fine art often to cover up inadequacies and ignorance.

The news reaching us was that Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake had said at a meeting with senior ministry officials and heads of various divisions that he intends as a matter of policy, to stop the practice of granting extensions to Sri Lankan diplomats serving in missions abroad and they should return to Colombo at the end of their tour of duty, usually three years.

I understand that the minister wanted it recorded in the minutes of that meeting. If all this is true then he is doing a service  not only to the diplomatic service but to the country as our own experience and anecdotal evidence clearly indicate.

There would, of course, be occasions when a short extension could be justified due to exigencies. When I was serving as deputy chief of mission in Bangkok the ambassador and I received a fax from the ministry saying I was transferred to the London High Commission from May 2012.

The then ambassador and former army commander General Shantha Kottegoda immediately wrote to the ministry asking it be deferred. It was not because we were from the same alma mater though the old school tie has proved very useful under the yahapalanaya administration.

The extension was sought because then President Mahinda Rajapaksa was due in Bangkok on a working visit which we had arranged, on the same day I was to leave for London. He asked for a short delay of my transfer (how I could be transferred was strange as I was not a ministry official) as I was involved in arrangements for the presidential visit. It was indeed granted and I stayed on until July.

There are occasions when short extensions are necessary or may be allowed on certain compassionate grounds. But to seek extensions for the flimsiest of excuses is surely unfair by other officers awaiting their due postings abroad. To make use of contacts within and outside the career service to seek extension after extension is to discriminate against deserving officers in their own service who have contributed far more to preserve some of the traditions and standards of the career service than some of those seeking longer stays have ever done or will do.

It is because of these diplomatic shenanigans that politicians and public target the diplomatic service for criticism, sometimes unfairly and ignorantly, calling the service a holiday home for the incompetent whose real purpose in wanting to prolong their stay is to educate their children abroad at public expense and build a bank balance.

That criticism is at times unfair by those officers who dedicate themselves to working long hours and going out of their way to be helpful to Sri Lankans and others. There are others who shortly after taking up their new posting are already planning on how to become an ambassador before their retirement two or three years hence. I have personally come across both the dedicated and the duplicitous in my time.

Looking for excuses to gain extensions by connivance or deceit is a practice more widely resorted to in modern times because the use of political influence has penetrated the public service at almost every level unlike in decades gone by when there was little political interference in the administration.

This has all changed in recent times. It would not be a strange phenomenon to hear of pleas made on behalf of officers on the grounds that, say for instance, the SAARC summit is due in a year or a BIMSTEC meeting is scheduled for the next year and a particular officers presence at the current station is important.

It would be even more ludicrous if such fervent pleas for extensions are called for because an important UN conference in New York or Geneva or a Commonwealth Summit is due two years from now and such and such officers participation is vital or else the whole edifice of Sri Lankan diplomacy would collapse like the Meethotamulla rubbish dump.

This newspaper reported a couple of weeks ago that Foreign Minister Karunanayake had asked his ministry to obtain 10-point reports from some of our senior diplomats on how to improve performance. Since one does not know right now who would be characterised as a senior diplomat and who will do so, it could be that some missions in important capitals not having senior diplomats would be left out of the loop.

In that event some other means should be adopted to assess how to improve the services rendered by such a mission probably with input from the senior-most career diplomat drawing on his/her wider experience at other important missions.

It would of course be recognised that needs and improvements would differ from mission to mission and a one size fits all solution is not prudent or feasible. But there are certain basic niceties that should be observed if missions in major capitals or the smallest post are to function efficiently and smoothly without the rancor and division one tends to observe on ones travels. Much would depend on the intra-staff relations and how those who are described as minor staff are treated by those in higher positions.

In Bangkok the two ambassadors I served under, Prof J.B. Disanayake and Gen Shantha Kottegoda. would invite the entire embassy staff including the Thai cleaning lady who had worked in the embassy for almost 20 years, to the residence for dinners or lunches. I would do the same, making no distinctions with regard to position or social status. We even went on two or three day trips round Thailand and even neighbouring states.

The bonding was so good because they were not ostracized. Senior staff did not have to ask them for help. They would do so voluntarily because they were not treated as modern- day slaves serving the high and mighty. They should be made welcome with facilities for them and their families made available. It is then they are made to feel they are an integral part of the mission.

It is not always that drivers and office assistants get an opportunity to serve in an overseas mission. These are positions that have been recognised as ones that should usually be filled by home- based staff. There are some who would like to deprive them of that rare opportunity of serving abroad and would rather fill them locally.

The argument adduced is that it would save the country money. But the real reason for such jiggery-pokery is not the supposed patriotism but to be surrounded by loyal staffers who owe their positions to those who recruited them.

In my many decades of contacts with foreign diplomats I learnt that confidential secretaries of heads of missions and often their immediate deputies were their own nationals. This was to ensure that confidential communications remained confidential and secure and classified or vital information did not reach the wrong ears or hands.

Surely it is important that such posts are filled by Sri Lankans whether from the Foreign Ministry or the administrative service. To preserve the confidentiality of important communications between the ministry and diplomatic missions, only Sri Lankan nationals serve in those posts. Minister Karunanayake is now in a position to etch this as policy, just as he should make certain posts in our missions that have been won after much discussion with the Treasury permanent and set in stone.

In a brief interview with the Sunday Times earlier this month Ravi Karunanayake said that among the tasks he would undertake in his new job is the reorganisation of the diplomatic missions, a study of the quality of those joining the service and the service that the missions render, obviously to the country, to the diaspora and in building cordial and useful bilateral relations.

It is not surprising that he wants to look at the fundamentals. On one occasion when he visited Bangkok while in opposition and I had invited him for lunch at a Thai restaurant we talked about diplomacy and his vision of what Sri Lankas diplomatic missions should be doing to earn their keep.

He now seems to want to see that vision manifest itself through some basic changes. While that would indeed be welcome he must ensure that some of this is cemented as policy. Inevitably there will be those who would contact him for favours -if they have not already done so  and press him to order changes that would undermine his own stated policy. If such ad hoc changes are made to suit the whims and fancies of others, it is the ministers reputation that will suffer.

It is known that Ravi Karunanayake was under a cloud and that some within his own party and some SLFP ministers wanted him removed as Finance Minister. He has virtually admitted this in the interview with this newspaper.

Now he has a new ministry and intends to make changes. Here is an opportunity for him to emerge from under that cloud and see his early reputation restored. That cannot be done by succumbing to requests from those that consider themselves influential. Now is the opportunity for Karunanayake to start afresh in new surroundings and with new ideas to prove that he can withstand such pressure and stand tall without letting his policies be compromised.
Drug menace: What is going wrong? View(s):

June 26 is International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Traffickingas good an occasion as any to point out that Sri Lanka needs a multipronged approach to eradicate its growing narcotics problem. Flinging people in jail, where they continue to traffic and consume drugs, is no longer adequate or sustainable.

Department of Prisons statistics show that in 2015, nearly half, or 46.4 percent, of prisoners convicted were drug offenders. This means that, of the 24,086 who were sentenced, a massive 11,171 went to jail for narcotics crimes. That is the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The previous year, the percentage of total convicts that were drug offenders was 43.5 percent but it was 34 percent in 2013. The data show an upward trend in the number of those getting sentenced for trafficking and taking narcotics. The Government maintains these high conviction figures are a result of improved law enforcement.

Data do indicate a rise in seizures. The National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) has recorded 82,482 arrests in 2015an increase of 23 percent over the previous year. But experts also believe the larger numbers can be explained, in part, by more people pushing and taking drugs. There are certainly bigger quantities of narcotics in circulation now than in the past.

Cannabis and heroin are the narcotics of choice, in that order. The Western Province is the most afflicted followed by the South. There is now a risk of heroin (restricted, before the 1980s, to a few locals who frequently travelled abroad and foreign tourists) spreading across the country, if it hasnt already. Among those arrested for heroin-related offences, a majority are drug users caught with a few milligrams in their possession for personal use.

This is consistent with patterns worldwide. A 2013 study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime suggests the global increase in drug-related crime is driven mainly by a rising number of offences related to drug possession, particularly in Europe and Africa. Moreover, the vast majority of traffickers in prison were low-level offenders.The estimated quantity of street level heroin supply in Sri Lanka is 985kg a year or nearly 2.7 kilograms a day. This is sufficient for 45,000 heroin dependents. But, in 2015, only 47kg of heroin was seized.

One of the issues the authorities need to address is that, despite there clearly being a widespread drug habit, as backed by statistics, the number of users entering rehabilitation and reintegrating into society is abysmal. Last year, there were just 2,355 addicts registered with the official Drug Abuse Monitoring System. The prisons have treatment programmes but, ironically, few takers.

The Governments four rehabilitation centres can accommodate only around 40 to 50 patients at a time. The Civil Defence Force runs an outfit in Kandakadu in Polonnaruwa. But with the bulk of users concentrated in the Western Province, it is a challenge to get addicts to go, let alone stay, there.

The private sector runs a few more treatment centres of varying quality. The biggest impediment is a lack of funds. For facilities to be of acceptable quality, there must be money to run them. But there is precious little going into drug rehabilitation. And the returns are not attractive enough for investors to take the plunge.

So, while new drug users enter the equation every year, there is no system to draw and keep them away from this destructive dependence. This contravenes international conventions that not only require drug offences to be punishable but mention treatment as an alternative to prison alongside education, after-care, rehabilitation and social reintegration.

The absence of such mechanisms in Sri Lanka guarantees a high rate of relapse to drug use, and the vicious cycle of supply and demand continues, nourished by new entrants. The countrys national policy for the prevention and control of drug abuse states boldly that the overall goal of the Government in relation to the drug problem is to reduce the drug supply and drug use to the barest minimum possibly [sic] by 2010. The policy contains a comprehensive section dedicated to prevention, education and training; and to treatment and rehabilitation of drug dependents.

The numbers contradict any success the Government may claim in achieving its targets. By its own admission, law enforcement alone will not help eradicate the drug problem. It is time to take a long, hard, critical look at what is going wrong.

Save our heritage buildings

The Kompannaveediya Castle Hotel, a building which is more than 140 years old, has been pulled down to make way for a mixed development project implemented by an international company. In June 2016, the Archaeology Department wrote to the Urban Development Authority stating that the edifice was of historical value and must be preserved. But it neglected to gazette the building as a historical monument and in May 2017 granted permission to the developer to have it razed to the ground.

In its latter stages, the Castle Hotel had been a working class bar. The descendants of Charles Henry de Soysa, who held ownership, were repeatedly denied permission to carry out alterations or have it cleared from that space on the premise that it was a heritage building. But the might of an international developer was too much for the authorities to bear and the Castle Hotel paid the price. What, now, will become of similar edifices in Kompannaveediya, Fort and other areas? Studies, we are told, have been done and buildings earmarked for preservation. But there was much confusion over how the Castle Hotel had slipped through the cracks.

With Colombo due to be converted into a modern megapolis, there are legitimate questions over what policymakers and implementers have planned for monuments that stand in the way of their lofty plans. Countless cities around the world have made an example of the old cohabiting with the new. Unless structurally unsafe, there is no longer any reason why heritage buildingstheir worth cannot be measured in pure economic termsmust be pulled down.

Led by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the then Secretary to the Defence Ministry, the former administration set about actively preserving historical architecture while transforming the city into a modern metropolis. Fort was identified as an area that had tremendous historical depth. The plan was to put these buildings to use after renovation, restoration and rehabilitation.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has himself expressed a wish to conserve old edifices within a framework of urban redevelopment. On a visit to Singapore last year, he saw how old courtrooms and office spaces were turned into galleries that housed world-class art. But somewhere along the line, the message seems to be getting lost. It is time to put in place and carry out a clear policy as regards Sri Lankas irreplaceable heritage buildings.
By Press Trust of India: Kochi, Jun 16 (PTI) Keralas prestigious Kochi Metro is all set for commercial operations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating it tomorrow. Claimed to be the countrys first integrated multi-model transport system, it is expected to improve regional connectivity and ease the traffic congestion in Kochi, the commercial hub of Kerala.

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The first phase comprises a 13 km stretch between Aluva and Palarivattom.

Security has been tightened in Kochi city and its surroundings in view of the Prime Ministers visit.

The inauguration of the Kochi Metro will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at 11 am. The Prime Minister, who is expected to reach here at 10.15 am, will enjoy a ride on the Kochi metro train from Palarivattom to Pathadippalam.

He will return to Palarivattom in the same train along with the dignitaries before proceeding to the stadium for the inauguration, officials said.

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala, Ernakulam MP K V Thomas, and Metro man E Sreedharan will share the stage with Modi, among others, during the inauguration.

Kochi Metro officials said introduction of a world-class metro system in Kochi would enhance the quality of life for the Greater Kochi metro area by improving regional connectivity and reducing overcrowding, traffic congestion, transit time, air and noise pollution.

The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), which was started five years ago with the objective of building and running a metro line, is trying to build itself as Keralas urban transport solutions provider, officials said.

They said by being the first metro system in the country with an integrated multi-model transport system, Kochi Metro will not only give the city a much required face-lift but also provide end-to-end connectivity.

A unique aspect of metro stations will be the deployment of members of Kudumbasree - the women empowerment-oriented, community-based, poverty reduction self-help group project of the Kerala government- for managing the station operations.

Kudumbasree will provide a vast array of services from customer relations, crowd management, housekeeping and catering services, which once operational, will be the largest crew of women to be employed by any metro. Besides, every metro station has been designed on a specific theme around Kerala culture and geography.

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KMRL has also included the LGBT community in its operations along with Kudumbashree, thus becoming the first organization to appoint transgenders as per the state governments transgender policy. PTI TGB BN RCJ

--- ENDS ---
Pigera retires View(s):

This article is part of a continuing series on Sri Lankan history

Pigera proceeded to attack a Dutch army that had encamped in Thebuwana.

He besieged Anguruwatota and fired shots, till they fully surrendered. Immediately the Dutch gave up the land acquired and fled. Even the army stationed in Kalutara, left the place.

As a result, Pigera did not get a chance of attacking King Rajasinghes army in the Four Korales. He left Four Korales too. On his way, he killed the Dissawa, named Konduwe. He was a commander. He marched to Ruwanwella via Bulathgama, to capture the king.

The king who suspected this, went to the village named Vedawa and from there, he went to Kandy. Pigera ruined the lands in Four Korales. He collected enough food stocks and other essentials for his army. He made Arandara his centre of activity and made the army put up camp there.

He stationed army contingents in all the following cities. Alawwa, Pitigaldeniya, Gurubavila, Attapitiya and Kotuwegoda were those places. Meanwhile, the Viceroy in India appointed a new General to send to Sri Lanka. He was Francisco De Melo de Castro by name. He was an elderly person.

However, still no investigations were made regarding the charges made against the former General Mascarenhas. The new General landed in Sri Lanka in the month of May 1658. The serving General Gasper de Pigera had to leave his post.

By Halaliye Karunathilake,

Edited and translated by Kamala Silva

Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila
Making music in the Himalayas View(s):

By Smriti Daniel

Back home from the remote Himalayan village he lives in most of the year, Stephen Philip is already thinking about the children waiting for him there. The Sri Lankan music therapist uses techniques like dholgol or drum circles to bring people together. He will be raising funds to support that work through a unique, promenade style theatre event at Sooriya Village on June 25 which will draw on the talents of an eclectic group of Sri Lankan performers.

Excerpts from his interview:

Tell us about the place you live and work in. How did you find your way there?

I live in Matli, a Himalayan village which is relatively near to the border of Tibet. Matli is about 10 miles away from Uttarkashi, a fairly well known stop off point for pilgrims travelling to the mouth of the Ganges.

The setting is very rural, and given my preference for rural over urban living, I would say I felt a tug at my heart when I first visited in 2013, as part of a summer internship where I helped out at the mission school for a month.

I eventually came back in 2015, and find myself loving the place and the work I get to be a part of.

Could you explain how music therapy works? What are some of the key techniques you use?

Music is one of the few, and perhaps possibly the only sensory experience that can activate all areas of the brain, simultaneously.

This has widespread implications and opens up a variety of possibilities for using music as a therapeutic intervention. Music therapists today work primarily with clients development delays, psychological issues, or physical and multiple handicaps, either as a complimentary or primary form of medical intervention.

Music therapy employs a broad range of techniques which can be divided roughly into active and receptive methods. Making music in the form of singing, chanting, playing, composing or improvising fall into the category of active techniques.

On the other hand listening to and responding to music in the form of dance, movement, analysing lyrics, are receptive techniques. Active and receptive techniques are often combined during treatment, and both are used as starting points for the discussion of feelings, values, and goals.

There is this beautiful video of your playing percussion for Deepak, a boy with cerebral palsy. Could you tell us about him, and how the music affects him?

Ive known Deepak since my first visit in 2013, where I met him in his wheel-chair, sitting in the sun, covered with flies, and not able to do anything about it! I remember feeling incredibly frustrated and helpless when I first saw him.

Deepak has a severe case of Cerebral Palsy, where damage to his brain has affected both his arms and legs, along with the muscles of his spine and mouth.

Since my return in 2015, there has been a physiotherapist within our community who spent lots of time caring for Deepak, so for the best part of the last two years Ive not had a lot of interaction with Deepak. The beginning of this year however saw me shifting house right next to Deepaks, from where I have the joy of visiting him and seeing his smile pretty much everyday.

Since music affects pretty much every area of the brain, music therapy can, and does make large contributions to the lives of those with Cerebral Palsy. Musical input travel via the auditory nerve to the brain, where after being processed, have some of these inputs delegated to the motor nerves in our spinal cords.

This allows the muscles to move to rhythm without having to think of it  as in the case of us unconsciously tapping our feet to not just music we enjoy, but at times to music which may not always fit our taste buds. Additionally listening to music releases dopamine, the feel good hormone in our brain.

This, along with our motor systems natural ability to entrain and match rhythm, results in Deepak unconsciously having a rocking full body work out, with what would otherwise be painful and tedious exercise for him to prevent his muscles from further stiffening up.

How can music therapy go beyond an individual to contribute to the well-being of the wider community?

One of the really enjoyable experiences in my work are the weekly drum circles which I conduct in a village higher up in the mountains.

The team I work with travel to the drum circles with Jagu, a large brilliant blue (toy) monkey  in a tempo, an Indianized small-scale version of the open back double cab.

The drum circle has evolved into quite the event: Farmers leave their fields, the village elders leave their card games, mothers come carrying babies, younger adults climb trees to sit around the already gathered circle of children, supporting by way of clapping, instructing, and even dancing.

As a team, we often find ourselves in the middle of transcendental experiences, as there is something beautiful and powerful about making music together with an entire village in sync with each other.

Traditional power structures are challenged by participatory practices, and there is an expectation that all the diverse voices engaged in the process have the right to be heard and made welcome.

In the last year, Ive observed that these communal music making gatherings tend to subtly contribute to a wider social change agenda, even when this is unintended. My work with Deepak seems to bring this to the forefront, for music has created a platform for him to be considered as a part of community.

This happens now on Sunday afternoons, when a group of children who come over to my house to play, end their playtime by visiting Deepak and singing to him. This is a two way education, with Deepak experiencing what it is like to belong to a group, or a gang, and the visiting children, family, and community get to interact with Deepak as a human.

In a context where disabled children are stigmatized, hidden away, and sometimes even viewed as been cursed of god, music is facilitating the breaking of a huge cultural mind-set.

Why are you raising funds? What can audiences expect from your fundraiser?

The fundraiser is primarily to meet my rent expenses for a new music therapy space, this coming year. I will be shifting from the room I rented for the last year, and need to rent two new rooms for the music therapy clinic.

Additionally, I also hope to purchase more non-musical resources to meet the needs of some of the children with learning difficulties and physical handicaps.

The fundraiser will be staged in the style of Promenade theatre, with the intention of allowing those present to have a therapeutic experience of the arts.

This will include sing-a-longs, live voice manipulations synthesized with digital effects, a taste of an experiential drama therapy session, communal music therapy activities, and a time to view the work of the event facilitator in the Himalayas.

The event will feature Sean Amarasekera, a doctor who sings and is actively involved in theatre; Subha Wijesiriwardena, a writer who has worked in theatre; Tehani Chitty, a drama therapist and actor; Marisa De Silva an activist who has performed with all female choir, Soul Sounds since its inception in 2004; Ranjan Josiah, a musician; Chanaka Abeyratne, a chilled out metal head, musician, and sound engineer; and Nisho, a lover of music, musician, and sound engineer.

Having to carry out this event without the presence of my team back in the Himalayas is somewhat lonesome as they have been such a strong and supportive presence throughout the last year, without whom nothing much would have been accomplished. A huge thanks to them, Ankur, Shiny, Abhishek, Vinay, Alish, and Mojesh.

DholGhol : A Fundraiser in Aid of Himalayan Music Therapy is on June 25 from 6.45 p.m.  8.45 p.m., at Sooriya: The Village. Entrance will be via tickets available at the entrance. Alternatively Stephen (0719830118) can be contacted for pre-bookings. Tickets will be priced at Rs. 1000 for adults and 750 for children below 12. More details on: https://www.facebook.com/events /255630644914933/
Story behind black-and-white photo that linked Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman View(s):

DCs new superhero hit Wonder Woman is an origin story no doubt, but the backstory to Gal Gadots Amazonian warrior actually began to unfold more than a year earlier in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Thats when Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) came across a black-and-white photograph of Diana Prince from Belgium, November 1918 in Lex Luthors conveniently well-organized superhero files that showed her on a battlefield flanked by a squad of four gunslingers.

It was a major revelation at the time, indicating to the Dark Knight that his mysterious new friend ages amazingly well, if at all. But who knew the photo would play such a vital role in Wonder Woman, used as a framing device to set up the entire film when the snap arrives on Dianas desk in the opening moments?

The folks behind DC Comics clearly did, and according to Wonder Woman star Ewen Bremner, they wasted no time in capturing the moment.

That was the first thing that we shot, before wed even shot a scene [for Wonder Woman] we shot that photograph, Bremner told Yahoo Movies during an interview to promote the Blu-ray and Digital HD release of his other new film this year, T2: Trainspotting.

Director Patty Jenkins shot Wonder Woman and her World War I posse  which included Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), Sameer (Said Taghmaoui), The Chief (Eugene Brave Rock), and Charlie (Bremner)  when the film started production in November 2015, only four months before BvS dawned in multiplexes.

Yahoo Movies
46.6% of convicts in 2015 from Colombo District View(s):

The majority of the 24,086 convicts directly admitted to Sri Lankas jails in 2015 were married men between 30 and 40 years, who had passed Grade 8, and with no previous convictions, while just 759 of them were women.

The largest percentage of direct admissions (46.6%) was from the Colombo District, according to the latest data compiled by the Dept of Census and Statistics and published in the 2016 Prison Statistics of Sri Lanka.

In the category of offences against persons, the largest number (2,493) was convicted of simple hurt such as non-life threatening injury by knife, followed by rape and incest (2,033), and grievous hurt (1,299). Unnatural offences and grave sexual abuse (833) also figured high on the list.

Nearly 0.1% (32 persons) of admissions in 2015 were prisoners convicted of viewing blue films. This was a reduction from 2014, when it was 59 and 66 in 2013.

Appearing drunk in public places put 1,337 people in jail in 2015, while lodging in a verandah fetched 106 convictions100 of them women. For operating brothels, 71 women and 61 men were sentenced in 2015, while only 39 persons were convicted of bribery.

Under offences against property, the worst crimes were housebreaking and theft with 12,707 direct admissions of convicted prisoners. Nearly half (46.4%) of convicted prisoners directly admitted to jail in 2015 used narcotics.

Of the 759 women convicts, the largest category was also between 30 and 40 years. Most of them- 179 were sentenced for other offences, followed by 178 for narcotic offences, 100 for lodging in verandahs and 71 for operating brothels.

The majority of convicts in 2015 were first offenders (57.7%) but a significant number were re-convicts (26.6%). A significant 15.7% were repeat offenders.

Most (28.4%) of those convicted that year were given sentences of three months to less than six months, while 22.9% had sentences of six months to less than one year.

Meanwhile, nearly 80% of a total of 113,645 prisoners admitted to Sri Lankas jails in 2015 were remandees. This means, for every convict, there were three remand prisoners. This ratio has remained consistent for the past eight years.
Dengue national disaster: 200 deaths, 63,987 cases this year View(s):

The number of dengue deaths has risen to 200 within six months, with the number of cases rising to 63,987 by yesterday, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said. He told a news conference yesterday that the dengue epidemic had become a national disaster and with the recent floods in the island the number was likely to increase.

With the monsoonal rains setting in, July is usually the month in which dengue cases increase, he said. The minister said he had obtained Cabinet approval to employ 1,500 people to conduct fogging in the worst affected districts. The dengue prevention teams will be empowered to enter any premises and where mosquito breeding grounds are found, those responsible could be fined up to Rs. 25,000, he warned.

Dr. Senaratne said the ongoing issue of poor waste management and urbanisation were among other reasons for the raging dengue epidemic.

The minister rejected recent criticism over the unavailability of the dengue medicine Dextran. He said the Ministry was getting it from Thailand. However, since Dextran was made of a bacteria, the production was limited. But Sri Lanka would ask Thailand to increase supplies because the rising number of cases here.

The minister also revealed that consultations were underway with Australias well known Monash university experts regarding the curbing of dengue through the Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) bacteria.
Emergency evacuation plans for 150,000 Lankans in Qatar View(s):

By Sandun Jayawardana

The Government has begun preparing emergency travel documents for thousands of Sri Lankan workers in Qatar to facilitate their evacuation if the latest Gulf crisis worsens. Sri Lankas Ambassador A.S.P. Liyanage told the Sunday Times that while chances of the diplomatic spat escalating into a conflict was highly unlikely, the Government had a responsibility to take all measures necessary to ensure the safety of Sri Lankan in Qatar.

An estimated 150,000 Sri Lankans live and work in Qatar. Accordingly, the embassy, in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo, has started preparing emergency travel documents for Sri Lankan citizens in Qatar.

The reason behind the move, the ambassador said, was that the passports of most foreign workers were in the custody of their employers.

If an emergency were to occur, we dont know if it would be possible for workers to obtain these passports for a quick evacuation. Given the vast numbers of our citizens here, we have begun preparing emergency travel documents for them so that we will be prepared should the need arise, he said.

In addition, the Government was ready to organise charter flights to evacuate Sri Lankans from Qatar if the crisis worsens, Mr. Liyanage said.

On Wednesday, the Ambassador held a special discussion with representatives of 22 Sri Lankan organisations to discuss the crisis. Meanwhile, essential goods were being sent to Qatar from Iran and Turkey, which are backing Qatar in its crisis with Saudi Arabia and its seven Arab allies which have imposed imposed a land, sea and air blockade.

They also cut diplomatic ties with Qatar accusing it of funding terrorist groups, but Doha has strongly denied the charge.
Govt. to change route of Central Expressway project due to mountainous terrain View(s):

By Damith Wickremasekara

The Government has decided to alter its plans on the proposed Central Expressway project by changing the route due to the difficult terrain and issues over the tender, Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella told the Sunday Times.

The proposed expressway that was to be diverted from Pothuhera to Galagedara via Rambukkana will now pass through Kurunegala to Galagedara avoiding the Rambukkana area.

One of the main reasons for the change was that the route through the Rambukkana area would have to pass through mountainous terrain and will have more tunnels and extra bends, he said.

He said that the Kurunegala  Galagedera route would be more safer and land acquisition will be easier. Mr Kiriella said the target to complete the project is 2019 and therefore they needed to expedite the project. Construction is due to commence later this year.

He said the tender for the original plan through the Rambukkana area had to be cancelled and a fresh tender had been called, but will be changed again.

The Expressway project from Galagedara to Kandy has been undertaken by an Indian company. The same company has expressed willingness to undertake the Kurunegala  Galagedara section.
House of Justice at new site View(s):

High Courts, District and Magistrates Courts to be shifted from Hulftsdorp; Chinese company may get contract

By Anthony David

All Hulftsdorp courts, barring the Superior Courts complex, are to be shifted to a House of Justice to be constructed on six acres of land.

It will be located at Meeraniya Street, a kilometre away from the existing courts, and was once the property of British Ceylon Corporation (BCC). The site is between the Panchikawatte Junction (Maradana) and Armour Street.

For this purpose, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has asked the Cabinet to accept an unsolicited proposal from a Chinese firm, the Yangian Group. The District Courts, High Courts and Magistrates Courts will be moved there, he told the Sunday Times.

The Chinese company has estimated the project to cost US$ 129.9 million. The same firm Yangian was responsible for the construction of the Nelum Pokuna, the Bandaranaike International Exhibition Centre and the Army Hospital for the National Defence Academy of Sri Lanka.

Earlier, the Justice Ministry had proposed to construct another Superior Courts complex at the new location and shift the present Chinese-funded one in Hulftsdorp. It was handed over to Sri Lanka during the tenure of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. However, a delay in the planned completion of the project forced the Ministry to drop the idea.

Thereafter, the Ministry tried to relocate the Superior Courts complex to another premises until a Chinese firm carried out refurbishment work.

Chinese experts were also to conduct a structural examination. However, the Ministry was unable to find suitable premises. Hence, the repair work which was to begin last month and continue through June is at a standstill.

Pointing out that Colombo Hulftsdorp is the centre of administration of Justice, Minister Rajapakshe told his colleagues that all other courts including three Commercial High Courts, eight High Courts, one Civil Appeal High Court, ten District Courts and nine Magistrate Courts (including Traffic Courts) are housed in old colonial buildings constructed in the 19th century.

He has said that Since the buildings are very old and in a dilapidated condition, the functioning of courts has become dangerous to the litigants and the general public. Describing the environment as utterly congested, Mr. Rajapakshe has added that Labour Tribunals are functioning in rented buildings with minimal facilities. He has pointed out that as a result judges,the litigants, staff and lawyers experience severe hardships affecting the efficiency of the system and easy access to the public.

It was during the administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that approval was granted for the construction of a House of Justice. The Department of External Resources had approached the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development and Economic Development Co-operation and South Korea. However, there has been no favourable outcome.
Indo-Lanka talks lead to release of 42 Indian vessels View(s):

The Fisheries Ministry this week has decided to release 42 of the 140 Indian bottom trawlers, as the first phase of releasing vessels from Sri Lankan custody following ongoing discussions at joint India-Sri Lanka committee meetings, a senior official said.

We have taken this decision following the talks at the joint committee meetings held in both countries to find a long term solution to this conflict. With the release of these boats we will look at how we can come to a mutual agreement through this process, Ministry secretary Mrs. W.M.M.R. Adikari told the Sunday Times.

Accordingly the steel boats which are currently detained by the Navy at the Jaffna, Puttalam and Mannar fisheries jetties will be handed over to their rightful owners through the Indian High Commission in Colombo. Most of the vessels are in bad condition due to long anchorage at the jetties and need to be repaired before sailing back to India.

Earlier Northern fisher leaders gave the green light to release the bottom trawlers seized years ago under strict conditions that the Indian fishermen would not return to engage in bottom trawling.

Meanwhile Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday has written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis seeking his intervention to secure the release of all the bottom trawlers and the 11 Indian fishermen currently in remand custody for poaching, in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Government is following a deft strategy of not releasing the fishing boats even after the release of our fishermen thereby pushing our fishermen into a poverty stricken state, depriving them of their only means of livelihood, the Chief Minister alleged in the letter.
Its business as usual in Qatar, say Lankan returnees View(s):

Complaints about local banks shortchanging their Qatari Riyals

By Sandun Jayawardana

Fowzil Ameer (40) is excited to be home and reunited with his wife and three children after his return from Qatar. He is eager to make the most of his two-and-a-half month vacation from his job and spend quality time with his family during the final weeks of Ramadan. However, he is unfazed by the prospect of returning to Qatar, even if the current diplomatic crisis engulfing the country drags on for months.

It really isnt as bad as some people make it out to be, he insisted, when he spoke to the Sunday Times at the airport on Thursday (15) morning. Mr. Ameer, who is a driver in Qatar, was among a number of Sri Lankan workers who returned from Doha. According to the returnees, the flight takes slightly longer to reach Colombo than normal, as Arab countries which broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar, have closed their airspace to Qatari flights, forcing pilots to re-route through Iran.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt cut ties with the country on June 5, claiming Qatar supports terrorist groups, a charge which it strongly denies. The move precipitated what is regarded as the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the Gulf in years, now in its third week.

People we spoke to stressed that, despite the closure of airspace and KSA closing its sole land border with Qatar, ordinary people, including foreign workers, were still largely unaffected.

Mr. Ameer said he joined many of his fellow Sri Lankan Muslims for an Iftar event, a few days before flying back, and there was no sense of panic among those present.

There is no shortage of food or water. Life continues as usual, he said, opining that a blockade imposed by several of Qatars neighbours, was not having a major effect thus far.

I live near the Sri Lanka Embassy in Qatar and they have told us to come to them at anytime, should the need arise. I feel quite safe.

Mr. Ameer said he definitely intends to return to his job, once his vacation is over.

He, however, expressed frustration that he could not exchange most of his Qatari Riyals. They were only accepting 250 Riyals, he said. Another surprise for him was that the value of the currency had fallen considerably. When I checked with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) earlier, the rate was just over Rs 41 but, at the airport, they are exchanging at Rs 34.

He said, rather than exchange the rest of his money for a lower rate, he would take it back to Qatar.

The issue faced by Mr. Ameer is a problem for any Sri Lankan worker coming from Qatar, who wants to exchange Qatari Riyals. Many banks continue to, either impose strict limits on the amount of Qatari Riyals they are exchanging or, are refusing outright to accept them. This is despite the CBSL denying reports last week that it had told banks not to accept Qatari Riyals. Money exchange agencies are also refusing to accept Qatari Riyals.

Ranush Chamalka (21) from Galle, returned at the end of his contract as an A/C Technician, and observed, while there was were no major shortages, prices of certain goods such as rice and vegetables had risen in Qatar since the blockade was imposed. We can still afford them, though a bit more expensive.

Mr Chamalka said he lived in a large camp with many foreign workers including Sri Lankans. They all continue to go about their jobs as usual, he said.

For Ali Majid (42) from Kantale, the confusion surrounding the Qatari Riyals had come as a surprise. I wasnt aware of that, he admitted when asked. He had only exchanged a small amount of Qatari Riyals at the airport, with the intention of exchanging them later at bank branches or, at a money changer. Mr Majid, who is employed as a driver, was unsure if he can get the rest of his savings exchanged.

Jahir Mohammad (29) from Batticaloa said, given the situation regarding the currency, he opted not to exchange his money, but route it to a bank account in Sri Lanka prior to leaving. He too said prices of goods had gone up slightly.

The blockade was having some impact on Qataris, as countries imposing the blockade have barred them from entering their countries and expelled Qataris, but foreign workers havent been imposed such restrictions, he told us.

Mr Mohammad works as an IT Technician and said he has no second thoughts about returning to Qatar in 20 days, at the end of his vacation.

Having worked as a driver in Qatar for two years now, A.M. Vannan (31) from Trincomalee said, he too was going back after one month. Mr Vannan was about to leave for home with gifts for his two children, when the Sunday Times spoke to him. While the value of the Qatari Riyals has gone down since the crisis began, Mr Vannan expressed hope it would be resolved soon and the rate would appreciate.

The Sunday Times also contacted Ishan Madhushanka (25) from Galle, who is still in Qatar. Mr Madhushanka, who is a Heating, Ventilation & Air-Conditioning (HVAC) Supervisor said, day-to-day lives of Sri Lankans or others in Qatar had not been affected. Prices of a few items such as vegetables have increased a little, while there were no goods from KSA, such as dairy products, in the markets. But these have been replaced by products mainly from Turkey and Iran, he revealed.

Mr Madhushanka said there were also reports of a shortage of construction material.

Nevertheless, he said it seemed the country was actually more united and strengthened by the crisis.

Mr Madhushanka too expressed anger over restrictions imposed by local banks regarding Qatari Riyals. Nevertheless, he said the move was only affecting those who were bringing Qatari Riyals to Sri Lanka. I think, when we deposit from Qatar, to an account in Sri Lanka, it works as normal.

According to Sri Lankas Ambassador in Qatar, A.S.P. Liyanage, people in Sri Lanka are becoming more worried about their loved ones in Qatar, due to negative media coverage. TV channels in the country still keep showing images of empty supermarket shelves from the first days of the crisis, so you cant really blame people for panicking, he told the Sunday Times. Mr Liyanage insisted there were no food shortages as food is coming through other countries.

He also dismissed concerns expressed by some that workers may end up not being paid on time or, not paid at all, if the crisis drags on. This country has strict laws. You cant escape by not paying people, he claimed.

He expressed confidence that the issue between Qatar and other Gulf States will be settled soon, but added, the Govt was also prepared to take necessary measures to ensure the safety of Sri Lankans, should the crisis escalate. These include processing emergency travel documents and organising charter flights to evacuate Sri Lankans, he revealed.
PM Modi said that Kochi Metro would be viewed as a model project in urban public transport system with zero carbon emission level.

By Jeemon Jacob: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of Kochi Metro today at Kaloor International Stadium. While delivering the inaugural address, Prime Minister pointed out that his government had prioritised three key sectors - Urban infrastructure, Railways and Power in the Make in India programme.

"The city's population has been rising steadily, and is expected to reach 23 lakhs by 2021. Therefore, a mass rapid transport system is essential to address the increasing pressure on urban infrastructure. This will also contribute to Kochi's economic growth," PM said while stressing on the need for MRTS for urban development.

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Prime Minister began his speech in Malayalam and expressed his joy in joining the glorious moments of Kochi for completing the project in record time. PM stated that Kochi Metro would be viewed as a model project in urban public transport system with zero carbon emission level.

"In PRAGATI meetings, I have personally reviewed nearly 175 projects worth more than Rs eight lakh crore. We have resolved bottlenecks and significantly improved the average rate of implementation in these sectors. Now, we are also focusing on next generation infrastructure, which includes logistics, digital and gas. Foreign investment has been invited in this sector. Fifty cities in India are ready to implement metro rail projects," Prime Minister explained how the Make India campaign is transforming Indian cities.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who presided metro rail opening ceremony thanked Prime Minister Modi for visiting the state for the inauguration and the support given for the Kochi metro. Pinarayi made it clear that his government would work in tandem with union government ensuring speedy completion of developmental project.

Chief Minister took a dig at people who crafted controversies stating that Kerala wanted to avoid PM's presence in Metro Rail Inauguration.

"Now, some people may be very unhappy as the Prime Minister has come for the inauguration," Pinarayi said.

Union Urban Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu too congratulated Kochi Metro Rail Ltd for ensuring best facilities and quality standards. "With metro, Kochi is going to be the smartest City in the country," Minister said.

Before leaving Kochi Prime Minister met Pinarayi Vijayan and cabinet colleagues at naval base and discussed various developmental demands of the state.

Prime Minister who arrived at Southern Naval Command airbase with union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu , was welcomed by Governor P. Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, BJP President Kummanam Rajasekharan and Chief Secretary Nalini Netto.

Prime Minister proceeded to Kaloor by road and enjoyed Kochi metro ride from Palarivattom to Pathadippalam and back to Palarivattom along with Chief Minister, Governor and other dignitaries. Metro Man E. Sreedharan and Kochi Metro Managing Director Elaias George also accompanied Modi and other dignitaries during the ride.

Modi emerged as a star and impressed the people of Kerala when he came wearing a light blue kurta to match the official colour of Kochi Metro Rail.

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13.4 km long Kochi Metro is the fastest metro project in the Country which was completed within four years and ten days. Kochi Metro Phase I, with a project cost of Rs 51.81 billion, is expected to give a facelift to Kochi, business hub of Kerala.

Kochi Metro will be opened for public from June 19.

WATCH | All you need to know about the Kochi Metro

Also read:

Inaugurating Kochi Metro, Narendra Modi says 1000 women, 23 transgenders selected as employees

--- ENDS ---
Majestic tusker killed in turf war View(s):

The iconic, oldest tusker in the Yala National Park, Thilak, was killed in a tussle with another elephant named Kabila (Thani Dalaya) in Sithulpawwa last Wednesday.

As the largest tusker among some 120 tuskers in Sri Lanka, the 60-year-old Thilak was the centre of attraction for tourists who visited Yala. His massive tusks curved inwards in a cross making him well known.

Veterinary physician Dr. Ananda Dharmakeerthi said that heavy injuries to the abdomen during the attack by the other elephant may have led to Thilaks death.

ocal environmentalists say it is rare for a 20-year-old elephant to take on a tusker as big and senior as Thilak. Former Deputy Director of the Wildlife Department, Dr. Nandana Attapattu, explained that altercations among elephants emerged when they tried to dominate a particular territory.

Dr. Attapattu said as many as 10 tuskers were killed by poachers and hunters in the past.
Maternity hospital Helmut Kohl helped build to be named after him View(s):

The former chancellor provided funds for the 600-bed maternity hospital being built in Karapitiya, Galle

As a mark of respect for his services to Sri Lanka, the Government will name a maternity hospital under construction in Karapitiya in memory of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who passed away on Friday.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne told the Sunday times that the the hospital will be named the Helmut Kohl Maternity Hospital.

Mr. Kohl was a long time friend of the Sri Lankan government as chancellor and as a private citizen.The minister said he had helped Sri Lanka many times, both officially and unofficially. He visited the country unannounced many times on vacation. During one such visit in 2004, he experienced the tsunami. The Government only knew he was affected when the German Embassy announced his presence, the minister recalled.

It was Mr. Kohl who provided funds for Sri Lanka to build the maternity hospital with 600 beds at Karapitiya.

The hospital is still under construction. Work was briefly halted under the current government in order to conduct an inquiry into allegations of corruption surrounding the project under the previous regime.

The minister said he had hoped to invite Mr. Kohl to declare the hospital open personally. Now, I will look into the speedy construction of the hospital and name it after him to recognise his work.

Former Galle Mayor Ismail Mohammed Ariff said that he mourns the loss of a great figure who helped Sri Lanka in a time of need. He explained that the former chancellors greatest deed was to fund the construction of the new maternity hospital after the tsunami destroyed most of the Mahamodara Hospital in Galle.

Mr. Ariff said that at the time, he provided funds to build the maternity wing of the hospital on an eight acre stretch of state-owned land, making it one of the biggest maternity hospitals in the country.

He also explained that the former chancellor provided boats for fishermen as well as houses for tsunami victims under the funding of the German government. Because of the efforts of the late Mr. Kohl, Germany also provided funds to build a community centre, montessori and tsunami warning tower, he added.

Mr. Kohl was undergoing ayurveda treatment when the tsunami hit. He was rescued after the German Embassy in Colombo alerted the Sri Lankan government of his presence.

Incumbent of Sundararama Temple, Ven. Manaweriye Dammika Thera said that the late chancellor did a great service by constructing a maternity hospital in Sri Lanka at his expense. Unfortunately, because of the shortcomings and weaknesses of our people, the hospital construction was prolonged until after his death, he lamented.
Minister pitches for ArcelorMittals steel prefab houses View(s):

Resettlement Ministry Progress Review Meeting

The Resettlement Ministry this week summoned District and Divisional Secretaries and Directors of Planning of the North and East, for a Progress Review meeting in Colomboand used the event to promote the controversial ArcelorMittal prefabricated (prefab) housing project.

The meeting chaired by Resettlement Minister D.M. Swaminathan, took place on Thursday. Eelam Peoples Democratic Party Leader and Jaffna District MP, Douglas Devananda was also present, along with representatives of international steel giant ArcelorMittal.

While Progress Review discussions are usually held at the Ministry premises in Kollupitiya (and is not attended by the Minister), this weeks meeting was held at Renuka Hotel. On most previous occasions, only District Secretaries have been invited.

The conference lasted from 10 am to around 1pm. More than half of it was dedicated to the promotion of prefab housing by Minister Swaminathan and ArcelorMittal agents. They made presentations. Their main thrust was that, the steel prefab houses were ideal for the war-displaced in the North and East.

Cabinet recently approved a Resettlement Ministry proposal to build 6,000 prefab steel houses in the North and East subject to the allocation of houses being made to the displaced families concerned, on receiving their consent for the same. But the Ministry has steadfastly refused to offer the beneficiaries the choice between cheaper masonry houses and the expensive prefab ones, in violation of Cabinet decisions. It has only advertised the latter.

These steel dwellings are to be erected by ArcelorMittal which first applied in 2015 to put up 65,000 of them. The proposal is backed by Minister Swaminathan, but has been rejected by a Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee; the Tamil National Alliance; the Northern Provincial Council; District Coordinating Committees; the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee; a team appointed by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management; local officials and Civil Society groups.
Sri Lankas latest export to Hong Kong  deadly dengue, duty free View(s):

From Kapila Bandara in Hong Kong

Sri Lanka, which has been unable to collar the runaway dengue epidemic, is even exporting infected people to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has remained free from the killer mosquito-borne virus because of a highly systematic, efficient and effective monitoring system by public health authorities.

Among the 41 cases reported to Hong Kongs health authorities in the past five months, infections exported from Sri Lanka account for the second largest number.

The Center for Health Protection of Hong Kongs Department of Health reported on Friday that seven cases have been imported to the city from Sri Lanka. The centre did not identify the patients nationalities.

For the seven days to the past Thursday, Hong Kong has recorded five confirmed dengue fever cases and the patients had been to Sri Lanka  two of the cases are epidemiologically linked. Epidemiologically linked cases are those in which the patient has had contact with one or more people who been infected with the dengue virus.

The largest number of reported cases, or 13, was imported from Thailand. Five cases each were imported from Indonesia and the Philippines. No dengue cases have been reported in Hong Kong.

Sri Lankas Health Ministry and its Epidemiology Unit have been struggling with the deadly virus for years, randomly spraying insecticide and knee-jerk reaction checking of backyards. There is also a National Dengue Control Unit.

Whole families in Sri Lanka have been affected amidst soaring numbers of deaths. Ill-equipped public hospitals, where stray dogs are seen in corridors, are overwhelmed. In the six months to June 63,987 people, or an average 12,797 every month, have been infected.

The total infections so far this year exceeds the 55,150 cases in the whole of last year.

For more than a decade, Hong Kong public health authorities have been monitoring the aedes albopictus mosquito, one of the dengue carriers, through simple ovitraps. This is one of many measures to track infestation. Even the Hong Kong International Airport is monitored. That began in 1998, when it opened. Ports are monitored.

Advice on dengue is also available in Sinhala in Hong Kong.
TNA, Wigneswaran in battle for North View(s):

By Chris Kamalendran

Key Tamil politicians continued to lock horns yesterday as their respective supporters launched protests, creating a tense political situation in the North. At the centre of the controversy is Northern Provinces Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran. After a probe into the conduct of four ministers of the Northern Province, two who were allegedly found guilty for abuse of power and misuse of funds were told to resign from their portfolios and two others who were found not guilty were told to go on leave for a month.

The Illankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), the largest party in the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), hit back at Mr. Wigneswaran by bringing in a no-confidence motion against him. There were 15 signatories. Mr. Wigneswarans supporters held a protest in Mullaitivu yesterday against those who signed the no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister.

Protests have also been organised in Vavuniya tomorrow. Protests were held in Kilinochchi and Jaffna on Friday. The Chief ministers supporters also called on him to take over the leadership of the Tamil people. These moves came as the TNA yesterday demanded that Mr. Wigneswaran should withdraw the disciplinary action initiated against the two ministers who were sent on compulsory leave .

TNA MP and spokesman M. Sumanthiran told the Sunday Times that the TNA wanted the Chief Minister to reverse his decision of sending the two ministers on compulsory leave for a month. However until last evening we have not received a favourable response from Mr Wigneswaran.

We are ready for a compromise and get the ITAK members who moved a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister to withdraw it. But that will depend on the response we get, he said.

Of 38 members in the council, 15 members signed the no-confidence motion against Mr. Wigneswaran after he initiated action against all four ministers based on a report by a three-member committee that probed allegations against them. Evidence was found only against two ministers and the Chief minister called for their resignation.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan in a letter to the Chief Minister said, Unwarranted action should not be the cause for promoting disunity and disturbing the functioning of the Northern Provincial Council. Mr Sampanthan said that to to resolve the issue, the Chief Minister should withdraw the action he took against the two ministers who were found not guilty.However, NPC member M.K. Sivajilingam, who supports the Chief Minister, said the two ministers in question were only told to submit a leave application and stay away from the council sittings for a month.

He claimed that already two members who signed the no-confidence motion had withdrawn. We will get more members to withdraw and ensure that the no-confidence motion is defeated, he said.
Anything she can do I can do better View(s):

Good, strong female friends can be the most extraordinary source of strength. They can understand us women in a way men never canin all sincerity, a female friend can empathise, feel, give advice, support and cheer on another sister, in a way that few male friends ever could and their contribution to our lives isimmeasurable.

I often say, I would be lost without my girlfriends and my sisters in life. Why then is it, that we can also sometimes receive some of the harshest blows  verbally and emotionally even if not physically  and face some of the most critical and cynical evaluations and feedback from fellow sisters and female friendsand then of course there is that almighty dollop of heavy and hefty competition that many women sport in bucket loads

Are women more competitive by natureare women always more competitive with every one whether they be male or femaleor are women predominantly more competitive with other womenis there some sort of automatic switch that flicks into the On position the moment we sense competition from a member of our own sex?

Emily V. Gordon, in an article titled Why Women Compete With Each Other writing for the New York Times says that A good amount of research has been done on female competitiveness, both in condescending and eye-opening ways.

A literature review by Tracy Vaillancourt in 2013 found that women by and large express indirect aggression toward other women, and that aggression is a combination of self-promotion,(making themselves look more attractive), and derogation of rivals,(being catty about other women). She goes in to elaborate that There are two main theories of why women are competitive in indirectly aggressive ways. Evolutionary psychology, which uses natural selection to explain our modern behaviour, says that women need to protect themselves (read: their wombs) from physical harm, so indirect aggression keeps us safe while lowering the stock of other women.

Feminist psychology chalks up this indirect aggression to internalising the patriarchy. As Noam Shpancer writes in Psychology Today, As women come to consider being prized by men  their ultimate source of strength, worth, achievement and identity  they are compelled to battle other women for the prize.In short:When our value is tied to the people who can impregnate us, we turn on each other.

Many people, especially those from all female schools and with a strong female influence in their lives  myself included  have a general large group of girl friends and an inner circle of fewer friends that remain at the core of their own individual circle.

Friends within friends we say. Sometimes we have several of these inner core groups which have formed over time and through interaction and involvement in various different activities and some tend to be larger and closer than others.

Ultimately however what really counts is that you have at least one really close friend or a few of them if youre lucky that gives you an outleta person to talk to, laugh with, share your inner thoughts with and share a warmth and understanding, that allows you to go about the business of beingyou.

Personally, whilst I have always had many friends in my life, I have counted myself as being very fortunate to have a few especially precious girl friends I can count on one hand and an additional group of Sistas, who would go to the wall for me, very comfortable and confident in the knowledge that given half a chance, I would do exactly the same for them.

Each and every single one of these ladies is confident, strong, accomplished in her own right and secure within herself and has precious little time to worry about petty jealousies and meaningless competition, which result in these common myths and sayings about women not being able to get on and trust each other.

I have always believed that if one is confident within oneself, then there is no reason to question or diminish anothers confidence in order to build ones own.

There will usually always be a sense of individual competition within a person who has a competitive nature, but this is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if that spurs you on to do better in your life or work and within your family. Nothing wrong with a good dose of healthy competition, but healthy being the operative word.

Many would say I enjoy some of it myself, and I would confirm that I encourage my daughter too, to develop it, but again, all within the confines of it enhancing rather than diminishing your daily life and happiness.

In the end, whats most important and essential for personal growth is self empowerment, which in fact must actually come from within as opposed to fester and grow from out.

Emily V. Gordon sums it all up quite perfectly:

Research tells us that women are compelled to level the playing field by any means necessary to make sure we have access to the best genetic material, but since these are not real concerns in our modern lives, our competitiveness becomes something a bit more private and understandableThats the third theory of female competitiveness that Id like to propose: We arent competing with other women, ultimately, but with ourselves  with how we think of ourselves.

For many of us, we look at other women and see, instead, a version of ourselves that is better, prettier, smarter, something more.We dont see the other woman at allIts a fun-house mirror that reflects an inaccurate version of who we are, but we turn on her anyway, because its easier.

But we dont need to lower the stock of other women, either for the future of the species or for our own psyches. When we each focus on being the dominant force in our own universe, rather than invading other universes, we all win.

All comments, suggestions and contributions are most welcome. Confidentiality Guaranteed.

Please email: KJWVoiceforWomen@gmail.com
Colombo Swim Week aims at making a green splash View(s):

Eco friendliness must come from the heart, says founder Ajai Vir Singh

By Kaveesha Fernando

Did you know that the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world? The only other industrial polluter which has a worse impact is oil. It is also believed that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions.

Colombo Swim Week founder Ajai Vir Singh believes that the lack of co-ordination between the different players in the fashion industry is partly to blame for this. Mostly all the brands are Western world brands.

Most of the factories are on the Eastern side of the planet, so its very difficult to control the two. Also, the crafts that we use come from the Eastern side. The fashion week which shows these designs is run by an event company in the other part of the world. So its very difficult to control, he explains.

With the next edition of Colombo Swim Week to take place from June 27-July 2, he is looking to make a significant change. He feels that Swim Week can easily overcome this issue and set an example of ethical fashion practices which others can follow.

This years edition of Colombo Swim Week will work under the theme of Green conscious and earth sensitive.

Swim Week  Asias first fashion week which is dedicated to swim wear and active wear is here, so we can control this. The designers are here, the factories are here so our eco-system is on one land, says Ajai.

Although Ajai feels that the fashion industry must tackle this issue by being proactive, he feels that excessive policing and the act of setting stringent standards is ineffective. What Im saying is what if we start from the heart? Can we make people green inside he asks, emphasizing the fact that change which comes from the heart will be more effective and long lasting.

The 10 Sri Lankan designers have been given three pillars to work around. Either they can show an impact on garments, or they work through a factory which is already energy and water neutral or invest in the environment through biodiversity, Ajai says, explaining that this year they only have to pick one topic in the hope that in five years they will have all these pillars woven into their practices.

Although the designers were reluctant at first, they are now warming up to the idea of being green, says Ajai. What you do as designers is easier than what the factories do. Factories have to find a way to negate the water because the dyes have to go out into the land.

The factory that we are working with had to clear about an acre of land when they were building. They planted 10 acres to compensate for that.

Ajai hopes that Colombo Swim Week will be able to set an example of green fashion both within the island and beyond.

Happy to partner in ethical quest Colombo Swim Week (CSW) sponsors who were also present at a news conference to announce the event stressed the importance of eco awareness in the fashion insutry.

Biodiversity Sri Lanka, advisor Shiranee Yasaratne said they were hopeful that their partnership with CSW will help reduce pollution in the fashion industry here.

Olu Tropical Water CEO Shalindra Fernando said being title partner of the event was a great opportunity for the company.

Explaining that 20% of the energy used by their factory is solar powered Linea Aqua CEO Muditha Ferdinando said the company is water neutral.That means that we take in less water than we release out, he said.

Director of Operations at Hilton Colombo Shane Ingram said the event this year is important for Hilton as they celebrate 30 years and because it promotes biodiversity. Hilton Hotels and Resorts aim to have zero plastice usage by 2019.
Iftar at Sri Lankas UN mission View(s):

The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York held a traditional Iftar (Breaking Ramadan Fast) ceremony on Wednesday, with the participation of a large number of Sri Lankan Muslim expatriates living in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Welcoming the guests for the ceremony at the mission premises, Ambassador Rohan Perera noted that the Sri Lanka Muslim community had been maintaining admirable harmony with people of other faiths for several centuries and have had remarkable patience during testing times.

He said the Cabinet of Ministers at their meeting on June 13, 2017 resolved to guide the nation towards reconciliation, sustainable peace and economic progress, while denouncing in strongest terms the recent incidents of violence targeting places of religious worship, shops and business enterprises and houses.

Underlining the need to avoid extremist ideologies, Dr. Perera said that by truly adhering to the teachings of Islam one could spread peace around.

Sheik Dr. Mohamed Shafiek from New Rochelle delivered a sermon and led the prayers after Mohamed Nayeem recited Adhan for the Maghreb prayers. Deputy Permanent Representative Sabarullah Khan delivered the vote of thanks.
Paris is not the solution View(s):

By Bjrn Lomborg

COPENHAGEN  President Donald Trumps withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate agreement leaves the US without a global warming policy. That is alarming. But the worlds response  to double down on the pact in opposition to Trump  should also cause concern.

There have been two conflicting responses to Trumps decision  often heard from the very same person.

On one hand, we are told that the move imperils the planet. Former US Vice President Al Gore says that Trump is damaging humanitys ability to solve the climate crisis. Business leader Tom Steyer says the Paris accord is essential to leaving a healthy, safe, and prosperous world to our children and blasts the presidents traitorous act of war.

On the other hand, we hear the defiant suggestion that Trumps decision might not be so important, because renewable energy is already becoming so cheap that a future without fossil fuels has nearly arrived. Gore claims the planet is in the midst of an inevitable transition to a clean energy economy, and Steyer recently said that the time when renewables plus storage is cheaper than fossil fuels has already arrived.

Not only are these arguments mutually contradictory; each also happens to be wrong. Abandoning the Paris agreement does not risk our planets future, because the agreement itself does little to solve global warming. And green energy is far from locked in as a cost-effective replacement for fossil fuels. Fooling ourselves on these points means failing to address climate change effectively.

To keep the increase in global temperature below the target of 2C (relative to the preindustrial era), the planet needs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions during this century by about 6,000 billion tonnes. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)  the organiser of the Paris accord  estimates that even if every country makes every promised cut, CO2 emissions would fall by just 56 billion tonnes by 2030.

The UNs own figures reveal that even in an implausibly optimistic, best-case scenario, the Paris accord would leave 99% of the climate problem in place. This is hardly a sure-fire policy to solve global warming.Moreover, even before Trump announced his decision, it was unlikely that every country would fulfill every promise. Consider the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Countries signing that agreement actually ended up dropping out or simply ignoring it. The evidence shows that Kyoto ended up having almost no effect.

The inadequacies of the Paris agreement were acknowledged by environmentalists at the time it was signed, though some are changing their tune, in order to stand steadfastly against Trump. Back in 2015, the noted environmentalist Bill McKibben concluded that the accord did just enough to keep both environmentalists and the fossil fuel industry from complaining too much. Now, he fears the withdrawal undercuts our civilizations chances of surviving global warming.

There is nothing new in the politicisation of climate policy or the over-selling of a political agreement. But the deeper problem is that a lot of puffery about the state of renewable energy has accompanied the Paris hype. This, too, is not new. A largely or wholly solar economy can be constructed in the United States with straightforward soft technologies that are now demonstrated and now economic or nearly economic, environmentalist Amory Lovins declared in 1976. In 1984, the Worldwatch Institute assured us that wind subsidies will not be needed within a few years.

In fact, the world will spend $125 billion on wind and solar subsidies alone in 2017. Despite four decades of financial support, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that wind provides just 0.5% of todays energy needs, and solar photovoltaic a minuscule 0.1%.

More than $3 trillion will be spent on subsidies just on wind and solar photovoltaic over the next 25 years. Even by 2040, and assuming that all of the Paris agreements promises are fulfilled, the IEA expects wind and solar to provide, respectively, just 1.9% and 1% of global energy. This is not what an economy in the midst of an inevitable shift away from fossil fuels looks like.

Solar and wind energy depend on considerable subsidies because in most contexts, they remain more expensive than fossil fuels. When the United Kingdom cut solar power subsidies, installations plummeted. Spain was once paying almost 1% of its GDP in renewable subsidies, more than it spent on higher education. When it cut back, new wind energy production collapsed.

Green energy investors and politicians lead the public-relations advance, assisted by a credulous media that likes to tell green-technology success stories. But if green energy were already competitive or near-competitive with fossil fuels, the Paris agreement would be unnecessary. The entire world would be dumping fossil fuels for the cheaper, better option.

Hyping the effects of the Paris agreement and the state of todays green energy gives us false assurance. We believe that we are doing what is required to save the planet, Trumps move notwithstanding. And we dont focus on what we actually need to do to rein in temperature rises.

Its not very complicated: We must end wasteful subsidies for both fossil fuels and inefficient solar and wind. And we should focus on investment in innovation to improve green energy.

Governments and donors must spend much more on research and development than they do now. The fund announced by philanthropist Bill Gates is a very promising start, as is the agreement by 22 countries and the European Union double their investments from $15 billion to $30 billion.

But, to reduce temperatures by more than a fraction of a degree, the planet needs something more like a six fold increase in green energy R and D. This would still be much cheaper than the Paris agreement, which requires the rollout of expensive, inefficient energy. And it would be much more effective.

Trump richly deserves criticism for abandoning the Paris climate agreement without any alternative plan of action. But, by ignoring reality, the rest of the world is not doing much better.

(The writer is a Director of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre and a visiting professor at the Copenhagen Business School.)

Courtesy: Project Syndicate, 2017. Exclusive to the Sunday Times.

www.project-syndicate.org
The Maharashtra ATS acted on intel provided by the Military Intelligence Agency in Jammu and Kashmir.

By Saurabh Vaktania: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested two people on Friday for running fake telecommunication centres, allegedly aiding cross-border agencies in procuring sensitive military information.

According to reports, the accused used to connect VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) calls to people in India, which are believed to have originated from Pakistan.

The Maharashtra ATS acted on intel provided by the Military Intelligence Agency in Jammu and Kashmir.

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In the first raid in Latur, a 33-year-old was arrested for running an illegal telecommunication booth. He had been running it for the past six months. The police seized 96 sim cards, a computer, three call transforming machines. The property is estimated to be worth Rs 1,90,000.

According to the DOT officials, estimated total revenue loss to the national exchequer by this illegal activity is Rs 9 crore.

Acting on his testimony, the officials raided a shop next in Latur, and busted another fake call transferring centre. Nearly 14 sim cards and other miscellaneous electronic items were seized from the shop.

In quick succession, another den was busted in Latur itself, a rented room of a 27-year-old who was caught with over 64 sim cards, a laptop and two unauthorised international gateway machines.

The man had been running the illegal centre for the past five months and also used to sell sim cards. Total revenue loss calculated by DOT officials in this case is Rs 6 crore.

Investigation in the case is underway. More details awaited.

Also read:

Is Pakistan indirectly paving way for ISIS in Kashmir by using its videos to fuel militancy?

Vijay Goel: Pakistan has crossed 'Lakshman Rekha', no chance of bilateral cricket

How Pakistan funds stone-pelters in Kashmir through illegal barter trade at LoC

Also watch: Hizbul's new boss Yasin Yatoo releases terror video, warns of more attacks in Kashmir

--- ENDS ---
As Mamata Banerjee moves to the hills, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung sends a call for Gorkhaland. Here are excerpts of his interview with Romita Datta.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung has again given the call for Gorkhaland. Intent on confronting Mamata Banerjee (with help from Delhi), he has announced a shutdown in the hills. Excerpts from an interview with Romita Datta.

Q. Have you sought the Centre's intervention?

A. I have written to the PM, demanding president's rule in the hills to end Mamata's autocracy. If a state government has to take the army's help to bring the situation under control, it's shameful. The new GTA committee will only be formed under president's rule as the state police have turned into TMC cadre.

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Q. But Mamata has ruled out tripartite talks.

A. The GTA was formed on the basis of a tripartite agreement, including the Centre. Mamata is overruling its basic principles. She's formed 17 boards for the different hill communities, giving them sops, trying to break the hill people's unity. But our call for Gorkhaland will unite us.

Q. How can you justify the violence over the optional inclusion of Bengali in hill schools?

A. We don't want Bengali even as an optional subject. Why burden our students who are already learning Nepali as mother tongue, Hindi and English?

Q. Mamata says you're frustrated because the government is auditing GTA accounts.

A. The GTA was audited once in 2016 and twice in 2017. No one found anything amiss. Why doesn't she audit the crores her party got from Saradha, Narada and Rose Valley?

Q. TMC says you're nervous about Mamata's visits to the hills.

A. She's been here 35 times. She comes to divide the hill people, pitting one community against another. We won't let it happen. Gorkhaland will unite us.

--- ENDS ---
Hauraki are not Tauranga Moana  this is the message from Ngati Ranginui as further protest action gets underway in Mount Maunganui.

Tauranga iwi Ngai Te Rangi are protesting a treaty negotiation settlement which they say will give the Hauraki Collective of iwi and hapu rights to Tauranga Moana.

In a statement released ahead of todays protest action, Ngati Ranginui Settlement Trust chairperson Te Pio Kawe says Ngati Ranginui Settlement Trust were unaware of the protest action taken by Ngai Te Rangi on Thursday, although both Iwi agree that there is a no evidence to support the Crowns view that Hauraki should have the same interests or rights in Tauranga Moana as Ngati Ranginui, Ngai Te Rangi and Ngati Pukenga.

Hauraki are not Tauranga Moana, says Te Pio.

The Settlement Trust says while they were not able to officially play a role in organising the action, they are pleased to see their waka Takitimu and so many Ngati Ranginui people involved.


Local Maori are calling yesterdays protests on the harbour a success, and believe their voice has now been heard.

Tauranga iwi Ngai Te Rangi took to the water to protest a treaty negotiation settlement, which they say will give the Hauraki collective of iwi and hapu rights to Tauranga Moana.

Ngai Te Rangi Mauao site coordinator Meremaihi Aloua says shes proud of the region, and the support from local iwi and other relations.

Their support strengthens our ties with other iwi.

She says the key message is for the Crown to realise its fault.

Their lies and deceit arent working anymore. Weve taken many steps to lead to this point, and if we dont go down the right pathway, they now know what were capable of.

We want to see Hauraki continue on with their settlement, without the inclusion of Tauranga Moana.

Ngai Te Rangi CEO Paul Stanley agrees.

There are many more conversations we need to hold. Well be reassessing whether we repeat this next week. But a heck of a lot more needs to be done with the Crown.

Yesterdays protest took place from around 10am to 1pm, and included haka as well as waka paddling on the harbour.

Auckland-based Ngati Whatua Orakei spokesman Ngarimu Blair has congratulated Tauranga Moana iwi for turning out in force to protect their mana.

We fully support Tauranga Moana and it is awesome to see the local community also backing iwi in this battle against the Crown.

Its deeply concerning that the government is trying to pull together a deal with Hauraki iwi and not respecting the people who have actually continued to live in the area for centuries.





Haka from Sun Live on Vimeo.








There are three young girls that wont let the ways of the world bring them down.

Three 11-year-olds with better self-esteem than some women in their 20s.

And they have a message to share.

People can doubt their beauty but we want people to know that they are all beautiful and created unique, says Bethlehem College student Jessina Goold, and mmms of approval can be heard from her fellow dancers Charlotte Dufaur and Braeya Embling.

Jessina, Charlotte, and Braeya are three of the 32 Bethlehem College Year 7 and 8 students that will be taking to the stage to share a message during the Bays Fresh Moves show, hosted by Bay of Plenty Dance.

The show, held on June 20 and 21 from 7pm at Baycourt, has numerous Bay of Plenty primary and intermediate schools dancing to spread a message.

The theme reflection was given to teams to interpret how they saw fit.

Our dance is based on Psalm 139:14 I praise you Lord because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, says Jessina.

The three girls have been dancing since age 5, and say the sport has given them a positive outlook on life.

Because we have been dancing from such a young age, its practically part of us. It makes you feel like you can do anything, like you are on top of the world, says Charlotte.

Were really excited about the show, says Braeya. We think were ready and were ready to have fun.

We want people to come because we want them to know that they are beautiful, says Charlotte.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.ticketek.co.nz and search Fresh Moves 2017.
The demand for a separate Gorkhaland, which encompasses the hill districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and parts of Terai and Dooars in the plains, is a recurring chant by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), with president Bimal Gurung cranking it up whenever the going gets a bit tough for him.

Placated for a while (as his mentor and Gorkha National League Front chief Subhash Ghising was in 2005) with the creation of a semi-autonomous council - the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) - in July 2011 after the Trinamool Congress came to power in the state, Gurung is on the warpath again. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's move to have the GTA accounts audited is the most recent provocation.

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The state government had released Rs 3,000 crore to the GTA at the time of its inception in 2011, but the organisation has maintained no accounts of expenditure or bothered with furnishing utilisation certificates. Mamata has been aware of the large-scale financial irregularities by GTA members since 2013-14, but her sudden decision to put the audit team on their heels is being seen as a manoeuvre to isolate Gurung.

The CM views Gurung as an adversary because it is with his support that the BJP has been winning the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat since 2009 (the GJM's support is based on the BJP's commitment to the creation of Gorkhaland as a separate state).

The recently concluded municipality polls in the hills have once again gone in favour of the GJM, which won three - Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong - of the four municipalities, giving Gurung all the more reason to flex his muscles. Smarting from the GTA audit order, he found his chance to hit back when Mamata announced the introduction of Bengali in school curriculums in the hills. Though it is still optional, it fitted well into Gurung's plans in stoking the fires among the Nepali-speaking Gorkhas.

On June 8, as Mamata was presiding over her first cabinet meeting in the hills at the Raj Bhavan in Darjeeling, thousands of GJM supporters came out onto the streets. They pelted stones and crude bombs, set fire to police jeeps and state buses, stopping dangerously close to holding the CM and her cabinet hostage.

Nearly 10,000 holidayers were stranded in the city, forcing the CM to requisition the army to bring the situation under control. Typically, though, Mamata herself opted to stay in Darjeeling to reassure the stranded tourists.

But the agitation continued. Gurung gave a call for non-cooperation with the government from June 12. However, with an eye on local livelihoods, the transport and hotel industries were exempted alongside schools and emergency services. "The morcha has a single-point programme, Gorkhaland for the Gorkhas," says Roshan Giri, GJM general secretary.

In a telling move, Gurung has written to Union home minister Rajnath Singh, apprising him of the TMC government's high-handedness. The word in Darjeeling is that Delhi will push for tripartite negotiations, but Mamata has already rejected the possibility. She is instead considering booking the GJM leaders for vandalising public property and arson while also using the GTA audit to expose the corruption of Gurung and other Gorkha leaders. Clearly, the battle lines are being drawn.

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--- ENDS ---
Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize winning play "Disgraced," a searing look at how the current geopolitical climate has affected American Muslims, is one of the most performed dramas in regional theaters this season. In the stunning and spare production now onstage at Ithaca's Hangar Theatre, the ambiguity that marks classical tragedy hangs in the air as a skilled ensemble plays out an intensely human drama.



Although his central figure is the son of Pakistani immigrants, Akhtar lets no other Americans off the hook. "Disgraced"'s characters harbor hidden prejudices, and melodramatic plot turns reveal slights and personal betrayals. No one comes off well.



Manhattanite Amir Kapoor (Alex Purcell), who has rejected his immigrant family's Muslim religion, is an accomplished mergers and acquisitions lawyer, but still not a partner in the firm. His white wife, Emily (Roya Shanks), a painter fascinated by Islamic art, and his young nephew, Abe (Salar Ardebili), convince him to attend the trial of a controversial imam imprisoned for supporting terrorists. When his comments are reported in the papers with the assumption that he is the man's lawyer, Amir's world collapses. At a dinner party at home with Isaac (Jonas Cohen), a Jewish museum curator and Jory (Robyn Payne), his African American wife, who is an equally distinguished lawyer at the same firm where Amir works, tensions run high and the stage is set for a series of revelations that bring "Disgraced" to a shattering climax with cultural and political implications.



Leading the fine ensemble at the Hangar, Alex Purcell projects the affability that has allowed Amir to easily assimilate. He could be one of the hundreds of Armani-suited lawyers you might see on Wall Street. Armed with a grin and a reflexive chuckle, he's an ingratiating figure. After the application of alcohol and humiliation, that smile becomes desperate, then dangerous. Purcell charts Amir's identity crisis with harrowing precision.



Purcell and Shanks have real onstage chemistry. Idealistic and culturally naive, her Emily has a delicate appearance and an almost unnerving sincerity. There's a discomforting edge to the affection for Islamic decorative art which brings her to paint her husband as Velazquez's moorish servant Juan de Pareja, leading Amir with a hint of bitter recognition to declare himself, "Her very own moor."



Payne and Cohen are bracing presences, handling quips and acid revelations with the same chilling clarity. Ardebili is effective as Abe, the young immigrant who is caught between two cultures.



As played out on Anita Stewart's sparsely furnished set, with its enormous balcony looking out on the Manhattan skyline, "Disgraced" has the look of a Greek tragedy. However, director Christopher Grabowski keeps the action as brisk as a drawing room comedy. Early on, as "Disgraced" looks like it's heading into that territory Amir, dressed in a suit jacket, tie, and boxer shorts poses for his artist wife. The dialogue moves quickly. The pace does not let up as the witty banter turns toxic. Tragedy happens at the speed of life.



At the Hangar, as in other theaters where the play has been done, performances of "Disgraced" will be followed by talkback sessions led by academics and members of the Muslim community.





The Details

Where: Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca.

When seen: June 16.

Length of performance: 90 minutes, no intermission.

Family Guide: Okay for very mature teens. Strong language, challenging ideas and violence.

Runs through: June 24.

Information: Hangartheatre.org, 607.273.ARTS



CNY Playhouse offers a snappy 'Chicago' (Review)
Students of the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central celebrated at their prom Friday, June 16, 2017. The event was held at Drumlins Country Club, 800 Nottingham Road in Syracuse.

Above is our gallery of photos from the event.

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Check out all our photo galleries from proms, senior balls, and other formals around Central New York.
By Pooja Shali: One hour away from capital city, Srinagar, is located a serene, tourist destination of Tangmarg. Today, however, a house downhill in this village of North Kashmir was quiet and in mourning. A day ago, 28-year-old constable Shariq Ahmed Lone of Jammu and Kashmir police, attained martyrdom in the line of duty in Anantnag.

Surrounding an inconsolable mother and a young wife, relatives squatted in silence, broken with regular intervals of loud wails. A three-year-old girl curiously observing the group of women.

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NO VISIT BY POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVE

Elder brother of slain constable is visibly angry on the inconspicuous absence of political leadership. "Shariq's death feels like I lost a limb. He was a cordial, brave policeman, a loving brother. No leader came to visit us since the news. They come, primarily, for votes. I only know that I lost my brother. What else do I care who comes or not."

A local policeman on duty said thousands had converged at his late-night funeral, as five other families simultaneously prepared to lay their courageous sons to rest across Kashmir. Anger amongst colleagues was significantly palpable. A senior police official visited the family a night before.

Sitting in a corner amongst a separate gathering of men, was 70-year-old father of Lone. Retired teacher from a local school in neighbourhood, the father wiped off his tears with a corner of pheran, traditional Kashmiri attire. "In this old age, I deserved support. Instead, I have more responsibility now to take care of the family. He promised me since seven years that he will show up on Eid, but he will never come now. I have not eaten since I heard the news of his death."

RISKS UNDERTAKEN BY POLICEMEN

Last few months have been difficult for the local police, bearing constant threats from terrorists and fear for family members. The ambush on June 16 is unprecedented and alarming. Jammu Kashmir police personnel, in solidarity of colleagues, have decided to donate one day of their salary to the affected families.

Martyred cop's father parted on a note, significant and tragic, "He always wanted to be in police, but if we had a better employment opportunity, would we push our son into this situation? I will have to bear this pain for the rest of my life."

ALSO READ:

Frustrated militants targeting policemen: J&K DGP

Militants kill 6 policemen in Kashmir's Anantnag, LeT claims responsibility

--- ENDS ---
Microsoft has just announced a major change to how it plans to push out Windows Server updates going forward. Instead of releasing them every few years or so, Microsoft has promised to commit rolling the updates out in a semiannual cycle, which means Microsoft will put out Windows Server updates every spring and fall.

Windows Bumps Up Windows Server Updates To Semiannual Release Schedule

That cycle mimics Microsoft's release schedules for Office and Windows 10, which will allow the company to deliver new features and innovations to customers faster than before. By contrast, the last few major versions of Windows Servers each came out three years apart, in 2008, 2012, and then in 2016. The move appears as a natural progression of Microsoft's unification efforts for Windows development.

Microsoft says a semiannual release cycle helps rapidly innovating customers to take advantage of new features at a faster pace "both in applications  particularly those built on containers and microservices, as well as in the software-defined hybrid datacenter."

Windows Server Standard and Datacenter users who are part of the company's Software Assurance program will automatically receive the updates as they arrive. However, those without a subscription won't.

The fall release of Windows Server will simply be tagged as "1709." It won't be fancily named as something like "Windows 10 Fall Creators Update," for example.

Windows Server Core, a headless version of the Windows Server which provides the base platform for Azure and Azure Stack, will also get the semiannual update schedule. Meanwhile, Nano Server, which is optimized for private clouds and datacenters, "has always been on an active release cadence and will continue," according to a Microsoft spokesperson.

What If Users Want To Skip Windows Server Updates?

Those who don't want semiannual updates for some reason can stick with Windows Server 2016, which Microsoft treats as its "Long-Term Servicing Channel" release, noting it's supported for 10 years  up to 16 years, in fact, for those with Premium Assurance. However, customers can't skip two releases in a row, according to a spokesperson.

"This is because [updates are] released each 6 months and supported for 18 months, so by the time n+3 comes out (i.e. you've skipped two releases) you'll be out of the support window on 'n'."

When Will The Next Windows Server Update Arrive?

Windows Server images should start deploying next month for those who'll join the Server Insider rings, reports ZDNet. That said, Microsoft hasn't detailed exactly what new features will the fall update for Windows Server bring, except that the next release of Windows Server will be getting an even slimmer Nano Server option  50 percent slimmer than its current version.

With that in mind, Microsoft has also stressed that Nano Server should gravitate more toward building container images, and away from infrastructure-related chores. For those cases, Microsoft recommends using Server Core instead.

Finally, as Microsoft announced during its Build developer conference earlier this year, Windows Server will also be getting support for Linux containers, which will provide developers with Bash scripts for Linux applications.

Customers will be able to choose when they want to receive the semiannual updates, and there's going to be a preview channel as well. Those who want to get in on the action first may enroll in the company's Windows Insider Program, although of course, that opens up developers to risks involved in installing prerelease software.

Thoughts about Microsoft's new Windows Server release cycle for updates? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Sony and Microsoft, still at odds over their stances on backward compatibility features for their respective consoles, are facing another issue over cross-platform play between the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.

Cross-platform play would allow gamers on both consoles to play with one another online. While support for the feature has gained traction, it has so far not achieved any considerable progress.

Microsoft Urges Sony To Allow Xbox Live, PlayStation Network Connection

At E3 2017, Microsoft Game Studios general manager Dave McCarthy talked about the possibility of cross-platform play between the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, expressing hope that Sony will accept his invitation to connect the online gaming networks of the two consoles.

McCarthy's statement came after the announcement of cross-platform play for Minecraft for the Xbox One, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch. Meanwhile, Psyonix said in July 2016 that cross-platform play for Rocket League on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is ready, with Sony's approval the only thing holding back the feature.

There is mounting pressure on Sony to finally give in and grant approval to cross-platform play. However, the company has so far not budged.

Sony's Explanation On Stance Against Cross-Platform Play

In an interview with Eurogamer, PlayStation global sales and marketing head Jim Ryan said that Sony remains open to conversations with developers and publishers on cross-platform play.

As Eurogamer's Wesley Yin-Poole stressed that PlayStation 4 owners are upset with Sony's disapproval of cross-platform play, Ryan said that Sony needs to be mindful of its responsibility to its install base. He then cites Minecraft as an example, whose players are of all ages, including children.

"We have a contract with the people who go online with us, that we look after them and they are within the PlayStation curated universe. Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it's something we have to think about very carefully," Ryan said.

Microsoft Fires Back At Sony

Yin-Poole responded to Ryan's statement by pointing out that Nintendo, which is perhaps the most mindful among video game companies in protecting children, has agreed to cross-platform play. So why has Sony been hesitant in allowing the feature on the PlayStation 4?

Ryan's explanation also did not sit well with Microsoft, with Xbox chief Phil Spencer taking offense on the apparent accusation that Microsoft does not protect children who play on their online networks.

"That doesn't seem healthy for anyone," Spencer said regarding Ryan's involvement of player safety in the discussion for cross-platform play.

In addition, there are already some PlayStation 4 titles that are cross-platform games with the Windows PC, which is far more difficult to control against external factors compared to the Xbox One.

Will We Ever See Cross-Platform Play Between The PlayStation 4 And Xbox One?

Sony is currently on top of the video game industry, with the PlayStation 4 regularly beating the Xbox One in monthly sales reports. This has placed the company in a position to simply reject Microsoft's overtures to enable cross-platform play between the two consoles. Statistically, if customers want to play with their friends online, buying a PlayStation 4 holds the higher chance of making that happen as other people are more likely to own Sony's console.

PlayStation 4 gamers who are looking forward to cross-platform play with Xbox One owners might have to drop their dreams, as it seems that Sony will not be changing its mind on the matter any time soon.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It's only been a few weeks since the WannaCry scandal died down and now Wikileaks has alleged that the CIA is involved in a cybersecurity scandal.

Wikileaks Reveals CIA Hacking

The leaked documents, which have not been verified, allege that the CIA's hacking team called the Engineering Development Group has, for years, been hacking into private and commercial wireless networks in order gather intelligence.

Found among the dozens of files released by Wikileaks are files containing guides and manuals that detailed how the CIA allegedly hacked into wireless networks in order to monitor persons of interest. While most of the information does pertain to routers, there are documents related to the hacking of Samsung Smart TVs and Apple products.

Routers are a popular target for hackers, whether they are private individuals or intelligence operatives because they grant easy access to an entire wireless network. Unfortunately, routers have many security flaws which make them fairly easy for hackers to exploit.

Cherry Blossom

The CIA's efforts to hack into various routers were categorized under the name "Cherry Blossom" with each version of Cheery Blossom being tailored to a different model of router. Once accessed, the CIA would be able to monitor a user's internet activity, redirect their browser, access email and phone numbers as well as other personal data.

While such news will obviously alarm privacy advocates, they do have one ally in this cause. According to the released documents, the pace at which hardware is upgraded made it difficult for the CIA to keep up with every model of router. However, as of 2012, they did have access to the most popular routers.

"As of August 2012," the manual reads, "CB-implanted firmwares can be built for roughly 25 different devices from 10 different manufacturers, including Asus, Belkin, Buffalo, Dell, DLink, Linksys, Motorola, Netgear, Senao, and US Robotics"

The documents released by Wikileaks were dated in 2012 so we have no way of knowing what changes, if any, have been made to the Cherry Blossom program in the past five years.

WannaCry

This is the second time in as many months that U.S. intelligence agency has been implicated in a scandal involving cybersecurity and privacy. Last month, hackers obtained access to NSA-developed malware called WannaCry which infected thousands of computers worldwide.

While we don't know the details surrounding who the CIA targeted with the Cherry Blossom program, the fact that the tools are in the public eye could allow private groups to reverse engineer the techniques.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Amazon is in the process of acquiring Whole Foods, a popular supermarket chain in America. The Seattle, Washington-based e-commerce company said on Friday, June 16, that it intends to buy Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, a huge capture of brick-and-mortar stores that could expand Amazon's retail business further.

The acquisition stands as a huge boost for Amazon's strategy to integrate the brick-and-mortar model into its business. For 10 years, the company has offered a type of food delivery service via Fresh, but that simply won't do, it seems.

As Reuters reports, Amazon used "aggressive pricing" to turn itself into a retail juggernaut, noting that the company has recently been experimenting with brick-and-mortar outlets. Whole Foods, a pioneer in natural and organic products, has 456 stores, which young, high-end shoppers flock to. Amazon could integrate it with technological advancements to improve the shopping experience, and, in turn, help Whole Foods rein in revenue.

Amazon Not Planning To Replace Whole Foods Workers

But despite the Whole Foods acquisition and, by extension, the potential technology Amazon could implement in brick-and-mortar outlets, the company said it currently has no plans to automate the jobs of cashiers in Whole Foods stores after the acquisition. So, no  you won't be greeted by robots when you go inside a Whole Foods outlet. What's more, it also isn't planning to lay off employees, according to a spokesperson.

That said, there is some speculation that Amazon could end up changing its plans and ultimately use advanced technology inside Whole Foods stores.

Amazon Go

Take Amazon Go, for example, the company's high-end shopping service that allows shoppers to walk in, get whatever stuff they need, and then go  no checkout lines, no cashiers. The service requires an app to be installed before entering the store. Then it uses sensors, computer vision, and deep-learning technology to track shoppers and what items they pick up.

Amazon Go doesn't employ robots to stock shelves  at least not yet. Amazon's warehouses, on the other hand, do use these robots to keep things moving. It's easy to imagine that Amazon might later decide to integrate this technology from its warehouses to its Amazon Go shops, and probably Whole Foods stores, too.

For now, though, Whole Foods cashiers and other employees can take a sigh of relief.

Amazon's Perfect Chance To Expand Its Physical Retail Business

The New York Times says Amazon wants to, or already has created plans to expand its e-commerce business into physical retail. The company is slowly building a fleet of outlets, cementing its supermarket dreams.

Whole Foods, a pioneer in organic products, as mentioned, started its business in 1978 in Austin, Texas, building its brand on healthy eating and fresh, local produce, though often with steep price points. The company, however, has faced fierce competition from neighboring retail chains, particularly Costco, Safeway, and Walmart. These three have begun offering some of what Whole Foods offers, forcing the supermarket chain to cut prices.

Acquiring Whole Foods will provide Amazon more physical locations to experiment with, and eventually expand its retail business.

"They're going to be within an hour or 30 minutes of as many people as possible," said Mikey Vu, from consulting firm Bain & Company.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Facebook accidentally leaked the identities of some of its content moderators to terrorists, new reports say.

The leak affected more than 1,000 employees from 22 departments at Facebook, specifically those who used the site's content review tools to monitor and remove content that violates the company's policies. Some of the types of content Facebook asks moderators to remove include sexual imagery, hate speech, and terrorist material and propaganda.

Facebook Accidentally Leaks Profiles To Terrorists

As The Guardian reports, a software bug discovered in late 2016 sent content moderator profiles as notifications to the activity logs of Facebook groups believed to be administered by terrorists tied to Islamic State, Hezbollah, and the Kurdistan Workers Party. The administrators of those said groups had been banned from the site for breaching the terms of service, but the remaining administrators of those groups were able to view the leaked profiles.

About 40 from the 1,000 affected individuals were part of a counter-terrorism department at a Facebook outpost in Ireland. About six of those 40 people were determined to be "high priority" victims of Facebook's security mishap after the company confirmed that terrorists likely viewed their profiles and identities.

The bug lasted for a month before Facebook eventually corrected it in November. Facebook told The Guardian that it applied changes to the software to avoid similar mishaps in the future.

Has Facebook Done Enough To Correct The Leak?

However, one of the affected moderators says that Facebook hasn't done enough, and that he fears potential pushback from the terrorists he banned from the site as part of his job. Fearing for his safety, the moderator decided to leave his job altogether and go into hiding, according to The Guardian.

"Community operations analysts," or as The Guardian puts it, "low-paid contractors," are asked to screen content shared on Facebook and look for potential violators. The moderator who went into hiding and others who had the same job as him first noticed something was wrong when they began getting friend requests from people with ties to terrorist organizations.

Facebook's security team then led an investigation which prompted it to discover that the personal profiles of the moderators had been exposed, then the team later also found out that the profiles were delivered as notifications to the terrorist groups.

Facebook wasn't able to fix the software bug until about two weeks later, during which time the bug had exposed personal profiles of other content moderators who had handed down censorships that stretch back to August 2016.

How Facebook Ensured The Safety Of High Risk Victims

To ensure the safety of the high priority victims, Facebook offered to provide an alarm system for their homes and take care of their transport when going to and leaving from work. The company also offered them counseling via its employee assistance program, on top of the counseling offered by the moderators' contractor.

In an email to a Facebook executive, the moderator who fled Ireland expressed that he, along with the high risk victims, had spent weeks "in a state of panic and emergency," noting that Facebook had been insufficient in ensuring their safety and that of their families.

This month, he filed a legal claim against Facebook and the recruitment company to receive compensation for the psychological damage caused by Facebook's unfortunate mishap.

But Facebook says that its probe "found that only a small fraction of the names were likely viewed," and that there had been zero evidence of threats to affected moderators or their families.

Facebook is now determining if moderators can use administrative accounts which aren't tied to personal profiles as a result of the leak. Why Facebook didn't integrate such a method from the beginning remains a question.

Thoughts about the leak? Do you think Facebook had done enough to ensure the safety of the six high risk victims? As always, if you have any thoughts or opinions, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A Riverside County judge allowed legal arguments against California's controversial right-to-die law that allows terminally ill patients to seek life-ending drugs. The challenges to the law come just a little over a year after it came into enactment.

End Of Life Option Act

On Friday, June 16, Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia approved a legal challenge to California's End of Life Option Act, stating that the group of doctors challenging the law have given sufficient evidence to push through with the lawsuit.

The group of doctors that are backed by the Life Legal Defense Foundation argue that the End of Life Option Act treats some vulnerable patients unfairly. For instance, they state that the act does not require terminally ill patients seeking medically assisted deaths to undergo a mental evaluation even when a majority of individuals who get a terminal diagnosis experience depression that could lead to suicidal tendencies.

What's more, they believe that the End of Life Option Act is a dangerous law and that state-sanctioned deaths send a message that life is not worth living.

To counter this, California's Attorney General Xavier Becerra argued that the suit should be dismissed because the act merely gives terminally ill patients an option and does not bind any doctor to issue the prescriptions.

Further, Deputy Attorney Kathleen Lynch argued that the law has many safe guards and that the allegations were made based on hypothetical situations, stressing that the law merely gives terminally ill people a right.

The End of Life Option Act took effect in June 2016. To make use of the law, an individual must have been six months or less to live and submit a written request as well as two verbal requests that must be done at least 15 days apart.

Other states with the End of Life Option Act or similar laws are Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Vermont. The trial setting conference is scheduled for Oct. 20.

Over 500 Life-Ending Prescriptions

On its first year of enactment, California's End of Life Option Act has reportedly allowed 504 terminally ill patients to take life-ending drug prescriptions, while in Oregon, the very first state to adapt the law in 1997, reported 204 individuals who made use of the law in the last year.

Betsy Davis was among the very first ones to take advantage of the law in July 2016, just a mere month after the law's enactment in California. The artist planned a weekend with family and friends before taking the lethal combination of prescribed drugs.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Lalu Prasad Yadav, Governor Ram Nath Kovind and several other politicians today attended the Iftar party hosted by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, Governor Ram Nath Kovind and several other political heavyweights today attended the Iftar party hosted by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his official residence in Patna.

Lalu Yadav was accompanied by his wife Rabri Devi and both his minister sons Tejaswi and Tej Pratap. Congress state president and education minister Askok Chowdhary was also present at the Iftar.

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Lalu used the occasion to showcase the unity in the grand alliance and dismiss reports of any kind of rift between him and Nitish, especially after several corruption charges of amassing 'benami' properties of more than Rs 1,000 crore have been leveled on him and his family members.

"Nitish Kumar threw Iftar party today. My family participated in it. I pray to God to give more power to Nitish Kumar. The grand alliance in Bihar is intact and will remain so," said Lalu Yadav.

"I greet the people of the state on the holy month of Ramzaan. Today's Iftar was thrown by the Bihar government and I thank all guests for attending. On this occasion, I pray that everyone in Bihar lives in peace and harmony and Bihar develops," said Nitish Kumar.

This year, however, Nitish Kumar kept the guest list limited to select few. According to sources, the guest list was restricted because of the inauguration of a new hall 'Nek Samvaad' where the Iftar party was held. The new hall was constructed at the same location in the 1 Anne Marg official residence where Nitish used to hold his weekly janta durbar.

ALSO READ | Benami land deal: Income Tax Department attaches properties of Lalu Prasad Yadav's children

ALSO READ | From behind bullet-proof glass in Bihar, Yogi Adityanath fires at Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav

ALSO WATCH | Bihar's healthcare system in a mess, but 5 govt medical staff attend on 'unwell' Lalu Yadav

--- ENDS ---
The leader of NSCN, Shangwang Shangyung Khaplang, died on June 9 and the Union government is sniffing an opportunity to crush the armed struggle in the Northeast.

On August 3, 2015, when the Narendra Modi government announced the signing of the Framework Agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), or NSCN(IM), to end the armed struggle by the insurgent group demanding a sovereign land for Nagas settled in India and Myanmar, many stakeholders were sceptical. It was said that permanent peace could not be achieved by keeping the other NSCN faction, led by Shangwang Shangyung Khaplang, out of the negotiations.

In 1975, the Shillong Accord had failed to bring peace in Nagaland because Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah had walked out. They later joined hands with Khaplang and formed the NSCN. The friendship was short-lived, and in 1988, Khaplang parted ways with Isak and Muivah.

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Now, with Khaplang's death on June 9, the Union government is sniffing an opportunity to crush the armed struggle in the Northeast. Swu died a year ago, and an ageing Muivah is desperate to complete the framework dialogue with the Centre. "Khaplang was the heart and soul of the NSCN(K) and other insurgent groups of the region," says Kiren Rijiju, Union minister of state for home affairs. "The NSCN(K) will be in a disarray after his death."

Political observers, however, warn it's too early to predict the end of insurgency in the region. "It's unlikely the next generation of leaders of these two outfits will give up extortion and abduction," says Kishalay Bhattacharjee, an expert on Northeast insurgency. "It will be interesting to see how the existing leaders of other armed outfits position themselves and influence the NSCN(K)'s line of succession."

New Delhi's talks with Khaplang had remained a nonstarter. Though Khaplang signed a ceasefire in September 2001, he abrogated it in 2015 once he got an inkling of the Centre's agreement with his rival faction. Khaplang was a Hemi Naga from Myanmar and spent most of his time in that country. Khango Konyak, the new NSCN(K) chairman, is from Nagaland and may be keener to return home and join the peace process.

"If Khaplang's successor can continue to maintain the judicious balance he had established, offensives against the security forces might continue for some more time," says author Rajeev Bhattacharya, who had spent nearly two months in Khaplang's camp in 2011. "If there is internal strife in the NSCN(K), a sharp division between the Nagas of Myanmar and the Northeast cannot be ruled out."

The division may have already started as there is speculation that some Nagaland-based NSCN(K) functionaries have decided to make the outfit's current commander-inchief, Khumchok Pangmei, the 'caretaker' chairman.

--- ENDS ---
The Court of Appeals of the National Court of Justice announced Thursday the annulment of the eight-year sentence against the former vice-president of Ecuador Jorge Glas and six others... | Read More
Pakistan terror agents are using the ISIS imagery to instigate the Kashmiri youth to pick up arms and declare jihad against India, say reports.

By Ajit Kumar Jha: Even before Islamic State (ISIS) has set foot in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistani intelligence agencies are trying to glamourise and popularise the radical terrorist group to attract more Kashmiri youth. With "inspirational" videos, potential recruits are stirred into taking pride in being the true warriors of Islam for fighting a jihad.

"The ISIS has a huge fan following among the youth in the state and the existing terror groups are also now modelling themselves on those lines to attract more youngsters as they consider themselves to be more dedicated fighters for the cause of Islam than those fighting for Kashmir," sources in Indian intelligence agencies told Mail Today.

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Officials said the popularity of ISIS can be gauged from the fact that agencies monitoring internet traffic have been observing that a large number of youths are watching videos of Islamic State attacks in West Asia and its clashes with the militaries in Syria and Iraq.

HIZBUL, LeT GONE STALE?

"There was stagnation as far as the number of youths joining the Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkare-Taiba as they had become dormant. With the ISIS propaganda techniques adopted by Pakistani spy agencies and terror groups, they have brought a new zeal into their activities," the sources said.

Intelligence agencies fear that this might act as a stepping stone for ISIS, which would find it easy to take over or eliminate other groups operating in the state in the future. "When they really try to enter the trouble-torn state, they would have already been turned into a magnet to attract both existing terrorists and fresh recruits into their fold," they said.

India has the world's third-largest Muslim population at nearly 170 million but only a handful of them have joined Islamic State. The agencies are also worried and tracking the youths, especially those from India and neighbouring countries, who had gone to join ISIS in Iraq, Libya, Syria as well as Afghanistan- which is emerging as a new hub for the radical Islamic group- and are likely to return.

"With the defeat of ISIS in West Asia, there are concerns among security forces about how and where the remaining fighters will move after they are ousted from the areas held by them," the sources said.

KASHMIR YOUTH ADMIRES ISIS

Security forces deployed in Kashmir say they have seen the youth displaying admiration and sympathy for ISIS but, so far, nobody has been caught or questioned for being a direct Islamic State supporter or operative. "Even though the Kashmiri protesters have been waving ISIS flags during protests, till date there is no point person or organisation that can be called or identified as the representative of the dreaded outfit," Army sources said.

Officials added that they have also not registered any direct contact between ISIS operatives sitting in West Asia with any terrorist group operating in Kashmir, but several youths have been chatting with them over the internet using anonymous or fictitious identities. In recent times, rising radicalisation in the state has created divisions even in terrorist outfits, as former Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zakir Musa parted ways with the organisation in May. He has set up a new group, Taliban-e-Kashmir, to follow a radical approach towards waging a war in the Valley and establishing an Islamic state.

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Also read: Death rumours scotched, Mumbai blasts mastermind Dawood is alive in Pakistan

Also read: Dawood Ibrahim is 2nd richest gangster of all time; 10 things about most wanted global terrorist

Also read: Vijay Goel: Pakistan has crossed 'Lakshman Rekha', no chance of bilateral cricket

Also read: How Pakistan funds stone-pelters in Kashmir through illegal barter trade at LoC

Also watch: Hizbul's new boss Yasin Yatoo releases terror video, warns of more attacks in Kashmir

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A man in Pakistan, who has his own personal zoo, was arrested for parading his pet lioness in the streets of Karachi in the rear of his car.

By India Today Web Desk: A man in Pakistan took his pet on a parade. A pet none other than a cat, a very big cat, who was seen in the back of a car.

The man drove his pet lioness through the streets of Karachi and the lioness was in the back of his pick up truck. The footage since then has gone viral.

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Saqlain Javed is a local pet dealer and is famously known as Saqlain Sher Wala in his neighbourhood. According to him, he was going back home after getting his lioness vaccinated. It was then when the footage was recorded, according to the Khaleej Times report.

The entire incident shocked the commuters and they soon started recording videos. All this while, the lioness was lying in the back of the pickup truck as other cars and pedestrians went past Saqlain's truck.

The incident halted traffic around Meena Bazaar in Karimabad, Karachi when people caught a glimpse of a lion travelling in a car.

The video sparked complaints from many citizens which led to Saqlain's arrest on Thursday.

Watch: Man takes his pet lioness out on Karachi streets in the back of his car

At a bail hearing, Saqlain's lawyers put forth the argument that he has a license for the pet which he got in 2007, and is a law-abiding citizen.

The judge could easily accommodate the aforementioned fact and Saqlain was released under the condition that he keeps the pet lioness at home. The judge set his bail amount at Rs 20,000.

"We have freed the accused on bail but registered a case of negligent conduct with an animal," RT quoted Muqadas Haider, a senior police officer.

According to Karachi police, Saqlain Javed has a personal zoo license which allows him to keep wild animals at home. However, he is forbidden from bringing lions on the streets of the city or other crowded places.

"My only mistake was to keep the lion at the back of my vehicle in the open. In my house there is a large enclosure for the lion. The social media blew the incident out of proportion, which is why I was arrested," Saqlain told The Express Tribune.

FYI || Lapse of reason: Dog sentenced to death in Pakistan for biting a child ||

FYI || Pakistani crorepati fulfils son's dream of grand wedding, arrival sitting on a lion ||

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Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed a bill promoted as a way to make colleges and universities more efficient, a measure the governor called duplicative.

The legislation, House Bill 133, won easy approval in the Legislature.

It cleared the House 81-7 and the Senate 34-0.

The legislation would have required the Board of Supervisors for LSU, Southern, the University of Louisiana System and others to submit plans on efforts to centralize a wide range of administrative functions. Those plans would have to be sent to the House and Senate education committees by Jan. 1, 2018, and be updated once every four years afterwards.

In his veto message, Edwards said the bill would duplicate action taken by the Legislature last year.

That legislation, Act 619, produced a comprehensive report to the Legislature on the same issue earlier this year, the governor said.

Edwards also said the bill would require higher education officials to produce plans, not just reports.

"At a time when higher education is significantly underfunded and resources are limited, this would be unnecessary," Edwards wrote.

Rep. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, said his bill was supposed to be an extension of last year's measure by state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell. He declined to push for a veto override in the final minutes of the special session Friday.

Moments earlier another override attempt failed 37-53.

At least 70 votes  two third of the House  are needed.

That measure, House Bill 126, dealt with fees for constables.
Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed a bill passed by the Legislature to change the name of a school building.

But it's probably not the school you're thinking of.

With only a single no vote from either chamber, the Legislature easily approved a bill that would name the auditorium and gymnasium at Lincoln Elementary School in Monroe after Roy Neal Shelling Sr., a former principal.

But on Thursday, Edwards vetoed House Bill 505. His letter said it was vetoed at the request of the bill author, Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, because the Monroe City School Board had voted to rename the auditorium and gymnasium for Shelling after the legislation passed.

Jackson referenced this bill as she testified on the floor in favor of legislation to change the name of another school: the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in Natchitoches.

That measure, Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, renames the school in honor of one of its founders, state Rep. Jimmy D. Long Sr., who is the deceased brother of Sen. Gerald Long, R-Winnfield. SB1 passed both the House and the Senate, but lawmakers called it one of the most contentious bills of the session as alumni and school leaders lined up to oppose the change. SB1 is awaiting the governor's decision.

Jackson cited her own bill as an example of why it's appropriate to rename schools and buildings in honor of people who were important to the institution's history.

The LSMSA board had earlier agreed to name a dormitory after Long, and were frustrated when the legislation appeared against their wishes to rename the entire school after him.
Louisiana landlords with rental houses walloped by 2005's Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were eventually promised state help to rebuild: If they could get loans to rehab their properties, the state government would later reimburse them.

This program was touted as key to reviving New Orleans' rental market. But not long after it got going, the 2008 financial crisis intervened. Banks simply wouldn't extend construction financing to those landlords, even with the state's repayment pledge.

It was a major wake-up call for those running the state's "small rental" rebuilding program in 2008 and 2009. And although the country's financial climate has improved, the lessons learned after Katrina continue to guide Louisiana leaders as they again look to help landlords rebuild after a disaster, this time the 2016 floods. Baton Rouge saw 12,643 rental properties swamped last August, while 28,000 rentals statewide flooded.

State officials say working with banks and landlords has become a major emphasis of Restore Louisiana's programs to help rebuild rentals. Three banks  Investar Bank, Home Bank and Woodforest National Bank  are already on board, all agreeing to extend financing to landlords who are successful applicants to the state's programs.

The state is offering two large-scale programs. One is focused on neighborhood landlords who own a few rental properties, and the other is geared toward big apartment complexes. Whether the financial help is considered a loan or a grant depends on the applicant, and some of the loans are fully forgivable. In East Baton Rouge Parish, the city-parish government is also offering one small program for landlords who own just a few rentals.

Landlords with low-income tenants in East Baton Rouge can apply for recovery funds to make repairs East Baton Rouge Parish landlords with low-income tenants may begin to apply for a share of 

In order to apply for the state money, though, landlords need to have a bank willing to agree to extend construction financing to them. They can use one that has agreed to partner, or ask other banks if they are willing to participate as well. The programs will be run by the Louisiana Housing Corporation, which is another shift from contractor-run Road Home program.

In devising the strategy to help rebuild rentals hit by the 2016 floods, state Office of Community Development Executive Director Pat Forbes said it was important to tackle the root of the problem by increasing available housing, rather than by spending money on helping renters.

"The reason we've gone this route is that before the floods, we already had a terrible shortage of affordable rental housing, Forbes said. The floods hit a bunch of affordable rental units, and in addition to that, a lot of homeowners had to move out of their homes and they occupied some of the rentals that were there."

Two programs

The neighborhood landlord rental program is accepting applications until August 16 from landlords who own seven units or fewer that were affected by the flood. The program has $36 million to spread across developers, nonprofits, community housing corporations and housing authorities that apply.

The program should help 300 to 350 applicants and translate into 1,200 to 1,500 rentals, said Robert Bizot, LHC's director of flood recovery programs. While the program has been deemed a "loan," it can be fully forgiven if landlords comply with all of the requirements.

One rule is that landlords can only rent out their properties as "affordable" units for at least five years after they finish renovations. Landlords and developers are allowed to submit up to three applications and ask for no more than $1.5 million.

Partners Southeast, the nonprofit development firm that works with the East Baton Rouge Housing Authority, plans to submit three applications to the neighborhood landlord rental program. Because Partners is a nonprofit, they are eligible to apply for funding to build new affordable housing. For-profit landlords can only apply for money to rebuild properties affected by the flood.

Partners Southeast announced last year that they were planning an apartment complex in Old South Baton Rouge near the Water Campus called River South, which should have a mix of affordable and market rate apartments.

Now, they want to capitalize on the space near River South with additional properties that they hope to build using flood recovery money from the state. They are applying for money for more affordable housing developments wedged between Oklahoma Street, Glacier Street and Duane Street.

Partners Southeast envisions using the money to add three buildings with a handful of apartments in each of them, ranging from one bedrooms to three bedrooms.

J. Daniels, the chief operating officer for Partners Southeast, said it was smart for the state to include a wide range of incomes in what's deemed "affordable." While some affordable housing is restricted to just low-income renters, the state's program will allow tenants living in the rentals to earn up to 80 percent of Baton Rouge's median income.

That means a family of four earning as much as $51,900 annually could qualify for affordable housing in the new rentals, based on 2016 income limits from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"And at the end of that affordability period, you can then convert some of the units to market-rate units, furthering the creation of an economically diverse neighborhood, Daniels said.

He said Partners Southeast has had good luck with banks getting on board with their projects, but both banks and private developers can be skittish about the administrative requirements involved with affordable housing.

What will probably be a challenge in some cases is the fact that some private owners, or market-rate owners, don't want to necessarily participate in affordability or income-restricted units, Daniels said. They view it as burdensome, in some matters, because of the compliance that's involved."

Some wonder why they have not heard more about the program that could have helped them. Alvin Rattle, for example, owned a rental house in the Monticello neighborhood that flooded in August.

He took out an SBA loan to rebuild and sold it when the work was finished. But he estimates that he could have had $60,000 more in his pocket if there was help to rebuild the house. And he questions whether the state programs will entice anyone to apply given the bureaucracy involved.

"Is there anything that's out there to help a small business person that's trying to make it?" Rattle asked. "This flood came out of nowhere and it changed my life. It's a lot of red tape in these programs they have going on, they don't tell you."

The other main state program to restore rentals is called the multifamily gap program, and the deadline for it was June 15. The $38.25 million program is for developers, housing authorities and others with 20 or more units in multifamily structures.

Public and affordable housing agencies can receive $40,000 per flooded residence, while market rate rentals can receive up to $65,000 per unit or $6.5 million total. Like with the neighborhood program, those who receive the money to rebuild multifamily structures have to accept affordability requirements for future occupants.

While industry experts say there does not appear to be a good mechanism to track whether landlords with a few properties are rebuilding, they are seeing larger apartment complexes come back online.

Craig Davenport, a commercial real estate appraiser with Cooke, Moore and Associates, said most apartment complexes covered by flood insurance have been rebuilding. He said Baton Rouges tight rental market has started to loosen a bit as people move back into houses they own at the same time that newly restored rentals are becoming open again.

Laura White, vice president of the multifamily division for Latter and Blum Property Management, said eight of the nine apartment complexes she manages that flooded were restored between January and May. While apartment complexes are rebuilding, though, White said she is seeing landlords with single family rentals, like Rattle, sell them and walk away.

2008 versus 2017

When Paul Rainwater reflects back on the states rebuilding efforts from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he remembers the numerous changes made along the way to recovery programs.

By the end of 2008, the states small rental program that was intended to restore 18,000 rentals had only issued around 400 grants, although it had started the year before with the promise of moving quickly. Rainwater was the executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority before becoming former Gov. Bobby Jindals commissioner of administration and chief of staff.

"We were in a major financial crisis and we had to get money in the hands of the landlords and the banks just weren't able to do it, recalled Rainwater, who is now a consultant. Christina Stephens, who was the spokeswoman for the Louisiana Recovery Authority at the time, also said the crisis had a chilling impact on the small rental program.

In reaction, state officials retooled the small rental program to help landlords by having properties inspected and ensuring they were using qualified contractors, but then giving money to landlords directly to make their repairs.

Like now, landlords who received money in the hurricane aftermath also had to accept affordability requirements. But Bizot said the outreach to banks for the 2017 program has been much more extensive. Brad Sweazy, the chief operating officer for the housing corporation, said this time landlords are eligible for help based on the cost of repairs, not how much they will be able to charge for rent.

Bizot, Sweazy and the others administering this year's program are also hoping for high interest in the programs, which will then show the federal government that Louisiana needs more money for recovery.

Both Rainwater and Stephens said it is important to remember that no two disasters are the same, and each recovery has different challenges. Rainwater added that being open to change was a key take-away from the Road Homes small rental program, as it is important to shift gears if something isn't working.

You have to be flexible and have you ear to the ground and be talking to regular old citizens, he said. You go into the home and you figure out how to help them. You have to figure out a way to put those people over the goal line because you want those people in your community."

Editor's Note: This story was changed after publication to correct the names of the banks involved in the state programs.
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Shah is likely to discuss possibilities of name and get Shiv Sena on board for the Presidential elections as an NDA ally.

By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: Apart from the big India-Pakistan grand finale on Sunday, there is yet another encounter that will catch the eyeballs, at least in the political circles. After a lot of bad blood between Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and BJP national president Amit Shah, the duo will be meeting at the former's residence "Maatoshri" in sub-urban Bandra. Shah is on a three-day visit to Mumbai as part of his nationwide tour to strengthen the party. Shah is also meeting leaders of various political parties to form a consensus on the Presidential candidate.

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Shiv Sena has been playing a hardball with the BJP as far the Presidential polls is concerned. Shiv Sena has been insisting on the name of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's name as for the President's post. On Friday, Shiv Sena bowled yet another googly at the BJP by proposing eminent agriculture expert MS Swaminathan's name for the post of President, if the BJP is not okay with Bhagwat's name.

Shah is likely to discuss possibilities of name and get Shiv Sena on board for the Presidential elections as an NDA ally.

"We are open to all suggestions (for Presidential candidate) and I will hear out all the suggestions from Shiv Sena and for that matter everyone, whom I meet," said Amit Shah.

This will be Shah's second visit at the Thackeray residence -- the first one took place more than 3 years ago, before the Lok Sabha polls. Things have not been the same ever since and the relationships between the BJP and Shiv Sena only worsened.

Shiv Sena believes that Shah was the one who plotted the break-up of the 25-year-old BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra during the state assembly elections. Uddhav Thackeray openly criticised Shah and even went on to compare Shah with Mughal general Afzal Khan who was killed by Shivaji. A bitter war of word ensued on social media and at public rallies between the parties thereafter.

Shah never visited the Thackeray residence in any of his earlier Mumbai visits. During the good old days of the Saffron alliance during Bal Thackeray-Vajpayee-Advani days, senior BJP leaders visiting Mumbai would often call upon the senior Thackeray at his residence as a goodwill gesture. But, in the Modi-Shah- Uddhav era, the ties soured. And hence, the Sunday meeting has become very important in the political circles.

Amit Shah has been downplaying the visit calling it a routine one, but the visit has infused a new confidence in the Shiv Sena. Especially, on the backdrop of the recent rigid stance taken by the Shiv Sena on the farmer loan waiver. Sena had not only supported the agitation, but had also openly participated in the protests. Shiv Sena, which has 18 MPs and 63 MLAs has more than 25000 votes in its kitty for the Presidential polls and hence the BJP president is perhaps swallowing all the pride and calling upon Uddhav Thackeray.

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ALSO READ:

Presidential election 2017: Amit Shah begins three-day Mumbai tour

Presidential election 2017: Metro Man Sreedharan top choice in IndiaToday.in poll

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The New Orleans rap star Juvenile got out of the city's jail Monday  only to be transferred to the St. Charles Parish jail on a warrant in an
The number of Canberra citizens named on the ACT sex-offenders register has almost doubled over the past five years.

Figures from ACT Policing show as of June 2017, there are more than 150 people in the ACT on the register.

In the past five years more than 70 people who still live in the ACT have been added to the list.

An ACT government spokesman said the rise in the number of people listed on the territory's register was a result of the number of successful prosecutions for sex offences.
About 20,000 cupcakes, three years of lessons and countless trips to Cowra later, Jerrabomberra teenager Jade Esler can enjoy the sweet taste of success after becoming Australia's youngest licensed recreational pilot.

The bright Merici College student completed the practical pilot's licence test on Saturday - her 16th birthday.

Year 10 Merici College student Jade Esler has funded her flying lessons through cupcake sales. Credit:Karleen Minney

Jade can now fly solo anywhere within 25 nautical miles of an aerodrome but must take off and land from the same space.

Eventually she will try for navigation and controlled airspace endorsements which will allow further freedoms.
A new computer for studying and education fees for a semester are just two things refugees will purchase with the money from a scholarship from Canberra Refugee Support.

Others will buy joggers, and some will pay school fees.

Muzhgan Gafoori is receiving a scholarship from Canberra Refugee Support to further her studies in accounting. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

The 53 recipients of the money will each receive a cheque of up to $1000 to help shape the rest of their lives.

The candidates have been chosen for their hard work and dedication to their education, and for their commitment to making their lives and their family's lives better.
A Queanbeyan man has been sentenced to three years in prison after he defrauded the tax office of more than a quarter of a million dollars.

Kelvin Mark Skeers, 55, of Karabar, was convicted in the Queanbeyan District Court of six charges of lodging misleading tax returns for his cleaning business, KS Cleaning.

Skeers will serve a non-parole period of one year and eight months and was ordered to pay back the $262,076.19.

Court documents show that between January 2009 and September 2013, the defendant's business serviced several hotels and businesses across Canberra and Queanbeyan.

Payments were made from these businesses to Skeers' bank account quoting his Australian Business Number, but he claimed no tax needed to be paid in 56 statements lodged.
Long before it became a smutty euphemism, a happy ending is what footy fans always craved.

It's been a long time coming for Demons supporters, but Jack Watts' heroics in the dying minutes of last Monday's Queen's Birthday clash delivered the happiest of endings, propelling the club into the top eight and silencing his detractors.

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis.

Drafted during his team's recent period of bleakness, the super-hyped Watts was clearly underdone when Melbourne chose their biggest game  Queens Birthday round  to debut their prize recruit eight years ago.

Savaged by the Magpies that day, many thought he was martyred by a club desperate for some good news.
Friday's announcement of a three-month amnesty for handing in unlicensed fire arms to start on July 1 was as surprising as it is welcome.

This is, after all, a Government that has gone out of its way in recent times to close the gap between its own policies and those of the ultraconservatives.

One Nation, for example, is committed to watering down existing licensing regulations and reviewing restricted weapons categories with a view to broadening access to a wider range of rifles and shotguns.

Ms Hanson's supporters will find it hard to criticise Friday's announcement however given the introduction of an open ended amnesty on the surrender or registration of illegal weapons is the first point of their own Firearms and Gun Control Policy.
THE FORUM Sleepers, awake! In the White House, a man looking like a dangerous megalomaniac straight from reality TV has his finger on the nuclear trigger. In 10 Downing Street, a woman calls an unnecessary election leaving her in the arms of Ulster Unionists to effect an escape from Europe. In the Lucky Country, successive governments try to outdo each other in trashing our values and selling off our natural assets in partnership with India, China et al. This is not some script from the Yes Minister cutting-room floor. Wake up, Australia, before it's too late. Jenifer Nicholls, Armadale Nice work if you get it

The Chinese got Andrew Robb, Gina Rinehart got Sophie Mirabella and the gambling industry got Stephen Conroy. The coal miners can have Tony Abbott. He's certainly putting alot of work into his CV. Denis Hanrahan, Ivanhoe Abbott does right thing For once Tony Abbott is doing the right thing. His period as prime minister was so bad it is only appropriate that he should be the one to trash his legacy. David Kerr, Geelong

From little things ... The government's decision to pay out $70 million to asylum seekers could feature on an episode of MythBusters. The politically popular fantasy that Australia may avoid responsibility for detainee welfare and even oversee systematic abuse appears finally to have been debunked. It seems we must actually behave as civilised custodians with a real duty of care towards asylum seekers, regardless of where we put them and why they came. It is early days, but the government may be showing signs of growing up. Julia Sykes-Turner, Hampton We are not mugs

Peter Dutton may wave the fig leaf of "no admissions" on the payout to the asylum seekers, but there is not one person in Australia who would believe him. According to the Parliamentary Library, this detention centre has cost $2 billion to run since 2012, and still counting. Does Mr Dutton truly think we would credit the $70 million payout to a desire to avoid going to court? Ramesh Rajan, Camberwell Cash for lives wasted The $70 million payout reduces asylum seekers to a commodity. It suggests that their dignity, despite being consistently subjugated by our dehumanising immigration processes, can somehow be restored through monetary compensation. Further, it makes a mockery of our court system, which seeks to define and tackle the inadequacies of current law by creating a fair and independent precedent. This contrasts with the egotistical and unsympathetic "political" approach that spruiks "legality" while failing to consider the key human stakeholders of immigration policy. Talia Braue, Brighton East

How it adds up In addition to the $70 million payout, taxpayers also have to pay Slater and Gordon about $20million for legal fees. As a contributor to this payment I'd like to see the invoice detailing and justifying this exorbitant cost. Rod Smyrk, Sunbury Labor picks up keys Bill Shorten last week picked up the keys to the Coalition's "Debt Truck". It has been well fuelled up by the LNP, with the reported debt now standing at $474 billion, almost double the amount of $274 billion when Tony Abbott took over from Labor in 2013.

Mr Shorten and his head mechanic, Chris Bowen, will be hoping to get a lot of mileage out of this old truck leading up to the next election. Debt is currently running at $126 million a day or $60 billion annually. Treasurer Scott Morrison is going to need more than a banking tax to halt this slide. And all coming from the party of responsible money managers. Phillip Ross, Somerville Serf riding This generation is being conditioned to accept it will never be able to afford a home and that it will just have to get used to the idea of renting until death. Home ownership not only provides financial security, especially in the vulnerable senior years, it has also underpinned Australia's social and economic structure. It is largely responsible for the fact that thus far a fully fledged class system has not emerged. But that much-envied feature of Australian life is imperilled as the country inches increasingly towards what amounts to a feudal system where the workers give almost all the earnings to non-working landlords or banks. At times, this appalling regression appears to be, in fact, the agenda of some, specifically neoliberals, who find a class system desirable.

Emma Borghesi, Mount Eliza Read runes of war Decryption of terror messages and the installation of bollards (News, 11/6) will not stop a suicide bomber from trying to kill people, although they will, for a time, give a false sense of security. Such tactics are therefore a waste of taxpayers' money. If politicians want to make our streets safe, they should examine the causes for acts of terrorism. British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was the only politician who had the honesty and courage to talk about a link between terrorism and the war on terror led by the US and its allies in Muslim countries. The mainstream news media ignored him. Bill Mathew, Parkville

The American way When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, then US president George Bush was quick to help defend his Gulf State ally. But when Saudi Arabia does something resembling that  by endeavouring to starve Qataris  President Donald Trump only has praise for its actions. Forget that Osama bin Laden was connected with the Saudi royal family, or that the Saudis supported Saddam in his war against Iran, or that the Saudis are responsible for untold civilian casualties in their war against Yemen. The atrocities go on. President Trump doesn't understand much, but he does understand that the US economy is dependent on (a) military expenditure and the profits of war, and (b) cheap oil. While war on North Korea could be dangerous for US interests, war with Iran would be much more palatable. Nick Legge, Taggerty Locked and loaded

We are constantly told that Saudi Arabia is a country with the worst human rights record in the world and that Qatar is sponsoring terrorism, yet the US just supplied both these countries with weapons worth billions of dollars. Can we really blame Islam for the endless violence in the world? If we are truly serious about uprooting terrorism, maybe, just maybe we should stop arming them. Foad Munir, Berwick They're still digging Remember The Great Escape (Letters, 11/6)? How could I forget it. In the 1970s a regional NSW TV station mixed up the movie's reels, resulting in the Allied POWs escaping before the tunnel was completed. Col Shephard, Yamba, NSW

Vulnerable on building An ironclad rule of engineering and construction is: "you can only expect what you inspect". I'm sure our building codes are sound as written. But if they are to be useful the construction work needs to be checked by qualified and truly independent personnel to assure all that the codes have been properly followed. I don't think that happens much these days. The fashion for the outsourcing of public functions to private firms conflicted by their need to keep in with developers has left us all vulnerable to suspect building practices. Colin Simmons, Woodend A vociferous minority Most Victorians don't know who Margaret Tighe is. She is not an elected representative. She is simply a person who presumes to know what's best for the rest of us ("Pro-lifers tell Andrews 'gloves are off"', 11/6). She continues to voice her minority views as if we, the majority, are incapable of making up our own minds. Her "war" against assisted dying has no legitimacy nor does it show compassion. She simply wants to ensure none of us is free to choose the manner of our deaths when life becomes terminal.
Even Priyanka Chopra has days when she wants to walk out in a nightwear, and not give two hoots about anyone's opinion.

By Shivani Chhabra: How can one ever rightfully express the marvel that Priyanka Chopra is? From dominating American television to ruling the international red carpets, this super woman has cast her spell at a global level, and continues to do so.

There's only so much one can say about this bundle of talent, and her exemplary fashion sense that has been admired by the who's and who of the international fashion fraternity.

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Priyanka has emerged as the latest fashion icon in the country owing to her ethereal international public appearances that have caused quite a stir in all our hearts. She even made us go gaga over her super-comfy, maxi-dresses when she was in Mumbai, and it was only a matter of time before tinsel town celebs followed suit.

Also Read: Whenever Priyanka Chopra is in India, she tells us how to look uber cool in this mad heat

The Quantico star is currently vacationing in Prague, and expectedly, she has been setting some serious travel-fashion goals. While we were pretty impressed with the chic attires she had been donning, her recent outfit broke our hearts a little.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/afashionistadiaries

Donning a striped suit, PeeCee wasn't really at the best of her fashion game, and those pink-blue-beige colours didn't blend the way they should have. To be honest, the fit of the suit was also a little unflattering for Piggy Chops' perfectly toned body, and the attire wasn't exactly sharp.

Also Read: You cannot handle how hot Priyanka Chopra is looking in this black dress

Add to that, a tie-belt, and you might be able to relate PeeCee's buttoned-suit by Etro to your nightwear--we weren't really expecting an outfit so casual from her.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/priyankachopra

The outfit might have failed to make us fall in love with it, but Priyanka didn't. Rocking a pair of big, round sunnies, she looked fiery, and proved that there's nothing she can't pull off.

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A Chinese telco banned by successive federal governments from being used by the NBN over security concerns has had its phones approved for use by Defence officials and top diplomats.

Huawei was founded by former People's Liberation Army engineer Ren Zhengfei and its equipment was banned from being used on the NBN, in part on advice from Australia's intelligence agencies, in 2013.

A Chinese firm banned from working on the NBN over security concerns has been approved to supply phones to Defence. Credit:Andrew Quilty

That decision was made despite the firm signing up influential Coalition and Labor figures, including Alexander Downer and John Brumby, and over the objections from some in the Coalition, including then shadow communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull.

In addition to the domestic security concerns raised about Huawei, a 2012 US Congressional investigation highlighted the firm's links to the Chinese government and concluded that "based on available classified and unclassified information, Huawei and ZTE cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence and thus pose a security threat to the United States and to our systems".
Roxy Jacenko had promised to be at the prison gates waiting for her husband Oliver Curtis with their two children on his release, however, those plans now look to be in doubt.

When Fairfax Media asked the Sweaty Betty boss, 37, if she was still planning to be waiting at Cooma Correctional Centre on Friday, June 23, with Pixie, 5, and Hunter, 3, when Curtis, 31, is released after a year inside on insider trading charges, she said: "I am not sure of any arrangements as of yet."

In April, Jacenko told the Wentworth Courier: "Yes. Absolutely [we will be at the gates]. The kids are looking forward to having their father back. Remember Pixie hasn't seen Oli for 12 months, so it's very important we're there.

"[Pixie] will think she's picking him up from work. She doesn't know any different."
As she walked through the streets of Neutral Bay on Sydney's north shore, she appeared a humble and unassuming woman on the way to the convenience store she ran.

But inside her Yeo Street apartment, and in front of the organised crime figures she did business for, Ping He assumed the role of the "godmother".

Police seized $260,000 when they arrested Ping He and James Zhu as they left a Neutral Bay apartment in Sydney's north in October, 2014. Credit:NSW Police

This petite 52-year-old mother was at the helm of a lucrative money laundering ring, washing hundreds of thousands of dollars of drug proceeds offshore.

Her arrest was a major scalp in a lengthy NSW Organised Crime Squad investigation that shone a light on the scale of the illicit money laundering industry in Australia.
Staff profiles on the Uni Tutor website were taken down after Fairfax Media found they were fake. Credit:TheUniTutor The new site is owned by Platinum Avenue Holdings, a company set up by Iranian-born 30-year-old Milad Oskouie in the basement of his parents' home in Willoughby, on Sydney's north shore. A Commonwealth Bank account in his name is attached to the business. In a bizarre story of international hacking and subterfuge, Fairfax Media has traced Mr Oskouie's alleged trail of online destruction and located him in London where he is running a website writing "plagiarism free" essays and theses for university students in Australia, Britain and the US. Staff profiles on TheUniTutor's website were fake  a photo of "general manager and former London School of Economics lecturer" Frank Delaney is actually that of Turkish engineer Abdullah R. Gulhan. Not long after Chatswood detectives knocked on his door last year, neighbours said Mr Oskouie disappeared. His father also left for months, citing "family troubles".

Before his departure, he would be seen almost every day and night walking up and down the quiet suburban street, always carrying an old leather briefcase and a can of Coca Cola. One neighbour, who asked not to be identified, described his mother, a childcare worker, and father, a builder, as nice but Mr Oskouie as "always gloomy and a bit spooky". Now living in a west London apartment, Mr Oskouie has established a British company, Osko M, to run an essay-writing business, TheUniTutor.com, that claims to have thousands of customers. Yet Fairfax Media has found that staff profiles on the website are fake, such as UniTutor's "general manager and former London School of Economics lecturer" Frank Delaney, whose photo is actually of a Turkish engineer named Abdullah R. Gulhan. "LSE has never employed anyone by the name of Frank Delaney," a university spokesman said.

A photo of "customer services manager" Vanessa Nixon is actually Hungarian banker Zsuzsa Borsanyi's LinkedIn profile picture. "The photo is mine but I am not Vanessa. It makes me really upset," Ms Borsanyi told Fairfax Media. Mr Maddox said the reason why Mr Oskouie allegedly targeted him is hard to believe. He paid an India-based freelance web consultant to do a one-off job in 2013 to help optimise traffic to his site. After the work was done, Mr Maddox provided a testimonial for the consultant, who said he was starting up a business with a Sydney lawyer, Milad Oskouie, called Infinite Conversions.

Mr Maddox was angered when a case study appeared on Infinite Conversion's website revealing his sales data. He repeatedly asked for it to be taken down, encountering hostility from Mr Oskouie. Five months later, the late-night emails began. "My kindness erupted into a nightmare," he said. Eighteen months on, he says he has spent $25,000 on lawyers and engaged almost a dozen law enforcement agencies across three continents and at least nine internet service providers. In turn, Mr Oskouie has fired off counter notices for copyright infringement and threatened to have Mr Maddox charged for harassment over a letter sent to his parents. NSW Police found that Mr Maddox's accounts were accessed from two internet cafes in Chatswood and therefore had insufficient evidence to lay charges. They referred it back to US authorities for civil action.

Last week, FFLTrust.com was taken down by its hosting company after a US court implemented a temporary restraining order due to the likelihood it would be found to constitute copyright infringement and deceptive trade. Mr Oskouie's assets, including a US bank account with a substantial balance, have been frozen. After Fairfax Media contacted him, he removed the fake staff profiles on TheUniTutor.com and said he had only bought the site weeks earlier. He denied stealing any content for FFLTrust.com, saying he sells how-to guides that are easy to make. "[Mr Maddox] is using the guise of hacking to stop any competition," he said. "He's threatened by a competitor."
Primary schoolchildren near the proposed WestConnex interchange at St Peters have been prevented from playing outside because of the power of the rotten egg smell that has repeatedly overwhelmed their neighbourhood.

Contractors working to turn a former tip into a vast motorway interchange have repeatedly stirred up odours so powerful the Sydney Motorway Corporation has advised nearby residents to stay inside with the windows shut.

Sarina Kilham says she keeps her five-year-old daughter home from school on "strong odour days". Credit:Louise Kennerley

And at the St Peters Primary School, two blocks from the construction site, teachers have twice kept children inside rather then letting them out for meals and play.

"On the strong odour days I no longer send my daughter to school," said Sarina Kilham, whose five-year-old daughter attends St Peters Primary.
With 24 Pizza Hut franchises in Australia found to be non-compliant with employee's legal rights, and seven engaging in sham contracting, workers have been advised to check their rights.

A Fair Work Ombudsman's report released earlier this year, as a result of a Fairfax Media investigation, found some Pizza Hut franchisees had paid less than the minimum award wage and had engaged delivery drivers as independent contractors rather than employees in a bid to avoid the rights employees were entitled to.

More than 90 per cent of Pizza Hut franchise owners have been found to be engaging in sham contracting by a Fair Work Ombudsman report.

One Pizza Hut franchisee is facing court action on the Gold Coast after allegedly sham contracting a delivery driver under an independent contractor position and underpaying more than $6000 from November 2015 to May 2016.

Anderson Fredericks Turner human rights lawyer Benedict Coyne said sham contracting was the misrepresentation of what an employee is required by law to do and was often a complicated issue, but the introduction of indicator tests can help identify those stuck in a sham contract.
Having a baby had always been Ambika Sivan's dream. But when the Indian migrant fell pregnant with her son four years ago, it soon turned into a nightmare.

"A couple of months before he was born, I started having [negative thoughts]," Ms Sivan says. "Every mother has it, they are scared about the birth, but mine was to the extent that I am going to die."

Ambika Sivan, with son Sajan, 4, wants to help migrants speak up about mental illness. Credit:Paul Jeffers

A difficult and prolonged labour, compounded by a lack of family in Australia, made things worse.

"When the baby is born, being a mother ... you have those nice feelings ... to hold the baby. I didn't have those feelings," she says.
It's mistaken to think young people can't be lonely because they are surrounded by school-mates and use social media. It also found that the results of the programs had not improved significantly since the 1970s. One problem with such treatment is that it's difficult to find. If you are an adult who wrestles every day with a sexual attraction to children or some other desire to abuse them, there are few places to get help outside of jail. The judges said it was a case in a class of its own. Credit:Viki Lascaris Another, is that when we think about child sexual abuse the word that comes to mind is often "paedophile".

In fact, paedophiles make up only a very small minority of the adults who sexually abuse children. A paedophile is defined as someone who is primarily and deviantly sexually attracted to children. They are extremely difficult  some say impossible  to treat. The uncle and aunt of a six-year-old girl abused by the pair have both been jailed. Yet most child sex offenders can be drawn to abuse children for a variety of reasons, many of which are not even sexual. They are generally considered more amenable to treatment. And most adults who abuse children will never reoffend. Even without treatment only a minority  experts estimate between 10 to 25 per cent  go on to do it again. But given the enormous damage this small number are known to cause, reducing this group even further is down to people like Karen Owen. Police say the man knew the girl who he allegedly sexually assaulted. Credit:Craig Sillitoe

Owen did not set out to work with with child sex offenders. As a nurse who specialised in treating intellectually disabled patients, she wondered: why did so many act out sexually? It was partly to answer this question that she started studying psychology in the 1980s. In 1993, she was one of two people tasked with turning a pilot program at Pentridge Prison into Victoria's  and Australia's  first sex offender treatment program. (Previously, the only programs available were those available to non-sexual offenders, like anger management and stress reduction.) She travelled to Canada to learn from Bill Marshall, who helped establish some of the earliest sex offender treatment programs in prisons, and is a prominent advocate for the view that cognitive behavioural therapy can help prevent abuse. Though she expected to bear witness to some kind of dramatic transformation, the reality of trying to change human behaviour proved much less glamorous. Marshall told her: "'All you need to know is that this bloke knows that you're not going to muck around with him and that he needs to be in the room on Monday. You start unpacking the rest of it from that day on." The sex offender treatment program Owen went on to establish for Victoria's prisons priorities of treatment for those who pose a higher risk. It is centred on group sessions involving a range of sexual offenders (not just those who abuse children), and focuses on diminishing their ability to manipulate others, improving their relationship skills and reducing feelings of isolation.

Since 2013, the program has focused on helping prisoners build on their strengths and identify the triggers that might lead them to reoffend. In NSW, the state government runs programs with both prisoners and sex offenders released in the community. A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman says treatment includes "programs that encourage offenders to acknowledge their sex-offending behaviour and prepare them for more intensive treatment". Sex offenders assessed to have the greatest risk of reoffending are a priority. One program for high-risk sex offenders, Custody Based Intensive Treatment involves group-based therapy and targets issues such as sexual behaviour, drug- and alcohol-related offending, anti-social attitudes, coping mechanisms and relationship problems, she says. While judges can order lower level offenders to attend treatment programs in the community, prison remains the main avenue by which adult offenders can receive therapeutic treatment in Australia. This means we rely on prisons to treat such people, but only once they have already abused children.

Psychologists argue we could do more to prevent them committing crimes in the first place. That brings us to another popular misconception: that these men don't want to seek help. In 2008, Owen left Corrections, partly because the workload of assessing child sex offenders before the courts grew too great. She started her own private practice, expecting most of the work to come from consulting on criminal and family law cases. Within a week, however, she started getting calls. Some had seen her in prison and tracked her down after release. Others told her they had never abused children but feared they would, and had heard that she could help them. "One of the misconceptions I had was that men only want to come to treatment once they get caught because they have to," she says."It's just not true. There are men who struggle with these issues, some who have offended, and some who haven't but know they're heading in that direction who genuinely know they don't want to do it and want to seek help." She and her colleagues usually treat their patients fortnightly for about a year. Some patients visit a GP for a referral for anxiety or depression, which allows them to claim a Medicare subsidy for up to 10 psychologist sessions a year. But most  from a range of backgrounds  pay hundreds of dollars a session up front.

While she supports the prison system's continuing focus on group therapy to minimise harm, Owen also sees an important role for individual treatment to tackle the way offenders view themselves and what they have done and create lasting behavioural change. Most of the clients she sees are not so much deviant as damaged. Many have experienced some form of abuse or neglect in their own childhoods that affects their ability to develop social skills. They often suffer sexual performance problems and lack basic sexual education. As a result, says Owen, they form distorted ways of viewing relationships, women and sex, which, once deeply embedded in their minds, are easily used to justify their abuse of children. Only a minority meet the clinical diagnosis for paedophilia; Owen estimates about 40 per cent of her practice's clients have an intellectual disability. Often, she says, "They're trying to achieve intimacy or avoid feelings of loneliness." These distortions can develop at an early age following exposure to abuse in their own families, or over a long period of time, to be cemented when they become isolated in later life. One of her former patients initially believed he was helping the children he met online, in teaching them about sex and protecting them from further harm.

Owen helps her patients unpack the reasons for these distortions, undo them and, most importantly, to take responsibility for them. Together they develop strategies for healthy sexual relationships, to avoid situations where they risk abusing children and develop empathy for their victims. She helped the patient who saw himself as a "saviour" realise that he was actually trying to groom under-age children for his own sexual pleasure. It turned out he was not exclusively attracted to children. But his intense fears of intimacy drove him to them, as there was less chance they would reject him than other adults. This does not mean that therapeutic treatment works every time. Owen calls herself the "ultimate sceptic": she does not pretend her job is easy. One of the first times she assessed an offender's risk of reoffending, she says her inexperience led a man became so aroused describing his own crimes that he ejaculated on the other side of the table from her. Patients also try to intimidate her to avoid confronting their personal issues.

"I want to work collaboratively with them but my job is community protection," Owen says. "So if I think they're a risk to themselves or others everyone's going to know it." Since 2011, a Victorian state inquiry and a royal commission have exposed how major institutions have responded to historic child sexual abuse. The County Court - which deals with most of Victoria's child sexual abuse cases - is bracing itself for greater numbers of cases following the state inquiry and royal commission into child abuse. However in recent years the number that have been resolved by the court have fluctuated across different crimes - though cases of sexual penetration of a 16 or 17 year-old, jumped from 20 in 2014/15 to 36 in 2015/16. Generally, only those who are sentenced to more than 18 months' jail can hope to secure a place in prison treatment programs in Victoria. Corrections Victoria says they assess on a case by case basis but they believe that treatment for less than 18 months is ineffective. About 101 adults who offend against children will participate in prison sex offenders programs each year.

Given there are only a handful of private therapists in Victoria who, like Owen, specialise in treating child sex offenders, most offenders rely on Corrections to support them after they are released, either by supervising them or referring them for treatment to public mental health service Forensicare. Very few who struggle with these issues refer themselves there. Some offenders are able to nominate support people, who Corrections trains to look out for signs they may re-offend. But Owen says this assumed child sex offenders had friends and relatives in the community willing to do this: "It's only good so long as people give a shit about you and not many of them do." It takes a certain type of person to take on this demanding task. Andrew*, who has been involved in prison fellowships for most of his life, is that type of person. Not much fazes the soft-spoken, white-haired man. He started screening movies for prisoners as a teenager, and went on to organise visitors for those who had none of their own. He runs a weekly support group for child sex offenders in the community, but will not publicly reveal the place they meet weekly to talk and pray. Andrew does not think there is a permanent cure for child sex offenders. "Some can resist it, but when a damaged person still longs for intimacy and can only find it where they have total power, that's the direction they will go in."

"The longing for intimacy is such a powerful thing in all humanity and it can be such a blessing or (a curse)." The answer, he says, is to create a community for them to live in. "Often it's not just a fact of whether we accept people. It's whether they can really comprehend they are accepted, they can see it, feel it and know they have friends." Owen says dangers lie in the absence of such a community. Offenders may serve lengthy sentences, but most are ultimately released. While some may be supervised closely in the community, most have no personal support. So offenders are largely left alone with their thoughts and in the full knowledge of the community's hatred for them and their crimes. "You can do offence-specific treatment all your life ... but if they don't believe that they're worth being on the planet then they're not going to implement the strategies," she says.

Owen also says a move in recent years towards greater monitoring of sex offenders in the community also provides a "false sense of security" and often has little impact on the likelihood they will abuse again. "One of the risks we run is that we rely on the monitoring to do what treatment could have much more effectively done if we had even more resources." Could we do more to keep the community safe from the risk of child sexual abuse? Professor Doug Boer, the past president of the International Association for the Treatment of Sex Offenders, offers no easy answers. Boer, who treats adolescents and works with prison programs in Canberra, believes that our ability to significantly improve the way we support offenders is limited, in many ways, by stigma around child abuse.
Many people would consider it unhinged to swim in frigid Port Phillip Bay in winter, first thing in the morning.

But our local wonder women, the Morning Mermaids of Point Lonsdale, swear by the health benefits of brisk exercise and seawater. You'll find them - hear their laughter first - at Springs Beach, be it raining, hailing or blowing a gale, every day of the year.

The water's fine: Morning Mermaids bay swimming group has been running every morning for more than 20 years. Credit:Pat Scala

For the past 20 years, up to 25 women (and the odd Merman), have gathered here at 7.30am, even on Christmas Day, to swim 250 metres north, and 250 metres back.

Some stroke like Olympians, others dog paddle. It doesn't matter, as long as you turn up. Some drive here dressed in bathrobes. Or they cycle to the beach in lycra, or stroll down in tracksuits.
A man missing for roughly 36 hours in the Bunyip State Park, 65 kilometres east of Melbourne, has been found.

Gembrook man Nathan Dompietro, 26, was reported missing after he did not return from a park near his home, in the southern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, on Friday morning.

Nathan Dompietro. Credit:Victoria Police

Police and family had been concerned for the man's welfare and appealed to the public to help find him.

About 8pm on Saturday, police said Mr Dompietro had been "located safe and well".
Civic officials in Rajasthan allegedly lynched a man after he attempted to stop them from taking pictures of women defecating in the open. The employees were part of a Swachh Bharat campaign.

By India Today Web Desk: Zafar Khan, an 55-year-old activist from Rajasthan, died after being brutally beaten, allegedly by civic officials in the town of Pratapgarh on Friday. Among those alleged to have lynched Khan is the town's civic body commissioner Ashok Jain.

The incident took place at 6.30 am on Friday near the Bagwasa Kachi Basti area. Khan, who was a Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation member, got into a fight with the civic employees after he took umbrage to them photographing a few women who gone to attend the nature's call in the open.

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The municipality employees, who were reportedly part of a Swachh Bharat campaign, it seems, aimed to shame and scare the women from defecating in the open.

Zafar Khan (some reports named him as Zafar Hussein), who noticed the men attempting to take pictures of the women, objected and tried to stop them. The officials however allegedly started kicking and punching Khan with a stick, which ultimately led to his death.

Khan's older brother, Noor Mohammed, filed a First Information Report against the civic employees, naming Kamal Harijan, Ritesh Harijan, Manish Harijan, Ashok Jain, and others.

The Pratapgarh Kotwali police has registered a case of murder and is investigating the case. Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police, Shivraj Meena was quoted as saying by news agency PTI, "We are getting the matter investigated and a case has been registered against four named accused in the FIR".

The agency further reported that the Station House Office, Pratapgarh Kotwali, Mangilal Bishnoi has said that Zafar Khan's body has been stored the district hospital for postmortem and that no arrests have yet been made in the matter.

Click here to Enlarge Zafar Khan's body has been kept at the district hopital (Photo: ANI)

Security in the area has been upped as the police is considering the matter sensitive and wants to ensure law and order is maintained.

JAIN DENIES

Meanwhile, the Indian Express today reported that Ashok Jain, the Nagar Parishad commissioner who has been named in Noor Mohammed's complaint, has filed a complaint against Zafar Khan for stopping public servants from doing their duty.

Jain told the Express, "As part of the government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, we go around in the mornings to prevent people from defecating in the open and spread awareness. (On Friday), we parked our car and were informing people about the ills of open defecation when a man rushed towards us, and started hitting and abusing our employees."

Following this, Jain says Khan returned home and he and his employees went to the police to registered a complaint against Khan. It was then they found that Khan had died.

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"He went home and we continued with our campaign. However, when we went to the station to lodge a complaint, we came to know of his death. We did not click any objectionable photographs nor did we assault him. He was fine when he left," Jain is reported to have said.

CPI(ML) DEMANDS IMMEDIATE ARRESTS

On Friday, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation issued a press release demanding the immediate arrest of Ashok Jain and others. The CPI(ML) said Zafar was a Central Executive Member of the All India Construction Workers' Federation and a member of the CPI(ML)'s Pratapgarh district committee.

The party also shared a letter purportedly written by Zafar in which he complained about the bullying faced by women defecating in the open. "Comrade Zafar himself had submitted a memorandum to the Nagar Parishad some days back protesting against the campaign of public shaming and bullying of women for defecating in the open," the CPI(ML) said.

"In the memorandum he had demanded community toilets and repairing of the non-functional public latrines constructed under the Swacch Bharat campaign," the party also said.

"Comrade Zafar gave up his life to uphold and defend the dignity of women who were at the receiving end of the draconian Swacch Bharat campaign," the statement, signed by Prabhat Kumar, ended.

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(With inputs from PTI)

(Story has been updated to include the CPI(ML)'s statement)

ALSO READ | Jamshedpur limps back to normalcy after lynching of 7 men over WhatsApp rumour

ALSO READ | Delhi: Man beaten to death for stopping 2 youths from urinating in public

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Vanuatu's President Baldwin Lonsdale has died suddenly at the age of 67, the Vanuatu Daily Post newspaper reported on Saturday.

Mr Lonsdale, an Anglican priest who was appointed to the largely ceremonial role in September 2014, died in Port Vila, the Pacific Island nation's capital, early on Saturday, the newspaper said.

Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale with Australian Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells in May 2016. Credit:Facebook/Fierravanti-Wells

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported Mr Lonsdale had suffered a heart attack.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said on Twitter she was saddened to hear of his death.
Penny Knatchbull wears the Mountbatten Star Tiara on her wedding day (Central Press/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, the Mountbatten family announced the passing of its matriarch: Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. The elder daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten was descended from the British and German royal families, with more family connections to the royal and imperial families of Sweden, Greece, and Russia. Today, to continue our celebration of her life, were focusing on an interesting family heirloom: Patricias wedding tiara.

Princess Victoria with her grandmother, Queen Victoria, and her daughter, Princess Alice, ca. 1880s

The diamond and pearl star tiara is actually the second of two similar tiaras owned by the family. The first belonged to Patricia Mountbattens grandmother, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. When Princess Victoria married Prince Louis of Battenberg in 1884, she received a major haul of jewelry from her royal relatives. Her maternal grandmother and namesake, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, gave Princess Victoria a pair of hairpins that featured diamond stars set with a central pearl.

Princess Alice wears a star tiara  and a star bracelet  on her wedding day, 1903

Princess Victoria had these diamond stars incorporated into a star tiara, which was an extremely fashionable accessory at the time. It seems that this star tiara was the same one that Princess Victorias daughter, Princess Alice of Battenberg, wore to marry Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark in 1903. In the photo above, the stars are just visible over the orange blossoms in Alices hair. This appears to be one of the only photographs of the original star tiara.





Sadly, that star tiara no longer exists. Princess Victoria (who became the Marchioness of Milford Haven when the Battenbergs renounced their German titles in 1917) was visiting one of her sisters, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, when World War I began. She left the star tiara, along with the rest of the jewels, in Russia. She wasnt alone in her belief that Russia would be a safe place to leave the gems  her cousin, Queen Marie of Romania, also sent her jewels to Russia for safe-keeping during the war. But both collections were lost after the Bolsheviks took over, and neither the Romanian nor the Battenberg jewels have ever been seen again.

Patricia Mountbatten wears the Mountbatten Star Tiara on her wedding day

And that brings us to the point where todays tiara enters the story. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (Princess Victorias aunt and godmother) decided that her niece needed a replacement sparkler after her other jewels had been lost. She gave this star tiara to Victoria, complete with diamond and pearl stars that looked just like the original jewels given to her by Queen Victoria in 1884.





To help distinguish between the two nearly identical tiaras, I call the first the Battenberg Star Tiara, reflecting the familys title before the war, and the second the Mountbatten Star Tiara, for their name after 1917. The new tiara was the most important jewel that Princess Victoria had left after the war. When her younger son, Lord Louis Mountbatten, married Edwina Ashley in 1922, Victoria gave him the new star tiara to present to his bride as a wedding gift.

Patricia Mountbatten wears the tiara on her wedding day

Alterations were made to the piece in the 1930s, as Louis and Edwinas stars ascended. Edwina was photographed in the tiara by Cecil Beaton for Vogue in 1937. But she also generously passed the piece along to other women in her family. Several Mountbatten ladies have worn the sparkler as a wedding tiara, including her elder daughter, Patricia (whose 1946 wedding we covered here earlier this week), as well as Patricias daughter-in-law, Penelope, and her granddaughter, Alexandra.

Today, Penny and Alexandra are the two Mountbatten women who primarily wear the tiara. Because of the Mountbattens extensive royal connections, theyre often on the invitation list for major royal events, both in Britain and abroad. Penny donned the star tiara in 1996 for the fiftieth birthday celebrations of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Alexandra reportedly wore the tiara during the wedding celebrations for Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg in 2012.

We most recently saw the tiara in public during Alexandras wedding last summer. Its wonderful that, even though they auctioned off Edwinas fabulous diamond tiara a decade ago, the family has managed to keep this tiara in their collection. But theres been drama in recent years. Patricias eldest son, Norton (who will begin using the title of Earl Mountbatten of Burma after his mothers funeral), and his wife, Penny, have been estranged for some time. The next generation has also had its issues, including stru with addiction. Heres hoping that, even after Patricias death, the Mountbattens will be able to hang on to this version of their star tiara for a while longer.

Note: This is an expanded and updated version of an earlier post, with new text and images.
By Vinayak Chakravorty: Rajkummar Rao is in Kolkata, shooting for Ekta Kapoor's biographical digital series Bose. The show is based on Netaji Subhash Bose's life, and Rao has shaved off half his head to resemble the freedom fighter. Teamed with librarian glasses, the get-up acts as a neat cover. Not many around recognise offbeat Bollywood's most exciting new star instantly.

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He lets a grin slip at the mention of the word 'star'. "Stardom would be an accident for me. Being a star needs preparation, and I don't think I work towards that goal," he says. A moment's pause later, comes the add-on: "If stardom happens, why not?" At 32, Rao is among the youngest National Award-winning actors in the country. He won the trophy for his role in Hansal Mehta's 2013 film, Shahid. The win, as well as his overall performances, has catapulted him into a limited access Bollywood club of 'actors who can act'. Rao is now counted along with Irrfan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who are considered the finest of the current generation. "There is no burden in being compared with the best. It just goads me to do better each time. I don't let the pressure of expectation sit heavy on my mind when I am at work. I have to be relaxed to bring out the characters I play," he says.

Right now, Rao is garnering applause for the smalltown maverick Gattu he has essayed in his latest release, Behen Hogi Teri. Gattu, a Lucknow boy, is shy to approach the girl of his dreams. She is the neighbourhood hottie and traditional desi diktat demands that he treat as a sister. Rao says he could create the character out of memory. "I was born and raised in Gurgaon, which helped me understand Gattu. Boys like him are very common in those parts. Girls go to them with rakhis in hand, though the boys harbour a very different feeling. The hard part was getting Gattu's Lakhnavi accent right, and understanding Lucknow culture in order to exude the right mannerism," says Rao. If Gattu is his latest avatar as the guy next door, he seems to have made a career giving that prototype a new hue each time he tackles it. "I have no idea how I do it differently every time," he replies, when you wonder how he manages a different dimension for each of his aam aadmi characters. "I guess that's what an actor's job is all about. It's about pushing oneself, about giving a fresh twist to regular guys you might see on the streets all the time. My focus is on giving a variation to each role I do."

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In sync, Rao will once again play a smalltown commoner in the upcoming Bareilly Ki Barfi. The comedy brings back director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, who impressed with her debut feature Nil Battey Sannata, and sees Rao essay a Bareilly guy who works in a printing press and is infatuated by the press owner's (Ayushmann Khurrana) hip girlfriend (Kriti Sanon). "Bareilly has a distinct accent and culture, which was fun imbibing. It gives yet another spin to the aam aadmi prototypes I get to play," says Rao.

If playing the smalltown guy has become his pleasant habit, he entered Bollywood riding that reality, too. Rao, after all, hails from a Yadav family of Gurgaon. A student of Delhi's Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, he did not come to Bollywood flaunting a filmi bloodline. He did have a brief theatre experience, though, at Delhi's Kshitij Repertory and Shri Ram Centre, and he graduated from Film and Television Institute of India (Pune) in 2008.

"The film industry has a tough side that every outsider has to see. When you are trying to make a mark without bloodline or godfather, you are trying to find your feet without connections," notes Rao. The scene, however, is changing for the better, he adds. "Young filmmakers these days have a different outlook. Many of them don't believe in stardom or bloodline. There are writers who are creating realistic roles and that in turn ensures people like me stay busy."

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Rao does not come across as an actor who plans his career. "I have never stopped to think what my biggest asset as an actor is. Probably, it is the fact that I just love to work. I know I will continue succeeding as long as I enjoy what I do," he reasons. He admits banking on gut feeling while taking career calls. "I am driven by instinct, especially while selecting roles. I don't try to connect too many dots and normally it does not take me more than reading of a script to decide upon a role," he says.

Coincidentally, Rao's current stock of upcoming releases comprises a variety of comedy assignments. Behen Hogi Teri is a simple rom-com, Bareilly Ki Barfi is aimed at working as a witty societal comment. Newton is a socio-political satire. Humour, he feels, is the toughest genre to bring alive. "Comedy is tough, more so if you set out to convince that the funny situation portrayed on screen is real. My current crop of films is all funny but they echo reality," he says. While Hindi films keep his plate full, Rao has quietly gone and signed a crossover American rom-com titled 5 Weddings. The films stars Rao with Nargis Fakhri and Hollywood actress Bo Derek (oldtimers will recall her as Jane Parker in the 1981 hit Tarzan: The Ape Man).

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"It's early to talk of a flourishing Hollywood career, but 5 Weddings is a first step into American cinema. It is an exciting twist to my career, though it does not mean I will channelise all focus towards Hollywood," says Rao. Is he conscious of being criticised in the West, as has been the case for many Bollywood stars who have tested Hollywood waters lately? "I love my job and it is all that matters, so why should I worry about criticism? I don't carry such baggage to work," he says.

--- ENDS ---
White sandy beaches, warm azure waters, pastel coloured houses and glorious sun year round. This little piece of heaven has one name - Aruba.





Aruba is a small tropical island in the Carribean, 15 miles off the coast of Venezuela. This little gem has a buzzing Latin vibe and culture and with an average temperature of 32 degrees, it's the perfect tropical destination.

Explore the vibrant capital









The capital, Oranjestad, is a busy bustling port.

A blend of old and new, there are plenty of activities to do together and w

ith a population o

f 35,000, it's a

great size to explore on foot or hop on and hop off the free eco trolly.





The local market in Oranjestad has over 40 stalls with handcrafted items and local specialities like hand-painted souvenirs and seashell jewellery. Spend time browsing the stalls and admiring the workmanship or have a cool drink in the shade.





If you are interested in beauty, take a tour of the Aruba Aloe museum and factory and find out how aloe vera skincare products are made. This amazing natural substance can help with sunburn, spots and general skincare.





If you love culture try the archaeology museum, the museum of antiquities or for the big kids amongst you the model train museum or the toy museum. I know my husband would love both of the children's museums!





Visit the beautiful beaches





Boca Catalina





Of course, Aruba is famous for its stunning beaches, almost too perfect for sunbathing. Popular activities are sailing, snorkelling, kite surfing and parasailing.





Boca Catalina is particularly perfect for snorkelling in the crystal waters, whilst Eagle Beach is the widest beach on the island with power white sand, famous for coming third in Trip Advisor's best beach in the world. This is one beach you need to visit on your trip to Aruba.





Indulge in grown up activities









Aruba has a number of spas to relax and rejuvenate in such as the Ritz Carlton spa and Pure Indulgence spa both in Eagle Beach. Relax with a massage by expertly trained professionals, or have a pampering pedicure or manicure.





If you want to try something exciting, play a few games of poker at one of the many casinos dotted around the country and feel like James Bond as you sip a martini, shaken not stirred of course.

How to get to Aruba





To get to Aruba take a Thomson Airways flight from London Gatwick and in the Summer flights from Manchester are also available. KLM offer a flight to Aruba 5 times a week with departures from 16 UK airports via its International hub at Amsterdam Schiphol.













Leading tour operators offering packages to Aruba include Virgin Holidays, Kuoni, Hayes & Jarvis amongst others.





You could win a trip to Aruba!





The Aruba Tourism Authority are giving you an amazing chance to win a trip to Aruba in conjunction with luxury tour operator Hayes and Jarvis. Entry is via Facebook and you could win a luxury holiday to the Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort, the Carribean's number one resort for romance. What an amazing prize and good luck if you do enter.
Equipped with chairs, tables, prayer rugs and religious texts, a room on the fifth floor of the Sterling C. Evans Library and Annex is now available for Texas A&M students of all faiths to have a quiet place to pray and meditate between classes.

Recent Texas A&M graduate Nimrah Riaz, who is a Muslim, explained that the creation of the room came from faculty members taking notice of her and some of her friends. For the past several years, Muslim students at Texas A&M have had difficulty in between classes finding a good spot to stop and pray. As one of Islam's Five Pillars, praying five times a day is one of the most important tenants of the faith.

The most popular place for them to pray, Riaz said, was underneath a secluded stairwell at Evans Library near some garbage cans.

"It was just in the middle of campus and had easy access," she said.

Faculty with the Evans Library noticed the students praying near the trash cans and became concerned that they did not have a private area in the central portion of campus. At the beginning of the spring semester, David Carson, dean of libraries, worked with Faculty Assistant Dean Jan Pfamnstiel to approach students and local ministries about creating a prayer space on campus.

Riaz and Pfamnstiel then met with the Rev. Dan De Leon, pastor of Friends Congregational Church in College Station, and faith leaders from a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jewish temple, Unitarian Universalist church and St. Mary's Catholic Church. Although an interfaith chapel already exists on campus, the group agreed that a centrally located prayer room would be advantageous for students wanting to pray or take a mindful rest between their classes, especially in a more private setting than the chapel.

"We wanted it to be a simple, humble, open space," De Leon said. "... The idea is that it can't by monopolized by just one faith."

Library faculty took an open, unused area on the fifth floor and installed a wall, fresh paint and new carpets. The room is equipped with a book shelf holding various religious texts from the Torah, Quran, Book of Mormon, and English and Spanish Bibles. Prayer rugs are available in bins inside the room for students who wish to kneel, as is a shoe receptacle for people who wish to remove their shoes.

"My contribution to the room is something called the peace pole," De Leon said. "It's something used in interreligious cultures. It stands six feet tall, upright, and it says 'peace' on it."

De Leon said for him, the pole has personal meaning reflecting the teachings of Jesus Christ, which stress a call for peace. The pole can be applicable for many faiths, however.

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the room was earlier this week, though students have been allowed access to the room since April. Several religious organizations weren't aware of the existence of the room, but were pleased with the concept.

"It seems like a nice idea," said Cameron Norvell, spokesperson for the Christian campus ministry TAMU Navigators. "I think it's a great idea to have a good opportunity for students to be able to stop and have their quiet time."

Max Mertz, campus Methodist minister with the Wesley Foundation, shared a similar sentiment.

"I think it's a great idea, actually," he said. "I know we're located pretty far from campus, and it's nice to have a room where you can stop and pray between classes. The bigger this university gets, the harder it is to find a place that's quiet."

Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, was made aware of the room's inception on campus several months ago, and offered a written statement of praise.

"[This] prayer and meditation room would be another feather in TAMU's cap in making it a top class and wholesome higher education institution," he wrote to The Eagle.

De Leon and Riaz both said the room is intended only for quiet use and is not meant for group study sessions or devotionals read aloud, due to the need to preserve a silent atmosphere.

The prayer and meditation room is open to students and faculty during all Evans Library hours.
By India Today Web Desk: Nepotism was an open secret in Bollywood, until Kangana Ranaut brought it up on the show Koffee With Karan and subsequently sparked off a nationwide debate. Now, Ranbir Kapoor has commented on the issue and said, "Of course it exists."

Ranbir's response came in a Facebook live with Katrina Kaif during the promotion of their upcoming release, Jagga Jasoos.

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The Tamasha actor acknowledged the existence of nepotism in the Hindi film industry on the Facebook Live and said, "It exists everywhere but more so in the film industry. But how I see it...I can only speak of my family...I believe my great grandfather worked really hard to give his children an opportunity in their professional life. I would like to work hard for my children so that they get the right opportunity, platform, the right first film. After that, it's about your talent. So, yes. Honestly, it does exist."

The ex-flames also shared their experience of shooting for Jagga Jasoos. "The toughest part was that it took three long years to shoot and four years to release it and to keep your characters in check," said Ranbir Kapoor.

Meanwhile, Katrina said, "For me, the toughest part shooting for Jagga was to shoot with you (Ranbir)."

Jagga Jasoos, directed by Anurag Basu, is finally set to hit theatres on July 14, after being delayed for months.

Watch the Facebook Live Chat with Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor here:

ALSO READ | Jagga Jasoos aka Ranbir Kapoor responds to Katrina Kaif's claim of being a better dancer

ALSO READ | Jagga Jasoos new poster out: Ranbir and Katrina look straight out of fantasy land

ALSO WATCH | Amitabh appreciates Ranbir's acting at India Today Unforgettables

--- ENDS ---
When Ye Shaoyong, a prominent Chinese Sanskrit scholar, first came across the old yellowed palm leaves from Drepung, one of Tibet's most important monasteries, he was intrigued by the letters on the page. The 14 palm leaves he found bore ancient writing, older than anything that the Sanskrit professor from Peking University had ever seen. That day in 2003, Ye stumbled upon one of the oldest undiscovered Sanskrit texts from India-a 2nd century text, the Mulamadhyamakakarika, one of the founding texts of Mahayana Buddhism that had, until Ye's discovery, only ever been seen referenced in quotations in later commentaries.

Chinese scholars say this rare palm leaf is among hundreds-possibly thousands-that still lie in Tibet's monasteries, carrying a trove of more than thousand-year-old information about Indian philosophical thought and history, from between the 2nd and 14th centuries. Ye spent a decade painstakingly translating the old manuscript, which was finally published four years ago and is among the first from this forgotten treasure to be made public. "Tibet might be the last treasure of Sanskrit manuscripts which has not yet been fully investigated," he wrote in his book. "Nonetheless," he lamented, "they are still gathering dust on the shelves of monasteries or in the drawers of museums."

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China has since launched an ambitious effort to bring to light this old Sanskrit treasure. The texts, Ye believes, are of immense religious, historical and literary value. For Buddhists, some of the texts contain the founding precepts of Buddhist thought, such as the Mulamadhyamakakarika, that was found in Drepung, and the Lankavatara Sutra, found in the Potala palace in Lhasa. For historians, the manuscripts could hold a wealth of information. "These texts could change how we think of our history and philosophy," says Ye, who points to how a similar trove in Nepal brought out new elements of the country's early modern history. Most of the texts are of philosophical nature, but as Ye points out, they also hold a wealth of information about society and politics from that period, from the lineage of dynasties to their politics and administration.

The collection is particularly of great relevance to India, especially as in many instances, they are the only surviving records. Thousands of Indian texts from a similar period fell to ruin, both on account of the failure to systematically preserve them and because of the tropical climate. In the high altitude of Tibet, many manuscripts have remained untouched over hundreds of years, even as they lay forgotten in the storerooms of monasteries, and scholars say, they could survive another millennium. "For many texts that have played important roles in literary, philosophical and social history, the original Sanskrit texts have been lost, and scholars can only base their study on the Chinese and Tibetan translations," says Ye. So far, more than 500 bundles of palm leaves have been discovered-each containing thousands of lines of text-and Tibet's monasteries could very well hold many more. Most of this text was hundreds of years ago copied in India and Nepal, and brought to Tibet.

The texts of Tibet

Among the hundreds of Sanskrit manuscripts, these five philosophical texts are in the first batch being edited, catalogued and translated.

Mulamadhyamakakarika

A text from the 2nd or 3rd century that, some scholars say, carries the most authoritative philosophical explanation of emptiness, a key premise of Mahayana Buddhism.

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Lankavatara Sutra

One of the key texts for Buddhists that records a conversation between Buddha and a Bodhisattva, set in Lanka.

Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra

The 'perfection of wisdom in 8,000 lines' is one of the oldest surviving Sanskrit texts.

Pramanaviniscaya

A text written by Dharmakirti, an influential Indian scholar who was in Nalanda in the 6th century.

Bhadrakalpikasutra

A text found in Xinjiang dating back to 4th or 5th century. It's one of the earliest teachings of the Buddha that became popular in China after being translated into Chinese by the Indian monk Dharmaraksha.

Our man in Tibet

The trove of Sanskrit manuscripts in Tibet may have remained unknown if not for the discoveries of scholar Rahul Sankrityayan during his intrepid journeys across Tibet in the 1930s. During one such trip, when shown palm leaf manuscripts that are more than a thousand years old, in a Lhasa monastery, Sankrityayan pledged to return to investigate. He did in 1934 and 1937. In Tibet, Sankrityayan would befriend lamas and copy and photograph any manuscript he could lay hands on. He found 25 complete volumes of the Pramana Varttika Bhasya, a neverseen commentary by the 6th century Nalanda scholar Dharmakirti. Sankrityayan became an honoured guest of the Tibetan government and got access to the libraries of top monasteries that are, even eight decades later, out of bounds. On his return, he published 28 volumes based on the photographs and texts from Tibet. His legacy, ironically, is being kept alive across the border in China.

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Lost Treasure

Chinese scholars believe the texts that have so far been translated are just a fraction of the treasure trove. Hundreds of palm leaves lie undiscovered, and the scope of the trove is as yet unknown, which is surprising considering the effort to retrieve the texts dates back to at least the early 1930s. Then, the Indian scholar and traveller Rahul Sankrityayan, who made several trips to Tibet to translate old Tibetan texts back to the original Sanskrit, first heard about the collection during his travels. He later wrote that he first dismissed the stories of a vast Sanskrit palm leaf collection as a myth, but intrigued by the accounts he heard, he returned to Tibet in 1934 to investigate.

Sankrityayan was welcomed in Tibet, and even taken to see the Kalon Lama, one of the top ministers of the Tibet government who was then the most powerful man in Tibet following the death of the 13th Dalai Lama in December 1933. Sankrityayan was taken to the Kundeling monastery, where he was presented with two rare manuscripts. "My joy knew no bounds," he would write later. Thanks to him, photographs of some of the texts were brought back to India, and stored in Patna Museum.

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RARE GEM Folios from the 11th century Saddharmapundarika Sutra, or Lotus Sutra, found in Tibet

Few scholars in China, caught in political turmoil in the 1940s and 1950s from the Japanese occupation and then the Chinese civil war, paid attention to the texts until the 1960s. Then, around 250 bundles were brought to Beijing and catalogued, and returned to the Tibet Museum in Lhasa, where they are still kept. But the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) halted the effort, with many of China's leading scholars persecuted and sent to do hard labour in the villages. After the Cultural Revolution, the German-educated Chinese Indologist Ji Xianlin set up a first ever South Asian studies institute at Peking University, and slowly began the effort of translating some of the texts.

That effort is now being revived by Peking University and led by one of Ji's students, the renowned Chinese Sanskritist Duan Qing, who is one of the world's leading experts of Sanskrit, Pali and the ancient language of Khotanese, and is also Ye's teacher. The institute is training Chinese scholars in Sanskrit, Pali and Tibetan to translate old Sanskrit, Kharosthi and Khotanese texts that have been found in Tibet and the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province, which was then an important centre for Buddhism and today holds the oldest texts.

Uphill task

So far, Peking University has published eight volumes since 2011, but this is just the start. China doesn't have the number of scholars or resources to systematically unravel the entire trove. "Each scholar needs professional know-ledge and special training not only in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese languages, but also on manuscriptology," says Ye. "For example, some of these manuscripts were written not in the uniform Devanagari script, but in various local scripts with different conventions. To read them, we also need experience in Indian palaeography in order to provide reliable editing, and you also need background knowledge of its content, such as the historical information and philosophical system."

This is a formidable challenge. China is now working with the world's best Sanskritists to surmount it, says Zheng Dui, director general of the influential China Tibetology Research Centre in Beijing that stores in its collections copies of several dozen palm leaves. In 2004, Zheng signed an agreement with an institution in Vienna to work together to translate palm leaves. Subsequent cooperation agreements have been taken forward with universities in the United States, Italy, Germany and Japan. "Our research is generating a lot of attention abroad," he says.

Everywhere but India, which is conspicuous in its absence in the list of countries that China is working with. Privately, Chinese scholars say their attempts to reach out to Indian scholars and institutions have received little response. Chinese Sanskrit students have struggled to find fellowships in Indian universities, which are often reluctant to host Chinese students unless they enrol in full-time courses, which makes little sense for them as Indian degrees won't be recognised. European and American institutions, by contrast, have shown great interest and flexibility in working on the project, and are hence taking the palm leaves translation forward.

Ye, the scholar at Peking University, believes this is an area where India and China should work together and that Chinese scholars would immensely benefit from studying with Indian scholars "who have the best traditional teaching methods" in Sanskrit. This, he suggests, could also be an ideal project for the revived Nalanda university, which, however, has been slow to take off and shown little interest in Buddhist and religious studies despite its unique history. The irony is that this rich trove of the only surviving records that could fill vital gaps in understanding of the history of both Sanskrit literature and philosophical thought holds no greater significance for any country as it does for India.

--- ENDS ---
WACO gets a crack at the first state championship game in school history
Contributed photo

More than 40 years of pop-music history are covered in Barnaby Clays documentary, Shot!, about the life and career of British photographer Mick Rock.

Clays very engaging subject jokes he was probably destined to shoot pictures of music stars, ranging from David Bowie to contemporary artists such as Father John Misty, because his last name is the one he was born with.
General Bipin Rawat exuded confidence that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir would be brought under control soon and said there was no cause for worry.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said that security forces are doing a great job in bringing the Kashmir situation under control.

By Press Trust of India: Commending the security forces, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said that they are doing a great job in bringing the Kashmir situation under control.

General Bipin Rawat exuded confidence that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir would be brought under control soon and said there was no cause for worry.

"Security forces and all agencies are doing a great job to bring the situation under control. Some parts of south Kashmir are troublesome. Necessary action is being taken to ensure the situation there is soon brought under control. I don't think there should be any cause of worry in any of you," he said.

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General Rawat was in Telangana as the chief guest at the combined graduation parade, marking the completion of the pre-commissioning training of Indian Air Force (IAF) flight cadets at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal.

He said the situation was "troublesome" only in some parts of south Kashmir but he was confident that it would be brought under control.

"Some parts of South Kashmir are indeed troublesome, but necessary actions are being taken to ensure that the situation there is fully brought under control. Therefore, I think there should not be any cause for worry for anyone," he said.

General Rawat claimed that the Army had a very good human rights record. He said the armed forces had stringent rules of engagement and were trained to handle the situation where children and women are involved.

"When they find there are children and there are ladies who are coming in front, they deal with them accordingly. Harsh measures are never used. We are an army that believes strongly in human rights," General Rawat said.

Asked about the army using human shields to quell violence, the General said they were trained to perform under such circumstances.

When asked if he would make using human shields a party Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the Army chief said: "No it's not. It depends on circumstances. Our effort is to make sure human rights are not violated."

On ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Rawat said they were done with a purpose but the army was facing and countering them.

ALSO READ | Army chief Bipin Rawat on Kashmir unrest: Wish protesters fired at us instead of pelting stones

ALSO READ | Army Chief Bipin Rawat's chemistry with controversies

ALSO WATCH | I apologise and I withdraw my statement: Sandeep Dikshit to India Today on comment about Gen Rawat

--- ENDS ---
Fake news will be the topic of choice as Norwalks League of Women Voters hosts its annual meeting next week.

The league invites members and non-members alike for the dinner and lecture event, entitled Todays News: Fake or Fact, Biased or Balanced, from 6:30-9 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21 at the Mill Hill Complex, 2 East Wall St.

The evening will include an informal tour of the newly renovated Mill Hill facility, a potluck dinner and business meeting followed by the nights featured speaker, Chase Wright, assistant managing editor of The Hour.

Event admission cost $15, and attendees are required to bring a dish to share at dinner. Those interested in attending can reserve seating by contacting Rosaria Konstantin at 203-847-9754 or rpkonstantin@aol.com.

ROWAYTON

The annual Rowayton Civic Associations Music Festival series is set to kick off this weekend with the Hartford-based band, McLovins.

Come out and enjoy the groovy mix of contemporary pop and dance music as the McLovins launch the summer-long concert series at Bayley Beach on Sunday, June 25 at 5:30 p.m.

For the event, the beach will be charging a special event parking fee of $40 for non-residents.

This is the associations first show of the concert series, which will run until Sept. 3.

All shows will be held on Sunday unless otherwise indicated.

In the event of rain, the concert will be moved to Roton Middle School.

This concert series is made possible by several sponsors, including Raise High Construction, Alembic Global Advisors and many more.

NORWALK CENTER

In an effort to combat intolerance and prejudice, the Norwalk-based Love ALL Project hopes to promote a message of diversity and acceptance when it hosts its first collaborative public event for families on Tuesday, June 20 at the Norwalk Public Library.

The event, named the Love ALL Family Storytelling Family Night, is a collaborative event hosted by Norwalk Public Library, Al-Madany Islamic Center and Love ALL Project.

The evening will feature local author and storyteller Karen Hall as she shares a message of diversity and individuality through storytelling.

All are invited to share in the storytelling from 6:15-8:15 p.m. on the second floor of the library.

Space for the event is limited, so organizers ask those interested in attending to please reserve seating at www.facebook.com/loveallproject/ or to call the Norwalk Public Library at 203-899-2780.

EAST NORWALK

For more than 80 years, two days a year have been dedicated to the celebration of ham radio culture around the country.

Field Day, as its called, is ham radios open house nationwide. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radios science, skill and service to communities and the nation as a whole.

Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event.

This years event runs from 8:30 a.m. into the evening on Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25 at Veterans Memorial Park.

Those interested in bringing a ham radio along for the event can find a signup form at www.gnarc.org.

If you have problems, or want to change your signup, please contact gnarc.webmaster@gmail.com.

Share your neighborhood news

To share your community and neighborhood news with The Hour, contact Pat Tomlinson at 203-354-1046, or at ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com.
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NORWALK  The Norwalk Department of Planning and Zoning is looking to explore transit-oriented development along East Avenue as well as the possibility of bringing a train station back to Wall Street.

East Avenue is a complex study area due to the existing road constraints, the established and stable neighborhoods surrounding the station, some thriving businesses in the area, differing land uses, the gateway to the Sound this area represents and the existing traffic concerns, wrote Norwalk Director of Planning and Zoning Steve Kleppin in a memorandum to the Common Councils Planning Committee. My preliminary recommendation is that the TOD study examines some initial questions to establish the baseline conditions for the area.

Public transit

Transit-oriented development entails building housing, retail and offices within walking distance of train stations to encourage residents to rely on public transit rather than their automobiles.

With a TOD study already completed for the neighborhoods surrounding the South Norwalk Train Station, Kleppin is asking for city approval to apply for a $225,000 grant from the state Office of Policy and Management to prepare an analysis for the East Avenue area. He envisions the study unfolding in two steps.

Kleppin has asked what vision residents, businesses and property owners have for the area, what infrastructure possibilities and limitations exist, and how planned roadway improvements and the replacement of the East Avenue and Walk bridges will affect the area and potential for redevelopment. Further, how many employees and businesses are located the Industrial No. 1 Zone flanking the train tracks?

The second part of the study  based upon the answers to those questions  would establish potential boundaries of the TOD area, appropriate density and massing, building and streetscape design guidelines, and zoning regulations which could include village districts.

Kleppin told members of the Common Councils Planning Committee on Monday that he has spoken with representatives of the Third Taxing District, East Norwalk Neighborhood Association and East Norwalk Business Association regarding partnering on the study.

Diane Cece, an East Norwalk resident, asked the committee and Kleppin to take a holistic approach to looking at what the neighborhood needs versus just an arbitrary circle of a radius around an area.

It should begin with the vision of what people want, Cece said.

Cost concerns

After discussion Tuesday evening, the Planning Committee lent its support to Kleppins proposal to apply for the grant to fuel the TOD study. Committee members welcomed the idea while questioning the specifics.

Do you remember what the South Norwalk TOD cost? asked Council Majority Leader John Kydes, a District C Democrat, who chairs the Planning Committee.

Timothy T. Sheehan of the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency said the South Norwalk TOD Redevelopment Plan cost approximately $80,000 to prepare.

Councilman Thomas P. Livingston, a District E Democrat on the committee, asked how much money the city would have to contribute toward the study. In his memorandum, Kleppin wrote that local matches do help in the scoring of the grant applications received by OPM.

If you can demonstrate were bringing $50,000 to the table and were asking $50,000, I think that increases your chances, Kleppin said. But I was not asking for any funding from the city for this.

Kleppin said June 23 is the deadline for the city to apply for the grant. Awards will be announced in the fall. If Norwalk receives the grant, Kleppin hopes to have a planning consultant on board by spring 2018.

Councilman Douglas E. Hempstead, an at-large Republican on the committee, raised the prospect of the new TOD study and citys forthcoming Plan of Conservation and Development  the state-mandated overall master plan for the city  conflicting with one another.

East Norwalk say it wants X, or uptown Norwalk says it wants Y, and that TOD plan comes back with a total conflict, Hempstead said.

Kleppin said he doesnt foresee that happening, prompting Hempstead to reply, You havent been to Norwalk.

Wall Street station

The planning and zoning director has proposed that the study also address the viability of bringing back a train station to the Wall Street neighborhood and analyze potential locations. He noted that the Redevelopment Agency is looking at existing densities and development potential in the area.

This portion of the TOD study will utilize the data and results obtained from the redevelopment (agency) plan and identify what is needed in order for rail service to be restored to this area, not only from an infrastructure standpoint, but also from a ridership perspective, Kleppin wrote in his memorandum.

During the first several decades of the 20th century, New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad operated a train station at 47 Wall St. The address is now home to Ink-Side-Out Tattoo. A century ago, however, commuters living or working in the Wall Street area boarded trains for New York City, Danbury and South Norwalk.

The East Avenue TOD study would not be the first such study aimed at fostering development around transit hubs in Norwalk.

In late summer 2016, the council and Redevelopment Agency approved the South Norwalk TOD Redevelopment Plan. The plan, prepared by the Cecil Group, is intended to materially improve the areas around the South Norwalk Train Station by encouraging redevelopment of former industrial and other underused properties though infill development. The citys Zoning Commission is discussing the recommended zoning changes.

rkoch@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2565
The climate of not only Earth but the city of Grand Island, as well, is changing, and one city official was able to learn more about how that change affects the city.

Regional Planning Director Chad Nabity attended a conference titled Utilizing Climate Data to Inform Municipal Planning and Increase Resilience on March 30 and 31 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The conference was sponsored by the High Plains Regional Climate Center at UNL.

Nabity said representatives from cities in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri attended the conference. The High Plains Regional Climate Center prepared a Municipal Climate Adaptation Report for the cities, which looked at factors such as precipitation, temperatures and hottest days. But then presenters broke the report down for each individual city.

According to the report, which Nabity emphasized is only a draft, over the last 50 years, Grand Island has experienced an average temperature increase of 2.2 degrees. When its broken down into seasons, winter has been 4 degrees warmer over the past 50 years.

Four degrees does not sound like very much necessarily, but if that 4 degrees is the difference between 28 degrees and 32 degrees, that may be the difference between an ice storm and a snowstorm, Nabity said. The difference between an ice storm and a snowstorm is that snowstorms are not as likely to take down power lines as ice storms are.

Nabity said an example of this change was the 2016 Groundhog Day blizzard where everything was pretty much closed that day and then it warmed up later in the day.

Those are the kinds of things that that little difference can make, he said. In a bigger picture, it may mean the difference between winter wheat growing and not growing and whether youve got enough cold days. Those are the kinds of things you can start looking at and how that impacts the local economy, the utilities, streets and your overall design for those things.

In addition to the temperature increase over the past 50 years, the preliminary report also showed a negligible precipitation increase of 2 percent over the past 50 years. But when thats broken down into seasons, spring precipitation has increased by 9 percent and autumn precipitation has decreased by 19 percent.

You start looking at some of those things, and it changes planting season, Nabity said. It really impacts agriculture a lot, and it impacts construction seasons.

Nabity said he did not know how the conference or the Municipal Climate Adaptation Report would impact how things are done in Grand Island or Hall County. He called the conference a brainstorming type of thing.

But having the information available specific to Grand Island means that we can look at potentially incorporating it into future plans, he said.
As the Trump administration works to renegotiate trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson is urging the U.S. trade representative to focus on maintaining growth in trade with Canada and Mexico.

Nelson said the Farm Bureau has asked the Trump administration to remember that its hard to overstate the value of NAFTA to Nebraska farm and ranch families.

In 2016, Nebraska exported over $2.4 billion worth of products to Canada and Mexico with agricultural products making up $1.5 billion, Nelson said. Mexico alone is Nebraskas second-largest trading partner with Nebraska farmers and ranchers exporting $1.3 billion worth of agricultural products, which supports nearly 1,200 jobs.

While Nebraska is primarily known for cattle, corn and soybeans, Nelson said, the states agricultural industry also includes wheat, hogs, sugar beets, dry edible beans and poultry.

Nelson said Nebraska farmers and ranchers success in trading on the world stage has largely been due to free trade agreements.

Exports to countries with free trade agreements accounted for 53 percent of Nebraska exports in 2015.

From 2005-15, exports from Nebraska to free trade agreement markets grew 104 percent, with growth in NAFTA trade far outpacing that with other FTA countries, he said.

Feed grain exports to free trade agreement countries have increased by nearly 24 percent over the last 10 marketing years, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis by the U.S. Grains Council. In the 2015-16 marketing year, exports of feed grains to free trade agreement countries saw a record high of more than 49.6 million tons (1.95 billion bushels).

According to the U.S. Grains Council, such countries represent 49 percent of U.S. exports of feed grains. China has increased its share of U.S. feed grain exports from 2 percent to 14 percent during the past 10 years.

This week, a shipment of Nebraska beef left for China as a result of China opening up its markets following an agreement reached between the two countries.

U.S. ethanol exports to the 20 free trade agreement partners have gone up 21 percent year over year, from 250 million gallons to 302 million. Canada has remained a strong buyer of U.S. ethanol, with an increase of 39 percent to 207.8 million gallons.

Nelson said, while the agricultural sector has seen substantial benefit from NAFTA, there are some individual American commodities that have faced challenges such as tomatoes, other fruits and vegetables and sugar with Mexico. There are also challenges for dairy, specialty and row crops, lumber and wine with Canada. Recently, an agreement has been reached between the U.S. sugar industry and the Department of Commerce to bring Mexican sugar into compliance with U.S. trade laws.

Despite the clear and numerous benefits, there are reasons to update and reform NAFTA from agricultures perspective, Nelson said. Some improvements include reducing redundant regulatory costs, expediting transit across borders and hastening the resolution of disputes between members that would go a long way toward establishing more efficient trade between NAFTA partners.

Other good examples for a needed update, Nelson said, include the rules related to biotechnology, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and geographic indicators.

We also believe negotiations should address how U.S. agricultural exports to Canada would grow if tariff barriers to dairy, poultry and eggs were reduced or eliminated, Nelson said. Many of these issues were addressed in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the language of which could be used as the basis for the changes needed in some of these areas.

One of the first acts of the Trump administration was to pull the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Nelson said negotiations will begin no earlier than Aug. 16, and the U.S. trade representative will post a notice requesting public input on content for negotiations.
Travis Hurley says hes not the daredevil in the Grand Island Modelers club, but his flying suggests otherwise.

Ill show you some stuff youve probably never seen an airplane do before, Hurley says as he crouches by his Hangar 9 Extra 260.

In the sky, the plane does endless barrel rolls, loop-de-loops and dives.

This is where the pilots getting sick, Hurley says. The plane soars to high altitudes and floats back down, and Hurley flips switches and maneuvers joysticks to put the plane upright, almost touching the ground. And then it does touch the ground, ruining a $60 piece in the process.

Hurley crashed a plane on Thursday when the motor cut off as he did the same trick.

Yeah, Hurley says. I need to knock that ... off. I gotta be a little cautious. My pockets dont run that deep.

But Hurleys still cheerful. He gathers other model-airplane flyers to look at the photo of his plane making a nearly 90-degree angle with the ground: Look, I got proof that Im a better pilot than you, Hurley says to Laine Stahr.

Oh, I call bull, Stahr says, but Hurley insists.

All right, let me look. Stahr considers the picture. Dude, youre almost crashing! No, no, negative altitude is not authorized, Stahr says as Hurley protests.

You want me to do that with a flying wing at 120? Stahr asks Hurley. I did it two years ago, so, yeah, Stahr says, talking over Hurleys protests.

All in love, all in love, Corey Luth says as men challenge each other. Talk the talk, smack the smack.

The talk will be talked and the smack will be smacked at the RC Airplane Exhibition and Fun Fly hosted by the G.I. Modelers at the clubs field on West Husker Highway and 70th Street this weekend.

The event began Friday at dawn and will continue every day until Sunday evening. Clay Hagman, field marshal, says the exhibition draws modelers from Kansas, Iowa and across Nebraska for a chance to show off their planes and their piloting skills.

Hagman says modelers bring planes theyve bought from the store or made from scratch, planes that cost anywhere from $30 to $5,000 and can fly anywhere from 40 mph to 100 mph. Building miniature planes is a community hobby, Hagman says. The community empathizes, admires and competes.

When one participant crashed his plane, the other men knew it hurt.

We all lose our planes, Hagman says. But that one we knew he spent two years working on.

Hagman says the club recognizes other members talent, like Randy Fahn, who has a plane that looks like a lawnmower and Hagman says is one of the best pilots in the club.

Randy could fly anything, Hagman says. He could fly a pizza box.

But, of course, that admiration only happens on the ground. In the sky, the pilots will fly combat planes to knock each other out of the sky, Hagman says.

Hagman reinforces his combat planes with wood, so when I hit somebody I know theyre going to be on the losing end.

Corey Luth travels from Lincoln for the G.I. Modelers club because he says the members are down-to-earth men.

Luth drags a miniature yellow J-3 Piper Cub airplane to the runway. The plane is an immaculate replica, with its cheerful color, the Cub insignia and a tiny plaque of authenticity in the planes cockpit.

It gets obsessive, Luth says. I mean, where do you stop?

Luth steers the plane into the sky with a control that has more than a dozen switches, levers and joysticks. Luth himself has been in the sky as a pilot and a skydiver, which stemmed from his interest in model airplanes.

I figured if I can drive a model, Id be able to drive a real one, Luth says.

Luths Cub plane is 30 years old, and Hagman owns an old red plane with tiny dice hanging in its window that he claims was the Cadillac of its time.

If you owned one of these, you were somebody, Hagman says. In its day, of course.

Their vintage planes contrast with the streamlined helicopters, the jets and the drones.

Old school like this has kind of become a lost breed, Luth says. Now most pilots opt for ready-to-fly planes over built-from-scratch models.

Luth says the model airplane hobby also runs the risk of becoming a lost breed entirely. Most modelers adopt the hobby late in their lives, and its rare to see a young person out on the airfield.

Luth says the key is showing young people what its like to fly a model plane or even to ride in a real one.

We just need to get them in the sky, Luth says. Once youre hooked, youre gone.
By Press Trust of India: From Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Jun 17 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs younger brother and Punjab chief minister was today questioned by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the high-profile Panamagate graft case against his family.

Shehbaz Sharif, 65, is the fourth member of the Sharif family to appear before the the JIT.

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He was accompanied by his son, Hamza Shehbaz, Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to the JIT secretariat.

Shehbaz told the media persons that he provided the JIT all required details about the Panamagate case.

Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sharif was also questioned by the JIT.

The JIT was set up by the Supreme Court last month to investigate the Sharif family about its properties in London.

It had questioned Sharifs sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the familys alleged improper business dealings.

His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

The JIT alleged that the government was using its official machinery to hamper its investigation.

The Supreme Court had asked the government to respond to the allegations against the departments.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister House accused the JIT of tapping phones and monitoring witnesses, which it said was in violation of the law and the Constitution.

Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf Ali raised serious doubts over JIT?s performance, accusing it of spending too much time and energy on ?monitoring the media?.

In a four-page response which he has submitted in the Supreme Court, Ashtar stated that the JIT application spanned more than 120 pages, containing news articles, screenshots of statements, tweets and messages gathered from social media.

"It appears that a lot of time and energy is being consumed in gathering this material. The JIT appears to have spent [too much] time watching talk shows, reading articles and monitoring tweets and messages on social media while arranging the same where necessary," according to the reply.

The AGP also informed the apex court about the replies submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Law Ministry, Intelligence Bureau and the Prime Minister?s Secretariat over JIT?s allegations of non-cooperation and tampering of records.

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"These institutions vehemently deny [all the] allegations [levelled by] the JIT," he said. PTI SH/NSA NSA

--- ENDS ---
District 7 would see a slight increase in funding from a state senate bill introduced in March by state Sen. Andy Manar.

SB1 has passed the House and the Senate but has yet to reach Gov. Bruce Rauners desk.

Were Rauner to eventually sign it, District 7 would be expected to gain $228,465, according to analysis by the Illinois State Board of Education.

SB1 seeks to create an evidence-based school aid formula that would direct additional money to the neediest school districts, according to a news release from state Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton,

The latest version of Senate Bill 1 is a slight improvement for District 7, said Dr. Lynda Andre, in a written statement issued Wednesday. While the latest version only provides minimal additional funding for the district, it does not have the negative impact that previous proposals would have potentially had on the districts educational funding."

However, Senate Bill 1 does not address the continued categorical payment delays with the state. The district is being severely impacted from these delays and the continued proration of funding within the Transportation Fund. To date, the district has had to borrow $2 million in Tax Anticipation Warrants in the Education and Transportation Fund due to the lack of Special Education and Transportation categorical payments from the state.

Local property taxes fund more than 60 percent of education costs in Illinois, a situation that has created wide spending gaps between low and high income districts.

The current funding formula puts many students in our communities at a tremendous disadvantage and has forced local school districts to hike property tax rates, Haine said in the release. We cannot continue with a broken school funding formula. Our area schools deserve fair funding. I am in strong support of this measure, and I urge Gov. Rauner to support it as well.

Lawmakers are seeking to delay the bill from being sent to the governors desk until tensions settle down. In a phone interview on Wednesday, Illinois Secretary of Education Beth Purvis confirmed that the bill had not yet been forwarded to the governors office.

Under the bill, no school district would receive less funding than they received in fiscal year 2017, according to the website fundingilfuture.org.

Five school districts would be expected to see seven-figure bumps in funding, according to the ISBE analysis.

The Granite City and Collinsville districts would receive bumps of $2.33 million and $1.45 million, respectively. The three other districts  two in Belleville and one in East St. Louis  would see similar increases, according to the analysis.

District 7 is one of 26 school districts in the region that would see overall gains, the ISBE analysis found.

The bill has the backing of a wide network of school administrators, superintendents, principals, educators, taxpayers and advocates of fair school funding, according to Haines office.

Illinois school funding formula has not been updated in more than 20 years and is considered one of the worst in the nation because it relies so heavily on local property wealth, the press release stated.

The bill provides extra support for the neediest school districts by offering them property tax relief.

In the news release, Haine said Rauner has pledged to veto (the bill) because it doesnt give him 100 percent of what he wants.

What the governor has said, Purvis said in a phone interview, is that while there is much in this bill that is a step in the right direction, because this bill holds many levers for the Chicago Public Schools  thereby diverting dollars from those mentioned in the press release  the governor would not sign this bill in its present form,

Republicans have introduced their own bill, SB 1124. It is similar to SB 1, but takes out credits to the Chicago Public Schools for their normal pension costs. It also removes $200 million of the $250 million that had been proposed for Chicago Block Grant for CPS. But an amendment filed Wednesday reinstates that money, Purvis said.

The governor has said that if the bills that were presented by the Republicans  especially SB1124 and (the amendment)  he would sign it immediately, Purvis said.

Purvis said she expects a special session of the House and Senate will be called and the SB1124 and its amendment will be quickly moved to the governors desk.
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Linkedin Jessicha Valentina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 17, 2017 17:09 1972 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5ab245 1 Art & Culture documentary,#documentary,film,#film,#filmmaking,filmmaking,Banda-The-Dark-Forgotten-Trail,Run-Island,Maluku,#Maluku,nutmeg Free

In the 17th century, nutmeg was worth more than gold, leading people from Europe to travel all the way to the Banda Islands, Maluku, in the eastern part of Indonesia in search of it.

Despite its rich history, the Banda Islands are barely noticed these days, especially among the young generation.

Directed by Jay Subyakto, Banda: The Dark Forgotten Trail is a documentary, which explores the story behind the Banda Islands, hoping to educate the young generation about the preciousness of nutmeg and how the Spice Islands shaped the history of Indonesia.

Lifelike Pictures producer Sheila Timothy said on Thursday during a press conference in Rumah Indofood at Jakarta Fair Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, that a lot of significant events had occurred on the islands, including colonialism and genocide.

[In Banda Neira], four of our founding fathers [Mohammad Hatta, Sutan Sjahrir, Dr. Tjipto Mangunkusumo and Iwa Kusuma Sumantri] were exiled, she added, explaining that the Banda Islands played a crucial role in formation of the nations ideology.

Read also: Theater show about Maluku's Run Island to be performed in New York

Sheila also mentioned how Run Island, which is a part of the Banda Islands, was swapped for Manhattan, New York, in the Treaty of Breda.

Meanwhile, PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk Consumer Engagement head of Corporate Marketing, Fierman Authar, expressed a similar sentiment, saying that the company supported the project as it nurtured the spirit of nationalism among the young generation.

We also realize that spices are among the main ingredients of our products, he added.

Banda: The Dark Forgotten Trail is slated for premiere on July 31, which is also the Treaty of Bredas 350 years anniversary.

The films director Jay Subyakto also said the documentary would be screened in local cinemas starting from Aug. 3. (kes)
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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar  Sat, June 17, 2017 22:10 1972 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5af7bd 1 National Pancasila,doctors,bali,intolerance Free

Hundreds of doctors from across Bali gathered in Denpasar on Saturday to pledge allegiance to the national ideology of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

The threat the nation is facing has become more real. Our diversity is in danger. We can no longer stay silent. We have to make movement before it is too late, said Wimpie Pangkahila, the chairman of the Stovia Bali Forum, which organized the event.

The gathering was held at Sanglah Hospital and attended by doctors from all hospitals and professors from all medical schools in Bali.

The Stovia Bali Forum, Wimpie said, was initiated following a national meeting of doctors on June 1 at the National Awakening Museum in Jakarta.

Stovia is the name of a medical school during the Dutch colonial period.

Besides doctors, Stovia also produced many figures that led the independence movement and helped lay down the foundation of Indonesia. We have to use their spirit to defend Pancasila and fight those who want to destroy it, Wimpie said.

The head of the Badung chapter of the Indonesian Doctor Association (IDI), Gede Putra Suteja, said many doctors were expected to disseminate Pancasila values to their patients. He added that doctors had been sworn in to uphold Pancasila values, the 1945 Constitution, the national motto of Bhineka Tunggal Ika (Unity and Diversity) and the unity of the republic of Indonesia.

So, this is actually not a new thing, he said. (ary)

Topics : Pancasila doctors bali intolerance
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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Purwokerto  Sat, June 17, 2017 17:08 1972 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5aa812 2 National agrarian-reform,Joko-Widodo,land-certification,Central-Java Free

Agrarian and Spatial Minister Sofyan Djalil said on Friday that the land certification program under the agrarian reform policy had provided a boost to the local economy.

Sofyan said residents, especially in Central Java, who had their land certified under the program used the certificates as collateral to get loans from banks to develop their businesses.

Sofyan was on a working visit with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to hand over around 5,000 land certificates in Cilacap and Banyumas regencies as part of the land certification program that seeks to certify 126 million hectares of land across the country.

The minister said banks in Central Java, between January and June this year, had disbursed a total of Rp 32.5 trillion in loans using land certificates issued by the government since the agrarian reform policy was implemented in 2016.

"This is happening in Central Java because [people in] this province have an entrepreneurial spirit," Sofyan said.

This year, the Jokowi administration aims to issue 5 million land certificates nationwide, 500,000 of which are set to be issued for Central Java.

In 2018, the government aims to issue 7 million of certificates, while the target for 2019 is 9 million. (wit)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 17 2017

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has offered investment opportunities in infrastructure projects to China during his visit to the country.

Luhut, who is scheduled to visit the country from June 15 to 17, met with Chinese Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary Meng Jianzhu on Thursday.

During his meeting with Meng, Luhut mentioned several projects, including an integrated infrastructure project in North Sumatra, new harbor and nuclear industry construction in North Kalimantan and integrated tourism projects in North Sulawesi and Bali.

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By Press Trust of India: Colombo, Jun 17 (PTI) Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena today performed a number of yoga asanas and joined thousands of yoga enthusiasts to celebrate the International Day of Yoga.

Messages from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj were displayed at the venue.

Sirisena performed a number of yoga asanas and encouraged yoga institutions in Sri Lanka to continue their good work in the event organised by the Indian Cultural Center here.

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Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu highlighted the efforts led by Prime Minister Modi in the UN declaring June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. He said the world now recognises yoga, as a human treasure - a key to good health.

This event followed weeks of yoga activities across Sri Lanka, including the first-ever Yoga Road Show, a unique event that saw dozens of yoga instructors travel by bus to various locations across Sri Lanka, including Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Kataragama, Galle, Jaffna and Colombo to promote, popularise and teach yoga.

The journey connected thousands of minds, spreading the message of yoga for well-being, Sandhu said. PTI CORR UZM AKJ UZM

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 17 2017

The South Jakarta Transportation Agency has begun to enforce its ban on bemo (three-wheeled public transportation van), which were operating in Manggarai, South Jakarta, on Friday. The city administration officially banned the operation of bemo on June 6.

The crackdown started at 9:15 a.m. Before the agencys officers arrived at the Manggarai train station, dozens of bemo were parked around the station.

Some bemo drivers ran away once they saw the officers. Two bemo were towed, while some bemo drivers reportedly succeeded in negotiating with the officers to let them bring their bemo home.

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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Wonosobo, Central Java  Sat, June 17, 2017 12:24 1973 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5a55a2 1 National President-Jokowi,Pesantren Free

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo performed the evening Ramadhan prayer of tawareh at Al Asy'ariyyah Islamic boarding school in Wonosobo in Central Java on Friday night.

Al Asy'ariyyah is the fourth Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic boarding school, locally known as pesantren, to be visited by the President during his three-day work trip in the province, which started on Thursday.

Thousands of people including pesantren students and clerics thronged the three-story mosque at the school, but many were left disappointed, as the mosque could not accommodate them all to join the President to perform the taraweh prayer.

Prayer attendants hysterically welcomed the President with some crying in gratitude even though they could only see Jokowi on a big white screen in front of the mosque.

For them the moment was very special because it was the first time a sitting president had paid them a visit. With every step Jokowi made to enter the mosque they chanted salawat to show their highest appreciation to the President for his visit.

The President is known for his close relationship with NU clerics, especially in Central and East Java, a majority of whom threw their support behind Jokowi during the 2014 presidential elections against former Army general Prabowo Subianto.

"Thank you very much for the very special welcome for me and my entourage," Jokowi told audience at the mosque.

Jokowi in his speech expressed his appreciation to students and clerics at the school for being one of the strongest guardians of Indonesia's campaign for tolerant Islam and actively maintaining unity in Indonesia's pluralistic society.

"Avoid exchanging hate speech on social media because we are all brothers in Islam," Jokowi said.

The pesantren management used the special moment to ask the president to officiate the start of a project to write a giant Quran, which measures 2 meters in length and 1.50 meters in width.

The weight of the giant Quran is 315 kilograms and it has 315 pages. The process of writing it will take around 2 years.

At the pesantran, the President also handed over around Rp 500 million in aid and staple food sponsored by state-owned companies for students and clerics at the pesantren. (dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 17, 2017 12:35 1973 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5a648a 4 National exodus,Idul-Fitri,truck Free

Toll road operator Jasa Marga will bar trucks from travelling on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road starting from a week prior to the Idul Fitri holidays to a week after, or from June 19 to July 3.

The regulation is based on a letter we received from the Transportation Ministrys land transportation directorate, Jasa Marga Jakarta-Cikampek spokesman Handoyono said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday.

Only some trucks belonging to certain crucial businesses are allowed to operate until four days before Idul Fitri. Then, the toll road will be free from all kinds of trucks until four days after Idul Fitri, when those specific trucks will be able to use the road again.

Handoyono said Jasa Marga and traffic police would coordinate on the implementation of the policy.

Trucks with loads are feared to move slowly on the toll road and worsen traffic jams, which are expected to peak due to the home-bound exodus.

We predict the traffic outflow will start on the fourth day before Idul Fitri, Handoyono said.

Jasa Marga assistant vice president of corporate communication Dwiman Heru said this policy did not apply to certain trucks, which were directly related to public interest such as trucks carrying daily needs and fuel.

Upon violation, we ask for police to take action against truck drivers and to intensify document checks, Heru said. (dra/dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Florida  Sat, June 17, 2017 09:35 1973 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a59fdf2 2 World Donald-Trump,presidency,Hotel,resort Free

Becoming president forced Donald Trump to resign from a slew of corporate positions, but it also appears to have netted him much more income from his Mar-a-Lago resort and from book sales.

According to a financial disclosure form released late Friday, Trump earned around $37 million this year from the Florida resort -- a seven million dollar increase from last year.

Since coming becoming president on January 20, Trump has travelled to the Palm Beach property often and upped the membership fees substantially.

He has frequently referred to the property as the "Winter White House" and sought to promote the venue as an official presidential residence.

Trump's trips to Florida bring with them a retinue of Secret Service agents and government staff, who are reported to stay there at US taxpayers' expense.

The disclosure was made in forms released by the Office of Government Ethics. They are less detailed than full tax returns, which Trump has refused to release, breaking with decades of tradition.

The 98-page document shows that being president has also apparently increased Trump's earnings from sales of his book "The Art of the Deal" published in 1987 and that he resigned from positions in 565 companies on or around the day before becoming president.

His assets range from Pfizer stocks to a drinks company in Israel, but the disclosure also showed hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 17, 2017 16:08 1972 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5aa257 1 City Golkar,shooting Free

Members of the Golkar Party reported dozens of unidentified men disrupted a breaking-of-the-fast event at the partys headquarters in Slipi, West Jakarta, on Friday night.

The men reportedly tried to take down banners and flags representing the partys supporting organizations in front of the office.

When a security guard tried to stop them, one of the men got angry and fired a gun into the air several times.

The incident is under investigation. The security guards are being questioned, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said on Saturday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Argo said the person who reportedly fired the shots could be charged under the 1951 Emergency Law, which carries a maximum punishment of more than five years imprisonment.

We will not get involved in the partys conflicts, we are only investigating the incident, he said.

The Golkar members who reported the case on Friday night were led by Avner Raweyai

He brought bullet casings, wood and torn flags as evidence. (dra/wit)

Topics : Golkar shooting
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Linkedin N. Abdi (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan  Sat, June 17, 2017 19:16 1972 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5aeb45 1 National suicide,TNI,Balikpapan,SearchAndRescue Free

A member of the Indonesian Military (TNI) was found dead in the Manggar River, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, after trying to save a 16-year-old girl who reportedly attempted to commit suicide.

The search-and-rescue operation team found Pvt. Khairul Anam on Friday night about 139 meters from the popular Manggar Bridge, from which he jumped to rescue the girl, identified only as Eka, who died in the incident.

Khairul jumped into the river with his colleague, Pvt. Ashari, but Khairul got a hold of Eka. The girl then tried to hold onto Khairul to fight the current, which made it difficult for Khariul to swim, a search-and-rescue official, Octavianto, said.

Ashari swam to the river bank, while Khairul and Eka got lost in the current. Eka was found soon after by two young men on a boat and taken to a local clinic for treatment, but she did not survive.

Khairul was missing for about 17 hours before his body was found.  JP

Topics : suicide TNI Balikpapan SearchAndRescue
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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Wonosobo, Central Java  Sat, June 17, 2017 18:59 1972 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5ae0fd 1 National Jokowi,Jokowi-administration,jokowidodo,Wonosobo,students Free

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told students in Wonosobo and Temanggung regencies, Central Java, on Saturday to study hard, pray and respect differences as part of his campaign to reintroduce Pancasila values.

Jokowi was in Wonosobo and Temanggung to distribute around 2,000 Indonesia Smart Cards (KIP) to students as part of his three-day working visit in the province that started on Thursday.

Each elementary student receives Rp 450,000 (US$33.8) per year through the program, while a junior high school student gets Rp 750,000 and a senior high school student Rp 1 million.

Distributing KIPs has been a part of Jokowi's work trip in a move to step up efforts to achieve the governments target of distributing cards to 17.9 million students across the country.

As part of the Pancasila campaign, Jokowi gave quizzes and awarded bicycles to students who could recite the five principles of Pancasila.

The Presidents said he hoped that KIPs could encourage students to study hard so that in the future they could face global competition in various sectors.

"Students, you have you study diligently and don't forget to pray," Jokowi said

He went on: "Students, this country is very big as it has 34 provinces, 516 regencies and cities, 17,000 islands. We are very diverse."

From Temanggung, Jokowi will fly to Semarang where the presidential aircraft awaits to take him back to Jakarta after breaking-the-fast in the city. (ary)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 17, 2017 13:05 1973 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5a6990 1 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,foreign-tourists,Thailand,competitiveness,tourism,#tourism Free

Thailand reportedly welcomed 12.01 million foreign tourists in the first quarter of 2017, a slight increase of 2.91 percent from the same period last year, according to data from the Thailand Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

In April, the country greeted 2.82 million foreign tourists, an increase of 6.97 percent from 2016, which saw an influx of 2.64 million tourists.

Read also: Five must-visit places in Vietnam

Interestingly, Thailand recorded a smaller number of Chinese tourists in the first quarter of 2017. The Chinese segment fell by 7.5 percent.

More Russian tourists reportedly visited the country. The ministry states that 595,618 Russians visited the country in the first quarter of 2017, compared to 443,346 visitors during the same period the year before.

Tourist numbers from India also increased, from 94,012 to 107,451.

Thailand wants to attract at least 60 million foreign visitors by 2030.

Meanwhile, data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that Indonesia welcomed 4.2 million foreign tourists in the January  April 2017 period, an increase of 19.34 percent from last year's figure.

Read also: Seven must-visit places in Shibuya for first-timers

In April, the number of foreign visitors reached 1.14 million, a 26.75 percent increase from April last year.

In terms of Chinese tourists, the archipelago greeted 165,400 visitors throughout April, also up from last year's number of 110,270.

As for tourists from India, some 40,890 visited the archipelago in April 2017, compared to 31,030 during the same month last year. (kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 17, 2017 10:09 1973 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a5a1852 1 News Denali,#Denali,mountain,#mountain,mountaineering,student,students,#students,university,#university Free

Three Indonesian students from Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, have made it to the top of Denali in Alaska.

Denali, the original native name of Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America.

The students, Muhammad Faishal Tamimi, Mochamad Roby Yahya and Yasak, reportedly reached the 6,164-meter-high Denali summit on Thursday morning.

The trio departed from Indonesia on May 16 and spent 21 days climbing the mountain.

Read also: Italians are first couple to reach world's highest summits

To reach the peak, the students had to face several obstacles, such as snowstorms, narrow slopes and extreme cold weather, while carrying 50-kilogram packs of supplies comprising food, oxygen and special equipment.

Prior to the trip, all three had to go through intensive training, which included running for one-and-a-half hours at a time and climbing several mountains in East Java.

Airlangga Indonesia Denali Expedition (Aidex) manager Wahyu Nur Wahid told tempo.co that the Airlangga Universitys mountaineering club had been planning to climb Denali since 1994.

The expedition, which reportedly cost Rp 800 million (US$60,160), was supported by the university, property management company PT PP Properti and state-owned pawn shop PT Pegadaian. (jes/kes)
Theres some sad but unsurprising news to report this morning about Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, the Lower East Side synagogue destroyed in a May 14 fire.

The synagogues rabbi, Mendel Greenbaum, has told The Lo-Down that hes filed an application for demolition with the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). The commission plans to hold a hearing on the application July 11. The first step, however, is an appearance by building ownership and its engineers at the Landmarks Committee of Community Board 3. Thats scheduled this coming Tuesday, June 20 at 6:30 p.m. (JASA/Green Residence, 200 East 5th St.)

In a phone interview yesterday, Rabbi Greenbaum said the Department of Buildings is extremely concerned about the stability of the fire ravaged building at 60 Norfolk St. Inspectors have not been able to enter the synagogue, which is filled with rubble. They made their assessment after examining the perimeter of the 167-year-old building.

Theres particular concern about the two towers in the front of the shul. When the roof collapsed during the fire, much of the masonry of the towers was taken out. The synagogue hired an independent consultant, Howard L. Zimmerman Architects, to conduct an independent study. Greenbaum said the results of that survey are consistent with the Buildings Departments findings.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission did not respond to our request for information about Beth Hamedrash Hagadol yesterday. We also contacted the Department of Buildings, asking whether any decisions had been made about the fate of 60 Norfolk St. A spokesperson would say only that the investigation is ongoing and that the agency has received no application for demolition.

In December of 2012, Rabbi Greenbaum filed a hardship application with the LPC to demolish the building, which had been closed five years earlier and required millions of dollars in repairs. The vision at that time was to build a new mixed-use building with space for the synagogue on the ground floor. Several months later, however, he had a change of heart. In March of 2013, the rabbi told us the demolition application was being put on hold. In response to local pleas for preservation, Greenbaum said he would try to find a development partner interested in restoring the building.

The synagogue and the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC) were working on a restoration plan that also included building on a site owned by CPC behind the shul. Along with their development partner, the Gotham Organization, they were scheduled to meet with representatives of the Landmarks Commission three days after the fire. The plans have obviously changed dramatically.

Beth Hamedrash Hagadol was the oldest congregation of Russian Jews in this country. The building opened in 1850 as a Baptist church (some of its congregants later founded Riverside Church). The synagogue purchased the building in 1885. The congregation was led by Rabbi Jacob Joseph, the first and only chief rabbi of New York City. Rabbi Ephraim Oshry, an internationally known scholar and a Holocaust survivor, was spiritual leader of the synagogue for 50 years, before his death in 2003. Oshry, Greenbaums father-in-law, spearheaded a successful campaign in 1967 to designate the synagogue as a city landmark.

Rabbi Greenbaum hopes to establish a small synagogue in the basement of the new building. Those plans are still moving forward. The synagogue site could accommodate a 45,000 square foot building, even before accounting for the neighboring CPC parcel. Greenbaum and members of the Oshry family would like to salvage some part of the synagogue as a memorial to one of the most significant Jewish sites on the Lower East Side.

A 14-year-old boy was arrested in connection with starting the fire. Prosecutors have, at least for the time being, chosen not to press charges. The case is being handled in juvenile court.
Dismissing reports that she was a contender in the presidential poll, Sushma Swaraj said that these as "rumours".

Sushma Swaraj dismissed reports that she was a contender in the presidential poll as "rumours".

By Press Trust of India: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today dismissed reports that she was a contender in the presidential poll as "rumours".

Though neither the government nor the Opposition has declared their candidate for the poll to elect the country's first citizen, several names, including Swaraj's, have been doing the rounds.

"These are rumours. I am an external affairs minister and you are asking me something which is an internal matter," she said when asked by reporters whether she was being considered as a candidate in the presidential poll.

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The presidential poll is scheduled to be held on July 17 while the counting of votes would be held on July 20.

As per the schedule, June 28 is the last day for nominations, while a candidate can withdraw from the electoral battle till July 1.

ALSO READ | Sushma Swaraj: Even if you are stuck on Mars, Indian embassy there will help you

ALSO READ | Who will be India's next President? Election Commission begins process

ALSO WATCH | Kaun Banega Rashtrapati poll results: Should India pick a people's president?

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Indian television's hottest couple Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya and Vivek Dahiya will soon celebrate their first marriage anniversary. The lovebirds, who are currently wowing everyone with their performances on dance reality show Nach Baliye 8, had tied the knot in a traditional wedding ceremony in Bhopal on July 8.

"Vivek has been throwing lot of surprises for Divyanka in the last one year --- from Goa for Valentines Day to bicycle rides for her birthday. And this time around too Vivek wants to keep the exact destination a surprise," The Times of India quoted a source as saying.

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"Since Divyanka has had quite a hectic schedule in the last three months as she has been shooting for two shows simultaneously without any offs, Vivek wants her to take a break," the source added.

Basically, get ready to see a ton of adorable pictures of the two actors together in great locations.

Also see: Vivek Dahiya cannot help but stare at wife Divyanka Tripathi, and it is adorable

--- ENDS ---
Serbia is a highly conservative country, which is why its perhaps a bit surprising that it has nominated its first openly gay prime minister: Ana Brnabic.

Heres everything you need to know.

Who nominated Brnabic?

(Darko Vojinovic/AP)

Aleksander Vucic, who was prime minister before his election as president in April, announced the nomination.

It was a difficult decision reached in the interest of Serbia and its citizens, said Vucic, a former extremist-turned-reformist who has promised to boost gay rights as part of efforts to move closer to European Union membership.

Who is she?

(Darko Vojinovic/AP)

41-year-old Brnabic is currently government minister of public administration and local government. The British-educated Brnabic, who is a marketing expert, had worked for US companies before she assumed her Serbian government job.

If elected in parliament, I will run the government with dedication and responsibility and I will do my job honestly and with love, Brnabic told state Tanjug news agency.

She is not a member of Vucics ruling populist Serbian Progressive Party but is considered loyal to him. Her appointment to the government last year  she was hand-picked by Vucic who was then prime minister  was hailed by rights groups as historic for the Balkan country whose gay community regularly faces discrimination, harassment and violence.

What does this mean for the country?

(Darko Vojinovic/AP)

Brnabics nomination is considered part of Vucics apparent turn toward the West despite strong pressure from Russia to maintain its influence in the region.

I believe she has professional skills and personal qualities, Vucic said. Im convinced she will work hard.

What have opponents said?

Pro-Russian nationalists have blasted the choice. The conservative Dveri group, close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, said Brnabic was obviously appointed under Western pressure.

Is it possible that the ruling majority has no other candidate for the prime minister-designate but the one imposed by the West which dictates all the moves by this government? the party asked.

What happens next?

Brnabics government needs formal approval by Serbias parliament next week.

Vucic has moved into the largely ceremonial presidential position.
Following the massive success of his beloved single 'Budapest' and album Wanted On Voyage in the summer of 2014, Ezra returns with a chill and happy Summer tune that takes you straight to the Brighton promenade. After premiering on Annie Macs Radio 1 show on June 15th, Ezras fans have been praising the tune, hoping for Summer vibes coming their way. The mid-tempo tune brightens up even the greyest of days; even the most stoic of listeners give a little shoulder bop here and there. Georges famously low vocals blend seamlessly into the mid-tempo melody, backed up by an old timey trumpet-infused backing track creating a chilled-out, seaside-inspired song. While George is still to announce a date for his eagerly awaited sophomore album, what is for sure is that Ezras return most certainly does matter now.
Amongst the rainbow flags and glittery costumes at this weekends Pride marches, a slightly unexpected figure could be spotted in the crowds: the Babadook.

When and why did the Babadook become like a gay icon for Pride??? What did I miss?  Diablo (@kaidiablo) June 12, 2017

For those not in the know, the Babadook is a character from an Australian film of the same name, and it has recently become the LGBTQ communitys newest icon.

Released in 2014, the psychological horror movie features Mister Babadook, a monster who enters the real world from a childrens book to terrorise a widow and her son. The films refrain is: If its in a word, or its in a look, you cant get rid of the Babadook.

At the end of last year, a Tumblr post went viral raising the idea of the Babadook being gay. It said: Whenever someone says the Babadook isnt openly gay its like?? Did you even watch the movie??? and sparked a whole lot of debate.

does the b in LGBT stand for babadook Yes 100%

No 0% 777,888 votes  Final Results  emily (@emilydaii) March 16, 2017

An image showing The Babadook on Netflixs LGBTQ Movies list soon started circulating the Internet (whether it was real or doctored is unclear), and soon there were many Tumblr posts insisting that the top hat-wearing character was indeed gay.

Whilst it started as an in-joke on the internet, there are perhaps more serious reasons behind the Babadook becoming a gay icon than you might think. Karen Tongson, an associate professor of gender studies and English at USC, told the LA Times: Someone was like, How could The Babadook become a gay film? and the answer was readily available.

He lives in a basement, hes weird and flamboyant, hes living adjacently to a single mother in this kind of queer kinship structure.

openly gay and with an affinity for hats and drama, the Babadook was the first time I saw myself represented in a film  JuanPa (@jpbrammer) April 19, 2017

The Babadook is a relatable character

- embodiment of depression

- lives for free in a basement

- well dressed in a top hat

-gay  Boy Mayor @ AC (@PinkiePoshArt) June 2, 2017

In fact, its being used by many in the LGBTQ community ironically  comparing how the Babadook is seen to how gay people are seen by some people.

BABADOOK: I'm a terrifying monster that destroys families that try to suppress me. GAY PEOPLE: Oh my god, SAME. Drinks later?  Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) June 7, 2017

Gay people identify with monsters because we grew fearing we might be one okay Carlos just shut up and enjoy the stupid Babadook meme.  Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) June 7, 2017

Safe to say that the Babadook has been welcomed as an icon with open arms. Fan art has been made showing the character sporting rainbow flags over its normal black attire.

his first pride :) reblog if u support h his first pride :) reblog if u support him

(Shanti_Fey/Twitter)

June is Pride Month, an opportunity for LGBTQ people to reflect on their history and celebrate the community. Pride marches take place all over the world this month, and this weekend cities mainly in the US (from LA to Washington DC) saw a whole lot of Babadooks joining the parade.

There were also Babadook signs out in force.

People are absolutely loving the communitys newest icon, joining the auspicious ranks of Madonna and Lady Gaga.

this pride id really like to thank the most influentual gay mentor in my life. thank you, babadook, for making me feel gay and loved  i love finn (@poncholuuke) June 7, 2017

I'm living for these pictures of the Babadook at gay pride.  victoria (@stupidscorpio) June 12, 2017

i honestly really love that the babadook is the true gay icon for pride month this year  sara (@seeddy928) June 12, 2017

People have even started imagining the Babadook as a contestant on RuPauls Drag Race.

"The Babadook, you can bring me the boy and tonight you brought it on the runway. We're Babashook. Shantay you stay" https://t.co/f6FREjAoRr  Conor Behan (@platinumjones) November 23, 2016

Most people have never even seen the most iconic workroom entrance in Drag Race herstory pic.twitter.com/YMUnzIPGR8  Your Friend's Dad (@ReginAdeleRey) June 9, 2017

Who would have thought that a creepy horror movie character would be re-appropriated as a symbol of love and acceptance?
By Press Trust of India: Kolkata, Jun 17 (PTI) The ongoing GJM-led agitation in Darjeeling hills for a separate Gorkhaland is a "deep-rooted conspiracy," supported by insurgent groups of the north east and some foreign countries, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed today.

Banerjee said the kind of "hooliganism and vandalism," being seen during the unrest in the hills, can only be executed if there is a "terrorist brain" behind it and the Centre should extend full help to the state to contain it.

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"There is a terrorist brain behind this hooliganism and vandalism. Only a terrorist and not a common man can do this. We have got clues that this has terrorist connections. They (GJM) have connections with underground insurgent groups of the north east ... I request them (insurgent groups) not to extend any support to the GJM," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.

She said the GJM was being helped by some other countries too but did not elaborate.

"What is happening today is a deep-rooted conspiracy. So many bombs and arms cannot be gathered in a day... These have been gathered for a long time.

"From where are they (GJM) are getting their support? Their advantage is it (Darjeeling) is a hill area and there are borders with other states and international borders.

"They are using the national flag for vandalism, which they cannot do. I will request the Central government not to encourage them to behave like this. If anything happens to any foreigner (tourist) it will bring bad name to the country," Banerjee said.

She said in such a scenario, the Centre and the state must start talking on the matter.

"The Centre must extend its full cooperation to us."

Rubbishing reports of firing by the police in Darjeeling this morning, Banerjee said "This is absolutely wrong. There was no police firing. They (GJM) started firing. They are using arms, throwing bombs and indulging in vandalism in such a way ...

"I am sorry to say it has never happened earlier that my journalists friends have been kidnapped. Their lives are in danger. They (GJM) have evacuated foreign tourists from the hotels forcefully," she said adding that the activists were not obeying the Calcutta High Court order that the bandh is illegal.

On GJM supporters setting fire to several government offices and damaging water supply lines, the chief minister expressed concern over keeping up the supply of provisions to the hills.

"We want to feed the people and I am worried how we will provide rations to the people in the hills."

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Referring to the CBI naming senior GJM leaders in the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League leader Madan Tamangs murder, Banerjee said its chief Bimal Gurung was a "corrupt leader" trying to sell off the hills and hampering the development work taken up by the state government there.

She repeatedly urged the people of the hills not to pay heed to Gurung and withdraw the indefinite bandh.

"This way (bandh and violence) they (Gorkhaland supporters) have hampered development works in the hills for the last 50 years. I request them again not to continue agitating behind a veil of false allegations. Do not listen to Bimal Gurung. He is a corrupt leader. Hill is your right, protect it. If people stop visiting the hills, how will you run your families?" she said adding that the state government will continue with its development work in the hills.

Banerjee said that the GJM has taken to violence because its term in GTA was coming to an end.

"You (GJM) have enjoyed five-year term in the GTA. Now when the term is about to end, you have started violence because you have lost your credentials," she said.

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Referring to the agitation against alleged imposition of Bengali, she said it was only an optional subject and not mandatory and GJM was spreading rumours to misguide the people of the hills.

Asked whether the state government was open to talks with the GJM, the chief minister said, "We have discussed so many times. But, they have to withdraw the bandh first and restore normalcy. Political party can talk to any other party. The state government can talk to any government agency, but the government cannot bear hooliganism," she said.

On whether the government is likely to arrest any GJM leader, Banerjee said, "Law will take its own course. We cannot support hooliganism, vandalism. We cannot allow them to violate the national flag."

The state government, meanwhile, held a meeting today with chairmen and vice-chairmen of 15 development boards working in the hills, which have already constituted a committee to appeal to the people to maintain peace. The chief minister, other ministers, the chief secretary, home secretary were present at the meeting held at the secretariat.

The state government will hold an all party meeting in Siliguri on June 22 for peace in the hills. "I want peace to be restored in the hills," Banerjee said adding that Tourism Minister Goutam Deb and PWD Minister Arup Biswas will take full care of the hills. PTI SCH KK RAX

--- ENDS ---

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A US Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald and a merchant ship collided off the Japan coast early Saturday morning. Nearly seven crew members are reportedly missing.

By AP: Seven crew members are missing and one injured after a US Navy destroyer collided early Saturday morning with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan, the country's coast guard reported.

Footage from the Japanese TV network NHK showed heavy damage to the mid-right side of the Navy ship and a person in a stretcher being lifted to a helicopter.

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The US 7th Fleet said on its Facebook page that the number of injuries is still being determined.

The Japan Coast Guard said it received an emergency call from a Philippine-registered container ship ACX Crystal around 2:20 a.m. (1720 GMT Friday) that it had collided with the USS Fitzgerald southwest of Yokusuka, Japan.

Coast guard official Takeshi Aikawa said seven crew members are unaccounted for, and one had a head injury. Further details of his or her condition were not known.

SHIP PARTLY FLOODED

Relatives of crew members were awaiting news of their loved ones.

"Of course we're nervous and scared and just praying," Rita Schrimsher said by telephone from Athens, Alabama.

Her grandson Jackson Schrimsher is a 23-year-old sailor aboard the USS Fitzgerald. She said she last communicated with him via Facebook messenger on Wednesday.

The Navy's 7th Fleet said the ship experienced flooding in some areas and is heading back to Yokosuka. The fleet said the Fitzgerald has limited propulsion, and the ship suffered damage on the starboard side below the water line.

Aikawa said the US ship is partially flooded because of damage. So far no damage or injuries have been reported on the container ship, he said. NHK reported that the merchant ship had scratches on the left side of its bow.

The Philippine ship is 29,060 tons and is 222.6 meters (730 feet) long, the coast guard said.

The Navy said that the collision occurred 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, a city south of Tokyo that is home to the US Navy's 7th Fleet. A US defense official said there is flooding in three compartments of the Fitzgerald.

The fleet said the USS Dewey, medical assistance and two Navy tugs were being dispatched as quickly as possible and that Naval aircraft were being readied to help. The Japan Coast Guard dispatched five patrol ships and an aircraft carrying medics to the site for search and rescue operations.

The Navy's Pacific Fleet said the extent of injuries and damage to the Fitzgerald are being determined, and the incident is under investigation.

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Also read: Donald Trump confirms he is under investigation for firing James Comey

Also read: Russia says may have killed ISIS chief Baghdadi, US expresses scepticism

Also read: Terrorist or a cat? 5 times ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was reported dead

ALSO WATCH | ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's wife speaks out for the first time

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: interest, says Bhutan

New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Bhutan today assured India that it will not allow its territory to be used for any activity inimical to the interests of its neighbour, as the two sides discussed issues related to border security in Thimpu.

A delegation of Indian officials, led by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Director General (DG) Archana Ramasundaram, met Bhutanese home minister Lyonpo Dawa Gyeltshen and other senior officials from the security establishment of the neighbouring country.

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The DG, a senior SSB official said, gave a presentation to the Bhutanese side as she stated that owing to the open and porous nature of the Indo-Bhutan border "most of the border guarding operations had to be based on prompt sharing of inputs and good intelligence."

Ramasundaram also thanked their counterparts--Royal Bhutan Force--for their cooperation on the border.

"The home minister of Bhutan appreciated the role played by the SSB, especially the action taken by it in recent years that resulted in ending the kidnapping of Bhutanese nationals for ransom.

"The Bhutanese side assured its commitment for not allowing its territory to be used for activities inimical to the interests of India," the SSB said in a statement.

A senior official from the Indian embassy in Thimpu and other senior Bhutanese officials were present during the meeting.

The DG-led delegation is in the neighbouring country for a four-day visit ending June 19.

The Sashastra Seema Bal, that works under the command of the union home ministry, is tasked to guard the 699-km-long Indo-Bhutan border. PTI NES SMJ

--- ENDS ---
'That's madam governor to you': Record 12 women elected to serve in 2023
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Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain in the afternoon. High 62F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 54F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.
The last days of the Newfie Pride

There were many nights he didnt sleep. The numbers and scenarios turned over and over in his mind, making rest impossible. Id get up two, three oclock in the morning, night after night, come out to the kitchen table and work the numbers every ...
At a time when the senior leaders in the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu are flexing muscles over claiming legacy of late former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, the party has silently chosen to settle her medical bills in the Apollo hospitals. A total of Rs 6 crore was paid by the party to the hospital on Friday, around six months after the death of Jayalalithaa.

We decided not to use the peoples tax money but to pay it from the party treasury. We have settled our Ammas medical bills in full and paid Rs 6 crore to Apollo hospitals by way of cheque, Vaigaichelvan, AIADMK spokesperson told THE WEEK.

Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo on September 22, 2016 for fever and dehydration and was treated by a team of expert doctors from London, AIIMS and Chennai till December 5, 2016, when she breathed her last.

According to Dr Richard Beale, the UK based intensivist, who visited Jayalalithaa frequently during her 75 day hospitalisation, the former chief minister was treated for Sepsis. Jayalalithaa came to the hospital with sepsis and she was conscious, Dr Beale had told media in Chennai on February 5, when there were several allegations saying she was killed.

Dr Beale had also said that she had co-morbidities and uncontrolled diabetes. According to him, Jayalalithaa was put on ventilator as sepsis got worse and that the doctors had to give her sleeping medicines. She was on ventilator and we had to give her sleeping medicines. She could not communicate and whenever she was awake she communicated only through signs, he had said.

Trachaeostomy was also performed on her and she responded with sign language and lip reading. The hospitalisation extended for 75 days and required more advanced medical treatments as she became short of breath quite rapidly, according to Beale.

Dr P. Balaji, department head of Minimal Access Surgery, Madras Medical College had earlier said that Jayalalithaas hospitalisation bill was Rs 5.5 crore and the same was forwarded to her family. It was speculated that her family would settle the bills, though as per the government protocol, the medical bills can be settled by the government.

Asked why the AIADMK chose to settle the bills when Dr Balaji had said that the bills were sent to her family, Vaigaichelvan said, Amma is our leader and so the party chose to pay her medical bills.
Darjeeling continued to simmer on Saturday as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)-sponsored indefinite shutdown entered the sixth day, killing five people, including a police officer.

Four GJM activists were killed in a police firing, which was necessitated after an assistant police commissioner of India Reserve Battalion was hacked. He succumbed to the injuries later. Shops remained closed and thousands of tourists have fled the hill station. Hundreds of Gorkha women activists have blocked the road, making it difficult for security forces to take positions.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was already reeling under the pressure of the fast-deteriorating law and order situation in Darjeeling, was dealt another huge blow on Saturday when Harka Bahadur Chetry, one of her key allies in the hills, decided to part ways with her.

A former GJM leader, Chetry formed his own party named Jana Andolan Party (JAP) in 2014. As the shutdown entered the sixth day, he strongly criticised Mamata for turning the hills into a boiling cauldron of resentment. "It's sheer lack of knowledge about the hill affairs, along with high political ambitions, that has brought back the old turmoil in Darjeeling," Chetry told THE WEEK.

Notably, the chief minister herself is the minister-in-charge of Darjeeling affairs.

Chetry fought three elections in the hills with the support of Mamata's Trinamool Congress, but failed to win even once.

He called Mamata's advisers "political novices" and alleged that they misguided her on affairs about the hills. Some of her ministers framed the policy sitting in Kolkata without knowing the reality. They misguided her. The chief minister thought that a win in a single municipality in the hills would lead her to a victory in the entire hills. What's the need of having Bengali language in a Gorkha student's curriculum?" he asked.

The JAP chief attended the all-party meeting held by GJM chief Bimal Gurung. Though the duo fell apart a couple of years ago, Chetry has decided to support the call for a separate state.

"It's an issue of Gorkhas and not of GJM alone. So, we are with them in the movement, though not politically," Chetry told THE WEEK.

Chetry said he has put forth three conditions before Gurung for a joint movement: First, he would have to leave the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and West Bengal assembly. Second, he would have to tell all parties not to take part in the election till Gorkhaland is formed. And last, GJM would have to come out of the NDA if the BJP does not support the cause.

A mere show of support through words for the Gorkhaland is not enough. BJP will have to prove it," he said.

Meanwhile, Gurung has gone missing after raids in his party office yesterday. A source told THE WEEK that "Gurung is monitoring the situation from Nepal border".
It's official. The Centre has given its approval to rename a railway station near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh after Jan Sangh icon and RSS ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. Top sources told THE WEEK that the Union home ministry had cleared the proposal sent by the Yogi Adityanath government to rename Farah Town station as Deendayal Upadhyaya station. The state government will now issue a notification for the same.

Farah Town station will be renamed after the RSS ideologue | Image: Google Map

The station lies close to Upadhyaya's ancestral village, Nagla Chandrabhan in Mathura where he was born in 1916.

The file seeking renaming of Farah Town station to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya station was cleared by Union minister of state for home Hansraj Ahir last week.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited this village to pay homage to the RSS ideologue to mark the first anniversary of the NDA government.

The previous Samajwadi party government in the state had put a spanner in the process when the proposal had earlier landed with the Akhilesh Yadav government. The BJP had been pushing for it months ahead of the assembly polls in the state. The party was keen to revive of the legacy of the Jan Sangh icon.

The Yogi Adityanath government was quick to seek the MHA nod soon after it came to power after the assembly elections. Meanwhile, another proposal to rename the famous Mugalsarai railway station after Deendayal Upadhyaya has also landed at the desk of the home ministry but has not been cleared yet.

The move to rename a station after Upadhyaya coincides with the ambitious plan of the Union culture ministry which is rolling out its biggest project of "cultural mapping" at the birthplace of the the RSS ideologue to celebrate his 100th birth anniversary.

First victory stamp of Yogi government

Mathura had become the centre of politics ahead of the assembly polls in the country's most populous state. The renaming of the station is the first victory stamp of the BJP-led state government. For the saffron party, the renaming would mean the revival of the legacy of Upadhyaya.

As per the government guidelines, renaming of railway stations, towns and cities is done by the Union home ministry which gives a no-objection certificate to the proposal received from the state government. The NOC is given after the ministry receives comments of postal department, Survey of India and other agencies.

Farah Town railway station derives its name from a small town near Mathura which traces its origin back to the Mughal era and finds mention in the 1857 uprising. However, history has paved way for nationalism for now.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the much-awaited Kochi Metro rail in the commercial capital of Kerala on Saturday.

Hailed as India's first integrated multi-mode transport system, the inaugural ceremony of Kerala's first Metro service is being held at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi.

Prior to the inauguration, Prime Minister Modi took the inaugural ride on the metro train from Palarivattom to Pathadippalam. He was also accompanied by a host of dignitaries including Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, 'Metro man' E. Sreedharan and KMRL MD Elias George, during the inaugural ride.

After the formal inaugural function, PM will attend a Patanjali yoga camp and release a book commemorating 'Reading Day'.

The Prime Minister will also chair a meeting with Chief Minister Vijayan and other cabinet ministers at 1 pm to discuss developmental activities implemented in the state, after which he will return to Delhi.

Work on Kochi Metro began in 2012 after the Oommen Chandy government entrusted the project to Delhi Metro Rail Corp, with its principal advisor Sreedharan overseeing it.

It is also the countys first fully-integrated metro, which means that with one ticket, a commuter can travel in feeder services along road and water.
Learn outside the box, says NITI Aayog

Vijaya Pushkarna

Don't bother about classes and books. Just tinker away and innovate. Focus on books and classroom lessons only when examinations are round the corner. That is what Amitab Kant, CEO of the National Institute for Transformation of India (NITI) Aayog says. They want to disrupt the education system as it stands today.

It is almost in sync with what Prime Minister Narendra Modi once said in his Man ki Baat, though a bit differently. Don't get stressed with classroom studies; play and de-stress, according to him.

Kant wants children to play around in the Atal Innovation Labs designed to spur creativity, and equipped with state of the art stuff like 3D printers, robotics, electronic development tools and sensors. He says India does not need a driverless car for now, but he would like the students hereIndiansto find solutions to the country's problems through innovation.

India's position in the Global Innovation Index 2017 has gone up six ranks from last year.

NITI Aayog has, for sometime now, focused on innovation through its Atal Innovation Mission. But it is only recently that it has decided to take the idea of innovation to really young peoplestudents of classes six to 12! Now it has decided to set up 1,500 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across the country by the end of this year.

The Aayog intends on getting big names to mentor students. Those who come up with grand innovations will get all the help with IP rights.

The best part is that the use of ATLs will be open to students of other schools in the neighbourhood. Even the school dropouts and others in the neighbourhood can tinker around and tap their unknown potential.

Kant feels this is the most transformative thing to foster a culture of innovation.

Russia's growing cosiness with China, Pak worries India

Rekha Dixit

This was a week when news that Russia, India's oldest friend, was offering to mediate between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue. The news originated in Islamabad, with various versions, one of which was that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself told Pakistani Prime minister Nawaz Sharif of his readiness to be mediator. The rest of the week was spent by Russia and India hotly denying such an incident ever happened. India has always maintained that its issues with Pakistan will be addressed bilaterally. "It is my understanding that Russia is very well aware of India's consistent position to address all outstanding issues with Pakistan bilaterallyin an environment free of terror and violence,'' said MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay. Soon, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a release which said, "In connection with reports appearing in the Pakistani media ... about Russia's readiness to act as a mediator on the settlement of the Kashmir issue, we would like to emphasise that the Russian position remains principled and unchanged..."

It added that the differences should be sorted bilaterally in accordance with the provisions of the Shomla agreement 1972 and Lahore Agreement 1999. "Russia is interested in good neighbourly relations between India and Pakistan. This would contribute to security and stability in the region..."

Russia's cosying up with Pakistan and China in recent times has caused concern among the mandarins of Raisina Hill, though they mask the worry lines on the brow with some great diplomatese.

Neeru Chadha to be the first Indian woman on board the International Tribunal for Law of the Seas

Rekha Dixit

Neeru Chadha was elected as the first Indian woman on board the International Tribunal for Law of the Seas this week, with the most votes in the Asia Pacific Group. ITLOS is an inter-governmental organisation under the United Nations and has a set of 21 judges. The convention regulates an international framework for all ocean space, its uses and resources. It also has an International Seabed Authority to regulate mining beyond national boundaries. The Italian Marines case is being arbitrated by the ITLOS.
President Donald Trump acknowledged on Friday he is under investigation in a probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential race and possible collusion by his campaignand seemed to assail the Justice Department official overseeing the inquiry.

Robert Mueller, the special counsel named by the department to investigate the Russia matter, is now examining whether Trump or others sought to obstruct the probe, a person familiar with the inquiry said on Thursday.

"I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt," Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to his May 9 dismissal of James Comey.

Trump did not identify "the man" but appeared to be questioning the integrity of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department's No 2 official who appointed Mueller on May 17, supervises the probe and wrote a memo to Trump critical of Comey that preceded Comey's firing.

Hours later, a source close to Trump's outside legal team said Trump did not intend his tweet to be confirmation of the investigation but rather was reacting to a media report on Wednesday about the probe. The source spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rosenstein has said privately he may need to recuse himself from matters relating to the Russia probe because he could become a witness in the investigation, media reported on Friday. Reports said Rosenstein told Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand she would have authority over the probe if he were to step aside.

The Democratic National Committee called on Rosenstein to recuse himself from the Russia matter, but it said authority over the investigation should be given to Mueller and not another Trump appointee.

While the Republican Trump administration initially said Rosenstein's letter was the reason the president fired Comey on May 9, Trump later said he did so because of the "Russia thing."

Comey told a Senate panel last week he believed Trump fired him to undermine the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Russia probe. Comey testified that Trump directed him in February to drop an FBI investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn relating to the Russia matter.

Comey testified it would be up to Mueller to decide whether Trump's action amounted to obstruction of justice, an act that could be cited in any effort in the Republican-led Congress to impeach him and remove him from office.

The Russia issue has cast a shadow over Trump's five months in office.

In another indication of the seriousness of the probe, Michael Cohen, a personal attorney to Trump, said he has retained attorney Stephen Ryan, a former assistant US attorney, to represent him in the ongoing probes. Cohen has received a subpoena from one of the congressional committees looking into the Russia issue.

Rosenstein has authority over the inquiry because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself on March 2 after revelations of previously undisclosed meetings with Russia's ambassador to Washington while he was a Trump campaign adviser.

Brand was confirmed as the No 3 Justice Department official on a 52-46 vote in the Senate on May 18, with Democrats lining up against her.

From 2011 until her confirmation, she was a lawyer for the US Chamber of Commerce business lobbying group's legal arm, which played a major role in marshalling legal opposition to environmental and labour regulations championed by Democratic former President Barack Obama.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Senate Intelligence Committee member, said she was "increasingly concerned" Trump would try to fire not only Mueller, but also Rosenstein.

"The message the president is sending through his tweets is that he believes the rule of law doesn't apply to him and that anyone who thinks otherwise will be fired," Feinstein said.

A Trump confidant said this week the president had considered firing Mueller. Rosenstein, who would be responsible for actually dismissing Mueller, told U.S. lawmakers he would fire him only with good cause.

US intelligence agencies concluded in January that Russia interfered in the presidential race to try to help Trump win, in part by hacking and releasing emails damaging to his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Moscow has denied any interference. The White House denies any collusion.

Trump kept up his criticism of the investigations, writing on Twitter, "After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my 'collusion with the Russians,' nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!"
President Donald Trump on Friday ordered tighter restrictions on Americans travelling to Cuba and a clampdown on US business dealings with the Caribbean islands military, saying he was cancelling former President Barack Obama's "terrible and misguided deal" with Havana.

Laying out his new Cuba policy in a speech in Miami, Trump signed a presidential directive rolling back parts of Obamas historic opening to the Communist-ruled country after a 2014 diplomatic breakthrough between the two former Cold War foes.

But Trump left in place many of Obamas changes, including the reopened US embassy in Havana, even as he sought to show he was making good on a campaign promise to take a tougher line against Cuba, especially over its human rights record.

"We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer," Trump told a cheering crowd in Miamis Cuban-American enclave of Little Havana, including Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who helped forge the new restrictions on Cuba.

"Effective immediately, I am cancelling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump declared as he made a full-throated assault on the government of Cuban President Raul Castro.

Trumps revised approach calls for stricter enforcement of a longtime ban on Americans going to Cuba as tourists, and seeks to prevent US dollars from being used to fund what the Trump administration sees as a repressive military-dominated government.

But, facing pressure from US businesses and even some fellow Republicans to avoid turning back the clock completely in relations with Cuba, the president chose to leave intact some of his Democratic predecessor's steps towards normalization. The new policy bans most US business transactions with the Armed Forces Business Enterprises Group, a Cuban conglomerate involved in all sectors of the economy. But it makes some exceptions, including for air and sea travel, according to US officials. This will essentially shield US airlines and cruise lines serving the island.

"We do not want US dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba," Trump said, pledging that US sanctions would not be lifted until Cuba frees political prisoners and holds free elections.

While the changes are far-reaching, they appear to be less sweeping than many US pro-engagement advocates had feared.

Trump based his partial reversal of Obamas Cuba measures largely on human rights grounds.

His critics, however, have questioned why his administration is now singling out Cuba for human rights abuses but downplaying the issue in other parts of the world, including Saudi Arabia, a close US ally Trump visited last month where political parties and protests are banned.

Trump, however, stopped short of breaking diplomatic relations restored in 2015 after more than five decades of hostilities. He also will not cut off recently resumed direct US-Cuba commercial flights or cruise-ship travel, though his more restrictive policy seems certain to dampen new economic ties overall.

The administration, according to one White House official, has no intention of disrupting existing business ventures such as one struck under Obama by Starwood Hotels Inc, which is owned by Marriott International Inc, to manage a historic Havana hotel. Nor does Trump plan to reinstate limits that Obama lifted on the amount of the islands coveted rum and cigars that Americans can bring home for personal use. Still, it will be the latest attempt by Trump to overturn parts of Obama's presidential legacy. He has already pulled the United States out of a major international climate treaty and is trying to scrap his predecessor's landmark healthcare programme.

When Obama announced the detente in 2014, he said that decades of US efforts to achieve change in Cuba by isolating the island had failed and it was time to try a new approach.

Critics of the rapprochement said Obama was giving too much away without extracting concessions from the Cuban government. Castro's government has clearly stated it does not intend to change its one-party political system.

Trump aides say Obamas efforts amounted to "appeasement" and have done nothing to advance political freedoms in Cuba, while benefiting the Cuban government financially.

"It's hard to think of a policy that makes less sense than the prior administration's terrible and misguided deal with the Castro regime," Trump said in Miami.

International human rights groups say, however, that renewed US efforts to isolate the island could worsen the situation by empowering Cuban hard-liners.

The Cuban government, which has made clear it will not be pressured into reforms, had no immediate comment.

But ordinary Cubans said they were crestfallen to be returning to an era of frostier relations with the United States with potential economic fallout for them.

"It's like we are returning to the Cold War," said Cuban designer Idania del Rio, who joined a group of friends in a hotel in Old Havana to watch the speech in English on CNN.

Trump announced his new approach at the Manuel Artime Theater in the heart of the United States' largest Cuban-American and Cuban exile community, whose support aides believe helped him win Florida in the election.

The venue is named after a leader of the failed US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 against Fidel Castros revolutionary government.

I have trust in Trump to do the right thing when it comes to Cuba, said Jorge Saurez, 66, a retired physician in Little Havana.

Trumps vow to keep the broader decades-old U.S. economic embargo on Cuba firmly in place drew criticism from some US farmers, especially growers of corn, soybeans and rice. Obamas detente has already lifted exports and raised hopes for more gains, which they said were now in doubt.

Mexicos foreign ministry urged the United States and Cuba to resolve their differences "via dialogue."

But Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose leftist government is Cuba's main regional ally, slammed Trump's tightening of restrictions as an "offence" against Latin America.

"His speech was aggressive and threatening, ... revealing his contempt and ignorance," President Nicolas Maduro said in a speech. "We reject Donald Trump's declarations against our brother Cuba. It is an offence against Latin America."

The biggest change in travel policy will be that Americans making educational people-to-people trips, one of the most popular authorized categories, can no longer go to the island on their own but only on group tours. Trump's aides said the aim was to close off a path for Americans seeking beach vacations in a country where US tourism is still officially banned.
The devastating fire that struck a high-rise tower in London may have been so powerful that it destroyed much of the DNA evidence needed to identify its victims.

As firefighters keep searching the charred ruins of the Grenfell Tower public housing complex with sniffer dogs and drones, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy said there was a risk that, sadly, we may not be able to identify everybody.

Experts said the intensity of Wednesdays fire at the 24-story building will make naming victims extremely difficult, drawing comparisons to the 2001 World Trade Center terror attacks in New York, where 40 percent of the victims were never identified.

When you have a fire that takes hold like that, that is literally an inferno. You get a lot of fragmentation of bodies, charring of bones and sometimes all thats left is ash, said Peter Vanezis, a professor of forensic medical sciences at Queen Mary University in London.

He said the temperature of the blaze at Grenfell Tower was comparable to a cremation.

The longer a fire burns, the less chance you have that there will be enough DNA left to test, Vanezis said. Still, he said if people were protected by any surrounding furniture or debris, its possible there might be some viable DNA.

Vanezis said the best chance to identify victims may be if officials find any remaining bits of teeth or bone, which are usually the last parts of the body to be destroyed. He said sophisticated techniques could be used to amplify the DNA, but noted such tests can only identify a persons family, not the individual.

Vanezis added that medical devices like a pacemaker or any artificial implants could be used to identify people by finding their registration details.

Another complicating factor is that much of the DNA material that would normally be used to help pinpoint victims  like toothbrushes or combs  were probably also incinerated in the blaze.

Even if we get some DNA, the question will be, do we have anything to compare it to? said Denise Syndercombe Court, a forensic science expert at Kings College London.

In those cases, Syndercombe Court said experts would need a DNA sample from other family members or need to see if there are any reference samples available elsewhere, like a hospital blood or tissue test.

Syndercombe Court said even tiny fragments of teeth or bone could help, explaining that DNA tests can be run on as few as 10 to 20 cells. She said many identifications would probably be done via dental records, predicting that such samples would be more likely found from people who died of smoke inhalation, rather than those killed by the fire itself.

Syndercombe Court said the testing process would likely take months, as officials scour through remains, search for things like comparison DNA and go through a lengthy verification process.

People wont want to give up easily, she said, adding that officials would likely also encounter other obstacles, like trying to find people who werent expected to be at the tower or differentiating between siblings where little DNA remains.

The timing of the fire  after the recent deadly attacks in Manchester and London  also doesnt help.

The capacity of labs to do this kind of testing is limited, Syndercombe Court said. Theyre already working on forensic evidence from Manchester and London. This just adds to the backlog.

As of Friday, London police said 30 people have died in the Grenfell blaze. Britains Press Association has reported that some 70 people are still missing after the fire, based on a compilation of verified reports.

(AP)
In a significant move, ISIS for a first time is claiming responsibility for a terrorist attack in Israel, the Friday night fatal stabbing/shooting attack near Shar Shechem in Yerushalayim. Border policewoman Hadas Malka HYD, 23, fell in the line of duty. Other were less seriously injured.

While ISIS boasted it carried out the attack, a Hamas spokesman also claimed credit for the attack. ISIS Amaq news agency said, soldiers of the caliphate attacked and the attack will not be the last.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri claims two of the terrorists are aligned with the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) and the third Hamas.

Fearing copycat attacks, Israel has revoked 250,000 permits for PA (Palestinian Authority) residents who planned to visit family inside Green Line Israel during Ramadan as well as work permits. Permits permitting them to visit mosques for prayer were not revoked however. PM Netanyahu met with senior cabinet members and senior security officials, deciding on move to cancel the permits.

IDF sources report all three visited Har Habayis to pray in the mosque before perpetrating the attack. They were from the village of Dir el-Meshal. Two were known to be affiliated with a local cell and not working for either ISIS or Hamas. They were imprisoned in Israel in the past for rock and firebomb attacks.

Police on Sultan Suleiman Street came under attack with knives and guns in two different but close venues. They managed to kill two of the terrorists. The third terrorist was eliminated as well, but not before he succeeded in fatally stabbing the border policewoman. Another border policeman was wounded, Bchasdei Hashem, less seriously. He sustained shrapnel injuries and was listed in light condition upon arrival in the hospital. They were both transported to the trauma center of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, where Malka was pronounced dead.

A 22 and 40-year-old man were also injured, both transported to the emergency room of Shaare Zedek Hospital emergency room listed in moderate condition from gunshot wounds.

The levaya for the fallen border policewoman, Sgt. Hadas Malka HYD, 23, will take place tonight, motzei Shabbos at 12:30AM in the Ashdod Military Cemetery.

The photo below is the ISIS statement released claiming responsibility for the attack. The photo above is that of the slain terrorists.

Published on motzei Shabbos in Eretz Yisrael.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
More than three million workers are spurning an average 650 a year of free pension cash from employers, new research reveals.

Many people fail to take advantage of 'matched contributions' to their pension pots beyond a basic minimum percentage of their earnings, although further top-ups are frequently available, particularly from large employers.

Getting your hands on this buy one, get one free pension cash involves shovelling extra money into your pot, but it can be a cost-effective strategy, according to finance giant Royal London.

Pension plan: Many people work for large employers who are willing to step up contributions if you save more towards retirement

For example, an employer might automatically match 3 per cent of your earnings as its minimum contribution to your pension already.

But they might be willing to make 4 per cent, 5 per cent or 6 per cent in matching contributions if you opt to save a higher proportion of your income.

If you can afford to do this, you will also receive more pension tax relief from the Government than you would have done on the extra money saved towards retirement.

So it can be advantageous to divert savings to your pension to get this extra employer money, rather than sticking it in a cash Isa or other account - although it does mean you will be locking it up until retirement rather than having readier access to your funds.

Royal London estimates some 3.2million workers are missing out on 2billion a year, or 650 on average, by not receiving free employer matched contribution cash.

Its analysis was based on the number of people who work in larger firms, typical levels of employer matching contributions, and estimated take-up of matching contributions.

It says a survey of a large sample of pension schemes found that some 44 per cent of workers just contribute at the minimum level, 27 per cent pay in between the minimum and maximum, and 29 per cent choose to save at the maximum level.

'Lots of people work for firms who will add generously to their pension scheme if they are willing to save beyond the basic minimum, but take-up of this offer is generally very poor,' says policy director Steve Webb.

'At a time when wages are not growing much and we wonder how people can find the money to save for a pension, missing out on "free" money in this way  and perhaps saving in a cash Isa instead  looks like a really questionable strategy.'

Webb adds: 'Getting your employer to contribute more to your pension can be a very cost-effective strategy.

Steve Webb: 'Lots of people work for firms who will add generously to their pension scheme if they are willing to save beyond the basic minimum'

'When individuals are thinking about where to put their money to get the best return, the chance to more than double your money through an employer contribution and tax relief from the Government takes a lot of beating. Find out below how much you could boost your pension pot.

Much more needs to be done to make workers aware of the money their employer will add to their pension if they are willing to contribute at a slightly higher level.

'Employees need to find out if their employer offers additional matching pension contributions and give serious consideration to increasing their contributions if they can afford to so.'

Royal London says household name employers who offer to match additional pension contributions from their employees include Vodafone, Next, BAE Systems, Tesco, and Royal Mail.

And the firm highlights a recent effort by Nationwide's pension scheme to get more staff to benefit from matched contributions.

'Despite offering a generous additional employer matched contribution for those who saved more than the minimum, only around one in 10 members of the scheme were taking full advantage.

'Nationwide switched to making the maximum contribution the standard for employees, leaving them free to opt for a lower contribution if they wished. Now more than eight in 10 members are benefiting from the maximum employer match.'
MBABANE  I should be out by now. Former KaPhunga Member of Parliament Charles Myeza says if his prison term was properly computed he would have been released from the confines of His Majestys Correctional Service.



He has filed an urgent application in the High Court where he is seeking an order compelling Commissioner General Mzuthini Ntshangase and the Hhohho regional commissioner to calculate his sentence to include the royal pardons of 2015 and 2016 respectively and remissions in terms of the Prison Act.



Myeza is serving a sentence of five years imprisonment for fraud after receiving about E600 000 from government in respect of electrical services not rendered and or partly rendered by his company, PPC Electrical (Pty) Ltd way back in 2005.



He said when he was sentenced on August 22, 2013 his sentence would have run until August 22, 2018, since the Prison Act provides for remission of four months per year and this means his sentence of 60 months gets reduced by 20 months. According to Myeza, taking into account the remission, his sentence could have ended on December 22, 2016. He said this is notwithstanding that his pardon of 2015 and 2016 as per Prerogative of Mercy of the King was allegedly not computed.



He submitted that to date, he has spent 47 months in prison and believes that no remission was effected on his sentence.

Myeza, who is represented by Leo Ndvuna Dlamini of S.A. Nkosi Attorneys, was released from custody after he filed an appeal.

He was released pending compilation of a proper High Court record. He mentioned that he was not released on bail, which means his sentence was still running.



The former MP said the King announced the respective Prerogative of Mercy in 2015, 2016 and 2017, which was an entitlement of every prisoner who at the time had a remaining sentence of 13 or more months remaining.

He said of the announcement of amnesty meant that the prisoners sentences should be reduced by six months. Myeza said he is entitled to a reduction of 12 months since the 2017 pardon was effected on his sentence.



It should be noted that applicant (Myeza) was a convict when the amnesties were pronounced and as such he was equally entitled to benefit from these amnesties.

It is clear from the continued incarceration that the applicant in this regard did not get any computation on the basis of the amnesties hereof. The refusal of the first and second respondents (Ntshangase and regional commissioner) to take into account this constitutional right is a violation of the Constitution, he stated.
MBABANE  Police are making headway in solving the mystery surrounding the alleged kidnapping of Matsapha businessman Almor Oliveira.



The police have established that Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) tests from Oliveiras hair roots collected from his home match the results of blood stains found on Qing Ming Hes licensed firearm.

Also, DNA results from tissue paper found at the scene of the alleged kidnapping at Matsapha Industrial Site match Oliveiras hair follicles.



It is just over two months since the businessman was allegedly kidnapped at his business premises on April 16.

Ming He and his girlfriend, Dao Thanta Hue, have been arrested and charged with the kidnapping of Oliveira and were recently charged with murder.

The DNA tests were conducted by Senior Forensic Analyst and Reporting Officer Regina Cicilia Janse Van Rensburg, who is attached to the Biology Section of the Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria, South Africa. The results form part of the evidence against the suspects.



According to the forensic report, the tests were conducted on the blood from around and inside the barrel of the firearm and inside its top cover.

Van Rensburg stated in the forensic report that the most conservative occurrence for the DNA result from the blood stains of Mings firearm was 1 (one) in 10 million trillion people.

During their bail hearing at the Mbabane Magistrates Court, which was dismissed by Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi, Senior Crown Counsel Macebo Nxumalo told the court that blood samples would determine whether Ming and Hue were linked to the kidnapping of Oliveira.



The businessmans whereabouts remain unknown.

In a bid to ascertain whether the duo was linked to the kidnapping, Nxumalo applied for an order to take the blood sample from Ming He, who is Chinese and Hue, a Vietnamese national.

Upon receipt of the test results, he successfully applied for leave to file new evidence during the suspects appeal of the principal magistrates decision to deny them bail. They advanced nine grounds of appeal.



Instructed



Leo Gama represented Hue while Advocate Mduduzi Mabila, who was instructed by Noncedo Ndlangamandla of Mabila Attorneys, appeared on Mings behalf.
SIDVOKODVO  Farmers should treat and take care of their livestock the same way they do to their brothers and sisters in order to get the best out of it.



These were the words of His Majesty King Mswati III when he officially opened the Old Mutual Swaziland Agrifund project at Sidvokodvo.

His Majesty said one would wonder why Swaziland was faced with a shortage of milk yet the nation had a lot of cattle. He said the challenge was the traditional ways Swazis use to rear and milk cattle.

We usually tie both hind legs and sometimes beat the cow while driving it to be milked. This makes it uncomfortable, spiritually depressed and unhappy to give out milk willingly. That is why sometimes the cattle kick the bucket and spill the milk.



Making an example of what happens in Asia, he said animals were massaged, given beer to drink, music played so that it dances and the product they get was at high level.

Sophisticated

It is time for Swazis to get sophisticated ways like this farm. This farm should be an eye opener and Swazis should come to learn best practices on how to rear and milk dairy cows.

The King said the project was in line with the national goal of food security in the country and its scale was in line with the countrys vision of attaining First World status by 2022 because of the mechanism put in place.



He then challenged more Swazis to join the partnership so that such farms could be established in all the four regions of the country. Such a move would help local farmers to sell their milk to the farm because of the good storage facilities and neighbouring countries could bring theirs to Swaziland and as a result, sufficient milk could be achieved.

His Majesty emphasised that food sufficiency was the countrys pillar of strength. He said coming from a severe drought that affected food production capacity and destroying livestock, the nation had a huge gap to fill in repositioning the agricultural value chain.
EFFINGHAM -- HSHS St. Anthonys Memorial Hospital will host its next monthly "Walk With a Doc" walking program at 9 a.m. Saturday at the TREC Trail and at 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Ballard Nature Center.

For the Saturday event, walkers should meet in the Effingham Performance Center parking lot. For those unable to walk on the trail, a doctor will be available to walk with them in the EPC parking lot.

Participants will walk with Dr. Ryan Jennings, who is St. Anthonys chief medical officer, and other health care professionals, who will provide support to the walkers and answer questions during the walk.

This is a free program, and pre-registration is not required. Walks will be held monthly on the third Saturday of each month. When there is inclement weather, the walks will be held at the Village Square Mall.

For cases of inclement weather, check the hospitals Facebook page at www.facebook.com/StAnthonysMemorialHospital or listen to local radio stations for notices about cancellation or changes in location.

Walk With a Doc was created by Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist who practices at Mount Carmel Health Systems in Columbus, Ohio. He has been walking every weekend since 2005. The expansion and support of the program is thanks to Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

For more information about St. Anthonys Memorial Hospital, visit St. Anthonys website at stanthonyshospital.org. To learn more about the Walk With a Doc program, visit walkwithadoc.org.
MANZINI  For 22 years a man has been unknowingly raising a child whom his wife had following an illicit affair with CANGO Director, Emmanuel Ndlangamandla.



The child has since completed school and last weekend moved out of the Dlamini homestead where she has always lived.

This was three years after she, her mother and Ndlangamandla conducted a paternity test that confirmed she was indeed Ndlangamandlas daughter and not Dlaminis.

The Swazi News is in possession of the DNA results that put the probability of Ndlangamandla being the father at 99.999%.



Bonginkosi Dlamini said he married Dudu Agnes Dlamini (nee Mamba) in 1993, after three years of living together.

He said in 1995, Dudu fell pregnant and delivered a baby girl, whom he and the whole family were made to believe was a Dlamini.

The distraught Dlamini, who feels betrayed, shared how he even participated in the registration of the childs birth certificate and raised her knowing that it was his, together with the two who were born after her.

When the child was still at primary school, he said they would hear rumours suggesting that he was not the childs biological father, but another man was.



These rumours were accompanied by neighbours reports that they would sometimes see a certain car picking his wife and the child up to a certain place and returning them later on.

In 2012, his family convened a meeting trying to ascertain the truth around the rumours but his wife denied that the child had another father apart from him.

The family convened another meeting in 2013 after the child left during school holidays and returned wearing a goat-skin wristband, which she was said to have been given by her other fathers family, whom she was introduced to over the holidays.



The wristband culturally signifies that a family has slaughtered a beast, whether cow or goat to celebrate whether a persons recovery from illness or an accomplishment such as graduation or promotion at work. For children, it is usually for welcoming the child into the family.



During this meeting, my wife requested that I excuse the meeting so that she could confide to the family. She then confessed that the child was born out of an illicit affair with one Ndlangamandla. During the same year the family held another family meeting where they invited the wifes brother and also notified him that the child needed to be taken away because she did not belong to the Dlamini family.
LOBAMBA  It was one excuse after another as over 40 civil servants yesterday confessed how they spent over E16 million meant for the Community Poverty Reduction Fund (CPRF).



The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was left astounded as they learned how administrators of the funds themselves had personally taken a piece of the pie.

The fund was established by His Majesty King Mswati III in 2010 to help reduce poverty, but it would seem that the majority of the beneficiaries were employed civil servants who include teachers, police officers, the army and even officials from the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development who were the custodians of the fund.



As soon as the money started being released, each of them applied for loans and seven years later, a majority of them have not paid even a cent back.

The money was supposed to be paid back within a period of five years, as the fund was intended to be a revolving one with 7.5 per cent interest. Instead of starting business projects, some of the officers used the funds to pay for their childrens university fees in South Africa.



One account that shocked the PAC was from Buyisile Xaba a Community Development Officer (CDO) at the Tinkhundla ministry, who admitted before the committee that she had used the money to pay for her childs tuition at the University of Johannesburg.

She said initially she had borrowed the E40 000 to start a hawking or peddling business where she would purchase stock from Johannesburg and Mozambique.

Xaba said, however, the person whom she had tasked with running the business would sometimes use the money and it turned out that her child who was pursuing oncology could not study in Swaziland as there was no radiation therapy machinery. She then asked the PAC if she could make payments at E1 300 per month over 36 months.



Matsanjeni North MP Phila Buthelezi wondered what kind of poverty reduction Xaba had been doing if she was bold enough to say that she had taken her child to the university.

Another officer an assistant account at same ministry also told the PAC that he was one of the main culprits as he had borrowed E100 000 from the fund, where he then bought a toilet paper roll making machine and packaging material.

The officer, Dingiswayo Mthethwa told the PAC that he had even secured a contract with all Pick n Pay stores to supply them with the toilet paper.
The world faces the prospect of more tension with China over trade, security and human rights after Xi Jinping awarded himself another five-year term as leader of the ruling Communist Party and called for self-reliance in technology, a stronger military and protection of core interests abroad. At a party congress, Xi gave no sign of plans to change the "zero-COVID strategy that has frustrated Chinas public and disrupted business and trade. He called for faster military development and announced no change in policies that strain relations with Washington and Asian neighbors. Xi is tightening control at home and trying to use Chinas economic heft to increase its influence abroad.
New York

Online retail giant Amazon is making a bold expansion into physical stores with a $13.7 billion deal to buy Whole Foods, setting the stage for radical retail experiments that could revolutionize how people buy groceries and everything else.

Amazon will be able to use automation and data analysis to draw more customers to stores while helping Whole Foods cut costs  and perhaps prices  and better tailor its offerings to customers.

Amazon, meanwhile, will be able to use hundreds of Whole Foods stores as distribution hubs  not just for delivering groceries but as pickup centers for what customers order online.

"The conventional grocery store should feel threatened and incapable of responding," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

Moody's lead retail analyst Charlie O'Shea said the deal could be "transformative, not just for food retail, but for retail in general."

Amazon already offers grocery-delivery services in five markets, but analysts say expansion is tough because its current distribution centers are set up for dried goods, not perishables. Just two years ago, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that Amazon's foray into grocery delivery would be "Amazon's Waterloo."

But it was Whole Foods that fell behind as shoppers found "good enough" alternatives to the organic and natural foods it helped popularize.

Founded in 1978, Whole Foods has seen its sales slump and in February said it no longer saw the potential for expanding its flagship chain to 1,200 locations, up from about 460 in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It also had announced a board shake-up and cost-cutting plan amid pressure from activist investor Jana Partners.

Groceries are already a fiercely competitive business, with low-cost rivals like Aldi putting pressure on traditional supermarket chains and another discounter, Lidl, opening its first U.S. stores just this week. Whole Foods itself had launched an offshoot chain named after its "365" private label brand in a nod to the popularity of no-frills chains.

The Amazon-Whole Foods combination could put even more pressure on those chains and other big grocery sellers. Walmart, which has the largest share of the U.S. food market, has been working on lowering prices, while Target has been struggling to turn around its grocery business.

Amazon could have built up its groceries business without acquisitions, but that would have been costly and time-consuming, said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.

With Whole Foods, Amazon gets an established business that it can transform through its technology and supply network expertise. And it should be able to bring cost-cutting technologies, such as robots to move inventory around, while the company gets a better picture of customers by marrying data from Amazon and Whole Foods' loyalty programs.

That, in turn, could help Amazon do better with pricing and promotions, branding and the overall store experience, said Robert Hetu, a retail analyst at Gartner.

Amazon also has been testing automation technology at a Seattle convenience store that's currently open only to Amazon employees. The store uses sensors to track items as shoppers put them into baskets or return them to the shelf. The shopper's Amazon account gets automatically charged.

Hetu said Amazon isn't likely to bring that to Whole Foods right away but could deploy pieces of it to further cut costs. Both companies said there will be no layoffs, but did not respond to other questions about Amazon's plans for Whole Foods.

Whole Foods has had a reputation of high prices and has been derided sometimes as "Whole Paycheck." That could change if Amazon not only cuts operational costs but passes those savings onto customers.

"As Amazon has more resources, they might be able to streamline some efficiencies for Whole Foods, allowing the retailer to offer its organic and more sustainable products at more affordable prices," said Lauren Beitelspacher, a marketing professor at Babson College in Wellesley Hills, Mass. "I think that this might be an opportunity for consumers who have felt that Whole Foods is inaccessible."

Amazon will use technology (automation and data) to save Whole Foods, while Whole Foods will improve Amazon distribution  not just for groceries but other stuff as well. For customers, this could mean better prices and delivery options.

"Dominant players like Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and Target now have to look over their shoulders at the Amazon train coming down the tracks," O'Shea said.

Online delivery of groceries so far has been tough for any company to pull off because of customers' concerns about the quality of meat and produce, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said. But if customers know that what they are getting is the same as what they'd get at the local store, they are more likely to try it out.

Pachter said even if Amazon gets 20 million members of its Prime loyalty program to pay $15 a month extra for AmazonFresh grocery-delivery service, that's 20 million not going to traditional supermarkets. He added these are likely the higher-income households who tend to buy more expensive brands and cuts of meat.
Niagara Falls

A man who occupied a fleeting spotlight after surviving a plunge over Niagara Falls without protection in 2003 has died after he went over again, this time during an apparent stunt with an inflatable ball, police said Friday.

The body of 53-year-old Kirk R. Jones was pulled out of the water June 2 in Youngstown, where the Niagara River feeds into Lake Ontario.

The empty ball had been found earlier in the rapids above the American Falls, one of three falls known collectively as Niagara Falls.

New York state park police said they believe Jones was in Niagara Falls on April 19 and may have tried to go over the falls in the large ball.

"The attempted stunt was unsuccessful, which resulted in the demise of Mr. Jones," the park police said in a news release.

Although such stunts are illegal, several daredevils have survived trips in various contraptions, beginning with Annie Edison Taylor, who rode over in an oak barrel in 1901.

Investigators did not return calls seeking further detail about what happened to Jones.

Jones, at the time an unemployed salesman from Canton, Mich., gained celebrity in October 2003, when he became the first person known to survive the 180-foot plunge over Niagara Falls without a safety device. In 1960, 7-year-old Roger Woodward was swept over the falls wearing a life jacket and survived.

A Canadian court fined Jones $2,260 and banned him from the park for a year. After his court appearance in December 2003, he said depression had led him to climb down an embankment and float feet first over the falls but "all my problems were left at the bottom of that gorge." He described the water like an ice bath and the pressure so great "I thought it would rip the head from my body."

Jones began touring with the Toby Tyler Circus in Texas in 2004. His celebrity eventually faded, and he had not been in the public eye in recent years. Police listed his current address as Spring Hill, Fla.

Attempts to reach several relatives and friends were unsuccessful Friday.

At least two other men have survived unprotected plunges over the falls since Jones did it.
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Washington

President Donald Trump acknowledged for the first time Friday that he is under federal investigation as part of the expanding probe into Russia's election meddling. He lashed out at a top Justice Department official overseeing the inquiry, reflecting his mounting frustration with the unrelenting controversy that has consumed his presidency.

"I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt," the president wrote on Twitter.

His morning missive apparently referred to Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who is leading the federal investigation.

The White House has used a memo he wrote to justify Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, but that Trump action may now be part of the probe. Thursday night, Rosenstein issued an unusual statement complaining about leaks in the case.

Trump advisers and confidants describe the president as increasingly angry over the investigation, yelling at television sets in the White House carrying coverage and insisting he is the target of a conspiracy to discredit  and potentially end  his presidency. Some of his ire is aimed at Rosenstein and investigative special counsel Robert Mueller, both of whom the president believes are biased against him, associates say.

Aides have counseled the president to stay off Twitter and focus on other aspects of his job.
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Miami

President Donald Trump declared Friday he was restoring some travel and economic restrictions on Cuba that were lifted as part of the Obama administration's historic easing. He challenged the communist government of Raul Castro to negotiate a better deal for Cubans and Cuban-Americans.

Announcing the rollback of President Barack Obama's diplomatic opening during a speech in Miami, Trump said Cuba had secured far too many concessions from the U.S. in the "misguided" deal but "now those days are over." He said penalties on Cuba would remain in place until its government releases political prisoners, stops abusing dissidents and respects freedom of expression.

"America has rejected the Cuban people's oppressors," Trump said in a crowded, sweltering auditorium. "They are rejected officially today  rejected."

Though Trump's announcement stops short of a full reversal of the Cuba rapprochement, it targets the travel and economic engagement between the countries that has blossomed in the short time since relations were restored. The goal is to halt the flow of U.S. cash to the country's military and security services in a bid to increase pressure on Cuba's government.

Embassies in Havana and Washington will remain open. U.S. airlines and cruise ships will still be allowed to serve the island 90 miles south of Florida. The "wet foot, dry foot" policy, which once let most Cuban migrants stay if they made it to U.S. soil but was terminated under Obama, will remain terminated. Remittances to Cuba won't be cut off.

But individual "people-to-people" trips by Americans to Cuba, allowed by Obama for the first time in decades, will again be prohibited. And the U.S. government will police other such trips to ensure there's a tour group representative along making sure travelers are pursuing a "full-time schedule of educational exchange activities."

Trump described his move as an effort to ramp up pressure to create a "free Cuba" after more than half a century of communism.

"I do believe that end is in the very near future," he said.

Trump's move was a direct rebuke to Obama, for whom the diplomatic opening with Cuba was a central accomplishment of his presidency. The new president's action is broadly opposed by American business groups.

In Cuba, Granma, the official organ of the nation's Communist Party, covered Friday's speech in a real-time blog, saying "Trump's declarations are a return to imperialist rhetoric and unilateral demands, sending relations between Havana and Washington back into the freezer."
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Albany

These are busy times at the Port of Albany.

Some $49 million worth of improvements are expected to get underway this month, as the port prepares for an influx of shipping, thanks to the widening of the Panama Canal.

And current shipments forced the relocation of the annual Port Industry Day from historic Shed One to a tent in the administration building's parking lot.

"The shed is full of cargo," an official said last week.

It appeared nearly every available space in the secure area was filled with cargo  huge semicircular metal panels awaiting shipment, wind turbine parts, various commodities  and the arrival of a ship carrying wind turbine towers was imminent.

The towers are a first for the port, said General Manager Richard Hendrick.

"We've had the blades and the hubs," he said. "Now we're getting the full package."

The equipment is destined for a Maine wind farm.

The port is seeking additional space for warehouse and distribution buildings.

A new warehouse will be built near the north end of the port, with a "big lift highway" connecting it to a roll-on, roll-off ramp near the south end of the wharf.

Barges carrying turbines and generators from General Electric Co.'s Schenectady plant will use the ramp to unload the equipment, which can then be temporarily stored in the new warehouse, said Tony Vasil, director of business development and marketing at the port.

Vasil describes Albany's role in shipping circles as a "major heavy lift project cargo port," that can handle the oversize pieces of equipment and parts that go into such things as pipelines and electric infrastructure.

But it also handles grain and other commodities. The massive Cargill grain elevator is still the largest in the U.S. east of the Mississippi, he said.

The port, since its opening in 1932, has been a crossroads of sorts.

At the intersection of interstates 87 and 90, the port is within 700 miles  a one-day drive by truck  of 10 of the 30 largest U.S. and Canadian metropolitan areas, said Andrew Kennedy, head of the Center for Economic Growth in Albany.

In addition to highway and river access, three major railroads  CSX, Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific  also serve the region, as do all the major domestic airlines.

The port was successful in landing a $17.6 million TIGER  for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery  grant, thanks in part to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, who visited the port last July.

"GE, Siemens and Cargill have all told us ... they want to use the port more and more," Schumer said at a port news conference.

Among those speaking at Thursday's Port Industry Day was Lauren K. Brand, who oversaw a $1.3 billion national port infrastructure modernization program that included the TIGER funds.

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The port also received $4 million in Empire State Development funding and $17 million in state funding, including money from the Department of Transportation.

The remaining funds will come out of the port's own resources, Vasil said.

The port also is looking at acquiring 80 acres adjacent to the Albany side, but is also looking at land acquisition on the east side of the river, possibly in East Greenbush, Vasil said.

While the port has handled everything from Bakken crude and ethanol to molasses, subway car frames and power generation equipment, one recent shipment drew public notice.

That shipment consisted of 18 large tanks headed from China, where they were manufactured, to the Genesee Brewery in Rochester.

After traveling across the Pacific, through the Panama Canal and up the Hudson River, a dozen of the tanks  too large for highways  were transferred to barges at the Port of Albany and shipped via the Erie Canal to Rochester.

Along the canal, they were met by protesters who wondered why the tanks weren't produced domestically.

The six smaller tanks were to be loaded onto trucks at the port and sent by highway.

eanderson@timesunion.com  518-454-5323
THE ISSUE:

Citing financial problems, an upstate gaming venue seeks a tax break.

THE STAKES:

Taxpayers should not have to support cash cows that morph into albatrosses.

More Information To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com or at http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion See More Collapse

---

Even before all of New York's four newly licensed casinos are up and running, they are already taking a toll on other gambling facilities in the state, one of which threatens to close unless the Legislature approves a big tax break.

Let's be clear what a tax cut means: A loss of revenue that other taxpayers have to make up. It will be what casino proponents insisted would never happen: state taxpayers subsidizing gaming halls that were supposed to be cash cows.

Jeff Gural, the majority owner of Vernon Downs, a harness track and racino with video lottery terminals in Oneida County, says he will shut down his entire operation by the end of the year if he doesn't get a break from the state. Even before two of the newly state licensed, full-scale casinos opened earlier this year  including the Rivers in Schenectady  Vernon Downs was experiencing a sharp decline due to competition from popular nearby Oneida Indian Nation casinos.

The state Senate has approved a bill to help Vernon Downs and it now is in the hands of the Assembly. The legislation states that "the long term financial viability of Vernon Downs is suspect without an adjustment to their tax rates." Granting the break would save local jobs, the bill argues.

This mirrors a pattern in other states where casinos opened under the premise they would generate jobs and pour big bucks into government coffers. Over time, some closed and others became dependent on tax breaks and other forms of government assistance. Just last year, New Jersey's state legislature signed off on an aid package to bail out Atlantic City, where four casinos closed and more than 8,000 jobs were lost over the previous two years. The reason for the decline? Constantly increasing competition from casinos in nearby states, and the growth of online betting.

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With 300 Vernon Downs jobs at stake, its closure would have a devastating impact on the economically distressed Oneida County area.

Vernon Downs is not the only racino feeling the pressure of competition and seeking relief. Saratoga Casino and Raceway wants more flexibility in tapping a state capital spending account that it is required to contribute to. A bill allowing that has also passed the Senate and needs Assembly approval.

True, the picture isn't grim everywhere. In Schenectady, while the Rivers Casino's revenues are still not meeting estimates, millions of dollars in license fees and gambling taxes have gone to the state and localities.

It's worth recalling that during the heated debate over whether New York should allow full-fledged casinos, opponents warned casinos can't be counted on to revive communities, and that they would be more and more a gamble as competition increased. Among neighboring states and within regions, there is a finite amount of betting revenue. As one venue makes more money, others lose.

Certainly it's fair to find equitable ways to spread the benefits so that hard-pressed local economies like Oneida County's don't suffer. What's unfair is to ask taxpayers to continually cover venues for the bad bets they're proving to be.
[June 16, 2017] 365 Connect to Participate at National Apartment Association Education Conference in Atlanta

NEW ORLEANS, June 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 365 Connect, a leading provider of award-winning marketing, leasing, and resident technology platforms for the multifamily housing industry announced today that the company will participate in the National Apartment Association Education Conference & Exposition (NAA Conference). The conference takes place on June 21 -23, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Providing technology solutions for multifamily housing communities across the nation, 365 Connect will showcase its revolutionary Resident Lifecycle Platform during the event, which encompasses an entire spectrum of services including digital marketing automation, prospect management and conversion tools, and an integrated mix of content and communication for the next generation of renters to pay rent, request services, and renew leases. 365 Connect Founder and CEO, Kerry W. Kirby, stated, "The NAA Conference is by far one of the most important conferences of the year. The conference is the annual gathering place of more than 10,000 multifamily housing professionals, who are interested in learning about the latest innovations in the industry. This event is important for us to attend each year; as we engage, learn, and evolve our platform by interacting with our industry peers. 365 Connect is excited to participate in this premier event, which many in the industry anticipate throughout the whole year." The NAA Conference boasts an impressive selection of cutting-edge keynote speakers and panelists, in addition to an incredible variey of educational offerings. Topics range from leadership, sales, and marketing to property management, customer service, and leasing. Showcasing the most visionary products and services along with over 65 education sessions, it has become imperative for those in the industry to attend this conference.



With an array of highly coveted technology awards, 365 Connect continues to revolutionize the multifamily housing industry with a results-driven platform that eliminates redundant marketing, simplifies transactions, and serves residents after the lease is signed. The platform is proven to reduce operating expenses, increase prospect traffic, and retain residents for multifamily housing operators. "365 Connect is excited to participate in the NAA Conference. We are proud to stand alongside industry leaders and entrepreneurs as we all gather to examine the latest trends, nurture original ideas, and collaborate on how to better serve the industry we are so passionate about. We invite attendees to visit our booth (1433) in the Exhibit Hall, meet our amazing team, and learn why multifamily communities across the country are leveraging the power of our platform," Kirby added.

About The National Apartment Association: The National Apartment Association is the leading voice for the apartment housing industry. As a trusted partner, a valued connector and a powerful advocate, we are committed to serving our 170 affiliates, 72,000 members and the 8.8 million apartment units they operate globally. For more information go to www.naahq.org About 365 Connect, LLC: 365 Connect was founded in 2003 with an unwavering commitment to transforming how apartment communities market, lease, and retain residents. As a leading provider of award-winning technology platforms for the multifamily housing industry, 365 Connect delivers a fully-integrated suite of comprehensive solutions that automate marketing, simplify transactions, and serve residents after the lease is signed. The 365 Connect Resident Lifecycle Platform allows its clients infinite expansion, robust integrations, and the ability to revolutionize user experiences. Explore: www.365connect.com Media Contacts [email protected] 504.299.3444 Related Links Like Us On Facebook Follow Us On Twitter To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/365-connect-to-participate-at-national-apartment-association-education-conference-in-atlanta-300475373.html SOURCE 365 Connect

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[June 16, 2017] MIL Named Winner of Greater Washington Area Top Workplace Award

BOWIE, Md., June 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The MIL Corporation (MIL), a midsized government contractor, has been awarded a 2017 Top Workplaces honor by The Washington Post. Three thousand companies from the Greater Washington Area were invited to participate in The Washington Post's Top Workplaces Survey, with only 150 selected for the Top Workplaces award. MIL ranked 13th out of 25 large businesses across multiple industries. The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including Alignment, Execution, and Connection, just to name a few. MIL's employees, wh provide innovative cyber, engineering, financial, and information technology services to the federal government, praised their organization for being a place the promotes work-life balance and employing supportive management. The survey also revealed that its workers felt that MIL provides them with meaningful work and a feeling that they are a part of something bigger.



"It is such an honor to have been named a Top Workplace for the Washington, D.C. area," said COO Marisa Daley. "Having started out as a small government contracting business in 1980, it is amazing to see the ways in which we have grown to support over 700 employees. We may be much larger these days, but MIL has really stayed true to its core value of knowing that our people are the ones that make the difference with our clients. Their satisfaction with work-life at MIL means the world to us, as we know they are all at the heart of the excellent efforts we carry out for our federal clients." About MIL

The MIL Corporation (MIL), a CMMI Level 3 rated company established in 1980, provides federal agencies with outstanding professional services in the areas of financial management, information technology, engineering, and cybersecurity. With a staff of over 700 professionals nationally, MIL provides innovative solutions to federal government customers, including the U.S. Departments of the Navy, Commerce, State, Homeland Security, and Transportation. MIL continuously seeks to provide solutions that fit the vision, requirements, and resources of our valued customers. For more information, please visit: www.milcorp.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mil-named-winner-of-greater-washington-area-top-workplace-award-300475434.html SOURCE The MIL Corporation

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[June 16, 2017] CapTech Receives 2017 Washington Post Top Workplace Award for the Second Year

RESTON, Va., June 16, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CapTech is pleased to share that the company has been recognized on The Washington Post "Top Workplaces" list for the second consecutive year. In its fourth annual rankings, the Post highlights employers with the highest employee survey ratings in the Greater Washington, D.C. area. The Washington Post celebrated the 2017 Top Workplaces at an event on Thursday, June 15 and will feature CapTech and the other winners in a special section of the paper on Sunday, June 18. "It is such an honor to be recognized as an employer of choice for technical and creative talent in the Washington, DC area," said Principal Suzie Turner. "Our mission is to create a unique environment for consultants where they can have a thriving, long-ter career while achieving work-life balance that sometimes eludes the consulting industry. I'm so proud of the culture of collaboration and fun we have developed in our DC office."



CapTech's DC/Baltimore office, located in Reston, VA is home to technology, creative, and business consultants. CapTech recently opened a new office on Plaza America Drive that was designed to foster creativity, collaboration, team building and client delivery. The new location features training space, a recreation area with gaming and a bar, a lounge, private offices, and team engagement areas. To read more about The Washington Post's 2017 Top Workplaces, visit https://www.washingtonpost.com/top-workplaces/?utm_term=.2ab51cca5330

About CapTech: CapTech (www.captechconsulting.com) is a national IT management consulting firm that bridges the gap between business and technology. We partner with some of the world's most successful companies to design, develop, and manage technical and digital solutions that delight customers, drive insights, and meet strategic objectives. Contact: Emily Krause

Phone: (804) 545-8733

Email: [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/captech-receives-2017-washington-post-top-workplace-award-for-the-second-year-300475450.html SOURCE CapTech

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[June 16, 2017] Santa Fe's First Evening Childcare Facility to Open, Thanks to Grant

Since she was a teenager, Neda Talebreza knew she would end up working in childcare. Although she currently works as a general manager of a women's clothing store, Ms. Talebreza is working hard to launch her new business, Forte Consuelo International, LLC (Forte Consuelo). Set to open this summer, Forte Consuelo will be the first evening childcare facility in the Santa Fe, New Mexico, area, offering local parents an alternative to in-home evening care. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170616005711/en/ A loan from Century Bank, which was funded by an Economic Development Program (EDP) advance from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), helped with the purchase of the building. An accompanying $9,960 Economic Development Program Plus (EDPPlus) grant assisted with start-up costs, including insurance, furniture, toys and marketing. The grant was awarded during a ceremonial check presentation yesterday with representatives from the offices of U.S. Representative Ben Lujan, D-N.M., and Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., in attendance. Noncompetitive EDPPlus grants are awarded in conjunction with EDP advances through FHLB Dallas members, like Century Bank. The grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis to promote and enhance small business development and job creation. Ms. Talebreza said her experience working with Century Bank through the application process was "a cut above the rest." "One day I walked into Century Bank and was reerred to David Valdez," explained Ms. Talebreza. "He was all 'yeses' and helped me every step of the way. This process would have been impossible without Mr. Valdez's help."



Mr. Valdez, Century Bank's vice president of Small Business and Commercial Lending, said the EDP advance and EDPPlus grant programs are not only a great way to stimulate the local economy, but also helpful for their customers to access funds and manage interest rate risk. "Ms. Talebreza's determination and passion for her business was contagious, so it was a pleasure to work with her through the process," said Mr. Valdez. "Helping small businesses get off the ground is one of the many reasons Century Bank is proud to offer the EDPPlus grant."

In 2016, FHLB Dallas awarded $1 million in EDPPlus grants in conjunction with EDP advances to 48 businesses in FHLB Dallas' five-state District of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. FHLB Dallas has made available $750,000 in EDPPlus grants through its members this year. Gustavo Molina, SVP and chief banking operations officer at FHLB Dallas, said the EDP advance and grant programs support economic development activities, which boost the local economy. "The signature EDPPlus feature of the EDP advance program helps our members make a difference in their communities," he said. "We are proud to partner with Century Bank to help provide important services to the community and help boost the local economy." Ms. Talebreza said that the EDPPlus grant helped instill a sense of pride in her knowing that she is contributing to the Santa Fe community. "I have this great sense of pride knowing I'm contributing to Santa Fe, my home, my community," she said. About Century Bank Established in 1887, Century Bank is a locally owned community bank that offers a full range of quality banking products and services to businesses and residents of Santa Fe, Espanola, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Rio Rancho, New Mexico. For more information, visit the bank's website at MyCenturyBank.com. About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $57.5 billion as of March 31, 2017, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community investment by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 850 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit fhlb.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170616005711/en/

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[June 16, 2017] Janus Token Registers Phenomenal Growth as It Issues Attractive Dividends to Investors

BRAGANCA, Portugal, June 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The software and services company Janus has started offering investors monthly dividends and other privileges, through its Janus cryptotokens. The company dropped plans to continue with its early-ICO and instead launched the business' token on the NXT Asset Exchange and started sharing profits. Following steady growth in all areas, Janus has now announced the imminent launch of its Social cryptocurrency and FOREX trading site. The business concept developed by Janus back in January 2016 envisions a software suite that utilizes interconnecting technology platforms capable of rapid implementation of distinctly branded products in carefully selected markets. Through this approach, the development team plans to reduce the development costs while increasing product quality. It also enables the company to establish successful businesses and generate substantial profits, which will, in turn, be shared with Janus token holders. The business has already put its concept to test in a small scale by integrating NXT betting option on its own online Bitcoin casino, BetterBets.io in January 2017. In the next few months, it has further expanded its reach in the same "online casino" vertical by launching ETCBets.com which holds the distinction of being the first-ever use case of Ethereum Classic in the industry. The platform's expansion starting soon after the listing of Janus on NXT Asset Exchange has enabled the Janus Project to start paying out dividends to investors from the very next month (February 2017). The first monthly dividend payment included 90 percent profit from the NXT betting on Betterbets.io. The next dividend payout included proceeds from newly launched ETCBets.com. Janus has more products in the works. It has announced the plans to launch two new business endeavors, which involve the upcoming codebase upgrade of BetterBets.io and the much-awaited social trading site for forex and blockchain currencies, www.trademimic.com later during Q3 2017. Alongside its strengthening portfolio, Janus is also expanding its team by picking the right talent required to drive adoption and growth. Alphonso Morris Jr. recently joined as the fourth member of the former team of three. He will be playing a huge role in the platform's marketing efforts. The Director of Marketing at Janus, Bjorn outlining the latest developments said: "The Janus developers are in full swing finalizing two sites. Alphonso will play a big part in the promotion of these. The other half of our team is immersing themselves in the forex community now. Getting prepared for the social fintech site, I have started reaching out to traders with social followings in excess of 1000 people. As a consequence of this, we should have several professional traders ready after beta ends." A long time blockchain enthusiast, Bjorn believes in the power of collaboration, comunity-building and incentivizing investors with a share of company profits as a reward for dedication and belief in the project. With a vision that stretches beyond the technical side, Bjorn looks to take advantage of the endless possibilities of blockchain technology and introduce the next level of software design to ordinary PC users as well as investors.



In the spirit of collaboration, Janus has formed a strategic partnership with the Ethereum Classic Development team, who have made significant contributions to the development and deployment of ETCBets.com. For their efforts, the ETC development team also receives a share of dividends from the betting platform. The current dividend distribution pattern for profits from ETCBets.com includes 10 percent each to JNS and JanusXT holders, ETC developer team while the remaining 70 percent to the Janus team. Through this partnership, both Janus and the ETC dev teams will be working together to create new products for future implementation. Bjorn voices his confidence in the progress of the Janus project by stating,

"At this stage in development, I no longer feel it's necessary to protect info we withheld back in December. I'm confident anyone who attempts to copy any of this will not deliver a better business in the time frame we will." (Janus roadmap: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1677509.msg19149572#msg19149572) The Beginning of Janus The Janus project had initially announced the ICO on Bitcointalk, reaching out to the cryptocurrency community. However, the company's interest in gaining the attention of potential investors from outside the cryptocurrency community made it rethink its initial strategy of going ahead with a traditional ICO campaign. Instead, Janus project decided to take a different route by canceling the ICO and listing the Janus profit sharing tokens on the open NXT Asset Exchange in January 2017. Since then, there has been no looking back for Janus as it started building a series of interconnected online businesses capable of generating profits, to be shared with the investors via Janus (JNS) profit-sharing tokens. Being issued on the Nxt Blockchain, Janus tokens are readily tradable on the platform's in-built decentralized Asset Exchange. The investor community, realizing the potential of the Janus project has since then actively invested in JNS. The growing interest among the investor community has led to a massive increase in the cryptotoken's value. Since January 2017, the value of JNS has grown from the initial $0.008 to $0.23 this week  an astounding 2800% organic increase in the value in under six months. During the same period, JNS has made itself available on C-CEX.io and Stocks.Exchange platforms, making it convenient for BTC investors to purchase the tokens. The Janus team takes pleasure in announcing new development  the upcoming launch of a new major social trading site, which will further enhance the passive income currently enjoyed by the JNS token holders. The relentless efforts of the team to develop their business and raise awareness has paid off as the Janus platform prepares to make its presence in the industry official. Janus' journey from a disappointing ICO to the launch of a new series of businesses exhibiting attractive growth has made JNS a hot property for investors. Janus' unique integration of Blockchain features, real-time communication with investors, profit-sharing structure, and full transparency might soon force its competitors to adapt or fall behind. The project in its present form is a culmination of numerous technical as well as business decisions. The creators have put in a considerable effort to create a balance between technological advancements and mainstream implementation of blockchain without losing sight of the revenue making capabilities. The project is designed to start generating revenues from the very first day to ensure self-sufficiency and serve the interests of everyone involved, be it the customers, investors or the team. Keeping this philosophy in mind, the creators of Janus are working on building a business empire with efficient use of available technology. Homepage  https://janustoken.com

JNS token News  https://nxter.org/janus

Market  https://coinmarketcap.com/assets/janus Media Contact Contact Name: Bjorn

Contact Email: [email protected]

Live chat: nxtchat.slack.com

(invite: https://nxtchat.herokuapp.com) #janusproject Janus is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to FDIC and other consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. Related Links Bitcoin PR Buzz Janus Token To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/janus-token-registers-phenomenal-growth-as-it-issues-attractive-dividends-to-investors-300475510.html SOURCE Janus Token

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Robert Ladislas Derr is looking for people who want to kiss the sky -- 150 times.

Those kisses will be recorded with video and photography at the Cube in the Railyard and later combined into a video that will be shown in August on the giant screen on Canopy Street in the Haymarket.

The project is an official event of the "Nebraska 150 Celebration" and is described like this in a Derr news release:

"As iconic to Nebraska as the rolling fields of corn, so is the expansive ever-changing sky that provides the backdrop. The video and photography offers a time capsule of the many faces that make up the fabric of Nebraska on its sesquicentennial.

Derr, the director of the University of Nebraska-Lincolns School of Art, Art History & Design, is an artist known for his witty community performances, captured by video and photography in an unsuspecting manner.

His piece, In My Shoes, for example, had him walking in other peoples shoes that they associated with a memorable moment in places from Urbana, Illinois, to Dublin, Ireland. As he walked, he filmed the shoes in a way that he could project his stride -- so the video projection walked across the floor with the viewers.

Kiss the Sky also will be an experiential examination of movement, and the sound created by the activity, contrasting both with the expanse of the sky.

Those who want to take part in Kiss the Sky are invited to come to the Railyard from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 to 8 p.m. on July 21.

For more information, go to cubelincoln.com or ne150.org.

Kiss the Sky is a prime component of a digital art initiative at the Cube that is set to begin in late July.

On Thursday, an open call for submissions of video art, animations, motion graphics, video mapping and sound visualization projects closed. Those projects will be judged by Michael Burton, the digital art director for the Cube and members of the Lincoln Partners for Public Art Development.

The selected videos will screen on the Cube, with the first event set to coincide with the filming of the kisses. While the videos have not been juried, submissions have been received from Brazil, Argentina, Iran, Italy and Germany as well as from artists in the U.S. and Nebraska.

The Cubes licensing agreement with the city requires display of digital art, but true digital art has rarely been screened there since the giant screen began operating in 2013. In 2014, the Sheldon Museum of Art presented Taking Time, a collection of 10 videos on The Cube.

Those videos, that, in total, ran 1 hour, 40 minutes, worked well on The Cube, especially A Needle Woman, a 25-minute video from artists Kim Sooja of a woman in a stark robe with a black ponytail that extended down her back standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk with passersby swarming around and sometimes obscuring her.

Viewed on a computer, the silent video was a bit of a slog. Seen on the giant screen, with people walking around below and no need for a soundtrack, the video was strikingly effective.
Northeast Newscast Episode 14 - The history and future of the Northeast News w/ publishers Michael Bushnell and Chris Adams By Paul Thompson KANSAS CITY, Missouri - This week, Northeast Newscast host Paul Thompson interviews the publishers of the Northeast News - the husband and wife team of Michael Bushnell and Chris Adams. The couple dives into the past, present, and future of the Northeast News, reflecting on their nearly 19 years of ownership.

One of our favorite Kansas City publications was recently saved from closing and this week they talk about their experience and outlook. Take a listen . . .
"The suspect told police that she and her daughter were sleeping when someone knocked on the apartment door. The suspect told police a man entered and grabbed her by the neck and held a gun to her hand, demanding money. She told police as they were struggling, she heard a gunshot. She said the man ran from the apartment, so she grabbed her gun and ran after him. Police say the suspect shot at the man and was unaware her daughter had been shot . . ."

The story after a tragic shooting that killed a local teen grows more confusing and conflicted . . .From the probably cause statement:From there, some witnesses are saying the that the mom confessed that her daughter "got in the way" while a forensic firearm examination is probably the best bet to sort out the deets of the homicide at a location thatone of the most dangerous in Kansas City.Developing . . .
Trump's new Cuba policy gains support from some Cuban Americans, opposition from travel agencies KANSAS CITY, Mo. - "I didn't feel the Cuban regime deserved to have any openings," Cuban-American Marisel Walston says. Waldron fled Cuba in 1979 with her family to meet up with her father in Miami. She says even today the government oppresses the Cuban people.

Locals who have experience with this regime and don't have much love for Raul are mostly supportive of Prez Trump's latest move. Take a look:
Editorial: Vacancies show the absurdity of letting the state control Kansas City police The Kansas City Police Department is being held hostage to a political spitball fight between Gov. Eric Greitens and the state Senate. It's time for Kansas City leaders to launch an effort to end state control of the police department.

Thankfully, the newspaper's power to control the agenda at both the state and local level is quickly fading. Take a look at their latest rant which contradicts efforts to keep the Guv from making appointments in the first place . . .
This week the Missouri Senate returned to the Capitol for its second special session of the summer-an enterprise for which a handful of Senators have themselves to thank. After all, when you waste half of a Legislative session filibustering and singing Kumbaya, you may have to finish the People's work on your own time.
Ooredoo, Kuwaits fastest telecom network, has signed a partnership agreement with Oula Fuel Marketing Company under which its customers can redeem their points for service vouchers from Oula fuel stations.



This is aimed at enriching customers experience through Nojoom Rewards Program, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani, the Ooredoo Kuwaits general manager and CEO after signing the deal with Adel Al Awadhi, the chief executuive of Oula Fuel Marketing.



The services include fueling and full car service in addition to washing and detailing.



"The agreement Ooredoos pride in fostering a strong relationship with Oula, its long-term partner which is one of the leading companies in Kuwait with more than 40 fuel stations located across different areas of Kuwait," observed Sheikh Mohammed.



Al Awadhi expressed his pride in partnering with Ooredoo in its unique Nojoom Rewards Program, noting that this is in tandem with the companys strategy to increase added value to customers and create an unparalleled experience.



Ooredoo announced earlier the launch of its newly revamped Nojoom rewards program which offers its customers the best exclusive discounts.



Accessible to all Ooredoo customers, the program offers members free upgrades, vouchers and discounts from a large variety of partners, ranging from service providers, retailers and hotels, and airline companies. In addition, customers use their Nojoom points to buy products from the Nojoom Online Rewards Store, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Friday that a list of grievances involving Qatar was being drawn up and would be made public soon, reported Reuters.

The minister, Adel Al-Jubeir, said Qatar should respond to demands to halt its support for "extremism and terrorism" which, he said, were being made by the whole world and not just Gulf states.

Four Arab states - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt - severed diplomatic relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and Iran.

The UAE has also decided to blacklist Qatari individuals and entities, stated the report.

Speaking to journalists in London, Jubeir said: "I would not call them demands. I would say it is a list of grievances that need to be addressed and that the Qataris need to fix."

"We are working on those with our Bahraini, Emirati and Egyptian partners in order to compile this list and present it to the Qataris, and I think it will be done fairly soon," he added.
Saudia Holidays, the newly-launched holidays division of Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), will be showcasing its full range of travel packages during a two-day event at the Red Sea mall in Jeddah.



A travel exhibition will be stationed in the mall today (June 15) and tomorrow from 21:30  01:00 which will showcase a large variety of packages available, available as pre-packaged holidays and also customizable holiday packages, said a statement from Saudia Holidays.



A one-time special discount is available for 20 per cent of the total package price for all guests who visit and sign up at the Saudia Holidays exhibition at the Red Sea mall.



The Saudi carrier's holidays arm also offers access to 175,000 quality car rental vendors across 30,000 locations in addition to 50,000 tours and activities, enabling guests to select their ideal package of flight with hotel and/or vehicle and tours.



The two-day exhibition will have Saudi Holidays representatives onsite ready to answer all enquiries and make bookings on the spot for families wishing to reserve their Eid holiday travels.



"In addition, there is a chance to win a three-night stay and return airfare to the Maldives for two persons. An entry ballot can be filled out when visiting the exhibition," said a company spokesman.



"The Saudi airline's holiday arm was officially launched at the annual Arabian Travel Market exhibition held in Dubai, UAE this April. The newly-created division makes available a large variety of custom or pre-packaged holiday options for Saudia guests," he added.



Through its partnership with Expedia Affiliate Network (EAN), Saudia Holidays offers guests access to more than 225,000 quality hotel accommodations in over 29,000 destinations, including Dubai, London, Paris and New York.-TradeArabia News Service
Last week, I packed my husband and two sons off to enjoy their much-anticipated viewing of the new superhero movie "Wonder Woman."

I used to partake in such outings to the summer action blockbuster, but by the time "Wonder Woman" came out, I was already sick and tired of being browbeaten by countless feminine-power "hot takes" and "think pieces," plus the inevitable reports of outrage.

Some on the internet got angry over one theater's all-woman screening of the movie, which then upset a bunch of other people. Others were miffed because Wonder Woman wasn't wearing star-spangled undies, therefore telegraphing a leftist, Hollywood slant toward identity-sapping globalism.

Still others debated what Wonder Woman's popularity, and her portrayal by Israeli-born actress Gal Gadot, says about Jewishness as an identity, a religion and even as a race.

There were overly ecstatic testimonials of the movie's capacity to empower normally proportioned women to strive toward economic and political strength, bizarre conflations of the fictional heroine to the women testifying against Bill Cosby in his sexual assault trial and endless feminist hand-wringing about whether so much importance should be placed on the glistening, toned shoulders of a violent Hollywood sex fantasy.

Jill Lepore, the author of "The Secret History of Wonder Woman," admitted in The New Yorker: "I am not proud that I found comfort in watching a woman in a golden tiara and thigh-high boots clobber hordes of terrible men. But I did."

It quickly became far too much to take into a movie that was supposed to be an entertaining vehicle for movie-theater popcorn.

But we are living in extraordinarily politically polarized times in which everything is political; everything is a Rorschach test about what you believe and who you stand with -- or against.

There is plenty of documented evidence showing that political ideology influences one's beliefs about the seriousness of certain criminal acts, whether someone is suitable for dating or whether a person is worthy of a merit scholarship. Now we learn from a group of researchers writing in Harvard Business Review that partisanship can skew our economic behavior:

"When presented with a purchasing opportunity, consumers were almost twice as likely to engage in a transaction when their partisanship matched the seller's. In our survey experiment, three-quarters of the subjects refused a higher monetary payment to avoid helping the other party -- in other words, they preferred to make themselves worse off so that they would not benefit the other party."

The authors conclude that partisan-based discrimination is so widespread in interpersonal and economic transactions that it warrants "more systematic scrutiny -- not only from scholars but also from businesspeople, workers, and consumers."

There's no need to wait for academia to do this for us. One antidote to boiling everything down to "us vs. them" is to think about how and why you think, rather than focusing so closely on what you think.

As religion gets increasingly marginalized in public life, and as trust in institutions from government to education systems continues to plummet, it's a wonderful time to understand the roots of our own beliefs.

How about vowing to read one book to shed light on this subject?

Try Michael Sandel's "Justice: What's the Right Thing To Do?" It covers a wide range of thought provoking questions about civic life and describes the philosophical foundations for competing impulses. (The wonderful 12-hour Harvard lecture series is available to view on YouTube, as well.)

Or Jonathan Haidt's "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion," which was rightly billed as a book "for those ready to trade in anger for understanding."

If you need something lighter (that pairs well with popcorn), take "Morality and the Movies: Reading Ethics Through Film" by Dan Shaw to the beach, and you can consider what you might have in common with some of film's most compelling characters.

Really, anything you do to understand your core beliefs -- and take time away from the fleeting and constant churn of media offense, side-taking, and indignant response -- can be an antidote to calcified positions.

And not because you should change your convictions. The real value lies in understanding the worth of all principles so we can appreciate each other's beliefs -- and maybe even eventually find some common ground.
Former Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford says he has decided to seek a 2018 rematch with freshman Republican Rep. Don Bacon in metropolitan Omaha's competitive House district.

Ashford was defeated by Bacon in 2016 after serving a single term in the House.

If Ashford would succeed in ousting Bacon next year, that would mark the third election in a row in which the incumbent Omaha congressman was defeated. Ashford bumped eight-term Republican Rep. Lee Terry in 2014.

Already in next year's Democratic primary race is Kara Eastman, president and CEO of Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance and vice chairwoman of the board of governors of Metropolitan Community College.

Eastman, who announced her candidacy last month, has said she will center on health care, the economy and education issues.

During his single term in the House, Ashford focused on acquiring support and funding for a number of major projects in the Omaha area that he credited in part to the teamwork of bipartisan cooperation.

Among the projects were reconstruction of the deteriorating runway at Offutt Air Force Base at Bellevue, approval of an innovative public-private partnership to fund a new Veterans Administration medical facility in Omaha and funding for a new Ebola training center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

"We need to break the impasse on health care policy," Ashford said, "and the middle class has got to be able to share in our economic recovery.

"I want to go back to work for you," he said. "My work is not done. I think I can help."

Ashford's 2014 election win marked the first Democratic congressional victory in Nebraska in 22 years. Ashford previously served in the nonpartisan Legislature for 16 years.

Bacon, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, defeated Ashford by about 3,500 votes in 2016, riding a wave of Republican support from Sarpy County precincts in the 2nd Congressional District.

In the House, Bacon serves on the Armed Services Committee as well as the Agriculture and Small Business Committees.
Tribune News Service & PTI

New Delhi, June 16

The government will come out with three new policies, including electronics manufacturing and data protection, as part of its efforts to make India a $1 trillion digital economy in a few years.

Speaking after a two-and-a-half hour meeting with Indian tech industry captains, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today exuded confidence that India is well-positioned to become a $1 trillion digital economy in next few years.

The industry has assured us that they are committed to support us in this mission... We will be shortly laying down the new electronics policy because between the old policy and now, India under Narendra Modi has changed completely, Prasad said.

He added that the government will also come up with a new software product policy and a framework for data security and protection.

Outlining the vision for Indian information technology (IT) industry to help India build the sector into a $1 trillion economy by 2022, Prasad said the talk of job loss in the sector was motivated.

There has been a lot of debate and by any standards of economy, this talk of job decline in the IT sector is motivated, he said.

He said India should become a global hub of low-cost digital technology.
Presbyterians had a presence in Nebraska even before the territory was formed, and they located in Lincoln a few years after statehood.

Their capital city services were held in venues as diverse as the first capitol building to store fronts, theaters and a modern Gothic house at 17th and F streets.

In 1834, 20 years before the Nebraska Territory came into being, and before it was even legal for whites to permanently settle in the Louisiana Territory, the Presbyterian Church sent John Dunbar and Samuel Allis as missionaries to the Pawnee Indians. Both men were accepted by the Pawnee and even credited with the resurgence of the areas buffalo population.

It was also at Rev. William Hamiltons home at the Bellevue Presbyterian Mission that Francis Burt took the oath of office on Oct. 16, 1854, as Nebraskas first governor.

When the Capital Commission chose the city of Lancaster as Nebraskas first capital and changed its name to Lincoln in 1867, one of their first actions, after the city had been platted, was to set aside lots 10, 11 and 12 in Block 119 for the Presbyterian church. It was then left to the legislature to define how soon construction had to start and the minimum value of the first building  a duty the legislature never fulfilled.

Within days of the establishment of Lincoln, the Presbyterian Church, meeting in Nebraska City, discussed establishing a congregation in the capital city. An investigating committee visited the hamlet but felt the community would never develop sufficiently to support a church and the idea was shelved.

On April 6, 1869, the First Presbyterian Church of Lincoln became the sixth denomination to establish a church in Lincoln when, led by Rev. J.C. Elliott of Nebraska City, eight charter members met and organized at a meeting in the Methodist church building that sat on the southwest corner of 10th and Q streets.

A month later, a small frame building was rented near 10th and O streets for Sunday Presbyterian services.

First Presbyterians first minister Harlan Peck arrived in January 1870 and, though the membership then only numbered five, the church accepted the states three-lot offer. After a few months, they determined their current building was unacceptable. The congregation moved to the senate chambers at the new state capitol.

One thousand dollars came from the denominations headquarters to finance their first building, with the rest of the balance raised locally. The $5,000 frame building was designed by D.M. Kilian, sat on the northwest corner of 11th and J Streets and faced the east. The new church was dedicated free from debt on Oct. 9, 1870, and by 1874 its membership had reached 120.

By 1882 membership had doubled and a second building was discussed as services moved to the auditorium of the Masonic temple at 11th and M streets. Two lots were then purchased on the southwest corner of 13th and M, directly north and adjacent to First Congregational Church, with a groundbreaking held in April 1884.

The 600-seat, masonry, $40,000 church was dedicated in July 1886.

The Lancaster Hotel Co. acquired both the Presbyterian and Congregational church buildings in the mid-1920s to develop what would become the first Cornhusker Hotel.

With $20,000 of the $75,000 they received at the sale of their building, the Presbyterians purchased the amazing Carpenter Gothic home at 17th and F streets from the widow of former mayor and Lincoln attorney A.J. Sawyer.

The last service was held in the 13th and M church on July 12, 1925, and the following day demolition began. For two months, the Presbyterians met next door in the Congregational church while that church merged with Plymouth Congregational Church at 17th and A and planned a new building at 20th and D streets.

First Presbyterian then contracted with Boston architect R.A. Cram, who had earlier been a partner of Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, architect of the current Nebraska capitol. Cram, then with the firm of Cram & Ferguson, partnered with Davis & Wilson of Lincoln as onsite architects.

The new $250,000, Flemish-bond red brick and Bedford, Indiana, limestone First Presbyterian building with oak wood carvings by capital artisan Keats Lorenz at 17th and F streets, was completed and dedicated in March 1928.

In September 1951, ground was broken north of First Presbyterians church for a Youth Memorial Building/educational wing.

In the 1980s, after clearing the lots to the east, a new entrance to the church, accessible to a new large parking lot, was completed with the 1928 building still the main focus of the beautiful edifice.
Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, June 17

Deepak Kumar, who was freed from the police custody, was involved in a number of robbery and carjacking cases in Haryana and Punjab.

A senior Panchkula police official said Deepak Kumar, 24, a resident of Bhiwani, was involved in number of robbery cases in Haryana and Punjab and was arrested by the Panchkula CIA staff on February 13, 2016, along with three others - Joginder Singh, 23, a resident of Bhiwani; Rajinder, 19, a resident of Hisar; and Shubham, 19, a resident of Hisar.

At the time of their arrest, the Panchkula police had recovered a Swift car worth Rs 6 lakh and a luxury motorcycle worth Rs 2.3 lakh from them, besides a country-made pistol. The police on the night of February 13, 2016, had arrested them from the road separating Sectors 23 and 24, the official said.

Cases against Deepak Kumar
Gagan K Teja

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 16

In a shocking incident, a 40-year-old father has been booked on a charge of raping his teenaged daughter repeatedly during the past two years. The incident came to light when the 14-year-old victim shared her plight with her maternal aunt, who later approached the police.

The accused has been identified as Sukhdev Singh of Virk Colony in Patiala and the police have registered a case under Section 376 of the IPC and different Sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act at the Anaaj Mandi police station.

Investigating Officer Harminder Singh informed that the victim and her aunt had approached the police. Medical reports have confirmed forcible, sexual assault on the victim. The victim is a Class X student and her mother had died six years ago. Her father is a daily wager and after her mothers death, she was staying alone with her father.

The FIR states that the accused had forcibly developed relations with his daughter and continued to sexually assault her for the past two years.

He had also threatened his daughter of dire consequences if she spoke to anyone about this. The child was initially under trauma and was scared to share the incident with anyone but she finally brought the matter to the notice of her maternal aunt who came to visit her on Thursday.

The aunt immediately took the victim to the police station and reported the matter. The accused is absconding and the hunt is on to nab him.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16

There is no let-up in snatchings in the city with two more incidents reported this morning. Riding motorcycles, miscreants snatched gold chains from women, leaving one of them injured. One of the incidents was caught on a CCTV camera installed outside a house.

Sources said the first snatching took place around 7 am in Sector 56, hardly a few meters away from the Palsora police post.

The victim, Bimla (45), a resident of Palsora, reported that she had gone to call her husband, who had gone to a nearby park for a morning walk. While she was returning home, the miscreants, riding a red motorcycle, came close to her. The pillion rider, who was not wearing a helmet, got down and snatched her gold chain. The motorcycle rider kept moving at a slow pace. The accused started walking behind me and suddenly snatched my gold chain, the victim said.

The victim tried to catch hold the accused. However, they managed to flee from the spot. The sources said the miscreants fled towards Mohali. The snatching incident was caught on a CCTV camera. The second snatching incident took place around 9 am in Sector 46. The victim, Dhanpati, a resident of the same sector, lost her gold chain to snatchers on the doorstep. The victim was standing outside her house when the miscreants arrived on a black motorcycle. The pillion rider got down and started enquiring about some address. Before the victim could understand anything, the accused snatched her chain and fled from the spot on the motorcycle. The incident left bruises on the victims neck.

Same gang behind both incidents?

According to both victims, the accused in both incidents were wearing similar clothes and the pillion rider was riding without a helmet. The modus operandi was also the same. However, the colour of the motorcycles was different. The police suspect the accused changed the motorcycle before targeting the second victim.

Snatcher arrested

A team of the UT police crime branch, led by Inspector Amanjot Singh, has arrested Raju Khan and claimed to have solved a case of motorcycle theft and three cases of snatching two of mobile phones and a gold chain.
S Nihal Singh

THE agrarian unrest plaguing at least three BJP-ruled states is the partys lowest point since it came to power at the Centre three years ago. It seems to have overwhelmed Mr Narendra Modi and his teams in the states and there was apparently no coordination between the Centre and the states.

The story begins in UP and the installation of Yogi Adityanath as CM after the BJP was in a state of euphoria induced by the scale of the victory in the state assembly election. In the process, the state leader was given something of a carte blanche. Facing farmers agitation as he did, he munificently waved all farm loans without giving a thought to its impact on other BJP-ruled states facing similar problems.

The UP model of farm waivers became the benchmark of farmers demands elsewhere. Maharashtra was not far behind, with the CM, Mr Devendra Fadnavis, trying to buy off farmers with palliatives, in the end giving in to their demands to buy peace.

But the most curious case in the farmers saga has been the drama in Madhya Pradesh, the farmers and others roiled over the shooting of five farmers in police firing even as rioting and arson took over. Instead of devoting his attention to resolving the crisis, the BJP CM, Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan, enacted the stunt of going on an indefinite fast.

Observing fasts for a cause has a hallowed history, with Mahatma Gandhi using it judiciously and effectively as a form of moral intimidation on colonial rulers and on occasion his countrymen. Mr Chouhan reduced the fast to a farce to seek to turn the focus away from an intensifying farmers agitation. Indeed, as soon as he began his fast, he indicated that farmers wanted him to end it. And lo and behold, he ended it. His panic reaction can be gauged from blocking the visits of all political and labour leaders from his state, a unique measure never indulged in for so long by any administration. And farmers families, promised compensation of Rs 1 crore for each death, got Rs 4 lakh instead.

Farmers problems are diverse; in MP, it was largely a question of obtaining a fair price for their abundant crops as well as other problems. But the crucial question in all three states is that the BJP leadership failed to read the angry mood of farmers and its causes, in the end reduced to buying peace by raiding the states treasuries, earning a belated reminder from Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley that they would have to find resources to pay for their generosity. Meanwhile, the tragic saga of farmers suicide in MP and UP continued.

The only assumption one can draw is that the BJP and the RSS were so busy cementing their political dominance and changing the secular framework into its vision of a Hindu India that they had little time to study farmers plight. This strategy forced 65 former civil servants to write an open letter to the Prime Minister warning him of the evils of hyper nationalism and the deep disquiet they felt.

There are enough reports of administrators and experts that have expiated on farmers problems. None of the schemes initiated by Prime Minister Modi has come to their help in their hour of greatest need. Indeed, the nature of BJPs priorities is skewed. Greater emphasis is being placed on vigilantism and obstructing and lynching those transporting cows for legitimate purposes in BJP-ruled states than on the welfare of animals and keeping cow vigilantism in check. At least one Union minister has dismissed a series of distressing and tragic assaults as of little consequence and media hype.

Essentially, the problem boils down to Mr Modis room for manoeuvre in facing the heat from the RSS, which is treating the rise of the BJP as a majority at the Centre as a heaven-sent opportunity to reshape India into a Hindu rashtra. The Sangh Parivar must solve its internal problems in its own way. But it must realise that without a policy overhaul, the task of governance will prove to be a great hindrance in achieving its goals. As international media have noted, exports of meat and leather goods from India, a flourishing business, have dipped. And the Union Home Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, was forced to remark during a visit to the North-East that his government was not forcing people what to eat.

The essence of good governance is to set priorities. Judging by recent trends, the Modi dispensation seems to have got its priorities skewed. If cow protection is the central theme of the countrys progress, where does it take India? And if cow vigilantes, genuine or fake, lead a charmed life, how much progress can the government make in taking the nation forward?

The tenor of the national debate has changed. Cow reigns supreme and ministers and others who want to stay in power sing the praises of the RSS. It is as if the countrys progress has been encapsulated in the cow. The Ganga and the Yamuna have been given living identities. Next we shall have government-certified palmists and astrologers setting deadlines for the country. Indeed, the number of astrologers mushrooming on the Internet is an indication of the new prestige they enjoy.

The question many are asking is whether the Modi government can pull back from its headlong march to myth and superstition to take India back to the digital scientific world the Prime Minister has been speaking about? The answer depends upon the benediction and flexibility of the RSS. Thus far, it has placed its idea of Hindu India above national interest, as the people understand it.

It is a moment of decision for the BJP and RSS leadership. Can they retrace their steps?
London, June 17

An Indian-origin pharmacist who stole almost 5,000 pounds worth of prescription drugs and then sold them on the street has been jailed for one year by a UK court.

Niren Patel had appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of a position of trust, possession with intent to supply a Class B drug and five counts of possession to supply a Class C drug.

He was sentenced to a total of 12 months imprisonment on Friday.

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Patel abused his position as a pharmacist by creating fraudulent orders for prescription drugs and then sold them on the street. The drugs he sold are highly addictive and dangerous when given to someone without a prescription, said Detective Constable Beverley McInerney, of the Mets Organised Crime Command.

The Metropolitan Polices Controlled Drug Liaison team began an investigation in August 2016 after Patels employer, Day Lewis Pharmacy in Hornchurch, made a report of theft to the police.

Analysis of stock records and drugs purchased by Patel, who also worked at Hedgemans Pharmacy in Dagenham, revealed he had created fraudulent orders for almost 5,000-pounds worth of prescription medicine.

During questioning by police, the 38-year-old admitted he had sold the drugs, including Genotropin, a growth hormone used by bodybuilders, to a member of the public on the street.

Other drugs sold by Patel included the Class B restricted drug Dexamfetamine, which is used for weight loss and to improve academic performance, and Class C drugs such as Xanax, Zolpidem and Diazepam, which are sedatives used as downers. PTI
TO politically highlight farmers plight, opposition parties have decided on a Bharat Bandh. They demand, among other things, implementation of the Swaminathan report. The National Commission on Farmers headed by MS Swaminathan (2004-06) has submitted five reports, studying issues like loans, land reforms, irrigation, food security, employment, farmer competitiveness and productivity of agriculture. It is the recommendation about 50 per cent profit over input costs that has caught national attention, particularly since the 2014 BJP manifesto mentioned it.

All these years Swaminathans report had gathered dust. None of the political parties, including the Congress-led UPA, had cared to examine it. They played cheap electoral politics, offering farmers whatever they thought would fetch votes. None bothered to tackle Green Revolutions side-effects, the impact of excessive chemical use on human, cattle and soil health. Politics of free power/water ruined the state financially and depleted its resources. The subsidy paid was not added to the input costs, thus resulting in a lower-than-actual MSP. Corporate interests prevailed; they used bank loans to thrust tractors on reluctant buyers and benefited from the fertiliser subsidy given in the name of farmers. In Punjab, arhtiyas exploiting farmers enjoyed political protection. As Chief Minister, Badal had used his influence to scuttle a Central plan to make direct payments to farmers. Also, the Akali Dal and the BJP opposed the entry of supermarkets which could have modernised the farm produce supply chain and cut waste.

Apart from inaction on the Swaminathan report, the Modi government has further hurt farmers, first with demonetisation, then with curbs on cattle trade. Cow vigilantes cannot lynch cow transporters so frequently without state patronage. When wheat prices spiked, the Centre lowered the import duty to check price rise. The note ban soaked up cash and hit sales of vegetables and fruits. Farmers cannot dispose of unwanted livestock. Promises of loan waivers have raised hopes that are hard to satisfy. Money that could have brightened up a childs access to education or healthcare may go into settling loan defaults, willful or otherwise. The present agrarian crisis is as much a result of bad government policies and shoddy electoral politics as of low returns from agriculture.
Our Correspondent

Kaithal, June 17

Farmers and activists of the the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today took out a procession in Keorak village, adopted by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, to protest killing of six farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradesh.

Led by district party president Vikas Tanwar, they marched to the Hisar-Chandigarh highway. They paid tributes to deceased farmers and burnt an effigy of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan.

Tanwar said life has become tough for farmers due to non-remunerative prices of produce, which was driving them to suicide.
Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16

A large number of Haryana farmers today blocked traffic on various highways across the state to protest the killing of five Madhya Pradesh agriculturists in police firing and seek implementation of the Swaminathan report.

Edit: Now bharat bandh

The protest was part of a nationwide stir called by the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh.

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While blockades were organised at several places in Rohtak, Sonepat, Hisar, Sirsa, Jind, Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri, the main rally was held in Ambala where farmers blocked National Highway-1 at Mohra. Though the police had made elaborate plans, NH-1 commuters were inconvenienced as vehicles moved at a snails pace.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ram Niwas claimed the day passed off peacefully due to good coordination between the civil and the police administration.

Gurnam Singh Charuni, Bharatiya Kisan Unions Haryana president and a Mahasangh core committee member, said they would intensify their agitation if their demands, including a pan-India farm loan waiver, were not accepted.

Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal, also lent support to the farmers.

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda organised a Kisan Panchayat at Kurukshetra, which passed a 12-point charter of demands to improve the financial condition of farmers. INLD activists, led by former Agriculture Minister Jaswinder Sandhu, burnt an effigy of MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Panipat.

State BJP media incharge Rajiv Jain, meanwhile, termed the stir a flop show, claiming that even Dr MS Swaminathan had praised the NDA government for implementing certain provisions of his report.
Tribune Reporters

Chandigarh, June 16

Activists of various farmers' organisations, especially the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), and political parties organised protests and blocked highways across the state today in support of their demand for the implementation of the Swaminathan commission's report and loan waiver.

Ambulances given way

Ambala: Nearly 500 farmers, led by BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni, blocked the National Highway-1 here for nearly two hours and a half to press for the implementation of the Swaminathan commissions report and farm loan waiver.

Earlier, farmers assembled at New Grain Market, Ambala Cantonment. Later, around noon, they parked their tractor-trailers on both sides of the NH-1 and blocked traffic. However, they made way for ambulances. They raised slogans against the BJP government.

Charuni, a core committee member of the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, said, Farmers are not getting remunerative prices for their produce. Before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had promised 50 per cent profit over input costs to farmers. The party failed to honour it and farmers are feeling cheated.

A big share of farmers income goes in paying loan interest. They are committing suicide but the Centre has not taken any action to address the problem. If the government can waive loans of corporate sector, why was it not coming to farmers rescue, he asked.

While lifting the blockade, he said, The protest today was just a beginning. A meeting of the Mahasangh will be held in Delhi on June 19 to decide the future course of action. The farmers body may go for Jail Bharo Aandolan or Delhis gherao.

On June 21, when the government celebrates Yoga Day, farmers would perform marna-asan as a mark of their protest, Charuni said.

Meanwhile, traffic moved at a snails pace on the diversion routes, causing inconvenience to the commuters.

A heavy police force was deployed to handle the situation. Deputy Commissioner Prabhjot Singh and SP Abhishek Jorwal remained at the protest site till the blockade was lifted.

BKU protests at rail tracks

Panipat: Members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) and various trade unions protested in support of farmers here. Members of the BKU led by Jai Singh Kadian, president, and Bintu Malik, vice-president of the organisation, staged a dharna for a few minutes on railway tracks. However, City DSP Aatma Ram and Naib Tehsildar Suman Lata pacified the BKU leaders who later submitted a memorandum to the SDM addressed to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

The traffic was disrupted for nearly three hours at Israna in the district by BKU activists. Members of CITU, Akhil Baharatiya Khet Majdoor Union and Sarv Karamchari Sangh and other trade unions also protested at the Mini-Secretariat against the killing of six farmers in Madhya Pradesh.

Loan waiver sought

Jhajjar: Activists of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) led by its state vice-president Inderjit Singh held a protest and burnt an effigy of MP Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan against the Mandsaur incident.

The protesters also submitted a memorandum to the City Magistrate seeking loan waiver for distressed farmers, MSP for all crops, 50 per cent profit over MSP as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission. They also demanded withdrawal of cattle trade order.

Minor scuffle with cops

Hisar: Various farmers organisations blocked the Hisar-Chandigarh highway in Sarsod village and the Hansi-Chandigarh highway in Narnaund town.

The police had a minor brawl with youths who blocked the road in Narnaund under the banner of the Azad Kisan Mission. Since the police had not chalked out a plan to divert traffic on an alternative route, vehicles got stuck and long queues were witnessed on both sides of the highway.

The police detained two youths and managed to persuade others to clear the blockade. Narnaund SHO Sher Singh said no case had been registered and the two youths were let off with a warning.

Youth farmers leaders Harikesh and Amit, however, maintained that they would continue their struggle. Farmers led by All-India Kisan Sabha also organised a dharna in front of the Mini-Secretariat in Hisar.

However, there was no road blockade in Bhiwani and the farmers preferred to stage a dharna in Isharwal village adjoining a highway.

Bid to block NH foiled

Sirsa: The authorities foiled an attempt by activists of Rashtriya Kisan Sangathan (RKS) to block the national highway No. 10 between Sirsa and Dabwali.

Over 70 activists of the RKS led by its district president Jasbir Bhatti assembled at Odhan village on the NH and tried to block vehicular traffic. However, the district authorities led by DSP Rattan Deep and BDPO Balraj Singh foiled their plan and also counselled them not to put general public to inconvenience.

Later, the farmers dispersed after submitting a memorandum for dismissal of the MP government to the BDPO.

Protesters booked

Rohtak: The Rohtak police registered cases against farmers who blocked the Rohtak-Panipat and Rohtak-Jind highways near Ghilor and Titoli villages in the district. SP Pankaj Nain said the protesters were booked under the IPC and the National Highways Act.

While activists of the BKU remained at the forefront during the protests, members of the state unit of the All India Kisan Sabha continued their dharna at the Mini-Secretariat here.

Jaitleys effigy burnt

Kaithal: The district unit of All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) burnt an effigy of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here and termed the Narendra Modi government and the state government as anti-farmer.

District AIKS president Mohinder Singh and secretary Kartar Singh condemned Jaitleys statement on June14 asking state governments to mobilise own resources to waive farmers loans and not look to the Centre for the purpose. Activists of the CPM, the SFI, CITU and the AIKS also organised protests in support of farmers.
Tribune News Service

Hisar, June 17

Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu threw an open challenge to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and INLD leader Abhay Chautala for a debate on issues concerning farmers.

He was speaking at a bhaichara rally in his home constituency Narnaund in the district today. Capt Abhimanyu stated that the BJP governments development works had surpassed the tenure of the Congress and the INLD put together. I am ready for a debate on works done for welfare of the farmers. I would resign if this governments efforts for farmers fell shorter than the 16 years of the Congress and the INLD regimes, he said.

The Congress government had disbursed Rs 800 crore as compensation to farmers for crop failure in 10 years, whereas the BJP government has distributed a total of Rs 3,000 crore as compensation in a short span of two-and-a-half years, Abhimanyu said. He asked Hooda why he failed to get the Swaminathan Commission report implemented during the Congress regime when he himself had headed a committee for the Working Group of Chief Ministers on Agriculture.

Capt Abhimanyu also hit out at Leader of Opposition Abhay Chautala and accused him of trying to vitiate the atmosphere. There seems to be an unwritten agreement between Hooda and Abhay on the SYL issue as the INLD leader remained silent during the Congress government. But now when the farmers are likely to get the waters after completion of the canal, as per the verdict of the Supreme Court, these leaders dont want to let the BJP take credit for it, he said. The BJP has been taking steps to double the income of farmers, he added.
Thousands of people expected to spend days in the dark following Friday's furious storms, and some lost pieces of their homes.

The weather wreaked unexpected havoc on much of eastern Nebraska, twisting trees, leveling power poles and knocking out electric service to as many as 100,000 homes.

Many remained without power Saturday night, including 25,000 in the Omaha area, more than a thousand in Beatrice and rural Gage and Lancaster counties, hundreds in Plattsmouth and a handful in Lincoln.

Storm watchers officially tallied at least five tornadoes, including a brief touchdown in the Capital City, and clocked winds close to 90 mph in some places  yet state officials knew of no injuries related to the storms as of Saturday night.

In the Omaha area, the National Weather Service confirmed that a pair of tornadoes had ripped through Bellevue, one crossing four neighborhoods and the Missouri River, and the other cutting three miles through Offutt Air Force Base.

The Lincoln tornado touched down without warning on open land at the University of Nebraska Lincoln's East Campus near 48th and Leighton streets. It caused no damage, but remained on the ground long enough for someone to capture video.

No sirens sounded because the Weather Service never issued a tornado watch or warning for Lincoln on Friday night, said Jim Davidsaver, emergency management director for Lancaster County.

Officials weren't aware of Friday's twister until it had dissipated, and Lancaster County only uses its sirens during warnings or if sightings are reported by at least two storm spotters.

"A 39-second event did not give us the opportunity to activate sirens," Davidsaver said.

Two more confirmed tornadoes touched down in the northeastern part of the state, including one in Madison and another east of Hoskins that damaged several farmsteads along the line between Wayne and Stanton counties.

The power outages were widespread.

About 1,200 homes lost electric service in Lincoln Friday night, and two dozen were still without power near the Lincoln Airport as of late Saturday, according to Lincoln Electric System.

Norris Public Power District reported about 1,300 customers still without power, mostly in Gage and Lancaster counties, due to significant damage to poles and power lines. It was receiving aid from neighboring power districts to assist with power restoration.

Gage County emergency management director Tim Stutzman said the west part of Beatrice, south of the river, sustained the most damage.

All emergency personnel have been working throughout the night to restore power, handle medical calls, clear roads, and check on all other essential functions, said Beatrice City Administrator Tobias Tempelmeyer. We would ask that people are patient as we work through the large number of issues that we need to address.

By 6 p.m. Saturday, about 400 homes and businesses in Beatrice still lacked power, along with many more in surrounding towns and rural areas.

In Wymore, high winds caused tree damage and a camper tipped over at Big Indian Lake, Stutzman said.

In Plattsmouth, Nebraska Public Power District reported 2,300 homes lost power Friday night. By 7 p.m. Saturday, 370 homes still remained powerless.

Areas in and around Bellevue were hit hard, with the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office responding to numerous calls of structure damage and power lines down. The county 911 system also went down, and dispatchers were sent to a backup center.

Some homes in Bellevue were torn apart, and Offutt Air Force Base requested that only essential personnel report to the base Saturday as crews worked to clean up damaged homes and downed trees.

The storm ranked among the worst ever for Omaha Public Power District, it tweeted said Saturday night. While most homes it serves were expected to have power restored by Monday, it could take until Wednesday to restore power to 1,500 homes.

Virtually all state parks and recreation areas between Fremont, Lincoln and Omaha experienced damage, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. That included downed trees and branches, power outages and minor damage to structures.

Parks were expected to be running as usual by Sunday for Father's Day activities.

Gov. Pete Ricketts visited communities across the state Saturday to survey damage from the past week of storms and speak with local leaders. He started the tour in Bayard and ended in Plattsmouth.

Trees will be the biggest long-term loss statewide, said Cody Thomas, spokesman for the Nebraska State Patrol.

"Especially in the eastern part of the state, where so many trees were down, I think that loss will be felt for quite some time," he said.
Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, June 16

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today demanded assured minimum price for agricultural and horticulture crops for financial empowerment of the farming community.

Hooda Kick-started a series of agitation here today against the backdrop of farmers death in police firing in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh. He batted for a legislative provision to penalise individuals not adhering to fixed prices for various crops. He gave a call for unity to fight to for the cause of farmers.

Hooda said nothing less than the complete implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan commission was acceptable as it was an election promise of the BJP.

On the occasion, he endorsed a 12-point charter of demands forwarded at Kisan Panchayat by Raghuvir Singh Kadian, the Congress legislator from Beri.

Congress MLAs and party leaders having allegiance with Hooda attended the programme organised on the compound of the Mini-Secretariat here.

Terming the BJP anti-farmer, the former CM said growers of sunflower and maize in the state were going through a bad phase due to the poor government policies. He lamented the governments quota policy under which only a limited produce of sunflower and maize would be purchased.

Hooda demanded benefits of pension and health insurance for farmers.

I am not in the race for the Chief Ministers or any other political post. I am ready to be with anyone who would fight for the cause of farmers and poor. Being chairperson of the working group of chief ministers on agriculture production during the previous Manmohan Singh government at the Centre, I had made numerous recommendations. I will fight for execution of these points for the upliftment of farmers, he said.

Hooda criticised Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his statement that the state governments should waive the farmers debt on their own.

He said even as oil prices fell in the international market, the government unfairly continued to charge old, high prices for petrol and diesel, which directly affected farmers.

Demanding better prices for poplar and cotton, Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda said the issue of political atrocity on farmers would be raised by the Congress in the monsoon session of the Parliament.
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 16

The police today arrested BAMS doctor Ashok Kalra from Nagrota Bagwan on the charge of selling psychotropic drugs to school and college children.

SP Kangra Sanjeev Gandhi said the police had information that the doctor was selling drugs to schoolchildren. We laid a trap. The doctor was arrested today. The doctor was selling drugs of Rs 30 (MRP) for Rs 300, the SP said.

He said during the raid at the premises of the doctor, 5,983 tablets that were derivatives of morphine, 940 capsules and 53 sedatives and 107 bottles of cough syrups were recovered. A case under Section 22 of the NDPS Act was registered against him.

It was for the first time that the Kangra police had booked a medical practitioner for selling drugs. The arrested doctor was a retired ayurvedic medical practitioner.

The Kangra police had sealed properties worth Rs 10 crore in NDPS cases. Large amounts were found in bank accounts of narcotic smugglers and they owned properties worth crores.

The SP said though 400 cases under the NDPS act had been registered in Kangra district since last year, financial investigation had been initiated in 85 cases. Properties and bank accounts had been freezed in 9 cases, the process of freezing movable and immovable properties was going on in 22 cases.
Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 17

Even as voters did not give a clear mandate to candidates backed by either the Congress or the BJP, the saffron party, with 17 candidates emerging victorious, has inched closer to its dream of gaining control over the 34-member Shimla Municipal Corporation for the first time since 1986.

The results of the MC elections placed the BJP-backed candidates at 17, Congress-backed candidates at 12, Independents three and the CPM one. The BJP claimed support of one of its rebels while the Congress said three Independents and one of the CPM would extend support to it for getting its Mayor and Deputy Mayor candidates elected.

Voters of the capital city did not give a clear-cut mandate to the BJP-backed councillors to rule the new 34-member House, one of the countrys oldest civic body.

The elections were not held on the party symbol but the BJP was hoping to get complete majority riding high on Modi wave as all its leaders, right from Union Health Minister JP Nadda and former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, campaigned in support of their candidates. The BJP with a tally of 12 was the single largest party in the last SMC polls also.

The Congress, which had won 11 of the 25 wards in the last SMC polls held in May 2012, suffered on account of infighting and splitting up of votes between Congress and CPM-backed candidates, as both had a common pool of votes. The ruling party had also to contend with anti-incumbency against its state government.

Even though the BJP has 17-backed councillors, with elections not taking place on party symbol, the field is very much open to horse-trading. Though the chances of 17 BJP candidates backing a Congress Mayor is bleak, the ruling party is not ruling out the possibility. The BJP, which was hoping to script history by getting complete majority, is, however, confident of getting its first-ever Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

The CPMs performance has been dismal with the party winning the lone seat of Summer Hill. Despite Mayor Sanjay Chauhan and Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar winning in the first-ever direct elections, the top posts in 2012, the Lefts performance could not improve. The CPM had two councillors in the last SMC.

The three local legislators (Shimla Urban, Shimla Rural and Kasumpti), two Congress MLAs and one BJP MLA, are associate members of the SMC but they do not enjoy voting rights. Besides this, there are five nominated members who too do not have voting right.

CPM-backed candidates and eight Independents played spoilsports for the Congress-backed candidates, giving advantage to the BJP in 17 wards. The CPM-backed Independents spelled doom for the Congress-backed Kangnadhar candidate, who lost to the BJP by a margin of 52 votes, and for Patyog candidate, who lost by a narrow margin.

Kimmi Sood, a BJP-backed candidate, won with the highest margin of 500 votes while an Independent Sharda Chauhan won by a slender margin of five from Shani Vihar.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 16

The office of the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Dharamsala, has been stripped of powers to deal with illegal structures.

MC Commissioner Lalit Jain had recently ordered disconnection of power to many leading hotels in McLeodganj for raising illegal buildings or trapping trees in the buildings. The commissioner had done so as per the directives of the Himachal High Court. The move had created panic among the people raising illegal constructions.

However, the Commissioner has now been stripped of the powers vis-a-vis illegal constructions. In a letter received in Dharamsala Corporation it has been stated that all matters related to illegal structures and passing for building maps would now be dealt by the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department.

Sources here said that the Municipal Corporation authorities have already started transferring cases of illegal buildings and building laws violations to the TCP Department.

A senior official of the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation, while speaking on the condition of anonymity, said now the local body hardly has any power. The roads are being manned by PWD and the water supply was being managed by the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department. The regulation of constructions was the only main power with the corporation. Ideally since corporation was a local self government the Town and Country Planning Department should just assist it regulating the constructions in the urban area. However, in case of Dharamsala the corporation has been stripped of all its powers to regulate constructions. Now the only main task left with the corporation was maintaining sanitation in the urban area for which it hardly has any staff, the corporation officials said.

Interestingly, the corporation officials had to file status report regarding the action taken in tree felling case in a PIL going on in the matter in Himachal High Court. The corporation officials said that now the TCP Department would have to file status report before the High Court as they have been stripped of their powers. We are going to file the status before the court that their powers to regulate had been transferred to Town and Country Planning department by the government, they said.

The move of the government to strip the corporation of its powers to regulate the illegal structures has drawn flak from the Opposition. Former minister and senior BJP leader Kishan Kapoor asked the logic behind making Dharamsala a corporation if the elected body has no powers to regulate constructions. He alleged that the move has been initiated to save a few politically influential people who have raised illegal structures in the past few years.

He further alleged that a few Congressmen had raised illegal structures on government land but no action was being taken against them. The TCP Department was already short of staff and burdening it with all the work of regulating the structures in corporation area would only aid violations.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 17

Bodies of the three Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, including its top commander Junaid Matoo, who were killed in an encounter with the police and security forces in Arwani area of Kulgam, have been recovered from the encounter site.

Mattoos name was in the 12 most wanted militants list issued recently by the Army. He carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head and was wanted in many cases.

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A police spokesman said acting on specific information, the police, along with 1 Rashtriya Rifles battalion and 90 Bn CRPF, launched an operation in Makro Mohalla of Arwani on Friday.

"During the operation, militants present in the area fired upon the search parties with automatic weapons. The fire was retailated, and an encounter started.

When the encounter was on an unruly mob instigated by the militants started pelting the security forces with stones with the intention of disturbing the operation and giving a chance to holed-up militants to escape Some of the militants also fired from within the crowd indiscriminately on the security forces engaged in the encounter.

In the cross-firing some people were injured. The injured were shifted to hospital. Two civilians later succumbed to their injuries," the spokesman said.

Locals, however, claimed that the two protesters were killed by security forces when they were trying to march to the gunfight site.

The militants killed in encounter have been identified as Junaid Matto, Nasir Wani and Adil Mushtaq Mir. Arms and ammunition, including AK rifles, magazines and grenades, have been recovered from the site.

"Junaid, a notorious militant, was the district commander and was involved in a number of terror activities. He was involved in the killing of a police constable at Bogund in Kulgam on June 15. He was involved in the Mirbazar police party attack where police official Mehmood was martyred.

He was also involved in the killing of an ASI and a constable near Anantnag bus stand last year," the spokesman said.

He said Nasir Wani and Adil had joined militancy last year.

When the anti-militancy operation was underway on Friday, militants of Lashkar ambushed a police vehicle in the neighbouring Anantnag district, in which six cops, including a Station House Officer (SHO), Achabal Feroz Dar, were killed. There are speculations that the attack might have been carried out in retaliation to the killing of Mattoo.

J&K Director General of Police SP Vaid said militants fired at the policemen from a close range.

"The close range firing disfigured the faces of martyed policemen," Vaid told the Tribune. "The militants escaped with five rifles,
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 17

Both Houses of the state Legislature were adjourned sine die after obituaries without discussing extension of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to Jammu and Kashmir, which is being rolled out in the country from July 1.

The Assembly also witnessed noisy scenes as the opposition National Conference and Congress members wearing black badges entered the House blaming the coalition government for the series of killings in Kashmir.

The Speaker, Kavinder Gupta, adjourned the House after the obituary references to former J&K Governor Girish Chander Saxena, a former MP and four former legislators. The Assembly was scheduled to discuss for the next two days the extension of the GST to J&K. The Speaker said the decision had been taken after a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee held here this morning. Chairman, State Legislative Council, Haji Anayat Ali also adjourned the council sine die.

This is for the first time that the state Legislature was adjourned without taking up any legislations, as only the obituary references were taken up on the first day of the special three-day session here today. It had been necessitated to pass a legislation to extend the GST to J&K, in view of the special powers granted to J&K under Article 370.

The members paid rich tributes to former J&K Governor Girish Chander Saxena, former MP Syed Nizamuddin Shah and former legislators Ali Mohammad Naik, (former Speaker), Rangil Singh, Rishi Kumar Kaushal and Shanti Devi. The Speaker moved the obituary references in the House. The House adopted the obituary references and observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect to the departed souls.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh paid tributes to the former Governor and other legislators. Others who participated in the obituary references included Mohammad Shafi (NC), GM Saroori (Congress), MY Tarigami (CPM), Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen (PDF), Sat Paul Sharma (BJP), Bashir Ahmed Dar (Peoples Conference) Engineer Abdul Rashid Sheikh (Independent). The members paid rich tributes to the late leaders and recalled their valuable contributions tosociety.

Only obituary references made

Speaker, Legislative Assembly, Kavinder Gupta, adjourned the House after the obituary references to former J&K Governor Girish Chander Saxena, a former MP and four former legislators. The Assembly was scheduled to discuss for the next two days the extension of the GST to J&K. The Speaker said the decision had been taken after a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee held here this morning. Chairman, State Legislative Council, Haji Anayat Ali also adjourned the council sine die.
Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, June 17

With the retrieval of three bodies of Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, one of them the most wanted commander Junaid Mattu, the Arwini encounter in Kulgam district was declared over early this morning.

Mattoo was a category A++ militant and carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head. The two other militants killed in the encounter have been identified as Nasir Wani of Shopian and Adil Mushtaq of Pampore area in Pulwama district.

The encounter had erupted in the wee hours of Friday morning, during which two civilians were also shot dead allegedly by security forces.

Though the firing had come to a halt at about 5:30 pm on Friday evening, the operation could not be declared over for militants bodies could only be retrieved past midnight.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG), south Kashmir range, SP Pani said it was a joint operation by the police, 1 RR of the Army and 90 Bn of the CRPF. Three militants have been eliminated and the most prominent among them is Junaid Mattoo, he said.

The security forces, after halting of fire, used petrol to set at least three houses, where the militants are believed to be trapped and shifting positions, ablaze, local sources said.

Later in the night bulldozers were employed to sift through the rubble of the houses and two bodies were retrieved, local sources said.

Though the police maintained that all three bodies were retrieved by them, locals said the police left after they recovered two bodies.

The locals retrieved the last body from under the rubble. It was later identified as Adil Mushtaq of Pampore, the sources said.

Hundreds of people thronged the encounter site early Saturday morning from different parts of south Kashmir, while expressing solidarity with the families whose houses were gutted during the operation. The bodies of militants were later handed over to their families.

Huge funeral processions were held for all the three militants in their respective home villages.

Meanwhile, firing inside the SICOP complex of Bijbehera, housing camps of 1 RR and 90 Bn, CRPF, created panic in the whole town.

The sources said some shots were fired at the Army camp by militants following which the Army retaliated with heavy firing, while the militants escaped. Following the firing the Army barged into a nearby uphill locality and thrashed some locals.

We received eight people with severe injuries from the locality called Karewa Mohalla, a doctor at the SDH, Bijbehara, said.

The SP, Anantnag, Zubair Khan, declined that there was any firing inside the camp. Some shots were heard at a distance from the camp. The Army men went to the locality to check but were pelted with stones, following which they thrashed some locals, Khan said.

A day after militants killed six policemen, including a Station House Officer (SHO), the DIG, south Kashmir range, SP Pani said:Our morale is high and we will be working with all sincerity in future as well, Pani said.
Hyderabad, June 17

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday exuded confidence that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir would be brought under control soon and said there was no cause for worry.

He said the situation was "troublesome" only in some parts of south Kashmir but he was confident that it would be brought under control.

"Security forces and all agencies are doing a great job to bring the situation under control. Some parts of south Kashmir are troublesome. Necessary action is being taken to ensure the situation there is soon brought under control. I don't think there should be any cause of worry in any of you," he said.

The army chief was talking to reporters after reviewing the combined graduation parade at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal here.

Rawat said there was misinformation and disinformation being spread among the people of Jammu and Kashmir, causing trouble and possibly compelling some of the younger generation to take up arms.

"I am quite confident that they will soon understand that what they are doing is not good for their own state and people. All that armed forces and security forces want is peace and tranquility in the valley," he said. "I am quite sure of some of the young people who should have books and computers in their hands and preparing for exams to get into IITs and IIMs will soon be brought on the right side of the fence. They themselves will understand that they are not taking the right path. I am quite confident the situation will be brought under control.

General Rawat claimed that the Army had a very good human rights record. He said the armed forces had stringent rules of engagement and were trained to handle the situation where children and women are involved.

"When they find there are children and there are ladies who are coming in front, they deal with them accordingly. Harsh measures are never used. We are an army that believes strongly in human rights," General Rawat said.

Asked about the Army using human shields to quell violence, the General said they were trained to perform under such circumstances.

When asked if he would make using human shields a party Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the Army chief said: "No it's not. It depends on circumstances. Our effort is to make sure human rights are not violated". On ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Rawat said they were done with a purpose but the Army was facing and countering them.  IANS
Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, June 16

Six policemen, including a Station House Officer (SHO), were today shot dead in a brazen attack on their convoy by militants on the outskirts of Anantnag town, 48 km south of Srinagar.

Also read: Soldier dies in Pak firing

Sources said Feroz Ahmad Dar and his men were ambushed and shot at very close range at 6 pm at Thajiwara village while they were returning to the Achabal police station that the SHO was in charge of. Lashkar-e-Toiba has claimed responsibility for the attack. Two civilians were also injured in the attack.

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The slain men had been on law and order duty in Anantnag through the day. Clashes had erupted in wake of an ongoing encounter between militants and security forces in neighbouring Arwini in Kulgam where two protesting civilians were shot dead, allegedly by security forces.

There were reports that LeT commander Junaid Mattoo was among the two militants who were killed in the encounter. Speculation was rife that the attack might have been in retaliation to Mattoos killing.

The militants were reportedly in a Tavera vehicle and were on the trail of the policemen before the ambush. The ultras decamped with their rifles.

We are in absolute grief and shock and in no position to ascertain the smaller details as of now, a senior police official told The Tribune.

The bodies of the policemen were brought to the District Police Lines in Anantnag for wreath-laying. On May 1, militants had attacked a bank vehicle in Pombai area of Kulgam district, leaving five policemen and two civilians dead.
Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 17

The Valley shut today against the killing of the civilians during protests. Two civilians were killed near Arwani in Kulgam on Friday as security forces opened fire on protesters who were trying to help the militants escape during an encounter. The shutdown call was given by separatists.

Meanwhile, nearly a dozen militants appeared at the funerals of three of their slain associates and fired a volley of bullets in the air as a form of gun salute in south Kashmir today. The three militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district on Friday.

Militants, armed with assault rifles, appeared at villages in three districts of south Kashmir, where large crowds of mourners had gathered to attend the funerals of the slain militants.

The three militants  Junaid Mattoo of Khudwani village in Kulgam district, Nasir Wani of Heff village in Shopian district and Adil Mir of Pampore town in Pulwama district  were killed in a gunfight at Arwani village of Kulgam on Friday.

It is significant that militants in comparatively large numbers appear at the funerals in a rerun of a trend that had emerged and quickly ended during the early years of militancy. Such public appearances have made a comeback recently as the sympathies for militants have registered a marked and unprecedented increase in the region.

At Shopians Heff village, the police said, at least six militants, including commanders Saddam Paddar and Waseem Shah, attended the funeral. Initially, two militants arrived and then four more arrived and they gave a gun salute, said a senior police officer in Shopian.

A local, however, said that 12 to 15 militants arrived at the funeral at Heff. The pictures and videos of the funeral showed several long-haired militants firing in the air as crowds gave a rousing reception.

At least five or six militants also appeared at the funerals at Khudwani and Pampore, locals said.

The Valley is on the edge after a sudden increase in violence as 14 persons, including eight policemen and three militants, have died in five separate incidents in the past two days.

As tension mounts, the Valley remained shut as schools, banks and markets remained closed in response to the shutdown called by the separatists. Roads were deserted and there was no public transport as the authorities had imposed restrictions in dozens of neighbourhoods.
June 15 was Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The issue brings to mind troubling scenarios involving physical mistreatment; but sadly, there are other aspects to the problem. The elderly are often victimized by scammers intent on robbing as many of their life savings as possible.

Your Better Business Bureau is keenly aware of the problem. Unfortunate stories are reported to BBBs across the nation regarding scams worked on older Americans.

Why pick on seniors?

The reasons are many for targeting the elderly. Among them:

 Increased likelihood of having some savings, owning a home and having good credit.

 Exploitable characteristics like politeness, susceptibility to confusion and other aging mental effects.

 Interest in products that offset the physical and mental effects of aging.

 Reluctance to report victimization for fear of exposing their vulnerability to family members.

 Increased likelihood that they live alone, are home more often and are more inclined to answer the phone.

Top senior scams

Here are some of the most frequently used scams on the elderly:

 Fake Medicare representatives  Scammers pose as Medicare workers to get personal information, either over the phone or by setting up fake mobile clinics.

 Counterfeit prescription drugs  Internet sales of fake medications endanger the physical and financial health of seniors, who are often searching for ways to save by using online prescription outlets.

 Funeral scammers  Crooks attend funerals, approach a grieving widow or widower and claim the deceased owed them money.

 Fraudulent anti-aging products  A countless array of bogus products and treatments aim for seniors wallets with promises of a return to a youthful appearance.

 Social Security fakes  Callers or emailers claim to need to update a Social Security recipients information.

 IRS scams  A caller claims to be from the IRS and demands immediate payment of overdue taxes under threat of arrest.

 Sweepstakes and lottery scams  Notification is made that a person has won a large prize and only needs to make a smaller payment to unlock their winnings.

 Jury duty scam  A caller demands immediate payment of a fine for not having shown up for jury duty.

 Utility scams  Services are threatened to be shut off unless a payment is made at once.

 Grandparent scam  This one has been around for a long time and continues to be used. A caller claims to be a grandchild in trouble and needing money right away. Usually there is a request that the grandchilds parents not be told.

Safeguards

Seniors should remember to always screen their phone calls, answering or returning the call only if they know the caller. Under no circumstances should one give out private information to a stranger over the phone or in an email. Any phoned request for a charitable contribution should be ignored, or you should tell them to mail you their information first.

For those concerned about an elderly friend or family member, keep these warning signs in mind:

 Sudden changes to wills or powers of attorney.

 They have a new phone friend.

 Mentions of lost or stolen credit cards.

 Sudden changes in banks or financial institutions.

 Sudden large withdrawals of cash.

 Unusual purchases or unpaid bills.

The rip-off threats to the elderly just seem to increase. If you suspect that a scam is in the works or has been perpetrated, contact your Better Business Bureau at 402-436-2345, or visit bbbinc.org.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 16

A civilian and policeman killed on the outskirts of Srinagar in separate shooting incidents on Thursday evening were neighbours in a village in Bandipora district. Both were buried at the local matryrs graveyard.

A welder, 25-year-old Naseer Ahmed Sheikh of Ashtengoo Bandipora, was critically wounded at around 7.45 pm when Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel opened fire on protesters in the Rangreth area on the outskirts of the city. Sheikh was shifted to a hospital where he breathed his last. The police claim that Sheikh was part of the mob that pelted the SSB with stones.

Almost an hour later, militants fired at a police party near a bank at Hyderpora, 4 km from Rangreth, resulting in injuries to two police personnel. Both injured were shifted to a hospital, where Constable Shazad Dilawar Sofi, 30, succumbed to his injuries.

Incidentally, both the slain persons hailed from the same Ashtengoo village in Bandipore in north Kashmir. While the slain policeman is survived by an old mother, wife and two minor children, young Sheikhs wife is pregnant.

The body of Sheikh reached his home at 3 am and was buried in the morning at the local matryrs graveyard. Mourners raised profreedom slogans. A large number of people attended his funeral prayers.

Three hours after Sheikhs burial, the body of the policeman Shazad reached home. Unlike the funeral of other policemen who have been killed in the recent past, Shazad funeral was attended by a large number of people. However, the mourners raised anti-India and pro-freedom slogans at his funeral. He was buried next to Sheikh at the matryrs graveyard.

The cop was a gem of human being. This conflict is killing people and today the village lost two of its young men who were in Srinagar to earn livelihood, said a mourner Ishfaq Ahmed, who attended both funerals.

In Srinagar, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Police Lines where floral tributes were paid to Shazad. On the killing of Shazad, the J&K Police chief termed it the frustration of the militants.

Whether a militant is killed or a civilian or a cop, it is the Kashmiri who gets killed, Vaid said.

Thursday tragedies
Jammu/Rajouri, June 16

With Pakistan continuing to violate the ceasefire along the the Line of Control (LoC), another Army jawan, Naik Bakhtawar Singh, was today killed while guarding a forward post in Upper Kalsian, Nowshera sector.

He received multiple splinter injuries when a mortar shell fired by the Pakistani army exploded near him. Bakhtawar Singh (34), who hailed from Hajipur village in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, is survived by his wife Jasbir Kaur and three children  a son aged 11 years, a nine-year-old daughter and another 10-month-old son.

He is the third soldier to have been killed at the LoC since May 1.

The Pakistan army initiated unprovoked firing at 5.15 am. The Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively but in the exchange of fire, Naik Bakhtawar Singh was grievously injured. He succumbed to his injuries later, said the Defence PRO.  TNS
Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, June 16

A top Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander is among two militants believed to be killed in an ongoing encounter in the Arwini area of south Kashmirs Kulgam district, 42 km south of Srinagar.

Two civilians have also been shot dead, allegedly by security forces, during clashes that erupted around the site of the encounter.

Though the firing has stopped at the encounter site, the bodies of militants are yet to be retrieved and the operation is still not over, officially.

According to reports, security forces cordoned off the Malik Mohalla locality in Arwini early Friday morning on a tip-off regarding presence of militants in the area.

There has been intermittent exchange of fire throughout the day and we believe two militants have been gunned down. The exchange of fire has halted since around 4 pm now, a senior police official said.

Though the bodies are yet to be retrieved, the police believe that one among the slain militants might be a most wanted Lashkar commander, Junaid Mattoo.

Mattoos name was in the 12 most wanted militants list issued recently by the Army in Kashmir. He carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

Efforts are on to retrieve the bodies from the rubble of the house they were hiding in, police sources said.

Local sources said at least three houses had been razed to ground by the bombardment carried out by security forces.

Meanwhile, as the encounter was on hundreds of local youth assembled and in a bid to give trapped militants an escape route engaged security forces by stone-throwing. Security forces fired live ammunition, pellets and tear-smoke shells to disperse the protesters leaving two civilians dead and more than 30 injured, at least 10 of them with bullet wounds.

The slain civilians have been identified as 22-year-old Muhammad Ashraf Khar of Khar Mohalla in Arwini and 14-year-old Ahsan Dar of Shamsipora village in neighboring Anantnag district.

Both of them have been shot in the chest as confirmed by the health officials at District Hospital, Anantnag, and Sub-District Hospital, Qaimoh, Kulgam district.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Kulgam, Dr Muhammad Shafi confirmed the killing of Ahsan Dar at Qaimoh Sub-District Hospital and said different hospitals in Kulgam treated around 10 other injured youth. Five of them had firearm injuries, he said.

In Bijbehara Sub-District Hospital 10 more injured were treated, four of them with bullet injuries.

Two with bullet injuries and three others with pellet injuries in their eyes have been shifted to Srinagar for specialised treatment, Block Medical Officer (BMO), Bijbehara, Dr Showket, said. In Anantnag district Hospital nine injured, two of them with bullet injuries, were treated.

They were all stable while one of the injured, Muhammad Ashraf, succumbed to his injuries here, Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital Dr Majid Mirab said. A combing operation of the encounter site was on while this report was filed.
Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 16

The killing of three civilians, including a teenager, in two separate incidents of firing during the past 24 hours has ignited fresh tension in the region as separatists called for a shutdown on Saturday across the Kashmir valley.

The killing of two civilians takes the casualty figure during the past 24 hours to 11  which includes eight policemen who were killed yesterday and today in separate incidents. The deaths of civilians stoked fresh tension in the region as the alarmed authorities made a pre-emptive move to contain the fallout and as a first measure blocked the high-speed Internet services.

The authorities ordered the shutdown of the high-speed 3G and 4G Internet services which bars the uploading of videos from the protest sites, as the government fears it can fuel further demonstrations.

As another precautionary measure, the authorities also suspended the rail services in the region as protests erupted in several adjoining districts immediately after the gunfight broke out in Kulgam.

In the city here, the police had to fire tear-smoke shells to disperse a protesting crowd which had gathered outside Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta neighbourhood.

Several separatist leaders have also called for a shutdown to be observed on Saturday against the killing of civilians. With situation likely to remain adversely affected in coming days, the University of Kashmir postponed all exams scheduled for Saturday.
Our Correspondent

Khanna, June 16

The Khanna police claimed to recovered 72 cases of liquor from a vehicle and registered a case in this connection. This was stated by the Khanna SSP, NS Mahal, at a press conference here today.

He said a police party signalled SUV coming from Mandi Gobindgarh side to stop at a naka on the GT road, near Pristine Mall. Instead of halting, the driver rammed the vehicle into the barricade and speeded away, added the SSP. Meanwhile, the police party chased the vehicle. In the meantime the driver lost control over the vehicle and hit the divider. All occupants fled from the spot leaving the vehicle behind, said the SSP.

On searching the vehicle, the police recovered 72 cases of liquor of different brands. The SSP said a case was registered under the Excise Act against two unidentified persons. The police is trying to identify the accused and find who the owner of vehicle is, he said. The Khanna DSP, JS Cheema, and other officials concerned were present also present at the conference.
Darjeeling/Kolkata, June 17

On the boil for the past 10 days over a separate Gorkhaland, Darjeeling on Saturday witnessed widespread clashes between GJM activists and the police in which one person was killed and 35 security personnel were injured, including an IRB officer.

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This was the first death since violent protests returned to Darjeeling on June 8, after a gap of few years.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) workers hurled petrol bombs, stones and bottles at the police at several places, which led the security forces to lob teargas shells and resort to baton-charge to disperse the mobs, a police official said.

Army out to maintain order

Army contingents were deployed to control the situation and they staged flag marches in several areas of the violence-hit hill district, including Darjeeling and Kurseong, where the indefinite shutdown to press for a separate Gorkhaland entered the third day.

Singmari in Darjeeling turned into a battleground as GJM activists threw petrol bombs and stones at the anti-riot police personnel, who fired teargas shells and lathi-charged the agitators.

The incident, in which several people were injured, prompted the administration to deploy the Army.

An Army official said six columns (around 250 personnel) continued to deployed in the district as the situation in Kalimpong was tense.

Besides Singmari, clashes also erupted on the Lebongcart Road, Chowkbazar and Ghum, where the countrys highest railway station is located.

West Bengal ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma said in Kolkata that one person was killed at Singmari and around 35 policemen were injured, 19 of them seriously. This was the first death since violent protests returned to Darjeeling on June 8, after a gap of a few years.

GJM claims two killed

The GJM, however, claimed that two party supporters were killed in police firing.

Two of our comrades were killed in police firing. They are martyrs of the Gorkhaland movement. The people of the hills will not stop until and unless Gorkhaland is achieved, GJM chief Bimal Gurung said in a statement from an undisclosed location.

The final battle is on. Either we get our right or die fighting for it, he said.

Gurungs claim was dismissed by ADG Sharma. The police did not open fire. Not a single bullet was fired; it was the GJM which was firing at us, he said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata that India Rerserve Battalions Assistant Commandant Kiran Tamang was critically injured in the violence.

Tamang, who belongs to IRSs 2nd Battalion, has been shifted to a private nursing home in Siliguri, the police said. Earlier, IRB sources said Tamang was killed in the clash.

Mamata apprises Rajnath of developments

Amidst the continuing violence, Home Minister Rajnath Singh telephoned the Chief Minister and discussed the situation prevailing there.

Banerjee briefed the Home Minister about the steps being taken by the state government to maintain law and order and bring back normalcy in the hill district, official sources said.

Singh asked the CM to take all possible steps to restore peace in the hill station.

Deep-rooted conspiracy

What is happening today is a deep-rooted conspiracy.

So many bombs and arms cannot be gathered in a day, Banerjee told reporters, adding, I am ready to sacrifice my life, but I will not allow Bengal to be divided.

She claimed that the GJM has connections with insurgent groups in the North-East and some foreign countries. She, however, did not name any insurgent group or foreign country.

There is a terrorist brain behind this hooliganism.

We have got clues that they have connections with underground insurgent groups in the Northeast. There are some other countries also helping, Banerjee said.

Reinforcements

The West Bengal government has written to the Centre asking for more forces.

"We have asked for more forces from the Centre. We have sent another request today," a senior official in the state home department said, asking not to be named.

The Centre had held back additional paramilitary personnel meant for Darjeeling on Saturday, demanding a report from the state government of the situation first.

Asked whether the state government was ready with its report for the Centre on the situation in the hills, the official said: "It has been taken care of and it will be sent soon to the Centre. Going by the situation it was realised that current strength of forces in Darjeeling are not enough and we need more".

The police said seven GJM supporters were arrested for their alleged involvement in the violence.

Giving details of the Singmari incident, a senior police officer said prohibitory orders were in force in the area and the police told the protesters, who were carrying the Tricolour and GJM flags, to return.

The slogan-shouting protesters did not relent and started throwing petrol bombs, stones and bottles at the police, he said. A number of police vehicles were set on fire, he said.

We asked them to go back, but they started throwing stones, bottles and petrol bombs. We had to resort to lathi-charge, the official said.

ADG Sharma said, We are waiting for the postmortem report, but it seems that the man died of gunshot wound.

We are trying to identify the person, but going by the preliminary investigation it seems that he is a local, he said.

Law will take its own course. We will arrest anybody found violating law and order in the hills. The police will be tough. he said.

Barring pharmacies, all others shops and hotels were closed in Darjeeling, one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the country. The protests had started against imposition of Bengali language in schools.

Meanwhile, GJM leaders claimed that Vikram Rai, son of GJM MLA Amar Rai, was picked up by the police from Darjeeling.

Vikram is the in charge of the GJMs media cell.

The police last night raided the residence of senior GJM leader Binay Tamang, following which party activists tried to torch a PWD office in Bijanbari area in the hill town. PTI
Shubhadeep Choudhury

Tribune News Service

Kolkata, June 17

Darjeeling turned into a war zone for a couple of hours todaysixth day of the indefinite bandh called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)with violent clashes between security forces and GJM supporters claiming the lives of at least two agitators.

Around 35 security personnel were injured, including an IRB officer seriously.

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Army contingents were deployed to control the situation and they staged flag marches in various areas.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh telephoned the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and discussed the situation prevailing there.

The CM briefed the Home Minister about the steps being taken by the state government to maintain law and order and restore normalcy in the hill district, official sources said.

From an undisclosed location, GJM chief Bimal Gurung released a video footage passionately appealing to the people to come out of their homes to protest against police action.

Kiran Tamang, India Reserve Battalion (IRB) assistant commandant, was critically injured after being stabbed by miscreants. The CM claimed the police did not fire at GJM supporters.
Mumbai, June 16

A special TADA court today convicted six persons, including Mustafa Dossa and gangster Abu Salem, in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, 24 years after the attacks killed 257 persons. It was the first-ever terrorist attack where RDX was used on such a large-scale after World War II.

The court let off Abdul Quayyum, accused of supplying arms, for want of evidence. The court will begin hearing arguments regarding the quantum of punishment from June 19.

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In the first leg of the trial, that ended in 2007, the TADA court had convicted 100 and acquitted 23 persons. The trial of Abu Salem, Dossa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Tahir Merchant and Abdul Quayyum was kept separate from the main case.

Except Quayyum, Special Judge GA Sanap held the other six guilty of criminal conspiracy, murder and offences under TADA, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and Destruction of Public Property Act. Siddiqui was held guilty under TADA alone for helping Abu Salem and others in transporting arms. The court absolved all seven of the charge of waging war against the state.

While Dossa ensured that explosives reached India and sent some youths to Pakistan for training to execute the strikes, Salem transported weapons from Gujarat to Mumbai ahead of the blasts.

He also handed over arms to actor Sanjay Dutt, an accused in the case for keeping AK 56 rifles, 250 rounds and hand grenades at his residence on January 16, 1993. Two days later, Salem and two others went to Dutts house and got back two rifles.

The court had in 2013 dropped certain charges against Salem after the CBI said those were against the extradition treaty between India and Portugal.

Special CBI counsel Deepak Salvi said after the verdict that the conspiracy to carry out the serial blasts was hatched in the wake of the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. Dossa held a meeting in Dubai which was attended by Dawood Ibrahim and others, Salvi said.

The key conspirators, including mobster Dawood Ibrahim, his brother Anees Ibrahim, Mustafas brother Mohammed Dossa and Tiger Memon, are still absconding.

Abu Salem was extradited from Portugal in November 2005 after an assurance he would not be hanged. Salems confession led to the arrests of Siddiqui and Shaikh. Mustafa Dossa, who was wanted in the case since 1995, was arrested in 2003 as he arrived in Delhi from Dubai.  TNS
Hyderabad, June 17

TDP MP JC Diwakar Reddy, who has been banned by all domestic airlines from flying over his alleged unruly behaviour at the Visakhapatnam airport, flew to Europe on Friday night as part of his annual family vacation.

According to JC Prabhakar Reddy, brother of the Anantapur MP, the tour was planned well in advance.

It is something the family did every year, he said.

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He and his family left for vacation on Friday night. I was also supposed to go along with them. But I could not go due to personal work. What is wrong in his foreign tour? He got his visa long ago. It was not planned yesterday, Prabhakar, a TDP MLA from Anantapur told PTI on Saturday.

He, however, did not disclose the holiday destination as well as the airline his brother took for the overseas trip.

Though the exact duration of the vacation is not known, a TDP leader said it might last seven to 10 days.

Following the June 15 episode, in a show of unity, all major domestic airlines have barred the MP from taking their flights--similar to the action taken by the carriers after the incident involving Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad earlier this year.

On Thursday, Reddy was scheduled to fly IndiGos flight 6E-608, which departs from Visakhapatnam at 8.10 am, to Hyderabad. But he reached just 28 minutes before the scheduled departure, according to the airline.

As per norms laid out by the aviation regulator, the airlines close check-in counters for all domestic fights 45 minutes prior to departure.

Enraged, Reddy got into a verbal spat with the ground staff and threw a printer kept at the airlines counter after he was informed that the boarding for his flight had closed.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who also belongs to the same party, has said that he would get the entire incident inquired into and ensure lawful outcomes followed.

Prior to this incident, Reddy had allegedly vandalised the Air India office at Gannavaram airport in Vijaywada last year after he missed his flight. PTI
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 17

While the country waits for the ruling BJP to announce its surprise candidate to succeed President Pranab Mukherjee, 16 Indians have already staked claim to the top constitutional post.

Of them seven have already been rejected while others would be at the scrutiny level. For many it is a chance to become part of the history and what better way than being a part of the elite list available on the Government of India websites for posterity.

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Who can forget Dharti Pakad Kaka Joginder Singh whose nomination papers were usually rejected. He earned a name for himself after several unsuccessful runs for the President, the most successful being the 10th Presidential elections when he polled 1,135 votes.

Incidentally, the 16 names in the current list includes two women, Saira Bano Mohammad Patel from Mumbai and Saraswati Sharma from Kanpur. The last date of filing nominations is June 28 and some more names are expected to be added to the list.

Nominations of seven people  Vijay Narayan Pal, Saraswati Sharma, Sanjay Kumar, Ashok Kumar Singh Chauhan (all from Uttar Pradesh), Lala Ram from Rajasthan, Birpal Singh Malik from Delhi and Ajay Kathuria of Dehradun have been rejected because they did not meet the primary requirements.

A candidate is required to submit a certified copy of the entry relating to the candidate in the electoral roll of the Parliamentary Constituency in which he or she is registered as an elector and a deposit of Rs 50,000.

More nominations are likely to be rejected on June 29, when the commission scrutinises the applications.

According to rules, a prospective Presidential candidate has to get his nomination subscribed by at least 50 electors as proposers and as many seconders.

In the case of Vice President, the nomination paper has to be subscribed by at least 20 electors and 20 seconders. Also, no elector is allowed to subscribe, whether as a proposer or as a seconder, more than one nomination paper in the same election.

Not more than four nomination papers can be filed by a candidate or on his behalf.

The BJP has prepared four sets with 50 proposers and as many secondersa show of strength of 400 of the complete Electoral College which for 2017 is 4,896. They include 233 from the Rajya Sabha, 543 from the Lok Sabha and 4,120 from the state Assemblies.

The total value of votes of all states put together is divided by the total number of elected members of Parliament (Lok Sabha 543+Rajya Sabha 233) to get the value of votes per MP.

Total Value of votes of all members of each State Assembly is worked out by multiplying the number of elective seats in the Assembly by the number of votes for each member.

The total value of votes of these 4,896 electors is 10,98,903.
Lincolns largest free music festival is coming to the Veterans Affairs (VA) Campus from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. next Saturday, June 24.

Six top local bands will each play an hours gig, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The day of fun, relaxation and information has veterans in its name, but it's really for everyone, said event spokesman Dave Polson.

Everyone is invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets, and partake in the fun, Polson added.

The family-oriented schedule of events will include a bounce house, face-painting, information booths, a food bank set up for veterans, military trinkets, and an art show inside the VA Auditorium. There will also be a Marine Corps booth, free bottled water, a food stand operated by the Knights of Columbus, and shuttle service from the parking areas to the heart of the activities.

The seventh annual event relies on volunteers and sponsorship assistance, said Polson. The festival is governed by a volunteer board of 25 members. In addition, all performing band members donate their time to the cause.

Coolers may be brought but will be subject to inspection. No alcohol will be allowed on the grounds.

Donations can be made on the event website at www.vfmp.net and will be accepted the day of the event.
Mumbai, June 16

Telugu Desam Party MP JC Diwakar Reddy has been banned by all domestic airlines following his alleged unruly behaviour at the Visakhapatnam airport as he was denied boarding for an IndiGo flight.

Full-service carrier Vistara and budget airlines  GoAir and AirAsia India today barred Reddy from their flights. Air India, SpiceJet and Jet Airways followed IndiGo yesterday, which imposed the flying ban on him.

In a show of unity, all major domestic airlines have barred Reddy from taking their flights  similar to action taken by the carriers after the incident involving Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad earlier this year.

After careful consideration of the various issues and ramifications of the actions of Reddy, GoAir has also taken a decision of not accepting any further bookings for the said passenger, the airline said in a statement. An AirAsia India spokesperson said it had also barred Reddy from flying. AirAsia India said in its statement that it supported the decision.  PTI
Keki Daruwalla

We are a nation of idol-makers and also idol-breakers. Theres a caveat here, for when we talk of iconoclasm, one is not thinking of Mahmud of Ghazni. Memory, envy and agenda comprise the trident or trishul that breaks idols for us. As memory starts ageing, the lustre around a man like Mahatma Gandhi starts wearing off.

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Two years ago, I was returning from a university after delivering a lecture and was asked by a driver of the taxi they had hired for me, Sahab kya Gandhi achche aadmi they? (Was Gandhi a good man?) So, how can we blame Mr Amit Shah for calling Gandhi a bahut chatur Bania, as he did recently somewhere in Chhattisgarh? He was thinking of Gandhi being far-seeing and cited his known opinion that the Congress should have been dissolved after Independence. But Mr Shah possibly did not realise that when a man of his stature, president of the BJP, lets drop such an expression, it is likely to stick to our memory of Gandhi, will become a part of history. What do I remember of European history, or of the holy Roman Empire? It was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. The 1688 Great and Glorious Revolution of England? It was neither great, nor glorious, nor a revolution. So will Gandhi be confined to that triple-worded mantra, bahut chatur Bania?

The second tine of the trident I talked about was envy. That is bound to occur when smaller people find themselves on the same stage as Nehru and Gandhi. Incidentally, when we denigrate Nehru, as is the fashion today (it is almost compulsory), do we remember that Nehru spent 10 years in jail, a place where Jinnah did not spend a day? Not a night did he spend there, the maker of Pakistan, with the jailor passing him his thali of dal roti through a grill at sunset. I am never tired of pointing out Nehrus 10 years in jail, where he wrote most of his books. People like John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were proud to meet Nehru, such was his stature. And Einstein downwards everyone was happy and proud to meet Gandhi.

Gandhi incidentally was not happy meeting Mussolini, the man favoured by the veterans of our boisterous roistering right-wingers. In his book The Good Boatman, Rajmohan Gandhi says, When he (Gandhi) met Mussolini in Rome in 1931, another facet of his non-violence was revealed. He disliked the Italian dictators trophies of war and suspected his catlike eyes. He thought Mussolini was a cruel man. The author has culled these facts from The Diary of Mahadev Desai, May 1932.

Thank God that the Congress did not dissolve itself after Independence, or we would have been at the mercy of the Hindu Mahasabha. How would my generation have felt if after Gandhis emphasis on truth, ahimsa and communal harmony, the nation would have been led by Godses ideals?

Then comes agenda. It is a fallacy of the present political establishment to equate Nehru mukti with Congress mukti. Let Nehru and Gandhi rest where they are and attack, like all robust politicians do  and politics is a game for robust men, just look at Mr Shah  the Congress, Emergency downwards. When are we going to see a non-Nehru family president of the Congress? Next century? After Rahul, will the next Congress president be a Vadra?

The current mantra is aggression. Pakistanis behead our men? Give them surgical strikes and show all of it on TV, otherwise wheres the point? Nepal wont play ball with the Madhesis? Well fix you buddy. And in our own Uttar Pradesh, you are not happy with the beef ban? And you were unhappy that we did not give a single ticket to a Muslim? We will give you Adityanath Yogi. Dont blame politicians. Todays Indian being what he is, aggression is the mantra for votes. Under such circumstances, can there ever be any negotiation between Gandhism and the current stance of right-wingers? Gandhian values are well and truly entombed, not just by right-wingers, but by the Indian youth itself.

But the entire freedom struggle cannot be ignored. So appropriate Patel. If the Thackerays (not to be confused with our Calcutta-born William Makepeace Thackeray of Vanity Fair fame) can appropriate Shivaji, why cant BJP appropriate the Sardar of Bardoli? At least one icon is safe. I heard Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as a kid in 1947 when he came to Junagadh. To translate a Gujarati saying, he was like a pitcher of cold water (thanda pani nu matlu). He mixed up his metaphors though. He said Hyderabad is already in our stomach, we can swallow it whenever we want to. Cool, calm, Iron Man of India. God rest his soul.

It is the Champaran centenary, for Gods sake, and such statements are made! Gandhi did not show any cunning here. He was just confronted with the terrible iniquity forced down by the English indigo planters on the poor peasants and he went there and slogged for eight months. He defied arrest and the tinkathia system whereby 3/20th of each holding was given to indigo plantation. He defied arrest and the iniquitous law was withdrawn because of his successful agitation. Gandhiji also saw the prevalence of alcoholism, untouchability and purdah in the area and tried to reform the peasantry.

Some dismissive remarks were made by Mr Shah against Allan Octavio Hume, without naming him. The Congress party was constituted as a club by a British man. It had in its fold both right and left-leaning people. Correct. But that was the freedom movement. I am not sure how much the left (communists) or the right (Hindu Mahasabha) helped in the freedom struggle. And Hume (ICS) was a friend of India, was arguably the finest ornithologist, wanted to raise the age of Indian girls for marriage (which Congress opposed), wrote books on birds, theosophy and agricultural reforms in India. And he asked Indians to rise up against British oppression as he saw it. Are ye serfs or are ye freemen? he asked. He wrote:

Sons of Inde, why sit ye idle,

Wait ye for some Devas aid?

Buckle to, be up and doing!

Nations by themselves are made.
Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, june 17

Commending the security forces for doing a good job under difficult circumstances, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat today asserted that the situation in the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir would be brought under control soon.

Some parts of south Kashmir are troublesome. The necessary action is being taken to ensure that the situation there is soon brought under control. I dont think there should be any cause for concern in any of you, he told reporters after reviewing the Combined Graduation Parade at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal near here. He said misinformation and disinformation was possibly compelling youngsters to take up arms in the Valley.

I am quite confident that they (youth) will soon understand that what they are doing is not good for their own state. All that armed forces and security forces want is peace and tranquility in the Valley, General Rawat said.
Sangrur, June 16

Farmers today blocked roads for three hours at Bhawanigarh and Mehala Chowk areas of the district. They have announced to intensify their agitation if the authorities fail to fulfil their demands in the near future.

Three years after the formation of its government at the Centre, the BJP has not implemented the Swaminathan report so far. When farmers demand their rights, they are killed, said Bikramjit Singh, district president of BKU Sidhupur, while addressing farmers in Bhawanigarh.

At Mehala Chowk, farmers threatened to block roads indefinitely.

Abohar: The country-wide chakka jam call given by farmers organisations forced hundreds of vehicles to wait at roadside dhabas on national and state highways for almost half of the day. Farmers pitched tents at Sadhuwali village on the Abohar-Sriganganagar stretch of National Highway-15 and Manaksar on Sriganganagar-Suratgarh-Bikaner highway.

They also blocked roads at Lakhuwali, Pucca Saharan, Masruwala, Ratanwala and Dholipal village on the Abohar-Hanumangarh road.  TNS
Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16

Congress MLA Kuljit Singh Nagra today demanded a Vigilance probe against the transport officials who had allegedly allowed illegal operations of private buses during the 10-year Akali-BJP rule.

In a call-attention motion, the legislator said large-scale illegal operations had been going on at the cost of the exchequer, while seeking strict action against the guilty officials.

Despite the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to quash the illegal route extension granted under an amendment in the transport policy of 1990, the Transport Department failed to act against these operators, he said.

It was stated that during the fortnight-long drive by Vigilance officials against illegal bus operations, the daily revenue of PRTC and Punjab Roadways buses had increased by Rs20 lakh.

Joining the issue, Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu alleged that the Akalis had appointed frontmen to run illegal buses. The worth of Badal-owned transport companies has grown manifold in the past 10 years, said Sidhu. If these buses can make profit, why cant the PRTC be pulled out of the red? The state transport undertaking is under a Rs350-crore debt, he added.

When asked why the Congress government was allegedly going slow on action against operators of illegal buses, Sidhu said it was for the CM to reply as he was holding the transport portfolio.

Replying to the call-attention motion, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said no bus would be allowed to ply illegally on the states roads. A crackdown against such buses has already been launched and the new transport policy  which is on the anvil  will solve the problem once and for all, he added.

Halqa chiefs still calling shots: Oppn

Opposition MLAs Baljinder Kaur (AAP), Som Parkash (BJP) and NK Sharma (SAD) claimed the halqa incharge system was still prevalent. They said MLAs or losing candidates of the ruling party were getting false cases registered against their opponents. Congress MLAs Balbir Singh Sidhu and Kuljit Singh Nagra claimed that the system had been abolished by their party.

New policy on anvil

No bus will be allowed to ply illegally on the states roads. The new transport policy, which is on the anvil, will solve the problem.  Capt Amarinder Singh, CM
Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislators, raising slogans inside the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, today attacked the Congress government for its failure to announce a loan waiver for farmers. Some were seen in a cantankerous spat with Congress MLAs. But it was AAPs Bholath MLA Sukhpal Khaira who was suspended by Speaker Rana KP Singh for the rest of the session for uploading a video of the unruly scenes on Facebook.

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With Khaira recording the heated exchanges between Akali and Congress MLAs, that ensued after an outburst by Minister for Local Bodies Navjot Singh Sidhu, Congress MLAs, who were led by Kuljit Singh Nagra, raised objections. Subsequently, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Brahm Mohindra moved a motion and Khaira was suspended for the session. The AAP MLA refused to hand over his cellphone, arguing that other MLAs were carrying phones as well, that House proceedings were not in progress when he had shot the video and that similar incidents had occurred in the past too. As AAP MLAs, led by Leader of the Opposition HS Phoolka, protested the decision, the Speaker adjourned the House.

I equate the unfair attitude of the Speaker with the Abdalis, Duranis and Mughals who mercilessly executed people, denying them an opportunity to defend themselves, a defiant Khaira said. Tempers ran high during question hour as SAD and Congress MLAs entered into a spat over the "unparliamentary" language used for Tourism and Culture Minister. Congress MLAs Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Nagra, Parminder Singh Pinky and Rana Sodhi stormed into the well of the House and nearly came to blows with Akali members. SAD's Rozy Barkandi was pushed by Ghanaur MLA Thekedar Madan Lal Jalalpura. There were at least two adjournments and two walkouts.

Earlier as the session began, SAD-BJP MLAs, including Pawan Kumar Tinu, Ajit Singh Kohar, NK Sharma, HPS Chandumajra and Arun Narang, rushed to the House well, raising slogans over "unkept" poll promises. The protests became louder as Sidhu got up to reply.

The minister lost his cool while responding to a query on the Harike project after certain remarks were made against him. An enraged Sidhu then spoke of the "illegal activities" of the Badal family, blaming them for the Rs 350 crore PRTC loss.

Addressing the Assembly on the third day of the Budget session, CM Amarinder Singh reiterated his government's commitment to fulfilling all poll promises, including a loan waiver and "kurki" (auction) abolition for the debt-ridden farmers. Over repeated disruptions, he said: "The prestige of the Speakers office has never been lowered like this by throwing paper missiles at him."

Bhatti is Dy Speaker

Congress legislator Ajaib Singh Bhatti was elected Deputy Speaker on Friday. Proposed by the CM, his name was seconded by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra. Even as Bhattis election was on, Akali MLAs stormed into the well of the House, seeking a debate on loan waiver. TNS

Cong-bashers out

The Congress is happy over the suspension of Lok Insaaf Party MLA Simarjit Singh Bains and AAP MLA Sukhpal Khaira, who have been targeting the government over mining and transport business. We did not want Sukhpal to rake up the mining issue allegedly involving Rana Gurjit. We want to target Akalis and keep AAP out. Now, the government can discuss its development agenda, said an MLA.

Warring all praise for Capt

During the discussion on the Governors Address, Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring overshadowed other party MLAs in singing paeans to the CM, while attacking the critics who were pointing fingers at the government over wrongdoings in the sand mining auction. Comparing Amarinder with a lion, Warring said the CM was acting against the wrongdoers with an iron hand.

Overzealous Channi

During the commotion created by Akalis MLAs protest in the Well of the House and Congress MLAs countering them, Charanjit Singh Channi suddenly got up from his seat to push aside the Marshals, who had formed a human chain near the front row of the treasury benches (where the CM was seated).

Support for Sidhu

During a protest by Akali MLAs against the remarks made by Navjot Sigh Sidhu, a number of Congress MLAs rushed to the Well of the House in support of the minister.

Akalis relent after Capts threat

Chandigarh: When protesting Akali MLAs refused to relent, the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh flashed a list of SAD leaders who were allegedly involved in illegal mining. Though the Chief Minister did not reveal the names in the long list, the Akalis (including Muktsar MLA Kanwarjit Singh Rozy Barkandi) made a hasty retreat to their seats. They, however, claimed that they relented on an assurance over loan waiver by the Chief Minister. TNS
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 17

The Sikh delegation will not be able to visit Pakistan on the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh this time for want of official permission.

A 251-member Sikh delegation was scheduled to go to Pakistan from June 21 to 29. The SGPC was facilitating the trip, but the Ministry of External Affairs has declined permission due to security concerns.

Confirming it, the Chief Secretary Harcharan Singh said the ministry had told the SGPC that if anyone still wanted to visit Pakistan, an undertaking should be given that he or she would go on his or her own risk.

Incidentally, the Pak High Commission in New Delhi had even denied visas to another SGPC delegation, who wished to visit Pakistan in May to observe the Martyrdom Day of Guru Arjan Dev, as per their calendar.
Ranjita Biswas

This May 13, Pope Francis was in the Portuguese town of Fatima, about 125 km north of capital Lisbon. Tens of thousands of people were there too to witness the canonisation of two children of a shepherds family. A hundred years ago, on the same date, the brother and sister duo Francisco and Jacinta Marto had witnessed an apparition of Mother Mary in the field while grazing their flock of sheep.

As the legend goes, on that day in 1917, the children and their cousin Lucia dos Santos were out in the field in a place called Cova da Iria when they saw a dazzling light. They thought it was lightening and while hurrying home, they saw a Lady more brilliant than the Sun from whose hands hung a white rosary. The apparition appeared at the same place on the 13th day for five consecutive months.

The children said the Lady with the Rosary revealed to them three secrets  apocalyptic messages foreshadowing the Second World War, the rise and fall of Communism and the death of a pope  and urged them to pray for peace and turn away from sin. Unfortunately, nine-year-old Francisco and seven-year-old Jacinta died of influenza two years later. The story narrated by the children was first doubted by their parents and the local Catholic church, but slowly gained believers and was eventually accepted as authentic by the Vatican in 1930. The kids were canonised last month.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima, symbolic of Mother Mary, has been built at the spot where the children witnessed the apparition. Thousands of pilgrims visit the Basilica from all across the world every year.

Fatima itself is a pretty little town with the Basilica, obviously, its mainstay. Walking around the roads and lanes, buying little mementos and tasting local food give a flavour of the Portuguese town. However, first, the Basilica The approach to the beautiful Basilica is through a vast plaza. Yet, do not be astonished to see many pilgrims moving toward the church on their knees, padded to soften the pain, with rosary in hand to pay homage. Much like our devotees, who want to make a wish or express gratitude for fulfillment of a wish.

By the side of the plaza, shops sell candles in all sizes, some so huge, they seem almost as tall as a childs height. On the sides of the plaza are gorgeous modern monuments built in the theme of piety.

Inside the Basilica, there are 15 altars dedicated to the 15 mysteries of the rosary as well as the tombs of the two children who had the vision. Their cousin Lucia dos Santos was the main narrator of their tale. She died in 2005. Now she is awaiting beatification, the first step towards becoming a saint.

The construction of the Basilica of the Holy Trinity began across the plaza in 2004. The design for the striking modern neo-classical building was selected after an international competition and it was awarded to Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis. The entire building is in white, as also the statue of Our Lady, creating an atmosphere of peace. Glass panels at the entrance have passages of holy scriptures in many languages, including Hindi.

Fatima has also been long associated with St John Paul II. The Polish-born Pope credited the Virgin Mary with saving his life in 1981 when a would-be assassin shot him on Fatimas feast day  13 May  in St Peters Square in the Vatican. Remember one of the three secrets?
RACINE  The City of Racine could soon have another roundabout, this one at the intersection of Durand Avenue and South Memorial Drive as part of state-sponsored repairs of Highway 11.

City Engineer John Rooney addressed the Public Works and Services Committee this week about a request from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to have a roundabout approved as the preferred alternative for the city at the intersection. The roundabout would be part of a larger project, funded by an 80-20 state-city split, that would see extensive repairs to Highway 11 (Durand) from Kearney Avenue to Sheridan Road (Highway 32).

Public Works Commissioner Mark Yehlen said that the state DOT wanted Racines opinion on the roundabout, since that may be a requirement for future projects in accordance with pending legislation. The committee unanimously approved the roundabout recommendation.

WisDOT has asked us go to our Public Works and Services Committee and get them to designate this as the preferred alternative, Yehlen said. The states recommending that we do this and we agree with them.

Yehlen said he doesnt have any idea when the proposed roundabout, which still needs full City Council approval as the preferred alternative, would be constructed.

I dont know when this is going to be done, he said.  I cant speak to state politics.

Yehlen added that he doesnt believe Racine residents are opposed to roundabouts, saying that we have some pretty good public acceptance of roundabouts. Roundabouts also pose significant benefits to the city from a safety and maintenance standpoint, he said.

They really, really improve traffic safety because they eliminate the T-bone crash, Yehlen said. It costs less money to operate on a regular basis because theres no traffic signal to maintain.

The roundabout is actually the less complicated option proposed by the state, according to Yehlen. The other option would involve adding turn lanes and would require the city to acquire twice as much land.

They can do this as a one-lane roundabout, Yehlen said.  It actually has a smaller footprint. You dont need all that real estate.
B.N. Goswamy

A few weeks ago, I was with Doro Foernzler and her husband, Melk  dear and old friends  spending a couple of days in their mountain home in Filisur. If no one has heard of that place, it would not come as a surprise to me, for, it is just a tiny little place, a speck even on the map of that little but achingly beautiful country that goes by the name of Switzerland.

It is, in fact, only a little village, high up in the mountains, with a population of no more than 600 persons, with old houses that flank a narrow street that takes you to the celebrated valley of Engadin that tourists flock to from all over the world. In and of itself, Filisur has no spectacular features  monument, history, hot springs, or anything like this  that would call for special attention. Except that it has an air of utter calm, and quiet, clean charm, added to by the wonderful warmth that comes from friends like Doro and Melk and their 400-year-old home.

The thing that struck me sharply, at the same time  in the two or three days that I was there  was the air of history that clung to and almost hugged everything in that village. Filisur is not some abandoned old place untouched by modern life: it has every conceivable facility which features in todays living: there is a tiny station on the mountain railway that serves these parts; the community governs itself from an elegant headquarters; water and electricity and gadgets and telecommunications in every home; and so on.

But the place has not allowed itself to be taken over unthinkingly by change, and jealously preserves features  practically in every home and every bend in the road  that keep reminding itself of the past and taking delight in its history. Nearly all houses bear old, almost rural, look. If at one time there used to be wide carved wooden doors under expansive low arches through which one entered the home, they are still there; if there were barns in which cattle used to be kept, the barns are still there even if they are being put to new uses without altering their outside appearance; if stone was the commonest of materials for raising buildings, it can still be seen everywhere; again, if there were open community troughs in the village where men and animals could help themselves to mountain-spring water, they continue to be there. In Doro and Melks own home, doors retain the elegant old iron hinges; the surfaces of walls still look roughly plastered; the windows looking out on the street are still small, and are either set deep into the wall or protected by rhythmically cast iron grills.

One of the oldest surviving buildings in the village is of course the Church which goes back to 1492  that is well before the Mughals came to India  but it is not the only structure that preserves its date. A number of houses bear dates: not simply of when they were constructed but when they were modified or renovated to an extent. Doros own home bears three dates, for instance, carved and painted high up on the outer wall: 1611, when it was built; 1911, when the railway came to these mountainous parts and brought with it widespread changes; and 1985, when some modifications were made. The oldest secular building in the village bears not only a clear date on its outer wall  1595, when the great Akbar was still ruling India, one reminds oneself  but also fading remains of mural paintings. Featuring on the one hand is the image of a capricorn  the Alpine ibex with curved horns, which is the symbol of the canton Graubunden to which the village belongs  and, on the other, two animals, including a dromedary, which were exotic enough for its owners to show, for they, in their travels, might have seen them somewhere. Dates apart, many houses feature, high up on the outer wall again, squarish panels inscribed with bold words, going back to the 17th century or earlier, written in Latin  that surely was the language of classic texts and certainly much favoured by the Church  which record the name of the owner of the house and invoke the blessings of God upon him and his family. One wonders if the occupants of the house today can make complete sense of the inscriptions, but they leave them there, untouched, for they belong to history.

I can go on pointing to other features that almost define Filisur and its neighbouring villages in these somewhat remote parts. But I wish to move to the point that I am trying to make: that there is here a regard for the past, for memories which need to be kept alive, which we, in our own land, need to learn from. The unseemly haste with which we are obliterating our histories, the uncalled for sense of apology with which we talk about old things and places, we need to look at again. For one is living with the uneasy feeling that in our rush to embrace change we are losing something. For one thing, the lofty idea that the past and the present do not have to be mutually exclusive; that they can even co-exist in some manner.
Sureet Singh

Easterine Kires fourth novel, Son of the Thundercloud is a story of hope and miracles. In this grounding yet elevating book, the author combines lyrical storytelling with the magic and wisdom of Naga legends to create a life-affirming tale of a simpler age. In a narrative reminiscent of Biblical beliefs, such as the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and Magi watching the star of Bethlehem, the author heralds the birth of a miracle child who will give meaning to the lives of suffering people coping with drought and famine.

After losing his entire family in a famine, a man travels endless miles to arrive at an abandoned village where he meets two sisters who are hundreds of years old. They have lived there all this time without food, eating only hope and living to see the next day. The two sisters lead him to another village where an ancient prophecy will be fulfilled. The prophecy is about another woman, who is several hundred years old and becomes pregnant when a single drop of rain falls on her. The birth of the child is accompanied by mystical and miraculous happenings such as millions of stars moving in the sky and pulling the earth along, the regeneration of the earth, and huge trees sprouting up overnight. The miracle child grows up to slay the spirit tiger which had killed his father and seven brothers. The man becomes the childs guardian and finds a home again witnessing many miracles and tragedy.

The narrative is interwoven with enlightening wisdoms and anecdotes. Allegorical in nature, the story contains multi-layered metaphors about fundamental issues of human existence such as mans search for meaning in life, the question of good and bad, right and wrong, and joy and suffering. The impregnation of the woman from a single raindrop, for instance, is a metaphor for the regenerative power of rain to restore the fertility of land. The spirit tiger is the embodiment of evil and human greed. The conservation of the natural environment is also a subtle but recurring metaphorical theme throughout the book.

Invoking a sense of timelessness upon the reader, Son of the Thundercloud is essentially a book about feelings and emotions rather than thinking. With disarmingly simple language and inherent honesty, Kire gently holds the readers attention to bring home the message that love and life are eternal. The novel reminds us that we can always choose love over fear, hope over disbelief and to believe in whats miraculous rather than what is merely plausible.
Geetu Vaid

When Kendrick Lamar sang I love myself there was very little to suggest that this love affair would actually become serious enough to make one waltz down the aisle in ones own company to take wedding vows with oneself  to literally marry oneself. Heres sologamy or solygamy for you  especially for those scared of stepping into the institution of marriage holding someone elses hand. This latest addition to the lexicon of matrimony, after the ignominious polygamy, monotonous monogamy and maverick same-sex marriages, is the most individualistic besides being the one that reflects the changing paradigms of relationships in the 21st century.

Call it utterly narcissistic or a desperate attempt to dress up drab spinsterhood in the haute couture of matrimony, there is no denying the fact that sologamy has been attracting global attention and over the past few years its followership has increased in several countries, including USA, UK, Japan and some European nations. While Sophie Tanner (38), a PR consultant, celebrated the second anniversary of her blissful marriage to herself last month, others like writer Sara Sharpe, Nadine Schweigert, Jennifer Hoes, Yasmin Eleby, too, have walked down the aisle with themselves for a happily ever after breaking the spinster stereotype.

With enterprising websites like imarriedme.com by a Los Angeles-based couple, MarryYourself Vancouver and Cerea Travels in Japan offering marriage kits and travel options, sologamy is in business, literally.

However, looking beyond the bright bridesmaids and friends dressed as cardinals conducting the ceremonies or indulgent fathers giving away their daughters and the din of after-marriage parties, one can sense a reaction to the insecurity and impatience that is paralysing intimate relationships the world over. This is something from which no culture is going to stay immune for long. Thus, the attempts to brush sologamy aside as an interesting trend that is far removed from our Indian mores will not do.

However Indian one may be, it is difficult to deny that the increasing instances of infidelity and divorces all around us have made marriage appear like a house of cards perched precariously on the seismic zone of relationships. I am not against marriage per se but when I look at the experiences of my friends and some relatives, I get apprehensive about making a commitment for life to someone. And the fact that whether it will be a love marriage or an arranged one doesnt make much of a difference, says 23-year-old software engineer Nikita Chibber.

Even if one sets gamophobia aside, the Gen Z also seems to have less faith in the institution of marriage on the whole with so many marriages breaking up and extra-marital affairs becoming a routine in cities, big or small. Nishant Panicker, who comes from a broken home, says, Marriage holds no charm for me as I know people change with time and what is one supposed to do on realising that one is stuck with a stranger just because of a two-hour ceremony.

In times when commitment and loyalty are easily sacrificed in the quest to satiate the hunger for the bigger, better and more, adultery no longer raises eyebrows. A stark example of this lies in the whopping 1,21,500 people in India subscribing for Gleeden, a premium dating website/application meant exclusivley for married people. The American website that is run exclusively by women has over 3.5 million subscribers worldover. It is not without reason that the company is eyeing Indias $130 million online dating market hungrily.

When marriages that are made in heaven and served on earth turn sticky and unpalatable leaving a bad taste in many cases, the concept of self-marriage doesnt seem that unattractive to both of our young respondents.

As the sun of disenchantment shines brightly, marriage has, to some extent, ceased to be a social compulsion in our country as it was a few decades ago. A person not marrying these days is not seen as an oddity in society and several people prefer to stay single. But is sologamy the answer to ills and troubles that marriage may lead to?

Certainly not, says psychiatrist, Dr Sachin Kaushik. By definition marriage means union with someone else, and anyone denying this basic human need is following an unhealthy practice, he adds.

Sologamy is more of a defence mechanism. A person taking this route subconsciously wants to get married and be in a committed relationship. Such people are, in fact, in conflict with themselves. They are insecure and feel a need to over-justify themselves. The main aim here is to celebrate ones individuality and happiness. Then why not say that I am single and having a good time? What is the need to organise a solo marriage ceremony just to conform to the norms of society?, argues Mumbai-based psychotherapist Sonal Ahuja. One can still understand this if one does it to celebrate ones status to get even with married friends and peers like Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City. But to actually getting down to living this is a sad coping mechanism, she adds.

Commenting on the fact that sologamy is primarily being practised by women so far, as there has been no reported case of a man marrying himself, Sonal adds, This simply proves how women are more vulnerable and need to fit in a social system where not being married means not being lovable enough.

Despite the proclamations of committing to ones happiness and celebrating ones choices in life marrying oneself is an indication of insecurity, depression, anxiety, and need for social acceptance, besides the temptation to hog the limelight, adds Dr Kaushik.

Why not declare your happiness as a single person. Let your happiness and contentment with your single status give an answer to society or to those who look at you as someone unable to sustain love and relationships?, says Pragati Chawla, a 38-year-old PR professional, who is happily single.

A healthier approach would be to form singles clubs or network that can offer support in any crisis. Everyone needs a meaning in life and one is cheating oneself of that meaning by going in for things like self-marriage. This way you are creating more conflict for yourself by being in the denial mode. Involve yourself in something creative, an NGO, charity or any other such activity rather than obsessing about marriage, says Dr Kaushik.

While one can chuckle and scoff at the eccentricity of the whole concept, it is a grim reflection of the fault lines in the landscape of matrimony that hint at a tectonic shift. Even though one may try to sweep it under the carpet of decency and socially approved system, the fact is that relationships are fast losing their traditional contours and our society is not ready to accept the change yet.

Trouble in paradise

Dr Sachin Kaushik, a psychiatrist working with Max Hospital in Mohali and a practising counselor, who gets a large number of marital discord cases in his clinic, says that the surprising factor is that most of these couples have differences within the first few months or a year of their marriage.
Sajeda Momin

Are you a fan of the boy wizard Harry Potter? If yes, then a visit to London is not complete without a trip to the studios where J.K. Rowlings record-breaking books were brought to life in the most successful film series of all times. The unique walking tour takes you behind-the-scenes and brings you up close with the sets, costumes and props used in the films along with letting you in on the secrets that went into creating the magical world of Hogwarts.

Step through the enormous wooden doors into the actual Great Hall where the students of Hogwarts ate and celebrated; peer into Harrys room under the stairs where he grew up; explore Dumbledores office and discover new treasures; walk through the cobble-stoned Diagon Alley with shop fronts of Ollivanders wand shop, the Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and Eeylops Owl Emporium; see iconic props like Harrys Nimbus 2000 or Hagrids motorcycle; quench your thirst with a tankard of the non-alcoholic butterbeer or fly a broomstick. For a few hours, simply forget you are a human and get lost in the fantastic world of muggles and wizards created by Rowling.

Leavesden Film Studios, where all eight of the Harry Potter films were shot, is located at Watford in Hertfordshire, a 20-minute train ride from Central London. Once an aircraft factory and airfield called Leavesden Aerodrome, a centre of British aircraft production during World War II, the hangers were first used to film James Bonds Golden Eye in 1994. In 2000, Warner Bros bought the 80-hectare plot to film the first of the Harry Potter films.

Over the next 10 years, as the books were still being released and films made, the production crew saved many of the iconic sets, props and costumes that were created especially for the films, just in case they were needed later. When filming wrapped on Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows II in 2010, the production crew were left with a treasure trove of intricate and beautifully made artefacts. Taking over two sound studios and a backlot, a team comprising many of the original cast and crew reassembled the sets and recorded their memories from filming so that Harry Potter fans could experience the magic of filmmaking first hand.

On March 31, 2012, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London  The Making of Harry Potter opened its doors to public. Ever since, more than 6,000 adults and children visit the studios daily to walk in the footsteps of Harry, Hermoine and Ron. Tickets, which cannot be purchased at the door and must be bought in advance, are a tad expensive at Rs 5,800 for adults and Rs 5,380 for children, but are worth the experience for a Pottermaniac.

In the last 5 years, the Studio Tour has been adding new attractions to keep the interest alive. Last year, the famous Hogwarts Express train was brought in along with Platform 9  at Kings Cross station for fans to experience. On March 31 this year, the Forbidden Forest complete with its mystical creatures was added as the new permanent expansion. Lakhs of fans from around the world have already made their pilgrimage to Leavesden, and more keep coming every day. Will you be one of them this year?
Amit Sengupta

These images dont celebrate the fear, humiliation or violence that stalks the Africans across byways, vegetable markets and shopping malls. Instead, they depict poise and elegance, resilience and deep solitude... Mahesh Shantarams new series, The African Portraits, documents the lives of Africans living in India, ghettoised and brutalised by a crudely expressed and hidden culture of racism. The photographs, which were showcased at a recent exhibition by Tasveer and Exhibit 320, are at once striking, for, each one of them is a portrait of dignity and alienation. While in Brussels, Shantaram speaks to The Tribune on these portraits of intimacy as aesthetic metaphor and a political statement.

What inspired you to document the lives of Africans, mostly young, in India? How much time did it take?

I want to learn about India and Indianness through the experience of Africans living here. The portraits commemorate my meetings with each of my subjects and the extended conversations I've had with them. I've been working on this project since February 2016.

In their narratives, how do they perceive the expressed, violent and tacit racism in India? Did they expect it when they came here? Do they only come here for education?

Racism against blacks is an everyday phenomenon. Only when an 'incident' happens does it become newsworthy. Many Africans find themselves unwittingly caught an Indian problem  our propensity to treat with baseless suspicion, met out unfair treatment, and dispense mob justice to people who are seen as inferior. A vast majority of Africans I've spoken to are legitimate students. I focus mainly on them because they are a vulnerable community and lack the agency to act in a society that is weighed against them. African students look at India as some sort of Mecca for higher education. Their idea of India is inspired by Hindi films. However, their expectations come crashing down as soon as they get here and experience xenophobia.

I had been noticing reports of occasional but serious incidents of racism against black people in India. But, early this year, an attack against a Tanzanian student in Bangalore (where I live) shook me to a point where I felt the need to come up with an artistic response. Thats what got me started on a cross-country journey to meet African students, understand their experiences and, sometimes, even counsel them to navigate a difficult terrain.

How do they compare this form of racism in India, with experiences in other countries, notably, in the West? Why should they be concerned about racism in other countries? Do they find any redeeming features in India? Solidarity, affection, intellectual comradeship..

There are always right-minded people who will show solidarity when the time comes. This happens after every 'incident'. However, by and large, African students have only each other for company. They are generally not made to feel welcome by their Indian peers inside and outside campus. Romantic relations between Africans and Indians are very risky to pursue. The exceptions are so rare that it is treasured by those who enjoy the privilege.

Your show is mostly portraits, full of dignity, as much as poise and grace. Surely, there is a stark sense of isolation and alienation too...

I find portraiture intimidating and incredibly appealing at the same time. As such, I was itching to get started on a debut portrait project. Traditionally, there are ways of approaching a photo project that wants to look at a community. However, what I was interested in this case was racism and other interconnected social phenomena. How do you photograph racism? You need something that can act as a visual metaphor or personify it. Thats what led me to have all these encounters with Africans across India. Anywhere in the world, Africans can tell you a thing or two about racism.

Ive also wanted to experiment with slowing down the process of photography. I met the first students I photographed at night; soon, for the sake of consistency, I started taking all the portraits at night time. Daylight tends to describe everything  it shows things as they are. The dark offers the security and intimacy of a warm blanket. Each of these images is exposure of 8 to 15 seconds. It would be impossible to succeed without the total dedication and collaboration of my subjects. That allows a bond to develop between us.
Pushpa Girimaji

I am told that there is now a law against the sale of edible oil that is not pre-packed. Is this true? However, I find many oil retailers selling unpacked edible oil. If there is a law, why is it not being enforced?

To answer your first question, this is not a new law. The government banned the sale of edible oil in loose form, soon after one of the worst epidemics of dropsy affected as many as 3,000 people in Delhi and led to 60 deaths, following large-scale adulteration of mustard oil with argemone oil, in 1998. Argemone oil, extracted from the seeds of argemone that resembles mustard seeds, is so toxic that even short-term consumption leads to severe gastro-intestinal disorders. Swelling and paralysis of the limbs, glaucoma and cardiac arrest are some of the other symptoms. The adulteration of the oil was so widespread during that year that not just Delhi, but several other states had to temporarily stop the sale of mustard oil. Subsequently, every container of oil had to carry a declaration that it was free from argemone oil.

The prohibition of sale of loose oil was incorporated under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, which governed the safety of food at that time. Subsequently, when the Food Safety and Standards Act replaced the PFA Act, it was incorporated in the new law. Thus, the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on sales) Regulations 2011 prohibits the sale of loose oil. Now despite the prohibition, you find consumers buying edible oil sold without packaging because: a) state enforcement agencies have not been enforcing the ban stringently; b) They have also not bothered to really educate and warn consumers about the dangers of buying edible oil without packaging. Theres another problem here. A large percentage of daily wage labourers and the rural poor, who cannot afford to buy edible oil sold in packs of one litre or more, buy small quantities. Obviously, they are without packaging. The quantity of loose oil sold and bought can be gauged from a study done in 2009 on the edible oil marketing in Tamil Nadu, which showed that 13.34 per cent of oil mills sold edible oily only in loose form, while 18.33 per cent sold both in packets and loose. The rest, 68.33 per cent, sold only in packed form.

Could oil sold loose be adulterated?

Such oil could be sub-standard, rancid and outdated. They could be adulterated with cheaper oils or even highly toxic substances like argemone oil. And without packaging, batch number, or FSSAI licence number, you cannot even trace the source of the oil in case of a problem.

And there is enough evidence of such adulteration of oil sold loose. For example, the epidemic dropsy incidents in the districts of Gwalior in 2000, Kannauj in 2002, Lucknow in 2005, Panchmahal and Dungarpur in 2012 bear testimony to it. More recently, Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education and Research Centre tested 15 samples of loose groundnut oil as per FSSAI standards and found that five out of 15 samples were adulterated with palmolein, while seven with cottonseed oil. Nine samples were found to be rancid and failed the test for freshness. There was dirt, sediments and, in one sample, even insects. As cottonseed oil and palmolein are far cheaper, traders find it highly profitable to adulterate costlier oils with them. But for consumers, such adulteration not only leads to financial loss, but also loss of health because palmolein, for example, is not a healthy choice of fat.

Similar tests on 1,015 samples of various oils collected from 15 states by Consumer Voice, a Delhi-based voluntary organisation, found that nearly 85 per cent of coconut oil, 74.1 per cent of cottonseed oil, 74 per cent of sesame oil and 72 per cent of mustard oil samples failed the quality tests.

Its time the state governments enforced the law and ensured that the safety and health of their people are not compromised. The Food Safety and Standards Authority is, in fact, pushing for smaller packages. In the recent times, a number of companies have started bringing out small pouches. However, in order to wean the poor away from loose oil and encourage purchase of smaller pouches, their price should match that of loose oil. It is also absolutely essential to educate them on the dangers of loose oil.
Suresh Dharur in Kurnool

FROM a distance, the site resembles a scene straight out of a Hollywood sci-fi movie. As you get closer, you are awe-struck by unending rows of blue glass panels stretched out as far as the eye can see. It seems as if the arid stretch of land in the perennially drought-prone Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh has suddenly come to life with the buzz of construction around. This is where the worlds largest single-location solar power facility is coming up.

The Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park to generate 1,000 MW of power is nearing completion. Preparations are underway for its formal inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month. Spread over 5,900 acres between Gani and Sekunala villages off the Kurnool-Nandyal state highway, the solar park is expected to transform the backward region by generating job opportunities for the local youth, besides improving the power supply in the state.

The task of installing over 40 lakh solar panels  about 4,000 for each MW  has been completed in a record time of six months. Over 5,000 engineers have been working on site since November last year. All panels are fixed facing south to north at 13 degrees, for the optimum capture of the power of the sun.

This solar park is bigger than the two comparable projects in the world  Adani Powers 648-MW plant at Kamuthi in Tamil Nadu and Topaz Solar Farm in California with a capacity of 550 MW.

Land hassles

At a time when land acquisition for mega projects is a tricky affair in other states, the farmers of the two villages  Gani and Sekunalahad offered their lands for the park. A major chunk of the 5,900 acres is the government land while over 2,200 acres have been acquired from private parties under the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. However, there are allegations of delay in payment of the promised compensation to the farmers.

The revenue officials had promised us Rs 6.5 lakh per acre. The district collector had assured that the payments would be done in two weeks. But, some of us are yet to receive the compensation, said M Mallaiah of Sekunala village whose 5 acre was acquired for the project.

The land oustees held a protest last month demanding clearance of the dues and threatened to step up the agitation, if the government failed to respond. However, they subsequently called off the stir after the government came up with a time-bound schedule for payment of compensation. We have already released Rs 8 crore to the district collector for and the remaining amount would be disbursed by the month-end, said Ajay Jain, energy secretary, AP.

Helping hands

Four private power developers, under the supervision of AP Solar Power Development Corporation Limited, are involved in the execution of the Rs 7,000-crore project. They are: Greenko (500 MW), Japans Softbank Energy (350 MW), Azure Power (100 MW) and Prayatna Developers of Adani Group with 50 MW. Over a period of time, the park will produce 2,600 million units of power per annum. The Greenko Group has already started the production.

We had started the works in November last year and commissioned our part of the project in March this year. Such projects normally take two years, but we have completed it in a record time, said Ch Srinivas Rao, project director, Greenko.

The Kurnool project operated by Greenko is the largest single-location project in the world built in a shortest period (six months). It will deliver low-cost fixed- priced energy for 25 years to the nation, on par or cheaper than fossil fuel options, says Mahesh Kolli, the company founder.

By and large, there is no maintenance required for the solar panels. Regular cleaning is necessary for the optimum use of sun rays. About 3,000 resident engineers are on the site to keep a round-the-clock watch over the park.

How funding came

National Thermal Power Corporation had floated the notification-inviting-tender in April 2015 and has, through reverse auction, shortlisted the four developers who quoted a tariff of Rs 4.63 per unit.

While the private developers had invested Rs 6,000 crore, the AP Government contributed Rs 1,000 crore through AP Solar Power Corporation Limited. A sum of Rs 50 crore (Rs 5 lakh per MW) has been collected from the developers for creating social infrastructure and Rs 8 crore has already been disbursed.

The Kurnool park is a major milestone in our journey towards achieving the Centres objective of adding 175 Giga Watts (1,00,000 MW of solar, 60,000 MW wind and 15,000 MW of biomass and other such sources) of renewable energy by 2022, Ajay Jain said.

The target set by the state stands at 10,000 MW of solar and 8,000 MW of wind energy during the period.
Vishav Bharti in Dera Miran-Mir (Fatehgarh Sahib)

FOUR summers ago, he planted a guava sapling in his farmland. The sapling grew into a tree and was ready to bear fruit. Ironically, this summer, it was ready to bear the burden of Lakhbir Singhs body. Among blooming white flowers, some of them already transformed into the tiny green fruit, his body was found hanging early morning on June 10.

Lakhbir Singh, 42 was the 65th farmer/agricultural labourer, to commit suicide after the Congress government came into power in March.

As you walk through the serpentine streets, houses are dotted with Nanak Shahi bricks of Dera Miran-Mir, once an abode of medieval saint Mir-I-Miran. At the entrance a group of women is wailing, their heads covered with white dupattas. They mourn a farmers death - a first case of debt related suicide in the area.

Lakhbir and his brother Kuldeep inherited 3.5 acres along with Rs 5 lakh debt from their father, Jagjit Singh. The loan was meant for their fathers treatment who suffered from mental illness. They also had to marry their sisters off, says Kuldeep. About a year and a half back, their father died. Preceding his death was his fear how his sons would clear the debt. The bank had sent them a legal notice: they had to pay back the loan. How will we repay the loan? was the only question the brothers would ask themselves for several months. Younger Kuldeep would tell his elder brother they could always sell some land. But how much land do we have? he would ask younger Kuldeep, worried about what his children would do if they had to sell their land. Lakhbirs son is a high school student, but it wasnt him that he was worried about. It was his daughter, a student of 10+2, who would soon be marriageable. He lived with that tension, but never discussed it. He told us to study, says Arshdeep, the daughter.

The sowing season neared. Lakhbir had of late stopped asking any questions. He paced up and down from one room to another, hardly talking, says his mother Harjinder Kaur. The night before he ended his life, he slept in the front yard; the family was inside. We didnt know when he walked away, says Harjinder. In the morning, a worker found Lakhbir hanging from the guava tree. I would have stopped him. I couldnt, sobs the mother.

It is Lakhbirs bhog today. The entire village is in mourning. Our village has never had such a case, says Paramjeet Singh, a retired school teacher.

Outside, a raagis voice reverberates: Rang Maan Le Pyara

Sobs get louder as scores of women with white duppattas fill up the place. Men are sitting silently in a separate group. An old man wonders if there is anyone in the government to hear the wails and feel the hopelessness.
THE results of the Intermediate examination in arts and science were declared on the 12th June exactly three weeks after the date of which they are supposed to be out. This inordinate delay is said to be due to the failure of a single examiner to send the answer papers back after valuing them, and to his returning a portion of the papers unseen and the consequent time required in having these valued by others. Even when the result was actually declared on the 12th, it was found that the results of 155 candidates were to be declared later. Under the peculiar circumstances, the University office cannot be held responsible for the suspense and anxiety caused to the candidates. But one effect of issuing the results piecemeal has, apart from the extra suspense and anxiety suffered by the candidates whose results were in abeyance, been the difficulty and hardship to which they will be put through for no fault of theirs.
WE hitherto refrained from expressing any opinion on the attitude of the Chief Commissioner of Delhi towards the Indraprastha Girls' School. But with the growing volume of dissatisfaction in Delhi and the letters of protests addressed to us from many quarters it is no longer possible for us to remain silent. The Chief Commissioner is obviously carrying his difference with the Lady Superintendent too far in punishing an admittedly useful and popular institution for her person views on Indian politics. The first question that occurs to anyone in this connection is whether any apprehensions are entertained by the head of the Delhi province that the products of the school would all become so many uncontrollable suffragettes in the near or distant future.
RACINE  In a hot, air-conditioner-less room inside the Racine Labor Center, about 20 community members met Friday afternoon to establish a "Rapid Response Team" to address issues regarding immigration and deportation.

The event at the center, 2100 Layard Ave., was hosted by Voces de La Frontera, an immigrant rights activist organization, to train residents on the best way to react if an undocumented person is being arrested or if they encounter an immigration raid.

Nancy Flores, staff member for Voces, explained how to be respectful of law enforcement officers, but also how to respond after any arrest is made.

There was a desire from the community to form a rapid response network, Flores said. We have people come into our office and say Hey, this is happening, what do I do? 

Flores said many people dont know what to do or what their rights are during a situation involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Its a daunting situation, Flores said. If there was a way for the person to get out of detention but they dont have the resources, theyre probably not going to get out of detention.

Nayeli Rondin, staff member for Voces, said individuals can volunteer to answer the bilingual crisis hotline, confirm or dispel rumors, help out a family in need or drive people to court.

If the person (facing deportation) has been living here for years and never thought they were going to be in that predicament, let alone have a plan for their family, that is where this need (for the response team) comes in, Rondin said.

'A need for it'

Racine resident Marybeth Zuhlke attended the meeting to become part of the response team. She said she volunteers at the John XXIII Education Center, 1101 Douglas Ave., helping students with homework.

I know that some of (the students), their parents are undocumented, Zuhlke said. They (the students) were born here in the United States and they worry their parents might have problems.

As part of what she described as the independent web of human life, Zuhlke said people need to be kinder to each other and try to relate to each other.

Im part German and part Polish and my ancestors did come here, but I dont know if they came here legally or illegally, Zuhlke said.

Racine resident Diane Lange, a former Racine County Board supervisor, said the rhetoric regarding immigration has become hateful and dangerous.

I feel like it's one of the most pressing social issues facing our country right now, Lange said. I feel as a comfortable white, middle-class woman, that this is something I can do to bring a solution to this.

Lange said she hopes those connected to the undocumented community begin to feel safer knowing there is a group of people willing to help them.

Rapid response is one of the many things were working on to try to provide support and services to people who are our neighbors, Lange said. I think there is a need for it. Hopefully it wont be used frequently but its a way for us to organize ourselves.
Deepa Karmalkar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an interesting observation on the International Yoga Day last year, "We did not have health insurance in olden times. But yoga is a practice which gives health assurance with zero spending."

Since the inception of the International Yoga Day (June 21) in 2015, perceptions about this ancient science are changing fast. No longer considered a pursuit for pensioners, yoga today is widely accepted as a wellness science by and for everyone.

"More and more young people are turning to it for peace. As they lead stressful lives, they are seeking relief and balance through yogic relaxation techniques," says Shubhangi Vyas, who runs her own yoga school in Mumbai. The volume of yoga enthusiasts is certainly on the rise. Its increasing demand has led to several innovations  hot yoga, snowga (started by a ski instructor in Canada), doga (yoga with your dog), goat yoga and even voga (incorporating in-vogue dance moves in asanas). However, in India, where it originated, the ancient science still maintains much of its classical purity, though some new trends are emerging.

Beating a retreat

Enthusiasts flock to yoga classes on a regular basis but these tend to get monotonous after a while. "They want to break away from the routine while continuing with their practice. So we have incorporated two-days' get-away to beaches or eco-friendly resorts. Practising asanas, pranayam, meditation and yoga nidra in open air, make such outings truly invigorating," claims Shabri Dhekne, a yoga consultant from Mumbai.

Three years ago, New Delhi- based Mohit Agarwal had a life-changing encounter with his guru. With his 23 years of experience in tourism, he decided to launch spiritual tours, "I wanted to reach out to more people and share the benefits of traditional yoga practices and techniques. So we launched Evolution Programs across Uttarakhand that include Shiva Walks  to Kedarnath and Tunganath, Yoga and Meditation Retreat in Jageshwar and Hatha Yoga Retreat in Pangot, informs Agarwal. When he started the venture, he only had the elderly evincing interest in the yoga retreats. But over the past year people in their 30s are turning to yoga, he says. To meet the rising demand, he has extended his yoga retreats to Bandhavgarh, Gir, Port Blair and the Himalayas. "People are looking for that experiential knowledge, something that cannot be articulated. This can be achieved only in natural and secluded surrounding," he adds.

For those seeking deeper experience away from the bustle of the cities, there are mini yoga get-aways extending to couple of days only. "Even in two days, a lot can be achieved. Our goal is to give them an experience of all elements, including kriyas (purification of body and mind) and higher meditation techniques," says Nitin Patki, CEO, New Age Yoga Institute and QCI certified Yoga school, Mumbai.

"I love yoga holidays, these are rejuvenating and relaxing," says Rajshree, an IT professional who overcame her occupational backache with regular yoga practice.

Anytime, anywhere asanas

The growing popularity of yoga is also evident from various pop-up events across the country. Mumbai has yoga by the bay, Delhi has yoga streets and Chennai offers suryanamaskar challenges. "You can practise yoga anywhere, that is the message of these pop-ups," explains Shammi Gupta, a yogacharya and wellness consultant in Mumbai. Young Arya (16) relates how chance participation in suryanamaskar day celebrations boosted her confidence, "My friends and I did more than 50 namaskars that day! I have become hooked to it since then."

Traditional yoga teachers, however, are not too pleased with such pop-ups which, they feel, trivialise the basic concept, "Yoga is a lifestyle, it's not a quick fix," they rue. But if it helps draw in more numbers, what's the harm, counters Patki.

In the air

Aerial or anti-gravity yoga is a new concept that originated in New York. It combines the traditional asanas, Pilates and dance with the use of a hanging hammock. It is supposed to allow freer spinal movement that results in greater strengthening of the spine and muscles. Aerial yoga, better known as silk yoga in India, is finding many takers, especially dancers. "It is liberating and makes me even more flexible," says Niyati Jha, a contemporary western dancer.

Acro yoga combines yoga with acrobatics. It is also called partner yoga, you practise with a partner. It requires coordination, body balance and correct breathing. You cannot talk to each other during the movements. "It has several yogic benefits such as gaining physical strength, stability in breathing and concentration. It is challenging. So the younger lot loves it," says Shammi Gupta.

Glamorous gear

The humble yoga mat has undergone a glamorous transformation. Designer mats are in vogue, Nike's 8 mm foam mat provides cushioning and support, the perforated foam dries quickly and it has a carry string for easy transport. US-based designer label  Spiritual Revolution, offers eco-friendly mats that are PVC-free, recyclable, and biodegradable, made with natural tree rubber. "Calmia is the most popular brand in mats. I use the non-slip cotton mat with natural rubber base which is great for my hatha yoga practice," says Norah, a Belgian student, who is currently in Mumbai for her yoga teacher training.

There are designer mat covers, yoga tees, slacks and yoga props like belts and blocks. Shammi Gupta attributes the popularity of designer stuff to 'disposable income' which is an unnecessary encumbrance, "Ideally we should not use those rubber mats that are marketed as yoga mats! What we really need is a thick cotton mat which won't let the pranic energy."

CalmAsutra

People are increasingly turning to yoga for its calming and soothing effects, especially those in the corporate sector are usually prone to insomnia and other stress-related maladies. "Radha (name changed) is a divorcee and always changing jobs. There is no stability in her life. She hadn't slept properly for over a decade, but after practising 'pratipaksha bhavana' (when negative thoughts disturb, think positive thoughts), she benefited immensely.

Yogic techniques have a wondrous transforming effect," asserts Nitin Patki.

Shabri relates, "College students don't want to practise asanas, they are already doing a lot of physical exercising in gyms. Their demand is to learn relaxation techniques through meditation and yoga nidra." Om chanting is also a huge favourite with yoga followers, there are even phone classes for vedic chanting  and these classes are oversubscribed.

Sequentially, meditation is the seventh anga of ashtang yoga, it must be practiced only after the first six angas  yama, niyama, asana, pranayam, pratyahar, dharana have been perfected. "Meditation is the final stage of yoga. It cannot be achieved right at the outset. For meditation, the body must be stable with spine erect; the breath and mind must be controlled. Most importantly it must be practised under expert guidance," cautions Shammi. She relates the case of a young man who meditated without supervision and developed a serious mental affliction.
Geetu Vaid

The clouds of slowdown hanging over the Indian real estate sector are slowly lifting as indicated by different Q1 trend reports released over the past few weeks. Leading real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd., has projected a positive outlook for the sector in 2017 in its Asia Pacific Real Estate Market Outlook 2017  India. Commenting on the buoyancy in the sector, Anshuman Magazine, Chairman, India and South East Asia, CBRE said, With 2016 being the year of landmark decisions for the Indian real estate industry, the sector saw concerted efforts by the government to bring in transparency as well as boost consumer sentiment, especially in the residential market. The outlook for 2017 is positive with an expectancy of steady growth, stability and revival in the market.

The findings of Real Estate Sentiment Index for Q1-2017 released by FICCI-NAREDCO-Knight Frank India also signal a recovery for the realty sector. After the drastic dip in sentiment from October-December 2016, the first quarter of 2017 began on a positive note, signifying the transient impact of demonetisation. Though the current score is positive, it is only slightly above the threshold mark corroborating that the wait-and-watch mode is still prevalent among the stakeholders, says Samantak Das, Chief Economist & National Director, Research, Knight Frank India while commenting on the favourable winds blowing in the real estate realm.

Demand-supply sync

While the number of new launches has shown a drop of 16 per cent with only 25,800 units being launched in top eight cities across the country in Q1, the market is not too upset over this. This is because the main reason for the drop in new launches is the developers extra focus on completing the existing projects in view of RERA implementation deadline. As a result the homebuyers have a bouquet of choices in the ready-to-move-in category.

Slow demand movement and the rising levels of completed stocks entering the market have lead to rationalisation of demand and with end-user being the key market driver, at present the supply is in sync with what the buyers want to purchase.

What buyers want?

Government policies like Housing for All (HFA), Affordable Housing, CLSS and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), have made affordable housing the buzzword in the market. And one segment that is currently riding the affordable wave in the residential real estate market is the 900-1200 sq ft apartments.

There has been a significant spike in demand for apartments in this size category over the past few months in almost all the major realty destinations in the country.

Properties in this category classify as MIG 1 and 2 under the government categorisation for credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) benefits. According to the Affordable Housing Policy Perspective  2017 released by property site Magicbricks recently, this segment has accounted for more than 40 per cent of the demand in urban India in the January-March 2017 quarter.

The report also stated that between the 300 and 450 sq ft, the latter was in greater demand and in both cases demand and supply were in sync. But apartments with a built-up size of 600 sq ft were found to be more popular than those of the smaller sizes. These accounted for a healthy 11 per cent demand across cities. The sizes of 1350-1500 sq ft accounted for about 14 per cent of demand.

End users looking to strike a balance between amenities, luxury and affordability prefer 2BHK apartments and the price range of Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per sq ft. According to Housing.coms buyer preference trends more than 40 per cent of homebuyers in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata prefer to invest in 2BHK apartments in the Rs 40 to Rs 50 lakh range.

In Mumbai, 51 per cent homebuyers prefer 1 BHK due to high property prices. With around 20 per cent buyers going in for 3BHK units, this category is the next most preferred configuration in Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. Data from Housing.com reveals that only 6 per cent homebuyers prefer 3BHK in Mumbai stating affordability as the major concern in the region. The Gurgaon market is an aberration where the most supplied categories were sizes 1500-1650 sq ft, with the 3 BHK topping the chart.

One of the key markets in NCR, Gurgaon has maximum demand for 1000 sq ft and the next was 1350 sq ft. This preference for larger units is linked to the purchasing capacity of professionals living and working in the city.

Thus, the first half of 2017 has prepared the pitch for affordable housing with buyer s beoming clear about their preferences. And with the sector on the threshold of a revival affordable housing is going to be the winning mantra in future.

5 realty apps to check out

No-broker.com: The application helps in eliminating the middlemen or brokers, and helps customers to search for houses on their own. The buyers can directly connect with the flat owners using map based search offer in order to increase the supply. No broker is the right platform to avail benefits like customer customized online rental agreements, validation checks and cost efficient properties.

Nestaway: It is an online platform or a bazaar where landlords of fully furnished houses provide rent to pre-verified tenants. The aim of the company is to provide rented flats to youngsters or working class who are looking for a place to live in a new city. The co-founders Jitendra Jagadev, Smruti Parida, Amarendra Sahu, and Deepak Dhar have received funding from Flipkart and Tiger Global.

99 Acres: Its a property portal which has a list of total eight lakh rented or commercial properties. The Trending Project feature enlists the real estate projects that are popular among the youngsters and are receiving maximum consumer interests. The price list calculator in the project helps in providing price differences of the houses located at different locations, for example the prices may differ from a front facing house to the one at the 14th floor.

Commonfloor: A Bangalore-based venture co-founded by two IITians and a VTU graduate in May 2007. The website provides property decisions in a simplified manner for all the sellers, buyers and brokers. Features like extensive search options, reviews on locality and property, verified listings and innovative management tools further helps the business to grow.

Ghar360: Its a unique 3D digital platform where customers can enter the house using 3D appearances like IGI and counterstrike games. The company was co-founded by Ajesh Joy and Sanju Thomas.  ANI
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 17

Suicide by a farmer in Berinag tehsil of Pithoragarh has caused a protest at several places in the state. While the Opposition Congress asserted that suicide by a debt-ridden farmer in the state was a matter of serious concern, the ruling BJP criticised the Opposition for linking the farmers suicide to a loan debt without ascertaining the reason behind taking the extreme step.

A resident of Berinag, the victim, Surendra Singh, had committed suicide by consuming pesticide. The victim is supposed to have taken a loan of Rs 75,000 from Sadhan Sahakari Samiti five years ago. He subsequently took another loan of Rs 50,000 from Grameen Bank at Berinag.

In the backdrop of this alleged farmer suicide, the Congress today staged a demonstration in Dehradun and burnt the effigies of the Central and state governments.

Led by state Congress president Pritam Singh, party workers gathered at the Ashley Hall chowk in Dehradun and resorted to sloganeering against the BJP governments at the state and Centre. Addressing the protesters, Pritam Singh said suicide by a farmer in the state was a serious issue. He asserted that he had come to know that the victim was under debt and this forced him to take this extreme step.

Pritam Singh said farmers were suffering most under the BJP government. He asserted that in the recent Assembly poll, the state BJP had promised to waive off loans of farmers but the promise was still to be fulfilled. Farmers were not getting the right price for their produce. The angry Congress protesters later burnt an effigy of the Central and state governments.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP criticised the Congress for linking the farmers suicide to loan debt. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said it was wrong linking the farmers death to loan payment pressure. The victim has not left any suicide note and it was wrong to link his death to bank loan, he pointed out. He reaffirmed his governments commitment to work for the betterment of farmers.
Tokyo, June 17

Search and rescue efforts went on after dark for seven US sailors missing after the US Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship more than three times its size off eastern Japan early on Saturday.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided missile destroyer, collided with the merchant vessel some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, the Navy said.

Three aboard the destroyer had been medically evacuated to the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, including the ships commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, who was reported to be in stable condition, the Navy said. The other two were being treated for lacerations and bruises, while other injured were being assessed aboard the ship, it said.

The USS Fitzgerald sailed into port on Saturday evening but search and rescue efforts by US and Japanese aircraft and surface vessels were continuing for the seven missing sailors, the Navy said. Their names are being withheld until the families have been notified, it added.

Benson took command of the Fitzgerald on May 13. He had previously commanded a minesweeper based in Sasebo in western Japan.

Unclear what happened

It was unclear how the collision happened. Once an investigation is complete then any legal issues can be addressed, a spokesman for the US 7th Fleet said.

The US Navy said the collision happened at about 2:30 am local time (1730 GMT), while the Japanese Coast Guard said it took place at 1:30 am local time.

The Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline, causing significant damage and flooding to two berthing spaces and other areas of the ship, the Navy said.

The flooding was later stabilised, but it was uncertain how long it would take to gain access to those spaces once the ship docked, to continue the search for the missing, it said.

Back in Yokosuka, divers will inspect the damage and develop a plan for repairs, the Navy said.

The ship was able to operate under its own power with limited propulsion, the Navy said. The Japanese Coast Guard said separately the Fitzgerald was towed back to Yokosuka by a tugboat at about 3 knots.

Part of an eight-ship squadron based in Yokosuka, the Fitzgerald had in February completed $21 million worth of upgrades and repairs.

Japans Nippon Yusen KK, which charters the container ship, ASX Crystal, said in a statement it would cooperate fully with the Coast Guards investigation of the incident. At around 29,000 tons displacement, the ship dwarfs the 8,315-ton US warship, and was carrying 1,080 containers from the port of Nagoya to Tokyo.

None of the 20 crew members aboard the container ship, all Filipino, were injured, and the ship was not leaking oil, Nippon Yusen said. The ship arrived at Tokyo Bay around 5:00 pm (0800 GMT), sailing under its own power, the Coast Guard said.

Busy waterways

The waterways approaching Tokyo Bay are busy with commercial vessels sailing to and from Japans two biggest container ports in Tokyo and Yokohama.

International maritime rules for collision avoidance do not define right of way for any one vessel, but provide common standards for signaling between ships, as well as regulations on posting lookouts.

Japans public broadcaster NHK showed aerial footage of the Fitzgerald, which had a large dent on its right, or starboard, side. Images broadcast by NHK showed it had been struck next to its Aegis radar arrays behind the vertical launch tubes.

Such incidents are rare.

In May, the US Navys USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel but both ships were able to operate under their own power.

The 7th Fleet commander, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, thanked the Japanese Coast guard in a post on the fleets Facebook page, adding: We are committed to ensuring the safe return of the ship to port in Yokosuka. Reuters
Tokyo, June 17

Search and rescue efforts went on after dark for seven US sailors missing after the US navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship more than three times its size off eastern Japan early on Saturday. The Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided missile destroyer, collided with the merchant vessel some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, the navy said.

Three aboard the destroyer had been medically evacuated to the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, including the ships commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, who was reported to be in stable condition, the Navy said. The other two were being treated for lacerations and bruises, while other injured were being assessed aboard the ship, it said.

The USS Fitzgerald sailed into port on Saturday evening but search and rescue efforts by US and Japanese aircraft and surface vessels were continuing for the seven missing sailors, the Navy said. Their names are being withheld until the families have been notified, it added.

Benson took command of the Fitzgerald on May 13. He had previously commanded a minesweeper based in Sasebo in western Japan.

It was unclear how the collision happened. Once an investigation is complete then any legal issues can be addressed, a spokesman for the US 7th Fleet said.

The Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline, causing significant damage and flooding to two berthing spaces and other areas of the ship, the Navy said. The flooding was later stabilised, but it was uncertain how long it would take to gain access to those spaces once the ship docked, to continue the search for the missing, it said. Back in Yokosuka, divers will inspect the damage and develop a plan for repairs, the Navy said.

The ship was able to operate under its own power with limited propulsion, the Navy said. The Japanese Coast Guard said separately the Fitzgerald was towed back to Yokosuka by a tugboat at about 3 knots. Part of an eight-ship squadron based in Yokosuka, the Fitzgerald had in February completed $21 million worth of upgrades and repairs.

Japans Nippon Yusen KK, which charters the container ship, ASX Crystal, said in a statement it would cooperate fully with the Coast Guards investigation of the incident. At around 29,000 tons displacement, the ship dwarfs the 8,315-ton US warship, and was carrying 1,080 containers from the port of Nagoya to Tokyo.

None of the 20 crew members aboard the container ship, all Filipino, were injured, and the ship was not leaking oil, Nippon Yusen said.  Reuters

Busy waterways
Moscow, June 16

Russia said today it was verifying whether the elusive Islamic State terror group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed in a targeted Russian airstrike in strife-torn Syria last month.

The airstrike on May 28 was carried out on the outskirts of the dreaded militant groups de facto capital Raqqa, on a command post where IS leaders were holding a meeting, according to Russian state media reports.

According to information, which is being verified via different channels, the meeting was also attended by the (IS) leader Ibrahim Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was eliminated in the strike, the ministry said, according to the TASS news agency.

The leaders were discussing their exit from the city through the so-called southern corridor, the ministry said. The airstrike was carried out following drone footage confirmation of the councils meeting location, state-run Sputnik reported.

Other state media reported that more than 300 terrorists were killed in the strike.

There have been a number of previous reports of Baghdadis death.

This is the first time, however, that Russia has said it may have killed the IS leader. Other media reports have previously claimed he had been killed or critically injured by US-led coalition air strikes.

Reacting to the report, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists that there is no one-hundred-per cent confirmation yet that leader of the Islamic State terror group outlawed in Russia, al-Baghdadi, has been killed, So far, I have no one-hundred-percent confirmation of this information, Lavrov said.

US defense officials said they were unable to confirm the reports. Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the US-led coalitions operation against IS in Syria and Iraq, said the coalition cannot confirm these reports at this time. There has been no official comment from Syrias government, the BBC reported.

So far, there has been minimal reaction from online supporters of IS to news of the reported death of the groups leader, it said.

One high-profile IS supporter on the messaging app Telegram shared a post denying the news and saying that when an IS leadership figure is killed, the group does not hide it.

He expected Baghdadi to come out soon with a message to prove he was still alive.

The IS has earned global notoriety for imposing a hardline form of Islam that has included stonings, beheadings and amputations.

Earlier, the Russian army, in a statement, said Sukhoi warplanes carried out a 10-minute night-time strike on May 28 at a location near Raqqa, where IS leaders had gathered to plan a pullout by militants from the groups stronghold. PTI
BERLIN, June 16

A towering figure of post-war European politics, Helmut Kohl pushed through German reunification and was a driving force behind the creation of the euro during a 16-year reign as German chancellor that spanned the tumultuous final decades of the 20th century.

Kohl died on Friday morning at his home in Ludwigshafen, according to German media. He was 87.

A bear of a man whose provincial accent and unvarnished folksy style led opponents to underestimate him in his early years, Kohl was a passionate advocate of European integration whose outlook was shaped by the two world wars that ravaged Europe and claimed the lives of his brother and uncle.

Together with French President Francois Mitterrand, the enigmatic socialist with whom he developed an unlikely personal bond, Kohl helped steer a peaceful course for the continent during the twilight years of the Soviet Union, when the foundations of Europe's post-war order crumbled and had to be reset.

By committing to anchor Germany within Europe under a common currency, he overcame resistance to reunification from Mitterrand, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister who feared the return of a powerful, united Germany.

In a 2012 tribute, former US President Bill Clinton described Kohl as one of post-war Europe's defining statesmen. "His vision helped to usher the global community into the 21st century, to build bold and lasting relationships that endure to this day," Clinton said. For all his accomplishments as chancellor, Kohl's life was tinged by controversy and personal tragedy after he left office in 1998 as Germany's longest-serving leader since Bismarck.

In 2000, he was forced to resign as honorary chairman of the Christian Democratic Union, the party he had led for 25 years, after admitting to receiving $1 million in illegal cash donations during his time as chancellor, which he doled out to local party organisations at his whim.

He refused to reveal where the money had come from, saying he had given the donors his "Ehrenwort", or word of honour, not to disclose their names. Reuters
Islamabad, June 17

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs younger brother Shehbaz Sharif today hit out at the countrys powerful military, saying unlike the military rulers who usurped power at gunpoint, his family respects the law. Shehbaz, the 65-year-old Punjab Chief Minister, made the remarks while talking to media after appearing before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which grilled him for nearly four hours in connection with the high-profile Panamagate graft case against Sharifs.

The prime minister of Pakistan appeared in front of this JIT a day ago and a new leaf was turned in Pakistans 70-year history. Today, I did the same, said Shehbaz, the fourth member of the Sharif family to appear before the JIT.

We have proven that our family has respect for the law, unlike the military rulers who usurped power at gunpoint (in the past), Shehbaz said, referring to several military Generals who in the past toppled elected governments.

Prime Minister Sharif was ousted by then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999. The army has ruled the country for much of its life since it gained independence 70 years ago. Last month, the powerful army withdrew a controversial tweet that had rattled the Sharif government over a media leak about a rift between the two power centres over fighting militancy in the country.

It was taken as the armys defeat and an unprecedented criticism was ensued on social media against the army, which enjoys considerable influence over policy decisions in Pakistan.

He said he was asked to appear before the JIT as somebody acquainted with the facts of the Panamagate scandal.

The Punjab Chief Minister said that even though he had severe back pain, he did not flee from the JITs summons.

I did not go away to London, never to return, like other politicians [have done in the past], Sharif said, taking a dig at Musharraf who went abroad on the pretext of treatment for back pain and never came back to face cases. Whatever questions the JIT asked, I answered them to the best of my knowledge, he added.  PTI

Not the first time our family held accountable
Washington, June 16

US President Donald Trump is expected to reverse his predecessor Barack Obama's Cuba policy by restricting the flow of money to the oppressive elements of the country's military, intelligence and security services and ensuring that the statutory ban on the tourism is strictly enforced, an officials said today.

While a formal announcement in this regard would be made by Trump in Miami later in the day, officials at the White House said the reversal of Obama's Cuba policy was about meeting one of the US President's top campaign promise.

"One key thing to note about the policy is that it directs the Secretary of the Treasury and Comamerce to change their regulations on the topic. No changes go into effect until those regulations are promulgated," a senior White House official told reporters.

The official was speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of Trump's expected announcement about the reversal later in the day.

The official noted that during the campaign last year, Trump received an endorsement from the Bay of Pigs Veterans Association, the first presidential endorsement this group has ever made, at their museum in Little Havana, Miami.

"The president has repeatedly said he was 'honoured and humbled' to have received that endorsement from these veterans, recognising that they were fighting to restore liberty and justice for the people of Cuba," the official said. PTI
Dubai, June 16

In a heart-warming gesture, a gurdwara here, the largest in the Gulf, organised Iftar where people of different religions and over 30 nationalities broke the Muslim fast together.

To demonstrate the spirit of tolerance and giving, Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara, hosted 120 residents of over 30 nationalities to celebrate the holy month of Ramazan and support the Muslim community in breaking their fast in a multicultural setting.

As the call to maghreb (evening) prayers rang inside the gurdwara, Muslims broke their fast over water, dates and Indian dishes. Later, they offered prayers inside the gurdwara premises in Jebel Ali. Surender Singh Kandhari, chairman, Guru Nanak Darbar, was quoted as saying by the Khaleej Times that the Iftar was to bring people together in the face of adversity.

In a world that struggles with extremism, the best way out is through creating friendships among different faiths and nationalities. It is only through communication that we can overcome adversities, said Kandhari, noting that guests varied from Arabs, Ethiopians, Mexicans to Americans and Serbians.

Indian Consul General in Dubai Vipul said the gurdwara was doing a great service by getting all communities and religions together. He cited the example of the gurdwara achieving a Guinness World Record by hosting breakfast for 101 nationalities in April.

I see todays Iftar also as a step in that direction, he was quoted as saying by Gulf News. A regular visitor at the gurdwara, Mitchell Peeters from Belgium, said as a Christian, having Iftar in a Sikh temple made the experience in the UAE more special.

"It is a nice experience to enjoy happiness and friendliness of people around you from different faiths and nationalities. It is part of the charm of living in Dubai and adjusting to local customs," said Peeters, a UAE resident for four years.

The gurdwara serves free meals to visitors everyday and food packs in labour camps each weekend.  PTI
United Nations, June 16

The president of the UN conference drafting what could be the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons has expressed confidence that with "the necessary political will" more than 130 countries supporting the initiative can reach agreement by the July 7 target.

Elayne Whyte Gomez, Costa Rica's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, told the opening of negotiations on a draft treaty circulated on May 22 that delegates were representing their countries but they were also "united together in historic commitment" to finalising a treaty.

Last December, UN member states overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for negotiations on a treaty that would outlaw nuclear weapons, despite strong opposition from nuclear-armed nations and their allies.

Not one of the nine countries believed to possess nuclear weapons  the US, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel  is supporting a treaty.

Instead of adopting a total ban, the United States and other nuclear powers want to strengthen and reaffirm the nearly half-century-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The NPT, considered the cornerstone of global nonproliferation efforts, aims to prevent the spread of atomic arms beyond the five original weapons powers the US, Russia, Britain, France and China.

It requires non-nuclear signatory nations not to pursue nuclear weapons in exchange for a commitment by the five nuclear powers to move toward nuclear disarmament and to guarantee non-nuclear states access to peaceful nuclear technology to produce nuclear power.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley said on March 27 when talks began on the nuclear weapons ban treaty that "there is nothing I want more for my family than a world with no nuclear weapons, but we have to be realistic."

She asked if anyone thought North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons, stressing that North Koreans would be "cheering" a nuclear ban treaty and Americans and others would be at risk.

But UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu told on Friday's opening that negotiations to achieve "the clear, legal prohibition of nuclear weapons ... are truly historic." "Nuclear disarmament has been the longest sought objective of the United Nations dating back to the very first resolution adopted by the General Assembly in January 1946," she said.

"We have seen some impressive gains since that time," Nakamitsu said. "Yet, it has been more than 20 years now since the United Nations disarmament bodies have produced a multilateral legally binding instrument on nuclear weapons."

She said "the need for progress is clear" and urgent, pointing to "the deteriorating international security landscape," new awareness of the devastating consequences of using nuclear weapons, and the modernisation of nuclear arsenals by some countries.

The draft treaty, among other things, says states would pledge never to develop, produce, manufacture, acquire, possess, transfer, receive, stockpile, test or use nuclear weapons or explosives. They would also endeavour to prohibit any "stationing, installation or deployment of any nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices" on their territories or in their jurisdictions.

"We are confident the treaty can be completed and adopted by July 7," the final day of negotiations, said David Solimini, spokesman for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. "Once the treaty is adopted countries are free to join."  AP
Two former Wal-Mart associates have separately sued the company, alleging that it violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by firing them because of their disabilities after they worked there for a combined 37 years.

John Mashburn, a former Wal-Mart employee, filed a lawsuit Thursday that claims the company fired him on the basis of his disability after more than 20 years with the mega-retailer.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, claims that Wal-Mart fired Mashburn, a 58-year-old man with mental disabilities, after he was given tasks  making displays and scanning items  that he couldnt accomplish because he cant read.

No one at Wal-Mart attempted to reasonably accommodate Mashburns disability and remove these two tasks which he could not perform as a result of his disability, the lawsuit states.

Wal-Mart spokesman Randy Hargrove said Friday in a statement: Respect for the individual and acting with integrity are two of the cornerstones of our company. We take claims like this seriously. We will closely review the allegations as soon as we receive the complaint and will respond appropriately with the court.

Mashburns lawsuit is seeking more than $10,000 in damages for what it says are violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It also alleges that the retailer cut the mans hours from full-time when he was hired to work at the Sand Springs store. He had been laid off briefly following the closure of the Wal-Mart Supercenter at Admiral Place and Memorial Drive, where he had worked for about 20 years.

Mashburn, according to the lawsuit, began working at the Admiral Wal-Mart in 1995 as a cart retriever and then inspected shelves to make sure products were facing outward.

When Mashburn began working at the Sand Springs Wal-Mart, things started to go downhill, his attorney Jeff Nix said in an interview with the World. In addition to giving him part-time hours, his scheduled was changed. The store asked him to work on Sundays, which forced him to hitchhike to work because Tulsa Transits Lift system doesnt operate on Sundays.

Gradually, Mashburn was asked to perform tasks that were beyond his ability, according to Nix and the lawsuit. One day in February, he expressed frustration with his task. After that incident, he was let go.

The lawsuit noted that Mashburn made $15.21 an hour. The average full-time Wal-Mart associate in Oklahoma makes $13.13 an hour, according to the companys website. That figure is about a dollar higher than it was in 2015. Wal-Mart has invested more than $2 billion in wage increases and training for its workers in recent years.

John was making $15 an hour just because hed been there so long, said Nix. Theyre not paying everybody that much money. Money couldve been the problem.

A lawsuit similar to Mashburns was filed Friday in U.S. District Court. In it, plaintiff Harry Johnson claims that he was fired after being admitted to an in-patient facility to treat manic-type symptoms.

The lawsuit claims that the day before a filing deadline to extend his medical leave in March 2014, the companys third-party administrator informed Johnson that his employment was terminated.

Motivating factors for Plaintiffs termination was Plaintiffs disability and/or his requests for accommodation, the complaint says. Johnson, according to the lawsuit, has schizophrenia, bipolar depression and related emotional disorders and had worked for Wal-Mart for about 17 years.

Both Johnson and Mashburn recently received notice from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of their right to sue.

Wal-Mart has faced similar accusations this year. In January, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the retailer for disciplining a worker with Down syndrome when her schedule was changed after 15 years.
For Tulsa young adults stuck in a legal immigration limbo, a cautious optimism was felt Friday as President Donald Trump signaled a possible reversal in his campaign pledge to lift an Obama-era program preventing deportations of people brought to this country as children without approval.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, will remain in effect, according to documents released Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security. As part of Trumps campaign, his immigration plan called for ending DACA, tripling enforcement agents and building a wall along the Mexican border.

For thousands of Oklahoma residents enrolled in DACA, the continuation of the program marks a positive step.

Todays action by President Trump acknowledges the economic contributions that undocumented immigrants, like us, make, and will continue to make, to the country, said Jordan Mazariegos, president of the advocacy group DREAM Act Oklahoma. He recognizes Dreamers make America great.

DACA is not amnesty. Its a type of no mans land  not granting legal status but holding off deportation if certain requirements are met. They have no path to citizenship.

It was created through presidential orders five years ago to mirror the pending federal Dream Act proposal, which has been languishing in Congress since 2001. It has narrow eligibility. About 17,000 Oklahoma youths are eligible under DACA, and the federal government has accepted 7,488 applications, according to the Migration Policy Institute. About 82 percent of those eligible in Oklahoma come from Mexico. Nationally, 1.9 million are eligible (62 percent of those are from Mexico) and 886,814 applications have been taken.

Mazariegos graduated from Union High School and is in his senior year at Oklahoma State University studying finance and accounting. He was brought to this country from Mexico at age 2 by his parents without authorization, but was approved for DACA as a young adult.

He has no realistic avenue to become documented with no family or employer sponsor and does not qualify for refugee status.

Though this is good news for Dreamers, it isnt the end and its not permanent, Mazariegos said. Its something DREAM Act Oklahoma has been pushing for  a more permanent solution and one that will include my family and other Dreamers who are pursuing an education and contributing to society but havent been recognized.

The news came when the Department of Homeland Security issued a news release and fact sheet announcing the administration was rescinding the order for the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, known as DAPA. However, that program was never put into place due to court challenges, including a 4-4 Supreme Court tie.

White House officials stated Friday that Trump has not made up his mind about the long-term future of DACA. That remains a concern for those in the program.

DACA is still under executive action and not permanent, Mazariegos said. It isnt a given.

For past DREAM Act Oklahoma president Ivan Godinez Reyes, DACA has been game-changer economically.

He arrived in the country with his mother in 2000 to reunite with his father as a 14-year-old without documents. He graduated high school and earned an associates degree but was stuck in an underground world of employment because his undocumented status would not allow him to legally work or get a drivers license. Now, he can drive, apply for any job and is finishing his bachelors degree.

It really changed the possibilities and opportunities for me, especially for employment, Reyes said. It was the first time I could choose where I work rather than taking whoever would take me. ... I felt like I could choose the job more fitting to my ability and could find purpose in it. In that respect, it changed my life.

Reyes said the program has shown to be a jobs issue as much, or more, than a social one. He said at his social-service agency, which has about 600 employees, he knows between 20 and 30 workers who are enrolled in DACA.

We have all taken jobs with unique skills. Im a translator and cant imagine how these types of unique jobs would be affected when expanded around the nation, Reyes said. It doesnt make sense for the workforce nationally.

DREAM Act Oklahoma is part of a national movement advocating Congress for immigration reform, going beyond that single piece of legislation.

The overall purpose of the group is family reunification and prevent family separation, Reyes said. We are advocating for immigration reform but one that focuses on family rather than enforcement.

Locally, the group has been critical of the 287(g) contract the Tulsa Jail has with the Immigration and Citizenship Service. The program checks the residency status of those coming into the jail for possible deportation and has been criticized for racial profiling and unequal treatment of immigrants. County officials have said it is a misunderstood program.

For Mazariegos, he wants people who dont know undocumented youth to be open to getting to know them.

I always invite people to come meet us, he said. I want people who say, Well, they come here illegally, they should be deported. I want them to meet me and know my story and others as well. I want to invite them to come and join our meetings and ask questions.
Tulsa police arrested a man Friday on allegations that he restrained a woman as she was trying to leave his house and held her against her will.

Blake Michael Anderssen, 19, was booked into the Tulsa Jail on complaints of kidnapping and obstruction.

The woman was attempting to leave Anderssens residence about 2:15 a.m. Friday when he captured her, forced her back inside, choked her and took her keys, police said in a probable cause affidavit.

Anderssens parents told police that they observed Blake physically restrain (the woman) and he was not allowing her to leave, the affidavit states.

A witness opened the door to the house when police arrived. Officers forced Anderssen to the ground and arrested him, according to the affidavit.

Anderssen is being held in lieu of a $25,500 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court June 23.
Correction: This editorial originally incorrectly characterized Sen. Jim Inhofe's position concerning privatizing the nation's air traffic control system. The editorial has been corrected.

Some of Oklahomas most virulent budget hawks are squawking about President Trumps plan to privatize the air traffic control system.

Trump has backed a plan to run the air traffic control system through a nonprofit organization. Getting air traffic controllers off the federal payroll will make travel easier and cheaper for Americans, Trump claimed.

U.S. Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., called the idea the dumbest thing weve ever thought about doing. He said it was a threat to private pilots and national security.

Russells congressional district includes the FAAs Mike Monroney Center, whose mission includes training air traffic controllers. The center has some 6,500 employees, Russell said.

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., also has spoken out against including privatization in FAA reauthorization, saying its controversy could endanger an important piece of legislation.

We agree with Russell and Inhofe. Air traffic control is the governments job and it ought not be farmed out to the low bidder.

The federal government built the air traffic control system, which is largely responsible for the remarkable safety record of air travel in the United States, despite the incredible number of flights on a daily basis.

Frankly, we doubt the presidents claim that privatization would make air travel easier and cheaper, and we note that he didnt claim it would make it any safer, which ought to be the premium in this case.

It isnt lost on us either that the transfer would raise costs to private pilots to the delight of big airlines.

Russell and Inhofe like to show off their record for fighting against big government. On Monday, only two days after he decried the privatization plan, Russell released Waste Watch No. 7, the latest of his efforts to embarrass people who get public funding.

Our cynical side is tempted to say that when it comes to keeping air traffic controllers on the federal payroll, one mans pork is another mans poison; but we will resist that urge and simply welcome Russell and Inhofe for their support of keeping essential government services within the governments control.

Well be glad to see them continue that sort of thinking about programs that wont affect thousands of jobs in their backyards in the future.
A major cyberattack hits one of the world's leading universities. The University College London describes it as a "ransomware" attack.

Allegedly, this incident is similar to last month's hacking of NHS computer systems. The University College London continued to experience the online breach until Thursday. Access to online networks, meanwhile, is currently being restricted.

According to BBC, the school management has warned its staff and students to be ready for any data loss and a "very substantial" disruption. For the record, the University College London is a center of excellence in cyber security research.

The believed ransomware attack was first blamed on "phishing" emails, with links to destructive software. However, as the investigation took place, authorities claim that the incident was due to a contact with a "compromised website".

Per The Guardian, the University College London recorded the first problems at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. By 7 p.m., the management already restricted the access to both the university's networks and its shared drives. It is not yet clear what particular strain of ransomware hit the academic institution.

Nevertheless, officials say that it may be a "zero-day" attack. This assumption was made due to the fact that the breach was not picked up by the system's antivirus.

Moreover, the attack began on the same day Microsoft released an "extremely rare" security update for Windows XP and Vista. The university says that it believes the risk of further infection has been contained, but it is urging staff and students to help with efforts to reduce any "further spread of this malware".

Ransomware attacks computer systems, locking them with damaging software unless payments are made. Hackers, reportedly, want to target people who will be desperate to get access to their data back. Once desperation kicks in, it is easy for them to get the ransom.

Unfortunately, a lot of students are still putting the final touches to their dissertations. This could be the reason why they were the targets.
52 cows killed, scores injured in Gokarneshwor fire

At least 52 cows died and 68 others sustained burn injuries after a fire tore through a cattle farm in Gokarneshwor Municipality-1 in Kathmandu on Saturday.
3 killed as security personnel open fire in Darjeeling

Three supporters of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) were killed when security personnel opened fire on protestors in Darjeeling district of West Bengal state, India on Saturday.
In its initial plan announced in 2006, the Tay Ho Tay Town project has an area of 847 ha.

In the process of applying for a licence, representatives of a consortium of six South Korean investors expressed an expectation that their Central Area of Tay Ho Tay (West West Lake) Town project would be part of celebrations for Hanois 1,000th anniversary.

But after being licensed on January 19, 2006, the project then stalled. Like many others, the main reason was site clearance issues. In April this year, as the anniversary looms and with pressure from the investors, authorities involved in the project gave signs that the site clearance issues may be wrapped up by the end of the year.

On May 4, 2010, 160 days before the anniversary, the Hanoi Peoples Committee (HPC) ratified announcement No 136/TB-UBND on guidance/direction from its Chairman, Mr Nguyen The Thao, on the work process of projects in the Tay Ho Tay New Urban Area. The announcement came based on a meeting held on April 22 at HPC, which was described as tense.

In the announcement, Mr Thao remarked that work at all projects [in Tay Ho Tay Town] is too slow, especially site clearance, which show that there is a lack of firm cooperation between investors and authorities, due to poor capability in and a lack of responsibility of the investors and insufficient consultation with departments and branches under the HPC, and local authorities [at the district and commune level] have not focused on performing their tasks. He therefore directed all sides to seriously review their responsibility in implementing the tasks assigned by the HPC.

In its initial plan announced in 2006, the Tay Ho Tay Town project has an area of 847 ha. It contains many parts, including Peace Park, Friendship Park, a Diplomatic Compound, five roads (Nos 1 to 5), two resettlement areas in Xuan Dinh and Co Nhue communes, and the Central Area project. It will straddle the administrations of seven communes and precincts in Tu Liem district (65 per cent of the total area), Tay Ho district (25 per cent) and Cau Giay district (10 per cent).

The Tay Ho Tay Development Co., Ltd, (T.H.T), now made up of five companies (Daewoo E&C, the Daewon Co. Ltd, the Dong Il Construction Co. Ltd, Keangnam Enterprises Ltd, and the Kolon Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd) instead of the original six, has 207.66 ha as the centre of its project: the Central Area, Tay Ho Tay New Urban Area. The project has two phases, the first of which will be implemented on 117.3 ha with most of the land being farming land, with the second phase to cover 90.3 ha, mostly residential land.

On December 10, 2007, the HPC issued Decision No 4908/QD-UBND on taking over 1,173,030 sq m (117.3 ha) of land in two communes - Co Nhue and Xuan Dinh - in Tu Liem district and assigned the Hanoi Land Fund Development Centre to implement site clearance and compensation.

The Chairman of HPC required that the site clearance and the handing over of 61.3 ha in Phase I was to finish in July 2010. The area has some 740 households and will be the site of the Thang Long Opera House. The entire Phase I is required to be completed in October. We have cooperated with T.H.T and sought an agreement regarding land compensation solutions for households, said Mr Tran Huy Dung, Director of the Hanoi Land Fund Development Centre. He also confirmed that meetings with 228 households on the first stages of the inventory process are now underway and 75 compensation solutions have been published and are waiting for approval. Around 40 people involved in the land clearance compensation process, divided into four groups to carry out investigations and surveys, continue to complete documents and set up compensation and support solutions to ensure the continuity of the process.

On May 6, 2010, T.H.T transferred VND67 billion ($3.5 million) to the Tu Liem branch of the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, earmarked for land compensation purposes. A day later, the investor sent HPC a document confirming their commitment to prepare capital for land compensation, especially prioritising an area of 61.3 ha (including 25 ha for the Thang Long Opera House) in Xuan Dinh commune, Tu Liem district.

The compensation rate for farming land taken over for the project varies, to a maximum VND1.5 million ($78) per square metre. Total compensation to be paid by the investor in Phase I is VND1,937 billion ($101.9 million) and more than VND5,750 billion ($302.6 million) in Phase II. The money transfer will take place in parallel with the process of site clearance. The company is continuously in touch with related offices and authorities to gain consensus, and also with households in the communes and districts to secure full cooperation.

According to Mr Dung, based on Plan No 180/ UBND-TTPTQD, co-signed on April 29, 2010 by the Centre and the Xuan Dinh Commune Peoples Committee, site clearance will be carried out non-stop on Saturdays and Sundays to meet the deadline of July 31. He believes, however, that site clearance for all 117.3 ha could take longer than planned due to Vietnamese customs. Some of the land has cemeteries, he said. Vietnamese people normally move tombs to other locations in the ninth month of the lunar year [October], so site clearance may extend to end of the year.

For the 90.3 ha in the second phase, in Cau Giay and Tay Ho districts, as most of the land is residential the whole project, including the construction of resettlement areas, must be fully coordinated. But the resettlement area is also proceeding slowly due to site clearance issues and its proximity to Nhat Tan Bridge, and it also needs to have a comprehensive transport network. It will take around two years to meet all the necessary conditions for project implementation, said Mr Dung.

If site clearance meets the deadline and the investor keeps to its commitments, in 2014 technical infrastructure in the Central Area is expected to be completed. T.H.T leaders have cooperated with the Centre and local authorities and have transferred funds, said Mr Dung. This shows their determination to implement the project.

According to Mr Nguyen Chi Dung, Director of the Investment and Construction Project Management Unit under the Hanoi Construction Department, the 14 ha Thang Long Opera House will be the first project to see ground broken in the Central Area of the Tay Ho Tay New Urban Area project. The ground breaking is planned for October this year, on the occasion of Hanois 1,000th anniversary.

In the HPC plan, in May this year the Construction Department met selected design consultants from Italy, Japan, France and the UK to discuss ideas for the Opera House. In July they will submit their design solutions. In August HPC will set up a council to select one of four design solutions and organise a referendum, before publishing the official design in September. Thang Long Opera House is expected to be an arts and cultural centre at the national level, where diversified forms of art will be performed and traditional forms of art displayed.
Midterm Vietnam Business Forum 2017 saw a host of proposals from domestic and foreign enterprises

On June 16, 2017, enterprises and state agencies joined in the midterm VBF 2017, based on the theme of Strengthening the linkage between foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic investment in the new global context.

At the forum Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong emphasised the necessity of enhancing linkages, integration, and support between foreign direct investment and domestically-invested enterprises.

We are concerned about the increasing development disparity between FDI and domestic enterprises, as well as technology transfer. These matters are creating potential conflicts about attracting capital between foreign invested and domestic enterprises, Dong said.

Kyle F. Kelhofer, senior country manager for Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia at International Finance Corporation (IFC), said that state agencies have tried to make the business environment friendlier to enterprises, and the recent private sector dialogue has borne fruit.

Vietnam has to change to improve the investment business environment and cooperate to reduce investment and business costs, thereby, developing sustainably. We can find specific measures to face external changes and enhance the competitive capacity of Vietnam. Now it is time for us to do something and have good results, Kelhofer said.

According to Dr Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), currently, FDI contributes a lot to the Vietnamese economy, however, there are concerns over the limited supply of goods and services from the private sector to the FDI sector.

About 14 per cent of private enterprises have FDI enterprise clients in Vietnam. However, it is likely that this number will increase in the future, although this may move at a very slow speed. Only 26.6 per cent of FDI enterprises goods were purchased in Vietnam, Loc said.

Midterm VBF 2017 took place when FDI inflows to Vietnam have been affected by recent changes in global policies, such as Brexit, Donald Trumps policies, the EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the fourth industrial revolution.

Loc said that to strengthen the private sector, the government should connect the FDI and domestic sectors. The government is deploying an ambitious programme with the aim of enhancing the investment environment, promoting the private sector and the linkage between FDI and domestic private enterprises.

Han Dong Hee, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce in Ho Chi Minh City (KOCHAM), said that to connect the two sectors, Vietnamese authorities should establish an investment and cooperation committee to provide FDI enterprises with information about potential small- and medium-sized enterprises and case-by-case consultation.

Below are some proposals the representatives of foreign business associations gave at the conference regarding the problems most pressing for them:

Ryu Hang Ha, co-chairman of KOCHAM

Ryu Hang Ha, co-chairman of KOCHAM

In the past, the Export and Import Tax Act and the Enforcement Decree stipulated that the export duties shall not be imposed on the manufactured products of which raw materials were imported for the purpose of export. Therefore, export duties had not been imposed in the past.

However, the Export and Import Tax Act (seventh clause of the article 16, 107/2016/QH13) was revised on April 6, 2017, and the Enforcement Decree (the article 12, Decree No.134/2016/NDCP) became effective on September 1, 2016. And, the phrase the export tax shall not be imposed was deleted. Therefore, the relevant government agencies are interpreting this as imposition of export duties. As of now, export duties are imposed on products.

For example, 7 to 10 per cent of export duties are imposed on aluminium products. For this reason, many aluminium product manufactures are faced with difficulties while exporting those products from Vietnam, because they have lost price competitiveness in overseas markets.

As of now, the Korean government and the Chinese government do not impose export duties on aluminium products. This is to contribute to the development of domestic industries by securing price competitiveness in the overseas markets. We would like to request the Vietnamese government to exempt export duties for aluminium products. This would enable aluminium product manufacturers to secure price competitiveness and contribute to the industrial development in Vietnam.

Hiroshi Karashima, chairman of the Japan Business Association in Vietnam

Hiroshi Karashima, chairman of the Japan Business Association in Vietnam (JBAV)

Vietnams current minimum wage (in zone 1) is higher than in the major industrial areas in the Philippines, while Malaysia and Thailand have decided against increasing their minimum wages. Include the costs of social welfare and trade unions, labour-related costs in Vietnam stands at the same level as in Thailand.

Of course, the increases of the minimum wage will contribute to expanding local demand. However, at such a rapid pace, we are concerned that Vietnam will lose its competitive advantage over neighbouring countries. I suppose that it shall be of strategic importance to determine an appropriate annual increase in the minimum wage based on CPI increases.

Moreover, in order to enhance Vietnams attractiveness as a country of manufacturing, it is vital to enrich the industrial environment to create added values in addition to labour cost competitiveness.

Based on these, it would be essential to form supporting industries by developing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) immediately. I find that the new law to support SMEs put forward at the National Assembly shows that the Vietnamese government is aware of this issue, which I highly appreciate.

We expect Vietnam to make further efforts in making it easy to grant work permits to experts employed by enterprises. This will contribute to the further development of supporting industries, not only by improving manufacturing capabilities, but also enhancing human resources.

I believe these points are the most critical to maintain and enhance Vietnams international competitiveness. I really wish the Vietnamese government and the Prime Minister would uphold their leadership to swiftly and thoroughly address one specific issue after another.

Tomas Andreatta, vice chairman of EuroCham

Tomaso Andreatta, vice chairman of EuroCham

We wish to highlight five issues that need to be addressed to substantially enhance Vietnams sustainability and competitiveness in global trade, and benefit the European business community in this country.

First of all, renewable sources of energy may have a smaller scale than traditional alternatives, but they have a much faster implementation time and they do not constrain the country to a long-term commitment to the same source of energy, so we recommend committing even more to making them viable.

Secondly, economic growth and urbanisation are increasing the demand for public infrastructure for goods and services. However, the State budget is only able to meet a small part of Vietnam's infrastructure needs and declining ODA funds are not sufficient to complement this shortfall.

The balance has to come from private investment, through better Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) that balance out the risks and are bankable for international companies, with public bids that are transparent, timely, and fair, and through the full privatisation of the market.

Thirdly, EuroCham calls on the Vietnamese government to ensure that intellectual property rights infringement faces strong legal sanctions, including internet-based operations, and immediately enforceable Cease and Desist Decisions.

We also recommend phasing out the concept that Vietnamese law is precedent to international law in case of conflict, as it creates a high level of uncertainty and undermines the whole concept of allowing both parties to freely choose a specific, well-suited, legal system to govern their contracts.

Fourthly, if Vietnam wants to catch up to the present and move to the future, it has to make clear choices to openly promote what will become the industries of the future. Vietnam can learn from the best of Singapore by spearheading new industries. At the same time, it has to allow the private sector to run its own bets, since some will succeed and some not, but the country as a whole will benefit.

We firmly believe that if it chooses to be the one ASEAN country where electric automobiles and motorcycles are manufactured, Vietnam will emerge from its me too follower status to lead at the forefront of the automotive and clean energy sectors. This will also open the way to produce batteries for buildings and cities, to complement intermittent renewable energy. Of course, this has to come with a plan to recycle used batteries.

Finally, many investors in Vietnam face much more stringent administrative challenges at the provincial level than at national level when it comes to opening facilities of their own. This is due to the non-uniform application of laws and policies regarding taxation and customs, as well as the procedures on approving land use rights and other requirements.

Provinces are competing for investment and they should be as open and transparent as possible, while coordinating with the central government to ensure that investors with projects in different provinces are treated consistently. It is in the provinces interest to go further than the FTA requirements, for example by inviting international bidders for procurement, thus securing better quality, more variety, and new sources of funding.

Vietnam Business Forum opens in HN The Annual Viet Nam Business Forum 2016 (VBF) was official launched on December 5 in Ha Noi under the theme Strengthening the private sector: Forging partnership between domestic and foreign enterprises for a harmonious development of the Vietnamese economy.

VBF provides momentum for action One year has passed since the Consortium of local and international business associations and chambers of commerce took over the International Finance Corporations (IFC) coordination role in the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF). With a mid-term meeting slated for June 3, VBF Consortium co-chair Alain Cany speaks with VIR about the impact of the move.
Workers at an assembly line at the My Phong Shoes Joint Stock Company in Chau Thanh District in the southern province of Hau Giang. The company specialises in footwear production and exports and is able to provide jobs for some 14,000 locals. - VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh.

Things are not likely to change with the latest increase, set to take effect next month, local reports say.

From July 1, the basic salary for civil servants and public employees will increase seven per cent to VN1.3 million (about US$57.2) from the current VN1.21 million.

The new basic salary, used for calculating payrolls and allowances, will apply for public officials, public employees working in State agencies and civil service providers of the Party or the Government, State-funded socio-political organisations and the armed forces.

Le inh Quang, deputy head of the Labor Relations department of the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labor, said that the government had plans to increase minimum wage for employees every year to improve living standards.

However, the current minimum wage increase only met 90 per cent of the minimum living standard needs of workers and their families.

Even workers of businesses that pay higher than the minimum wage, VN4-5 million per month, face many difficulties in daily lives.

An overwhelming majority of workers, 97 per cent, did not want to work overtime, but had no choice but to do so, just to make ends meet, Quang told the Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper.

The newspaper reports that from 2014 to 2016, Viet Nam had the highest regional minimum wage increase of nearly 14 per cent, against seven per cent in Indonesia and 10 per cent in China.

Many people wonder why such an increase is unable to meet workers demands, the report says.

The reason is that Viet Nams minimum wage is only higher than Laos and Cambodia and lower than most countries in Southeast Asia like Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, it explains.

The real wage of workers is still very low, it is not high enough to cover workers basic needs because the costs of many services also increase along with the minimum wage.

In fact, in some enterprises, the real income of workers reduce when the minimum wage increases.

Some business owners also threaten to cut their workforce if production costs increase because of higher wages.

The results of study by the ISEAL Alliance  the global association for sustainability standards and social accountability  released at a seminar in Ha Noi recently showed that an employee in HCM City must be paid more than VN6.4 million a month to meet their daily expenses.

The salary was calculated by the research team on the basis of what a household of two adults and two children spend a month.

Unfortunately, the average salary of a worker in the garment sector, a major employer, is just over VN4.8 million a month.

According to the study, at a monthly wage of VN6.4 million, an employee may save VN488,000 per month, five per cent of the income after spending for food, housing fee, insurance and other needs.

The study estimates that for rural areas, in two surveyed provinces of Soc Trang and Thai Binh, a worker needs at least VN3.99 million a month, but the current average salary in these localities is just VN3.2 million.

Most employers pay only minimum wage, which is not enough to meet actual minimum living costs, forcing workers to work overtime to make ends meet, the study found.

Workers are, therefore, left wondering if and when they will be able to meet daily expenses and save some money for a rainy day.

Bui Sy Loi, Deputy Chairman of the National Assemblys Social Affairs Committee, said the minimum wage must be adjusted based on socio-economic development and workes should be compensated in accordance with market mechanisms.

Currently, the minimum wage is based on food prices, which is inadequate. Therefore, authorised agencies must re-calculate the minimum wage so as to ensure the benefits of employees, especially when they retire, while creating favourable conditions for business growth, he said.
Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh receives Russian Deputy FM Igor Morgulov, Ha Noi, June 13, 2017

Deputy PM, FM Minh made the above statement on June 14 at reception for Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov who came to Viet Nam to attend the 9th Viet Nam-Russia Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy-Defence-Security and the political consultation at the deputy FM level.

Minh stressed the need for both sides to strengthen the exchange of viewpoints on regional and international issues towards closer collaboration in action, asking Russia to continue accelerating cooperation with ASEAN and contributing actively to the maintenance of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

Discussing bilateral ties, the deputy PM expressed his delight at the finely growing Viet Nam-Russia relations, noting that close coordination between the two countries in the Viet Nam APEC Year 2017 would contribute actively to enhancing the Viet Nam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.

He voiced his wish for closer collaboration between the two Foreign Ministries to promote bilateral ties in all fields.

For his part, Russian Deputy FM Igor Morgulov affirmed that Russia supports and is willing to cooperate with Viet Nam in its APEC Year 2017. He also voiced his hope that the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) and the APEC would develop cooperative ties.

On June 14, Permanent Deputy FM Bui Thanh Son and Deputy FM Igor Morgulov co-chaired the 9th Viet Nam-Russia Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy-Defence-Security and the Viet Nam-Russia political consultation at the deputy FM level.

In the spirit of openness and trust, the two sides discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern. They agreed that the regional and world situation is transforming deeply, imposing direct impacts on the economic connection process as well as collaboration in handling regional and global issues.
Boeing auction bid arrives late

NAC is planning to issue a third auction notice to sell off its Boeing 757 as the tender submitted by a lone foreign bidder was automatically invalidated as it arrived a day after the deadline.
US President Donald Trump says he will 'cancel' Barack Obama's 'one-sided' rapprochement with Cuba. (Photo: AFP/Mandel Ngan)

Trump flew to Miami's Little Havana, spiritual home of the Cuban-American community, to denounce his predecessor's "one-sided" settlement and pledge to work for Cuba's freedom.

In practical terms, Trump's review of the deal was limited. He will not break the diplomatic ties Obama worked so carefully to restore, nor does he plan to impose new trade sanctions.

But he did tighten rules for Americans travelling to Cuba, ban ties with a military-run tourism firm and reaffirm the existing US trade embargo - which will be firmly enforced.

"Effective immediately, I am cancelling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba," he said, to cheers at the Manuel Artime Theater.

That may have been overstating his case. Trump's new measures mainly relate to stricter enforcement of existing laws that had begun to loosen as Obama sought a rapprochement.

But he won roars of approval and cries of "Viva Cuba libre!" from the invited crowd of Cuban-Americans and Cuban exiles.

And in symbolism that will not be lost in Havana, his crowd included veterans of the ill-fated Brigade 2506, which in 1961 launched the failed US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion.

"I am proud to be an American," said 75-year-old Modesto Castaner, who trained with the CIA in Guatemala before taking part in the failed bid to overthrow Fidel Castro's rule.

"Trump is keeping his promise. What Obama did was virtually all to the benefit of the Castros ... but in exchange for what?"

The new measures prohibit financial transactions with Cuba's military-backed tourism conglomerate GAESA, which had hoped for a windfall from a new surge in American visitors.

Run by Castro's son-in-law Luis Rodriguez Lopez-Callejas, GAESA has joint ventures with several foreign firms that have driven a tourism boom, including the Marriott hotel chain.

Even some who oppose the embargo gave Trump's measures a guarded welcome.

Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the anti-embargo Movimiento Democracia, told AFP that the changes do not fully reverse Obama's open-hand policy as Trump had suggested. And he welcomed the tightening of rules on dealing with military-run enterprises, which he described as "a mafia."

"A Cuban small businessman should not be obliged to buy from the only wholesaler that exists now, which is the state," he said. "Trump is adding teeth to Obama's previous policy, and he's talking about putting the human rights issue first."

HUMAN RIGHTS

Signing a new National Security Presidential Memorandum, Trump announced stricter application of the rules under which Americans can travel to Cuba.

American citizens will still be able to take commercial flights to Cuba, but once again only for 12 specific reasons - ranging from journalism to educational activities.

Cuban-Americans can still visit and send funds, limiting the impact in Florida, where many emigres settled and where many turned out last year to vote for Trump.

Miami's Cuban-American population has a reputation for diehard anti-communism, but in Little Havana, some - even those who had fled oppression - were philosophical about detente.

"Obama did the right thing," said 77-year-old Manuel Gonzales, who left the island in 2006. "The only person responsible for the embargo was Castro. We have to look forward, not back."

Others were not so forgiving.

Marta Diaz, now 75, left Cuba in 1967 and time has done nothing to dull her anger towards the regime. She urged Trump to impose "harsh measures" until the Havana regime falls.

SMALL BUSINESSES

Boosting travel was a key aim of Obama's effort to restore ties with Cuba after a half-century chill, which culminated with a visit by the then-president in 2016.

Some 285,000 people visited the Caribbean country in 2016, up 74 per cent over 2015, with Americans the third-biggest group after Canadians and Cuban expats.

"New restrictions on engagement with Cuban economy only pushes Cuba to China and Russia who will gladly make up the difference," argued former White House official Ben Rhodes, the architect of Obama's Cuba policy.

"Any limitations on travel hurt Cuban small business owners - restaurants, shops, taxis - that depend on travellers for revenue."

Engage Cuba, a group lobbying for an end to the embargo, estimates that 10,000 US jobs in aviation and the cruise business already depend on Cuba.
Customers test out Timo, a VPBank-back digital banking app, Vietnamese banks are looking to tap into big data. - Photo timo.vn

At a conference on Thursday in Ha Noi, Anh said that digital data was becoming a new resource and big data was playing an important role in the banking and finance sectors.

The conference, titled Big data for banking and financial industry, was organised by the Banking Academy of Viet Nam.

At the workshop, participants focused on big data technology from a variety of perspectives. They discussed the latest technology and ways for banks and financial institutions to optimise the application of big data into information systems.

Through the discussion, experts shared hopes that they could identify the opportunities and challenges of big data to improve the productivity, quality and efficiency of financial and banking operations.

The fourth industrial revolution is taking place across the globe and having a strong impact on all aspects of socio-economic life, according to the experts. It promises to create more opportunities and an impetus for the country development of each nation or organisation.

The fourth industrial revolution with Internet of Things, automation and artificial intelligence has brought digital data to the centre of the business world.

Digital data had become a very important resource from which businesses can generate revenue and provide new application ecosystems, services and digital products, said Anh.

Therefore, digital data will grow and become an important industry in the fourth industrial revolution, he added.

At the workshop, the deputy governor also said that the specificity of banking is creating a huge amount of data from structured data such as transaction histories and customer records to unstructured data such as customer activities on Internet and mobile banking application.

Applying big data to exploit the data will bring significant competitive advantages and efficiency for the banking and finance sectors, he added.

In addition, Pham Anh Tuan, director of Vietcombanks tech modernisation department, said that data in the banking system and those collected from the outside include many types. These include structured data, semi-structured data, and unstructured data.

"The current banking data is unstructured, which meets all big data standards in volume, movement and diversity," Tuan emphasised.

The representative of Vietcombank also said that when banks as well as financial institutions identify data with great value, they must consider data assets of the bank. In other words, data must be treated like any bank assets, which have to be taken care of and ensured on asset security.
The Dangerous Side-Effects of Plastics, and How to Minimize Their Toxic Impact

Plastics are not only an environmental disaster; these man-made conveniences introduced a century ago are also harming our physical and mental health. Phthalates  chemical compounds used to make plastic more flexible and durable  are found in more products than you might imagine, and have become the human bodys
Export earnings from NTIS products drop

Export earnings from goods identified by the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2016 as having high export potential fell 2.6 percent in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, with ginger, medicinal herbs and pashmina recording the sharpest drop.
Ukraine, already a de facto member of Nato, now wants to enter Nato on an official basis. On 8 June, the Kiev Parliament, voted by a majority (276 against 25) in favour of a legislative amendment that makes this objective a priority. Ukraines admission into Nato would not be just a formal act. Russia is accused by Nato of illegally annexing Crimea and leading military action against Ukraine.

As a consequence, if Ukraine were to officially enter Nato, the other 29 members of the Alliance, on the basis of art 5 of the Alliance, would have to assist the party attacked by undertaking the necessary legal action, including the use of armed force. This effectively means that they should declare war against Russia.

The credit for introducing into Ukrainian legislation the objective of entering Nato goes to the President of the Parliament, Andriy Parubiy. In 1991 he co-founded the Ukrainian National Socialist Party, a party modelled on Adolf Hitlers National Socialist Party; headed the Neo-Nazi para-military formations used in 2014 in both the Maiden Square Putsch, under US/Nato leadership, and the massacre at Odessa; headed the Council of Defense and National Security that, with the Azov Battalion and other Neo Nazi units, is attacking Ukrainian civilians of Russian nationality in the Eastern part of the country and carrying out, by squads specially trained for this purpose, ferocious beatings of militants belonging to the Communist Party, ransacking their offices and making bonfires of their books in true Nazi style, while this Party is on the verge of being officially proscribed. So this is Andriy Parubiy who, as the President of the Ukrainian Parliament (a position conferred on him in April 2016 for his democratic achievements), was received on 5 June at Montecitorio by the President of the House, Laura Boldrini. Italy - emphasized President Boldrini - has always condemned the illegal action that took place to the detriment of the Ukrainian territory. Thus she has gobbled up the Nato version according to which it was Russia that had illegally annexed Crimea, a version that fails to take into account that the Russians of Crimea chose to break away from Ukraine and to re-enter Russia - a decision taken to pre-empt an attack, just like the decision taken by the Russians of Donbass, by Neo Nazi battalions and Kievs other forces.

The cordial conversation was concluded by signing a memorandum of understanding that further strengthens parliamentary cooperation between the two assemblies, both at the political and administrative level.

Thus it strengthens cooperation between the Italian Republic, born out of the Resistance against Nazi-fascism, and a regime that created in Ukraine a situation analogous to that which brought into being the fascism of the 1920s and Nazism in the 1930s. The Azov battalion, whose Nazi signature is represented by the emblem inspired by the SS Das Reich emblem, has been incorporated into the National Guard, transformed into a regular military unit and promoted to the rank of a regiment for special operations.

Then it was supplied with armoured transport and artillery. With other Neo-Nazi formations, transformed into regular units, it is trained by US instructors from the 173a Air Transport division, transferred from Vicenza to Ukraine, flanked by others from Nato.

The Ukraine of Kiev has thus become the nursery for born-again Nazism right in the heart of Europe. Neo-Nazis flow into Kiev from all over Europe, including Italy. After being trained and tested out in military action against the Russians of Ukraine in Donbass, they have been made to return to their countries. Now it is left to Nato to rejuvenate the ranks of Gladio.
This article was first published in French March 3rd, 2004.

In memory of Marx Dormoy, Victor Basch, Jean Zay, Georges Mandel and Jean Moulin

Through a brief communique, published on the night of 3 February 2004, LOreal, the cosmetic giant announced a capital restructuring [1]. The Bettencourt family and Nestle, which still today hold a majority stake in LOreal through the intermediary of the holding company, Gasparal, will hold it directly. Given that this ruse is accompanied by an undertaking to retain holdings, the Bettencourt family will benefit from a 50% reduction on the tax on its fortune. Family members will not be liable for the expenses of this transaction thanks to new provisions introduced in the Law on Economic Initiative on 1 August 2003 that operate in their favour [2].

Today LOreal is valued at 43.6 billion euro. The Bettencourts hold 11.99 billion; Nestle 11.5 billion; and the remaining 20.11 billion floats on the Stock Exchange. In 2002, the personal fortune of Liliane Bettencourt, heiress of the founder of LOreal, was estimated at 17.2 billion euro. This makes her the richest person in France.

A Company that wants to buy out the Republic

In 1907, a small entrepreneur, Eugene Schueller, establishes LOreal. Later on, in 1928, he buys up Monsavon, then the Valentine paintings, the Dop shampoos and the magazine Votre Beaute. Gradually shifting his position to the extreme right, Schueller becomes known for his economic theories on a proportional salary. In a society liberated from liberal capitalism and trade unions, workers would receive a triple salary: a salary based on activity; a salary based on the number of children in their family and a salary based on productivity.

On 6 February 1934, in reaction to a resounding political-financial scandal, the leagues of veterans that fought in the Great War demonstrate before the Chambre des deputes in Paris seeking the resignation of the Daladier government. Due to fascist ringleaders, the gathering turns into an insurrection and tries to topple the Republic to the benefit of Colonel de La Rocque who, however, refuses to play the role that one wants him to play.

Various other skirmishes follow in the weeks that follow including an attempt to lynch Leon Blum during the funeral of a historian sympathetic to the monarchy. As a consequence, on 18 June, the government declares the dissolution of the leagues of veterans. At once, a group of fascist militants, most of whom came from section XVII of the Camelots du Roi, break with Charles Maurras, a monarchist philosopher and decide to go underground. They form a Secret Organization for National Revolutionary Action (OSARN by its French acronym). To this organization, gravitating around Eugene Deloncle, are: Aristide Corre, Jean Filliol, Jacques Correze. They are soon to be joined by Gabriel Jeantet, Francois Metenier and Dr Henri Martin.

Colonel de La Rocque warns former league members that their movement may be infiltrated by traitor groups, that is by fascists acting on behalf of foreign states, such as Italy and Germany [3]. In any event, OSARN is quickly restructured into local groups and hierarchized into a system that is highly subdivided, so that apart from the leaders, other members of the organization are unaware of the organizations extent, its real objectives, the resources and support it has. Some cells participating in the plot, including the so-called, Knights of the Gladiator, led at Nice by Joseph Darnant and Francois Durand de Grossouvre, adopt a ritual and costume inspired by the US-based Klu Klux Klan. It will be for this reason that OSARN will be nicknamed by monarchists as La Cagoule [4].

Eugene Schueller, a close friend of Eugene Deloncle, contributes his personal assets to the plot. Several meetings of the management team take place in his office at LOreals headquarters.

A group of youngsters, living in a dormitory of the Marista Fathers (104, rue de Vaugirard, Paris), touch base with the leaders of the plot and participate in some of their activities without, however, formally joining the OSARN. We are talking of Pierre Guillain de Benouville, Claude Roy, Andre Bettencourt and Francois Mitterrand. Robert Mitterrand, Francoiss brother, marries Eugene Deloncles niece.

Failures and Divisions Based on Anti-Semitism

In one and a half years, OSARN formalises its relations with the government of Benito Mussolini in Italy, and later with Adolf Hitler in Germany. On their behalf, it transports weapons to Francisco Franco in Spain and eliminates political refugees in France. In exchange, it is given considerable financial and logistical support. On the night of 15 November 1937, continuing into 16 November 1937, the organization attempts a coup dEtat which ultimately fails. The following day and in the weeks that follow, sunlight is shed on the plot. Searches uncover caches of weapons distributed throughout the entire territory. The weapons discovered total hundreds of machine-guns, thousands of guns and uniforms, tens of thousands of grenades, hundreds of thousands of munitions, all imported from Italy and Germany.

The President of the Council, Edouard Daladier, halts the inquiry when he begins to discover that OSARNs network branches out to its superior officers going right up to the chief of staff. In fact, it does not appear possible to put an end to the organization without beheading the French army at a time when the threat of war is becoming increasing real. Yet Daladier is wrong, for the Second World War is in fact declared and France capitulates.

While some members of La Cagoule, hostile to foreign domination over France, support De Gaulle, most of them celebrate the victory of fascism and commit to collaborating with the Nazi Occupation. In September 1940, Eugene Deloncle and Eugene Schueller establish the Social Revolutionary Movement (the French acronym for which is MSR, pronounced aime et sert i.e. love and serve) with the help of the Reichs ambassador in France, Otto Abetz, and the personal approval of the Gestapo Head, Reinhardt Heydrich. MSR management meetings take place at LOreals head office (14, rue Royale, Paris).

The organizations programme indicates: We want to build a new Europe in cooperation with national socialist Germany and all other European nations freed from liberal capitalism, Judaism, bolshevism and French masons (..) to regenerate France and the French race () to ensure the Jews that stay in France are subject to harsh laws, preventing them from infesting our race () to create a socialist economy () which guarantees a fair distribution of production by simultaneously increasing both wages and production.

As the first application of this programme, Deloncle organises bombing seven Parisian synagogues, in the night of 2 and 3 October 1941.

Furthermore, an organization within the organization is established with the help of SS Theo Dannecker, representing Adolf Eichmann. This new entity is named the French Community and its aim is to:

free France completely from the ferments of corruption that are the Jews and the Free Masons.

It is this secret group that organizes the spoliation of Jews often for its members personal gain. The group includes Jacques Correze (already mentioned) and Jean Filliol, La Cagoules assassin.

As for young Andre Bettencourt, he becomes the French leader of PropagandaStaffel. He is placed under the triple guardianship of the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, the Wehrmacht and the Gestapo. He has the final say on all the French publications  both collaborationist and Nazi. He personally edits La Terre francaise, a publication that is overtly Nazi, targeting rural families and strongly advises re-educating degenerate intellectuals by the forced return to the land which does not lie. He hires the agronomist Rene Dumont. Furthermore, Bettencourt regularly offers columns in his newspapers to Schueller.

The Bettencourt Solution

On 15 February 1941, at the request of the SS, the MSR of Deloncle merges with Marcel Deats Rassemblement national populaire (RNP). The head of LOreal, Eugene Schueller, becomes an economic reference point. His book, La Revolution de leconomie, is classified as a reference work for French fascism.

On 15 June 1941, in an address to the Congress of the Organization at Pariss Palais de la Mutualite, Schueller calls for preliminary revolution for cleansing and remedy which must necessarily be bloody. It will simply consist in quickly shooting fifty to a hundred high profile individuals.

On 22 June 1941, the Reich attacks the Soviet Union. Deloncle and Schueller then decide to establish a Legion of French Volunteers (LVF by the French acronym) to fight Bolshevism on the Eastern front. It is led by Jacques Correze. All members swear an oath of allegiance to the Fuhrer.

Through this powerful, armed organization, Deloncle and Schueller try to eliminate their political adversary Pierre Laval and their ally/rival Marcel Deat. On 27 August, 1941, on the occasion of a ceremony marking the departure of an LVF contingency for the Russian border, they organize a double attack during which Laval and Deat are wounded.

On 20 December 1941, Andre Bettencourt perfectly aware about the debates taking place at Berlin, writes in the Christmas editorial of La Terre francaise :

Despite everything, one day, within thirty years from now, the Jews will imagine that they are able to win the battle. They succeeded in putting their hands on Jesus and crucifying him. Then rubbing their hands together, they cried: Oh that his blood falls on us and our children. You know very well how that blood fell and still continues to fall. The prescriptions of the eternal book must be realized.

In fact, some days later, the Conference of Wansee decides to implement the final solution. Some millions of people are going to be exterminated in utmost secrecy.

At the end of the internal conflicts in the French Nazi movement, there is no question it is Deloncle who falls from grace. On 18 March 1942, Eugene Schueller rushes to the Reichs embassy and confirms that he has turned his back on his friend. The interview is stored in the German archives.

Enter the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)

The battle of Stalingrad reverses the course of events. From now on, the Reich is no longer invincible. Andre Bettencourt becomes closer to his friend Francois Mitterrand who executes various duties at Vichy where he shares an office with Jean Ousset, the leader of Joseph Darnards, Youth Movement of the French Legion of Soldiers. It appears that they will then join the Resistance within the National Movement for Prisoners of War and Deportees (the French acronym for which is MNPGD). This activity is officially recognized only 40 years later by the Mitterand administration, yet historians are still constantly questioning it.

At the end of 1942, Andre Bettencourt is sent by Eugene Schueller to aryanize Nestle in Switzerland (the boss of LOreal became one of Nestles major shareholders). Bettencourt uses his transfer as an opportunity to meet Allen Dulles and Max Schoop both from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)  predecessor of the CIA. In 1944, they give him 2.5 million francs (at the time) to finance their network. To date, we have no idea how this money was used.

Eugene Deloncle is murdered. But the crimes committed by members of La Cagoule do not end there, not even when the allies disembark at Normandy. On 10 June, 1944, Jean Filliol leads the division SS Das Reich to Oradour-sur-Glane (Haute-Vienne) where it massacres 644 inhabitants in particularly gruesome conditions.

Because they were well worth it

On French Liberation, members of La Cagoule in London save the members of La Cagoule in Vichy. Thanks to the testimony of Andre Bettencourt and Francois Mitterrand, Eugene Schueller is released on the grounds that he had participated in the Resistance. LOreal becomes a haven for old friends. Francois Mitterand is hired as director of the magazine Votre Beaute. Andre Bettencourt comes on board the groups management. With the help of Opus Dei, a pro-Franco Catholic brotherhood, Henri Deloncle (Eugenes brother) develops LOreal Spain where he employs Jean Filliol. As for Jacques Correze, he becomes the boss of LOreal in the US. In 1950, Andre Bettencourt marries Liliane, the only daughter of Eugene Schueller.

Rue Saint-Dominique, the office Andre Bettencourt used when he managed PropagandaStaffel, is transformed into one of the residences of Opus Dei. Meantime, Robert Mitterand moves into rue Dufrenoy, more exactly, into the building that will house the head office of the Opus in France. This work is politically led by Jean Ousset.

Andre Bettencourt then went on to pursue a brilliant career. As a journalist, in 1945 he established the Journal agricole, for the former readers of La Terre francaise. His political career led him several times to the French parliament and government. He could therefore resume his past activities by becoming Secretary of State for Intelligence (1954-55), a post created by his friend Francois Mitterrand in 1948, and from where both of them will give shape to the contemporary French press. The two men are inseparable to the point that in 1986 when Mitterrand, having become a socialist and President of the Republic has to cohabit with a right wing Assembly, he considers choosing Andre Bettencourt as Prime Minister. But fearing the return of ghosts of the past, he abstains. The present however houses the past.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

In a statement released Friday, the Los Angeles coroners office confirmed the results of Carrie Fishers death inquiry. They determined the Star Wars star died on December 27, 2016 as the result of sleep apnea and other factors, like plaque build up in her arteries, but acknowledged that they couldnt discern the exact cause of her demise. Their report also indicated that Fisher had several unspecified drugs in her system when she died. They could not, however, establish if the drugs had contributed to her dying.

Per the AP, the actresss brother, Todd Fisher, said in response to the coroners findings: Were not enlightened. Theres nothing about this that is enlightening. In addition to her struggle with addiction and her use of prescription medication to treat her bipolar disorder, both topics the actress and writer spoke candidly about in life, Fishers brother pointed to her heart disease and smoking as likely contributing factors in her death. Said Todd Fisher, If you want to know what killed her, its all of it.

Update, June 17: Shortly after the news broke, Fishers daughter, Billie Lourd, released a statement that acknowledged the cause of her death. My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it, the statement read. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases. She talked about the shame that torments people and their families confronted by these diseases. I know my Mom, shed want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles. Seek help, fight for government funding for mental health programs. Shame and those social stigmas are the enemies of progress to solutions and ultimately a cure.
Photo: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Spike

In a Time op-ed published Friday afternoon, Jay Z calls out the bail industry for unfairly penalizing poor people, especially poor people of color, for not having the resources necessary to be released from jail while awaiting trial. On any given day over 400,000 people, convicted of no crime, are held in jail because they cannot afford to buy their freedom, he writes. When black and brown people are over-policed and arrested and accused of crimes at higher rates than others, and then forced to pay for their freedom before they ever see trial, big bail companies prosper.

Jay Z points to his experience producing Spikes docuseries Time: The Kalief Browder Story for fueling his stance against the bail industry. (Browder was famously held for three years in New Yorks Rikers Island prison, much of the time in solitary confinement, without a trial; he later committed suicide at the age of 22.) On Mothers Day, Jay Z explains, organizations like Southerners on New Ground and Color of Change raised bail money for mothers in jail prior to their trials. This Fathers Day, Im supporting those same organizations to bail out fathers who cant afford the due process our democracy promises, he concludes. As a father with a growing family, its the least I can do, but philanthropy is not a long fix, we have to get rid of these inhumane practices altogether.
Photo: Joan Marcus/2016 Joan Marcus

Shakespeare in the Parks production of Julius Caesar, which features a blonde-haired Trump-esque politician as the titular murdered tyrant, has been awash in controversy since before it officially opened, losing sponsorship from Delta Air Lines and Bank of America while garnering support from theater defenders and Trump opponents alike. In the shows latest saga, a protester, identified by the New York Post as Laura Loomer, ran onstage during its Friday night production, shouting, Stop the normalization of political violence against the right! This is unacceptable! Another protester, identified as Jack Posobiec, filmed the protest from the audience and chided those within earshot, Youre all Nazis like Joseph Goebbels, a reference to Hitlers minister of propaganda. Posobiec and Loomer were removed from Central Parks Delacorte Theater and Loomer was reportedly charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. In a statement about the incident, the Public Theater said in part, The staff removed the protestors peacefully, and the show resumed with the line Liberty! Freedom! The audience rose to their feet to thank the actors, and we joyfully continued. Free speech for all, but lets not stop the show.
Police fire rubber bullets after UML's election materials torched, 3 injured

Three persons were injured when police fired rubber bullets to contain a clash between cadres of CPN-UML and Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) at Parasi in Nawalparasi district on Saturday.
With the summer driving season approaching, gasoline prices typically are moving toward their peak for the year.

But Waco motorists are seeing sub-$2 prices for regular unleaded at pumps around town, especially where a battle has broken out involving a convenience store, grocery store and a big-box store.

The Corner Store at 1103 S. Valley Mills Drive, the RaceWay at 1208 S. Valley Mills Drive, the H-E-B at 1821 S. Valley Mills Drive and the Murphy USA/Walmart location at New Road and Franklin Avenue all were charging $1.97 a gallon for regular unleaded Saturday, according to GasBuddy.com, making their fuel the least expensive in Greater Waco.

Meanwhile, the Road Ranger travel center in Lacy Lakeview was charging $1.94 per gallon for regular unleaded, and at least six other locations in the area had $1.99 posted on their pumps.

The average price for regular unleaded in Waco on Saturday stood at $2.07, down from $2.09 on Friday, $2.13 a week earlier and $2.14 a month ago, according to GasBuddys survey of 124 gas outlets in Waco.

While the national average fell 5 cents per gallon in the last week, the bigger story is that 47 states saw average gas prices move lower in the last week, so this isnt just a here-and-there trend, GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan wrote in a press release. Its almost everywhere.

Pump prices are bucking the summertime trend because oil prices remain near six-month lows as fundamentals remain weak, DeHaan wrote. Supply remains high even in light of production cuts from OPEC, while demand has been mild, not remarkable. Todays national average price for gasoline is the lowest for mid-June since 2005, not an easy record to attain.

Average gas prices in mid-June locally have varied widely in recent years, hitting $2.12 a gallon in 2016, $2.54 in 2015, $3.39 in 2014, $3.35 in 2013 and $3.31 in 2012, according to GasBuddys report.

The countrys cheapest gas prices continue to be in the South and Southeast: Oklahoma ($2.04), Arkansas ($2.08) and Louisiana ($2.13), according to the AAA Texas auto club. In the region, all states saw prices decline at the pump, with Texas dropping the most by 5 cents from last week.

Export round table

Local companies involved in or interested in exporting their products are invited to attend the Texas Exporter Roundtable scheduled for June 28 at the Waco Hilton downtown, ahead of the Texas Rural Challenge on June 29-30.

In the round table scheduled from 1:30 to 4 p.m., participants can interact with exporters who will discuss problems they encounter, learn of export services provided by state and federal agencies, and make suggestions to these public agencies about what does and does not work and how they can better assist small- and medium-size exporters, according to an email from the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce.

The Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the program.

Representatives of the Texas Governors Office of Economic Development, Department of Commerce Export Assistance Centers, the Small Business Administration Office of International Trade and the International Trade Center are expected to attend, according to the chamber.

Those interested in attending are asked to email doug.smith@utsa.edu or call 210-458-2041.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said Marlin Independent School District is not likely to close anytime soon, despite its five years of failing academic standards and two abatement agreements with the state placing conditions on its continued operations.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Tribune-Herald on Friday, Morath spoke about leadership and the state of the struggling district, pushed back against public perceptions about funding for public schools and plugged a new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness report card he is touring the state to promote.

In terms of closure, I dont view that as a likely possibility, Morath said about Marlin. In terms of exiting state oversight, Im not too sure about that either. Its going to be somewhere in between.

Marlin ISD is one of four school districts operating under the states control. Morath appointed a board of managers in February to take over duties of the elected school board.

The district signed its second abatement agreement with the Texas Education Agency in March, again stating it could be closed if it fails academic or financial standards. The agreement gives Morath broad authority over the fate of the district.

Since staring as commissioner in January, Morath has told the Senate Education Committee he has a goal of cutting the number of failing schools in the state in half by using stronger intervention methods to improve outcomes.

He and TEA officials are working with the district to provide governance training, build strategic goals and bring in additional resources to the administration, he said.

Its an all-hands-on-deck activity top to bottom, from the board level down to the teacher, Morath said. Were trying to be as strategic as possible in arranging resources to support the students in Marlin.

We want to see significant improvement and we want to see it as fast as possible. It is challenging though. Recruiting talent in Marlin is different than recruiting talent in downtown Austin at the teacher level. Ensuring we can provide financial supports and human capital in just talented people to support the folks in Marlin, thats what were focused on.

Asked about advice for Marlin leadership, he chuckled and said there is none I could give through the newspaper. He said the state frequently gives advice and recommendations directly to the district.

The job of public education is quite difficult, Morath said. I ran a software company for a decade, and I can tell you its a lot easier writing lines of code than it is running a system that helps educate human beings.

State funding

Despite the public perception, state funding for public education doesnt have a target on its back, Morath said.

He said he has encountered a perception that there is an extra emphasis at the state level on charter schools, private schools and religious schools, but student outcomes in public education are the strongest they have ever been in Texas.

The attitude of halcyon days of old, and that somehow it was better back in my day, is actually just not mathematically correct, Morath said. The graduation rate in Texas is now as high as its ever been, and it puts us in the top five in the United States. . . . But public education is hard. Roughly 60 percent of our kids in the state of Texas are eligible for a free or reduced lunch.

It doesnt mean you cant get great outcomes if you chose the wrong parents. Thats not true. We have enough evidence that shows demography is not destiny. But it shows the job is difficult, and I have never bought into the sort of narrative that public education is under attack.

During the 85th Legislative session, lawmakers debated school funding reform but failed to pass a bill that would have directed more money to public schools and simplified outdated funding formulas.

But Morath said the reality is state officials have been attentive to the needs of public schools for years, and funding for public education isnt being cut, as perceived. In fact, the state adds 80,000 fully funded new students every year, he said.

We have a vastly more equitable distribution of funds than most states, given what I see. . . . To my knowledge, (cutting funding for education) has only happened once in the state of Texas, Morath said. It happened in 2011, during the Great Recession. But public education funding has increased both in the aggregate and on a per pupil basis.

Basically, its happened every single year in the history of the state, with that exception, and since then, its gone up and up and up. School finance is extraordinarily complicated because its a mix of local property tax collections and what the state allocation is, but we spend a little north of $60 billion a year on public education in Texas. But if you look at the state budget, youd think we spend $60 billion every other year.

Gov. Greg Abbott has called for a special session, which starts July 18 and includes private school choice and school finance. Morath said lawmakers should be working on school-related policies with an outcome lens in mind, and that hes 100 percent aligned with Abbott, and knows Abbott is pushing for whats best in public education.

STAAR report card

Parents will soon have access to a new STAAR report card that will help them find resources for students struggling to take on state assessments.

The revamped information will give parents access to resources that specifically highlight ways to help their child improve, including college preparation tips, parent-teacher conference suggestions, and reading and math tools to help boost academic understanding, Morath said.

And for the first time in Texas, parents will also be able to see questions from the years STAAR test and how their child answered, along with a description of why the answer was wrong, available online.

This is such a key tool to help our parents truly understand whats expected of their students at each grade level, said Kim Ellis, Waco ISDs assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. One of the challenges we have is looking at student work as it compares to the rigor of the test. This will help us, not only with teachers, but with parents, dialogue about the expectations the state has set forth.

While those conversations were happening before, the dialogue couldnt be as specific as the new system will allow, because test results were usually released later in the year. Now, parents will have results sooner, and the report card will allow for more individualized learning experiences between teachers, parents and children, Morath said.

Our job is to differentiate instruction in a way that every kid gets what they deserve, Waco ISD Superintendent A. Marcus Nelson said. Thats for our most profound, autistic kid all the way up to the best and brightest Ivy League-bound kid we have. They all need to get a specialized education, and I believe this report card really allows us to drill down on kids strengths and non-strengths so teachers can focus their interventions on prescriptions that help kids get better.

High school STAAR reports were released June 13, and grades three through eight will be available June 30.

For more information about the report cards, visit tea.texas.gov.
J.W. HoggJune 3, 1924 - June 7, 2017J.W. "T" Hogg, 93, of Cedar Springs, passed away Wednesday, June 7, 2017. A memorial service will be held 10:00 a.m., Saturday, June 17, at Pecan Grove Funeral Home, 3124 Robinson Drive, Waco.T was born June 3, 1924 in Falls County, Texas, to Jim and Willie Mae Hogg. He married Louise McIntosh on October 1, 1945. T was a life-long farmer and rancher in Cedar Springs. He was a kind and generous man who never met a stranger and would help anyone in need.T was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, C.D., Jack, Tabby, and Gene Hogg; and sister, Louise Jordan.T is survived by his wife of nearly 72 years, Louise Hogg; brothers, Bobby Hogg and wife, Ginger, and Billy Hogg and wife, Debbie; son, Ricky Hogg and wife, Susan; daughters, Susan Mackie and husband, Nick, Kay Reynolds and husband, Tom, and Lisa Westerman and husband, Dwayne; 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.T will be missed by his family and countless friends but we know that one day we'll see him again.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in T's name to Cedar Springs Baptist Church, 146 County Road 336, Rosebud, TX, 76570.Online guestbook www.pecangrovefuneral.com.Sign the Guest Book at www.wacotrib.com
Thursday afternoon the Supreme Court of the United States convened briefly to observe the traditional ceremony of welcoming its newest member. The ancient cry of oye announced the eight members of the court. The new justice was seated in the historic John Marshall Chair with the president of the United States nearby. Like a civil wedding, the ceremony was short and sweet, with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein reading aloud the formal commission.

Justice Neil M. Gorsuch was then escorted up to his seat, the chief justice made a few remarks of welcome and the court adjourned. Entirely symbolic, the investiture comes during the courts busiest season with a frenetic rush to decide the remaining 75 cases argued over the course of the term that began on the first Monday in October. After his rancor-filled confirmation process in the U.S. Senate, Justice Gorsuch joined the court in mid-April in time to participate in the final 13 cases.

Predictions about judicial behavior are notoriously off-base, but the early returns on this Investiture Day support the conclusion that Neil Gorsuch is not only relishing his new role but is genuinely committed to continuing the legacy of the iconic justice he replaced. In a lecture last year at Case Western, Gorsuch proudly embraced his predecessors approach to judging: Though the critics are loud and the temptations to join them may be many, mark me down too as a believer that the traditional account of the judicial role Justice Scalia defended will endure. The newest justices early actions support this claim.

As for style, the immediate returns point to an energetic, lively justice much in the Scalia mold. In his first oral argument, the courts newest member set a staggering rookie record for the number of questions asked  22  in a single case. That lofty number will likely never be matched. (Justice Sonia Sotomayor previously held the mark at 15).

Similar styles aside, the enduring significance of the Gorsuch appointment lies in the substance of the Scalia-Gorsuch connection. When Justice Scalia ascended to the high court in 1986, the clear and present danger  as the Reagan era appointee saw it  was a runaway judiciary, embodied in Warren Court and, to a lesser extent, Burger Court constitutional rulings. The judges were making it up as they went along. As if in tribute to his predecessor, Justice Gorsuch used those Scalia-esque words in his very first oral argument, a case involving a complex interplay of federal statutes. Like Justice Scalia, Gorsuch was searching for an authoritative answer in the text alone. That approach  textualism  was Scalias antidote for the democratic disease of judges inventing law, rather than interpreting it.

Statutory interpretation provides daily grist for the judicial mill, but the stakes are exponentially higher in interpreting the Constitution. Here, to the textualist school which Scalia popularized, making it up constitutes the ultimate judicial sin. Scalias boldest move in staunching the flow of making it up came early on in his storied career. The case involved a subject close to Scalias heart  religious liberty.

The setting was exotic. Oregon had rejected unemployment compensation claims for two Native Americans due to their having used illegal drugs  peyote  in a Native American church ceremony. No one doubted the churchgoers sincerity, but Oregon lawmakers had not carved out a sacramental-based exception to their sweeping state ban on drug use. Over vigorous dissents, Scalia upheld the state law since the measure applied to everyone, regardless of impact on religious observance. Sympathetic though Scalia was to the liberty-based claim, it was simply not for judges to impose their own vision of a fairer, more compassionate society.

Congress was furious. In short order, both houses passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which revived judges power (recognized by both the Warren and Burger courts) to create exceptions based on freedom of conscience and belief.

When the Oregon peyote case was handed down, Neil Gorsuch was a 23-year-old law student. The future justice thus came to maturity not under the specter of the free-wheeling Warren Court, as had Justice Scalia, but in the wake of the more judicially restrained leadership of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. By that time, the Federalist Society was going strong and the intellectual torch had largely shifted from radical left deconstructionists to law-and-economics champions.

Thanks to Justice Scalias approach to constitutional interpretation, and especially with numerous Reagan and Bush appointees serving on the federal bench, deep-seated fears about judicial power ebbed somewhat. Now, judicial power could  and should  be employed to vindicate textually explicit constitutional liberties, albeit not to build what Justice Scalia dismissed as a judicially created better society.

Ironically, the confluence of Justice Scalias and now-Justice Gorsuchs professional journeys came in a case involving the interpretation of the very law that had cuffed the early Justice Scalia. Confronted with the religious-based claims of family-owned Hobby Lobby, both jurists  Gorsuch on the Court of Appeals and, later, Scalia on the Supreme Court  enthusiastically upheld Congress capacious approach to vindicating individual liberties. In affirming the business owners claim to freedom of conscience, judges werent making up the law; to the contrary, Congress had now spoken.

Thursday Justice Gorsuch ceremonially took the chair that Scalia occupied for 30 years. Although the Supreme Court chamber was a speech-free zone, Gorsuchs words at his confirmation hearing ring true: Justice Scalia was a mentorHe reminded us that words matter. That the judges job is to follow the words that are in the law, and not replace them with those that arent.

Almost single-handedly, Antonin Scalia changed the way mainstream judges think about their important but limited role in a representative democracy. On our most recent Investiture Day, the Scalia judicial tradition now lays claim to a very worthy successor.
FNJ objects journalist's arrest

The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has termed the arrest of Khem Bhandari, editor of the 'Dainik Manaskhanda' a vernacular daily published from Kanchanpur, and executive editor G Bhatta from the paper's offices on the charge of public offence in contravention of the freedom of the press and expression.
WAHOO  The storm that blasted through southeast Nebraska last night left a wake of power outages and downed trees.

Saunders County Emergency Manager Terry Miller said Mead and Yutan are without power, as well as parts of rural Ithaca and Ashland.

There are many power lines down, mainly supply lines to homes around trees, but many main lines too, Miller said.

Miller said he has not heard a timetable from OPPD regarding when power could be back on for those affected.

It could be anywhere from 10 minutes to two days, he said.

OPPD reported over 70,000 of their customers are without power.

There are also varying reports from around the county about downed tree limbs and home damage.

Miller said the nearly 70 mph winds toppled a grain dryer in Mead and a soft-top structure at Mead Cattle Co.

There are also reports of large limbs down on Victor Street in Yutan and that a tree landed on a house in the Timbercrest subdivision of Yutan.

Miller reported no critical infrastructure issues around the county, as all the waste water treatment systems and wells have back-up batteries and generators.
I'm not one who particularly cares about what other people think. I once ate a not-so-fresh burrito in Mexico and during about of scuba diving that followed, promptly fed the fish from what came out of the inner thigh of my wetsuit.

While others may have hidden this cringe-worthy tale from all their nearest and dearest, I delighted in telling my buddies over a few glasses of wine as I recounted my travel stories a couple of weeks later.

breatfeeding;afr;981215;pic by louise kennerley;saved in news;generic breastfeeding, childcare, baby, mother

The word 'shy' has never been used to describe my personality.

So, when it came to breastfeeding my child, I had no qualms about getting my boobs out in public. If my six-month old whinges in a cafe, my boob is whipped out faster than you can say 'babychino'.
'Govt earns $25,000 plus from film shooting inside nat'l parks'

A total of 48 Nepali and foreign movies were shot inside the area of national parks and wildlife reserves so far in the current fiscal year, said the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC).
Indian, Chinese envoys call on PM Deuba

Ambassadors of India and China on Friday called on Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and discussed various issues, including local level elections.
Lest we forget

Last week, following a characteristically long, and occasionally barbed, tirade by KP Sharma Oli and a conspicuously short cameo by Sher Bahadur Deuba in the Parliament, Pushpa Kamal Dahal walked up to the pulpit and began his speech by admitting he was unsure about how long his own address should be, given the two starkly different precedents.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jun. 16, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 16, 2017 | 10:21 PM | PADUCAH, KY

A Paducah man was arrested on multiple charges after an investigation into drug activity led to discovery of drugs and child pornography.



The Paducah Police Department received complaints of illegal drug activity at a home on Lakewood Drive, so on Monday, they went to the home and spoke to 45-year-old Anthony Glover. Their investigation determined he had a prescription for the opioid drug buprenorphrine, and had been selling it. Detectives also say they found small amounts of marijuana and a grinder.



Police say an examination of Glover's phone revealed 15 images and eight videos depicting child pornography, and had shared at least one of the images online.



Glover was arrested for 2nd degree trafficking in a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, and distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor.



He was taken to McCracken County Jail.
Cub Scout Day in Land Between the Lakes Nov. 19
By The Associated Press Jun. 16, 2017 | 11:02 PM | LOUISVILLE, KY





The average cost of a four-year degree in Kentucky will be more than $39,000 this fall after state regulators approved tuition increases at all but two of the state's public universities.The Council on Postsecondary Education approved the increases during its board meeting on Friday. All but two schools asked for the maximum increase allowed. The University of Louisville did not raise tuition for any students. Kentucky State University's board of trustees has not met yet to ask for a tuition increase.The University of Kentucky had the largest dollar-amount increase, increasing tuition by $452 per year for in-state students. Western Kentucky University had the lowest dollar-amount increase at $290.State lawmakers cut funding for public colleges and universities by 4.5 percent in the most recent spending plan.The Council also finalized a policy Friday for state funding of public colleges and universities.State funding will be determined by how many and what types of degrees its students earn.From now on, 35 percent of state funding for public colleges and universities will be based on the types of degrees awarded. Of that, 5 percent will be determined by the number science, technology, engineering and math degrees; 3 percent based on degrees for low-income students and 3 percent based on degrees for minorities.The model is based on Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and others' push for more focus on training people for the types of advanced manufacturing jobs state officials are wooing.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 17, 2017 | 09:57 AM | LEXINGTON, KY





A former Democratic political consultant has been sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for his part of a kickback scheme devised by a high level government official.Sam McIntosh was ordered to begin serving his sentence on Aug. 15. U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell said it was OK for McIntosh to remain free on bond until his report date.McIntosh pleaded guilty for his part of a scheme devised by former Kentucky Personnel Cabinet Secretary Tim Longmeyer. Prosecutors said Longmeyer used his position of authority to convince Humana to hire McIntosh as a consultant. McIntosh would then pay a portion of his fee to Longmeyer and Lawrence O'Bryan as a kickback.Longmeyer was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison. O'Bryan was sentenced to five years. McIntosh was sentenced to five years and five months and ordered to pay more than $200,000 in restitution.
Man held with controlled drugs

Police on Thursday arrested a man travelling from Rajbiraj to Kathmandu in possession of contraband drugs.
Prakash Chandra Timilsena is deputy photo editor for The Kathmandu Post, covering politics, business and social issues. Before joining the Post in 2012, he spent more than seven years working as a photojournalist for various national daily and weekly newspapers.
PM rejects RJP-N's proposal to defer poll in 3 more districts

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has turned down Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) leaders' proposal to defer second phase election in three more districts calling it 'impossible'.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 16/06/2017 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Its the tale of two Churchills.

While the town of 900 is dealing with the hard reality that its now cut off from all ground transportation with apparently no resolution in sight, the thriving tourism industry may well enjoy its best-ever year.

The town on the shores of Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba has been rendered a fly-in community after the rail line from north of Gillam was flooded out to such a degree earlier this spring that it will take weeks just to figure out the extent of the damage.

The damaged track and bridges wont be repaired until next spring, at the earliest, the railways owner says.

Resilient Churchill residents have faced these kinds of challenges in the past  in 2014 a derailment cut off rail service for close to eight weeks. But this time calamity struck just as a concerted promotion campaign touting Churchills exotic brand of wildlife and eco-tourism is starting to hit paydirt.

Thats why some in the community cringe when they hear Wally Daudrich, owner of Churchills Lazy Bear Expeditions, say he has train-proofed his business.

The good-news story out of all this confusion in Churchill is that it is really a banner year for sales, Daudrich says.

And it appears that it is more than just the eternal optimism of one entrepreneur.

The big irony is tourism to Churchill is going off like gangbusters, says John Gunter, president of Frontiers North Adventures, the oldest and largest of Churchills tourism service providers.

But Gunter is quick to point out the whole town is in it together and is scrambling to deal with the reality of no Via Rail service. That means delays and more expensive air deliveries of food and fuels, as well as the likelihood that some families who might traditionally head south in the summer might not be able to afford to travel.

We do have supply-side logistics challenges getting supplies to Churchill, but on the sales side we anticipate 2017 will be our busiest year ever for guest arrivals, he says.

TRAVEL MANITOBA The opportunity to see Polar bears up close in their natural habitat has long been a draw for tourists to the town of Churchill

A sophisticated adventure-travel industry has been built around the areas global recognition as the polar bear capital of the world. Thanks to a growing appreciation of the unique northern Manitoba setting and abundance of wildlife  particularly polar bears and beluga whales  international nature travellers have taken notice.

In the last handful of years, beluga watching in the summer and northern lights excursions in the dead of winter have added several months onto the six- to eight-week polar bear-watching season in October and November.

Churchill has become a really unique and key opportunity for the international tourism market, says Colin Ferguson, CEO of Travel Manitoba. It is one of the reasons Manitoba has been successful from a tourism perspective. Its very important to us.

In 2015-16, tourism contributed $1.6 billion to the provincial economy, up three per cent from the previous year. No one seems to have a solid handle on the total value of the industry in Churchill, but Ferguson said the newly created beluga-watching business is already in the $10-million to $15-million range annually.

But irrespective of the total value of the market, Churchill has become a star international attraction for the province, indeed for the country. It has become a favourite for the Destination Canada international tourism marketing agency, with four listings in its 199 Canadian Signature Experiences.

Destination Canadas approach to marketing has not changed in light of the recent events, says Emma Slieker, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver-based agency. Were continuing to promote Churchill as a premier tourist destination.

And Winnipeg has a vested interest in seeing travel to Churchill continue, because every one of those travellers spends time in the city.

There are lots who take the train to Churchill, but the majority do fly, says Karen Goosen, director of market development at Tourism Winnipeg. As the gateway to the North, we enjoy all the visitations the extra overnights with lots of people doing pre- or post-visit city activities before or after their trip.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The rail loss remains devastating, says Colin Ferguson, CEO of Travel Manitoba. Tourism is only a part of the story.

And these are not budget travellers. The big tour companies, such as Frontiers North Adventures, Natural Habitat Adventures and Lazy Bear Expeditions, offer group rates that can exceed $10,000 per person for six or seven days, depending on the specialized itinerary.

But Travel Manitobas Ferguson knows only too well that no matter how prepared the tour operators are and how enthusiastic the travellers are, rail service is crucial to the health of the region and the industrys continued success.

While it is important that tourists continue coming to Churchill this summer and fall, and that there will be transportation options allowing that to happen, the loss of the rail line is devastating to those communities who rely on the service for goods and supplies, he says. In other words, tourism is only a part of the story.

And all hands are on deck to ensure travellers get to their destination this year. Gary Bell, president of Calm Air, says the airline has added twice-weekly Thompson-to-Churchill flights in addition to its normal twice-daily 737 service from Winnipeg to Churchill, and has made it clear the company will do whatever is necessary to help the community cope.

The Churchill tourism business is very important to Calm Air, he says, explaining that it gives the airline international exposure and beefs up traffic in three distinct travel seasons.

Via Rail, which continues to provide service twice a week from Winnipeg to Thompson and Gillam (plus an additional train from The Pas to Gillam) is contacting all pre-booked rail customers to provide full refunds and/or assistance to arrange alternative travel.

Even in the heat of discussions this week with government officials for assistance in getting fuel and supplies to the town, Churchill Mayor Mike Spence made a point of mentioning the travel industry.

Tourism is huge, he said. Its our bread and butter. Whats important to note is that its still up and running.

We are open for business.

TRAVEL MANITOBA Now that the tourism season is longer and more diversified there is an added focus on the northern lights and watching beluga whales.

Earlier this week, Travel Manitoba responded to the situation by launching an information blitz announcing the Polar bear capital of the world still open for business, suggesting travellers can enjoy a northern rail trip to Thompson before flying to Churchill, or they can take direct flights out of Winnipeg. It assures visitors that Calm Air has added freight flights to ensure local businesses are stocked with food and supplies.

Previously, polar bears, northern lights and kayaking with beluga whales had starring roles in Travel Manitobas Canadas Heart Beats ad campaign.

Despite the efforts of both industry and government, uncertainty among travellers because of the rail situation has led to some trip cancellations. Gunter says staffing levels at the Tundra Inn have been trimmed. Ben Bressler, the founder and president of Boulder, Col.-based Natural Habitat Adventures, says the expected increases in the cost of groceries and supplies will eventually drive up tour prices and lead some travellers elsewhere.

Natural Habitat has been selling expensive tour packages to Churchill since the 1980s. Bressler, whose top-drawer tour business is associated with the the World Wildlife Federation, said Churchill is a huge part of his companys business that takes travellers to Africa, the Galapagos Islands and several other exotic spots around the world.

Hes optimistic about the new beluga-watching market that doubled in size last year alone.

Weve maxed out our polar bear business, but there is a real opportunity for Churchill during the summer season for the belugas and (during the winter months for) the northern lights, he says. We have been putting a load of resources toward marketing these key seasons and it has been going great.

Unlike Frontiers North and Lazy Bear, whose guests exclusively fly to Churchill, the rail experience is a key element in Natural Habitats tours.

The Town of Churchill could potentially end up a little behind the eight-ball if that train does not start up, he says.

TRAVEL MANITOBA Beluga whale watching is a growing aspect of tourism in Churchill

Omnitrax, the company that owns and operates the rail line and Port of Churchill, has been a reluctant operator for some time and has grown increasingly vocal about its desire to leave the market, claiming the Hudson Bay Railway is an ongoing money-loser.

The overland flooding damage has come after more than a year of contentious operation that has seen the Denver-based operation cut its freight service and virtually close the port, Canadas only deep-water port on the Arctic Ocean.

Via Rail, which is legally obliged to continue operating passenger service from Winnipeg to Churchill, has been an enthusiastic partner in the development of of the towns tourism trade even though its a money-losing run. Losses have declined from 88.7 per cent in 2014 to 82.5 per cent in 2016 with revenue of $3.73 million on costs of $21.3 million.

Michael Woelcke, the companys general manager of regional services in Winnipeg, says Via has been keen to see the renewed interest in Churchill and has been working with industry stakeholders to improve the service by bringing back the dome car and adding a chef.

Via Rails business on the Winnipeg-Churchill line has grown significantly in the last two to three years, Woelcke says. This is a setback. Unfortunately what has happened is well beyond our control. It is an act of God, as they say.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

TRAVEL MANITOBA Tourism Manitoba featured the northern lights in promotional ads for Churchill TRAVEL MANITOBA Churchill tourism photos
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/06/2017 (1973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Amazon.com sent a shock wave through the grocery industry Friday when it announced plans to buy Whole Foods Markets and formally enter the world of bricks-and-mortar retail.

The US$13.7 billion deal brings to a head a years-long battle brewing between Amazon, the online darling, and traditional retail powerhouses such as Walmart. And it shakes up a U.S. grocery industry that has been struggling to keep up with growing competition, both in stores and online. Amazon, which for years has been testing new technology and innovations in quiet corners, would now have a network of physical locations to test and implement those ideas.

News of the deal sent shares of traditional retailers such as Walmart, Target, Costco and Kroger tumbling as much as 13 percent as investors tried to digest the implications of an Amazon-backed grocery chain.

This deal should leave no doubt that Amazon is deadly serious about dominating all aspects of retail, Paul Cuatrecasas, chief executive of Aquaa Partners, a London-based investment banking firm, said in an email.

This deal has dramatically flipped the table on traditional companies. Amazon is effectively saying that if retailers are going to tool themselves up with technology, then they will tool themselves up with a physical presence and high-street brand.

Amazon has recently begun experimenting with bookstores and a small grocery, but this is by far its most ambitious move into physical retail. The Seattle-based company was recently granted a patent for technology that would block shoppers from comparing prices from their mobile devices while theyre in stores.

In Whole Foods, Amazon is acquiring a company that has recently come under pressure from investors for its lagging performance.

Whole Foods, whose fleet of stores now numbers more than 430 locations, has found it difficult to attract more mainstream consumers as Walmart and other large chains have stepped up their sales of natural and organic products.

The organic grocer, which was founded in 1978, would continue to operate under its existing brand. Whole Foods chief executive John Mackey would remain CEO after the purchase and the company would keep its headquarters in Austin, Texas. The merger offers a test of whether Amazon, which has generally built its business on low prices, can successfully integrate a grocer known for premium service and higher prices.

This partnership presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods Markets shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers, Mackey said in a statement.

The deal is sure to put new pressure on Walmart, which has been aggressively expanding its online business in hopes of winning over consumers. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer announced Friday that it had agreed to buy online clothing company Bonobos for US$310 million. The deal comes just months after Walmarts US$3.3 billion purchase of Amazon competitor Jet.com.

The Whole Foods deal is expected to close in the second half of 2017, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Anti-trust experts said the purchase is not likely to raise red flags, even though it would bring together two major retailers.

The US$42 a share offer from Amazon is a 27 percent premium over Whole Foods Markets closing stock price on Thursday.

Amazon, which is sitting on US$21.5 billion in cash, has long eschewed big acquisitions. Among the companys largest acquisitions are its 2009 purchase of online shoe retailer Zappos.com for roughly US$1.2 billion, and video game streaming site Twitch, which it bought in 2014 for roughly US$1 billion.

Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting and nourishing customers for nearly four decades  theyre doing an amazing job and we want that to continue, said Jeffrey P. Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com.

 Washington Post
RJP-N leaders at PM Deubas residence

A day after the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) officially snubbing the governments decision to postpone second phase of local level elections in Province 2, the party leaders went to meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at the latters residence in Budhanilkantha on Saturday morning.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/06/2017 (1973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bill Rossington pushes the ignition button on the dash of his Nissan Leaf and it comes to life with a nearly inaudible hum no engine roar, no cloud of exhaust.

It offers a stark contrast to nearly every other gas- and diesel-powered vehicle on Manitobas streets and highways. And thats the problem; Rossingtons Leaf is part of a tiny, exclusive club.

In the 21/2 years since the vice-president of the Manitoba Electric Vehicle Association (MEVA) turned over a new Leaf, so to speak, just 40 electric cars have been registered in Manitoba. That makes for a grand total of about 128 in a province with more than 800,000 licensed vehicles.

STEFANIE LASUIK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Since Bill Rossington has been driving his Leaf, he's paid one maintenance cost  $8 for a bottle of brake fluid.

Compared to other provinces, Manitobans arent plugged in.

There are about 4,800 registered EVs in Ontario, 5,900 in Quebec and more than 3,600 in British Columbia, according to software and support company Fleet Carmas data from last December.

But MEVA president Robert Elms is optimistic that Manitoba is about to turn the key to a widespread electric vehicle movement  the installation of charging stations.

The City of Winnipeg has taken a step forward by looking into funding sources for charging stations. A report was due two weeks ago, but has not been made public yet.

Elms met with government officials Friday to discuss moving forward with charging technology elsewhere in the province. MEVA has drawn up a comprehensive plan to locate 20 stations, to start, that would serve 90 per cent of the province geographically.

Aside from the need for an adequate number of convenient places to refuel, other provinces offer incentives to motorists that arent currently available to Manitobans.

Quebec offers buyers rebates of up to $8,000, Ontario has incentives ranging from $6,000 to $10,000 and drivers in B.C. can get $5,000. B.C. also offers additional funds from programs such as Scrap-It, which provides $6,000 to people who turn in higher-polluting vehicles and buy or lease new EVs, or $3,000 in the case of used EVs.

No one from the Pallister government was available Friday to discuss EV incentives or charging technology.

The Manitoba government has been clear in its efforts to develop a made-in-Manitoba approach to address the challenges of climate change, the province said in an email.

Elms and Rossington have saved money, even without the subsidies.

Based on the average cost of gas last year in Winnipeg and current hydro costs, a person who drives 16,000 kilometres a year in a new car would save $879.75 paying for electricity instead of gas. The calculation is based on a gas engine that averages 7.4 litres per km and a 30 kWh car that is able to travel 172 km per charge. Rossington, who commutes from his Stonewall home, has saved $2,500 a year, he says.

Electric cars typically require less maintenance than vehicles with combustion engines. Since Rossington has been driving his Leaf, hes paid one maintenance cost  $8 for a bottle of brake fluid.

EV drivers who want a quick charge at home will have to dole out between $500-$1,000 for a Level 2 station, which is much faster than a typical household outlet (Level 1).

STEFANIE LASUIK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rossington says he has saved $2,500 a year even without subsidies other provinces provide.

Although slower to charge, Manitobas abundance of outdoor outlets offer a convenient option.

Manitoba winters are an often-cited obstacle for motorists considering the switch, as extreme cold significantly reduces the vehicles range.

Rossingtons Generation 1 EV is able to make the 75-km round trip from Stonewall when its -30 C, but just barely. Generation 2 EVs, the current models on the market, have a range of 100-150 km in the coldest days of winter, Elms says.

Elms says he hopes to dispel rumours that EVs dont last as long as gas-powered vehicles or dont drive as nicely.

EV industry estimates for first-generation models are in the 500,000-km range, and newer models are expected to double that lifespan.

As for the driving experience, Rossington is a fan.

It is so much fun the response is instant, he says. The drive is smooth and silent.

Both Rossington and Elms are eager to find out whether the province and the city will take the necessary steps to increase the number of EVs here.

stefanie.lasuik@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 16/06/2017 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I had expected the conversation with his widow to be emotionally difficult for her to tell.

What I hadnt anticipated was how troubling it would be to hear.

Looking back, thats partly because I knew them both, the husband and wife, and, of course, because of the intimate nature of the conversation about how he died. How he chose to die and how it affected him, her and the family members who were there. Im sharing that up front because that subject matter  like medically assisted dying itself  isnt for everyone. Which is also why  since there is still a degree of judgment associated with the right to die and recent legalization, and because the widow asked that their names not be divulged  Ive created pseudonyms. I hope the story of James and Grace will help dispel stigma.

  

It had been nearly a month since that sunny spring Saturday when the black Nissan commercial van pulled into their suburban Winnipeg driveway to take her husbands body away. Now, Grace and I were seated across a kitchen table and she described the beginning of that end.

James had been diagnosed with terminal cancer two years earlier, when he was in his late 70s. Even then, Grace and the family had to convince him to give chemotherapy a try. But by mid-April, during an appointment at CancerCare, his oncologist told James the chemotherapy wasnt helping anymore.

We said, Whats the next choice? Grace recalled.

The doctor said James could prolong his life with dialysis.

No, he didnt want to do that. In that case, the doctor told them, the next step would be palliative care.

I guess Ill go to Switzerland now.

You dont have to go to Switzerland, the doctor said.

Oh? James said.

And with that they went straight home that Friday and called the number for the team that administers medically assisted dying. The following week, with James kidneys failing, a team consisting of a physician, a nurse and a social worker arrived at their home to assess the patient.

It was a lot of questions about what was happening: what kind of care he was getting, why he wanted to do this, why not just get palliative care?

He was clear the whole way through, Grace said of the medical interview and a second one that would follow soon after with another assessment team. This is the way he wanted to end it.

James requested that the wait period be less than the prescribed 10 days, if possible, which it is under specific medically related circumstances. It would be done in eight days for James.

Which, as it turned out, was good. He was very, very, um

Grace was searching for the right words.

Uncomfortable at the end, she finally said.

Distressed? I asked.

Distressed, she agreed. Very distressed.

I asked if it was mostly because of physical discomfort. Or emotional?

Well, it was emotional. It was hard to know. I mean, it was very hard to know. He didnt want people touching him. But he did like people sitting with him.

So, during the day, they all took turns. At night, Grace slept on the floor beside her husband, in the upstairs bedroom with the framed family photos and the flowers.

Do you want me to go into the details of what happened? Grace asked.

I said yes, although what she went on to describe still haunts me.

So on the morning of the procedure, they came at the identified time, Grace began.

This time there was a second nurse with the physician, and a social worker, because they had anticipated difficulty putting a second intravenous site in his hand. There was a problem, which made James very distressed. He became even more agitated after the IVs were in place and the team left the room to prepare the three medications. Grace recalled how he was trying to turn over, and was yanking at the IV lines.

Was he having second thoughts?

No, no, Grace said.

She said a nurse returned before the others, calmed him and gently assured James it wouldnt be much longer.

We left the room and they asked him again if he really wanted to proceed. I knew he wanted to proceed. What he didnt want was the discomfort.

Up to the last minute  when James signed his name to a form authorizing the procedure  the team was still checking with him. Then Grace and the family watched as the medication that would put him to sleep was injected, following by the injection of Valium. And, even though a third medication was administered, one of the nurses later told Grace that the Valium is all it took.

Hes gone, Grace remembered saying right then.

We were all, of course, sobbing, Grace recalled. But so was the team. They were all crying.

In a way, James died in the most peaceful of ways. In his sleep.

There had been nothing hurried about any of it, Grace said. It was all done respectfully, carefully and compassionately.

I found it very meaningful.

I wondered what James would have thought of how it went. How it ended for him.

I think he would have found it very appropriate, Grace said. And sympathetic. And he would still make the same decision.

Then she answered my next question before I could ask it. Would she do it for herself?

I dont know if I would do that, quite frankly. I really dont know.

We were almost an hour into our conversation when I asked Grace if she had any regrets.

I regret he got cancer. You know? I regret that hes gone.

But theres nothing about the medically assisted dying process she regrets.

I would do it that way again, Grace said. It was the right thing to do.

Just then, as she began to get up from the table, Grace had a final request that spoke to the end of his life, and the rest of hers, in the most human of ways.

I wouldnt mind a hug, though.

gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/06/2017 (1973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON  Members of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry are mourning the loss of their former colonel-in-chief, Patricia Knatchbull, the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who died Tuesday in England at the age of 93.

Knatchbull, the eldest daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten, was the second colonel-in-chief of the regiment, appointed in 1974 until she relinquished her appointment in 2007 to former governor general Adrienne Clarkson.

Lady Patricia or Lady Mountbatten, as she was known, was active throughout her years as colonel-in-chief, even keeping in touch with the regiment after retiring, Capt. Chuck Pitkin said.

She was very active in visiting our battalions while deployed on operations, as well as coming to Canada to visit them and steer them, if you will, in a good direction, Pitkin said.

She was with us for so long and so involved with the regiment that we still maintained contact with her post-retirement Through Madam Clarkson, she would often send us cards, letters, well wishes, even into her later years.

Knatchbull earned respect from the soldiers with ease, due to her dedication and sense of humour.

She regularly visited the regiment at military bases across Canada, following the unit when it deployed overseas, camping out in whatever sort of shelter was available. She accompanied the regiment during deployments in Cyprus, Germany, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, Pitkin said.

Knatchbull survived an IRA bomb hidden on her family boat as they vacationed off the coast of Sligo, Ireland, in 1979. Her father, her 14-year-old son, Nicholas, and her mother-in-law, the Dowager Baroness Doreen Brabourne, died in the attack, as did a 15-year-old boat hand.

She was pulled from the water requiring 120 stitches to her face, which she referred to in later years as her IRA facelift.

I first met Lady Patricia when she visited the battalion while we were deployed in Croatia in 1993, Maj.-Gen. Wayne Eyre, the senior serving Patricia, said in a statement. I was impressed by the way she spoke with the soldiers  chatting and exchanging jokes. Although I was a young subaltern at the time, she set an example that I have always tried to emulate.

In its mourning, the battalion has found comfort in an unlikely coincidence: two of its members are performing public duties in London and will represent the regiment at Knatchbulls funeral, Pitkin said.

Everybody is remembering the good work that she did both in Canada and the U.K., Pitkin said.

 Brandon Sun
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This article was published 17/06/2017 (1973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  The federal finance minister is taking heat after making a flippant reference to Winnipeg and an indigenous quota system deciding major projects.

Testifying at the Senate finance committee Thursday, Bill Morneau, a former Toronto banker, promised projects undertaken by a proposed infrastructure bank wouldnt be subjected to the whims of political relocations. He gave the example of an electric rail line planned for Montreal.

Lets say that we decided that, oops, we now want to put this project in Winnipeg. Do you think the investors would stay on board? he said. We cant, all of a sudden, then break that contract and say, Were moving it from Montreal to Winnipeg. It would be absurd.

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press Finance Minister Bill Morneau

While the minister says he was just giving a random example, Morneaus tone put his opponents on edge.

NDP MP Daniel Blaikie said its reminiscent of the 1986 Mulroney governments decision to move CF-18 maintenance from Winnipeg to Montreal. It doesnt make you trust, in any way, what is essentially a high-finance Toronto type as our minister of finance.

The Elmwood-Transcona MP drew a comparison to a Liberal bill passed last year that loosened Air Canadas rules on keeping maintenance crews in three areas, including Manitoba, at the same time the government extended funding to Bombardier.

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre accused Morneau of being very dismissive of Manitobans in his tone. He was almost incredulous at the thought that an investor might want to place an investment in Winnipeg.

The ministers spokeswoman, Annie Donolo, said Morneau has visited Winnipeg four times since his October 2015 election, including to tout the incredible strength of the agri-food sector in Manitoba, which was highlighted in this springs budget.

The minister used a hypothetical example to illustrate risk and contract law. The cities were chosen at random, and one shouldnt read more into it than that. To do so is a complete misrepresentation of what was said, Donolo wrote.

Yet Morneau also caused even more of a stir when B.C. Sen. Richard Neufeld asked whether indigenous Canadians would help lead the bank. Morneau said he wanted indigenous people included, but that there wouldnt be a quota system because that could unnecessarily restrict our ability to attract the requisite expertise.

A somewhat flustered Neufeld responded: Im sure, in the First Nations community, you will find someone with all those qualifications. To infer you may not, I dont like that. I can give you some names.

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press Finance Minister Bill Morneaus comments drew criticism from NDP MP Daniel Blaikie, who labelled him a high-finance Toronto type.

Blaikie noted that an infrastructure bank would deal with many on-reserve projects. He said Morneau shouldve focused on indigenous leadership, but instead he reverted immediately to talking about quotas.

Both opponents took aim at the government, saying foreigners could be on the board and claimed that taxpayers would assume more risk than profits from that arrangement.

Its obviously going to benefit big-city elites at the expense of those of us from smaller cities and municipalities, said Poilievre, while Blaikie called it an Old Boys club of the international corporate elite.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/06/2017 (1973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Police are investigating a possible homicide in the West End, after a death in a Spence Street residence.

As of Saturday afternoon, few other details were available. Winnipeg police confirmed only that the homicide unit was on scene at 570 Spence St., where evidence markers dotted the front porch of a house.

Other details, including the age and sex of the deceased, the cause of death or whether any arrests have been made, will likely not be ready for release until Sunday, a police spokeswoman said.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg Police investigate the crime scene in front of a house located at 570 Spence St. near Sargent Avenue Saturday afternoon.

Neighbourhood residents told the Free Press that the police tape went up late Friday night or Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon, Spence Street remained taped off between Sargent and Notre Dame avenues.

Police investigators could be seen entering and exiting the house, and standing on a railing to examine the bent eaves over the porch.

Though the residents the Free Press spoke to did not know what happened in this incident, several said that at least one floor of the house, which appears to be a duplex, was frequented by drug dealers within the last several years.

Its sad, said one resident, who lives further down Spence Street and says he used to visit friends who lived in the house. I dont know whats happening to this street.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/06/2017 (1973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Newspapers across the country have delivered a proposal to the federal government for how it can help the ailing industry.

Both the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and Democracy Watch believe the proposal could affect the independence of newspapers.

News Media Canada, which represents more than 800 print and digital media companies, has asked Heritage Minister Melanie Joly to expand the Canada Periodical Fund  which helps magazines and some paid subscription community newspapers  to $350 million from $75 million annually to support both daily and free community newspapers.

JEFF DE BOOY / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES News Media Canada proposes expanding the Canada Periodical Fund to include newspapers.

The fund would be used to provide a rebate of 35 per cent, and up to almost $30,000, for journalists salaries, as well as give a rebate on innovation investments into the future of journalism and support the production of Canadian civic news.

The fund would not be used to pay for executive compensation, newspaper production costs, dividends and debt payments, or outsourced services.

Bob Cox, publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press and News Media Canadas chairman, said newspapers are asking for federal help, just like broadcast companies and magazine publishers have asked in the past and present. He noted the CRTC has approved $90 million in new support, to begin Sept. 1, to support local television, while the federal government is giving an extra $135 million per year to the CBC.

The problem is everybody else is subsidized, Cox said on Friday.

I think people in government really recognize what is at stake here. They realize newsrooms are shrinking. They realize this could have a big impact on Canadian society. They want to do something.

The hard part is what to do.

The proposal comes at a time when media reports say that Postmedia  owner of the National Post as well as 14 major daily newspapers including the Ottawa Citizen, Calgary Herald, and the Sun newspapers  is teetering toward bankruptcy. The Free Press is not owned by Postmedia.

The heritage committee has been studying problems in the media for the past year and this week released a report with 20 recommendations. One of the committees recommendations, to create a five per cent tax on broadband Internet services, was immediately shot down by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Cox said Canadians might not realize how newspaper newsrooms across the country have shrunk when so far they are still able to read their daily newspaper.

People dont realize whats not there, he said. If we miss a political story, people dont know it isnt there.

Not everybody agrees.

Todd McKay, prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, called the proposal the kind of help that really doesnt help.

One of the main things many journalists have is credibility. But if this was put in place, there would always be a cloud whether they are holding back a (federal government) story because of where their funding is coming from, McKay said.

We think this is a dangerous way to go.

Its similar to what Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, believes.

Its a bad situation for media to be asking government for money at any time, Conacher said.

I dont want print media to be in the same situation as the CBC is in. You have to be really careful about these things.

In a statement, Jerry Dias, national president of Unifor, which represents 12,000 journalists and media workers across the country, said Canadian journalism needs this fund to help bear the costs of reporting the news, costs that are increasingly not supported by advertising sales because of Google and Facebook.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 16/06/2017 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A unanimous Supreme Court ruling that doubles down on a no-nonsense national attitude toward chronic court delays means Manitoba must meet trial deadlines  but the jury is still out on whether eliminating preliminary inquiries is the best way to do that, lawyers say.

Fridays decision from the countrys top court didnt back away from the strict trial timelines it set in a decision last summer. The new case, involving a Newfoundland man who had been waiting more than five years for his trial to wrap up on drug and weapons charges, was the Supreme Courts chance to clarify its earlier deadlines.

Those timelines meant as of July 2016, provincial court cases can take no more than 18 months from the date charges are laid to the date the trial is complete.

Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press Files On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada reiterated provincial court cases can take no more than 18 months from the date charges are laid to the date the trial is complete. For more serious cases, a 30-month limit was imposed.

For more serious cases dealt with by superior courts, including Manitobas Court of Queens Bench, a 30-month limit was imposed. Cases that stretch beyond those deadlines are subject to being tossed out of court for unreasonable delay.

The deadlines were set in a now-widely known case called R. vs. Jordan, involving an accused drug dealer in B.C. who successfully argued his conviction should be overturned because his case had taken more than four years to get to trial. A narrow majority of Supreme Court justices (5-4) decided Barrett Jordans charges should be dropped because of delay.

Fridays decision emphasizing the tight deadlines was unanimous, however, which sends a clear message, said Scott Newman, spokesman for the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba.

Sometimes when courts get decisions like this back, its a chance for them to reverse course or to address criticism, he said. In this case, theyve doubled down They say, No, were not backtracking here. Weve had enough. The courts and the legislatures have to get their houses in order.

In Manitoba, nearly 60 delay motions have been brought before the courts, asking judges to drop charges in the wake of the Jordan decision. Only two of those have been successful  both for historical sexual-assault cases involving child victims.

One of the successful motions was filed by Winnipeg criminal defence lawyer Alex Steigerwald, who represented a man accused of sexually abusing a girl between 1996 and 2003, starting when she was six.

The victims complaint languished for nearly six years because of a police error and, even when charges were eventually laid, it would have taken an additional 44 months for the trial to conclude  well above the Supreme Courts deadline.

Steigerwald said the province needs to invest in justice staff if its going to unclog the court system to meet the Supreme Courts expectations.

Across the board, but especially in Manitoba, we need to look at a serious reallocation of funding, whether thats put toward more judges, clerks, sheriffs and additional funding for legal aid if were going to have the resources necessary to tackle the volume (of cases) in the court system, he said.

A proposal by the provinces three chief judges to set up a pilot project to look at ending or reducing the use of preliminary inquiries  a pre-trial process meant to ensure there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial  aims to cut down on delay.

The proposal, which the trio of judges, along with Justice Minister Heather Stefanson, took to the federal government for consideration, has drawn controversy and prompted an anonymous ethics complaint against the judges, which was dismissed after an investigation by the Canadian Judicial Council.

Like many defence lawyers who have spoken against the idea, Steigerwald said ending preliminary inquiries isnt the answer.

Unsupported moves like trying to eliminate preliminary inquiries are not the types of steps that are going to speed up the court process or eliminate delays, in my view, he said.

Some senators disagree.

In a final report released this week, the Senates standing committee on legal and constitutional affairs made 50 recommendations on how to cut back on court delays in Canada, including a suggestion to eliminate or reduce preliminary inquiries.

Preliminary inquiries could be eliminated, or at least should be limited to the most serious offences under the Criminal Code, the report concluded, noting the complexity of the issue and the varying opinions surrounding it. The reports authors wrote there was a general consensus preliminary inquiries could be more efficient.

The committee, which held consultations on the issue for more than a year starting in February 2016, found Manitoba has some of the longest court delays in the country, with a median case length of 151 days.

Preliminary inquiries were used in only 2.8 per cent of criminal cases in Canada, according to the most recent Statistics Canada data used in the Senate committees report.

That amounted to 9,179 cases across the country in 2014-15. Of those cases, about 20 per cent took longer than 30 months to complete.

Other key recommendations from the Senate committee included investing in underfunded legal aid services, filling vacancies for federally appointed judges, adopting Truth and Reconciliation Commission guidelines to reduce disproportionately high numbers of indigenous people in the criminal-justice system and extending courts hours of operation.

Saskatchewan senator and lawyer Denise Batters, a member of the committee, said its no longer a hypothetical situation to see serious criminal charges, including murder and sexual assaults on children, being thrown out in courts across Canada simply because of court delays.

In those types of cases, thats a shock to the conscience of our communities and a denial of justice. It undermines the publics confidence in the Canadian criminal justice system and it revictimizes the victims of crime, she said.

The Senate committee is now pushing governments and players in the criminal justice system to adopt its recommendations.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay

Court_Delays_Final_Report_e
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 16/06/2017 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nine teachers from Akranes, Iceland spent part of a morning at Headingleys Phoenix School (111 Alboro St.) on June 12.

The nine were part of a group of 36 teachers and school assistants who recently visited four schools in the St. James-Assiniboia School Division to learn about how Manitoba schools run their restitution programs.

Phoenix principal Linda Daniels said the restitution program is based on a philosophy that students can take responsibility and learn from their mistakes. This behavioural approach is designed to foster respect and build self-awareness and self-control.

Andrea Geary Phoenix School principal Linda Daniels (back row, middle) was pleased to host a group of teachers from Akranes, Iceland on June 12. The teachers were among 36 who visited four schools in St. James-Assiniboia to learn about the schools restitution program.

Noting that a similar program is offered in Arkanes, Gunnhildur Bjornsdottir said, We needed some refreshing and guidance. We wanted to come to Canada.

The group teaches Grades 1 to 10 students in a community of about 7,000 where fishing, light industry and tourism are the main revenue sources.

Bjornsdottir said she and the other teachers were impressed with Phoenix Schools quiet, calm environment.

The entire group also visited Gimli and Hecla Island, Man. and all were thrilled by the chance to explore the historical link between Iceland and the people who moved from that country to these communities. Bjornsdottir said students in Iceland are taught about the emigration to Canada in Grade 8.

It was amazing to see it, she said.

Facebook.com/TheHeadlinerWPG

Twitter: @CanstarHeadline
RJP-N says protests on

Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal leaders have said their protests will not stop even after the government decided to postpone the local elections in Province 2 until September 18.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/06/2017 (1973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pilgrimage-worthy dumplings, hot-as-hell devil chicken, stinky tofu, elegant Peking duck, lobster in yellow sauce, oyster omelette, fish eggs fried rice, stir-fried cuttlefish, barbecued pork and cool mango ice  even with just 72 hours in Taipei, my wife and I managed to devour it all in a high-brow/low-brow culinary romp through the city.

Getting to the buzzy Taiwanese capital to dig into all these Asian delicacies is so much easier now with Air Canadas new non-stop flights between Vancouver and Taipei on the fast-and-comfortable Dreamliner 787-9.

Anxious to get to Taipei and its cuisine, we booked the inaugural Vancouver-Taipei jaunt June 8.

At 101 storeys, Taipei 101 tower dominates the skyline of the Taiwanese capital.

Theres a big party at the gate to send us off with Taiwanese folk dancers and, of course, a taste of the islands foods from chicken bites and pepper cakes to pineapple cake and bubble tea.

Once in Taipei, our first stop has to be dumpling emporium Din Tai Fung.

After all, the New York Times named the humble Din Tai Fung one of 10 restaurants around the world that inspire a pilgrimage in a 1993 article.

Hungry travellers did indeed pilgrimage and Din Tai Fung has ridden the popularity, growing from a single location to 136 outposts, mostly in Asia, but some in Australia and the United States as well.

We hone in on the chains flagship 365-seat location at the base of Taipei 101, the 101-storey office building that used to be the worlds tallest building.

Wed been told to arrive early for lunch, otherwise wed have to wait an hour for a table.

STEVE MACNAULL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A small army of chefs makes about 15,000 dumplings a day at the flagship Din Tai Fung restaurant in Taipei.

So were there at 11:20 a.m. with bells on and we only have to wait 10 minutes. At the centre of the vast eatery is the glassed-in kitchen where dozens of white-clad chefs are doing all the measuring, rolling, stuffing and steaming needed to churn out 15,000 dumplings a day.

Wed also been told to order the signature xiaolongbao dumplings, which are made precisely with five grams of dough folded around a 16-gram filling of minced spiced pork and pinched closed with exactly 18 tiny folds.

When steamed, such exactitude results in a perfect little thin and delicate dumpling.

It tastes simply divine when dipped in equal parts soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and shredded ginger and washed down with some frosty Gold Medal Taiwan beer.

Since were already there, after lunch we zoom up to the 89th floor observatory of the bamboo-shaped Taipei 101 for the dizzying views of the sprawling city, Keelung River and leafy Elephant Mountain.

When Saturday rolls around, the in thing to do for dinner in Taipei is arrive hungry at the Shilin Night Market for an evening of street food and shopping.

Jim is proud of the deep-fried stinky tofu.

With 539 food stalls, small shops and restaurants crammed into alleyways attracting a crowd that can only be assembled in Asia, this market is a spectacle of humanity, neon and odoriferous cooking.

The devil chicken sounds dangerous, but cook Jason assures us its delicious for Caucasians too if ordered mild.

We order it so, and it is indeed delicious, until even the mild spice kicks in and turns our lips into rings of fire.

Something called stinky tofu is usually something wed avoid like the plague, after all, the name says it all. But, wed been told to try it because its scrumptious and Taiwans unofficial national dish.

At the Panda Yum stall we see they deep fry fermented tofu (thus the stink) and top it with picked vegetables. The deep fry is supposed to dissipate the stink. But it doesnt.

I get through half a bite and my wife doesnt even bother trying once she sees my reaction.

Jason shows off his devil chicken.

We end up at Dmall, a small restaurant at the market with some outdoor tables and a weird menu split between Italian and Taiwanese favourites. The margherita pizza and cold Taiwan Classic beer is ordered.

We go from one extreme to another, as our two other dinners in Taipei are high-end Cantonese feasts at hotel restaurants.

At the luxurious Mandarin Oriental hotel, steamed lobster from nearby Peng Su island is mouth-watering in yellow wine sauce and the crab and onion cakes achieve food-art status for taste and presentation in a silver crab shell.

At the equally-opulent Shangri-La Far Eastern Plaza, where were staying, we dine on delectable crispy-skinned Peking duck and fried tofu that is not stinky at Shang Palace restaurant.

Our room on the 35th floor of the Shangri-La is lavishly-appointed with a fusion of Asian and Western furnishings and decor and the massive windows frame a magnificent view of the skyline-dominating Taipei 101.

The views of the 101-storey tower are similarly impressive when we splash in the 43rd-floor rooftop pool and eat breakfast in the 36th-floor Horizon Club restaurant.

Steve MacNaull / Winnipeg Free Press Shilin Night Market is packed with hungry shoppers, especially on a Saturday night. With more than 500 food stalls, small shops and restaurants, there are plenty of food options available to try.

Check out Shangri-La.com and AirCanada.com.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/06/2017 (1973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ITS not every year a British prime minister gambles their future on a vote they didnt even have to hold, and loses. But after David Cameron did so in 2016 with the Brexit referendum and now Theresa May in 2017 with an early election, youd certainly be forgiven for thinking so.

This latest electoral blunder  Mays Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority despite enjoying as much as a 20-point lead a few weeks ago  was in a lot of ways a repeat of the previous one. Both were about a new nationalism upending old political realities. The difference, though, is that Cameron thought he could tame this nationalism by giving it a day at the polls, while May thought giving it a day at the polls would let her tame her political opponents. Neither was correct.

Instead, Britains parties are still sorting and re-sorting themselves around two politically contradictory questions: What does it mean to be British, and how big should the government be?

Frank Augstein / The Associated Press Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a meeting Tuesday with the leader of Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) about a possible alliance.

Now, to understand whats going on, you have to go back to the last time British politics mostly made sense. That was a long-ago era known as 2015. At that point, the Conservatives were solely the party of small government, Labour was solely the party of big government, the Liberal Democrats were largely irrelevant, and various regional parties were playing spoiler roles. So far, so normal. But beneath the surface, the two main parties were having a harder time keeping what used to be their bases. Labour was in particularly bad shape since it was losing votes to Scottish nationalists who wanted independence from London and to British nationalists who wanted independence from Brussels. But it wasnt as if the Tories were immune: they were also bleeding support to the British nationalists in the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), who wanted to pull the country out of the European Union so it could write its own much more restrictive immigration rules.

Since then, British politics has, at least from a Conservative point of view, taken on the tint of a Shakespearean tragedy. It began when Cameron tried to shore up the Tories right wing by giving them the vote they wanted over the EU. The idea being, of course, this would give them the cathartic release they needed to stop defecting to UKIP, especially when they saw the results of the referendum. And, in what was a catastrophic success, this was indeed the case  just not for the reason Cameron thought. Instead of Brexit losing by so much that UKIPs cause looked hopeless, Brexits narrow victory meant UKIP wasnt needed anymore. And now neither was Cameron.

But this wasnt exactly the end of the world for the Tories. The opposite, actually. It seemed like the beginning of one where they might be able to make their majority even less assailable  if, that is, they were willing to make a few concessions. Namely, going from being the party of small government and staying in the EU to being the party of not-quite-as-small government and leaving it. That, in theory, was the ideological sweet spot where they could keep their free-market base happy at the same time that they reached out to UKIP voters (who, given that many of them were former Labour supporters, werent exactly laissez-faire friendly).

It was precisely this type of nationalist conservatism  or was it conservative nationalism?  that May was going for when, in her first speech as prime minister, she declared it was time to reject the ideological templates provided by the socialist left and the libertarian right and remember that while government does not have all the answers, government can and should be a force for good.

Margaret Thatcher this was not.

It didnt hurt that there was plenty of room to move to the middle when Labour was so busy moving left.

Its new leader, Jeremy Corbyn, sounded like hed gone into cryogenic sleep in 1979 and just woken up. Beyond a fairly standard, if still ambitious, Labour platform  protecting pensions, putting more money into health care, and making college free  he also wanted to nationalize the countrys mail, railways and energy markets. In other words, make Britain socialist again. It was so hard to imagine that someone who thought Hugo Chavez had made a massive contribution to Venezuela and a very wide world stood a real chance of winning a general election that Labour MPs tried to force him out last year. Which is why it seemed like May just had to steal a few Labour positions, such as capping peoples energy bills, to cruise to the kind of Conservative supermajority that she said would let her take a tougher line in Brexit talks.

But a funny thing happened on the way to this electoral triumph.

There was a campaign. Labour took an understated approach to Brexit that helped them, while the Tories underestimated how much their new tack would hurt them with the upper middle class. What do we mean by this? Well, Labour wasnt against Brexit, but it also wasnt for it the same way the Tories were. This lukewarm stance was enough for them to win back some of the UKIPers theyd lost the past few years, but at the same time it wasnt too much to keep them from winning over some of the higher-income Tories who were looking for a party that wasnt so anti-EU  or would take their homes if they got Alzheimers. Conservatives, you see, had briefly proposed that the families of anyone who required in-home care would be forced to sell their homes after the patient died to cover the cost of that care. It didnt take long for this to get labelled the dementia tax, and not much longer after that for the Tories to abandon it. But the damage had been done.

The result was a politics divided along urban and rural lines as much as liberal and conservative ones. Thats because there are a lot of city-dwelling Conservatives who dont want to leave the EU and would rather leave their party for being so gung-ho about it. And also a lot of people in the countryside who used to lean toward Labour but have now left for whoever is the most against the immigrants they blame for taking their jobs and undercutting their wages. Mays mistake was thinking she could bring in one without pushing away the other.

Tim Ireland/ The Associated Press A man has his pick of the headlines on the fallout from Britains general election for beleaguered Prime Minister Theresa May.

But thats left both parties in a pretty precarious position.

Take Labour. Its voters are a mix of students, low-income Leavers and high-income Remainers. Some of them are opposed to Brexit; others probably are opposed to the kind of tax hikes Corbyn wants. For now, they can paper over these differences, but thats only because theyre hypothetical ones. They wouldnt be able to keep that up for very long, though, if they actually won power  just look at the Conservatives. Once their voters realized May really could get the hard Brexit she wanted  where they would not only leave the EU, but also its single-market and customs unions  a lot of upscale constituencies that hadnt voted for Labour in, well, ever, did so. Its a tough balancing act: not supporting one party so that it cant do things you dont like, but not not supporting it so much that the other party could either.

In short, neither party has figured out how to fit this new nationalism into their old platforms. And that doesnt look like its going to change anytime soon. Why not? Well, this nationalism is in part a response to the financial crisis. There just isnt as much money to go around as people thought thered be, so they want to keep what there is for people who look, sound and worship like they do. But the rest of it is that globalization means people feel like their destinies are not their own. That their jobs, their communities, their very way of life depend on the decisions unseen corporate executives and government bureaucrats make thousands of miles away. They want to  as the Brexiteers put it  take back control.

Its made British politics a little less than coherent. Small-government conservatives are now trying to share a party with big-government nationalists, while big-government liberals are trying to keep their own big-government nationalists in the fold at the same time that they reach out to small-government cosmopolitans. And in the meantime, the country has two years to pull off what might be the most complicated divorce in history with the Brexit negotiations.

Dont be surprised, then, if another British prime minister gambles their future on another vote they dont have to hold. It almost makes more sense than anything else.

 Washington Post
As part of the ongoing effort to raise awareness of pollinator habitat and preservation, the Monarch Highway is proud to launch its new logo during National Pollinator Week, June 18-25.

Minnesota is among six state transportation departments and the Federal Highway Administration that signed a memorandum of understanding in 2016 designed to improve pollinator habitat along Interstate 35, a key migratory corridor for monarch butterflies. Signatories include the Federal Highway Administration and senior executives from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas to informally designate the 1,500-mile I-35 corridor as the Monarch Highway. This partnership demonstrates a broad commitment from state agencies, the federal government and nonprofits, including the National Wildlife Federation, toward preserving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators.

The new logo represents the interaction of the monarch and the interstate highway system. The blue backdrop signifies the miles butterflies travel to reproduce in northern climates, while the yellow demonstrates the insects migration along the Monarch Highway corridor. The white dotted-lines represent lane markers guiding the monarch home.

With the monarch populations significant decline, its now more important than ever to preserve these critical habitats, Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle said. In launching the Monarch Highway logo, we hope to symbolize our continued efforts to protect this important pollinator and prevent the need to list it under the Endangered Species Act.

Last year, the I-35 corridor was identified as a route on which land along the interstate could be developed to increase plants and provide refuge and food for monarch butterflies and other critically important pollinating insects.

"State roadways provide acres of habitat ideal for pollinators, but thats only a small portion needed for pollinator recovery," Zelle said. "Its important to build awareness and education about pollinator needs along the I-35 corridor to ensure monarch butterflies and other pollinators can flourish.

Monarch butterflies born in late summer or early fall migrate south to winter in Mexico. In the spring, the butterflies return to the southern United States and lay eggs. Successive generations of monarchs continue moving north, which takes them along the I-35 corridor and finally into the northern United States and Canada. These monarchs begin the cycle over again by completing the 1,500-mile trek back to Mexico.

More information is available by visiting MnDOTs pollinator's website at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/pollinators/
Every summer, about 60 graduate students with diverse backgrounds and interests come together at the UW-Madison School of Business for a week of intensive schooling about what it takes to start a tech-based company.

At the Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, they learn such skills as how to assess product concepts, seek funding and understand accounting.

The program started in 2007, well before there were business accelerator programs such as gener8tor or Madworks, both of which launched in the past five years, and it has helped several dozen young companies get off the ground.

The Bootcamp was the brainchild of John Morgridge, a Wisconsin School of Business graduate, chairman emeritus of Cisco Systems, and one of the UW-Madison's most prolific donors.

On Thursday, as the latest bootcamp class held its community dinner, program leaders and alumni announced a new gift to honor Morgridge -- an endowment named for Morgridge that will permanently fund the program, whose name will become the Morgridge Entrepreneurial Bootcamp.

"John's passion for giving UW students the entrepreneurial skills they need to bring ideas to life and his commitment to this entrepreneurship program are really inspiring," said Dan Olszewski, program co-founder and director of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the School of Business.

Since the Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Bootcamp began, more than 650 students have gone through the program. Its graduates have started about 40 businesses -- such as health IT company Healthfinch; fertility testing startup bluDiagnostics; and maker space Sector67, all in Madison -- and they have raised more than $21 million from investors.

Other participants have gone on to work for Wisconsin companies that include GE Healthcare, Covance, Cummins Engines and Cellular Dynamics International.

Morgridge has sponsored the bootcamp program, encouraged faculty and industry leaders to participate and has even been involved in instruction.

"Every year, the students always love John. He has good stories to tell about what he's learned" -- not just the successes but also the challenges he's had to overcome, said Chris Meyer, Sector67 founder.

Meyer has participated in the Madison bootcamp and one in the Netherlands, arranged through the UW.

"Students I ran across had not even considered entrepreneurship as an option," Meyer said. "Their plan was to go to school and then work for a large company."

For Meyer, the program gave him the confidence to jump into the business world. "I realized this business stuff was not as hard as I thought it was, not as scary as I thought," he said.

Supporters plan to raise $1.5 million for the permanent endowment. Boosted by an initial commitment of $350,000 from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, nearly 50 donors have contributed funds, for a total of $1.45 million, so far. Gifts range in size from $100 to $150,000, School of Business spokesman Peter Kerwin said.

Among their donations to the University of Wisconsin, Morgridge and his wife, Tashia, also a UW alumna, made the largest gift the UW has ever received, pledging nearly $125 million in 2014-2015 to match other contributions to a fund slated for faculty retention.
RJP-Ns tough stance stokes political crisis

The Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) on Friday snubbed the governments decision to postpone polls in Province 2 and called for general strikes on Sunday, the nomination date for second phase of elections in Provinces 1, 5 and 7, pitching the country into political crisis.
Anup Ojha is a reporter for The Kathmandu Post primarily covering social issues and human interest stories. Before moving to the social beat, Ojha covered arts and culture for the Post for four years.




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West Seti Hydropower Project in limbo as negotiations drag on

China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC), the developer of the West Seti Hydropower Project, has been holding back on establishing a joint venture company in Nepal which has delayed construction work on the scheme.
Secretary of Defence James Mad Dog Mattis is set to announce the deployment of up to 5,000 additional troops to wage war in Afghanistan in the coming weeks, following a decision Tuesday by President Trump granting Mattis authority to set troop levels.

The move will mark a dramatic escalation of the longest war in US history, which has already claimed the lives of thousands of US troops and hundreds of thousands of Afghan civilians, and is increasingly developing into a wider regional conflict.

The additional forces are desperately needed to prop up Washingtons crisis-ridden puppet regime in Kabul, which is facing an ever-expanding insurgency led by the Taliban. According to conservative estimates, the Islamist group controls around 40 percent of Afghan territory and is initiating new offensive operations.

Mattis acknowledged in congressional testimony this week that the outlook for US imperialism in Afghanistan is bleak. We are not winning in Afghanistan right now, he told the Senate Armed Services Committee, before vowing to change that as soon as possible. In what was clearly a criticism of the Obama administrations drawdown of troops in Afghanistan to the current level of some 9,800, Mattis went on, Its going to require a change in our approach from the last several years.

As well as sending more US forces, Washington is expected to urge its NATO allies to step up their troop commitments. There are currently approximately 5,000 NATO forces deployed in the country.

The corrupt, widely-hated government of President Ashraf Ghani is barely able to exert its authority outside the capital, and even there suicide bombings and other militant attacks occur regularly. A massive suicide bomb exploded two weeks ago, claiming the lives of at least 90 people in the embassy district of Kabul.

On Thursday, a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in the capital claimed a further two lives.

The Afghan armed forces, which has been trained and equipped at a cost of billions of dollars, is struggling to cope with the insurgency. Last weekend, three American soldiers died when a Taliban sympathizer, who had infiltrated the army, opened fire on them during a training exercise.

Casualty rates among Afghan troops are high, as shown by figures documenting over 800 deaths in the first two months of 2017. In April, the Taliban launched its bloodiest attack since the beginning of the war, killing some 200 Afghan military personnel at an army base in the north of the country.

While the additional US troops to be deployed will be officially designated as advisers to the Afghan forces, it is clear that they will increasingly engage in combat operations. A New York Times report on Tuesday noted that proponents of the deployment hoped that the personnel increase would enable US forces to advise their Afghan counterparts closer to the frontline of battle. They are also urging an expansion of the use of US air power to strike more targets.

In Iraq and Syria, similar special forces advisers have directed fighting and conducted artillery barrages, including with illegal weapons such as white phosphorus, on civilian centers such as Raqqa and Mosul, leading to the deaths of thousands of innocent residents. Trumps decision earlier this year to grant more latitude to commanders on the ground to carry out operations is now being repeated in Afghanistan and will have similar results.

The expansion of the air war can only add to the carnage. Just two months ago, the US dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb on a remote mountainous region in the east of the country in what was clearly meant as a warning to its geopolitical rivals and a sign of its determination to use all methods to retain its control over Afghanistan. The bomb was dropped on the eve of Russian-sponsored peace talks with the Taliban.

According to US Air Force statistics, the pace of air strikes has already intensified. More strikes have been conducted over the past four months than at any time since the summer of 2014.

Launched in the wake of 9/11 under the bogus pretext of the war on terror, Washington intervened in Afghanistan above all to cement its geostrategic hegemony in the strategically crucial Central Asian region. Control over Afghanistan places the US in close proximity to the energy-rich former Soviet republics to the north, and within striking distance of its main rivals for regional dominance: China, Russia and Iran.

These broader considerations were underscored in an interview given to PBS by retired General David Petraeus, who served as commander of US forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He referred to news of the latest troop deployment as heartening, before insisting that the US had to remember why they had intervened. This is a generational struggle. This is not something that is going to be won in a few years, he declared, before making a comparison with the US presence in Europe following World War II or in Korea following the Korean War.

The New York Times, in a typical war-mongering editorial, urged Trump to assume responsibility for the 16-year-old conflict, declaring, Mr. Trump, Afghanistan is your war now.

The imminent escalation of the Afghan war will only lead to a deepening of the crisis confronting US imperialism. Even pro-war stalwarts like Republican Senator John McCain were compelled to point out during Mattiss Senate testimony earlier this week that the Trump administration has yet to present a strategic plan for Afghanistan.

Mattis vowed to present the strategy by mid-July, but promised to take interim measures, which could include the troop deployment, to halt what he referred to as a Taliban surge.

The Times noted that the development of an Afghan strategy is being complicated because discussions in Washington have been widened to include the US stance towards neighbouring Pakistan, which has long provided a safe haven for Taliban fighters and other Islamist militants like the Hakani Network.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan are high. In May, at least a dozen people died when clashes broke out between the two countries over their disputed border. Without citing evidence, Afghan officials accused Pakistan of being involved in the Kabul suicide bombing that killed 90 earlier in June. Kabul and Islamabad have traded accusations of backing terrorist groups, with Afghanistan accusing Pakistan of assisting the Taliban-aligned Hakani Network. In turn, Islamabad has charged that the Pakistan Taliban enjoys aid from its neighbor.

At the same time, Washingtons relations with Pakistan, which were close throughout the Cold War, have deteriorated as the US has moved over recent years to woo India as a strategic partner as it seeks to encircle and isolate China in the Asia-Pacific. This has included partnership agreements between the US and Indian militaries and efforts to encourage New Delhi to assert its regional authority. Pakistan has reacted with deepening concern and increasingly looked to China for economic and trading relations. Tensions have surged between India and Pakistan over recent months, raising the danger of war between south Asias nuclear rivals.

The Trump administrations strategic review, according to the Times, has thus also had to consider how Washington can manage tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi, with the result that the Afghan review has turned into a larger review of American policy towards Southwest Asia.

This only underscores the reckless character of US imperialism. As it escalates the conflict in Afghanistan, plans are already well advanced to ensure it can retain its unchallenged hegemony throughout Central and South Asia, a strategy which raises the prospect of a wider military conflagration, potentially with nuclear-armed adversaries.
Amazon, the world's largest online retail corporation, announced early Friday that it began negotiations to acquire the grocery store company Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. The corporation now has a foothold in the $800 billion US grocery market as it expands its octopus-like tentacles of economic domination into new segments of the world economy.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezoss personal fortune rose by an estimated $1.88 billion yesterday as Amazon's stock soared by $23.54 a share. In a single day, Bezos earned as much as 72,890 Amazon warehouse workerswell over half the total American workforcemake in an entire year.

The sale expresses the tremendous power exercised by a handful of powerful financial houses on the world economy. Ninety three percent of Whole Foods shares are owned by so called institutional investors, with a quarter owned by just three companiesVanguard, BlackRock, and State Street. These companies are also the first, second, and sixth largest institutional shareholders of Amazon stock, over 60 percent of which is owned by financial corporations. Four of the top five largest financial institutions in the world earned a combined winnings of $2.26 billion from the deal in the first day alone.

It is the financial aristocracy, not the workers at Amazon and Whole Foods, who are the sole beneficiaries of the potential merger between these two companies. While the corporate owners celebrate the deal, Bloomberg News quietly announced: Amazon also wants fewer employees in each [Whole Foods] store, with those who remain providing product expertise, rather than performing mundane tasks. In other words, thousands of jobs will be slashed. Current and former Amazon employees can tell those who remain that their working conditions will rapidly deteriorate.

Amazon offered to buy the company for $42 a share. Over the course of the day, Whole Foods stock rose 28 percent to a high of $43.45. Yesterdays rise in Amazons stock price added $11 billion to the corporate coffers, almost equaling the cost of the Whole Foods acquisition. Whole Foods, founded in 1978, is best known for selling more expensive organic and natural products, largely to upper middle class customers, giving it the nickname whole paycheck for the expense of shopping there.

The negotiations behind the deal give a sense of how the world economy is really run.

Over the past year, Whole Foods has increasingly struggled to compete with larger grocers, and in April activist hedge fund company Jana Partners announced that they had become the second-largest shareholder in the company, sending stock prices flying. The hedge fund immediately placed pressure upon Whole Foods to cut costs and increase stock prices, prompting the company to replace five members on its board of directors and hire a new chief financial officer last month.

Shortly thereafter, financial backer Neuberger Berman, which owns roughly 2.7 percent of the company and manages $267 billion in assets worldwide, sent a letter to the Whole Foods board, urging them to consider possible strategic mergers, partnerships, joint ventures, alliances.

For Amazon, a primary motive behind the acquisition is the vast expansion of the company's physical, brick-and-mortar presence, as they will take ownership of Whole Foods' more than 460 stores spread across the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

Amazon has been piloting a series of cost-saving initiatives at individual grocery stores, including an Amazon Go convenience store in Seattle that functions without cashiers, instead using an array of sensors and cameras to monitor shoppers and automatically charge them for items they take from the store.

Prior to Friday's deal, Amazon had been a minor player in grocery retail. In 2007, the company launched its food delivery service Amazon Fresh in Seattle, expanding to over a dozen cities globally since then. In March, the company announced Amazon Fresh Pickup, which lets users shop online, reserve a time to pick up the groceries and have them loaded into their car at the store.

The acquisition is still subject to approval by Whole Foods shareholders and federal regulatory agencies, with the negotiations expected to finish in the second half of 2017. Multiple analysts predict that other retail giants, including Walmart, Target, Costco, and more, may attempt to outbid Amazon in the meantime, or at least drive up the price Amazon has to pay to seal the deal.

Walmart is the most likely opponent to step into the fray, fearing that an Amazon-Whole Foods deal could mark an encroachment on their control over brick-and-mortar retail. The two companies have been engaged in a ferocious campaign over control of the global retail industry. To challenge Amazon, Walmart has been engaged in an acquisition spree of e-commerce companies over the past year, culminating with a purchase also announced Friday of the online apparel company Bonobos for $310 million.

Amazons offer to purchase Whole Foods will have profound implications for workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, and on the entire working class. In their efforts to undercut one another and expand their control into all industries, the corporations central strategy will be to reduce labor expensesthat is, wages and benefits for their workforces. These downward pressures will drive other companies to reduce wages and benefits to satisfy shareholders in a ruthless competition for profit.

The Amazon-Whole Foods deal is an expression of the growing concentration of wealth and economic power in an increasingly small handful of financial aristocrats like Jeff Bezos and the executives at leading Wall Street firms like Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street. According to a 2017 academic study, these three firms are the largest combined shareholder of 40 percent of all publicly listed companies in the US, accounting for a market capitalization of $17 trillion, roughly equal to the total GDP of the United States.

As monopolies like Amazon gain strength across all industries, an increasingly interconnected network of investors and directors demand higher profits and more intense exploitation of the working class. It is not just the cruelty or greed of individual bosses which lies beneath the increasingly demeaning and difficult conditions Amazon workers face in fulfillment centers worldwidethis cruelty and greed has a material basisit stems from the monopolization and financialization of the capitalist economy.

The task of the working class is to take control of these international behemoths, place them under democratic control, confiscate their assets, and reorganize them to meet the needs of the human race.
Jeronimo Yanez, the police officer who brutally shot and killed Philando Castile last year during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, has been found not guilty on all counts.

Yanez was charged with second degree manslaughter and two counts of discharging a deadly weapon. The trial, which began on May 30, ended after five days of deliberation by the jury. Immediately following the decision, protesters gathered all over the Twin Cities, including 1,500 at the state capitol.

Castile was killed after Yanez fired seven shots into his vehicle on July 6, 2016, during a traffic stop from a broken tail light. His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and 4-year-old daughter were also in the car at the time.

Yanez said that Castile matched the description of a robbery suspect, telling another officer before the shooting that he had a wide-set nose and a broken taillight. Yanez also claimed in court that he feared for his life and thought that Castile as reaching for a guneven after Castile told the police officer that he had a permit for a weapon and had one in his possession, as is required by gun safety procedures.

Reynolds broadcast a Facebook live video immediately after the shooting, in which she questioned the officer and managed to capture Castiles last words.

Castiles mother responded to the murder with outrage. My son loved this city, and this city killed my son. And a murderer gets away. Are you kidding me right now?

Castiles killing occurred around the same time as the murder of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which was also caught on video. Their murders sparked mass protests around demands to punish the officers responsible and end police violence.

Many in the media presented the trial of Yanez as a step towards ending police violence. In fact, if Reynolds had not recorded the aftermath of the killing, the case would likely never have gone to trial. Police kill more than 1,000 people every year in the United States. Only on the rarest of occasions is a police officer prosecuted, and convictions almost never result.

Yanezs acquittal is part of a broader trendfrom Darren Wilson, the officer who murdered 18-year-old Michael Brown, to Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who strangled Eric Garner to death.

This was the norm during the Obama administration, which oversaw the rise in police murder of working class people throughout the country. The Trump administration has made a point of insisting that even the most minimal restraints on police violence will be removed, and therefore, police murders will continue.
Germanys Foreign Ministry published a sharply-worded press release Thursday from Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (Social Democrats, SPD) and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern (Social Democrats, SPO) denouncing the United States foreign and economic policies.

Republicans and Democrats agreed almost unanimously, by 97 votes to 2, to impose new sanctions on Russia in the Senate on Wednesday. The Senate justified the measure as a punishment for Moscows alleged meddling in the US presidential election, the annexation of Crimea and its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The bipartisan bill was the package of sanctions the Kremlin deserves for its actions, said Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

Gabriel and Kern brusquely rejected the US Senates measure. The bill was really about the sale of American liquefied gas and the sidelining of Russian gas supplies in the European market, according to the two social democratic politicians. That emerges from the text particularly explicitly. The goal was to secure jobs in the American oil and gas industries.

The US and Europe had since 2014 side by side and in close joint consultation answered Russias annexation of Crimea, which is illegal under international law, and its actions in eastern Ukraine.  But the threat to impose extraterritorial sanctions which violate international law on European companies participating in the expansion of European energy supplies could not be tolerated. Europes energy provision was a European affair, and not one for the United States of America!

Gabriel and Kern went on to warn, Instruments of political sanctions should not be connected with economic interests. Threatening European companies in US markets with punishments if they participate in or finance projects like the Nord Stream II oil pipeline with Russia would introduce an entirely new and extremely negative quality to European-American relations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel explicitly backed her Foreign Minister on Friday. There was very strong agreement in terms of content with Gabriels statement, stated government spokesman Stefan Seibert. It is, to put it mildly, an unconventional action by the US Senate. It was troubling that European businesses were being targeted by sanctions to punish Russian behaviour. That cannot be allowed, added Seibert.

The bipartisan action by the US Senate and the sharp response from the German government make clear that the conflicts between the US and Germany are not simply intensifying as a result of President Donald Trump, but have deep objective roots. Twenty five years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the conflicts between the major imperialist powers, which resulted in two world wars during the 20th century, are erupting into the open once again.

Following the G7 summit three weeks ago, Merkel, in a speech delivered in a Munich beer tent, called into question the alliance with the United States, which formed the basis of Germanys foreign policy in the post-war era. The times in which we could completely depend upon others are long past, she stated and advanced on this basis the demand, We Euroepans really have to take our fate into our own hands and fight for our own future.

The German government has since worked systematically to expand its global political and economic relations. After Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Berlin at the beginning of the month, and Merkel visited Argentina and Mexico last week, the government organised a major conference on Africa in Berlin earlier this week.

As Berlin moves to fulfil Gabriels pledge to use the spaces vacated by America, the tensions with Washington are rising. Already last week, Gabriel criticised the US-backed action taken by Saudi Arabia against Qatar, which is aimed above all at Iran. In a statement, Gabriel defended the emirate and warned against a Trumpification of relations in the region. The latest gigantic arms deals between US President Trump and the Gulf monarchies intensified the danger of a new arms race. This was a completely wrong policy, and certainly not Germanys policy.

Gabriels statements against the United States have nothing to do with pacifism. He is not concerned with peace, but the enforcement of German imperialist interests, which are increasingly at odds with those of the United States. While the United States under Trump is ever more openly heading in the direction of war with Iran, the German government is striving for a further opening up of the countrys economy to secure new markets for German corporations in the Middle East and new investment opportunities for German capital.

The same applies to Russia. Although the German government supported the right-wing coup against Viktor Yanukovitch alongside the US in Ukraine in 2014, and stationed troops on the Russian border, it opposed open conflict with Russia over Ukraine. In his new book Remeasurements, Gabriel boasts that with the Minsk Accord, France and Germany, on behalf of Europe, while not resolving an escalating conflict, curbed it significantly for the first time, and had done so without the United States.

Washington, at that time, had been close tosupplying weapons to Ukraine, the Foreign Minister stated. With the cynical idea that although Russia could not be defeated militarily, it would be pressurised into peace talks more rapidly if it paid a high price in blood. The war in Ukraine would have become a war over Ukraine. But Europe was grown up enoughto foresee this and to let Germany and France negotiate.

Following Brexit, the election of Trump and the victory of pro-European President Emmanuel Macron, Berlin seemingly feels it is grown up enough to increasingly distance itself from the US and to press ahead with the construction of a European army under German leadership.

Europes security is Europes own responsibility, noted Gabriel in his book. We must become capable of acting strategically in foreign and security policy, because we dont do so enough. That includes us defining our European interests and articulating them independently of the US. This obstinacy requires to some extent an emancipation from the direction adopted in Washington.

He goes on, Whoever has their own goals also should develop their capabilities to achieve them. The EU needs to see itself as a greater security policy power. Our defence budgets must be adjusted accordingly. The armaments of the European armies need to be modernised, made operationally deployable and reoriented to military tasks.

Gabriels declared goal is the building of a veritable European combat power capable of enforcing its global imperialist interests independently of NATO and the US, and, if necessary, against them. The issue is not just to buy new weapons. It is about integrating the arms industry more in Europe and pooling forces. It is about creating a joint European security identity, which opens the way to a European army through ever more closely integrated structures.

This policy, which is supported by all of Germanys parties, from the CDU/CSU to the SPD, Greens and Left Party, has an irresistible logic. As in the first half of the 20th century, the deepening rivalries between the imperialist powers over raw materials, markets and geostrategic influence are leading once again to a war between the great powers, unless the working class intervenes on the basis of its own socialist strategy.
You reap what you sow

Last month the Newars of the Valley paid homage to the Rato Matsyendranath with a month long jatra inviting bountiful harvest. Amid the din of the jhyali, and pomp and fanfare, revellers followed the Rain Gods chariot as it made its way from one tole to another in Patans urban core.
John Kelly, the Trump administrations secretary of homeland security, issued a memorandum on Thursday ending the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. The DAPA program, which was blocked in the courts and never implemented, would have protected the undocumented immigrant parents of US citizens and legal permanent residents from deportation, provided they had been in the country since 2010 and had no criminal record.

The memo also quietly mentioned that [t]he June 15, 2012 memorandum that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will remain in effect. In other words, on the fifth anniversary of the DACA program, which protects undocumented immigrants brought to the US as young children from deportation, the Trump administration announced that it will not end the programfor now.

The DAPA program, announced in a 2014 Obama administration memo, would have granted work permits and reprieves from deportation to some 4 million adults. The New York Times noted at the time that more than 10 million people live in households with at least one potentially DAPA-eligible adult, with two-thirds of these adults [having] lived in the United States for at least 10 years.

Deporting all of the 4 million people eligible for the now-canceled program would be an immense and horrific undertaking, requiring a vast expansion of the Gestapo-like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Some 10 million people would lose a father, mother, grandparent or other close family membermost of whom would be sent to a country they have not lived in for over a decade, possibly with the threat of imminent death.

Recent immigration raids on Iraqi nationals from minority groupsmostly Kurds and Chaldean Catholicsindicate that the Trump administration is engaged in deporting hundreds of persecuted minorities to active war zones.

Shortly after the 2014 memo announcing the DAPA program, 27 states, led by Texas, sued the Obama administration seeking to block it. United States District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, a right-wing, anti-immigrant judge appointed by President George W. Bush, issued a preliminary injunction against DAPA while the case wound its way through the courts.

The case, United States v. Texas, eventually was heard by the Supreme Court, which, in the absence of deceased Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, was split 4-4. This divided ruling upheld a lower courts injunction against DAPA.

Kellys memo withdrawing DAPA referenced the programs tortured legal history, claiming that the Department of Homeland Security was rescinding the November 20, 2014 memorandum that created the program [DAPA]  because there is no credible path forward to litigate the currently enjoined policy.

When he was campaigning for the presidency, Donald Trump promised to immediately terminate DAPA and DACA, which he described as President Obamas two illegal executive amnesties. In part of keeping up the myth that his xenophobic crackdown is directed at criminal aliens, however, Trump has occasionally expressed sympathy for those covered by DACA, referred to as DREAMers.

In February, Trump said: DACA is a very, very difficult subject for me. You have these incredible kids, in many cases not in all cases. In some of the cases theyre having DACA and theyre gang members and theyre drug dealers too. But you have some absolutely incredible kids  they were brought here in such a way, its a very, very tough subject.

Because DACA and DAPA were implemented by executive memoranda and not legislation, it would have been possible for Trump to unilaterally end the programs on day one. The anti-immigrant NumbersUSA group has denounced the failure of the administration to axe DACA immediately as something of a betrayal. NumbersUSA President Roy Beck said, We regard this as being a really clearly broken promise.  this was an executive order, so he can stop it.

Nevertheless, the end of DAPA was the occasion for the fascistic ultra-right to crow that so-called anchor babiesAmerican-born children of undocumented immigrant parentscould not stop their fathers and mothers from being torn away and deported.

Kellys memo in many ways maintains the immigration status quo, at least as far as DACA and DAPA are concerned. It ended the DAPA program that had not been put into effect and left in place DACA, under which hundreds of thousands of youth have registered and sought the right to work and go to school. In part this speaks to the fact that the anti-immigrant infrastructure is likely already operating at full capacity, and that it will take some time to expand the number of ICE agents and immigration camps to the point where a crackdown on DACA enrollees can commence.

However, the Trump administrations anti-immigrant agenda is so deeply unpopular that there is likely concern that revoking DACA now would provoke an explosion. The deportation of Juan Manuel Montes, a 23-year-old Mexican national who was brought to the US when he was only nine and was a DACA enrollee, was highly controversial.

If Trump decides to follow through with his barbaric promise to end DACA, he will find that the federal government has the fingerprints and addresses of 750,000 enrollees to facilitate in their deportation, as Obama refused to shield them from later deportation if DACA is revoked, either by issuing an across-the-board presidential pardon or instructing ICE to erase its database of DACA enrollees.

Lorella Praeli, director of immigration policy and campaigns at the American Civil Liberties Union, said of the memo, The only certainty in Trumps America is uncertaintyand no memorandum changes that. Theyre trying to distract us with their back-and-forth on DACA as their mass deportation machine proceeds full speed ahead.
At a cabinet meeting in late May, Indonesian President Joko Widodo endorsed calls by his security ministers for the countrys armed forces, the TNI, to have a legal role in domestic counter-terrorism operations.

Amendments to beef up the Eradication of Terrorism law are currently under discussion in the national parliaments lower house, the DPR. If passed, the legislation would significantly reverse the legal changes made following the fall of the Suharto dictatorship in 1998 to limit the militarys role in internal security matters.

Widodo expressed support for the militarys domestic role just days after the suicide bombings at Kampung Melayu transport station in East Jakarta.

Political tensions have been high in Jakarta following the right-wing Islamist campaign against Widodos protege, Basuki Thahaja Purnama. Basuki was ousted during the hotly contested election for the governorship of Jakarta and jailed on May 9 for two years on concocted blasphemy charges.

A terrorism scare campaign is being fed by allegations that Islamist militants fighting in the Middle East will return to Indonesia. According to the Diplomat, security regional officials estimate that 1,2001,800 South East Asians have been fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Straits Times puts the number of Indonesians at 392.

Before the cabinet meeting, State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chairman Budi Gunawan called for extraordinary measures to clamp down on radicalism and terrorism. He linked concerns over the emergence of Islamist groups, and their intervention in the Jakarta gubernatorial race, with terrorism.

The military is clearly exploiting fears over terrorism to enhance its powers. The TNI was notorious under the Suharto dictatorship for its brutal suppression of any political opposition. After Suhartos fall, the army was compelled to take a step back but retained considerable political power and influence, including via the ex-generals that held important government positions.

The National Police were removed from military control and given prime responsibility for all internal criminal matters. Under the 2004 Indonesian Military Law, TNI personnel are limited to assisting the National Police in counter-terrorism operations, and only under the direction of the president.

At the cabinet meeting, Widodo ordered his security ministers to pressure the DPR to expand the militarys role. Widodo told his ministers the change is urgently needed to ensure that our law enforcers have the legal umbrella to carry out their jobs in the field. The [military] should have a role in the law.

The police handling of alleged terrorist cases has been just as ruthless as the previous military methods. The police counter-terrorist unit, Densus 88, built up with assistance from the US and Australia, had been responsible for the deaths of at least 121 terror suspects in custody, according to Indonesias National Commission on Human Rights.

As well as boosting the armys internal role, the draft legislation before the DPR seeks to further increase police powers put in place after the 2002 Bali terror bombings.

The proposed changes include the revocation of the citizenship of alleged terrorists; the further extension of the period of arrest and detention without charge; and a provision to allow the arrest and detention of suspected terrorists without trial for six months to undergo deradicalisation.

Widodo has made clear that the repressive measures are not just directed at so-called terror cells but at radical Islamist organisations that challenge the formally secular character of the Indonesian state and constitution.

More broadly the legislation is aimed against the working class and urban and rural poor amid growing opposition to pro-market restructuring and rising social inequality. The Islamist groups that mounted the anti-Basuki campaign could exploit the widespread hostility against the Jakarta governors urban development projects that involved forced evictions.

Widodos ruling coalition has been associated with the same pro-market agenda that Basuki pushed in Jakarta. Workers and the poor have seen one national administration after another pursue growth polices that have benefited only the rich. One percent of the population controls 49.3 percent of national wealth.

Meeting this week with media editors, Widodo reaffirmed his determination to clobber ( gebuk in Indonesian)a word used by Suhartothose who challenged the official state doctrine of Pancasila, the secular 1945 Constitution and national unity. He said gebuk was the right word as we cannot negotiate with people attempting to mess with our nations fundamentals and ideology.

Pancasila enshrines belief in a divinity but does not prescribe a particular state religion and therefore stands in opposition to Islamist organisations that want to establish an Islamic state. Widodo confirmed that the Security Affairs ministry was looking to ban two Islamist groups, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia.

The Islamist campaign against Basukian ethnic Chinese Christianalso had a strong anti-Chinese strand, which cuts across Widodos efforts to secure up Chinese investment for his planned $US450 billion in infrastructure projects.

Bachtiar Nasir, head of the GNPF-MUI Islamist umbrella group, told Reuters last month: Our next job is economic sovereignty, economic equality. The state should ensure that it does not sell Indonesia to foreigners, especially China.

Significantly, Widodos calls for the rapid passage of the new anti-terrorism measures have been endorsed by the Gerindra Party, which is led by Suharto-era general Prabowo Subianto. Prabowo was Widodos main rival in the 2014 presidential election and wants to replace him in 2019. The partys candidate won Jakarta governorship with the support of Islamist organisations, including the FPI.

Despite its collaboration with the Islamist campaign against Basuki, Gerindra is just as concerned as the government about mounting social tensions and the potential for mass political protests. Gerindra deputy chairman Ferry Juliantono endorsed the TNIs new role, declaring that in emergency conditions the new laws would put state sovereignty above anything else.
The second round of the French legislative elections taking place tomorrow will undoubtedly mark a historic collapse of both French bourgeois democracy and what has passed for the left in France for nearly a half century.

The newly elected president, Emmanuel Macron, is seeking an overwhelming majority for his The Republic On the March (LREM) party. LREM, drawing forces from the Socialist Party (PS) as it collapses, aims to serve as a vehicle for a violent restructuring of French society on a scale unseen since the end of World War II.

The legislative elections are marked by a startling paradox: while Macrons policies face deep opposition, LREM has reasonable hopes of winning an overwhelming majority of more than 400 seats in the 577-seat Assembly. This is the product of the abdication of responsibility by Jean-Luc Melenchon and forces like the New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA) of proving a perspective for opposition to Macron. Instead, in the second round of the presidential elections, they made clear that they understood a vote for Macron as a lesser evil against neo-fascist Marine Le Pen.

Under conditions where wide layers of the French population saw no one to vote for, a record 51 percent of voters abstained in the first round of the legislative elections a week ago. Abstention was highest among youth and working class voters. This was the electorates negative judgment on the policies Macron has laid out since his election, which intensify those of the previous, discredited PS government.

Whatever the proportions between the different parties that emerge from tomorrows election, Macron and the National Assembly will proceed with attacks on the working class that lack even a fig leaf of democratic legitimacy. Macron won only a quarter of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, and LREM obtained the votes of barely 15 percent of registered voters in last Sundays first legislative round.

Macrons strategy is clear: he aims to impose these policies on a hostile population by force, pushing his measures through a rubber-stamp parliament, exploiting the absence of organized opposition on his left and using the state of emergency to send police to attack social protests that do erupt.

The Parti de l'egalite socialiste (PES), the French section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), campaigned for an active boycott of the second round between Macron and the neo-fascist Le Pen, rejecting claims that workers could vote for Macron as the lesser evil. It explained that this policy aimed to give a politically independent class line to the workers for the struggles that would inevitably emerge after the elections.

The PES insisted, moreover, that the call for a boycott had to go hand in hand with the building of a revolutionary party in France and the ICFI as the leadership of the French and international working class, against the PS and Melenchon, the NPA, and similar bankrupt pseudo-left forces. The six-week period since Macron won the May 7 presidential elections has vindicated the policy of the PES and decisively exposed the claims that he was the democratic alternative to the threat posed by Le Pen.

Macrons government has announced that it will write into law the powers granted to the security forces under the state of emergencythat is, making the suspension of basic democratic rights under the state of emergency permanent. It will then demand an enabling act from the parliament to allow Macron to rewrite French labor law at his discretion. At the same time, it will continue to pour ever more resources into the military, police and intelligence apparatus.

Concisely stated, the aim of Macrons government is to repudiate and destroy all the concessions on social and democratic rights the French bourgeoisie was compelled to make to the working class in the aftermath of World War II and the collaboration with Nazism in France. This is the outcome of a sea change in global political and class relations bound up with the capitalist crisis and the collapse of US imperialisms world hegemony.

Macron is pursuing an alliance with Berlin in an effort to use Donald Trumps discrediting of the US government in a desperate bid to establish a German-led European Union (EU) as the world hegemon. The French media reacted enthusiastically, unanimously hailing it as a European moment, when Macron met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Versailles to call for improved relations with Russia despite US opposition. Such ambitions require a massive increase in military spending at the expense of the working class, and Macron has proposed to bring back the draft.

The affluent left petty-bourgeoisie forces calling for parliamentary opposition to Macrons agenda offer nothing to the workers. On Thursday at a campaign speech in Marseille, Melenchon echoed the concerns of the press that if, as everything indicates, Macron wins a massive majority in the Assembly, he will have full power to proceed unchecked by any opposition inside the ruling elite.

This is a dead end: Macrons basic agendaon the state of emergency, labor law, and the build-up of the militaryis shared by LREM, the PS, the other major bourgeois political formations in France, and the ruling elites across the EU. If the election tomorrow were to see LREMs rivals win more seats, and if Melenchons candidates were to advance in the few dozen constituencies where they are still present, that would not change the basic course of events.

An explosive confrontation is being prepared between Macrons government and the population, above all the working class. It cannot be left to the trade unions, Melenchon and other pseudo-left forces like the NPA. They have already presided over countless defeats of workers' struggles against austerity, such as last years struggle against the PS labor law, and have supported the war drive of French imperialism in Syria, Libya and beyond.

Workers urgently require a new revolutionary leadership to wage what will rapidly emerge as a bitter political struggle with the Macron government, backed by the EU.

One hundred years after the October Revolution, the PES advances itself as the representative of the irreconcilable socialist and internationalist program of the Bolshevik Party of Lenin and Trotsky in 1917 and the heritage of Trotskyism defended by the ICFI. It appeals to workers and youth who agree with its analysis of Macrons presidency to support the PES, study its program and join the struggle to build it as the political vanguard of the working class in France.
Those who come last to Jesus come hardest. Such is the case with Guardian columnist, Owen Jones.

Since last weeks general election, which saw a revival of Labour support under Jeremy Corbyn that has left Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May heading a minority government, Jones has been offering up mea culpas.

Describing the election result as one of the most sensational political upsets of our time, Jones gave an unreserved and heartfelt apology to Corbyn, his supporters and advisers. This was in penance for the role he has played in efforts to get Corbyn to stand down, under the admonishment that unless he did so Labour was finished.

While Labour still lost the election, Corbyns left rhetoric enabled it to recover from its catastrophic result in 2015. Not only did Labours vote increase by 10 percent to 40 percent of those cast, it proved immensely attractive to young workers and studentsgaining the support of two-thirds of those aged 18 to 25 and more than half of those aged between 25 and 35.

More importantly, this increase came despite, or rather as a vote of hostility toward, those within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) who effectively sided with the Tories to work for Corbyns defeatincluding supporting votes for other parties.

Jones refers only obliquely to his part in this campaign, noting in passing that it had led journalists to suggest, I should be knighted by the Tory party for my efforts.

He should not be so coy. He backed Corbyn in the first 2015 Labour leadership contest, but only, as he admits, because Corbyn was expected to lose.

Jones has explained that Corbyn stood not to win the leadership, but to shift the political agenda. When it was clear he was going to winnot the initial point of the campaign at allhe would be a transitional figure whose job would be to shift the party to the left and democratise it, until in 2017 or 2018 another candidate would take over to win an election. (Medium, March 20, 2017)

Even so, many felt anxious, he wrote. Winning the leadership, after all, had not been the point of the exercise. (Guardian, March 1, 2017)

No one was more anxious than Jones, who had written to reassure Labours right of his loyalty in the run-up to the contest. [I]ts people like me who are the true holders of the Blairite flame, he pledged. [I]t is the left that is championing New Labours legacy, trying desperately to save it from the Tories. (Guardian, July 22, 2015)

His anxiety increased following the shock "Leave" result in the June 2016 referendum on British membership of the European Union. Labours right wingwith the support of the military and intelligence apparatusimmediately launched an attempted coup against Corbyn, with a vote of no-confidence. Now the removal of anyone associated with the left became intertwined with efforts to refashion Labour as an instrument for overturning the Leave vote.

It was not the blatantly anti-democratic character of yet another putsch attemptcomplete with denunciations of Trots and mass suspensions and expulsionsthat energised Jones, but the nature and timing of this coup Why not wait two or three weeks and launch a stalking-horse challenge instead of shutting down the workings of the official opposition in the midst of Britains greatest crisis since 1945? he advised. (Guardian, July 14, 2016).

In the run-up to the second Labour leadership contest, Jones deliberately played down the vicious campaign by the Blairite right, insisting that Corbyns supporters had questions to answer too.

Warning that a snap election is entirely plausible, he forecast that thanks to the actions of all sides of the Labour partyLabour faces electoral oblivion.

In the wake of Corbyns re-election on an even larger mandate, Jones upped his game. Arguing that socialism without power is slogans, he spent much of the last year preparing for yet another leadership challengethis time to be contested by his favoured candidate, Clive Lewis, serving up warmed-over Blairism that would be acceptable to the PLP.

Any fight against the 172the number of Labour MPs who had voted no confidence in Corbynwas a diversion from the anti-Tory battle. Talk of mandatory reselections should be abandoned and [c]ommon ground should be emphasised, he stressed. (Guardian, September 22, 2016)

While Jones preached peace with the right wing, he went to war against Corbyns supporters. This acquired particular urgency as May prepared to trigger Article 50, beginning the formal process of Britain exiting the EU. Jones, as with much of the Labour Party, including Corbyn, supported Remain.

If Corbyn is unable to confront the multiple existential crises enveloping Labour, he wrote, then an agreement should be struck where he can stand down in exchange for the guarantee of an MP from the new generation on the ballot paper who is committed to the policies that inspired Corbyns supporters in the first place. (Guardian, March 1, 2017)

No mention was made of the fact that it was the repeated attacks by Labours right that accounted for these existential crises.

As his pleas fell on deaf ears, Jones became shrill: My passionate and sincere view is Jeremy Corbyn should stand down as soon as possible in exchange for another left-wing MP being allowed to stand on for leadership in his place: all to stop both Labour and the left imploding, which is what is currently on the cards. (Medium, March 20, 2017)

On March 29, May triggered Article 50. Three weeks later, she called a snap poll, two years ahead of schedule. Her aim was to utilise Labours crisis to push through even deeper austerity measures and attacks on the working class in line with her policy of a so-called hard Brexit.

Jones reluctantly and forlornly called for a Labour vote. His suggestion that Corbyn stand down so as to save his policies from being buried in the rubble of a terrible election defeat had been rejected, he wrote. Now it was necessary to unite and do our very best to prevent a Tory landslide that would be calamitous for the country.

This referendum is about Brexit above all else, he opined. (Guardian, April 18, 2017)

Jones now presents this cowardly track record as his being taken in by media propaganda. I came to believe that Labour was heading for a terrible defeat that would crush all the things I believed in, he writes. Having one foot in the Labour movement and one in the mainstream media undoubtedly left me more susceptible to their groupthink. (Guardian, June 9, 2017)

Please! One year before, Jones responded to accusations that he was the victim of such media groupthink by denying that the Guardian have gagged me, or I have spent so long there I have succumbed to Guardianitis: a liberal disdain for the radical left, essentially. (July 31, 2016)

In point of fact, there is no difference between the media village and his so-called Labour movement. Jones has plied his trade with liberal references as to how his parents were members of the Militant (now Socialist Party) in the 1980s. This was at the time when leading members of the organisation were expelled from Labour as the path was cleared for New Labour and Blair.

Having graduated from Cambridge University in 2005, he went straight into that section of Labours parliamentary apparatus gathered around the Socialist Campaign Group. Working first for Corbyns ally, John McDonnell, his associates include many from around the various factions of the Pabloites and Stalinists, including Corbyn himself, and his leading advisers, Andrew Fisher, Seamus Milne and Steve Howell. As Jones writes, This isnt a milieu that I know well: its a milieu Im part of. (Guardian, July 31, 2016)

What permeates these pseudo-left circles, and what characterises all of Jones writing, is agreement that there cannot be any revival of socialism, let alone revolutionary politics. As an example:  when I was growing up, to even mention left-wing ideas was to inevitably invite derision: oh here we go, back to Michael Foot, Labours 1983 electoral disaster. (Guardian, July 31, 2016)

Blairism, New Labour owed its hegemony to, frankly, despair: the idea that socialist policies were electoral poison, and offering them to the British people would invite only landslide Tory victories. (Guardian, June 13, 2017)

As for the working class, the only time it is mentioned by these privileged petty-bourgeois layers, it is invariably prefaced by white and depicted as conservative, racist and nationalist.

For years, Jones constant theme has been that the failure to capture Labour for the left was proof that the programme of socialist revolution is pie in the sky.

Everything is viewed through the narrow, nationalist prism of British Labourism and its fortunes, and is completely divorced from the real conditions of life faced by workers and youth. Thus, Jones rationalises his previous opposition to Corbyn on the grounds that what mattered was that the leadership would have to have a sophisticated strategy to reach beyond the tiny proportion of the population who are politicised left-wingers (Guardian, March 20, 2017)

To Jones surprise, an anti-austerity and anti-war stance struck a chord with millions. That is why Corbyn and the Labour leadership are now busily rowing back, watering down their left message still further. If workers and youth will embrace socialistic phrases uttered by a party intent on suppressing them, how would they respond to the real deal?

Jones now insists, Labour is now permanently transformed. Its policy programme is unchallengeable. (Guardian, June 9, 2017)

But his pronouncements to this end are just as worthless as his previous musings. This is a man who foresaw nothing and whose advice should come with a political health warning. If he is now presenting himself as an ally of those millions of workers and youth who voted for Corbyn in the expectation that he would reverse neo-liberalism and take the fight to the Tories and Labours right wing, it is only so as to better help strangle that movement in the crib.
Shock and horror has boiled over into raw anger and fury. Thousands protested in London Friday to demand justice and the punishment of those responsible for mass murder in the worst housing fire in modern British history.

Hundreds chanting We want justice for the victims of the Grenfell Tower inferno surrounded Kensington Town Hall, London to demand answers from council officials who had barricaded themselves in the building.

Prime Minister Theresa May, while visiting Kensington, was forced to remain in a church and then chased awaysurrounded by a heavy security detailwith protesters booing and shouting shame on you and coward.

This sentiment finds its echo throughout Britain and worldwide.

Millions are horrified by the loss of at least 100 and as many as 150 lives of working class residents in Wednesdays fire.

Most shocking of all, this took place in Kensington and Chelsea, Britains richest borough in one of the richest cities in the world. But like so many other areas of the capital, extreme wealth exists side by side with extreme deprivation.

Kensington and Chelsea is one of the most socially divided areas of London, with those living on the Lancaster West Estate, where Grenfell Tower is located, in clear view of the homes of multi-millionaires and billionaires. The most expensive street in the country, Victoria Road in Kensington, has an average house price of 8 million.

This imparts a politically explosive dynamic to unfolding eventswhich is why, incredibly, the police and council officials have stonewalled the appeals of residents' families and friends and have still refused to admit the real death toll.

Grenfell is not only an appalling tragedy. It is a crime. Those whose lives were taken were murdered just as surely as if a torch had been applied to the building.

Ruthless cost-cutting with no concern for public safety laid the basis for the Grenfell deaths and ensured the devastating, rapid spread of the fire from its initial source in just a single apartment.

The fire spread so rapidly due to the cladding on the building bursting into flames. It was added last year in a refurbishment. On Friday, what many already suspected was confirmed when it was revealed that the insulating material used was combustible. It was chosen because it was 2 per square metre cheaper than a fire resistant alternative. The saving made amounted to just 5,000.

This and other equally life-threatening decisions were taken or authorised by the Conservative-run Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, who ran Grenfell Tower on its behalf. The tower block had no central fire alarm system, no sprinklers in place and just one exit stairwell. The authorities ignored repeated warnings from a tenants group and residents over many years who insisted that Grenfell was unsafe and a death trap.

Such flagrant criminality has deeper causes. The essential fact is that the Grenfell deaths are the product of class society and the normal workings of the capitalist system.

London is a world centre of speculation and financial parasitism. And the property market is a vital element of this global web of corruption. Land and housing in the capital have become one of the most lucrative commodities in the world. It is not only that London is home to 80 billionaires, but the fact that fully 60 percent of its skyscrapers and vast numbers of luxury houses and flats are owned by overseas companies or wealthy residents who rarely or never set foot in them.

Catering to this market demands the social cleansing from council estates of their poor residents, especially when they are located in a desirable area. This has become so routine that residents of the Lancaster West Estate are correct to insist that the failure to invest in Grenfell Tower was a deliberate effort to drive them out.

Similar equally anti-social decisions are made every single day by the money-mad oligarchy and their political flunkeys who determine every aspect of peoples lives to ruinous effect. Homes and schools are rendered unsafe. Hospitals closed, beds lost, vital social services withdrawn because someone, somewhere decides they are an unacceptable drain on profitwhich must be maintained at whatever cost.

Forty years after Margaret Thatcher declared, There is no such thing as society, in order to justify the gutting of social services, privatisation and deregulation, the social conditions facing the working class have been reduced to levels once associated with the so called third world. This testifies to the immense class divide and social inequality that now exist in all capitalist countries.

On Thursday, in the face of mounting public anger, May ordered a public inquiry into the Grenfell fire. This is aimed at ensuring a cover-up and the protection of those responsibleabove all within her own government.

Those responsible for these deaths must be arrested and face criminal proceedings, with the truth to come out in trials. Among these should be the former London mayor Boris Johnson, who is responsible for the slashing of Londons fire service and mass deregulation, and Kensington and Chelsea council leader Nick Paget-Brown.

But while leading Tory figures such as Johnson were responsible for the last wave of ultra-gentrification in the service of the super-rich, all the bourgeois parties, including Labour, which runs many of Londons councils, are equally culpable. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan must answer for his role in allowing this situation to continue unchallenged since he took office promising to remedy Londons housing crisis.

It should be stressed that the death toll from Grenfell is expected to exceed the combined total resulting from every terrorist attack in the UK since the beginning of the so-called war on terror in 2001.

Whenever a terrorist attack has taken place in Britain over the last decade, the full force of the state has been brought to bear. Police have carried out raids on every person who is linked, even in the most innocuous way, to the individual terrorist. They have been immediately arrested and hauled off to be detained and grilled for days on end. In response to the Grenfell fire, not a single person in any responsible position has yet been arrested, let alone charged.

Instead we are promised a toothless inquiry!

Whatever the outcome of ongoing police investigations and public inquiries, they will not uncover the essential cause of the corporate mass murder at Grenfell because it is rooted in the failed capitalist system, which is reaping untold misery, death and destruction on the vast majority of the planets population.

The appalling loss of life in London demonstrates the urgent necessity for the mobilisation of the working class behind a socialist programme and an end to the subordination of every aspect of social policy to the interests of the financial swindlers and parasites.
Kelani Valley Plantations in Sri Lanka has begun imposing a new revenue-sharing system at its Battalgalla Estate at Dickoya in the central hills district. The new system, which was imposed with the active support of the plantation unions, transforms workers into share-croppers, slashing their living conditions and social rights. Kelani Valley Plantations promotes itself as an ethical producer.

Plantation companies in Sri Lanka have long demanded the implementation of this exploitative system in a bid to maintain profits under conditions of declining tea exports and escalating global competition. Under the retrogressive scheme, workers will no longer be wage workers and their limited but hard-won gains, including provident funds and pensions, housing and medical facilities, will be systematically abolished.

According to a Collective Agreement signed last year, the unions agreed to help impose the revenue-sharing system in all plantations over the next two years. The scheme was endorsed by the government of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Battalgalla Estate, which has three partsthe Upper Division, Lower Division and Hadleyemploys about 240 workers, a third of them on a casual basis. In April, blocks of land containing 1,000 tea bushes in the Upper Division were allocated to 120 workers.

Under legally binding agreements, workers are called contractors and only able to work on the allocated land on Sundays. For the rest of the week they are employed in other parts of the estate.

While sections of the plantation were selected to trial the new system, the company plans to quickly expand it throughout the estate, systematically increasing the number of days its employees can work on the allocated areas and eventually abolish the daily paid wage system.

All allocated land remains the property of the plantation company with the contractors forced to clean, uproot and prune tea bushes on their allocated blocks. Fertiliser and agro-chemicals are provided by the company but with the cost deducted from the contractors income. While contractors can hire labourers to work on the block they must have the companys consent. Payment of the estates office staff, including their remuneration, provident and pensions, is also deducted from the contractors monthly income.

Tea leaves harvested from the allocated blocks can only be sold to the company-owned factory with the price determined by the company according to the quality of the leaves.

Battalgalla Estate workers told the World Socialist Web Site that they were paid 58 rupees per kilo of tea leaves in April but the following month it was reduced to 51 rupees (33 US cents). There is speculation among workers that management will cut the price to 25 rupees by claiming that the leaves are not the required quality.

The agreement also states that if a contractor fails to provide tea leaves at the quality demanded by the company it will resume control of the land with one month notice.

Workers initially refused to sign the agreement but the estate union leadership intimidated workers, declaring that if the agreement was rejected they would be sacked.

Sri Lankas three plantation unionsthe Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), the National Union of Workers (NUW) and the Up-Country Peoples Front (UPF)support the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government. NUW leader P. Digambaram and UPF chief V. Radhakrishnan currently hold ministerial positions. CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman, a minister in former President Mahinda Rajapakses administration, is key backer of the current regime in Colombo.

These unions do not defend estate workers but the profits of the plantation companies. Last year, the unions sabotaged protests by estate workers demanding 1,000 rupees a day and disrupted struggles against increased productivity demands. Behind the backs of their members, the unions signed a deal with the plantation bosses agreeing to implement the revenue sharing system and to accept a miserable daily pay increase of 50 rupees (see: Sri Lankan plantation workers defy government to continue protests).

Plantation companies, under conditions of increasing competition with other tea producing nations and falling consumer demand, are now stepping up their exploitation. The Central Banks recent external performance review revealed that demand for Sri Lankan tea by Russia, Turkey and some Middle Eastern countries dropped by 12.4 percent to $US99.4 million in January 2017 compared to the previous year.

Opposition is growing among estate workers against the revenue-sharing system, low wages and the role of the unions. A Battalgalla Estate employee who has worked for the company for 20 years explained to the WSWS: Some female workers, including myself, vehemently opposed this system but the union leaders threatened us saying that we would lose our jobs. Most of the male workers endorse the agreement but some female workers still have not signed.

Another worker said she had been a casual employee for five years as management refused to make her permanent. We have been given 1,000 tea bushes, but my husband is working in Colombo, not at this estate. I cant look after this land alone because we have to do everything, which includes clearing the estate and other work. On Sundays, some workers families have to toil from morning to night on their land block so they dont have any leisure time

On other days, she explained that workers can be paid 730 rupees ($4.77) per day but only if they harvest 18 kilos of tea leaves per day. If we dont pluck this amount then we are not paid the 140-rupee per day productivity allowance. In the dry season its difficult to reach this target.

Referring to the unions, she added: All the unions betrayed us on our wage demands and now they are directly supporting the implementation of this new system.

In the Hadley division of the estate, all 60 workers have been assigned tea bushes. One small businessman, who is living in the estate received five hectares of the estate, while two people who do not work at the estate were given two and one hectares respectively.

The transformation of plantation workers into contractors and the distribution of estate land to small business operators make clear that companies plan to parcel large parts of their estates into small holdings to drive up productivity and slash costs by shedding the burden of maintaining workers.

Plantation workers are among the poorest and most exploited of sections of the Sri Lankan working class. Battalgalla Estate workers do not have decent homes with many living in temporary huts. Half of the workers on the estate do not have proper toilets or water supplies, forcing some of them to take out provident fund loans to secure these basic facilities.

These desperate conditions, which prevail to a greater or lesser degree in every estate, will be worsened under the new system. The transformation of estate workers into virtual share croppers or contractors is in order to divide them and undermine their ability to fight for better conditions.

Workers can only fight this fundamental attack by breaking from the trade unions, which are industrial police of the companies, and establishing independent action committees in every estate to organise and coordinate their struggles.

Plantation workers will find their political allies among other sections of the Sri Lankan and international working classincluding in Indian, Kenyan, Vietnamese and South African plantationswho face similar attacks.

The escalating assault on plantation workers demonstrates that leaving the giant tea estates in the hands of profit-seeking companies is incompatible with the most basic needs and rights of plantation workers. That is why the fight to defend plantation workers is bound up with the broader struggle for the democratic control of production by the working class and a workers and peasants government based on a socialist and internationalist perspective. This is the program advanced by the Socialist Equality Party.
The White House confirmed Friday that President Donald Trump will visit Poland on July 6 before the G20 summit in Hamburg.

In Poland, he not only wants to meet with his Polish counterpart President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, but also in Breslau with the heads of the so-called Three Seas Initiative, which follows in the tradition of the Intermarium alliance of the 1920s. This is a clear signal from Washington that the US is increasingly relying on an alliance with Poland and other Eastern European countries, in face of mounting tensions with Germany and France.

The announcement of the Poland visit took place immediately after Trump had met with Romanian President Klaus Johannis in the White House, and following former FBI chief James Comey accusing Trump of close ties with the Kremlin.

At the subsequent press conference, Trump said his government was committed to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty: We are there to protect. I absolutely agree with Article 5. At the last NATO summit in Brussels, he had refused to give such a commitment to Article 5, which the Eastern European states were calling for against Russia.

The Polish government has welcomed the news of Trumps visit to Poland, the exact date of which was unclear for months. According to the Polish government, preparations for the talks are ongoing.

The Three Seas Initiative, a loose alliance including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, was established in summer 2016. It includes all the important countries bordering the Adriatic, the Baltic and the Black Sea.

The initiative is linked to the so-called Intermarium alliance of the 1920s. At that time, nationalist and fascist forces had taken part in the alliance with the US against the Soviet Union. At the same time, this alliance was always directed against German hegemony in Europe.

In September 2016, the Three Seas Initiative published a manifesto, describing itself as an informal platform for the organization and political support of transnational and regional projects of strategic importance for the states concerned. These include the energy, transport and digital sectors and the economy as a whole in Eastern and Central Europe.

The meeting in Breslau in June will be the first official conference of the initiative. It takes place under the presidency of Poland, which, a hundred years ago, was the central power of the Intermarium alliance in Eastern and Central Europe, and which tried to secure its regional supremacy in this way.

Influential analysts such as George Friedman and Robert D. Kaplan, who are close to the CIA and the US military, have argued for years that the US should once again look to an Intermarium alliance to deal with Russia and Germany. In this, Poland and Romania, which have the largest armies in the region, are seen as key partners of the US.

Trumps meeting with the leaders of this alliance is a clear signal that the White House is reintroducing the Intermarium strategy, which will exacerbate conflicts with Germany.

At the same time, Trump is reacting to growing domestic pressure, especially on the part of the Democrats, who want to force his government to take a tougher course against Russia. Trump had previously left his attitude to NATO, and thus to the alliance with the Eastern European states, in the dark for months. Now, he is shifting in face of a profound change in the German-American relationship.

The announcement of Chancellor Angela Merkel following the NATO and G7 summits, that Europe must take its fate into its own hands and could no longer rely on the USA, marked a turning point. The German government is returning to an independent great power policy, regardless of the United States and, if necessary, against it as well.

Polish Defence Minister Wytold Waszyczykowski has condemned Merkels statement as exaggerated and unnecessary. The Law and Justice Party (PiS) government continues to work closely with the US, even though the foreign policy orientation of the Trump government was long unclear.

This was mainly due to fear of German hegemony in Europe and a renewed Franco-German alliance. The German government is exploiting the crisis of the EU and US to implement its plans for a military union under German domination. The Polish government, on the other hand, is vehemently opposed to a European Army, which Germany is seeking as a counterbalance to a US-dominated NATO.

In view of Brexit, which would see one of Polands closest allies leave the EU, and the election victory of Emmanuel Macron in France, the fears of the Polish bourgeoisie of German domination in Europe and of Polands isolation have intensified. The PiS government fears a rapprochement between France and Russia. In the election, Macron had criticized the PiS and threatened it with EU sanctions.

The Trump administration is now trying to exploit Polands political isolation and the tensions with Germany and France to bolster US interests. In this, it is resting on the PiS government, which has been trying to revive the Intermarium strategy for years, something that has unleashed much unease in Germany. Following the PiS election victory in autumn 2015, the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung had already warned of the revival of the Intermarium, as a counterweight to Russiaand to Germany, the new hegemon in Europe.

In an unusually sharp editorial under the headline, Trump plays with Europe, the Tagespiegel accused Trump of instrumentalizing Europes internal tensions and rifts. The editorial sees Trumps visit to Warsaw as a reorientation towards Poland, which pursues other foreign policy alliances and projects outside the EU framework.

The Polish bourgeoisie itself is divided over foreign policy. The liberal opposition, led by the Citizens Platform (PO) and the Nowoczesna (Modern) party, in contrast to PiS, advocates closer links with Germany and Brussels. They regard Donald Trumps election as a catastrophe for Polish interests.

Liberal commentators such as Tomasz Lis have denounced a revival of the Intermarium, which the PiS has long sought, as completely unrealistic. At the same time, this section of the Polish bourgeoisie cannot and will not give up the alliance with the US, Polands closest foreign policy partner since 1989.

These foreign policy conflicts played a central role in the struggle between the liberal opposition and the government, which culminated in a blockade and occupation of parliament by the opposition in December 2016. Trumps visit will further intensify these foreign policy conflicts.
Written and directed by Roger Michell, based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier.

My Cousin Rachel, directed by Roger Michell, is the second film version of Daphne du Mauriers 1951 novel. The first, directed by Henry Koster and released in 1952, featured Richard Burton (in his initial US film) and Olivia de Havilland (who will celebrate her 101st birthday on July 1!).

The novel and films are set in some undefined portion of the first half of the 19th century, on the coast of southwestern England.

In the new version, Michell dispenses rather quickly with certain plot details: Philip Ashley (Sam Claflin), an orphan, lives with his older cousin and guardian, Ambrose (also, briefly, played by Claflin), who, propelled by doctors concerns for his health, decides to spend some time in a warmer climate, Italy.

Before too long, Ambrose, who has remained in Florence longer than expected, explains in a letter that he has met a certain cousin Rachel, a half-English, half-Italian widow of an impoverished count. To Philips astonishment and dismay, Ambrose later announces his plans to marry Rachel. Some months of honeymoon and happiness follow, but then Ambrose begins to complain about his health and his wife, finally appealing to Philip to come quickly to Italy.

When Philip arrives, he finds that his beloved cousin has died and his widow has already left Florence. Convinced that Rachel caused Ambroses death, Philip swears revenge. The only extant will leaves all of Ambroses property to Philip.

Rachel (Rachel Weisz) eventually turns up at the Ashley estate. Contrary to Philips ignorant preconceptions, she is solicitous and generous, apparently not the slightest bit mercenary or promiscuous.

To make a relatively long story short, Philip, who has almost no experience of women, falls head over heels in love with Rachel, and ends up signing over the entire estate to her, which, in any case, ought rightfully to have been hers. They spend a night together, and Philip assumes that this indicates her willingness to be his in marriage. He is soon disabused of that notion. When Philip falls ill, he and we wonder whether Rachel, who insists on his drinking her exotic herb concoctions, is determined to be rid of him by foul means. One way or another, tragedy ensues 

Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989), the daughter of famed actor Gerald du Maurier, was a popular novelist best known for Jamaica Inn (1936), Rebecca (1938) and My Cousin Rachel, as well as the short novel The Birds (1952). Alfred Hitchcock directed works based on several of these. He was no doubt attracted to the unsettling, gothic, even murderous element that du Maurier brought out, at odds with the apparently peaceful, bucolic English setting.

Du Maurier was a gifted and entertaining writer. My Cousin Rachel too holds ones attention throughout. But it is not the most profound stuff.

Novel writing in Britain had declined by the middle of the 20th century, along with the prospects of the ruling class. For 175 years or so, English novelists had looked objectively and searchingly at their society. That became far too dangerous and demanding in the last century. Almost any one of the Bronte sisters, George Eliot or Thomas Hardy would have made more of the goings-on in My Cousin Rachel, raising them to the level of world-historical events. The entire set of social relations, including those between landowners and farm laborers, would have entered the drama as a determining element.

Not here. Du Maurier becomes too caught up in the vaguely incestuous (the three central characters are cousins), Oedipal and sexual complications, which seem in part bound up with her own personal sexual complications and challenges. My Cousin Rachel, for all the interest it generates, remains largely a private, psychological study of the upper layers. Absorbing, but not momentous.

Du Maurier did write an interesting work, published in 1949, entitled The Parasites, in which the husband of one of the three, intimately connected central characters bursts out, Parasites, thats what you are. The three of you. You always have been and you always will be. Nothing can change you. You are doubly, triply parasitic; first, because youve traded since childhood on that seed of talent you had the luck to inherit from your fantastic forebears; secondly, because none of you have done a stroke of honest work in your lives but batten on us, the fool public; and thirdly, because you prey on each other, living in a world of fantasy which bears no relation to anything in heaven or on earth.

In the 1952 version of My Cousin Rachel, Richard Burton adds the quality of an angry young [working class] man, which despite Henry Kosters rather nondescript direction, gives that film definite strength.

Rachel Weisz is the strongest acting personality in the new adaptation, and she is very good.

I dont mean to suggest that none of the ambiguities in Michells My Cousin Rachel are intriguing. Some of them certainly are. The writer-director underscores, in a useful manner, Philips backwardness and philistinism. Returning to the country estate after his schooling, Philips first words are, What had I learned? I didnt like books. I didnt like cities. I didnt like clever talk. Instantly, we take some measure of the man.

Philip and Ambrose lead an apparently inward-looking existence, anti-intellectual and misogynistic (in the novel, Ambrose initially describes himself as a crusty cynical woman-hater if there ever was one). And once Ambrose has left him, Philip seems to prefer the company of his dogs to that of anyone else, including the appealing and unfortunate Louise (Holliday Grainger), the daughter of the family lawyer, who cares for him.

Thoroughly unprepared, isolated, ignorant of passion and matters of the heart, Philip is soon reduced to emotional rubble by the elegant Rachel, who leads him around by the nose. In the novel, Philip describes the process: Disliking our fellow men, we craved affection; but shyness kept impulse dormant until the heart was touched. When that happened the heavens opened.

As soon as Philip first travels south from the chilly, rainy, uncared for, all-male Ashley estate to sunny, cultured, slightly decadent, feminine Italy, the destruction of his old world seems imminent. With hints of Latin-ness, limitless appetite and so forth, Rachel is a woman who will clearly chew Philip up and spit him out. Everyone recognizes that, of course, except him.

In the end, however, the ambiguities dont point to all that much outside themselves. Was Rachels apparent acceptance of her impoverished condition, due to the fatally ill Ambroses failure to sign a second will leaving her the estate, merely an elaborate ploy, aimed at gaining Philips trust and affection? Is she simply twisting him around her finger from the beginning? In the first place, this is unanswerable, and, second, its not clear that one should spend that much time scratching ones head about it.

One of the problems with My Cousin Rachel, and it reflects an overall lack of perspective, is the eclectic way it is shot. The film alternates between a rather grand, slightly awe-struck Masterpiece Theatre approach, on the one hand, and seemingly hand-held, fragmented sequences, on the other. The latter, filmed in close-up, documentary style, are meant to convey the emotional heating up of things between Philip and Rachel in particular. But it is precisely at those moments that the film most needs the pathos of distance, a certain visual objectivity. The result is simply an unwarranted, confusing closeness, without clarity.

In any event, the British still do these things relatively well, in their sleep, as it were. This is probably Michells best film since Persuasion (1995). However, like a number of the film directors who have emerged from British theater in the past several decades, he has not yet demonstrated any strong views or commitments.
In a series of tweets Friday morning, President Trump confirmed that he is under investigation by the special counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, appointed by his own Department of Justice to look into allegations of collusion between the Trump election campaign and Russian government officials.

Trump seemed to threaten the Justice Department official who appointed Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, tweeting, I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.

The president was referring to the fact that Rosenstein drafted a memo on why FBI Director James Comey should be fired, and that special counsel Mueller is reportedly including the firing of Comey within the scope of his investigation, as an instance of possible obstruction of justice.

Trumps latest tweets suggested that the raging conflict within the American ruling classspawned by differences over foreign policy, in relation to the Syrian war but more generally involving US-Russian relationscould be reaching a new point of explosion.

The conflict between Trump and his own Justice Department has become increasingly tense and public. Last week, it was widely reported that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had offered to resign because of Trumps criticism of his decision to recuse himself from all investigations related to the Russia and the Trump election campaign, in which Sessions had played a prominent role.

The recusal by Sessions left decision-making authority in the hands of Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein. Eight days after Trump fired Comey, Rosenstein named Mueller special prosecutor, giving him significant independent resources to continue the Russia investigation.

It was widely reported Thursday that Mueller has expanded the scope of the investigation beyond the question of possible collusion between Trump campaign aides and alleged Russian involvement in hacking attacks on the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign.

The Washington Post reported that Mueller had sought the testimony of several top intelligence officials, including Admiral Michael Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, about Trumps requests that they intervene with Comey to block the Russia investigation.

The New York Times reported that former members of Trumps transition team were given preservation orders Thursday to safeguard documents, including electronic records like email, related to the ongoing Russia investigation. A memo from the general counsel of the transition team, cited by the Times , required preservation of records relating to Russia, Ukraine and five former Trump aides, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign manager Paul Manafort. It was not clear whether these records would be sought by Mueller, or the various Senate and House committees investigating alleged Russian interference in the US election, or all of these.

The Post also reported that Mueller was looking into possible financial connections between Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, now a top White House adviser, and a Russian bank, as well as other financial dealings with Russia on the part of others in the Trump entourage.

Trumps thinly veiled attack on Rosenstein could be a precursor either to Trump demanding that Rosenstein fire Muellerwhich he would likely refuseor Trumps firing Rosenstein himself. Or Rosenstein might seek to forestall such a confrontation by recusing himself from further involvement in the Mueller-led probe, on the grounds that his own actions in firing Comey were now a subject of the investigation.

Any of these alternatives would have the same outcome: decision-making authority over Mueller and the Russia investigation would pass into the hands of the third-ranking official in the Department of Justice, Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, a former Bush administration official who later served as chief counsel for the US Chamber of Commerce.

There were several unconfirmed press reports Friday, citing unnamed sources in the Justice Department, that Rosenstein was preparing to recuse himself. ABC News reported that Rosenstein had already notified Brand that she would take over if he did so.

Right-wing media backers of Trump have been preparing the ground for Trump to fire Rosenstein, Mueller or both. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich this week called Mueller now clearly the tip of the deep state spear aimed at destroying or at a minimum undermining and crippling the Trump presidency.

The Republican National Committee denounced the Washington Post report on Mueller now targeting Trump for a potential obstruction of justice charged, declaring, This story is nothing more than an example of even more leaks coming out of the FBI and special counsels office in an effort to undermine the President.

President Trump cannot invoke executive privilege in relation to the Mueller investigation because it is being conducted by the Justice Department, an arm of the executive branch itself. As determined by the Supreme Court during the Watergate crisis of 1973-74, executive privilege can only be cited in relation to congressional investigations, since it stems from the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. Trumps only recourse is to dismiss Mueller outright.

Senior congressional Republicans, alarmed that Trump might touch off a new political firestorm, have warned him against firing Mueller. These included House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Republican senators John Thune, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins.

Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel in the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigation that led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, wrote in an op-ed column in the Washington Post, Mueller should be allowed to do his work unhindered and unimpeded. Absent the most extreme circumstances, the president would be singularly ill-advised to threaten, much less order, Muellers firing.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - In the search for criminals, law enforcement officers often face their fair share of challenges.

This month, Governor Rick Scott signed into law a bill that will require autism awareness training for law enforcement. One local nonprofit applauds that effort, saying the training will help officers better understand the communities they serve.

"The Arc of Florida" is Tallahassee-based organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

CEO Deborah Linton says people on the "Autism spectrum" may respond to officers' questions or commands differently, sometimes with little or no response or by simply parroting what the officer said last.

"You are welcome in the community, and we want everyone, including persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to be able to live alongside us safely in the community," said Linton. "So, all of these baby steps we take towards that just makes a more welcoming community for all the people we serve, and we're very grateful for it."

The bill was signed into law on June 2nd, directing the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to enhance training.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Governor Rick Scott signed a controversial bill into law Thursday that impacts public education in the Sunshine State.

"Florida students have the opportunity to receive a great education," Scott said about House Bill 7069, which has drawn jeers and cheers in the Big Bend.

Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidates Andrew Gillum and Gwen Graham have spoken out against it, but the new law is welcome news to a Taylor County community.

Steinhatchee School qualifies for more state funding, thanks to an amended part of the bill regarding "small, isolated" schools, which are a certain distance away from the nearest school and serving a certain school population.

Janalea England, a Steinhatchee resident who studied and taught at the school, said the school was in danger of closing due to dropping enrollment, but locals got the attention of lawmakers to raise more awareness about expanding the "small, isolated schools" provision.

"Nobody is going to be able to close our school. It's safe, it's protected. The state is going to fund it," England told WTXL Friday, adding that the funding will essentially keep the school of approximately 60 students open. The school will add sixth grade in the fall, which indicates an expected increase in enrollment.

England said the school's potential closure would have forced students to travel to either Perry or neighboring Dixie County to get their education.

"You're talking little 4 or 5-year-olds getting on a bus -- for Perry, because that's 37 miles one way, we're talking about 5:30 in the morning," she explained.

In Leon County, the law will impact Hartsfield Elementary School, which has had a "D" grade for two straight years. Parents say the new rules could put the school in a tough situation.

"It forces a school like Hartsfield -- if Hartsfield has a third 'D' - to either close or be a district-managed charter," Marie-Claire Leman, a Hartsfield Elementary School parent, said.

Leman has two children at Hartsfield. She said the district has been carefully watching how the school is doing academically.

"There's just so much more that goes into making a good school a great school other than test scores," Leman said, "so, we don't feel like it's representative of the quality of our school."

Leon County Schools says it's "aware of the possible impacts" on Hartsfield Elementary and is awaiting direction from the Department of Education on the impact the new law will have on its other schools.

Leman said it's possible that five other Leon County schools could earn a second consecutive "D" grade, which would mean the district would need to implement a turnaround plan within a certain time frame, given the new law's conditions.
Mabton man arrested on rape allegation; police wonder if he sent illicit photos to other girls
YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima City Council took a step toward establishing a new program for g
Chiara Pernet is a German exchange student currently compltely her Junior year at Davis. Here, she poses in front of the big Davis logo located near the front gates of the school. (KATHRYN CONLEY/Davis High School)
The Islamic State group (ISIS) claimed responsibility for Friday's attack in Jerusalem, in which IDF Border Patrol soldier 1st Sgt. Hadas Malka, 23, was killed. This is the first terror attack in Israel the group has ever claimed to have executed.

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ISIS's Amaq news agency stated the attack "will not be the last."

The three Palestinians terrorists who carried out the shooting and stabbing attack were shot dead by Israeli security forces. The attacks occurred simultaneously in two areas near the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's walled Old City.

Site of the combined attack at Damascus Gate (Photo: Reuters)

"The shahids left terror in the hearts of the Jews, and with Allah's help it will not be the last," ISIS's statement read, saying that the terrorists prayed before beginning their attack. The group added that "Jews must expect to have their country destroyed" by ISIS terrorists.

ISIS's statement, in which it takes responsibility for the attack

Hamas, however, rejected ISIS' attempt to claim credit for the attack, with spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri saying the credit claim "is an attempt to muddle the map. The attack was carried out by two Palestinians belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and a Hamas member."

Terrorist organization and political party the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine confirmed that two of the terrorists were its members.

Killed terrorist Adel Ankush

"The attack in Jerusalem is a new proof that the Palestinian people are continuing their revolution against the occupier and that the intifada is continuing until full freedom is achieved," a Hamas official added.

Killed terrorist Bra'a Salah

Fatah came out against Israel for the deaths of the three terrorists. "We condemn the war crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem tonight against three young Palestinians. The silence of the international community on the continuation of the occupation and its crimes encourages Israel to shed the blood of the Palestinians," said Osama al-Qawasmi, a Fatah spokesman.

He went on to say that "the crime that took place this evening in cold blood and claimed the lives of three young Palestinians. The victory of the blood of the shahids will be adherence to the land, the holy places and their protection."

Damascus Gate (Photo: EPA)

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed that "The blood of the martyrs is a clear message that the intifada is continuing and that the will of the people is alive and determined."

The Palestinian Authority, for its part, denied that statement and said the assailants have acted out of desperation over Israeli occupation of land sought by Palestinians for a state.

One of the killed terrorists (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

At this stage, a connection between the three terrorists and ISIS has not been confirmed, beyond the group's announcement, and Israeli security sources state ISIS's claim is believed to be false.

Nevertheless, according to the SITE intelligence group, this is the first time ISIS has taken responsibility for an attack in Israel. In previous attacks such as the Tel Aviv attack on the Sarona Market and the Tel Aviv attack on the Simta pub on Dizengoff Street, the terrorists were reportedly only inspired by ISIS.

Sources in the security establishment additionally noted that the style of attack conducted Friday evening is reminiscent of the combined attack that killed border policewoman Hadar Cohen last February.

Shortly after Friday's Jerusalem attack, the Shin Bet identified the three attackers as Adel Ankush and Bra'a Salah from Deir Abu Mash'al, west of Ramallah, and Osama Ata. Two of them were arrested in the past for involvement in terrorism activities.

Security officials believe their attack was planned weeks in advance and was the result of a local Ramallah initiative that was not prompted by any larger terrorist organization.

Photo: Alex Kolomoisky

It was also discovered that all three terrorists were staying in Israel illegally. The defense establishment is looking into whether their relatives knew of their intentions. The Shin Bet is investigating how the squad was established, purchased firearms and planned the combined attack under the radar.

During the recent hunger strike of Palestinian security prisoners, one of the terrorists, Adel Ankush, shared news coverage of the strike, in addition to video clips of clashes with IDF forces and many religious, Islamic and Ramadan fasts.

Jerusalem District Police Commander Yoram Halevy described the attack, saying, "At one scene, near Sultan Suleiman St., two terroristsone armed with a semi-automatic weapon and the other a knifeattacked police. Police responded and killed both attackers at the scene. Several meters away, at the Damascus Gate, an additional terrorist stabbed a border policewoman (1st Sgt. Malka), critically wounding her. The terrorist was shot by other officers in the area."

Photo: EPA

Two additional members of the security forces were reportedly wounded, as well as a 22-year-old man and a 40-year-old man, who were taken to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in moderate condition after sustaining gunshot wounds to the torso and limbs, respectively.

Immediately following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the cancellation of permits for family visits from the territories to Israel. However, permits for entry into Israel were left in place for those approved entry for the Ramadan prayers.

The decision was made during a conversation with Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh and other security officials.

"The IDF and the security forces are operating in the area of the village from which the terrorists left," the Prime Minister's Office said. "Members of the clans the terrorists belonged to will be denied the right to enter Israel. The village has been placed under lock down."
The British newspaper The Times reported that Israel and Saudi Arabia are discussing the establishment of economic relations between them. Arab and American sources told the newspaper that the relationship between the two countries would start with small-scale cooperation, such as approval of El Al flights over the Sunni state and the entry of Israeli companies into the Persian Gulf.

Two weeks ago, Saudi Arabia announced the severing of ties with Qatar because of its ties with Iran and the financing of other terrorist elements, leading the Arab boycott of the emirate.
Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl died Friday at age 87.His legacy includes reuniting Germany after the Cold War and helping to create the continent's common currency, the euro.

US President Donald Trump says Kohl was a "friend and ally" to the United States as he led Germany through 16 pivotal years. In a statement, Trump says Kohl is "not only the father of German reunification, but also an advocate for Europe and the trans-Atlantic relationship."

Trump added that the world has benefited from his vision and efforts.
A Palestinian terrorist tried to stab an Israeli civilian near the winery near the Gush Etzion junction early Saturday morning.

The civilian struggled with the terrorist and was not hurt by the stabbing, but was lightly injured during the confrontation with him. An IDF force in the area arrived on the scene, neutralized the terrorist without firing, and transferred him to be interrogated.
1st Sgt. Hadas Malka is the Border Police fighter who was killed Friday in the combined attack in Jerusalem. According to a Border Police statement, "she struggled for a few seconds with the terrorist, who stabbed her several times while trying to grab her weapon. The fighters who saw what was going on fired at the terrorist, killing him. "

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"Shabbat Shalom to my favorite friends," wrote Malka in Whatsapp group comprised of childhood friends, a few minutes before she was killed in the attack in Jerusalem.

Hadas Malka during a car ride with friends

X

Malka, 23, came from the moshav of Givat Ezer in the Be'er Tuvia Regional Council, was promoted to the rank of 1st sgt. after her death. She was enlisted into the IDF Border Police and continued on after her mandatory service.

Hadas Malka (L) and her friends

She began her service in the navy, but fought to serve in the Border Police, where she felt she could contribute more to the country. Her uncle, Yaakov Abutbul, told Ynet: "She did not want to be in the navy, she wanted a meaningful service, she wanted to contribute, she was patriotic like no other."

Malka

Her uncle added: "For Hadas, her army service was when she began to blossom, and our flag symbolized a lot to her." When she wanted to move to the Border Police, I would say to her, 'Again with basic training?' And she replied: 'It's worth it to me.'

"She always accepted those who were difference, helped out, volunteered at school. She would come home from the army with a smile on her face, and never complained," he said.

After she had finished her mandatory army service, MAlka worked for several months in the Ashdod port, before she was offered to return to the army and sign up for Border Police for a year and three months, which she accepted. She had recently begun a fitness training course at Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports.

Hadas leaves behind her parents, three sisters and two brothers. She will be laid to rest tonight at 00:30 at the Ashdod cemetery.

A bloody police vest from the attack and Hadas Malka, who was killed in it (Photo: Reuters)

According to sources in the local council, "The family is a young and well-known one in the region. This is a very difficult piece of news, and we are now busy providing assistance to the family."

According to the Border Police, Malka arrived at Mount Scopus Hospital after being critically injured in the attack, where she eventually died of her wounds.

In February 2016, a similar attack was carried out near the Nablus Gate, in which Border Police soldier Hadar Cohen was murdered. Cohen, who enlisted only two months before the attack and was sworn into her job a week earlier, was placed in Jerusalem as part of that Border Police regiment that managed to kill one of the three terrorists who stabbed her friend R., also a combat soldier, before another terrorist shot her at close range.

A few days after Hadar Cohen's attack, Hadas Malka published "We are all Border Police guards. In memory of heroine Hadar Cohen" on her Facebook page.

Two additional members of security forces were reportedly wounded, as well as a 22-year-old man and a 40-year-old man, who were evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in moderate condition after sustaining gunshot wounds to the torso and limbs, respectively.

International terrorist group ISIS claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, in what is reported to be the first time it has claimed to be behind an Israeli act of terror. However several Palestinian terror groups and parties denied this, with Israeli security sources also believing the claim to be false.

Immediately following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the cancellation of permits for family visits from the territories to Israel. However, permits for entry into Israel were left in place for those approved entry for the Ramadan prayers.

The decision was made during a conversation with Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh and other security officials.

"The IDF and the security forces are operating in the area of the village from which the terrorists left," the Prime Minister's Office said. "Members of their clans the terrorists belonged to will be denied the right to enter Israel. The village has been placed under lock down. "
IDF forces raided the village of Deir Abu Mash'al near Ramallah on Saturday, the home of the three terrorists who carried out the deadly terrorist attack Friday that claimed the life of Border Police soldier 1st Sgt. Hadas Malka and left four others wounded.

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Troops from the Kfir Brigade, the Home Front Command and the elite Duvdevan and Oketz units arrived at the village and began mapping out its layout, in preparation for the demolition of the three terrorists' homes. They also searched for any weapons held or hidden by local residents and confiscated 22 illegal vehicles.

IDF forces enter Deir Abu Mash'al

X

In addition, the forces raided the houses of the terrorists and took confiscated their permits to enter Israel as well as documents and personal equipment belonging to the killed terrorists. At least one person suspected of assisting them was arrested during the raid.

During the retaliatory operation, some 200 Palestinian started rioting, throwing Molotov cocktails, burned tires, and stones at the Israeli forces and tried to block roads in the village.

IDF forces enter the village of Deir Abu Mash'al

Israeli security forces responded with riot control measures such as rubber bullets, sponge grenades and even live ammunition, fired at several main instigators. The soldiers reported four hits to lower body parts of several protesters. There were no casualties among Israeli forces.

IDF forces surrounded the village and declared a 24-hour lock down on it. The lock down might be extended to 48 hours, or turn it into a "porous" closure, with checkpoints allowing passage to and from the village as early as Saturday night.

The IDF stressed the resulting actions were not an attempt to issue a collective punishment upon the village, but rather a way to fortify Israel's security. In the past two years, many attacks were carried out after perpetrators were inspired by a family member, with terrorists setting out for revenge shortly after one of their relatives was killed in an attack.

The village's Facebook page, celebrating the three terrorists' actions

To express this to local residents, the IDF distributed a pamphlet in the village explaining that surrounding the village is intended create "thwarting without frustration," thereby reducing the chances of the next attack from this village or the surrounding area.

"To the residents, following terror attacks in your area, IDF forces are working to disrupt and thwart additional attacks and stop any would-be terrorists. This activity will lead to congestion on roads, increased searches, roadblocks and military activity during unusual hours," the pamphlet announced. "To maintain your safety and well being, you must adhere to the instructions of security forces."

The pamphlet the IDF distributed in Deir Abu Mash'al

The head of the Deir Abu Mash'al village council, Ibrahim Atta, confirmed the village is under closure and all its entrances are blocked. He said during the night and in the morning clashes broke out between the youths of the village and IDF forces, who responded by firing at them. Atta claimed three youths were wounded by live ammunition and dozens were wounded by rubber bullets and tear gas.
The United Nations' special envoy for Syria says he plans a new round of peace talks in Geneva next month.

Staffan de Mistura's office said Saturday that the aim is for delegates to arrive in the Swiss city on July 9 and for talksthe seventh round so farto start the following day. It did not specify how long the round is expected to last.

It said that de Mistura plans to convene further rounds of talks in August and September. The UN-hosted Geneva talks between parties to the conflict in Syria are the main political forum for efforts to end the six-year conflict.
Russia has proposed July 4 as the start of a two-day round of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

"We suggested these dates and it seems as if everyone has welcomed then," Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Saturday in remarks carried by the TASS news agency.

Russia, Turkey and Iran, who back opposing sides in Syria's brutal civil war, have brokered several rounds of peace talks in Astana this year, bringing together the Syrian government and rebel forces.

The July round of negotiations is expected to finalize details of so-called "safe zones" to be set-up in Syria.

Bogdanov said that Russia also expects progress to be made on Syria at a July 7 G20 summit in Germany.
A Muslim "peace march" against terrorism has been held in the German city of Cologne but has drawn fewer participants than organizers had hoped for.

The dpa news agency reported that a few hundred people gathered for the demonstration Saturday, with placards such as "Together against terror" and "Hatred makes the earth hell," and the crowd later grew to over 1,000.

The organizers had expected several thousand protesters.

The country's biggest Islamic association had refused to take part in the march. The Turkish-Islamic Union argued it would send the wrong signal by suggesting that international terrorism is mainly a Muslim problem. It also said Muslims observing the Ramadan fast couldn't be expected to march for hours in summer temperatures.

That stance drew criticism from the government, which welcomed the march.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued a statement following the attack in Jerusalem last night. Lieberman wrote that "Hadas Malka fought with determination and heroism in the terrorist; she is a role model for all of us. Her short life story and her desire to contribute as much as possible are the result of her education and values."

Lieberman added "we will continue to fight with all our might against the cruel Palestinian terrorism and the unbridled incitement that feeds it, and we will persecute the perpetrators and planners of the attacks everywhere.

The thunderous silence of the Palestinian Authority, which refuses to condemn terrorism, and at the same time an announcement by Fatah headed by Mahmoud Abbas that Israel murdered three innocents yesterday proves that there is no (peace) partner on the (Palestinian) side."
Several hundred people are demonstrating in Habima Square in Tel Aviv, protesting "the helplessness of the authorities in the struggle against violence against women."

The demonstrators were heard chanting, among other things, "gender terrorism hurts you and me."

At the same time, about 200 people are demonstrating on the issue in a Sefer Square in Haifa, and about 60 people at Zion Square in Jerusalem.
President Reuven Rivlin issued a statement following the attack in Jerusalem last night. Rivlin wrote "my heart is with the family of Hadas, the guard of the walls, during these difficult times of deep sorrow. My heart goes out to the courageous fighter, full of joy and love for the meaningful service she insisted on."

The President added that "the steadfastness of our forces is what enables us to continue to live here in Jerusalem and throughout the country a life of security and routine in the face of the murderous forces of the terrorist organizations.

"We will persecute all those who help terrorism wherever they may be."
The British news agency BBC changed its tweet on the Jerusalem attack following the Israeli protest on the subject. The protest was carried out following the headline of the report that "Three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing in Jerusalem." Now the headline has been changed to "Israeli policewoman stabbed to death in Jerusalem."

In addition to the change, the Israeli embassy in Britain is demanding an apology from the BBC.
SATURDAY 6/17

>> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Saturday at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York.

MONDAY 6/19

>> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Monday at 12 noon at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York.

TUESDAY 6/20

>> The Benedict Board of Health will meet Tuesday, June 20, at 8 p.m., at the community center.

>> Parkinsons Support Group will meet Tuesday, June 20 at 2 p.m. in the Willow Brook AL Gathering Room. For more information, contact Rita Maloley at 402.362.0440.

>> La Leche League of York will meet Tuesday, June 20, at 7 p.m. in the Lower Level Conference Room of the Medical Office Building, 2222 North Lincoln Avenue.No pre-registration or fee necessary. During pregnancy is the ideal time to seek birth and breastfeeding education though all women and babies are welcome at any stage. Contact accredited leader, Gloria at 402-362-6875 or turnbull@inebraska.com

>> Sexaholics Anonymous, a 12 Step recovery group for those dealing with addiction to pornography, sex, and other forms of lust, meets Tuesday nights at 5:45 p.m. For more information please call our toll free number 1-877-889-8071 or visit sanebraska.org.

WEDNESDAY 6/21

>> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Wednesday at 12 noon at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York.

THURSDAY 6/22

>> Weight Watchers meets in the basement of the York Towne House, 5th & Grant Ave., each Thursday. Weigh in 5:15 - 5:45 p.m.; Member meeting 5:45 - 6:15 p.m.

>> AL-ANON meets Thursday at 12 noon at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York.

>> Narcotics Anonymous meets Thursday at 8 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in the Annex building.

FRIDAY 6/23

>> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Friday at 12 noon at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York.

SATURDAY 6/24

>> Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresh Start Group meets Saturday at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church located at 414 Delaware Ave. in York.
YORK  Ryen Diaz flew away  to Marrakech, Morocco no less  this month on Great Life Adventure No. 2.

The 2017 York High graduates Great Life Adventure No. 1 was 11 months spent abroad, living in Spain and visiting other countries while still a Duke.

No. 3 comes later this year when she enrolls at Harvard with a full room, board and tuition scholarship to the prestigious university in Cambridge, Mass.

The 11 months in Spain where she took Spanish language classes and spent the rest of her days immersed in practical use of the language set fire to Diazs passion for all things international.

On the current six-week tour in Marrakech she will pursue a very different international culture while studying Arabic.

The rare opportunity came about when Diaz was awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship for 2017-18 by the U.S. State Departments Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The daughter of Ramon and Maureen Diaz is one of some 600 competitively selected students from across the United States who received scholarships to study Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian or Russian overseas this summer.

While in Morocco, said a U.S. State Department release, she will receive formal instruction in Arabic and informal language practice as part of a language saturation environment.

The NSLI-Y program is part of a multi-agency U.S. Government initiative launched in 2006 to improve Americans ability to communicate in select critical languages to advance international dialogue and increase American economic global competitiveness. Goals of the program include: promoting critical language learning among American youth; enhancing cross-cultural understanding and deepening trust; sparking a lifetime of interest in foreign language and culture; and developing the skills to advance international dialogue, compete effectively in the global marketplace, promote mutual understanding and contribute to a more peaceful world.

Speaking two days before her departure, Diaz said she will be living with a Muslim family.

I will have two younger sisters in Morocco, she said with a big smile.

Diaz applied for the scholarship last October, became a semifinalist in December and interviewed in January 2017. She and the approximately 600 who were chosen came from a pool of some 10,000 applicants.

She applied for an Arabic experience, or Russian as an alternative, but clearly her heart was set on Arabic all along.

She said her 11 months in Spain, made possible by Rotary International, led directly to her global awakening and subsequent application for the Morocco scholarship.

The valedictorian of the Duke Class of 2017 will parlay her opportunity at Harvard into studies concentrated upon Middle-Eastern studies and international relations.

She also was awarded the local Winsor Tucker Scholarship that will support her to the tune of $8,000 per school year.

Her eventual goal is, Either a career in foreign service work with the United Nations or the Department of State, possibly a U.S. ambassador.

The first three days of this summers Arabic study abroad were spent in Washington D.C., where she met with U.S. ambassadors and diplomats to learn about Americas Mid-East foreign policy prior to arriving in Marrakech.

NSLI-Y is administered by American Councils for International Education in cooperation with AFS-USA, American Cultural Exchange Service, AMIDEAST, iEARN-USA, Legacy International, the Russian American Foundation, Stony Brook University, the University of Delaware, the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin.

Applications for 2018-19 NSLI-Y programs are expected to be available at www.nsliforyouth.org in the early fall. For information about U.S. Department of State-sponsored exchange programs visit http://exchanges.state.gov.
The Czech Republics Prague Zoo welcomed a litter of five Cheetah cubs on May 15.

Mother Savannah, age 6, is caring for her quintuplets behind the scenes. The litter includes three male and two female cubs. The family is expected to move into their viewing habitat later this summer.





Photo Credit: Prague Zoo

Well known as the worlds fastest land animals, Cheetahs are skilled hunters. Their bodies are built for efficient sprinting. Reaching speeds of up to 70 mph, Cheetahs can run down even the fastest of prey. However, they maintain these high speeds for only a minute or two, then give up the chase. Cheetahs are successful in about half of their hunts.

Depending on where they live, Cheetahs target small Gazelles or the young of larger Antelope species when hunting. Prey is taken down with a swat of the dewclaw or a bite to the neck.

Cheetahs are in steep decline in the wild. Found only in Africa and a small part of Iran, fewer than 7,000 wild Cheetahs remain. As farms and cities expand, Cheetahs home ranges are reduced. Due to a genetic bottleneck in the population during the Ice Age, all Cheetahs exhibit genetic similarity. This can lead to reproductive problems and low birth rates, especially when Cheetahs are under human care. Some zoos have found success breeding these Cats by keeping them in large groups, rather than individual pairs.

Currently, Cheetahs are classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but conservationists have called for reclassifying Cheetahs as Endangered. Most of the African countries where Cheetahs live have created action plans for protecting these majestic Cats.
An up-to-date spot for library staff serving youth around Wisconsin to find relevant news, events, and resources. Links should be correct at the time of publication. If a link is incorrect, please contact the blog administrator within a month of publication. Links on older posts may have changed. Any YSS member wishing to write posts, please e-mail Marge Loch-Wouters at lochwouters@gmail.com.
Bamako: Two soldiers were killed and others abducted Saturday after jihadists attacked a military base in northern Mali, a local official and a resident told AFP.

"Around five o`clock, the jihadists attacked the military camp at Bintagoungou," some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Timbuktu, the official said.

"At least two soldiers were killed and many others were abducted. All the camp`s military material was ransacked," he added.

A resident added that "there are no Malian soldiers to be seen -- the camp has been laid waste. The jihadists left with military hostages."

An army source confirmed the attack to AFP without giving any details.

Northern Mali continues to fall prey to jihadist attacks with four people having died in an assault on UN peacekeepers near their base in Kidal earlier this month.

The Group to Support Islam and Muslims, also known as Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen in Arabic, a fusion of three jihadist groups with previous Al-Qaeda links formed in March, claimed that attack.

Led by the Malian jihadist Iyad Ag Ghaly, a former leader of the Ansar Dine Islamists, the group has claimed multiple attacks on domestic and foreign forces since its

formation, notably the 12,000-member MINUSMA UN force.

MINUSMA began operations in 2013, providing security to and assisting Malian troops in a region which fell to jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in March 2012.

Although a French-led military intervention the following year drove the groups out of key towns, they have since spread further south in the troubled West African nation.

The unrest has continued despite a 2015 peace deal between the government and Tuareg-led rebels offering partial autonomy to the north
Jerusalem: No connection has been found between three Palestinians who carried out a fatal attack in Jerusalem on Friday and any organisation, Israeli police said on Saturday, after Islamic State had claimed the assault.



"It was a local cell. At this stage no indication has been found it was directed by terrorist organisations nor has any connection to any organisation been found," police spokeswoman Luba Simri said.



Palestinian militant factions have also denied the attack, in which one Israeli police officer was killed, was carried out by Islamic State.
Patna: In a big setback to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav's son, the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) on Saturday terminated the license of Bihar Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav's petrol pump after the latter failed to furnish a satisfactory explanation to the notice issued over the allocation of the property in the state.

When contacted, the BPCL officials declined to comment on the issue.

On May 31, the BPCL had summoned the Yadav scion seeking an explanation on the petrol pump license.

The oil corporation sought Pratap's explanation on how he acquired the licence and asked him to reply within 15 days.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Tej Pratap's brother Tejaswi Yadav had earlier quipped before reporters, "There has been degradation in results and we will provide details into the matter soon. Why are such things dealt only one sided, we too have a word for it and will be providing facts soon. We will talk on proper forum and then the truth will be revealed."

The notice signed by BPCL Territory Manager (Retail), Patna, Manish Kumar followed a complaint that Yadav had acquired the petrol pump at Patna's busy Anisabad bypass road on the basis of wrong information furnished by him.

The notice is reportedly connected to senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Modi's allegations that the petrol pump had been fraudulently allotted to Tej Pratap during the UPA-II regime.

Modi had alleged that Tej Pratap did not have the stipulated 43 decimal of land for setting up the petrol pump at the time of applying for it.

He added that it was in the year 2012, when beer-manufacturing baron Amit Katyal, managing director of the firm A. K. Infosystem Pvt Ltd leased out around 136 decimal of land to Lalu's younger son Tejaswi Yadav for setting up a petrol pump.
New Delhi: The government has appointed Ramanathan Ramanan, a senior executive of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to head Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) functioning under NITI Aayog.

Ramanan is currently a senior vice-president at TCS.

"Ramanan has been selected by the government to head AIM," NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant today said.

The government's policy making body NITI Aayog is trying to attract talent from private sector and recently it has proposed to hire advisers for 5 years and extendable up to 7 years.

The Atal Innovation Mission is the Centre's endeavour to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
New Delhi: RBI Deputy Governor S S Mundra has said public sector banks may require more than the budgeted Rs 10,000 crore capital infusion from the government in the current fiscal on account of higher provisioning for bad loans and haircut on stressed assets.

"I think the finance minister has always been mentioning that if there is a need we will find resources," he said on the sidelines of an event organised by Assocham.

The process of NPA resolution and capitalisation are closely associated, Mundra said, adding that, it appears banks may need additional capitalisation post the exercise.

Asked about the quantum of haircut to be taken by banks for resolution of stressed assets, Mundra said: "There is no question of maximum or minimum haircut. Haircuts have to be taken depending on need and requirement (for resolution)."

Various solutions may emerge as part of insolvency process, he said.

It could be merger, restructuring and haircut, or provisioning may be required depending on the structure which is finally adopted under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), he said.

Mundra also said the balancesheet cleaning exercise could lead to increase in provision.

"Quite possible. To believe that all this (cleaning) can happen without additional provisioning would be too optimistic. I would strongly say we should be realistic rather than pessimistic or optimistic," he said.

Earlier this week, the RBI identified 12 stressed accounts each having more than Rs 5,000 crore of outstanding loans and accounting for 25 percent of total NPAs for immediate referral for resolution under the bankruptcy law.

When asked about the names of the 12 accounts, he said, Internal Advisory Committee (IAC), comprising a majority of its independent board members, will come out with the list at an appropriate time.

The banking sector is saddled with non-performing assets (NPAs) of over Rs 8 lakh crore, of which Rs 6 lakh crore is with public sector banks (PSBs).

On consolidation, Mundra said, it is purely a commercial decision and once the decision is taken it will reach the regulator for approval.

"I think these are business decisions which are to be taken by respective bank managements, owners. At right point of time where it needs review by the regulator, it will come. RBI comes into the picture much later," he said.

It is to be noted that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced capital infusion of Rs 10,000 crore for the current fiscal in line with the Indradhanush scheme.

As per the scheme, public sector banks need to raise Rs 1.10 lakh crore from markets, including follow-on public offer, to meet Basel III requirements, which kick in from March 2019.

This will be over the Rs 70,000 crore that banks will get as capital support from the government. Of this, the government has already infused Rs 50,000 crore in the past two fiscals and the remaining will be pumped in by the end of 2018-19.

Additional allocation will be provided as may be required, Jaitley had said.
New Delhi: All is not well within the Aam Aadmi Party. In an embarrassing moment for the top leadership, posters calling senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas a 'traitor' were pasted outside the party's office in Delhi.

Around two dozen posters were found on the wall outside the party office at 206, Rouse Avenue.

The posters called for the ouster of the poet-turned-politician and accused him of being a traitor and indulging in anti-party activities.

It also alleged that Vishwas is backstabbing AAP leaders by joining hands with the BJP.

"BJP's close friend, traitor and not poet, one who attacks from behind, traitors like this should be thrown out of the party," the posters read.

Interestingly, the posters thanked party leader Dilip Pandey. Thank you Dilip Pandey for exposing the bitter truth of Kumar Vishwas, it said.

The posters with the AAP symbol and photos of senior party leaders, including Dilip Pandey and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, were later removed.

Earlier this week, Pandey had questioned Vishwas for attacking the Congress but remaining silent on Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of the BJP.

Pandey, who recently quit as AAP's Delhi unit convener after the party's defeat in the MCD polls, however, later tried to downplay his tweet and said his comment should not be seen out of context.

Notably, last week, Vishwas said he had sought to relinquish the "responsibility" of being the main overseas fundraiser for AAP, and his request has been accepted.

Vishwas was last month made Rajasthan in-charge of the AAP after he threatened to quit the party over attacks on him by suspended legislator Amanatullah Khan, who called him a "BJP agent".

Khan had alleged that Vishwas was conspiring to break the party and plotting a coup against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the behest of the BJP and RSS. He was later suspended from the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC).

The AAP had also formed a three-member committee of party leaders Pankaj Gupta, Atishi Marlena and Ashutosh to determine why Khan made the allegations against Vishwas.
New Delhi: Hours after posters appeared outside the Aam Aamdi Party's office in Delhi demanding the ouster of Kumar Vishwas, the senior party leader on Saturday lashed out at the party's "palace politics".

Around two dozen posters were found on the wall outside the party office at 206, Rouse Avenue.

"BJP's close friend, traitor and not poet, one who attacks from behind, traitors like this should be thrown out of the party," the posters read.

The posters also thanked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Dilip Pandey for speaking the "truth" about Vishwas.

Albeit the posters with the AAP symbol and photos of senior party leaders, including Dilip Pandey and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, were later removed, the damage had been done.

Vishwas, who was recently appointed the party's Rajasthan affairs in-charge, made a pointed remark that he would ensure the workers under him adhered to the AAP's "core principles" and went back to its "basics".

He briefly attended a farmers' convention organised by the party at the Constitution Club here, where the body language of the leaders was reflective of the internal dissidence.

"We (AAP) did not come into being for these conspiracies and palace politics hatched by five-six people. We are for the causes based on which the party was born at the Ramlila Maidan. The party will fight the Rajasthan polls on its real principles," Vishwas told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

Earlier, he had held a "coterie" around Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal "responsible" for the party's recent poll debacles, while distancing himself from the official party line of "manipulation" of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Drawing on characters from the Ramayana, the poet- turned-politician said that during every churning, "demons" did show up.

However, the party distanced itself from the posters.

"A few suspended workers are trying to divide the party leadership by putting up such posters," AAP's social media in-charge Ankit Lal wrote on Twitter.

Notably, former AAP Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey had recently accused Vishwas of being "silent" on the "transgressions" of the BJP.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Industry chamber Assocham on Saturday demanded postponing GST implementation, saying that taxpayers will find it difficult to comply with the provisions of the new indirect tax regime as the IT network is not yet ready.

In a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Assocham said existing assessees have not yet migrated to the GSTN portal due to reasons like non-familiarity with IT tools as well as registration process.

It said that during the current phase of GST migration for existing assessees, the server was constantly under maintenance.

"This raises huge question as to whether the IT infrastructure has been appropriately tested. It also raises questions as to whether this system can survive in the GST era when it had undergone maintenance during the second phase of migration when the traffic was restricted only to migration," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

There are at present about 80 lakh excise, service tax and VAT assessees, of which 64.35 lakh have already migrated to the portal of GST Network -- the company readying the IT backbone for GST regime.

Migration window, which closed on June 15, will again open on June 25.

There were reports of traders complaining of glitches in the GSTN software for migration.

The industry chamber said that since the online return forms prepared by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) will be ready only by end-June, there would be no tie left for the dry run with the revised IT software.

"This being the status of preparedness of the GSTN, the taxpayers would find it very difficult to comply with GST requirements from July 1, 2017... We believe that industry deserves some more time and assistance to get prepared for GST implementation," Assocham said.

The GST is scheduled to be rolled out from July 1 and tax rates have already been fixed for almost all goods and services.

The GST Council, chaired by Jaitley and comprising state finance ministers, will meet tomorrow to finalise rules on e- way bill and anti-profiteering provisions as well as review rates on certain items.
Bhubaneswar: The Centre has said it will ensure that steel products are not imported in the guise of utensils or finished products.

"We are keeping an eye on that (import of steel in guise of finished products). We will not allow such kind of practice even in trade," Union Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh told reporters after addressing a meeting of the National Steel Consumers' Council here.

Stating that India has been successful in reducing import of steel by 37 percent during 2016-17, Singh said the reduction of imported steel was mostly from China.

This had happened because of India's anti-dumping measures and also due to withdrawal of the Minimum Import Price (MIP), he said.

"But, one thing which I want to make clear is, can we talk of anti-dumping duty? There is still some steel products, in the guise of utensils or in the guise of finished products, those can... Find way to our country," Singh said.

Stating that the steel sector has been growing at a steady Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 7 percent, he said the country's steel export registered a 102 percent growth from 4.08 MT in 2015-16 to 8.20 MT in 2016-17.

However, India's per capita steel consumption remained at only 64 kg, which needs to be increased to 160 kg as the country is planning to produce 300 million tons of steel by 2013-31, the Union Minister said.

"We are going to increase the country's steel consumption rate in a big way. As the Centre has earmarked Rs 4 lakh crore for the infrastructure sector, the steel sector should take advantage of it to enhance the consumption rate," Singh said adding, the Railways alone have plans to spend Rs 1.32 lakh crore in its expansion.

Of the Rs 4 lakh crore earmarked for infrastructure sector, the steel sector can easily get 10 percent of its share, which is estimated to be Rs 40,000 crore.

"We can make maximum use of steel in different infrastructure projects like rail, road, bridge, urban and rural housing, toilets under Swachha Bharat scheme etc," he said.

In August, the Steel Ministry will organise a 15-day long exhibition in different parts of the country along with all stakeholders including integrated steel plants and dealers, to showcase their products so that people use more steel.

The Minister, however, stressed on the production of high-end steel, which he termed as the future of steel industry.

"We have to convert crude steel and semi-finished steel products to high-end steel products. This value addition and diversification will give us better margin and increase our competitiveness," Singh said.

Once the country produces high-ended and better steel, the demand for Indian steel will increase in Vietnam, Cambodia and other African countries, he said adding, the Indian steel sector has evolved as the third largest steel producer in the world and is poised to become the second largest producer putting Indian steel prominently on the global industry map.

On the raw materials for steel industries, the Minister said "85 percent of coking coal is now imported, which adds to the price of steel making. Coal India Limited and Bharat Coking Coal Limited have agreed to set up 12 new coking coal washeries by 2019-20. This will fulfil the demand of coking coal," he said.

Asked about employment provided by the steel sector in the last three years, the Union Minister said the steel sector was passing through a bad phase for the last two years, but the situation has improved in the last 6-8 months.

Replying to a question on Odisha, Singh said the state is blessed with valuable minerals.

"When planning to produce 300 MT of steel by 2030-31, we expect Odisha's Kalinga Nagar to become a steel hub and produce 20 percent of the total steel manufactured in India," he said.
London: A fire that engulfed a London tower block this week killed at least 58 people, police said on Saturday, as Prime Minister Theresa May admitted that the response from the authorities had not been good enough.



With anger mounting over the government`s handling of the blaze, May met residents from the Grenfell Tower and pledged to support the victims as protesters gathered to demonstrate in the streets around her residence for a second day.



Weakened by a botched election gamble last week, May has been criticised for her muted response to the fire and had to be rushed away from a meeting with residents on Friday under heavy police guard as protesters shouted "Shame on you".



"The response of the emergency services, National Health Service, and the community has been heroic," May said in a statement.



"But, frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough."



London Police Commander Stuart Cundy said the toll of 58 represented those who were missing and presumed dead from a fire which ripped through the 24-storey social housing block as residents slept in the early hours of Wednesday morning.



"Sadly at this time, there are 58 people who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing and therefore sadly I have to assume that they are dead," he said.



If the number is confirmed, it would make the Grenfell Tower blaze the deadliest in London since World War Two. The toll had previously been put at 30.



While the blaze has prompted an outpouring of generosity, with many people donating provisions and clothes, it has also unleashed rage at the authorities as the charred tower was cast as a deadly symbol of a deeply divided society.



On Friday angry protesters chanting "We want justice" stormed their way into the Kensington and Chelsea town hall to try to confront the leaders of the local council.



Residents of the destroyed tower said May was far too slow to visit the stricken community, that the building had been unsafe and that officials have failed to give enough information and support to those who have lost relatives and their homes.



On Saturday May spent over two hours meeting residents from the north Kensington area at her Downing Street residence and chaired a meeting on the government`s response to the fire.



She has promised to set up a public inquiry and pledged 5 million pounds ($6.39 million) of support, housing guarantees and help with access to bank accounts and cash. Those who lost their homes will be rehoused within three weeks, she said.



One of her closest allies, Damian Green, defended May on Saturday, adding that a team would go to the area to answer questions from residents.



"The Prime Minister is distraught about what has happened," said Green, who was appointed May`s deputy in the wake of the general election.



"We`re all desperately sad, we`re all angry, but of course none of us as angry as those who were directly affected. I absolutely get why they`re angry," Green said.



May was asked repeatedly in an interview on Friday whether she had misread the public mood. While failing to answer, she said the focus was now on providing support to the victims.



On Saturday more than 1,000 people gathered near May`s Downing Street office to protest against her plan to form a government with the support of a socially conservative Northern Irish party.



One banner showed a drawing of May with the words "Shame" and "Disgrace".



After a turbulent three months which has seen Britain hit by three deadly Islamist militant attacks and now the tower blaze, Queen Elizabeth said the mood was deeply sombre but that the British people were resolute in the face of adversity.



Having visited residents of the tower on Friday with her grandson William, the queen also led a minute`s silence in Buckingham Palace on Saturday.



"It is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood," Elizabeth said in a message on her official birthday. "The country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies.



"Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity," Elizabeth said. "United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss."



Such a direct message from the monarch is rare and indicates the extent of the turmoil in Britain.



Opponents said May`s handling of the fire had thrust her position further into doubt by showing a failure to feel the public mood and act decisively.



Her failure to win a majority in an election she did not need to call had already sparked a tumultuous week and pitched Britain into its deepest political crisis since the Brexit referendum a year ago.



Britain is now likely to go into arduous talks on Monday about its exit from the European Union with a weakened leader who is dependent on Northern Ireland`s Democratic Unionist Party to get legislation passed.



Matthew Parris, a columnist and former Conservative lawmaker, said May`s response to the fire had shown a lack of judgment which made her unsuitable to be prime minister.



"Wallowing in the wash of a general election that stripped our prime minister of her authority on the very eve of EU negotiations, neither common sense nor the evidence suggest she can re-establish public confidence," Parris wrote in the Times.



"This prime minister is not viable."
Moscow: The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday it had killed two Islamic State field commanders, named as Abu Omar al-Beljiki and Abu Yassin al-Masri, in air strikes near the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor, Interfax news agency reported.



The statement came a day after Russia said it may have killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an air strike last month. Washington said it could not corroborate Baghdadi`s death and Western and Iraqi officials were sceptical.



The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday it killed around 180 militants and the two commanders al-Beljiki and al-Masri in air strikes close to Deir al-Zor on June 6 and June 8.



Hisham al-Hashimi, a Baghdad-based expert who advises several Middle East governments on Islamic State affairs, said he was sceptical about Russia`s claim on Saturday.



He said Abu Yasin al-Masri is the same person as Abu al-Haj al-Masri, who the Russians on Friday said they killed near Raqqa in May.



Al-Hashimi said the other IS leader, al-Beljiki, was unlikely to have been in Syria at the time of the attack.



"The Russians are trying to improve their record fighting Daesh as it was the Americans who have killed the top commanders of the group so far, like Abu Omar al-Shishani, Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani and Abu Ali al-Anbari," he said, using an Arabic acronym of Islamic State.



"If (Russia`s) announcements prove wrong, their credibility will be hurt," al-Hashimi said.



Islamic State fighters are close to defeat in the twin capitals of the group`s territory, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, after nearly three years ruling over millions of people in a wide area in both countries.



A U.S.-led coalition is assisting Iraqi forces in the Mosul battle and supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes Arab and Kurdish militias, in Raqqa.



Having been forced into retreat across much of Syria, Islamic State`s biggest remaining foothold in Syria is in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor.
Panaji: The All India Hindu Convention on Saturday passed a resolution demanding that India and Nepal be declared 'Hindu Rashtra'.

"Various pro-Hindu and patriotic organisations all over India and abroad are striving to establish Hindu Rashtra. Declaring India and Nepal Hindu Rashtra was one of the many resolutions passed at the convention," Hindu Janajagruti Samiti leader Charudatt Pingale told reporters here.

"The 6th All India Hindu Convention, which was organised to unite and channelise the efforts of these organisations, concluded successfully," he told a press conference.

Over 342 delegates representing 132 right-wing organisations from across India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka attended the four-day convention at Ramnathi in Ponda.

Pingale said the convention adopted resolutions to launch a "legal campaign" against "rampant malpractices" in administrative, commercial, educational and political domain.

"Only when these sectors are able to provide clean, corruption free and pro-people services to the society will it be possible to establish Hindu Rashtra....This is something all pro-Hindu organisations have agreed upon," he added.

According to Pingale, all these organisations have pledged to unitedly work to protect the nation and dharma (religion).

BJP MLA from Talangana T Raja Singh said, "BJP should decide on a national agenda for curbing cow slaughter."
Ahmedabad: A grand celebration was held today on the centenary of Sabarmati Ashram founded by Mahatma Gandhi here on Saturday.

Mahatma's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who attended the celebration, said at a time when the country is divided on the lines of religion and caste, Gandhi's ideas have a special significance.

Two new permanent exhibition galleries on Gandhi's life -- My Life is My Message Gallery and Charkha Gallery -- were opened at the Ashram on this occasion. Also, there was a tree plantation program.

Gandhi established the Ashram on June 17, 1917. As he became the leader of the freedom struggle, the Ashram virtually became the movement's headquarters.

It was also from here on 12 March 1930 that Gandhi launched the famous Dandi march and vowed not to return to the Ashram till India gets freedom.

Two books -- 'Letters to Gandhi' and 'Pioneers of Satyagraha' -- were released on the occasion today.

My Life is My Message Gallery has exhibits depicting Mahatma's entire life. Charkha Gallery showcases models of Charkha (spinning wheel) collected from across India.

"After the Ashram's establishment, the freedom movement was run from here," Gopalkrishna Gandhi noted.

As the country is increasingly divided on religious and caste lines, we need to spread Gandhi's ideas, said the former West Bengal governor.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday condemned the Himachal Pradesh Congress for posting a morphed picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter.

The tweet comes on a day the BJP created a record by winning the maximum number of seats -- for the first time in three decades -- in the 34-member House of the Shimla Municipal Corporation. Its arch rival Congress, which ruled the civic body for 26 years till the last elections in May 2012, got its 12 candidates elected.

The Congress deleted the tweet later without giving any explanation.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga lashed out at Congress for posting the tweet, which is distasteful in nature.

Bagga said the tweet from its official account showed the mentality of the Congress.

Here is Bagga's tweet:
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday described BJP's victory in the Shimla Municipal Corporation election as a reflection of people's faith in development politics.

"BJP's victory in the Shimla Municipal Corporation is historic & yet again reflects people's faith in development politics...Thank the people of Shimla for their support & congratulate karyakartas (workers) & leaders for their hard work," he said in a series of tweets.

The BJP today emerged as the single largest party in the civic poll, winning 17 out of 34 seats, just one short of a clear majority. The hill city will have a BJP mayor for the first time.

The Congress, which is the ruling party in Himachal Pradesh, bagged 13 seats. Independent candidates won three, while the CPI(M) managed to retain one seat.
Chandigarh: The Central government has declined permission to a Sikh delegation to visit Pakistan on the occasion of death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, an official of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said today.



"The Centre has declined permission due to security reasons," SGPC secretary Harcharan Singh told PTI over the phone.



He, however, said that the Centre had told the SGPC that "if anyone wants to visit Pakistan then the Sikh religious body should give an undertaking that he or she is going on its own risk".



"We are yet to decide on it (whether to send the delegation)," he said.



A 251-member Sikh delegation is scheduled to go to Pakistan from June 21 to 29. The SGPC, the Sikh religious body, is facilitating the trip.



Another delegation, which was to visit Pakistan last month for the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev, was also denied visas due to alleged lack of clearance from the Centre.
Hyderabad: Applauding the soldiers for commendable "human rights record'', Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said the use of human shield in Kashmir was "circumstances-based" and would not be used as a standard operating procedure. We are doing a "great job" to bring peace in the troubled state, Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat added.

Gen Rawat assured that violence in valley would be contained as it is limited to some part of South Kashmir.

"Security forces and all agencies are doing a great job to bring the situation under control. Some parts of south Kashmir are troublesome. Necessary action is being taken. I don`t think there should be any cause of worry," the Army Chief told reporters after reviewing the combined graduation parade at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal here.

Referring to the April 9 controversy over using a civilian as a human shield against stone-pelters in Kashmir, the General said every action was taken "considering the nature of task that we are expected to carry out under the circumstances".

Asked if he would make using human shields a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the Army chief remarked that the media was asking a question whose answer is known. "I will ask a counter question. Is media expected to report the truth what will be the answer. You would never say no. You are asking me a question the answer of which is known to you," PTI quoted the General as saying.

When the reporter wanted to know if his answer means that human shields will be part of SOP, he said: "No. It is not. What I am saying is it is not considered. I said it depends on the circumstances. It is circumstances-based. Each one takes action based on the circumstances, but the effort is to make sure that human rights violations are not there."

He said his force was concerned about human rights and would make sure rights of people were not violated.

"We are an Army which believes very strongly in human rights and we have a very good human rights record."

He said his soldiers knew how to deal with "children and women" who are part of mobs pelting stones at security forces in the Kashmir Valley.

"When they find there are children and there are ladies who are coming in front, they deal with them accordingly. Harsh measures are never used."

The Army Chief blamed "misinformation and disinformation" being spread in the state for the trouble and forcing youth to take up arms.

"I am quite confident that they will soon understand that what they are doing is not good for their own state and people.

"I am quite sure of some of the young people who should have books and computers in their hands and preparing for exams to get into IITs and IIMs will soon be brought on the right side of the fence."

The General refused to comment on the ongoing political blame game over the trouble in Kashmir and said armed forces don not care about statements by politicians. "We have a task at hand, for that we work round the clock."

He did not see any harm in posting the army in close proximity with people so far as the aim was to bring peace.

"The Indian Army belongs to its people. We are the peoples` armed forces. We have been called upon to do a particular task by the government of India because they felt that there is requirement for the army.

"We are there to see that the situation is brought under control, therefore in the present juncture we have to continue with the task in the manner in which we were carrying on."

He asked the armed forces to maintain high standards of integrity and not to lose the trust of people of the country.

"Integrity is the foundation of our military profession. If doubted, we may lose the trust of our society. If the society doesn`t trust its defence forces it will be difficult for the nation to maintain its military and protect itself."
Washington: Hundreds of yoga enthusiasts gathered today at the historic National Mall here to observe the third International Yoga Day by flexing their bodies in various postures.

"What has happened in the last three years is quite phenomenal that this movement of pushing forward and achieving recognition of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga," Ambassador of India to the US Navtej Sarna told people.

The day has "actually brought this ancient discipline, philosophy and practice from India into the hearts and lives of people in every corner of the globe".

"So, what you will see during this week is this day being celebrated in similar gatherings in every country in the world," Sarna said, adding it is a very moving sight to see so many people in the heart of Washington early on a Saturday morning coming to celebrate yoga, and ready to perform this wonderful session.

This is not a political or economic movement, he said.

"This is something which is only for the benefit of all humanity at both an individual level and a macro level because ultimately all societies in all countries are made up of human beings.

"If we have each human being who has a balanced view on life, who has achieved a kind of equilibrium inside and outside, I think ultimately will go and affect how nations govern and are governed and how they relate to each other," Sarna said.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, in a citation, sent his best wishes for "a joyous observance" of the third International Yoga Day organised by the Indian Embassy here in association with the Friends of Yoga.

Virginia Governor Chris Van Hollen sent his citation on the occasion in recognition of "the spiritual value that yoga and meditation offer, and with appreciation and gratitude for the organising committee's outstanding efforts to encourage, peace, harmony and consciousness".

Extending warm greetings to all who are gathered on the occasion, Senator Mark Warner, in his message, said the event provides an opportunity to celebrate one of the many important traditions of the Indian culture, yoga.

"The appeal of this ancient, holistic tradition crosses cultural boundaries and increases international understanding and friendship. I hope all of the attendees enjoy taking part in today's activities," said Warner, a Ranking Member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus.

Warner said he remains very optimistic about Indo-US relationship, and continues to believe that they can make great strides together.

"As two of the world's largest democracies, and with the incredible Indian-American population that contributes so much to our culture, commerce and community in this country, it is critical for us to continue to deepen and broaden the existing framework of partnership and friendship.

"In the last Congress, we were able to expand the US- India relationship on several fronts, including hosting Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi for a joint session. During this session, the prime minister described the many ties that bind India and the US together, as well as the significant contributions the Indian-American community has made to this country," he said.

"The overwhelmingly positive response to his visit demonstrates the strength of the relationship between the US and India," Warner added.
Kochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Keralas first Metro rail and took an inaugural ride onboard the train with dignitaries, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan.

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam and Kerala BJP chief Kummanam Rajashekaran also accompanied the Prime Minister.

Futuristic infrastructure that will contribute to India's growth...PM @narendramodi and other dignitaries on the Kochi Metro. pic.twitter.com/TA2TWlm3wp  PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 17, 2017

PM @narendramodi and other dignitaries on board the Kochi Metro. pic.twitter.com/85dG4EhkqL  PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 17, 2017

Union Urban Development Secretary Rajiv Gouba, Kerala Chief Secretary Nalini Netto and BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan also travelled with the prime minister.

Kerala CM Vijayan, who shared the dias with the prime minister, thanked all the workers who were a part of the construction of the Kochi Metro. Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the inauguration of the Kochi Metro rail, Vijayan said, "A dream is now a reality."

The Prime Minister cut the ribbon of the much-awaited project at Palarivattom station and took a ride on the newly constructed rapid transport from the station of Palarivattom to Pathadippalam.

Inaugurating the Kochi Metro rail, Prime Minister Modi said it is "futuristic infrastructure that will contribute to India's growth".

After dedicating the project, PM Modi addressed the gathering where he stressed on the need to bring about a paradigm shift in urban planning by adopting a people-centric approach and integrating land use and transport.

He described as noteworthy the selection of nearly 1,000 women and 23 transgenders to work in the Kochi Metro Rail System.

"Modi, in his address said his government has placed special focus on overall infrastructural development of the nation.

"In Pragati meetings, I have personally reviewed nearly 175 projects worth more than Rs 8 lakh crore and resolved bottlenecks," he said, referring to his ambitious multi-purpose and multi-modal platform PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation).

Modi said his government was also focussing on "next generation infrastructure which includes logistics, digital and gas."

The prime minister, who began his speech in Malayalam, said he was happy to be part of the inauguration of the project.

He said Kochi was selected as a Smart City in January 2016. "I hope it will do even better in the days to come," he said.

Kochi, the queen of the Arabian Sea, was once an important spice trading centre. Today it is known as the commercial capital of Kerala, the prime minister said.

Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is a 50-50 joint venture of the Centre and the state government.

The Centre has so far released over Rs 2,000 crore for the project. The coaches reflected 'Make in India' vision. They have been built by Alstom near Chennai and have an Indian component of around 70 per cent, he said.

Modi, who cut the ribbon at the Palarivattom station, shook hands with Vijayan and Sreedharan before proceeding to board the metro train.

During the journey, Modi waved at the crowd as Sreedharan and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd Managing Director Elias George interacted with him.

Considered as the fastest completed metro project in the country, Kochi Metro, the flagship transportation infrastructure project of Kerala, will start its regular operations from June 19.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh had laid the foundation of the project on September 13, 2012 and the construction began in June, 2013 during the tenure of the previous Congress-led UDF government headed by Oommen Chandy, who was conspicuous by his absence today.

The estimated completion cost of the Kochi Metro is Rs 5,181.79 crore.

The new transport system is expected to enhance the quality of life for the Greater Kochi metro area by improving regional connectivity and reducing overcrowding and traffic congestion.

With 11 stations covering nearly 13 km - from Palarivattom to Aluva - this is the longest first phase of a metro to be inaugurated.

The Metro has employed 23 transgenders in various departments based on their qualifications. More workers from the community will be inducted after gauging their success, says Kerala Metro Rail Limited managing director Elias George.

Claimed to be the country's first integrated multi-model transport system, the Metro is expected to improve regional connectivity and ease the traffic congestion in Kochi, the commercial hub of Kerala.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee, whose term ends on July 24, reportedly rejected two mercy petitions in the last week of May.

With this, according to The Times of India, the total mercy pleas rejected by Mukherjee comes to 30.

Notably, Mukherjees predecessor Pratibha Patil had accepted mercy pleas of 30 death row convicts.

One of the two cases in which President Mukherjee rejected the mercy petition recently pertained to the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl by three men [ Jeetu (21), Babu alias Ketan (27) and Sunny alias Devendra (24)] on June 24, 2012 in Somnath ki Juni Chawl area in Indore. The men kidnapped the girl while she was watching a wedding procession, raped her and strangulated her to death.

The other case is that of the gang-rape and murder of a techie in Pune by a cabbie and his accomplice in 2007. The girl, who was en route to office for the night shift, was picked up by a cab. Convicts Purushottam Dasharath Borate and Pradeep Yashvant Kokade then raped and killed the 22-year-old Wipro employee.

Among the other mercy petitions turned down by President Mukherjee over his five-year tenure are those of 26/11 Mumbai attack convict Ajmal Kasab in November 2012, 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in February 2013, and 1993 Bombay blasts convict Yakub Memon in July 2015, reported the daily.
Colombo: Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday performed a number of yoga asanas and joined thousands of yoga enthusiasts to celebrate the International Day of Yoga.

Messages from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj were displayed at the venue.

Sirisena performed a number of yoga asanas and encouraged yoga institutions in Sri Lanka to continue their good work in the event organised by the Indian Cultural Center here.

Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu highlighted the efforts led by Prime Minister Modi in the UN declaring June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. He said the world now recognises yoga, as a human treasure - a key to good health.

This event followed weeks of yoga activities across Sri Lanka, including the first-ever Yoga Road Show, a unique event that saw dozens of yoga instructors travel by bus to various locations across Sri Lanka, including Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Kataragama, Galle, Jaffna and Colombo to promote, popularise and teach yoga.

The journey connected thousands of minds, spreading the message of yoga for well-being, Sandhu said.
Hoshiarpur: The body of an Army jawan who was killed in Pakistani firing in Naushera sector of Jammu and Kashmir yesterday, was cremated with full military honours at his native village here today.



Naik Bakhtawar Singh was killed when Pakistan violated the ceasefire by firing on forward posts along the LoC in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.



The mortal remains of Singh, who was attached with 8 Sikh LI regiment, was brought to Hajipur in Mukerian sub division, 65 Km from Hoshiarpur.



His body, draped in Indian national flag, was brought to his village where local MLAs and government officials paid tribute to the slain soldier. MLAs and government officials paid tribute to the slain soldier.



His elder son Sukhwinder Singh lit the pyre.



A contingent of Army jawans reversed their fire arms and fired in the air as a mark of respect to the departed soul.



Several people from surrounding villages participated in the funeral.



Avinash Rai Khanna- vice chairman, Indian Red Cross Society and vice president BJP- Santosh Chaudhary, former MP, MLA- Rajnish Kumar Babbi, SDM Mukerian- Komal Mittal and many others paid floral tributes to Naik Bakhtawar Singh.



Singh is survived by his wife Jasbir Kaur, a daughter, two sons and elderly parents.
New Delhi: Expressing concern over the killing of six police personnel in terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag, defence experts on Saturday said the death of the policemen comes as a major setback.

"The loss of six policemen in Jammu and Kashmir is definitely a cause for concern. Losing police personnel will be deemed as a setback. It is possible that there is a linkage between killing of the six policemen and operations carried out by the security forces against the Lashkar and its operatives in the Valley. The current internal dynamic in Kashmir is turbulent," defence expert Uday Bhaskar told ANI.

Dubbing the killing of policemen as a saddening incident, defence expert Qamar Agha said that the sacrifice of the deceased officials would not go waste.

"This is a sad news. It was a desperate attempt by the militants in wake of actions taken against them by the security forces," Agha told ANI.

As many as six policemen, including a sub-inspector were killed in a terrorist attack on a police party in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Friday.

The incident took place in Anantnag's Thajiwara Achabal area when the policemen were on a routine round in their jeep.

During the attack some policemen also sustained serious bullet injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital.
Srinagar: Opposition National Conference (NC) and the Congress on Saturday protested outside the state assembly against "innocent killings" in Kashmir.



The protesting legislators carried placards saying "stop innocent killings", "stop state terrorism".



The state government has convened a special session on Saturday to discuss the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation which needs a constitutional amendment by the legislature so that the new tax regime is adopted in the state.



Meanwhile, groups of traders, manufacturers and other businessmen staged a sit-in in the city`s Lal Chowk area against the GST.
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir authorities imposed restrictions in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley in the view of Separatists' call for a complete protest shutdown on Saturday.

Srinagar District Magistrate Farooq Ahmad Lone said restrictions were imposed in the areas of Rainawari, Khanyar, Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj and Safa Kadal to maintain law and order.

Heavy contingents of police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were also deployed.

Train services between Baramulla and Bannihal towns were suspended. Exams scheduled for Saturday were postponed by Kashmir University.

Shops, public transport and educational institutions remained closed.

Yesterday, the joint separatist leadership called for complete shutdown in the Valley on Saturday against the killing of two civilians in firing by security forces.

Top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, Junaid Mattoo and his associate were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Anantnag district.

Two civilian protesters -- a 22-year old youth, a 14-year old boy-- were killed in firing by the security forces where protesters tried to break the cordon around the gunfight site.

Over two dozen other protesters were injured in the protests.

The group of LeT militants had come in two vehicles to ambush the police party which also led to the killing of six policemen.
Awantipora: Feroz Ahmed Dar, who was among the six policemen killed by Lashkar-e-Toiba militants on Friday evening, was buried last night in the family's ancestral graveyard in Dogripora village in Pulwama district with many from the village and his department bidding him a tearful adieu.

Ironically, one of his Facebook posts read like a chronicle of his death foretold.

"Just imagine...Yourself in your grave. Down there in that dark hole...Alone," wrote the 32-year-old station house officer (SHO) of Achabal police station in Anantnag district on January 18, 2013.

As his family and friends prepared for his last journey, his words came back to haunt.

"Did you ever stop for a while and asked yourself, what is going to happen to me the first night in my grave? Think about the moment your body is being washed and prepared to your grave.

"Think about the day people will be carrying you to your grave And your families crying ...Think about the moment you are put in your grave," he had written on his Facebook wall.

As Dogripora mourned its hero, his premonition of death echoed from his "first night" in the grave. The village, which shares its border with Budgam as well as Shopian districts, was awash with tears as it were.

A group of 10-15 heavily-armed LeT militants ambushed a vehicle carrying six policemen, including Dar, hours after police on Friday killed a top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander, Junaid Mattoo, and his associate in Arwani village of south Kashmir Kulgam district.

Reports said the LeT militants came in two vehicles and surrounded the jeep carrying SHO Dar, and driver of the police jeep and four guards.

The militants hurled grenades inside the police jeep and opened heavy automatic gunfire killing the five, including the officer on the spot. The militants also disfigured their bodies.

The driver of the jeep succumbed to injuries later.

Villagers queued up outside Dar's home to offer their condolences. His two daughters -- six-year-old Addah and two- year-old Simran - watched bewildered, unable to understand the sudden rush of people at their house.

His wife Mubeena Akthar and aged parents wailed and beat their chests, trying to come to terms with the devastating loss.

Nicknamed Dabang (daring) by his friends and a "one man army", Dar had wished earnestly for the situation in the Kashmir Valley to return to normal.

"Oh God! when will be the day we see normal Kashmir," he had written on his Facebook page on March 08, 2013.

While family and his colleagues grieved, so did his batchmates.

"Bus itna yaad rahe, ek saathi aur bhi tha..." The refrain of the Bollywood song from the film "LoC Kargil" recalling the sacrifices of a soldier echoed their grief.

His batchmate Sunil Sharma posted Dar's picture and recalled the lyrics of the song in memory of those martyred in war.

Many of his batchmates and colleagues recalled their association with Dar and said he was a god fearing man and a true Muslim who offered prayers five times a day.

"The officer whom everybody loved and who could get the support and respect of everybody around will always be in our heart. This inhuman act will be punished and punished suitably. Condolences for all the men that we lost today," Deputy Inspector General of Police (South Kashmir) Swayam Prakash Pani posted on his official Facebook page.

As the memories continue to build, and his family learns to live with the tragedy that has befallen them, Dar's hope for a peaceful Kashmir lives on.

(With Agency inputs)
Kochi: Police on Saturday arrested Kerala Youth Congress workers who held a beef festival ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s arrival in the coastal city.

The festival took place near the Southern Naval Command`s air terminal where Modi is expected to arrive and inaugurate the state`s first metro line.

As the Youth Congress workers were arrested while they were cooking and serving beef.

Ever since the Centre launched new rules regarding cattle sale and slaughter, Kerala has witnessed numerous such protests and even the state assembly held a special session earlier this month to pass a resolution against it.
Latur/Mumbai: In a major operation with national security implications, the Maharashtra ATS and Police, along with the Department of Telecommunication, have busted two illegal telephone exchanges that are suspected to have been used by Pakistani agencies for spying in India, an official said here on Saturday.

Two persons have been arrested in the operation which was carried out at two locations in the state`s Latur district on Friday following an alert from Indian Army military intelligene in Jammu & Kashmir, an ATS official said.

The sleuths have recovered 174 SIM cards, seven illegal machines used as international gateways, two computers and other electronic materials totally worth around Rs 460,000.

According to the ATS, the acused were running these illegal telephone exchanges whereby international VOIP calls were routed through local mobile numbers.

They used to convert a VOIP call from abroad into a voice illegally and transferring that voice to the local beneficiary or call receiver in India through the illegal international gateway.

"It is learnt that this type of illegal VOIP exchanges were used by intelligence agency of the neighbouring country to acquire sensitive military information," the ATS said.

The DOT has estimated its total losses from these illegal call centres to be around Rs 15 crore.

In the first case, the teams raided the home in Latur`s Prakashnagar to unearth a fake telecommunication junction being run since six months and arrested its owner.

They seized 96 SIM cards, one computer, a CPU and three machines for call transforming or illegal international gateways, costing around Rs 190,000.

Following interrogation of the accused, the teams swooped on a shop in Valandi village, around 70 km away, and recovered 14 SIM cards, and other electronic material worth around Rs 120,000.

This was followed by a raid on a rented premises in Chakur, around 50 km from Latur, where they found the fake telephone exchange running since five months, 64 SIM cards, a laptop and two illegal international gateway machines, plus other materials worth around Rs 150,000. The tenant of the premises was arrested.

Police have booked cases at the MIDC and Shivajinagar police stations under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Indian Telegraph Act, Indian Wireless & Telegraph Act, against the two accused.
Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Saturday said the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra would complete its full five-year in office.



Referring to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis` recent comments that the BJP was prepared for mid-term polls, Shah attempted to clarify the situation which has irked the Sena.



"He did not mean that?What he intended is that if the situation warrants (a mid-term polls), then we are ready, we will contest and win the elections. However, I would like to inform you that we will complete the full five-year term here," Shah asserted.



Earlier, he gave a report card on the completion of three years of the NDA government led by Prime Minster Narendra Modi and its achievements in all sectors of the economy.



"Modiji is the most popular and efficient Prime Minister of India since Independence. The BJP has achieved in just three years what could not be done in the past 50 years," Shah said.



Shah arrived here on Friday, a much-anticipated three-day visit to Mumbai, the highlight of which will be a meeting with ally Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday morning.



At this meeting, he is expected to solicit and secure the Sena`s support for the NDA candidate for President, which had in the past strayed on two occasions and supported UPA candidates, former President Pratibha Patil in 2007 and later the current President Pranab Mukherjee in 2012.
Mumbai: Illegal telephone exchanges routing telephone calls via a computer network and allegedly being used by Pakistani intelligence agencies to access sensitive military information have been busted in Latur district of Maharashtra, the police said on Saturday.

Two persons, Shankar Biradar (33) and Ravi Sabde (27), have been arrested in this connection.

The telephone exchanges were busted on Friday during raids conducted by a joint team of the Maharashtra ATS, Latur police and telecommunication department officials at three places in the district on a tip-off from a Jammu and Kashmir-based military intelligence agency, a police official said.

According to police sources, these type of illegal VoIP exchanges were used by Pakistan intelligence agencies to acquire sensitive military information.

These exchanges were being run since last six months from Prakash Nagar, Deoni taluka and Chakur taluka areas in the district, the official said.

The accused used to receive an overseas call over the Internet and transfer that voice call to receivers in India through an illegal international gateway.

The system deployed was interconnecting Internet/VoIP and mobile connections which is not permitted as per India's telecom laws.

After the raids, equipment worth Rs 4,60,000 were seized, the official said.

Most of the seizures were made on the premises of the two arrested accused, the police said.

While Shankar ran an illegal telecommunication junction from his house in Prakash Nagar, Ravi operated from a rented room in Chakur taluka.

About 96 sim cards, a computer, a CPU and three call transforming machines were seized from Shankar's house after the raid.

The Deoni taluka exchange was being run from a shop, the police said.

As per Telecommunication Department officials, these illegal exchanges have caused a revenue loss of Rs 15 crore to the country.

Offences have been registered at Shivaji Nagar and MIDC police station in the district under relevant sections of the Indian Telegraph Act, Indian Wirless and Telegraph Act and Indian Penal Code.
New Delhi: The government has made quoting of biometric identity number Aadhaar mandatory for opening of bank accounts as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.

Existing bank account holders have been asked to furnish the Aadhaar number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by December 31, 2017, failing which the account will cease to be operational, according to a revenue department notification.

Here is how you can link your Aadhaar number with your bank account

If you are an ICICI bank customer, you can download the following form and link Aadhaar to your account

https://www.icicibank.com/campaigns/mailers/aadhaar_mailer/images/Stay_Connected_Form.pdf

If you are an HDFC bank customer, you can follow the below mentioned process:

You can update your Aadhaar detail with the Bank instantly, in just 3 simple steps when you login to NetBanking:

Click on the option of View / Update AadhaarDetails from the Request section of Accounts tab in inNetBanking.

Enter your Aadhaar Number, and Confirm the Account Number to link it with.

Confirm the same.

Your Aadhaar Number will be updated with us, within 4 working days, after verification with the Authorities. We recommend that you login again after 4 days to check your updated Aadhaar details.



Axis bank customers can follow the following process

ATM - Insert Debit card >> Registration >> Enter PIN >> Link Aadhaar No. >> Select Account >> Update >> Enter Aadhaar No. >> Re-enter Aadhaar No. >> Confirm.

Internet Banking - Login using Internet banking credentials, click on the "Aadhaar Seeding" link for registration

Phone Banking Center (PBC) - Call on PBC toll free number >> Authenticate on IVR using Debit card/Customer ID >> Press 4 to link your Aadhaar No. >> Press 1 to confirm.

SMS - Aadhaar <Aadhaar No.>AC <last 6 digits of A/C no.> to 5676782

Website - Click here

Branch - Fill up the Resident Consent Form to link your Axis Bank Account with your Aadhaar number, carry original Aadhaar Card & a copy. Click here to download a copy of the RCF.

Meanwhile, SBI bank customers can link their Aadhaar card with their account in three different processes:

Aadhaar Linking through SBI Internet Banking portal



If you are an internet banking user, then you can log into www.onlinesbi.com and access the link "Link your Aadhaar number" under "My Accounts", appearing on the left panel of the screen.

On clicking the above link, you will be directed to a screen where you have to select the Account number, input the Aadhaar number and click on Submit.

The last 2 digits of registered mobile number (non-editable) will be displayed to the customer.

Status of mapping will be advised to the Customer's registered mobile number.

Aadhaar Linking through ATM channel



You can access any of our ATMs and seed your Aadhaar with your Bank account.

After swiping the ATM card and entering your PIN, Select the menu "Service  Registrations"

In this menu, select Aadhaar Registration (or Inquiry as per your need)

You can now select the Account type (Savings/Checking) after which you will be asked to enter your Aadhaar number. You will be prompted to re-enter the same.

Aadhaar Linking through SMS

If your mobile number is registered with the Bank, then you can send SMS to 567676 in the following format UID(space)Aadhaar number(space)Account number

If the mobile number is not registered or in case the Aadhaar is already linked to Account, an SMS reply will be sent to you.

If your mobile number is registered with the Bank, you will receive an SMS confirmation of the seeding request.

The Aadhaar number will be verified by Bank with UIDAI. In case it fails verification, SMS will be sent to Customer to contact any SBI branch along with Aadhaar number or e-aadhaar.

Aadhaar Linking through Branch channel

Customer visits any SBI branch with a copy of his/her Aadhaar number or e-aadhaar.

At the branch, a Letter of Request will be obtained from customer along with the Xerox copy of Aadhaar letter.

After necessary verification, the linking will be done by the branch. An SMS will be sent to customer's registered mobile number regarding the status of seeding.

(Note: This is by no means an exhaustive list. Please check with your respective banks other than the ones mentioned here)
Jaipur: A 44 year old man social worker was reportedly beaten to death by muncipality employees in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan as he tried to stop them from taking photographs of Muslim women who had come out of their homes and were relieving themselves in open.

The incident took place on Friday morning.

The women were defecating in open as they had no toilets in their homes.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation issued a statement stating that activist Zafar Hussein was lynched to death for resisting photography and videography of women defecating.

A statement by the CPI (ML)'s Pratapgarh district committee stated that, on June 16, Hussein was kicked, punched and beaten to death by municipal council employees at the instigation of Nagar Parishad commissioner Ashok Jain, who ordered to take photographs and videos of women from the Bagwasa Kachi village when they were going to defecate in the open.

Zafar himself had submitted a memorandum to the Nagar Parishad few days back protesting against the campaign of public shaming and bullying of women for defecating in the open, the statment added.

"In the memorandum, he had demanded community toilets and repairing of the non-functional public latrines constructed under the Swacch Bharat campaign. He had also unsuccessfully sought to submit the memorandum to the District Magistrate (DM) who had refused to accept it."

The CPI (ML) has demanded that Jain and others named in the FIR lodged in Zafar's murder case should be arrested and given speedy punishment.

"We demand that the Central Government and all State Government officially declare public shaming and lynch mob tactics in the guise of Swacch Bharat campaign to be illegal and punish officials promoting the use of such tactics," the statement said.

The statement further said, "The drive to end open defecation cannot proceed on the basis of inflicting indignities on the poor and helpless people who have no access to private or public toilets. The present strategy of Open Defecation-Free villages (ODF) campaign is giving rise to corruption, fake claims and public humiliation of deprived people. The Governments must reverse this draconian strategy and unleash a positive campaign popularizing toilet use, with a focus on construction of toilets, assured availability of water, and proper arrangements for toilet-cleaning".

"All over the country, sanitation workers are fighting for their dignity and rights against oppressive and inhuman working conditions. It is highly unfortunate that the Rajasthan Government, which denies sanitation workers their due rights, used them as fodder in the public shaming and lynching campaign on the pretext of Swacch Bharat," the statement added.

The CPI (ML) has further appealed to all "the forces struggling against mob lynching, for women's rights and dignity, and for sanitation workers' rights, to unite in the struggle for justice for Zafar."

(With ANI inputs)
Chennai: Unidentified miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at CPI(M) office in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu in the wee hours on Saturday.

According to media report, though no one was injured in the attack, a car parked nearby was partially damaged.

The CPI(M) blamed 'Hindutva' activists for the attack and claimed it was a "continuation" of the recent attempt to attack party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury in Delhi.

CPI(M) state Secretary G Ramakrishnan strongly condemned the incident and said a four-wheeeler and a window suffered damage in the attack.

He said his party had actively worked towards ensuring communal harmony and unity in the past when communal violence broke out in Coimbatore.

"It is worrying that elements trying to disrupt communal harmony and unity in Coimbatore are on the rise of late," he said in a statement.

Ramakrishnan also recalled the recent attacks at the party's local offices in Kanyakumari district.

He urged the state government to arrest those behind today's incident.

The incident was a continuation of the attempt to manhandle Yechury recently by "intolerant activists," the party's Coimbatore District Secretary V Ramamurthy said.

The police have launched an investigation into the attack. No arrest has been made so far.

On May 9, a petrol bomb was hurled at the residence of BJP leader Muthuraman at Devakottai in the district by unknown persons. Luckily, none of the inmates were injured in the incident. According to police, some window panes were damaged. A special team was formed to investigate the case.
Dundigal: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday inspected the guard of honour at the Passing Out Parade ceremony held at Air Force Academy here to mark the completion of pre-commissioning training of the Flight Cadets belonging to various branches.

During the event, he conferred the ' President's Commission' on behalf of the President of India to 120 graduating trainees of various branches.

The ceremony also included the presentation of ' Wings and Brevets' to Flight Cadets, who successfully completed the Flying and Navigation training respectively.

Chief Guest General Rawat also awarded the 'Wings' to officers of the Indian Navy and to the Indian Coast Guard on victorious completion of their flying training at the Air Force Academy.

The Reviewing Officer also presented the President's Plaque to those who stood first in the Overall Merit in the Navigation and the Ground Duty Branches.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday strongly condemned the violence unleashed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morch (GJM) in Darjeeling and said her government is ready to initiate a dialogue with the party in a conducive environment.



Banerjee, who chaired a high level meet at the state secretariat in Nabanna that was participated by various development boards of the hills, said an all-party meeting will be held in Siliguri on June 22 to discuss the growing unrest in the northern West Bengal hills. The GJM has called an indefinite shutdown in the hills to demand a separate Gorkhaland state.



Coming down heavily on the GJM violence, Banerjee said: "This is a deep-rooted conspiracy. So much of arms and ammunition couldn`t have come in a single day. There is an international border and state border. They are violating the Constitution. They are only hurling bombs. They are stockpiling illegal arms and bombs."



Banerjee said the state government is ready to initiate a dialogue with the party in a conducive environment.



"We are ready but not under the current situation," she said.



Banerjee alleged the GJM had connections with the northeast insurgency groups as well as a "foreign" link.



"We have come to know from the police that there is a link with terrorists. I am told there is a connection with underground insurgents from the northeast India. I have requested that they should not extend any support in Darjeeling," she said.



"Development work will continue and there should be an end to this deep rooted conspiracy in the hills. In this matter, the central and state government must come together," she said.



"The board members have set up a committee to maintain peace," she said.



Banerjee slammed the GJM supporters for "insulting" the national flag.



"They aren`t listening to the court (Calcutta High Court) even after it passed an order saying the bandh is illegal. Don`t know from where they get support. They are using the national flag for vandalism. We are proud of our national flag... How can they throw bombs at the national flag? How can they do it? They have stopped tourism, transport, drinking water supply and food. The GJM supporters burnt down the primary health centre. Mediapersons are in danger, they are being blackmailed and threatened," she said.



Banerjee urged the people in the hills to not listen to the GJM leadership.



"I will urge the people in the hills to not be misled by the GJM leadership. They are corrupt. They have vested interests and are selling the hills. They have stockpiled illegal arms and illegal money," she said.



Asked about reports of police firing, Banerjee denied the charge.



"That is absolutely wrong. They (GJM) started firing. We can`t support those who are indulging in violence and hooliganism," she said.



Earlier, GJM protesters resorted to fresh violence after the police raided and allegedly vandalised the residence of Morcha Assistant General Secretary Binay Tamang in the early hours of Saturday.



An Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) officer was critically injured in a clash with GJM supporters while the party claimed two of its supporters were killed and five critically injured in police firing.
New York: Slamming former president Barack Obama`s dealings with the communist regime in Cuba, President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled new restrictions on travel, business with Cuba, in a move clearly charting his own course of relations with the Castro-led government.

Trump`s speech in Miami is his latest to tear down Obama`s legacy, who spent the last two years of his presidency trying to thaw relations with Cuba, which included a trip to the island in 2016.

"I am canceling the last administration`s completely one-sided deal with Cuba," Trump said, reports CNN.

Branding the Obama administration as one which looked the other way on the Castro regime`s human rights violations, Trump said that he, as President, will "expose the crimes of the Castro regime."

"They made a deal with a government that spread violence and instability in the region and nothing they got, think about it, nothing they got, they fought for everything and we just didn`t fight hard enough, but now, those days are over. We now hold the cards. The previous administration`s easing of restrictions of travel and trade does not help the Cuban people. They only enrich the Cuban regime." Trump said.

Listing some of the Castro regime`s anti-United States actions, Trump asserted, "We will never, ever be blind to it. We know what is going on and we remember what happened."

However, diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba will remain open, as will the newly opened embassies in Washington and Havana, also there will be no further restrictions on the types of goods that Americans can take out of Cuba, including the popular rum and cigars.

Trump said he is keeping the embassy open "in the hope that our countries can forge a much stronger and better path."

The Trump administration will begin strictly enforcing the authorized exemptions that allow travel between the US and Cuba and prohibit commerce with Cuban businesses owned by the military and intelligence services.

The President has also directed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to convene a task force on expanding Internet access on the island and reiterate the United States` opposition to efforts in the United Nations to lift the Cuban embargo until more is done to honor human rights.

"To the Cuban government, I say, put an end to the abuse of dissidents, release the political prisoners, stop jailing innocent people, open yourselves to political and economic freedoms, return the fugitives from American justice, including the return of the cop killer Joanne Chesimard," Trump said, while challenging the Castro regime "to come to the table with a new agreement that is in the best interest of both their people and our people.

"The President strongest possible rhetoric during his address was directed at Castro, where he clearly said, "the harboring of criminals and fugitives will end. You have no choice. It will end."
Cairo: A Cairo criminal court on Saturday recommended the death penalty for 31 people convicted of involvement in the 2015 assassination of Egypt`s top prosecutor, the most senior state official killed by militants in recent years.



The court set a verdict session for July 22, after referring its recommendation to the country`s top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for a non-binding legally-required opinion.



Public Prosecutor Hisham Barakat was killed in a car bomb attack on his convoy in Cairo, an operation for which Egypt blamed the Muslim Brotherhood and Gaza-based Hamas militants, though both groups have denied it.



The Interior Ministry released a video last year showing clips of several young men confessing and admitting going to Gaza for training from Hamas, though some of them later denied the accusations in court.



Egypt faces an Islamist insurgency led by Islamic State in North Sinai, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed.



The group has also increasingly carried out attacks in Egypt targeting Christians in a spate of church bombings and shootings that have killed some 100 since December.



Barakat was the highest-ranking state official to die in a militant attack since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former military chief, ousted President Mohamed Mursi, a Brotherhood leader, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.
San Francisco: A report on Friday alleged that Facebook had put the safety of its content moderators at risk after accidentally exposing their personal details to suspected terrorist users of the social network.

As per The Guardian, a bug in the software, identified in late 2016, affected more than 1,000 workers across 22 departments at Facebook, who used the companys moderation software to review and remove inappropriate content from the platform, including sexual material, hate speech and terrorist propaganda.

This all started after Facebook moderators started receiving friend requests from people affiliated with the terrorist organisations they were scrutinising.

It was later discovered by the company that the personal Facebook profiles of its moderators had been automatically appearing in the activity logs of the terror groups they were shutting down.

The report added that of the 1,000 affected workers, around 40 worked in a counter-terrorism unit based at Facebooks European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. Six of those were assessed to be `high priority` victims of the mistake after Facebook concluded their personal profiles were likely viewed by potential terrorists.

Upon coming to know about the glitch, one of the six workers fled Ireland and went into hiding in eastern Europe for five months.

The Iraqi-born Irish citizen, who is in his early twenties, said he found out that seven individuals associated with a suspected terrorist group he banned from Facebook  an Egypt-based group that backed Hamas and, he said, had members who were Islamic State sympathizers  had viewed his personal profile.

"The security glitch, which lasted for a month before Facebook was able to correct it in November, made the moderators' profiles appear in the notifications of Facebook groups that are thought to be administrated by terrorists with ties to Islamic State, Hezbollah and the Kurdistan Workers Party," the report quoted a moderator as saying.

The moderator revealed about his family's tryst with terrorism in the past - his father had been abducted and beaten, and his uncle executed in Iraq.

Confirming the security breach, a Facebook spokesperson told The Guardian that the website had made technical changes to "better detect and prevent these types of issues from occurring".

"We care deeply about keeping everyone who works for Facebook safe. As soon as we learned about the issue, we fixed it and began a thorough investigation to learn as much as possible about what happened," the spokesperson added.

After the leak was detected, Facebook convened a "task force of data scientists, community operations and security investigators".

The internal e-mails of Facebook revealed that the company warned all the employees and contracted staff it believed were affected, and also set-up an e-mail address, nameleak@fb.com, to field queries from those affected.

"For those in the high-risk group, Facebook also offered counselling through its employee assistance program, over and above counselling offered by the contractor, Cpl. It also offered to install a home alarm monitoring system and provide transport to and from work to the six," the report said.

However, the moderator, who went into hiding, said that Facebook needed to do more to address their pressing concerns for their safety and families.

The moderator has filed a legal claim against Facebook and Cpl, seeking compensation for the psychological damage caused by the leak.

(With Agency inputs)
Baghdad: The Iraqi army and Sunni tribal fighters have dislodged Islamic State from the al-Waleed border crossing into Syria, an Iraqi military statement said on Saturday.

Aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition and the Iraqi air force took part in the operation, the statement said.

Al-Waleed is close to Tanf, a strategic Syrian highway border crossing with Iraq, where U.S. forces have assisted rebels trying to recapture territory from fleeing Islamic State fighters. U.S. forces have been based since last year at Tanf.
Erbil: The Iraqi army and Sunni tribal fighters have dislodged Islamic State from the al-Waleed border crossing into Syria, an Iraqi military statement said on Saturday.



The capture of al-Waleed removes Islamic State fighters from the vicinity of a U.S. base located on the other side of the border, in Syrian territory.



Aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition and the Iraqi air force took part in the operation, the statement said.



Al-Waleed is close to Tanf, a strategic Syrian border crossing with Iraq on the Baghdad-Damascus highway, where US forces have assisted Syrian rebels trying to recapture territory from Islamic State.



U.S. forces have been based at Tanf since last year, in effect preventing Iranian-backed forces supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from receiving heavy weaponry from Iran by using the main highway between Iraq and Syria.



The involvement of Iraqi Sunni tribal fighters in the operation to dislodge the militants from al-Waleed is another indication that Iran will not yet be able to use the highway.



Pro-Assad forces in Syria, mainly comprising Iraqi Shi`ite militias, last week reached the Iraqi border north-east of Tanf, potentially preventing the U.S.-backed rebels from taking more territory from Islamic State alongside the border area with Iraq.



In Mosul, where a U.S.-backed offensive against Islamic State on Saturday entered its ninth month, the militants have been squeezed into an enclave on the western bank of the Tigris river.



Islamic State also controls territory along the border with Syria and urban pockets west and south of Mosul.



In Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, made up predominantly of Kurdish fighters, have seized territory to the north, east and west of Raqqa, Islamic State`s Syrian bastion.



About 100,000 civilians remain trapped in harrowing conditions behind Islamic State lines in Mosul, with little food, water and medicine and limited access to hospitals, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.



Islamic State snipers are shooting at families trying to flee on foot or by boat across the Tigris River, as part of a tactic to keep civilians as human shields, it said.



Iraqi government forces regained eastern Mosul in January, then a month later began the offensive on the western side that includes the Old City, a dense maze of narrow alleyways where fighting is mainly done house by house.



The fall of Mosul would, in effect, mark the end of the Iraqi half of the "caliphate" that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared in a speech from an historic mosque in the Old City three years ago, covering parts of Iraq and Syria.



Moscow said on Friday its forces may have killed Baghdadi in an air strike in Syria last month, but Washington said it could not corroborate the death and Western and Iraqi officials were

sceptical.



About 200,000 people were estimated to be trapped behind Islamic State lines in Mosul in May, but the number has declined as government forces have thrust further into the city.



About 800,000 people, more than a third of the pre-war population of the northern Iraqi city, have fled, seeking refuge with friends and relatives or in camps.
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's younger brother Shehbaz Sharif today hit out at the country's powerful military, saying unlike the military rulers who "usurped" power at gunpoint, his family respects the law.



Shehbaz, the 65-year-old Punjab chief minister, made the remarks while talking to media after appearing before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which grilled him in connection with the high-profile Panamagate graft case against Sharifs.



"The prime minister of Pakistan appeared front of this JIT a day ago and a new leaf was turned in Pakistan's 70-year history. Today, I did the same," said Shehbaz, the fourth member of the Sharif family to appear before the JIT.



"We have proven that our family has respect for the law, unlike the military rulers who usurped power at gunpoint (in the past)," Shehbaz said, referring to several military Generals who in the past toppled elected governments.



Prime Minister Sharif was ousted by then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999. The army has ruled the country for much of its life since it gained independence 70 years ago.



Last month, the powerful army withdrew a controversial tweet that had rattled the Sharif government over a media leak about a rift between the two power centres over fighting militancy in the country.



It was taken as the army's defeat and an unprecedented criticism was ensued on social media against the army, which enjoys considerable influence over policy decisions in Pakistan.



"This is not the first time that the Sharif family has been put to trial: people should not forget the time when our family's Ittefaq Foundries were taken from us by force," said Shehbaz.



He said between 1988 and 1990, his family's second trial took place during Benazir Bhutto's first government; and then again in 1993 and 1996, the Sharif family suffered losses worth billions due to conspiracies against it.



"But that was not all: in (former president) Musharraf's era, I was handcuffed and taken to prison. I have not talked about this before publicly as it was a matter of shame, but I am admitting it today because we are on trial once again," the Punjab chief minister said.



"This is the fifth time we are being put to trial, but just like the times before this, all (our opponent's) allegations will be proven false," he added.



He said he was asked to appear before the JIT as somebody "acquainted with the facts of the Panamagate scandal".



The Punjab chief minister said that even though he had severe back pain, he did not flee from the JIT's summons.



"I did not go away to London, never to return, like other politicians [have done in the past]," Sharif said.



"Whatever questions the JIT asked, I answered them to the best of my knowledge," he added.



Reiterating his brother's point that the JIT is not investigating a case about corruption within the government, Shehbaz said: "This is a case against our family; it is a means to destabilise out family, just like the attempts made by others in the past."



Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sharif was grilled by the JIT, set up by the Supreme Court last month to investigate the Sharif family about its properties in London.



It had questioned Sharif's sons - Hussain and Hasan - last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings. His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice.



Earlier, Shehbaz arrived at the JIT secretariat to appear before the JIT. He was accompanied by his son, Hamza Shahbaz, Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.



The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.



The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.



The JIT alleged that the government was using its official machinery to hamper its investigation.



The Supreme Court had asked the government to respond to the allegations against the departments.



Meanwhile, the Prime Minister House accused the JIT of tapping phones and monitoring witnesses, which it said was in violation of the law and the Constitution.



Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf Ali raised serious doubts over JIT's performance, accusing it of spending too much time and energy on monitoring the media.



In a four-page response which he has submitted in the Supreme Court, Ashtar stated that the JIT application spanned more than 120 pages, containing news articles, screenshots of statements, tweets and messages gathered from social media.



"It appears that a lot of time and energy is being consumed in gathering this material. The JIT appears to have spent [too much] time watching talk shows, reading articles and monitoring tweets and messages on social media while arranging the same where necessary," according to the reply.



The AGP also informed the apex court about the replies submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Law Ministry, Intelligence Bureau and the Prime Minister?s Secretariat over JIT's allegations of non-cooperation and tampering of records.



"These institutions vehemently deny [all the] allegations (levelled by) the JIT," he said.
Islamabad:Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's younger brother Shehbaz Sharif today hit out at the country's powerful military, saying unlike the military rulers who "usurped" power at gunpoint, his family respects the law.



Shehbaz, the 65-year-old Punjab chief minister, made the remarks while talking to media after appearing before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which grilled him for nearly four hours in connection with the high-profile Panamagate graft case against Sharifs.

"The prime minister of Pakistan appeared front of this JIT a day ago and a new leaf was turned in Pakistan's 70-year history. Today, I did the same," said Shehbaz, the fourth member of the Sharif family to appear before the JIT.

"We have proven that our family has respect for the law, unlike the military rulers who usurped power at gunpoint (in the past)," Shehbaz said, referring to several military Generals who in the past toppled elected governments.

Prime Minister Sharif was ousted by then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999. The army has ruled the country for much of its life since it gained independence 70 years ago.

Last month, the powerful army withdrew a controversial tweet that had rattled the Sharif government over a media leak about a rift between the two power centres over fighting militancy in the country.

It was taken as the army's defeat and an unprecedented criticism was ensued on social media against the army, which enjoys considerable influence over policy decisions in Pakistan.

"This is not the first time that the Sharif family has been put to trial: people should not forget the time when our family's Ittefaq Foundries were taken from us by force," said Shehbaz.

He said between 1988 and 1990, his family's second trial took place during Benazir Bhutto's first government; and then again in 1993 and 1996, the Sharif family suffered losses worth billions due to conspiracies against it.

"But that was not all: in (former president) Musharraf's era, I was handcuffed and taken to prison. I have not talked about this before publicly as it was a matter of shame, but I am admitting it today because we are on trial once again," the Punjab chief minister said.

"This is the fifth time we are being put to trial, but just like the times before this, all our opponent's allegations will be proven false," he added.

He said he was asked to appear before the JIT as somebody "acquainted with the facts of the Panamagate scandal".

The Punjab chief minister said that even though he had severe back pain, he did not flee from the JIT's summons.

"I did not go away to London, never to return, like other politicians have done in the past," Sharif said, taking a dig at Musharraf who went abroad on the pretext of treatment for back pain and never came back to face cases.

"Whatever questions the JIT asked, I answered them to the best of my knowledge," he added.

Reiterating his brother's point that the JIT is not investigating a case about corruption within the government, Shehbaz said: "This is a case against our family; it is a means to destabilise out family, just like the attempts made by others in the past."

Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sharif was grilled by the JIT, set up by the Supreme Court last month to investigate the Sharif family about its properties in London.

It had questioned Sharif's sons - Hussain and Hasan - last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings. His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was summoned twice.

Earlier, Shehbaz arrived at the JIT secretariat to appear before the JIT. He was accompanied by his son, Hamza Shahbaz, Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.

The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

The JIT alleged that the government was using its official machinery to hamper its investigation.

The Supreme Court had asked the government to respond to the allegations against the departments.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister House accused the JIT of tapping phones and monitoring witnesses, which it said was in violation of the law and the Constitution.

Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf Ali raised serious doubts over JIT's performance, accusing it of spending too much time and energy on ?monitoring the media?.

In a four-page response which he has submitted in the Supreme Court, Ashtar stated that the JIT application spanned more than 120 pages, containing news articles, screenshots of statements, tweets and messages gathered from social media.

"It appears that a lot of time and energy is being consumed in gathering this material. The JIT appears to have spent [too much] time watching talk shows, reading articles and monitoring tweets and messages on social media while arranging the same where necessary," according to the reply.

The AGP also informed the apex court about the replies submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Law Ministry, Intelligence Bureau and the Prime Minister's Secretariat over JIT's allegations of non-cooperation and tampering of records.

"These institutions vehemently deny all the allegations levelled by the JIT," he said.
Islamabad: Pakistan today said that it has opened another crossing point on the border with Afghanistan to facilitate Afghan transit trade.



The decision came close on the heels of a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of SCO summit in Astana.



Foreign office said in a statement that Pakistan opened Kharlachi crossing with Afghanistan in Kurram tribal district "with effect from today."



"The decision reflects Pakistan's continued efforts for facilitating Afghan transit and trade through Pakistan," it said.



It also clarified that this is not a pedestrians crossing, but is meant for facilitation of trade and transit vehicles.
Marawi: Philippine troops pounded Islamist militants holding parts of southern Marawi city with air strikes and artillery Saturday as more soldiers were deployed and the death toll rose to more than 300 after nearly a month of fighting.

Fires erupted and dark plumes of smoke rose from enclaves still occupied by the militants as the air force staged bombing runs to support ground troops struggling to dislodge the fighters from entrenched positions, AFP journalists at the scene said.

MG520 attack helicopters and FA50 fighter jets were used in the raids, while sustained bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard in the distance, indicating the intensity of the fighting.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, appearing in public for the first time in nearly a week, said the presence of foreign fighters from the Islamic State (IS) group among the militants in Marawi have made the fighting more difficult.

"You have a conglomeration there of ISIS fighters from Syria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lankan and Arabs," he told soldiers during a visit to a military camp in Butuan city, northeast of Marawi, in the southern region of Mindanao.

"We have to use the air assets because we are up against fighters from the Middle East and they have learned the art of brutal killing -- they will burn you, behead you," he said.

Duterte`s absence had fuelled speculation about the state of the 72-year-old leader`s health.

Also on Saturday, 400 fresh troops were airlifted to Marawi from the central Philippines, ANC television said quoting military officials.

Television footage showed the soldiers bidding goodbye to their families before being flown to the conflict zone.

Hundreds of militants -- supported by foreign fighters -- rampaged through Marawi, the largely Christian Philippines` most important Muslim city, on May 23 waving black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group.

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao to counter the attack, which he said was part of a plan by IS to establish a base in the country.

Such a base could be crucial for IS` ambitions to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia, analysts say.

The military has said at least eight foreign fighters from Chechnya, Yemen, Malaysia and Indonesia were among the militants killed in the Marawi fighting.

The overall death toll rose to 329 with 310 -- 225 militants, 59 soldiers and 26 civilians -- killed in the conflict, according to government figures.

The 19 others deaths came from those displaced by the fighting, said Mujiv Hataman, the governor of a Muslim autonomous region in the south.

Hataman said the deaths among the evacuees were caused by severe dehydration from diarrhoea.

More than 309,000 people have been been displaced in Marawi and nearby areas, the government said.

Many have fled to the homes of friends and relatives and others are in evacuation centres.

"Our forces are moving towards the heart of the enemy," regional military spokesman Jo-ar Herrera told reporters in Marawi on Saturday, referring to the heavy fighting under urban conditions.

"It`s the centre of gravity. This is where the location of their command and control, the leadership of the enemy."

Ground commanders estimate "more than 100" militants are still holding out in at least four villages in Marawi, military spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said in Manila.

But he said the figures were based on estimates a few days ago "so this number could have dropped significantly".

Padilla said in an interview with DZMM radio the military would no longer give any self-imposed deadlines on when the militants would be driven out after failing to meet previous ones they had set.

"We are trying our best to expedite (driving them out) without unduly compromising the lives of our soldiers and at the same time the remaining civilians there," he said.
Geneva: The leaders of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have slammed Pakistan for human rights violations in the region during the ongoing 35th session of Human Rights Council in Geneva.



Speaking during the ongoing 35th session of the Human Rights Council, United Kashmir People`s National Party Foreign Affairs Secretary Jamil Maqsood expressed concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in so-called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit- Baltistan.



"We are sadly concerned about deteriorating human rights situation in so-called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit- Baltistan. People of both regions living in regrettable situation since long," he said.



Maqsood alleged that the people of these regions do not have freedom to exercise their fundamental rights.



He said that exploitation of natural resources in both peripheries of Pakistan is at its highest level.



Maqsood added that both regions have systematically deprived from their natural resources including right to development by the exploration of these resources.



He held the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) responsible for the exploitation of regions natural resources and said that it has created drastic environmental effects in the region.



Maqsood further said that simultaneously this exploitation has jeopardized natural habitat of wild life and huge population.



He said that the CPEC project is clear violation of the international laws as well as United Nations resolutions on Jammu & Kashmir.



"In recent months, Pakistan has introduced draconian laws to press freedom of expression and freedom of thoughts to curtail its minorities and other ethnic groups under so-called security doctrine. Pakistan protection Ordinance (POPA) was termed by the ICJ as repressive and hastily drafted. That act was immediately come into effect in Pakistani peripheries and nationalists and progressive political workers have become its victim," Maqsood said.



He alleged that political leaders in Gilgit- Baltistan has been victimized under anti- terror laws and establishment of military courts as parallel judicial system has further demonized fundamental freedoms of the people in Pakistan and in PoK.



"The cyber crime act has inflicted damage to the civil society activists and human rights defenders. This act has barred human rights defenders to criticize undemocratic legislation of the state," he said.



Maqsood said that practically the state of Pakistan has become a hell for the progressive people, human rights defenders and journalists and in the absence of indigenous media, the world community is very blind about human rights violations in these regions.



He added the local culture and languages are at the verge of destruction by the oppressive regimes of Pakistan.



Maqsood urged the UN to take an urgent heed to these developments taking place in Pakistan so that the life of hundred thousand political workers, civil society and human rights defenders could be saved from Pakistan security apparatus.



Ecoching similar sentiments, United Kashmir People`s National Party (UKPNP) leader Nasir Aziz Khan also drew Human Rights Council attention towards grave human rights violations in so-called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, which are part of the erstwhile princely State of Jammu and Kashmir and has been illegally held by Pakistan since 1947.



He said for the last 70 years, the Pakistan Government has not only neglected this area`s development, it has systematically indulged in politically repressing the people.



"Though so called Azad Kashmir is supposed to be a self-governing state, it really has remained a colony of Islamabad, with Pakistan`s central government taking all decisions," he said.



Nasir said exploitation of natural resources in Gilgit-Baltistan and so-called Azad Kashmir has deprived the natives of the region from their own natural wealth.



"Islamabad is constructing mega dams, China Pakistan Economic Corridor project which runs across our region before it enters Pakistan. Mega projects in a disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir are a clear violation of international laws and UNCIP resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir," he added.



He noted that on March 6 this year, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had reported that in Gilgit-Baltistan hundreds of young political workers and rights activists are behind bars under Anti-Terrorist Act, which was enact in Pakistan primarily to eliminate dangerous terrorists, adding that any voice for rights in the region is suppressed by law enforcement agencies.



Nadsir further said that the security forces continue to act with impunity and are accused of widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, deaths in custody and extrajudicial executions targeting political activists, journalists, religious minorities and human rights defenders.
Manila: President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who had avoided public appearances for nearly a week to recover from what spokesmen described as fatigue, said on Saturday that a battle with Islamist militants in Marawi City was winding up, but the insurgency had deep roots.



More than 300 people have been killed in the southern town, where troops have been fighting for over three weeks to oust militants who have sworn allegiance to Islamic State.



"The fighting is going on, but it`s winding up," Duterte said while addressing soldiers in the town of Butuan, an event covered live on television.



But he added: "It`s difficult to fight those who are willing to die. They have corrupted the name of God in the form of religion to kill many innocent people, for nothing."



The presence of fighters from the Middle East had made it a brutal conflict, Duterte said.



Duterte had not attended any public event since last Sunday, with his spokesmen saying the president was tired and resting. He did not appear at any function to mark the Philippines` independence day last Monday, which raised eyebrows.



He appeared to be fine on Saturday, and attended two functions in the southern region of Mindanao, both near his hometown Davao.



"Do not worry," he told reporters after the event with the soldiers. "My state of health is immaterial. There is the vice president who will take over."
Washington DC: Seven US sailors have been missing after a U.S. Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan.

The commanding officer of the ship, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, is among the injured according to a statement by the U.S. Navy.

USS Fitzgerald suffered damage to its starboard side above and below the waterline in the incident. Benson was one of four injured sailors who needed to be flown to a naval hospital in Yokosuka, Japan, reports the CNN.

U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said four sailors were medevaced.

Other injured sailors are being assessed, the Navy said.

The two ships collided in the Pacific Ocean about 56 nautical miles off the coast of Yokosuka. The damage to the Fitzgerald resulted in some flooding.

The vessel was taking on water after the incident, but the crew was working to stabilise the ship by pumping water out of the hold.

The Japanese coast guard said four of its vessels and one helicopter were assisting the U.S. Naval destroyer with damage assessment and searching the area around the ship, working on the possibility that some of the missing may have fallen into the ocean.

The merchant vessel involved in the collision is the ACX Crystal based in the Philippines.

The USS Fitzgerald requested the assistance of the Japanese coast guard after the collision occurred at approximately 2.30 a.m. Saturday.
New Delhi: An India-origin boy has succumbed to his injuries after being brutally raped and tortured for several hours by a group of bullies in Malaysia.

According to daily.bhaskar.com, the boy was attacked on Friday outside an eatery after his assualters thought he was a gay.

During the assualt, a blunt object was inserted into his body leading to his agonising death.

The 18-year-old died after he was beaten and sexually assaulted for hours.

T. Nhaveen was rushed to the Penang Hospital where he was kept in the ICU. But later, he succumbed to his injuries.

He was unconsciousness when he was brought o the hospital.

The attack took reportedly took place around 2:20 am.

Nhaveen was accompanied by his friend T. Previin when the attack took place, the report said.

The attackers first taunted them and called them with disrespectful names.

According to the report, the attackers were in the age group of 16 and 20.

However, his friend Previin managed to escape the attack.

Nhaveen was dragged into a field where he was raped by the group for several hours before they inserted a blunt object into his anus, causing severe injuries.

Doctors declared Nhaveen brain dead, the report said.

He is a very good boy in school. He was the target of jokes during his schooling years because he was soft, the report quoted one of the teachers as saying.
Beirut: The Syrian army said it would suspend combat operations in the southern city of Deraa for 48 hours from Saturday, according to a statement carried by state news agency SANA.



The army general command said the ceasefire was due to take effect at 12 p.m. (09:00 GMT) on Saturday and was being done to support "reconciliation efforts".
Washington: Two top lawmakers have accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism and urged the Trump administration to cut military aid to the country, saying the US should make it more difficult for Islamabad to get its hands on American weapons.

During a Congressional hearing this week, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Ted Poe, alleged that Pakistan is engaged in terrorism and asserted that the US needs to cut its military assistance to it.

"We need to go on the record here, on this part of our government, to say that we're not going to be providing weapons to countries like Pakistan that we're afraid will shoot down our own people and afraid we know they're engaged in terrorism," Rohrabacher said during a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade hearing on Foreign Military Sales.

"We know what they've done now. They still hold Dr. Afridi (who helped locate Osama bin Laden)...In a dungeon," he said.

"We should be facilitating our support and our weapons systems to countries like Egypt that are fighting this threat to Western civilisation, to all of civilisation. And we should make it more difficult not less difficult for countries like Pakistan to get their hands on American weapons," Rohrabacher asserted.

Congressman Ted Poe, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade, said that the US is having the issue with Pakistan whether "they're loyal or playing us for years on the issue of aid" to Pakistan and sales to Pakistan.

"We were concerned about the Pakistanis scrambling F-16s that we made and sold to the Pakistanis so that they wouldn't shoot down Americans who were doing the job of taking out this terrorist. I personally think Pakistan plays the United States because they turn to China if we don't help them," Poe said.

"I understand all that. They have nuclear weapons and we want to have a relationship with them so that they don't look to China. I get all that. But are we doing anything different on sales to Pakistan to make sure those sales of whatever it is aren't used against us directly or used against us indirectly because of the military helping the Taliban in Afghanistan where were have our troops and those weapons could be used against the United States?" he asked.

"Are we doing anything different to make sure that doesn't happen or are we still using the same formula," Poe questioned.

Tina Kaidanow, Acting Assistant Secretary of State, Political-Military Affairs, told lawmakers that with Pakistan the United States has a robust end use monitoring programme, to ensure that the items that it provides to them are used appropriately and within the boundaries of what the US has asked them to accomplish.

"We regard Pakistan as an important partner on counter- terrorism issues. They will be essential in bringing the Afghan Taliban to the table for peace talks. There are a number of things where we need their cooperation and their assistance," Kaidanow said.

"We do want to help them on the counter-terrorism front. But on the other hand, again, we have very big concerns that we continuously front with them on support for Haqqani, on support for other things. This has been made clear to the Pakistani government at the highest levels," the senior State Department official said.
Sanaa: At least three militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were killed after an unmanned US plane fired a missile at a running vehicle in Shabwa province, a military official said.

"The airstrike on Friday took place in Niqabah area of Shabwa province and one vehicle carrying al-Qaida members was completely destroyed," the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

The military source said that the strike was launched on specific intelligence inputs provided by the Yemeni anti-terror unit and resulted in killing three terrorists, Xinhua news agency reported.

He added that among those killed was the brother of Saad Bin Atef, the leader of al-Qaida terrorist group in Shabwa province.

The mountainous areas in Shabwa and Abyan provinces have been the scene of US drone attacks and clashes between Yemeni security forces and militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch since

the emergence of the group in the country eight years ago.

The militant group has yet to make comments about the latest US airstrikes that targeted its fighters in Shabwa province.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional Al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

The Yemen-based Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), known locally as "Ansar al-Sharia" and emerged in January 2009, has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against

Yemen`s army and governmental institutions.
Zamboanga: Philippine troops have rescued a Vietnamese sailor held hostage for seven months by Islamist militants in the country's south, the military said on Saturday.

Hoang Vo, 28, was rescued by troops yesterday after an air strike and artillery fire on an Abu Sayyaf camp in the island of Basilan dispersed the kidnappers, regional military spokeswoman Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay said.

She said the sailor was being treated for an unspecified wound on his back.

There is no way to independently verify the military's account of the rescue.

The Abu Sayyaf network has been kidnapping foreigners and locals for years and holding them for ransom on its remote island strongholds in the southern Philippines.

Vo was seized last November along with five other Vietnamese crew members of a vessel that was boarded by the militants off Sibago island in the southern region of Mindanao.

A statement issued by the military's regional command based in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga said Abu Sayyaf militants are holding a total of 26 hostages, including several foreigners, in Sulu and Basilan.

The Abu Sayyaf is known to behead its hostages unless ransom payments are made.

German national Jurgen Kantner, 70, was beheaded earlier this year after the kidnappers' demand for 30 million pesos (USD 600,000) was not met.

Last year, the Abu Sayyaf also beheaded two Canadian hostages.

The Abu Sayyaf, originally a loose network of militants formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, has splintered into factions, with some continuing to engage in banditry and kidnappings.

One faction led by Isnilon Hapilon has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group, with members among those holding parts of Marawi, the largely Catholic nation's most important Islamic city, where the government has launched air strikes and deployed artillery and ground forces against them.
Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front row taxi ridesymbolic of the shows content as a fun ride that takes audiences from point A to point B. Gabina VOAs main goal is Enlightening young people, introducing them to cutting-edge technological innovations, exposing them to new processes and ideas so they can be productive, informed and self-governing citizens.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. While on an official visit to the Republic of Artsakh, Speaker of Armenia's Parliament Ara Babloyan commented on the killings of three Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani shooting, reports Armenpress.

I am in Artsakh. I learned with pain at the Artsakh border about the death of three Armenian soldiers, Arayik, Vigen and Vardan, as a result of another insolent provocation of the Azerbaijani armed forces. I call this action carried out by Baku regime as a murder.

I extend my condolences to the relatives and friends of the killed soldiers. The boys were killed while defending the homeland. Eternal glory to our soldiers

During the Artsakh meetings we have always talked about unity. No provocation can hinder us to achieve our goals. The behavior of Azerbaijani authorities once again proves that we need to take action by consistently combining our efforts.

Being aware that the provocation will not remain unpunished, the Azerbaijani side gave priority to the political whim than to human lives.

P.S. It is incomprehensible that till now there is no response from international partners.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian community of Istanbul hopes in the coming period the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul will intensify its activity as soon as possible, editor-in-chief of Istanbuls Armenian Zhamanak daily Ara Gochunyan told ARMENPRESS.

The patriarchal locum tenens Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan will return to Istanbul from Cologne on June 20 after which the Initiative committee will be formed. They will submit application to the Istanbul governorate and based on their response the process will pass to more practical stage, he said.

Ara Gochunyan said at the moment there are two versions: the first one is that the authorities will quickly respond to the application as a result of which it will be possible to quickly organize the elections, and the second one is that the authorities response may late. At the moment there is an optimistic atmosphere, and there is a possibility for the first version. This process requires a very responsible work. All vigilant people in the community hope lessons will be learned from the experience of the past 9 years so that the continuation of the process will be free of polarization and full of spirit of purposefulness and unity, Gochunyan said.

He attached importance to the fact that the respective authorities have started to recognize Bekchyan as being patriarchal locum tenens. At the same time, he also welcomed the Armenian communitys balanced stance during the entire critical period. According to him, many people had their impact on the positive settlement of the issue. Govhunyan also appreciated the contribution of head of Board of Trustees of St. Slavery hospital Petros Shirinoglu. Yes, there were ups and downs, but at least the problem has entered to solution stage. I believe we will overcome this stage with honor, he said.

Ara Gochunyan also commented on the issue whether Ateshyan will be nominated as candidate of Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, stating that it is still too early to speak about it. We have gone through a difficult period. Therefore, we need a brotherly cooperation spirit at the full vigor of our clergymen, in particular, at bishop level. We dont have the luxury to refuse from any of our bishops. Thus, the communitys vigilant people are hopeful that the misunderstandings and mistrusts of this stage will be overcome, and our clergymen will continue their mission with normal relations and cooperation spirit, Ara Gochunyan said.

Araks Kasyan
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Following the Azerbaijani aggression on June 16 in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact which resulted in deaths of three Armenian soldiers, in the morning of June 17, at 09:40, the Azerbaijani forces launched another provocation at the northern direction of the line of contact as a result of which Defense Army soldier Narek T. Gasparyan (born in 1997) was fatally wounded, press service of Artsakhs Defense Ministry told Armenpress.

The Artsakh Defense Ministry shares the grief of the loss and extends its condolences to the family, relatives and co-servicemen of the killed soldier.

The Ministry assures that the response to the provocative actions of the Azerbaijani side, which is inspired by unaddressed statements of the respective international structures, will be targeted and disproportionate, the Ministry said in a statement.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Davit Babayan, spokesperson of the President of Artsakh, expects tough, addressed statement from the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs against the Azerbaijani aggression committed in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact on June 16.

According to him, with such tough statement and steps the international community should restrain the unruly state.

Yesterdays events must be viewed at two platforms: the first one is the humanitarian factor, and in this sense this is really a tragedy, we suffered three losses. We all, the entire Artsakh and Armenians, consider these losses as personal losses. As for the military-political factor, nothing strange happened, in other words, the adversary continues its unconstructive, fascist, terrorist actions. Terrorist acts took place: shots were fired from grenade launchers and mortars from distant places, and three Armenians soldiers were killed while defending the borders of the homenald, Davit Babayan told Armenpress.

He said the international community must give respective response to such actions.

In general, there is illogical rule: when the Co-Chairs plan to visit the region, either during the visit or after that the Azerbaijani forces take such abnormal step. We know that the Co-Chairs are going to visit Baku in the coming days: this is their first visit to Baku after the recent tough statement by them and the yesterdays incident. It is important to make such tough statements on regular basis since Azerbaijan will try to blur that statement. This time we expect tough stance by the Co-Chairs against Baku, Davit Babayan said.

He stated that Azerbaijan doesnt respect the international law. They do not respect their own laws, and their laws are inhuman, how they can respect the international law? They respect the right to force, and this must be displayed at two ways: on the one way we restrain here, and on the other way the international community must restrain it, he said.

The Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire regime on June 16 at 18:05 using antitank grenade launchers, as a result of which 3 Artsakh Defense Army soldiers, Arayik Matinyan, 1997, Vigen Petrosyan, 1997, and Vardan Sargsyan, 1997, received fatal wounds. Following the Azerbaijani June 16 aggression, in the morning of June 17, at 09:40, the Azerbaijani forces launched another provocation at the northern direction of the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact as a result of which Defense Army soldier Narek T. Gasparyan (born in 1997) was fatally wounded.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Governments initiative to open Consulate in Iraqs Erbil city is an important step, Vahram Petrosyan  head of YSU Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, head of the Division of Armenian-Kurdish relations, told a press conference in Armenpress, adding that this initiative is a significant process in the context of regional developments.

The discussions on opening Armenian Consulate in Iraqs Erbil were being held for a long period of time. The opening of the Consulate is a principled decision, it will significantly contribute to the development of relations between Armenia and the Kurdistan Regional Government, Vahram Petrosyan said.

According to him, the Kurdish side has great hopes with this Consulate, the discourse in connection with Armenia is quite positive among numerous Kurdish figures.

The Kurdistan Regional Government considers Armenia in the regional context. Moreover, it also attaches importance to the economic factor. They have great hopes in terms of investments, they even mention fields where Armenia can be useful. They also attach importance to healthcare field, they search for cooperation ways in agriculture sector. They outline cooperation in education sphere, thousands of Kurds are ready to come to Armenia to study, Vahram Petrosyan said, stating that in general Armenia has positive image among Kurds. Now Armenias task is to work on that path.

Petrosyan stated that the Kurdistan Regional Government considers Armenia as a reserve option. They also understand that the relations with Turkey can develop at various directions, and they need to certainly improve the relations in the context of Armenian-Kurdish realities.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The maintenance of constant tension in the conflict zone, in fact, is Azerbaijans response to the unsuccessful diplomatic activity of its foreign ministry and leadership, Russian political scientist Stanislav Tarasov told Armenpress, commenting on the Azerbaijani June 16 and 17 aggression launched in Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact as a result of which four Armenian soldiers were killed.

Azerbaijan reached a deadlock in all directions. They are unable to come to an agreement, and these events are taking place ahead of the Co-Chairs upcoming visit to Baku and after the visit to Stepanakert and Yerevan. This case of situation escalation aims at overthrowing the negotiation process. The conditions, the agenda proposed by the Co-Chairs which are now being discussed and have been discussed also in Yerevan and Stepanakert, are not beneficial to Azerbaijan. It acts through escalating the situation by this provoking Artsakh to armed conflict, Stanislav Tarasov said.

Asked what does Azerbaijan want to say through the large-scale military exercises which are being held over the past months, the Russian political scientist said:

These military exercises are internal indicators that Azerbaijan considers the armed conflict as a key, in other words, it publicly displays it, but in reality, one of these measures is to put pressure on Stepanakert and Yerevan aimed at reaching concessions in the negotiation process. Frankly I dont predict a serious armed conflict yet as long as fight goes on clarifying the stances. Armenia should not yield to provocations and in any case it should have to bid on political-diplomatic settlement. It has long been obvious that Azerbaijan acts as an aggressive side, and especially in case when the Minsk Group accepts the St. Petersburg agreements which suppose installation of monitoring mechanism. If this mechanism works, the international observers will be able to have a more objective picture of the situation, which is not beneficial to Baku, the Russian political scientist said.

The Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire regime on June 16 at 18:05 using antitank grenade launchers, as a result of which 3 Artsakh Defense Army soldiers, Arayik Matinyan, 1997, Vigen Petrosyan, 1997, and Vardan Sargsyan, 1997, received fatal wounds. Following the Azerbaijani June 16 aggression, in the morning of June 17, at 09:40, the Azerbaijani forces launched another provocation at the northern direction of the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact as a result of which Defense Army soldier Narek T. Gasparyan (born in 1997) was fatally wounded.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The independence of Iraqi Kurdistan will cause serious changes in the region, Vahram Petrosyan  head of YSU Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, head of the Division of Armenian-Kurdish relations, told a press conference in Armenpress, stating that the referendum is linked with numerous internal and external factors.

I want to state that holding independence referendum and the states independence are not the same. Today there are numerous internal and external problems. The inner-political situation in the country is critical. Various Kurdish parties have serious controversies especially on the referendum issue. If the ruling party believes that now it is the most appropriate moment to hold the referendum, many Kurdish organizations say at the moment its inappropriate for it, Vahram Petrosyan said.

Petrosyan said the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan will be a threat for Turkey, and the Kurdish people of Turkey will be engaged in the referendum processes before and after it.

As for other foreign forces, Petrosyan stated that only Israel announces that it supports independence of Kurdistan, but the remaining states as well are not against the Kurdish peoples right to self-determination.

But here I want to note one factor: international big powers announce that the time is not appropriate, and this means that they are not against the fact of Kurdistans independence, they simply state that time is not convenient for holding it, he said.

Iraqi Kurdistan authorities announced that a referendum on independence will be held on September 25.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. On June 17 Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited Talish village of the Martakert region to attend a solemn opening ceremony of the Revived Talish monument, press service of the Artsakh Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The President expressed gratitude to the authors of this initiative stating that the monument has a peculiar meaning and reflects our firm will and determination to restore the former glory of this settlement, make it crowded and prosperous again.

In his speech Bako Sahakyan stressed that the restoration of Talish was among the significant state strategic programs, which would unconditionally come to life.

Such monument is a message to the world showing that our will is unbending, faith towards our own strength is steadfast, and optimism is inexhaustible. We respond to barbarism by our unity, our potential to live, create and build, Bako Sahakyan said.

During the ceremony President Sahakyan handed in high state awards to a group of volunteers of the Sisian squad.

Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, other officials were present at the event.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan attended the opening ceremony of Softconstruct Yerevan Office on June 17, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The company operates in information technologies field, in particular, it is engaged in diversified programming.

Established in UK, the company currently has offices in 14 countries of the world and has more than 500 partners.

Accompanied by Mayor of Yerevan, Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies and company founders, the President toured the newly-opened Office which is located in Yerevans Nork-Marash administrative district, got acquainted with the investments carried out, the jobs, services provided and the company development programs.

The President was introduced on the opportunities of the companys 2nd building which is being renovated for expanding the programming offices, as well as the upcoming programs.

During the visit Serzh Sargsyan also got acquainted with the activity directions of founders of Softconstruct Yerevan Office Badalyan brothers group of companies. It was reported that the companies included in the group currently have 2203 employees, and it is planned to increase that number by 300 in 2017.

Thereafter, President Sargsyan visited PicsArt company which is located in Ajapnyak administrative district adjacent to TUMO Center for Creative Technologies.

Established in US in 2011, the company currently has offices in San Francisco, Tokyo and Yerevan.Accompanied by company co-founders and representatives of the field, President Serzh Sargsyan toured the office, got acquainted with the companys achievements over the past three years, as well as the upcoming development programs and goals from which PicsArt highlights the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning fields. According to the company representatives, it will boost Armenias IT field and will contribute to increasing competitiveness, as well as attracting foreign investments and creating new Armenain start-up companies.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. President of the Republic of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan on June 17 visited a section on the republic's east borderline, got acquainted with the course of the service and situation there, press service of the Artsakh Presidents Office told Armenpress.

During the consultation held with the command staff of one of the military units, the Artsakh President touched upon the latest ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan calling them as a terrorism and a gross violation of international law.

Bako Sahakyan stressed that such crimes would not remain unpunished.

Artsakhs Defense minister Levon Mnatsakanyan, other officials accompanied the President during the visit.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. By moving in step with the worlds IT companies PicsArt company apps more and more attract great number of users.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan visited the companys Yerevan Office on June 17 where he got acquainted with the staff and the company opportunities, reports Armenpress.

Accompanied by Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies Vahan Martirosyan, company co-founders, the President toured the company where he was introduced on the development programs carried out over the past years.

Minister Vahan Martirosyan once again stated that the IT field is Armenias priority directions, and therefore the President expressed a wish to personally visit the company.

During todays visit no cooperation programs were discussed, however, in the ministry we always discuss various programs with participation of IT companies, the minister said.

Company co-founder, executive director Hovhannes Avoyan said the worlds largest image editing and drawing app has 90 million monthly users.

We prepare mobile apps. Currently the company has 350 employees, whereas initially their number was over 10. The company is the leader in the field, of course, we have competitors, for instance Adobe Photoshop which mainly are used on computers, but not so much on mobile phones, and in this sense we are leading. Over the past 5 years we had 400 million users, and I can state that the company recorded success thanks to our hard work. We also had failures, however, thanks to our creative workers, engineers, managers, we managed to reach this, by not believing that we will have such success. This is not my first company which recorded success. It is just an opportunity to present Armenia as a leading country in IT field. The key to our success is that we took the right path and were patient, the company executive director said, adding that they also cooperate with universities by organizing several lectures.

Companys PR coordinator Arusyak Kanetsyan showed how the photos can undergo various changes by using 3000 PicsArt tools.

Janna Petrosyan works at PicsArt for already two years as Quality Assurance Assistant, trying to minimize the problems emerging while using the app and contribute to increasing the quality. We try to do so that the users will use the app effectively and correctly and will avoid any discomfort while making a change, she said. I imagine my future career here, I have works to do since the company provides chance for progress.

PicsArt has been established in US in 2011. Currently the company has offices in San Francisco, Tokyo and Yerevan.

President Serzh Sargsyan also attended the opening ceremony of Soft Construct Yerevan Office on June 17. The company operates in information technologies field, in particular, it is engaged in diversified programming. Established in UK, the company currently has offices in 14 countries of the world and has more than 500 partners.
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Foreign Ministry issued a statement over the Azerbaijani provocations launched on June 16 and 17 in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact, the Ministry told Armenpress.

The statement reads:

We extend our deepest condolences to the relatives and co-servicemen of soldiers who were killed as a result of the Azerbaijani gross ceasefire violations carried out yesterday and today in the line of contact between Artsakh and Azerbaijan.

In their latest statement the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs condemned the ceasefire violations mentioning that it is Azerbaijan that opens fires first. Azerbaijan responds to such addressed statement through these provocations by displaying its total ignorance.

On the eve of the Co-Chairs visit to Baku, holding large-scale military exercises without proper notification to international obligations, the constant violations of the 1994-1995 trilateral termless ceasefire agreements, the new steps on escalating the situation is another challenge addressed by the Azerbaijani leadership to the international community, firstly, the Minsk Group Co-Chairing countries, the absence of adequate response to which can be considered by Azerbaijan as an encouragement for new adventures.

It is obvious that Baku, unable to move forward the peaceful settlement process in its desired path, is trying to create an illusion of reaching advantage in the frontline which is also doomed to failure and can lead to unpredictable consequences first of all for the side who escalates the situation.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.The Standards Board of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) meets monthly, but even though there are currently two petitions pending that discuss health aspects of the adult content production industry, they weren't on the agenda of yesterday's Board meetingbut that didn't stop attorney Karen Tynan, who's represented several adult companies accused of Cal/OSHA violations, and Verta, Secretary of the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee, from pressing the Board to engage better with the adult industry.

"I reminded the Standards Board that we have close collaboration between production companies and performers, and that we need for the next meeting to happen in Los Angeles so that workers can attend it, have their voices heard, and participate in creating the regulations," Tynan told AVN. "Really, it was just a reminder, and to be in front of the Standards Board and say, 'Hey, we're a real industry and we're here.' And Verta came from APAC, reminding them that APAC is a true stakeholder in this process and we want to work with the Board and we're here and ready to go."

Also present at the Standards Board meeting was AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Public Health Consultant Adam Cohen, and as he apparently does every time the Board meets, pressed them to approve the petition filed by AHF that would require condoms and other "barrier protections" in addition to testing.

"He gets up there with his laptop and his paternalistic comments," Tynan summarized. "He took great issue with the fact that there's no swabbing, and he asserts that no performers ever get their mouth or rectum swabbed. And he also took great issue with the fact that on the PASS website, the green check has a 14- and a 28-day date from testing. He was just up there disparaging the testing system, basically.

"But you know, he never seems to utter those four letters, P-r-E-P," she added. "And I actually think that's important, that whenever AHF, and they always say, 'We're the world's largest HIV organization'they never discuss the one thing that's 99.99 percent effective in the prevention of HIV, which is PrEP."

But perhaps the most important thing to come out of yesterday's meeting was that the Board's Secretary Marley Hart requested that the Division (Cal/OSHA) provide an update on the status of the proposed adult film industry regulations, which she asked to be presented at the next Standards Board meeting, which will be July 20 in San Diego.

"Per Marley Hart's request, they'll need to provide an update to the Board of where the regulations stand, where the advisory committee meetings stand," Tynan said. "We had one meeting in Oakland but we haven't had a meeting down in L.A. At the meeting last January in Oakland, we certainly didn't get all the way through many of the issues that are faced in creating a regulation, and as far as I understand it, Eric [Paul Leue, FSC Executive Director] has queried Cal/OSHA and has not received a response about an L.A. meeting so I think that this request for an update may get them moving a bit more.

"I've sent a email to Eric just so we can have some performers at that meeting in July to speak during the public comment time, so that the performers can remind the Division and the Standards Board of our position, of the need for a meeting in the L.A. area and the outstanding issues that need to be addressed," she added. "It's really something that people should put on their calendars right now so people won't schedule production for July 20. I know that's always a big thing: People kind of look up at the date maybe a week out and go, 'Ohmigod, I'm working that day,' so it's important to get that date out there. I understand there won't be a vote or anything at the July 20 meeting, but it's a meeting that will have an update from the Division, and where the subject matter of the adult film industry will be on people's minds as far as the Standards Board looking for an update."

Tynan also noted that July 20 is the first day of Comic Con 2017 in San Diego, and she invited all performers who'll be attending that event to take a couple of hours in the morning to make their views known to the Board regarding the prospective CalOSHA regulations.

The Cal/OSHA Standards Board will be holding its July 20 meeting in Room 310 of the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego 92101, beginning at 10 a.m.and as they say, "Be there or be square!"
Did anyone else see that it's not just Republicans who are questioning how Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) spends its money At Monday night's meeting of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, the majority of the all-Democratic Wake County Board of Commissioners was unwilling to significantly increase its funds above its stated $16 million increase for WCPSS. That falls far short of the $45.2 million increase requested by WCPSS. WCPSS said it needed additional funds to hire more school counselors, social workers, increase pay for bus drivers and offer new magnet school themes.Several Commissioners balked at the request. They didn't like that WCPSS is sitting on $21 million in reserves. More importantly, they questioned how WCPSS is spending money.Commissioner Erv Portman told the Raleign News & Observer: "There is a pattern that needs to be addressed. . . This pattern is the funding requested is not spent. And the funding that is not spent is not going to teacher pay. It is not going to supplies. It is not going to the things we all want."Another Wake County Commissioner, John Burns told the N&O he won't vote to raise taxes unless he can tell taxpayers where the money is going. He said he is not able to completely answer that question.Christine Kushner, Vice Chairwoman of the Wake County Board of Education sought to respond to the objections. She said the board is unwilling to spend leftover local funds because the money is nonrecurring. Kushner also said the board is so saving funds because of potential changes with state or federal funding.Commissioner Portman, thinks that's a problem. He thinks WCPSS doesn't need to have reserves on top of the county's reserves. Ensuring the adequacy of resources is the responsibility of the Commissioners - not the school board.I couldn't agree more.The county's job is to provide the funds; WCPSS administers the schools.WCPSS should also be able to account how funds are spent. If they can't, why should funding be increased?It appears the whole session was too much for Yeovonne Brannon, chairwoman of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, who equated the Commissioners questioning with bullying.Really?Schools should be expected to use funds as stated and should be able to answer questions on how funds are spent. Evidently that's too high a bar for Brannon and the Great Schools in Wake Coalition.Since 2014, Democrats have increased local funding for WCPSS by $67 million.The issue should be decided next Monday when Wake County Commissioners will vote on a new budget.
In Cartersville, Ga., two highly regarded obstetricians, Hugo Ribot and Malcolm Barfield, hoped to add a second room to their one-room surgery center. But the plan hit a snag. They needed to obtain a "certificate of need" from Georgia's Department of Community Health. Three large hospitals in the area - which provide similar services at far higher cost - blocked their application. Dr. Ribot and Dr. Barfield are now suing the state for restraint of trade.

$4 million to Caldwell/University of North Carolina Health Care

$4 million to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center

$4 million to Vidant Health

$3 million to Good Hope Hospital

$2.2 million to Mission Health System, Inc.

$1.8 million to Dix Crisis Intervention Center

Patients deserve better access to both life-saving and life-preserving health-care treatments. Which means physicians, hospitals, and other health care facilities should be able to invest in their communities to address unmet patient demand for critical services such as kidney dialysis units, cost-effective surgery, neonatal intensive care units, nursing homes, and much, much, more . Unfortunately, providers in North Carolina and 35 other states can't embark on any plans to expand patient care unless the state has determined for itself that there is a "need." And even if the state does grant a certificate of need (CON) to a winning applicant, competitors can step in to delay any capital projects from moving forward.Wednesday's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal explains:The CON regulatory process was originally designed for state health planners to slow the growth of rising health care costs by preventing an over-investment of underused facilities and ensuring equitable distribution of health care resources across the state. However, decades-old data show that CON law has not contained health care costs. Nor does the law preserve health care in rural areas . According to the Mercatus Center, CON states have 30 percent fewer rural hospitals and 13 percent fewer rural ambulatory surgery centers compared to states without CON laws. As mentioned in the Wall Street Journal and numerous other publications, this regulation has instead evolved into a protectionist policy for established providers. Who wouldn't leverage a law to their advantage that stalls competition?Because of CON, patients continue to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for certain treatments, or are forced to travel longer distances to fulfill their health-care needs.The good news, however, is that North Carolina's CON law could very well be nearing its end . The Senate's budget proposal calls for a complete phase-out of the 25 services and facilities that are limited by the Department of Health and Human Services by 2025. You can read more of the details on this in my previous health care update here While full CON repeal is nowhere to be found in the House budget, it should be noted that both chambers will continue to exempt rural hospitals from the CON process if they are awarded grant money from the Dorothea Dix Hospital Property Fund for purposes of adding or converting unused acute care beds into inpatient behavioral health beds. The exemption aligns with the mission of the state's Task Force on Mental Health and Substance Abuse to expedite treatment for psychiatric and substance abuse needs. In the upcoming fiscal year, the Senate proposes to allocate another $8 million for mental health services to rural hospitals. Meanwhile, the House plans to distribute $19 million to the following organizations:In determining what regions of the state are in "need" of behavioral health resources, the Department of Health and Human Services chose the top 15 counties where patients must travel more than 100 miles for necessary treatment. Ideally, hospitals and health centers should be able to decide for themselves how to go about providing these resources - not the state. Yet eliminating CON review in this case is an important victory for patients.The ability for Dorothea Dix grant recipients to bypass CON was enacted last year. This week's news announced some of the first grantees to receive seed money for providing sustainable mental health resources. Franklin Regional Medical Center, a hospital that will soon reopen under the management of Duke Lifepoint, has been awarded $10 million to convert 33 acute care beds into inpatient psychiatric adult beds. Charles A Canon. Jr Memorial hospital in Linville will receive $6.5 million for the conversion of 27 unused acute care beds into adult inpatient psychiatric beds.Eliminating CON under this initiative certainly makes for sound policy. Imagine if all hospitals could provide inpatient behavioral health beds without having to slog through the CON rigmarole. Imagine if all hospitals didn't need to prove to DHHS why they need to acquire another MRI machine, or update other major medical equipment. Imagine if all physicians had the freedom to install cutting edge diagnostic equipment in their own offices. The list goes on...As final budget negotiations take place over the next couple of weeks, let's hope that the legislature seizes an opportunity to do away with an outdated law that fails to act in the best interest of patients.
The Democrat leadership has made constant, profound and incredible pronouncements that one's supportive vote for Republicans is tantamount to surrendering Democracy forever. Understanding their sincere thinking in their extreme position: How will you still vote on this election day?

Democrat; because the continuance of this Democracy from the existential threat of extreme Republicans is paramount.

Republican; the process of having a choice is the democratic method within what so called "Democracy" does exists.


ECU elementary education major Jenna Murdock takes in the scenery of a Haitian beach. (Contributed photos)

ECU student Taylor Nelson talks with a boy in Haiti.



The gates at the Saint Antione School in Fondwa, Haiti

Eight East Carolina University Honors College students traveled to Haiti last month where they say their lives were changed by the experience.The trip - a first of its kind for the Honors College - was made possible through the generosity of alumnus Chip Chesson, who was inspired by Chancellor Cecil Staton's vision to increase international travel for students.Over three days, the ECU students were immersed in the culture, economic issues and life in Haiti, where they stayed at the guest house of Family Health Ministries, an organization that focuses on helping Haitians help themselves,said ECU senior nursing student Kaylan Galloway.The students toured a medical clinic, which made Galloway appreciate the technology available for expectant women in the United States.Galloway said.ECU junior elementary education major Jenna Murdock said the visit to the busy delivery room at the clinic was one of the most impactful moments of the trip.said Murdock, who had not traveled outside the United States before the trip.Another unforgettable experience was visiting Saint Antione School, which required a two-mile hike over rough terrain to reach.Murdock said.Murdock said she plans to tell her future elementary school students about the trip.Murdock said.Emma Plyler, a rising sophomore speech and hearing sciences major, had never traveled outside the United States before going to Haiti.Chesson, a longtime ECU School of Business advisory board member, organized the trip after meeting Staton at an advisory board meeting and at the suggestion of Stan Eakins, dean of the business school.Todd Fraley, director of the EC Scholars program, emailed all Honors College students about the trip and, in one hour, received responses from 100 who were interested. With space for only eight, the students were asked to write a short paper telling why they wanted to go, and Chesson picked the students from that group.A quote that summarized Chesson's objectives for the students was printed on the back of the trip T-shirt:On his first visit to Haiti, he went with the mentality that he wouldsaid Chesson, who was in the last graduating class of what was then East Carolina College.The students on the trip were Galloway, Amy Jordan, Katerina Koloustroubis, Nakaya Melvin, Murdock, Taylor Nelson, Plyler and Jayati Vyas. Chesson and Michele Stewart traveled with the students.Fraley said.Murdock, who took her first trip abroad, summed up the importance of visiting other countries and learning outside the classroom.she said.
In NC, Unintentional Opioid, Heroin, and Fentanyl Related Deaths Increased 816% from 1999-2015

Contact: Ford Porter

Ford Porter govpress@nc.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C.: At the first meeting of the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, Governor Roy Cooper urged common sense strategies for the federal government to help combat the opioid crisis. In North Carolina, unintentional opioid, heroin, and fentanyl related deaths increased 816 percent from 1999 - 2015. Almost 10,000 North Carolinians have died from unintentional opioid overdoses since 1999.Cooper stressed that Congress' current efforts to roll back health care reforms could jeopardize efforts to stem the epidemic by taking away health care and substance abuse treatment from millions of Americans.said Governor Cooper.Cooper highlighted collaborative efforts in North Carolina between law enforcement and substance abuse prevention and treatment advocates. The programs help send people with substance abuse toward help rather the criminal justice system. Research has shown that those who get treatment rather than incarceration are 58% less likely to be re-arrested, which saves money and reduces crime.Governor Cooper also urged the federal government to stop lethal synthetic opioids such as fentanyl from flowing in from foreign markets and stressed the need for makers of generic opioids to create tamper-proof products that prevent users from abusing the pills.said Cooper.Governor Cooper's 2017-2018 budget proposal includes more than $12 million in funding to address the opioid crisis through treatment and mental health care. The funds would provide services including individual and group therapy, coupled with medications, to serve approximately 2,500 individuals statewide. His budget also includes $2 million for local law enforcement efforts to fight opioid abuse.As the state's former Attorney General, he held pharmaceutical companies accountable for making opioids that were too easily abused. He also pushed for drug take-back initiatives that would incinerate unused prescription drugs safely.North Carolina recently received a $31 million federal grant through the 21st Century Cures Act to increase access to prevention, treatment, and recovery. The grant is just part of the collaborative work in place to fight the opioid epidemic. Governor Cooper is also signing on to the National Governor's Association's Compact to Fight Opioid Addition. The compact is a commitment by governors to build on current efforts to fight the opioid crisis.The President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis is a bipartisan group of leaders that is chaired by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and includes Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, and Professor Bertha Madras, PhD.
A majority of the Rhode Island school districts with "1-1" programs where each student is issued a laptop have a blanket policy of spying on the students and everything they do on their laptops, during, before and after school hours, on or off school premises, without any evidence (or even suspicion ) of wrongdoing.



The schools analogize this to school locker searches, in which students are denied any Fourth Amendment protections. But that (very dubious) principle is being stretched beyond the breaking point, as school lockers are in schools, whereas these laptop searches are being carried out remotely, everywhere, anywhere.

This isn't so different from the policies asserted by employers who require workers to take devices home, then assert the right to spy on them using those devices, installing their own certificates so they can stage "man-in-the-middle" interceptions of private sessions between employees and their email providers, financial institutions, etc.





Employers say that employees should just maintain two separate constellations of devices, one personal, and not conduct any personal business on them. This is at best unrealistic, and at worst cynical bullshit. Every study conducted of these situations shows that no one  not careful lawyers, not secrecy-conscious spies, not criminals, not government employees  can reliably separate their work and personal business on separate devices.





Worse yet is the idea  further normalized by the school districts  that your employer has the absolute right to spy on everything you do while you're on the job. If intercepting and reading your personal email is fair game, then why not install hidden mics in the parking lot to listen in when your spouse drops in to discuss their cancer diagnosis during a tense one-on-one by the car?

Schools have long been accused of serving as a kind of training ground for the depredations of the industrial workplace  regimented places of silent sitting in neatly squared-up rows where even going to the toilet requires permission and a clanging bell signals the start and end of your tasks. But this is some next-level 21st century stuff.

The ACLU of Rhode Island points out that rich kids will get to bring their own devices to school and opt out of the surveillance. They've drafted model legislation that "would limit when an administrator or third party can remotely access devices to instances where there is reasonable belief that misconduct, as spelled out in school policies, took place, or if a warrant is present."

ACLU-RI raises the spectre of the Lower Merion School District, a story I broke in 2010, in which the wealthiest school district in America issued mandatory laptops to its students, then secretly operated their webcams to shoot thousands of covert photos of disfavored students  in states of undress, asleep, awake, at home and at school.



Providing students with some expectation of privacy is important for a number of reasons.

First, the home has often been deemed the quintessential private space beyond the reach of

government snooping in the absence of exigent circumstances or judicial authorization.

The notion of the home as one's castle dates back centuries as both a social and legal norm.

Using new technology as an excuse to invade this sanctum should be forcefully rejected, as

the consequences for privacy rights of both adults and minors are potentially enormous. Further, some school districts specifically acknowledge that the

1:1 computers can be used for non-school work at home, and at

least one policy encourage parents to use the devices. In other

words, even accepting the assumption, which the ACLU does not,

that a school district should have the right to monitor a student's

educational activities miles away, even though conducted on his

or her own time, it is another matter entirely for schools to be

able to find out how the device is being used by non-students

and by minors legitimately using the computer for private

purposes.

Yet all twenty-two school districts that participate in the 1:1 program have cautioned

within their policies that students who use the device have no) expectation) of) privacy

whatsoever. Typical is Narragansett's policy, which states that students "understand that

there is no expectation of privacy when using the District network and devices."



Instead, several policies authorize school officials to remotely monitor the device outside of

school  including accessing files and emails and in some cases even the webcam  and to

physically inspect the computer without the need for any suspicion of misconduct. Most 1:1

policies covered in this report apprise students that every document, file and email may be

generally accessible to the scrutiny of administrators inside and outside of school for any

reason.



HIGH SCHOOL NON-CONFIDENTIAL:

How School)Loaned Computers May Be

Peering Into Your Home [American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island]

In Rhode Island, Some Schools Think They Have the Right to Spy on Students With School Laptops [ALCU]
The Conservative Party  and free market ideologues  have waged a long war on "safety culture," insisting it was a nonsensical, incoherent regulation that acted as a drag on every business except no-win/no-fee lawyers, who exploited these rules to victimise poor corporations with punishing lawsuits.



The reality is that the alleged health-and-safety-gone-mad overreach was almost always an urban legend, a rule that didn't exist and never existed (though it might be cited by a puny martinet of a middle-manager as a way to force their underlings to do their bidding). In their brilliant, beautifully written and beautifully researched 2014 book, In the Interests of Safety, Tracey Brown and Michael Hanlon from Sense about Science showed how tabloids, petty bosses and bureaucrats, and credulous members of the public invented the excesses of "Safety Culture"  while actual health and safety pros soberly and cautiously put forward the rules that stopped us all from dying of food poisoning, defective cars, or in terrible blazes in firetrap buildings.





Likewise, the stories about predatory lawyers and their absurd lawsuits rarely stand up to scrutiny: like that woman who sued McDonald's because her coffee was too hot  a story so distorted as to be a lie, deliberately twisted by lobbyists and PR people for giant corporations who want to be able to injure their workers and customers with total impunity.





In 2012, then-UK-Prime-Minister David Cameron effected a policy that warmed the hearts of his party grandees and financiers: he said that his government would "abolish or consolidate up to half of all existing regulations" in order to "kill off the health and safety culture for good" because it was an "albatross around the neck of British businesses."





This wasn't an aberration: just last year, Tory MPs voted down a rule that would require rented accomodation to be safe and "fit for human habitation." These MPs were also overwhelmingly landlords who would have had to personally upgrade their income property in order to comply with the rules.

The cladding on the Grenfell Towers was so highly flammable that the health-and-safety rules of most other countries (including the USA) had banned its use. Meanwhile, the health-and-safety rules of most other countries mandate sprinkler systems for high-rise buildings  and no one has ever died due to fire in high-rises with property installed and well-maintained sprinkler systems  but in the UK, this is optional, and Tory ministers spent the week insisting that they couldn't be sure that sprinkler mandates would be in the cards for the future.

I don't believe it's a coincidence that seven years of rule by a party that waged a declared war on safety terminated with a deadly blaze in the wealthiest neighbourhood in the country. This isn't the whole story: there's the weaponisation of shelter as an investment vehicle first and a human right as a distant fourth or fifth, the brutal wealth gap that forces people to remain in substandard homes, the sell-off and underinvestment in public housing, the privatisation of management of public housing, and Boris Johnson's gutting of the fire brigades.





But David Cameron's 2012 pronouncements were party doctrine, an unassailable plank of the Nasty Party  a policy that was adopted by Donald Trump on taking office. It's the same thinking that poisoned an entire city in Flint, Michigan and that insists that oil must not flow upstream of white settler cities' water, but that deploys fully militarised shows of force and intelligence operations to force Native Americans to accept oil pipelines upstream of their water.

There will almost certainly be another UK election in the weeks to come, and we owe it to all the people who have been maimed and poisoned and killed by austerity to vote out the plutocrats and their boot-lickers.

Mr Cameron added: "Killing off the health and safety nonsense for good is not something government can do alone. It needs a change in the national mindset. "We need to realise, collectively, that we cannot eliminate risk and that some accidents are inevitable. We need to take responsibility for our actions and rely on common sense rather than procedure. "Above all, we need to give British businesses the freedom and discretion they need to grow, create jobs and drive our economy forward." TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "This shows just how out of touch with the reality of working life Number 10 is.

(Image: Dr Dunno, B3ta)





(via Late Stage Capitalism)
The P.E.I. Energy Corporation held the first of a series of public meetings Thursday night in eastern Kings, their top pick for a new wind farm site.

The meeting was held to give local residents information on the wind energy expansion project, based on the provincial government's 10-year energy strategy announced in March.

The $60 million project will develop a new 30-megawatt wind farm on P.E.I. by 2019, and according to project consultant Carl Brothers, will be a big boost to the local economy.

"There will be three to four, I estimate, long-term service jobs as well as probably 70-100 construction jobs during the construction project. There will be revenue flows to the landowners," said Brothers, president of Frontier Power Systems.

Brothers estimates landowners who agree to be a part of the project could receive up to $200,000 annually that would be distributed among all the participants. The community would also receive $100,000 annually.

Long term investment

Though it hasn't yet been determined, many at Thursday's meeting were concerned about the size of the project.

"They look neat but after a while when you start seeing 15 or 20 on a landscape, it does take away from somewhere as picturesque as the east end," said Priest Pond resident Lary Fitzpatrick.

"But it's a part of progress."

Fitzpatrick said he's open to another wind farm in the area, but would like the entire community to benefit, and not just the landowners.

"The windmills will be here for a long time so could it be possible to have high-speed Internet with fibre-optics or a road upgrade. Something that people can all benefit, even though we're looking at these windmills," he said.

'It's investing in rural P.E.I.'

"I see it as a win-win-win. It's investing in rural P.E.I.," said Souris West resident Alicia Bruce.

"There's the long-term effects of having jobs. Plus economic security for the Island. The fact that we're generating our own energy that we can use here, that's saving money," she said.

Story continues

Though several residents expressed concern about the tight deadline to make a decision, Bruce said she understands that clean energy development needs to happen sooner than later.

"Speaking as a young person living in the area and planning to live in the area, it is urgent," said Bruce.

The P.E.I. Energy Corporation has a target agreement with eastern King's community council in July with hopes to start field work in August.

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A full-grown peregrine falcon is an almost perfect predator, capable of reaching speeds exceeding 300 km/h while diving from the sky. But for a few months after hatching they're like any typically clumsy teen prone to putting themselves in harm's way.

For the offspring of a mating pair of falcons  roosting below the busiest land border crossing in North America  the dangers are everywhere. Wires, water and rumbling transport trucks all threaten the babies that start life as little white balls of fluff.

That's where the Canadian Peregrine Falcon Watch comes in.

For the past decade, volunteers have kept a close eye on every clutch of eggs the pair has produced.

"I was here from 5:30 a.m. to past midnight three days in a row last year," said Steve Atkins.

The animal enthusiast has been spending late spring mornings watching the bottom of the Ambassador Bridge for the past three years. In that time he's seen his fair share of close calls.

"There was one baby playing with his mom and he missed a handoff and the pigeon landed right in the middle of the road," Atkins recalled. "I started to run  and a car came around the corner."

The bird managed to flap away, but Atkins said he has no problem stopping traffic for falcons, even if that means shutting down an international crossing.

"I went up on the bridge last year and got two off there. They landed on the handrail," he said. "I had to chase one of them [45 metres] down the roadway because he was hopping around."

Wayne Hickson just started watching the birds this year. He said it's a love of predators that brings him to the bridge on early mornings, even after working the midnight shift.

"I love it. I just love birds of prey," he said.

Although he's a relative rookie falcon wrangler, Hickson already has at least one capture to his credit after a fledgling bird fell to the ground.

"He just jumped in my arms, put his head back and opened his mouth," said Hickson. "He wasn't fussing or nothing."

Story continues

There are hazards to grabbing a growing falcon. The birds have a cruelly hooked beak and the kind of talons that can easily tear apart a pigeon. But, when it comes to grabbing a juvenile bird, members of the watch say the best tool is one everyone already carries  their hands.

While Hickson prefers to wear tear-proof teflon gloves, Atkins has preformed a few rescues barehanded, and paid the price.

"He got me right behind the ring here," he said, extending one of his thick, tanned fingers. "It was a pretty clean cut too."

Without the watch, new-born falcons have a survival rate of about 30 per cent, according to Atkins. In the past two years, the bird babysitters have a perfect record. Nine babies born, nine safely raised to adulthood.

"It's like a 24-hour watch, but I love it," said Hickson. "It's amazing. Every day brings something different. I love watching these birds."
A young Italian couple shared heartbreaking final phonecalls with their families as flames approached their 23rd floor flat in Grenfell Tower.

Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi, both 26, made the unimaginable calls to Italy as the blaze took hold of the doomed tower block.

The engaged couple  both architecture graduates  had arrived in London from Venice just three months ago.

In an emotional conversation with her mum at 3am, Ms Trevisan said: Thank you for what you have done for me.

Read more about the Grenfell Tower fire

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People are comparing Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyns visits to the Grenfell Tower

The tragic final words of Syrian refugee killed in Grenfell Tower fire

Grenfell Tower firefighter praised after sharing heartfelt photo in the aftermath of the blaze

Lawyers offer free help to homeless Grenfell Tower residents seeking compensation after horror blaze

Gloria and her mum, in a photo she shared last December (Instagram/glo_trevi)

Mr Gottardis dad Giannino had been speaking to his son and his girlfriend up until the last minute, with the final contact coming in a call from Marco just after 4am.

He told Italian newspaper Il Mattino di Padova: In the first call Marco told us not to worry, that everything was under control, that basically we must not worry.

This image, captioned goodnight London is believed to be of the view from the couples Grenfall Tower flat (Instagram/glo-trevi)

He was trying to minimise what happened, probably not to unsettle us but in the second call  and I cant get this out of my head  he said there was smoke, that so much smoke was rising.

We were on the phone until the last moment.

200 firefighters fought to bring the blaze at Grenfell Tower under control (Rex)

He added: At 4.07am he told us their apartment was flooded with smoke and that the situation had become an emergency.

The communications broke down and from that moment on we no longer had any contact  the phone didnt pick up again.

A lawyer for the families has said that the distressing calls have left them with no hope that the couple have survived.

The death toll from the tragedy has today been confirmed at 30 people, though many more are still missing.
Content Management

ClearScholar Deploys Content Targeting Tech in Mobile Platform

Student engagement and safety platform ClearScholar Friday launched a new feature set for institutions that leverages student data across campus systems to deliver targeted content to individual students.

ClearScholar Align, as the solution is called, works by combining data from disparate college systems (student information systems, learning management systems, constituent relationship management platforms, etc.) to build each student a persona. With this information, administrators can broadly target all second-year students, for example, or narrowly target specific majors and grade point averages within that year. Additionally, Align is built to ensure personas are updated in real time as new data enters the platform from various systems.

The goal for the technology is to make data and data science more actionable, according to information from the company. Content within the ClearScholar mobile app platform is aligned to the needs and preferences of each student, allowing [them] to have a truly personalized experienced. Content can mean news, announcement, push notifications, polls, events, etc. and is specific to each institutions needs and goals. So, for example, a university can push certain resources for achievement to at-risk groups using the ClearScholar mobile app. Meanwhile, ClearScholars dashboard give administrators and instructors more insight by displaying analytics on how students are interacting with the app.

Many universities struggle with issues of resource utilization alongside effective student communications; both issues which can be improved by deploying this technology, the company said about Align.

ClearScholar launched its student engagement platform at Butler University early 2017 to assist with university-student communications, career readiness, student health and other aspects of the student lifecycle. This past May, the company rolled out ClearScholar Aware, a student safety-focused platform that offered more visibility into emergency calls made through the app.

To learn more, visit the ClearScholar site.
The United States strongly condemns the detention of peaceful protestors in Russia.

On June 12, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Russia protesting official corruption and calling for democratic governance. The protest was organized by opposition leader Alexey Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner who reportedly intends to run against Vladimir Putin in Russias presidential election next year.

Mr. Navalny himself was one of about 1500 demonstrators arrested by authorities, who claimed the protests were unlawful. At a midnight hearing, he was sentenced to thirty days in prison.

In strongly condemning the arrests, White House Spokesperson Sean Spicer said, Detaining peaceful protestors, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values. The United States will monitor the situation and we call on the government of Russia to immediately release all peaceful protestors.

This is the second time mass anti-corruption demonstrations occurred in Russia in the last three months. In March, in scores of Russian cities, anti-corruption demonstrators, many of them young adults, protested the wealth reportedly amassed by Russian officials. Close to a thousand protestors were arrested at that time, including Mr. Navalny, who had called for the public demonstrations. The United States condemned the detention of peaceful protestors by Russian authorities at that time as well.

In both instances, the United States has made clear, as Mr. Spicer said after the most recent demonstrations, that [t]he Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law, and the ability to exercise their rights without fear or retribution.
The United States government announced sanctions against two ISIS terrorists who are responsible for the financing, manufacture and distribution of the groups chemical weapons.

The 6-month long offensive by the Iraqi army against the ISIS-held city of Mosul has been remarkably successful. With support from the U.S.-led Global Coalition, Iraqs armed forces have made steady progress in clearing the city of ISIS militants.

Likewise in neighboring Syria, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and their Syrian Arab Coalition partners have made good headway in chasing ISIS out of much of the territory the terrorists have seized in northern Syria, and today the Syrian forces are knocking on the gates of Raqqa.

In a desperate attempt to stem the losses, over the past several months, ISIS has repeatedly used chemical weapons in both Syria and Iraq, including against civilians.

As part of an effort to deny ISIS the ability to access funds and materials it needs to produce these weapons, the U.S. State Department tagged as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, Marwan Ibrahim Hussayn Tah al-Azawi. At the same time, the Treasury Department attached the same designation to Attallah Salman, better known as Abd Kafi al-Jaburi. Both men were designated under Executive Order 13224, which imposes sanctions on persons who have committed, or are deemed to pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.

Marwan Ibrahim Hussayn Tah al-Azawi is an Iraqi ISIS leader connected to this terrorist groups development of chemical weapons for use in ongoing combat against Iraqi Security Forces.

In 2016, Abd Kafi al-Jaburi was the ISIS chemical weapons and explosives manager located in the Kirkuk Province of Iraq. In January, he was transferred to work on a chemical weapons project to be used by ISIS against Peshmerga forces in future attacks.

The designations of al-Azawi and al-Jaburi are the first to target ISIS operatives involved in chemical weapons development. The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons by any actor, and will use all available tools to target those complicit in their development, proliferation, or use.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 16, 2017 - 17:47 | All, Feature

Japan's parliament enacted Friday a law to impose longer prison sentences on rapists, while also covering male victims of sexual crimes.

In the first major revision to the criminal law since its enactment in the Meiji Era (1868-1912), when women could not vote, the bill passed the House of Councillors plenary session after clearing the House of Representatives on June 8.

The revised law will raise the minimum sentence for rape to five years from three years now. Despite the impact on victims, those committing rape have long received a shorter minimum sentence than the five years for robbery under Japanese law.

Under the revised penal code, the requirement that a victim file a complaint in order to prosecute an assailant in a rape or sexual molestation case will be eliminated, as many rape victims are reluctant to do so.

Among other revisions is a new clause pertaining to domestic sexual abuse, under which parents or guardians can be punished for sex with children in their care even when force or threats are not involved. The current criminal law requires use of force or threats in establishing rape cases.

The law will also raise the minimum sentence for rape resulting in death or injury to six years from five years. But some legal experts say toughening penalties alone cannot prevent sex crimes and stress the necessity to improve correctional programs for offenders as well.

The bill was compiled after an advisory panel to the justice minister called for the changes in a report last September in response to calls from rape victims.
Heres a deal that will have people buzzing, and could at some point reverberate through media and advertising: E-retail giant Amazon says this morning that it has agreed to pay $13.7 billion in cash for Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods will keep its brand name. CEO John Mackey will remain at the helm at the company headquarters in Austin. Whole Foods and Amazon expect the deal to close by the end of this year.

The grocery chain has more than 460 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. About 450 of the stores are spread across 48 states.

Whole Foods has a large store footprint  but also one that is fragmented, which means that there could be reasonable shipping-to-home logistics opportunities here, RBC Capital Markets Mark Mahaney says.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says that Millions of people love Whole Foods Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it fun to eat healthy. Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting and nourishing customers for nearly four decades  theyre doing an amazing job and we want that to continue.

Mackey says the union with Amazon presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods Markets shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers.

Amazon agreed to pay $42 a share, a 27% premium over yesterdays closing price for Whole Foods stock. The grocery chain opened up 27% this morning, suggesting that investors are confident that it will be sold.

Amazons up nearly 3% after announcing what would be, by far, the biggest acquisition it has ever made.

Whole Foods will have to pay a $400 million termination fee if it scraps the deal.

Amazon already offers grocery delivery services in 21 U.S. cities (as well as London and Tokyo) with 15 fulfillment centers. And it has said that it wants to grow in the business.

Story continues

Consumers spent nearly $900 billion on food in 2015.

Yesterday Nomura Instinets Anthony DiClemente called grocery one of the largest and most under-penetrated markets for Amazon.

Barclays analyst Karen Short wrote last month that theres no reason why [Amazon] shouldnt be able to convert a significant percentage of its 45m US Prime members today into Fresh customers over the next decade.

That expansion effort seemed to be especially threatening to upscale chains led by Whole Foods and Trader Joes.

And Whole Foods has been struggling to grow. Its shares have lost more than 40% of their value since mid-February 2015. Revenues improved about 2.2% in 2016 to $15.7 billion.

Activist investment firm Jana Partners, which owns 8% of Whole Foods, urged the company to find a buyer. Whole Foods reportedly had talked to Albertsons.

In an interview with Texas Monthly, published this week, Mackey said his chain was caught in a morality play between conscious capitalism and greedy, short-term financial capitalism.

He acknowledged that Whole Foods must get better.

But he added that those pressing for a sale because they think they can make 40-or-50% in a short period of time are greedy bastards, and theyre putting a bunch of propaganda out there, trying to destroy my reputation and the reputation of Whole Foods, because its in their self-interest to do so.

The deal has Amazon watchers wondering what the Whole Foods acquisition suggests about Bezos strategy  and perhaps other tech giants.

Amazon is effectively saying that if retailers are going to tool themselves up with technology, then they will tool themselves up with a physical presence and high-street brand, says Paul Cuatrecasas, CEO of London-based boutique investment bank Aquaa Partners. It helps justify the belief that, seemingly all of the sudden, the larger tech giants will start buying up established companies, like banks and automotive manufacturers. The impact could be immense and generational.

Investors see Amazons move as a threat to other grocery chains. Stocks reeling from the news in morning trading include Kroger (-13.7%), Costco (-6.7%), and Wal-Mart (-6.6%).

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Yahoo Finances call of the week is a bullish bet on Tesla (TSLA). Billionaire investor Ron Baron told CNBC this week that the electric carmakers shares are set to soar. He thinks the stock could reach $500 to $600 next year before soaring to $1,000 by 2020. The four-figure bet is almost a 170% climb from where the stock closed on Thursday.

In order for Tesla to reach Barons prediction, the company will have to meet its ambitious delivery and production targets. CEO Elon Musk reaffirmed Teslas goals last quarter, saying it will produce 500,000 vehicles per year by next year and 1 million by 2020, which is significantly higher than its current levels. Teslas production goal for the first half of 2017 is 47,000 to 50,000 vehicles.

High demand for Teslas upcoming Model 3 will help Musk achieve his goals, assuming the company does not run into production delays. When Tesla began taking pre-orders for its first mass market car, more than 300,000 customers put down $1,000 deposits within the first couple of days to reserve their place in line.

Baron is not the only one whos bullish on Tesla. German firm Berenberg upped its price target to $464 earlier this week, implying an upside of about 24% from Thursdays close.

Teslas stock has had a strong start to the year. Its one of the markets best performers, soaring more than 75% since January 1.

The stock has a total of eight buy, ten hold and six sell ratings, according to Bloomberg.
Coherus Biosciences, Inc. CHRS shares declined nearly 24% in yesterdays trading as it announced that it has received a complete response letter (CRL) from the FDA for its biosimilar version of Amgen Inc's AMGN blockbuster drug, Neulasta. The CRL will delay the potential regulatory clearance for the biosimilar CHS-1701.

Neulasta is used to prevent the chance of infection in patients with non-myeloid cancer who receive anti-cancer therapies.

We note that Coherus share price has declined 44.1% so far this year, underperforming the Zacks classified Medical-Biomedical and Genetics industry, which increased 2.3%.

The CRL doesnt request for additional studies. However, it is primarily focused on a reanalysis of a subset of treated patients for a revised assessment of the biosimilars immunogenicity. It also requests for additional information on certain manufacturing related process. .

In its press release, Coherus noted that it will coordinate with the FDA to address the requested information and define a path to get approval for the candidate. The company has also submitted a marketing application for the biosimilar in the EU.

Approval for a biosimilar of Neulasta will offer a huge market potential for the company as Neulasta is a preferred treatment in patients receiving chemotherapy. It generated sales of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2017 and $4.6 billion in fiscal 2016.

Neulasta biosimilars are already available in the EU while U.S. companies are currently developing them. The biosimilar of the drug from Mylan N.V. MYL and India-based Biocon Ltd is under review with a decision expected in October this year. The FDA also issued a CRL to Novartis AGs NVS generic arm, Sandozs biosimilar last year and it is working to resolve the issues.

Coherus BioSciences, Inc. Price

Coherus BioSciences, Inc. Price | Coherus BioSciences, Inc. Quote

Zacks Rank

Coherus currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Story continues

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kim jong un

Asked on Thursday by Rep. Tim Ryan of the House Appropriations Committee to explain why the US doesn't just go to war to stop North Korea from developing the capability to hit the US, Secretary of Defense James Mattis painted a grim scenario.

"I would suggest that we will win," Mattis said. "It will be a war more serious in terms of human suffering than anything we've seen since 1953.

"It will involve the massive shelling of an ally's capital, which is one of the most densely packed cities on earth," Mattis said of Seoul, which boasts a metro-area population of 25 million.

"It would be a war that fundamentally we don't want," Mattis said, but "we would win at great cost."

Mattis explained that because the threat from North Korea loomed so large and a military confrontation would destroy so much, he, President Donald Trump, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had all made a peaceful solution a top priority.

Watch news, TV and more Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

Mattis said the topic of North Korea dominated Trump's meeting in April with President Xi Jinping of China, North Korea's only ally, and that the US intended to make China understand that "North Korea today is a strategic burden, not a strategic asset."

China argues it has limited influence on Pyongyang, but as one expert explained, Beijing could at any moment cripple North Korea through trade means, forcing it to come to the negotiating table.

North Korea artillery

Mattis made clear that the US was nearing the end of its rope in dealing with North Korea, saying: "We're exhausting all possible diplomatic efforts in this regard."

North Korea recently taunted Trump by saying it was capable of hitting New York with a nuclear missile, but Mattis said a war today would hurt our Asian allies.

"It would be a serious, a catastrophic war, especially for innocent people in some of our allied countries, to include Japan most likely," Mattis said.

Story continues

NOW WATCH: A Marine veteran reveals 2 things he learned in the military that he still does today





More From Business Insider
* Raqqa assault may be a defining moment in the U.S.-led war

* Kurdish flags hang on walls, women sing patriotic songs

* Kurdish commanders seem confident of victory in coming months

* Coalition air strikes continue but fewer car bombs

By Michael Georgy

RAQQA, Syria, June 16 (Reuters) - Kurdish fighter Habun Kamishli proudly recalled the cat and mouse game she played with an Islamic State suicide bomber in the Syrian town of Raqqa, where the militant group is likely to make its last stand.

I was standing on a rooftop yesterday as our forces advanced. I noticed he was trying to sneak from one street to another to get into the building and kill us, she said.

Then I took a picture of his body with my phone. We are avenging the deaths of our fellow Kurds.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, made up predominantly of Kurdish fighters, has seized territory to the north, east and west of Raqqa. The city of about 200,000 has been the base of operations for Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on civilians across the globe.

The assault on Raqqa is likely to be a defining moment in the U.S.-led war on Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Along with the Iraqi armys campaign to drive out Islamic State in Mosul, the other centre of its self-proclaimed caliphate, it threatens to deal a major blow to the militants.

Spirits were high among Kurds on Thursday, as they identified Islamic State targets on an iPad and fired mortar rounds towards them.

Nearby, a Kurdish fighter listened to communications on a radio. Coalition aircraft had spotted militants in a car and were about to attack.

The mood along a Raqqa street was a far cry from the fear that took hold when the extremist Sunni militants group declared a caliphate in Iraq and Syria and moved towards building a self-sufficient state.

Kurdish YPG militia flags hang on the walls of buildings beside names of fighters and women sang patriotic songs.

Shops taken over by the militants were abandoned, with just a few empty chocolate boxes left. Large billboards with the groups original name Islamic State in Iraq and Syria felt like part of a bygone era.

Story continues

Kurdish women commanders seemed confident of victory in the next few months.

We have them surrounded on three sides and many cant escape anymore, said Samaa Sarya. Some manage to escape on wooden boats along the river at night.

The number of car bombs, a favourite Islamic State weapon, has fallen from about 20 to 7 a day. Coalition air strikes are exerting heavy pressure on Islamic State.

Still, dangers persist. Minutes later, Sarya received word that a drone operated by Islamic State dropped a bomb on Raqqa, wounding 12 of her comrades.

Some Kurdish fighters estimate there could be as many as 3,000 militants left in Raqqa, where buildings are pockmarked from fighting.

The Syrians left, but foreign fighters stayed and were busy planting landmines and booby trapping houses, Kurdish fighters said. Islamic State snipers were highly effective, they said.

Today our movements were delayed by snipers, said Kurdish fighter Mostafa Sirikanu.

Gunfire could be heard as Kurdish militiaman Orkash Saldan pointed to a wall about 500 metres away.

Daesh are just beyond that point, he said, walking past a rocket Islamic State fired two days ago.

In a nearby building, where Islamic State had left behind mattresses and clothes, he pointed to a small teapot.

You never know they could have put a bomb in that teapot or that television, he said. (Editing by Anna Willard)
Dakota Access oil pipeline UN Summit

Despite the controversy surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline, it commenced operations on June 1 under an executive order from Donald Trump.

The pipeline is now shuttling barrels of North Dakota-produced oil to refining markets in Illinois. But many members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe say the pipeline, which snakes through their only water source, is a death sentence.

To Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the $3.8 billion project, it's a necessary part of the US energy network.

But the project could now face a temporary shutdown because of a new ruling from a US District Judge.

In a ruling issued June 14, Judge James Boasberg said that the agency in charge of the pipeline didn't adequately consider some matters important to the Standing Rock tribe, such as how an oil spill might affect the tribe's fishing and hunting rights, and whether the tribe would be disproportionately affected by a leak.

Legal battle

In July of last year, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe filed a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers claming that the legal and environmental review process for the pipeline was rushed and undertaken largely without the tribe's input.

Judge Boasberg's recent ruling appears to lend some support to that claim, but he also determined that the agency "largely complied" with environmental law when approving the pipeline.

Nevertheless, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II called the ruling "a major victory" in a recent statement.

Jan Hasselman, an attorney for Standing Rock, told the Associated Press that Boasber's decision is enough to "reset the clock to where we were last fall," when the tribe demanded a comprehensive environmental study of the pipeline and asked the Army Corps of Engineers to consider alternate routes that would not threaten their water supply.

Story continues

But representatives of Energy Transfer Partners say it's unlikely to have any real impact.

"It's business as usual today," Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, an organization that represents some 500 energy companies including Energy Transfer Partners, told the AP. Still, Ness added that the group won't know for sure how the decision will affect them for several months.

"Obviously, we don't know how all that plays out," he said. "But clearly the pipeline is running. It's a critical element of the nation's energy infrastructure."

That may not last, however. The Corps will now need to reassess the pipeline. Then it could either re-grant the same permit that it initially approved or suggest an alternate route.

Energy Transfer Partners said in a statement to AP that it believed the Corps "properly evaluated both" of the issues that Judge Boasberg said were not adequately addressed, including how an oil spill might affect the Tribe.

"Pipeline operations can and will continue as this limited remand process unfolds," the company said.

'It's going to affect our water'

People who gathered in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, several months ago to protest the pipeline's construction say the threat of a leak was a primary driver of their opposition to the project.

aries yumul and friend from the Lummi reservation

"The main reason it's such a big deal here is that it's going to affect our water supply," Aries Yumul, a self-identified water protector with the Oceti Sakowin (the proper name for the people commonly known as the Sioux) told Business Insider in January.

"Our aquifers and rivers are fed by this river," Yumul said. "If it were to get contaminated, it would affect all of the tribal nations. The idea of that ... it would be a death sentence at this point."

Devashree Saha, a senior policy associate at Brookings Institution, told Business Insider in January that the Standing Rock Sioux seemed to have a solid case.

"If this leaks, it is going to spill into the river. So the tribe's legal stance  that they were not adequately consulted, that there are potential water issues here  their legal concerns are strong," said Saha.

Pipeline leaks are not infrequent  from 2013 to 2015, an average of 121 accidents happened every year. Since 1995, there have been more than 2,000 significant accidents involving oil and petroleum pipelines, according to data obtained by the Associated Press from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Added up, the property damage from those totals to roughly $3 billion.

Public health repercussions of these leaks include digestive problems and rashes. In severe cases, some evidence has even suggested a link between a burst pipeline and an increased risk of cancer in the surrounding population.

An in-depth 2010 report from Worcester Polytechnic Institute looked at the effects of three major oil spills and found that people who used contaminated water for bathing or laundry appeared to experience a higher incidence of skin problems, ranging from mild rashes to severe and lasting eczema and malignant skin cancers. They also found increased incidences of digestive problems  and some types of cancer  in people who ingested the oil directly in drinking water or indirectly by eating the meat of livestock exposed to the oil.

These risks are one of the reasons that most large-scale pipeline projects require extensive legal and environmental review, and must comply with laws like the National Environmental Policy Act to ensure all potential impacts are considered.

NOW WATCH: Animated map shows where your bottled water actually comes from





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Youve probably tuned out much of the noise involving whos suing Donald Trump (and vice versa), but a fresh lawsuit may pose the strongest likelihood yet of something big happeningthe president releasing his tax returns.

One catch: It might not happen till 2021.

Attorneys general for Maryland and the District of Columbia sued President Trump on June 12, claiming Trumps ownership of a DC hotel is harming Maryland and DC taxpayers. The suit, like others, claims Trump is violating the emoluments clause of the US Constitution, by exploiting his position as president to enhance personal profits. But unlike two other suits making similar claims, the DC/Maryland case makes a plausible argument that Trumps actions are harming others. That is required for the case to make it to the discovery phase, which is where the battle over Trumps tax returns would be fought. The two other cases have longer odds of making it that far.

Trump owns the Trump International Hotel, Washington, DC, midway between the White House and the Capitol. Business has been good since Trump became presidentso good that DC and Maryland claim customers who would otherwise hold big events at nearby convention centers are choosing the Trump property instead. The District and Maryland suffer direct financial harm in their capacity as proprietors of businesses that compete with the defendants businesses, the lawsuit argues. Businesses owned by him and/or his affiliated enterprises attract customers and divert them away from businesses that the District and Maryland own, license, or tax.

That notion of harm is crucial for a lawsuit to make headway through the courts. Trump is certain to claim all lawsuits relating to the emoluments clause lack standing, which means they must demonstrate the plaintiff has a stake in the dispute and isnt just displeased with the defendants behavior. The other two lawsuits, including one by 200 Democratic members of Congress, rely on novel interpretations of harm, and could get thrown out by an appeals court. But the DC/Maryland lawsuit is more straightforward.

Story continues

They have a strong case on standing, says Bob Goulder, a lawyer for the publishing firm Tax Analysts. Id bet theres greater than a 50% chance they can overcome a standing objection. I see this case actually going to trial.

Going after Trumps tax returns

If courts rule that the suit can proceed, it would then enter the discovery phase, at which point the DC and Maryland attorneys have said theyd ask for Trumps tax returns. If Trumps company, the Trump Organization, were a public company, then Trumps personal returns would be irrelevant and thered be no reason to request them. The company is private, however, with Trump as majority owner, which means his personal tax returns are, in effect, company financial statements directly relevant to the case. The only way to get a full picture of the entitys financials is to look past the schedules the entity files and look at Trumps own tax returns, Goulder says. His own balance sheets or income statements become the entitys balance sheets or income statements.

If courts ordered Trump to turn over his tax returns, Trumps lawyers would then likely request a protective order keeping them private, with a lively debate ensuing. Trumps lawyers could argue that the case is politically motivatedsince the Maryland and DC governments are both run by Democratsand besides, a business owners personal returns arent normally part of the public domain. The plaintiffs might counter-argue that its been customary for the last 40 years for presidents and presidential candidates to release their returns, with Trump being the only prominent exception. If courts did grant a protection order keeping them private, theres always the chance somebody could leak the returns, at the risk of professional censure, fines or worse.

Thats a lot of legal activity, and Trumps lawyers would probably toss every conceivable roadblock in front of the plaintiffs. So how long might this all take? First would come a Trump appeal on standing, which would go to a federal appeals court, and if it ruled the suit can go forward, to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court wouldnt necessarily have to hear the case, but given the high stakes, theres a good chance it would.

Cases at the federal appeals court typically take 6 to 12 months, so if that court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on standing, Trumps team might not appeal to the Supreme Court until the session that begins in the fall of 2018. If the Supremes hear the case, they might not rule until the customary end of the session around early June of 2019.

If the case gets that far, appeals on discovery and the release of Trumps tax returns would follow a similar path, through the federal appeals court and then the Supreme Court. This could take until early June of 2021. Trump has said he plans to run for a second term in 2020, though some analysts arent even sure hell finish his first term. So its not clear how relevant his returns would be during the first term of whoever gets elected in 2020. Many Trump critics, of course, say better late than never. That may be what they get.

Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com. Encrypted communication available.

Read more:

Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman




United airlines flight attendant mobile devices

In May, United Airlines completed the rollout of its new basic-economy fare class.

The value-minded ticket option has been the subject of controversy since it was announced late last year.

Designed to compete against the bare-bones product offerings and rock-bottom prices of ultra-low-cost carriers, the fare was targeted at a specific group of budget-conscious shoppers.

In fact, United CEO Oscar Munoz told Business Insider in an interview earlier this year that basic economy was "not for everybody" and that the airline would even prefer its customers go with the full-service fare.

For those who have fallen in with the basic-economy crowd, the restrictions are significant. While the in-flight experience is identical to United's regular-economy product, basic-economy passengers cannot preselect or upgrade their seats, are limited to a single personal item in the cabin, and must be among the last to board the aircraft.

Because of basic economy's notorious limitations, United has made effectively communicating with their passengers a priority.

"We have a lot of mechanisms, and that's why we are taking our time to roll it out, to make sure when you buy that ticket you fully well know, you ain't getting bags, you ain't sitting together with your family," Munoz said in the February interview. "We are going follow up. We are going to do all those different things."

United notification

Since the interview, however, the need to make sure everyone traveling in basic economy is there of their own volition has been kicked into high gear.

The communication from United to its customers is rather extensive. Before a customer purchases the ticket on United's website, a pop-up window appears explaining basic economy's features. The pop-up remains until the customer acknowledges they understand the limitations of the fare class.

After the customer purchases the ticket, United sends a series of emails reminding them that their ticket is indeed a restricted basic-economy fare, detailing the limitations of the fare class, and saying they have 24 hours to get a refund.

Story continues

Watch news, TV and more Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

The importance of these emails and reminders has become exponentially more important because of two developments.

First, United's public image has taken the beating of a lifetime over the past couple of months. Although much of it is its own doing, no airline in recent memory has had to battle such an unrelenting onslaught of bad press as United has since April. Not even General Motors' 27-million-car safety recall, Ford/Firestone's tire-separation crisis, or Volkswagen's 11-million-car emissions-cheating scandal could rival the pop culture and political furor generated by United's treatment of David Dao.

United Basic Economy Email

Even though United has worked hard to battle back since the scandal with a host of changes to its policies and the way it treats its customers, its public image is, at best, on thin ice. This means the last thing the Chicago-based airline needs is angry parents ranting en masse about not being able to sit with their families, or business travelers complaining about being charged an extra fee to gate-check their carry-on bags.

This brings us to the second development: Basic economy has been unexpectedly popular.

United Airlines CFO Andrew Levy said this week that 30% to 40% of the airline's economy class passengers had gone the basic route, Skift reported.

United Airlines Email

That means the scale of the operation needed to manage basic economy has increased dramatically.

But even with the reminders, some of United's passengers have used Twitter to complain that they were unaware of their ticket's limitations or didn't know they had purchased basic economy.

"We tried to make it very clear throughout the process that the customer knows they are choosing the basic-economy fare," a United spokesman told Business Insider's Cadie Thompson.

With Delta's and American's basic-economy operations up and running as well, it's most likely a matter of time before the wider flying public understands the fare class. After all, roughly 85% of United's customers fly with it once a year at most.

Until then, all United can do is fight the good fight and hope for the best.

NOW WATCH: A United flight from New Jersey to Italy was canceled after a passenger spotted fuel spewing from the plane's wing





More From Business Insider
U.S. student Otto Warmbier speaks at a news conference in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang February 29, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA

Doctors caring for Otto Warmbier, the US student detained by North Korea and medically evacuated to his family in Cincinnati on Tuesday, have said that his condition has caused serious damage to his nervous system and that North Korea's explanation for his condition doesn't hold up.

Doctors described Warmbier as in a state of "wakeful unresponsiveness," saying that he has not communicated or voluntarily moved since being reunited with his family.

His condition could lead to long-term damage of his nervous system, which doctors said will likely never return to full functionality. The coma has led to "profound weakness" in his muscle tissues, according to the doctors.

Warmbier has been serving a 15-year sentence for "anti-state" activities, which he was sentenced to after attempting to take down a propaganda poster in his hotel.

The trial took place over a year ago, and Warmbier is thought to have entered the coma in the weeks after the trial.

Though the medical staff caring for Warmbier "have no verifiable information about what happened to Otto," they say Warmbier's type of injury usually comes from cardio-pulmonary arrest, or a stoppage of the heart and lungs "resulting in the death of brain tissue."

The story volunteered by North Korean officials  that Warmbier suffered from botulism (a kind of food poisoning), took a sleeping pill, and never woke up  could not be verified and did not hold up to medical scrutiny, the doctors said.

While botulism does cause nerve injury, doctors said that tests conducted "did not suggest any history of botulism."

The damage to Warmbier is apparently limited to his nervous system, with no evidence of "acute or healing fracture," suggesting that Warmbier wasn't severely beaten, the doctors said.

Fred Warmbier

Story continues

Upon arrival from North Korea, Warmbier was "well-nourished" and his skin was in "good condition," according to the doctors. Warmbier has been around his family continuously since his return to the US.

Fred Warmbier, Otto's father, held a press conference earlier on Thursday wearing the jacket Otto wore in North Korea as he stood trial. The elder Warmbier expressed mixed feelings about his son being home.

"I would like to highlight this morning the bittersweet feeling that my family has: relief that Otto is now home in the arms of those who love him and anger that he was so brutally treated for so long," Fred Warmbier said.

The doctors added: "The Warmbier family has shown incredible courage, strength, and compassion. On behalf of the medical staff, nurses, and associates of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, I can say it is our privilege to care for their son and brother."

NOW WATCH: Watch a US Navy assault ship fire at an inflatable 'killer tomato'





More From Business Insider


Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein

Amazon is buying Whole Foods.

The online giant is buying the high-end grocer for $42 a share, valuing the company at $13.7 billion.

Shares of the grocer were trading at $33.06 a share before the deal was announced, so the deal represents a 27% premium on its closing price yesterday.

In a filing on Amazon's website, the company revealed that it expects to pay for the merger with debt financing from Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Here's the relevant extract:

"The Company expects to finance the Merger with debt financing, which could include senior unsecured notes issued in capital markets transactions, term loans, bridge loans, or any combination thereof, together with cash on hand. In connection with entering into the Merger Agreement, the Company has entered into a commitment letter (the Commitment Letter), dated as of June 15, 2017, with Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Goldman Sachs Lending Partners LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and Bank of America, N.A. (collectively, the Commitment Parties), pursuant to which, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, the Commitment Parties have committed to provide a 364-day senior unsecured bridge term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $13.7 billion (the Bridge Facility), to fund the consideration for the Merger."

Goldman Sachs will have the "lead left" role, giving it the lead role on the financing. The bank is lending $6.85 billion, with the bank itself committing $3.5 billion, and GS Lending Partners putting in $3.35 billion. Bank of America is signed up to lend $6.85 billion.

The filing also said that Goldman Sachs will be the only firm to receive any "brokerage fees, commissions or finder's fees" for the merger.

NOW WATCH: HENRY BLODGET: This chart explains everything that's wrong with the economy today





More From Business Insider


John Mackey Whole Foods

Days after it came to light that he had lambasted activist investors as "greedy bastards," Whole Foods CEO John Mackey has struck a deal that is set to net one such investor a massive payday.

Amazon on Friday announced it would buy Whole Foods in a megadeal valued at $13.7 billion, or $42 a share.

Jana Partners, an activist hedge fund that has been a thorn in Mackey's side, is the third-largest shareholder, with a stake of more than 8%.

Its share of the company is worth $1.1 billion at the deal price, which represents a $300 million gain over the $800 million it paid to acquire the stake.

Jana Partners, which manages more than $5 billion, upped its position in Whole Foods in April and pushed the company to look into strategic options including a sale. Mackey reshuffled the company's board in May.

Earlier this week, Mackey called Jana Partners "greedy bastards" in a series of interviews with Texas Monthly. He also referred to Jana Partners as "Ringwraiths," villainous characters from the "Lord of the Rings" series.

"These guys just want to sell us, because they think they can make forty or fifty percent in a short period of time," Mackey told Texas Monthly's Tom Foster. "They're greedy bastards, and they're putting a bunch of propaganda out there, trying to destroy my reputation and the reputation of Whole Foods, because it's in their self-interest to do so."

NOW WATCH: Harvard Business School professor explains the most important problem we have in finance today and how to fix it





More From Business Insider


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On 3-5 October 2017 Kyiv is going to host the Space and Future Forum to network international experts and youth, many of whom will also participate at the first CosmoHack in the world. Joinfo provides media coverage of the Forum, and some of its topics were already discussed ...
The International Labor Organization, or ILO, has launched an appeal in support for children caught in conflict and natural disasters.

A new ILO report warns that those children are more at risk of child labor than boys and girls in other areas. It also says they are most at risk of falling victim to human trafficking and abuse, including sexual abuse.

The ILO report was released earlier this week to mark the World Day against Child Labor. It is urging governments to target and stop the worst forms of child labor.

The worst forms of child labor

The ILO says the world faces its largest refugee and displacement crisis ever.

War and persecution have forced more than 65 million people to flee from their homes. The report says children are among those most at risk of abuse from the breakdown of families and social systems.

In December of 2016, the United Nations estimated that 535 million children -- nearly one in four -- live in countries affected by conflict or disaster.

The report says an estimated 168 million children are in child labor around the world. That number is said to include 85 million involved in the worst forms of child labor. This includes the use of children employed in slave-like conditions, in dangerous jobs, such as mining and agriculture, and in the use of children in battle or as sex workers.

Most children at risk live in Africa

The ILO report says child labor is more common in Africa than other areas. Officials estimate that about 59 million children in African countries are actively engaged in child labor. A United Nations finding provides support to this estimate. It found that three quarters of children living in areas affected by conflict (about 393 million) are in Africa.

Insaf Nizam works for the ILO. He told VOA that children are often abused in situations of conflict in Africa. He noted that many work as child soldiers for armed groups in places like Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

"We also have seen certain armed groups using children for extreme types of violence as suicide bombers or forcibly recruiting them as brides and for sexual slavery. So, the types of violations against children have increased in diversity," Nizam said.

Natural Disasters are also an issue

Nizam said that children also work as soldiers and suffer other forms of abuse in conflicts in Asia and the Middle East. He noted that in places such as Myanmar and the Philippines, children face greater risks from powerful storms or other natural disasters.

"You get a lot of displacement of children, Nizam said. Families lose their livelihoods. Their community networks are lost. They are displaced. Communities become poor overnight. They lose their sources of income. Schools are either damaged or destroyed due to natural disasters. So, there children are pushed easily because of that."

Nizam said that people around the world are more likely to pay more attention to conflicts than natural disasters. This is especially true, he added, in the case of slow forming disasters such as extremely dry weather conditions and climate change.

According to Nizam, natural disasters are as harmful to children as conflicts.

Im Phil Dierking.

Lisa Schlein reported this story for VOANews.com. Phil Dierking adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

How do you think the world can prevent child labor and exploitation? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

persecution  n. to treat someone cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs

quarters  n. an amount equal to three of the four parts which make up something

recruiting  v. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc.

bride  n. a woman who has just married or is about to be married

diversity  n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc.

livelihood  n. a way of earning money in order to live

network  n. a group of people or organizations that are closely connected and that work with each other

income  n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.
President Donald Trump is changing measures that were set up to ease ties between the United States and Cuba.

The measures have been part of U.S. government policy since Barack Obama was president.

Trump announced the changes Friday during a visit to the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida.

The president said, the Obama administrations easing of restrictions on travel and trade has not helped the Cuban people.

Effective immediately, I am cancelling the last administrations completely one-sided deal with Cuba, Trump said.

He said the changes are aimed at cutting support for Cubas military and government. He called for a policy of principled realism toward the island country  one that does not reward its leaders.

Trump called for a free Cuba and strongly criticized the government. He accused it of shipping arms to North Korea and supporting unrest in Venezuela.

Trump also urged the government to release political prisoners, permit economic freedoms, and hold elections.

Yet diplomatic ties between the countries are not changing.

The president said The embassy remains open in the hope that our countries can forge a better path.

He added, The American people are rejecting the Cuban peoples oppressors.

Details of policy changes

Trump is barring Americans from doing business with the islands GAESA business conglomerate, which is linked to the Cuban military. The conglomerate is estimated to control more than half of the countrys economy.

The action will limit the flow of money from the United States to Cuba.

Also, the existing ban on travel by individual U.S. citizens to Cuba will be enforced. That means ending individual people-to-people travel. Instead, Americans traveling to the island will have to be part of a group.

Supporters of the Obama policy on Cuba say the new restrictions will have a bad effect.

Brett Bruen worked in the Obama administration to change U.S. policy toward Cuba. He said the actions proposed by the Trump administration will set back relations with Cuba and other Latin American countries.

Bruen said, Returning to the days of barriers and blockades will hurt American foreign policy, it will hurt American companies.

Not a full return to the embargo years

However, the Trump administration said new rules will not affect other measures designed to increase trade with the island nation.

Officials said new rules will not disrupt the existing business that has occurred. This is meant to avoid hurting Americans who have made recent investments in Cuba.

Also, the new rules will not target popular Cuban goods such as rum and cigars.

During the speech, the president told the crowd that he was keeping the promise he made during the campaign to punish Cuba for human rights abuses.

The United States ordered a trade embargo on Cuba in 1960 two years after the Communist revolutionary Fidel Castro ousted leader Fulgencio Batista.

The embargo failed to remove Castro, or his brother Raul, from power.

Obama re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2015.

President Trump has not called for a return to a policy known as wet-foot, dry-foot, which Obama ended in January before leaving office.

Under this policy, Cubans fleeing the island were permitted to stay in the United States if they reached U.S. soil. But if they were found at sea, they were returned to Cuba.

Im Caty Weaver.

Steve Herman and Mario Ritter reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

conglomerate  n. a very large company made up of many different businesses

disrupt  v. to interrupt normal processes, to make something unable to continue in a normal or regular way

embargo  n. restrictions

reward  v. to give money or some other kind of payment to


A school for the blind in Massachusetts has announced an effort to train one million teachers for disabled children around the world.

The Perkins School for the Blind launched the effort as United Nations members gathered this week for a meeting on the rights of disabled persons.

The goal of the meeting was to bring attention to the issue of including and educating people with disabilitiesespecially children.

Experts say more than six million children with more than one disability are not being served by education systems around the world. A disability could be blindness, deafness or other inabilities to do things.

Educating disabled children important for society

Dave Power is the president of Perkins School for the Blind. The school is the oldest academic institution for people who cannot see or who are blind and cannot hear.

He said children with more than one disability often do not receive an education.

These children for the most part dont get an education  something on the order of 90 percent, said Power.

He and other experts say children with more than one disability have a lot of potential. But, they need the right education to realize it.

Gopal Mitra is an expert on disabilities at UNICEF, the United Nations Childrens Fund. He says there are many barriers to disabled children.

The stigma and discrimination that exists around disabilities  it is the attitudinal barrier  it has a wide ranging impact, he said.

A lack of resources is another problem. Governments do not set aside enough money for people with disabilities. Also, families often lack the ability to provide an education for disabled children.

Mitra said, Within the family, often parents do not see the value of educating the child who cannot see or cannot hear.

Roseanne Silberman is an educator. She said, I think that the greatest challenge across the world is to get the government involved in the need for teacher training.

School seeks to standardize its programs to train teachers

This week, Perkins School for the Blind announced its effort to train one million teachers by 2030 to educate children with multiple disabilities.

Michael Delaney is the executive director of Perkins International, a division of Perkins School for the Blind. He described the effort as providing important training to teachers.

We want to do that in a way that supports teachers who are in public schools and teachers that are in special schools, so all children will have a quality education, Delaney said.

He noted the program will have three levels with courses lasting from two days to nine months. These classes would train teachers in international standards.

Perkins School for the Blind has a history of training teachers from other countries to work with blind, deaf and blind, and low-vision children. Dave Power now says the school wants to standardize its program to reach more people.

The school is seeking to fund the program by combining government support with private donations.

Because we already have the knowledge and know-how and have done it, we can do it very efficiently, he said.

UN also brings attention to women with disabilities

Another issue discussed at the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was women with disabilities.

The World Report on Disability estimates that one in five women are likely to experience a disability in their lifetimes. It says disabled women and girls face many barriers and discrimination that prevent them from getting education, economic opportunities and from taking part in politics.

One success story is Maricar Marquez who was born deaf. At the age of seven, doctors said she had Usher syndrome, a disease that causes a loss of sight over time.

Today she is deaf and blind. Her sister has the same condition.

Although she was born in the Philippines, Marquez family moved to Canada. There, both girls received specialized education.

Marquez did not listen to people who said people with disabilities cannot learn. She went to college and earned a Masters Degree.

Had I not gotten the services I did, I would not be where I am, she said using sign language.

Im Mario Ritter.

Margaret Besheer reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

potential  n. a possibility that something can be developed and made better

stigma  n. unfair negative beliefs

attitudinal  adj. related to attitudes or demonstrated feelings people have

challenge  n. something that is difficult to do

standard  n. a level of quality that is considered acceptable

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
Now, from VOA Learning English, it's time for Words and Their Stories.

This program explores common expressions in American English.

Today we explore a word that does not sound very pleasant -- gut.

In the medical world, guts are the internal organs of an animal. It's a person's stomach or the part of the body that contains the stomach.

So, that's medically speaking.

But in our everyday conversations, "guts mean many different things.

In the United States, if you bust a gut you are laughing really, really hard -- so hard that your stomach starts to hurt.

If you haven't busted a gut in years, maybe you should. It feels good to have a really good laugh.

Now, just as our guts are inside of us, the inside parts of a machine are sometimes called guts, too. So, if you gut your computer, you take out all the pieces inside that make it work.

That's right, gut is also a verb.

You can gut something, like a fish. This means you remove its internal organs before cooking it. You can also gut a building by removing everything from the inside. My friend who renovated her house, for example, gutted the entire structure first.

The most important parts of a business deal or piece of legislation are also called the guts. And if you gut these things, you remove all the important parts. For example, you could say that after the council member gutted the legislation, it wasnt going to be nearly as effective.

Now, let's talk about you.

Within you are all your important thoughts, fears, dreams, feelings and secrets. If you spill your guts, you share these things with other people.

Its an informal saying but you can use it when talking about any situation . If your best friend has a date and shares all the details with you, she has spilled her guts. Perhaps at work, a co-worker spills his guts when he tells you that his bossy personality actually comes from a deep childhood fear of failing.

When spilling your guts, be careful. Remember, once you say something, you cannot take it back!

Now, if you strongly dislike someone -- I mean really, really hate them -- you can say you hate their guts. You hate everything inside them. This is a very harsh statement and sounds a little childish.

You know, if you think about it, all those internal organs are important. They may not be pretty, but they keep us alive.

So, guts can also mean some really great things.

For example, the word guts is an informal way of saying bravery or "courage." It takes guts to make a very difficult decision.

Lets say you want to move to a country where you dont know anyone and dont know the language. You want to make a big change and take a chance!

Your friends who have lived in the same town all their lives say, "Wow, that takes a lot of guts." For right now, they dont have the guts to make such a big change.

This is where we get our expression "no guts, no glory." This means that if you do not have courage to take a risk, you will not be able to achieve a goal or success.

It might be scary. But you know in your gut that its something you must do. Used this way, "gut" means a strong feeling about something.

We can also use "gut" as an adjective. For example, your gut feelings are not based in logic or reason. Lets say Im your best friend. When I hear about your plans to move away, my gut reaction is to ask, even beg, you to stay.

But my gut also tells me that this is something you must do.

So, I tell you to listen to your gut. Go chase your dream!

After a years time, I finally get the guts to do the same thing. We meet in Paris and then move to Russia to live for a year!

As we say, no guts, no glory!

And that's the end of this Word and Their Stories.

Is this body part, the gut, used the same way in your language? Let us know in the Comments Section.

I'm Anna Matteo.

"No guts, not glory. No pain, no gain. One for all and all for one, riders on the range. No guts, no glory. Taking a stand ..."

Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. The song at the end is "No Guts, No Glory," by John Van Tongeren. It is the theme song from the American television cartoon Adventure of the Galaxy Rangers.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

bravery  n. the quality or state of having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty

courage  n. the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous

bossy  adj. tending too often to tell people what to do : often giving orders in a way that people do not like

personality  n. the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people

logic  n. a proper or reasonable way of thinking about or understanding something
I signed up for Googles Project Fi wireless service at the end of 2016. Its not necessarily the best wireless network for everyone, but it meets my needs perfectly.

This week Google launched a new quiz that you can take to figure out if Project Fi would end up costing more or less than your current plan and/or if it offers perks that you dont already get.

But one thing thats starting to bug me? The only phones that work with Project Fi are recent Nexus and Pixel devices. While Im a long-time Nexus loyalist, the growing number of $200  $400 smartphones with strong specs is looking more and more tempting.

But the thing thats probably going to keep me from jumping ship is the fact that none of those phones work with Project Fi and it seems unlikely that Google will release a Fi-compatible phone in that price range anytime soon.

Update: But it does look like Project For may begin offering support for mid-range phones from third party partners!



Right now Google only sells three Project Fi-compatible phones: the $649 Google Pixel, the $749 Google Pixel XL, and the $399 Google Nexus 6P.

I managed to pick up a $249 Nexus 5X when they were still available, and it works just fine with Project Fi. The phone has a great camera, a decent screen, and Id generally be pretty happy with it if the Nexus 5X had another gigabyte or two of RAM. While the phone occasionally feels sluggish, my biggest gripe is that some applications will close unexpectedly in the background if Im doing too much multitasking.

So Id be tempted to upgrade to a more powerful phone except Id rather not buy a Nexus 6P which wont be supported for much longer (and which has an enormous screen), and I definitely dont want to spend $649 on a phone.

Theres a good chance Google will drop the price of the first-gen Pixel when the new Pixel phones launch later this year. But unless Google cuts the price in half, Im not sure I want to make the switch Im more likely to switch wireless carriers if I need a new phone and Google doesnt open up Fi to non-Google phones by then.

That would be a shame though, because there are some things I really like about Googles phone network:

You only pay for the data you use: if you pay for more than you need at the start of the month youll get a refund at the end of the month for any unused data.

Tethering does not cost extra.

There are no roaming fees when using the phone in 135 countries, and international rates for phone calls are reasonably low.

Project Fi doesnt include a long-term contract, so you can leave at any time if you can find another network that meets your needs.

I made the switch from AT&T/Straight Talk to Project Fi primarily because I wanted to be able to use my phone as a mobile hotspot while I was covering the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year. I didnt expect to save money. I just expected to add functionality.

As it turns out, Ive saved quite a bit of money. I had been paying $45 per month for unlimited data, but I wasnt actually using very much in a typical month.

Now I pay about $30  $35 in the average month, since I rarely use more than 1GB of data. Any time I do, I just pay $1 per 100MB. Typically that only happens in months when I go out of town or do a lot of remote work. My first international trip since switching to Fi is coming up, and Im kind of excited about the prospect of using my phone in another country without buying a new SIM card.

I will admit, I got slightly more reliable coverage with Straight Talk, which connected to AT&Ts cellular network. But the only time I really notice a difference in Philadelphia is when Im riding the subway: AT&T worked at most stations. Project Fi only works at some stations.

But if my Nexus 5X eventually starts to boot loop or runs into other problems, Im not sure what Ill do.

Google says only Nexus and Pixel phones have the hardware to seamlessly switch between WiFi, Sprint, and T-Mobile networks. But theres nothing stopping Google from working with third-party phone makers to add that technology to their devices.

While I prefer stock Android to the skinned versions most phone makers use, and I love getting monthly security updates directly from Google, Im not sure I want to pay $600 or more for a phone when you can get great phones for half the price.

The Moto G5 Plus, Moto Z Play, OnePlus 3T, ZTE Axon, and Honor 8 all look like great options. But they dont work with Project Fi.

So while Im actually a big fan of using a Google phone with Googles wireless network, if Google doesnt offer mid-range options in the future, I might end up leaving both behind.

What about you? Have you tried Fi? Would you be more likely to use it if you could bring a non-Nexus or Pixel phone?
Samsungs Galaxy S8 and S8+ may have dedicated keys for the companys Bixby virtual assistant software. But the full version of Bixby wasnt ready to go when the phones first launched at least not in the United States.

While South Korean customers could use Bixby to speak to their phones, customers in the US could only access a few Bixby features by pressing the button and voice wasnt one of them.

Now Samsung is testing the English-language version of Bixby, and the company is accepting a limited number of beta testers into an early access program.

If youre accepted into the program, Samsung says you can send text messages, make calls, change settings, or perform other actions by holding the Bixby key and talking.

Bixby is designed to learn from your behavior, so it should get better at recognizing your voice and figuring out what youre asking it to do over time. But Samsung does caution that the company does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of Bixby.

The fine print on the early access page also notes that the only languages that are currently supported are Korean and US English, and not all dialects and expressions will be recognized.

At this point only a small number of apps from Samsung and third-party developers will work with Bixby, but Samsung says the list should grow in the future.

Ultimately the idea is to let you control your phone with just your voice, removing the need to touch the screen to perform many actions. While its hard to imagine playing touchscreen-based games with voice commands, its a lot easier to envision a future where you can make calls, surf the web, look up recipes, or make appointments with the hands-free voice assistant.

In that way, Bixby is designed to coexist with Google Assistant rather than compete directly with it which makes sense, since Samsungs phones also ship with Googles voice assistant software.

via SamMobile
Greg Sargent talked to Jack Goldsmith about this a couple weeks back. The answer is that Congress COULD, but Trump could try to veto it.

Here is Sargent's post:

"If this happened, Goldsmith writes, presumably Rosenstein would resign, and at that point, complicated succession questions at the Justice Department would take over. But the bottom line is that Trump might be able to get Mueller out  perhaps via a presidential directive that overrides the regulatory need for cause and simply fires Mueller. At that point, its not clear what would happen.

In a follow-up interview with me, Goldsmith said Congress could act legislatively to reinstate Mueller. But if it really came to this, Trump would probably veto any such effort, and Goldsmith added: Action by statute against the president on the Mueller issue would likely require veto-proof super-majorities.

That would mean that at least a dozen GOP senators, and more than 40 GOP representatives, would have to join such an effort. In our interview, Schiff said he thought this would likely happen.

We would probably take up a bill that would establish an independent counsel for the purposes of this investigation, and give the appointment power to legislative leaders who would appoint Bob Mueller, Schiff said. Thats what I hope and expect would happen. But you have to admit the possibility that Republicans, against all reason, would continue to serve as enablers of this president.
A Bahrain court Thursday sentenced twenty people to life in prison and handed 15-year prison sentences to sixteen others on terrorism charges.

The Supreme Court of the kingdom found the 26 defendants guilty of forming a terrorist group between 2011 and 2013, possession of weapons and Molotov cocktails, and attempting to kill policemen in the Shiite-dominated village of Diraz, west of Manama.

The tiny kingdom of the Gulf has been rocked since 2011 by protests staged by Shiites who represent the majority of the population. The Shia complain about marginalization.

The Sunnite ruling family accuses Iran for fueling rebellion.

Five people were killed last month after police opened fire to break a month-long sit-in in front of a top Bahraini Shia Cleric sentenced to one year in prison for corruption.

In another case, a court in Manama sentenced a Bahraini to 10 years in prison and revoked his citizenship for joining a terrorist group, reports say.

The court found him guilty of illegal arm possession, dissemination of false news and liaison with the Islamic State group (IS).

The prosecution also pointed out that he used social media networks to publish and exchange information about IS.
The Turkish foreign ministry summoned Thursday US ambassador to Ankara to reject the arrest warrants issued by US authorities against Turkish Presidents security personnel after some of the bodyguards allegedly beat up anti-Ankara protesters during Erdogans May visit to Washington.

Ambassador John Bass was notified about Ankaras utter disagreement with the decision, which it said is not independent or objective.

The ministry also noted in a statement that the decision is wrong, biased and lacks legal basis and that the brawl in front of the Turkish ambassadors residence in Washington took place as a result of the failure of U.S. security officials to take necessary measures.

President Erdogan also chided the US adding that Turkey will fight off the decision.

When they come here, they insist only U.S. security be responsible for the protection of their officials and they dont want our police to provide assistance. But when we go there, they want their police to replace our security personnel, he added.

Washington Police Chief Peter Newsham told media that 12 members of the security detail accompanying Erdogan during his visit to the Turkish ambassadors residence in Washington after his meeting with President Donald Trump have been identified among beaters.

A melee involving protesters identified as supporters of Kurdish and Armenian causes and supporters of the Turkish President took place outside the residence of the Turkish ambassador.

The two camps were engaged in a brawl in which security guards accompanying the Turkish President were spotted, beating and kicking protesters. Nine people had been injured in the fight, which took place before the eyes of the Turkish President.

Two Americans of Turkish origin were arrested in connection to the brawl. Two more were arrested Wednesday.

US authorities also issued warrants against two Canadians also allegedly involved in the melee.
Newspaper: Armenia parliament opposition seats to no longer be empty

US intends to protect Azerbaijan from threats of Iran

Aliyev, Erdogan discuss results of tripartite meeting in Russias Sochi

Azerbaijan army fires at Armenia positions, uses mortars as well

Amazon becomes world's first public company to lose $1 trillion in market value

EU's odd couple: Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel can't stand each other

US, China set first benchmarks ahead of presidents' meeting

Iranian MFA summons Azerbaijani ambassador to carpet in connection with anti-Iranian propaganda

Washington to resist any attempt by new Israeli government to annex West Bank

Biden thinks Elon Musk's relations with other countries are worthy of being looked at

Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister tells Polish senator about consequences of Azerbaijani aggression

Armenian deputy in Vilnius talks about goals of Azerbaijan's aggressive policy

Taliban bans women from gyms

U.S. to send Ukraine another $400 million in military aid

Ursula von der Leyen announces EUR 250 million support package for Moldova

Biden and Jinping meet on sidelines of G20 summit in Bali to be held on November 14

Riches of world get poorer suddenly

State Duma deputy: Interparliamentary format Yerevan-Baku-Moscow will be included soon to solve issues

IMF sees growing risk of economic fragmentation

Armen Gevorgyan to visit Strasbourg, Brussels and Paris

State Duma deputy: Upper Lars border crossing capacity has increased fivefold

UK government freezes over 18 billion pounds worth of Russian assets

State Duma deputy on Zatulin's ban on entering Armenia: These issues must be resolved

Borrell calls for retooling EU infrastructure for rapid transport of military equipment to East

European Parliament clears way for Croatia's admission to Schengen Area

European Council President Michel calls on EU member states to jointly purchase gas to reduce fuel prices

Alen Simonyan congratulates scientists on their professional holiday

Armenian President meets with leaders of several countries in Egypt

Greece accuses Turkey of profiting from the suffering of other countries under sanctions

USAID official says she personally saw how democracy, economic development are progressing in Armenia (VIDEO)

Spain court sentences civilian to prison for spreading fakes

Armenian Embassy in Russia issues statement on Azerbaijan's actions

Indian company to supply 155mm self-propelled artillery guns worth $155mln to Armenia

Japanese minister caught in scandal for talking about death penalty

France changes its ambassador to Azerbaijan

UN General Assembly draft resolution requires Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine

Belarusian State Border Committee: Poland creates tense situation on border

Joint meeting of Armenian National Assembly and Russian State Duma Committee takes place

Iranian President says attempt to destabilize country fails

Deputy: Russian side is informed about importance of withdrawal of Azerbaijani units from the territory of Armenia

State Duma deputy: We can't imagine Russia without Armenia

Georgian PM and Armenian Ambassador discuss cooperation issues

Bali is short of armored limousines for G20 summit participants

FLYONE ARMENIA to start flights between Yerevan, Dubai

Kyodo: Emperor of Japan revealed to have prostate hyperplasia

Iranian intelligence urges Saudi Arabia not to test Tehran's strategic patience

Kazakhstan intends to ship 1.5 mln tons of oil via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline

Former Ombudsman: 2,700 ha of Kapan community of Armenia's Syunik Province are under occupation by Baku

Armenia to ratify cooperation agreement with China

Japan and the US begin major joint exercise

Armenia soldier sustains gunshot wound from Azerbaijan shooting

Armenia legislature speaker receives deputy chair of Russia State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration

PM: If anyone thinks peace agenda is peaceful annihilation of Armenia or Karabakh Armenians, they are sorely mistaken

Armenia Premier: We have 16 missing persons since September 13 military aggression by Azerbaijan

Bitcoin is trading just above $16,000

Armenias Pashinyan: Spreading of fake news by Azerbaijan becomes prelude to new aggression

Armenia PM: Azerbaijan, with its practices, reminds of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which discredit Islam

PM: Armenia, Karabakh propose Azerbaijan to create demilitarized zone

Pashinyan: There is no Armenia army in Karabakh

All 10 fallen soldiers transferred on October 27 by Azerbaijan to Armenia are identified, buried

Pashinyan: Armenia is going to present new proposal to Azerbaijan

$25M allocated to Armenia MOD

Biden says he will discuss Ukraine conflict at G20 summit

Pashinyan: Armenia has no obligation to construct new roads

Pashinyan: Aliyev not only threatens but is already preparing genocide of Karabakh Armenians

Armenias Pashinyan: Azerbaijan president is attempting to create invented grounds for closing Lachin Corridor

Erdogan tells what relations between Turkey and Armenia depend on

Iran says it has developed first hypersonic ballistic missile

Armenias Pashinyan: Russia peacekeepers are deployed in Karabakh indefinitely

FM Lavrov to head Russia delegation at G20 summit

Erdogan: Ankara continues mediation efforts to resolve Ukrainian crisis

Armenia to get 100mn loan to fund budget deficit

IAEA head: Talks on Iran's nuclear program ended inconclusively

Armenia PM: Aliyev grossly violated tripartite written agreement of Sochi

This year 320 people seek asylum in Armenia, 213 are from Ukraine

Erdogan speaks on trusting relationship with Putin

Gold prices remain stable

Ombudsperson in Brussels, reflects on top Azerbaijan leaderships policy of Armenophobia

Indonesian authorities: Putin won't come to G20 summit in Bali

World oil prices falling

Washington demands part of Israeli Arrow 3 for sale to Germany, be produced in the U.S.

Armenia Security Council chief meets with Lithuania officials

Armenia FM heading for Paris

Egypt launches Tax Free system for foreign tourists

Washington, Brussels don't approve German plan to resume transatlantic trade talks

Newspaper: Armenias Mirzoyan makes it clear to Blinken that wording Artsakh should be included

Newspaper: Armenia parliamentary opposition decides to return to legislative body

Polar and brown bear hybrids may appear in Yakutia due to climate change

Volkswagen releases office chair with electric motor and klaxon

Israel reveals Pulcinella secret, admitting that it used drones not only for surveillance

Chinese woman makes dresses for her daughter out of trash bags

Poland and Slovakia will increase defense spending

Audi presents new crossovers Q8 e-tron

Benny Gantz: Israel has an opportunity to strike Iran's nuclear facilities

France National Assembly speaker reaffirms solidarity with Armenia, Armenians

Samvel Babayan: Russia will withdraw peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh

Hungarian government sets price ceiling on eggs and potatoes

Benny Gantz: Israel does not have the production capacity to supply Ukraine with air defense systems

Germany must adopt energy-saving measures in face of skyrocketing inflation

Beglaryan: Azerbaijan continues and will continue its policy of genocide and hatred against the Armenian people
Vardan Sargsyan, 20, who died in Karabakh on Friday, was from Lusagyugh village of Armenias Aragatsotn province.

According to the mayor of the village, Kajik Zakaryan, the soldier was the only son in the family: he has left behind two sisters.

Vardan was from a socially vulnerable family. His father is a forester.

The soldier was to be discharged in a few months.

Earlier, three Armenian servicemen were killed as a result of the firing by the Azerbaijani armed forces on Friday.

The adversary violated the ceasefire regime at about 6:05 pm on Friday, using AGS-17 in the direction of the protection area of one of the central military units under the subordination of the Defense Army. Consequently Defense Army servicemen Arayik Matinyan (born in 1997), Vigen Petrosyan (born in 1997) and Vardan Sargsyan (born in 1997) were fatally wounded.
YEREVAN.  Russian foreign ministrys recent statements are an attempt to cut Azerbaijan down to size, Armenian analyst Stepan Grigoryan told 168zham newspaper.

Such statements made one after another are not a mere coincidence, said Stepan Grigoryan, director of Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation.

He believes it is the answer to arrogant behavior of the neighboring state, as it is very difficult to deal with a similar country and similar leadership that has no respect for agreements.

In an interview with the newspaper the analyst described the statement by Maria Zakharova as an important and sufficient step.

During the briefing this week, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry said: Russia, as a participant in the respective format, is doing its utmost, everything necessary, for its part, to find the compromise. It is desirable that it be found, and the sooner the better; but without harming the peoples of the two countries, and, of course, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
YEREVAN.  It is unclear why there are no assessments from international partners regarding the situation with three killed soldiers of Karabakh army, speaker of the Armenian parliament Ara Babloyan wrote Facebook.

Babloyan is in Artsakh, where he participates in the forum of Armenian political parties.

On Friday Karabakh army reported that three soldiers were killed as Azerbaijan fired from grenade launcher.

I learned with pain about the arrogant aggression of the Azerbaijani armed forces, which resulted in the death of three young people - Araik, Vigen and Vardan. I regard these actions of the Baku regime as a murder. I sympathize with the family and friends of the guys. This is our common pain. Eternal glory to our fighters, he said.

Babloyan added that during his meetings in Artsakh, we constantly talked about unity.

No aggression can keep us from our goals. The behavior of the Azerbaijani authorities proves again that we have much to do by consistently consolidating our efforts. The Azerbaijani side, knowing that the provocation will not remain unanswered, again placed political whim higher than human lives.

It is not clear why no international response has been received from international partners yet, the Armenian speaker said.
STEPANAKERT.  There is nothing strange in Azerbaijans actions, spokesperson for Karabakh president said commenting on the situation along the line of contact.

The Karabakh defense army said three soldiers were killed Friday as a result of ceasefire violation by Azerbaijani armed forces.

It is a tragedy for us, we had three soldiers killed and an entire nation mourns, but there is nothing strange in Azerbaijans actions. Azerbaijan has always been a terrorist, criminal and treacherous country and once again turned to the terrorist actions typical for terrorists and criminals, Davit Babayan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The official Stepanakert believes Azerbaijans actions are encouraged by Turkey amid joint military drills held by the two countries these days.

This can be called a chain of international terrorism, Babayan added.

The spokesperson for Karabakh president said the incident could have been also perceived as Azerbaijans response to a targeted statement by the OSCE Minsk Group. The co-chairs once again have to make a tough and targeted statement, he added.

Three soldiers were fatally wounded after Azerbaijan used grenade launchers to fire the Karabakh positions on Friday.

In the statement made on May 18 the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs said that Azerbaijan fired a missile across the Line of Contact, striking military equipment.
STEPANAKERT.  Azerbaijani side violated ceasefire regime around 300 times from different caliber weapons along the line of contact from June 11 to 17.

At the different sections of the line of contact adversary used 60mm and 82 mm mortars and anti-tank grenade launchers.

The Karabakh army vaneguard units retaliated to suppress the adversarys offensive activity and continuing to confidently carry out their combat task, the Karabakh army said in a statement.

As reported earlier, three Armenian soldiers were killed as a result of the firing by the Azerbaijani armed forces on Friday. Defense Army servicemen Arayik Matinyan (born in 1997), Vigen Petrosyan (born in 1997) and Vardan Sargsyan (born in 1997) were fatally wounded.

On Saturday morning Karabakh army said Azerbaijan resorted to a new provocation as a result of which 20-year-old soldier was killed in the morning.
STEPANAKERT.  President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan on Saturday visited the Talish village of the Martakert region to attend a solemn opening ceremony of the Revived Talish monument.

The President expressed gratitude to the initiators of this undertaking noting that the monument had a peculiar meaning reflecting our firm will and determination to restore the former glory of this settlement, make it crowded and prosperous again.

In his speech Bako Sahakyan stressed that the restoration of Talish was among the significant state strategic programs, which would unconditionally come to life.

Such a monument is a message to the world showing that our will is unbending, faith towards our own strength is steadfast, and optimism is inexhaustible. We respond to barbarism by our unity. Our potential to live, create and build, underlined the Head of the State.

During the ceremony President Sahakyan handed in high state awards to a group of freedom-fighters of the Sisian squad.

Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, other officials were present at the event.
Azerbaijan is actually discrediting the format of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Head of the Caucasus Department of the Institute of CIS Countries, Director of the Center for Public Policy Research and military expert Vladimir Yevseyev told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am.

Referring to Friday's violation of ceasefire by the Azerbaijani armed forces at the contact line in the Karabakh conflict zone, he noted: ''The current actions of the Azerbaijani side are conditioned by the following circumstance: they think that the politics of biting territories, which they conducted last April, is a success. Regardless of how many people die, the most important thing to them is to return at least a small part of the territories. Very strong PR is carried out within the country in order to strengthen the personal power of Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban.''

According to Yevseyev, the statements of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are not of a great significance for Azerbaijan. ''If they had significance, Azerbaijan would have implemented the decisions adopted within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, in particular, regarding the expansion of the observation mission in the conflict zone and development of an international incident investigation mechanism. Thus, I can suppose that this is most likely in no way related with the recent targeted statements of the co-chairs, being more conditioned by the inter-Azerbaijani reasons,'' he added.

Asked whether practical steps will be taken by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing states, the military expert stressed: ''I think the stance of the co-chairing states first of all, Russia and USon Azerbaijan will become harsh, since the latter fails to implement the decisions adopted at the level of the OSCE Minsk Group. This will force Moscow and Washington to strengthen the pressure on Baku in order to make it implement the previously adopted decisions.''

As reported earlier, three Armenian soldiers were killed as a result of the firing by the Azerbaijani armed forces on Friday. Defense Army servicemen Arayik Matinyan (born in 1997), Vigen Petrosyan (born in 1997) and Vardan Sargsyan (born in 1997) were fatally wounded.

On Saturday morning Karabakh army said Azerbaijan resorted to a new provocation as a result of which a 20-year-old soldier was killed in the morning. Two soldiers were wounded.
YEREVAN.  Armenian Foreign Ministry expressed deep condolences to the relatives and colleagues of servicemen who died yesterday and today as a result of the flagrant violation of ceasefire by the Azerbaijani armed forces at the line of contact between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry reminds of the recent statement by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group condemning the violations of the ceasefire and pointing to Azerbaijan as a party to open fire.

It is by such provocations that Azerbaijan reacts to this targeted statement, thus demonstrating its contempt. Decision to hold large-scale military exercises on the eve of co-chairs visit to Baku without international notification, the violations of the indefinite trilateral ceasefire agreements of 1994-1995, new steps aimed at aggravating the situation are another challenge thrown by Azerbaijan's top leadership to the international community and first of all to the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. Lack of a proper response to this challenge can be considered by Azerbaijan as an encouragement.

It is obvious that Baku, being unable to lead the process of peaceful settlement in the direction it prefers, is trying to create the illusion of achieving an advantage at the front line, which is also doomed to failure, and is fraught with unpredictable consequences, first of all, for the party initiating tensions, the statement says.
In the emerged situation there is absolutely no point in speaking about mutual concessions.

Chairman of Yelk (Way Out) Bloc faction of the Armenian National Assembly (NA), Nikol Pashinyan, who is attending the 3rd Forum of Armenian Parties, told the aforementioned to Artsakhpress on Saturday.

Referring to the views of the political forces regarding the Artsakh issue, Pashinyan particularly noted that all the parties participating in the forum are united round the issue that in the emerged situation there is absolutely no point in speaking about mutual concessions, since Azerbaijan has no disposition in this issue.

Touching on the work of the 3rd Forum of Armenian Parties, Pashinyan noted: We are yet exchanging ideas. I wont give dramatic assessments regarding the forum. It at least becomes clear who thinks what.

As reported earlier, three Armenian soldiers were killed as a result of the firing by the Azerbaijani armed forces on Friday. Defense Army servicemen Arayik Matinyan (born in 1997), Vigen Petrosyan (born in 1997) and Vardan Sargsyan (born in 1997) were fatally wounded.

On Saturday morning Karabakh army said Azerbaijan resorted to a new provocation as a result of which a 20-year-old soldier was killed in the morning. Two soldiers were wounded.
STEPANAKERT. - The Nagorno-Karabakh issue will not be solved in the near future, there being very little possibility for a large-scale war.

Former defense minister of Armenia Vagharshak Harutyunyan told the aforementioned on Saturday at the 3rd Forum of Armenian Parties held in Stepanakert, Artsakhpress reports.

The greatest threat to our state is the stance of the Azerbaijani authorities, which refuse the negotiation process and want to solve the Karabakh issue by military means. This has been the case since 1988 up to now. I am confident that the authorities of that country will still retain that stance for a long time unless preconditions are created for Azerbaijan to follow the negotiation option, Harutyunyan said.

According to him, having launched a war on April 2, 2016, Azerbaijan turned to Russia on April 4 in order to establish ceasefire, since as a result of the actions of the Artsakh Defense Army it realized that they will receive proper retaliation and suffer great losses, which made the Azerbaijani authorities panic.

I think in the present conditions there is little possibility for a large-scale war, since it doesnt stem from the interests of the co-chairing states, the combat-readiness of our army being the main guarantee. I should note that the Karabakh issue will have no solution in the future, the former minister said.
YEREVAN. - The eye surgery on Myasnik Hovhannisyan, an Armenian soldier wounded on the Karabakh-Azerbaijani contact line on Friday, has ended successfully.

The representatives of Yerevan-based Malayan Ophthalmological Center, where the young man was operated on, told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am.

According to our information, Hovhannisyans both eyes were injured: there was a foreign body in one of his eyes, the second one being injured as a result of a burn. It will be possible to assess his vision only in a few weeks, when the bandages are removed from his eyes.

As reported earlier, three Armenian soldiers were killed as a result of the firing by the Azerbaijani armed forces on Friday. Defense Army servicemen Arayik Matinyan (born in 1997), Vigen Petrosyan (born in 1997) and Vardan Sargsyan (born in 1997) were fatally wounded.

On Saturday morning Karabakh army said Azerbaijan resorted to a new provocation as a result of which a 20-year-old soldier was killed in the morning. Two other soldiers were wounded.
Walking into Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's "Soul2Soul" tour stop at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Friday night, all I really wanted to do was stare  and drool.

The thing is, though, yeah, the two are both incredibly gorgeous, but so what? I had to ask myself whats the incentive, besides the drool factor, to head to a concert of a couple of old school country stars?

Welp, first, it was my assignment. But, also, in addition to being sexy, gorgeous and beautiful people, theyre also crazy talented, possess unbelievable sets of pipes and their songs pull your heartstrings.

I know, right? Could life be anymore unfair?

Yeah. Yeah, it could. Because McGraw and Hill are also married and totally in love  like first date, still head-over-heels after 20 years of marriage and three amazing daughters love. Oh, and they recently made their permanent residence a twenty-acre private island compound in the Bahamas.

That just leaves a puss-filled gaping wound in everyone elses self-esteem, right?

I wondered though, after twenty years of marriage, three kids and multiple tours together, would they be ... stale? Tired? Old?

I shouldnt have even wondered; they werent stale, or tired, or old. And their opener, High Valley, was nothing to sneeze at either.

High Valley finds its roots in bluegrass and gospel, which grounds their music but still lets it soar with a modern twisted edge. And they were straight up magnificent. Best known for their recent hit "Make You Mine," the duo  made up of the Rempel brothers, Brad and Curtis  played that plus five other songs including "I Be U Be," "Be My Baby Tonight" and "Ill Fly Away." They also dedicated a song to the man without whom their career wouldnt be possible: their dad, a fitting Fathers Day weekend tribute. Its too bad that the Bradley Center hadnt filled up when they hit the stage, because High Valley was freaking fantastic.

The duo will return, headlining the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage on July 4 at Summerfest. Catch their show. Itll be totally worth your while.

McGraw and Hill took over from there. For two solid hours, they smacked new life into their hits, threw in a few new songs and pretty much had the audience doing what Id planned to do from the outset: drool.

I need to touch @TheTimMcGraw's butt. Omg  M  (@cohabgrad) June 17, 2017

Wow, @FaithHill and @TheTimMcGraw were so good tonight! So much talent from the both of you  Cassaundra Lindsay (@Cassaundra_D) June 17, 2017

I do have a caveat, though. It was either the acoustics in the upper deck generally or something with the sound board, but unfortunately, a lot of the first part of their concert sounded  funky, over-assaulted with bass. To make it worse, most of Faith Hills solo songs sounded off. The bass was kicked up so high that the woman with one of the best instruments in the business was drowning in drums. And that was sad.

I hoped maybe it was just me  but it wasnt.

@TheTimMcGraw love you Tim but my ears must not be the same as your sounds guys because you were either muffled or the band bass was 2 loud  Amy J (@AmyJ14209680) June 17, 2017

The audience seemed perplexed during her solo set. While you could totally tell that Faith was on and singing as she does, you couldnt quite get grabbed and pulled in the way you wanted to.

McGraw and Hill threw in three of their new songs including "Telluride," a rocked out, soul-out song about tangling up with a pretty girl in the mountain town. It was just damn good.

Other highlights included McGraws photo montage during "Humble and Kind," featuring faces of all kinds of folks  black, white, brown, old, young, laughing, crying. People  just people  like any of us, like all of us. The moment pretty much brought the house down and earned him a standing ovation.

On a less serious note, Id mention the kneeling pelvic thrusts from McGraw at the beginning of "Real Good Man," but unless you were directly on either side of him, you wouldnt have caught it. And I dont want to make everyone jealous.

The encore was a show stopper  literally and figuratively. Hill has said that when theyre performing "Its Your Love," it sometimes feels like no one is watching. But tonight, during the encore ("I Need You"), it certainly felt like, ahem, we were watching a very, *very* private moment.

The couple was intimately suspended in the air with their tour's emblem of the blade and the chalice encircling them. They were both seated in chairs facing each other, and from my angle, it looked like Hill was straddling McGraw. It got uncomfortably hot, especially when McGraws hand started to wander, getting handsy with her cut-down-to-there dress. It wasnt obscene, but it was just enough to burn it into your brain that these two hot people are going home together.

So, um, *coughs*, after that, its pretty evident why the emblem of the "Soul2Soul" tour is an intersecting chalice and blade, the ancient symbol for female and male. Hill and McGraw are definitely bonded soul to soul  plus, theyre one of the best intersections of male and female artists that country music has to offer.

Somehow tonight was more than just a reboot of their tried and true favorites. True, most of the songs were hits a decade or more ago  but then how many times do you hear "Wagon Wheel" on the radio in a day? And regardless of old or new, McGraw and Hill were fresh, energized and still obviously very much in love.

Who are these people? Really. Who?

Theyll probably tell you theyre just a Mississippi girl and a Louisiana boy. But for more than 20 years, theyve been two of the top-selling country artists of all time. Faith has sold more than 20 million albums since her debut in 1993. Tim has held his own selling over 40 million albums since his quiet and much slower start also in 1993. On their way to amassing millions of piles of albums sold, theyve also collected a lot of hardware, including Grammys, American Music Awards, ACMs and the like.

Bottom line: Besides staring, what I really wanted Friday night  what I always want from any country artist  was to have my boots blown off.

Never fear, friends. Boots, and mind, blown.

Set list

"I Knew You Were Waiting for Me"  Faith Hill and Tim McGraw (Aretha Franklin and George Michael Cover)

"Felt Good on My Lips"  Tim McGraw

"The Lucky One"  Faith Hill

"I Like It, I Love It"  Tim McGraw

"The Way You Loved Me"  Faith Hill

"Like We Never Loved at All"  Faith Hill

"Break First"  Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

"Telluride"  Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

"Free"  Faith Hill

"This Kiss"  Faith Hill

"Breathe"  Faith Hill

"Wild One"  Faith Hill

"Stronger"  Faith Hill

"Piece of My Heart"  Faith Hill (Erma Franklin Cover)

"Angry All the Time"  Tim McGraw

"One of Those Nights"  Tim McGraw

"Real Good Man"  Tim McGraw

"Shot Gun Rider"  Tim McGraw

"Hungry Heart"  Tim McGraw (Bruce Springsteen Cover)

"Humble and Kind"  Tim McGraw

"Live Like You Were Dying"  Tim McGraw

"Speak to a Girl"  Faith Hill and Tim McGraw

"Its Your Love"  Faith Hill

"Mississippi Girl"  Faith Hill

"Something Like That"  Tim McGraw

Encore

"I Need You"  Tim McGraw with Faith Hill
- All eyes are on Anambra state as the preparations for the forthcoming governorship election are in top gear

- Political activities in the state are gaining momentum

- At the forefront of it all is Senator Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC)

Senator Andy Uba has kick-started his sensitization tour to various local government areas in Anambra state.

The APC gubernatorial candidate is one of the leading aspirants aspiring to unseat incumbent, Chief Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

Senator Uba is confident that he would unseat Governor Obiano in the November 2017 governorship election in the state.

He made the vow during his sensitization tour to various local government areas in the state where he addressed a huge gathering of his party's faithful and other inhabitants preparatory to the APC gubernatorial primaries in the state.

Senator Andy Uba speaking at one of the venues of the sensitization tour

The local governments visited by Senator Uba are; Anambra west, Anambra east, Oyi, Anaocha, Idemili north and south local governments and Onitsha north and south.

Senator Uba stated that he was more qualified than all other APC aspirants to the governorship of Anambra and also has the necessary connections in Abuja to attract democracy dividends to the state.

Anambra state needs someone like me who has resources and connection to turn things around and bring federal presence, employment and infrastructure to the state, he told his audience.

He assured the party excos of his maximum support and assistance that will enable them carry out their various duties.

Legit.ng checks reveals that Senator Uba has donated 24 vehicles for all the local governments, zonal party chairmen and bags of rice and financial resources to members of the party across the state.

Huge crowd of supporters thronged the venues to offer support for the senator

At Ogidi, Idemili north local government and Ojoto, Idemili south local government, Senator Andy Uba promised that his administration will be all inclusive, devoid of discrimination and marginalization for the benefit of all.

At Anaocha local government area, one of the numerous admirers of Senator Uba, Elder Paschaline Ebube offered prayers for his victory and also delivered a gift to him.

In his vote of thanks, the zonal leader of the party in Anambra north senatorial zone assured Senator Uba that 85 percent of the party supporters will give him his support at the primaries and also expressed confidence in his ability to deliver.

Meanwhile, Engineer Segun Oni, a former governor of Ekiti state has joined the states governorship race billed for 2018.

Ife Arowosoge, director general of the Segun Oni Campaign Organisation, disclosed this on Thursday, June 15, at the maiden meeting of APC leaders in the state.

He said the former governor would make an open declaration of his intention later in July.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

In the interview below with Legit.ng TV, APC chieftain, Comrade Timi Frank warns the ruling party to resolve its internal bickering before 2019.

Source: Legit.ng
Electric fences have been put up in Gabon as part of a new programme to stop the country's 40,000 forest elephants from destroying crops

For several months, electric fences have been put up in Gabon as part of a new programme to stop the country's 40,000 forest elephants from destroying crops.

So far three electric barriers have been built but dozens more are required, Professor Lee White, the British-born director of Gabon's national parks agency (ANPN), told AFP.

"I want 500 barriers," said White to emphasise that others methods had failed to stop the huge animals from trampling over villagers' fields in the west African country.

"We have already tried putting up chilli and even bee hives (to protect farming areas) but all these methods did not work," said White, who has been compared to Tarzan by the magazine National Geographic due to his work in the jungle.

Huge efforts have been made to conserve Gabon's forest elephants and the remaining rainforests of equatorial Africa that they inhabit, but people living side-by-side with the animals are upset about the destruction of their crops and economic losses.

- The elephant menace -

"The rural population are angry with the elephants, it is a problem that has long been neglected," said White.

Gabon is home to over half of Africa's forest elephants, who are highly valued by poachers because their ivory is tinged with pink and is very hard.

It is the poaching that has encouraged elephants to move closer to villages, according to White, and that has led to farmers being killed by elephants, with little compensation for the families.

In one village close to the Ogooue river and Mount Brazza in Lope national park, a new electric fence powered by solar panels is up and running, protecting a lush green plantation.

The technology has been imported from Kenya and does not come cheap: the enclosure cost about 53,000 euros, according to a fence guard.

Gabon may be a major oil producer on Africa's west coast but the authorities have struggled to provide funds to pay for more fences, as requested by Professor White.

Story continues

The ANPN will try to reduce the cost of the next barriers to around 15,000 euros, White said, and villagers have backed the idea in the hope of protecting their livelihoods.

"The food is safe, the elephants do not destroy it anymore," said one farmer, describing how she can now safely grow her potatoes, bananas and tropical root vegetables, secure inside the fence.

- Elephants under threat -

The dense tropical rainforests of the Minkebe national park in northern Gabon are on the front line of a war with poachers.

Bordered by Cameroon and Congo, the Belgium-sized area has been a target for central African gangs looking to make some quick cash from Africa's white gold.

More than 25,000 elephants in Minkebe were killed by poachers between 2004 and 2014 -- around 80 percent of the park's total forest elephant population -- according to a study in February by Duke University in North Carolina.

The stark reduction in forest elephant numbers in Minkebe reflects the shocking slaughter of elephants elsewhere.

According to the first ever pan-African survey of savanna elephants last year, the Great Elephant Census, numbers of savannah elephants are estimated to be about 352,000, down from 1.3 million in 1979.

In Gabon, it is hoped that if the electrified fences initiative expands then that will help ensure villagers and their elephant neighbours can live happily beside each other.
Photo of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong: AFP

UPDATE: After an earlier version of this commentary was published, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean issued a statement on Saturday (17 June) to say that he chairs the Ministerial Committee that has been set up to explore the options for the house at 38 Oxley Road. The other ministers in the Committee include Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, Minister for Law K Shanmugam, and Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong.

Enough is enough. The time has come to reject the notion that this is just an ugly family fight and start looking at it as an issue with huge implications for Singapore as a nation.

It is no more about whether the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yews house at 38 Oxley Road should be demolished. The person being targeted is not only a Lee family member. Lee Hsien Loong is also the Prime Minister of the country. The charges levelled at him are very serious: abuse of power, nepotism, conflict of interest, dishonesty.

And these allegations have not been made by dissidents, activists or opposition members who might have an axe to grind. These are being made by the founding fathers flesh and blood who are also products of the system.

For PM Lees younger siblings  Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang  to charge that their brother had misused his position and influence over the Singapore government and its agencies to drive his personal agenda is unsettling, disturbing and, more important, scary.

PM Lee has responded by releasing an edited summary of statutory declarations he had made to a ministerial committee looking into the options for 38 Oxley Road and asking if his sister-in-law and a lawyer, Lee Suet Fern, had explained to Lee Kuan Yew the details of the seventh and last will and if his father had given specific instructions to reinsert a clause to demolish the property.

Even the formation of this committee, led by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, is shrouded in mystery. When was it formed, what were its terms of reference, who are its members, will its deliberations be made public? No answers so far.

Story continues

Where the allegations get murky and troubling is the contention of Wei Ling and Hsien Yang that PM Lee had used his position to settle a family fight by getting documents from Minister Wong, which were then handed to his personal lawyer, Lucien Wong, to bolster his case. Even worse was the innuendo that Lucien Wong was appointed the Attorney-General soon after the Oxley Road property dispute.

Specific allegations like these by Wei Ling and Hsien Yang go against the very heart of what Singaporeans believe their country stands for. It is a place that not just delivers economic growth but also has a system that is corruption-free and law-abiding. In one fell swoop, both of them have left the edifice that the first PM built, nurtured and vigorously defended in ruins.

PM Lee cannot just deny the allegations and throw back more accusations. He has either to take his siblings to court or set up an independent panel to get to the bottom of this scandal. Both routes are not new in Singapore. Those who defamed political leaders have been sued till they lost their pants. Public inquiries, though rare, have been held with the one on the Little India riot taking place just three years ago.

There is no doubt that PM Lee is in a moral dilemma. He is the first born, and after his fathers death on 23 March 2015, has a responsibility to look after the well-being of his brother and sister. But then he is also the Prime Minister and has the responsibility to an entire nation. Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean, who is acting as PM since Lee Hsien Loong is on leave, tried to contextualise the problem by saying that Singapore is facing so many issues, problems and challengesWe need to focus and work on them. But there is no bigger problem than PM Lees credibility, which has been questioned by none other than two of his closest family members.

The cynical Singaporean will say it is difficult to find truly independent citizens to sit on this panel. Looking for people to be members of this panel is the hard part, given the divisive nature of the case, one Facebook post said. That is a defeatist approach to take.

What the Lee siblings have been toing and froing about is not just about their fathers house. In the context of the bigger picture, it is about Singapore and what kind of Singapore its citizens want to call country. The Rubicon has been crossed. PM Lees credibility has been questioned. And Singaporeans need to know what is the truth.

P N Balji is a veteran Singaporean journalist who was formerly chief editor of Today, as well as an editor at The New Paper. He is currently a media consultant. The views expressed are his own.

Related stories:
Serbia's President on Thursday named an openly gay woman as the next prime minister, a milestone move for the deeply conservative country and the wider Balkan region. Ana Brnabic, 41, will take the premiership less than a year after she entered politics, becoming public administration minister last August. "I decided to propose Ana Brnabic as prime minister-designate to the parliament of Serbia," President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters. "I believe that Brnabic has professional and personal qualities to be prime minister... and that along with other ministers she will work on improvement and progress of our Serbia," he added. Brnabic said serving her country was the "greatest honour". "I will work in a devoted and responsible way with great love and honesty," she told public broadcaster RTS. Brnabic becomes Serbia's first female prime minister and the first openly gay premier in the Balkans, where homophobia remains widespread. Serbia is home to about seven million people, most of them Orthodox Christians. But it has been eager to show increased tolerance after coming under pressure to improve protection for minorities, including the LGBT community, since it began talks to join the European Union. At Belgrade's Gay Pride march in 2010, 150 people were injured as hardline nationalists attacked participants and clashed with police. That led officials to ban the parade for the next three years. Since then, the annual marches have passed without incident, though they are guarded by an extensive security presence. In interviews after she became a minister last year, Brnabic expressed the hope that people would look beyond her sexual orientation. "Why does it matter? I don't know why it matters," she told the regional RTV channel last week. "What is important is whether someone is capable, professional, hard-working, honest, likes their country and wants to work in its best interest." She is expected to take office in the next few weeks. - A telling choice - Vucic had been serving as prime minister himself since 2014 until two weeks ago, when he became head of state after winning the presidential vote in April. While he has won praise from abroad and has led Serbia into the EU accession talks, at home he has been accused of authoritarian rule and clamping down on media freedoms. The presidential job is largely ceremonial, but analysts expect that Vucic will move to consolidate his influence. Before Thursday's announcement, his SNS party -- which has a comfortable majority in parliament -- said he would make the decision on his successor. When he appointed Brnabic to his cabinet last year, Vucic said that he was interested only in her work and that "her personal choices do not interest me". "Vucic is trying to show that Serbia is a free liberal country in which civic freedoms are at a high level," political scientist Boban Stojanovic told AFP. "That could of course be just a 'camouflage' of the situation as the reality is nowhere near that." Stojanovic added that Vucic "wanted to show to all other political actors in Serbia that he is the most powerful person in the country and that no other politician is close to him." Brnabic, who is not officially affiliated with any party, told RTV last week that the president has "a certain role as a mentor to the prime minister, at least in the first few months". The premier-designate entered politics after a career in the business sector and local development programmes. She has an MBA in marketing from Britain's University of Hull and worked as a director at the renewable energy firm Continental Wind Serbia.
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As a small business owner, you have more than enough on your plate. However, some of the most frequent problems that youll face are staying within your budget and keeping in contact with team members and clients.

That may sound challenging to accomplish both of those tasks, but its not as difficult thanks to these five technologies.

Not only are they more reasonably priced than traditional business phone systems, theyre also extremely efficient at communication  no matter where you are in the world.

Ooma Business

Since 2004, Ooma has allowed its users in the United States to make both local and long distance phone calls for free. All you need is high speed internet and the initial purchase of the Ooma Telo. When the company began providing businesses an affordable alternative to pricey business phone systems, they definitely went above and behind.

For a mere $19.98 a month, Ooma Business provides business owners with the following:

Unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada

Low international rates

Caller-ID

Toll-free numbers

Number transfers

Virtual receptionist

Voicemail

Extension dialing

Call transfer

On-hold music

Conference bridge

Business and after hours modes

24/7 customer support

Besides those features listed above, Ooma doesnt require any special wiring since it combines on-site hardware and cloud computing. This means that installation is quick and inexpensive since you dont have to invest in the traditional business phone system.

Google Apps

Google Apps is by no means a well-kept industry secret. The reason? Because its probably one of the more powerful tools for business owners to use. And, its affordable.

Google Apps comes equipped with Gmail (and its 30GB of free storage), text/spreadsheet files that can be shared with team members for collaboration, integrated online calendars to keep everyone on the same page, communicate with voice and video calls through Hangouts, and 24/7 support.

You can try Google Apps for free for 30 days, but it will cost you only $5 per user per month. For $10, you can have unlimited storage.

Grasshopper

Since being founded by a pair of entrepreneurs in 2003, Grasshopper has worked with approximately 150,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners. How? By providing a reasonably priced virtual phone system that is loaded with local and toll free numbers, vanity numbers, extensions, conference calling, customized main greeting, name directory, and call forwarding/screening.

One of the more interesting features that Grasshopper offers is the ability to deliver voicemails to an email address by converting them to WAV or MP3 audio files. You can even convert faxes into PDF attachments and send via email. Its a way to stay connected when you dont have time to answer the phone, listen to messages, or when you need to share an important message to colleagues.

Grasshopper has multiple plans that range from $12/month to $199. So no matter your budget, you should find a plan that fits within your price range.

Since Grasshopper takes place through the cloud, you dont have to be concerned about purchasing additional hardware or software.

Echosign (Adobe Document Cloud)

Launched in 2005, Echosign has been used by more than 60,000 customers to send, sign, and return documents.

All a user has to do is prepare an estimate, contract, or agreement and email to the people who need to sign the documents. They review the document, sign-it electronically, and return it.

That definitely beats the days of waiting in the mail for important, and sometimes time-sensitive documents.

With Echosign you can also automatically store these documents, integrate with third parties like Salesforce, and manage your documents on your iOS or Android device.

Echosign may not be the cheapest eSign service  personal plans start at $14.99 and global enterprises can go as high $399/month  but it has helped solve challenges that most small business owners face, such as dealing with vital documents through printers, fax machines, and carriers.

This can definitely cut down costs since you dont have to spend money on brand new equipment and you can communicate directly with colleagues or clients when it comes to business documents.

Join.me

Join.me describes itself as a drop-dead simple online meeting and screen sharing service from Boston-based LogMeIn.

See Also: Infusionsoft Rebrands as Keap With Software to Streamline Client Tasks for Small Businesses

Of course, there are more features than just that straight-forward description. For example, with Join.me you have free audio conferencing, the ability to record meetings through your computers camera, and schedule meetings with just one-click via Google Calendar or Outlook. You can also send a customized link for your meeting with up to 250 people.

Join.me is also beta testing video conferencing, which could improve communication between a small business and its employees, clients, or customers.

Join.me has a free plan that provides instant screen sharing with VoIP. However, if you want more of the robust features, youll have to purchase the $15 or $19 plans.
From defending against the Ottoman Empire to collecting all the nuns during communism, find out more about the Pearl of the Pohronie Region.

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More information about travelling in Slovakia

Please see our Please see our Spectacular Slovakia travel guide

The church and the adjacent Benedictine monastery, collectively known as the Perla Pohronia (Pearl of the Pohronie region), were built on a strategic site originally called Slovenska Brana (Slovak Gate), an important trading crossroads.

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It is believed that a monastery already existed here in 1075, when the founding deed from that year contained a list of ownership rights for an existing

Practical information Adress: Pod Klastorom 1, Hronsky Benadik

Pod Klastorom 1, Hronsky Benadik Telephone number: +421 (0)45 689-3198; +421 (0)903 938-393

+421 (0)45 689-3198; +421 (0)903 938-393 Website: www.viabenedictina.eu

www.viabenedictina.eu Opening hours during the summer: Mon-Fri 10:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 Sat 13:00-16:00

Mon-Fri 10:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 Sat 13:00-16:00 Opening hours during the winter: closed (booking necessary)

closed (booking necessary) Mass : Fri 18:00, Sun 11:00

: Fri 18:00, Sun 11:00 Entrance fee: voluntary

monastery. Over the years, the property of the monastery grew and it came to serve as an official place where people could certify deeds, deposit valuables, publish books, and resolve property disputes.

When the Ottoman Empire invaded the region in the 16th century, however, the order was dissolved and the monastery was turned into a military fortress to withstand Ottoman raids. This was not the last unusual function that the complex served: in 1950 the communists herded all of Slovakia's nuns into this monastery to crush monasteries and control religious activities. The whole complex is of high historical and architectural value, and its three-nave church is considered to be one of the most remarkable gothic structures in Slovakia.

It was built between 1346-1375, and its architecture shows that those who designed and built it were well acquainted with the works of the Parler workshop in Nuremberg and Prague, as well as the workshop responsible for the Cathedral of St Stephan in Vienna.

Apart from precious wall paintings, carved wooden altars and excellent masonry, the church holds a precious relic of Christs Blood  a piece of the veil of Veronica, the scarf with which St. Veronica is said to have wiped the face of Jesus.

King Matthias Corvinus, who gave this relic to the church on the occasion of its consecration, probably received it from Pope Paul II as a thank you gift for his involvement in battles against the Ottoman Empire.

In addition to the monastery, the town contains other churches of interest, as well as the Plague Chapel of Holy Blood. Also noteworthy is a memorial to victims of World War I and the statuary of St. Anna and St. Benedict.

Watch a video about Benedictine monastery, which was prepared as a part of project Cultural Heritage to promote renewal and preservation of cultural and historical heritage in Slovakia, through the EEA and Norwegian Funds.
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
U.S. Air Force technicians prepare Arm-9, Arm-7, air to air missiles in Saudi Arabia for use on F-15 Eagle Fighter Planes. 1990 photo.

A game-changing event happened this past Tuesday, and it wasnt attorney general Jeff Sessions testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

While Sessions was getting grilled, other senators were debating the wisdom of selling a roughly $500 million package of air-to-ground, GPS-guided munitions to the Royal Saudi Air Forcethe type of munitions that have laid waste to much of Yemen over the last several years.

The attempt to block the munitions salecrafted by senators Rand Paul, Chris Murphy, and Al Frankenwas defeated by a 53-47 margin. But the fact that a bipartisan group of senators chose to vote in favor of a resolution of disapproval is one of the strongest signals sent from Washington to date that a growing number of lawmakers are concerned about supporting the Saudi-led military campaign in that country.

The civil war in Syria is often documented as one for the bloodiest and nastiest wars that the Middle East has witnessed over the past decade, but Yemens conflict is actually worse from a humanitarian standpoint. In addition to the conservative estimate of 8,000 civilians killed and three million displaced from their homes, the combination of poor targeting from the Saudi Air Force and the indiscriminate lobbing of rockets from the Houthis has produced such hardship on the countrys civilians that one wonders why more havent chose to take refuge somewhere else.

Before the civil war, Yemen was had the ignobility of being the Middle Easts poorest nation. Over 68% of Yemens entire population requires some form of humanitarian assistance from the international community and 17 million are considered to be food insecure by the World Food Program considers to be food insecure3.3 million of whom are either children or pregnant women. In the over two years since the civil war erupted into a proxy conflict pitting a Saudi-led Arab coalition against a Houthi movement that is at times supported by Iran, Yemen has effectively ceased to exist as a nation-state.

Story continues

No one put it better than Stephen OBrien, the UN undersecretary general of humanitarian affairs, when he briefed the UN Security Council last month on the dire humanitarian situation. The people of Yemen are being subjected to deprivation, disease and death as the world watches, OBrien said. That is not an unforeseen or coincidental result of forces beyond our control. It is a direct consequence of actions of the parties and supporters of the conflict. It is also sadly a result of inaction, due to inability or indifference, by the international community.

Indeed, the parties to the conflict have beenand remainoblivious to the civilian suffering that has been occurring. Based on the statistics, its not all unreasonable assumption that many of the men in the air searching for enemy targets or prowling around on the ground with guns slung over their shoulders dont care if civilians are killed in the crossfire, particularly if a military objective is achieved.

The Houthis, a group that swept into the Yemeni capital in September 2014 with the crucial assistance of former Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Salehs loyalists, have employed tactics that would sound eerily similar to Bashar al-Assads butchery in Syria. UN relief convoys are routinely stopped at Houthi checkpoints and turned away, not because the security environment is too volatile for the aid workers distributing the assistance, but rather because Houthi fighters hope to put as much pressure on besieged pro-government units as possible. Houthi rockets and ballistic missiles launched across the border into Saudi Arabia have killed dozens of Saudi civilians, a development that has prompted even harsher retaliatory measures from the Saudis.

And yet as barbaric as the Houthis have been, the actions of the Saudi air force have been even more detrimental to Yemens civilian population. Multiple reports from the UN Security Councils own Panel of Experts, from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and from various human rights organizations have documented in extensive detail the destruction left in the wake of Saudi Arabias bombing missions. The same civilian structures that are supposed to be off-limits during combat operations have been struck repeatedly since Riyadh commenced major air operations in March 2015. While its incredibly difficult to quantify the toll in an ongoing war, the Yemen Data Project a group composed of scholars and human rights activistshas found that of the 8,600 air attacks that the Saudi coalition conducted from March 2015 to August 2016, 3,158 struck non-military targets. In other words, over 36% of the coalitions airstrikes have hit structures like schools, hospitals, medical clinics, refugee camps, markets, and mosques that are outside the confines of what is a military target under the Geneva Conventions.

None of this even begins to account for the naval and air embargo that the Saudi coalition has enforced in Yemen, which has slowed the shipment of humanitarian aid, food, water, medical equipment, and fuel to a trickle. An embargo would put any nation under severe strain, but the policy is particularly dangerous policy in Yemen, a country that depends on its sea and airports to import 80-90% of its food supplies.

Where does the US fit into all of this? Its simple: they have been by far the largest supplier of weapons and bombs to the Saudis since the conflict began. Washington may not be a direct participant in the war in the traditional sense of the wordthere are no conventional soldiers clearing Houthi combatants in Yemens major citiesbut that doesnt mean that the US is an inactive bystander either. It would be logistically difficult for Riyadh and its allies in the Gulf to sustain their combat operations without the smart bombs, fighter and bomber aircraft, and mid-air refueling capability that President Barack Obama and now President Donald Trump have offered.

A war that has no military solution is in all practicality being kept afloat by US-supplied munitions, dropped from US-manufactured planes, fueled by US tanker aircraft. Lawmakers who have frequently spoken out in opposition against US involvementsenators Paul and Murphy in particularare understandably confused as to what national security interests Washington is protecting by picking sides in a Middle Eastern proxy war. Apart from the usual platitudes about supporting and assisting an ally in the region, the administration has yet to provide any good answers.

Nine months ago, Rand Paul and Chris Murphy forced their fellow senators to come to the floor and debate whether selling M1A1/A2 Abrams tanks to the Saudi military would serve the US national security interests in the Persian Gulf. Their resolution of disapproval was killed in a 71-27 vote, a margin that Riyadh could look upon as a comfortable victory. This weeks disapproval motion, however, should make the Saudis nervous; proponents of stopping the sale of bombs to the Saudi air force and holding the Saudi leadership accountable for its conduct picked up notable support from senior lawmakers who in the past endorsed the Saudi position.

Senators Chuck Schumer, Ben Cardin, Chris Coons, Angus King, and Jack Reed, senators who voted to affirm Saudi weapons requests during a similar vote last September, switched their positions. In a town that normally provides Saudi Arabia with whatever weapons system it wants with very little pushback (minus a few exceptions, like the F-35 fighter), the shift is a public demonstration of just now increasingly agitated Republicans and Democrats alike are about the humanitarian consequences of the war in Yemen and how the Saudis and their partners are managing their campaign.

President Donald Trump, who seems to be especially eager to cement a positive relationship with the Saudi Royal Family, reportedly lobbied on behalf of the $500 million defense package. Legislatively, he proved to be victoriousa small notch on his belt at a time when his legislative priorities have been bottled up on Capitol Hill. Trump, however, shouldnt take solace in the fact that the bombs are now in their crates, ready to be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly the entire Senate Democratic caucus and at least four members of the Senate Republican majority are no longer willing to ignore the incontrovertible evidence that it out there: the Saudi air force has been in the most generous assessment clumsy and incompetent throughout the operation; the war in Yemen is enveloping Yemen in a pot of misery that would make Somalia look like a viable destination; and the conflict wont get any better as long as the combatants continue to believe that victory can be attained militarily.

How long will it take for president Trump and his national security team to adopt the same view?

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NEW YORK  Walmart says its buying online mens clothing retailer Bonobos for $310 million in cash, showing that its appetite for hip clothing brands shows no sign of abating as it looks for ways to gain on Amazon.

Bonobos, which started out selling pants online, caters to male shoppers looking for help putting together a wardrobe.

Its a sign of the aggressive direction Walmart is taking since buying Jet.com last year and keeping that companys founder as head of its online division. Walmart has since bought clothing seller ModCloth, footwear retailer ShoeBuy.com and outdoor gear seller Moosejaw. Walmart has focused on brands appealing to younger shoppers.

The Bonobos deal, announced Friday, is expected to close at the end of the second quarter or the beginning of the third quarter of this fiscal year. Bonobos CEO and founder Andy Dunn will report to Marc Lore, the CEO of Walmarts U.S. online operations.

Adding innovators like Andy will continue to help us shape the future of Walmart, said Lore. Theyve created an amazing product and customer experience, and that will not change. In fact, Andy will be a great influence on the company, especially in leading our collection of exclusive brands offered online.

Targeting Bonobos is a good move for Walmart as it tries to compete with Amazon, which has been quickly expanding its clothing business, says internet consultant Sucharita Mulpuru-Kodal.

If you roll up enough of these online startups, you create a meaningful share of business, she said. She noted that Walmart can learn from these millennial customers.

Bonobos started online but like many similar startups, has also opened some showrooms. Customers at the Guideshops can try on pants, shirts, ties, belts and jackets with suggestions from stylists. They can order online at the store and have their clothes delivered to their homes or office a few days later. The company now operates more than 30 stores in cities like Chicago, New York and Atlanta, and plans to have 100 by 2020. For Bonobos, the acquisition by Walmart will help expand its business.

Still, Mulpuru-Kodal says, it is a bit of a game of Monopoly.

Walmart has huge coffers. Even if one of them shows promise, it pays for the rest, she said.

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmarts online business is gaining momentum, but remains a distant second to Amazon. It increased 63 percent in the fiscal first quarter, up from 29 percent in the previous period. That marked the fourth straight quarter of gains.

Under Lores direction, Walmart also has been working accelerate the integration between Walmart.com and Jet.com, and trying to take advantage of its scale in areas like shipping and sharing its products. Walmart also is starting to offer discounts on thousands of online-only items when customers elect to have them shipped to one of the companys stores for pickup.

Walmart is also launching an incubator lab focused on projects in robotics, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence as it aims to compete more aggressively with Amazon.

___________

Follow Anne DInnocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

An inmate who is suing the state prison system because she hasnt been allowed to breast-feed her baby secured a restraining order late Friday that allows her to feed her child and have access to an electronic breast pump.

Inmate Monique Hidalgo, in prison in Grants since September 2016 after multiple probation violations in a drug case, filed suit against the Department of Corrections, its officials and two guards on Thursday. The lawsuit says orders from her doctor and her babys physician team say Hidalgo should breast-feed the child to help her recover from being born addicted to opioids. Hidalgo received treatments with methadone, an opioid, in prison, according to her physicians referenced in the suit.

Hidalgo, from Albuquerque, gave birth to a girl at the University of New Mexico Hospital on May 22.

But when she returned to prison on June 8, she was no longer allowed to breast-feed the infant during routine family visits when inmates who are parents are allowed to hug and hold their children and other family members.

Nor was she able to use an electronic breast pump to produce milk between visits. Instead, she was required to use a manual pump that most experts say should be used as backup or for temporary use.

S.U. Mahesh, spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said Friday that the department will attempt to overturn the judges order, because officials believe the judge was not told that Hidalgo tested positive for suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, on Wednesday. Suboxone is considered contraband in the prison, Mahesh said.

Hidalgos attorney, Amber Fayerberg, said that the positive test has not been confirmed, but that Hidalgo had been treated in the hospital with suboxone, and that Hildagos doctors, aware of Wednesdays drug test, said the milk is safe.

Mahesh said that while there is no official lactation policy, concern about milk safety is just one of many reasons Hidalgo and other inmates have not been allowed to breast-feed and have, until Hidalgos case, been prohibited from pumping milk.

The security concern is we always have people try to smuggle. There were cases where drugs  (were) brought through with families and kids and strollers, Mahesh said.

He could not explain how breast-feeding would increase this risk, but he did say the prison was trying to work with Hidalgo.

He added that the Corrections Department is working on creating a lactation policy and that it likely wont include live breast-feeding.

Its not just the baby and the mother there. There are other people in that room, other inmates who are there, females and their families, including males, there are a lot of people who may not feel comfortable, Mahesh said.

Fayerberg said Friday that the smuggling risk is not increased by allowing a mother to breast-feed. As for restricting the practice because it makes some uneasy, Fayerberg said she believes that to justify (prohibiting breast-feeding) they need more than it might make someone uncomfortable.

The lawsuit seeks to force the New Mexico Womens Correctional Facility in Grants to allow Hidalgo to breast-feed and also to have access to an electronic breast-milk pump, which is more efficient at maintaining a womans milk supply than the manual pump Hidalgo has access to now.

The restraining order secured Friday means Hidalgo, when not feeding the baby herself, can now use such a pump in the prisons infirmary and then store her milk in a freezer for pick up by her family, which is caring for the baby.

The lawsuit also seeks damages against guards who she says shackled her during her two-week hospital stay, causing her to fall while holding her baby. Mahesh said all inmates at hospitals are restrained.

He also said in a written response that there were several security breaches committed by Ms. Hidalgo while she was at the University of New Mexico Hospital. Ms. Hidalgo has a documented history of abusing drugs and absconded from her probation for two years before her arrest in September 2016.  The Corrections Department is not only concerned for the safety of its inmates, but in this particular case the safety of a child.

Lissa Knudsen, chairwoman of the New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force, said her organization has been advocating for Hidalgos desire to breast-feed and offered the prison system a free electronic breast pump. After learning of the judges order Friday, she said someone in her group will attempt to deliver the breast pump to the prison today.

Some of this is brand new. This is probably the first time Corrections has had to deal with this. But with breast-feeding there are health care costs saved, child abuse rates go down, and if they (mom and child) can bond now that helps her to be a better mom and that helps that baby have better psychological outcomes. Its just extremely valuable, Knudsen said.
Its one of those awesome family vacation photos that capture the joy between parents and their children, smiling, tanned, arms slung around one another, knee deep in the turquoise waters off some faraway beach.

Im envious.

Even more awesome is how they got to this joyful Kodak moment, how these parents came to understand that even when a marriage dies the family lives on, how becoming an ex doesnt have to mean becoming excluded.

The exes in this case are Greg Payne and Selia Cervantes Payne, divorced for 11 years. The photo was taken this week on their joint vacation in the Abacos, a chain of islands in the Bahamas, a place that has special meaning for them.

Greg Payne, taking a few moments from the familys beach-y pursuits, explains their story:

Selia and I met. We were very attracted to each other. We became friends, and then we fell in love. Then we got pregnant. We were married out here in 2002. We had Gregory. And then we had Madison. Both our kids took their first steps in the Abacos. Then, for a variety of reasons, we got mad at each other. We got divorced. We got even more mad at each other. And then we got over ourselves. And we decided we needed to put our kids first. Slowly, we became friends again. And over time, we became very good friends, confidants and, Id like to think, fairly decent co-parents.

Which explains, in part, why even as teenagers the Payne kids  Madison, 13, and Gregory, 14  look so happy hanging with their mom and dad.

That happens all too rarely in these days of divide and conquer, family style. Couples who once united in love to build a family seem far more likely to tear each other down in hate  and with them the children.

When you tell a kid something is wrong, something is bad with their mom or their dad, when you trash-talk each other, youre telling that kid that one-half of them is defective, and they will internalize that, said Payne, who after years as an Albuquerque city councilor, transit director and occasional headline-grabbing bad boy has settled down as a divorced dad and an attorney specializing in family law and personal injury. Divorce is like thermonuclear war, but the casualties are the kids.

Fathers Day, he knows, can be a painful, lonely time for dads whose marriages end in bitter custody battles and a few allotted weekends with their children.

We talk a lot about deadbeat dads, but there are a lot of dads who are really trying hard to get the chance to be good dads, he said. A lot would love to be as blessed as I am to be in this situation.

I know that. Many of you have told me your stories of lives torn asunder by divorce. As I wrote this, I received an email from a desperate father embroiled in a custody battle with his ex that has raged on since 2012  half their 10-year-old sons life.

I am a good, loving, dedicated father, he wrote. I am trying to protect my son and I am blocked by an archaic court system in our state. I want the story of my struggle known so that changes can be made.

I dont disagree that the system needs change, but so, too, do the enemy combatant attitudes between former spouses.

Thats not always possible, obviously, and thats not usually easy.

Im the first to say its hard to do, Payne said. Were divorced for a reason, and I dont want to sugar-coat that. We had a mediated divorce, and that first year was rough. But our children were always the most important thing to us, so we had to get over ourselves. We still have to get over ourselves a couple times a week.

Both he and Selia are dating other people. Payne also has a younger son, Jameson, with a former partner.

Payne said part of what has guided him both in his personal life and with his clients is his parents own divorce. He said it damaged his relationship with both of them and hurt him emotionally, which he said likely contributed to his earlier brushes with the law, including a well-publicized charge of disorderly conduct in 2001 and a DWI in 2012.

I am so far from perfect, he said. But there are a lot of things I was able to fix over the years that wounded me when I was my kids age.

He credits his ex-wife for her support when he was at his lowest and for her unwavering dedication to doing what is right for their children.

For better or worse, Selia and I will always be a part of the same family, he said. I love that I have this kind of relationship with her. Its made all the difference for Gregory and Madison. Having experienced the exact opposite, its just a hell of a lot easier to get over each other and get along. Its also the approach I strongly suggest to my clients  put the kids first.

Maybe then they, too, will have more awesome family vacation photos to share.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.
Ten members of the Los Volcanes Senior Center who served in the U.S. military had their photographs added to the senior centers Veterans Wall of Honor on Thursday.

The veterans served in different branches of the military from the Korean War in the 1950s through Desert Shield and Desert Storm of the 1990s. Some performed their service in the United States and some were on the front lines of the various conflicts.

Under Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry and the Department of Senior Affairs, Veteran Walls have been created at each of the citys six senior centers and two multigenerational centers. Thus far, nearly 200 veterans in total have been honored.

Speaking before the veterans, their families and members of the community, Berry thanked the veterans for the service and their sacrifices.

Somebody had to go out there and fight for freedom, somebody had to stand up and say Im willing to fight for this country, for what it stands for, freedom here and freedom around the world  and that was you.

Berry told those assembled that in 10 or 20 years from now, visitors at these centers will look at the wall, and although never having met the veterans photographed, they will be inspired and know somebody was willing to do the hard work. The wall, he added, is about continuing your legacy as veterans.

Jorga Armijo-Brasher, director of the Department of Senior Affairs, told the veterans that they set the example for our youth.

Today we honor you in this special way, and in the future your picture will be here to make sure we never forget the courage and the sacrifice you made. And to your families, I thank you because you, as well, made sacrifices while your loved one was serving your country.

Ila Ann Castillo served from 1962-1965 and was stationed at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. There, she processed discharge papers in the days before women could serve on ships or in combat, she said. I had graduated high school and I had to do something, and I liked the Navy.

A native of northern California, she went off to boot camp in Maryland. I was so homesick, but then they gave me three choices of where I could serve, so I went to San Francisco.

Air Force veteran Janet Dominguez fueled jets and drove a tanker truck at a base in Arizona during the Desert Shield and Desert Storm era. I just wanted to be around jets, she said. I wanted to work on the flight line. Before I entered the Air Force I worked as a nurses aide. When I went into the military I said, I want to be outside.'

Army veteran Pedro Romero, served as a combat engineer in Vietnam from 1967-1969. Romero said he was pleased that his service is being acknowledged on the Veterans Wall at Los Volcanes  a stark contrast to the tone of the greeting he received stateside upon completion of his military service.

When I came back, Vietnam veterans were not treated very well at all, he said of public reaction to the war and the returning veterans. I had no doubts about why I was there. I had a job to do, Im proud I did it and I dont have any regrets.

New additions to Veterans Wall

Those honored Thursday, the military branch and the conflict in which they fought or provided support for, included:

 Israel Alaniz, Army, Cuban Missile Crisis;

 Harold Baca, Army, Vietnam;

 Julio Campos, Army, Desert Shield/Desert Storm;

 Santiago Candelaria, Navy, pre-Vietnam;

 Francisco Castillo (deceased), Army, Korea;

 Ila Ann Castillo, Navy, pre-Vietnam;

 Janet Dominguez, Air Force, Desert Shield/Desert Storm;

 Juan Garcia, Marines, Vietnam;

 Joe Rivera, Air Force, Cold War;

 Pedro Romero, Army, Vietnam.

Los Volcanes Senior Center is located at 6500 Los Volcanes NW, just west of Coors.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trumps decision to reverse some Obama-era Cuba policies landed with a thud among many congressional Republicans who say the new approach surrenders a potentially lucrative market for American goods and services to competitors.

While anti-Castro conservatives hailed Trumps partial roll-back of President Barack Obamas detente, a number of other GOP lawmakers, particularly from farm states, criticized the change as misguided and isolationist. They urged him to ease barriers with Havana that will boost trade and create jobs in both countries.

Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., said Trumps shift is more than just a missed opportunity for rural America, which would benefit from greater access to Cubas agricultural import market. He said Trumps policy may put U.S. national security at risk as strategic competitors move to fill the vacuum the uncoupling could create.

Further U.S. disengagement opens up opportunities for countries like Iran, Russia, North Korea and China to gain influence on an island 90 miles off our coast, Crawford said.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a frequent critic of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, said in a statement that any policy change that diminishes the ability of Americans to travel freely to Cuba is not in the best interests of the United States or the Cuban people.

Flake has been among the most outspoken lawmakers opposed to rolling back Obamas outreach to Havana. Hes warned that returning to a get tough policy hurts everyday Cubans whose livelihoods are increasingly rooted in travel and tourism.

In his statement, Flake called for the Senates GOP leadership to allow a vote on his legislation that he said would eliminate archaic restrictions on travel to Cuba that do not exist for travel by Americans to any other country in the world. Flakes bill has 54 co-sponsors, including nine Republicans. Among them are Sens. John Boozman of Arkansas, Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Jerry Moran of Kansas.

During a speech Friday in Miami, Trump portrayed his updated policy as the fulfillment of a campaign promise to reverse Obamas diplomatic rapprochement with Cuba after decades of estrangement. Trumps approach is aimed at halting the flow of U.S. cash to the countrys military while maintaining diplomatic relations. U.S. airlines and cruise ships would still be allowed to service the island.

Yet new moves will burden the U.S. government with the complicated task of policing U.S. travel to Cuba to make sure there are no transactions with the military-linked conglomerate that runs much of the Cuban economy.

By restricting individual U.S. travel to Cuba, the new policy also risks cutting off a major source of income for Cubas private business sector, which the policy is intended to support. Under the expected changes, the U.S. will ban American financial transactions with the dozens of enterprises run by the military-linked corporation GAESA, which operates dozens of hotels, tour buses, restaurants and other facilities.

Among those with Trump as he announced the policy in Little Havana were Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, both Florida Republicans strongly opposed to Obamas outreach.

Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said Trumps new Cuba policy will hurt the United States economically, making it harder for our nations farmers to access new markets and cutting the knees out from under our travel and manufacturing industries.

Emmer, whos been one of Trumps most enthusiastic backers on Capitol Hill, echoed Crawfords criticism, saying Trumps Cuba directive appears to be in violation of his promise to keep the American homeland safe. Emmer, Crawford and five other House Republicans have warned that rolling back U.S. Cuba policy could threaten new bilateral agreements with Havana to combat human trafficking, illicit drugs and cyber crimes.

Moran said in a statement that putting America first means exporting what we produce to countries across the globe. He said he remains focused on finding ways to increase trade with Cuba rather than cut off relationships that have the potential to create new jobs, bring in revenue and boost our national economy.

Moran backs legislation to restore trade with Cuba in addition to supporting Flakes legislation.

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said Trumps policy moves the U.S. backward.

It would be more effective to continue an open line of communication and working relationship with a government in need of democratic assistance, instead of shutting them out, Boozman said. Through this approach, we not only trade goods, but ideas.

___

Contact Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner
SANTA FE, N.M.  Correspondence between Los Alamos National Laboratory and New Mexico regulators shows the lab has failed more than once to accurately label drums of liquid waste shipped to a disposal center in Colorado.

The most recent incident happened last month and involved chemicals used to remove buildup from pipes in a cooling system, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported (http://bit.ly/2rxuPOo).

The problem was outlined in an email to the New Mexico Environment Department that was made public Monday. It marked the second time in recent months that the lab failed to accurately document the pH level of waste sent to Veolia ES Technical Solutions.

Los Alamos spokesman Kevin Roark said the lab believes the lower pH value was immaterial to the disposal process.

The lab has consistently racked up violations for failing to accurately assess and document the contents of hazardous waste drums, and federal and state reports have shown that the problems are widespread.

All waste from the northern New Mexico lab is required to be screened before it leaves the complex, with each drum identifying the types and amounts of chemicals inside as well as details that include the pH levels, potential for combustion and whether drums contain any radiological contents.

When operators in Colorado examined the drum shipped May 17 from Los Alamos, they determined the pH level was significantly lower, or more acidic, than the lab had indicated on the label. That meant the contents might be different than what was identified on the label  and potentially more volatile.

The disposal center could not answer questions about the shipment or the frequency of errors in shipments from Los Alamos because the lab maintains a confidentiality and nondisclosure agreement with the company.

Last September, waste containing sodium hydroxide and ferric chloride  used to flush etching tanks at one of Los Alamos key sites for explosives testing  was documented as a strong basic solution, with a pH of less than 12.5. Rather, the Colorado facility determined it was strongly acidic and the label did not indicate the contents as ignitable, corrosive or reactive.

The drum was missing proper notification of potential hazards while it traveled on roadways between Los Alamos and Denver and as it sat at the disposal facility for more than 30 days.

In the correspondence, Los Alamos claims the rest of the waste had been properly characterized but this particular drum was inadvertently missed.

The lab told state regulators that as a result, it temporarily suspended shipments and rescreened all liquid waste at Technical Area 22. Management documents also were updated in March to require waste to undergo more thorough pH screenings.

LANL will hold formally documented training on the revised pH screening standard, lab officials told the state in a letter.

However, the most recent incident happened less than two months later.

Communication between the state and the lab also reveals issues with drums of liquid waste on at least three separate occasions in 2014. One involved 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of waste that the lab failed to identify as flammable and corrosive.

None of the instances at Veolia involved radioactive materials.

Los Alamos was to blame for the inappropriate packaging of a container of waste that ruptured after being sent to the federal governments underground nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico.

That 2014 radiation release forced the nearly three-year closure of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and stalled the nations multibillion-dollar cleanup program for Cold War-era waste from decades of research and bomb-making.

Investigators determined the incident could have been avoided had existing policies and procedures been followed.

Management was criticized and the federal government reached a costly settlement with the state of New Mexico.

___

Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com
It had been a long time between back flips.

Saturday in Singapore, Albuquerques Holly Holm flipped the script on her MMA career  flooring Brazils Bethe Correia with a spectacular head kick and finishing her with a left hand to the jaw before referee Marc Goddard stepped in.

The end came at 1 minute, 9 seconds of the third round. Afterward, coach Mike Winkeljohn assisted Holm in her signature victory back flip  something that hadnt been seen since November 2015, when the Albuquerque southpaw scored her unforgettable victory over Ronda Rousey in Australia.

Since then, Holm had lost three fights in a row.

Amazing, Holm (11-3) said in the octagon afterward.  Theres so many people who supported me through these three losses.

This fight was for them.

Actually, for the first two rounds, there was barely a fight at all.

Holm, typically a tactical fighter, kept her distance while landing the occasional body or leg kick. Correia, normally aggressive, refused to come forward and make the fight. The inaction drew boos from the crowd and action from Goddard, who called the fighters together during the second round and admonished them to pick up the pace.

At a post-fight news conference, Holm said neither the boos nor Goddard were going to keep her from following the fight plan that coaches Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson had devised.

One of my goals for this fight was to not let it look messy, she said. A lot of times thats (Correias) style, she just wants to get in there and make it a brawl, make it look messy.

Simply because Correia (10-3-1) wasnt following her script didnt mean that Holm was going to alter hers.

I wanted to take a clean shot, she said. I wanted to do it right, and the game plan was not to rush anything.

We knew the crowd might boo.  (But) as soon as I heard it, I just thought, Im the one in here fighting, Im gonna stick to the game plan and Im gonna pick the right shot.'

So she did.

Early in the third round, Correia taunted Holm  beckoning her to come forward.

Seconds later, Holm obliged with the decisive head kick. Holms left shin caught the Brazilian flush on the chin, and down she went.

Correia, badly dazed, raised a hand in an apparent Im done gesture. But Holm stepped in and landed the left hand because Goddard had not yet signaled the end of the fight.

At a post-fight news conference, without sharing specifics, Holm said there definitely was a connection between the taunts and the kick.

Yeah, theres a little bit with that and theres a few more details with that, but I dont want to let everything out, she said. But yeah, the taunting doesnt do anything to me. Thats never affected me in any fight Ive ever had.

For her efforts, Holm was awarded  in addition to her fight purse, thus far undisclosed  a $50,000 performance bonus by the UFC.

Another possible bonus: Albuquerques Lenny Fresquez, Holms agent, believes Saturdays victory puts The Preachers Daughter back in the UFC title picture. That could be at the bantamweight limit of 135 pounds, at which Saturdays fight was contested, or at the 145-pound featherweight limit.

Holm lost the bantamweight title shed won from Rousey in losing to Miesha Tate by submission (fifth-round rear naked choke) in March 2016. She lost a bid for the featherweight title to Germaine de Randamie by unanimous decision last February in the first womens UFC bout fought at that weight.

Fresquez told the Journal via text that theres no preference as to at which weight a title shot becomes available.

Asked how imminent a title shot might be, Fresquez said he believes Holms next fight will be for a belt, unless they offer us anything (else) that makes sense.

Holm, for her part, wasnt looking that far ahead.

All she wanted, she said, was maybe a beer, some French fries and a beautiful view over Singapore from the top of the hotel.

It sounds amazing to me right now. Thats my immediate goal, and well see what happens after that.

ARLOVSKI LOSES: Belarus heavyweight Andrei Arlovski, Holms longtime teammate at Albuquerques Jackson-Wink MMA, lost to Polands Marcin Tybura by unanimous decision on the Singapore card.

Arlovski (25-15) has lost five straight fights and is in jeopardy of being released by the UFC. He did not train at Jackson-Wink for the fight with Tybura (16-2), instead training in Florida, where he has a young son.
She gave birth when she was 10 years old. When she turned 11, Sherry Johnsons parents, members of a conservative Pentecostal Church, decided she should marry her 20-year-old rapist. Their reasoning? Marriage would deflect a pending criminal case against the man who impregnated little Sherry and help protect the reputation of the church. Amazingly, a clerk in Pinellas County, Fla., issued a marriage license (which duly noted Sherrys birth date as 11 years earlier) and the deed was done.

Johnsons case occurred back in the 70s. But if you think child brides are a thing of the past in America you would be wrong.

According to a nonprofit group called Unchained at Last, the practice continues to this day. And frequently the children are married off to older spouses with an age difference that constitutes statutory rape. In what world is this OK?

Unchained at Last was founded by Fraidy Reiss, a woman who says her ultra-Orthodox Jewish family forced her into an unwanted marriage at age 19 to a violent man she despised. After a dozen years, Reiss found the strength to escape with her two daughters, earn a college degree, become a working journalist and a licensed private investigator.

Reisss group spent the past year collecting the latest marriage license data (from 2000 to 2010) and what they found was shocking. In the 38 states that keep age statistics, there were more than 167,000 children, almost all of them girls, who had been legally married.

Many states have a marriage license category labeled 14 and younger, so it is not known precisely how young Americas brides and grooms might have been. Unchained at Last discovered 12-year-old girls who married in Alaska, Louisiana and South Carolina. In one 2006 New Jersey case, the group says it discovered a 10-year-old boy was married to an 18-year-old woman. Surprisingly, more than half of all U.S. states have no firm minimum age for marriage.

Writing in the Washington Post, Reiss drew this conclusion: Based on the correlation we identified between state population and child marriage, we estimated that the total number of children wed in America between 2000 and 2010 was nearly 248,000.

Nearly a quarter of a million minors allowed to marry! How and why is this allowed to happen?

In all but two states, the age of consent for marriage is 18. (In Nebraska its 17 and in Mississippi the age of consent is 17 for boys and 15 for girls.) But there are wide-ranging exceptions. Parents can give consent for their minor child. And then there are states in which judicial consent is also required. In my opinion, too many parents urge (or demand) marriage and too many judges give their permission under the misguided premise that if a child is pregnant, marriage is the best course of action. It clearly is not.

Two-thirds of underage marriages dont last, according to one study. And the youngest spouse (again, usually the female) is often left in poverty with at least one child, an interrupted education, no work history, the inability to sign a lease, buy a car and few options to make a successful life. And a minor who seeks protection in a domestic abuse shelter is often turned away for being underage. These young people lose at every turn.

Ironically, a U.S. State Department report published last year condemned countries that allowed child marriage. The report called it a human rights abuse that produces devastating repercussions for a girls life, effectively ending her childhood by forcing her into adulthood and motherhood before she is physically and mentally mature.

Reisss group would like to see a blanket ban on all under-18 marriages. They got close to that goal in New Jersey recently where just such a bill had passed both houses of the legislature. However, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the legislation, saying it didnt comport with the sensibilities and, in some cases, the religious customs, of the people of this state.

Across the country, several states have, or will soon consider, over-18-only marriage legislation. But many lawmakers are convinced such a bill might unlawfully stifle religious freedom. And they cling to that idea that a baby must be born in wedlock. Religious groups and various cultural associations in which arranged marriages are the norm, are lobbying hard against the idea.

To be fair, its not just parents forcing early marriage. There are plenty of minors convinced they are ready for holy matrimony, too. But when these unions fail, guess who picks up the financial burden? Thats right, you and me. Taxpayer funded welfare programs  from food stamps and Medicaid to low-income housing costs  are often the only lifeline available.

Sherry Johnson looks back now and declares, It was a terrible life. She was a child raising children  nine of them in all. She still wonders why the state didnt handcuff her husband for raping her. Instead, they handcuffed her to a hopeless life.

Why allow someone to marry when theyre still so young, she asks. Why?

That is a very good question.
Microsofts Cortana for Android has received an update this week and one which brings with it the option to set Cortana as the Android devices digital assistant of choice. The ability to set Cortana as the default assistant on Android devices has actually been possible since 2015. However, the app update that is currently in the process of rolling out specifies that this is a newly added feature. So it would seem that it is now much easier to set Cortana as the users default assistant on Android. Or at the very least, is now an official feature of the app.

This does of course mean that the Android device owner will be replacing the devices in-built digital assistant. Which for newer Android devices, is likely to be the Google Assistant. So depending on whether you prefer Cortanas way of doing things, will likely determine whether this feature is for you or not. In either case, there is no necessity to assign Cortana as the default assistant, as the user can always leave the current default Assistant in place and just use Cortana as a tap-to-launch app. Alternatively, or in addition to using Cortana as the default assistant, Cortana does also offer the option of making it available on a devices lock screen. A feature which became available back in March of this year. The option to set Cortana on the lock screen, or as the default assistant, can be set manually by opening the app, clicking on the users profile icon (top right corner), and heading through to the settings tab.

Besides the ability to set Cortana as the default assistance, the Google Play listing also notes that the update brings with it an improvement to the calendar consistency across PC and phone. As well as improvements to the apps performance in general. The Google Play Store listing is showing the update as having gone live yesterday, June 15. Therefore, those who already have the app installed, should expect the update to arrive anytime now, if it has not arrived already. Those who would like to give the app a try, the latest version of Cortana for Android can be downloaded through the link below.
OnePlus Chief Executive Officer Pete Lau on Saturday shared a handful of new sample photos taken with the OnePlus 5, hinting at a number of imaging capabilities of the upcoming flagship. The photographs that can be seen in the gallery beneath this writing are that of a sunset somewhere in China, with several of them indicating that the primary camera setup of the OnePlus 5 will feature a relatively high dynamic range, i.e. be able to correctly expose a broad range of differently lit objects simultaneously. Mobile camera setups often struggle with capturing sunsets and similar scenes in which theres a large difference between the brightest and darkest point, but Lau suggested that the OnePlus 5 wont suffer from similar issues. The last two photographs shared by the companys top executive depict a late stage sunset (dusk) and possibly exhibit a degree of color imbalance, though they still look up to par with the best of what contemporary mobile photography can offer.

While the images have been stripped of all metadata, they werent resized, with the originals boasting a resolution of 4,608 by 3,456 pixels, heavily implying that the OnePlus 5 will feature at least one 16-megapixel sensor. The Chinese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) already confirmed that its next device will be equipped with a dual camera setup but the exact specifics of its imaging system are yet to be revealed. The BBK Electronics-owned company may have opted to pair two different sensors  a standard lens and a wide-angle one  or two identical modules, with one being tasked with capturing colors and the other being of the monochrome variety. In light of the fact that the device will apparently be able to capture a high dynamic range, the latter scenario seems more likely. Apart from the camera setup itself, the OnePlus 5 is expected to ship with imaging software developed by DxO Labs, with the Shenzhen, Guangdong-based OEM previously revealing that the French firm participated in the development of its latest handset.

The OnePlus 5 is set to be officially unveiled on Tuesday, June 20, so more details on the smartphone and its exact imaging capabilities are bound to follow shortly.
Elaine Chao, the US Transportation Secretary, will be announcing revised guidelines for autonomous of self-driving cars in the coming months. It was only last year that Obamas US Transportation Secretary had announced the initial guidelines, and he had mentioned that the department would routinely update these guidelines as the technology improves in self-driving cars. Since this is essentially a brand new industry for the US, numerous revisions are definitely needed.

Secretary Chao spoke in Detroit last week, and stated that the pressure is mounting for the federal government to do something in regards to self-driving cars. And this is true, since the majority of auto makers and tech companies are already testing out self-driving cars on public roads, or have plans to. Chao did also mention that the federal government needs to be careful before it sets concrete rules about self-driving cars. Chao continued that she does not want to set rules or guidelines that would impede technology advances in the future. There are already many States that are allowing public testing of autonomous cars, in fact, Uber is already picking up passengers in autonomous cars in Pittsburgh.

Now the US Transportation Secretary isnt the only one that thinks the industry needs rules set in place for autonomous driving. Ken Washington who is the CTO at Ford Motor Company, stated that we need a more concrete regulatory framework. Now that may seem a bit odd, since President Trump has been working to get rid of many regulations, then you have an executive from Ford stating that it needs more regulations. But what Washington wants is a set of rules that an auto maker  like Ford  could use to certify that their self-driving car is actually safe. Something similar to what already exists for normal cars today.

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This is an industry that needs competition to stay innovative. Secretary Chao noted that the rules her department is working on and will announce soon, would pave the way for innovation, as well as allow new entrants into the industry. This is important as it will help make these vehicles even safer. Secretary Chao has already met with auto makers, although it was not mentioned which companies specifically, and all of the them have urged Chao to make some changes to the initial regulations that the Obama Administration announced  which was in the very early stages of autonomous vehicles. Congress has also been working on a revised package of rules for autonomous cars, which will likely work alongside the Transportation Departments changes.

Self-driving cars is something that has been said to be the future for decades now. However, it now appears that the industry is closer than ever to self-driving cars and that it is actually going to happen very soon. Many tech companies are interested in self-driving cars because it means that they will be able to save lives. Although when it comes to Uber and Lyft, they are looking to use self-driving cars to save some cash. Seeing as self-driving cars would save money on drivers, but it would mean more maintenance is required. So while a number of people are worried about this advancement killing off jobs, it actually wouldnt. It would actually move them around to other industries. This is similar to when the ATM debuted a few decades ago. Many were worried about Bank tellers losing their jobs, but they havent, and banks had to hire more engineers to fix the ATMs when they break down.

These rules are going to be crucial to the next step in self-driving cars. They could really make or break the industry for a number of players. But Fords CTO is correct. Auto makers do need a way to certify its autonomous vehicles, as these vehicles do need to be safe, and companies need to prove to passengers that these cars are safe. Now States can still adjust these rules, as they see fit. For instance, allowing self-driving cars on public roads is already up to the States, and Nevada, California, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan are among the few allowing it.
See ya later Austin! Super fun job with a killer team! Thank you @mpcurtet @mj68_productions #fordmustang #doughnutstilldeath #burninrubber A post shared by Paul Abell (@bigchiefbuffalo) on Jun 12, 2017 at 12:50pm PDT

As you can notice from bigchiefbuffalos Instagram clip, the GT Fastback for the 2018 model year can light up the rear tires as easy as pie. The smoke show is nice and all, tire squeal included, but the highlight is the higher redline of the reworked Coyote V8. As confirmed by Mustang6G forum member y5e06, the 5.0-liter tower-of-power is able to rev up to 7,500 rpm.By comparison, the 2015 to 2017 Mustang GT can handle 7,000 rpm, whereas the flat-plane crank Voodoo V8 of the Shelby GT350 ups the ante to a screaming 8,250 rpm. A potential Easter Egg suggests that the 2018 Mustang GT will develop 470 horsepower and 455 pound-feet . From an official standpoint, however, the Ford Motor Company describes it as a more powerful engine capable of delivering robust low-end torque.Improved fuel efficiency is also on the menu thanks to dual-fuel injection (direct and port). A 10-speed automatic transmission co-developed with General Motors should also pay dividend at the gas pump. As for the somewhat richer exhaust sound than that produced by yesteryears pony, the 2018 Mustang GT can be equipped with an active valve exhaust system In the case of the 2.3-liter EcoBoost, the four-banger now serves as the entry-level engine choice because the N/A V6 is no longer available. Ford teases us with an increase in torque, but offers no specific figure on the matter. The Focus RS might serve as a clue about whats in the offing, for it develops 40 ponies and 30 lb-ft more than the 2017 Mustang EcoBoost.Watch this space for more 2018 Mustang news as we get it.
A post shared by Yassin Ghazouani (@porschecarz) on Jun 15, 2017 at 10:59am PDT

Speaking of lap times, we'll remind you of the difference between a really, really quick Nurburgring lap in the Gen 2 GT3 and one set by a driver who works for Porsche.The latter is the 7:12.7 Ring performance everybody talks about, with the time having been set by Lars Kern. You know, the Zuffenhausen driver who is also responsible for the Ring times of the second-generation Panamera Turbo and the sub-8 sprint of the contemporary Cayenne Turbo S.When it comes to the first, we're looking at the 7:17 Nordschleife sprint delivered by Sport Auto's Christian Gebhardt. As we mentioned when we first compared the two, watching the steering wheel inputs of the two drivers serves as a valuable driving lessons, albeit one that takes tons and tons of laps to be digested.As you might have noticed, the 991.2 incarnation of the Neunelfer keeps getting new members these days. For one thing, the German automaker is expected to be working on a Touring Package version of the GT3, as this wingless prototype has hinted.Then there's the 2018 GT2 RS, which has already been revealed , albeit with Porsche still concealing the specs of the rear-wheel-drive special. According to an early ride, the Neunelfer will pack 700 horses, while delivering the kind of driving experience that makes the word "visceral" appear like an understatement.We mustn't forget the 2018 911 GT3 RS, which we've already spied on multiple occasions. Judging by how hardcore the Gen 2 GT3 feels, we can only imagine the track might of the upcoming Rennsport model.This Neunelfer assault will eventually see the German carmaker retiring the 991 incarnation of the 911, all to make room for the next-gen 911 , which has already been spotted testing in multiple forms.
17 June 2017 10:32 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Foreign Minister of Colombia Maria Angela Holguin June 16 in Baku, said a message from Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry.

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Colombia had a meeting and reviewed the current status of the bilateral relations and expressed their satisfaction with the positive developments in their political dialogue.

The ministers noted the importance of mutual visits to foster the ties of friendship and cooperation between Colombia and Azerbaijan, and in this regard, gladly recalled the official visit of Minister Holguin to Azerbaijan on July 8, 2013 and the recent official visit of Minister Mammadyarov to Colombia on June 29-30, 2017.

In this regard, the ministers emphasized that exchange of permanent diplomatic presence in both countries has provided additional impetus to furthering bilateral cooperation.

The ministers reiterated their mutual respect and support to each others territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of internationally recognized borders. They also emphasized the inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition of territory.

Minister Mammadyarov congratulated the people of Colombia for the peaceful settlement of long-lasting conflict in the country and hoped that the Peace Agreement would bring opportunity for a sustainable reconciliation and development in Colombia.

Minister Holguin expressed the importance to abide by the purposes, principles and provisions of the UN Charter, the rules of international law and the UN resolutions adopted both at the Security Council and at the General Assembly, all aimed at a peaceful and negotiated resolution regarding the situation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The ministers emphasized the wide range of opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic, trade, education, tourism, agriculture, energy, logistics, investment and humanitarian sectors. In education, the exchange of students and scholars was particularly highlighted. Regarding the cooperation between the diplomatic training and education institutions of the two states, the ministers mentioned the importance of Spanish language courses organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia for the diplomats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

The ministers mentioned that the current trade turnover does not reflect the potential of the two countries and shared a common position on boosting trade relations with the encouragement of direct contacts between the business communities of the two countries. Minister Holguins visit to the regions of Azerbaijan  Hajigabul, Kurdamir, Goychay, and Zagatala  had the purpose of strengthening bilateral cooperation to produce hazelnut and pomegranates, considering its future contribution as a productive project, important for Colombias peace building.

The ministers expressed assurance that Agreement on cooperation in the field of culture between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Colombia, signed during the visit of Mammadyarov to Colombia in May this year, will boost cooperation in the field of culture and tourism. They also exchanged the views on further expansion of the legal base between the countries.

The ministers mentioned the special role of parliamentary diplomacy in advancing bilateral cooperation and in this respect the activities of Azerbaijan-Colombia Parliamentary Friendship Group were commended. Minister Mammadyarov expressed his appreciation for the documents adopted by the Senate of Colombia, namely the resolution on Illegal occupation of the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan and document on the 25th anniversary of Khojaly Genocide.

The ministers also discussed issues on the international agenda and expressed their commitment to respect the norms and principles of international law at the base of an international order with peace and security.

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17 June 2017 11:16 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Foreign currency deposits related to the required reserves of Azerbaijani banks should be stored on the foreign exchange correspondent accounts of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).

This is required under the amendments to the Procedure of Determining the Norm, Calculation and Placement of Required Reserves, approved by the decision of the CBA Board May 30.

According to the amendments, deposits in Azerbaijans national currency and precious metals, included in the settlement base of banks required reserves, should be stored on the Azerbaijani manat correspondent accounts of the CBA, while deposits in foreign currency (related to required reserves) should be stored on any foreign exchange correspondent account of the CBA.

This change will come into force August 1.

Currently, the deposits included in the settlement base of banks required reserves can be stored on any correspondent account of the CBA, regardless of the type of currency.

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17 June 2017 19:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has extended his condolences to Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel.

"I was deeply saddened by the news of the death of outstanding statesman, public and political figure, former Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Helmut Kohl," said President Aliyev in his letter.

"On the occasion of this heavy loss, on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my deepest condolences to you, family and relatives of the late former Chancellor and the people of Germany." he added.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
17 June 2017 11:04 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

In a phone call Friday with Qatari and French leaders, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged dialogue to help resolve the Gulf crisis over Qatar, according to a presidential source.

In a trilateral conversation with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and French President Emmanuel Macron, Erdogan brought up recent issues in the Gulf, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, Anadolu reported.

The three exchanged views on the Qatar crisis with a view to immediately ease tension in the region, the source added.

The leaders reportedly stressed that only dialogue and negotiations will resolve the current tension, and called for support for efforts towards this end.

On June 5, five Arab countries -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Yemen -- abruptly cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.

Qatar denied the accusations, calling the moves to isolate it diplomatically "unjustified.

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17 June 2017 11:42 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in Berlin between the Central Bank of Turkmenistan and German Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation (SBFIC), the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news service said June 17.

The document aims at deepening cooperation in the strengthening of the financial system and vocational training. The SBFIC is also a partner in holding the World Savings Day.

Cooperation with the Foundation started in 2012 when an SBFIC delegation paid the first working visit to Turkmenistan.

Since its foundation in 1992, the SBFIC has supported financial institutions in various countries, as well as small and medium enterprises.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
17 June 2017 14:01 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

A large delegation of Afghan officials is visiting Tehran today to start a previously arranged series of talks in five strategic fields, Mehr news agency reported June 17.

The two countries had agreed each to assign committees in the areas of security, economy, culture, refugees, and water in order to discuss mutual cooperation in areas of concern.

The Afghan committees will be holding a tightly packed series of meetings with their Iranian counterparts during their two-day stay in Tehran.

The meetings are a long-delayed arrangement that was hoped to follow an unattained agreement during Hamid Karzais presidency.

Talks in areas of water and refugees are expected to turn out as the hottest. Water management plans in Afghanistan have led to the eastern Iranian Lake Hamoon drying out.

Also, estimates from the government of Iran indicate that 951,142 Afghan refugees reside in Iran, in addition to 620,000 Afghans who hold Afghan passports and Iranian visas. The government also estimates that there are approximately 1.5-2 million undocumented Afghans living in Iran.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Every Cat Lover Is Going To Love These Facts On Their Favourite Pet! Pulse oi-Syeda Farah

We're sure you are reading this article to know about some of the interesting facts on your furry pet! Cats are amazingly active pets that are small, typically furry, and they are also a carnivorous mammal.

It is a proven fact that girls love cats and they are one of their favourite pets. But do you think most of the people who love these furry animals are aware of the facts on them?

This is why we here at Boldsky are sharing this unique piece of writing for all the Cat lovers out there!

Check out on some of the awesome facts that can simply amaze you about your favourite pet!

Fact #1 Did you know that a cat's hearing is better than a dog's? And a cat can hear high-frequency sounds of up to two octaves higher than a human! Fact #2 The first cat in space was a French cat named Felicette (a.k.a. "Astrocat"). In 1963, France had blasted the cat into the outer space. She had electrodes implanted in her brains and sent neurological signals back to Earth. The best part was, she survived the trip! Fact #3 There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with approximately 40 recognized breeds. Fact #4 Unlike dogs, cats do not have a sweet tooth. Scientists believe that this is due to a mutation in a key taste receptor. Fact #5 Cats make about 100 different sounds. Dogs can make only about 10. Fact #6 Egyptians were believed to be the first to domesticate cats, the oldest known pet cat was recently found in a 9500-year-old grave on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. life Scary Animals That Can Give You Goosebumps! Fact #7 A fact that most cat lovers would not like, but we're still sharing this, since it is a fact! Approximately 40,000 people are bitten by cats in the U.S. annually. Fact #8 A cat rubs against people not only to be affectionate but also to mark out its territory with scent glands around its face. The tail area and paws also carry the cat's scent. Fact #9 A cat's purr may be a form of self-healing, as it can be a sign of nervousness as well as contentment. Fact #10 The most popular pedigreed cat is the Persian cat, followed by the Main Coon cat and the Siamese cat. Wish to read more such interesting facts? Then, stay tuned to our section for more updates!
The Low Carbon Economy Fund will deliver clean, sustained economic growth for years to come.

June 15, 2017  Ottawa, Ontario  Environment and Climate Change Canada

Today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced a $2 billion Low Carbon Economy Fund. Projects that will be considered under the Fund will reduce emissions, create jobs and save Canadians and companies money by making homes and buildings more efficient; help companies innovate or use technologies to reduce their emissions; and support the forest and agriculture sectors to enhance stored carbon in forests and soils.

The Low Carbon Economy Fund is an important part of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth for Climate Change. The Framework reaffirmed the importance of collaboration between the Government of Canada and provinces and territories in addressing climate change, and the Fund will help provinces and territories build on the leadership they have shown to date and deliver on their commitment to reduce climate changing emissions.

Over the next five years, the Fund will support projects from provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous governments, businesses, and other organizations that provide innovative solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, encourage innovation, and create cleaner and healthier communities.

The Low Carbon Economy Fund has two parts:

1- Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund

An envelope of $1.4 billion will be available to support the leadership commitments from provinces and territories that they outlined in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. With this funding provinces and territories that have adopted the Framework will build on the leadership they have shown to date and deliver on their commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately leading to cleaner and healthier communities. Over the summer of 2017, the Government of Canada will engage provinces and territories on their proposed projects. After project approval, bilateral funding agreements will be put in place with provinces and territories so that projects can begin in the fall and winter.

2- Low Carbon Economy Challenge

The remainder of funds will be available for the implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework and for projects submitted by provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous governments and organizations, businesses and both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. Projects that best reduce GHG emissions and generate clean growth will be considered for funding. The Low Carbon Economy Challenge will be formally launched in the Fall of 2017. Further details will be available at that time.



The Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund and the Low Carbon Economy Challenge will reduce emissions through targeted projects such as:
June 14, 2017  Ottawa-Gatineau  Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

Today, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted licences for the operation of five radio stations that will serve the Indigenous communities of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto in order to fulfill an immediate need.

The organizations that will operate the radio stations are:

Northern Native Broadcasting, in Vancouver;

Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta, in Edmonton and Calgary; and

First Peoples Radio Inc., in Ottawa and Toronto.

These five new stations programming must reflect the communities they serve, include a large portion of local content, such as news, and deal with the specific concerns of Indigenous people in the regions in question. Part of the spoken programming must also be in an Indigenous language.

In the view of the CRTC, these three organizations best demonstrated how their programming would reflect the interests and meet the needs of the Indigenous communities in their respective markets.
Gebr Pfeiffer wins new order in Algeria

09 June 2017

Societe Saoura Ciment has contracted Gebr Pfeiffer to supply a vertical roller mill for its new greenfield plant in Bechar, Algeria.

The cement producers has ordered n MVR 5000 R-4 for cement raw material grinding. With a total drive power of 3800kW the mill has the capacity to grind 50tph to a fineness of a maximum 12 per cent R0.090mm. Delivery of the equipment is planned for the first half of 2018.

The contract comes after Societe Saoura Ciment had switched to Gebr Pfeiffer technology for its Zahana works, also in Algeria.

With this deal, the number of Gebr Pfeiffer MVR mills sold to Algeria increases to four.

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Nepal sees rise in cement imports from India

15 June 2017

Cement imports from India to Nepal have doubled over the first 10 months of the current fiscal, according to a report in the Himalayan Times.



The value of imports of cement arriving into Nepal from its neighbouring country reached NPR16.02bn (US$155.8m) compared to NPR7.99bn in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.



Between 10-15 per cent of cement is imported from India and around 30 per cent of production relies upon imported clinker. A blockade by India restricted imports in 2015-16.

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Holcim Vietnam given green light to build inland port

16 June 2017

Authorities of Vietnams southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau have approved a proposal by Thanh Long Co Ltd to develop an inland waterway port to meet the transport requirement's for the Holcim cement plant.



The provincial authorities assigned the Department of Transport to cooperate with relevant agencies to add planning of the facility to the provinces master plan for inland waterway transport by 2020.



The Thanh Long plans to develop the port on an area of 5000m2 between the Holcim cement plant and the gas pipeline of Phu My power plant in Phu My town, Tan Thanh district.



Once completed for operation, the port will be able to receive barges with loading capacity of 5000t.

Published under
Wells Fargo & Company, a diversified financial services company, provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management. The Consumer Banking and Lending segment offers diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses. Its financial products and services include checking and savings accounts, and credit and debit cards, as well as home, auto, personal, and small business lending services. The Commercial Banking segment provides financial solutions to private, family owned, and certain public companies. Its products and services include banking and credit products across various industry sectors and municipalities, secured lending and lease products, and treasury management services. The Corporate and Investment Banking segment offers a suite of capital markets, banking, and financial products and services to corporate, commercial real estate, government, and institutional clients. Its products and services comprise corporate banking, investment banking, treasury management, commercial real estate lending and servicing, equity, and fixed income solutions, as well as sales, trading, and research capabilities services. The Wealth and Investment Management segment provides personalized wealth management, brokerage, financial planning, lending, private banking, and trust and fiduciary products and services to affluent, high-net worth, and ultra-high-net worth clients. It also operates through financial advisors. Wells Fargo & Company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States, and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Manufacturing, U.S. Manufacturing, and Retail segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen and heavy oil in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. This segments Foster Creek, Christina Lake, Sunrise, and Tucker oil sands projects, as well as Lloydminster thermal and conventional heavy oil assets The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, Clearwater, and Rainbow Lake operating in Alberta and British Columbia, as well as interests in various natural gas processing facilities. The offshore segment engages in the exploration and development activities. The Canadian Manufacturing segment includes the owned and operated Lloydminster upgrading and asphalt refining complex, which upgrades heavy oil and bitumen into synthetic crude oil, diesel fuel, asphalt, and other ancillary products, as well as owns and operates the Bruderheim crude-by-rail terminal and two ethanol plants. The U.S. Manufacturing segment comprises the refining of crude oil to produce diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, asphalt, and other products. The Retail segment consists of marketing of its own and third-party refined petroleum products through retail, commercial, and bulk petroleum outlets, as well as wholesale channels. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
Anger turns to rage as police escort Theresa May from Grenfell Tower protestors

Prime Minister Theresa May had to be rushed away from protestors under police guard as anger continues to mount over the Grenfell Fire disaster. Some esimates now say that as many as 70 people, possibly even more, might have died.

There were jeers of 'coward', 'you're not wanted' and 'shame on you' as she left a church under police escort near the charred and blackened tower in North Kensington.

Hundreds of protestors stormed Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall and also marched on Downing Street as grief, rage and demands for justice grew in equal measure.

Rev Mike Long, at Notting Hill Methodist Church, told the BBC that survivors were angry and needed justice.

'Some of the poeple I've been hearing don't call this an accident they say this is a crime,' he said.

His church has become a focus for people to meet, help survivors and those grieving, and to meet to debate what must be done now. 'Our role is to help the community simply express what they are thinking and feeling at the moment, to ensure our persepectives are taken seriously, that people feel they are being taken seriously.'

He spoke of the 'incredibly stark' gap between rich and pooor  an increasing and pervading 'sense of injustice' where people in a multi-million pound house can be living right next door, for example, to a family of six in a one-bed flat.

Grenfell Tower housed about 600 people in about 120 apartments. It is part of a low-rent housing estate which lies right next to one of the most affluent areas of Britain.

'The massive overcrowding in the local area is something many people are simply unaware of,' said Long. 'You might have a teenage girl who throughout her life has shared her bedroom with ber mother, that is common in ths area.

He said the churches will have a central role in coming weeks and months, enabling community cohesion and helping the comunity come together to express the sense of injustice.

'There is perhaps a role for the church to enable the most wealthy to see our society in a new way.'

Crowds sang Amazing Grace and This Little Light of Mine at the Grenfell Tower protest outside Downing Street in London last night.

There's a huge crowd at the #Grenfelltower vigil. Just finished singing 'This Little Light of Mine', now they're singing 'Amazing Grace' pic.twitter.com/vHsAPbgbic

There's a huge crowd at the #Grenfelltower vigil. Just finished singing 'This Little Light of Mine', now they're singing 'Amazing Grace' pic.twitter.com/vHsAPbgbic  Fiona Rutherford (@Fi_Rutherford) June 16, 2017

May has promised to set up a public inquiry and pledged 5 million to help victims and has outlined a series of measures to help those left homeless. Residents are furious that their fire safety concerns  many of them publicised openly on blogs and websites  had been ignored and that people had been told to stay in their flats in the event of a fire.

At the town hall, protesters barged their way through an automatic door at and sought to gain entry to an upper floor. Police barred their way and scuffles broke out.

The protesters chanted: 'We want justice', 'bring them out' and 'shame on you'.

One member of the public said: 'Nobody knows what is happening. People are so angry. Those people shouldn't be sleeping in the street.'

Mustafa Al Mansur, who organised the protest, read a statement from the council which promised to re-house as many people locally as they could and to provide funding for those affected.

But he called the response 'flimsy' with 'no concrete answers'.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote to May on Friday, saying residents felt increasingly enraged and frustrated by the slow response from the authorities. 'The local community feels their grief has been made worse by the lack of information about their missing family members and friends. People are terrified that the same thing could happen to them.'

Police have said it could take months to search the building and some victims might never be identified.

Additional reporting by Reuters
Christian hymn writer and Salvation Army minister are among Christians to receive top awards in Queen's Birthday Honours

Popular Christian hymn writer Keith Getty today becomes the first contemporary church musician to receive an OBE.

The award in the Queen's Birthday Honours marks Getty's contribution to music and hymn writing through his re- popularising of hymns.

It is the first such an award has been given to an individual who is actively involved in the world of contemporary church music.

Getty's hymns, often written in collaboration with Stuart Townend, include the the popular In Christ Alone  the number one most-frequently-sung in UK churches for a record-setting nine consecutive years.

Getty said, 'When I first received the call, I was pretty surprised. It is an honour for us as a family and also for the great hymn-writing heritage we have here in the U.K. of which we are a tiny part. I am very grateful to her Majesty the Queen for this honour.'

An estimated 40-50 million people are singing Getty hymns in church services each year, while publisher Integrity Music,believes a wider assessment of the Getty/Townend catalogue is likely closer 100 million considering its popularity throughout Asia and their almost unique ability to also be sung in the more traditional and classical contexts of church music.

Timothy Keller, Pastor Emeritus at Redeemer Presbyterian Churches of New York City said, 'Keith and Kristyn Getty are pioneers in the movement to produce a true yet new hymnody for the church that is theologically substantial, highly aware of history, continuous with church music of the past, contemporary yet meant to be enduring, and not just of the moment. They stand in the gap between the older churches of Europe and the new, growing, global Christianity. Though they are still young adults, we already owe them a great deal.'

The Gettys have performed in Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and London's Royal Albert Hall. With performances for world leaders such as former US President George W. Bush and former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, some 200,000 people have also seen their annual Irish Christmas concert which was also aired on America's Public Television to more than 45 million homes.

Getty said, 'I'm so grateful to my wife Kristyn, and also profoundly thankful for Stuart Townend, whose hymn writing partnership and brilliance gave us both this opportunity. Kristyn and I feel utterly privileged to be able to serve the church in such a way and will continue to write and lead people in singing as we have breath to.'

Later this year, Keith and Kristyn's first book, Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church, will be published internationally by B&H (Lifeway). The book release signals the commencement of the larger Sing! project, launching with a private event in September for Houses of Parliament and immediately followed by a conference in Nashville, where 4,000 will attend from around the world, and a 5,000-person hymn sing at the world-famous Grand Ole Opry House.

Also honoured with an MBE is Goldthorpe Salvation Army minister Territorial Envoy Alison Sykes for service to families in Dearne, South Yorkshire.

Living in the town for the past 22 years, Alison, 44, raised her two children as she volunteered and worked in a number of volunteer and paid posts with families  from parent-and-toddler groups to schools' and youth work.

She is currently the leader of Goldthorpe Salvation Army, where she supports families experiencing challenging circumstances.

She said: 'I was surprised to read the letter from the Cabinet Office telling me I'd received this honour  I couldn't believe it. I'm thrilled to be honoured in this way, although, the real privilege for me comes every day when I'm invited by families into their lives to stand with them as they face tough moments and to provide love, support and guidance as they start taking steps to move forwards.'

Alison started volunteering for The Salvation Army 17 years ago, having attended the parent-and-toddler group and been encouraged by the former ministers to become more involved.

She said: 'I grew in confidence through the trust they placed in me, which led to me taking on more responsibility and eventually becoming the minister in charge here three years ago. We all have God-given value and potential and by caring and loving people we can see them grow and flourish.'

Among reasons that people seek support from the Salvation Army are issues with housing, addiction, learning difficulties, unemployment, financial, relationship or other crises.

Alison said: 'Lives are changed at The Salvation Army every day over a cup of tea as people open up and invite us into their lives. All we do is built on a love for and a commitment to these families, providing time and space for people and being willing to help where we can. I'm proud of how far so many have come  it's an encouragement and a healthy reminder that challenging circumstances can be turned around and by loving people it can and will happen and that's when we see lives transformed.'
The Queen: Britain is 'sombre' but resolute in the face of crisis, attacks and disaster

Britain is in 'sombre' national mood but that its people remain resolute in the face of a succession of terrible tragedies, the Queen said today.

Today is traditionally a day of celebration, she said at the start of her message marking her official birthday. 'The country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies.

'This year, however, it is difficult to escape a very' sombre national mood. In recent months, the country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies.'

She was referring to the succession of terror attacks in Manchester and London, and now the Grenfell Tower fire disaster. The country has also been troubled by the aftermath of the Brexit vote, with Theresa May's government struggling in the wake of an election where it did far worse than expected and was left with a barely tenable mandate. May herself has faced criticism for the manner of her response to the fire.

The Queen continued: 'As a nation, we continue to reflect and pray for all those who have been directly affected by these events. During recent visits in Manchester and London, I have been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need.

'Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity. United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss.'

The message was released as a minute's silence was held for fire victims at the Trooping the Colour ceremony, is performed at Horse Guards Parade in London to celebrate the Queen's official birthday

The Queen was born on April 21, 1926 in Bruton Street in central London when Calvin Coolidge was President of the United States and Josef Stalin had just taken control in the Soviet Union. She became queen in 1952, aged 25.

At 91, she still regularly carries out official duties but has cut back on her number of engagements in recent years. She celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday is on 21 April. Her official one usually falls on the second Saturday in June.

Additional reporting by Reuters
United Arab Emirates decides to rename top Islamic mosque 'Mary, Mother of Jesus' to foster religious tolerance

Several Christian leaders have praised a recent move in the United Arab Emirates to rename a top Islamic mosque as "Mary, Mother of Jesus," which authorities have said was done to foster religious tolerance. The country, however, continues to be ranked as a "high" level persecutor of Christians.

The Rev. Bishoy Fakhri, pastor of the Cathedral Church in Abu Dhabi, told Emirates News Agency on Wednesday that "the UAE sets a real example of tolerance, which transcends ideas and slogans to become a practical reality and reaching the stage of social harmony."

The Rev. Ibrahim Farouk, patron of the Pope Tawadros Christian Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt in Abu Dhabi, added that the UAE is strengthening the field of religious tolerance, brotherhood and peace.

"Using the name of 'Mother Mary' on this mosque is a gesture of love and peace that we hope will be followed around the world," Farouk said.

As Gulf News reported on Wednesday, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, decided to change the name of the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Mosque in Al Mushrif, a district in the capital Abu Dhabi, to an arabic name translating to "Mary, the mother of Jesus."

The change was apparently made to "consolidate bonds of humanity between followers of different religions."

Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, minister of state for tolerance, also praised the "wise directives in carrying out this initiative that sets a shining example, and a beautiful image of the tolerance and coexistence enjoyed by the UAE."

The Rev. Canon Andrew Thompson of St Andrew's Church, an Anglican parish near the newly-renamed mosque, said Christians are "delighted that we are celebrating something that we have in common between both our faiths."

"Mary, as the mother of Jesus, is of course a holy, special figure in our communities. She is a woman who symbolizes obedience to God. We look forward to growing in deeper understanding with our neighbors, and we celebrate with them the new name of the mosque."

The Evangelical Community Church in Abu Dhabi also hailed the "generous gesture of religions tolerance."

Senior pastor Jeramie Rinne said that the Muslim-majority country "continues to set the pace in this region for peaceful coexistence and cooperation. We are very encouraged and feel blessed to be a part of this nation."

Amidst all the praise, the UAE remains a "high" level persecutor of Christians, according to watchdog groups such as Open Doors USA.

Open Doors has warned that "freedom of religion, press, assembly, association and expression are severely restricted in this kingdom," adding that women who convert from Islam to Christianity or another faith lose their rights to possessions and children.

UAE's strict laws were placed under the international spotlight back in November 2016, when a 25-year-old British woman who said she was gang raped in Dubai was arrested for illegal "extra-marital sex."

Radha Stirling, founder and director of Detained in Dubai, an organization considered the international authority on UAE law, reported that the nation has a history of penalizing rape victims.

"We have been involved with several cases in the past where this has happened, and we work with the lawyers and families and have campaigned to change attitudes in the police and judiciary. Recent cases such as those of Alicia Gail and Roxanne Hiller, and the horrible case at hand, show that it is still not safe for victims to report these crimes to the police without the risk of suffering a double punishment," Stirling said.

Still, the UAE has been praised by Christians for other efforts, such as the introduction of its first-ever anti-hate speech law in 2015, aimed at protecting over 200 nationalities, as well as followers of Christ.

This article was originally published in The Christian Post.
Why aren't US evangelicals out protesting the deportation of Iraqi Christians?

When is a Christian not a Christian?

It isn't a trick question, but a pressing concern we need to get our heads around.

Let me explain.

This week, a battle has commenced between the American Civil Liberties Union and the immigration authorities in Michigan. The ACLU is fighting on behalf of 114 Iraqi Christians who were arrested earlier this month.

There are claims that some among the group have criminal records so they should be deported. Yet the ACLU and other advocacy groups say that to send them back to Iraq is effectively a 'death sentence' because of how dangerous life is for Christians there.

'Not only is it immoral to send people to a country where they are likely to be violently persecuted, it expressly violates United States and international law and treaties,' said spokesperson Kary Moss.

Given the concern expressed by many Christian leaders in the US, especially evangelicals, about the plight of persecuted believers in the Middle East, you might imagine there would be a groundswell of support for the group.

Instead, the response has been lukewarm. So lukewarm, in fact, that the community's spokespeople have begun to wonder why. 'They could be doing a lot more,' said Martin Hanna of the Chaldean Community Foundation. Speaking to RNS, he went on: 'They could be saying, "Wait, we have been fighting to protect these people in their ancestral lands and now we are sending them back to those areas that we're not doing enough to protect?'"

In fact, it seems the Knights Of Columbus is the only major Christian organization to speak out unprompted on behalf of the group of Chaldean Christians. When asked by RNS, Trump supporter Franklin Graham gave an uncharacteristically equivocal response. 'I find it very disturbing what I have read about Chaldean Christians being rounded up by ICE for possible deportation. I would encourage the president to have someone investigate these cases thoroughly,' Graham said in a statement.

Why isn't there more outcry?

There are three worrying trends being displayed here. Firstly, there's the sheer ignorance in many of our Western Churches about other Christians. Knowledge of other denominations and kinds of Christians among white evangelicals in the West is, in my experience, pretty poor.

The Chaldean Church dates from the early centuries of Christianity and traces its roots back to a time before Christian faith had reached British shores, let alone America. Yes, there are a bewildering number of denominations and groups in the Middle East, but ignorance shouldn't be an excuse for lack of solidarity from Western Christians.

A second factor may be the suspicion that Chaldeans aren't the 'right' kind of Christians. Anti-Catholic prejudice was prevalent in US Protestant circles only a few decades ago, and continues in pockets. Despite a significant thaw in relations, prominent evangelical leaders have attacked the Catholic Church (of which the Chaldean church is a part).

To this day it's possible to read thousands of online comments daily from Protestant evangelicals proclaiming that Catholics aren't proper Christians, that they 'worship Mary', 'don't believe in Jesus' and other such calumnies.

If ignorance is one enemy of the Chaldeans, then prejudice is another.

A final reason Christians in America haven't leapt to the defence of the Chaldeans in Michigan is sadly that many of them still support Donald Trump's administration even when it is targeting Christians. Eighty-one per cent of white evangelicals voted for Trump and there is evidence that after his Supreme Court pick of Neil Gorsuch, he remains incredibly popular with that group.

Even when the Trump Administration seeks to deport Christians to Iraq  one of the countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian  there is little complaint from white evangelical America.

This is all deeply troubling. If our fellow Christians are truly our sisters and brothers, then we shouldn't let our ignorance, our prejudice or our fidelity to a political leader get in the way of our solidarity with them. It now seems that some combination of those three factors is preventing evangelicals from opposing this deportation of our sisters and brothers, our fellow Christians, to a place where it is desperately dangerous to be a Christian.

Trump's own administration declares there to be a genocide against Christians in Iraq and then it seeks to deport Christians back there. There's something deeply wrong here.

Follow Andy Walton on Twitter @waltonandy.
Changes to Canadian Citizenship Act to Become Law Naomi Endicott Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Bill C-6, an act proposing changes that would make it easier for permanent residents to become Canadian citizens, is a step closer to becoming law. Canadian Senator Mobina Jaffer posted on Twitter on June 15 that the bill may receive royal assent as soon as next Monday.

Bill C-6 is now awaiting royal assent after Senate passed the legislation on June 15 in a vote of 51 for and 29 against. The Senate had previously passed the bill, with three amendments, on May 3. Those amendments were reviewed by the government, after which the bill returned to Senate and passed again with a stronger majority than that previous vote.

Changes to citizenship eligibility requirements

Bill C-6 proposes various changes to the Citizenship Act, many of which serve to repeal changes introduced by the Conservative government with Bill C-24 in 2014. That bill raised the residency requirement for permanent residents to become eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship to four years out of the six years preceding the application.

Bill C-6 reduces the number of days during which a person must have been physically present in Canada before applying for citizenship to three years out of five, as was the case before Bill C-24 was introduced. In addition, it allows permanent residents who had spent time in Canada before obtaining permanent resident status, for example as a temporary foreign worker or an international student, to count a portion of that time towards the residency requirement.

We want newcomers to be able to build successful lives, and we know that for temporary workers, for international students who become permanent residents after, their attachment to Canada starts way before they even become permanent residents, let alone Canadian citizens, so we recognize that bringing back the residency requirement to three years out of five, as opposed to four years out of six under C-24, is the right thing to do, Hussen explained.

Bill C-6 also removes the intent to reside provision, which requires that an applicant intend to reside in Canada after they obtain citizenship.

Another key provision of Bill C-6 is the removal of governments ability to revoke citizenship from dual citizens on the basis of national security, a feature that the government has accused of creating two-tiered citizenship. C-24 took us down the road to introduce two-tier citizenship, and we absolutely abhorred that and denounced that at the time, and we knew that Canada should never have two-tiered citizenship, said Hussen, at the recent Canadian Bar Association (Immigration Section) conference.

Find out if you are eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship under the new law with the CanadaVisa Citizenship Calculator.

Senates amendments

The first amendment related to proposed changes to the age requirements for permanent residents to prove knowledge of Canadian culture and language ability in English or French, from the current requirement of 18 to 59, to 18 to 54. Senate amended this proposition back to 18 to 59, but the Liberal government did not support this.

Explaining the decision, Ahmed Hussen, Canadas Minister of Immigration, stated, This amendment is not in line with the intent of Bill C-6 to facilitate citizenship to eligible immigrants Therefore, Bill C-6 returns the age for language and knowledge requirements back to 18 to 54 years of age. By doing so, Bill C-6 will reduce barriers to citizenship.

The Senate proposed a second amendment to make it easier for children under the age of 18 to apply for citizenship without the support of their parent, and without needing to apply to the Minister for citizenship on compassionate grounds. Under Bill C-6, children with Canadian permanent resident status under the age of 18 without Canadian parents, or whose parents may not be willing or able to apply for citizenship, would be able to apply for citizenship independently, without needing to join a parent on an application.

Finally, the third amendment proposed to add the right to appeal for individuals who lose their citizenship on the grounds that it was obtained fraudulently. The government also agreed to this amendment, adding that all individuals would have the option to request that their case be referred to the Federal Court for a decision.

Key campaign commitment

The changes enshrined in Bill C-6 formed a key component of the Liberal governments campaign when they came to power in November, 2015. In his speech at the conference, Hussen stated, We want more permanent residents  in fact, we want all permanent residents, if possible  to become Canadians, and so Bill C-6 will remove those barriers and give permanent residents greater flexibility to meet the residency requirements so that they can become Canadian citizens.

Im proud of the fact that Bill C-6 will receive, were confident that C-6 will receive royal assent in the very near future, Hussen concluded.

The Senates amendments were largely commendable, and I am glad to see that the government supports these key modifications that are intended to make citizenship more accessible to more people, says Attorney David Cohen.

The Liberal government continues to deliver regarding immigration and citizenship, by taking concrete action in turning campaign promises into real legislation. In the event that Bill C-6 receives royal assent, I look forward to the difference this will make to the lives of many new Canadians.

To find out more about applying for Canadian citizenship in light of the proposed changes to the Citizenship Act, please send an email to citizenship@canadavisa.com. Please include information about your time as a Canadian permanent resident, as well as any information about previous time spend in Canada with temporary status.

To learn more about Canadian citizenship, click here.

To find out if you are eligible to immigrate to Canada through one of the currently available programs, please fill out a free online assessment today.

 2017 CICNews All Rights Reserved
Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms for various brands in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers women's apparel, such as casual wear, jeans, dresses, outerwear, lingerie, pajamas, and maternity clothes; men's apparel comprising casual and smart-casual T-shirts, polo shirts, jackets, pants, and underwear; and skin care and cosmetic products, including cleansers, lotions, face and body creams, face masks, sunscreen, foundations, lipsticks, eye shadows, and other cosmetics-related items. It also provides shoes and bags, which comprises casual and formal shoes, purses, satchels, luggage, duffel bags, and wallets; handbags; apparel, gears and accessories, furnishings and decor, toys, and games for boys, girls, infants, and toddlers; sportswear, sports gear, and footwear for various sporting activities; home furnishings, such as bed and bath products, home decor, kitchen and tabletop items, and home appliances; and consumer electronic products. In addition, the company offers food and snacks, beverages, fresh produce, and pet goods; beauty products; and internet finance services, including consumer and supplier financing, and microcredit. Vipshop Holdings Limited provides its branded products through its vip.com and vipshop.com online platforms, as well as through its internet website and cellular phone application. Further, it offers warehousing, logistics, product procurement, research and development, technology development, and consulting services; software development and information technology support solutions; and supply chain services. Vipshop Holdings Limited was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, the People's Republic of China.
This week the German Maritime LNG Platform signed the Arctic Commitment, joining a group of companies, organizations, politicians and expedition cruise lines calling for a ban on heavy fuel oil (HFO) use in Arctic shipping, according to a prepared statement.

"The Clean Arctic Alliance welcomes the German Maritime LNG Platform as a signatory of the Arctic Commitment. The LNG Platform joins a growing international movement calling for a ban on the use of HFO by ships in the Arctics pristine and fragile environment," said Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance, a coalition of international non-governmental organisations that launched the Arctic Commitment in January 2017.

By switching to less-polluting alternatives to HFO, such as LNG, the shipping industry has a real opportunity to lead the path away from the use of heavy fuel oil and towards a sustainable future, before a ban is considered by the IMO," she added.

With this Julys meeting of the IMOs Marine Environment Protection Committee fast approaching, its time for companies and governments to support decisive action to clean up Arctic shipping. The Platforms support comes at a crucial time for us.

The Clean Arctic Alliance is an international coalition of non-governmental groups campaigning for an International Maritime Organization (IMO) ban on HFO from Arctic shipping. The German partner of the alliance is the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU).

The German Maritime LNG Platform is an interest coalition of nearly 100 members and partners from the maritime sector both in Germany and abroad. Its objective is the establishment of a cleaner and more sustainable shipping sector through the use of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) to substantially reduce pollutant emissions, such as SOx, NOx, CO2 and particulate matter (PM).
Snap Inc. is a social media company operating globally. The company was founded in September 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. Originally known as Snapchat, the company changed its name to Snap in order to represent its offerings better as it grew over the years. The companys headquarters are in Santa Monica, California and it is a very tightly held company. The original founders, Evan Speigel and Bobby Murphy own a combined 45% of non-dilutable shares with ownership transferable to the other upon death. The two remain active in the company today serving on the board and acting as CEO (Speigel) and CTO (Murphy).

The company was formerly known as Snapchat, Inc. and changed its name to Snap Inc. in September 2016. Snap Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Over the years it has been courted by most of the big tech companies including Facebook and Google but has always opted to remain a standalone company. The business went public in 2017 and raised $30 billion on its opening day which is about 10 times the expected amount.

Today, Snap operates as a camera company internationally. The companys main revenue streams are Snapchat, a mobile app for cameras and communications, and Spectacles, a wearable augmented reality device. Snapchat is a camera app that allows users to take pictures and tell stories, the platform also permits ad sales which is an integral part of the revenue and earnings. The companys mission? To empower people to express themselves in todays digital world.

Spectacles is a hardware device that can connect with Snapchat to deliver pictures and video from a point-of-view perspective. The company has since made three upgrades to the original version and has a Next Generation model available too. The Next Generation of Spectacles are not intended for sale but will be made available to creators who wish to push the boundaries of video and digital communications.

In October 2022 the company reported it had more than 347milion daily active users with more than 250 million engaging with AR each day. The platform had more than 250,000 Lens creators (Lenses are AR experiences) with more than 2.5 million lenses created. There were more than 6 billion lens plays each day and more than 75% of 13-34-year-olds in 20 countries were users.
Software Aktiengesellschaft provides software development, licensing, maintenance, and IT services in Germany, the United States, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Digital Business Platform, Adabas & Natural, and Professional Services. The company offers Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics solutions comprising Cumulocity IoT for integrating digital equipment and sensors through an IoT device management and application enablement platform, as well as provides streaming analytics for big data analytics in real time and solutions for predictive analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning; and TrendMiner, an intuitive Web-based analytics platform for visualization of industrial processes and process data. It also provides webMethods that integrate systems, applications, and processes through application programming interfaces or direct connections and orchestrate them in the form of microservices; ARIS for modeling, documenting, and optimizing business processes; Alfabet, which enables enterprise architecture mapping and optimal decision making for IT investments; Adabas & Natural for transaction processing; and CONNX for data integration, virtualization, and replication. In addition, the company offers professional services, which include implementation, development, and upgrade/migration services. Software Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany.
The following companies are subsidiares of Transocean: 15375 Memorial Corporation, Agon Shipping Inc., Aguas Profundas Limitada, AngoSantaFe - Prestacao de Servicos Petroliferos Limitada, Angola Deepwater Drilling Company (Offshore Services) Ltd, Arcade Drilling AS, Asie Sonat Offshore Sdn. Bhd., Barents Rigco Limited, Blegra Asset Management Limited, Blegra Financing Limited, Caledonia Offshore Drilling Services Limited, Challenger Minerals Inc., Covent Garden - Servicos e Marketing Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Deepwater Drilling (Transocean Ghana) Limited, Deepwater Drilling North Africa LLC - Free Zone, Deepwater Pacific 1 Inc., Deepwater Supply Inc., Drillship Alonissos Owners Inc., Drillship Hydra Owners Inc., Drillship Kithira Owners Inc., Drillship Kythnos Owners Inc., Drillship Paros Owners Inc., Drillship Skiathos Owners Inc., Drillship Skopelos Owners Inc., Drillship Skyros Owners Inc., Eastern Med Consultants Inc., Entities Holdings Inc., GSF Leasing Services GmbH, Global Marine Inc., Global Offshore Drilling Limited, GlobalSantaFe (Labuan) Inc., GlobalSantaFe B.V., GlobalSantaFe C.R. Luigs Limited, GlobalSantaFe Denmark Holdings ApS, GlobalSantaFe Drilling (N.A.) N.V., GlobalSantaFe Drilling Company, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Company (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Company (Overseas) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., GlobalSantaFe Drilling Operations Inc., GlobalSantaFe Drilling Services (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Trinidad LLC, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Venezuela C.A., GlobalSantaFe Financial Services (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., GlobalSantaFe Group Financing Limited Liability Company, GlobalSantaFe Holding Company (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Hungary Services Limited Liability Company, GlobalSantaFe International Drilling Corporation, GlobalSantaFe International Drilling Inc., GlobalSantaFe International Services Inc., GlobalSantaFe Nederland B.V., GlobalSantaFe Offshore Services Inc., GlobalSantaFe Operations (Mexico) LLC, GlobalSantaFe Saudi Arabia Ltd., GlobalSantaFe Services (BVI) Inc., GlobalSantaFe Services Netherlands B.V., GlobalSantaFe Servicios de Venezuela C.A., GlobalSantaFe South America LLC, GlobalSantaFe Tampico S. de R.L. de C.V., GlobalSantaFe Techserv (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe U.S. Holdings Inc., Indigo Drilling Limited, Inteliwell JV GP Limited, Inteliwell JV LP, Kalambo Operations Inc., OCR Falklands Drilling Inc., OR Norge Operations Inc., Ocean Rig, Ocean Rig 1 Inc, Ocean Rig 2 Inc., Ocean Rig Canada Inc., Ocean Rig Cuanza Operations Inc., Ocean Rig Cubango Operations Inc., Ocean Rig Deepwater Drilling Limited, Ocean Rig Investments Inc., Ocean Rig Management Inc., Ocean Rig Operations Inc., Ocean Rig UDW Inc., Ocean Rig UDW LLC, Offshore Ghana Transocean Limited, Offshore Rig Operations AS, Olympia Rig Angola Holding S.A., Olympia Rig Angola Limitada, Orion Holdings (Cayman) Limited, Orion RigCo (Cayman) Limited, P.T. Santa Fe Supraco Indonesia, PT. Transocean Indonesia, Platform Capital N.V., Platform Financial N.V., Primelead Limited, R&B Falcon (A) Pty Ltd, R&B Falcon (Caledonia) Limited, R&B Falcon (M) Sdn. Bhd., R&B Falcon (U.K.) Limited, R&B Falcon B.V., R&B Falcon Deepwater (UK) Limited, R&B Falcon Drilling Co. LLC, R&B Falcon Exploration Co. LLC, R&B Falcon International Energy Services B.V., RBF Rig Corporation LLC, Ranger Insurance Limited, Reading & Bates Coal Co. LLC, SDS Offshore Limited, Safemal Drilling Sdn. Bhd., Santa Fe Braun Inc., Santa Fe Construction Company, Santa Fe Drilling Company of Venezuela C.A., Saudi Drilling Company Limited, Sedco Forex International Inc., Services Petroliers Transocean, Servicios Petroleros Santa Fe S.A., Ship Investment Ocean Holdings Inc., Songa Offshore Delta Limited, Songa Offshore Drilling Limited, Songa Offshore Enabler Limited, Songa Offshore Encourage Limited, Songa Offshore Endurance Limited, Songa Offshore Equinox Limited, Songa Offshore Equipment Rental Limited, Songa Offshore Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Songa Offshore Management Limited, Songa Offshore Pte. Ltd., Songa Offshore Rig 2 AS, Songa Offshore Rig 3 AS, Songa Offshore SE, Songa Offshore SE, Songa Offshore Saturn Limited, Songa Offshore T & P Cyprus Limited, Songa Saturn Chartering Pte. Ltd., Spitsbergen Rigco Limited, Sub-Saharan Drilling Inc., T. I. International Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., TILAM Holdings Limited, TRM Holdings Limited, TSSA - Servicos de Apoio Lda., Transocean Africa Drilling Limited, Transocean Asia Services Sdn Bhd, Transocean Asset Holdings 1 Limited, Transocean Asset Holdings 2 Limited, Transocean Asset Holdings 3 Limited, Transocean Atlas Limited, Transocean Barents ASA, Transocean Brasil Ltda., Transocean Britannia Limited, Transocean Canada Drilling Services Ltd., Transocean Conqueror Limited, Transocean Conqueror Opco LLC, Transocean Corporate Services Limited, Transocean Cyprus Capital Management Public Limited, Transocean Cyprus Drilling Operations Public Limited, Transocean Deepwater Drilling Services Limited, Transocean Deepwater Holdings Limited, Transocean Deepwater Inc., Transocean Deepwater Mauritius, Transocean Deepwater Nautilus Limited, Transocean Deepwater Seafarer Services Limited, Transocean Discoverer 534 LLC, Transocean Drilling Enterprises S.a.r.l., Transocean Drilling Israel Ltd., Transocean Drilling Limited, Transocean Drilling Namibia Inc., Transocean Drilling Offshore S.a.r.l., Transocean Drilling Sdn. Bhd., Transocean Drilling Services (India) Private Limited, Transocean Drilling U.K. Limited, Transocean Eastern Pte. 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By Madlen Davies

Industrial pollution from Indian pharmaceutical companies making medicines for nearly all the worlds major drug companies is fueling the creation of deadly superbugs, suggests new research. Global health authorities have no regulations in place to stop this happening.

A major study published May 6 in the prestigious scientific journal Infection found excessively high levels of antibiotic and antifungal drug residue in water sources in and around a major drug production hub in the Indian city of Hyderabad, as well as high levels of bacteria and fungi resistant to those drugs. Scientists told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism the quantities found meant they believe the drug residues must have originated from pharmaceutical factories.

The presence of drug residues in the natural environment allows the microbes living there to build up resistance to the ingredients in the medicines that are supposed to kill them, turning them into what we call superbugs. The resistant microbes travel easily and have multiplied in huge numbers all over the world, creating a grave public health emergency that is already thought to kill hundreds of thousands of people a year.

When antimicrobial drugs stop working common infections can become fatal, and scientists and public health leaders say the worsening problem of antibiotic resistance (also known as AMR) could reverse half a century of medical progress if the world does not act fast. Yet while policies are being put into place to counter the overuse and misuse of drugs which has propelled the crisis, international regulators are allowing dirty drug production methods to continue unchecked.

Global authorities like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency strictly regulate drug supply chains in terms of drug safetybut environmental standards do not feature in their rulebook. Drug producers must adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) guidelinesbut those guidelines do not cover pollution.

Even the World Health Organization (WHO)a global public health body which has repeatedly called for concerted international action to tackle the dangerous threat of antibiotic resistancebuys antibiotics from companies whose drug ingredients are made in Hyderabad without carrying out environmental checks.

The international bodies say the governments of the countries where the drugs are made are the ones responsible for stopping pollutionbut domestic legislation is having little impact on the ground, say the studys authors. The lack of international regulation must be addressed, they argue, highlighting the grave public health threat faced by antibiotic resistance as well as the rampant global spread of superbugs from India, which has become an epicenter of the crisis.

Unprecedented Antimicrobial Drug Contamination



A group of scientists based at the University of Leipzig worked with German journalists to take an in-depth look at pharmaceutical pollution in Hyderabad, where 50 percent of Indias drug exports are produced. A fifth of the worlds generic drugs are produced in India, with factories based in Hyderabad supplying Big Pharma and public health authorities like World Health Organization with millions of tons of antibiotics and antifungals each year.

The researchers tested 28 water samples in and around the Patancheru-Bollaram Industrial zone on the outskirts of the city, where more than than 30 drug manufacturing companies supplying nearly all the worlds major drug companies are based. Thousands of tons of pharmaceutical waste are produced by the factories each day, the paper says.

Almost all the samples contained bacteria and fungi resistant to multiple drugs (known as MDR pathogens, the technical name for superbugs). Researchers then tested 16 of the samples for drug residues and found 13 of them were contaminated with antibiotics and antifungals. Previous studies have shown how exposure to antibiotics and antifungals in the environment causes bacteria and fungi to develop immunity to those drugs.

Environmental pollution and poor management of wastewater in Hyderabad is causing unprecedented antimicrobial drug contamination of surrounding water sources, conclude the researcherscontamination which appears to be driving the creation and spread of dangerous superbugs which have spread across the world. Combined with the mass misuse of antibiotics and poor sanitation, superbugs are already having severe consequences in Indiaan estimated 56,000 newborn babies die from resistant infections there each year.

German broadcaster NDR, which contributed to the study, identified 19 companies operating inside the area tested as suppliers of antibiotics to the European market. Of those 19, the Bureau has identified at least four companies which supply the UK and five which supply the U.S.

The companies in question strongly deny that their factories pollute the environment, and the sheer number of factories operating in Hyderabad means it is impossible to identify exactly which companies are responsible for the contamination found in the samples tested.

What is clear is one of the worlds biggest drug production hubs is producing dangerous levels of pharmaceutical pollution, and the international bodies tasked with ensuring drug safety are doing little to address it.

Health regulators have to take action, said Prof. Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy and a leading voice on antibiotic resistance. We need to take environmental contamination from bulk manufacturing facilities seriously and put an immediate end to the practice, he said. This should be a part of GMP without question and pharmaceutical companies throughout the world should be subject to an audit to ensure that they are compliant with what the industry has promised to do.

The Epicenter of a Global Crisis

The densely populated and increasingly prosperous city of Hyderabad in southern India was once an international trading centre for diamonds and pearls. Today, it is a major international hub for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing millions of tons of medicines, chemicals and pesticides each year.

Around 170 companies making bulk drugs like antibiotics operate in and around Hyderabad, the majority clustered in sprawling industrial estates along the banks of the Musi river. Companies in Europe and the U.S., as well as health authorities like WHO and the UKs NHS are reliant on drugs being produced in these factories.

The area has long been criticized for its pollution, which has continued unabated despite decades of campaigning by Indian NGOs, say the report authors. In 2009 the Patancheru-Bollaram zone was classified as critically polluted in Indias national pollution index and construction in the area was banned. But the government relaxed the rules in 2014 and building was allowed to begin again.

Last year Indias Supreme Court ordered the countrys pharmaceutical companies to operate a zero liquid waste policy, but massive violations have reportedly occurred, says the Infection report.

As Indias drug production industry has grown, so has the prevalence of superbugsa national crisis intensified by the widespread overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which are easily bought over the counter, and poor sanitation Alongside the creation of individual superbugs, genes and enzymes have developed which can pass between multiple types of bacteria, making them resistant to drugs.

India has become the epicenter of the global drug resistance crisis, with 56,000 newborn Indian babies estimated to die each year from drug-resistant blood infections, and 70 to 90 percent of people who travel to India returning home with multi-drug-resistant bacteria in their gut, according to the study.

The bacteria can remain in the gut without causing problems, but if they travel from there into a patients bloodstream or urinary tract they can cause serious infections. They can also pass on resistance to other bacteria in the gutso if a patient gets food poisoning the bacteria that caused it could acquire the resistance and become hard to treat.

An AMR Nightmare: David Riccis Story

David Ricci.

David Ricci was just 19 when his life changed dramatically. He was hit by a train while walking through the slums of the Indian city of Kolkata where he was helping care for orphaned children. He was left screaming in agonizing pain on the pavement until he blacked out. Later, at a local hospital, a surgeon took a bundle of knives wrapped in a dirty cloth and amputated his leg without any anesthetica traumatic event that was just the beginning of his ordeal.

Back in Seattle his wound became infected. Doctors pumped him with antibiotics with little effect until eventually they were forced to perform further surgery to cut out parts of his infected stump. Finally, he was told he had caught two superbugs, which the doctors struggled to treat. He was lucky the bugs were confined to the wound, doctors said. If they had got into his blood he would have died.

The bugs were immune to standard antibiotics so doctors had to to turn to stronger drugs used sparingly in modern medicine because they have nasty side effects. David was drip-fed colistin, a toxic antibiotic reserved for emergencies, but had to be taken off it after a week because his organs began to shut down. He was then given tigecycline, a new antibiotic developed for resistant infections. He had to inject the drug for six months, the dose bumped up whenever the infection returned. It made him feel so nauseous he could barely watch television or make a cup of coffee; he had to spend his days lying around in pain, hoping this course would finally kill the bacteria. It felt like I was being treated for cancer, he said. I would wake up thinking Please take me off it, please make this stop.'

David had picked up various bugs in India that contained a gene known as NDM-1, named after New Delhi where it was first discovered in 2008. NDM-1 gives bacteria ability to produce enzymes which break down carbapenems, a group of powerful antibiotics which are used to treat infections that have become resistant to other drugs. Bacteria that are able to resist carbapenems have been called the nightmare bacteria by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention because half of all people who contract a bloodstream infection from them die.

NDM-1 has spread across the world since it was discovered. At least 175 people in the U.S. have been treated for an NDM-1 infection since 2009, although there are likely to have been many more cases as hospitals are not required to report it. While many cases come from abroad, infections in patients who have not left the U.S. are now being reported.

NDM-1 is also starting to appear in the UK. There have been 1,129 reports of the bacteria in England since 2003 and this is thought to be a conservative figure.

David eventually recovered, but antibiotic resistance has changed the course of his life. he works with campaigning organizations and talks to members of congress about the issue, and wants to work in medicine in the future.

I feel like I have a purpose, he said. The whole experience has made me feel lucky to be alive.

Antimicrobials Found at Levels Thousands of Times Higher Than the Safe Limit

Many previous studies have highlighted pharmaceutical pollution in India and Chinawhich together produce most of the worlds antibioticsand shown how such pollution fuels the proliferation of superbugs worldwide. The authors of the new Infection study set out to provide a detailed picture of the levels and types of pollution in Hyderabad and its links to drug resistance.

Researchers took water samples from rivers, lakes, groundwater, drinking water and surface water from rural and urban areas in and around the industrial estate, as well as pools near factories and water sources contaminated by sewage treatment plants. Four were taken from taps, one from a borehole, and the remaining 23 were classed as environmental samples.

The samples were tested for bacteria resistant to multiple drugs (known as MDR pathogens, the technical name for superbugs). The researchers then tested 16 of the samples for the antibiotics and antifungals used to treat infections.

All samples apart from one taken from tap water at a four star hotel were found to contain drug-resistant bacteria. All 23 environmental samples contained carbapenemase-producing bacteriaa group of bugs dubbed the nightmare bacteria because they are virtually untreatable and kill 40-50 percent of people whose blood gets infected with them.

Of the 16 samples then tested for drug residue, 13 were found to be contaminated with antibiotics and antifungals, some in disturbingly high levels. The researchers compared the levels of residue to limits recommended by leading microbiologists; once levels exceed those limits it is likely that superbugs will develop.

A sample taken from one sewer contained concentrations of the antifungal drug fluconazolea drug used in ointments for fungal infections such as thrush and athletes foot or given intravenously for more serious infectionsat levels 950,000 times higher than the recommended safe limit. The researchers repeatedly analyzed this finding to make sure it was correct. To our knowledge, this is the highest concentration of any drug ever measured in the environment, wrote the authors.

A member of the inspection team looks at a pond connected to a sewer in the industrial zone. Christian Baars / NDR

Samples from sewers in the industrial area were also found to contain extremely high concentrations of nine different antibiotics. Levels of moxifloxacinused to treat lung, skin and sinus infections as well as tuberculosiswere up to 5,500 times higher than the recommended limit, while another common antibiotic ciprofloxacin was found at levels up to 700 times above that recommended. Concentrations of the antibiotics clarithromycin and ampicillin were found at levels more than 100 times higher than the safe limit.

Excessively high concentrations of antibiotic and antifungal residue were found in the natural environment. Christian Baars / NDR

The amounts of antimicrobials found in the new tests were eye-wateringly high, said Dr. Mark Holmes, a microbiologist at the University of Cambridge. The quantities involved mean the amount in the water is almost the same as a therapeutic dose, he said, calling on the Indian authorities to investigate immediately by testing each factorys effluent. Thats not just getting rid of a few tablets down the toilet.

Pharmaceutical pollution is not the only way in which antibiotics get into the Indian environmentexcrement from people and animals and waste from hospitals and farms also contain residues of the drugs. But some of the levels detected in the recent testing mean the residues can only have come from bulk manufacturing, according to scientists.

Prof. Joakim Larsson, of the University of Gothenburg believes the levels of antimicrobials found could not be explained by anything else other than industrial discharges. So it tells us that the problem is still there, it needs to be solved, he told German journalists who worked on the report.

The pharmaceutical industry in Hyderabad produces enormous amounts of waste each day, says the Infection report. Effluent is transported in trucks to one waste treatment plant, it says, where it is treated before being sent to a mega sewage plant. There, it is mixed with sewage and further treated then discharged into the nearby Musi river.

Adhering to the zero liquid waste policy ordered by the Supreme Court requires expensive technology, and some waste is still clandestinely sent to the waste treatment plant or dumped straight into the surrounding environment, according to the report.

Links to U.S. and UK Markets

Virtually all of the worlds major drug companies are supplied by production plants in Hyderabad. Various companies whose factories are located next to or near sites where the water samples were taken supply the U.S. and UK markets, though with such huge amounts of antibiotics present throughout the Indian environment it is impossible to concretely link specific factories to specific test results.

Using the Bulk Drug Manufacturing Industrys 2015 manual, which lists all Indian drug manufacturers, their locations and their products, journalists at NDR were able to identify 19 companies operating in the Patancheru-Bollaram area which produce the antimicrobial drugs found in the water samples. (There may be other unnamed manufacturers operating in the area or companies which do not advertise which antimicrobials they produce).

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has linked a number of these companies to the U.S. and UK markets. MSN Pharmachem is one of the fastest growing drug manufacturers in India. It makes the raw ingredient of the antibiotic moxifloxacin on behalf of international drug companies Macleods and Sun Pharmaceuticals, which then turn it into a finished product supplied to the World Health Organization.

Other major companies operating in the zone which supply the U.S. and UK markets include Aurobindo, a leading Indian producer which exports to more than 150 countries around the globe and Mylan, a company which claims its products fill one out of every 13 prescriptions dispensed in America. Mylan also supplies the European Union market, and says it is the fourth biggest supplier of generic (non-branded) drugs in the UK.

The companies strongly refute suggestions that their factories are responsible for pollution.

MSN Pharmachem said it conformed to the highest industry standards, applicable laws and regulations and operated a zero discharge policy at its factories.

Our sites are regularly monitored internally and inspected externally, said a spokesperson. We are committed to a clean environment, health of all our employees, neighbors, partners and customers.

Aurobindo said it was impossible any pollution could have originated from its factories as it also operated a zero liquid waste policyall waste is treated and recycled within the plants. It also said the topography and water flows of the relevant locations meant not even rainwater or drain water would be able to flow from its factories to the sample collection sites.

Mylan also said its factory could not have contributed to the residues identified by the researchers, as all its plants operated a zero liquid waste policy whereby all effluent is recycled and reused on site. It has its own wastewater treatment systems at all its Hyderabad plants, said a spokesperson, which use advanced technology to eliminate harmful waste. These plants are operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week by qualified individuals, said the statement.

Macleods and Sun Pharmaceuticals did not respond to requests for comment.

A WHO spokesperson said the organization did not buy the drug ingredients, just the final medicine, and had no contact with ingredient manufacturers. Manufacturing sites are typically inspected for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) which focuses on ensuring consistent quality for the product in question from the perspective of human health risk, said a statement. GMP does not address waste management and environmental management measures vis-a- vis emissions and pollution controlas here relevant domestic environmental and industrial regulations would apply.

Food Poisoning Turned Into a Near-Death Experience

Andrew, 57 and his wife Sally fell ill with upset stomachs soon after arriving in New Delhi to take up a new job.

While his wife quickly recovered, Andrew took weeks to get better. He had another bout of severe sickness and diarrhea a few months later, and kept getting ill sporadically for the rest of the year.

What we didnt know then was that hed contracted a serious bacterial infection that was now living in his body, said Sally. His personality changed. He became extremely anxious, he couldnt relax, felt ill and was distracted. I was so worried, our life was really deteriorating in every aspect.

His condition got worse over time, and Andrew was admitted into hospital where he was told he had a urinary tract infection.

The hospital prescribed powerful intravenous antibiotics, which initially seemed to work, but a few weeks later he woke up with a fever. He was rushed back to hospital, where doctors said dangerously ill with sepsishis organs were shutting down.

He recovered enough to return to the UK, where doctors at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said his infection contained NDM-1. Tests showed it was resistant to all antibiotics save one, fosfomycin. Andrew and Sally got their affairs in order, fearing he would die if the infection returned.

Friends began to avoid him believing they might catch the bacteria. Now retired and under the care of specialists, he and his wife worry that NDM-1 is so widespread in India it is only a matter of time before it becomes more common in the UK.

Unless companies are called for account for their distribution of waste, until the Indian government starts teaching hand hygiene in hospitals and in catering facilities like hotels and restaurants, the possibility of this infection spreading worldwide is huge, said Sally. Its a cliche to say I dont want people to go through what we went through but its true. Its changed our life.

Names have been changed to protect identities

No Mention of Pollution in Global Regulations

There are reams of regulations and stipulations that manufacturers have to adhere to in order to export their products to the U.S. and Europeknown as the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) framework. These focus on making sure drugs are safe, pure, and effective.

Stringent inspections by the FDA, WHO and European authorities check that these rules are being followed.

However these regulations do not address environmental concerns. Inspectors have no mandate to sanction a factory for polluting, failing to treat its waste or other environmental problemsthis falls within the remit of local governments.

Within India, there are environmental regulations covering what ingredients factories are allowed to produce, how they use water and how they dispose of their waste. In Hyderabad, the Telangana State Pollution Board inspects factories based on these.

However these inspection have been labeled toothless by local and international campaign groups. In November 2015, an analysis of Telangana State Pollution Board inspection reports by the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi found that 15 bulk drug manufacturers within the Patancheru Bollaram industrial area were producing ingredients for which they did not have permission, using more water than the permitted limit, and dumping more effluents and hazardous waste than allowed.

Lots of promises have been made. More than 100 drug companies (including Mylan) signed a declaration at the World Economic Forum in Davos at the beginning of last year pledging to clean up production; commitments which were repeated in an industry roadmap released by 13 major manufacturers in the run-up to the first ever high-level United Nations meeting on antimicrobial resistance last September.

Last week the European Commission also published a roadmap acknowledging the release of antimicrobial ingredients into the environment during manufacture may pose a risk. It promised it would explore how to address the challenge in 2018, but fell short of committing to actual policy.

The UK government promised to take action on pollution in NHS supply chains following a previous Bureau report last October, but could not comment on whether this had been followed up due to purdah rules prohibiting any policy announcements in the run-up to an election.

And WHO, along with sister UN agencies, signed a Statement of Intent last December aimed at advancing environmental and socially responsible procurement of their health products. Just this week, WHO director-general Margaret Chan warned the world was moving towards a post-antibiotic era and called once again for concerted global action. She listed actions which were urgently needed, including cutting antibiotic prescriptions, developing new drugs and coordinated government policies around the world. She did not mention pharmaceutical pollution.

The European Public Health Alliance, an umbrella group for more than 90 non-profit organizations, lambasted the failure of international regulators to do anything about the rife pollution which was a clear cause of AMR.

This glaring omission must be rectified by including legally binding environmental standards in GMP protocols, particularly with regard to contamination with antimicrobial substancesas a condition for authorization and import of drugs, said a spokesperson. Voluntary agreements are not enough to stop a race to the bottom, where pharmaceutical companies exploit weak links in global supply chains, in places where there is little or no enforcement of vital environmental standards.

Tighter regulations on pollution must be introduced, said Dr Yohei Doi, associate professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and it was up to international buyers of drugs such as the FDA to make this happen. Its the buyers in the U.S. that pay for these things, he said. As long as people buy these drugs, the companies will keep making them in this way.

The documentary by NDR, WDR and SZ, The Invisible EnemyDeadly Superbugs from Pharma Factories, will air on May 8 at 10:45 p.m. on the channel ARD. An English version will appear on the channels YouTube feed.

Reposted with permission from our media associate The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
By David Korten

Four days after President Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, the Global Footprint Network (GFN) reported that Earth Overshoot Day 2017 will fall on Aug. 2. Most Americans likely have no idea what that means.

The basic point is quite simple: From Jan. 1 to Aug. 2, the worlds 7.5 billion people will have used as much of Earths biological resourcesor biocapacityas the planet can regenerate in a year. During the remaining five months of 2017, our human consumption will be drawing down Earths reserves of fresh water, fertile soils, forests and fisheries, and depleting its ability to regenerate these resources as well as sequester excess carbon released into the atmosphere.

Stated slightly differently, humans are depleting living Earths capacity to support life.

The GFN methodology can also generate an ecological footprint for individual cities, states and nations, based on the burden each generates relative to its local biocapacity. It can also compare a personal footprint generated by a distinctive lifestyle to both national and global averages.

The U.S. has a relatively abundant per capita biocapacity compared to most other nations. We are also one of the worlds highest per capita consumers. Consequently, the net outcome is a total national biocapacity deficit second only to that of Chinaa country with a population roughly four times ours.

Knowing that, collectively, the world is consuming far more than the planet can sustain, how do we bring ourselves into balance with Earths capacities? GFN outlines four critical global priorities:

1. Decarbonization

Humanitys carbon energy use accounts for 60 percent of the global ecological footprint. By GFNs estimate, Reducing the carbon component of the global Ecological Footprint by 50 percent would get us from consuming the resources of 1.7 Earths down to 1.2 Earths, or move the date of Overshoot Day forward by 89 days, or about three months. That would place Overshoot Day on October 30.

2. Population

We cannot ignore population growth if we are truly committed to people having secure lives in a world of finite resources, noted Susan Burns, GFN co-founder. She urges empowering women and assuring that every child is wanted. By GFNs analysis, reducing the current global average family size by half a child would push back Overshoot Day by 31 days.

3. Food production and consumption

By GFNs calculation, sourcing food locally, avoiding highly processed foods, reducing meat consumption and cutting food waste by half could move Overshoot Day forward by 11 days.

4. Urban built environment

GFN estimates that increasing the energy efficiency of the urban built environment through measures such as efficient mass transit could advance Overshoot Day by two days.

If we achieved all four of these priorities, we would bring Overshoot Day to Dec. 13 and almost be in balance with Earths capacity to sustain us.

There is considerable truth to the adage that we can manage only what we measure. Measure the wrong thing, and the consequences can be catastrophic.

Unfortunately, our governments currently invest heavily in reporting financial indicators, such as gross domestic product, that tell us little either about actual human well-being or our long-term viability on Earth. In measuring the right things, GFN shatters the illusions of such measures and analyses. Still, we need a more clear, complete and coherent reporting and analysis of the global footprint measurements than the GFN offers.

The responsibility for such statistical gathering and reporting should fall, not to a small non-profit, but rather to the United Nations and the statistical services of the worlds national governments. Producing detailed global footprint measurements, reporting and analysis should be among the top priorities of such official agencies. That will be a far greater contribution to national and global well-being than the grossly misleading economic indicators to which they now devote the bulk of their resources.

Reposted with permission from our media associate YES! Magazine.
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The NFU President Meurig Raymond has met with the new Environment Secretary Michael Gove at the Royal Three Counties Show to talk about the scope of policy priorities for the farming sector.

It is the first face-to-face meeting with the newly appointed Secretary of State and the National Farmers Union.

For Michael Gove, DEFRA faces some of the toughest challenges of any Government department as Brexit looms.

The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which many farmers rely on, will have to be replaced with a UK-focused system.

The NFU has also written an open letter to Gove, outlining wants and needs of the farming industry ahead of uncertain times.

In the face-to-face meeting at the Royal Three Counties, Mr Raymond took the opportunity to impress upon Mr Gove the importance of a sector worth 109bn to the economy, employing 3.8 million people and looking after 70% of the nations land.

'Critical issues'

Meurig Raymond said it was 'pleasing' to see Michael Gove talking and engaging with farmers at the agricultural show.

Mr Raymond said: Throughout the meeting we discussed the critical issues which farming businesses face and also opportunities for the sector post-Brexit. I was pleased to be able to do this so soon after his appointment, and at the Royal Three Counties Show  a brilliant shop window for the industry.

Farming is an industry which has the potential to further its strong contributions to the country  for the economy, the environment and the countrys ability to produce its own high quality, traceable food.

The NFU President stressed the need for certainty as a 'constant theme' of DEFRAs activity going forward into Brexit negotiations.

He continued: When the UK exits the EU, farming businesses need to know what trading and regulatory environment, what labour well have access to and what a domestic agricultural policy looks like.

Outside of Brexit, there are still key issues for the industry  such as access to plant protection products, the implementation of the Governments 25 year TB eradication strategy, the rehabilitating impact of rural crime  all of which need Defras attention.

Following up on the letter I wrote to the Secretary of State when he was appointed, I reinforced the message that our shared aim is to ensure a productive, progressive and profitable future for British farmers and assurance to British public.
Farmers are cautious about signing up to new schemes, survey shows
Real estate investment trusts that invest in mortgages and mortgage-backed securities, also known as mortgage REITs or mREITs, are favorites among some investors because of their high dividend yields. Yet with the risk involved in mREITs, some investors prefer the diversification that an exchange-traded fund can provide as it spreads the risk across several different real estate investment trusts. For investors seeking exposure to the mREIT space, ETFs like the ones below can provide a convenient investment vehicle.

Mortgage REIT ETF Assets Under Management Expense Ratio 5-Year Average Annual Return iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM 6.94%) $1.42 billion 0.48% 8.99% ETRACS Monthly Pay 2x Leveraged Mortgage REIT ETN (MORL) $399 million 0.40% 15.45%* VanEck Vectors Mortgage REIT Income ETF (MORT 6.62%) $155 million 0.41%** 9.75%

The big player in mortgage REIT ETFs

The iShares line of exchange-traded funds is often the giant in the sectors on which it chooses to focus, and the mortgage REIT universe is no exception. The iShares mortgage REIT ETF is the largest in the space, with a current distribution yield of 9.7% and an SEC yield of 8.7%.

The iShares mREIT ETF is designed to give exposure to the U.S. commercial and residential real estate sectors, with targeted access to a subset of both REITs and domestic real estate stocks. Over time, the ETF has done a good job of matching its target index, the FTSE NAREIT All-Mortgage Capped Index, with returns lagging the benchmark by roughly the amount of the ETF's annual expenses. Mortgage REIT giants Annaly Capital, AGNC Investment, and Starwood Property Trust make up almost 40% of the ETF's assets, with a total of three dozen holdings rounding out the portfolio. With an expense ratio of less than half a percent, the iShares ETF offers its greater trading liquidity without costing a lot more than its peers in the mREIT ETF space.

Getting some leverage

Mortgage REITs are already highly leveraged, so adding more leverage at the ETF level is a risky proposition. Nevertheless, the ETRACS Monthly Pay 2x Leveraged Mortgage REIT ETN from UBS is designed to magnify the returns from mREITs. Structured as an exchange-traded note, the ETRACS product is a debt security issued by UBS that tracks an underlying index of global mortgage REITs. To qualify, an mREIT must get at least 50% of its revenue from mortgage-related activity, although the index includes both U.S. and non-U.S. mREITs. The ETRACS ETN has a 30-year term that matures in 2042, with the eventual redemption value of the security dependent on how the index performs between now and then.

Returns under the ETRACS ETN are calculated as two times the monthly performance of the index, with the expense ratio incorporated into the return calculation. This creates a correlation and compounding risk, and as ETRACS explains, performance over periods greater than a month is unlikely to be exactly twice the index performance over that longer period. Indeed, some similar leveraged ETFs in other asset classes have seen negative returns even when the underlying index gained in value. However, with a current annualized distribution yield of 17.45% and extremely good returns over its nearly five-year history, ETRACS will be compelling for many mREIT investors.

Another choice for mREIT investors

Finally, the VanEck Vectors Mortgage REIT Income ETF offers a conventional approach to mREIT investing. It seeks to duplicate its MVIS Global Mortgage REIT Index, holding 26 different securities in its portfolio. The VanEck mortgage REIT ETF offers an SEC yield of 9.1%, although its distribution yield is lower than its peers at 6.7%.

The VanEck ETF's holdings are quite similar to those of its iShares rival, with Annaly, AGNC, and Starwood making up a slightly smaller proportion of roughly 30% of the total ETF assets. Thanks to a fee waiver, the VanEck ETF's expense ratio is slightly less than that of the iShares mREIT ETF, although less trading volume can make buying and selling shares of the VanEck ETF somewhat more costly in terms of bid-ask spreads. With a better total return over time than its iShares counterpart, the VanEck ETF is worth a closer look.

Be smart about mREITs

Mortgage REITs can be lucrative income producers, and good ETFs offer exposure to mREITs in a well-diversified package. Each of these three ETFs has advantages and disadvantages, and the right one for you will depend on your particular risk tolerance and investment objectives. If you want high yields, however, it's hard to find ones that will match what individual mREITs have produced over time.
Practices that go beyond simply asking the right questions Implementing a structured interview process is a key component for any company attempting to hire the best and brightest people for their team. And making sure you are asking questions that are uniquely tailored to your company and the specific role is crucial for any interview success. However, to effectively conduct an interview, one must keep in mind a few other best practices that go beyond simply asking the right questions. Interview processes and best practices benefit your team because they will keep everyone who is speaking with a specific candidate aligned and make the experience less stressful and complicated for everyone involved. Here are few best practices that will drastically improve the overall interview experience and effectiveness: Involve Others No matter how large or small the company, extending an offer to someone to join your team is a big deal. And like most important decisions, it is recommended that you seek guidance from others to help you confidently come to a decision. When setting up the interview process for your candidates, make sure you ask a few trusted colleagues to set aside a half hour or so to get to know the candidates you are considering for the role. Collecting feedback from others in the organization will help you be more confident in your reasoning as to why each candidate should or should not move forward in the interview process....
As the landscape of healthcare changes following the Affordable Care Act, new pressures have been put on employers to manage helthcare costs. Simultaneously, the migration of the retirement plan system from a defined benefit system to a defiend contribution system puts more responsibility on employees to prepare for their retirement. Employers and employees alike have never faced as great a challenge in preparing for future cost increases. Fortunately there are solutions.



As the HSA account gains popularity as a way to reduce healthcare spend for employers, employees are also presented with the opportunity to utilize the HSA as a supplemental savings vehicle. As the only vehicle in the tax code with "triple crown" tax treatment, the HSA plan offers employees the ability to defer on a pre-tax basis, accumulate through investment options without tax, and then take distributions for qualified medical expenses, tax free. By rewarding employees for leading healthier lifestyles and reducing their own medical costs, more of their contributions can be used to save for future healthcare and retirement needs. In this way, the HSA is the "ultimate mewellness plan". This session will focus on the strategic use of the HSA to meet retirement planning and healthcare cost needs. Through the design of health plans that encourage wellness both physical and financial, employers can get ahead of these planning challenges and help employees meet retirement planning needs.



Jeffrey Petrone of SageView Advisory Group, will highlight stratagies for integrating and communicating these plans effecitvely to employees. The session will also examine how employers and employees are using these vehicles to meet immediate healthcare expense needs and longer term retirement planning needs.



Lastly the speaker will highlight some of the benefits of promoting financial wellness and effective savings behaviors within the workforce.

By registering for this webcast you will receive email communications and notifications from the sponsor(s).
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Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) |. 

The Iraqi governments next big problem is coming into view: The group of powerful Shiite Muslim militias loyal to Iran seem to want to keep the country enmeshed in regional turmoil.

As the extremist group known as the Islamic State is driven out of the country, the Iraqi government is facing up to a new threat to its authority  this comes from the Shiite Muslim militias, once volunteers who came together to defend their towns against the Islamic State but who have since turned into a formidable, quasi-official fighting force.

The Shiite Muslim militias themselves are divided into three main groups, with some professing loyalty to the Iraqi government and the Shiite Muslim religious authorities in Najaf, while others openly admit they take orders from neighbouring Iran and Iranian clerics. A third group is affiliated with the Iraqi clerics, Muqtada al-Sadr or Ammar al-Hakim.

The factions loyal to Iran differ from the others in that they are the most well-armed and more powerful than the others. They are called the Walaei militias  the word means loyal  and they say that they prefer to obey Irans spiritual leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and that they see Iraq and Syria as one military front, where they will continue to fight even after the Islamic State, or IS, group has been expelled.

I can openly say that we do not take our orders from the Iraqi government. We are ready to fight in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, or any other country where there are terrorists.

One of the around 20 different groups associated with the Walaei militias is the Khorasani Brigade, who are closely associated with Iranian General Hamid Taghavi, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who was killed fighting the IS group in northern Iraq in late 2014. Alongside pictures of Taghavi, the faction has idolizing pictures of Khamenei in its headquarters and on their military vehicles.

I can openly say that we do not take our orders from the Iraqi government, says Abu Hassan al-Atabi, one of the members of the brigade, speaking to NIQASH on the phone. We fought in Iraq during these difficult times and we have fought to prevent the fall of Baghdad [to the IS group]. We will be present even after the extremists have been pushed out. The IS group is just one of our challenges, he continued. The conflict in the Middle East continues and we are ready to fight in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, or any other country where there are terrorists.

These kinds of ambitions mean that pro-Iranian militias are becoming more and more of a problem for the Iraqi government. At the end of last month, Iranian loyalist militias almost connected with the Syrian army and pro-Iranian militia groups in Syria, on the Iraqi-Syrian border. There were some fears that when the two sides met, they would open a land corridor, that would, as the Washington Post reported, give Tehran control of a large swath of the Syrian-Iraqi border, securing a land route through Iraq and across southern Syria to its proxy, Hezbollah, in Lebanon. Coalition aircraft flew overhead and dropped leaflets asking the militias to leave the border area.

In a mid-May speech, Qais al-Khazali, head of the pro-Iranian League of the Righteous militia, said that, we will reach the borders with Syria and our brothers in Syria are getting closer to the borders too. In this way, we, the Shiite Muslim militias, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Houthi movement [of Yemen] are going to establish the Shiite crescent.

In March this year, another pro-Iranian militia, Harakat al-Nujaba, announced they were forming a special unit called the Golan Heights Liberation brigade. This refers to the Golan Heights, which belonged to Syria until 1967, after which Israel took control of the area. The Iraqi militia said it was willing and able to take back the Syrian territory from Israel.

Leaders of the various Shiite Musilm militias.

The Iraqi government is in an embarrassing position because of the pro-Iranian faction, a senior government official told NIQASH, off the record. The US spoke directly with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and urged him to maintain control of these factions and to try and keep them away from Iranian influences. But that is very hard to do.

It had been proposed that the volunteer militias be absorbed into the regular Iraqi army and police but this is far from happening in reality. Pro-Iranian factions are very popular and influential in Iraq at the moment, particularly in Baghdad and in southern provinces. They have large offices that are similar to regional police stations and if the regular army and police are not busy trying to avoid any contact with the groups, then they are likely to be currying favour with their leaders in order to avoid any kind of neighbourhood conflict.

The pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq actually date back to 2003, and the US-led invasion of Iraq that removed Saddam Hussein from power. Back then, Iraqs supreme Shiite Muslim religious authority, Ali al-Sistani, resisted pressure to tell the Iraqi people to fight US forces in the country. Instead he asked them to remain neutral. It was then that Iran took advantage of another influential, and much younger, clerics desire to fight the US. That was Muqtada al-Sadr, who benefitted from Iranian influence and largesse with the creation of the Mahdi army, basically an army of followers of the cleric and his family that is now known as the Sadrist movement.

The Mahdi army is the spiritual ancestor of the Shiite Muslim factions who are loyal to Iran to this day, says Hamid al-Taei, a cleric who teaches in a Najaf religious school, adding that, this conflict dates back to al-Sadr choosing to fight the US troops, and receiving military aid from Iran to do so.

When al-Sadr decided it was time for the Mahdi army to put down its weapons and chose to publicly distance himself from Iranian influence, some of his senior aides defected and formed another militia of those who wished to continue fighting. One of these was the League of the Righteous, headed by al-Khazali today. Since 2014, the number of militias who have pledged allegiance to Iranian religious authorities, rather than Iraqi ones has grown, al-Taei explains.

After Iraqi religious authority Ali al-Sistani called for volunteers to fight against the IS group in mid-2014, al-Taei says that the pro-Iranian factions basically executed a sort of coup against al-Sistani, taking advantage of that call to form more military units that they would be able to continue to influence.

Via Niqash.org

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

CGTN: ISIL still capable of launching counter-attacks in Mosul
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TeleSur |  

The Trump adminstration plans to deploy 4,000 more troops, extending the nearly

The official says troops will train Afghan soldiers, and fight Taliban and Islamic State group forces.

The Pentagon is planning to send almost 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, an official said anonymously Thursday. There are already around 8,400 U.S. ground troops stationed in the country.

The decision could be officially announced next week. On Wednesday, President Trump authorized Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to adjust the deployment level to Afghanistan.

According to the official, most of the soldiers will be assigned to train and advise Afghan forces, with some also devoted to ongoing military operations against the Islamic State Group, and the Taliban.

Thanks to the vigilance and skill of the U.S. military and our many allies and partners, horrors on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001, have not been repeated on our shores, said a White House statement authorizing the adjustment of deployment levels.

However, the danger continues to evolve and that danger requires a commitment to defeat terrorist organizations  we will achieve victory against the terrorists abroad, protect our borders at home, and keep America safe, the statement continued.

The announcement comes shortly after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis admitted that things werent going well for U.S. operations in the country.

Describing the Taliban as surging, Mattis said we are not winning in Afghanistan right now. And we will correct this as soon as possible, speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The decision would be the largest military deployment of President Trumps term so far.

U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan 16 years ago, on October 7, 2001, mere weeks after the attacks in New York and Washington on September 11.

The U.S. operation in Afghanistan, originally called Infinite Justice, but later changed to Enduring Freedom, for fear that the former name was offensive, reached a peak in 2010, with the U.S. forces reaching around 100,000 after the administration of former President Barack Obama ordered a 33,000 troop deployment.

U.S. deployment levels in Afghanistan have steadily declined since 2012, and in 2014 Obama made plans for a complete military withdrawal. Troops have been at their current level since Obama left office.

The ongoing U.S. operation in Afghanistan has taken a heavy toll. It is estimated that at least 31,000 civilians have been violently killed in the country during the operation, according to the Watson Institute at Brown University.

The Institute acknowledges however, that civilian deaths are very often not reported by the U.S. military, making it difficult to arrive at a precise figure of the ongoing wars death toll. The estimate also does not include those who have been affected by the exacerbated poverty, malnutrition, and lack of health care access that has resulted from the operations.

Via TeleSur



Related video added by Juan Cole:

VOA News: Mattis: US Not Winning in Afghanistan
By Yun Suh-young





The French Embassy is sponsoring a street music festival in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, this weekend and on June 21.

The "Fete de la Musique," which is an annual street music festival in France, will take place in the streets of Sinchon and Chungjeongno. Previously, the festival was held annually on a smaller scale in Seorae Village, a French community in Bangbae-dong, southern Seoul. In France, the festival is held every year on June 21, the longest day of the year. It started in 1982.

The festival is free and features musicians ranging from amateurs to professionals. It is open to all genres of music. The festival was created to commemorate music in general, regardless of type and style. Last year, the music festival was held simultaneously in 120 countries around the globe.

This weekend, the festival will be held in the streets of Sinchon near Yonsei University, from noon to 8 p.m. On June 21, the festival will be held in Chungjeongno starting at 7 p.m.

In Sinchon, the streets will be decorated with the French flag, and a variety of French artworks, foods and music will be available.

On Saturday, French music group Colours in the Street and Korean bands Diealright, DTSQ and LudiSTELO will perform. Colours in the Street is a young rising band that has performed in several French festivals, such as Printemps de Bourges and Francofolies de La Rochelle. It performed at Zandari Festa in Seoul last year. The group will head to China following its Seoul performance.

On Sunday starting at 6 p.m, the Moon Band, Today's Hot Song and Marmello will perform.

On June 21, six restaurants in Chungjeongno will host musicians and pedestrians are urged to linger as they pass by. A diverse range of genres, from classical, jazz and K-pop to acoustic and indie will be offered at Le Chef Bleu, Man in Moon, The Table, Jena Fair, Dough and Le Tarot.
A C-section, or Caesarean section (also spelled Cesarean section), is a type of surgery used to deliver a baby . The baby is surgically removed through an incision in the mother's abdomen and then a second incision in the uterus.

Nearly one third of pregnant women in the United States gave birth by Caesarean section in 2020, according to the most recent birth statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (opens in new tab). Worldwide, 21 percent of babies are born by C-section, but in around 1990 only 7 percent were delivered this way, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (opens in new tab).

These increased rates of Caesarean deliveries have been linked with a variety of different factors from rising rates of obesity and diabetes to multiple births and increased maternal age, according to the BBC (opens in new tab).

Other reasons for high C-section rates include the use of epidurals and techniques that induce labor , which may cause complications that could result in the need to perform a surgical delivery, according to the Journal of Perinatal Education (opens in new tab).

Although Caesarean births can be life saving for both mother and baby, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (opens in new tab) (ACOG) (opens in new tab) has expressed concern that C-section deliveries might be overused, and they have recommended ways to reduce the national rate.

C-sections usually leave a horizontal scar about 48 inches (1020cm) long. (Image credit: Getty Images)

These new guidelines call for allowing most women with low-risk pregnancies to spend more time in the first-stage of labor, as well as encouraging women to avoid excessive weight gain during pregnancy (a larger baby may be harder to safely pass through a woman's pelvis.)

The key to reducing high C-section rates in the United States is preventing unnecessary first C-sections, said Dr. Allison Bryant, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

These days, the majority of women who have delivered their first baby by C-section will wind up having a repeat C-section somewhere down the road, she said.

A woman who has already had a C section for a previous birth may be advised to do so again if they have another baby, according to the National Health Service UK (opens in new tab)( NHS) (opens in new tab) website. However, studies have found that women who have had C-sections and attempt to deliver their next children vaginally, which researchers call a VBAC ( vaginal birth after Caesarean ), may have a relatively low rate of complications afterward, such as needing blood transfusions or unplanned hysterectomies, compared with women who scheduled a C-section.

It's important to understand why one-third of American babies are being delivered by Caesarean, Bryant said. We need to figure out which babies really need to be delivered by C-section to protect their health and which of these surgeries may be unnecessary, she explained.

One way to possibly reduce C-section rates in this country is to educate women about the benefits of vaginal delivery, Bryant said.

The following information will explain what is involved in a C-section, and how a woman may feel before, during and after this surgery.

Before surgery

To prepare for the operation, an IV will be placed in a woman's arm or hand to give her the fluids and medications she'll need during surgery. Her abdomen will be washed and her pubic hair may be clipped or trimmed.

A catheter (tube) is placed into a woman's bladder to remove urine , and it will remain there for 12-18 hours after the surgery, according to the NHS.

Women are usually given regional anesthesia , either an epidural block or a spinal block, which both numb the lower half of her body but will allow the mother to be awake when her baby is born. This tends to be safer than general anesthesia, where a woman would be totally asleep during the delivery, Bryant said.

How a C-section is done

Regional anesthesia allows mothers to remain conscious during a caesarean birth. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The obstetrician will use a knife to make a horizontal incision in the skin and the abdominal wall, usually along the bikini line, meaning that it's low enough down on the pelvis that it would be covered up by underwear or a bikini bottom, Bryant said. Some women may get a vertical, or up-and-down cut, she said.

After the abdomen is opened, an incision is made in the uterus. Typically, a side-to-side (horizontal) cut is made, which ruptures the amniotic sac surrounding the baby, Bryant said. Once this protective membrane is ruptured, the baby is removed from the uterus, the umbilical cord is cut , and the placenta is removed. The baby is examined then given back to the mother for skin-to-skin contact.

Bryant explained that the cut made to a woman's uterine wall is an important one because the way this uterine scar heals can affect her ability to have a vaginal birth in the future.

Once the delivery and afterbirth are completed, the cuts made to the mother's uterus are repaired with stitches, which will eventually dissolve under the skin, according to the Research Journal of Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms and Technology (opens in new tab). The abdominal skin is closed with stitches or with staples, which will be removed before a woman leaves the hospital.

A woman typically spends 60 to 120 minutes in the operating room for a C-section, depending upon whether any complications arise during the delivery, Bryant said. After the surgery, a woman will be taken to the hospital's maternity ward to recover.

Recovering from a C-section

After a C-section , a woman may spend between 2 to 4 days in the hospital, but it may take her up to 6 weeks to feel more like herself again, Bryant said.

Her abdomen will feel sore from the surgery and the skin and nerves in this area will need time to heal. Women will be given pain medications to take the edge off any post-surgical pain, and most women use these medications for about 2 weeks afterward, Bryant said.

A woman may also experience bleeding for about 4 to 6 weeks after a surgical birth. She is also advised to not have sex for a few weeks after her C-section and to also avoid strenuous activities, such as lifting heavy objects, according to the Victoria State Government Department of Health (opens in new tab).

Additional resources

You can read more about C-sections and related studies at the National Library of Medicine website (opens in new tab). For answers to some commonly-asked questions about C-sections, read this document from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist (opens in new tab).

Bibliography

"Epidurals: Do They or Dont They Increase Cesareans?". The Journal of Perinatal Education (2015). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4718011 (opens in new tab).

"Safe Prevention of the Primary Cesarean Delivery". American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2019). https://www.acog.org/clinical (opens in new tab)
Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

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Several artistes have been billed to perform at a special event in Takoradi to celebrate this years Salah.

Taadi Salahfest put together by Sleeky Promotions, is expected to the biggest Muslims streets carnival in the Western regional capital.

Scheduled for Monday, June 26, the event will take on the Anor Adjei street in front of MTN office in Takoradi.

Some of the artistes billed to perform at the Tadi Salahfest include Nhyiraba Kojo, Nero X, Corp Sayvee, Ayesem, Yaw Lucaz, and Ras Ebo.

Sadick Assah, CEO of Sleeky Promotions said in a release that, this is the event that you see musicians representing their communities, in Takoradi.

According to him, the Taadi Salahfest will be an annual event aimed at uniting Muslims and bring them under one umbrella. I will also seek to credit outstanding Muslim leaders, Imams and associations in the Muslims communities who have impacted positively on the life of Muslim children and society.

The event will be used to unearth musical talents in the Western region, organisers added.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
Nairobi (AFP) - Tanzanian weekly, Mawio, has been ordered to suspend publication for two years after pointing the finger at two former presidents in connection with huge revenue losses, the country's interior ministry said Friday.

The weekly, regularly critical of the government, was suspended after it published front page pictures of former presidents Jakaya Kikwete (2005-2015) and Benjamin Mkapa (1995-2005) on Thursday, linking them with dubious mining contracts.

On Wednesday, President John Magufuli had threatened "severe measures" against any media that suggested Kikwete and Mkapa might be involved in signing contracts that were disadvantage to the state.

Justice Minister Palamagamba Kabudi pointed out that the former heads of state enjoyed immunity from prosecution over events occurring during their mandates.

Mawio went on to report comments by opposition MP Tundi Lissu, who told parliament that Kikwete and Mkapa were mainly responsible for the controversial contracts and that both should be summoned before an enquiry commission.

A commission of enquiry set up by President John Magufuli on Monday estimated that 75 billion euros (84 billion dollars) had been lost in tax evasion arising from mining operations since 1998.

The panel found that the losses were primarily due to the failure of foreign companies operating in Africa's fourth largest gold producer to declare earnings. It blamed flawed contracts unfavourable to the state.

The information ministry said that Mawio had made the accusations against the former leaders when neither of two commissions set up by Magufuli to probe the affair had blamed them for anything.

The weekly was ordered to suspend publication of both its print edition and the internet edition for 24 months from the date of notification.

Following publication of reports on the mining sector, Magufuli ordered the revision of laws on the allocation of mining contracts and asked prosecutors to question -- and even charge -- ministers of mining and of justice found to have signed contracts harmful to state interests in recent years.

Magufuli accused Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold of "stealing from us" in a live televised address this week, but welcomed discussions when the firm's CEO John Thornton flew to Tanzania on Wednesday.

Mawio has already faced a government ban for its coverage of a political crisis after elections late in December 2015 in the semi-autonomous Zanzibar islands. That ban was lifted by the courts.

Tanzania has rich stocks of minerals. Apart from gold, the country exports copper, nickel, silver, diamonds and other precious stones such as tanzanite.
Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - In 2013, thousands of young men formed a rag-tag militia and rounded up Boko Haram members in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, then handed them over to the military.

The Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), as it later became known, was instrumental in driving the Islamist militants out of the strategic city.

Since then, the ranks of the "vigilantes" have swollen to about 20,000 across the remote region.

Armed with home-made muskets, swords, axes, slingshots and bows and arrows, they man security checkpoints and even accompany the military on operations against the jihadists.

"If it wasn't for the CJTF (Maiduguri) would have long fallen into the hands of Boko Haram," said Saad Abubakar, a community leader in the Borno state capital.

"They are a fearless band of committed young men who know Boko Haram members and the terrain very well," he told AFP.

But with a relative calm returning to the northeast as a result of a sustained counter-insurgency, one question is increasingly being asked: what to do with the vigilantes?

Some have already been implicated in allegations of human rights abuses and there are fears that with no alternative employment, some could turn to a life of crime.

"What next after the war is our concern," said the Borno state coordinator of the CJTF, Abba Aji Kalli.

"Some vigilantes may decide to become criminals. The government should think twice before it's too late."

No alternative

The CJTF is largely made up of uneducated and unemployed young men, who receive no regular wage and are instead reliant on hand-outs from sympathetic locals.

Many lost their jobs in farming, herding, fishing and trading as a result of the conflict, which has left at least 20,000 dead and displaced more than 2.6 million others since 2009.

Umar Usman, 32, used to be a food spices trader and was one of 700 vigilantes trained in weapons handling.

He said he has no other way of earning a living and agreed that crime could be a way out for some.

"Going by the current trend we are heading towards a repeat of the Bakassi Boys scenario," he suggested.

The Bakassi Boys were a militia in Nigeria's oil-rich south, who were formed to fight armed robbery and other crime in 1998.

Politicians used them as violent enforcers during the 2003 elections but they turned to crime, including oil theft and kidnapping for ransom, when they were disbanded.

In Maiduguri itself, the ECOMOG, which took its name from the West African peace-keeping mission during the Liberian civil war, was a similar gang for hire.

They were used during the 2007 elections to intimidate political opponents and allow electoral fraud through threats and violence.

When they were let go, it is thought some joined Boko Haram.

"With money at the disposal of desperate politicians, it is very easy for the poverty-stricken and hungry vigilantes to compromise," said Abubakar.

Grooming a monster?

The military has made efforts to reign in the vigilantes, organising them into groups or sectors with central and unit commands, and given them basic security training.

Many young men have been given a sense of purpose through volunteering, not to mention a degree of authority, in a region blighted by poverty and unemployment.

Vigilante Modu Grema, however, said lax recruitment procedures has raised fears that criminals -- and even Boko Haram members -- may already have infiltrated their ranks.

In February, the head of the CJTF, Lawan Jaafar, was arrested on suspicion of links to the militants. Two local politicians are also in custody for alleged complicity with Boko Haram.

Grema said the influx of new members has compromised the structure and led to indiscipline, but Kalli maintained "appropriate sanctions" were given to offenders.

"We never take the law into our own hands," he said, citing the case of one vigilante who was convicted and sentenced to death in January last year for killing a civilian.

Borno state governor Kashim Shettima has acknowledged the potential security threat from the CJTF.

Some 1,700 vigilantes have been recruited into a youth empowerment scheme since 2013, which gives them a guaranteed monthly stipend of 15,000 naira.

The authorities want to recruit 1,000 more as firefighters and 500 as road traffic personnel, while a further 500 have joined the army and 30 the intelligence agency.

Kalli, however, said more was needed to secure the future, while Umar had a stark warning if the current situation continued.

"The government is unwittingly grooming another monster that will haunt it after Boko Haram is defeated," he said.
One of those who petitioned the National Media Commission (NMC) over some free-to-air TV stations showing adult content said he is not against pornography.

James Oberko says their concerns are not to do with pornography in general as people have their avenue for accessing it but airing it on the stations is offensive to the sensibilities of the audience.

We realised that there is not much the NMC could do, we have always known but act 1993 (449) which sets up NMC, that is the only place you can send your complaints to, he said on Joy FMs Ghana Connect news discussion programme Friday.

We wanted a holistic solution so we copied the Information Minister, Speaker of Parliament, Chief Justice and National Communications Authority (NCA), he said.

Mr Oberko explained that they copied the NCA because TV stations when applying for a license to operate they state their programming philosophy in their business proposal.

He, therefore, argues that if these stations are found to be doing something contrary to what they state they would do, then they are short-changing Ghanaians.

According to him, it is not right for people to say there is no law regulating what the stations are doing stating on December 16, 2016, Act 935 came into force by the National Film Authority.

In the said law, movies to be aired on TV were classified and those deemed to have pornographic scenes or material were not passed to be shown to the public.

It is stated in black and white that pornographic material should not be aired on TV. The challenge, however, is that the law was not to be implemented by the NMC.

What we are doing is to get the TV stations to act responsibly so they dont offend the moral dignity of the audience, he said.

Show me the money

Contributing to the discussion, Esther Armah, an international journalist and lecturer disagreed that a clamp down on pornography on TV is not a threat to freedom of expression.

She, however, believes telling businessperson to appeal to morality when there is money to be made is a war society cant win because pornography is a multimillion industry.

In no situation will the business when they are given the opportunity to make money and choosing the moral high ground, so we cant leave them to do the right thing.

She believes the NMC missed out on making good their arguments about their content regulation law (LI224), which the Supreme Court agreed in part with and disagreed in part with.

Mrs Armah said they should have addressed a key aspect of the law like pornography and not try to entirely regulate content in the media.

According to her, the NMC has also missed out in stating what its definition of pornography is so that people will know when they are crossing the line as there still exist grey areas about it.

The lecturer with Webster University said it is time for the nation to look at regulation again.

Timing argument is no brainer

A concerned mother, Hajara, said the argument about airing it late at ghost hours is bogus in these days of social media and technological advancement.

She, however, charged parents to be more responsible and control what their children watch on the TVs in their rooms.

She called for a national regulation of TV, radio stations, magazine and internet cafes which present adult content to children while advising parents to regulate their childrens media habits.

The director of Creative Writing Academy said it is high time what is broadcasted is reviewed and license revocation should be applied where necessary.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim
Nairobi (AFP) - The African Union on Saturday urged "restraint" as tensions intensified between Djibouti and Eritrea over a disputed border territory after the withdrawal of Qatari peacekeepers from a buffer zone.

Djibouti has accused Eritrea of occupying territory following the departure of the Qatari troops, threatening the revival of a long-standing, sometimes violent dispute.

AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat called for "calm, restraint" and said the body would send a "fact-finding mission to the Djibouti-Eritrea border."

The Qatari pullout comes as the Gulf emirate is locked in a bitter dispute with Saudi Arabia and its allies over alleged ties to Islamist extremists, a charge it denies.

Both Djibouti and Eritrea have good relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and have taken their side in the Gulf row.

Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Thursday accused Eritrea of "moving its forces" into the Doumeira region where Qatari peacekeepers had been stationed since 2010 as a buffer between the two nations' armies.

"Djibouti is a peaceful country and we have prioritised diplomatic solutions, but if Eritrea insists in seeking military solutions, Djibouti is ready for that," Youssouf said in a press conference broadcast on local television.

Eritrea has not yet responded to the allegations.

Djibouti is a strategic ally of world powers, hosting French and US military bases with a Chinese one under construction, while Eritrea is widely regarded as a pariah state.

Djibouti's large port is also a conduit for imports to and exports from Ethiopia, Eritrea's bitter enemy.

The AU said it was "ready to assist Djibouti and Eritrea to normalise their relations and promote good neighbourliness within the framework of relevant AU instruments."
Wenchi, June 16, GNA - A German-based Ghanaian Philanthropist, Mr Kwame Abrefa Busia, has constructed an ultra modern 48-bed capacity ward for the Urological unit of the Wenchi Methodist hospital.

The cost of the fully furnished ward is estimated at GHE622,000.00.

Dr Bosomtwe Boateng, Urology Specialist at the hospital said the unit recorded 1,500 cases in 2016 as against 1,200 in 2015.

He said the highest cases were prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer.

He advised men above 50 years to go for regular medical check-ups to know their prostrate and other health status.

Dr Boateng said about 95 per cent of cases reported earlier could be treated without surgery adding that patients who underwent endoscopic surgery had no effect on their erectile function.

He said cases turned dangerous and complicated when there was a delay in seeking medical care and attention.

Mr Clement Kwasi Botwe, the Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital, said the ward would help improved on healthcare delivery in the Municipality.

Most Reverend Titus Awotwi Pratt, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, commended the donor for the gesture and called on other citizens abroad to emulate.

GNA

By Regina Benneh, GNA
Accra, June 16, GNA - Mrs Dzifa Attivor, a former Minister of Transport has called on the media to use their networks to promote Ghana's resources to attract more investors and generate interest in the country's endowments.

'The focus on our natural resources will not only sell our performance to the outside world, but will also promote our resources, culture and traditions globally.'

Mrs Attivor made this call during a three-day orientation course for selected media personnel who would be trained to work at the newly established Volta One(V1 TV) station at Ho, Volta Regional Capital.

The V 1 TV, the first in the Region and situated at the Heart of the Volta Regional Capital would initially begin transmission with programmes such as; Morning Dew, Genesis, Documentary, News Trail, Church without walls, the Journal and Friday Mosque.

It is training personnel who had already been auditioned to take up responsible positions at the network to promote the Volta Region, Ghana, Africa and the world at large.

Mrs Attivor, who is the Founder of the network gave the assurance that the performance of the station would go beyond the confines of the region to become one of the best Television stations in the country and Africa.

'All over the world, the international media have placed premium on projecting Ghana and Africa for that matter in a negative form, but I can assure you that our station will promote all the good things about the Volta Region, our country and Africa.'

The former Minister said there were a lot of positives about the Volta region that were yet to be covered and gave the assurance that her outfit would do so towards the promotion of growth and development.

Dr Kuku Biney, Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom Satellite network advised the media personnel to promote all positive aspects of Ghanaians to allay the fears of investors and visitors who had doubts about the capabilities of Ghana and Ghanaians.

'We must promote positivity in everythingand should have the power to learn and earn, train and gain among other things.'

Mr Roc-ky Wilson, Founder and Director of Broadcom Network Limited called for teamwork and good leadership for them to achieve their goals in broadcasting.

He urged them to be honest and passionate to their work for the founders to achieve their aim of establishing the station.

GNA
Koforidua, June 16, GNA - The SOS Children's Village, Ghana has called on African governments to put the inherent rights of children high on their political agenda.

The Village also urged African governments to provide the resources required to support children with quality education and care.

This the SOS Children's Village, Ghana believes could help reduce the rising unemployment and help to provide quality care for children on the continent.

This was contained in a press release by the SOS Children's Village Ghana to mark the observation of this year's Day of the African Child.

Lack of support the SOS Village believes could promote, radicalism, emigration and early child marriages.

The release urged African governments to commit more investments to ensure that children in Africa had access to protection, justice and equal opportunities.

The release regretted that the level of poverty, conflicts and injustice in African countries had threatened the future of many children with high risk of losing their parents and facing a heightened risk of violence, abuse and neglect.

According to the release, documents available indicated that about 90 per cent of children of school going age were enrolled in primary level with ten per cent out of the classroom currently in Ghana.

'This means significant proportion of children are out of school and will lose the chance to reach their fullest potential.'

The release called for a determined effort to reduce child marriages and defilements on the continent and urged African countries to focus on accelerating protection,

Empowerment and equal opportunity for African children.

The release said the SOS Children's Villages, Ghana would focus on the most vulnerable children who were at the heart of their Strategy 2030, with the central message: 'No child should grow up alone'.

GNA

By Edmund Quaynor, GNA
17.06.2017 LISTEN

Accra, June 16, GNA - The Accra High Court, Labour Division 1, has adjourned the hearing of the case involving 88 dismissed staff of the National Service Secretariat and the Attorney General to July 21st for trial to begin.

When the case was called on Friday, the presiding judge, Justice Gifty Dekyem directed both parties to a pre-trial conference and subsequent filing of witness statement on or before 13th of July, if no resolution is found at the pre- trial conference.

The dismissed staff sued the Attorney General on April 7th, 2017 but the A-G failed to file a defence upon which the plaintiffs applied for a default judgement.

The default application was called on May 11th, but the A-G failed to appear.

The court therefore adjourned the hearing to May 22nd, at which the A-G applied for extension of time within which to file its defence.

The AG's statement of defence vehemently denied the claims of the plaintiffs.

Among other things the plaintiffs claimed due process was followed having sighted publication of the vacancies in the Daily Graphic of October 10th, 2016, went for interviews in November, 2016 and were duly given appointment by the board of the scheme in December, 2016.

The A-G refutes this assertion in that there was a petition by the administrator of the scheme, Rev. Simon McKandamah to the Public Services Commission at the time and has requested a stay on the recruitment for investigations to be concluded.

However immediately after the elections the plaintiffs were given appointment letters, based on this claims the AG argues that the recruitment did not follow due process.

GNA

By Hafsa Obeng, GNA
Accra, June 15, GNA - The Adeiso Police are appealing to the in-coming Chief Justice to facilitate the establishment of a District Circuit Court in the Upper-West Akyim District in an effort to speed up prosecutions.

Mr Kwesi Baah, the station officer at Adeiso Police Station, who made the call, said the station currently depended on Nsawam or Asamankese courts for prosecution, adding that cost of transportation was a major challenge.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Baah said the presence of the court within the district would cut down cost and also deter potential criminals.

According to him, the station currently has few officers and appealed to the Inspector General of Police to augment the number of officers.

Mr Baah said insecurity was a hindrance to business, adding that peace and security were requirements for sustainable growth and development.

There were several frauds and petty stealing cases in the district, including that of activities of 'Okada' operators aiding movement of criminals, he said.

Mr Baah said he had adopted the community policing concept to gather information to be able to combat crime.

He explained that he had tasked men and women under his jurisdiction to intensify day and night patrols, which has resulted in the drastic reduction in the number of crime in the area.

'We are currently embarking on campaign against mob justice from one community to another to maintain a serene environment.'

'These have been aggravated by mistrust,' he noted, adding that police would ensure that there was peace, safety and access to justice at various levels.

Mr Baah commended Mr Akins Kofi, a philanthropist, who had built a two storey building at Domponease Junction to address accommodation challenges confronting Police personnel in the area.

GNA

By Benjamin Hallo, GNA
Tamale, June 16, GNA - Mr Salifu Saeed, the Northern Regional Minister has given the assurance that government was ready to support the introduction of a new rice variety and its cultivation in the Northern Region for export.

Mr Saeed said government was also ready to provide the Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences from China the necessary requirement such as land, and water bodies to help in the effective conduct of the new rice variety in the region.

Mr Saeed gave the assurance when the management of the Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a Chinese investment group working in the area of agriculture paid a courtesy call on him to announce their presence and mission in the region.

The aim was also to consolidate the relationship between the governments of Ghana and China and to discuss the role up plans of the memorandum of understanding that was signed between the two countries last year.

He said the government was willing to strengthen relationship between china and Ghana which would help in value addition to the country's products especially rice.

He said one of the major policies of the government was to use agriculture as a tool to create jobs for the unemployed especially the youth in the country.

Mr Saeed encouraged farmers to engage in irrigation farming, which would assist them in the production of crops throughout the year.

He expressed remorse on the damage that the opening of the Bagri dam in Burkina Faso causes farm crops in the region and appealed to the government to develop strategies on how to tap the water from the spillage for irrigation.

He appealed to Chiefs and Traditional leaders in the region to support the government and the Chinese investors in the cultivation of the new rice variety, since agriculture had been the major occupation of the people.

Mr Yanbo Ma, the Director of Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences from China said the cultivation of the new rice variety could also be used to produce both alcohol and non-alcohol beverages.

He indicated that the new rice variety could also be used to produce cooking oil for consumers in the country and for export.

GNA

By Comfort Sena Fetrie/Mbugri Rashid, GNA
Tamale, June 16, GNA - Mr Saeed Moomen, the Chairman of Northern Regional Shippers Committee has appealed to government to set up a special fund to help young entrepreneurs to develop their businesses.

He explained that the fund when set up would give flexible loans to the entrepreneurs with flexible payment terms, which would reduce the rate of unemployment in the country as well as boost the economy.

He said the rate of unemployment among the youth in the country was higher than adults, which needed to be addressed.

Mr Moomen made the appeal during the second quarter meeting of the Northern Regional Shippers Committee (NRSC) in Tamale.

The meeting was supported by the Ghana Shippers Authority to discuss shipping related problems and also to educate, address some of the challenges the members faced during shipping of goods.

Mr Moomen said it was important for the government to take the corrective actions to nurture the potential of creating the culture of entrepreneurship especially for the youth.

He said entrepreneurship was one of the main keys to support development and also to promote positive contribution to the economic growth in the country.

He advised the committee to work as a team to ensure the growth of their businesses.

He encouraged the Branch Managers across the regions not to hesitate in contacting the Authority when they encounter any challenges in their import or export businesses.

GNA

By Comfort Sena Fetrie/Mbugri Rashid, GNA
17.06.2017 LISTEN

The state of fatherhood is a lonely place. In

most cultures, fathers are not expected to

express fear, frustration or any emotion at all ;and so we have

the belief that fathers are supernatural beings.

The trouble of the male begins when society

thinks a male is ready to marry because he is

of a certain age and has some job to

do.

Naturally ,as a man,you would only be

thinking of making the money and getting all the

trendy materials in your time and living the good

life.

But society wouldn't let you live that

dream. Soon everybody you come across would be drumming in

your ears how you should prove your

manhood by taking a wife; a man should not be alone; a thought that would scare you.

Two things could

happen to you. You are either willingly taking a wife

or some girlfriend of yours desirous of a

freedom from the parent's control would tell you she has taken a seed from you and she is holding on to it.

Then you are married.

They say when a man takes a wife his trouble

begins. Naturally ,as a man you would bend

your back to provide for your family. All you would desire is that your small family would

appreciate your sincere effort to provide for

them.

But surprisingly, these people ,you

suffer daily for,would not appreciate your sincere efforts to do them good.

Your

family would always compare their state of life

to others.

And if they are dissatisfied with their lives, they

would make you feel lazy and irresponsible.

Then the home becomes the place you dread most

because the people you die for each day don't

make you feel welcomed in your own home.

Then you take solace in the comfort a kiosk can provide.

You are ruined.

Those whose advice

you acted on to take a wife would now point at

you as a failure.

Fatherhood is a lonely place .

They say the monkey sweat; it is the hair at its back that makes one not to see it so.

Today if you are a

father, happy yourself.

Get your favorite

brandy, vodka, whiskey, palm wine or raise a tot to yourself at 'Maily's Bar' and drink

to your lonely life.

I am with you.

PAUL ZOWONU

TUTOR - ACCRA

#TALKINGBLUES.

FIRST PUBLISHED : JULY 2015

Edited: June 16, 2017. 15:01
17.06.2017 LISTEN

WHAT about putting DVLA offices in every district capital and make DVLA paperless?

No doubt, many of my readers are as tired of reading about wacky ideas our policymakers dish out every day, as Im of writing about them, but like a dog with a bone, I have to keep worrying it . Yes, someone has to.

Over my life, I have heard so many bizarre things and ideas, but not quite as crazy as the one about National towing fees for vehicle owners which has been proposed.

On top of it, DVLA is planning to increase Driving Licenses fees. The question is: why do we make things harder and complicated every time we want to dupe the consumers or customers and citizenry?

Of course, we should demand for road safety remedies, but more importantly we need to demand DVLA decentralization and better customer service. Having more diverse DVLA locations in our localities is the surest (and perhaps only) way to prevent the cutthroat fees we pay at DVLA and time consuming process of vehicle registration we go through.

Those of us who were fortunate to spend a little bit time outside Ghana know that when your car breaks down in United States, either you the owner tow it to the earliest car repair garage or the police will tow it for you, with a heavy price tag. Once your car is towed by the police you will pay the towing fee plus the storage fee. The juicy part of it is if you dont pay after some time the vehicle will be auctioned off. And if the money from the sale doesnt cover all the cost of the bill from the police the court will go to the owners bank account and withdraw the balance without any questionthe Im not kidding you! After that, insurance surcharge will be applied to your insurance payment. Car towing is not part of the duties of DVLA.

The picture Im trying to paint here is its the vehicle owners responsibility to see to it that towing and storage fees are paid on time because the outcome is too troublesome and uncomfortable to take it for granted. Its also the owners responsibility to see to it that his/her vehicle is in top shape all the time so that it wont break down on the highway.

If DVLA officials want to make a difference in clearing and cleaning up the broken vehicles on our road network, it should let the vehicle owners stomach the cost of their vehiclesfrom the maintenance to towing.

By the way, what about the governments vehicles that are left in the middle of the roads?

For me, the most shocking thing about this proposal is that nothing was said about how to improve the services of DVLA so as to make Ghanaians inhale a little bit fresh air .If you lived somewhere at Otwenkwanta and you have to register your car at DVLA in koforidua, you will appreciate me for bringing this issue up. In this day and age when everyone can virtually send money to any part of the country without any difficulty, how come the DVLA cant decentralize its registration and license offices? What about making it possible for Ghanaians to register their vehicles in every district capital?

Not to compare miseriessince many Ghanaians are catching hell because of bad policies from our lousy policy makersvehicle owners continue to get the shittest end of the stick. Apart from the sky high cost of spare parts, and constant police harassment, our pot-hole infected roads are adding insult to injury. And now comes the towing fees.

Now before anyone starts coming up with all of reasons why DVLA offices cant be located in district capitals or how someone can cheat the system, please take a deep breath and then go take a class in basic computer science. The technology is one -hundred percent fool proof. Even the sakawa boys couldnt rig the systemnot that they would want to.

The only thing that can prevent such an exercise in true democracy and market oriented economy is lack of will on the part of the politicians who run the system.

I guess in this part of our world nothing is important to our policy makers as long as it makes some few individuals billionaires and Zillionaires in a short possible time.

Lets stop playing games with Ghanaians thinking faculties and rather put DVLA offices in every district capital and go paperless because some of us can read between the lines.

Until we meet again, stay Tuned. Be blessed, educated and informed.

Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi (Voice of Reason)
My mother never attended any school in her life; as such, she does not know how to read and write, nevertheless knows the names of any philosopher, ancient or contemporary. So, after I received my first degree from a well-regarded Catholic seminary and went to Liberia in 1993 to begin my pastoral year in the Catholic Archdiocese of Monrovia, she asked me: Son, what did you do in college or the seminary, and, how can we call you? I responded, I have a degree in philosophy with high honors.

She asked further, What does that mean? and I responded in layman terms, It means wisdom, critical thinking. She smiled and said, Son, if wisdom is what you wanted to learn about or study, then you shouldnt have gone to college or the seminary because you could have gotten that from the village and our old people if I had sent you there. Yes! My mother values commonsense more than mere education, especially when educated people think and act stupid.

What confused me was what my mother implied; but I always knew that she is a unique unconventional thinker in her own right. So too are many wise mothers and old people in most villages and towns. Our villagers and old people in Africa know stupidity from wisdom, truths from falsehood, pretense from reality, and of course, lies from facts. That said, looking at what is happening in Liberia under President Sirleaf and the Unity Partys regime reminds us that my mother was right when she once told me that: When stupidity strikes even the devil can have a voice and the madmen can dance.

Today, Kenyan auditor Edward R.O. Ouko, Kenyan law professor and self-professed pan-Africanist, PLO Lumumba, and Ghanaian national and self-ascribed financial expert, Patrick K. Mensah, have a voice in Liberias domestic affairs because stupidity has struck in our country.

The truth is, from 2006 to 2012, a new wave of futility has beholden Liberia, but not everyone wants to give a voice to the devil, and not everyone wants to see the madmen dance. Therefore, we urge Ouko, Lumumba and Mensah to desist from melding in Liberian domestic affairs in an uninformed manner. Enough is enough! Yes, we have serious problems in Liberia, but we equally have courageous and highly qualified Liberians to take up those issues and chart our own course. Deal with yours at home, because you do have yours, too.

One may wonder as to why we are opposed to the simulation of these so-called African experts and why we dont want them meddling in our domestic affairs in Liberia. The reason is very simple: they are not credible, honest, trustworthy, and sincere. Furthermore, they are fronting, acting as paid agents to distort facts and intimidate our collective conscience with the intent of degrading the ethical courage of Liberians who stand up to the misrule in the country. Liberia and Liberians do not need these three disappointing individuals to tell them any truths or facts, or to make them think critically.

After all, there are some truths and facts that require critical thinking, and sometimes, a notch of advance education and accomplished experience. Equally, there are other things that really dont require such processes, especially in the case of understanding and interpreting Liberia under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her Unity Partys government. In other words, it does not require a rocket science to know and explain about Liberia from any lenses, if contextualized from 2006 to 2012 when Liberians made Africa proud in electing the first woman president through a peaceful democratic electoral process.

This was a marked of historya history that is not the making of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, but one that belongs to the ingenuity, courage, goodwill, and determination of the Liberian people, and one in which Mrs. Sirleaf is not just an incidental receiver but a glaring material beneficiary.

Ouko, Lumumba and Mensah know very well that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her Unity Partys government have failed Liberia, but that Liberia and the Liberian people have not fail. These three paid distortionary agents also understand that from 2006 to present, stupidity has overcome Liberia and most people therein seem to be dancing to its melody of corruption, nepotism, greed, and the abuse of power.

In all of this, one thing is certain though; not everyone in Ellen Johnson Sirleafs Unity Partys Liberia is dancing. This is precisely why we dont need the devil to have a voice and the madmen to dance in our serious domestic matters, especially when doing so is with mischief and trickery, and the sole intent to mislead.

Here are the main issues. Last year when Liberians spoke deafeningly against corruption in most sectors of the country, based on the General Auditing Commission of Liberias (GAC) report, Ouko, a Kenyan auditor general was paid to visit Liberia and distort not only facts surrounding the audits, but to also dim the ethical courage of Liberians who spoke against such public theft. Ouko was paid to audit the GAC instead, and at the end of his hidden farce cum audit, he gave the Liberian media a dramatic news headline: GAC Extremely Corrupt in 2009  2013.

Ouko said: The General Auditing Commission (GAC) of Liberia from 2009-2013 was extremely corrupt and failed to comply with rules governing international financial best practices. With this very slack offer, Oukos crack and charge was to dissuade the Liberian public from dealing with the reality that their government is 100 times corrupt and that friends and officials of the government were becoming richer at the expense of the Liberian people. However, he failed because we did not let him succeed.

After Oukos upset errand, then emerged another Kenyan paid agent by the name of PLO Lumumba. He was brought to Liberia to meddle in our public dialogue about dual citizenship. The self-assigned pan-Africanist, who, without knowing the recent hostile past of Liberia a past that led to huge refugee flow of Liberians around the world argued that he is opposed to a clarion call and justifiable quest for dual citizenship in Liberia. Lumumbas invective was hypocrisy at best, especially considering that he is a dual citizen with both European and Kenyan nationalities. What Lumumba failed to discern is that, it is one thing to be a hypocrite in some things, i.e. politics; but it is quite a different thing when one takes hypocrisy and makes it naked, as he did in his recent outburst in Liberia.

It is weighty to note that Kenya, Lumumbas native country, does not just recognize dual citizenship, it interprets citizenship in a more aggressive manner such that Lumumba is a beneficiary, and Kenya is also a beneficiary, developmentally and internationally. According to the Kenyan constitution, citizenship is bestowed when the following conditions are fulfilled:

A person is a citizen by birth if on the day of the person's birth, whether the person is born in Kenya, either the mother or father of the person is a citizen (Art 14(1)). A person who has been married to a citizen for a period of at least seven years is entitled on application to be registered as a citizen (Art 15(1)). A person who has been lawfully resident in Kenya for a continuous period of at least seven years, and who satisfies the conditions prescribed by an Act of Parliament, may apply to be registered as a citizen (Art 15(2)). A person who is a citizen does not lose citizenship by reason only of acquiring the citizenship of another country (Art 16) and persons who are citizens of other countries may acquire Kenyan citizenship (Art 15(4)). A person who because of acquiring the citizenship of another country ceased to be a Kenyan citizen is entitled, on application, to regain Kenyan citizenship (Art 14(5)).

fact, the new Kenyan constitution makes key reforms to its previous framework on citizenship, by ending gender discrimination in relation to the right of a woman to pass citizenship to her children or spouse; by ending the prohibition on dual citizenship; and by restricting the grounds on which citizenship may be taken away. So, by Kenyan standards, my children (whose mother is a former Kenyan diplomat at the United Nations headquarters in New York and now a cardiac nurse practitioner in Delaware), who were born in the United States are citizens of Kenya and the U.S. And the mere fact that I have been married to a Kenyan, I too can assume Kenyan citizenship if I wanted to. The question is, how does Lumumba reconcile these vivid contradictions and fairytale in his dismissal speech and hostility to dual citizenship in Liberia?

There are only three things that come to mind: first, maybe Lumumba is paid to do a piece of work and so he had to fulfill that duty. If so, job well done! Second, perhaps he does not want Liberia to improve and benefit from the array of opportunities that come with Liberians having Western and Liberian nationalities, and third, maybe he thinks Liberians are stupid as his paymasters made him to believe. The good news is, Lumumba failed because we refused to let him thrive on his fictional narratives.

After these two disastrous efforts, the fraudsters in Liberia are now turning to Ghana for new experts, and they found a guy called Mensah to chastise an audit report (the Kollie-Gate) produced by the Liberian finance ministry which shows how some former officials there misused national resources intended to strengthen established and credible small and medium size businesses so that they could create jobs.

What more does the self-imputed Ghanaian financial wiz Patrick K. Mensah want to know or hear before he acknowledges that the entire Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) loan program undertaken by his paymasters was not only a waste, but a squandered venture that some apostate officials used to line their pockets and private accounts as well as those of their special relations. Mensah and his Liberian employers need to know that the mechanics of the so-called PSDI loan process was and is faulty. Besides, the unintended upshot is undesiring, and for this reason, Liberians are very much unhappy. Mensah should also know, if he does not know by now, that Liberians are not fools. We have professional and capable Liberians in every walk of life. Mensah also needs to know that the fact Liberians made a ghastly mistake in 2006 to elect President Sirleaf and the Unity Party, and a colossal misjudgment in re-electing them does not mean we are hopeless.

Here is the datum: when we have some Liberian beneficiaries (i.e. Samuel Jackson) of the so-called PSDI loan plan say that their names were placed on the list of recipients unknowing to them, and that they have not received a dime from the finance ministry, what else needs to be said before the likes of Mensah can reason to conclude that this whole loan program was a hoax. Did Mensah expect the auditors to secretly inform the alleged culprits about the findings so that they could suppress the report at the higher level?

Please! Edward R.O. Ouko, PLO Lumumba and Patrick K. Mensah stay in your respective nations and solve your problems, because you have some, too. This is the last time we will mention your names in Liberian domestic and international affairs because we refused to make you consequential. We refused to give you a voice and a place in Liberian history and body politics, even as stupidity strikes in our land.

About the Author:

Jones Nhinson Williams is a Liberian philosopher (born in Pleebo, Maryland County but hailed from River Gee County) firmly educated by the Catholic Church. He is an American trained public policy, labor market information, strategic management and workforce development professional with accomplished global experience in job creation and institutional governance.
1 Samuel 3:13 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.

A father, as the head of the family, should have an authoritative voice in the home. He plays no small role in training his children. If children are left unsupervised, they'll look for an authoritative voice that is available outside his home. We hope these voices are making a positive impact in our societies, if not, their overriding influence on these children might mean a father could be rearing monsters under his roof.

Some would boast of having succeeded with laissez-faire leadership as children are taught how to be independent in life; they take their own decisions and bear the consequences that accompany them. But this leadership style is not what the Bible recommends, neither is its extreme oppositeautocracy and its regimented home.

The above Scripture tells us the leadership of Eli in the home was under scrutiny. GOD becomes unhappy when fathers give their children so much space that they are no longer able to call them to order. It's all clear that Eli could have restrained and helped to control the obnoxious behaviour of his children but he just didn't. How then should fathers lead in their homes? Let's go back to the Bible and see what GOD said about Abraham.

Genesis 18:19, "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD..." As children grow up, they need a guide, and so the responsibility of a father goes beyond providing a comfortable home and a decent meal for his children. He has a spiritual responsiblity of leading his children in the godly path. His words should match his actions (Matthew 23:2 & 3). A father should possess the rare ability to tactfully address issues regarding his children in the home. This will help children to receive discipline without becoming rebellious.

OUR TEARLESS MOTHERS AND THEIR DEFENCELESS CHILDREN

Jeremiah 31:15, Thus says the Lord: "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children because they are no more"

One of the spiritual roles of a Christian mother is to intercede for her children. Oftentimes, this role is exclusively reserved for mothers because of their strong affection for their children. But mothers of today are becoming more of career women than praying women.

They have abandoned their prayer closets and as a result of their broken fellowship with the SPIRIT, they hardly have a premonition of what the future holds for their children. In pursuing her insatiable ambitions, she has, inadvertently, sacrificed the spiritual wellbeing of her children on the altar of feminism.

Today's woman, in a bid to achieve the status of a superwoman has had her spiritual senses numbed. She is so busy to detect the subtle plan of the enemy to trespass the borders of her home in order derail the faith of her children. She brings to the attention of her husband the need of the children for an extra tuition at home but seldom shows a worrisome demeanor about the wretched spiritual life of her children i.e if she notices it at all. Alas, her children are academically peerless but spiritually defenceless.

If children will be kept from the onslaught of depravity in this generation, then our mothers would've to run back to their prayer closet. In verses 16 and 17, GOD promised to bring back the children of a grief-stricken Rachel who had refused to be comforted when she realised that her children had been taken away as captives. Oh GOD, give us praying mothers who'll pray their children out of worldliness.

OUR MYOPIC CHURCH LEADERS AND THEIR VULNERABLE SUNDAY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Matthew 19:13-15, Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

The disciples rebuked the parents who brought their children to JESUS. They thought to themselves that JESUS had no time for children as they publicly rebuked and resisted these parents, perhaps, saying, "Take these children away. We're dealing with fully grown men here. He's got no time for kids!" But JESUS told them to allow the children come to HIM.

Our church leaders of today do not also have time for the children. In most churches the children are given so much time to play and loiter about. Whiles we are waiting for the children to grow before we preach to them, the enemy is working on sowing his wild seeds in these vulnerable children. And of course, he doesn't need them now, he'll come for his harvest twenty years from now. By then, they'd be old enough to rebel and cause us pain.

The church has refused to see the long-term plan of the world. The world wants to get its stuff into the children in their formative years so that when they're of age the church cannot easily undo the damage. The decision to concentrate on the adults alone in church will come back to bite us some years to come.

In view of this, the church has to come up with strategies that are inspired by the SPIRIT to foil the corrupt attack of the enemy on the souls of our children. Our Sunday School teachers must be oriented to address topical issues concerning children and our services restructured to put the fear of GOD in their hearts. We owe these children so much as a church. We also have to pray for them like Paul did: Galatians 4:19, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you."

Deuteronomy 6:6-9, "And these words which I command you... you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way... You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

What are you watching with your children? What do you talk about with them? What do you paste on the walls of your home? We have to get the word of GOD on everything around us. Are the children you're raising going to be a menace to the society? To parents and would be parents, let us all help in raising responsible children who will stand for CHRIST and help build our nation.
Geneva, 16 June 2017  Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim the Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue (The Geneva Centre) as well as the Centres Executive Director Ambassador Idriss Jazairy and Board Member Trevor Mostyn attended the inauguration ceremony of the new premises of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies whose patron is HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.

The ceremony was also attended by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal and by the Oxford Centres Executive Director Dr. Farhan Nizami.

The Chairman of the Geneva Centre and its Executive Director had the opportunity to meet with HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. On this occasion, the Chairman of the Geneva Centre Dr. Al Qassim stated that he would be honoured to collaborate with the Oxford Centre to forge dialogue and to build bridges between Islam and Christianity.

The Geneva Centre, he said, is currently in the process of arranging a World Conference on the subject of Religions and Beliefs, Joining Forces to Enhance Equal Citizenship Rights. I believe this would be an ideal opportunity for both Centres to unite their forces in addressing prevailing misunderstandings affecting Muslim-Christian relations through the advancement of equal and inclusive citizenship rights.

Invitees during the inauguration ceremony also included representatives from academic institutions, governmental organizations as well as international and non-governmental organizations.

The Oxford Centre forms part of the renowned Oxford University considered as one of the worlds leading and most influential educational institutions.

The mission of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is to act as a meeting point between the Islam and Western worlds of learning. The Centre is also committed to the advancement of academic excellence in teaching, research and publication. It was established in 1985 to encourage the scholarly study of Islam and the Islamic world.

On 15 February 2017, the Geneva Centres Executive Director Ambassador Idriss Jazairy had delivered a lecture at the Oxford Centre on the ideas and teachings of the founder of modern Algeria Emir Abd el Qader el Jazairy.

He had been invited by the current Director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies to offer his insights on the heritage of Emir Abd el Kader as a precursor of universal values.

About the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue:

The Geneva Centre is a think-thank dedicated to the promotion of human rights through cross-cultural, political, religious and civilizational dialogue between the Global North and the Global South, and through training of the upcoming generations of stakeholders in the Arab region.

The Centre works towards a value-driven human rights system, steering clear of politicisation and building bridges between different narratives thereon of the Global North and of the Global South. Its aim is to act as a platform for dialogue between a variety of stakeholders involved in the promotion and protection of human rights.
The incidents of freedom of expression rights violations in West Africa more than tripled in the first quarter (January-March) of 2017.

Over the three-month period, a total of 47 violations were recorded as against 14 violations for the last quarter (October-December) of 2016. The violations recorded in the quarter under review range from arrests and detentions to physical attacks, online violations, shutdown of media houses, censorship, seizure and destruction of property and killings. The 47 violations occurred in 10 out of the 16 countries in West Africa.

These findings are contained in the latest edition of the West Africa Freedom of Expression Monitor, a quarterly report by the MFWA which analyses and highlights freedom of expression developments in the sub-region.

Apart from recording a relatively high number of violations, January-March 2017 was also one of the bloodiest since 2014. A total of nine people, seven of whom were expressing their displeasure about specific issues through demonstrations, were killed by state security agents in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Togo.

The nine deaths have exposed the increasing use of excessive force by security agents in dispersing demonstrators. In all the three incidents in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Togo which resulted in the nine deaths, security agents used tear gas and live bullets to disperse protesters.

Security agents were generally the main perpetrators of the violations cited. Specifically, they accounted for 37 (79 %) of) the 47 violations.
I know a lot of Ghanaians have doubts as to whether the promotions organized by Telecom companies are real or just a way of exploiting their poor customers. After going through this post, you can decide for yourself whether to participate in some of these promotions organized Telecom Networks in Ghana or just simply stay away.

My interest in participating in a Telecom companys promotion started in 2012, and below has been my experience so far.

In 2012, I was a student in the university. I participated in the MTN Dream Big Promo(This was my first time participating such promotions), I was totally broke, had only GHC600 on me for the whole of the semester, and thought maybe this promotion could be my breakthrough. I spent more than GHC500 but won a Huawei U8860 Honor Android phone. I sold this phone for GHC400, so I made a loss of about GHC100 in that promo.

In 2015, MTN once again organized the MafeNiePromo, I spent about GHC400 in this promo and won a Huawei Y220 Android phone which cost just around GHC200 at the time. So obviously, I made a loss of about GHC200.

In 2016, MTN once again organized another promo, the MTN Mega Promo. I decided to invest more money this time, so I spent more than GHC2000, I won a trip to Dubai. I didnt have a passport to travel and so I asked MTN to convert the trip into cash, they said NO WAY. I had to make two friends go on my behalf, and took GHC1500 from my friends in exchange for the trip. In this promo too, I lost another cash, GHC500.

However, in this same MTN Mega Promo in 2016, a friend of my decided to (based on my experience), invest much more money. He did something crazy; he went to the Bank for a loan of GHC10000 and invested as much GHC9000 in the promo. Luckily for him, he won a 2 Bedroom House which was the second prize for that month. The house was valued at about GHC300000. So he spent GHC9000 and got a GHC300000 priced house. Cool!

In this same Year, 2016, Vodafone Ghana organized its own promo, the Ye Twi K) Reloaded. My experience with the MTN Mega promo was very disappointing so I decided to try my luck with Vodafone. I spent more than GH3000 in this Ye Twi K) Reloaded but got only GHC50 as my prize. Yes GHC50, so I made a loss of about GHC2950.

In 2017, based on my experience with MTN and Vodafone, I came to the conclusion that in order to win a valuable prize in such promos, you will need to invest more, (I decided not to listen to their usual luring messages, Spend GHC2 or more and you stand a chance of winning , blah, blah blah ), and I was right! The more here is RELATIVE. Now, I heard about the AirtelWoMmereNie Promo. The prizes were enticing and very attractive.GHC150000, GHC100000, and GHC75000 ultimate prizes, and the GHC10000 and the GHC15000 monthly prizes. I aimed at one of the ultimate prizes, so I did something unthinkable, something I thought no one else would do, something I will never forget for the rest of my life. I invested as much as GHC440000 in this promo. I mean, Four Hundred and Forty Thousand Old Ghana Cedis. And what Happened? I won just GHC10000. Out of the GHC440000 I spent, I got back only GHC10000. I have loss a whooping GHC340000. My Bank account is RED and Im writing this post with pain.

So, the question is, are these promos organized the Telecom companies real or scams. Personally, I know they are not scams, but to win a rewarding prize, you must know that you need to spend a fortune. When you receive their usual messages Spend GHC2 or more and you stand a chance of winning, blah, blah blah ), remember the MORE here is RELATIVE. What you might consider, more, maybe someones small.

There is usually the condition that the highest point earner wins the weekly, monthly, or ultimate prizes. You should note that, the telecom companies have no control of who becomes the highest point earner. If it happens that you spend just GHC2 and you become the highest point earner, you win a prize. But you must note that while you are thinking of spending say, about GHC1000 to become the highest point earner, someone is planning on spending hundred times more than you. You can just pick a name of one of these winners of some of these past promos and do a simple Google search. You will realize that such person(s) have won regularly in most of these promos, so they have the money to participate, they know the secrets, and they call the shots!

Also remember that, the telecom companies dont care how much you spend, once you dont emerge a winner, they dont care even if you sold your house to participate in the promotion, your money is gone for good, no consolation prizes, nothing!

Now, you know why you have never won valuable price in most of the promotions, and may never win?

Dont thank me!

Joel Ameah

([email protected],com)
"Brodekwano" M/A primary school in the Bosomtwe district of the Ashanti region has been supported with hundreds of text and library books from MTN yello care.

The donation forms part of the company's social responsibility, to aid the Ghanaian students in deprived communities compete with their colleague's in urban and international students across globe.

The 21 days of yello care is an annaul staff volunteer programme that runs across the MTN group from 1st to 21st June, instituted 10 years ago.

As part of the activity the staff of MTN led the pupils in various stages through a learning process for about an hour.

Speaking at the presentation MTN general manager northern sector, Mr. James Bukarin Basintale indicated, the yellow care gives the staff opportunity to brighten lives via selected themes to drive the activities of which "Investing In Education For All" have been on focus for the past five years.

Mr. Bukari noted that, the important aspect of the theme is its focus on education driven by technology.

He said, the books is to resource student read international standard materials to enable them compete with global students in countries such as China, Turkey, Korea, German, among others.

With rapid advances in technology and increase in digitization, Mr. Bukari is optimistic "fusing technology into the educational system can help bridge the development gap and extend educational opportunities to students in undeserved communities".

He hinted that, "the increasing demand for new educational approaches and pedagogies that foster transformative and livelong learning and the orientation of educational curriculum to address sustainable development are major forces shaping and driving education in the 21st century.

He charged teachers and heads of various schools to offer their best to unearth the hidden potentials of the students.

Speaking on behalf of the chief of the area, the Nana Kwaku Appiah-Adu applauded MTN for such a kind gesture, and appealed to the company to support increase the existing computers which are not enough for the students.

He urged other cooperate entities, individuals and NGOs to emulate same.
Akropong (E/R), June 17, GNA - Compassion International Ghana, a non-profit making Christian Organisation, has commemorated this year's Day of the African Child at Akropong in the Eastern Region with a call on Ghanaians to eliminate worst forms of child labour.

Compassion International, a child-centred organisation, believes in holistic development of children from poor homes by seeking sponsorship from countries all over the world to cater for them.

Mr Padmore Baffour Agyapong, the Country Director of Compassion International, Ghana, made the call at a symposium to observe the day on the theme; 'Accelerating Protection, Empowerment and Equal Opportunities for the Children in Ghana'.

The Day of the African Child provides an opportunity for governments, international institutions and communities to renew their commitments towards improving the plight of children.

He said children must not be deprived of their right to education, basic needs and other necessities in their upbringing.

Mr Agyapong said state institutions, community leaders and the entire citizenry were duty bound to help in eradicating the practice to ensure a safe environment for children.

He advised parents to live up to their parental responsibilities by providing their children with basic needs for their survival and development.

Mr Agyapong said access to information on the punishment of such practice must be strewn to the local level for people to be wary of its consequences.

He added that Compassion Ghana had about 287 child development centres across the country supporting more than 75,000 children.

Mrs Alice Prempeh Fordjour, the Headmistress of Aburi Girls Senior High School, in a keynote address, said the right of children were to be secured to prepare them for more responsibilities in adulthood and to ensure fairness and proper care.

She called on member states, national human rights institutions, UN agencies, NGO's faith-based organisations and the media to expedite action aimed at enhancing the quality of life of children in Africa to enable them gain fulfilment and take up the mantle of nation building.

'I believe every child in Ghana must be taken into account including children with disabilities, children with incarcerated parents, street children, children affected by poverty, children of minority groups, all other vulnerable children and even children living in easier circumstances,' she said.

The symposium brought together 42 child development centres established by the organisation in the Eastern Region to commemorate the day.

The children, as part of activities to mark the day, performed drama depicting their responsibilities, cultural dance, and recited poems.

Awards were also presented to the children who excelled in the quiz competitions.

On June 16 every year, the African Union celebrates the Day of the African Child in commemoration of the 1976 protests by school children in Soweto, South Africa, to ask for quality education.

This resulted in the killing of unarmed young protesters by policemen.

GNA

By Kwamina Tandoh, GNA
17.06.2017 LISTEN

Accra, June 17, GNA - The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, has entreated Ghanaians to shun acts of stealing and dishonesty and work diligently to improve productivity at their workplaces.

He said people who engaged in those acts sometimes were not mindful of the harm they were causing the citizenry.

Prof Michael Oquaye said this when a delegation from the Community Hospital Group (CHG) paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Parliament House.

The Community Hospital Group (CHG) was established in 2009 to provide healthcare to the public and currently employs about 600 people with branches in Ashongman, Kaneshie, Akim Oda, Ashaiman and Kukurantumi. These branches receive about 50,000 patients at their clinics each month.

Prof. Oquaye said acts of dishonesty were misbehaviours that affect the public and the private sectors and results in killing businesses.

'A person starts a hospital and employs you there, but before you realise all the medicines are stolen. He then opens a small clinic in his own house while at the same time claiming to be your worker,' he said.

Prof. Oquaye said many business ventures had collapsed in the country because of dishonesty adding that those who contributed to the collapse would then turn round and complain of unemployment.

He urged Ghanaians to be truthful at their workplaces and contribute their best to ensure that the business succeeds.

Prof. Oquaye said the Community Hospital Group model was a good example of private healthcare delivery which had complemented the efforts of government to provide quality healthcare services.

He congratulated the management for the good job adding; 'You started modestly and you have shown consistency, commitment and dedication.'

Mr Akwasi Acquah, the Chief Executive Officer of the CHG, commended the Speaker for his contribution towards the commissioning of the Ashongman branch of the Community Hospital Group on July 1, 2009, when he was then the Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya.

He said the CHG, aside its five branches, had been able to establish three mortuaries in the Greater Accra and Eastern regions.

Mr Acquah said the CHG had decided to run side-by-side with government's programme of 'One District, One Factory,' adding that if the districts were going to operate factories then there should be hospitals to cater for the health needs of the workers.

He commended Parliament for the hard work and invited the Speaker to attend the eighth anniversary celebration of the CHG which falls on July 1, 2017.

GNA

By Christopher Arko, GNA
17.06.2017 LISTEN

Kasoa (C/R), June 17, GNA - The Voice for Change (V4C) programme has been launched at Kasoa in the Awutu-Senya East Municipality of the Central Region with a call on the citizenry to ensure improved sanitation and hygiene in their communities.

The V4C is an evidence-based advocacy programme being implemented by SNV (Netherlands Development Organization) in partnership with the International Food and Policy Research Institute and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Intervention Forum, a non-governmental organisation, is one of four local implementing partners under the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) component of the project in the Awutu Senya East Municipality.

The five-year project (2016-2020) is being implemented by SNV together with its local partners made up of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ghana and other developing countries.

It aims to strengthen the capacities of local CSOs to generate reliable and relevant evidence to carry out evidence-based advocacy for sustainable improvements in key focus areas of the WASH, renewable energy, food security and nutrition.

Madam Nora Ollennu, the Chief Executive Officer of Intervention Forum, said lack of improved and sustainable sanitation and hygiene was one of the most pressing global issues that needed most attention.

She said the WASH component of the project dubbed: 'Ghana Sanitation and Hygiene for All (SH4ALL)' aims at intensifying the voice of CSOs and the citizenry to demand equitable, affordable and sustainable sanitation and hygiene services and improved policy implementation at the district level.

The project targets stakeholders including the Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly, traditional authorities, waste management companies, microfinance institutions and banks, community-based organisations and the media to help realise the project objectives.

Madam Ollennu said the Intervention Forum has, over the past decade, worked to improve the circumstances of deprived communities by assisting them through capacity building to identify and solve their own problems and enhance their quality of life.

Citing a 2015 WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme report, Madam Ollennu said 2.3 billion people globally did not have access to adequate sanitation, meaning that one in three persons did not have access to improved sanitation.

In Ghana, she said, as of 2013 less than a quarter of the population was found to be using improved sanitation facilities.

This, she said, had translated into multiple negative effects on individual and communal livelihoods, health, academics, productivity and national income.

'Clearly, sanitation and hygiene issues need to be high on the country's agenda and requires prioritisation by the Central Government, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, CSOs, traditional heads, the private sector and all other relevant stakeholders,'' she said.

This, she said, would ensure that the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all was achieved.

Mr Michael Mensah, the Municipal Chief Executive of the Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly, who launched the project, said Kasoa, the municipal capital and one of the fastest developing areas in Ghana, had a herculean task of dealing with environmental sanitation.

He referred to the deplorable sanitation situation in Kasoa which had been compounded by a rapidly expanding market, tonnes of refuse generated daily, poor drainage systems, littering of plastics and inadequate places of convenience.

He said the Municipal Assembly's sanitation bye-laws had been gazetted by the Government and would, therefore, be implemented to the letter and warned residents to abide by them.

The event, which was chaired by Nai Kojo Larbi, Bemuhene of Ofaakor, attracted a wide range of stakeholders including officials of the Assembly, zonal and unit committee members, landlords associations, market women, farmers, traditional authorities and religious bodies.

GNA
17.06.2017 LISTEN

Kasoa (C/R), June 17, GNA - The Awutu-Senya East Municipal Assembly (ASEMA) and the citizens of Kasoa, one of the fastest growing towns in the Central Region, have resolved to tackle environmental sanitation and hygiene problems in the area.

This was arrived at during sensitisation policy programmes embarked upon by Intervention Forum, a non-governmental organisation, under its Voice for Change (V4C) partnership project at Kasoa.

The project is an evidence-based advocacy programme being implemented by SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation) in collaboration with the International Food and Policy Research Institute and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The five-year project is being implemented by SNV together with its local partners made up of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ghana and other developing countries.

The project aims at strengthening the capacities of local CSOs to generate reliable and relevant data to carry out evidence-based advocacy for sustainable improvements in key focus areas such as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), renewable energy, food security and nutrition.

The WASH component of the project, which is basically an advocacy one, and dubbed: 'Ghana Sanitation and Hygiene for all (SH4ALL), is directed at intensifying the voice of CSOs and citizenry to demand more equitable, affordable and sustainable sanitation and hygiene services and improved policy implementation at the district level.

It is, thus, targeting various stakeholders like the ASEMA, traditional authorities, waste management companies, microfinance institutions and banks, community-based organisations, assembly members, unit committees, and the media.

Madam Nora Ollennu, the Chief Executive Officer of Intervention Forum, said the NGO has worked over a decade to improve the circumstances of deprived rural communities through capacity building programmes and was one of four local implementing partners of the WASH in the ASEMA.

She said at two consecutive meetings organised by Intervention Forum in collaboration with the ASEMA, the citizens listed their major concerns and prioritized them for redress to ensure good environmental, sanitation and hygiene practices to rid the municipality of filth and diseases.

Madam Ollennu said topmost among the list were poor drainage, poor sanitation, lack of access roads and security, inadequate water supply, educational and health facilities, as well as gambling and illegal structures.

This sprawling township, swelled up by increasing numbers of both workers and retired public and civil servants, has been overwhelmed by tonnes of waste generated daily from the activities of the people, particularly the markets and lorry stations within the Municipality.

She said Intervention Forum has, through various working sessions, strengthened the capacities of the citizenry or stakeholders to identify and help solve their own problems to enhance their quality of life.

GNA
Accra, June 17, GNA - Management of GhanaVeg Programme which seeks to improve and sustain vegetable productivity in Ghana, an initiative supported by the Netherlands Embassy, has rewarded seven agro-based companies in the 'GhanaVeg Awards' in Accra.

The awardees are: A.B Farms - Most Sustainable Business; Lubok Farms - Most Vibrant and Growing Business; Kukobilo Nasia Farms - Most Inclusive Business; Eden Tree Limited - Best Business Innovation; Tikola Limited - Best New Product (Domestic), Joekopan Enterprise - Best New Product (Export) and Fruit Master - Best Booth at the Trade Fair.

The awards were held as part of a three-day Fruit and Vegetable Fair and a Business Platform meeting to discuss agronomic issues and the roadmap for pest reduction in Ghana's Vegetable export sector.

The award was to acknowledge and complement forerunners and companies which have contributed to and promoted vegetable growth in the country.

The main criteria for the awards were growth, innovation, inclusiveness and sustainability.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, commended the GhanaVeg team and the Netherlands Government for their continuous support to promote vegetable growth and consumption in the country.

He said government was doing a lot to address the challenges that came with the ban of vegetable export to the EU market.

He said the ban was self-inflicted and stakeholders should take responsibility of some of the things that went wrong.

Dr Akoto said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, with support from the University of Ghana, were reorienting the whole system to have a sustained structure.

He appealed to stakeholders to assist in addressing the issues by allowing their products to be inspected at the farm gate before exports.

Mr Ron Strikker, the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, said he was impressed with government making agriculture the heart of its economy.

He said the Dutch Government was proud to be a partner to the Government of Ghana in developing and growing together.

He congratulated all farmers and entrepreneurs who have contributed to the growth of the horticultural sector of the Ghanaian economy adding 'Holland and Ghana horticulture are growing together.'

Mr Joep den Broek, the GhanaVeg Programme Leader, said the horticulture sector was steadily gaining ground with an increase in productivity and income at the farmer level.

'We at GhanaVeg are optimistic that this trade mission will further contribute to the increasing in fruits and vegetables made in Ghana and then gradually exports will also increase again,' he said.

An 11-member trade mission from the Netherlands horticulture sector is in Ghana to explore business and investment opportunities and establish a network with government, knowledge institutes and the private sector.

Its activities coincided with a fair on the theme: 'Fruits and Vegetables made in Ghana,' which brought together 50 Ghanaian companies from the vegetable value chain.
The Lebanese Community in Ghana has given scholarships to four Ghanaian participants to attend a groundbreaking investigative journalism seminar organized by research and education think tank, Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA).

The scholarships, which will enable the participants to pay for the registration fees of the seminar, were presented to the participants by Mr. Ali H. Halabi, Lebanese Ambassador to Ghana on behalf of the Lebanese Community in Ghana. The beneficiaries of the scholarships are from the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

The support to the four participants is provided under the Lebanese Scholarship Award Scheme. The scholarship award scheme has provided funds for over 100Ghanaian students who are pursuing various programs at the Ghana Institute of Journalism ; University of Ghana, Legon; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), as well as providing support for the children of fallen heroes in the security services.

Presenting the sponsorship package to the four participants in Accra on Thursday, Mr. Halabi reiterated the Lebanese communitys commitment to providing support to positive initiatives which are aimed at promoting public accountability and supporting the building of strong and transparent institutions in Ghana.

He emphasized that investigative journalism is key to building and enabling strong, transparent, and accountable institutions and welcomed efforts by ACILA in providing capacity building to the media to enable the media to play its watchdog role effectively.

Commenting on the choice of sponsoring participants to the ACILA seminar, Mr. Halabi said that the Lebanese Community decided to support the four participants to attend the investigative journalism seminar organized by ACILA based on the recommendationsthe Lebanese Community had received attesting to ACILAs reputation and capacity in providing capacity building to the media in investigative journalism.

It was learnt that ACILA members have had substantial practice in investigative journalism and have also facilitated five capacity building workshops/seminars in investigative journalism for journalists in collaboration with organizations such as Dakar-based Panos Institute West Africa and Tiger Eye . In addition, ACILA recently delivered five lectures in investigative journalism gratis to about 400 students of the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

The two-day seminar, which is scheduled for June 23 -24, 2017, in Accra, will feature formal lectures by journalism professors along with case studies by award winning and practicing investigative journalists from JOYFM, Metro TV, Graphic, GH One, among others.

In a follow-up interview with Mr. William Nyarko, Executive Director of ACILA, he commended the Lebanese Community in Ghana for providing support to the four participants to attend the seminar.

He said that the participants will be equipped with knowledge and skills from the seminar to enable them to provide accurate and reliable information to the public to foster quality citizen participation in Ghanas democratic governance and engender demand for responsiveness and accountability from duty bearers.

ACILA is incorporated under US law as a 501(c) (3) research and education, non-partisan, and non-profit think tank and also under Ghana law as a non-governmental organization. Its focus areas are good governance and anti-corruption (includes capacity building for the media in investigative journalism), international criminal justice, human rights, rule of law, and monitoring African states compliance with regional and international instruments.
Nairobi (AFP) - The African Union on Saturday urged Djibouti and Eritrea to show "restraint" as tensions intensified over a disputed border territory after the withdrawal of Qatari peacekeepers from a buffer zone.

Djibouti has accused Eritrea of occupying territory following the departure of the Qatari troops, threatening the revival of a longstanding and at times violent dispute.

AU commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat called for "calm, restraint" and said the union would send a "fact-finding mission to the Djibouti-Eritrea border."

The Qatari pullout comes as the Gulf emirate is locked in a bitter dispute with Saudi Arabia and its allies over alleged ties to Islamist extremists, a charge it denies.

Both Djibouti and Eritrea have good relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and have taken their side in the Gulf row.

Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Thursday accused Eritrea of "moving its forces" into the Doumeira region where Qatari peacekeepers had been stationed since 2010 as a buffer between the two nations' armies.

"Djibouti is a peaceful country and we have prioritised diplomatic solutions, but if Eritrea insists in seeking military solutions, Djibouti is ready for that," Youssouf said in a press conference broadcast on local television.

In a statement issued Saturday, Eritrea did not address the allegations directly, saying it would not respond to "news -- factual and speculative -- churned out in the last few days".

"The government of Eritrea will make its views known when it obtains full information of the entire episode," said the statement issued by the information ministry in Asmara.

Djibouti is a strategic ally for global powers, hosting French and US military bases with a Chinese one under construction, while Eritrea is widely regarded as a pariah state.

Djibouti's large port is also a trade conduit for Ethiopia, Eritrea's bitter enemy.

The AU said it was "ready to assist Djibouti and Eritrea to normalise their relations and promote good neighbourliness within the framework of relevant AU instruments."
Libreville (AFP) - Gabon authorities said Saturday that they were investigating threats by a critic of President Ali Bongo, including an ultimatum to step down before the arrival of an International Criminal Court team next week.

The threats included a warning that government buildings had been set with explosives, and came as armed men stormed the offices of several media outlets on Friday demanding the broadcast of an audio and video message urging Gabonese citizens to revolt.

The ultimatum was made by Roland Desire Aba'a Minko, a supporter of opposition leader Jean Ping, who was narrowly defeated by Bongo in presidential elections last year.

The ICC team is set to arrive for a two-day visit Tuesday for a preliminary investigation of claims of post-election violence by Ping and 15 nongovernmental organisations.

Ping's camp distanced itself from Minko's actions, deploring the "confusion" they caused.

Minko was detained by police after a public speech in Libreville in which he told Bongo to quit within 72 hours, threatening to set off explosives that had been set in "all administrative and ministerial buildings".

During his speech, masked men with knives claiming to represent Minko stormed several public and private media outlets, including the state broadcaster Etat Gabon Televisions.

A "security incident" was also reported at the office of the European Union delegation in Libreville after an individual gained access and issued threats, though he was quickly detained by the police, the delegation said Saturday.

State prosecutor Steeve Ndong Essame Ndong said he had opened an inquiry given the "extreme gravity of the declarations", in a statement published by the Union newspaper.

The ICC team will speak to officials in the interior, defence and justice ministries, as well as international organisations active in the capital.

Bongo's re-election last August, by just a few thousand votes, led Ping to accuse the administration of electoral fraud.

Violence broke out four days after the election, and opposition figures say that more than 50 people were killed in the ensuing clashes.

The official toll was only three dead, and in a speech earlier this year Bongo played down the unrest as a "family quarrel".
Durban (South Africa) (AFP) - South Africa defeated France 37-15 at Kings Park stadium in Durban Saturday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in a three-Test series and continue their recovery after a horror season.

After conceding an early try, the clinical Springboks built a 23-7 half-time lead, then defended brilliantly before scoring a couple of late tries.

A second successive win over France was another step forward for South Africa following a calamitous 2016 season in which they lost eight of 12 Tests.

The scoreline was almost identical to the first Test in Pretoria -- won 37-14 by South Africa -- even though France, with eight changes, were expected to provide much tougher opposition.

France failed to score when dominant during the third quarter and this proved their undoing, leaving them with only pride to play for in Johannesburg next Saturday.

South Africa skipper and No. 8 Warren Whiteley said: "They put some pressure on us in the first 10 minutes but we managed to turn it around, picked up the intensity and put the pressure back on them.

"The second half was also important for us. We knew the pressure would be on us. I'm really proud of the team.

"It was all character -- that's what we've been speaking about the last three or four weeks.

"Just extremely proud of the boys, the support has been phenomenal. We really appreciate it, we want to make our country proud."

France captain and hooker Guilhem Guirado said: "We started the match well and after the South Africans attacked us from every angle, we had a very bad tackle."

Les Bleus got off to the perfect start with South Africa-born full-back Scott Spedding scoring a third-minute try in the corner that scrum-half Baptiste Serin converted.

Fly-half Elton Jantjies cut the deficit with a sixth-minute penalty for South Africa, whose flanker Oupa Mohoje was forced to retire after colliding with Louis Picamoles.

South Africa went ahead on 20 minutes as a slick, five-man handling movement ended with centre Jan Serfontein dotting down and Jantjies converted for a 10-7 lead.

Flanker Siya Kolisi scored a second try for the Springboks by superbly holding on to the ball off an intercept and darting to the line with Jantjies converting again.

Another successful penalty kick by Jantjies and it was 20-7 in favour of the hosts in the Indian Ocean port city.

The scrums were a mess that kept New Zealand referee Ben O'Keeffe busy and he took loosehead Tendai "The Beast" Mtawaria and tighthead Rabah Slimani aside to warn them.

Another Jantjies penalty closed the first half scoring and left South Africa 23-7 in front at half-time.

After five successful shots at goal during the opening half, Jantjies failed with his first attempt of the second half, his long-range kick dropping just short.

France then camped close to the South Africa tryline for close to 15 minutes, much of the time inside the five-metre line, without scoring any points.

The relentless pressure ended with debutant Damian Penaud believing he scored in the corner, but the television match official ruled the centre put a foot in touch before dotting down.

It took 24 minutes for the first points of the second half as French fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc slotted a penalty.

A try to each side followed soon after with replacement prop Coenie Oosthuizen barging over for South Africa and the impressive Penaud cutting inside to score at the other end.

Jantjies kicked his conversion, but Trinh-Duc missed, leaving the Springboks 30-15 in front eight minutes from time.

A Jantjies try a minute from time, which he converted, completed the scoring and gave South Africa a fourth win in seven matches against France in Durban. The other three were drawn.
The Principal of Tepa Nursing and Midwifery Training College in Kumasi has debunked media reports accusing her and the accountant of the school of fraud and financial malfeasance.

Investigations by media houses including Luv FM had revealed that Victoria Amoah and Charles Asamoah cannot account for over GHS1 million in development levies, hostel and other fees paid by students.

The Principal and Accountant of Tepa Nursing and Midwifery Training College have deserted the school following media reports of alleged admission fraud and financial malfeasance against them.

Victoria Amoah and Charles Asamoah cannot account for over GHC1 million in development levies, hostel and other fees paid by students, it has been reported.

They situation the reports said has persisted since 2011 to 2016 while students endure congestion and unsanitary conditions.

Luv FM's Erastus Asare Donkor who has been investigating developments in the returned to gauge the mood of students after the first report which prompted national security action.

There is evidence that authorities issued fake receipts bearing the stamp of the accountant for interview and results verification fees.

An estimated GHC52,500 cedis in matriculation fees paid by five streams of Health Assistant students remains unaccounted for though no ceremony has taken place from 2011 to 2015.

Over GHC142,000 cedis realised in double charging of students in development levies per year is suspected to have gone into private pockets.

Several thousands of Ghana cedis spent on travels by the Mrs Amoah as well as huge volumes fuel drawn illegally by the Principal and the accountant have left stakeholders in shock.

In the midst of such shady deals, Tepa Nursing and Midwifery school is confronted with many challenges, the reporter said.

Students told Luv News that for the past two weeks, the school has been without water supply due to a broken down pumping machine.

This has led to unsanitary conditions at the lavatories, as the students have to trek two miles to fetch from a public borehole.

The school has no defined land boundary as students share space with stray animals.

This male hostel houses about 80 students packed together in a congested space and female students use this dilapidated structure as a place of convenience.

Students and other stakeholders are demanding a probe into all the allegations to restore sanity.

Checks by Luv News also revealed that the two has deserted the school, but speaking exclusively to Joy News, Madam Amoah described the allegations as false.

"I saw the news on Monday with allegations levelled against me and my accountant for financial malfeasance of GHC10 million. I want to state that the allegations are not true.

"There has been nothing like that and no Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) officials has made any attempt to see me and the school ahs not been deserted," she said.

According to her, she was invited to Accra by the sector Minister to tell him her side of the stories making the rounds and it is not the case that she has gone into hiding.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim |[email protected]
NGO, Engage Now Africa (ENA), has graduated some 16 participants of its adult literacy programme on Saturday with a call on the government and other NGOs to support the initiative.

Ghana Country Director of the ENA, Cecilia Amankwah, says government's collaboration with her institution would see more adults improving their literacy skills since the NGO has a robust network of adult literacy centres across the country.

We want government to embrace ENAs programme because ours is very effective. We have our own model and our success rates speak for itself. We need more collaboration from government and other NGOs that share in the vision of Engage Now Africa, said Cecilia Amankwah.

She made the comment after the graduation ceremony held at Tantua International School, Sakaman in the greater Accra Region.

The participants received books and other learning materials to help them stay focused on their lessons after the 18-month-old learning process.

Read: Engage Now Africa makes further strides in adult literacy campaign

In April this year, ENA passed out over 80 adult learners after a year-long basic literacy programme in the Esikuma-Odobeng-Brakwa District of the Central Region.

Adult learners are usually trained in basic reading, writing and mathematics lessons to help improve their lives and mitigate against poverty.

Photo: Cecilia Amankwah

Speaking at Saturdays event, Mrs Amankwah said, We really want to join forces to move this programme forward. We want to help everyone but one person cannot do it all, you need synergy, you need support to build strong forces to be able to more this work forward.

Assemblywoman for Sakaman, Ms Rebecca Hesse-Lartey, urged the grandaunts to put their lessons to good use and also spread the word about the need for adult education.

I will like to congratulate the students. They have done very, very well...it is the never too late to learn. Education is the key to success and I am very proud of you students, she said.

With a presence in five other African countries, Engage Now Africa has spearheaded efforts to strengthen individuals, families, and communities to end poverty through adult education, provision of microloans, self-support assistance, provision of clean water and sanitation, medical services, orphan support, and eradication of modern forms of slavery.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | [email protected]
A Diploma in Adult Education student of the University of Ghana, Legon, was stabbed in the neck on Friday by her jealous boyfriend.

Zara Hussein reportedly lost a lot of blood before being rushed to the hospital where she is receiving treatment.

Residents of Akufo Hall, where the incident occurred, told Joy News, the suspect, Ibrahim Musah, 42, came to the Universitys campus to visit Hussein but found another man in her room.

They said Musah got angry and accused his girlfriend of cheating on him.

Photo: The suspect, Ibrahim Musah has confessed to stabbing Zara, witnesses say

He reportedly confronted Hussein's male guest and at the height of the altercation in which Hussein backed her guest.

Musah stormed out of the room and returned with a piece of a broken ceramic receptacle and stabbed Zara in the neck with it.

He is reported to have also slapped the gentleman who he suspected was Hussein's new boyfriend.

Musah was subsequently arrested by some students on campus and handed over the schools security.

He is currently in the grips of the Legon Police.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
17.06.2017 LISTEN

Lagos| Nigeria: City 105.1 FMs Lets Talk Women is a show centered around the development of women and a drive to ensure women get more recognition in their various field of work. The show, which is hosted by the MD/CEO of the radio station based in Ikeja, saw her host Peace Hyde, a British-Ghanaian TV personality and media entrepreneur. Peace Hyde spent a great portion of her life in the U.K., where she practiced as an Education Specialist, with six years worth of experience within the education sector.

She has also, more recently, been made a Forbes Woman Africa correspondent, hosting a 12-part series, Against the Odds with Peace Hyde.

Doja Allen raised talking points which included what it was like being approached by Forbes Woman Africa to be a part of this new project, how she felt being listed as one of the Most Influential People of African Descent in 2017, amongst Oprah Winfrey, Bishop TD Jakes and Trevor Noah.

They also spoke about some of the biggest challenges faced working in the media, how she typically deal with critics who say you dont quite represent a picture of women empowerment  which is the idea behind her new programme and the advice she would give to any young women looking to follow in her career path.

Lets Talk Women is on air at City 105.1 FM, every Monday from 7pm  8pm with Adedoja Allen and Kunmi O.
Sacramento, CA  The Mother Lode regions Board of Equalization (BOE) Vice Chair George Runner argues this weeks passage by the state legislature to strip authority from the board is rushed legislation that is unfair to taxpayers.

The push to reform the duties of the public agency that oversees tax administration and fee collections came from State Controller Betty T. Yee, a former member of the board. As reported here in March, Yee is recommending that the BOE be relieved of their tax administration, audit, and compliance functions in order to focus on their appellate duties. She announced that proposal after a California Department of Finance evaluation revealed a misallocation of $47.8 million in sales tax revenue as well as accounting and administrative control deficiencies. This week the State Senate and Assembly agreed and passed AB 102 the Taxpayer Transparency and Fairness Act of 2017. Runner contends, Contrary to its misleading title, this rushed legislation is neither fair to taxpayers, nor transparent to the public. He argues, By gutting the power of elected representatives, this bill leaves taxpayers defenseless against a revenue-hungry and powerful state bureaucracy thats unaccountable to the public.

The bills passage creates two new government agencies, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the Office of Tax Appeals, to take over many of the BOEs previous duties effective July 1st.
- The notorious kidnap kingpin, Evans has dropped another bombshell

- He said he was once a victim of kidnap in 2015 by another gang of kidnappers in Anambra state

- Evans was on Saturday June 10 arrested by the police detectives in Lagos

Another shocking revelation emerged on Thursday June 16 as the notorious kdinapper, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike a.k.a Evans, told police detectives how he was abducted in 2015 by another gang of kidnappers operating in the eastern part of the country.

Vanguard reports that the detectives succeeded in recovering a gold ring worth $75,000 from his house.

READ ALSO: 3 days after his son's arrest, mother of billionaire kidnapper Evans allegedly goes into hiding

Legit.ng gathered that Evans said a gang of desperate kidnappers trailed him from Nnewi, his home town sometime in 2015, while he was cruising in his brand new black latest G-Wagon towards the commercial city of Onitsha in Anambra state.

Evans

He said the period was the era when he was terrorizing the east with his criminal contemporaries like late Ngwu Ekere Omu, Vampire, Osisikanku and others.

He disclosed that when he got to a spot close to Onitsha, the gun-totting young men intercepted and bundled him into their car and zoomed off towards Enugu-Onitsha express way.

According to him, When they ended up at a hidden spot which I later knew was inside one of the riverside areas in Anambra state, they brought me out for interrogation. I boldly introduced myself as Evans. Initially, they were shocked but later they started looking at me with skepticism.

I then asked them the name of their leader and after they reluctantly told me it was ND, short for Ndubisi, I informed them that he was serving a prison term at the Port-Harcourt prisons.

That was when they started believing that I was the notorious Evans, widely known in crime circles. Nevertheless, they put a call to their leader in Port-Harcourt prison and as soon as they mentioned my name, he ordered them to take me back to where they picked me without delay.

It was learned that ND, their leader, who is still serving a long sentence in Port-Harcourt prisons, masterminded the first kidnap incident in Lagos state in 2011.

Also, police detectives have recovered a gold ring worth over $75 from the house of the kidnap kingpin after carrying out another thorough search in his mansion at Magodo phase 2, Lagos.

Documents discovered inside the house also showed that just four days before his arrest, he sent N20 million to his wife in Ghana through a Bureau de Change which was delivered to her in Ghanaian currency, Cedi.

This is as they were said to have also recovered another mansion belonging to him in Ghana, making three, the number of mansions he has in the West African country.

Legit.ng also gathered that detectives attached to the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Team, IRT, led by Abah Kyari, have commenced inventory of all the landed and physical properties owned by the arrested kidnap kingpin, Evans.

This is as they are also investigating all the transactions he carried out with banks in the country within the period he was terrorising Nigerians.

Reliable sources informed that they will spread their dragnets to every part of the country where he operated and even neighbouring countries where he was reputed to always run to after collecting huge ransoms from his victims.

Sources said Ghana and South Africa will top the list of countries where they hope to liaise with International police, Interpol, in tracking the suspects assets.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

According to the sources; another vital area the detectives will focus on is telecommunication.

This is because we would like to find out how he was able to knock out our intelligence efforts towards arresting him for so long.

"If not that the Inspector-General of Police equipped us with the latest communication gadgets, it would have been impossible to arrest Evans.

So far, Evans, has been trying to recant all the confessional statements he made earlier during interrogation but I assure you that very soon, he will open up and we will nail him finally, police sources stated.

Legit.ng had previously reported that Evans said he would not have been arrested if his charms had not failed him at the last minute. He said he didnt know what went wrong with his charm that made it possible for the police to apprehend him.

Source: Legit.ng
- Adeosun says Nigeria is ready to step on big toes with the new move but it has to be done

- The minister says the FEC has allowed her ministry to sign an agreement that would make catching tax evaders possible

- Adeosun says tax evaders are destroying the Nigerian economy with their illicit transfer of funds outside the shores of the country to places where they would pay little or no tax

Finance minister Kemi Adeosun has said the Federal Government has acquired the services of an international investigation agency to trace Nigerian money being transferred out of the country to different parts of the world.

Adeosun revealed this while delivering a keynote address at the Nigerian Stock Exchange-Bloomberg CEO roundtable in Lagos.

The minister noted further that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its last meeting on Wednesday, June 14 granted her ministry permission to sign global agreement that allowed Nigeria to deal with companies transferred out of Nigeria profits made here to countries where they are allowed to pay little or no tax at all.

The Punch reports that the minister said the illicit flow of funds out of Nigeria was harming the country.

READ ALSO: South-east groups shortlist Patience Jonathan, Ike Ekweremadu, 9 others for president

She said: It deprives us of essential funds and those same funds are then used to finance developments in other nations. This must stop.

She added: We have just 40 million active taxpayers out of an estimated 69.9 million, who are economically active in Nigeria. And of that 40 million, the majority are PAYE (Pay As You Earn), that is, those who have their tax deducted at source.

Among those who are even paying taxes, there is widespread malpractice that results in only part of the actual income being subjected to tax.

We have a lot of work to do if we are going to build a sustainable revenue base that will deliver the growth we desire. Even within our tax-paying community, only 214 people in the entire nation pay taxes of N120m in spite of having some of the richest people in Africa and some of the best capitalised companies in Africa; only 214 in the entire country, all of who are in Lagos State.

Adeosun said the country is ready to do all necessary to tackle the issue of tax evasion for the country to grow.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

She said: And to do so, we will have step on some big toes, and we will need to step on them hard. But we really have no choice.

Those who have more must carry their fair share of the tax burden, and so to this end, for the last 15 months, we have engaged in a huge data-gathering exercise. We have engaged one of the worlds leading global investigating agencies and we have traced funds originating from Nigeria to all parts of the world.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it is set to recruit at least 7,500 young Nigerian graduates.

The graduates, when employed, are expected to serve as Community Tax Liaison Officers (CTLOs) through the ongoing federal governments N-Power program.

Finance minister Kemi Adeosun and the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, said this on Thursday, June 15 at a press conference.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of Nigerians sharing their view on the signing of the 2017 budget

Source: Legit.ng
- Governor Bello led a special prayer session for President Buhari on Friday

- The prayer was held during Jumat prayers in Lokoja, Kogi capital

- The prayer was attended by eminent Nigerians like a former Kano state governor

Kogi state governor Yahaya Bello has assured Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari will soon return to the country from his medical trip to the United Kingdom.

Governor Bello said this on Friday, June 16 while leading eminent Nigerians to pray for the quick recovery of the President.

The governor said during the prayer session that President Buhari would soon return to the country to continue the good work of redirecting the course of the country.

READ ALSO: South-east groups shortlist Patience Jonathan, Ike Ekweremadu, 9 others for president

Vanguard reports that the prayer was held during the jumat prayer observed at the Government House mosque in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital.

President Muhammadu Buhari is the man the world see when they look at Nigeria. He is Africas number one anti-corruption crusader whose integrity has helped rebound the nations global respectability.

We are gathered here today to pray for the full recovery of Mr. President for him to return to the country and continue his good work of refixing Nigeria. May Allah grant him good health and our nation, greatness

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

One of those present at the prayer session were former governor of Kano state Senator Kabiru Gaya.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Sokoto state government had spent the sum of N91 million to sponsor 90 Muslim clerics to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj.

Speaking on Tuesday, June 13, the Sokoto state commissioner for religious affairs, Alhaji Mani Katami, urged the cleric embarking on the pilgrimage to pray for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The commissioner said that each of the benefiting cleric was entitled to a Basic Travelling Allowance (BTA) of N250, 000.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of Nigerians sharing their opinion on President Buhari's impending return during one of his medical trips abroad

Source: Legit.ng
- The suspect is named Aliyu Ahmed (alias Aliko)

- He was caught with weapons - a single barrel gun and a dane gun

- He was arrested by the Army following a tip off

The Nigerian Army has announced the arrest of a Boko Haram suspect hiding in a village in Bauchi state.

Army spokesman Brigadier-General Sani Usman Kukasheka confirmed the arrest in a press statement late on Friday, June 16.

According to him, the suspect was caught with weapons after he was arrested by soldiers who were acting on a tip off.

READ ALSO: President Buhari will soon be back  APC governor reveals

The terrorist suspect's name is Aliyu Ahmed

The statement read: Following a tip off, troops of 33 Brigade Nigerian Army at Yuga, Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State, today Friday 16th June 2017 arrested a suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Aliyu Ahmed (alias Aliko) hiding in the village.

He was found to be in possession of 1 Single barrel gun and 1 Dane gun. During preliminary interrogation, he confessed that he actively participated in several Boko Haram terrorists attacks and also owned an AK-47 Rifle which lost during one of the attacks they carried out in 2016. His interrogation continued.

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The weapons seized from the terrorist who was hiding in a Bauchi village

Just recently, Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian army troop stationed at Forward Operation Base, Potiskum has arrested a suspected notorious Boko Haram commander in Yobe state.

The suspect, a 35-year-old man called Abubaka Adamu, popularly known as 'Pepper' was arrested around New Prison area, Potiskum, Potiskum local government area, Yobe state.

Legit.ng learnt that Adamu was arrested on Sunday, May 14, by the Troops of 233 Battalion, 27 Task Force Brigade, of the Nigerian army.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of Nigerian Air Force preparing for a Boko Haram bombardment

Source: Legit.ng
- A man who was kidnapped by notorious Nigerian kidnapper Evans shares terrifying ordeal

- The victim was kidnapped on his way from work and ransomed for $1.2 million

- Evans was arrested by the Nigerian police on Saturday, June 10

Following the arrest of notorious kidnapper, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike also known as Evans, a man who was kidnapped by his gang has come out to share his ordeal.

According to him, he was kidnapped on his way home from work on September, 2015, by armed men who stopped in front of his vehicle and started shooting at it.

He explained that he was taken to a house where other victims were kept and guarded by members of the gang.

Victim narrates how he kidnapped by notorious kidnapper 'Evans'

READ ALSO: Please spare my husbands life - Wife of millionaire kidnapper Evans cries out

The victim added that he was released on October 19, 2015, eight days after he finished paying 1.2 million dollars ransom to the gang.

Read his story below:

On September, 2015, as I was coming back from my factory in Agbara to my home in Festac, arriving Seventh Avenue, I saw four gun men. They stopped in front of my vehicle and started shooting while I was with my two drivers in my Hilux pickup.

I was sitting at the back, thinking they were policemen. I was wondering why they were shooting and charging at us not knowing that they were kidnappers. In the process, they shot us, me and two of my drivers but luckily, nobody died. I still have a bullet in my body.

By the time I realized they were kidnappers, they dragged me out of my vehicle to their own Lexus 470 Jeep. Inside their Jeep, there were lots of arms and ammunition inside a box. They had another box at the back where they put me in.

Four guys were inside that Jeep, well-armed, even the driver had his own AK-47 riffle. They drove past Festac Link Bridge to Amowu-Odofin, around 4:30pm as if they were going to Okota. Later, they came out to Oshodi -Apapa Expressway. By this time, they had not blindfolded me but they pushed my head down, lying bare on the floor of the car. One of them just held me as I was seriously bleeding. I never knew I would survive this. I couldnt remember the places they took me to because I was lying down.

After a long journey, they stopped at a particular area, those guys jumped down and another group came on board and zoomed off again.

As we were going, we got to one house, they called the security guard who came and opened the gate, and they brought me out, gathered water, changed their cloths and called one doctor, whether he was quack or not, I do not know.

They told the doctor they had emergency. The doctor came, washed me and treated my wound. That was the first thing they did. Though, when we were about to get to where they wanted to take me to, they blind folded me.

They were administering two injections on me daily. When I asked them the kind of injection they were giving me, they said it was anti tetanus injection and pain reliever. They refused to give me water saying that if you have bullet in your body, you dont drink water.

The second day, Evans came there with the doctor and said to me that, he came there because of me. Yet, I did not set my eyes on him. Maybe, the person that asked them to kidnap me told them that they should not let me die.

I said this because of the kind of treatment they were giving me or maybe, it could be because of my wound. But, I was seriously bleeding. At a point, they were thinking of exchanging me. They called my brother to come and let me go out and treat myself of the bullet wound.

My elder brother accepted to come but backed out at the end because those people, you never know what they planned. May be their plan was to capture the two of us before they would kill us. It was an ugly situation.

They injected me for seven good days. From that Monday till the next Sunday, every two days, there was a particular guy that came there to treat my wounds, dress it and put the bandage again. After some days, Evans called.

READ ALSO: How is Evans any different from our politicians - Nigerians react on Facebook

How they operate

How they operate is that, they keep a hostage keeper, which is someone that would be guiding kidnap victims so that any time their boss wants to call, he would call that person. When he calls the person, the person would bring the phone to the victim and hold the phone for you talk to him.

They were always communicating. They did not maltreat me because of my condition but I heard them maltreating the victim in the other room with hot iron and the person would be crying.

Before they start that, they would go and put on their generator so that their neighbours would not be hearing. That guy was a terror.

Feeding pattern

They were feeding me with one useless Indomie. I was just managing to eat to keep my life moving. They asked what kind of tablets I was taking but I told them I was not on tablets. I did not make trouble with them but there was a day I tried to escape. I was scared whether all the neighbours were their gang members or not.

Again, even if I would have escaped, I would have been naked because before you go to the bathroom, they take away your boxers. When you finished, you knocked at the door and turned your face to the wall as they gave you your boxer to wear.

They would blind fold you and put you in chains again. Early morning I used to hear siren and I thought, that it was police that were coming to rescue me. At the end nothing would happen. They would go. What were they coming to do there around 4:00 am to 5:00 am? I noticed that five times and I asked myself, what the police are coming there to do?.

I also noticed there was a construction site nearby where people were working. One particular day, one boy came in and asked mummy, who is this uncle?. I was listening and waited to hear what the woman would say but she did not say anything.

So, that couple that was paraded were there. I was praying every minute of the day, waiting for anything that would happen the next day. It was traumatising . So many things happened. I knew that, nothing would happen to me but they would charge me more money.

You know, I paid $1.2 million. We paid it in three instalments. We paid two hundred thousand dollars, eight hundred thousand dollars and another two hundred thousand dollars. He claimed that, the first two hundred dollars we paid had been cancelled because we set them up by inviting security agents to be tracking them. Thats how we were accused and that the payment had been rubbished.

He bargains with the victims, he doesnt bargain with the families. Whatever he asked for that is what the family would pay. A person that is under chain, what would he say? Anything they asked you to do, you just had to do it because of your life. That was not joke, they meant business.

If you refused to co-operate, they would kill you. I am sure; they have killed some people there. I stayed there for six weeks. I was abducted on the 7th of September and I was released on the 19th of October, 2015.

What led to my release?

After I had finished paying the ransom, they still kept me for another eight days. My people were worried, and I was worried too because I did not know what was going on outside. They had cut off communication with everybody.

Immediately, he collected his ransom, he travelled abroad. He goes outside to keep his ill-gotten wealth, which was obvious.

I now asked the hostage keeper, how long it takes them to release a hostage. He said four days, I now asked again, but why am I still here? He then said I should not worry, that the chairman travelled and that I would be released as soon as he returned.

He said that I should see myself as a free man and relax. The man was a greedy man. Of all the money we paid him, he didnt feed us well. His duty, I observed, was to collect money and drop victims.

When he came back to Nigeria, he came to me where I was detained by his men and said to me that, today, you will go. He ordered his boys to bring all my belongings. My Rolex watch, my bag, my golden ring and my sandals were nowhere to be found. Not to talk of cash because all of them were criminals. All other valuables were gone.

They only brought my cloths, bank cheque books and seals and a polythene bag. And for my sandals, they bought one bathroom slippers for me. Just imagine someone coming back from his office.

Then, he asked me to hold on till the road was free; it was about 5:00 pm.

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How Evans promised to attend my thanksgiving in church

As I was waiting, he came back and called me, Nnwa which is my title name. Any time he wanted to talk to me he first called me Nnwa. When he saw my wound, he said, I was a lucky man. That, my God is a great God.

He said that, I would live up to hundred years for surviving that gunshot. I asked him why they were shooting us like that. He said in war all was fair. I then asked you and who were fighting?. Did I have gun with me?.

Evans now asked who was the person in front of my car. That was when they thought I was a policeman. In fact they would have killed my driver if he were a policeman. When he came down and they asked him, he told them he was just an ordinary driver. That was when they left him.

He advised me to buy a lot of drinks because many people would be coming to sympathize with me. He stressed that people were already waiting for my arrival. He said:

Any day you are going to do thanksgiving, we are going to be there. I now asked him, how would I know you will be there? He replied that, I shouldnt worry; he would come and follow me to thank God. Nnwa, but your God is great oh.

All these things he was talking, my mind was not there because I knew he was wicked.

That evening, he brought ten thousand naira that I should take it. That if, they drop me anywhere, I should use it to enter taxi to my house. Or if I wanted, they could drop me in a nearby hotel so that, I could call my people to come and carry me.

But I told him to just drop my anywhere he wanted. When it became dark everywhere, they took me out of that house and moved me round the city before finally dropping me around Lagos State University (LASU, side in Iyana Oba.

Even to walk was a problem because, I had been in chains for long and all my bones had grown weak. I almost fell down while trying to cross the road because of my wobbling legs. I lost so much energy that, I became weak, lean and tired.

Suya was the first thing I ate after my release from captivity. I called a motorcyclist to take me to any nearby bus stop, which he did. When I turned the other side, I saw one man selling roasted meat (Suya), I went to him and bought the meat for one thousand naira and started eating.

My action was to soften the ground for me to start asking question that would let me know exactly where I was as by this time I never knew where I was exactly. I asked the man, how I could get to Mile 2, and he said before you get to Mile 2, you first of all get to LASU.

I asked again, how I could I get to LASU, he told me to cross the road to the other side and enter any bus that was going that way. As soon as I entered the bus, I switched on my phones and there was no single credit on my phones except the one we used as a company group. That one doesnt need credit because we pay once in a month. I now used it to call one of my managers.

Immediately he saw my call, he knew I was out and asked me where I was so that he could come and carry me. I told him to come to LASU, I got there and was waiting for him. He was coming from Agbara axis. While there, I strolled down a bit to buy orange, one man just came to me that I should give him money in spite of my tattered appearance.

I took two thousand out of the ten thousand Evans gave to me and gave to him. I was kind of hiding so that people who knew me before would not notice me until I got home.

When my manager came, he took me straight to the house after that, I went to report officially to the police. Even the commissioner of police came to my house after that.

After that incident, I requested for police protection which I was later provided with. I was so happy when I heard that, the guy has been arrested. I thank the Nigeria police for doing a great job. That shows that, if the police want to work, they could work.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Evans confessed that he was caught by the police becuse his charm failed him.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng TV visited one of the mansions said to belong to Evans. See our report below:

Source: Legit.ng
- The zoning formula that is adopted in almost all political activities in Nigeria has its own flaws

- It has denied Nigerians the opportunity to retain brilliant legislators whose contributions to the national development

- Some other legislators have however weathered the storm and retain their seats

A report by Daily Trust has focused on the legislators at the national assembly who have remained in the National Assembly for close to two decades.

According to the report, as far as the affairs of the National Assembly are concerned, they must be reckoned with, and their roles cannot be pushed aside.

Some have spent 18 years at the National Assembly, some are in their 14th year. Of them, only one has stayed put in the Senate, and another has done same at the House of Representatives.

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The lawmakers are both from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Legit.ng lists the legislators below:

1. Senator David Mark (PDP, Benue, 1999-date)

He represents the people of Benue South Senatorial District. He is a former military administrator of Niger state and minister of communications. In 2007, he became the Senate President and occupied the position for eight years making him Nigeria's longest-serving Senate President. Two years into the life of this Senate, Senator Mark has not contributed to any debate on the floor and he is not a member of any standing committee.

Senator David Mark is the longest serving Senate President in Nigeria

Source: Facebook

2. Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (APC, Yobe, 1999-date)

Lawan, 57, also came to the National Assembly in 1999. While Mark was sworn in for the upper chamber, Lawan had his for the lower chamber. He remained at the House until 2007 when he stepped up to the Senate. The Yobe-born teacher, who has a doctorate degree in remote sensing became the Senate Leader in January this year. His knowledge of the workings of the legislature is superb. He has spent 18 years in the National Assembly.

3. Honourable Nicholas Ebomo Mutu (PDP, Delta, 1999-date)

The 57-year-old lawmaker came to the House at the inception of this current democratic dispensation. He won election to represent Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency of Delta state at the age of 39. He has been winning elections since then.

Mutu has been operating underground, so to speak, and has been heading the house committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from 2009 to date. The soft-spoken Delta lawmaker rarely contributes to debate on the floor of the House and hardly grants interviews, but he appears to be in firm grip of his committee.

4. Senator Ike Ekweremadu (PDP, Enugu, 2003-date)

A lawyer-turned-politician, Senator Ekweremadu was first sworn in to represent Enugu West Senatorial District in 2003, after chairing Aninri local government area of Enugu state. At the moment, he is the longest-serving presiding officer in the National Assembly, having served for eight years as Deputy Senate President (2007-2015) under Mark.

He is very familiar with letters of the constitution and rules of the Senate. He has been a presiding officer for 10 years.

Senator Ekweremadu (middle) is the longest serving presiding officer in the Senate

5. Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos, 2003-date)

Gbaja, as he is popularly called, came to the house in 2003 to represent Surulere 1 Federal Constituency of Lagos state at the age of 40. He first served as house minority whip from 2007, and later became minority leader, a position he held up to 2015.

Gbajabiamila is one lawmaker that commands a lot of respect from his colleagues largely due to the way he articulates his ideas and thoughts each time he speaks on the floor of the house. The Lagos lawmaker, who will soon turn 55, has become an authority of a sorts, as far as lawmaking is concerned. He is the current majority leader of the house.

Honourable Gbajabiamila is the current majority leader of the green chambers

6. Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno, 2003-date)

Ndume was first sworn in to represent Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza in 2003. He represented the Federal Constituency until 2011 when he moved forward to represent the Benue South Senatorial District.

He was in 2007 made the minority leader while he was in the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP). He was made the Senate Leader at the inauguration of the 8th Senate, a position he occupied until January 10, this year when he was removed. He is currently under suspension.

Senator Ndume is currently under suspension

7. Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta, 2003-date)

Manager, 56 was sworn in as a senator in 2003 to represent Delta South Senatorial District and since then he has been at the Senate, chairing various committees. A graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he studied law, he currently chairs the Senate committee on solid minerals. He is respected by his colleagues for his grasp of the workings of the Senate.

8. Honourable Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta, 2003-date)

He is the minority leader of the house. He has been representing Isoko North/Isoko South Federal Constituency of Delta state since 2003. He had served as deputy house leader during the last assembly.

Ogor, 58, is one lawmaker that easily convinces his colleagues by arguing a matter logically. Like Gbajabiamila, Ogor is one of the most outspoken members of the house. Not only does he command respect among his colleagues, he wields a lot of influence in the house and attracts lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties to his office at all times.

Honourable Ogor is well respected in the lower house

9. Senator John Owan Enoh (APC, Cross River, 2003-date)

Enoh who chairs the Senate committee on finance was first sworn in to occupy a seat at the House of Representatives. In 2015, he contested and worn the Cross River Central Senatorial District. The lawmaker recently decamped to the APC from the PDP. He has been in the National Assembly for 14 years. At the House of Representatives, he chaired the committee of finance and appropriation at different times.

10. Senator Philip Tanimu Aduda (PDP, FCT, 2003-date)

Aduda, 47)is the bona fide landlord of the National Assembly being the representative of the FCT where the National Assembly is situated.

Fondly called Landlord by his colleagues, Aduda was first sworn in at the house in 2003 and he was there until 2011 when he stepped up to the upper legislative chamber. At the inauguration of the 8th Senate, he was made the minority whip.

Senator Aduda was a former member of the House of Representatives before his elevation to the Senate

11. Yakubu Barde (PDP, Kaduna, 2003-date)

Barde has been representing Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency of Kaduna state since 2003. He is the current minority whip of the house. Vocal and outspoken, Barde has been a frequent face on the floor of the house as he hardly misses plenary sittings, except on few occasions.

By virtue of his long stay in the house and the role he played during the last leadership contest in the house, Barde is considered one of the power brokers in the lower chamber.

12. Kabiru Marafa Achida (APC, Sokoto, 2003-date)

Achida, who represents Wurno/Rabah Federal Constituency of Sokoto state, is one lawmaker that does not play to the gallery. He first came to the house in 2003 and has been a constant election winner since then.

He has been a member of committees such as appropriations, civil society and donor agencies, information and national orientation, interior, NDDC, public petitions, among others.

Always sitting at the front row alongside other ranking members of the House, Achida, now 55, does not attract much attention to himself, but he is certainly one of the silent power brokers in the house owing to his long stay in the green chambers.

13. Honourable Jagaba Adams Jagaba (1999-2003, 2007-date)

Jagaba, who chairs the house committee on interior, won election to the house in 1999. After serving his 4-year term, he re-contested election in 2003 but lost. However, he staged a comeback in 2011 and has been in the house since then.

A close ally of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Jagaba is considered one of the strong men of the current house. He is equally outspoken and a no-nonsense person in nature.

Honourable Jagaba (left) is said to be very close to Speaker Yakubu Dogara (middle)

Watch the Legit.ng TV video below of the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi talking about the achievements of the federal government in the last two years.

Source: Legit.ng
- A beauty queen, Miss Asaigbo has been arrested for her alleged involvement in fraud

- The suspect reportedly duped two people of the sum of N7.5 million

- She reportedly lied to her victim that she would get help them secure a visa

Miss Asaigbo, a Nigerian beauty queen and an Accounting student of Enugu state University of Science and Technology (ESUT), for her alleged involvement in fraud.

Legit.ng gathered that the beauty queen, Joy Ugwu, was allegedly remanded in kirirkiri prison in Lagos by a Yaba Magistrate court for allegedly duping a couple of people of the sum of N7.5 million.

Police investigations revealed that this was not her first crime has she has been involved in several fraud allegations.

She reportedly duped several Nigerians of through Visa racket and Ponzi scheme, before she was eventually arrested after series of police complaints by her victims.

Joy Ugwu

READ ALSO: President Buhari will soon be back  APC governor reveals

According to The Saturday Sun newspaper, Joy Ugwu had duoed many people and threatened her victim with her 'status' and 'influence' and so most of them were afraid to report her to the police or drag a case with her until recently when she duped one Jonathan Nwaogu and Anita Oby.

Ugwu allegedly promised to secure a visa for Nwaogu after he has paid her the sum of N1 million. She was said to have started avoiding him after collecting the money from him.

Joy Ugwu during her coronation in 2016

Nwaogu said: The girl duped me one million naira and the evidence is there. I didnt have much to say, because she said she wanted the matter to be taken to court. What baffled me was the way she took the matter.

"It was quite obvious that she defrauded me. All she needed to do was to surrender and settle for peace to reign. I dont understand why she decided to go to court; I heard the comments she made in the police station.

"The money is just one million naira and she behaved as if it was dollars. All I planned was to recover my money in a very simple way.

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She also reportedly duped Anita Oby of the sum of N2 million through a ponzi sheme called 'Me and You'.

When the beauty queen was arrested in Enugu, she reportedly slapped a police officer, bragging about her connections.

She allegedly also withdrew the N7.5 million in her account between the period she was first arrested and rearrested, leaving only N400,000 in her account.

Ugwu has veen granted bail by the Yaba magistrate court but she is still in prison because she could not meet her bail conditions.

Watch video of officials of EFCC matching against fraud in Nigeria:

Source: Legit.ng
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- Lai Mohammed says he cannot categorical state when President Buhari will return to the country

- The minister's statement comes days after it was speculated that Buhari would return in the first week or second week of June

- President Muhammadu Buhari has been away since May 7 when he travelled back to London for medical checkup

Days after a report by Sahara Reporters claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari may return to Nigeria in between the first or second week of June, minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has disclosed that there is no official date for the president's return.

Mohammed made this known on Thursday, June 15, when he appeared on Channels Television show, Politics Today.

According to him, President Buhari made it clear when he was leaving, that the length of his stay would be determined by his doctors.

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Responding to a question on when Nigerians are expected to have Buhari back into the country, Mohammed said: "I think the president made it clear when he was leaving that the length of his stay would be determined by his doctors. The most authentic news we have so far is from the wife of the president who recently came back from London to disclose that the president is recovering very fast. That is the best we can say for now."

READ ALSO: PDP more democratic than any party in Nigeria  Governor Fayose

On if he has been able to speak to the president since he left, the minister said: "No I don't have to."

On if the wife of the president, Aisha Buhari saw her husband when she went to London, Mohammed said: "I have no reason to doubt the wife of the president. If the wife of the president comes out to say that 'I saw my husband and he is doing very well', then I have no reason to doubt her."

President Buhari departed for London, UK for medical treatment on Sunday, May 7, shortly after he received the 82 released Chibok girls.

Before his departure, the president was rarely seen in public for a while, fuelling speculation about his state of health.

In the video below, Legit.ng asked some Nigerians if they are excited about the prospects of meeting President Buhari again after a long while.

Source: Legit.ng
- Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-kayode listed reasons why Nigeria cannot be classified as a free country

- Fani-Kayode alleges that Christians in Nigeria are not given same opportunities as their Muslim counterparts

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has alleged that Nigeria can not be called a free nation because Christians are not given same opportunity as their Muslim counterparts.

Fani-Kayode, who is known for his criticism of Nigerian current government, said Christians are not allowed to live freely in the north.

In a series of tweets, he claimed that Nigeria cannot be called a free state until opportunities are equal.

READ ALSO: Benue police parade kidnap gang members associated with notorious kidnapper, Gana

He said: "How can anyone describe Nigeria as free when its almost impossible for a Christian to gain admission into Ahmadu Bello University today?

"How can anyone describe Nigeria as free when Christian studies is removed from the curriculum and Islamic studies are made compulsory?

"How can anyone describe Nigeria as free when Christians are banned from buying land to build churches in most parts of the core north?"

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Meanwhile, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, former vice-chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna state, has reacted again after he sparked controversy following his approval of a statement by Arewa youths, asking Igbo to leave the North on or before October 1, 2017.

According to Abdullahi, who is the spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum, his backing of the quit notice issued to Igbos in the North, has changed nothing, because Nigeria has been a polarised state for a long time.

Watch video of Fani-kayode revealing what President Buhari allegedly told him about the Igbos:

Source: Legit.ng
- Amaechi has vowed that as long as he remains the leader of the APC in Rivers state, Senator Abe cannot be the governorship candidate

- The former governor recently sacked loyalists of Senator Abe in the party to exert his influence on the state chapter of the party

- The move is perceived as Amaechis strategy to reduce Abes rising profile after he won the senatorial rerun election last year

Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of transportation, has vowed to stop the 2019 governorship ambition of Senator Magnus Abe, lawmaker representing Rivers South East in the National Assembly.

According to him, nobody could convince him to back his former political ally and godson, The Guardian reports.

The battle of wits between Amaechi and Senator Magnus Abe has continued to hug headlines in the media.

READ ALSO: Lai Mohammed says there is no official date for Buhari's return

Amaechi had, during a stakeholders meeting held in Port Harcourt, said he has foreclosed Abes governorship ambition as far as the Rivers APC was concerned.

The minister vowed that as long as he remains the leader of the APC in Rivers state, Abe could not be the governorship candidate.

He also threatened to suspend any party leader supporting Abes candidature adding that he is the only one that could determine who gets the partys ticket in 2019.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

Earlier, Legit.ng gathered that Amaechi sacked loyalists of Senator Abe in the party recently to exert his influence on the state chapter of the party.

As part of effort to frustrate Abes ambition, the former governor suspended Worgu Boms, former attorney general and commissioner for Justice, as the leader of the APC caucus in Port Harcourt Council (PHALGA).

The minister had since announced former Port Harcourt City Council chairman and one-time local government commission chairman, Nnamdi Wokekoro, as Boms replacement.

Amaechi also announced the suspension of Chief Tony Okocha, Obio/Akpor Council APC caucus leader and his former Chief of Staff, Government House.

These moves are perceived as Amaechis strategy to reduce Abes rising profile after he won the senatorial rerun election last year.

In the interview below with Legit.ng TV, Comrade Frank warns the APC to resolve its internal bickering before 2019.

Source: Legit.ng
- Evans says he is tired of the humiliation and wants to die now

- The notorious billionaire kidnapper says he regrets that he could not end his life before policemen arrested him in his Magodo residence

- Evans says he had planned to join his family in Ghana the day he was arrested

Notorious billionaire kidnapper Chukwudi Onuamadike aka Evans has said his time on earth is over following his arrest last Saturday, June 10, at his Magodo Estate mansion, Lagos.

Speaking in an interview with Vanguard, Evans said he can no longer stand the humiliation, so he prefers dying than to continue living in pains.

He regretted that he could not end his life before policemen arrested him in his Magodo residence, adding that he knew the police would not treat him fairly when he was caught, following his atrocities in the past.

READ ALSO: Lai Mohammed says there is no official date for Buhari's return

According to him, he immediately moved to end his life the moment the police gained access to his house but the policeman who ran after him as he ran into his house when he sighted them at his gate, prevented him from completing his mission.

Evans says he has seen it all and wants to die now

He said: What am I living for? When I saw the policemen dash towards me I ran inside. I was not running to escape. I ran to see if I could end it before they could take me. But time was short. They followed me into the room.

I have seen it all, I want to die and have some rest. The only thing I want now is for the government to take care of my children, educate them and dont allow them to become criminals. I have begged Abba Kyari, to do this for me and he assured me that the Lagos State government would take them to an orphanage home where they would grow to become better persons in the society. I have been diagnosed with Colon Cancer and I wish could die now."

Speaking on the exact location of his wife and children, Evans said he sent them to Ghana four days before he was arrested.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

He disclosed that he had planned to join his family in Ghana the day he was arrested, adding that he wanted them to relocate to Canada, where he wanted his children to school.

He further stated that he gave his wife the sum of N20million for her upkeep, stating that he did not know their location at the moment since the day he was arrested.

Evans added that his wife, who he has been married to for 11 years, only knew he was a kidnapper a few days before his arrest.

He said: My wife didnt know I am a kidnapper. I kept all my kidnapping activities away from her and she thought I made my billions from importation and illicit drug dealings.

We didnt allow visitors to visit our house for any reason. If she must receive any visitor, I usually ask her to take them to a hotel. But a few days before I was arrested she discovered I was worried and restless. My blood pressure went very high and she asked what was happening.

I opened up to her and also told her that security agents were everywhere looking for me. Initially, I thought it was the Department of State Security (DSS) that was hunting for me.

I also told her to be very careful with her phones and to be mindful of the people who call her. I also told her to always switch off her mobile phones.

He added: While I was still contemplating on what to do, I got information that one of my girlfriends known as Ijeoma had been arrested and taken to SARS, Ikeja. That was when I knew that the people hunting me were policemen. I called my second in command, Felix and warned him to be careful that the Police were closing in on us, but before I knew what was happening, I learnt that Felix had been arrested in Ojota.

I immediately moved my family out of my house and we relocated to a hotel in Agidingbi Ikeja. My children stopped going to school, then I started making preparation for them to travel to Ghana where I have three houses. A few days later, I got news again that my younger sister, Nzube had also been arrested by the Police. I heard they were trying to use her to lure me. I then sent words to one of my friends in Nnewi to take my mother to Bayelsa State where I felt locating her will be difficult.

Then I sold three of my cars, leaving just a Grand Cherokee SUV. Four days before my arrest, I sent my wife and children to Ghana and I paid the sum of N20million to the account of a bureau de change operator in Ghana. She collected the money in Cedi. I was planning to join them the day I was arrested.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Evans confessed that he was caught by the police because his charm failed him.

The 36-year-old suspect is a native of Akamili in Umudim Quarters, Nnewi, Anambra state.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng TV visited one of the mansions said to belong to Evans. See our report below:

Source: Legit.ng
GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us.
IEEE Spectrum asked AI experts about when human level AI will be achieved and as usual there was a massive range of dates from a few years to hundreds of years.

Gary Marcus talks about many decades before AIs can process inputs and situations with the flexibility and adaptability of humans.

As usual the questions are how can sufficient flexibility and extensibility be solved. Also can the AIs be placed with usefully broad constrained environments. Can sensors and other solutions be used to solve the adaptability issues.

We see this with the self driving cars in the wild problems and robotics in the home, hospital and factory.

Super precise (millimeter) or better global mapping can be used to help robots and AIs to usefully get around the world. General global maps might be only centimeter or meter precise. Then even more precise maps can be in the factory or across the city.

AI is already tens of billions of dollars of industry and investment. AI will reach across most of the trillion dollar IT industry within ten years.

Entire industries will be AI dominated

 Transportation

 Factories

etc



Rodney Brooks talked about 50-100 years until we have AI with dog level intelligence and consciousness. He also thinks those AI dogs will have bad noses.

This is meaningless and pointless.

AIs could dominate the global economy without consciousness. AIs will tap into global networks of sensors and soon low orbit global satellites.


(Image by I forget) Details DMCA

here.

***********************

We now approach what may be the most pivotal part of what I've called my "integrative vision": an idea I call "the parable of the tribes." ("Pivotal" meaning so much of the human story turns on what this idea depicts.)

From the moment that idea came to me, in 1970, it has seemed to me a very Big Deal. "Receiving" that idea was a bone-shaking experience for me, and pretty much the rest of my life has hinged on my promise, made right then, to do my best to communicate it to my fellow humans.

Here I am, 47 years later, trying once again to convey it, hoping that it will have an impact on people's understanding of "the human story" something like it has had on mine. I know that there are people on whom it has had such an impact. (I couldn't say how many.) But I'd say that -- while swinging for the fences -- what I managed to hit was a single.

I'm still striving for more RBIs with this piece of the "integrative vision." Not only for the original reasons of wanting this idea to change how people understand the meaning of human history, but also because this piece can help illuminate the rest of that vision -- I've been developing in the decades since --in the proper light.

So, as you've doubtless noticed if you've been reading this series, I've been laying the groundwork, in various ways, for its presentation. (For example, in previous installments I sought to create the itch that the parable of the tribes might scratch.)

And now, one more piece of groundwork-laying: before moving into the substance, I will take a moment to try to remove what I imagine to be an obstacle in the way of this idea being seen for what it is and what it offers.

*******************

There is something inherently awkward about undertaking this "Better Human Story" series. On the one hand, the whole impetus for writing it is my conviction that there is something important at stake here, that it could really matter whether or not this "integrative vision" becomes a major way for people to understand the human world.

On the other hand, claiming such a thing for one's ideas will inevitably raise questions about both the claim and the claimant.

Let me tell a story that can help address at least one of those questions that would arise in my mind if I were a reader.

That idea I claim to be a Big Deal -- the idea I call "the parable of the tribes" --was published reasonably prominently in book form in 1984.

The fact that this supposedly Big Deal idea has been out into the world for more than thirty years would make me wonder, in your place:

"If the idea really were some Big Deal why, more than three decades later, would it still be relatively obscure -- hardly a Big Deal -- in the world?"

You would think!

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From Strategic Culture



Theresa May has just said, .There will always be a special relationship between the UK & Ireland.. We call it an occupation.

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Like a crazed gambler who bet the house -- and lost -- Theresa May's Conservative (Tory) government is now doubling down to risk peace in Ireland so that she might cling on to power. Having lost her party's overall majority in the House of Parliament in last week's humiliating British general election, May is having to rely on a rabidly sectarian party from Northern Ireland to cobble together a working government.

The so-called Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is being wooed by May to provide its quota of 10 MPs in order to form an ad hoc parliamentary coalition. If a deal is done, that would give the Tories a total of 328 parliamentarians -- scraping just enough lawmakers to pass future legislation.

It remains to be seen if the proposed arrangement will work. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has derided it as a coalition of chaos and is urging his own party to get ready to contend another election in the coming months resulting from the Tory government's possible collapse.

Several leading British and Irish political figures are warning May that her gamble to govern with the Northern Ireland DUP is risking the return of violence in the British-ruled province. The danger stems from the DUP demanding concessions from London which would inflame sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland.

For the past 20 years since the signing of a peace agreement in 1997, Northern Ireland has witnessed a period of relative calm. A 30-year sectarian conflict between mainly pro-British Protestants and pro-independence Catholics that began in 1968 had been largely settled. A local administration of power-sharing between the DUP unionists and republicans belonging to Sinn Fein was forged. That managed to keep the lid on seething sectarian passions. But now that lid is in danger of being blown away by May's one-sided deal-making with the unionists.

John Major, a former British Conservative prime minister (1990-97) who helped facilitate the Irish peace process, has this week added his voice to a chorus of public figures warning Theresa May that her proposed pact with the DUP could reignite conflict in Northern Ireland.

Major said a fundamental part of the Northern Ireland peace deal is that the London government needs to be seen as impartial between competing political parties in the province. With May now moving to explicitly rely on the DUP to govern Britain that official impartiality is cast aside.

The warnings from Major have been echoed by the former southern Irish premier Enda Kenny, as well as by former British Labour minister Peter Hain. Hain, who was also involved in implementing the Irish peace process, said that any deal between May's government and the DUP will come at a painful price for Northern Ireland.

This comes at a particularly delicate time in Northern Ireland. For the past six months, the local administration based in Stormont, Belfast, has been suspended. Sinn Fein -- the second biggest party after the DUP -- collapsed the power-sharing assembly over a public spending scandal involving DUP ministers.

Some members of the DUP -- who were never supportive of the power-sharing deal anyway -- are now seizing on the chance to end it entirely. With a direct line of power from London owing to the proposed coalition with May, the DUP are emboldened to go it alone, without Sinn Fein. The latter is the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, the guerrilla group that fought against the British army and police force during the 30-year conflict. The DUP have never fully reconciled with Sinn Fein whom they accuse of being terrorists.

Also, another incendiary factor is that the summer months in Northern Ireland are traditionally a time of increased sectarian tensions. This is because pro-unionist organizations led by the Protestant Orange Order (a Masonic group likened to the KKK in the USA), as well as associated paramilitary factions, take to the streets in large-scale marches to commemorate centuries-old battles. The marches which culminate next month on July 12 are seen by many Catholics as provocatively sectarian. Historically, the Orange parades are organized in a triumphalist display or supposed supremacy over the minority Catholic community in Northern Ireland.

An ominous fact is that the Orange marches were a tipping factor in the eruption of violence in Northern Ireland back in 1968.

Since the signing of the peace accord in 1997, the British government agreed to demands to restrict these pro-unionist marches from entering into Catholic communities. Again, now with the DUP being seen to have governing favor with the Conservative administration in London, the Orangemen and their overlapping rank-and-file membership of the DUP are demanding that the marching restrictions be lifted.

As former Labour minister Peter Hain notes it will be difficult for May to say no to the unionists' demands owing to the imperative of her own political survival in Westminster. That imperative for the shaky minority Conservative government is all the more amplified because of the impending Brexit negotiations due to start next week with Brussels.

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See original here

By *Celisa Calacal

Shocking. Abnormal. Unprecedented. And, in the end, horror. These are just some of the words used to describe the Trump presidency since he took office. And with each passing day in the Trump administration, each new statement, tweet or piece of legislation, many people feel that these Trump-ian antics are unlike anything seen before.

But author and award-winning journalist Naomi Klein disagrees: We have seen this before.

Speaking to a crowded hall on June 12 at the Cooper Union in New York City, Klein discussed the events contributing to Trump's rise, the future of the progressive movement and the "shocks" that are lying in the wake of Trump's policies. The event was also held to promote Klein's new book, No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump's Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need.



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Much of Klein's talk centered around the theory she presents in her 2008 book The Shock Doctrine, but she also differentiated Trump's policies as a different form of shock. And while most media coverage of the White House portrays his administration as a chaotic mess, Klein argued that the media ends up missing the more diabolical policy movements behind the curtain that are "shock-creation machines" -- such as the removal of Dodd-Frank and the pulling out from the Paris climate agreement.

"This narrative has emerged that he's this bumbling idiot, that it's all chaos," she said. "And meanwhile, behind the scenes, getting very little media attention is a methodical, very organized redistribution of wealth from lower and middle incomes to the one percent of the one percent."

The Rebranding of Trump -- How We Got Here

In an analysis that has largely been missing in mainstream media to describe the rise of Trump, Klein connected much of Trump's success to the way he brands himself. Drawing from common marketing practices, she discussed how Trump's new business model involves the selling and leasing of his name to almost every product imaginable -- a corporate model she calls the "hollow brand." Klein's analysis of hollow brand marketing builds upon her writing in her 1999 book, No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies.

Beginning in the late 1980s, Klein pointed out, companies began to shift away from their traditional model of creating products and establishing a brand around those products. The new trend in the marketing industry was instead to sell an idea.

"The product is the marketing tool. Branding is a very colonial process," she said. "And essentially what they're selling is group identity."

Trump, Klein argued, capitalizes on this marketing technique, as he built a brand centered on his name while quietly outsourcing the production of his products to Third World countries. Klein also took a moment to call out similar practices by Canadian president Justin Trudeau, who has branded himself as a "progressive climate leader" despite his anti-environmental policies in supporting tar sands pipelines.

"I'm a dual Canadian and American citizen, so I feel it's my responsibility to tell you that Justin Trudeau is a hollow brand," she said, to loud cheers from the audience.

The danger in this practice, however, lies in the facade that companies are actually fulfilling consumers' needs.

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Arnold Turling is a very angry and unhappy man -- vindicated but at what cost. Three years ago, he advised the All Party Parliamentary Rescue Group that cheap flammable insulation filler inside the new waterproof cladding and lack of a sprinkler system made buildings like Grenfell Tower a disaster waiting to happen. Mr. Turling is a Chartered Surveyor as well as a fire expert and member of the Association of Specialist Fire Protection. It is ironic that he adds the building would not have burned down in its original concrete form.



The reason is straight forward: The gap between the cladding and concrete serves as a chimney which becomes more efficient as the insulation catches fire. For this reason that particular type of plastic core called PE is banned in the U.S., "because of the fire and smoke spread," for buildings higher than 40 feet. So said a spokesman for the U.S. manufacturer Reynobond. The PE version he added is used for small commercial buildings and gas stations. In the UK, the fire resistant panels cost 24 pounds ($31) per square meter, the cheaper ones are two pounds ($2.56) less. The regulations allowing the latter were introduced in 1986 during the Margaret Thatcher era, when they relaxed the prior more strict code.



If the previous iron lady is still wreaking havoc from the grave, the new one did not endear herself to the bereaved by avoiding them when she visited the area -- she met only with emergency services. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, on the other hand, hugged and was hugged as he called for requisitioning the empty housing belonging to the rich to accommodate the people who had lost everything in the fire.



The borough of Kensington and Chelsea is enormously rich. Council estates, as public housing is called in London, occupy a fringe of it and offer affordable places to live in a city where real estate has experienced an astronomical rise.





Prime Minister May has other problems more serious for her government as they threaten to cut short its existence. Her alliance with the Northern Ireland DUP is at risk. Gerry Adams the Catholic Sinn Fein leader has protested it violates the power sharing Good Friday agreement where London was to be the neutral arbiter. Thus most people assumed the deal with the DUP was informal. Now it seems someone is holding out for a formal alliance. Strong voices can be heard calling it a sordid deal that could destroy 20 years of work in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, Gerry Adams says his party will refuse to take their seats in the new parliament if it goes through. Ms. May gives the impression of being busily ahead of a Rube Goldberg contraption tumbling down behind her.

The question one is left with after the fire is simple if uncomfortable: What is a human life worth in the 21st century? And the answer now is apparent. It depends on where, how wealthy, and to whom you were born. Not much has changed in that regard.
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"At 350.org we've always wanted to work from the bottom up, and it's good to see people assembling a theoretical framework for understanding this decentralized approach! "



Bill McKibben, founder 350.org, author of The End of Nature
Dairy Not Found

Sometimes, authors delete their diaries after publishing them.



To see if the diary was renamed or re-published, please click here.
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Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them.



To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here.
From Empire Burlesque

So: Trump appoints his son's wedding planner to head NYC's massive federal housing agency. She has no experience in housing; she falsely claims to have a law degree; she falsely claims to have gone to Yale. This is very much in line with most of Trump's appointments. People look at the series of gormless courtiers and fox-in-henhouse given important posts and say, "What's going on?"

I think two things are happening. First, Trump is trying to turn the US into a thuggish authoritarian state run by a corrupt family (such as Kazakhstan), with incompetent kinfolk and sleazy cronies taking over government offices, while the ruling family milks the country like a cash cow. Second, his vizier Steve Bannon has been explicit about his intention to use Trump's presidency to destroy the state -- "dismantling the administrative state," as he puts it; that is, a state that administers the laws and regulations of a democratically elected government. Instead he wants to see a strongman government free from all restrictions of law and dedicated to the imposition of harsh, exclusionary nationalist ethos on the whole population. Again, he is very open about this, it's not some surmise or conspiracy theory.

This is also part of a broader GOP extremism that has been openly operating for years: the idea of deliberately causing governments to become dysfunctional -- as in Kansas, by starving it of even the minimum funding to perform its functions adequately while slashing taxes for the rich and powerful -- so that the very idea of a government that addresses the common good is discredited. (Indeed, you can even hear some of these rightists denounce the very notion of a "common good" as evil.) These GOP extremists now control Congress, the White House, most state governments and, by the time Trump (or Pence) is through, almost all of the federal judiciary.

So we will have the entire US governmental apparatus in the hands of people who hate the very idea of government; who despise the very notion of a common good; who relentlessly seek to restrict voting rights in order to thwart the will of the majority who oppose their policies; who are systematically criminalizing any kind of active protest and working to extend this repression to verbal dissent (as in Trump's repeated threats to "tighten libel laws"); who believe that only the very rich have the right to influence policy and receive government benefits; who champion and excuse the use of violent force against unarmed citizens; who are committed to a hyper-violent foreign policy run largely by the military without close civilian oversight, a policy that, as our own intelligence services tell us, destabilizes whole nations, exacerbates hatred and spreads terrorism at home and abroad.

The United States can probably survive a few years (or months, as the case may be) of Trump's third-rate thugocracy. But it is the second point -- the deliberate destruction of government by extremists fiercely dedicated to authoritarian/oligarch anti-democratic rule -- that is far more dangerous. This far-right radicalism has been gathering power for years (yes, even before Putin came along!), like a tidal wave building far in the distance but moving inexorably toward the shore. Now it's breaking upon us with tremendous force. And there is no guarantee that the structures of our government and civil society -- already rotted by years of bipartisan corruption, warmongering, soulless neoliberalism and plutocratic rapine -- can survive the blow.
The British newspaper Times reported Saturday (June 17) that in a dramatic move Saudi Arabia and Israel are in talks to establish economic ties that perhaps explain why Saudi Arabia and its allies have imposed a sweeping blockade on Qatar, in an effort to force the Gulf state to drop its support for Hamas, who control Gaza.

The Times quoted Arab and American sources as saying that the links would start small: allowing Israeli businesses to operate in the Gulf, for example, and letting El Al, the Israeli airline, fly over Saudi airspace.

Sources close to Saudi Arabia, however, dismissed the idea of improved relations as wishful thinking on behalf of a White House keen to demonstrate immediate results from President Trump's recent visits to Saudi Arabia and Israel, the paper said and added:

"The prospect has become a source of controversy in the White House. Jason Greenblatt, the president's top envoy to the region, has taken a conventional approach to the peace process, trying to lure the Israelis and Palestinians back to talks, but he has clashed with Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law, who has become close to Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi deputy crown prince. They have discussed an 'outside-in' approach, by which Gulf States would improve ties with Israel as a prelude to a peace agreement -- and full recognition of Israel by Gulf and Arab states."

The British daily pointed out that Israel and the Gulf States have been quietly building security ties, motivated by a mutual fear of Iran. "A Saudi delegation led by a retired general made a trip to Israel last year and senior Israeli officials are keen to expand the alliance. "I think it's much better to co-operate on economic issues than the fight against terror," said Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli defense minister. He praised efforts to isolate Qatar."

Riyadh has demanded that Qatar cease support for Hamas and expel several of the group's leaders, including Salah al-Arouri.

Michael Binyon of The Times wrote there are huge risks in reviving the idea of an Israeli liaison in Saudi Arabia:

"Any concession to Israel without a move by the Jewish state would be seen by Muslims as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. It would further embolden Isis and other Islamist groups to denounce the House of Saud as illegitimate. And it would reinforce the perception on Arab streets that America was intent on dividing Arab governments.

"Small steps -- allowing over flights or participating with Israel in regional economic gatherings -- are easier. The diplomatic coup of the boycott of Israel being ended by a country claiming leadership of Sunni Muslims could easily backfire, and Saudi Arabia already feels challenged on almost all its frontiers."

Turkish mediation efforts

Meanwhile, against the background of continued tensions between Qatar and the Saudi-led group of countries, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, held talks in Saudi Arabia with the king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on Friday. "

The meeting was positive," AFP news agency reported, quoting diplomatic sources, but there were no specifics.

Cavusoglu travelled to Mecca, where Salman is based for the last days of Ramadan, after meeting his Kuwaiti counterpart on Thursday. Cavusoglu was in Doha on Wednesday where he called for dialogue after meeting Qatar's emir and foreign minister.

"Although the kingdom is a party in this crisis, we know that King Salman is a party in resolving it," Cavusoglu said earlier. "We want to hear the views of Saudi Arabia regarding possible solutions and will share with them our views in a transparent way ... We pay a great attention to our relations with them."

Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah, the emir of Kuwait, which has not cut ties with Qatar, has also been trying to mediate.

According to Al Jazeera, Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state, has cancelled his scheduled trip to an Organization of American States (OAS) meeting in Mexico next week to stay in the United States and work on resolving the Qatar crisis.

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Water is one of the natural resources both Jefferson and Paine viewed as belonging to humanity (since no one "built" it) and which today is being privatized and sold back at a profit to those from whom it was stolen.

In this essay, I dissect the myth that Big Business opposes Big Government, that the private sector opposes the Welfare State, and the lie that the ultimate battle is between Big Business and Big Government. I argue, with evidence, that Big Government is the creation of Big Business which benefits by controlling government and using it to serve its profit interests, while allowing Big Business to blame government for what ails us, thus duping the public into supporting a system which at the same time deprives them of needed services and picks their pockets. The cover or this deceptive mythology is the claim that "conservatives" oppose entitlements and the Welfare State, and seek to "shrink" government and cut costs. History belies this Big Lie, and what follows is the evidence assembled in a marriage of political philosophy and hard-nosed analysis.

The following are a few examples of Big Government programs:

Here is a quote from the Mises Institute that espouses "conservative" Austrian Economics:

"A proposal made by Milton Friedman that later came to be proposed by Richard Nixon and a version enshrined into law as the Earned Income Tax Credit... is now the largest cash transfer program for low-income people."

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as Food Stamps) is a program supported by Big Agriculture. Here is a quote from "the horse's mouth" (or maybe from the other end) by breitbart.org :

"The basic movement of funds in the SNAP program start in Congress when billions of dollars are allocated in the Farm Bill, which is comprised of 78% funding for Food Stamps. The costs are split between the federal government and state governments. At every level of the process, big government and big business work hand in hand in the name of caring for the poor.

The Farm Bill is reapproved every five years; in the 2007 bill, the biggest lobbyists included the agriculture biotech giant Monsanto Company, which spent $8.8 million. Other large corporate lobbyists included American Farm Bureau, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo Inc., American Beverage Association, Tyson Foods, Coca-Cola Co, Wal-Mart Stores, and the GMA (Grocery Manufacturer Association).

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Tune in to RedBull TV Monday June 19th for a free screening of the film.

The corners of the globe are dotted with legendary mountain bike destinations, and the search for the next great freeride location has been well documented. Yet for Kyle Norbraten, James Doerfling, and Tom van Steenbergen, the great unknown includes their own backyard. During Follow the Fraser, the three BC residents join together to journey north through their own province, following the largest river in western Canada north through their respective hometowns and into a mountain range that beckons with red slopes and the promise of steep big mountain riding. The only guides they have are a few photos from Google Earth, a trusty Geo Tracker and a shared passion for freeriding.Over the course of the next four weeks, the crew revisits old favourites and new ranges all while camping and navigating the back roads of British Columbia. Brought to you by Absolute Cinema, Red Bull Media House, LEDLenser and MEC, and shot on location throughout British Columbia. @tomvansteenbergen / @jim77 / @mtber1
Chris Moorman Wins WSOP Event #27: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed

June 17, 2017 Anthony Charter

One of the most prolific hold'em players of this generation finally has his first gold bracelet. The United Kingdom's Chris Moorman, who is an 888poker ambassador is the 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #27: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed champion.

Moorman, who has over $14 million in career online earnings according to PocketFives.com, will add $498,682 to an impressive $4,628,200 in career live-recorded tournament earnings. Moorman defeated Brazilian Bernardo Dias heads-up after a battle between the two that lasted over three hours.

Event #27 Final Table Results

Place Name Country Prize 1 Chris Moorman United Kingdom $498,682 2 Bernardo Dias Brazil $308,166 3 Michael Gagliano United States $210,139 4 Steve Sung United States $145,634 5 John Gorsuch United States $102,605 6 Max Silver United Kingdom $73,510

Though Moorman has had a stellar WSOP career, the gold bracelet is really the only thing that had eluded him. Moorman previously had four final table appearances including two runner-up finishes in 2011. This marks his 30th career WSOP cash which now totals $2,433,640.

When asked how this accomplishment compared to his online feats, Moorman responded with, "I feel like anytime you win live, it's just a lot more real. All your friends are there celebrating with you and particularly a lot of my online success was when I was living in the U.K. I would be playing all through the night and maybe win a tournament about five or six in the morning and I would just be there on my own."

Moorman went on to say, "The series is still young, there are plenty of more events out there. I've already had three cashes, including this one, and I feel great and confident. Hopefully, I can make a final table and if not, hopefully, some more Brits do and I can be on the rail and support them and I would be just as happy, to be honest."

Moorman came into play on Day 3 sitting fourth in chips behind fellow countrymen Max Silver. Before the final table got underway, there was still business to be completed. There were 21 hopefuls return on and some big names fell before the action moved to the grand stage. Nacho Barbero (19th - $18,019), Samantha Cohen (17th - $23,029), Simeon Naydenov (17th - $23,029), James Chen (14th - $23,029), and Pratyush Buddiga (11th - $29,974) are just some of the players Moorman slid past en route to his win.

Silver led for the majority of this event and was set to take the chip lead again getting his stack in the middle against Michael Gagliano. Silver had the best of it with pocket kings against pocket queens but a queen on the flop gave the pot to Gagliano and Silver was first to drop.

After Moorman had doubled up and taken a huge lead, John Gorsuch tested his luck and though he got it in bad being dominated by the eventual champion, Gorsuch flopped two pair. The river, however, had other ideas and gave Moorman a better two pair and Gorsuch was eliminated.

Moorman took out arguably his biggest threat in two-time bracelet winner Steve Sung. Sung had the chip lead for the early stages of Day 3 but got it in with ace-seven against Moormans pocket queens and though he hit an ace on the flop, there was a queen right behind it, sending him to the rail in fourth.

A battle of the short stacks came to a conclusion when Dias put Gagliano at risk. Gaglianos ace-eight was in rough shape against the Brazilians pocket eights and no help from the board set up the heads-up battle.

Dias and Moorman played almost a hundred hands before the latter was able to finish the former off for good. Moorman kept hold of the chip lead the entire battle but could not keep the Brazilian down. Staving off elimination for the better part of four hours, on Hand #132, Moorman finally closed the curtain. Dias open-jammed with king-ten and Moorman snap-called with ace-king. The board ran true and Chris Moorman was awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Sharelines At his 5th WSOP final table, @Moorman1 got it done. "Anytime you win live it's just a lot more real."
Jen Gloeckner's music has always been known for its hypnotic qualities and confessional quality, but this time it's even more personal.

The songstress recorded her latest album, Vine, from the comfort of her bedroom, and brought in powerhouse names to assist in the process. The result is one of her most critically-acclaimed bodies of work yet, getting praise from ABC News and Rawckus, among others. Her ambient-pop sound stays true to her previous work while exploring a new dimension of creativity for the musician. This is all very exciting, but she couldn't be anymore composed about the news.

Gloeckner answered some questions for Popdust via email about her new record and what lies ahead now that it's released.

Courtesy of Jen Gloeckner

You grew up in the Mississippi River valley of Dubuque, Iowa. What was that experience like and how did you become interested in music?

Jen: I actually grew up in Wisconsin, then eventually moved to Dubuque. I have been interested in music since I was a child, probably starting with church hymns, which I would cry for more when they ended, as a baby. Then as a young child spent many summers at FCA camps with my parents sitting around campfires singing with other Christian hippies. My dad gave me my first guitar around 6 or 7, but my main instrument was the piano, which I took lessons for at a very young age. My parents later got me a keyboard that you could record tracks on, and that really opened up a whole new world.

You recently released your album "Vine." What was the recording process for that like? How did it differ from previous projects?

Jen: Recording Vine was similar to how I have recorded my other records. Except that I did the writing, recording and production of Vine in my bedroom, which with the other records was done in my home studio. I also had a bad case of sciatica for a few years during the recording of Vine, which was terribly draining both mentally and physically, and had to fight my body often to get things done.

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://media.rbl.ms/image?u=%2F9909775%2F980x.png&ho=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.rbl.ms&s=471&h=fde12005e82f89c61c490fa482be6de2569342825e609b2211d88c0faf5a9fad&size=980x&c=1141558854 photo_credit="" caption="Courtesy of Jen Gloeckner" pin_description="" image-library="0" crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//media.rbl.ms/image%3Fu%3D%252F9909775%252F980x.png%26ho%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fassets.rbl.ms%26s%3D471%26h%3Dfde12005e82f89c61c490fa482be6de2569342825e609b2211d88c0faf5a9fad%26size%3D980x%26c%3D1141558854%22%7D" expand=1] Courtesy of Jen Gloeckner

Your songs are often described as being something out of a diary that are also incredibly atmospheric. Do you agree with this description? How would you describe the music you make?

Jen: Yeah, for the most part, I write and record each song from start to finish over what can be a long period of time, so I add to them sometimes daily, when the feeling hits me, similar to writing in a journal. I suppose that also contributes to the atmospherics, since as time changes and I change, it gives the songs time to pick up on many different vibes.

You collaborated with other artists on this record such as John Ashton of The Psychedelic Furs and Henry Padovani (an original member of The Police). What was that experience like?

Jen: The record would not be the same without any of their tracks. I was blessed to have several friends help me out with the record. Most collaborations were done over the Internet, so it was usually kind of a "wait and see what they do" situation, which is always exciting.

Lots of publications have listened to the tracks on Vine and picked out their favorites, but I'm wondering which you favored? Have they changed over the development of the album?

Jen: When I write, each song must move me to make it on the record. But there is something a little extra special to me with "The Last Thought," which I wrote and recorded while watching a dance scene from House of Flying Daggers. That is the first time I have used something visual to write to.

Now that Vine is out, what are your plans for the future?

Jen: I have already started recording a new record, but also hope to do some touring later this year.

Follow Jen on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram



.Rachel A.G. Gilman is a writer, a radio producer, and probably the girl wearing the Kinks shirt. Follow her on Twitter.
Twin Peaks may not like to take themselves very seriously, but they have made a serious place for themselves in the world of DIY rock music.

The Chicago band successfully released their third album, Down in Heaven, last year. They have toured America and beyond. And they have carved out a unique voice in the current music scene that explores emotional growth and feelings in a way other guys their age have simply not been able to achieve with the same sense of rawness. It's an accomplishment worth celebrating. The way to do this if you're Twin Peaks? Record more music.

Recently, the band announced a project called the "Sweet '17 Singles" series, where they will be releasing new music from now until the end of the year, as well as offering the tracks on vinyl for lucky subscribers who are quick enough to purchase. This is also while finishing up their summer tour stateside before going to Canada and Europe.

Courtesy of Twin Peaks

I asked Cadien Lake James, the band's lead vocalist and guitarist, about their "Sweet '17 Singles" series, including what inspired it and how it's reflective of a changing music industry over all, plus more.



You guys have been on tour the past month or so in the United States with your album "Down in Heaven," which came out about a year ago. How's that experience been? Have the songs changed for you at all as you've performed them?

Everything we play live takes on a bit of a different tone, given we can't recreate everything we do in the studio and we're playing high energy shows. Things are always a bit faster, a bit rougher edged.

You're also heading on tour to Europe later this summer. You guys always seem to have fun there. How does performing in Europe differ for you guys than performing in the states?

Europe is unconquered ground for us, it's a lot of fun getting to play new places and connect with new audiences. I always wish we had more time to travel and visit interesting spots in Europe while we were there though, it can be a tease getting to say you've been all of these wonderful places but really only have seen the city driving in and the venue you play.

From now until the end of the year, you'll be releasing singles you've recorded in what you're calling the "Sweet '17 Singles" series. What inspired that idea?



We just wanted to record and release music but didn't have the time to make another record right away since we're still touring. Also, I remember being a super excited fan when Jay Reatard did his Matador Singles which were released in a similar fashion, so that was a jumping off point.

You'll also be releasing the songs on vinyl for people who subscribe to purchase them. Why do you think it's important to also release the songs on vinyl as opposed to just having it be a digital thing?

I mainly enjoy having physical copies of things to hold in my hand, to see the artwork not on a small phone screen, to have a front and back cover, to have labels on the actual wax; it expands the room for the artistic vision to play out aesthetically, which is important to me.

Courtesy of Twin Peaks

In a very digital age of music, other artists are also choosing to release singles instead of full-length albums. What do you think the advantages of putting music out in this way is?



I think part of that is people don't buy albums, just hit songs do well. I get it, but that wasn't the point of this single series: at the end of the day these singles add up to 12 tracks which are an album on 12" vinyl anyways, so it's just an extended release format with more limited edition artwork essentially.

Are there any songs in particular from this series that you guys are particularly looking forward to releasing?

All of them! We've experimented with a lot of different styles and such and I'm simply always happy to release music we make to people that want to hear it.

Through the end of the year, you'll finish touring and finish releasing these songs. What's up for you guys after that?

We're gonna keep doing what we always do: make and play music.

Follow Twin Peaks on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Metron Capital Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, BC (FSCWire) - Metron Capital Corp. (TSX Venture:MCN). has issued a press release with the following headline:Metron Announces Debt SettlementTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/sites/default/files/news_release_pdf/MetronJune 162017.pdfFor more information on Metron Capital Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Metron Capital Corp.Source: Metron Capital Corp. (TSX Venture: MCN)Date: June 17, 2017Time: 12:44 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Metron Capital Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




British author Anthony Horowitz, 62, has sold 16 million books over a 37-year writing career. Hes created memorable original characters while conjuring the prose style, atmosphere, and characterizations of both Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian Fleming.With his latest, Magpie Murders (Harper, June), Horowitz has set himself an even higher bar than simulating the work of legendary authors: reinventing the whodunit, almost a century after the fair-play rules of the genre were established.

Horowitz had literary aspirations early on. When he was 10 years old, he wrote a play, The Thing That Never Happened, about the Guy Fawkes plot to blow up Parliament in the 17th century. He was greatly influenced, as were many mystery writers, by reading Sherlock Holmes as a teenager; less commonly, he was also inspired by Tin Tin. Horowitz persisted with writing, despite a hostile reception to the idea from his father, and at 24 published his first book, The Sinister Secret of Frederick K. Bower (Arlington), a childrens novel.

Like vital evidence hidden in plain view by the author toward the beginning of a golden age novel, the first clue that Horowitz would grow up to become a successful mystery author may have appeared at his birth on Apr. 5, 1955. He was delivered by Dr. Jack Suchet, the father of David Suchet, the actor who has most faithfully portrayed Agatha Christies beloved Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. I owe my existence in this world to the Suchet family, Horowitz jokes over breakfast at Manhattans Crosby Street Hotel.

Horowitzs tongue-in-cheek connection with Christie, a writer whose plot construction he admires greatly, is related to the new challenge hed set himself in writing Magpie Murdersto craft a classic fair-play whodunit with a twist.

Horowitz has mastered the formidable hurdle he had placed in his own path by making clever use of a story within a story that enables him to present two separate surprising, but logical, reveals. The novel opens with an ominous prologue in which a fictional British book editor, Susan Ryland, alludes to the dire consequences that all seemed to stem from her innocuous, routine task of reading a manuscript also titled Magpie Murders: But Magpie Murders really did change everything for me. I no longer live in Crouch End. I no longer have my job. Ive managed to lose a great many friends. That evening, as I reached out and turned the first page of the typescript, I had no idea of the journey I was about to begin.

Horowitz next switches gears by presenting the story that Ryland wishes she had never readthe ninth mystery in a fictional series featuring the Poirot-like Atticus Pund, a half-German, half-Greek Holocaust survivor who sleuths in 1950s England. Pund, after receiving a devastating medical diagnosis, declines a womans entreaties to help clear the name of her fiance, accused of killing his mother. Although the police regard the fatal fall down a flight of stairs as accidental, the residents of their village consider the son a murderer.

When another death followsdecapitation with a sword, leaving no doubt that foul play was involvedPund changes his mind. He travels to the village with his devoted, less astute sidekick to investigate which of the many people wishing the victim dead was responsible. The closed circle of suspects, and the reliance on Punds little grey cells, rather than on forensics and technology to solve the crime (or crimes), are welcome and familiar features.

Magpie Murders was written over more than a decade. I have a notebook jammed with clues, red herrings, and all the other puzzles that you get in the book, Horowitz says. The trick for me was to write a book that wouldnt be confusing to readers and would provide satisfaction at the end but which in itself is incredibly intricate.

Genre fans will be delighted that Magpie Murders is just the beginning of Horowitzs serious engagement with fair-play murder mysteries. In September, British publisher Century will bring out The Word Is Murder, a series kickoff that Harper is set to publish in 2018. The puzzle hearkens back to the golden age of detection between the World Wars, when authors like John Dickson Carr tantalized audiences with impossible crimes: in The Word Is Murder, a woman is strangled to death six hours after she arranges her own funeral.

Horowitz, who received the Order of the British Empire for his services to literature in 2014, says he wants to transform the genre. Not too tall an order for a writer whose career includes numerous writing credits in multiple media: hes penned 11 episodes of the Hercule Poirot TV series and created the WWII mystery TV drama Foyles War, scripting all nine of its seasons. His novels include new exploits for Sherlock Holmes (The House of Silk, Mulholland, 2011; Moriarty, Harper, 2014) and James Bond (Trigger Mortis, Harper, 2015), as well as the YA Alex Rider thriller series.

For many in the U.S., Horowitz is best known as the creator of Foyles War (which started life with the name The Blitz Detective, before its lead was named after the famous London bookstore). Horowitz was able to use the murder-of-the-episode format to tell true but lesser-known stories of the period, including a scandalous one about Winston Churchills secret army.

The series was produced by Horowitzs wife, Jill Green, with whom he is working on a film adaptation of Magpie Murders and whose Eleventh Hour Films also produced his latest TV series (his first for the BBC), New Blood. The show features two junior investigators, one with the CID and one with the Serious Fraud Office, who handle sophisticated financial crimes, pitting their intellects against white-collar crooks. The BBC had been looking for dramas that would appeal to a younger audience, and Horowitzs leads, who are not those slow middle-aged problem detectives you see so often on TV, are saddled with a burden Christopher Foyle never had: student loans. The investigators are also not the typical white Anglo-Saxon British protagonists but are Eastern European and Iranian, a unique pairing in detective fiction.

With his impressive background, the chances of Horowitz accomplishing his latest goal, to become Christies literary successor for the 21st century, are as secure as the millions of fans who have watched him diligently and imaginatively enmesh compelling characters in brain-teasing plots.

Lenny Picker is a freelance writer in New York City.
Last Weeks Most Popular Reviews

The most-read reviews on publishersweekly.com last week were...

1. Taking Aim: Daring to Be Different, Happier, and Healthier in the Great Outdoors

2. What to Do About the Solomons

3. The Village of Round and Square Houses

4. I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad

5. The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.

From the Newsletters

Tip Sheet

Karin Roffman, author of The Songs We Know Best: John Ashberys Early Life (FSG), picks the 10 best John Ashbery poems.

Childrens Bookshelf

The unexpected challenges of translating the Carson Ellis picture book Du Iz Tak? (Candlewick), which is written in an invented insect language, for international markets.

Religion BookLine

In Building a Bridge (HarperOne), James Martin, a Jesuit priest, urges the Catholic church to welcome LGBTQ Catholics.

PW Daily

Every days publishing news delivered to your inbox, for free.

Sign up for these and other great, free newsletters.

Podcasts

Week Ahead

PW senior writer Andrew Albanese previews the challenges facing the library community in the Trump era, ahead of the ALA Annual Conference.

PW Radio

Author Helene Stapinski discusses her new book, Murder in Matera: A True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy (Dey Street). And PW senior writer Andrew Albanese looks ahead to the ALA Annual Conference.

Blogs

ShelfTalker

Making book recommendations to parents and answering the dreaded question, Is there anything inappropriate in it?
Pessls YA Debut to Delacorte

Author of the bestsellers Special Topics in Calamity Physics and Night Film, Marisha Pessl has inked a deal with Delacorte Press for her first YA novel. Beverly Horowitz took U.S., Canadian, and open market rights to Neverworld Wake from Amanda Urban at ICM Partners. The book, according to the publisher, is a psychological suspense novel with a sci-fi twist. In it, a group of teens who all attended the same elite prep school reunite a year after graduation. After a night on the town, the teens are faced with an impossible choiceonly one of them can live and the decision must be unanimous. Neverworld is slated for a summer 2018 release.

Raybourn Re-signs at Berkley for Six Figures

In a six-figure world rights deal, Danielle Perez at Berkley signed Deanna Raybourn to write two more novels in her Veronica Speedwell series. The Penguin Random House imprint has published two titles in the Victorian-era mystery series, about the titular lepidopterist (aka moth and butterfly expert) who does some amateur sleuthing with her colleague Stoker, and is releasing book three in the series, A Treacherous Curse, in January 2018. This agreement covers books four and five, with book four, A Dangerous Collaboration, set for spring 2019.

Daring Book Author Sells Memoir

Andrea J. Buchanan sold world rights to her memoir, The Beginning of Everything: The Year I Lost My Mind and Found Myself, to Jessica Case at Pegasus Books. In the memoir Buchanan, author of the bestseller The Daring Book for Girls (William Morrow, 2012), explores, Pegasus said, her own real-life neurological mystery, in which a coughing fit led to brain trauma. (The coughing, the publisher explained, caused a tear in the membrane covering Buchanans brain and spinal cord. That tear then led to a situation in which the authors brain began to sink to the bottom of her skull.) Now healthy, Buchanan, a mother of two, explores Where was I when I wasnt there? Buchanan was represented by Laura Gross, who has an eponymous shingle, and her memoir is slated for April 2018.

Jackson Unleashes His Monsters with FSG

L.A. Times Book Prize finalist Jeff Jackson sold Destroy All Monsters to Jeremy Davies at FSG Originals (the paperback line at Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Jaida Temperly at New Leaf Literary & Media, who brokered the world rights deal, said the literary coming-of-age novel was pitched as a dark valentine to rock n roll. Following a woman dealing with the fallout from a sudden epidemic of gun violence in underground music clubs, the novel also includes a novella, which, Temperly explained, functions like the B side of a record. Elaborating, Temperly said the novella is an alternate history of the novel, and will appear at the end of the book. While production specifics have not been finalized, readers will likely need to flip the book to read the novella, she said. Publication is set for fall 2018.

Lee Sells Gentlemans Guide Follow-up

Mackenzi Lee, author of the forthcoming YA novel The Gentlemans Guide to Vice and Virtue, sold a follow-up title to HarperCollinss Katherine Tegen Books imprint. Lee sold world English rights to A Ladys Guide to Petticoats and Piracy to Claudia Gabel. Gentlemans Guide, an Indie Next pick, will be published by Katherine Tegen at the end of this month. A Ladys Guide, the publisher said, follows the adventures of Felicity Montague as she joins the daughter of a notorious pirate queen on a quest to discover legendary sea monsters before the tyrannical English Navy captures and harnesses them. Rebecca Podos at the Rees Literary Agency represented Lee, selling world English rights.

Briefs

At Overlook Press, Chelsea Cutchens took world English rights to Jon Michael Vareses debut, The Spirit Photographer. Agent Jacques de Spoelberch, who has an eponymous shingle and represented Varese, said the book is based on an actual photographer named William Mumler who worked in Boston and New York before, and after, the Civil War. De Spoelberch called the book a sweeping story that travels from the well-mannered rooms of New England to the sultry bayous of Louisiana and shows us how undeniably the ghosts of the past remain with us. The Spirit Photographer is scheduled for March 2018.
The Democratic Party president Nobert Mao has faulted President Museveni for abandoning resolutions of the 2007 Juba Peace talks.

According to Mao, Museveni pledged to implement the Juba undertakings that ended the 20 year insurgency of the Lords Resistance Army, but ten years now, no effort has been undertaken towards implementation.

The Democratic party President General has been speaking to K-FM on the need for a transitional justice for the victims of the LRA war.

He warns that the delay for a truth and reconciliation undertaking might spark regrettable repercussions by the affected communities.
Heart of the Matter

The #3 book in the country is the memoir I Cant Make This Up, in which actor and comedian Kevin Hart discusses overcoming a challenging childhood in North Philadelphia in the 1980s and 90s. Our starred review called the book, which was written with longtime Rolling Stone contributor Neil Strauss, inspiring and thoroughly entertaining, adding that it brings his readers into his hilarious universe of stories and philosophy. On June 4, Hart appeared at BookCon with Charlamagne tha God, whose Black Privilege is in its eighth week on our Hardcover Nonfiction list.

(See all of this week's bestselling books.)

Roy Returns

Debuting at #8 on our Hardcover Fiction list, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is the second novel by author and activist Arundhati Roy. Our starred review of the new book praised Roy for her vision of a bewilderingly beautiful, contradictory, and broken world. It pubs 20 years after her first novel, The God of Small Things, won the Booker Prize; shes published numerous books of nonfiction in between. Print unit sales of the 2008 trade paper edition of Small Things are 71% higher than in the week before; the last time that book cracked 1,000 print copies in a week was in April 2009.

On the Way Up

Atlantic national correspondent and Black Hawk Down author Mark Bowden lands at #11 in Hardcover Nonfiction with Hue 1968, which delves into a pivotal battle of the Vietnam War, and one of its bloodiest. Michael Mann is developing a miniseries from Bowdens book, which garnered the authors best first-week print unit sales since BookScan began keeping records in 2001.

New & Notable

Camino Island

John Grisham

#1 Hardcover Fiction, #1 overall

Our review said that the opening chapters detailing an elaborate scheme to steal five F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts from Princeton are the best part of this thriller; after the setup, the plot follows predictable lines to a conclusion that genre fans have seen before.

Once and for All

Sarah Dessen

#2 Childrens Frontlist Fiction

Fans of YA powerhouse Dessen will revel in the familiarity of her steady, empathic writing, as well as her attention to detail, our review said, in this novel about grief and recovery.

If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?

Alan Alda

#10 Hardcover Nonfiction

This book exploring the science of communication isnt as much of a stretch as it might seem for the author, best known for his starring role on MASH: he also hosted Scientific American Frontiers on PBS for more than a decade.

Top 10 Overall

Rank Title Author Imprint Units 1 Camino Island John Grisham Doubleday 121,826 2 Oh, the Places Youll Go! Dr. Seuss Random House 46,051 3 I Cant Make This Up Kevin Hart Atria 27,029 4 Al Franken, Giant of the Senate Al Franken Twelve 25,313 5 Astrophysics for People in a Hurry Neil deGrasse Tyson Norton 23,214 6 Come Sundown Nora Roberts St. Martins 23,036 7 Into the Water Paula Hawkins Riverhead 20,614 8 See Me Nicholas Sparks Vision 20,311 9 The Woman in Cabin 10 Ruth Ware Scout 20,055 10 Everything, Everything Nicola Yoon Ember 19,651

All unit sales per Nielsen BookScan except where noted.
Americas Big Five trade publishers have found themselves in the middle of a long-running battle between Greenpeace and Resolute Forest Products over the forest companys logging practices in Canadas boreal forest. Greenpeace has been campaigning for years to make Resolute change its polices in Canadas northern forests, and the fight has taken a number of turns; one of the unexpected twists was Greenpeaces decision to take a booth at this years BookExpo. The booth and ads in PW Show Daily and last weeks issue of PW magazine are designed to pressure Resolute to modify its forest practices and also to drop a lawsuit it brought against the environmental organization.

Responding to what it says are unsubstantiated claims Greenpeace has made against it, Resolute first filed a lawsuit in Canada in 2013 charging the organization with defamation and economic interference. It followed that up with a May 2016 lawsuit in Georgia alleging RICO violations and defamation. Greenpeace views that suit as creating a free-speech issue, claiming it is designed to silence the group and could silence other advocacy organizations.

Last September, the AAP joined with 11 other media groups in filing an amicus curiae brief in the Georgia case, arguing that if the lawsuit is upheld it could have a chilling effect on free speech rights. But in May, Greenpeace chose to put more heat on publishers to support its cause, releasing a report saying it learned that major U.S. publishers, despite backing free speech, are buying paper from Resolute sourced from disputed areas. Greenpeace also took a petition to BookExpo, signed by more than 100 authors, that called for publishers to stand up for free speech by opposing the Resolute lawsuits and pressure Resolute to engage in more sustainable forest practices.

Rodrigo Estrada, a spokesman for Greenpeace, said that though Greenpeace does not usually attend trade shows, the organization made an exception for BookExpo because it felt it was important to reach out to publishers to more clearly explain its position on the issue. Estrada added that Greenpeace seeks to reassure publishers that it doesnt want to work against them but would rather work with them on sustainability and free speech issues. The message isnt that publishers are the bad guys, Estrada said, adding that we want to show them we arent the enemy.

The Big Five publisherswhich have all created environmental policieshave called the Greenpeace-Resolute fight a complicated issue (one person, off the record, called it a mess) and have expressed sympathy with some of Greenpeaces objectives while opposing some of its tactics. A statement from Simon & Schuster sums up the general feeling among the publishers PW contacted: Each party in the dispute has made claims, counterclaims and arguments in support of its positions about complicated issues, that, as publishers, we have little ability to judge or verify. We do, however, recognize the urgency of current environmental issues, the unalloyed right to free and responsible free speech in advocating for environmental and other causes, and the right to defend ones reputation.

The most vociferous support for Greenpeace came from Arnaud Nourry, chairman of Hachette Livre (parent company of the Hachette Book Group), which, along with its parent company Lagardere, takes sustainability issues very seriously. Nourry became aware of the Greenpeace campaign when Greenpeace France met with him in Paris to press its case. He wrote a letter to Richard Garneau, CEO of Resolute, stressing that using Forest Stewardship Councilcertified paper is the cornerstone of its environmental policies and urging Resolute to use everything in its power to retain its FSC certification. Nourry also said that, though he has no intention of getting involved with the legal dispute between Resolute and Greenpeace, he thinks Resolutes decision to use RICO statutes in its lawsuit was excessive and asked if there was another way it might respond to Greenpeaces claims. Hachette was unhappy, however, with a press release Greenpeace sent out about Nourrys letter bearing the heading Hachette Livre Calls Resolute Legal Tactics Excessive, which Hachette said mischaracterized Nourrys response.

Resolutes Garneau sent a response to Nourry, in which he took issue with almost every point Greenpeace raised. I certainly share your chagrin that the various accusations being made by Greenpeace seem difficult to gauge, Garneau wrote. He listed a number of initiatives Resolute has taken to improve its environmental record, including reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 73% from their 2000 level. As for its sustainability commitmentwhich Greenpeace said Resolute had abandonedGarneau wrote, We remain committed to maintaining our 100% forest management and chain of custody certifications to internationally recognized standards.

Resolute spokesman Seth Kursman went so far as to call Greenpeaces charge that it abandoned its sustainability policies an irresponsible lie. As for pursuing the RICO suit, Kursman said that Resolute has a fiduciary, moral, and ethical responsibility to move ahead with the case. He said Greenpeaces charges contributed to Resolute closing mills and losing orders, which has not only hurt the company financially but damaged employees and other stakeholders.

In a statement, HarperCollins noted that, contrary to Greenpeaces claim, though it buys paper from Resolute, it does not source any paper from the region in Canada that is the focus of Greenpeaces efforts. The company added, We vigorously support freedom of speech, including that of each author, organization, or company to express, or defend, its views.

A statement from Penguin Random House noted that, though it cant comment on the litigation, the company reaffirms our ardent belief in responsible, truthful speech. We recognize and respect the right of all parties to draw attention to important causes, and to advocate their positions and perspectives. On sustainability, PRH noted that it strives to procure paper from suppliers who source responsibly and expects suppliers to respect and protect the rights of their workers, the forest, natural resources, and the local indigenous populations.

The next step in the legal case will take place in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where the suit originally filed in Georgia was moved a few weeks ago. Publishers would like to see the two parties try to find a way to settle the dispute rather than trying to win favor in the court of public opinion.
If attendees at the Association of American University Presses annual meeting in Austin, Tex., last week turned on the televisions in their hotel rooms, they likely saw one of numerous ads from Amazon soliciting applicants to work at a fulfillment center opening in nearby San Marcos, Tex. Even the world of university press publishing cant escape Amazons influence. Its not always advisable to admit it, but when I ask our members what their biggest sale channel is, most will tell you, reluctantly, its Amazon, said Peter Berkery, executive director of AAUP.

The AAUP meeting, which drew 675 people to the J.W. Marriott hotel, opened on Sunday, June 11, with a rousing speech by newsman Dan Rather emphasizing that university presses focused on research were a bulwark of truth in an era of fake news. We all must beand you arevigilant in renewing our compact with books and deep thoughts, Rather said. The emphasis university presses put on research is being used has an unofficial motto for the organization, which is employing the hashtag #LookitUP to promote its activities, including during University Press Week, which runs November 611.

The sentiment also inspired many in attendance, who expressed a renewed sense of mission and purpose, and provided a framework for the numerous panel discussions held over the next two days.

The focus of the opening plenary session was diversity and the challenges of bringing more writers and editors of color into the industry, which has been an ongoing theme this publishing year. You can sit on the sideline and hope the world gets better, or you can get in the fray and make it better, said Earl Lewis, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Other panels covered topics ranging from accounting to open access to monograph publishing. Some studies say as many as 83% of academic monographs are being published, Berkery said. To some in academia, thats evidence of the university press system working. The others hear that 17% are not being published, and to them it is evidence of the university press system being broken.

Perhaps most relevant to the broader publishing community was a panel on how academic publishers can work more closely with independent booksellers. The sticking point has always been terms and conditions, explained Jeff Deutsch, director of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago, referring to booksellers reluctance to purchase books on short discounts. Deutsch noted that publishers need to be more flexible on credit limits and holds, adding: I sometimes need to order books for an event, knowing Ill sell them, but then hit the already-modest credit limit and cant get what I need. Its like Im being punished for successfully selling your books.

The American Booksellers Association put a pilot program in place last year to incorporate university press books into its Indies First program on Small Business Saturday, held two days after Thanksgiving each year. But it is in its very early stages, said Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, senior program officer for the ABA, from the audience.

Attendees were focused not only on scheduled events but on networking and informal connections with representatives of other member presses. Berkery noted that the AAUPs membership continues to grow, and it added three new members last year: Wits University Press from South Africa, the University of Otago Press from New Zealand, and the University of Cincinnati Press. That two of the three are from overseas is reflects the fact that most university presses in the U.S. and Canada are already members; of eligible presses, only Trinity University Press in San Antonio, Tex., which is in the midst of the application process, and Fairleigh Dickinson University Press are not yet members.

Our membership stands at 143 members, and 10% of that is international, Berkery said. That is where our growth will come from, particularly as universities outside the U.S. recognize the importance and utility of scholarly publishing. The AAUP will lose one member, Duquesne University Press in Pittsburgh, when it shuts down later this year, making it the first AAUP member press to close since Howard University Press did so in 2010.

Berkery pointed out that one of the benefits of having an international membership was the networking and, in particular, the opportunity to buy and sell rights during events like the annual meeting. University presses like to buy rights from other university presses, and the AAUP imprimatur gives each credibility.

Among those in attendance was Kathy Kirk, publisher of Getty Publications in Los Angeles, who said she nearly always attends the annual meeting to stay on top of the relevant issues and connect with the broader community. The sentiment was echoed by Nate Bauer, director and acquisitions editor of University of Alaska Press: We can feel pretty isolated up there, so this annual meeting is a very important part of our calendar.

The mood was, overall, positive, despite, as Berkery noted, the false perception that university presses are in crisis. This couldnt be further from the truth, he said. There has been a lot of experimentation and innovation in the field, keeping things going.

Though many attendees noted that scholarly publishers still face many challenges, not the least of which are funding cuts (the University of Illinois Press has operated without a budget for three years), the community remains resilient. As Rather said, UPs offer the antidote to alternative facts and the assault on reason, and we do it authoritatively and elegantly.
A U.S. air strike in Afghanistan's eastern Nangahar Province killed the Islamic State (IS) extremist group's director of media, U.S. forces have said.

The June 3 air strike, which targeted a major militant hub in the province's Achin district, cut the extremist group's communications and connections to IS in Syria, a U.S. statement said on June 16.

Jawad Khan's death "will disrupt the [IS] network, degrade their recruitment process, and hinder their attempts to conduct international operations," General John Nicholson, commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in the statement.

Afghan and U.S. forces have been fighting IS militants in Nangarhar since January 2015. The province is the main foothold of the IS affiliate, which is loyal to the central leadership in Iraq and Syria.

In April, the U.S. dropped a massive bomb on IS positions in Nangarhar Province, killing more than 90 militants, according to the Afghan Defense Ministry.

Based on reporting by dpa
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 56F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will become overcast later during the night. Low 31F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Over the past five years, Iranian officials and state media have touted the "indigenous" ingenuity in the Islamic republic's mass-produced Mohajer-6 combat drone, which Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine.

But a new investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, has found that electronic components underpinning Tehran's production of the Mohajer-6 are far from homegrown.



The Mohajer-6 drones contain components produced by companies from the United States and the European Union, both of which have sanctions restricting the export to Iran of such technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes  dual-use technology.

The presence of these components in the Mohajer-6 does not mean their producers are in violation of U.S. or EU sanctions, and RFE/RL does not have evidence that this is the case.

The investigation also found Mohajer-6 components produced in China, including a real-time mini-camera made by a Hong Kong firm that said it was "very sorry" that its products were being used in war.

At least one major foreign-produced component of the Mohajer-6 has previously been identified by reporters in a Mohajer-6 recovered from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military: an engine made by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products.

But Ukrainian intelligence assesses that the Iranian combat drone contains components from nearly three dozen different technology companies based in North America, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan, the Schemes investigation has found. A majority of these companies are based in the United States.



A Schemes reporter who personally inspected the foreign-made drone parts identified components produced by at least 15 of these manufacturers.

These include parts made by the U.S. technology firm Texas Instruments, which said in a statement that it does not sell into Russia or Iran and complies with applicable laws and regulations.

To identify these components, Schemes reporters examined parts of the Mohajer-6 drone that the Ukrainian military shot down over the Black Sea near the Mykolayiv region coastal town of Ochakiv. They also reviewed Ukrainian intelligence records on the sources of these components.

The drone also contains a microchip bearing the logo of a California technology company and a thermal-imaging camera that Ukrainian intelligence says may have been produced by a firm based in Oregon or China.

Both Western officials and experts on illicit technology transfers say Iran has built a broad, global procurement network using front companies and other proxies in third countries to obtain dual-use technology from the United States and the EU.

"Exporters will look at the request coming from the [United Arab Emirates] or another third country, and they'll think that they're selling to an end user based there, when really the end user is in Iran," Daniel Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told RFE/RL.

In September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions specifically targeting Iranian companies that Washington links to the production and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for deployment in its war on Ukraine. Fighting rages with no sign of an end more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion on February 24.

"Non-Iranian, non-Russian entities should also exercise great caution to avoid supporting either the development of Iranian UAVs or their transfer, or sale of any military equipment to Russia for use against Ukraine," U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement announcing the sanctions.

Chinese Cameras, California Chips

Development of the Mohajer-6, the latest model in a series of drones Tehran has used since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, began in 2017, while mass production began the following year. During a ceremony commemorating the Islamic Revolution, then-Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that the new tactical drone could perform surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as help destroy targets.

Hatami extolled what he described as the drones domestic design, a portrayal echoed in later reports by Iranian media.

"The homegrown drone was made through cooperation among the army, Defense Ministry, and Quds Aviation Industries," the English-language Tehran Times quoted an Iranian military official as saying in July 2019.

The dismantling of the Mohajer-6 drone recovered by the Ukrainian military shows that the UAV is packed with foreign components.

One of these parts is a bright-orange real-time mini-camera produced by the Hong Kong-based company RunCam Technology. Documents seen by Schemes show that Ukrainian intelligence has also identified RunCam as the producer of the camera, which likely assists in remote guidance of the drone.

Founded in 2013, RunCam is involved in the development and production of so-called "first-person-view" real-time cameras. "Our users are our friends," the company's website states. The site says that RunCam has two authorized Iranian dealers.

Reached by Schemes for comment about the use of its camera in the Iranian drone deployed by Russia in its war on Ukraine, RunCam said in an e-mailed response: "We are very sorry to know that RunCam's products were used in warfare. RunCam is specialized in producing products for model aircraft hobby. We never contact any customer related to military."

The provenance of the Mohajer-6 drone-s thermal-imaging camera is more difficult to determine. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Schemes indicates it could be the Ventus Hot model produced by Sierra-Olympic Technologies, based in the U.S. state of Oregon, but that it also resembles a cheaper analog available for sale by the Chinese company Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology.

Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology said in an e-mailed statement that the company did not "have any business with Iran," because "it will affect our business." The company said it specializes in marine services and is not involved in manufacturing. It also said that it did not have a single successful order for its online advertisement of the thermal-imaging camera resembling the one recovered from the Iranian drone.

Sierra-Olympic Technologies did not respond to a request for comment on the possible use of its thermal-imaging cameras in Iranian combat drones in time for publication.

Microchips recovered from the drone also featured the logos of the California-based company Linear Technology Corporation and its parent company, the Massachusetts-based semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). ADI did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the possible use of its technology in the Iranian combat drone.

Schemes reporters also observed among the components of the Iranian drone a voltage step-down converter produced by Texas Instruments. The company said in an e-mailed statement that it "does not sell into Russia, Belarus, or Iran."

"TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and does not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren't designed for," Texas Instruments said.

Schemes reporters also saw several components produced by the California-based technology manufacturer Xilinx, whose parent company is the multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also based in California.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, one of these Xilinx components was integrated into a video data-link module located in the wing of the Mohajer-6 that helped carry out attack missions.

"This module transmits information from the board to the missile head. That is, guidance for the missile. With the help of this module, it was possible to guide the missile to the target," a Ukrainian military intelligence representative told Schemes.

AMD did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

'No Authorization'

Previous media reports about the components of the Mohajer-6 drone, including by CNN, have shown evidence that its engine was produced by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, whose parent company is the Quebec-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP).

The Canadian company responded to the reports on October 21, saying in a statement that it "has not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia."

"As soon as we were made aware of this situation, we started an investigation to determine the source of the engines," BRP said. .

But Schemes reporters found that the authorized Rotax distributor listed on the Austrian manufacturer's website advertised itself as a Rotax aircraft engines distributor for Iran as recently as December 2020.

The distributor, the Italian company Luciano Sorlini S.p.a., has posted multiple magazine advertisements on its websites in which it describes itself as a Rotax distributor for numerous countries. Prior to January 2021, Iran was listed among these countries.

The Rotax website also lists a Tehran-based company -- MahtaWing -- as an official service center for its engines. The company, known in Persian as Mahtabal, conducts repairs of Rotax engines, including the Rotax 912 iS, the engine that was found in the Mohajer-6 combat drone recovered in Ukraine.

BRP said in an e-mailed statement on November 4 that while Luciano Sorlini S.p.a. is the appointed distributor of Rotax aircraft engines in Iran, "since 2019, no Rotax engines have been sold in Iran, and we will not sell any engines to Iran moving forward."

The Canadian company said it had "internal controls" that "significantly" restrict the sale of its products for military purposes.

"For example, the sale of any BRP product to operators with any military activity in Iran, Turkey, and Russia is strictly prohibited," BRP said. "We conduct our business in compliance with all EU, Canadian, and U.S. applicable regulations."

BRP described the Iranian company MahtaWing as a "local service center" that "offers maintenance services for previously sold aircraft engines."

Shahriar Siami of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report.
She has been fighting for nearly six years to prove that she was a victim of sexual harassment and extortion at work.

But the battle is not over for Anna Belousova, a former school employee from the village of Pertsevka in northern Kazakhstan.

Belousova, 35, has filed a lawsuit with the Saryarqa district court in the capital, Astana, this week demanding that authorities pay her $22,000 in compensation.

The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) supported Belousova's claim in 2015, and advised Kazakhstan to pay her financial compensation for "moral and material damages." The convention's recommendations are nonbinding.

So nearly two years later, Belousova and her lawyers say Kazakh officials have done nothing.

Anastasia Miller, the regional head of Kazakhstan's Bureau for Human Rights in Qostanai, says Belousova's decision to repeatedly lodge sexual-harassment complaints in Kazakh courts and then take her case abroad is "unprecedented not only in Kazakhstan but in all of Central Asia."

Miller has urged the Kazakh government to pay the compensation to "the victim of sexual harassment."

Reliable figures are difficult to come by, but sexual-harassment lawsuits are extremely rare in Kazakhstan and such incidents in the workplace often go unreported.

Sexual Blackmail

Belousova, a married mother of two, has had deep ties with the primary school in Pertsevka in the Qostanai region, where both her parents worked and where she first attended school.

She was hired by the school at the age of 18 to work as a technical staff member in the cloakroom, a position she held for 11 years, until a new director was appointed in late 2010.

Belousova claims she was subjected to sexual harassment and attempted extortion by the new director. "He told me I had to sleep with him, otherwise I would have to leave my job," Belousova says. "He kept calling me to his office, but I didn't agree."

Belousova also accuses the director of demanding money from her after she refused his sexual advances.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Kazakh Service in 2016, the school director, who didn't want his name to be published, denied Belousova's claims.

Belousova's annual job contract expired in May 2011, and the director didn't extend it -- a decision Belousova links to her refusal to sleep with him. Belousova says the school had been extending her contract every year for 11 years without any problem.

Belousova lodged sexual-harassment complaints with education authorities in her local district, but to no avail. She went on to file complaints to law enforcement agencies and even wrote to the office of the president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, asking the authorities to open a criminal probe against the director.

Each time, however, she says she was told there was no legal ground to launch a criminal investigation into her claim, despite potential evidence that included statements from two witnesses and a mobile-phone recording of a conversation between Belousova and the director.

The director, too, fought back, suing Belousova in a Kazakh court for libel. He won his case, and Belousova was ordered to pay his legal costs and make a public apology in front of the school staff.

Not Giving Up

Belousova lost her appeal but was determined to fight to the end. She took her case outside the country, to the UN's CEDAW, in 2013.

Two years later, CEDAW concluded that Kazakhstan "failed to fulfill its obligation" to protect Belousova's rights.

The committee recommended that Kazakh authorities pay "adequate financial compensation for moral and material damages caused to [Belousova] as the result of the violation of her rights," including the loss of income, legal costs, and "suffering caused by the sexual harassment and attempted extortion."

Belousova says she has suffered from stress-related depression and hasn't been able to work since she lost her job at the school.

In March 2017, Kazakhstan's Supreme Court upheld a ruling by a lower court in Qostanai that the regional education department didn't have to pay compensation.

Belousova has now turned to the Finance Ministry in hopes that it will pay her the compensation recommended by the UN agency.

Written by Farangis Najibullah with reporting by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service correspondents Manshuk Asautai and Svetlana Glushkova
The nomination of candidates in Kyrgyzstan's presidential election officially started on June 15, and the vote already promises to be one of the most interesting and exciting elections yet seen in Central Asia.

Current Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev is prohibited by the constitution from seeking another term and, unlike leaders in some of the neighboring Central Asian states, Atambaev is really going to honor that stipulation.

So Kyrgyzstan will have a new president before the end of this year, and four months before polling stations open we don't know who that will be. It might require a second round of voting to determine the winning candidate.

That's absolutely unheard of in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It's always clear who will win there and there is never a need for a second round.

Courts Playing A Role

This won't be smooth sailing though. There is already controversy and it seems that, like Kyrgyzstan's elections in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the court system will be playing a prominent role during the registration and campaign process.

So far, at least 10 people have expressed an interest in running for the presidency.

From the political parties, so far former Prime Ministers Temir Sariev of the Ak-Shumkar (White Falcon) party and Omurbek Babanov of the Respublika party have indicated they will run, as have the current prime minister, Sooronbai Jeenbekov of the ruling Social Democratic Party; Bakyt Torobaev, leader of the Onuguu-Progress party, who actually was the first person to say he intended to run back in January; former parliament speaker Akhmatbek Keldibekov; Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party leader Omurbek Tekebaev; and former deputy Sadyr Japarov of the Ata-Jurt (Homeland) party.

There are also several people, such as Taalatbek Mamasadykov and Kamila Sharshekeeva, who are contemplating running as independent candidates.

Tekebaev and Japarov are currently both behind bars.

Tekebaev is being held on bribery and corruption charges. He was detained at Bishkek's Manas Airport on February 26 as he returned from Europe with what he claimed was evidence of President Atambaev's business interests outside Kyrgyzstan.

Courts have extended Tekebaev's detention several times while the investigation continues.

Japarov, a nationalist politician, is wanted for his alleged role in an incident in the northeast town of Karakol in 2013 when the regional governor was taken hostage by an angry crowd and held until police launched an operation to free him. He fled the country to avoid arrest and was taken into custody shortly after he returned to Kyrgyzstan on March 25.

Japarov was also briefly imprisoned in the first half 2013 after he and two other members of Ata-Jurt were convicted of attempting to forcibly seize power, a verdict that was overturned less than three months later.

On June 14, Kyrgyzstan's Central Election Commission informed Keldibekov he was not eligible to run for the presidency because, technically, he has a criminal record.

The Supreme Court fined Keldibekov 10 million soms ($142,900) in October 2016 for abuse of office when he was speaker and corruption when he was head of the State Tax Service. Keldibekov paid the fine on November 8, 2016.

According to Kyrgyzstan's Criminal Code, a conviction is removed one year after serving or execution of the sentence, meaning Keldibekov is ineligible to run until November 8, 2017, several weeks after the presidential election.

Keldibekov told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Azattyk, that he was not surprised and would fight the decision while he forged ahead with his bid for the presidency.

Situation Normal...

Some might view all this as confusing, but for voters in Kyrgyzstan this is nothing new. Similar incidents occurred in previous elections.

In Kyrgyzstan's 2000 parliamentary elections, for example, several political parties were banned from participating just three months before election day. Individual candidates were declared ineligible days before the elections, and party leaders suddenly found themselves charged with offenses.

In one of the more memorable incidents of the 2000 elections, Ar-Namys (Dignity) leader Feliks Kulov, who had been fighting off lawsuits throughout the campaign, won the first round of voting but inexplicably lost in a runoff election to an opponent who had received half the votes Kulov had in the first round.

It sparked riots in Kulov's home district. Kulov himself was detained barely a week after the runoff election and eventually imprisoned. And amid the controversy over the questionable outcome of the election, the local election commission official committed suicide.

So expect this upcoming presidential election campaign to provide an abundance of twists and turns.

Outliers, Front-Runners

As for the other likely candidates, Sariev is a veteran politician and served as a prime minister for 11 months in 2015-16 despite his Ak-Shumkar party not being represented in parliament.

Torobaev's Onuguu-Progress party is new to Kyrgyzstan's political stage. The party took part in elections for the first time in the 2015 parliamentary elections, winning 13 seats (fourth out of the six parties that got seats).

The two front-runners, at the moment, would seem to be businessman and Respublika party leader Babanov and Prime Minister Jeenbekov, who enjoys the support of President Atambaev.

The newspaper Vecherny Bishkek published the results of an informal poll of its readers that showed Babanov well ahead of others who might run for the presidency.

For that very reason, some suspect Babanov's campaign will be derailed somehow.

Charges have emerged suddenly against many perceived opposition candidates in the past, Kulov and the corruption charges against him being one example (he later became prime minister in 2005-07).

There are all sorts of other potential obstacles in Kyrgyzstan's political minefield -- citizenship issues, tax payments and declarations, sources of funding, and for those seen as the pro-government candidate, use of administrative resources for campaigns.

"Admin resources" is a term you're almost guaranteed to hear once the campaigning gets under way. And that won't happen officially until September 10, after the registration process (August 1 to September 10) is completed.

This will likely be another problem since it is sometimes difficult to define what constitutes campaigning. Some of these potential candidates appear to have already started articulating their platforms to the public.

The requirements to register as a candidate are: to be nominated by a registered political party or, in the case of independents, fill out the necessary documentation to run as an independent; pay a 1 million-som (about $15,000) deposit; pass a Kyrgyz-language test demonstrating above-average proficiency in the language; and collect signatures of support from at least 30,000 registered voters.

Ata-Meken is already disputing the signatures requirement, saying that number is not specified in the election regulations. (Unofficial support of the Kremlin is underlined by many candidates in the latest elections, and potential hopefuls now also try to show their loyalty toward Moscow.)

So get ready, here comes one of the most unpredictable elections yet in Central Asia.

Azattyk Director Venera Djumataeva contributed to this report. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said it is too early to speak about retaliation against a possible new round of sanctions that the United States is considering on imposing on Moscow.

"We need to see how it is all going to be. That is why it is premature to speak publicly about our retaliatory actions," state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Putin as saying in an interview, parts of which were shown on Rossia-1 state TV on June 17.

Putin added that a new round of sanctions will "certainly complicate Russian-U.S. relations."

On June 15, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation that included tougher new sanctions against Russia, making it more difficult for President Donald Trump to ease existing sanctions without congressional approval.

The legislation will have to be approved by the House of Representatives before being sent to Trump for his signature.

The measure looks to punish Putin for his country's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS
The U.S. will send $400 million more in military aid to Ukraine, the Defense Department announced on November 10, saying the package will include large amounts of ammunition and four highly mobile Avenger Air Defense Systems.

National-security adviser Jake Sullivan said the new aid package includes important air defense contributions.



This increased air defense will be critical for Ukraine as Russia continues to use cruise missiles and Iranian-made drones to attack critical civilian infrastructure," Sullivan said.



Ammunition for the high mobility artillery rocket systems, known as HIMARS, which Ukraine has been successfully using in its counteroffensive against Russia, is also included in the package.

There also will be Stinger missiles for the HAWK surface-to-air antiaircraft system, 10,000 mortar rounds, thousands of artillery rounds for howitzers, 400 grenade launchers, 100 Humvees, cold weather gear, and 20 million rounds of ammunition for smaller guns and rifles.



Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters THAT the addition of the four Avenger systems will help Ukraine protect its troops against drones, cruise missiles, and attacks from helicopters. She said she did not know when the systems will arrive in Ukraine or how long it will take to train Ukrainian troops to use them.



The new package will be a drawdown of existing inventories of U.S. military equipment, the Defense Department said in a news release.



Including the latest aid, the U.S. has committed more than $18.6 billion in weapons and other equipment to Ukraine since Russia attacked on February 24, the Defense Department said.



The Pentagon announced the aid package two days after the U.S. midterm elections, which are likely to result in Republicans winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives.



Some Republicans have called for cutting back assistance to Ukraine, while others have called for greater scrutiny of the assistance. Representative Kevin McCarthy (Republican-California), who could become speaker if Republicans win the House, has said his party will not write a blank check for Ukraine.

When asked about ongoing aid to Ukraine, Singh said it has had bipartisan support.



I think there is, in Congress, on both sides of the aisle, a commitment to Ukraine that were in this for the long haul, she said. So even with the midterms and the outcomes, I think that Ukraine will still see security assistance and support from the United States in their fight.



President Joe Biden expressed optimism on November 9 that support will go on even if Republicans take control of one or both houses of Congress.



"I hope well continue this bipartisan approach of confronting Russias aggression in Ukraine," Biden told reporters.

With reporting by AP
Azerbaijani forces have killed three Armenia-backed separatist soldiers on the front lines of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, the separatists' self-described defense ministry said.

Azerbaijani troops had shelled the Karabakh soldiers' positions using antitank grenade launchers, the ministry said on June 16.

"Three servicemen of the Karabakh army, all aged 20, were killed as a result," it said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia, both former Soviet states, are locked in a protracted conflict over the disputed region. In April of last year, at least 200 people from both sides were killed as sporadic violence flared into the worst clashes in decades over the region.

A Russian-brokered cease-fire ended four days of fierce fighting at that time, but attempts to relaunch the stalled peace process since then have failed.

Nagorno-Karabakh is officially part of Azerbaijan, but Armenia-backed separatists seized control of the mainly ethnic-Armenian-populated region during the early 1990s in a war that killed some 30,000 people.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict during the last 25 years have brought little progress.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
Leading Democrats in the U.S. Congress have warned President Donald Trump against firing the Justice Department special counsel who is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the presidential election.

After a close Trump associate earlier this week said Trump was "considering" firing Robert Mueller, who was appointed special counsel last month, the White House said Trump had no intention to do so though Trump has the "right" to do so.

Still, since Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing the Russia probe little more than a month ago, the White House comments have stirred concern among members of Congress that Mueller might get the same treatment if the investigation goes against the president.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is also investigating the ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, said on June 16 she was "increasingly concerned" Trump would try to fire not only Mueller, but also the man who appointed him, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

"The message the president is sending through his tweets is that he believes the rule of law doesn't apply to him, and that anyone who thinks otherwise will be fired," Feinstein said.

"He's in for a rude awakening" if he thinks he can shut down the investigation that way, she added. "Even his staunchest supporters will balk at such a blatant effort to subvert the law."

Although the president is unlikely to be indicted if Mueller's investigation finds any criminal wrongdoing, Mueller's findings could lead to calls for impeachment in Congress, where a few Democrats are already pushing for impeachment.

Democrats note that after the Justice Department appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the Watergate break-in during the in the 1970s, then-President Richard Nixon ordered the department to fire the special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, prompting his attorney general and deputy attorney general both to resign in what became known as the "Saturday Night Massacre."

Nixon later resigned rather than face impeachment.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee on June 16 called on Congress to "unite to stop" Trump if he tried to fire Rosenstein or Mueller.

Trump "believes that he has the power to fire anyone in government he chooses and for any reason," said Representative Adam Schiff, whose committee is also investigating Russia-Trump ties.

Trump has fueled the concern in Congress by repeatedly calling the congressional and executive investigations into his campaign's ties with Russia a "witch-hunt."

"You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history -- led by some very bad and conflicted people!" Trump tweeted on June 16.

This week, Trump also attacked what he called a "phony story" in The Washington Post that said Mueller's investigation had been expanded to include an inquiry into whether Trump's firing of Comey amounted to an illegal attempt to obstruct justice.

The tweets reflect Trump's increasing anger over the investigations, which Trump believes are biased against him and are aimed at forcing him out of the presidency, the Associated Press reported on June 16, citing anonymous White House aides.

Feinstein said an angry Trump had "embarked on an effort to undermine anyone with the ability to bring any misdeeds to light," and the Senate shouldn't let that happen.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
The owner of a now-defunct mining company in Afghanistan has been indicted on charges of defrauding the U.S. government and defaulting on a loan of nearly $16 million.

U.S. prosecutors said on June 16 that Azam Doost, 39, was arrested on June 13 at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

An indictment charges Doost, who is also known as Adam Doost, Muhammad Azam Doost, and Muhammad Azim, with wire fraud, false statements on loan applications, and money laundering.

Doost owned Equity Capital Mining LLC, a marble mining company in Afghanistan. He and others got a $15.8 million loan from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, according to the indictment. The loan was for the development, maintenance, and operation of a marble mine in western Afghanistan.

Doost and others transferred money from the loan to personal accounts, then claimed not to have enough money to make payments, prosecutors said. Eventually, Doost and others defaulted on the loan.

The criminal case against Doost was announced by the U.S. Justice Department in conjunction with the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which has documented billions of dollars of fraud and waste in U.S. contracts in Afghanistan.

With reporting by AP
The 2020 Yamaha FZ 25 and FZS 25 BS6 could be launched online amid the ongoing lockdown

Yamaha Motors India has added the new BS6-compliant FZ 25 and FZS 25 sports commuters on its official website, giving details of both their features and engine updates. Both 250cc Yamaha FZ siblings were unveiled in February but COVID-19 and its consequent lockdown protocols have delayed their launch.

Since the lockdown has been extended, Yamaha Motor India might conduct an online launch soon rather than waiting for the spread-control measures to end. The BS6 FZ 25 and FZS 25 receive exclusive colour options to stand apart from each other.

The Yamaha FZ 25 will be available in Racing Blue and Metallic Black shades. On the other hand, the Yamaha FZS 25 will come in Dark Matte Blue, Dark Cyan or Metallic White. Both models come with sharper tank shrouds with faux air intakes and an all-new full-LED headlamp while the FZS 25 sports knuckle guards and a taller windscreen as well.

Apart from becoming compliant to BS6 emission norms, the motorcycles carry some other key changes. The products weigh a kg more than their BS4 counterparts. The FZ 25 gets side-stand cut-off, new underbelly cladding and engine cowl. Its S sibling gets the option of gold-painted alloy wheels as well as pinstriped wheels. The new negative-LCD instrument console shows a lot of information including average mileage and a rough value of the maximum attainable riding range or simple, distance to empty.

Coming to the engine department, Yamaha Motor Indias updated FZ 25 and FZS 25 employ the same 249cc air-cooled fuel-injected single-cylinder engine. The BS6 output figures stand at 20.5bhp at 8,000rpm and 20.1Nm at 6,000rpm. Compared to its outgoing BS4 version, the numbers have taken a negligible fall. This is a common trend observed while updating an existing engine to BS6 specifications.

Braking and suspension duties are carried out by the same mechanicals as in the BS4 models. The front end gets conventional telescopic forks while a monoshock unit takes care of the rear. Both motorcycles get 280mm front and 220mm rear disc brakes. Dual-channel ABS is offered as standard fitment.

As mentioned before, the Japanese two-wheeler brand has not shared the final pricing. However, considering the list of updates, they could be costlier by anything between Rs 8,000-10,000 over their earlier BS4 formats. Hence one can expect the 2020MY Yamaha FZ and FZS 25 siblings to carry a price tag around Rs 1.40 lakh and 1.45 lakh, respectively. These figures are ex-showroom prices.
If a dangerously inbred puma population in Southern California is to survive in the future, an urgent need for genetic connectivity must be met, according to two scientific papers from a team of researchers coordinated by the University of California, Davis, and involving scientists at the University of Wyoming and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The first paper, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science in May, reports that the puma population of about 20 adults in the Santa Ana Mountains has the lowest genetic diversity ever reported for pumas besides the Florida panther, which nearly went extinct from genetic causes.

The pumas' isolation is primarily due to surrounding urbanization from Los Angeles and San Diego.

"The only hope for puma movements in and out of the Santa Ana Mountains is to cross I-15 -- an eight- to 10-lane interstate highway -- which poses a major barrier for pumas attempting to migrate between the Santa Ana Mountains and the rural Eastern Peninsular Mountains," said lead author Kyle Gustafson, a postdoctoral conservation geneticist from the University of Wyoming.

University of Wyoming researchers conducted genetic analyses of both radiocollared and uncollared pumas to develop a multigeneration pedigree. This showed where pumas and their offspring were born, and whether they successfully migrated and reproduced after crossing I-15, which separates the Santa Ana Mountains from other mountain ranges to the east.

The Power of One

Although seven males crossed I-15 over the past 20 years, only one -- male puma #86 (M86) -- was able to successfully produce offspring in the Santa Anas after migrating from the genetically diverse population to the east. By producing a total of 11 detected offspring, M86 rapidly disseminated unique genes into the inbred population, which reduced the level of inbreeding and significantly increased genetic diversity.

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Unfortunately, M86 was hit by a car between 2014 and 2015, and more than half of his offspring are either now deceased or in captivity.

"This is consistent with mortality rates we found previously in the region," said Winston Vickers, a wildlife veterinarian from UC Davis' Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center who conducted most of the field research. "Only one other migrant, named M119, remains in the Santa Ana Mountains, but whether he is alive or produced offspring is uncertain."

Senior author Holly Ernest, a wildlife population geneticist and research veterinarian at the University of Wyoming, said that by introducing new genetic material and raising the level of genetic diversity in this population, that single male mountain lion, M86, performed what amounts to a "genetic rescue."

"Our study also shows how quickly his genetics were lost by high mortality levels of his offspring," Ernest said. "A message here is that this population needs help to regain healthy genetics and persist in the Southern California landscape. That help can come in the form of just a few individuals over time adding 'new blood' to the population."

Connectivity is Key

The second paper, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, provides a potential solution to this issue. In it, the researchers propose a conservation network for pumas spanning the Santa Ana Mountains and the Eastern Peninsular Mountains.

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Using genetic data and data from GPS radio-collared pumas, this analysis identified critical habitat patches, movement corridors, and key road crossing locations across I-15 that would allow pumas to persist and increase genetic diversity.

"Without continued emigration into the Santa Ana Mountains by pumas coming from the east of I-15, eroding genetic diversity and continued inbreeding are expected to resume," said veterinarian Walter Boyce, co-director of the Wildlife Health Center's Southern California Mountain Lion Study with Vickers.

Protected areas in Southern California currently cover about 50 percent of this proposed puma conservation network. Incorporating key new areas in Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties would increase the protected areas to nearly 80 percent. Habitat protection, coupled with wildlife crossing structures and wildlife fencing, will be needed to promote the safe passage of pumas across I-15 and ensure adequate gene flow.

"The current protected area system is not enough to ensure the survival of pumas in Southern California," said lead author Katherine Zeller, a wildlife biologist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. "Without additional avenues for pumas to move safely between large habitat blocks, these populations will continue to see decreased gene flow, as well as high mortality rates, which will decrease their chances of long-term survival in the region.
Planetary Resources announced its Ceres Earth observation constellation of Earth observation satellites, Planetary Resources has set that effort aside to focus on its core mission of asteroid prospecting.

GREENBELT, Md.  A year after announcing plans to develop a constellation of Earth observation satellites, Planetary Resources has set that effort aside to focus on its core mission of asteroid prospecting.

The company announced in May 2016 a satellite system called Ceres that would ultimately include 10 small satellites capable of providing hyperspectral and mid-wave infrared imagery. That announcement was tied to a $21.1 million funding round for the Redmond, Washington-based company.

At the time, Planetary Resources argued that Ceres would provide information not readily available from other Earth observation systems, offering useful insights for agriculture, natural resources and other fields. The system would also test out instrument technologies needed for the company's future missions to near Earth asteroids that would look for resources like water ice.

Planetary Resources is one of several private companies hoping to mine the precious metals and water ice from asteroids. See how asteroid mining could work in our full infographic here (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor)

In recent months, though, the company had made little, if any, mention of Ceres. As recently as March, the company included information about Ceres on its website, according to archives of the site maintained by the Internet Archive. The company's website today no longer offers that information.

Chris Lewicki, president and chief executive of Planetary Resources, said after a presentation at a June 13 meeting of NASA's Small Bodies Assessment Group here that the company still has an interest in an Earth observation system, but it is now a lower priority compared to other work more directly linked to asteroid prospecting.

"That continues to be something that we're capable of doing," he said of Ceres. One challenge was a series of delays in launching the company's next technology demonstration satellites, called Arkyd-6, that would test its mid-wave infrared instrument with imagery of both the Earth and space. The company wanted the data from the spacecraft to "show to the community who would buy that type of data."

However, he said Earth observation is less of a priority than other efforts more closely linked to asteroid prospecting. "We've got a lot of focus on our asteroid prospecting today," he said, which he credited to support  regulatory and financial  from the government of Luxembourg, which has a space resources initiative.

There is also, he said, "increased interest from the mining community" in the company's capabilities. "A lot of the work that we've actually been doing very recently has been working directly, under contract, with some companies in the mining community, and that's been helping to educate current and future opportunities as well."

Lewicki said the two Arkyd-6 spacecraft, each a six-unit cubesat, are nearing completion at the company's facilities and should be delivered in the next month for launch in the fall on an unnamed launch vehicle. "It really honed the team, our processes and our facilities," he said of the spacecraft's development.

That team is now up to 70 employees, he said, both at the company's headquarters and an office it has established in Luxembourg. Lewicki said the company is actively hiring, including seeking a chief scientist and planetary scientists to support its asteroid prospecting work.

Those spacecraft will be technology precursors for the company's first asteroid prospecting spacecraft, scheduled to launch as soon as 2020. "We're now into the detailed design of our asteroid exploration program, working towards launch readiness in the second half of 2020," he said.

The company is looking at a number of near Earth asteroids that can be reached relatively easily from the Earth and show signs of having hydrated minerals. Those missions, he said, would study the asteroids with remote sensing instruments as well as "contact science" on the asteroid's surface. That, he said, "would be able to demonstrate confidence that we have an economic mining target."

"This is an ambitious schedule," he acknowledged, "but one that we think is available to us."

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
Statement of the Saharawi government following the decision of the High Court of South Africa in the continuing detention of a cargo of phosphate rock for New Zealand from occupied Western Sahara

Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara (June 15, 2017). On May 1 the government of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (the SADR) and the Saharawi national liberation movement, the Polisario Front, obtained a civil court order to detain a cargo of phosphate mineral rock transiting through South Africa, illegally exported from occupied Western Sahara in April. The 54,000 metric tonnes cargo, purchased by the New Zealand fertilizer company Ballance Agri-Nutrients Limited, has a value estimated at more than $7 million (NZD).

After 45 days, the cargo remains under detention aboard the Marshall Islands registered bulk carrier NM Cherry Blossom at anchor in Port Elizabeth.

Today the High Court of South Africa issued a decision on a review of the May 1 order to detain the cargo. This procedural step is a routine one in South Africas civil justice system. The Court confirmed the correctness of the May 1 order, that it had been obtained on proper grounds. The civil lawsuit will now be scheduled for a trial on the question of ownership rights to the cargo. Over the years, virtually every phosphate purchasing company had been warned of the risks of importing the commodity, including that ownership rights to it could not be transferred because of Western Saharas illegal occupation.

The High Court made observations about the validity of the case consistent with international law generally and recent decisions of other senior-level courts, including the Court of Justice of the European Union and the United Kingdom High Court. The South African court noted that Morocco has no claim to sovereignty over Western Sahara ... Furthermore, it acquired the territory by force" and that we conclude that howsoever Morocco's presence in Western Sahara may be described, it does not exercise sovereignty over the territory".

The Saharawi government has, through its legal team in South Africa, noted that it will receive favourably requests by parties interested in the motor vessel NM Cherry Blossom





to release the cargo and permit the ship to resume ordinary trading. An unusual aspect of the case is that no party, including Ballance Agri-Nutrients as owner nor the time charterer of the ship, has yet proposed putting forward or substituting a form of security for the value of the cargo.

Together with a case in Panama which resulted in a claim against the motor vessel Ultra Innovation bound for Agrium Inc. in Canada on May 17, which case is now proceeding through a procedural appeal to be indirectly aided by the result in South Africa  the recourse to civil legal action demonstrates the resolve of the Saharawi government to protecting the natural resources of Western Sahara while the territory continues to be occupied.

The Saharawi government official responsible for resource matters, Emhamed Khadad, noted that: The result in South Africa is consistent with international law and a growing number of recent decisions by respected courts. The basic principles are clear enough, and can no longer be explained away as some purportedly beneficial activity for Western Sahara. We would do well to recall the finding of the High Court, on facts that are well known, that those who benefit from the mining of the phosphate are not the people of the territory but, more likely, Moroccan settlers. Khadad also explained that the result in South Africa is being examined for application in Europe in conjunction with an appeal decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (which decision was adopted in the South African case). The Saharawi people have patiently supported the commitment of the United Nations to a self-determination process in Africas last colony. They could no longer give themselves to such a process while remaining indifferent to the rule of law in the international order. If the Saharawi people aspire to be a responsible member of the international community, then they have a role to play in improving the legal framework for the decolonization of Western Sahara. (SPS)

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Paris, June 17, 2017 (SPS) - The lawyers of Sahrawi activists, tried by the Court of Appeal of Rabat, denounced Thursday, in Paris, the Moroccan justice which has been exploited to settle political scores after six months of hearings marked by the absence of proofs.

The justice is exploited to settle political scores between the States and with the Polisario Front, affirmed the two lawyers Ingrid Metton and Olfa Ouled, who were both expelled from Morocco violently, in a press conference on the occasion of the publication of a report of the observations of the defence on Gdeim Iziks trial at the Court of Appeal of Rabat.

The report will be sent to French President Emmanuel Macron, Foreign Affairs Ministry, embassies, international institutions and non-governmental organizations.

In the absence of proofs to sentence the Sahrawi activists for acts of violence perpetrated against policemen, intention of murder and formation of a wicked group to commit a crime and desecration of bodies, the civil parties called on the Court of Appeal to amend the facts of offence against the security of the State. (SPS)

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In addition to being the largest (210 million people, nearly two trillion dollar GDP) nation in Latin America, Brazil has also developed the largest array of defense industries and has become a major manufacturer (over $60 billion a year), not only for its own armed forces but also for many export customers. Brazilian defense manufacturers always seemed to have customers, unlike those buying many other Brazilian goods. The defense firms pay attention to what Brazilian armed forces need and often find a way to do it in a way that is competitive with foreign suppliers and actually capable of competing with major arms exporters. That means few political restrictions on who they sell to as long as it brings more good jobs to Brazil and campaign contributions to key Brazilian politicians.

This process began in the 1980s and has grown to the point where Brazil has become a major manufacturer in some categories like armed trainer aircraft and lately, wheeled armored vehicles. Two of the more recent designs, the LMV and VBTP-MR Guarani are good examples of how Brazil has come so far so fast in this area. These two vehicles were made with technology licensed from Iveco, a major European manufacturer in Italy. The European defense firms have been at it a lot longer and already had experience dealing with the two majors (the United States and Russia, which together dominate the top end and bottom end of the export market). The European firms have competitive (to the U.S.) tech and are more willing to make all sorts of deals. Besides, in Brazil its considered more fashionable, and patriotic, to do business with the Europeans rather than the Colossus of the North.

After 2000 Brazil found Iveco had the technology they were looking for and was willing to build in Brazil and allow Brazil to export the Brazilian made vehicles. This was big business for Iveco, with two vehicles alone generating nearly $20 billion in business. The first deal with Iveco involved a replacement for older armored vehicles used by the Brazilian military. These were the EE-9 Cascavel and EE-11 Urutu, both wheeled APCs (armored personnel carrier) developed in the 1970s. The Iveco candidate to replace the EE-9 was a 17 ton 6x6 version of their 32 ton 8x8 SuperAV. The SuperAV is one of the two finalists to replace the U.S. Marine Corps AAV7 amphibious vehicle. Brazil required a smaller vehicle and developed the 6x6 VBTP-MR Guarani. The first of these began arriving in 2012 and the Brazilian military will buy about 2,000 of them by the 2030s. There are already export customers. The VBTP-MR is similar to the latest version of the American Stryker. That is VBTP-MR has a V shaped hull and lots of composite armor and internal features to defend against mines and roadside bombs. It is also amphibious and can use a variety of turret mounted weapons including a RWS (Remote Weapons System) armed with autocannon, automatic grenade launcher or missiles. There are turretless versions for ambulances and other support roles as well as models armed with 120mm mortar or 105mm cannon. The most numerous version is the APC with a crew of two, nine passengers and an RWS with 30mm autocannon plus a 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine-gun. Top speed is 110 kilometers an hour and road range on internal fuel is 600 kilometers.

With the VBTP-MR already underway Brazil began looking for something similar to the American armored hummer (and similar vehicles) for its army. After holding a competition in 2016 the Italian LMV (Light Multipurpose Vehicles) M65 "Lynx" was selected. This would replace the EE-11 and several other light armored vehicles. Brazil eventually wants 1,674 LMVs but the initial order is for 186 so the vehicle can be tried out by troops in the many different climates and terrain types found in Brazil. Ultimately 23 percent of the LMVs will be armed with an Israeli RWS while the rest will have an armored manned turret equipped with a machine-gun.

The seven ton, 4x4 M65 is another design influenced by the success of American armored hummers and MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like the hummer, the LMV normally carries five people. The LMV can carry a RWS on the roof and there are variants with the rear of the vehicle used for cargo or equipment. The LMV is similar in size to the hummer (5.1 meters/15.8 feet long and 2.35 meters/7.3 feet wide) but is actually a few percent larger and weighs about a third more. Like the hummers built with armor (rather than having it added), the LMV provides excellent protection from bullets and roadside bombs. The V-shaped hull of the LMV improves protection from explosions beneath the vehicle. The LMV costs nearly half a million dollars each, when tricked out with all the accessories and is a major improvement over the older EE-11.

The Italian manufacturer, Iveco, has already sold the LMV to Spain, Italy, Belgium, Britain, and Norway. The Italian army ordered 1,210 LMVs and some were used in Afghanistan, where they performed well. Russia was going to buy at least 60 LMVs but the 2014 economic sanction placed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine halted that, for the moment. The Russians originally wanted to build 2,000 LMVs locally under license but the collapse of oil prices after 2013 put that on hold before the sanctions even became a factor. Meanwhile Brazil can export these vehicles because, although they use licensed tech, they are manufactured in Brazil and the licensing agreements European firms offer are much more flexible than what U.S. companies will tolerate.
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a marine fuel logistics company that markets and supplies refined marine fuel and lubricants to vessels in port, at sea, and on rivers worldwide. The company offers fueling services to ocean-going and a range of coastal vessels, including oil tankers, container ships, drybulk carriers, cruise ships, reefers, LNG/LPG carriers, car carriers, and ferries, as well as to marine fuel traders, brokers, and other end-users of marine fuel and lubricants. It also markets and distributes marine lubricants under the Alfa Marine Lubricants brand; and provides a range of shipping services, such as technical support and maintenance, insurance arrangement and handling, financial administration, and accounting services. As of December 31, 2016, the company owned and operated a fleet of 46 bunkering vessels, including 45 double hulls and 1 single hull special purpose vehicle; 15 double hull bunkering vessels with an aggregate carrying capacity of approximately 292,400 deadweight ton (dwt); operated 10 land-based storage facilities with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 1,075,000 cubic meters; and operated 2 vessels as floating storage facility with a cargo carrying capacity of approximately 86,800 dwt. Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece.
Allergan plc, a pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes branded pharmaceutical, device, biologic, surgical, and regenerative medicine products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: US Specialized Therapeutics, US General Medicine, and International. It offers a portfolio of products in various therapeutic areas, including medical aesthetics and dermatology, eye care, neuroscience, urology, gastrointestinal, women's health, and anti-infective therapeutic products. The company also offers breast implants and tissue expanders; and RM-131 (relamorelin), a peptide ghrelin agonist for the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis. In addition, it develops medical and cosmetic treatments; therapies for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and other liver diseases; inhibitor for the treatment of psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders; atopic dermatitis drug candidate; peri-ocular rings for extended drug delivery and reducing elevated intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients; and treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Further, the company develops RST-001, a novel gene therapy for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa; small molecule therapeutics for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases; topical medicines for fat reduction; and delivery system and botulinum toxin-based prescription products. It has collaboration, option, and license agreement with Lyndra, Inc.; and strategic alliance and option agreement with Editas Medicine, Inc. Allergan plc also has licensing agreements with Assembly Biosciences, Inc.; MedImmune; and Heptares Therapeutics, Ltd. The company was formerly known as Actavis plc and changed its name to Allergan plc in June 2015. Allergan plc was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
The following companies are subsidiares of Ashland: 565 Corporation, ASH GP INC., ASHLAND SPECIALTY CHEMICAL (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD., ASHLAND SPECIALTY CHEMICALS (MALAYSIA) SDN.BHD, Adams Drive Totowa L.L.C., Alera Property Holdings LLC, Alera Technologies Inc., Alix Technologies LLC, Aloe Vemera S.P.R de R.L. de C.V., Ash B5 Limited, Ash GH One Inc., Ash GH Switzerland GmbH, Ash Global Holding Three GmbH, Ash Global Holdings Two B.V., Ash Junior Global Holding One LLC, Ash Junior Global Holding Two LLC, Ash Swiss Holding Two GmbH, Ashland (Australasia) Pty. Limited, Ashland (China) Holdings Co. Ltd., Ashland (Gibraltar) One Holding Inc., Ashland (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Ashland Argentina S.R.L., Ashland CZ s.r.o., Ashland Canada Corp./Corporation Ashland Canada, Ashland Canada Holdings B. V., Ashland Chemco Inc., Ashland Chemical De Mexico S.A. De C.V., Ashland Chemical Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, Ashland Chemicals (Nanjing) Company Limited, Ashland Colombia S.A.S., Ashland Comercio de Especialidades Quimicas do Brasil Ltda., Ashland Eastern Markets LLC, Ashland Ethanol Inc., Ashland Finance Limited, Ashland Global Holdings Inc., Ashland India Private Limited, Ashland Industria de Ingredientes do Brasil Ltda., Ashland Industries Deutschland GmbH, Ashland Industries Europe GmbH, Ashland Industries Italia S.r.l., Ashland Industries Nederland B.V., Ashland Ingredients Poland Sp. z o.o., Ashland Italia S.r.l., Ashland Japan Ltd., Ashland LLC, Ashland Licensing and Intellectual Property LLC, Ashland Mexico Holdings One LLC, Ashland Mexico Holdings Two LLC, Ashland Nigeria Exploration Unlimited, Ashland Oil (Nigeria) Company Unlimited, Ashland Oil Inc., Ashland Pacific Pty. Ltd., Ashland Pharmachem International Holdings LLC, Ashland Services B. V., Ashland Services Mexico S.A. de C.V., Ashland Singapore Pte. Ltd., Ashland Spain Real Estate Holdings S.L., Ashland Specialties Austria GmbH, Ashland Specialties Belgium BVBA, Ashland Specialties France S.a.r.l., Ashland Specialties Hispania S.L., Ashland Specialties Ireland Limited, Ashland Specialties Sverige AB, Ashland Specialties UK Limited, Ashland Specialty Chemical Korea Co. Ltd., Ashland Specialty Ingredients G.P., Ashland-Alaskan Limited, Ashland-Plasticos De Portugal Lda., Ashmont Insurance Company Inc., Ashprop Two LLC, Avoca LLC, Avoele S.A. de C.V., Belleville Realty Corp., Blazer Properties LLC, Bluegrass Insurance Company Limited, CLTA LLC, CVG Capital III LLC, Carol Clifton Inc., Curtis Bay Insurance Co. Ltd, East Bay Realty Services Inc., Fospur, Hercofina, Hercules, Hercules Holding BV BVBA, Hercules Hydrocarbon Holdings Inc., Hercules International Limited LLC, Hercules Investment ApS, Hercules Investments Netherlands B.V., Hercules Islands Corporation, Hercules LLC, Hercules Paper Holdings Inc., Hercules Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, ISP (Belgium) International N. V., ISP Alginates Inc., ISP Canada Corp., ISP Capital LLC, ISP Chemco LLC, ISP Chemical Products LLC, ISP Chemicals LLC, ISP Environmental Services Inc., ISP France Holding SARL, ISP France Marketing SARL, ISP Freetown Fine Chemicals Inc., ISP Freight Services N. V., ISP Global Operations (Barbados) Inc., ISP Global Technologies Deutschland Unterstutzungskasse GmbH, ISP Global Technologies Inc., ISP Global Technologies LLC, ISP HC Limited, ISP Holdings (U.K.) Ltd., ISP Hungary Holdings Limited Liability Company, ISP International Corp., ISP Investments LLC, ISP Lima LLC, ISP Luxembourg Canada S.a.r.l., ISP Management Company Inc., ISP Marl Holdings GmbH, ISP Microcaps (U.K.) Limited, ISP Pharma Systems LLC, ISP Real Estate Company Inc., ISP Singapore Holding LLC, ISP Technologies LLC, International Specialty Holdings LLC, International Specialty Products, International Specialty Products (India) Private Limited, International Specialty Products Funding Corporation, International Specialty Products Inc., Jiangmen Ashland Chemicals Company Limited, Nanjing Clear Environment Protection, Northwest Coatings, Oil Can Henrys, PT Ashland Asia, PT. Ashland Specialty Chemicals Indonesia, Pakistan Gum Industries (Private) Limited, Pharmachem Laboratories, Pharmachem Laboratories LLC, Pharmachem Laboratories Utah LLC, Prince Street Paterson LLC, Progiven S.A.S., Proprietary Nutritionals LLC, Ralop S. de R.L. de C.V., Schulke & Mayr - Personal Care Business, Shanghai Ashland Chemical Technology Development Co. Ltd., St Croix Petrochemical Corp, Taiwan Ashland Co. Ltd., Techwax Limited, Vemera S. de R.L. de C.V., Vornia, and WSP LLC.

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OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and energy services provider that offers physical delivery and related services for electricity, natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy. It provides retail electric service to approximately 879,000 customers, which covers a service area of approximately 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and owns and operates coal-fired, natural gas-fired, wind-powered, and solar-powered generating assets. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned and operated interconnected electric generation, transmission, and distribution systems, including 16 generating stations with an aggregate capability of 7,207 megawatts; and transmission systems comprising 54 substations and 5,122 structure miles of lines in Oklahoma, and 7 substations and 277 structure miles of lines in Arkansas. Its distribution systems included 350 substations; 29,494 structure miles of overhead lines; 3,365 miles of underground conduit; and 11,125 miles of underground conductors in Oklahoma, as well as 29 substations, 2,795 structure miles of overhead lines, 349 miles of underground conduit, and 662 miles of underground conductors in Arkansas. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Telecom Argentina S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Argentina and internationally. The company offers telephone services, including local, domestic, and international long-distance telephone services, as well as public telephone services; and other related supplementary services, such as call waiting, call forwarding, conference calls, caller ID, voice mail, itemized billing, and maintenance services. It also provides interconnection services, such as traffic and interconnection resource, dedicated Internet access, video signals transportation in standard and high definitions, audio and video streaming, dedicated links, backhaul links for mobile operators, data center hosting/housing services, dedicated links, layer 2 and layer 3 transport networks, video links, value-added services, and other services. In addition, the company offers mobile telecommunications services, including voice communications, high-speed mobile Internet content and applications download, online streaming, and other services; and sells mobile communication devices, such as handsets, Modems MiFi and wingles, and smart watches under the Personal brand. Further, it provides internet connectivity products, including virtual private network services, traditional Internet protocol links, and other products; data services; and programming and other cable television services. The company was formerly known as Cablevision S.A. and changed its name to Telecom Argentina S.A. in January 2018. Telecom Argentina S.A. was founded in 1979 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.
NASDAQ is an acronym for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. The NASDAQ stock exchange is owned by Nasdaq, Inc. and serves as an international electronic marketplace where investors can buy and sell securities. It is the second largest stock exchange in the world.

The NASDAQ exchange lists stocks from virtually every sector of the economy. Although they are heavily weighted in technology, you will also see them as a leader in fields such as healthcare and biotech, energy and industrials and financial services.

And the NASDAQ is also an index which is referred to as the NASDAQ Composite. When you hear that the NASDAQ was up or down, they are referring to the index.

This index measures over 3,000 stocks listed on the NASDAQ exchange and includes the worlds leading tech stocks including the FAANG stocks. The index is a mathematical average of the stocks that are listed. The NASDAQ index cant be traded. However, investors can purchase an index fund that is similar to a mutual fund or an ETF and is made up of the stocks in the index.

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief history of the NASDAQ, explain how its different from the NYSE and the Dow Jones Index, and why the NASDAQ is important to investors.

What Were the Origins of the NASDAQ?

The NASDAQ started trading on February 8, 1971. It was created as an alternative to the NYSE so as to give new, emerging companies a way into the stock market. Since the NYSE is made up of primarily blue-chip companies with a large market capitalization, many financially sound companies with modest assets had to look for alternate means to raise capital.

At first, the NASDAQ only provided quotations and matched buyers and sellers with dealers. As it started trading, it became a source for speculative, over-the-counter (OTC) stocks to raise capital. However, when it became the first U.S. stock market to conduct online trading, it soon became the go-to exchange for technology stocks that saw it as a more modern way to list their stocks. In a way, it reflected the innovation that those companies represented.

What Are the Listing Requirements for the NASDAQ?

For starters, the NASDAQ is a company. So every company that wishes to be listed on the NASDAQ has to pay an initial listing fee. This fee can be between $50,000 and $75,000. In addition, there is an annual fee to remain as a member. This fee can be as lows as $42,000 or as high as $155,000 depending on the companys size.

But being part of an exchange is not just a matter of paying dues. To be listed, a company must meet a set of requirements. These include but are not limited to:

Quantitative financial requirements (earnings, market cap, and assets)

Corporate governance standards that give clear guidance about issues like shareholder rights and annual meetings

Once a stock is listed, they must continue to meet regulatory requirements by making financial information about the company and the stock available to the public. And, the companies listed on the NASDAQ must meet SEC requirements, including the filing of financial reports. All of this is done to provide transparency to investors. For this reason, as the NASDAQ has grown up it is no longer the domain of speculative over-the-counter stocks.

How is the NASDAQ Different from the NYSE?

Initially, the primary difference between the NYSE and NASDAQ was in the way trades were conducted. The NYSE is an auction market. As the word auction implies, trades occur between buyers who offer a bid price for a stock and sellers who have an ask price. The highest bidding price is matched with the lowest asking price. The NASDAQ, by contrast, started as a dealers market where these dealers served as middlemen between buyers and sellers.

With the advent of trading technology, the difference in methodology between the two exchanges is more subtle. The NASDAQ now automatically matches buyers and sellers similar to an auction system. And the NYSE relies heavily on computers to facilitate their trades. One of the differences remains the presence of human brokers who still man the trading floor of the NYSE.

Another subtle difference comes with how the exchanges ensure liquidity and security. On the NYSE, each security has a Designated Market Maker (DMM) who serves as an auctioneer of sorts. Unlike the NYSE, each security on the NASDAQ has multiple Market Makers to help ensure liquidity. Apple, for example, has 54 registered Market Makers.

Yet another difference can be found in the size and profile of the companies listed with each exchange. As of June 2022, the NYSE includes approximately 2,400 companies with a market capitalization of over $28.2 trillion. The NASDAQ has over 3,300 listings with a total market capitalization of $11 trillion dollars. Why is this significant? The NYSE has been around since 1792 making it the oldest stock exchange and for almost 200 years the only game in town. As a result, it is home to many of what are seen as the blue-chip companies. The NASDAQ, by comparison, generally consists of stocks that are more volatile and growth oriented. In recent years, it is for housing the FAANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google/Alphabet).

How is the NASDAQ Different from the Dow?

Both the Dow and the NASDAQ are predictive indicators of the market direction. In the case of the Dow, the stocks can be listed on the NYSE or the NASDAQ exchanges.

The Dow Jones (also known as The Dow) is an index of what are considered the 30 biggest companies in terms of scale and firm returns. When stock reports are given you usually hear reference to The Dow was up X number of points or The Dow was down X number of points. This is referring to the average of these 30 stocks. It is considered to be a broad view of the market in general. You may also hear the phrase advancers versus decliners. This refers to how many stocks in the Dow 30 made gains for the day (advancers) and how many had losses (decliners).

The companies in the Dow 30 make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Some investors may buy an index fund which contains only the securities that make up the Dow 30.

The NASDAQ is also an index, but it is also an exchange that is made up of over 3,400 individual securities. Many of these securities are in the technology sector. Some of these securities may be part of the Dow 30, but the index as a whole is separate from the Dow. Like the Dow, many investors choose to invest in index funds that are tailored to stocks in the NASDAQ. The USAA NASDAQ 100 Index Fund (USNQX) is one such fund. This fund includes the 100 biggest stocks (non-financial) that are listed on the NASDAQ exchange.

What Does the NASDAQ Say About Investor Sentiment?

The NASDAQ offers growth investors a cue to how much risk the market is willing to absorb at a given moment. For example, when you hear that the Dow is up (which usually means the NYSE is up), it typically signals a time of where investors may be less inclined to take risks. But when the NASDAQ is up and the Dow is down or trailing, it usually signifies that investors are more confident about the overall economy and are willing to assume more risk.

And as we stated earlier, the NASDAQ still plays a critical role in how many young companies go public. There were 34 initial public offerings (IPOs) posted on the NYSE in 2016. This was just three percent of the total volume of IPOs worldwide. By contrast, in that same year, the NASDAQ held 77 IPOs which was seven percent of global IPOs, more than double that of the NYSE.

Some Final Thoughts on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange

The arrival of the NASDAQ stock exchange in the 1970s created a choice for investors that meant more than just choosing Coke or Pepsi. By offering a lower cost of entry and welcoming start-ups with a focus on innovation, the NASDAQ gave these companies a stock exchange that looked like them.

Today, the NASDAQ is the largest electronic stock market with over 3,000 companies listed. And ironically, the five largest companies in terms of market cap are listed on the NASDAQ. However, although this stock exchange has grown up a bit, it still retains its rebellious cache. With its focus on technology stocks, many of the worlds most nimble and innovative companies look to get listed on the NASDAQ as a way to raise capital. It is almost synonymous with technology and serves as a predictor of the broader markets appetite for risk.
The following companies are subsidiares of Quanta Services: (De) Lazy Q Ranch LLC, 1 Diamond LLC, 1Diamond AS, 618232 Alberta Ltd., 8246408 Canada Inc., Advanced Electric Systems, Advanced Electric Systems LLC, Advanced Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Alexander Publications LLC, Allteck GP Ltd., Allteck Limited Partnership, Apprenticeship Programs Inc., Arby Construction, Arcanum Chemicals LLC, Arnett & Burgess Oil Field Construction Limited, Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners (Rockies) LLC, Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners Ltd., B&N Clearing and Environmental LLC, Banister Pipelines Constructors Corp., Banister Pipelines Constructors GP Ltd., Banister Pipelines Limited Partnership, Brent Woodward Inc., Brink Constructors Inc., Brink Constructors Inc. A Corporation Of South Dakota, Brown Engineering and Testing, CAT SPEC Ltd., CAT-SPEC Limited Partnership, CAT-SPEC Limited Partnership (Regd Name) CAT SPEC Ltd., CAT-Spec Limited Partnership, Canadian Utility Construction Corp., Cat Spec Limited LP, Cat Spec Ltd, Cat Spec Ltd. L.P., Cat Spec Ltd. LP, Cat Spec. Ltd. LP, Cat-Spec Ltd (A Domestic limited Partnership), Cat-Spec Ltd LP, Cat-Spec Ltd., Cat-Spec Ltd. L.P., Cat-Spec Ltd. LP, Cat-Spec Ltd. Limited Partnership, Catalyst Changers Inc., Chatham Electric, Citadel Industrial Services L.P., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd. L.P., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Coe Drilling Pty Ltd., Computapole, Conam Construction Co., Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd, Conti Communications Inc., Crux Subsurface Canada Ltd., Crux Subsurface Inc., Cutting Technology - 1 Diamond LLC, DB Utilities Inc., DE Lazy Q Ranch LLC, DNR Pressure Welding Ltd., Dacon Corporation, Dashiell (DE) Corporation (Dashiell Corporation), Dashiell Corporation, Dashiell Corporation DBA Dashiell (DE) Corporation, De Mears Group, De Mears Group Inc., Delaware Quanta Technology LLC, Delaware Underground Construction Co., Didado Utility Company Inc., Digco Utility Construction L.P. Digco Utility Construction Limited Partnership, Dorado Specialty Services L.P., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd. L.P., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Dorado Specialty Services. Ltd. L.P., Driftwood Electrical Contractors, EHV Power ULC, ELITE PIPING & CIVIL L.P., ELITE TURNAROUND SPECIALISTS LTD, Elite Fabrication Ltd. Elite Fabrication LP, Elite Piping & Civil Limited Partnership, Elite Piping & Civil Limited Partnership, Elite Piping & Civil Lp, Elite Piping & Civil Ltd L.P., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd. L.P., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd. Limited Partnership, Elite Piping and Civil L.P., Elite Turnaround Specialists L.p., Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Lp, Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Partnership, Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Partnership, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd Lp, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd., Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. L.P., Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. LP, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. Limited Partnership, Energy Consulting Group LLC, Enscope, Enscope Pty Ltd, FIC GP LLC, Field Personnel Services LLC, First Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC, First Infrastructure Capital GP L.P., Five Points Construction Co., G-Tek, G-Vac, GEM Engineering Co., Grand Electric Inc., Great Lakes Line Builders, Grid Creative Inc., Grid Manufacturing Corporation, Grid Training Corporation, H.L. Chapman Pipeline Construction Inc., Haverfield Aviation, Haverfield Aviation Inc., Haverfield International Incorporated, Heritage Midstream LLC, IM Electric Inc., IUC ILLINOIS LLC, IUC Nebraska LLC, InfraSource Construction LLC, InfraSource Field Services LLC, InfraSource Services LLC, InfraSources Construction LLC, Infraestructura ETP de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V, Infrasource Engineering Company PC, Infrasource Iowa Underground LLC, Infrasource Of Pa LLC, Integracion Tecnologica del Peru SAC, Intermountain Electric Inc., Intermountain Electric Inc. A Corporation of Colorado, IonEarth LLC, Irby Construction Company, Irby Construction Company Inc., Iron Mountain M.J. Electric LLC, Island Mechanical Corporation, J.C.R. Construction Co. Inc., J.C.R. Utility Construction Co., J.W. Didado Electric Inc., J.W. Didado Electric LLC, J.w. Didado Electric, JBT Electric LLC, Kingston Contracting Inc., Lazy Q Ranch LLC, Lazy Q Training Center LLC The Lazy Q Lineman School, Legend Foundation Services, Lex Engineering Ltd., Lindsey Electric L.P., Logical Link, Longfellow Drilling, M. G. Dyess Inc., M. J. ELECTRIC LLC IRON MOUNTAIN, M. J. Electric LLC, M. J. Electric LLC - Iron Mountain, M. J. Electric LLC DBA M. J. Electric Iron Mountain LLC, M.J. Electric LLC DBA M.J. Electric Iron Mountain, M.J. Electric LLC Iron Mountain, MTS Field Services, MTS Field Services (Richmond Co), MTS Quanta LLC, Manuel Bros. Inc., Marathon Construction Services, Mears Canada Corp., Mears Equipment Services LLC, Mears Group Inc., Mears Group Pty Ltd, Mears Installation LLC, Mearsmex S. de R.L. de C.V., Mejia Personnel Services LLC, Mercer Technical Services, Microline Technology Corporation, Mid America Energy Services Inc., NACAP Niugini Ltd., NC Northstar Energy Services Inc, NGI Construction, NGI Construction Inc., NGI Construction Inc. (FN), NLC CA. Inc., NLC FL. Inc. Northwest Lineman Center, NLC ID. Inc. Northwest Lineman College, NLC TX. Inc., NPC Energy Services LLC, Nacap Australia, Nacap PNG Limited, Network Communication Services, North Houston Pole Line L.P., North Houston Pole Line Limited Partnership, North Sky Communications, NorthStar Energy Services Inc., Northern Powerline Constructors Inc., Northstar Energy Solutions LLC, Northwest Lineman Center, Northwest Lineman College, Northwest Lineman Training Center, Northwest Lineman Training Center Inc., Nova Constructors LLC, Nova Constructors LTD, Nova Equipment Leasing LLC, Nova Group Inc, Nova Group Inc (CA), Nova Group Inc., Nova Group Inc. DBA NGI Construction, Nova NextGen Solutions LLC, O. J. Pipelines Canada Corporation, O. J. Pipelines Canada Limited Partnership, O.J. Industrial Maintenance, O.J. Pipelines Canada, One Call Locators Canada Ltd., P.D.G. Electric, PAR Electrical Contractors Inc., PDG Electric Co., Par Internacional S. de R.L. de C.V., Performance Energy Services Guyana Ltd., Performance Energy Services L.L.C., Phasor Engineering Inc., Phoenix North Constructors Inc., Phoenix Power Group Inc., Potelco Inc., Potelco Incorporated, Power Delivery Program Inc., Price Gregory International Inc., Price Gregory Services LLC, Probst Construction Inc., Probst Electric Inc., QEPC, QEPC Power Solutions LLC, QES GP LLC, QP Energy Services LLC, QPS Engineering LLC, QPS Engineering LTD., QPS Engineering PLLC, QPS Environmental, QPS Flint Construction, QPS Flint Tank Services, QPS Global, QPS Global Services, QPS Global Services (Richmond Ci), QPS Professional Services, QPSE, QS Mats, QSI Engineering Inc., QSI Finance (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance (Cayman) Pvt. Ltd., QSI Finance Canada ULC, QSI Finance GP (US) LLC, QSI Finance I (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance I (US) LP, QSI Finance II (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance II (Lux) S.a r.l, QSI Finance II (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance III (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance III (Lux) SARL, QSI Finance IV (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance IX (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance V (US) L.P., QSI Finance VI (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance VII (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance VIII (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance X (Canada) ULC, QSI Inc., QSN Lux Holdings I SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings II SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings III SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings IV SCSp, QTSL LLC, QUANTA FOUNDATION SERVICES, Quanta APL GP II Ltd., Quanta Asset Management LLC, Quanta Associates L.P., Quanta Aviation Services LLC, Quanta Canada GP ULC, Quanta Canada Holdings III Limited Partnership, Quanta Canada Holdings LP, Quanta Canada III GP Ltd., Quanta Capital GP LLC, Quanta Capital LP L.P., Quanta Capital Solutions Inc., Quanta Cares, Quanta EPC Services, Quanta Electric Power Construction LLC, Quanta Electric Power Construction Management Inc., Quanta Electric Power Services LLC, Quanta Electric Power Services West LLC, Quanta Energized Innovations Ltd., Quanta Energized Services U.S. LLC, Quanta Energized Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Energy Services LLC, Quanta Environmental Solutions, Quanta Equipment Company LLC, Quanta Government Solutions Inc., Quanta Holdings I (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Holdings II (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Infraestructura de Chile SpA, Quanta Infrastructure Services LLC, Quanta Infrastructure Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Quanta Inline Devices LLC, Quanta Inspection Services, Quanta Insurance Company Inc., Quanta International Holdings (US) LLC, Quanta International Holdings II Ltd., Quanta International Holdings Ltd., Quanta International Limited, Quanta Kingsvale LP Ltd., Quanta Lines Pty Ltd., Quanta Maine Services LLC, Quanta Middle East LLC, Quanta Pipeline Services Inc., Quanta Power Australia Pty Ltd, Quanta Power Generation Inc., Quanta Power Inc., Quanta Power Solutions India Private Limited, Quanta Resource Development, Quanta Services Africa (PTY) Ltd., Quanta Services Australia Pty Ltd., Quanta Services Chile SpA, Quanta Services Colombia S.A.S., Quanta Services Costa Rica Ltda., Quanta Services Guatemala Ltda., Quanta Services International Holdings II LP, Quanta Services International Holdings LP, Quanta Services Management Partnership L.P., Quanta Services Netherlands B.V., Quanta Services Panama S. de R.L., Quanta Services Peru S.A.C., Quanta Services Puerto Rico LLC, Quanta Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface LLC, Quanta Tank Services, Quanta Technology Canada ULC, Quanta Technology LLC, Quanta Technology UK Ltd., Quanta Tecnologia do Brasil Ltda., Quanta Telecom, Quanta Telecom Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services LLC, Quanta Telecommunications Services LLC, Quanta Underground Services, Quanta Underground Services (Culpeper Co), Quanta Underground Services (Spotsylvania Co), Quanta Underground Services Inc., Quanta Utility Engineering Services Inc., Quanta Utility Installation Company Inc., Quanta Utility Operation LLC, Quanta West LLC, Quantecua Cia. Ltda., R. R. Cassidy Inc., RMS Holdings LLC, RMS Holdings LLC (Delaware), RMS Welding Systems, RMS Welding Systems LLC, Ranger Directional, Realtime Engineers Inc., Realtime Utility Engineers Inc., Redes Andinas de Comunicaciones S.R.L., Riggin & Diggin Line Construction, Rms Welding LLC, Rms Welding Systems LLC, Road Bore Corporation, Ryan Company Inc. The, Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, Ryan Company Inc.(The), Seaward, Seaward Corp, Seaward Corporation, Service EC (DE) Inc., Service Electric Company (DE), Service Electric Company Inc., Service Electric Company of Delaware, Servicios Par Electric S. de R.L. de C.V., Servicios de Infraestructura del Peru S.A.C., Southwest Trenching Company Inc., Specialty Tank Services L.P., Specialty Tank Services LP, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Ltd., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. (LP), Specialty Tank Services Ltd. L.P., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold General LLC, Stronghold Holdings (BVI) Limited, Stronghold Inspection L.P., Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Lp, Stronghold Inspection Ltd L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Limited Partnership, Stronghold Ltd., Stronghold Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Management Holdings LP, Stronghold Specialty General LLC, Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Tower Group LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd., Stronghold Tower Group Ltd. LP, Stronghold VI LLC, Subterra Damage Prevention Specialists Ltd., Summit Line Construction, Sumter Utilities Inc., T. G. Mercer Consulting Services Inc., TA Construction, TC Infrastructure Services Ltd., Taylor Built, Texas Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, The Aspen Utility Company LLC, The ComTran Group Inc., The Hallen Construction Co. Inc., The Massachusetts Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc Of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc. (Massachusetts), The Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Incorporated of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Of Massachusetts Inc., The Ryan Company of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company of Massachusetts (FN), Tom Allen Construction Company Inc., Tom Allen Construction Company of Delaware, Trans Tech Electric, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd., TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey I&E Ltd., Turnkey Automation Ltd. L.P., Turnkey Automation Ltd. LP., UCC Underground Construction Co. Inc., Ucc - Underground Construction Co., Underground Construction Co. Inc., Underground Construction Co. Inc. (Delaware), Underground Electric Construction Company LLC, Utilco Inc., Utility Fleet Services, Utility Line Management Services Inc., Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Utility Training Services Corporation, VALARD Polska sp. Z o.o., Valard, Valard, Valard Construction (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Construction (Quebec) Inc., Valard Construction 2008 Ltd., Valard Construction Australia Pty Ltd, Valard Construction LLC, Valard Equipment (AB) Ltd., Valard Equipment GP Ltd., Valard Equipment Limited Partnership, Valard Geomatics (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Geomatics BC Ltd., Valard Geomatics Ltd., Valard Mechanical Ltd., Valard Norway AS, Valard Sweden AB, Valard Zagreb d. o. o., Wade D. Taylor Inc., West Coast Communications, Winco Helicopters, Winco Inc., Winco Inc. an Oregon Based Corporation, Winco Powerline Services, Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Services Inc., World Fiber Inc., and mmit Line Construction Inc..

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, a pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines, specialty medicines, and biopharmaceutical products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs, and cytotoxic substances in various dosage forms, including tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments, and creams. It also develops, manufactures, and sells active pharmaceutical ingredients. In addition, it focuses on the central nervous system, pain, respiratory, and oncology areas. Its products in the central nervous system include Copaxone for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; AJOVY for the preventive treatment of migraine; and AUSTEDO for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia and chorea associated with Huntington disease. The company's products in the respiratory market comprise ProAir, QVAR, ProAir Digihaler, AirDuo Digihaler, and ArmonAir Digihaler, BRALTUS, CINQAIR/CINQAERO, DuoResp Spiromax, and AirDuo RespiClick/ArmonAir RespiClick for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Its products in the oncology market include Bendeka, Treanda, Granix, Trisenox, Lonquex, and Tevagrastim/Ratiograstim. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited has a collaboration MedinCell for the development and commercialization of multiple long-acting injectable products, a risperidone suspension for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
The Williams Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises Transco and Northwest natural gas pipelines; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region, as well as various petrochemical and feedstock pipelines. The Northeast G&P segment engages in the midstream gathering, processing, and fractionation activities in the Marcellus Shale region primarily in Pennsylvania and New York, and the Utica Shale region of eastern Ohio. The West segment comprises gas gathering, processing, and treating operations in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado and Wyoming, the Barnett Shale region of north-central Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas, the Haynesville Shale region of northwest Louisiana, and the Mid-Continent region, which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, and Permian basins; and operates natural gas liquid (NGL) fractionation and storage facilities in central Kansas near Conway. The Gas & NGL Marketing Services segment provides wholesale marketing, trading, storage, and transportation of natural gas for natural gas utilities, municipalities, power generators, and producers; risk and asset management; and NGL marketing services. The company owns and operates 30,000 miles of pipelines, 29 processing facilities, 7 fractionation facilities, and approximately 23 million barrels of NGL storage capacity. The Williams Companies, Inc. was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
ONALASKA  Jason A. Hauser, 43, of Onalaska died Sunday, June 11, 2017, at Brice Prairie.

Jason was born in La Crosse Oct. 16, 1973, to Joseph and Janice (Meyer) Hauser. After graduating from Bangor High School in 1992, Jason attended UW-La Crosse. While in high school Jason was an avid wrestler and continued his passion for the sport into college, wrestling for UW-La Crosse until a leg injury ended his career. Jason always had jobs and worked all through high school, college and for many years after college in the grocery business. He was employed at Hansens, Skogens and Our Town grocery stores. He was manager for the three B. A. Burrito locations in Onalaska and La Crosse. Recently he was working for the Holmen School District at Viking Elementary School. He loved his job and really enjoyed working with the students and teachers.

Jason loved music and his friends, displaying a real zest for life that drew people to him. He followed the band Phish and would travel around the country attending their concerts with his pals. He enjoyed traveling, making several trips to Europe and traveled all over the U.S. His favorite kind of day would be having a few beers with his many friends. Everyone liked hanging around with Jason, because he was fun to be with and always made everyone feel welcome.

He loved his family, quitting his job in Iowa to move back home to Bangor to be with his mom and dad as their health deteriorated. He helped his dad during a long illness and recently assisted in the care of his mother. Jason loved spending time with his family and with his three brothers and their families. He was the favorite uncle to all of his nieces and nephews. He just loved to sit and play games with all of the kids.

Jason is survived by his three brothers, Jeff Hauser, Joe (Dianne) Hauser, John Hauser; and by aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and many, many friends.

He is preceded in death by his father and mother; maternal and paternal grandparents.

A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, at Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation Service, 200 West Ave. S., La Crosse, with the Rev. Roger Sachs officiating. Family and friends may call from 3 p.m. until time of service.

Online condolences may be given to the family at www.schumacher-kish.com.
Dr. Pauline Jackson was one of only two female students in a class of 62 when she entered her first semester at the Stanford University School of Medicine in 1957, but she never considered herself an anomaly.

Ive never been in an environment where there were more than just a handful of peculiar women like me, she told the Wisconsin Academy Review in 1995. I never saw myself as being any different from men as far as opportunities were concerned.

From a young age, Jackson refused to be pigeonholed by gender stereotypes, attending an all-boys school, the closest to her home, as a child and acing the the math and science portions of her exams to secure a spot at Stanford, from which she graduated with honors. When a teacher suggested she stay home and have babies when she was unable to correctly answer a question in class, she turned the humiliation into a learning experience, and went on to become the first female psychiatrist at Gundersen Health System in 1972, and, in 1993, broke a 151-year-old tradition as the first female physician to preside over the Wisconsin Medical Society.

She was a pioneer  the first female psychiatrist I ever met, said Tim Petersen, a former staff nurse in the Gundersen inpatient psychiatric unit. "A hardworking, tough, no-nonsense lady.

Though slight in physique, she was strong in demeanor, and her discipline extended to all aspects of her life, from her neat, trim and professional appearance to her strict but fair parenting. And while she faced her share of adversity in the workplace, she powered through.

I admired her. She stuck with it, and it wasnt easy for her, said Dr. Erik Gundersen, retired cardiac surgeon for Gundersen Health System. She was pretty courageous and showed considerable strength.

Jackson, 80, died Thursday of a fall-induced brain hemorrhage, leaving behind two children who remember her as equally dedicated to both family and career.

In 1998, Jackson retired from the hospital where she brought on the psychiatry departments first female interns and advocated tirelessly for the compassionate and comprehensive treatment of mental illness, a mission she continued as a Gundersen Medical Foundation board member.

Born in Santa Barbara in 1936, Jackson was an only child who excelled in school and by the age of 5 was set on attending Stanford, where she first studied to be an engineer. She later worked as a superintendent for Fallsview Mental Health Care in Ohio, and after marrying husband William, from whom she was later divorced, adopted son John and daughter Linda Fox from an orphanage in North Carolina. She immersed the two in education while stressing philanthropy. A supporter of many non-profit organizations, she often worried about adequate funding for mental health and fought on its behalf.

Her forefront was always, What can we do here when the state starts cutting funding, John said. Her low in life was in the 1980s when the states started cutting funds for mental health.

Also a forensic psychiatrist, Jackson performed mental health assessments on many high-profile criminals, including Bryan Stanley, who shot three men in an Onalaska church in 1985. She voiced concern about the lack of attention to the high rate mental illness among the homeless, and had the ability to connect even with patients displaying devastating symptoms.

She just had this understanding, recalled Kay Petersen, who worked with Jackson as a nurse in the outpatient ward and remembers her taking every call herself. She wasnt put off by anyone. She was very much there for her patients.

Her patients liked her a lot, Gundersen agreed. She was a remarkable person.

Funeral arrangements are pending with Dickinson Family Funeral Home.
Retail giant Walmart will acquire Bonobos the online mens clothing retailer for a cash price of $310 million, showing that it continues to gobble up hip clothing brands as it tries to gain ground on Amazon.

The acquisition is another sign of Walmarts aggressive direction it is headed in since last year when it bought jet.com and keeping the founder of that company as its chief in its online division.

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The retailer has since purchased ModCloth a clothing seller, Shoebuy.com a retailer of footwear and Moosejaw a seller of outdoor gear, as it puts its focus on brands that appeal to the younger shopper.

Bonobos, which began selling pants online, focuses on male shoppers that want help in putting their wardrobe together.

It makes good sense that Walmart has targeted Bonobos as it attempts to compete with e-commerce behemoth Amazon, which had quickly expanded its own clothing business.

One retail analyst said that by rolling up enough online startups a company is able to create a meaningful market share. The analyst added that Walmart can learn from the millennial customers.

While Walmart is attempting to compete with Amazon through pushing into the online space harder, Amazon announced on Friday its own bold move by saying it would acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion.

The deal for Bonobos, which Walmart announced on Friday, should close at the end of this years second quarter or the start of the third.

Bonobos founder and CEO Andy Dunn will stay on and report to Walmarts U.S. online CEO Marc Lore.

Lore said that adding innovators such as Dunn would continue helping Walmart to shape its future. Bonobos created a great product said Lore and that is going to continue.

Bonobos begin online but as with several startups that are similar, has opened its own showrooms. Customers at its Guideshops are able to try on shirts, pants, belts, ties as well as jackets with a stylist giving suggestions.

They are able to order online at the showrooms and have clothes they order delivered a couple of days later to their office or home.

The company currently had over 30 stores across cities such as Atlanta, Chicago and New York and plans to have over 100 open by 2020. The acquisition of Bonobos by Walmart will help its expansion.

Walmart is gaining some momentum in its online business, but Amazon increased its sales 63% during its first quarter, which was 29% higher than the previous three-month period
I have an idea. How about we 

That happened because 

My startup deserves venture 

My favourite video g 

Annoying, isnt it, reading incomplete sentences? Yet, thats the sound of many women wading upstream in the working world trying to speak before being cut off by the friendly dude, or the manly mans grunt, or that rational guy who feels the need to calm us down.

Woman, Interrupted.

That would be an apt name for a film chronicling the social disease that afflicts the world.

Women are speaking up, but many find their voices still being framed as hysterical  as a former aide to U.S. President Donald Trump recently described Senator Kamala Harriss grilling of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, or shrill as Trump said of his rival Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, or less than adult for having a meltdown as Canadian MP Gerry Ritz said after International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland  gasp  shed tears after a contentious Canada-EU trade deal.

Earlier this month, a panel of five men and one woman held court at the World Science Festival in New York City. Remember, this is science, the world of geek and nerd, the self-proclaimed natural habitat of the bro, a world in which even a PayPal panel on gender diversity is all male.

The moderator, Jim Holt of the New Yorker, received a polite but public rap on his knuckles for explaining scientist Veronika Hubenys own theories to her and that after Hubeny hadnt spoken for the first hour of the 90-minute talk that was being livestreamed around the world. At one point, he mentions her giggling.

A woman named Marilee Talkington sitting in the second row in the John Jay College auditorium, waiting to hear Hubeny, describes her experience  and the action she took  in an illuminating Facebook post that quickly went viral.

I am in full outrage. My body is actually beginning to shake. The sexism is beyond blatant. It is happening on stage and NO ONE, not a single other physicist or panelist is stepping in to say anything about it.

So she did something about it. She spoke up, loudly and clearly.

Let. Her. Speak. Please!

Then this, from her post:

The moderator stops.

They all stop.

The auditorium drops into silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

And then the audience explodes with applause and screams.

Two days after this event, Apple held its Worldwide Developers Conference, where men spoke for approximately 117 minutes in the keynote, women spoke for approximately nine minutes, as calculated by the news site Mic.

Its one thing to be equal in the eyes of the law. Its another to be treated as equal by society. Women know this. People of colour know this. As the Canadian Senate passed Bill C-16 on Thursday that explicitly recognizes gender-diverse citizens as equal under the law, women on this continent are still fighting for equality of expression.

U.S. Sen. Harris was shown her place this week when assertively questioning Sessions during his public testimony.

If you listen to the clippings of the admonitions by Sens. John McCain and Richard Burr they might even sound reasonable  they are interrupting Harriss interruption of Sessions. Let the man answer, they say. If you watched the entirety of Sessions testimony, you would know that:

a) She was stopping Sessions from taking refuge in a non-answer he had already provided multiple times and time was at a premium, and

b) He had been interrupted multiple times in that same hearing by others, including Sens. Mark Warner, James Risch and Angus King to name a few. None of them was admonished.

These examples are incidents working women face in the public domain. Away from a camera lens, how many times have we argued and defended an idea with a man only to hear him present it at a meeting? How often do men walk into our conversations with other women without an apology?

The act of having to respond to male dominance to make it a fair workplace takes away from the work women are employed to do. Some dont challenge it, others deny its existence; you dont have to deal with something you dont see.

Others come up with creative ways around it. Think of the amplification strategy adopted by female staffers in the Obama White House, when a woman would put forth an idea and another woman would repeat it with credit to the originator, all in a bid to be heard. (It worked.)

Workplace interruptions are not always malicious, but then neither is saying Im not done yet  each time.

To pre-empt the gender shaming that will follow, I suggest we co-opt our favourite Senator-Mitch-McConnell-putdown of Senator Elizabeth Warren and make this our screensaver:

Nevertheless, she persisted, that office bitch.

Shree Paradkar tackles issues of gender and race. You can follow her @shreeparadkar

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In 1997, Phyllis Simon thought a book called Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone might be of interest to some of her customers after a co-worker read a small item in Publishers Weekly that American rights had been purchased for the book.

Simon ordered 200 copies to sell in her childrens bookstore in Vancouver, Kidsbooks, a huge number for an unproven author in a genre that was flailing.

No one had the rights in Canada so they had to order it from the U.K. We were told, Youre going to have to pay the freight on these books and we agreed, recalls Simons. We hand-sold that book. We handed it to kids and said, Read it, read it.

Millions of kids and adults, of course, did read it. And then they read the books that followed J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, which was first released in the U.K. on June 26, 1997.

In the past two decades, without even realizing it at times, Toronto bar owner Matt Rocks made life decisions based on a book he first read as a 10-year-old. He noticed the book when another student was reading it at his school in Dublin, but it wasnt until summer vacation, after his aunt had finished and handed it off to him, that he became hooked.

I went from being a non-reader to being a voracious reader because of that book. It was my gateway into books and how I saw the world around me, says Rock, co-owner of The Lockhart, a bar inspired by the world of Harry Potter where drinks with names such as Befuddlement Draft are served as potions and elixirs.

The viewpoints of author J.K. Rowling, which she expresses often on social media, also had an impact on Rocks.

As an adult, I realized she had built lessons into the books (with) the message of inclusivity, Rocks says. There are easy parallels to draw with the rise of the pure-bloods (in the books). Its not just south of the border. There was the rise of populist nationalism in Europe, in Brexit, what almost happened in France. If you love the books, you see the problems with that kind of thinking.

We saw our role as not preaching to anyone, says Simon. Thats the power of literature. Reading a book should make you a better human being, more empathetic and not speaking ill of other people.

During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, then Republican hopeful Donald Trump was routinely compared to Lord Voldemort, Harry Potters nemesis. Posters were used quoting the line There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.

The line was taken from the first of the seven books in the series and spoken by Harry Potters nemesis, Voldemort. After Donald Trumps inauguration, signs brandished at protest marches compared the president with the Dark Lord.

A University of Pennsylvania study released in July of last year found that the more devoted the Harry Potter fan, the lower their opinion of Trump.

His policies, according to political scientist Diana Mutz, who conducted the research, were widely viewed as being the opposite of the values that are core themes in the books: tolerance, respect for differences, opposition to violence and punitive reactions, and a rejection of authoritarian rule.

As does Voldemort, Trump portrays himself as a strongman who can bend others to his will, be they the Chinese government or terrorists, wrote Mutz.

A social consciousness was built into the series, according to Jamie Broadhurst, who teaches a course on the marketing of Harry Potter at Simon Fraser University.

J.K. Rowling was very clear with her own beliefs on issues like amnesty, the environment and the need for tolerance, and that had a real impact on a generation who grew up reading those books, he says.

Broadhurst, who is the vice-president of marketing for Raincoast Books, which published the series in Canada when it first came out, says the deeply humane values in the books became embedded with readers  internalized through fiction and the creation of another world rather than preached by the author.

More than 11 million copies of the books were sold in Canada; 400 million sold worldwide.

As a bookseller, Simon notes that the passage of the last 20 years is easy to mark: the kids who lined up for the books grew up to become brides posing in front of her store window in their wedding dresses. Now, as parents, they bring their own children into the store.

The frenzy generated over each new Harry Potter books release also coincided with the internet era, Simon said. Excited readers waiting in line were aware that other readers around the world were also waiting in lines at the same time.

Despite the intense loyalty of fans, the books werent universally loved. Some critics, notably Harold Bloom, loathed the books; others condemned the author as promoting witchcraft and magic. In 2000, Harry Potter books topped the American Library Associations list for formally complained about books.

More recently, in February, former Harry Potter fans tweeted they were going to burn their copies of the books in response to Rowlings Twitter posts about Trump.

Rocks, the Toronto bar owner, says he received his political awakening through reading the books, listening to the audio recordings and watching the movies.

My philosophy and my politics come down to a belief that no one is a second-class citizen and thats directly related to the books.

He remembers the loneliness of moving from his home in Ireland to start a new life in Canada and, at night, unable to sleep, he listened to Harry Potter audio books over and over again until he could drift off.

Then he met a woman and, while she was not as devoted a fan, she sat beside him in a car on a long road trip to the East Coast and listened with him as they went through the series.

He still reads, still listens to and still believes in the lessons he learned from Harry Potter. What has changed, Rocks says, is that he knows hes not alone anymore.

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Unnoticed by passersby and often unmarked by plaques, numerous Toronto addresses with big parts to play in cultural history sit mostly uncelebrated. In the Stars new series, Local Legends, we tell you about them and put them on your mental map.

When Genina Sherwin and her family moved into 211 University Ave. in the 1920s, she had no reason to believe it was any different from the houses theyd rented in the past.

It wasnt until tour buses began driving by, filled with people snapping pictures, that they learned it had been the home of someone quite famous.

These buses would go by and Im sure Im in pictures, sitting out on the stoop, said Sherwin, who is now 96. We were just kids and didnt realize who Mary Pickford was. It was just the older people who knew of it. People in the area werent impressed with it.

Pickford, a silent movie actress, was one of the biggest stars of her time.

Cari Beauchamp, the resident scholar for the Mary Pickford Foundation and author of a number of books about Hollywood history, said theres nobody to compare (Pickford) to for her influence.

Biggest female star, the highest paid, put whichever accolade in front her name and thats appropriate, Beauchamp said.

Pickford starred in more than 50 feature-length films including Coquette, for which she won an Academy Award. She was also one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was instrumental in founding United Artists, a major film production company, with Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

Eileen Whitfield, author of Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood, hailed her as one of the most powerful women thats lived in modern history and a feminist, before the word existed.

She insisted that men respect her. And as a woman who was very self-asserted in business matters at a time when women didnt even have the vote she had to have formidable self-confidence and brains, Whitfield said.

But before she rose to fame and became known as Americas sweetheart, Pickford was born in this small house in 1892and given the name Gladys Louise Smith.

Records from the time show her father as residing at 175 University Ave., but the avenue was renumbered in 1910.

Pickford left Toronto at a young age, touring in different shows and productions, before heading to New York to launch her Broadway career. The actress visited Toronto with her husband, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., in March 1924, returning to her childhood home and posing in front of the house with her mother.

I havent been in this house since I was carried out of it as a baby, she remarked to a group of reporters, but denied the charge when asked whether she was ashamed of being Canadian.

I should say not. I boast of it. After the showing our boys made in the war! I should say not, she responded. Canada has helped my success too. I love Canada very much and I love especially Toronto.

A few years after Pickfords visit, Sherwin moved into 211 University Ave.  then not much resembling the dense, built-up area of now  with her father, her mother and siblings. The avenue, Sherwin recalled, had a grass-filled median separating the houses from the street, where she played with neighbourhood children. Beyond that, her two-storey, three-bedroom house had a grassy backyard and gaslights in all of the rooms.

We also used to have the bands going down University Ave. to the Armouries, which is no longer there, Sherwin said. And the Santa Claus Parade would go down and wed have first-class seats to all of those things.

When Pickford lived on the street, Whitfield said it was beautiful.

There was a boulevard in the centre just as there is now, but it was full of berry trees that arched over the street in both directions, she said.

It was not the street of edifices that we know today. It was a street of homes as well as the hospital. It was a street for living rather than a street for business.

Pickford died in 1979 and her legendary fame has, inevitably, diminished.

Today, SickKids Hospital sits where 211 University Ave. used to be. The hospital took up residence on the grounds where Pickfords house once stood on Feb. 4, 1951. Hints of Pickford can still be found, however, as a plaque and sculpture sit in front of the hospital, commemorating her birthplace.

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KUUJJUAQ, QUE.It was, quite simply, the helicopter ride of a lifetime.

Soaring and swerving through the snow-dappled peaks rising from the sea in Torngat Mountains National Park, the trip literally took my breath away.

This majestic, mysterious park, tucked into the northernmost wedge of Labrador between Quebec and the Atlantic, gives new meaning to the word remote.

We are, for sure, the only ones here, Nunavik Rotors pilot Jean-Francois Martin states matter-of-factly. Its a shame. So few ever get to see and experience this.

And what an experience  the 16th in my 2017 odyssey to see all of Canadas 46 national parks and reserves.

Torngat is Inuktitut, for place of spirits, or as some say, evil spirits.

It is the highest mountain range on the Canadian Shield and its sinister, treeless peaks, emerging startlingly from the Atlantic, form dramatic fiords and countless vistas. Along the way, a few caribou and a black bear are spotted. But the polar bears are still out at sea.

The highest peak, at 1,652 metres, is DIberville (Que.) or Caubvick (N.L.), depending from which side you view it. It sits four-square on the provincial border, most often enshrouded in cloud.

As the wind swirls, micro weather systems emerge as if out nowhere, and as a new fiord jumps into view, you cannot help but be swept up by the curious magnetism of this paradise.

Torngat was named a national park in 2005 and joins the ranks of those difficult-to-reach parks across Canadas North.

Two weeks before, I took another helicopter to crisscross the mostly inaccessible Wapusk National Park on the western shores of Hudson Bay.

Here it was the eerie beauty of the ageless tundra stretched out as far as the eye could see. Sadly, the polar bears were still out on Hudson Bay, glutted from their annual kill of seals, I was told. We did see, however, some caribou, wild swans and countless seabirds.

What I discovered was the more I watched, the more mesmerized I became by the tundra. The park is close to Churchill, Man., and an old military base, once home to thousands of U.S. servicemen.

What you see are the tracks from vehicles and explorers etched decades ago. Once you make a mark on the tundra, it simply never goes away, says pilot Leo Vergnano. He comes out from his B.C. home every season just to pilot around Wapusk and area.

As part of my odyssey, I also visited the two national parks at either end of the St. Lawrence River  Thousand Islands at the western source and Mingan Archipelago at the very eastern end.

While the charming islands and magnificent estates of the Thousand Islands are a treat, the rock monoliths on the Mingan Archipelago along Quebecs north shore are downright stunning.

Forged in the ice age, they rise like spectacular sculptures on the southern beaches of the islands.

A local poet from Havre-Saint-Pierre took it upon himself to name the nearly 400 monoliths. My favourite is Richard Nixon. The stone nose is perfect.

The boat tour through the sprawling archipelago, with the occasional whale breaking water, is not to be missed.

Finally, my journeys have also taken me to four of the five national parks on Canadas Great Lakes. I am holding off on a visit to Point Pelee on Lake Erie until butterfly migration this fall.

Pukaskwa on the shores of Lake Superior is a thickly wooded preserve on the worlds largest freshwater lake (by surface area).

The power and might of this huge body of water never ceases to amaze. It holds as much water as all the other Great Lakes combined with a few extra Lake Eries thrown in for good measure.

The day I visited, it was uncommonly calm under a blazing full sun. Yet its majestic power was unmistakable.

A bold surprise came a few days later with the rushing brooks, mysterious trails, single-lane bridges and quaint cemetery all tucked into Rouge Park, which is in the midst of transitioning into a national park in northeast Scarborough. When expansion is completed, the Rouge National Urban Park will be one of the largest urban parks of its kind in the world.

Visiting it in early spring under the feathery verdure of the forest canopy, I was totally surprised to turn a corner and catch a glimpse of Scarborough Town Centre off in the distance.

It is very easy to drive through or hike  or even canoe.

So where will I be on Canada Day?

In a national park, of course.

There is one in Georgian Bay very close to my cottage. A picnic with the family sounds perfect.

This is one in a series of columns by John Honderich, chairman of the board of Torstar, as he attempts to visit all of Canadas national parks during the countrys 150th birthday year.

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One of the more lamentable initiatives in recent Canadian affairs was surely the bid by duly spanked Conservative leadership aspirant Kellie Leitch to impose a values test on those wishing to make this country their home.

If the history of the last 150 years makes anything clear  and even painful facts about who we are and what weve done should be reckoned with during anniversary years  its that the values that have stirred Canadians have often been less than praiseworthy.

This country has had its own history of bigotry, institutional racism and border walls by different names.

As the sesquicentennial of Confederation is marked, its worth recalling  above and beyond the attempted cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples  that for the first century of its existence Canada was essentially a white settler state and that newcomers were typically unwelcome at our gates.

Often, these failures of humanity were played out on Canadian coasts, where ships bearing newcomers tried to make port. On the west coast, as Asians of various points of origin arrived, British Columbia saw more than its share of what would become national embarrassments.

In 1885, the federal government imposed a head tax on Chinese immigration to Canada, seeking to prevent the more than 15,000 immigrant labourers who had arrived to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway from staying after the great nation-building project was completed.

In 2006, acknowledging the racist actions of our past, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for the head tax (which began at $50, rose to $100, then $500, and lasted until 1923).

More than 1,000 Chinese labourers died during construction of the CPR, but from the moment the railway was completed, Canada turned its back on these men, Harper said.

We acknowledge the high cost of the head tax meant that many family members were left behind in China, never to be reunited, or that families lived apart and in some cases in extreme poverty for years, he said.

We also recognize that our failure to truly acknowledge these historical injustices has prevented many in the community from seeing themselves as fully Canadian.

It was neither the first nor the last such act of contrition.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized last year in Parliament for Canadas rejection in 1914 of hundreds of would-be immigrants from South Asia aboard the Komagata Maru.

In May that year, the ship carrying 376 passengers, most of them Sikhs from Punjab in British India, arrived in Vancouver, but was turned away by uncompromising Canadian officials on the grounds of so-called continuous passage regulations conceived to curb immigration by peoples deemed undesirable.

The showdown illustrated the belief  freely stated by political leaders  that Canada was a white mans country.

It is evidence of how widely these racist attitudes prevailed that the progressive socialist preacher J.S. Woodsworth, regarded as the founder of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (forerunner to the NDP), co-authored a remarkable volume in 1909 titled Strangers Within Our Gates.

What does the ordinary Canadian know about our immigrants? He classifies all men as white men and foreigners. The foreigners he thinks of as the men who dig the sewers and get into trouble at the police court. They are all supposed to dress in outlandish garb, to speak a barbarian tongue, and to smell abominably, Woodsworth wrote in the preface.

This little book is an attempt to introduce the motley crowd of immigrants to our Canadian people 

During the Second World War, Canada had a sorry record when it came to providing refuge to Jews fleeing the Holocaust in Europe. The most notorious example was the refusal in 1939 to admit the MS St. Louis, a ship carrying more than 900 German Jews.

From that event came the infamous words of a Canadian immigration official who, when asked how many Jewish refugees Canada should accept, said none is too many.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941, Japanese Canadians  both citizens and residents  were removed from their homes and detained in internment camps, including more than 20,000 people moved from the B.C. coast to the interior for fear they were enemy spies.

Branding Japanese Canadians as enemy aliens under the War Measures Act, the government shut down Japanese-language newspapers and confiscated and seized property.

In 1944, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King ordered Japanese Canadians to move east out of B.C.

A British Columbia MP said the plan was to get these people out of B.C. as fast as possible. It is my personal intention, as long as I remain in public life, to see they never come back here. Let our slogan be for British Columbia: No Japs from the Rockies to the seas.

Only in 1949 could Japanese Canadians return to the coast.

In 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney apologized on behalf of the country and announced compensation for the internments.

In retrospect, government policies of disenfranchisement, detention, confiscation, and sale of private and community property, expulsion, deportation and restriction of movement, which continued after the war, were influenced by discriminatory attitudes, Mulroney said.

Japanese Canadians who were interned had their property liquidated and the proceeds of sales were used to pay for their own internment.

The acknowledgment of these injustices serves notice to all Canadians that the excesses of the past are condemned and the principles of justice and equality are reaffirmed.

As every wave of immigrant has known  from Irish Catholics encountering the domination of the Orange Order on arriving in The Belfast of Canada that was Toronto in the early 20th century, to the South Asians uniformly scorned as Pakis in its later decades  they are principles that can never be reaffirmed too often.

This week, with just 14 days to go to the official celebration on Parliament Hill of the sesquicentennial, Statistics Canada announced that hate crimes rose by 5 per cent across the country in 2015.

Muslim, Jewish, Indigenous and Black community leaders called on all levels of government to to work together to help eradicate this phenomenon.

The Diary of Lee Heen-gwong

(From Blood and Iron: Building the Railway, a fictional account by Paul Yee of the experience of Chinese labourers published in 2010 as part of Scholastic Canada Ltd.s I Am Canada series.)

In Paul Yees story, 14-year-old Lee Heen-gwong and his family left Chinas Guangdong province for British Columbia in 1882, where they hoped to find Gold Mountain. By early May, Heen-gwong was in the Fraser Valley, west of Fort Hope. He kept a diary:

May 4: Each day we tramp through the forest, axes on our shoulders. The site is far and there is no trail . . . My feet are safe in the leather boots that Bookman urged me to buy, but now I owe the Company more money than ever before. Our job is to open a wide path through dense forest. It is madness.

May 15: A falling tree hit Little Uncle and left his right arm useless. Bookman blamed him for being careless. . .

May 18: I almost died today . . .

May 20: I worked 18 days so I earned $18. But for each working day the company deducts lodging at 9 cents, meals at 12 cents, Bookmans fee at 1 cent, and ship ticket repayment at 20 cents. My blanket and boots cost $6.50, so my total expenses came to $14.48. All I earned was $3.52.

May 23: Two days of rain left us cold and miserable. When Gambler got his food tonight, he yelled at the cook: Do you eat this? For three weeks, weve eaten the same trash! I feed my dog better than this!

May 25: A saw blade cut Pretty Boys hand . . .

May 27: Limp Leg has been coughing ever since the rain soaked him . . .

May 31: One minute Slant Mouth Bing was working and the next minute he was dead . . . A thick slab of tree split off and dropped on him . . . Bookman told us to bury Slant Mouth Bing right away.

June 18: Bad news from far away smothered us like the black fog of bugs in which we live. We brooded for the entire rest day . . . America has passed a law stopping Chinese workers from going there.

June 20: At breakfast, Pock Face came running. Gone, he panted. Not moving. Hes dead.

Big Lump was curled into himself, like a child. Big Uncle felt for a pulse. He shook his head. . . 

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OTTAWAFormer New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna will lead the search for a new RCMP chief to replace outgoing commissioner Bob Paulson, the Star has learned.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale wrote the Opposition critics Friday to sketch out the beginnings of a process that mirrors the process used by the past Conservative government under Stephen Harper.

Many questions  like why it will take so long  have been left unanswered. Paulson announced in March he will retire effective June 30 after five and a half years as top Mountie, and the government is still half a year away from naming his replacement.

Meanwhile, Michel Coulombe, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, retired after Paulson announced his retirement and was replaced within two months.

The McKenna-led panel will be expected to deliver a shortlist of three to five names to the prime minister by December, from which the Prime Minister will make a final selection, Goodale said.

McKenna, a former ambassador to Washington whose time as N.B. government leader gave him a keen sense of the RCMPs role in provincial contract policing, will chair a selection panel of eight to 10 members.

They will engage an executive headhunting firm to get the ball rolling on potential candidates. The actual job opening for RCMP commissioner, called a notice of opportunity, will be posted soon, the government says.

The RCMP Act requires that the senior deputy commissioner becomes the interim commissioner if a replacement hasnt been named. That means Deputy Comm. Dan Dubeau will be in charge for at least the next six months after Paulson leaves.

Dubeau is the chief human resources officer of a force plagued by harassment allegations, recruitment problems and a failure to manage the mental health needs of its employees, as the federal auditor general reported last month.

Dubeau is also one of the self-described architects of the RCMP unionization bill that flopped. It excluded so many areas from collective bargaining and sought other changes that it earned the scorn of current and retired members, and was significantly amended by a senate committee  amendments that the government ultimately accepted.

Goodales letter urges the Opposition critics to put forward names of potential candidates for the next commissioner. He said the government will be looking for candidates who understand the unique and complex role that the RCMP plays across Canada, as well as its heritage and traditions.

It will also be expected that recommended candidates demonstrate the ability to spearhead organizational change, as well as the ambition to advance the governments nation-to-nation reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and the promotion of diversity and gender equity in all internal policies. In addition, leadership on issues stemming from mental health-related illnesses and Post Traumatic Stress Injuries within the Force will be a vital asset.

Goodale said other yet-to-be-named members of the selection panel will reflect Canadas diversity and communities that work most closely with the RCMP such as those where contract relationships establish the RCMP as the police of jurisdiction.

He wrote the RCMP is an institution that embodies the best of what Canada and Canadians aspire to be  upstanding, loyal and committed to the pursuit of justice.

That said, internal challenges  including abuses of power, allegations of race-related biases, infringements on civil liberties, bullying and workplace harassment  have harmed its reputation and the morale of members. The government remains committed to supporting the RCMP with its plans to modernize and reform its culture, and to make it a safe workplace free from harassment. Canadians expect no less, particularly from a national icon.

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OTTAWANDP leadership candidate Jagmeet Singh is releasing a four-page climate change plan that includes taking a stand against the Kinder Morgan and Energy East pipelines.

Singh came under fire from other leadership contenders during a debate last Sunday in St. Johns, N.L., when he did not definitively spell out a position on Kinder Morgan, noting he wanted to consult party members in B.C. and Alberta.

The Ontario MPP now says Canada needs to commit to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, adding this means saying no to both Kinder Morgan and Energy East.

Read more:

Jagmeet Singh target of pointed attacks at latest NDP leadership debate

Is Jagmeet Singh really the answer for the NDP?: Salutin

Charlie Angus says NDP must move on from pipeline debate

This is why we must oppose the proposed expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline and the building of the Energy East pipeline, said his policy document  a copy of which was provided to The Canadian Press.

Not only does significantly increasing oil production and international oil exports through these pipeline projects undermine our efforts to reduce our emissions, but it conflicts with UNDRIP.

Singh was not available for an interview on his climate plan but in a statement, he said he thought the debate was too focused on pipelines.

The pipeline debate too often descends into Alberta bashing and, frankly, if (Alberta Premier) Rachel Notley isnt re-elected, Canada will never meet its climate targets, he said.

The only true test of a climate change plan, after all, is whether carbon is going up or down. A commitment to UNDRIP played a profound role in my decision. First Nations opposition to the Kinder Morgan expansion was decisive for me.

The federal NDP caucus that includes four leadership candidates  Guy Caron, Charlie Angus, Niki Ashton and Peter Julian  holds the position it cannot support Kinder Morgan or Energy East without a new environmental assessment.

We have a situation where British Columbians have said no. We have the federal caucus who has said no. There is a very clear consensus among New Democrats, Julian said during the last debate.

Singhs plan, which includes a host of other proposals, also pledges to reduce carbon emissions to 30 per cent of 2005 levels by 2025  five years ahead of the current target.

In May 2015, the Liberal government announced its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to that level by 2030.

To meet his goal, Singh suggests measures including the adoption of a national public transit strategy, working with the provinces to help phase out coal by 2030 and implementing a green levy on high-emission vehicles and investments in electric charging station infrastructure across Canada.

Singh is also pledging to create a climate change action officer who would be mandated to report on emission reduction progress.

Erin Flanagan, director of the Pembina Institutes federal policy program, who reviewed Singhs plan, said the pan-Canadian framework delivered by first ministers included a chapter on oversight and accountability, adding it didnt provide much detail on how this would happen.

Flanagan welcomed the idea of creating a climate officer.

I would love to see that person ... empowered to talk to provinces and territories and Indigenous governments and do some of that work of ensuring the policies we have in place are working  that theyre cost-efficient, that they are not having negative impacts in any way ... and to also spur governments to bring more to the table, she said in an interview.

Earlier this week, Angus also released his climate change plan that proposed a carbon budget  a legislative framework to place a hard cap on emissions over a five-year period.

He said his plan will also eliminate federal subsidies to the oil and gas sectors and replace them with financial incentives to industry to reduce their emissions.

The governments own documents show we are nowhere near meeting our international commitments, Angus said in a statement released Thursday.

So instead of repeating a pattern of failure, lets look to jurisdictions that have implemented successful steps toward reducing carbon levels. The United Kingdom has been using the carbon budget model successfully since 2008.

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DURAND, Wis.  In the driveway of a two-story house on a dairy farm in western Wisconsin, five men focus on a unique construction project. Using a drill, hammer and nails, plywood and rope, they work together in the afternoon sun to erect a structure that resembles a makeshift corral in the bed of a Honda pickup.

Every so often, Luisa Tepole, 25, carries a suitcase or packaged appliance out of the house, handing it to her husband, Miguel Hernandez, 36.

By the end of the night, the back of the truck is piled high with bags of clothes and shoes, TV sets in boxes and a bucket of childrens toys, ready for the 2,300-mile drive to Veracruz, Mexico.

Farm owners Doug and Toni Knoepke watch Hernandez and the other workers from a few feet away as they load their two-truck caravan. It looks like a scene from The Grapes of Wrath, Doug Knoepke remarks, referring to the movie about the mass migration from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to California in the 1930s.

Only this time, it is in reverse: The migrants are leaving a land abundant with economic opportunity for an uncertain future in their homeland.

Hernandez has been working on the Knoepkes farm in Pepin County for 16 years. He shares this home with his wife and two young sons, Thomas, 5, and Liam, 4.

Earlier in the day, at Thomas last day at Noahs Ark Preschool in Durand, he cries as he tells his classmates that he will not be starting kindergarten with them in the fall. He has never been to Mexico.

On June 1, Hernandez and four other men, who for years have milked and cared for cows on dairy farms among the hills of western Wisconsin, drive away in the direction of their mountainous hometown of Texhuacan. A few days later, Tepole and the children fly out of Chicago.

The Hernandez family is leaving, in part, because of the threat of deportation  which could ban them from returning to the United States for 10 years  and what they describe as increasingly harsh rhetoric by President Donald Trump and others toward immigrants, especially those here illegally.

They moved here to Americas Dairyland, the nations top cheese state and No. 2 milk producer, attracted by a dairy industry dependent on undocumented immigrant labor to keep cows milked three times a day, year-round. They have raised their children in communities where American workers stopped answering help wanted ads for cow milkers long ago.

And now they are going home.

Miguel has been our right hand, Knoepke says. He treated (the farm) like he owned it. Were really saddened, scared. I dont know. Its sad.

In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in the Midwestern region increased over the previous two years.

In Wisconsin, farmers like Knoepke depend heavily on workers like Hernandez. Seeing him and the other workers leave worries this first generation farmer with 650 cows.

I dont know where the industry would be without (immigrant labor) right now, Knoepke says.

There are temporary visas for seasonal agricultural workers, but year-round workers who make up the vast majority of the labor force on Wisconsins large dairies have no special protections, and many are in the country illegally. Knoepke says Congress better do something  because (workers) are leaving. You see it right here. Theyre packin up.

Hernandezs brother, Damaso, who also works at a western Wisconsin dairy farm, says many workers he knows plan to leave because, Theyre scared of the government.

He adds, Its strange, its difficult because all the Hispanic people knew the Americans here in Wisconsin were supporting Donald Trump. I think they made a mistake, because a lot of people are fleeing for precisely that reason.

Arrests up in the Midwest

ICE figures show arrests in the six-state Midwestern region including Wisconsin are rising since Trump took office, Wisconsin Public Radio has learned.

The agency reports that arrests in the Chicago region rose to 2,599 between Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, through April 29, the first 100 days of the Trump administration. That figure exceeds arrest totals from the same time period in the previous two years under President Barack Obama. However, it is lower than the same time period in 2014, when there were 3,033 arrests.

Nationwide, ICE arrests totaled 41,898, about 35 percent higher than last year but lower than the 2014 figure of 54,584.

Randy Capps, director of research for U.S. programs at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan group that analyzes the movement of people worldwide, says there can be a pretty substantial lag between arrest and deportation. Factors include whether the person contests the deportation.

And that lag can be anywhere from a few days  if they have a prior removal order thats simply reinstated  to several years, if they decide to contest their deportation and theyre let out of detention on bond, Capps says.

Implementation memos issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier this year expanded ICEs target from individuals convicted of serious crimes to those charged with even low-level offenses. The memos also direct that no one in the country illegally is exempt from deportation.

Nationwide, the number of non-criminals arrested by ICE in Trumps first 100 days more than doubled from the same period last year, to 10,934 from 4,372. In the Chicago region, for example, 778 of the 2,599 people arrested by ICE were not convicted criminals; last year, 500 non-criminals were arrested during the same time frame.

A farmer in Wisconsins Trempealeau County, who asked not to be named because he fears reprisals from immigration authorities, says ICE agents who visited his farm this spring looking for a particular person warned him they knew the rest of his employees were also undocumented and that they would be back. A worker who spoke to Wisconsin Public Radio at another farm in Pepin County shared a similar report.

Experts say, however, there is no evidence of the type of sweeping raids carried out near the end of the George W. Bush administration.

ICE may be under pressure from businesses not to run intensive operations in fields or factories where many undocumented immigrants work, Capps says.

If they were to take a bunch of agricultural workers, or even if they were to scare a large number of agricultural workers away, that could have a bad impact on the local economy, he says.

Theyre coming after us

As rumors circulated that ICE had visited Durand, four other dairy workers decided to join Hernandez, whose reasons for leaving include returning to see his ill father. He and his friends determined it was best to go now  organized, relaxed and with a plan.

Its better to go back home because of the laws  theyre coming after us, says Luis Mendez, 32, who milks cows and helps out as a mechanic at the Knoepke farm.

If you are deported, he says, You take the clothes youre wearing  and thats it. But with a planned departure, Mendez says, immigrants can keep their belongings and money.

Still others, like Hernandezs brother Damaso  who has lived in the United States for 17 years  are staying, but the situation could change at any moment. He thinks about the effect of leaving on his four children, who were raised in Wisconsin.

My kids are very accustomed to life here, Damaso Hernandez says. The truth is, I dont know what type of life they would have over there.

Working until the last day

It is 7:15 in the morning on May 31. As the sun peeks over the hills to the east, workers are in action. One drives a tractor through the fields while another steers a feed truck between two rows of cows. All the while, men in the milking parlor never stop moving. Some have been working since 11 p.m. and are just finishing their shifts.

At this hour, everyone on the farm is an immigrant from Mexico.

For Hernandez, today is just like any other workday over the past 16 years, except that it is his last. He does not want to work today, but his bosses say they really need the help. He opens and closes metal gates, shoo-ing cows in and out of the milking parlor, and sweeps piles of manure and feed off the floor of the barn.

Tepole is excited. She has not been back home in the 11 years since she first came to the United States. Her parents have never met their grandchildren, and her mother is happy they are coming home.

Hernandez knows his decision to raise his children in Mexico will affect their future. Its a huge difference in school here compared to the school in Mexico. I think we are a lot behind in Mexico, but  it is what it is, Hernandez says, shrugging his shoulders.

Four or five people have applied for Hernandezs job, but none has worked out, according to herd manager Henry Yoder. Knoepke says he probably will need to promote from within.

Hernandez says the farm owners want him to come back legally if that ever becomes possible.

They are waiting for the government to do something  so they can bring people with papers or with visa, but they are just waiting, he says.
MONTREALA record number of medical-school graduates this year missed out on residency programs, their final training stage, due to an alarming trend that puts at risk the hundreds of thousands of dollars provincial governments have invested in the next generation of Canadian doctors.

This spring, more than 2,700 medical students were accepted to residency programs that begin next month at university hospitals across the country.

But the program, an algorithm used to match applicant preferences to universities preferred candidates, has left 68 students without a residency assignment.

The problem highlights a gap between the numbers of spots in medical schools and the number of residency spots, which have been cut back in recent years due to tighter budgets, according to the Canadian Federation of Medical Students.

Students who dont find a spot in residency after the two-round selection process end up in a year-long limbo. They are free to reapply, but their debts mount and they must struggle to keep up their skills and remain competitive.

This is one of the most wrenching experiences  Its something that you do not wish on anybody, said a current medical resident, a McGill University graduate, who asked not to be identified due to concerns about the professional stigma of going unmatched.

Read more: Tragic case of Robert Chu shows plight of Canadian medical school grads

While others celebrate the next stage in their career path, unmatched graduates are plunged into a crisis. With no school affiliation, they are forced to call in personal favours from other doctors to keep up their experience in clinics and hospitals.

Banks are suddenly unwilling to extend them more money to get through the next uncertain year.

You realize the double standard, the resident said. From day one in med school (the banks) love you and would do anything for you and then you realize the huge switch. Thats the kind of feeling you have in everything that you do. Its an outsider kind of feeling.

A number of unmatched students get into residency programs in successive years, but others abandon their medical training, said Tavis Apramian, vice president of education for the medical-student association. With those who abandon medicine goes a significant investment of government funds.

Calculating the costs of a government-subsidized medical education, which includes class time, hospital internships and administration is no easy thing. Provinces provide funding at different levels, such that in Quebec yearly tuition costs are less than $4,000 while they can exceed $25,000 in Ontario, according to the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada.

It has been estimated that the yearly cost to educate a medical student can be upwards of $75,000 to $90,000 or more a year, said AFMC president Dr. Genevieve Moineau, who said medical schools are also concerned about the growing number of unmatched students.

Everyone involved in the system agrees that we want to be able to have pretty much all Canadian medical graduates matching to a residency.

In 2009, there were only 11 unmatched medical-school graduates, representing just 0.5 per cent of all residency applicants. But the 68 students from 2017 represented 2.4 per cent of the total. There were also 46 graduates from previous years who went unmatched for a second year.

So when you think about it, the system didnt match 114 individuals. Its alarming in that sense.

The problem was most acute in Ontario, where 35 medical graduates went unmatched, compared to 20 in western Canada, eight in Quebec and two in the Maritime provinces.

In a written response to questions, the Ontario health ministry said the problem is due to a range of factors that could include academic performance and a students decision about which schools and programs to target.

Ontario cut 25 residency positions last year to prevent an oversupply of doctors in the province, but the ministry said it is still on track to increase the number of physicians in Ontario by 650 each year until 2025.

But it is getting harder to harmonize the number of students working their way through medical school with the number of available residency spots.

In 2009, there were about 112 residency spots for every 100 medical school graduates, according to figures released by the Canadian Resident Matching Service, which runs the application process in Canada. Last year, there were only 102 spots for every hundred graduates.

That buffer that existed practically does not exist anymore, Moineau said.

The tighter ratio makes the entire system more susceptible to minor shifts and changes.

In Quebec, for example, there are 58 unfilled residency positions, all but two of them for residents in family medicine and all located in rural areas where fluency in French is a prerequisite.

Dr. Helene Boisjoly, the dean of the Universite de Montreals faculty of medicine, said the province has set targets to increase the number of family doctors in the province, meaning that while 56 family-medicine posts were unfilled this year, there are still a growing number of doctors being churned out.

But there may also be a reluctance to get into family medicine in Quebec due to changes to the health system, including forcing doctors to take on a greater patient load, said Dr. Frederic Turgeon, president of the Quebec College of Family Physicians.

He said the grumbling of practitioners has filtered into the thinking of medical school students who may in turn seek safety in other provinces and other medical specialties.

Nationally, though, there is a growing consensus that the system for matching medical graduates with residency programs needs to be overhauled to save public money and students anguish.

Student advocates say they need more information about the competition for spots and post-residency job prospects. They also want feedback and support for unmatched graduates to counteract the isolation and stigma that currently reigns.

Moineau said the issue is being studied by provincial governments across the country. Problems are being identified and changes are being proposed.

Once weve identified those, well know how to potentially work on solving the problem.

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Dean Will fears for his life.

A gay man living with AIDS who is also legally blind, Will has faced a year of homophobic harassment, vandalism and an assault.

This shouldnt be happening, said Will, who lives in a Toronto Community Housing building near Danforth Ave. and Main St. in Torontos east end.

What I worry about is my physical safety, because I cant see if someones coming at me. Im vulnerable, particularly at night.

Will said his troubles began last summer, when an unknown person repeatedly took down his Pride flags and wrote f-g on his front door. Later, he said, a neighbour began harassing him by repeatedly calling Will f----t, as well as throwing garbage and cigarette butts on his steps.

Will was attacked last month when an unidentified man assaulted him, punching his face as he walked down the street. His Pride flags were taken down again this month.

Theres no other explanation for this, he said. Its because of my sexual orientation.

Will has filed multiple complaints with Toronto Community Housing. It offered him other places to live, but he doesnt want to leave.

This is my home, he said. Why should I leave? I havent done anything wrong here.

Brayden Akers, communications adviser with the housing corporation, said they are doing everything they can to help Will.

All our tenants deserve to feel safe in their homes and we take these allegations very seriously, he said in a statement, adding they are looking at increasing the number of security cameras on the site.

If a tenant is charged with a crime against another tenant, we would immediately apply to the Landlord Tenant Board for eviction against the accused, he wrote.

Will expressed frustration with how long it has taken Toronto police to follow up after the assault. After police responded to the alleged May 18 attack, Will said he didnt see a detective until June 9.

I feel it wasnt taken all that seriously, he said. You almost feel like this guys expendable, like I dont matter.

Despite this, Will says he is grateful for the support of community members. There was a rally to show support last summer, and Mayor John Tory even gave Will a call to express concern.

When news of Wills continuing ordeal spread to Facebook this week, a flood of neighbours and community members rushed to express anger, offer support and pledge money. Michael Rusek quickly organized a small rally on Friday, where he presented Will with a new rainbow flag on behalf of the community.

We just want to make Dean know that hes not alone, said Rusek, co-ordinator of the Danforth-Woodbine Community Group. This is an exceedingly safe and tolerant and diverse neighbourhood. Things like this dont happen here, and when they do its so much more shocking.

Rob MacNeill has never met Will but came to the rally with his partner, David Riley, to meet their neighbour and show solidarity.

We were fighting these things 40 years ago, said MacNeill, 59. Its really kind of disheartening that Im still doing this 40 years later.

Roughly a dozen people attended Fridays event, including representatives from Toronto police and the province.

I wish every gay person had this, because not everybody does, said Will. There are people out there who have it much worse than me, and I think about them.

Tom McGee, the constituency manager for Liberal MPP Arthur Potts (BeachesEast York), said that recently there is a sense of people being emboldened to lash out, to be offensive.

Const. Jon Morrice, a crime prevention officer with Toronto police 55 Division, confirmed investigations into the alleged assault and theft of the flags remain open. The hate crime unit has been notified. Police are appealing to the public for information.

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In January, Khaled Almilajis face was on news websites and papers around the world, symbolizing the chaos and heartache following U.S. President Donald Trumps travel ban targeting seven predominantly Muslim countries.

On Friday night, his face was a study in emotions: relief, fatigue and overwhelming joy at seeing his wife after a forced six-month absence.

A short aid mission in Turkey at the border of his native Syria had left the 35-year-old doctor in limbo. Because of the travel ban, Almilaji was refused re-entry into the U.S., where he was pursuing a postgraduate degree in public health and where his pregnant wife was waiting for him to come home to Rhode Island.

That agonizing 174-day separation was stretched about an hour and a half longer at Pearson airport, as Almilajis wife waited anxiously for him to clear customs, craning her neck to get a better view past the sliding doors of the arrival hall gate.

It had been a very stressful experience, not knowing whats going on. We are just excited the ordeal is finally over, Jehan Mouhsen said as she waited in Terminal 1.

She reflected on the great experience she and her husband had in the U.S., and on the American friends who tried to help them.

We have no grievances against Americans, said Mouhsen, a 26-year-old physician whose baby is due in August.

But the travel ban was just so unnecessary and unfair. We are glad Canada and U of T have stepped up. Its a great relief.

After catching sight of her smiling husband, Mouhsen hurried to the edge of the arrival ramp and straight into Almilajis arms.

The couple held on to each other tightly, both of them tearing up and swaying side to side. Almilaji placed his hand on Mouhsens belly.

His first order of business? Almilaji didnt hesitate. Catching up with my wife! he said. Im really excited! Finally! Six months!

Almilaji, an otolaryngologist, said his first priority is his home country, Syria, which he hopes to serve through his studies.

He will be continuing his interrupted postgraduate study in public health at the University of Toronto.

Im glad that I get the chance to improve my knowledge, and one day I can go back to our country and help with rebuilding the health system there, he said. The University of Toronto gave me another chance after we lost that chance in the U.S. Im so grateful.

Almilaji was well known in humanitarian aid circles in Turkey and Syria for saving lives, vaccinating children for polio and treating prisoners tortured by Bashar Assads regime during Syrias ongoing civil war.

Along with two Canadian physicians working on the ground in Turkey, Almilaji helped established the Canadian International Medical Relief Organization in 2012 to provide medical support and treatment to displaced Syrians by sneaking across the border.

During a polio outbreak in a rebel-controlled area of Syria in 2013, Almilaji led a vaccination campaign in the conflict zone.

He and other volunteers risked their lives, smuggling medical supplies through government checkpoints and ultimately immunizing 1.3 million children.

In 2014, Mouhsen, a Syrian born in Montenegro, was introduced to Almilaji by a mutual friend. They were married in July 2016 in Germany, where Almilajis family members are in exile.

A month after their wedding, the couple arrived at Brown Universitys campus in Providence, R.I., on Almilajis scholarship.

Almilaji was on his way back to the U.S. from Turkey on Jan. 7 when he was barred from boarding the flight. His multiple-entry student visa had been revoked for reasons that arent clear.

With help from senators in Rhode Island and from Brown University, Almilaji returned to the U.S. Embassy in Turkey on Jan. 20 to apply for a new visa.

It was a week before Trump issued his first executive order barring people from seven majority-Muslim countries  including Syria  from entering the U.S. for 90 days.

When the order took effect on Jan. 27, Almilaji suddenly became a poster boy for the infamous ban and his story, as reported by The Associated Press, spread around the world.

Almilajis application for a new student visa was denied. Although Trumps travel bans have since been halted by American courts, the damage has been done for many travellers from those seven countries. Families, including Almilaji and Mouhsens, have been kept apart.

Prof. Howard Hu, dean of U of Ts Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said he was contacted by Dr. Terrie Fox Wetle, his counterpart at Brown University, in February when it became apparent that Almilaji would have to look outside the U.S. to complete his studies.

With help from private donors, U of T raised enough money to pay for the couples living expenses, while the university administration agreed to waive Almilajis tuition. The Aleppo native will pick up his postgraduate studies on health informatics this summer.

We are delighted with the outcome, said Hu. This is very much aligned with our value in terms of human rights and supporting the training of an individual who will and can make a difference in public health.

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Ontarios ban on sick notes for the boss is getting a healthy reception.

While the business community has concerns about the broader package of workplace reforms from Premier Kathleen Wynne  including a $15 minimum wage  notes from the doctor appear low on the list.

Labour Minister Kevin Flynn wants to scrap them as a waste of resources when its better to have physicians and nurse practitioners treating patients who need medical help.

I actually think its quite fair, Progressive Conservative MPP Monte McNaughton  usually an outspoken critic of the Liberal administration  says of the proposed policy.

Before I was in politics, we had a small business that employed 70 people. We worked with our employees. We didnt request that our employees had sick notes. We trust them, he adds, referring to the familys former hardware, lumber, auto parts, liquor and beer superstore in Newbury, west of London, Ont.

I think thats probably how it works in most businesses . . . so I havent heard a lot (about sick notes) and I guess well have to see, added McNaughton (LambtonKentMiddlesex).

Politicians, will, indeed, get more feedback as MPPs on a legislative committee studying the sweeping reforms hold public hearings across the province in July.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) will be one of the groups speaking up.

There is a potential for abuse, but were not saying everyone is going to abuse it, CFIB policy analyst Ryan Mallough says of the ban on sick notes, which will not be required until an employee has missed more than 10 days in a year.

We prefer this remain a flexible matter between employer and employee.

Mallough says the federation has heard some beefs from members about the ban but notes were not being overwhelmed.

The bigger concern is the steep hike in the minimum wage, which is $11.40 now, says the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, a member of a new group of restaurant, retail and other companies called the Keep Ontario Working Coalition.

It is urging the government to study unintended consequences of the reforms, which also include a minimum of two paid sick days and three weeks of paid holidays (up from two) for workers in a job for more than five years, will have on employers.

McNaughton says theres a political reason Wynne wants to pass the reforms, for which the costs will largely be borne by private employers, given that Ontarians head to the polls next June 7.

This is all part of the re-election campaign for the Liberal Party of Ontario.

Wynne said this week that the government will work with businesses to make sure there are supports in place, such as changes to regulations could help cut their costs. She was not specific.

The Ontario Medical Association has been calling for an end to sick notes for some time amid concerns that people will drag themselves to work when sick  infecting co-workers and causing more absenteeism  if they have to go through the hassle of getting a note.

Flynn says sick notes often werent worth the paper they were printed on because doctors typically take patients at their word on being ill.

I would imagine theres not a doctor or nurse practitioner in this province who wouldnt, on the basis of trust, as a minimum, provide that sick note, adds Health Minister Eric Hoskins, a doctor.

Often the persons well by the time they get in to the doctors office to do it.

The reasons for banning sick notes extend to public health concerns, as well.

Patients who head out to get them while still contagious are unwittingly spreading germs, Hoskins explains.

The value of the sick note is really limited. What it has created is a situation where people should be home sick getting better, it brings them into doctors offices and into reception areas where they infect other people. And it keeps them from getting well faster.

There is also the matter of being caught between employee and employer if theres an issue of trust on whether a worker has really been sick, Hoskins says.

Its not up to the health-care system to play the role of policeman, he adds. The employer should deal with directly with the employee if theyre concerned that, perhaps, theres something untoward happening.

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NORRISTOWN, PA.The judge presiding over the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial declared a mistrial on Saturday after jurors reported being hopelessly deadlocked.

The exhausted jurors had been deliberating since Monday, sometimes for as much as 12 hours a day.

It was an outcome that denied a measure of vindication for either Cosby or the dozens of women who have accused him of assaulting them.

Read more:

As jury deliberations continue, Bill Cosby tweets thanks, defence demands mistrial

Deadlocked jury in Bill Cosby sex assault trial still undecided on verdict

In their sixth day of deliberations, jurors sent word to Judge Steven T. ONeill that they could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charges that in 2004, Cosby, one of the worlds best-known entertainers, drugged and assaulted Andrea Constand in his home near here.

The Montgomery County district attorney, Kevin R. Steele, immediately announced that he would retry the case.

Cosby, 79 reacted calmly to the decision, rubbing his face at one point. Constand stared straight ahead.

After Cosby and his two lawyers filed out, Constand stood in the courtroom surrounded by four other women who had accused Cosby of assault. She looked calm as some of the other women wept and her lawyer, Dolores Troiani, spoke for her, saying they were looking forward to the retrial.

We will get to do it again, Troiani said.

Among the women who huddled with Constand was Victoria Valentino, who said Cosby assaulted her nearly five decades ago. Devastated, but the work goes on she said of the outcome.

Constands lawyers issued a statement on her behalf Saturday saying the trial has given a voice to the many victims who felt powerless and silenced.

This is neither a vindication or a victory, said ONeill, who praised the jurors for their service and asked them not to discuss their deliberations. They are yours and yours alone, he said.

Cosby said through his spokesperson Andrew Wyatt that he felt good about the verdict.

Cosbys wife of 53 years, Camille, slammed prosecutors for bringing the case to court, calling Steele heinously and exploitatively ambitious in a statement released after court adjourned. She also attacked the judge, the accusers lawyers and the media.

How do I describe the judge? Overtly arrogant, collaborating with the district attorney, said her statement.

Camille Cosbys statement continued, How do I describe the counsels for the accusers? Totally unethical.

How do I describe many, but not all, general media? Blatantly vicious entities that continually disseminated intentional omissions of truth for the primary purpose of greedily selling sensationalism at the expense of a human life.

Historically people have challenged injustices. I am grateful to any of the jurors who tenaciously fought to review the evidence which is the rightful way to make a sound decision. Ultimately that is a manifestation of justice based on facts, not lies.

As a very special friend once stated, truth can be subdued but not denied.

Cosby himself didnt comment.

After the mistrial was declared, prosecutors praised Constand and said shes entitled to a verdict in this case.

Speaking to reporters, Steele said hes disappointed the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision.

Steele declined to comment on a statement from Cosbys wifes statement.

In a retrial, Steele will have to balance the fact that dozens of women who have levelled similar accusations at Cosby had looked to this case as likely the only chance to hold him criminally responsible, against the value of pursuing a 79-year-old defendant who is fighting blindness, whose career and reputation are in tatters, and for whom a prison term could amount to a life sentence.

The case turned largely on the credibility of Constand, a former Temple University employee.

Constand testified that the assault had occurred as she visiting the home of Cosby, who was a Temple trustee, when she was 30 and he was 66. She said Cosby gave her pills that he said were herbal, but that left her immobile and drifting in and out of consciousness. He has said he gave her Benadryl.

I was jolted awake and I felt Mr. Cosbys hand groping my breasts under my shirt, she testified last week. I also felt his hand inside my vagina moving in and out, and I felt him take my hand and place it on his penis and move it back and forth.

Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault  penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant without the subjects knowledge.

The jury of 12 was composed of six white men, four white women, one black woman and one black man. They had reported being deadlocked on Thursday but then resumed deliberations at the request of the judge. As it turned out, the deliberations ended up taking longer than the presentation of evidence did.

In recent years, Cosby admitted to decades of philandering and to giving Quaaludes to women to induce them to have sex. The admissions smashed the image he had built as a moralizing public figure and as the upstanding paterfamilias in the wildly popular 1980s and 90s sitcom The Cosby Show.

He did not testify in his own defence, and so avoided a grilling about those admissions. He and his lawyers insisted that his encounters with Constand were part of a consensual affair, not an assault.

In asking the jury to keep deliberating, the judge told them: While you should not hesitate to re-examine your own views and change your opinion if you are convinced that your opinion is erroneous, do not feel compelled to surrender your honest belief as to the weight or effect of the evidence solely because of the opinion of your fellow jurors, or for the mere purpose of returning a verdict.

But when the jury returned Saturday around 10 a.m. to say that it remained divided, he brought the trial to an end.

Cosby will remain free on $1 million bail.

After the mistrial was announced celebrities took to social media to voice their opinions:

With files from The Associated Press

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Gerry Martin isnt sure he will ever tell a police officer during a traffic stop that he has a concealed-weapon permit  and possibly a weapon  on him.

The acquittal of a Minnesota officer in the death of a licensed gun owner who volunteered that he had a gun seconds before being fatally shot during a traffic stop adds to the worries of African-American gun owners about how they are treated by police and society.

Acknowledging that they have a weapon, they said, can open them up to violence from police, who can then claim they feared for their lives simply because of the presence of a gun, even a legal one.

Read more: Minnesota officer acquitted in shooting of Philando Castile, whose death was livestreamed by his girlfriend

As soon as you say, Im a concealed carry holder. This is my license, they automatically are reaching for their gun thinking youre going to draw your gun on them, once again not realizing youre a good guy, said Martin, who lives in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

Philando Castile was fatally shot by the officer July 6 in a St. Paul suburb seconds after he told the officer he was armed. Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who is Latino, was acquitted Friday of manslaughter and two lesser charges.

During the stop, Castile volunteered, Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me.

Yanez told Castile, OK, dont reach for it then and Dont pull it out.

On the squad-car video, Castile can be heard saying, Im not pulling it out, as Yanez opened fire. Prosecutors said Castiles last words were, I wasnt reaching for it.

The verdict tells African-Americans across the country that they can be killed by police officers with impunity, even when they are following the law, said Cederic Richmond, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The verdict also tells blacks that the Second Amendment does not apply to them because Castile was honest with the officer about having a weapon in the car, and there is no evidence that he attempted to or intended to use the weapon against the officer, the Louisiana Democrat said.

Outside the courthouse, Castiles mother said Yanez got away with murder. Her son was wearing a seatbelt and in a car with his girlfriend and her then-4-year-old daughter when he was shot.

I am so very, very, very ... disappointed in the system here in the state of Minnesota, Valerie Castile said.

A Minnesota police officer has been acquitted of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a black motorist. In an emotional press conference, Philando Castile's mother says the city of St. Paul killed her son by letting the murderer go free. (The Associated Pr0

Licensed gun owner and open-carry advocate Rick Ector of Detroit said stereotypes can cloud the minds of some officers when dealing with black gun owners. Officers may have had previous encounters with people carrying guns illegally  especially young black men. And that experience can carry over, Ector said.

Once they find out that a black American has a gun permit, they are not necessarily going to relax, but they now have an idea about your character, Ector said.

Phillip Smith, head of the National African American Gun Association, said police need additional training to remind them that Second Amendment rights apply to black gun owners as much as anyone else.

Like several similar cases, Castiles death was shared worldwide on social media. His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, livestreamed the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook because, she said, she wanted to make sure the truth was known.

But videos of black people dying at the hands of police have led to few convictions.

Im sure people of colour are going to say, and rightfully so, what is the burden of proof for an officer to be convicted? asked Dwayne Crawford, the executive director of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

Eric Garner died in July 2014 in New York City after a white officer placed him in a chokehold during an arrest for selling loose cigarettes. Garner complained that he couldnt breathe on video captured by onlookers. A grand jury declined to indict that officer or any others involved in the arrest.

Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy with a pellet gun tucked into his waistband, was fatally shot by a white Cleveland police officer in November 2014. But a grand jury declined to indict patrolman Timothy Loehmann, who fired the fatal shot, or training officer Frank Garmback. The city settled Rices familys lawsuit for $6 million.

Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, was fatally shot by a white officer, Darren Wilson, in August 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Their confrontation was not captured on video. A grand jury declined to indict Wilson, and the Justice Department opted against civil rights charges. Wilson later resigned.

Only one police officer in recent publicized cases is facing jail time.

South Carolina officer Michael Slager, who is white, shot black motorist Walter Scott in the back as he fled from a traffic stop. Slager pleaded guilty in May to a federal charge of violating Scotts civil rights, and a judge will determine his sentence, which could range from probation to life in prison without parole.

Scotts shooting in April 2015 was captured on cellphone video seen worldwide. It contradicted Slagers original statement that Scott had attempted to grab his Taser.

This was a clear-cut case of unnecessary, fatal police violence, said Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color Of Change. District attorneys around the country, from Tulsa to Cleveland to now St. Paul, must be held accountable for their failures to secure justice for victims of police violence.

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The arrest in the case of the @CanadaCreep Twitter account, ending the stream of secretly shot images of the breasts, behinds and crotches of Calgary women posted there, will have disappointed the accounts 17,000 followers. But that was nothing compared to my own dashed hopes after seeing the business end of the alleged creeper himself.

There he was, held firmly by the upper arm by a black-gloved female police officer, his head only reaching up to her shoulder even before he cringed and dropped his head to avoid the pitiless cameras finally turned on him.

Wearing a baggy white shirt and loose dark pants, the accused, the almost aggressively unobtrusive Jeffrey Robert Williamson, 42, had accessorized his unkempt head with tiny ill-chosen oblong glasses. After what could be charitably described as a waddle over to a police van, he bent over to enter a metal cupboard, his buttocks on full display.

I kid you not, I was expecting great things. This one took my breath away, the Twitter voyeur had said of one young woman in a white dress, as seen from behind in broad daylight as he followed her. But I have to say, Williamson left me unmoved from both front and behind, from the back of beyond even.

What attracts me to men is intelligence, humour and the general look of their face. Williamsons blurred anxious features framed by the porthole in the little metal cabinet in the van  ironically so like the new roundel frame for avatars (the users photo or emblem) unveiled by Twitter on Thursday  were not arousing.

So Ive seen Williamsons top (balding) and bottom (large), his unprepossessing front and back. From no angle is this man fetching.

What struck me though was how easy men have it. When my own mister asks me what he should pack for a weeks vacation, its hard not to get irate. Maybe pants, I say through gritted teeth. Shirts, possibly.

Women have to make wardrobe decisions that men never consider. Every woman who has ever had her underwear stolen will clear the laundry room before a repairman comes over. Pantyhose will snag when ones thigh is fondled at work, so black tights are advisable. One gets out of a car with care. High heels in a newsroom go through holes in a badly wired floor designed for the solid shoes of 50 years of male journalists.

I see that with Roger Ailes safely dead, Fox News is finally allowing female hosts to wear pantsuits rather than latex sheaths. I prefer dresses, always will, but I had thought pants were a backup plan. They are not, I learn from @CanadaCreep. Pants are damply arousing. So trench coats in all temperatures are our friend.

The remedy for women is to dress in what used to be called Normcore but now is flat-out androgyny. And this I resent. I had already come to grief recently when Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders wore my dress. It was a perfectly nice Ted Baker floral thing, but now it looks Republican and I have to toss it.

Being from small towns, I always wanted to dress like a young woman I saw on the Montreal subway when I was a little girl. I recall her crisp city clothing, a red skirt with white polka dots clashing favourably with the pistachio of her ice cream cone. She was dead sexy, I thought, like the 7-year-old scrutineer I was.

But since Huckabee Sanders, Ive been wearing white shirts and black pants  a long satin Ines de la Fressange tuxedo shirt and black Joseph pants (that sensible designer Louise Trotter will never steer you wrong).

I dress exactly like Williamson the morning of his arrest.

There is much more to unpack  or should I say fondle  in the six charges he faces, three of voyeurism and three of publishing it. Police say there may be hundreds of thousands of images in the computer gear they hauled away.

It bothers me that 17,000 people could follow this feed on Twitter and no one noticed. Im happy to hear there is no overlap between nice normal guys and fetish sex criminals, but 17,000 people  please tell me they are bots  managed to keep their own little secret? And then a Calgary woman recognized video of her friends 14-year-old daughter, and the thing unraveled.

I wonder if the creepsters had meet-ups. Did they have dinner in each others basements? Did they meet for lunch over salad and cold-pressed juice and talk underpants? When someone got up to go to the washroom, did they give him the eye as he walked away?

All this is speculative. I could look into it, but I had to go on Pornhub to research a recent column on Trump cabinet meetings  I was studying the genial practice of docking for an analogy  and I havent been feeling well.

What to wear, what to wear. Whatever you choose, at work or on the subway, imagine that your knees are nailed together and keep them that way. Never walk alone in a dress, especially in buildings where they have those ubiquitous glass railings. Attach a rear-view mirror to your ear; Im sure Muji sells them.

Take precautions. Keep the drapes closed. Dont ride a bike with low handlebars. Dont leave the house.

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Re: Should the government step in to save journalism?, June 6

Should the government step in to save journalism?, June 6

The debate between Torstar chair John Honderich and Postmedia columnist Andrew Coyne about whether the government should step in to save journalism raises many points vital to the future of the news industry in Canada.

Although both sides made excellent points for and against, the argument is framed within the context of larger news outlets based in urban centres and fails to address what is taking place in rural Canada.

Even the Public Policy Forums report, Shattered Mirrors, acknowledges the need to enhance local coverage and suggests approaches the government could take to assist these operations, such as tax changes and a $400-million journalism fund.

What is not addressed is local news poverty, meaning the shrinkage or lack of coverage within a community. Initiatives like the Local News Research Project clearly show how serious the situation is across the country.

But it goes beyond improving local reporting. The issues facing the Toronto Star, the CBC and The Canadian Press are very different than those facing the Belleville Intelligencer, the Wellington Times and the community radio station in Picton, Ont.

Far too often, the discussion like the one covered in the article is not about journalism in neighbourhoods, hamlets, villages, towns and small cities. Coverage in these places, known as hyperlocal journalism, faces a myriad of challenges and issues far removed from its larger urban cousins.

Granted, there are some similarities in a very broad sense, like falling revenues, fewer journalists, reduced resources and fragmented audiences, but the notion of a one-size-fits-all solution is not a reality.

When debating government support of Canadian news outlets, the distinction between national, local and hyperlocal is critical. You could argue subsidizing a major, publicly traded news conglomerate is worthy or not worthy. But, for many communities in rural Canada, support for independent, innovative, news outlets could be beneficial.

It is not unusual for governments to create business incubators to subsidize innovation and development. Surely, this is something to be considered when it comes to journalism in rural Canada.

Robert Washburn, journalism professor, Loyalist College, Belleville, Ont.

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It was a day filled with strumming, plucking and young voices in harmony as more than 400 young students gathered at a Wilkinson Public School this week with their ukuleles in tow.

The children showed off their skills at the eighth annual Uke Day, hosted by local musician Melanie Doane. She oversees ukulele lessons in public schools for more than 650 kids enrolled in 38 classes during the year.

It makes me so proud to see hundreds of our students from different backgrounds and neighbourhoods coming to play music together, says Doane, founder of Doane Uschool, which also provides free classes to many students who otherwise couldnt afford lessons.

Hundreds of Toronto students took part in an epic ukulele jam session to celebrate music on Uke Day earlier this week.











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Wall Street rejoiced at the Friday, June 16, announcement that Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) - Get Free Report is acquiring Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) .

But, some experts and lawmakers are saying, not so fast.

On Friday, Amazon and Whole Foods announced that the e-commerce behemoth would purchase the organic grocer for $42 a share, a deal valued at $13.7 billion. The acquisition gives Amazon a fleet of some 444 stores that sell everything from organic rotisserie chicken to all natural makeup, the ultimate boost to enhance its delivery and grocery services and hinder competitors including Walmart Stores Inc. (WMT) - Get Free Report , Kroger Co. (KR) - Get Free Report and Target Corp. (TGT) - Get Free Report .

After the deal was announced, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) urged the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a review on the merger's possible harm to the economy.

"I am concerned about what this deal means for suppliers and neighborhood grocery stores," Khanna said in a statement. "The Justice Department and FTC must undertake a review that considers not just the merger's impact on prices, but also the impact on jobs and wages. We need to reorient antitrust policy to factor in the harm that economic concentration causes for American workers."

As it stands today, there is no legal basis for blocking the Amazon-Whole Foods merger on antitrust grounds, as the U.S. does not consider the possible harm to jobs or wages when considering a deal. The DoJ focuses on consumer prices, something Khanna seems to understand.

Khanna was not available for further comment. Amazon did not respond to a query, while Whole Foods declined to comment for this story.

Family-owned grocer Stew Leonard's, which operates five grocery and wine stores in New York and Connecticut with a sixth opening in August in Long Island, is one of the small businesses Khanna likely wants to protect.

Company CEO Stew Leonard, Jr., 62, told TheStreet that his business was first started in 1969 and up until now, it has been sustainable because of the theatrical element it brings to customers, with costumed characters walking around the stores, and the fresh, homemade food it offers. But, with the greater shift to online, and with e-commerce only making up 5% of his total business, Leonard said the Amazon-Whole Foods merger is concerning.

"Amazon is great at online and they're really great at delivery," Leonard said. "I think the food industry is trying to adapt to that, but [this deal] is like throwing a can of gasoline into a fire."

Leonard said his grocery store chain generates about $500 million a year and while "we haven't seen [sales] declines, we haven't seen the growth we used to see."

Even U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News last year that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has a "huge antitrust problem because he's controlling so much."

Moody's Investors Service Inc. analyst Charlie O'Shea said that the transaction is "transformative...not just for food retail but for retail in general."

"Implications ripple far beyond the food segment," O'Shea said, warning Whole Foods rivals such as Walmart and Kroger to "look over their shoulders at the Amazon train coming down the tracks."

Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and co-author of "Amazon's Stranglehold," said the Amazon-Whole Foods merger "raises significant anti-competitive issues that should be deeply concerning to federal antitrust regulators," as it gives Amazon not only the edge on tech with its unmatched cloud services and clothing, books, toys and electronics retail but grocery now, too.

Over the next five years, one-fifth of the $3.6 trillion retail market in the U.S. is set to shift online, and Amazon is already on track to capture two-thirds of that share, according to Mitchell's research. She said she is unsure how much more Amazon will capture if this deal is passed.

Mitchell criticized regulators for taking too much of a "lax view on concentration," which she said hurts job creation and innovation. She referenced Thursday's announced approval of the Dow Chemical Co.-DuPont Co. (DOW) - Get Free Report merger, which was delayed on antitrust issues since it was first entered into in December 2015, as an example.

"While I think there is a lot here that is alarming, I'm hopeful that regulators will use this opportunity to rethink how they have been approaching antitrust," Mitchell said in an interview with TheStreet. "Regulators should block this deal."

Visit here for the latest business headlines.

Read TheStreet's full coverage of Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods:
It has hardly been a secret that the EU has been taking a markedly harder line on Alphabet Inc./Google (GOOGL) - Get Free Report over the last couple of years than U.S. regulators since Margrethe Vestager took over as head of the EU's antitrust agency in 2014. And so it's not too shocking that the agency appears set to impose a hefty fine on the web giant for allegedly unfairly promoting its Google Shopping ads relative to third-party shopping services.

All the same, considering the strength of the arguments that Google had made in defense of Google shopping, and how the FTC and other regulators probing Google have limited their probes to other issues, a big EU fine over this matter doesn't bode well for how Brussels will rule on the two other matters it has levied charges against Google over.

This column originally appeared on Real Money, our premium site for active traders. Click here to get great columns like this.

On Friday, June 16, the Financial Times reported the European Commission is expected to levy a large fine over the prominent placement its gives to Google Shopping ads (formerly known as Product Listing Ads) within search results, and how such placement puts rival shopping search platforms (for example, PriceGrabber or Shopzilla) at a competitive disadvantage. Two sources indicate the fine could top the 1 billion ($1.12 billion) penalty Intel Corp. (INTC) - Get Free Reportreceived from the EC in 2009.

The report suggests regulators were unconvinced by Google's November 2016 defense of its Shopping ads, which appear at the top of relevant search result pages and on a standalone Google Shopping site. There, Google pointed out that the EC's definition of shopping services excluded Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) - Get Free Report, which a large percentage of consumers in the U.S. and Western Europe now directly visit to search for goods, rather than searching via Google. It also made the obvious point that many consumers find Google Shopping ads, which are typically accompanied by a photo and a price, to be useful when doing product searches, and that consumers are free to start a product search at a comparison shopping site or rival search engine.

Alphabet is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells GOOGL? Learn more now.

The report also suggests the EC is unworried about stoking trade tensions with the U.S. -- after having settled with Google on several matters in 2013, the FTC is only believed to be probing Google over its Android app bundling requirements. In 2015, President Obama claimed the EU's attacks on Google amounted to protectionism, and -- given his trade rhetoric -- it's not hard to image President Trump making a similar claim. On the other hand, Google's ties to the Trump Administration aren't exactly as strong as its ties to the Obama Administration.

As far as Google's European ad sales go, the stakes in its EU battle are fairly high. Google's AdWords search ad business is still easily the company's biggest cash cow, and Shopping ads now account for a large percentage of the AdWords purchases made by online retailers -- particularly when buying search keywords that don't involve a specific brand. Shopping ads have especially seen big growth on smartphones, where they can take up quite a lot of screen real estate.

Going forward, Google's efforts to let shoppers pay for items promoted via Google Shopping on Google's own site should provide the business a lift. As should its attempts to bring Shopping ads to YouTube, image search results and third-party sites and apps. For online retailers not named Amazon, Google Shopping has turned into a pretty vital marketing channel. One that had much to do with 44% annual increase (53% on Google properties) seen in the company's paid ad clicks and impressions in Q1.

If Google had to stop showing Shopping ads in its search results in favor or regular text ads, that would undoubtedly hurt its EMEA revenue, which accounted for 33% of the company's Q1 revenue. And it can't be overlooked that the EC has the right to fine a company up to 10% of its annual sales over a violation, and up to 5% of its average daily sales for each day that it fails to implement a proposed remedy beyond a set time. However, chances are that Google will appeal any adverse decision on this issue, in which case a final ruling might not arrive for years.

Of course, Google's EU problems aren't limited to its Shopping ads. The EC also accuses the company of unfairly restricting competition by requiring third-party sites using Google Search to show a minimum number of Google ads on their site, and to have the final say on where ads provided by rivals appear. And it accuses Google of harming competition by requiring Android OEMs wanting access to Google Play to exclusively pre-install Google Search, make Google a device's default search engine and refrain from using a third-party version of Android such as Amazon's Fire OS.

The Android dispute is at least as big as the Google Shopping dispute, and one where -- as shown by the FTC's probe and Google's recent settlement with Russian regulators -- the EC actually isn't alone in raising concerns here. The dispute over ad policies for third-party sites is arguably smaller, since the lion's share of Google's search traffic now comes involves its own site and apps.

But considering the precedent the EC is on the verge of reportedly setting in the Google Shopping dispute, it's easy to see the agency imposing 10-figure fines and recommending big policy changes in those battles as well. Over the long run, Google might be able to settle its European disputes without paying an exorbitant price, depending on how appeals courts rule and what kind of political pressure the U.S. applies, but its legal time is likely to get a heavy workout along the way.
Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a life sciences company, focuses on the provision of preparedness and response solutions that address accidental, deliberate, and naturally occurring public health threats (PHTs) in the United States. The company's products address PHTs, which include chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives; emerging infectious diseases; travel health; and emerging health crises and acute/emergency care. It offers BioThrax, an anthrax vaccine; ACAM2000, a smallpox vaccine; Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent to treat botulinum disease; vaccinia immune globulin intravenous that addresses complications from smallpox vaccine; raxibacumab for the treatment and prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax; Anthrasil to for inhalational anthrax; reactive skin decontamination lotion kits; and Trobigard, a combination drug-device auto injector product candidate; and Trobigard, a combination drug-device auto injector product candidate. The company also provides NARCAN, a nasal spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; Vivotif, an oral vaccine for typhoid fever; and Vaxchora, a single-dose oral vaccine to treat cholera. In addition, it is developing AP003, a Naloxone multidose nasal spray; AP007, a sustained release Nalmefene injection for treatment of opioid use disorder; AV7909, an anthrax vaccine; CGRD-001, a pralidoxime chloride/atropine auto-injector; CHIKV VLP, a chikungunya virus VLP vaccine; COVID-HIG for the treatment of SARS-CoV2; EGRD-001, a diazepam auto-injector; SIAN, an antidote for the initial treatment of acute poisoning of cyanide; and UniFlu, a universal influenza vaccine. Further, the company provides contract development and manufacturing services comprising drug substance and product manufacturing, and packaging, as well as technology transfer, process, and analytical development services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
- Vocal Kenyan politician Martha Karua has asked the government to take action against leaders spreading hateful message ahead of the General Election

- Karua, specifically listed Raila Odinga as one of the leaders likely to spark violence in the country with their remarks

- The NARC Kenya leader also accused Raila Odinga of meddling into the affairs of IEBC

NARC Kenya party leader Martha Karua has taken issue with the National Super Alliance flagbearer Raila Odinga over his interference with the Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission(IEBC).

Karua, alias the Iron Lady accused the former Premier and other NASA heads of disturbing piece by meddling into the affairs of the electoral body ahead of the August 8 polls.

Speaking in a press conference in Kimuye Village, Kirinyaga County on Friday, June 16 2017, Karua accused Raila Odinga of making careless remarks against IEBC, a move that she said is likely to spark violence in the country after the August, 8 General Election.

Martha Karua

READ ALSO: Did Raila Odinga fix Deputy President William Ruto at the ICC? President Uhuru spills the beans

"The Nasa leaders are issuing irresponsible statements, which can degenerate into anarchy and make Kenya ungovernable," Karua said.

Raila Odinga

READ ALSO: Photos showing the struggles Kenyans go through to access the SGR stations emerged

Karua, who is seeking to become the next Kirinyaga County Governor asked the government to take action against the opposition leaders and any leader spreading hateful messages ahead of the General Election.

READ ALSO: Raila's former Chief of Protocol finally speaks on claims he blew KSh 45 million family fortune

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"Politicians engaging in activities likely to lead to bloodshed should not be spared," she added.

Karuas anti-Raila statement comes barely days after Uhuru Kenyatta accused the opposition leader Raila Odinga of making careless remarks that are likely to trigger chaos in the country after the election.

Does Raila Odinga have a point in the IEBC ballot paper saga?Watch below:

Have something to add to this article or suggestions? Send to news@tuko.co.ke

Source: TUKO.co.ke
This year, almost UAH 250 million from the defense budget will be allocated for the improvement of the resource base of the Armed Forces training centers.

Speakesperson of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine Maksym Prauta said this at a briefing, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"In particular, UAH 132.5 million will be spent for the restoration of the training center in Lviv region, almost 100 million - for the construction of a camp town on the Shyrokyi Lan training range and almost 13 million - for the restoration of funds of the 169the training center of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Prauta said.

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Liberation of Ukraine from Russian occupation is one of the important priorities for the United States.

Rudolph Giuliani, the informal adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump and former New York mayor, said this in an interview with Novoye Vremya portal.

"Ukraine that is free from Russian occupation is one of the important interests of the United States, and Trump will insist on this interest and achieve it," Giuliani said.

He has not agreed with the opinion that the Trump administration is very soft in relations with Russia. According to him, such impression could come from some of Trump's comments during the election campaign. However, having become a president, Trump delves into the subject of international relations.

"Trump ordered to bomb the Syrian military base, and it is clear that in his steps he places the interests of the United States ahead of the interests of Russia," Giuliani said.

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Mariupol celebrates today the third anniversary of the liberation of the city from the militants.

On this occasion, the parade takes place in the city, the police of Donetsk region reported.

"Law enforcers and soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine maintain public order and safety during the event," the report said.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Troyan and Deputy Chairman of the National Police of Ukraine Vyacheslav Abroskin came to congratulate and reward the defenders of the city, who restored the Ukrainian control over Mariupol three years ago.

ish
British Prime Minister Theresa May met at her Downing Street office Saturday with survivors of this week's deadly high-rise fire, a day after being chastised by protesters and as the death toll continued to rise.

May, who is facing mounting criticism for her response to Wednesday's west London fire that killed at least 58 people, left hundreds of others homeless and dozens missing, met for 2 hours with a delegation of family members.

WATCH: Death toll increases to 58

Details were not disclosed, but an unidentified group spokesman said members had given May their "demands and expectations" and that a full statement would be made only "in the community, with the community."

The death toll that London police gave Saturday includes the 30 who had already been confirmed dead.

"There are 58 people who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing and, therefore, sadly, I have to assume that they are dead," Commander Stuart Cundy told reporters at a news conference. He said the number, based on reports from the public, could rise.

First victim identified

Sixteen bodies have been removed from the blackened, 24-story public housing unit, and the first victim was formally identified as Mohammed Alhajali, 23, a Syrian refugee.

If at least 58 deaths are confirmed, the blaze would be London's deadliest since World War II.

Before meeting with the survivors, May chaired a "cross-government" meeting at her office "to ensure everything possible is being done to support those affected" by the tragedy, a spokesman said.

The meeting came one day after May was chastised by protesters as she visited near the scene of the blaze. She faced cries of "coward" and "shame on you" as police restrained angry crowds, following accusations of avoiding local residents during a visit to the area Thursday.

Maintenance issue cited

Survivors of the building claimed the fatal fire resulted from a lack of maintenance to the tower. They also complained that May's visit to the neighborhood was too slow and that support was lacking for those who lost relatives and homes.

Cundy said the police investigation would look into the building's 2016 refurbishment and promised to prosecute "if there is evidence."

Criticism of May intensified Friday after she sidestepped questions in a televised interview about whether she had underestimated the public's anger and frustration.

In addition to fire and police investigations into the inferno, May has promised to hold public hearings. She has also pledged $6.4 million in support to the residents and promised that those who lost their homes would be relocated within three weeks.

The prime minister is still reeling from a botched snap election that resulted in her Conservative Party's loss of its majority in Parliament.
Carrie Fisher died from sleep apnea and a combination of other factors, but investigators were not able to pinpoint an exact cause, coroners officials said Friday.

Among the factors that contributed to Fishers death was buildup of fatty tissue in the walls of her arteries, the Los Angeles County coroners office said in a news release late Friday. The release states that the Star Wars actress showed signs of having taken multiple drugs, but investigators could not determine whether they contributed to her death in December.

Her manner of death would be listed as undetermined, the agency said.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for additional details about whether a full autopsy report and toxicology results were available.

Sleep apnea is a condition in which a persons breathing pauses during sleep. The pauses may be brief or last several minutes, according to information from the National Institutes of Health.

Results no surprise, brother says

Fisher, 60, suffered a medical emergency on an international flight Dec. 23 and died four days later. Her mother, longtime movie star Debbie Reynolds, died the following day.

The actresses were laid to rest together at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills, a cemetery where numerous celebrities are buried.

Fishers brother, Todd Fisher, said he was not surprised by the results. He added that his family did not want a coroners investigation of his sisters death.

Were not enlightened. Theres nothing about this that is enlightening, he said.

I would tell you, from my perspective that theres certainly no news that Carrie did drugs, Todd Fisher said. He noted that his sister wrote extensively about her drug use, and that many of the drugs she took were prescribed by doctors to try to treat her mental health conditions.

Fisher long battled drug addiction and mental illness. She said she smoked pot at 13, used LSD by 21 and was diagnosed as bipolar at 24. She was treated with electroshock therapy and medication.

I am not shocked that part of her health was affected by drugs, Todd Fisher said.

He said his sisters heart condition was probably worsened by her smoking habit, as well as the medications she took. If you want to know what killed her, its all of it, he said.

Todd Fisher said it was difficult to blame doctors who treated his sister because they were trying to help her.

They were doing their best to cure a mental disorder. Can you really blame them? Todd Fisher said. Without her drugs, maybe she would have left long ago.

Film career

Carrie Fisher made her feature film debut opposite Warren Beatty in the 1975 hit Shampoo. She also appeared in Austin Powers, The Blues Brothers, Charlies Angels, Hannah and Her Sisters, Scream 3 and When Harry Met Sally ...

She will reprise her role as Leia Organa in the eighth installment of the core Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi, which will be released in December.
The UN Children's Fund warns three-quarters of a million children in Eastern Ukraine are at risk of water-borne diseases as fighting threatens to cut off their safe water supply.

The United Nations estimates around 10,000 people have been killed and more than 23,500 injured since fighting in Eastern Ukraine erupted between the government and Russian-backed separatists more than three years ago.

The U.N. children's fund warns an upsurge in fighting in the rebel-held territory is putting more lives at risk. The agency reports the recent escalation of hostilities has damaged vital water infrastructure, leaving 400,000 people, including more than 100,000 children without drinking water for four days this week.

Water pipes repaired

Damage to these water pipes has been repaired. But, UNICEF says other infrastructure that provides water for three million people in eastern Ukraine is in the line of fire. UNICEF spokesman, Christophe Boulierac warns many families, including some 750,000 children will be cut off from safe drinking water if these structures are hit.

Why we are worried is because the children who are cut off from clean drinking water can quickly contract water-borne disease, such as diarrhea, said Bouliererec. Girls and boys having to fetch water from alternative sources or who are forced to leave their homes due to disruptions to safe water supplies face dangers from ongoing fighting and other forms of abuses.

Other problems

UNICEF reports nearly four million people in Eastern Ukraine need humanitarian assistance. The agency says children are among those suffering the most from more than three years of conflict.

The aid agency says tens of thousands of children face dangers from landmines and unexploded ordnance. It says many children show signs of severe psychological distress.
The University of Manitoba has terminated its project to study climate change in the Hudson Bay area because of hazardous ice conditions caused by a change in the climate.

The canceled part of the $17 million, four-year study involved the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen, which was scheduled to sail through the area making scientific measurements and observations.

But the southward flow of Arctic sea ice, caused by climate change, led to unusually severe ice conditions along the northern coast of Newfoundland, where the Amundsen is involved in marine safety operations. That meant the ship could not depart for Hudson Bay, a huge ocean basin in northeastern Canada, in time to meet the research objectives.

Forty scientists from five Canadian universities planned to study the impact of climate change on Arctic marine and coastal ecosystems.

However, the reminder of the study will continue, and scientists say results so far indicate that climate change already affects environments and communities, not only in the north but also in the south of Canada.
Djibouti has accused Eritrea of occupying disputed territory along their border after Qatar withdrew a peacekeeping force earlier this week.

Djiboutian officials say Eritrean troops took control of Dumeira Mountain and Dumeira Island on Wednesday, a day after Qatar removed 450 soldiers who had controlled the territories for the past seven years.

Qatar did not give a reason for the move, which came after Eritrea and Djibouti sided with Saudi Arabia in an ongoing diplomatic dispute between Qatar and its larger neighbor.

Complaint with UN

Djiboutis ambassador to the United Nations, Mohamed Siad Doualeh, told VOA that his country has lodged a complaint with the United Nations Security Council.

I made sure that the president of the security council has all the facts, as well as the secretary-general, he said.

In a follow-up email, Doualeh wrote, We expect the secretary-general and the security council to pay maximum attention to the situation, and urge the parties to ensure that there is no military presence and activity in the area.

The African Union has appealed for calm, and in a statement said it is in the process of deploying a fact-finding mission to the Djibouti-Eritrea border.

VOA reached out to Eritrean officials for comment but has not received any response.

Battle in 2008

Eritrean and Djiboutian forces clashed for four days in June 2008, after Djibouti said Eritrea deployed troops across the border.

Qatar offered to help mediate the dispute in 2010, and the two African nations agreed to let Qatari troops deploy in the contested area. Plans to take the dispute to arbitration, however, never materialized.

Doualeh said Eritrea still holds 13 prisoners from the 2008 fighting and has not let them communicate with their families.

He called on Eritrea to release the prisoners and end its occupation of Dumeira.

We are very much willing to peacefully resolve the dispute with Eritrea in a manner that is consistent with international law, he said.
U.S. farm groups criticized President Donald Trumps decision to retreat from his predecessors opening toward Cuba, saying it could derail huge increases in farm exports that totaled $221 million last year.

A trade delegation from Minnesota, one of the largest U.S. agriculture states, vowed to carry on with its planned visit to Cuba next week.

Were going to continue to beat the drum and let them (the Trump administration) know that trade is good for agriculture, said Kevin Paap, a farmer in the delegation.

Trump signed a presidential directive Friday rolling back parts of former President Barack Obamas opening to the Communist-ruled country after a 2014 diplomatic breakthrough between the two former Cold War foes.

Farm groups saw the move as a step backward in what had been an improving trade relationship between the two countries, which are 90 miles (145 kms) apart, even though agriculture is not directly targeted.

U.S. law exempts food from a decades-old embargo on U.S. trade with Cuba, but cumbersome rules on how transactions were executed have made deals difficult and costly.

Since Obamas detente, substantial headway has been made with shipments of U.S. corn and soybeans to Cuba soaring 420 percent in 2016 from a year earlier to 268,360 tons, U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows.

Through the first four months of 2017, total shipments of U.S. grain and soy were 142,860 ton, up from 49,090 tons during the same period of 2016.

While the quantities are dwarfed by total U.S. exports  nearly 56 million ton of corn alone last year  the added volumes were welcome as farmers face a fourth year of languishing grain prices and crimped incomes.

At a time when the farm economy is struggling, we ask our leaders in Washington not to close doors on market opportunities for American agriculture, Wesley Spurlock, president of the National Corn Growers Association, said in a statement.

The group sees an opportunity for $125 million more a year in trade to Cuba.

Trumps move could cut off near-term sales and stymie economic development that would drive longer-term demand growth, said Tom Sleight, president of the U.S. Grains Council, a grain trade development organization, in a statement.

Neither of those outcomes is favorable for the U.S. ag sector or the Cuban people, he added.

Paap said the United States should be doing more to encourage exports.

Its frustrating because weve made some advances and built those relationships, he said.
At least five people were killed and 12 others wounded Saturday in heavy fighting between Somali National Army soldiers and al-Shabab militants in the Bakol region of southwestern Somalia, officials said.

Somali army officials told VOA that the militants had attacked a government military base in el-Lahelay village, about 20 kilometers west of Hudur, the provincial capital of the region.

The militants used machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to assault the base from different directions at midday Saturday, engaging in a fierce gunbattle with Somali troops for about an hour, officials said.

On the condition of anonymity, witnesses told a VOA reporter in the region that they saw the bodies of at least five combatants, some from each side. No civilian casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, a cease-fire was brokered between two rival clan militias near the central Somali city of Beledweyne, about 325 kilometers north of Mogadishu  a move intended to end several days of fighting that killed at least 25 people.

The Somali National Army and forces loyal to Ahlu-Sunna Wal Jama (AWJ),a central Somalia-based paramilitary group consisting of moderate Sufis opposed to radical Islamists, have been deployed between the warring clan militias belonging to the Habar Gidir and Hawadle of Hawiye subclans. They have been fighting over pastures and land.

"Now we have succeeded in moving the rival militias away from the front line where they have been fighting. We sent troops to go between them, and I hope the fighting will be over," said Mohamed Ali Adle, a senior government official involved in the peace effort.
Iranian forces have staged operations against dissidents they say were planning terror attacks during Ramadan in the wake of twin suicide assaults on symbolic sites in Tehran. Officials linked one group to Saudi Arabia, which it claims is trying to destabilize the country.

Intelligence forces killed three members of the small Ansar al-Forqan group and arrested five others Wednesday in the southeastern city of Chabahar in Sistan and Balouchestan province, seizing seven suicide vests and a large amount of ammunition, according to state-run media.

Tehran claims the fundamentalist Sunni group is linked to al-Qaida, with possible support from Saudi Arabia.

In a second incident, Iran's Fars News Agency reported Friday that several alleged "terrorists" had been killed or wounded in clashes with Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps members in the Qasr-e Qand region.

Explosives confiscated

An IRGC statement said 700 kilograms of explosives had been confiscated, along with a car packed with another 600 kilograms of explosives and five bombs. It was not clear whether the targets of the assault belonged to a specific group.

The details of the operations could not be independently verified. They were carried out as Iran was still reeling from the June 5 attacks on Parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, that killed at least 17 people and injured several others.

Islamic State claimed responsibility, but Iran has linked the attacks to Saudi Arabia, its main rival for influence in the region, claiming Riyadh is trying to destabilize the country by supporting dissidents.

IRGC Commander Mohammed Ali Jafari told Fars that Iran had "precise information" that Saudi Arabia "has asked terrorists to carry out operations in Iran."

The Fars report said the Saudis might have recruited Ansar al-Forqan to carry out attacks.

"The intelligence shows that the Saudis have hired mercenaries from the neighboring states to create insecurity inside Iran," said Mahmoud Alavi, the Iranian intelligence minister. He alleged that the U.S. and Israel also support terrorist groups in the region.

Rising tensions

Tensions between longtime rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have escalated in recent weeks after the Saudis and their Gulf partners cut ties to Qatar, citing, in part, its association to Iran and Tehran's alleged link to terrorism.

Before the June 5 attacks in Tehran, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Iran "must be punished" for its disruptive role in the region.

Mohammed bin Salman, deputy crown prince and defense minister of Saudi Arabia, slammed Iran recently for its intrusion in Arab world affairs and threatened using force inside Iran's borders.

"We won't wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia," he said. "Instead, we'll work so that the battle is for them in Iran."

Ansar al-Forqan's website says its mission is fighting the "cruel Shi'ite regime of Tehran" for persecution of the country's Sunni minority.

"Since this cruel Shi'ite regime only deprives Sunni Muslims of their rights, we have no other means but to fight back," Ansar al-Forqan said in a video statement last year.

It is an ethnic Baloch group and active only in poverty-racked Sistan and Balouchestan. Blamed for launching several attacks on military outposts in the region and targeting military vehicles with short-range missiles, the group is considered to have strong ties to Salafism ideology.

"Their motto of 'Either martyrdom or Sharia' depicts the level of their commitment to the execution of Islamic decrees," said Abdolsatar Doshoki, a U.K.-based Baloch affairs analyst.

Estimates put the number of members from 200 to more than 400.

Recruiting targets

"The group mostly recruits from young Balochs from poor families who are strongly religious, poor and frustrated," said Azhar Shoeibi, a Sweden-based Balouch asylum-seeker from the region.

The group reportedly is ill-funded and receives only ammunition support from Afghan and Pakistani militant allies.

"The militants usually harbor in Pakistan and receive enormous support from Pakistani tribes," Doshoki said.

In February 2013, Iran and Pakistan signed a security agreement under which both countries are required to cooperate in combating organized crime and fighting terrorism, as well as countering threats to national security. Iran has repeatedly called on Pakistan to comply with the terms of the agreement.
Palestinian militants and Israeli police have both denied a claim by the Islamic State that it is responsible for attacks carried out by three Palestinian men near Jerusalems Old City that ended with the death of an Israeli policewoman.The men were shot dead by Israeli security forces.

The police and the militants said the attackers were local individuals who were not associated with the terrorist group.

Officials said there were two simultaneous attacks Friday near the Damascus Gate, an approved entry point into the walled Old City of Jerusalem for adult Palestinian men to attend Friday prayers. The violence came as Muslims marked the third Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

In one incident, two Palestinians opened fire on a group of police officers and also came at them with knives. In the other attack, a Palestinian fatally stabbed an Israeli woman working as a border police officer. She was identified as Hadas Malka, aged 23.

Israels Shin Bet security agency said the three slain Palestinians were 18 or 19 years old. All were from the same village near Ramallah in the West Bank, and had been detained in the past for suspected terrorist activities.

Four other people were injured in Fridays attacks, including another Israeli police officer and a Palestinian passerby who had no involvement in the incident.

Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and security personnel have increased since 2015, although once-daily attacks had slowed lately. Since October 2015, violent incidents and other unrest has killed more than 270 Palestinians, more than 40 Israelis and a small group of foreigners.

Israel blames the Palestinian leadership for inciting the violence.Palestinian officials reject the accusation and say the violence steps from anger over Israeli occupation of land sought by Palestinians.
Jurors are still unable to reach a verdict in the trial of comedian Bill Cosby, who is charged with three counts of sexual assault. The trial near Philadelphia entered its fifth day of deliberations Friday, and the judge rejected calls by the defense for a mistrial. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports that a conviction could send the 79-year-old entertainer to prison for decades.
A jury in the U.S. state of Minnesota has acquitted a police officer who fatally shot a black motorist during a traffic stop, a verdict that brought cries of dismay from the dead man's family and supporters in the courtroom.

St. Anthony, the small city that employed Jeronimo Yanez as a policeman dismissed him immediately after he was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter.

"The public will be best served if Officer Yanez is no longer a police officer in our city," a statement on the city's website said.

Yanez, 29, has not been on active duty since the shooting last July.

Streamed live

Much of the incident in which Philando Castile, 32, was shot in his car was streamed live on social media. Castile's girlfriend, sitting beside him as Yanez fired seven shots, said she recorded video of the scene because she feared that she and her 4-year-old daughter, in the car's rear seat, were in danger.

The girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, said on the video and testified in court that Castile had been reaching for his driver's license to comply with the policeman's order.

Yanez said he acted because he feared for his life and thought Castile was reaching for a gun. The dead man had told the policeman he had a gun elsewhere in the car. The last words he spoke before dying were, "I wasn't reaching for it."

Questioned by his attorney during the trial, Yanez said: "I was scared to death. I thought I was going to die. I had no other choice."

Prosecutors in St. Paul, Minnesota, said recordings from the car  both from Reynolds' phone and from a dashboard camera  showed that Castile was courteous and nonthreatening, and they told the court there was no justification for Yanez's action.

Moans of dismay and weeping swept through the courtroom after the verdict was announced. Court officers hustled Yanez and the jurors out of the room.

'Mad as hell'

The dead man's mother, Valerie Castile, speaking to reporters outside the court afterward, said: "I'm mad as hell right now. Yes, I am. My firstborn son died. ... Just because he [Yanez] was a police officer, that makes it OK."

Yanez, who is Latino, testified he stopped Castile in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb, because he thought Castile resembled someone who had robbed a nearby store several days earlier. Castile's family said he was profiled because of his race, African-American.

Circumstances of the shooting led to weeks of protests last year in St. Paul and the adjoining city of Minneapolis, and fueled a national debate about the appropriate use of force by police against racial minorities.

A small group of protesters gathered outside the courtroom late Friday, and a rally was planned later in the evening at the state Capitol in St. Paul. The city's mayor, Chris Coleman, ordered community centers to remain open for public discussions, and he appealed for calm.

"As people across our city, country and country react to the jury's verdict," he said, "I urge each of us to move forward in a way that is peaceful and respectful of everyone  residents, demonstrators and police officers alike."
Muslims in the Midwest state of Minnesota say they are worried about their security after recent anti-Sharia rallies held by right-wing extremists.

Muslim leaders and members of Somali communities in Minnesota say they need help and protection as anti-Muslim sentiment and hate crimes targeting Muslim-Americans surge.

Community members are critical of Act for America, a right-wing group that has staged anti-Sharia marches in more than 20 cities. The group says Sharia law poses a threat to the United States and claims to be acting to protect free speech and traditional American values.

Afraid for their lives

Meyran Omar, a Somali-American woman in Minnesota said the anti-Muslim sentiments make her fear for her life.

When I am on my way home, while I am driving or walking or even going into my apartment, I look around and I never had that fear before, she said.

Omar says the spreading anti-Islam attitudes have led some Muslim women to change their dress, as wearing hajib makes them visible representations of the religion.

Islamophobia and hate are increasing more; some of us stopped wearing the headscarves. It does not mean that they are bad Muslims, but they are scared for their lives. We need help, she said.

Anti-Muslim sentiment

Imam Abdisalam Adam of Darul-Hjirah mosque in Minneapolis, says the claim by Act for America that Islam is dangerous to the United States has no evidence to back it up.

We notice an increase in anti-Muslim sentiment and people who claim to be anti-Sharia law, but the reality is when you look at the issue and the way they are presenting, there is no evidence what they are calling for, he said.

Adam, who is also a board member of ICSA (Islamic Civic Society in America), says Muslims living in the U.S. believe in the U.S. Constitution.

Muslim communities are law-abiding and follow the Constitution of United State, so it seems its a politically motivated, he said.

Adam called on the U.S. government to send a very clear message that this countrys laws have to be respected and that Muslims are as much a part of the country as members of any other religious group.

Meet, talk to Muslims

The imam says they are ready to welcome members of Act for America to come and see how Muslims are living and raising their families as regular Americans.

What we are telling these hate-mongers, the people who are spreading this bigotry, is to get to know us, and we welcome them to our mosques and our institutions.

On its website, Act for America says it has never, and will never, tolerate any bias, discrimination, or violence against anyone, based on their religion, gender, race, or political persuasion. Freedom to practice ones religion in peace is afforded to each of us by the U.S. Constitution and we will continue to defend it vigorously.

VOAs Abdi Mahamud in Minneapolis contributed to this story.
Eighteen demonstrators were arrested Saturday in St. Paul, Minnesota, after they blocked one of the city's freeways to protest the police shooting death of a black man.

The arrests came after a jury acquitted a police officer Jeronimo Yanez in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile during a traffic stop last year  a verdict that brought cries of dismay from the dead man's family and supporters in the courtroom.

The protesters had been engaged in a peaceful demonstration Friday outside the Minnesota State Capitol, before a group of about 1,500 of them decided to stand in the middle of Interstate 94, blocking traffic on the freeway, police said.

In a statement, a Minnesota State Patrol spokeswoman said the protesters were charged with unlawful assembly, among other things, after they declined repeated demands from police to vacate the roadway.

Yanez dismissed after trial

The small city (Saint Anthony Village, Minnesota) that employed Yanez as a policeman dismissed him immediately after he was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter. The 29-year-old officer has not been on active duty since the shooting last July.

The public will be best served if Officer Yanez is no longer a police officer in our city, a statement on the city's website said.

Thousands of chanting demonstrators marched through the streets of St. Paul, the capital, Friday evening, to protest the officer's acquittal. Many held signs that read Black Lives Matter and Blue Lies Matter as they headed for the St. Paul Cathedral. Some chanted Hands Up, Don't Shoot.

Mayor appeals for calm

The city's mayor, Chris Coleman, ordered community centers to remain open for public discussions, and appealed for calm. As people across our city, county and country react to the jury's verdict, I urge each of us to move forward in a way that is peaceful and respectful of everyone  residents, demonstrators and police officers alike, he said.

Much of the incident, in which Castile, 32, was shot in his car, was streamed live on social media. Castile's girlfriend, sitting beside him as Yanez fired seven shots, said she recorded video of the scene because she feared that she and her 4-year-old daughter, in the car's rear seat, were in danger.

The girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, said on the video and testified in court that Castile had been reaching for his driver's license to comply with the policeman's order.

Yanez said he acted because he feared for his life and believed Castile was reaching for a gun. The dead man had told the policeman he had a gun elsewhere in the car. The last words he spoke before expiring were, I wasn't reaching for it.

Questioned by his defense attorney during the trial, Yanez said: I was scared to death. I thought I was going to die. I had no other choice.

Dashboard camera

Prosecutors in St. Paul, Minnesota, said recordings from the car  both from Reynolds' phone and from a dashboard camera  showed that Castile was courteous and non-threatening, and they told the court there was no justification for Yanez' action.

Moans of dismay and weeping swept through the courtroom after the verdict was announced. Court officers hustled Yanez and the jurors out of the room.

The dead man's mother, Valerie Castile, speaking to reporters outside the court afterwards, said: Im mad as hell right now. Yes, I am. My first-born son died. ... Just because he (Yanez) was a police officer that makes it OK.

Weeks of protests

Yanez, who is Latino, testified he stopped Castile in a suburb of St. Paul, Falcon Heights, because he thought Castile resembled someone who robbed a nearby store several days earlier. Castile's family said he was profiled because of his race, African-American.

Circumstances of the shooting led to weeks of protests last year in St. Paul and the adjoining city of Minneapolis, and fueled a national debate about the appropriate use of force by police against racial minorities.
Peru's opposition Popular Force party, which has a majority in Congress, asked for Finance Minister Alfredo Thorne's resignation on Friday, the party's

spokesman Luis Galarreta told a news conference.

Lawmaker Mauricio Mulder said Congress would censure Thorne if he did not resign. Thorne denied wrongdoing but told lawmakers he needed their support to remain in his job.

Thorne was called to Congress over a recording in which he appears to ask the comptroller's office to approve a $520 million airport contract in exchange for a bigger budget.

Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said earlier he had a plan in place in case Thorne was forced to resign over accusations he improperly tried to influence an airport contract.

"We have a replacement plan in case the worst happens, but I don't think that will happen," Kuczynski said in comments broadcast on state television. He did not give details of the plan.

The government withdrew the 40-year operating contract for an airport near Cusco on May 22 after the comptroller released an official report pointing to irregularities in the contract.

Earlier this month, local television station Panamericana released the recording of Thorne, a former J.P. Morgan Chase executive, appearing to ask comptroller Edgar Alarcon to greenlight the contract.

Thorne has denied offering a quid pro quo and said there were gaps in the released recording.

The conversation took place after Alarcon had publicly expressed doubts about the contract but before the comptroller released the formal report.

"It would never occur to me to condition additional funds for the comptroller's budget on obtaining a favorable report on any investment project," Thorne told Congress on Friday.

Kuczynski, a business-friendly former investment banker, defeated populist Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of jailed former autocratic President Alberto Fujimori, in a razor-thin election last year. But her Popular Force party controls congress with 72 of 130 seats.
A Minnesota police officer was cleared Friday in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, a black motorist whose death captured national attention when his girlfriend streamed the grim aftermath on Facebook.



Castiles family stormed out of the courtroom after the verdict was read, and the city of St. Anthony swiftly announced plans to dismiss Officer Jeronimo Yanez, despite his acquittal. Yanez was charged with manslaughter in the death of Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria worker, during a July 6 traffic stop that turned deadly seconds after Castile alerted the officer that he was carrying a gun. Castile had a permit for the weapon.



The fact in this matter is that my son was murdered, and Ill continue to say murdered, because where in this planet (can you) tell the truth, and you be honest, and you still be murdered by the police of Minnesota, his mother, Valerie Castile, said, referring to the fact that her son was shot after he volunteered to Yanez, Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me.



He didnt deserve to die the way he did, Philando Castiles sister, Allysza, said, through tears. I will never have faith in the system.

Thousands gather, march



Thousands of people gathered Friday evening at the nearby state Capitol to protest the verdict, and began a march that organizers said was headed for the St. Paul Cathedral. The mixed-race crowd, including many people with children, carried signs that read Unite for Philando and Corrupt systems only corrupt.

The protest was peaceful as darkness fell, but a smaller group splintered off and walked down an entrance ramp to block Interstate 94, quickly snarling traffic and leading to the freeway's shutdown in both directions.

A police line confronted marchers down the highway, but after a standoff of more than 90 minutes, the group dwindled and appeared to largely clear the interstate without police using force.

City officials in St. Anthony said they would offer Yanez a voluntary separation because they had concluded the public will be best served if he is no longer an officer there.



Jurors deliberated for about 29 hours over five days before reaching the verdict. Prosecutors argued that Yanez had overreacted and that Castile, a school cafeteria worker, was not a threat. Yanez, who is Latino, testified that Castile was pulling his gun out of his pocket despite his commands not to do so. The defense also argued Castile was high on marijuana and said that affected his actions.



Yanez stared ahead with no reaction as the verdict was read. Afterward, one of his attorneys, Tom Kelly, said the defense was satisfied.



We were confident in our client. We felt all along his conduct was justified. However that doesnt take away from the tragedy of the event, Kelly said.

Prosecutor: verdict painful, must be respected



Prosecutor John Choi, who made the decision to charge Yanez, said he knows the acquittal is painful for many people, but that the verdict must be respected.



I dont doubt that Officer Yanez is a decent person, but he made a horrible mistake from our perspective, and thats what this case was about. I know that if he could, he would take back what he did, and we all wish, and he would too, that this never happened, Choi said.



Castiles shooting was among a string of killings of blacks by police around the U.S. The livestreaming of its aftermath by Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was in the car with her then-4-year-old daughter, attracted even more attention. The public outcry included protests in Minnesota that shut down highways and surrounded the governors mansion. Castiles family claimed he was profiled because of his race, and the shooting renewed concerns about how police officers interact with minorities.



In reaction to the verdict, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton offered his condolences to the Castile family, calling his death a terrible tragedy in a statement that made no mention of Yanez. Dayton drew criticism in the days after the shooting for suggesting that Castile might not have been shot if he was white.



The evidence included squad car video, but its wide view didnt capture exactly what happened inside the car, leaving jurors to essentially decide whether they believed Yanez when he said Castile had his hand on the gun. Prosecutors questioned whether Yanez had even seen it, and witnesses testified that it was in a pocket of Castiles shorts when paramedics pulled him from the car.

Jury struggled with case



Juror Dennis Ploussard said the jury was split 10-2 early this week in favor of acquittal. They spent a lot of time dissecting the culpable negligence requirement for conviction, and the last two holdouts eventually agreed Friday on acquittal.



We struggled with it. I struggled with it. It was very, very hard, Ploussard said, adding that he thought the jury delivered the right verdict.

Prosecutors argued that Yanez could have taken lesser steps, such as asking to see Castiles hands or asking where the gun was.



Reynolds testified that she began recording the shootings aftermath because she feared for her life and wanted to make sure the truth was known. Defense attorneys pointed to inconsistencies in several of her statements.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed disappointment Saturday over possible new sanctions to be levied against his country by the United States, but said it is too early to speak of retaliatory actions.

This will, indeed, complicate Russia-American relations. I think this is harmful, Putin the told state-run RIA news agency.

The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly this week to strengthen sanctions against Russia as punishment for its campaign to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The new sanctions, passed Wednesday, target Russians involved in serious human rights abuses, supplying weapons to the Syrian government, carrying out malicious cyber activities and doing business with Russian intelligence and defense.

Putin to wait and see

The proposed sanctions still must gain approval from the House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump, which is why Putin said he would wait to see how the situation moves forward.

We need to see how it is all going to be. That is why it is premature to speak publicly about our retaliatory actions, Putin said.

The White House has not said if Trump would sign or veto the legislation, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testified on Capitol Hill this week and warned against measures that would cut off dialogue with Moscow.

He asked that Congress give the Trump administration the flexibility to turn up the heat on Russia, should the need arise in the future.

McCain backs strong message

Republican Senator John McCain, a leading critic of Russia in the Senate, said after the sanctions vote that America has no time to waste in punishing Russia and the U.S. needs to send a strong message to Putin that we will not tolerate attacks on our democracy.

Putin downplayed the effectiveness of the proposed sanctions, saying Russians would have to adjust something or do something extra, but the new sanctions will not lead to a deadlock or a collapse in Russia.
Colombia on Friday reached a deal with public school teachers to end a 37-day strike that has kept millions of children out of classes, amid criticism the government has failed to keep its promise to improve public education after a peace deal with Marxist rebels.

Union members participating in the nationwide walkout held near-daily marches, often blocking busy roads in the capital Bogota to demand more funding for school maintenance, supplies, student meals and salaries.

President Juan Manuel Santos says he is focused on combating inequality and improving education now that a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an end of more than 52 years of war, is under way.

But educators said improvements are nowhere to be seen and their salaries, some as low as 1.8 million pesos per month (about $610), are not adequate compensation for work that requires extensive and expensive higher education.



"The government's priority was always to reach an agreement that recognizes the work of teachers and the indispensable role of education in the development of the country and, at the same time, be responsible with public finances," Education Minister Yaneth Ghia told reporters.

The deal, among other things, will improve salaries through progressive bonus payments and allow bigger union involvement in how money is spent on education, she said.

The powerful Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode) union, which represents more than 350,000 teachers, agreed to the deal after meeting with Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas.

"The president said the money that went to the war would go to education but now there's no FARC, no guns and we don't see the funds," said high school teacher Jose Escobar, 36, earlier on Friday during a protest in Bogota's main square.

Places at his school, Colegio German Arciniegas in Bogota's poor Bosa neighborhood, are in such high demand that it has been impossible to implement the government's goal of full-day classes, Escobar said. Instead, 4,800 students in grades nine through 11 attend half-day, or six hours.

Friday's deal will push toward the aim of full-day study.

Santos has weathered a wave of strikes in recent weeks, reaching agreements to halt protests in the port city Buenaventura and a strike by public workers.

"If the government truly is working for peace, they need to start here," said Adriana Tunjo, a fifth-grade teacher in southern Bogota, who like other protesters decried problems which included electricity outages and sporadic provision of meals.
A member of the Afghan Special Forces turned his weapons Saturday on U.S. military personnel during a training exercise in northern Afghanistan, killing a local partner and injuring seven Americans.

NATO's Resolute Support Mission said an Afghan soldier also was among the wounded.

The "insider attack" occurred at an Afghan National Army regional base, Camp Shaheen, in Mazar-i-Sharif. A U.S. soldier reportedly engaged and gunned down the assailant before wounded Americans were evacuated for treatment.

The Taliban did not claim any association with the attacker but did praise him, saying he would be remembered "as a hero."

In a similar attack June 10 in eastern Nangarhar province, an Afghan commando opened fire on U.S. soldiers, killing three of them before he was gunned down by retaliatory fire.

The Taliban took credit for that attack, claiming the assailant was one of its fighters who had infiltrated Afghan army ranks.

The military base where Saturday's shooting took place was the scene of a coordinated Taliban gun-and-bomb raid in April that killed more than 150 soldiers and wounded many more, the deadliest assault on Afghan forces since 2001.

Helmand province

A senior international diplomat in Afghanistan said authorities are looking into the possibility that the June 10 killings in Nangarhar might be related to the earlier deaths of two Afghan policemen in what the U.S. called a 'friendly fire incident" in Helmand province. The U.S. has apologized for that incident.

Helmand is Afghanistans largest province, and most of it is under the control or influence of the Taliban.

A group of roughly 300 U.S. Marines arrived in Helmand in April to support struggling Afghan forces in their battle against the Taliban.

The insurgents have extended their control over swaths of Afghanistan and killed scores of Afghan security forces members since launching their so-called yearly spring offensive in late April.

The wartorn nation -- and its capital city, Kabul, in particular -- has also been hit in recent weeks by suicide bombings that have caused unprecedented civilian casualties.
Authorities in the resort city of Cancun found two dismembered bodies stuffed in suitcases Friday and one suspected gunman was killed in a gunbattle on a downtown boulevard, just days ahead of a regional gathering that is to include top Latin American diplomats.



The hacked-up bodies of two men were found stuffed inside two suitcases left in a marshy area just beyond Cancun's tourist zone, said the prosecutors' office of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo. It said the bodies had not been identified.



Late Thursday, one suspect was killed and two were wounded during a shootout with police and another was arrested unharmed.



The prosecutor's office said the confrontation erupted after police tried to serve an arrest warrant and the suspect tried to escape in a bullet-proof SUV. Marines and police came under fire, and a shootout ensued, it said.



The state public safety office said the suspects were accused of "various crimes.'' The office wrote in its Twitter account that "we have restored peace and order.''



The gunfight happened in a downtown area of Cancun that tourists often pass through on their way to hotels, but which is not in the hotel zone itself. A video posted to social media recorded the sound of bursts of automatic gunfire, in an area where there are stores and strip malls.



The Organization of American States is scheduled to hold its general assembly in Cancun from Monday to Wednesday, and foreign ministers from throughout the region are expected to attend.



The once-peaceful resort, by far Mexico's most popular beach destination, has been hit by violence in recent months. In January, gunmen attacked the state prosecutors' office in Cancun, killing four people. A day earlier, a shooting at a music festival in the nearby town of Playa del Carmen left three foreigners and two Mexicans dead.



While tourists have not been directly affected by violence in Cancun, killings have run high in the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco and recently spiked in the Baja California resorts of Los Cabos.



In the first four months of 2017, there were about two dozen homicides a month in Los Cabos, more in two months than there were in all of 2016.



By comparison, Cancun, with a much larger population, has had only about a dozen killings a month this year.



The violence in Los Cabos has been more grisly. This month alone, two severed heads were found in a cooler just two blocks from the tourist zone of Cabo San Lucas. Days earlier, the bodies of five women and 13 men were found in 12 clandestine graves near San Jose del Cabo.



The Los Cabos killings are believed to be tied to battles between drug gangs, including factions of the Sinaloa cartel.



Security analyst Alejandro Hope said the problems at the beach resorts may eventually affect tourism, as violence has in Acapulco. Foreign tourists and cruise lines now generally avoid Acapulco, which was a glittering attraction for movie stars in the 1950s.



Rings of slum housing have sprung up around many of Mexico's beach resorts, areas where criminal groups find fertile ground to recruit, set up drug sales to tourists and locals, and demand extortion payments from local businesses, as they have done in the Pacific coast resort of Zihuatanejo.



"The development model has to change  an isolated tourist zone that leaves little in the way of taxes or opportunities, that has to change,'' Hope said.



"If you want tourism, you have to integrate the local population better,'' he said.



Diplomats attending the OAS summit are unlikely to see or be affected by the violence. Cancun's hotel zone is on a narrow strip that can be temporarily blocked off from the rest of the city, and more isolated beach hotels exist just south of Cancun.



But that is just a temporary solution. As in Acapulco, gang battles that start in the slums eventually make their way to tourism zones.



"The temptation is to protect the enclave, not to allow gunfights on the seaside boulevard, but that doesn't work,'' Hope said. "The outlying areas inevitably devour the enclave.''
The U.N. childrens fund warns it may be forced to cut some lifesaving programs for millions of children inside Syria and in neighboring countries because it has run out of money.

UNICEF says it has received 25 percent of its $1.4 billion appeal for emergency operations this year.

That is the funds the most severe funding gap since the agency began responding to the Syria crisis more than six years ago. It says it urgently needs to receive $220 million or it will be forced to cut vital aid programs for nearly 6 million children inside Syria and for more than 2.5 million Syrian refugee children living in neighboring countries.

Speaking from Amman, Jordan, UNICEF Emergency Coordinator for Syria Response Genevieve Boutin says this will have grave consequences for Syrian children and for host communities in countries of asylum.

So, what we are talking about here is literally the future of this subregion, especially when we know that one-third of those affected by the crisis are between the ages of 10 and 24, she said. We have known all along the importance of investing in these children to protect their future and the future of all these countries.

Boutin says the investment is at risk of being lost. She says unless UNICEF receives the funding it needs immediately, vital programs for the well-being of these children will have to be scaled down or cut.

The programs that this includes are, for example, water and sanitation programs for 1.2 million children living in camps, informal settlements and host communities, she said. Basic health care and nutrition services for 5.4 million people. Cash assistance for one-half-million families who use this money to keep their kids out of work and in school, and access to education for 2.8 million children.

If the international community fails to support Syrias children, UNICEF warns millions of innocent victims of war will be forced to resort to extreme and dangerous measures just to survive; measures such as child labor, recruitment into the fighting and early marriage.
The outlawed Lords Resistance Army (LRA) has stepped up attacks in Democratic Republic of Congo close to the South Sudanese border as a U.S.-supported regional task force pulls out, the U.N. humanitarian office said in a report Friday.

Forty rebels from the group, which is led by Joseph Kony, kidnapped 61 civilians in a June 7 raid in the Tanganyika mining area near the Garamba National Park in Haut-Uele province, the report said, citing local civil society and aid workers.

The civilians were released after being forced to move goods and food looted by the LRA, and an unknown number of villagers subsequently fled to the nearby town of Gangala Nabodio.

Safety concerns

There had been no LRA-related displacement for more than five years in the province, the U.N. said. But aid workers were now worried about the safety of people across a vast area.

Since the end of the mission of the Regional Task Force (RTF), which was mandated to eliminate the LRA, the security situation has seriously deteriorated in the Garamba National Park, the U.N. report said.

One international non-governmental organization involved in protecting civilians canceled its missions this week because of insecurity, it said.

The U.N. has reported a surge this year in LRA abductions of girls and boys around the ages of 12 or 13, as well as elephant poaching in Garamba National Park. A clash with Congolese armed forces in March killed one army officer and three LRA fighters.

Kony rebels notorious

Konys rebels battled Ugandan forces for about two decades, becoming notorious for their brutality and for kidnapping children for use as fighters and sex slaves.

In about 2005, they were ejected from bases in northern Uganda and what is now South Sudan, and retreated to an area of jungle straddling the borders of South Sudan, Congo and Central African Republic, where the task force continued to track them.

The United States said in March it was switching to a broader African security mission and removing U.S. special forces specifically focused on fighting the LRA, declaring success in reducing the group to under 100 active members.

The African Union asked the United Nations to take on the hunt for the LRA and the U.N. Special Representative for Central Africa, Francois Lounceny Fall, has said the LRA may thrive after the U.S.-backed force leaves.

I am concerned about the impact of this withdrawal as it will create a security vacuum that may be exploited by the LRA and other armed groups operating in the region, he told the U.N. Security Council this week.

Ugandas military began withdrawing from Central African Republic in April, saying it had accomplished its mission, although Kony, who has been indicted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court, remained at large.
The United States supports a 48-hour cease-fire declared by the Syrian army in southern Syria but says it will wait to see what happens before judging its effectiveness.

"We will judge this initiative by the results, not the words," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement Saturday. "The opposition should similarly halt attacks to allow the cease-fire to endure  and hopefully be extended  and humanitarian aid to reach those in need."

Earlier in the day, the Syrian army announced the unilateral cease-fire in the southern city of Deraa in order to support "reconciliation efforts." According to a statement carried by state news agency SANA, the cease-fire was set to take effect at 12 p.m. Saturday local time.

The announcement of the cease-fire came on the same day the United Nations said it wanted to start new peace talks involving all sides in Syria next month in Geneva.

The United States and Russia have also been holding talks on creating safe zones in Syria, which would include Deraa and several other cities.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting and shelling in Deraa fell off slightly after the announcement of the cease-fire, but a rebel leader told the Reuters news agency there had been no change in the pace of the fight.

"We have not heard of any such talk, and the regime is still attacking us with the same intensity," the commander, who was not named, told Reuters.
The United States is concerned about possible Russian incursions along NATO's Baltic borders during large Russian military exercises in September and will send more troops to the area, the commander of U.S. troops in Europe said on Friday.

Russia has denied Western concerns that its Zapad 2017 war games will threaten stability in eastern Europe. NATO officials believe the exercises could involve more than 100,000 troops, the biggest such Russian maneuvers since 2013.

"When [Russia] went into Crimea, that was against the backdrop of an exercise. When they went into Georgia - that was an exercise," Lieutenant General Ben Hodges told Reuters.

"Their history is full of examples where they don't live up to any treaties ... They routinely violate those things," he said during a NATO exercise in Poland.

Russia annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014 and in August 2008 it sent troops into Georgia, saying it was protecting civilians in Georgia's South Ossetia region.

The Crimea annexation has plunged East-West ties to their lowest levels since the Cold War, with Western governments imposing economic sanctions on Russia. NATO has sent troops to the Baltics and Poland to deter any possible Crimea-style land grab.

Replying to a question, Hodges said he, like Lithuania, was concerned that the Russian exercises could lead to provocative action on Baltic borders.

He said the United States would deploy three units of up to 600 airborne troops across the Baltic States for the duration of Zapad 2017.

"We are all working hard to be at the highest levels of readiness during exercises like this," Hodges said.

Previous Russian large-scale exercises in 2013 employed special forces training, longer-range missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles that were later used in Russia's annexation of Crimea, its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine and in its intervention in Syria, NATO diplomats said.

Officials expect the exercise, in which Russian ally Belarus will also take part, could involve nuclear weapons training.

Nuclear-capable mid-range modern Iskander missiles will be again deployed in the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad during the exercise, the officials said.

Estonia's defense minister said in April that Russia may use Zapad to move troops permanently into Belarus later this year in a warning to NATO. Russia's defense ministry did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the subject.

Three U.S. exercises will be underway at the same time as Zapad, in Sweden, Poland and Ukraine, and a U.S. armored brigade team is already deployed in Europe.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called the forthcoming Russian build-up "destabilizing" last month, and officials suggested the U.S. Army will be deploying a battery of Patriot missiles to Lithuania for two weeks in July.
DULUTH, Minn. (AP)  State transportation officials have notified members of the Fond du Lac Band that more human remains have been found at a highway construction site in Duluth.

Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Charles Zelle has apologized to members of the Fond du Lac for disturbing a Native American burial site. MnDOT stopped the Highway 23 project as soon as the Fond du Lac Band notified them about the burial site. The first remains were found last week with additional bones found this week.

MnDOT has hired an archaeology firm to do further site analysis. Fond du Lac conservation officers will provide security at the site to make sure nothing more is disturbed.
The owner of a now-defunct mining company in Afghanistan has been indicted on charges of defrauding the U.S. government and defaulting on a loan of nearly $16 million.

U.S. prosecutors said on June 16 that Azam Doost, 39, was arrested on June 13 at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

An indictment charges Doost, who is also known as Adam Doost, Muhammad Azam Doost and Muhammad Azim, with wire fraud, false statements on loan applications and money laundering.

Doost owned Equity Capital Mining LLC, a marble mining company in Afghanistan. He and others got a $15.8 million loan from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, according to the indictment.

The loan was for the development, maintenance and operation of a marble mine in western Afghanistan.

Doost and others transferred money from the loan to personal accounts, then claimed not to have enough money to make payments, prosecutors said. Eventually, Doost and others defaulted on the loan.

The criminal case against Doost was announced by the U.S. Justice Department in conjunction with the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which has documented billions of dollars of fraud and waste in U.S. contracts in Afghanistan.

This report includes information from AP.
Venezuelas Supreme Court has rejected a request from the countrys attorney general to put on trial several senior judges accused of favoring socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

The court dismissed the proposal Friday as unfounded. It said Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz did not identify any alleged misconduct of the judges.

Diaz has accused the judges of breaching the constitution.

The legal challenge was the latest in a series of court challenges made by Diaz.

Earlier in the month, she filed a legal challenge to President Maduros call to convene a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. Diaz said the plan is unconstitutional and illegal because it is the sovereign people who have the power to demand a revision.

The Supreme Court rejected the challenge Monday.

The electoral chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice declares that the (challenge) filed by Luisa Ortega Diaz is inadmissible because it is an inept accumulation of pretensions, the court said via Twitter.

Diaz is a former ally of Maduro who has turned against him and the ruling Socialist Party.

The prosecutor, close to the late socialist President Hugo Chavez throughout his administration, said she considers Chavismo as a philosophy of life and that his legacy is being destroyed.

Diaz said Monday her family has been threatened and followed by intelligence agents since she split with the government.

More than two months of almost-daily street protests in Venezuela, primarily against the socialist government, have led to dozens of deaths. The president has grown increasingly unpopular as the country suffers crippling shortages of basic goods, including food and medicine.
The Trump administration has officially ended an Obama-era effort to give the undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents temporary reprieve from deportation and allow them to work legally.

A Texas court blocked the 2014 program known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) before it went into effect, so the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys announcement late Thursday does not end any protections in place.

The agency said Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly signed a memorandum rescinding DAPA because there is no credible path forward to litigate" the policy.

But in a move that briefly sowed confusion, the administration simultaneously said it would continue a similar program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), begun in 2012. The program has granted work permits and temporary reprieve from deportation to hundreds of thousands of young adults who came to the country as children without authorization.

Vow to end DACA

As a candidate, Donald Trump vowed to end DACA on his first day in office; later statements took a less dramatic tone. Four months into his tenure, a statement reinforcing that the program remains in place was immediately viewed as reassuring by some analysts, immigrant activists and DACA recipients.

However, on Friday, White House and Homeland Security officials told The New York Times that the parts of the news releases that referred to DACA were only meant to clarify that the program was still in place, not that the administration had made a resolute decision.

There has been no final determination made about the DACA program, which the president has stressed needs to be handled with compassion and with heart, said Jonathan Hoffman, the assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS.

A senior White House official said the DAPA decision was to meet a court deadline, and not intended to affect DACA. The official did not know whether the White House was still reviewing DACA but said, "Quite frankly, immigration is something that needs to be resolved by Congress."

Both DACA and DAPA were created at the executive branch level, and are not enshrined in legislation, which made them easier to issue but just as easy  at a technical level  to rescind. Neither policy provided a path to citizenship.

An injunction by a Texas judge in 2015 blocked implementation of DAPA, which would have been open to about 3.6 million people, while the lawsuit was ongoing. The case made it to the Supreme Court, which deadlocked in a 4-4 decision in 2016, leaving in place the lower-court ruling that blocked DAPA.

Hispanic caucus

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which hours before the DHS announcement Thursday had requested clarification from the agency on DACA-related policy, on Friday accused the administration of sowing "fear and anxiety" in immigrant communities with its policies.

Their announcement to keep DACA, while revoking DAPA and deporting family members, is deceitful and is another effort to keep immigrant families feeling uncomfortable about their place in America," CHC's chairwoman. U.S. Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham, a New Mexico Democrat, said in an emailed statement.

The Trump administration has, since January, rolled back many of the previous administration's immigration-related policies.

Though the policy to protect undocumented immigrants who arrived as children had supporters in both political parties, that approval did not extend to DAPA.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Friday called it a "deeply irresponsible policy from the start" and a "blatant attempt by the president to circumvent Congress."

"I'm glad to see Secretary Kelly take it off the books," Cotton added.

A crackdown on illegal immigration was a pillar of Trump's presidential campaign. Notably, executive orders issued in January made more undocumented immigrants susceptible to deportation and demanded the hiring of 15,000 border and immigration enforcement agents.

I think we need to fight like hell to keep DACA around, said Philip Wolgin, who heads the the immigration division at the Center for American Progress, a progressive research and advocacy organization.

Nearly 800,000 young, undocumented immigrants are covered by the program, and there is importance in lifting that up, making sure we protect it and continuing to fight, he said.

I wouldnt say this is the end of the road in any way," Wolgin added.
U.S. officials are highly skeptical about reports that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been killed in an airstrike last month.

Russia's army said Friday that one of its airstrikes in Syria in late May targeting IS commanders might have killed the terror group's leader, but a senior Trump administration official said the U.S. wasn't convinced al-Baghdadi was dead.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, the official said there were "a number of infirmities" in the story that left them nervous.

"We've seen a number of, and a pattern of, claims from Syria, Russia and others who have various different motives and intentions, making such claims wrongly or quickly and inaccurately," the official said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the strike near the Islamic State's de facto capital of Raqqa hit a meeting that al-Baghdadi attended.

Russia claimed the strike destroyed high-ranking commanders, about 30 field commanders and as many as 300 militants serving as personal guards.

The Trump administration official said it was unlikely that many IS members would gather in one place, especially such high-ranking members, and that a loss that big would surely have been noticed by now.

"That's the type of magnitude that we would think we would have already seen reflections of, and at least to my knowledge, we weren't aware of it," he said.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the IS leaders were discussing their planned exit through the so-called southern corridor at the meeting.

A spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department, Navy Captain Jeff Davis, said the military had "no information to corroborate" the Russian reports.

VOA national security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
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The political divide between rural and urban America is more cultural than it is economic, rooted in rural residents deep misgivings about the nations rapidly changing demographics, their sense that Christianity is under siege and their perception that the federal government caters most to the needs of people in big cities, according to a wide-ranging poll that examines cultural attitudes across the United States.

The Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey of nearly 1,700 Americans  including more than 1,000 adults living in rural areas and small towns  finds deep-seated kinship in rural America, coupled with a stark sense of estrangement from people who live in urban areas. Nearly 7 in 10 rural residents say their values differ from those of people who live in big cities, including about 4 in 10 who say their values are very different.

That divide is felt more extensively in rural America than in cities: About half of urban residents say their values differ from rural people, with less than 20 percent of urbanites saying rural values are very different.

video

Alongside a strong rural social identity, the survey shows that disagreements between rural and urban America ultimately center on fairness: Who wins and loses in the new American economy, who deserves the most help in society and whether the federal government shows preferential treatment to certain types of people. President Trumps contentious, anti-immigrant rhetoric, for example, touched on many of the frustrations felt most acutely by rural Americans.

The Post-Kaiser survey focused on rural and small-town areas that are home to nearly one-quarter of the U.S. population. These range from counties that fall outside metropolitan areas such as Brunswick, Va. (population 16,243) to counties near population centers with up to 250,000 residents such as Augusta, Va. (population 74,997), close to Charlottesville and the University of Virginia. Urban residents live in counties that are part of major cities with populations of at least 1 million, while suburban counties include all those in between.

The results highlight the growing political divisions between rural and urban Americans. While urban counties favored Hillary Clinton by 32 percentage points in the 2016 election, rural and small-town voters backed Trump by a 26-point margin, significantly wider than GOP nominee Mitt Romneys 16 points four years earlier.

But popular explanations of the rural-urban divide appear to overstate the influence of declining economic outcomes in driving rural Americas support for Trump. The survey responses, along with follow-up interviews and focus groups in rural Ohio, bring into view a portrait of a split that is tied more to social identity than to economic experience.

Being from a rural area, everyone looks out for each other, said Ryan Lawson, who grew up in northern Wisconsin. People, in my experience, in cities are not as compassionate toward their neighbor as people in rural parts.

Economies different, struggles alike

In the poll, rural Americans express widespread concerns about the lack of jobs in their communities. Two-thirds of rural residents rate local job opportunities as fair or poor, compared with about half of urban residents. Nearly 6 in 10 rural residents say they would encourage young people in their community to leave for more opportunity elsewhere.

Rural areas have experienced a weak recovery from the Great Recession, with the total number of jobs down 128,000 from pre-recession levels. Suburban and urban counties have each gained about 3 million jobs, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The rural unemployment rate is only slightly higher than in cities, 5.3 percent vs. 4.8 percent. But rural areas have been affected by a shrinking workforce as people have left towns or stopped looking for work, while the workforce has grown in suburbs and cities.

Still, when asked about their personal situations, rural residents described financial experiences that largely mirror those of urban respondents. The share of people who report experiencing severe economic hardship is roughly equal in urban and rural America: About 1 in 5 say there was a time in the past year when they couldnt pay their bills. Similarly, about 1 in 5 in both areas say they rely on the federal government at least a fair amount to get by.

The poverty rate is similar in both areas, 16 percent in cities and 17 percent in rural areas, according to analysis of Census Bureau data.

There are signs everywhere saying now hiring, now hiring,  said Crystal Schafer, of Linesville, Pa., who voted for Trump, when asked how her local economy is doing. Granted, it might pay $8.59 an hour, but the jobs are there.

Rural Americans express far more concern about jobs in their communities, but the poll finds that those concerns have little connection to support for Trump, a frequent theory to explain his rise in 2016. Economic troubles also show little relation to the feeling that urban residents have different values.

Rural voters who lament their communitys job prospects report supporting Trump by 14 percentage points more than Clinton, but Trumps support was about twice that margin  30 points  among voters who say their communitys job opportunities are excellent or good. Trump also earned about the same level of support from those who say they dont worry about paying their bills as those who couldnt pay their bills at some point in the past year.

Most rural residents say they think key elements of Trumps economic agenda would help their local economy. Large majorities of rural residents say infrastructure investments, better trade deals, a crackdown on undocumented immigrant workers, lower business taxes and deregulation are very or somewhat important to boosting jobs in their communities.

I have a hopeful optimism that hell be successful in bringing back that strong American foundation, and part of that is a strong economy. And when you have a strong economy, that produces jobs and then more jobs in a never-ending circle, said Matthew Wendt, a corrections officer and retired Marine from Ashtabula, Ohio.

Distrust and estrangement

The largest fissures between Americans living in large cities and those in less-dense areas are rooted in misgivings about the countrys changing demographics and resentment about perceived biases in federal assistance, according to the poll.

Rural residents are nearly three times as likely (42 percent) as people in cities (16 percent) to say that immigrants are a burden on the country.

Theyre not paying taxes like Americans are. Theyre getting stuff handed to them, said Larry E. Redding, a retired canning factory employee in Arendtsville, Pa. Free rent, and theyre driving better vehicles than Im driving and everything else.

The poll reveals that perceptions about abuse of government benefits often go hand in hand with views about race.

When asked which is more common  that government help tends to go to irresponsible people who do not deserve it or that it doesnt reach people in need  rural Americans are more likely than others to say they think people are abusing the system. And across all areas, those who believe irresponsible people get undeserved government benefits are more likely than others to think that racial minorities receive unfair privileges.

In response to this poll question  Which of these do you think is the bigger problem in this country: blacks and Hispanics losing out because of preferences for whites, or whites losing out because of preferences for blacks and Hispanics?  rural whites are 14 points less likely than urban whites to say they are more concerned about blacks and Hispanics losing out.

Rural Americans also are broadly skeptical that the federal government is fair or effective at improving peoples economic situations. More than 60 percent say federal efforts to improve living standards either make things worse or have little impact. And those views appear to feed the rural-urban divide: A 56 percent majority of rural residents says the federal government does more to help people living in and around large cities, while 37 percent feel they treat both urban and rural areas equally.

The culture and the type of people you see, theyre different in big cities, said Bethany Hanna, a homemaker in Saint Albans, W.Va., who said she visits urban areas on missions with her church. It tends to be the type of people who are getting more assistance. . . . And the way you hear people talking, the viewpoints that they have on certain matters, it leans toward a pretty liberal opinion. Some of its an entitlement thing. They say thats not fair, or I deserve this, that kind of thing.

That sense of division is closely connected to the belief among rural Americans that Christian values are under siege. Nearly 6 in 10 people in rural areas say Christian values are under attack, compared with just over half of suburbanites and fewer than half of urbanites. When personal politics is taken into account, the divide among rural residents is even larger: 78 percent of rural Republicans say Christian values are under attack, while 45 percent of rural Democrats do.

Divisions withinrural America

Still, the poll results show that rural America is far from a monolith. Views about immigrants, for example, are more closely tied to respondents party affiliations than to where they lived.

Joseph Cloward, 27, a high school teacher in the border town of Roma, Tex., said he voted for Clinton because he was really inspired by her message of goodness and trying to help people who really need it. He said hes sad about the way immigrants are treated.

I feel like many of the people who are most upset dont actually know any immigrants personally. Theyre just talking about them based on what their idea is, he said. I wish I could just bring people here and have them meet good people who are coming across looking for a better life, escaping violence.

Rural Americans overall have mixed views on whether Trump respects them, with 50 percent saying he does and 48 percent saying he doesnt, a finding that goes against a common theory that Trump won by providing a relatable alternative to political elites. And while 54 percent of rural Americans approve of Trumps job performance, 40 percent disapprove. Equal shares of rural Americans  30 percent  strongly disapprove and strongly approve.

There also are significant divisions in small-town America between whites and minorities. One in 5 rural Americans are nonwhite, according to census data. In short, the sense of shared identity that connects many rural Americans  which factors into rural Americas sense of fairness and estrangement  is less intense among rural minorities than among rural whites. While 78 percent of white rural residents say other rural residents share their values, that falls to 64 percent among Hispanics and to 55 percent of black residents.

Still, the vast majority of rural Americans judge their communities favorably as a place where people look out for each other, which in follow-up interviews was cited a point of pride and distinction they say they cannot find in large urban centers. It aint nothing like living inside a city, said Clyde Hampton, 72, of Vienna, Ga. Ill say this: Rural areas are a place where you can depend on your neighbor next door. And the town is so small everybody knows something; if something happens on this side of town and an hour later its all over the whole town.

Emily Guskin contributed to this report.


Geologist Ernest Bubba Beasley examines a soil pit at Old Westminster Winerys future Burnt Hill vineyard near Clarksburg, Md. (Ashli Johnson)

The hole was six feet deep, and despite the symbolism, I was eager to jump in. This wasnt a final resting place, but a soil pit carved in a hillside in upper Montgomery County that in a few years will become one of Marylands top vineyards. Crouching in the dirt, I could see grass roots reaching deep into the soil, and crumbling rock called phyllite that spoke of centuries of evolution and decay. It was a visual representation of what wine lovers call terroir.

These were data points  among many  the Baker family of Old Westminster Winery will use to configure their Burnt Hill vineyard, in Clarksburg, Md., near Little Bennett Regional Park. And its a family effort: Drew Baker tends the vineyards, sister Lisa Hinton makes the wines, and their younger sister, Ashli Johnson, manages the tasting room, publicity and special events. Over the next year, the Bakers will decide which grape varieties to plant and where to plant them throughout the vineyard, decisions that will affect the quality of the wines they make here for years to come. They wont plant vines until spring 2019, and we wont see wines from Burnt Hill until 2022 or later, but decisions made now will reverberate in our wine glasses for years.

[How does a top-rated winery in Maryland get even better?]

I wrote in January about the Bakers purchase of Burnt Hill Farm and their hopes to produce an iconic, world-class red wine there. I will follow their efforts over the next few years to describe the choices, efforts and risks involved in creating a vineyard. They have enlisted geologists Ernest Bubba Beasley and Katie Bryant, along with viticulturist Lucie Morton to help them develop the Burnt Hill vineyard. Joseph Brinkley, a specialist in biodynamic viticulture, contributed to the initial plans for how to prepare the land.

These are crucial decisions, because there are few do-overs when planting a vineyard, and mistakes are costly.

When I visited Burnt Hill in April, all sorts of modern technology was on display, including electromagnetic imaging, and, of course, everyones favorite toy: drones. Beasley was using them to map Burnt Hill, looking for clues of which slopes, swales and ridges will be best for merlot, cabernet sauvignon or syrah. Wheat, ankle-deep, covered the ground as a temporary nutrient to help prep the soil. Next year, the Bakers intend to plant buckwheat and sell it to chef Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore to use in making a local style of soba noodles.

This fall they will place orders for about 30,000 vines, to be delivered a year later and planted in spring 2019 across 17 acres of their 117-acre farm. Their work now is to decide which grapes to plant where.

The day before I visited, Beasley loaded up his imaging camera on a red plastic sled and towed it back and forth across the vineyard. The camera measured the capacity of the soil to conduct electricity  a characteristic that has no direct impact on wine quality but reveals the nature of the soil.

Electromagnetic mapping and the conductivity of the soil dont necessarily correlate to anything, said Baker. But the images highlight variations in the soil and tell us where to dig pits.

And those pits tell stories. On the north side of Burnt Hill Road, the soil is predominantly clay, and the wheat cover crop is more vigorous, suggesting a more fertile topsoil than on the south side of the road. With its more southerly exposure, this might be a place for white varieties, Baker said. That showed his thinking was changing with each new data input; in January, he told me Burnt Hill was definitely a red-wine site.

Bakers father, Jay, roamed the hillsides in a backhoe, digging the pits at various sites where Beasleys electromagnetic mapping showed soil variations, while Johnson took photographs. Morton, the viticulturist, took notes, as her job in helping decide what grape varieties to plant would come later, influenced by Beasleys work. Mortons dog, Biscotti, a Chihuahua-terrier mix, romped in the wheat as it swayed in the wind.

Beasley scampered into a pit and measured the deepest grass roots at 50 inches below the surface.

I havent seen any root limits, Morton said. Im so happy about this site. When vines can dig their roots deep into the soil, they can withstand the regions rainy climate better. As the old winemakers saying goes, vines dont like wet feet.

Beasley agreed. Its really well drained and aerated, he said. The soil is speaking to me.

Next week: A wine group called Taste Camp soaks in the atmosphere at Maryland wineries.


(Luke Sharrett/For The Washington Post)

The black Suburban pulled into the truck-stop parking lot just as dusk settled on Beckley, W.Va., one June evening. A burly man in sunglasses climbed from behind the wheel and opened the rear door.

Out stepped a slender Honduran teenager with shaggy hair, bright-blue sneakers, a gang past and an uncertain future.

The last time the teen had known freedom was the night 2 1/2 years earlier when he crossed the Rio Grande and turned himself in to the U.S. Border Patrol. Authorities, alarmed by his acknowledged gang history, had held him without a hearing in a Virginia juvenile detention center.

But then a federal judge ruled that his rights had been violated.

So now, a day later, the 17-year-old suddenly found himself hugging the mother who had left him behind in Honduras as a boy and embracing half-siblings he didnt know. He climbed into a waiting car and headed to a home in Kentucky he had never seen.

For immigration advocates, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth K. Dillons June 1 order was a major legal victory over the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the federal agency charged with caring for children apprehended at the border without their parents. The decision could lead to the release of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of long-detained unaccompanied minors, they said.

The teens release was remarkable for another reason: Before coming to the United States, he had sold drugs and witnessed murders as a member of MS-13.

The violent street gang is on the rise in the United States, fueled, in part, by the surge in unaccompanied minors. MS-13 has been linked to dozens of recent killings, from the Washington area to Long Island, Boston and Houston. President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have voiced alarm about MS-13 and the way it has taken advantage of the U.S. immigration system.

[MS-13 gains recruits and power in U.S. as teens surge across the border]

If they come as undocumented minors, the federal government transports them wherever in the interior they say theyd like to go, Sessions said in late April. The bad guys know how this system works, and they have exploited it.

Last month, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sent a letter to the ORR, demanding to know if it had released any unaccompanied minors with admitted gang ties.

This teen may be the first known case, but he is not the only one. In a statement to The Washington Post, the agency said it had released a small number of children with minimal gang affiliation to live with relatives.

Advocates liken these youths to child soldiers, who need help recovering from years of violence and abuse. But critics view them as threats to public safety who should be deported.

When we have credible information that this kid has been involved in criminal activity, is a member of a gang, admits to violent acts in his home country, thats when we should be using the law to the fullest extent possible to avoid problems in the community, said Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies, which has pushed for strict immigration policies.

In an interview, the teen said that he had left his gang days behind in Honduras.

Down there, you have to fight just to stay alive, he said. The Washington Post agreed to withhold his name to protect his safety. Thank God that Im here now and can move forward with my life.

They killed someone

His first brush with gang violence came when he was 4 years old. He was buying ice cream from a street vendor when someone shot the man in the back.

He was serving me a cone when they shot him, the teen recalled. I watched as blood started coming out of his mouth and his neck. I was just a kid, but its still so fresh in my mind.

A year after the killing, his mother moved to the United States, and he was left in the care of relatives who physically abused him, according to court records. When he was 11, a member of a local clique of MS-13 defended him from bullies at school.

He was the first one to tell me I could be in the gang, the teen said, promising material things, money, women. He told me that I could earn respect.

He began spending more and more time with MS-13.

[She thought shed saved her daughter from MS-13 by smuggling her to the U.S. She was wrong.]

It was like the family I couldnt find at home, he said. I thought nobody loved me. But when I found them, I said, This is my family. They love me. 

Older gang members gave him money, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. But soon they demanded he sell drugs, too, including heroin and piedra, or crack.

I began to see things, like them torturing people, the teen said. For rent. Because they belonged to another gang. Because they had screwed up somehow.

One day, the torture turned into murder.

I was in the same room when they killed someone, he said. When I saw that, I said This is not for me. But I had already seen a lot and knew a lot by that point. I couldnt go back.

The teen said he witnessed multiple murders but never participated. His breaking point came in 2014, when the gang turned on his friend who had protected him from bullies.

One of them wanted me to kill him, but I said no, and they started to hit me with their fists, he said. They said if I wouldnt kill [him] then theyd kill me.

Other gang members intervened and spared him, but his friend wasnt so lucky.

I couldnt do anything to stop them from killing him, he said. It was like being trapped in hell.



The teen, now 17, has been reunited with his mother after more than two years in a juvenile detention facility in Virginia. (Luke Sharrett/For The Washington Post)

The teen had stayed in touch with his mother, who had found work cleaning hotel rooms in Kentucky, remarried and given birth to three American children. Her husband offered to pay the teens way to the United States. It was supposed to be a surprise for his mother.

With the help of a coyote, the teen, 14 at the time, traveled north by car and bus through Guatemala and Mexico in late 2014. Unable to swim, he forded the Rio Grande on an inflatable tire.

After turning himself in to authorities, he was photographed, fingerprinted and sent to a government shelter in Chicago.

I thought the maximum I would spend there was two weeks, he said.

A safety risk

The teen had arrived in the United States during an unprecedented wave of more than 150,000 unaccompanied minors, mostly fellow teens fleeing violence and political upheaval in Central America.

When they are caught, they spend an average of 45 days in government custody before they are released to parents or other relatives while their cases wind their way through a backlogged immigration system.

The teen spent 2 months in the Chicago shelter, where he told a social worker about his time in MS-13.

In addition to selling drugs, he described to his caseworker his involvement in other significant and serious criminal activity as part of the gang, although months later he recanted those statements, the judge wrote in her ruling. He has steadfastly maintained since then that he did not engage in the most serious of that conduct.

The teen told The Post that he falsely confessed to participating in his friends murder because I was nervous and felt guilty for not doing anything to help him. I felt responsible.

He was sent in shackles to the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center, a more secure facility in Staunton, Va.

He began to lash out, getting into seven fights, according to the judges ruling.

If somebody disrespected me, Id hit them, he acknowledged. I had learned in the gang that violence was the only path.

His mother had immediately applied to be reunited with her son, and a home visit by a government contractor had found that she and her husband will be positive influences on [the] minor, and that he should be released to their care.

The teen calls his release the happiest moment of my life. (Luke Sharrett/For The Washington Post)

Yet it wasnt until May 2016  17 months after the teen was detained  that the ORR informed his mother that her request for reunification had been denied. Her son poses a safety risk to the community and requires an environment with a high level of supervision and structure that [she is] unable to provide at this time, a letter said.

When she asked the agency to reconsider, it refused. Thats when the teens case came to the attention of Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg and Rebecca Wolozin, attorneys at the Legal Aid Justice Center in Falls Church, Va., who had recently helped secure the release of another 17-year-old with gang ties after three years in ORR custody.

It was such a Kafkaesque situation, Wolozin said of the teens case. There was just no end in sight.

In March, the two attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus in western Virginia District Court, demanding that the ORR release the teen.

On June 1, Dillon delivered a sweeping opinion. By holding the teen for 29 months without a hearing, the agency had violated his rights to due process and family unity, she said.

The ORR said it could not comment on a specific case but had revised policies [to] strengthen safeguards following the ruling. The agency declined to provide statistics on how many children it holds long term, but a spokesman said that it was in the hundreds.

The teen called his release the happiest moment of my life.

He was granted asylum shortly before being reunited with his mother. But he also knows his new life with his family in a two-bedroom trailer is precarious. The risk of being pulled back into MS-13 is real. For the teen, the greater threat is being targeted as a traitor.

Hopefully, he said last week, God will keep that from happening.

(This file has been updated to withhold the teens name to protect his safety.)
The District agency that oversees the well-being of hundreds of children in the citys foster-care system is changing the way it monitors children who live in Maryland, consolidating services offered by seven agencies under a single provider.

About 400 children are wards of the District while living with foster families across the state line. Some live there because relatives have taken them in. Others have special needs that Maryland families are able to accommodate.

But because the Child and Family Services Agency is a District agency with no authority in Maryland, these children  more than 40 percent of D.C. wards in foster care  are monitored by seven private companies that have CFSA contracts.

CFSA Director Brenda Donald said bringing children under a single agency will ensure consistency and quality of care.

We want to make sure children are getting the best of what we have to offer, she said.

The CFSA is not making the change to save money but the agency does expect cost savings, agency spokeswoman Rachel Molly Joseph said in an email. How much is unclear, because the contract still has to be negotiated.

The agency also has placed children with families in Virginia, but they will not be affected by the change.

Donald said the rates the District pays foster families are the highest in the country. A CFSA spokeswoman said rates are high because of the citys cost of living and requirements under LaShawn A. v. Gray, a decades-old class-action lawsuit under which the D.C. foster-care system is monitored by a federal judge.

Private agencies submitted their proposals to the CFSA in May. The new agency will be in place by January, Donald said.

The change does not sit well with the seven contractors that will lose millions of dollars annually after existing contracts are severed.

Tonya Jackson Smallwood, president of Family Matters of Greater Washington, which works with 60 D.C. foster children in Maryland, said her agencys contract with the CFSA is worth $3.2 million annually.

Every provider in this field is very surprised by it, and none of us believe this is in the best interests of the children we serve, she said.

The restructuring will require foster families to be re-licensed by the agency the CFSA chooses. Some providers and advocates fear that some families might not want to go through that process and that foster children would lose their homes as a result.

The changes also will be felt in the District, where the foster parents of 77 children, some with special needs, are under the supervision of the same private agencies that license and oversee children in Maryland.

The CFSA was reaching out to affected foster parents to provide a smooth transition, spokeswoman Mindy Good said in an email.

Aaron C. Davis contributed to this report.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testifies before the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee this month on Capitol Hill. (Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters)

The Education Departments Office for Civil Rights last week closed a long-running discrimination case involving a transgender student and withdrew its earlier findings that the girl had suffered discrimination at school, a move that comes amid the Trump administrations push to scale back civil rights investigations in public schools.

The agency communicated its decision in a letter to lawyers representing the girl, an elementary school student in Sparta, Ohio. The letter provided no reason or legal justification for withdrawing its 2016 conclusion that the girls school wrongly barred her from the girls bathroom and failed to address harassment she endured from classmates and teachers, who repeatedly addressed her with male pronouns and the male name she was given at birth.

Candice Jackson, acting head of the civil rights office, said the department closed the case because the student has filed a legal challenge against the school district, and the matter will be settled in court.

Officials withdrew the findings of discrimination, Jackson said, because those findings were based on guidance that directed schools to allow transgender students access to bathrooms matching their gender identity. The Trump administration rescinded that guidance in February.

Civil rights advocates see the closure of the Ohio case  and especially the unusual withdrawal of the federal investigators legal conclusion  as a troubling sign of retreat from civil rights enforcement.

(Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

This is so dangerous, said Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is representing the Ohio student, identified only as Jane Doe, in a lawsuit against the school district. They have just sent a message to schools that its open season on transgender students.

[Memo lays out Trump administrations approach to transgender student complaints]

The agency also this month closed a different long-running case involving a transgender students complaint about locker room access in Palatine, Ill., according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the student in that case. Issues from that case are also now before the courts, and the student who brought the complaint has graduated.

The ACLUs John Knight said there are other transgender students in Palatine who are struggling to be treated fairly and could benefit from continued federal oversight.

The Education Department cautioned against construing the closure of the cases as a statement about the Trump administrations view of or approach to transgender students rights.

The previously unreported moves came days after the Education Department issued an internal memo describing how to handle transgender students civil rights complaints given the rescission of the guidance on school bathrooms. Education officials said they wanted to emphasize that transgender students may still have valid discrimination complaints despite the rescission of that guidance.

The memo said officials should continue to investigate complaints about bullying and harassment. But it was vague about the polarizing issue of transgender students access to bathrooms, saying that such cases could be dismissed but stopping short of saying that such cases should be dismissed.

Catherine Lhamon, who helmed the Education Departments civil rights office when it reached its conclusion in the Ohio case, said she worries that the case closures show that the memo should be understood as a sign that the Trump administration does not intend to investigate bathroom-access complaints.

Lhamon also said she could think of no legal basis for closing the Ohio case or withdrawing previous findings, which were based on the Obama administrations interpretation of Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination. A federal appellate court recently affirmed that interpretation.

Its renegade law, she said.

Others, who say students must use bathrooms according to their biological sex rather than their gender identity, have welcomed the Trump administrations change of course on complaints involving transgender students. And some of them, too, see the decision to close the Ohio case as an important sign.

Hopefully theyre backing off this agenda of intermingling sexes in locker rooms, bathrooms and other facilities, said Gary McCaleb, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, which argues that allowing transgender students to use bathrooms designated for the opposite biological sex violates the privacy of other students.

The organization is representing the school district in the Ohio dispute and parents in the Illinois case.

[U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to investigate civil rights enforcement under Trump]

As the Education Department charts a new course on transgender students complaints, it is also seeking to scale back enforcement in other areas.

Jackson, the acting head of the civil rights office, has directed lawyers to narrow the scope of investigations into sexual assault and discriminatory school discipline policies, according to a June 8 memo first reported by ProPublica.

Under the Obama administration, the civil rights office sought to determine whether any one students complaint about those issues was symptomatic of a broader problem, in part by examining at least three years of past complaint data.

The Trump administration is discontinuing that practice and will not regularly seek to identify systemic problems, according to the memo.

Elizabeth Hill, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, said the change in approach is meant to confront the agencys infamous complaint backlog and ensure that investigations are resolved more quickly. Justice delayed is justice denied, and justice for many complainants has been denied for too long, she said.

Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, called it an abdication of the Education Departments responsibility to protect the rights and dignity of our nations vulnerable children during the most crucial years of their lives.


The Crest Motel in Bristol, Va., advertises that it is an American-owned establishment. A Post-Kaiser polls shows that rural residents are more likely than people in cities or suburbs to think that immigrants are not adapting to the American way of life. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

An insurance salesman in rural Louisiana worries that immigration will sink the United States further into debt. In the Ohio countryside, a father of five says immigrants lower wages. But in New Orleans, a lifelong urbanite credits immigrants with rebuilding her hurricane-scarred neighborhood.

A Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey of nearly 1,700 Americans  including more than 1,000 in rural areas  reveals that attitudes toward immigrants form one of the widest gulfs between U.S. cities and rural communities.

Hear from rural voters in Ashtabula County, Ohio, as they describe the most important issues to them. (McKenna Ewen,Whitney Leaming,Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)

Rural residents are more likely than people in cities or suburbs to think that immigrants are not adapting to the American way of life. The poll also finds that these views soften in rural areas with significant foreign-born populations.

I think its just people not getting out there and knowing their neighbors, said Adam Lueck, who lives in a rural part of Minnesota and thinks immigrants strengthen America.



A sign at a trailer park in Como, Miss., says no drugs are allowed and that violators will be prosecuted. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

President Trump won the November election with broad support from rural America, and his aggressive stance against illegal immigration resonated strongly there. In the Post-Kaiser poll, rural residents are almost three times as likely as city dwellers to consider immigrants a burden to the United States  42 percent vs. 16 percent.

[New poll of rural Americans shows deep cultural divide with urban centers]

Rural residents are also more likely to say that recent immigrants have different values than their own  50 percent, compared with 39 percent of urban residents.

Trump voters in rural areas are the most critical: 74 percent say recent immigrants are not doing enough to assimilate to life in America vs. 49 percent of rural Americans overall who think that, as well.

One reason for rural Americans concern about immigrants could be their lack of exposure to them. Foreign-born residents make up 2.3 percent of the population in rural counties, compared with nearly 15 percent of urban counties, according to Census Bureau data for 2011-2015.

Rural residents have not had a long experience with immigrants, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. They havent had a chance to get used to it. Maybe their economic situation isnt very good, and they hear politicians saying its all about immigrants coming in and taking jobs.

Immigrants tend to concentrate in cities where jobs are more plentiful, though smaller groups have also gravitated toward rural farming towns with crops and meatpacking plants that depend on migrant labor.



Hay rolls are scattered across freshly cut gras in Abingdon, Va. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

The Post-Kaiser poll finds that in rural areas where less than 2 percent of the population are immigrants, less than 4 in 10 residents say immigrants strengthen the country. But that rises to nearly 6 in 10 in rural areas where at least 5 percent are born outside the United States.

Knowing an immigrant is actually associated with a more positive attitude about immigrants, said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of global migration and demography for the Pew Research Center. Not 100 percent that theyre great. But more of a connection and a feeling that immigrants are not necessarily a problem for the economy.

That is certainly the case for Kathleen Kanost, a 64-year-old disabled woman in New Orleans who grew up in Washington, D.C., and moved to Louisiana in 1978. A former waitress, she said she frequently worked alongside immigrants from the Middle East and Latin America.

Theyre hard-working people, the ones Ive known all my life, she said. They seem to stick together and help each other out.

David Woods, a 36-year-old father of five, has a different view. Raised on his family farm near Lake Erie in Ohio, he loved the predawn quiet, the fresh air and the landscape of green clover. He hoped to continue to work on farms after his family sold theirs.

But soon he felt pushed out. Nobody at the dairy farm where he had a job spoke English. he said. And the immigrant workers were more willing to work for low pay.

In 2005, Woods left for a masonry company. He now earns double what he made on the farm, pouring concrete sidewalks, driveways and stairs. He said hes frustrated by his belief that immigrants who are in this country illegally do not pay their fair share of taxes. Federal data shows that millions of undocumented immigrants file tax returns each year.

A lot of people, when I start on my rants about it, they say Im racist. Im not racist, Woods said. I feel like if youre going to live in the United States like the rest of the U.S., youre going to have to pay taxes like the rest of us.



Cars are parked outside shops in the downtown area of Wetumpka, Ala. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

A National Academy of Sciences report released last September found that immigration overall had a positive impact on economic growth in the United States. But the effect was uneven: Americans and prior immigrants who did not finish high school had lower wages because of competition for jobs.

That study also found that first-generation immigrants contributed less in taxes per capita, because in general they were less educated and earned lower wages. But that trend reversed for immigrants children, who had higher educational achievement, better salaries and, as a result, paid more in taxes than other native-born Americans.

The United States is home to more than 41 million immigrants. An estimated 11 million are here illegally.

Rural residents are more worried than their urban counterparts about job shortages in their communities. And most, 63 percent, say cracking down on immigrants working illegally is important in addressing that issue.

If you do it right, I dont have problem with it, William Cooper, 64, who runs an insurance agency in rural Richland Parish, La., said of immigration. But if you dont do it right, you can hit the road.

Cooper said the United States is drowning in debt and should only welcome immigrants the nation can afford. Cant everybody in the world live in America, he said. Were putting ourselves into the poorhouse.

But Lueck, a 32-year-old truck driver and gun enthusiast from Blue Earth County in Minnesota, disagreed  even as he acknowledged that his views make him an anomaly in his community. He said Mexican immigrants and others are adjusting just fine, as have generations of immigrants before them.

I dont think our cultural fabric should be laid down in a tradition that needs to be enforced, Lueck said. We light off fireworks on the Fourth of July, and thats for everybody.

He said he has met immigrants from all over the world, including Mexico, Sudan and Somalia, and none felt entitled to U.S. government benefits or freebies. Rather than deporting immigrants, Lueck said, he would like the government to focus on requiring businesses to hire workers who are here legally.

They want to work for everything they get, too, he said. Thats what they came here for.



A parking lot carnival is nestled in the hills of Bluff City,Tenn., at dusk. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

This Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll was conducted April 13-May 1 with a random national sample of 1,686 U.S. adults contacted on landline and cellphones with an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The sample of 1,070 rural Americans has an error margin of plus or minus 3.5 points; the error margin is 7 points among the samples of 303 urban residents and 6.5 points among 307 suburban residents.

Scott Clement contributed to this report.
THE DISTRICT

Man killed in car crash

A man was killed in a crash early Friday in Northeast Washington when, D.C. police said, the car he was driving slammed into a telephone pole on Benning Road.

Deandre Hamlin, 27, of Southeast Washington was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash around 2:30 a.m.

Police said Hamlin was driving a black Mercury Grand Marquis westbound in the 2800 block of Benning Road NE approaching Anacostia Avenue, just over the Anacostia River. Police said he was speeding and lost control, and his car jumped a curb and hit the pole.

The crash remains under investigation.

 Peter Hermann

Overweight cat finds new home

The Humane Rescue Alliance in the District has found a home for a very overweight cat.

The rescue group had posted pictures on social media about the 35 pound cat named Symba, and his need for a new home. The cat had come to the facility last week after its owner moved to an assisted living center and couldnt bring the cat with him.

Staffers described the 6-year-old Symba as a handsome fellow with a sweet face and mellow disposition. But they also noted that he was about 15 pounds overweight and at an increased risk of health complications.

In a tweet Friday evening, the rescue group reported that Symba had been adopted.

We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for Symba, the tweet said. Were even more thrilled this sweet kitty found a loving, new home today!

Symbas new family was not immediately available for comment.

 Dana Hedgpeth

MARYLAND

Officers leave canceled during Pride festivities

Police are canceling scheduled leave for officers in Baltimore this Saturday to meet the demands of an anti-violence strategy while protecting Pride festivities.

Media outlets report that police spokesman T.J. Smith said Thursday that top commanders want a particularly strong presence this year after last years attack at a Florida gay nightclub and protests at last weekends Pride parade in Washington.

June is National LGBT Pride Month, and Baltimore celebrates pride weekend with a parade Saturday and a festival Sunday at Druid Hill Park.

Earlier this week, Commissioner Kevin Davis announced that patrol officers and detectives would work 12-hour shifts, instead of the standard 10-hour shifts, after six homicides in 24 hours.

 Associated Press

VIRGINIA

Charges dropped in sex assault case

Prosecutors have dropped the case against a former University of Virginia student accused of sexual assaulting a young woman.

News outlets report that the forcible sodomy charge against 25-year-old Adam Eric Ott that stemmed from an April 2015 incident was dropped Thursday. Prosecutor Areshini Pather says the woman did not wish to move forward with the case, after two years of delays that culminated in a mistrial in March when the 12-person jury was unable to reach a verdict. The jury had been split eight to four in favor of acquittal.

Defense attorney Andre Hakes expressed relief at the decision to drop the charge. Hakes said Ott had finished his education at the University of Virginia, but never received his degree.

 Associated Press
Arlington police are seeking the publics help in locating a man accused of fatally shooting a District man Friday night in the Nauck neighborhood.

Adonis Wright, 35, died at George Washington University Hospital after police said he was shot during a dispute at about 11:20 p.m. Friday with Daejon Tyrie Jones, 23, of Woodbridge. The argument occurred in the 2400 block of South Lowell Street, a residential area, before Jones shot Wright, then fled the scene, police said.

Jones is considered armed and dangerous, police said, and asked the public to contact the Arlington police with any information on his whereabouts. Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said this is the third homicide in Arlington this year.
A pedestrian was struck and critically injured Friday night on railroad tracks in Northern Virginia, authorities said.

The incident occurred just south of the Woodbridge station in Prince William County, an Amtrak spokeswoman said.

The pedestrian was hit at 7:20 p.m. by a northbound passenger train, said Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham.

Virginia Railway Express said late Friday that one of its Fredericksburg Line trains, No. 315, had been delayed for two and a half hours after the pedestrian was struck. VRE said buses were being sent to the Lorton, Va., station to take passengers to their destinations.

No official information on the precise condiction of the pedestrian was immediately available.


Tyus Nedd, pastor at the International Christian Center, holds hands with his wife, Patricia Nedd, as they say grace before their Sunday dinner at their home in Columbus, Ohio. (Ty Wright/The Washington Post)

One by one, the Weiss family rounded up the nine grandchildren, who had been running circles around the barns. They gathered under a towering maple tree, around a table laden with barbecue meatballs and French silk pie, and grabbed one anothers hands.

We ask your blessing on the meal were about to eat, said David Weiss, 75, head bowed under his camouflage hat.

Amen, his family responded  a quintessential display of one of Americas most enduring religious traditions.

A new poll by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that saying grace is a widespread practice in the United States. About half of all Americans take a minute to say a prayer over their food at least a few times a week, the poll reveals, making grace an unusual commonality in a politically divided nation.

Rural and urban Americans are equally likely to say grace, the poll shows. Northerners and Southerners, Catholics and Protestants, Democrats and Republicans, all say grace to varying degrees. Even some Americans who reject organized religion still say grace.



The Sell family says a prayer before dinner at their home in Omro, Wis. (Lauren Justice/For The Washington Post)

[New poll of rural Americans shows deep cultural divide with urban centers]

Its a powerful way of reminding yourself that you are not self-sufficient, that you are living by somebodys grace, that plenty of other people who work just as hard as you dont have anything to eat, said Tim Keller, a prominent New York City pastor who wrote a book on prayer.

Keller said the physical act of bowing heads, closing eyes and folding hands is an important exercise in gratitude for people of many faiths, from childhood on up.

Thats true for the Weiss family, evangelical Protestants who gathered on their 77-acre farm in Wisconsin. Silvie Weiss, 11, called grace a peaceful moment to get away from the world. Her aunt Becky Sell, 36, said that it offers me a chance to fix a point in my day where I am intentional about honoring and acknowledging what God has done for us.

(McKenna Ewen,Whitney Leaming,Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)

In the Post-Kaiser poll, which was conducted April 13 to May 1 among a random sample of 1,686 American adults, 48 percent say they give blessings to God or say grace before meals at least a few times each week. Slim 51 percent majorities say grace in both rural and urban America; in the suburbs, 45 percent say grace regularly.

Theres a larger partisan split: 62 percent of Republicans say grace at least a few times a week, compared with 43 percent of Democrats and 41 percent of independents.

Theres a religious split, as well: Six in 10 Protestants say grace a few times a week or more, as do 52 percent of Catholics. But the practice is far more prevalent among black Protestants (80 percent) and white evangelical Protestants (74 percent) than among white mainline or nonevangelical Protestants, 31 percent of whom report saying grace frequently before meals.

Overall, about 8 in 10 blacks, about 6 in 10 Hispanics and about 4 in 10 whites say grace at least a few times each week.



Terri Smith, left, an evangelist at Genesis of Good Samaritans Ministries, holds hands with her husband, Pastor Leroy Smith, and her granddaughter Yolanda Johnson, 8, as they say grace before eating lunch in Groveport, Ohio. (Ty Wright/The Washington Post)

The tradition of mealtime grace is firmly established in the black church. For Lynn Thompson, 64, grace connects her to God even when shes not well enough to make it to her Arkansas Baptist church. She and her husband take turns leading the prayer.

I say, Lord, I thank You for one more day, for waking me up this morning, for giving me the health that I have, whatever it may be,  Thompson said.

Even 11 percent of people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or adherents of no particular religion say grace at least a few times a week.

Take Greg Epstein, a humanist chaplain at Harvard University, who asks someone to say a blessing when he hosts nonreligious students for dinner. Some bristle, he said, but Epstein believes in the act of gratitude.

Why do we have to give up the good parts of being religious  including the mindfulness, the reflection that comes from a ritual like grace  just because we dont believe in the traditional wording of the poem that people recite when they sit down to a meal? Epstein said. Can we come up with new words that reflect our contemporary needs and values?

Stuart H., 32, of Las Cruces, N.M., is a nonbeliever who incorporates prayer into his life. He grew up Catholic but later came to consider himself an atheist. His fiancee followed a similar religious trajectory, and as young adults they both became addicted to heroin.

When they learned she was pregnant, they committed to getting clean, said Stuart, who told his story on the condition that his full name not be used to avoid revealing the couples drug use to his daughter, now 2. The couple began meditating and decided to start saying grace again. But what to say, when they dont believe in God?

Stuart found an answer when he went to work on a medical marijuana farm in California. There he met a Native American man who taught him to give thanks to the spirits for his food.

Now Stuart and his fiancee pray with their daughter to the spirits of the earth for fruits and vegetables, and to the spirits of the four-legged ones for beef. One recent day, with chicken on the table, Stuart thanked  the winged ones for providing one of those that we may feed our bodies.

Whether or not I really have a firm belief in something, I believe its always best to give gratitude for the things that are given to you in life, Stuart said. Adopting this mind-set and these practices has allowed me to get past a lot.

Three hundred miles away in Portales, N.M., Carl Smith, 31, was raised in a mainline Protestant church but no longer has a congregation. Ive kind of stopped going to church, he said. I dont like organized hypocrisy.

But the practice of saying grace has stuck with him, he said, calling prayers before food a habit thing.

Smith, who answers emergency calls for 911, often prays for the desperate people on the other end of the line. Theres some rough stuff here on the phone sometimes, he said. So he engages with God, like a conversation with a friend.

I say, Hey, God, this is whats going on. If you could get some help in this direction, or help me understand why this is going on, Id greatly appreciate it. 

For those who dont like to improvise grace, numerous denominations offer specific formulas. The Lutheran table prayer is popular: Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed.

Reciting a prayer before meals is also traditional in other religions, including Islam, Hinduism and Bahai.



Helen Shrecongost extinguishes the candles after the Sunday service held at a church in South Bend Township, Pa. A Post-Kaiser polls finds that 51 percent majorities say grace in both rural and urban America; in the suburbs 45 percent say grace regularly. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

For Aaron Gold, an Orthodox Jew living on Long Island, the blessing before meals is just one of many prayers he says each day. Before you eat something, you have to say a blessing, he said, whether its one glass of water or a whole big feast.

His children, 3 and 5, have mastered the Hebrew prayer before meals, which means, Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brought forth bread from the Earth. Now hes teaching them to sing the longer prayer that comes after the meal.

The act of teaching his children makes you concentrate more on it, and you think about it more, Gold said. You grow closer to your kids through it. Its a bonding experience.

Clergy and theologians say the association between food and prayer exists in nearly every religious culture. It feels like a human luxury to pause before eating, said Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest and popular author.

Christian author Anne Lamott said she added grace to her spiritual practice after a long struggle with the eating disorder bulimia. Grace adds something that is beautiful and very sweet and healing, she said.



Elly Sell, 10, sets the table for dinner in Omro, Wis. (Lauren Justice/For The Washington Post)

Many people say they started saying grace once they had children, as a way of teaching them to pray. While 40 percent of Americans younger than 35 say grace, at least half of all older age groups say grace regularly.

When it comes to income, 51 percent of those in households making $50,000 or less annually say grace at least a few times a week, compared with 44 percent of those making more than $50,000. (The margin of sampling error for the overall results in the Post-Kaiser poll is plus or minus four percentage points.)

Anne-Marie Dole, 56, has been saying the same Catholic grace since she was a child, every time she eats a meal. When she recites the prayer for a stranger, she chokes up at its power.

Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts  I cant do it, she said, breaking down in tears. Im just saying thank you to God to have food at all. You know, its a horrible thing to go hungry.

Once a professional horse breeder and trainer, Dole was left permanently disabled after a car crash. She needs more surgeries and a new wheelchair, and she just broke up with another boyfriend who hit her, she said. Going hungry is a familiar pain.

Sitting in her faulty wheelchair in Cortland, N.Y., shes down to 99 pounds. But she has dinner waiting, one she picked up at church that morning.

Its a wonderful feeling to be grateful and thankful, she said.

And so before she eats, Dole will say grace.



Tyus Nedd, and his wife, Patricia, say grace before dinner in Columbus, Ohio. (Ty Wright/The Washington Post)

Zauzmer and Guskin reported from Washington. Scott Clement in Washington contributed to this report.
THE REGION Agreed: Metro needs dedicated funding, but how to raise it? Washington-area governments endorsed the goal of dedicated funding for Metro but could not agree on key questions, including how much it needs or how to raise it. The board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) agreed on a statement of principles to guide the region as it wrestles with what Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld says is the increasingly urgent need to rescue the transit systems finances. But disputes led the board to balk at endorsing specific recommendations from a COG technical panel in April that called for a uniform 1 percent regional sales tax to raise $650 million a year for capital and maintenance costs. The resolution called dedicated funding, a bondable funding stream to enhance Metros long-term borrowing abilities, the optimal way to fulfill capital needs. It also embraced elements of Wiedefelds proposal  among them, capping at 3 percent the annual increase in subsidies from jurisdictions funding Metro and retooling the agency without rewriting its governing compact. Loudoun County Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles), COGs vice chairman, fought successfully to include language in the resolution that would leave the door open for reopening the compact.  Faiz Siddiqui

MARYLAND

Judge scolds Maryland for spending millions on Purple Line amid legal uncertainty

A federal judge signaled that he wont allow construction on Marylands Purple Line to begin while a lawsuit seeking to block the project is pending, saying any costs the state might incur for further delays would be self-inflicted.

At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon castigated Maryland officials for signing a $5.6 billion contract for the project in April 2016, before he had decided the case, and without a financial escape clause in case the state lost the lawsuit.

Maryland officials have said legal delays are costing the state more than $13 million a month and could leave taxpayers with $800 million in costs and contract fees if the project is eventually canceled.

Leon showed more disbelief than sympathy.

State officials took the risk to the state of Maryland and the taxpayers of Maryland without an escape clause if the litigation didnt go the way it thought, Leon told Albert Ferlo, an attorney for Perkins Coie, who represented the Maryland Transit Administration. Why should the court . . . bail you out of a gamble that you took?

Katherine Shaver


An oak tree that is more than 1,000 years old sits in Norbert LeBlancs back yard in St. Martin Parish, La. (Annie Flanagan /For The Washington Post)

Espinola Quinn views her quaint Louisiana town with a mix of love and loathing. Its the place her parents  a bar owner and a soybean farmer  raised her; the place where nearly every face is familiar; the spot where she and her husband built their own sprawling house on the edge of the bayou and raised their three girls.

But St. Martinville is also disturbingly segregated: The town still holds separate white and black proms. And Quinn, who is black, hopes her daughters will make their own lives somewhere else.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act has not come here yet, said Quinn, who opted to bus her older daughters out of the parish for school and is now home-schooling her youngest, a 15-year-old.

The community is still physically separated, and that, she said, has an effect on your thinking.



Espinola Quinn sits at her home in St. Martinville, La., where she and her husband built their own sprawling house on the edge of the bayou and raised their three girls. (Annie Flanagan /For The Washington Post)

A new nationwide Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted this spring finds that although rural Americans are more likely to see their communities as neighborly, safer and having better public schools than people in large cities, those opinions come with wide racial disparities.

Black rural Americans  most of whom live in the South  are far less likely than their white neighbors to feel positively about their communities, the poll finds. Sixty percent of blacks say their area is an excellent or good place to raise children, compared with 80 percent of whites. Rural blacks are 25 percentage points less likely than rural whites to give their community positive marks on safety and are 29 points less likely to say their area is a place where people look out for one another. Rural Hispanics tend to fall in between whites and blacks in rating their communities.



The Arrival of the Acadians in Louisiana by Robert Dafford is displayed in St. Martinville. The mural depicts the Acadian refugees who arrived in Louisiana beginning in the 1760s. (Annie Flanagan /For The Washington Post)

Past surveys have found sharp racial divisions among urban and suburban residents on similar questions, but the Post-Kaiser poll of about 1,700 adults provides a rare look at views of African Americans and Hispanics in rural communities where they account for less than 2 in 10 residents.

[New poll of rural Americans shows deep cultural divide with urban centers]

A few blocks north of Quinns neighborhood off Main Street, the town seems to cut in half, transitioning from predominantly black to predominantly white.

There, Logan Verret and his friends said most of the people they know in St. Martinville send their children to private school, vote Republican and work hard. Thousands of Louisianans have lost their jobs over the past few years of falling oil prices, but while times are tough, St. Martinville still has a very strong middle-class society, said Verret, 23.

But Verret and his buddies, who were having lunch at the towns Kajun King restaurant on a recent afternoon, acknowledged that not everyone in St. Martinville shares their views and experience.

Walk out the doors of the Cajun eatery, and theres a newly renovated church across the street, its walls a clean yellow and buttercream and its lawn neatly trimmed. City Hall, the police department and the white-pillared courthouse are nearby, and the sidewalks recently received a $1 million repair.



St. Martin De. Tours, the white church on the north end of St. Martinville. (Annie Flanagan /For The Washington Post)

Notre Dame Catholic Church, the black church on the south end of St. Martinville. (Annie Flanagan /For The Washington Post)

When you pass the courthouse, it seems sloppier, Verret said, referring to the predominantly black side of town.

The segregation creates vastly different experiences for white and black residents in this town of 6,100, even amid shared economic pitfalls, a shared fondness for small-town familiarity, and a shared school system. The poll finds that divide reflected across the rural South.



The view from Espinola Quinns office on the south end of St. Martinville, an old plantation town set amid the sugar cane fields and bayous of southern Louisiana. (Annie Flanagan /For The Washington Post)

Two economies

Economics play a big role in rural Americas racial divide. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 1 in 4 rural black Americans lives in poverty; for whites, its just more than 1 in 10. Small towns and farming communities that residents describe as close-knit can be starkly split.

In order for an African American to get an opportunity, someone has to give them an opportunity, said Yulanda Haddix, 54, who recently moved from Philadelphia back to Starkville, Miss., where she was raised. We dont get jobs based on credentials alone, not in Mississippi.

In St. Martinville, an old plantation town set amid the sugar cane fields and bayous of southern Louisiana, the disparity is palpable.



Sugar cane fields are drenched from rainfall in St. Martinville. The poverty rate among black residents is more than double what it is among whites in St. Martinville. (Annie Flanagan /For The Washington Post)

The town is 63 percent black and about 35 percent white, and more than 1 in 5 households rely on food stamps, according to census data. But the poverty rate among black residents is more than double what it is among whites. And while many of the white residents said in interviews that they view poverty as deriving from an unwillingness to work, many of the black residents said the areas declining economy made them feel as if the deck was irreversibly stacked against them.

Our town used to be lively. There used to be places to work, and now its dying, said Franca Francis, 52, who makes $7 an hour working at a day-care center and runs a carryout restaurant at night. Now you have to have two jobs to make a living.

Its been years since the local Fruit of the Loom factory and two of the nearby sugar mills shut down; the Walmart folded up and left. Only a few of the towns smaller businesses remain, including the rickety trailer where Francis sells hot links po boys.

Nothing will thrive



Annie Flanagan For The Washington Post Daezhion Butler, 16, does 17-year-old Damontae Gardners hair while Raylon Mason, 17, and Jamyrie Benjamin, 13, pass the time on the south end of St. Martinville.

Although its wide French-style balconies and Cajun culture once attracted a stream of tourists, St. Martinville is perhaps best known in history as the place where a black teenager, Willie Francis, survived an attempted execution in the electric chair in 1946. Francis had been convicted by an all-white jury for murdering a white man based on a confession given without a lawyer present. An appeal of his case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where a defense attorney argued that subjecting a prisoner to multiple execution attempts constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The defense lost, and Francis later was executed.

Local legend says that St. Martinville is cursed as the result of its history of racial injustice. In 1891  before the failed execution of Willie Francis  the town saw another failed execution when the noose fashioned for Louis Michel, a black political activist, turned out to be too long. Michel, who had been convicted of two murders but said he was innocent, survived long enough to utter a curse before he was hanged a second time.

Until justice is done, the town will not prosper, he said, according to an account of the story in the Daily Iberian, a newspaper based in nearby New Iberia. Grass will grow in the streets, and nothing will thrive.

The racial power dynamic that his case symbolized lives on, many say.

Ku Klux Klan membership has declined across the country, but it maintains an active recruiting wing in St. Martinville, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a Montgomery-based nonprofit organization that tracks hate groups. And parish schools have been the subject of a decades-long desegregation lawsuit.

The black prom is the one the school hosts, but the whites have their own, Verret said.



Logan Verret, 23, right, stands by a friends sugar cane crop in St. Martinville. Verret and his friends said most of the people they know in St. Martinville send their children to private school, vote Republican and work hard. (Annie Flanagan /For The Washington Post)

The nationwide Post-Kaiser poll finds 66 percent of rural white residents saying their local schools are excellent or good, compared with 50 percent of rural black residents.

Losing out

When it comes to views on race, white rural Americans diverge significantly from the rest of the country. In the Post-Kaiser poll, white rural Americans are one of few demographic groups more likely to say whites losing out due to preferences for blacks and Hispanics is a bigger problem than vice versa, 39 to 30 percent. Among rural whites in the South, 45 percent say whites losing out is the bigger problem.

White Americans attitudes on this question are tightly connected to partisanship. In rural areas, a 55 percent majority of white Democrats say blacks and Hispanics losing out is the bigger problem, compared with 14 percent of white Republicans. The divide is similar among urban and suburban whites: 61 percent of Democrats say racial minorities losing out is a bigger concern, compared with 20 percent of Republicans.

To the public, St. Martinville authorities tout progress on the issue of race. Twelve years ago, the town elected its first black mayor: Thomas Nelson, now 80. But some black residents said Nelson, whose light skin and straight hair make his race visually ambiguous, has helped perpetuate racial divisions in the interest of capturing the white vote.

The most recent source of tension came last year, when St. Martinville officials shut down the towns decades-old annual Mardi Gras parade  a move viewed negatively by many black residents and positively by many whites.

The parade participants were mostly black, as were the out-of-town fans the celebration drew, and it was growing.

Quinn felt Nelsons decision to shut down the parade pandered to white voters: He promised the whites he was going to shut the n----- parade down if they voted for him.

But Nelson said the decision was about safety.

The sheriff couldnt give us enough deputies, he said. He couldnt afford to participate.

This Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll was conducted April 13-May 1 with a random national sample of 1,686 U.S. adults contacted on landline and cellphones with an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The sample of 1,070 rural Americans has an error margin of plus or minus 3.5 points. The error margin is 4.5 points for the sample of 759 rural whites, and 12 points for the sample of 115 rural blacks.

(McKenna Ewen,Whitney Leaming,Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)

Guskin reported from Washington. Scott Clement in Washington contributed to this report.
The stretch of bone-dry, cracked land doesnt look like much. But until recently, it was a spring, according to rancher L.J. Turner of Wright, Wyo. It used to be, there was fish in there, he says. Now its one of 20 nearby springs that have dried up. Standing in front of his truck, Turner mournfully adds, Coal is a wonderful thing, but it comes at a pretty expensive cost.

That scene  and the general message  are from a new documentary, From the Ashes, the first film produced by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and his philanthropy division. It airs on the National Geographic Channel on Sunday, June 25.

The in-depth look at Americas coal industry hops around the country, offering glimpses of the damage being done as coal is mined, burned and transported. Not only is coal the biggest contributor to climate change, wreaking havoc around the globe, it also makes its presence known in more-targeted ways.



A U.S. coal plant emits gases in Montana. The film discusses what is called the war on coal but notes that the fuels actual enemy is cheap natural gas. (Courtesy of RadicalMedia)

Around Wright, for instance, the coal sits in an aquifer. So pulling out the coal also means the water is gone from the springs that were fed by the aquifer. In Dallas, air heavily polluted by coal plants contributes to high rates of asthma among children. In North Carolina, coal-ash waste that was dumped into pits contaminated wells, making that water unsafe to drink.

These stories are told against a political backdrop, with President Trump lifting environmental regulations and opposing the Paris climate agreement. There are voices from both sides of what is called the war on coal, with some arguing that the industrys jobs are needed and the environmental risks overblown. And there are appearances by former miners who show how devastating layoffs and closures are for them and their families.

But the coal industrys actual opponent, several experts explain, is cheap natural gas. And one section of the film shoots down the idea of clean coal, which has been touted as a solution by several past presidents, including Barack Obama.

So if theres no coal comeback on the horizon, what does the future hold? Possibly a lot more wind and solar power. The film takes viewers to another town  Georgetown, Tex.  not because it has sick kids or scarred scenery but because its one of the first cities in the country to run on renewable energy.



North Carolina resident, Deborah Graham, holds up a notice about contaminated drinking water. (Courtesy of RadicalMedia)

A mother cares for her child in a behind the scenes photograph from the documentary, From the Ashes. (National Geographic)

 Vicky Hallett

Read more:

U.S. cities and states want to implement the Paris climate accord goals. Its not that simple.

Climate change is keeping Americans awake at night. Literally.
The 84-year-old man who had suffered a mini-stroke was insistent as he spoke with a social worker about being discharged from the hospital: He didnt want anyone coming into his home, and he didnt think he needed any help.

So the social worker canceled an order for home health-care services. And the patient went back to his apartment without plans in place for follow-up care.

When his daughter, Lisa Winstel, found out what had happened, she was furious. She had spent a lot of time trying to convince her father that a few weeks of help at home was a good idea. And she had asked the social worker to be in touch if there were any problems.

Similar scenarios occur surprisingly often: As many as 28 percent of hospital patients offered home health care when theyre being discharged  mostly older people  say no to those services, according to a new report.

Yet refusing home health care after a hospitalization can put patients at risk of a difficult, incomplete or prolonged recovery. Without these services, older adults odds of being readmitted to the hospital within 30 or 60 days double, according to one study.

Why, then, do seniors resist getting this assistance?

There are a lot of misperceptions about what home health care is, said Carol Levine, director of the United Hospital Funds Families and Health Care Project, a sponsor of the new report.

Under Medicare, home health-care services are available to beneficiaries who are homebound and need intermittent skilled care from such medical providers as a nurse, a physical therapist or a speech therapist.

Typically, these services last four to six weeks, with a nurse visiting several times a week.

Many seniors and caregivers confuse home health care with home care delivered by aides who help people shower or get dressed or who cook, clean and serve as a companion. The two types of services are not the same: Home health care is delivered by medical professionals; home care is not. Nor is home care covered by Medicare, for the most part.

This was the mistake Winstels father made. He thought he was being offered an aide who would come to his apartment every day for several hours. I dont want a babysitter, he complained to Winstel, chief operating officer of the Caregiver Action Network, a nonprofit based in Washington.

Like many other seniors, this older man was proud of living on his own and didnt want to become dependent on anyone.

Worries about independence

Older adults are quite concerned about their independence, and they worry that this might be the first step in someone trying to take that away, said Leslie Kernisan, a San Francisco geriatrician and creator of the website Better Health While Aging.

Other reasons for refusals: Seniors see their homes as sanctums, and they dont want strangers invading their privacy. They think theyve been getting along just fine and have unrealistic expectations of what recovering from a hospitalization will entail.

Or there are circumstances at home  perhaps hoarding, perhaps physical neglect  that an older adult doesnt want someone to see. Or the patients cognition is compromised and he doesnt understand his needs or limitations. Or cost is a concern.

Robert Rosati, vice president of research and quality at the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group, New Jerseys largest private provider of home health care, said about 6 percent of seniors who initially agree to receive home health care from his organization after a hospitalization end up refusing services.

Often, a breakdown in communication is responsible. Patients havent been told, in clear and concrete terms, which services would be provided, by whom, for how long, at what cost and what the expected benefit would be. So they dont understand what theyre getting into, which prompts resistance, Rosati said.

Kathy Bowles, director of the Center for Home Care Policy & Research at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, suggests a plain-language, positive way to convey this information. For example: A nurse will check your medications and make sure theyre all in order. Shell assess if you need physical therapy to help you regain your strength. And shell teach you and family members how to care for you once home care is over.

A lot of resistance arises from pride, said Bowles, who is also a professor of nursing excellence at the University of Pennsylvania. The conversation has to change from Look, we think you really need help to We want to help you take care of yourself. 

Emphasizing that a physician has recommended home health care can be helpful. In my experience, if a doctor says, Id like a nurse to come see you and check that youre feeling better, people are fairly responsive, Kernisan said.

This isnt to suggest that persuading an older adult to accept unwanted help is easy. Its not.

Last year, Winstels father had a medical device implanted in his spine to relieve pain from spinal stenosis  an outpatient procedure. Once again, he declined postoperative help.

Two days later, Winstel got a phone call from her dad, who had collapsed and couldnt get up from the floor. Winstel said she would call 911. No, I dont want someone coming in and finding me like this, her father insisted. You have to come.

Later, at the hospital, doctors diagnosed an adverse reaction to medication and a surgical-site infection on her fathers back. He lives alone. He cant reach back there. He wasnt caring for the wound properly, Winstel explained.

Extensive, heated conversations followed, during which her father insisted he was never going to change. For him, living independently carries risks, and hes willing to accept those risks, Winstel said.

She hopes the new report on seniors refusing home health care will jump-start a conversation about how to bring caregivers into the process and how recommendations should be conveyed.

As the daughter of someone who has refused care, understanding that this is something lots of people go through makes me feel a little less crazy, Winstel said.

This column is produced by Kaiser Health News, a national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. KHNs coverage related to aging and improving care of older adults is supported by the John A. Hartford Foundation.
Gerda Saunders is dementing. Thats what her neurologist told her in 2010 just before her 61st birthday, confirming what Saunders had already suspected: Her recent mental missteps were a sign of something serious.

They were also something that Saunders wanted to chronicle, which she soon found herself with time to do after retiring as associate director of gender studies at the University of Utah. (The final straw was when she was chairing a meeting, and in a moment of confusion recommended that everyone introduce themselves  for the second time.)

Her journal has morphed into a memoir, Memorys Last Breath: Field Notes on My Dementia, that explores her life and her brain.

Even before her diagnosis, Saunders had a remarkable story to tell. It starts in South Africa, where she was raised on her Afrikaner family farm, a place without electricity but with black laborers that her father had inherited. That she can mine recollections from this childhood in vivid detail is as surprising to her as it may be to her readers. She also marvels at her ability to write a book  an undoubtedly complex mental task  when her daily life is filled with instances of unintentional shoplifting and being baffled by how to use a glass that is upside down.

I am not the only person who appears to be faking,  Saunders writes, sharing the results of her scientific inquiry into her condition. She weaves in neurological research, accounts of other individuals with dementia, and plenty of talk of dendrites and the cerebral cortex.

All the while, she continues to sketch out her path, from the farm to boarding school to post-university married life with two children. When her husband was offered a job in the United States in 1984, they all left South Africa  and the resulting culture clash often left her discombobulated. Its a sensation that returned after the dementia diagnosis, Saunders writes.

The book closes with Saunders addressing the realities to come, including what she refers to as my eventual suicide. She surveys the right-to-die landscape, which is particularly treacherous in America for a person who expects not to be of sound mind someday. But she has traveled across oceans before, and shes willing to do it again, she writes, when people will rightly say, Gerda is no longer Gerda. 

Read more

Maria Shrivers coloring book for Alzheimers patients and their families

Whats the best way to talk to someone with Alzheimers?
MASSACHUSETTS

Woman is found guilty in boyfriends suicide

A Massachusetts judge has ruled that a woman who urged her boyfriend through phone calls and text messages to kill himself is responsible for his death.

Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz announced Friday that Michelle Carter, 20, is guilty of involuntary manslaughter after placing Conrad Roy III in a situation that led to his suicide in 2014.

Carter, who could face up to 20 years in prison, will be sentenced in August. Her attorney could not be reached for comment, but he told reporters he was disappointed, according to the Boston Globe.

While handing down the verdict Friday morning, Moniz said Roy, who was found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning on July 13, 2014, outside Boston, had followed Carters instruction and placed himself in a toxic environment in his truck, where he used a gas-powered water pump to commit suicide.

Roy, 18, and Carter, who was 17 at the time, had been texting about death in the days and weeks leading up to the tragedy, according to court records. In one message, Carter told him: Youre finally going to be happy in heaven. No more pain. Its okay to be scared and its normal. I mean, youre about to die.

Carter was tried in a juvenile court because she was 17 at the time of the boys suicide. Carter waived her right to a jury trial.

 Lindsey Bever

and Kristine Phillips

ARIZONA

Migrants arrested as they got medical help

Border Patrol agents descended on a medical camp set up in the Arizona desert to provide refuge and water for migrants in the scorching summer heat, arresting four migrants who had just crossed into the United States from Mexico.

The Border Patrol said agents on Wednesday tracked the men walking north on a known smuggling route before the four entered the camp run by No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes, an organization that provides care for migrants along the border.

The Border Patrol said talks between agents and camp representatives on gaining access to question the men about their citizenship and legal status were unsuccessful. Agents then obtained a search warrant and swooped into the camp.

The aid group said a helicopter, 15 trucks and 30 armed agents were used in arresting four people receiving medical care as desert temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. The group called it an unprecedented show of force and a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

 Associated Press
Panama cutting ties with Taiwan seems logical, because China is the second-largest user of the Panama Canal, and because other countries flock to China because of its economic influence [Taiwan defiant as Panama cuts off diplomatic ties in shift toward China, World, June 14]. But this is not only a existential threat to the Taiwanese people; it also is a deliberate provocation across the strait and in the region. The truce is over. Chinas threat to Taiwans way of life runs deeper than chipping away at its number of diplomatic allies. This was a major diplomatic setback for Taiwan, as Beijings actions have greatly affected the currently stable status quo.

Grace Wang, Potomac Falls

The writer is an adviser to the Taiwan Benevolent Association of America.
CONGRESS RARELY takes the lead in foreign affairs, but senators in both parties have risen to the occasion in recent weeks, exhibiting an uncommonly independent and disciplined response to the tumult of President Trumps administration. The latest votes and hearings are a welcome sign that Congress can act as a responsible counterweight to Mr. Trumps more erratic impulses.

Last week the Senate voted 98 to 2  how often does that happen?  for the first major piece of foreign policy legislation the chamber has considered this year, a bill stepping up sanctions against Iran and Russia. While Mr. Trump has broadly declared a desire to improve ties with the Kremlin and was seen recently joshing in the Oval Office with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador, the Senate vote reflects a far more sober assessment of President Vladimir Putins meddling in the U.S. election, subversion in Ukraine and intervention to save the brutal leader of Syria. The legislation, with bipartisan backing, will make it impossible for Mr. Trump to lift sanctions against Russia without congressional approval, and places new penalties on Russian energy exports. Theres been much debate lately about whether Mr. Putins hacking against the United States last year was a shrewd move for him and for Russia; the Senate vote suggests it has badly backfired.

Another example was a Senate vote that can be seen only as a rebuke to Mr. Trumps handling of a bedrock issue, the Atlantic alliance. Mr. Trump delivered a speech May 25 at NATOs new headquarters in which he omitted a sentence affirming the long-standing U.S. commitment to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the pledge that an armed attack against one will be considered an attack against all. Mr. Trump made a lame attempt to recover June 9, once back at the White House, but the damage had been done. His omission was dangerous and could lead allies to doubt American resolve at a time of growing tension with Russia. The Senate, wanting to make sure there is no ambiguity, voted 100 to 0 for an amendment reaffirming U.S. support for the alliance.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has proposed a debilitating 30 percent cut in the fiscal 2018 budget of the State Department, one of the deepest cuts in any federal agency. When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, he got a truckload of bipartisan criticism about the risk of such cuts in a department dedicated to defending American interests abroad. Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) declared that even looking at the Trump budget was a total waste of time because it was dead on arrival. The senators repeatedly and wisely pointed out to Mr. Tillerson that U.S. security is enhanced not only by military might but also programs that promote democracy and prevent nuclear proliferation. They also questioned him about the snails pace of filling the departments top jobs.

Everyone ought to be grateful that Congress, so often fractious and hyper-partisan, has seen fit to grab the foreign policy wheel, and steady it.
PRESIDENT TRUMP announced a new policy on Cuba on Friday, and even before he finished speaking, criticism was pouring in from advocates of President Barack Obamas opening to the communist island. They asserted that Mr. Trump was sacrificing the Cuban peoples hopes for more freedom, which Mr. Obama had revived, on the altar of hard-line anti-Castro ideology.

We hope the hubbub over Mr. Trumps announcement wont drown out the voice of Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, general coordinator of Cubas largest dissident organization, the Cuban Patriotic Union. Mr. Ferrers group supported the Obama opening in December 2014, believing that recognition by the United States would deprive dictator Raul Castro of his old excuse  Yankee hostility  for political repression. It hasnt worked out that way, as Mr. Ferrer noted in an open letter to Mr. Trump on June 6. Castros tyranny has been benefitting from the good will of the US government without giving up a bit in their repressive attitude, the dissident wrote. Indeed, arrests, beatings and jailings for political reasons have all increased  both in Cuba itself and in Venezuela, where Mr. Castros military and intelligence officials serve more and more as vital supports to an increasingly violent regime.

Mr. Ferrer called on the president to abandon Mr. Obamas essentially unconditional policy in favor of strong sanctions on Havana. However, notwithstanding much hype both by Mr. Trump  who boasted that he was canceling Mr. Obamas deal  and by his detractors, what the president actually pledged Friday was little more than a policy tweak.

Mr. Trump will cease Mr. Obamas calls for lifting what remains of the trade embargo, which Congress was not likely to do anyway. Hell make it somewhat more difficult for Americans to travel individually to Cuba. The administration will adopt still-unspecified, but inevitably difficult-to-enforce, measures to block the flow of dollars from U.S. travelers and businesses to companies through which Mr. Castros military controls the Cuban economys most profitable sectors. The rest of the Obama policy remains  full diplomatic relations; reduced immigration favoritism for Cubans; restored commercial flights and cruise-ship visits; enhanced cash remittances and visitation by Cuban Americans; removal of Cuba from the list of state terrorism sponsors.

What has changed is the rhetoric in Washington. Mr. Trumps heated emphasis on Cuban repression, and his linking any further rapproachment to political reform, replace Mr. Obamas cool assurances that constructive engagement will gradually, gradually breed more freedom and prosperity. In our view, a little more impatience about democracy isnt such a bad thing. To be sure, Mr. Trump, with his own uncivil political habits and indulgent attitude toward the likes of Vladimir Putin, is far from the best messenger. Nevertheless, his message is not wrong  neither about the lack of political reform in Cuba since Mr. Obamas effort began, nor about the risk that Mr. Castro and his cronies will use greater economic flows as a de facto bailout. Totalitarian control being what it is, no U.S. administration would find it easy to engage Cubas people without normalizing and enriching the regime that oppresses them. But that is the right objective.
Regarding the June 14 editorial Mr. Warmbiers appalling mistreatment:

The release of Otto Warmbier from brutal captivity in a North Korean prison was a reminder that Americans travel at their own risk to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea as private citizens. Then again, I was similarly cautioned by the State Department against crossing the Berlin Wall into then-communist East Germany in the 1960s.

But if its easy to understand young male impulsiveness, it is another matter entirely to allow seemingly fly-by-night travel agencies off the hook. How closely, for example, did they keep an eye on Mr. Warmbier and his fellow travelers? These and other troubling questions remain to be answered. The tragic irony of all this is that the North Korean poster that the hapless Mr. Warmbier apparently ripped off a wall in his tourist hotel likely could have been easily purchased online.

John Starrels, Chevy Chase
The contrast could not be more stark. Theresa May, the British prime minister, presides over a hung Parliament and a divided country. Donald Trump, the American president, rules alongside a Congress almost too paralyzed to legislate. In both countries, far-left and far-right movements and ideas have more adherents than ever; political debate is angry, hate-filled  and violent. Gunmen have now shot at U.S. lawmakers on the left and right; in Britain last year, an MP was murdered.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron, the new French president, is about to achieve something extraordinary: His brand-new centrist party, Republic on the Move, is on track to win a sweeping, unprecedented majority in the French parliament. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, will probably be reelected for a third term in September by voters who still favor centrist parties in high numbers. Even in Italy, where talk of a populist surge has lately grown louder, voters just rejected that party in large numbers in local elections.

Remember Old Europe? It was said to be dying, it was becoming irrelevant, it was a corpse to which British Brexiteers did not want to be shackled  and now, suddenly, it isnt. Suddenly it looks more stable, more hopeful and especially more consensual. There is talk of reform and renewal, not revolution. Growth is up. Predicted far-right surges have failed to materialize.

Paris and Berlin are united and confident, while Washington and London are divided and dysfunctional. Something is rotten in the Anglo-Saxon world, or at least its U.S.-U.K. axis. Although its too early to be definitive, here are some guesses as to why:

Inequality: Relatively speaking, Britain and the United States have higher income inequality than much of the rest of the developed world  certainly more than Germany and France. Although its difficult to prove that this has been growing  some measures show that inequality has actually decreased since 2008  in both countries the perception of inequality is strong. This may be because each has tolerated the emergence of an oligarchy: High salaries for chief executives, the proliferation of luxury real estate, and ubiquitous billionaires in media and politics may well be affecting how people vote.

Lower social spending: Relatively speaking, Britain and the United States do less of this, too. The United States is on the low end of the spectrum, and Britain is closer to the middle, well below Germany and France. Here again perceptions might be important. In the United States, the health-care debate has radicalized this issue. In Britain, austerity budgets (which failed to end deficits) cut social spending in ways that people notice. The horrific apartment fire in London this last week has led, predictably, to questions about recent cuts to fire department budgets.

The English language: It sounds odd, but think about it  the use of English as the language of world commerce has been great for trade in the United States and Britain, but it has also made the economics and politics of both countries more open to outside influences, harder to regulate and perhaps, therefore, more volatile. English has also become the language of the digital revolution and the Internet. New technologies get used first in the United States and Britain, and experimentation is healthy, but it can also create disruption and unhappiness. The extraordinary, unexpected appeal of political nostalgia in both countries  for the 1950s, for a simpler time  might reflect the fact that each has lately been so turbulent.

The Brexit/Trump effect: Contrary to expectations, the Brexit referendum and the spectacle of British political disarray have led to a rise in support for the European Union and for centrist politics across the continent. President Trump and the chaos in his White House have also undermined support for parties perceived to be his allies. Norbert Hofer in Austria, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Marine Le Pen in France all did much worse than expected in recent elections; the far right is losing traction in Germany, too. Trumps links to Britains May probably hurt her as well.

Voting: In an age of political change, proportional representation and mixed systems produce a wider and more flexible range of political parties than the binary Anglo-Saxon systems. Big parties, which are effectively coalitions  Republicans, Democrats, Tory and Labour  are harder to manage and to reform in an age of change. Unable to find anything they like on offer in a stagnant political system, voters back outsiders such as Trump and Labours Jeremy Corbyn. Its difficult to imagine a brand-new party like Macrons Republic on the Move succeeding in the United States or Britain.

Hubris: Both Britain  or rather, England  and the United States remain convinced of their own exceptionalism. A significant part of each countrys political classes  the America firsters, some of the Brexiteers  still believes it can go it alone and live happily without allies. French and German voters have the opposite historical experience. Most still want to be part of economic and military alliances. The older generation in particular fears extremism and is more cautious than its Anglo-Saxon equivalents.

Luck: If a few votes had gone differently over the past two years, the United States and Britain might easily be governed, respectively, by Hillary Clinton and David Cameron. And then we wouldnt be talking about any of this at all.

Read more from Anne Applebaums archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
PRESIDENT TRUMPS resolution to delegate decisions on troop levels in Afghanistan to the Pentagon is a worthy corrective to the approach of President Barack Obama, who micromanaged U.S. military forces in a way that badly undercut their ability to achieve their goals. By politicizing force levels in Iraq and Afghanistan and setting timetables for withdrawal unlinked to conditions on the ground, Mr. Obama helped to ensure failure on his watch in both countries. The Islamic State gained control over much of Iraq, forcing the redeployment of U.S. troops, while a Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan now demands a similar reversal of previous withdrawals.

After what appeared to be a prolonged internal debate, Mr. Trump empowered Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to decide how many American troops will go back and what their specific objectives will be. Mr. Mattis, in turn, has promised to deliver a strategy to the White House next month, while taking interim measures to ensure that the military situation does not deteriorate further. As he told Congress this week, the Taliban is surging: By U.S. estimates, it controls or is contesting about 40 percent of Afghanistans territory.

A U.S. surge like that ordered by Mr. Obama in 2009, which sent tens of thousands of additional American troops to Afghanistan, is not in the cards. Instead, perhaps 3,000 to 5,000 additional U.S. personnel, supplemented by troops from NATO nations, will join the some 8,400 Americans and 5,000 Europeans currently in the country. The main aim will be to bolster Afghan forces so they can stop the Talibans momentum, including by increasing the size of elite Special Operations forces and backing them with air power  something the Obama administration senselessly restricted.

As senior U.S. officials in Kabul see it, the ultimate aim will be to make Afghan forces self-sustaining by 2020 and give the government leverage to negotiate a political settlement with the Taliban  if the extremist Islamist movement is willing to accept one. That will require, as Mr. Mattis hinted, a better regional approach that gains the cooperation of Pakistan, which continues to harbor, and probably to support, the Taliban faction that recently carried out a devastating bombing in Kabul.

Ultimately, success  or even the avoidance of disaster  will require years more of commitment by the United States, including more work on building Afghan political institutions. That effort must be led by the White House, not the Defense Department. While Mr. Trump is right to delegate decisions about troop levels, he cannot  as he has so far in his presidency  detach himself from a mission that continues to cost the country $3 billion a month. When Mr. Mattiss strategy is ready, the president should make his own public commitment to it and explain to the country why it is necessary to continue a war that has already lasted nearly 16 years and cost more than 2,000 American lives.

Mr. Obama did his best to distance himself from the Afghan war, with the result that key political objectives in Afghanistan and Pakistan remained out of reach, while domestic support for the mission steadily declined. Thats another mistake that Mr. Trump has the opportunity to correct.
Ah, women. How does one bear their hysterical arguments and constant chatter?

One might assume that these kinds of gripes are relics of some mustachioed misogynist of yore, but in fact theyre far from obsolete. The difference is that today the stereotyping is usually only hinted at. When explicit feelings slip out, we often dont know quite what to do with them.

Such was the case in recent days. After being repeatedly interrupted by her male Senate Intelligence Committee colleagues during her probing of Justice Department leaders Rod J. Rosenstein last week and Jeff Sessions this Tuesday, Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) was accused by a pro-Trump talking head of being hysterical in her questioning of the stunningly evasive attorney general.

At the beleaguered ride-hailing company Uber, the breakout moment of Tuesdays all-hands meeting, called to address a sexist corporate culture, came when board member David Bonderman interrupted Arianna Huffington, his sole female colleague at the meeting, to joke that having more female board members would simply lead to more talking.

Women  too talkative! When they press for answers  too emotional! Both mens remarks were steeped in sexism, and the response was swift. CNN panelist Kirsten Powers sharply criticized former Trump spokesman Jason Millers comment about Harris; Bonderman stepped down from Ubers board.

But its worth asking whether the casually denigrating stereotypes should be reconsidered in a more positive light. In many cases, more talking and more emoting might not be so bad. The qualities being dismissed as excesses of femininity are the ones we need the most.

At Uber, for example, more talking would be an uncontestable good. A lack of communication is a major reason the company has wound up in a public crisis. From its founding, the dysfunctional start-up had poorly articulated policies and provided little supervision and few ways for workers to take their concerns up the food chain. Former employee Susan J. Fowler had to turn to a public blog to report sexual harassment.

Perhaps more dialogue in the early stages would have compelled Ubers executives to recognize all that and adopt standard business best practices  things as basic as requiring receipts for reimbursement and as major as not turning a blind eye to harassment by high-performing employees  years ago. Having more women on its board in the earlier days (Huffington joined only last year) might have led the company to address the sexism in its culture before it spiraled out of control.

Similarly, if a female member of Congress is willing to press hard to get answers and results, shouldnt she be celebrated for it? In men, such intensity is read as effectiveness; in women, its seen as irrationality. Yet in a 2001 survey of members of Congress, the top reason female legislators ran for office was to effect social change. The No. 1 reason for men? They had always wanted to. An emotional commitment to progress sounds better than dispassionate ego-stroking any day. Prizing results over status isnt irrational  its correct.

At an Intelligence Committee hearing, the results of which could help Congress learn whether there was foreign interference in a crucial aspect of our countrys democratic process, perhaps some emotional involvement is in order. After all, the presumably non-hysterical male senators hadnt prevented Sessions from stonewalling their own questions by citing a mysterious but long-standing Justice Department policy. Maybe an approach infused with more urgency was worth trying, even if their hysteria might be seen as an unpleasantly female approach.

And thats the problem. Presented by itself, any of these outcomes  more dialogue! increased urgency!  would be seen as an unmitigated good. The only reason theyre seen as negatives by Ubers board members and political commentators is that theyre attached to women. Miller and Bonderman used stereotypes to denigrate women. But their statements pointed out qualities more of us  women and men  would do well to adopt.
A woman protests during a rally on the Minnesota capitol steps after a jury found a police officer not guilty of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Philando Castile, in St. Paul, Minn., on June 16. (Eric Miller/Reuters)

Samuel G. Freedman is a professor of journalism at Columbia University.

Just a few miles and months from Philando Castiles fatal shooting by a police officer during a routine traffic stop, I steered my car toward a restaurant in St. Paul, Minn. Not to sound all Twilight Zone about it, but my unintended destination was the parallel racial universe of encounters between civilians and cops.

It was a Friday night in September, and my wife and I had just had drinks while hearing an after-work show by a favorite bar band. Now we had a dinner reservation in the tony Cathedral Hill neighborhood and were looking for a parking spot.

I drove past one vacant space, trying to get closer to the restaurant, and finding nothing, pulled a New York-expat move by rolling back fast a block in reverse to claim the still-open spot.

Then, as my wife and I started walking to dinner, a police officer rushed out from another nearby eatery and confronted me. Didnt I know Id smacked into the car parked behind mine? Was I just going to pretend nothing had happened?

Flummoxed, I replied that I had not even touched the other car. The cop insisted that I walk over to the cars to admit to the damage. Instead, we found a foot of open asphalt between my rear bumper and the other vehicles front bumper, and not a scratch on either one. And that, I assumed, would be the end of that, an honest mistake on the officers part.

My wife and I started out a second time for the restaurant, and the officer blocked our path to inform me that if I left the scene of this hit and run, he would file charges against me for leaving the scene of an accident.

Searching for witnesses, the officer went back into his restaurant and then across the street to a few elderly ladies sitting in folding chairs. No one had seen anything because there had been nothing to see. The officers partner came out to join him, and I was pretty sure I saw on the partners face a flicker of eye-rolling disbelief.

Again, I hoped we were done. No such luck. The first officer issued an edict. I had to leave a note on the windshield of the other car admitting to an accident that had never happened and providing my contact information. Otherwise, Id be charged with leaving the scene.

At about this point, I began to think about Philando Castile. Here I was being intimidated into confessing to something I had not done. Here I was in the control of a young, presumably inexperienced, perhaps enraged or perhaps just anxious police officer, who was escalating a nonexistent fender-bender into a potential arrest  or something worse.

What if I had been African American and 32 years old like Castile instead of 60 and white? Would I have been thrown up against a wall and frisked and cuffed, charged with resisting arrest? And what if a black version of me had objected?

Because I had capitulated by writing out a false confession, the officer said he would settle for giving me a ticket for reckless driving. All this time, in the 20 minutes or so we had been on the sidewalk, he had not even bothered to ask for my license and registration. That sure would have seemed like the logical first step.

So I pulled out my New York state drivers license and handed it to the officer. Then I said, If you want to verify thats who I really am, here are a couple more things. From my wallet, I slid out my ID cards from the New York Times (where I was then a columnist) and the University of Minnesota (where I was a visiting professor for a semester). My wife demanded reciprocal identification from both officers.

After a few minutes in his squad car running my information, the officer returned. He had decided not even to ticket me. Of course, we both knew exactly what had happened. I had pulled my white-skin, professional, establishment privilege. I had implicitly dared him to make trouble for someone with the capacity to make trouble back, maybe by filing a civilian complaint to the police department.

The dinner plans were ruined. My wife and I drove back across to Minneapolis, doing 15 miles an hour in a 30 zone and relentlessly checking the rearview mirror, just to make sure that the law-enforcement portion of our evening was done.

Along with my IDs and drivers license, my wallet now also contained the second police officers business card, on which hed written down his offending partners name. I still have that card. Id been half-expecting to find the officer implicated in some case of harassment or brutality against someone with a lot less social power than I possess.

I never did see any such report. But Fridays acquittal of Castiles killer on manslaughter charges brings my own experience fiercely to mind. The jurors in that case clearly carried an assumption that Castile must have done something to legitimately scare Officer Jeronimo Yanez into firing.

Even though Castile had told Yanez he had a licensed firearm and that he was reaching only for his wallet, even though Castile had his girlfriend and her little daughter in the car with him, even though Castile had a provable work record in the St. Paul school system, surely the benefit of the doubt had to accrue to the cop. Something was different during my encounter with the police. Its not hard to see what it was.
Jeff Sessions is U.S. attorney general.

Drug trafficking is an inherently violent business. If you want to collect a drug debt, you cant, and dont, file a lawsuit in court. You collect it by the barrel of a gun. For the approximately 52,000 Americans who died of a drug overdose in 2015, drug trafficking was a deadly business.

Yet in 2013, subject to limited exceptions, the Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors not to include in charging documents the amount of drugs being dealt when the actual amount was large enough to trigger a mandatory minimum sentence. Prosecutors were required to leave out objective facts in order to achieve sentences lighter than required by law. This was billed as an effort to curb mass incarceration of low-level offenders, but in reality it covered offenders apprehended with large quantities of dangerous drugs. The result was that federal drug prosecutions went down dramatically  from 2011 to 2016, federal prosecutions fell by 23 percent. Meanwhile, the average sentence length for a convicted federal drug offender decreased 18 percent from 2009 to 2016.

Before that policy change, the violent crime rate in the United States had fallen steadily for two decades, reaching half of what it was in 1991. Within one year after the Justice Department softened its approach to drug offenders, the trend of decreasing violent crime reversed. In 2015, the United States suffered the largest single-year increase in the overall violent crime rate since 1991.

And while defenders of the 2013 policy change point out that crime rates remain low compared with where they were 30 years ago, they neglect to recognize a disturbing trend that could reverse decades of progress: Violent crime is rising across the country. According to data from the FBI, there were more than 15,000 murders in the United States in 2015, representing a single-year increase of nearly 11 percent across the country. That was the largest increase since 1971 .

The increase in murders continued in 2016. Preliminary data from the first half of 2016 shows that large cities in the United States suffered an average increase in murders of nearly 22 percent compared with the same period from a year earlier.

As U.S. attorney general, I have a duty to protect all Americans and fulfill the presidents promise to make America safe again. Last month, after weeks of study and discussion with a host of criminal-justice participants, I issued a memorandum to all federal prosecutors regarding charging and sentencing policy that once again authorizes prosecutors to charge offenses as Congress intended. This two-page guidance instructs prosecutors to apply the laws on the books to the facts of the case in most cases, and allows them to exercise discretion where a strict application of the law would result in an injustice. Instead of barring prosecutors from faithfully enforcing the law, this policy empowers trusted professionals to apply the law fairly and exercise discretion when appropriate. That is the way good law enforcement has always worked.

Defenders of the status quo perpetuate the false story that federal prisons are filled with low-level, nonviolent drug offenders. The truth is less than 3 percent of federal offenders sentenced to imprisonment in 2016 were convicted of simple possession, and in most of those cases the defendants were drug dealers who accepted plea bargains in return for reduced sentences.

Federal drug offenders include major drug traffickers, gang members, importers, manufacturers and international drug cartel members. To be subject to a five-year mandatory sentence, a criminal would have to be arrested with 100 grams or more of heroin with the intent to distribute it  that is 1,000 doses of heroin.

The truth is that while the federal government softened its approach to drug enforcement, drug abuse and violent crime surged. The availability of dangerous drugs is up, the price has dropped and the purity is at dangerously high levels. Overdose deaths from opioids have nearly tripled since 2002. Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids rose an astonishing 73 percent in 2015.

My fear is that this surge in violent crime is not a blip, but the start of a dangerous new trend  one that puts at risk the hard-won gains that have made our country a safer place.

Some skeptics prefer to sit on the sidelines and criticize federal efforts to combat crime. But its not our privileged communities that suffer the most from crime and violence. Minority communities are disproportionately impacted by violent drug trafficking. Poor neighborhoods are too often ignored in these conversations. Regardless of wealth or race, every American has the right to demand a safe neighborhood. Those of us who are responsible for promoting public safety cannot sit back while any American communities are ravaged by crime and violence.

There are those who are concerned about the fate of drug traffickers, but the law demands I protect the lives of victims that are ruined by drug trafficking and violent crime infecting their communities. Our new, time-tested policy empowers police and prosecutors to save lives.
Even if we assume that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak met only briefly, we cannot allow the attorney general to hide the content of their talks [Sessions silent on talks with Trump, front page, June 14]. In a few seconds, Mr. Sessions could have said to Mr. Kislyak, Yes, we will drop the sanctions. This would not have been collusion, perhaps, but it would have motivated the Russians to meddle further in the election and offer loans and opportunities to the Trump family.

Mr. Sessions is trying to dismiss his Russian contacts as trivial, but in his eagerness to deny such contacts, even before Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) asked about them, he has made them appear much more significant. If he suggested a quid pro quo, subordinating U.S. interests to Donald Trumps, he may have committed treason.

J. David Miller, Washington
Like most Americans, I was reassured by the decision of Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein to appoint a special counsel and entrust the investigation of alleged Russian hacking and associated matters to Robert S. Mueller III. This assured us that these matters would be investigated by a self-contained professional unit with its deliberations and methods out of the public eye.

This was not to be. The June 15 front-page article Trumps actions now a focus of Mueller inquiry announced that five people had leaked to The Post information about the scope of the Mueller investigation. Five! What was conjured in my mind was a lottery at the FBI with the five winning numbers allowed to leak. These leaks are unethical and insubordinate and possibly illegal. Moreover, they impugn the integrity of the special investigation, and, God forbid, provide the president ammunition for ordering it terminated. Mr. Mueller has both the authority and the clout to stop these leaks. He needs to exercise both immediately.

Wells Burgess, Arlington
The scene on a street in Havana on June 16. (Yamil Lage/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

Regarding the June 15 news article Experts cool on Trumps promised Cuba policy:

In August 2016, I booked a November Road Scholar trip to Cuba. I explained to friends that I thought I had to travel back there before President Trump shut the country down again. This comment elicited a laugh from most, but I was in earnest. Mr. Trump now seems intent on turning Cubas clock backward again.

The young Cubans I encountered were excited about the prospect of the embargo ending. A young historian had won a scholarship to Yale University, but the United States would not grant him a visa. Our generous and capable Cuban guide had been offered a promotion contingent on a month of training in Boston. She was deeply disappointed when the United States would not allow her to take that training. The pain of that refusal was still obvious in her face.

It is the same for many Cubans. The isolation penalizes them, but the rulers do not suffer.

It was a demanding trip for me. Several times I found myself crying. Children danced and sang for us and talked of a possible opportunity to perform in Texas.

Eleven million Cubans are affected by the United States imposed isolation. Normal relations are decades overdue.

Caroline Paulson, New Paltz, N.Y.
Protesters clash with law enforcement on Interstate 94 after a jury found St. Anthony Police Department officer Jeronimo Yanez not guilty of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Philando Castile. (Adam Bettcher/Reuters)

After a night of protests following the acquittal of officer Jeronimo Yanez in the shooting death of Philando Castile on Friday, black activists in the Twin Cities are struggling to balance despair at the outcome with the hope that it could turn into a catalyst as they seek a broader movement for police reform.

[Minn. officer acquitted in shooting of Philando Castile during traffic stop, dismissed from police force]

In the wake of the verdict, at least 2,000 people, according to police estimates, gathered at the steps in front of the large dome of the Minnesota State Capitol in downtown St. Paul on Friday. Civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy-Pounds, a mayoral candidate in Minneapolis, rallied the mostly young crowd of different races, just as she did during the protests and marches that swept St. Paul and Minneapolis last summer after Castiles death. A peaceful march followed, with some protesters blocking Interstate 94, one of the main corridors between the Twin Cities. Eighteen people, including two journalists who were trying to film the action as it unfolded, were arrested in the early hours of Saturday as police moved to clear the road.

Saturday, Levy-Pounds said she had received an outpouring of messages from people, most of them white, who had been shocked at the outcome. She hoped that this could shift the debate.

Philandos case is one of the most blatant examples of police officers being allowed to kill people with impunity, and I think it will be a wake-up call for people who thought that at a minimum, at least in this case, there would be some semblance of justice, she said.

(Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

[For Diamond Reynolds, trying to move past 10 tragic minutes of video]

But if the verdict was a wake-up call for some, it was a confirmation of their worst fears for others. The video that Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, filmed as he lay bleeding and dying in the passenger seat, drew international attention to the case unlike anything in Minnesotas recent history, and it also helped bring many previous politically inactive youth to their first street protests.

A gathering point for them became an occupation in front of the governors mansion in St. Paul, which lasted for 20 days until police cleared it July 26, arresting more than 40 people in the process.

Jason Sole, president of the Minneapolis NAACP, said he worried about the impact the verdict would have on the young people who had been drawn into activism by the case.

I noticed a large group of new activists when Philando was killed last summer, and now I am seeing those new activists feel defeated, he said. As a black man, this is nothing new to me so Im ready to continue the fight.

Fatuma Ali, 24, is an organizer with the Black Liberation Project, a network of black youth activists that has been a mainstay at protests. She said that although she wasnt surprised by the acquittal, it still came as a blow.

You dont realize youre holding on to hope until its not there anymore, she said.

Like Levy-Pounds, Ali sees the case as a possible catalyst, but one that might further radicalize people already engaged in the movement.

Philando was the perfect case for a lot of people. And I think it is kind of a tipping point. This was as perfect a victim as you could get, she said in a phone interview. Its always something, you know with Mike Brown he was charging the officer, he wasnt paying attention, he wasnt following orders. They even managed to justify Tamir Rices murder  he pointed his gun, he shouldnt have had it, they brought up his fathers criminal record  but you couldnt justify Philando Castiles murder because he did everything he was supposed to do. He was a model citizen.

Ali said she thinks activism needs to move beyond galvanizing around every murder to address deeper issues and policy. Her organization plans to focus on a campaign to remove police officers from public schools.

Others, like community organizer Chauntyll Allen, are directing their energy to get black candidates elected to local office in Minnesota. For her, the verdict could also serve as a wake-up call for older, more well-off African Americans who have viewed police shootings as a problem that didnt affect them.

People are waking up, even the older generation, those who felt like No, we overcame  now they see we didnt overcome, she said.


Locals have been casting ballots at the Simpson Voting House in Derry Township, Pa., since 1891. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Rural America has often backed Republicans in presidential elections, but rarely with the enthusiasm they showed for President Trump in 2016. More sparsely populated areas of the country form the heart of Trump Nation and continue to provide majority support for a president who has faced near-constant controversy and discord.

At a time when his job approval rating is in net negative territory nationally, more than half of all adults (54 percent) in rural America say they approve of the way he is doing his job, according to a new Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey. His approval rating among rural Americans is 10 percentage points higher than among suburbanites and 22 points higher than among city dwellers.

[New poll of rural Americans shows deep cultural divide with urban centers]

At the same time, however, any suggestion of rural America as near-monolithic in its support for the president represents a sizable oversimplification. Even in areas of the country where Trump scored some of his biggest margins, he is a divisive figure  loved by his supporters but disliked by many who voted for Hillary Clinton. Four in 10 adults in rural America disapprove of his job performance, a hefty number for a president still in the early stages of his tenure.



A homeowner in Perry, Fla., made a sign saying that President Theodore Roosevelt and Donald Trump are men of action. President Trumps vote percentage in rural America was 29 points higher than he received in the nations urban counties. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

On Election Night last November, Trump lost Americas cities in a landslide. In the suburbs, he narrowly prevailed over Clinton. But in the 2,332 counties that make up small-town and rural America, he swamped his Democratic rival, winning 60 percent of the vote to Clintons 34 percent. Trumps 26-point advantage over Clinton in rural America far exceeded the margins by which Republican nominees had won those voters in the four previous elections.

That statistic alone doesnt tell the full story of Trumps appeal and the growing urban-rural division in the country. Trumps vote percentage in rural America was 29 points higher than he received in the nations urban counties. That gap, like his overall support level among rural voters, is far larger than for Republican nominees between 2000 and 2012.



A woman in Phyllis, Ky., pulls a lawn mower in front of a building with a painted depiction of the Confederate flag. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

The president is fond of showing visitors to the White House a map of the 2016 election results by county. It shows a sea of red along with smaller patches of blue. The red areas represent the rural and small-town counties won by the president; the specks of blue highlight the urban areas where Clinton rolled up big margins.

That map, however impressive from a distance, is deceiving, highlighting geography over population density. Small-towns and rural areas account for 74 percent of the nations 3,143 counties. But those counties account for just under a quarter of the total U.S. population. Suburban counties count for 46 percent of the countrys population and urban counties the remaining 31 percent.

When Trumps actual vote totals are analyzed on that basis, the suburbs appear to take on greater significance in his victory march. Suburban counties provided close to half of Trumps total votes, while rural and small-town counties accounted for not quite one-third of his votes.

Still, the outsize support from voters in rural America remains a major story of the 2016 election and of Trumps presidency. Residents of rural American counties turned out in numbers big enough to help provide the crucial victory margins in states like Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Iowa  states that either had been presidential battlegrounds in recent years or consistently in the Democrats column. The more rural the county, the better Trump did on Election Day.



A farm and a church share a dirt road in the small hamlet of Sherman, W.Va. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

What attracted these voters to Trump? One factor, based on other post-election surveys, was their dislike of Clinton, whose negative ratings were nearly as high as Trumps. Beyond that, according to the new Post-Kaiser survey, his appeal was grounded in economic and cultural issues, with immigration having particular resonance and skepticism that federal government programs have done much to help their areas.

Trumps support was also driven by a feeling among rural voters that urban and even suburban Americans do not share their values, and that the news media disrespects them.

Trump won 67 percent of the vote among rural Americans who say their values differ from people in big cities. He won 71 percent of those who say the news media disrespect them. He won 74 percent among those who say immigrants are not doing enough to adapt to the American way of life. He captured 79 percent of those rural voters who say that federal government efforts to improve peoples standard of living generally make things worse.

Rural voters widely embrace the economic policy ideas Trump espoused as a candidate. Almost 7 in 10 of all rural Americans say decreasing regulations on businesses would be important elements of improving the job situation in their areas. Almost 8 in 10 say the same about lowering taxes on business and making better trade deals. Infrastructure projects really draw support, with more than 9 in 10 responding positively to such initiatives, including 74 percent calling them very important. On most questions, rural voters who say these policies would help their communities were more likely to vote for Trump.



A sign for Corey Stewart, who was running for governor of Virginia, and President Trump and Vice President Pence are displayed on a lawn in Glade Spring, Va. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

A sign that offers to help navigate the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is planted on a porch in Prosperity, S.C. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Support for those ideas, many of which have yet to gain traction in Congress or even be proposed by the president, is tempered by more modest expectations of what a Trump presidency will do to improve the economic life of rural Americans. Overall, a slim 51 percent majority of rural residents are very or somewhat confident Trump will create jobs in their community, while 46 percent say they are not too confident or not confident at all about this.

Still, those rural voters who backed Trump in November express confidence that his presidency will improve their lives. About 8 in 10 say they are either very or somewhat confident Trump will improve health care and create jobs in their area. More than 9 in 10 Trump voters say they think he will keep the country safe from terrorism and that he will protect individual freedoms.

(McKenna Ewen,Whitney Leaming,Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)

Concerns about immigration, abuse of public assistance and racial biases resonate especially among Trumps rural voters. More than 6 in 10 Trump supporters say immigrants are a burden because they take jobs away from American citizens rather than strengthening the country with their hard work and talents. More than 8 in 10 rural Trump voters say its more common for government benefits to go to undeserving people rather than for needy people to go without them. And by a more than 3-to-1 margin, rural Trump voters say whites losing out because of preferences for blacks and Hispanics is a bigger national problem than racial minorities losing out to whites.

Significant partisan differences exist in rural America, as they do throughout the country. On immigration, for example, 71 percent of rural Republicans say immigrants coming to the United States in the past decade are not doing enough to adapt to the American way of life, while just 29 percent of rural Democrats agree with that.



Sasha Hale and Stephen Bowman, both 19, hold hands while walking in Horsepen, W.Va. Some locals frown on their interracial relationship. Bowman said, Theyll just have to live with it, because we are in love. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

A 57-percent majority of rural Democrats say recent immigrants have values similar to theirs, but only 27 percent of rural Republicans express that view. Rural Democrats are almost three times as likely as rural Republicans to say federal programs designed to improve living standards do make things better  50 percent vs. 18 percent.

Almost 4 in 10 rural Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they have different values than other rural and small-town residents, about three times the percentage of rural Republicans who say the same.

In other ways, residents in rural and small-town areas, regardless of party identification, often see the world and issues differently from their political counterparts elsewhere. Asked about their views of immigrants, rural Republicans are more negative in their responses than urban and suburban Republicans and rural Democrats are less positive than urban and suburban Democrats.



Saint Vincent College near Latrobe, Pa., sits on a hill overlooking farm fields. Residents of rural American counties turned out in numbers big enough to help provide the crucial victory margins in states like Pennsylvania. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

A similar pattern holds on the question of whether Christian values are under attack in the United States, at least among Democrats. Rural Democrats are 11 percentage points more likely to say yes to that question than urban and suburban Democrats, though rural Republicans are significantly more likely to see those values under attack than rural Democrats. And while most Democrats in all areas oppose Republican efforts to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, 23 percent of rural Democrats support such efforts, compared with 14 percent of urban Democrats.

This Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll was conducted April 13-May 1, 2017 among a random national sample of 1,686 U.S. adults reached on cellular and landline phones with an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points. The sample of 1,070 rural Americans has an error margin of plus or minus 3.5 points.



A farm sits just outside of Yale, Iowa, one of several states that either had been presidential battlegrounds in recent years or consistently in the Democrats column. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

This Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll was conducted April 13-May 1 with a random national sample of 1,686 U.S. adults contacted on landline and cell phones. The overall margin of sampling error isplus or minus 4 percentage points. The sample of 1,070 rural Americans has an error margin of plus or minus 3.5 points; the error margin is 7 points for the sample of 303 urban residents and 6.5 points for the 307 suburban residents.

Scott Clement and Emily Guskin contributed to this report.
President Trump disembarks Marine One on Friday at the South Lawn of the White House. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trump reported on a new financial disclosure that his far-flung real estate and hotel assets are worth at least $1.4 billion, a stark illustration of the complex financial interests he has maintained in the White House.

The report, which the president voluntarily filed with the Office of Government Ethics, shows that he collected an influx of new revenue from recent foreign deals and a surge of business at his signature Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.

Trump has made his wealth a key element of his political brand, and his refusal to relinquish ownership of his company has spurred ethics complaints and legal challenges.

As a candidate, he claimed he was worth more than $10 billion, although his net worth is impossible to determine from his financial disclosures, and he has not provided independent evidence to back that up. The White House did not make any statements about his net worth when his filing was posted Friday by the ethics office.

The report does not require officials to report their exact income, tax rate or charitable giving  unlike a tax return, which the president has refused to release, breaking with past tradition.

(Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Trumps 98-page disclosure shows he held onto the vast majority of his assets since his last disclosure in May 2016, when he reported his holdings were worth at least $1.5 billion.

[Trumps business booms as he runs for president, financial disclosures show]

However, he did sell dozens of stocks he held in brokerage accounts, including shares in Amazon, Exxon Mobil, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Toyota and other companies. The stocks earned him millions of dollars in capital gains and dividends.

The disclosure does not reveal when the investments were sold. However, a spokesman said in December that Trump had liquidated his entire stock portfolio in June 2016, around the time he began pouring millions into his presidential campaign.

Since January, all of Trumps business assets have been in a trust managed and controlled by his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, as well as longtime Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg. Documents released in April show that Trump is the beneficiary of the trust and is allowed to draw money from it at any time.

Because the new disclosure includes a four-and-a-half-month period covered by his last report, it is difficult to precisely gauge whether revenue at Trumps businesses has gone up or down. But the new report shows that his holdings generated nearly $600 million in gross revenue between January 2016 and mid-April of this year, with substantial sums coming from properties outside the United States and hotels that he has spotlighted as president.

For the first time, Trump reported income from the Trump Tower in Kolkata, India, where he holds a licensing agreement with local developers. He said he received more than $100,001 from the deal.

Likewise, his new hotel-and-condominium tower in Vancouver, British Columbia, which opened in February, was a new source of cash: Trump reported that he earned more than $5 million from the project, which was developed by the son of one of Malaysias richest men.

Trumps luxury hotel near the White House, which held its grand opening in October, reported $19.6 million in hotel-related income.

And revenue at Trumps Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, climbed to $37.2 million during the 15 month period covered by the report. In July 2015, he reported earning $15.6 million from the property in the previous 18 months.

The president was not required to file a new financial disclosure with the Office of Government Ethics until next spring, but Trump decided to voluntarily submit an updated report in his first year in office, following the tradition of past presidents including Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

The new filing shows that Trump had at least $310 million in liabilities spread across 16 loans as of May 31, most of them mortgages, an amount similar to what he reported in his prior financial disclosure.

The liabilities probably are much larger because five of the debts were worth more than $50 million. Documents for those individual loans suggest Trump actually has a minimum of $500 million in debt.

Trumps refusal to divest his holdings before taking office has triggered a cascade of complaints related to the use of government resources to promote properties such as Mar-a-Lago, allegations that he is violating the Constitutions foreign emoluments clause and questions about how he is being used to promote the Trump Organizations projects abroad.

Earlier this week, the Democratic attorneys general in Maryland and the District as well as nearly 200 Democratic members of Congress filed separate lawsuits alleging that payments to Trump businesses violated the Constitutions anti-corruption clauses.

Trumps tax attorney, Sheri Dillon, told reporters in January that by setting up a trust he was taking all steps realistically possible to make it clear that he is not exploiting the office of the presidency for his personal benefit.

Trumps disclosure reflected the apparent demise of the high-end skin-care line of his wife, Melania, which included anti-aging products made with caviar. The Melania Marks company is no longer listed as one of her assets.

The first lady drew wide criticism earlier this year when she claimed in a libel lawsuit that a defamatory story in the Daily Mail had derailed her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to launch a broad commercial brand and bring in multimillion-dollar business opportunities.

Melania Trump previously reported between $15,001 and $50,000 in income from her accessories line. But during the past year, she listed no income from the brand.

Amy Brittain, Tom Hamburger, Michael Kranish, Steven Mufson and Steven Rich contributed to this report.
It has been two years and two days since President Trump announced his candidacy for the top office  and the Republican Party hasnt been the same since. Trump upended the traditional GOP politics, and his presidency offers near-daily evidence of strains within the party that arent going away anytime soon.

Anyone looking for real-time evidence could see it in the results of last weeks Republican gubernatorial primary in Virginia. Many analysts believed Ed Gillespie, the former Republican National Committee chairman and adviser to President George W. Bush, would cruise to victory in the primary. Instead, he barely defeated Corey Stewart, a Trumpian candidate who campaigned against immigration and for the preservation of the states Confederate monuments.

More evidence of the Trump effect on politics exists in Georgia ahead of Tuesdays special congressional election in the 6th District, which covers suburban Atlanta. Pre-Trump, Republican Karen Handel probably would have held a comfortable lead. In the age of Trump, she is at risk of losing to Democrat Jon Ossoff. Days before the vote, neither side is confident of the outcome in a district that former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney won by 24 points in 2012 but Trump won by just two points in November.

The Virginia and Georgia elections offer two angles from which to examine the impact of Trumps presidency on the politics of both parties. In Virginia, it is the story of a GOP coalition at odds with itself. In Georgia, it is Trumps capacity to unite otherwise fractious Democrats as he unnerves many of the well-educated Republican voters.

As these contests unfold, Emily Ekins of the Cato Institute has provided a timely typology of Trump voters and, by implication, the Republican Party of 2017. Her work is one of several reports produced by the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group, which has brought together analysts from across the political spectrum to design and analyze survey research conducted by the online polling firm YouGov.

(The Washington Post)

Ekins puts Trump voters into five groups: American Preservationists, Staunch Conservatives, Free Marketeers, Anti-Elites and the Disengaged (a relatively small group). Her takeaways are instructive and, for Republican leaders, challenging. She says there is no such thing as one kind of Trump voter who voted for him for one single reason. Trump voters hold very different views on a wide variety of issues, from immigration to national identity and race to trade and economics.

[Trumps shadow, and stalled GOP agenda, affecting Georgia race]

There are many traditional Republicans in the Trump coalition. He wouldnt have won without them. But it was other voters who were attracted to his messages on race, religion, immigration and national identity that have left the Republicans in the state they are in. A look at just two of the five groups  the American Preservationists and the Staunch Conservatives  helps explain why navigating can be difficult for any Republican aspirant or elected official.

Ekins describes both as core Trump constituencies. The American Preservationists lean economically progressive and embrace a nativist conception of American identity, take nativist stances on immigration and believe the system is biased against them. Staunch Conservatives are conventionally conservative and distinct from Trump in that way. They prefer less government intervention in the economy, support moral traditionalism and do not fear a rigged system, Ekins said.

During the primaries, she writes, more than 8 in 10 American Preservationists voted for Trump, the highest of any of the five groups in her typology. They helped catapult him to the nomination, she says. Meanwhile, Trump was also the first choice of about 6 in 10 Staunch Conservatives in the primaries, which also played a key role in his success in winning the nomination.

At the same time, not quite 6 in 10 of these American Preservationists voted for Romney in 2012, while about one in six backed President Barack Obama. Among Staunch Conservatives, however, 9 in 10 backed Romney in 2012. Still, both groups overwhelmingly cast positive votes for Trump in November. Far higher percentages of Trump voters among the Free Marketeers and Anti-Elites considered their decision a negative vote against Hillary Clinton.

There are a variety of similarities between these two groups that make up core Trump constituencies, but on issues, they part company. About 3 in 4 American Preservationists favor raising taxes on the wealthy, while a similar percentage of the Staunch Conservatives oppose that idea. Nearly 3 in 4 Preservationists say Medicare is an important issue, significantly higher than among the Staunch Conservatives. Voters in both groups overwhelmingly favor Trumps travel ban, but the Preservationists are far more likely to say that legal immigration should be made more difficult for foreigners.

(Amber Ferguson,Jorge Ribas,Dalton Bennett/The Washington Post)

Trump assembled and held this coalition together in the presidential election, but as the Virginia gubernatorial primary showed, the conflict between the ardent Trump supporters and other Republicans continues. Lee Drutman of the think tank New America writes of the tension in another of the reports from the Democracy Fund study group: The nativist populism on which Donald Trump campaigned is at odds with much of what Republicans have traditionally embodied.

Meanwhile, Trump is affecting Democrats, as well. The battle for the soul of the Democratic Party is a common theme these days, and there is something to the friction between the progressive wing of the party, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and the more moderate wing. But Democrats appear less divided on issues than Republicans, and some of those differences are overshadowed by the unity that Trumps presidency provides to the opposition party.

In Virginias Democratic gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam easily defeated former House member Tom Perriello. Northam had the support of the Democratic establishment, while Perriello had the support of Sanders and Warren. It seemed a proxy war for the overall battle for the direction of the party.

Yet both candidates were broadly liked by Democratic voters, with high favorable and minuscule unfavorable ratings. Both candidates adopted generally progressive positions and especially shared harsh rhetoric aimed at Trump. A race that many believed would be close turned out to be the opposite, and the Trump presidency probably will hasten a coming-together ahead of the fall election.

Drutman argues that the divisions within the Democratic Party are more about disposition than about issues. The main divide within the Democratic Party electorate is about attitudes toward the establishment and the existing order than it is about specific issue positions (with the exception of trade policy), he writes. Democrats are also quite unified on social/identity issues.

The Democrats arent without problems. The party could be pushed farther left on social and identity issues, given the attitudes of their young voters and wealthy contributors, both of whom are more liberal on these matters than other Democrats are. That represents a challenge as Democrats weigh how they can appeal to white, working-class voters who defected to Trump and the Republicans.

Tuesdays results in Georgia will provide more clues to the state of the two parties, although given the huge amounts of money spent on behalf of both candidates, it is an unusual laboratory. But already, its clear the degree to which the president looms over both parties and especially the challenges he continues to present to the party he adopted to win the White House.
The Democratic establishment is on the verge of having its best one-week performance in a very long time.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam captured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination Tuesday with the full force of the Old Dominions party machine behind him, winning by a larger-than-expected margin of almost 12 percentage points over a one-term congressman who ran as an insurgent in the mold of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

On Tuesday outside Atlanta, Democrats have a very real chance to win a special election for a House seat that has been safely in Republican hands since 1978, using first-time candidate Jon Ossoff, 30, who has assiduously stuck to an offend-no-voter strategy drawn up by leading party operatives in Washington.

If Ossoff can pull off this victory in Georgias 6th Congressional District, it will deliver a much-needed positive jolt to the party apparatus. For weeks, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has been under siege for focusing heavily on this seat in the Atlanta suburbs while paying far less attention to three other special elections in districts that are more rural, less educated and went for President Trump by large margins in last years election.

An Ossoff win, just a week after Northams convincing primary victory, would signal that the Democratic establishment is still alive and kicking.

(Amber Ferguson,Jorge Ribas,Dalton Bennett/The Washington Post)

In a memo last week, Dan Sena, the DCCCs executive director, went back and forth between tamping down expectations of victory and going to great lengths to take credit for the win if it happens. Sena explained that the previous occupant of the 6th District seat, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, won his past six elections by an average of 33 percentage points.

Trumps shadow and stalled GOP agenda loom over close Georgia race

And yet Republican Karen Handel, a perennial candidate with close alliances to the Price family, cannot break above the mid- to high 40s in head-to-head polling vs. Ossoff.

The DCCC has spent more than $6 million to fundamentally transform a traditionally Republican electorate, turn out low-propensity voters, channel the unprecedented grass roots energy, and communicate with swing voters, Sena wrote of an effort that has included more than $5 million on TV ads.

An Ossoff victory  far from a sure thing  would also signal that the GOP, despite controlling all of Washington, remains more beset by ideological divisions and personality disputes than the Democratic Party. Neither party appears particularly unified, but Democrats have been bracing for anti-establishment candidates knocking off party veterans in the same manner that Republicans have endured in recent years.

After all, in Virginia, Northam was the gubernatorial candidate who was supposed to be sweating out a tight race against former congressman Tom Perriello for the Democratic nomination, as Republican Ed Gillespie prepped himself for the general election, his primary win seemingly a formality. Instead, Gillespie barely hung on against Trump backer Corey Stewart, who positioned himself as an anti-establishment candidate willing to say controversial things. Gillespie had much greater financial support and the backing of almost every prominent Virginia Republican.

The narrowness of his victory sent shock waves through Republican operatives in Washington.

In the Senate, where Democrats are defending three times as many seats as Republicans are next year, Republicans were supposed to be looking to make big gains over their current 52-to-48 edge. Instead, Stewarts unlikely surge recalled other primary battles this decade when Republicans chose the more ideologically confrontational candidates  only to lose what could have been easy victories in the general election.

This would be an amazing turnaround for establishment Democrats, who have spent the past year under rhetorical assault from some of their liberal activists and facing open mockery from Trump and Republicans over their 2016 performance.

Last July, just days before the start of the Democratic National Convention to formally nominate Hillary Clinton, hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee staff suggested that some senior aides favored Clinton over Sanders during the primary. The episode prompted the Democratic National Committee chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), to resign.

Clinton then lost in stunning fashion to Trump in November, as Democrats in the House and Senate fell far short of expected gains after they ran their campaigns hitched almost entirely to Clintons messaging, which focused heavily on negative ads about Trumps personal behavior.

For Sanderss supporters, the results prompted a lot of we-told-you-so commentary, suggesting that Clintons approach had lacked a robust economic agenda that appealed to liberals and to working-class voters in former manufacturing hubs. Those anti-Trump activists have bemoaned the DCCCs decisions this spring to not invest heavily in special elections in Kansas, Montana and South Carolina, but to focus on the Georgia race, instead.

Republicans begin to fret about holding on to Tom Prices Georgia seat

If Ossoff does not break through, the failure will be seen by the Sanders wing as a brutal defeat for the party establishment, further fanning the flames of the internal war over decision-making.

Thats what makes the Georgia special election so important: It is being used as the case study for the Democratic establishments 2018 focus.

Never having run a race before, Ossoff is not the ideal candidate. He has adopted a neutral, almost post-partisan tone in what he says on the campaign trail, aware that the suburban district split almost evenly in last years presidential race.

National security should not be about political party. It should be about the interests of the country, he said at a debate this month.

Other Democratic candidates in special elections have been more fiery and closer aligned with Sanders. But they were in districts that were part of the Democratic past, not its future, according to party insiders, so they did not get the same level of attention.

This Georgia congressional seat is one of three dozen districts held by Republicans that either Clinton won or Trump won by less than four percentage points, making them the focus of the 2018 campaign to win the 24 seats the Democrats need to secure the House majority.

Democrats from the establishment wing are not guaranteeing victory here, but they see it as a real chance and a potential validation of their strategy after nearly a year of being knocked back on their heels.

What should have been an easy Republican hold has become the most high-profile and expensive congressional election in history, Sena wrote.

Read more from Paul Kanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
President Trump hands Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) a signed directive after he announced policy changes toward Cuba at the Manuel Artime Theater in Miami on Friday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Just before President Trumps speech here Friday announcing a more restrictive economic policy toward Cuba, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) took the stage for a man he once labeled a con artist  and talked about how good it felt to hang out with him.

Trump returned the kind words a few minutes later. And when he signed the directive, which had been sought by Rubio, he handed the first pen to the man he once dismissed as Little Marco.

It was a striking show of solidarity between two men who last year had been fierce presidential rivals  who had upbraided each other in deeply personal terms during one of the ugliest stretches of the Republican primary.

Neither made reference to the insults they once lobbed at each other, which has defined their public relationship for more than two years.

But associates say the relationship has improved significantly in recent months. The timing of the thaw, however, has provoked accusations that the president is trying to ingratiate himself with a key member of a congressional panel investigating potential ties between Trump associates and Russia.

(Reuters)

In a statement, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), a champion of more-open relations with Cuba, said it should be obvious to everyone that this is a political favor from President Trump to a few influential Members of Congress who have never set foot in Cuba and who represent a tiny minority of the American people.

Rubio and Trump allies dismissed that notion. And some Democrats said they see no evidence that such a tactic is working with Rubio.

Rubios allies believe he has struck a difficult balance that many GOP lawmakers have sought during Trumps presidency but few have actually achieved. On some issues, the senator from Florida has remained openly critical of Trump. On others, including Cuba policy, he has found a way to partner with the president to pursue his own priorities.

He seems to have found a sweet spot, or maybe I should call it the art of dealing with Trump,  Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist and friend of Rubio, wrote in an email. He works with Trump on what he can, issues like Venezuela and Cuba, that Marco and our community cares about enormously. But he still manages at times  distances himself from Trump and criticizes Trump when he goes off the rails.

Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants, took to social media Friday to tout his collaboration with Trump on the new Cuba policy, which takes aim at President Barack Obamas decision to normalize relations with the country.

The cooperation, the hard work, the commitment that this White House and that President Trump has shown to this cause I believe has no precedent, Rubio said of Trump as he helped introduce him here.

Rubio described flying down from Washington with the president and told an audience filled with fellow Cuban Americans how cool it was to ride in a motorcade with police lights.

Trump called Rubio a friend of mine and one tough competitor. After Trump gave Rubio his pen, he handed him the order itself, prompting a wide grin from the senator.

White House officials said Rubio was a central figure in crafting the new policy. But some observers saw the collaboration as more than two Republicans working on a policy shift for which both have advocated.

Last week, Miami Herald columnist Fabiola Santiago penned an item headlined Did Rubio trade the integrity of U.S. for a Cuba-policy shift from Trump? It argued that Rubio appeared to be acting as Trumps defense attorney during his questioning of former FBI director James B. Comey at a closely watched Senate Intelligence Committee hearing this month.

Rubio suggested strongly during the hearing that Comey could have made it known that Trump himself was not under investigation, no matter how he felt about the propriety of their other interactions.

Several lawmakers saw those remarks as an aberration from his normally apolitical approach to allegations surrounding the president, his surrogates and potential Russia ties. And Rubio, who had dinner with Trump the week of Comeys hearing, told reporters that if Trump had tried to influence or ask him questions about his role in the Intelligence Committees investigations, we would have gotten up and walked out.

Marc Short, Trumps legislative director, noted that Trumps announcement on Friday tracked with policy he had pushed during the campaign.

Wed be foolish not to get the counsel of people who are experts in this area, Short said, speaking broadly not only of the Cuba issue but any policy matter of interest to lawmakers.

Senate Democrats are not terribly concerned about the possibility that Trump is trying to sway Rubio to go softer on him in the Russia probe, according to several aides. Rubio has long been openly skeptical of the Russian government, and these aides did not predict that would change.

When the president is under investigation, its a good time to cash in chips, said Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at New York University.

While Trump should be trying to make as many friends as possible in Washington right now, Naftali added, hed be more suspicious if this were an entirely new policy.

As one of Trump chief rivals during the campaign, Rubio spent many months trying to avoid engaging with the businessman, calculating that his appeal would eventually wane.

It didnt. And Rubio was forced to shift strategy, abruptly going hard after Trump in a debate in Texas and the days that followed  even lobbing anatomical insults at him.

The strategy failed, and Rubios campaign ended with a humiliating defeat in his home-state primary. But since then, relations have improved between the two men.

A key moment arrived when Rubio and Trump met at the White House in February. It was Rubios idea to bring Lilian Tintori, the wife of Leopoldo Lopez, a prominent Venezuelan political prisoner, Rubio associates said. After the meeting, Trump called on Venezuela to release Lopez.

Allies of Rubio, who is fresh off reelection, say they believe he may have a second presidential run in him down the road. After a donor call he did earlier this week, there was chatter among some about whether he might be interested in running again, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.

At the same time, Rubios allies say he feels liberated because for the first time in years, he is not gearing up for or running a national campaign. Now he is focused on delivering on issues that matter to him and his state. The Cuba directive, for which he took heavy criticism for not advocating strongly enough when he ran for president, is a good example.

In Rubio, Trump allies say, the president sees someone he can and should work with professionally and get along with personally.

But for the political strain of the race for president, they would be friends in any normal basis, said Brian Ballard, a top GOP fundraiser and mutual associate of Trump and Rubio. He added: I think the president respects him. I think the president likes him.

Still, there are cracks in the relationship. Rubio voiced skepticism about now-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his confirmation process, although he ultimately supported him. More recently, Rubio critiqued Trumps speech in Saudi Arabia on CNN, saying he would be a more forceful critic of countries with poor human rights records.

But Rubio also has found ways to work with Trump and his team. He has collaborated with Ivanka Trump on the issue of paid family leave.

As he helped introduce Trump here Friday on a podium bearing the presidential seal, Rubio spoke in a volume and cadence reminiscent of the speeches he delivered as a candidate for president.

This time, the race had been long settled. And instead of attacking Trump, Rubio seemed almost in awe of being around him.

They had the best M&Ms on the planet, Rubio said of Air Force One.

Sullivan and Demirjian reported from Washington. Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost
French President Emmanuel Macron leaves a polling station in Le Touquet, northern France, on June 11, 2017, after voting in the first round of the two-stage legislative elections. The second round is June 18. (Thibault Camus/AP)

One is a female bullfighter. Another is an acclaimed mathematician who likes to dress like the Mad Hatter. Half are women, many are minorities and most are not career politicians.

These are the candidates of En Marche (Onward), the party created a little more than a year ago by newly elected President Emmanuel Macron. It is now poised to sweep Sundays final round of parliamentary elections and fundamentally recast French political life. Macron, 39, Frances youngest head of state since Napoleon Bonaparte, has promised a revolution, and Europes third-largest economy may be about to get one.

Macron rose from relative obscurity to score a landslide victory in the presidential election in May, becoming the first winning candidate in decades to come from neither the traditional center-right nor center-left parties. But now, something even more momentous is happening: Macron is leading a total overhaul of an ossified political system.

In a scenario that would have been unimaginable scarcely a year ago, the centrist, pro-European party of the new president is slated to win an absolute majority in parliament. En Marche is projected to win at least 400 of 577 total seats, according to polls.

France is no stranger to electoral landslides: Francois Mitterrand scored one for the Socialists in 1981; Jacques Chirac did the same for the center-right Republicains in 2002. But not in modern French history has an independent candidate with relatively little political experience so quickly assembled such a strong mandate to govern.

What is extraordinary is the speed with which its happened, said Sudhir Hazareesingh, a professor of French politics at Oxford University. Whats also extraordinary is that both traditional parties are being swept away.

The center-right Republicains, the party of former presidents Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, is likely to win between 85 and 125 seats, polls suggest. The Socialists, once a bedrock of French and European politics, are unlikely to top 40 seats.

There is an asterisk to Macrons success: Abstention was at a record high in the first round of voting, suggesting that many French citizens were not inspired to vote for anyone.

Macron  who has always been careful to position himself above partisanship, even as a former economy minister in a Socialist administration  has tapped into the anti-elitism that is a core theme of populist politicians, Hazareesingh said.

During the election campaign, extremist candidates such as Marine Le Pen on the far right and Jean-Luc Melenchon on the far-left drew support by promising to throw out the existing political elite.

Although Macron, as an outspoken advocate of the European Union and of certain market reforms, is not exactly a populist, he effectively used elements of that anti-system pitch during the campaign, Hazareesingh said.

Behind his success was always the idea that he was going to renew not just the presidency, but also the political elite on the whole. And when you look at the parliamentary candidates hes chosen, it is a spectacular renewal.

The legislative candidates in Macrons movement come from a diversity of backgrounds. In a country where powerful politicians often hold onto their districts for decades, the new party has distinguished itself by fielding relative political novices.

Gender parity has been a goal for Macron, and half of those on his partys ticket are women. It is notable that many of his movements candidates have African and Middle Eastern immigrant backgrounds. In Frances previous parliament, only 12 of the 577 deputies came from those groups.

Djamila Haddad, 50, is an example of the fresh faces competing for Macrons party.

Haddad arrived from Algeria as an infant in 1967. Years ago, she served on her regional council in Aube, in east-central France, as a member of the Socialist Party. But she became disillusioned because the party never implemented any of its promised reforms, she said.

She was inspired by Macrons candidacy, she said, because of his promises for political renewal. She was most struck by his pledges to recover the grandeur of France and to moralize public life  in other words, to hold public servants more accountable and restore public trust in government.

Some of Macrons proposals remain vague, but the party has campaigned on a blend of social liberalism and fiscal responsibility. Its platform includes a slew of controversial labor reforms designed to jump-start the countrys stagnant economy.

Haddad began volunteering for Macron during the presidential campaign. She eventually put her name forward as a potential parliamentary deputy. Several weeks later, she was interviewed by Macrons representatives and was added to the ballot.

The party brings a certain freshness, she said. Finally, there are younger candidates. Finally, there are more women. And finally, there are new ideas in a staid, stolid system. Thats renewal.

Others are more skeptical about the sea change underway in French politics, expressing concern that the country is moving toward a virtual one-party state with little room for serious opposition. And they note that Macron will have tremendous control over his new lawmakers.

The new members of parliament have been chosen personally by the president, said Patrick Weil, a leading French constitutional scholar, noting that En Marches candidates would never have been on the ticket without the endorsement of Macron. Donald Trump never chose any Republican members of the House.

In the French news media, commentators have noted that the initials of Macrons party are the same as his initials, suggesting that he is the essence of the party.

We know that En Marche has been very, very centered on Macron, and I think thats going to be reinforced by the fact that most of these people are political novices, said Hugo Drochon, a French historian and political analyst at Cambridge University.

It will likely just mean that they will apply Macrons program [entirely] as opposed to the compromises that typically go with the left-right politics. The line is going to be coming very much from the top down, rather than from any kind of compromise, he said.

For Haddad, however, this is a gamble necessary for remaking Frances economy and image.

Macron was like a third kind of political character, she said. He came out of the water and positioned himself outside the system.

We could not find that freshness in the existing parties as they stood, so we had to find it in a new terrain.

Correction: This story was updated to correct the year of Haddads arrival in France to 1967, not 1963.

Read more:

The reason behind Macrons firm handshake with Trump, revealed

Macron is 39 and his wife is 64. French women say its about time.

Frances Macron flexes newfound international star power

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Worshipers pray at the Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque during its inaugural Friday prayers in Berlin on June 16, 2017. (Carsten Koall/European Pressphoto Agency)

Inside the red-brick building that now houses the German capitals newest and perhaps most unusual mosque, Seyran Ates is staging a feminist revolution of the Muslim faith.

Allahu akbar, chanted a female voice, uttering the Arabic expression God is great, as a woman with two-toned hair issued the Muslim call to prayer. In another major break with tradition, men and women  typically segregated during worship  heeded the call by sitting side by side on the carpeted floor.

Ates, a self-proclaimed Muslim feminist and founder of the new mosque, then stepped onto the cream-colored carpet and delivered a stirring sermon. Two imams  a woman and a man  later took turns leading the Friday prayers in Arabic. The service ended with the congregation joining two visiting rabbis in singing a Hebrew song of friendship.

And just like that, the inaugural Friday prayers at Berlins Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque came to a close  offering a different vision of Islam on a continent that is locked in a bitter culture war over how and whether to welcome the faith. Toxic ills like radicalization, Ates and her supporters argue, have a potentially easy fix: the introduction of a more progressive, even feminist brand of the faith.

The intention is to give liberal Islam a sacred space, Ates said. I feel very discriminated by regular mosques where women have to pray in ugly backrooms.

Seyran Ates introduces the first Friday prayers, on June 16, 2017, at Berlins Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque, which she helped to establish. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The subject of withering criticism as well as hopeful support, the house of worship is part of a small but growing number of liberal mosques founded all or in part by women.

Seen by their backers as an antidote to gender bias that often leaves Muslim women praying in smaller spaces, the new kind of feminist mosques amount to a rallying cry for change, observers say.

In London, for instance, the female-founded Inclusive Mosque Initiative opened its doors in 2012. Female imams routinely lead prayers in spaces that welcome male and female Muslims of any sect  gays and lesbians included. More recently, mixed-gender or all-female prayers have spread to boutique mosques from California to Switzerland to Denmark.

Women and men traditionally pray separately in mosques for reasons of modesty. Some argue that the Koran does not explicitly call for separation, but others say that female voices should not be heard during prayer.

Nevertheless, women are said to have served as imams in ancient Islam, and female Muslim activists have been challenging the norms surrounding the religion for decades. Notable among these activists is Amina Wadud, an American who famously delivered a Friday sermon at a South African mosque in 1994.

Enter Ates, who opened the Berlin mosque largely through donations. A 54-year-old Turkish Kurd, she is both well known and polarizing in Germanys Muslim community of more than 4 million. As a student, she narrowly survived a gun attack at a counseling center for Turkish women. And after years of fighting for womens rights, repeated death threats forced her to close her legal practice in 2006.

The debut of her mosque brought a round of fire on social media from critics. #Mosque without #Islam. Those who know Ates know that she is in favor of an Islam that is not based on its sources, tweeted the advocacy group Generation Islam.

Burhan Kesici, chairman of the Islamic Council for the Federal Republic of Germany, dismissed her house of worship as a fad.

Were observing this and are wondering . . . how what is happening there is supposed to be rooted in Islam at all, he said.

He added, Of course women are equal. That theres a separation in religious practice doesnt mean that theyre not equal. Im curious how long this congregation will last. . . . It seems a random conglomerate of different Islam critics.

At the inaugural service Friday, the mosque housed inside an old theater space of a Protestant church lured more journalists than worshipers, as well as a significant security presence. Among the young Muslims attending was Haithm al-Kubati, 26, a Yemeni who moved to Germany six years ago.

It was, he said, his first time praying in a mosque with women.

It still takes a bit of getting used to. But its often the case when something is new that it is a bit strange, perhaps even a bit scary. But I am sure that this is the way of the future, he said.

Elham Manea, the female imam who shared in leading the Friday prayers, said mixed worship is an issue of equality.

How and when a woman is asked to pray mirrors her social status within her community, Manea said. She is asked to pray separately from men, to cover her hair during prayer . . . and to stop praying during the days of her menstruation. . . . All these restrictions are imposed on her because they mirror the social conviction that a woman is not fully complete and perfect like a man and [that] she without doubt isnt equal.

I understand that change is hard, because one is used to doing the same thing for centuries, and it will of course be difficult to change it. But still the time for change is now. . . . And were calling for it respectfully.

Read more:

Founder of Denmarks first mosque for women: I will not listen to naysayers.

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The American traveler in Cuba  sweating, disoriented and probably a bit woozy from the rum drinks  is once more at the heart of the struggle for the islands future.

Central to President Trumps plans to peel back his predecessors detente with Cuba is the idea that there is good and bad U.S. travel. The United States, Trump believes, can tightly regulate American vacations to deprive the Castro government of dollars and redirect the money to the islands growing class of entrepreneurs.

But it will be difficult to pick winners in Cubas state-controlled economy, where government businesses and the private sector are thoroughly intertwined. And even harder will be determining what sort of travel constitutes the kind of people-to-people interactions the Trump administration says it wants to preserve.

By reinstating restrictions on independent travelers, the Trump administrations new policy will hurt Cubas emerging private sector that caters to American visitors, critics insist.

Instead, the new rules will herd Americans back toward the kind of prepackaged, predictable group tourism that the Cuban government actually prefers  and earns more revenue from.

I think if you come here on a package tour, you see what the Cuban government wants you to see, said Andrew Sleyko, 36, a food scientist from Chicago who was visiting the island for the first time as Trump announced his new policy.

Sleyko and a friend had booked rooms through Airbnb and were spending their days walking around the city in the muggy heat.

Were talking to people wherever we go, he said. Isnt that the idea of people-to-people?

[Whats changing and whats not with Trumps new Cuba policy]

The Trump plan, announced Friday in Miamis Little Havana neighborhood, asserts that the Obama-era rules facilitated what the White House called illegal tourism as more U.S. travelers booked their own trips by renting rooms in Cuban homes through sites such as Airbnb.

While the law still allows certain American travelers to visit as individuals for religious, professional or other purposes, it eliminates the individual educational category that quickly became the most popular way to go to Cuba without booking a group tour.

Americans will generally still be allowed to visit Cuba if they come on cruise ships, for instance, or book with U.S.-approved tour agencies that ensure travel itineraries do not include too much unstructured time.

The complication for Trumps rules, however, is that large tour groups are too big for smaller bed-and-breakfast rentals, and their government-appointed guides tend to ply the well-trodden routes that bypass the new galleries, restaurants and night spots opened by enterprising Cubans and others after the openings spurred by Obama.

That, in turn, will cause a ripple effect.

If independent American travel is cut off, you wont only hurt the bed-and-breakfasts. Its also the construction crews, the private tour guides, the taxi drivers, the restaurants and the artists selling handicrafts, said Andrea Gallina, an Italian entrepreneur who last year opened a high-end boutique hotel, Paseo 206, with his Cuban spouse.

The 1934 mansion has an Italian restaurant on the ground floor, and Gallina estimates two-thirds of his guests are American, booking rooms through Airbnb, Expedia and other U.S. sites.

To be honest, Americans dont have time to go to the beach, because they get absorbed into the city, he said. Independent travelers have more contact with real Cubans.

Gallina employs 22 Cuban workers. If his bookings decline because of a travel crackdown, he said, he will probably turn to the European market and tighten our belts.

American travel to Cuba has been a political battleground since the early 1990s, when the collapse of the Soviet Union left the islands communist government starved for hard currency.

[With Cuba shift, Trump could undercut his companys hotel rivals]

As its resort industry grew and more foreign visitors arrived, the Castro governments enemies in Miami and in the halls of Congress fought to restrict Americans from going  knowing their dollars could undermine efforts to choke the Cuban economy.

Instead, Cubas tourism industry grew on euros and Canadian dollars.

But thats beginning to change.

The government says it received more than 4 million tourists last year  a record number  of which about 615,000 were U.S. visitors. That includes 330,000 Cuban Americans visiting relatives on the island, but many of the rest were Americans taking advantage of Obamas landmark moves to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba.

Travel by non-Cuban Americans has been on pace to double this year, according to the latest government data.

But Trumps rollback is expected to put a brake on that growth. U.S. officials say the new restrictions have yet to be written and will not take effect until then, and Americans who have already booked Cuba travel wont have to cancel.

Limited economic reforms by Cuban leader Raul Castro, 86, have allowed Cuban entrepreneurs to buy and sell property and run small businesses, but it was Obamas normalization measures that kicked the process into overdrive.

In Old Havanas tourist quarter, entire city blocks of crumbling century-old buildings are being renovated and turned into boutique hostels and chic cafes.

The work is being almost entirely carried out by private sector tradesman and contractors.

Ive never been this busy, said Roberto Claro, a dust-covered construction foreman in Old Havana, whose crew was busy converting a ruined, century-old building into a seafood restaurant. There were two other buildings on the same block also getting an overhaul.

The new rules aim to ban or limit Americans from patronizing military-linked businesses including Cubas gargantuan GAESA conglomerate, which is estimated to control more than half of the islands tourist economy.

The U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control said Friday it will provide Americans with a lists of prohibited hotels and other businesses linked to the company so American travelers can steer clear.

U.S. travelers will need to keep detailed records and receipts from their Cuba trips in case of an audit by Treasury Department officials, and that alone could be a deterrent if aggressively enforced.

The real challenge in implementing will be this, said Chris Sabatini, a lecturer at Columbia Universitys School of International and Public Affairs and the director of the website Global Americans. Monitoring travelers, evaluating who is staying in military-owned hotels, tracking license compliance  all that requires bureaucratic capacity and follow up.

Because Treasurys foreign assets division is the same office in charge of enforcing sanctions against countries such as Iran and North Korea, it has come under criticism for devoting resources to investigating the vacation receipts of American travelers who visit Cuba. A bipartisan Senate bill that would completely lift travel restrictions has 55 co-sponsors.

You or I could travel to any country on the globe and theres not a federal government prohibition from us doing so  the only restriction is Cuba, Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) told CNN as Trump announced the new measures. Were not the Soviet Union. We dont have to have travel papers for the government to decide whether or not you can travel.

Treasury said it will issue new guidelines in the coming months.

Gallina and others in Havana said they have been flooded with calls and emails from Americans in the past three days asking if they should cancel their trips.

nick.miroff@washpost.com

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Seven U.S. Navy sailors are missing off the coast of Japan after an Aegis guided-missile destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, collided with a container ship early Saturday, causing significant damage and flooding.

Three of the Fitzgeralds crew members, including its commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, were evacuated from the damaged vessel and are being treated at the U.S. naval hospital at Yokosuka, the home of the Navys Seventh Fleet.

Benson was reported to be in stable condition in the hospital, while the other two were still having their injuries assessed. The Seventh Fleet had set up an information center for families of sailors serving on the ship.

The cause of the collision was not yet clear.

Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the sailors, said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald suffered damage when it collided with a Philippine-flagged merchant ship off Shimoda, Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, on June 17, 2017. (Iori Sagisawa/AP)

The USS Dewey, another destroyer, and two naval tugboats were at the scene, about 12 miles from the Izu Peninsula and 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, searching for the missing sailors on Saturday. Two Japanese coast guard cutters with helicopters were helping. The Fitzgerald returned to Yokosuka Naval Base.

The Fitzgerald, which is more than 500 feet long, collided with a fully laden, Philippine-flagged container ship, the ACX Crystal, about 2:30 a.m. local time.

The Crystal is about 700 feet long and was bound for Tokyo, according to a website that tracks maritime traffic.

Local broadcaster NHK showed helicopter footage of the container ship with minor damage to its bow, while the Fitzgerald appeared to have significant damage above and below the waterline. Water was being pumped from the destroyer.

The Fitzgerald is part of the Yokosuka-based group that includes the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, but it was operating independently of the carrier when the collision occurred, Flanders said.

The Fitzgerald was operating under its own power after the collision, but was making less than 1 to 3 mph.

When its crew is at full strength, the Fitzgerald usually has more than 250 personnel aboard and can reach speeds well over 30 miles per hour. It is unclear how fast the destroyer was traveling when it and the merchant ship collided.

Also unclear was how the two massive vessels collided.

There are extensive international guidelines for accident avoidance at sea known as the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, or Colregs.

The rules require that ships must have a watch posted at all times and follow a number of collision-avoidance steps when crossing paths with or overtaking other vessels.

Gibbons-Neff reported from Washington.

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An Afghan soldier opened fire Saturday at a base shared with U.S. forces in northern Afghanistan, wounding at least seven U.S. soldiers in the second such insider attack last week.

Such incidents remain relatively rare amid the close cooperation between Afghan and foreign forces, but it is likely to draw increased scrutiny from the Pentagon as it plans to boost troop numbers in Afghanistan.

A statement by NATO-led forces said seven U.S. soldiers and one Afghan soldier were wounded when an Afghan army soldier opened fire at Camp Shaheen in Mazar-e Sharif. The attacker was shot and killed, the statement added.

Robert Purtiman, a spokesman for the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan, said there were no U.S. or NATO fatalities.

Camp Shaheen is home to the Afghan armys 209th Corps and was the site of a complex Taliban attack in April that killed more than 130 Afghan soldiers.

On June 10, three U.S. soldiers were killed and another was wounded in the Achin district of Nangahar province when an Afghan commando opened fire on them. The soldiers were assisting operations against the Islamic State in the restive eastern province.

[Pentagon identifies three soldiers killed in apparent insider attack ]

Six U.S. troops have been killed by hostile fire in Afghanistan so far in 2017. More than 2,000 U.S. troops have died of both combat and noncombat causes in the country since 2001.

Saturdays incident comes just days after President Trump delegated authority to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to set U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, opening the door for a possible of influx of forces that could number in the thousands.

In April, Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the same sprawling Afghan army training base, leaving scores of Afghan soldiers dead and scores more wounded.

The attackers, some dressed in Afghan military uniforms, managed to pass through two checkpoints in military vehicles before being stopped, after which they opened fire on the busy compound. The brazen assault, which came as Mattis arrived in Afghanistan, led to the dismissal of Afghanistans top defense officials by President Ashraf Ghani.

There are about 8,500 U.S. troops and 5,000 NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Salahuddin reported from Kabul. Pamela Constable in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Read more:

Baltimore soldier killed in apparent insider attack

Mattis: We are not winning in Afghanistan.

Trump delegating Afghan war decisions to the Pentagon faces scrutiny

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Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its advice centers, RBC insurance stores, and mobile advisors; digital, mobile, and social platforms; independent brokers; and travel partners. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset servicing, custody, payments, and treasury services to financial and other investors; and fund and investment administration, shareholder, private capital, performance measurement and compliance monitoring, distribution, transaction banking, cash and liquidity management, foreign exchange, and global securities finance services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, advisory services, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, private equity firms, and governments. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
National Grid plc transmits and distributes electricity and gas. The company operates through UK Electricity Transmission, UK Electricity Distribution, UK Electricity System Operator, New England, and New York segments. The UK Electricity Transmission segment provides electricity transmission and construction work services in England and Wales. The UK Electricity Distribution segment offers electricity distribution services in Midlands, and South West of England and South Wales. The UK Electricity System Operator segment provides balancing services for supply and demand of electricity on Great Britain's electricity transmission system; and acts as an agent on behalf of transmission operators. The New England segment offers electricity and gas distribution, and electricity transmission services in New England. The New York segment provides electricity and gas distribution, and electricity transmission services in New York. It also engages in the provision of transmission services through electricity interconnectors and LNG importation at the Isle of Grain; sale of renewables projects; and leasing and sale of commercial property, as well as insurance activities in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas. The Chemicals segment produces and markets ethylene and other olefin products; aromatics and styrenics products, such as benzene, cyclohexane, styrene, and polystyrene; and various specialty chemical products, including organosulfur chemicals, solvents, catalysts, and chemicals used in drilling and mining. The Refining segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks into petroleum products, such as gasolines, distillates, aviation, and renewable fuels at 12 refineries in the United States and Europe. The M&S segment purchases for resale and markets refined petroleum products, including gasolines, distillates, and aviation fuels primarily in the United States and Europe. This segment also manufactures and markets specialty products, such as base oils and lubricants. The company was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Two tension-filled events in Canberra this week underscored the fragility of the Australian government. It is caught in a perfect storm of global and domestic crises.

Deepening social discontent toward the entire political establishment is being compounded by the international uncertainty produced by the ferocious infighting in Washington over Donald Trumps presidency.

First, on Tuesday, there was what the media termed a mini revolt by Liberal-National Coalition members of parliament against the Turnbull governments support for the introduction of a Clean Energy Target, supposedly to reduce carbon emissions in coming decades.

After two stormy party room meetings, which lasted for hours, it became clear that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls leadership would again be in doubt if his government pushed ahead with such a scheme, which would threaten the interests of the coal mining industry. The second meeting generated foul-mouthed shouting matches featuring Turnbulls ousted predecessor Tony Abbott, a trenchant opponent of any emissions-reduction proposal.

Abbotts aggressive interjections in the meeting were meant to send a message that he could exploit the conflict to topple Turnbull. In 2009, Abbott won sufficient support to oust Turnbull as Liberal Party leader after he supported the then Labor governments plan for a carbon trading scheme.

Over the past year, Turnbull sought to break the decade-long impasse over energy policy by commissioning a report by the countrys Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel. The outcome was a recommendation that the government legislate a target that might eventually phase out coal-fired electricity generation. For years, the financial elite has been demanding bipartisan support for some kind of carbon trading scheme to provide certainty for giant energy investors by boosting profit prospects for power generation, including so-called clean or green projects.

Much to the frustration and alarm of the corporate ruling class, the rifts in the Coalition indicate a continuation of the seemingly intractable paralysis. Yesterdays Australian Financial Review editorial denounced a decade of zero-sum stop-start climate change policies. It declared: Business is rightly desperate for the political class to settle on a stable policy framework on which to support billions of dollars of investment commitments needed to fix the energy crisis the politicians have created.

These demands for further corporate enrichment via a market-based energy system were quickly exposed, however, by announcements by the main retail electricity and gas companies of crippling rises of up to 20 percent in prices for households and small businesses from July 1.

Average households will pay up to $400 a year extra for electricity and $50 for gas, exacerbating a worsening social crisis. Household debt levels are already the highest in the world because of falling real wages and soaring property prices. By some estimates, small businesses will pay up to $2,000 a year more for electricity and gas.

According to the Finkel report, retail power prices have risen by nearly 140 percent since 2004years in which electricity networks have been privatised by Liberal-National and Labor governments alike. This has created a lucrative national market in which operators perversely reap super-profits from price hikes produced by power shortages.

The sky-rocketing prices demonstrate the incapacity of the private profit-driven order to provide affordable power, let alone tackle the grave dangers of global warming and climate change.

The other chaotic event was yesterdays near-defeat of the government in the House of Representatives on a Labor Party and Greens-backed Senate bill to establish a commission of inquiry into the banking sector. A defeat on the bill would not have brought the government downit was not a formal vote of no-confidencebut it would have illustrated the governments tenuous existence, as it holds just a one-seat majority.

The bill has been pushed by Labor, the Greens and right-wing populists in the Senate as a means of containing intense public hostility to the predatory and rapacious operations of the banks. Turnbull, a former merchant banker, has sought to block the bill and instead proposed cosmetic steps to supposedly monitor bank practices.

After several hours of nervous manoeuvring, a right-wing government backbencher, George Christensen, baulked on his threat to cross the floor to support the opposition bill. This resulted in a tied vote, allowing the House Speaker to exercise a casting vote to adjourn the debate. But if Christensen had followed through on his threat, the government would have been defeated because Foreign Minister Julie Bishop missed the vote.

These events are symbolic of the wider disarray engulfing the government. Commenting on the energy policy debacle, the Australians political correspondent David Crowe wrote: The federal Coalition has put its dysfunction on display again. Always up for a brawl on climate change, Liberals and Nationals MPs have thrown themselves into an internal row that tells Australians to look elsewhere for leadership.

Having barely survived last Julys election and holding only 29 out of 76 Senate seats, the Coalition faces parliamentary blockages on many fronts, including on widely-hated austerity measuresslashing education, health care and welfarein last months federal budget.

Fearing popular discontent, Labor, the Greens and other senators have felt compelled to oppose these cuts. But they have no opposition to the extra billions of dollars allocated in the budget to the military and the police-intelligence apparatus. These funding splurges not only mean deeper cuts to essential social spending; they are preparations for war and domestic repression.

While the besieged Turnbull this week mocked Trump, in line with those elements in Washington moving against him, he has stepped-up his efforts to demonstrate his commitment to the US military alliance, including by condemning China. This increasingly places Australia on the frontline of US war plans against China, which Washington regards as a rival for hegemony over the Asia Pacific.

Despite the worsening political crisis, the working class remains sidelined in the face of the danger of war and the ongoing corporate offensive on jobs, working conditions and social programs. All the posturing by Labor, the Greens and the Senate populists are attempts to confine the disaffection of youth and working people within the discredited parliamentary framework.

The same purpose is served by the trade unions and pseudo-left organisations, which promote illusions that Labor and/or the Greens can be pressured into transforming themselves into progressive or even anti-capitalist parties.

While seeking to exploit the governments turmoil, the Labor Party is positioning itself to return to office to continue the pro-business offensive that it mounted under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, with the help of the Greens, from 2007 to 2013. In parliament this week, Labor leader Bill Shorten presented himself as the champion of the national interestthat is the interests of the Australian capitalist class. He appealed to Turnbull to now commit to work with Labor in the national interest to end the policy paralysis which led to instability in the energy market.

At the same time, Labor has attacked the government from the right, condemning it for failing to curb the budget deficit and mounting public debt. Shorten and his shadow ministers used parliamentary question time yesterday to lambast the government for allowing gross debt to reach $500 billion.
A motive for Wednesday mornings shooting at a United Parcel Service (UPS) facility in San Francisco, California was still not clear two days after the tragedy in which four employees were killed, including the alleged shooter, Jimmy Lam. However, coworkers who knew Lam sensed he was facing depression and personal struggles, according to statements given to the media.

Lam had worked at UPS for 18 years and had appeared to be on friendly terms with the three victims, Shaun Vu, a senior driver for the company, told the Associated Press. Vu encouraged Lam to seek help with depression stemming from an apparent dispute between him and his girlfriend over visitation rights with their child. Lam then took several months off work, but was clearly still troubled upon returning.

The shooting occurred during a morning pre-delivery meeting at the facility in the Potrero Hill district of the city. Lam reportedly shot Benson Louie, 50, first before killing Wayne Chan, 56. The third victim, 46-year-old Mike Lefiti, known as Big Mike, was killed as he fled the building. Louie and Lefiti had both worked at UPS for 17 years, while Chan had been with the company for 28 years. Two more people were wounded in the attack.

Some reports suggested that Lam had a dispute with a manager, but none of those killed were in management. When police entered the UPS building, Lam shot himself and later died in hospital.

Joseph Cilia, a union official with the Teamsters Local 2785, said Lam had filed a complaint that he was working excessive overtime. He suggested that anger in Lam had been bottled up leading to Wednesdays shooting, according to the local CBS affiliate.

Cilia said that excessive overtime was standard at the UPS facility, but claimed, Most drivers dont mind the 9.5, 10 hours, before adding that Its the 11, 12, and 13 [hour days] that interfere with their life.

Other employees painted a far grimmer picture of work at the facility, with some calling the atmosphere hostile. An employee fearing retribution from the company anonymously told the San Francisco Examiner, Before this, there [were] problems with management, how they talked to people and treated people. Hes (Lam) not the only one. I think hes not the only one on edge.

WSWS reporters talked to UPS workers and neighbors who spoke affectionately of the three victims at a memorial outside of the facility. One worker, 34, who has been with UPS for three years, dismissed reports that Lam may have been bullied by the victims. I read on the news that Jimmy was being bullied. Theres no way one of them was bullying him, those three were the nicest people you could meet. Big Mike treated me like he was my best friend, even though he barely knew me. They were my mentors, he stated.

Sherwin, a friend of Louie and Chan for more than ten years, also stopped by the memorial. Employed in administration at a nearby school, he heaped praise on his friends saying, They would figuratively and literally give the shirts off their backs. These two guys were family men, outstanding folks.

The city of San Francisco is a major contradiction, with high rent and housing costs alongside declining living conditions. Just outside the Potrero Hill UPS, a large homeless encampment stretches down several streets, just one of the most visible signs of the social crisis in San Francisco.

Others who stopped by the memorial spoke on those conditions. UPS worker Jarrel complained that fights and carjackings in the area were not uncommon. I appreciate my job, but its not safe here and this [shooting] was proof.

Deante, 20, a construction worker, expressed his sympathies for the victims. He also expressed support for those struggling with mental illness, saying, Employees should be able to see therapists for depression and receive help with that. He continued, There are shootings in this area every once in a while, a little bit of gang violence, but this was the worst incident I can remember.

Hardly a day goes by in the United States where there is not a mass shooting of some kind. As of Wednesday, there had been 154 such incidents this year, although that number has already grown. Most recently, four people were killed and a fifth left in critical condition by a gunman in northern New Mexico on Thursday. Damian Herrera, 21, was arrested that evening after allegedly shooting three family members and two more people he encountered while attempting to flee police.
The number of American commandos fighting in Africa grew by 600 percent between 2006 and 2010, and by another 1000 percent between 2010 and 2016, according to documents authored by General Donald Bolduc, head of the Pentagons Special Operations Command-Africa (SOCAFRICA).

US Special Forces soldiers are waging over 100 missions in Africa at any given time, according to the leaked documents. AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart-Mohringen, Germany manages a growing empire of Special Forces bases and infrastructure, the documents show, including commands focused on the Horn of Africa, Uganda, West Africa, Trans-Sahara, as well as a Naval Special Warfare Unit 10 and a Joint Special Operations Air Component Africa.

In an article published in the Small Wars Journal concurrent with the leaks, The Gray Zone in Africa, General Bolduc called for at least a generation of irregular warfare on the continent, and warned that threats to the United States from Africa may soon surpass those from the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Bluntly stating the real geopolitical considerations driving Washingtons intervention, Bolduc described SOCAFRICAs mission as adversarial competition short of armed conflict, but with a military dimension.

Competition for strategic influence and relationships is complicated by the political, economic, military, and informational interests of China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran Everything we do for our partners in Africa today must prepare them for tomorrows threats and support strong political and military relationships, he wrote.

A panoply of different types of US special forces are active in Africa under SOCAFRICAs mission command construct, include Regional SOCFWDs (integrators), SOF teams (executors), Special Operations Forces Liaison Elements (synchronizers), logistics teams, and Joint Special Operations Air Component (JSOAC) groups, according to PowerPoint slides presented by the US general.

Bolduc called on the African partners of SOCAFRICAs commando network to implement integrated campaigning and coordination of their military operations in support of a broader political strategy. The elaborate strategy concepts advanced by the SOCAFRICA chiefcomprehensive population-centric approach that blends both kinetic and non-kinetic tactics, while operating among the populace, nested key leader engagements at all levels, regional comprehensive approachare merely new jargon for the same aims pursued by American imperialism and the European former colonial powers during the past 150 years.

The Pentagon is planning a further escalation of US power projection and war-making throughout African society. The exact scale of US activities on the continent remains shrouded from public view. AFRICOM is running expansive and undocumented operations in at least 49 countries in Africa, according to the Brown Political Review. In a letter to Congress published June 6, the Trump administration acknowledged deployments of at least 1,000 soldiers throughout the Lake Chad Basin countries of Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, along with another 400 troops divided between the Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

On June 2, American military forces concluded joint war drills with 20 different national militaries at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Center in Ghana. Participants in the drills, codenamed United Accord 2017, included African units from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, as well as Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Britain. The exercises served as an opportunity for regional African partners to develop relationships, enhance interoperability and hone mission command skills required to conduct peacekeeping operations in the region, according to the Pentagon. Last month, the 101st Airborne Division deployed to Somalia in support of operations to build the new Somali National Army (SNA), whose formation was agreed at the London Conference on Somalia last month.

Every day, dozens of war planes and unmanned drones fly missions out of the American base at Camp Lemonnier, in Djibouti, according to witnesses cited by African media. Throughout Africa, there are at least seven known US drone bases, in as many countries. Many of these facilities are administered by private contractors, with some operated out of secluded hangars located in African military or civil airports. At the Arba Minch airport in Ethiopia, the US Air Force spent several million dollars developing a facility hosting MQ-9 Reaper drones which carry out operations across Somalia. From an aircraft facility adjacent to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda, the US military conducts covert surveillance flights over Central Africa and beyond.

Washington and its regional partners are mobilizing for war and mass repression against an African population beset by the worst social catastrophe since the World War II. As of May, Oxfam International reported that 4.9 million people are dangerously hungry in South Sudan, 7 million in Yemen, 3.2 million people in Somalia, and 4.7 million in Nigeria. Among four countries alone, this represents some 20 million people threatened with death by starvation in 2017. Millions more are classified as in crisis, emergency and famine conditions in Niger, Chad and Mali. In Somalia, tens of thousands have been stricken with curable diseases such as cholera and measles during the beginning months of the year.
Youre Right! Its Not Typical To See This Many Named Storms In November
By Elizabeth Denton. Photos: Getty Images, Courtesy of Instagram.

Gal Gadot has been hitting the red carpets hard promoting her smash hit movie, Wonder Woman. The Israeli actress always gives it 100 percent in glam gowns and fancy footwear. But as Racked points out, she's not always in heels. It's a refreshing departure from basically every other woman we see step onto the carpet and hit up talk shows. (OK, not every one but almost.) Gadot mostly favors designer flats, such as those from Christian Louboutin and Tod's, but lately she's also been rocking some affordable finds, too. And one costs less than $30.

Stylist Elizabeth Stewart took to Instagram to share a gorgeous photo of her client at the Mexican premiere for Wonder Woman. She shared that Gadot wore a custom Prada gown, Anita Ko jewelry, and "our lil' secret" Rocket Dog shoes. Wait, what? Yes, those platform flip flops you probably wore in high school. While we don't know exactly which ones she's wearing, they're probably the Bigtop Sandals, which cost only $29.99 right now at Urban Outfitters{: rel=nofollow}.

"I want to create this trend of doing red carpets in flats, Gadot told USA Today back in May. I love wearing high heels  its beautiful, its sexy, whatever. But at the same time, especially stilettos, it puts us out of balance. We can fall any minute. Its not good for our backs. Why do we do it? I can wear high heels (despite having a sprained back). But I was like, 'Lets wear flats!' Ive been waiting for this moment."

Kicking ass while wearing comfortable shoes? That's our kind of superhero.

This story originally appeared on Allure.

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Photo credit: Natalie Walsh / Getty

From Good Housekeeping

Social media is overrun with warnings about ticks this summer as Lyme disease spreads across the country. Most parents already know to check their kids for the parasites and how to correctly remove them, but one nurse is warning families about another hidden danger.

Natalie Walsh of Wheeling, West Virginia, suffered every mom's nightmare when her healthy 7-year-old daughter Natasha suddenly took extremely ill. Natasha woke up last Tuesday with a headache. Hours later, the young girl could no longer walk, and her temperature climbed to 104 degrees, her mom wrote on Facebook.

So my healthy baby girl woke up Tuesday am with a headache around 5 am no fever just her head hurt more so on one side... Posted by Natalie Renee on Thursday, June 8, 2017

By that afternoon, a lump on the side of her head swelled up and changed colors. Natalie called it "the ugliest wound I have ever seen." Panicked, she rushed her child to a local hospital, where doctors diagnosed it as a spider bite. Natasha's agony still seemed like something much worse though.

"She's my youngest of three, plus I'm a nurse so I've seen a lot of things," Walsh told WPXI afterwards. "I've never seen a child get that sick that fast." Trusting her instincts, the mom drove Natasha to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, where multiple experts in neurology, dermatology and infectious disease examined the girl. No one had seen a mark like it before, and medications and fluids weren't helping.

After dozens of exams, the doctors finally determined the cause of the child's pain: Lyme disease. Natasha's symptoms presented atypically, but as soon as treatment started she recovered rapidly. Her "lump" was likely an unusual development of a bullseye rash, and Natalie later posted pictures of it to Facebook to help other parents.

"I wanted to share so maybe we could help maybe prevent this from happening to anyone else," she wrote. "Lyme disease is on the rise and the type Natasha has attacked her nervous system. I just ask to please take precautions to prevent ticks with your children and yourself."

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Although Natalie never found a tick on her daughter, she advised looking for bites in general. "This was probably the scariest three days of my life as a mother," she told WPXI. "No child should have to go through that if it's preventable."

Natasha soon returned home from the hospital, and she's doing much better now.

The Walshes' scary story still serves as an important reminder about the dangers of ticks. The tiny parasites can put both kids and adults in harm's way, so take every precaution when spending time outside this summer.

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Carrie Fisher's cause of death has been revealed.

Nearly six months after the actress' death, the L.A. County Medical Examiner's office confirms to ET that Fisher died of sleep apnea and other undetermined factors.

WATCH: Carrie Fisher's Death Certificate Lists Cause of Death But Questions Still Remain

Fisher died on Dec. 27, 2016, after going into cardiac arrest on a flight from London to Los Angeles on Dec. 22. She was 60. The Medical Examiner's office revealed on Friday that other conditions leading to the Star Wars actress' death were atherosclerotic heart disease and drug use.

According to the press release, Fisher's cardiac arrest was caused by multiple drug intake, with "significance not ascertained." The manner of Fisher's death has been ruled undetermined.

"My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it," Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, said in a statement to ET. "She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases."

"She talked about the shame that torments people and their families confronted by these diseases. I know my Mom, she'd want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles," Lourd continued. "Seek help, fight for government funding for mental health programs. Shame and those social stigmas are the enemies of progress to solutions and ultimately a cure. Love you Momby."

Fisher's death certificate was released in January, listing "cardiac arrest/deferred" as the cause of death.

WATCH: Carrie Fisher's 'Star Wars' Family Remembers Her 'Vibrant' Legacy: 'She Lived Her Life the Way She Wanted To'

Six months after her death, Fisher is still being remembered by family, friends and fans. See Mark Hamill's touching tribute to the actress during Sunday's Tony Awards' In Memoriam segment in the video below.

Story continues

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Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd walk the red carpet. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Carrie Fishers death was caused by sleep apnea and other undetermined factors, the Los Angeles County Coroners Office revealed on Friday, according to multiple reports.

The coroner also said Fisher suffered from atherosclerotic heart disease and drug use, but no specifics were given. According to the Associated Press, the report stated Fisher had taken multiple drugs prior to her death.

The manner of death has been ruled undetermined, the report concluded.

In an exclusive statement to People, Fishers only child, Billie Lourd, addressed the report.

My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases.

She talked about the shame that torments people and their families confronted by these diseases. I know my Mom, shed want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles. Seek help, fight for government funding for mental health programs. Shame and those social stigmas are the enemies of progress to solutions and ultimately a cure. Love you Momby.

The actress, best known as Star Wars Princess Leia Organa, suffered a heart attack at the end of last year. She was flying from London to Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 23, when she went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics removed her from the flight and rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was treated for a heart attack. She later died in the hospital, just one day before her mother, Debbie Reynolds, passed away.

Lourd, 24, took to Instagram to pay tribute to her mother and grandmother days after their deaths.

Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist, Lourd wrote on Instagram Jan. 2, her first time commenting on their deaths. There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my one and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me.

Story continues

???????????? Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist. There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my one and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me. A post shared by Billie Lourd (@praisethelourd) on Jan 2, 2017 at 10:09am PST

Fisher had long been open about her struggle with bipolar disorder and substance abuse issues, starting at only age 13 when she began smoking marijuana.

She said she later dabbled in drugs like cocaine and LSD.

Fisher explored her issues with addiction in her 1987 bestselling, semi-autobiographical novel, Postcards from the Edge, which was later turned into a movie starring Meryl Streep.

I couldnt stop, or stay stopped. It was never my fantasy to have a drug problem, she told People in 1987. Id say, Oh, f it, I havent done anything for a couple of months, why not? Lets celebrate not doing them by doing them. I got into trouble each time. I hated myself. I just beat myself up. It was very painful.

She told People in 2013, The only lesson for me, or anybody, is that you have to get help. Im not embarrassed.

To seek support for anyone suffering from mental illness, contact the Jed Foundation.
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website.

Amazons planned purchase of organic-food chain Whole Foods for $13.7 billion is one more sign that the born-and-raised online retailer wants to be the singular place Americans go to shop, even if that means walk-in stores.

For grocery shoppers, Amazons move is likely to bring more food choices and lower prices. The existing Whole Foods stores give Amazon a bigger distribution network for its delivery business, so they will be able to reach more customers.

Amazon can be expected to work to deliver better value to grocery customers, both online and within the brick-and-mortar space, says Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst with Bankrate.

The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, would give Amazon access to 460 Whole Foods locations in the U.S., Canada, and Britain.

In key ways, Amazon already has tried to disrupt the supermarket industry by experimenting with home grocery delivery and by setting up pickup spots for online orders.

Amazon has played in the grocery space for years, but this latest move signals that the online giant is more focused on the industry and looking to dramatically disrupt how Americans buy food.

Making Food Shopping More Convenient

Consumers love the idea of skipping the checkout line and ordering food from their laptop or mobile deviceto be delivered at a time thats convenient for them.

AmazonFreshs website is easy to use and information-richwith a click you can access even more nutritional information about the various foods for sale than youre likely to easily find in a supermarket.

In Seattle, Amazon is experimenting with two locations with kiosks where shoppers can pickup online grocery orders.

Walk-in supermarkets are responding to Amazon by upping their delivery game. Kroger and Walmart having begun testing door-to-door delivery in certain locations, and regional supermarket giant Publix is testing home delivery in certain areas of the Southeast.

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Traditional chain supermarkets are also trying out other services that make grocery shopping less of a time-eating chore. Walmart offers a click and collect system called Online Grocery Pickup in more than 30 states: Consumers buy online and drive to a Walmart store to pick up their bagged orders at designated times for no fee. Krogers ClickList service, available at 300 stores, works the same way.

Driving Prices Down

AmazonFreshs real boon to consumers is its food delivery, but its low prices are another draw.

AmazonFresh is a low-cost leader when it comes to shelf-stable packaged foods, says Burt Flickinger III, managing director at Strategic Resource Group, a consumer industry consulting firm based in New York City.

These cheaper foods include condiments such as ketchup and mustard, canned foods, pasta, cereals, and health bars. Flickinger says Amazons prices on these foods are 12 to 20 percent lower than those at Jet.com, an e-commerce site owned by Walmart.

One way Amazon keeps prices low is by unbundling large packs of food, like the kind you see at warehouse clubs such as Costco, and selling the components individually, says Sam Gagliardi, head of e-commerce at IRI Worldwide, a market research firm in Chicago. In this way Amazon is able to pass the savings on to its customers. Amazon also sells baby food at cost to entice busy parents to become loyal customers, according to IRI.

Access to good value, ironically, comes at a cost. To shop at AmazonFresh, you have to be a Prime member, which costs $99 per year. You also have to pay an AmazonFresh a $15 monthly fee that covers unlimited orders of $40 or more. If your order comes to less than $40, there is a $10 delivery fee.

Bringing the Future to the Food-Shopping Experience

Amazon's approach could eventually influence the operation of walk-in stores.

Last year the retail giant announced the opening of a new grocery store prototype in Seattle with no checkout lanes. Instead of paying at a cashier (self-checkout or otherwise) customers will simply grab what they want and leave, without ever engaging with an employee. This would work through a smartphone app and sensors placed throughout the store. Payment would be automatic through an app link to a customers mobile-payment service. The opening of this store, originally scheduled for March, has been postponed for technical reasons.

But customers who want a futuristic shopping experience right now can try Alexa, the digital assistant that lives in Amazons Echo smart speaker and other devices.

If you realize youre out of milk, you can ask Alexa to add it to your AmazonFresh order or any other grocery list. If theres any uncertainty as to what you exactly want, Alexa will list a handful of related products with prices that you can pick from. And Amazon is using other devices to make reordering the stuff you use easier, too. The newest version of its Dash Wand includes Alexa capabilities, which the company hopes will encourage more Prime members to order more kinds of items more often.





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Copyright  2006-2017 Consumer Reports, Inc.
It wasn't all that long ago that credit scores were a great mystery for many people. Consumers used to have to pay in order to see the three-digit number that so many creditors rely on to make lending decisions. However, all that has changed.

In 2014, the government's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommended credit card companies provide free credit scores to their customers. Many card issuers now offer this service, and third-party websites, such as CreditKarma and NerdWallet, also offer anyone the opportunity to view a free credit score.

While free credit scores can be an important tool for gauging your financial health, you should know these six things about them.

[Read: How Important is Your Credit Score?]

You probably won't be getting the same score as your creditor. Finance experts say the most common misconception about credit scores is that everyone has a single score. In reality, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of scoring options available. FICO, the largest credit scoring agency, says it has 28 scores that are commonly used. These include scores designed for specific industries such as auto and credit card lending. Plus, scores can vary depending on which credit bureau report is used for the calculation.

There are also newer companies in the industry, such as VantageScore. "It's like computer operating systems," explains Liz Weston, personal finance columnist for NerdWallet.com and author of "Your Credit Score ." "Windows is obviously the dominant one, but it has different generations. Apple is the upstart." Given that there are so many different credit scores available, it's unlikely the free one you're getting is the same one your lender is using.

Not all free credit scores are created equal. Some free credit scores will tell you exactly what you are receiving. They may mention the type of score -- FICO, VantageScore or another provider -- as well as the credit bureau used to calculate the score.

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Other free scores are more ambiguous. "Instead of a FICO score, you're getting an educational credit score," says Jocelyn Baird, associate editor for finance site NextAdvisor.com. That educational credit score could be based upon a proprietary formula created by a website and bear little resemblance to the credit scores used by lenders.

[Read: 10 Simple Ways to Raise Your Credit Score.]

Free scores haven't entirely replaced buying access to a score. With so many free credit scores available, it might seem silly to shell out money to see your number. However, Weston says it may make sense for those getting ready for a major purchase. For instance, someone buying a house might want to see an older version of their FICO score, which is more likely to be used by a mortgage lender.

Not everyone is convinced it's necessary to see the same score used by a lender though. Theresa Williams-Barrett, vice president of consumer lending and loan administration at Affinity Federal Credit Union, says knowing the exact score used by a lender isn't as important as knowing generally whether you have good or bad credit. "The score you see [from a free source] is likely roughly what the creditor sees," she says.

Companies offering free scores are selling something. Consumers should think twice before inputting their credit card information for a free credit score. "There are some companies out there who say [the score] is free, but they're not," Williams-Barrett says. In these cases, people trying to access a free credit score may unknowingly sign up for credit monitoring or some other service that comes with a monthly fee.

Even if there are no strings attached, people should remember that companies offering free credit scores are still businesses. "If they are not charging you, they are trying to make money in some way," says Nicole Mayer, partner with wealth-management firm RPG-Life Transition Specialists in Riverwoods, Illinois. Credit card companies hope you'll sign up for their card while third-party sites may steer you to services for which they receive a commission.

Checking your score won't hurt, but consider who is getting your information. Another common misconception about credit scores is that frequent checking will lower the number. That's not true, Weston says. "The only way checking your score can hurt is if you have your friend at the auto dealership do it," she explains. Credit checks by potential lenders can lower scores, but the type of credit checks performed by free score services shouldn't have a negative effect.

Still, people may want to exercise caution when looking at their score. "The more times you put your information out there, the more risk you have it being stolen," Mayer says. She recommends finding trusted sources based on each of the three major credit bureaus and sticking with them rather than continually checking on new sites.

[Read: 5 Ways to Get Credit Bureaus to Remove Errors From Your Report.]

Free credit scores can be useful monitoring tools. Part of the value of checking a score on a regular basis is to watch for identity theft or fraud. If a credit score drops significantly, "you should see that as a sign to take advantage of your free credit report," Baird says.

By law each of the three major credit bureaus must provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months. The official website to request a free report is AnnualCreditReport.com. According to Williams-Barrett, the free credit reports are even more valuable than free credit scores. Since scores are based on data in the reports, it's crucial that information be correct. She recommends people request a report from a different credit bureau every four months to watch for potential problems throughout the year.

Free credit scores can be a barometer to gauge your financial health, but don't overlook their limitations or the risks that may come from requesting a score from an unreliable source.
Abandoned Sukhumi massacre site Eerie photographs reveal the abandoned burned-down parliament building where 500 people were killed in the Sukhumi massacre. More than two decades since the conflict, the site remains a visual scar and a reminder of Abkhazias battle for independence from Georgia. (Photo: Bob Thissen/Caters News)

Eerie photographs reveal the abandoned burned-down parliament building where hundreds were killed in the Sukhumi massacre. More than two decades since the conflict, the site remains a visual scar and a reminder of Abkhazias battle for independence from Georgia.

Photographer Bob Thissen, 31, visited the historical site where more than 500 people lost their lives as guerrilla fighters sought to oust Georgian forces from the city in September 1993.

Six years after the bloodshed, known as the Sukhumi massacre, Abkhazia was declared an independent nation. Now, the former-Georgian parliament building lies scorched, its corridors a clash of derelict decay and overgrown roots that entwine around foundation posts.

Thissen, from Heerlen, the Netherlands, has been an urban explorer for over 10 years. He found the site to be eerie and haunted by its gory history. (Caters News)

To see more of Thissens work visit: www.bobthissen.com

See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Twitter and Tumblr.
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Amazon's plan to acquire Whole Foods conjures new possibilities for how consumers buy food.

Think drone deliveries of organic fair-trade sugar when youre already making cupcakes. Or your Amazon Echo smart speaker finding a recipe for lasagna and ordering the ingredients, while cranking out soothing tunes for you.

Retail analysts and others say these futuristic scenarios of convenience could grow from the powerhouse combination of Amazon and Whole Foods in a $13.7 billion deal announced Friday.

Amazon became the worlds biggest retailer by disrupting one business after another. With the Whole Foods deal, the giant online retailer seems poised and determined to alter the old-line grocery industry, as it pulls consumers further into its highly convenient and ever-growing ecosystem.

Ryan Brazelton, executive creative director for Interbrand, a global consultancy, says the acquisition will help Amazon move into more areas of a consumer's life. The experience and reach within [traditional] retail is what Amazon didn't have before, Brazelton says. And now they can integrate their technology into retail.

The Amazon eco-system already includes Prime membership with its two-day free shipping and video and music libraries, along with the Echo smart speaker, the newly re-released Dash Wand that scans products to order them again, and soon possibly the ability to pick up groceries at a physical store. And of course Amazon is experimenting with deliveries by drone.

What Amazon Might Do First

Amazon already has made inroads into the supermarket business with its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service and a prototype checkout-free Amazon Go brick-and-mortar store, so far only open to employees.

These early forays into groceries provide clues for what consumers could expect from a combined Amazon and Whole Foods, a deal expected to close later this year.

At first, consumers likely will see Whole Foods products in the AmazonFresh lineup, and just for Prime members. Amazon would be able to sell Whole Foods prepackaged meals, which make up about 20 percent of Whole Foods sales now, Stone says.

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Amazon can now answer the question, What are we having for dinner, he says.

Any number of Whole Foods locations  more than 460 in the U.S., Canada and Britain  could be used as jumping off points for wider delivery and pickup of groceries and prepared foods ordered online.

Inside the stores, Whole Foods customers could see big changes, including easier checkouts.

The Amazon Go pilot store allows customers to choose items and then pay the bill automatically by just walking out of the store, all without going to a cash register.

Amazon says in a statement that it has no plans to use the technology developed for Amazon Go to automate the jobs of cashiers at Whole Foods. It adds that it plans no job cuts as part of the deal. (Amazon declined to comment for this story beyond that statement.)

But Stone expects that Amazon might find a way to integrate some of the systems found at the GO store. The technology could free up employees to interact with customers about products, the same as in the companys brick-and-mortar bookstores, he says.

In this age of instant gratification, the idea of waiting in line feels a bit anachronistic, Stone says. People dont have the patience for it.

Whole Foods customers who are Amazon Prime members, meanwhile, could get discounts on certain products. When you walk into an Amazon bookstore, its a temple to Prime, Stone says.

Consumers could also see more Whole Foods stores thanks to Amazons financial might. Stone sees the possibility that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey could do what hes wanted to do, expand the chain to about 1,000 stores from its current stable of more than 460.

And Amazon could turn to dealmaking again. What well be watching next is whether Amazon makes a second big bet in brick-and-mortar by buying another established player, one that sells clothing and other items for example, says Bankrates Hamrick says. It still has the option to stand up its own Amazon-branded stores from the ground up."

Bree Fowler contributed to this story.





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Top pick tires for 2016

Best used cars for $25,000 and less

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Copyright  2006-2017 Consumer Reports, Inc.
By Hadley Keller. Photos by: Getty Images and courtesy of Instagram.

Most Americans are likely familiar with the heated debate over the Dakota Access Pipeline, which culminated in protesters joining Sioux at the Standing Rock Reservation to protest the oil pipeline that would cut through it. Despite the country's months-long cries of "No DAPL," President Trump earlier this month ordered construction to resume on the controversial project. Though critics are unlikely to be surprised at this decision coming from a leader who has made a mockery of the welfare of the planet, the go-ahead still spurned outrage. One group of designers is taking an appropriately creative stance in combatting the project: The Architects Newspaper reports that a collective going by the name of Alma and Friends has created a set of interactive maps detailing the environmental damage that the pipeline could cause, and advocating for alternative energy solutions.

In a series of seven graphics, first released by Los Angeles public television station KCET, the group outlines exactly where the 1,172-mile-long pipeline crosses Native American territory, which watersheds will be affected, and the areas most prone to future oil spills. The line's planned route includes several natural water sources as well as sacred burial grounds.

"There are alternatives to the risky and costly DAPL to create jobs and energy without risking the waters on which all American life depends," the group said in a caption on its Instagram account. "With 1,5311.65-megawatt wind turbines, we can offset the amount of energy the DAPL is projected to produce."

This project is not the first time the architecture community has stood in opposition to a decision by President Trump: Last month, the American Institute of Architects issued a statement pledging its loyalty to the terms of the Paris climate agreement, following Trump's announcement that he will pull the U.S. out of the deal. Looks like the president may have an unexpected adversary in the form of the country's design community.

Story continues

More: 10 of the Most Beautiful Streets in the World

This story originally appeared on Architectural Digest.

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A new wireless power system could help people avoid the inevitable jumbled mess of tangled cords and offer a more efficient way to charge electric vehicles on the go, according to a new study.

Researchers at Stanford University adapted a concept from quantum physics to produce a wireless charger that does something other wireless chargers cannot: automatically tune the frequency of the radio wave  the medium that transfers the power  to account for changes in the distance between the charging pad and the device. In an experiment, the team showed that its system transferred power with 100 percent efficiency up to about 27 inches (70 centimeters).

"The range is perfect for electric cars," Sid Assawaworrarit, a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering at Stanford University, told Live Science. "The floor of a car is about 20 centimeters [8 inches] away from the road's surface. You could embed the charging pad below the road surface." [Hyperloop, Jetpacks & More: 9 Futuristic Transit Ideas]

Assawaworrarit and his colleagues reported their research in a study published online today (June 14) in the journal Nature .

Although other wireless-charging devices, such as those for phones, already exist, the efficiency drops dramatically if the device is too close or too far away from the charger. This means a phone has to be placed on top of a charging pad to work best, and an electric car needs to be parked directly over a pad to recharge efficiently. As such, electronic devices are still tethered, albeit invisibly, to their power source, according to Assawaworrarit.

The problem lies in the design of these wireless power systems. They typically consist of a source, which is the charging pad, and a receiver, which could be a phone or an electric car.

In the source, radio waves of a certain frequency are generated to excite electrons in a coil of wire, called a resonant inductor. The receiver in the phone or electric car also has a resonant inductor made from a coil of wires. When the two inductors are put near each other, the energy gets coupled from the source to the receiver. In the receiver, a component called a rectifier converts the energy from the radio waves to usable electrical energy for the phone or the car.

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Finding the optimal frequency for the radio waves depends on the sensitivity of the equipment, the distance between the source and receiver and their orientation to each other.

Once the optimal frequency is found, deviations to the variables used to set it, such as changing the distance between the source and receiver, reduces the transfer efficiency. Assawaworrarit said a tuning circuit can, in theory, be built to adjust the frequency, but the design is complicated and puts limitations on how fast the device can be moved in relationship to the charging pad.

Assawaworrarit and his team created a wireless power system that doesnt use a source for radio waves, nor does it require a tuning circuit. It also works even if the distance between the resonant coils fluctuates, the scientists said. [10 Technologies That Will Transform Your Life]

The researchers accomplished this by taking advantage of a concept from quantum mechanics called parity-time symmetry, or PT symmetry for short. Like other concepts from the field of quantum science, it's peculiar, but systems built from it have symmetrically arranged parts that either absorb electromagnetic energy or emit it.

In an accompanying analysis of the new study published in the journal Nature, Geoffroy Lerosey a research scientist at the Langevin Institute, The French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and ESPCI Paris, wrote that parity-time symmetry can work to tune different wavelengths of light from a multimode laser into a single-mode laser.

Here, Assawaworrarit and his colleagues simplified the whole setup. They built a system that has a source and receiver, just like in conventional systems. But instead of using radio waves to excite electrons in the resonant inductor, they used an amplifier designed to amplify the electromagnetic energy in the coil. The receiver has a resonant inductor and rectifier, just like in conventional systems, the researchers said.

The physics behind PT symmetry automatically selects the operating frequency that will result in a maximum amount of energy being transferred. It accomplishes this within tens of microseconds and the system, in its present form, can accommodate distances to a little more than 3 feet (1 meter), limited by the use of near-field coupling, according to the study.

"Over a range of distances, the PT physics is such that the gains compensate for the losses," Assawaworrarit said.

Although the researchers tested their idea both in a computer simulation and in an experiment using an LED light bulb, it will take some time for such a device to reach consumers, they said.

In his review, Leroseynoted that the amplifier needs to be optimized, and he also questioned whether this concept will work if one coil is fixed and the other is moving, as would be the case with an electric car driving over a road embedded with charging pads.

"These questions need to be answered before this beautiful concept can have real-life applications," Lerosey wrote. "However, it already builds an inspiring bridge between the worlds of quantum physics and engineering."

Original article on Live Science.

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With Venezuelas economy in shambles and popular discontent on the rise, it seems increasingly likely that the authoritarian rule of President Nicolas Maduro will come to an end sooner than he would like. Its by no means clear how that will happen. One hopes for a peaceful transition to democratic rule; one fears a bloodbath.

Maduro has shown no inclination to restore democratic rule on his own. Over the past year, his government has blocked elections, jailed opposition leaders, and cracked down on protests throughout the country  including by prosecuting hundreds of civilians in military courts.

On June 19, foreign ministers from throughout the Americas will meet in Mexico to forge a common response to these repressive practices. Given the presidents intransigence, they would do well to focus their attention on those responsible for carrying out the repression. The likelihood of a peaceful transition could very well depend on how far these other Venezuelan officials  including members of security forces  are willing to go to keep him in power.

Last month, a secret recording surfaced in multiple news outlets of a group of Venezuelan generals at a regional command center wrestling with this question. There will come a moment when well have to use them, one says, referring to the use of snipers during street demonstrations, because the president isnt going to stay just with the [initial] phase of his plan for responding to anti-government protests.

If you tell me to go out there, another responds, I will do it. I will accomplish the mission. But I know tomorrow we might not have backing for any mistake thats made, and thats what were worried about. More specifically, he then says, they fear they can no longer count on the attorney generals office to protect them. The day may come when any of us could find ourselves in jail.

Until recently, these officers had little reason to worry. The last time the Maduro government carried out a prolonged crackdown on anti-government protests, in 2014, Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz made no serious effort to prosecute the widespread abuses committed by security forces  which included arbitrary arrests, beatings, torture, and killing peaceful protesters. Instead, her prosecutors abetted the crackdown, concocting bogus criminal cases against torture victims and political opponents.

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Now, though, the very same attorney general has begun speaking up for the rights of protesters. Over the past month, she has complained of arbitrary detentions by security forces and requested that courts release dozens of detainees. On May 24  just days after the recording of the generals surfaced  she announced that her office is pursuing criminal charges against dozens of members of security forces for alleged abuses. And more recently she has challenged the legality of a proposal by Maduro to rewrite the Venezuelan constitution, as well as the 2015 packing of the Supreme Court with pro-government judges.

Why this newfound concern for the rule of law? Many things have changed since 2014  most important, the intensity of anti-government animus, caused in large part by the devastating toll that severe shortages of food and medicine have taken on the population.

But theres another change that has been key: Governments throughout the Americas have finally begun to denounce Maduros authoritarian rule. After the 2014 crackdown, then-U.S. President Barack Obama, prompted by bipartisan concern in the U.S. Congress, imposed targeted sanctions on specific Venezuelan officials implicated in corruption and human rights crimes  including, in 2015, one of the prosecutors involved in jailing Maduros critics. The Trump administration has continued Obamas approach, imposing targeted sanctions on more officials, including members of Venezuelas Supreme Court.

Latin American leaders, who were largely silent in 2014, have increasingly spoken up over the past year. In March, 14 states  including Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru  issued a joint declaration calling on Venezuela to take three steps toward restoring democratic rule: release its political prisoners, hold elections, and reestablish the separation of powers.

The U.S. sanctions gave Venezuelan officials their first reason to fear that committing abuses could cause them trouble. But the collective condemnation by their neighbors  including governments whose predecessors once backed Hugo Chavez and Maduro  showed them that the international community was no longer willing to accept their governments authoritarian practices. Together, these responses have changed the cost-benefit analysis for officials complicity in human-rights crimes. Little wonder that the attorney general has begun to distance herself from the crackdown, and the military generals have begun to fear that killing protesters could eventually land them in jail.

And its not just the generals on the tape who seem to be getting nervous. On June 6, Maduros defense minister, Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez, surprised the country by declaring in a televised address: I dont want to see another member of the National Guard committing an atrocity on the street. Those who commit abuses, he warned, would have to assume their responsibility. But given his record overseeing the crackdown  which has not let up  the statement sounded less like a directive and more like an effort to duck his own complicity.

At the upcoming meeting in Mexico  which will take place during the General Assembly of the Organization of American States  the 14 countries will seek to rally others to back their three demands for restoring democratic rule in Venezuela. To discourage further violence, they should add a fourth: that officials responsible for human rights crimes  whether torturing and killing protesters or jailing political prisoners  should be brought to justice.

It remains to be seen how serious the attorney general is about prosecuting abuses. Even if she tries, obtaining convictions will be extremely difficult in a court system controlled by the president. Still, by pressing for accountability, the international community will give the generals all the more reason to fear that any abuses they commit will get them punished  if not now, then in a not-too-distant future when the rule of law is restored.

During past political crises in Latin America, there have always been those who argued that demands for justice would deter those in power from ending their repressive rule. But given that Maduro already seems determined to hold on to power at all costs, the top priority of the international community should be to prevent him from ramping up the repression. Any government that must rely on snipers to contain popular discontent is likely to meet its end the day its field officers refuse to obey orders to shoot.

Photo credit: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images
Some women of color feel that mixed-race women are taking over the natural hair movement. (Photo: Getty Images)

Natural hair has been  and remains  a popular topic of discussion. From women embracing and celebrating their naturally curly, wavy and kinky textures to huge brands creating products that cater to this specific hair type to minors being told to change their natural hair as it goes against school policy, its an ongoing conversation  one that can be positive, but in some cases, can also take a bitter turn.

In a Facebook post on June 14, Tiffany Buttafly brought up the topic of mixed-race women and natural hair. Mixed women have completely hijacked the natural hair movement and have somehow become spokespersons, she wrote. I thought it was about embracing hair that wasnt seen as acceptable.

Hair vlogger Ashley Malone, known as @nappyadvocatee on Twitter, tweeted Buttaflys post on June 14, though the tweet has since been deleted. Malone had opened up the conversation with, What yall think about this? I have mixed feelings. The tweet, which had garnered more than 1,000 likes, 700 reposts and 300 comments, sparked a debate that fired up a lot of people about the touchy, controversial topic.

Siding with Buttafly, one person tweeted, I agree with her; yes, Im natural, but I was told I had pretty hair by everyone (white people included) growing up. She also went on to include another tweet: Type 4 girls started the movement of embracing natural hair and should remain at the forefront.

Yahoo Beauty wasnt able to reach Buttafly for comment, but Malone shared her thoughts with us: My intentions were to see everyones views on the subject, because it is something that I have come across in conversations with others. I understood what Tiffany, the original poster, was trying to say, but I do believe that her rhetoric was distasteful. I agree with the fact that it seems as if lately the new face of the natural movement is lighter-toned black women with loose curly hair, and I believe that the kinkier-haired women are being left out by the media and the companies that make them the face of their brand and the natural hair movement as a whole.

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She added, On the other hand, I disagree with Tiffany when it comes to who to blame. She is blaming the mixed women for the attention that they get. They do not chose who the spotlight gets put on; it is the companies that do. So I believe she had some valid points, but her anger was misdirected, and she was being very rude to mixed-race women, especially those who identify as black.

When categorizing natural hair types, most brands have developed a system in which hair texture can range from 1 (stick straight hair) to 4c (tight, voluminous afro texture). Buttaflys post spoke to those who might be categorized as a 3 as being the ones who are praised and highlighted as some of the biggest brand spokespersons.

Throughout the debate, others agreed with Buttaflys position, reflecting on their personal experiences and how natural hair is perceived.

Type 4 girls started the movement of embracing natural hair and should remain at the forefront  lauren ???????????????? (@peachiebaek) June 15, 2017

Just to push her real point & take away the ignorant parts. There are ppl that think like this. pic.twitter.com/ig8HkGquIq  Femi Shange (@_iPinklace) June 15, 2017

That aside, going natural isn't a radical act if you haven't been taught that your natural hair isn't flawed by design.  jamilah (@JamilahLemieux) June 15, 2017

Jamilah Lemieux, vice president of news and mens programming at Interactive One as well as vice president of the new website, cassiuslife.com, is an avid contributor to the heated debate. Its time to stop being intellectually dishonest and, perhaps, deliberately tone-deaf as it relates to the ways that complexion and hair texture are treated as hierarchal in black communities, she shares with Yahoo Beauty. We dont erase the bias and trauma of lighter-skinned, mixed and/or Afro-Latinx people by addressing the statistical data around skin color and employment, education, marriage, self-esteem, etc., nor by exploring the reasons why youre more likely to see a woman who with 3C hair and light skin in a hair product ad than you are a darker, kinkier hair woman who may have faced greater barriers to accepting her natural hair texture.

Looking at the topic from a brand standpoint, some companies have faced backlash for putting racially ambiguous black women front and center. Case in point: Hair and skincare company Shea Moisture left lots of loyal customers unhappy by releasing an ad that featured one black woman and two white women.

The ad that people responded to, yes, it was about the white girls included, but it was also about the racially ambiguous black girls in that as well, Yaba Blay, PhD, a scholar on global black identities and the Daniel T. Blue Endowed Chair in political science at North Carolina Central University, tells Yahoo Beauty. How you get us is you put a women who looks like me in your ad. Nobody has been brave enough to centralize dark-skinned women with 4c hair in the context of natural hair. That would be revolutionary, which is sad.

Blay adds: Ultimately, most black women would associate and find affinity in a women who looks like me than we would when we see a racially ambiguous woman. Theres not enough variety at all, which is why I shy away from the natural hair movement, because its not radical, its not revolutionary.

Another veteran business consultant, founder and CEO of Strategic Solutions International Romina Brown, spoke to the underlying issues with natural hair and brand positioning. Hair care brands like Shea Moisture and many others are generating the most growth for the multicultural hair care segment because they have a broad appeal to curly, wavy, coily and kinky hair textures alike, she shares with Yahoo Beauty. The perception or recognition that there is a bias for mixed-raced spokespersons with softer and curlier hair textures is more related to the deeper issue of systemic colorism.

Brown went on to highlight that brands like As I Am and Taliah Waajid have a perceived value proposition that caters to consumer demand for products specifically created for coily and tightly curled hair. Demand for these niche hair care products is also on the rise and positively impacts overall growth for the hair care category.

But some pointed out there are deeper issues that need to be addressed that go far beyond hair typing and dividing women of color. Its no debate that mainstream media consistently glorifies light-skinned Black women with more European features but as Black women, we unfortunately have far bigger problems than the texture of our hair and the color of our skin  problems which require us to come together as sisters if we want to have a fighting chance shares Lindsey Day, president and editor in chief of CRWNMAG, a quarterly print magazine that celebrates the diversity of black hair. If we continue to divide ourselves further into categories based on hair texture and skin tone, we hand our power over to the very people who oppress us.

Are mixed-raced women taking over the natural hair movement? Weigh in below.

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Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.




Jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial remained deadlocked Thursday night after four days of deliberations.

Read: Bill Cosby in High Spirits as Jury Decides His Fate, While TV Daughter Explains Her Support

Earlier in the day, they informed the judge they were unable to reach a unanimous decision on any of three counts against the 79-year-old comedian.

That was apparently not enough for the judge, who sent them back to the jury room and denied a defense request for a mistrial in the case. The panel was sent home at 9 p.m.

Deliberations are scheduled to begin Friday at 9 a.m

Victoria Valentino, one of Cosby's many accusers, was at the courthouse when the deadlock was revealed.

"I just felt dejected," she said. "I just felt, 'My gosh, if they just can't come to some sort of resolution by the end of the day, I just don't know.'"

Another Cosby accuser, Lili Bernard, got into a heated and passionate exchange with supporters of the disgraced comedian.

Read: Bill Cosby Charged in Sexual Assault Case More Than Decade After Woman First Claimed She Was Attacked

Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt spoke outside the courthouse Thursday.

"He just wants to say again to these jurors, 'Thank you. Keep working. Keep looking at the facts. Keep deliberating.' Hopefully, we get out of here as we came in, as a not guilty, innocent man," he said.

The jury consists of seven men and five women, including two jurors who are African-American.

Cosby has denied all allegations against him.

Watch: Camille Cosby Finally Shows Up at Husband Bill's Trial as Defense Rests

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A bomb blast that killed eight people and injured dozens outside a kindergarten in eastern China was the work of a 22-year-old introvert who was among the dead, authorities said Friday.

The public security ministry said in a statement that the suspect was a man with health problems who rented a room near the school in Fengxian, where Thursday's blast occurred.

Police found material to make a homemade explosive device at the apartment, which had the words "die", "death" and "destroy" written on the wall.

The statement said the man, surnamed Xu, suffered from dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, a disorder that can cause heart and blood pressure problems.

Liu Wenxiang, a police investigator, said on CCTV state television that Xu worked at a restaurant in Fengxian after he was suspended from school in May 2016.

Liu described Xu as "introverted and withdrawn" when interacting with others.

The motive was not immediately known and police did not say whether the kindergarten was the target, but schools have been attacked by knife-wielding assailants in the past.

The explosion in Jiangsu province left victims bleeding and weeping, with images posted on state media showing some had their clothes torn off by the force of the explosion.

A survivor told broadcaster CCTV from her hospital bed that the school gate had just opened for kids to leave, though none had come out when the fireball erupted.

The woman, who was holding a baby during the interview as she sat on her bed, said she blacked out and only woke up while being treated.

The Fengxian county government said class had not yet been dismissed and that no teachers or students were among the casualties.

At least eight people were killed and 65 injured, including eight seriously, according to authorities.

- 'So scary' -

Pictures of the scene showed more than a dozen people outside a building, many lying on the ground and some appearing to be unconscious, including a small child.

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Locals said hundreds of students attend the school and that the victims were thought to be people waiting to pick up the children.

"It's so scary," said a man surnamed Meng, who learned about the explosion online.

Investigators concluded that the blast was caused by an explosive, ruling out previous news reports suggesting it was an accidental explosion of a food stall's gas cylinder.

On Friday, police officers wearing blue plastic around their shoes scoured the scene of the explosion in front of the kindergarten.

The education ministry later urged schools to strengthen security risk prevention.

- History of attacks -

There have been several cases in China of disgruntled individuals setting off explosions or starting fires in revenge for perceived wrongs.

In May, a school bus packed with kindergarten pupils erupted in flames inside a tunnel in eastern Shandong province on May 9, killing 11 children, a teacher and the driver.

Officials later said the fire was intentionally set by the driver, who was angry at losing overtime wages.

A 29-year-old man with gambling debts tossed explosives in Shanghai's main airport last year, injuring four people.

In 2015, an unemployed man set off an explosion at a public park in the eastern province of Shandong, killing himself and another person and wounding 24.

In 2013, a wheelchair-bound man detonated a homemade bomb at Beijing international airport as a protest at alleged police brutality.

There have also been knife attacks at schools in recent years, the most recent being in January, when a man armed with a kitchen knife wounded 11 children at a kindergarten in southern China.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Palestinian militant factions on Saturday dismissed a claim by the Islamic State group that it was behind the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman in Jerusalem saying the assailants came from their ranks.

The Israeli security services also raised doubts about the veracity of the IS claim -- its first for an attack in Jerusalem -- which came with the jihadists facing defeat in their Iraq and Syria bastions.

Three Palestinians attacked officers just outside the walled Old City in annexed east Jerusalem late on Friday before being shot dead by security forces, Israeli police said.

In an online statement, IS said jihadist fighters had targeted a "gathering of Jews", warning that "this attack will not be the last".

But Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, dismissed the claim, saying the attackers had come from among its own ranks and those of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The assault took place as tens of thousands of Palestinians held night prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site, on the third Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

According to police, two assailants opened fire on a group of officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

Policewoman Hadas Malka, a 23-year-old staff sergeant major, was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds.

- 'Muddy the waters' -

In its statement, IS said the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims".

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the IS claim was an attempt to "muddy the waters", adding that the attack was carried out by "two Palestinians from the PFLP and a third from Hamas".

The killing was "a natural response to the crimes of the occupier," he said, echoing the language used by Hamas after other recent attacks against Israelis.

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A spokesman for Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency told AFP it was "impossible to corroborate (the IS claim) at this point."

The Israeli army said the assailants appeared have acted independently, like many of the attackers in a wave of unrest that has rocked Israel and the occupied territories since October 2015, violence Israel has dubbed "popular terrorism."

"A preliminary army intelligence evaluation found no evidence of them belonging to any group, rather they appear to have been a typical popular terror squad," an army spokeswoman said.

Hamas and the PFLP identified the three assailants as Bara Ata, 18, Osama Ata, 19, and Adel Ankush, 18, all from the village of Deir Abu Mashal near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The Shin Bet said they had been implicated in previous "popular terror activity".

The PFLP said Bara and Osama Ata had recently been released from several months in Israeli prison.

A family member of one of the three flatly rejected any connection to IS, angrily telling AFP the jihadist group's claim was a "lie" that didn't deserve mention.

The army sealed off the assailants' home village while troops went house to house, arresting two youths before leaving after a number of hours.

- UN envoy 'appalled' -

Israel had eased restrictions on the entry of Palestinians to Jerusalem and Israel from the West Bank for Ramadan.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to cancel permission for Palestinians to visit family members in Jerusalem and Israel, police said.

Major General Yoav Mordechai -- head of COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry agency responsible for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories -- said the 250,000 family visit permits were cancelled in response to "encouragement to terrorism" by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement.

In a Facebook post in Arabic, Mordechai charged that Fatah had congratulated the attackers and "alleged they were innocent and blameless, and executed without reason."

UN Middle East peace process coordinator Nickolay Mladenov said that "terrorist acts" like Friday's "must be clearly condemned by all."

"I am appalled that once again some find it appropriate to justify such attacks as 'heroic'," he said in a statement. "They are unacceptable and seek to drag everyone into a new cycle of violence."

The unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 272 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

Saturday was the first time IS had claimed an attack inside Israel or annexed east Jerusalem.

The jihadist group has a major presence across Israel's southern border in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, from where it has claimed several rocket attacks into Israel.
Beirut (AFP) - The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman outside Jerusalem's Old City.

It was reported to be the first time the Islamic State group has claimed an attack in Israel.

The jihadist group, in an online statement, said three IS fighters had targeted "a gathering of Jews" in an operation Friday during which the three attackers were killed by Israeli police. The group warned that "this attack will not be the last."

During the attack, the police officer was killed and others were wounded, according to IS.

It took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.

The policewoman was stabbed and critically injured and later died in hospital of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.

Israeli police said the three Palestinian assailants were killed.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

This was the first time that the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Israel, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist organisations.

In its statement IS said the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims."

"Let the Jews watch for the demise of their state at the hands of the soldiers of the Caliphate," the statement added.
Jeremy Cortner gets a tattoo to match his sons surgery scars. (Photo: WQOW/CNN)

A Wisconsin dad got a tattoo to show his support for his 6-year-old son, who has a rare medical condition.

Jeremy Cortners son Casey has craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which one or more of the fibrous joints between the bones of a babys skull fuse prematurely, before the babys brain has had a chance to fully form, according to the Mayo Clinic. Treating the condition requires surgery to correct the shape of the head and allow room for normal brain growth.

After undergoing cranial surgery, Casey was left with zigzagging scars along the top of his head. Cortner got the idea of getting a tattoo that matched his sons scars from another dad who had done something similar. I saw another father who did the same thing, he told WGNO. His son had a brain tumor, and he did it to boost the confidence of his child, and thats kind of the same reason Im doing it.

Cortner was likely referring to Josh Marshall, who got a tattoo to match his son Gabriels scar after Gabriel had surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor. I told him if people wanted to stare, they could stare at both of us, Marshall told Buzzfeed. Marshall entered and won the St. Baldricks #BestBaldDad competition in 2016  a contest for dads, as well as grandfathers and uncles, who shaved their heads to honor a child diagnosed with cancer.

British couple Tanya and Adam Phillips also each got a tattoo to match their daughter Honey-Raes red birthmark, which starts on her right foot, goes up her leg, and travels to her back. Echoing Marshalls sentiment, Tanya told the Mirror: We wanted Honey-Rae to feel special, that her birthmark was something to feel proud of and not embarrassed by. Most people might think its very extreme, but to us it was the natural thing to do to ensure our daughter never felt different or alone in the world.

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Its an empathy that Cortner can obviously relate to. I want [Casey] to know that he shouldnt feel isolated or alone with his scar, he told WGNO. I get to choose this. He doesnt get to choose his, you know? When he looks back and thinks about his surgery, maybe some positive memories will come out of something special my dad did for me instead of just the negative parts of it, of how painful it was.

Cortner got the tattoo at Rezurrection Tattoo in Eau Claire, Wis. Yahoo Beauty wasnt able to reach Cortner but did speak with Michael Roth, the tattoo artist who had worked on the dad. Roth says that he had never done a tattoo like that before. I hadnt done any tattoos of scars on the head, Roth says, especially for the reason that he was getting it.

The tattoo took two hours to complete, but Roth says that Cortner handled any discomfort like a champ. He actually took it really well, he says. We have movies on the wall, so I kicked him back and he watched movies.

Roth was touched by the dads motivation for the tattoo. I thought it was awesome, he says. I love the whole meaning behind it.

Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.
Actress Demi Moore's smile looked a little different recently  she lost her two front teeth, a problem she says was the result of stress. But how does stress cause teeth to fall out?

Moore, who is 54, revealed her dental issues on Monday (June 12) when she appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

When asked how she lost her teeth, Moore replied, "I'd love to say it was like skateboarding or something really kind of cool." But instead, she said, the culprit was stress, which she also called "one of the biggest killers in America." [Chew on This: 8 Foods for Healthy Teeth]

Some research has linked stress with dental problems. For example, a 2006 study conducted in Brazil involving 230 people ages 50 and older found a link between psychological stress and dental plaque and bleeding gums. And a 2009 study conducted by researchers in the United States and Canada found that people who had higher levels of stress, depression and the hormone cortisol (which is released in response to stress) also faced a higher risk of gum disease.

These studies were conducted at a single point in time, however, and cannot prove that stress was the cause of the dental problems. But it's possible that stress contributes to dental problems in a number of ways, according to a 2007 review paper. For example, psychological stress can weaken people's immune systems, possibly making them more susceptible to the bacteria that cause gum disease, the review said.

In addition, people who are under stress or experiencing depression might not keep up good oral hygiene habits, or may neglect daily brushing and flossing, according to the 2009 study. That study found that people who neglect their oral care during periods of stress and depression were more likely to lose teeth.

But some experts are skeptical that stress alone can lead to tooth loss.

"I highly doubt that it was stress" that caused Moore's tooth loss, said Dr. Ronald Burakoff, chair of dental medicine at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, who has not treated Moore. "Adults lose teeth because of periodontal [gum] disease," Burakoff said.

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He noted that if a person grinds his or her teeth because of stress, and also has underlying periodontal disease, the teeth grinding may make the tooth loss worse. But "just stress alone won't do it. You have to have disease there," Burakoff told Live Science.

Burakoff said he recommends that people maintain good oral hygiene and have regular dental checkups to prevent tooth loss.

"If you treat [periodontal disease] early, you can prevent it from getting worse and causing tooth loss," Burakoff said.

Original article on Live Science.

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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein released a statement Thursday condemning media reports about intelligence leaks regarding the Russian investigation that cite anonymous sources. The statement came a day after the Washington Post reported on the investigation by Robert Mueller, the special counsel to FBIs Russian investigation, into the business dealings of President Donald Trumps son-in-law and senior aide, Jared Kushner, as a part of the Russia election probe.

Rosensteins statement read more as a warning , telling the people of the country to not believe in the reports that cite anonymous officials as their main sources and do not identify the country  let alone the branch or agency of government.

Even though Rosensteins statement was not directed toward any publication in particular, the statement was released hours after an exclusive report by the Post claimed Kushner has become Muellers next target in the probe into possible collusion between Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 presidential elections. In its report, the Post did not cite the names of any governmental employees as sources and the inputs were attributed to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. Journalists across the globe often use anonymous sources to protect confidential sources of information when the information cannot be obtained in any other manner.

After the statement was released, former Attorney Preet Bharara, who was fired by Trump recently, lashed out at the administration.

Read: Is Jared Kushner Becoming The Center Of Russia Investigation?

Pertinently, the Post in its report stated that apart from Kushners finance and business dealings, the financial transactions of former National-Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort were also being scrutinized by Mueller.

Although Kushners attorney Jamie Gorelick downplayed the report about her client being investigated, she did not deny the news report.

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It would be standard practice for the Special Counsel to examine financial records to look for anything related to Russia, Gorelick said, according to Fox News. Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about Russia-related matters. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry.

Rosenstein himself became embroiled in controversy in May after the Post published a report stating hethreatened to quit his post because he refused to take the fall for firing former FBI Director James Comey. Although he had merely agreed with unanimous opinions of former Department officials who had already recommended Comeys dismissal, the White House painted him as the scapegoat when it came to taking the blame for it.

Read: Why Deputy Attorney General Threatened To Quit?

Rosenstein has since denied the facts cited in the report, stating he never considered resigning, but not before the report tarnished his till-then spotless work record. When asked by a Sinclair Broadcast Group reporter if he made a threat to quit, Rosenstein responded, "No, I'm not quitting."

The report also prompted a firestorm on social media, with a plethora of users, including Ted Lieu, a USAF veteran and Democratic member of the House of Representatives from California, calling for the removal of the deputy attorney general.

Trump and the members of his administration have also maintained the publications such as the Post and the New York Times report nothing more than fake news. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee tweeted Thursday that Mueller called him to talk about the Russian investigation and he was making the information public because he did not want the NY Slimes and Wash Compost to inaccurately report on that piece of news.

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Trump pledged to help the Cuban people by imposing restrictions on travel and business in Cuba: AP

President Donald Trump has announced that his administration will be tightening regulations on Cuba in order to help the Cuban people, calling former President Barack Obama's deal to thaw relations with the country's government "terrible".

"We will not be silenced in the face of communist oppression any longer", Mr Trump said in front of an excited crowd in the Little Havana neighbourhood of Miami, Florida.

The President pledged to help the people of Cuba, and to ensure that American money spent in Cuba will go to the Cuban people instead of the Cuban government. He characterised the administration of Raul Castro as a "brutal, brutal regime", and spoke with a flourish describing the brutal crackdown and imprisonment of religious worshippers in the island country.

"Effective immediately, I am cancelling the last Administration's completely one sided deal with Cuba", Mr Trump said.

Mr Trump also described Cuba as a major security threat to the United States, saying that the country had shipped weapons to North Korea while allowing "cop killers" to seek refuge within its borders.

The cop killer Mr Trump was referring to is Joanne Chesimard, a former Black Panther who fled to Cuba in 1984 after escaping from a New Jersey prison, where she was serving a life sentence for murdering a state trooper.

Before signing the Cuba policy rollback, Mr Trump brought several Cuban dissidents onto the stage and allowed some of them to speak. One played the Star Spangled Banner on a violin as the president and crowd saluted or placed their hands over their hearts.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a one-time political foe who engaged in a heated primary run against the President last year for the Republican nomination, praised the Presidents efforts to reform policy toward Cuba before he took the stage. Mr Rubio flew down to Miami with the President on Air Force One, and is said to have played a leading role in advising the White House on the new policies. Mr Rubio, a Cuban American, riled up the crowd with anti-communist rhetoric in both English and Spanish.

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But, in a sense Mr Trump's policy changes are more rhetoric than action few immediate changes, and they are not intended to completely end the diplomatic relationship that former President Barack Obama established. That thaw was aimed at bringing to a close five decades of hostility.

Instead, Mr Trump has instructed his government to begin reviewing how they might change policy in order to meet the administrations goals. Those policy reviews will focus on how to best eliminate individual travel to Cuba that the White House says is being abused (technically tourism to Cuba is not currently legal for Americans), and on how to ensure that American money spent in Cuba or on Cuban goods gets into the hands of the Cuban people and not the government. American investment in Cuba is likely to see more restrictions than what is already in place.

The new policies wont change family travel allowances, and will leave other forms of travel to Cuba open, including trips for journalistic purposes. The new policies wont affect the current wet foot dry foot policy that seeks to shelter Cubans who land on American soil seeking refuge.

Commercial flights will not be stopped from servicing Havana, nor will cruise lines. The administration, according to one White House official, has no intention of "disrupting" existing business ventures such as one struck under Mr Obama by Starwood Hotels Inc, which is owned by Marriott International Inc, to manage a historic Havana hotel.

Nor does Trump plan to reinstate limits that Mr Obama lifted on the amount of the island's coveted rum and cigars that Americans can bring home for personal use.

But, Mr Trump has long promised to pull back on his predecessors landmark Cuba policy changes, and secured the first endorsement in decades from the Bay of Pigs Veteran Association in Miami thanks to that policy. Senior White House officials said during a conference call before the Presidents announcement that his promise to the group to hold the Cuban government accountable was a major factor in his decision in February to instruct his staff to begin reviewing the policy.

Critics of the President's decision, however, note that the US has a relatively friendly relationship with other countries with poor civil rights records, including Saudi Arabia, where Mr Trump travelled to during his first foreign trip in office in May.

Mr Obamas 2015 announcement that travel restrictions to Cuba would be loosened resulted in a flash of excitement from Americans who were eager to travel to Havana to get a glimpse of a country that sits just 100 miles off the coast of Florida, but has been behind a veil for American tourists. Since then, however, interest in travelling to the country has waned somewhat in the US, with roughly 76 per cent of Americans saying they arent planning on a trip there this year compared to 70 per cent last year.

Trump aides say Mr Obama's efforts amounted to appeasement and have done nothing to advance political freedoms in Cuba, while benefiting the Cuban government financially.

It's hard to think of a policy that makes less sense than the prior administration's terrible and misguided deal with the Castro regime, Mr Trump said in Miami, citing the lack of human rights concessions from Cuba in the detente negotiated by Mr Obama.

Critics say that Mr Trumps plans wont actually push the Cuban government to strive for better human rights record, and will likely hurt the Cuban people. Thats because many Cubans are self employed in retail and other services that serve tourists.

Sarah Stephens, an expert on US-Cuba policy who works to secure diplomatic changes like the ones made by the Obama administration, told The Independent that the lack of substance in Mr Trumps changes doesnt amount to substantial policy, and is instead a political ploy to secure conservative Cuban votes in Florida.

This is not a serious policy. This is a policy that has no achievable goal, it imagines no process, and it offers no end game, she said. By choosing to make the announcement before the diehards in Miami, the White House isnt even looking for window dressing, but admitting that this is simply about their game of politics.

Still, it will be the latest attempt by Mr Trump to overturn parts of Mr Obama's presidential legacy. He has already pulled the United States out of a major international climate treaty and is trying to scrap his predecessor's landmark healthcare program.

International human rights groups say that renewed US efforts to isolate the island could worsen the situation by empowering Cuban hard-liners. The Cuban government has made clear it will not be pressured into reforms in exchange for engagement.

The Cuban government had no immediate comment, but ordinary Cubans said they were crestfallen to be returning to an era of frostier relations with the United States with potential economic fallout for them.

It's going to really hurt me because the majority of my clients are from the United States, Enrique Montoto, 61, who rents rooms on US online home-rental marketplace Airbnb, told Reuters. Airbnb expanded into Cuba in 2015.

"I have trust in Trump to do the right thing when it comes to Cuba, Jorge Saurez, 66, a retired physician, said in Little Havana. That's why I voted for him.

Mexico has urged the governments of the United States and Cuba to find points of agreement and resolve their differences via dialogue.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez, whose government is a close ally to Cuba, tweeted that his country has "undeniable solidarity with our sister republic Cuba against the aggressions of @realDonaldTrump".

At least one of Mr Trump's fellow Republicans has pushed back against isolating Cuba. Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, one of the most vocal advocates for easing rules for American companies looking to make deals in Cuba, called for a vote on legislation to lift restrictions on American travel to the island nation. It is unlikely that other Republicans in the Senate will allow that vote to happen, and has repeatedly blocked that move.
Berlin (AFP) - Germany on Friday accused Washington of hurting European power companies through its new sanctions against Russia that target the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe.

The new measures, approved by the US Senate on Thursday, include a threat to penalise companies that provide "goods, services, technology, information or support" for the construction of Russian energy export pipelines.

The US bill directly spells out its opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, while explicitly stressing that "the US government should prioritise the export of United States energy resources in order to create American jobs, help United States allies and partners, and strengthen United States foreign policy".

Berlin lashed out at the impact of the sanctions on European companies involved in the construction of the pipeline which would pump Russian gas under the Baltic Sea directly to Germany.

"It is strange that in the sanctioning of Russia's behaviour, with regards to the US elections for instance, the European economy should become a target of American sanctions," said Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert.

"That must not happen."

He added that Merkel shared the concerns raised by German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, who charged in a joint statement Thursday that the measure brings a "completely new and entirely negative quality to European-US relations".

They also accused Washington of using the sanctions to squeeze Russian gas supplies out of Europe in favour of US energy exports.

Separately, France's foreign ministry called on Washington to respect the need for coordination with its European allies before deciding new sanctions.

"For several years, we have stressed the difficulties that extra-territorial legislations could generate," said a spokesman at the French foreign ministry, referring to measures that could have a spillover effect to countries besides the one directly sanctioned.

Story continues

"On issues linked to security and European industrial policies, we hope that the United States respect necessary coordination, including within the framework of the G7."

- US vested interest? -

Russian energy giant Gazprom is building Nord Stream 2 in cooperation with Anglo-Dutch Shell, Germany's Uniper and Wintershall, Austria's OMV and France's Engie.

The project bypassing conflict-torn Ukraine and also Poland would double the flow of the Nord Stream pipeline currently linking Germany and Russia.

But it has sparked criticism within the EU, with members including Italy and Poland accusing Germany of selfishly seeking a reliable energy supply route from President Vladimir Putin's Russia while pressuring other countries to back sanctions against Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.

Former US vice president Joe Biden has also called the planned pipeline a "fundamentally bad deal for Europe" as it locks in greater reliance on Russia.

But Germany's Gabriel and Austria's Kern said Washington's intention was purely economic.

"The aim is to secure jobs in gas and oil industries in the US," said Gabriel and Kern.

"Political sanctions should not be mixed up with economic interests," they warned, stressing that "Europe's energy supply is Europe's business and not that of the United States".

"We decide who delivers energy to us and how, according to rules of openness and economic competitiveness," said Gabriel and Kern.

"We cannot accept the threat of extra-territorial sanctions against European companies that participate in the expansion of European energy supplies", they said, adding that this would "violate international law".

Gazprom's vice president Alexander Medvedev also charged that the US had a vested interest in hurting the project.

"With regards to the introduction of sanctions, they don't hide the fact that it's an anti-competition tool to favour US gas deliveries in Europe," he said according to Russian news agencies.

The US bill as originally introduced was exclusively about slapping new sanctions on Iran. But lawmakers attached a bipartisan amendment on Russia to it early this week.

The addition came with the White House deeply embroiled in crisis over whether Trump's campaign team colluded with a Russian effort to sway the 2016 election.
From Delish

Guy Fieri and Gordon Ramsay are very different ... but they're also more alike than you'd think. They're both polarizing TV personalities. Drop either name and you're bound to met with a strong reaction (negative or positive). They both have very special vocabularies. Fieri describes everything in terms of Flavortown. He can't just say he likes something; It's that it "just kung fu'd my palate, dude." Ramsay's lingo is colorful in a very different way - one which involves many f-bombs. And they both love burgers (duh), but they practice disparate styles of cooking them.

Photo credit: John Komar

Given all the wacky creations he's tasted on DDD over the years, it comes with no surprise that Fieri's burger is a little crazy. His is stuffed with bacon, chorizo, red onions, and Swiss cheese. In comparison, Ramsay's burger seems boring at first. His "perfect" burger is grilled with cheddar, a toasted bun, some mayo, lettuce, tomato, and grilled onion. Here's how the two stacked up:

Photo credit: John Komar

Guy Fieri's

This is not something you want to make for a crowd. His recipe calls for a ton ingredients (19!) and requires a lot of time. You need to cook chorizo and bacon, make a ketchup, then stuff, sear and bake the burgers.

The chorizo filling sounds amazing, but the flavor was overpowered by all the ground beef. (Each patty has about a half pound of it.) The dill in the ketchup was polarizing. Many taste testers took issue with it. I, personally, didn't love the half hour required to simmer it.

My biggest problem with Fieri's recipe is that he doesn't season the actual burger. After stuffing them, he just throws them into the hot pan. No salt or pepper. Even though there was so much going on inside, the burger as a whole tasted rather plain.

Photo credit: John Komar

Gordon Ramsay's

Gordon Ramsay's recipe was a slightly tougher to figure out because there weren't actual ingredient amounts or instructions to go off of. We relied entirely on his segment on Good Morning America.

Story continues

Not shockingly, Ramsay's beef preference is a little fancier. He recommends throwing some ground brisket into the mixture along with some egg (to bind everything together). Unfortunately, the Whole Foods butcher laughed as us when we asked for a quarter pound of chopped brisket. So we just used chuck. He also wants you to season the burger the night before, which we didn't do.

We did follow his lead with everything else and overall, we were pleased with how simple the process is. His secret to grilling the best burgers is basting the patties with butter. Like you would a Thanksgiving turkey.

Another big takeaway: Season everything very aggressively. Season the burger before and after it's cooked. Season the tomatoes that you place on the burger. Even season the buns!

Photo credit: John Komar

The Verdict

Ramsay wins. In this case, simple is best. Seasoning each and every component made a huge difference overall. His was the epitome of what you'd think a burger should taste like. To be fair, some people did prefer Fieri's, even without the final seasoning. But the ease of Ramsay's still overpowers the pizazz of the Food Network star's stuffed version.

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Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl passed away on Friday at the age of 87, German media outlet Bild reported.

Kohl was a West German politician who served as chancellor of West Germany and later a unified Germany from 1982 to 1998; he was known as the reunification chancellor, and was one of the drivers of the Maastricht Treaty for European unity.

Helmut Kohl was a political giant, a European visionary and true statesman. United Germany and shaped the EU of today, former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted shortly after learning of Kohls passing.

Kohls 16-year rule was the longest of any German ruler since Otto von Bismarck  and will endure as such unless Angela Merkel, also of Kohls Christian Democratic Union, ties him by winning a fourth term as chancellor this September. Merkel was a Kohl protege  he referred to her as his girl, or Madchen. However, the two fell out when Kohl had to resign from the CDU after it became public that hed taken payments from unknown donors.

Still, Kohl couldnt stay out of politics entirely. In June of last year, following the success of the Brexit referendum, Kohl warned European leaders against unnecessary severity and haste in pressuring the British government; negotiations have still not officially begun.

In other words, the man who oversaw the unification of Germany and Europe spent his final year urging his successors not to tear it all asunder.

Photo credit: DANIEL ROLAND/AFP/Getty Images
A group of pumas in California have become so small due to human development isolating them from their peers -- and now their forced inbreeding could cause them to die out without human help.

Scientists are calling for a human-led solution to save the felines. They hope to introduce just a few new members to the isolated population that could rescue them by making new genetic material available to breathe new life into the endangered group.

Read: Evolution Killed the Woolly Mammoth in the Most Devastating Way

Researchers reported in the journal Royal Society Open Science that a population of about 20 pumas  also known as mountain lions  in the Santa Ana Mountains in Southern California have such a low level of genetic diversity within their small group that they have become inbred. This is a scenario in which the gene variety is not enough for negative traits to naturally cycle out and leave behind healthy offspring. Their numbers dropped off largely because of urbanization in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas surrounding their environment that has isolated them from other puma groups and put them at risk of being hit by cars or dying in other incidents. For this small community, the busy interstate Highway I-15 keeps them on its west side and cuts them off from other pumas on the east side.

Migration is essential for maintaining genetic diversity among populations, the study says. Further monitoring, and potential human intervention, including minimizing development effects on connectivity, adding or improving freeway crossing structures, or animal translocation, may be needed to ensure adequate gene flow and long-term persistence of the Santa Ana puma population.

puma-calif

Photo: UC Davis

One answer could be getting at least one new member into the mountain lion community. As the researchers point out, it has worked before: A male puma that managed to cross over I-15 and reach the isolated colony then produced almost a dozen cubs and relieved the group. The University of California, Davis, one of the institutions with scientists working on the research, explained that singular male, dubbed M86, rapidly disseminated unique genes into the inbred population, which reduced the level of inbreeding and significantly increased genetic diversity.

Story continues

M86 was hit by a car a few years ago and most of his offspring are either dead or living in captivity. That is par for the course  UC Davis wildlife veterinarian Winston Vickers called it consistent with mortality rates we found previously in the region.

But using this previous puma rescuer as a model, scientists have proposed a solution. Another study on the subject, published in the journal PLOS One, used data on the pumas movements and DNA to propose a way to make it happen. They suggest expanding the puma conservation area to protect their habitat and making improvements to the nearby roadways that will make it safer for the pumas to cross. This measure would allow for a better exchange of genetic material and thus reduce the inbreeding of the isolated group.

Read: Will Humans Living on Mars Become Inbred?

Without additional avenues for pumas to move safely between large habitat blocks, these populations will continue to see decreased gene flow, as well as high mortality rates, which will decrease their chances of long-term survival in the region, lead author Katherine Zeller, a wildlife biologist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said in the UC Davis statement.

Inbreeding in cases similar to this one has contributed to the demise of animals throughout history. The famous woolly mammoth was devastatingly inbred before it went extinct, recent research has shown, with the last of the population in the United States having weak stomachs, no sense of smell, translucent hair and osteoporosis.

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Jerusalem (AFP) - An Israeli policewoman was stabbed and killed in an attack outside Jerusalem's Old City on Friday and security forces shot dead three suspected Palestinian assailants, police said.

The attack took place as Muslims marked the end of the third Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians from east Jerusalem and the West Bank attended prayers at the nearby Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site.

"Female border policewoman injured critically in attack at Damascus gate," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote in a statement. "3 Arab terrorists shot by police units that responded at the scene."

Police said the three were killed.

The policewoman was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of her wounds. She was identified as Hadas Malka, 23, a staff sergeant major.

According to police, two perpetrators opened fire at a group of police officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot.

Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevy identified the three attackers as Palestinians from the West Bank.

- Ramadan activity -

Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays.

"During Ramadan there are large numbers of (Palestinian) youths who enter without permits, they take advantage of Ramadan to be in Jerusalem," Halevy told media at the scene of the attack.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone consultation with the chief of police and public security minister, and decided to cancel the family visits, a police statement read.

Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said.

The area around Damascus Gate was sealed off in the hours after the attack, with a few youths throwing fireworks at security forces.

Story continues

A road leading to Damascus Gate full of stalls opened especially for Ramadan was closed off by police, and a shopkeeper said this would normally be one of the busiest nights of the year.

Inside the Old City shops were open but the atmosphere was subdued and numbers of people much lower than normal.

Large numbers of heavily armed security forces were patrolling throughout the Old City, an AFP reporter said.

- 'Popular terror activity' -

The Shin Bet internal security agency identified the three perpetrators as Braa Salah and Asama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year.

All three were from Deir Abu Mashal, a village near Ramallah, and had been arrested for or involved in "popular terror activity," a Shin Bet statement read.

A fourth Palestinian, a Hebron resident who had been identified by Palestinian security as a perpetrator, was in fact a passerby who was wounded by gunshots and taken to hospital, Israeli police said.

Medics said four people besides the officer were wounded in the incident, two of them moderately and two lightly. Two of those wounded were Palestinians from east Jerusalem.

The Islamist movement Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip condemned the shooting of the Palestinians as a "crime by the occupation."

A spokesman for the movement, Hazem Qassem, said the attack was "proof that the Palestinian people are leading a revolution against the enemy."

He also said the attack proved the Palestinian Authority's policy of security coordination with Israel was wrong, calling it "a national crime".

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 272 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

The Old City in annexed east Jerusalem is one of the focal points of the wave of violence.
Ivanka Trump poses with daughter Arabella on her final day of the school year. (Photo: Instagram via Ivanka Trump)

Ivanka Trump is the latest mom to jump on the school photo trend with an adorable mother-daughter snapshot.

On Friday, Trump posted a smiley image of herself and her 5-year-old daughter, Arabella Kushner. Trump wore a bright pink A-line skirt and a black shirt with three-quarter-length sleeves; the kindergartener looked adorable in a floral-print dress. Arabellas last day of school! Cant believe she is going to be in first grade  but first, summer! Trump wrote on the image, which already has 5,000 likes.

Arabellas last day of school! Cant believe she is going to be in first grade  but first, summer! A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Jun 16, 2017 at 9:30am PDT

On June 7, Trump staged a similar photo shoot with her 3-year-old son, Joseph Kushner, on his last day of school.

Morning kisses on Joseph's last day of school! We are so excited for the summer! ???? A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Jun 7, 2017 at 5:33am PDT

Each year, social media is inundated with parents capturing the bittersweet moments of their children completing another year of school. And that includes celebrities.

On Friday, Jessica Simpson posted two photos of her 5-year-old daughter, Maxwell Drew Johnson, wearing a blue cap and gown. Spread your wings and prepare to fly for you have become a butterfly, Simpson wrote.

In another shot of her daughter, Simpson added, Someone is excited for kindergarten! How do all you moms do it? I need help.

???? Spread your wings and prepare to fly for you have become a butterfly ???? #kindergartenherewecome ????#MAXIDREW A post shared by Jessica Simpson (@jessicasimpson) on Jun 14, 2017 at 11:10am PDT

Kelly Ripa also congratulated son Joaquin, 14, whom she shares with hubby Mark Consuelos, on completing eighth grade. Congratulations to Joaquin Antonio Consuelos!!! the mom-of-three wrote. Youve made us very proud! (Yet another graduation on Lolas birthday. She is furious!!!).

Congratulations to Joaquin Antonio Consuelos!!! You've made us very proud! ????(yet another graduation on Lola's birthday. She is furious!!!) A post shared by Kelly Ripa (@kellyripa) on Jun 16, 2017 at 8:29am PDT

And supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio shared a Twitter photo of 5-year-old son Noah Mazurs preschool graduation ceremony.

Story continues

Other parents immortalize school start and end dates on hand-held chalkboard signs and split-screen images of the first and last days of school to capture how much a child has grown.

my dad walked me to school on my very first day & today he walked me to school on my very last day pic.twitter.com/70RmbI7oQ9  Brittany Gayler (@BrittanyGayler) May 25, 2017

One clever father in Texas recently unearthed a vintage photo of him and his young daughter walking to her first day of kindergarten and decided to re-create the moment just before her high school graduation. The two shots, which he split-screened and shared on Twitter, went viral.

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You might assume that erectile dysfunction, or ED, is a normal problem men face as they age. But because men (and women) take more meds as they age, our experts at Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs report that side effects from those drugs are a little-known, yet common cause of ED.

Many medications can affect things like erectile dysfunction, desire, and ejaculation in different ways and through different mechanisms of action, says J. Dennis Fortenberry M.D., former chair of the board of the American Sexual Health Association and the Donald Orr M.D. Professor of Adolescent Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Drugs that can have these effects include high blood pressure drugs such as beta blockers, including atenolol (Tenormin), clonidine (Catapres), metoprolol (Lopressor), and methyldopa (Aldomet), and diuretics such as hydrochlorothiazide (Hydrodiuril).

Popular antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs such as alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), duloxetine (Cymbalta), fluoxetine (Prozac), and paroxetine (Paxil) can cause sexual problems, including delayed ejaculation, reduced sexual desire in men, and erectile dysfunction. Other lesser-known drug types that can also cause such sexual problems include antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and antifungal drugs, such as ketoconazole (Nizoral).

Surprisingly, heartburn drugs, including famotidine (Pepcid) and ranitidine (Zantac) are known to reduce sexual desire in men. Reduced desire and erectile dysfunction have also been reported in men taking the powerful painkillers oxycodone (Oxycontin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin), muscle-relaxers, such as baclofen (Lioresal), and even over-the-counter ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin).

And, perhaps not surprisingly, the more drugs a man takes, the greater his odds are of experiencing an issue. For example, in a 2012 study of men ages 45 to 69, those who took three to five drugs were 15 percent more likely to have erectile dysfunction than men taking two or fewer. Men who took six to nine drugs were 51 percent more likely to have erection problems.

Story continues

What You Can Do

Before making any change to your medications, talk with your doctor, says David Shih, M.D., a board certified emergency medicine physician and executive vice president of strategy health & innovation at CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in the New York metro area and Seattle, Washington.



That's because your physician can make changes such as "lowering the medication dose, switching to a new medication or a combination therapy of lower doses each, notes Shih.

Your physician may also suggest temporarily stopping a medoften referred to as taking a "drug holiday"before having sex, if that is possible.



If you've just started taking a new drug, sexual side effects may disappear as your body adjusts. But if after a few months they dont, discuss it with your doctor. He or she will want to rule out other conditions that could cause your sex drive to take a nosedive.

The prescribing physician will need to explore if these symptoms are from cardiovascular disease, depressive disorder, diabetes, neurological disease and other illnesses that may cause these symptoms, says Shih.

Even suffering from sleep apnea is also known to affect sexual interest or response.

That's why if you experience ED, it's important to get to your doctor's office for a detailed discussion about what could be causing it.



Read more on medications that can cause sexual problems for women, and for more information on the drugs mentioned above and others, go to www.CRBestBuyDrugs.org.

Editor's Note: This article and related materials are made possible by a grant from the state Attorney General Consumer and Prescriber Education Grant Program, which is funded by the multistate settlement of consumer-fraud claims regarding the marketing of the prescription drug Neurontin (gabapentin).





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Copyright  2006-2017 Consumer Reports, Inc.
The fate of Michelle Carter, who allegedly encouraged her boyfriend Conrad Roy III to suicide, will be sealed Friday as the Bristol Juvenile Court announces its verdict. The 20-year-old Massachusetts woman is facing involuntary manslaughter charges for coaxing 18-year-old Roy into killing himself in 2014.

Judge Lawrence Moniz is deliberating whether to convict Carter in Roy's death. There is no jury because Carter chose not to have one for her trial. If Moniz finds Carter guilty, it could set a legal precedent in Massachusetts, as the state does not have a law against abetting suicide. This is the reason why the case is being closely monitored by legal scholars. If convicted, Carter could face up to 20 years in prison.

What [Carters] defense team is trying to say is that texts are protected speech, and that, although this is a tragedy, they believe that it is not a crime, People Magazine's senior editor Alicia Dennis said.

Read: Conrad Roy III's Phone Had Apology Messages From Girlfriend Sent After His Suicide

Carters attorney Joseph Cataldo, who tried unsuccessfully to convince the states Supreme Court to dismiss charges against her, argued Roy would have killed himself with or without Carter's help. But prosecutors said the suicide was the end result of a sick game Carter allegedly played with Roys life, just so she could get sympathy by becoming a grieving girlfriend.

She was not physically there at the scene, Dennis said. But they could prove that she was emotionally there, because she definitely texted him a lot and was on the phone with him  even telling him to get back into the truck when he was wavering during the suicide.

Larry Cunningham, a former prosecutor and vice dean at St. Johns University School of Law in New York, told the magazine: Whats going to make this case difficult is the fact that the assistance was verbal rather than physical. The question is: What was her role in the suicide?

Story continues

Roy died by suicide in the summer of 2014 by using carbon monoxide from a trucks exhaust system to poison himself. Prosecutors said Carter encouraged Roy to kill himself and told him through text messages to use a generator and carbon dioxide during his suicide attempt.

Roy was emotionally vulnerable, and of course his parents were very involved in his life and what was going on, but they didnt know about these dark texts, Dennis said. And when a kids 18, parents wonder, Should I be looking at their texts? Is that a privacy thing for them? she continued. And I think its raising a lot of questions with parents.

Read: Whats Next For Girl Who Encouraged Boyfriends Suicide

During the final part of the hearing Tuesday, a suicide note written by Roy to Carter was released.

Keep strong in tough times, read the letter from Roy, obtained by MassLive. You taught me how to be strong and carry on. This life has been too challenging and troublesome to me but Ill forever be in your heart and we will meet up someday in Heaven. Put your best foot forward. Youll get there, Im sorry about everything. I am messed up I guess. I wish I could express my gratitude but I feel brain dead. I love you and greatly appreciate ur effort and kindness towards me. Keep your heart healthy and keep pushing forward.

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Sobs could be heard in the courtroom as the decision was read out: ABC News

A young woman who sent text messages to her boyfriend urging him to kill himself, has been found guilty of manslaughter.

A judge, sitting without a jury, found that a barrage of messages sent by Michelle Carter when she was aged 17 and 18, had persuaded her teenage boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, to take his own life, by means of carbon monoxide poisoning.

One crucial message, highlighted by Judge Lawrence Moniz, was delivered by Carter to Mr Roy after he climbed out of his vehicle after getting scared. Get back in, she told him.

Judge finds #MichelleCarter guilty of involuntary manslaughter 4 texting encouragement to boyfriend 4 suicide. Finds her a youthful offender  Nicolette Glazer (@NicoletteGlazer) June 16, 2017

She admits in subsequent texts that she did nothing, she did not call the police or Mr Roys family, Mr Moniz told the court in the city of Taunton, as he explained his reasoning. She did not notify his mother or sister. And finally, she did not issue a simple additional instruction: Get out of the truck.

The judge then asked Carter to get to her feet as he delivered his verdict and she stood there sobbing. This court, having reviewed the evidence, finds you guilty on the indictment with involuntary manslaughter, he said.

The case had sparked intense debate among legal experts and many had anticipated that Carter would be cleared.

This Text Will CRASH ANY iPhone! i0

Unlike many other states, Massachusetts has no law against encouraging suicide. In addition, Carter was not present when Mr Roy took his life.

Carters defence lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, had argued that Mr Roy had a history of depression and suicide attempts and was determined to end his own life. He said Carter initially tried to talk Mr Roy out of it and urged him to get professional help, but eventually went along with his plan, according to the Associated Press.

Story continues

But the prosecution presented a mass of evidence to support its argument that her behaviour amounted to wanton and reckless conduct.

I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and youre ready, you just need to do it, she wrote in one message.

Prosecutor Katie Rayburn said that Carter told Mr Roy that his family would be fine if he were to kill himself and that she would help look after them. She said Carter frequently scolded her boyfriend if he became frightened with his suicide plan.

It got to the point he was apologising for not being dead yet, said Ms Rayburn.

Mr Roy was found dead in his vehicle (CNN)

Dr Peter Breggin, a psychiatrist testifying for the defence, said Carter was a very troubled youngster who suffered from depression.

At the time of Mr Roys death, Carter was taking Celexa, an antidepressant that Mr Breggin said targets the brains frontal lobe, which controls empathy and decision-making.

He said Carter was in the grips of a grandiose delusion that she alone could help Roy find his way to heaven and she would care for his family.

Mr Roy, 18, was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck in a store parking lot in Fairhaven, near New Bedford, in July 2014.

The judge ruled that Carter can remain free on bail but ordered her not to make any contact with Mr Roys family and can't leave the state. She faces a sentence of probation to 20 years in prison.

The case opened a window into the trauma of teen depression. However, the American Civil Liberties Union denounced the verdict as unconstitutional and said it exceeded the limits of our criminal laws and violates free speech protections guaranteed by the Massachusetts and US Constitutions.
President Donald Trumps senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has been in the headlines after reports said last month he was a focus of investigation in the FBIs Russia investigation. Now, a report by the Washington Post on Thursday said Special Counsel Robert Mueller is looking into Kushners financial dealings as a part of an investigation into Russias meddling in 2016 presidential election.

While Muellers investigation is in its early stage, his spokesman Peter Carr told the Post the Special Counsels Office has undertaken stringent controls to prohibit unauthorized disclosures and will deal severely with any member who engages in this conduct.

Read: Jared Kushner Wants To Clear His Name Over Russia Meetings

Kushners role in the Russia probe is becoming increasingly prominent. Last month, Kushner came under scrutiny after reports said the FBI diverted its attention to the White House senior adviser in its Russia probe. Officials are particularly looking into his meetings with Sergey Gorkov, the chairman of Russias state-owned Vnesheconombank and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December.

The White House maintained Kushners meeting with Gorkov was a mere pre-inauguration diplomatic encounter and was in no way related to business. However, the Post noted the meeting took place at a time when Kushners company sought finance for its troubled $1.8 billion purchase of an office building on Fifth Avenue in New York. The report also noted such an encounter between the two men is likely to raise questions about whether Kushners personal financial interests collided with his upcoming role in the Trump administration.

"We do not know what this report refers to. It would be standard practice for the Special Counsel to examine financial records to look for anything related to Russia," Jamie Gorelick, Kushner's lawyer said in response to the Post report. "Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about Russia-related matters. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry," he added.

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Kushner is expected to meet the Senate Intelligence Committee sometime this month. The committee, which is investigating Russia's meddling in the presidential election and whether any of Trump's associates had ties with the country at the time, expects Kushner to provide documents and face questions from the senators.

Read: Cory Booker And Jared Kushner: Democrat Received Campaign Cash From Trump's Son-In-Law

The 36-year-old is reported to have been bothered by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosensteins decision to appoint Mueller as the special counsel. While Trumps aides suggested him to release a statement accepting Rosensteins decision, Kushner urged the president to counterattack, two senior administration officials told the New York Times in May.

Kushner is also close to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn who was fired by Trump in February after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about the contents and nature of his communications with Kislyak.

Reports also said Kushner was not happy with the Russia allegation reports, which he thought damaged his reputation. He was also reportedly contemplating to review his and wife Ivanka Trumps stay at Washington, D.C., every six months.

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New York (AFP) - The first person to survive a death-defying plunge into Niagara Falls without protection has died after apparently attempting the feat again in an inflatable ball, according to US media.

A body recently discovered in the Niagara River has been identified as American Kirk Jones, 53, who had jumped into the falls in 2003 and lived, the Syracuse Post-Standard said, citing New York State Park Police.

According to local authorities Jones had tried going over the 167-foot (51-meter) high falls -- which straddle the border between Canada and the United States -- on April 19.

The inflatable ball was found empty at the foot of the thundering water.

Having miraculously survived the drop in 2003 in nothing more than his normal clothes, Jones swam to a rock at the bottom of the gorge, where he was found by emergency crews.

"There was a whirlpool. I can see why people die ... it's hard to escape," Jones had said at the time.

Earlier this week American daredevil Erendira Wallenda dangled from her teeth from under a helicopter in a series of eye-watering acrobatic moves over the teeming waters.

Her stunt marked the fifth anniversary of her husband Nik Wallenda's walk on a tightrope over Niagara Falls.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte returned to public duties Saturday after nearly a week of absence that sparked speculation over his health as government forces battled Islamist militants in the biggest crisis of his rule.

Duterte, 72, attended a ceremony commemorating the founding of a province and later met with troops in Butuan city, both in the southern region of Mindanao.

Responding to questions from reporters, a jovial Duterte said: "My state of health is -- what you see is what you get," he said, adding that his last medical examination was last year.

Asked if he had any surgery or blood transfusion during his absence, he joked that he had had a "circumcision".

"What's your problem? There's a vice president," he added.

Duterte had not been seen in public since Sunday as security forces trid to drive Islamist militants from Marawi city in Mindanao.

His spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said Thursday that Duterte withdrew from public duties to "rejuvenate" after a punishing schedule, which included regular provincial sorties.

Duterte was last seen on June 11 in the southern city of Cagayan de Oro, visiting soldiers wounded in the fighting with Islamic State group-styled gunmen in Marawi.

He missed a scheduled appearance the following day at annual Independence Day celebrations in Manila.

Duterte imposed martial law over Marawi and the rest of Mindanao, home to 20 million people, on the day the fighting erupted on May 23 to head off what he said was an attempt by IS to carve out its own territory there.

Duterte had repeatedly denied during last year's presidential election campaign that he suffered from cancer.
A Chinese satellite has split pairs of "entangled photons" and transmitted them to separate ground stations 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) apart, smashing the previous distance record for such a feat and opening new possibilities in quantum communication.

In quantum physics, when particles interact with each other in certain ways they become "entangled." This essentially means they remain connected even when separated by large distances, so that an action performed on one affects the other.

In a new study published online today (June 15) in the journal Science, researchers report the successful distribution of entangled photon pairs to two locations on Earth separated by 747.5 miles (1,203 km). [The 18 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics]

Quantum entanglement has interesting applications for testing the fundamental laws of physics, but also for creating exceptionally secure communication systems, scientists have said. That's because quantum mechanics states that measuring a quantum system inevitably disturbs it, so any attempt to eavesdrop is impossible to hide.

But, it's hard to distribute entangled particles  normally photons  over large distances. When traveling through air or over fiber-optic cables, the environment interferes with the particles, so with greater distances, the signal decays and becomes too weak to be useful.

In 2003, Pan Jianwei, a professor of quantum physics at the University of Science and Technology of China, started work on a satellite-based system designed to beam entangled photon pairs down to ground stations. The idea was that because most of the particle's journey would be through the vacuum of space, this system would introduce considerably less environmental interference.

"Many people then thought it [was] a crazy idea, because it was very challenging already doing the sophisticated quantum-optics experiments inside a well-shielded optical table," Pan told Live Science. "So how can you do similar experiments at thousand-kilometers distance scale and with the optical elements vibrating and moving at a speed of 8 kilometers per second [5 miles per second]?"

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In the new study, researchers used China's Micius satellite, which was launched last year, to transmit the entangled photon pairs. The satellite features an ultrabright entangled photon source and a high-precision acquiring, pointing and tracking (APT) system that uses beacon lasers on the satellite and at three ground stations to line up the transmitter and receivers.

Once the photons reached the ground stations, the scientists carried out tests and confirmed that the particles were still entangled despite having traveled between 994 miles and 1,490 miles (1,600 and 2,400 km), depending on what stage of its orbit the satellite was positioned at.

Only the lowest 6 miles (10 km) of Earth's atmosphere are thick enough to cause significant interference with the photons, the scientists said. This means the overall efficiency of their link was vastly higher than previous methods for distributing entangled photons via fiber-optic cables, according to the scientists. [Twisted Physics: 7 Mind-Blowing Findings]

"We have already achieved a two-photon entanglement distribution efficiency a trillion times more efficient than using the best telecommunication fibers," Pan said. "We have done something that was absolutely impossible without the satellite."

Apart from carrying out experiments, one of the potential uses for this kind of system is for "quantum key distribution," in which quantum communication systems are used to share an encryption key between two parties that is impossible to intercept without alerting the users. When combined with the correct encryption algorithm, this system is uncrackable even if encrypted messages are sent over normal communication channels, experts have said.

Artur Ekert, a professor of quantum physics at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, was the first to describe how entangled photons could be used to transmit an encryption key.

"The Chinese experiment is quite a remarkable technological achievement," Ekert told Live Science. "When I proposed the entangled-based quantum key distribution back in 1991 when I was a student in Oxford, I did not expect it to be elevated to such heights!"

The current satellite is not quite ready for use in practical quantum communication systems, though, according to Pan. For one, its relatively low orbit means each ground station has coverage for only about 5 minutes each day, and the wavelength of photons used means it can only operate at night, he said.

Boosting coverage times and areas will mean launching new satellites with higher orbits, Pan said, but this will require bigger telescopes, more precise tracking and higher link efficiency. Daytime operation will require the use of photons in the telecommunications wavelengths, he added.

But while developing future quantum communication networks will require considerable work, Thomas Jennewein, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing in Canada, said Pan's group has demonstrated one of the key building blocks.

"I have worked in this line of research since 2000 and researched on similar implementations of quantum- entanglement experiments from space, and I can therefore very much attest to the boldness, dedication and skills that this Chinese group has shown," he told Live Science.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
Adelaide Kane as Mary Queen of Scots and Adam Croasdell as Bothwell in The CWs Reign (Photo Credit: Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW)

RIP Mary, Queen of Scots.

The Reign series finale ended with the beheading of fierce, determined Mary (Adelaide Kane), who gave up her throne to her son, James, and then imprisoned for nearly two decades by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (Rachel Skarsten).

Before that, Mary and paramour Lord Bothwell (Adam Croasdell) tracked down her infant son, who had been kidnapped by her husband, King Darnley (Will Kemp). As retribution, and future protection, Mary ordered the murder of Darnley. But Bothwells plans to blow up Darnleys hideout failed and he was forced to kill him by hand. Unfortunately, Marys privy councillors discovered the plot and arrested both her and Bothwell.

History tells us that Mary fled to England, where she was kept confined by Elizabeth until Mary was beheaded for plotting against her cousin.

Reign creator Laurie McCarthy talked to Yahoo TV about some of the tweaks they made to the historical timeline, Marys big decision to murder her husband, and the surprising cameo at the end of the finale.

It was great to see Toby Regbo come back as Francis, and to see Francis and Mary share a lovely moment together after her death.

That footage was shot before Toby left the series. We shot it knowing that the series would end with her death and knowing that underneath it all, this was a love story, and knowing where her life was going to go  she had this idyllic existence when she was younger, and then duty was really going to take over, and then she was going to go into not one, but another marriage beyond Francis, and they were going to be incredibly painful.

The marriage to Darnley was not going to be a happy one, and the marriage we didnt get to show but we hinted at, with Bothwell, was going to be short-lived. Ultimately, I would say it was a mistake she couldve avoided, but still a mistake.

Toby Regbo as Francis and Adelaide Kane as Mary (Photo: Sven Frenzel/The CW)

Why end with Mary and Francis together?

I would like to think that for any of us, when youre in a final moment like that, your mind can take you to a happier place. I feel like the happiest time of her life was when she was with him. That is the person who in her darkest hours she wanted at her side. So, I wanted to give her that at the end. And Toby Regbo was gracious enough to agree to film that before he left the show.

Adelaide Kane as Mary and Toby Regbo as Francis (Photo: Christos Kalohoridis/The CW)

In history, its unclear if Mary actually played a part in Darnleys death. Why did you decide to have her make the choice?

We wanted her to be proactive. I think there are a number of different books on the topic, and some of them indicate pretty strongly that she had to know what was going on. So, we went with that version of history.

Throughout the series, Mary has always strived to be good and decent and moral. So, this is a dark turn for her.

She really had very little choice. One of the things that we dramatize was the struggle for whoever had power over the heir. The kidnapping of the child was a fabrication. But the truth of the matter is, what we saw play out in Scotland is what Elizabeth kept referring to England  once you wed and youre a woman, even if youre the rightful heir to the throne, people will look to the king to vest their political chips in.

We wanted to create a dynamic that she was justified in playing that role in his death, and that she had very little choice. It wasnt just her welfare, but the welfare of her child.

Celina Sinden as Greer, Adelaide Kane as Mary, and Will Kemp as Lord Darnley (Photo: Ben Mark Holzberg /The CW)

Theres quite a bit of talk in the finale about women in power  Knox tells Mary that hell bow to no woman, Elizabeth makes a big speech about her power. It feels very relevant to current events. How much did you want to connect the finale to the current political climate?

I would say that, in some ways, little has changed at the very top. Im sad that its relevant, is probably the best answer to that.

Did you intend to draw those parallels?

I think the parallels exist. As we laid out the dynamic of the time, the fact that they resonate still is meaningful for all of us. We werent trying to make a big political statement. We were really trying to explain and justify some of the actions our lead character took.

What do you hope the fans walk away from the finale feeling?

I hope they feel the sadness of her life but also the exhilaration of the journey. What was fascinating to me about the show was how bizarre their lives are  the lives of monarchs, the lives of royals at the time was so foreign. They really did not live like other people.

There were things that we heard from historians we couldnt even put in the show. One that always stood out to me  and I thought, how could you ever portray this?  was the fact that the peasants really looked up to the royals because they were nearly a foot taller than them. That was because royals and people at court ate protein, and peasants did not. They didnt grow to the same height. So, they really looked at these people like they were gods.

The foreign quality of their life that was really unrelatable was fascinating to me. The phrase I kept using about the show was, I want to see what their life was like on an 11 oclock in the morning on a Tuesday. Not on a day when they were getting their portraits done, and not on a day when they were going to war or making some declaration. They were just these people living in this community, in a house that wasnt even really their own home.

Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots (Photo: John Medland /The CW)

Early on, I felt like it was Mary going to a boarding school with her friends. And then it became a city-state, which is what those castles really were. They didnt have privacy and were beholden to so many rules. So, I wanted people to go on that journey and feel that escapism and lushness of that life, but also the confines of it, which I felt like gave the series stakes.

And if they would like to step back and contemplate the difficulty of women in power, I would, of course, as a feminist, love that as well.

Did you take anything from the set as a memento?

You know, what I really wanted but didnt get was a pair of great riding boots. Because the guys had such great boots on the show. But the people in Toronto sent me from the set, a portrait from the set. So that was my takeaway.

Read more from Yahoo TV:
Moscow (AFP) - The Russian army on Friday said it was seeking to verify whether Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed when its warplanes hit the group's leaders in a night raid in Syria last month.

The United States said it could not immediately confirm whether Baghdadi, the undisputed leader of global jihadism, was dead.

The elusive Iraqi-born Islamist is the world's most-wanted man and has not been seen in public since proclaiming himself "caliph" in the Iraqi city of Mosul three years ago.

Russia's army said Sukhoi warplanes carried out the 10-minute raid at a location near the IS stronghold of Raqa, where group leaders had gathered to plan a pullout from the area.

"Senior commanders of the military groups of the so-called IS military council, 30 mid-ranking field commanders and up to 300 militants who provided security for them were eliminated," the army's statement said.

"According to information which is being checked through various channels, the leader of ISIL Ibrahim Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi was also present at the meeting and was eliminated by the strike," it said.

ISIL is an acronym for the so-called IS group, also known as ISIS and Daesh.

Later at the meeting of President Vladimir Putin's security council, Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu gave different figures of jihadists killed in the strike, according to the Kremlin.

Shoigu said the strike "eliminated over 100 terrorists, including members of IS leadership, and, presumably, al-Baghdadi," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.

However, the US-led coalition said it could not immediately affirm whether Baghdadi was killed.

"We cannot confirm these reports at this time," said Operation Inherent Resolve US Army Colonel Ryan Dillon.

The coalition conducted 35 strikes against IS Thursday including 20 near Raqa, which destroyed "two ISIS headquarters" among other damage, according to an official statement Friday.

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The Russian strike started at 2135 GMT on May 27 (12:35 am on May 28 local time) following confirmation of the meeting by a drone. Those killed included the so-called emir of Raqa and the IS security chief, the Russian statement said.

Russia informed the United States about the attack, the statement added.

Baghdadi has been rumoured wounded or killed a number of times in the past.

His group has earned global notoriety for imposing a hardline form of Islam that has included stonings, beheadings and amputations. Its bastion of Raqa became a magnet for would-be jihadis from other countries.

- 'Matter of time' -

He has been nicknamed "The Ghost" as he has been reportedly spotted around the Syrian-Iraqi border but his whereabouts have never been confirmed.

In March, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared that Baghdadi's death was imminent as "nearly all" of his deputies were dead and "it is only a matter of time" before the IS chief himself met the same fate.

Russia in September 2015 launched a bombing campaign in Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Its efforts against IS jihadists are separate from those of the US-led coalition, which supports Syrian rebels.

The Russian military said earlier this month that on May 29, its planes struck IS convoys attempting to leave Raqa from the south and heading toward Palmyra, killing 80 militants.

On May 31, Russia struck IS contingents located near Palmyra, firing guided missiles from warships deployed off the Syrian coast.

Russia has supported Syrian armed forces, which entered the province of Raqa June 6 and advanced since then in the west and southwest of the province.

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have been pushing into Raqa on three fronts, last Tuesday breaking into the IS bastion from the east for the first time.

Iraqi forces are meanwhile battling IS in Mosul, where the jihadists are confined to just a few neighbourhoods in the west of the city.

The fighting in Raqa has caused alarm at the United Nations, whose investigators this week said civilian loss of life was "staggering" due to "excessive" air strikes.
Forty-one-year-old Ana Brnabic is set to become both the first gay and first female prime minister of Serbia following her nomination by the nations president, Aleksandar Vucic, on Thursday evening. In an announcement first reported by Serbias B92 news agency, Vucic said he would be giving Brnabic a mandate to form a new governmenta decision that is unlikely to be contested in parliament, where the presidents Serbian Progressive Party maintains a firm majority. Although Brnabic is nonpartisan, she is considered loyal to Vucic.

The nomination, which is unprecedented even by international standards, is especially noteworthy in Serbia, a country known for its widespread homophobia. Homosexuality was officially considered an illness in Serbia prior to 2008, when the Serbian Medical Society decided to undo the classification in response to mounting public pressure. By 2010, research from the Gay Straight Alliance indicated that 67 percent of Serbians still considered homosexuality an illness, while 53 percent believed that state institutions should actively suppress homosexuality. In a statement to The Guardian on Thursday, civil rights activist Goran Miletic indicated that these figures had not changed much in recent years. Although same-sex relationships have been legal in Serbia since 1994, same-sex couples are denied the same citizenship rights and legal protections as heterosexual couples.

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With Serbias Christian Orthodox and ultra-nationalist groups fundamentally opposed to homosexuality, anti-gay sentiment in the nation has frequently translated into violent action. In 2001, an annual gay pride parade in Belgrade resulted in violent clashes between police officers and anti-gay rioters, leaving 78 officers and 17 civilians injured. In the years since, the parade has often been suspended due to security concerns. As late as 2010, anti-gay rioters continued to wreak havoc on the parade, throwing petrol bombs and stones at police officers and even setting the office of the Democratic Party on fire.

The presidents announcement on Thursday made no mention of this violent history, instead choosing to highlight Brnabics professional skills and personal qualities, including her hard-working nature. Before entering the political realm last year, Brnabic worked in the wind power industry and for U.S.-funded development projects. Prior to that, she attended the U.K.s University of Hull, where she earned a degree in marketing. Brnabics political career began last year when Vucic appointed her as minister of public administration and local self-government. At the time, Brnabic seemed unfazed by her title as Serbias first openly gay government minister. Hopefully this will blow over in three or four days, she told the Associated Press.

The title, however, is significant for political reasons as well. Many suspect that Brnabics recent nomination is a way for Vucic to appeal to western allies. Serbia is also currently seeking membership to the European Union, which will likely require the nation to demonstrate further tolerance. Brnabics lack of political experience also makes her an ideal choice for Vucic, who was reportedly keen on appointing someone to promote his own agenda. Indeed, Vucic is likely to remain the most powerful figure in Serbian politics, with Brnabic acquiring a more symbolic authority.

Recommended: An Artificial Intelligence Developed Its Own Non-Human Language

I do not believe that Brnabic will lead or have an impact on foreign policy, Boban Stojanovic, a political scientist at the University of Belgrade, told The Guardian. This will remain the exclusive domain of President Vucic. He added that Brnabics status as Serbias first openly gay prime minister may even be a hindrance to the nations social progress:

The problem is that it will mask the real picture of the situation of civil and human rights in Serbia. The choice of a member of the LGBT community for prime minister will be used as an indicator of the state of civil and human rights, and that is not realistic.

Whether Brnabics appointment will establish a new social precedent or disguise the deep-seated homophobia of Orthodox and ultra-nationalist groups remains to be seen. At the very least, it signals an advancement from past decades, when appointing a gay female prime minister would have been unheard of, if not impossible to achieve.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
According to latest reports, President Donald Trump will be following through with one of his campaign promises and overturn former President Barack Obamas accord with Cuba on Friday, largely restricting tourist travel to the island nation.

The reason behind the Trump administration doing so is to prohibit trade transactions from the United States that could benefit the government of Cuban President Raul Castro financially, until the latter agrees to mend its repressive ways.

The main authors of the new policy were Cuban-American Republicans in Congress, including Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Mario Diaz-Balart, both of whom wanted stiffer sanctions on the Castro government. The Trump administration are likely to cite Obamas failed appeasement policy toward Cuba as a reason for ending the two-year-old approach of engagement, followed by the former presidents government.

My administrations policy will be guided by key U.S. national security interests and solidarity with the Cuban people, the draft of the five-point, eight-page Presidential Policy Directive reads, Politico reported. I will seek to promote a stable, prosperous, and free country for the Cuban people. To that end, we must ensure that U.S. funds are not channeled to a regime that has failed to meet the most basic requirements of a free and just society.

Read: Trump To Announce Plans To Tighten Travel

Barack Obama

Photo: Getty Images/Anthony Behar-Pool

The changes will make it difficult for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba or continue doing business there. The Cuban population might be the worst hit as tourism is one of the major industries of the island and is the source of livelihood for many people, the New York Times reported.

Story continues

However, Trumps Cuba policy is not being seen as a blanket travel ban by the transport companies. People would still be able to move to and from the island nation but with significantly increased scrutiny.

Carnival Corporation, the worlds largest travel leisure company, stated although Trumps revised policy means it would have to review the "extent of the tightening of the travel rules that could potentially affect our guests, it would continue to send cruises to Cuba, CNBC reported. Travel brings people and cultures together, so we are excited about the upcoming cruises to Cuba for our guests," Carnival Corporation added.

On the other hand, airlines such as JetBlue have refrained from commenting in detail on the policy until they have a chance to fully review it after Trump releases a revised policy, Friday. However, the airline, which has flights flying from New York, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, to Havana, Cuba, stated that it, intends to comply with the rules set in place by the government.

Read: US Losing Power In Middle East? Iran, Cuba Fortify Ties With 12 Cooperation Agreements

Cuba

Photo: Getty Images/Yamil Lage

Another airline, Southwest, which transports travelers from Tampa and Fort Lauderdale to Havana, also commented it would "continue to seek opportunities to offer unique value and hospitality," without going into much detail, ahead of Trumps announcement.

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, two of the major flight companies of the United States, declined to comment before the president announces the details of the policy.

Marriot International, an American multinational diversified hospitality company, who has a hotel set up in Cuba and is on its way to building another, showed major concerns over Trumps decision to restrict travel to the island country. It urged the president to reconsider its stance on Cuba.

"We are at an important moment in the relationship between the United States and Cuba," Marriott said in a statement, according to the CNBC report.

"Travel between our two countries continues to increase and strengthen an evolving bilateral relationship. It would be exceedingly disappointing to see the progress that has been made in the last two years halted and reversed by the Administration."

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Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump announced he is under investigation and appeared to attack a senior Department of Justice official Friday, as the federal investigation consuming his administration gathered pace.

As Bob Mueller, the special investigator now heading the FBI's probe into allegations of Russian election meddling, filled out his legal team and prepared to begin interviews, Trump erupted furiously for a second consecutive day.

"I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt" he tweeted from the White House shortly before leaving for Miami.

Trump's digital volley appeared to be trained at Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who recommended the firing last month of James Comey -- an almost unprecedented move that could yet imperil Trump's presidency.

A source on Trump's legal team claimed the president was referring to a Washington Post story "from the other night" rather than confirming he is being investigated.

The Washington Post was one of several media that revealed this week that Trump himself is being investigated on allegations of obstructing justice.

Inside the White House, a sense of foreboding has taken hold on even the most junior staff and up to the Oval Office, as news emerged that Vice President Mike Pence has hired a high-powered outside counsel to represent him.

An aide on Thursday said Pence had hired Richard Cullen who litigated the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal, the Watergate affair and the 2000 vote recount in Florida.

The vice-president, who was also in Miami, described his move to hire an outside lawyer as "very routine."

Special counsel Mueller -- a respected former FBI director -- was also bringing in legal firepower to investigate whether there was collusion between Trump's team and Russia to fix the 2016 election or an attempted cover-up.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller told AFP he now has "13 attorneys on board, with several more in the pipeline."

Story continues

- 'Witch hunt' -

That news appears to have infuriated the president, who also lashed out at the media on a day that aides hoped would be focused on his decision to undo some of Barack Obama's detente with Cuba.

"After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my 'collusion with the Russians,' nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!" Trump tweeted.

"The Fake News Media hates when I use what has turned out to be my very powerful Social Media - over 100 million people! I can go around them."

On Thursday Trump derided a "witch hunt" against him, led by some "very bad" people.

Trump's young presidency has been battered by allegations -- under investigation both by Congress and the FBI -- that Russia interfered to sway the 2016 election in his favor, in possible collusion with Trump's campaign team.

The president has long vehemently denied any collusion with Moscow.

The new allegations against Trump center on his own admission that he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation, and suggestions he asked several top intelligence officials for their help altering the inquiry's direction.

The widened Russia probe could have far-reaching repercussions for Trump's presidency, transforming his closest aides into witnesses and sucking yet more political oxygen out of the West Wing.

As the legal rope has tightened, his allies have gone on the offensive, questioning Mueller's credibility. Allies have even floated the idea that Mueller may be fired.
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump announced Friday he is under investigation in connection with a probe into alleged Russian election meddling that is gnawing away at his administration -- and gathering pace.

The Republican leader also lashed out at the Justice Department's number two, the man tasked with organizing the probe.

The furious early morning barrage of tweets -- his second in as many days -- came as the special counsel investigating Russia's influence over his election pieced together a high-caliber legal team and readied to begin interviews.

Trump is accused of firing FBI director James Comey over his refusal to steer the Russia investigation away from former national security advisor and Trump ally Mike Flynn.

The US president has denied trying to influence the investigation, but has acknowledged in an interview that Russia was on his mind when he dismissed Comey.

"I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt" he tweeted from the White House shortly before a day trip to Miami.

That appeared to be the first public confirmation that Trump is being investigated for obstruction of justice -- and a digital salvo trained at Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who wrote a memo criticizing Comey.

A source on Trump's legal team attempted to clarify the missive, claiming he was reacting to media reports about the investigation rather than offering public confirmation.

Meanwhile, special counsel Robert Mueller -- a respected former FBI director -- has sought to beef up his investigatory firepower.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, told AFP he now has "13 attorneys on board, with several more in the pipeline."

That will only add to a sense of foreboding that pervades the White House, from the crammed collective workspaces of junior officials all the way to the Oval Office.

The widened Russia probe could have far-reaching repercussions for Trump's presidency, transforming his closest aides into witnesses and sucking even more political oxygen out of the West Wing.

Story continues

Trump was set to escape the Washington pressure cooker on Saturday. Accompanied by First Lady Melania, he will make his first trip to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.

A weekend at the rustic mountain getaway is a far cry from the president's normal routine of jetting off to one of his lavish resorts, mainly Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

- 'Rude awakening' -

On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence took what he later described as a "very routine" step of hiring outside counsel to represent him.

Pence tapped far-from-average lawyer Richard Cullen, who litigated the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal, the Watergate affair and the 2000 vote recount in Florida.

As the legal rope has tightened, Trump's allies have gone on the offensive, questioning Mueller's credibility and floating the idea he may be fired.

Trump's apparent attack on Rosenstein also raised further questions about whether he will stay in his position or recuse himself from the investigation.

"As the deputy attorney general has said numerous times, if there comes a point when he needs to recuse, he will. However, nothing has changed," said Ian Prior, a Justice Department spokesman.

Top Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein expressed concern that Trump may try to fire both Mueller and Rosenstein, warning "he's in for a rude awakening" if he thinks he can shut down the investigation.

"Even his staunchest supporters will balk at such a blatant effort to subvert the law," Feinstein said.

- 'Witch hunt' -

Trump also lashed out at the media, on a day that aides hoped would be focused on his decision to undo some of Barack Obama's detente with Cuba.

"After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my 'collusion with the Russians,' nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!" Trump tweeted.

"The Fake News Media hates when I use what has turned out to be my very powerful Social Media - over 100 million people! I can go around them."

Trump's young presidency has been battered by allegations -- under investigation both by Congress and the FBI -- that Russia interfered to sway the 2016 election in his favor, in possible collusion with Trump's campaign team.

The president has long vehemently denied any collusion with Moscow.
Trump hands a pen to a Cuban dissident after signing an executive order on Cuban police in Miami: AP

President Donald Trump is rolling back a number of his predecessors policy changes toward Cuba, making good on a campaign pledge he made that likely helped secure votes from conservatives in Florida.

He drew raucous cheers from a crowd in Miami announcing the changes, and brought several Cuban dissidents onto the stage with him to emphasise the point that the Cuban government has been oppressive to its people.

The President plans on tightening travel restrictions for Americans who would head to Cuba, and on tightening restrictions for American investment in the island country in order to keep US money from flowing into the hands of the government. The aim, Mr Trump said, is to get more money into the hands of the Cuban people while pushing reforms in the Cuban government to respect human rights, and return American fugitives hiding out on the island.

We spoke to Sarah Stephens, the founding executive director of the Centre for Democracy in the Americas and Director of the Atlantic Fellows Platform for Innovation and Narrative. Ms Stephens works focuses on US-Cuba policy, and favours normalised relations between the two countries.

Heres what Ms Stephens has to say about Mr Trumps announcement on Cuba.

What does it mean for the Cuban economy and people that travel will be restricted further?

Only the U.S. imposes travel restrictions on its citizens in deterring travel to Cuba. By taking some US travel out of the equation, the administration will harm US jobs and possibly airlines, but Cuba will remain an attractive travel destination for tourists from every other country on the planet. Cubas allies from across the world will happily fill the void created by the US, and it sounds like Cuban Americans  the most regular visitors  will still be allowed to travel.

Is the Cuban military really benefiting from US policy there compared to the Cuban people?

Because more than half-a-million Cubans are self-employed, with many operating retail and service businesses that cater to travellers, they will be hurt by a reduction in demand travel from the US At the same time, our defence and intelligence agencies, senior military officers, retired and active, consistently tell us  and tell the administration  that Cuba is not a security threat.

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This is not about the Cuban military, it is about politics, as evidenced by the presidents decision to make this announcement in Miami, and the administrations unwillingness to make a serious strategic argument for the policy.

Does this sound like a significant reset of President Barack Obamas Cuba policies?

Its very important that they have maintained diplomatic relations, but if they have disagreements with the Cuban government, the way to resolve them is not by cutting flights, but by using the diplomatic channel.

The president is ordering these new regulations under the auspice of human rights defence, but he recently met with the major rights offender Saudi Arabia. Any thoughts on that dichotomy?

It lays bare the fact that this isn't a serious human rights policy. The Obama policy was based on the pursuit of the US national interest and improving the lives of the people of both countries. Through diplomacy Obama was able to get human rights on the table.

Polls show that most Americans favour more normalised relations with Cuba, and cited a small group of Bay of Pigs veterans in his reasoning  a group that endorsed Mr Trump in what was their first endorsement in decades last year. How do you explain that?

A majority of Americans, a majority of Cuban Americans, and over 90 per cent of Cubans want the policy of engagement to continue. The presidents announcement is about politics, not advancing a serious strategy.
Twitter users quickly responded to President Donald Trumps series of Thursday tweets in which he asked why only his relationship with Russia was under scrutiny and not Hillary Clintons.

Within minutes of the tweets, many Twitter users responded to the president, telling him it was because he is the president of the country, not Clinton.

Read: A List Of Big Names Trump Has Blocked From His Twitter

A Twitter user Steve Schreiber wrote, "She's not the President. She's not anything now. She's irrelevant to any conversation, just as irrelevant as Mitt Romney is today."

Many others on Twitter too reminded the president that Clinton was an ordinary citizen of the country and was not as relevant as him.

Others in some serious tweets tried to justify that Clinton had come out clean in many enquiries conducted in the past and Trumps statement was irrelevant.

The tweets from the president came after it was reported on Wednesday night that special counsel Robert Mueller and his team was expanding the Russia probe.

Citing unnamed sources, the Washington Post reported that the special counsel was investigating if Trump tried to obstruct justice when he fired the then FBI director James Comey.

The New York Times had also reported the investigation was now looking into if Trump associates laundered from Russia during presidential campaigns.

Trump had also mocked federal investigators, saying on Twitter they made up a phony collusion with the Russians story and found zero proof. In another tweet later, the president called the Russia investigation a witch hunt and described the people leading it as very bad.

He refrained from saying anything during former FBI Director James Comey's testimony at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on June 8, 2017. However, the next morning the president posted a tweet accusing Comey of making false statements and lies.

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Read: Donald Trump Attacks Comey & Media On Twitter

Comey had testified he believed he was fired to change the way the Russian investigation was being conducted. Comey had also said Trump had pushed him to stop looking into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

Taking about the issue with the citizens of his country, Russian President Valdamir Putin said it looked strange Comey would memorize a conversation he had with Trump and then leak it to the press. When asked if Comeys case was similar to that of Snowden, Putin said he would be ready to offer political asylum to Comey if he's persecuted in the U.S.

Trump also tweeted that Hillary Clinton destroyed phones w/ hammer, bleached emails, & had husband meet w/AG.

Trumps tweets apparently referred to the allegations in the stories that came up during the presidential campaign stating an aide to Mrs. Clinton had told the FBI he had disposed her old mobile phones by breaking then with a hammer.

It was also reported that that an employee of the company that handled Clintons private email servers also deleted some mails. The FBI later concluded that Clinton was not aware of the deletions.

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President Donald Trumps longtime personal attorney is the subject of a complaint filed by a watchdog group Thursday with the disciplinary body in charge of Washington attorneys, allegedly for dispensing legal advice to unrepresented White House staffers, a violation of bar rules and legal ethics.

Campaign for Accountability, a government ethics group, filed the complaint with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals' Office of Disciplinary Counsel in response to a story in Sundays New York Times that said Marc Kasowitz, who has represented Trump for 15 years, told presidential aides they did not yet need to hire lawyers in response to special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation.

Read: Who Is Marc Kasowitz? Trump Defended By Personal Lawyer Following Comey Hearing

By telling White House aides they did not need to hire lawyers, Kasowitz dispensed legal advice to people who not only werent his clients, but whose interests in the coming legal storm might be contrary to the presidents, the complaint alleges. The complaint, which asks the office to open an investigation, comes as Muellers investigation reportedly has expanded to examine whether the president attempted to obstruct justice.

Robert Mueller

Photo: Getty Images/Alex Wong

It was really concerning to read he was providing legal advice to White House staffers, Daniel Stevens, executive director of the Campaign for Accountability, told International Business Times. Stevens is an alumnus of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics In Washington, the watchdog group that filed suit against the president just days after his inauguration over his foreign business dealings.

They werent his clients and they might take heed of that advice and it might not be in their best interest. [Kasowitz] needs to be held accountable for giving that advice, Stevens said.

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The D.C. bar, as well as the American Bar Associations model rules, which have been adopted by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, forbid attorneys from giving legal advice to people who dont have lawyers, other than recommending they retain counsel, if the interests of such person are or have a reasonable possibility of being in conflict with the interests of the lawyers client.

Kasowitzs discussions with White House staff reportedly bypassed White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II, a departure from previous protocol that worried former attorneys who have held that position.

"The presidents private lawyer is representing only his interests, not the interests of the United States government or the individual interests of the White House staff, Robert F. Bauer, who was White House counsel under President Barack Obama, told the Times.

The White House declined to comment and directed IBT to send questions to Kasowitz, who did not respond to IBTs inquiries. A spokesperson for Kasowitz previously said the Times categorization of the meeting was inaccurate, but, according to the Times, would not specify how.

Read: Trump Calls Comey A 'Leaker,' Says He Is Open To Testifying Under Oath Against Him

Campaign for Accountability copied the complaint to the New York State Bar. Bar. Court records indicate Kasowitz is not a member of the D.C. Bar but is a member of the New York Bar. The committees in D.C. and New York that evaluate complaints would not confirm they received the complaint, as complaints against attorneys are confidential unless a complaint ends in disciplinary action, which can run the gamut from requiring attorneys take continuing education classes to disbarment.

The Committee on Character and Fitness for Manhattan and the Bronx, which has jurisdiction over Kasowitz's law practice, told IBT that Kasowitz has never been disciplined by the courts for misconduct since becoming a member of the New York Bar in 1978.

Trump hired Kasowitz to represent him in all matters connected to the Russian investigation at the end of May, shortly after the Justice Department tapped Mueller as special counsel.

After FBI Director James Comey testified to a Senate panel June 7 about his interactions with Trump, Kasowitz attacked Comey and defended Trump at the press.

From before this president took office to this day, it is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications, Kasowitz said. Mr. Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers.

Trumps legal team has said it is planning on filing a complaint against Comey for leaking conversations with the president. The team initially planned to file the complaint this week, but the legal teams spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday the complaint would most likely be filed next week. Its unclear with which office in the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI, the legal team will file the complaint.

Kasowitz has represented Trump in a variety of matters since the turn of the century, including defending the president in the Trump University lawsuit, keeping the presidents divorce records sealed, restructuring Trump casino bondholder debt and suing a Trump biographer in 2009 for citing unnamed sources claiming the real estate mogul wasnt actually a billionaire.

ProPublica has reported Kasowitz bragged to friends about convincing Trump to fire Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Brahara, who was investigating Tom Price, Trump's secretary of health and human services, at the time of his firing.

Kasowitzs firm, Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, employs former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, whom Trump briefly considered for FBI director after he fired Comey. Trump tapped Kasowitzs partner, David Friedman, to serve as ambassador to Israel prompting the firm to change its name (until late March, Kasowitzs firms name was Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman). In addition to Trump, Kasowitz also represents Russias largest bank, Sberbank, which counts the Russian government as a majority shareholder.

Vice President Mike Pence has also retained counsel to represent him in the Russia inquiry, the Washington Post reported Thursday. Pence hired Richard Cullen, a former U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, a Pence spokesman confirmed to the Post.

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

A request to Trump campaign officials to preserve certain documents has revealed the scope of the ongoing investigation into the team's potential ties to Russia.

An email sent to workers on Donald Trump's presidential campaign instructed them to preserve all documents related to the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and campaign officials like former campaign manager Paul Manafort, advisers Carter Page, Rick Gates and Roger Stone, and former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

The documents should be preserved pursuant to several pending investigations into potential attempts by Russia interests to influence the 2016 election, according to the email obtained by Politico.

Officials in the House, Senate, and Justice Department are all conducting investigations into Russian meddling in the US election  and the Trump campaigns possible involvement. A special prosecutor was recently announced to oversee the investigation.

The email reveals the scope of investigations, which have also been reported to include adviser Jared Kushner and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The directive was sent by attorney Kory Langhofer, who represented the Trump campaign in the 2016 election.

All five campaign officials named in the email have faced scrutiny for their dealing with Russia. Mr Flynn was removed from his position as national security adviser this year, when it was revealed that he had misrepresented his conversations with Russian officials to Vice President Mike Pence and others.

Mr Manafort, meanwhile, is under investigation by the FBI for his ties to two Russian oligarchs  ties which Mr Gates also maintained. Mr Page has given pro-Russia speeches, and met with the Russian ambassador at last years Republican National Convention. And Roger Stone, Mr Trumps longtime adviser, appears to have had inside knowledge of Wikileaks document releases.

Mr Page, Mr Stone, Mr Manafort, and Mr Flynn have all been asked to turn over records of their dealings with Russia to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Only Mr Manafort and Mr Page are said to have complied.

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Mr Trump, meanwhile, has maintained complete innocence in the Russia probe, calling the investigation into his possible ties the biggest witch hunt in American history.

The President is not a direct subject of the investigation, according to former FBI Director James Comey. But he has reportedly become the subject of an obstruction of justice probe over his dealings with Mr Comey, and his statements on the investigation.

Mr Trump, Mr Pence, and Mr Trumps lawyer have all hired outside counsel to represent them in the investigation.
In recent days, U.S. officials have been seeking to mediate a resolution to the dispute between Qatar and a coalition of its Arab neighbors led by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. The quarrel involves legitimate complaints about Qatars support and sympathy for extreme Islamist movements, and longstanding resentment of Qatars role as a regional gadfly. The United States has a stake in these demands for changes in Qatars orientation.

But there is another critical issue raised by this dust-up between U.S. allies, namely: who decides? Specifically, who decides when the United States should put its own interests at risk in pursuit of even the most legitimate policy goals?

In this case, the Saudis and their partners blindsided the United States. With no warning, they aggressively isolated Qatar, imposing a blockade on a U.S. security partner that hosts over 10,000 American troops. Their action risks complicating the conduct of U.S. military air operations in the region coordinated from the Al-Udeid Air Force Base, and undercuts a longstanding U.S. goal of increased unity among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations.

Compounding the damage, the anti-Qatar coalition has articulated vague demands that amount to a total capitulation from Qatar before they will resume normal relations. Typical of such statements was an article in the Wall Street Journal by the UAEs well-regarded Ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, in which he argued that Qatar must acknowledge that Doha has become a financial, media and ideological hub for extremism. Then it must take decisive action to deal once and for all with its extremist problem  to shut down this funding, stop interfering in its neighbors internal affairs, and end its media incitement and radicalization.

Its not that the complaints about Qatars regional policies are unwarranted. Like so many U.S. officials who have worked on Middle East policy in the last two decades, Im deeply familiar with the frustrating Qatari duality.

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On the one hand, Qatar hosts the Combined Air Operations Center for U.S. Central Command. This facility coordinates U.S. military air operations across the region  from Syria to Iraq to Afghanistan. Qatar purchases advanced military equipment from the United States, which supports jobs in the U.S. defense industry. It is a major energy supplier to key Western economies. And, at least nominally, it is part of a coalition of U.S. partners, anchored by the GCC, that helps us deal with regional threats from Iran to Syria to ISIS.

On the other hand, Qatar has an unwelcome history of supporting extreme Islamist movements, like the al-Nusra Front and its successors among Syrian opposition groups, or the Palestinian terrorist organization, Hamas, whose leaders have been based in Doha since 2011. The United States has often complained to Qatar about these relationships, although proving terrorist financing to a legal standard has been more difficult.

Qatar also provocatively challenges other U.S. partners like Saudi Arabia and Egypt by promoting the Muslim Brotherhood movement that those governments see as an extremist threat. Al-Jazeera, the Doha-based satellite news channel, gives regular voice to Islamist critics of these governments, such as the radical cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, and aims additional barbs (some would say propaganda) at the United States. Finally, Qatar, which shares an offshore natural gas field with Iran, has maintained much closer relations with the Islamic Republic than most of its GCC neighbors, who see Iran as a prime threat.

So the Saudi, UAE, and Egyptian rap sheet against Qatar is one we share. But given our other interests at stake, it was unreasonable for them to launch an uncoordinated economic assault on Qatar and lay down maximal demands that have little hope of being met in the short term.

Secretary of State Tillerson has led U.S. efforts to mediate a way out of the dispute. He has held meetings with officials from both sides of the dispute in Washington, and called for both and an end to Qatari support for extremists and no further escalations by the Saudi-led coalition. Meanwhile, U.S. military spokespeople have highlighted the importance of not disrupting critical operations conducted from Al-Udeid, and have gone out of their way to demonstrate continuity in our security partnership. Two U.S. naval vessels conducted regularly scheduled port visits to Doha, and in a meeting with his Qatari counterpart, Secretary of Defense Mattis reaffirmed the U.S. intent to proceed with a $12 billion sale of 72 F-15s agreed to last fall.

This posture is the only reasonable one any U.S. administration could adopt in a dangerous situation that requires care, not bombast. (Not incidentally, it renders President Trumps bashing of Qatar in public statements and on Twitter largely irrelevant). The U.S. should be clear that Qatar needs to fundamentally end its support for extremist Syrian and Palestinian groups, including by expelling Hamas leaders. It also needs to tone down its provocations aimed at its larger neighbors. Failure to change should lead to consideration of relocating our military base, which is a benefit to Qatars own security posture, to a more cooperative neighbor  although it would take many months to implement such a move.

Expectations for Qatar to distance itself from Iran are less realistic, given their shared natural gas resources. But Qatar can and should reduce its coziness with Tehran, seen most recently in a massive ransom it paid to release Qatari royals kidnapped in Iraq and a meeting between its Foreign Minister and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qassem Soleimani.

But because of the Saudi-led coalitions tactics, the dispute has unnecessarily highlighted differences between the United States and this other group of allies. It has forced us to assert that no other nation can dictate to the United States how we will address such disputes. The uncoordinated isolation campaign has already harmed our interests by driving Qatar deeper into Irans arms. Iran has stepped up support for Qatar by sending shipments of food to replace blockaded Saudi supply routes. Other countries, notably Russia and Turkey, are doing all they can to exploit and deepen the divisions laid bare between U.S. partners.

So in addition to our effort to change Qatari policies, the United States should also lay down some markers with the Saudis, who have their own history of exporting extremism, and insist that they and their partners cease blockading Qatar and seek to resolve their differences diplomatically. They need to understand that they cannot dictate to the United States on any moves that affect our interests and our troops.

Tillerson and Mattis need to continue to make it abundantly clear: when U.S. interests are at stake, we will consult with allies, but only the United States will decide.

Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump is expected to announce a new Cuba policy during his visit to Miami on Friday, rolling back much of his predecessors progress toward rapprochement with Havana, despite an interagency review that recommended keeping the current approach in place.

Senior officials insist the policy will only target the repressive Cuban regime and not Cuban citizens themselves, but critics say it will have a blowback effect on the entire island, threatening to scuttle nascent commercial ties and business ventures on the island under communist rule for nearly 60 years.

The new policy, expected to be announced during Trumps speech in Miami, does not target the people, but it does target the oppressive members of the Cuban military government, said a senior White House official. It will offer a path forward for the easing of restrictions and sanctions if Cuban ruler Raul Castro makes democratic and human rights reforms.

Its part optics. Trump is expected to market the policy shift as a complete 180-degree shift from the easeback as he works to dismantle former President Barack Obamas hallmark foreign policy achievements.

But he wont be severing diplomatic ties with Cuba, ending commercial flights to the country, or closing down the U.S. Embassy in Havana that reopened in 2015. He also wont bring back the so-called wet foot, dry foot policy that allowed Cuban refugees who make it to American soil to become permanent residents. Obama ended that policy in his final days in office.

Trumps Cuba policy offers a glimpse into the chaotic policymaking process inside the administration, where standard interagency processes are often cast aside and Trump and his close coterie of White House advisors run major foreign policy decisions out of the White House with little input from the State Department.

Multiple sources tell FP the administration conducted an intensive interagency review process on a new Cuba policy that Trump ultimately spurned. In early May, the review was sent to Trump recommending he keep in place Obamas drive to normalize relations with Cuba. He nixed that idea after promising on the campaign trail to cater a new policy to Cuban-American hardliners.

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From there, two lawmakers  and not the State Department  got in the drivers seat with Trump, sources tell FP. Cuba hardliners Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fl.) were the dominating force behind administrations new changes, overriding Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Trumps new policy boils down to directing federal agencies, including the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and State to come up with new regulations. No tangible changes will go into effect until the agencies create those regulations.

The new policy is expected to impose limits on commercial transactions involving the Cuban military. The Trump administration is also expected to ban Americans from traveling to Cuba for their own people-to-people purposes.

A senior White House official said the new policy will empower Cubans while clamping down on the oppressive elements of the Cuban regime under current ruler Raul Castro.

But others disagree. Its almost impossible to do business without benefitting the sprawling tentacles of the Cuban military, a former senior State Department official told FP. Under its Armed Forces Business Enterprises Group, the Cuban military has its hands in many parts of Cubas economy, including trade, ports, and the tourism industry. Thus, if the Trump administration targets that group, Cuban citizens, the fledgling private sector, and foreign investors of the type Washington wants to encourage will be caught in the crossfire.

Rolling back the policy of engagement will hurt the very people it aims to support, said Alana Tummino of the Americas Society and Council of the Americas. These personal, cultural, and commercial relationships 90 miles off our shore are our best bet for creating a more open society.

The concern is that American and other foreign businesses wont want to dive into Cuba until the Trump administration fully hashes out its new regulations. The policies wont have a nuclear impact to Obamas policies, one former senior State Department official said. But it will add a lot of uncertainty to an already uncertain environment.

Any time you make a change to a sanctions program, its going to take time for the commercial relationships and business relationships to be established, said Sean Kane, a sanctions expert at Hughes Hubbard law firm and formerly the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control. Kane said Trumps changing existing policies could restart the clock at zero for many banks and companies who were considering entering Cuba and establishing new business relationships.

Trumps new policy, while its only a partial rollback of Obamas rapprochement, represents a major political victory for the Florida lawmakers, the Miami Herald reports. This will stand as a major foreign policy victory for Rubio, the son of poor Cuban immigrants, who made bids for the Republican presidential ticket in the past and could be eyeing greater political ambitions in the future.

Rubio hopes the new changes will force the Castro regime to implement human rights and democratic reforms. It is my hope that in five to 10 years  or less  Cuba will look very different, he said said, and people will point to this as the moment that kind of triggered those changes.

But human rights experts warned rolling back Obamas policies wont work. Reversing Obamas policy changes are not going to improve human rights on the island, said Human Rights Watchs Juan Miguel Vivanco, speaking at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank. He called Washingtons strict embargo on Cuba, first put in place nearly 60 years ago, a total failure.

To expect different results from a policy thats not had any impact in terms of serious, significant improvements inhuman rights or democracy in Cuba is highly unrealistic, Vivanco said.

Photo credit: JOE RAEDLE/Getty Images
Mecca (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held talks in Saudi Arabia on Friday with King Salman, continuing efforts to resolve the Gulf's biggest diplomatic crisis in years.

Diplomatic sources told AFP that

"the meeting was positive", but there were no specifics.

Riyadh, the UAE, Egypt and others severed diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar almost two weeks ago, accusing Doha of supporting groups, including some backed by Iran, "that aim to destabilise the region".

Qatar denies any such support for extremists.

Cavusoglu travelled to the holy city of Mecca where Salman is based for the last days of Ramadan, after meeting his Kuwaiti counterpart on Thursday.

The emir of Kuwait, which did not cut ties with Qatar, has also been trying to mediate.

Turkey's chief diplomat was in Doha on Wednesday where he called for dialogue after meeting Qatar's emir and foreign minister ahead of his Saudi stop.

"Although the kingdom is a party in this crisis, we know that King Salman is a party in resolving it," Cavusoglu said earlier.

"We want to hear the views of Saudi Arabia regarding possible solutions and will share with them our views in a transparent way... We pay a great attention to our relations with them," he said.

The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf but is also keen to maintain its improving ties with regional power Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, Turkey is eager to maintain workable relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia's foe.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday described the decision by Gulf states to cut political and economic ties with Qatar as "inhumane and un-Islamic".

He stopped short of directly criticising Saudi Arabia and said that as "the elder statesman of the Gulf," Salman should resolve the matter.

Among the punitive measures, Qatar Airways is banned from the airspace of its neighbours, Gulf states gave Qataris 14 days to get out, and Saudi closed its land border through which much of Qatar's food supply crossed.
Washington (AFP) - US authorities on Thursday announced arrest warrants had been issued for 12 members of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's security detail for assaulting protesters in Washington last month, sparking a furious response from the Turkish leader.

Erdogan said the United States had no right to arrest his guards, who he said were protecting him from "terrorists."

The Turkish foreign ministry officially "invited" the US ambassador in for discussions after the announcement.

But Washington held that Erdogan's security detail had no justification to attack the small group of Kurdish and Armenian protesters outside the Turkish ambassador's residence on May 16, just after Erdogan met with President Donald Trump at the White House.

Nine people were injured, with several going to the hospital for treatment of head injuries, broken teeth, deep cuts and bruises.

The charges against the 12, along with six other Turkish-Americans and Turkish-Canadians who joined the melee, "send a clear message that the United States does not tolerate individuals who use intimidation and violence to stifle freedom of speech and legitimate political expression," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

Erdogan lashed back, accusing US police of having allowed "terrorists" to protest "50 meters from me" during his US visit.

"Why would I bring my guards with me to the United States, if not to protect me?" he said in a speech in Ankara, adding that US police "did nothing."

"We will fight politically and judicially" against the warrants, he added.

- Extensive video evidence -

The 12 men named in the warrants were identified in detailed video footage of the assault, said Washington Police Chief Peter Newsham. The men, all Turkish citizens, include nine Erdogan security guards and three Turkish police.

The violence erupted in broad daylight in Washington's diplomatic quarter, just minutes after Erdogan arrived at the ambassador's residence from the White House.

Story continues

Video of the fracas shows Turkish security aides beating demonstrators and kicking those some on the ground repeatedly in the head.

The State Department lodged a formal protest with Ankara over the incident at the time, registering its concern in the "strongest possible terms."

In a charging document presented in court Thursday against Sinan Narin, one of four Turkish-Americans already arrested in the case, Washington police detective Victor DePeralta called the incident a "vicious attack."

Shortly after Erdogan's limousine pulled up, his security officers and supporters rushed across the street at the protesters "in a nearly simultaneous, coordinated throng," the detective said.

"Members of the Turkish security detail were seen speaking with each other and touching communication devices seconds before the rush," he said.

The protesters, he said, "were not physically aggressive in any way, nor were they even physically proximate to the pro-Erdogan contingent."

- Right to protest -

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser condemned the violence strongly on Thursday, saying it violated the constitutional right to peaceful protest.

"We host millions of people who come to the seat of their government to protest peacefully. We support them, we make sure that they are safe, but we also make sure that they follow our law," Bowser said at a press conference.

"Anyone traveling to the United States will be held to that same standard," she said.

Newsham did not explain how police expected to arrest the 12, given their location in Turkey and possible diplomatic protections. He said the State Department would determine how to execute the warrants.
The U.S. has broken its own energy record: 10 percent of all electricity generated in the country in March came from wind and solar power, according to a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The number is up from last year, in which wind and solar power generated an annual average of seven percent of the country's electricity, the report from Electric Power Monthly shows based upon March.

Read: What Ice Age Fossils Can Teach Us About Climate Change Today

Where and When Is Wind And Solar Power Generated?

Wind patterns are different, depending on the location. States like Texas and Oklahoma and others in the region typically have the highest output in spring months. But California wind-powered generators often have their highest output in the summer. Meanwhile, monthly solar output is highest in the summer no matter the location because of the longer daylight hours.

EIA predicts wind and solar power will generate over 10 percent of U.S. electricity in April 2017, and will decrease to less than 10 percent in the summer months. Since 2014, the agency has seen combined wind and solar generation reach its highest level in either spring or fall, since those seasons see a low electricity demand.

Texas generated the biggest amount of electricity from wind and solar power, annual data for 2016 shows. Most of the production was from wind, since the state is the biggest wind producer compared to other states, according to the EIA. In most states, wind usually makes up a larger amount of its total electricity generation than solar. However, California and Arizona had more solar generation than wind in 2016.

Trump And Wind Industry, Jobs

The report comes after President Donald Trump announced his decision to drop the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.

Read: Trump May Not Like The Wind Industry, But It Now Employs More Than 102,000 Americans

However, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) doesnt see his decision harming the wind industry.

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Despite the decision today to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, the wind industry expects to continue as an American economic success story, said AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan in a statement. Current policies will keep wind power growing rapidly through 2020, and we see many positive trends that will continue to drive demand.

Trump previously spoke against the wind industry before becoming president.

It's Friday. How many bald eagles did wind turbines kill today? They are an environmental & aesthetic disaster, he tweeted in 2012.

However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said the fastest-growing occupations in America are wind turbine service technician jobs. U.S. wind power added jobs over nine times faster than the overall economy, according to a 2016 report by AWEA. The country saw a record last year, with more than 102,000 wind power-related jobs. In the next few years, the wind industry will account for 248,000 jobs, the report added. Between now and 2020, wind power is expected to create $85 billion in economic activity.

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Chicago (AFP) - A jury in Minnesota on Friday acquitted the police officer who fatally shot 32-year-old African American Philando Castile, whose dying moments were captured on Facebook video in a case that shocked the nation.

Jeronimo Yanez, 29, was found not guilty on three charges: second-degree manslaughter, and two felony counts of intentional discharge of a dangerous weapon for endangering the safety of Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter.

Both were in the car when the officer shot Castile during a traffic stop.

The aftermath of the shooting on July 6 last year was captured on video recorded by Reynolds and broadcast on Facebook Live. In it, Castile can be seen bleeding to death in the driver's seat.

The video sparked protests across the United States and further exposed tensions between US police and African Americans.

Castile's family reacted with anger outside the courthouse, and several groups planned demonstrations after the verdict.

"I'm mad as hell right now. Yes, I am," Castile's mother Valerie told a gathering of reporters.

"The system continues to fail black people."

The jury in the case spent approximately 30 hours deliberating, and asked the judge to re-examine the Facebook video and the video from the police car dashboard camera, along with Yanez's testimony on the stand.

US prosecutors have found it difficult to make criminal charges stick in police shooting cases.

All six Baltimore officers charged over the 2015 death of Freddie Gray due to spinal cord injuries suffered in the back of a police van were eventually cleared.
Chicago (AFP) - A Minnesota police officer was acquitted Friday in the shooting of a black motorist whose dying moments were captured on Facebook video in a case that shocked the nation.

Jeronimo Yanez, 29, was found not guilty of all three charges he faced in the death of 32-year-old Philando Castile: second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of intentional discharge of a dangerous weapon for endangering the safety of Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter.

Both were in the car when the officer shot Castile during a traffic stop on July 6 of last year.

After the verdict, Castile's family reacted with anger outside the courthouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota. An evening protest was planned at the state capitol.

"I'm mad as hell right now. Yes, I am," Castile's mother Valerie told a group of reporters. "The system continues to fail black people."

Glenda Hatchett, a lawyer who represented Valerie Castile, said her son had suffered a "tragic, tragic needless death."

"This time we had to get it right," she said.

"This time we had a young man who had no criminal record," she said. "This time there should have been, in our opinion, a very, very different outcome."

The immediate aftermath of Castile's shooting was captured on video recorded by Reynolds and broadcast on Facebook Live. In it, Castile can be seen bleeding to death in the driver's seat.

The footage sparked protests across the United States and further exposed tensions between US police and African Americans.

Yanez had initially singled out Castile for a traffic stop because the officer thought he bared a resemblance to a robbery suspect.

Castile volunteered that he was legally carrying a gun. He said, "Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me."

The officer asked Castile not to pull out the handgun. But moments later Yanez fired seven shots while Castile was still buckled into his seat. Reynolds, the girlfriend, said Castile had been trying to pull out his wallet.

Story continues

Yanez said he feared for his safety and thought Castile was reaching for the gun.

But Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, who filed charges against the officer, declared such fear unreasonable.

"He made a horrible mistake," Choi said after the verdict, referring to the officer.

"I know if he could, he would take back what he did," he said.

Community activists expressed anger and disappointment, while officials appealed for calm.

"It was a clear-cut case," Jaylani Hussein, chief of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said on local TV station KSTP.

"It sends a very harsh message that we still have major race issues in this country."

- 'Egregious' -

The mayor of Saint Paul quickly announced a series of community meetings to discuss the verdict.

"I urge each of us to move forward in a way that is peaceful and respectful of everyone -- residents, demonstrators and police officers alike," Mayor Christopher Coleman said in a statement.

The jury in the case spent approximately 30 hours over five days deliberating, and asked the judge to re-examine the Facebook video and the video from the police car dashboard camera, along with Yanez's testimony on the stand.

The dashcam video has not been made public, pending the outcome of the case.

US prosecutors have found it difficult to make criminal charges stick in police shooting cases.

All six Baltimore officers charged over the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, due to spinal cord injuries suffered in the back of a police van, were eventually cleared.

Sherrilyn Ifill, who heads the legal defense fund at the African-American civil rights group NAACP, said the acquittal, "highlights how difficult it is to prosecute an officer for killing a person."

"This incident seemed so egregious," she said in a statement, "That we hoped that this time... justice might be served."
Washington (AFP) - US Vice President Mike Pence has hired a personal lawyer to deal with requests from the special counsel investigating possible collusion with Russia during the 2016 election, a top aide said Thursday.

"The Vice President has retained Richard Cullen of McGuire Woods to assist him in responding to inquiries by the special counsel," Pence communications director Jared Agen said in a statement.

"The vice president is focused entirely on his duties and promoting the president's agenda and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter."

Pence's announcement comes after several weeks of deliberations, featuring several candidates, an administration official said, adding that no taxpayer money will be used.

A final decision was made to hire Cullen earlier this week.

Cullen -- who has experience litigating the Iran-Contra investigation, Watergate and the 2000 vote recount in Florida -- is a former US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Pence's move follows a decision by President Donald Trump to hire outside counsel Marc Kasowitz and could signal the investigation is entering a new phase.

Amid reports that special counsel Robert Mueller is also looking into whether Trump tried to obstruct justice, several White House aides are expected to be contacted by his team and are in the process of "lawyering up."
A pair of top White House officials is pushing to broaden the war in Syria, viewing it as an opportunity to confront Iran and its proxy forces on the ground there, according to two sources familiar with the debate inside the Donald Trump administration.

Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council, and Derek Harvey, the NSCs top Middle East advisor, want the United States to start going on the offensive in southern Syria, where, in recent weeks, the U.S. military has taken a handful of defensive actions against Iranian-backed forces fighting in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Their plans are making even traditional Iran hawks nervous, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, who has personally shot down their proposals more than once, the two sources said.

The situation in southern Syria has escalated in recent weeks, after a U.S. warplane shot down an Iranian-made drone that had attacked U.S. forces on patrol with Syrian allies near an American outpost at al-Tanf. The drone attack came after two U.S. airstrikes on Iranian-backed Shiite militias, which had moved too close to the Americans garrison.

Despite the more aggressive stance pushed by some White House officials, Mattis, military commanders, and top U.S. diplomats all oppose opening up a broader front against Iran and its proxies in southeastern Syria, viewing it as a risky move that could draw the United States into a dangerous confrontation with Iran, defense officials said. Such a clash could trigger retaliation against U.S. troops deployed in Iraq and Syria, where Tehran has armed thousands of Shiite militia fighters and deployed hundreds of Revolutionary Guard officers.

Mattis, Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Brett McGurk, the U.S. diplomat overseeing the anti-Islamic State coalition, all favor keeping the focus on pushing the Islamic State out of its remaining strongholds, including the southern Syrian city of Raqqa, officials said. Thats the strategy theyve signed off on and thats where the effort is, said one defense official.

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The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

The Pentagon has publicly asserted it has no intention to fight forces supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, unless provoked.

The Coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime or pro-regime forces but remains ready to defend themselves if pro-regime forces refuse to vacate the de-confliction zone, U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said in a June 6 statement.

Its not the first time Mattis and Dunford have found themselves having to push back against White House proposals for aggressive action they consider ill-conceived and even reckless. Earlier, the two opposed a tentative idea that would have sent a large U.S. ground force into Syria to oust the Islamic State instead of relying on local Syrian Kurd and Arab fighters backed by U.S. commandos.

The latest disagreement coincides with a months-long White House review of Iran policy, which includes an examination of the role of Iranian military officers and proxies supporting the Syrian regime, as well as the multilateral nuclear agreement with Tehran. The broad policy assessment has exposed divisions in the administration over when and where to counter Iran, officials said.

I dont think we have a serious Syria strategy or a serious Iran strategy, and they have to go together, said Danielle Pletka, senior vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, who criticized the previous administrations policy on Iran as weak. Syria is Irans soft underbelly. Iranians have proven to us over and over again, theyre committed to keeping Assad in power. The idea of pushing back on Iranians in Syria is a wise one, but what is the end game?

For Iran hawks in and outside the administration, the civil war in Syria represents a pivotal moment that will determine whether Iran or the United States exerts influence over Iraq and Syria. These Iran hawks fear that if Washington stands by, Tehran will emerge as the dominant player with a land corridor through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

But pursuing a wider war against Iranian-backed fighters in Syria would be both unnecessary and extraordinarily dangerous, said Colin Kahl, who served as national security advisor to former Vice President Joe Biden.

Targeting Iranian proxies in Syria would aggravate relations with Shiite-ruled Iraq and blow up the strategic relationship with Baghdad, Kahl said. And it would put thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq at risk of retaliation from Shiite militia just when U.S.-led forces are close to defeating the Islamic State.

Its unnecessary because the contest with Iran in Iraq and Syria is not something that will be won or lost in the next couple of months, Kahl said.

President Donald Trump has employed tough rhetoric against Iran that seems to signal plans to confront Tehran, though the administration has yet to take any dramatic action along those lines. Although touted as a speech aimed at unifying the Muslim world, Trumps address in Saudi Arabia in early May made clear the United States was going to take sides in the Middle Easts sectarian struggle, choosing to back Sunni Arab states in an effort to isolate Shiite-ruled Iran. The Gulf monarchies and Israel have welcomed Trumps vows to push back against Iran.

Some administration officials have argued for taking on Iran in Yemen too, by expanding support for the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi rebels, who enjoy backing from Iran. Like Syria, however, a larger U.S. role in Yemens civil war carries an array of risks, and experts say treating Yemen as a proxy war with Iran could backfire badly. In their fight against the Houthi rebels, forces loyal to ousted President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and the Saudi-led coalition that backs them, have worked with local actors with suspected ties to al Qaeda.

It is unclear where National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster falls in the debate over how to respond to Iranian proxies in Syria, but he likely sides with Mattis and the Defense Departments position given his own military background. McMaster has also had previous run-ins with Cohen-Watnick and Harvey, both of whom work for him, but at times have sought to go around him.

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had hand-picked 30-year-old Cohen-Watnick, who is viewed as too inexperienced by some of his colleagues and distrusted by some at the CIA, and Harvey, who was a military intelligence advisor to now-retired Gen. David Petraeus when he was commander in Iraq. Cohen-Watnick reportedly told other administration officials that he wants to use American spies to help oust the Iranian government, according to a recent New York Times article.

McMaster tried to move Cohen-Watnick to a different job within the NSC when he took over as national security advisor. To save his job, Cohen-Watnick appealed to two key advisors  Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner  who then asked Trump to block the move.

Harvey has also tried to outmaneuver his boss. He tried to get so-called Obama holdovers fired from the National Security Council by appealing to the president and his chief strategist, Steve Bannon. But McMaster refused.

While officials argue in Washington over strategy and vie for influence in the administration, events on the ground in Syria are moving quickly, raising the potential of an inadvertent conflict. The pro-Assad fighters, a mix of Shiite militias, Syrian troops, and Lebanese Hezbollah militia along with Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps advisors, have continued to venture close to the U.S. forces at the al-Tanf base despite warnings to keep clear.

U.S. military officers said they will not hesitate to hit Iranian proxies if American special operations forces are endangered.

If our folks are on the ground and theyre threatened, we will use air power, whether its against regime forces or pro-regime forces, one officer said.

This article was published jointly with Just Security.

Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Whole Foods Market's stock prices rose 28 percent Friday following news that the online distributing giant Amazon was buying the grocery story for an estimated $13.7 billion. The acquisition is unlikely to lower consumer prices but will offer more opportunities for the expanding e-commerce business for fresh food.

"The brand is a good compliment to Amazon and would allow them to more aggressively target fresh food delivery to the at-home market," Darren Tristano, chief insights officer at Technomic, told CNBC Friday.

Amazon has dominated the industry of deliveries of online purchases. A report from Citi Research suggested that Wal-Mart was "best positioned" to take on Amazon in the growing industry, according to a report in March by CNBC. That same report suggested that Whole Foods was lagging at the bottom of the list for the online shopping.

NEW:Whole Foods And 2 More Stocks And Earnings Reports To Watch For This Week

The e-commerce market is a booming business. A report by Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen released in January estimated consumers are going spend upwards of $100 billion on food-at-home items by 2025, growing the industry five-fold.

Watch news, TV and more Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

The statement on the company website said that Whole Foods Market will continue its Whole Foods Market brand that depends on vendors and partners around the world. John Mackey will remain as CEO of Whole Foods Market and Whole Foods Markets headquarters will stay in Austin, Texas.

"This partnership presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods Markets shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers," said Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO John Mackey in a statement.

NEW: Whole Foods Cheese Recalls 2017: List Of Products Affected And How To Get A Refund Over Listeria Contamination

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Amazon has been a retail giant that's pioneered online services such as 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo and Alexa. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos had high praise for its new partners Whole Foods.

"Millions of people love Whole Foods Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it fun to eat healthy," said Bezos on Friday. "Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting and nourishing customers for nearly four decades  theyre doing an amazing job and we want that to continue."

Related Articles
Amazon announced on Friday morning that its buying Whole Foods for just under $14 billion, the retailers largest acquisition ever. The purchase holds implications for the future of groceries, the entire food industry, andas hyperbolic as this might soundthe future of shopping for just about anything.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves. At the simplest level, the deal represents a straightforward confluence of interests. Amazon needs food and urban real estate, and Whole Foods needs help.

The e-commerce giant has been expanding into groceries and physical locations, including bookstores, ironically working itself back into the brick-and-mortar business that its also disrupting. Whole Foods, meanwhile, offers the biggest name in yuppie groceries and a fleet of urban locations, which can double as Amazon warehouses. Meanwhile, the grocer is in a tailspin, its stock price cascading as revenue growth has fallen every year since 2012. Investors had for weeks been pushing the company to sell itself to a larger grocer, like Kroger. That Whole Foods ended up with Amazon is poetic justice, considering that, in 2015, CEO John Mackey said Amazons move into grocery delivery would be Amazons Waterloo. Doubters of Amazons strategy can point to the fact that groceries are a terrible, low-margin business. Thats truealmost as terrible and low-margin as e-commerce, where Amazon has already demonstrated that it can hypnotize Wall Streets myopic financiers, while it spends tens of billions of dollars building a global warehousing and delivery infrastructure for a shopping future that is moving online. In short, Whole Foods was in a free fall, and Amazon is the perfect net to catch it.

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Thats the most straightforward analysis. But then again, Amazon always seems to be not just several moves ahead of its competitors, but playing another game entirelychess versus checkers, as they sayso its worth thinking through some of the more long-term, hypothetical implications of this deal.

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First, this is about food as a delivery service. Amazon understands that the most important value in American retail today is whats is technically known as consumer convenience and what is commonly observed as human sloth. E-commerce is soaring and food-delivery businesses are taking off because human beings are fundamentally lazy and they dont want to leave the couch to buy stuff. Thats why grocery stores and restaurants are seeing fewer shoppers and diners passing through their shops, as Americans are ordering more of their produce and meals online. A study commissioned by the market-research firm Euromonitor for Blue Aprons public filing projects that the online market is projected to grow 15 times faster than the rest of the restaurant business through the end of the decade.

In the last few years, Amazon has expanded its online grocery business, AmazonFresh, but it hasnt quite mastered online groceries the same way its mastered books and media. With Whole Foods, which will continue to operate under its own name, an Amazon Prime subscription might operate just like Costco membership. Maybe Prime members would get deals on Whole Foods produce, and they could elect to have the fresh veggies and organic dips delivered to their homes and apartments. The Whole Foods purchase is a $14 billion bet on the future of food that comes in boxes.

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Amazon is terrifying for its competitors in part because its low-margin business pulls each industry it dominates into a kind of deflationary whirlpool. If Whole Foods follows the Bezos playbook, shoppers can expect prices to fall, and investors will expect revenue to rise. Indeed, news of the partnership sent grocery competitors stocks plummeting. Stocks for Kroger, Costco, and Dollar General all fell more than six percent within the hour. The merger might be even worse news for Instacart, the grocery-delivery service that has had a close relationship with Whole Foods.

Second, this is about Whole Foods as a distribution huband Amazon as a physical retail presence. Several analysts have said that Whole Foods urban and suburban locations are so valuable for Amazons delivery business that the deal could be worth it even if the grocer all but stopped selling food. Amazon did not just buy Whole Foods grocery stores. It bought 431 upper-income, prime-location distribution nodes for everything it does, tweeted Dennis Berman, the Wall Street Journals financial editor. Amazon is trying to become Walmartnot just an online megalith, but also a physical retail powerhouse with dynamic pricing and stocking strategiesfaster than Walmart can become Amazon.

In a way, this strategy continues a pattern I wrote about several years ago, which is Amazon following in the footsteps of the last centurys retail behemoth, Sears. That company rose to prominence with its 500-page Consumers Bible, which popularized the mail-order business. But in the early 1900s, as families moved into cities, Sears followed, building more than 300 stores between 1925 and 1929 that specialized in the hardware needs of the growing middle class. Amazon, too, rose to prominence with a browsable couch productits website and delivery service. But the future of its business may be more urban and suburban stores that both hold merchandise for delivery and permit consumers to shop. The future sometimes looks like a familiar reconstruction of the past.

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Third, this is about Amazon as a life bundle, particularly for affluent Americans. Several years ago, I predicted that Amazon Prime was becoming the cable bundle of the future an annual subscription to a fleet of diverse services that gave the retail company a dependable revenue stream and a growing, devoted customer base. Indeed, more than half of American households with income over $100,000 are already Prime subscribers, and they spend more than $1,000 a year with it. With Whole Foods, where wealthy families regularly spend $500 a month, Amazon could expect its richest customers to spend thousands of dollars a year through Amazon. As Whole Foods customers are urged to sign up for Primeand as Prime customers get enticing deals at Whole FoodsAmazons penetration of the affluent yuppie market should grow (even as it offers discounts to lower-income Americans).

After todays announcement, several people on Twitter joked that between Prime and Whole Foods, Amazon may now account for a majority of some urban Millennials discretionary spending. Whats not a joke, however, is that Amazons life bundle, like TVs cable bundle, is fundamentally about the merchandizing of convenience, which is often indistinguishable from sheer human laziness. Driving to the movies and parking is a pain, and cable offered several cineplexes worth of video offerings on the couch. Similarly, driving to the grocery store, finding parking, seeking out the produce section, and waiting several minutes in Line 6 is a pain. Whats not a pain? Lying on your couch, watching Downton Abbey on Prime Video, and shouting to your Amazon daemon, Alexa, I need six heirloom tomatoes and a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil for tomorrows delivery. Choose your narrative: Amazon is winning, because Americans are so harried today they dont have time to shop, cook, or dine out; or deep down, the human race tends toward sloth, and the company is building a global delivery system on the scaffolding of mankinds indolent nature.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Mary Klein hopes the government will hurry up and let her die.

Its not that she wants her life to end. To the contrary, she says, she is doing absolutely everything she can to live. That includes surgery to cut the cancer out of her ovaries, uterus, colon, diaphragm and stomach lining, followed by five separate months-long rounds of chemotherapy. But, she says, these life-extending options will stop working one day, and when they do she wants to be able to use a life-ending one, to die on her own terms and by her own hand.

Klein, 69, is a resident of Washington, D.C., the latest locus of the growing debate over laws allowing terminally ill patients to decide when to die. Last year, the district became the seventh jurisdiction in the United States to legalize what here was called Death With Dignity  joining Washington state, Montana, Vermont, California, Colorado and Oregon.

But D.C. is not a state, and here Congress can override laws passed by the local city government. In the months since the D.C. act was passed, national legislators have been aiming to do exactly that, trying first to vote to nullify it, and, when that failed, attempting to defund it. That puts patients like Klein in the position of fighting not only against their disease and for their cause but also, unexpectedly, for the rights of their hometown to govern itself.

Mary Klein and her dog Adina in 2015. (Photo: Courtesy of Mary Klein)

The result is a race literally to the death. City officials including the mayor and the director of public health have said they are determined to implement the law before Congress can cut off the funding to do so.

They are scrambling to get this done, Klein says. I just hope they do that in time.

*****

When the first of these laws went into effect in Oregon in 1997, the commonly used term for a doctors legally writing a prescription for a fatal dose of medication was physician-assisted suicide. In the two decades since, proponents have taken to using the term medical aid in dying to emphasize their arguments that it is the patient who acts, not the doctor, and that the act is not actually suicide.

Story continues

This has nothing to do with suicide, says Kim Callinan, chief program officer for Compassion and Choices, which was originally called the Hemlock Society when it was founded in 1980 and is now the largest group in the U.S. to advocate for end of life choices. Suicide is a person ending their life when they otherwise would not have died. This is a person who is dying from a disease; the disease is taking their life, and this is a compassionate way toward that inevitable end.

The Oregon law, which is the model for the five that came after, has stringent requirements for deciding who qualifies for such assistance. Patients must be older than 18, diagnosed with a terminal condition and have six months or less to live. They must make three separate requests (one written, two oral), prove they are a resident, and have three doctors agree that they are terminal and not making the requests because they are depressed. And they must be able to take the medication on their own, without assistance.

In the decade after Oregon made all of that legal, it was the only state in the nation to do so. Then, in 2008 Washington state voters approved medical aid in dying on a ballot initiative, in 2009 a Montana court declared there was nothing in state law that would make it illegal, and in 2013 the Vermont legislature passed the Patient Choice at End of Life Act.

But it wasnt until 2014 that the issue jumped back into the national spotlight, where it really hadnt been since Dr. Jack Kevorkian infamously took it upon himself to build a euthanasia machine back in the early 1990s. The face of the latest version of the debate was not an eccentric graying doctor but a vibrant young woman, 29-year-old Brittany Maynard, who moved from her home state of California to Oregon when she was diagnosed with incurable brain cancer, so she could legally end her own life.

Working with Compassion and Choices, she chronicled her decision in a series of Internet videos, and she got the publics attention. When she died in November of 2014, a YouGov poll found that 39 percent of Americans knew her story. She also appears to have changed some minds: A Gallup poll from May of last year found that nearly 70 percent of Americans agree that terminally ill patients should be allowed prescriptions that would end their lives, a 10 percent increase over 2015.

Maynards husband, Dan Diaz, had promised her he would keep lobbying for an Oregon-like law in California, and one was passed there soon after her death. Similar legislation has been introduced in 26 other states over the past two years, nearly all of which are still pending. Colorado was the first of those to pass a law. Next up was Washington, D.C.

Debbie Ziegler, mother of Brittany Maynard, after the passage of legislation that would allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives, at the state Capitol, in Sacramento, Calif., September 11, 2015. (Photo: Carl Costas/AP)

Mary Cheh, a D.C. councilwoman who is also a constitutional law professor, sponsored the D.C. bill with Maynard on her mind. She had thought of introducing assisted-death legislation as far back as 2011, she said in an interview, but decided the timing wasnt right  the council was tackling other major social issues, like same-sex marriage and legalization of marijuana, and theres only so much change you can push through at any one time.

But as an increasing list of states began to consider the subject, and she continued to hear from constituents who wanted to die with dignity, with control, Cheh drafted legislation, which she introduced in January of 2016.

She expected it would be controversial, and it was.

The Archdiocese of Washington issued a statement saying that assisted suicide violated the sanctity of life. The president of the Patient Rights Action Fund worried that insurance companies would see assisted death as a more economical option than paying for treatment, and encourage patients, directly or indirectly, to make use of the option. At least one group of physicians protested that assisted suicide  goes against everything we are as doctors, and advocates for the mentally ill expressed fears that the bill would lead to doctor shopping for a physician willing to declare a depressed patient to be terminal.

There were equally passionate voices in favor of the legislation. At a July hearing, 70 D.C. residents signed up to speak, and the event lasted nine hours. Among those heard that night were an elderly couple who vowed they would help each other die one day, two reverends who supported the bill, a breast cancer patient who was stable at the moment but wanted to have the option to act should that fight become futile, and a well-known D.C. restaurant owner with a rare and painful connective tissue disorder, who said he had considered moving to either Oregon or Washington state in order one day to do as Maynard did.

I am fully prepared for the inevitable death that comes to us all, said restaurateur Bill Warrell. If I know mine is coming, and I believe it will be painful and prolonged, I want to be able to ask my doctor for an aid-in-dying prescription. What I really want to know is that I will be able to do that right here in D.C., in this beautiful and ugly city that I love.

*****

Mary Klein was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in October of 2014, before the D.C. hearings began, before Cheh had even introduced the bill, and about a week before Maynard was on the cover of People magazine.

Until that diagnosis, her world was basically perfect, she said during an interview in her comfortable northwest D.C. home, on a leafy street abutting Rock Creek Park, a house filled with dog gates, mud mats and family photos. By way of illustration, she passed her hand around the living room where she sat, pointing first toward Stella Dawson, 63, her partner of 37 years, and then to her two German shepherds, 6-year-old Adina and 7-month-old Eiger, both of whom Klein trains for agility and obedience competitions.

Mary Klein, right, with her partner, Stella Dawson. (Photo: Brian Prowse-Gany/Yahoo News)

My life has been one adventure after another, she said. Ive loved my life.

Fun, Dawson said, holding her hand as they spoke.

Fun, great fun, Klein said.

Its not past tense, Dawson said.

No, not yet, Klein said. When Im not terribly sick, and even actually when I am, we laugh a lot together. I am very grateful for that. I have not been afraid to take risks, because what propels me forward is believing in what I do.

Much of their life together has been about standing up for their beliefs, Klein and Dawson say, beginning with the way they met  sharing a house with other staff members at the feminist news collective where they worked in the early 1980s. After that they lived around the country and the world  Chicago, Providence, New York, outside of Frankfurt and London  while Dawson worked as a reporter for Reuters and Klein as an artist, photographer and journalist. In 2004 they happened to be visiting relatives in Massachusetts on the day same-sex marriage became legal, so they got themselves a license and became the 13th same-sex couple to be wed in that state.

Now were on the frontier again, Dawson says of the fight for the D.C. law.

Theres better frontiers to be at, Klein says.

They are here after two rough years of treatment, during which it became clear that remission was not a possibility. Klein often lacked the energy to work on her art. She was regularly hospitalized with complications from the chemotherapy. She suffered nerve damage that made her less stable on her feet, and she had to change the competitions for which she trained the shepherds to ones that were less strenuous for both dog and owner. And there was almost always pain. If I made it through a weekend without having to go to the emergency room, that was a really successful weekend, she says.

Mary Klein (Photo: Brian Prowse-Gany/Yahoo News)

As her options became fewer, she says, her determination increased. She had read of Maynard, and the state laws that followed, and when she heard that similar legislation was under consideration by the D.C. City Council, she told Dawson that she planned to use her limited energy to support the cause.

I was not surprised at all, Dawson says of her wifes wish to die on her own terms. Mary was always a very strong, very courageous, very independent person. I knew that she would want things on her own terms.

Klein did not attend the nine-hour meeting on the bill last July, because she was undergoing her third round of chemotherapy and my focus was on just getting through it. By October of last year, though, she was on vacation off the coast of Virginia with Dawson when she read there was to be a first committee vote on the legislation. Cutting their trip short, they returned to D.C. and walked door to door from one council office to the next, telling Kleins story.

The word got out that there was a terminally ill woman Klein says.

 just prowling the halls, Dawson finishes her sentence.

Every member, or their staff, took a meeting with us, Klein finishes.

Her message in each office was the same: Im doing everything I can to extend my life, but when I have a short period of time left and am in intolerable pain, which is very likely, then I want the option to take medication and have a dignified and comfortable death. I dont want to die totally drugged up, hallucinating, or in a coma unable to say goodbye. Everyone should have the right to decide how they want to die. Whatever their choice is, I respect that, and I only ask that they respect mine.

*****

With each hearing, each meeting, each conversation, Cheh tinkered with the text of her proposed bill, D.C. Act 21-577.

When the director of the D.C. Department of Health, Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, questioned whether people would be allowed to carry out their deaths in public areas  to view the sunset over the Lincoln Memorial while taking their last breath, Cheh added wording that would prohibit patients from taking their final dose of medicine in public.

When Councilwoman Anita Bonds asked for a provision recommending that patients of faith might consult a religious adviser before choosing the aid-in-dying path, Cheh added that, too. Might help, cant hurt, Cheh says.

All those changes helped the bill get through the councils health committee, although Kleins door-to-door lobbying seems to have provided the final push. David Grosso, an at-large independent member of the council, had been undecided until the Oct. 5 committee vote. He became the deciding vote in the 3-2 tally after some intense conversations with Klein.

As a matter of principle, I believe that adults should be able to make choices about their own lives and bodies, he said on the night of the committee vote. It is hard for me to imagine telling a person in the final months of her life that she must continue to fight if she prefers to end things on her own terms.

The vote of the full council a month later was similarly emotional. At one point during that Nov. 1 meeting, Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, who called this my toughest vote in four and a half years in this body, began to talk about his own fathers death. My family had to watch him suffer. I wouldnt wish that on anybody else, he said, so overcome with tears that he had to leave the room.

The measure passed by a vote of 11-2. It was signed into law by D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser on Dec. 19, 2016.

*****

The federal Home Rule Act of 1973 allows Congress to oversee what the D.C. government does. When Congress disapproves, the act provides two routes by which to undo the city councils actions  voting to override the bill or to cut off its funding.

Nearly all every time Congress has exercised this power it has been on controversial social issues  abortion, needle exchange programs, rights of same-sex couples, decriminalization of marijuana.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., talks with House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. (Photo: Matt McClain/Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Home Rule Act says Congress must vote to override within 30 legislative days after the law in question is signed, and many in Congress tried to do that with Death With Dignity. In the Senate that effort was led by Sen. James Lankford, but his disapproval resolution didnt made it out of committee. The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Jason Chaffetz, did vote, 22-14, to overturn the law. Rather than facilitate suicides, the governments role should be to prevent them, Chaffetz wrote in a joint opinion piece with former Sen. Jim DeMint. We should not now or ever take steps to help facilitate, encourage or tacitly accept measures that prematurely end lives.

But that House bill never made it to a floor vote, and when the 30-day window closed on Feb. 18 of this year, the D.C. legislation became law.

That was not, however, the end of the fight between Congress and the council. In response to requests from several congressmen, the Trump administrations proposed budget specifically prohibits the district from spending any funds to implement the new law. The cost of implementation is minimal, local officials say  basically it includes new software for the Department of Health computer system to track requests from patients and count prescriptions from doctors. And since estimates are that only 10 patients each year will request such prescriptions, it is not expected to be an overwhelming bureaucratic burden.

However small the numbers might be, though, the result is a direct confrontation between the two government bodies located in D.C.

The hypocrisy is extraordinary, says Cheh. These politicians who preach local control, states as workshops of experimentation, want to tell our local government what to do.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.s nonvoting representative in Congress, agrees, while also hoping that on this issue momentum is on the districts side.

Why didnt it get a floor vote? she asked in an interview. Because this is a rolling stone as more and more Americans are understanding this issue. There are now 24 House Republicans, two of them in the leadership, who are from states where Death With Dignity is the law. To vote against it in D.C. means voting against what their constituents believe in at home. I am optimistic, which is a very difficult and rare word for me to say. We have to fight like the world is coming to an end for each and every thing weve saved, but I think we might be able to save this.

Protesters in favor of Washington, D.C.s assisted suicide law gather outside congressional office buildings on Feb. 13. (Photo: Martin Austermuhle/WAMU)

Call it cautious optimism. In case the funding restrictions do pass, Mayor Bowser and Health Director Nesbitt have assured the council that they are scrambling to beat the clock and to fund the necessary implementation before the next budget takes effect on Sept. 30.

For Klein, though, that date feels very far away.

It might surprise some, but she is not at all sure she will actually exercise the right she is fighting so hard to have. I cant tell you with 100 percent certainty that if I had the medication I would take it, she says. But I do know that it would bring great comfort to me to know this is a possibility.

Statistically, many others feel the same way. In the 20 years medical aid in dying has been legal in Oregon, 1,327 patients have been granted prescriptions but only 859 have actually used them. Some quickly became too ill to act on their own, but for many, just knowing the choice was theirs was the reassurance they needed.

Before she makes that choice, Klein is making others  all of which add up to a resolution to live life as completely as she can for as long as she can. She and Stella are planning to head back to the beach where their vacation was interrupted last summer. There she will work on training their new puppy, a rambunctious energetic dynamo who seems blessedly unaware that his human is not as steady on her feet as she once was, not as able to roughhouse back.

Why get a new dog when you might soon be too fragile to even walk him?

So I can live my life exactly as I want, until I decide to stop, Klein says.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
When a grandmother landed herself in the hospital, her doting granddaughter came up with a crafty way to sneak the woman's beloved dog into the facility to lift her spirits.

Read: Cat Celebrates Turning 15 With Quinceanera, Complete With Traditional Dress and Tiara

Knowing Grandma Donna was not happy to wind up in the hospital, Shelby Hennick, 21, of California, knew exactly how to cheer her up.

Hennick then put her plan into action, wrapping up her grandmothers dog Patsy in a blanket like a baby. The disguise was convincing enough to get her past hospital officials and into Grandma Donna's room.

Shes had this dog forever, and this dog is her baby, Hennick told InsideEdition.com.

She explained her Grandma Donna had 13-year-old Patsy since she was just a puppy, and even bottle fed her as a newborn.

She was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, Hennick said.

The 79-year-old had to be hospitalized for several days after a poor reaction to some medication. It was the longest period of time that Patsy and Grandma Donna had been apart.

That's why Hennick knew she had to step in, and bring in Patsy for the visit.

Dogs are actually permitted in the hospital, but they must have papers saying that they're up to date with their shots and clean, documentation Hennick was unable to get.

"It was just so spur of the moment and I didnt have time to go to my grandmas veterinarians office, said Hennick, who's a vet tech.

Thats when Hennick and her mom came up with the scheme to smuggle Patsy into the hospital in the baby disguise.

Nobody would have stopped me to see my baby, she laughed. The worst they could have told me was to leave.

Read: Teen Spies on Best Friend's First Date, Thanks to Cheesy Disguise

But the risk was worth it, she said, when she noticed her grandmothers mood improve in the company of her beloved dog.

Story continues

"It made her a lot happier," Shelby said. "She wasnt feeling very good and it made her more relaxed. She did go home the next day. Medically, it didnt have anything to do with Patsy, but Im still thinking it had a little bit to do with her."

Watch: What Happens When a Therapy Dog Wears a GoPro Camera to Children's Hospital?

Related Articles:
South of France mayor tells H&M to prohibit women from wearing hijabs. (Photo: Getty Images)

The South of France is the midst of controversy once again for laws against women who choose to wear religious attire. Mandelieu-la-Napoules mayor, Henri Leroy, issued a letter stating that the international retailer H&M must prohibit employees from wearing a hijab.

The letter was dated April 24, but it was published again by a local newspaper on Wednesday. Leroy has been the mayor since 1995 and is affiliated with the Les Republicans party. The 72-year-old said that he has been receiving complaints from local customers who feel the women wearing hijabs are breaking the secularity laws. However, the local laws dictate neutrality and secularism can be imposed in public places only, and H&M is the private sector.

The mayor of Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Henri Leroy. (Photo: Facebook.)

The retail giant replied to the mayors complaint, stating that its policy is to allow employees to wear and dress as they wish within the limits set by law and that by wearing a veil or hijab, they are not breaking any rules.

France has longstanding laws on secularism. The bans push the legal envelope on two national laws that amount to dress codes  no headscarves in classrooms and no face-covering veils in the streets, which were passed in 2004 and 2010, respectively.

In 2016, local authorities barred women from wearing the burkini  a full-body swimsuit  and fined or arrested those who did. Just recently, nine women were arrested for attempting to wear burkinis at a beach in Nice.

However, after long protests and contingencies against these laws, the prohibition of the full-coverage swimwear in the French Riviera was overruled by Frances top administrative court. But local laws against it are still in effect, allowing police to enforce them.

Many call these laws discriminatory and a violation of individual rights. A Twitter commenter in French said about the incident: The law guarantees everyone the right to freely exercise religion. I dont see police bothering priests or nuns on the street.

But there are other French nationals who agree with the bans. Stop political Islam in France, wrote a commenter, in French, on Leroys Facebook page. I support your decision, he added.

Story continues

Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.




The United Nations may soon make cultural appropriation illegal

Cultural appropriation is a hot topic right now  especially as festival season continues on in full swing. While retailers continue to sell pieces inspired by different cultures, the question remains: Is that appropriation, or is it appreciation? Well, if its a case of the former, it may soon be illegal  thanks to indigenous activists who are calling on the United Nations.

Fortunately, the UN is taking notice, and delegates from over 180 countries are meeting in Geneva to discuss the possibility of making cultural appropriation illegal.

Although there has been a push for this since 2001, the delegates are now acting on the issue by coming together as a specialized international committee. They will be operating under the UNs World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Here's why cultural appropriation is an issue for those of you who don't think it is. pic.twitter.com/WjOl7WxycM  anu (@shadesofslaylor) May 20, 2017

The goal of the meeting is to push three international laws to protect indigenous property, whether it be language or a design. According to CBC News, James Anaya, dean of law at the University of Colorado, spoke to the committee on Monday, and stated that the UN should obligate states to create effective criminal and civil enforcement procedures to recognize and prevent the non-consensual taking and illegitimate possession, sale and export of traditional cultural expressions.

Hey, Quick Question: Could the UN Succeed in Making Cultural Appropriation Illegal? https://t.co/56OP1gOwC0  Looks Good On Me (@looksgoodonme) June 16, 2017

Fast fashion brands have gotten in trouble for products like Urban Outfitters navajo line back in 2011, and major fashion houses like Chanel have sent headdresses down the runway. If these laws are put in place, this sort of appropriation wont be tolerated any longer.

Our hope is that the UN takes this claim seriously, and that companies and brands are held responsible for taking inspiration from marginalized groups. After all, if they want to utilize a certain cultural style or perspective, they can always employ artisans from that culture.

The United Nations may finally make cultural appropriation illegal:https://t.co/FCoLju2zHD pic.twitter.com/UPqdNRNW94  VICE Canada (@vicecanada) June 16, 2017

Hopefully, after 16 years of petitioning, the United Nations will do something about cultural appropriation.
Its a gray day at the Black Sun statue in Seattles Volunteer Park, but that wont stop eclipse expert Bryan Brewer from getting ready for a different kind of black sun in August. (GeekWire Photo / Chelsey Ballarte)

If youre planning to witness the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, dont forget the bubbly.

Thats one piece of advice from Seattles Bryan Brewer, whos had five encounters with totality in his lifetime and has written extensively about the eclipse experience.

The latest edition of his book, Eclipse: History. Science. Awe, is designed to prepare spectators for the upcoming total solar eclipse, which will sweep across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina. This will be the first coast-to-coast American solar eclipse in 99 years, and virtually all of North America will see at least a partial eclipse.

In his book, Brewer tells about how eclipses spurred the creation of Stonehenge and other marvels, why eclipses darken Earth in the middle of the day, and how to get everything you need to see an eclipse yourself.

How to make the most of the eclipse

NASAs interactive map of the total solar eclipse.

The first step is to take a look at a map of the eclipse path and get to a place where youll be able to experience totality.

If youre outside the path, you will not experience the dramatic effects, Brewer said. Ninety-eight or 99 percent is not good enough here  you need to be inside the path to get the full effect.

While getting into the path of totality is important, its not the only factor to consider. For example, the path crosses the Oregon Coast south of Portland and north of Eugene. That area may seem to be the most convenient viewing area for Seattleites, but its far from ideal.

Brewer said hordes of people are expected to make the trip, so traffic will be an issue. And theres always the question about cloudy skies.

The better weather will generally be east of the Cascades, he said.

One big problem has to do with where to stay. Hotels and campsites are virtually sold out in the vicinity of totality.

The Cairn outdoors app released an in-depth infographic that shows last-minute camping options across the U.S., complete with average cloud coverage, crowd predictions and totality duration. It doesnt give information about availability, but its recommended for dispersed backpackers and campers looking for non-reservable spots, many of which are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Story continues

Developers also added an in-app feature that shows campers whether their wilderness destination is within the path. Cairn has offline maps and uses crowdsourcing to chart cell coverage for an emergency call or a location update.

Throughout his book, Brewer emphasizes that an eclipse really is for everyone. Expert astronomers and everyday stargazers can marvel at the event without special equipment or technical knowledge. But Brewer says there are a few must-have items to bring along when youre chasing the August eclipse.

Brewer strongly recommends getting a pair of eclipse glasses before making the trip. These inexpensive cardboard eye coverings are essential for watching the partial phases of the eclipse, before and after totality, when the sun is still visible. The spectacles are widely available online, and stores are likely to stock them during the run-up to the event.

Gazing at the sun can do serious eye damage, even if just a tiny sliver of the sun is visible. But dont leave the glasses on when the sun goes dark.

During the two minutes or so of totality, youll want to make sure you take these things off, so you can actually see the beauty of the solar corona, he said.

While not exactly necessary, a pair of binoculars will help you see details in the corona during totality. (But dont look at the sun through binoculars outside of totality unless you put special filters over the lenses.)

Brewer also suggests bringing a bottle of Champagne or an alternate bubbly beverage to celebrate a successful eclipse-viewing expedition, or to drown your sorrows in case the skies are gray.

Why are we so drawn to eclipses?

Bryan Brewer has updated his eclipse guide for this summers encounter with totality.

Brewer isnt just interested in making sure everyone has a good viewing experience. He also wants to know why human nature keeps us so glued to the skies.

Viewers may get flooded with a range of emotions when seeing the eclipse for the first time, but Brewer narrows it down to one feeling: awe. He says that we experience awe in small doses every day  for example, when a stranger performs a random act of kindness. But Brewer says humans are drawn to eclipses because the feeling is so much more than that.

When you to see a solar eclipse, you get a huge dose of awe because its rare, beautiful, stunning and like nothing youve ever seen, he said.

In his book, Brewer talks about the research behind awe and says that when people experience awe, the body suppresses its fight-or-flight response and releases dopamine.

Interestingly, humans experience this same pleasant combination of nervous system responses  described as a calm yet energized state  in the moments after intense exercise, for example, he says in his book.

Brewer has written about eclipses for decades, and hes given tours around the world to share his passion for totality. Hell be in Sun Valley, Idaho, for this years eclipse  but Seattleites wont have to go that far to get face-to-face advice. On July 6, hes scheduled to talk about the eclipse experience at Adas Technical Books and Cafe in Seattles Capitol Hill neighborhood.

More eclipse readings

If your copy of Eclipse is already dog-eared, Brewer has these additional book recommendations for totality fans:

Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets: Get a big-picture view of how eclipses have played a role in science and culture from artist-astronomer Tyler Nordgren.

Totality: The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024: Science writer Mark Littmann teams up with NASAs Fred Espenak, one of the worlds foremost eclipse experts, on a guidebook that wont go out of date on Aug. 22.

Solar Science: Exploring Sunspots, Seasons, Eclipses, and More: Science teachers and their middle-school classes will love this book, which includes more than three dozen hands-on activities focusing on solar astronomy. Its written by science educators Andrew Fraknoi and Dennis Schatz (who serves as senior adviser at Seattles Pacific Science Center).

Want to know even more? NASA is planning a series of televised briefings about the total solar eclipse, beginning at 10 a.m. PT June 21. Speakers from NASA and its partners will discuss how scientists will study the eclipse and how the rest of us can watch it safely. Watch the NASA TV briefings online.

So what will the Aug. 21 eclipse look like at your locale? The eclipse simulator on Eclipse Megamovie 2017s website shows you what youll see, and tells you when youll see it.

GeekWires aerospace and science editor, Alan Boyle, contributed to this report.

More from GeekWire:
Network servers and emails are the principal weak links when it comes to health care data hacks, a study in JAMA finds (AFP Photo/Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS) (AFP/File)

Washington (AFP) - Chinese scientists have pulled off a major feat with one of the sub-atomic world's weirdest phenomena: photons that behave like twins and experience the same things simultaneously, even over great distances.

The space-based technique developed by the researchers and reported in the journal Science holds potential for revolutionizing telecommunications and perhaps someday developing a hack-proof internet.

The principle is called quantum entanglement, in which photons or neutrons are created in such a way that they are linked and behave as if they were one entity, even if they are physically separated.

In a groundbreaking experiment led by Professor Jian-Wei Pan of Hefei University in China, a laser on a satellite orbiting 300 miles above the earth produced entangled photons.

They were then transmitted to two different ground-based stations 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) apart, without breaking the link between the photons, the researchers said.

That distance is 10 times greater than the previous record for entanglement. The experiment also marked the first time entangled photons were generated in space.

Both stations are in the mountains of Tibet, at a height that reduced the amount of air the fragile photons had to traverse.

"It's a huge, major achievement," Thomas Jennewein, physicist at the University of Waterloo in Canada, told Science. "They started with this bold idea and managed to do it."

Entangled particles hold the promise of creating a communications system that can send secure messages without cables, signals or code: any action on one of the twins is detected by the other, so the message sent along such a conduit can't be hacked.

Those properties of quantum physics also hold the potential for super-fast computers.

American and European teams are considering sending quantum-based equipment to the International Space Station.

One test would see whether changing gravitational fields affect entanglement.

Story continues

Scientists would compare photons in the weaker gravitational environment of orbit with entangled partners sent to Earth, says Anton Zeilinger, a physicist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.

"There are not many experiments which test links between gravity and quantum physics," he told Science.

"I'm personally convinced that the internet of the future will be based on these quantum principles."
My son was killed, its not that someone spilled a glass of water! Ilan Sagi shouted at the Channel 2 News studio. It happened several minutes after the state comptrollers report on Operation Protective Edge, in which Ilan lost his son Erez, was released. His monologue, which accused the government of playing with our soldiers blood, rendered the chatter around the report meaningless. Get up! Scream! he urged the viewers.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



But it was already clear that day that his outcry would fade away along with State Comptroller Yosef Shapiras conclusions. Israel didnt have to wait for February 2017 to make the summer of 2014 disappear. It happened much earlier, as the last election campaign proved. The parties engaged in countless issues during the campaign. The warwhich left 73 people dead on the Israeli side and 2,125 people dead on the Palestinian side (including 761 civilians and 428 uncategorized males), according to a Foreign Ministry reportwasnt the main issue.

Its hard to say that the public is going berserk over the possibility of another round of war in the near future. The increasing reports about the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and about the cabinets decision to cut the electricity supply to the strip even more are being received with a collective shrug. Knesset Member Bezalel Smotrich tweeted that the solution to the situation was occupying the strip and restoring Israeli controlout of concern for the residents, of course. The earth didnt move.

IDF forces during Operation Protective Edge. Just another unharmful event that may or may not happen (Photo: Ido Erez)

A perfect stranger might think that, as far as were concerned, the question of will there be a war? falls into the same category as where will we vacation this year? or is Britney Spears worth the money? Sort of salon talks about unharmful events that may or may not happen, and well manage either way. The actual existence of more potential death and destruction isnt sending paralyzing chills of fear through our bodies. The clocks arent being stopped and the phones arent being disconnected.

Perhaps there really is no reason to panic. The prime minister says we have no interest in an escalation, and commentators believe that even Hamas is not necessarily interested in a conflict. But this tune sounds so familiar. Like a pop star who wont stop basing his hits on the same accords. After all, even in 2014, neither side was trigger-happy, allegedly, yet the battle arrived and we emerged from it almost two months later. Even this not-so-distant history is failing to put a spoke in our celebrations of the beautiful sun, the tourists flooding Tel Aviv and the busy concert schedule.

There is nothing new in the statement that repression is the most effective Israeli system. I wish public transportation were as efficient as our ability to minimize the anxiety that dominated us in July and August of 2014. The outburst of nationalism and the attacks on critical voices have also been forgotten in favor of holding onto emotionally moving displays of unity.

According to the state comptrollers report, the cabinet failed to look into diplomatic alternatives to war. The civilian indifference today, after all the warnings, proves that the shareholdersweare under the impression that there is no such an option. It may be the governments most tremendous success: Causing the mainstream to perceive the war as a predestination, after which only the dead and their families pay the bill.

As soon as this theoretical discussion turns into reality, we will gather once again under the wings of pretend solidarity. The anger will be let out, followed by the tears. And there will be, of course, a state comptrollers report, and then a shocking television appearance by a bereaved parent. As if someone barely spilled a glass of water here.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday it was checking information that a Russian air strike near the Syrian city of Raqqa may have killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in late May.

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The air strike was launched after the Russian forces in Syria received intelligence that a meeting of Islamic State leaders was being planned, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

"On May 28, after drones were used to confirm the information on the place and time of the meeting of IS leaders, between 00:35 and 00:45, Russian air forces launched a strike on the command point where the leaders were located," the statement said.

"According to the information which is now being checked via various channels, also present at the meeting was Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was eliminated as a result of the strike," the ministry said.

The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State said it could not confirm the Russian report that Baghdadi may have been killed.

The strike is believed to have killed several other senior leaders of the group, as well as around 30 field commanders and up to 300 of their personal guards, the Russian defense ministry statement said.

The IS leaders had gathered at the command center, in a southern suburb of Raqqa, to discuss possible routes for the militants' retreat from the city, the statement said.

The United States was informed in advance about the place and time of the strike, the Russian military said.

Photo: Al-Furqan Media

Islamic State fighters are close to defeat in the twin capitals of the group's territory, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.

Russian forces support the Syrian government which is fighting against Islamic State mainly from the west, while a US-led coalition supports Iraqi government forces fighting against Islamic State from the east.

The last public video footage of Baghdadi shows him dressed in black clerical robes declaring his caliphate from the pulpit of Mosul's medieval Grand al-Nuri mosque back in 2014.

Born Ibrahim al-Samarrai, Baghdadi is a 46-year-old Iraqi who broke away from al Qaeda in 2013, two years after the capture and killing of the group's leader Osama bin Laden.

Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, cast doubt on the report Baghdadi may have been killed. He said that according to his information, Baghdadi was located in another part of Syria at the end of May.

The information is that as of the end of last month Baghdadi was in Deir al-Zor, in the area between Deir al-Zor and Iraq, in Syrian territory, he said by phone.

Questioning what Baghdadi would have been doing in that location, he said: Is it reasonable that Baghdadi would put himself between a rock and a hard place of the (US-led) coalition and Russia?
Israel and Saudi Arabia have reportedly been holding talks to establish economic ties, according to British newspaper The Times, which cited American and Arab sources in its report.

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According to the report, the historic move, if implemented, could be the first step toward normalizing relations and would begin with Israeli businesses being allowed to operate in the Persian Gulf. The newspaper gave as one example the possibility of Israeli airline El Al being allowed to fly over Saudi airspace.

The British newspaper also estimated the possibility of tightening relations with Israel partly explains why Saudi Arabia and its allies have boycotted Qatar in an effort to force it to stop supporting Hamas, an effort that seems to be producing results.

Saudi King Salman (Photo: AFP)

However, a source close to the Saudi leadership dismissed the idea of rapprochement between the two countries, saying it only reflects the White House's wish to show fast results, after US President Donald Trump visited the region last month, beginning with Saudi Arabia and stopping next in Israel.

The British Times also noted that Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and adviser, has grown very close to King Salman's son, Mohammad bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince and defense minister.

The two reportedly discussed a strategy whereby the Gulf states would improve ties with Israel as a prelude to a peace agreement with the Palestinians and full recognition of Israel by the Arab world.

This did not sit well with the Palestinians, who were furious at the thought and feared it would normalize relations with Israel and leave them with nothing more than a vague promise of a future state, according to the Times.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir told reporters in London on Friday Saudi Arabia was working on a list of complaints against Qatar, which it will present as soon as possible. Al-Jubeir stressed the document is not written as a list of demands, but rather "complaints" the Qataris need to deal with.

He noted that Saudi Arabia is cooperating with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in drafting the list.

Al-Jubeir added Qatar must stop supporting radical elements and terrorism, stating these were demands from the entire world, and not just from the Gulf states.

Meanwhile, Bahrain's official news agency on Monday revealed recordings of phone calls by Qatar's adviser to a senior official in one of the opposition movements in Bahrain, which is supported by Iran and defined by Bahrain as a terrorist organization. The news agency claimed the talks took place while protesters held violent protests for the opposition.
- Moses Akazuo was shot while at work at a Quantum Oil Fuel Station in Paga

- Akazuo passed away at the Tamale General Hospital two days after the incident

- The accused assailant, Osman, has since been granted bail as court proceedings in the court still run

- The family of the deceased have decried the bail and told YEN of how they live in fear

- Get more news on current issues in Ghana here on YEN.com.gh

The mill of justice has been known to grind slowly and even more slowly when it comes to the judiciary in Ghana.

But the family of the late Akazuo Moses dont want to be left at the mercy of the snail-like pace of the system.

READ ALSO: Spare part dealers in Ghana and Suame rejoice over scrapping of import duties

Reaching out to YEN.com.gh, the spokesperson of the family, Akunyire Maxwell, detailed the facts about how their relative, Moses Akazuo, was shot by an assailant at a Quantum Oil Fuel Station at Paga.

The late Moses Akazuo was a worker of Quantum Oil fuel station

Moses Akakuo, was a pump attendant at the station and on the day of the unfortunate incident, he had reported at night to start the evening shift that he was slated for.

However, according to the family spokesperson, the rather peaceful night of Monday, 17th April turned chaotic when one customer was prevented from buying fuel at the station.

Akunyire told YEN that, the customer, who is allegedly an owner of a competing fuel station in the area had arrived at the station with the intent of buying fuel.

However, another man, Osman, who also owned a fuel station in the area, arrived and asked the attendant, Moses, to stop vending fuel to the customer.

Osman reportedly revealed that the customer was trying to buy fuel with malicious intents.

The misunderstanding reportedly escalated quickly as Osman drew a gun and fire 3 shots. One of those shots reportedly hit Moses Akazuo, who had been standing by all this while.

After he was shot, the late Moses Akazuo was sent to the Tamale General Hospital

The injured Moses was quickly rushed to the Tamale Teaching Hospital, but died in the hospital on 19th April from the injuries he sustained.

READ ALSO: Meet the "new" biological children and partner of Nii Odartey Lamptey

The manager of the Quantum Oil Fuel Station called the police when Osman fired the shots and got him arrested.

But Osman didnt stay as long in police remand as the Akazuo family would expect.

Akanbelum Peter, the youth chairman of Woligum, expressed shock that Osman was granted bailed even as he was being held on charges of manslaughter.

At the funeral of the late Moses Akazuo

He told YEN that even as family of Moses Akazuo took the matter up in court, the family of Osman visited to see how to settle the issue out of court.

However, the request by Osmans family were flatly denied by the elders of the Akazuo family.

At the first court sitting on 4/05/2017, the case was adjourned to 18/05/2017 with the excuse that the police investigations were still ongoing and the command was yet to present the facts to the court.

They were told that the bullets from the crime scene had been sent to Accra for examination, however, at the second sitting on 18/05/2017, the case was again adjourned to 16/06/2017.

Akanbelum revealed that the police had told the state prosecutor pursuing the case that the person to examine the bullets had travelled thus they would have to wait.

PAY ATTENTION: Get more videos and pictures on the go with the YEN mobile app

But this was not the only surprise the family of the deceased got on that day.

The assailant had applied for bail on 4/05/2017, but was instructed by the court to submit a written application on 12 May.

To our surprise, Osman was granted bail before 12 of May, Akanbelum told YEN.

Moses (arrowed) with his classmates

He continued to state that, with the release of Osman, friends and relatives of the late Moses Akazuo have been in a state of fear, afraid that Osman might attack them anytime.

Some of our brothers and sister are still living in Paga, and Osman has seen most of us, we fear he can shoot those of us who have been consistently following the case, he said with great concern.

The family of Moses Akazuo and the Woligum and Mirigu communities have been in disarray since according to Akanbelum.

The case has since been adjourned again to 17th June and Osman, the accused murderer still roams free as the family of Moses Akazuo and the Mirigu community grieve but with a veil of fear hanging on them.

READ ALSO: It's a pity Asiedu Nketia is not handsome - Rawlings

YEN is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other.

Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition?

Your stories and photos are always welcome.

Send us a message via YENs official Facebook group, or contact us via info@yen.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh
When news of Stonebwoy and Dr. Louisa Kwakye Ansong was announced many issues where discussed on social media. The most controversial ones where the ones involving Manasseh Azure Awuni and Shatta Michy, wife of Shatta Wale.

Shatta Michy

In the case of Shatta Michy, she was being compared to the wife of Stonebwoy. Some facebook users in an attempt to ridicule the wife of Shatta Wale compared her educational background to that of Louisa Ansong who was practicing as a dentist at the 37 Military Hospital.

Shatta Michy, who took offence in the comparison came out angrily and in a Snapchat post, called her critics hypocrites and created the impression that Stonebwoy was broke because according to her, the cost of the wedding was going to be borne by Louisa.

READ ALSO: Shatta Michy replies her critics with social media post

However, on the issue of educational backgrounds of the two ladies in question. It is public knowledge that Dr. Louisa Ansong is a doctor who graduated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. On her graduation she swept six out of nine awards after passing out as the overall best student in her department.

It has come to light that the wife of Shatta Wale, who bears the real name, Diamond Michelle Gbagonah also has an educational background to boast of. It has been revealed that Shatta Michy is a product of Mfantsiman Girls Senior High School. The school boasts of other products including Nadia Buari and Yvonne Okoro. She studied General Arts in the school. She is currently pursuing a course in Marketing at the Wisconsin University.

READ ALSO: Lifestyle of Stonebwoy's father-in-law; Dr. Steven Ansong

She plans on furthering her education to study Law to become a renowned Lawyer in Ghana in the not too distant future

She owns a pub in East Legon as an entrepreneur. She has also featured in a TV series

Share your views on this with us in the comments section below. Do you have any tip, information or story to share?

Get featured on YEN.com.gh! Contact us on Facebook or reach us via email at info@YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh
- Some aggrieved Ghanaian citizens in UK are geared up to meet President Akufo-Addo with demo

- They say they are not happy with the president's poor handling of the economy

Some aggrieved Ghanaian citizens in the United Kingdom, are fired up to welcome President Akufo-Addo today in London with an embarrassing demonstration.

Some of the demonstrators fired up with their placards

According to the demonstrators, they are not happy with the President for his poor handling of Ghanas, social and key among all the capricious security situation in the country.

In a press release copied to the media, the aggrieved group stated that there are other Ghanaian Civil Society groups in the UK who are equally not happy about the security lapses and therefore will take in the demonstration.

READ ALSO: Well kill you if you support Savelugu MCE  NPP Youth Group

Ghana must not be allowed to sink into lawless and insecurity under President Akufo-Addo. This is not about politics but reality facing our country. Let us face President with our concerns as citizens and not spectators, the statement quoted.

Some of the demonstrators

The protest is said to be taking place at the Central Hall, Westminster Storeys Gate, London SW1H 9NH at 5:30pm today.

President Akufo-Addo scheduled to meet members of the Ghanaian community in the UK today.

READ ALSO: Soldiers thanked me for blaming Major Mahama's death on Akufo-Addo  Mosquito

Here are some photos:

The demonstrators are not happy with the President's poor handling of the economy

The demonstrators on the streets of London

Source: YEN.com.gh
LEXINGTON  The Lexington Clipper-Heralds newest retail marketing representative is a native of Laurel, Nebraska.

Erika Spahr graduated from Laurel-Concord and earned an associates degree in business from Northeast Community College in Norfolk.

Spahr moved to Kearney three years ago on a whim. She went to Kearney for a weekend visit, to see her best friend who was a student at University of Nebraska-Kearney, and decided she should move to Kearney. When she returned home on Monday she told her parents she wanted to move to Kearney. Spahr said although she had prepared a speech to convince her parents it would be a good idea, she didnt have to use it because they were ok with the choice.

A month later Spahr moved into the one-bedroom apartment where her friend lived. Six months later they found a bigger apartment to share.

Spahr began working for Buckle. She worked as an assistant manager of a Buckle retail store for 2  years before becoming a social media specialist in the corporate office, a position she held for 8 months. Her duties included being on-line for live chat responses and overseeing Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

A year and a half ago Spahr met her boyfriend, Richie Bennett, through a mutual friend. They met in Kearney and have since moved in together in Elwood, which is his hometown and where he was living when they met.

Spahr said she was looking for a job closer to Elwood when she was hired by the Clipper-Herald.

Spahr said she likes that each day is different. "I love who I work with. It is relaxed and fun. I like going to visit new businesses, maybe not new to the Clipper-Herald, but new to me, and establishing those relationships."

Spahr is the owner of a Boglen, a mix of a Boston Terrior and Beagle, named Oscar. She enjoys being outdoors working on the landscaping of her home and hanging out with family.

"Im excited to have Erika join our family here at the Clipper. She is exactly what we have been looking for to complete our team," said Clipper-Herald general manager Heather Heinemann.
BURLEY  A Burley man is suing Cassia County, Sheriff Jay Heward and the deputy who arrested him on New Years Eve, alleging he was falsely arrested and accusing the deputy of arresting him as retaliation for disputes the two had over the man carrying a gun on his property.

Derek Thomas was originally charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident, accused of running his pickup into a teenager riding a motorized bike. He pleaded guilty in March to two counts of operating a vehicle when unsafe or improperly equipped, an infraction, and was fined, according to court records.

Thomas is accusing deputy Michael Akers of arresting him falsely and without a warrant or probable cause. In the complaint Thomas filed in U.S. District Court on Monday, he says he and Akers had several run-ins prior over Thomas carrying a sidearm on his property.

On each such occasion defendant Akers aggressively confronted Plaintiff, wrongly asserted that it was against the law for Plaintiff to carry his sidearm in such a manner, and forced Plaintiff to remove it and put it away, the complaint says.

Thomas also accuses Akers of falsifying his affidavit supporting the arrest, and says there is a body camera video of Akers pressing for Thomas to be charged with a felony.

Unaware he was recording himself, Akers admitted in one of the videos that there was a slim chance of conviction for felony aggravated, but he conceded that he was pressing such charges as a pretext for taking Plaintiffs firearms from him, the complaint says.

As well as this suit, Thomas had already filed a tort claim against the county in May. He is seeking punitive damages, a declaration the defendants violated his constitutional rights and an injunction against similar future misconduct, plus attorneys fees and compensation for lost income and the money he spent on his bond and on his lawyer during the case.

County Attorney Doug Abenroth declined to comment.
Twin Falls County

Friday arraignments

Noum Phonemany, 35, Twin Falls; possession of a controlled substance, appeared in person, public defender appointed, own recognizance release, preliminary June 23.

Steven David Murdock, 58, Twin Falls; domestic battery and aggravated assault, appeared in person, public defender appointed, $75,000 bond, preliminary June 23.

Jeffery Shawn Storms, 42, Twin Falls; possession of a controlled substance, appeared in person, public defender appointed, $25,000 bond, preliminary June 23.

Adam Keith Christensen, 41, Jerome; vehicular manslaughter and DUI  aggravated (two counts), appeared in person, public defender appointed, $500,000 bond, preliminary June 23.

Sergio Bautista Chavez, 34, Jerome; trafficking in marijuana (5 lbs. or more, but less than 25 lbs.), appeared in person, private counsel Daniel Brown appointed, $30,000 bond, preliminary June 23.

Carmelo Solano, 28, Twin Falls; possession of a forged check, appeared in person, public defender appointed, $5,000 bond, preliminary June 23.

Evan M. Lee, 21, Twin Falls; trespass and failure to appear, public defender appointed, $100 bond, pretrial Aug. 8.

Evan Michael Lee, 21, Twin Falls; driving without privileges, trespass and failure to appear, public defender appointed, $100 bond, pretrial July 25.

Jeremy Robert Spencer, 32, Filer; delivery of a controlled substance (four counts) and delivery of a controlled substance where a child is present, appeared in person, public defender appointed, $100,000 bond, preliminary June 23.
TWIN FALLS  Just like any good gathering, food was the centerpiece of the Magic Valley Refugee Day celebration.

And if you dont show up early, its often gone within an hour. Last year, Rich Miller made the rookie mistake of showing up late. He had to watch cultural performances with an empty belly and plate. It was his first time attending, and he didnt get to sample anything. This year, he showed up as people started lining up and got to try almost every countrys culinary samples. His favorite was the Burundi booth serving curry and rice pudding.

Its just a good relations type thing, Miller said. We know a few refugees, and its good to connect and support the ones we know, and get to know the ones we dont.

The eighth annual Magic Valley Refugee Day was held Friday evening at the College of Southern Idaho. The public event is hosted by the CSI Refugee Center and is an opportunity for the refugee community to share their culture and cuisine with the community. It is also a chance for ethnic populations that have relocated to southern Idaho to thank the community for their support.

For Khogali Mohamed, the annual event is a chance for him to share his love of food with his neighbors.

He was a chef and restaurant owner for seven years in his native country of Egypt. He has lived in Twin Falls for nearly three years.

He currently works at a local grocery store, but said hed like to own his own restaurant in Twin Falls some day.

I want people to try it, Mohamed said. I want people to know the food in my country.

He motioned to the aasieda and mulah weika in foil pans under the sign Sudan.

The mulah weika is like a chili served over the aasieda, which has the texture of gelatin. It is Mohameds favorite dish.

Mohamed said what makes Sudanese food stand apart from other countries is that rice is not a staple. Instead, diners will find eggplant, okra and tomatoes. The cuisine also features chicken, beef and potatoes.

On the table was also a dish called salatat aswad or eggplant salad.

Its served as a dip, a side dish with bread or as a sandwich. And you cant forget condiments, Mohamed said, pointing to a glass bowl containing sliced lemons and fresh green chilies that can go with any of the dishes. Across the CSI lawn, Ekhlas Kafree was dishing out kebabs and falafels at a booth featuring Iraqi food.

Kafree is a cook at The Mediterranean, a restaurant serving traditional Iraqi dishes in downtown Twin Falls. The restaurant opened in May and is owned by Hussein Ali, who moved to Twin Falls from Pennyslvania.

Kafree said she has been cooking for years, describing herself as home cook. She has lived in Twin Falls for five years.

When asked why she likes to cook, Hussein Aho Ali translated for Kafree, Because she wants to make money and she likes it.

About an hour after the event started, booths were already starting to close up after food ran out. Crowds of people started to form around a stage where groups performed dances from their countries.

Luckily, Tara Williams was able to sample enough dishes before the food ran low.

It was amazing, Williams said. It was so good. I tried to get to them all but I ran out of room.

Williams is an ESL counselor at Canyon Ridge High School. The school holds an International Week, so many of the foods were not new to her.

I love the different spices and the different foods, she said.

She also knew a lot of the refugee youth walking around the event.

Yes, hello my dear, Williams said to a girl who stopped to hug her. I miss you.

We love you, the girl said, as she walked away with her friends.

With a full stomach, Miller was taking in performances on the stage. He had a tip for those thinking about attending the annual event next year.

Come early, Miller said.

Then he paused, thinking about his advice.

No, he said. Come late. More food for me.

Didnt make it to Refugee Day? Try your hand at making some of the dishes on your own.

Aasieda

Ingredients:

 kg sorghum flour

 liter of water

 cup yeast

1 tsp salt

Add  kg flour,  liter of water and yeast into bowl and mix together. Leave in warm place for five hours to rise. Boil 1 liter of water with salt. When water is boiling, add aasieda mixture and mix with a wooden spoon. Mixture should start to thicken (add more flour if dough is thin), add  cup of water and simmer until bubbling. Pour into bowl and let stand until cool and thick. Turn upside down onto plate to serve, covering with mulah weika.

Mulah Weika

Ingredients:

5 red onions

1 cup vegetable oil

Coriander, fennel, hot pepper, salt

500g ground beef

2 tbsp dried okra

 cup tomato paste

Chop onions and fry in oil (traditionally peanut oil) until crispy and dry. Blend onion with a little water. To the remaining oil, add mince meat and fry. Add 2 cups of water and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.

Add  cup of tomato paste and simmer for five minutes. Add blended onions and spices and add to stew. Add dried okra and stir for two minutes.

Salatat aswad (eggplant salad)

Ingredients:

Eggplant (peeled, thinly sliced and fried)

Chopped onion

Vegetable oil

Peanut butter (crunchy)

Hot pepper

Lime juice

Mix all ingredients together and mash. Served as a dip, side dish with bread or as a sandwich.

Kheer (Nepali rice pudding)

Ingredients:

1 cup of rice

1 cup half and half

2 cups whole milk

1  cups of sugar

1 teaspoon cardamom

2 tablespoon unsalted cashews

Optional:

2 tablespoons cashews

 teaspoon elachi powder

 teaspoon saffron

Cook rice with whole milk. Add half and half, sugar, cashews and spices. Boil for a few more minutes. Serve hot.
The following editorial appears on Bloomberg View:

With its 98-2 vote to expand sanctions against Russia, the U.S. Senate has effectively served notice on two great powers in Washington: Russia, which may have to face new costs for its meddling in the 2016 U.S. election; and President Donald Trump, who will have to contend with congressional input on U.S. policy toward Russia.

The bill, which also strengthens penalties against Iran, would put into law sanctions that had been imposed by former President Barack Obama and not allow Trump to ease or lift them without congressional review. It also would allow new sanctions on state-owned entities in Russia, such as those which engage in malicious cyber activity or supply weapons to Syria.

At a separate hearing, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaled the administrations unhappiness with the impending Senate vote, which he argued would reduce its flexibility in reaching out to Russia. But Trump has only himself to blame. Ignoring Russias aggressive conduct in Syria, Europe, and Afghanistan  not to mention inside U.S. computer servers  he has pushed for lifting sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Crimea, cyberattacks and human-rights violations. He and members of his administration have dissembled about their contacts with Russia during the campaign and dismissed the steadily expanding investigations into them.

In an alternate universe  one in which someone other than Trump were president  pursuing better relations with Russia might make sense. Sanctions are best used sparingly, in concert with other nations and with a clear goal in mind. And while Congress certainly has a constitutional role to play in foreign relations, the ship of state sails most smoothly with one captain, not 535.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin is showing no signs of contrition or reform  and neither, for that matter, is Trump. From the Americas and Europe to the Middle East and Asia, his outbursts and their dissonance with both longstanding U.S. policies and his own cabinets pronouncements are worrying allies and creating openings for adversaries. Under these circumstances, the Senate was right to step in.

There is a larger issue at stake as well, beyond Russia or Trumps relationship with Russia: Congress needs to reassert its prerogatives in foreign policy. In budget hearings, there were hopeful signs. Senators made clear that the administrations plans to downgrade the promotion of democracy and the provision of humanitarian aid  both areas of longstanding U.S. leadership  will face resistance. Congress can also reclaim its constitutional power to declare war by approving a clear authorization for the use of military force against Islamic State.

The lopsided vote in favor of the Senate bill suggests that a basis for a bipartisan policy on Russia still exists. In this polarized age, thats something on which the president should build.
Cheer

The eighth annual Refugee Day is being held at the College of Southern Idaho this weekend. If youve never attended a Refugee Day, this is the year to do it.

The event typically draws hundreds of people, there to learn more about the refugee experience, eat outstanding exotic food and, well, have a good time.

More than 5,000 refugees have been resettled in the Magic Valley since 1984. They come from conflict zones all over the world.

Sadly, this years Refugee Day comes at the end of a week where a politically motivated gunman attacked Republican congressman. What better way to show solidarity with fellow Americans than to meet the newest residents of our community?

Jeer

Of all the low-down crimes, stealing from a park has got to be near the top. Especially when its a park built for the public in memory of a wife.

Mary Alice Park on Main Avenue North was burglarized Monday night when someone cut a chain-link fence, broke into the park office and stole a sound system.

The park was built by Art & Soul of the Magic Valley founder Art Hoag 11 years ago and donated to the Magic Valley Art Guild after his wife died in 2008.

Hoag says the burglar caused more damage breaking in than the sound system was worth.

Donation envelopes to help pay for repairs is available at the park entrance.

Cheer

Congratulations to Rupert attorney Mike Tribe on his appointment to the Cassia County bench.

Tribe is widely known in Mini-Cassia, and its no wonder why. Hes served as the lawyer for the cities of Rupert and Heyburn and for the Minidoka and Cassia county school districts. He is also a deputy prosecutor in Minidoka County, and he has experience working on water rights disputes as a municipal lawyer.

Weve been watching this appointment since Judge Michael Crabtree announced his retirement and think Gov. C.L. Butch Otter made the right pick in Tribe, a level-headed and practical thinker.
By Michael Schuman

KIM Dae-jung, the former president of South Korea, once told me a story that perfectly captures the spirit of reform that followed the 1997 Asian financial crisis. He was on an official trip to Vietnam when a panicked visitor from Seoul sought an audience. It was Kim Woo-choong, the flamboyant founder of Daewoo Group, then Koreas second-largest business house. Over breakfast in Hanoi, the businessman said his companies were spiraling toward financial ruin and begged the president for help.

In the past, such an appeal probably wouldve worked. Korean presidents had routinely supported the countrys sprawling conglomerates, called chaebol, as the engines of rapid economic growth. But their shady business practiceswhich led to debt, excess capacity and graftwere also a key cause of the crisis. President Kim realized a new approach had become imperative, no matter how painful. He sent Daewoos chief back home with nothing more than a lecture: Fix your own problems. Daewoo fell apart shortly thereafter.

It was a gutsy decisionbut just one of countless tough choices made by officials around the region to rescue their economies from crisis. Twenty years ago, starting in July, some of Asias best-performing economiesKorea, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysiafell into severe debt crises that saw investors flee, currencies collapse, companies fail and growth contract.

I was a correspondent in Seoul at the time, and it seemed practically every week brought new reforms. Banks were shuttered, companies restructured, conglomerates dismantled and markets opened. Indonesia transformed from an autocracy to a democracy. In some cases, policy makers were dragged kicking and screaming toward reform, and many people suffered. Jakarta smoldered from vicious communal riots. Salarymen in Seoul, too embarrassed to tell their families they had gotten laid off, donned their usual dark suits each morning and loitered in local parks. But Asia emerged stronger from the crisis because, for the most part, presidents, ministers and technocrats didnt shirk difficult responsibilities.

ADVERTISEMENT

Unfortunately, that spirit of 97 has largely been lost. Asia in more recent years has been marked instead by the slow pace of reform, even in the face of rising risks and worsening distortions. Faced with these new threats, its governments have to recapture some of the sense of urgency that propelled change two decades ago.

Look, for instance, at the last decade in Seoul. Kim Dae-jung pulled the plug on Daewoo, but his recent successors have been more inclined to pardon chaebol chiefs accused of various crimes than to continue weakening their power and improving governance. The consequences became clear over the past year, as yet another chaebol-fueled corruption scandal toppled the last president.

Inertia among policy makers has also hurt economic growth. Indonesia should be one of the worlds premier emerging economies, but thanks to excessive regulation and poor infrastructure, growth is meandering along at only 5 percent. Chinas President Xi Jinping and Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi have talked big about reform but generally acted small.

China, in fact, is falling into the same debt trap that foiled the old Asian Tigers, while seeming to ignore the warning signs, just as they did. Its debt relative to gross domestic product reached 257 percent at the end of 2016, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Indeed, debt has been rising across Asia. Although not at crisis levels, it is impeding growth in countries such as Korea and Malaysia.

Perhaps, though, another wave of change is afoot. Moon Jae-in, South Koreas new president, has signaled that he intends to rein in the chaebol and the families who control them, thereby leveling the playing field for smaller companies. Indonesias president, Joko Widodo, has pushed through an ambitious tax amnesty while numerous sectors have been opened wider to foreign investment. Now hopefully hell tackle some knottier problems, such as an overly regulated labor market that scares off the factories Indonesia needs to diversify its economy.

Reform is always easier when a crisis leaves policy makers no other options. But without further change, Asia will continue to rely too much on debt instead of productivity gains for growth. In poorer nations, improvements in household welfare will lag. As in the years before 1997, economic irregularities could build up to the point where the region faces another crisis. Will the next Kim Dae-jungs be there when you need them?

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
A group of Algerian lawmakers has formed a parliamentary committee to denounce the blockade and media propaganda against Qatar, which, they say, pays the price of its support for the Palestinian cause.

The lawmakers, 31 in number, reject the air and sea blockades imposed on Qatar by its neighbors as unjust.

The committee criticized the extensive political and media campaign against Doha and Qatari institutions that are active in supporting the Palestinians, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reports citing an Algerian media source.

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt early this month cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar they accuse of funding terrorism.

The four countries have imposed air and sea blockades on Qatari airplanes and vessels coming from and going to the tiny gas-rich Gulf country, using their seas or lands.

Algiers, which enjoys strong ties with Saudi kingdom, UAE and Qatar, has adopted a neutral position on the crisis and called for dialogue to defuse the tension.

Qatari foreign minister Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi during a visit to Algiers Thursday hailed Algerian authorities for their positive neutral position.

The committee hopes to see similar committees taking root in other countries. The committee members note that they will work to raise awareness of the real motive behind the conspiracy against Qatar, which is aimed, the MPs believe, to liquidate the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause, MEMO reports.
Lesotho newly elected Prime Minister Thomas Thabane will be inaugurated on Friday despite the fatal shooting of his wife on Wednesday by an unknown gunman.

News emerged late on Wednesday that the estranged wife of Thabane had allegedly been shot dead just two days before the inauguration of her husband in the mountainous kingdom.

58-year-old Dipolelo Thabane was shot, together with another woman, while driving in a village 35 kilometers from the capital Maseru, police said.

Zambian President Edgar Lungu as well as the Deputy South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Prime Minister of Swaziland Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini are in Lesothos capital Maseru for the inauguration, local media reported.

Thabane is due to be sworn in at the Setsoto Stadium in Maseru, marking the impoverished countrys third attempt at a coalition government.

The small kingdom was plunged into crisis in 2014 when soldiers attempted to oust Thabane during his last stint as prime minister.

Thabane fled to South Africa, where he spent two years, while the regional bloc SADC stepped in to end the crisis. Early elections took place in 2015.
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is assisting Sierra Leone in the implementation of a project that will add 25MW hybrid solar-diesel-storage to the countrys energy capacity.

The facility will be developed by local independent power producer (IPP) Solar Era Holdings, a subsidiary of global EPC Africa Growth Energy Solutions.

Two hybrid solar-diesel power plants will be built under the project, to be implemented in two phases. The first will consist of the construction of a 5 MW plant and the second of a 20 MW plant.

USTDA, which currently supports Phase 1, has already awarded a grant for Phase 2 feasibility studies.

According to the USTDA, the projects hybrid option will address problems with intermittency and stability, bringing new power online to better manage electricity demand.

The US agency agreed to finance the feasibility study for the project in September 2016.

The new plants, said USTDA at the time, will support more dependable power generation and improve energy access in the country, where only 13 percent of the population currently has access.

Solar Eras project is the second large-scale PV project under development in the West African nation.

The government signed an implementation agreement with Infinity-E Consortium for the construction of a 6 MW solar power plant in Freetown, the countrys capital and largest city.

Sierra Leone currently has an installed capacity of less than 100 MW for an electrification rate of 13%.
Seventy Ghanaian immigrants deported from the United States for visa-related offences arrived in Accras Kotoka International Airport on Wednesday.

The all-male deportees arrived in handcuffs before they were handed over to local authorities.

Speaking to reporters gathered at the airport, some of the deportees said they were handcuffed and sent to prison for eighteen months in the US. Others claimed they were arrested on the streets and sent to prison without any charges.

About 7,000 Ghanaian immigrants in the United States face deportation for visa-related offences, said the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Robert Jackson on Thursday. Last year, the United States deported 108 Ghanaian immigrants.

U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to deport illegal immigrants and immigrants with criminal records as part of his immigration laws to be rolled out.

According to him, the Trump administration would not paint every African country with the same brush. Ghanas economy is growing, Nigerias is shrinking. We have a very different relationship with Ghana. Ghana is more supportive of free trade and shares a long history of peaceful existence which Nigeria does not have, so I think we need to be cautious, Robert Jackson added.


@PatriciaMazzei

Unwilling to attack each other this early in the 2018 campaign for Florida governor, the three Democrats running so far chose different opponent Saturday: President Donald Trump.

The biggest challenge we have facing the United States is without question Donald Trump, said former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham of Tallahassee. And quite honestly, hes the biggest challenge facing the world as well.

I agree 100 percent with her responses, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum said.

They had been asked about the biggest problems confronting the world, the nation and the state. Orlando entrepreneur Chris King offered the first answer, blaming the Republican president and Congress for trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, pulling out of the Paris climate agreement and cracking down on U.S.-Cuba relations.

Trumps taking us backwards again, King said. Theres a common theme.

The first forum among the Democratic rivals since all three declared their candidacies offered few areas of disagreement. That was by design: This is not a debate, said the moderator, former state Rep. Keith Fitzgerald of Sarasota. These questions are sort of general.

Instead, each candidate tried to win over activists involved in Leadership Blue, the Florida Democratic Partys largest annual fundraiser held at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood. The forum was put on by the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida, a fact not lost on the candidates, who attempted to cement their progressive bona fides.

More here.

Photo credit: Al Diaz, Miami Herald staff
Another season of summer theater is set to begin at the historic Opera House Theatre in Philipsburg.

It's the 17th year of live plays at the opera house, constructed in 1891, since Tim and Claudette Dringle purchased the building and began renovating it.

The historic stage, complete with backdrops painted by Edgar Paxson, will be home to the company's traditional, light-hearted family-friendly fare.

The Vaudeville Variety Show, an annual feature written by the cast with direction by DJ Gommels, kicks things off. Next up is "The Tin Woman," a recent comedy-drama about the recipient of a heart transplant; and "Getting Sara Married," a straight-up comedy.

The company pulls its paid, professional cast from returning veterans and students at the University of Montana. Missoula-area theater-goers may recognize Nathan Adkins from his work on campus and with BetweenTheLines Productions' staging of Annie Baker's "The Flick."

Adkins, Tim Eastman, Linda Lippencott Grinde and Maisie Gospodarek all performed with the Philipsburg troupe. Heidi Coryell is returning for a role in "Getting Sara Married." The cast is rounded out by Chloe Mollis-McBride and Hudson Therriault (another UM product).

While some summer theater companies perform only one play at a time, the Philipsburg company uses a "rolling repertory" model, in which the cast opens three plays in several weeks and keep them running each week through August.

First up is the traditional evening-length variety show. Don't let the word "vaudeville" trick you into thinking the material is old-fashioned. Each season has an original assortment of sketches and musical numbers written by the cast and director D.J. Gommels. It opens Thursday, June 22.

Next is "The Tin Woman," a comedy drama by contemporary playwright Sean Grennan. Last year, Philipsburg presented his comedy-drama "Making God Laugh."

"The Tin Woman" is based on a true story about the recipient of an organ transplant who seeks out the family of the donor. While the story has dramatic elements, Dringle said they're going to emphasize its humor. Adkins is stepping into the director's role for this play.

"Getting Sara Married" by Sam Bobrick follows a single lawyer in her 30s, getting set up by her aunt with the disastrous and comedic results that you'd expect. Don Mogstad, whose resume include Missoula Children's Theatre and Community Theatre credits, will direct.

The historic theater is open only during the summer. When the weather turns, Dringle said the population of Granite County (about 3,000) isn't high enough to support plays.

"Even if everybody came, it would be all over in two nights," Dringle joked.

During the summer, however, it's a tourist stop for Montanans.

"Most of our audience is within a hundred-mile radius," she said. Philipsburg makes a fun place to visit, with The Sweet Palace, a sprawling candy store with custom-made confections, and Philipsburg Brewing Company, a five-year-old operation that's begun collecting medals at competitions.

Dringle said some people make a day-trip. For other, hard-core theater fans, it's a weekend trip to see all three plays.
One of America's last fighter pilot aces of World War II was laid to rest Friday morning in Missoula.

Under dripping skies and a flyover by four F-15 fighter jets at the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery on Tower Street, Frank McCauley of Hamilton was accorded full military honors by both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.

McCauley, 100, was believed to be the oldest World War II ace before his death June 1 at the Marcus Daily Hospice Center in Hamilton.

Fridays service came 11 days short of a year since another graveside ceremony and flyovers by a B-1 and a B-25 bomber, as Missoulas David Thatcher was honored across town at Sunset Memorial Cemetery. Thatcher, who died at age 94 on June 22, 2016, was the penultimate survivor of the fabled Doolittle Raiders of World War II.

The F-15's at Friday's ceremony came from Mountain Home Air Force base in Idaho. The flyover is an honor accorded only a select few veterans such as three- and four-star generals, Medal of Honor recipients, prisoners of war, and aviators like McCauley with at least one aerial victory.

Born in Ohio a few months before the U.S. entry into the first world war, McCauley joined the Army after graduating from Michigan State University in 1939. He had a lifelong love of flying, and at the first chance he got he volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps, which became the Air Force.

McCauley flew a P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter on 46 missions in support of B-17 bombers against German counterparts. All were under Missoula native Col. Hubert Hub Zemke, who commanded the 56th fighter group.

It was a group, said Missoula historian Stan Cohen, that was "extremely famous. Beyond famous."

The 56th included Gabby Gabreski, the leading American air ace in Europe during World War II.

"Frank was up there with the best of the best," Cohen said. "He flew with the greatest fighter group in the war, as far as I'm concerned."

McCauley earned ace fighter pilot status by shooting down 5 enemy aircraft. The first came over the Schweinfurt-Regensburg on Aug. 17, 1943, when he and fellow pilot Jerry Johnson combined to shoot down a Messerschmitt Bf110. Each was awarded half a kill. McCauley added one more that day, and Johnson had three.

At a Memorial Day gathering at the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History in Missoula, McCauley said his most rewarding mission was the last one, on Oct. 14, 1943. He saved dozens of American lives by shooting down at least three enemy aircraft attempting to attack a set of B-17s, each with a crew of 10.

I made a decision, OK, Im low on gas. Im going down, McCauley said.

He described how he plunged his plane, nicknamed "Rat Racer," into the fray, taking fire a number of times and escaping only after blasting through the fireball created by an enemy planes wreckage.

McCauley earned the Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and four Air Medals. In 2015, at age 98, McCauley was flown across the country in a Learjet with wife Bobbie to join more than three dozen other fighter pilots. In Washington, D.C., each received a Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of the 1,447 American Fighter Aces, a title reserved for those who shot down five or more enemy aircraft in combat during the two world wars, Korea and Vietnam.

McCauley trained hundreds of new pilots for combat after active duty in Europe. He left the service and married Bobbie in 1945. Following a career in construction, he retired with his family to the Bitterroot Valley in 1974. McCauley is survived by wife Bobbie; sons Craig, Kirk and Kevin; and step-daughter Nancy Cook, along with three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.

He spoke of his love of flying and the adrenaline that came with it in a 2014 interview with the Ravalli Republic.

I was never afraid, McCauley said. I was eager to get into that plane. I enjoyed every bit of it. I really did.
A discussion this week on social media about two drawings on the wall of the Sunrise Saloon that some see as racist has led to plans for a protest at the bar next weekend.

Helping to organize the protest is Danielle Breck who, along with four others, is listed as one of the hosts on the event's Facebook page. Breck and others have left reviews on the bar's Facebook page calling the artwork racist.

Breck got involved after she was approached by her friend and another host of the protest, Yolanda Garcia, who was upset by two paintings at the Sunrise Saloon  an image of a black man holding a whiskey bottle with the caption, I knows de ropes and another of three men hanging, a photo that Breck said appears to depict a lynching.

In my opinion, the skin tones arent horribly clear, but they all have what appears to be African-American hair, Breck said. Not super obviously clear they are black, but when the owner said to us when we walked in the first time was, 'You want me to paint them white, Ill paint them white, and its a painting he commissioned.

Kammy Zavarelli, owner of the Sunrise Saloon, said she was getting payroll done on Friday and did not yet want to speak publicly about the artwork. She said she would address the issue sometime next week.

We still have a business to run, Zavarelli said.

In the review section of the bar's Facebook page, the comments range from support of the bar's right to display the art it chooses to people telling the bar they will never return.

"I used to dance here on swing dance nights, but wasn't unaware of the racist imagery. I will never ever return and will tell everyone I know to do the same," one person wrote.

Another said, "Love this bar! Great service, great music," and questioned anyone who worried about pictures on the wall. "Take MT history. Our vigilantes did not think about race. They lynched criminals."

Breck went to the bar on Wednesday along with a representative from the Montana Human Rights Network and asked if the bar would take down the images. The bar removed the one of the man with the whiskey, but has left the one with three men hanging.

Now Breck is helping to organize a protest of the bar next Saturday.

We strategically planned for a night when they have a band coming in, Breck said.

The hope is that people heading to the bar that night will instead join the protest, she said. The Sunrise Saloon is a private business and can choose to hang what it wants on the wall, but people can choose to protest its choices, Breck said.

Beverly Edmond is the University of Montana interim provost and vice-president for academic affairs. In 2016, she and a colleague published the book Trailblazing African American Public Administrators. For her, the issue isnt about hiding the history of Montana, but about providing appropriate context for images like these.

Edmond has visited the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture where there are photos displayed of African-Americans being lynched, but those photos are presented as a dark part of Americas history, she said. The museum also acknowledges the country has moved beyond that, Edmond said.

The art would make Edmond feel uncomfortable as a customer and she would raise her concerns about the artwork with others, she said.

Would I go beyond to protest, insist they take it down? No. I wont cross that line, Edmond said.

Edmond supports the bars freedom to display things the images, even if the display shows a lack of sensitivity, she said.

In a Facebook comment on June 4 the bar wrote that the painting was of an actual hanging of horse thieves in Missoula County.

In the old West, a horse thief was hung, the post said. It didnt matter if you were a man, a woman, old, young, white or purple.

But if the people hanging in the photo are African-American, then the image cant be viewed without the racial component, said Tobin Miller Shearer, director of UMs African-American Studies Program.

While I support freedom of expression and certainly the ability of anyone to display or present things they value, to attempt to ignore or downplay the history of lynching in this country and its use against African-Americans is a bit naive, Shearer said.

Saying the men in the photo are just horse thieves doesn't address the fact that while lynching was rare in Montana, African-Americans were hanged at a disproportion rate for the states racial makeup, Shearer said.

One of Shearers students worked to find all records of African-American hangings in Montana history, with some records going back as far as 1867. Shearer could not find an incident in Missoula of African-Americans being lynched for horse thievery, but said that doesnt mean it didnt happen.
Community Hospital of Anaconda will soon be home to a $1-million hospice house, hospital officials say.

The new 3,000-square-foot facility  whose official name is yet to be released  will be an extension of the hospitals existing hospice program, which provides in-home care among other services.

Hospital administrator Steve McNeece said the facility will be able to accommodate two patients and their families. Plans for the facility include two apartment-like units that contain a master bedroom and bathroom and a den-like living space that can be modified to adjoin the master suite. The facility will also have a common area that includes a kitchen and dining area.

The hospice house project is about three years in the making, McNeece said, and came about after hospital staff noted that the community was in need of more options for end-of-life care.

We saw this gap in the continuum of care that we thought that we could help address, so its really a mission-driven rationale for why we have started this project, said McNeece, noting that the project is not financially driven.

The facility will be staffed 24-7 by a healthcare professional and will be located west of the main hospital, across the street from Washoe Park.

We think that will add a lot to the quality of the experience, said McNeece, noting community spaces, walking paths, and picnic areas are just a short distance away from the planned location.

Funds for the new hospice facility will come from the hospitals operations, said McNeece, noting that the hospital has been saving for about three years for the new facility. The foundation will also help raise private donations, he said.

Donors can go through traditional fundraising channels, but McNeece said people wishing to contribute can volunteer at the facility or donate their talents such as quilting or woodworking.

McNeece said the facility is not intended for long-term hospice care but rather for end-of-life patients who are anticipated to live at the facility around three weeks to a month.

End-of-life care can be taxing for family members on multiple fronts, McNeece said, and hospital officials are hoping the new facility will make the experience easier for people who either cant afford in-home care or arent able to care for their ailing loved ones themselves.

Its very difficult for families, of course, both emotionally and just having the physical presence to provide 24-hour care. Some families dont have large families, and so there arent that many family members around. And our public is pretty mobile now, meaning that people live all over the country.

And then theres the economic toll.

Its very expensive (for) 24-hour in-home care, said McNeece. Even if a family could afford it, its actually kind of difficult to find the caregivers who live in 24 hours a day.

McNeece added that no one will be turned away from the hospice house because he or she is unable to pay.

In the case of financially strapped individuals or families, money for a stay at the hospice facility will come from either hospital revenue or donations to the hospitals foundation, McNeece said.

Once the facility is up and running, patients will be able to apply for a stay at the hospice house through the hospitals program. Deciding who gets to stay at the hospice house wont be easy, McNeece said, but hospice team members will be equipped with a decision tree to aid them in making the difficult decisions.

McNeece said a need exists in Anaconda for hospice care and the community is by no means unique in that regard.

Aging happens, and death occurs in every community, said McNeece. Our vision for this is not just for Anaconda residents (but also residents) across Southwest Montana.

Excavation on the facility could begin later this month. The hospitals goal is to have the hospice house completed by the end of 2017, McNeece said.
After the success of No Greater Love  a musical depicting the 1917 Granite Mountain-Speculator Mine fire that drew over 1,800 audience members during its two-night showing  and Buttes appearance on a television pilot for HGTV, a group of Butte residents say they want to build upon Buttes recent time in the spotlight.

The group, an informal gathering of board members for No Greater Love," arts and culture advocates, and county officials, are slated to meet with Butte Chief Executive Dave Palmer at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the courthouse to discuss how they can keep the ball rolling in light of the recent events. The public is invited.

The meeting was a result of an email sent by No Greater Love board member Mike Duffy, who said that hes heard from a number of folks who want to see the musical live on. He later told The Montana Standard that hes received inquiries from other Montana theaters about possibly staging their own productions and that the board is considering sending DVDs and recordings of the performance to other venues in an effort to drum up interest.

The nonprofit for No Greater Love expires Oct. 31, but given the response the musical has generated, Duffy said, board members have been considering renewing its status.

The Montana Standard asked if the goal of Tuesdays meeting is to establish some sort of arts council, to which he said something along those lines. However, he noted the meeting is merely meant to generate ideas and that the formation of any sort of formal group is very much in the planning stages.

Palmer said the intent of the meeting is to see whats next for Butte and build upon the enthusiasm the musical and the pilot have generated within the community.

If we can use that to our benefit, then we should look at ways of doing that, said Palmer.

Duffy, meanwhile, said pride for the community is what made No Greater Love a special event.

It demonstrates how a relatively small community can come together and do something really professional.
A weapon likely used in the Tuesday incident at the Knights of Columbus building was turned in to police Friday morning, Undersheriff George Skuletich said.

On Tuesday morning, a woman setting up for a luncheon for the homeless at the building at Park and Idaho heard a single gunshot fired in the women's bathroom. Police later determined that it was from a small-caliber weapon and recovered a lead fragment of the bullet. They interviewed two males as persons of interest.

According to Skuletich, one of these men turned in the gun to an officer at the front desk of the Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement building Friday around 9 a.m.

If the county attorney decides to file charges, they would be for discharging a weapon within city limits, a misdemeanor, Skuletich said.
Police reports

FORGERY IN HAND

Police responded to a call at Staples on Thursday 7:14 p.m. where a Butte man was allegedly attempting to pay with a forged check. Police said that while officers were arresting Jeremiah Smith, 26, he was found to have a counterfeit $50 bill in his hand. Smith was charged for two counts of forgery, a misdemeanor. He also had two outstanding warrants from Butte justice court: one for criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, and one for intimidation, a felony. Smith is being held on bond.

STOLEN GOODS RECOVERED

A Butte man was arrested Thursday at 9:24 p.m. between Walmart and Buffalo Wild Wings for shoplifting. Police stopped Alex Osier, 19, after he left Walmart and recovered stolen items in a backpack, including Bluetooth speakers, a Verizon smartphone, and a prepaid phone card worth $30, according to police. Osier allegedly threatened the arresting officer and his family while being transported and is being held for intimidation, a felony, as well as misdemeanor theft.

WITCHING HOUR WARRANTS

Police booked and released a Butte woman on two misdemeanor warrants at 3:35 a.m. Friday. Police said Shianne Cook, 18, had recently been advised of outstanding warrants during a traffic stop in Kalispell and came into the police station around 3:30 a.m. to verify whether she had any. Cook had warrants for criminal mischief and theft was released shortly after 4 a.m.

OUTSTANDING CHARGES

A Butte man was arrested Thursday at 2:50 p.m. on two outstanding felony warrants from Lewis and Clark County. Theodore Brien, 25, was brought in after a traffic stop and is being held on bond.
MISSOULA  One of America's last fighter pilot aces of World War II was laid to rest Friday morning in Missoula.

Under dripping skies and a flyover by four F-15 fighter jets at the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery on Tower Street, Frank McCauley of Hamilton was accorded full military honors by both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.

McCauley, 100, was believed to be the oldest World War II ace before his death June 1 at the Marcus Daily Hospice Center in Hamilton.

Fridays service came 11 days short of a year since another graveside ceremony and flyovers by a B-1 and a B-25 bomber, as Missoulas David Thatcher was honored across town at Sunset Memorial Cemetery. Thatcher, who died at age 94 on June 22, 2016, was the penultimate survivor of the fabled Doolittle Raiders of World War II.

The F-15's at Friday's ceremony came from Mountain Home Air Force base in Idaho. The flyover is an honor accorded only a select few veterans such as three- and four-star generals, Medal of Honor recipients, prisoners of war, and aviators like McCauley with at least one aerial victory.

Born in Ohio a few months before the U.S. entry into the first world war, McCauley joined the Army after graduating from Michigan State University in 1939. He had a lifelong love of flying, and at the first chance he got he volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps, which became the Air Force.

McCauley flew a P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter on 46 missions in support of B-17 bombers against German counterparts. All were under Missoula native Col. Hubert Hub Zemke, who commanded the 56th fighter group.

It was a group, said Missoula historian Stan Cohen, that was "extremely famous. Beyond famous."

The 56th included Gabby Gabreski, the leading American air ace in Europe during World War II.

"Frank was up there with the best of the best," Cohen said. "He flew with the greatest fighter group in the war, as far as I'm concerned."

McCauley earned ace fighter pilot status by shooting down 5 enemy aircraft. The first came over the Schweinfurt-Regensburg on Aug. 17, 1943, when he and fellow pilot Jerry Johnson combined to shoot down a Messerschmitt Bf110. Each was awarded half a kill. McCauley added one more that day, and Johnson had three.

At a Memorial Day gathering at the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History in Missoula, McCauley said his most rewarding mission was the last one, on Oct. 14, 1943. He saved dozens of American lives by shooting down at least three enemy aircraft attempting to attack a set of B-17s, each with a crew of 10.

I made a decision, OK, Im low on gas. Im going down, McCauley said.

He described how he plunged his plane, nicknamed "Rat Racer," into the fray, taking fire a number of times and escaping only after blasting through the fireball created by an enemy planes wreckage.

McCauley earned the Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and four Air Medals. In 2015, at age 98, McCauley was flown across the country in a Learjet with wife Bobbie to join more than three dozen other fighter pilots. In Washington, D.C., each received a Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of the 1,447 American Fighter Aces, a title reserved for those who shot down five or more enemy aircraft in combat during the two world wars, Korea and Vietnam.

McCauley trained hundreds of new pilots for combat after active duty in Europe. He left the service and married Bobbie in 1945. Following a career in construction, he retired with his family to the Bitterroot Valley in 1974. McCauley is survived by wife Bobbie; sons Craig, Kirk and Kevin; and step-daughter Nancy Cook, along with three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.

He spoke of his love of flying and the adrenaline that came with it in a 2014 interview with the Ravalli Republic.

I was never afraid, McCauley said. I was eager to get into that plane. I enjoyed every bit of it. I really did.
GREAT FALLS (AP)  A Montana sheriff has been charged with misdemeanor partner or family member assault while attending the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association annual convention in Helena.

Helena Police arrested Cascade County Sheriff Bob Edwards on Thursday after his girlfriend reported he pushed her into a television stand in their hotel room.

Cascade County Undersheriff John Stevens held a news conference Friday to say the arrest will not impact law enforcement in the county.

Stevens said Edwards was released Thursday night and returned to Great Falls. He said Edwards was expected to issue a statement in the coming week.

Edwards is a 19-year veteran of the sheriff's office and has been sheriff since December 2010.

County commissioner Joe Briggs said that because Edwards is an elected official, commissioners have no authority to discipline him.
Scarboro graduates

DUBUQUE, Iowa  Phillip M. Scarboro of Wilton recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from Loras College in Dubuque.

ISU College of Business dean's list

AMES, Iowa  The following area students have been named to the Spring 2017 dean's list at the Iowa State University College of Business.

They are: Taylor Borde, Aaron Moravec, Megan Thiesse, all of Muscatine and Bradley Arp of West Liberty.

The Iowa State University College of Business Dean's List honors students who have earned a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

Grubaugh graduates

ROCK ISLAND  Andrea Grubaugh of Muscatine recently graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island.

She majored in Creative Writing and Communication Studies, cum laude.

Brewster named dean's list

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa  Alexandra Brewster of Muscatine was one of about 200 students who were named to the Cornell College dean's list for the spring 2017 semester.
Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi []
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This summer Disneyland Resort is having their Summer of Heroes event in California Adventure featuring your favorite Marvel characters. Disney invited me to experience the start of the event along with my mom and hosted us for their grand opening event. If you followed us on our Instagram stories you might have seen some of the exclusive events we were a part of! We had tons of fun and even went back this week to make sure we didnt miss anything to share with you! Here are the things teens can definitely look forward to at Summer of Heroes.



Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout

My absolute favorite thing at this event has to be Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, the brand new ride at Disney California Adventure. Not only is the ride extremely thrilling and fun, it features The Guardians of the Galaxy. The ride features six different songs and ride experiences making you want to get right back on as soon as you get off! I love everything about the ride and other teens are sure to love it too.

The Food

With the event came lots of brand new themed food teens are sure to enjoy. A few of my favorites are the Obviously Nachos at Knowhere Eats, the massive Gamma-Sized Doughnut at Schmoozies, and the cute Sourdough Groot-Shaped Bread at Fairfax Market. Some other cool ones are The Milano and Cherry Necroblaster at Studio Catering Co. and the Quiver of Funnel Cake Fries and Angry Little Pudding Cup at Award Wieners. My brother really liked the Hero sized sub and our whole family loved the I Am Shave Ice which is root beer and vanilla shaved ice and we added a scoop of vanilla ice cream. All the frozen desserts are really good! We wanted to also try the macaron ice cream sandwich but never got the chance  next time! Most of the food can be found at different stands in the Hollywood Land (on the main strip or over near the Monsters Inc ride).

Merchandise

Theres also lots of new merchandise to purchase during the event. Some of my favorites are the 80s themed games and a comic book that tells the story of the attraction at the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout gift shop (called The Collectors Warehouse). There are lots of new apparel and collectibles that are really cool as well. One of the things I got for my brother when I was there was this cute little Baby Groot figurine that you can snap onto headphones or earbuds. We also like to collect squished pennies so we had to stop at the new machine in The Collectors Warehouse as well.

Photo-Ops

Another awesome thing that I think teens would like are the fun photo opportunities with the different superheroes. The heroes you can meet are Spiderman, Captain America, Groot, and Black Widow. I personally enjoy taking pictures with the different heroes as theyre a cool thing to share with my friends and on social media. If you dont want to wait for the characters, the spots where they stop for photos are cool to look at even if they arent there. Look for interesting details like the poster on the window behind me in this photo has references to The Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout attraction!

I think there are lots of things for teens to enjoy and think it really is tons of fun to experience this awesome event in addition to all the other attractions and things there are to do at the Disneyland Resort. Are you going this summer?!

(Visited 1 times, 3 visits today)
(Traffic Tales is an occasional feature looking at traffic congestion issues in Napa County. Readers are encouraged to contact reporter Barry Eberling with suggested stories.)

Rush-hour Highway 29 drivers face a traffic choke-point at the stretch with the signalized Trower, Wine Country and Salvador intersections that has grown more punishing in recent months.

New traffic signals along adjacent Solano Avenue are designed to help walkers and bikers safely reach the new Napa Valley Vine Trail segment sandwiched between this frontage road and Highway 29. The unintended result  bigger backups along both Solano and the highway.

Its created gridlock, essentially, said Philip Pyrce, one of many residents dismayed by the situation.

City of Napa officials say drivers who regularly run this traffic gauntlet should see a change for the better at some point this summer.

Help is on the way, city of Napa Public Works Director Jacques LaRochelle said.

Traffic signals on Highway 29 and adjacent Solano Avenue are a delicate interplay of coordination. Adding Solano Avenue traffic signals at Wine Country and Salvador avenues to help with Vine Trail safety has disrupted that balance, at least with the present signal timings.

Caltrans is responsible for signal timing at these locations, LaRochelle said. Napa is working with a traffic engineering firm and Caltrans to develop a better timing plan at all three Highway 29 intersections.

The city wasnt involved with actual timing, LaRochelle said. When delays started occurring, we thought that was kind of odd, because it shouldnt have happened.

One problem is that the pedestrian crossings for Solano Avenue and for Highway 29 are on the same timing phase, even though it takes longer to cross the much-wider Highway 29, LaRochelle said. The crossings should have separate times, he said.

Otherwise, Highway 29 traffic is periodically stopped for no reason.

Once you stop that traffic, you start to get the backup and its hard to recover from that, Deputy Public Works Director Eric Whan said.

Caltrans spokesman Vince Jacala said Friday that the agency understands community concerns exist regarding the timing at the traffic signals. Caltrans is working closely with the city and county to monitor the timing and will continue to do so once a traffic study is completed.

Highway 29 isnt alone in having backups. The effects can also be seen on the Solano Avenue frontage road that passes by residential neighborhoods, a shopping center, a hotel and other uses.

Pyrce drives down Solano Avenue to bring his children to school. Before the new Salvador Avenue traffic signal was installed, he simply stopped at a Salvador Avenue stop sign and turned left to reach Highway 29. Pretty easy, he said.

Now cars back up in both directions on Solano Avenue as they sit at a Salvador Avenue red light. The light turns green, Pyrce goes to make his left turn and his way is blocked by a dozen or so oncoming cars in a traffic gulp that lasts through the cycle.

Arik Housley sees the changes at Solano/Wine Country avenues intersection from his adjacent Ranch Market. He liked it better before the new traffic signals replaced the stop signs.

Now, Solano traffic is frequently traveling at 50 mph, he said of non-rush hour conditions. Theyre not having to slow down when they have a green.

Rush hour brings the opposite dynamic. As at Salvador Avenue, southbound Solano Avenue drivers wanting to turn left onto Wine Country Avenue to reach Highway 29 stop at the red light. When they get a green, they must keep waiting until all of the oncoming traffic has gone by.

Since there is no left turn lane, that means drivers behind them who dont want to turn left must wait as well. Housley said the result is impatient drivers cut through the parking lot of the small shopping center with Ranch Market, sometimes driving too fast.

Its been pretty crazy, he said.

Plus, it seems that Solano Avenue is traffic-choked at times in part because some drivers use it avoid the Highway 29 backups caused in part by the new signal timing woes.

Going back to having stop signs at Salvador and Wine Country avenues seems out of the question. Napa wanted the signals because of the new Vine Trail segment that links Redwood Road in Napa with Yountville.

We felt it was important to provide another layer of safety for all those folks on the Vine Trail, LaRochelle said. We knew it would probably create a little bit more delay, but not the delay were seeing now.

Pyrce sees Vine Trail users who dont want to wait for a green light and who cross on red. He suggested bringing back the Solano Avenue stop signs at the Wine Country and Salvador intersections and giving Vine Trail users a light-up crossing they could activate.

Still, Pyrce has nothing bad to say about the new Vine Trail segment. He and his family enjoy riding bicycles on it.

If in the end were stuck with the traffic, Id rather have the Vine Trail and have the traffic, Pyrce said.

Housley also isnt blaming the Vine Trail.

Im an avid user of it, Housley said. I run it all the time.

Even solving the traffic signal timing issues wont end congestion at Highway 29 and Trower Avenue. This is a busy signalized intersection, with drivers crossing the highway to reach the schools and other destinations on either side.

The ultimate, dream solution can be found in the Napa Valley Transportation Authoritys master road plan through 2040build a $30 million Trower Avenue interchange.

That approach worked well at Highway 29 and Trancas Street, which until spring 2004 had traffic signals that created long backups. A $55 million underpass now brings Highway 29 under the busy cross street, with no wait at all for highway travelers.

Builders had plenty of right-of-way to work with at the Trancas intersection. In contrast, its a tight squeeze at Trower, with Highway 29 bordered by a city park and restaurant to one side and the Napa Valley Wine Train tracks on the other.

Even so, LaRochelle said an overpass for Highway 29 can be built within the existing right-of-way. The trick is finding a way to keep highway traffic moving during construction.

City and state officials will have plenty of time to figure all of that out. LaRochelle said a Trower interchange could be two decades away.
Its just time, Napa Police Chief Steve Potter said last week about his impending retirement. After 36 years in law enforcement and two and a half years working as police chief putting in 60- to 70-hour work weeks, Potter said that he hopes to have more time for himself when he leaves his position this fall.

His last day will be Oct. 31.

Potter, now 58, became police chief at an age when most law enforcement professionals in California are retiring.

Im old, Im tired, Potter said. I think the citizens of Napa and the department should have somebody with a lot more energy than I do.

City Manager Mike Parness said that he knew that Potter might not stay in the position too long when he appointed him, but that he was hoping to get a few more years out of him.

When I appointed him as chief it was probably the easiest decision I ever had to make, Parness said. Potters strong connection with the community combined with his strong communication and management skills made him an ideal candidate, he said.

Replacing Potter wont be easy, Parness said. To find someone with the same values and the same level of commitment as Potter will be a daunting task, he said, but theres comfort in knowing that Potters gotten the organization headed in the direction that the city wanted.

Hes going to be sorely missed, Parness said.

One of the accomplishments Potter is most proud of is how he has been able to connect law enforcement officers with the community. As a Napa native, he said he had the advantage of knowing what the communitys needs and expectations are.

While hes been chief, Potter said that hes encouraged communication in and outside of the department.

My door has always been open to anyone who wants to come in and talk, Potter said.

Potter, soft-spoken and friendly, is known for his conversation whether it be in his office, outside the department building or in the grocery store.

Capt. Pat Manzer, who has worked with Potter for more than 22 years, said that hes always been approachable and willing to help others. Even before he was chief, it was clear that Potter was a leader, he said.

The hardest part of Steve retiring is he has always been there for us, Manzer said. I have always looked up to him for the way he is able to keep people going in the right direction, even in the face of an event such as the recent earthquake.

Neighborhood policing and problem-solving have been at the forefront of Potters law enforcement philosophy.

Potter said that hes encouraged officers to get out of their patrol cars, get to know the people who live in the community and really listen to their needs and wants.

There have been three police-involved shootings  all fatal  during Potters time as police chief.

In each incident, the suspect involved was armed, according to police.

On March 13, 2015, an officer shot and killed James Richard Hyme Jimenez, 41, after the man, refusing to put his hands up at the scene of a crash in the Alta Heights area, reached for a handgun in his waistband. The Napa County District Attorneys Office deemed that shooting to be justified.

This year there were two officer-involved shootings, which are still being reviewed by the DAs Office  one behind Black Bear Diner on March 13 and another April 4 on Linda Vista Avenue. In the first incident, police said, transient Noel Aaron Russell, 23, who was armed with a knife, lunged at officers. In the second, Stephen Connard Ferry, 65, was shooting at officers after shooting into a neighbors residence, police said.

Potter said that these incidents weigh on him as they do everyone involved.

I focus on work and I try to help as many people through it as I can while making sure that we are handling it in an ethical and moral manner.

At the Napa Police Department, we have our core values for the department posted on the wall and at the top of that list is human life, Potter said. Thats why, he said, when police-involved shootings occur, the department analyzes the situation and provides updated training to officers.

We try our best to find alternative means or ways of addressing the situation to try to avoid (officer-involved shootings) from happening, he said.

He said that hes proud that all the officers have received bias awareness training and that most of them have also participated in crisis intervention training.

They have been trained in techniques to deescalate, to slow down, to create space when dealing with people who are in a mental health crisis so that we have more positive outcomes, Potter said. We dont force issues anymore. We try to give it time to play out.

Despite the positive changes that have happened within the department, there have been legal and cultural trends that have negatively impacted law enforcement, Potter said.

Among the problems he listed are homelessness, mental health and drug abuse.

I actually feel a little guilty leaving knowing that there are so many challenges ahead for different segments of our community and our community as a whole, Potter said.

Potter wont be leaving his Napa roots behind, though. He says he still plans on living in Napa and staying very involved with the community.
St. Helena police arrested a woman on Wednesday afternoon after she allegedly stole two pairs of sunglasses in the presence of her son.

At 4:30 p.m. the staff at optometrist Matt Hilemans office on Adams Street told police that a woman had entered the business with a young boy, according to Sgt. Matt Talbott of the St. Helena Police Department. After she left, the staff noticed a pair of sunglasses was missing.

One of the staff members had recognized the woman as one of the people who occasionally panhandle outside Safeway, Talbott said. Police contacted a woman matching the suspects description at the Hunt Avenue entrance to Safeway. Her two sons were with her, ages 7 and 12.

Talbott said the woman and her sons denied stealing the sunglasses, but as police searched the dense bushes nearby they found two pairs of sunglasses not far from her feet  the pair that had been reported stolen and another pair that the staff hadnt noticed was missing.

As an officer placed the woman under arrest and handcuffed her, her 7-year-old son started attacking him and had to be restrained by a second officer, Talbott said.

Penelopa Giodu, 28, of Vallejo was taken to Napa County Jail and booked on charges of commercial burglary and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The two boys were released to their father, and Talbott said police plan to file a report with Child Protective Services. The two pairs of sunglasses were returned to Hileman's office.

Talbott said police have responded to numerous complaints involving people panhandling outside Safeway, often accompanied by children. Talbott said the panhandlers are usually Gypsies of Romanian descent, who often claim to know no language other than Romanian.

Since panhandling is not illegal, police had never taken any action against them.
The relaunched service to the carriers third point in Tanzania, along with Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, will see Flydubais network in Africa expand to 12 destinations.

Flydubai began operations to Tanzania in 2014 and has seen a steady growth in passenger numbers. Kilimanjaro will be served with six flights a week three of which are via a stop in the capital, Dar es Salaam. In addition, the carrier will increase direct flights to Zanzibar from three to eight flights a week.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of Flydubai, said: With the addition of the service to Kilimanjaro and more direct flights to Zanzibar, flydubai will operate 14 flights a week, marking a 133% increase in capacity to the market compared to the previous year. This is a healthy indication of the rising popularity of Tanzania as a preferred tourist destination and we are happy to be connecting the market to Dubai.

Kilimanjaro International Airport is located between the regions of Kilimanjaro and Arusha in Northern Tanzania. The airport is the major gateway to the Kilimanjaro region, a main international tourism destination that includes Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. Only a few international carriers operate to Kilimanjaro and flydubai will be the first airline to provide direct air links from the UAE.

We are committed to opening up underserved markets and flydubais service to Kilimanjaro will introduce more options for travel with a Business and Economy Class service, together with added cargo capacity available through our Cargo Division. We expect to see healthy flows of trade and tourism on this route from the GCC and Eastern Europe via our hub in Dubai, said Sudhir Sreedharan, senior vice president commercial (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa).

Flydubai has seen a 3.5% increase in passengers numbers travelling between the UAE and Africa in 2016 compared to 2015, a positive record for this emerging market.
Bollywood Filmmaker Karan Johar took to Twitter and shared a message for the people who troll the B-Town celebs.

He wrote, "My dear Twitter Troll....there is a new product in the market...it's called a LIFE... please get one!! offer is open till stocks last!!!"

Few months back, the 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' director was trolled for his sexual orientation.

Karan Johar is known for his wit and self-deprecating humour, which was also evident in his autobiography The Unsuitable Boy. The book reveals his coming of age and 'coming out'.

Recently, Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra was trolled for wearing a small dress while meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, people on social media started s**t-shaming 'Dangal' girl Fatima Sana Shaikh for dressing 'inappropriately' during the holy month of Ramzan.

Karan Johar will be next seen hosting the 18th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, in New York in July. (ANI)
Take your fitness style quotient one notch higher this International Yoga Day with Bollywood actor, style icon and fitness enthusiast Malaika Arora as she decodes the perfect yoga wear for the style conscious fitness freaks. An endorser of Yoga and well known for reinventing her fitness regime with Aerial Yoga and other forms, Malaika has recently been announced as part of Reebok's Fashionably Fit' family. Here are her top picks for the International Yoga day that is celebrated on June 21. * Black is back in vogue: For the actress, black can never go wrong if you are ready for yoga sessions. * Style-up with graphics and stripes: Stretch, bend and flip with tights that infuse comfort and style. In addition to giving flexibility, the tights also enhance the experience of your Yoga session, making it ideal for any body type. Opt for the graphic prints and stripes to stay in your fashionable best. * Be spotted with the right accessories: If you are a fitness diva yourself and believes in posing before or after your regime, do not forget to wear the accessory like slim fit bomber jacket, that blends leather and nylon to give a contemporary look, and is ideal for both indoor and outdoor sessions. --IANS nv/bg ( 219 Words) 2017-06-17-14:52:20 (IANS)
The industries will remain closed on Friday as a mark of protest against the 18 percent tax levied by the GST council, in addition to a three percent charge on polished diamonds.

Earlier, traders and power-loom weavers in Surat observed a shutdown on Thursday over a demand for the withdrawal of the GST, as they feel the bill is against their interests.

On Wednesday, the traders convened a meeting in the city's Good Luck textile market and decided to call for a complete shutdown.

In the Vyapari Sangarsh Samiti (VSS) meeting, traders from 165 textile markets in various areas of the city were urged to support the bandh by shutting their shops.

The crowd ridiculed the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) slogan of 'acche din', and used the phrase 'aafat ke din,' while referring to the GST.

The bandh has gained support from around 80 textile associations across the country.

All the textile association leaders are expected to meet in New Delhi from June 16 to June 26 to represent the GST issue to the Government.

Many traders even intend to sit on a hunger strike from July 1, if their demands aren't met.

The 17th meeting of the GST council will be held on June 18 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. (ANI)
Responding to CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury branding the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meeting with the opposition as a 'PR exercise', the Opposition on Saturday said the meetings are simply 'unnecessary', adding that it was a 'courtesy call'. "Although it is good that the BJP formed a three-member committee to look into the presidential elections, it is not good that they came for the meeting without any mandate or names of possible candidates. The meeting was unnecessary, and was more out of courtesy that anything else," Janata Dal (United) [JD (U)] national spokesperson KC Tyagi told ANI here. Backing his stance, Congress leader Tom Vadakkan said it is the decision of the Government hereafter, adding that the representatives at the meeting were part of a 'fact-finding committee'. "It felt like it was a fact-finding committee who had called for the meeting. Whether it is useful; or not in the future cannot be ascertained now. It is upto the government to take a decision so that we can come to a consensus accordingly," he said. Earlier, Yechury, who met with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said the intent of the meeting was more like a 'PR exercise', since no names of suitable candidates were proposed by the BJP's committee. "They did not come forward with any name. They said that they want our support. Support can be given to a particular individual. We want such a person who can uphold the Constitution. We would have certainly thought about such a person, but they did not suggest any name. So, there is nothing to think when they did not suggest any names," Yechury told ANI. "They said they will hold consultations and come up with a name after three to four days. After three to four days, nomination will begin. They said the government wants our cooperation. There should be a base for that cooperation. We will think about it when they will suggest a name. The two ministers had come on behalf of the government without any name," he added. Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu also met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence to discuss matters related to next month's presidential elections. Both of them have already spoken to Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Praful Patel and Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Satish Mishra. Naidu on Thursday spoke to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu over the same. The TDP chief said his party will stand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision in this regard. As President Mukherjee's term comes to an end on July 24, the Presidential election will be held on July 17. The Election Commission said the last date of nomination is June 28 and the counting of votes will be taken up on July 20. President Mukherjee will demit office on July 25 and Vice President Hamid Ansari will complete his second tenure in August. (ANI)
The West Bengal Government's Pathadisha app is going to get more useful in a few months' time. Information on vessels plying the Hooghly and trams running in Kolkata are going to be incorporated in the app by December. The app is already a huge success because, besides information on timings and routes, it gives the real-time location of State Government-run buses. The service was introduced with information on as many as 700 state-run buses. Information on 300 more buses run by the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) will be made available before this Durga Puja. The information on the vessels and trams will also have the real-time touch to them. At present, around 30 vessels operate in and around Kolkata to transit people across river the Hooghly. Around 80 trams operate across the city every day. Mainly during the morning and evening rush hours, a large section of commuters who arrive at Howrah station from the districts use the service to reach the central business district. Till date, 61,000 downloads of the app have been recorded and the figure is expected to be doubled after information on real-time locations of vessels and trams are incorporated.UNI SJC KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-937919.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here a day's visit, today. He was received by Kerala Governor Justice P Sathasivam, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other officials at the Naval Base Airport. During his visit, Mr Modi will dedicate the prestigious Kochi Metro Rail to the Nation. The Prime Minister will also travel in the Metro train. He would also hold a meeting with the Chief Minister and his Cabinet Colleagues before departing to Delhi.UNI CGV CS 1105 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-937941.Xml
Curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in downtown and Shehar-e-Khas (SeK) besides parts of civil lines, Srinagar since early this morning to prevent demonstrations following strike, called by separatists against the death of three persons in alleged security force firing. Similar restrictions have been imposed in main towns of Kulgam, Pulwama and Pampore in south Kashmir. Officials said that restrictions under Section 144 CrPC have been imposed in areas falling under five police stations of M R Gunj, Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari and Safa Kadal in the downtown and SeK. However, the situation on the ground was entirely different as security forces and state police had closed all roads with barbed wire and people were being directed to remain indoors. The main Nallahmar road from Chattabal to Khanyar has been closed and nobody was being allowed to move. However, Eidgah road, leading to S K Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), was open but only vehicles carrying patients and ambulances were being allowed after properly checking their hospital documents. Residents living on both sides of the Nallahmar road alleged that they were not being allowed to move out of their houses since early this morning by the security forces deployed there. ''We have instruction not to allow anyone and implement restrictions strictly,'' security force personnel told a group of photo-journalists at Rajouri Kadal where the main road was closed with barbed wire. Similar restrictions had been imposed in other areas in the downtown and SeK. The main road at Khanyar leading to down town and SeK has also been closed. The historic Jamia Masjid, where clashes between demonstrators and security forces erupted after Friday prayers, has been closed. The main gates have been locked and security forces could be seen deployed in Jamia Market to prevent anyone from entering there. Jamia Masjid is a stronghold of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, who address congregation every Friday.MORE UNI BAS SV ADG 1045 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-937914.Xml
There is nothing strange in Azerbaijans actions, spokesperson for Artsakh president said commenting on the situation along the line of contact.

June 17, 2017, 10:48 This is Azerbaijan's response to targeted statement of OSCE Minsk Group. David Babayan

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 17, ARTSAKHPRESS: The Artsakh defense army said three soldiers were killed Friday as a result of ceasefire violation by Azerbaijani armed forces.

It is a tragedy for us, we had three soldiers killed and an entire nation mourns, but there is nothing strange in Azerbaijans actions. Azerbaijan has always been a terrorist, criminal and treacherous country and once again turned to the terrorist actions typical for terrorists and criminals, Davit Babayan told NEWS.am.

The official Stepanakert believes Azerbaijans actions are encouraged by Turkey amid joint military drills held by the two countries these days.

This can be called a chain of international terrorism, Babayan added.

The spokesperson for Karabakh president said the incident could have been also perceived as Azerbaijans response to a targeted statement by the OSCE Minsk Group. The co-chairs once again have to make a tough and targeted statement, he added.

Three soldiers were fatally wounded after Azerbaijan used grenade launchers to fire the Karabakh positions on Friday.

In the statement made on May 18 the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs said that Azerbaijan fired a missile across the Line of Contact, striking military equipment.
Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said some misinformation is being spread among the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which in turn is compelling the younger generation to pick up arms. "Some misinformation is being spread among the people of Jammu and Kashmir which is causing trouble and possibly compelling some of the younger generation to pick up arms. But, I hope, they will soon understand that what they are doing is not correct," General Rawat said at a media interaction after presiding over a Passing Out Parade ceremony at Air Force Academy here today. Commenting on the latest encounter between security forces and militants in Arwani village, the army chief said that some parts of South Kashmir are in trouble and necessary counter action is being taken. "Some parts of South Kashmir are in trouble, but necessary actions are being taken to ensure the situation there is soon brought under control," he said. "We care about human life and make sure human rights are not violated. We are trained to handle such situations," he said. Earlier in the day, personnel of the 90th Battalion Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Operations Group (SOG) and Rashtriya Rifles retrieved the dead bodies of three terrorists, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Junaid Matto, who were killed in an encounter in Arwani village. Meanwhile, the joint separatist leadership has called for a complete shutdown in the Kashmir Valley to protest against the killing of two civilians in firing by the security forces. (ANI)
You can help your grandparents! A motor mechanism that has been attributed primarily to early development in babies and toddlers can also help older adults to improve their movement accuracy, suggests a new study. Researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beersheba, Israel, have suggested that an infant's exploration process can work in older adults, as well. The researchers hypothesized that older participants would not be able to maintain an increase in speed and amplitude of movement over time due to fatigue, but were surprised to discover that making mistakes helped improve future task performance. "In early development, babies seem to make random movements in all directions until they learn to purposefully reach for objects," said author Dr. Shelly Levy-Tzedek. "Their movements are variable until they find a solution for the problem at hand, like reaching for that Cheerios bit. When they find a good movement plan, they exploit it," Dr. Tzedek said. In the study, the arms of older adults (ages 70+) were connected to a sensor that measures the rotation of the arm at the elbow. The participants were then asked to make rhythmic movements of the forearm in a "windshield wiper" motion while trying to maintain certain speeds and arm amplitude, with and without visual feedback. Dr. Levy-Tzedek stated that at first "their movements were too slow and too small. But when they were encouraged to make movements that were larger and faster, and their performance on the original task improved significantly. They also found that once a better movement pattern was established, the variability dropped. Making exaggerated movements actually helped them fine-tune their control. "Getting older adults to make exaggerated movements can help fine-tune their performance on specific tasks that they find difficult to accomplish otherwise," says Dr. Levy-Tzedek. The study is published in journal of Scientific Reports.(ANI)
"Our condolences at the demise of Helmut Kohl - statesman, architect of German unification and ardent believer in European integration,'' the Prime Minister said in a statement.

''Helmut Kohl visited India in 1986 and 1993. We value his contribution in strengthening India-Germany ties", he said in a statement late last night.

Germany's longest-serving post-war chancellor from 1982 to 1998, Kohl died in bed yesterday at the age of 87 at his home in Ludwigshafen in west Germany.UNI NAZ SV ADG 1252

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A massive search operation has been launched in south Kashmir against the Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militants involved in the killing of six personnel of Jammu and Kashmir police and injuring several others before escaping with their weapons last evening. Former Chief Minister and working president of the opposition National Conference (NC) Omar Abdullah said the act of disfiguring the bodies was cowardly. Director General of Police (DGP) S P Vaid said militants are attacking police personnel out of frustration since state police has been playing an active role in anti-militancy operations in the state. Six police personnel, including Station House Officer (SHO) of police station Achabal Feroz Ahmad Dar, were killed and several other policemen were injured when militants of LeT attacked them and later mutilated their bodies before decamping with their weapons. Official sources said the Army, Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police and CRPF have launched a massive search operation against the militants responsible for the attack. However, so far no contact was established, they said. A wreath laying ceremony was held in Anantnag last evening, where Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, police, Army and CRPF officers paid floral tributes to mortal remains of police personnel. Taking to micro blogging site Twitter, Mr Abdullah said, "Terrible news about SHO Achabal & his colleagues, all brave JK Police personnel. May their souls rest in peace". He further said "That they (policemen) were killed is bad enough, that they were disfigured is dastardly, cowardly & to my recollection unprecedented in recent years. Reacting to killing of policemen by the militants, Dr Vaid said it was out of frustration. Since state police has been in the forefront in anti-militancy operations, militants are now targeting them. Demanding an end to violence, he said it is ultimately a Kashmiri who is killed whether he is a civilian, policeman or militant. Blaming Pakistan for the present unrest in the state, particularly in the valley, he said, ''The neighbouring country was misleading our youths.'' However, he expressed confidence that situation will be normal soon.UNI BAS SV ADG 1227 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-937955.Xml
Conflicting reports about the firing incident triggered panic in the area, where business and other activities were paralysed due to the strike called by separatists against the killing of three civilians allegedly in security force firing yesterday.

Official sources said that militants attacked a CRPF camp, housed in SICOP building, at Bijbehara in Anantnag. However, no damage was reported in the firing, they said, adding security forces had later launched a search operation in the area.

However, police said CRPF personnel fired shots after noticing some suspected activities near the camp.

Additional security forces from nearby camps immediately reached the area and a search operation was launched.UNI BAS AD ADG 1201

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the Directions earlier issued to Navodaya Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, Nagpur for further four months. The Directions are now valid up to October 15, 2017, subject to review. The bank was earlier placed under directions from March 16, 2017 to June 15, 2017.The Directions were imposed in exercise of powers vested in the Reserve Bank under sub section (1) of Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (AACS). A copy of the Directions is displayed on the bank's premises for perusal by interested members of public. The issue of the Directions by the Reserve Bank should per se not be construed as cancellation of banking license by the Reserve Bank.The bank will continue to undertake banking business with restrictions till its financial position improves. The Reserve Bank may consider modifications of these Directions depending upon circumstances.UNI JS AW1222 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-938020.Xml
The Yogi Adityanath government has removed six of the ten Shia Waqf board members who were nominated by the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, official sources today said.On June 15, the state government has dissolved Shia and Sunni waqf boards and recommended a CBI probe into the corruption by them. "We have issued notices to both the chairpersons of the Shia and Sunni Boards and action would be taken against them soon," the sources said. The UP government was also taking legal opinion before sacking the chairpersons of both the waqf Boards. The sacked members are : former Rajya Sabha member Akhtar Hussain Rizvi, Sayeed Wali Haider, Ashafa Zaidi, Sayeed Azim Hussain Zaidi , Alima Zaidi and special secretary in the state government Nazmul Hasan Rizvi. All the sacked members were also said to be close to former UP minister Mohammad Azam Khan. However, Mr Khan has charged the Yogi government with targeting the opposition with such move. "This move of the UP government to dissolve the waqf Boards is against the constitution as Waqf boards are formed after a law by Parliament," Mr Khan claimed. However, Shia Waqf Board chairman Wasim Rizvi alleged that the state government was working in haste and the move was to protect its corrupt minister Mohsin Raza against whom the Board had lodged an FIR for corruption in a waqf case of Unnao. " If the government moves for the dissolution of the Board, then I have no other option but to move the court against the arbitrary attitude of the government," he further said. Meanwhile Shia and Sunni clerics have welcomed the state government's decision of dissolving the Waqf boards of both communities and a probe by the CBI. The clerics said the dissolution and probe will help in breaking the ice-like grip of the mafia backed by some political parties on the huge assets of Waqf boards, running into thousands of crores of rupees.MORE UNI MB SV ADG 1210 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-937947.Xml
With its commitment to waive off farmer loans and pay salaries as per the 7th pay commission recommendations, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is in a fix on how to manage the finances at a time when the budget session is all set to start from the first week of July. Officials here today said that the government has planned to convene the budget session of the state legislature in the first week of July with tabling the budget in the second week. The budget session had already been delayed and the present BJP government is working on the funds granted through vote-on-accounts passed by the previous Samajwadi Party government. The state finance department along with its minister Rajesh Agarwal were spending sleepless nights to prepare the budget proposals. The dates of the budget session is expected to be approved in the next cabinet meeting besides it will also fix the date of the tabling of the budget. "We are preparing our-self to present a people oriented budget and presently, the department was working round the clock to prepare the documents with focusing on the priority sectors," said the state finance minister. The minister was also in a fix whether to impose new taxes to generate revenue to fund the new schemes as promised in their election manifesto. ''What has started as tongue waging is speculation. If the BJP government wants to kick-start development projects as promised in the election campaign where from will the government generate huge finance as it will have to waive of Rs 32,000 crore as farm loan as promised by the Yogi Government. Besides, Government will be facing an additional burden of Rs 34,000 Crore as salary for the government employees for implementation of 7th Pay scale recommendations," he said.The next fiscal is likely to witness a skewed ratio in expenditure and revenue collection. "If high expenditure is expected in the form of farm loan waiver and payment of increased salaries to government employees, this next fiscal is bound to witness less revenue collection from excise and mining because of change in mining policy and non-opening of liquor outlets across the state following Supreme Court directives to shift liquor shops from Highways," said the minister. In this scenario, the government seems to be skating on thin ice where expenditure is likely to be high in 2017-18 and collection is likely to be less. "If one takes a glance at last year's budget the fiscal deficit was around Rs 6000 crore and the then Akhilesh Yadav government had spent over Rs 10,000 in launching new schemes, which in fact is less than one-third of the amount government is likely to waive of as farm loan," he pointed out. "Yes, Government is alive to the crisis staring at our face. There is additional burden of Rs 67,000 cr which we need to manage from our own resources. Please count another Rs 1000 crore which we will give for preparation of Ardh Kumbh in Allahabad. It is a big challenge to manage our resources. I have my plan in place and will answer all the queries," the finance minister admitted. He said there are some commitments which need to be fulfilled. "We are clear about our responsibilities. Whatever payments need to be made would be made in due time. We will also clear farmers' cane dues and pay other dues," he said. UNI MB AD ADG 1228 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-937960.Xml
The City of Plattsburgh Common Council must stop stepping outside its boundaries to reduce property assessments.

Councilors have granted a couple of controversial reductions and that has opened the door to more entities entreating them to lower property values.

When assessments are reduced, the amount collected in taxes lessens  and that is not what the city needs as it struggles with a budget that is bursting its seams.

The City of Plattsburgh's total taxable property value for 2017 is $1,013,868,350, but another $431,334,050 worth of property provides no revenue, as it is wholly tax-exempt.

So the money lost from individual properties that are granted reductions has to be spread to the other taxpayers. And it's not just the City of Plattsburgh that is affected  the City School District and Clinton County get a piece of the tax pie as well.

The former Imperial Mill property on Main Mill Street was one of the first to make a special arrangement with the city when, in 2013, it was granted a sizable assessment reduction  from $7.8 million to $200,000. It is scheduled to gradually increase to $1 million by 2026.

College Suites (now Broad Street Commons) approached the Common Council for reduction in assessment from $12 million to $5.3 million in 2015, as it was going through a reorganization in bankruptcy court. That change was granted in a controversial decision, with city officials saying it was better to get a reduced amount of tax money than to foreclose on the property and risk it sitting empty.

Earlier this year, city councilors agreed to reduce the property assessment for Vilas Home, the stately senior-care home at the corner of Cornelia and Beekman streets, from $2.7 million to $2 million.

Renaissance Village on South Catherine Street is also seeking to have its assessment lowered from $4,449,000 to $3,108,305. The City Grievance Board denied the appeal, and owner Eugene Creech took the matter to court.

He says he has fewer tenants these days  only 112 of 183 units were full  and directly cited the reduction the council gave to College Suites. "It's only fair," he said, that his assessment be lowered as well.

The city has a trained assessor who comes up with the property assessments.

Owners who are unhappy with their number have an established route to pursue in appealing their assessment: the Grievance Board. That five-member body weighs the evidence, as prescribed by law, and votes on a decision.

It is not the Common Council's job to step in and make changes based on information that is outside the parameters that should be followed.

Assessments should not be based on the property owner's ability to pay taxes.

Nor should the city give breaks depending on who the owner is  for example, out of empathy with an entity that provides needed services.

New York state stipulates that assessments be based on the true worth of the property, assessed at 100 percent of their market value.

 The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh

Consider what Gov. Andrew Cuomo did in just the past week.

He reaffirmed that "health care is a human right" and issued orders that will protect New Yorkers from whatever becomes of the House bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act that is now being considered in the U.S. Senate.

As soon as President Donald Trump announced that the United States would be withdrawing from the Paris Agreement to combat climate change, he joined with governors Jerry Brown of California and Jay Inslee of Washington to form the United States Climate Alliance, states which will work on their own to uphold the provisions. Since then 10 other governors have signed up and six more have expressed interest.

He appeared with Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker, to announce a push to defeat six Republican House members, including John Faso, in the next elections in 2018 to help give Democrats a majority.

And he finally stepped into a lingering Albany stalemate saying that it would be optimal for Democrats to control the Senate, as they do the Assembly, now that a win in a special election on Long Island gives nominal Democrats a slim majority if they would all caucus and vote together.

If there were any doubt about his ambitions, these should put them to rest. He is on a mission to solidify the Democratic brand in the state and win re-election as governor in 2018 with a margin so wide that it will propel him to the top of the list to take on Donald Trump in 2020.

And he is doing this from a position of formidable strength. The most recent Siena College poll showed that his popularity in New York was up dramatically, the highest since 2014. And the numbers show that support is both wide and deep.

He is popular among men and women, in the city, suburbs and upstate, among young, middle-aged and old, in households with low, moderate and high incomes. The only category where Cuomo's unfavorable ratings beat his favorable ones is with Republicans. But you have to take that in context because Republicans in New York really don't like anybody, being the only category giving a thumbs down to both the Senate and Assembly as well as the governor.

Those who like the governor and those who do not can agree that he operates under a cloud, the one that started when he summarily disbanded the corruption-fighting Moreland Commission after it got too close to home and that continues with investigations and prosecutions of some of his colleagues.

If Cuomo survives, he will have to be sure to thank Donald Trump who fired Preet Bharara as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, diluting a threat to both.

 The Times-Herald Record, Middleton
Lucknow Development Authority(LDA) today bulldozed an illegal under-construction building of former Samajwadi Party minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati in the Salehnagar area of Bangla Bazaar in the state capital. The Authority action comes after the Allahabad High Court went strict against the former minister -- now languishing in jail -- and the LDA for giving relaxation to his illegal property. Authority vice-chairman will also have to submit an affidavit in the court on Monday about the action taken against the illegal building of the former minister. Prajapati is presently lodged in Lucknow jail for his alleged involvement in a gangrape case. Officials said Prajapati got the construction started without getting its map approved from the LDA besides it is also said that the property is on the government land. Earlier, the Authority had sealed the building but did not raze it. Gayatri had moved the High Court through his son for a stay on the razing of the building but the court refused to entertain it and instead directed the LDA to take the action promptly. Though the construction was underway for several years, the LDA did not take any action action against Prajapati during the SP rule. Sources in LDA said, "Officials were aware that the construction was illegal and had even received complaints against Prajapati. LDA had issued notices to Prajapati for illegal construction, but did not take any action." Officials in LDA's regulation of building operations wing said Prajapati would suspend the construction whenever a notice was issued, but restart it soon.UNI MB SW ADG 1344 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-938082.Xml
Bharatiya Janata Party Puducherry Unit President V Saminathan today demanded that Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao should resign owning moral responsibility in the wake of the Madras High Court verdict in the Centac Admission issue. Talking to newspersons here, Mr Saminathan said students were severely affected in the medical PG admission in Deemed Universities through the Centralized Admission Committee (Centac) of the government as they could not join it in the government quota.The state government was functioning in support of the deemed universities, he charged. Following complaints from students, Lt.Governor Kiran Bedi had taken initiatives, a Public Interest Litigation was filed in the Madras High Court and an interim order was given allowing the students to join by paying Rs 10 lakh. Mr Saminathan demanded that Mr Narayanasamy and Mr Rao, who allegedly functioned against the interest of the students should resign from their posts. He also said that Chief Minister has no right to say that the Lt.Governor should leave Puducherry if, she do not have faith on the government. Alleging that the Congress government had failed on all fronts in the last one year and people lost faith, he demanded that Narayanasamy should leave Puducherry. Mr Saminathan said that the previous governments and the present government had indulged in irregularities to the tune of several crores of rupees in the medical PG admissions and added that a high level inquiry would be sought with the Union Health ministry. The BJP leader wondered on why Mr Narayansamy, who had claimed that the former Lt.Governor Virendra Kataria enjoys all powers has now changed his stance and claiming that Dr Kiran Bedi do not have any power. He also wondered why resolution is being adopted in the territorial assembly to bring down the powers of the Lt.Governor and said that only the Parliament could reduce the powers of the Lt.Governor and this is not going to happen ever. He said the BJP is organizing agitations against the private schools which is collecting huge amount as fee. However, the government is in support of the private schools, he alleged, adding that politicians in the party are running majority of the schools here. Mr Saminathan also alleged that following pressure from the government, the fees committee, headed by a Judge failed to expedite the process of fixing fees. The Lt.Governor would be approached to intervene in the school fees issue, he added.UNI PAB CS 1450 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-938194.Xml
Delhi unit of CPI(M) today alleged that the CBI action against Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was nothing but a deliberate attempt by the BJP to compel the state government into submission."It augurs ill for both democracy and federalism," the CPI(M) said in a statement.Claiming that the BJP has been trying its best to destabilise opposition-led state governments, the CPI(M) said, "Agencies like the CBI are being used to achieve these ends. Delhi has been witnessing to misuse of the post of the Lt Governor to shoot down different bills and measures adopted by the State Assembly.""We appeal to the people of Delhi to raise their powerful voice of protest against these attacks. This is essential to stop the creeping authoritarianism that marks such heinous moves of the BJP and its Central Government," it added.UNI PY SW 1438 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-938167.Xml
Two Gorkha activists were killed, scores ofsecurity personnel injured, including an IRB Assistant Commandant, five vehicles torched and a police outpost was ransacked as sporadic clashes between the security forces and pro-Gorkhaland supporters rocked Darjeeling Hills with indefinite strike crippling life for thethird day today. In Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, '' Darjeeling violence is a deep rooted conspiracy as it has terror link with theNorth East, '' and appealed to the people to restore peace in the Hills. The two deceased Gorkha activists, were identified as Bimal Sashankar and Sunil Rai, and their bodies were lying in the Army hospital in Darjeeling. GJM assistant secretary Vinay Tamang claimed that the two youths were killed in police firing, which was denied by the government. " As of now two persons were killed and five other critically injured and we are searching for our men and women, who have been missing, " Mr Tamang said. Ms Banerjee in Kolkata said police did not open firing in the Hills. ADG, Law and Order, Anuj Sharma said police did not openfire. Morcha supporters opened fire and lofted bombs at the security personnel, he informed. India Reserved Battalion Assistant Commandant Kiran Tamang was in critical state after being stabbed from back at Singmari while trying to preempt Gorkha activists from setting afire a police vehicle. Kiran Tamang was taken to Siliguri hospital for treatment. Scores of security personnel and civilians were injured in the sporadic clashes, in which stones and broken glasses were used aiming at forces. The GJM posted photos of two dead activists in social media claiming they were first martyrs of the renewed movement for statehood. The trouble started when the Gorkha activists. led by the women wing, began "Dandi March" towards Singmari, the HQ of GJM, to protest Thursday's police raid on party supremo Bimal Gurung's office at Patlebas. After several requests to disperse because of Section 144 CR PC by the security forces, the Gorkha supporters insisted on going ahead with thier march leading to schuffle and subsequent firing ofteargas shells and charging of batons. The agitated Gorkha supporters retreated but returned again and started pelting with stones from terrains in which some policemen were injured. The Gorkha supporters refused to disperse and burnt three police vehicles and ransacked Singmari police outpost. When the reports compiled pitched battle between the riot police and Gorkha supporters continued. GTA media cell chief Vikram Rai, who was arrested last night for violence on June 8, was today released on personal bail for want of evidence. After about three hours of pitched battle, the army and para-military forces took control of Singmari again. Eds : Pls Pick up suitably from earlier series.UNI XC-PC SJC -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-938458.Xml
Glowing tributes were today paid to constable Tasveer Ahmad Dar, who was among six police personnel martyred in a militant attack in Anantnag district last evening. To pay homage to martyr a wreath laying ceremony was held today in District Police Lines Srinagar, where Chief Secretary B B Vyas led civil, police and security force officers and jawans in laying floral wreaths on the mortal remains of Dar. Among those who paid floral tributes to martyr included Principal Home Secretary R K Goyal and Director General of Police (DGP) Dr S P Vaid. His body was laid to rest at his native village Sorasyar Chadoora in Badgam district. A large number of people participated in the Nimaz-e-Jinazah. A police spokesman said last evening a wreath laying ceremony was also held in Anantnag where Deputy Inspector General of South Kashmir Swami Prakash Pani led the civil and police officers in paying homage to Achabal Sub Inspector Feroz Ahmad Dar; SPO Mohammad Asif Nazikee; and Constables Sharik Ahmad Lone, Tasveer Ahmad Dar, Sheraz Ahmad Bhat and Sabzar Ahmad.He said last evening militants fired at a police party which was on way from Anantnag to Achabal at Thajiwara resulting in the death of six police personnel. The spokesman said the attack was carried out by Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) Commander Bashir Lashkari. UNI BAS SW 1741 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-938430.Xml
Early plans for the commercial and student housing project called Mill Town, planned to be built on Milton Road and University Avenue, include 1,221 beds geared toward Northern Arizona University students, commercial use along Milton and a Milton Road pedestrian underpass.

The plans were revealed at the first community meeting about the project, which is required when a developer is requesting a zoning change for the parcel.

The project is proposed to contain 340 total apartments, with capacity ranging from one to five bedrooms. The developer, Vintage Partners, has applied for a conditional use permit asking the city to allow it to rent by the bedroom instead of by the unit. The project will also contain 965 parking spaces for residents and about 209 parking spaces for the customers of the commercial portions, including part of the parking garage that will be open to customers.

About 50 community members attended the meeting, voicing concerns about parking and the amount of traffic the project could generate on the already congested Milton Road.

Vintage has also requested a conditional use permit to allow a taller building than would be allowed in the zoning category they are requesting. The proposed Mill Town building has a maximum height of 95 feet, which would be for a rooftop bar above the center parking garage. The pitched roofs at the top of the building reach a height of 82 feet.

At the meeting, some community members expressed concern with the height and density of the building, and asked if there is a limit on the height an applicant can request when applying for a conditional use permit.

City Planning Director Dan Folke said there is not a maximum height limit an applicant can request, but the planning department can recommend that the Planning and Zoning Commission deny a conditional use permit if the department does not think the building is appropriate.

At the meeting, Walter Crutchfield, one of the partners with Vintage, said the proposed location for Mill Town is good for highoccupancy housing and taller buildings, because it does not infringe on existing historic neighborhoods.

If there were a place to increase density, this is the place to do it, he said. If youve identified this as a great place for student housing, it serves the interest of the entire city to put the density here.

By adding the supply in an area that is already full of hotels and apartments, Crutchfield said the project adds supply where supply should be.

NEW PARTNERSHIP

The project is the third phase of a three-way public-private partnership between the city of Flagstaff, the Arizona Department of Transportation and Vintage Partners. The first phase of the project was constructing the new Harkins Theatres near the Flagstaff Mall; the second phase, which is in progress, will be converting the old Harkins Theatres on Woodlands Village Boulevard into a new ADOT headquarters; and the third phase, Mill Town, will be tearing down the old ADOT building on Milton and creating the commercial and residential development, as well as realigning University Avenue, bringing the side west of Milton south to line up with the side east of Milton, south of the Target. Beulah Boulevard will also be extended to connect with Yale Street.

The alignment of University Avenue and the extension of Beulah Boulevard was included in a voter-approved transportation tax that was approved in 2000, City Planning Development Manager Tiffany Antol said. The city and ADOT issued a request for proposals for the project in 2012, and Vintage was chosen as the developer in 2013. The city has committed $7.37 million to paying for the street improvements associated with the project, City Engineer Rick Barrett said at the meeting. The partnership allows Vintage to seek a rezoning on property it does not own, with the land for the Mill Town project belonging to the city and to ADOT.

The Planning and Zoning Commission is the governing body for the two conditional use permits, but the applicant could appeal a decision to the city council. The council will have the final say on the rezoning request.

However, if the zoning change and the conditional use permits are not approved, Crutchfield said the road improvements will not happen.

Antol said it is too early to determine when the case will be heard by the Planning and Zoning Commission and later by the city council, and said she had submitted her first round of comments on the plans back to Vintage, and is waiting on their responses and updates.

TRAFFIC MITIGATION

In an effort to mitigate traffic impacts, Crutchfield said Vintage was proposing several innovative ideas with the plan, which include a pedestrian underpass at Milton Road, and bus only lanes on Beulah Boulevard and University Avenue.

We think we are bringing some really cutting-edge solutions, Crutchfield said. There are no bus only lanes in the city so far, and Crutchfield said Vintage and the Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Transportation Authority are still in talks about how the implementation would work and if it can be put in place in Flagstaff.

More than 5,000 NAU students live on the west side of Milton and have to cross the road somehow to get to school from their apartments, Crutchfield said.

This should have been proposed a long time ago, he said, adding that the improved pedestrian access could cut down on the number of vehicle trips crossing Milton, both from the Mill Town project as well as from other apartments and hotels on the west side of the road.

PROJECTS AROUND THE CITY

Vintage Partners is also the developer creating the Timber Sky subdivision, which will be located at Woody Mountain Road and Route 66. The subdivision will contain 1,300 residential units, including condominiums, duplexes, townhomes and single-family detached homes.

One hundred of the homes in Timber Sky will be designated for affordable housing, which will be maintained through a land trust program.

The development on Country Club Drive and Soliere Avenue that includes hotels, retail space and residential space is also a Vintage project. That project faced a setback last month when the city council chose not to move forward with a tax incentive that would allow Vintage to recapture some of the sales tax generated by commercial use on the project to pay for the realignment of Soliere Avenue.

Vintage will be holding a second community meeting regarding the Mill Town project on Monday, June 26, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the ADOT training facility, located at 1901 S. Milton Road. The meeting is open to the public.
Dismissing the Opposition's charges on the Modi Government regarding not being able to address the problem of joblessness, Union Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya today said that there was a decrease in unemployment.The Minister, while addressing the mediapersons here, said: ''There has been a decrease in the unemployment, due to our flagship initiatives like 'Make in India', formation of a separate Skill Development Ministry and Digital India.''However, on being asked about the number of increase in jobs, Mr Dattatreya said, ''the data collection methods are being worked upon as they were not accurate and we will soon furnish the reports.''He said the Niti Aayog's task force setup for reliable employment data is working on various efficient data sampling methods to provide more accurate data.The task force also includes Labour Secretary M Sathiyavathy, he added.The Minister also said as a result of the flagship initiatives there was no question mark in terms of job security and through these initiatives the country's youth will be made able to fetch jobs all over the globe without facing any crisis.Mr Dattatreya also informed about the ratification of two core conventions of the International Labour Organisation during the International Labour Conference 2017.The convention no-138 is with regard to the minimum age of employment whereas the convention no-182 is about the worst forms of child labour, the Minister added.In order to clarify the issues on the hazardous occupations and processes, the Ministry has defined 118 such occupations and process under the notification issued related to the Child Labour Central Rules (Prohibition and Regulation).The Labour Secretary said it was the first time in the ILC that maximum number of women participated from the country.He also said the issue highlighted by the Minister in the conference were appreciated by the Director General ILO, Guy Ryder, as a 'welcome move'. UNI APS AE SNU 1821 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0448-938455.Xml
Setting a record, the Opposition BJP won 17 seats and was short of majority by one in the Shimla Municipal Corporation elections, whose results were declared here today. BJP-supported candidates were just a step away from gaining complete majority of 18 in the 34-member House. Congress was pushed to second spot, garnering just 14 seats, while the CPI(M) retained only one. Deputy Commissioner Shimla and Electoral Officer Rohan Chand Thakur told UNI that BJP-affiliated nominees got 17 seats, Congress 14, CPI(M) one and Independents won two. Counting of votes began at 0900 hrs and most of the results were declared till 1300 hrs, as BJP and Congress were neck-to-neck. However, in the last round of four seats, BJP secured three more than Congress. The election was held on non-party symbols. Congress had secured 12 seats and BJP got 11 in the last SMC election and CPI(M) two however Due to victory of Mayor and Deputy Mayor CPI(M) was in power. BJP was likely to make Mayor in the SMC, as it could get the support of one or two Councillors, however, there may be a tie, if the two Councilors and the CPI(M) Councilor go with the Congress, with the support of 17 members each. The election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor would be conducted in the House after notification from the Director, Town and Country Planning and Mayoral post would be filled by the candidate, who gets most seats in voice majority or in division of vote, the Deputy Commissioner said. The chances of forming own government could be announced officially after the division of vote in the new House after taking of oath. BJP won Kaithu, Annadale, Totu, Bioleauganj, Fagali, Krishana Nagar, Benmore, Engineghar, Sanjouli choke, Upper and Lower Dhali, Chotashimla,Kanganadhar, Patyog, Khalini and Kalnog seats. Congress emerged victoriuos on Bharari, Majyath, Tutikandi, Nabha, Rampbajar, Lower Bajar, Jakhu, Shantibhihar, Bhatakufar, Sanghati, Malyana, Kasumpti, Vikasnagar and New Shimla seats. UNI ML RJ RP 1922 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-938630.Xml
Turns out, physical activity among children and teens is lower than previously believed. Young adults after the age of 20 show the only increases in activity over the lifespan, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. And, the study found, starting at age 35, activity levels declined through midlife and older adulthood. The study also identified different times throughout the day when activity was highest and lowest, across age groups and between males and females. These patterns, the researchers say, could inform programs aimed at increasing physical activity by targeting not only age groups but times with the least activity, such as during the morning for children and adolescents. The findings come amid heightened concern that exercise deficits are contributing to the growing obesity epidemic, particularly among children and teens. "Activity levels at the end of adolescence were alarmingly low, and by age 19, they were comparable to 60-year-olds," said senior author Vadim Zipunnikov. "For school-age children, the primary window for activity was the afternoon between two and six P.M. So the big question is how do we modify daily schedules, in schools for example, to be more conducive to increasing physical activity?" For their study, the researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from the 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 survey cycles. The 12,529 participants wore tracking devices for seven straight days, removing them for only bathing and at bedtime. The devices measured how much time participants were sedentary or engaged in light or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The researchers broke down findings into five age groups: children (ages six to 11); adolescents (ages 12 to 19); young adults (ages 20 to 29); adults at midlife (ages 31 to 59); and older adults (age 60 through age 84). Forty-nine percent were male, the rest female. Activity among 20-somethings, the only age group that saw an increase in activity levels, was spread out throughout the day, with an increase in physical activity in the early morning, compared to younger adolescents. The increase may be related to starting full-time work and other life transitions. For all age groups, males generally had higher activity levels than females, particularly high-intensity activity, but after midlife, these levels dropped off sharply compared to females. Among adults 60 years and older, males were more sedentary and had lower light-intensity activity levels than females. The study confirmed that recommended guidelines were not being met. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a day for children ages five to 17 years. The study found that more than 25 percent of boys and 50 percent of girls ages six to 11 and more than 50 percent of male and 75 percent of female adolescents ages 12 to 19 had not met the WHO recommendation. "The goal of campaigns aimed at increasing physical activity has focused on increasing higher-intensity exercise," said Zipunnikov. "Our study suggests that these efforts should consider time of day and also focus on increasing lower-intensity physical activity and reducing inactivity." The study is published online in the journal Preventive Medicine. (ANI)
While addressing the engineering graduates, the President said knowledge is the emerging currency of the world in the present century. So, students should make full use of technical knowledge which is given to them in their institution.

The President expressed happiness that the college would be celebrating its platinum jubilee next year.

He said that in these glorious 75 years, the college has left an indelible mark in the service to the nation.

He further praised the Indian Army engineers as "they have traditionally left their mark on prestigious national projects like oil pipeline at Siachen, prestigious naval bases and airfields in the north and north east or roads cutting through the Himalayan ranges".

The President hoped that each and every student will follow the footsteps of their memorable predecessors and shall live up to the high standards as expected from them. (ANI)
Police arrested an arms smuggler from Uttar Pradesh and seized country-made pistols and other firearms near Lal Darwaza Bandh under Kotwali police station area in the district today. Police Superintendent Ashish Bharati said here that seven country made pistols, as many magazine and some cartridges were recovered from the smuggler identified as Mohammed Shahnabaz. He said that 'Made in USA' was printed on country-made pistols. Mr Bharati said the smuggler confessed to his crime during interrogation and disclosed that he had purchased pistols and magazines from a local illegal arms dealer Pappu by paying Rs 98,000 in cash. He said, Rs 6,000 in cash and an ATM card were also recovered from him. Efforts are on to nab other associates of the arms smuggler, SP added. UNI XC-DH AKM -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-938852.Xml
In a inhuman act, someone have thrown a just born girl child in a roadside garbage bin in Burma colony, an extension area in the city, early today. The pigs which are feasting the garbage when found surrounding the baby, the passersby noticed and rescued . They had handed over the baby with bruises all over the body to the ICDS authorities. First aid was given to the baby by the doctors and kept under safe custody of the ICDS. A complaint was also lodged in one town police station.UNI XC KNR CS 2000 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-938760.Xml
Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel will donate one day salary for the kin of martyrs who have sacrificed their precious lives in the line of duty, a police spokesman said here this evening.He said fourteen police personnel and two Special Police Officers (SPOs)s have scarified their lives in various militancy related incidents during this year. To show solidarity and their concern for the bereaved families of these martyrs, J&K Police personnel will donate one day salary of the current month, he said. UNI BAS SNU 2056 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-938818.Xml
Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation: 510 N. Leroux St. Mi Casa Beacon! This morning Rev. Kevin will offer reflection and recognition of the year that was, sharing events in the life of our community over the past church year, August 2016 through today. This morning we will also recognize those who have given the gift of time in support for our Religious Exploration program. Directly after the service, we will hold our annual congregational meeting. beaconuu.com/.

Calvary Bible Church: 6555 Townsend-Winona Road. Sunday teaching by Greg Hobbs. Adult Bible study, worship service, potluck at noon after worship service. calvarybiblechurchflagstaff.com.

Christian Science Society of Flagstaff: 619 W. Birch Ave. The subject of this week's sermon is "Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?" We also have Wednesday testimony meetings. Our Christian Science Reading Room, a quiet place for prayer and study, is open from 4-5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and 10 a.m.-noon on Saturdays or by appointment. 556-0510.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon): Sunday services held at four Flagstaff locations: 4165 S. Lake Mary Road, 625 E. Cherry Ave., 2401 E. Linda Vista Dr. and, for young single adults, 239 E. Saunders Dr. Meetings are also held in Williams at 1111 Stockmens Road and at the Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Check azdailysun.com or "Locations and Schedules" at LDS.org for meeting times by ward/branch. Sunday services consist of Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School and special instruction for various age and interest groups (Priesthood Meeting for men, Relief Society for women, Young Men/Young Women for youth and Primary for children).

Church of the Resurrection: 740 W. University Heights Drive South. Pastor Bob Norton's Father's Day message is "Christ-like Character" based on Galatians 5:16-26. Men are also bringing their classic cars and motorcycles to share. The Band of Brothers Men's Prayer Breakfast meets Saturday at the church as does the Women's Prayer Shawl ministry. The FaithWorks Saturday mission to the Indian Bible College gathers from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at IBC. The Truth Project gathers on Tuesday evenings and the new Life Explored group meets Wednesdays evenings. Coming in July is the new four session series "Resolving Everyday Conflict" led by Mark Ford. 699-2715. cor-pca.org.

Congregation Lev Shalom: 2609 N. Patterson Blvd. Rabbi Mindie Snyder will lead Erev Shabbat Services on Friday, June 23, at 7 p.m. at the synagogue. Congregation Lev Shalom welcomes world-renowned pianist David Syme for an afternoon of classical, Jewish and popular music on Sunday, June 25, at the historic and beautiful Prairie Castle. The concert begins at 3 p.m. and is followed by a chef-prepared dinner. Syme is an American piano virtuoso who has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and more. He now makes his home in Ireland. Tickets are $54 and include concert and dinner. Proceeds will benefit the programs and services of the congregation. For tickets and donations, visit levshalomaz.org/special-events/david-syme-concert. 527-8747. levshalomaz.org.

Episcopal Church of the Epiphany: 423 N. Beaver St. The Second Sunday After Pentecost and Father's Day. Rev. Janetta Beaumont preaches and Priest Marianna Gronek celebrates at all services this weekend. 774-2911. epiphanyaz.org.

First Congregational Church of Flagstaff, United Church of Christ: 740 N. Turquoise Dr. Rev. Kenneth McIntosh, pastor, will preach on "A Doubter's Guide to Faith" based on Genesis 18:1-5; 21:1-7. Fathers' Day brunch following worship. In other church news: June 21 (Wednesday) noon, Church Women's Fellowship lunch at Outback Restaurant; June 22 (Thursday) Church Fellowship breakfast at 8 a.m. at Coco's Restaurant. 774-0890. fccflagstaff.org.

Flagstaff Christian Fellowship: 123 S. Beaver St. "Why Be Baptized?" from various scriptures will be Pastor Steve Cole's message for Sunday. Nursery is available for both services. Ken Vaughan will continue his series on "Grace" in the Adult Sunday School. A Father's Day reception will be held in the Fireside Room from 10:30-11 a.m. College Group will meet 6 p.m. at the Lighthouse. It's time for "Upward Bound" Vacation Bible School. This week, Monday through Friday: 9:30 a.m.-noon for children ages 4-11. Register online at vbs.fcfonline.org. 774-3603. $10. vbs.fcfonline.org.

Flagstaff Federated Community Church: 400 W. Aspen Ave. This Sunday we will have a unique worship experience, inspired by Exodus 3:1-11, exploring different types of prayers, including praying for our fathers. We will enjoy fellowship, adult classes and children's church after worship. This week we will continue our Summer Activity Camp: Tuesday children can learn chess, Wednesday children will play volleyball and Thursday children will learn dance. The Activity Camp will take place from 2-4 p.m., register online. 774-7383. flagstafffederatedchurch.org.

Flagstaff Unity Church: 417 W. Santa Fe Ave. Rev. Penni Honey will be speaking. Her message asks "When did the Right Road take a Wrong Turn?" Children's program is available. Fellowship time follows the service. 526-8893. unityofflagstaff.org.

Greenlaw Baptist Church: 3400 E. Lockett Road. Sunday School classes for all ages. Pastor Barry Hall will bring the message: "Gatherings That Change Lives" at our morning service. Thursday worship service is followed by dinner and breakout groups, including our Celebrate Recovery program. If you have an addiction, we can help you in this program. This is a non-judgmental, caring approach to your problem. Save the date for an outstanding music event on Friday, June 30, at 7 p.m., featuring a Black Choir and Folk Music Duo. 526-4939.

Harvest Christian Church: 2290 E. Route 66. Vacation Bible School this week, July 10-14, 9 a.m.-noon, for kindergarten-6th grade. Free. (505) 252-1202.

Holy Cross Orthodox Church: 6134 Black Bill Road. Readers service. (480) 991-3009. holycrossflagstaff.org/.

Hope Community Church: 3700 N. Fanning Dr. Sermon, "Let's Be Reasonable." Basic #10: Our mindset in Christ brings us peace (part 1). Study from Philippians 4:1-7. 526-0677. hopeflagstaff.org.

Living Christ Lutheran Church: 6401 N. US Highway 89. We gather weekly on Sundays to worship through music, teaching, prayer and sacraments. Fellowship time after service. Pastor Kurt Fangmeier will be leading worship. 526-8595. livingchristflagstaff.org.

Peace Lutheran Church: 3430 N. Fourth St. Deacon Gary Melvin will speak this week on "The Harvest is Ripe" Matthew 9:35-10:8. Holy communion will be offered at both services. The youth will be serving refreshments in honor of our fathers for Father's Day, between services. 526-9578. peacelutheranflagstaff.org.

The Religious Society of Friends: Flagstaff Friends Meeting House, 402 S. Beaver St. At our unprogrammed Quaker meeting we meet in silence of expectant listening. A meeting may be completely silent, or, as more often happens, someone will feel moved to speak, to share something which may be of help or guidance to others. 779-3517. flagstaffquakers.org/.

Refuge: Flagstaff Community Church: 4000 Cummings St. We meet weekly to enjoy God's word, fellowship and worship. Sunday school available for children. 607-5728. facebook.com/refugeinflagstaff/.

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church: 1601 N. San Francisco St. This weekend Pastor Linda will be leading our services as we celebrate the Second Sunday after Pentecost. Her sermon is titled "No Buts About It..." Nursery is available during both the contemporary and traditional services.

Trinity Heights United Methodist Church: 3600 N. Fourth St. Our pastors are away at Annual Conference so our morning worship will be worshiping through song. Children's Sunday School is offered for kids through 5th grade and nursery care is available at both services. We also have an Adult Sunday School class meeting. 526-1397. thumc.com.
The USS Fitzgerald and the cargo ship collided in the Pacific Ocean about 56 nautical miles off the coast of Yokosuka in the early hours of Saturday, the Japanese coast guard told CNN.

The Fitzgerald suffered damage to its starboard side above and below the waterline which resulted in some flooding, the Navy said.

Commander Bryce Benson was one of four injured sailors who needed to be flown to a naval hospital in Yokosuka, Japan.

He is in stable condition, the Navy said.

A Navy official told CNN the destroyer is under its own power but has limited propulsion.

The vessel was taking on water after the incident, but the crew was working to stabilise the ship by pumping water out of the hold, the official said.

According to the Navy, a Japanese coast guard helicopter was helping evacuate the injured, and Japanese state broadcaster NHK showed video of an apparently injured person being lifted aboard a coast guard helicopter from the ship.

The Japanese coast guard said four of its vessels and one helicopter were assisting the US Naval destroyer with damage assessment and searching the area around the ship, working on the possibility that some of the missing may have fallen into the ocean.

The Fitzgerald is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer with a crew of approximately 330 sailors.

The ship completed $21 million in upgrades and repairs in February and is currently forward-deployed to Yokosuka, supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The White House was tracking the incident, an administration official told CNN.

--IANS ksk

( 299 Words)

2017-06-17-08:24:24 (IANS)
Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of Singapore's prime minister, said today his father had expressly instructed the drafting of a last will directing the demolition of the family's iconic home, the latest salvo in a public feud between the city-state's leader and his two younger siblings.The comments by Lee Hsien Yang, made on his Facebook account, followed those made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday that there were "serious questions" and "deeply troubling circumstances" over how the final will of their father, Lee Kuan Yew, was drawn up.The prime minister's office was not immediately available for comment today.The feud between the children of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, over the future of the family home erupted publicly this week in a flurry of accusations and denials through press releases and Facebook postings, which also touched on Lee Hsien Loong's leadership.Both Lee Hsien Yang and his sister Lee Wei Ling say they had lost confidence in their older brother as a leader and feared that state power would be used against them in their dispute with him.The prime minister has denied these allegations, and said he was very disappointed that they have chosen to publicise private family matters.In his last will, part of which was released by Lee Hsien Yang on Thursday, Lee Kuan Yew, who ruled Singapore for three decades, said he wanted his house, a humbly furnished home near the bustling Orchard shopping district, to be demolished.Lee Hsien Loong questioned in a six-page timeline whether Lee Kuan Yew knew a clause about the demolition, which was removed in the fifth and sixth versions of the will, was re-instated in the seventh and final will, saying there was no evidence that he did.The prime minister said he had recused himself from all government decisions regarding the house, and in his personal capacity, would also like to see Lee Kuan Yew's wish honoured.His brother Lee Hsien Yang said today Lee Kuan Yew's final will was engrossed on the basis of Lee Kuan Yew's "express instruction" to revert to his first will, attaching to the statement what appeared to be an email message from Lee Kuan Yew that states his plan to sign it before a solicitor."Lee Kuan Yew's final will was simply Lee Kuan Yew's first will of 20 Aug 2011 re-executed on his instruction," Lee Hsien Yang said on his Facebook account.REUTERS AD1214 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0108-938000.Xml
Warraich announced his decision of joining the party at PTI Chairman Imran Khan's residence in Bani Gala on Friday.

Welcoming Warraich's decision, Khan said his inclusion in the party would strengthen the PTI in Gujranwala division.

Taking a dig at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the PTI chief said the premier should resign from his post as his family's offshore assets were being investigated by a Supreme Court appointed joint investigation team (JIT).

He said the JIT members must not feel threatened or worried due the threats being hurled at them as the people of the country are with them.

"The people of Pakistan haven't given anybody a mandate to indulge in corruption and money laundering. This nation is in debt because of the ongoing corruption and money laundering," The Express Tribune quoted Khan, as saying.

He termed the Qatari prince's letter produced in the Panama Papers as a fraud.

Khan alleged that Sharif did not produce the letter for eight months and suddenly came up with it after his address in the parliament. (ANI)
The Cuban government has rejected the newly-announced US policy towards the country and said that any attempt to change the political system on the island would be "destined to fail". The Cuban media called Trump's new foreign policy on Cuba "regrettable" and "archaic". The Cuban News Agency said Trump took "a step backward" in ties with Cuba, by adopting a "unilateral" and "interventionist" stance. Trump on Friday laid out his new Cuba policy that tightens rules on Americans travelling to Cuba and bars US individuals and companies from doing commerce with Cuban businesses owned by the Cuban military, Efe news reported. Cuban President Raul Castro, responding to Trump's announcement, said: "Any strategy aimed at changing the political, economic and social system in Cuba, whether it seeks to achieve it through pressures and impositions, or by employing subtle methods, will be doomed to failure." While Castro acknowledged that changes in Cuba were necessary, pointing to the ongoing process of modernising and developing the island's economic and socialist model, he insisted that Cuba would decide its own fate independent of foreign influence. "We will assume any risk and remain firm and secure in building a sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable nation," Castro said in a statement. The statement added that Trump had been "poorly advised" to favour the political interests of an "extremist minority" of Cuban-Americans living in Florida, who, because of "petty motivations, will not give up on their ambition of punishing Cuba." Trump's announcement on Friday in Miami reverses the advances made in the past two years since 2014 when Castro and Obama revealed their decision to restore diplomatic relations and begin the process of normalising bilateral ties. Trump said: "I am cancelling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba". He vowed to seek a "much better deal for the Cuban people and for the US." At the same time, he said that the US embassy in Havana would remain open. The Cuban statement said that Trump "justified that policy with alleged concerns over the human rights situation in Cuba and the need to rigorously apply" the trade embargo and blockade against the island, which Obama had relaxed." It further said that "once again the US government is resorting to the coercive measures of the past." Castro also said that "the US is not in a position to give us lessons". However, the government also made it clear that it is willing to continue "respectful dialogue" and cooperation with Washington on issues of mutual interest. --IANS soni/bg ( 431 Words) 2017-06-17-14:34:20 (IANS)
Pakistan's Interior Ministry has said that new evidence regarding the murder of two Chinese nationals by the militant Islamic State (IS) group in Quetta, Balochistan, reveals that the couple were offered security cover, but they refused to accept it. "They were offered security, but they refused to accept the offer," the Dawn quoted the ministry, as saying. Security and intelligence agencies have looked into the background of the incident and reviewed photographs of the kidnapped pair to reach their assessment. Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26, were abducted by armed men pretending to be policemen on May 24 in Quetta. The Islamic State claimed last week that it had executed them. The interior minister was earlier told that the Chinese couple had gone to Quetta to preach under the garb of learning Urdu from a Korean national, Juan Won Seo. The ministry said that it was revealed during the investigation that Seo alias Gilbert came to Pakistan on a business visa, but set up an Urdu academy, and was "engaged in illegal activities". It also emerged during the investigation that the two Chinese nationals had been taken into police custody from Quetta's Kharotabad area some time ago and were informed about threat to their security. (ANI)
Israeli authorities said today they had found no evidence of Islamic State involvement in attacks by three Palestinians that killed an Israeli policewoman, despite the group's claim of responsibility.Palestinian militant factions also denied Islamic State was involved in the attacks in Jerusalem yesterday, in which a second Israeli police officer was wounded.Islamic State's claim of responsibility was reported by the group's Amaq news agency yesterday.Police spokeswoman Luba Simri said the Israeli military had so far found no connection between the three assailants and any armed group."It was a local cell. At this stage no indication has been found it was directed by terrorist organisations nor has any connection to any organisation been found," Simri said.The SITE intelligence monitoring group said it was the first time Islamic State had claimed responsibility for an attack inside Israeli-controlled territory.However, a senior official from Hamas, the Islamic group that rules the Gaza Strip, and the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said the three attackers, who were all shot dead at the scene, were their own members."The three hero martyrs who executed the Jerusalem operation have no connection to Daesh (Islamic State), they are affiliated with the PFLP and Hamas," Hamas' Izzat El-Reshiq wrote on Twitter.In a separate statement, the PFLP identified two of the three attackers as its members. "The media office of the PFLP armed wing mourns two of its hero comrades, two freed prisoners," it said.Israeli police said yesterday all the assailants were from the occupied West Bank. Two of them, both from the area of Ramallah, were aged between 18 and 19 and the third was a 30-year-old from Hebron, Simri said.The assaults took place simultaneously in two areas near the Damascus gate of Jerusalem's walled old city.Two Palestinians were shot dead after opening fire at and trying to stab a group of Israeli police officers, police said. In the second incident, a Palestinian fatally stabbed a border policewoman before being shot dead by police.A wave of Palestinian street attacks began in October 2015 but has since slowed. Thirty-eight Israelis, two American tourists and a British student have been killed in stabbings, shootings and car-rammings, many of which took place in the vicinity of the Old City's Damascus gate.At least 252 Palestinians and one Jordanian citizen have been killed since the violence began. Israel says at least 170 of those killed were carrying out attacks. Others died during clashes and protests.Israel blames the violence on incitement by the Palestinian leadership.The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, denies that and says assailants have acted out of desperation over Israeli occupation of land sought by Palestinians for a state.US-brokered peace talks between the sides broke down in 2014. Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War.REUTERS SDR 1522 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-938220.Xml
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who had avoided public appearances for nearly a week to recover from what spokesmen described as fatigue, said today that a battle with Islamist militants in Marawi City was winding down, but the insurgency had deep roots.More than 300 people have been killed in the southern town, where troops have been fighting for over three weeks to oust militants who have sworn allegiance to Islamic State."The fighting is going on, but it's winding down," Duterte said while addressing soldiers in the town of Butuan, an event covered live on television.But he added: "It's difficult to fight those who are willing to die. They have corrupted the name of God in the form of religion to kill many innocent people, for nothing."The presence of fighters from the Middle East had made it a brutal conflict, Duterte said.Duterte had not attended any public event since last Sunday, with his spokesmen saying the president was tired and resting. He did not appear at any function to mark the Philippines' independence day last Monday, which raised eyebrows.He appeared to be fine today, and attended two functions in the southern region of Mindanao, both near his hometown Davao."Do not worry," he told reporters after the event with the soldiers. "My state of health is immaterial. There is the vice president who will take over."REUTERS SDR 1729 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-938441.Xml
Aaron Carter, the singer-rapper who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead at his home in Southern California. He was 34. Representatives for Carters family confirmed the singers death Saturday. They did not provide any immediate further comment. A sheriff's official says deputies responding to reports of a medical emergency found a person deceased at the home in Lancaster. Aaron Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brothers boy band, and appeared on the familys reality series, House of Carters.
Baloch activist Munir Mengal has said that Pakistan has made Balochistan a "hell on Earth". Speaking during the ongoing 35th session of the Human Rights Council here, Mengal said that despite Pakistan's lofty rhetoric of promoting and protecting human rights of its citizens, "the degree and the extent of suffering and repression experienced by the Baloch people under the brutal control of the Islamic state is equivalent to being as a hell on Earth". He alleged that all opinions and viewpoints in Balochistan that contradict Pakistan's position on any issue are considered as "subversive" and any information which directly or indirectly concerns the governance, policies and activities of Pakistan are viewed as "state secret". Mengal noted that Balochistan remained closed for much of 2016 and 2017 amid heavy military operations. "Fear, intimidation and repression have become constant elements in the Baloch peoples' lives," said the Baloch activist. He added that Pakistan has imposed virtual martial law in Balochistan. "Pakistani authorities have poured in massive deployment of armed security personnel into Balochistan and stepped up vigilance and surveillance over the Baloch diaspora as well," said Mengal. The Baloch activist further added, "In September 2012, a delegation of the UN body Working Group on Enforced disappearance visited Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan, and met with the family members of the disappeared persons. The delegation was given a 'highly controlled and censored tour' and many of the group's questions remained unanswered. But, till date the family members are looking for their loved ones." "The security measures on the name of CPEC are viewed as a call on the government, military, police and to the ruling Punjabi in all areas to firmly crush the political demands of the Baloch people particularly defeat the voices asking to regain their sovereignty on their land and had waged war on people to maintain stability in the region," he added. (ANI)
Jailed Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said today he would not be a candidate for prime minister in elections due by mid-2018.Once a rising star in the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party, Anwar is seen as the greatest threat to Prime Minister Najib Razak and his coalition, after leading a three-party opposition alliance to stunning electoral gains in 2013.Anwar was convicted and jailed for sodomizing a former aide, a charge he and his supporters describe as a politically motivated attempt to end his career.Government sources have told Reuters that a general election could be held later this year in a bid to prevent the opposition from gaining ground. An election has to be called by mid-2018.Anwar endorsed a political compact spearheaded by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, as ruling party rebels and the opposition joined hands to fight against Najib, who is embroiled in a corruption scandal."In order to call for a focus on the general elections, I am choosing not to offer myself as the candidate for prime minister," Anwar said in a statement."In hopes of amassing all strengths in a team to go against UMNO-BN, it is fair to ensure the participation of all leaders effectively. This includes benefiting from the position and role of Mahathir," he said, referring to the ruling coalition.Mahathir, 91, Malaysia's longest serving prime minister, said earlier in June that he would consider taking up the premier position again, but only if there was no acceptable candidate after an opposition election victory.Najib has been embroiled in a corruption scandal involving state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad. He has denied any wrongdoing, even as the fund became the subject of money laundering investigations in the United States and at least five other countries.REUTERS SDR 1823 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-938554.Xml
At least four American soldiers were shot and killed in an apparent insider attack by an Afghan soldier at a base in northern Afghanistan today, a military official said."An Afghan soldier shot and killed four American troops inside the base," said Abdul Qahar Araam, spokesman for the Afghan Army's 209th Corps. "We are investigating."The US military command in Kabul confirmed that it was "aware of an incident" at Camp Shaheen, which is the headquarters of the 209th Corps in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, but did not provide more details.REUTERS SDR 1841 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-938594.Xml
Search and rescue efforts went on after dark for seven US sailors missing after the US Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship more than three times its size off eastern Japan early today.The Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided missile destroyer, collided with the merchant vessel some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, the Navy said.Three aboard the destroyer had been medically evacuated to the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, including the ship's commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, who was reported to be in stable condition, the Navy said. The other two were being treated for lacerations and bruises, while other injured were being assessed aboard the ship, it said.The USS Fitzgerald sailed into port today evening but search and rescue efforts by US and Japanese aircraft and surface vessels were continuing for the seven missing sailors, the Navy said. Their names are being withheld until the families have been notified, it added.Benson took command of the Fitzgerald on May 13. He had previously commanded a minesweeper based in Sasebo in western Japan.It was unclear how the collision happened. "Once an investigation is complete then any legal issues can be addressed," a spokesman for the US 7th Fleet said.The US Navy said the collision happened at about 2:30 a.m. local time (2300 IST), while the Japanese Coast Guard said it took place at 1:30 a.m. local time.The Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline, causing "significant damage" and flooding to two berthing spaces and other areas of the ship, the Navy said.The flooding was later stabilised, but it was uncertain how long it would take to gain access to those spaces once the ship docked, to continue the search for the missing, it said.Back in Yokosuka, divers will inspect the damage and develop a plan for repairs, the Navy said.The ship was able to operate under its own power with limited propulsion, the Navy said. The Japanese Coast Guard said separately the Fitzgerald was towed back to Yokosuka by a tugboat at about 3 knots.Part of an eight-ship squadron based in Yokosuka, the Fitzgerald had in February completed 21 million dollar worth of upgrades and repairs.Japan's Nippon Yusen KK, which charters the container ship, ASX Crystal, said in a statement it would "cooperate fully" with the Coast Guard's investigation of the incident. At around 29,000 tons displacement, the ship dwarfs the 8,315-ton US warship, and was carrying 1,080 containers from the port of Nagoya to Tokyo.None of the 20 crew members aboard the container ship, all Filipino, were injured, and the ship was not leaking oil, Nippon Yusen said. The ship arrived at Tokyo Bay around 5:00 p.m. (1330 IST), sailing under its own power, the Coast Guard said.The waterways approaching Tokyo Bay are busy with commercial vessels sailing to and from Japan's two biggest container ports in Tokyo and Yokohama.International maritime rules for collision avoidance do not define right of way for any one vessel, but provide common standards for signaling between ships, as well as regulations on posting lookouts.Japan's public broadcaster NHK showed aerial footage of the Fitzgerald, which had a large dent on its right, or starboard, side. Images broadcast by NHK showed it had been struck next to its Aegis radar arrays behind the vertical launch tubes.Such incidents are rare.In May, the US Navy's USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel but both ships were able to operate under their own power.The 7th Fleet commander, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, thanked the Japanese Coast guard in a post on the fleet's Facebook page, adding: "We are committed to ensuring the safe return of the ship to port in Yokosuka." REUTERS SDR 1854 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-938626.Xml
At least one Afghan soldier was killed and several American soldiers were wounded in an incident at a base in northern Afghanistan today, a US military official said.A spokesman for the US military command in Kabul denied earlier comments by an Afghan official that Americans had been killed, but confirmed that an unspecified number of soldiers had been wounded at Camp Shaheen, the headquarters of the Afghan army's 209th Corps in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.At least one Afghan soldier was killed and another wounded, the US official said.Abdul Qahar Araam, spokesman for the Afghan army's 209th Corps, had announced that an Afghan soldier shot and killed four US troops inside the base.The German military heads the multinational advising mission based in Mazar-i-Sharif. A spokeswoman for the German forces at the joint missions command in Potsdam said "according to what we know right now, no Germans were affected".Three US soldiers were killed and a fourth wounded on June 11 when an Afghan soldier opened fire on them at a base in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province.In April, scores of Afghan soldiers were killed when militants breached security at Camp Shaheen, detonating explosives and shooting hundreds of troops at a mosque and dining hall on the base.Coalition countries, led by the United States, are considering sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan to help advise and assist Afghan forces struggling against Taliban and Islamic State militants.US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that he would present options on Afghanistan to President Donald Trump "very soon". REUTERS SDR 1955 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-938756.Xml
A fire that engulfed a London tower block this week killed at least 58 people, police said today, as Prime Minister Theresa May admitted that the response from the authorities had not been good enough.With anger mounting over the government's handling of the blaze, May met residents from the Grenfell Tower and pledged to support the victims as protesters gathered to demonstrate in the streets around her residence for a second day.Weakened by a botched election gamble last week, May has been criticised for her muted response to the fire and had to be rushed away from a meeting with residents yesterday under heavy police guard as protesters shouted "Shame on you"."The response of the emergency services, National Health Service, and the community has been heroic," May said in a statement."But, frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough."London Police Commander Stuart Cundy said the toll of 58 represented those who were missing and presumed dead from a fire which ripped through the 24-storey social housing block as residents slept in the early hours of Wednesday morning."Sadly at this time, there are 58 people who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing and therefore sadly I have to assume that they are dead," he said.If the number is confirmed, it would make the Grenfell Tower blaze the deadliest in London since World War Two. The toll had previously been put at 30.While the blaze has prompted an outpouring of generosity, with many people donating provisions and clothes, it has also unleashed rage at the authorities as the charred tower was cast as a deadly symbol of a deeply divided society.Yesterday angry protesters chanting "We want justice" stormed their way into the Kensington and Chelsea town hall to try to confront the leaders of the local council.Residents of the destroyed tower said May was far too slow to visit the stricken community, that the building had been unsafe and that officials have failed to give enough information and support to those who have lost relatives and their homes.ANGER IN LONDONToday May spent over two hours meeting residents from the north Kensington area at her Downing Street residence and chaired a meeting on the government's response to the fire.She has promised to set up a public inquiry and pledged 5 million pounds ($6.39 million) of support, housing guarantees and help with access to bank accounts and cash. Those who lost their homes will be rehoused within three weeks, she said.One of her closest allies, Damian Green, defended May today, adding that a team would go to the area to answer questions from residents."The Prime Minister is distraught about what has happened," said Green, who was appointed May's deputy in the wake of the general election."We're all desperately sad, we're all angry, but of course none of us as angry as those who were directly affected. I absolutely get why they're angry," Green said.May was asked repeatedly in an interview yesterday whether she had misread the public mood. While failing to answer, she said the focus was now on providing support to the victims.Today more than 1,000 people gathered near May's Downing Street office to protest against her plan to form a government with the support of a socially conservative Northern Irish party.One banner showed a drawing of May with the words "Shame" and "Disgrace"."NOT A VIABLE PM"After a turbulent three months which has seen Britain hit by three deadly Islamist militant attacks and now the tower blaze, Queen Elizabeth said the mood was deeply sombre but that the British people were resolute in the face of adversity.Having visited residents of the tower yesterday with her grandson William, the queen also led a minute's silence in Buckingham Palace today."It is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood," Elizabeth said in a message on her official birthday. "The country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies."Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity," Elizabeth said. "United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss."Such a direct message from the monarch is rare and indicates the extent of the turmoil in Britain.Opponents said May's handling of the fire had thrust her position further into doubt by showing a failure to feel the public mood and act decisively.Her failure to win a majority in an election she did not need to call had already sparked a tumultuous week and pitched Britain into its deepest political crisis since the Brexit referendum a year ago.Britain is now likely to go into arduous talks on Monday about its exit from the European Union with a weakened leader who is dependent on Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to get legislation passed.Matthew Parris, a columnist and former Conservative lawmaker, said May's response to the fire had shown a lack of judgment which made her unsuitable to be prime minister."Wallowing in the wash of a general election that stripped our prime minister of her authority on the very eve of EU negotiations, neither common sense nor the evidence suggest she can re-establish public confidence," Parris wrote in the Times."This prime minister is not viable." REUTERS RJ 2236 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0098-938898.Xml
Saudi border guards have opened fire on an Iranian fishing boat in the Gulf, killing a fisherman, Iran's Tasnim news agency said today, amid high tension between the two rival states."Two Iranian boats that were fishing in the waters of the Persian Gulf were pushed off their course by waves. There was shooting by Saudi border guards ... and one Iranian fisherman was killed," the semi-official agency quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying."We are pursuing this matter to determine if the Iranian boats had crossed the Saudi border or not, but the action of the Saudis does not comply with humanitarian and navigational principles," Majid Aqababai, director general of the ministry's border affairs, was quoted by Tasnim as saying.There was no immediate Saudi reaction. Iranian reports said the incident happened late on Friday.Relations between the two countries are at their worst in years. Last week Riyadh, along with other Arab governments, severed ties with Qatar, citing its support of Iran as a reason.Days later, suicide bombings and shootings in Tehran killed 17 people. Shi'ite Muslim Iran repeated accusations that Saudi Arabia funds Sunni Islamist militants, including Islamic State. Riyadh has denied involvement in the attacks.Iran and Saudi Arabia accuse each other of subverting regional security and support opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq. REUTERS RSD 2342 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-938923.Xml
According to a brief statement published by state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency, the cessation of hostilities began at 12.00 p.m. (local time) on Saturday.

The ceasefire comes as part of the Syrian army's support to the "efforts of national reconciliation", according to the report.

Although Daraa is within the four de-escalation zones agreed between Russia and Turkey, the Syrian regime has continued to attack this city, which is partially-controlled by rebel forces, EFe news reported.

Daraa is where the Syrian protests against President Bashar al-Assad first erupted in March 2011, later escalating into a fully-fledged civil war that is still ongoing.

This comes as the UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistrua, announced that the seventh round of Geneva talks will take place on July 9.

Mistura said that the talks will rely on the progress made in the de-escalation zones' deal, which was internationally backed and went into effect last May.

--IANS vgu/

( 186 Words)

2017-06-18-03:10:06 (IANS)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-16 16:36:40|Editor: An

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BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- China is to improve the role of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in prevention and treatment of major diseases.

The plan by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine lays out major tasks including developing technology and developing new TCM products and applications.

According to a 2016 white paper on TCM, 45 items of TCM research have won national science and technology awards with five taking the top prize.

TCM is an important health and economic resource with huge potential. However, domestic TCM development faces significant challenges particularly in standards and quality control.

The plan stresses that, by 2020, problems hindering TCM expansion should be solved and at least 50 pharmacopeial standards as well as 100 industry standards should be established.

China should also complete the registration of five to 10 medications with TCM ingredients in developed countries, the plan said.
Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl speaks at an event marking his 30th anniversary of coming to power in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 27, 2012. 82-year-oldKohl, once leader of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998, oversaw Germany's 1991 reunification and was a key figure of European integration. (Xinhua/Ma Ning)

BERLIN, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl died at his home in Germany's Ludwigshafen on Friday at the age of 87, according to German local media Focus Online.

Kohl served as German chancellor between 1982 and 1998 and is well known as the "chancellor of unity," for his active political plan bringing west and east Germany together. Under heavy pressure in 1989, he negotiated with the leaders of the U.S, the former Soviet Union and secured a peaceful and stable Germany reunification, Deutsche Presse Agentur reported.

He is also hailed for his contribution to Europe integration, European single currency and market. He persuaded Germans to give up the then strong Deutsche Mark and adopted EURO.

As a leader for Christian Democratic Union(CDU), Kohl was seen as the mentor for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In 2002, Kohl resigned from lower house of the parliament Bundestag and officially left politics.

He began fighting with illness after a fall and a head injury in 2008, since then he had to sit on a wheelchair and could barely speak. Kohl received a intestine surgery in 2015 since then his condition gradually worsened.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 01:51:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia plans to increase Foreign Direct Investment by 10 times from the 3.2 billion dollars recorded in 2016, said a government official on Friday.

The statement was made by Arkebe Oqubay, Special Advisor to Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, explaining the reasoning behind the country's infrastructure spending spree.

Ethiopia is currently building road, rail, air and higher education infrastructure to meet that goal.

Oqubay was speaking on the sidelines of an event in Addis Ababa promoting the planned grand production inauguration on June 18 of the Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP), located 275 km south of Addis Ababa.

The industry park built by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) is expected to employ 60,000 employees and generate 1 billion dollars in export revenue for Ethiopia at full capacity.

The exclusively textile and apparel dedicated HIP which lies on 3 million meter square of land is part of Ethiopia's plan to increase manufacturing share in the still largely agrarian economy fourfold by 2025.

Sisay Gemechu Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopia's Industrial Park Development Corporation (IPDC) says part of the plan to increase FDI by 10 times involves the ongoing construction and commissioning of 10 Industrial parks across the country.

"Ethiopia's affordable labor force, its population of around 100 million, tariff free agreements to European and US markets, cheaper electricity and efficient allocation of investment land will ensure that our plans for FDI succeeds" says Oqubay.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2017 put Ethiopia as the 2nd largest recipient of FDI in textile and apparel next to established giant Vietnam.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 01:51:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Italy was in the grip of a 24-hour transportation strike Friday as some unions protested privatizations across the sector.

Trenitalia public rail company, airlines, subways and buses were affected nationwide.

The Grassroots General Union said in a statement that "privatizations...are causing economic disarray, unemployment, decreased public services, and a worrisome drop in safety standards along with free-falling wages, rights and worker protections."

"Unfortunately, it's going to be a black Friday for transportation," Italian news agency ANSA cited Transportation Minister Graziano Delrio as saying.

"We tried to induce them to be reasonable, but there will be difficulties."

In Rome, all three metro lines were shut down and the capital city was reportedly even more snarled in traffic than it usually is, as commuters were forced to drive to work.

Alitalia and easyJet airlines had to cancel some flights due to airport strikes in the northern city of Bologna, as well as the southern regions of Puglia and Sicily.

"The right to strike is undebatable, but we could have done more to regulate it," Democratic Party chief and ex-PM Matteo Renzi commented in a morning news roundup on the party's website.

Renzi pointed out that transportation sector strikes "almost always" occur on a Friday, meaning that workers guarantee themselves a long weekend off.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 02:12:17|Editor: huaxia

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TIRANA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian exports registered an average increase of 4.6 percent over 2012-2016, Albanian Statistics Institute (INSTAT) announced Friday.

Meanwhile, the number of export enterprises has increased by 7.2 percent, data showed.

The number of export enterprises was 2,740 in 2016 compared to 2,029 in 2012, marking an average increase of 7.2 pct. In comparison to 2015, this number increased by 9.3 pct, INSTAT experts told reported.

According to INSTAT, imports increased by 1.4 percent on average terms while the number of enterprises engaged in this activity grew by 6.2 percent.

Speaking in terms of the size of enterprises, the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises during 2012-2016 make up 95.9 percent of export enterprises.

"In 2016, these enterprises constitute 96 percent of export enterprises and industry has the biggest share in export of commodities, INSTAT experts said.

The export enterprises are dominated by those operating in the sector of industry, including the activities of extraction, processing industry, electricity and water.

For the period 2012-2016, the value of exports conducted by enterprises operating in the industry accounts for 84.5 pct of exports in total.

In comparison to the corresponding period, exports had an average growth of 3.1 pct. In 2016, the value of exports by enterprises operating in industry is 82.8 pct, registering an increase of 2.3 pct compared to 2015, data showed. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 02:37:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Federal high court of Ethiopia has convicted 13 Ethiopians on terrorism charges found to have been working on behalf of an outlawed armed group, Patriotic Front-Ginbot 7 (PFG7).

According to a report in the Ethiopian state affiliated media outlet Radio Fana on Friday, the defendants were accused of using their membership in a legal opposition party All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) as a cover to recruit members for PFG7 from 2012-2014 in Ethiopia's Amhara regional state.

They are also accused of sending sensitive information to the armed group and Ethiopia's arch rival northern neighbor Eritrea.

Eritrea had been a province of Ethiopia from 1952-1993, until a bitter 30-year armed struggle followed by a referendum in 1993, gave the Red Sea nation its independence from Ethiopia.

However, Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war over contested border areas between 1998-2000 which left tens of thousands of people dead from both sides.

Since then, Ethiopia and Eritrea have been locked in a state of uneasy armed standoff with each side blaming the other for supporting rebel groups as proxies.

Three other Ethiopian defendants were acquitted of the charge with the sentencing trial for the 13 convicts to be made on June 23.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 03:42:48|Editor: huaxia

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RIGA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The debate on Latvia's tax reform should be started anew, members of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said Friday.

They also strongly objected to the government coalition's plan to raise social tax and introduce a progressive income tax.

After Latvia's center-right government coalition decided this week to raise social security contributions by one percentage point and consider greater progressivity for personal income tax, members of the LCCI convened for a meeting at which they concluded that entrepreneurs can no longer support the tax reform plan, which originally was supposed to ease the tax burden on labor and not vice versa.

The LCCI is ready to voice its protest in stronger terms, but for now, the LCCI is calling on coalition partners to sit down at the negotiations table to start a new debate on the basic framework of the planned tax reform, it said.

LCCI president Aigars Rostovskis indicated the tax reform was initially intended to reduce labor taxes, but that with its decision to raise the social tax in order to provide money for Latvia's underfunded health sector the government coalition has taken a step into opposite direction.

The LCCI president also objects to linking the efforts to provide money for health care to the tax reform. He believes that the necessary financing for health care can be secured by using budget funds more economically.

LCCI board member Janis Endzins indicated that the government's efforts to provide money for the health sector threatened to torpedo the tax reform, and believed that the debate on the tax reform has to be started anew.

Andrejs Vaivars, a spokesman for Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said on Latvian Television, however, that there will be no turning back, as the decision on health care funding has been taken and it is necessary to move ahead with its implementation.

At the beginning May, the Latvian government approved a tax reform, which, among other things, provides for raising the minimum wage and nontaxable minimum income.

The reforms were supposed to ease the tax burden on labor, although the tax rate on high salaries would remain unchanged. Reinvested profit will be exempt from taxation, and the minimum wage and untaxable minimum income will be increased.

Compensatory measures are also being planned to balance the national budget, and keep the budget deficit from growing uncontrollably. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 04:02:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DUBLIN, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar held separate talks on Friday with delegations from the two major parties in Northern Ireland over the restoration of a power-sharing executive there.

The delegation of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) included DUP leader Arlene Foster and Simon Hamilton, a key DUP figure, who served as the economy minister in the Northern Ireland Executive from 2016 until its collapse in January 2017, while Sinn Fein were represented by Michelle O'Neill, Michelle Gildernew, Gerry Adams and Mary Lou McDonald.

In both meetings, all leaders agreed on the urgent need to re-establish the Northern Ireland Executive, believing that the June 29 deadline for completing negotiations could be met, according a statement from the Irish government.

The Northern Ireland Executive is the administrative branch of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It consists of the first minister and deputy first minister and various ministers with individual portfolios and remits.

In March's assembly elections in Northern Ireland, the unionists emerged for the first time ever without a majority, with the pro-republican Sinn Fein making massive gains. Sinn Fein reduced the margin to just one seat, winning 27 assembly seats, just one less than the 28 won by the DUP.

Under Northern Ireland's power-sharing agreement, the government there must be run by Irish nationalists and unionists together.

The Irish government statement said there was agreement on the importance of a functioning executive in the context of the Brexit negotiations due to start next week.

During both meetings, the Irish prime minister made clear that he and his government would work in support of the Northern Ireland parties to reestablish the executive, and in pursuit of strong North-South relations.

He stressed the objectives of ensuring that Brexit does not impact negatively on the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process there, and protecting North-South trade and economic activity and the Common Travel Area.

The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s. The agreement is made up of two inter-related documents, both agreed in Belfast on Good Friday, April 10, 1998. The Common Travel Area is an open borders area comprising the Republic of Ireland and Britain.

According to the Irish government statement, Varadkar raised the ongoing discussions on formation of a new government in London with the DUP, which is a matter for the parties represented at Westminster, but stressed the need to avoid any outcome which could interfere with devolution and the prospects of re-establishing the Executive.

He also mentioned opportunities for investment in infrastructure, which could be of benefit on both parts of the island, and agreed that discussions on this should continue.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 05:23:16|Editor: huaxia

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CHICAGO, June 16(Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed higher on Friday with wheat posting more-than-two-percent gains for the second consecutive session.

The most active corn contract for July delivery rose 4.5 cents, or 1.19 percent, to 3.84 dollars per bushel. July wheat delivery gained 11.5 cents, or 2.53 percent, to close at 4.6525 dollars per bushel. July soybeans climbed 4.25 cents, or 0.45 percent, to 9.39 dollars per bushel.

Hot and dry weather forecast for wheat-growing regions in the U.S. and some European countries remained a factor which led to the rise of wheat futures. Meanwhile, funds' short-covering played a significant role in the two-day rally, said analysts.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that 120,000 tons of corn was sold to Mexico for the new crop year, which boosted the corn futures.

Soybean futures stayed firm on Friday amid strong demand. Enditem
Visiting editor-in-chief of China's Xinhua News Agency He Ping (2nd L) signs an agreement with Khalil Hachimi Idrissi (2nd R), president of Morocco's Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), for future cooperation in news businesses, in Rabat, Morocco, June 16, 2017. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)

RABAT, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Visiting editor-in-chief of China's Xinhua News Agency He Ping on Friday signed an agreement with Khalil Hachimi Idrissi, president of Morocco's Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), for future cooperation in news businesses.

The agreement between the two state news agencies, mainly aimed at video and new media, will contribute to mutual understanding and friendly relations, as China and Morocco have entered a new phase of bilateral strategic partnership, said He.

Idrissi hailed the agreement as a significant step towards an intensive cooperation between the two sides, and also called Xinhua one of the world's most influential news brands, highlighting the cooperation in fields including new media.

Invited by the MAP, He Ping also met M. Mohamed El Aaraj, Morocco's minister of culture and communication, accompanied by Chinese Ambassador to Morocco Sun Shuzhong.

The Chinese editor-in-chief also visited Morocco's national TV station and other media outlets.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 07:44:19|Editor: xuxin

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by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Cubans on Friday overwhelmingly rejected the U.S. new foreign policy towards the island, which aims to roll back the thaw in bilateral ties following two years of warmer relations.

"It is a setback to the previous policy," civil servant Reinaldo Garcia told Xinhua.

In a speech delivered in Miami, Florida -- home to Cuba's exile community -- U.S. president Donald Trump said he will impose restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba, because the rapprochement policy of his predecessor, Barack Obama, had failed to benefit the Cuban people, while strengthening the Cuban government.

"These new restrictions will only cause a regression in our economic and social ties, and they will affect Cuba as much as the United States," said Garcia.

Most observers agree both countries have economically benefited from the restoration of ties, with increased travel and contact between the two leading to greater business opportunities.

For many Cubans, Trump's decision to align his policy with the most extreme anti-Castro factions of Cuba's exile community only serves to appease his conservative constituents, without taking into account the broader good of productive bilateral ties.

"I think it's a mistake, because the new policy will hurt not only Cuba but also the United States," said Nancy Garcia, a Cuban retiree.

"Now, instead of developing our ties, Trump is going to slow down everything that has been achieved," she added.

The new restrictions bar any financial dealings between U.S. firms and GAESA, Cuba's military-run conglomerate, which includes companies in such sectors as tourism, food and energy, among others.

Trump's executive order "canceling" Obama's initiative to normalize ties with Cuba also prevents U.S. citizens from travelling individually to Cuba, which they were recently allowed to do under certain conditions. U.S. visitors will now have to travel in sponsored groups, whose trips will be subject to a Treasury Department audit, a move that could have a chilling effect on what was a growing travel trend.

"A travel restriction would be detrimental. To date, the expansion of travel and flights had brought benefits to thousands, but with the restriction announced by Trump today, it would of course decrease flights and visitors," taxi driver Danilo Nunez told Xinhua.

In the first five months of this year, 284,565 U.S. citizens visited Cuba, a figure that represents the total number of Americans who traveled to the island in 2016.

In a fiery speech presented to an audience of Cuban exile leaders and political hardliners, Trump reaffirmed he will maintain the trade embargo and economic blockade against Cuba, and called on Cuba to make concessions to Washington, if it wants to see a change in policy.

"It's somehow back to the past and will undoubtedly affect both sides," said Eylin Solar, a young worker in the private sector.

"These measures strengthen the economic blockade and limit the possibilities of U.S. business men that want to invest in Cuba," she added.

None of the new restrictions take effect immediately, with U.S. government agencies expected to officially issue the regulatory amendments in the coming months.

"These measures are really absurd. The policies followed by numerous U.S. governments, with the exception of Obama's, have only led to political confrontation. Sadly we'll have to live with that again," Yosvany Flores, a young Cuban, told Xinhua.

Certain Obama-era reforms will remain in place, including the restoration of diplomatic ties and the reopening of embassies, as well as ending the controversial "wet foot-dry foot" policy that granted special migratory privileges to undocumented Cubans, which spurred thousands to risk their lives to reach U.S. shores.

In December 2014, in the most sweeping change in U.S.-Cuban relations in five decades, Obama announced plans to normalize ties with Cuba in a move that had widely public support, but was criticized by the conservative right wing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 08:02:50|Editor: xuxin

People watch the yearly swarming of long-tailed mayflies (Palingenia longicauda) on the river Tisza in Tiszakurt, a village in Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok county, central Hungary, on June 16, 2017. Millions of the short-lived mayflies engage in a frantic rush to mate before they perish in just a few hours during Tisza blooming season from late spring to early summer every year. Larvae of the species live in small holes in the river banks for three years before they develop into the final form of the insect to participate in the swarming and then die. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)
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Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 08:44:38|Editor: Zhou Xin

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RIO DE JANEIRO, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Argentina international striker Lucas Pratto has denied reports claiming he is close to leaving Brazil's Sao Paulo.

Pratto's agent, Matias Lahorca, said earlier this month that his client was prepared to listen to offers, including a proposal from Mexican outfit Veracruz.

"I think an offer was made to my agent, but leaving Sao Paulo is not part of my plans," Pratto told reporters.

Pratto has scored 10 goals in 20 appearances for Sao Paulo, whom he joined from their Brazilian rivals Atletico Mineiro in January.

"I want to stay at least until the end of the year," the 29-year-old said. "If the club want's to sell me, it's up to them. I signed a four-year contract and I want to see it out."

Pratto has scored 10 goals in 20 appearances for Sao Paulo, whom he joined from their Brazilian rivals Atletico Mineiro in January.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 09:09:45|Editor: xuxin

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TOKYO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Seven crew members of U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald were missing following a collision between the Aegis destroyer and a Philippine container in waters off Japan's central Shizuoka Prefecture early Saturday.

The Japan Coast Guard said the collision, which left one person injured on the destroyer, occurred about 100 km southwest of Yokosuka.

The collision was first reported by the Philippine container at around 2:30 a.m. local time (1730 GMT Friday), according to the coast guard.

The Japan Coast Guard said it believed the Philippine merchant vessel is the ACX Crystal, which, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, is 222.6 meters long and weighs 29,060 tons.

The USS Fitzgerald is 154 meters long and weighs 8,315 tons.

NHK reports said the U.S. guided-missile destroyer had suffered considerable damage to its right side, with helicopter footage revealing an orange hose on the deck of the destroyer.

Crew members, according to local media images, could be see on the deck of the Aegis-equipped destroyer assessing the damage while a Japan Coast Guard vessel was in the vicinity of the ship to offer assistance.

More patrol vessels and a helicopter would be dispatched to the collision site, Japan's coastguard said.

NHK's aerial footage showed that the Philippine ship, which was sailing towards Tokyo, had scrape marks from the collision on the left side of its bow section.

According to U.S. Navy personnel, the damaged destroyer was heading towards the Yokosuka Naval Base, located about 50 km southwest of Japan's capital of Tokyo.

Neither of the vessels involved in the collision were in danger of sinking, according to the Japan Coast Guard.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 10:00:33|Editor: xuxin

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BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday laid out his new Cuba policy that tightens rules on Americans traveling to Cuba and bars U.S. individuals and companies from doing commerce with Cuban businesses owned by the Cuban military.

The new policy, which Trump announced during his speech in Miami, home to the largest Cuban-American community, has rolled back the thaw in the two former Cold War foes' relations spearheaded by his predecessor Barack Obama.

The following is a chronology of major events in Cuba-U.S. ties after the 1959 Cuba Revolution led by Fidel Castro overthrew a U.S.-friendly government.

-- Jan. 3, 1961

The United States severed ties with Cuba and closed its embassy in Havana.

-- April, 1961

The U.S. government supported an abortive invasion by Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs in southwest Cuba. Castro proclaimed Cuba a communist state and began to ally it with the Soviet Union.

-- Feb. 7, 1962

Then U.S. President John F. Kennedy issued a permanent embargo on Cuba, in areas such as the economy, finance and trade.

-- October, 1962

U.S. spy planes discovered evidence that the Soviet Union was building missile bases in Cuba, which triggered a crisis that brought the two superpowers to the brink of a nuclear war.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was subsequently resolved when the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles in return for the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear missiles from Turkey.

-- October, 1992

The U.S. Congress passed the Cuban Democracy Act, which prohibited foreign-based subsidiaries of U.S. companies from trading with Cuba, travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens, and family remittances to Cuba.

The bill stipulated that any vessel which had traded goods or services with Cuba could not within 180 days dock at a U.S. port.

-- March, 1996

After Cuba shot down two U.S. civilian airplanes, the U.S. Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act, which strengthened and continued the U.S. embargo against Cuba.

The act extended the territorial application of the initial embargo to apply to foreign companies trading with Cuba.

-- October 2003

Then U.S. President George W. Bush announced fresh measures designed to hasten the end of communist rule in Cuba, including tightening a travel embargo to the island, cracking down on illegal cash transfers, and a more robust information campaign aimed at Cuba. A new body, the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, was created.

-- Dec. 17, 2014

Then U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro announced the start of the process to restore bilateral relations, after a telephone conversation two days earlier.

-- Jan. 15, 2015

The U.S. Department of Treasury announced it would relax restrictions on exports, travel and currency exchanges with Cuba.

-- April 11, 2015

Obama and Raul Castro officially met for the first time at the Summit of the Americas in Panama. They had met informally and shook hands at Nelson Mandela's memorial in South Africa in December 2013.

-- July 1, 2015

U.S. and Cuba announced they would restore diplomatic relations and reopen their respective embassies.

-- July 20, 2015

Cuba-U.S. diplomatic ties were officially restored after 54 years, six months and 17 days.

-- March 21-22, 2016

Obama paid an official visit to Cuba. He was the first U.S. president to visit the island in 88 years.

-- Nov. 9, 2016

Raul Castro extended a message to Donald Trump to congratulate him on being elected the new U.S. president.

-- Nov. 29, 2016

Trump said on Twitter: "If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal."

The tough comment requesting more concessions from Cuba was suggestive of a hardline stance and was expected to raise more speculation and uncertainties about Trump's Cuba policy.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 10:05:38|Editor: xuxin

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SYDNEY, June 17 (Xinhua) -- An elite contingent of prison pooches has been welcomed in Australia, with Corrective Services New South Wales (NSW) unveiled the latest additions to their K9 team.

After an intensive 16-week training course, the K9 handlers and their drug-detecting dogs graduated in a ceremony on Wednesday, and will be sent to frontline duties in prisons across the state.

The dogs will be added to what is already a successful program, according to Corrective Services NSW Assistant Commissioner James Koulouris, who said the K9 unit is one of the world's best.

"The additions to this specialized dog unit will only further the security capabilities of what is already a world class unit at Corrective Services NSW," Koulouris told Xinhua.

"We are committed to ensuring the security and safety of our staff, and of our facilities across the state, and these new K9s and their handlers will be a valuable tool in that mission."

The K9 training manager Sharon Charman was also thrilled with their progress, saying that the new dogs and their handlers have been trained well for their integration to the team.

"The new recruits have learnt a variety of theory including dog psychology and dealing with incidents to the practical experience of searching inmates and visitors at correctional centers," Charman said.

"The class was a great mix -- with the correctional officers coming from a variety of backgrounds and experiences -- and they all worked well together while their dogs were very adaptive to new environments and information."

The dogs have to undertake a variety of different roles within the prison system, with some being trained to sniff out contraband, while others are used to detect dangerous devices, such as explosives.

The prison pooches are part of the elite Security Operations Group, who conducted over 85,000 searches of visitors to jails last year, with 67,000 of those undertaken by the K9 unit.

One of the handlers of the new dogs Ben Kember, who was paired with a 14-month-old kelpie called Jazzie, said it was pleased with the fact that the dogs all matched very well with their new handlers.

"All the new recruits selected a dog at the beginning of the course, the personalities clicked and we stayed with them throughout the course," Kember said. "All the dogs got along well like their handlers."

"I feel thankful to be part of this unit and assist staff at all the centres to ensure we're stopping drugs and other contraband from coming into the prisons." he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 10:35:44|Editor: ying

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GABORONE, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese medical equipment worth 100,000 U.S. dollars were donated Friday to Nyangabgwe Hospital in Francistown, some 430 km northeast of Botswana's capital Gaborone.

Orthopaedic consumables used in treating bone-fractured patients were donated by member of the 14th China Medical Team Dr. Huang Yixiong and Xiamen Double Commerce Medical Technology chief executive officer Lin Zhixiong.

"The charitable activity of these two Chinese citizens is a vivid display of solid friendship between China and Botswana," said Wang Bangfu, Political Counselor of Chinese Embassy at the handover ceremony.

"What makes this donation unique is that it is from private citizens instead of government or institutions. I believe that with our joint efforts, China and Botswana will certainly have a brighter future in health cooperation," he said.

Receiving the donated medical equipment, Deputy Permanent Secretary in Botswana's Ministry of Health and Wellness John Botsang said the cooperation between Botswana and the People's Republic of China goes back more than three decades.

"As this relationship gradually grew, not only did they (Chinese medical experts) provide specialist services but also contribute immensely in donating various items such as medical equipment, medical books and other items like televisions," said Botsang.

For over three decades, the Chinese government has been sending medical specialists to work in Botswana for a rotating period of two years.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 11:10:50|Editor: xuxin

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MINSK, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian Foreign Ministry on Friday dismissed Lithuania's opposition against a Belarusian nuclear power plant as absurd.

A statement from the ministry called the Lithuanian parliament's objections to the nuclear power plant as "another unfriendly act."

"It is evident for us that the parliament is not an expert organization that could make an objective evaluation of the safety of nuclear power facilities," said the statement.

"They use all methods: from groundless claims that the plant under construction is unsafe, which contradicts the conclusions of the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency) missions, to dissemination of Lithuania's distorted interpretations of the assessments of international agencies," it said.

The Lithuanian parliament on Thursday called the plant under construction, located just 50 km east of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, a threat to national security.

Minsk stressed the nuclear power plant is a modern high-tech project that is being built in compliance with international safety standards.

The station is being built with help from Russia and its first unit is due to start operating in late 2019. With a total energy capacity of up to 2,400 megawatts, it will produce electricity mainly for export to European countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 12:30:59|Editor: Song Lifang

People watch a TV screen broadcasting news about the speech of U.S. President Donald Trump at a restaurant in the neighborhood of El Vedado in Havana, Cuba, on June 16, 2017. Cuba's government rejected on Friday the newly announced U.S. policy towards Cuba, but said it is open to continue dialogue with Washington on issues of mutual interest. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier in the day announced he was "canceling" the rapprochement with Cuba spearheaded by his predecessor Barack Obama. (Xinhua/Str)

HAVANA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's government rejected on Friday the newly announced U.S. policy towards Cuba, but said it is open to continue dialogue with Washington on issues of mutual interest.

"Any strategy aimed at changing the political, economic and social system in Cuba, whether it aims to achieve it through pressure or imposition, or by using more subtle methods, is doomed to fail," the Cuban government said in a statement published in the state daily Granma.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier in the day announced he was "canceling" the rapprochement with Cuba spearheaded by his predecessor Barack Obama.

Trump's announcement "reverses the advances made in the past two years since Dec. 17, 2014, when presidents Raul Castro and Obama revealed their decision to restore diplomatic relations and begin the process of normalizing bilateral ties," said the statement.

Trump announced a return to restrictions on travel and trade, and "justified that policy with alleged concerns over the human rights situation in Cuba and the need to rigorously apply" the trade embargo and blockade against the island, which Obama had relaxed, it said, adding "once again the U.S. government is resorting to the coercive measures of the past."

"Cuba rejects the manipulation with political purposes and the double standard concerning the issue of human rights," said the statement.

The Cuban government has defended the people's right to universal health and education services, among other social achievements, it said.

Saying it will issue a deeper analysis of the scope and implications of the about-face on foreign policy at a later date, the government added it "denounces the new measures to toughen the blockade, which are doomed to fail, as has been repeatedly shown in the past, and will not succeed in their goal to weaken the Revolution."

However, the Cuban government also made it clear that it is willing to continue "respectful dialogue" and cooperation with Washington on issues of mutual interest.

It vowed to take "any necessary risk" and continue the construction of a "sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable nation."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 12:51:03|Editor: xuxin

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UNITED NATIONS, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A UN aid official on Friday expressed his disappointment at the European Union (EU)'s plans to seek an increase in military spending instead of in humanitarian aid.

At a conference on EU security and defense in Prague on June 9, EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker urged the bloc, whose member states are spending an average of 1.3 percent of GDP on defense, to lift its defense spending for its own sake.

"I would have hoped that he (Juncker) would have also issued in that statement an appeal to the members of the EU to increase their Official Development Assistance to the level of their stated responsibility of 0.7 percent (of their gross national product)," said John Ging, operation director for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Ging made the remarks during a news briefing at UN Headquarters on his mission last week to conflict areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR).

"As anyone calls for an increase in funding the war machinery, they must, in my view, at least call for an increase in the funding for humanitarian assistance at least to the level that has been committed to by all of our member states in the framework of financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals," Ging said.

"Otherwise, we are definitely not going to meet our target of leaving nobody behind in these two countries (DRC and CAR) alone by 2030," he said. "It has to be funded and for relatively limited amounts of money, we will see phenomenal impact, starting first and foremost with the saving of lives of the innocent victims in all of this and also giving them some dignity and protection from their current plight."

"But, if you can get to 1.3 percent as an average defense expenditure in the EU, surely we can get to the 0.7 percent on the humanitarian side before we start going up further on the spending on the military," the aid official said.

Ging also briefed on the the situation in the two countries he visited, saying crises there are "deteriorating."

"In case of the DRC numbers are quite staggering," Ging said, adding that in the country of 7.3 million people needs humanitarian assistance, with 5.9 million considered food insecure, including 1.9 million acutely malnourished children.

"It's a very volatile situation which is creating massive humanitarian need, principally arising from displacements," Ging said. "There are 3.7 million people internally displaced and that's reflecting the ongoing violence."

He added that 476,000 people have fled the DRC into neighboring countries. "Now refugees are depending on, again, international humanitarian assistance in those countries as well."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 13:46:15|Editor: xuxin

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NEW DELHI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has reportedly rejected 30 mercy pleas during his five-year tenure, which ends next month.

The latest two mercy petitions were rejected by President Mukherjee in the last week of May -- while one case involved the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in the central city of Indore by three men, the other involved the 2007 gangrape and murder of a techie in the western city of Pune by a cabbie and his friend, media reports said.

The three men in the first case and the two convicts in the second case will be hanged till death, following the issuance of death warrants against them by a court of law.

The other 28 petitions rejected by the President included that of Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive in the 2008 Mumbai massacre, who was sentenced to death for waging war against the state and executed in 2013, and 2001 Parliament attacks convict Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri fruitseller who was hanged in 2014.

While there are no mercy pleas pending before President Mukherjee, his predecessor Pratibha Patil granted clemency to 34 convicts during her tenure.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 14:11:18|Editor: xuxin

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HAVANA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Cuban media on Friday called U.S. President Donald Trump's new foreign policy on Cuba "regrettable" and "archaic."

Trump on Friday laid out his new Cuba policy that tightens rules on Americans traveling to Cuba and bars U.S. individuals and companies from doing commerce with Cuban businesses owned by the Cuban military.

"Perhaps the most regrettable thing is that he (Trump) has returned to the archaic language and worn litanies of the most reactionary discourse against Cuba and, above all, that he aims to subdue Cuba with conditions, which for Cubans is almost tantamount to the use of force," said an article published on the daily Juventud Rebelde (Rebel Youth), Cuba's second largest newspaper.

Trump "cares little" about what the majority of U.S. citizens, or people around the world, think, it added, referring to polls showing most Americans favor improving ties with Cuba, as does the international community.

The Cuban News Agency said Trump took "a step backward" in ties with Cuba, by adopting a "unilateral" and "interventionist" stance.

"The new measures by the Trump administration are a step backward on the path toward normalizing bilateral ties, and are charged with old anti-Cuban rhetoric," said the agency.

While the policy changes aligned Trump with hawkish Cuban-American Republicans in the U.S. Congress, Trump met with opposition from his own party.

Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican lawmaker from Arizona, said in a statement that any policy change that diminishes the ability of Americans to travel freely to Cuba "is not in the best interests of the United States or the Cuban people."

In December 2014, in the most sweeping change in Cuba-U.S. relations in five decades, then U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans to normalize ties with Cuba in a move that quickly sparked much controversy in the United States.

Since then, improvements have been made in Cuba-U.S. diplomatic, social and commercial ties, with the United States opening an embassy in Cuba and increasing flights to the country. Some U.S. businesses began expanding into the island nation for the first time in five decades.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 14:11:19|Editor: ZD

U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One departing from the White House en route to Miami to announce his Cuba policy, in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 16, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced new restrictions on U.S. leisure travel to Cuba and U.S. business with Cuban military. (Xinhua/Shen Ting)

BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's newly-announced tightening of restrictions on U.S. travel and trade to Cuba will spoil the normalization of U.S. ties with the Caribbean country and hit the economies of both countries, analysts and observers told Xinhua.

According to a statement by the White House, individual leisure travel, permitted by the Obama administration, will be prohibited. Americans will be required to visit Cuba with regulated tour groups.

Besides, U.S. individuals and companies will be banned from doing commerce with Cuban businesses owned by the Cuban military. Trump also reaffirmed a decades-old U.S. economic embargo against Cuba.

In response, the Cuban government said on Friday that Trump's announcement reverses the advances made in the past two years since Dec. 17, 2014, when presidents Raul Castro and Barack Obama decided to restore diplomatic relations and begin normalizing bilateral ties.

REVERSAL OF PREDECESSOR'S POLICY HAMPERS DETENTE, ECONOMY

"Any strategy aimed at changing the political, economic and social system in Cuba, whether it aims to achieve it through pressure or imposition, or by using more subtle methods, is doomed to fail," Cuba said in a statement published in the state daily Granma.

Many Cubans have shown aversion to Trump's new clampdown on their country, calling it "a historic retreat" of U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba, as it would hit both the U.S. and the Cuban economy.

Trump's reversal of his predecessor Obama's Cuba policy will definitely harm the Cuban economy and the Cuban people, as tourism has been an important source for economic growth of the Caribbean Island nation, said Esteban Morales, a professor at the University of Havana.

Javier Casamayor, a tour guide with Cuba's travel agency Gaviota, agreed with Morales, saying that Trump's new restrictions would deal a blow to Cuba's tourism, and affect the U.S. economy due to the banning of U.S. investment in Cuba.

Meanwhile, Trump's tighter restrictions against Cuba have met with domestic rejection. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a statement saying that Trump's moves "actually limit the possibility for positive change on the island."

Calling Cuba "a natural market for our nation's farmers and ranchers," Republican senator of Kansas Jerry Moran criticized Trump's new policy as it obstructs the export of their products and services to Cuba.

FULFILL CAMPAIGN PROMISE WITH POLITICAL DELIBERATION

Though Trump announced he was "canceling" the rapprochement with Cuba spearheaded by his predecessor, many moves laid out in Obama's previous policy towards Cuba will be maintained, such as a U.S. Embassy in Havana. U.S. airlines and cruise ships are also allowed to do business with Cuba.

Trump's rollback of Obama's Cuba policy partially made good on his campaign pledge last year to take a tougher line against the former Cold War rival, so as to align him with hawkish Cuban-American Republicans in the U.S. Congress.

But more importantly, as analysts pointed out, the president made such a decision out of calculated political deliberation with an eye on the U.S. stance on Latin-American countries and domestic partisan conflicts.

"The policy changes are made with strong political intentions, which is a calculated move in terms of Trump's foreign policy towards Latin America and U.S. partisan fights," said Diao Daming, a researcher at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

"Strict border control on Mexico and restrictions on trade with Cuba reflect that Trump has viewed Latin America as a burden, instead of a backyard, for the United States," Diao explained.

"So far, U.S. partisan fights have been increasingly fierce with the ongoing probe into 'the Russian-gate' controversy. In Trump's view, the only way for him to get through the test is to gain support from the Republican party and maintain the unity of the GOP," he said.

That's because the Republican party has long resorted to tough approaches to change Cuba for years, according to former Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Liu Yuqin.

Although Trump's policy changes would satisfy his voters in the short term, "it would bring practical hazards to the national interests of the United States in the long run," said Wang Peng, a researcher with the Institute of Latin American Studies at the CASS.

Signing a presidential directive on his new policy on Cuba, Trump has ordered the Treasury and Commerce Departments to begin a policy review within 30 days to design new regulations, but the process will probably take several months.

Cuba-U.S. relations will be developed with a number of twists and turns, due to the two countries' conflicts of interests, differences in political systems and historical grievances, according to Wang. "I'm afraid it will be in such a way for a long time," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 15:11:28|Editor: Song Lifang

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Three militants, including a commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant outfit, and two civilians were killed in a fierce gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Saturday.

The gunfight between militants and government forces broke out Friday morning at village Aarwani of Anantnag district, about 46 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Three militants were killed in gunfight at Aarwani village," Indian army spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said, "The bodies have been recovered this morning along with three assault rifles."

Police spokesman identified the slain militants as district commander Junaid Matoo and his associates Nasir Wani and Adil Mushtaq Mir. The three were local cadres of LeT.

According to police, Matoo was involved in several militant attacks and killings of policemen, while as Wani and Mir had joined militant ranks last year.

Locals said three houses were damaged completely during the stand-off. Police said the militants were firing on police and army positions from these houses.

The government forces have not suffered any damage fighting the holed up gunmen in the village, police said.

A young man and a teenager were killed after being hit by bullets, besides several others were left wounded.

Police said the civilians were killed in the crossfire between militants and the government forces.

"When the gunfight was on, an unruly mob instigated by the militants started pelting stones with an intention to disturb the operation and give chance to holed up militants to escape. Some of the militants also fired from within the crowd indiscriminately on the security forces engaged in the gunfight," the police spokesman said, "In the cross firing some people were injured and of them two civilians succumbed to their wounds in hospital."

Villagers strongly contest the police version and said the civilians were killed and wounded after being hit by bullets and shotgun pellets fired by government forces to scare away the protesters shouting anti-India and pro-freedom slogans.

Meanwhile, six policemen including an officer were killed after militants attacked their vehicle on Friday evening at Thajiwara-Achabal village in the district.

Local media reports said militants looted the service rifles of policemen following the attack.

LeT militant outfit has claimed responsibility of the attack.

Friday's attack comes despite an alert issued by police in wake of an increase in militant attacks in districts especially south of Srinagar.

Police officials said militants in the region have been targeting policemen guarding houses of politicians and other protected people to snatch rifles, in wake of a weapons shortage within the militant ranks.

A guerrilla war has been going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. However, of late Indian policemen too have been trained to fight them.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 15:46:33|Editor: Song Lifang

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NEW DELHI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Police in the western state of Rajasthan Saturday launched a probe into the death of a 55-year-old social worker who was allegedly lynched by a group of civic officials after he prevented them from clicking photos of women defecating in the open.

The incident took place near Bagwasa Kachi in the state's Pratapgarh city Friday when the civil officials were patrolling the area to stop local people from relieving in the open.

"Zafar Khan spotted the civic officials clicking photos of some women defecating in the open. He first objected and then prevented them from taking photos. That angered the officials and they beat him up badly with sticks, leading to his death," according to a complaint by the victim's brother.

Cops, however, said that autopsy report suggested that Khan died of heart failure.

"Anyway, we are investigating the case and a case has been registered against four accused named in First Information Report, based on the police complaint filed by the victim's brother," Pratapgarh's police chief Shivraj Meena told the media.

The incident came a month after a 32-year-old e-rickshaw driver was beaten to death allegedly by some 15 youths in Delhi after he objected to two of them urinating outside a Metro station.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the killing of the driver and reportedly directed police to take strict action against the perpetrators as the victim stood up for Swachh Bharat (Clean India) mission that has been promoted his government.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 15:56:38|Editor: Song Lifang

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RIYADH, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that it won't allow Turkey to establish military bases on its land.

A source from the ministry tweeted that Saudi Arabia doesn't need such bases as its military forces and competency are one of the best, and the country has been involved in various foreign military assistances to fight terrorism and protect regional security.

The announcement was made after a meeting between Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Jeddah on Friday to discuss regional issues, especially the decisions of Saudi-led pan-Arab countries to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 15:56:40|Editor: Song Lifang

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RIYADH, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud dismissed on Saturday head of the investigation and prosecution agency and director of public security as part of royal orders, Saudi Press Agency reported.

This comes after Saudi King ordered the transfer of the General Investigation and Prosecution Authority to the Public Prosecution office under the King's authority and ensuring its independence.

The royal decree stated that the Public Prosecutor's Office is to function under the King's authority directly to guarantee its independence and autonomy and to assign experts to review the system of the General Investigation and Prosecution Authority to propose any required amendments within 90 days.

The royal orders relieved Sheikh Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulrahman al-Abdullah al-Arini, head of the investigation and prosecution agency of his duties and appointing Sheikh Saud bin Abdullah bin Mubarak as a public prosecutor, with a ministerial rank. He also decided to end the service of General Osman bin Nasser al-Muhraj, the director of public security, and promote Major General Saud bin Abdulaziz Hilal as director of public security.

The royal orders includes new appointments that covers the posts of head of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, governor of the General Authority for Zakat and Income and advisor to the Royal Court.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 16:27:14|Editor: Song Lifang

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JERUSALEM, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military on Saturday denied an Islamic State (IS) claim that the group was behind a deadly attack in Jerusalem, saying it was a small local cell that killed a female police officer.

"To our understanding, the Islamic State was not involved in the attack," an officer with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua.

IS released a statement on Saturday, claiming responsibility for two coordinated shooting and stabbing attacks near East Jerusalem's Old City on Friday evening. It was the first time that the organization took responsibility for a terror attack inside Israel, a target which the group warned it will "wipe out."

According to IDF, neither Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that also took responsibly for the attack, was involved in the incident.

"It was organized by a local cell that wasn't linked to any organization," said the officer.

On Friday, three assailants, armed with knives and a homemade automatic weapon, carried out two attacks at two locations simultaneously. Border Police Chief Sergeant Hadas Malka was stabbed to death.

In the wake of the attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled permits allowing Palestinians to visit their families in Israel during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Entry permits for prayers in Israel were not revoked.

The incidents were the latest in a wave of violence that has claimed the lives of at least 250 Palestinians, 41 Israelis, two Jordanian tourists, two U.S. nationals, two refugees from Sudan and Eritrea and a British tourist since mid-September 2015.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 17:17:33|Editor: MJ

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by Liu Lianxiang and Zhao Hui

BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Around 440 years ago, two Chinese galleons sailed into the Mexican port of Acapulco, laden with prized goods from the Orient, including 23,730 meters of silk fabrics and 22,300 pieces of porcelain made in China, as well as ivory, lacquerware and Asian spices.

The two merchant ships carrying Chinese goods were also known as the Manila Galleons because they set sail from Manila, the current capital of the Philippines, and their arrival mirrored the very early days of the brisk trans-Pacific trade between Asia and Latin America.

After their cargo was unloaded, the galleons returned from Acapulco, carrying goods from the New World, such as silver, cacao, maize, potatoes and tomatoes.

This trade route was an extension of China's ancient Maritime Silk Route, and formed a key part of the glorious history of trade between China and the rest of the world.

Nowadays, China and Latin America are once again connected, this time by the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, part of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013 with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

The new maritime route extends to Latin America and the Caribbean, a region looking for stronger infrastructure and greater inclusion in global value chains.

In the past decade, trade between China and Latin America has increased significantly, amounting to 216.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.

There's little doubt that China and Latin America are natural trade partners. The region has abundant natural resources and has historically been a leading exporter of raw materials, while China, the world's second-largest economy, has a great demand for commodities.

According to the United Nations' Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, each one-percent increase in China's economy translates into a 0.5-percent increase in Latin America's gross domestic product (GDP).

China's agricultural imports from Latin America have grown and are poised to increase further, with the Chinese market's opening up to a variety of regional produce, a sign of Beijing's commitment to diversifying and balancing bilateral trade.

As the global economy is currently undergoing a rocky period of transition, China and Latin America are both tackling structural reforms to spur development, with shared goals and interests that go beyond mere trade.

In July 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to the region for the second time, proposing a three-pronged growth strategy for both regions to promote trade, investment and financial cooperation.

By 2016, China's non-financial direct investment in Latin America grew to 29.8 billion dollars, up 39 percent from the previous year.

Behind the stable development and pragmatic cooperation in trade and investment between the two sides is a belief in free trade that stands in sharp contrast with the recent rise in trade protectionism, as evidenced by Britain's exit from the European Union and the U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The Belt and Road Initiative aims to coordinate public policy, connect infrastructure, eliminate trade barriers, integrate financial systems and strengthen ties between countries to spur development.

In essence, China proposes boosting transportation infrastructure, including roadways, rail lines, air links and ports, to increase trade.

Today, China and Latin America need to show the same courage and determination shown by the 16th-century explorers to overcome the currents of protectionism in parts of the world, and stay the course towards free trade and global development to benefit peoples around the world.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 17:37:38|Editor: MJ

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NEW DELHI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and four others injured in a road accident in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, a senior police official said Saturday.

"The accident happened late Friday night when a car in which the victims were travelling collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction in the state's Bichhwal area," police officer Rajendra Singh said.

While three occupants of the car died on the spot in the impact of the collision, those injured have been admitted to PBM Government Hospital.

The victims, all residents of a nearby village, were returning home from work when the accident occurred, the official said.

Though eye-witnesses said the truck was travelling at high speed, a probe has been ordered into the incident, the official said, adding that efforts are also on to track down the truck driver who fled the spot after the accident, leaving the vehicle behind.

India has the highest number of road fatalities in the world. Road accidents often occur due to poor driving or badly maintained roads and vehicles.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 17:37:40|Editor: MJ

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CHANGCHUN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Five blind students joined their peers Saturday to sit the national college English test in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, where test papers in Braille were used for the first time.

The five students, from Changchun University's School of Special Education, were given test papers in Braille in a separate classroom away from other students. Their test lasted 195 minutes instead of the standard 130 minutes, as it takes longer to read and write in Braille.

In a classroom next door, three other visually impaired -- but not totally blind -- students were given large-font test papers and 169 minutes to answer with the help of magnifying lenses and reading lamps.

"All the visually impaired students were put in well-lit classrooms on the first floor and provided with power cords, bottled water and snacks," said Li Meng, an exam official with Changchun University.

Two teachers, one of whom knew Braille, stood by in case the students needed help, he said.

For Luo Qian, a senior student majoring in acupuncture and massage, Saturday's test was a dream come true.

"If I pass the test, I will be one step closer to graduate school," said Luo, from central China's Hunan Province. She stayed up until after midnight revising for the test over the past few weeks.

Luo said she dreamed of becoming a teacher to help disabled children in her hometown earn their own living.

Luo wrote to education authorities in Jilin Province last September, asking for test papers in Braille to be made available for blind students, but her plea was unanswered and she failed to take the test last December as she hoped.

She repeated her request to Ministry of Education earlier this year and in May was told test papers in Braille would be available in the June test.

"This is the second major landmark for visually impaired students after test papers in Braille were used in the national college entrance exam in 2014," Luo said after the test.

That year, Li Jinsheng, a student from central China's Henan Province, became the first blind candidate to take the college entrance test. The move encouraged thousands of visually impaired students to study harder, enter higher education and live with dignity.

Changchun University's College for Special Education is one of China's largest higher education institutions for disabled young people. More than 370 of its students are visually impaired, according to Liu Haihan, a top college official.

The biannual College English Test, better known as the CET, is a national English as a foreign language test, which includes listening, reading and writing.

CET-4 or CET-6 is a requirement for university students.

Many universities will not allow a student to graduate without obtaining such a certificate, and it is often a prerequisite for those entering the job market.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 17:42:44|Editor: MJ

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JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chief of the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) vowed Saturday to expand the bank's cooperation with every country in the world to achieve one of its main goals of green development.

AIIB President Jin Liqun told a press conference that sustainable infrastructure cannot be achieved single-handedly, noting the AIIB will cooperate with 80 approved members as well as willingly with every country in the world.

The AIIB, officially launched in January 2016, is a multilateral development bank initiated by China and supported by a wide range of countries and regions, which provides financing for infrastructure improvement in Asia.

The second annual meeting of the AIIB's board of governors lasted for two days through Saturday in South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju. The first meeting was held in Beijing last year.

The AIIB membership increased to 80, including 57 founding members, as Argentina, Madagascar and Tonga were approved by the board of governors during Friday's business session.

The growing membership would become a significant catalyst to go beyond Asia, the AIIB chief said.

Jin told reporters that the growing membership was a vote of confidence toward the AIIB and indicated the future of the bank, which is the 21st century institution. Its membership ranges from Asia to Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

The AIIB president said the bank will cooperate in various fields with any country in the world and that the institution has hired any expert meeting requirements regardless of nationality.

Since its launch, the multilateral financial institution approved 2.49 billion U.S. dollars to finance for 16 infrastructure projects in nine countries. Twelve of the projects were co-financed, and four were standalone projects prepared by the bank.

The AIIB has stressed the need for the co-financing with other multilateral development banks (MDBs), the private-sector capital mobilization and cooperation with countries invested by the AIIB.

Jin said the cooperative investment with other institutions will be more productive as infrastructure investment is a large-scale, long-term project requiring huge resources.

Placing an emphasis on the environmentally-friendly development, the president said the AIIB will help its members meet their determined contributions under the Paris Agreement, a global climate change deal.

Jin emphasized that all AIIB projects, whether already invested or in its pipeline, were of green development, saying the bank will make efforts to achieve a zero-carbon world in cooperation with all stakeholders and other institutions such as non-governmental organizations.

During the second annual meeting, participants discussed challenges facing the 18-month-old AIIB, said Joachim von Amsberg, the bank's vice president.

The challenges included how to solve the paradox in Asia of infrastructure financing, in which institutional investors refrain from investing in infrastructure development of developing countries.

The other challenges were how to respond to Asia's energy demand, how to provide tens of millions of people in Asia with energy, how to go toward a low-carbon future and how to contribute to the Paris Agreement.

Amsberg said the AIIB will help its members speed up a low-carbon future and implement the Paris Agreement as every country would have every different difficulty and challenge under the agreement.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 17:47:46|Editor: MJ

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TEHRAN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Majlis (parliament) will discuss a motion to take reciprocal measures against the recent bill by the U.S. Senate seeking to impose new sanctions on Tehran, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

The motion is going to be discussed by the lawmakers on July 2, after the parliament's recess, Kamal Dehqan, vice chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told Tasnim.

Dehqan described the Senate's bill as a brazen violation of the spirit of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Iran and world major powers in July 2015.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted for a legislation to impose non-nuclear sanctions on Iran for developing its missile programs. They voted 98-2 in favor of the legislation.

In order for the new Senate bill to become law, it must also pass the U.S. House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump. The bill, if ratified, will target the individuals and entities linked to Iran's missile activities.

On Friday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi dismissed the U.S. Senate move, saying Iran's defensive missile program is legitimate and in full conformity with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2231, and no move can deprive Iran of its legitimate rights.

UNSC Resolution 2231 calls on Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 17:52:47|Editor: MJ

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BUENOS AIRES, June 17 (Xinhua) -- With Argentina's participation announced on Friday, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has now six members in Latin America, a fact indicating its increasing influence in the region and around the world.

Argentina joined Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia to become the sixth Latin American member of the one-and-half-year-old multilateral financial institution. The Latin American members include the region's major economies.

The move highlights AIIB's growing influence worldwide. It also shows that the AIIB concept of cooperation highly agrees with the need of development in Latin American countries.

The increase in AIIB's Latin American members reveals the region's close relations with Asia as well as a its intention to seek bilateral bonds, AIIB Vice President Sir Danny Alexander told Xinhua Friday on the sidelines of the second annual meeting of AIIB board of governors held in the southern South Korean resort island of Jeju.

Meanwhile, Latin American countries' intention to take part in the AIIB reflects the fact that AIIB commitments are global, he added.

For Argentina, the AIIB serves as a good bond with China in pushing common development, enabling promotion of its infrastructure construction and exchanges with China, Argentine President Mauricio Macri said during attendance of the high-level Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in May ahead of his state visit to China.

Nadia Radulovich, co-founder of Asia Viewers consultancy, said, "AIIB can help Argentina, which is an emerging economy in need of massive investment, to sustain economic growth."

Yang Zhimin, a researcher with the Research Institute of Latin America under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Argentina is under pressure to seek funding after settling a debt crisis.

"Argentina fails to get what it wants from international financing after settling its debt crisis. The Macri administration has to seek various channels for funding," Yang said.

The AIIB, being capable of both funding and prioritizing infrastructure projects, is exactly what Argentina and many other Latin American countries urgently need in their efforts to upgrade infrastructure, according to Yang.

Poor infrastructure in Latin American countries has led to low trade facilitation and less favorable environment for both foreign trade and capital inflow, Yang noted, adding that an AIIB membership will help improve their trade and investment environment as well as international competitiveness.

Yang also believes that with the support from the AIIB, cooperation between China and Latin American countries will expand further and go deeper, bringing tangle benefits.

Latin American countries are showing growing interest in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative that seeks common development and prosperity by building infrastructure and trade networks, Yang said.

The AIIB is expected to do a good job in organizing and coordinating the cooperation projects, said the Chinese expert.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 18:32:56|Editor: Song Lifang

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LOME, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a pan-African banking group, on Friday decided to raise 400 million U.S. dollars to strengthen its capital position.

The shareholders approved the decision during the 29th Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting held at the headquarters of the Group in Lome, capital of Togo.

They approved the insurance of up to 400 million dollars in convertible bonds of five years maturity and a coupon of 6.46 percent above 3-month London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR), with an option to convert at an exercise price of 6 cents during the conversion period.

The bonds will soon be on offer to all Ecobank shareholders on identical terms and the proceeds will be used to resolve the legacy loans and to optimize the maturities of the group's debt portfolio.

A fund of 200 million dollars has been earmarked for the payment of the short-term bridging finance used to create an entity to address challenged assets of the group in Nigeria.

The pan-African banking group expects to allocate the remaining 200 million dollars to a deliberate restructuring of its debt portfolio, replacing costly short-term borrowings with loans of a tenor in excess of five year.

Ecobank's Group Chairman Emmanuel Ikazaboh said: "We are delighted with the strength of the support shown for the issue by our existing shareholders, as it vindicates the vigorous action taken to address our challenged legacy assets, as well as indicating their confidence in Ecobank's future."

Regarding Ecobank's performance, Group CEO Ade Ayeyemi said all of the businesses are making meaningful progress, despite continued macroeconomic challenges in some parts of the continent.

He raised ongoing focus on cost discipline, stringent credit control and stronger digitalized services of the pan-African banking group.

Ecobank's total equity as of Dec. 31, 2016 stood at 1.8 billion dollars, down 132 million dollars year on year, however the group said its wide capital adequacy levels remained healthy.

Incorporated in Lome in 1988, ETI is a leading independent pan-African banking group. It currently operates in 33 African countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 18:37:58|Editor: Lu Hui

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BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese prosecutors have indicted some staff of two companies connected to Interpol "red notice" criminal suspect Guo Wengui, judicial sources said Saturday.

A procuratorate in Dalian city in northeastern China on Friday filed a public lawsuit against several executives and employees of Beijing Pangu Investment Co., Ltd, on suspicion of duty encroachment and misappropriation of funds.

On the same day, Kaifeng City People's Procuratorate in central China's Henan Province also initiated a public prosecution against Guo's Henan Yuda Real Estate Company and its employees, on charges of defrauding loans and bill acceptance.

The procuratorate in Dalian found that in 2008 to get Zhao Yun'an, then chairman of Tianjin Huatai Holding Group Ltd., out of jail, Zhao's wife approached Guo Wengui through an intermediary to bail out Zhao.

With Guo's help, Zhao was granted bail, but promised to transfer Huatai's assets to Guo, so that Guo took control of the company.

In July 2008, without calling a board meeting, Guo directed Qu Long, a defendant in the case and former executive of Huatai, to transfer more than 400 million yuan (about 60 million U.S.dollars) to companies controlled by Guo for Guo's personal use.

To keep the 400 million yuan, in 2012 Guo persuaded Gao Song, Ma Nan and Cheng Xiuhua, all former senior managers with Beijing Pangu Investment Company, to forge a series of agreements and memorandums and file a false civil court action.

Thus, Guo transferred liabilities worth more than 400 million yuan to ZhengZhou Haohang Company which has no loan repayment capacity, so that he could illegally pocket the money.

Qu is accused of taking advantage of his posts to misappropriate a huge amount of corporate funds, while the other three defendants are accused of duty encroachment for actively assisting Guo's illegal seizure of Tianjin Huatai's capital.

In the other case, the procuratorate in Henan Province found that in 2008, Guo directed Ma Cheng, Zhang Xincheng, Guo Lijie and Xiao Yanling, all former senior staff of Henan Yuda Real Estate Company, to fraudulently obtain loans and bill acceptance totalling 1.5 billion yuan from seven banks by setting up shell companies and fabricating contracts and projects.

Part of the money was used to clear the debts of Yuda which was controlled by Guo, while the rest was transferred to Beijing Pangu Investment Company or overseas. More than 213 million yuan is yet to be recovered.
A visitor walks through the booth of Huawei during the CeBIT 2017 in Hanover, Germany, on March 20, 2017. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)

NAIROBI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tech giant Huawei will scale up investment in broadband infrastructure and skills transfer to hasten Kenya's digital revolution, executives said at a briefing in Nairobi on Friday.

Dean Yu, the CEO of Huawei Kenya, said his company aims to solidify its position as a leading provider of ICT solutions in the east African nation as part of its long-term growth plan.

"Our target is to bridge digital divide in Kenya through investment in enabling infrastructure and skills," Yu remarked, adding that Huawei is keen to share best practices to help Kenya reap from benefits of digital revolution.

Yu noted that Huawei, which entered the Kenyan market 19 years ago, currently commands 15 percent of smartphone market in Kenya and the figure could grow against a backdrop of rising incomes.

At the same time, the Chinese telecommunications giant has rolled out broadband in all Kenyan counties to enhance access to high speed Internet.

Yu said that strategic investments in ICT infrastructure will have multiplier impacts on Kenya's economy.

He revealed that Huawei has contributed over 1 million dollars to support corporate social responsibility projects that focus on digital skills development for Kenyan youth.

"A strong partnership with the government has facilitated knowledge and skills transfer to boost digital literacy among the youth," Yu said, adding that Hawei's flagship digital skills for life program has transformed lives of Kenyan youth.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in May visited the headquarters of Huawei where he signed an agreement with the firm to build government cloud services.

The cloud platform will enhance data sharing among government agencies while hastening Kenya's transition to a knowledge-based economy.

Adam Lane, the Senior Public Affairs Director at Huawei Southern African Office, said flagship projects like national police service surveillance cameras and electronic health have impacted positively on Kenya's security and citizens' health.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 19:58:22|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip travel in a horse-drawn carriage back to Buckingham Palace after attending Trooping the Colour in London, Britain on June 17, 2017. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

by Larry Neild

LONDON, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Queen Elizabeth II, spoke Saturday of the sombre mood sweeping the nation following the attacks in London and Manchester and the fire that swept this week through Grenfell Tower in west London.

In a message to mark her official birthday, Queen Elizabeth II says: "Today is traditionally a day of celebration. This year, however, it is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood. In recent months, the country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies."

The Queen's message continued: "During recent visits in Manchester and London, I have been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need."

Her message concluded: "Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity. United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss."

The Queen's actual birthday is April 21, but traditionally British monarchs have an official birthday in the summer months when there is a better chance of good weather for birthday events.

The Metropolitan Police in London stepped up security Saturday around Buckingham Palace and Whitehall, with thousands of people heading to the area to watch the traditional birthday celebrations, known as Trooping the Color.

Virtually all members of the British royal family attend the event in what is a major highlight of the royal calendar.

The London Evening Standard reported that extra police would be on duty around the palace to ensure the area is secure following the London and Manchester attacks, with armed police marksmen positioned on nearby roof tops.Plain clothes police officers will also be mingling among the crowds to bolster the uniformed police presence.

The Queen and her grandson Prince William Friday visited the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire to meet survivors and rescuers.

With the official death toll from the fire which swept through the 24-floor residential tower block, remaining at 30, families and friends of at least 70 people still missing desperately awaited news of their fate.

Prime Minister Theresa May woke up Saturday to an onslaught directed at her and the Conservative government in the national media.

May was heavily criticised for visiting Grenfell Tower the day after the fire, but speaking only to fire and police chiefs rather than victims and survivors. She later paid a private visit to one of the London hospitals where some of the rescued are undergoing treatment.

The Daily Mirror's headline "A tale of two leaders" was accompanied by two photographs, one showing Queen Elizabeth II chatting with survivors, the other of May flanked by a ring of police officers away from victims and survivors.

The Times newspaper headline "May takes cover" also used a sub-heading "Police protect PM as Grenfell death toll rises".

The Guardian's front page reported: "Protesters boo PM and march to Downing Street".

The newspapers carried extensive coverage of two separate protest marches through London, one which saw hundreds of people sitting on the ground around one of the capital's best known locations, Trafalgar Square. It brought traffic in central London to a halt.

May's most senior cabinet minister, Damian Green, went onto national radio Saturday to defend the prime minister.

First secretary of state Green described criticisms of May as "terribly unfair", adding: "She's distraught by what happened as we all are. Absolutely, she has the same degree of sympathy and horror at these events that we all have."

May has ordered a public inquiry, to be chaired by a judge, into what is almost certainly the worst fire in London since the World War II, with expectations the final number of dead will exceed 100. She has also ordered 5 million pounds (6.4 million U.S. dollars) to be given to a relief fund to help victims of the fire.
The Arc de Triomphe is lit in green in Paris, France on Nov. 4, 2016 to celebrate the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change. (Xinhua/Han Qian)

THE HAGUE, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The Netherlands will double its contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of this year and next year to 100,000 euros and invites other countries to do the same, Dutch Minister for the Environment Sharon Dijksma said on Friday.

Germany and Luxembourg will also increase their contribution while Sweden and France are considering to do so too, Dijksma told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

The IPCC, an international body for assessing the science related to climate change, mapping climate change and evaluating the climate plans of the 194 members of the Paris climate agreement, faces a financial deficit, following U.S. President Donald Trump's recent decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on cutting global carbon emissions.

With an annual payment of 1.8 million euros, the United States accounted for one third of the budget of the IPCC.

"This is an acute problem for the Paris Agreement as the IPCC is the driving force behind the implementation of the climate treaty. It is very important that the IPCC can continue to do its work," said Dijksma.

The Dutch call for additional contributions to the IPCC will be discussed at the European Environment Council in Luxembourg, where all EU ministers for the environment will meet on Monday.

The Netherlands will contribute an additional 50,000 euros to a special report of the IPCC on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, said Dijksma.

The U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement also impacts the UN climate fund that helps poor countries combat climate change, such as drought and floods. Trump has decided not to transfer the remaining 2 billion dollar of the total U.S. contribution of 3 billion dollar to the fund.

"This concerns amounts of money that cannot be compensated by Europe alone. The new Dutch government will have to decide on how to take action, for example from the Netherlands and Europe," said Dijksma. Dutch political parties are currently in talks to form a new cabinet following parliamentary elections in March.

As the fund is not provided only by government contributions, the Dutch minister hopes that individual American states, big companies and wealthy individuals will also join to fill the gap the United States left behind.

Earlier in January, when Washington decided to suspend annual funding of a range of family planning programs benefiting many millions of women in developing countries, the Netherlands also took action by launching "SHE DECIDES" global fundraising initiative to fill the funding gap. The Dutch government pledged to invest 10 million euros in this fund. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 20:13:24|Editor: MJ

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BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese prosecutors have indicted some staff of two companies connected to Interpol "red notice" criminal suspect Guo Wengui, judicial sources said Saturday.

A procuratorate in Dalian city in northeastern China on Friday filed a public lawsuit against several executives and employees of Beijing Pangu Investment Co., Ltd, on suspicion of duty encroachment and misappropriation of funds.

On the same day, Kaifeng City People's Procuratorate in central China's Henan Province also initiated a public prosecution against Guo's Henan Yuda Real Estate Company and its employees, on charges of defrauding loans and bill acceptance.

The procuratorate in Dalian found that in 2008 to get Zhao Yun'an, then chairman of Tianjin Huatai Holding Group Ltd., out of jail, Zhao's wife approached Guo Wengui through an intermediary to bail out Zhao.

With Guo's help, Zhao was granted bail, but promised to transfer Huatai's assets to Guo, so that Guo took control of the company.

In July 2008, without calling a board meeting, Guo directed Qu Long, a defendant in the case and former executive of Huatai, to transfer more than 400 million yuan (about 60 million U.S.dollars) to companies controlled by Guo for Guo's personal use.

To keep the 400 million yuan, in 2012 Guo persuaded Gao Song, Ma Nan and Cheng Xiuhua, all former senior managers with Beijing Pangu Investment Company, to forge a series of agreements and memorandums and file a false civil court action.

Thus, Guo transferred liabilities worth more than 400 million yuan to Zhengzhou Haohang Company which has no loan repayment capacity, so that he could illegally pocket the money.

Qu is accused of taking advantage of his posts to misappropriate a huge amount of corporate funds, while the other three defendants are accused of duty encroachment for actively assisting Guo's illegal seizure of Tianjin Huatai's capital.

In the other case, the procuratorate in Henan Province found that in 2008, Guo directed Ma Cheng, Zhang Xincheng, Guo Lijie and Xiao Yanling, all former senior staff of Henan Yuda Real Estate Company, to fraudulently obtain loans and bill acceptance totalling 1.5 billion yuan from seven banks by setting up shell companies and fabricating contracts and projects.

Part of the money was used to clear the debts of Yuda which was controlled by Guo, while the rest was transferred to Beijing Pangu Investment Company or overseas. More than 213 million yuan is yet to be recovered.

In the other case, the procuratorate in Dalian City found three staff with Beijing Pangu Investment Company are suspected of destroying accounting evidence on the instructions of Guo Wengui.

Guo Wencun, Macheng and Sheng Ruigang were found to have destroyed accounting documents, books and reports of Beijing Pangu international hotel between 2008 and 2013, to prevent discipline inspectors from detecting corruption.

Earlier this week, three former members of Beijing Pangu Investment Company were given prison terms for fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange.

The company's senior executive Lyu Tao was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, while another two employees Xie Honglin and Yang Ying were both sentenced to two years in prison suspended for three years, by the People's Court of Xigang District of Dalian on Friday.

The company was also fined 245 million yuan.

Friday's trial is the first court proceeding on a series of cases involving the Beijing Pangu Investment and Beijing Zenith Holdings.

Other cases involve bribery, forced transactions, duty-related encroachment, embezzlement, destroying accounting documents and unlawful detention.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 20:18:26|Editor: MJ

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BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Meteorological authorities on Saturday warned of possible geological disasters in southern China as heavy rain is expected in the region.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) and the Ministry of Land and Resources warned of high risks of geological disasters including flash floods in parts of Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces from Saturday to Sunday evening.

The NMC revoked a blue alert for a rainstorm on Saturday afternoon, but the forecast of heavy rain in Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan and Yunnan will continue.

People affected by the rain should take precautions against possible mountain torrents, mud-rock flows and landslides, the NMC warned.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Over the past years, China has suffered some large-scale natural disasters, from extreme weather to geological events, causing huge losses of life and property.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 20:18:27|Editor: Song Lifang

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MANILA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that the Philippine forces are now facing a formidable and ferocious Islamist militants who are out to kill "all nonbelievers."

Speaking to troops in Butuan City in the southern Philippines, Duterte said the Maute militants managed to secretly slipped into Marawi City a huge cache of ammunition and high-powered firearms before they launched the attack on May 23.

"We have a conglomeration of ISIS (IS) fighters there (in Marawi City)," Duterte said, justifying the need to use fighter jets and other air assets to defeat the remaining militants holed up in parts of the city.

The military has said troops are trying to flush out up to 200 militants who continue to wage a fierce fight using civilians as shields.

Duterte told the troops about the danger of IS fighters and their deadly mission to kill innocent civilians.

"You might be aware of of intelligence (report) which is really true. There's a publication there to kill all non-believers, meaning those who do not practice the religion of Islam," Duterte said.

More than 300 people, including 59 soldiers and policemen, have been killed since the fightings broke out almost four weeks ago, according to the military.

The military said the extremists continue to put up a fight but that the troops are determined to defeat the terrorists allied with the IS.
Photo taken on May 22, 2017 shows the first freight train of China Railway Express departing from the city of Shenzhen to European countries at Yantian Port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

TILBURG, The Netherlands, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A new direct rail link from Chengdu to Tilburg, the sixth largest city and the second largest logistic hotspot in the Netherlands, is being seen as a "golden opportunity."

Chengdu is 10,947 km away in China's southwest Sichuan Province. The latest alternative logistic service is growing in popularity and promises broadened industrial cooperation between the two cities.

The service, launched in June last year, now has three trains westbound and three trains eastbound per week. "We plan to have five trains westbound and five trains eastbound by the end of this year," Roland Verbraak, general manager of the GVT Group of Logistics told Xinhua.

GVT, a 60-year-old family company, is the Dutch partner of CDIRS Chengdu International Railway Services.

Various rail freight services along three main routes with 43 transit hubs on the network are currently in operation or under planning.

For the Chengdu-Tilburg link, trains travel through China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany before reaching RailPort Brabant, a terminal located in Tilburg and owned by GVT.

Cargo coming from China is mostly electronics for multinational groups such as Sony, Samsung, Dell and Apple as well as products for European aerospace industry. Some 70 percent of them go to the Netherlands and the rest are delivered by barge or by train to other destinations in Europe, according to GVT.

Cargo going to China includes auto spare parts for big manufacturers in China, new cars and food articles such as wine, cookies, chocolate.

At the end of May, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), a global leader in diversified chemicals headquartered in Riyadh, joined the growing group of eastbound clients. The Saudi company that operates in 50-more countries shipped its first eight containers of resin, produced in Genk (Belgium), as feedstock for its own facilities and its customer's facilities in Shanghai via Tilburg-Chengdu rail freight service.

"Typically we ship via ocean, but currently we are facing constraints on ocean freight capacity from northern Europe to the Far East, so we need alternatives. Shipping via air is of course very fast but also very expensive with a cost per ton similar to the sales price per ton. So SABIC is happy with the New Silk Road, a good alternative for air transportation," said Stijn Scheffers, Eurpean logistic manager of the Saudi company.

The containers arrived in Shanghai via Chengdu in about 20 days. "Everything went well. The material was in good condition and arrived on time to avoid a production stop," Scheffers told Xinhua. "The Chengdu-Tilburg rail link has proven to be a reliable mode of transport, we will use it more in the future for sure."

He added that other companies headquartered in the Middle East are also interested in the services. "They have multiple production sites in Europe from where a lot is shipped directly to China, they can all make use of this connection."

Optimistic about the growing popularity of this service, Verbraak believes the Chengdu-Tilburg link will further boom when the challenge posed by border-crossing in Malewice (between Russia and Poland) is resolved. Russia and Poland have different widths of the track so trains have to change the wagon sets at border-crossing and Malewice terminal can only handle 12 trains a day.

As to the competition with other links such as Chongqing-Duisburg, Verbraak said each link is based on the needs of its own area and competition means healthy business.

"We have the experience that it changes the landscape of economies because it opens a complete new market for the Netherlands. That's why we work closely together with local governments here and in Chengdu to connect also the industries with each other," he said, "We see possibilities in that Dutch companies produce for the Chengdu market, and also start producing in Chengdu for the European market."

Together with the municipality of Tilburg, GVT will arrange business trips this year to connect the industries from both regions. In September, the city of Tilburg will set up a "China desk" and officially celebrated its direct rail link with Chengdu.

"For us it is very important to have these excellent connections, because it will make us an even more important logistic hub facility for big international companies," said Erik De Ridder, vice mayor of Tilburg. "Every country in Europe wants to have good connections to China. China is such a very strong and important economy."

De Ridder believed that the Chengdu-Tilburg link develops in an excellent way with increasing frequency and volume of goods. "We see much demand, now we need even more trains to drive to China and back, because we have so many companies interested in this connection."

"For us it is very important to set the attention to this opportunity, because we see it as a golden opportunity for the future," De Ridder said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 20:28:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Jin Liqun, president of AIIB speaks on the Second Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the AIIB held in Jeju Island, South Korea, June 16, 2017. The 18-month-old Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has won acclaim for its good work from representatives of all over the world at its Second Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors held here through Saturday. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin)

JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The 18-month-old Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has won acclaim for its good work from representatives of all over the world at its Second Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors held here through Saturday.

The multilateral development bank (MDB), initiated by China and supported by a wide range of countries and regions, has been playing a unique role in promoting development while showing great creativity and potential.

PROMISES DELIVERED

"In January 2016, at the Bank's inauguration, I made a pledge that we would ensure that this institution operates as a 'lean, clean and green' organization," said Jin Liqun, president of AIIB.

"Eighteen months on, I can report to you that the management and the staff have been translating these principles and aspirations into reality," he said.

To date, AIIB has approved some 2.49 billion U.S. dollars in financing for 16 infrastructure projects in nine countries. Twelve of the projects were co-financed, while four were standalone projects prepared by the bank.

Jin made particular reference to the power transmission project in Bangladesh, which will help bring affordable and reliable electricity to more than 12 million rural people while achieving energy saving equivalent to an annual reduction of 16,400 tons of CO2.

"This project demonstrates the AIIB's commitment to development, to helping the world's underprivileged and to the environment," he said.

The bank has also approved three new members - Argentina, Madagascar and Tonga during the annual meeting, bringing the total membership to 80.

"Broad support from both our regional and non-regional membership manifests a firm confidence in AIIB."

"We appreciate very much the way the bank has begun. We are pretty confident that in the future years, the bank would expand its membership and also its portfolio for the good of this region," said Philippe Baudry, director-general of the Treasury of France.

"The bank has done a lot. Given to its young age, I would give it a good score of more than 90 points out of 100," said Hamad Albazai, deputy finance minister of Saudi Arabia.

FORGING NEW PATH

"AIIB is now the only multilateral development bank in the world that the developing countries dominate with a combined total of over 60 percent of the shares. It has been playing a unique role in global governance," said Zheng Quan, director general for Policy and Strategy of AIIB.

For Sir Danny Alexander, vice president and corporate secretary at AIIB, the charm of AIIB lies in its mission to invest in infrastructure, which supports sustainable economic development in Asia and is also good for the whole world as Asia has the most people in the world, most of economic growth in the world and also a lot of growth potential.

According to Zheng, part of the bank's charm also comes from its forging a new path, including providing financing to both sovereignty-backed and non-sovereignty backed infrastructure projects, and investing in countries across all income levels which gives the bank more flexibility.

The bank has also established a non-resident board, which, while giving the board more autonomy and responsibility, is more cost-efficient, according to Zheng.

The new mechanism and business models are based on learning from the experiences and lessons of other multilateral development banks.

"We are quickly moving upwards on the learning curve," said Jin.

Jin also stressed that AIIB, as the "newest member of the family of multilateral financial institutions and development banks," has been working with its "sister MDBs."

"AIIB is an important multilateral development bank as it tries to fill the gap between demand and supply in infrastructure and to mobilize more money from the private sector to promote sustainable growth in Asia," said Tadashi Yokoyama, head of External Representation Office for Asia of the African Development Bank.

"We are looking forward to working with AIIB to co-finance good projects in the African continent," said Yokoyama.

TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE

AIIB, while winning acclaim from all over the world for its good work and potential, is also conscious that it still has a long way to go.

The annual meeting of the Board of Governors is AIIB's supreme decision-making body in which chief delegates of members discuss directions and make major decisions on the bank's management.

This year's meeting, with the theme "Sustainable Infrastructure," saw the release of the bank's strategy in the energy area, which voiced strong support for its members to transit toward a low-carbon future.

"We are committed to the principles of sustainable development in the conceptualization, design, and implementation of our investments," Jin said at the annual meeting.

Other strategic focuses of the bank include promoting cross-country connectivity and mobilizing more money from the private sector.

The bank announced on Thursday three new projects, including its first equity investment, which, according to D.J. Pandian, vice president and chief investment officer of AIIB, is another significant milestone and will enhance the bank's potential to source and fund high quality, private sector projects.

"We will realize our grand vision of a future of shared benefits across Asia and beyond. We have every reason to be optimistic about our ability to accomplish what we have set as our goals," said Jin.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 20:28:32|Editor: Song Lifang

An Afghan security force member stands on a military vehicle during a military operation against Islamic State (IS) militants in Tora Bora, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, June 16, 2017. The fall of Tora Bora to the IS insurgents, according to local observers, would prove a major blow to the Taliban militants and similarly a potential threat to the government forces in the eastern provinces. (Xinhua/Rahman Safi)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Militants loyal to the hardliner Islamic State (IS) group have replaced Taliban fighters in many places of Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province and overrun the outfit's main bastion Tora Bora hilltops recently.

The IS group surfaced in Achin district of the relatively troublesome province two years ago, and survived government forces' mounting pressures.

Following a fierce fighting, the IS group captured the strategically important Tora Bora mountain on Wednesday, forcing Taliban fighters to retreat from the area.

Tora Bora had served as the main base of al-Qaida network and the hideout of its ex-leader Osama Bin Laden until the collapse of Taliban regime in late 2001. Taliban captured the region after regrouping of its militants a couple of years ago.

The fall of Tora Bora to the IS insurgents, according to local observers, would prove a major blow to the Taliban militants and similarly a potential threat to the government forces in the eastern provinces.

"The fall of Tora Bora to the so-called Islamic State would place the armed group in commanding position and if the government forces fail to evict IS rebels in its earliest, the rebel group would threaten the key city in the eastern region Jalalabad and the neighboring Laghman and Kunar provinces," local analyst Saiful Rahman told Xinhua on Saturday.

Many Taliban commanders, according to the observer, have changed their loyalty and joined the IS rank to help the group expand its territory.

Some 2,000 families have left their houses since eruption of fighting between IS and Taliban militants in Tora Bora and its vicinities over the past week, locals said, warning that government forces' delay in recapturing Tora Bora would force more families to flee their houses.

Since its emergence in Achin district in early 2014, the IS militants have expanded its presence in the neighboring Kot, Haska Mina, Nazian, Shinwar and Pachir Hagam districts, according to locals.

Challenging government forces and placing stiff resistance against the U.S.-backed Afghan forces military crackdowns, IS insurgents have been fighting to expand their foothold in spite of suffering on the battle ground.

"The policy of negligence by the government has helped IS group rapidly expand its influence in the eastern Nangarhar province over the past two years," member of Nangarhar Provincial Council Ajmal Omar told media on Saturday.

He also described IS as a potential threat to security and warned that overlooking the threat would enable the group to grab more lands in the conflict-riddled country.

Taliban militants, according to locals, have adopted the policy of "wait and see" allowing the government to take the war on the IS fighters in Tora Bora.

However, spokesman for Defense Ministry, General Dawlat Waziri has downplayed the threat, saying that the government forces would soon recapture Tora Bora hilltops from the IS rebels to restore law and order there.

Meanwhile, Bahrami, a spokesman for Defense Ministry told reporters on Saturday that 23 IS fighters had been killed over the past 72 hours and the troops would soon regain the control of Tora Bora.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 20:48:40|Editor: Song Lifang

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SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, June 17 (Xinhua) -- At least five militants loyal to the Islamic State (IS) group were killed and 10 others injured after clash erupted in Darzab district of Afghanistan's northern Jawzjan province Friday night, spokesman for provincial government Reza Ghafori said Saturday.

A group of IS fighters attacked Mughal village in Darzab district Friday night. Police personnel retaliated which lasted for four hours, and the militants fled the area leaving five bodies behind, according to the official.

Darzab district in Jawzjan province with Shiberghan as its capital 390 km north of Kabul has been the scene of IS activities over the past nearly one year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 20:53:43|Editor: Song Lifang

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RABAT, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Seven Moroccan nationals died in a massive fire that engulfed a residential building in West London, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The ministry said Morocco's diplomatic missions in London are working closely with the British authorities to identify the victims.

Following the incident, King Mohammed VI of Morocco gave instructions to the Moroccan embassy and general consulate in London to closely follow the Moroccan victims and provide them with necessary help.

The fire was reported to break out at the 24-storey block Grenfell Tower in North Kensington in the early hours of Wednesday local time, killing at least 30 people.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 20:53:46|Editor: MJ

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MACAO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area can expand Macao's room of growth and facilitate its diversified economy, representatives from the civil and professional groups of the special administrative region (SAR) said Saturday.

The remarks were made at a meeting held to collect suggestions about Macao's role in the Greater Bay Area development.

Head of Macao SAR Policy Research Office Lao Pun Lap presided the meeting, which was attended by representatives of Macao's civil and professional groups, such as the Macao Chinese Medical Association, the Macao Worker Union, and the Women's General Association of Macao.

The representatives said that with all the opportunities brought by the development of the Greater Bay Area, there also come challenges for Macao to tackle, such as the implementation of big data in social services, cross-border sharing of medical and nursing service, and environment protection cooperation.

This is the first meeting held by the SAR government to collect suggestions from civil society after it started a mass campaign on Tuesday to receive ideas and suggestions from Macao people, who are encouraged to share their views on how to improve Macao's role in the Greater Bay Area development.

The Greater Bay Area will include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, and nine cities in south China's Guangdong Province, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Foshan, Zhaoqing and Jiangmen.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 21:03:49|Editor: MJ

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BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday sent a message of condolences to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on behalf of the Chinese government and in his own name over the death of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

In the message, Li said Kohl was an outstanding German leader, an old friend of the Chinese people and also the man who had made active efforts to promote the China-Germany relations.

"He has made significant contributions to the exchanges and cooperation between China and Germany, which we will never forget," Li said.

Li noted that Germany is China's all-round strategic partner in Europe and that new progress has constantly been achieved in the relations and cooperation between the two countries.

He believed with the joint efforts of both sides, the China-Germany ties and friendship will witness greater development.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 21:03:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Yu Zhengsheng (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, shakes hands with Hung Hsiu-chu, chairperson of the Taiwan-based Kuomintang (KMT) party at the ongoing 9th Straits Forum in Xiamen of southeast China's Fujian Province, June 17, 2017. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)

XIAMEN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng has stressed adherence to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence" as the key to ensuring the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks Saturday while meeting representatives of the attendees at the ongoing 9th Straits Forum.

The core of the 1992 Consensus is the one-China policy, which states that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China. It explicitly sets out that the fundamental nature of relations across the Taiwan Strait are not state-to-state relations.

After clarifying this, many issues between the two sides could be solved through consultation, said Yu.

By refusing to endorse the 1992 Consensus, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has undermined the political foundation of the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, said Yu.

Yu called on the DPP to clarify the nature of cross-strait relations and implement it through action.

"It is an issue that cannot be avoided," said Yu.
South Sudanese women pray for peace and reconciliation at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, capital of South Sudan, March 10, 2017. (Xinhua/Gale Julius)

JUBA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Experts have called on authorities in South Sudan to develop laws to combat rampant hate speech and online incitement, which they said have caused more violence and ethnic polarization since 2013.

Speaking during a workshop on hate speech in Juba on Friday, the experts said rumors, fake news and newly adapted rhetoric of using symbols and images that carry hate messages has fuelled hatred, ethnic divisions and incitement to violence.

Jacob Dut Chol, senior lecturer of political science at the University of Juba, said local politicians and South Sudanese communities living abroad contributed much of the ongoing hatred by posting inflammatory content on social media sites.

Chol said hate speech has recently shifted from online and offline platforms to symbols being used in public domains, which he warned could even prolong the ongoing violence.

"Hate speech is a big and worrying issue in South Sudan. If it's not addressed on time, it will cause a lot of ethnic polarization, disunity and continue perpetuating the violence for a while," Chol said.

Chol said tougher laws against perpetrators of online and offline hate speech and increased awareness would help reverse the current trend.

He called on South Sudanese to draw experience from countries like Rwanda and Kenya, which tackled hate speech and incitement following the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and the post elections violence in Kenya in 2007 through advocating for responsible use of social media, hate speech awareness and counter-messaging and peacebuilding.

"Hate speech can be controlled by tough laws and policies. This therefore calls on the government to urgently come up with legislations. We need to also scale up sensitization against hate speech," Chol said.

Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of civil society group Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), said a survey they conducted indicated that four out of five posts or comments on social media in South Sudan carries hate speech or incitement to violence.

He said the trend increased drastically following renewed violence in July 2016, warning that if it continues, South Sudan risks disintegration.

"Hate speech has contributed to the ethnic divisions. And if we don't get serious, the word South Sudan will soon disappear and we begin identifying ourselves by tribes and ethnicities," Yakani said.

"There is need to mitigate hate speech through contribution from the government by enacting laws that hold the perpetrators of hate speech and anti-peace groups accountable," he added.

South Sudan plagued into civil unrest in December 2013 following political disputes between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his then deputy Riek Machar.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions of others while dividing communities along ethnic lines and leaving the nation in severe food insecurity and on the edge of economic collapse.

A peace deal signed in 2015 under international pressure failed to end the violence as it was shattered again by fresh clashes that erupted in July 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 21:29:07|Editor: MJ

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BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent messages to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel, respectively, expressing his condolences over the death of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people and in his own name, Xi voiced deep condolences over Kohl's death and sincere sympathy for the former chancellor's family.

As an outstanding politician, Xi said, Kohl has made great contributions to German reunification and European integration, and his historic legacies will be remembered by all.

Xi said the Chinese people will never forget their old friend for his consistent commitment to promoting China-Germany and China-Europe dialogues and cooperation, his positive contributions to the development of China-Germany relations, as well as his understanding and support for the Chinese people to realize complete national reunification.

The Chinese government and people always treasure the friendship between the Chinese and German people, and are willing to work with the German side to create a better future for the China-Germany relations.

Kohl died, at the age of 87, Friday at his home in Ludwigshafen in Germany's western state of Rhineland-Platinate. He led Germany for a record 16 years -- first as chancellor of West Germany from 1982 to 1990 and then as chancellor of the reunited Germany until 1998.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 21:49:15|Editor: Song Lifang

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KIGALI, June 17(Xinhua) -- Rwanda's ruling party Rwandan Patriot Front (RPF) on Saturday elected the country's incumbent President Paul Kagame as the party's presidential candidate for the elections scheduled in August.

Kagame, also the chairperson of RPF, was the sole candidate in an unanimous vote conducted by the RPF Congress at the party's new headquarters in Kigali, capital of Rwanda. Kagame gained 1929 congress members' votes out of 1930, after one vote was declared invalid.

RPF members from all provinces including south, east, west, north and the capital endorsed Kagame as their sole candidate due to his track record, Wellars Gasamagera, the RPF Commissioner for Political Mass Mobilization, told the congress shortly before the ballot.

Clad in red party T-shirt, Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame arrived for the RPF Congress at 11:24 a.m. in the company of RPF's vice chairperson Christophe Bazivamo and Secretary General Francois Ngarambe.

Party members said the RPF is confident of the popular support due to good governance and achievements on security, poverty reduction, unity, graft fight, women empowerment, universal health insurance coverage among others, party member professor Anastase Shyaka said at the congress.

Rwanda's National Electoral Commission (NEC) Monday started receiving applications for candidates wishing to take part in August's presidential elections.

Leader of the opposition Democratic Green Party of Rwanda Frank Habineza was the first person presenting the application.

Two other prospective candidates Gilbert Mwenedata, an independent competitor, and Fred S. Barafinda, said to be the representative of Rwanda Revolutionary Union Democratic Advancers (RRUDA), presented their credentials to the commission. RRUDA is not known among registered parties in Rwanda.

There are 11 political parties in Rwanda.

Major competitors in the previous elections of the ruling party Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), including the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Liberal Party (PL), have recently announced their support to President Kagame.

Other prospective candidates yet to present credentials include Diana Shimwa Rwigara, daughter of deceased tycoon Asinapol Rwigara, the only potential female candidate.

Rwanda will go to the polls for presidential elections on August 4 for its third time since the end of the ex-genocidal regime in 1994.

NEC had said that a provisional list of qualified candidates will be announced on June 27. The names of qualified candidates will be published on July 7, a week before campaigns start.

Campaigns for the qualified candidates will officially begin on July 14 and end on August 3, just a day before the elections.

It is estimated that about 6.8 million Rwandans will vote in the upcoming elections, according to the NEC.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 21:54:16|Editor: Song Lifang

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TOKYO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Seven crew members from the U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald remained unaccounted for and three others were injured following a collision between the destroyer and a Philippine container vessel in waters off Shizuoka Prefecture, in the southeast part of central Japan, early Saturday morning.

According to local media, those injured include Cmdr. Bryce Benson, the Fitzgerald's commanding officer, who is in a stable condition in hospital. Two other crew members were airlifted to hospital also with non-life-threatening injuries, the Navy said.

The Japan Coast Guard said it had sent patrol vessels and an airplane to the site of the collision and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has dispatched a helicopter to search for the seven missing crew members. The search party has also been joined by a U.S. aircraft, the coast guard said.

According to the coast guard here, the collision occurred about 100 km southwest of Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, and was first reported by the Philippine container vessel at around 2:25 a.m. local time.

Along with the U.S. Navy, the Japan Coast Guard is investigating the collision and has questioned crew members of the 29,060 ton Philippine ACX Crystal container vessel on suspicion of possible endangerment of traffic caused by professional negligence, according to local media reports.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK said that a record aboard the Philippine ship shows that it took a sharp right turn southeast of the Izu Peninsula at around 1:30 a.m., about an hour before the collision was reported.

The vessel, which was carrying 1,080 containers, was then recorded as traveling east for 30 minutes before making a U-turn and doubling back into the waters where the collision with the 8,315 ton Aegis-equipped Fitzgerald took place, NHK said.

In a crossing situation under international regulations to avoid collisions, a ship must give way to the vessel to its starboard, or the side of a ship that is on the right when one is facing forward.

A myriad of information is being analyzed on the cause of the collision, sources close to the matter have said, such as the exact locations of the two vessels, the speed they were traveling at, their routes, their radar and other surveillance capabilities, as well as the weather conditions at the time.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said that at the time of the collision the weather and therefore visibility should have been clear and the waves were at a height of around 2 meters.

The weather agency had not issued any advisories or warnings for the area, it said.

The Philippine container ship departed from Nagoya in central Japan and was headed for Tokyo on Friday evening and had already passed south of the Izu Peninsular on Friday by midnight, according to local reports.

Nippon Yusen, headquartered in Tokyo and one of the largest shipping companies in the world, said in a statement "We are collaborating with the ship owner and fully cooperating with the investigation by the coast guard."

It added that all crew members aboard the ACX Crystal have been confirmed to be safe and it has set up its own independent task force to further probe the details of the collision and how to proceed.

Televised media reports showed that the 154 meter-long U.S. guided-missile destroyer had suffered considerable damage to its right side, although the destroyer, part of the U.S. 7th Fleet, returned to the Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa Prefecture, about 50 km southwest of Tokyo, unassisted.

Aerial footage from local media showed that the 222.6-meter long Philippine ship, which was sailing towards Tokyo, had scrape marks from the collision on the left side of its bow section. The vessel has since docked at a port in Tokyo.

Neither of the vessels involved in the collision were in danger of sinking, the Japan Coast Guard said earlier. It added that the collision took place in waters known to receive a high volume of traffic and that the area is something of a black spot for accidents.

The area can become congested with vessels coming and going from Tokyo Bay, the coast guard said, as well as with vessels navigating through the Pacific Ocean form both the east and the west.

Following the collision, the United States and the Philippines have been in discussions regarding the accident and how to deal with it, sources close to the matter said Saturday evening.

Under the bilateral status of forces agreement between the United States and Japan, the former has primary jurisdiction regarding incidents involving members of its forces.

According to NHK, an association of captains of commercial vessels is calling for the voluntary separation of lanes for east and west-bound shipping in the area where the collision happened.
People shout slogans as they hold Turkish and Qatari flags during a demonstration in favour of Qatar in central Istanbul, Turkey, late June 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

ISTANBUL, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said Saturday that his country has supplied 5,000 tons of food to Qatar facing a blockade by a number of Muslim countries.

The minister said the supplies were sent to Qatar with 71 planes after the Gulf country was plunged into a crisis on June 5, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and some other countries severed diplomatic ties and closed off sea, air and land links to Doha, accusing it of funding terrorism, hosting terrorists and interfering with their internal affairs.

"Our shipments via sea route will also begin this weekend," Zeybekci said at a TV program in Istanbul. "Right now our trucks are on their way."

"Turkey could supply all the humanitarian needs of Qatar," he was quoted as saying by the Haberturk daily.

Turkey has been siding with Qatar and pushing for a settlement through dialogue.

Addressing a meeting of Turkish exporters in Istanbul on Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated a call for the resolution of the dispute before the Muslim's holy month of Ramadan ends on June 24.

The president said Turkey's prime minister and foreign minister are working hard with him to resolve the crisis by meeting with all the sides involved.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 22:24:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Yu Zhengsheng (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, shakes hands with Hung Hsiu-chu, chairperson of the Taiwan-based Kuomintang (KMT) party at the ongoing 9th Straits Forum in Xiamen of southeast China's Fujian Province, June 17, 2017. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)

XIAMEN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng has stressed adherence to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence" as the key to ensuring the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks Saturday while meeting representatives attending the ongoing 9th Straits Forum.

The core of the 1992 Consensus is the one-China policy, which states that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China. It explicitly sets out that the fundamental nature of relations across the Taiwan Strait is not state-to-state relationship.

After clarifying this, many issues between the two sides could be solved through consultation, said Yu.

By refusing to endorse the 1992 Consensus, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has undermined the political foundation of the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, said Yu.

He called on the DPP to clarify the nature of cross-Strait relations and implement it through action.

"It is an issue that cannot be avoided," said Yu.

This year marks the 30th anniversary since the two sides resumed people-to-people communication across the Strait, but currently the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations has been severely threatened, according to Yu.

"We need to enhance people-to-people communication and promote grassroots exchanges, particularly among the youth, so as to boost mutual understanding and bring our hearts closer," said Yu.

Identifying the two sides of the Taiwan Strait as a community of shared future, Yu called for efforts in deepening cross-Strait economic and social integration.

He also noted that mainland authorities are introducing a series of favorable policies for Taiwan compatriots to promote the integration.

Attendees from Taiwan, including Hung Hsiu-chu, chairperson of the Taiwan-based Kuomintang (KMT) party, highlighted the role of the forum against the background of DPP's damage to the foundation of the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and pledged to continue people-to-people exchanges and economic cooperation.

Before the meeting, Yu attended a group wedding for 50 cross-Strait couples and extended his blessing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 22:24:29|Editor: MJ

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DAR ES SALAAM, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The second China-Tanzania Job Fair kick off in the University of Dar es Salaam on Saturday, attracting hundreds of students across the country.

Rwekaza Mukandala, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, said more graduates were lined up to be employed in the Chinese firms.

Mukandala was speaking at the fair where Chinese employers got an opportunity to seek competent Tanzanian graduates.

The vice chancellor said the job fair had this year attracted hundreds of graduates from about 20 universities across the country, the second largest economy in East Africa.

Mukandala said he hoped that the fair can help companies recruit more graduates and urged job seekers to acquire skills and technology from the Chinese companies.

"This job fair has come at the right time when the government was working hard to end unemployment which is the main obstacle facing our graduates," he said.

For her part, Tanzania's Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan challenged local graduates who sought employment from the Chinese companies to be resourceful.

"The Chinese firms are doing good job in supporting our graduates to get employment. We hope to continue building on our collaboration and to help meet your talent requirements," she said.

The job fair was jointly organized by the Chinese Business Chamber in Tanzania, the Confucius Institute at the UDSM, and the Tanzania-China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification. It was attended by over 100 Chinese enterprises.

Lu Youqing, the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, said the job fair opened another window for strengthening the relationship between China and Tanzania.

Lu said the government of China will continue supporting Tanzania in areas of construction, cultural relationship, agriculture, medicine and education.
Judge Hassan Farid gives the verdict of defendants accused of involvement in the 2015 assassination of Egypt's top prosecutor, in a courtroom on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, June 17, 2017. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

CAIRO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court on Saturday has sentenced 31 persons to death over killing former public prosecutor in a bomb attack on his car in 2015, the Egyptian state TV reported.

The defendants were convicted of premeditated murder, association with a terrorist organization and being in possession of weapons and explosives.

The court referred the sentence to Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic official who will give the religious judgment of all preliminary death sentences.

The Mufti's opinion is non-binding as it is usually considered a formality.

Former public prosecutor Hisham Barakat died of his injuries after a car-bomb attack in Cairo on June 29, 2015. The car bomb struck his convoy as it was leaving his home in Cairo.

Some 67 defendants were charged in the case.

A little-known group calling itself "the Giza Popular Resistance" claimed responsibility of the attack.

Before the attack, the Islamic State affiliate group in Sinai, known then as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis urged followers to attack judges.

Barakat was appointed as chief prosecutor following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-17 23:14:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOSCOW, June 17 (Xinhua) -- New U.S. sanctions against Russia, if implemented, will not push the latter into a deadlock, but will harm bilateral relations between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.

"We will probably have to adjust certain things, take additional measures and give extra attention to something, but this will not lead to a deadlock and a collapse," Putin was cited by Russia's Tass News Agency as saying in an interview with the Saturday News TV program.

"But this will certainly complicate Russia-U.S. relations. I think this is harmful," the Russian president said.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a new anti-Russia sanction bill by a 97-2 vote, which was so far one of the strongest U.S. responses to alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Putin also said that it is too early to talk about countermeasures by the Russian side in response to the new U.S. sanctions.

"We need to see how all this proceeds. Therefore, it is premature now to publicly speak of our response measures," he said.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that Moscow seeks to avoid a new sanction standoff with the West and that it takes a negative view on the U.S. action.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 00:20:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia will have an industry zone dedicated to Japanese Companies for the first time, to be built on the outskirts of its capital city Addis Ababa.

The statement was made on Saturday by Arkebe Oqubay, Special Advisor to Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn explaining the country's manufacturing ambitions.

"The industry park will be built on 40 hectares of land, and will accommodate Japanese companies from diverse sectors including more high tech firms," said Oqubay.

Japanese private investment in Ethiopia lags quite significantly from investments by Turkish, Indian and Chinese counterparts.

With around 100 million strong population, Ethiopia also hopes industry parks will give ample employment opportunity to a growing labor force estimated to grow by 2 million annually and boost Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into its growing economy.

There are currently about 10 industry parks across Ethiopia that have been built or under construction

Ethiopia recorded 3.2 billion U.S. dollars of FDI in 2016, but has plans to increase it 10 times in the coming years.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 00:55:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BUCHAREST, June 17 (Xinhua) -- "Chinese Ambassador Scholarship" was launched at the Chinese Embassy in Romania on Saturday, with some 300 students, teachers, representatives of overseas Chinese community and Chinese enterprises participating in the ceremony.

"The main goal of the scholarship is to encourage Romanian students to learn Chinese and to warmly welcome as many young people as possible to join the Chinese Language connoisseurs and to become successors and heirs of the friendship between China and Romania," said Chinese Ambassador to Romania Xu Feihong.

Xu added that Chinese learning enjoys great popularity in Romania, where over 8,000 people are studying Chinese in four Confucius institutes, eight Confucius classrooms and over 100 Chinese teaching points.

About 20 students and four educators were awarded with mobile phones and cash prizes at the ceremony.

Xu told Xinhua after the ceremony that in Romania, one of the important countries along the Belt and Road, many people realize that the initiative will bring about increasing demand for talents in their country, for Romanians who know the Chinese language.

He hoped that more and more young people in Romania play an active role in various fields such as economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

"The establishment of the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship fully demonstrates the importance attached by the Chinese Embassy to the Chinese teaching, as well as the strong support of Chinese enterprises and Chinese business associations in Romania for the Chinese teaching," Romanian co-director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Bucharest, Luminita Balan, told Xinhua.

At the awards ceremony, students also performed traditional Chinese singing, dancing, clapper talk, cross-talk and taiji.

"The performance makes me realize that I have to redouble my efforts and learn Chinese well," a student at the Confucius Institute in Bucharest told Xinhua.
A ball of fire rises from a building following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces on a rebel-held area in the southern city of Daraa, on June 11, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

DAMASCUS, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The general-command of the Syrian army announced on Saturday a 48-hour cessation of battles in the country's southern province of Daraa, state news agency SANA reported.

The ceasefire comes as part of the Syrian army's support to the "efforts of national reconciliation," according to the report.

The cessation of battles went into effect as of 12:00 p.m. (1000 GMT) Saturday, said SANA.

It wasn't clear what caused the ceasefire to start in Daraa, given the fact that the Syrian army was heavily bombing the sites of the ultra-radical groups, which were accused of implementing a foreign plan to turn Daraa into a buffer zone between Syria and Jordan.

This comes as the UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistrua, announced that the seventh round of Geneva talks will take place on July 9.

Mistura said that the talks will rely on the progress made in the de-escalation zones' deal, which was internationally backed and went into effect last May.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 01:40:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JERUSALEM, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Saturday denounced the deadly attacks by Palestinians which killed a border policewoman on duty in Jerusalem.

"I condemn yesterday's shooting and stabbing attack by Palestinian assailants in the vicinity of the Old City of Jerusalem," Mladenov said in a statement sent to Xinhua. "Such terrorist acts must be clearly condemned by all," he said.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured," the statement read.

On Friday evening, three assailants, armed with knives and a homemade automatic weapon, carried out two attacks at two locations simultaneously. Border Police Chief Sergeant Hadas Malka was stabbed to death.

The assailants, all from the West Bank village of Deir Abu-Mashal near Ramallah, were shot and killed by the police.

In the wake of the attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled permits allowing Palestinians to visit their families in Israel during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Entry permits for prayers in Israel were not revoked.

The incidents were the latest in a wave of violence that has claimed the lives of at least 250 Palestinians, 41 Israelis, two Jordanian tourists, two U.S. nationals, two refugees from Sudan and Eritrea and a British tourist since mid-September 2015.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 04:06:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HELSINKI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Touko Aalto, a 33-year-old Member of Parliament, was elected on Saturday as the new leader of the Finnish Green Party.

He followed Ville Niinisto, who had completed the maximum three two-year term as chairman. The party convention in Tampere confirmed the result. Aalto defeated MP Emma Kari, who came in second.

The Finnish Green Party currently enjoys the largest popularity in its history. In June, a poll carried out by the research institute Taloustutkimus gave it 15-percent backing.

Researchers have said the Greens could even grow further. The party benefits from urbanization and in the decline of the appreciation of materialistic values.

The recent election of a radical right-winger to head the True Finns party may also benefit the Greens, researchers have said.

Talking to the media after the election, Aalto did not want to define future partners of cooperation on the left-right scale.

He took distance from the trend of the recent Finnish governments to introduce corporate practices in public service. "A country cannot be run as a business," he said and defined spreading such views as populism.

In his farewell address, outgoing chairman Ville Niinisto underlined the need to defend the welfare state and equal opportunities.

Niinisto criticized the budget austerity of the current Finnish government, particularly the cuts in funding of education. Niinisto said the Greens could well aim at becoming the prime ministerial party in the future.

Local commentators have characterized the image of newly elected party chairman Aalto as more conciliatory than Niinisto.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 04:31:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Egypt signed on Saturday a 575-million-U.S. dollar agreement with U.S. giant company General Electric (GE) to provide the country with 100 multi-use locomotives, the Egyptian investment minister said in a press conference.

"The agreement is considered one of the results of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi's visit to the United States," Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr told reporters, referring to the Egyptian president's visit to Washington earlier in April at the invitation of his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

According to the deal, GE will also provide 15 years of technical support and spare parts for the new locomotives as well as 81 other present trains. It will also offer a training program for more than 275 Egyptian engineers and technicians from the railway authority.

The first shipment of 25 locomotives is expected to arrive in Egypt in 2018.

Over the past couple of years, GE worked with the Egyptian government in projects to support and upgrade the country's power generation capacity.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 05:36:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SANAA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's exiled government on Saturday welcomed a United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) presidential statement about Hodeidah peace plan to keep commercial and humanitarian supplies flowing into the war-torn country, but dominant Houthi rebels apparently rejected it.

On Thursday, the UNSC issued a presidential statement urging warring parties in Yemen to agree on a two-point proposal advanced by the UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to keep Hodeidah out of fighting and ensure the flowing of commercial and humanitarian aid.

The proposal stipulates the withdrawal of Houthi fighters from the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and handing it to a third neutral party under the supervision of the UN. In return, the government would resume salary payment to the state employees.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malik al-Mekhlafi welcomed the UNSC proposal.

"The government reiterates its agreement to the UN envoy's Hodeidah proposals and to the mechanism of handing over resources and salaries out of concern for Yemenis," he said on his Twitter account.

However, the Houthi group rejected the UNSC proposal, saying it was not neutral.

"The UNSC was serving the policy of some power countries' interests," Houthi-controlled state Saba news agency quoted an unnamed spokesman for the group as saying.

"We affirm that we have all rights to defend our country and will respond to any aggressive attack on Hodeidah port," Houthi spokesman said.

"The UNSC should instead adopt a resolution to stop the unjust Saudi-led aggression coalition war against the Yemeni people," he added.

Hodeidah is the only seaport to the territories under control of Houthis, through which commercial imports and humanitarian aids enter.

The Saudi-led coalition has accused Houthis of smuggling weapons from Iran to Yemen through Hodeidah and called the UN to take control over it. The Houthi group denied the accusation.

Tens of thousands of Yemeni state employees have gone largely unpaid for several months after the government last year shifted the central bank from Houthi-held capital Sanaa to the southern port city of Aden.

The Yemeni war pits Iranian-allied dominant Shiite Houthi rebels, backed by forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, against the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which is backed by Saudi-led Arab coalition.

The capital Sanaa and most of the northern provinces have been under control of Houthi rebels since September 2014.

The war has so far killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, half of them civilians, and displaced over two million others, according to UN humanitarian agencies.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 05:56:42|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing the fate of President Donald Trump's travel ban. But it remains unknown what the outcome will be.

Just six weeks after coming into office, Trump signed an executive order in March that would ban citizens of six Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States for a period of 90 days. The Trump administration says it needs the 90-day window to better ascertain the supposed terror threat coming from these nations. The countries in question are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - countries that were initially cited by the former Obama administration as "countries of concern."

Critics of the ban call it unconstitutional, while supporters say the White House and Congress should be, by law, deciding national security policy, not the courts.

On Monday Trump's ban lost a battle in the 9th circuit court, and the executive order is now being weighed by the Supreme Court, which has the final say on whether Trump's ban is constitutional.

Some experts said that, based on history, there's a high likelihood that the lower court ruling will be overturned, and that the Supreme Court will rule in Trump's favor.

One reason is because the 9th circuit court has had a large percentage of its rulings overturned.

Critics said it's one of the nation's most liberal courts, and noted that it is heavily laden with judges appointed by former President Bill Clinton, a liberal Democrat. Critics have blasted that court's judges for, they allege, acting more as activists rather than sticking to their duty of upholding the law.

Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told Xinhua the Supreme Court's decision will be very close, and will rest on the most moderate judge in the court, Anthony Kennedy.

"The question you have to ask yourself is, if this executive order went through under (former) President Obama...would it pass muster? A lot of people in the legal community think it might," O'Connell said, speaking of former President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Hans von Spakovsky, a legal expert at the Heritage Foundation, told Xinhua: "it is my opinion that the three 9th Circuit judges - all appointed by Bill Clinton - who issued the decision, were acting as advocates, not judges."

"They failed to follow prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions that upheld the authority of the president to suspend the entry of any aliens into the country. They didn't even follow prior decisions of the 9th Circuit on this same issue," he said.

When asked how he thought the Supreme Court will rule on the issue, he said: "If the justices of the Supreme Court follow their own prior rulings, then they will overturn the 9th Circuit and rule in favor of the president and the government," he said.

"I hope they will put the law ahead of their politics," he said.

Trump's proposed travel ban comes at a time when terrorism is on the rise in developed countries, having risen 200 percent since 2013, according to a report released earlier this month.

The Global Terrorism Index, compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace, found that since 2007, deaths related to terror attacks have jumped by over 900 percent in OECD nations.

O'Connell said what's been frustrating for the Trump administration is that "they want to use all tools necessary to stop a threat that appears to be metastasizing around the world, and essentially what the Democrats are saying is 'well, we should just continue with our course of action.'"

Many Americans do not favor the ban, despite the support from Trump's base, and some experts said there is a disconnect between Trump's anti-terrorism policies and the actual threat. They say that many terrorism attacks or attempted attacks have come from people already living inside the United States.

One example is the Orlando, Florida shooter who last year opened fire inside a gay nightclub and killed dozens of people. The attacker, a U.S. citizen of Afghanistan descent, had pledged allegiance to terror group Islamic State.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 05:56:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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PARIS, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The success of French President Emmanuel Macron's movement, the Republic on the Move (LREM), in the first round of legislative elections on June 11, is undeniable in terms of percentage of votes cast.

All opinion polls predict a new record for abstention rates for the second round on Sunday.

The debate on the causes and consequences of such low turnout has created concerns in France and raise questions about this way of voting, as well as the legitimacy of the future National Assembly.

On June 11, more than one in two French voters stayed home, leading to the lowest turnout for the first round of legislative elections in the history of the 5th Republic.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the rate of abstention was at 51.29 percent, 8 percentage points higher than in 2012 (42.8 percent), and 29 percentage points higher than the first round of the presidential election (22.2 percent).

Opinion polls are predicting a new record for the second round, after which the 577-seat National Assembly will be receive a complete makeover.

According to an Odoxa poll for France Info, published Friday, 53 percent of potential voters plan not to go to the polls. If the victory of LREM, founded in April 2016 by then-candidate Macron, comes as a landslide, the "first party in France" will still be of abstention.

"Even if LREM prepares to gain a large majority, it is a strong deformation of the reality of French society. In the end, only a small part of the electorate has voted for LREM, due to weak turnout," said Yves-Marie Cann, director of political studies at the Elabe-CSA polling institute.

"The new majority should not make the mistake of believing that voters have given them a blank check. They were rather lucky there wasn't strong mobilization against them. They are also benefiting from the goodwill which surrounds Emmanuel Macron, especially on his first international actions which were well-received," he said.

"Mechanically, this strong abstention should be favorable to LREM, whose base is more mobilized. But the other side of the coin, it's to find oneself with a badly elected National Assembly," the pollster summarized.

The inversion of the election calendar is often mentioned by pundits to explain the abstention rate.

Since the 2001 reform which placed the two legislative rounds in the immediate aftermath of the presidential election, when the term of the head of state was set at five years, the level of abstention during legislative elections has only increased and the vote functions more like a confirmation.

"The presidential election is the only one, in our system, which is mobilizing," said Jean-Yves Dormagen, political science professor at Montpellier University.

A whole series of factors have contributed to the abstention record set on June 11.

The electoral sequence, which began in autumn 2016 with the primaries on the right, has probably contributed to a "democratic weariness" among voters, along with the growing defiance toward the political class which only worsened during a campaign riddled with scandals.

The very poor turnout is also a disavowal of politicians.

According to the poll published Friday, 27 percent of abstainers said they will not vote because they think the election is rigged beforehand and that Macron's movement will win, and 24 percent because they don't identify with the programs and personalities of the candidates. Paradoxically, 6 out of 10 think a large majority for the LREM in the National Assembly would be a bad thing.

"The French who are not pro-Macron -- and they are numerous -- are stunned," argued the political science PhD Virginie Martin, who teaches at the Kedge Business School.

"The wish to clean house and the protest on which Marine Le Pen capitalized also benefits Emmanuel Macron. Even the people, right or left, who didn't vote for him are almost content because they see the candidates from the system getting ejected," she added. "In these conditions, the question of the basis of legitimacy is more real than ever."

This question of legitimacy has become more urgent as voting procedures for electing the National Assembly are regularly criticized.

"While a group like On the Move represents 15 percent of the electoral body but will obtain 75 percent of the seats, it's because there is a problem," said Christian Delporte, author and specialist in political history.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 07:06:57|Editor: Liu

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LOS ANGELES, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A Colorado man was sentenced to 72 years in prison by a judge on Friday for beating his 84-year-old grandfather to death during a dinner argument.

Jason Vanbommel, 34, was sentenced in Arapahoe District Court after being found guilty by a jury on April 13 of reckless manslaughter and first-degree assault of an at-risk adult, among other charges, the District Attorney's Office said.

According to the Denver Post, Vanbommel argued with his grandmother over what to have for dinner when she was ready to prepare shrimp on Dec. 29, 2015. His grandfather, Frans Vanbommel, interrupted and told the man to show his respect to his grandmother. Jason Vanbommel got angry, throwing things and yelling profanities. When Frans Vanbommel tried to call 911, Vanbommel began punching his grandfather in the head. When his grandfather fell to the floor, Vanbommel kicked him in the torso, fracturing his ribs.

The condition of Frans Vanbommel deteriorated after he was admitted to a hospital and died on January 6, 2016.

"This horrific crime ... all because your grandfather told you not to yell at your grandmother," District Judge Phillip Douglass told Vanbommel, according to the district attorney's news release.

"There is not room in a civilized society for those who would think this is acceptable," the judge added.

Vanbommel was found to be a habitual criminal that made him eligible for stronger penalties.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-18 07:11:58|Editor: Liu

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SAN FRANCISCO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have shown genetic clues left behind in shed cells, tissues, scales and feces by ocean animals can be used as forensic markers to accurately and easily survey marine life in complex deep-water environments.

While there is no easy method for detecting sea creatures' presence in the vast watery realm, researchers at Stanford University show progress in using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis to detect ocean animals in locations where the water can be over 7,200 feet, or nearly 2,200 meters, deep.

"We want to know what's out there," said Elizabeth A. Andruszkiewicz, a graduate student in Stanford's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and lead author of a paper published in PLOS ONE. "Eventually, this technology may answer bigger questions, such as how communities of organisms have adapted to environmental changes over time."

Of the few previous environmental DNA, or eDNA, studies of ocean animals, all were done in relatively shallow nearshore environments. Most were done in controlled systems such as saltwater tanks. The Stanford-led study was done in the deep waters of Monterey Bay, an important ecosystem in the California Current, which flows southward along the western coast of North America.

Collecting eDNA is fairly straightforward, as a basic water sample does the trick, and researchers can archive these samples for long periods by freezing them. The approach promises a faster and less invasive way to measure abundance and distribution of organisms. "This could revolutionize the way we keep track of animals," said study co-author Alexandria Boehm, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford.

The eDNA survey identified 72 species of vertebrates, namely marine fishes, mammals such as elephant seals, humpback whales, sharks and rockfishes, at study sites across 28 miles, or 45 kilometers, of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The researchers found DNA of some creatures, such as sunfishes, salmon, seahorses and mackerel sharks, only in locations where the water was less than 600 feet, or about 183 meters, deep. DNA of other animals, such as dolphins and marine smelts, turned up only in waters more than 600 feet deep.

The shallowest waters held the greatest biodiversity.

Taken as a whole, the findings provide a proof of concept for eDNA as an ocean sleuthing tool.

"It is a remarkably powerful way to answer a simple question: What species are present in space and time in our oceans?" co-author Barbara Block, the Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Professor in Marine Sciences at Stanford, was quoted as saying in a news release "It could change how we view our planet's marine biodiversity."
NGC, CNG, Scotiabank sign fleet card agreement

The fuel card-accessible incentives were announced on Wednesday in a joint statement issued by the NGC CNG Company Limited (NGC CNG) and Scotiabank .

The person whose name is on the vehicles certified copy of ownership will receive the following incentives: taxis - $5,000 in free CNG; maxi taxis - up to $30,000; and school buses up to $7,500 .

NGC CNG explained that upon conversion of their diesel or gasoline powered vehicles, owners can apply to the company for a fuel card, And once successful, a Scotiabank Fleet Card with the prescribed value will be issued. The company said it expects to issue up to 15,000 fleet fuel cards over the next two years, as well as have 30 CNG supply points available, by the end of 2018 .

NGC CNG president Curtis Mohammed, commenting on the June 8 signing, said the fuel card is key to increasing demand for CNG in Trinidad and Tobago. This agreement represent one of the foundation elements of our programs and now that we have signed, its a big step towards rolling out the incentives to the hundreds of drivers who we know will switch over to CNG. Scotiabank managing director Anya Schnoor also spoke about the benefits of having such an agreement in place. CNG is a more environmentally friendly fuel, producing less undesirable gases that pollute the atmosphere. This partnership with NGC CNG is one of the ways Scotiabank is supporting its belief that every customer has the right to become better off. Schnoor added that through the banks support of this initiative, We are helping customers live in a better world, one that is less polluted and more environmentally conscious. Scotiabank remains deeply committed to playing a role in the shift towards a greener future. The Scotiabank Fleet Card is a debit card for vehicles issued solely by Manufacturers Credit & Information Services on behalf of Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited. It is a magnetic card embossed and encoded with vehicle data and used on Point of Sale (POS) terminals located at Fleet Card merchants for the payment of fuel and automotive services .

The Scotiabank Fleet Card service was introduced to Trinidad and Tobago in 2001 with the first transaction being processed at NP Morvant .
TT citizen expels cocaine pellets

The Jamaica Gleaner yesterday reported that the man was arrested at the Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay on June 11, on suspicion of breaches of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

The man, whose identity is being withheld, was arrested about 1.40 pm that day after narcotics police interviewed him during a security screening. He was detained while being screened to board a flight destined for Brussels, Belgium.

Investigations continue.
Scholar to know on Oct 2 if he has to repay $3M

Wellington, who in 2016 was ordered to repay the funds when he did not attend the start of the civil trial brought against him by the Office of the Attorney General, got another chance to defend himself when the Court of Appeal sent his case back to Justice Nadia Kangaloo for determination.

At the close of oral submissions, the judge yesterday set October 2 for the date of her decision.

Kangaloo had initially declined to grant an adjournment to Wellingtons lawyer and entered judgment against him.

After the case went back to her, Wellington, in testimony in January, insisted that he fulfilled his contractual agreement under the National Scholarship Programme.

Wellington, who moved to Australia, claimed in his testimony before Kangaloo at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain that after writing his final exams at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in May 2009, he wrote to the Ministry of Public Administration which managed the Government scholarship programme at the time.

He said he received no response and, after several months, decided to contact the ministry via telephone. Wellington said he was told he could not be offered a job as he had not immediately returned when he completed his degree.

He said if he had no intention of coming back, he would not now have been incurring $3 million worth of debt.

The State, which filed the action against him, alleged that Wellington signed an agreement after being awarded an open scholarship in 2003 to obtain a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland.

For the five years of his studies, Government paid Wellingtons tuition fees and he was given textbook and personal maintenance allowances. Under the agreement, Wellington, as is the case with other government scholars, was required to repay the Government if he failed to work here for the period of their foreign studies.

Kangaloo had ordered that Wellington repay the $1,734,994.30 expended by the Government on his studies in addition to $1,328,764.64 in interest calculated at the rate of 7.75 percent from the date of his graduation.

The judge had also ordered him to pay legal costs, incurred by the State, of $194,227.98.

The State was represented by attorneys Lesley Ann Lucky Samaroo, Nadine Nabbie and Kendra Mark. Attorneys Ravi Heffes-Doon and Kyle Rudder appeared for Wellington.
Worker charged with stealing from employer

Nisha Bachan, 37, of Lightbourne Trace, Gasparillo, appeared in the Second Court before Magistrate Natalie Diop. It is alleged that on Wednesday at Harris Promenade, San Fernando, Bachan stole the money which belonged to Deokie Rambaran.

PC Ramdass of the Southern Division laid the charge.

Bachan, who works at the food court at Edan Centre, was not called upon to plead as the charge was laid indictably.

Unrepresented by an attorney, she told the magistrate she had never previously been before the court on any other charge.

Diop granted her $50,000 surety bail with a cash alternative of $30,000 and adjourned the matter to June 30.
YTC like a vacation, compared to big jail

Magistrate Kerianne Byer made the comments to handyman Jason Lee Choon, 26, who pleaded guilty to possession of 1.6 grammes of marijuana. Police arrested him on Wednesday at Tarouba Road, Marabella, with the illegal narcotic. Choons attorney Ainsley Lucky noted that police arrested his client the day before the holiday (Corpus Christi).

The attorney added that Choon, of Marabella, had the marijuana because he wanted to blow off steam by getting high. Choons criminal records tracings showed he spent time in police custody as a minor. Scolding Choon, Magistrate Byer said she had to stop him from, Using the court as a revolving door, and warned him about risking his liberty by breaking the law.

In response, attorney Lucky told the magistrate his client had done some soul-searching and would not appear in a court of law again. The magistrate fined Choon $3,500, to be paid within six weeks, failing which he will serve six months hard labour in jail.
65-year-old robbed at gunpoint, suspect shot by police

According to police, Lawrence Baksh of Chase Village was driving his car along Cumuto Road at about12.45 pm when he was approached by four men with guns who ordered him out of the vehicle.

Baksh was robbed of a bag containing $4,000 by the men who then fled. He alerted police officers and a team from the Northern and Eastern Divisions began searching for the suspects.

Newsday was told that the four were seen in Sangre Grande area and a shootout occurred resulting in one of them being wounded. The others escaped in some bushes. The suspect was taken to the Sangre Grande hospital where he remained in serious condition yesterday.

Cpl Gordon of the Cumuto Police Station is continuing enquiries.
16 arrested in Central Division

A press release from the Police Service stated eight exercises were conducted on Wednesday by officers of the Central Division Task Force, Chaguanas CID, Freeport CID and Canine Branch.

Police first went to Mulchan Seuchan Road, Chaguanas where they arrested a 36-year-old tradesman of Petit Valley. The man was found in a vehicle along the road with a Glock 19 pistol and two magazines.

The police then executed a search warrant at about 5:20pm at a house at Roystonia, Couva and found three kilogrammes of marijuana, one Taurus 9mm revolver and 45 rounds of assorted ammunition.

The drug has an estimated street value of $300,000. A 33-yearold male technician who was found in the house was arrested.

At Brickfield Village, Waterloo Road, Carapichaima, police executed a search warrant at the home of a 44-year-old maintenance worker. Marijuana weighing 1.02 kilogrammes with a street value of $100,000 was found. The man was arrested.

Thirteen other people were also arrested in connection with varying offences.
Make better choices, advises magistrate

Prosecutor Sgt Gordon Maharaj told the court that police searched a house in San Fernando on February 1, found the items in a plastic bag, and arrested Ramjohn and two other people.

PC Rampersad of the San Fernando station laid the charge.

Ramjohns attorney Subhas Panday yesterday said it was a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. He said although the gun and ammunition did not belong to his client, Ramjohn knew they were in the building. He was influenced to be there, Panday added.

Diop said she was not of the view that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but believed Ramjohn chose to be there although he knew about the gun and ammunition.

On the charge of gun possession, she fined him $5,000 or in default of payment serve nine months in prison with hard labour.

For the ammunition, he was fined $3,000 or will serve nine months with hard labour in prison.

He has 60 days to pay the fines.

Earlier this week, Diop fined Sherlon Cooper, 22, of Embacadere in San Fernando, $8,000 for possession of a gun and ammunition.

PC George of the Operations Unit, San Fernando, laid the charges to which Cooper entered guilty pleas.

Cooper, who said he was the victim of a shooting, claimed he bought the gun for protection after getting death threats.
28 held in police/army raid

The raid started at about 3am and saw police executing search warrants in some instances.

During the nine-hour exercise, 28 people were arrested and two kilograms of marijuana seized.

The exercise was ordered by Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams after an upsurge in shootings in the area.

The team was led by ACP Crime Irwin Hackshaw, Senior Superintendent Radcliffe Boxhill, ASP Ajith Persad and Inspectors Henry Dan and Prescott.

Despite the bad weather, several houses were searched with the assistance of dogs.

Although no guns or ammunition were found, residents welcomed the presence of police and soldiers.

They claimed gang members had taken over some parts of Petit Valley and their community was no longer considered safe.

The police promised the residents that they will maintain a heavy presence in the community.

Those arrested were detained for robberies, rapes and other serious offences. They are expected to appear before a Port-of-Spain magistrate on Tuesday.
Suspect hiding after assault of girl, 11

On Thursday at about 10 pm, the girl was at her Carenage home in company with her sister in the living room when the suspect entered and allegedly touched the girl inappropriately.

Her father caught the suspect in the act and raised an alarm.

A report was made at the Carenage Police Station on Friday. The girl also gave a statement to the Child Protection Unit.

Yesterday a warrant was issued for the suspect who is believed to have gone into hiding.

The alleged victim was taken to a doctor where she was examined and a report obtained.
Sales clerk on indecent assault charge

Gunness, of Cipero Road, Borde Narve, is alleged to have committed the act on Wednesday at High Street, San Fernando. PC Noel laid the charge.

Before Magistrate Natalie Diop in the Second Court, Gunness pleaded not guilty.

He was unrepresented by an attorney and told Diop he had one pending matter for resisting arrest.

But looking at documents, Diop said Gunness had previously been before the court charged with five offences.

He insisted that apart from the pending matter, all other charges against him, among them larceny and obscene language, had been dealt with.

Diop noted that yesterday was the first time he had appeared charged with an offence of a sexual nature.

She granted him $50,000 bail to be approved by a clerk of the peace and, as a condition of bail, ordered that he have no communication with the alleged victim. He is to reappear in court on July 14.
Chinese businessman, worker shot dead

Shirui Zhao, 32, and Yanli Gu, 32, were killed as they sat in the front of Shiruis Toyota Corolla sedan at 7 pm. The gunmen, according to reports, loitered nearby, awaiting the arrival of their targets. As the two drove into the car park of Kosume bar at New Haven Avenue in Marabella, the gunmen struck.

Shirui and Yanli lived in apartments on the top floor of the building which houses Kosume bar. They had just left L World casino in Tarouba when they were attacked. Sources said Shirui often paid the casino security guards a little extra to escort them from the casino to the bar, but when the gunmen started shooting, the security guards fled.

Police said both the casino and the bar are owned by Shiruis sister while he owned another business establishment.

Yanli was an employee who worked at L World casino. Several Chinese nationals live in apartments above the bar. Residents yesterday said when the shooting started, they thought it was someone setting off fireworks.

Police while not saying what the motive for the murders, confirmed that they had ruled out robbery as nothing was taken from the victims or the bar.

Initially, police were working on a theory that the killings were a reprisal for an attempted robbery which occurred at the L World casino about a month ago.

Four men were charged and are before the courts for that attempted initial robbery. Police pondered on whether the two witnesses to the attempted robbery. However, upon further investigation, sources said, this theory was quashed leaving police at a loss as to the motive.
Canadians seize 43 kilos of cocaine from TT

The cocaine was traced by the officers who seized the drugs in Toronto and Canadian and local authorities are working closely to trace the person or persons who sent the drugs to Canada. The container underwent a routine screening on May 5, according to a Canada Border Services Agency release. Upon examining the container further, a false floor was discovered, it said.

The drugs were turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). CBSA officers are always on the lookout for contraband, CBSA acting regional director general Norm Sheridan said. This seizure demonstrates our commitment to Canadians. Yesterday, Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Crime Irwin Hackshaw said it was standard practice that when drugs are seized in a foreign country and traced to this country, a request is made for assistance through Interpol, and local authorities continue to assist in any investigation.
More bad weather expected, says Met Office

There were heavy downfalls which caused many employees to get to work late or some just not being able to make it.

There were also cancellations of several outdoor activities and functions.

According to Akil Nancoo duty meteorologist at the Meteorological Office, Piarco, the intense weather which was expected since the start of the rainy season, was as a result of the Inter- Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

Nancoo said there was about a 50-60 per cent chance of more showers expected this morning from about two and should continue until about 8 am.

However, he said they did not expect the showers to be of the same intensity as those yesterday.

A statement from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Managements captain Neville Wint said they received reports of flash flooding in some areas.

These included Manuel Congo, La Horquetta, Riverside Road (Curepe), Ingrid and Dookie Streets (St. Augustine/Pasea), Maloney, Warren/Munroe Road and Ramjohn Trace (Cunupia), Sieunarine Trace, Kelly Village and Cleaver Heights (Arouca).

Yesterday, as the water receded, attempts were being made to pump water from the roadway at Mosquito Creek which has a tendency to flood. Chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation Martin Terry Rondon told Newsday yesterday he received no reports of flooding or calls for assistance in that constituency.

I travelled from Sangre Grande to Matelot where we are making distributions to the fishermen who lost a lot of their equipment last December. Everything is fine up on this side, Rondon said.

The ODPM stated that people affected by the heavy rain in the Sangre Grande, Princes Town and Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo areas have reported incidents of fallen trees and landslips.

It also noted that regional corporations have ensured that trees threatening life and property have been cleared and disposed of.
OWTU blames TTEC management

At a press conference yesterday at OWTUs north office, Henry Street in Port of Spain, union vice-president Peter Burke raised several issues plaguing the Commission.

He said a major issue is that TTEC is currently operating with 50 less crews than they had in 1981.

In 1981 we had 200,000 customers.

In 2017, we have approximately 500,000 customers yet we have 50 less crews. How does that manifest itself in terms of servicing the public? We have a tremendous amount of complaints from the public about the tardiness in handling street lighting, Burke said.

He said that at the moment, street lighting is handled from San Fernando which makes it difficult to get crews to areas such as Cedros, Toco, Matelot and Chaguaramas.

Traditionally we have handled street lighting from the five distribution areas and the commission stopped that practice. Burke also spoke about problems they have had with industrial relations at the Commission.

On several occasions in the recent past we have had to go to a third party to force the Commission to adhere to agreements that were signed in good faith.

We have had to go to court for job evaluation, negotiations to be settled and it is a sort of lawless approach in the governance of an important State enterprise and we would want to have that issue dealt with at the level of the line ministry. He said it was very disconcerting where management shows absolutely no respect for the collective bargaining process and good industrial relations.

We have found in our experience if a management treats so flippantly with industrial relations it will also treat flippantly with procurement with health and safety and good financial management and therefore we are saying to the national community that those issues that are impacting you, this is not because of the workers, this is because of bad management practice and the fact that we have the downsizing of the internal crews at a very disturbing rate, Burke said.

He said the union was in talks to have a meeting with Public Utilities Minister Fitzgerald Hinds to highlight their concerns.
Protest held after hearing no new school in 2017

The 100-year-old school has been plagued by a number of problems including: poor ventilation , a rat infestation , and a faulty sewer system . Students have been forced to stay away from classes on many occasions. The parents, armed with placards held aloft and led by their MP, Dr Bhoe Tewarie and councillor for Freeport/ Chickland Anil Balliram, chanted that they wanted a new school. Speaking with the media , Tewarie said the school had become a health hazard and that the protest was the culmination of frustration by parents, students and staff over the past several months . He outlined two solutions to the problems: firstly, to restart construction of the new school building which is more than 60 per cent complete and secondly, to relocate staff and students to the Preysal Community Centre. The former Planning Minister is also proposing the construction of a pre-fabbuilding to house the students saying such a structure would take just a few weeks to complete.

Meanwhile, councillor Balliram called on Garcia to stop playing games with the childrens education.

He claimed the students are being victimized because they live in an Opposition constituency. Imagine you want us to pay property tax and we cant even get basic things like a school,  he said.

Responding to the protest in Preysal , the Ministry of Education said it is addressing claims by staff of a foul stench emanating from the sewer system at the Preysal Government Primary School. A media release from the Ministry said officials from Education Facilities Company Limited (EFCL) repaired the leaking, underground sewer line on the compound on May 20 and classes resumed. However, despite these efforts, teachers continued to complain of a stench on the compound. The Ministry noted that school supervisors from the Caroni Education District visited the school on several occasions and reported that these claims were actively being investigated.

The Ministry stated the school supervisors also met with the principal, teachers, representatives from the National Parent Teachers Association (NPTA) and the schools Parent Teachers Association (PTA) on Monday to discuss suggestions to temporarily relocate the student body to two locations, namely the nearby Preysal Community Centre and the old Couva West Secondary School. A follow-up meeting was expected to take place yesterday.
Call for Braille to be taught to low-vision students

Suratt said while he endorses the Penmanship Project recently launched to help students develop their handwriting skills, the introduction of Braille will help low-vision students who may eventually go blind.

Children who attend government primary schools with low vision should be encouraged to use Braille because there is a possibility that the child may go blind. It is important for that child to develop that skill. [In] the event that you lose your sight completely, you wont be scrambling to learn something new. He said visually impaired children need the Braille component to help them do maths and English, and to function in the classroom, rather than depending on audio from the computer.

Suratt said just as students are being encouraged to use penmanship to develop their handwriting skills, especially to help them in their exams, emphasis must also be placed on visually impaired students at government primary schools. When contacted, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said the ministrys Student Support Services Department was looking at the possibilities of introducing the teaching of Braille so visually impaired students in primary schools had an opportunity to move forward.

Yes, it is an excellent idea, and it is something we are going to look at. The objective of this government is to encourage every child to have an opportunity of accessing education.

The first step is access  every child should have the opportunity of accessing education  and the other step is inclusion.

No one must be left behind. Regardless whether you suffer from any disability, we want to ensure that things are put in place for students to access the education the ministry has to offer. Garcia said with the continuation of the penmanship programme, students who write in cursive make it much easier for the markers to read and understand.

Penmanship is going to be a requirement of all teachers in the primary schools to teach. The practice was not carried out as much as it should have been.

However, a number of schools still continue with the practice. He said the ministry had to make sure there was a balance, because the younger generation was now in the digital age where they use computers and smartphones.

People are accustomed to texting using letters on these digital devices and, if we are not careful, we are going to lose a very important skill and a very important area of communication.

We are not throwing out the digital aspect of it. We are insisting that handwriting must be looked upon and it must be regarded as something of extreme importance to the education of a child.
Immigration and Customs officers schooled in CSME

The two-day session, which took place in Barbados on Wednesday and Thursday, sought to ensure common understanding of the free movement of people regime within countries that have signed on to the CSME, a Caricom secretariat release said.

The officers were also involved in training in customer service and the right of establishment and provision of services.

The training took place at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre with support from the 10th European Development Fund. Some officials took part in the programme online.
NIB says it followed the law in amputees case

Our main purpose is governed by the borders of a law, the National Insurance Act, said Ag Corporate Communications Manager Ryan Isava in a response to Newsdays queries. In that Act, the Invalidity Benefit is paid to an individual upon confirmation that he or she is incapable of employment in any capacity for which remuneration is or would be ordinarily be payable. According to the NIBs records as read to the Newsday yesterday in a telephone interview with Isava, Auguste applied for the invalidity benefit in January 2010.

The NIBs process for investigating the validity of his claim, however, was only completed in August of 2010. Auguste was then given a lump sum payment of $18,000 on October 21, 2010 for the backdated period of September 2009 to October 2010, after which he received the monthly benefit.

But Auguste, as money given to him by his former company Transocean Ltd stopped coming in 2009, said he had no choice but to work in order to provide for his family.

He worked for two months of a threemonth probationary period with Pricesmart in La Romaine before leaving due to the discomfort with his amputated leg.

According to the NIB, this was the decision that, six years after, sealed Augustes fate.

Upon review of the claim in 2016, it was recognised that Mr Auguste would have returned to insurable employment subsequent to the date that he was certified to be an invalid. As a result, the insureds payment of invalidity benefit has therefore been suspended in accordance with the National Insurance (Benefits) Regulations 25A as amended, which states: The Board may suspend or cease payment to a person in receipt of invalid benefit where he/she  (b) works in employment for which remuneration is or would ordinarily be payable. Based on the information provided, Newsday pointed out that there was an inefficiency in a system which doles out an invalidity benefit to an unemployable person 10 months after they applied for it.

That is something we have to apologise for because it puts a person in an uncomfortable position, said Isava. But the law does not tell us what to do in these situations. Confident that the NIB acted within the boundaries of the law, Isava suggested that Auguste appeal the NIBs decision. There is an appeal box in every service centre. You fill out a form, you lodge the appeal together with all of the documentation on the matter. It then goes before an independent tribunal and the NIB will have to follow whatever the tribunal decides, whether it is to stand by its decision to have him repay, to strike the funds off, or to continue paying him the invalidity benefit. Isava said the NIB would conduct a full investigation to ensure the best delivery of their services to Auguste and their other customers.

Newsday could not reach Auguste yesterday for comment, but Auguste, a father of three, has been engaging with the Social Welfare Division of the Ministry of Social Development in the hopes of securing a public assistance grant.
EFCL faces $550M in litigation claims

JSC chairman David Small expressed shock at the sum, that includes $70 million in 11 claims by one company and $250 million in 30 claims by another.

Small said many claimant companies seemed to be interrelated.

Ministry of Finance acting permanent secretary (PS) Lisa Phillips said she had not known before of these claims, but Small said it is a rule that her ministry be notified of claims against State companies.

This is shocking to us said Small $550 million in potential litigation matters is huge. It is worrying. Ministry of Education acting PS Angela Sinaswee-Jervais also said she had not previously heard of the claims, to Smalls chagrin.

EFCL acting general manager and chief financial officer Dennis Cox said the size of the $550 million in claims was worrying, saying several court judgments had been made against the EFCL.

Small was upset that this information was unknown to the JSC, and the Ministries of Finance and Education.

Cox said the EFCL is trying to devise a strategy to handle those claims, working with the claimants and their attorneys, in the countrys interest, for which Small sought more details, plus the EFCLs legal fees. Wesley Herbert of the Ministry of Finances Investment Division told Opposition Senator Wade Mark that a report into the EFCLs operations will be ready within two months.

Mark said an existing report on funds owed by the EFCL suggested to him that 460 companies are owed $340 million, even as the Office of the Attorney General probes the validity of these claims. Cox said not all claimant companies are under scrutiny. Mark asked if the 625 companies claiming against the EFCL  324 small, 248 medium and 50 large companies  were pre-existing clients or newly- contracted? Cox said they were on a new pre-qualification list of companies already checked by the EFCL.

Mark asked how many contracts (and of what value) had the EFCL issued to these companies, and hadnt the EFCL paid such sums? Cox in reply promised to undertake this tedious task soon.
MPs fret over schools, textbooks

DAbadie/OMeara MP Ancil Antoine asked if the EFCLs debts to contractors would impede repairs in the July/August vacation, while Chaguanas East MP Fazal Karim was worried about the adequacy and efficiency of the school textbook rental scheme. In reply, the EFCL said school repairs should be unaffected by problems with construction of new schools, and the Ministry of Education could give few details of the top-up of the textbook scheme.

In reply to the query by Antoine, EFCL acting general manager Dennis Cox said the EFCLs $628 million debt to contractors was being worsened by attracting interest penalties.

Cox spelt out the fallout for new school construction from these unpaid debts, saying, I think 94 schools have been suspended, in terms of completion of contracts. Antoine asked if this debt would impede school repairs during the long vacation. Cox replied, The suspension really treats with the construction activity of the EFCL.

However, in terms of the repairs and maintenance programme, there is no significant negative impact.

The repairs are short term and completed on time. Yet, he admitted that some contractors did both construction and repairs and was asked about any conflict in this. In the pre-qualification exercise, one of the criteria is to look at contractors who have initiated legal proceedings against the EFCL. So that is a criterion which we look at. Asked if litigants are debarred from new contracts, Cox replied, We havent taken a decision as such, but it is something we are looking at. Its not a definite position. Cox said payment for work would not be made without a completion certificate, but Small said this reliance suggested the EFCL had abdicated its own responsibility.

He quoted audit firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), saying the EFCL must be more vigorous in tracking the progress of its projects, adding, Im troubled by your initial response. Cox agreed with Smalls suggestion that the EFCL needed more project managers.

Chaguanas East MP Fazal Karim asked how much the EFCL owed publishers on its school textbook rental programme. Cox did not know but promised to find out.

Karim asked if the textbook programme would be topped up before schools reopened in September.

Cox asked to defer the question to the line ministry, on whose behalf acting PS Angela Sinaswee-Jervais promised to supply details in writing soon.

Karim asked, Is there an active textbook evaluation committee looking at the quality and content and how it responds to the curriculum as we speak? Sinaswee-Jervais said a new committee was recently formed and drafted a report, but because she was on leave she had not yet seen it.

Karim asked if this committee wanted new books issued for the new school year. Ministry of Education acting deputy PS Shoba Jaisir replied that her remit was only infrastructure, not textbooks, but said the ministry could find out.
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Welcome back to the week in review, where we take a look at all the top stories making headlines on the Next Generation Communications community this week.

The week started off with the news that ZTE (News - Alert) is leveraging 5G to control underwater vehicles. We often think of 5G in terms of mobile and connectivity, but ZTE has officially showed that it has several more uses than that. Find out more about the companys remote control service for 5G-connected underwater vehicles HERE.





Nokia (News - Alert) also made several headlines this week across a variety of topics. First up, the company teamed up with Helsinki University Hospital (HUH) to use its OZO Live technology in operating rooms. The solution brings VR to the OR, allowing doctors from all over the world to weigh in on medical procedures and the like. This solution offers a lot of potential in the medical space; find out more HERE.

Next up, Nokia helped out air traffic control in Switzerland by doing what it does best: bettering connectivity options. The company teamed up with Skyguide to strengthen the performance of Skyguide's air traffic management and aeronautical information services throughout Switzerland. Skyguide is responsible for handling both commercial and military flights, and now it can continue to do so more safely. Find out everything you need to know HERE.

Last in Nokia news this week, the company has joined forces with Spark, which is located in New Zealand. As TMCs (News - Alert) Steve Anderson points out, The new partnership calls for Spark to upgrade its network drawing on Nokia's toolset and systems to carry out the upgrade. It's a three-year strategic partnership, and will include the use of such systems as Nokia's 7250 Interconnect Router R6 (IXR-R6) to augment both the core and backhaul systems at Spark. Full coverage is HERE.

In other news, Telekom Romania and Ericsson (News - Alert) proved that theyre also forces to be reckoned with in the next generation communications space this week. TMCs Paula Bernier writes, Ericsson and Telekom Romania have demonstrated five use cases of 5G. The effort showed the kinds of speeds 5G can deliver. And it illustrated that 5G networks can support such applications and implementations as cloud robotics and smart city. Everything you need to know is HERE.

Theres plenty more to read about over on the Next Generation Communications community. Be sure to check out the other articles, and come back next week to read all the latest news.
Seven Moroccans lost their lives in the devastating fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-story London apartment building, Moroccos Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Following identification of the victims, King Mohammed VI gave directives to Moroccan authorities to take care of the repatriation of the corpses.

London police said that at least 58 people are presumed dead in the blaze. The London police has recovered so far 16 bodies.

The Police said it is undertaking investigation into the blaze to look at the building and its refurbishment in 2016 and vowed to prosecute people if there is evidence.

Protests erupted across London in the wake of the disaster, with victims and other angry Londoners uniting in outrage at the failings that led to the blaze and demanding answers from local authorities.

The death toll can, in part, be attributed to the fact most people inside were still sleeping when the fire broke out.

The cause of the fire is not yet known but the BBC pointed out to the type of cladding used during the refurbishment of the building- erected in 1974 and refurbished in 2015-2016. The cladding used has a polyethylene core, which is more flammable, and cheaper, than an alternative made with a mineral core; similar cladding was found in high-rise buildings that caught fire in France, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia.
A woman in Havana watches a speech by President Donald Trump on TV, on June 16, 2017. Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Of all the steps Donald Trump has taken to undercut Barack Obamas global legacy, Fridays speech announcing new restrictions on business and travel in Cuba is hardly the most damaging or dangerous. (For damage, consider withdrawal from the Paris accord; for danger, the combative approach to Iran.) Trumps partial reversal of the Obama administrations bad deal with Cuba will take us a few steps backward toward a posture that long stood as one of the most glaring failures of American foreign policy, achieving the exact opposite of its intended effect decade after decade. But that approach could last so long, despite nearly universal recognition of its perverse consequences, because the stakes were not, in the scheme of American national-security concerns, especially high.

Still, if not the most damaging or dangerous, the Cuba reversal is in many ways the most revealing of Trumps moves so far. It brings together all the worst attributes of the administrations foreign policy: pandering to a narrow and aging but fervent slice of the Republican base; exhibiting a shameless hypocrisy with seedy criminal undertones; and, in its fixation on deal-making, confusing weakness with strength  and as a result, bolstering the very forces that Trump claims to want to counter.

For decades after the 1959 revolution, U.S. policy aimed to isolate Cuba and, through economic embargo and occasionally more aggressive means, force political change. But the primary effect was to entrench Fidel Castros repressive government, by offering a ready excuse for its own failings and an easy means of fanning anti-American nationalism. In December of 2014, Obama took a major step to change that. He made it easier for Americans to travel to Cuba and do business with Cubans. He announced that America would, for the first time in decades, have an embassy in Havana. And he called on Congress to end the economic embargo. He had previously lifted restrictions on the ability of Cuban-Americans to visit and financially support friends and family on the island.

Donald Trump signs a memorandum on U.S.-Cuba policy after he spoke at the Manuel Artime Theater in Miami on June 16. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

The change was long overdue, but the political obstacles, principally an electorally important core of hard-line Cuban exiles in south Florida, had dissuaded previous presidents from doing much. But over the course of the Obama administration, it became clear how quickly the costs of Washingtons counterproductive Cuba policy were rising. (Serving in the administration as an adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, I saw again and again how American isolation on Cuba hampered our ability to make progress on important issues  including measures that might actually improve human rights or encourage democracy in Cuba.) Obama also recognized the faulty logic of longstanding U.S. policy, which assumed that Cuba would embrace democracy in exchange for American engagement. In fact, Cuban hard-liners  those most opposed to easing the governments repression  were perfectly happy to keep American travelers, businesses, religious groups, and schools away. By making it easier to travel and trade, Washington would not be rewarding Cuban hard-liners; it would be undermining them by empowering individuals.

What looked like a political risk when Obama first considered it soon looked a political no-brainer. Most Americans grasped the sense of the administrations move. (It does not take a public-policy degree to understand that if a strategy has served the opposite of its intended purpose for half a century, it might be time to try something else.) Seventy-five percent of Americans backed Obamas opening, including more than 60 percent of Republicans. Cuban-Americans in Florida were at first opposed by a small margin. But within a couple of years, 69 percent said they supported Obamas decision to establish diplomatic relations, and 63 percent wanted to end the economic embargo entirely. (This in a population in which Fidel Castros disapproval rating is 96 percent.)

But a core of mostly aging exiles still disagrees, and vehemently. Among their champions are some key Republicans in Floridas congressional delegation, including Marco Rubio. Trump had made promises to this crowd during the campaign, promising to sustain the embargo despite his own record of (likely illegal) efforts to subvert it. (As a Newsweek investigation revealed last year, in the late 1990s, when the strapped Trump was looking for cash everywhere and willing to do anything necessary to get it, he had spent money exploring hotel and casino opportunities in Cuba, a violation of U.S. law.) Once in power, Trump gave those American hard-liners the inside line on fashioning his Cuba stance, shutting out not just policymakers and experts from the rest of the U.S. government, but also other Republican lawmakers with alternative views.

And Friday afternoon, standing in a Miami theater named for a veteran of the Bay of Pigs, Trump gave them what they want. He did not exactly [cancel] the last administrations completely one-sided deal with Cuba, as he claimed. But by tightening restrictions on individual travel and blocking transactions that may benefit the Cuban military (because the military has a hand in much of the Cuban economy, that prevents a considerable amount of potential commerce), he can create enough obstacles and sow enough uncertainty among travelers and executives as to effectively undermine Obamas opening.

In this promise to extend American isolation until the Cuban government changes in the ways Washington wants, Trump is embracing the same failed logic that governed U.S. policy for decades. For those in Havana most opposed to democratic change and human rights, U.S.-Cuban engagement is not a reward but a threat. The more the Cuban people can survive without being beholden to the government, the more they can communicate with the outside world (and especially the United States, where many have friends and family), the more deeply connected they are to other societies  the more hard-liners in the government will be under pressure to change. Since Obamas opening began, repression has not ended. (On the contrary, there was an expectation that certain kinds of repression would increase, as hard-liners in Havana reacted to new challenges.) But many more Cubans now have cell phones and access to internet connections. Most are newly able to freely travel outside of Cuba. Hundreds of thousands have become entrepreneurs and small business owners. Companies like Google and Airbnb have rapidly built a presence on the island, and the number of American travelers has surged. The assumption was never that Cuba would be magically transformed, but that developments like these would foster more profound in change over time, driven by the Cuban people themselves. Trumps approach promises the opposite. It is in the interest of Cuban hard-liners to keep their people isolated, and Trump is helping them.

During the Obama administration, there was an additional reason for urgency. It was clear that change was coming to the island one way or another, as since underscored by Fidel Castros death last November and Raul Castros decision to step down in 2018, putting someone other than a Castro in power for the first time in almost 60 years. Better, the thinking went, for Americans  especially Cuban-Americans  to be in a position to influence the course of change than to leave the field to others, especially outside powers and criminal actors drawn by the prospect of a foothold 90 miles from the continental United States. In April, a group of retired American military officers cited that concern (and also the value of U.S.-Cuban co-operation on counterterrorism and trafficking) in a letter to the Trump White House urging a continuation of the Obama policy.

Already, China and Russia are bolstering their economic and military presence in Cuba  increasing trade and investment, signing defense co-operation agreements, even, according to Senator Patrick Leahy, considering new military bases. The more the White House retreats from Obamas opening, the more space Beijing and Moscow have to step in. That, too, has become a hallmark of Trumps foreign policy. It may be the closest thing to a coherent Trump Doctrine well ever have.
Its been a long, mean campaign between Karen Handel and Jon Ossoff. Photo: Branden Camp/AP

Its the final hours before the long-awaited special runoff election in the Sixth Congressional District of Georgia between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel. Early voting ended Friday. All the ads that are going to run are in the can. If there is a registered voter who has somehow not been reached by ads, direct mail, or phone calls and knocks on the door from one of the two campaigns or the outside groups (especially on the Republican side) helping them, they are probably living in an impenetrable fortress or are far off the grid. For a while now, this has been the most expensive House race in history, and now the only question is how high a level the final spending will reach.

If you dont live in GA-06 and have missed all the fun, this is a special election to replace HHS Secretary Tom Price. The district, in the north Atlanta suburbs, is historically Republican (it was once represented by Newt Gingrich and then by now-Senator Johnny Isakson). But it became a Democratic target this year mostly because Donald Trump only defeated Hillary Clinton there by one percentage point. GA-06 also has an unusually high percentage of college-educated voters, a poor Trump demographic. In the first round, novice candidate (though he is a former congressional staffer) Ossoff came tantalizingly close to winning without a runoff, with 48 percent of the vote. For her part, Handel soundly defeated a large field of Republicans to advance with 20 percent of the vote. Total Republican voting edged total Democratic voting slightly; that and the fact that Ossoffs strategy was to win a first-round knockout made Handel the slight favorite heading toward June 20.

But Ossoff has not lost momentum and raised an ungodly amount of money (mostly in small-dollar batches)  how much we will not know until after the voting, but his campaign had spent $7 million on the runoff alone three weeks ago  which Team Handel has more or less matched with money from national Republican groups.

There have been two candidate debates, and lots of attacks and counterattacks in ads (again, especially on the GOP side, where national groups have spent millions depicting mild-mannered centrist nerd Jon Ossoff as some sort of anarchist flower child whose two favorite people are Nancy Pelosi and Kathy Griffin). There were even threats of violence against both candidates in the wake of this weeks congressional shootings in Alexandria. And some Republicans are succumbing to the temptation to use the shootings themselves part of the ongoing smear of Ossoff as the puppet of radicals. The GOP chair from an congressional district adjacent to GA-06 publicly said the shootings were going to be a game-changer for Handel due to voter fatigue with left-wing extremism. And then there was this last-minute ad running on Fox News in Atlanta, from an obscure right-wing PAC, explicitly linking Ossoff to unnamed leftists who are endorsing and applauding the shootings:

Both Ossoff and Handel have condemned this particularly vicious smear, though the Republican has not complied with the Democrats request to call for the ad to be taken down.

To the extent there have been issues in the runoff campaign, they involved Ossoffs attacks on the American Health Care Act (which Handel tepidly defended), Handels minor gaffe in saying she opposed a livable wage, and the two candidates obviously different attitudes toward Donald Trump. On this last point, Handel has accepted fundraising help from Trump and some personal campaigning from both Mike Pence and Tom Price but is hardly wearing a MAGA cap; she understands the deciding votes in this election may come from Republicans who dont much care for the president. This is why she has spent almost no time talking about Trump, even as her team pounds the district with ads reminding voters Ossoff is a Democrat.

But now it all comes down to voter mobilization. And one of the imponderables is how many voters are left to be mobilized on Election Day, and who they are.

Georgia has relatively robust early-voting opportunities; 56,000 votes, a bit more than a fourth of the total vote, were cast early in the first round. Early voting for the runoff has hit an astonishing 140,000. The odds are very high that Ossoff is not matching the 62 percent of early votes he won in the first round; indeed, theres evidence Handels making up some ground in the final week of early voting. The percentage of early voters who have voted in past Republican primaries (the only available measure of partisanship since Georgia does not have registration by party) jumped from 41 percent in the first round to 47 percent in the runoff, even as the percentage with past Democratic primary voting experience dropping from 41 percent to 30 percent. Most mysteriously, the percentage of new voters jumped significantly in the runoff as well; its unclear whether these are low-propensity-to-vote Republicans being mobilized or independents leaning toward Ossoff.

The big question is how many voters will turn out on Election Day, where Republicans usually have a sizable advantage. Virtually everyone concedes early voting will be a significantly higher percentage of the total vote than on April 20, partially because both campaigns focused on banking early votes, and partially because an awful lot of voters are frantic to get their names off the contact lists that have earned them regular phone calls, knocks on the door, and a mailbox stuffed with flyers for weeks and weeks. But how high will the total vote go? The 192,000 votes on April 20 came close to the 2014 totals for this district  pretty astonishing for a special election. But the total vote on Tuesday could go well beyond that up toward the 310,000 votes cast in the 2016 elections.

On the one hand, that could signal that the off-the-charts Democratic enthusiasm the Ossoff campaign has generated is reaching new heights. Traditionally Democratic turnout in special elections in Georgia has been abysmal. Indeed, thats largely why Republicans were expected to win this contest in the first place. On the other hand, the more this looks like a normal sixth-district electorate, the more a normal outcome  a Republican victory  seems likely. Everything the Handel campaign is doing has been designed to wake up Republican voters. Maybe theyre awake and headed to the polls on Tuesday.

The polls are not showing any clear trends other than the fact Handel has yet to lead one. In the last week, two polls (from SUSA and Opinion Savvy) have shown the race in a dead heat. A bit earlier, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution showed Ossoff up 51-44. The very latest survey (from Landmark Communications) has the Democrat ahead by under two points. The one thing everyone agrees on is that the undecided vote has all but vanished.

As for the intangibles, Politico ran an article on Friday suggesting that in Washington, Republicans were preparing for the possibility of an unnerving defeat.

While no one is willing to publicly write off Handels chances just yet  Republicans stress that she remains competitive and point to robust GOP early voting figures  several private surveys taken over the last few weeks show Republican nominee Karen Handel trending downward, with one private party poll showing 30-year-old Democrat Jon Ossoff opening up a more than five-point lead in the Republican-oriented, suburban Atlanta seat.

Whats unclear about this and similar reports is whether they should be taken at face value, or instead as expectation-lowering devices aimed at making a win seem enormous  or perhaps even an effort to shake the money tree among Republicans one last time before the deal goes down (fundraising pitches are almost always pessimistic).

There has been one late development that suggests some Republicans are panicking: an ad from an obscure conservative group called the Principled Leadership Project has appeared that seeks to tie Ossoff to the violent left that is endorsing and applauding the shooting of Steve Scalise last week:

It is hard to say who needs the win more. This is likely the last competitive special election of 2017 (the not-so-competitive election in Republican-tilting South Carolina is also on June 20, and the last two currently scheduled specials are in deep-red Utah in November and Alabama in December). A Democratic win in what has long been a Republican district could give the Democrats a springboard for fundraising and candidate recruitment heading into what is increasingly looking like a strong Democratic midterm. A Republican win would not only disappoint all those Ossoff donors: It would also leave the Donkey Party 0-for-2017, with the exception of one contest in a heavily Democratic district in heavily Democratic California.

So the whole political world will be looking South on June 20.
The man with the nuclear codes. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Lets say Donald Trump has nothing to hide: This Russia thing with Russia and Trump is a made up story. Its a witch hunt, an excuse drummed up by sore-loser Democrats and their allies in the fake news media.

Did the Trump campaign employ some sketchy characters with unsavory ties to eastern European oligarchs? Sure. But thats no crime. Was the moguls business career checkered by unscrupulous dealings that may have involved Russian banks? Maybe  but if merely unscrupulous business practices were against the law, most major corporations would be run out of prison yards.

The presidents tax returns may contain political liabilities, but not legal ones. Jared Kushner just wanted to secretly communicate with Russia for the sake of resolving the Syrian civil war. Jeff Sessions is an old man who finds Russian officials very forgettable.

Would all that make the presidents behavior in this report from Politico any less concerning?

Trump, for months, has bristled almost daily about the ongoing probes. He has sometimes, without prompting, injected. Im not under investigation into conversations with associates and allies. He has watched hours of TV coverage every day  sometimes even storing morning news shows on his TiVo to watch in the evening  and complained nonstop Just as he has done publicly on Twitter, Trump has told friends and associates that the investigation is a witch hunt and that others are out to get him. Its basically all he talks about on the phone, said one adviser who has spoken with Trump and his top aides.

Trumps actions in the months before James Comeys firing  his attempts to interfere in the FBIs investigation of Michael Flynn, and to commandeer Americas senior intelligence officials as his own political operatives  were impossible to explain without assuming the presidents guilt or his idiocy.

But Republicans could work with idiocy  after rebranding it as naivete, anyway.

Hes new at government, so therefore I think hes learning as he goes, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, in attempt to explain away the presidents apparent attempts to obstruct justice.

Republican congressman David Schweikert struck a similar note on Thursday, telling NPR, Im at the point where we also have to be real careful from the standpoint that we have a President thats not from the political class  The learning of the disciplined use of language and what certain words mean in our context  if youre not from this world you may not have developed that discipline.

This was a halfway plausible (and slightly less than halfway innocuous) explanation for some of Trumps conduct towards Comey. Of course, it still begged the question: Why should a man who refused to learn the basic protocols and responsibilities of the presidency even as he spent a year and a half begging Americans to give him that office  deserve to remain in power?

But Trumps behavior in the wake of Comeys ouster makes a mockery of the naivete plea. By now, he has had ample opportunity to learn that federal law enforcement is supposed to operate independent of the president. And this epiphany did not change his behavior in any way.

Since firing Comey, Trump has confessed that he dispatched the FBI director so as to influence the Russia investigation on national television and in a private meeting with Kremlin officials. He has tried to intimidate the FBI director into silence; floated the idea of firing special prosecutor Robert Mueller; berated Jeff Sessions for honoring his legal obligation to recuse himself from the Russia probe; and suggested his own deputy attorney general has joined a conspiracy against him, as part of a broader decision to go on the attack.

As Politico reports:

Trump has been told repeatedly not to post such missives on Twitter but has decided he is in for a political fight, according to one outside adviser briefed on the strategy. Advisers have told him to use his Twitter to boost his political message or attack Democrats instead of talking about the legal case. But Trump doesnt trust others to share his message, this person said, because they dont want to share it the way he doesThe tweets also are seen by some in the presidents circle as the beginning of a case against the officials investigating him.

Again: Lets say Trump knows he is guilty of nothing, and that the special prosecutors investigation will inevitably exonerate him.

Wouldnt that make this behavior just as  if not more  concerning?

Either the president is acting erratically, due to a rational fear of what Muellers probe may reveal, or else he is suffering from an obsessive disorder that renders him helplessly self-destructive. Trump has stomped all over the naivete defense. All that remains is the insanity plea. To plausibly deny that the president is a criminal, Republicans must stipulate that hes out of his mind.

Which is to say: There is no credible explanation for Trumps conduct that is compatible with the idea that he is fit for high office.
Rachel Brand. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call,Inc.

Robert Muellers investigation enjoys some independence from the Justice Department bureaucracy. But not that much independence: The DOJ retains the power to determine the amount of human and material resources the special counsel has at his disposal  and, crucially, whether to ultimately pursue prosecutions based on what he finds.

Since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from all matters involving the Trump campaign and Russia, those powers now rest with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein  the official who decided to appoint a special prosecutor in the first place.

But Rosenstein may be forfeiting such authority in short order. On Friday morning, the president publicly suggested that his deputy attorney general had joined a conspiracy against him.

I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 16, 2017

Earlier in the week, we learned that Trump has discussed firing Mueller with his friends and aides. In the wake of such reports, Rosenstein assured the Senate that he would not fire the special counsel absent good cause, no matter who ordered him to do so.

In other words: Trump probably needs to get rid of Rosenstein if he wants to get rid of Mueller. And if the president was tempted to oust the special counsel on Monday, hes sure to be all the more tempted now: In the last 72 hours, the Washington Post and the New York Times reported that the special counsel was looking into whether the presidents firing of Comey constituted obstruction of justice, while the Post also revealed that Mueller is examining Jared Kushners financial dealings with Russian entities.

But even if Trump decides hes obstructed enough justice for the time being, Rosensteins days overseeing the Russia probe may still be numbered. The deputy attorney general recently informed colleagues that he may have to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, ABC News reported Friday.

This makes some sense. If Mueller is, in fact, investigating Trump for obstruction of justice, Rosenstein is likely to be a person of interest in that inquiry. After all, Rosenstein (perhaps unwittingly) supplied the White House with its initial rationale for Comeys ouster, in the form of a memo criticizing the FBI directors handling of the Clinton email investigation.

Trump almost immediately disavowed this rationale, telling NBC News, I was going to fire him regardless of [Rosensteins] recommendation  And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.

Regardless, if Rosenstein goes, by Trumps hand or his own, the fate of the Mueller investigation  and, plausibly, this sorry republic  will rest with associate attorney general Rachel Brand.

Brand boasts the quintessential resume for a GOP Justice Department appointee. A graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was active in the arch-conservative Federalist Society, Brand clerked for Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy before joining a white-shoe law firm, lending a hand to Elizabeth Doles presidential campaign, and then taking a job in the George W. Bush administration.

During the Bush years, Brand first worked under White House counsel Alberto Gonzales (where she may have learned a thing or two about politicizing law enforcement), and then in the Justice Departments Office of Legal Policy.

Once Bush gave up steering America into epochal domestic and foreign policy crises for watercolor painting, Brand returned to the private sector. There, she helped big business contest mettlesome regulatory standards as chief counsel for regulatory litigation for the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.

That stint did not endear Brand to congressional Democrats. At her confirmation hearing earlier this year, Vermont senator Pat Leahy declared that Brand carries a heavily skewed, pro-corporate agenda that would do further harm to the Justice Department and its independence.

Brand disputed that allegation.

When I was at the Chamber of Commerce, I had a client, the Chamber of Commerce, and, as a litigator there, my job was to file lawsuits and file amicus briefs on behalf of that client, she told the Senate. If Im confirmed to this position, of course, Ill have a very different role  My client will be the United States, and my role will be to serve the public interest and the interest of justice, representing that client as best I can.

Brand was also one of 2,604 Iowans to set the Guinness world record for the largest Dutch klompen dance seven years ago, according to the Washington Post profile of the associate attorney general from late last month.

So Brands background is a bit more partisan  and decidedly more right wing  than Rosensteins. That said, Lawfares Benjamin Wittes, a Comey confidante who takes Muellers investigation exceptionally seriously, has confidence in Brands independence.

I think very highly of Rachel, who is a friend, a patriot, and a person in whom I have confidence.  Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) June 16, 2017

Seems like theres a decent chance she ends up fired, too.
why is this child suddenly everywhere

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when do he and shawn mendes get a shared tag tbh

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yessss. the first bro tag.

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This disgusting POS can rot, how he spoke/'sang' about Rihanna was so gross.

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omg wutt??? deets

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Are you trolling? I know literally nothing about him but just from watching the clip it's clear that's from the Howard Stern show, it's about the cohost Robin and he's reading something written for him.



Edited at 2017-06-17 02:01 pm (UTC)

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"Quem sabe quais doencas a Kesha esta carregando? Jerry Seinfeld fez a escolha certa." Tweet de Mark Dice curtido por Charlie Puth...  pic.twitter.com/hUPDtxtoo8  Kesha Brasil (@keshabrsite) June 7, 2017 I don't think that was about Rihanna but I'm pretty sure he's a trump supporter.

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oh no. i'm sure cara is so upset.

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Are he and shawn gaying together

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he honestly seems like a fuckboy to me

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idk much about either of them, but i know he gets uglier as he ages, while shawn mendes gets cuter. that said, this guy has a way better voice imo, and better songs (tbh i've only heard one or two shawn mendes songs, but i didn't like them).

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Shawn has cute songs on his album, you should give it a listen and see if you like any lol

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tbh i haven't liked any of the singles (the few i've heard) but it's summer, the perfect time to listen to random pop-ish music, lol. i'll give it a shot bb.

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Shawn is def cuter and less douchey than this dude

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I swiped right on an Ajax player, ready to get the lifestyle of the rich and famous (.mp3), but no such luck.

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At least he knows Cara probably doesn't know who he is

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He says they're like best friends but he doesn't know him well enough... k lmao

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that's cause they strictly fuck. when Shawn tries to open up and talk Charlie tells him he'll SnapChat him later.

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Perfect comment.

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i'd love the chance to swipe on a celeb. for the bragging rights

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Not me but when the Washington Capitals were in town for a regular season game, my friend sent me a screenshot of Andre Burakovsky's Tinder profile, connected to his verified Instagram and everything

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Shawn's dick is bigger than his?

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they work out together. two typical bros sending pictures of each others progress, go the movies, blowjobs, brocery shopping. etc.

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Lol I'm sure it's all very sweet and wholesome

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I hate that I like his songs so much. Attention is so goooood

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I once heard (from my second cousin in Orlando, hay Beth Anne grrlll!!!!) that he farted in a little girls face at the airport. Then he pointed and laughed at her, and tossed his Frappuccino in her face. Beth Anne would never lie, unless it's about her taking her insulin CUZ BITCH SHE NEVER DOES.



Like, fuck him right?



Edited at 2017-06-18 01:45 am (UTC)

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I tried the dark chocolate mint frapp the other day and it's so good. I'm going to have to limit myself to one every other week or something.

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Had the complete opposite experience. I thought it was disgusting, and I love the combination of mint and chocolate. I'll stick to my dirty chais.

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I love the mint/chocolate frapp they do for xmas but I really hate this one. There's something about the mint flavour that is just off, and left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. :(

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I tried it the other day, too. So good. I loved that it tasted like a thin mint

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Same! But now I'm lactose intollerant 

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most starbucks have lactose free milk!

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lol that one was pretty intense. I tried it only when they were doing that half off promo but I haven't gotten it since.

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it's after eight in smoothie form my mouth orgasms every time

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"I don't care if your name is Rachel, today its 'Xoxo, Joanne' now take your frappuchino and get the fuck out" pic.twitter.com/TrYCJDW14A  Alex  (@holyh00ker) June 16, 2017





the memes have me screaming

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lmao

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Me: Can I have a thecurevideocino please?



Gaga: No



Me: Fine. Just tea then.



Gaga: Name on the cup?



Me: Lina Morgana



Gaga: Who sent you pic.twitter.com/dBlMOYpbls  Monster Reactions (@LMonsterReacts) June 17, 2017



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lol thank you for this! :D

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LOL

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Lina Morgana is my fav conspiracy theory. <3

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Where is her hat??? As a former food service worker, I am panicking lol.

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Her hair isn't even in a pony tail 

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I feel like people at most coffee shops don't wear hats.

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also sbux would never allow any real employee to wear that outfit, their dress code is super detailed

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you don't need to wear hats at SBUX. You just have to have your hair pulled back. You have to have a black or white collared shirt and khaki or black pants. You're not supposed to wear perfume or nail polish.

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her laugh is 

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lmao

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lmao

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she hasn't released it bc nobody care imo

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You care enuf to be in all of her posts and know ha latest singles and projects t b h

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Should have made it a donation of $2.50 a drink but I guess Starbucks can't get too much activism in their capitalism.

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true. they're donating a min of $250K to BTW Foundation at least.

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25 cents per drink isn't bad for this sort of thing. I feel like the up to $250k part is where they start seeming a little stingy.

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minimum of 250k*

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BYE

I'M DEAD

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LoL

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LMAO

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LMAOOOOO

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i legit cackled

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ayyyy lmao

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Nnnnnnnn

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Lol

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OMG

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lmaooo poor Bill having to put up with this bullshit all day

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C A C K L I N G

lmaooooooo little mosters are TOO much

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oop

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I love you in this thread I'm fucking dying

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ASDHASLHFAKSLKJDALSKJD BURY ME

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iajfiejoie

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lmaoo



i feel bad for the social media person that has to deal with this tho

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LMFAO

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I can't stop laughing omg

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SCREAMING

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omg

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THE BEST ONE

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I'm dying





this bitch has time to go work at starbucks but not time to film a music video for the cure that could potentially turn it into a summer smash?

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Pop Music Emergency



"The Cure" music video is finished and could possibly drop MONDAY!  Derek (@Doogi_) June 17, 2017





this guy also tweeted about Perfect Illusion weeks before it dropped.



gaga also liked the video i posed above about the cure. supposedly it's coming out soon.this guy also tweeted about Perfect Illusion weeks before it dropped.gaga also liked the video i posed above about the cure.

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I'm thinking she will probably premiere it in late July as promo for her tour.

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Do you know how summer smash songs sound like because that's not it

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Sis do you know about the stability and increasing radio play this song is getting?

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"for the cure that could potentially turn it into a summer smash"



lmao the delusion (desperation?), yall say this about every single, even AYO

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Passion iced tea lemonade no sweetener light ice

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Bless her for not giving up on Born This Way Foundation.

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i'm so very happy to hear that gaga is still actively doing smth w the born this way foundation, it really warms my heart.



2. fuck starbucks. too much sugar, overpriced ew in a cup.

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I love the matcha lemonade drink. I've gotten one every day this week.

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I just tried the violet drink and it was delicious but I'd pick up the pink ombre drink anytime. So damn good.

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ugh i'm trying to cut out sugar and failing

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India saw nearly $10 billion invested, both in 2015 and in 2016, in renewable energy projects. Last year, $1.9 billion of green bonds were issued. Indias solar targets alone need $100 billion of debt.

Posting in the Bloomberg View opinion section, columnist Mihir Sharma, however, struck a slightly skeptical note.

India is not like China, or the U.S., or Australia or Germany when it comes to meeting its Paris pledges, he wrote. In India, hundreds of millions of people still live without electricity  a big part of what keeps them desperately poor. India also has a shrunken manufacturing sector, partly because electricity is so expensive (relatively) and its supply so variable. No democratically accountable Indian government can ever favor an international agreement over fixing these two problems.

Sharma added coal looks bad in India at the moment because its economy is struggling and because it is so services-intensive. Over the past few years, coal plants have used less and less of their capacity as growth has slowed.

But, if Indias economy does take off, Prime Minister Narendra Modi might indeed be faced with such a choice.

Modi  who as a chief minister decried climate deals as infringing on Indian sovereignty  has already gone out on a limb and reversed decades of Indian climate policy in signing the Paris agreement.

If hes ever actually confronted with that choice  one thats much more real than the one Donald Trump faced  I wouldnt be as sure as all the headline-writers that he wont follow Trumps lead.

Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, while speaking to Times of India blogger Rohit E. David opined India must move ahead on energy security, not because it needed to make up for Washingtons withdrawal, but because low-carbon growth could lift millions out of poverty and improve public health. Modi said it would be a morally criminal act for the world not to do its part on climate change  a very strong signal of support, Solheim told the interviewer.

Related: Solar And Wind Revolution Happening Much Faster Than Expected

To another question on Trump targeting India in the Paris Accord, the Solheim replied that it was regrettable that climate action had been presented by Trump as a kind of punitive transaction, because that is not the case, he said.

Just a few days after Trumps announcement, the Indian government revealed it was in talks with one of the major investors in Indias green-energy reforms, Japans Softbank, for low-interest funding of around 200,000 electric buses to be deployed in public transport.

A senior executive with SoftBank Group told news agency Reuters that they were in talks with the Indian government to facilitate the use of renewable energy, like solar, to charge electric vehicles in the country. India was considering electrifying all its vehicles over the next 15 years  a plan that could boost SoftBanks solar ambitions in the country if the government adopts renewable energy to charge the vehicles.

SoftBank has already announced it, along with Foxconn Technology and Bharti Enterprises, will invest up to $20 billion in solar projects in India. The electrification drive could create a requirement for over 150 gigawatts of additional power.

By AG Metal Miner

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Crude oil prices hit a five-week low Wednesday as OPEC production rose and U.S. inventories showed smaller than expected draws. OPEC has been trying to bolster oil prices with a production cut deal, but increased output from Libya and Nigeria, both of which are exempt from the deal, has continued to put downward pressure on oil prices. With production cuts failing to push prices higher, OPECs de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, is now targeting the second piece of the equation  U.S. inventories.

U.S. inventory data is one of the most visible and readily available sources of on how much oil is in storage making it a number markets watch closely.

Saudi Arabia, which owns a refinery on the U.S. Gulf Coast, plans to cut exports to the United States in July. That reduction of oil into the country could show up as a bullish sign in the U.S. data, and contribute to faster drawdowns in storage.

I think their next plan of attack is to drop exports to the U.S. so they can manufacture a drop in the EIA report, said John Kilduff of Again Capital. It will make it look like inventories are really coming down.

(Click to enlarge)

Kilduff estimates that the kingdom could reduce exports to the U.S. by 100 to 250 MBOPD. The lower exports from Saudi Arabia would reduce total crude imports by 2 percent at their midpoint.

The Saudis understand the importance of changing optics in the U.S. and are following it up by continuing to signal that they are going to reduce shipments into the U.S., said Helima Croft, global head of commodities strategy at RBC. She said Saudi Arabias energy minister has made clear that reducing U.S. shipments was an option.

Saudi Arabia reducing exports to Asian markets as well

The U.S. is not the only country to which Saudi Arabia plans to reduce exports, however. On Monday, sources indicated that OPECs largest producer planned to reduce supplies to at least five Asian buyers as well. State-run Saudi Aramco plans to cut supplies to India in July by nearly 200 MBOPD while reducing crude flows to China by about 110 MBOPD. Related: Big Oil Opposes Trumps Budget Plans

Saudi Arabia has reduced exports to other parts of the world in the past, but it has avoided cutting supplies to Asian markets. OPECs decision to protect market share in late-2014 was driven largely by the hope that it would continue to hold a dominant role in supplying energy to those same markets, but with the shift in focus back toward price, even Asian markets are now facing the possibility of fewer barrels.

Its a good time to reduce because theyre going into seasonal domestic demand swings, said Croft. Saudi Arabia uses more oil domestically during the summer months for its utilities.

Peak power demand in Saudi Arabia comes in the summer months when temperatures can reach as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius). The intense heat leads to a spike in air conditioning usage which in turn leads to Saudi Arabia holding on to more of its oil in order to power its electrical grid.

By Oil And Gas 360

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
All data below is based on the latest OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report.

All data is through May 2017 and is in thousand barrels per day.

(Click to enlarge)

OPEC crude only production was up 336,000 barrels per day in May. The two countries that are not subject to OPEC quotas, Nigeria and Libya, were up a combined 352,000 barrels per day. That means the rest of OPEC was down 16,000 bpd. And all this was after OPEC April production was revised upward by 72,000 barrels per day.

(Click to enlarge)

March OPEC production was revised upward by 23,000 bpd while April production was revised upward by 72,000 bpd.

(Click to enlarge)

Not much is happening in Algeria. They peaked almost 10 years ago and have been in slow decline ever since.

(Click to enlarge)

Angola peaked in 2010 but have been holding pretty steady since.

(Click to enlarge)

Ecuador peaked in 2015. They will be in a slow decline from now on.

(Click to enlarge)

Any change in Gabon crude oil production is too small to make much difference.

(Click to enlarge)

Irans recovery from sanctions has apparently peaked. I expect a slow decline from here.

(Click to enlarge)

Iraq is down 218,000 barrels per day since their December peak.

(Click to enlarge)

Kuwait is down 154,000 bpd from their November peak. That is about 5.4 percent.

(Click to enlarge)

Libya was up 178,200 barrels per day in May but they still have a long way to go before they get back to their maximum possible production level, which is around 1.4 million bpd.

Related: Solar And Wind Revolution Happening Much Faster Than Expected

(Click to enlarge)

Nigeria was up 174,200 bpd in May but they had more labor problems in June. So look for their production to drop slightly next month.

(Click to enlarge)

Qatar has been in decline since 2008. Her decline will continue albeit at a very slow pace.

Saudi Arabia cut in January, then stopped cutting. I think this is where we will be for some time unless there is a real shake up in OPEC.

(Click to enlarge)

The UAE is down almost 205,000 bpd since December. This is the largest percentage cut in OPEC. I dont think it is all voluntary.

(Click to enlarge)

Venezuelas problems will continue. They are now below two million barrels per day. They are at 1,963,000 bpd. Last March their production was 2,286,000 bpd.



They are saying global oil supply was up 113,000 barrels per day in May. OPEC production was up 336,000 bpd in May. If these two figures are correct, then Non-OPEC had to be down 223,000 barrels per day in May.

By Peak Oil Barrel

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Outdated supertankers are becoming the storage units of choice for commodity traders looking to take maximum advantage of the new oil price crater, according to a new report by Reuters.

Brokers who spoke to Reuters said roughly 10 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) aged between 16 to 20 years have been employed as excess crude storage since the end of last month. Each unit holds 2 million barrels of oil.

Thirty other supertankers are parked in Singapore and Malaysias Linggi, largely due to a market condition called contango  where oil futures are more expensive than an order for immediate delivery.

"It makes a lot of sense for a trader to pay $16,000-$19,000 per day to take an older VLCC for 30-90 days to store oil," said a Singapore-based supertanker broker, who chose to remain anonymous.

Data released by Kpler, an energy data provider, shows that total global floating storage reached 102 million barrels in the past ten days. Speaking with Oilprice today, Kplers Francois Cazor said that Oil floating storage is at its peak for 2017.

In Q1 and early Q2 2017, floating storage had declined from 100 million barrels to 72 million barrels as oil prices inched upwards due to OPECs production deal, according to Kpler data.

The bloc agreed to extend its 1.2 million bpd cut through March 2018, but at this point, all price gains have been erased from new production in Libya, Nigeria, Iraq and the United States. Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of OPEC, began a policy of lowering exports to the United States and Asia at the beginning of this month to force inventories to go down. The U.S. began importing crude from Iraq to dodge the maneuver and shale producers continued cheap production and exports.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
PLM-N alleged SC not paying heed

ISLAMABAD: A spokesman for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday alleged that the Supreme Court was not paying heed to what he called the biased attitude of the joint investigation team (JIT) probing the Panama Papers case.



Some puppets had been creating hurdles in the way of the government from day one, the PMs spokesman, Mussadiq Malik, said at a joint press conference with MNA Daniyal Aziz at the Press Information Department.



As the PML-N assumed power, it was accused of election rigging. Then came the dharna during which the Constitution Avenue was blocked and the PTV building and Parliament House were attacked. The moment the government was able to take a breath, a leak came and with the second breath another leak surfaced.



The government was still to stabilise when yet another leak came out of the previous leak in which some unidentified persons and departments are said to be involved. This is all being done by the puppets referred to by the prime minister on Thursday, Mr Malik said.



Is this happening for the first time in the country? Was former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto not tried in a fake case? Isnt the current situation similar to one when Masood Mahmood became an approver? Is the JIT in search of a new Masood Mahmood by hurling threats of 16-year imprisonment, he raised the questions and said: The puppet is in fact a Masood Mahmood of the present decade.



He said that it should be explored if the puppet had links within the country or abroad because the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was changing global politics and many countries were opposed to the mega project. It is imperative that we have friendly relations with Afghanistan to link the CPEC with Central Asian states but some countries do not want us to have friendly ties with Kabul, he said.



The spokesman said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had drawn the Supreme Courts attention to the JITs biased composition, biased attitude and biased modus operandi but the court was paying no heed to it.



Asked whether the government would accept the JITs findings after expressing no confidence in it, he said: The JIT is not a decision-making authority. It will only submit its report to the Supreme Court and the verdict will be issued by the apex court.



If this atmosphere continues, we may accept the decision of the Supreme Court but it is not necessary that we agree with it, the PMs spokesman said, adding that there was a clear difference between acceptance and agreement. We accept all decisions of the apex court but it does not mean we agree with them.



He said the government would keep appearing before the Supreme Court despite biased and dictatorial attitude of the JIT. History will not accept any decision of the JIT based on any bias, he added.



Mr Malik said that the 570-page judgement of the Panama Papers case had determined how members of the JIT would be appointed but the method had not been followed. Each department concerned was supposed to present a list of three officials of whom one was to be chosen by the Supreme Court to become a member of the JIT, he added.



Asked about the leak of a photograph of the prime ministers son Hussain Nawaz from the JIT interrogation room, he said: The matter is not confined to the photograph only. We have given evidence of biased attitude of the JIT to the Supreme Court but have not received any reply.



Daniyal Aziz presented details of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khans money trail, presented before the Supreme Court in his assets case, and claimed that there were glaring contradictions in the documents. There are differences between the documents of transactions of funds Mr Khan received from his friend Rashid Khan and his former wife Jemima Khan from the UK, he said.